Chapter 20- More Complications

I think Alec might have been about to pass out. He just stood there, frozen, as if he just saw Jesus Christ performing a miracle.

“Um, Alec?” he didn’t move.

“Alec? You in there?” I waved my hand in front of his face. “Hellooooo?” When he didn’t reply, I started to worry. Did I freak him out too much?

“Um…Can you say that again?” he finally asked

“Say what?”                                       

“That…you love me?”

“Um, okay…?I…love you?”

“Now hit me.”

“What?”

“Hit me.”

“Um…okay?” I slapped him hard in the arm.            

“Ow!”

“Well, I’m sorry, but you told me to!”

“No, it’s fine. And I’m not dreaming, unless that dream-hurt…” I stepped on his foot.

“Again, ow!”

“Was that a dream-hurt or a real-hurt?” I mocked.

“Real hurt, thank you. So, do you really mean it? I mean, the love thing?”

“Yes, and please don’t make me say it again. It was hard enough the first eight times.”

“Well, excuse me for not taking the time out of my day to learn six foreign languages. Unlike some people.”

“I didn’t. I honestly had no idea what language I was speaking. It was weird.”

                                               

                                                           ****

It was getting closer and closer to the winter break. I had plans to go Skiing with Tegan and Jade, go to a Christmas party at Emily’s with Sara and Roxy, and spend ‘quality time’ with mom, Nate, Sarah, Katie, Anna, and Dave. My mom also thought it’d be a good idea for me to see my dad, but I was carefully avoiding the topic.

You see, a few years ago, my dad met this guy who believed in vampires. He was also a motivational speaker, so, using one of his speeches, he convinced my dad to spend the next three years searching for vampires. His girlfriend Kelly broke up with him, my mom got full custody of me and Nathen, and that was that. I used to talk to him on the phone, and every now and then we’d have lunch together, but I haven’t spent a Christmas with him in two years.

I mean, think of it this way. If I told him I was a vampire, he might go get his vervain. That I could deal with. Now, if I told him that I was dating a 16/325 year old vampire who used to work for an evil dude and can read minds, well, he just might go inside and get his wooden stakes AND his shotgun (you know how it is with fathers and their daughter’s boyfriends…).

Anyways, my mom kept insisting I go, and I just kept telling her that he’s crazy and I don’t feel exactly safe around him. But she kept giving me that look that says “my way or the highway”, so I cracked and promised I would go for two hours on Christmas Day. 

                                                ****

“Hey, Kieyra, wanna be my partner in gym?” Sara tapped me on the shoulder from her desk, which was behind mine.

“Um, yeah, sure.” In gym class we were doing Badminton, so we had to pick partners. Badminton was always one of my favorite sports, because it was a sport where you got to hit a little ball thingy with a racket.

After we set up the nets and got our rackets, Mrs. Stewart got called down to the office for something and told us all to just practice for five minutes until she got back. We all started playing an impromptu game with everyone together, which would have been unsafe if Mrs. Stewart hadn’t provided us with ‘protective goggles’. We heard the door open and close, and then I heard and saw what had to be impossible.

“Can I join?” Sylvie’s voice pounded in my ears. How was she here? We made sure she couldn’t get out! Katie and I exchanged looks.

“Sorry I haven’t been here for awhile. I was kind of tied up in something.” Sylvie winked at me and smirked. Mrs. Stewart came in.

“Sylvie! Nice of you to finally join us! Where have you been?”

“Oh, I was out of the country for a few weeks with family. They were all so glad that the police found me that they wanted to spend loads of time with me in case I went missing again.” Yeah, right. Like anyone would actually care if you went missing, I thought.

“Well, it’s great that you’re back. Why don’t you pair up with Patty and chose who you want to play against?”

“Sure, Mrs. Stewart. I choose…Sara and Kieyra!” Sylvie giggled.

“great! Is that okay with you, Sara and Kieyra?” I wanted to say no, but before I could, Sylvie said Of course they’re okay with it! Kieyra and I are best friends, aren’t we, Kieyra?”

“Yeah, sure.” I said, which translated into “no way in hell!” in teenage girl speak. Of course, Mrs. Stewart didn’t understand this unheard of language and let Sylvie and Patty play against us. As we started the game, Sylvie went easy on me and Sara. But after awhile, when the score was 14-8 (for us), she started to do better and better. By the middle of the game, it was basically me VS Sylvie, with Sara and Patty watching the game like a couple of cats watching someone wave a string back and forth. Neither of us was even scoring points anymore; it was just a never ending rally.

“Sylvie, can we give up now, please? I want to go to lunch, and we already know that half of the class is already at lunch; the other half’s just watching us. Even Sara and Patty have given up.” We looked over to see Kayleigh, a girl from the other class, bringing Patty and Sara a bag of popcorn.

“No way. If I can’t have Alec, then I should at least be able to hold the title of ‘Ultimate Eighth Grade Badminton Player’.”

“Why is winning so important to you? I just don’t get it!”

“Because Damien said I always have to win. He says it’s what our kind do. And speaking of Damien, he told me to give you a message.” The birdie came flying at me, but I let it fall to the ground.

“What message?” I asked, suddenly serious. I dropped my racket.

“Only two words.”

“What two words?” Sylvie chuckled, handing her Badminton Racket to Mrs. Stewart.

“Game on.”