Blight Academy

Night Class

Will Tudor as Jayden Juniper

I yawn, looking at my watch. 2:27. I sat at the front of my linguistics class, tired but excitement fuelled the blood in my veins. The door opened and two people walked in, a girl and a boy. The paused after a few steps in, looking at me strangely. They started to sniff the air, like they could smell something. Smell me. I try to ignore it, just rubbed at my tired eyes to pass the time. I had to try to stay awake, I can't let myself fall asleep. When I looked back up, a guy stood in front of me. I know him. He was the guy from the cafeteria, the vampire. He wore a dark red button down with black jeans and thick leather boots. His hair was combed over, a few strands loose and hanging over his face. He looked down at me with a furrowed brow and I looked around the room confused.

"Hi," I said.
"Are you lost?" He asked, his voice like velvet.
"No," I said, confused.
"You sure?" He asked. Face completely serious.
"Yes," I said.
He snickered, confusing me even more than I already was. He left to find his seat, there he continued to laugh and look at me strangely. He stops when the teacher walks in. The teacher is a young and skinny looking man, with dark slicked back hair. He wore a dark blazer, black slacks with a navy blue dress shirt and a dark green bow tie. He was pale... Too pale.
"Hello, I'm Mr. Porter. You must be Leonard," he says
"Yeah, I am." I say back.
"I'm excited to have a new student, I welcome you to level 4 linguistics," he said smiling, it was then that I noticed his sharp teeth. Vampire.
I try to stay calm. Just because he's a vampire, doesn't make him a monster. I'm sure he's a lovely man. I mean, Sapphire can set fire to me at anytime if she wanted too, doesn't mean she's going to do it. Alice can stab me with her branches without me realising before it was too late. Thoman can drown me if he so pleased but he wouldn't, because he's Thoman.
"I would like to test you, if that okay with you," Mr. Porter says, bringing me back to the present.
"A test?" I ask
"Too see how much you know," he says with a smile. "I know you studied it at an actual university and Ms. Williger recommended you for this level four class despite you only being a first year. I think if I understand your knowledge, I can teach more effectively."
"That sounds reasonable," I say. "What do I have to do?"
"I'll give you six essays all written by different people except for two. You have to figure out which ones are written by the same person," Mr. Porter says, getting the papers out of a draw. "That okay?"
"Yeah, if it's not gonna waste time," I say and he chuckles.
"This will be fun," he says, getting out a stop watch. "Three, two, one. Go!"
I spend a few minutes just looking at them, getting familiar with their writing styles and context. I pull out a pen, taking a few notes, circling some things as well as underlining words. I'm rusty, I'm scrambling my brain to remember what I have learned.
"I'm done," I say and everyone looks up in surprise.
Mr. Porter, stops the stopwatch and looks at it wide eyed. "Three minutes and twenty-six seconds!"
"That's fast," the girl in the back said.
"Did he get it right though?," the vampire says.
"Essay B and E are written by the same person," I say and Mr. Porter nods.
"Correct. Wanna explain how you came to this conclusion," he says.
"The biggest clue is that they both used a common phrase; 'a needle in a haystack'. As well as both using words like 'delinquent' instead of 'a young person'. They both the only ones to spell the words 'realize' and 'mom with an 's' and an 'u'. While the writer has a habit of spitting his sentences with a comma, a rookie mistake in my opinion."
"I'm impressed," Mr. Porter says.
The vampire laughs. "Oh please, a child could figure that one out."
"Well Jayden, If you are so unconfident in Leonard's abilities, why not battle it out," Mr. Porter says, making me look up in shock. "See who's the best?"
"That would be interesting," Jayden says.
"Leonard? You keen?" Mr. Porter asks.
"Well-" I'm say, hesitant.
If I don't do it, I look like a coward but if I do the test and I lose, I look like an idiot. If I win, Mr. Mysterious Vampire over there will get angry.
"Just do it," Jayden says and we make eye contact for a while. His red eyes edging me on.
"Okay, I'll do it," I say.
"Great," Mr. Porter says laughed, clapping his hands. "I'm going to give you a couple of sentences in a series of complex codes. I will give out a small example of this code already hacked. The first to decode the entire page will win."
"Sounds challenging enough," Jayden says, faking disinterest.
"I'll do it if I have too," I say quietly.
"How about the entire class participate, the more the merrier," Mr. Porter says, earning a groan from the other two students. "The winner will be crowned the King of Linguistics!"
Jayden rolls his eyes but eagerly takes the pages when Mr. Porter hands them out.
~~~
Five minutes later and I raise my hand. Mr. Porter looks up from his desk.
"Do you have a question?" He asks.
"No, sir," I say looking down at my paper. "I'm done."
Everyone looks up from their papers. Jayden going wide eyed.
"Done?" Mr. Porter asks in shock.
"Yes," I say. "The sentences are actually a poem."
"Say them out loud, I need to know you got them correct," he says.
"It goes; The time will come
when, with elation,
you will greet yourself arriving
at your own door, in your own mirror,
and each will smile at the other's welcome,"
"Well, keep going," Mr. Porter says. "I need to know you have it all."
"And say, sit here. Eat.
You will love again the stranger who was yourself.
Give wine. Give bread. Give back your heart
to itself, to the stranger who has loved you
all your life, whom you ignored
for another, who knows you by heart."
"Brilliant," Mr. Porter says, clapping. "Did you know this poem before the test?"
"No, sir," I say. "It's very solemn, though."
"I agree," Mr. Porter says. "It is a poem by Derek Walcott and is about life. You are very talented to have figured it out quickly, Leonard."
I nod, looking down at my desk before glancing over at Jayden. He was practically fuming in his seat, the paper scrunched up in his closed fist.
"I guess that means you are the crowned king of Linguistics," Mr. Porter says.
"The test was stupid anyway," Jayden says, his brows furrowed in anger.
"I'll remind you Mr. Juniper, that you wanted to participate. You even went as far as to encourage Leonard to join in," Mr. Porter said and Jayden snapped.
He stood from his desk suddenly, a loud screeching from his chair hurting my ears. He walks with purpose, storming out of the classroom in utter rage. I look back to Mr. Porter who is smiling at the door where Jayden had left.
"Did I do something wrong?" I ask.
"You did no such thing," Mr. Porter said, his fangs showing as he smiled.