mentanoia - ben gross

chapter one;

Chapter one;

The bags dressing her hazel eyes had gotten worse throughout the night. Jane rested her forehead against chapter two of her American Literature book. The sounds and voices of students entering the classroom and taking their seats went unnoticeable for her. She could only focus on how heavy her eyelids felt in that moment, and how badly she tried to keep them open.

With a slam of the door, all voices died out. Jane could hear the teacher's footsteps near her. A soft and gentle hand touched her shoulder. "Maybe try and pay attention. Mr. Gross over here hasn't prepared a full presentation for you to use as some kind of sleep hypnosis."

Jane squeezed her eyes shut for just another second. "Yes, of course. I'm sorry." She whispered, her voice hoarse from the sobbing she'd done on her walk home last night. Finally allowing light to enter her pupils, it took her a few moments before her sight could focus on the boy who was already standing in front of the class. She wasn't surprised at all when she found Ben's face.

He however, seemed entirely taken back by her presence. Fumbling onto the piece of paper he was holding, his gaze shifted between the teacher and Jane. Bedazzled by why the teacher had no idea of what was going on in Jane's life, but even more confused by why Jane was here in the first place, Ben felt helpless.

"So, Ben, when-ever you're ready." The teacher said, taking her seat in the back of the class, already with her arms crossed over one-another.

Taking one more look at Jane, he noticed her mind was already absent. If it hadn't been for the knowledge he had, he would've felt a bit uncomfortable with her staring at his legs like that. He, however, recognized himself in her, remembering all the times he'd zoned out while looking at people's feet.

"Ben? Any second now would be great."

He straightened his back and nodded. Turning to the presentation he'd made, he inhaled once before he started the talk he'd been rehearsing a dozen amount of times last night.

~

He felt awful that up until now, he had no idea she went to the same school as him. Even during lunch, when his girlfriend Shira was all cuddled up against his side, he couldn't keep his mind away from Jane. It all felt so absurd to him. No one seemed to know about the horror that had taken a lead role in Jane's life. And she surely didn't try to show anyone.

Ben couldn't help but feel somewhat relieved when he saw her seated with a small group of friends. Although Jane seemed everything but relaxed and happy, at least she wasn't alone.

"Babe, how do I look in this picture?" Shira's long blonde hair kept touching Ben's cheeks. It itched. "I kinda wanna post it online, but I don't know. What do you think?"

Ben rolled his eyes to the photo of his girlfriend. She looked absolutely stunning. The thin dress she wore on the photo hugged her curves beautifully and the golden necklace she'd gotten from Ben as a birthday gift was clearly the eye catcher. He smiled, proud of himself for having given her the gift.

"You look great, Shira." He replied, "Tag me on the necklace."

She nodded with a giggle and did as he'd told her to. Then turning to her girlfriends that were seated in front of them, she leaned her elbows on the table. "Have I told you girls about this skirt I've been eyeing?" She tapped a few times on her phone before turning it to her friends, "It'd look so hot on me, I really wish I could just get it."

Her friends agreed and within an instant, Ben tapped his girlfriend's shoulder. "Show me."

Shira almost hesitantly showed him a picture of a lacy white dress, one that she already seemed to have in every other color. "This would be such a cute date dress, don't you think?"