Lunar's Curse

“Students!” Ms. Taylor's singsong voice chimed through the air. Most of the students rolled their eyes. Ms. Taylor's class was hell for them (it was the first class of the school day after all). She was eccentric and odd and once I even heard someone wonder out loud how in the world Ms. Taylor had been hired for the job of an English teacher.

The window beside my seat was cracked open slightly—fresh air rushing through. I closed my eyes and let the soft summer breeze take me away from here. Take me to a place where no Amanda or Ella existed. Take me to a place where the moon always shone and those inhabitants underneath were marked with the Lunar's curse and I ruled above them like the Queen I am destined to be—

My eyes snapped open. Where had those thoughts come from? I looked around the classroom warily. Students were opening their bags and grumbling in protest as they slammed their binders down on the tables. People were huddled in their usual groups and talking to each other quickly. No one was looking in my direction. Amanda and Ella aren't in my English class (it's a big relief).

But still... I hesitated, my fist clenching onto the edges of my binder. What had caused me to think like that? What kind of crap was I thinking about? Lunar's curse and being a destined Queen? What the hell?

I pulled away from those thoughts. They weren't important. I had been just having a stupid moment. Nothing more. Ms. Taylor got to the blackboard in the front of the class and answered questions about our surname origin project. Then she would let us get on with going over a rough draft of what we were going to say.

I let myself drift off and stare out the window as Ms. Taylor explained our Frequently Asked Questions. I read over her assignment paper she handed out a few days ago almost ten times. It wasn't that difficult, really. I didn't need to ask questions about it. If I did ask questions, I would rather ask during Lunch than in class. Just my preference.

The window showed the clear blue sky and the green grass of the school garden. I've always wondered how that garden survived, really. I always smelled smoke outside and it was particularly unhealthy for plants to be living in that kind of condition.

As I was staring out the window, someone entered the garden. At first, I just caught a glimpse of raven black hair and brushed it off. But then the person looked up and I froze in my seat all while staring right back at those eyes.

Red eyes. Like pools of blood. Even from up here, two storeys up, I could still see those red irises. Maybe I should have been wondering how I could see so far but all I could see was the red. I didn't noticed anything else. There was just red. Red, red, red—

—And they were staring right at me. I nearly lost my balance and fell off the chair. Luckily, I had grabbed the desk beside me to keep from falling. Unluckily, I knocked over the other student's binder. She looked annoyed at me as she bent to pick up her stuff that I had knocked over.

I muttered a quick “Sorry” and looked out the window again to catch another glimpse of that guy. There was something off about him. I just couldn't place my finger on it.

When I looked out again, he was with a girl. She looked kind of like Amanda from here but I couldn't really tell because the guy had his body pressed against hers and they were making out against the metal fence.

So he hadn't been looking at me... He was with some girl the whole time... But...why hadn't I seen that girl earlier? Why didn't I see her until now? I shook my head. Maybe I needed my eyes checked. I wasn't sure if I had 20/20 vision.

“Miss Lamia? Are you paying attention?” Ms. Taylor asked me. I pulled my gaze away from the window and nodded vigorously to Ms. Taylor's question. She didn't seem to believe me.

“You need to listen to this as it could help you later on in your project...”



Alex this, Alex that. Honestly, I was getting tired of hearing about this Alex Burke guy. As far as I knew, I had no classes with this Alex guy she was talking about. I felt like he was some sort of celebrity that I would never meet and that I shouldn't even take this obsession seriously.

Finally, after annoying the entire library (especially that librarian who kept on giving us death glares) Justine finally had some news about the other one. The one with the freakish red eyes. The one my Math teacher seemed flustered to meet.

“Sexy name—Xavier,” Justine said, sighing with some sort of content while I gave her an odd look. “He's not as good as Alex. Well, in my opinion. You know what? Alex should date me and you should date him. That will show Ella the bitch something about life.”

“Please.” I held up my hand in fake-surrender. “I have enough drama with those girls to last me a life-time.”

“Girls!” The grey-haired librarian hissed at us. “If you're not using the computers, please get off as we need it for people who have more productive things to do.”

I instantly got up from my seat and started to head for the tall non-fiction stacks behind the computer that no one went to. I knew, from experience, that no one would hear us there. Unless we screamed. But otherwise, the books actually helped muffle the sound.

Justine said something to the librarian before logging off her student account on the computer we had on. I'm not sure what she said to the librarian but it probably wasn't a very nice thing.

She skipped into the section after me and nearly knocked over a stack of books.

“Justine! Careful!” I said as I made the books steady again before heading to our section in the very back and sat down on the red carpeted floor. “You could break them.”

Justine let out a snort. “They're just books. It's not like anyone reads them. We are in the age of...” She paused for dramatic effect, “Sexy werewolf and vampire romance TV shows.”

I rolled my eyes. “I hate those shows.”

Justine looked offended. “Well excuse me Miss I-love-reading-like-a-nerd, but I am actually in tune with society right now. Only the nerds read.”

“Uh-huh,” I said, disinterested with that topic. It always led to some heated debate. I needed information on that Xavier guy right now. “So what about Xavier you were going to say?” I leaned in closer.

“Whoa!” Justine said, laughing a bit. “Hit by an arrow. Love at first sight?”

I didn't know exactly how to explain that draw to him so I just shrugged. I could tell her later. “Sure. You can say that.”

Justine squealed with excitement. “Perfect dream come true!” she told me. “Alex and me, you and Xavier! That will definitely show Amanda and Ella!”

“Everything in your life is about showing them up,” I said, wanting to roll my eyes. Of course everything would be like that. Justine loved showing up people. That's how she got on Ella and Amanda's bad side in the beginning.

“Yeah, yeah,” Justine said, waving it off dismissively. “Xavier is that super hot guy in your Math class, right? Ella and Amanda are in your Math class. Xavier's kind of a player. No—he's actually a big player. Just make out with him and make them all jealous. They're clawing each other's eyes out to get to him.” Justine snorted. “Closing in on him like a pack of wild wolves.”

The wolf pack imagery didn't play well with my mind. “I don't want to make out with him!” I exclaimed. “I don't even know him!” And I also felt repulsed by him.

Justine gasped. “How could you not? I mean, unless he's not your type—”

“Yeah Justine. I always date the players,” I said sarcastically.

“Oh right!” Justine snapped her fingers. “You haven't even been kissed before. I should go soft on you because it's really normal that a seventeen year old girl hasn't been kissed yet.”

“Sixteen,” I corrected, still feeling embarrassed. “Fine, fine. So what if I haven't been kissed?”

Justine shook her head in mock shame. “That's a huge part on your reputation, Myra. But it's all right. You're a nerd. It's not a surprise that you've never even dated a boy in your life.” When I opened my mouth to protest, she said, “A boy that was not a fictional character. What kind of loser does that?”

“Offended!” I cried. “You don't even know how many girls are obsessed with fictional characters. And aren't fictional movie characters the same?”

Justine turned red. “They're actors. I'm in love with the actors.”

“Actors,” I said, shaking my head. “They're the ones with the bad personalities, am I right? Aren't the characters the nice ones?”

“Whatever,” Justine told me. “But one thing's for sure; I have got to get Xavier to date you. Or at least talk to you.”



Operation: I Hope Will Fail. Actually, Justine named it Operation Boyfriend. It's a stupid name, if you ask me but of course no one asked me.

Justine was super excited. She thought this was going to be some sort of movie scene. I don't know what was going on in her head when she thought she could 'hook me up' with Xavier. Honestly, I didn't even want to talk to him. That sounded as appealing as eating centipedes.

But of course, Justine has her ways. I don't know how she got Xavier to talk to me, but she did.

It was during Math class. Dean and I seemed to be working together. We weren't. We had our desk pulled up but he was texting. He said he would finish his part of the assignment at home. I highly doubted it but didn't object. So I bent my head down and started to work on solutions to our assignment questions.

It was silent between the both of us for a few minutes. Me, with my eyes riveted on the papers and Dean on his phone.

Then a shadow fell over me. On instinct, I looked behind me and nearly jumped from my seat.

Xavier looked even taller close up. Especially because I was sitting. He was just staring down at me with those freakish red eyes of his.

Then his mouth curved up in a half-smile that I was sure that all the girls would fall for. Heck, I should have fallen under that look. It was the kind of smile that I personally admired. Cute and quirky. But on Xavier it looked menacing and that took away all the attractiveness.

“I saw you this morning,” he said. His voice is...odd. He has an accent. I can't really place it but it sounds a little Italian. He puts emphasis on a lot of words. He also has a tiny lisp. I suppose this is slightly endearing. It's the only thing I find myself attracted to.

“O-oh,” I stuttered. Great. Stuttering. That was perfect. Dean looked up from his phone, seeming amused at my being flustered. I tried to compose myself and seem aloof. “While I was in English class? Yeah, I saw you too. Wouldn't mistaken those eyes for anyone.”

Shoot. Was I flirting? I had to stop it now. I didn't want him getting the wrong idea.

“I don't suppose anyone would,” Xavier said, sounding amused. I was about to turn around and focus on my papers again but then Xavier leaned towards me. I freaked out, thinking he was going to kiss me. I didn't want to kiss him. I didn't want to—

We were close. An inch apart. He was staring into my eyes and I into his. The red pools looked even repulsing up close. His irises are a solid red colour with no flecks. The red looks like blood.

“Your eyes are a lovely shade of green, milady,” he said, grinning. I swallowed and he stepped back, as if sensing my fear.

“Lovely, lovely,” he said, almost to himself. “Lovely creatures, humans are. Lovely and simple. Simple and blind.” He gave another half-smile and this time, it turned into a wide smirk. He was mocking me.

But I didn't feel angry. In fact, I didn't feel anything but confused and a little freaked out.

Xavier turned and headed back to his desk where (no surprise) Amanda and Ella were waiting for him. When he sat down, it was like he never left. Amanda and Ella didn't even shoot me dirty looks. They just pounced on Xavier like (Justine's words) a wolf pack.

I shuddered as I forced myself to turn back to my own work. But before I did, I caught his eyes again and he held it for a second. During that second, I felt a swirl of emotions. I felt vulnerable and weak in this classroom. I felt like I belonged...in a free open area where I could run free. I felt like he was inviting me to his private world. To stay and live there forever with him. But then he looked away and the connection snapped. And once more, I was back in my own world.