Grand Portal: Or How I Got Trapped In An RPG

Chapter 1: December 16th

I'd like to start this book by ranting about all the kids media I watched growing up. While this DEFINITELY is a weird way to kick things off, I just want to get some things off my chest. I think that the shows I watched as a kid flat-out lied to me! Watching shows on Disney Jr and then eventually Cartoon Network and Nickelodeon was a huge part of my childhood, but those shows I watched, while good, all had stupid morals. Whether it was stuff like how making amends with your enemies is better then killing your enemies or to treat others the way you want to be treated, they're all flawed aspects, probably made up by some no-name who doesn't know their quote is now posted in elementary school classroom doors and in the heads of parents of young children.

All of those stupid morals, but the one I find the absolute worst and most idiotic is one you have DEFINITELY heard before: "If you put your mind to something and work hard, anything is possible". Flat out lie! The dumb child in me believed this whole-heartily, thinking I could end up being the combination of a Quarterback in the MLB, a home-run hitter in the MLB, the next Michael Jordan in the NBA, and at the same time a professional wrestler. While all of those are still somehow possible, let's be real...it isn't happening! If that stupid saying was true, I could do the simplest things like finish my AP Calculus homework and even get a girlfriend. However, here I am...an average, skinny white guy.

My name is Charles Kennedy, and I live a pretty average life in Madison, Wisconsin. Specifically in the Westmorland neighborhood. There's nothing really big in Westmorland at all, but there is some somewhat cool stuff in Madison! Though Westmorland is just a typical neighborhood, it does have a really nice walking path that I usually jog on every now and then. Other than that though? Yeah, nothing at all. I go to school at West High School, the definition of why you shouldn't judge a book by its covers. If you look up my high school on Google, you'll probably say "damn, that looks like a pretty good school", but that's only because you didn't see the reviews and also only saw the photos of the schools outside. But West High is an absolute NIGHTMARE of a place, I like to call it my "Weekday Hell", if you will. Every day to get ready for school I have to wake up at 5 A.M. Then, I have to ride a bus filled with smelly and musty kids...dozens of them, to be exact. Then, it's time for class to begin. Really, you probably know the whole shebang. During my free time, I do absolutely no extracurriculars. My friends always tell me to do something like band, quiz bowl, or track & field...but I've never shown any interest in those things and I don't think I'd be very good at them, either. So really, I'm a nobody. I've got a few good friends, but for the most part I'm that one kid that some people know and most people don't. I'm the one kid that all the girls say is a "really sweet guy", which in their words is just "we're never getting with that dweeb". But it's whatever. As a Freshman, I'm just ready to leave this stupid school. Go to college, become whatever I want to be, and live a happy life with a beautiful wife and preferably two kids.

So what does all of that backstory have to do with what I'm going to be saying right now? Well, I don't know, I figured you just needed to know all that. So "IT" all started on a random Friday in December, and it was particularly the Friday before Christmas Break. It was a completely normal day, the same schedule, the same damn thing. The bus was the usual, with rowdy middle schoolers and a mix of high school dweebs, whether they be in my grade or the kids who couldn't drive to school. I got off the bus and then did...absolutely nothing. You see, this before Christmas Break day meant that NOBODY was here! So for majority of the classes I was sitting alone in a room or with two people just on my phone. I'd look at my device and open up social media, checking stories on Instagram and Snapchat. I call these my "drama checks": when I'm too invested in drama, but don't have the balls to go up to the person and get the drama, so I fiend off of what they post online. Today was just the usual boring news. Sarah Waters broke up with her boyfriend of too many years, big deal I could care less. My friend got a scooter, couldn't give a damn. It was really boring, and it continued the boring festivities.