IT HAPPENED AT LUNCH

As the day progressed, Henry's mood deteriorated. I almost felt sorry for Marcus, who took the brunt of it.

That was the life of a wolf who sat next to a grouchy future alpha. Marcus was holding fort well, barely a whimper, even though Henry was fuming by the time lunch rolled around.

At the lunch bell, Jasmine and Liam spun around to face me.

"Let's go." I heard Henry say behind me. He stood up and I heard Marcus follow him out of the class.

Liam and Jasmin had stood up too, they looked at me in confusion when I remained seated.

I ignored them and after a pause, they quickly left to catch up with Henry.

None of us were from the same pack, but we were the only wolves in this class, so we naturally gravitated together.

NB: Okay, I know I made a jab at the humans' herd mentality. Wolves have pack mentality. It's completely different. (Don't argue with me, I don't like it.)

Normally, Alphas were rare, but our small group had two. What were the odds?

I wasn't going to challenge Henry. I liked him enough to get along, but it's not like I would follow behind him either, you know?

Throughout the day, I had noticed how Elena had spelled her name on all her worksheets in capital letters and doodle next to her name.

It looked cool and I thought it was rather artistic.

I tried it on my own name, writing it out "SAMANTHA". I liked the way it turned out.

I showed it to Elena, quite pleased. But Elena was not pleased. Her mouth turned downward and she turned away from me.

I hadn't quite expected her to gush, but I definitely did not expect her flat response.

I decided to ignore her displeasure and go get my lunch. Elena got up and followed me out of the classroom.

But the cafeteria turned out to be crowded and noisy and hot and stinky. I walked out as quickly as I entered.

I totally did not plan on going hungry for the rest of the day! I began to think this might be the breaking point to the indifferent calm I had been wearing thus far.

Hungry was a stupid feeling.

At this point, I noticed Elena's labored breaths behind me and realized she was still following me, and that I must have been walking too quickly.

I slowed my steps.

"Aren't you going to eat?" I asked, nodding back towards the direction of the cafeteria.

"It's okay," Elena managed to gasp out. I slowed my steps further so the girl could catch her breath and tell me, "I'm not hungry."

I eyed her thin frame, whatever, it wasn't my business.

"Where are we going?" Elena asked me.

Why was she following me? Because she was my friend? Human friendship was such an uncanny thing.

But if I had to be honest, I didn't know where I was going. I was just leaving the suffocating and crowded cafeteria, leaving it to my lucky sense of direction to get my somewhere I should be.

I looked around. We were behind the school, rather near the wooded area.

I could see the top of some stairs - perhaps the top of the same long human stairway that my dad and I stopped at on the way to school this morning.

I smelled the air, trees, dirt, cold, wet... and felt the wind blow and swirl the scents around.

I paused when I found an irregularity, there was something strangely still just behind the next corner of the old school building.

I slowed my breathing and cautiously stalked over from the cover of the trees.

From the corner of my eye, I could still see Elena.

Tired or bored, I don't know which, she had seated herself on a curb along a narrow broken pavement next to the school building. It was probably better to leave her there.

Carefully placing myself so that the wind would not carry my scent to the mysterious presence, I crept over to the next tree. From here I would have distanced myself enough from the target to see it without having to approach it.

I peered around the tree trunk and saw her the same moment she looked up straight into my eyes.

She stared right into my eyes and I felt the hairs on my neck prickle.

It was an uncomfortable feeling. Actually, uncomfortable didn't begin to describe it.

I took note that she was alone and realized that I recognized her.

I forced my body into a relaxed and friendly mode and walked casually over, careful to keep my gait at a human pace, "Hello!" I called out pretending to have just noticed her.

"You're from my class!" I continued, mimicking a carefree attitude that many human teenagers exhibit. "My name is Sam! What's your name?"

She looked at me, her eyes unblinking and rather glassy, like that of a very live-like doll. I kind of want to slap her away in disgust and horror. This instinctive feeling unsettled me.

The girl had short hair and bangs, she actually did look like a doll, an exquisite and expensive doll. It was disturbing.

My own sister could be described "like a doll" too.

This girl was the only other girl I've ever met who would also fit such a description, but while Savy was the kind of princess doll who was warm and precious to hold, this girl was other-worldly.

By now I was close enough to confirm that she didn't have a scent. She didn't have body heat either. Hahahaha. Vampire, I realized too late. My first vampire encounter.

I was shocked. But I was also too up close to turn around and leave safely.

I stopped short in my tracks, mentally checking that my facial expression was unreadable. Good. Next, I made sure I was keeping my body visibly relaxed and my breathing and heart rate deceptively calm. Then I smiled, a very human smile.

Why was there a vampire in a school? Why was it out in broad daylight? Why was it standing here in front of me like this? Like what? Like...like she was very alone and somewhat sad.

"Are you okay?" I asked her.

On the outside, I was still pretending to be a ignorant human. But if all that I have read about vampires was true, she would have recognized me for a werewolf, she would have smelled my alpha blood.

So naturally, I was internally taken aback by my question. Why was I asking "Are you okay?"

The real question should be "Am I okay? Will I be okay?"

I tried to think of the quickest exit, but the crunching sounds of clumsy noisy human walking distracted me. It was a small human, her scent carelessly swept from behind me by the wind. Elena.

I had to be honest, part of me did consider leaving her here with the vampire just to escape. It would be easier to escape a sated vampire than a hungry one. But hahaha, you know I won't. I probably should. I definitely could. But I won't. Being a good friend is troublesome like that.

"My name is Maria Valentino Kosan." The vampire finally spoke. Her voice was like glass, clear and fragile. I wanted to step aside from it, in case it should break suddenly and cut me.

And then she spoke again, "I think I am going to die."

I froze momentarily, something in my mind unable to wrap itself around what I just heard. It was as if the gears of reasoning in my mind had been suddenly pushed at an angle and the wheels and cogs were threatening to come apart.

Vampires were undead. How could they die?

"Oh." I heard Elena breathe, completely unimpressed by the gravity of the situation.

Maria turned to me, one hand clutched the fabric above her heart and gasped, "It hurts!"

I frowned slightly and examined her carefully. There was no stake or any kind of intrusion in her heart, I smelt no blood. I could not hear a heartbeat...

Wait, I could, a very weak and slow bump and then silence... For about a whole minute, then a very small little bump.

Right... she was undead.

I felt my face take on an unfamiliar expression, my eyes widening at Elena who sat herself down on a narrow ledge. I was totally and officially weirded out.

"What happened?" Elena asked Maria, calmly trying to flick the larger dirt pieces off her shoes.

We were still wearing the white indoor shoes. Elena's shoes had dirt crumbs on them. I looked quickly down on mine, it was still cleanish. Maria's shoes were pristine.

And then I smelt it before they appeared, tears.

They fell like liquid crystal, her doll like features, stricken. The weird expression I was wearing remained firmly plastered on my face. Did vampires cry? (It's creepy.)

"I...I just need to see him!!!" Maria cried.

"See who?" Elena asked.

Maria said a name. Dionos Carlaron...or something Viv...something, you know, I'm not even going to try. I'm probably spelling it wrong. Let's call him Dion.

Elena pulled out a small packet of tissue and silently handed it over to Maria.

"Th...thank you." Maria whispered just above her sniffling.

She moved and I stiffened, but she was only sitting herself down next to Elena.

I noticed Elena shiver involuntarily at Maria's closeness. She shifted to widen the gap between them, just a bit, as if she was trying to give Maria more room.

Maria perched where she was, as if not noticing, still busy with her crying. My heart began pumping a bit quicker, what kind of vampire trick was this?

I stared at the scene, two girls sitting on a low ledge behind an old school building. One comforting the other as she cried... At which point would the fangs and hissing or mind control... Mind control, was Elena under her mind control? Was I?

Suddenly red bloodshot eyes looked up to me. I looked back helplessly at Maria and then realized, not so much by my werewolf instincts, but simply by female intuition that Maria was really just crying her eyes out.

Thirty minutes later, we were three girls sitting on a ledge at the back of the school. Maria between us, her presence like a void cold miserable flame. Between small hiccups and tears, Maria finally managed to verbalize her terrible plight.

In summary, Maria had a crush.

Her crush was in a different class.

I'm not talking about ranking or social class, I mean he was in the class at the other end of the hallway. (You may roll your eyes at this, I will not take offense.)

She needed to see him, as in quite literally, she wanted a look.

"Is he your mate... I mean soul mate?" I had inquired, still trying to make sense of the drama.

Vampires had no souls, how did they have soulmates?

Maria paused and nodded as if only just deciding this, "Y..yes... I...I...love him..." She stuttered down at her tissue.

Elena huffed softly, "Why don't you just go look for him in his class?"

Maria shook her head sadly.

Elena stood up and dusted her skirt off, "It's cold. I'm going back to class."

She had enough. And just like that, Elena left me alone with a vampire.