The Vampire Prince goes to High School (Book 1)

Warning Part 2

I walked to my desk and placed my bag on the chair. It didn't take long for me to pull out a piece of paper and draw out the symbol I had found last night. I had found the image at the bottom left hand corner as I tore the pizza box last night. I had kept the pizza because my parents would question the obvious waste of food. Even now, I couldn't help but think that the pizza had probably been poisoned. However, I did write 'Don't eat' on the Ziploc bags just to be on the safe side.

I slapped the piece of paper on the Prince's desk before he could speak. The symbol was a basic silhouette of a vampire with a cape and a red cross on it. Nothing fancy but it had taken on a whole different meaning. There was stunned silence.

"Where did you get this?" the Prince asked.

The Tutor joined me at the Prince's desk.

"Someone wrote this on a pizza box last night," I said. "It was delivered."

The Vampire Prince crumbled the piece of paper and stood. He towered over me, muscles clenched. His eyes glowed. I took a step back.

"I-It's from one of those terrorists groups, right?" I asked. "They're on the news sometimes."

From the top of my head, I knew the symbol belonged to a human hate group. During the early years of the merging, it was all over the place. No one knew where they were hidden or how many people helped them behind closed doors. But most importantly:

"How do they know where I live?" I asked. "All anyone should know is that you attacked me at school. They shouldn't know about the contract."

A cellphone appeared in the Prince's hand. He talked in low tones, his voice like a rapid buzz. All the playfulness on his face was gone. It was as if he was a complete different person.

I turned to the Tutor. "Why would they call me a traitor?" I whispered. "I haven't done anything."

"It's never about doing anything," he said. "You've been in contact with a well-known and influential figure of the vampire community. For them, it's enough."

"That's so unfair."

It took me a moment to realize that the Vampire Prince had ended his call.

"Is there a traitor-?" I began.

The Prince stared at me. His glare made the hair on the back of my neck stand. Without replying, the Prince stalked out of the classroom.

"We'll have to continue our lesson on another day," the Tutor said. "We'll be in contact."

Just like that, they were both gone.

#

"It's nice of you to join us, Miss Borek," my English teacher said. "Take a seat."

I kept my eyes down as I walked down the aisle. The good thing was that no one stuck their foot out to trip me. Not yet, at least. For right now, that was fine with me.

Throughout the morning, no one talked to me. They kept their distance, ignoring me and I them. That didn't bother me in the slightest. Today, I wanted to be alone. Anyone of them could have put me on the terrorist group's radar. I couldn't trust anyone. When we left for lunch, I dragged my feet to the cafeteria. Not even the prospect of getting ice-cream made me walk any faster.

What if there was a member of that group at school? What if they threatened me again and everyone would just look away? Or perhaps, someone had poisoned my food. Just thinking about it made my stomach hurt.

"Rin."

Sonia's voice made me stop. I whipped around.

"You're here."

Instead of replying, Sonia walked into the restroom. For a moment, I hesitated. Was this a truce? There was only one way to find out. I found Sonia looking underneath each stall. Satisfied that we were alone, she placed her bag by the sink and reached into it. Hesitant, I approached her.

"Do you need a pad or tampons or ...?" I trailed off.

"Here," she said.

Sonia grabbed my hand a placed a pink cylinder in my hand. I frowned.

"What is it?"

She gestured at it. Why were we playing the guessing game? But I humored her. The cylinder was pink, thick and it looked like the top came off. And it did. It was some sort of spray. I narrowed my eyes at Sonia.

"What's it for? I haven't seen this version."

"Spray," Sonia said in a low tone. "For -" She mouthed the word: vampires.

My eyes bulged. Sure, the Government – with the King's permission – issued some self-defense spray for citizens who lived in merged neighborhoods but those weren't lethal. They were just meant to stun and itch – not to maim.

"Where did you get this?" I hissed. "These are illegal."

I placed the cap back on and glanced at the stalls. They were all empty but you never know who could crawl out of there. The door remained close.

"You know my parents work at the development sector, right?"

I gaped at her. The government was developing this?! I mean, it made sense but now that I knew about it . . .

"It's for protection," Sonia said. "My parents told me to give it to you. Just in case, you know?" She leaned against the sink. "Plus, you're the reason Carlos can come to school - monitored - and not locked up in a cell."

I looked down at the cylinder. "What is it supposed to do?" I asked.

"Target the vamps' body. My mom said they take in blood for nutrients and what not and they have to keep taking in blood."

"Go on."

"Long story short. It's poison. One spray and it gets into their system. You ever see snake venom in a human body?"

The Sonia before was cool and collected. I was scared. I knew she didn't like vampires and it wasn't just a simple dislike. At one time or another, we had all been victims before. It was something we would always carry with us.

"Just keep it hidden and if anyone asks its perfume. You're one of the lucky few who gets to try it out. Okay?"

I nodded. I knew what she was trying to do and I was touched. However, it was also illegal and if anyone found out I had this, it wouldn't end well. What if the Vampire Prince found out? I shivered just thinking about it. But it wouldn't hurt to have it, right?

"Let's go," Sonia said. "I'm starving."

"Okay," I said.

I tucked the pink cylinder into my bag pack. Walking out of the restroom, we bumped into Carlos. I noticed the bruises across his nose and the dried blood on his lip. I didn't want to know how the rest of him looked. Carlos grinned at me and grabbed my hand. He took put something in my hand.

"I got it for you," he said. "They just ran out."

I looked down and saw the round cup of chocolate ice- cream. All the fear, the helplessness, the frustration rushed over me. My eyes blurred.

"Thanks," I choked out.