A pale white hand flicked lightly over a window pane, wiping away the ice that was caked to it. Outside, snow drifted softly down to the ground, covering the already white ground with more layers of sparkling dust. Distant mountains stood tall, their shades of gray adding to the white scene perfectly. The sky was a deep gray and heavy, a snow storm coming in from the west.
The pale hand was mine, my blue veins visible through my stretched skin. My hand curled into a fist, my long nails making a loud screeching sound against the glass, the same noise of steel being torn apart. My breath came out in a huff, and I dropped the fist to my side. The red and black Victorian dress I wore twitched slightly at my touch.
I turned quickly, my long black hair whipped around my face, emphasizing my annoyance. I glared, my dark blue eyes staring across the room. There, a man sat, his curly silver hair pull neatly back with a red ribbon, my ribbon. His black suit looked formal and old, something from the 17th century. His green eyes shone at me like emeralds, his pale lips turned up in a smile.
“Victor, I have to get off this damned mountain.” I said, my sweet song-like voice said, making the man’s smile widen. My brow furrowed, a scowl now plastered on my face. Why did he never take me seriously?
“My sweet, why would you want to leave our peaceful home?” Victor asked, chuckling as he got up from the chair. He was taller than I, at least by a good five inches. The man put his arms around me, pulling me into a warm embrace. Though I wouldn’t exactly call it warm, per say. His skin was as icy as ever, same as mine.
“I want to live in society. I want to go to high school. I want to be normal.” I sighed, pressing my face to his chest. He tensed, like usual, at the word ‘normal’. Victor had a problem with the word normal. He also had a problem with me trying to act like everyone else.
“Ava, how many times have we had this discussion?” Victor sighed, his deep velvet voice tense, and slightly worried.
“Too many.” I replied, looking up to him.
“Then, my child, why are you still arguing?”
“I always get my way, Victor.” I turned, and stomped to my room, my bare feet thudding on the wooden floor. I heard Victor sigh as I slammed my door, throwing myself onto my grand bed. The white silk blankets and pillows felt good against my skin, but didn’t comfort me this time. I buried my face deep into the soft material, pulled my knees up to my chest, my hair sprawled around me, hiding my face.
I heard Victor walk silently into my room, so silently anyone else wouldn’t have heard it. I felt the edge of the bed opposite to me being sat on, and a small sigh come from the man. His hands gathered my hair gently, braiding it and laying it over one of my shoulders. I didn’t look up, just kept my face on blanket.
“Ava… I am only trying to be a good father.” Victor said, pulling me toward him. I didn’t resist, just crawled into his lap and let him cradle me like a child.
“Good fathers make their children go to school.” I objected, keeping my gaze focused on the wall.
“My child, That wouldn’t be smart. You’re a-”
“I know what I am, Victor.” I cut him off, my tone sharper than I’d expected. He didn’t expect it either, and when I looked up at him, I saw sadness in his eyes.
“Father, I am sorry… I didn’t mean-“
“Hush, sweetie. I know you did not mean it. You know, Maybe you are right.” I felt his lips press against my hair after he’d finished saying that.
“Me? Right? Wow, That’s a first.” I said sarcastically, looking up at him with a smile. He smiled back, his brilliant white teeth shone a bit. Sun had started to creep into the windows, making us both turn toward it.
“My, my. Seems before we get you registered for high school, we’ll need to do a bit of drinking.” He chuckled, placing me on the floor gently. I giggled lightly and danced to the window. The sun was peeking out behind the dark clouds, making the fresh snow sparkle like diamonds. The light was only temporary, I could tell, But Victor was right. I could feel myself becoming weaker with the sunlight directly on my body. I pulled the black curtains closed, and skipped gracefully after my father, whom was standing at the front door waiting for me.
■
Wind blew through my hair as Victor drove me to the valley’s small high school. I stared out at the town, and some people stared back. It was amusing to watch their faces, the emotions that flickered in their eyes. Shock, admiration, and, occasionally, jealousy. I was now wearing something similar to everyone else, A tight black tank top and baggy dark jeans with chains, and combat boots instead of my usual barefoot. I’d done my homework, looking up different teenager styles. The one that appealed to me the most was Goth. The black clothing, fishnet stocking and gloves, and the chains pleased me. I could pull them off too, being pale and having black hair. I looked like any other gothic teenage girl.
Our sleek silver Convertible pulled up in front of Banff High School, a smaller school than others. There were a few cars already parked there, mostly faculty I guessed. Gravel crunched under my boots as I slid out of the car, dragging a backpack and a leather jacket with me. Victor got out of the car at the same time as me. He was dressed in a black suit, much more modern than his usual attire. His hair was still tied back with my ribbon, the red complimenting his silver hair nicely.
We entered the building, walking side by side, our strides perfectly matched. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw two people, a man in his early twenties and a girl about the same age as I appeared. The girl dropped her books as we passed, and the man had raised his coffee cup toward his mouth, but he missed it and poured coffee down his shirt. I heard Victor chuckle lightly at this, and my lips pulled up into a small. We stepped into a small office, and Victor approached the desk of an older lady. She was the grandmotherly type, the one that made cookies and sweets for her grandchildren, then sent them home all hyped up to their parents. As Victor spoke to her, I looked at the posters on the wall. Reminder notices, none of them important to me.
“Miss Myst? Here are your schedules and some forms for you to fill out.” The kind lady said. I turned while she spoke, pondering the last name to myself. Victor and I never felt the need to use last names, since we were usually in the same place, away from others. I walked to the desk and picked up the bundle of papers with my name on it.
“Thank you.” I said, smiling at the lady. She smiled back, and shook my hand lightly. I could feel the goose bumps form on her skin.
“I hope you enjoy your time here, sweetie.” She replied, sitting back down, giving Victor and I one last smile, then turned back to her computer. Victor and I walked out of the office, our strides matching each other’s again.
“Have a good day, my Ava.” My father said with a smile on his pale lips. He kissed my forehead softly and ruffled my hair softly. I watched as he turned and walked out of the school with grace. I turned and started down the long hallway, my blue eyes sweeping over my surroundings. The thought of winning an argument with Victor made me smile and want to twirl around. I kept walking, though, counting the number on a row of lockers. The bell rung as soon as I got to mine, and groups of teenagers came down the hall yelling, pushing, and joking around. I ignored them, and tugged open my locker. Pulling some scotch tape from my bag, I taped one copy of my schedule and a map of the school inside the pale blue metal box. The other papers I shoved into my brand new black backpack, and slammed the locker door shut. The metallic thud matched the others in the hall as other students opened and closed them. I started to walk in the direction of my first class, which happened to be English, ignoring the jocks that pushed me aside, the preps that sneered at me, and the “loser” crowd that stared.
The light tapping of my boots was drowned out by the thudding of hundreds of other shoes. The noise hurt my sensitive ears and the smell of my new peers burned my throat and nose. As I made my way to class, I kept an eye on the students around me. Their expressions made me smile, my pale lips pulling up over my brilliant white teeth. Victor was glad when I said I’d chosen Goth as the stereotype for myself, mostly because Goth’s have a thing for wearing vampire fangs. So I didn’t stand out too much.
When I got to class, It wasn’t too full; Just twelve students, including myself. I chose a desk in the back, farthest away from everyone. I started on the forms the lady in the office gave me; they were just simple questionnaires about me. I listened to the sound of my pen scratch against the paper, leaving a trail of blood red ink.
It wasn’t long before the professor came into the room. He was dressed like a college dean though looked too young for the part. The man was about twenty-five, no older than thirty. I watched as he stood behind the long desk at the front of the room and stared out at us, waiting for silence. After the student’s had become quiet, he smiled at us and picked up a sheet of paper. I focused on it for a moment. It was an attendance sheet, neatly typed up; Except for my name which had been written on messily with a black pen.
“Maria?” The professor said, not looking up from the list.
“Here”
“Christen?”
“Hey, Teach.”
“Jacob?”
“Present…”
“Alexander?” When the teacher said this name, he looked up.
“Where’s Alex?” He asked with a sigh. The students shrugged and went back to socializing. Movement near the door made me look up sharply, my body now on full alert. A male stood there casually leaning against the doorframe. My blue eyes swept over him, taking as much information about this boy as I could. He had black hair and a skinny figure. He was wearing an Avenged Sevenfold t-shirt and True Religion jeans; both pieces of clothing were baggy on him. A black spiked bracelet was on his left wrist and a long ring on his middle finger. My eyes widened a bit as I stared at him.
The boy, obviously Alexander, smiled at the teacher and made his way to the back of the room. His smile surprised me further, the boy had fangs? But he was human, wasn’t he? I sniffed the air lightly and winced. Yeah, I smelled human blood. The boy sat down beside me, and I could feel his eyes on me.
“Thank you for joining us, Alexander.” The teacher said, his tone slightly annoyed but a smile on his face. Through the corner of my eye, I saw Alex wave his hand and smile at the man.
“Now, Seems we have a new student. Ava Myst, correct?” The man asked, smiling at me. I nodded my head lightly, making some of my black hair fall around my face. I brushed it back behind my ear, and looked around. Now everyone was staring at me.
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