Frozen Heart (ch. 4: Council Meeting)

For the rest of the school day I thought about Erika. I thought about how her voice sounded, how her brow puckered over her eyes when she was thinking. I thought about how her eyes lit up when she was angry. I thought about her unexpected temper. And I thought about the fact that none of that meant anything because I wasn't in love with her. Though, to be honest, I also thought about the fact that I didn't have her in any more of my classes.

When I finally got home I was greeted not so warmly by Hannah. "Ian Hart what in hell was your problem this morning? I was trying to give a speech to the covens of this area and you have the nerve to -"

"Hannah, Hannah, shut up! Listen, I'm sorry, alright?"

"Alright!? Alright?!?!!" she screamed, "No, Ian, it is not alright. I am sick and tired of you walking around here thinking that you are the most important person there is."

"Hey, I don't think that! I think that most important person would go to someone like you."

She rolled her eyes, "Right, like I haven't heard that before."

"Look, Hannah, I'm sorry. I shouldn't have said anything, I was being rude and immature and I'm sorry."

She glared at me, "Whatever. You'd think after four hundred years a guy would grow up." She walked off. Before she got to the door though she turned around, "I almost forgot, Ian, there's a council meeting tonight. Guess who's turn it is to go?"

"What? No, it's gotta be someone else turn."

"Nope. I went last time, Joanna was before that. Rosa and Mirna always go together and Josh and Freddie were before them. It's your turn."

Damn. I wish we had a bigger coven. "Couldn't someone else go?"

Hannah shook her head, "Ian, even as much as I like knowing what's going on in the community, I hate those meetings. No one would go for you, not even Rosa and Mirna."

I scowled, "Fine. I'll go."

She grinned, "Don't forget to do your homework first, Ian."

I growled, "Shut up, Hannah. I'm older than you by a hundred and fifty years"

She shrugged, "Yeah, in technical years. But you never aged past seventeen. I stopped aging at twenty six."

I rolled my eyes and went upstairs to my bedroom. Our coven lives in a large three story house. Everyone who looks old enough works. Which just means that everyone except me works. Usually we move about every three to five years. Which means we'll be moving in about another year. Joy. I've been thinking about trying to convince them to move somewhere where we don't have to be so close to humans. It would help. Me.

I had to take a quick shower and try to comb my hair so that I looked, as Hannah put it, 'presentable' for the council meeting. Even though I sorely wish I wasn't going. Those meeting were like taking a whole bottle of sleeping pills. Boring. Very boring.

But I didn't need Hannah on my case for ditching this meeting, so I got ready quickly and hurried down stairs. Normally, I would drive my car, but I was in the mood to go faster, so I grabbed Josh's car keys from the hook. I knew he wouldn't mind. And besides that, he owed me for getting him out of trouble with Hannah the month before. If it hadn't been for me, they never would've gotten married.

***

I barely made it to the meeting in time, sliding into my seat just as the new Head of Council called the meeting to order. Almost as soon as he started talking my brain went on auto-pilot. That's how it was with every meeting.

I would sit in my seat, pretend to listen to what he was saying, taking back the papers that the council gave us with the exact same information and hand it to Hannah so she could give us the same speech the councilor had, only, if it were possible, making it more boring.

Just when I thought I might die of boredom, the Councilor announced that it was time for refreshments and 'inter-relations', which is the council's way of saying, yap with old aquatintences and then go home.

I poured a glass of blood and sat down in a small chair, looking around at faces I only saw once or twice a year. And some that I had never seen. Either new vampires, or new coven members.

I was just about ready to leave when I heard a voice I hadn't heard in over three hundred years. "Ian Hart? Is that you?"

I turned and saw a tall, blonde girl with huge brown eyes staring at me, She looked maybe eighteen, but I knew she was almost seven hundred. She was dressed all in black and wearing dangerous looking black stiletto boots. She had a sort of crooked smile on her face that totally swept me away. I couldn't believe she was really there.

I stared at her open mouthed and whispered, "Annabelle?"