Bzz! Bzz! Bzz! I swiped my hand out expecting to make contact with that damn alarm clock. Even better, I made contact with Benny's face. I heard him crash to the floor in a huff. I opened my dreary eyes to find syrup and whipped cream coating the floor and Benny lying limply on the floor. Just as I was about to return to sleep, I saw Benny wipe frosting from his eyes and carefully regain his balance.

"So much for a birthday breakfast," he grumbled, picking pieces of waffle from my sheets.

"Don't be so upset," I reassured, pulling the covers over my head. " You gave me the best gift possible!"

I could feel his eagerly rising even hidden from his view. " Really? Jess, I'm so happy-"

"Yeah! A slap to your face will always brighten my day," I quickly cut off.

He fell silent, but with Benny that never lasts long.

"You're lucky it's your birthday," he mumbled before yanking the covers off me. I groaned at the sudden influx of light. "But you still have a seminar to attend." He disappeared into the bathroom while I huffed and sighed myself awake. He returned, pulling on his usual solid color shirt (this time blue) and his favorite Cubs cap. "And make it fast," he said with a motion of his hand. " You know Almedia doesn't accept tardiness, even on your birthday."

Benny disappeared out the door in the time it took for me to glance at the clock. 9:18?! I jumped from the bed wrestling on a hoodie, jeans, and slippers. I grabbed a banana from the kitchen and twirled my hair into the quickest mass of a caramel bun (mmm sugar) I could manage. Grabbing my keys and skateboard, I threw open the door just as the clock read 9:23. Precisely seven minutes to haul ass across campus to a Professor Almedia's chemistry lab. Someway to start your birthday huh? Just my luck, this day seems to be going by so fast.

It took me about 5 minutes to skate to the class which, let me tell you, is an achievement! Now, if only my legs could agree. I burst into Almedia's class during attendance. "Jessica!" He yelled as I scooted my way into the middle row. "Here!" I quickly responded, taking my seat.

He glanced up, noticed me, and sighed that "late as always" sigh. "Punctuality is important, Ms. Birke," he reminded.

"Sir, I'm on time," I answered, staring questioningly at his disapproving frown.

"Early is on time. And on time is late." He stated pointedly.

I guess I deserve this, just take it, Jess. "I understand, sir."

"Don't make promises you can't keep."

Let me tell you, a 9:30 am Chemistry class is NOT a good idea. Almedia's bland lecture about double bonding completely flew over my head as I drifted off. Just as I was about to get comfortable, I felt a rough kick from behind that threw me awake. The girl next to me, Abigail, snickered as I angrily glanced back. Benny frantically pointed forwards to where Almedia stood, arms crossed. "So glad you could join us, Jessica."

"Yes, sir!" I quickly responded. "I'm sorry, I missed the question."

"You also missed the lecture," he growled, leaving me red as a tomato as the auditorium got ready for the show. "I was looking for a volunteer and since you seem so involved in our discussion, maybe you'd like to give it a shot?"

"Of course," I groaned.

"What elements bond to form an alkaline?"

I blankly looked around, hoping some sign would magically appear with the answer. Behind me, I heard Benny whispering something inaudible. I kept staring Almedia down but tried to lean back as un obviously as possible to hear Benny.

"Two..." he continued saying it over and over, but with all the snickering and hushed voices, I couldn't make it out.

"Thank you for your assistance, Jessica." Almedia huffed. "You'll be deducted a letter grade on your next test."

"NO!" I screamed.

Almedia quickly turned, an eyebrow lifted in shock.

"I mean, I know the answer," I said slowly. Two, I thought. Two meaning the second element? "The element would be Helium, sir!" I answered proudly.

I heard Benny loudly slap his face, meaning I'd royally screwed up.

"It's always a pleasure to hear from you, Jessica." he sighed, continuing his lecture.

It seemed like no time had passed before Almedia yelled "class dismissed" and a stampede of students left the auditorium.

"Not you!" Almedia called from the stage, freezing me in my tracks as I was halfway out the door. And here comes the music.

I slumped down to the stage while Almedia stood waiting, arms fiercely crossed.

"Jessica, I know it's your birthday, but you need to get your head straight!" He began. Here we go. As if I haven't heard the same thing a thousand times. "I have 200 students! I cannot fight you every time you're late or fall asleep, but I don't want to see you fail." He gently sighed, walking to the other side of his desk. "So, you get a one time offer of helping me in my office tonight. You'll get those ten points back and hopefully learn something at the same time."

"Thank you, sir!" I kindly responded, running out of the door before he could change his mind.

Benny stood waiting outside the auditorium doors, clutching his laptop while scrolling through his phone. "What was that about?"

"Extra credit," I answered, with a roll of my eyes. "Looks like I'm filing paperwork for Almedia tonight!" A false grin grew across my face, which was met with Benny's "I'm sorry" face.

"Are you going to do it?" He asked questioningly.

"Of course! You really think I'm going to fail out of a class in my senior year?"

"Seriously? Knowing you, I thought you'd ditch it, especially tonight."

"What do you mean 'especially tonight'?"

"You of all people don't know?! Check your phone!" He exclaimed as he walked off to some familiar faces. I opened my half shattered S6 to find over 100 messages labeled 'Amanda's party'. I quickly sifted through everyone's OMGs and "lit"s to find the party was at her house, tonight at 7. Shit.

Now, I know what you're thinking; don't worry! Old Reliable Jessica has her priorities straight.

****************************************************************************************

"Jess, you can't be serious!" Benny called from his room.

"Quit whining, it's just one night!" I replied, pulling on my new dress. " How do I look?"

Benny opened the door, wearing only a disapproving smile. "Like you're making terrible life decisions."

"Perfect!" I clapped, gently rubbing cherry red lipstick across my mouth. "You need to be more adventurous!"

Benny returned, this time in jeans, a button-down shirt, and running shoes. "Well, what kind of friend would I be if I let you make terrible life choices by yourself?"

I stared in shock at his suddenly rebellious attitude. "What?!" he asked. "Someone has to make sure you don't do anything stupid!"

He quickly whisked me out the door and down the hall.

"So where's the party?" I questioned, staring blankly at the elevator door.

"Silver Ridge Dorms, Floor 4," Benny responded immediately, anxiously checking his phone.

"It's still working?" I teased as the elevator doors opened.

"Huh?" Benny cluelessly asked, hustling into the Common Room.

"Your phone. You've checked it three times in the last minute."

We strode out of the barren Common Room, waving goodbye to the lonely concierge.

"Oh! Yeah, of course. I'm just not used to this sort of thing."

He clicked it open once again, the screen empty except the clock which read 1:26.

"Tell me again why we are 5 hours late?" He sarcastically asked.

"Fashionably late," I corrected. "And by now, all of the lightweights should be gone. That's when the party starts."

"What the hell have I gotten myself into?" Benny muttered.

We continued past familiar buildings: the looming cafeteria, library, and gym.

"Well, this beats eating Doritos and drinking Mountain Dew while playing Overwatch, huh?" I teased, bumping his shoulder.

"That's a lie and you know it!" He challenged.

I simply shrugged, sending us both into a fit of laughter.

In the commotion, I hadn't realized the building we were nearing: the low, single roof rose in the distance. All its windows dark except one.

"Crap," I groaned. " I forgot Almedia's office is next door to Silver Ridge!"

I looked into the dark horizon at the dancing strobe light filling the top floor, bumping music echoing lowly in the background.

"Looks like he's burning the midnight oil," Benny joked, inching closer to his window.

I silently followed, snakeskin past the dark and closed windows until we came to Almedia's. "What do you think you're doing?!" I whispered as he slowly slid open the sill. " I need to be more adventurous right?"

He carefully climbed through, disappearing into Almedia's office.

"There's a fine line between adventurous and stupid!" I quietly poked.

I waited for Almedia's familiar voice, confused why one of his best students just climbed through his window at 1 am, but it was eerily silent: I couldn't even hear Benny anymore.

"Benny?" I whispered. No response.

As I stuck one leg through the window, Benny's face appeared in front of mine. In fright, I screamed throwing myself back. He practically fell out the window snickering and hollering while I sat tangled in the bushes, carefully pulling horns out of my once nice hair. Once he calmed down enough, he helped me through the window, still wheezing.

"Asshole," I grumbled, taking in the familiar office.

Benny slid the window shut, locked it, and dumbfounded,y stared at the empty office. I walked around the room, thinking of all the diabolical ways I could get revenge on Almedia's: the neatly organized shelves I could destroy, the Post-It Notes I could encrust the walls with, the possibilities were endless.

"I didn't think I'd get this far," Benny admitted, looking at Almedia's neatly stacked files. "What now?"

"Well-," I began turning to where Benny stood between the desk and the window.

I stopped myself as I saw two red horns peeking over the window ledge. "Benny, lock the window, now," I said steely, staring at those two horns.

"What?" He asked, bewildered.

"Lock the window now!" I commanded. He turned, seeing nothing but the bush and expansive campus. "Jess, what-"

"We need to hide!" I screamed frantically.

"Jess, calm down. We can just leave out the window."

"NO!" I screamed, stopping Benny in his tracks before he could unlock the latch. "Do not open that window."

"Jess," Benny said softly. " What's going on? You're really freaking me out."

"I- I'm not sure, but there were two horns outside! Please Benny, we just need to hide. It's like deja vu; I have a terrible feeling able this."

Suddenly a loud crash echoed down the hall, followed by the thumping of running footsteps. "Hide!" I hissed.

Benny and I ducked beneath Almedia's desk: the footsteps growing closer and closer until they were right outside the door.

Everything fell silent, only Benny and my soft breathing lowly echoing beneath the desk. Just as I thought It left, the door burst open with a swift and powerful kick. In surprise, I deeply inhaled, but it took every ounce of willpower and Benny's hand over my mouth to keep me from screaming. I looked over to see my best friend, arrogant and nerdy as he is, wearing a brand new emotion: petrified.

Before It could take one more step, I heard Almedia's deep voice call from down the hall, "What the-". Then movement: thump, thump. Followed by the crash of his favorite coffee mug. "Who are you?!" he asked, shock ringing in his voice. A mysterious click responded, followed by Almedia's final haunting words. "Is that a knife?!" All that came after was a short scream and the crash of Almedia's dying body hitting the floor.

The room fell silent once again. Now, my hand covered Benny's hand on my mouth; insurance in case I lose it. Now, I remember why I was terrified of those horns. It felt like a dream, but I remember dying by someone wearing a mask.

I felt Benny move as if he were going to come out from under the table. I gripped his leg. Don't be stupid! I seemed to say. At that moment, a horrendous scratching raked the desk directly above us. The killer's feet thumped, It's shadow bouncing in the slit of light beneath the desk. My breath rattled as I hugged Benny tight, terrified.

As I thought we were clear, Almedia's desk creaked. It raised high above the soft carpet to reveal the Devil's plastic grinning smile. Without another word, It threw the desk across the room, landing directly in front of the door, leaving only way clear exit: the window. I screamed as Benny grabbed me, throwing me towards the exit.

"RUN!" He yelled, before tackling the Devil, knocking the knife from his grasp.

I scooted backward on all fours, unable to think. I was so enveloped in delirium, I bumped into Almedia's corpse and kept moving without a second glance.

Benny and the Devil kept going in a ring: dodge, punch, dodge, kick until the Devil, accidentally or purposely, punched the hanging light. I bumped into one of Almedia's looming shelves and the cord snapped, and the light collapsed, plunging the room into a flickering madhouse. In the chaos, Benny found some sharp object, maybe a letter opener, and tried going one on one with the Devil. Run, my head told me, but my feet would not follow. Finally, I managed to get to my feet, but just as I stumbled towards the window, a loud thwack slammed the shelf next to me. I turned to find the Devil's knife embedded in the wood. It seemed as bought I was lucky in dodging the throw until a loud groan echoed through the office. I looked back again, to see the shelf leaning, before promoting pummeling me with books.

As a barrage of dictionaries and encyclopedias knocked me to the floor, I heard Benny's warning too late. "Jessica! Move, it's coming down!"

Before I could look to see what had happened, the large wooden large creaked again, bursting as the momentum of the fall I structure pulled nails from the wall and the case collapsed on top of me.

"AGHH!" I cried, the only sound I could make as I struggled in the dusty darkness. I couldn't see anything, not my legs behind me, but I could feel the bookcase crushing me. I tried to crawl away, towards the disappearing colorful lights that rarely appeared in the window, but everything below my waist erupted in pain. I collapsed in a heap face down on the floor until I noticed a standing figure in the dust. "Benny!" I desperately cried, as black dots appeared in my vision and the world began to spin.

The Devil stood in front of me, Benny struggling beneath his chokehold, his shirt ripped to shreds and soaked in blood. "Jess," he cried, tears streaming down his face. Before he could finish, the Devil flexed, snapping Benny's neck. "NO!" I cried, beating harder on the frame, but of course getting nowhere.

He discarded his limp body in front of me, letting watch Benny's final tears drain from his eyes as the killer inspected the mess I made. It bent next to me, inspecting my two broken legs, that horrific mask a few inches from my face. I quickly swept my hand out, snatched the knife from his pocket, and blindly slashed at the Devil.

It jumped back, howling in pain. I frantically pulled on the wood, breaking one of the many shelves crushing my legs. In front of me, in the flickering light and disappearing dust, the Killer angrily tore through the office, ripping books from their shelves. It's plain black shirt flapped as revealing a long cut across It's chest.

Just as I broke another board, the killer's shadow loomed over me. When I turned to see It's face, my head snapped to the side as It angrily smacked me with one of Almedia's dictionaries. Left, right, top, it slammed the book repeated into my head until I laid in a daze. I painfully glanced up once more to see the damage I'd done as the Killer loomed over me for its last swing. As he brought the book down, I noticed a mark on the Devil's chest, a tattoo of a bird with words next to it. The three lines of text were blocked by his shirt but I could still see the first letters of each: M, M, L. A ripple in his muscle told me what was coming next as I braced myself. The book heavily slammed into the back of my neck, sending a barrage of black spots in my vision. I could feel the blood running down the back of my head as I began to pass out. Over and over, I felt the book hitting my head in different spots, each time throwing my head to the side but growing increasingly less painful. One final time, I lifted my head to see the killer's shirt covered in my blood before he raised the book high over his head. Benny's eternally terrified eyes and Almedia's decapitated head the last things I'd see.