Dark Days (The Childe Series, #2)

by Kunz, C. A.

  “Hey neighbors,” Leif said with a little wave. “So, who’s Cat, and who’s Julie? No, let me guess,” his British accent sounded like music to their ears. He seemed to think for a minute and then pointed to Cat, “You’re Cat, right?” Cat felt like she had lost her voice. All she could do was nod.

  “How did you do that?” Julie asked.

  “It’s a secret. Now let’s have some refreshments, we stocked the kitchen yesterday. And thanks to our father, we have plenty of desserts to choose from,” Leif joked, pointing to the dining room.

  “Let me apologize for my brother. His ego sometimes gets the best of him. I hope I can enlist your aid in the matter.” Duffie’s smile lit up her face as her brother gave her a playful shove.

  “I tried to raise them civilized. But as you can see they still need some work,” Gerard laughed and then the others joined in.

  Sitting at the kitchen table, the four became fast friends. Cat knew that there would be a lot of hearts broken by the pair, as Duffie was as beautiful as her brother was handsome.

  “Penny for them, Cat?” Duffie asked.

  “What? Oh, penny for my thoughts? I was just thinking that you two are really going to shake up Astoria High this year.”

  “For a second there, I thought you were wondering how we’re related, if Leif is white and I’m black. No? Well, if you were to ask, it’s complicated,” Duffie replied with a chuckle.

  “So, do either of you have a boyfriend?” Leif asked changing the subject.

  “I have a lot of friends that are boys,” Cat answered, not knowing why she was being so evasive. Why didn’t I just say that Ryan was my boyfriend?

  Duffie grinned. “I hope you’ll share.”

  “Of course,” Cat laughed. “Well, this has been fun, but we have to get going. We should plan something with the rest of our group. They’ll absolutely love you guys.”

  “Maybe we could all come over and help you unpack, if you need help?” Julie interjected.

  “Sure, maybe,” Duffie answered and Leif gave her a questioning look.

  Everyone stood at once, and Julie and Cat were ushered out the door with promises to get together soon. As they were leaving, Gerard waved to them through a wall of boxes that he was busy rummaging through.

  The group met in Cat’s bedroom the following evening. Fridays were typically their hang out day since they all worked at different places most of the summer. Cat and Julie told them about the new neighbors down the street and how neat their British accents were. Matt rolled his eyes at their description of Leif and how every girl in school, whether they were a freshman or a senior, would give him a second and third look. He seemed to perk up though when he heard that Duffie was beautiful. To him, she sounded like that Egyptian goddess from his book of mythology, but the name seemed to escape him.

  “So I tried out for the football team. I find out the first day of school if I made it or not,” Matt announced to the group.

  “You…tried out…for football?” Amanda asked, trying not to laugh out loud.

  “What do you mean by that?” he replied, looking offended. Cat nudged Amanda.

  “That’s great, Matt! So what position did you try out for?” Cat asked, nudging Amanda again as she was stifling her laughter.

  “Well, you really don’t try out for a position. They kind of test you out and see what you’ll be good at, but I don’t care. I just want to be on the team.”

  “Aren’t you scared that you might get hurt?” Elle asked. “I see a lot of damage from the sidelines dressed in that panther costume. And let me tell you, it’s dangerous out there, Matt.”

  “Yeah, but think of all the girls that will want me if I’m on the football team,” he replied with a grin.

  “See, I’m right! He does have an ulterior motive for being on the team,” Amanda stated as she moved away from Cat so she wouldn’t get hit again.

  “Hey Elle, how are those devil spawn that masquerade as the children you baby-sit?” Cat asked, changing the subject.

  “They’re not too bad, I guess. They’ve only locked me out of the house twelve times this summer instead of twenty-five like last year.”

  “What do you mean they’re not too bad? They almost burned the house down last year!” Amanda interjected.

  “What can I say? I just have a way with children I guess. And it pays well,” Elle joked, making everyone laugh.

  Later that night, after everyone was asleep, Cat got up and made her way to the bathroom. Trying to tiptoe over her friends, she stumbled, stubbing her toe on her dresser. The ache surged up her leg, and Cat bit her lip to keep from yelling. A sharp pain stabbed at her bottom lip and she realized her fangs had descended. Closing the bathroom door behind her quietly, she turned on the light to look at herself in the mirror. “Great!” Cat whispered in frustration. “This isn’t good.”

  “Cat, you okay in there?” Amanda asked from the other side of the door.

  “Yeah, won’t be a minute. If you need to, you can use the bathroom downstairs,” Cat answered in a soft voice, not wanting to wake the others.

  “Amanda, what are you yelling about?” Matt asked groggily, raising his head from the futon.

  “None of your business, go back to sleep,” she barked back testily.

  “What’s going on?” Elle asked, unzipping herself from her sleeping bag.

  “Amanda, please be quiet, you’re waking everyone up,” Cat whispered urgently through the door.

  “I guess I’ll just go use the one downstairs, and you guys go back to sleep,” Amanda said annoyed, opening the attic door and stomping down the old, creaky stairs.

  Great, just great! Now she’s going to wake up the whole house, and I’ll never get out of here. I must concentrate on getting rid of these things before anyone else comes knocking! Cat thought, pulling up her lips to get the full view of her pointy teeth.

  “Hey Cat, are you going to be in there long?” Matt’s voice came through the door, making her jump.

  “Please go downstairs, I’ll be in here for a bit,” Cat answered, trying to suppress the frustration from her voice.

  “Alright, I hear Amanda stomping back up anyway. Geez, she’s going to wake the whole house making so much noise,” Matt murmured.

  You think? Cat groaned inwardly, and then closed her eyes willing her teeth to retract. Taking in a few slow deep breaths, she concentrated on her task and felt them slide back up into place. Perfect! Now, what did I come in here for again? Oh yeah, how could I forget? She thought moving to the toilet.

  “Hey Cat, are you going to be long? I really need to pee!” Elle’s voice loudly whispered at the door.

  7

  School’s in Session

  “Excuse me. Do you know where, the biology classroom is?” a man asked distractedly while standing in Miss Amaya’s classroom doorway and fumbling with the papers in his over the shoulder bag. Miss Amaya swept back her wild curly blonde hair as she looked up from her homeroom roster. There in front of her stood a tall, handsome, young, but kind of nerdy-looking guy.

  “Uhh, it’s, d-down the hall. Three doors,” she stuttered.

  “Thanks,” he said, glancing down the hall and then back at Miss Amaya. Their eyes met and it was an instant connection. “Uhh, I’m M-melvin. Melvin Pierson. The new biology teacher. But you probably already guessed that,” he said, and then laughed nervously while running his fingers through his light brown hair.

  “I’m Amaya Phillips,” she said. As she stood up, Miss Amaya accidentally pushed her syllabi off of her desk and onto the floor. She bent down and began picking them up in a frantic manner.

  “Here, let me help you with those,” Melvin said as he crouched down to assist her.

  “Thank you, but that’s not really necessary,” she began and then raised her head, almost bumping into his.

  “Oh, we almost became a cliché just then. You know bumping heads and all,” he chuckled, and then proceeded to gather the rest of the papers off the floor. Miss A
maya smiled as they both stood. “Well, I best be off. N-nice meeting you,” he stuttered, handing the papers to her.

  “Y-yeah, same here,” she replied as Melvin grabbed his bag, and then made his way for the door. Turning to look at her again, he bumped into the wall and then shook it off with a nervous smile in her direction. Miss Amaya giggled, muffling the sound with her hand.

  The large wooden double doors at the end of the school’s main hallway flew open, and Duffie and Leif strolled through them, oozing confidence. To all who saw, they moved as if they were in a slow motion scene from a movie. As the wind blew into the hall through the open doors, it rustled their clothes and wafted their hair. Duffie walked ahead as Leif stayed close behind her. Most of the girls in the hall were instantly drawn to the gorgeous silent-type freshman, but he paid them no attention. Noticing Cat and her friends down the hall gathered at her locker, Duffie waved them down, “Oi!” she yelled at the top of her lungs. In that very instant, she tripped over the guy in front of her and fell forward. Leif reached out to catch her but was too late. Duffie crashed into Tonya, who collided with Jessica, sending her bumping into Kirsten, who landed face-first into the trash can. With Kirsten’s feet flailing in the air, the hall erupted into laughter. Her two Trifecta lackeys muffled their laughs with their hands over their mouths.

  “Help me, you idiots!” Kirsten cried out to her drones. Tonya and Jessica struggled to pull her out. Duffie stood up cautiously with the assistance of her brother, her shocked gaze fixed on the mess she had made. Finally free, Kirsten began pulling trash from her beautiful chestnut brown hair as she vocally expressed her disgust with loud and annoying, “ewws!”

  “I’m so sorry, my feet have a mind of their own,” Duffie said apologetically, and then stopped as Kirsten put up her hand.

  “Seriously! What’s your damage?” Kirsten yelled in frustration. Jessica reached up and tried to pull a piece of trash from Kirsten’s hair. Kirsten swatted her hand away, “Stop it, Jess! Can’t you see I’m trying to be intimidating?!” Jessica backed off and began glaring at Duffie along with Kirsten. Realizing what Kirsten and Jessica were doing, Tonya stopped twirling her gum and joined the two in glaring at Duffie. Getting into Duffie’s face, Kirsten pointed her finger into her chest. Leif stood right behind Duffie, staring down Kirsten with his bright bluish-green eyes. Just as Kirsten was about to say something, Cat and her group interrupted.

  “Kirsten, don’t you have better things to do than push your weight around?” Cat asked lazily.

  “Well, well, if it isn’t Miss Catherine Colvin! Don’t you have better things to do than butt into other people’s business?” she spat out.

  “When you mess with my friend, it becomes my business!” she replied forcefully.

  “Oh look, the little kitty has her big girl panties on. I’d watch it if I were you, fire crotch,” Kirsten fired back.

  “Break it up, ladies! You two are teammates, you should know better,” Coach Hutchins called out as she pushed her tall, athletic frame through the crowd that had formed around them.

  Kirsten turned to Duffie, “This is far from over!” Quickly flashing a smile to Coach Hutchins, she snapped her fingers signaling the Trifecta’s exit.

  “Well, that was a great welcoming. What a way to make a grand entrance,” Duffie stated while dusting herself off. “Thanks Cat, by the way.”

  “No problem, Duff. I’ve dealt with her before, you could say that I’m kind of an expert,” Cat replied. Leif dropped his guard and was finally able to relax as he gave a relieved look to Cat.

  Amanda laughed. “That was great! I couldn’t have planned that to go any better myself!”

  Isaac and his group made their way down the hall and the sea of students parted for the sharply dressed Goth clique. Ryan walked a few steps behind the group in his letterman jacket. Even though the whole summer had passed, things were still iffy between Ryan and Isaac.

  “Wow! Who’s the major hottie walking our way?” Duffie asked, motioning toward Ryan.

  Breaking off from his group, Ryan waved at Cat and smiled. The rest of his group glared at him, and then at Cat, except for Hannah who also smiled and waved.

  Matt put his arm around Duffie, “Well, you see Duffster, that’s Ryan. And he’s with Cat, so kind of off limits. A no-fly zone if you get my drift.”

  “Oh, I see. Nice catch, Cat! Definitely a looker, that one,” Duffie said to Cat who was busy intercepting a huge hug from Ryan.

  “So Cravenites, craving the new Robert Craven novel coming out soon?” Ryan dryly asked the group.

  “Of course!” Amanda exclaimed and then showed off the shirt she was wearing under her jean jacket. It read:

  Bite me Bartholomew Drake!

  A pair of fangs framed the lettering with droplets of blood dripping from each. Ryan grinned at her, shaking his head.

  “You guys are Robert Craven fans?” Duffie asked.

  “Umm, in a word, yes!” Cat replied, Ryan’s arms around her waist, hugging her from behind with his head over her shoulder.

  “Like his biggest fans ever!” Amanda exclaimed.

  “You should all come to the grand opening of my dad’s book café then! We’re having a Robert Craven launch party that night at midnight, for the book’s release!”

  “OMG! Seriously?” Cat asked excitedly. “Your dad owns that new store opening downtown, the one with the Bartholomew Drake cardboard cut outs in the windows?”

  “Yep. You guys should come, it’ll be lots of fun!”

  “Count us in!” Amanda declared to which everyone else agreed.

  Cat entered her third period as the first bell rang, and sat in the back of the class. Pulling out her notebook and pencil, she laid them on her desk, preparing to take notes.

  “Is this seat taken?” Duffie asked, pointing to the seat next to her.

  “Oh, hey Duffie! Nope, it’s all yours,” Cat replied.

  “Thanks. So, English class in America, huh? This should be interesting,” she joked as she pulled her notebook from her backpack. Cat giggled.

  “Hey there, lovely ladies! You two look very lonely back here all by yourself. Mind if we join you?” Matt asked with Amanda by his side.

  “Really Matt, could you be any sleazier?” Amanda commented jokingly as she hit his arm. Duffie and Cat both stifled their laughter. Rubbing his arm, Matt sat down next to Cat.

  “Man, Amanda, you’re definitely getting stronger, have you been working out?”

  “No, Matt, you’re just getting weaker,” she remarked. Matt rolled his eyes and then saw Hannah walk through the classroom door.

  “Hannah, back here!” he called out. Hannah blushed as she shyly waved. Brushing her long blonde hair from in front of her face over her ear, she made her way to the back of the class. Hannah took the seat in front of Cat and refused to look back at Matt, her blush deepening. Matt was completely oblivious to how she was reacting, but everyone else saw it clear as day.

  “So, I guess our teacher is the wife of Mr. Rosenbaum, the art teacher Hannah and I had last year.” The mere mention of her name from his lips, made Hannah slump further in her chair, blushing bright red. “She’s supposed to be this very strict, and an uptight bookworm,” Matt told the group.

  “Yeah, Taylor and Ryan both warned me about her. From what I hear, she’s no Mr. Crawley, but she’s up there,” Cat commented.

  “Who’s Mr. Crawley?” Duffie asked.

  “Someone you’re better off not knowing,” Cat replied.

  The tardy bell rang, signaling the start of class. The door flew open and in walked Mrs. Rosenbaum. She looked like a supermodel. Her long black hair swayed from side to side with every step in her white patent-leather pumps. Her olive skin radiated, which allowed for her piercing hazel eyes to be showcased. Her white blouse was open revealing the slightest bit of cleavage. Her legs went on for days and lead up to a tight black mini skirt. The rumors about Mrs. Rosenbaum were proven instantly false the moment she walked into the room. How
did Mr. Rosenbaum end up with her? Cat thought to herself. Matt, along with the rest of the male population in the class, was beside himself. There, standing in front of them was the physical representation of every one of their pre-pubescent fantasies. A little drool began to run down Matt’s chin.

  “Matt!” Amanda whispered. “Matt!” she whispered again.

  “What?” he slowly replied in a daze.

  “Get hold of yourself. Come on, you’re drooling!”

  Matt wiped the drool, his eyes still fixed on their teacher. Hannah turned to look at Matt. Noticing his reaction she slumped even deeper into her chair. He’ll never notice me like that, she thought to herself.

  “She has to know what she’s doing wearing a getup like that. I mean honestly. In England we’d call her a scrubber,” Duffie whispered to the group.

  “Well, in any language, she’d be translated to hot!” Matt interjected.

  Facing the blackboard, Mrs. Rosenbaum wrote her name perfectly with equal spacing between the letters. “Class, my name is Mrs. Rosenbaum,” she announced, placing the piece of chalk onto the blackboard’s ledge, and then walked around to the front of her desk. Leaning back, she crossed her legs at the ankles and pushed out her chest, showing off her assets even more. The guys all swooned, and the girls groaned inwardly. “I know that most of you have probably heard I’m strict and mean. That I’m too hard and have never, in my whole ten years of teaching, ever given an A for a final grade. But despite popular belief, I’m not a witch with a capital B as most past students have referred to me as,” she said with a hair flip. “And if you all do your work, we should have no problems,” she said grinning. “Now, everyone take out a sheet of paper and write your name, address, phone number, cell or home, emergency contacts, and email address. This will serve as a personal database so that if I need to get in contact with you, I’ll be able to do so easily.”