Shadow School Ch. 06

Cameron felt on the verge of tears as she looked in the mirror. She hoped she wouldn't actually cry and ruin her mascara.

After three weeks you'd think she'd be over the mess that was her Prom, but the whole night still haunted her. The memories were woven into the beautiful light blue gown she now wore. How could she get through this night in this dress?

By being on the arm of a devilish handsome blonde... that was how. And in front of Melanie too. After everything was said and done she was really starting to like the idea of hurting Melanie for what she did; show her that she had overcome everything and ended up on top. Elias could help her prove that.

With thoughts of Melanie came thoughts of Gavin Ovidan. The guy gave her the creeps! She knew now he probably did something to Melanie; had given her that blood urge that Cameron herself had experienced. So why then did he do it? Cameron hated the thought that it wasn't Melanie's fault for tackling Trent but really... why couldn't she find a single guy? And why was Trent down there in the first place? He was supposed to be her date... he could have waited until she got back from the bathroom.

It was on the way from the bathroom that Cameron had first seen Gavin Ovidan at Prom. The look he'd given her was appraising... no doubt he was the reason she was here at this school. Well, he wasn't getting her. He could have Melanie, the little tramp. Cameron was content with her blonde warrior.

Cameron sighed and smiled, thinking of Elias' hands on her. She felt his touch all over her body, the whispered memory of caresses on her legs, her breasts, between her legs... she was getting turned on just by thinking about it. When she looked at herself in the mirror this time, she saw the fire in her eyes put there by the Head of Arinson House and the devious things they'd done while she was supposed to be getting interviewed. He'd taken her virginity, and despite the tenderness she could still feel -- even after taking some painkillers -- she was already interested in another tryst.

The girl in the mirror was different, Cameron now realized. Despite wearing her hair down -- not up like she had at Prom -- she could see herself in a new light. She still looked like a girl of eighteen, but she was now a woman who'd known a man's -- not a boy's -- touch.

***

Kristie MacFarland had purposefully skipped Prom. Instead, she and Dylan met up with his cousin from college and other older kids and gotten trashed. While her classmates partied it up to boy bands crooning love-pop songs, she and the others were lounging in a pot-filled haze listening to Hendrix, Zepplin, and mixing in a little Rammstein, which was making its rounds amongst the angsty young adults these days. German sounds about hate. Very not Prom. Still, the beat was awesome and with the pot in her system making her drowsy, Kris had laid there, propped up against Dylan's shoulders, both of them focusing on nothing but the music and the feelings a night of bingeing brought to the human body.

So Kris had missed the drama of Prom and the experience of buying four hundred dollar dresses that would only be worn for a night with a boy. Darn. Now she stood in front of a floor-length mirror, checking herself out. Was it fate that she was dressed in black silk? She loved the innuendo of black hugging her body so tightly as this dress did, a slit up her right thigh allowing her to walk. You didn't wear something like this to a high school dance. This kind of dress was for the big boys.

Kristie was saved from wearing jewelry on her neck (that she didn't have) by the dress's high collar which wrapped around her neck, leaving her back bare all the way down to the dimples above her ass. Sexy. She was sure some of the dads from earlier would be eying her again, waiting impatiently for nightfall when they could bang their wives into oblivion while thinking of her. Smiling wickedly at herself in the mirror, she knew she shouldn't have such thoughts, but Hell, she was human.

And... she wondered how many others she would see tonight... were not.

She was really going to do this. Kristie was going to attend a vampire college. Was she truly serious about this? 'Cause vampires could get you dead pretty quick. At least, that was what the myths told her... and her only defense so far was that the myths had gotten a lot wrong.

Daman's warm fingers....

Kris licked her lips and took her hand away from her abdomen where it was threatening to touch lower. Smirking to herself she turned to leave her room and join her parents on the walk to the gala.

***

Melanie Carver stood in front of the ornate stone building, chilled by the spring air; she wrapped her coat tighter around her as she studied the ornate structure. It reminded her of the pictures she'd seen of Versailles. Roanoke House... so this was Virginia's monstrosity.

Melanie shivered; this time it wasn't from the cold. Virginia Roanoke had taken her down through some underground passageways, past a room she called the Crossroads, and into a hallway straight out of seventeenth century France. Her House had been decorated with the swirly fashion of builders who have too much time on their hands and plenty of money at their disposal. Melanie had sat across from Virginia in a golden chair with plush fabric, stealing glances at large paintings on the walls depicting men in tights and women in wigs.

Virginia had been honest. There was no disputing that; and Melanie had left the interview afraid for her life. As it turned out, the girls who didn't get the scholarship became... snacks. They weren't killed, and if they accepted their positions at the university, they could still wind up with some really great connections so a little blood donation was worth it.

If you were sick and twisted.

Melanie was more determined than ever to get the scholarship now, hoping to be one of the special girls who escaped such a fate. She was already told she was attending here, and had foolishly asked Virginia what would happen if she said no.

Death.

Once a person knew of the school's hidden reality, they were either with it or against it. Those against it were not trusted to live out in the world where they could speak of the precious secret the vampires kept tucked away in the mountains of Appalachia. It was painless, Victoria promised, but it was also final.

No thank you.

Melanie sighed. She had had three people in her interview, and Virginia had explained that those were the Heads who were interested in her. John Harvard had left early, and according to Virginia, that didn't mean much, just that he didn't feel the need to interview Mel. It was rare but a Head who didn't interview a girl could still pick her if the others he or she chose did not live up to the hopes that Head had for their House.

So if Harvard was out, that left Roanoke and Ovidan. And Melanie really didn't want to be with Ovidan. She had thought briefly of running to him and begging him to take her into his House, but there was no way she could; he'd gotten her into this mess in the first place and she refused to forgive him, despite what she'd been taught at church. She doubted the Catholic faith would enforce the forgiveness rule when referring to the damned.

Oh... Sweet Baby Jesus... would she be damned?

"Stand like that too long and you could get a crick in your neck."

Melanie turned to see Kristie striding up the walk in a tight black dress that flapped around her ankles when she walked and a black leather motorcycle jacket. The two pieces of clothing were so wrong together it almost looked sexy; like she'd borrowed a jacket from a guy. Kristie's hair was in it's usually style, the red-orange bangs falling down into her eyes; with hair that short it was hard to fix elegantly.

"Have you noticed that all the structures on campus contradict each other, yet still manage to go together?" Melanie asked.

"What you mean like the Egyptian building setting next to this French Renaissance thing?" Kristie looked over at the obsidian structure looming up into the darkness of the night sky.

"Kristie..." Melanie had started. The girl had turned back to her, noticing whatever emotion was showing on Mel's face. Mel had to at least tell someone... "You shouldn't go here. To this school."

Kristie eyed her warily. "This wouldn't have to do anything with your interview..."

"It has everything to do with my interview."

"Which House...?"

"Roanoke. I swear Kris, I can't tell you why, but you need to go. Take your family and go home. Go to another school."

Kristie smirked. "Are you going to another school?"

Melanie blinked. "No..."

"Me neither." Kris turned to study the French structure. "Cameron is probably coming here too."

Melanie gulped. Great. Like she needed anything to make her stay here worse. "Is it certain?"

"When you know what's going on around here, it's pretty certain."

"No kidding." Melanie said, a shaky laugh on her breath. "Let's just hope we get the scholarship."

Kris turned to face her. "Why?"

"Let's just say it's not... um... as pleasant... for those who don't."

Kristie's face took on a thoughtful scowl. "Shit... what did you hear?"

"About what?" came another voice.

The two girls turned to see Cameron coming up to them. Further down the cobblestone sidewalk, other families were beginning to cluster.

"Mel says if you don't get a scholarship it's unpleasant." Kris said, looking at Cameron.

Cameron turned her eyes on Melanie. Mel winced internally but didn't flinch under the girl's gaze. "Well it's a good thing I'm getting one."

Kris snorted. Melanie stared. "How do you know?"

"I was offered it already... not formally though. And Kris-"

"Has no clue what you ladies are talking about," Kristie said with a grin as their parents joined them.

The three girls exchanged eye contact, Melanie and Cameron a little more heatedly. Kris rolled her eyes and strode away, her parents and their significant others following behind, squabbling about who knew what.

Cameron raised her chin and did the same, leaving Melanie standing with her parents. She gave the building one more look before starting up the steps to the entrance of Roanoke Hall.

***

As the girls and their families entered the lobby, their escorts left them to check their coats on their own. Cameron watched as Mahi disappeared with the others into the ballroom, music filtering through the open doors before they closed. By the time her coat was checked, Cameron noticed that the music had stopped.

Louis Ovidan came through the center door and asked the families to line up for presentation. It was all so formal that Cameron felt herself blush. Here she was dressed as Cinderella and her prince was inside. God, she sounded like a flittery little girl. Why did her heart have to skip around in her chest at the thought of her parents meeting Elias?

Just like when their names had been called, there was no particular order. Lined up like they were, Cameron began to notice that a few families were missing. Why was that? She began counting... only seventeen families were in the line. Maybe some were late?

She and her parents stood just ahead of the middle of the line. She turned to find Kristie, who was next to last in line. They locked eyes, both a bundle of nerves. When Cameron turned to face the doors, she saw that Melanie was first at the door and was already going through. Once her family was inside, a man's voice announced them, followed by the next family and so on.

Cameron's stomach was doing flips. She was seriously nervous, even more so when she got to the door. There were a lot of people in the ballroom. Hundreds. It had to have been the whole school and then some. Shacrow VanMeter wasn't large for a college, but it was enough that the entire hall was filled with people in formal attire; and everyone was looking at the families coming through the door.

Cameron put on a soft smile as her name was announced, followed by her parents. They stepped forward into the spotlight, and then were directed by an escort to turn to the right. There, she could see all of the Heads of Houses lined up, receiving the families in person.

Looking down the row, Cameron noticed more than just seven people standing in line. Each had... a date. Her mind immediately fuzzed.

Cameron was shaking the hand of a pretty young woman with wavy light brown hair. She was standing with a young man the color of creamy coffee- his eyes a brilliant blue against his light brown skin. The escort behind them introduced her as Drusilla of Caesaris House and made no mention of the young man behind her. Drusilla smiled at Cameron's parents and shook their hands, introducing Samuel Waldemar. Cameron wondered if he was related to the Waldemar Head somehow.

Next was Daman of Sokar House and a girl with auburn hair and hawk-like grey eyes; her name was Tawna Madison and she was leaning nonchalantly on his arm like she owned him. Cameron wondered what Kris would think of that. Daman's eyes twinkled when he met Cameron's gaze and she quickly looked away, allowing her parents to do all the talking.

Gavin was beside Daman, standing with another black-haired girl that looked just like him. Jeez... how many Ovidan's went here? He introduced her as Monica Ovidan, not giving her any title of relation. Cameron smiled politely and said a few words to them both but moved on to the next Head as quickly as she could.

The next two Heads seemed to be each other's date. Virginia of Roanoke House -- coincidentally the tall willowy blonde she'd seen in the bathroom at Prom, and at the Crossroads -- and John Harvard stood together, greeting Cameron and her parents as a couple would greet someone coming to their house. They spoke graciously to her family, and Cameron hung on their words, clinging as if listening would delay the moment as long as possible.

Elias was next.

And the tall model clinging to his arm.

Cameron looked into Elias' eyes with a faint smile on her lips as he was introduced to her parents. He was polite, reserving a secret smile at the edge of his mouth just for her, but she couldn't help but noticed the way the girl on his arm, Nellie Troutman, was caressing her fingers on his jacket sleeve and staring a warning glare in her direction. Hostile much?

Cameron's eyes followed Elias' hand as he moved to cover Nellie's, effectively stopping the caress but also leaving it in place as if comforting her and warning her to behave at the same time. The girl took the opportunity to snuggle into his shoulder and look back at Cameron with a now innocent expression. Cameron's parents were oblivious, talking to Elias as if they didn't know what had happened between him and their daughter.

Because they had no clue.

Now Cameron felt a bit clueless herself. And here she thought they'd experienced something kind of wonderful. Was it simpler than that? Was it just like he said... a way to get her into his territory, away from other vamps? The hot sex they'd had was probably just that... sex. Meaningless sex. Hell, he even had the excuse that she'd initiated it.

Her cheeks reddened as she remembered he could read her thoughts and she decided to not meet his eyes and move on to the next Head. Her parents barely noticed her abrupt departure and continued to talk with the Arinson House Head.

Cameron was greeted by the eyes of Catherine Waldemar, which were staring back into hers knowlingly. Of course she knew; she could probably read minds too. The blue-eyed brunette shook her hand and smiled at the weak return effort Cameron managed. She leaned forward and Cameron tensed at the closeness of an unknown vampire at her neck; she glanced at Elias nervously but he was still talking to her parents. He did seem to stiffen, however. The girl at his side, Nellie, turned her head to raise an eyebrow at her as if saying "what are you staring at?"

She heard the Waldemar woman's words in her ear. "Don't worry, my dear... she's not living up to Shacrow standards."

It was a quick, puzzling way to comfort her, but Cameron was a little relieved; probably more from the retreating teeth that had been so close to her neck, but also because something in what Catherine said made Cameron think it was a jibe against the jealous girl on Elias' arm.

The fact that the Head of another House knew what she and Elias had done, not to mention the thoughts she was having, made her blush. It deepened when she noticed the stare of a hard-faced young man with white-blonde hair standing just behind Catherine. The twenty-something lady vampire turned her head to look in the direction of Cameron's gaze and smiled when she looked back at Cameron.

"Hans Raedar, meet Miss Cameron Ellis."

Hans nodded without smiling, then lifted his eyes from hers to watch the crowd. Cameron ducked her head in a slight nod as well, then smiled in thanks to the Head of Waldemar House. Her parents finally left Elias and joined her in their greeting.

Gulping for air by the time they made it away from the Heads, Cameron saw that the other families that were finished with the greeting line were starting to mingle with the guests. She had no desire to meet anyone else who was new... not while in her current state.

***

Melanie stood back, watching as the other girls went through the line. She'd noticed the warning glare that tall girl on the arm of Elias Arinson had stared at Cameron and decided she didn't really care anymore. Cameron was being such a snob lately despite learning the truth of what had happened to Melanie on the night of Prom. Screw her. If she had to deal with catfights over that blonde vampire then let her. Melanie was content with just trying to stay alive.

She watched as Kristie was announced to the rest of the guests. Melanie could feel her eyebrows rise at the look on the face of Daman Sokar's date; Kristie had cocked her hips and propped an arm up -- Mel couldn't see her face -- in an almost flirtatious gesture. The gall of her, flirting with Sokar's date right in front of him!

"You are Melanie Carver, yes?"

Melanie turned to the voice and came face to face with a beautiful -- that was the only way to describe him -- boy that could be no older than herself. His words were so formal! She became flustered and suspicious all at the same time, a weird combination that left her silently flabberghasted.

He seemed to think her reaction funny because he chuckled and stuck his hand out and introduced himself. "William Dare."

She slipped her hand into his and felt the squeeze of his strong fingers. Something in that touch sent an electric buzz humming through her body. Wow. She looked at her hands and back up into his face. His deep brown eyes stared down at her from under his tousled mane of dark blonde hair, the back of which was pulled into a short ponytail. Even his suit looked like it was cut to an older style.

Seriously... it was like he walked out of The Last of the Mohicans or something.

He chuckled more, which drew her parents eyes. They came over to be introduced as well and William told him he was visiting on behalf Roanoke House.

"Will you be coming here in the Fall, then, William?" Melanie's father asked.

"I will be coming here, yes." William said with a warm smile. "Will Melanie?"

"We hope she gets the scholarship," her mother answered.

"Well then, I hope that is the case as well."

The music began softly but quickly leapt into a waltz as the last of the scholarship applicants left the line of Heads of Houses. People began to file out onto the dance floor.

"May I have the honor?" William asked, holding his hand out to Melanie. She smiled and took it, letting him lead her out insto the crowd of dancers. She reflexively looked for Gavin and met his eyes across the crowd. He looked... almost jealous.