Faith and The Vampire ✔️

Chapter Seventeen

I woke up the next morning. It was still 5 in the morning. Last night, I had a facetime with my family. I usually did facetime them twice a week. The time difference between Romania and Indonesia truly did get in the way of our family communication. I missed them a lot, especially my brothers. I put on a robe and slippers and left my room for the bathroom down the hall. I splashed cool water on my face and stared in the mirror. The reflection looking back at me had tangled hair and bloodshot eyes. I looked sleep-deprived. I did the ritual washing before daily prayer, it called Wudhu in Islam. Then I did my morning prayer.

Aisha still lay in her bed, while it's almost 6 in the morning. "Aisha," I said, shaking her. "Aisha, wake up."

I helped her sit up. "It's almost 6. Wake up."

After a few moments, her eyes fluttered open, and in the dim lighting, I could see a flicker of consciousness start to take over. Her frantic breathing slowed. I was still on her silent treatment. She didn't say anything, leaving before I could get out a sentence.

Needing to walk off my weird mood, I decided to clean up and take a shower. I didn't want to go back to bed. I didn't want to risk falling asleep quite yet. I needed something to wake me up and shake away what I'd felt. I put on my sportswear, hijab and sneakers, left my room and turned toward the stairwell, my feet light on the steps as I went downstairs. While heading out of the dorm, I stopped in the dorm's kitchen to grab a granola bar. The first floor of my dorm was still and quiet. The lobby was empty, carefully i opened the door. Once outside, I eased the door shut as gently as possible. No noise. Feeling like a ninja, I stepped out into the light of day.

Cold wind blasted me in the face, but it was exactly what I needed. Leafless tree branches swayed in that wind, clawing at the sides of the stone dorm like fingernails. I walked around the side of the building. Yeah, it was a typically miserable late fall day in Brașov, but that was the point. The crisp air did a lot to wake me up.

I startled, seeing a black Volvo parked in spot right in front of my dorm. I had trouble guessing who was inside that shiny car. Hoping I was wrong, my phone rang. It would figure that while I was thinking over the problems in my life, one of the source of those problems would be the one to find me. I was about to pick up Mr.Amar's call, when he hung it up. Feeling confused, I tried to reach him again. I hadn't heard him out of the car at all. So much for my ninja skills. Mr.Amar stood there watching me, looking both amused and curious.

"You're late." He said

I frowned and craned my head to get a better look. "Late?" I approached him "For what? This is Sunday. I don't have any language course to attend."

At my walleyed stare, he reminded me. "Bran Castle. Remember?"

"Oh. That's still on?"

He frowned. "Did any of us call it off?"

I shook my head, deciding not to mention that I forgot that field trip was today. "No. I don't think so. You'll drive me there, then?"

He opened the door for me. "Come on," he told me. "We've got to move."

The sun rose higher in the sky as he drove us through the heavy morning traffic. It seemed like everyone in the city has had the same idea : It's time to escape into the pretty hill. I had to break this awkward silence.

"So, how long is this drive?"

"Half an hour"

"Google Maps says two," I said without thinking

"Yeah, if you drive like a grandmother."

I laughed. My coach seemed a little bit funnier today,and more casual. I noticed he was wearing a T-shirt and jeans, as opposed to his usual shirt and suit. Vampire, they called him, but I had his soft spot now. He sighed as a car cut us off, braking.