First Meeting – [online] to [offline]

You’re sitting in your room, waiting.

No one else is home. Aside from the quiet hum of the occasional passing car, silence reigns. A book is open in front of you, but you’ve been staring at the same page for the past half hour, unable to concentrate. Your eyes keep flitting to the clock. You freeze every time you hear another car approach, listening to see if it stops…and finally, one does.

You force yourself to breath slowly, deeply. You want to run to the window and look out, but can't quite make yourself move yet. You hear footsteps out front, walking to the door….and then a knock. With another deep breath you force yourself to stand, and you glance down at yourself—you’re wearing jeans and a tight black shirt, just as ordered. You quickly walk to the front door, then pause. Your thoughts are whirling, your heart pounding, an uneasy mixture of fear and excitement rushing through your body. Taking a deep breath, you flip the lock and turn the knob.

The world stops.