Moonstruck at Midnight

Chapter 25 - The Monster Under the Bed

I WOKE UP VERY EARLY on the first day of my photography course. Going for a morning run to the park and being ready on time for school would be tricky. I needed to find another time to run during those three weeks. Running in the afternoons after school seemed like my only option. Running at night was frowned upon by my security detail.

My second choice was using the apartment building's treadmill at the second-floor gym. That was the boring choice, but probably the most convenient.

We arrived at Parsons fifteen minutes before nine. I was nervous and excited about my first day and didn't want to be late. Thankfully, Caleb wasn't on duty. I was still angry at him. It's one thing to report an incident like the fight to my father, which I already expected, and a whole other to pass judgment on my boyfriend's character. So no, I didn't feel like looking at Caleb's face.

I found my classroom and sat at one of the five empty tables with that first day of school anxiety swirling in my stomach.

More students trickled in as the minutes went by. Soon, the clock hit nine, and the instructor, a man in his late forties wearing black-framed glasses, entered the room, leaving his things on the desk.

"Welcome to the Summer Photography Program," he said, passing out sheets of paper among the attendants. "My name is Glenn Beckett, and I'll be your instructor. We will have a final assignment due by the end of the third week. You'll work on this project in groups of three." People stared at each other, wondering if they should make the groups. You could tell nobody knew each other.

"The groups have already been assigned by your last names. If you look in your course syllabus, you'll find your group at the end of the page."

There were fifteen of us, which meant there would be five groups.

"You'll be graded on this final assignment individually and as a group," he carried on. "You only get to miss two sessions in the entire three weeks, so your attendance is of the utmost importance. Now, please, take a few minutes to find your partners and choose a table to share with them. We'll start today's session in five minutes. Have your analog cameras out, please."

I looked for my name on the list and saw that I was assigned with Benjamin Miller and Nolan Murray. Everyone stood up to find their partners.

"Billie and Ben?" I could hear someone asking around the classroom.

"Hi! I'm Billie," I said with a smile. "You must be Nolan."

"Yes, I am. Nice to meet you, Billie," Nolan replied, pushing one of his dark, wavy strands away from his forehead. He wore a short-sleeved denim button-down shirt over a white t-shirt and black jeans.

"Hey, guys. I'm Ben. Nice to meet you." His outfit matched the cheerful smile with which he approached us. He wore jeans and a soft, cream-colored, short-sleeved, button-down shirt with a dinosaur print in shades of green, yellow, and orange. The bright colors accentuated his deep golden-brown skin.

After we introduced ourselves, the three of us sat at one of the five tables and took out our cameras. Mr. Beckett walked back into the classroom and began his lecture. It was mostly a technical session about film cameras with some history.

We were sent to lunch for an hour at noon. David and Caleb were standing outside in the distance. What? Aaron was nowhere to be found.

Odd.

When it came to Caleb, I never held back. If I wanted to say something to him, I would do so straightforwardly. Last night I couldn't talk to him since I was with my father, and I didn't want to go about it through texts. But I was ready to speak, so I walked up to him and asked him if we could have a quick word.