Turning Away Warm Bodies

Chapter Eight: She is a Nightmare

[Cameron Turner]

  Some people believe in Hell, others believe in reincarnation. A handful believe in karma, while the rest believe in Olympus. There's Hinduism, mythology, Christianity, and Judaism, what have you. Half of us religious, the rest of us atheist. Then there's the select few of us who take destiny by the hand and ride their reins.

  Though most of us find Renee a bit... odd, I think it was fate whom brought her here. Yeah, she's dark and doesn't talk much, but when she does, it always amazes me how wise she is.

  Thanks to her, the one thing that made my life hell but hid behind the curtains flew out the window and out of my hair.

~

  I walk through the commons, my breath heavy from practice. Across the large room, I spot a tall figure with long, black hair, gliding towards the doors that lead out of the school. I recognize it as Renee immediately.

  "Hey, Renee!" I call out to her, speeding up to a steady jog to catch up to her before she left the building. She doesn't turn her head to acknowledge me, her line of sight not shifting away from the doors. She just stops, waiting for me to catch up to her. I'm next to her in seconds, catching my breath in even less time. "Where you headed?"

  She's still for a second, then turns to look at me, her expression so emotionless, it kind of scares me; her voice cold. "Why are you talking to me. It's not like small talk will accomplish anything. Besides," at that moment, her voice rings with irritation, her expression disapproving. "pretty sure your sex crazed girlfriend wouldn't like you even acknowledging me, or any other girl for that matter."

  I'm taken off guard by that last comment, maybe even offended that she called my girlfriend sex crazed, but who was I kidding, she's an animal in bed. Still, the fact that she was implying that Jamie was that protective didn't exactly strike me the right way. From past experiences, though, I knew better than to bitch back at Renee since all she'd do was shrug and then say something along the lines of "Believe me or not, I couldn't care less about what you do with what you know. I don't have time to try and convince you away from what you're too stubborn to believe." and walk away. Instead, I went with a different approach in hopes to continue the conversation. "Isn't that a bit harsh?"

  She just shrugs. "Somebody had to tell you you're sleeping with queen uptight and horny."

  Another punch sent my way. Seems like all Renee's capable of is shooting people down. It's no wonder no one ever willingly starts a conversation with her. Who wants to have a conversation with someone who will only respond with anything negative, or completely contradictory to whatever words happen to spill out of your mouth? To most people, that's not a conversation, that's an argument, but instead of both people blowing their heads off yelling at each other, it becomes you and your red face screaming at a statue. Unless you're a client in Monty Phyton's Argument Clinic, that's not something you willing go after.

  So why am I? Let's face it, I'm the star quarterback and I'm dating Jamie Sunnet, the head cheerleader and vice principle of student council. The last thing you'd expect is for me to openly approach Renee Lamia and start talking. But I'm stubborn in believing that the mask Renee wears on her face is really just that, a mask, and if I sly my way into her comfort zone, maybe I'll be able to pull it off and see Renee for Renee, not just the most pessimistic bitch ever. Just think about it, a happy, bubbly, won't stop giggling Renee. Now that's something I want to see for myself!

  So I'm quick to respond to her still consistent insults. "So you're basically telling me I'm dating a whore."

  "Someone had to tell you."