Rise of the Moon (Moonlit Series Book 1) (8 page)

“You sure you don’t want lunch?”

“Evan,” I forced a laugh as we stood there in the hallway, “I’m perfectly capable of buying myself lunch.”

“It’s on me. You’d be getting a free lunch,” Evan persisted. “Free, Evelyn.”

“The number of times that word has changed my answer is probably unmentionable,” I sighed, a more earnest smile coming forth. “Thanks, Evan, but maybe a rain check?”

“Sure,” he said slowly. “A rain check.”

Chapter 9: Shayne

“What are you looking for?” James asked, standing in the threshold at the top of the stairs. He had our mother’s delicate features and long lashes, making him what most may call a ‘pretty boy.’ James had cut off all his hair the day before school started; now, three weeks later, there was a thin layer of dark brown hair covering his head.

I was in the basement, looking through boxes of personal possessions my mother had sent me from our house in Europe. She said she had sent everything over, but I was missing one particular photo album.

“Nothing,” I replied. The old-fashioned part of me hated that answer, but I had recently begun to understand why it was used so often; it was a clear sentiment of one wanting to keep to oneself.

“Liar,” he called me out on it immediately. Evidently, the other party refused to accept that dismissal.

“I’m looking for an album,” I set down one of the boxes, giving up for now. If it was not there, then there was not a thing I could do about it. I would have to call my mother and ask about it later.

“What year?” he took a curious step down the stairs, but retreated as I started to ascend.

“Eighteen forty-four,” I passed him by, heading for the kitchen.

“It’s so easy to forget you’re a hundred and seventy some odd years older than I am,” James muttered, following me at my heel.

My brother was still very much alive in comparison to me. He would not properly turn until he drank fresh blood, when the cells in his body would react. My father called it a perfection virus. It reconstructed the cells in a short period of time, hardening them, making sure their functionality was at its best. It had the potential to change the exterior of the infected, and it, in fact, was rare that it didn’t. I personally hadn’t changed, but I’m fairly certain it’s because I was born, not made a vampire. I was equally certain my brother would be the same.

But virus or not, to me, it was a curse. 

“But that’s the year Evangeline died, right?”

Mr. Smith was in the kitchen, preparing dinner for James and I. While my diet was a bit unlike most, eating was not a problem. Mr. Smith was an older gentleman, his family having spent generations serving my family. His son would do the same, after he turned twenty-one. Right now he was sixteen, like James, and living with his mother and sister in the London estate that we had given them for two hundred years of service. It was well deserved. Mr. Smith always seemed to know what we wanted before we could say a word.

That being said, when I entered the room, he paused in his preparations and fetched me a bottle of blood from the fridge. He even went as far as to uncap it for me before he passed it my way. 

“The newest sample,” he explained.

“Are you forgetting what she looks like?” James persisted. “I hope you find the album. I want to see her.”

“Enough about the past. You were telling me about a girl in school,” I took a sip of the blood, hating the chalky feeling it left in my mouth afterwards. Artificial crap was what it was. “Mr. Smith, we’ll have to tell Selena that this batch is no good either. It needs to be smoother. Remind me to contact her later.”

“I will,” he took the bottle away and fetched me a warmed blood pouch instead.

Selena and I, along with a few other vampire activists, were working to create an artificial drink for vampires, hoping to overthrow the entire system of taking blood from humans. My father was against it –which was, perhaps, the entire reason I pursued that course of action in the first place. He did not believe we would succeed very well. Vampires, after all, were creatures of tradition and habit. Unfortunately, that habit left more than a few humans dead year after year. It’s why I chose the blood pouch, and why as soon as it was perfected, I’d be choosing the artificial blood.

“So, James? Tell me about her.”

“She’s just caught my eye, that’s all,” his ears turned red with embarrassment.

“She’s in a grade younger than you?” I asked. He had mentioned her earlier, but had been just as vague.

“Just a year,” he spoke slowly, deliberately. Something my father instilled in him since he was a child. Speak with intention. Do not speak without thinking first. “We have one class together. Mechanics. She sits on the other side of the room from me though.”

“Mechanics?”

“She’s not very good. But she tries harder than any of the other girls in the class,” he said. “And I admire that. Like I said, she’s just… caught my eye.”

“And to think, two years ago, Master Shayne had you believing that girls had cooties,” Mr. Smith chuckled to himself. “But, if you will go and take your seats in the dining room, dinner shall be served.”

“Will you be joining us, Smith?” James asked.

“You know I can’t,” Mr. Smith replied.

“Let’s go eat, James,” I said, gesturing with my head to the adjoining room. In the twenty years that Mr. Smith has served us, he had only once eaten at the table alongside us. That one time was when James was eight, and beginning to become more aware of the people around him, but at the same time not care what boundaries were laid down. He still did not care. And I admired my brother for that. But my father had reprimanded Mr. Smith greatly –how, I do not know, but he had never sat down with us again. Not even in this house, which was, in all technicalities, mine and mine alone.

Still, James continued to ask.

“Harry was the one that told you about Evelyn, wasn’t he?” James took his seat opposite of me at the square table in the dining room.

“He saw a picture of her once, over sixty years ago. He was one of the few I entrusted to help me search for her. Somehow, I never thought the day would actually come,” I leaned back in my own chair, looking up at the ceiling. I let out a deep breath. “But I’m so glad it did.”

“So why are you searching for the old photograph?” he asked, caressing his fork with his index finger. They were selected by my mother, who had always loved the intricate designs on plates and silverware. She had helped select everything inside the house, to be quite honest. My mother had always had better taste than I, and I was not afraid to admit it.

“I just… Evelyn’s perfect, and I know I can’t expect her to be like herself, pre-reincarnation, but something feels off. Maybe because this all happened so fast –”

“I wouldn’t say that a hundred and sixty years is ‘fast,’” my brother used finger quotes around the word. “But that’s just a sixteen-year-old’s opinion.”

I sighed. “A hundred and sixty-six.  But you’re right. But I wasn’t even sure if she would be reincarnated at all. It was just wishful thinking –until Harry found her. Now it feels surreal.”

“But you’re happy?” James questioned.

“Of course,” I responded.

“Then I don’t know what the problem is,” he said, looking to the door as Mr. Smith began to bring dinner into the room.

The problem was that I did not know what was wrong exactly. Maybe I needed to stop mixing the past with the present. Perhaps I was still unprepared to love anyone other than Evangeline, although Evelyn’s personality was quite endearing. Part of me, admittedly, wanted just to pick things up where we had left them off all those years ago.

I liked Evelyn. She was pretty; she was sweet; she was intellectual. She had a charisma that I was certain she was unaware of. And she smiled so easily. It was refreshing and calming. But somehow, she felt distant. Conceivably, that could be what felt off. I had to keep reminding myself that I had to make her fall in love with me all over again.

James was right, though. There was no point in dwelling on it. I was sure things would work out properly in the end.

Chapter 10: Evelyn

I hummed as I put my things away after music. The weather outside was gorgeous, and I was going to convince the girls to eat in the park. Kristy and Chantelle appeared at their lockers, and just as I went to meet up with them, Jason intervened.

“If I had to guess, The Beatles?” he asked.

“What?” I was taken aback.

“The song you’re humming. The Beatles, right? ‘Yesterday, all my troubles seemed so far away.’”

I hadn’t really been paying attention, really, but I didn’t admit that. “Yeah, I guess. How was biology?”

“Boring. I’ve seen the material before,” he shrugged.

“Did you learn it at your old school?” I asked.

“I just like to read and gain knowledge,” he answered.

“Somehow that suits you,” I told him. “And Blake?”

“He prefers to watch the movie,” he grinned.

“And
that
doesn’t surprise me,” I laughed.

“I just don’t have the patience,” Blake appeared at my shoulder, and I would have jumped if I hadn’t watched him approach in my peripheral vision. “Reading takes up too much of my time. I could be out doing other things.”

“You don’t know what you’re missing,” I told him.

“An avid reader?” he asked.

“Any spare chance I get,” I glanced around, realizing that Kristy and Chantelle had gone as swiftly as they’d come.

“So what am I missing in books that I can’t get through real life experiences?” Blake persisted.

“It’s a form of escapism. I long to live in worlds I can only touch through the words of authors. And unfortunately, I don’t know how to describe it. It’s something you either know the feeling of, or you don’t,” I said to Blake.

“Well, what kinds of books do you read?” he leaned casually against the lockers, as if getting ready for a long conversation.

“Anything I can get my hands on,” I told him. “But Maddie would tell you the only books she’s seen me reading lately are supernatural novels.”

“Supernatural?”

“Yeah… but speaking of Maddie, I should go find her. She’s probably waiting for me somewhere,” I glanced down the hall at the clock. She couldn’t have gotten too far, even if she was waiting. Only four minutes had passed since I’d gotten to my locker.

“So no tour?”

“If you’ve found your way to all your classes, I’m not sure you need to know too much more. You seem like a tough guy. You’ll find your way, I’m sure,” I told him. “I’ll see you in English, Blake. See you around, Jason.”

“I’m sure you will,” Jason said.

“Bye, Evelyn,” Blake said.

I turned, walking away. Their voices floated down the hall after me.

“Cafeteria?” Jason asked Blake. “I’m starving.”

“Me, too,” was the response. “Maybe…”

Their voices grew distant as I reached the stairwell, heading upstairs to Maddie’s locker. I suspected it already, but I was a little disappointed to find she wasn’t there. I didn’t see Maegan, either. I circled the floor, then headed down a floor to the cafeteria, immediately spotting Blake and Jason again.

“It’s like you missed us or something,” Blake chuckled as I neared them in the lunch line.

“An unlikely story,” I said, peeking around the corner to see if any of them were in line. When I didn’t see them, I went down the hall to the seating area, looking around to see if I could spot them. Evan spotted me, and I gave a small wave, but I kept moving. Maybe they’d gone back down to my locker to grab me.

It was the downfall of a school this big. Two people could roam the halls searching for each other for an entire period. Why couldn’t Kristy and Chantelle have just waited for me at the beginning of lunch?

When I didn’t spot them at my locker, I went outside to see if Maegan’s car was still there. It was, so they didn’t go out for lunch. They could be outside. I began heading towards the park. And if I couldn’t find them there, then… I don’t know. I’d go back and eat with Evan and Philip… or something.

I was in luck, though, because there they were.

“Thanks for ditching me,” I called out.

“I thought you were giving Blake and Jason a tour of the school?” Kristy said as I approached the group. They sat outside on a picnic table under a tall pine tree. A gentle breeze danced around us, lifting up the leaves that had begun to fall off the deciduous trees in the park.

“I sorta skipped out on it,” I told her, taking a seat beside Maddie. “He’s kind of… intimidating, you know?”

“Oh, we know,” Maegan snorted.

“But, very attractive,” Maddie interjected.

“You show him around then,” I told her.

“Somehow, I don’t think he’d accept,” Maddie said, laughing a little. “Because I’ve already offered.”

“Somehow, I’m not surprised,” I pushed her gently with my elbow.

“Not surprised that I asked, or that he turned me down?”

“That you asked. It
is
surprising that he turned you down,” I stroked her ego as I stole the leftovers of her lunch. Celery sticks and half a salami sandwich. Chantelle offered me her grapes. “Thanks.”

“Agreed,” Kristy nodded. “Most guys go along with whatever Maddie has to say, just so they can stare at her assets for a while.”

“That’s teenage boys for you,” Maegan laughed.

“I’ve been known to abuse my assets, as Kristy put it, for that very reason,” Maddie grinned.

“That, too, doesn’t surprise me,” I smiled as I bit into the sandwich. “So, how was class?”

“Ugh, boring,” Maddie rested her elbow on the table, placing her chin in her hand. “Though Jason’s been putting up with me and Kristy well enough.”

“So I’ve heard.”

“On a side note, unrelated,” Chantelle cleared her throat. “Any of you know what you’re going to be doing next year?”

“College, university? I haven’t a clue,” Maegan jumped into the conversation easily. “Mom wants me to go to Western, like she did.”

“I don’t even know what I want to do, yet,” Maddie muttered.

“But, according to all the teachers –”

“No one does,” we all said, in near unison.

“What’s the difference between going to a university after getting out of school with no goal in mind, and going in a few years when we know what we want to do? Why don’t we have a life coaching class or something in grade twelve?” Kristy asked.

“What about you, Evelyn?” Chantelle asked.

“Probably just working,” I said. “Who knows, maybe I’ll pick up a trade or something. Or, you know, world domination. I’m trying to keep my options open. Really though, your guess is as good as mine.”

They all laughed, but Chantelle pressed on, “Does anyone know what they want to do?”

She received a round of shrugs.

“Right now, all I want is to go to the cafeteria and get a cookie,” I said finally. I paused for a moment before pushing myself up out of the seat. “Actually, I think I’m going to go do that. Ah, see that? Short term goal making. That’s all I really
want
to focus on at this point of my life.”

“The future’s going to sneak up on all of you.”

“Good thing I like surprises,” I responded, taking a step away from the table. “I’ll catch you guys later.”

“Want me to come?” Maddie asked.

“Nah, it’s fine,” I told her. “You look comfortable.”

“Alright,” she said. “Have fun. Meet me at my locker before the bell?”

“I’ll be there,” I told her, then bid adieu to the rest of the group as I went on my way.

I headed back to the school, pulling open the heavy door and then slowly walking along the hallway.

“Oh –Evelyn,” a friendly voice called out. I turned to see Jenna, who I’d known through all of high school, heading my way. She was in my English class this year, and I was a little disappointed that it was the only class I had with her. I recalled some good times in grade nine science and grade ten math. We had almost all of our grade eleven courses together.

“Did you do the homework for English?” she walked beside me, carrying her books in her hand. I headed for the stairs, still keen on getting that cookie. “I worked late last night, so I didn’t get a chance to finish it.”

“Yeah, do you need to copy it?” I asked, stopping on the second floor. The cookie was just down the hall, but the faster I got my notebook for Jenna out of my locker, the more time she’d have to finish her homework. She didn’t ask often, so I didn’t mind helping her out once in a while.

“That would be great,” she told me.

“Yeah, I’ll get it for you now. Let’s –”

I felt a force against my back, and my foot slipped off the step. I managed to grip the railing, but my body swung around and my head hit the bar. I let go of the railing, letting myself sit on the step for a moment to gather my bearings.

“Evelyn? Are you okay?” Jenna asked, helping me to my feet. My vision black rimmed as I stood up, and I shook my head to get rid of it, only to make it worse. Jenna looked above us, shouting, “Watch where you’re going next time, asshole!”

“Well… shit,” I murmured, feeling the back of my head, the pounding almost unbearable. “I think I was pushed.”

“I didn’t recognize him,” she said, looking up again as if he might’ve come back. “Are you okay?”

“Yeah, but I can already feel the headache coming on,” I muttered. “But, whatever; let’s go. I’ll get you my notes.”

“Still –what the hell? Who knocks someone down the stairs?” Jenna grumbled as we walked down. “If you’re a new kid in school, messing with other kids isn’t going to make you friends.”

Somehow, I didn’t think ‘making friends’ was the intention of the person who pushed me.

“You’re sure you’re okay? I can take you to the walk-in-clinic down the road,” Jenna offered.

“I could walk there just fine –but I’m okay. A little shaken up, but I’ll survive,” I answered as we reached the first floor once again. We headed for my locker. “I almost had a heart attack, though. Nearly falling down a set of stairs is bad for my heart.”

“Worse than missing the last step on a flight of stairs?” she asked.

“Probably about the same,” I forced a laugh. I opened my locker, quickly grabbing my notes and handing them to her. “Class is in fifteen minutes. Let your feather pen fly.”

“I’ll write as fast as I can, trust me,” she said, taking the notes gratefully. She glanced at them before looking up at me and smiling. “Thanks again, Evelyn. I really appreciate it. Let’s schedule a day where you don’t do the homework and I do, just so that I can pay back the favour.”

“It’ll be like grade ten math all over again,” I closed my locker. “Anyway. I’m starving, so I’m going back upstairs to the cafeteria. See you in class.”

“Careful on those stairs,” she called after me.

Jenna didn’t have to warn me –though my grip on the railing might have been slightly exaggerated. Still, I was already feeling better after I got in line outside the cafeteria. It was green onion cake day –which meant a lot of people went back for seconds. Did I want a green onion cake? They were so good, but I could probably do without it.

“Evelyn –what can I get you?” the cafeteria lady greeted me.

“Green onion cake, please,” I said, giving in to the temptation.

“Are they any good?”

I turned to see Blake. “I thought you already bought lunch.”

“I’m a growing boy with an bottomless stomach,” he replied. I snorted, rubbing the back of my head as I waited for my food. He pressed on: “So?”

“So what?”

“Are the green onion cakes any good?”

“Delicious,” I answered, grabbing mine.

“Then I’ll take two,” he told the lunch lady.

I moved on to the refrigerator, taking out a chocolate milk and heading for the register they had set up by the exit back to the hallway. While I was there I grabbed two cookies.

“Have any luck finding Maddie?” Blake kept close behind me.

“Yeah, she was outside,” I replied, paying with the spare change in my wallet.

“Gorgeous day,” he commented as he found his own wallet. “So what happened?”

“What do you mean?” I asked, unintentionally waiting for him.

“I mean, why’d you come back inside?”

“Food. They’d already eaten by the time I found them, and leftovers just weren’t cutting it,” I debated going and sitting down at the tables down the hall. Were Evan and Philip still there? But Blake started heading in the opposite direction, and I followed as I spoke. “Where’d Jason disappear to?”

“He had a quick errand to run before class, so I let him take my truck,” Blake said, turning and heading to the stairwell. He took a few steps down and sat closest to the wall. I hesitated only a second before taking a seat, too. It’d been so long since I’d sat in the stairwell. And you think I’d have been uncomfortable since I’d just been pushed down the stairs, but this felt okay. Maybe it was because Blake appeared watchful. Another intimidating feature of his. One that I felt he shared with Jason.