Blood Lines

12. Midterm

After that day, Clae got along a lot better with Lena. She didn't interact with her much, though she no longer avoided her, and she greeted her in passing. Lena was either absent during classes or tired, and now that Clae knew why, she felt bad for having assumed the worst of the girl. She still felt disappointed in the grade she would no doubt be receiving in Medicinal Plants class when they received their final grades, but she had put this behind her. She would work doubly hard on all the rest of the class to receive 50%. So what? There were plenty of other classes to excel in for the next three years.

Jess, whom she had been initially concerned about after the night of the Ball proved to be as oblivious as ever. She still swooned over vampires, especially Jasper, and often lamented her lack of not being bitten on Valentines.

For her own part, her gut clenched every time she and Jasper crossed paths. He was the same as always, never betraying for an instant what had passed between them. But her anxiety spiked every time he forced his company on her and whoever she was with. And most unfortunately, he was doing this more often than ever. Jess had noticed the uptick in his affections towards her and had become slightly pouty about it.

"He must like you," she said in exasperation as Clae deflected yet another random advance on Jasper's part. "He doesn't hardly look at me anymore. And we danced at the Ball and everything."

True to her word, Clae was mum about every aspect of her conversation with Lena on the night of the Ball. But she constantly thought about it. She found herself teaming with questions but couldn't bring herself to seek out an audience with Lena to ask them. Lena seemed distant whenever she approached her, so she tried to forget their talk that night and immersed herself in her studies.

This all was going well up until the point when Professor Hornsworth informed them that they should be halfway through their midterm projects by now. That morning, she felt like crap again. She had a miserable time in class and found it difficult to climb out of her hole of depression.

"Hey cheer up," Jess said bracingly as the bell rang and they began putting away their notes. "Your grades were so good in everything else that you're probably still top of the class."

Clae shrugged. She had just turned to leave when Dr. Hornsworth called her to the front.

"Miss Lomond, I wanted to talk with you," he said, eyeing her carefully. Fearing yet more failing grades, Clae nodded uncomfortably and took the seat he offered across from him.

"I received your new midterm proposal yesterday. I have to admit, I was hesitant to accept it. I thought I had made myself clear about the two of you and your midterm project. But, I have decided to give you two just one more chance. The proposal was thorough, detailed and professional, and the two of you clearly put time and effort into it. And I'm pleased that you are trying to save the Sanguinas besides. You'll have a lot of work to do to catch up, but I am confident you can succeed."

He held out his pudgy palm and Clae shook it, too stunned to speak.

"What the-?" she said, once she was outside in the hallway.

"What was it? What did he say?" Jess asked, having hung back waiting for her.

"He just said that we can continue the midterm." Clae's mind felt like it was buzzing with some sort of electricity. "He said he won't fail me!"

"That's great Clae! What a relief!" Jess said, patting her on the back.

Clae shook her head, smiling nervously. Had that really just happened? Suddenly she caught sight of Lena heading out of the hallway. With a jolt, she remembered that today was Thursday. They would be meeting up that afternoon for their class duty. Her stomach tightened. Though she had tried to keep her mind away from the mysterious girl all that week, now she would have the chance to talk to her again one on one.