Dark Night

by Stefany Rattles

  Okay. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to offend you. I just didn’t want anyone to see that, it’s not something you can show and tell you know!” I shouted back at her. She didn’t reply instead she kept trying to get around Jack who was super strong and she would never have a chance. “Jack let her. Move out of the way, I can defend myself.” I told him calmly. Delilah, Mereily, Payton and Jordan where trying to get her but she kicked them and punched them that they gave up. Jack didn’t move, even he got hit. “Please Jack this isn’t your fight.” I told him finally getting his attention. He slowly moved out of the way. And everything came to me, the lessons that I had been taking with Abi and the martial arts I knew now (I was a black belt in Karate) that I didn’t know a few months ago. But then again, she had been here longer and probably she could whoop my butt. Certainly I was in a better state of mind than she was so I didn’t play along. She tried to come at me with her hands going straight for my hair so I grabbed them and in one move I had her trapped where she couldn’t move. She kicked her legs up in the air then tried to flip me, but she couldn’t. I had her hands wrapped around her own neck with me behind her pulling them tighter if she tried to move.

  Illyanne came into sight and she was not happy.

  “What is going on?” She asked looking at Genevieve still pissed trying to get out of the lock I had her in.

  “Genevieve tried to attack her, and she stopped her.” Jack told her. She looked at me and nodded. Students were sitting in silence, stunned watching us.

  “Genevieve stop, this instant! I want you to go to your dorm and stay there for the remainder of the day. Mia you may release her.” She commanded. I released her pushing her away from me. Once she was free, she ran inside the school. “ Mia I’d like to see you in my office after the elections.” She said walking past us.

  “Time for the results,” She announced after all the nonsense. Everyone brushed it off and tried to go back to their regular conversations while we got in a line again. Illyanne held the right card with the name of the winner. “And the winner is...” She made it suspenseful. “It’s a triple tie, Anna Denali, Mereily Jolie and Jack McKey. Congratulations.” She announced, I was relieved that Genevieve was not one of them. Especially me, I wouldn’t be able to add on to the to-do list I already had.

  After that, we went inside. The guards that had been letting us live our lives were back to how they were a few days ago. Walking through the school halls, guarding the entrance doors to everything, We ate in the dining area, then we were released to do what we wanted for the rest of the day. We weren’t allowed to go off campus, because it was dangerous at the moment. But I had better things to do either way. I wanted to know why Blake was at the elections, and why he left.

  “I’ll see you guys later on, I have something I need to take care of.” I told them. Jack gave me a quick hug and a kiss.

  “Later” They all said, not suspecting anything.

  I walked, passed the dining area and to the main lobby that were not empty because of the guards. Not giving them much attention I opened the door to the auditorium inconspicuously and stepped in. There at the same exact spot I had seen him last time, he sat with his back to me. I lightly walked over to him and sat beside him.

  “Were you waiting for me?” I asked.

  “Actually yes I was.” He honestly admitted. I waited for him to say something, but seconds went by and I grew anxious.

  “Blake… what were you doing outside, at the election?” I asked looking at him. He stared at me… at least that was what it seemed. He didn’t take his glasses off.

  He smiled. “I knew about it, I just wanted to see who won. I have to say, I’m kind of disappointed in the results.”

  “Why” I asked.

  “I was hoping you would win.” He said, staring at me again. I looked away, I had to remind myself that even though I was extremely attracted to him ( who I had only seen once or twice ), I had a boyfriend who I also liked very much.

  “Well, I’m glad I didn’t. Why didn’t you stick around?”

  “Because it was not my place to be, and it was too bright for me, you know.” He leaned back. “But, I was surprised by the way you handled the situation, it was… professional.” He said.

  I blushed embarrassed. “Not entirely.” I admitted. Yes I was able to not freak out like Genevieve had, but I could have done better. Though, I knew now that controlling my emotions was something that I was getting better at, that was something.

  “Why did you ask me why I went to the election?” I didn’t answer, he stared at me. “Do you think I had something to do with the card?”

  “How do you know about that?” I snapped at him.

  “I was there.”

  I didn’t like that at all. “So? I mean, you didn’t see it, how do you know?” I wasn’t trying to accuse him, but it was very suspicious.

  He flinched. “After you and Illyanne spoke, she gave the card to one of the gods. I was standing close enough to see exactly what was on the picture. I’m sorry if you think I had something to do with it.” He stood up and started to walk away. I was really embarrassed, because I had just made a fool of myself. Ugh, way to go me!

  “Blake, hold on a sec.” I said, catching up with him. “I don’t think you had something to do with that, it’s just that I don’t know… is there something you know that I don’t?” I finally asked him. I didn’t believe that he was the one threatening the school, but I knew something was fishy about him.

  He thought about it for a minute while I waited. “I know about the same as you do. Only I do know that it’s not going to stop.”

  I waited for more but then asked. “How do you know that?”

  “I have skills.” He replied with a smile. He was going to touch my arm when he changed his mind and stepped back. He got serious and distant. “I’ll see you later.” He said.

  “Where are you going?” I asked, regretting I did.

  “I don’t know.”

  “Will I see you later?”

  “I’ll be here all night.” He said with a smile that was too sweet to ignore.

  CHAPTER 18

  “Come in.” Illyanne said when I knocked on her door. I had been a little nervous about talking to her, I didn’t know what she wanted to tell me, and I didn’t want to find out either. But since I was already here, I figured I might as well tell her what I think about the break in, and the picture that had raised even more drama.

  “Well, Mia I have to say I’m surprised at how well you handled the situation out there today. All the staff was quite impressed actually. You are truly… never mind that, the reason why I needed to talk to you was that as our newest student you should know that, we are not under attack. It may seem that way to you, but we have dealt with similar situations like this.”

  At last the topic I was here to talk to her about. “Like Knightdale? I don’t mean to sound arrogant, but I think there is more to it than just a prank. Yes I’m new, and yeah maybe you have dealt with problems like this before. But I feel that this Is more serious than that, and for some weird reason I feel that is my duty to help in any way I can… and I‘m pretty sure that they‘re-whoever is doing this-is after the King and Queen and that’s why they… even canceled their flight…..” I was trying to be as honest as possible. By the way that Illyanne looked at me she didn’t take it as serious as I wanted her to. She turned her attention to some papers that were sitting on top of her desk, then back to me.

  “I am sorry you feel that way, dear. It is not our intention for our students to think they have to do something. When you already have, just by showing the respect you have for the institute is enough. Now let us handle the situation, while you concentrate on your studies.” She smiled as if I had been simply telling her something that didn’t make any sense. Which ticked me off, “Now that we have this sorted out, you shall return to your friends and pass along the message… oh, about the King and Queen? Please do not worry anyone else with this news, they are j
ust trying to be cautious, you understand,” Without leaving me with any other words to say I bowed respectfully, and mentally gave her the finger.

  When I walked out of her office I stormed off back to the auditorium I needed some alone time to think why the hell did I even try to talk to Illyanne, and why I felt the need to help, when I’m just a girl who didn’t even want this and has to focus on other personal problems.

  ….. After talking to Blake again and apologizing about earlier I met with Mereily, Delilah, and Sophie who were on their way to the pool. Mereily wore some tiny looking dress/shirt thing on top of her bikini, and inch high sandals, along with a tote which probably consisted of a towel, tanning lotion, make up and her cell phone. Delilah wore a mini skirt that flared out and a tank top on top of her bikini, and she held a bag that looked like a huge purse. Sophie wore shorts and a t-shirt that hugged her small body, and held a small purse.

  I had changed into something I never thought I’d wear, but this was a new me. The bikini I wore under my mini dress that was barely covering any skin. This was all the girls idea of “fun”, ha!. My bikini was meant to be a whole piece, but it was more like two. It was white, pearl white, and from my stomach to my hips there was nothing covering my skin. My back was almost bare except for the part where it held it together. The mini dress I wore was almost see through, it was black. I paired my outfit with black gladiator sandals.

  The girls grinned as I came to a stop in front of them. “Well, it seems that Mia has decided to join us.” Delilah announces. We all laughed.

  “Come on, the guys are waiting.” I rolled my eyes.

  The pool was basically in between the school and the dorms, it was indoors of course to protect us from the heat. The good thing is that it was all glass, so we still got some natural light. Some students were scattered around the hot tub, I know hot tub. Others were lounging on chairs, looking at magazines, gossiping, a few swimming, splashing water, playing around. It was all good.

  “I don’t see the guys.” Mereily sighed and continued, “Probably blowing us off, those jerks!” She dramatically rolled her eyes and started leading us to a table she spotted at the other side of the pool.

  “Whatever, all I want to do is relax, this day has been too long already…” Delilah says, she trails off as she sits and sets her stuff on the table.

  “Yeah me too,” Sophie yawns, but she doesn’t look at all tired. She takes her clothes off, down to her bikini and she pulls her hair up and takes her sunglasses off. Sophie has a tattoo on her back. I spot it as she turns to leave. I can’t tell what it is, but she self-cautiously lets her hair a little loose covering it up and glances back to see if anyone notices, I look away and no one else appeared to notice. When I turn back to see where she is, she is already in the pool swimming underwater.

  Very strange.

  “ … Mia! I am talking to you! Hello earth to Mia!” I turn back to give Mereily my attention, apparently she had been talking the entire time, I hadn’t notice.

  “Yeah?” I ask.

  She glares at me for a moment and then shrugs. “I was just saying that we should’ve invited Anna, don’t you think?” She raises her eyebrows.

  “Actually, I did ask her but you know…. She said she had something to do, as usual.” I take my dress off.

  “What does she do?” Delilah asks.

  Mereily shrugs. “The girl is a wacky pack sometimes. And I don’t think she had anything to do, it was just an excuse. One day she’ll give in though. I think Mia is changing her little by little and it’s a good thing, time for a change.” She grins at me and stands. “’m going to enjoy this evening, ladies? Care to join me?”

  I look at Delilah and she looks at me, we both nod in agreement and get on our feet. “Last one in the pool is a rotten chicken!” I yell as we all make a run for it.

  “Eww!” We hear people yell.

  After a few days of relaxation and pampering, we were back in classes. Ugh! I had never before dreaded school. Not that I didn’t like it here but I was having too much fun. Now it seemed like everything was calming down, which was boring, but what could I do.

  My classes were going by fast for some reason. I was doing great in school. Teachers were surprised on how quickly I had caught up, so was I. I had a three point seven, grade point average, which was the best I had ever done. My parents would be proud, I just knew they would.

  I visited Blake constantly, it was odd. We acted as if were old friends and he was so damn attractive, I was always nervous around him. He didn’t seem to notice any of this, and good I didn’t want him to know. Sometimes it seemed like he was flirting with me, but I could never tell. He would play with my hair, tease me, poke me, the most touching he would do. Smile crookedly, which I liked a lot. Once I asked him, why he didn’t take his sunglasses off, but he just shrugged and said it was better that way, whatever that meant.

  Today I was especially in a good mood. “Mia, could I speak with you?” Goddess Isabelle asked, stepping close to me. I was in the Library checking some books out for a project.

  “Sure.” I said, putting the book back. I followed Isabelle to a table in the far back of the Library. “Is there something wrong?”

  “Well, there seems to be a problem in Sunnyside Institute, which is about an hour away from here, a student is missing… there was a break in last night. We don’t know much, and what we do is… classified, you could say. But I am telling you this because I believe everyone should be on their guard, and of course every God, Goddess has the decision to make whether to tell their case or not.” She paused.

  “I appreciate it, thank you. Do you think that maybe we’re next?” Knowing the answer to it, I asked anyway.

  “There… is a probability. But I do not want you to worry too much, this will pass, I assure you we will do everything in our power to stop this. I swear.” Isabelle held a hand over her heart then slightly smiled. She stood up. “Now, you can return to your studies. Thank you for listening.” She left just as quickly as she appeared.

  But it was too late, there went my good mood, and I was on high alert. I packed up my things and left the Library without checking a book out. This was ridiculous, I felt like I had to do something and now I was really sure that I was losing it. I headed to the only place I could think.

  The auditorium was quiet, I wanted to talk to Blake, since there was no one else I could confide on, sure I could tell my friends but what would they think of me? They would think that I was going crazy like that boy, which I wasn’t.

  So I called Blake twice and when he didn’t come out. I wondered where he was staying in the first place. I walked past the lonely aisles, all the way to the front. When I reached the stage I paused for a second then went up the steps through the right side and went backstage. There, it was completely dark, because there was no light. But with my better vision as a vamp in training, I could see a little. I went straight until it came to a turn and I took that turn all the way to the end where there were some spiral stairs, I took them and when I reached the top it was creepy. It got a little cold and a candle was lit from what I could tell, someone had been here. I pulled myself up and kept going towards the candle. When I reached it I saw a door across from it and hesitated to open it.

  But curiosity killed the cat. So I turned the doorknob slowly and pushed the door slowly. No one was in the room, which was well lit by lanterns. There was a made full size bed, a dresser, a luggage bag, a mirror above the dresser, a plasma TV across the bed and a small table with stuff on it. There were also two doors side by side. I went to the first door and opened it, a light came on as I went in, there was a full bathroom. The second door was a closet, with a blanket over the clothes that were hanging.

  I didn’t touch anything else I stood in the room looking around for something, not knowing what I went to the table where I spotted a laptop, I opened it and a picture of me on the screen saver popped up. I was so chocked I almost lost my legs. I sat on the edge of the bed with my h
and over my mouth. Staring at a picture of me wearing the gown at the ball dancing with my friends-was not what I expected to see. I had to get out of his room, this couldn’t be happening. Why? I closed the laptop, as soon as I turned to leave I ran into Blake. He had a grip on my wrists and it would have been impossible for me to run if I tried.

  “Mia… I wanted to tell you but… I couldn’t I promised I would stay away from you until the King and Queen returned. I know it wasn’t the right thing to do, but I…” He trailed off. I was only a few inches away, and the fact that he was touching me made me feel like he was the only one in the world and I wanted him only, but I swallowed and tried to control myself.

  “Why did you pretend to be someone you weren’t?” I knew it was a stupid question but it was the only thing I could think of.

  He slowly let go of my arms. “Technically I didn’t pretend to be someone else, I said I go by Blake not that my name was Blake, second I was always honest with you about everything we talked about.” Robert said, he took a step away putting down his hoodie and taking off his sunglasses. “I finished my training three weeks ago. I wasn’t allowed to stay longer, so Illyanne and I talked about it and there seemed to be a way I could stay without bothering you. But it didn’t exactly work out that way. You were not supposed to know. I was not even supposed to talk to you at all or see you, but that day… seeing you sitting there… alone and helpless… I had to, I couldn’t just watch without saying something. Then I talked to you in your dream and I had to warn you, because I couldn’t say anything about it. None of that matters now that you know the truth.” He had been talking this whole time that I didn’t notice I had him backed to the wall. I took a deep breath and backed away from him turning to face his TV. I stared at it for a while without a word to say. What was I going to say? I couldn’t be mad at him because this entire time he was trying to protect me. But I also wanted to know what he was protecting me from.

  “Robert, what are you protecting me from exactly? I really want to know why little me has to even attempt to solve this mystery of the school, when I don’t know a thing.”