• Chapter One: First Day


    I woke up with the sun warm on my eyelids. My green eyes fluttered open and I looked around at my organized, clean room. Not in a neat-freak kinda way, but it looked nice.
    I looked over at my clock, the neon green numbers seeming bolder than usual. Seven-thirty! Dumb alarm didn’t wake me up. Or dumb me, I forgot to set it. Ugh! Now I was gonna be late for the first day at my new high school. Great.
    Groggily, I made my way to my huge walk-in closet and looked around for my favorite pair of Wranglers. They were dark but they faded until they were almost white at my knees. Once I found those I looked at my shirts and decided to wear my baby blue Hollister shirt. Then I found my white sneakers and slipped them on. I put my brown hair in a half-up, half-down style. I applied some chap stick to my lips, and then I put on my light gray eyeliner. It was just enough that it made my eyes stand out more than they already did, but also didn’t overwhelm anyone who looked at me.
    I smiled and looked at the clock and my smile faded. Eight o’ clock. That meant I only had ten minutes to walk. If I walked at a normal human pace I would never make it on time, but if I ran at my top speed I’d be there in three minutes, tops. I bit my lip, trying to decide between being late or having wind-blown hair and having to use the rest of my time before school fixing it.
    I finally decided I would run and fix my hair rather than be late my first day at this new school. I packed a neat little comb in my mini backpack and started to run to school, the trees flying by so fast I’m sure not even a car could’ve gone faster.
    Halfway there I got a text message. I slowed down, a bit but not much, and pulled out my new Samsung Eternity then checked the message. It was from my sister Katie.
    Were r u Lira!?
    Interesting name, I know, but I think it’s pretty. I sighed and made the screen show the full keyboard then I wrote back quickly,
    I woke up late so now I’m running to school and I’ll need the rest of the time before school to get my hair back to normal.
    I sent the message then ran fast and hard, getting to school a minute later. I fished my phone out of my pocket and checked the time. Cool, I thought. I’ve got five minutes.
    After I grabbed my mini comb from my bag and had smoothed the knotty mess into a shiny, silky masterpiece, I stepped out of the bushes and took in my new, small school.
    The walls were a strange mint green and there were about three hundred students milling around. I looked around for Katie but I couldn’t see her. I was about to text her when the bell rang and I let out a breath I hadn’t realized I’d been holding.
    Well, here goes nothing. I made me my way to my first class, reading. I almost tripped on air when I came through the door and I could feel my face flush slightly. I hurriedly took a seat in the back row and waited.
    The teacher, Mr. Wes, took roll and started the long and boring lecture on class rules. I scanned the room for strange thoughts and heard a thought louder than the others.
    New girl’s a hottie! A kid with long, semi-curly blonde hair was thinking. His face was smooth and he had a strange mix of green and blue eyes. He was cute but his other thoughts told me all I needed to know. The kid was a jerk. I rolled my eyes and moved on.
    I picked up some unusually kind thoughts. I tuned into the mind and, with a shock, realized a girl with brown hair, brown eyes and tanned skin was worried about me. She was wondering if I knew where everything was and she was debating whether or not she was gonna talk to me during our short four minute break to get from one class to the next. She decided to wait until ten-minute break, the break we had in between our second and third periods, because we had reading and writing back to back. I smiled to myself, already knowing who my best friend in this town would be.
    Mr. Wes’s voice brought me back to the here and now. “Do you know the answer or not?”
    I quickly picked out the correct answer from his mind and answered. “We’ll get a tardy if we misbehave.”
    “Correct,” he muttered, looking disappointed. By the end of the year he would learn not to ask me questions if he wanted someone to get it wrong. I beamed and his breath caught. He was a teacher but I was a century’s old girl trapped in a body that would never age. I was beautiful, which certainly helped. His current thoughts were along the lines of She’s too young, she’s too young. He kept it going, kinda like a chant and I smiled to myself.
    He kept going on about the rules and I returned to scanning the room. There was a seat that I couldn’t see nor pick up any thoughts from. I rummaged through the memories in Mr. Wes’s head and found the one I was looking for. Everyone had been here, no seats left. Hmm. Who was the mysterious guy or girl I couldn’t get a read on?
    I figured I’d meet him or her sooner or later, so I settled into my seat and closed my eyes. The first period went by in a blur. I got up just as the bell rang and left my stuff in my chair. I liked sitting in the back.
    The kid with blonde hair started walking towards me. I squeezed in between two desks and slid into the next row. He had stopped to talk to one of his friends and when he turned to where I had been I could hear his confused thoughts. I smiled a small smile and walked out the door.
    I almost bumped into no-thoughts-kid. He was a boy a little older than me in human years and had black hair with surprisingly bright blue eyes. My breath caught and he mumbled an apology then stepped aside so I could pass. I smiled at him and then turned to find my locker. As I walked I could feel eyes on me and I looked back to see the kid staring after me, dazed. I blushed slightly and kept going.
    I found my locker, number 007, my favorite number. I laughed and put the rest of my supplies in the locker. I closed it, then turned to go and almost ran into the kind girl. She smiled and I apologized.
    She waved away my apology. “It’s fine. Are you new here?”
    I nodded just as the bell rang and I walked quickly back to my class. I sat down in my chair just as she came in and I smiled at her. She smiled back, a little shyly, and sat down.
    Mr. Wes came through the door and passed out pieces of papers. I looked down at mine as he gave it to me. It was a personal narrative prompt. Ugh. You’ve got to be kidding me! I thought. We’re already getting homework and it’s only the first day. The narrative was something that I learned how to write years and years ago but still. Most schools still gave the kids a few days to get back into the habit of going to school before assigning anything. Oh, well. I smiled. It only had to be five hundred words. Easy-peasy.
    The rest of the period we had to work on our drafting. Mine was almost finished by the time the bell rang. I gathered all my stuff and put it into my reading/writing folder then headed out the door. My pocket vibrated when I got a text message. I didn’t have anyone’s number here so it must have been from Katie. I fished my phone out of my pocket but kept it hidden behind my folder.
    Hi. Hows ur day so far?
    I smiled and quickly sent a reply.
    Good. You shouldn’t be texting missy. Lol. What about your day?
    I got to my locker and swapped my reading/writing stuff for my math things. As I started walking towards my math class, my pocket buzzed.
    Good. There r some total hotties here!
    I laughed.
    I know.
    What grade are you starting out in again?
    The bell rang and I knew I’d have to wait till the next break to get my answer. I reached the door to the math class at the same time as no-thoughts. I smiled shyly and stepped back to let him pass. He nodded his thanks and I looked after him puzzled. Did the guy talk or what? I shrugged and walked in. The first thing I looked for was a seat in the back row. Nada. There were only two seats left. One in the very front and one in the middle row. I chose the middle and sat down. On my right the nice girl smiled at me and I smiled back. On the left side blondie smiled at me too. I waved and gave him a small smile. He sighed, unhappy I didn’t show more interest. I laughed under my breath and turned to see who was behind me-and froze. It was no-thoughts.
    Well, this was interesting. I sighed and turned back around and actually paid attention. Math is my favorite subject, and it’s so simple. Especially since I’ve been doing it for a while. I concentrated and was a little bit happy that we would have some fun homework. Just a review of what we should’ve learned in our previous years of school. I had it finished before the end of the period. I slipped the paper inside of my math folder and let my mind wander. I looked around the room without really seeing anything; my mind was on the weird boy behind me.
    I grabbed a small notebook out of my book bag and began to doodle. My hand seemed disconnected from my body and the intricate lines began to resemble my kitten Pepper. He was sitting on his hind legs and his tail was wrapped around his front paws so you couldn’t see them. His ears were perked up like he could hear something and his big blue eyes stared up at me.
    I looked down and took in my drawing and shrugged. It was okay, considering I could do much better if I took my time. I flipped over the paper and started to draw swirly lines. I made a big, cursive L in the middle of the paper and made it look like a cloud. Then I returned to the swirling lines and made them look like a vine with roses popping out everywhere. The end result was quite charming. I smiled and put the paper away.
    I leaned back and knocked my head on no-thought’s head.
    “Ouch,” I growled.
    He chuckled and shrugged. “Sorry.” Then he leaned on the back of his chair and closed his eyes. I did the same but started to concentrate on his seat. His thoughts were a little fuzzy but if I concentrated hard enough on just his mind I could get a read on him. He was thinking something along the lines of, that girl is a little weird. Never seen her around here before. I bet she’s just another snob to populate the town. I held in a gasp and lost my concentration. I started to get angry. Who was he to judge me when he could barely mumble a few words in a sentence? I grabbed my stuff and looked at the clock. Three… Two… One… Ring!
    I bounced out of my seat and walked swiftly towards the door, no longer interested in the guy… but still curious about his mind and the way it works.
    I had to admit it. The guy puzzled me completely and thoroughly. I switched my math things for my history stuff and the reading/writing folder since I had study hall after history.
    During that period I barely paid attention. I noticed this teacher had less rules, he was on the older side and that he was gonna be a very cool teacher. He would even let us sleep as long as we didn’t snore. I smiled at that, but my mind was taking everything in and reviewing the day so far.
    Then I realized that the nice girl from my first and second period hadn’t talked to me yet. I frowned a little. Then I sighed. I shouldn’t judge her. Maybe something came up and she couldn’t come talk to me. It happens.
    I kinda felt sad when that period ended because it had been the easiest yet. I walked into the library, where my study hall class was supposed to be, and stared.
    There was a ton of books and I loved to read. I could read a six hundred page book in a day. So the smaller books would be too easy but still. I thought these kind of libraries only existed in movies and fantasy books. I smiled. I was gonna like this class period. I grabbed a chair at a table that was tucked into a corner of the library and got out my writing assignment. After I had that finished I knew I didn’t need the table, I needed a computer. I could have it finished by the end of the class period since I typed really fast.
    I looked up from my paper and saw no-thoughts staring at me. I blinked and he turned to leave. Behind where he had been standing were computers! Yay! I put my folder in my bag and slung that over my shoulder then walked over to the computer closest to the corner. I smiled. They were new. I logged on using my school login, silvalira12. I looked around then pulled out my phone and hid it between my legs.
    Umm. 7th grade. Duh.
    I stuck my tongue out at the phone and giggled. That was silly.
    And you’re already worrying about boys? What are me and Mom going to do with you?
    I smiled and pressed send, then started typing my narrative on the computer.
    About twenty minutes later I was done and I printed it. It looked good, was neat, organized and was done. I smiled and put everything away in my book bag then looked at the clock. I still had ten minutes. That meant I could look for a book.
    I looked around and found what I was looking for. City of Bones by Cassandra Clare. I had been wanting to read that book forever. I checked it out and stuffed it in my bag too. I started to just wander around the library and think. I do that a lot, wander and think that is.
    The bell rang, signaling the end of that period and the start of lunch. I walked out into the hall and turned right to go to my locker. I put everything for my history and language arts classes in my locker. Then, I got out my things for science and my clothes for gym. I liked having gym last because even though I didn’t sweat, I still felt dirty and liked to take my showers at home.
    I started to walk toward the science lab at the end of the corridor and ran into no-thoughts. I was sick of calling him that.
    “Sorry,” he muttered insincerely.
    “It’s cool. What’s your name?” I asked. He looked at me puzzled.
    He shook his head and replied, “Alex,” then hurried on his way. I stared after him and smiled. He was confused on why a beautiful girl like me was taking my time to talk to him instead of rubbing him off. I walked a little slowly to science. I got in right before the bell rang, meaning I wasn’t tardy. I smiled to the unique teacher. Her hair was platinum blonde, naturally, which surprised me, with icy blue eyes and an air of authority that even I wouldn’t question unless I had to. She looked at me sharply and I sat down in the back of the room. I was sitting next to the nice girl from language arts. I smiled warmly and said hello.
    She looked at me dazed. “Hello.”
    I kept smiling. “I’m new here, as you can tell, and I was wondering if you would help me get to know the town.” I made it sound like a question.
    “I’d be glad to.” Her thoughts were relieved that I was accepting her so readily and that I wanted to be her friend.
    I laughed. “Thanks. Want to walk around after school’s out, or do you have plans?”
    “Today’s great.”
    “Okay,” I agreed. “I have gym last though, so where do you want to meet?” Then I picked up from her thoughts that I should go home to shower before we went out. She said as much.
    “That would be awesome,” I gushed. “Can I get your number so I could text you my address when I’m done, or vise-versa?”
    By the end of the period we had become definite friends and I was looking forward to having some fun instead of getting settled in which, to make us look like humans, had taken my family half the summer. Her name was Celia and she had dirty blonde hair with side bangs, was normal height, had caramel-colored eyes and was pretty loud when you got to know her.
    I groaned when the bell rang. Celia looked at me funny. “What’s wrong?” She asked.
    “I have P.E. next. Ugh.” I complained.
    “Oh. I see.”
    “Yeah,” I sighed and waved as I walked out the door to head to the gym. I pulled out the gym clothes from my bag and opened up the double doors to an enormous indoor sports arena.
    Jeez! I thought. This town is small but it takes pride in its sport division. I stared around glumly. Okay, first thing you have to understand is that not all vampires are graceful in everyday things. We are amazingly graceful at running, feeding and a lot of other things but some of us are unlucky and get the not so graceful touches. Call me Unlucky. I’m very clumsy for a vampire when it comes down to anything that involves a ball, meaning I drop most balls a lot and occasionally I’ll trip and fall down. Wait. I take that back. I am amazing at softball, even for a vampire, and I’m pretty good at basketball. Anything else, I suck at.
    This was like a bad dream. I could see a lot of sports happening here, not to mention outside. Ohmygoodness, soccer. I shuddered and pushed that terrifying thought out of my mind.
    I walked towards the girls’ locker room and stood staring. These were nice. I went to stand by a vacant locker farther from most of the other students. I waited a couple minutes, listening to other peoples whispered conversations about the new girl. A.K.A., me, and I felt myself flush so slightly that no human would notice, but still.
    All the rich snobs were trying to decide whether or not I was one of “them,” the normal people were wondering whether or not I would make this particular clique popular or that one. The loners, as I like to call them, were wishing they could just have someone to hang out with. Maybe they should all get together and form a new clique.
    After that, the bell rang and all the other girls stood straight right next to there lockers and all conversation ceased. I rolled my eyes at the wall. How bad could a P.E. teacher be? I leaned casually against my locker and waited for the big bad wolf.
    “Why aren’t you by the other girls!” I flinched. The lady standing in front of me had skin just lighter than a coffee bean and hair that was black and strangely straight. She wasn’t thin but she wasn’t big either and her teeth were really white, bleach white.
    “I-I’m new,” I stammered.
    “I don’t care! Find the next available locker down the line!” Everything she said came out like an exclamation, way too dramatic and too loud.
    I turned my back away from her, rolled my eyes and muttered, “Yes, ma’am.”
    Two girls heard me and tried not to giggle. I smiled slightly.
    “I’m going to assign you each a locker! You will put your things in the locker you are assigned, head out into the gym and into the stands! I will put you in roll call order and that is where you will sit the rest of the year! Do you understand!”
    We all nodded our heads. Then she started assigning locker numbers and codes. I hoped from foot to foot. I really had to go to the bathroom.
    I walked up to her. She turned around. “What!”
    “Can I go to the bathroom?” I asked coolly. No way was I going to let her get the best of me again.
    “Be quick!”
    I went to the bathroom then came back. She was almost to my locker. I took my place in front of it just as she came up to me. “Locker number is 107! Here’s your code!”
    She handed me a paper. Written on it was 07-12-03. Well, that’s going to be easy to remember. July 12, 1903 was the date I was turned, and the date I officially went missing. Wait. I made sure my face didn’t pale and I looked up at the teacher. She was studying me carefully.
    She made a disappointed sound and told me that she had given me the wrong combination. At that point I knew she knew something about vampires and the people who had been turned, even more than a century ago. After class was through, Ms. Tina asked me if I knew anything about these numbers. I shook my head. She looked disappointed then told me I could go home.
    As I was walking out of the locker room I let out a small sigh of relief so quietly that no normal human would hear. Ms. Tina’s head snapped up and I saw a small smile of triumph. She was a vampire.