To be read after "Mystery Meat 5"
Jacob Conway sat at his usual lunch table with his friends, Nina Quick, John Kirch, and Kamal Powell. They were all art buddies and had an assignment due in class the next day. Jacob worked on his drawing while eating.
It was good that his mom made him sack lunches because today's lunch was a joke: wheatgrass on toast. Where was the protein? How could such a skimpy meal fuel hungry teenagers? His friends dubiously picked at the food on their trays.
"Who thought this was a good idea?" Kamal complained.
Nina watched Mr. Lancer approach another group of students. "By the sounds of their conversation, I'd say it was Sam Manson."
"Who?" John asked.
"Isn't she the goth girl in our year?" Jacob said.
"Yeah," Nina said. "Don't you guys know anyone in this school?"
"I know you three!" John said, smiling. "That's enough for me!"
"Whatever," Nina said.
A few minutes later, a food fight broke out. Jacob quickly covered his art project with his body to protect it from getting messed up.
"Let's get out of here!" he said.
"You go right ahead," Nina said and threw her food. "This is fun!"
John and Kamal stayed behind with her while Jacob scurried out of the lunchroom, hunched over his drawing. What a pain.
The next morning, Jacob hung out outside the school building before school started. He was putting the finishing touches on his art piece, proud of his work. The image showed a cloudless sky with a perfect rendition of the Amity Park Central Park. A few smudges represented people walking around and enjoying the sun.
Finally, his project was finished. He put it inside his portfolio just when a strange entity showed up. Jacob whipped his head up to see meat forming into a giant monster. A person in a black and white uniform fought the meat monster.
"Woah!" Jacob said to the air. He backed away to get out of the danger zone, then pulled out his sketchbook. Quickly, he took down a sketch of the scene. As he watched the fight, he made a storyboard to reference later. Maybe he could make a small comic out of this!
Jacob spent more time than expected working on the comic that weekend. He enjoyed the concept so much that he finished it with color. With pride, he scanned it into the family computer and printed out a pristine copy for his cousin, Chelsea.
Chelsea was sick, but loved comic books as much as Jacob loved drawing. He hoped he could cheer her up a bit with his homemade comic. She lived in a different state, so he would have to mail it off to her. Before he did, he asked his family if they wanted to send anything else.
Mom sent a magazine clipping of an article about gardening. Dad bought a greeting card and had everyone sign it. Jimmy offered a copy of Where the Red Fern Grows. And Jo sent copies of her favorite photographs that week. The small package was filled with love.