The sunlight streams through my bedroom window, almost painfully, casting my room with dancing shadows and leaping rays. Every corner of my room is full of bright light. I emerge, bleary eyed from my slumber, and then smile. Today, I could feel that it was going to be a great day. I just had that buzzing feeling in my bones. My school books were neatly put away, my paper filed and my timetable stuck on the wall. I walk over to it and my spirits sag a little. Double Trigonometry, Health, Home Economics and Language Arts. I cram my books into my bag with my pads of paper and pencil case, which contains about three hundred biros, and my geometry set before moving over to my wardrobe, humming a tune to myself as I select the bottle green uniform and matching everything. Even though I look like a bright green parrot, I cannot be phased. I grab my bag from the chair in the corner, quickly add some sparkly lip gloss messily in front of the mirror, hitch my skirt up slightly higher, put a green hairband in my boring straight lifeless hair, paint my nails bright green quickly, flick through the latest science and technology magazine and then leave my room. From now on, I am a different person.
I walk down the stairs, still humming. My mum is in the kitchen again, watching the news while making corned beef sandwiches. I briefly think of how different I feel now to how I did yesterday. I felt so shy and unsure, now I feel much more confident, even if I am still as clever. I walk into the kitchen confidently and go over to the toaster and start making my own marmalade toast. My mother is also humming as she wrestles with the tin of corned beef. The TV continues to blare with all its headlines on the National Football League's latest losses (I smile as I think of Mr James), the Kardashian's latest palava and the Oklahoma tornado. Suddenly, I hear a car horn beep outside. I drop my toast in astonishment and run towards the window. A sparkling, completely new, BMW i8 is parked next to the front path from my house. The driver is not quite visible yet but I can already guess who it is. I smile, run up the stairs, while brushing off the dirt on my marmalade toast, and grab my school bag. My eyes pass fleetingly around my room. Bingo! I knew I'd forgotten something important. I grab my mobile phone from where it was charging in the corner of my room, stuff it inside my skirt pocket and run out of the room again. I sprint down the stairs, excitement flooding over every single part of my body. Just one thing left to do. I run into the kitchen and kiss my mother on the top of her head. "You off dear?" my mother asks distractedly, "Have a nice day." I give her a little wave, grab my bag from on top of the kitchen counter and run towards the door. I open it and walk towards the car.
Jake is lounging against the car, smiling as I walk towards him. "Loving the nails," he says to me in greeting, "Very... green. Your taxi service has arrived." "Thank you," I say graciously, "Yes, I feel more confident with painted nails. And my mum says yes for both trips. The mall and the vacation." "Did you ring Harriet and Jamie," he asks me, "Are they OK with it?" A chill goes down my spine. I shiver a little and remember the conversation Harriet and I had last night. I shake my head. Before I know it, tears are pouring down my face. Jake gives me a friendly squeeze and soon, almost before I realize, I'm telling him the whole story. "I don't even know why I agreed in the first place," I cry angrily, "She was such a shit friend, she treated me like a bitch, I didn't even do anything!" "Look, don't worry about her, alright," he says, after he passes me a tissue. I blow my nose angrily. "You'll have new friends anyway at school, now you're well... gorgeous." he admits, "They may be a little bit more stupid than you're used to... but, yep, well, they're um..." "Jake..." I sooth, after wiping my eyes slightly, "They'll be fine. Done the Trig homework yet? Sir is going to be pissed if you forget again." I don't feel sad about Harriet or Jamie anymore. I've forgotten them. "Nope," Jake says, flashing a grin, "But, I can copy you right?" I slap him around the head. "Fine, question 1, find the length of side a when o is 4 and p is 9." I question him. He thinks hard, and I can almost see the cogs whirring inside his brain "I don't give a monkeys?" he answers. I give him a look like his mother and he covers his mouth stupidly. "What are you expected in Trig?" I'm expecting a low grade. Lower than low crap. "C. Though I'm not going to get that," he admits," Trig is for assholes. Get in, we've got to go now. Pythagoras is calling." I open the car door, wave to my mum, who is still buttering bread, do my seat belt (because even though I'm trying to be different I don't want to be paralyzed) and then take out my phone. I have a message. I open it and I see it is from Jamie. Panic suddenly floods through my body. CRAP! My hands are shaking even more than when I got the text from the unknown number. I can almost feel the anvil on my head. Jamie: Hey. I heard about your argument with Harriet. Sorry. C ya later.
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?
