Beauty And A Heartbeat [TVD] (On hold)

10: The Key

10: The Key

          Caroline and I left early the next morning; we stopped at the local coffee shop for some bagels and hot drinks before grudgingly driving to school.  We hit a bit of traffic but when we finally arrived in the parking lot, Caroline skipped away to find Matt while I went off to look for Elena and Bonnie.  I stuck my head in almost every classroom after being unable to find them in the halls.  I was hesitant to stick my head in Ric's room but when I did it was empty.  

          The bell rang before I could find either of them and I trudged slowly to my first period.  Unluckily, my first class happened to be Ric's.  I was reluctant to enter, I considered ditching but I shook my head immediately at the idea.  My worries, however, were extinguished when I walked in to a full, rowdy classroom but a missing teacher.  Instead of Ric being sat in his desk wearing a grim expression, a curvy, red-headed woman sporting circled specs was up at the chalk board writing down her name: 'Ms. Blanchard'.

           I waded through the students, struggling to get through to my chair.  Once there, I collapsed on the seat wondering why Ric wasn't here. Was he trying to avoid me like I was him? Or had something happened? 

           Now that I knew Damon had killed my mother, I wanted revenge.  Alaric had known for ages. How long had he been planning his own revenge?   Was is possible that he had gone to Damon and attempted to carry out retribution?  And if so, was he still alive? Despite my anger at him, my heart ached at the idea of losing another parent.  I shoved those thoughts out of my head and attempted to focus on what I would do if Elena and Bonnie didn't show up.

        Ms. Blanchard called out for everyone to settle down and people returned to their seats.  When everyone was seated, I glanced over to Elena's empty desk then to Bonnie's across the room. Stefan sat on my other side, when he actually went to school that is, and as per usual it was empty.  Where were they?  

        The class passed quickly and soon enough it was time for lunch.  None of the vamp gang had shown up in any of the classes that I shared with them.  I'd be lying if I said I wasn't worried.  I stopped by my locker to put away my books before heading into the cafeteria. 

       "Hi guys," I greeted as I strode up to the giggling group at my lunch table.  I set my books on the table before settling down in a spot next to Caroline.

       "Hey Elle, how are yah?  You look a little down,what's up?" Savannah from my English class called from the other side of the table.

       "Just dealing with some things," I answered with a tight smile while pulling my curls up into a high pony tail.  

      "Well, I know what will cheer you up," Caroline stated smugly, resting her elbows on the table. 

       I raised an eyebrow skeptically, "Oh?"

      She nodded, "There's a party tonight, and you're going." 

     "Duke's party!" Alex Fell exclaimed loudly, making me flinch. "I forgot about that! Damn.  It's been way to long since I've been to a party. Elle you have to go! It'll be your first official party since you've been here."

      I laughed humorlessly, "I'm not going guys. I've been having a bad week and I doubt that some random party will take my mind off of those problems."

     "The party won't, but the alcohol will," Caroline teased. "Look Elle, you're going tonight no matter how you feel about it. You don't have a choice."

      "Look, we'll talk about it later, but first can you give me Bonnie's address? I need to drop off her homework," I lied, slyly switching topics.  Honestly, I just wanted to make sure that Elena and Bonnie were alright.  After telling me the vampire secret last night, Elena should have been here.  I had a feeling something was wrong.  Something was happening.