The New Girl

Chapter Eighteen

Lovina had become an instant notorious celebrity in the school. She became the most talked about person around Neon: she was even overshadowing the Halloween talk, the festival which was just around the bend. It was really hard not to listen to the conversation when the people were talking only mere inches away from me. One of those people was two girls whose lockers happened to be right next to David's.

David, who was not attending the classes, had revealed me the four digit combination of his locker and asked me to return Vampire Actually back to the library. I was looking for the book in his locker, its open lid hiding my head from those girls view when I suddenly heard the word 'Lovina' from their mouth and froze. My ears pricked up, something I couldn't stop doing.

"... Yes, I saw those pictures too," the first girl said. "I have them transferred via Bluetooth from Beth's phone in mine. I showed them to my parents. They didn't trust the pictures were real."

"At first I also thought those stills were photo shopped or something," the second girl said. "But Cecila came to me and said the dog in the picture was hers and he was really dead. After that I'd to believe these rumors and the pictures were true."

I moved my head a little, and, from just below the straight line of the locker's door, I could see the lower parts of the floral dress under which were the thick white legs in tight stilettos, toe-nails polished in bright red -

"But Lovina always seemed good girl to me," the first girl said. "Although she was friends with those three nerds, she was cool and never once struck me as violent type."

"They say don't judge a book by its cover," the second girl said. "We were all hoodwinked by her pretty appearance. Everyone's saying she might be a serial killer the cops are looking for. But personally I think she might be a witch. Otherwise who would drink dog's blood for no purpose?"

"Yeah, you might be right," the first girl said. "She probably drinks animals' blood to be the fairest girl of Neon. That must be how she managed to stay number one on the hottest chick list ever since her debut."

"I can't imagine how many pets she has eaten before Cecily's dog to remain fairest," the second girl said. "I heard she left the school. Now I wonder who would top the chick list."  

"There's Avalanna," the first girl said, and then her voice turned suddenly all dreamy. "But I might top it too. A fairy godmother said to me so in my dream -"

"Oh, look! Ceicily's coming!" the second girl said.

There was a snapping sound of locker door closing, and then both girls chorused, "Hi Ceicily! Missing your dog Badass?"

My hand found Vampires Actually, and before I could fill my ears with Cecily's voice, I slammed the locker door and marched to the opposite direction of those silly girls, hugging the book to my chest.

The library in Neon was big room with high ornate ceiling and the bookshelves that needed ladder to reach their top covering the walls from four sides; save the rectangular frame used as door at the bottom of western side of the wall. And it was packed literally. Like a conference hall. But strangely it was quiet. Not a scraping sound of chair or the sole of the shoes could be heard.

I don't know this library was used to that much crowd or not, but the huge number of people, mostly consisting boys, present there definitely felt unusual for me. The books were flying off the shelves fast and a long line of those waiting for their books to get approval stamp from the librarian was forming in front of her desk, heads occasionally tilting sideways to get better view of her.

From where I was standing in the room I could see Misty busily stamping the books all by herself smiling pleasantly and often greeting the first person on the line back. Now that I saw her, I don't deny she was hot. But I have my own word to describe her, and that is glamorous.