"It was quite a party," Cliff said. "Her dad set it up as a surprise and she'd forgotten that it was her birthday, so she was extremely surprised. The look on her face was total shock!"
We all laughed.
"I definitely didn't know that we were coming for a party. I was so distracted with the stuff going on in my life that I had no clue that it was my birthday. It was the perfect time for a surprise party."
"Getting your car wasn't such a bad addition to your day, either," Amanda added. "Think your parents are going to be as generous with your friends on their birthdays?"
I laughed. "Keep hoping."
"I'm still pretty new to town," Cliff said to Mark. "Tell me about yourself. I haven't seen you around."
Mark took a drink from his glass and then said, "I work at the skate shop in the mall, and when I'm not working or in school, I'm skating. I've tried to get Amanda to try out a skateboard but she isn't interested. Yet."
She giggled. "I'm a girl, Mark. I enjoy watching you skate; those tricks are amazing."
He ran his hands through his shoulder length hair. "If you think those were sick, you should see the tricks I can do in the parks. I can get some real air in the bowls. He turned his attention to Cliff and I. "There's a competition over in Jackson Falls this weekend if you guys want to watch."
"You're going to be in the competition?" I asked. "You must be really good."
"He is," Amanda said with stars in her eyes.
"Anyone can enter a competition, but I always place," Mark said. "There is a girl's division, and they could really use some more girls competing, Amanda. Maybe when you see them, you'll want to give it a try. I can get you a sweet board."
"I don't know…."
"I'm sure you'd have fun learning with Mark as your teacher," I pointed out.
She blushed.
"I'm a decent teacher. I've helped some of the kids learn at summer skate camps. I'm sure you'd be easier to teach than those kids. They're all over the place. They're like, 'Look at my wheels…hey, is that a squirrel?' I know you would learn fast."
"You hear that, Amanda? You should give it a try! He even knows how to teach," I said.
"I'll watch the girls at the competition and then think about it," she said.
"You should," I told her. "You aren't in any sports after school and it would be a great excuse to get away from your parents."
"And to spend some time with me," Mark added.
She smiled. "I can't argue with that logic."
"We'll go with you to watch the competition, right, Cliff?"
"Sure. I wouldn't mind spending some extra time with you, too. I've also never watched skateboarding, it'll be interesting."
"Awesome!" Mark said.
EIGHT
I was hit with the familiar, strange smell in the hall before I even got to Mr. Foley's class for my TA hour. It was so strong that it tickled my nose. I looked around the hall, but saw that nobody else seemed to notice it. What was it that made my nose was so sensitive to that smell, aside from the fact of my vampire senses being heightened? There had to be something deeper, because I was usually only aware of odors when there was a reason, like a threat.
When I opened the door, I was surprised to see about ten kids in the seats. Mr. Foley stopped talking, and everyone stared at me.
"Did I get the wrong period? I thought this was my TA hour."
"This is the right one. Come in, Alexis. These are some of my Wilderness Club students. We're having a quick meeting before our big outing this month. Why don't you sit in the back and grade the rest of those quizzes? If we're too disturbing, you can always go sit in the hall."
"I'm sure it won't be a problem," I said and took the pile of quizzes from him. I wanted to hear what they were talking about; there was no way that I was going into the hall.
Mr. Foley was talking about the weather in the mountains as I settled into one of the seats in the very back. Some of the kids kept looking back at me. I could tell that they didn't like me joining their meeting. I started grading the quizzes and pretended to ignore the meeting, even though it bothered me that they didn't seem to like me. I didn't think it was anything against me in particular, but it was hard to not take the glares personally. I didn't know any of them and I certainly hadn't done anything to them.
There would always be haters, and I told myself to get used to it.
I was glad that the quizzes were so easy. I could grade them mindlessly while listening to the Wilderness Club meeting.
"We need to continue our discussion about finding a new location. You guys are the newest to the group. You've all only met at our current spot, right?"
They all nodded yes.
"The group has met in a lot of different locations over the years, but we had really settled into this particular spot because it's perfect for our group. Now it's obvious that it's…time to move on to a different place. Does anyone have any questions about that?" Everyone was silent. "Do you all have a sponsor?"
"Do we have to call them sponsors?" asked one boy. "It sounds like we're alcoholics or something. Mentor or coach would sound a lot cooler."
I felt uneasy because the tension was so thick. I could literally feel that they didn't want me there. I kept marking the quizzes, hoping that they would think that I wasn't paying any attention to them.
"That's something that we can discuss," Mr. Foley said. "If the word is becoming outdated, it might be a good idea to change it. Just because it's been used for so many years doesn't mean we need to keep using it."
"Has anyone scoped out this new place that we've been discussing?" asked another student, the only girl in the group.
"A couple of us went up after the party, and it seems like a very secluded area. It doesn't look like we'll have anything to worry about."
"Shouldn't someone go up there for an entire night just to be sure?" she asked.
A boy spoke up. "Stop worrying so much. When we're all together as a group, we're strong. There's nothing to worry about."
"I think there's plenty. You know exactly what I mean."
"Well I'm not concerned," the boy replied. "I don't see why you are; we don't need this extra meeting."
"This extra meeting is a good idea," Mr. Foley said. "We haven't been to a new location in a long time, so we need to talk about it and make sure that everyone feels good about it. If even one person has any fear, it can break the strength of the group in the same way that a weak link can destroy a chain."
"So there is something to worry about: her!" The boy stood up. "I'm leaving. If she's so scared, then you can work it out with her. The rest of us don't need to be here. Unless of course you guys are scared, too."
"You need to sit down, Wes. We're a group and we'll all work together as such."
I froze in place. That boy couldn't possibly be the same Wes that Francine had been talking to…could he?
They held a staring contest and then Wes sat down muttering to himself.
"Wes, why don't you explain to Inna why our new spot is going to work out so well for our group?" Mr. Foley said, leaning back in his chair with a grin on his face. "You're obviously so confident about it. I'm sure that you can describe its safety much better than anyone else could."
I repressed a smile and continued with my work.
"Whatever," Wes muttered and turned to Inna. "It's even deeper into the mountains, and there are no trails for miles. It would be nearly impossible for any…people to find us. It's harder to get there and has a big open area where we can meet. It's perfect."
"But do we know what kind of wildlife live there? Anything that would pose a threat to us?" Inna asked.
"Some w…wilderness survivor you make, Inna!" Wes said. "You're not going to last long at all. Stop thinking so much about it. Once you're there, you'll be in your element and everything that you've learned will come back to you."
Inna frowned. "I guess you're right."
Mr. Foley stood up. "Do you guys see why these group meet
ings are so important? Wes here is learning to teach already, and I think he's helped Inna to feel more at ease. Am I right?"
Inna nodded.
"We need each other, even if we don't think so. These smaller groups are just as important as the large group and the pairs. We'll keep meeting each day this week until our outing. Any questions?"
Everyone shook their heads.
"You're free to go. You have my number if you need to get a hold of me. Or call your sponsor. Next time, we'll discuss the possibility of changing the name to mentor or coach."
The kids grabbed their bags and shuffled out of the room. I could feel the stares and glares even while I was looking down at the quiz I was grading. I couldn't understand why they were so against me being at a Wilderness Club meeting. It was Mr. Foley who had wanted me to be his TA in the first place.
Curiosity was burning through me and wanted to find out more. Why were they so secretive, and why they didn't want me there? Were they embarrassed? It wasn't like they were in the Scout Explorers group that the elementary kids were in. There had to be a reason that they didn't want me there and I intended to find out. It was all just too weird.
Not only that, but what did Wes have to do with it? I couldn't tell if it was the same Wes or not because the Wes who was talking to Francine sounded like a scared little boy and the one in the wilderness club was so arrogant. Did Mr. Foley play into Francine's plan against my parents and me? I didn't know if I believed that because Mr. Foley was so friendly to me. He hardly seemed like he wanted to take me down.
I stood up, picked up the stack of papers, walked to Mr. Foley and set them on his desk. They landed harder than I had intended, and a small gust of wind blew some stuff around his desk. I noticed a number of hairs floating around. "Do you have a dog? That looks like the same type of hair that sticks to me when I visit my aunt's house. She has three dogs."
"What? Oh, yeah. I must have tracked my dog's hair in here with me. You're done grading all those quizzes already? Those are from all of my classes."
I shrugged my shoulders. "It was easy. You may as well have had me grade papers that asked what color things are."
"You really are smart," he said, shaking his head. "Are you up for checking some homework assignments?"
"Sure," I said, and took another stack of papers. I went back to my seat and began grading.
"I guess that you don't need the answer sheet?" he asked, smiling.
"I could take it if you would feel better about it, but I don't need it. This is such basic stuff."
"No, just let me know if you need it. I have a feeling you could probably teach these classes more easily than I could."
"That's not true. I may know the material, but I would have no patience teaching it, especially to people who don't care at all. I've seen how these kids act in the halls and I can't imagine that they behave much better in class."
"Most of the kids are okay and want to learn, but you're right, the few that have no interest in learning make my job extremely difficult."
"That's why I would never want to teach. So, how did you get involved with the Wilderness Club?"
He laughed. "It's something that I sort of fell into. I love going into the wilderness and so do most of the kids. It's an interesting group; never a dull moment with that bunch."
I felt like there was more that he wanted to tell me. His intercom buzzed and the school secretary called him to the office. He gathered some folders and I began to grade the homework. A minute after he left, I put my pen down and looked all around. I got up from the chair soundlessly, walked to his desk and started looking through his papers.
There was a small piece of paper with an address on it. Since I was becoming more and more familiar with wooded areas in the state, I immediately recognized that the address looked to be at the base of a mountain. The date was two days away, the time just shortly after school was out.
I memorized the information and went back to the desk. I typed it into my phone and quickly returned it into my backpack. Just as I started to work on the homework again, Mr. Foley came back to the room and the bell rang.
"I'll see you tomorrow," he said, and I nodded on my way out. I couldn't wait to find out what was going on. I walked to my locker, deep in thought.
I closed my locker door and saw Tanner standing right in front of me with a smile. "Have you been avoiding me?"
"No, I've just been busy. Even with my need for less sleep, there's so little time. What have you been up to?"
"School, football, and late nights with Brad, Eric and Kayla. They want you to join us sometime; they're so grateful to you for getting their jewelry blessed."
"It would be nice to see them again. You guys get together every night?"
He nodded. "We feed just a little every night to keep ourselves under control. If for some reason we have to skip a night, it doesn't end up being a big deal. We don't end up with any major cravings, and we don't finish anyone off. Ever."
My mouth started watering. It had been a while since Clara and I had gone hunting and I was going to need something soon. "Maybe after my next feed I can join you guys. If I go tonight, I don't think that I would be able to stop myself."
"That's the problem with the schedule that Clara has you on. Sure, you guys can go longer without needing anything, but you aren't able to control yourself when you do feed. Isn't that important for royalty?"
Emma and Hailey stopped in front of us. "Are you talking about the Homecoming royalty?"
I sighed. "What do you want?"
"I thought you might want to step down from royalty," Hailey said. "I could be wrong, but it looks like you're really busy these days. There will be parades and community service soon. I hear you're leading up some anti-bully thing and helping Mr. Foley too. Speaking of the hottie, how did you manage to get so lucky to be his TA?"
"If I find myself running out of time, I'll be sure to let you know about the homecoming royalty. I'm pretty sure I can handle it. Mr. Foley asked me to be his TA so I said yes. It was pretty simple. Don't you have somewhere that you need to be?"
"I just don't get it. You went from total loser to this, and you act like it's no big deal! Nobody ever would have guessed this before the dance. How is it spending an hour alone with the hottest teacher in the school?"
I rolled my eyes. "I correct papers; it's not like we're sipping wine in a hot tub."
Hailey and Emma laughed.
"Don't look so jealous, Tanner," Emma said, still laughing. "She said they weren't in a hot tub."
"You two need to get a life," Tanner said. I thought I saw a flicker of red in his eyes.
I grabbed his arm and said to Emma and Hailey, "We were just leaving. Be a stranger, okay?"
"Those two…." Tanner started to say.
"Don't worry about them. You know how they are and how much they hate me. You're only sensitive to them because of your transformation."
"I guess," he said and sighed.
"Would you cheer up if I agree to go out with you guys tomorrow night?"
"Tonight would cheer me up more," he said with a grin.
We stopped walking and I looked him in the eyes. "Tanner, tonight isn't going to work. If I start to feed, I won't be able to stop. I need to fill up a little tonight and then I'll be able to go and snack with you guys tomorrow."
He gave me a look and I knew that I was about to get a lecture. "Alexis, you know that's going to be your downfall if you want to be on the throne. You need to have enough control to stop. Whatever happened to the discipline that you had when you were feeding on me?"
"You weren't my only source. Besides, I was still part human and didn't have the need like I do now. It's a lot more intense now than it used to be."
"Eric and the others are full vampires, and they're able to control themselves. They're not even royalty, just common vampires." The way that he said common made it sound as though he thought I was better than them.
"I have nothing against common vamp
ires. I don't think that I'm better, so don't take that tone with me."
"I wasn't trying to take any kind of tone!"
"Well, you did!" I replied, glaring at him.
"Are you serious? I did not." He folded his arms.
"Obviously, they're better than I am, since they can control their cravings. Unlike weak, murderous me." I narrowed my eyes.
"Okay, now who's taking the tone?"
I put my hands on my hips. "You're impossible."
"You're starting to sound like your sister. Maybe all the popularity actually is changing you."
"I haven't changed from being popular. I don't care about any of that. The only thing that has changed me is the same thing that has changed you."
"Then why don't you come with us? We'll let Brad, Eric and Kayla be the judges."
"You know, for someone who says that he wants to win me over—you're not doing a very good job of it!" I spun around and walked off as fast as I could without looking immortal.
Suddenly, he was standing right in front of me again and I almost walked right into him. "I do want to win you over. But if you think that I'm going to roll over and just give you whatever you want, you have another thing coming. Princess."
I just stared at him.
"I won't be walked over. Not even by you."
"I cannot believe that you think that's what I expect! Seriously?"
He sighed. "Look, I have to get to practice. If you want to join us either tonight or tomorrow, we've been meeting in that field where you and I used to meet."
"That sounds really tempting. Really. But, I have to say don't hold your breath waiting." I turned around and walked off in the direction I had come. That time he didn't chase after me.
I wasn't paying any attention to anyone around me.
"Wow! That looked like a lover's spat."
I stopped. "Mr. Foley! I…no, that wasn't a lover's spat. We're friends who don't see eye to eye at the moment."
"Isn't that the boy who was abducted with you?"
I sighed. "Yes, that's Tanner."
"I thought that he was your boyfriend."
The Transformed Box Set: Books 1, 2, 3, 3.5 Page 43
