The Story of Amara Kuran | Mariah Bryant

Book One, Chapter Two

My Makeshift Family

I tied my silver-purple hair into a ponytail and a pulled a black camisole onto my body. I put on a tight black skirt and white sparkly tights, and laced my shiny silver knee-high boots onto my feet. Then, I put on a long-sleeved purple jacket and knotted its strings, pulling it to hug my slim waist closely. With plenty of time left before I had to be at school, I drank a glass of water with two blood tablets dissolving inside. Then, as if a vampyre could forget, I put on my jewelry last: large hoop earrings, a thick spiked wristband, bangles, and two rings per hand.

How did a runaway afford this? You may not have been wondering, but I know it would have crossed your mind later on. Your answer: dumpster diving, yard sales, and the fact that that was all the jewelry I owned besides one other pair of red teardrop earrings.

I left the apartment, a small wad of cash in my coat pocket, along with my keys. I worked after school on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Saturdays, so I did have a small income. Otherwise, I was completely on my own to pay for my apartment and electricity and clothes and such. I did not have a phone, TV, or a computer. I did not even have a refrigerator. I did not pity myself, though, of course. It amused me. I enjoyed life.

I had an electric scooter. I climbed on and effortlessly made my way up the hilly road toward school. The morning air was damp, cool, and wonderful. The sky was cloudy, which gave me a reprieve from the strenuous sun.

I rode into the school parking lot and unhooked the chain I had bought from my scooter and fastened it, and a lock, to the bike rack. It had already been stolen once, and I had seen it returned. There was no need to have something like that ruin my mood again. (My faith in humans had since returned.)

I walked to the benches to the right of the drop-off zone and met my friends – minus my best friend – there. They all looked up at my approach.

"Amara! You are coming! I have to admit: I had my doubts. But here you are!" Ansley jumped up and down and clapped her hands.

I smiled at everyone, truly happy to be there. "Well . . ." I actually had nothing to say, so I didn't bother.

"Did you bring your sunscreen? The weatherman said that it was supposed to be sunny toward noon today."

I sighed silently, and my smile grew sweet. I turned around at human speed, savoring every moment. I was then facing my best friend.

Michelangelo Thomson had a worried and thoughtful look on his face. His beautiful head was cocked slightly. The clouds, which turned the sunlight purple, made his brown hair a white color. I could pick out each individual strand that waved in the wind as he walked towards me.

"I was not aware of that. I was hoping for another cloudy day like yesterday." I said truthfully, but in my voice was the tell-tale sign that I really wasn't saying what my mouth formed. I was completely carrying on a different conversation in my head, and it showed through my tone.

Mike gave me a smile. "Good thing I thought ahead."

He slid his pack around so that he could access it easier and started rummaging through it. He pulled out a travel-sized tube of sunscreen. It was SPF 500.

I smiled. I had guessed by the look in his eyes that he had had a backup plan. "Thanks." I took it from him gratefully. "I will just go put some on in the bathroom. I will not be long."

"I'll go with you." Jewel volunteered. She followed me into the building. She was talking, but I only needed one tiny part of my brain to listen. The rest of me thought about Mike.

Since I had arrived in Charlottsville two years ago, I had been accepted by my current friends. They took me in with open arms, as an old woman would a stray cat. Everyone else . . . they steered clear. It could have been because of my dark purple eyes. Unnatural. Seductive. Fierce. It could have been my silver/purple hair. Long. Wavy. Like strands of moonlight. It could have been that they sensed that I was a threat. After all, I was. It also could have been jealousy. I knew that this was what the majority of girls in school felt toward me.

Now, I wasn't looking forward to moving away again as much as I had been before I met my friends.

Jewel leaned against the wall of the girls' bathroom and averted her eyes as I popped open the tube and began to spread sunscreen thickly over every inch of skin that was visible.

"So . . . how are you feeling about today? Are you scared?" Jewel said slowly. Her voice, though quiet and soft, was loud in the empty bathroom.

I wondered briefly what she was talking about. All of my attention was pulled to her in an instant. "What do you mean?"

"I mean, aren't you worried? You're gonna be on rollercoasters, trapped in the air, twisting and turning so that the sun gets you at every angle. Aren't you worried you'll . . . die?"

I snapped around and looked directly into my solemn friend's green eyes, though I could see her very clearly out of the corner of my eye. My jaw was slightly dropped in shock. "Well, I mean, of course I'm a little bit worried that I might feel some pain, but I have never considered dying after being in the sun."

"That's what happens to the people on TV. Allergies as severe as yours . . . usually lead to death. I'm worried that you aren't being so smart with taking care of yourself." Jewel crossed her arms and shifted feet, uncomfortable.

I looked away, toward the sinks, and laughed out loud. "People that are allergic to pollen go out and frolic in the flowers. Just because I am allergic to the sun doesn't mean I can't be in it in low dosages. And besides: I have sunscreen. That should help, if only a little."

Jewel looked back at me with a thoughtful smile. "Mike loves you, you know."

My cheeks got very hot, and I stopped breathing; as I did every time a friend brought that subject up. I just couldn't accept their assumptions as fact. It was still too dangerous to act. It was especially harmful to Mike. I had contemplated moving away thousands of times, but 'I will be moving soon, anyway; we can both hold out that long' was always the excuse that won. There was simply no way, though, that we could be together. I was not only a vampyre . . . I was a runaway.

Naturally, I had pursuers.

"Get over it, Amara. Let go. I mean, you're seventeen. You're only gonna live one hundred years. Don't you think it's time to let yourself love him?" Jewel rolled her eyes.

"Hmm . . ." it hurt to talk about it. As with the rest of the times, I went silent.

Jewel, who had been inquiring more than anyone else, sighed and shook her head. "I don't get it. You're only hurting yourself."

Without another word, I finished up and we exited the restrooms. I held the door for her on the way out, and gave her a smile to let her know that I wasn't angry. She returned the smile wearily. I knew that she worried about me. Who wouldn't worry about someone they admire? And who couldn't admire a vampyre?

Jewel and I stepped out into the sun. It turned the cold day into a sunny day. It felt like a microwave to me, but in reverse. Instead of zapping me with electricity, it zapped energy from me. Because of the UV-blocking sunscreen, it wasn't as bad as it could have been. I did not allow my face to look disappointed. Today could still be a good day.

But . . . was this what I had prophesized?

I handed the tube back to Mike. "Thank you so much. You are a lifesaver."

Mike smiled at me warmly in return. "I'll just keep it until you forget your own again. It's safer that way."

"I agree." I almost offered to pay for it, but then I remembered my shortage of money. Well, you have a wad in your pocket you're just going to blow away today. Why not offer? He will probably reject it, though, like all of the times before when he has come to my rescue. I thought to myself. In the end, I decided to leave the subject alone.

"Time for a potty break." Stephen said, stretching. "The bus is going to leave in ten minutes, so hurry everybody!"

"I'll pass." Benjamin said quickly.

After glaring, Stephen turned and walked toward the school.

So, various members of my makeshift family moved toward the bathrooms and some stayed behind. I was keenly aware that Mike was one of those that stayed behind.

The winds shifted. It was as if a ghost was standing behind me. I whipped around, an involuntary gasp escaping my mouth. I saw nothing, but my body tingled with excitement.

There is just no way, I thought quickly, yet those words did not make the feeling go away. There is no way!

"What's the matter?" Mike asked, his voice appropriately anxious. Out of the corner of my eye I saw that his eyebrows had pulled inward.

I realized my fists were clenched at my sides, and my body was tense as if for a fight. My instincts wanted me to keep this stance, but I forced myself to relax. I turned my back on the wind, facing Mike, Melissa, Jewel, Benjamin, and Anna again. They all stared at me curiously.

"Is everything okay?" Anna asked. My mind had begun to wander, but her high, sweet voice pulled me to where I was standing.

"Is it the sun?" Jewel took one careful step toward me, her eyes wide with fear.

I shook my head and gave my friends a smile. "It is nothing. I could swear I just heard a car wreck in the parking lot, but it must have been my imagination. Everyone over there looks fine."

Everyone's faces relaxed except for Mike's. With hesitation he walked to me and put a hand on my shoulder. Quietly, so that none of the girls (or Benjamin) could hear, he whispered, "Are you sure you're okay? You look like you saw a ghost."

I nodded, trying not to dwell on how close he was to me. "I am fine."

"You don't look fine. You're jumpy and pale."

I laughed. I had to look carefree and whimsical to make him feel the same things. In my breath was a chemical to calm him. "Hello? I'm a human girl who can't be in the sunlight. Of course I am pale!"

Mike smiled. His eyelids drooped slightly, his face relaxing. "Uh, yeah. That would explain it."

For the moment I was almost entirely distracted with Mike. The man that I looked up at had my entire heart. He replaced the things I had run away from; the things that I used to love.

At that moment, Stephen came out of the school. As usual, he made a big scene about it. He was not one to enter or exit silently. He was laughing loudly with Ansley. Ansley, a shy girl, merely grinned.

Mike backed away from me and removed his hand from my shoulder.

Kayla and Alexa followed after Stephen and Ansley. The entire crew encircled Mike and I.

"Looks like Mrs. Benhoff is getting ready to call us all onto the busses. Let's go on ahead in that direction so that we can sit together." suggested Kayla.

"Yeah." we agreed, and walked across the campus to the parking lot, then past Mrs. Benhoff and onto the charter bus.

Sitting beside Jewel, I stared out of the window throughout the entire drive at the beautiful trees and ugly stores and cozy houses that rushed by me. Had my prophesy been about what I had felt? I knew this was not over, if it was. Things were going to get bad, and they were going to get bad quickly.

Meanwhile I listened with love overflowing from my heart to Mike as he conversed with our friends. He was so pure. I braced myself, for I knew that in the near future he could very well be in severe danger.

My facial expression was nonchalant and showed utter peace.