College

Jake and Mike walked together across the bustling campus, the conversation flowing easily between them. The morning sun was climbing higher, casting long shadows across the paths as students hurried to their classes.

“So, something weird happened last night,” Jake began, glancing at Mike, his tone more serious than usual.

“Oh yeah? What’s up?” Mike asked, giving Jake a curious look.

Jake hesitated for a moment, then decided to just spill it. “I was messing around on my phone, and out of nowhere, it just went black. When it rebooted, there was this new app on it—one I definitely didn’t download.”

Mike raised an eyebrow, his interest piqued. “An app? Like, it just appeared out of nowhere?”

“Yeah,” Jake nodded, feeling a bit uneasy just talking about it. “The icon’s this weird spiral thing, but when I tried to open it, nothing happened. And I couldn’t delete it either—it’s like it’s just stuck there.”

Mike frowned thoughtfully. “Sounds like some kind of glitch or maybe even malware. You been on any sketchy sites lately?”

Jake chuckled awkwardly, rubbing the back of his neck. “Uh, yeah… you could say that. But this doesn’t feel like the usual stuff you’d get from a virus. I tried to mess with it last night, but I was too tired, so I just went to bed.”

Mike nodded slowly. “Weird. Maybe it’s something that needs to update before it’ll work properly? Some apps are like that—they don’t do anything until they’re fully installed or whatever. You should try opening it again when you get home. Maybe it’ll actually do something then.”

“Yeah, I was thinking the same thing,” Jake replied, feeling a bit more reassured by Mike’s suggestion. “I’ll give it another shot later and see what happens.”

“Just be careful, man,” Mike warned. “If it’s some kind of virus or shady app, you don’t want it messing with your phone or stealing your info.”

“Definitely,” Jake agreed. “I’ll keep an eye on it. If it’s still acting weird, I might need to reset my phone or something.”

“Good plan,” Mike said, giving Jake a pat on the back. “Let me know how it goes. If you need help figuring it out, I’m your guy.”

“Thanks, man,” Jake said, feeling a little more at ease. “I’ll keep you posted.”

As the two friends reached their lecture hall, the conversation shifted to more mundane topics—upcoming assignments, weekend plans, and the usual college life stuff. But no matter how much Jake tried to focus on his classes, the thought of the strange app lingered in the back of his mind, gnawing at his curiosity.

When the day finally ended and Jake headed back home, the app was still on his mind. He couldn’t shake the feeling that there was something more to it, something waiting to be discovered once he was alone in his room again.