Dylan the Vampire Slayer

Chapter 4 - When He Stares At You

Leaning forward with her elbows on the edges of her desktop, she rolled a lock of shiny onyx-black hair back and forth between her thumb and pointer finger. It fell just past her shoulders and was pencil straight. Her bangs parted on the left and swept across her forehead just above her eyebrows.

The classrooms ofHavermillHigh Schoolwere a standard thirty by thirty-two feet with white walls made of concrete blocks stacked from floor to ceiling. Thirty five desks arranged in five rows filled most of the floor space. Two dry-erase boards covered the front wall of the classroom with a small board on the adjacent wall. Alternating cream and white linoleum squares locked together sprawled across the floor. The metal framed desks had wire baskets underneath the seats and hard, white colored tops.

Her top was covered with a silky, white and purple blouse that held one thin sleeve over her right shoulder. A large ruffle started at the shoulder strap and continued all the way across the top collar of the blouse. Her lower half was wrapped in a tight, white pleaded skirt that hugged the curves of her hips and fell a few inches above her knees. Her leg crossed one over the other, revealing her toned leg muscles and flawless skin. At her lavender sandaled feet, a white canvas book bag rested against the basket of her desk.

Violet stuck her bottom lip out and blew a clump of hair from in front of her eyes as she walked into the classroom. The walls were lined with inspiration posters and class fliers. Large wire frame glasses hugged the sides of Violet’s head. She forgot to renew her contact lens subscription again, so it was glasses or blindness. The other girls in her circle of friends would tease her until lunch, but she could not afford to fall behind in class right before midterms for a fashion statement.

With smaller graduating classes, every student in Havermill knew each other’s business. As she approached her desk, Violet noticed an unfamiliar face. It was an unusual occurrence in that town. Curious as usual, Violet eyed the girl up and down as she sat down in the desk across the aisle, examining the back of her head. Unzipping the back pack she plopped onto her lap, Violet pulled a mess of notebooks and colored pens from the main compartment.

“Are you Violet... Henrichs?” the girl asked with a pause as she looked down at a piece of paper in front of her. Violet startled at the girl’s words. She was staring, very obviously, and not expecting the girl to address her by name.

Underneath striking black eyebrows and lashes, the girl had bright blue-green eyes like the color ofCaribbeanwater. The tone of her skin was golden brown and shined against the sunlight through the window. Plum-colored gloss accented her dark mauve lips and she smiled at Violet.

“I… am Violet. Do we know each other?” Violet replied.

“I’m Rebecca. I just transferred here from Boston Public,” she said.

The rubber soles of Elliott’s sneakers scraped against the floor as he dragged his body toward the desk behind Violet. His muscles ached all over his body from all the abuse he took in the cemetery the last couple of nights. The brown mop in his head was damp and haphazardly tossed about like he shook his head and let the hair rest wherever it landed. Stopping next to the desk, he dropped his bag to the floor and slumped into the empty desk.

“Are you a senior?” Violet asked.

Rebecca nodded her head. She had an air of exotic beauty about her that no one else in Havermill possessed. Her face was long, wide, and rounded at the chin. The bright orbs in her sockets seemed to glow against her tan skin and dark hair. Violet thought she must have been eighteen or blessed genetics gave her a face that could pass for legal drinking age when she was merely in high school.

“The ladies in the office told me you’re the one to talk to if I needed anything for my classes or needed a tour,” she said.

“Oh! Of course. Student Council VP and all,” Violet said as the conversation finally caught up with her, “Well teachers distributed the textbooks at the beginning of the semester, but I’m sure they have some extras. Mr. Coleson is really nice, I’m sure if you asked him right now he’d get you one.”