The Relentless Past

Ch. Four

Ch. Four.

Audrey was freezing where she stood. Her yellow faded hoodie did nothing to prevent the terrible wind that blew past her. Her sweatpants were warm but the cold made it feel hollow. She shivered.  She had to bear another few minutes,  probably.

She was waiting for Maddie outside the girl's dorm.  They were supposed to walk to class together. She knew Maddie would be late, it's the first day, Maddie had to dress to impress. "First impression" is what she calls it.

Audrey hadn't slept yesterday, okay maybe she had. But it wasn't the amount of sleep she needed to handle some college work. Hana's words still echoed in her ear like some terrible voodoo spell. The words "pure blood" seemed to have an affect on her.  There were only a few pure vampires and they were all high officials or people in the king's council. Various kingdoms had pure vampires, they weren't rare or anything of that sort. But the fact that she might face one of them here of all places, sent a shiver down her spine. And she knew that wasn't because of the cold.

Audrey hadn't even fed in days. That would make her an easy prey to almost everybody. And it's not like pure bloods are anything dangerous or something. They are the highest rankers out there, and hold much more power than any of them. Even if they were to kill her, nobody would be able to accuse them. More like, nobody would be able to find her body.

When Maddie finally arrived, Audrey was chilled to the bone both by her thoughts and by the weather.

They walked to the class buildings after Maddie had complained enough about the etiquettes and decency of clothing before Audrey promised to let her pick her clothing from tomorrow onwards. They both knew that wasn't gonna happen but they didn't argue further.

Maddie and Audrey were both taking art classes, it's an interest they both shared. To hold a brush or a pen and to just subconsciously draw away whatever their imaginations whispered.

They took some time to find their respective classes. It was on the ground floor. Stools were aligned and slanted desks were placed in front of each stool. Audrey and Maddie took a seat next to each other. Around them, students spoke in hushed tones and just right after them, few students, mostly girls talked and gossiped excitedly, the boys seemed uninterested and rather annoyed.

Audrey turned to the other side and noticed a few students, from the other classes she supposed, had gathered near the classroom window to peak into their classroom.

" Why are they-?" Audrey asked Maddie who interrupted her,

"I overheard a few students. There's a -" Maddie was interrupted by a loud cough. Most likely the whole class was interrupted. A tall, lean woman, walked in.  Giving a vibe that if you do one mistake, you're going to face death's personification. In other words, she looked outworldly strict.

She walked inside the class in a terribly slow pace. The bun that rested atop her head, looked like it was judging everybody. She was around her mid 40s apparently. Noticing the class had quitened down, she spoke,

" Not a behaviour I expected to come across on the very first day. I understand it's exciting to be in college finally but remember, your behavior brings out your personality.  Girls, keep it lady-like and boys, be gentlemen. If you're here to do art, you must do it gracefully. You must. I assume this will be the last time I see such chaos. Or else..." She had a dangerous glint in her eyes, promising death. The class nodded furiously, almost trying to escape this warning as quick as possible.

   As the class agreed, the lady's face broke into a grin. She meant it in a friendly way but it came off as creepy. "Good morning students. I wish you all the very best for your upcoming session." She said then picked up a chalk, turned around and proceeded to write her name on the black polished board.

" Mrs. Phoebe. That's what you're expected to call me  " She said. Loud pairs of footsteps were heard from outside the class. It sounded as though the person were burning holes into the ground with each step they took. More like, with each step they ran.

The front door flew open and everybody instinctively turned their heads towards the door.

The class seemed deadly quiet.

Audrey heard a few,

" Is that him?"

"No way!"

" Where's my eyeliner?"

A boy entered the class, looking least bothered and unaffected like he hadn't just come 15 minutes late to class. And Mrs.Phoebe didn't seem the type to let students slide away with being late.

Audrey watched the lady take in an expression  of anger before it quickly washed away and was replaced by suprise and then a forced smile.

" You can come in." She said as much politely as she could but her jaws were so clenched it appeared like she would bark any given moment.

The boy had golden curls and he looked much more built than the lady in front of him. He wore jogging pants and a plain black t-shirt but he executed the outfit in such a way, it came out as glorious.

He nodded at Mrs. Phoebe's words and took a seat in front of the class. From their position, Audrey and Maddie could only see the back of the guy. But they knew it was the same guy they encountered at the library. Is this some arrogant bastard the whole school feared and stuff? Even the teachers?

The commotion in the class was back, the students jumped in their own seats all excited about some mere handsome face. Yes the guy was insanely handsome but he seemed arrogant and nonchalant.

" Okay wow. He's got an affect on almost everybody " Maddie whispered in hushed tones.

" Look at Mrs. Phoebe going crazy trying to keep the students in discipline." Audrey whispered back, Mrs. Phoebe reprimanded a lot of them but it's like her previous strictness disappeared and nobody seemed to pay heed to what she said.

With only a few minutes left for the class to end, Mrs. Phoebe dismissed the class. She was annoyed, and disappointed. That was very well understood.

As soon as Mrs. Phoebe walked out the class, the new boy made a dash for the door. 20 or so people ran behind him. The sight was crazy to be witnessed.

A hand grabbed Audrey and she looked to find Maddie grinding wildly at her. Never a good sign.

" what are you waiting for? Cmon!" Maddie squealed.

" But why would we-" Audrey was cut short by few more girls pushing past her. It's like she had no choice, and allowed herself to be pulled by Maddie and the crowd behind her. Everybody was outside the classroom and a few disappointed sighs were heard.

" we lost him again!"

"I tell you he's gotten good at hiding!"

" we wouldnt disturb him tho! We just want to talk!"

" is that the only thing you'd do?"

Audrey and Maddie looked for the guy too but he was nowhere to be found. Maddie talked to a few girls in front of her, inquiring about the guy.

Audrey wasn't interested, she tried backing off the crowd but bumped real hard against somebody. She would have hit the cold ground underneath her but a strong hand against her wrist stopped her. She took a few seconds to blink before she came in contact with .... a forest? No, eyes. No, eyes colored with a forest hue. Dammit! Forest-coloured eyes. Green eyes. Yes.

They were so clear she could swear she saw a reflection of herself in those eyes. It was the guy everybody had been searching for. Though no one ever looked into the crowd itself.

The boy had golden curls, all falling over his head in a messy way. They looked good that way though. His eyelashes were long and they touched his cheeks in a gentle way. A small scar grazed his left cheek, how was he hurt there? His nose was long, slender and sharp like God had crafted it for days to give it the  perfect shape they now hold.

His upper lip was thinner compared to the bottom one. And they parted ever so lightly to say,

" Beautiful".

Audrey blinked, " Excuse me?" .