"Josef, wake up!"

"Hey, wake up!"

"Wake up already!"

Slap!

"Shit that hurt!" exclaimed Josef as he flashed his eyes open, immediately placing his hands on the point of impact.

"It's time for breakfast." said Caden.

Josef felt nostalgic for a second. The good ol' slap from Caden was painful, yet it gave him a sense of peace. Since childhood, it has always been like this, it made him feel warm, waking up and immediately seeing his friends, it felt like he woke up to another normal day, but that was far from the truth. Last night, the others woke up and switched shifts with Josef's group so they could get some rest. As Josef stood up, yawned, and stretched, a new day in this blood-filled school began.

"What on today's menu, Gerald?" asked Caden.

"I'm frying up some burgers this time."

"That smells amazing." said Josh.

"Burgers? Do we have buns?" asked Matt.

"Nope, it's best to eat burgers like this, a nice patty, and that's it." said Gerald.

As Gerald fried the burger patties, a mouthwatering aroma spread across the entire cafeteria and infiltrated Josef's nose. It was tempting, yet he was still a bit bothered.

"No buns!? Are you crazy or something? There should always be buns." said Josh.

"Don't bother arguing with Gerald," said Avery, "he hates bread."

"He thinks that all bread tastes the same." said Caden.

"That's so fucking stupid, even a child will disagree with you." said Matt.

"You're the type of person to not eat the pizza crust, are you?" asked Josh.

"Yes, thin crust is the best pizza." said Gerald.

"But the crust is there so you won't get bored with the pizza's flavor. It's a nice buffer." argued Matt.

"That's exactly what I said to him last week." said Caden.

"The crust shouldn't be there, I buy the pizza to eat the pizza, not the thick ass bread on the edges." said Gerald.

"But the crust is part of the pizza." said Josh.

"It just tastes boring." said Gerald.

"That's why there's a dip you could dip it in." said Matt.

"If something needs sauce in order to be eaten, then it's shit." argued Gerald.

"You should ask him about chicken next." said Caden.

"Chicken? Oh, bone-in or boneless?" said Josh.

"Bone-in is the best." answered Gerald.

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Gerald finished frying up a batch of the burger patties and placed them on a paper plate, then continued frying the next batch.

"Time to dig in!" said Caden as he slammed his fork on the patties, grabbing five with one pierce, and placing them on his plate. He began eating as he watched the others argue, much like he was watching a movie while eating popcorn.

"So why bone-in chicken then?" asked Josh.

"I don't really know, it's just.. more juicy." said Gerald.

"But boneless is juicy as well." said Matt.

"No, it's not, bone in is by far better."

"You just haven't tried good boneless chicken then." said Josh.

"Bone in is still better, there's less preparation, and it's easier to make." argued Gerald. "Also, the bone gives it a bit more flavor, much like a natural seasoning."

"I agree with the preparation part, but I'm not so sure with the 'natural seasoning,'" said Matt

Josef couldn't help but smile, they were arguing, but it felt warm. It felt to him like it was a regular day, with friends goofing around, arguing, and strengthening their bonds. He wasn't so sure how Gerald, Matt, and Josh would get along at first, as he noticed that Gerald was a bit cautious towards them during their first meeting, but after all the shit that happened yesterday, they were now comrades in arms. Slowly but surely, Gerald interacted with them more, which led to them openly debating about their tastes. Their stupid debate may seem heated, but to them, it was a nice change of pace. Arguing about burgers, pizza, and chicken made them forget that they just saw their entire class get massacred for a moment, it was peaceful. Amid the raging blizzard and blood-filled hallways, warmth could still be found.

"Let's just continue this conversation some other time," said Gerald as he finished cooking the last batch of patties. "let's eat, everyone!"

After grabbing their food, they all sat down in a circle.

"Say ahh, honey." said Serenity as she fed Gerald a piece of burger patty.

"Delicious as always." said Josh.

"Yep, I need more, more!" exclaimed Caden as his face was stuffed with food.

"You should probably swallow first before speaking, or yelling." said Matt.

"Josef, aren't you gonna eat?" said Avery.

Josef looked at his plate. He only placed one burger patty on it, yet he hasn't even touched it yet.

"I'm not really hungry." answered Josef.

"You need to eat, you're gonna get sick at this rate." said Avery.

Josef sliced up a small piece of patty and hesitantly placed it in his mouth. As he chewed, he could taste that it was the same as the sausage last night. He was a bit confused, as it tasted like pork, yet when their school served burgers, they were always beef. It was delicious either way, and Josef continued to eat the patty one small piece at a time.

"I'm full." said Josef.

"You've only eaten half of it." said Avery.

"I just.. I don't have any appetite to eat." explained Josef.

He placed his left-overs next to the grill. He was still suspicious of it, especially since there was never any pork burgers on the school's menu, yet there was a stockpile of it in the backrooms. To satisfy his hunger, he chugged two bottles of water instead. He knew that he could get by with just water, at least for a couple weeks.

They finished eating and continued with the rest of their day. Since there was barely anything to do, they could only nap, eat, peek out the doors, and create makeshift weapons. They all threw aside their old weapons and replaced them with the table legs from the cafeteria, since they were made out of steel, easy to wield, and easy to run with. They also found some dining knives that were sharp enough to use as weapons, they all had two knives, one in each of their pockets.

They had lunch, but yet again, Josef barely touched his food. Gerald, Josh, and Matt continued their debate about food, while Caden watched the chaos unfold, joining in here and there. Avery and Serenity fixed up the barriers and their escape route to the top window. Josef, on the other hand, stood watch over at the entrance, looking for any presence outside. He thought about the chainsaw fiend for a bit, he tried to guess who she was. A scientist? probably not, a teacher? probably, Ms. English? She probably can't carry something as heavy as a chainsaw, the lunch lady? She's way wider than the chainsaw fiend, the principal's secretary? probably.

As night fell, it was time for dinner, this time, Josef skipped entirely on the food, and drank his ever-reliable water. The others went to sleep while he, Avery, and Josh were on the second shift again. He brought out the revolver and stared at it. Last night he was quite unsure with himself, he was scared about something, yet he didn't know what it was about. He looked over to Avery, to Matt, then to everyone else who was asleep, and lastly, he looked at the revolver. His hand was steady this time, he could still feel Avery's touch, her encouragement, and her warmth. This time, he was sure, he mustered his strength, took a deep breath, and made a promise to himself. He will protect everyone.