First Impression (A Shadow Maven Paranormal) by Pauline Creeden Page B

desk and scoot in. Ben cuts into his normal desk, right behind me. The hairs on the back of my neck stand on end at his nearness. It’s going to be a long day.
     
     
    When the lunch bell rings after third period, I linger at my desk and take my time packing my messenger bag until the class leaves without me. I glance up. I’m alone with Mrs. Blaylock. I furrow my brows and head for the hallway.
    The crowded halls are full of the scuffing of shoes and the constant dialogue between students. My gaze is drawn toward the stairwell. Ben has likely gone up there to spend time with Steve. I can’t deal with this right now. I follow the crowd meandering toward the cafeteria.
    I stand in line behind two sophomores who are so intent on their conversation that they hardly move forward at the appropriate times.
    “Usually he’s so cute, but today, he’s a complete mess. He hasn’t shaved and he’s got bags under his eyes,” the blonde one with her hair in pigtail braids like Tasha’s says. Her hair ties are purple sparkles.
    “I know, right? It’s like he’s been sleeping in his uniform all weekend. I’m surprised Stacy can stand him,” the one with the brown bob cut says, chewing on a strand of her hair.
    “They’ve been a couple, like, forever. She must love him if she can sit with him like that.” The blond one jabs her thumb toward a table of seniors.
    Stacy sits with an arm around a tired and haggard looking Jacob. And the teeny boppers are right. He’s a mess. The usually perfectly dressed senior class president is setting a terrible example with his shirt half tucked in and his tie loose around an unbuttoned collar. His sandy hair sticks up in all directions. Stacy’s panicked blue eyes are fixed on her boyfriend, her lips to his ear as she whispers what I imagine is encouragement. The rest of the seniors at the table are standoffish toward the couple except Matt Benson who catches me looking and waves.
    I flush and wave back, quickly averting my eyes and taking a couple steps forward in the line. The teeny boppers have moved on, discussing the latest One Direction album. When I reach the food selection, my appetite has left me. Donnie had been Jacob’s best friend, and now he was gone. I could imagine how Jacob felt. But boys weren’t allowed to collapse into someone’s arms and have a cry fest. And as much as Jacob likely tried to keep all his emotions in, they were showing in his disheveled appearance.
    My heart broke for him. Broke for Donnie. Ben was right. We need to get to the bottom of this and find out if Donnie's death was caused by possession. And if Ben is the only person who can tell, then I need to help him as much as I can…no matter how awkward it is.
    I take a deep breath and sigh, grabbing a saucer of mac ’n cheese and a brownie. I am in some dire need of comfort food right now. I pay the cashier and eye the room for a seat.
    The senior table erupts in a shout and a bang on the table with Jacob’s fist. Silence engulfs the rest of the room so quickly that the absence of sound makes my ears ring.
    “To hell with all of you. I’m going to find out what is going on, because whatever happened to him is happening to me, and I can’t take this anymore than he could.” Jacob yells and shoves the table.
    Mr. Scott and the vice principal are marching in his direction. He spots them and heads off in the other direction for the courtyard door that’s behind him. The two adults follow him out.
    The tide of conversation moves back in and slowly ratchets upward from low whispers to overexcited chatter. I don’t mean to listen in, but I stand there frozen.
    “What’s going on? What’s he talking about?” Stacy asks, her hands in a tangled grip around Matt’s jacket lapel. Her hair is a twisted, unkempt blond braid with flyaways about her face. Her eyes are rimmed red and tears have streaked through her make up.
    Matt’s eyes are wide and wild, still fixed on the cafeteria exit. “I