CHAPTER 2: A SECOND SHOT AT PUBERTY

                “No! No! No!”

                It was five in the morning when Gustav knocked on my door. By five fifteen we were downstairs. I was shouting and probably waking the whole town but I didn’t care. It took all of my self-control not to tear our living room apart. Gustav was constantly on my heels trying to calm me down. But before he could place a hand on my shoulder or stroke my hair, I was out of reach. Superhuman speed sure is useful when you want avoid fatherly affection. Time check, six o’clock in the morning and we were still at it.

                “Sanguine, please listen to me.”

                “I have been listening to you for an hour now, Gustav! It’s time you listened to me.” I spun on my heel and met him straight in the eye. “I.Am.Not.Going.Back.To.High.School.”

                “Cherie high school is the happiest time in a teenager’s life. I cannot see why you detest such an offer to repeat it.”

                “Seriously, you’re asking me to spend four years sitting in a room listening to a lecture I’ve heard centuries ago?” I crossed my arms on my chest. “You’re going to kill me of boredom.”

                “High school isn’t all about study, you know?”

                “I’m not a people person. Give up.”

                I started to climb the stairs but I collided into Gustav’s hard chest. I rubbed my nose and frowned at him. His expression was grave and it caught me off guard.

                “Cherie, I would never force you into anything if it wasn’t important at all.”

                “You mean going to prom is important?”

                “You’re not paying attention, Sanguine. This is for your safety. We must blend in. The trackers will never think of entering this town and we in turn must abide by the human rules. We are on their turf, you know?”

                I snorted. “Did you just say ‘turf’?”

                Gustav’s smile has always mesmerized me and after four hundred years I’m not surprised that it hasn’t lost its effect.

                “Yes, I’m willing to put up with the modern slang in order for us to mix well with the locals. Face it Sanguine, four years in high school can’t be worse than running for the rest of our lives.”

                Austinford High School had a small student body as I’d fully expected. Gustav enrolled me as a freshman. Making me three years younger than my real age �" well the age I was changed. I wasn’t bothered by the fifty pairs of eyes boring holes into my back. I was familiar with being the new girl. Everyone steered clear of me, to my relief. It would be hard enough to control my thirst with these people surrounding me within the four corners of a classroom for eight hours. I let my hair hang loose around my shoulders concealing half of my face. The less acquainted we were the better.

                I entered the last room in the corridor and suddenly all went silent. The teacher pointed me to a vacant seat in the back and introduced me aloud to my classmates. He then handed me a list of books to read for the semester. I stared at the small piece of paper, inwardly smiling because I had read all of the selections before and knew them by heart. It wasn’t obvious but I was a total bookworm. I took my seat beside a boy with messy hair and too much makeup. He appraised me and gave me his version of a flirty smile. I ignored him and focused my attention on the lesson.

                The other kids and I went from room to room until the final bell rang and I filed along the hall sandwiched in a throng of students who along with me were eager to get home.

                The week went by at a sluggish pace and I was ready to die from the mundane turn my life had taken. Gustav was busy with his own town adventures but he looked happier, a lot happier than me. I hated him for that but my anger was immediately extinguished when he came home one day and told me that he had bought me a motorcycle.

                “Okay, I’m really happy but couldn’t you have picked something more inconspicuous?”

                “What? You don’t like it?”

                Oh I liked it alright. It wasn’t every day that you receive a brand new Ducati as a gift. The metal monster was unimaginably shiny. It was beautiful and black, thank God.

                Gustav puckered his lips, thinking. “Would you rather have a bicycle then?”

                “No!”

                And just like that, my hard-earned almost anonymity was gone. Poof! The school’s parking lot was jam-packed with students when I arrived. Apparently nothing could escape the Austinford grapevine of gossip. I was thankful for my helmet, even temporarily it blocked off the stares from the student body and faculty as well. When I finally found an empty spot to park my bike, a girl approached me.

                “Hi I’m Melanie. My dad owns the Hunky Dory toy factory in Celeste.”

                She was tall and slim. Her blonde curls ran down her back loosely and her face was covered in make-up. She was waiting for me to be impressed or something but I just stared at her, still keeping my helmet on. She began fidgeting well aware of the bystanders observing us. She forced a smile and held out her hand.

                “Welcome to Austinford by the way.”

                I killed my bike’s engine and swung off. I removed my helmet and shook my hair. The look I gave her was so dark that she swallowed audibly.

                “Look here little miss sunshine, I’ve been here for a week now and you’ve never gave a crap about me. Now I get a shiny new toy and you suddenly want to be my friend?” I spat the last word out.

                Melanie opened and closed her mouth like a fish. “T-that’s not�"!”

                I cut her off. “Do me a favor and get off my back.”

I strode away leaving her to bask in her shame. As if on cue, a few students started snickering and whispering. After the incident, everything went back to normal. Everyone steered clear of me but now they were more wary - a nice touch to my high school life. Not that I wanted to hang out with anyone of them. Solitude did me good. It would keep them safe and me hidden.

Gym class came and no one picked me as their partner for badminton. I didn’t mind I could take them on alone if I wanted to - which is what happened.

“Where do you get all that energy, Lacroix?” Coach Lewis asked when I was heading for the locker room.

“Dunno, it just comes naturally.” I shrugged.

My sweat glands had long ceased to function but it would be weird for me not to take a shower after an hour and a half of running around the court. I was overwhelmed by the odor of cheap perfume when I walked in. my classmates were in various stages of undress and all of them were chatting. It was like a tidal wave of scent and sound. I wavered slightly, balancing myself by putting a hand against the wall.

“Hey are you okay?” a soft and seemingly reluctant voice asked.

My nostrils flared and a distinct aroma wafted in. I suddenly became unbearably parched and I knew I could satisfy my thirst from drinking from whoever it was that spoke to me.

“Hey…” the voice continued. Her concern was evident and genuine.

I partially turned and a pair of doe like eyes greeted me. The girl looked familiar but I couldn’t point out where I had seen her. She was a few inches shorter than me and a couple of pounds thinner. Her dark hair made her look paler than she already was. And her smell was so enticing. My eyes darted to her exposed neck. I could almost see her jugular underneath her translucent skin. I licked my lips unconsciously and drew a bit of blood from scraping my tongue against my extended fangs.

“Are you gonna faint or something? You look really pale.”

I was already changing. I ultimately let my guard down and exposed my true self to a human. We were more dangerous and inviting to our prey in our original form. This girl would only be the first to die if I went wild in the locker room. I met her deep grey eyes with my crimson irises. She wasn’t even startled. She was already under my spell. My glamour wasn’t as strong as Gustav’s but when I was this thirsty it boosts up my capabilities.

“Close your eyes.” I purred.

The girl obeyed and submitted. I brushed her hair away from her shoulder and buried my face in the crook of her neck, sniffing. My mouth was literally watering. I grazed my fangs against her skin and opened my mouth fully aiming for the perfect bite. But then another girl bumped against me pulling me back into consciousness and into the situation. I gasped and turned on my heel and made a beeline for the showers. It was empty but I had to get a safe distance between me and that girl. I spotted a window and pushed it open. I could hear light footsteps heading in my direction and the scent got stronger. I shook my head and leaped out. I found myself on the fire escape and without a second thought I sped up the metal stairs. I wasn’t sure if I would find a human-free place for me to think in this school but luckily, the rooftop was deserted. I sat on the cold cement rocking back and forth struggling for control. Gustav would be furious if he found out I had almost killed an innocent girl. It was our ultimate rule that we would only prey on those who wouldn’t be missed, like criminals and homeless people. I felt moisture on my mouth and discovered that I hadn’t retracted my fangs and had bitten my lower lip in frustration. I groaned and buried my head between my knees. I took slow and steady breaths and willed myself to change back into my human guise. I leaned back and wiped my mouth.

“This is harder than I thought.” I said to no one in particular.

“What is?”

I sat up in alarm. At first, I thought that my almost victim had followed me but then I realized the speaker’s voice was that of a male. A few feet from me, standing atop the school’s ventilation system, was a boy. He was very tall, roughly six feet.

“That looks nasty.” His eyes were rich brown almost golden in the light. The wind ruffled his raven hair as he twisted to face me.

“I got hit during a game.” I blurted out senselessly.

He jumped down and took four long strides towards me. I scooted away reflexively but he held up a hand, stopping me.

“I’m not going to hurt you.” He said reaching into his pocket he pulled out a neatly folded handkerchief. “Here.” he offered.

I gingerly took it from his outstretched hand and applied it to my mouth. There was a lot more blood than I had expected. He heard my sharp intake of breath and in a blink of an eye he was kneeling in front of me with the handkerchief once again in his hand.

“I’d better do it.”

I started to protest but he ignored me. His touch was gentle. He might have thought I was seriously hurt.

“If gym is this violent, the department of education should probably remove it from our curriculum.” He gave me a quick smile.

“Do you always do this?”

“Do what?”

“Hang around here waiting for bloodied damsels in distress.”

His smile reappeared. “I’m always up for an occasional damsel but I don’t know about the bloodied part.” He shook his head. “But you’d be the first.”

“First what, damsel or the bloodied part?” my eyes followed his retreating form.

He opened a door - which most likely lead to a staircase. He looked back at me, he wasn’t repelled or disgusted in any sort and with curious eyes he answered.

 “Both.”

He left me there on the rooftop with a feeling of light-headedness and a blood-stained handkerchief.

Reviews

[lovejulez03]

This chapter was good. I liked the first one better, but I think you did a good job transitioning into the school and giving a little visual into that part of her life in a new place. I'm not sure if I would made her meal INSIDE of the school, but thats just my personal opinion. I'm on to the next chapter! :)

[ailesdelacroix]

thanks for the review, it was a necessity to show my readers the still youthful side of Sanguine that despite the fact that centuries old, she's still technically a teenager bothered with problems like school :)