Bella Notte (44 page)

It wasn't my voice
that answered him and his mouth dropped open when he looked at her.

A thought suddenly
struck me.
Miss
Ashley, if you were at my ball, why didn't we shake hands with you?

I called to
inform your family I would be late, and so I was.
She smiled as she was talking to the class about the technique of
stippling.

I got up and grabbed
the handouts that were on her desk as she demonstrated on the board
what it meant. I passed them out very slowly.

I smiled through my
entire Art class because now I had two secrets. I wasn't sure if Miss
Ashley knew the first one, but I wasn't going to ask, and the second
was the coolest thing ever. This was an awesome way to conclude the
day.

Class ended and Dom
and I went home. Everything fell back into routine after that; I got
up, went to school, came home, spent as much time with Dominic as
possible, and ate. Life was good in my opinion.

I worked hard with
Kelly to ensure that the prom would be remembered for generations to
come in this small town. I hoped that it would reach out and
encourage other well off vampires to put in some dough so other tiny
places could do great things too- but it was only a hope. Life was
good. It didn't stop the feeling of missing something that wasn't
there, but I got through that with everything else. Everything went
on without
him
,
and so did I.

With prom's fast
approach, I decided it was time to go shopping for a dress. I wanted
something custom-made, but I didn't want to go to New York alone.
Dominic was busy with plans for his clubs, so he wouldn't be able to
join me. I thought about asking Miss Ashley, because she would be
able to afford an overly expensive dress, and she'd be chaperoning
the event. She liked that we were the financial backing to this
year's shindig. I asked Kelly to come with me and, at first, I feared
that she would be uncomfortable, but I coaxed her into it. I decided
that I'd buy her a dress too.

How many times do
you get to be a teenager and go to your high school prom? I figured
that if a vampire wanted to, they could easily attend high school
hundreds of times- because of our slow aging, but that was besides my
current point. This was my first prom after all.

I phoned Kelly and
asked her if she was busy tomorrow. She had nothing planned and it
was a perfect day to go to New York and meet with the designers. The
day passed slowly, even for a Saturday. But somehow I survived.

When dawn broke on
Sunday, everything was an ugly gray color.

I stuck my head out
my bedroom window and saw it was overcast and slightly chilled. I
called the airport at once and I was lucky- because it wouldn't
interfere with the take off, or landing, of planes.

I drove into town at
seven to pick Kelly up at the deli. For some reason, she didn't want
me to get her at her house. I thought that maybe she was embarrassed
by how small hers was compared to mine.

She was eating a
muffin when I pulled up. She waved, but still looked glum. I opened
the passenger side door for her from the inside and she bounced from
the table to the car. I raised a brow and debated if this was really
the best idea. After a minute, I decided it was.

She offered me some
of her muffin; I declined and told her that we had a light breakfast
waiting at our destination. I hadn't told her where we'd be going for
the dress, or that she'd be getting one as well, but those were
little details to me. I pulled into the airport and parked.

Her blonde brows
shot up. “Um, what are we, eh, doing here?” Her voice
cracked at the end.

“
We are
getting on that plane, right there,” I said as I grabbed my
purse and hopped out of my new black beast.

Kelly hooked her arm
through her bag and scrambled out of the Jeep. I could hear her feet
scurrying to catch up with my longer strides.

“
Now, don't
say anything. This is going to be fun.” My voice was excited
and I gently helped her into the plane.

“
Emma, I, eh,
I've never, you know, flown before,” she said, sheepishly.

I giggled. “The
pilot flies the plane silly.” I stuck my tongue out at her.

Her laugh was shaky.

“
Oh, alright,
I totally understand. This is like my third or fourth trip. It's
safe. Don't worry.” I smiled at her. “Just sit down, are
you hungry, or want some coffee or something?”

She sat and looked
around. “I'm not hungry. A coke would be nice. Is there a
bathroom on this plane?” Her skin had a greenish tinge.

“
Yeah, it's up
here by the kitchen. Let me get you a 7-UP instead.” I shuffled
into the kitchen.

I returned with a
bowl of Count Chocula for me and a 7-UP for her.

“
You gonna be
okay?” I said around a mouthful of cereal.

“
Yup.”
She tentatively sipped the soda.

The pilot came into
the back and told us we would be leaving soon, and to fasten our
safety belts. I, of course, saluted him and he laughed and went back
into the cockpit.

Kelly white knuckled
the arm rests on both sides of her. I sat across from her and tried
to chat to her about stuff that would take her mind off of it all. It
didn't work.

The plane lurched
backwards and she started to sweat. I knew she was going to puke, I
hoped she could hold it off until we were in the air. We pulled out
onto the runway and started to accelerate. I watched Kelly with
concern.

We had lift off. Her
face was covered in a gentle sheen, her eyes were shut tight, and I
could see her nails digging into the leather.

When we were about
to level out, she was fumbling with her belt. I quickly undid mine
and got hers undone as fast as possible. Then I glided in front of
her and opened the bathroom door. She slipped in and closed the door.
I heard her finally lose it all. I was lucky to be one of those
people who didn't do the same when they heard the sound of someone
being ill.

I laughed gently,
went in the kitchen and soaked a towel in cold water. I tapped softly
on the bathroom door.

“
Kelly …”
I said to the door.

“
I'm okay.
Just got too nervous.” Her voice was shaky.

“
Honey, let me
in, and I can help calm you down and make some of the feeling go
away.” I knew tricks from when I was younger that Grandpa
taught me.

The door's lock
clicked. I pushed it gently open and squeezed in. She had her head
resting on the seat of the toilet- something we all seem to do when
we feel that bad, totally not caring for the germ factor of having
our face where butts go.

I put the cold cloth
on the back of her neck. She jumped a little, but then relaxed back
onto her porcelain pillow.

I opened the small
medicine cabinet and pulled out a tiny, brown bottle, without any
markings on it. The top twisted off easily, I sniffed it.
Yup,
just what I wanted.

I pulled one of
Kelly's hands up from her grip on the edge of the toilet and flipped
it over. She looked up at me like I might be crazy. I tipped the
bottle's contents onto her wrist- only a drop- and rubbed it in. The
small room filled with the scent of peppermint.

“
Take deep,
controlled breaths, and when we leave the bathroom, I'm gonna put you
in the bed. If you start to feel nauseous again, smell your wrist,
okay?” It was like talking to a sick child.

She nodded as I took
the cloth from her neck, rinsed it in the sink, and cooled it off
again. I helped her to her feet; let her rinse her mouth out, and
splash water onto her face. Then I escorted her to the room in the
back of the plane. She lied down without any complaints and I pulled
down all the blinds. I put the cool cloth on her forehead and she
drifted off into sleep.

I snuck out of the
room and enjoyed the serenity of the front cabin, all to myself, as I
sipped on some coffee.

We landed in New
York with a thick gloom. I had Grandma arrange for multiple designers
to meet us today at a loft we had in the city- something I had found
out about.

I woke Kelly up
while I prayed she'd feel better. I certainly didn't want to have to
buy multiple dresses, plus ours, because she got sick.

“
How you
feeling?” I asked with hopeful eyes.

“
Much better.
Thanks,” she said through a yawn.

“
We're here!”
I exclaimed as I pulled open the blinds.

“
Where's
here?” Another yawn.

“
New York!
Silly.” I beamed.

“
Oh my God,
Emma. You took me to New York?” Kelly's face was torn between
excitement and nerves.

“
Yup,” I
said as I left the back room. “Come on, the driver's here.”

She scrambled out of
the bed. “Private planes, random trips to New York, drivers …
jeeze, Em, I could get used to your life.” She bounced next to
me.

“
Well, you'll
love my next surprise. But we must eat first.” It was lunch
time and I knew that if we ate our measurements would allow us some
wiggle room, if the designers decided to make the dresses tighter for
effect.

The drive into the
city was quick and Kelly spent the entire time looking out the
window. I could easily see myself, back on my first trip here.

I sat quietly and
allowed her all the excitement the trip was bringing her. I thought
about New Year's with Dom, again.

When we got closer
to the noisy city I decided it was time to make a decision about
where to eat. “Kelly, would you like to eat at a fancy posh
place, or a little hole in the wall diner?” I wanted a feel for
how she'd do later with the designers.

She clutched her bag
and I could see her calculating cost.

“
Don't worry
about cost either. You're on my tab today.” I smiled
encouragingly.

“
I don't know
which is better.” Her voice was a little less tense.

Gonna have to
take her out more.

“
Hmm. I
personally think the secret places taste better, but the posh ones
are an experience. So, do you want an awesome taste or an interesting
experience?” I looked at her seriously.

She started
laughing. “Oh. Emma. You. Look. So. Silly. When. You. Look.
Serious,” she said through her giggles.

I rolled my eyes at
her. I was glad she was having a good time.

“
Well?”

“
Um. I don't
really know much about food, besides what Mom cooks. Let's eat at
some place small and different.” She was pleased with her bold
decision.

“
Okay.”

I told the driver
the address of a place Dom and I had discovered, and then told him to
come back for us in an hour.

Kelly and I got out
of the car in a shabby little neighborhood, which was gritty, and had
stray pets roaming around. I led Kelly three doors down the street.
The exterior was covered in graffiti and the glass had been painted
black.

Kelly stopped as
soon as she realized my intent to go inside. “Em. You sure you
want to eat here?” Her boldness was fading.

“
Yes, and so
do you. Their food is awesome,” I said.

“
But …”

“
No. No 'but'.
We are eating here. Stop being so nervous. You're beautiful and need
to develop the attitude that goes along with it. We'll start now …
shoulders back, head up, and walk with some 'tude.” I
instructed her out of her slumped posture.

“
Emma,”
she pleaded.

“
I thought you
wanted to be a model or something?” I asked.

“
I do. But …”
She looked down.

“
Then you have
to learn. Just follow my example.” I squared my shoulders and
tried to seem taller- like Kelly was. I set my face to look like I
was somehow worthy of a runway. Kelly looked at me in astonishment.