Stories in Broken Glass

Chapter Seven

Emma’s name was called by the sea creature called our principal. Half the crowd erupted into cheers. Hayden actually stood up in his chair to cheer louder than everyone else as his girlfriend was called up as valedictorian.

The whooping died down when Emma nervously laughed into the microphone.

“I had a pretty good year. Who else had a good year?” Cheers sounded from all over the auditorium.

Emma was known by everyone; she had an in with all the crowds. And after her and Hayden became official, she became that It Girl that everyone wanted to be. Perfect grades, perfect boyfriend, early acceptance into law school.

I freaking love her so much.

“Everyone older than me says that they miss high school, they miss their friends and how simple it was back then. I was told to write this speech and include a personal story about my struggles during school.

“I think I had it pretty mild. Making friends was easy to me, getting the high grades only took a few all-nighters. I think that high school was either hell or heaven for people.

“I think that my struggles in high school are insignificant compared to my peers. I think that those of my peers that don’t brag about their achievements have achieved the most. And I don’t mean academically. I mean personally.

“My name is Emma Ince-Russel. And my personal story is this.

“Most of us were enrolled here at thirteen. From there we have all struggled together with different issues that all reflect similarity—all these struggles were dedicated to our persona, making us as people.

“You all probably think I’m going to give the same speech Mr William gives during PhysEd, about how we’re going to mature as adults.

“Sorry to disappoint.” A few chuckles escaped around the crowd.

“We were all thrown together and forced to survive. Quickly we learnt the rules of being a teenager—and here we are. We survived.

“Next up is collage or work or travel or literately anything but high school. We’re going to lose friends, relationships, basically everything we learnt to help us survive in here isn’t going to help out there. Once again, we’re being thrown in and told to survive. I just hope I’m smiling while I’m doing it.

“Now. We’ve graduated. We’re done. There’s cake outback somewhere—enjoy!”

Hayden was the first to cheer. Followed by everyone else in the auditorium. A few teachers and parents looked quite constipated at subtlety being mentioned in the speech, but who cares.

The cake was alright. Someone spiked the drink, and it was carted away after a parent complained, leaving us with an insufficient amount of water.

My dad was here, dressed in a collared shirt and the only pair of slacks he owns.

We hugged, we cried, we ate cake, drank the spiked drink, accepted the invitations to graduation parties happening across town in the valley.

The parties didn’t start until tenish, the graduation finished at one and Caleb had a game until eight. Which was why I was sitting in a very large freezer with the rest of us.

Caleb and Keith’s parents were sitting beside each other, jumping up to shout the number of their son’s jersey—just as they had with Keith when he walked onto that stage.

Caleb’s team won.

The four newly graduated adults (now the legal age to drink, we were classified as old), didn’t stay around to inflate the ego of the swamp monster.

Leigh, Emma and I went back to Leigh’s—to raid her older sisters’ closets.

Dancing around to the songs of our childhood—Disney songs—Emma doing our hair, me doing our makeup and Leigh choosing our fits.

Leigh was decked out in a leather mini and a hot pink top that had more straps than it did top. I kept to her theme, light pink glitter and simple makeup. Emma threw her hair into a complex ponytail that she made look easy.

Emma wore a blue mini dress with a white flower print, her own hair half braided and half out that should have looked terrible on anyone else, but this was Emma. I kept her makeup minimal, soft gold on her eyelids and brown eyeliner instead of black like Leigh, I focused more on her lashes than anything else.

I wore a matching set that was a light purple. A skort that didn’t look like it from the outside—I almost cried when I saw the shorts under the lilac fabric. The matching top went off-shoulder, ending in classy and loose ruffles on my bicep, a sweetheart neckline and built-in padding. Leigh’s sisters were a literal gift to me. I kept to the monochrome look, purple eyeliner and purple strappy sandals.

Leigh assaulted us with glitter hairspray on the way out her bedroom door, we used to look like hotties on their way to a party. Now we looked like disco balls.

Amazing.

It was more noise than anything.

The music was loud, people were drunk, the line to the toilet was super long.

I moved away from a bush in the backyard that a girl from my economics class had disappeared into, she was vomiting.

Instead, I found Leigh and Keith, who were not fusing their faces together, but instead dry-humping on the make-shift dancefloor on the patio.

I abandoned them in search of a drink. The kitchen was littered with empty cups, bottles, and puddles of alcohol.

The beer seemed like the best bet.

Emma and Hayden had already left—it was just me, myself, and this beer.

I fell in and out of conversation with people I’d been in class with for six years, reminiscing on old stories and talking about plans for the future.

It must’ve taken me a while because when I finally made it back to Leigh and Keith, they were taking a water break.

“Ya’know, you guys don’t have to literally be on top of each other.” I pushed myself up onto the railing and criticised their affection.

“Ya’know, you don’t have to be Miss PDA Police.” Leigh fired back, pushing closer to Keith to further her point.

I ignored the insult, “Emma left me, and you two are dry-humping on the dancefloor.” I wave my hand towards said piece of floor that they just vacated.

Leigh looks insulted, “We were not dry-humping. It’s called dancing you swine.” Her cheeks were getting pink while her boyfriend just sat there, fully content with leigh in his arms.

“Well, whatever you call it. Dry-humping or dancing, I’ll leave you to it, I have much better things than you two.”

I didn’t have better things.

Giving up on the party, I sent a text to Leigh saying that I was going home and received two hearts.

I called Caleb at the front door; he was at a teammates place playing video games after their win.

He was expecting my call—having told me before his game that he’d come and get me.

It was a twenty-five-minute drive here. Twenty-five minutes to kill.

I acquired a water bottle and returned to the front of the house. There were a few people walking to their cars or waiting for rides home.

I joined a group of girls that I had been talking to earlier, the six of us all had advanced lit together and instead of working on our assignments, we would shop online and talk about the most random s**t.

A few girls left during the conversation until there was only me and Kyra, she always helped me when it was the poetry unit. But she left after her older sister threatened to crash her car into her, giving me a hug and a quick goodbye.

My phone told me that I had seven-ish minutes until Caleb would be here.

If this were a thriller movie, I would have been the main character that heard the twig snap and stupidly walk into the bush to investigate.

But this wasn’t a thriller movie, and I wasn’t the main character. So, I ignored the sound of probably lizards in the bush.

Headlights down the road and the familiar sound of Caleb’s jeep brought me to the end of the driveway and out of my train of thought.

“You look like someone vomited purple on you.” Is the first thing my best friend says to me, forcing me into my seat by speeding away from the curb.

“Hello to you too.” I don’t bother to look at him as I lean down and unbuckle my sandals.

I was when my head was near my feet when I hear the sound of glass breaking. I had one sandal dangling on my toes when my head was wrenched back.

My neck almost breaking with the force. My hair was pulled so harshly my scalp felt cold.

A language I didn’t speak was cutting through the air above me, a very pale man with red eyes starred back into mine when I lifted my eyes to the voice.

My hands froze halfway in the air, c****d above my head, awkwardly falling away from the arm holding me.

It was the guy from my car crash.

“Vera. Vera look at me. Look at me. Vera! Look. At. Me.”

I did. Caleb was perfectly still, his hand still gripping the steering wheel, his torso turned to face me. His eyes were glassy, flicking from me to the man currently receding my hairline.

He said something. Something in a language I didn’t know. I didn’t know Caleb spoke another language.

Whatever Caleb said, it made the guy force my head further back, closer to him.

I can’t help but look up at him again.

He’s smiling, he has fangs. Holy f**k he has fangs.

Snippets from my other car crash merge with the present.

They’re talking again. Speaking in tongues.

I can’t help it, I cry. I’m going to die. Caleb is going to die. Not even twenty-four hours after I graduated and I’m already dead.

There was a pressure growing in my brain, adding to the pain in my scalp. Until it disappeared.

Gone, like the vampire guy.

I swivel in my seat, the seatbelt digging into my chest and thighs after the jerky braking. I can’t find the guy of Caleb.

I don’t realise that the sounds of something dying are coming from me. Only I’m not dying.

I don’t know how long it took but my breathing slows, my tears staining tracks down my face. My tongue flicked out to catch a tear rolling down my chin.

Unclipping my seatbelt, I slip out onto the road which was the stupidest decision I made tonight. The glass pierced my un-sandaled foot and stopped me from moving any further from the car.

Prying the glass from my foot, my gaze gathering black pots at the corners and my foot beating a second heartbeat.

“Hey, V.”

I startle, it’s Emma. Her voice soft, her eyes softer and she’s wearing grey sweatpants and a sports b*a.

“Emma.” I reach out to her, pausing when my voice cracks so hard, nothing but a breath of hot air filling the space between us.

“I know. I know.” She says it so softly. Like a mother would to their newborn.

She raises her hand to the inside of her elbow.

“Look at me, V.” I do. I can’t help it, her voice is so soft. Pulling at something in the back of my mind.