It was a normal, bright afternoon at the Antlion College and Marcus was completing his studies while other students chatted outside after a long day of school. They were talking about the supposed “monster” that roamed the halls of the college, preying on ignorant students. “What nonsense,” he thought! There’s no such thing as monsters! Those are just silly stories meant to make little kids behave. He brushed it off and began thinking of his career. He planned to become an astrophysicist and made sure to study hard to do well in his classes. As the lights turned off, Marcus decided he should start heading home.
As he walked through the dark hallway, he felt something tap his shoulder, but when he turned around, there was only an empty box behind him. He turned around and tried to continue walking, but something ensnared him and started pulling him backward. The monster is real?! Shaking all over, he turned around and expected a horrific demon, but the thing pulling him back was… the empty box. He studied it closely and saw a label that read “Student Loan Debt.”
With sinking horror, he realized what was happening. He was getting dragged into an endless cycle of debt and work. Marcus could not pay his bills, and his goal of becoming an astrophysicist drifted further and further away. The only way to escape the cycle of despair would be to pay off the growing debt, but he knew that would be impossible. The box drew closer and closer and Marcus accepted his fate to be trapped in its endless cycle along with the other unlucky students who had fallen prey to this monster.