Bleeding Roses--part 2

To this day I’m not quite sure how I managed to get back to my dorm, but I guess I did, because that’s where I woke up, Evan’s face inches from mine. He must’ve gotten laid last night too; otherwise he wouldn’t have been so chipper. I could only pray Bella hadn’t given him the mood lift. Although, as she had said, it was a big school.
I missed her voice.
“Rei, wake up!” Evan warbled. He had this smooth, deep voice that girls loved hearing. He could make it so soft and personal that girls actually fainted.
“I don’t want to.” As far as I could tell, I had been here all night. What if Bella was just a dream? “How late was I last night?”
“You came in around 1:30. Why?”
“No reason.” So she was real. Thank you, Dark Forces.
“Wake up, Rei. Let’s go and get the newest issue of Playboy. Maybe we can stop by the strip club on the way back.”
“I don’t feel like it.” I rolled over on the stomach. Evan looked over at me, adopting a smooth voice full of false concern.
“Wanna go to the strip club, Rei?”
“No.”
“Wanna go get laid?”
“No.”
“Wanna go set fire to small children?”
“No.”
“Wanna go read some porn and jack off in the bathroom?”
“No.”
“Wanna go spy in the girls’ locker room?”
“No.”
“Wanna go lure my sister into a false sense of security and take dirty pictures of her for me?”
“No!” I yelled, my voice muffled by the pillow.
“But she likes you! Please?”
“No! That’s so sick!” I sat up and looked over at him. “I’m a nymphomaniac too, man, and I’d never do that to my sister, if I had one! You’re sick, you know that?” My temper was waning.
“Fuck you, Rei.” He said angrily. “Just do it.”
“Go rape Vera, Evan. Just get out of my face.” I stood up with my back to him, starting to make my bed, when 275 pounds of all muscle slammed me against one of the posters on my bed, snapping it cleanly in half. Lying winded on the floor, I glared up at Evan. Something in me snapped, or I would not have stood up and socked someone who outweighed me by one hundred pounds. He didn’t expect it, and he went down on the floor, winded by a blow to the stomach. That’s what made this fight somewhat fair. Evan was larger and stronger, but pain had more effect on him. I was thinner, but still strong, and pain was nothing to me.
At first it was just throwing punches around. After I broke his nose, though, it was different. Blood pouring from his nose, Evan’s eyes flashed and he raised his hand. Shit, I completely forgot: my roommate just happened to be a telepath. Books, chairs, a lamp, came at me. They hit me one by one, one wave of pain after another. My first day here, when they told me why I was here, they handed me a stick and told me it was a magic wand. I never believed them, but out of sheer desperation I grabbed the ‘wand’ from my desk as Evan sent a desk and pocketknife zooming at me. Before I knew what was happening, I raised the wand. “PROTEGO!” I screamed. Then everything happened at once: words I had never heard before came pouring into my scull, the desk and knife were being blocked by what seemed to be a force field, Evan was screaming at me in French, I screamed back at him in Japanese, the door swung open. Three teachers swarmed in; two grabbed Evan, one lifted me up, and half carried, half dragged me out into the hall. The teacher let me go, obviously thinking I could stand up. I sank to my knees, by scull being ripped apart by thoughts I had never had before.
“Rei, right?” The man asked. He had black hair peppered with gray and green eyes. He looked about 35.
“Yeah.” I mumbled, feeling weaker by the minute.
“You’re to see the headmaster about your rooming problem, okay? Then it’s straight to the hospital wing.” I nodded numbly.
“Yeah.” He helped me up and led me to the oddest room I had ever seen. It was perfectly square, and totally empty, save for two bookshelves lining the walls and a desk at the end of the room. When I looked around for an explanation, I found that the man who led me her was gone, as was the door. When I turned back to the desk, there was a chair in front of it and an older man sitting behind it. I jumped and uttered, “Kuso!” in my surprise.
“Hello, Mr. Alderson. Or would you prefer if I called you Ricky?” He asked pleasantly.
“I’m just Rei, now, sir.” I answered, looking at him darkly and taking a seat without being asked. “I haven’t used either of those names in quite a while.”
“Ah, I see. Japanese name, isn’t it?” He asked, looking me over.
“Yes, it means peace, worship, or forgiveness.”
“Your mother was Japanese?” He inquired, although he had a look in his eyes that said he knew everything about me.
“Yes, sir, and my father was Italian.”
“And you speak both languages?”
“Yes, but I’m rusty in Italian.”
“Que cera cera, eh? Ah, well, I’m the headmaster here, Rei. Professor Fern.”
“Professor Fern.” I repeated, smirking slightly.
“Yes, I know. Odd name. Anyway, I understand you had a run in with a vampire last night.” He looked at me closely.
“Her name was Bella.” I hissed.
“Yes, I know Miss Arabella.”
“You do?” My heart leapt.
“Yes, but more on her later. You need a new roommate. I can switch you with someone else; Evan has already picked someone. I can trust you, can’t I?”
The question caught me off guard. “Um. Yes, sir.”
“Then come with me and we’ll meet your new roommate.”
He led me to the girls’ dorms. Girls? I’m a nymphomaniac. Why is he leading me to the girls’ dorms?
“Erm, Rei?”
“Sir?”
“The girl you’re to be rooming with…”
“It wouldn’t be Bella, would it?” I asked hopefully. He shook his head.
“Another girl. Another vampire. I hope you’ll get along.” It was more than obvious he didn’t want to talk about her. Maybe she was more screwed up than me…nah. He led me down a twist of corridors, and finally stopped me in between two doors. One had the number 665 on it in glowing gold letters, and I smirked as the other, which looked older and possessed a more dark nature, proudly declared the numbers 666. “This is Kali’s room.” Fern was already halfway down the corridor. Bad sign. “Hope it works out!” He called, and then he was gone.
“Jerk.” I mumbled, knocking on the door. It swung open without a sound.
“Enter.”
“Ooh, very dramatic.” I muttered, walking in. After a look around, I decided I liked this girl. Everything was black. The walls, the curtains, the pillow that hit my head as I walked in….
“Don’t mock me.”
“Sorry.” I looked around, trying to see her. There…half hidden in the shadows, a short gothic looking girl with cool black eyes and jet-black hair looked up from a book. “I’m, erm-“
“Rei.” She said, smirking slightly.
“Um, yeah.” I said, taken back. “You’re Kali, right?”
“Yeah.” She answered, standing up.
“I expected someone taller.” I joked. Her hand was wrapped around my throat before I could even think. “I didn’t mean it!” I gasped.
“If I wasn’t on strict probation, I’d kill you.” She warned. “but I am, lucky for you.”
“I hear you’re a vampire.” I said, sitting down on the bed I presumed to be mine.
“And proud of it.”
“So am I.”
“Since when?”
“Last night.”
“Have you fed yet?” I shook my head. “Wanna go tonight?”
“Alright.”
“Let’s go.”
“Now?”
“Duh.”