Kiss of Death Chapter 1

The first chapter of the story.

Victoria took a deep breath and opened the door. She felt a rush of heat hit her face. It was too warm in the building. For some reason she had never been a big fan of heat. She usually felt cold anyway so she had decided to accept it as a “normal” temperature. So whenever she went into a warm room it automatically felt uncomfortable to her. This was one of those situations. She sighed as she entered the building. There were several students wandering the hallways who turned to look at her. She hated being the new girl. Her parents were always moving because of job promotions and to be closer to relatives. It was hard enough for her to talk to people and to try to blend in. She never had a chance to have any real friends, much less a boyfriend. A few years back she’s decided that she would just not talk to anyone unless it was crucial. That way she wouldn’t make the mistake of getting too close to anyone only to have to say good-bye about a month later. She roamed the hall for a few minutes before realizing that she was hopelessly lost. Realizing that she would be wandering the labyrinth for the rest of her life unless she asked someone for directions, she composed herself and headed for the first person she saw, “Excuse me,” she said, approaching a boy who was just closing his locker. “Yes?” he said turning around. Victoria froze. She was hit by a strong wave of déjà vu. He seemed so familiar. His voice. His eyes. “Ummm… Are you okay?” he asked genuinely concerned. Momentarily dazed, she stammered, “Ummm… I uh… Oh yeah! I was wondering if you could show me where the principal’s office is?” “Sure. No problem,” he said giving her a smile that she knew for a fact she’d seen before. As she followed him she thought to herself. What is wrong with me??? There is no way I could have seen this boy before. I’ve never been anywhere near here before. “Are you okay?” he asked, curiosity and concern filling his brown eyes once again. “Huh?” “You seemed sort of out of it. Like you were lost in thought or something. “I’m fine,” she said, “Just stressed out I guess. You know with the constant moves, the new town, the new school, the new people. And of course there’s the fear of fitting in and making new friends to worry about.” Shut up. Just shut up Victoria. There’s no reason to tell him your life story. You don’t him “Here we are,” he said stopping in front of a large wooden door. “Thank you…” “Michael,” he said holding out his hand. As Victoria touched his hand, she had the strangest desire to apologize to him for something, though she’d done nothing wrong. She just stared at him. He seemed to be getting uncomfortable. The bell rung. “I have to go,” he said walking off. All she could do was stare after him. It was like she was frozen. Finally after several seconds, she looked over to the students still in the hallway. That had been a mistake. A big one. There were about 60 or 70 people looking at her. When she returned their stares, they eventually walked off to their first class of the day. She watched for another second before entering the office. Once inside, she released a breath that she hadn’t realized she’d been holding. The principal Mrs. Lydia K. Webster, according to the plaque sitting on the desk, looked up. “Yes? How may I help you Miss? “I’m Victoria Cooper. The new student from Silent Valley. “Oh yes!” Mrs. Webster said standing up. “We’ve been awaiting your arrival.” She eagerly shook Victoria’s hand. She reluctantly returned the smile that the principal was giving her. “Here’s your schedule,” Mrs. Webster said while handing her a sheet of paper. “Thanks!” Victoria said getting very tired of the enthusiasm. “We are so happy to have you here!” the principal said beaming at Victoria. Victoria managed to say, “Thanks. This is a beautiful school and I’m very happy to be here.” This is killing me! Can I please go to class now?!? Seeming to read her mind, the principal said, “I should probably let you get to class.” “Okay, bye,” Victoria said eager to leave before the principal‘s enthusiasm returned. “Oh and Victoria?” “Ma‘am?” “Good Luck.” “Ummm… Thanks.” As she turned to leave, Victoria swore that for a second the principal looked malevolent. But that would be ridiculous. Right?

 

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Victoria pushed her hair out of her face. She sighed and opened the door to her 1^st period class. She wouldn’t have to be there long. The class was already half over. Immediately everyone looked up as she entered the room. “Victoria right?” the teacher asked smiling. “Yes sir,” Victoria said trying not to focus on the students staring at her. “Class, this is Miss Victoria Cooper. She will be with us for the remainder of this year. I’m sure that you all will respect her as much as you respect the people who have been here longer,” he said smiling. Looking back at Victoria he said, “As you can see on your schedule, my name is Mr. Bates. I’ll be your creative writing teacher.” Looking around the room he said, “You can have a seat in front of Michael.” Victoria froze. “Are you okay?” Mr. Bates asked noticing her reaction. “Um… no I was just err… uh… wondering who Michael was.” And why I have to sit in front of him. Haven’t I done enough damage involving him today??? The class laughed at her response. “Of course,” Mr. Bates said eying her suspiciously, “He’s the boy in the third row, fourth seat.” Victoria slowly walked to her seat. Michael avoided eye contact with her as she sat down, which was completely fine to Victoria. “Today we’re working with partners,” Mr. Bates explained to Victoria, “To save time, I already assigned the partners. Victoria you can work with Samantha and Michael.” Seeing the look come across her face he asked, “Is something wrong with that?” “No Sir.” Victoria picked up her chair and moved it next to Samantha and Michael. Michael stiffened as Victoria’s arm brushed against his. “The assignment, “Mr. Bates began, “is to write about the paranormal. That includes ufos, Nessie, Bigfoot, and whatever else you can imagine. The paper will be due next week.” Mr. Bates checked his watch and headed for his desk. “Before we begin, I have a question,” Samantha whispered to Michael, “What’s a Nessie?” “Nessie is the nickname given to the Loch Ness Monster. It’s said to reside in Scotland, ”Michael explained. “Oh,” Samantha said, “So where are you from?” Samantha asked turning to Victoria. “My parents had this little house in Silent Valley,” Victoria explained, “For some reason even though only four of us lived there-” “Wait four?” Samantha asked. “Yeah. I have a brother. His name’s David. We’re twins.” “That’s cool,” Samantha said listening with interest. “What does any of this have to do with the paranormal?” Michael asked his voice sounding irritated and slightly upset. “What’s your problem?” Samantha asked eying him suspiciously. “I just don’t see what her family has to do with anything,” Michael snapped back causing the group next to them to look up. Victoria flinched. “Whatever Michael,” Samantha said rolling her eyes. “Anyway Victoria does your brother go to this school?” “Yeah.” “Is he here today?” “No he’s in the hospital… pneumonia,” Victoria gave a weak smile. Samantha glared at Michael. “Your parents must be devastated,” Samantha said turning back to Victoria. “I’m sure they would be…” “What do you mean would be?” “My parents died a week ago… car accident…” Samantha gave Michael a murderous look. “Look Victoria…” Michael started to say. Riiing! The other students jumped up. “Don’t forget your assignments!” Mr. Bates called out to the departing students. “We can finish this assignment at my house if that’s okay with you two,” Victoria said looking at the floor. “That’ll be cool,” Samantha said offering a smile when Victoria finally looked up. “Okay… I guess I’ll see you later,” Victoria said as she quickly headed for the door. “Remind me to kill you later Michael,” Samantha said as she too left.

 

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Victoria walked quickly down the hallway. He hates me! He truly, completely hates me! Victoria could feel her eyes start to water. Oh no, you’re not about to start crying. Not here. Not now. Victoria stopped in front of her next classroom and braced herself for the worst. People were already staring. “Class this our new student, Victoria Cooper….” Victoria listened to the teacher drone on. She just went and slumped into the first desk she saw. This is going to be a long, long day….

 

Author's Note

Let me know about any mistakes.