Rosaline

My feelings started to retrieve. I could feel myself lying on a bed somewhere. I was glad that my feelings came back. But now, I felt suddenly very cold. I couldn't move at all! It was as if I was frozen inside an ice cube.

After a long time passed, the ice started to melt. I could feel the warmth coming back to me. I was glad. When the ice cube completely melt away, Alex's voice came into my head. Is Rose okay? Why wasn't she waking up? Alex was here? Why would he be anyways?

I searched the muscle that controlled my eyelids. Finally, I found what I was looking for. My eyes flew open and, after hours of darkness, I saw light once again. I saw Catherine standing next to me. Some nurses stood next to my bed. The Pearls stood in one corner while Alicia and her friends stood in the corner across from the Pearls. I still felt weak, but at least I was awake. Exactly how long have I been asleep? I wondered.

Finally, after four and a half hours, she woke up! Jessica's voice said. I sat up in the bed after the nurses pulled the air mask off. I looked at Jess in surprise. She didn't look like she said something.

"What happened?" I asked the question that most people ask when they woke up after they fainted.

"You fainted on the way to PE," Alicia rushed to my side and explained.

"We thought something was wrong with you, but nothing was," Jess said.

Ugh! Cathy's voice came into my head. Why do voices keep on coming in my head? Why do I hear voices of people when they were not talking at all? I guess my wish didn't come true. I was so stupid I thought it would.

Rosemary Pearl. Is Rose really one of the Pearls? I don't think so, Alex said. This was getting really weird. And who was Rosemary Pearl? Jessica's sister?

After the nurses checked me from head to toe and the doctor said a bunch of things that I didn't understand, they finally let me go. I felt really tired and weak so I went to bed early that night after doing my homework even though I slept for an extra four hours in the hospital.

The next day, I went to school as usual. Alex was waiting for me in the parking lot by his car. Rosemary Pearl. Rose doesn't look like Rosemary. She looked more Rosaline to me. She smelled like Rosaline, too. Alex was whispering to himself without moving his lips. I wonder how I could hear that.

I walked toward Alex. He smiled at me as I approached.

"Hi," I said to him.

"How are you feeling today?" Alex asked whole-heartedly.

"I'm okay now," I told him.

Rosemary, he was saying that name again.

"I'm sorry; do you have something to tell me?" I asked.

"Umm... No. Why?" He seemed confused. Did she hear what I was thinking? That's impossible, he thought.

"I know. That's impossible," I replied.

"What?" Can she read my mind? It sounded like she could.

"Yeah! It's exactly like I can read your mind!" I said in surprise.

"Really?" Alex was shocked, too.

"Now tell me."

"Tell you what?"

"Who's Rosemary?" I asked curiously.

"You don't know?"

I nodded.

After a long pause, Alex finally said, "Rosaline. Rosemary is standing right in front of me!"

I looked around me and around Alex. Then, I suddenly realized something unbelievable. "Me?" I whispered.

"Yes." He nodded.

"But I'm Rosaline Sapphire, not Rosemary Pearl. I have nothing to do with Jessica or Jeffery or Shannon," I told him. "I want the whole story, Alex."

He hesitated, but spat the whole story out anyways. "First of all, I didn't know what was going on. Jackson told me the whole story. I have no responsibility for the truth quality of the story.

"You were born a year after Jeffery Pearl was born. Jessica is your twin. Your parents couldn't afford you so they give you to the children's shelter. The Sapphires adopted you and that was basically it." The story was shorter and simpler than I thought.

"How did Jackson know?" I asked.

"Umm…" How am I supposed to reply? Just tell him Jackson was a ghost or something? Alex thought.

"Jackson's a ghost?" I was totally shocked by this point. "But how?"

"Jack's not a ghost!"

"Yes he is! You were thinking about how you could explain to me without letting me know that he is a ghost!" I corrected.

"Wow, Rose. You really are good at this," he approved. Should I tell her I'm a vampire? Will she still like me? How come she can read my mind but I can't read hers? Life is so unfair!

"Oh don't ever complain about life!" I told him. "And you are what? A vampire? Why is my life full of immortal stuff? Now even I'm not normal!"

Alex opened his mouth as if to say something, but the bell rang before the sound made it out of his mouth. We hurried to English then. He sat next to me as usual. But today, we weren't paying any attention to the lesson. We were passing notes.

I started the note passing. What else are you hiding from me? I wrote.

Nothing really. If I am, you can just find out when you read my mind. Alex wrote back.

Tell me the whole immortal story at lunch, okay? I really want to know about abnormal people now that I am kind of one.

What about you come to my house today after school? Alex suggested.

Sure thing. Should I invite Jack?

No. That was Alex's answer. I could see from his thinking that Jack was somehow his enemy now. I couldn't concentrate on him since the teacher asked me a question. I didn't hear it again, but I searched for it in his head, and I finally found it. I gave the correct answer.

The day was unbearable! It was like time had frozen! I couldn't stand the torture of the day any longer. The final bell was a great relief. I hope Alexander would tell me all the secrets. But if he doesn't, I would find out sooner or later. He probable would think about it some day, and I would be there to catch them.

Alexander

So Rosaline was Rosemary, and Rosemary was Jackson's long lost love. It doesn't even make cents! Jackson said I could have Rosaline but Rosemary was his. But Rosemary and Rosaline was the same person! Jackson was crazy! What was in his head? Garbage?

Jackson was invisible again when I got to school. Rose arrived shortly after I was there. She walked toward me.

"Hi," she said.

"How are you feeling today?" There were no other questions that made cents now.

"I'm okay now," she told me. It was a relief hearing that.

I was still thinking about Jackson's words. And at the same time, I tried to picture Rosaline as Rosemary Pearl.

"I'm sorry," Rose spoke. "Do you have something to tell me?"

Do I? "Umm… No. Why?" It was like she could read my mind! That was impossible.

"I know. That's impossible," she murmured.

"What?" Can she read my mind? It sounded like she could.

"Yeah! It's exactly like I can read your mind!" That was impossible! Totally wrong! How can a mortal read minds?

"Now tell me," she insisted.

"Tell you what?" I thought I know what she was asking about, though, since she could read my mind. This was so unfair! How come she gets to read my mind and I was still struggling with hers?

"Who's Rosemary?" Of course she would ask that.

"You don't know?"

She nodded.

What was I thinking? Of course she doesn't know. She was a baby at that time and babies doesn't remember anything. I don't even remember my baby years.

"Rosaline. Rosemary is standing right in front of me!"

Rose looked around her and me. Then finally, the answer popped into her head. She pointed at herself and carefully, she whispered, "Me?"

"Yes." I nodded slightly.

"But I'm Rosaline Sapphire, not Rosemary Pearl. I have nothing to do with Jessica or Jeffery or Shannon," she explained. "I want the whole story, Alex."

So I gave her an abridged version of Eyre's story. It came out shorter than I thought it would be. Also, before I told her the story, I clarified that Jackson told me the story.

"How did Jackson know?" Her tone was now more than curious. How am I supposed to reply? Just tell him Jackson was a ghost or something?

"Jackson's a ghost?" Disbelief. "But how?" I could hear from her voice that there would be no lies allowed from me.

"Jack's not a ghost!" I got to be more careful with my thoughts around Rose now that she could actually read my mind.

So I told her the truth that I was a vampire and Jackson was ghost. Also, we were passing notes during English and I unconsciously asked Rose over to my house this afternoon! Now, I could only hope Michael and the triplets were well fed and no one could hurt Rosaline. After all, what do I have left? Rosemary was Jackson's. My heart was shut down and hadn't beaten once since I was born. My brother was crazily in love with Alicia Jones. All I have left was Rosaline because she had stolen my dead heart.