Chapter Four
Another day in my creative writing class followed by my Creatures class the day after. Alice and Jasper were already there, a seat saved for me. I slid into the single desk and pulled out learning tools.
"How are you today, Emma?" Alice chimed. I noticed her stuff was set out perfectly, nothing out of place; Jasper was the opposite. The papers we had been given the last class were hanging out of his book, and his bag was in a heap under his desk.
I laughed. "I'm fine. How are you guys?"
"I am just peachy. Jasper, on the other hand, did not sleep well last night." I caught Jasper throw Alice a watch it look, and she just laughed at him. "And he skipped breakfast, so he's hungry."
I looked at Jasper then, and noticed something odd. I couldn't pinpoint what it was exactly, but there was definitely something different about his today, and was sure it something to do with his face. "Did you cut your hair Jasper?" I asked, thinking maybe that was it.
"No, I'm just tired…and hungry, like Alice said." He seemed out of control of himself, like he was going to lunge out at someone at any moment.
"Is he really okay?" He looked horrible, and pale, like he had some unknown illness.
"I've been trying to assure him, that he'll be just fine. We'll go get something to eat after class."
"Somewhere out of town, preferably…" he muttered, his voice shaky.
I almost felt like inviting myself along, just to make sure he really wasn't dying, but talked myself out of it; it'd probably be rude, since this was only our second class together.
"Today--" I jerked my attention back to the front of the room at the sound of Dr. Verage's voice-- "I will be pairing you up based on the assignment I gave you Tuesday. I'll explain all after you're sitting next to your partner. No switching partners and no switching topics. The list is made, and we're sticking to it. I'm sorry--" she eyed a group of five students— "for the inconvenience to anyone, but that's just how I do things. Alice Cullen!"
"Yes?" The tone in Alice's voice was more of get-it-over-with than who's-my-partner.
"You're partnered with Julia Flinch." She continued down the alphabetical list, and I thought I heard my name. She shouldn't have come to it yet, I thought to myself.
"What did she say?" I asked, looking at Alice.
"She said you're partnered with Jasper."
"What did you put on your paper?" he asked, leaning across Alice's desk a bit.
"Vampire. Why? What did you put?" I shifted in my seat so I was facing him now.
"Vampire." His voice was hesitant. He looked at Alice.
"I put elves. Not anywhere close to what you two had." There was a twinkle in Alice's eye, like a kid in a candy store.
"Now let me explain your assignment!" Dr. Verage proclaimed her voice so loud it echoed throughout the hall.
We had to write a paper, on anything relating to our chosen topic or closely-related topics. Jasper and I had decided to meet after class the following Tuesday to brainstorm. I sat at a table, flipping through a dozen books when he dropped his bag on the floor next to mine.
"Sorry I'm late; I had to run home." He glided rather fluidly into the seat across from me, and grabbed one of the books I'd already bookmarked pages in. "Find anything good yet?"
"A couple of things, but it's all the same. Everything Hollywood makes the stereotypical vampire out to be."
"'Stereotypical' vampire? Are they some highly misunderstood creature?" I could hear the sarcasm dripping from his every word.
"I don't like to think of them all as these horrible creatures basically controlled by the sun and their thirst for human blood…" My voice trailed as he laughed at me.
"You speak as if vampires are real."
"They are in my mind." I added my own sarcasm to the mix, deliberately making him laugh this time. "Is Alice meeting her partner here?"
"No. They're meeting at some cyber café closer to town."
"Oh. Let's get started then."
We dove right in to the pile, making good headway within two hours. We planned to meet again Saturday morning. Just what I wanted to do on a Saturday morning…joy.