Bella Notte (43 page)

Mrs. Rogers was a
very nice lady when she wanted to be and told me not to worry about
having all the assignments done, because they'd fallen a little
behind from her schedule during my absence. I wanted to laugh, but,
instead, I handed in all my assignments and smiled. She was very
pleased.

I went and took my
seat in the back while waiting for Dominic. He came in before the
bell rang and handed his work and form to Mrs. Rogers. She regarded
him oddly, but let it pass.

Why are you so
late?
I thought it to him.

I was taking care
of some business quickly and the time slipped by.

I wasn't sure if I
detected a false note to his story, I let it go.

Math passed in a
blur where I actually understood everything the teacher explained. I
asked many questions to help those around me that were clearly lost.
My questions helped to shine some light on some of their faces. Dom
sat placidly by me and allowed this to happen- it didn't matter that
he didn't care too much about his fellow students- I enjoyed having a
familiar body sitting next to me, and smiling at me.

I was a little
nervous when the lunchtime bell rang. I didn't know how to really
interact with Kelly and her friends but Dominic would not have no for
an answer, and he easily dragged me out to the cafeteria. I spotted
them quickly, and then glanced around the rest. I wondered how

Mike and Acacia had
not been seen by me all day- it's a small school and a smaller senior
building, how could I not see them? I was puzzled by this.

The minute Kelly saw
us she was like a bolt of lightning. She ran over to us- yes, ran,
not walked quickly, but bloody ran.

“
Em and Dom.
You have to …,” deep breath, “… come and
join us,” she panted.

I looked with
trepidation at her group of friends that were clearly questioning
their friend's sanity for inviting me. “If Dominic wants to.”
I smiled.

“
Of course
we'll join you, Kelly.” He beamed.

Kelly Winters was
the cheerleader prep as I had mentioned before, but she was also a
good person- something I never took the time to find out until
recently. She could easily ignore people and her group was handpicked
by her, for the sole purpose of having contacts for the future. These
kids were the most likely to go somewhere important; modeling,
acting, politics, and things like that. I didn't think much of them-
they were simple clones- but for Kelly they created her world. I knew
that she was really insecure, but I still couldn't understand the
need to surround oneself with so much falseness.

They smiled at us as
we reached the table and I had to fight the urge to shout at them
about being so damn fake. Dominic took my hand and rubbed the back
with his thumb. The small circles tingled as he did it. We smiled
back at them as we sat down next to Kelly. She was busy rambling on
about how the prom committee was working really hard to get funds, so
we could have an awesome prom. It's the little things in life that
make people happy; this was one of those things for Kelly.

“
If there is
some problem with the funds for prom, you know that we'll easily
donate to the cause. It's our prom too,” I said to her with a
sweet smile.

She looked back and
forth between Dom- who had started to nod his head- and me. Her mouth
dropped open and then closed- she looked like a fish out of water.
“Are you really, really serious? I mean it could get
expensive.” Her cheeks flushed.

When you don't have
a lot of money, and you talk about expenses, it tends to make people
embarrassed.

“
Yes, I am
serious. Where is it being held?” I was hoping for some awesome
place.

“
The gym.”
She answered like it was the most obvious answer and what planet was
I living on.

“
Oh.” I
frowned.

“
Well, it's
the only place big enough.” She was trying to make it sound
logical.

“
Why don't we
rent out a hotel or something? There is one in the city.” I
beamed as I put the thought out there.

“
Jeeze, Em.
That is really out of our budget.” Kelly's eyes looked down as
she fumbled with a piece of her napkin.

“
Screw your
budget! I will cover the entire damn cost. Now let's plan an awesome
prom that no one will ever forget!” I was enthralled. I had
found something to keep me occupied for the next weeks.

Kelly's eyes nearly
popped out of her pretty little head and her entire table stared at
me with open mouths.
Good
grief people!
Dom continued to rub my hand.

“
Of course, my
family will also contribute for this event. But you have to
understand that this cost is nothing.” He was trying to be
diplomatic, the yutz.

Kelly's mouth was
stuck in the shape of an O and her friends all had similar
expressions.

Great going. Now
they think we're rich snobs.
I chided him.

“
Perhaps, I
said that wrong. The cost of this affair will be entirely taken care
of by our families. There is nothing to worry about.” He tried
to smooth it over.

So not working
.
I could've laughed at everything, but I kept it under control.

Kelly looked at me
like a deer in headlights.

“
Okay, let's
say you pitched to us, as the possible fund raiser people that our
prom would be at the snotty hotel in the city. You also added in the
request to have a DJ, and lights done, as well as refreshments, top
of the line souvenirs, and five-star dinners. Let's just say that
you're pitching that at potential investors.” I waited for a
reaction.

I could see her
tabulating the cost of everything I had said and she flushed fiercely
as she realized it was so much. She nodded her head once I raised my
eyebrows.

“
Okay, now
that you've pitched the idea to us. We discuss it. We've agreed to
fund this endeavor, but on the memory pamphlets we want an honorable
mentioning. We also reserve the right to veto anything that comes
through, so all purchases must go through us before something is
added to the bill. Are we good, my dear prom committee?” I
smiled a perfect business deal smile.

“
Um, yes. Are
you sure though?” Kelly added.

“
Yes, I am
sure … but I need a unanimous agreement from the entire
committee to have us as the financial backing for the senior prom.”
I didn't want Kelly getting all the blame if something was wrong with
what we were doing.

I looked at each
person at the table. The perfect blonde looked at me, thought about
it and then nodded as she chewed on her lower lip. The tan, rusty
haired boy came next. His deep, chocolate eyes pinched in
concentration and then he agreed. A black haired girl who was more
pixie like than anything else, raised an eyebrow and looked down her
nose at me. I could've killed her right there- but I didn't. I guess
she decided that she wasn't going to be the one to screw this up and
her head jerked up and down as though it fought against itself. A guy
wearing casual business attire focused his eyes on mine and smiled
the same business smile I had, and then agreed. Kelly, of course,
agreed. I knew there were other members of the committee.
I
wonder what happened to Julia?
I decided they must've had a falling out of some kind and Julia was
ultimately kicked from the group.

“
You're gonna
have to get the others to verbally agree to you as well. If you wish,
I could draw up a contract?” I checked with Dom if this was
possible, he nodded.

“
No, no. It
so
isn't necessary. I trust you, Emma. I will get their okays. I will
also start making phone calls tonight and getting the plans started.
Tomorrow, everyone, including you guys, can agree on stuff.”
She smiled and an excited light came into her eyes.

Man, she's like
putty in your hands.
Dom's voice cooed in my head.

Just know how to
handle them.
I explained.

The lunch bell rang.

I gave Dominic a
goodbye kiss and watched as he sauntered off toward the gym. Then,
Kelly and I walked into the senior building. She had French and I was
going to History. Our rooms were right next door.

“
Au
revoir mon amie
!”
I
called after her.

She smiled good
heartedly. “Enjoy history.”

I sat through
History after turning in my stack of homework with an amused
expression on my face. Miss Henderson was talking about something
that I had read before, so I enjoyed her drone as a background noise
while I imagined what prom would be like, and what graduation would
be like.

I felt nervous about
leaving all of this behind. It was my connection to the human world
that I belonged to- or
used
to. After graduation, I would be immersed in our own ways, with our
own kind. My emotions pulled at me from the inside, this change was
something I really was nervous about.

I was completely
lost in thought when Miss Henderson came and placed a paper on my
desk about what we were discussing. Her hand touched mine ever so
slightly and soon I was struck by a wave of information from her. The
most predominate thing in her thoughts were vivid images of a man,
half naked, in a bed. I assumed that the bed was hers, and I
recognized the man immediately.
Oh
my god! Miss Henderson is having an affair with Coach Williams!

I wasn't sure what
to do. I sat there and stared at her. I went back to her thoughts and
tried to figure out when it started. I couldn't find a clear
beginning. I did find images from the Coach's wedding, in which she
was the maid of honor, and a few from her own wedding and divorce as
well.

I looked back
further- they were in a high school, this one, and he was dating his
now wife, and then he met her. It started out as flirting and then
went from there. Now, here we are, years later, and she's his
mistress and his wife has no clue.

I knew this scandal
would blow the town apart, as well as the school. I kept my mouth
shut tight. I knew Dom had heard my exclamation, but he didn't say
anything.

It was shocking to
learn about people by accident. My accidents were very startling to
me I found out.

I left class in a
gentle haze as her thoughts began to leave the front of my mind. I
looked back at my teacher, with a little pity; she would never be the
one in the beautiful white dress she imagined if she stayed with him.
Maybe
I should tell her?
I decided that would cause problems. I walked downstairs to Art class
with Miss Ashley.

Miss Ashley was
always my favorite teacher because she was so calm, collected, and
young. She can sympathize with us about lots of stuff.

I walked into the
room and handed her a sketchbook I had filled with drawings, while I
was away. She hadn't assigned anything, but I figured I should do
something. No one else was in class yet and she smiled at me.

“
Your ball was
lovely, Emma,” she said in a whispered voice.

She was at my
ball?
I
felt confused, what would a human be doing at my ball?

Yes. It was very
beautiful!
Her voice caught me seriously off guard.

Oh my freaking
God! You're one!
I squealed with delight.

She turned her back
to the door and let her fangs slide down very impressive.

I smiled and finally
understood why she was so awesome. She winked at me and the room
began to fill with people. Dominic was the last one in.

Em?
He said.

I shook my head and
nodded toward Miss Ashley and mimed fangs.

He looked at me in
disbelief.
No
way!

Yes way!