But then, I guess the whole thing was life threatening. I had no idea how good he was at resisting temptation. What if I got a papercut like Bella-Would he go into a frenzy?
But he had seen my cut at school. How close had I been to dying right then? And he had resisted killing me in the forest...
I had decided that if he could hold back then, he could be trusted to keep from killing me other times as well.
How long had it taken him to develop that kind of restraint? How old was he? Older than my dad? Older than my grandparents? Great grandparents?
These thoughts had my stomach churning. I had hoped that learning his secret might make things easier.. but, it had only made things more complicated. Still, as long as he could move past what had happened and how stupid I had been, then I guess I could face anything that being his friend brought, too.
Friend...
The thought flipped around in my brain. I had never actually had a friend before. I once knew a girl who talked to me more than anyone else did, but she committed suicide Junior year... We were never really this close, though.
I was also worried about Kurt's sadistic side and the fact that it was something I most deffinately did not like. Of course that would only be a problem if he could accept my erratic behaviour and give me another chance. Today I would find out.
It was Friday, and how he acted at school would decide whether I faced another weekend of loneliness or not. I stopped mid-step. I had been alone every weekend lately... He was having more of an impact on my life than I thought. My mind started to itch restlessly. "Woahh, keep a grip on yourself, Mazia. Trust. Lesson one, Trust." I took a deep breath and let it out slowly. Then I grinned. "Kurt, you would be so proud of me."
I ignored the cautious feeling this time and went downstairs. The kitchen was empty. Vanessa must have left for work early. I walked to the door, opened it, and stepped back in suprise. There was Kurt! Behind him was his little black car parked in my driveway. He smiled, "I thought you might need a ride to school."
A grin spread slowly across my face. Things were going to be okay.
The rest of the day passed quickly. Classes started and were over faster than they had ever been before. I felt like I was walking on air. But at the same time it felt like there was a weight deep in the pit of my stomach. I chose not to acknowledge it.
Maybe it was simply my curiousity of what today's lesson would be? Or the worry that it would be as frustrating as the others? Or the awareness of the fact that he was a vampire...
I silently wondered if anyone else had ever found out his secret. Had he killed them? The thought of Kurt killing didnt leave me feeling reasurred...
But I could always ask him later...
If I really wanted to know the answer...
When school ended I went in search of Kurt. I found him in the library. Hunched over a desk with papers spread in front of him. I leaned over his shoulder, "What's this?" He only acknowledged my question by nodding. "Hello?" I poked his cheek. He frowned and looked up at me, "What is it?" "What are you working on?"
He glanced down and then back up at me and answered,"The English Assignment." I stared blankly at the papers. "What English Assignment?" One of his eyebrows rose. "The English assignment. 10,000 words by Tuesday, ring a bell?" "...No." "Then I suggest you get to work on it." He said, turning back to his work.
I bit my lip thoughtfully, "I'm not really much of one for assignments..." "Then how do you manage to pass classes?" "I borrow someone else's..." He faced me again, frowning, "You cheat?" "No, I get them online. It's perfectly legal." "How do expect to learn anything if you get all the answers online?" "I read them as I copy them down." "You know I should report this to the principal." "But you won't." He sighed and shook his head, returning to his work, "You should find better material if you're going to cheat, I've seen your grades." I made a face and sat down beside him.
Minutes passed as his pen sailed across the paper. He wrote, erased, and rewrote. Stopped, concentrated, chewed his lip, and started again. I propped my head up with my hand until my arm fell alseep, then I layed my head down on the table. A bit too hard. My forehead hit the table with a painful thump. He stopped writing and stared at me,"Are you okay?" I kept my face down and gave a muffled reply. Reassured that I was fine, he returned to his writing. I stayed still until I couldn't stand it any longer.
I sprang up and said, "I'm going to go for a walk." "Stay out of the bad neighborhoods." He said absently, still writing.
There was a cool breeze when I went outside. The birds were singing. The sun was shining. I briefly considered going back inside, but was suddenly struck with a craving for something fizzy. A Pepsi perhaps? Or maybe a Dr Pepper? I tried to remember where the nearest store was. Finally I decided to go to a cheap little restaurant down the street called Bubba's. It never seemed to have many customers, but it had been there for as long as I can remember. I always wondered how it managed to stay in business. They had a special which they claimed they were famous for, but I had tried it once and it made me sick.
I strolled down the street and checked my wallet for money. It contained two one dollar bills, a dime, and some lint balls. Enough for a Dr Pepper anyway.
After my slightly warm, but refreshing, fizzy drink, I headed back to the school. I stared at the sidewalk as I walked, looking for change, bugs, or anything else even slightly interesting. A noise reached my ears and I paused on the steps.
There it was again..
A cat meowing.
I stepped off the stairs and followed the sound. Turning the side of the school building, I knelt looking for the cat and said soothingly, "Here kitty, kitty. It's okay, come out, I won't hurt you. Here kitty, kitty, kitty."
Suddenly the cat ran by me. Running from something...
"Here kitty, kitty." Came a sickeningly familiar voice from behind me. I straightened quickly and spun around. Sure enough, there was Rick, grinning evily at me.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Song: Arms~Christina Perry
Three R's!333