Taken (Book #2 of the Vampire Legends) (7 page)

Rachel stood in the main office for a
minute, dazed by the discussion she had just had. She began to worry about
Benji and she felt like she should warn him. Rachel took out her phone and
scrolled down to his name and then she stopped. She flipped the phone closed,
and left the main office. She knew texting or calling him would make the
situation worse for both of them. She couldn’t believe the police had tracked
down her and Benji’s cell phone records. She wondered if she borrowed someone
else’s phone and called him, if that would work. She decided not to because it
wouldn’t be fair to the person she borrowed the phone from. In a way she felt
like that would be framing them. She wanted this whole thing to disappear --
not become the biggest case AHS has ever seen.

As she walked down the halls, she
noticed everyone was quieter than usual. She could smell the fear in the air.
As she walked past a group of seniors, they all stared at her. One said, “That’s
her, that’s the girl.”

Rachel was mortified. Why did she have
to be the talk of the school? She was only a week old and now she was notorious
at AHS. She wondered if she would ever live this down.

She moved quickly through the quiet
hallways, which were full of whispering kids, and into Mr. Allen’s classroom.
Inside she saw Emily, which actually gave her a sense of calm. She was thankful
to have Emily and the girls as friends, especially now. She needed friends now,
more than ever, to have her back.

“Hey, Rach!” Emily said. “It’s crazy out
there today. What’s this all about?”

Rachel looked at her, and shrugged her
shoulders, “Dunno, it’s strange.”

“Yeah, last time this happened, my older
brother was a Freshman and someone came into the school with a knife and
started threatening his teacher who gave him a bad grade.”

“What? That’s insane!” Rachel said.

“Yeah, that’s what he said, too. It only
lasted a few days though, and the kid was expelled.”

Rachel wondered if the only way for this
to stop would be if she got expelled. She hoped not— and then realized she didn’t
do anything wrong. She kept having to tell herself that it wasn’t her fault,
that she hadn’t committed a crime. All this interrogation and security kept
making her feel like a criminal, and a liar.

“So, anyway, you’re coming later right?”
Emily said with a smile.

“Oh yeah, can’t wait!” Rachel replied. “How
far is the mall anyway?”

“Not too far, about a ten minute drive.”

“Who’s driving?” Rachel asked nervously.
Hoping she would have a better experience than the one she had on her way into
NYC last week.

“Taryn!” answered Emily.

Rachel swallowed and then gave Emily a
smile.

“Now Class,” began Mr. Allen. “Today is
quite a strange and different day for AHS. There have been a lot of issues
going on lately, and the police and Dr. McNery are trying to get to the bottom
of them. It has been a great nuisance and interruption to our class.” He
pointed around the classroom to all the empty seats. “Half of the class is
still not here, and many of you have been pulled for questioning. I will not
continue my lesson on Dr. King until Monday. Please take out your textbooks,
and begin reading chapter 11. We will resume class as usual on Monday, and don’t
forget to study for the quiz next Wednesday.” Mr. Allen stopped speaking and
sat down at his desk. The kids that were in class shuffled through their bags
and pulled out their heavy U.S. History textbooks, and the sound of books
hitting the desk echoed throughout the room.

Rachel rummaged through her backpack,
but her textbook was nowhere to be found. She knew she could get in trouble for
not bringing it to class. It was a requirement to bring all textbooks to class
daily, in every subject. She thought for a moment about where she could have
left her book, and realized that she left it on the kitchen table as she ran
out the door this morning.

She raised her hand and waited for Mr.
Allen to see her.

“Yes, Rachel.”

“I um, forgot my textbook at home.”

“Come up here.”

Rachel slowly got out of her chair and
walked up to the front of the classroom. She could feel everyone staring at
her.

“Rachel, I’ve noticed that you haven’t
really be focused in class, and now you’re forgetting your textbook. Can you
tell me what’s going on?” Mr. Allen said in an authoritative voice.

Rachel looked at him, and then down at
the floor. She was nervous to answer. After all, that was a loaded question,
and she’d have to talk for hours to answer it.

“I was running late this morning. Things
have been hectic for me, I’m sorry.”

“I don’t want to have to make a phone
call home, Rachel, but you need to prove to me that you are focused and present
in class. All you reports from your old school are positive, but I’ve yet to
see that girl come into my classroom. It’s as if your old teachers are writing
about a different person. Now, I know you have it in you, just let me see it.”

Rachel felt awful. Mr. Allen was right;
she used to be an A+ student with nothing bad on her record-- now she was a
flighty, daydreaming student with a possible criminal record.

Rachel didn’t recognize the person she
was becoming either. She hated being reprimanded by her teacher, and she vowed
to herself that this would be the last time it happened.

“You’re right, Mr. Allen. Things have
been hard since the move,” Rachel whispered to him, so the other kids couldn’t
hear. “I’m trying to get my bearings and with this whole fight thing, it’s hard
to focus. I will try harder, I promise.”

“OK, Rachel, I believe you. Thank you
for being honest with me. I will lend you my book today. It’s the teacher’s
edition, so it looks a little different than yours, but it’s all there. Chapter
11 starts on page 232,” Mr. Allen said as he handed her the book.

“Thank you.”

Mr. Allen gave Rachel a smile and then
looked back down at his notebook. Rachel walked back to her seat, and saw kids’
faces looking up from their textbooks. She sat down and opened to page 232 and
began to read.

When the bell rang, the loud sound of
textbooks slamming shut and chair legs screeching filled the air. Rachel got up
from her seat, packed up her bag and handed the borrowed book back to Mr.
Allen.

“Thanks again,” she said.

“See you on Monday. Have a nice weekend,
Rachel.”

As Rachel walked out of the classroom
she heard Emily’s voice calling out for her.

“Rach! Wait up!”

Rachel turned around and saw Emily
walking towards her.

“What’s up?” Rachel said.

“Nothing, just wanted to walk with you
to your next class. These halls can be brutal!”

“Thanks, but I’ll be fine. You’re going
the opposite direction anyway.”

“Ok, well I’ll see you at lunch then.”

“See ya!”

Rachel walked down the hall carrying her
heavy backpack. She continued to hear the whispers, and feel the stares of kids
as she passed by them in the hallways. When she turned the corner she saw the
football team in their red, white and blue uniforms crowding around one
another. Rachel continued walking, hoping that they wouldn’t see her. As she
made her way closer she saw the number 80 and got nervous.

She had been wondering what she would
say to Rob when she saw him, but she never thought she’d run into him today, in
the hallway. Rob was supposed to be in her homeroom class, but hadn’t been
there since the fight. She figured he stayed home to heal from his bruises, but
here he was, in the flesh.

Rachel put her head down as she
approached the football players. She didn’t want to get in the middle of
anything or start something new. She was saying silent prayers, as she passed
Rob, that he wouldn’t recognize her—but just as she got close to them she heard
a loud voice say, “That’s her! I would remember that face anywhere.”

All the guys turned and looked directly
at her. So much for her prayers; now the entire football team was staring her
down. She didn’t know how this situation could get any worse.

“Hey, New Girl,” one guy shouted. “What’s
your name?”

Rachel didn’t answer and kept on walking.

“Cat got your tongue?” another guy
shouted.

“Look what you did.” Another guy yelled
out.

At that moment she felt a tap on her
shoulder, which made her jump.

“Hi Rachel,” a familiar voice said.

Rachel turned around to see who it was,
and to her surprise, it was Rob, walking alone next to her.

“Rob. Hi. How are you doing?”

“I’ve been better, but I’ll be playing
in tomorrow’s game, thank God.”

Rachel and Rob began to walk down the
hall together silently. Awkwardly. Rachel couldn’t help but notice the big, fat
elephant in the room. She had to break the silence.

“That’s great,” Rachel said with a
smile. “Listen, I’m sorry about what happened the other night. If that’s any
consolation.”

“Yeah, where’s you boyfriend anyway?”
Rob asked in a snide voice.

“He’s not my boyfriend!” Rachel said
firmly.

“What do you mean he’s not your
boyfriend?” Rob looked surprised. “Isn’t that how this whole thing started?”

“I mean, he’s not my boyfriend, OK.”
Rachel answered. “I haven’t spoken to him since that night.”

Rachel looked at Rob as she saw his face
light up. “So, you don’t have a boyfriend?”

“Nope,” Rachel answered, leaving it at
that.

“Oh,” replied Rob, looking hopeful.

Rachel couldn’t understand where this
conversation was going. Was he seriously hitting on her after what had happened
the other night? She couldn’t help but feel that he still felt something for
her. She never thought this would happen, so didn’t give their relationship any
more thought after the fight— but now, it seemed, he was back in the picture.
She searched within herself to figure out how she felt about Rob now. She did
still like him, but didn’t know why, after everything that happened between
them.

“So, you coming out tonight?” Rob asked.

“I think so,” Rachel answered. “Going to
the movies with the girls.”

“Oh yeah?” Rob said. “Us, too.”

“Us who?”

“The guys,” Rob laughed. “The team!”

Just then the bell rang, and kids began
dispersing from their circles of friends, and into their classrooms.

“Gotta go,” Rachel said. “See ya later.”

“Have a good day,” Rob said.

The rest of the morning flew by for
Rachel. She couldn’t help but think about Rob in the classes that followed
their conversation. She replayed their conversation, over and over in her head,
and was shocked each time. She couldn’t believe that he still wanted to talk to
her and that he cared enough to ask her weekend plans.

For the first time in the past 36 hours,
Rachel felt like everything would be OK. She’d worried about what it would be
like to see Rob again after everything that had happened, but it turned out to
be totally fine, and Rachel could see the light at the end of the tunnel. Now,
all she had to do was make her parents see the light, and stop blaming her and
punishing her for everything under the sun.

Rachel looked down at her watch: it was
nearing lunchtime. She could feel her stomach pang with hunger, and hear its
growls. She hadn’t had much of an appetite since Wednesday night, and it was
finally catching up to her. She’d never felt so hungry in her entire life.

She couldn’t wait for the bell to ring
so she could meet up with her friends in the cafeteria.

Chapter Ten

As Rachel entered the cafeteria, her
friends were nowhere to be seen. She looked around and then looked down the
hall, but it was empty. She felt like she was going to die she was so hungry.
She entered the cafeteria and sat down at her usual table. She opened up her
brown paper bag and pulled out her PB&J and Arizona Iced Tea. She couldn’t
wait to sink her teeth into her sandwich.

She looked around the cafeteria as she
sat there eating her lunch alone. She hadn’t really spent time looking at all
the tables since the first day of school, but now that she was alone again, she
couldn’t help but watch people.

She saw the jock table, the cheerleader
table, and the nerd table. Everyone was eating and talking. She hoped that the
subject of everyone’s conversation had shifted from the fight to other things.

Just then, Rachel felt her table move.
She felt a jolt, as someone sat down next to her. She looked to her left and
was shocked. It was Arielle— looking as mean and mad as ever.

“Well look what we have here,” Arielle’s
voice rang out. “It looks like the criminal herself is all alone in the
cafeteria.” Arielle paused.  “What happened? You don’t have friends anymore?”
she cackled.