It's in Our Blood

The morning shone brightly. The next day had come. The one where I would finally face society once more after my week long hiatus. I had taken the time to stay home and rest after the whole scene with Bella and Victoria.

Nyx had gone to work and covered both our shifts which wasn’t too much of a task considering Jacky and Stella were such amazing managers. They had understood I was not feeling well and tried their best to stop Nyx from doing both our jobs. But as soon as Nyx compromised that they let her have anything within a reasonable price in the store, they had no choice but to give in. Or face the constant nagging of Nyx.

I threw on a random slightly loose dark grey band tee and some dark jeans complimented by a little beanie on the top of my head. Around my neck was the necklace given to me back when I was a human from my mother. It was a little silver angel attached to a silver chain. I cherish this above all material possession because it is a reminder of my life, my beginning.

“You ready yet?” asked Nyx, poking her head into my room.

I sighed, rolling my eyes, “Yeah yeah.”

“Good. Grab something to eat quickly and be in the Spider in 10.” She directed before making a graceful exit into her room.

I closed my bedroom door, walking down the hallway, down the stairs and into the kitchen. I grabbed an apple. If an apple did truly indeed kept the doctor away for a week, then if I ate 6 apples then I wouldn’t have to see Carlisle for six weeks right?

….

Yeah I don’t think that would happen either. Knowing Alice, she would probably drag me over and call Jasper to use his effing vampiric strength to carry me into the house.

But the apple was delicious. I grabbed my bag with my school things, dumping it into the back of the Spider. I climbed into shotgun, crossing my legs. I threw the apple into the green bin in the garage, waiting for Nyx who came precisely as the apple landed into the bin.

“Three points!” She cried, jumping into the Spider.

I let out a small laugh. Nyx pulled out of the garage and went onto the road. Within 15 minutes, we had arrived at school.

I got out of the Spider, closing the door. An odd chill blew by me, rustling my hair around me. I brushed it off, following Nyx into the school.

Students talked and bustled around. Several strange stares emitted from passing students causing hushed whispers and if they were stupid enough, to blatantly point at my figure trailing beside Nyx’s.

Nyx being the faithful friend she was decided to throw glares that pierced through your soul at each by passer. Needless to say, they immediately looked away, trying to strike up a conversation with their friends.

“What exactly happened?” I asked.

Nyx shrugged, “I just told them you were feeling ill. And somehow that escalated to a wild night rave where you got so high on drugs, you had to be bed ridden.”

“Are you serious?” I asked in disbelief.

Nyx nodded, letting out an aggravated sigh.

“Unfortunately.”

“Hey! Nyx! Kari!”

We turned around, seeing Lynne run up to us. She beamed with joy at the sight of us and gave us each a warm hug. Lynne let go of us, still bouncing in elation. It was strange but I decided not to question it.

“I’m so glad you’re feeling better.” said Lynne.

“Uh…” I cleared my throat, “Thanks?”

“Oh by the way, the winter concert audition information has been posted! You should go check it out.” Lynne beamed.

“Nah, I don’t think so.” replied Nyx, “Don’t exactly have the time.”

Lynne’s happy demeanor fell slightly, but a rush of determination filled her, “Well think about it at least. You would be amazing.”

Nyx merely shrugged, giving a sheepish smile before heading off to the music room. Lynne looked at me with a pleading face, almost to seem to try and convince me to persuade Nyx. I gave her a nervous smile before following Nyx’s lead and heading off to the history room.

Trista greeted me with a grin, flinging her arms around me. She updated me quickly on what I missed before gossiping about the antics at work and the havoc created by Kyle, Nyx and her at school. I was laughing within seconds.

“Alright class, settle down.” Mr. Vans came in, stacking papers on his desk.

He took off his glasses, his platinum blond hair falling neatly into his eyes. Girls swooned. Either oblivious to this reaction or choosing to ignore it, he took out the attendance sheet and began role call.

His eyes took a quick glance around.

“Ah, everyone is here today.” Mr. Vans smiled, “Then let’s begin our lesson. Today we’ll be doing something simpler, more tedious. We’re going to be studying Greek mythology.”

Trisha immediately sat up straight. She was obsessed with the Greek gods.

“In fact, we’re going to be having a debate soon.”

“What kind of a debate?” a voice rang out.

I looked over to the male. His shaggy hair was a copper auburn. He wore a nice dark red graphic tee, black jeans and amazing emerald white Vans skater shoes. His group of friends did not seem to differ from him. They all were peaked in interest with this lesson. All of them, except him.

I sniffed the air discretely. Strange. I could smell his blood, I could hear his heartbeat and he looked like any other human male and yet… I could not feel his emotions. Or was it simply because he did not feel anything at this particular moment?

“Well, you will all study the history of Lamia, the queen of Libya. Essentially, we’re going to split into teams, debating about her history.” Mr. Vans said, walking around. “You see, Lamia’s story has been nothing but myths, legends, stories. We’re going to see if we can try to piece along a tale based on those very myths you study.”

“But what is the point of doing this?” the same boy asked, “We’re always doing debates. How is debating and arguing about myths going to do for our lives?

He was frustrated. But I could not feel his frustration. Why is that?

I felt Mr. Vans surge in irritation. But he was always so patient, especially with all the girls. His eyes flashed in that familiar ruby glint in his topaz eyes. Ones that was similar to Carlisle and the rest of the Cullens.

I blinked my eyes furiously, feeling my throat tighten. Was he… What? This never happened before. I glanced at Mr. Vans again. His eyes were a silver grey color. I bit the bottom of my lip. Did I hallucinate?

“The point is we’re learning about the past.” said Mr. Vans, rubbing the bridge of his nose. He went behind his desk, “When one does not know their history, they will not go into their future comprehending what goes their way.”

The boy was about to speak out again. Mr. Vans quickly cut him off.

“Kieran, stop.”

My heart stopped.

‘Kieran?’

“I expect that when someone takes this course, they will spend time putting in effort to work hard, not arguing why we’re debating. If you are not convinced that knowing the truth in history is important, then maybe not getting your credit will convince you.” told Mr. Vans, “And if you still are unconvinced, then you should switch classes while you still have the chance to.”

Kieran stared back defiantly, almost as if he was going to stand up at any second, slam the door and leave. However, as minutes of silence grew on, he did not. He remained in his seat with a stoic expression.

How was it possible that I would know two Kierans in a lifetime? How was it that this Kieran and my Kieran look and dress so similarly? Because there is less than a 5 percent chance my Kieran would not dress like that. He always loved having his hair messy, his clothes slightly baggy and had a weird enjoyment in ripping his jeans.

I could hear Mr. Vans explain the assignment. His words processed into my mind clearly but I could not tear my eyes away from Kieran. His body remained still, his back hunched over his desk. I couldn’t help but wonder… Did they have the same eyes?

Gorgeous deep amethyst eyes? I remember the first time I met Kieran. His eyes drew me into him. They told me so much, literally windows to his soul. They made me want to be his older sister, to protect him the moment that I had laid eyes on him.

“So now, break off into partners and study about Lamia. You will have two days to pull together all your information and your notes. This debate will be counted as your first test if you will. Depending on how well you fight your facts, you will get graded accordingly. This is an oral test.” explained Mr. Vans. He clapped his hands together, “Get started. There are a couple of pages of information in your textbook.”

Flipping pages were heard. Everyone got busy or at least from the sound level it seemed they were all discussing something. The cool thing about Mr. Vans was he did not care if you talked or not, as long as you finish the assignment.

I noticed him walking towards Kieran, ten minutes after his lecture. The two of them stared fiercely at one another. I could only pick out phrases of their conversation from the noisy conversations around me.

“Just do it.”

“Why should I? You’re practically giving it all away.” argued Kieran.

Mr. Vans sighed, “This is for you.”

“This has nothing to do with me.”

“Nothing?! Did you not just hear what I said?” stressed Mr. Vans in an unbelievably harsh tone.

Buzzing entered through my ears. I winced. Trista whispered my name, worried about me. I merely gave her a small smile and told her not to worry. She nodded doubtfully, returning to write notes about Lamia, crossing and overlapping previous words with a marker and scribbling in her own thoughts.

“If you do not understand your past…”

“You won’t understand the future. I get it.” said Kieran aggravated.

“Then I suggest you take my advice and learn. This is for your benefit.” spoke Mr. Vans forebodingly. His aggravation ran through his body clearly. He walked away from Kieran.

Kieran flopped back into his seat, letting out a frustrated sigh. His friends gave him comforting pats in which he simply brushed off with a wave of his hand. I could feel waves of sympathy emitting from his friends and yet nothing from Kieran. Why? Why couldn’t I?

The blond of Kieran’s group, met my eyes. His silver eyes swirled, almost as if they were looking into me. I felt a small breathe of air escape my lips, chilling my skin. The rest of the three boys in the group looked towards me, whispering to Kieran. Kieran turned around and looked directly at me.

His violet eyes pierced into mine.

‘Fuck. Just like Kieran.’

I bit the bottom of my lip again, feeling myself getting crushed under the intensity of his gaze. All five of them stared at me. Were they expecting I do a trick for them?

Luckily I was spared to answer or embarrass myself as Mr. Vans came along.

“Hey girls, how are we doing right now?” he asked.

Trista absolutely beamed, “Amazing! Lamia is so interesting.”

Mr. Vans smiled at her enthusiasm, she was nothing less than a child who had gotten her wish on Christmas.

“How about you Kari?” asked Mr. Vans softly.

I glanced at my page. It had nothing but my name and the title of Lamia on it. I grimaced at it. Mr. Vans let out a small chuckle and I’m pretty sure I heard a chorus of sighs from several different girls in the nearby vicinity.

“I’m sorry.” I said, “Everything has just been so…”

“Nerve wrecking? Weird? Catastrophic?” he threw out, “It’s fine Kari. You’ve been sick. I understand.”

He gave me a comforting smile.

“In fact, there have been a couple of lessons you missed last week. Do you mind staying after school for an hour for the next couple of days so you can catch up?”

I hesitated, unsure of my answer. I glanced at Trista. She did not know what to say either. We both had work.

“Well I have work after school.” I explained apologetically.

Mr. Vans nodded, “Well do you have study hall during the day?”

I nodded, “After fourth I have lunch. Then I’m done for the rest of the day.”

“How about sixth?” he asked, “I have prep so that should work out for both our schedules.”

I nodded again, “Yeah that’s fine.” I felt my voice growing softer.

The intensity of both Mr. Vans and Kieran and his friends made me want to run out of the room. It was almost as if two different forces were pulling at me, something I was not used to. I glanced at Kieran. His eyes were firmly placed onto Mr. Vans and I. Almost as if he was daring for something to happen.

“Alright then. I shall see you in sixth.”

Mr. Vans smiled once more, patting both Trista and mine’s head and walked away to help a giggling bunch of girls in the front.

“What just happened?” asked Trista.

I shrugged, completely perplexed, “I have no idea.”

“That was strange. The entire atmosphere just went from happy to tense.” commented Trista.

The thing with Trista is she’s all about spiritual energy, historical fantasy and all that type of stuff. She’s very Zen, but yet she is also very enthusiastic. If she applied her work ethic in history and at work to everything she did, she and Nyx would be head to head in taking over the world.

The bell rung, everyone bustled to get out. Mr. Vans voice called out reminding everyone there was a debate two days from now, our first assessment. Many of the giggling girls lingered, slowly putting away their stuff.

I slung my bag over my shoulder, skimming across the room. My gaze finally landed onto Kieran. He gave me one last intense fleeting look and headed off with the rest of his friends.

Trista tugged on my arm, giving a cheery goodbye to Mr. Vans and together walked out of the room. Together we separated from each other. I headed down East of the hallway while she went west.

I looked up from the ground, pushing my way through the crowd. I saw a flash of Kieran’s hair whipping around the corner, nearly hitting my form. He did not even glance at me and headed off.

The bustle of students covered his form in a second.