Where It All Began

"Are you sure you don't want to eat in the cafeteria, Xander?" Mrs. Janssen glanced over her desk to Xander, who sat in his usual spot at the front of the classroom. "Not that I'm kicking you out or anything."

Xander quickly shook his head as he retrieved his lunch box. "No thanks. Maybe some other time."

Mrs. Janssen smiled. "Well, you're welcome to eat here anytime you want. I just don't want you to be lonely."

Lonely? This was possibly the least lonely Xander had ever felt. With Mrs. Janssen at his side, putting his mind at ease–

"I'm going to run to make a few copies," she said, rising from her desk, paper in hand. "It'll just take a few minutes. I trust that you're good being alone for a little while?"

Xander's stomach sank. "Of course!"

"Great. Okay." She crossed the room. "I'll leave the door locked from the outside, so not just anyone can come in."

Xander nodded.

Now he was alone. Although, with the door shut and locked, blocking away the rest of the school, in the luxury of Mrs. Janssen's classroom he felt safe and protected. And she said she would be back in a few minutes.

He sighed with relief. The day was shaping up to be not so bad after all. The nerves from earlier that morning had all but vanished, and without the distraction of his own anxiety, he realized he was starving. Apparently, the crash of raw terror helped work up a voracious appetite.

He checked to see what Abigail packed him. He had wanted to pack his own lunch, thinking that it might give him a small sense of control over his situation, but apparently Abigail didn't trust him enough and insisted that he just eat the lunches she made, lunches consisting of what she deemed "safety foods." Safety foods consisted of anything that was near impossible to choke on, stab himself with, or otherwise inflict pain or injury with. Xander didn't understand why she thought he would do so in the first place.

Opening his lunch box, the first thing that greeted him was a small piece of paper. In pink marker was written:

Have fun on your first day of school! I love you!!

    Love, Mommy XOXO

Xander smiled. Partially from the note, and partially out of relief that he was alone in the classroom. He appreciated the gesture, but it was better not to let anyone else know of his doting mother writing him lunchbox letters. He folded up the paper and stuffed it in his pocket.

He extracted the first item: apple sauce. Plain. Possibly the crown jewel of safety foods if there was one. Xander did not like apple sauce. The texture made him gag, so he wasn't sure why Abigail thought to pack it. Setting it aside, he reached in for the next food item, pulling out a thermos of cantaloupe, sliced into cubes. He dug around his lunch box for a fork, but only found a spoon. Digging around some more, he wondered if Abigail had purposefully left out a fork, intending him to eat sliced cantaloupe with a spoon. The second spoon he pulled out gave him his answer. It was a good thing he was eating alone in the classroom; not only did he want to avoid getting caught with a note from his Mommy, he would also not be caught dead balancing cubes of cantaloupe on a spoon.

Xander had a cube positioned in place on the spoon, when a frantic knock sounded at the door. He flinched, causing the cantaloupe to drop onto the table. He frowned at himself for flinching, then at the cantaloupe piece for falling. He looked to the door.

Through the little rectangular window, he spotted a pair of peeping eyes–not Mrs. Janssen. The eyes poked around before landing on Xander. He grew tense.