# HNTBL 51: Learn From Others

By: TheDragonBoy

## Content

How Not To Become Lunch: 51 - Learn From Others

Ruby. Ruby, Ruby, Ruby. That was just about all that filled Jack’s mind that night, and through most of the morning. He kept his guard up once he was out of the house and once he’d arrived at school- he couldn’t afford not to, after all- but in those moments of idle thought between his survival-critical, practiced routines, his mind couldn’t help but return to the face of the girl who’d appeared at his door.

Homeroom passed in a haze, as did first period, and he couldn’t help but feel like luck was on his side for once- or at least was giving him a break. Not only did he have a date, but no predators had tried to claim him as their late breakfast (yet, anyway). In fact, it wasn’t until he was out in the halls again after his first class that something impactful enough happened to somewhat jog him from his excited daydreams.

He finally ran into Zach and Ozzy, and Ozzy was looking a bit… well, a bit like how Jack normally looked most days.

“You should try to calm down, worrying will only make you more distracted,” Zach was saying when they crossed paths with Jack.

“That’s not exactly helpful,” Ozzy replied. The sizable anxiety was clear in his voice, if not already in his tense body language, but Jack didn’t pick up on it right away.

“Hey guys,” Jack greeted with a smile.

“Oh, hi Jack,” replied Zach, in general good spirits.

“Hey,” came Ozzy’s curt, preoccupied response.

“…Is everything okay?” Jack asked.

“Just trying not to have a panic attack,” Ozzy half-joked.

“He’s worried about A.P.E.,” Zach explained. “Today will be his first one.”

“‘A.P.E.’…?” Jack repeated questioningly. The term did ring a bell, but he couldn’t quite recall.

“‘Advanced physical education’,” Zach clarified. “It’s a special double-length period for members of the advanced magic class, where once a week we practice the use of our spells in the school’s hunting grounds.”

“Practice against the advanced predator class!” Ozzy added rather importantly. “I have to spend two whole periods locked in the hunting grounds with the best preds in our grade!”

“Oh,” came Jack’s reaction, quickly realizing the gravity of the situation.

“Yeah, exactly. I’ll probably be in a belly before lunch.” He put a hand to his face, clearly feeling the stress, and probably imagining all the ways things could go wrong. “…Ugh, maybe I should just get it over with now and save myself the trauma,” he muttered with depressed sarcasm. “You think if I asked Fiona, she’d make it gentle?”

Jack’s expression shifted suddenly.

“Ozzy!” Zach objected, too busy being startled by those words to notice the change.

“It’s okay, it was just a joke,” Ozzy clarified for his socially-challenged companion.

“It was not funny!”

But Jack hardly really heard any of that exchange, as darker thoughts and memories cast shadows over his mind. He hadn’t really thought about Fiona all day; hadn’t seen her either. She was probably avoiding him, not that he could blame her after yesterday.

“It wasn’t supposed to be funny. Not really.”

“Ozzy, just remember that I’ll be in there with you the whole time. You won’t have to face those preds alone. I’ve done this a few times now; I can help protect you. Just don’t give up, especially not before it even starts!”

“I’m not giving up!”

“You promise?”

“Yes, I promise.”

Jack just caught the last few words as his mind started to drift back to the here and now. Funny, his thoughts of Fiona still weighed heavily on him, but today they just felt… just a touch lighter. Just light enough that he could allow them to slip back somewhat out of view.

“You should be okay as long as you stick together, right Zach?” Jack encouraged.

“Yeah. Very few kids actually get caught during A.P.E., actually.”

“Really?” Ozzy asked hopefully.

“Yes,” Zach replied. “True, it’s usually first-timers, but that’s because they’re usually alone and inexperienced, you’ll only be one of those things.”

“…Thanks, that helps a lot,” Ozzy replied sarcastically.

“Why don’t you stop by the bathroom; splash some water on your face?” Jack suggested. “That usually helps snap me out of it a little when I’m worried about preds.”

“Yeah, sure. Worth a shot,” Ozzy agreed.

And so they started to walk together. And as they left the conversation behind, and Jack fell into the familiar task of trekking through the halls and eyeing passing predators, he found it was thoughts of Ruby that wandered into his mind to fill the little idle spaces.

It didn’t take them long to reach the nearest boys’ room. Ozzy offered that they “could wait outside,” hinting that he might like a moment of privacy. So Jack held Zach back and let the fraying boy enter alone. They’d be there to watch from the outside and warn if any preds were coming in, at least.

That’s when Jack’s mind began to idle in earnest. He couldn’t help but imagine how his date with Ruby might go, two days from now. Two days. It seemed just around the corner, yet such a long time to wait. What would it be like? What would she be like? He bet she’d be sweet and shy, probably dressed up in that red gown of hers again. She’d said she liked how pretty she looked in it, and he found it quite easy to agree. And they’d talk about things. About the meeting they would have just come from, probably. About how lucky they both were to be alive. And how lucky they were to have found- erm- met, each other.

“H-HELP!”

The cry came, muffled but unmistakable, through the bathroom door. Both Jack and Zach jolted to attention, looked at one another, and then turned to burst through into the boys’ room, wands drawn at the ready.

*slam*

The pair quickly scanned the long, narrow space; mirrors and sinks lining one wall, with urinals and stalls filling the other. At first glance the place seemed empty and still, say for one nearly-inconspicuous stall door, still swinging after a recent push. Zach noticed it first, running over with Jack just a few steps behind.

“*gasp* Ozzy!!” Zach exclaimed, training his wand. “Tirar!”

Jack got a view into the mostly-open stall just as Zach cast his spell. He saw the turned back of another kid, a tiger boy judging by the bright, characteristic fur visible past the edges of his clothes. He suddenly got a much closer look as the pred was suddenly yanked off his feet and sent flying out of the stall in their direction, under the power of Zach’s magic.

Both mages quickly stepped aside, and the neko landed on his back between them with a heavy thud. And sticking up from between his jaws, legs flailing wildly, was the exposed half of Ozzy’s body, the rest being wrapped tightly in the hungry feline’s gullet.

Jack instinctively felt the urge to help, but faltered for a moment as he realized he wasn’t quite sure what to do. He had fought off his fair share of prowling preds, but when it came to getting someone else out of a pred mid-meal, well, he was always the meal, he didn’t really have any practice saving other people!

Luckily, the skillful Zach did have a bit of practice.

“Clungen nadir!” he cast, just as the tiger was starting to rise, and the neko’s body thumped back to the floor, where it stayed. Then came instruction: “Pull him out!”

“R-Right!” Understanding that the pred was trapped, Jack stepped close and did his best to grab hold of his friend’s legs. “Ozzy! Qu-quit moving so much! I’m trying to save you!” Jack complained as he struggled to get a hold on the flailing limbs. Not that he really thought his words would do much good, it’s not like he ever stopped struggling on his way to a belly just because someone asked. After a few awkward moments, though, he did manage to wrap his arms around Ozzy’s lower half and secure a firm grip, and as soon as he did, he pulled with all his strength.

Jack could feel the ravenous, eager grasp pulling at his friend’s body, but with position in his favor, he could also feel Ozzy slowly begin to slip back out from the fleshy void. And then suddenly the defeated throat released and Jack tumbled back, with Ozzy still in his grip, sending them both into a heap on the floor.

“Get up!” Zach urged.

Jack tried, but Ozzy had landed on top of him, and the other boy didn’t seem to be responding all that readily. He ended up pushing his traumatized friend off before hauling the saliva-soaked student back to his feet and lugging both of them toward the door.

Ozzy began to get his footing again as they neared the hallway, and Jack motioned for Zach to follow, which he did, breaking off his spell, rushing over, grabbing Ozzy’s other arm and finally getting all three of them out to safety. Well, relative safety at least. They didn’t actually stop until they had booked it down the hall and rounded a corner; only then did they pause to catch their collective breath.

“*pant* oh… *pant* oh man… *pant*” came Ozzy’s particularly shaky voice. “I almost got eaten. Like, really almost! I- ohhhhh, I don’t feel so good.”

“Just hang on a sec, it starts to get better,” Jack encouraged. “Deep breaths.”

“I don’t think he’s following us,” Zach announced.

“Good,” Ozzy exhaled. “…Wow, I owe you guys.”

“Trust me, I don’t even think we’re even yet,” Jack replied.

“We’re friends, you don’t have to owe me anything,” came Zach’s reply next.

“You should try to get cleaned up before class,” Jack advised, speaking from experience. “But maybe we’ll try a different bathroom.”

“And maybe you guys could stick a bit closer this time,” Ozzy added, clearly regretting having asked them to wait outside.

“Staying close together is usually safer. You should definitely remember that when we get into A.P.E.”

“OH MAN!” Ozzy suddenly exclaimed.

“What!?” asked Jack.

“I almost got nommed by just some random pred in a bathroom! How am I supposed to compete with advanced preds!? Ohhhhh!”

Originally Published: 8-Mar-2022