Girl Talking
Girl Talking
“I know,” the girl replied. “Took me three weeks to learn the route. I’m Reeba, by the way.”
“Lucy,” Mina smiled, trying to sound sincere.
The name was still new and she had to make a conscious effort every time someone asked her for her name, otherwise her cover could be blown before she even got to Dante.
“Now, let’s get in before Mrs. Whittmer comes and sees we’re late.”
Mina rushed in after Reeba and tried to find an empty seat, preferably somewhere in the back. Unfortunately, all of the safe ones in the back were already taken, so Mina just sat down wherever she could. She could almost feel the piercing gazes all around her but she tried not to pay attention to them. Of course, it was a given that everybody would stare at the new kid, for whatever reason. It could be the clothes, the hair, or just the way someone walks. It’s never anything logical, though. She just didn’t want to give them any additional reasons to keep staring at her once this initial curiosity had passed, so she just
slumped down into the seat and remained quiet.
A few moments later, a woman waltzed into the classroom on heels much higher than Mina expected from a teacher here in the middle of nowhere. She was wearing just a little too much makeup, especially taking into account her age. Again, Mina was unable to pinpoint her age, even roughly, because she seemed old, but the gleam in her eyes, the way she carried herself, the way she spoke, revealed a woman of much younger age. Then, Mina remembered where she was. Of course all these people were much older than they seemed.
“Alright then, settle down everybody!” she voiced herself, not overly loud, but loud enough for everyone to be able to hear her.
It took a while for everyone to do as they were told and Mina could only hope that she wouldn’t have to do the usual new kid introduction. Being in the line of work she was, Kellam took it upon himself to home school her, though Mina knew of the usual school experience, because she started going to school as a young child. Only once they were left all alone, did Kellam take over full custody of her and make sure she was doing well, both physically as well as psychologically ever since. He managed to make everything interesting. With him, every subject was an adventure just waiting to be discovered, he knew exactly how to create that connection between a student and the subject matter. Mina had always thought, if he wasn’t a vampire slayer, he definitely would have been a teacher and an awesome one.
The very thought of him brought tears to her eyes. For the last two weeks, she’d been immersed in planning for this trip, so she hadn’t even had time to sit down and be sad about everything that had happened. Not that it would do much good anyway. At
least, that was what Kellam always used to say. It was better to use that energy to try and come up with a solution, than sit down, throw in the towel and just cry. Crying had no purpose.
So, Mina bit down on her lower lip, in a futile effort to displace the feeling of discomfort and pain, and gazed forward, waiting to hear what Mrs. Whittmer would say next.
“I see we have a new face here,” she spoke, addressing Mina, who just nodded, feeling helpless. “Why don’t you stand up, dear, and tell us a little about yourself.”
Mina sighed heavily and gazes, like arrows, flew her way. Despite this, she stood up, defiantly.
“My name is Lucy Wing. As Mrs. Whittmer already said, I’m new here. I basically arrived yesterday evening and was almost late because of that.”
A little chuckle of laughter spread throughout the classroom.
“Well, I had no idea!” Mrs. Whittmer suddenly interjected. “I shall have to have a talk with Mr. Colt. He should have left you to rest today. That was quite a journey you undertook.”
Mina smiled weakly. She knew these people were enemies, all of them. At the same time, it felt nice to hear someone say those words and offer some understanding and compassion.
“Thank you,” she replied, “but I’m alright. I need to catch up with the rest of the
class, so I don’t mind starting right away.”
“Now, that’s the spirit!” Mrs. Whittmer clapped her hands joyfully. “I love seeing such enthusiasm in students!”
Mina kept on smiling a little awkwardly, until she was gestured by Mrs. Whittmer to sit down and then everyone was instructed to open their books to page 17, as they were about to discuss the Byronic hero in Romantic literature of the 18th century.
Mina wasn’t really listening, even though she loved the subject. It was something that they shared with their mother. They used to spend evenings together, cuddled up on the sofa and their mother would read them the classics. Moby Dick. Madame Bovary. Gulliver’s Travels. The Mysteries of Udolpho. She and her brother knew them all but when they were forced to flee their home, their sanctuary, they had to leave their books behind.
Suddenly, Mina was shaken from her thoughts by the school bell. She rubbed her eyes. She felt drowsy, as if she had fallen asleep during class. She waited until most of the other students were already out and then she made a dash for the door as if her life depended on it. Sometimes, she actually felt like it really did. A second later and she realized that she had left her pen on the table, so she turned around, and bumped into someone who was just behind her.
“Sorry…”
She bent down to pick up the notebook that had fallen out of someone’s hand. The notebook was filled with sketches and drawings, some more, some less detailed, but all
very good. Whoever did it had some major talent, that much was obvious.
“Did you draw these?” she asked, giving it back to the guy, whom she recognized was sitting to her right during class.
“Yeah,” he raked his fingers through his hair as he replied, with a coy smile on his
face.