Chapter 14 - Taking Your Emotions Out on Evil Teachers Does Not Solve Problems, It Just Makes Things Worse

Later that night, Jade and I went to hang out at the library. I hadn’t been to the Carleton Place Library since I was about six or seven, so it was a whole new world to me. Jade brought me here in an attempt to take my mind of to the situation hereafter referred to as “The Alec Thing”, and it would have worked, except for the fact that Alec seems to follow me everywhere. Including the Carleton Place Library.

“Hey.” I didn’t even look behind me.

“Go away.”

“What’d I do?” I turned around.

“You ruined me.”

“What?”

“Nothing. It doesn’t matter.” I started to go find Jade.

“Are you okay?”

“Yeah, I’m fine. Like I said, it doesn’t matter.”         

 “If you say so.” Jade whisked me away from Alec.

“Can we go now?” I asked.

“Sure as hell we can.”

The next day, at school, I couldn’t concentrate at all in class. Not through gym, science, religion, art, lunch, or silent reading (during which I read a book about the affects of smoking, and found out over 50 different poisons that can be found in a cigarette). Finally, I decided just to ditch all together. I faked a stomach ache so that I could go to the office, and then started for the door. Ms. Dennis saw me and stopped me.

“Where do you think you’re going?” she asked.

“office.”

“So the office is outside now?”

“I called home. I don’t feel well.” I lied.

“Then go wait in the office.” When I got into the office, Tegan was there.

“Hey.” She said.

“Hi.” I replied, not looking at her.

“I heard you’re BFFs with the new girl now.”

“Uh huh.”

“Why haven’t you talked to me lately?” she asked.

“I don’t know. I’ve had a lot on my mind lately. What are you doing in here anyways?”

“Sean pulled a prank and blamed me. Lets just say it involved three cans of silly string and a confetti gun.” I laughed. Ms. Dennis stormed in, furious.

“I just called your parents. Neither of them recall you calling home sick.” She said sternly. I bolted for the door. Tegan, Jade (who saw me while getting a drink of water from the fountain), and Ms. Dennis chased me outside.

“You’re not going anywhere, Miss Gordon.” Ms. Dennis growled.

“What makes you think you have any power over me?”

“I  have the authority to suspend you.”

“And you think I care?” I started walking towards the parking lot, but she followed me.

“What the hell do you want?”

“Don’t you speak to me that way.”

“Oh yeah? Watch me.” I was so mad that my eyes darkened and my fangs emerged from my gums. I lunged for her neck viciously, tearing open her throat. Tegan and Jade were speechless. I released my school’s now dead staff member and watched in horror as her limp body fell to the ground. I was so horrified at what I had done that I couldn’t think straight.

“I-I-I’m sorry you guys had to see that.” Tegan and Jade still said nothing. I heard footsteps coming down the hall, panicked, and ran.

I ran right past my house, Jade’s house, and all the way past my old house in Almonte. I just kept running. Past the Mack’s Milk where Brianna McIntyre, the eighteen year old mentioned in the paper, may or may not have been attacked. Past the library that I owed tons of money in fines to. Past Roxy’s house and the Almonte High School. I stopped at Tegan’s house and ran reflexively into the forest there, remembering that that was a place where I had once felt happy. I found a spot where Tegan and I ate watermelon one day during the summer after sixth grade, went down the steep hill that she had warned me not to go down, and found a small pond where I washed the dried blood off of my face. I went back up the hill and sat down. It was a beautiful view of the forest. I lied down on the cool grass, curled up in a ball, and began to cry.

I opened my eyes. I must’ve fallen asleep; it was now twilight and the sun was setting. On the horizon I saw that the sky was a radiant purple with tiny bits of red where the sun was. If I’d remembered to get my cell phone out of my locker before I ditched school and killed Ms. Dennis, I would have taken a picture. Remembering what I’d done, I started to cry again. For that one moment, I hated myself and what I was. I spotted a large, pointy branch that had fallen off of a tree and was now lying dead on the forest floor. And I hated myself so much… I wouldn’t feel this sadness and hatred anymore… I picked up the stick and pointed the sharp end towards my chest. Was I really going to end my life here, in Tegan’s backyard? If the last thing I saw was that beautiful sunset, then maybe now would be an acceptable time to die. I closed my eyes. On the count of three. One, two...three. Just as I was about to stake myself in the heart, the stick disappeared from my hands. I opened my eyes and looked around.

“Who do you think you are, Edward Cullen? A suicidal vampire? Really, Kieyra?”

I spun around. Alec stood there, twirling my weapon of choice around in his hand.

“Jade told me what happened.” He added, his voice a bit more sympathetic this time. The tears were coming back.

“Are you okay?”

“That’s a stupid question, of course I’m not.” I wept. He sat down on the grass and I sat next to him.

“ I didn’t mean to do it,” I said softly, “I swear I didn’t.”

“I know.” He said, trying to comfort me as he locked his arms around me. I leaned my head on his shoulder.

“I thought vampires weren’t supposed to feel bad about stuff.” I said, sniffling.

“You don’t, until you decide to feel emotion. And then you feel everything.”

“Why do you even care?”

“What?”

“Why are you here? You could have let me die.”

“We’re friends. Friends care about friends. And if I can recall, this is the second time I’ve saved your life.”

“Thanks for that.” I’d never been this vulnerable around him before. I’d never cried in front of…well…anyone…in a long time. It was actually kind of…nice, If I thought about it. Nice to finally have a friend I could talk to. Nice to know that someone actually cared. Nice to know that Alec, of all people, cared. And with that in mind, I drifted off to sleep.