Kendra crept away from the crusty dining hall, her backpack a rock on her shoulders and her Holy Band Beanie situated snugly atop her head.\u00a0 The space was empty save for a few poles, a bannister, a water bottle-refilling station, and–<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Him.<\/em><\/p>\n <\/p>\n Atop the fountain sat the demonic octopus, its gaze fixated on Kendra.\u00a0 She pulled her Holy Band Beanie tighter over her ears and set her backpack aside, then clenched her fists.\u00a0 Without stretching first, she barreled toward the accursed thing with the most vicious battle cry known to mankind, a war chant dredged up from the countless minute spent cadencing with the band to football games.<\/p>\n “BUTTEEEEEER!!!”\u00a0 Her legs pumping, she shot toward the octopus, her arms outstretched, ready to destroy the thing–<\/p>\n <\/p>\n THWOMP.<\/em><\/p>\n <\/p>\n She crashed into something solid and human-shaped.\u00a0 It toppled backward but did not fall onto the floor, which just saved Kendra from faceplanting before a rando who had not been there a mere two seconds before.\u00a0 When her vision cleared, she realized she was staring at a figure clad in black form-fitting athletic wear from shoulder to toe.\u00a0 Diminutive and squirrely, the figure bounced up and down his feet to shake out his muscles, unperturbed by Kendra steamrolling into him, then flashed her a smile that eerily resembled that of the demon octopus.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n “Hello there,” boomed Franklin F. Franklin.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n “Franklin, wh–how–.”<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Franklin simply lifted an as-of-now unbruised finger upward.\u00a0 Kendra’s eyes followed him and found a missing ceiling tile beyond which the ventilation shafts loomed.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n “I’m a cymbal player.\u00a0 A little knee-bending doesn’t scare me.”\u00a0 Again, that smile.\u00a0 “I was hoping you’d figure it out sooner.\u00a0 You know, since I am the lord of reversible stuffed octopi.”<\/p>\n <\/p>\n “F-figure out what?”\u00a0 Kendra was dizzy; her head was spinning.\u00a0 Everything she’d been through in the past week was because of\u00a0Franklin?<\/em><\/p>\n <\/p>\n “I was trying to film an iMovie about sentient stuffed octopi, but you kept popping up in all my critical shots.\u00a0 Don’t worry; I’ll edit you out of them.”\u00a0 Noting Kendra’s incredulous expression, Franklin erased his smile.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n “It was on my bed!!!”<\/em><\/p>\n <\/p>\n I didn’t mean for that to happen!\u00a0 He just fell from my hand, bro!\u00a0 I am\u00a0<\/em>sorry about that one.\u00a0 It was completely unintentional.”\u00a0 As he talked, Franklin approached the apparently-not-demonic octopus and plucked it from the water bottle filler.\u00a0 “Anyway, I’m almost done filming.\u00a0 Just two more months to go!”\u00a0 He flashed Kendra a thumbs-up, bent his knees, and launched himself back into the building’s crawlspace.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Kendra shook.\u00a0 All of the running, all of the terror, and it had been–it wasn’t–.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n “Hey, Kendra!”<\/p>\n <\/p>\n She whirled around.\u00a0 The space was suddenly teeming with students, though she was certain no one had been there a moment before.\u00a0 Hilary waved at her with a smile that betrayed her ignorant bliss.\u00a0 “We gotta get to class, sis.\u00a0 Everything okay?”<\/p>\n <\/p>\n “Y-yeah,” Kendra stammered.\u00a0 She stooped down to pick up her backpack again.\u00a0\u00a0Franklin.\u00a0 Franklin was–.<\/em><\/p>\n <\/p>\n All of this for an\u00a0<\/em>iMovie?<\/p>\n <\/p>\n She pushed her terror away, squared her shoulders, and trudged beside Hilary into the snow.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n The End!\u00a0 For now………………..<\/em><\/p>\n <\/p>\n More things will happen next week!<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Kendra crept away from the crusty dining hall, her backpack a rock on her shoulders and her Holy Band Beanie situated snugly atop her head.\u00a0 The space was empty save for a few poles, a bannister, a water bottle-refilling station, and– Him. 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