Reckless

Reckless - Chapter Twenty-Nine

I'm sorry I haven't updated for ages. :( I've been really busy with all my coursework and revision...

R E C K L E S S . . .

CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE

My second detention with Chris was probably worse than my first.

This was probably due to the fact that the last detention I’d had with him I hadn’t known he was one of the waking dead and he hadn’t tried to eat, attack or turn me into a vampire yet. I’d even stabbed him with a compass during that detention.

Oh, those were happy memories. It was sad to see those happy times squashed by the overwhelming scariness of my second detention with Chris as it entered my thoughts.

There was no compass stabbing, whispering or any ways in which I annoyed him at all. There wasn’t any attempt at ripping out my throat, though, so that had to be a plus.

Nevertheless, I could feel his eyes trained on my back for the whole hour– an unwavering presence that both infuriated and terrified me. Not once did I turn back and acknowledge him. Instead I focussed on reading every word in my Physics textbook, hoping that by the time I looked up again he would be gone by some brilliant twist of fate.

It wasn’t just the terrors of the day before that made me feel terrible; it was the effect of Chris’s blood. I felt ill every time I thought of it inside me. The worst part was that I could feel its effects taking hold of me. I was stronger and quicker than I’d ever been in my life after ingesting his blood, and I felt more at home in the dark than in the bright lights that burnt into my eyes during the day. I desperately hoped that these were passing effects.

The teacher who was overseeing the detention saw no fault with me throughout the detention, though I was sure that she had been told that I was going to be trouble. She resorted to having to snap at a terrified year nine at the back of the classroom whose phone had unexpectedly gone off half way through the detention. After that the teacher sat at the desk at the front of the room, glaring at the students in the room through her periwinkle blue glasses.

When we were finally dismissed I stayed in my seat until I was sure that I’d heard everyone leave. I let out the breath that I had been holding for what had felt like the whole hour and picked up my bag, turning to leave.

As I turned I found myself facing Chris. Apparently not everyone had left the room.

“Fuck off, Chris,” I told him pleasantly, and stepped around him towards the door.

“Annabelle! There is no need for that sort of vulgar language in the classroom!” the detention teacher called to me, looking aghast. I could tell that she was pleased for the opportunity to yell at me, though – she was probably thrilled at the fact that she could tell the other teachers that I’d been disorderly.

 “My name is not Annabelle,” I called back at her, not bothering to turn round. “And I can say whatever I fucking want.” Despite the teacher’s tone I didn’t feel bothered one bit by the situation; perhaps it was just the mood I was in or maybe it was because of the vampire blood inside me – I wanted to run, fight, bite… kill. I felt like I could do anything and everything.  A small retort at a teacher was hardly what I wanted to do but it was sure as hell the only one of my impulses I was going to give in to.

 “I agree,” said Chris, smiling widely. His fangs were thankfully retracted, but I could still see the small points that marked their beginnings and even those scared me.

I didn’t give Chris what he wanted and reply, I just continued to walk across the classroom.

Chris caught up with me as I opened the door to step out of the room. There was no surprise in his quickness - there wouldn’t be much use in being a vampire without being super-fast. “I’m disappointed that our time together yesterday got cut short,” he said, keeping pace alongside me. There were still some people bustling around the corridors and I was hoping it would stay that way until I found a way to escape the vampire.