Chapter Three
My lip was lifted in fury as I rubbed my temples and tried to quietly count back from ten to calm myself. It was not working. Like I said, I hate confrontations and will do whatever it takes to avoid becoming embroiled inside one. This time though, it was completely inevitable. I was forced to be the one initiating an unpleasant conversation and actually putting myself out there to defend my dignity. I didn't deserve these feelings of anxiety and humiliation. He was to blame for all of this! That asshole. That stupid shiny Jaguar owner asshole!
'I don't like to beg. Why are you getting so worked up about this?' His annoying voice echoed in the edge of my brain again and again. Who the hell does he think he is?! Does he really think he can get away with this?! I should've yelled at him when I had the chance! Ugh! I should've been more aggressive! Shit! Why did I decide to trust him in the first place?! My thoughts had not yet taken the shape of coherent phrases when I kicked the bottom of the sink in front of me as hard as I could, a violent blast that shifted the vessel, causing it to dip significantly on the side.
"Ouch! Fuck!"
My foot was hurt in the process before I fell back against the wall behind me and jumped up and down to alleviate the sudden pain coming from my toes. Actual genius move Emma, without a doubt. A foot injury so you can skip school tomorrow, maybe even all week! Just what you want! an intrusive thought chimed in. That didn't sound so bad all of a sudden.
"Okay, okay, calm down." I whispered to myself. I had to recollect myself as quickly as possible. Not only was my next class starting in a few minutes but someone could come into the washroom at any second. Heaven knows I can only tolerate so many humiliations in one day.
The pain was softening as I walked around the washroom back and forth and my foot was forced to cooperate and touch the ground repeatedly. I opened my eyes widely and took a glance at myself through one of the oval mirrors above the sinks. I looked like I had seen a ghost and not a particularly friendly ghost at that. Some people in the past have rudely commented that my eyes are too big for my face and in these moments of anger I couldn't help but agree with them. My eyeballs barely fit inside their sockets when I'm agitated.
After splashing a little bit of cold water on my face, I dried my hands and titled my chin up towards the exit. I approached the door at full speed however I stopped myself from taking a step further as soon as I noticed the multiple graffitis on the walls. I was so upset when I came in the washroom that I didn't register the architecture around me but now that I could think again I was intrigued.
The graffitis showed a giant girl with a monster head terrorizing smaller girls with a knife; there was only not one, but five or six small graffitis of the same thing spread throughout the walls and doors of the washroom. The giant girl had one eye bigger than the other and her hair was covering half of her face. I couldn't figure out why that seemed to be a popular theme here. Was it a reference to a film I hadn't seen? Was the giant girl supposed to be the school's mascot? Maybe I was missing something or maybe Hemlock Grove is simply a strange, creepy small town; everything so far checks out for the latter.
Just as I was processing this thought I heard a muffled gasp coming from a closed stall, a stall with a 'Temporarily Out of Service' warning glued to its door. The gasp scared me considerably, first because I assumed I was alone, but then it sounded like an involuntary sound which I found alarming.
"Is someone there?"
No answer. They muffled another gasp but I was able to detect it. Could someone be in pain or out of breath?
"Are you okay?" I asked apprehensively as I moved toward the door. From the shadow I could only see someone sitting down. "Are you okay in there? Do you want me to call someone?" I knocked and repeated patiently one last time. Why wasn't this person responding?
A phone vibrated from the inside and I heard the sound of someone typing rapidly on the keyboard. "I'm fine, thank you." A robotic female voice replied, the vocals clearly coming from one of those text-to-speech apps. I was taken by surprise and blinked in confusion. Crap. The girl was probably mute.
"Ummm good. Cool." I cleared my throat awkwardly. I thought that was the end of our short interaction when her door suddenly opened. It would be an understatement to say I was in shock to see a giant girl coming out of the stall, the phone in her hand and a shy expression on the part of her face that wasn't hidden by black, thick hair. My body didn't move except for my mouth, which stretched wide open involuntarily. She appeared to be seven feet tall yet that wasn't the physical trait that shocked me the most. Her right eye appeared to be much bigger than her left one and it was placed in a lower area of her face.
Realizing that I made her uncomfortable, I shut my eyes in embarrassment and shook my head. "I'm...I'm new here, sorry I thought… " I let that sentence trail off, hopefully managing to keep my composure. "…nevermind. What's your name?" I recovered as nicely as I could, considering the unexpected and confusing circumstance.
Her right eye blinked in sync with her left one and it definitely looked like it was functioning normally besides the fact it was fully black with no iris. How is that even possible? She was very nervous, almost terrified that I was interacting with her by the way she avoided eye contact. She looked down as she typed something into her phone - it was in that moment that I saw it weren't white gloves on her hands, but thick bandages. Because of that restriction, she was typing with the pen attached to one of the strings around her neck.
"Shelley." She smiled shyly before making the same drawing of breath sound I heard before. Shelley, the giant girl. The graffitis around us made a bit of sense now, but at the same time I was baffled. Why didn't the school intervene in a situation this degrading? Bullying back in Chicago was not taken lightly, and erasing hateful drawings from the washroom doors and walls was one of the keys to prevent acts of violence. Apparently no one cared enough to do something about it here.
"I'm Emma. What grade are you in, Shelley?"
"I'm a freshman."
"I'm a senior." She didn't walk in at any moment while I was there (I think that would've caught my eye) so this meant she had been hiding there silently for quite some time. Even though I didn't know anything about Shelley and was extremely confused in regards to her appearance I had a feeling she was a sweet kid and those graffitis were nothing but stupid cruel jokes.
"Is everything okay with you?" She made eye contact this time though she struggled to keep it. I quickly looked away in shame, not contemplating telling her what happened.
"Umm yes, I was just feeling a little out of breath before. It's surprisingly really hot in Hemlock Grove… Ummm I'm better now. I also assumed I was alone. Silly me." I smiled cautiously at her, attempting to break the ice.
"Me too. I heard the door and thought you left." She admitted.
We laughed shyly, Shelley's face lighting up a little. And I mean literally lighting up a little, her skin gave off a blue iridescent glow. There was an uncomfortable silence before the bell came to our rescue and we smiled at each other, heading off at the same time, but in different directions. I waved to Shelley and she waved back with a timid yet friendly expression. I was hoping my initial reaction didn't make her think I was mocking her because I wasn't. I wasn't scared of her either, I was genuinely puzzled. Puzzled and with good reason.
I brushed a lock of hair out of my face and focused on my route to the classroom, confirming on my timetable Math was next. Thankfully the teacher didn't ask me to introduce myself to the class so I sat in the back and watched the others come in the door. I expected that jerk to walk in at any second, but he never did. I didn't know how I would deal with his presence again since I could still feel the fury inside me simmering.
A pretty blonde girl sat calmly in the seat next to mine, studying me for a moment before giving me a polite nod. The teacher was still settling onto his desk, going through his briefcase when she turned to me.
"Hi, I'm Letha. And you're Emmaline. And you moved here from Chicago." Her voice came out softly. She had a feminine style that matched harmoniously with her delicate posture.
I nodded my head quickly, wondering how on earth she knew that already. "How do you know?"
Letha organized her books in a perfect pile and placed them in a corner of her table. "We don't get new students often, the word spreads fast." She looked up and nodded lightly.
I couldn't help smirk a little. "I see. Oh and no one calls me Emmaline, I prefer Emma."
"Noted. You don't know anyone here?" She placed a hand on her chin.
"Here? In school?" I asked and she nodded. "No."
"Mmm." Letha appeared to be thinking intently about something before she snapped out of it. "Ah, just a heads up, this class is beyond dull." She warned me, her voice barely above a whisper as the buzz of the students talking quieted down.
I was going to answer her if the teacher didn't start distributing the respective sheets for today's class. Sadly Letha was right, the class was painfully boring and I can't say I was completely aware of how much time had passed until I heard the bell again. Most of the hour was devoted to thinking about Shelley and trying to make a mental map of her physical characteristics: her height, her prominently different eyes, the concealed hands, the glow, the way she was breathing. The more I thought about her anatomy the less sense it made. The mystery would probably be solved with a google search but until then I was considerably confused.
As the teacher dismissed us and wished us a good lunch I patiently grabbed my backpack and stuffed the books inside, observing my new colleagues while they walked out the door in an unorganized wire; to my surprise, one stood behind.
"Hey, do you wanna have lunch with me? And my friends? By friends I mean my boyfriend and my cousin. We go to the cafeteria." Letha asked kindly.
"Oh I…Yes, of course." I smiled timidly and shrugged my shoulders.
We strolled through the hall and got in line to get our food before we sat at an empty table with our trays. Letha was set to start a conversation when I heard people approaching our table, the atmosphere around changing slightly. I thought they were more but as I looked up I registered they were only two. It was only when I analyzed their faces closely that the food in my mouth turned salty.
I was doomed.
That asshole, the asshole, hesitantly sat down with his tray at the end of our table! His friend took the seat in front of mine and acknowledged me with curiosity before settling his things on the side. This had to be a joke, there was no way Letha, as nice as she seemed, could be friends with someone so despicable.
"New flesh." The boy said expectantly after giving Letha a peck on the lips. He had medium-sized brown hair that embraced his soft features, light facial hair and blue welcoming eyes.
"Hi." Was all I could manage with a full mouth.
"Guys, this is Emma. Emma, Peter, my cousin Roman." She gestured to each person. Never in a million years did I imagine that Roman was not only friends with Letha, someone I was currently expecting to know better, but also her cousin. Wow. The day just kept on punishing me for absolutely no reason.
"Nice to meet ya." Peter smiled warmly while Roman focused on his food, barely acknowledging my presence.
"Likewise. I've met Roman, actually." I said with forced enthusiasm.
"You have?" Letha asked.
"I mean I didn't know his name, we—"
"Had English together." Roman abruptly cut me off, not quite meeting my eyes. I nodded my head in agreement, hiding my irritation. I could tell Roman didn't expect Letha to befriend me and was visibly not comfortable sharing the table with an unfamiliar person. Too bad because I wasn't going to leave.
Peter was puzzled that I was just sitting there. "So where are you from? Why did you move?" He asked curiously, leaning forward on his seat. Something about the way Peter spoke told me he already knew where I was from, he was just trying to spark the conversation. I didn't want to complain about Roman's presence so I figured the best way to deal with this unexpected situation was to ignore him like he was ignoring me.
"Uhh Chicago. My dad got a job here and my mom and I were dragged along. He's working at Hemlock Insurance." I explained with an involuntary sigh.
"That's a real step down. In terms of location, of course. There's really not much to see here." Peter said gently.
"I was mortified at first, still am a little but I'll just have to get used to it. Don't really have a choice." I stared down at my plate, feeling a wave of eyes on me.
"Hey Hemlock Grove is not that bad. It's…" Letha struggled for the right word. "Dormant."
"Since when is dormant a positive thing?" Peter frowned with an amused smile while Letha rolled her eyes. "I also moved here from Delaware last year. My mom and I were always moving around, we never stood in one place longer than one year. We've been here for thirteen months I think?" He stared at his girlfriend and she confirmed it.
"Really? What does your mom do?" I asked, not wanting to come across as noisy. I noticed Roman was eating his food with a little more force than necessary.
"She's a Massagist. The type that's not afraid to really go deep in there and bend and twist your bones."' Peter made the sound of a bone cracking. ''She works independently though. I can give you her card if you want. She's pretty good, especially with hand massages, and I'm not just saying this because she's my mommy." His genuine energy relaxed me a little.
"Sure, maybe my parents will be interested.'' They haven't rested a minute in the past few days manically arranging the furniture, especially my dad, who almost broke his back trying to hang a painting over the fireplace.
Peter opened his bag and took out a small white card. "Here it is."
I inspected the information briefly and gave him a polite smile. "Thanks." It was uncommon to see someone carrying their parents' business card to school. It became obvious to me Peter had high esteem for his mom.
Letha took a sip of her drink and stared at me. "What part of town do you live in, Emma?"
"Ummm I still have to memorize the address, I just know it's near a cemetery. I haven't left the house since we moved." I admitted.
Peter whistled. "Impressive. Not a lot of people are comfortable living near a graveyard."
I nodded in agreement. "I don't know if I mind it yet. To be honest I think my parents haven't noticed, my room is the only part of the house that faces the perimeter."
"I read that even if no ghosts or demons are haunting your house, living close to a cemetery can cause depression." Peter announced. Oh joy.
"I could've gone on perfectly fine without knowing that." I said lamely.
"Ah, you'll survive." Peter waved his hand in a forget-about-it gesture.
We were silent for a second before I subtly leaned forward and fixed my posture, feeling a little more comfortable than before. "Do you guys know why Biology classes are delayed? I asked Mr. Harris, one of the administrators, but he couldn't tell me."
Letha smiled instantly. "You mean your Biology classes are delayed. This may be kinda weird but my brother is going to be your teacher."
I raised an eyebrow in surprise.
"He just finished his Biochemistry and Molecular Biology degree in New York and he wants some experience teaching highschoolers. He broke his hand and he hasn't been able to travel up here yet though." Letha explained.
"Is he okay?" I asked.
"He's fine, yeah." She said vaguely and avoided eye contact. "I couldn't believe him when he told me the school accepted him, he's like ridiculously overqualified for this place. He can't teach Roman and I, obviously, you know, because we're related but you'll be sharing the class with Peter."
I nodded, taking in the information.
"It's gonna be awkward to have William here. He's what? Twenty three, but you can barely distinguish him from a junior." Peter commented with amusement.
"He doesn't look that young!" Letha defended.
We talked a little more, the conversation mostly focused on me and my transition to a small town. I was shy, but Peter and Letha were friendly right off the bat and I could tell they were making an effort to integrate me in every conversation. I assumed it was because Peter was the new kid in town too in a way, more than once, and he understood most of what was going through my head. He was easy to talk to, and wasn't overly noisy which is something I appreciated.
Eventually we finished our meals, dropped off our trays and made our way to the hallway. Letha and Peter were distracted talking and somehow I ended up walking in the back alongside Roman. Even though I had no interest in becoming his friend, apparently I was going to have to deal with his unpleasant existence for the time being. I looked down at the floor and clenched my jaw in frustration as I remembered once again what went down in the morning. I could just tell he was expecting me to complain to Letha or Peter, but I wasn't going to give him the satisfaction of ruining the mood and making it all about him.
As if Roman read my mind, he began whistling quietly to himself, unquestionably just making noise to try to spark a reaction out of me. I glanced at him sideways and determined to ignore him, I stayed silent and continued to follow Peter and Letha down the hall. Slowly his body turned faintly in my direction and his posture became stiffer as he moved. "Did you invite Letha for lunch or did she invite you?" At first I didn't realize Roman was talking to me. Only when I turned my head to face the rays of light coming from the windows did I see him staring and waiting for a reply.
"Why do you care?" I asked without looking at him.
"She's usually choosy about who she hangs out with. You appeared out of nowhere today and invaded our table. Did you invite her or did she invite you?" Roman repeated. He was getting on my nerves again.
I frowned slightly. "It sucks when our personal space is occupied by a stranger, doesn't it?"
He continued to stare blankly and I glanced away. His green eyes, that somehow looked greyish now, held an intensity that I couldn't handle for more than a few seconds. I came to the conclusion that his face was somehow even more well structured and pretty up close. Why is it always the exceptionally attractive ones that have the worst personalities? Beauty is lost.
"The answer?" He pressured.
He thinks just because he asks I'm obligated to give him an answer? Especially after everything he did? If that's his frame of mind he desperately needs a reality check. "I'm not going to tell you anything. If you want to know, ask Letha yourself." I retorted.
Roman didn't look mad or frustrated but rather impatient. I failed to see how that was any of his business anyway. Letha and Peter slowed down their pacing to walk with us and I was eternally grateful my irritation was cut short this time. I was also hoping they didn't notice the end of an unpleasant conversation between Roman and I.
"Emma, you going to this dance?" Peter looked up and pointed to an orange pamphlet pinned to one of the cork boards. Ah, the Halloween homecoming dance taking place next Friday.
"Umm I don't know, I don't have a costume."
Letha spiraled around Peter like a kid as they hugged. "Neither do we, we still have plenty of time to think about that. You can come with us if you want." She said pleasantly. I appeared to be the only one that detected Roman frowning just as Letha said this.
"Roman here is our chauffeur." Peter playfully punched Roman on the arm. Roman sighed and looked straight ahead.
"Oh." I sounded disappointed but Letha and Peter didn't question it. "Ummm, maybe, yeah. I'll think about it." I cleared my throat.
"Peter, cigarette?" Roman gestured for Peter to follow him outside.
"Politely call me Mr. Rumancek, the way any properly trained chauffeur would do!" Peter spoke in a strict tone and placed his hands on his hips before cracking a smile.
Roman snorted. "Fuck off."
"Rumancek? Is that russian?" I asked curiously.
Peter laughed at my moment of ignorance. "Romani."
My features lit up, understanding.
"We'll be right back." Peter kissed Letha on the lips with a little more passion than I was expecting and sent me a tiny wave. He smoothly pulled the pack of cigarettes out of his pocket and followed Roman to the exit.
Letha and I talked a bit more and she took the opportunity to introduce me to some of her friends, Emily, Zoe and Ashley. They weren't particularly affable like Letha, and one of them, Ashley, eyed me up and down as if she was a puffer machine scanning me for drugs. The conversations between them were shallow and ended nowhere and I found myself glancing at the clock over their heads and daydreaming about skipping the rest of my classes.
When school was finally over for the day and I thought it was impossible to be showered with more surprises and inconveniences I coincidentally discovered Roman and Shelley are siblings and their mother owns the Godfrey tower. In other words, Roman is dumb rich and his family possesses most of the properties in Hemlock Grove. I internally laughed at this revelation, not entirely surprised. That certainly explains a lot though I was still confused about Shelley's 'condition', even after the google search I performed discreetly on my phone while I was in Business class. She is the most unique human being I've ever seen and it's hard to describe her form in an coherent order that is logical in my head and apparently in Google's very own search database as well. It is evidently none of my business, I'm merely shaken out of my funk and looking for an answer out of pure curiosity but I guess I'm not going to get one.
Despite the migraine that was Roman Godfrey, today wasn't as bad as I was expecting and I was grateful I managed to advance through the hours in a discreet motion.