KATARINA: VAMPIRE (SLAY/LOV)ER

Part IX - Consequences

5 minutes she reassured herself, looking down at her watch. She still had 5 minutes to make it to class. She thought Friday night was the hardest task she ever had to accomplish, but now walking through Everett High's double doors appeared to be. She hadn't talked to Kayla yet; not since a few days before "the accident."

"I at least should have asked if she was okay," her mind trailed off. "4 minutes until class."

And it was an accident too, as far as the public was concerned. Kat and Mark executed their plan perfectly; they were able to stage it as a drunk driving accident. Between Kat's young-adult makeup obsession, which was on the backburner now, and Mark's ability to run the crime scene as the county sheriff, it led to some quality father-daughter bonding time.

Against all odds, Kat managed to give her high waisted jean shorts a tug at the waistline for a bit of confidence and pushed through the doors into the school. A somber gloom filled the atmosphere in contrast to the orange flyers that were posted in every hallway. Kat had an idea what they were about but had to do the right thing and read one.

"Derrick LaGrange Memorial Service," her eyes continued down the flyer. "When: Thursday night @ 7:00 p.m. Where: Everett Football Field."

While most students were dreading how the memorial was also sure to be a lesson on driving under the influence, Katarina was more focused on what she was going to do when she ran into Kayla. Or if she ran into Kayla. Not seeing her in school until lunch was both a blessing and a curse. Kat was still worried considering Kayla hasn't been to school in a few days.

"Alright, so I've got two classes to think of something," still nervous. "Or four days if I avoid her at lunch – if she's even there – and wait until the memorial service."

Drrring! Drrring! Drrring!

Well shit. As it turned out, she was late to class anyway.

* * *

Katarina was raised to tackle problems head on. She could practically hear Mark in her head "Just go talk to her, make sure she's alright, act natural, and move on." Easier said than done, pops. "You're not the one who was screwing your best friend's dude." As if seeing Kayla after Kat slept with Derrick wasn't bad enough, now what? "Umm yeah not only am I sorry I ruined your relationship, but sorry he's dead. Like not personally sorry, but it sucks. Well since he's not coming back it should be easier to get over him, right?" Smooth.

Katarina seemed to be looking at everything she could in the hallway while on her way to the cafeteria, as if a few seconds delay would make the situation better. She looked down at her feet and noticed a stuff on the toe box of her left shoe. "Wonder how that got there." She noticed what looked like a giant coffee stain on the thin and faded carpet. "Meh, smells decent. Sucks to suck." She even noticed a piece of gum stuck to the side of a water fountain outside of the cafeteria. "That's not gross. Really. Attractive." Even in own thoughts Kat was a sassy sarcastic chick. Her stomach started to whirl, her chest tightened, airway restricted; her distractions could only provide a temporary escape from reality.

"Ah fuck," she exclaimed as she awkwardly stood in front of the double doors leading to the café. "There's always some bullshit behind doors like this." At least that was always the case in her favorite game series: Dark Souls.

Arm outstretched, she clasped the door handle and yanked it open. The fluorescent lights overhead were almost blinding in comparison to the dimly lit hallway. Kat scuffled along with the natural flow of the room, getting in line. She peered over just enough that her go-to table was in her peripheral vision. There was nobody sitting at the table.