Forgetting Dracula -Chapter 1: The Fangs at Midnight -

Chapter 1: The Fangs at Midnight 1

Mt. Shire; Catholic School2

‘The Sacred Heart Academy’ (for Girls)3

10:30 A.M, 3RD Period.4

Professor James: Bio5

“Divinity…” Someone calls me from afar, as a lighthouse would to a lost ship, abandoned to the sea. “Mrs.…. Matthews,” The words are broken and spread out as a puzzle, pieces misshapen and unusable to anyone. “MATTHEWS!” The voice immediately breaks through the static to my mind and wakes me from whatever might have been of importance.6

“What?!” I yelp, jumping from my seat and knocking over my notebook and sullying whatever self-confidence that still remained. A joint laughter comes from the 19 other people that crowd the room and even a light snicker from the bald man sitting on his desk, though he doesn’t have too much to smirk about at this point in his life.7

“Well, well…not pay attention as usual Mrs. Matthews, ruining out of misconduct slips with you.” I stare vaguely at the dull yellow pad in his hand, just another one to stuff in my locker and ignore without care. If I’m lucky by my 100th slip, maybe I’ll get a free smoothie or something of that sort. There are quiet snickers throughout the room, eyes following the motion of his hand, all knowing the words that he’s printing out.8

MISCONDUCT SLIP9

Teacher: William James10

Student: Divinity Matthews11

Time/Period/Date: 10:34 A.M/ 3rd / 12-01-0812

Complaint: Sleeping in class, again. Late to class13

Day dreaming. Not listening in class.14

Poor participation. 15

A sly, small smirk crosses his lips as I take the form, frowning deeply as the whole world seems to laugh at my constant trouble. “Maybe someday...You will learn who to respect the education system.” A small grin forms at my lips at the thought of myself, sitting quietly in class, contemplating ways I could be a better teacher pet. 16

“Don’t hold your breath, Mr. Jay . . . ” I say, taking my heavy bag and slinging it over my shoulder without much care as to the extreme shoulder, neck, and back problems I will have in the future. Every eye in the class is on me, watching to see if I hold a knife in my pocket or rather a portable sawed-off shotgun. Unfortunately for my sake, I have neither and the nearest thing to fatal I have is a large geometry book and that is far too expensive to waste on these hard-headed fools. “Dev!” A skinny, short, and timid-looking brunette appears out from her desk and grasping at my attention. “Yes, Amy?” I say, smiling a bit at the fact that she’s wearing the shirt I gave her for her birthday this year. 17

“You ready?” She says, grabbing her bag too at Mr. Jay’s dismay. A smirk twitches at my lips, looking over at the stunned man that is just waiting for someone to come and stop us. 18

“Yeah....let me just turn in my paper..” I slink by him slowly, twisting my hips and flipping my hair over my shoulder, an apparent message to him that everyone else will take as flirting. ‘You can never control me’ He gulps deeply, pulling at his collar. “Bye, Mr. Jay...” I say, waving timidly, mumbling with anger through close teeth that he could ever...ever... do that...19

“C’mon!” Amy is at my sleeve, pulling harshly as she notices the hustle and bustle outdoors. “Something happened outside...” She whispers, under her breathe, looking amongst the crowds. Everyone seems to be intrigued by two men in particular. The father and another I have yet to see, meet, or even notice up to this second I don’t know how I never noticed him before. His face is curled in a snarl, his teeth showing, sharpened at the points making a shiver run it’s course throughly down my spine.20

The father falls backward, his face in disbelieve at the man ahead him, bleeding on the streets and snarling in disgust. He cusses lightly under his breathe and even this is alluring. “He’s gorgeous...” I say out loud, without meaning to.21

Amy agrees with merely a nod, seeing as she’s concentrating as much as I am. “Have you seen him before?” I ask, staring at his intense blue eyes, as they flash between light and dark, then seem to disappear completely. She answers me without having the power to look away, entranced as everyone is. 22

“ I think once...” I’m intrigued suddenly, turning my head quickly besides the obvious spell. “In Rome...like those statues of perfect men...” She sighs, leaning nearer yet farther all at the same time. “Or a Greek God....” The sigh is there again, her cheeks flushed and her heart ready to devour him alive. 23

He raises slowly, cupping his breast-bone in his paper-white hands. “I mean...” His voice is trembling, the bloody crucifix in his hands; thick red, blood trickling down. “How dare you attack him, father...” He says, quiet and to himself nearly, tempting us all to lean a bit closer. His pale fingers hug to his breast pocket, the red liquid dripping over. 24

There is complete and utter surprised upon his face as if it wishes to drop off, plain as would be. “But you’re a...” His mouth is slack, his hands shaking vigorously. I’m not sure if anyone else has caught it, but the fear in his eyes is immense, eating him alive. Seemingly consuming from the inside out. “A-a...Vampire...” We are much too absorbed in him to notice the absurdness in his claim, too laugh or rather do anything besides gawk. 25

“A vampire?” The small snicker is joined by the sarcastic tone we would of taken. The dripping noise decreases to the slightest tapping every 10 seconds or so. “Don’t be so...so...foolish.” His voice is cocky, his lips tied hard in a stunning smile, like he knows something we don’t and I suspect he does. Across all the possible eyes he could entrance, his choose mine. I’ve always known my knees and ankles were just waiting to backfire on me but I’d do anything to keep them from doing so in front of this...God. 26

“Dev?” The world is fading away before my eyes, swirling in a tornado of uneasy paint-spilling. Such a painter God is, going from realistic, to romanticism, and now he’s changing to abstract. “Dev!” I feel her weak arms beneath me, nowhere in the nearest to being able from stopping my decent. There is an urgent tone in her voice, fear bleeding out of her veins. Suddenly my weight is completely in stability, something as ice holding me in much more muscled arms, strong.27

“Shush...” The voice is almost silent, silky like velvet, cool like the glaciers before the whole global warming bit. “Everything is alright...” Without a single question of it, I am in believe of it, no matter what was said, I would agree without a moments pause. I feel the light beating of a heart, gently, a ticking clock, dulling me to sleep. Now the world is completely black and all I know is my heart is racing against the other that is almost stopping at it’s slow pace...