Chapter 8

"You just gonna stand there with your mouth open?"

"What?" I stutter. "It's not open."

I'm not staring at Kian!

"Um-hmm, sure," she says. "He's hot."

A pretty Asian girl closes the door to her room as she exits from. Her long, dark hair is curled to perfection, and her eyeliner flicks cutely at the edges of her eyes.

The dorm basically consists of a large building with many units for two to three people. This one looks like a small self-contained unit with a kitchen, dining table, a couch and T.V. for two. There are three doors; two bedrooms and a bathroom, I presume.

"Hey roomie. I'm Mei."

She sticks her hand out and gives me a once over. I can't help but feel self-conscious at her obvious assessment.

"Lexi," I say.

One of her eyebrows lifts and she gives a cheeky smile.

"Though I heard him call you Alex."

I sigh.

"I don't know why he insists on calling me that… though my name is Alexandria," I say lamely.

"It's pretty. Now, you gonna close the door, or stand there gawking all evening?"

"I-I'm not gawking."

She crosses her arms and puts on a serious expression. I'm not sure how to take her demeanour. A few seconds pass, with me unsure how to proceed, when she starts laughing.

"I'm just messing with you, come on, shut the door."

It takes a few more moments for my brain to register.

"Right."

I close the door with a gentle click and fight the urge to slide down it to the floor.

"That bad, huh?"

I only groan.

"You not keen on the vampire hunk?"

My eyes bug.

"I wouldn’t exactly call him that…"

"Girl, you've got eyes. Come on, he's gorgeous."

My brain finally chooses now to catch up.

"Wait…" I narrow my eyes. "You know about vampires?"

"Duh," she rolls her eyes.

"How? Were you attacked by one too?"

"What? No."

It almost looks as though Mei's going to laugh again, but she sobers quickly before it can begin.

"You were attacked?"

I wrap my arms around myself and nod in response.

"That's rough," she says. "Come sit."

She plops down beside me on a super-squishy couch.

"How long ago did it happen?" she asks softly.

"I think my parents said I was four at the time."

"You don’t remember?"

Mei was super-easy to talk to. Maybe I could have a friend after all. No one had ever understood me before, and I felt that Mei could.

"Not much. I only really remember the attack… just… not all of it. I always wake up just before he finishes me off."

"But you're still here," she says. "Are you sure it's a memory?"

I nod.

"It feels too real not to be…"

Mei ponders for a moment, her eyebrows scrunching in thought.

"Aren't all dreams like that? The mind is pretty powerful, especially when we're sleeping. It literally takes control, and, whether it's real or not, feels as though it actually happened."

"I guess… I just don't get the sense that it never happened after I wake up," I say. "Or at least that's what Z says normally happens when dreams aren’t real."

"Who's Z? Your boyfriend?"

"Eww, no!" I suddenly laugh. "He's my brother."

"Oh."

"He's staying in the 'boys dorm'," I say.

"He wait till you were old enough to come?"

"No, we're eleven months apart. Same school year and all."

"Wow. Your parents plan that?"

I snort.

"I've no idea, and I'd rather not think about it."

Mei smiles widely.

"I know; gross."

She makes a gagging motion, and I can't help but laugh again at her expression.

"That's better," she says. "Let's go get you unpacked."

***

The next morning I set my alarm to go off early, but Mei has other plans and comes barging in fully dressed.

"Come on girl, let's go! Breakfast is calling."

I groan.

"Five more minutes."

"Never gonna happen."

She drags my blanket away.

"You're going to be a huge pain in the butt, aren’t you?"

"You know it, but I'm also gonna be the best friend you ever had," she bats her eyelashes. "Five minutes, then I'm hauling your ass out, dressed or not."

She's so forward. But I like, it. Mei's like a breath of fresh air.

"Fine. Give me some privacy."

She raises an eyebrow and that cheeky smile is back again.

"You won't be asking for privacy by the end of the year."

But she leaves me be as I attempt to gather my scattered thoughts, and some clothes.

I opt for some baggy joggers and a thick hoodie and grab my coat as I leave my room.

Mei is quick to grab my arm and drag me out. She quickly locks the door and is pulling me down the stairs.

I didn’t really pay attention last night, but the interior is sparsely decorated. The few things that are present seem to have been placed carefully. A minimalistic style with maximum effect, or, that's the impression I have anyway.

A red carpet trails the stairs, covering most of the wooden boards, and few paintings are dotted about.

"No one else is up yet."

"Nah. My sister said if you want food, you gotta get there early," she says. "Besides, I don't like waiting for my food. The way to my heart is through my stomach."

"I'll keep that in mind."

"You better."

I smile. She's so confident.

The wind is pretty strong when we get outside and it's an effort trudging through the snow to the main building.

I look to the treeline. I want to go to it. It feels like it's calling out to me. Have I been here before?

It doesn’t take long to reach the main building.

I decide on trying to make some small talk; it'd be nice to make a friend for a change.

"You have a sister?"

"Sure," Mei says. "She's a lot older than me though. She was in the first class that came here when the school opened. Maybe eight years ago."

She expertly navigates us through a few corridors until the smell of food is evident in the air. Bacon, sausages and scrambled eggs, with a hint of buttery toast.

"Ah food, my one true love," she sighs.

She was right about being early. The food has already been put out, ready for self-serve.

Mei grabs a plate and a tray, motioning me to do the same.

Seeing as we're so early, everything is fresh. Not that being kept hot for a long time isn’t good; it's just not as good as the fresh stuff.

I can feel myself loosening up around Mei. I may actually stand a chance at blending in.

I follow Mei to a secluded table with plush chairs.

"How can you eat so much?" I laugh, as we dig in.

"Hey, this body needs fuel to keep it looking as good as this."

I laugh and shake my head.

"But you're so skinny."

She only winks around a mouthful of bacon.

"Good morning ladies."

A boy approaches us. His hair is tied into a tiny man-bun. He looks kind, with a smile on his face and warm eyes, but I can see the same glint in his eyes as in Mei's.

"Get lost Trav."

Mei rolls her eyes.

"Oh, my poor, wounded heart. How shall I ever go on?"

He exaggerates as he grabs his chest and re-enacts one of those over-dramatic movies scenes.

"You'll survive."

"You'll just have to share with me now to make up for this insult."

He—Trav—reaches towards Mei's plate.

Quicker than my eyes can comprehend, Mei's fork narrowly avoids Trav's hand.

"Bugger off."

"Ouch," he says sarcastically. "Who's your friend?"

Mei only grunts as he turns his attention to me.

"Lexi," I say.

"Nice to meet you. I'm Travis," he says. "I'll just grab some food and then join you if you don’t mind."

I look at Mei but she waves a hand dismissively, engrossed with her breakfast.

"Sure," I say.

Travis beams and is soon returning with his own food.

"So, Lexi," he says once seated. "What brings you to the prestigious Academy?"

I shrug, feeling myself loosen up.

"We weren't accepted at our local university, so we came here instead."

"We?"

"My brother and I."

He nods.

"You?" I ask.

"Most prestigious place for a young vampire hunter-in-training to be educated."

"I keep hearing that," I say slowly. "Vampire hunter?"

Travis frowns.

"You aren’t here for that?" he says. "That's really weird. Usually anyone who knows about them is from a hunting family, or they already know about vampires."

I shake my head. I guess it's weird after all.

"Well, it's not uncommon. Humans study here, they just don’t know anything, and," he leans in, "I heard they're opening up to vampires this year. Some night school or something."

What?

So I'm really stuck with Kian breathing down my neck all year?