Patience is a powerful tool

It's a technique deemed most cruel

Slice her neck softly and tie her upside down

Enjoy the slow drip of her blood on the ground

As seconds pass by she becomes more pale

While you marvel every ghastly small detail

Like how her lips tremble, not ready for death

Like the declining sound of her strained breath

Drip...drip...drip...her eyes begin to glaze

And finally there hangs a beautiful corpse on display

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The days leading up to Friday felt like they were purposely dragging on to torture Jules. She had so many unanswered questions that she wanted to find out for herself. Her classmates' excitement for the party did not die down but at least they gave her more space and didn't bombard her every time she entered a different class.

She was very thankful that Abby waited for her everyday outside her 5th period class to go to the cafeteria together. Jonathan and Abby were the only ones that brought comfort to Jules while she was at school. They made the experience bearable and helped her a lot with adjusting. The thing she looked forward to the most everyday was getting to eat lunch with them.

Jules never had friends other than her mom when she lived at Reville Oaks. It was such a delightful experience to have people to talk and laugh with. Abby would usually share stories or news happening around the school while Jonathan would often make snarky comments that would get them to start bantering. Jules could tell that they were great friends and their teasing never meant any harm. What she loved the most about them was that they respected her religion. Although it was a struggle for Jonathan at first, he began cursing less and less around her. Some words that would make her mom cry slipped here and there out of his lips but Jules appreciated his effort.

Abby and Jonathan were laughing about how one of their classmates Jason was caught by the janitor while doing something inappropriate in the janitor's closet.

"That's so embarrassing! Couldn't he wait until he got home?" Jonathan asked while clenching his stomach.

"Apparently not! That's why men should never bring blue balls to school." Abby replied while wiping remaining tears from her eyes.

"I don't understand. Why would he play with blue balls in the janitor's closet when there's a gym," Jules commented.

Jonathan spit out whatever he was drinking and began to laugh uncontrollably once again.

"Ughhh, gross dude," Abby tried wiping the liquid off her face quickly, "don't worry about it Jules. I forget how innocent you are sometimes. Anyway, has everyone been treating you good so far?"

Jules took a moment to think about her classmates when one person's name popped up.

"Actually, I have met someone that doesn't seem to like me. His name is Jack."

Jonathan once again spit out his drink which attracted all of Jules' attention so she didn't notice Abby's drastic change in mood at the name.

"You know Jack?" Jonathan asked.

"Yeah. I have him in my 6th period class. He sits at the desk to my left. Why? Is there something wrong with him?"

Abby was quick to answer.

"I would avoid him. He's not very good at socializing and tends to be hostile. You should try to ignore him Jules. A girl like you should stay away from a manipulative person like him. He's nothing but bad news."

"Speaking of bad news," Jonathan said with a sigh, "Mr. President is coming over again."

Jules turned around in her seat and found herself once again in front of the very charismatic council president.

"Hello Mrs. Moore. I wanted to confirm that I would be seeing you tonight."

Jules felt uncomfortable with Randall using her last name. "Oh, you can just call me Jules. No need to use such formal language. Yes, I do plan on going."

"I am delighted to hear that...Jules."

The way he said her first name bothered her even more. She couldn't pinpoint why but something seemed off with the way it rolled off his tongue.

Randall reached into his blazer and handed Jules a piece of paper and pen.

"Could you provide me your address and number? I will be sending one of my personal drivers to pick you up and take you home."

Jules quickly became bashful. "Oh, no need to go to such lengths. I can just take the bus. I don't want to be an inconvenience."

"I'm sorry but I can't allow a beautiful lady like you to be traveling alone at night. You would be in too much danger and I would be too worried to enjoy the party. Plus, there's no bus that travels to my area. The closest bus would still require you to walk an hour or more to reach my house."

Jules tried to look at her friends to see if she should trust Randall with her address but they once again had their eyes purposely averted away.

Jules decided that she would give him an address...just not the one for her home. She didn't know him enough to feel comfortable doing so.

Jules wrote the address of the bakery shop her mother worked at and handed the paper back to Randall. When their hands brushed for a second, Jules was surprised at how cold Randall's hands were.

"I'll be at a bakery so your driver can meet me there. I don't have a phone though to give you a number."

"Hmmm, that shouldn't be an issue. You can borrow my spare phone for tonight."

Before Jules could protest, she found a silver rectangle device in her hand.

"Pardon me, I would love to talk some more but I have a meeting to attend. I look forward to seeing you tonight."

Silence filled the air once Randall left. While Jules was staring at the piece of metal in her hand in wonder, Abby and Jonathan were busy composing themselves after being shaken up by the unwanted presence.

Jules was the first to break the silence.

"So...two questions. What does one wear to a party and how do I use this phone? There's no buttons on it."

Luckily for Abby this time, Jonathan did not have a drink in his mouth.

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"It's been almost a week and I still don't get why you're so special."

Jack would always have something to say. And he must have been a really punctual guy because a mean comment always left his mouth right when Jules sat down at her desk. He never missed a beat.

"It bothers me how average you are. You seem like someone with no personality. You remind me of unsweetened Cheerios."

Jules wanted to tell Jack his thinking was absurd. Cheerios was a type of food while Jules was a human being with will and intellect made in the image of God. It made no sense to compare the two. However, Jules listened to Abby's advice and ignored Jack.

Jack did not like that.

"What? You think you're too popular now so you can't talk to guys like me?" Jack was good at analyzing people and he knew exactly what to say to get a reaction from Jules.

"It's fine, I get it. Since I don't play football and I'm not rich enough to be an Academy student, you must see me as a worthless, waste of space."

Jules was horrified and could not hold her tongue any longer.

"That's not true at all. God loves you and--"

"Okay, okay. Let's skip the religious stuff," Jack interrupted, "If that's true, why are you avoiding me?"

It was too late now. She had already fallen for his trap. She might as well come out with the truth.

"Abby says you're bad news. You're hostile and manipulative."

Jules thought that Jack would be angered when she told him but instead, he began to laugh hysterically.

"Hostile? Yes, I'll agree with that one. I don't tend to like people in general. But manipulative? Coming from her, that's hilarious. If anyone's manipulative, it's her. What a fu**ing hypocrite."

Jules had already informed Jack the day before that she didn't like curse words but his reply was, "I don't give a fu*k." Since then, she knew it would be futile to get him to stop his potty mouth. Jack was not considerate like Abby and Jonathan. This gave Jules more reason to not trust him.

"I don't like you talking about my friend like that. She's a great person." Jules said defensively.

"Ha!" Jack gave a sarcastic laugh, "You've only known Abby for less than a week yet you're so eager to believe all her words and defend her? I pity how naive you are."

Jules knew not to let Jack's words get to her. From the time she has spent with Abby--although it hasn't been much--she had already formed a strong sense of trust between the two. Abby had helped her so much with adjusting to the strange school that she had not once doubted her sincerity. With all the ill treatment she received at Reville Oaks in her childhood years, Jules had learned how to read people more carefully. Abby's and Jonathan's kind eyes, beautiful laughter, and loving smiles always seemed the most genuine out of all the classmates Jules had met so far. With that in mind, Jules decided to turn away from Jack and try to ignore him again.

"Look, I don 't care if you ignore me. I might not have a lot of great characteristics but there is one thing about me that I always uphold. I don't lie. And I'm telling you right now, you're going to regret going to the party tonight. All those Academy students are bad news. You're just entertainment to them."

Jules quirked up an eyebrow. Jack's words were contradicting and she was gonna call him out for it.

"I know you're lying," Jules replied confidently, "First of all, you're the one who wants to go to the party. If it was such an awful thing to go to, you wouldn't have complained all week about me being chosen instead of you. Second of all, if the party and Academy students were so awful, then the whole school wouldn't want to go."

Jack rolled his eyes.

"First of all, no one at the school aside from the Academy students and chosen ones actually know what happens at the party. Second of all, I want to go because I know they do bad bad things there and I like bad things. But you? A good girl like you won't survive."

Jules gave her inhospitable classmate a questioning look.

"What? Last time I checked, there would only be students attending. Are you trying to tell me that there will be gangsters or witches there too?"

Jack scoffed, "I bet you'll wish gangsters and witches were there instead by the end of it."

Jules tried to not let Jack's words shake her. Jonathan would be there. Although it was against the rules for him to give her the party details, she was confident that he wouldn't let her go if it was dangerous. Who or what could Jack be referring too?

And just like that, Jules unknowingly made the same mistake she made in her nightmare last night. She asked the wrong question. Later she would find out that the issue wasn't who was going to be at the party. Rather, it was a certain someone's absence that would spark a flame to Jules' awaiting hell.