The boy shouldn’t have said what he did to me. I thought to myself for what had to be the hundredth time since the incident that got me expelled from school took place.
It was his fault and I would take my punishment, but it didn’t mean that I was remorseful for breaking the guys nose. He shouldn’t have said the things he said to the freshmen that was new and smaller than him, and when I stood up to him, he shouldn’t have said what he had about me. If the guy had just shut his mouth when I told him to shut up, I would be at school right now and his nose wouldn’t be purple right now.
“Dammit,” I muttered as I stared at the scuffed up toes of my Converse sneakers.
“Don’t beat yourself up over it,” I looked up surprised to see John, my team’s teacher standing across the hall from me looking over a piece of paper.
“It was stupid,” I told him, “I shouldn’t have been baited into that fight,” I was trying to see what was on the paper he was looking at. All could make out was the photo of the girl that I had seen in photos in his apartment. I had no idea what the letter said, but I was curious. John would never talk about who the girl was, but she was pretty and maybe one day I would ask about her and he would tell me.
“Maybe so, self-control is something you need to work on,” he agreed while he folded the paper and stuck into this pocket, “I think that maybe it is time for a change of scenery for you.”
“Really?” I asked skeptically because the last time he used those words it involved a week long camping trip. Something that I didn’t want to experience again in my life. I could fight and hunt vampires all day with the best of them, but modern conveniences were a must, especially electricity and a bed.
“Yes, I have some things that require my presence in Houston for the foreseeable future and I think it would be best if you come with me.”
“I guess,” I frowned. What about my team here? My mom? I couldn’t just leave them.
“There is a team there that I think you will fit right in with,” he nodded thinking, “and your mom will be okay, and your team here will be fine. They are capable,” he added as if reading my mind.
John never spoke much away from training, but when he did he was usually right and it was always best to listen.
That evening we talked to my mother and while she was upset about the idea of me leaving New Orleans, she understood that a change in environment was probably for the best.
I had no idea why John was insisting on this, but I was sure that I would find out sooner than later.
My team took it okay, the guys saw it as a challenge because physically I was always stronger than they were since I was half vampire and it came with the territory. The girls on the team were concerned about how safe the other boys would be able to keep them. Especially Megan with her weird crush she had on me. She was nice and all, but I wasn’t interested in the strawberry haired girl. She had been annoying since we were children.
Within a few days of the announcement, I was driving my car down the freeway early in the morning following John out of New Orleans towards Texas.
By mid-afternoon, we made it to an apartment complex where John retrieved a set of keys from a dark haired woman. She was about his age, short and slender with bright blue eyes. Her arms were crossed over her chest the whole time she spoke to him.
I stayed back in my car and chose not to interrupt the conversation. The woman would have probably bitten my head off.
She got into her car after shaking her head at something John was saying. After she had driven off, he gave me a nod as he got back into his car and I followed him through the complex where he finally parked in front of one of the buildings.
“This is it,” he said as I got out of my car and stood next to him.
“Okay,” I nodded.
“Tomorrow morning you will be able to start school.”
I looked at him surprised, with an expulsion for violence it was usually hard to get back into school.
“I know some people who were able to pull some strings.”
“Alright then,” I nodded and went to grab my things from the car.
“Get settled in and tomorrow after school you will meet your new team.”
I sighed and went to the room inside of the apartment that he directed me to.
Someone had already furnished the apartment and the room had a bed, dresser, and a desk with a chair. It didn’t take long to put away the things that I had brought with me, which was mostly clothing. I figured that eventually I would be back in New Orleans and my stuff would be okay where it is. My mother wouldn’t bother anything.
I sighed and lay back on the bed and closed my eyes, and hoped that maybe I would be able to go home soon. The home where my mother my team was. Acting sentimental was never my thing, but I would rather be in New Orleans in trouble at school rather than Houston where I had to start completely over.
A new team and a new school were not what I planned to be doing at the beginning of the school year. Getting expelled the first week of school had to be some kind of record, I thought as I rubbed my hand over my face.
If that punk, Rick, hadn’t have been picking on that freshman then I wouldn’t have had to say something to him, which then led to him getting in my face. Sure I could have ignored him, but the guy had been asking for it since we were young.
And besides, bullies needed to be put in their place. Or at least John and my mother referred to it as my overinflated sense of justice. Especially whenever I got into trouble for standing up for other kids at school.
I groaned and closed my eyes.
Knock. Knock.
You got me interested in reading the rest of this story. Can’t ‘wait to finish it and to read more of the series.