The gloom of last night's news reel still fills me a little dread as I sit on the bus next to Harriet on the way to the leisure plaza near Manhattan Mall. I shiver a little, partly because Jamie is talking about a new horror movie that is coming out, and also because a horror movie appears to be what my life was like until now. The bus bumps and jerks as we travel along the busy streets. We may be off school, but commuters still fill the streets- a claustrophobic's worst nightmare. That's why I never walk anywhere at rush-hour as you could be squeezed to death (if you weren't trampled on first). "And then the zombies jump out and devour Matt Damon's girlfriend and all you see is one of her fingers..." Jamie is in full flow, Harriet and I exchange grim looks with one another. "Well, I've heard that there is a new American Football based book coming out that you might want to read," Harriet quickly changes the subject, and I presume at once that she hates horror movies, "It's called "Saturday Night Lights", it's shortlisted for the New York Bestseller's Book List, you should give it a try." Jamie smiles at her and then continues talking. Jamie decides to show it to me tonight at his house. I can't say I was the most thrilled I've ever been in my life. Horror leads to nightmares. I hate the PG rated Tim Burton film "Coraline" and I've never watched another horror movie since then.
The bus stops by Riverside Park, the second most common place for murders this year. "Three tickets to Larry's Leisure Plaza." a voice says at the front of the bus. I recognize it immediately. Harriet quickly squeezes my hand and shushes Jamie, who was just getting on to the huge zombie battle at the end of the movie. He looks at her, exasperated, but she just points down the bus. He nods, understanding. Jake, Nate and Brad are walking up the aisle. I try not to stare at them, but my eyes are drawn to Jake's face. Harriet squeezes my hand again, painfully almost this time, as they approach the spare seats behind us. I try not to move. Or breathe. "Well, look who it is!" Nate exclaims in mock surprise, "Miss Goody-Too-Shoes and her two lamo friends. How are you today?" I never realized how ugly and sneering his face was. "Oh, just piss off and leave us alone," Harriet retorts, exasperated. Nate looks stunned and his mouth turns into an unpleasant frown. Harriet turns her back on him and talks to Jamie like nothing has happened. I try to take deep breaths, but I feel Jake staring at me. It makes me feel so sick. "Where's Leighton?" I blurt out, without meaning to. Already I can feel the anger towards Jake filling my body with a red hot volcano, waiting to erupt. Jake doesn't reply, but Brad does. "Jake dumped her." he says plainly, "Guess you can get back together with him now, am I right?" "If you think the only problem is with Leighton, you are out of your mind." I snap hotly "I think the fact that Jake lied to me about being single is the largest flaw in his character." "You know, he was pretty upset about the whole business," Brad replies, keeping his voice low so not to attract the attention of his brother, who is staring at me from across the aisle, "He wants to get back together with you, go on holiday again. He's been moaning to me all day about it." "Well, I don't care!" I retort in a irritated whisper, "He can move on. I already have."
Jake continues to stare at me for the whole bus journey. I try and avert his gaze, but his eyes seem drawn to mine like a magnet. For once, Jamie has stopped talking about "The Dead Who Walk 2" and has got out his Kindle to start revising "War and Peace" by Leo Tolstoy, which he tells Harriet is featured on "the Top 10 Most Difficult Literary Works" as written by ListVerse. Jake is texting furiously, and Nate keeps smirking as he looks at pics on his phone. I am pretty sure I am the butt of all of Brad's laughter as he exchanges looks with Jake, who snorts into his t-shirt. Finally, I cannot take it anymore. I give him a look of disgust, stand up, press the stop button and grab my bag. "See you guys, I say, "This bus is a place of idiots." Harriet looks at me like I am crazy, signals to Jamie to stop reading "War and Peace" and then grabs her own bag. "Are you really that stupid? I'd much rather walk than be even in the same air as those idiots." I start to walk down the aisle as the creaky bus slowed to a halt. Suddenly, Jake grabs my hand. "I'm always watching you." he says plainly. A shiver of dread goes down my spine. I jerk away and almost run towards the door. I can almost picture his sly smile as the doors to the bus close.
I was most certainly right about the commuters. As the bus pulls away, I see Nate making rude hand gestures at us as we walk down the road. I pull my Gucci coat around me. It was given to me by my mum for my 16th birthday and was the most expensive thing Dad and her have ever given me. It is a light, patent leather trench coat, and cost my beloved parents $2219, as it was in the only ever 50% off Gucci sale. This is still ridiculously expensive, and I told them to take it back when they showed it to me. However, I could not change them, as my mother is as stubborn as an ass. Contrast my stylish, belted coat to Harriet's- a Marks and Spencer belted mac with stormwear, whatever the hell that is. It only cost $64. However, Jamie wins the bargain coat standoff. His is a TopMan light grey knitted parka, which cost him, wait for it, $21. We look a very strange group, ducking between angry, balding men on mobile phones shouting and shouting some more, posh women doing their make-up while walking and swearing when they put on the blusher unevenly and young, attractive salesmen talking in low voices about their next sale with a veteran RAF pilot who wants to sell his house for only $50,000 in order to afford the next 30 years of his medicine (if he lives that long)
Eventually, we reach the plaza. The outside, I must admit, looks pretty bad. Instead of Larry's Leisure Plaza, it reads "Lar y's L isur Pl za" on the side, probably because some stupid kid thought it was funny to nick the letters and use them for... what? Probably to write some rude word on his house or some crap. The paint is peeling off the walls and there is a random rusty pole in the centre of the drive. However, there are lots of people going inside, so I presume that it is still quite popular. "Jamie, did you really have to choose this place for us to go bowling," Harriet inquires, not trying to mask her opinion of the exterior of the site, "It looks like a total hell hole." "The reason why I chose it, Mrs High and Mighty," Jamie replies, while Harriet sticks out her tongue, "Is because it is the only bowling alley with unlimited lanes, which means that for a small fee you can go on a lane for an unlimited time. I thought it would be good for today, considering this is our first time on a proper weekend trip together." "Sounds great." I say, and trying to convince Harriet, "I'm gonna beat you all! To the bowling alley."
The inside of the plaza is much better than the outside. There are so many attractions, including Larry's Lazer Zap, the Loffee Shop, the Pin Cafe, Larry's Little Kid's Areas and, unsurprisingly, Larry's Leisure Bowl. However, these very similarly named areas are very good quality, and the coffee/loffee shop looks so inviting that we all decide at once to go inside and have a drink. The entire plaza is themed around the color blue, so there are lush blue armchairs and sofas, blue, pearly-styled tables, blue cushions on the blue sofas and blue napkins The counter has a blue tablecloth on, the coffee cups are blue, the takeaway coffee cops are blue, just about EVERYTHING is blue. We line up at the server, before being addressed by someone familiar. "What can I get you?" the voice of Kelly says, "Oh..." She looks at who she is addressing and stares. "Umm," I falter a moment, and there is a uncomfortable, half-silence, "Can we have a Cappucin_." Kelly leaves, and goes over to the coffee machine to serve someone else. Harriet looks on, disgusted. "Excuse me?" Jamie asks, and another coffee server, who is apparently called Dave, hears his plea and comes over. He looks like he might have eaten too many of the croissants in the cold servery. "Can I help you?" he asks, obviously a little irritated at Kelly as he gives her nasty looks. "Yes," Jamie says, relieved, "Can we have a Cappuccino and two hot chocolates to eat in please.? "Of course," Dave calls Kelly over and tells her our order. She gives us filthy glances, but Dave doesn't notice. I don't know whether that is fortunate or unfortunate, but it still, what a bitch. We move down the servery, eyeing up sandwiches and other goods, but the coffee will probably cost the bomb. "That's $8.40 please." Kelly says, in a cold crisp tone when we get to the till, which Jamie supplies. She shoots him a look of contempt for giving her a $10 bill, "and $1, 60 cents change. Thank you." However, the coffee we are given is completely and deliberately wrong. Harriet and I, instead of getting hot chocolates, we got cappuccinos, and Jamie got a hot chocolate instead of a Cappuccino. "Umm," I try to notify Kelly. She pretends not to hear and I am forced to tap her on the shoulder. "Is something wrong?" Kelly says in mock-waitress style, and then, in a low threatening voice, "I don't care. Just take your drinks, no matter what they are or aren't and leave."
And we do.
YOU ARE READING
The Price of Blood
VampirosTwo 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?
