Back in the monster world, Sebastian read a couple of books he checked out from the library. He plopped himself down in the middle of the hallway and on the aqua green floor, surrounding himself in a section where the wall was a pale shade of white.

He had remembered spending most of the night trying to figure out if there was a sure-fire way to know who the culprit was and what were their motives. So far, he seemed to have no such luck. But Sebastian didn’t want to give up and let poor Glenda down. He had to keep on going for her sake.

Just as he opened another one of the books, a familiar voice spoke up and jolted him from his concentration. Sebastian turned to find Troy walking over towards him, seeming to have heard him mumble to himself.

“Hey there, uh, what are you doing?” Troy asked.

“Reading, of course, what does it look like?” Sebastian replied, turning back to the book on his lap.

“But in the middle of the hallway, why?” Troy continued to pester him; his curiosity just wouldn’t let up.

“Look, I got nowhere to—” Sebastian started, when the bells rang loud again, causing him to jump. “Oh, goodness, I didn’t realize the time! I got to hurry!” He sprung up from his feet, picked up his books, and sprinted down the halls.

“Hey, wait!” Troy called out to him.

“My apologies, Troy, but I don’t have time to chat right now!” He shouted without looking back. The last thing Sebastian needed right now was to get a tardy for class.

.-.-.-.

To his relief, Sebastian had made it just in time, and well before the bell rang for the second time. He breathed a sigh of relief as he went over to his seat, his perfect attendance secured, and Benjamin and Lauren won’t make fun of him either.

Glenda had walked into the room; after some greetings, she went over to do the daily attendance. Roll call went on as usual, at first. Glenda called Bridget and Lauren’s names, and they responded the same way as last time. However, when she came to Sebastian, he didn’t respond. Sebastian had trouble straightening himself out. He got so tired and busy from yesterday that he couldn’t concentrate on anything she said.

Remembering how he didn’t get a lot of sleep last night, his eyes drifted elsewhere. His eyes drooped as he plummeted into a deep slumber. As Glenda called for him once more, Lauren nudged him on the shoulder to get him to wake up.

Sebastian jolted over from his seat and shouted: “I AM A PRESENT!”

Glenda stared at him for a while before saying: “Uh, ok then?”

Sebastian placed his head down on the table and sulked quietly to himself.

Oh man, I can’t believe I just did that, and in front of everybody, no less. I’d rather have been late for class...

Before saying the last name, Glenda looked over and couldn’t help but take a glance at Benjamin’s desk. It appeared to be dusty; no one seemed to have noticed about the dead silence without his loud demeanor, energy, and somewhat a lousy attitude.

Glenda bit her lip as her eyes darted across the room. Was there already an absent student? They were just about to get into the real meat of the program, too. Should she wait for him to arrive before continuing the next lesson? She remembered the principal telling her that all the students should succeed no matter what, and if he were to fall behind- no, she can’t take that risk, it wouldn’t be worth it. But where had Benjamin gone?

Now that she also thought of it, he did also arrive late yesterday too, so maybe he’ll show up at any time soon? But how much longer until he showed up? Then, she thought up an idea to pass up the time.

“We will be postponing our lessons until further notice (or until Benjamin finally shows up).”

“What?!” The other students complained.

“No complaining. You guys do whatever you want until I get back from something, just as long as it isn’t stupid or harmful. I’ll be right back...” Glenda finished as she got up and left the area, leaving the students inside.

“Uh, what just happened?” Sebastian asked with a yawn.

He raised his head, rubbed his eyes, and looked around, noticing that the teacher was now nowhere in sight.

“Yeah, what was that all about?” Bridget added, “I just hope it’s not something too terrible...”

“Eh, who cares?” Lauren shrugged.

Well, I, at least, can finally nap without consequences. Sebastian sighed with content, as he placed his head on top of the desk and closed his eyes.