I sighed and put my head down on my desk. Math class. Great, now I can catch up on my sleep.
The teacher started talking, so I lifted my head up in an effort to at least look like I was paying attention. Then I heard a voice off to my left say, "Hi, Tristan!"
I turned my head to see Veronica Simmons smiling and batting her eyes at me. I forced a smile and said in a falsely cheery voice, "Hey, Veronica." Then quickly turned my head away.
Veronica has had this weird crush on me since the beginning of the year. I guess she is sort of pretty, with long curly brown hair and big brown eyes. But she spends too much time texting in class and she wears too much make up. Plus, I have to say; she seems like a bit slow. I really don't know why she was interested in me, because I'm not exactly good-looking; I'm tall and slim, but not real athletic, with honey blonde hair that touches my shoulders, grey eyes, and big feet that make me clumsy.
Anyway, luckily next Mr. Crop (the teacher) provided a distraction by telling us to pair up and practice our flash cards. I immediately caught the eye of my best friend, Emily Long.
Emily and I have been friends since 2nd grade, mostly because we understand each other. Emily and I are both pretty good students, but we suffer from ADHD and dyslexia so it's hard to sit through class like a normal kid. She is an inch or two shorter than me, has long wavy dark blonde hair, and large grey eyes. Grey eyes just like mine. People have always mistaken us for brother and sister because of our eyes; it's actually kind of creepy.
I walked over to her desk and had just opened my mouth when Emily asked, "Do you wanna be partners?"
I grinned at her and said, "You took the words right out of my mouth."
We got out the flash cards and speed through them and soon were done, while the rest of the class was still working. Mr. Crop came over with an amused expression on his face said, "I suppose you two are done already?"
We grinned and answered, "Yes Mr. Crop!"
Mr. Crop shook his head and muttered something about us two getting the work done faster than him as he walked away.
"So, you exited for summer?" Emily asked.
"Hell yeah!" I exclaimed, grinning from ear to ear. " And we don't have to wait long, either!"
Emily threw back her head and sang, "This afternoon!"
I laughed and said, "Good bye 6th grade! No more homework!"
We both cheered at that. Then Emily, a little more serious, said, "I'll see you over the summer, right?"
"What?" I asked, smiling teasingly. "Are you going to miss my handsome face?"
I laughed as she rolled her eyes and slapped me lightly on the shoulder.
"Yeah right, bighead!" she answered, a smile creeping onto her face nonetheless.
I smirked and poked her in the ribs in return.
Emily scooted away from me slightly and went back to our earlier conversation. "How much do you get around New York?"
I had lived in New York City my whole life, and I loved it here. The sounds, the sights, even the smell made me smile. I probably knew the city better that any other 12-year-old.
"As much as I want." I answered, my smile fading and my tone turning bitter. "Joe doesn't care about me, and Lucy is always at work."
I was referring to my foster parents, Joe and Lucy Heinburg. They took me in when I was 9 years old and I have lived with them ever since, but I would never call them my family. Joe is at home most of the time, but he is always glued to the computer or the television and hardly even looks at me. Lucy tries to be a good "mom", but she doesn't do well with kids and usually ends up yelling at me. To them I'm just a waste of space. I mostly do things on my own.
"Has it gotten any better?" Emily asked, pity in her eyes. She is always worried about my situation at home, and to be honest, I can't stand it when people worry about me. It makes me feel weak, like I need someone to take care of me. And I do not need anyone to take care of me. I'm just fine on my own.
"No." I said, sighing and brushing my long hair out of my eyes. "Yesterday I got in a big fight with Joe because I wasn't home on time. He hates it when I'm late for dinner."
"I'm sorry." Emily said quietly. She is a nice person, and a good friend to me. Changing the subject she said quickly, "Why don't we hang out tonight, to celebrate the end of school? We can go to a movie, or something."
"Sure." I said, my smile a little strained. "That would be great."
Just then, Mr. Crop called the class to order and Emily and I went back to our desks. Mr. Crop was droning on about decimals, or something, so I tuned him out and daydreamed about the end of school. Only three more classes!
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Three…two…one! The bell rang, signaling the end of the school year and I whooped and cheered along with everyone else. I grabbed my bag and rushed out the door, fighting against the crowd of middle school students to the busses. I met Emily in the hallway and we were about to board the bus, when I realized that I had left my history book in my locker. I thought about leaving it there, but I knew that would earn me a talking to from Lucy, so I told Emily to save me a seat and I ran back down the hall.
The 6th grade lockers were in the basement of the school, so I leapt down the stairs and jogged to my locker. I had just gotten my book and was about to head back up the stairs when a voice from the other end of the hallway said, "Hi there Tristan!"
I forced back a groan and plastered a smile onto my face as I turned around and called back, "Hi Veronica."
She was coming toward me and smiling alluringly. She said, "I've been waiting for some time alone with you, Tristan." She was about ten feet away from me, and getting closer all the time.
A warning bell went off inside my head and I thought; what does she want with me?
"I'm onto you half-blood. You can't hide anymore." Veronica told me, smiling mockingly. Then she added, in a menacing tone, "And I'm hungry."
Okay, now I was really confused. "Half-blood?" I asked, and I thought at the same time, a little nervously, she's hungry?
Veronica laughed softly, now only 3 feet away from me. "Do you really think you can fool me?" She asked, and laughed again.
Then the most bizarre thing happened.
One moment, there was a pretty girl in front of me. The next, she started to change; Veronica's skin grew pale white, her fingers grew sharp talons, her hair burst into flames, and her eyes, her eyes were bright blood red.
I had never been so scared in my life, and I stood paralyzed. Then, finally, I came to my senses and turned around and ran for the stairs. I heard Veronica laughing behind me, and the sound was getting closer. At the last moment, when I knew she was right on top of me, I threw myself aside. The demon's claw sliced through the air inches from my face and I gave a strangled yell as I hit the ground.
Veronica whipped around and was bearing down on me again, but I had desperately swung my backpack, still over my shoulder, and it hit her with a clunk! I guess the history book was good for something, after all.
While my attacker was off balance, I sprang up and sprinted for the stairs again. But Veronica was faster than me and just as I got to the bottom of the stairs, she came up from behind and slammed me against a wall. I let out a moan of pain as my head cracked against the wall, but soon realized a greater pain; the demon's claw had sliced open my left forearm and it was bleeding freely.
My arm hurt, bad. I bit my lip and forced back tears; I wasn't going to cry in front of this monster.
Veronica walked over to me slowly, knowing that I was down and enjoying my pain. It was only then that I noticed that her legs were strangely uneven; one leg was covered with shaggy brown fur, and the other looked like it was made out of bronze.
She stopped in front of me and shook her head, smiling again. "You were lucky, godling." She said, not even breathing hard. "But enough fun and games. You can't begin to imagine what you are about to go through. I will kill you slowly, so you can pay for your resistance. I will suck your blood, and it will taste so good, because I have waited so long for it. I thought you had promise, Tristan. I thought that you would be a fine man. But not anymore, for you die now. Good-bye, half-blood."
I closed my eyes, waiting for the pain. But then I heard a voice shout, "Over here, demon!" My eyes snapped open. Emily!
I looked up to see my best friend standing at the top of the stairs, holding, strangely, a bronze sword.
Veronica whipped around when she heard Emily's voice and she hissed in rage, "No!"
Emily leaped down the last few stairs and landed in front of Veronica. "Yes." She answered quietly.
Veronica howled in fury and swiped at Emily's face with her claws and I cried out, thinking that Emily was done for. But Emily swiftly dodged the attack and stabbed her sword at the demon's chest.
Veronica never had a chance.
The bronze sword passed cleanly through her like she was made of water, and Veronica screamed as she was run through.
Just before she died, Veronica turned to glare at me with those hideous red eyes with a look of pure hatred. Then she seemed to explode into a million particles of dust, yellow dust, and then those melted away.
Emily, breathing hard, fished something out of her pocket and touched it to the end of her sword. Then, suddenly, she wasn't holding a bronze sword anymore; she was holding a pink hand-held pencil sharpener. She stuffed the pencil sharpener back into her pocket and wiped her sweaty palms on her jeans.
It took several seconds for my brain to register what had happened. Veronica was dead. There was no more danger. But I started shaking, overwhelmed by what had happened.
Emily rushed over to where I sat and asked anxiously, "What happened? Are you all right? Did she hurt you? Can you at least talk to me?"
I was having trouble focusing on Emily; my arm hurt so much. I managed to get out, "Arm hurts." Though, and Emily quickly looked down and immediately started apologizing. "I'm so sorry I didn't get here sooner, Tristan! I was wondering what was taking you so long and I was coming down to see, when I heard you yell. I should have seen her for what she was sooner. I'm so, so sorry!"
Emily looked close to tears at this point, so I quickly said, "S'okay Em. But can you do somethin' 'bout my arm?" I was still a little groggy from that hit on the head I got, and was most likely in shock too.
"Of course!" Emily exclaimed, hastily swiping at her eyes and looking around. She spotted my backpack, now in tatters from the demon's claws, and went over and ripped a strip of material off. "Here," she said, wrapping the cloth around my wounded arm. "This will stop the bleeding. You can come to my house and I'll fix you up properly."
She pulled me to my feet and let me lean on her for support as we climbed the stairs. As soon as we got to the top of the stairs, I stopped Emily and said, "Okay, wait just a minute." I looked Emily right in the eye and asked, "What the hell was going on back there? First I'm attacked by Veronica, which was weird enough, but then you come charging in with a sword and kill the thing like it was no big deal! Talk to me, here!"
Emily bit her lip, looked at me for a second, and then nodded. "Okay." She said. "I'll tell you on the way to my house."
I nodded, satisfied. I just wanted to know what had really happened. Was it all just a hallucination? As much as I liked that thought, the pain in my arm told me otherwise. And also, why? Why had Veronica attacked me? Somehow, I knew that it wasn't just a coincidence.
Emily helped me to the nearest bus stop and we caught the bus that was just leaving. Unfortunately, it was packed, and as soon as I got on with my bloodstained arm, people stared at me. A couple of people even asked if they could help. I politely declined, and Emily and I took seats at the back of the bus.
As soon as the bus pulled away from the stop, I turned to Emily and said, "You've got some explaining to do."