[i]Intimidating,[/i] Cecil thought in reaction to Val's admittance. [i]I guess I can see how.[/i] Introversion, coupled with a tendency to grimace, and bursts of anger would not do well to make a tall man like himself seem approachable. Though he had managed to make a better impression so far, apparently.

	He looked at the jacket's sleeves, abundantly too long on the girl's smaller frame. [i]That's what I was supposed to do, right?[/i] He couldn't help but feel that Val might only be humouring him, biting back ridicule only for the fact that they were alone together in a dark room. He hated his paranoia, and the lack of confidence in his own character. He thought he had been getting better, overcoming his social vulnerabilities, but every time he was challenged he found himself still lacking. He had never found the key to building human connections, not the way so many other people did.

	 "This office gives me the creeps," Val said, finishing the statement that snapped Cecil out of his thoughts. She moved into the hall and waved a hand, and he followed her out, tilting the light on his forehead to light up the floor instead of blinding any who might look at him. "I hate this not knowing. This freak eclipse - or whatever they're guessing it is - I mean, why here? Why now? It's so bizarre. It makes me wonder whether any of this was planned by some government or some divine force, or aliens, or...or maybe I'm just reading too deeply into this. I guess the dark just makes me philosophical."

	At the end of it all, Val let out a laugh; a pleasant sound, like a cozy fire on a windy winter night."Sorry, sorry; ignore me. I have a tendency to overthink things. Perks of being into maths, I guess. What's your subject speciality? Somehow, you don't strike me as a science geek..."

	"I, uh, changed a lightbulb last weekend...that's science, right?" Cecil answered as they moved further down the campus' main corridor, toward the cafeteria. "I dunno. I'm not big into school. I'm already twenty and I'm still finishing twelfth grade. They say I don't apply myself, but I don't see the point. I just want to get my diploma and go."

	Cecil noticed a glow, then, a faint blue spot further down the wide hall. He figured it was around the same spot as the entrance to the caf. [i]Bingo. We'll get our keys from these kids and we'll be on our way.[/i]

	He said as much to Val, and then continued. "Anyway, I don't mind shop class. But I really like running, and climbing. Track and field, that sort of thing. I've never competed but I always look forward to phys-ed." When he said the words, he really felt the weight of his underachievement. [i]I really haven't done anything, yet...[/i]

	They were closing the distance on the cafeteria doors when laughter rang out from beyond. Harsh, ridiculing laughter. Then a bang and crackle as something broke, something hard and heavy. Cecil rolled his eyes. [i]Fucking kids.[/i] Then, something else touched his senses. A scent, a familiar sickly-sweet aroma. 

	Together, the pair rounded the corner into the cafeteria. The scent was more intense, and the light from Cecil's lamp was filled with drifting clouds of white smoke. The room was as dark as any, large windows revealing a featureless black sky. Dozens of long tables filled its length, and a series of bars blocked the window that led to the kitchen. The rafters ran across the ceiling twenty feet above them, barely visible in the ambient light cast by seven glowing smartphones.

	"Who the fuck is that?"

	Cecil was not sure which of the shadowy silhouettes spoke, but he knew the owner of the voice. Cameron was arguably the most well-known student in the school, probably due to the fact that he spent several months in prison and was a known thief and ringleader of many violently-prone individuals. He struggled in all of his classes, and, like Cecil, was three years behind. They had known each other in middle school, acquaintances if not friends, but that was before street reality forced them to change. And for Cameron, the change was not a positive one.

	The silhouettes started advancing on them then, some spewing threatening noises and warning them to leave. Cecil only waited until a phone was shoved in his face, and his own lamp revealed Cameron's dark-featured face.

	"Oh, it's just Cec!" Cameron laughed, and the others turned on their heels, stalking away with disappointment heavy on their shoulders. "What's up, Cec? Wanna smoke up with us?"

	Cecil shook his head and waved away the small roll Cameron offered. "I'm good."

	"The fuck is wrong with you, man?" Cameron shoved the joint back into his pocket.

	"The keys were gone and I came to get them back," Cecil said, cutting the topic short. "We're gonna try and get the lights back on."

	Cameron laughed again. "Why would you do that? We got the run of the school right now. Come on, chill with us and eat all the food you want. I'm sure as fuck not going outside, so we better take control of the rations, yeah?"

	Cecil's heart skipped a beat. [i]Control the rations?[/i] He had never considered a long-term solution. If this was some kind of terrorist attack, they could be trapped inside for days. And if Cameron had all the food...

	"Oh, don't worry, man. We'll share. As long as they suck our cocks!" The rest of the hyenas laughed alongside Cameron. "Yeah, maybe you can cook for us, yeah? We want some fucking chicken nuggets. Just got into the kitchen before you came in." Cameron pointed over his shoulder, and Cecil was suddenly aware of a large hole smashed through the dividing wall between the caf and kitchen, a sledgehammer leaning nearby that was probably once stored in the custodian's office.

	Cecil knew that, in that moment, rash action would not help but to escalate things. He had to think. "Well, if we stayed here, we could definitely control all of the food..." He stopped, turning back to Val, the girl whose kindness he had appreciated so much in the moments before then. "And that's definitely not going to work." He kept his eyes on his companion, seeking input, a solution he didn't have. He felt the hostility mounting behind him, challenging eyes burning into the back of his head. [i]What do we do now?[/i]