Chapter 2 - 2

I wake in the morning and slake my thirst for blood with the bottle. I am starting to run out. I stash one in my bag for later.
My first lesson is Science. I walk in, and then realise that Dann has taken my seat next to Beth, who had risen early. Beth doesn’t see me. I wipe the shock off my face with a slim smile, and then I go and sit next to Matthew.
‘Hi.’
‘Hi, how are you?’ Matthew asks.
‘I’m ok, what about you?’
‘I’m good. Little back trouble coz of my bed, but otherwise, I’m great.’ I smile at him. He smiles back, takes my hand from the table and squeezes it between us. He then gets a small piece of folded paper out. I start to open it. He tries to stop me, but I pat his hand gently, and he lets me carry on.
It says:
Vivie, I am sorry about Dann. I went to him straight after leaving your dorm to give him a piece of my mind. He said he couldn’t care less what I said, and that he had got with Beth almost immediately after dumping you. So I now want to ask you something; have since you came here, but every time I open my mouth the words won’t come out. So here it goes:
I have been told you like me.
I like you too.
Please, Vivie, if you are not too devastated by Dann’s mistake, well…
Vivie, will you go out with me?

The note stops there. I feel as if I am in shock. Matthew is watching me closely. I want to tell him, but not here; too many people. I decide for a little pranking. I whisper Matthew my plans to get out of lesson. He looks worried about it, but still goes along with it.
This lesson is two hours long. The bottle I took for the second half of this lesson remains unopened in my bag. We start to do an experiment on chemicals. I work with Matthew.
‘Vivie, I’m not sure…’
‘Just be ready, it’ll be any minute now…’ I am shaking terribly. I’m just thankful I’m losing strength and not going mental, the only other option there was.
The test tube I am holding falls from my loosened hand.
The world tilts and I fall.
I see the ground jump at my face…but someone has caught me. I am not unconscious; I have, as I had predicted, lost all use of my muscles from weakness.
‘Matthew, lad, you had better take her to the nurse’s office. Take her things.’ The teacher says. Matthew takes my bag and coat, hooks my shoulder bag over his neck and awkwardly slips me into the coat. He then picks me up, and tips me so that my head is facing past his arm. I see Beth calculating what had happened, and her eyes narrow. Dann holds her shoulder, and Matthew carries me out.
When well out of sight, Matthew finds a deserted corridor. There is a school table there and the class chatters away unknowingly in the nearby classroom. Laying me on the table, he rummages in my bag and takes out the bottle of blood. Slowly, caringly, he pours the blood into my mouth, as if he was feeding a baby. My instincts come into action, and though I cannot move, my throat manages to gulp it all down. Slowly I regain movement. Ten minutes pass.
Finally, I sit up on my own.
‘Matthew…’
‘Yes?’
‘Thank you.’
‘What, for helping you?’
‘Yes.’ I say, pausing.
‘That’s ok.’
‘Yes.’
‘What?’
‘Yes, Matthew, I’ll go out with you.’ He grins, helps me off the table, and go up to my dorm to hang out.
*
I walk into the busy classroom. Beth is sat next to Daniel again. She notices me come in and decides to gloat.
‘Hey, Vivie, like my new boyfriend?’ She practically shouts.
I sit down next to Matthew again.
‘Hey, Beth, like my new boyfriend?’ Beth pales and the room goes quiet.
‘You two? A human and a vampire? Oh, so perfect!’ She jeers.
‘Yes, and it is perfect! He helps me, you saw in science yesterday.’
‘Yes, well, people who take advantage of their vampirism are thick and need a life.’
‘Sorry, but my life ended years ago. Just like yours.’
Beth glares at me, and then turns to Dann. I smile at Matthew and look up at the board. Mr. Simmons comes in and puts a load of maths sums on the board and instructed us to get on with them immediately. Matthew helps me where I need it and I help him where he needs it. Eventually we leave the classroom. Having worked our socks off and going to Language, I pull out my last bottle and try to drink it sparingly. Over reacting, I drink it all. We still have two lessons before dinner, with a break after Language.
‘Matthew…I have no bottles left…’
‘What do you do? Write home for some?’
‘No…I, well…I blood let people to get it.’
‘Will you be ok until break?’
‘Yes.’
‘Ok, I’ll fill some bottles for you at break.’
‘Are you sure?’
‘Yes.’
I smile, and he kisses me.
*******
Most of my bottles are full now, so I pull the feeder tube from Matthew’s arm and heal him, licking what little had missed the feeder off his arm.
‘Thanks.’
‘It’s alright.’ Matthew smiles and puts a stopper in the last bottle. I smile back and walk into the bathroom to clean the feeder. As I do so I hear Matthew put the bottles in my suitcase and push it under the bed. I then hear him put one ready on the bedside cabinet.
Having only taken about ten minutes, Matthew and I walk out of the dormitory block and round the corner to the woods. We climb into the nearest tree and through the trapdoor. I know my way reasonably well now. Again, we come to one of the entrances to the main room. Beth is sat there with Dann. She is feeding off some human boy. Vampires can’t feed off each other; otherwise she would have been drinking Dann’s blood, not the lad’s knelt on the floor. Dann looks rather jealous that she can’t drink his blood, and has a face like he’s just been slapped with a wet fish.
Matthew sits down on a horizontal tyre seat, suspended from a root above by skipping ropes. I join him, sitting on his lap. I give him a kiss and ask him about some maths things that have been causing me bother in the homework.
Across the room, Dann taps Beth and she stops drinking. She spots me and I know instantly that there will be conflict.
‘Well, well. Hello, Vivie. Matthew. How are you two?’ There is sing song sarcasm in her voice that makes it obvious she doesn’t want to be friends at all. She also has a smile that screams ‘mega dog’ to all that see it.
‘We’re fine. And you and Dann?’ I say, also being sarcastic.
‘Fine. Look, I think you are ridiculous Vivie, I gotta say it, sorry, but there it is. You’re a pathetic excuse for a vampire, you were since I met you, and I can’t believe I have to room up with you.’ Sure, this hurts me, but I pass it off.
‘Big “woo”. You were a pathetic excuse for a friend since the day I met you. Wow. Nobody cares, Beth.’ I laugh and Matthew joins in.
Beth jumps up and comes towards us. ‘Shut it or your human gets a wide slit in his throat.’ I get up too.
‘Try it and I bet you’d fail. Miserably.’ Matthew laughs again, slouched in the seat.
‘No-one interfere.’ That’s all Beth says in answer to that. So I was right.
‘Oo, fun.’ I say, and growl. Everybody leaps off their chairs and moves to the walls. Beth growls back. I leap at her, and the fight begins.

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