Centurians | On Hiatus

Chapter Four

Erina sat alone at the corner table of the cafeteria. A half-eaten apple in her hand. Her lunch tray lay empty, apart from the pickles that were left untouched. A bag of fries left for Sara.

Her legs moved along to the rhythm of the music Lady Sofia - the head lunch lady- was listening to.

She was waiting for Sara to join her.

Erina looked at the door, teal eyes moving from one direction to another as she watched the kids enter. The number of people inside the room kept growing as more students started to find their groups in the mass. Their voice echoing.

Grayville was called a small city on paper only but was actually a town.

One local police station, two Walmarts, and three Starbucks in different directions. With only a small population of twenty thousand people, everyone here knew everyone. They grew up in the same neighborhood, going to the same preschool. Then started in the same middle school before coming here, the only same high school Grayville had to offer.

So when Erina first arrived in this town, she was the bright new toy that everyone wanted to play with. Everyone wanted to know about her. About her mysterious past, her appearance, and her cold attitude.

Why she didn't laugh like others or why she talked less or why she had a burn mark on her wrist. They had questions about her and made up stories to answer those.  Until it got to the point where there were more rumors about her than the truth.

She wanted to run away from their scrutiny. Away from this town that at that moment couldn't offer her anything apart from side eyes, and whispered gossip.

Erina took another bite, looking at the crowd.

"What if it's a vampire that's kidnapping people to eat them?" The kids at the table next to hers were talking about the missing man from the next town. Apparently, he vanished from work after going for a smoke. It had been three days.

"What are you twelve? Vampires don't exist."

"You don't know that. Vampires and werewolves date back to ancient times." The glasses kid said with conviction.

"Really?" The one with spiky hair was the loudest as he talked. "I am a werewolf then. Auoooo!" He got off the bench, doing a werewolf pose. The others laughed.

Erina rolled her eyes. 'Dumbasses' she tuned them out.

People going missing wasn't really a big deal. They went missing every day.

She spotted Lily Day - the good girl of the school - in front of the cafeteria doors. Dressed in a blue cardigan and jeans, it was as if she walked out of a Hallmark movie. Her honey-blonde hair was styled in a high ponytail. And her hazel eyes sparkled as she laughed at something Max had said. She was glowing in the middle of the crowd of students.

According to Sara, Erina had a crush on Lily.

Lily was the youngest daughter of the mayor. They apparently, founded the city back in the day with the Hounds & Smiths. Which meant the town treated them like royalty. Which made Lily part of that royalty.

The school assigned her to Erina when she first joined. To help her adjust to the rules of GHS - there weren't many rules. Lily really tried to be friends with Erina, even sitting with her during lunch for a week. She spoke softly and took Erina's sarcasm with a smile. But when Erina tried to run away - 7 weeks after coming here, also known as the Incident - Lily started to keep her distance. It hurt a bit. But Erina couldn't blame her. She might have done the same.

Lily catches Erina's eyes, staring at her. Smiling, she gave out a small wave. Erina waved back, a smile creeping on her lips. Though sometimes she missed having conversations with her... but this was just as good. Watching Lily shyly wave to her whenever their eyes would meet was much more endearing.

And she gets to watch Lily smile at her each time.

Maybe Sara wasn't that far off with Erina having a crush on Lily, nonsense.

Lily turned around, throwing a bag at someone. Erina's eyes followed it.

Jenna Smith was sitting with her girlfriend Kate at the left corner table. Jenna caught the bag easily. Kate clapped, whispering something into her ear. Jenna giggled.
Jenna and Kate were the first 'officially announced' lesbian couple of Grayville HS. When Jenna went to tell her father-Pastor Harries-most were betting on what would happen next.

Small towns lived for drama. They wanted to know how the strict pastor would take the news of his gay daughter.

Erina told Sara that nothing would happen. He was going to tell her he loved her nevertheless. Erina personally didn't believe that utterance as she said it. But she hated how everyone was treating it as daytime drama. She also didn't wanted to agree with Sara.

So she channeled her inner optimism from the deepest part of her soul. "He doesn't care if she's gay or not." Erina said, "You guys are making a fuss." Sara, as the loudmouth that she was, announced this to the entire school. They betted against Erina.

She made 500 dollars that day, all paid in cash. Yet, the best part was when Pastor Harries took Jenna in his arms and said, "I am told to love all. The broken, the hated, and the sinners. Then how can I stop loving my own daughter for being a little different?"

Parker threw a party to celebrate that evening. Lily baked a cake. Sara cried over this and as Erina watched the mascara smear all over her face, she realized Grayville wasn't that bad, after all.

And then she decided to run away. Though even before she could reach the bus stop, they had found and brought her back. The origin of the incident, as Sara liked to call it.

"ERINA!" 

Erina silently cursed under her breath as Sara's voice rang through the entire cafeteria. Erina sighed, taking a bite of her apple she looked in her direction. 'Here we go.'