just thought i'd share that i got my tongue pierced. 10/10 recommend, but i currently don't like the healing process. but it's worth it. wasn't painful getting it pierced 🙂

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Maybe graduating was a difficult thing. You finally become an "adult" and now you have more responsibilities than your lower class men. Now it's necessary to have a job if you are the one paying for your college tuition, or just needing one to live alone.

Those were the things that had been stuck in Benny's mind for the last few months. Growing. A thing she truly feared was growing up. Graduating college, finding a man or woman and having a family then dying like your life was meaningless. Because to her, it was.

She never grasped the concept of life. Why everyone cared about it so much, but so little at the same time. The people of Earth only cared about themselves and wanted to thrive, but they never cared about how the creatures and wildlife around them would survive.

Life sickened Benny, yet she loved it all the same. The feeling of wind in her face as she stood up in Gwen's car through the sun roof, pretending she was in a coming-of-age teen movie. Swimming in any body of water she could find, hoping it wouldn't kill her. The occasional playing pretend with her best friend because they wanted to feel like kids again.

Life made Benny who she was.

But maybe that's exactly why it would kill her. Just like it killed everyone.

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Benny swung back and forth in the old tire swing in front of her house. Now it had passed to Wednesday. Her brother had been decent enough to not cause a fight, but he hadn't been nice enough to stop snorting everything he saw.

Two days. Two days from now, and she's be a high school graduate. Tonight, Gwen and Benny were going to join many of her classmates in pranking the school. She had her entire plan laid out in her journal, a smile on her face when the headlights of her friends car blinded her.

"Let's go!" Gwen yelled from inside her car, forcing herself to not honk the wheel as Benny grabbed her tote, running to the car.

"So! What did ya get?" Gwen asked, clasping her hands together in excitement.

"It's not the best idea... But I have 2000 printed copies of our principals face and I'm going to stick it everywhere." Benny smiled as Gwen laughed.

"And the bathrooms?" She raised a brow as Benny scoffed, nodding.

"I said everywhere, didn't I?"

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Benny and Gwen pulled up to their high school, several other cars in their designated spots as Seniors started creeping into the school. Benny and Gwen had to be thankful for Lenora. She was the only senior that had access to the school at all times.

"Maybe we should thank her for sleeping with Mr. Leighton." Gwen joked as Benny slapped her friends arm. Gwen clutched her arm, slowly looking at Benny. "Oow."

"You're dramatic." Benny grabbed her tots and jumped out of the car, Gwen huffing before following after.

A few kids were wearing masks of different kinds, some ended up looking like burglars. "Benny!" Gwen whisper-yelled, throwing her friend a face mask and a black beanie

"The hell do I need this for?" She frowned, putting it on. She put her hair into a ponytail, stretching the beanie to fit her head.

"Security cameras!" Gwen pointed to a corner, Benny noticing a blinking red light, and her eyes widened.

"Okay... Let's make this quick." Benny pulled out a large handful of papers from her tote and a staple gun, handing them to Gwen. "I'll do one side, you do the other. I'll meet you back here in uh... 2... 3 hours?" Gwen nodded as the two separated quickly, Benny starting to put as many photos of her principal on the wall as she could.

After a while, Benny had finally gotten towards the bathrooms, rummaging through her bag before she entered.

"Tape... Tape.. Dammit where's I leave the tape?!" Benny looked around in confusion, hoping she hadn't dropped it anywhere.

"This yours?" The strawberry blonde spun around, seeing a masked boy holding out a roll of tape. She laughed softly, nodding.

"Uh.. yeah. Thanks." She laughed, the two staying in an odd silence for a moment. "Weird question.. Do you maybe want to help me tape pictures of our principal to the wall?" Benny pulled out a black and white photo of. Mr. Leighton, and the boy laughed quietly, nodding.

"Sure. I just finished up mine anyways." Benny handed him a stack of pictures as she frowned.

"What was your prank?" She asked, taping pictures on the stalls as the boy stapled some to the wall.

"Have you ever seen Carrie?" The boy asked as Benny nodded.

"Who hasn't? There's like... A thousand adaptations of the book. Which, by the way, is a masterpiece." Benny turned to the boy as he laughed.

"Yeah. It is. Anyways, my least favorite teachers got 'This teacher eats shit' written on their whiteboard. And I made sure to buy the markers that leave a stain." Benny laughed and called her hands.

"Well, bravo to you. I would have done that... But I don't want something like that in my permanent record." The boy waved her off as he stapled another picture to the wall.

"Doesn't matter. I got accepted into Regent University a few days ago." Benny stopped for a moment and turned to the boy.

"You got accepted there too?" She asked as the boy turned towards her.

"Wait... you got accepted there?"

"Yeah! Like two months ago." Benny laughed as the two high fives one another. "Guess we're stuck with each other for a while, then." She smiled under the mask as the boy looked down at her and nodded.

"Yeah.. I guess s—"

"Security! Everyone out!" The boy and Benny's eyes widened as the two ran into the large stall, Benny jumping up onto the top of the toilet as the boy did, the two facing one another as a light shone into the bathroom.

"Sh." The boy out a finger to his lips as Benny had made a fearful noise, her heart pounding outside of her chest. Benny wobbled for a moment, the boy grabbing her arms to hold her steady as she covered her mouth over her mask, eyes glued shut as she listened to the security guards footsteps.

"Huh... Nice pictures." The security guard spoke, startling Benny again. There was another moment of silence before the footsteps faded out, and the two relaxed.

"Holy shit." The boy whispered as he looked at Benny. "You okay?" He asked, watching her nod slowly.

"Mhm. I'm alright. You?" She jumped down from the toilet as he stood up, nodding with a shrug.

"I think I've been better. Let's get going before he comes back." Benny whipped out her phone, texting Gwen to get back to their meeting spot as the two ran out of the bathroom.

The pair finally met up with Gwen, who appeared to have a scared look. "What's wrong?" Benny asked as Gwen started rambling about the security guard almost catching her, stopping for moments just to breathe.

"Hey! It's okay. Let's just get out of here before he finds us." Gwen and Benny started to leave as the boy stayed behind, Benny turning to face him.

"You coming?" Benny asked as he shook his head.

"My friend hasn't answered my texts yet. But I'll see you guys tomorrow!" Gwen pulled Benny away and ran her outside to her car.

It was only after a few minutes that Benny and the boy had finally realized something.

They were so dressed up in the darkness that they couldn't recognize each other. And Benny didn't recognize his voice.

She didn't know who she talked to.