# HNTBL 19: Don’t Cheat

By: TheDragonBoy

## Content

How Not To Become Lunch: 19 - Don’t Cheat

Sarabeth walked into the classroom, wearing her customary, straight-faced expression, but with a wicked smirk hiding within. She had her little pawn tucked away- in her pocket, of course, not in her belly- and she’d given him a good enough bite that he’d remain miniature for the next few hours, as opposed to the usual few minutes.

The vampire casually glanced over the array of desks, and her eyes settled on the spot where Jack would be sitting. He had yet to arrive- probably still chatting with Fiona- but the seat next to his was occupied. A human girl sat there, one Sarabeth only vaguely recognized.

A boy used to sit there, she recalled, but Fiona made a meal out of him, didn’t she? This one must be new, then.

Sarabeth took a small detour along the row of desks. The human saw her coming and froze up, a jolt of terror running visibly through her.

“Don’t be alarmed, girl,” she said quietly, doing her best to sound comforting (she didn’t). “I have no intention of eating you. You’re new, yes?”

“Uh-huh,” the girl nodded nervously.

“Ah, as I thought. Welcome, then, and good luck to you,” she flashed the least intimidating smile she could manage and then started to turn away, but stopped as if she had just remembered something, “Oh, but a word of warning, perhaps. There was another human assigned that desk before you, but the teacher caught him helping the adjacent boy with a test.” She gestured to Jack’s empty seat. “The poor helpful lad got detention and, well, never made it back.”

“Oh…” the girl pondered sadly. “Well, I definitely won’t help anyone cheat. Thank you.”

“You’re welcome,” Sarabeth replied, refreshed by the politeness, even as she was engrossed in her scheme. “But I would be careful all the same. This boy here seems a bit desperate to me. He might try to steal a peek rather than ask for one, and I’d hate to see a courteous young lady such as yourself end up like our previous schoolmate.”

“Oh-” she said more sharply, now getting her point. “Yes, I’ll be careful. Thank you- um-”

“Sarabeth,” the vampire smiled.

“Thanks, Sarabeth,” the girl smiled back, considerably less nervous, but now a bit more on her guard.

“You’re welcome,” the vampire replied again, and then she turned and walked off to take her seat.

…

The classroom was silent, say for the quiet scraping of pencil against paper, and the ever-present ticking of the clock. Ms. Hali, the math teacher, watched over the class from her desk with her piercing, vampiric gaze. Above desk-level was a sea of faces, every pair of eyes glued firmly to their tests; and below desk-level was a forest of legs, many of which fidgeted and twitched nervously.

Buried inconspicuously in the midst of it all, Sarabeth reached a hand silently into her pocket, and felt the warmth of the shrunken boy against her fingers. Up until that moment he hadn’t moved an inch, just like a good little pawn. She didn’t speak a word- for if she had her teacher would surely have heard- but she didn’t need to. Billy grabbed onto her finger as the vampire stealthily extracted him. She’d already explained the boy’s task to him; he knew what he needed to do.

The minute sound of Billy climbing down her dress was lost amidst the chorus of pencils, and as he reached the floor and started moving subtly up through the array of desks, his little form was obscured in the forest of shifting limbs and chair legs. And besides his attempt at stealth, all the students were far too focused on their tests to notice anyway.

And that included Jack. He sat at his own desk, diligently studying his equations and carefully calculating the answers. He never worried about a predator attack during a test. With everyone so quiet and the teacher watching, there was no way a pred would make it to him, let alone swallow him. And besides, the preds had their own grades to worry about.

But most preds weren’t as determined or conniving as Sarabeth.

An unexpected discomfort broke Jack’s concentration; something in his left eye. He ignored it, but it came again. Instinctively, he glanced to his left. He caught a glimpse of the girl sitting next to him, working on her test, and he quickly looked back to his own.

He redoubled his focus, but the discomfort came again; sudden and piercing, like a tiny light shining right at him. Jack glanced again to his left, and this time just as he looked away, he thought he saw a tiny glint from somewhere near the ground. That confused him a bit, but he had more important things to worry about.

Unfortunately, the little glint seemed to disagree. Jack blinked again, quite annoyed now as the familiar light struck him. He looked for a third time, closer to the ground, and what he saw was a total surprise. It looked like a tiny boy, only a couple inches tall. He stood on the floor underneath the adjacent desk, holding what looked like a tiny piece of mirror. Jack stared for a couple seconds, before a sudden movement from the girl at the desk caught his attention.

It was the girl’s hand, shooting quickly into the air.

“Yes?” came Ms. Hali’s voice.

“This boy next to me keeps looking at my test, I think he’s trying to cheat off me,” she reported firmly.

Jack felt a pit form in his chest, and it deepened as he realized how credible her accusation seemed, given he was still looking in her direction. He quickly turned away to look at the teacher, but her intense gaze was already on him.

“N-no! I wasn’t!” Jack muttered, startled and intimidated.

Her gaze remained cross and incredulous.

“There- there was this tiny boy on the floor,” he told her honestly.

A few small laughs popped up from around the class. He felt embarrassment hit him hard, realizing that sounded a lot like an excuse, and a really desperate one at that.

“No, really, he was right ther-” Jack turned to point underneath the girl’s desk, but when he looked back the tiny boy was nowhere to be seen.

The laughter grew considerably louder as more students joined in.

“What exactly do you take me for, boy?” his teacher asked.

“I- uh- nothing, Ms. Hali. Really, I thought I saw something.”

At this the spark of laughter finally caught and the whole room burst out loud enough to drown out normal conversation. The teacher turned her attention toward silencing her class, giving Jack a moment of reprieve, but leaving him with a growing apprehension.

During all this, no one at all noticed little Billy scampering back up Sarabeth’s dress and into her palm. And no one, not even Billy, noticed Sarabeth begin to feign a yawn. Billy only noticed when the hand holding him suddenly rushed up to cover her gaping mouth, tossing him inside in the process.

*gulp*

It was a quiet, dainty little sound, though a bit louder than usual for her given her haste. An unexpected rush of exhilaration and pleasure swept through her as she swallowed, one which took all her strength to conceal. She fought back the spinetingling bliss throughout his entire trip down her throat, right up until he finally settled in her waiting belly.

“No! Sarabeth, no! You promised! We had a deal!”

But no one except the vampire herself could hear him from within her depths.

Oh, but I never actually did, did I? she thought to herself. You were the only one who made any promises. And a delicacy such as yourself- a newly marked prey- would be a terrible treat to waste.

She almost considered saying those words to him, as the heady afterglow of his taste fluttered about. But he was only her meal now, and she had more self-respect than to converse with her food.

“SARABETH!!” came a scream. But even as the laughter in the classroom began to quiet down, no one but the vampire herself could hear. Still, it would be wiser not to take the chance. She contracted her abdomen sharply. It sent a jolt of pleasure through her, which she disguised with a faintly shaky breath.

*gurgle* was the only further sound which escaped her guts.

“Jack,” came Ms. Hali’s firm voice. “That’s a detention for you. This afternoon. If I catch you trying to cheat again it will be something far worse.”

Jack was speechless for a moment as he worked to clear the lump in his throat. “Yes, Ms. Hali,” he finally managed.

“Good, now everyone return to your tests.”

Sarabeth showed just the faintest of smirks, as she looked back down at her desk to continue her work.

…

Jack was amongst the first students to pour out of the classroom, anxiety painted across his face. But he didn’t go far. He lingered a safe distance from the door, frantically fidgeting as he waited for Fiona to show up. Sarabeth watched inconspicuously from inside the room as she slowly tidied up her desk. Neither had to wait long before the werewolf arrived.

“Hey, Jack,” she called with a big, cheery smile.

Jack turned quickly toward her voice, and her smile faded when she saw his face.

“What’s wrong?” she asked worriedly.

“I got detention,” Jack told her with stark dread.

“You got detention!?” Fiona exclaimed. Her ears fell flat, and her tail began twitching nervously back and forth as she put a hand to her head. “Oh no. No, no- Jack this is not good! What did you do!?”

“Nothing! The teacher thought I was cheating on my test.”

“You were cheating on your test!?”

“No!”

“Then why do you have detention!?”

“Because she thought I was!”

“Oh, no. Jack, do you know who runs detention?!”

“I’ve heard enough about her…” Jack replied grimly. “What am I gonna do!? I’m- I’m as good as-”

“No!” Fiona interrupted. “No, don’t you dare say that. I… I just have to get detention too! That’s it! If I get detention I can come protect you!”

“But I thought even predators-”

“It doesn’t matter, I’m not letting you do this alone,” she insisted.

“But… but there’s only one period left in school. What are you going to do?” Jack asked.

“That’s plenty of time,” she declared, “I’ll just…” She trailed off and thought hard, pacing back and forth. Then her face suddenly lit up with an idea. “I’ve got it! Wait here, I won’t be long.”

Fiona hurriedly turned and took off down the hall, sprinting on all fours. Jack watched her go, startled, but a bit more hopeful than he’d been before.

Students continued to pour out of the classroom in diminishing numbers. Sarabeth continued to linger, drinking in the sight of her victory. Jack continued to stare at the corner where Fiona had disappeared, anxiously awaiting her return as minutes crept by like hours. All he could think about was detention, and how it could easily mean the end of-

*NOM*

Sarabeth perked up with surprise. Suddenly, the head of a large naga sprang into view of the open doorway and enveloped Jack’s entire head in a moment. Naturally the boy started to struggle, but the naga grabbed his wrists solidly with her own hands and held him still as she began to swallow. Tail included, the predator was easily twice his size, he clearly stood no chance.

Sarabeth continued to watch with satisfaction. Sure, her plan had been to get rid of Jack in detention, but if just the mere threat of detention was enough to destroy his guard and get him eaten anyway, that worked just as well. The vampire finished cleaning up and sauntered toward the door as if nothing out of the ordinary were happening.

By the time she walked in front of the naga on her way out- greedily consuming her meal with an enormous, blissful smile- only the lower bits of Jack’s legs were still visible. The vampire turned and started down the hall, eyeing the long serpentine body inconspicuously as she passed it by; it would fit the boy nicely.

Goodbye, J-

“Jack!!” Fiona barked as she rounded the corner. Her fur was messy and uneven, her clothes were wrinkled and slightly out of place. She had definitely been through something in the last few minutes, but it wasn’t clear exactly what. And of course at the moment it was far from important, not as her wide eyes spotted Jack’s shoes slipping over the brink of another predator’s throat.

“Oh no you don’t!!” Fiona snarled, dashing down the hall on all fours, even faster than when she had left.

The naga only just looked up before she saw the angry werewolf crash straight into her. Fiona knocked the predator ten feet down the hall, and wrapped her arms tightly around the scaly form, just below the squirming bulge that was her friend.

But this naga was large, quite large for her age. Fiona could feel the peristaltic forces pushing tightly against Jack’s body, attempting to force him deeper inside, and it was almost all she could do just to block his path with her arms and keep him from getting any closer to the eagerly waiting stomach.

And now the serpentine predator was starting to recover from the blow. Fiona felt the scaly girl begin to struggle and along with that felt a small stab of panic, that is until she saw-

“Sarabeth!” Fiona called, spotting her friend walking down the hall.

The vampire stopped, apprehension gripping her as she heard the werewolf’s familiar voice call out her name. She took a quick breath to recompose herself before turning around to face her.

“Sarabeth! Help! She’s eating Jack!”

Of all the cruel ironies! Sarabeth cursed silently. She’d hoped desperately to reach the corner before Fiona noticed her, but she hadn’t managed it. Now the girl was pleading for her help; something she normally would have longed for- she would have gladly helped Fiona with anything. But in a twist of fate, that ‘anything’ of course had to be saving Jack’s miserable life from the literal jaws of her victory.

“Sarabeth! Come on, I need your help!”

The vampire couldn’t resist her desperate call. With an unhappy scowl, she ran up behind the now thrashing naga and wrapped her arms around the scaly belly, right above Fiona’s- touching them even. And then Sarabeth pulled back, squeezing tightly, in and up, forcing the naga’s meal back up her throat in a series of jerky struggles.

Jack came tumbling back out onto the floor with a spatter of saliva, and a gasp from both himself and his predator.

“What is your problem!?” the naga yelled at her two assailants

“What are your problems,” Sarabeth corrected, fixing her hair and running a hand over her clothes to straighten them.

“You were eating my friend!” Fiona snarled, more to the point.

“‘Friend’? Have you tasted him! That human is lunch on legs!”

“Jack is not lunch, now get lost!”

“Ugh! Fine!” The angry naga pushed past them and slithered away in a huff. Fiona let out her breath.

“Phew, thanks Sarabeth,” the werewolf said with an appreciative smile.

“Oh- um- of course, Fiona. I’m always quite pleased to be of service,” she replied, secretly flustered.

“I really appreciate it. I’m lucky I have a friend like you who gets that Jack’s more than just some meal.”

“R-right.”

“Fiona…” Jack called weakly, coming back to his senses.

“I’m here, Jack. It’s okay. You’re safe now,” Fiona soothed.

“We had better get to class,” Sarabeth mentioned, just a bit awkwardly.

“Jack and I have history together next, I can take him,” Fiona replied, lifting her friend to his feet and giving him support. “Thanks again, Sarabeth, really.”

“…Anytime… Fiona…” Sarabeth replied with a whisper, standing alone in the hall.

…

“It’s alright, I think I’m out of it,” Jack said as Fiona guided him to his seat.

“Good,” she breathed with relief.

“So did you do it? Did you get detention?”

“I hope so…”

Their history teacher, Ms. Dracoria, walked into the filling classroom, and the first thing she did was call out:

“Fiona Lupella.”

Fiona perked up and turned to her teacher, who beckoned her over. The werewolf approached, feeling a strange mixture of emotion. She was worried about whatever trouble she was in, but also anxious to be given her punishment, and then even more worried about what might happen if it turned out she wasn’t in trouble.

“Yes, Ms. Dracoria?”

“Fiona, you are to report to the principal’s office after class. He’s asked to see you.”

“Yes, Ms. Dracoria,” she acknowledged.

The dragoness woman nodded dismissively, and Fiona turned and started back to her seat. Jack looked to her questioningly, and she flashed him two thumbs up and a covert smile. He smiled back hopefully.

If the principal wants to scold me himself before sending me to detention, maybe I did a little too well? she thought. But nevertheless, Fiona had never been so relieved to be in trouble.

Originally Published: 19-Nov-2020