James groaned as he began to wake up. Automatically he tried to reach a hand up to rub his eyes, only to find his arm restrained at the wrists. His eyes blinked open, but his vision failed to clear. Someone had removed his glasses.
That same someone had also removed his clothing, leaving him lying naked on a familiar prep table, tied up and folded like a Thanksgiving Turkey.
[I]'This is bad, [/I] he thought as he squirmed a bit.
"I can't say I'm not disappointed in you, James," the voice of Principal Castle said. Twisting his head around, the tech-geek found a blurry image of the man standing near the table. "I mean, I understand the impulse to want to save someone from getting turned into food, but I honestly thought, hoped you'd be smarter than that."
"What... what happened?" James asked, head still throbbing from the hit he'd taken. The Principal took a deep breath.
"Well, after you foolishly released Jesse, he opted to use you as a distraction by knocking you out with a pot. While the staff were suitable busy grabbing you, Jesse made it off school property, and is even now probably streaking his butt home so his parents can put him in another school and we can't grab him again. So I guess congrats are in order for that." The Principal clicked his finger at the bound boy. "Unfortunately, this creates problem. See, the Superintendent is coming today, and I needed something special to feed him for lunch. Jesse's status as the fattest boy in this school with the lowest grades made him the perfect candidate for that. But he's gone..." James gulped, very aware of where this was going and not liking it one moment.
"Wa-wait, maybe you can grab him at home," James suggested, desperately seeking to escape his fate. The Principal smiled as he shook his head, walking over to pat the boy's bare chest.
"Sorry champ, once he's off school grounds we can't touch him unless the state sends him back. You're up kid."
"N-No! No please!" The blonde begged, trying his best to worm out of his bonds as two of the kitchen workers entered the room, one carrying a big bowl full of something James couldn't see while the other had two bottles of basting oil and a brush. "Someone else, come on. There has to be someone else you can use besides me."
"Believe me, I'd love to." Castle offered. "You're a good student and help raise the overall GPA. But this is kinda your fault and we are in a bit of a time crunch."
"C-cold," the thirteen year old complained as the oil was poured onto his chest, the brush being used to spread it over his chest. Inside the bowl he could just make out the blurry shapes of what looked to be chopped up vegetables. He started hyperventilating as he realized what they were for. "W-wait, y-you owe me!" He screamed as Principal Castle turned to leave, pausing at the boy's call. "I-I fixed your oven, you said that was worth a favor." The man sighed.
"So I did. Unfortunately fixing something doesn't rank the same as letting an important meal escape," he explained. "But... I will make the Super's meal a private affair. That way you won't got oggled by the rest of the student body while we dine." Another sigh. "It is a shame. We could have shared Jesse around a bit as a treat for everyone else. Ah well. Guess thirteen just isn't lucky for either of us, huh kiddo." Once more Castle turned to leave, pausing at the doorframe. "Make sure to put an apple in his mouthn would you? I'd rather he not disturb the other students while he's getting ready."
