Fresh Meat

Chapter Eight: The Desk

"Only a true best friend can protect you from your immortal enemies."

- Richelle Mead, Vampire Academy

BENNY

I licked the last traces of syrup off my fingers as I made my way to my next class. Amy continued to surprise us again with her baking skills. For me, she had made a blueberry cupcake with whipped cream instead of frosting, and it was drizzled with caramel syrup and topped with blueberries and a mini waffle. "Only the best of the best for you," she told me with a smile as she handed it to me.

The fact that she put so much effort into what we liked into the cupcakes she made for us made my heart flutter.

In a platonic way of course.

I reached my next class, geometry. I might be called a nerd for saying this, but I really love math. Most people hate it because it's hard,  but for me, I find it as a way to challenge my brain and really make me think. Plus, it's not so hard when you can understand it.

When I stepped into the classroom, I wasn't surprised to see that most of the seats that were taken were in the back. People would do anything to avoid getting called on, especially in math class. I found a desk in the middle row and sat down in it, and I began taking out my supplies for this class: a folder, a composition notebook, mechanical pencils, a protractor, and a ruler.

As she does every school year, my mom made sure that we were prepared in advance. So a month before school started, she'd drag me and my siblings to the store for some back-to-school shopping. Whenever we complained, she'd always say that it was important to plan ahead, but I knew it was just so she didn't have to do any last-minute shopping.

She also had a tendency to overbuy things. Whenever this happened, she insisted that we save those supplies for something else important. To this day, there are 7 notebooks in the school supply cabinet that no one else has used.

I did appreciate that she bought us the really good products for school supplies, like Paper-Mate and Five Star and Yoobi and Pen + Gear. "Only the best of the best," she'd say.

And that phrase stayed in my head for the next 9 years.

"Only the best of the best," I told myself. Maybe this year, my parents would finally realize that.

As I set my stuff down on my desk, I noticed something written in the top left corner of the desk. When I leaned in to get a closer look, I saw that it wasn't written. It was carved into the desk, and the words read: DONNY SITS HERE. 

Suddenly, I noticed someone standing in front of my desk. I looked up to see the biggest building of a guy I'd ever seen. I think he was taller than Ethan. His black hair was slicked back, and the jean jacket he was wearing made his shoulders look so big, I wondered if he was hiding something under there. Maybe he secretly had gorilla-ish arms? All humans were descended from apes, so that wasn't a completely irrational thought.

He had a calm smile on his face, but I could tell from looking at his eyes that he was anything but calm. "Hey," he finally said.

"Hi," I said back.

"What's your name?" 

"Benny," I replied. Where was this conversation going?