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Shadows cometh
Darkness falls
They cannot cope
So there's no hope
The small alarm clock in her room blared, rudely interrupting her adventures in the illusionary realm. Climbing out of bed, she stretched. Today was the first day of class and she finally got a job! Cyriac was picking her up from school today, so she wanted to look professional and sophisticated. Like an adult. And maybe a tad smexy. Gah!
For the sake of school, she decided to wear some black skinny jeans and a casual grey top, a half sleeve with a collar. She couldn't leave without her safety net, so she grabbed a black hoodie and black baseball cap.
She probably looked washed out with all the black. Whatever. Shrugging her shoulders, she grabbed her clothes and hurried toward the bathroom. Didn't want to bump into the queen of the damn. Last thing she needed was one of her sister's insane stories.
"This is it," she told the girl in the mirror. It was time she started taking control. Tossing her clothes in hamper, she ran downstairs. She was sitting at the table pouring a bowl of cereal when her mom entered the kitchen.
"Hey mom, do you know where Rachel is? I mean we're going to need to leave soon if we want to make it to school on time," she said, scarfing her food down, hitting her chest to help swallow before chasing the rest down with orange juice.
"Rachel has already left honey. I can give you a lift."
Rosalinda grumbled under her breath, "that's one of the things I don't understand. Rachel has her own car at fourteen going on fifteen, and I'm seventeen and I don't have anything." She was hurt and the wails grew inside. They were the lost souls of men at sea seeking to find their way home never to realize they slept an eternal sleep at the bottom of the sea.
"I'm sorry sweetie."
Sorry?! Was that all she could say? Rosalinda didn't understand her mother at all. She nodded her head mechanically and grabbed her things. If this was some inkling to the kind of day she was going to have, she was in for a rude awakening.
Arriving at school, she was met with stares and whispers. Okay? What was going on? Did she have something on her face? She kept her head down, hurrying to her first hour which was advance placement Calculus... so she was smart, sue her.
She dropped heavily into her chair, sighing, ready for the day to be over with. She began doodling in her notebooks as her eyes swept the classroom before stopping at the door, resting on the teacher. The chatter ceased and she gulped as everyone eyed the teach like prime steak during a lion's feeding.
They couldn't help it. He looked like one of those boring types. You know. The kind who lived life monotonously in shades of grey. Kinda like her. Ugh. Damn that was depressing. He became a blur of browns, beiges and white as he hurried towards his desk. Hearing the no nonsense tone leap from his mouth, she knew this guy wasn't a push over. Unlike her.
"Miss Cutteridge do you mind joining the rest of the class?" Eh? Embarrassed, she sank further into her chair. Why did she to zone out?
"I'm fine Mister...ah...ah," she flushed, realizing she didn't know his name.
"Kenward."
"Mister Kenward," she repeated.
"Miss, Cutteridge, please remove your cap while in this classroom."
B-but she didn't want anyone staring at how freakishly long her hair was.
Who knew teachers would have a personal vendetta against their students? Forcing their will upon them, while giving off a self-satisfied smile. Wouldn't it be great if she could rip their face-off; so much for individuality. Ugh. She reached up to pull her cap off as she did her finger got caught in the band she was wearing and her hair fell from under it. Shooting daggers at the professor, she tried to bundle it up, but it was simply too much. Great. She was going to be called curtain girl.
Majority of the class openly stared and she started to twitch while her inner monster began to rear its ugly head. What was he so happy about? What could he gain from her misery? She was right! They were out to get her! Giving up on trying to bring order to her hair, she reached into her backpack for a pen only for her hand to crash into something soft and plush.
Lolita? How did she get in there? She didn't recall placing the plush toy into her backpack. Ignoring the stares her classmates, she set her eyes forward and waited for the lesson to continue. Today was going to be a looong day.
Hearing the bell ring, she became a whirlwind of movements obliterating all who stood in her path in her haste to get out of there. She paused, in her path stood an elemental—a bender of air who halted her path of destruction. What did the professor want now?
Do you revel in darkness?
Come again? Weirdo much? Why would he say such a thing? Did he even say anything? Maybe she was hallucinating.
Confounded at the strange words echoing in her mind, she shook her head trying to dispel them. Her eyes leaped toward the clock on the wall. Crap! She was going to be late! Must be something in the water.
Once again, she found herself the source for unsuspecting eyes. She was starting to think there was a sign that everyone else could see that she could not. Art was her next class and she gladly took a seat. Being advanced, she enjoyed the luxury of moving at her own pace while immersing herself in lulling waves and her art. Her eyes slid over to the seat next to her. Um, this was new. Someone was sitting next to her.
"I'm Ayumi, but you can call me Yu for short," she said, smiling.
Okaay? Someone was talking to her? Her eyes darted around, maybe she got the wrong person. This had to be a joke. The heavens did not open up and there was no fancy brief case at a designated drop off point filled with cash waiting to be picked up. Soon an awkward silence ensued and a short frown wormed its way across her face.
"You don't want to be my friend?" she asked, hurt in her voice. Odd. She was bothered by the pain in her voice and she wanted to erase the frown from her face. Who was this chick?
"No. It's not that. Do you know that talking to me is basically like social suicide?"
"Who cares what they say?" she said, rolling her eyes and grinning widely at her.
For the first time in the history Rosalinda Cutteridge had a friend. She was pleased, a bit skeptical, but pleased nonetheless. While talking to her new friend for the remainder of art class, she soon discovered they had gym and their last study block together. Her day was looking brighter. Maybe this school year wouldn't be an epic failure.
Rosalinda entered the cafeteria with a grumbling stomach, roaring obscenities at her for delaying its filling. She was back to wearing her good old trusty cap, take that professor! In her haste to make it to school, she seemed to have left all her bargaining powers at home—lunch money. Rosalinda shoulders sank and she felt the ravenous beast shaking the bars to its cage.
Feed me!
Geez, she was pathetic. Her eyes shifted around the unfamiliar faces as she sought out Ayumi. She got nothing. Students sat grouped in their usual cliques. Suddenly, she felt like the outsider. Where was Ayumi? Where did she disappear to? She didn't want to stick around to see Rachel, so she locked eyes with the off white cafeteria tile floor as she fled.
"Told you she was friendless."
I'm really starting to hate her.
Why couldn't she get along with her sister like normal was even beyond her at times. It was one of the greatest mysteries of the world. Her eyes flickered over her sister's face and they harden. She felt numb and hungry. The thought became all-consuming, exposing her secrets as it twisted her face into something foreign. Something sinister. Rachel was pissing her off.
She grumbled as her plush toy fell out of her backpack. Great, let's air her dirty laundry for the world to see. No one needed to know that at seventeen-years-old she still carried a plush toy around.
Rachel laughed. When she spotted the stuff animal Rosalinda noticed there was a layer of apprehension in her tone. Interesting. Was she afraid of it? This time when their eyes met once more, she was the one smirking. A strange scent filled the air, thickening it. The hand of the monstrous beast reached between the bars, ached to sate its hunger. The beast twisted the corner of her lips into something frightening. Into something feral. Smirking maliciously, Rosalinda watched her carefully. This wondrous scent was coming from Rachel. She wanted to bite her... to sink her teeth into her delicate flesh and devour her.
Thump!
This wasn't normal. Shaking the thoughts aside, she left the cafeteria and ran directly into Professor Kenward. Great. He was the last person she wanted to see. Her stomach came roaring to life making itself known. Bleh. Whatever tender morsels the professor held in his secret dish smelt amazing.
Give it to me!
Could he hear the mountainous roar of her stomach?
"Sorry sir, I didn't see you there," she muttered, pictureing herself knocking him out and grabbing whatever he had in that dish; like a scavenger she would hide in the shadows and devour its tender bits.
"Don't worrying about it Miss Cutteridge. Did you enjoy your lunch?"
What's there to enjoy about it? It's cafeteria food! But more importantly, what's on his plate?
"Yes." She hoped he would leave before her stomach betrayed her.
He walked away with an amused yet worried expression. The man was confusing, one minute he was attacking her and the next father of the year. She went outside. Planting herself at the base of a large tree, she unzipped her backpack, pulling the stuff toy out. She sighed, it was becoming too much of a security blanket. What seventeen-year-old walked around with a plush animal in their backpack? No one. But she couldn't understand her strange attachment to it. She needed it. She had to have it.
"What am I going to do about you?"
The thought of getting rid of the plush toy sent pain careening through her. No! Screw them! She wasn't going to get rid of her stuff animal. Hmp! Take that society. The lunch bell rung, she tucked Lolita away and returned to class.
Gym was her last class of the day before her free period. Excitement hummed through her body, Ayumi was supposed to there. Sure enough, she spotted her sitting on the bleaches gazing at the others in boredom. Rosalinda wanted to ask her about lunch but she refrained from doing so. She didn't want to appear clingy. They were told to run laps around the track, but people just end up walking or not even running at all. She and Ayumi were one of the few that ran. Rosalinda was grateful for the distraction. The air whizzed past her lips and her lungs sucked it down as her body heated up. She wanted the tension from her shoulders to ebb, but thoughts of her new friend plagued her. She hoped it wasn't a rouse. Would they hang out after classes ended together? Talk about the opposite sex? Sheesh, she was like an excited puppy waiting anxiously for their master to return. Must calm down. Class soon wrapped up and she was happy to have that free block.
Anxiety filled her as she thought about seeing Cyriac again. Those lovely sea-green eyes had her hypnotized while his luscious lips haunted her. Did women still swoon? He was her boss! Sheesh, a girl could still look. Soon her thoughts shifted towards her family. She told her mom about her part time job this morning, so she shouldn't worry. Her mother never seemed perturbed by her meager existence, did she know about Rosalinda's bare necessities? Did she even care? But it was her father she had to worry about. Her heart dropped as a shiver crawled along her spine. He was deranged. Dangerous. She still didn't want to think about that night. About the pain. The agony.
She sat hunched over on the concrete stairs scanning the parking lot streaming with students and staff members. Where was her shit head little sister? Why did she even care? Oh. There. She rolled her eyes spotting Rachel's yellow bug. What was she doing parking there anyway, this lot was reserved for seniors. Little cunt. Her mind reeled at the thought on any attempt to figure out the strange occurrences between Rachel and herself. She'd given up. Given up on her sister.
She sighed as a foreign but somewhat familiar scent wafted through the air. She turned around only to spot Ayumi walking before plopping down on the step next to her.
"What are you doing out here?"
"Waiting on my ride."
"Who's picking you up?" she asked, curiously as she sipped from a bottle of water.
She flushed thinking about Cyriac. It wasn't like she could refer to him as her boyfriend. He was simply an employer. A really good looking one. Wouldn't it be strange to say her employer? She could say a friend, but that seem farfetched. Before she could answer, the car came peeling into the parking lot.
Ayumi whistled as the shiny black sports car stopped in front of us. It was a jaguar—a luxury car. Ostentatious much? She giggled as Ayumi drooled over the car muttering only what she could assume to be car stats. She exploded as the car door opened and he stepped out. He was so beautiful stealing all her breath away, leaving her with a runaway heart. She should introduced them, maybe Ayumi could get a part-time job with her! Turning to Ayumi, she frowned at the unreadeable look in her eyes. What? Did something happen to Cyriac?! She looked frantically back, eyes trailing his form. He was fine. What had her so spooked?
"He's hot isn't he?" she whispered not wanting Cyriac to hear her. She waited for her reply, but never got one. Huh? Ayumi was gone, where did she go? She was starting to think the girl was some sort of supernatural; especially at the speed in which she disappeared. Her eyes scoured the area searching for her. She was fast. Giving up she focused on the man in front of her. Gosh, he was tall.
Standing at a whopping six foot eight and all muscle. Feminine and dainty were the words that came to mind, it's how he made her fell. Realizing, she'd been staring for a while, she blushed. The heat rose toward her cheeks staining them a forsaken red and exposing all of her secrets.
Damn you cheeks!
"Hello Rosa."
"Hi Cyriac. Nice car."
Nice car! Nice car! That's all she could say. Sheesh, she was dumber than she thought. She was getting carried away with all her fantasies.
"Excuse me."
Rosalinda cleared the stairs as a student passed her and disappearing into the parking lot. She stared after him, her stomach rumbling. The image of ripping flesh flashed briefly in her mind. Her blood went cold. He looked like food. Prey. No. S-she was just hungry. She wasn't into cannibalism. She reared giving Cyriac a confuse look. He had her arm in his grip. D-did she go after that guy? Never. She shivered. She just needed to eat.
"Would you like to go to dinner?" he asked. She could hear the birds chirping feel the sun shining; hope, it did exist. Her stomach growled right on cue. Feed me!
"Sure." As if she was going to refuse a free meal. She smiled, excited for her pretend date.
A/N:
Is Ayumi friend or foe? Don't forget to hit that little button at the end of the chapter! I appreciate it! See you in the next chapter! XOXOXOXO!