The Joker

Resolutions

Chapter 10

Resolutions 

The rest of the break passed fast and before I knew it, school had started again. The same old timetable, the same old teachers, the same old classmates, the same old grounds. Even though I had only been there for half a semester, it already felt more familiar and welcoming than my New York high school had. Probably because I had friends in New Jersey.

Ms. Ramone was being as horrible as ever to me, but Claudia was still getting preferential treatment from her. I knew better than to complain about it, but that didn’t mean I was cool with it.

Madame Tussey was the opposite, a relief, of Ms. Ramone. She adored the way I could speak French casually but with fantastique pronunciation, as she put it.

The snow had not yet melted away from the football field, but the falling flakes had been replaced with rain, leaving it only frosty and muddy, but this had no effect on the football team’s practice sessions. They just kept running around, spraying mud behind them, at each other and up their legs.

So that was why I was to be found one reasonably sunny day - by reasonably sunny, I mean that there were miniscule patches of sunlight breaking through the heavy cloud layer that threatened rain - sitting in the bleachers next to the pitch with Chloe and Laura, Claudia sitting a few rows below us, just out of earshot.

The New Year had started and the twins were thinking of what they were going to be doing this year to help ‘make them better people’, as they put it.

“I’m not going to get pissed at Eli and kick his butt… again,” Chloe said, grinning at Laura who was rolling her eyes, grimacing at the same time. 

“Ellian was really pissed off last time she beat him. Still can’t live it down. But I somehow doubt that one's going to last the year, Clo." She looked at her twin with a cheeky grin and a mischievous gleam in her eyes. "I’m going to use less time in the bathroom. That’ll reduce the amount of water that we waste.”

“Good luck with that,” her twin hissed back, laughing at her. “What’re you going to do, Winter?”

I thought hard. I had not really given much thought to New Year’s Resolutions at all. My mind had been somewhat preoccupied.

“Winter?”

“Uh…” I looked around for some quick idea to come to mind.

The first thing I saw was Claudia waving at a shirtless boy—who didn’t seem to feel like waving back—jogging onto the pitch with the rest of the team. He stood out for he was seriously good looking, his pale skin reflecting the watery sunshine and obvious muscles racking through his torso and limbs. Also because he was the only one that did not seem to notice the cold air.

With a jolt I realized it was Daniel.

That was awkward.

“Um…I think I’ll learn more about vampires.”

It slipped out before I even knew what I was saying—it had been the first thing that had come to my mind.

The twins were looking at me oddly. I thought they were pondering my sanity, but that was before they said,

“More about vampires, eh?”

Chloe stared about the grounds while Laura looked at me, wondering what to tell me, what I could handle.

“How ‘bout what happens to you in the sunlight? Aren’t you supposed to burn?”

The twins glanced at each other.