2. New Faces
Gabriela
It was like my brain was a VCR and I only had one video for it. Every time I slept, I had the same dream. It'd been this way for a week. I hated it.
This nightmare was actually a memory. I was 11 at the time. We were living in Dilworth, in a small apartment with an old couple. They were very nice, Scottish I think. Anyway, this day was not so sweet.
I was walking home from school. My foster brother Andre had just started high school. My foster sister was still in Pre-K. I was always the first one home.
I opened the door with my key and went in. I dropped my bag near the door and announced my arrival. Normally, Emily would be in the kitchen and acknowledge me. Nick would be in the basement with his workshop. That day, Emily didn't answer.
My nightmare seemed to intense the fear I felt that day. My ears were flooded with burning silence. It felt so real and I couldn't wake up. I heard a low slurping sound, as if someone was sucking on a meal. I crept into the kitchen. Someone who wasn't Nick or Emily was in the kitchen. I went in to see a life-changing sight.
A dead man lay on the ground. Nick. His clothes were ripped, as were chunks of his flesh. He was chalk white with no blood left in his body. I looked up to see Emily lying on the table. She too was dead. A man was on top of her. Crouched over her like an animal. His mouth was at her neck, sucking on it roughly. A single scream escaped my mouth. He looked up.
It was a handsome man. He had beautiful, young features and short white hair. His lips and chin were covered in dark red blood. His eyes were menacing, hungry, and primitive. Oh yeah, and his pupils were bright red.
I woke up because something was pressing against my body. I opened my eyes to see a pair of brown eyes in my face. It was Ramille, my foster sister.
" Gaby" she whispered. " Wake up, its time for school."
I groggily sat up.
" Thanks Remi. Now go downstairs, your bus will be here soon." I smiled at Remi and kissed her forehead.
I was sort of a big sister to her. It surprised me that she was already eight years old. I had known her since birth, making her my baby sister. She was adorable.
I got out of bed and yawned. I hated Tuesdays. It was too late to reminisce about the weekend, yet to early to plan for the weekend. The most dreadful day of the week, at least for me.
After a warm shower, I got ready for school. I put on a dark pink shirt, skinny jeans, and my hat and gloves combo. Both pink and black striped, it was a beanie cap and elbow-length, fingerless gloves. It perfectly showed the minor 'punk-goth' within me.
I went downstairs to the kitchen to get a snack. I got a juice box and a cookie. My foster parents wouldn't approve, but they weren't here. Tom and Sarah were good people, but they sometimes tried too hard to be good foster parents. A car honked outside, surprising me. I accidentally squirted the juice at my face.
My brother Andre came down the stairs in his usual, quiet tone. He was 17, a senior, and what other girls would call, 'totally hot!' He should be the definition of 'happy' but he wasn't. I guess being adopted does that to you. It didn't effect me too much, and not Remi at all.
" I'm riding with Evan to school" Andre said. " Wanna come?"
Evan Walker? Ride to school with my military-like big brother and the hottest guy in school? " No thanks" I replied.
Andre shrugged and went out the door. Of course my depressed brother was fortunate enough to become best friends with Evan Walker, the definition of wild and fun. They were complete opposites, yet Evan would always be around Andre. They were inseparable, which led to him being at our house a lot, which led to me having a huge crush on him. But I always knew it would never be. I was a freak.
I was the adopted, 15 year old junior, who was a genius and a punk goth. We tended not to be seen with the 18 year old blond jock. That may work in Hollywood movies, but not in Hawley, Minnesota. Nothing town.
After finishing my cookie, I put on my shoes and headed for the door. I grabbed my skateboard from the hall closet and went outside, locking the door behind me.
I wasn't a good skater, hardly even a skater. I took it more as a hobby. I do it to get around, sometimes for transportation purposes or just so I don't have to walk. I can only do the simplest of tricks, an ollie. No points for guessing that the deck was pink and black.
I rolled slowly down Park Avenue and turned onto Decker St. I rode down this street for quite a while. Not a lot of cars drove by, as usual. It was generally quiet. Until Marade showed up.
Marade is my best friend. She's was my first friend going into high school. Sure I had friends my own age, but Marade was super cool. She was also super goth. She practically owns all black clothing and dark shades of dark colors. She has countless piercing, none on her face though ( a school rule inspired by Marade).
" Morning lion cub" she greets as she ollies onto the sidewalk with her skateboard. She has a gravely voice, thanks to her being the screaming singer of a band.
" Morning sunshine" I shoot back as we ride side to side. " How's it going?"
" Well, I have good news and bad news?"
" Really?" I ask as she kick flips back onto the road.
" Yeah. Good news is Less Than 3 got a gig at the Six Feet Under club in Barnesville. Wanna come?"
Less Than 3 was Marade's band. Six Feet Under was a Gothic club. Fine for hardcore girls like Marade, but not for lion cubs like me.
" No thanks. And the bad news?"
" Oh yeah." She hops up and grinds on the sidewalk edge for a while. She hops off. " There are new kids coming into school today."
" New kids are bad news? Last time I checked, this town was in dire need of new residents."
" Well it could be good or bad. All I heard was that it's a family of four. Two seniors and two juniors."
" Twins" I asked, my interest picking up. Twins would be something new to Hawley. The only twins were Mr. Forth, the principal, and his twin. It was creepy, like two bald, angry clones.
" The juniors are. The seniors are adopted. All of them actually."
" A family of foster kids?" I asked with hope hanging on to the question. It'd be nice to meet some other adopted kids. Trade stories, compare notes.
" I think so" Marade answers.
We turn right onto Elm Avenue to see the school. It was a block away. It was mildly big, two floors, but not really wide. Close to 550 kids went here. Even though I was usually cramped between people, I sometimes felt alone in the crowded halls, being a freak. At least I found refuge with other freaks.
We made our way to the side of the building to avoid the crowd of people out front. We rolled up the wheelchair ramp, which eventually led to the main entrance. Their was a small platform separating the main doors from the parking lot. I looked out at the lot. That's when I saw them.
They were like gods taking a stroll through the peasants. They obviously didn't belong. They were…..beautiful. Everyone seemed to make way for them and their eyes followed them.
The girls were didn't catching all the guys' attention. One girl was tall, confident, and strutting her stuff. She looked like a royal princess no one could touch, and whom teased every guy. She had perfect features and dark, shining black hair that flowed down her back. She had all designer clothing, from her jewelry to her knee high boots.
The other girl was short and not as breathtaking. She looked very normal, but was too good-looking for that. She had blond hair and looked so happy she was skipping. I thought she was radiating happiness, because I felt all warm and cuddly.
The guys made Apollo and the David look like chumps. One guy had muscles bulging out from his tight shirt. He was built like Andre, tall and broad-shouldered. The only exception was that this guy couldn't stop grinning at every girl, something Andre would never too. The other guy caught my eye.
He looked kind of sad. That's the first thing I noticed about him. His face was blank, almost frowning. It was hard to tell because he kept hanging his head down. The others were grinning and smiling, he wasn't.
He was shorter than the other guy. He had dark blond hair that hung messily to his eyebrows. A lock of hair curled upwards near his eyebrow, like a rebel. He was pale white, like he was made of pure marble. His face was definitely more boyish than other guys his age. He must have been 17 but his chin was round and his face was hairless and tender. I found myself……attracted to him. It wasn't even that he was Evan Walker hot. His look attracted me and I was hypnotized in a love trance. My addiction soon effected me.
As I was too busy staring at him, I slipped.
I had lost my balance and fell of my board. I landed hard on my butt as my skateboard rolled away. Right towards the new guy. It hit him the back of his leg, as he was holding the door open for his siblings. I felt Marade help me up, my eyes were glued to him. He turned around to look at me.
The first time our eyes met wasn't anything at all. It was awkward at best. I stared at him as he stared at me. From our couple feet distance, I could easily make out his eyes. They were bright gold. That struck me as odd. I recalled that contacts could be made into anything, from gold, purple, even smiley faces. I brushed that over.
I looked deeper into his eyes. They had a lot of emotion. His eyes did things to me. They scared me. They interested me.
His eyes were like streetlights, the way they shone powerfully. They were fierce, as if he wanted to strangle me. I kept my ground. Then I did something utterly stupid.
I was horrible at flirting. When it came to guys, I was like any other girl. A mess. Of course I had to mess this up with a desperate attempt to flirt.
I took my hair and flipped it over my shoulder. I thought it would make me look cool and possibly show off my…. 'goods'. Halfway through I realized my hair only reached my shoulders and that I was only a b cup. Making my move had drove him away.
As soon as my hair hit the air, he cringed. His face winced and his nostrils flared like he was smelling something bad. Could it have been me? My hair smelled like strawberry shampoo. Maybe he didn't like strawberries.
In a flash, he turned and went inside. I groaned at my own stupidity. I slapped my forehead.
" Good first impression on the new guy" Marade commented as we started inside. I picked up my skateboard on the way in.
" Was it that bad?" I asked.
" You drove him away without even talking to him."
We made a left at the main office to go to junior hallway. We parted ways because her locker was closer to the mouth of the hallway. Of course I had the luck to get the very last locker on the left side. After a short walk through a crowd of students, I got to my locker. I stuffed my skateboard into the unused locker below mine. I got my books and made my way to homeroom.
My seat was fourth row back, nearest to the window. I circled the desks to get to mine. Mr. Richards was in homeroom today. Sweet. I sit in my desk and take out my phone. I started texting my friends.
whts up? I text Marade.
boys told me ms. tanaka isn't here she replies.
neither is richards. Just kickin back :p
Something briefly catches my attention. An awesome smell. I glance over to see the legs of a guy walking past me. It didn't smell like the tons of cologne guys in Hawley usually wore, nevertheless cologne at all. It was a sweet natural smell. I hear the good smelling guy sit behind me.
207 is going crazy rommel went next door to flip out Marade informs me.
I started to text back when I got another text.
can we talk?
Jeff. My ex-boyfriend. Not really a boyfriend but a guy who I went out on one date with and now he's stalking me.
I don't know can you talk with my fist down ur throat besides I her Rommel is in ur room giving out detentions I reply.
I got out look outside ur door
Creepily enough, Jeff was leaning against the door frame. He was the image of sleazy jerk. His hair was filled with grease, making him look stupid. His clothes were dirty and stained. He waved for me to come outside. He gave my a smile with his dirty crooked teeth. I was such a stupid, naïve lion cub back then.
I turn around to avoid him. Right around to good smelling guy. I thought if I made Jeff jealous he'd leave me alone. I was wrong.
" Hey" I said, my eyes focused on Jeff. I gave him an angry glare to scare him off. I would have growled if he could hear it.
" Hello" a soft voice said. It was quiet, barely audible. Yet it made my heart melt like butter. It took me awhile to match the voice to good smelling guy. Who was he?
I shifted my gaze from Jeff to the guy. It was the blond new kid. I froze.
" Uh, welcome to the school" I blurted out after a moment of silence. I had been lost in his eyes and had gotten back to reality. He nodded at my greeting.
He was slouched in his chair. He only looked up at me when I was speaking. Other than that, he seemed to be brooding.
" I'm Gaby" I said, waving at him. " And you're the new kid." Stupid thing to say. He took his time answering.
" I'm Vincent Drailen" he replied. He kept his head down, but put his hand to his nose and mouth. Maybe I did smell bad. Or stepped it something yucky.
" Oh, well if we're being that formal. I'm Gabriela Lioncourt."
Lioncourt was the last name Andre, Remi, and I had adopted. It was our first caretaker's last name. Ms. Lucy Lioncourt raised us for many years, until she died. She was awesome.
" So" I continued, " you just moved here?"
He nodded. He was now clutching his nose and mouth like the air was toxic. It made me feel sad.
" Okay, well…" I looked him over once again quickly, eyeing his beauty. " Nice meeting you, but I have to…."
I was getting up out of my seat. I put my hands on his desk. I just so happened to lean in towards him, not in a flirting move. That's when it got weird.
He sprung out of his chair like it was on fire. Actually, he more jumped away from me. He grabbed his backpack and was standing tall in an impossibly fast way. He was really tall. Maybe six three, like Andre.
Our eyes met again. It was yet another awkward moment. His eyes looked scared. He licked his lips. His breathing sped up. While all this was happening to him, I was left in a breakdown.
My heart was pounding like it was trying to escape my chest and into Vincent's hands. My stomach was producing butterflies like a zoo. My knees went rubber. I bit my lip to stop myself from leaping into his arms and kissing him.
The bell rung and he was already at the front of the class. I turned around to see he was the first one out. That surprised me. Who knew four new faces could brighten a whole day. Especially that one face. The face that was hungry, scared, and beautiful. I grabbed my bag and left the room, checking my breath and smelling my hair.
