Chapter 7

• Chapter 7
• The first period finally started after an hour’s delay. The teacher had some issues with his vehicle and thus, he informed the dean to give the freshers an hour's time to get to know each other before the class began.
• The empty classroom was packed with students now. The poetry teacher, Mr. Risorito, introduced himself politely and started the class. He reminded everyone that he was usually punctual, but when he came into the classroom; it was empty so he waited for all the students to join, which caused the delay.
• “He looks old,” mumbled Becca, glancing at the grey-haired teacher, his nose was pointed like an arrow.
• “He is old,” Alexander corrected her.
• “But he has a nice nose,” Lucas pointed out, to which Becca hummed in response.
• Mr. Risorito started his lecture. He told everyone to take out a notepad and a pen to take notes on his lecture. He started explaining the basics of poetry, starting with, “Poetry is another form of expressing love, more like expressing your emotion.”
• Alexander rolled his eyes at the mention of love, while Becca and Lucas intently listened to every detail uttered by Mr. Risorito.
• This is going to be a long day, Alexander thought to himself and looked blankly at the teacher. He couldn’t believe the things he was doing just for a potion. He joined a university that too in the human world. He had completed his university studies in the vampire world already, so it was pointless for him to study the same material again with humans. He always made fun of Vanessa for being so attached to the humans, but now he was forced to interact with them. Not all humans though, only Becca. People like Lucas were unwanted by him.
• Becca started writing a few points neatly on her notebook, giving her full concentration to the professor.
• Not having anything to do, Alexander decided to close his eyes and chat with Vanessa. But as soon as he closed his eyes, someone from his right side poked him, resulting in him opening his eyes. He glared at the person on his right.
• A blond boy, who seemed to be eighteen or nineteen, gave a cheeky grin and said, “I am Antonio Piero. And you are…?”
• “Did you have any important questions to ask apart from my name?” Alexander asked grumpily.
• Antonio shook his head. “No, sorry.” Just when Alexander thought he would get a moment of peace, the blond boy said, “Actually, I do have a question to ask.” He waited for Alexander to respond, but when he didn’t, Antonio questioned, “Why aren’t you writing anything? I mean, we all have a bag or a notebook with us.”
• “I cannot afford it. I am so damn poor,” Alexander responded curtly. Why would I carry these human items when I don't belong to the human world? he wondered.
• Becca, who overheard the conversation, chortled. She looked at Alexander and Antonio, saying, “I didn’t mean to overhear but I am right here, sitting close so I heard it. And Antonio, his name is Alexander.”
• Antonio smiled awkwardly.
• “Can’t he speak for himself?” Lucas interrupted the conversation. “I mean, I didn’t imagine Alex to be like this. Were you waiting for someone else to give your introduction as shown in the movies?”
• “Call me Alexander, not Alex.” Alexander clenched his fist, seeing Lucas smirk. “Also, didn’t you know that not responding to someone properly means I am not interested in starting a conversation?”
• “Okay, guys, I didn’t want to start an argument between anyone,” Antonio said, noticing the strong internal battle between Alexander and Lucas. “I will focus on the class now.” With that, Antonio focused on the teacher again.
• “Why didn’t you bring anything though, Alex?” Lucas asked, calling him Alex on purpose just to annoy him. “Did you just come here to show your face?”
• As Alexander was about to answer him rudely, Becca said, “Okay, break it up, break it up.” She looked at both Lucas and Alexander, saying, “I want you two to be my friends, but don’t be like that to each other, please.”
• “Bu—” Alexander was interrupted by Becca, much to his annoyance.
• “Here you go.” Becca shoved an extra pen and a ‘starry night’ themed notebook to Alexander. “You can take notes with this.”
• Lucas asked in disbelief, “Do you really believe him to be poor?”
• Becca shook her head with a chuckle. “I researched once that some people hate to carry stuff with them, so I always carry an extra notepad and pen to help someone having that kind of nature.”
• “Why?” Alexander couldn’t control himself from asking.
• She gave him a smile, saying, “Because I wanted to form a friendship in that way.”
• Why was she so desperate to make friends? Alexander had no answer to this question.
• Meanwhile, Becca was happy to help Alexander and she wouldn’t mind helping him again and again. She had no idea why she felt that way for him. What was the strong connection she felt every time she was close to him?
• Lucas raised his eyebrows in amusement. He could feel that something was going on between Alexander and Becca as if they were tied together with a knot. Maybe because Alexander was a vampire and Becca had the vampire potion, which was why they were attracted to each other.
• Their chain of thoughts was broken by Mr. Risorito saying, “The last three students, I mean the boy at the corner wearing blue, the girl wearing the black-top and the boy twinning with her by wearing the same color, kindly stand up.”
• All eyes were on the three of them.
• “Oh, crap,” Becca mumbled under her breath and stood up, followed by Lucas.
• Alexander groaned, cursing the fact that the day was already going bad for him. When he watched Becca and Lucas looking at him, he stood up as well.
• “I noticed for a while,” Mr. Risorito started, making his way towards them. “The three of you are talking for a long time and I was wondering whether my class seemed boring to you?”
• “Can you blame us for the boredom?” Alexander said bluntly.
• Becca’s eyes widened at his words and she looked at him in disbelief. He is digging our grave, right along with his, she thought.
• Mr. Risorito arched an eyebrow. His eyes fell on the notes Lucas and Becca took while Alexander’s notebook was blank.
• “Mr. Risorito, we took notes on what you said,” Lucas tried to reason, and Becca nodded her head in support.
• “Well, I have a different way of punishing the students who talk in my class though,” the teacher said, putting his hands in his pocket. “The three of you will submit an assignment as a punishment. The assignment will be to write a poem by tomorrow and submit it.”
• “Poem?” Lucas mumbled, already wondering how the heck he was supposed to write a poem when he had barely read books.
• “You gotta be kidding,” Alexander murmured under his breath, wanting to bang his head on the wall. How could Vanessa even survive in this human world? It was so cruel to even assign him a task of writing. He loved reading, but he never tried writing anything like that.
• A bright smile dawned over Becca’s face at the mention of writing. Whether it was a novel, short story, or a poem — she loved writing and it was more of a blessing than a punishment for her to write a poem with her new friends. But noticing the frown on Alexander’s face and the horror covering Lucas, she told the teacher, “Since this punishment is for the three of us, why don’t you give us three days instead of one? We will write a poem and submit it to you.”
• As Mr. Risorito continued thinking about it, the bell rang, letting everyone know that the class ended. “Okay,” he agreed and watched the students leave the classroom. Soon, he left as well.
• Jumping in excitement, Becca said to Alexander and Lucas while packing her stuff for the next class, “Let’s find a topic while making our way to the next class. Sounds good?”
• “Fine,” Lucas said in reply.
• “What about you, Alex?” When Becca didn’t receive an answer from Alexander, she turned to her right, only to find the seat empty. “Where is Alex? When did he walk away?”
• Suppressing a chuckle, knowing that Alexander stormed off, Lucas said, “Maybe he has a different class now. What is your next class though? Mine is Classic Literature.”
• “Mine too,” she said after taking a look at her class schedule. “Let’s go.”
• She was slightly upset that Alexander left without a word. Was he not interested in doing a group assignment? What if he didn’t want to be her friend at all? The thought saddened Becca, however, she continued attending the classes with Lucas and got to know more about him. Yet, she missed Alexander and intended to see him during lunch.
• ###
• Alexander was sitting under a stone pine tree, which was inside the campus garden. He decided to go invisible if someone appeared, but for now, the garden was empty.
• He needed a breather.
• How could he adapt to the human world within a day? It was becoming difficult for him, yet he was trying to adjust only for the vampire potion. Everyone there was taxing his last vestiges of patience. Alexander wanted to use the students like walking, talking juice boxes.
• He hated doing human tasks. One class was enough to royally piss him off. Alexander didn’t wish to attend more classes. He would go crazier because Becca was already making him crazy. What kind of power did that girl have?
• How can I feel something strange when she is nearby? he wondered and immediately shook his head before any stranger thoughts popped into his mind. It wasn’t possible for him to feel something when he didn’t even have a functioning heart. His heart was in his body, but it was dead. His heart could never skip a beat nor could he feel something, so it was impossible for him to feel any connection with Becca. “She has the potion and maybe that is what is driving me crazy,” he mumbled to himself, “I am even mumbling to myself like a madman. I should go and ask her about the potion right this instant.”
• Alexander glanced at his wristwatch, noticing it was the time for lunch. Becca must be free and he could easily talk to her alone. He would pull her off to the side and ask her about the potion directly. It was a simple plan from his side.
• Vanessa usually goes hunting for animals during lunch and Sebastian should accompany her. Lucas wouldn’t find Becca if Alexander pulled her into the corner.
• It was the perfect time for Alexander to find out more about the potion. The sooner he finds out, the faster he could leave.
• Alexander got up from the sitting position and ran towards the caféteria to meet Becca.
• The caféteria was filled with people, yet Alexander tried to look for her. As soon as he reached the backdoor of the caféteria, someone grabbed his hand and pulled him into an empty classroom nearby.