I don't know what to expect today. Will I fit in? Am I actually going to make friends? Will I actually be able to fully enjoy the few years I have here before I have to leave again due to my immortality? The more I worry about these thoughts, the more nervous I get to return to high school. It's been a while since I've been in school. The last time I did anything school related I was working on my sixth bachelor's degree. I guess I just prefer going to college instead of high school, much less drama. With the sun rising, I should set to get ready for school.
The soft, mellow sounds of jazz filled the room as Calla sat perched on the window seat, writing and enjoying the small breeze that flowed into the house. An empty, bloodstained mug rested next to her on the windowsill. Calla shut her journal and slipped it under the pillow behind her. Walking into her closet, she assessed her possible clothing choices before seeing a dress that caught her eye. A black and white sleeveless hounds tooth print dress stood out amongst the array of colors. Calla removed the hanger that held the dress and turned to face the selection of jackets and cardigans before selecting a simple red one. Grabbing a skinny black belt, thigh high black socks and a pair of black glitter oxfords, Calla lays her outfit on her bed and proceeds into her bathroom. Her image reflected in the mirror is the epitome of classic beauty. Dark chocolate color hair, curled to perfection, framing a simply made up porcelain face. Applying just a touch of mascara, Calla went to get dressed. Once clothed, Calla grabbed her empty mug and brought it down to her kitchen to be washed out. Taking a quick look at the clock, she realized she would need to leave now to be able to get her schedule from the main office. She left her house and got into the vintage blue Mustang that was parked out front, driving off for her first day at Mystic Falls High.
Pulling into a parking space close to the building, Calla arrived with just enough time to get to the front office. It seems as though the secretary had been waiting for her to arrive.
"I'm sorry but your records seem to be incomplete. We have everything but your immunization records and we insist on having transcripts." Calla tucked a piece of hair behind her ear before staring directly into the secretary's eyes. Her pupils dilated, making it seem like she was staring into the woman's very soul.
"Please look again ma'am, I'm certain everything is there." The secretary's eyes glazed over in a daze behind she stared at the papers.
"Oh, you're right. We do have everything, sorry about that Ms. Woods."
"It's no trouble at all." Calla was handed her schedule and went on her way. As she left the office, a boy with bronze hair accidentally bumped into her shoulder. Calla let out a quick "excuse me" as she swiftly went in search of her first class. The boy took her place in front of the desk. His sunglasses hid his eyes from the secretary. He ran into the same problems as Calla did when it came to paperwork. The woman had a dazed look in her face as she shuffled through the folder and realized she had all of his papers. She shook her head, ridding herself of the feeling of déjà vu.
Calla's first day at school went smoothly, due to the fact that she kept to herself for most of it. She was, however, approached by a bubbly blonde Calla hadn't seen in any of her classes.
"Hi, you're Calla Woods right? Of course you are, you and the new guy are the talk of the school right now. I'm Caroline Forbes, junior, captain of the cheerleading squad, and your official welcome to Mystic High committee!" Her smile was bright and infectious, causing Calla to smile warmly at the greeting. "I just wanted to put a face to the name and invite you to the bonfire party tomorrow night. It's over in the woods near the Falls, if you don't know how to get there, here's my number and you can call for directions. Us beautiful girls have got to stick together. I am also completely in love with your outfit. Very classy and professional but absolutely adorable." Caroline quickly jotted down her phone number on a post-it note she seemed to have pulled from out of nowhere and handed it over to a flustered Calla.
"Oh wow, thank you. This is all very kind of you but you don't need to take pity on me because I'm new. It's all right." One would think that Calla's words were harsh but her warm and melodious tone proved otherwise.
Caroline just laughed at the brunette's words.
"Oh Calla, you seem very sweet. You will fit in with my group of friends easily. Why don't you come meet them tonight? We are hanging out at the Mystic Grill after school, you just have to come!" Caroline grabbed on to Calla's hand, begging her to join them. She smiled sweetly at the blonde, thoroughly amused by her infectious positivity and energy.
"I guess I can stop by for an hour or two. But I really need to go home for awhile, I have some things to do."
"Stop by whenever, we'll be there awhile." Caroline shot Calla another smile before walking off down the hallway. Calla shook her head, laughing at the blonde's antics before leaving school for the day.
Calla had arrived home and proceeded to delay her appearance at the Grill as long as possible. It wasn't that she didn't want to go; it was due to the fact that even if she made friends with Caroline and her friends, she would be leaving in a few years because they would notice that she was not aging like them. She wasted time by playing popular tunes of the time period on the piano; the beautiful sounds of her singing voice floated out the open windows of the parlor. After wasting over an hour immersing herself in her music, Calla decided that it was time to bite the bullet and go to the Grill.
The Grill was your typical restaurant where your usual high school crowd gathered after school to spend time with friends before going home. Calla cautiously stepped through the door, peering around at all the unfamiliar faces for a flash of bright blonde hair. The longer she stood there, the more tempted she was to just go to the bar and drink a glass of bourbon instead. As she started to make her way to the bar, a feminine voice shouted her name, alerting Calla of Caroline's presence. The blonde walked quickly up to her and proceeded to hug her tightly, glad she had decided to show up. Standing slightly behind the blonde was another girl with beautiful black hair and caramel colored skin.
"Oh you came! Calla, this is my friend Bonnie Bennett, I have no idea where Elena is but you can meet her later. Bonnie, this is Calla Woods, she's new." Calla gave Bonnie a little wave in greeting. "Let me get you a drink and then I want to hear all about you!" Caroline swiftly walked towards the bar to order Calla a drink. Both Calla and Bonnie chuckled at the actions of the blonde.
"After you Ms. Bennett, I will follow your lead." Calla flourished her arm on the path Caroline just took, indicating for Bonnie to walk ahead of her. "To be honest, Caroline is a lovely girl but very intense." Bonnie laughed at the accurate description of the bubbly blonde.
"You'll get used to it, don't worry." Bonnie grabbed a hold of Calla's arm and dragged her towards Caroline, laughing the whole time.
Finding an empty table to sit at, Caroline began her in depth questioning of Calla.
"So, where are you from?" Caroline kept her gaze trained on the polite brunette as she quietly sipped her drink.
"My family is actually from Mystic Falls, I was born here and now just recently moved back."
"With your parents?"
"Actually, no. It's just me left."
"Oh, I'm so sorry." Bonnie's eyes were filled with sympathy. "Do you mind me asking what happened?" Calla gave the dark haired girl a small smile, indicating that she didn't mind talking about them.
"Well my father died when I was little due to illness and my mom just died of old age. I decided to move back to revisit my roots and finish high school. Before my mom died, she decided that we would travel and see the world since my father couldn't."
"Ok, moving on from sad topics. You have any hidden talents or whatnot?" Caroline leaned forward eager to hear her response. She had been hoping that she had some things in common with the pretty new girl so she could gain her friendship.
"Let me think. I'm pretty good at singing and the piano. Oh, and I've been classically trained in ballet. I think that's really it, honestly." Caroline's eyes sparkled at her mention of dance.
"You're a dancer! If we get an empty spot on the cheerleading squad, I may try and recruit you." She smirked as she played with the straw in her drink. "And I think I may need a demonstration of the singing. I'm sure the manager here would love to have someone perform a live song or two." Caroline's flashed mischievously at the idea of showing off the new girl, claimed her as a member of her group.
"Look, there he is now, go ask." With a slight shove, Calla was walking in the direction of the manager of the Mystic Grill. She politely stood in front of him waiting to gain his attention.
"Yes, can I help you, young lady?" Katrina stared into his eyes, pupils dilating as she spoke.
"You will let me sing a song on stage right now and not complain about it."
"I will let you sing and not complain." The manager spoke in a slow, hypnotic tone agreeing to Calla's request. He shook his head still looking at the young lady. "Oh, yes you were singing tonight, go right ahead everything is on stage. I'll pause the radio for you."
Calla walked onto stage, setting up the piano and microphone for her little performance. Deeming herself ready, she sat down at the piano bench, tapping on the microphone to gain everyone's attention.
"Hi everyone. I hope you are all having a lovely evening. My new friends wanted me to demonstrate something I'm good at so this is for you ladies." She gave Caroline and Bonnie a dazzling smile before beginning to play a familiar melody on the piano
Head under water
And they tell me to breathe easy for a while
The breathing gets harder, even I know that
Made room for me but it's too soon to see
If I'm happy in your hands
I'm unusually hard to hold on to
Everyone at the Grill was smiling at the performance. Caroline and Bonnie had both moved closer to the stage to support Calla and dance to the music.
Blank stares at blank pages
No easy way to say this
You mean well, but you make this hard on me
Calla slowly lost herself in the music, closing her eyes, as she wildly played piano.
I'm not gonna write you a love song
'cause you ask for it
'cause you need one, you see
I'm not gonna write you a love song
'cause you tell me it's make or break in this
If you're on your way
I'm not gonna write you to stay
If all you have is leaving, I'ma need a better reason to write you
A love song, today
Calla continued on with her performance, charming the audience with her voice. Once finished, she got a standing ovation from all the high school students with Caroline and Bonnie yelling the loudest. She smiled and curtsied, thanking the audience for their time before going back to her new friends.
"Have I satisfied your curiosity Caroline?" Calla wore a small smile as she stood with her hands clasped behind her back. The blonde girl squealed and launched herself at Calla.
"Oh my god, that was amazing! You are totally my new friend." Caroline squeezed Calla in a tight hug as she spoke. The brunette let out a light laugh as she returned the hug.
"Well, this has been a fun night but there are some things I'd like to go finish at home before it gets to late. Caroline," she addressed the blonde before turning to the dark-haired girl. "Bonnie, it had been absolutely lovely to meet you and hang out. I'd love to do it again. Possibly at the party tomorrow night?" Both girls smiled and nodded happily in agreement. Calla smiled warmly at the girls and made her way out of the Grill.
Unbeknownst to Calla, a man with raven hair sat at the bar, his back constantly to the girl while she had been there, and swirled his glass of bourbon with a small smile on his face. He had forgotten how lovely Calla had sounded when she sang. The man finished the rest of his drink and left the Grill in hopes of finding a bite to eat.
The following night, Calla wandered through the woods, following the smell of smoke and alcohol and the sounds of chatter. She had decided the show up late, in favor of feeding before she was put in a situation around all of these children. Calla did not recognize any one until a girl desperately trying to make her way out of the crowd bumped into her.
"Oh gosh, I'm sorry. Wait, Bonnie? What's wrong?" Calla grabbed the girl by the shoulders to stop her. Bonnie looked terrified due to what she had seen when she touched Elena.
"Calla, Hi. I'm fine just on my way to get a refill." Bonnie gave the girl a smile to get her to stop worrying.
"Well then I will accompany you, I need a drink as well." She smiled at Bonnie and held out her arm as if she was a gentleman escort. Bonnie laughed at the girl's antics before linking arms with her and leading them to one of the numerous beer coolers scattered around.
Calla and Bonnie had been standing around, chatting and enjoying each others company before cries for help ripped through the air. Calla was not tall enough to see what or who it was but she could hear two males and a female voice very clearly.
"Somebody help!"
"Vicki? Vicki, what the hell?"
"What happened to her?"
"Somebody call an ambulance!"
"Everybody back up, give her some space!"
"It's her neck. Something bit her. She's losing a lot of blood." Calla froze when she heard what had happened. She began to back up through the crowd looking for an exit. Little did she know, she wasn't the only leaving due to the attack.
Once Calla was clear of the party, she began to run at full speed back to her house. Finally outside her house, she slowed her pace and trudged up her front steps towards the porch swing. Dropping swiftly into the seat, Calla calmed her breathing before quickly running upstairs to change. She put her hair into a sloppy fishtail braid before putting on a plain white v-neck shirt, a pair of black running shorts, and some black TOMS in case she needed to go anywhere. Grabbing her journal, Calla returned to the porch swing to write down her thoughts.
I fear that things are making a turn for the worst since I have moved here. I have greatly enjoyed everything that has happened so far but after the events tonight, is it smart to stay in a town where my kind has been eradicated before? Only one creature can cause the types of injuries inflicted on the girl tonight.
Other vampires have returned to Mystic Falls. I am no longer alone and that means my chances of being found out are higher then before. Is it just one or maybe many more vampires lurking in the dark of this small town?
For now I will remain, playing the role of innocent new girl, and will look into who could possible have arrived in town.
The sounds of glass crashing and male voices yelling reached Calla's ears as she sat out on her porch, attempting to write more. The noises came from where the Salvatore boarding house was located so she dropped her blanket and ran as fast as she could without being seen.
Emerging from the woods, Calla slowed to a human running pace and kept running towards the driveway where two figures were on the ground. Focused more on her steps, she did not pay attention to their voices until she got closer. The male with raven hair was already walking back towards the house when she called out.
"Hey, excuse me, I'm sorry to bother you both but I was in the woods and heard fighting and glass crashing. I was in the woods close by and ran to see if everything was ok. Are you both all right?"
The man with the raven-colored hair and the boy with the bronze styled hair both froze at the sound of her voice. It was so familiar, it was as if they had heard her speak just yesterday but the last time they had heard that light voice was men both had known she was alive, cursed for eternity like them but neither had thought she would ever come back to Mystic Falls. To her, they were both dead.
The bronze hair boy turned around to look at her, his brow furrowed in guilt and sadness. Calla audibly gasped at the sight of Stefan Salvatore standing in front of her.
Smirking, the raven-haired man slowly turned to face Calla, who was nervous to see who was with Stefan. He kept his face angled downward in the shadows, masking his identity before he spoke quietly, knowing she would hear it.
"Glad to see you came home my little Lily flower." He raised his head to look her dead in the eye to see her reaction.
Only one man had ever called her by that nickname and he was supposed to be dead. Yet he was, standing alive in front of her, looking just as painfully handsome as he did over a century ago.
"Damon."
Well there is the first chapter of See Me Now! The song Calla sang in this chapter is Sara Barellies' "Love Song". I hope everyone enjoyed the first chapter, let me know what you think! Until next time -Kathryn