Chapter 12
Vote
Kat would have spent the next few days writing out thank you notes to everyone who gave her gifts if she was doing it by herself - though I didn't really see why she couldn't just thank them in person. It would have been much easier and would save a few trees, but she was determined to do it 'properly'. The twins were not as worried about saving trees as I was, apparently, and even offered to help her.
So that's how we found ourselves on the Saturday afternoon sitting around our large dining table, writing out curly lettered words on creamy professional card that the Sangue di Fenices - of course - had lying around their house. It was surprisingly fun. I wasn't too keen on joining in the writing-fest, but eventually was roped into it by the twins' insistence that I use by neat printing to help out with the letters, if not for them then for Kat. How could I say no?
The five of us formed a sort of production chain - the twins were both working on the decorative swirls around the sides of the card while Kat was dictating to Elle what she needed written, and Elle was writing it all down, incredibly fast and somehow still all perfectly elegant. I printed the names and addresses onto envelopes and was in charge of making sure the right note went in the right envelope. We sat around the table exchanging gossip from both school and work, and refuelling on coffee and chocolate a few times. It took us a few hours of cramping hands and aching muscles from sitting so long, but we eventually got them finished and ended up with a pile of stuffed envelopes on the table. It was amazing how fast we got that done, though I guess it was inevitable that a few superhuman helpers would speed up the process.
Kat got up and walked into the kitchen to boil the kettle - again - and the rest of us moved into the lounge, relaxing back onto the plush sofas. I smiled knowingly at them as they winced a little at the sunlight, as if they still half expected it to burn. I knew that Elle hated keeping secrets from Kat as much as I did. They were close, and it was killing her to have to lie to her best friend. But just like I did, she lied to keep her safe - or at least as safe as she could be while hanging around a family of self-restraining vampires.
I hadn't really thought about it up until that point, but I guess it must have been hard, being vampires and hanging around humans when they have to hold themselves back from jumping them. I felt sorry for them. Elle and the twins especially seemed almost like they just wanted to be human again, to not have to lie to everyone about who - or what - they really were.
Kat wandered back in with a tray of drinks and more cookies - seriously, if we ate anymore of her signature dish, we would all end up having to roll out the door. She sat down and we enjoyed the silence for a moment, letting the heat seeping from the sides of our mugs relax the sore muscles in our fingers. Then, as if she had suddenly remembered something important, Elle sat up straighter and gasped.
"I just remembered," she said, covering her mouth with the perfectly manicured tips of her fingers. "I need to tell you guys something." Her eyes were wide and full of excitement. I frowned, wondering if she was possibly going to spring this on Kat. Surely she wouldn't-
"Charles is running in the Sheriff elections!"
I sighed an internal sigh of relief. I wasn't sure Kat could handle having the fact that the Sangue di Fenices were vampires thrown at her suddenly - I figured it out myself, and even then it took a while for it to be okay with it. My head was so filled with these thoughts that it took me a moment to process what Elle had actually said. It had apparently taken Kat completely by surprise, though she did not have any preconceived notions of it to get over first so her reaction was immediate.
"That's incredible, Elle!" she cooed, so excited for her friend. "How are you doing with the campaign? When are you going to announce his candidacy?"
YOU ARE READING
The Joker
Teen FictionWhen Winter Weeklier moves with Katherine - the woman who adopted her as a small child - from the Big Apple to the small town of Calaghan, New Jersey, she is sure the dull, small town life is not going to suit her. She would, however, do anything to...