“I see we have a new face here,” she spoke, addressing Mina, who just nodded, feeling helpless. “Why don’t you stand up, dear, and tell us a little about yourself.”
Mina sighed heavily and gazes, like arrows, flew her way. Despite this, she stood up, defiantly.
“My name is Lucy Wing. As Mrs. Whittmer already said, I’m new here. I basically arrived yesterday evening and was almost late because of that.”
A little chuckle of laughter spread throughout the classroom.
“Well, I had no idea!” Mrs. Whittmer suddenly interjected. “I shall have to have a talk with Mr. Colt. He should have left you to rest today. That was quite a journey you undertook.”
Mina smiled weakly. She knew these people were enemies, all of them. At the same time, it felt nice to hear someone say those words and offer some understanding and compassion.
“Thank you,” she replied, “but I’m alright. I need to catch up with the rest of the class, so I don’t mind starting right away.”
“Now, that’s the spirit!” Mrs. Whittmer clapped her hands joyfully. “I love seeing such enthusiasm in students!”
Mina kept on smiling a little awkwardly, until she was gestured by Mrs. Whittmer to sit down and then everyone was instructed to open their books to page 17, as they were about to discuss the Byronic hero in Romantic literature of the 18th century.
Mina wasn’t really listening, even though she loved the subject. It was something that they shared with their mother. They used to spend evenings together, cuddled up on the sofa and their mother would read them the classics. Moby Dick. Madame Bovary. Gulliver’s Travels. The Mysteries of Udolpho. She and her brother knew them all but when they were forced to flee their home, their sanctuary, they had to leave their books behind.
Suddenly, Mina was shaken from her thoughts by the school bell. She rubbed her eyes. She felt drowsy, as if she had fallen asleep during class. She waited until most of the other students were already out and then she made a dash for the door as if her life depended on it. Sometimes, she actually felt like it really did. A second later and she realized that she had left her pen on the table, so she turned around, and bumped into someone who was just behind her.
“Sorry…”
She bent down to pick up the notebook that had fallen out of someone’s hand. The notebook was filled with sketches and drawings, some more, some less detailed, but all very good. Whoever did it had some major talent, that much was obvious.
“Did you draw these?” she asked, giving it back to the guy, whom she recognized was sitting to her right during class.
“Yeah,” he raked his fingers through his hair as he replied, with a coy smile on his face.
He was tall and lean, much taller than Mina. She had to look up at him to be able to see his eyes. He was wearing a dark sweatshirt and Doc Martens boots. If she could imagine a textbook vampire from the modern times, he would be it. Strong, protruding jawbone, glowing smile, sharp canines, skin that hadn’t seen the sun in ages. Mina knew that nowadays, vampires had evolved and they weren’t as affected by sunlight anymore. There were pills or creams which could sort that out easily. Sometimes, she wished she lived back in the old days, when vampires were much more easily killed. Things used to be so simple back then, unlike now.
“You like them?” he asked, seeing she had gotten lost in her thoughts.
“They’re awesome,” she nodded. “You’re really talented.”
“Thanks,” he grinned. “I’m Hendrik.”
“Lucy.”
“Like in the novel? But your surname isn’t Westenra?” he asked.
“Yeah, my mom was really into Dracula,” she laughed at the irony of the situation, but also at the fact that he totally didn’t and wouldn’t get it, until it was too late.
She had chosen her name exactly with the novel, Dracula, in mind. Seeing her real name was Mina and Mina would eventually be Dracula’s downfall in the book but Lucy died in the end, she felt it was only appropriate to have Lucy as a fleeting character who was only a means to a climactic end.
“Yeah, those are tough shoes to fill,” he nodded, still grinning, not realizing how deep in thought she was during this entire conversation.
“Luckily, he’s already dead,” she concluded.
“Or is he?” he wondered aloud. “You can never really tell, you know, until there’s a body and even if there is a body, it could be someone else’s. Or that body could be in such a deep coma that it’s barely possible to feel a pulse and you just go on and pronounce a still living person dead.”
“You know, I never really thought of it like that,” she smiled back.
She had to admit, he knew some interesting stuff. He’d probably be a fun guy to have a coffee and a casual chat with if the circumstances were different.
“Am I interrupting anything?” Reeba peeped through the door.
“No, no,” Mina shook her head. “I was just heading out. Keep drawing, Hendrik.”