chapter two

If I think that things are bad enough as it is with having to arrive at Northwest School, it's even worse when classes start. The teachers are the best in the state, even in the country, and with one look can cause their students to second guess things.

The teachers try to make me both the center of attention and also stuck in the background depending on whether or not they have a good relationship with Principal Dwyer. I often have to look down at my textbooks and my notes in order to make sure that I'm going to answer correctly. I duck my head down even more when I get the answer wrong, hoping that Principal Dwyer won't call me into the office and tell me what an embarrassment I am.

I'm answering one of Renee's emails after classes when I notice Elle looking through crime reports, apparently, she's an excellent hacker and can get into many websites about crimes throughout the states and even other countries. Thankfully she's just focusing on Seattle at the moment, but she turns and looks at me a moment later. I arch my eyebrow at her and wordlessly both agree for her to say something to me but also to not say anything to me.

"Did you know that there are vampires that are murdering people around the city at night?"

I pause my typing and try to process all the words she's put together, frowning a little bit when I wonder how it is that she is even allowed to attend this school.

Then I remember that apparently one of her family members is from old money and gave so much money to the school that it's in the great school it is. So of course, she is allowed to be like this, only in our dorm room, but still. Connections mean something in this school, and she is proof of that, along with being of the higher class.

"No. I didn't. I don't really pay attention to the news. It's not something that I'm interested in," I remark, and she takes this as a cue for her to continue. As though it's her duty to tell me everything she knows.

"Well since Christmas Break there's been random murders that have been happening on and off. People are being found without any blood in them. There are bite marks on their skin and during autopsies the pathologists have their latex gloves melted away. It's really cool, and no matter how many times I try to warn people not to go out when it's getting late, they ignore me," Elle informs me, and I merely hum to let her know that I'm listening to her.

Back in Phoenix the crime rate was insane.

There were murders and kidnappings, and God knows what else that was happening. Here though it's not the same amount, it's less than in Phoenix. Not that Seattle is a peaceful small town that barely has had murders happening. It's just that I feel as though I was in more danger there than I am here.

There's a knock on the dorm room and I frown before I climb down the stairs and reach the door.

I'm already dressed in my casual lounge wear, so I hope that it's not one of the many teachers or even Principal Dwyer asking to see me.

I open the door a crack and peek through, noting that Rich Newton is standing on the other end of the door. He has his hands stuffed into the pockets of his jeans and he's tilted on his side as though he has no cares in the world.

"Cute clothes, Swan. As much as I wish I was here for just a social call, I'm here on business," he says, and I stand there, my fingers tapping against the doorframe. I don't smile back at him or blush. He looks a little put out before he continues, "I'm here because Principal Dwyer wants to check on his favorite nephew's stepdaughter. He wants to see how you're coming along with being here."

"Let me guess, it's your civic duty to take me to him," I can't help but sass at him, rolling my eyes, earning a slight annoyed look from the boy.

Still, I grab my slippers from next to the dorm door and slip them on and grab one of my coats before putting that on and follow him out of the dorm room and out of the building entirely.

It's late enough in the afternoon that people have changed out of their school uniforms and put on their normal clothes, something that they can do after they finish their classes for the day. They don't have to wear their uniforms to the cafeteria during dinner.

When we arrive at the main building where the teachers and staff have their own quarters, along with the offices for the principals, it's actually pleasantly warm when we go through the front doors of the building. I'm almost tempted to just stand there and soak in the warmth of the front room of the building, but I know that Principal Dwyer is waiting for me, and it's my duty as his great-nephew's stepdaughter to visit him and let him know how I'm doing.

Rich moves through the different corridors and staircases until we reach the top floor of the building.

We stop in front of elegant wooden doors that have golden door handles that are curved.

One of the doors has a golden plaque that has Principal Elliot Dwyer molded into the plaque in perfect bold lettering. It just reminds me how I'm really about to go into one of the lion's dens, and I don't know if I'll come out alive or if I will come out crying because I'm overwhelmed by all the pressure I've been having to deal with since attending Northwest.

Knocking on the office door, we entered a moment later after there was a verbal confirmation on the other side of the doors. Everything is in light colors; nothing is dark and morbid. There are large ceiling to floor windows that have blinds at half mast, while outside the January skyline looks so dreary and dark, wintery. It's just a reminder how I'm not in Phoenix anymore, again. I'm not anywhere near the hot temperatures that are happening right now down there.

Principal Dwyer is standing behind his glass modern desk, his arms behind his back and his hands clasped together. He turns away from looking at the bookshelves that are filled with multiple texts. His blue eyes land on my brown meek ones and he cranes his head to the side before signaling Rich he can leave. Rich sends me one last hopeful look before he nods and leaves the office, shutting the door behind him quietly.

"Good afternoon, Miss Swan. I wanted to check with you and see how your first week here at Northwest has been. I know that you've done well so far in your class, no major setbacks. You participate in your classes at the bare minimum, but you aren't completely shunning away from participating."

Principal Dwyer motions for me to sit down in the red modern art deco chair that faces the desk.

I head over to the chair and sit down, frowning some from the uncomfortable material of the chair.

He chuckles some from the slight discomfort before telling me, "Sorry about that. Principal Oswald has a similar chair in her office. She wanted a blue one but got a red one first. She gave me the red one. It helps when I have the troublemakers come into the office."

I don't make a comment towards it, and he sighs as he realizes that he can't loosen me up with a joke. He picks up the framed photograph sitting on his desk and looks at it, before turning it and letting me look at it. There's a huge group of people that are all gathered around an old house's front yard, underneath the shade of an oak tree.

My eyes zero in on the people in the picture.

There's the really old great-something grandmother sitting in the wooden chair with the mass of children and grandchildren and many more sitting around her or on their knees. Sitting on the ground right in front of the old woman is a young child version of Phil. I've seen pictures of Phil when he was a kid so it's not hard to find him. He's got that charming smile and his hair is cut very short on his head, he's wearing comfortable and light clothes.

"My wife Mitzie and I can't have kids of our own. We've always taken care of our nieces and nephews like they are our own children. Phil has always looked up to me, and when he came to me asking if you could attend here, I knew I couldn't help but look to see if you were able to attend. I'm pleased with your grades that you have had back in Phoenix. I must ask though, is there anything that has happened here that has made you uncomfortable?"

My mind goes to Elle Fitzherbert, and I don't have to say anything for him to nod his head, allowing me to know he seems to have caught on to what my thoughts are about.

"Yes, I have to admit that I would have rather had you have another roommate or even your own dorm room, but we didn't have any others available. Miss Fitzherbert has been warned to not go around and troubling people when it comes to these conspiracy theories she has."

I don't want to say anything but do it at the same time. I don't want to be known as the bad guy here, to not be able to handle something as simple as the odd conspiracy theories coming from Elle Fitzherbert. Yet I can't help but say, "I'm still getting accustomed to being her roommate. She's believing that vampires are the reason behind the recent murders that are happening in the city."

Principal Dwyer rolls his eyes at the comment that he receives from me.

"Yes, her last roommate ended up taking one of the spare dorms down in the sophomore wing of the building. So, it's been a few months since she has had one. It's no wonder that she's attached to you in order to tell someone about the latest conspiracies that she's been researching."

Without thinking I can't help but ask if there are any spare dorms that are available in the building, only for him to shake his head.

"I'm sorry but all the dorm rooms are filled up. You came later in the year, so all the dorms have been assigned already. Let me know if you have any more problems with her and I'll put her on suspension. It's not the first time that this has happened other than with what I just told you about with her last roommate."

I nod my head, noting in the corner of my eye that rain drops out from the bottom of the sky, and it becomes quite loud. I almost groan at the thought of having to go out into the rain.

Without him saying anything, Principal Dwyer goes over to where an umbrella stand is and pulls out one of the umbrellas that are in it. There are a couple of them, and he offers it to me. I'm shy to accept it but he insists anyway, "I always keep a couple of umbrellas with me in case there are situations like this. Do you have any umbrellas back in your dorm room?"

"No, I don't. I didn't bother with umbrellas back in Phoenix. It didn't rain that much in the year," I inform him, making him be the one to nod his head. He's remembering where I come from and how things are different here than it was back in Phoenix when it comes to the weather.

"Ah, of course. Please, keep the umbrella. I have plenty of them."

I take the umbrella from him, noting how it's one of those clear umbrellas. I tell him goodbye before leaving the office, taking a deep breath in relief at how I managed to survive my little meeting with him. It went better than I thought. I got to know him a little better and he's not as intimidating as I once thought he was.

The next month comes and goes, there are the typical couples that are giving each other presents on Valentine's Day.

Girls getting flowers and chocolates and all sorts of fluffy romantic gifts. Boys who get new shirts and their favorite candies, along with all different things.

Nothing is remarkable about the sight, and I'm not upset in the least at the sight of others being in a relationship. I don't care about having a relationship, I'm more focused on finishing off my junior year before visiting Charlie for the summer. So, I merely let my eyes flicker towards the displays of love and devotion before continuing on from classes through the campus with my books tucked safely in my leather messenger bag.

Rich Newton doesn't stop flirting with me, having even gotten me a custom bouquet of flowers that were delivered to my dorm room. The flowers were beautiful, but I had to get rid of them because I'm allergic to the type of flowers he had picked out for the bouquet. I'm thankful I didn't touch them or else I would have gotten rashes on my hands and needed to go to the school nurse to get proper treatment for the allergic reaction.

At the moment I'm in Biology, in the lab with half of our junior class surrounding me.

The other half are taking another class at the moment, I think it's English 11.

Professor Hathaway happens to be quite young for being a professor of Biology but that doesn't make her any less intimidating, especially when she is wearing those thick black framed glasses... Her black hair falls a few inches above her shoulders and is cut in a precise straight bob, and her bangs that go horizontal across her forehead make her face even more unique looking. Her clothes are always in the dark color wheel–dark reds and purples and pinks with black. She's also insanely short, a few inches taller than someone who can be labeled a little person.

"Miss Swan, please pay attention. I'm about to hand out gloves and aprons to wear, along with goggles so you don't have to worry about getting any blood on you while you are dissecting the frogs," Professor Hathway states, her no-nonsense voice allowing everyone around us to know things won't be good for us if we don't pay attention to her.

"Of course, Professor. Apologies."

"Hmm, see to it that you pay attention for the rest of class then."

Professor Hathway goes into a supply closet attached to the lab classroom and begins to pull out all the aprons for each and every student to put on. I have to make sure to not punch Rich Newton when he appears behind me and begins to tie the back of my apron. I have to tighten my hands into fists on either side of me to keep from doing anything I can regret.

Once I get the rest of the supplies, I need to dissect the frog, I go over to my lab table and sit down.

Next to me is Elle, since I'm her roommate she just so happens to want to be my classroom partner for anything that needs two people to accomplish. She's more than thrilled at having the chance to dissect the frog, for all I know she's dissected more things than she should. She glances over at me and situates her dissecting goggles, before she taps her fingernails against the lab table.

I chew on my tongue a little bit when the actual frog on its tray is sitting down in front of me. I can't help but cringe at the sight of the dead frog. I'm not good with dead things, never have been. Even when there would be lizards that would have their tails ripped off, I would feel guilty about it despite the fact that the lizards would have their tails grow back.

I go to cut open the frog but the moment I cut through the layers of the frog and reveal the organs I can't help but groan and bring my hand up to cover my mouth. Without hesitation I get up from the stool and rush over to where the trashcan is before throwing up. It's embarrassing, tears are dripping down my face and the vomit is strong.

Professor Hathaway's high heels click against the linoleum flooring, enough for me to flinch from the loud crouches down next to me and pushes pieces of my hair behind my ear. I almost jolt from the feeling of her hand patting against my back. She shushes me and helps me up from the ground, my face is hot red.

"Mr. Newton, you are the one in charge of the classroom right now. Make sure that everyone does their dissection. I'll be taking Miss Swan to the school nurse."

It's an awkward walk to the main building of the campus, she's so short and small compared to me.

My body is weak and clammy, hot.

I don't feel the urge to throw up again, I should have known to talk to Principal Dwyer and tell him about my thing with blood and guts. Yet I hadn't thought of it since I thought it wouldn't be so bad, but instead it bit me in the ass.

"Are you okay, Miss Swan? Do we need to take a break? There's a bench near us. I can trust Mr. Newton to take care of the class. It's rare for a junior to be an R.A. but he's always been an excellent student. I did see him tie your apron strings without asking permission. If he does anything else along those lines, being in your personal space without any permission please tell me."

A wobbly smile appears on the corner of my mouth, allowing her to know I appreciate what she's telling me. I can't say that I wouldn't have a teacher notice the exchange but I'm glad she decided to make a comment about it. I've never had it happen before back in Phoenix so it's kind of a new thing to experience for me, one that I didn't know how to react to.

"I-I'm fine, Professor. Let's just get to the nurse now. If anything happens with me and Newton again then I'll make sure to tell either you or the principal," I reassure her, earning a hmm sound from her to let me know she expects me to keep her updated.

Entering the nurse's office, I notice how everything is in soothing colors, nothing that would hurt your eyes or make you get a headache from.

The nurse is sitting behind an intricately detailed wooden carved desk. She's middle-aged, neither too young nor too old. Just the right amount for her to have seen almost everything that there is to see on the campus. She's dressed in nursing scrubs, and her hair is pulled up in a bun with a headscarf tied together to keep any loose strings of her curls from hitting or falling in front of her face.

She looks away from the computer and when her eyes land on me, they flicker over to Professor Hathaway before nodding her head. "Of course, there's always one. I don't see why the kids can't send off letters to their parents or guardians so they can get excused from doing a dissection. I'll take it from here, Professor."

Professor Hathaway nods her head, before she turns and leaves the office, but not before she turns and says, "I'll have your things up near my desk so that no one can mess with them. You can come and get them after you are done with getting better. I'll just have to do a paper exam instead of a frog dissection so you can identify the parts without having to physically see them."

The nurse leads me into a separate room, where there is a cot for me to use.

There are four other cots that are in the room with curtains separating each cot from seeing one another. She helps me down on one of the cots and goes over to where a mini fridge is and pulls out a water bottle for me. The cold grip of the water bottle in my hand is an anchor for me to know I'll be okay. I'm in capable hands.

"Just lay here for the rest of the block and then you'll be okay. Keep drinking, and hydrate yourself. I have some fruit snacks if you want a pack. Before I forget, I'm Nurse Claymore. You can call me Nurse C if you would like to."

"I'm okay, I don't need a fruit snack packet. Thank you for offering me some though. I'm fine with just the water bottle."

Nurse Claymore gives me a quick glance over before she cracks the door so she can hear me call for her if I need her. I sigh and slowly relax, before focusing solemnly on feeling better.

When the bell rings for the next transition of classes, I slowly sit up and throw my water bottle into the recycling bin. I had drunk the whole bottle, so there was no need for me to keep it. It clinks as it hits the bottom of the bin and signals to Nurse Claymore I'm done here. She peeks her head into the crack of the door, her green eyes landing on my brown ones.

"I see that you have some color in you now. It's also a good thing that it's lunch time. Off you go now. I better not see you in here for the rest of the school year. You should go to Principal Dwyer and have days that are dissections with animals off. It's not good to be around that kind of stuff when you have a weak stomach," Nurse Claymore both informs and demands this of me, letting me know she's going to talk to Principal Dwyer at the end of the week to make sure I talk to him.

I leave the building all entirely and sigh as I prepare to head back to where the Science building is, all the while wishing I could have my own dorm room and I could skip everything. I still go and get my things, thankful that Professor Hathaway has kept her classroom door unlocked. I grab the key for the classroom door and head outside with my things, making sure to lock the door behind me and place it on the top of the door frame for Professor Hathway to use when she comes back.

I freeze for a moment when I'm going by a cluster of trees near the fountain when I see someone moving on the sidewalk–the other side of the fence. I start to go over to where the person is, but before I can truly see any details about the person they disappear. The only thing I notice is a pair of crimson eyes on me, before the person disappears.

Entering the cafeteria hall, I go to the buffet line and get my lunch.

After paying for the food, nothing in particular and just generic, I head over to where the table is that I've assigned myself to. I plop down and begin to eat the food, glad that at least when it comes to this school, they have really good food. I can't say it was the same for the high school in Phoenix. It's the first good thing that has happened for me today.

I've barely started eating the food when a tray of food is sitting down in front of me. I glance up and notice that Elle is sitting across from me with a few books of leisure with her schoolbooks. She's opening one of the books quickly and then pulls out a spiral notebook. She starts writing something down, and I'm impressed with the speed of it.

I continue eating while Elle is in her own world across from me, thankful for once it's someone that I'm kind of used to. It's not Rich Newton, who thankfully is entertaining some of the other junior girls and some of the senior girls.

Without thinking I ask, "these vampires you say are in the city…have you ever seen one looking at you? While you're heading through campus?"

Elle drops the pen she's writing with and looks up at me, with excitement across her face. "You've been picked. I've seen them but they never look at me. How did you feel?"

I shrug my shoulders, not knowing how to still feel about those red eyes. All I know is this probably isn't going to be the last time I see those red eyes.

AUTHOR'S NOTE: as always: twilight doesn't belong to me.

-it'semmynotemma