Diary of a Vampeen

by Christin Lovell

  Mel resumed the conversation as we sat down. “I kind of hope he doesn’t. I got this weird vibe from him. Something is definitely off about him.”

  “I didn’t sense anything off or weird with him. I found him rather nice.”

  “O.M.G. You so like him!” Mel yelled way too loud in the confined space of the room. She grinned wide before continuing, “I’m right aren’t I? You like him!”

  “Shh! Lower your voice!” I demanded in a low hiss. “Even if I do, which I don’t, but if I did I wouldn’t want the whole world to know about it. Plus, I already have a boyfriend, remember?” I fumbled with my defense. Mel knew me better than anyone and had already clued in on my new interest though.

  “Ok,” she smiled smugly. The final bell rang and we settled into our seats.

  “Buenos dias class,” Mrs. Watson greeted us.

  “Senor Bancroft, how nice of you to join us. Sientate, por favor,” she stated to Kellan as he rushed through the door. He was rushing but didn’t appear winded.

  Mrs. Watson immediately began babbling on in Spanish about the proper use of verbs and adverbs in advanced sentence structuring. This lesson was nothing new for me since I lived in Spain for two years as a child.

  My parents weren’t expecting me so soon after marriage. They had planned to travel for the first few years. My mother decided that my arrival shouldn’t stop them. So the first three years of my life were spent traveling.

  We went everywhere from England to Chile to Russia. Australia was my dad’s favorite but my mother fell in love with the quaint seaside area of Basque, Spain, and that’s where I spent the next two years of my life.

  I was three when we settled in and beginning to speak so my mother drowned me in the language and culture. Every two years my parents went back to the little village for two weeks. They had visited just that past summer and I stayed with Mel for those weeks. We’d never had so much fun together; of course, Kyle never wanted to see me again after the fifth day straight of pranking him.

  “Senorita Jackson, de donde eres?” Mrs. Watson inquired amidst her lesson.

  “De aqui, en Carolina del Sur,” I responded promptly. I was born here in Charleston and therefore was a ‘low country native’ as they called us.

  “Muy bien, gracias,” she noted before continuing on to another student in the back.

  I settled back in my seat but instantly sat up when I caught sight of Mel. “What’s wrong?” I whispered. I couldn’t tell if she was mad, sad or frightened.

  She lifted her finger and pointed towards Sasha beside me. My gaze drifted towards the girl but found nothing out of the ordinary. She was doodling in her binder, but most of us did that at some point in class.

  I turned back to Mel, her brows now furrowed deep as if she were concentrating on a strong thought. I didn’t bother asking but rather followed her eyes beyond Sasha to… Oh my! Kellan was staring at me with a smirk on his face. It was a taunting yet inquisitive glare that didn’t settle right with me. Now I knew why Mel was so uneasy. I squirmed in my seat the rest of the period and was grateful for the reprieve of the bell.

  “What was that all about?” Mel demanded the second we entered the hall.

  “You ask me like I should know.”

  “I couldn’t even figure out if he likes you or not. One minute I thought he was mocking you, the next crushing on you and then poof! he was studying you like a math problem he didn’t understand,” she blurted. I shrugged it off though she was pretty accurate in her description.

  I felt the buzz in my pocket from my cell phone. I checked the halls for any teachers before slipping it out to check. “It’s my mom,” I announced. She would never call during the day unless something was wrong.

  Mel yanked me into the bathroom right as I answered. “Is everything ok? What’s wrong?” I panicked.

  “Calm down sweetie. Everything is fine,” her voiced soothed me instantly.

  “Oh. Ok. Did you need something?”

  “Well, yes. You see we know Kellan and his family so I was hoping I could rely on you to take him out.”

  “Out as in…” I was cringing on pins and needles.

  “Perhaps you could invite him to the mall or show him the highlights of downtown,” she offered.

  “Let me get this straight. You called me in the middle of the day, sent me on red alert for a favor. And that favor happens to be to ask a really cute guy that I barely know out. Did I get it right?” I laid the sarcasm on thick with a bit of dread stitched in.

  “Oh sweetie. You make it sound horrible. Kellan is a very nice young man.”

  “Mom, he’s going to think I’m asking him out on a date. Do you know how embarrassing that would be? Not to mention I already have a boyfriend.” Ok, maybe I was whining just a bit but her favor was social suicide. What if he said no? What if he didn’t… No. I couldn’t do it.

  “Alexa,” she scolded slightly. I sighed. I knew it was coming. “I wouldn’t ask unless it was important. We’ve known Kellan’s family since you were an infant. This request is coming from his mother, not me. And you have a wonderful heart; you’ve always been welcoming to everyone. I know you will do a great job with Kellan. It doesn’t matter where you go with him, just that he gets out of the house for a little while.” Well, there you have it. She went in for the kill and won. How do parents do it? How are they able to perfectly twist the words to guilt you into doing what they want?

  “Alright,” I officially surrendered.

  “Thank you sweetie. I’ll talk to you later. Love you,” she perked up before hanging up the phone.

  “Tell me you did not just agree to what I think you did,” Mel immediately cut in.

  “That depends. What do you think I agreed to?”

  “To ask some strange guy out on a date as a favor to your parents.”

  “Oh, well then you would be right.”

  “O.M.G. Wow. I totally feel your pain. That is the worst kind of punishment out there and you didn’t even do anything wrong,” she stated wincing in unison with me.

  “Let’s just get this over with. Hopefully Kellan is at lunch,” I said as I turned on my heels to leave the bathroom.

  “Wait! It’s him?!” she nearly screamed. I simply nodded my head. “I think we need to skip lunch and pray. Please tell me you carry pepper spray, kung fu moves I don’t know about, anything…”

  “Shut up,” I laughed pushing open the door and nearly running straight into him. My eyes popped open in shock as I froze in place. I felt Mel trying to force me forward as she slid around me to see why I’d suddenly become a statue.

  “Oh,” was all she said.

  I began fiddling with my hands and rocking back and forth from side to side as if I didn’t just use the restroom before coming out. I was already embarrassing myself yet hadn’t spoken a single word to him. His green eyes just stared back at me expectantly. What happened to being comfortable around him?!

  “Uh, sorry about that. We really… Um. Let’s get to lunch, Lex,” Mel grabbed my arm and pulled me towards the lunchroom.

  “Ugh,” I groaned. “You saved my ass,” I acknowledged with relief.

  “You owe me.”

  “Yea, yea. I know.” I turned back towards the bathrooms, but he was gone. The hall was empty though we’d walked less length than what remained on his end to leave and I certainly would have heard the bathroom door from where I was. We were the only ones in this part of the building. He couldn’t have gotten to the exit that fast. Could he have?

  By the time we got to the cafeteria our table was already filled. Only two seats remained for us. I took my spot next to Mike and Mel sat across from me next to Sara.

  “What took you so long?” Mike asked once I settled in.

  “Um. I’m sorry. Are you my new dad?” I responded sarcastically, on edge and upset at how I’d handled the situation with Kellan minutes before.

  “No, I was just wondering.” He backed off like a scolded child.

  “Well, t
o kill your thirst, my mom called and then me and Mel were chatting. That’s all.” I was always a sucker with my guilt and I instantly felt remorseful given his expression after my sarcastic chide.

  “You mean Mel was talking and you were listening like a good friend, right?” he edited with a smirk in Mel’s direction.

  “No, I mean we were both talking back and forth. Isn’t that how chatting works?”

  “It does online. Not so much with you and Mel though.”

  “I hold my own just fine, thank you.”

  “Ok. Whatever you say babe,” he chuckled. Luckily he changed the subject. “So what are your plans for the weekend?” he asked.

  “Um, well I don’t know. I have to do a favor for my mom,” I replied feeling awkward. I suddenly felt like I was on trial for murder; perhaps my conscience already felt guilty over agreeing to betray Mike in a way as a favor to my mom.

  “Her mom is making her commit social suicide by asking Kellan out,” Mel chuckled. I shot her a dirty look. I couldn’t believe she blabbed to Mike of all people. It sounded wrong. It made it sound like I blatantly planned to cheat on him as a favor to my mom.

  “Who’s Kellan?” he insisted.

  “Just a new guy in a couple of our classes,” I answered. “Apparently our families go way back.”

  “Well is this a group thing or are you two exclusive?” Mike’s voice held a bit of anxiety, yet he lifted his eyebrows suggestively.

  “Mike, you know it would just be a friend thing. Please don’t make this any worse than it already is.”

  “So it’s not a date then, right? I don’t need to go grab my boxing gloves.” He sounded off; add yet another person to the list of odd balls as my birthday approached.

  “Not technically,” Mel clarified.

  “It’s not a date at all and you both know it,” I corrected.

  “Gosh Mel, why do you always have to gossip lies?” Mike jabbed towards her with a quick slap on the table.

  “Oh give it a rest Mike,” she shot with clear, unstated frustration in her voice.

  Mike turned back to me, “So you wouldn’t mind if me and a few others join you then?”

  “Of course not. It’s just a friend thing like I said. I don’t even know if he’ll agree to go but I have to at least ask as a favor for my mom.” I was ready to change the subject immediately. This conversation was only making it seem a million times worse than it already felt.

  “So where are you going to ask him to go?” Mike pressed. I glared at both him and Mel.

  “You started this,” I scolded her.

  “Yea. I’m sort of regretting that now. Mike, be nice,” she ordered.

  He rolled his eyes at her. “I’m always nice,” he smirked. To make up for being difficult, he pulled me into his arms and kissed my cheek. I can’t explain why, but it didn’t feel right.

  Mike stood a tall six feet and was built something similar to Kellan but not as chiseled. He had a farmer’s tan thanks to many hours in the sun skateboarding, clothing style to match his past time. He had brown eyes, medium brown hair that was grown out long enough for him to do a faux-hawk at times, and uneven lips; his top lip was smaller than his bottom, but still soft and defined.

  The rest of lunch was rather uneventful. Sara and Sasha made plans to go to the mall Saturday, Mike talked aimlessly with Jared about something sports related, and Mel chatted with Justin over the fall play coming up at the end of the month. He was playing the lead in ‘Antony and Cleopatra.’ It’s a modernized version without all the nays and shalls though.

  History flew by despite my lack of focus. My concentration was torn between Kellan and Mike. Kellan was ahead for the obvious reasons; I was extremely nervous about agreeing to ask him out. I was already wishing I’d never agreed to it, and I hadn’t even suffered through the rejection yet.

  Though we sat next to each other in history, Mike didn’t say anything. Each time I snuck a peek his way he was staring at me. It wasn’t offensive, but made me uneasy. In all the time we’d known Mike, he always seemed like a loose cannon. His spontaneity was one of the things I loved about him though.

  The bell rang and I rose to gather my blank papers. I was mentally occupied with my life and therefore had neglected the lecture entirely today. I slid my arms into my backpack and turned towards the door. I suddenly jumped back startled to have almost run into Mike.

  “What’s up?” I asked, looking up at him.

  “Um. Well…” he paused looking to be gathering his thoughts.

  “Well?” I prompted cocking my head to the side a bit as I peered up at his seemingly dazed face.

  “Well, I guess I’ll talk to you after school. I mean I’ll call you,” he fumbled to piece together.

  “Ok. I take it you’re not walking me to my last class?” I chuckled softly. Why was everyone acting so weird?

  “Um, did you want me to?” He seemed so unsure of himself. He usually walked me to every class with the exception of second period and that was only because his class was on the other side of the school.

  “Don’t worry about it. I’ll talk to you later,” I offered as I made my way out the door to catch up with Mel.

  “What was that all about?” Mel inquired once I was within range.

  “I have no idea. Between my parents and Mike, even Kellan, I don’t know who’s acting more eccentric at the moment. It’s just been a weird day for me. Well, a weird two days if you count last night,” I noted.

  “True. They all do seem a tad off when I re-examine the situations.”

  “Is there a full moon tonight or something?” Even I was beginning to act strange. I was searching the halls and on the prowl for anyone else out of place or acting out of character.

  “Not that I know of. Maybe the birthday gods are in motion right now,” she suggested with a smile. I chose to ignore her.

  Moments later we took our seats having carefully avoided eye contact with any part of Kellan. I looked up at the clock to see how long I had before the final bell rang; I had roughly three minutes. Just enough time to ask him yet would be saved by the bell should he refuse.

  I stood up and made my way to his desk. I started fidgeting with my hands right away out of nervousness. I’d never asked any guy, friend or not, out.

  “Uh, hi Kellan,” I said.

  “Hi,” he replied, staring up at me expectantly.

  “Um, so I guess your parents know my parents and well my mom called me and I guess your mom wants you to get out more and so I was just wondering if you wanted to do something this weekend…” I slurred everything together in one breath as an extra-long sentence. I couldn’t even look at him. I looked everywhere but into his brilliant green eyes. I felt my cheeks color as I waited for him to answer. My heart was about to beat out of my chest. I was mortified. My mother definitely owed me after this.

  A smirk crept up on his face as I continued to wait. He checked the clock and made me stand there and wait until seconds before the bell when he finally said, “Sure.”

  I knew he’d done it on purpose. He had to have seen how uncomfortable I was. I cut my eyes at him as the bell rang and I made my way back to my desk. I was definitely ready for school to be over.

  “Ok class. Today we are doing something slightly different. No new lessons; I am instead giving you this entire period to get a head start on your monologue due next Thursday. I don’t mind if you bounce ideas around in groups but there is to be no copying or plagiarism,” Mrs. Henderson stated sternly. “You may begin now.”

  Mel turned around in her seat to face me. “So do we really need to buddy up on the monologue or are you ready to talk birthday party planning?” she inquired with a raised eyebrow.

  “How about neither?” I suggested hopefully.

  “Oh come on Lex. It’ll give you an excuse to buy a new outfit,” Mel tried to reason with me in her whiny, antagonistic voice.

  “I don’t want a new outfit, and if I did I wouldn’t wait for a party to buy it. Plus you
know I hate shopping.”

  “Such a waste,” she grumbled. “At least tell me how it went with Kellan,” she urged.

  “It was painful, torturous, every adjective you can think of along those lines. My mom couldn’t pay me to do it again,” I sighed.

  “That bad?”

  “Worse.”

  “At least it’s done and over with and you have an obligation free weekend,” she beamed.

  “Oh no, he said yes. I don’t know whether that’s good or bad at this point.”

  “Yikes,” she winced. “You’ll have to let me know how it goes.”

  “Of course,” I said before she turned back around in her seat.

  I sighed turning my attention to my notebook to begin my assignment. Caught in the moment with Mel, it took me by surprise when Kellan spoke.

  “So how do I get a hold of you? You know so we can meet up,” he interrupted my gaze for that all important pry.

  “Oh, um. Here’s my cell,” I fumbled while writing my phone number on a piece of paper and passed it to him.

  “I’ll call you later tonight then,” he confirmed before returning to his desk. As soon as the coast was clear Mel turned towards me again.

  “Hmm. Why do I have the feeling there is more to this than meets the eye?” she grinned.

  I rolled my eyes dramatically. She chuckled and turned back to her own papers though I doubt she was actually working on the assignment.

  Chapter 4

  Surprisingly the last hour seemed like eternity but I was finally free to start my weekend. I tossed off my tennis shoes and dropped my back pack at the door.

  “Hey Mom!” I yelled as I walked towards the kitchen. When I received no answer instantly I called again, “Mom, are you home?”

  As I reached the kitchen I saw the note attached to the fridge.