‘Imelda, now red-faced, trembling and tears running down her cheeks whimpered up at her, ‘no! I’ll get you expelled for this!’
Ofelia laughed, ‘A kid like me expelled on her first day? I doubt it. You can try, or I can pull another finger out?’
Imelda, still reeling from the first one, felt Ofelia’s grip move to her ring finger. Ofelia gripped hard and whispered to her. ‘Ready for number two?’
‘Stop! I’ll leave you a-bloody-lone!’ Imelda screeched.
Ofelia reached down and patted her on the head now, smiling condescendingly. ‘Good. Good girl, and I return the favour. Oh and leave Ollie alone too, or maybe I break your arm?’
With a short sharp motion she gripped Imelda’s pinkie and popped it back into place, then let go. Imelda rose, white as a sheet, her face tear-stained and blotchy. She turned and scuttled off, her gang scurrying to keep up.
Ollie stepped forwards and looked up at Ofelia now. ‘Oh my god... How did you do that?’
She shrugged. ‘I read a lot, I work out. I think we don’t have any more trouble with Imelda.’
Sure enough, the rest of break passed without incident. They went to the refectory, bought crisps and a drink and sat together on a bench overlooking the sports field. As they sat and munched, Ofelia turned to Ollie. ‘So who do you normally sit with?’
‘Nobody, I just moved to the area in the summer. Everyone else was all at primary together. They already had their mates so... Yeah, bit short on friends.’
Ofelia offered him a crisp (she’d bought smoky bacon, and he’d bought salt and vinegar), ‘Well you have one. If you don’t find it too embarrassing to have new kid as girlfriend.’
‘Girlfriend? I never had a girlfriend. Does that mean we have to kiss and stuff?’
‘No. You’re eleven, we don’t even have to hold hands if you don’t want to,’ Ofelia reassured him. He took a crisp from her packet and offered her one of his, looking pensive. Eventually he looked her in the eye. ‘I don’t mind holding hands.’
The bell went then. Ofelia tipped her packet up and drank the dregs of her crisps, then stood as Ollie did the same. She held her hand out to him. ‘Come on.’
Ollie’s head was spinning now. There was something about this new girl. Was it her accent? Her maturity? Her intimidating ‘cleverness’? Or was it that she’d stood up to Imelda when nobody else dared to? Whatever it was - he felt safe with her. He’d never have dared walk about the school holding hands with a girl before, but with Ofelia... He reached out and took her hand in his. As their palms met, he shuddered. Her hand was like ice. He looked at her properly now. She was balancing a pair of dark glasses on her head. Her complexion was pale and milky, almost translucent. Her flesh was so cold it almost felt dead. She saw his expression and shrugged. ‘I’m cold blooded. Are we going?’
They walked to their next lesson hand in hand, Ollie, feeling euphoria at having made a friend but also definite unease about his new companion. The rest of the day went without incident. They sat together during every lesson, ate lunch together and spent the rest of lunch in the library together. She retold her fictitious tale about being from Birmingham and having been abducted to Romania and he told her more about himself. His father had been killed in a motorcycle accident when he was small. His mother had coped - just, by sending him to stay with his grandparents often. He was from Stoke-on-Trent, but his mother had moved them both down to Chipping Brasford for work. She was an accountant and worked long hours. She’d known he’d have trouble making friends, but there was more work in the south. He told Ofelia that he also suspected she’d gotten fed up of relying on her parents so much and wanted to prove she could manage alone. They had Geography and English in the afternoon. It was clear Ofelia wouldn’t be taxed academically at school, what she didn’t already know she was keen to learn.
Whilst exploring the school at lunchtime and travelling between classrooms in the afternoon, she looked for possible exit points. A large fence surrounded the school grounds. Classrooms seemed to overlook every exit and she concluded was that ‘absconding’ from school wouldn’t be any easier than absconding from Harper House. Imelda and her cronies left her alone for the afternoon. Or at least Ofelia thought. Her earlier actions came back to haunt her at about three o’clock, just before school ended. The headmaster came to the classroom where they were being taught English. He entered, looking stern. ‘Imelda Fransen, Ofelia Arbore - my office, now.’
Imelda looked decidedly smug about this. Ofelia felt her heart race as she stood. She had to think on her feet and play it cool. The walk to Mr. Allcock’s office along the silent corridors was short, but seemed to last for hours. Once there, he held the door open, ushered them both in and took a seat behind his cluttered, leather-topped wooden desk. ‘Now Ofelia, I know the circumstances by which you’ve come to join us at Weston Bank and I want to assure you, your place here isn’t under threat - yet. What I can’t have is students assaulting each other in the corridors. I’ve had reports from several students that you dislocated Imelda here’s finger. Is this true?’
Ofelia put on her best ‘confused’ look, grabbed Imelda’s hand and held it up. ‘I’m sorry, none of these fingers look dislocated?’
Imelda wrenched her hand free from Ofelia’s grip and scowled, ‘She put it back, sir!’
Ofelia smirked and shook her head. ‘So, you’re saying I dislocate your finger, then perform medical procedure to relocate it? Why would I do this?’
‘So you don’t... So.... You just did!’ Imelda stammered.
Ofelia leaned over the desk. ‘Sir, she is saying that I dislocate her finger, then put it back? Do you think this is possible? She tried to hit me, I stop her. I think her ego more bruised than her finger. Maybe these witnesses don’t know what they saw? Or maybe they were told what they saw? You think eleven-year-old girl can pop finger out, then pop it back in at will?’
Mr. Allcock frowned and pondered for a moment, then spoke. ‘No. I suppose not. Imelda, this constant dishonesty has to stop. Trying to get the new starter in trouble on her first day is not acceptable. Now we’ll leave it at that, but if you two can’t get on, maybe you’d better avoid each other.’
‘But sir!’ Imelda protested, waving her supposedly injured finger in the air.
‘Imelda, I said ENOUGH! Now get out of my sight, both of you - or it will be detention.’
‘Thank you sir,’ said Ofelia, smiling. Imelda just glared at him, then marched out after Ofelia. Once they were in the corridor, the arguing started anew. ‘I suppose you think you’re clever, eh?’
Ofelia shrugged. ‘According to Socrates, true wisdom lies in knowing that we know nothing. I know a lot. I make simple offer. Leave me and Ollie alone, I leave you alone. Don’t, you’ll regret it. Next time you give me grief - I break your arm. Clear?’
‘Weirdo!’ Imelda snorted before jogging off down the corridor. For a moment, Ofelia walked alone. Then the bell went. The corridor flooded with children, all taller than her, with bags on backs, jostling their way to the buses or the car park.
Molly had forgotten to tell her where she was being picked up. Now could be a good time to flee. The trouble was, she’d need clothes other than just school uniform with her and all her stuff was at Harper House. Better to plan her escape and be prepared. If she fled once, they’d make it harder for her to leave. She probably had one chance to get away. As she thought about this, she saw Stoney standing at the side of the staff car park, hands in pockets and earphones in. She walked over to him. ‘Hey, Stoney.’
He didn’t respond, so she stepped into his field of view and gestured for him to remove an earphone. ‘Hey Stoney I said.’
He smiled at her with slightly glazed eyes, as if he hadn’t gotten enough sleep last night. ‘Oh, hey Offers. Alright day?’
‘Could have been better, could have been worse. I have run in with the year seven top bully I think. An Imelda?’
He shrugged, ‘Oh yeah? Well, knowing you, you dealt with
her easily.’
‘I did. When will Molly be to pick us up?’
‘Erm, soon. She gets Luce and Kezza first.’
Ofelia nodded and studied her surroundings. As the crowd thinned out, the rattling old banger Molly called a car smoked its way into the car park and came clattering to a halt. Stoney jumped in the front and Ofelia squeezed in the back, next to the waiting Lucy and Kerry. The doors slammed shut, and they were off.
Chapter 9 - Dental Nightmare
When the ancient, clapped out car rolled up at Harper House, a new face was waiting for them. A tall, rakish man with cropped hair and a trendy flash of stubble on his chin. Molly pointed, ‘Ofelia, that’s Tom, he’s one of the support workers at the home. Everybody out, except Ofelia, we’ve got a little job to do this afternoon.’
Stoney, Lucy and Kerry piled out of the car. Tom held the door open and watched them march in. When the car doors slammed shut, Ofelia dropped her bag on the seat alongside her. Molly pulled out of the car park, without saying a word.
Ofelia cast a fleeting glance out of the back window, to watch the door of Harper House swing shut. ‘Where are we going?’
Molly gave a warm smile, ‘Well, I’ve been down to the GP’s and registered you with a doctor, and I’ve managed to get you in with an NHS dentist. They had a cancellation so asked if I could bring you for your check-up this afternoon.’
Ofelia’s jaw dropped. Her brow furrowed, ‘I do not want to see a dentist!’
‘Nobody enjoys going to the dentist dear, but they’ll only take you on as a patient if you’ll have a-’
‘Turn the car around. I am not going to the dentist!’ Ofelia growled.
Molly shuddered at the aggression in Ofelia’s voice and tried to sound friendly, though it came over as condescending. ‘Honestly, it’s just a check-up. I appreciate you might not have a problem now, but it’ll be much easier to get any problems sorted later if you’re already registered with a dentist.’
Ofelia slumped back on the rear bench of the car folding her arms tightly, and scowled. What would they find? She knew her teeth were different. She even had a rudimentary understanding of how they worked. She knew her canines had morphed into elongated retracting fangs; pin-sharp and hollow at the tips. When she felt the craving, the fangs would extend. When she bit, they’d secrete a few drops of black goo, sedating her victim and scrambling their memories. She’d always tried to feed on willing victims when possible. After feeding, she’d spit onto the puncture wounds and rub the saliva in. This would cause the gashes to heal almost in an instant and leave no visible mark.
Part of her suspected beyond unusually sharp canines, the dentist probably wouldn’t notice anything untoward. Molly’s car didn’t have child-locks, so in theory she could have opened the door and jumped out. They were moving at speed though, so it would hurt and she’d only get re-captured again anyway. Everything taken into consideration it seemed her best bet was to go through with it, relax and try to make sure her fangs remained fully retracted in her gums. She’d fed well in hospital, so keeping the craving at bay should have been easy.
The dentist’s was a single storey building on the outskirts of the town centre. Molly parked the car and opened the door for Ofelia. Ofelia instinctively scanned the area for escape routes should she decide to run off. This didn’t go unnoticed by Molly. As they entered the waiting area, Molly headed to the desk. ‘Take a seat, I’ll let them know you’re here.’
Still scowling, Ofelia took a seat in the empty waiting area. She could feel her pulse racing. As Molly waffled away to the receptionist and signed forms, Ofelia began trembling softly. She couldn’t control it. As the anxiety built, she glanced longingly at the door. Then Molly was back, ‘Right, I’ve done the paperwork. Won’t be a minute. Just try to relax. When was the last time you went to the dentist in Romania?’
Ofelia folded her arms even tighter and snarled at Molly. ‘I’ve never been to dentist, because I never have trouble with teeth!’
A nurse in a white dress stepped out of the corridor and locked eyes with Ofelia. ‘Ofelia Arbore? We’re ready for you.’
Ofelia stood and took a nervous glance at the exit. She could floor Molly and... It wasn’t worth it. What would she achieve? Under the watchful eye of Molly, she followed the nurse down the corridor and into one of the rooms. The centre of the office was dominated by a mint green upholstered dentist’s chair with a glaring light above. The dentist was a young woman. She looked around thirty and was wearing dark jeans with a medical, white top that looked like the top half of a set of scrubs. ‘Hi! Ofelia is it? My name’s Sarah Cotton, take a seat please.’
The dentist’s chair loomed ahead of her and the trembling worsened. The dentist tried a reassuring smile. ‘Just relax, we’re just going to have a look today, okay?’
Shaking with every step, Ofelia approached and perched herself on the chair. It dwarfed her. Her head didn’t reach the headrest and her feet were only half way down the leg rest. The nurse reached down and Velcro-fastened a plastic bib around her neck as Sarah lowered the chair into the supine position. Lying prone, Ofelia saw a latex-gloved hand reach over and drag a blinding white light across, so it was shining right in her face - dazzling her. The nurse at this point reached over and dropped a pair of oversized dark glasses on her. ‘We’ll just pop these on. There.’
Now Sarah had donned her mask and loomed over her with a stainless steel mirror instrument in one hand and what looked like a wire hook in the other. ‘Open. Wider.’
Ofelia tried to comply, but her anxiety was getting the better of her. Her hands were gripping the armrests so hard it made her white knuckles even whiter. Her whole body was rigid and shaking. The dentist sighed. ‘You’re so tense! I think I’ll give you some nitrous oxide to help you calm down. Just relax.’
Before she could complain, a mask with pipes attached was dropped over her nose - displacing the dark glasses somewhat. Sarah adjusted the controls on the machine delivering the gas and Ofelia heard a faint hiss as the pressure increased. The effects were neither immediate nor strong. The nurse placed a blood pressure cuff around her arm and an oxygen meter on her finger again, then Sarah turned up the gas. Ofelia couldn’t see what was going on now. She felt a sensation of disconnection from the world, but she heard the dentist’s voice again, over the hissing. ‘That’s strange. It’s not having much effect. I’d better increase the dose.’
The tone of hissing fluctuated as the dentist fiddled with the controls. Now Ofelia felt herself relax uncontrollably. In her mind she was almost floating, spinning amidst waves of nausea. Perhaps due to her vampire physiology, it’d taken a strong dose of nitrous oxide to have any effect. Now she was almost paralysed, and completely out of control.
Satisfied, Dr. Cotton began the check-up. Ofelia could hardly see through the dark glasses, but she heard and felt everything. Her previous terror at having her canines closely examined had evaporated. The mirror and the hook methodically progressed through her mouth while the dentist called out numbers, and a keyboard tapped away in the background. Then the examination went back to the canines, and she heard the dentist talk again. ‘Well, she’s got a really healthy set of teeth. Except the canines are very strange.’
Ofelia felt the hook, poking and scraping one fang, then the other. She tried to stay calm, the gas made this easier. ‘Wow... The canines are like razors. There seems to be a tiny cavity in the tips too, it’s seeping some black... I’m going to have to fill these. I can do it now while she’s sedated.’
Ofelia wasn’t sure what this meant, but it didn’t sound good. She wanted to protest, but the gas made her refusal seem weak and pathetic. It was drowned out by the soothing voices of Sarah, the nurse and Molly who was sitting, waiting patiently in the corner of the room.
What followed was a blur. Her memory went hazy and confused. She felt the needle inject her gums with anaesthetic. A short while after, she heard the high-pitched whine of the drill, then she felt the suction tube slid
into her mouth and the drill whirring away, destroying her right fang, then her left. She would have fought the dentist off and fled the room there and then, but she was so zonked out thanks to the gas, she couldn’t quite register what was happening. The drilling eventually stopped, then there was a putty-like material shoved in, followed by a UV light. Finally, the drill started again for the smooth and polish. Once the work was complete, Dr. Cotton raised the chair to its upright position and adjusted the controls to reduce the gas dosage while increasing her oxygen. It took nearly ten minutes for her to recover. When she did, her mouth still felt numb and swollen. ‘ Ot aff oo un?’ she garbled.
The nurse removed the mask and dark glasses then handed her a plastic cup with green liquid in it. ‘Here, have a rinse.’
While she washed the minty fluid around her mouth Sarah pulled her mask off. ‘You have awesome teeth. More or less all perfect. Except you had these tiny little cavities in your canines. I’ve filled them and rounded them off a bit so they look more normal. Want to see?’
A mirror was thrust in front of Ofelia. She was still a little groggy from the gas and numb. She held the mirror up and opened her mouth. She stared at her now, much more normal looking teeth and thought to herself: ‘You’ve killed me.’
Dr. Cotton looked at her watch. ‘Oh, we’ve just got time to take a couple of X-rays...’
‘No! I want to go home!’ Ofelia snapped, fighting back tears.
The dentist shrugged. ‘Alright, are you feeling okay now then?’
‘No!’ growled Ofelia, looking angry now. ‘I am not.’
The nurse removed the blood pressure cuff and oxygen meter. ‘All your signs are good. The numbness will wear off in a few hours. Just try to rest.’
Ofelia (The Book of Davoth 1) Page 7
