"Why would I be ashamed?"
"That I'm mortal."
"All they know is that I have a girlfriend and that I'm happy."
I wasn't mad at Alexander. How could I be angty with him, when I hadn't shared him with my family, who I saw every day and he hadn't seen his in months?
But I was disappointed. I assumed Alexander would have told his parents every detail about finding the girl of his dreams in Dullsville and our adventures. But then, Alexander was a guy. I knew Billy Boy hadn't shared with my mom any crush he'd had on a very unlucky girl. I couldn't imagine Trevor spilling his guts about every girl he dated to Mrs. Mitchell-though he probably told the entire soccer team. Not only didn't Alexander talk to his parents, but he didn't have a friend in Dullsville besides me.
I felt a pang of loneliness for Alexander. He didn't have anyone to share his thoughts with. I guess that's why he spent so much of his waking hours painting.
Instead of being impatient as I normally was, I knew I needed to give Alexander space to reunite with his family.
"I have to go now. But I wanted to say hi," he said suddenly.
"I wish you could come to school with me tomorrow. I might be more motivated to get a better education if you were in my classes.Especially if I got to pass you in the way for a quick kiss."
"How about this to keep you company, since I can't be there with you?" He reached into his pocket and pulled out a dark-stained wooden bracelet with a dangling silver heart.
"I love it!" I said, putting it on.
Alexander gave me a long squeeze and a tender good-night kiss.
"When will I see you?" I asked, wrapping my arms around his waist like a giant handcuff.
"Sooner than you think."He gently pried my hands apart, stepped into the shadows, and disappeared.
Alexander was still a mystery. I ached to know everything about him, and his evasiveness only made me want him more.
4
MONSTER HIGH
Most people fear the dark, afraid of the unknown- unsure what curious creatures might be hiding in their bedroom closets or on deserted streets. I embraced the night. It was the daylight I dreaded. I could see the monsters-and they all went to Dullsville High, This year I'd be entering school a little differently than in the past.Not only would I be a junior, but this would be the first time I was returning to Dullsville High with a boyfriend. Plus I had knowledge of a vampire world and had many nocturnal adventures under my studded belt. But one thing hadn't changed: I was late.
The bell had already rung when Becky and I parked her truck. Suntanned students were scampering to class. I still hadn't adjusted to the early-morning school schedule. My stomach was churning and my eyelids hung heavy. Becky eagerly raced ahead of me as I climbed up the school steps like a zombie.
"Hurry", she said, diligently holding her books and class schedule at the front entrance.
It was then I realized I was missing some valuable information.
"Where's my schedule?" I ransacked my Corpse Bride purse, safety-pinned jeans pockets, and my backpack. Becky grew fidgety.
We had requested the same classes, but we had only gotten a few. And I didn't remember which ones.
"I know I have English first bell," I said, straining to remember. But I hadn't checked the schedule since summer break. "I think I might have Spanish second bell and third bell gym."
"Well be late to them all!" Becky's face flushed red. Panic grew in her big brown eyes.
The sound of lockers shutting and classroom doors closing echoed off the hallway walls.
"Go ahead. I don't want us both to get suspended on the first day," I teased.
Relieved, Becky hurried to Mrs. Naper's English class while I proceeded back to the school's main entrance.
I plopped my backpack on the registrar's desk. The administrators were bright and perky, fresh from the glow of the summer sun and a few months sans students.
"Wow, classes haven't even begun and you're already in the principal's office," I heard a man's voice say as he came through the door behind me. "That's a first for you, isn't it?"
I turned around. Principal Reed, like me, was holding a cup of store-bought coffee, I found his joke only halfway amusing, which made our school leader chuckle.
"How was your summer?" he asked, and noticed my blindingly pale skin, "Not much for the outdoors?"
I barely cracked a smile.
"You'd better get to class," he said."Whichever one that is." He shook his head as he entered his office.
The school registrar asked me a few questions and then printed my schedule from her computer.
"I still have those nightmares," the registrar said."Showing up to school without knowing what classes I'm taking or where the classrooms are located. The worst one was showing up for exams I hadn't studied for."
"One person's nightmares are another person's reality," I said. I took my schedule, gulped some coffee, and apathetically headed for class.
Mrs. Naper , a wiry woman with a mind bent on classics-and the tenure to prove it-greeted me with a stern glare and a few verbal admonishments. She was known throughout the Dullsville school system for the " NaperPaper," a college preparatory essay all juniors were required to complete, graded under the strictest of standards. Several things were in my favor, though. There was an empty seat next to Becky, and Trevor Mitchell was nowhere in sight.
"To reiterate," Mrs. Naper began as I took a seat, "your guidance counselor will be in to talk to you next month college applications, scholarships, and grants. To prepare, your first assignment is a classmate interview and essay, followed by a brief presentation. Now that you are juniors you should be contemplating college and possible career paths. This essay will help stimulate you into discovering what you might like to pursue, and at the same time you'll get to know more about your classmates."
The Naper Paper actually sounded like a cinch to do. I knew everything about Becky, and likewise, she knew everything about me. We could complete the essay within the amount of time it took to type three hundred words and click spell check.
" Raven," she continued, "while you were making your way to class, we assigned you a partner."
I turned to Becky. "Thanks for saving me."
My best friend averted her gaze away from me.
"What, you picked someone else?" I pressed.
"Someone else picked me? Then she pointed to a student in the front row. It was Matt.
"Ugh." I sighed. I felt as double-crossed as Charlie Brown when Lucy pulls the football away from him.
The classroom door opened and in walked Trevor Mitchell holding several boxes of chalk.
"Thank you, Trevor," Mrs. Naper said, her cheeks blushing as red as her lipstick as she took the chalk from the handsome jock.
"He's in this class?" I asked Becky. "I should have changed my schedule while I had the chance!"