Jeremy looked up at Mystic Falls High in disdain, the grey, cloudy morning doing nothing to quell his distaste for the place. He supposed high school was hard on anyone in normal circumstances, but even harder for him. It seemed the people in his life just kept slipping away; starting with his parents, then Vicki, and, lastly, Anna. What probably hurt the worst with Anna was that his own uncle was the mastermind behind her killing. She had been a friend, a light in a dark time of his life, and now he felt like he was being plunged back into darkness again. No, he wouldn't start drinking or using again, but he sure felt like it at times. Looking up at Mystic Fall High School was definitely one of those times.
However, he told his Aunt Jenna he'd try harder and that's just what he'd do. Well, he'd at least show up. He didn't really have to try hard to make good grades, but he didn't see himself putting too much time into studying to do any better. Jeremy hooked his thumb under the single strap on his book bag and brushed his other hand through his hair, the ring his uncle gave him catching a bit on the dark brown strands. He frowned for a moment as he looked down at it. It was a bit...gaudy for his tastes, but he figured he'd humor his uncle, even if the jerk had skipped town after his little "cutting" accident.
As he stepped toward the front doors of the school, he glanced around the parking lot for a moment. This particular morning, he was trying to avoid Elena, her friends, and more importantly either one of the Salvatore brothers. Once he saw no sign people he wanted to dodge at all costs, he stepped into the school just as it started to sprinkle. Thankfully, he made it inside before the deluge of students flooded the hallways to avoid the rain. He got to his locker without having to fight too much through a sea of people and conveniently didn't run into any of Elena's friends. He had enough time to take it easy and not have to rush, but he kinda just wanted to get the day over with.
If there was ever a moment in which
Birna felt old, it was this moment. She was sitting behind the wheel of an 80's model, pitch black Mustang that, while looked in mint condition on the outside, had a bad habit of having things go bad in a sort of domino effect. She was sitting in the back of the parking lot of Mystic Falls High School, where a farm used to be and a meeting place before that. Birna had traveled to Mystic Falls three times in her long life. Once with a group of Norwegian vikings when she was little, once in the 1800's at the turn of a war, and only recently with the Garner family. She had seen this place when it was nothing, then again when it was just blossoming into something, and now it was unbelievable the growth that had occurred in over a century. If she thought far enough back, the place held nothing but pleasant memories, but now...now this place was urging her to turn it all off and shut it all out. She hadn't seen anything but the Garner household up until this point, but being in public and seeing old sights that brought back painful memories made her want to flip her switch. She knew she couldn't do that though, no matter how much she wanted to.
With a heavy sigh, she glanced over to Clara in the passenger seat, masking her emotions so the girl wouldn't have anything to worry about. Instead, she forced a small smile on her lips as she lifted an insulated cup of warmed blood to her lips and took a sip of it. She swallowed before speaking, knowing she would have to choose her words wisely. The loss of Clara's father had been hard on both of them, but something only Birna knew as necessary. If there was anything a vampire had to learn, it was to be able to put on a convincing act. "Remember, we can always back out of this if you want to," she said, with her particular way of speaking. It edged on a proper British accent, but there was something more there, something older. It was one of the few things she hadn't assimilated away about herself. "But I think it'll be good for you to get out with kids your age. I'm not exactly the most hip of company," she continued with a wry grin. Her bright grey-blue eyes twinkled as she glanced over the girl. "Though, you say the word and we'll leave, alright? This is more for you than it is for me...even if I've never had
any sort of formal education. I'm the best moral support there ever has been or will be." A huff of a laugh left the redhead as she shook her head a bit.
Birna glanced in her mirrors at the students enter the school before a loud rattling and whining resounded from under the hood of her car. She turned suddenly and watched as steam(or smoke) billowed up from beneath the hood. She hissed a curse as she let her head fall back against the headrest and let her eyes slip shut in frustration. The car died with another rattle and Birna shot a glance over to Clara. "Give it at least today. If you...don't want to go back, we'll take a few more days to regroup. You go ahead inside. Better one of us late than both of us. It's probably just a thrown belt or something," she told her, shooting the blonde another grin before tying her wavy, red hair back into a ponytail and popping the hood. She opened the door and was about to round the vehicle, but paused for a moment. "And don't call me Birna in front of anyone. It's too old a name and bound to raise a few eyebrows. Just call me Penelope. It's something I used to go by when people weren't too accepting of outsiders."
He used to call you Penelope, her mind hissed as she closed the car door and rounded it, pushing the hood up and propping it up.
Clara had helped her pick out something more fashionable to wear that morning; ripped up jeans, a plain black tank top, and a deep-purple plaid over shirt to cover up the few tattoos she had on her arms to make her look more like a teenager. Her combat boots jingled as she took a step back from the engine as it billowed up smoke. Once it cleared, she used the hood as a barrier from the rain, leaning on the front edge of the car as she tried to suss out what was wrong with the car this time.
