by David Weaver
“Oh, I’m just passing through.”
“Just passing through? On this block? At this time of the night? I thought you lived way on the other side of town Todd…”
“I do…”
“So, you’re over here because…”
He followed the direction of Todd’s gaze and saw that he was staring at Bristol’s house. The realization came over him in a mass of sharp waves.
“Oh… right… Bristol…”
“Yep. You’re right… Bristol.”
Marvin took a deep breath and tried to speak calmly. “So… are you two dating?”
Todd smiled. His smile was a display of mockery and disrespect towards Marvin. “We are…”
“Wow… well… congratulations Todd. You’re a lucky man.”
“Luck has nothing to do with it.”
“Well o.k. Excuse me.”
Marvin tried to walk past Todd so that he could get back to his house, but Todd grabbed his arm, holding him in place.
“Where do you think you’re going?”
Marvin looked him in the eye and saw a strange glow residing in it. It was a look that he had never seen before on a human and it made him uncomfortable to be in its presence.
“I’m going to my house Todd… Just going to go mind my own business.”
“Mind your business huh? Well look… Bristol told me that you and her played basketball and that you got hurt. She told me that you cut your little shoulder and that she had to patch it up. Well I came over to tell you something chump.
You stay away from Bristol. All this faking and acting like you’re hurt so you can get a free feel on my girl? I’m not having it! And if I hear talk of you trying to hook up with my girl again, it’s going to be me and you pal!”
Marvin looked at Todd, sizing him up. He could see that the football team’s captain was obviously stronger than him, but perhaps wasn’t as quick as him; so there was a small possibility that he could knock Todd out. He would have to hit him hard and fast and get back out of the way, but at least it would show Todd that he wasn’t afraid of him.
“I know what you’re thinking Marvin, so don’t try it. If you try to swing on me I will bust your butt boy!”
Marvin was furious, but there was nothing he could do outside of getting into a useless fight over a female who obviously didn’t want to be with him.
I knew I should have followed my first mind and just left that chick alone, he thought as he exhaled and shook his head.
“Hey man… I don’t want any problems. That’s your girl and I’ll respect that… I’ll leave her alone, you have my word.”
“Good.”
Todd loosened his grip on Marvin’s arm and let him go. The two athletes stood there for a moment, staring at each other in admiration. Todd admired Marvin because he had naturally managed to get Bristol’s heart, and Marvin admired him because he thought that Todd had really hooked up with Bristol.
Todd smirked at Marvin one last time and turned to walk away. Marvin stood there in the moonlight by himself, first staring at the back of Todd as he increased his distance; then staring into nothingness; the metaphor of his life. He had nothing, was going to become nothing, and had nothing to look forward to.
He went home.
CHAPTER 8
“Marvin, just talk to me!”
It had been 2 weeks since Bristol and Marvin had last spoken to each other. Every time Bristol came and knocked on his door at night to play basketball, he reluctantly ignored her. When he saw her during school, he walked past her without paying her any attention. It was a very difficult thing for him to do, but he felt as if she had betrayed him.
She had told him that she liked him, yet she was dating Todd Winters, who had obviously become so pissed at him that he had gotten transferred to another school; Bellmount High. Bellmount was Cedar Hill’s rival school and was located on the other side of town. It was the school that Todd was originally supposed to attend, but he didn’t attend it initially because it was known that they had a horrible football program. Everyone knew that Todd was much too talented to attend a school like that. He needed exposure.
Before Todd left Cedar Hills High, he broke the news that he was leaving because “someone” at the school had been trying to steal his girlfriend; he was leaving so that he wouldn’t have to get into any fights. He fed his old team some crap about if he beat “that person up,” he would lose some of his prestigious scholarship offers.
Now, every time a member of the football team saw him in the hallway, they gritted their teeth at him. Some of them were mumbling unkind words under their breath; words that he couldn’t understand, yet he definitely knew the meanings behind them.
“Marvin… can you please just talk to me? Just give me two minutes, please!”
Usually Bristol would just be able to read a person’s thoughts and find out what was going on. But for the past two weeks, every time she tried it with Marvin, it was like his mind was cluttered with thousands of thoughts; all flowing simultaneously.
“Marvin you don’t even have to speak! Just let me do all the talking please!”
They had just got off of the school bus and were at the cutoff point where Bristol went to her house and Marvin went to his; when he stopped.
“Talk!”
“Marvin, for the past 2 weeks you haven’t been talking to me; and I don’t like that! One night we were cool, and the very next morning you just stopped talking to me. If you’re mad about the basketball game, then forget the stupid bet. You mean more to me than driving some stupid Hummer. If you want me to, I’ll ride in it with you. Go ahead and call your friend and tell him to drop the truck off!”
“I can’t call my friend, because he won’t speak to me anymore! When I first told him to come pick it up, that I wouldn’t be able to roll with him, he came and got it and that was the last time I heard from him!”
“I’m sorry about that Marvin, but why would you take that out on your girlfriend? I genuinely care about you! It’s not about material things when it comes to our relationship Marvin, and I want you to know that!”
Marvin laughed, his laughter a hybrid of irritation and disgust.
“Our relationship Bristol? Hahahaha! Our relationship? This has to be some type of foolish joke, one that I do not wish to be a part of!”
“How is it a joke Marvin? I told you from day one that I liked you, and you told me the same thing. So why are you changing your tune now? Why would you do this to me?”
Marvin looked into her eyes and saw that they were moist and shiny. That confused him as he tried to understand why she had tears forming if she was already in a relationship with Todd Winters.
“I’m not changing a tune Bristol… I’m just telling you what your real boyfriend told me.”
Bristol was startled, and it showed on her face. It wasn’t very often that things came along and surprised her, but in the past month; she seemed to be experiencing many things that she had rarely ever experienced in her duration of eternal living.
“What boyfriend?” She asked in one of the iciest tones that Marvin had ever heard.
“Todd Winters… Don’t act like you don’t know what I’m talking about now! I saw him leaving your house that night after I cut my shoulder. After you left my house, I couldn’t sleep so I decided to take a walk. And whom did I bump into? Your boyfriend.
Yep… he told me that you told him about our basketball game, about my cut, everything. And he politely asked me to stay the hell away from you. So there you go. Are you happy now?”
A surge of anger rushed through Bristol’s veins and caused her face to turn red. She stood there trembling with disbelief that Todd had done such a thing. He had promised her that he would leave when she gave him her word, and yet he had watched her from afar and read Marvin’s mind in the middle of the night; just to try to scare him.
“Marvin, I do not date Todd Winters!” She grunted loud, out of frustration. She knew that Marvin was never going to ful
ly believe her unless she told him her secret, but she also knew that the secret could never come out. She thought fast, trying to see if there was an alternate way of getting Marvin to trust her again.
“I never dated Todd Winters, and I never will date Todd Winters. That day at school, I caught a ride with Todd because there was an emergency at my Mom’s job and I had to be there! There was nothing between us. Ever!”
Marvin stared at her skeptically. “So it was an emergency at your mother’s job when I saw him leaving your house at 3 in the morning? Or do you not have an explanation for that yet Bristol?”
“If you saw him leaving my house at 3 in the morning, then he must have been stalking me or something… Marvin, when have you seen me and Todd together for any occasion? Even after school, do you ever see him come over to my house? Ever?”
Marvin thought about it for a while and realized that she was right. He never saw them together and had actually never saw him leave her house.
“So you’re saying that Todd was stalking you?”
“That’s exactly what I’m saying Marvin!” I like you! I want to get to know you! I want to teach you how to play basketball!”
They both got silent for a moment, and then simultaneously burst out laughing.
“See Marvin, that’s what I miss about us. I miss being able to laugh. I miss being able to be myself…”
And even as she said that last sentence, she felt guilt rising in her heart. Most of her statements had been true, except for the be myself part. She knew that she could never be herself, and it pained her to have such an unfortunate realization.
“Hey… let me ask you something… I saw you in the backyard shooting three pointers, and you didn’t miss one shot in 2 hours, so please elaborate on why you were missing shots during the girls’ basketball tryouts and acting like you couldn’t play? Explain that.”
Bristol shook her head and smiled. “I told you in the beginning, that I had won more than enough awards throughout my high school basketball career, and I don’t want to be the center of attention anymore.”
“Wow… So at your last school, you were M.V.P. and all that?”
“I was everything at my last school, and I’m so through with it…”
“But you’re a senior now, you can get a scholarship and go to college Bristol… you could be in the pros one day. Why would you suppress your talent? I will never understand that.”
She wanted to tell him that she’d been getting scholarships from colleges for the past 30 years and in almost every country on the map, but instead she grabbed his hands and looked into his eyes.
Now she was able to read his thoughts again, and she could see that there was no love lost on his part; that he had simply been hurt because of the Todd situation. However, she could see that he was still a little apprehensive about continuing to deal with her, but that he was willing to give it another shot.
She knew that she must do everything in her power to not mess up her relationship with Marvin; even if that included her staying up all night and keeping her eye on him and his house. She was mad about what Todd had done, but she knew that what was done… was done.
Staring into Marvin’s eyes, she could also feel that there was about to be a lot more trouble for her and her parents in the near future; but even though she knew this, something wouldn’t allow her to back away. She liked him too much.
She closed her eyes and enjoyed Marvin’s presence. She was enjoying the flattery of his thoughts when she sensed a dangerous question approaching. There was only one thing that she could say to the question he was about to ask, and it was sure to cause a major rift between her family, Todd, and Lord Aslar.
“Bristol, will you be my date for the Homecoming dance?”
That was the biggest question she’d ever been asked in the past two centuries, and she was momentarily speechless. She stood there in shock and wonder at what the consequences would be.
Nervous excitement entered her body and wouldn’t leave. It remained with her while her heart tingled and her face flushed with happiness.
“Yes Marvin. I will be your date to the Homecoming Dance. Of course I will… You’re my boyfriend.”
Marvin hugged her, and the skin on skin contact caused her body to turn to Jell-o and melt in his arms. She was stronger than twenty men combined, but at that very moment, she was the weakest person on the entire planet. She could do nothing but bask in his embrace and think about the future.
The future was always coming, whether you were a vampire or a human; animal or plant. There would never be a way to avoid the future if you planned on continuing to live.
And Bristol planned on living. She planned on living her life as a human one day. She did not want to be a vampire anymore if it meant that she couldn’t be with Marvin. He was fast becoming one of her favorite people of all time; and she had a lot of people to compare him to. She could feel his heart beat and could smell the purity of the blood that flowed through him.
It excited her that she could be so close to a mortal and instead of feeling like a predator, she could feel like a protector. She knew that her parents were not going to approve of her going to the Homecoming dance with Marvin, but she was going to go whether they liked it or not. She had made up her mind that she was going to find out just how far her and Marvin’s friendship was going to go.
It could be dangerous, she thought.
“Dangerous how?” Marvin said, and it startled Bristol.
“You heard me?”
“Yea, you said it out loud… so… what’s going to be dangerous?”
Close call. “Haha. You trying to guard me on the basketball court! IT could definitely be dangerous!”
“Well, go get out of your school clothes and put back on that old Allen Iverson jersey that you like to rock and we’ll see how dangerous you are. I got a game plan for you!”
“What type of game plan?” Bristol said with a smile on her face.
“Go get the ball, you’re about to find out!”
Bristol headed to her house with her school books in her hand wearing a huge smile on her face. She knew that she had to be more careful about what she let slip out of her mouth. She was happy that she was cool with Marvin again. The time she spent not talking to him was extremely hard on her.
I better be extra careful with letting my thoughts leak out of my mouth. I have to be cautious. I guess after 200 years or so, I have a tendency to slip every now and again. Never again.
CHAPTER 10
Bristol and Marvin’s relationship got progressively better since their argument took place. They had been playing basketball every night, with Bristol even giving Marvin pointers on his jump shot. They had quickly turned into one of the most influential couples in high school. They were certainly the most talked about and the most popular.
It was obvious to everyone that they adored each other. The only people that were seemingly unaware of how deep their adoration was for each other were Bristol’s parents. When Bristol’s parents saw how much Marvin and their daughter hung out, they thought nothing of it. They knew that they’d trained her to not like black people, so they were happy that she was putting on such an excellent front for the community.
Eric was sitting on the bed playing chess with his wife when the question arose.
“Eric, do you think Bristol really likes that black boy?”
Eric accidentally knocked over the chess pieces when he heard the question.
“Heavens no Susan! I think we trained our Bristol very well. She’s only making us look like the good and wholesome family that we’re supposed to be. Frankly, I’m glad she’s doing it. Otherwise people would think that we’re racist.”
“You always know the right things to say Eric. I think that’s one of the main reasons that I married you. I knew I couldn’t go wrong with a love like yours. You’re the one and will always be.”
“Awww Snoogie. Thank you. I’m so glad that we’re only 5 years away from receiving our
immortality from Lord Aslar. I’m so excited! You know, we’ll be able to have children finally.”
He tickled her, causing her to laugh like a cheerleader. She was just as happy as Eric, and knew that the blessing from Lord Aslar was what they had been living for. Without them receiving all of their powers, they would have been living with no purpose. Bristol was the biggest asset that the family had. Without Bristol, there was no future and she knew it.
She slid the chessboard over and stretched out her body. She tilted her head so that she was staring at her husband with smiling eyes. Her blond hair was sprawled around her face like a picture frame. Eric leaned down and kissed her on the lips. He was so happy with his life that he didn’t think it could get any better.
“Eric? You know there’s a Homecoming Dance coming up next month right? Do you plan on letting Bristol go if she asks to go with Marvin?”
Eric jumped back as if hot grease had popped out of Susan’s mouth. It scared him momentarily, but he quickly got a hold of himself.
“Susan… no. There isn’t a chance in this world that I’ll sit here and let her ruin this family. Besides, you know Bristol is just putting on a show. She’s not that serious. If she is, we’re going to have some serious problems.”
“I sure hope you’re right Eric. It would devastate me if all of this went wrong baby.”
************************************
1 Month Later-
“You want to do what?” Her father was screaming at her while in a fighting stance.
“Dad, settle down, I have everything under control. I just want to go to the Homecoming dance with Marvin.”
“That black boy? I don’t think so!”
“What does it matter to you? Would it help if he was white?”
“Certainly not! You know what our agreement is, and you can’t jeopardize it Bristol! I forbid you!”
“But Dad… the dance is tonight! I’ve already told him I was going. I’ve given my word!”