Rain falls softly, silently. The buildings around me look grey and colourless, as if all the colour has been sucked up by a vacuum cleaner. The roads leading away from my house are very busy and you can see cars and yellow NYC taxis stretching out for miles in the distance. People huddle under umbrellas, avoiding everyone's gaze, either checking watches, phones or just staring into the distance as they walk. Nobody smiles or even looks cheerful. Everyone's got that Monday feeling.
I fall into my seat at the bus stop. It's wet and cold and sends shivers down my spine. The day is, as I expected, not going to be a good one. I reach inside my bag and pull out my phone. Just as I expected, my mum has already sent me five text messages. Mum: Darling, are you at the bus stop yet. Mum: Hello? Mum: Please reply Lauren. Mum: ???????????? Mum: Right, I'm calling the police if you don't reply. I quickly respond "Mum, I'm fine. Jeez stop texting me" before I notice someone looking at me. He is wearing identical uniform and is wearing glasses. He's tall, thin and has short hair and a gap-toothed grin.
"Hi!", the boy says, "My name's Jamie. What's yours?" "Uh..." I reply, "Lauren. Do you know when this goddamn bus comes?" "Yeah," Jamie answers, obviously relieved I'd even answered him, "In around 5 minutes. However, the time is never completely accurate. I mean, you can see how busy New York is at this time of day." I give a non-committal shrug and go back to staring at the floor. "I'd sit near the front if I was you." Jamie goes on to say, unaware that I'm not really listening, "The Others don't like it if you sit near the back. First day, you probably don't want to get picked on or have food thrown at you." He said the others rather grandly, as if they were really important members of school society. "Who are the others?" I ask him wearily. Already, I'm starting to feel sick again. "The supreme elite." Jamie says in disgust, "The biggest bitches and bastards of the school. They're all so stupid and they skive off so much. I barely know any of them, but I know that much."
He looks at me darkly before pointing at a green bus that is crawling down the road. "That's the 600." he tells me. "We'd best be getting on. The bus driver doesn't usually wait for anyone." I nod and pick up my bag. It appears to be lighter and I feel like I have a huge weight lifted off my shoulders. I walk towards the door of the bus, which opens immediately. An explosion of shouts and hoots of laughter come out of the door, making my insides squirm. Taking deep breaths, I begin to walk up the stairs of the bus and walk towards the first vacant seat I see. There is an eerie silence, even the people at the back don't talk as I sit down. Jamie smiles reassuringly at me, before going to sit next to a girl opposite from me, who has her nose in a book. Gradually, the noise begins to increase again and I start to relax.
The girl finally looks up from her book. Jamie introduces me as "Lauren". I glow with embarrassment. The girl smiles and I find out she is called Harriet. She has rather large teeth and is wearing braces. She doesn't have glasses but looks really clever. Her voice is friendly and kind, and I think that I may have found a new friend. I look around the bus. Around 30 people are on it, ranging from 6th grade right up to 12th grade. Most of them are trying to keep themselves to themselves and not attract any attention. Some of them exchange dark looks and others, every couple of minutes, turn their heads towards the back of the bus, then turn away fearfully.
"Why are they doing that? I ask Harriet, as another girl looks behind her and then turns forward quickly, shaking. She looks down the bus herself, coldly and hardly then notices something and nods. "It's because Jake, Brad and Jess Dean are on the bus." she says matter-of-factly. "Why though?" I say, determined not to look any where near the back. She looks down the aisle of the bus again, trying not to notice I had asked. "Last year, something horrible happened at our school." she finally responds, "A 6th grader got hung by his ears from the top of the tower block. It was Them." "What?" I shout. They both shush me immediately and I lower my voice. "But, surely they'd get expelled for that?" I say and Jamie laughs sarcastically then lowers his voice. "Everyone's scared of the Deans." he whispers, making me crane my neck to hear him, "Their parents are school governors and university lecturers and are absolutely terrifying. Jake is almost as scary as them. Most girls look past his bad side because... well... you can see for yourself."
I look down the aisle of the bus and see the most gorgeous boy sitting there. His eyes are warm and golden and he has a smile that seems to melt my heart like butter. His hair is brown and wavy, not gelled and just perfect, every hair is in the right place. He has a warm voice and his body reeks of just general bad-assness. He isn't even wearing uniform, neither are the people sitting around him. He honestly looks like a god. I stare for a few moments at him before Harriet taps me on the shoulder. "You see what Jamie meant," she comments, "He's bloody gorgeous of course. You seem well brought up, he won't pick you. He doesn't go out with anyone from our side." "Society in our school is divided." Jamie explains, seeing my baffled look, "All us clever people, we keep ourselves to ourselves. No-one mixes. Everyone knows their place."
The world seems to stop moving, until I realize the bus is the thing that has stopped, not the world. The bus driver opens the door and there is scraping, squeaking and excited chatter. I am about to leave my seat when the bus falls silent. Jamie signals at me to go back, and I do, puzzled until I realize who is coming down the bus first. 7 teenagers, all wearing non-school uniform come down the aisle. They are all wearing no school uniform and Jake leads them. Every girl around me sighs as he comes past. As he comes past me he stops and stares at me. "Welcome to Rocky Green" he says, directly to me, "Have a great year." "C'mon Jake," the girl standing behind him snaps, "Move it." Jake shoots a deadly look at her before disappearing down the stairs and out of the bus. I hear laughter and know at once that this year is going to be different, for me and for everyone else.
YOU ARE READING
The Price of Blood
VampireTwo parts. Two stories. Two points of view. Two outsiders trying to fit in in their respective worlds. One extraordinary event will bind them together. They should not be together. They should be enemies. Can they be more than friends?
