Darlings of Darkness: A Vampire Anthology Part 82

As if reading his mind, Jersey said, "You've made a good friend in Silver. She is one of our best students. To my knowledge she has never skipped a cla.s.s before. Yet, she did it for you. She most certainly didn't stay to hear my lecture. How did the two of you meet?"

Jack's mind went blank.

Jersey chuckled. "It isn't a trick question."

"My brother introduced us. I was just wondering why you care so much who I hang out with."

"Curious. She's a good student, but sometimes she hangs out with the troublemakers. I would hate to see you fall in with the wrong element."

"How do you know I'm not the wrong element?"

Jersey laughed, loud and deep. "I pride myself on being a good judge of character. You're no more a bad person than I am."

Jack smiled. He wondered what the English teacher would do if he told him about his former fangs. "I'd better get going. Why don't you just point me in the right direction?"

Jersey insisted on walking him the entire way. At least he stopped asking questions. Instead, he took the time between his cla.s.sroom and the library to fill Jack in on the history of the school. Boring. Jack began to relax, but the second he let down his guard the teacher flashed a knowing smile.

"You look familiar, Jack. I'm sure we haven't met, but I've seen you before. Don't worry. I'm good with faces. I'll remember."

Jersey began to whistle.

Chapter Five:.

TROUBLE ON THE FIRST DAY.

Study Hall took place in the library. Jersey Clifford opened the door to the huge book-filled room and waved Jack inside. There were several tables in the center, most of them already occupied. The final bell had rung six minutes ago so students were in their seats, noses in their books. Every single one glanced up when he entered the room.

Jersey introduced him to Mr. Kyle, the teacher on duty, before he left.

Mr. Kyle checked Jack's papers. While the teacher looked over his list of cla.s.ses to make sure he was in the right place, Jack searched the room for a familiar face. In seconds he found the one he most wanted to see.

Silver smiled. She had an empty seat on one side of her and a blonde girl on the other. There were a couple big guys sitting on the other side of the table. One of them continuously glanced up at her. Jack didn't like the expression on the kid's face, a sort of possessive smirk.

She motioned for Jack to join them. Smiling in relief, he crossed the room and sat next to her. They weren't allowed to talk, but he was itching to say something, anything. He wanted to hear her voice and look into her expressive eyes. Instead, he opened his Biology book and stared at the words without seeing them. His thoughts remained on communicating with Silver.

Jack wondered if kids still pa.s.sed notes to each other. He opened his notebook and scribbled a quick sentence. Can you give me a lift home?

He folded the paper in half before sliding it under her fingertips. Out of the corner of one eye he saw her glance his way. He fought the urge to look at her. The note could speak for itself. He shouldn't have to tell her to read it. She was a pretty girl. No doubt he wasn't the first guy to pa.s.s a note to her.

She brought it down to her lap and unfolded it before glancing his way again. Her hand reached in front of him for his pencil. She jotted something beneath his question and set the paper on his open book.

He made sure the teacher wasn't watching. Mr. Kyle leaned over a student at another table and helped him with a problem. Jack unfolded the paper and read it. A slow smile stretched his lips. Yes. Need to talk about your future at my school.

Her school? He wrote: My school first. Why do you want me gone?

He returned the note to her and watched her read it out of the corner of his eye. He almost laughed when she sighed. She sounded frustrated. Grabbing his pencil again, she wrote another line with a fierce scratching motion. He leaned close and read it as she was writing.

Can't tell you yet. Trust me and go.

They pa.s.sed the note back and forth for the entire cla.s.s hour while Silver's friends watched with amused expressions, everyone except for the boy with the obvious crush. He glared at them, his disapproval evident.

Jack wrote: Promise to be good.

She wrote: Too dangerous. You don't know.

Tell me.

I will.

When?

On the ride home.

The bell rang a few minutes later, cutting their silent conversation short. Students gathered their belongings and headed for the door. Jack stood. He stretched his arms over his head and arched his back. Spending an hour in a wooden chair was h.e.l.l on a human spine. It would take a while for him to get used to his mortal body. He waited patiently for Silver to gather her things.

The boy with the crush made a beeline for Silver. He approached her from behind, moving fast. Before Jack could warn her, the guy had his arm around her throat. Her eyes widened in surprise.

Jack lost it. In a series of quick movements that would have been the envy of any martial arts movie nut, he grabbed the guy's finger, twisted it back, swung the jerk around and slammed him head-first onto the wooden table.

All of this took place in a matter of seconds.

Silver pulled on him from behind. "What are you doing?"

"He attacked you."

"No, he didn't." She yelled at him. "Tucker is a friend of mine, you idiot!"

A friend? Jack let Tucker go and took a step back. He still wasn't convinced, but Silver seemed pretty mad about the whole thing. Somehow he'd misread the situation.

She explained, "He's on the wrestling team. Sometimes he tries to get me into a hold I can't get out of. This is exactly why I didn't want you here."

Mr. Kyle charged over and pointed at Jack. "You! Princ.i.p.al's office! Now!"

Jack opened his mouth to argue with the teacher even though he had no idea what he could say at the moment to defend what he'd done, but Silver took over. She pushed him to and out the doorway before he could say a word. Once she got him into the hallway, she cornered him against a row of lockers.

"What is wrong with you? You can't go around punching people for no reason. You didn't even give him a fair chance."

He stared down at the toe of his left shoe. He had only been in school for two hours, and he'd already screwed things up. Angry with himself, a muscle worked in his cheek. Some of the fury focused on her. Why was she defending this Tucker guy so vehemently? Did she like the jerk?

Jack grumbled, "I'd better go. I have to see the princ.i.p.al."

"No, you don't. I want you out of here."

"Too bad. I'm staying."

Silver glared at him. "I can't believe I was looking forward to meeting you all these years. You're going to ruin my life. Stay away from me."

Her words cut deep. She was his only friend, the only one outside of his brother who knew the truth about him. In fact, he suspected she knew more about him than he knew about himself. He needed her.

She walked away, but he followed her. "I still need a ride home."

Her lips compressed into a tight line. She refused to look at him, charging down the hall like a bull, dodging stationary students. It was kind of hard to keep up with her.

"It might make you feel better if you hit me."

She spun around and the flat of her hand struck his chest. Jack wasn't prepared for the attack. The force of it sent him flying backwards. He crashed into the lockers with a loud clang before falling to the ground. His flailing arms knocked books out of some guy's hands.

Stunned, it took a second for Jack to get his bearings again.

Jack noticed the janitor watching them from the other end of the hallway. In a light brown uniform, he had long graying hair that covered his face, and the greasy strands hung down, blocking the rest of his face. There was a mop in his hand, but he wasn't using it. He turned and walked away.

Pa.s.sing students laughed and pointed at Jack.

Silver knelt next to him. "Are you okay? I am so sorry. I didn't mean to hit you that hard."

"Guess you don't know your own strength."

He groaned as he struggled to his feet with her help. Students snickered as they pa.s.sed them by. A couple made random comments to Jack, warning him to watch out for Silver.

Ignoring them all, Jack said, "I'm sorry about Tucker. I didn't mean to do what I did either."

They stood toe to toe, their eyes locked. Her lips quivered before forming a reluctant smile. "Maybe we both need to take anger management cla.s.ses."

"Yeah." He smiled sheepishly and shrugged. "I'd better go see the princ.i.p.al."

"I'll go with you. Maybe he won't be too hard on you if I'm there. I've gotten pretty good at arguing with him over the years. I know all the right b.u.t.tons to push."

"You would do that for me?"

"Sure."

They headed for the princ.i.p.al's office together. Their arms swung at their sides and fingers sometimes b.u.mped. The idea of taking her hand in his occurred to him, but it was too soon. He certainly didn't want to wind up on the floor again.

"What's taking so long?" Jack leaned forward in the metal chair and looked pa.s.sed Silver at the princ.i.p.al's half-open door. Hardwick paced back and forth as he put his tie on. "What is he doing?"

Silver explained, "You can tell the time of day by what Hardwick is wearing. He starts each day in professional mode, a full three-piece suit, usually black or navy blue. Sometimes he wears chocolate-brown. By mid-morning he loses the tie. The jacket follows just before lunchtime. Early afternoon you'll find him with his sleeves rolled up, and by the end of the day he's walking around in nothing but socks."

Apparently he thought punis.h.i.+ng Jack meant he had to be fully dressed. That was not a good sign. Hardwick shoved his arms into his jacket while stuffing his oversized feet into polished black shoes. He jerked the door open the rest of the way and violently gestured with two fingers for Jack.

Silver followed him to the doorway and hovered there. Jack hoped she wouldn't say or do anything to get herself in trouble. He appreciated the support but didn't want her to get on Hardwick's bad side because of him.

"Here for a day and already in trouble," the princ.i.p.al muttered. His statement was followed by an angry snort. He pulled a bottle of pink antacid from his desk drawer and chugged it. After recapping the bottle, he wiped pink goo from his moustache. His hands shook. "Unbelievable. You may as well tell me now...you were in trouble a lot at your old school, weren't you? That's probably why you moved here to Nebraska."

"No," Jack said, but it didn't sound convincing.

The princ.i.p.al glared over Jack's shoulder at Silver. "Don't tell me he's your client now. I'm getting a little tired of this, Miss Reign. I'll be glad when you graduate and move on to law school." His bushy brows wagged as he turned to Jack. "I don't want troublemakers here. Consider yourself gone... two weeks suspension."

"You can't do that," Silver said. "There were extenuating circ.u.mstances."

"There always are with you."

"Every kid in this country has a right to a free public education." Her hands went to her hips. "You didn't give him a chance. I could give you a huge list of students who have been in fights around here, and you haven't kicked them out."

Hardwick rolled his eyes. "Life is too short to put up with this. You have detention, but one more fight and you're suspended."

The two of them left the office. Silver looked pleased with herself. Jack walked fast down the hallway even though he didn't know where he was going. He needed to burn off some steam before he put his fist through a wall. He hadn't appreciated the way the princ.i.p.al had scowled at Silver. And the way the man had talked to her...where did he get off?

Silver dropped a book.

Jack stopped.

He bent over and grabbed it at the same moment that she did. Their fingers collided. A flash of white-hot electricity shot through him from hand to feet. Sizzling pain accompanied it.

One second he was looking at Silver and the next, he was looking through her eyes. It took a while to realize he was inside of Silver's head. He was reliving one of her memories. It was more vivid than a dream...

...and more revealing.

Silver entered Trina's room after rapping once on the door. Her best friend since the second grade, Trina was painting her fingernails, listening to music, and reading her email at the same time. When she noticed Silver, she capped the fingernail polish. She set the bottle on the nightstand and smiled up at her guest.

Trina had a girly room to the tenth degree. The walls were white with pink flowers, covered with an a.s.sortment of decorative things like a necklace holder, foam letters that spelled her name, and plastic blossoms with pictures in the middle. It looked like a clothing store had exploded. Trina had a flair for the dramatic. It was no more evident than in the things she wore.

At the moment she was in pink tights, a lime green mini-skirt, and oversized striped blouse with a tiny denim vest. Her long blonde hair was a tangled mess, thrown to one side, mostly straight, but she had curled a few strands. Holding the hair in place was a b.u.t.terfly clip, a black barrette, and a silver fas.h.i.+on comb.

"I have been dying here waiting for you," Trina said. "It took you long enough to get here. You promised me details. Tell."

Silver sat on the edge of the bed. She couldn't contain the huge smile for another second. "I just drove him home. I had to make sure Billy wasn't going to kill him before I left."

"Did I hear you right on the phone? Did you really spend the night with him?"

"Say it a little louder why don't you." Silver sent an anxious look to the door. It remained closed, and she didn't hear any footsteps. "It wasn't as dirty as you make it sound. I slept next to him. That's it. There wasn't any touching involved."

"Why not?"

"He was wounded for one thing. Jack almost died. He tried to save me from a werewolf. Can you believe it? He tried to save me, the great werewolf killer."

Her voice dripped with sarcasm.