Red Reaper // Twilight J.H.

04 // THE SUSPECTS

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The trek to her first class already had Nikita yearning to ditch the mission entirely and take whatever punishment she received from Madame B. The idiot American boy, Mike Newton, would not cease his incessant chattering and could not seem to take a hint. He would keep inching closer to her as they walked, and the Red Room girl despised him for it.

Were all Americans this talkative? Were they all too stupid to pick up on social cues? Nikita obviously was not in the mood to talk, yet the boy kept rambling.

Finally, just as Nikita thought her self-restraint would fail her, they reached English class. Mike grinned his annoyingly broad smile and gestured to the classroom while pointing out the obvious by saying, "And here's your first class."

Nikita swallowed back a rude retort and instead murmured, "Thanks for your help."

Mike looked as if he just received a reward of some sort. As if he was a dog receiving praise from an owner. He replied, "You're welcome. I can help you find your other classes if you want?"

"No, I can do it," Nikita declined his offer with a faux smile. "Thanks, though."

Before Mike could spew out more nonsense, Nikita entered the classroom. Once she had stepped inside, she was greeted with several more unfamiliar faces. Many of them stared at her with intrigued expressions, knowing she was a new student. The teacher turned to acknowledge her as well, smiling warmly.

"You must be our new student, Nicole Reynolds," the man exclaimed.

Nikita plastered a fake smile on her face. "Yes, that's me."

"I'm Mr. Harrison," the teacher introduced. "Do I need to sign any paper for the front office?"

The brunette wordlessly handed him the slip of paper that all her teachers were supposed to sign. The man, Mr. Harrison, did so with a pen and then returned the paper to her.

"There ya go!" he spoke in a cheery voice. "And let's see... you can take a seat beside Alice in the back of the room." Immediately after finishing his sentence, whispers erupted in the classroom. Nikita overheard most of them being about how this girl, Alice Cullen, was odd.

A beautiful short-haired girl raised her hand. A smile that seemed genuine was resting on her pale features, and she was dressed fashionably. Her eyes were a glimmering gold, rather intriguing and pretty. She was alluring in an unnatural way.

Nikita felt a prick of suspicion in her as she took notice of how pale the girl was. Only vampires were that pale... well, perhaps that was an exaggeration, but it wasn't often Nikita got a glimpse of someone with such light skin.

And her eyes... they were gold! They could be eye contact lenses, but it was unlikely. Almost all vampires had red eyes, but there were a select few that had golden eyes. It depended on the vampire's diet. Red eyes meant they consumed human blood, while gold meant they only drank animal blood.

If this girl was a vampire, then she was not the one responsible for the recent killings. For now, Nikita would let it slide.

Nikita strolled forward towards the vacant seat beside Alice. Once there, she sat as she was taught to, with her posture straight and movements elegant.

"Hi," Alice spoke in a voice just as alluring as her appearance. "I like your outfit."

Nikita blinked in surprise. She had not expected to receive a compliment of all things from this girl, who was quite possibly a vampire. Nonetheless, she recovered from her shock and responded, "Thanks. Nice shoes."

"Thanks!" Alice chirped.

The lesson began as Mr. Harrison addressed the class and started reviewing information. Nikita took notes as many other students did while simultaneously sneaking glances at Alice. The pixie-like girl seemed oblivious to the other's glances, but Nikita knew that a vampire's peripheral vision was almost just as great as their forward vision.