We Will Be Together For Never

[14] Success in Journalism

"Okay," I started after a beat of awkward silence. "Do you...have any ideas about how to move forward with this?"

I was fully prepared for a negative response from Jordan, but instead, he shifted in his seat slightly and asked, "What if we interviewed each other?"

I thought about this for a moment after working past my initial surprise. "I've not even been here two days," I pointed out. "I'm sure I wouldn't be much good."

Jordan shrugged. "So you can talk about how the school seems awesome and friendly already. Easy. He'll love it. The faculty eats up that kind of stuff."

I raised my eyebrows. "That's smart."

Jordan arched his eyebrow right back at me. I felt a tiny stab of envy at the fact that he could raise one eyebrow at a time. Focus, Tamara. "No need to sound so surprised."

I grinned before I could stop myself. Hurriedly bending my head over my paper as I started to blush, I scribbled down, "Interview each other."

"Do you wanna do that now?" Jordan asked uncertainly, still watching me, as I could see in my peripheral vision.

I glanced around the room. It was full of students brainstorming ideas, starting their projects, or chatting about unrelated matters. All in all, it was loud and distracting - not the ideal place to record an interview.

"What if we got some questions together for the other person now and interviewed each other outside of school?" I suggested.

Jordan seemed taken aback by this idea. "Um...sure," he finally decided.

"Here." I tore off a corner of one of the worksheets in the packet and scribbled my cell phone number on it. "Text me. I won't answer calls." I handed it to him, trying to seem casual but knowing my actions seemed forced.

"Sure thing. Do...do you want my number, then?"

Yes, very much so. "Sure."

He did the same thing with a corner of his paper, the scribbled numbers barely legible. My heart sped up. For the first time in two years, I was exchanging phone numbers with a boy.

It's not in a romatic way, I reminded myself. Besides, it's not like anything could ever happen between you two. Have you ever heard of a mortal-immortal love story ending happily?

I mustered up a smile despite my suddenly depressing thoughts and thanked Jordan as he handed me the paper. "So...working on our questions?" I asked.

"Sure," Jordan agreed, turning and opening his packet to the first empty page. I did the same.

For the rest of the hour, we individually brainstormed questions we would ask one another. I, personally, had a tough time with it - after all, what questions could I specifically ask Jordan to get the information we needed for our project?

By the time the bell rang, however, I felt that I had a good selection of questions and hoped the same was true for Jordan. This would go a lot smoother if we were both prepared.

"See you...soon," I told Jordan with a small, embarrassed laugh, not yet sure if we would meet up tonight.

He raised a hand in farewell as he leaned over to grab his backpack from the floor. "See you."

I stopped fighting a smile once I was out of the classroom. Today was going so much better than expected.

*

The day only continued to look up once I got to drawing class. Despite my bathroom blood-fest (god, that sounded strange), I got to class a minute or so early. I settled myself into my previous seat and glanced over at Kasey. She caught my eye and, rather than pretend she hadn't seen me, her eyes widened with purpose and she wriggled out from underneath her boyfriend's arm. I watched in confusion as she crossed the room to me. What did she want? Had I done something wrong simply by looking ar her?

"I just wanted to say," Kasey started as if anything about this was normal, "that what you did at lunch was really cool."

I thought back to lunch. What had I done, aside from agreeing to tease Derek and Christian? I remained silent, waiting for her to continue.

"A year or two ago, Derek and Christian would never have felt comfortable immediately being out to someone new," Kasey explained. "They're a lot more comfortable now, but they're still kinda self-conscious about their relationship. It really helps when people treat them like a quote-unquote 'normal' couple."

I smiled, finally understanding. So maybe the goth girl has a soft spot for more than just her boyfriend. The idea that underneath her edgy look, Kasey was actually a rather sweet girl was a nice thought.

Taking a chance, I asked with a grin, "So, you're basically thanking me for not being an asshole?"

Kasey crossed her arms, but I saw hints of a smile around her lips, and her eyes danced. "You're right. It was stupid of me." She said the words lightly, however, and I knew that even though we hadn't quite hit it off, I might still have the chance to find a friend in Kasey. It was a pleasant idea.

The bell rang and Kasey hurried back to her seat. I sat at attention as Miss Kim entered, praying that she wouldn't stop to talk to me personally like yesterday. While she was friendly, I didn't know how much more I could push my limits since today's blood packets, although I was taking them more frequently, seemed to be even less effective than yesterday's.

Thankfully, Miss Kim let us immediately get to work on our passion projects. I retrieved my drawing and surveyed what I had so far. I had Roger's facial shape roughly sketched out, and now I erased some of the lines and made them bolder, satisfied with their placement. I had waited to start on any features other than his ears, and was planning to leave his eyes for last - they were always the hardest feature for me. I wouldn't be happy with them unless they were incredibly lifelike.

This hour was perfect to have at the end of the day. I lost myself in the art, the aesthetic of the dark lead meeting the snowy white paper, the shivery feeling I got when I nailed a line or curve.

When the bell rang, it took me entirely by surprise. I had been so engrossed in my artwork that I had been barely aware of what was going on around me. Regretfully, I took my picture, which was mostly completed, and placed it with the others.

Tomorrow, I can work with shading, I thought excitedly, lost in my own planning as I walked through the hallways with my peers. I ambled towards the parent pickup area, wondering how to talk to Roger - should I pretend that today went horribly, or would I want to take a more truthful approach? Deciding for the latter, I sped up a little as I headed towards Roger's car.

I would tell Roger how difficult it was controlling my vampiric urges, but I would keep the fact that I had gotten a boy's phone number to myself.