I like the first day of school for a different reason, though. You see, I have a sort of power. When I look at people, I can...sense a sort of aura around them. A colored outline based on how long that person has to live. Most everyone I meet around my age are surrounded by a solid green hue, which means they have plenty of time left.

A fair amount of them have a yellow-orangish tinge to their auras, which tends to mean a car crash or some other tragedy. Anything that takes people "before their time" as they say. The real fun is when the auras venture into the red end of the spectrum, though. Every now and again I'll see someone who's basically a walking stoplight.

Those are the ones who get murdered or kill themselves. It's such a rush to see them and know their time is numbered.

With that in mind, I always get to cla.s.s very early so I can scout out my cla.s.smates' fates. The first kid who walked in was basically radiating red. I chuckled to myself. Too d.a.m.n bad, bro. But as people kept walking in, they all had the same intense glow. I finally caught a glimpse of my rose-tinted reflection in the window, but I was too stunned to move.

Our professor stepped in and locked the door, his aura a sickening shade of green.