Blood Driven

Chapter 2: Camp of Immortals = Lots of Surprises

Chapter 2

     Ary

Ary read the note again. And again. He was lonely and his neck stung just the slightest from where Alex bit him. He had been about to leave for school when Alex's aunt had delivered the note. His uniform was straight and tidy but his maroon shirt looked a little out of place on him, just like the black slacks he was forced to wear everyday Monday through Friday.

He sighed and grabbed his backpack off the floor where he left it by the door. His hair was pushed just beyond the corner of his eye and he switched his silver lip ring with a black one. Ary's mom could be heard through the floor while she made breakfast. He walked in and sat down at the bar. Mrs. Garret set a big plate of food in front of him. He started digging through the eggs and bacon. He chewed fast, even though Mrs. Garret's breakfast meals aren't the most delicous food in the world, because he was about to be late for the "Evil Yellow Limo coming to take him to a loony bin for kids". At least, that's what Alex calls it sometimes, when she had enough breath to get it out in one sentence. She usually just called it the Yellow Limo.

Ary gulped down the last of his water before kissing his mom on the cheek and running out the front door. He jogged down his long road. Clouds were starting to gather overhead. As if Montana didn't get enough rain! He pulled his hood up over his head and hissed at no one in particular. He was almost to the mail box at the end of his road when he saw the flashing lights. The big yellow bus pulled up in front of him and the doors swung out to greet him.

He climbed the short stairs and shuffled his way to the back of the bus. He got many high-fives on the way back and more "Hey, dude, how did your weekend go?" than he could count. He was feeling a little gloomy so he pulled out his MP3 and stuck the ear buds in his ears. The world was instantly drowned out once Hollywood Undead and Skillet started blasting through his skull.

Farther up the road he saw his school. The short red building was like most public schools – large courtyard, four stories, a roof garden, and an auditorium twice as big as the gym. The sun shot through the clouds for a second, making every rare thing it touched glow and look happy-ish. But to him, the school still looked like a prison, some holding place that kept him from being with Alex.

          He climbed up the short staircase in front and slowly made his way to the main building. His science partner, Vic, walked up behind him and tapped him on the head.

          “Hey, dude! How was the weekend with the girlfriend?” Vic looked (and acted) like a stereotypical high school football player. Well, he was big and muscular and his short blonde hair spiked up in the front. His voice was almost always loud, meant to be heard across the field.

          “What girlfriend?” Ary didn’t turn his head as he spoke.

          “Your girlfriend… what’s hers name… Oh! Ashley. Did you dump her? You seem kinda gloomy.”

          Ary’s temper flared. He was so not in the mood to talk about Alex. But when he spoke next, his voice was calm. “You mean Alex. And no, I didn’t dump her. I can’t dump her. She isn’t my girlfriend in the first place.” He looked at Vic, his eyes glowing slightly with anger and he glowered at the sidewalk in front of him

          But Vic didn’t seem to notice. He rubbed his chin thoughtfully. Out of nowhere, a football was suddenly coming towards them. Without even looking, Vic reached up and caught the ball before it hit them. Ary was almost to the school building now and he could see his reflection in the door glass. He tilted his head to the side for a minute, studying his reflection.

          Vic said goodbye and hurried off to his classes. Ary still had a few minutes. The air inside the building was cool and blew in his face as he walked in. He passed a row of lockers where a couple was making out. He hurried along past them.