Close Friends

It happens unintentionally. I try not to, but they ask me a million questions about the photos on my Facebook page, so the bragging just happens naturally.

“Yea that’s the ski resort that we go to every other year.” I tell Tyler and Christian as we stand in front of my locker. I grab my math book as they keep barraging me with questions.

“I know this resort! Man, that place is nice!” Christian says looking through the photos on his Samsung Galaxy phone.

“Yes, that spot is hot! You should invite us sometime bro.” Tyler chimes in.

Just then Dae walks by and completely ignores us. She looks upset.

“Hey Dae!” I say. She turns around with a fake smile and says hi back before turning around to walk to her locker that is only three down from mine.

“Someone had a shitty winter break.” Christian says under his breath. I’m not the only one that caught the fake cheesiness of her smile.

“Nah, I saw her and her friends and family at the resort. They didn’t have rooms there which meant that they have their own lodge near it. It must be something else bothering her.” Looking at her I start to remember the way that most of them, were acting inside of the resort cabin. They all seemed to be in really deep convo with each other and I didn’t want to intrude. I couldn’t even say ‘hi’ because my parents kept dragging me from here to there.

Laughing evilly, Tyler says, “Lydia is really going to hate her!”

“Who said she had to know?”

“Oh! I do! Because I am so telling her!” he laughs some more before him and Christian slap my hands and head to their classes.

I close my locker and walk over to Dae.

“Soo...I saw you with your friends over winter break. I would’ve said ‘hi’ but my parents are so pushy when it comes to skiing.”

“For real? Oh…that’s ok.” She says closing her locker and turning slowly to face me.

“Yea…are you feeling okay?” I see how dreary looking her face is.

“Sure, I’m fine.” She doesn’t sound fine at all, but I don’t push it

The bell rings. The two of us turn to walk to class. I continue to talk to Dae.

“Is it anything that you want to talk about? I’m here if you need ears to vent to.”

“No, it’s fine, really. But thanks Scott. You’re cool for being all concerned about me.” She finally puts a real smile on her face. And seeing that makes me feel a little better.

As we enter the classroom, I see a new girl sitting in the back row near the window. Dae notices her too, but frowns when she sees her.

“Good Morning class!”

“Good morning Miss Parker.”

“As all of you can see, we have a new student today.”

The entire class looks back at her.

“Marissa, please come to the front and introduce yourself to the class.”

“Hey, I’m Marissa Stevens from Arizona.” Her voice is mono tone.

“Hello Marissa.” The dull barely unison greeting from the class.

I look over at Dae. I didn’t hear her say a word. She has started scribbling in her sketch book. When she does this she blocks out her surroundings. If not for the bone straight hair and albino pale skin color, this Marissa chick would remind me of Dae. Then again…Dae doesn’t always wear just black clothing and nails. She mixes it up with violet, teals, and blues sometimes. This chick, is so goth and vampy if I saw her at night alone I might shit in my pants!

“Hey...psss...you have a new member to your goth club.” I chuckle a little as she looks up at me and gives me an evil eye while Marissa heads back to her seat.

In History class.

“Scott,” Lyd approaches me as we wait for Mrs. Hannigan to arrive. “did you see the new girl? Hmph, she is just gaudy. I thought Daevaako was awful!” She bothers me. Looking at Marissa sitting in the front row, second to last desk.

“Yea, she’s in my homeroom.”

“Shut Up!?” She says but still in a low voice so that Marissa can’t hear her. “Egh, she’s so pale it sickens me.” Her eyes are glued to her.

“I don’t think she’s that pale, Lyd. Why don’t you go to your desk already?” I breathe, so annoyed by her obnoxious gossiping and constantly talking about others.

“Oh whatever Scott!” She has been twiddling her finger around her hair during the entire buzzing. Removing that finger from her hair she storms off pouting.

Wow great! I have homeroom, history, and math with this girl. She doesn’t talk much, that’s why it surprised me when she raised her hand for almost every question in history. She knows her history. I’m impressed. But still…I can’t help that I have a thing for Dae. Marissa isn’t ugly, she’s cute with lip gloss on her lips, the loose long straight hair and blunt bang that stops just above her eyebrows. But I’m not a fan of black shimmering skinny jeans. Her skin but she looks like she might be afraid of the sun…...Hahahahaha! I make myself laugh.

The bell rings for our next class after history. Lyd rushes to the front when Marissa gets up to bump into her, knocking her books to the floor.

“Oops!” she says twiddling her hair again, “I didn’t see you.” She smiles viciously before turning to leave.

I walk over to help her.

“Sorry about that.” I pick up two of her books. “She’s like that with everyone. You have to learn to ignore her.”

“Thanks. It’s ok, new girl hazing.” Whoa! Her smile is amazing!

“Wow, you have perfect teeth. Like Dae.” I tell her getting a glance at her pearly whites.

“Thanks, so do you. Who is Dae?”

“She’s one of the few gothic students in this school. You two might get along. I can introduce you, we sit together at lunch.”

“No…that’s ok. Thanks anyway.” She says grabbing her books from my extended hands.

At Lunch.

“Christian, did you see her!? Hey Dahlia, you see her?!” She started as soon as we all sat down with our lunches.

“Oh mah gawd Lyd!” This is not my day today. “Why do you always have to talk about people?”

“Uh, because it’s fun.”

“No, it’s because you have low self-esteem and pick on others to make yourself feel better.” Dahlia opens her Coke.

“Uhn, who asked you to be Dr. Phil, Dahlia?” She pouts childishly putting a few strands of her hair in her mouth before watching for Marissa to walk into the cafeteria.

“Well, at least she has someone new to pick on. Right Dae?” Dave insists.

“Oh, I could care less.” She waves her hand as she finishes opening her lunch box that is different every day. Today it’s an Indian deco lunch box with Indian curry and rice in it. “I know how to ignore her rudeness.” She says before taking a bit of her curry chicken.

“Mmm…you should totally give me some of that.” I tease, but I really do want a taste of it, it smells really good.

“Nope.” She says with a mouthful, “I don’t share.” She looks at me as she takes another mouthful with rice added on the fork into her mouth. “Mmmm….”

I stick my fork into her curry and take a wallop of it. She starts punching me with her fork still in her left hand. Damn, her punches hurt like hell!

*Laughing*

“Ooh..ooh! There she is!” Lyd says loudly poking Tyler in the arm with her elbow.

“You are a real piece of work Lydia.” Dave says that, but he turns around to look at her.

“She’s hot.” Christian smirks.

“No wonder you hate her Lydia.” Dahlia says eating a bit of her pizza.

Lydia quickly turns with a tomato face to give her an evil look.

“We should invite her to sit with us.” Dave bursts out in laughter after seeing Lyd’s reaction.

“Please don’t, she seems weird.” Steven joins in looking at her sideways.

“I can’t believe that I’m saying this, but I have to agree with him.” Her soft low and meager voice can be misleading sometimes. “There’s something off about her.”

I turn to look at her again as she gets her food. Now that I look closer, there is something not quite right about her.

“I bet she’s a vampire too!” Lyd leans forward and twiddles her hair again.

“Shut up! You think everyone is a vampire!” Dave big, his nose snarls a little and folding his arms his rolls his eyes.

“Ugh, no I don’t!” she replies defensibly in her squeaky voice.

Just as everyone starts bickering again, I didn’t notice that Dae has been staring at Marissa for a long time not saying a word. The frown that she had on her face when she first saw her is there again, as she watches her look for a place to sit. Of course, Marissa is oblivious to our presence as she sits at the end of the outcasts’ table.

That night.

It’s Monday, but we still have training scheduled for Mondays for the upcoming basketball season. Walking home from school tonight, I have an eerie feeling unlike anything that I’ve ever felt before. Sure I don’t believe the myths about shape shifters, vampires, and wolves that steal people in the night, but this feeling….I just can’t shake it. I have never been this uneasy walking home at night from any late night practices or hanging out at the café or a White Castle. Is someone following me….? I turn around slowly, but it’s just a man and woman together walking into the bar I just passed. Breathing a sigh of relief I turn back around and hit the corner bringing me only two blocks from my house. Then I hear it…a woman screaming!

Running towards the scream I hear the faint flapping of wings. Drawing closer to the screams, the flapping gets louder…. flap…flapping. The screaming is lower than the flapping. Continuing to run the sound of my breathing begins to overtake me..Thump…thump…thump…thump. My heart is pounding so fast! Down an alley. I stop.

“Huhunnnnh….mm…ah.” I catch my breath and toss my bag to the ground.

I wave my arms in the air trying to disperse and scare the crows away from her. Fuck! These things are relentless, I shout for help. I take my cell that was conveniently in my hand while walking and call 911, still trying to get the crows away. Just then, feel warm water running down my arms…No…It’s my blood!! Their beaks are like tiny pins picking away at my skin!!

Two more people, that heard me shouting come running down the back alley that’s behind the bar. I’m not surprised that no one saw anything, the two guys that ran out reek of beer. With their help we finally get rid of the crows. The woman is barely breathing with chunks of her skin…. missing! She is lying in a pool of her own blood!