Hulks and Vampires

I groan as my stupid alarm clock goes off. Wearily, I get ready for the day. My thoughts keep drifting from my uncontrollable powers to my mom and back again, all the way until art class.

Wait a minute, art class? Oh no! I've been so focused on myself that I haven't thought about what to say to Anne! I realize as I sit down.

"Hey…" I say hesitantly.

"Hey." Anne mumbles.

I take a deep breath. "About yesterday…"

"It's ok, I know you don't want to sit here anymore," Ann whispers.

"What? No! Anne, I'm really sorry. I do want to sit next to you. I was just surprised when you told me yesterday, that's all. I should have told you that it doesn't matter what your powers are, because I can tell you're a nice person, and that's what matters. I totally want to sit here."

Ann looks up, a bit startled. "You mean that?"

I smile. "Yeah."

Anne gives a small smile. "I think you're nice too."

"Thanks," I reply, smiling again.

"I'm don't always know what to say either," Anne confesses. "It's just… the last friend I told about my… ability… was left speechless too. Then she never talked to me again."

I frown. "It doesn't sound like she was a very good friend then."

"Or I wasn't," Anne mumbles.

I feel bad that I caused Anne to worry so much, and even worse that her 'friend' was so uncaring. "Anne, you can't blame yourself for being born with powers. The only thing you can control is making sure to use them for good. And considering I've never heard about a second Hulk, it seems like you're doing a good job."

Anne smiles weakly. "Thanks."

"No problem. Hey, would you like to sit with me at the game tonight? I don't know anyone else in the band yet."

Anne's smile grows wider. "Sure!"

"How are you doing on your project, Laura?" our teacher asks, walking over.

I look down at my sloppy flower project, which is about three-fourths of the way done. "Ummmm…"

"How about you work on it some more, ok? You can talk when it's finished."

I nod my reply.

"Um, would you like some help with that?" Anne asks once the teacher has walked away.

I laugh. "If you think you can help. I'm really terrible at drawing."

Anne studies my drawing. "It's not that bad." She grins mischievously. "I mean, I can tell they're supposed to be flowers."

I laugh. "Oh, great. I'm so glad you know they're supposed to be flowers," I tease, sticking my tongue out. Anne giggles and makes a face. Laughing, I make a face back.

All too soon, the bell rings. The drawing I made is still rather sloppy, but I made something better: a friend.

I arrive at coding class feeling happy and energetic. Apparently I'm not the only one, as The Vampire is actually awake today! I take a second look and realize that he is not only awake, but also typing away at his computer like there's no tomorrow!

Just then, Vampire Teen notices me looking at him. "Oh… hi."

"Hi," I reply.

"Err, I don't think we've met," he replies, rubbing his hair. "What's your name?"

"Laura," I reply. "And you are?"

"Noah Bolton, how is your coding coming along?" our teacher asks.

The Vampire (or Noah, as I should now call him)'s shoulders slump. "Umm…"

The teacher frowns. "If you keep sleeping in class, I will have to inform the principal, which may result in your suspension. This is your warning."

"So yeah. I'm Noah," Noah replies as our teacher walks away. "Does she seem strict to you?" he asks, looking in the direction of our teacher, then back at me.

I pause for a moment as I think how best to answer this. "I mean, she expects everyone to learn stuff really quickly, or at least I think so. Still, she's pretty nice. And… umm… most people don't sleep in class…."

Noah sighs. "Yeah. I've been busy lately."

"Oh. Umm… maybe you should cut back on stuff? Like, if you don't want to fall asleep in class?"

Noah glares at me. "I can't."

"Oh. Sorry to hear that," I reply, a bit confused. My mom always told me that doing well in school was my main responsibility right now, and that, if being in too many clubs got in the way of that, I should cut back. I could understand if he just didn't care about school why he would spend his time doing other things, but I don't know what he means by "I can't cut back."

I consider asking him, except just then, the bell rings, and our teacher begins teaching. I spend most of the class desperately trying to understand coding, which is a lot harder since Joe isn't there, and Noah is too busy getting caught up with his own work to help me. It isn't until nearly the end of class that Joe walks in, mumbling something about missing his bus. I whisper a quick "That sucks," before returning my attention to coding. Except I needn't have bothered, since the bell rings, signaling the end of class.

The rest of the day passes rather quickly. Before I know it, it's time to go home and get ready for the game.

AN: So I hope this chapter is alright. I kept re-writing the bit with Noah because it didn't feel right. Actually it still doesn't, but I want to get on to the next chapter.

Anyways, college starts back up for me on Monday, so I won't have as much time to write. My goal will be to update once a week, probably on Sunday.

The next chapter will have more action. I already thought of a name for it: "Loki, King of the Marching Band", so it should be… interesting :)