The Reaper's Mission- 2013

Chapter Three- Burlington High School

Karolyn Winters.

AKA Karolyn Grace Winters.

AKA my current assignment.

... Well, she was hard to find.

"Welcome to Burlington High School," she said with a radiant smile, and I took in her appearance as she stood before me. In person, she was much prettier than in sand. Her hair was the darkest brown, with a slightly chestnut tint when the light hit it directly on, and her eyes were deep chocolate. Her lips were perfect and shapely, as were her teeth, and she had a vaguely Italian look to her. The lightest dusting of freckles graced her nose and cheeks, and her skin still held an even, olive tan, despite it being mid-October.

In short, she was gorgeous.

It would be a shame to kill her.

"Should I show you around your classes?" Karolyn was saying, and I remembered my current situation. I nodded and followed her out into the hall.

"I'm Donovan, by the way," I told her as we set off towards my first hour class, Biology II by the looks of my schedule. "Donovan Gates." I couldn't act completely flabbergasted in front of her, even though she had revealed herself to be my target.

Karolyn smiled up at me.

"Nice to meet you, Donovan Gates," she chimed. "You're really new here, right? Where are you from?"

I thought about how to answer this, and decided to do so with a small bit of honesty; after all, I was going to kill her in just under four months. At least I could tell her this.

"Scotland," I said, though it was more of a fact than a memory after three-hundred years. "I was born in Scotland. I've lived all over though."

Karolyn looked extremely interested, and I wondered if I'd made a mistake.

"Really?" she asked, the excitement in her voice confirming my thoughts. "Where else?"

"Everywhere," I answered this time, deciding to avoid piquing her curiosity further. It didn't seem to work, however, as she tilted her head in interest.

"How'd you end up here?" She must have seen the uncertain look on my face, because she looked away in embarrassment. "Sorry," she said then. "I just love hearing people's stories. I love knowing a person's history."

I shrugged.

"It's fine," I said before I could stop myself. "Mine's just long. Really long. Not for today." Or ever.

Karolyn stopped walking suddenly and motioned to a door, and I realized that we had reached my first hour class.

"Here you are," she announced with an encouraging smile. "I'll see you around, Mister Gates. And if you ever have the time, I'd like to hear more of your story." At that, she turned and walked away from me, glancing back once to smile at me over her shoulder.

I waited until she rounded a corner, her rounded hips swaying as she did, and then strolled into my first hour Biology class.

I'd been through school enough times before to know exactly how the first day at a new school went, so nothing unexpected really happened there. I kept to myself mostly, talking only when someone asked me a question, and keeping my responses short. By the end of class, I was already bored with the prospect of school, and somewhat dragged myself onward.

Second hour proved to be a bit more interesting, though; not only was it one of my more comfortable subjects, History, but Karolyn was there.

"Looks like we share a second hour," I heard her say a few moments after I walked in. I glanced at her and couldn't help smiling. She had one of the kindest, most open faces of anyone I'd ever met, and not smiling back would have been hard even for someone like Hitler or Jack the Ripper. Though Jack was actually a fairly cheery guy...