The Vampire Potion (Vampire World Book 1)

by Tassen Raihan Trima

  He answered with patience, which was slowly dissipating because he hated to answer too many questions, “I always feel cold.”

  She arched an eyebrow. “Even when there is a heater?”

  He hummed in response and entered the classroom with Becca. The entire poetry classroom was empty.

  She was about to sit on the middle bench but she saw Alexander sitting on the last bench. Wanting to be his friend since he was the only person she knew in Freshman year, she decided to sit next to him.

  Alexander clenched his fist. Now she will want to ask me more questions, he thought to himself.

  “So, do you always wear dark colors or only black? Or do you want to go unnoticed by people so you wear dark colors?” Becca asked curiously.

  “I wanna go unnoticed,” he replied curtly.

  “With that handsome face of yours? Best of luck,” she mumbled, which was audible for Alexander since they were the only ones in the classroom.

  His heart skipped a beat at that compliment. Alexander did get compliments but hearing it from her mouth that she found him handsome, gave him an unusual feeling. How could my heart skip a beat? It’s just the first day and she is already driving me crazy, he wondered.

  Since there was no one around, Alexander thought it to be the perfect time to ask Becca about the potion and do his job successfully. At least that would stop him from answering her questions and her driving him crazy.

  “Becca,” he started speaking.

  She was doodling in her notebook and when he called out her name, she glanced at him with a warm smile that made Alexander have the urge to roll his eyes.

  Why does she smile so much? he thought.

  “Yes, Alex?” she let out.

  “I—” Alexander was interrupted with another voice.

  “Am I late?” the person asked.

  Alexander and Becca looked at the door.

  “No,” Becca answered to the person while Alexander glared at him. “I’m Becca Hertford, by the way,” she introduced herself to that person, who smiled at her.

  “I am Lucas Kade,” said Lucas and walked towards them, avoiding the piercing glare of Alexander. “Mind if I sit with you?”

  “Of course not.” Becca scooted over to Alexander, her heart saying that Lucas was a good person too because she felt the same with his presence as she did with Vanessa. Only with Alexander, her connection felt stronger than either of them. “Come and sit with us.”

  Lucas kept his bag on the table and sat next to Becca. “You are beautiful.”

  “Thanks,” Becca said with a grin. “The class was supposed to start at nine but it’s almost ten now. I wonder why it is late. Is it because today is the first day?”

  “I think so,” Lucas answered and looked at Alexander, who was still throwing daggers with his eyes. Lucas arched an eyebrow, remembering how he had warned Alexander.

  Alexander’s eyes squinted in anger, understanding that Lucas wouldn’t let him fulfill his task in peace.

  Becca continued chatting, more like asking questions to both Lucas and Alexander, being happy that she already made two friends. She couldn’t make proper friends due to her father, but now she was independent. However, she wasn’t aware that everyone was selfish and talked to her just for their own selfish pursuits.

  A vampire, a Lycan, and a human—the story had already started, so did the competition over the vampire potion.

  Chapter 7: Empty Classroom

  The first period finally started after an hour’s delay. The teacher had some issues with his vehicle and thus, he informed the dean to give the freshers an hour's time to get to know each other before the class began.

  The empty classroom was packed with students now. The poetry teacher, Mr. Risorito, introduced himself politely and started the class. He reminded everyone that he was usually punctual, but when he came into the classroom; it was empty so he waited for all the students to join, which caused the delay.

  “He looks old,” mumbled Becca, glancing at the grey-haired teacher, his nose was pointed like an arrow.

  “He is old,” Alexander corrected her.

  “But he has a nice nose,” Lucas pointed out, to which Becca hummed in response.

  Mr. Risorito started his lecture. He told everyone to take out a notepad and a pen to take notes on his lecture. He started explaining the basics of poetry, starting with, “Poetry is another form of expressing love, more like expressing your emotion.”

  Alexander rolled his eyes at the mention of love, while Becca and Lucas intently listened to every detail uttered by Mr. Risorito.

  This is going to be a long day, Alexander thought to himself and looked blankly at the teacher. He couldn’t believe the things he was doing just for a potion. He joined a university that too in the human world. He had completed his university studies in the vampire world already, so it was pointless for him to study the same material again with humans. He always made fun of Vanessa for being so attached to the humans, but now he was forced to interact with them. Not all humans though, only Becca. People like Lucas were unwanted by him.

  Becca started writing a few points neatly on her notebook, giving her full concentration to the professor.

  Not having anything to do, Alexander decided to close his eyes and chat with Vanessa. But as soon as he closed his eyes, someone from his right side poked him, resulting in him opening his eyes. He glared at the person on his right.

  A blond boy, who seemed to be eighteen or nineteen, gave a cheeky grin and said, “I am Antonio Piero. And you are…?”

  “Did you have any important questions to ask apart from my name?” Alexander asked grumpily.

  Antonio shook his head. “No, sorry.” Just when Alexander thought he would get a moment of peace, the blond boy said, “Actually, I do have a question to ask.” He waited for Alexander to respond, but when he didn’t, Antonio questioned, “Why aren’t you writing anything? I mean, we all have a bag or a notebook with us.”

  “I cannot afford it. I am so damn poor,” Alexander responded curtly. Why would I carry these human items when I don't belong to the human world? he wondered.

  Becca, who overheard the conversation, chortled. She looked at Alexander and Antonio, saying, “I didn’t mean to overhear but I am right here, sitting close so I heard it. And Antonio, his name is Alexander.”

  Antonio smiled awkwardly.

  “Can’t he speak for himself?” Lucas interrupted the conversation. “I mean, I didn’t imagine Alex to be like this. Were you waiting for someone else to give your introduction as shown in the movies?”

  “Call me Alexander, not Alex.” Alexander clenched his fist, seeing Lucas smirk. “Also, didn’t you know that not responding to someone properly means I am not interested in starting a conversation?”

  “Okay, guys, I didn’t want to start an argument between anyone,” Antonio said, noticing the strong internal battle between Alexander and Lucas. “I will focus on the class now.” With that, Antonio focused on the teacher again.

  “Why didn’t you bring anything though, Alex?” Lucas asked, calling him Alex on purpose just to annoy him. “Did you just come here to show your face?”

  As Alexander was about to answer him rudely, Becca said, “Okay, break it up, break it up.” She looked at both Lucas and Alexander, saying, “I want you two to be my friends, but don’t be like that to each other, please.”

  “Bu—” Alexander was interrupted by Becca, much to his annoyance.

  “Here you go.” Becca shoved an extra pen and a ‘starry night’ themed notebook to Alexander. “You can take notes with this.”

  Lucas asked in disbelief, “Do you really believe him to be poor?”

  Becca shook her head with a chuckle. “I researched once that some people hate to carry stuff with them, so I always carry an extra notepad and pen to help someone having that kind of nature.”

  “Why?” Alexander couldn’t control himself from asking.

  She gave him a smile, saying, “Because
I wanted to form a friendship in that way.”

  Why was she so desperate to make friends? Alexander had no answer to this question.

  Meanwhile, Becca was happy to help Alexander and she wouldn’t mind helping him again and again. She had no idea why she felt that way for him. What was the strong connection she felt every time she was close to him?

  Lucas raised his eyebrows in amusement. He could feel that something was going on between Alexander and Becca as if they were tied together with a knot. Maybe because Alexander was a vampire and Becca had the vampire potion, which was why they were attracted to each other.

  Their chain of thoughts was broken by Mr. Risorito saying, “The last three students, I mean the boy at the corner wearing blue, the girl wearing the black-top and the boy twinning with her by wearing the same color, kindly stand up.”

  All eyes were on the three of them.

  “Oh, crap,” Becca mumbled under her breath and stood up, followed by Lucas.

  Alexander groaned, cursing the fact that the day was already going bad for him. When he watched Becca and Lucas looking at him, he stood up as well.

  “I noticed for a while,” Mr. Risorito started, making his way towards them. “The three of you are talking for a long time and I was wondering whether my class seemed boring to you?”

  “Can you blame us for the boredom?” Alexander said bluntly.

  Becca’s eyes widened at his words and she looked at him in disbelief. He is digging our grave, right along with his, she thought.

  Mr. Risorito arched an eyebrow. His eyes fell on the notes Lucas and Becca took while Alexander’s notebook was blank.

  “Mr. Risorito, we took notes on what you said,” Lucas tried to reason, and Becca nodded her head in support.

  “Well, I have a different way of punishing the students who talk in my class though,” the teacher said, putting his hands in his pocket. “The three of you will submit an assignment as a punishment. The assignment will be to write a poem by tomorrow and submit it.”

  “Poem?” Lucas mumbled, already wondering how the heck he was supposed to write a poem when he had barely read books.

  “You gotta be kidding,” Alexander murmured under his breath, wanting to bang his head on the wall. How could Vanessa even survive in this human world? It was so cruel to even assign him a task of writing. He loved reading, but he never tried writing anything like that.

  A bright smile dawned over Becca’s face at the mention of writing. Whether it was a novel, short story, or a poem — she loved writing and it was more of a blessing than a punishment for her to write a poem with her new friends. But noticing the frown on Alexander’s face and the horror covering Lucas, she told the teacher, “Since this punishment is for the three of us, why don’t you give us three days instead of one? We will write a poem and submit it to you.”

  As Mr. Risorito continued thinking about it, the bell rang, letting everyone know that the class ended. “Okay,” he agreed and watched the students leave the classroom. Soon, he left as well.

  Jumping in excitement, Becca said to Alexander and Lucas while packing her stuff for the next class, “Let’s find a topic while making our way to the next class. Sounds good?”

  “Fine,” Lucas said in reply.

  “What about you, Alex?” When Becca didn’t receive an answer from Alexander, she turned to her right, only to find the seat empty. “Where is Alex? When did he walk away?”

  Suppressing a chuckle, knowing that Alexander stormed off, Lucas said, “Maybe he has a different class now. What is your next class though? Mine is Classic Literature.”

  “Mine too,” she said after taking a look at her class schedule. “Let’s go.”

  She was slightly upset that Alexander left without a word. Was he not interested in doing a group assignment? What if he didn’t want to be her friend at all? The thought saddened Becca, however, she continued attending the classes with Lucas and got to know more about him. Yet, she missed Alexander and intended to see him during lunch.

  ###

  Alexander was sitting under a stone pine tree, which was inside the campus garden. He decided to go invisible if someone appeared, but for now, the garden was empty.

  He needed a breather.

  How could he adapt to the human world within a day? It was becoming difficult for him, yet he was trying to adjust only for the vampire potion. Everyone there was taxing his last vestiges of patience. Alexander wanted to use the students like walking, talking juice boxes.

  He hated doing human tasks. One class was enough to royally piss him off. Alexander didn’t wish to attend more classes. He would go crazier because Becca was already making him crazy. What kind of power did that girl have?

  How can I feel something strange when she is nearby? he wondered and immediately shook his head before any stranger thoughts popped into his mind. It wasn’t possible for him to feel something when he didn’t even have a functioning heart. His heart was in his body, but it was dead. His heart could never skip a beat nor could he feel something, so it was impossible for him to feel any connection with Becca. “She has the potion and maybe that is what is driving me crazy,” he mumbled to himself, “I am even mumbling to myself like a madman. I should go and ask her about the potion right this instant.”

  Alexander glanced at his wristwatch, noticing it was the time for lunch. Becca must be free and he could easily talk to her alone. He would pull her off to the side and ask her about the potion directly. It was a simple plan from his side.

  Vanessa usually goes hunting for animals during lunch and Sebastian should accompany her. Lucas wouldn’t find Becca if Alexander pulled her into the corner.

  It was the perfect time for Alexander to find out more about the potion. The sooner he finds out, the faster he could leave.

  Alexander got up from the sitting position and ran towards the caféteria to meet Becca.

  The caféteria was filled with people, yet Alexander tried to look for her. As soon as he reached the backdoor of the caféteria, someone grabbed his hand and pulled him into an empty classroom nearby.

  Chapter 8: A Warming Touch

  Becca covered Alexander’s mouth with her hand. “It’s me,” she mumbled, making Alexander look at her blankly.

  He would be lying if he said that the closeness with Becca wasn’t affecting him. She, a human, placed a hand over a vampire’s mouth. He hustled her hand away, afraid that he would lose control and bite her.

  “Why would you pull me like that? You could just call me from behind,” Alexander explained to Becca.

  She bit her lip, answering, “I thought you would avoid me.”

  He sighed and took a few steps away from her, pretending to stay unaffected by her closeness. “Then what was the need of covering my mouth?”

  “I was afraid that you would scream,” she responded and pouted.

  He let out a humorless chuckle. “Are you crazy, Becca? Why would I scream just because you pulled me in here?” How could she expect I would scream? he wondered.

  Becca averted her gaze, understanding it was really a silly move on her behalf.

  Alexander scanned the classroom to see whether anyone was inside or not apart from them. When he couldn’t sense any human or other creature’s presence, he closed his eyes. Taking a deep breath, he opened his eyes and looked at Becca’s grey orbs. It was the perfect time for him to ask about the potion directly.

  “Becca,” he started, and hearing her name from his mouth caused Becca’s heart to flutter like a thousand butterflies were taking wing in her stomach. “Do you know ab—” he was interrupted instantly as someone barged into the classroom.

  “What are you guys doing here?” Sebastian questioned Becca and Alexander, who were standing apart from each other.

  They glanced at Sebastian, who had a bland look plastered on his face.

  “I wanted to ask Alexander why he didn’t attend other classes. Was our routine different or did he not want to be my friend? So I pulled him over here
to ask,” Becca explained politely.

  “You pulled him?” Sebastian arched an eyebrow in amusement. “Did Alex answer your question or was he about to ask you a question?”

  Alexander glared at Sebastian, well-aware that Vanessa told Sebastian to keep an eye on him. “Our routine is different, Becca,” Alexander said, “And of course, I want to be your friend.”

  Their routine was the same, but after one class, Alexander didn’t have the patience to attend other classes with humans surrounding him. Also, not to forget, he would have Becca and Lucas around him too.

  Becca grinned hearing him. “Great! Let’s go and meet up with Lucas. Then we can discuss a topic for the poem we are supposed to write.”

  Sebastian cleared his throat. “If you don’t mind Becca, I want to talk to Alexander for a while.”

  Noticing the awkward silence between Alexander and Sebastian, Becca just nodded her head and walked out of the classroom, not before informing Alexander, “I will be waiting in room 240 along with Lucas. See you there.”

  After Alexander watched Becca walk out of the room, immediately he walked towards Sebastian. He said in a deadly tone, “How dare you?” He was beyond annoyed that everyone kept interrupting him each time he wanted to use the shortcut method, which was to ask Becca about the potion directly.

  Sebastian chuckled and raised his hands in a placating gesture. “I am just obeying your sister. Not my fault.”

  “Stop interrupting my task,” he said sternly.

  Nodding his head, Sebastian said, “I will, if you stop yourself from questioning Becca directly. Have you ever thought what will happen if she has no idea about the potion?”

  “I will alter the reality in her mind,” Alexander responded curtly, his anger lessening a little. He was confident that he could easily alter the reality in Becca’s mind because of his special ability.

  Sighing, Sebastian said, “Alex, don’t use that method. Try to gain her trust, and adapt in the human world. This is for your betterment.” When he noticed Alexander rolling his eyes, he spoke up, “Fine. You won’t listen to my words either way, so I will keep obeying what Vanessa says. Now, go. Becca is waiting for you.”