Hi All! Here's another chapter of my favorite book to write. LOVE these characters so much! Hope you like the latest chapter. :)

I clutched the note tight in my grip and jerked my head up, scanning the faces behind the desks.

"Should I be worried? Matt tilted his head and gave me a broad smile. He looked like he was posing for a magazine toothpaste ad.

We all should be. "It's not what you think." I lifted his textbook from my seat and passed it back to him. "Here."

I dropped my bag next to the desk and noticed a burnt cross marking my seat.

"What's wrong?" Matt asked, still watching me.

Other than my chair being branded with a target by a psychopathic demon with serious hate issues? Nothing—everything is unicorns and lollipops. "You didn't happen to see who left this, did you?" I held the note in front of him.

"Why? Didn't they sign it?" Matt tapped his pen against his lips. "Or do you have a secret admirer."

My patience, already thin, was about to take a walk, while I pummelled him into his desk. "A little help here..."

"Hey." He held up his hands. "Stand down. I don't need any more bruises. If I knew, I'd tell you."

I narrowed my eyes trying to evaluate the truth of what he said.

"I swear." He crossed his heart with his finger over his navy sweater. "What's written in that note that has you so worked up?"

A demon with a history of killing people? I especially enjoyed the fact he knew where I planned on sitting when I hadn't used the same desk twice since the beginning of the year.

"An admirer? I think you have the wrong girl." I stepped on my laces using my opposite foot and untied the bow. "But personal stocker? That position was filled this morning in English class."

"Haha, very funny. You'll see, my charm will wear off on you yet." Matt's lips turned up into a grin.

Jake hopped off the teacher's desk where he'd taken up residence. "Is he still begging you for a date?"

"Your shoe's untied." Matt pointed at my sneaker with his pen.

I crouched, placing the note on the chair so Jake could see it. Then fumbled with my laces while he read it.

"Seth?" Jake glanced around the room. "He's here?"

If his ghost-like appearance could get any whiter, he would have been the color of snow. I traced the x on my seat with my finger.

"And he marked your chair?"

I nodded and finished tying my sneaker.

"Whatever you do, don't sit there." Jake bolted toward the door. "I mean it! Be right back."

He ran through the doorway just as Mr. Moore strolled in, and if Jake weren't a ghost, the two would have collided head-on.

"Ugh... So gross!" Jake hollered. "His presence tastes like moldy cheese."

"All right, let's get started." Mr. Moore glanced across the plain of desks until his sight rested on me. "Brackstone, do you need an invitation? Take your seat already."

I hesitated, still staring at the mark. I couldn't shake my years of morning cartoon reruns, watching Wylie Coyote get squished or dropped into a hole whenever he stepped on an x. I'd have to be stupid not to know this omen wasn't a good sign.

"No..." I muttered. But I wouldn't be opposed to a bulletproof vest, a helmet, and a parachute.

"The rest of you can turn to page one hundred and three, while Miss Brackstone gets situated."

I placed a hand on the backrest and glanced toward the door one last time for Jake. Nothing but empty hallway greeted me. I cringed and slid one leg behind the defaced graffitied desk.

A shrill alarm cut the sound of turning pages. Students slapped their books shut and shoved them into their bags.

"A fire drill?" Matt yelled holding his ears.

"Looks that way." I grabbed my bag from the floor and headed for the door.

The faster I got away from the classroom, the happier I'd be.

"Woo! No math," Nick pumped a fist in the air, bumping into me.

"Why can't they have a drill during Phys Ed?" Wynter asked.

"Why would it matter?" I answered. "They'd probably just move the class outside and make us do laps while the rest of the school stood around and watched."

Wynter's eyes widened. "That would be worse. Everyone staring at us, all sweaty and gross."

"Who's the best boyfriend in the whole world?" Jake lounged against a brick wall with a grin plastered on his face. "Told you I had superpowers."

"Hey Matt, hold up," Nick jogged a few paces closer. "I'll introduce you to the gang when we get outside."

"Sure, just as long as my girl, Tessa can come." Matt tossed an arm over my shoulder and let loose a smile that made his eyes sparkle.

"This guy just doesn't give up, does he?" Jake rolled up his shirt cuffs. "Maybe Matt needs another reminder to back off."

Nick stared at Matt's hand. "Your girl?"

"He wishes." I pushed Matt's arm from my shoulder and stepped in front of him, hoping to halt Jake's retaliation. "But the word no, hasn't stopped his relentless attempts at getting a date."

"Fine. Protect the jerk." Jake's shoulders slumped. "But that doesn't mean he's getting away with hitting on you."

Not being able to talk to Jake, was already proving more difficult than I imagined.

"What do you mean attempts?" Matt stepped around me with a wide grin. "You're tutoring me after school."

"I never agreed to that." I shook my head and kept walking.

"She'll be there, you'll see." Matt winked at Nick. "She just needs a little more time to figure out how good we'd be together."

"Don't hold your breath Romeo—she a long way from hitting rock bottom," Wynter interjected.

Just then, the blonde girl that flirted with Matt earlier strolled up, handed him a note and walked off mouthing the words, call me.

"You were saying?" Nick laughed and slapped Matt on the back. "Man, he could have his choice of girls to date at school."

"Whatever." She waved a dismissive hand, then winced, cupping her ears as we passed another alarm bell. "You'd have to be dead not to hear that."

"Sorry to burst her bubble, but I can definitely hear that." Jake gestured to bell.

Approaching the door outside, I could see Mrs. K on the lawn trying to verify if all her students were present. It looked like it might take her a while because most classes were huddled in a mob gabbing to each other.

"Hey..." I tugged on Wynter's striped sweater, then waited for Matt and Nick head outside before saying another word. "Cover me."

She raised an eyebrow. "Why, where are you going?"

I walked backward in the direction of the girl's washroom. "I gotta go and who knows how it will take them to get organized before we can go back in."

"Sure. Just don't be too long," Wynter hollered down the hall after me. "Or I'll send Matt in to look for you."

"You wouldn't dare," I said, over my shoulder.

Jake kept a quick pace next to me. When we darted around a corner to an empty hallway, I pulled onto the astral plane and threw my arms around him.

"Best boyfriend ever!" I stood on my tiptoes and kissed his cheek. "I thought we could check out Mrs. K's office while—"

My sword pulsed and lit the plane a bright green. Its vibrating against my back spelled danger nearby. "There's something here."

"What do you mean, something?" Jake scanned the hallway.

"I don't know. An evil beast, you know, not from this realm." I unsheathed my sword, and Jake jumped back. "Hey, scaredy cat, I'm not going to hurt you."

"After what that thing did to my hand, can you blame me?"

"Shh... I need to locate where it is." I closed my eyes and held the blade out while I circled. The intensity of the metal's vibrations strengthened when I faced the direction of... "Math class."

"You want to back in the direction of your cursed desk? No way. That's the dumbest idea I've heard today."

I jogged down the hall with my sword in front of me, ignoring Jake hollering how insane I was and my throbbing ankle screaming inside my head. In human form, I couldn't defend myself without letting the whole world know who I was. But on the astral plane? I smiled at the thought.

"Look, you're limping." Jake caught up with me and pointed to my ankle. "There's no way you should be facing..."

We stood at the threshold of Mr. Moore's classroom, staring at a gigantic hole ripped through the floor where my desk had been. A massive blackened claw grasped the opening, tearing the hole wider. Floorboards snapped like twigs, and a thick cloud of dust coated the air.

"Told you not to sit there." Jake's eyes widened. "What the hell is that?"

"You got the hell part right," I said under my breath. "That's a Wyndham."

The beast sniffed the air and growled. It pawed at the opening and ripped through the web of pipes, spraying water high into the air.

"Like in the mythical dragon thing found on a coat of arms?"

"I'll let you be the judge, but I'm going with not so mythical."

The goal is to write another chapter for Friday next week. Looking forward to hearing your thoughts on this one! Vote, comment and show some holiday spirit! Hugs all. :)