2. Unreal
Damiana opened her eyes grudgingly, then quickly closed them. The sunlight coming through her blinds nearly blinded her momentarily sensitive eyes. No wonder they're called blinds. She thought to herself. Her subconscious had been pleading with her via her dreams from the previous night: get closer to Daniel, know him, enjoy him. In her dream, she was the heroine. Daniel was in the forest, holding a wrapped up bundle, something obviously precious if he hadn't dropped it already. He was breathing hard, obviously from running. Damiana had caught his arm, and questioned him furiously. He said they were after him, the leeches. They came, she killed, and they kissed. Simple. Happy. Definitely not likely to happen.
Not 100% unlikely but I'd never allow those damn undead blood banks anywhere NEAR my territory, let alone someone I happen to like. She shook her head. No, she didn't like him, she couldn't like him. She hadn't even SPOKEN to him… had she? Damiana didn't doubt Daniel's existence. She doubted the events that had happened after she knew of his existence. I didn't agree to escort him around campus, I didn't agree to be his lab partner, and I certainly didn't shamelessly flirt with a mortal. An extremely adorable mortal, at that… She relentlessly shook her head. She wasn't allowed to tolerate those thoughts.
She struggled to pull her thoughts back to reality. Rolling out of bed, she flung her blanket back, prevenfting herself from bringing it off the sheets with her. Once free of her polyester prison, Damiana realized how warm she felt and how nice the cold tile of her bathroom floor felt under the soles of her feet. No, no, no! I can't be getting sick! The likelihood of me getting some sort of illness is very low. There has to be a simple explanation for this. Scampering over to her show stall, Damiana began turning the knobs, reaching a temperature about 5 degrees cooler than her usual temperature. The falling water felt fantastic against her flushed skin. She uttered a sigh of comfort as she began to feel a bit cooler.
She continued her usual shower routine: wash her body, shave, wash her hair and face. The feeling of monotony soothed her. Heh, my second stressed morning this week. Maybe I shouldn't be surprised if I'm getting sick. This is certainly not a good way to begin a Monday. Turning the knobs off, she flung back the shower curtain and stepped out of the shower. Damiana plucked her towel from the hamper top and wrapped herself in it, using a second towel to begin drying her hair. She approached her closet, extracting a baby blue polo shirt and a pair of khaki capris, something normal and hardly noticeable. The last thing she wanted was a repeat of yesterday's Biology escapades. The amount of unnecessary attention she'd received was unbearable to say the least.
As she pulled her polo shirt over her head and slipped into her capris, Damiana considered her options for today. Staying as inconspicuous as possible was definitely her top priority, as was paying more attention to the now and less attention to the daydream world. On top of those, she needed to treat Daniel as indifferently as possible, just as she did all of her other classmates. She knew that nothing she'd said to Daniel yesterday had actually been said, so she reminded herself that it was of immense importance to treat him the same as everyone else.
"Damiana what in Macht's name are you doing? You're going to be late for school if you don't hurry up and get down here!" Damiana's mom, Nina, yelled up the stairs, interrupting her planning. She quickly turned her attention to her clock radio on her bedside table. Oh, shit! 7:35! I have 10 minutes to gather my books, run to school, visit my locker AND somehow make it to class on time. I'm immortal but I'm not a super hero! Damiana quickly bustled around her room, grabbing all her school things and pushing them into her backpack. She slipped on some tan flats and sped down the stairs, taking 3 at a time.
"No, mom, no time for breakfast. No time for anything but running." Damiana answered her mother's thoughts before she even asked anything. Nina grabbed the door and pulled it open, allowing Damiana to speed right through, just managing to give her mom a goodbye kiss on her cheek. "'Bye mom! Don't worry, I'll start dinner tonight!"
She was already a good distance away before she heard her mother's answering yes. The run to school from her house was about 5 minutes, leaving her with 5 extra minutes to change books and make it to homeroom on time. Ms. Cole wasn't so forgiving for late starters; she'd lock the door on anyone who wasn't on time. Being locked out would mean a trip to the office to get a tardy slip, which would subsequently lead to being late to your first class of the day. Damiana hadn't been late to class once in her life. She'd been out "sick" on numerous occasions but never tardy. She certainly wasn't going to make her second day of a new school year her first tardy day.
Damiana glanced at her watch, "7:39, and the school is barely 2 blocks away… I should make it there with 5 minutes to spare." She sped up slightly, crossing the street into the school parking lot. She motored on, bursting through the main door and jogging as quickly as she dared to her locker. Expertly spinning in her combination and pulling out all the books she'd need until lunch, she checked her watch once again. 7:41. Perfect. She slammed her locker, spun around, and smashed right into someone directly behind her.
"Oh shit!" The student yelled when he and Damiana collapsed on the floor, books and loose leaf paper flying in all directions around the hallway. Damiana didn't even bother seeing who'd she'd run into, or even peeking into their thoughts. She began snatching at all her papers and books, stowing them safely into her pack. She murmured an apology and sped off again in the direction of her homeroom. She just managed to make it into the classroom before Ms. Cole could grab the door handle.
"Miss. Arun, cutting it a bit close, are we? Not a bright way to begin your second day of sophomore year. Good impressions are always important, considering you only get to complete sophomore year once." Ms. Cole said frostily. She disliked Damiana the moment she'd seen her, immediately assuming she was nothing but a "hooligan", as she'd stated it.
"I'm sorry, Ms. Cole. I got a little bit behind schedule this morning and I was just a tad rushed. I won't let it happen again." Damiana averted her eyes towards the ground and quickly walked to her seat. I probably would've been better off just being late and missing homeroom. At least Mr. Sillen is more accommodating to someone being late. She looked down into her backpack and did a quick inventory check, making sure she hadn't left behind anything of utter importance. Everything seemed to be where it should, thankfully.
The announcements came in over the speakers in the back of the classroom. Nothing extremely new this morning. The girls' soccer team won their second game of the season, the math team would hold their first practice Friday morning before school, and Mr. Sillen was looking for students interested in forming a Biology team for the take competitions. There's state Biology meets? I thought only math teams had those. I'm not exactly surprised; Mr. Sillen seems the type to look into something such as that.
BEEP. Damiana's thoughts were once again disrupted. She shouldered her pack and allowed herself to be carried out with the crowd of her peers. Her first class of the day was Biology. She was happy to have her favorite teacher first but a bit anxious to have to be in such close proximity with Daniel again. She definitely didn't doubt that she'd daydreamed up everything that had happened the previous class, but she couldn't deny the fact that it'd be hard to ignore him almost completely. If she wanted to get good grades in this class, she'd have to work with him. Damiana could get every question right but if she wouldn't allow her partner to participate or really learn, her participation would suffer and so would his grades. She'd be wracked with guilt if she caused someone to fail because she couldn't handle working with them.
She got to Mr. Sillen's room and took her seat. She was the first one there; even Mr. Sillen hadn't come in yet. Damiana reached into her bag and extracted her binder and book. She pulled out her pen and a highlighter. She was just about to begin to date her notes when her favorite person, Carina, walked in. She looked at Damiana with disdain and then took her seat across the room.
"Good morning, Carina." Damiana thought she might as well attempt kindness. She was aiming for indifference from her peers, not hate. Hate would only distract her from her tasks.
"Excuse me, freak, but who said I was interested in hearing what you had to say?" Was Carina's snide remark.
"Well, I assumed since you were looking at me when you walked that you expected me to say something to you."
"Why in hell would I want to hear what you have to say to me? Why would I even want to hear you talk?" Carina began to rummage in her bag. She pulled out a lip gloss tube and began applying the gloss to her lips, trying to completely ignore Damiana.
"Most decent human beings prefer to show kindness to their fellow humans by acknowledging them when they talk and making an effort to show some sort of kindness and compassion towards others. They do not immediately write people off as freaks or dumb or weird the moment they see them." Damiana was trying her hardest not to let her anger get the best of her. She was determined to keep the upper hand and not give in to Carina's attempts at making her explode with rage.
"Ex-CUSE me?" Carina slammed her lip gloss on the tabletop and turned around in her seat to face Damiana. She had a mixture of rage and contempt on her face. "How DARE you speak to me like that! I could make your life in this high school a living hell, you little bit-…"
At that moment, Mr. Sillen walked into the room, most of the class following behind him. They stopped when they saw the scene before them: Carina standing up, hands balled into fists, her face darkened with anger, and Damiana, sitting serenely in her seat, her notebook open and pen in hand. All evidence pointed to Carina throwing a tantrum at someone who was, as far as everyone could tell, completely innocent.
"I'm a little what, Carina? It isn't very polite to stop mid-sentence when telling a story." Damiana said politely, giving Carina a look of mock questioning. Carina's face changed from a faint pink to a deep red. It was hard to determine whether it was from embarrassment or sheer anger.
"Nothing…" Carina managed to mutter, grudgingly sitting back in her seat. She busied herself with taking out her books and her other supplies.
"Oh, alright then." Damiana said happily, turning her attention back to her notes.
That little goddamn bitch. How DARE she even humiliate me like that in front of EVERYONE! She thinks she's above me, better than me, just because she gets to sit next to Daniel. She better not get too comfortable next to him cause once I'm through with her, there won't be enough of her to take up that seat. Damiana could hear Carina thinking. An evil smile spread across her lips. Carina was going to attempt to hurt her? What a hilarious thought: a girl with barely enough muscle on her to move and absolutely no fighting experience against Damiana, covered in lean muscle and as much fighting experience as a black belt in karate. If they were to fight, Carina would be the one who would have barely enough left to fill her seat.
Damiana was so engrossed in beginning her notes that she didn't even notice Daniel come in and take his seat beside her. When she had finished arranging her notes, she suddenly felt Daniel's aura next to her. How long has he been there? Not long, I would guess if I just felt it now. Damiana chanced a glance out of the corner of her eye. He was there, alright, wearing an orange shirt and some dark washed jeans. What a coincidence… we have complimentary colors today.
"Good morning, class." Mr. Sillen greeted. He waited a minute or two and when he received no answer, clapped his hands together, getting the attention of the students. "Okay, class, lesson in etiquette today. When I say 'good morning, class', you reply with 'good morning, Mr. Sillen'. Now let's try again. Good morning, class."
"Good morning, Mr. Sillen." The class answered in unison.
"Much better. Now today we'll be going over some of the basics that you've probably already learned." The class answered with groans and sighs. "Now don't all get too excited now, there's plenty more to get excited about later. So, what can you tell me about meters?"
Mr. Sillen's class had continued as usual. Carina hadn't had any more outbursts and Daniel had made a peep. Damiana was grateful. When the bell rang, she hurried off to her geometry class. When she entered the room and sat down, she noticed Daniel come in behind her. He didn't so much as glance at her as he found a seat. Before Damiana could ask him if something was wrong, the rest of the class began filing in and taking their seats, chattering with one another. The teacher walked up to the front and began her lesson.
Before she knew it, the bell had rung for the end of class and Damiana was being herded out of the classroom. She once again hurried to her next class, absentmindedly looking around for someone… she just wasn't sure who. Her next three classes went by just as dizzyingly fast. Before she knew it, it was time for lunch. Damiana withdrew her lunch box from her locker and brought it with her outside onto the back lawns. She plopped down into the grass and opened the top flap of her lunchbox. She looked inside and saw empty containers and a few napkins. Right, I didn't have time to make lunch this morning. I guess I just assumed my mom would have made some and put it into my lunchbox for me.
Damiana put the flap of her lunchbox back down and placed it off to the side. She lay back on the grass, breathing in the earthy smell around her. Other than almost being late this morning and forgetting her lunch, she was having a pretty decent day. No complications with Daniel, being able to piss off Carina so easily, and just being able to relax outside on a nice, warm day made her day just so much nicer. When the bell rang, she slowly stood, gathered up her things and headed to her locker. She only had one more class before she was free to head home. Today was the day of the week when she had her last two class periods free, meaning she could leave.
Once all her belongings were in her locker safely, she shouldered her back again and headed off to her Spanish class. Upon entering, she noticed another student early to class. Damiana felt her heart momentarily skip a beat. Daniel! He has another class with me? How odd that our schedules are so similar… I sort of wish I had offered to show him around, it wouldn't have been much of a problem for either of us. For the second time today, Damiana shook her head as she wet to take her seat, clearing her thoughts. Keep it in the present, Damiana.
Again, Daniel didn't even really greet her as he had the day before. Maybe he's having a rough day? That would explain him not talking during Biology or even Geometry. I'll keep my eye on him and see how he is tomorrow. She began pulling out her book and binder when the rest of her peers began walking in, some carrying water bottles, cans, or little bags of food. When the class had settled down a bit, the teacher, Mrs. Rivera, took her spot at the front of the classroom and began writing on the whiteboard. In big, red letters she wrote:
Partnered pairs for Spanish Project
Mrs. Rivera continued to transfer the pairs she had on her attendance sheet onto the board. When she had finished, Damiana quickly scanned the list for her name. I'm partnered with Daniel? Does the world just want to force me to get to know him? Or is someone just pulling a cruel joke on me? She peered over at Daniel. He was staring intently at the board. He tore his angry gaze away and looked down, letting out a heavy sigh as he did so. He raised his hand.
"Yes, Daniel?" Mrs. Rivera asked. Damiana continued to stare at him openly now, hoping to catch his eye. She couldn't.
"Do we have to have partners for this project? Could I just work alone?" Daniel said with forced calm. He still refused to look in her direction. "I think I would work better on my own. I… get distracted easily sometimes."
"But Mr. Ronan, what about Miss Arun? I'm sure she wouldn't enjoy working alone." Mrs. Rivera seemed confused by Daniel's request, like he'd asked a difficult math question. "Plus, this is also a participation grade. If you cannot work with a partner, you'd surely get a 0 on that portion."
"How much would a 0 on participation lower my grade?" Daniel wasn't going to back down. He really didn't want Damiana as a partner. Damiana could feel stares going from Daniel to Mrs. Rivera to her.
"Well, Mr. Ronan, since this is supposed to be a partnered project, instead of getting an A, you could go down to C+, only if you completely aced this project. No mistakes whatsoever." Mrs. Rivera just looked at Daniel, allowing her answer to sink in.
"Mrs. Rivera, couldn't you just switch partners or something?"
"Daniel, I worked on this list all last night. I will not be changing it because you have a small qualm with your partner." Mrs. Rivera looked at Daniel intently, an edge of annoyance in her voice. She wasn't going to back down, either. The students in the room were now just looking from Daniel to Mrs. Rivera and back.
"Why assign a project so early in the year? We've barely even learned anything yet. What are we supposed to even write it on?" Daniel's hands balled into fists. Damiana didn't understand why he was so angry about having her as a partner. What had she done to him to make him so angry? Ignore him? No, it couldn't be that, she ignores plenty of guys and they hardly even care.
"Mr. Ronan, either you accept Damiana as your partner or I assign you an automatic F. Which would you prefer?" Mrs. Rivera was almost yelling, her hands on her desk, staring Daniel down.
Daniel sat there quietly for a minute. He's actually considering taking the F, Damiana thought, He'd take an F over partnering with me? She could feel her throat tighten a bit, like she was going to cry. He's just a human boy, why should him not wanting to be my partner affect me this way? Damiana looked away from him, feeling hurt by him and disgusted with herself.
Daniel let out another heavy sigh. "Never mind, Mrs. Rivera, it's no big deal. I'll stay partnered the way I am. Please, continue explaining."
Damiana couldn't concentrate on the class anymore. She couldn't really think at all. The only thing that kept popping into her mind was the angry look in his eyes when he saw he had been partnered with her. After what seemed to be an eternity, the end of class bell rang. Damiana was lagging behind; her body felt like it was weighed down, too slow-moving. She felt like she was surrounded by water, slowing her movements and thoughts down severely. She almost didn't hear Mrs. Rivera say her name before she left.
"Yes, Mrs. Rivera?" Damiana said quietly, not turning around.
"Are you alright? Daniel should not have acted that way. I was absolutely tempted to not even give him the benefit of an option and just automatically fail him on the spot. What a total lack of respect! Whatever any boy says or thinks, Damiana, you're a good student and a good young woman; I know from Mr. Merrina, your teacher last year." Mrs. Rivera seemed sincerely worried about her.
"Uh… it's fine, Mrs. Rivera. I honestly didn't take it to heart. I'll be fine and work twice as hard on this project." Damiana flashed a brief smile at Mrs. Rivera and slowly crossed the threshold, out the door. Sluggishly, she meandered down the hall. She walked to her locker and gathered up the books she'd need for that night's homework. She plucked her lunchbox from the top of the lockers and walked towards the main door to the school, allowing her feet to take her home at their own pace.
When she was nearly to the door, she absentmindedly opened the flap to her lunchbox and reached in. "What the hell?!" Damiana exclaimed, dropping her lunchbox to the ground, looking at her fingers. They were covered in a brown substance. Then, the smell hit her. Someone put DOG SHIT in my lunchbox! She couldn't hold back any longer. She let the tears flow freely from her eyes, now. She thought she deserved it, considering all that had happened to her in under an hour. After a quick stop in the bathroom to clean off her hands, leaving her lunchbox behind, Damiana ran the whole 10 blocks home, tears running down her cheeks.