About a week has passed and I am starting to get used to the work, place and new people. I think I can say that I have made friends too!

  I haven't had any nightmares either, so that's really good. I do still have difficulty sleeping often, so that's a bit less fortunate.

  Today I'm free and am going to a café with Nova and two other former classmates, we take the train to a busier part of the city.

  "It's gonna feel weird to meet them again." Nova tells me while waiting inside the speedily moving train.

  "Yeah, we haven't seen them after the graduation party, right?"

  "Maybe we should have went to visit them earlier, like you said back then."

  I think for a bit, but then I remember what she means.

  "Oh, you mean my idea of going on vacation together! But the others were too busy finding work, so it wouldn't have mattered."

  Nova sighs: "Maybe they should have just made some time."

  All the old university memories suddenly come flooding back to me, leaving me melancholy about it all. Time goes fast doesn't it?

  I will never forget the times we hung out, the one time when Jonathan accidentally started a fire during chemistry. The time we came too late, because Nova wanted to pet all the cats and dogs we saw. The time Nina and I had a presentation, what ended in us just making it in an hour before we had it. (Too bad she couldn't come, by the way).

  The cramming for tests. Peter's habit of taking notes so continually that the teachers almost went crazy.

  [LAVENDER STATION, LAVENDER STATION]!!!

  The voice takes me out of my daydreaming.

  "This is our stop." Nova shares and I give her a short nod, letting her know I heard her.

  "Let's see what our good ol' friends have been up to."

  Is it just me or did Nova sound a bit sarcastic right now? Well it doesn't really matter.

  We arrive at the café, it is one close to our old university. Nova picked it for old times' sake, it's a slightly older one. Supposedly it used to be an observatory, for looking at the stars. The interior still shows it and the owner has decided to take it as inspiration, so planets and stars are part of this cafés aesthetic.

  I look around in awe. It still looks exactly the same as the last time we went here, although it hasn't been that long ago it feels as if it's my first time again.

  "Edith, they are over there." Nova points at the two of our waving friends.

  "Nova, Edith, I'm so glad you could both make it!" Peter laughs friendly.

  We take a seat at the leftover chairs by the table.

  "Hi guys! Long time no see!" I give a short wave back.

  "Good morning." Jonathan smiles kindly.

  "Dude, it's almost noon." Nova corrects him.

  "Right, I almost forgot." He laughs embarrassed.

  Then the three of them stare at me.

  "Is something wrong?"

  An awkward silence takes place.

  What is wrong with them?

  They all look away and Peter tries to change the subject: "So, hey, what do you guys think about the houses they are building on the moon?"

  "It's weird, all of us are born on earth, why suddenly make the moon ours?" Nova answers slightly annoyed.

  Something about her seems off. She is more annoyed than usual, have they had a fight on the phone or by text without me knowing?

  "If it's the only way that there will be enough houses for everyone, then it could be an okay solution-" Jonathan tries, but gets cut down almost immediately.

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  "We know less about our own oceans than about the other planets." Nova answers rather rudely.

  Silence again, what the hell changed in those few months to make them change this much? Is it the stress of being an adult?

  "Jonathan, how is the course you're doing going for you?" I ask to break the tension.

  "Ah right. It's going okay, the teacher is nice and she says I have natural talent for becoming a counselor."

  I clap in my hands: "That's great! It's probably not too difficult for you?"

  "No it's going okay."

  "And Peter, how is your job as a mechanic going?"

  The question seems to brighten him up a bit.

  "Great Edith, can I show you a robot I made?"

  "Yes of course! Let me see!"

  Peter takes out his phone and shows a video of a robot fighting another one.

  "The blue one is mine!"

  "It looks cool! Why does it have a chainsaw?"

  "It's one of those that fight. Haha." He laughs a bit embarrassed: "It is a bit of a side hobby, normally I just do maintenance of course."

  "Still, good for you!"

  When I look back at it, maybe I was the one holding them all together... Should I have kept in touch with them better?

  "So Nova, how is your digital art going?" Jonathan asks the question, thank god I am not the only one anymore.

  Nova shrugs: "Pretty good, I will be publishing a graphic novel soon."

  "Ah, like a manga?" Peter asks.

  "NOT A MANGA! It's a graphic novel."

  Jonathan leans to me, ignoring the other two fighting: "Edith, what about you?"

  "Oh, I got hired at Othersoft. I have a desk job."

  He looks surprised: " Othersoft? That's one almost no one gets in. You have been talking about wanting to join them for a while now."

  "Yup, our bestie got in!" Nova puts her arm around me.

  Suddenly a man who had been standing behind us for seemingly a while coughs to get our attention: "Do you guys still want to order?" He asks, he must have been trying to get our attention for a while now.

  "Ah yes, sorry, can I have some hot chocolate please?" I ask him.

  "Of course." He notes it down and the others all order the same, we used to order this all the time. The hot chocolate is just really good here.

  All of us also order different slices of cake, we always used to try each other's and make a mess. Although not a big enough mess to get banned to ever come inside again.

  While we eat our orders the chatter starts to get more normal again and not as awkward as before. It feels good hanging out with my old friend again, weird, but good.

  "Do you guys want to celebrate Christmas together?" I ask without much thought.

  All three stop and look at me and the awkward silence has entered the room again.

  "Sure, let's do that. I don't have anyone to celebrate with anyway." Jonathan breaks the silence.

  "I'm not sure, I might have something to do then- AUW!" Nova hits Peter: "Yeah, let's all come together again then." She smiles at me kindly and then turns her face to the guys: "We have a cat now, you should come see her."

  The conversation turns over to the cat, Nova tells them about Misty. And about the friend from work she got her from.

  After sitting there for hours talking it quiets down again and we decide to all go our own ways again.

  Just before we leave, Jonathan and Nova get up to use the bathroom.

  Peter sits across from me and looks like there is something he wants to tell me.

  "Something wrong?"

  He shakes his head: "No, it's just... It has been a while and it's good to see you again I guess."

  "Come on, I know you longer than today. please tell me."

  Then his face turns serious: "You have to be more careful."

  "Huh?"

  He continues: "Not everything is the way it is and bad things might happen, please, remember that as a friend you can always come to me."

  Peter leaves me utterly flabbergasted. What the hell? Why did he just say all these things? It seems rather uncharacteristic of him. The tone in which he spoke and the serious look on his face. Is that really the Peter I have always known?

  "Peter... what do you mean?"

  Jonathan turns around the corner: "You guys okay?"

  Peter immediately reverts to his normal self: "Yes of course!"

  So he doesn't want the others to know... something?

  After Nova is done we leave. Jonathan and Peter go one way and Nova and I the other.

  On the train back I wonder about Peter's cryptic words.

  Nova awakes me up from my puzzling thoughts: "How do you think we should celebrate Christmas?"

  "uhhh..., Maybe we could go somewhere?"

  "Like where?"

  "A museum, maybe a theme-park? They usually go all Christmassy far before it actually is."

  "That's true." Then she starts to laugh: "I thought you were going to say that we should get a Christmas tree and decoration in our small apartment. Then do all sorts of activities there!"

  I imagine something like all of us trying to ride a sled inside.

  As her laugh gets more contagious I start laughing too, to our other train companions it must be rather annoying. Some even give us a couple of angry glances.

  I try to shush, but we just can't anymore. Right at the moment it just seems very funny, luckily the next stop is ours and we release the others of our loud presence.

  As we walk home we decide to just order food, none of us wants to cook or eat the hot water food.

  As the pizza arrives we watch a movie and go to bed, when both are finished.

  In bed I fall asleep rather quickly again.

  My head fills itself with unknown, illogical places and colors.

  And then I see the café close to work.

  From the corner I stand, unable to move.

  I can see a shadow move before me, at first I don't know what they are doing, but then I see.

  They are hiding something.

  A bloody face flashes before me.

  A ghostly white hand is dripping with a dark fluid.

  Drip.

  Drip.

  Drip.

  The shadow is hiding a body.

  They are hiding it under the floorboards.

  Piece by piece.

  The corps is unidentifiable.

  The head sits next to the shadow, so severely slashed it doesn't even look human anymore.

  Suddenly the shadow notices me watching and turns to look at me.

  It's the person from before.

  The one from the elevator.

  They smile at me, that horrid smile. Again just visible, only to me under the mask.

  Then they take the slashed head into one of their hands.

  Their voice sounds too digital to be human, glitching and changing voice mid-sentence:

  "Do you want some?"