I couldn't be happier when we finally got to school. This was definitely not a conversation I wanted to have again. It wasn't like our health teacher freshman year hadn't told us about safe sex. Apparently, Mom had wanted to give me a refresher.
"Bye Mom," I said, cutting her off mid-sentence.
She locked the door. "Rin, I'm not done."
I fought down a groan. "I'm going to be late for school."
"Better than being late next month."
"Mom!" I crossed my arms. "Vampires and humans can't have kids together. King Lionel said that. He would know, I think. I'll keep you posted from now on. Please, can I go now?"
She gave me a look. "Alright." Mom sighed. "You know I only want you to be safe, right?"
"I know, it's just . . . Alexander and I aren't really at the level of . . . intimacy."
She frowned. "Really?"
"Yes. So, can I please go?"
Mom kissed my head. "Bye. Have a good day."
I got out of there as quickly as possible. My face burned as I stopped by the cafeteria to get a quick breakfast. Normally, I wasn't hungry in the mornings but after a conversation like that, I needed something to distract myself. I was surprise Mom hadn't mentioned talking to Alexander about this morning. What if my mom called Violet or the King to talk about this?
Feeling the embarrassment again, I groaned. Don't think about it, I told myself. As I walked to my locker, I scarfed down a bacon, egg taco.
"Someone's hungry," Carlos said, falling into step beside me.
I shot him a look and continued eating. Carlos leaned forward.
"I've done some digging," he said. "About these new Extremists going around." He motioned to the hallway. "Not many vampires came to school today. We even got extra guards too. The Janitor said some people came in early today to check around the school."
We stopped at my locked. "What did you find?" I asked.
"These guys are old," he said. "Well, this group. They go back since the beginning. Never liked humans very much and always tried to disrupt anything that made humans and vampires buddy-buddy."
"Have they've been active?"
He shook his head. "Never to this extreme. They usually operate secretly and let others take the credit and blame."
"What changed?"
Carlos gave me a look. "You came into the picture."
"What?"
"Ever since it went public that Prince Rothchester is with a human, they started stirring."
Feeling weak, I leaned against the lockers. "I caused this?"
"What? No. This isn't your fault. These vampires have never liked humans. Sooner or later, they would have come out of the woodworks."
I glanced at him. "Never thought you would be so supportive of my relationship."
He looked away. "I'm not. But I also know Prince Rothchester had stopped being a menace to society since meeting you so, there's that."
Sighing, I rubbed my forehead. This was getting complicated.
"Alright, thanks. Just don't get caught. I don't want it to trace back to you."
Carlos grinned. "If you keep talking like that, I might think you like me a little bit."
I rolled my eyes. "No. If you get caught, you might throw me under the bus. I'm the only who put you up to this."
The hurt was evident on his face. Maybe I shouldn't have said that.
"Sorry," I said. "I-"
"I'm not going to sell you out," he said, angrily.
I bit my lip. "You should," I said. "Sell me out, I mean. Tell them I blackmailed you or something. I have a little more protection than you so it's fine."
"Oh come on," he began.
"Carlos, I'm serious. No matter who shows up, tell them is my fault."
"Why are you so bent on self-sacrifice?"
"What? I'm not. I'm thinking about the best solution."
"If that is the best solution, I don't want to think about the worst solution."
The bell rang before I could answer him.
"Don't be difficult and just do as I say," I told him. "But that doesn't mean get caught."
"Yeah, yeah."
As he left, I finished the rest my of breakfast.
Just like Alexander said, he didn't come to school today. Lisa was absent too. Rumors circulated throughout the day. Alexander's fan club stepped in a couple of times telling everyone not to assume anything. Unfortunately that didn't dissuade anyone from approaching me and asking "What's the truth?".
There were two options I could go with. "I don't know" which made me seem ignorant or "No comment" which wasn't as bad but it still made seem like I knew more than I let on. I settled with, "what do you think?". Most of them were happy to spill everything so I shrugged and said, "Hate to run but I'll be late for class."
I joined Sandra, Brissa, and Amber for lunch. The other fan members sat close but enough to where we could talk in private.
"How you holding up?" Amber asked.
I yawned. "I'm fine," I told her. "It's a lot to worry about. But what about you? How are you internships going?"
"Last few weeks are rough," Sandra supplied. "I'm hoping I can go another semester but most of them are only for one. I might need to apply to job or something."
"Can't you reapply for the one you have?" I asked.
She bit her lip. "Yeah. I can but retention is hard."
"Just try," I told her. "You know never."
"Speaking for jobs," Brissa said. "Now that the bidding event is over with. Have you started on your announcement ceremony yet?"
I looked away. "I've been busy. Plus, with all this going on, I didn't think it was appropriate."
The girls made a face.
"This will pass," Amber said. "It's a scary time for everyone but we can't put our lives on hold forever. People need something to celebrate."
Her words made sense. It was also something I could distract myself with.
"I'll talk to Violet," I said. "Maybe I can get an event planner to help me get started."
"We can help," Amber said. "Tell us what you need and we'll do what we can."
Brissa and Sandra nodded.
"Okay. I'll take your word for it."
As lunch ended, it was time to go to our internship. Joseph waited for me outside. As I approached, he handed me a take-out bag.
"Thought you might be hungry," he said.
Gratefully, I took the bag from him and climbed inside the car. Sandra wasn't kidding when she said the last few weeks before break were rough. Royal Prints had received so many orders since the bidding ceremony, there was no rest for anyone. Rachel and I were in charge of sending the orders out to the customers on time. Miss Melanie said we might have to go as far as to personally deliver it if we didn't get it done on time.
Because of that, I spent the time in the car working on homework. The more I got done now, the less I had to do tonight. As I started on my reading, my phone rang.
Seeing Alexander's name on the screen, I answered.
"Hey," I said. "How was your day?"
"Haven't had time for a break," he admitted.
"Did you eat?"
"Yeah," he relied slowly.
"Alexander," I began.
"I did," he insisted. "It's been hectic here but that's not why I called."
"You missed me?"
"Well, yes. But, Mother's invitation came in today. Trevor just called. It's for this weekend."
I sucked in my breath at the news. "This weekend. Okay. Um, do I need to do anything to prepare?"
"Hmm? No. Just be yourself. We're saying hi."
Yeah. I needed to prepare.
"Okay. That's fine. I'll my parents know. Let's talk later."
"Bye."
I hung up and sat back in the seat. Meeting Alexander's mom. What was she like? One thing for sure though, I shouldn't go unprepared or empty handed.