Bloody Lover | Piper McLean

Chapter 1 : Memory Loss ?

EARLANA

Even before she got attacked by a "wanna be" boy, Earlana was having an awful day.

She woke in the second to the backseat of a school bus, not sure where she was or what she was doing here. She sat up and rubbed her eyes trying to think.

A few dozen kids were sprawled in the seats in front of her, listening to iPods, talking, or sleeping. They all looked around her age... fifteen? Sixteen? Okay, that was really concerning ! She didn't even know her own age.

The bus rumbled along a bumpy road. Out the windows, desert rolled by under a bright blue sky. Earlana was pretty sure she didn't live in the desert. She tried to think back... the last thing she remembered...

"What the hell ? Where am I ?" She asked herself. Then, she just rolled her eyes, frowning a little. "Better, who the fuck am I ?"

The boy sat next to her tapped her shoulder, " 'Lana, girl, you okay ?"

He looked like a latino Santa's elf, with curly black hair, pointy ears, a cheerful, babyish face, and a mischievous smile that told you right away this guy should not be trusted around matches or sharp objects. His long, nimble fingers wouldn't stop moving, reminding Earlana of herself. Alert memory is coming back in little pieces -- He was drumming on the seat, sweeping his hair behind his ears, fiddling with the buttons of an army fatigue jacket. Either the kid was naturally hyper or he was hopped on enough caffeine and sugar to give a heart attack to a water buffalo.

Earlana stiffened on her seat, "Well, I don't-"

In the front of the bus, a teacher shouted, "All right, cupcakes, listen up !"

The guy was obviously a coach. His baseball cap was pulled low over his head, so you could just see his beady eyes. He had a wispy goatee and a sour face, like he had eaten something moldy. His buff arms and chest pushed against a bright orange polo shirt. His nylon workout pants and Nikes were spotless white. A whistle hung from his neck, and a megaphone was clipped to his belt. He would've looked pretty scary if he hadn't been five feet zero. When he stood up in the aisle, one of the students called "Stand up, Coach Hedge !"

"I heard that !" The Coach scanned the bus for the offender. Then his eyes fixed on Earlana and someone behind her and his scold deepened.

A jolt went down Earlana's spine. She was sure that the coach knew that she didn't belong there. He was going to call Earlana out, ask to know what she was doing here on the bus -- and she wouldn't have a clue of what to say.

But Coach Hedge looked away and cleared his throat. " We'll arrive in five minutes! Stay with your partner. Don't lose your worksheet. And if any of you precious little cupcakes causes any trouble on this trip, I will personally send you back to the campus the hard way." He picked up his baseball bat and made it look like he was hitting a homerun.

"With what ? The one feet two that you're missing ?" Earlana mumbled under her breath.

Someone behind her asked, "Does he have the right to talk to us like that ?"

Curious, she turned around to see the person who was talking.

A boy around her age with blonde hair and electric blue eyes. He looked terrible and confused, the same way Earlana was feeling. There was a feeling about him... Like some familiarity, as if they knew each other. He was sitting next to a beautiful girl. She wore faded jeans, hiking boots, and a fleece snowboarding jacket. Her chocolate brown hair was cut choppy and uneven, with thin strands braided down the sides. She wore no makeup like she was trying not to draw attention to herself, but it didn't work. She was seriously pretty. Her eyes seemed to change color like a kaleidoscope--brown, blue and green. Earlana wanted to lose herself in those beautiful eyes that reflected the beauty of the half-cherokee.