During the Freshman Year Last Day Of School Pool Party, at Harmony University, two friends raced the pool to a crowd of onlookers, and after a short five laps, the winner arose from the pool to cheers.

“What did I tell you, man?” Jerome said, turning to his friend and ignoring his celebrators as he wrapped a blue towel around his waist: “Just because you’re taller than me, that doesn’t mean you can outswim me.”

“Yeah yeah, I know when I’m beat,” Steph said as he got out of the pool, his dreads and goatee dripping with water. The amulet hanging from his neck matched his shirt and trunks, all three being a warm orange. Steph stretched and smiled “I also know when it’s a good time to get snacks which is right now. Do me a favor and find us a couple chairs?”

“On it,” Jerome relayed with a smile. He fist bumped Steph, and the two friends went their separate ways.

Jerome’s muscles ached as he laid down in the beach chair closest to the pool, scoring the last one that still had an umbrella. Although he loved to showboat, Jerome decided to do something he hadn’t done in a good long while: relax. That was what the Freshman Year Last Day Of School Pool Party was for after all. The young man studied the cold blue amulet in his palm, knowing it wasn’t his schoolwork that was keeping him up at night…

“Sup, stranger?”

A familiar, sarcastic tone interrupted Jerome’s scattered thoughts. He looked up to see a tall, caramel-skinned girl in a white sundress leaning over him, smirking. A pair of shades rested on her pony-tailed hair, and her eyes shone an earthy copper. A green amulet hung from her neck.

“Hello, Nathalie,” Jerome replied.

The girl turned her head in mock confusion. “Wait a sec. How do you know my name? I’m sure I would remember someone who looked so upset for no good reason, ya sourpuss.”

Jerome sighed and suppressed a smile. Nathalie and him had been friends since Graymore High, and yet she still asked him what was wrong in the most roundabout, convoluted way possible. It was simply her way of speaking; you either got used to it, or you stopped talking to her. Jerome, for reasons he still questioned, chose the former.

“You know very well why I’m upset,” Jerome chided. “and you also know we shouldn’t be talking about it with this many people around.”

Nathalie rolled her eyes and sat in the chair next to him. “Oh come on Jer, it’s a party! Smile! Sure, things haven’t been the easiest lately, but it’s been getting better, right?” She leaned in and whispered, “Besides, we haven’t seen any of them in weeks!”

“Yes, but we know they don’t take the summer off,” Jerome whispered back: “And know they strike when we least expect it. One of us has to be on guard if you and your brother are gonna relax.”

“Fine, fine. You have a point.” Nathalie craned her head. “Speaking of which, where is Steph? I ran into him on the way here, but he-”

“Behind you!” yelled Steph, carrying a tray of soda and chips.

“GAHH!” shrieked Nathalie, nearly falling off her chair. “Steph, you know I hate it when you do that! You’re lucky you brought me chips, or I’d beat your lousy, good for nothin’-“

Steph laughed and placed the snacks down on a nearby table. “Sorry sis. Old habits die hard I guess. And don’t give Jerome too much trouble; he and I just got done with some swimming.”

“But after I rest, I’ll definitely go talk to people,” Jerome said dryly.

“Suuuuure you will. But before that…” Steph handed them their drinks and said, “a toast to us for surviving our first year in college!”

Jerome sat up, looked into his glass and smiled. Stephen and Nathalie had the right idea. What were the odds that there would be an attack right here, right now, after almost two months of nada? Besides, he deserved to have a little fun. Jerome and Nathalie raised their glasses to match Steph’s, and they almost clinked them together when-

BOOM!

The grassy field behind the trio erupted into a spattering of dirt as a gigantic creature violently clawed its way out of the once beautiful landscape. The top half of the beast was a two-headed, red eyed black dragon with the bottom half being akin to a Tyrannosaurus-Rex made of obsidian. It emerged from the hole and opened its mouths, letting out a boisterous roar whilst stomping with gargantuan reptilian legs. Jerome cursed and stood to face the beast as it rapidly approached the party.

“Well, I’ll hand it to you, Jer,” Nathalie said grimly as the surrounding foliage shook violently. “When you’re right, you’re right.”

“You make it sound like I wanted this to happen.” Jerome quickly puts on his shirt and turns to the twins. “You two make sure everyone gets out, okay? I’ll stall the Titan.”

“But how are you-” Steph looks at the pool and smiles. “Ooh, I get it. You’re gonna pull a Boston, huh?”

“Nah, let’s keep it simple: Maneuver #14 with an emphasis on low civilian casualties. Got that?”

The siblings nodded and rush off toward the screaming crowd, helping up their classmates and guiding them to the exits. The creature closes in and Jerome stands to face it.

“Poseidon, don’t fail me now.” Jerome, clutching his amulet, bolts toward the pool and dives in just in time to avoid the Titan’s bite. Immediately, the water responds to his presence and swirls around him, bending to his will and forming multiple sharp tridents. Jerome roars and rises out of the water surrounded by a typhoon. The sky clouds over as he launches the first volley of tridents at the beast, knocking it off balance. He tried to launch the second, but the Titan dodges and dives for Jerome once again. He barely had time to grab a trident and dive before the monster threw itself at the pool, splitting the fixture half under its weight. Jerome came crashing into a nearby snacks table, knocking him out and alerting the beast to his location. Jerome woke up just in time to see the Titan looming over him, preparing to stomp when-

WHAM! An army of vines launched from the nearby foliage and grabbed the Titan by the jaws and foot. It thrashes and tries to break the hold, but Nathalie tightens her grip, manipulating the plants to slam the beast’s head into the wall instead of her friend.

Steph rushes over and helps up Jerome, who was clearly distressed. “Are you okay, man?”

Jerome nods and picks up his remaining trident. “I’ve fallen harder. Is everyone evacuated?”

“Yup!” Steph flicks his wrist and his amulet glows, summoning a flaming longsword into his hand: “Now we can kill this thing.”

Jerome smiles and grips his trident. Together, they charge at the Titan.

Jerome jumps and spears the beast’s first neck, making the creature howl in pain. Nathalie summons more vines, and her brother uses them as a stepping stone to launch himself behind the beast. He throws his sword through the punctured neck, severing it completely. Steph lands on the ground and dodges a stomp from the Titan as Jerome levies another trident volley, now aiming for the Titan’s body. Jerome launches. The Titan stumbles backward; its obsidian shell beginning to crack. Nathalie uses one more batch of vines to knock it fully backward, crashing the Titan to the ground.

The trio surround the unconscious body of their bested foe, and after chipping at the obsidian shell with their weapons, a hole large develops enough to see the large, pulsating black heart that powered the Titan.

“Hey Nat,” said Jerome, “you didn’t get to fight much this time around. Would you do the honors of finishing this one off?”

Nathalie smiles at him. “It would be my pleasure,” she said as a large, double-bladed battle axe appeared in her hands. With a single swing, she chops the heart in half, and it, along with the rest of the beast, dissolves into ash.

After the body finished dissolving, Steph sighed a sigh of relief and surveyed the destroyed landscape: “Thank the Gods that’s over with, but it looks like the party’s over guys.” He turned to Nathalie and Jerome. “What do you two want to do for the rest of the day?”

Nathalie opened her mouth, thought for a moment, and admitted, “I have no clue. Hey Jerome, what do you want to do?”

Jerome paused and thought, finally responding with, “Relax,” Jerome looked up to the setting sun, “I want to relax.”

The twins laughed, sharing the sentiment. The three friends walked back to the dorms together happy, exhausted, and very much in need of a nap.