The Wanderers Beginning: The Wanderers, Reborn, & Unforgiven (67 page)

  
              “So what’s the big deal about this party anyways?” I asked, coming out of the bathroom. The disappointed look on Cameron’s face said she wished I would have kept my hair down. She told me earlier that she liked my streak and said I should embrace it.

  
              “It’s the party of all parties,” Dean said. Although I’m sure he would have said that about any party.

  
              “It’s kinda like a welcome back party,” Cameron said.

  
              “More like check out the new meat,” Austin smiled.

  
              “Perfect,” I thought.

  
              “He’s just kidding,” Cameron said, throwing a pillow at him. I grabbed my phone as we headed out the door and downstairs to the first floor. I started to wonder where this party was when they took a quick right down a hall, leading to a door that read
Basement
above it. Austin knocked on the door with some kind of secret knock.

  
              After a moment, the door opened and we were led down a flight of stairs. What kind of party was this, and why was it in the basement? It seemed kind of creepy to me to have a party in a dark, damp, dirty basement, but then again it could be worse.

Chapter nine

Okay, so this was definitely not like any basement I have ever seen. There were hardwood floors covered by a few throw rugs. The walls were painted in bright colors and looked like some of the students had added their own special touch. They had twined twinkling lights around the few poles that stuck out and hung outdoor Christmas lights along the ceiling. The couches and chairs looked like they were donated from the goodwill along with lawn chairs and folding tables. Overall it was the perfect place to have a party and not at all what I had expected.

  
              On the one wall there was a mural of a garden – which looked vaguely familiar – and on another was a forest with witches huddled around a cauldron, wolves hidden in the trees with – if I had to guess – vampires standing next to them, all of their eyes glowing bright. Interesting choice of art, but then, this is a school for the supernatural.

  
              In one corner kids were playing beer pong and in another they were playing flip cups. Some were just standing around socializing, flirting, and some were dancing. All in all it was like one of the many parties we had back in Vermont at the sorority house.

  
              “So what’s with the secret knock?” I asked Dean.

  
              “Have to weed out the uglies somehow,” he smiled. 

  
              “You’re such a dick,” I groaned. He just laughed and took off to go talk to some girls. Austin spotted some of his friends and dragged Cameron with him, leaving me to fend for myself.  

  
              Fantastic.

  
              I glanced around the room, hoping maybe I would find some nonalcoholic beverages.  I spotted a plastic tub against the far wall and thought I’d take my chances. Half the ice was melted and whatever was in there was sitting on the bottom. I pushed my sleeve up and stuck my hand in. The freezing cold water was a shock at first and took everything I had not to pull my hand out right away. When I finally got a hold of a can, I pulled it out to discover it was a beer. I set it aside, stuck my hand back in, and tried again, and again. Everything I found was a beer.

  
              “Fishing for gold?” Roman asked, startling me. I stood up, wiping my arm on my pants, and then pulled down my sleeve. He was leaning casually against the wall, wearing dark blue jeans and the stereo typical, tight, black T-shirt.

  
              “No. I was looking for soda,” I said.

  
              “Soda’s over there,” he replied, pointing to a corner in the back.

  
              “Thanks,” I mumbled.

             
“I’m Roman,” he said, extending a hand.

             
“Ella,” I said, feeling a little guarded.

             
“You’re new here.”

             
“Yeah.”

             
“Welcome to Hamilton Hill,” he smiled kindly.

             
When he didn’t offer up anymore conversation I said, “Soda over there?” 

             
“Yeah,” he smiled. I made my way over in the direction he pointed. I could feel him watching me. I looked over my shoulder and confirmed my suspicion. I couldn’t get rid of this strange feeling that I knew him. I knew I never met him before but when he was around I felt a strange connection to him. Maybe it was his eyes or his hair or the fact that I’m still in love with my dead boyfriend and any guy with dark blue eyes and black hair reminds me of him. This wasn’t healthy. I was supposed to have let him go, but I knew in my heart there’d always be a small part of him that remained there. I took a breath, relinquishing all thoughts of Tristan.                

             
I didn’t see any plastic tubs in the corner Roman had pointed to. I stepped through the arch way and found a freezer. I opened it up figuring this was what he was talking about. What I found was not soda. “What the…?” I picked up one of the blood filled bags that was inside the freezer.

  
              “What are you doing?” Mackenzie said, startling me.

  
              I spun around dropping the bag. “I was looking for a soda,” I said quickly, hoping she didn’t spot the bag I just dropped by her feet.

  
              “Clearly,” she said, picking up the bag and waving it in front of me. Not in the mood to deal with her, I ignored her and pushed past her on my way back out into the party. “Hey, Ella,” Mackenzie called. “You forgot something.”

  
              I turned to face her as she threw the bag at me. I caught it as it exploded in my hands, blood squirting all over my shirt and face. “Oops,” Mackenzie giggled, receiving a few laughs from the kids nearby. She walked by me smiling wickedly while I stood there shell shocked. I had to bite my lip to keep from crying. No way was I going to let this bitch get to me.

  
              Cameron and Sienna caught wind of what happened and came rushing over. “I’ll go get some wet paper towels,” Sienna said, hurrying off.

  
              Cameron picked up the now empty bag and threw it in the trash. “What happened?” she asked.

  
              “Mackenzie,” I said, grinding my teeth.

  
              “I couldn’t find any,” Sienna said apologetically.

  
              “Let’s take her to the bathroom,” Cameron suggested, noticing I was about to lose it. They led me to the bathroom so I could get myself cleaned up. Unfortunately, there was a line, forcing us to wait. I got more and more agitated as we waited because I couldn’t touch anything for risk of spreading the mess.

  
              “If I would have known you were such a messy eater I would have offered you a bib,” Roman joked.

  
              “I’m glad I was able to amuse you,” I glared, whispering
‘prick’
under my breath.

  
              He narrowed his eyes at me clearing hearing me. “It was just a joke,” he said defensively.

  
              “Yeah thanks, ha-ha so funny I forgot to laugh.” I squared my shoulders, proving to him that he and his girlfriend’s little prank was no bother to me and I would not be bullied easily.

  
              “Whatever,” he growled, walking past us. So much for him being one of the good guys. 

  
              “What a dick,” I thought, biting my lip again to keep from crying. I wasn’t usually the type to cry when I was upset. It was more when I was so angry I couldn’t control it and I hated that. I wasn’t going to allow that to happen now. I took a breath and looked up at the lights so I could blink away my tears. Cameron, noticing my expression, banged on the door to the bathroom. “Hurry up in there,” she shouted. “If it wasn’t working for you when you left your room it’s not going to work for you now.”

  
              Some short, chubby, brunette stepped out of the bathroom and gave Cameron a nasty look. “Finally,” Cameron said, not caring about the girl’s feelings. She pushed the girl aside and dragged Sienna and I into the cramped space that was the bathroom.  I ran my hands under the faucet and splashed some cool water on my face. I wiped off the rest of the blood with wet paper towels.

  
              “Good as new,” Sienna smiled optimistically. I looked down at my blood soaked shirt and her smile faded. “Well, almost?”

  
              Someone knocked on the door. “In a minute!” Cameron yelled. The person’s response was to bang on the door. Cameron pounded her fist back. “Use the other bathroom,” she grunted and turned back around to face me rolling her eyes at the distraction.

  
              Feeling at a loss, I was about to tell them I was just going to go back to my room when Cameron said, “Take off your shirt.”

  
              I looked at her thinking she couldn’t be serious, but the look on her face told me she was dead serious. “Okay, but then I would be naked and I don’t think that would help.”

  
              “It might help your reputation though,” Sienna giggled. I shook my head letting her know she wasn’t helping.

  
              Cameron sighed. “Just trust me. Give me your shirt,” she said, holding out her hand.

  
              I thought what the hell. I had nothing left to lose, well, except maybe my pants. I took off my shirt and handed it to Cameron. Before I could ask what her plan was both girls stared at me with wide eyes. “What?” I asked self-consciously.

  
              “I just…never seen someone our age with tattoos, well with that many, I mean…” Sienna stammered.

  
              “Is this another side effect from your powers?” Cameron asked, gawking at me curiously.

  
              “No. I was just…bored,” I joked. I crossed my fingers hoping they would leave it at that. It was best excuse I could come up with on short notice. I didn’t know these girls well enough to let them in on the truth.

  
              “I would have guessed you did it to piss off your parents. I mean, that’s what I would have done,” Cameron shrugged, giving me a good excuse for the future. I made a mental note to keep that one in mind.

  
              Both girls managed to drag their eyes away to concentrate on the matter at hand. Cameron handed the shirt to Sienna. “Do a glamour spell on it,” she said.

  
              “Oh, I don’t know. I’ve only done it once before and I’m not very good at it,” Sienna said sheepishly.

  
              “A glamour spell?” I asked, completely clueless.

  
              “Sienna’s a witch and a good one. She’s better than she gives herself credit for,” Cameron said, nudging Sienna and trying to encourage her.

  
              “I’ll try, but I’m going to warn you, the last time I tried this I turned my pants into a cat.”

  
              “Wait, what?” I said as she took the shirt.

  
              “I was going for a leopard print skirt,” she clarified as if that made it all better. Not knowing what else to say I just nodded as she gripped the shirt tight and closed her eyes to concentrate. I stood there hoping this would work. There wasn’t much room left in this tiny bathroom for her to accidentally conjure something else.

             
While we waited, I turned to Cameron, and asked, “So what’s the deal with Roman?” I had a hard time believing he was one of the good guys after the stunt he pulled. I needed to know what the real deal was so hopefully I could put this mess behind me.

             
“Roman’s actually a good guy,” she said. I’ve been hearing that a lot, but have yet to be convinced. “He helped save me from a disastrous relationship and introduced me to Austin. I owe him a lot. His only downfall is that he’s dating Mackenzie,” Cameron moaned.  “Besides that everyone pretty much loves him, including the teachers. He gets along with everyone, gets good grades, and never causes any trouble.”

              “Okay I’m done,” Sienna said, handing me the shirt.

  
              I almost didn’t take it, it seemed way too easy. “Um, the blood is gone, but so is the part of the shirt the blood was on,” I said, sticking my hand through a giant whole in the front.

  
              She took the shirt back and sighed. “Let me try again.” She closed her eyes once more.

             
“So what’s the sudden interest in Roman? Does someone have a crush?” Cameron asked, wiggling her brows.

             
“No!” I said. “I just think some people aren’t always who they seem to be.” I knew this for a fact. I decided to leave out the part about him being the one who put me in this whole predicament in the first place. I didn’t want to hear any excuses on his defense.

             
“Okay, how about now?” Sienna asked hopeful.

  
              This time she got it right. “That’s awesome, how’d you do that?” She just shrugged her shoulders like it was nothing. I was kind of surprised at how easy it was. I thought maybe she’d say a spell or there’d be some kind of smoke or lights flashing, but no. I was realizing there was a lot I had to learn.

  
              “See, I told you you could do it,” Cameron said, praising her.

  
              “
Why
is there a cooler full of blood bags?” I asked as I put my shirt back on.

  
              “Hello, Ella, we do go to a school with a bunch of vampires,” Sienna said laughing.

  
              Too embarrassed to mention that I didn’t know anything about our kind, I just brushed it off. “Right,” I said, laughing with her as we headed back out to the party. Cameron promised me she wouldn’t leave my side for the rest of the night.