The crowd gathered as Jane's execution was announced. No one batted an eye; some had already left the scene. They knew what to do next.
Jane lowered her gaze to the floor. The explosion they expected never came, nor the tears.
Quarantine? Fine. Whatever. She only had enough strength left for one thing: leaving.
Jane was about to push through when a charming voice, suiting what she had imagined of the speaker, interrupted.
"Come on, James. She said what everyone already knows."
The crowd immediately parted, revealing a path to the speaker.
A girl sat with one leg crossed over the other, her body leaning sideways against the back of her chair, her dark hair cascading over her shoulder like a cape.
There were only 3 vampires of the second rank in this class. One was dead, which made her the last two, besides James.
"Bullying is so dated," she continued, rising and walking to the center of the tension. "What are you, in a movie?"
She stopped beside James, resting an arm across his shoulder, completely ignoring the veins pulsing at his temple.
For a long second, the space was so silent that Jane could hear everyone's heartbeats echoing.
Then, James released his fist, turned away, and walked out with his group behind him.
Jane blinked, unsure what had just happened.
The classroom was left with only her and the girl, along with a few others who seemed to be her friends. Amelia was there too, still in her seat, twisting the corner of her dress.
The girl turned back toward Jane, the same smile still on her face. She was even prettier up close, a striking kind of beauty, one that stood out even in here.
"Hi, I'm Rose. You can call me Rosie." She held out a hand.
"I'm Jane. Uhm... My hands are still sweaty." Jane raised them awkwardly to the sides.
The disgusted face she expected didn't appear. Instead, Rose bent over, bursting out laughing. She didn't bother to hide her amusement at all.
"You have a personality. I like that."
While Jane was still thinking about the aborted handshake, Rose threw another surprise.
"Come sit with us tomorrow."
Then she walked away before Jane could even process the invitation, let alone say thank you. But that was a story for another day.
She turned to the only person left in the classroom: "Come on. Let's go back to our room. I really don't want to be outside after curfew." Jane pinched the space between her eyebrows as she stood across from Amelia.
"Really? You're not mad at me?" Amelia looked up, like a lost rabbit that had just found its owner.
"Yeah. What else could you do? I wouldn't want us to be the blacklisted room either." Her body had already gravitated toward the door with Amelia following behind.
On their way back, Jane was quiet. They weren't friends, so it shouldn't have been a problem seeing Amelia there. It wasn't even a surprise — they were obviously in the same circle.
Jane wanted to walk away, but that would have been too extreme. Amelia harmed her, but she also helped her. So here Jane was, caught in the middle.
"James used to be a star pin, you know," Amelia started the conversation.
Jane glanced at her, silently encouraging her to continue with a rather unbothered expression.
"Being Ryan's friend helped him upgrade — and the Elwood family too. They depend on the Hastings," she took a breath before continuing. "And now that Ryan is missing, if James didn't cling to you, he'd be the one to blame."
"Still doesn't give him the right to treat me that way," she shook her head and pursed her lips. Her words blurred into the wind.
Amelia couldn't tell if Jane had said them too softly, or if the wind was too loud.
"Let's go. I think we have about 5 minutes left."
She waited for Amelia to catch up, but that never happened.
"Actually... I need to go somewhere." Amelia smiled awkwardly. She stood still at the crossroad, lengthening the gap between them.
"Oh, it's fine. My fault for not asking you first." Jane replied before the silence became noticeable. Her head tilted slightly, her eyebrows said she was sorry, and her smile said she could handle the rest herself.
Amelia watched as her roommate turned halfway to wave. All she could see was Jane's bouncy hair as she hurried toward their dorm.
***
Amelia was tucking her bracelet under the sleeves when she heard footsteps and the door creak open from outside.
"Where are you going?" she asked her roommate, who already had her backpack slung over her shoulder.
"To the field?" Jane said, not sure if she had the schedule all wrong.
"Yes, which starts thirty minutes later," Amelia turned back to the mirror. Her slow and poor roommate, she sighed.
"And you're going with me today. Remember what Rose said?"
"Oh... right."
Jane blinked, feigning surprise as she dropped her bag near the door. She wasn't sure if yesterday's invitation was a moment of excitement or if Rose had truly meant it. Her plan was heading out early to escape the awkwardness. With her sense of direction, thirty minutes was the perfect margin for error.
"Come here. You need a bit of touch-up." Amelia waved her over. On her desk sat an entire arsenal of makeup — bottles of identical shapes, tubes, brushes, and palettes stacked like books.
Jane took cautious steps towards the desk. Her mother rarely wore makeup, and she expected nothing less from her daughter.
Amelia's brushes glided across Jane's face, dusting away the dull layer that had hidden a quiet kind of beauty.
"Wow. You should really wear makeup more often. And I haven't even put eyeliner on."
Amelia's eyes flickered with surprise. Her mouth parted slightly, but her gaze didn't move from the work she'd just made. Then she woke up from the moment, nervous about what she had said:
"I mean... being in a school full of naturally beautiful people isn't easy. Makeup is our only weapons" she added. Her tone shifted to a more serious one, as if their lives depended on it.
"I know. Don't worry." Jane smiled. Her flushed cheeks shimmered under the ceiling lights, like apples freshly picked from the garden.
She used to get compliments as a kid, until a hairdresser decided to give her that infamous bowl cut. Growing it out had taken years, and with it, her confidence had withered away bit by bit.
"Let's go," Jane said, one hand held out to Amelia.
When they arrived, everyone had already run free on the field. The smell of grass, the clash of swords, and the sound of students catching up with each other's lives filled the space. Above them was a dome — half transparent, half covered — filtering the harsh sunlight, letting just enough through to dance on her skin.
Each semester, students could try any activity and choose one they were most confident in for the final test. P.E was bad, but this... this was another level.
Jane had already made up her mind: archery. The only activity where she didn't have to dodge anything. Whatever gene had helped her defeat the vampire, she would need it now.
She reached into her pocket, her fingers digging all the way to the bottom without any obstacle.
She'd forgotten her glasses again. Jane sighed while looking at the sky.
She hated wearing them; they always made her dizzy, no matter how many times she had the prescription checked. The world was better without that pressure on the nose bridge, less realistic, more magical.
"Come here, Jane!" Amelia called from the horse stable. She was standing with two other girls, twins.
"Hi, I'm Alice." The first one said.
"I'm Alina." Then the second one.
The name reminded Jane of the funny twins in Wonderland, though none of the words from that book could describe these two.
An eight-winged star pin sat on each of their chests, announcing exactly who they were, in case their appearance hadn't already.
How did they even make vampire twins? Were they vampire-born twins, or were they twins turned at the same time? She stared at the pair; the corners of her mouth were fighting to stay contained.
"You came," a voice breathed behind her ear. Rose rested her body lightly against Jane's back, tilting her chin and wiggling until she found the most comfortable position.
Jane straightened her back. The position was too close. And sensitive. She wanted to swallow, but feared the motion would trigger something.
She took a small step to the side, widening the circle for one more person: "So you guys are doing horse riding?"
No one answered.
The silence was long enough for Jane to take a trip to wonderland and doubt everything she had just said.
She peeked from the corner of her eyes. They were all fixed in one direction, and it wasn't hers.
Then, suddenly, the twins turned their heads in perfect sync. Each grabbed one of her arms, nearly lifting her off the ground.
"Yes! What are you doing here in this outfit?" Alice said.
Jane dug her feet into the grass, hoping to slow down with the help of physics, but they dragged her mercilessly to the point her arms burned from the friction.
She looked back for help, but Rose was nowhere to be seen. Odd, were they allowed to use their super strength in broad daylight?
"Wait, wait," Jane protested. "I have already signed up for archery. I don't think the school prepared me for horse riding."
"You don't have to worry about that," Rose said while stepping through the doorway.
Another shadow appeared at the steps. A small girl, whose eyes were at the same level as Jane's and, unavoidably, the same size. She glared at Jane while gripping the bag's handle tightly.
Jane bit her lip. She knew why the girl was mad. She would have been too, if someone tried to take her clothes.
Rose's gaze swept over. The girl immediately stopped staring at Jane and dropped the bag on the floor.
She gave Jane one last look before storming out of the cottage. The door slammed so hard that it swung and opened again on its hinge.
Jane bent down to pick up the bag. Her curious eyes, hidden beneath her lowered head, wandered between the girl disappearing into the distance and Rose, who quickly turned back.
"Go try it," Rose said, without the faintest awareness of how long she had been looking at the door.
When Jane stepped out of the changing room, all four of them were waiting.
She twisted the elastic band between her fingers, searching for somewhere to put her eyes. Her face and chest hid beneath her black hair, seeking a cover.
It wasn't bad, just that she had never worn something so fitting and proper.
The beige coat and white riding pants shaped her frame while the black boots lengthened her legs. No one would guess how small she really was, unless they stood beside her.
"I didn't know you got that in you, Jane," Alice said, circling Jane like a butterfly. Alina said nothing, only a moment of fleeting surprise in her eyes. And there was another one staying silent.
Rose crosses one arm over the other, a finger pausing at her temple as her eyes narrowed, like she was solving a stubborn equation.
Jane nervously fixed her posture; if she didn't, the buttons might explode, and the loose fold of fabric around her bottom would be more obvious.
"Almost perfect." Rose's serious expression softened, the word dancing on the tip of her tongue before it slipped out.
"You will have your own clothes before the next class," she added, determining Jane's fate herself.
Then, she extended a hand and patiently waited.
"Shall we?"
Jane stared at her beautiful, slender hand. Each finger was straight and well-proportioned. The green veins swam beneath her skin and surfaced when she moved, while the faint calluses marked the joins.
Maybe it was the sunlight that gave her courage, but she only watched as Rose's hand lingered in the air, then slowly lowered back to her side. The last time she accepted a hand, it had nearly cost Jane her life.
Rose didn't seem offended. She let out a small, polite smirk, one with no intention of mockery, before heading outside.