TEN SCENTS SHORT // open

[BENJAMIN ISAAC MARSHALL]

Benjamin was a fiction man, really. He wasn’t one to write about real things. Even stories based on real events weren’t exactly his thing. He was better when he could just make up all the details himself. So what, you may wonder, is he doing in the school paper’s offices? Well see, he had a thing for spelling and grammar. He liked it to be right. In fact, don’t ask him to proof-read your work unless you want every part of your syntax pulled apart. It was that exact skill though that made him the perfect copy editor. No spelling error was going to be printed in the paper while Ben was around, you could be sure of it. In fact, he’d been known to re-write complete paragraphs because the sentence structure was off. But then, that was just Ben. You either accepted it, or moved on.

So there he was; sitting at his desk in the office. Red pen in hand. With the next addition’s feature article in front of him. Honestly? It was painful. He was only on the first page and already he’d scribbled so much out and corrected so much that he wasn’t even sure he could make out the original text anymore. Where did they get these writers from? Really. The content was alright he supposed- it was just, how could you focus on it with such a terrible abuse of syntax? He could only speak for himself, but it was rather impossible to follow something when the grammar and spelling. Then everyone else wasn’t exactly as anal as Ben was- so maybe it didn’t bother them as much?

Frowning he let the stapled sheets of paper flutter to his desk. The young man just couldn’t stand it anymore. If he was going to have to deal with this atrocious wording and spelling, he needed something to get him through. Bribe himself as it were. Sticking his pen behind his ear (because, Ben Marshall, that’s where your pen goes), the boy stood up. Opening his desk draw and fishing out his wallet. First he has to check that he had the coin-age. Because without the required coins there was no way he was going to be able to get some BBQ crisps from the vending machine. Which was what he was planning to bribe himself with in case you were wondering.

Feeling the change chinking around, he quickly tried to work out how much he had just by a small feel around the zipped change compartment of his wallet. It certainly felt like he had enough money, so he’d go on along his merry way to the vending machine that he knew was located just up the hall way. It was a known fact that the paper kids often worked late into the night to meet dead-lines and that often required snacks. Slipping his wallet into the pocket of his jeans, the kid left the office and made his way down the hall. He was actually rather addicted to BBQ crisps; he ate a packet just about every day. Once he reached the machine, he started to feed his coins into the slot. Watching the amount rise on the screen-Dammit. He was ten cents short. Now what was he supposed to do?

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[CARINA ELISABETH DEVEAUX]

The crisp, fall weather bit at her nose as Carina exited her dorm. She loved this season however, it was something to do with the multitudes of colour all around her and that smell of change in the air. Winter was close, she could feel it in her bones. It was kind of weird this year at Emerson actually, she had to admit it. Last year, during her senior year of high school she was out partying it all up with friends that had been with her since freshman year. Unfortunately all her friends didn't see what she saw in the school. They had scoffed at her choice to return for her college years when they flew off to schools like Harvard and Yale. Almost everyone she had grown up with here had left her. And now in her classes, they were a lot different than what she had grown accustomed to. There were so many new people... it was odd. The sense of familiarity she thought she had was gone. She felt like, well, like she was freshman again. Which she technically was.

She was one of the certain few that knew everything Emerson had to offer though in her class. This was her fifth year, giving her some sort of perk above her new classmates. It amused her to see them running around with a map in hand trying to get to class on time. Being the person she was, she watched them as opposed to helping them. It wasn't her problem exactly and she had to go through that four years ago. It was the least they could do for the first couple of weeks; it was the only way to learn. Besides, it wasn't like Emerson was that confusing to get around. After a few tries they would have the thing memorized like the back of their hands, like she did. Any other new student would be whipping out a map about now, but it was easy to see that Carina was a returning student. There was something in her face that showed she knew exactly where she was going. It was probably the lack of confusion scrawled across her face.

She hadn't seen him all summer, except for a few emails here and there. They had both been busy and he had brushed off the idea of her coming to visit him. Her summer days had been spent outside, helping out around the farm and riding in horse shows. At night she had been partying it up with her old middle school friends that had yet to move from Kentucky and just watching the stars in the sky. It had been a boring summer to say the least and she had missed Emerson. Some students hoped summer would never end but Cari was not one of those girls. She on the other hand wanted school to come more quickly. She loved this place! She knew who she was here as opposed to the bluegrass fields of Lexington. She missed the social aspect of it all - god forbid she actually missed studying. She missed one person in particular. Idiot hadn't even come to say hi when she moved back in!

She opened the door to the building and there he was, standing by the vending machines with a quizzical expression on his face. He wasn't reaching down to grab whatever form of junk food he had just bought though, which told Cari that something was wrong. Whatever, it was an easy fix. She quieted her footsteps in an attempt to surprise him and she slid up next to him and put a quarter into the machine. "Ten cents short Benny? That's what you get for ignoring me. How did I know you would be in here?" She looked up at him (a difficult feat considering his height, but she was tall enough to not have to crane her neck) and a sly smile appeared on her pretty face. Before he knew it her arms were thrown around his neck, pulling him down for a suffocating hug.

[BENJAMIN ISAAC MARSHALL]

To be perfectly honest, Ben hadn’t thought much about her over the summer. As mean as that sounded, it was the honest to grilled cheezus truth. He assumed she was being her happy little self, partying it up with her friends back home and wouldn’t have the time to think about him, so he’d just left her to her fun, figuring he’d see her back at school. That’s how Ben seemed to be with Carina. He sat back and let her basically call most of the shots, being whatever he thought she needed him to be in that moment. It seemed to work for them. At least, he thought it did. Perhaps that wasn’t exactly the most pro-active way to have a friendship, but if she asked for something different from him, he’d probably willing. All she’d have to do is say ‘oye butt-head, do it like this’ and he’d not his floppy-haired head and follow along like the puppy that he was. What a nice guy.

Actually, he was being a bit slack. He should have already made an effort to see her. Maybe helped her move in her stuff or something. That was his bad. He’d have to make it up to her some-how. Take her for ice-cream or something. Girls liked that right? Benjamin could be a bit clueless at times on what girls liked. He put that down to not having a very solid female influence in his life. Then, some guys who did have a mother still had no idea how to please females, so all things considering he was probably doing alright. None of this though, was going to help him. He was still short, and dude how he was craving the strong salty goodness of some BBQ crisps. He was that desperate, his gaze was that of longing, as he watched them tease him through the glass.

Options were running through his mind. He couldn’t leave the machine in search of money, people weren’t that honest. Hell if he walked past a machine loaded with money he’d probably use it to his advantage. Of course, the idea of just pressing the change return button hadn’t really occurred to him. Silly clouded judgement. His mind was so focused that he actually did not notice Carina sidling up beside him. It wasn’t until he saw her hand insert a coin, and head her voice did he even realise she was there. His need for snacks was forgotten as he turned to offer her a huge grin. “Carina! darlin’!” He greeted in his southern drawl. “Forgive me for ignoring you, wont you?” He smirked a little. As she pulled him down for a hug, Ben obliged. He gathered her in his arms- lifting her up off the ground in a bear-hug. “Missed you, darlin’.”

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[CARINA ELISABETH DEVEAUX]

High school students were looked down by the college students usually - something else she didn't understand until she became a college freshman herself. However, she had never felt secluded from the older group because she was always around them. When she came to Emerson, a gangly fourteen year old with absolutely no friends, she had really not expected to be taken under the wing of seniors. Pretty hot senior guys too. The age difference had never mattered to Cari because of her fast paced life; she partied harder than those years older than her. Being thrust into such a strange place had completely changed and of course drinking alcohol had become a regular habit for her. She had wanted to fit in so quickly - she swore she would never go through the torture of being friendless and bullied again - that she had changed to be the person she was today.

Sometimes she asked herself what would have happened if she had decided to hide out in corners and libraries. She would probably never had become friends with Ben and his two roommates, but then again, you never knew with Ben. He was sweet, sometimes too sweet, yet she wasn't complaining. When she felt his strong arms lifting her off the floor, she tightened her own hold on him and hugged him, forgiving him for ignoring her on the spot. It was impossible to stay mad at Benny for long, the minute he gave you one of his famous bear hugs you just forgot why exactly you were mad at him. His familiar smell filled her nostrils and she felt... like she was home. After four years with him, this was what he had become to her. Emerson wouldn't be Emerson without him. To be honest, he topped the list of many reasons why she had decided to come back here instead of to a new college. She really had no idea what she would do when he graduated and left her alone here for the first time, but she wasn't planning on thinking about that for awhile.

When her feet touched the ground again, she blinked her eyes at Ben. "If you missed me, you would have come see me when I moved back in!" she pouted. "I've been waiting to see when you would make an appearance or text me, but no, of course you would forget about little ol' me." Like his southern drawl, her own voice was affected by living in Kentucky for the past eight years. However, unlike his, you could tell she was originally from Britain by the slight accent. It was a weird, unique accent that made her stand out from the rest of the crowd. She leaned down and removed the bag of chips from the machine slot quickly, opening them up and popping one in her mouth (even though she disliked barbecue chips and could never understand his cravings for them) and chewed with a distasteful look on her face. "These are so gross, you know?" she said before shoving them in his hands.

[BENJAMIN ISAAC MARSHALL]

The boy felt a frown tug on his lips. He knew it was playful banter, but he also knew at the heart of it was probably some hurt feelings. He hadn’t meant to upset the girl, just give her the space he thought she needed. Making a mental note not to give her that much space in the future, the boy shook his head slightly. “Hey now,” he cooed softly. “No need to question my affections love, you know I adore you.” The young man gave his best friend a small playful poke. She was his best friend. He didn’t say it much out loud, but she and Trevor were the most important people to him. Turning sincere, he offered her a sheepish smile. “I’m sorry, if my absence upset you.” The idea that he had done something to upset Cari just didn’t sit right for Ben. He’d have to make sure he worked out how to put things right with her, sooner rather then later.

As the blonde collected his crisps, then proceeded to open them and take one, Ben scoffed lightly. As if he actually cared if she stole his food. However he had to pretend he did- that he wouldn’t give up just about anything and everything for the girl. They were probably both aware, but saying it out loud was different. He had to pretend she wasn’t the bees knees. Which was hard, considering how amazing he found her. “You always say that..” he accused, taking the bag from her with a playful scowl. “And yet, you always end up stealing half the bag.” He took a chip out of the bag, examining it for a moment before popping it into his mouth. “Admit it,” he smirked, mid crunch. “You love my taste in crisps. You secretly go home and eat bags and bags of them. Only to pretend you hate them in public..”

Taking out another delicious snack and popping it in his mouth, Ben let his eyes glance back towards the paper’s office. He did have some stuff he really should do. However, he really should make it up to Cari. The stuff could wait. It wasn’t as though there was a pressing dead-line. Well, at least the deadline wasn’t anytime soon. It wasn’t as though it was hard work. Editing was second nature to him. He had an eye for spelling and syntax mistakes. “Come on..” he said as he gave Cari’s side a soft nudge. “I’ll take you to get ice-cream, to make up for not jumping on you the minute you got back.” He offered her a lopsided grin, stooping down, offering her his back. “Piggy bag to the paper office so I can get my wallet?”

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