You Were What You Eat

32. A Little Help from a Friend

Anna was seated comfortably in her tall chair, legs swinging back and forth slightly. She was reviewing her biology homework before class when she saw the door swing open. A flash of red caught her eye, and knot formed in the pit of her stomach.

Carmine walked over to the seat beside her, a deliberately casual air about her. Anna carefully studied her friend's face, trying to decode the bland expression there. She crossed her fingers under the table, silently hoping against hope that Carmine hadn't decided to back out of the vampire hunt. Or worse – to stop being friends with Anna altogether.

Carmine set her backpack on the ground carefully. She turned slowly and looked at Anna, who gave a small, weak smile in return – after all, it had been Anna's idea to stalk Fredrick that night. If Carmine was upset, then Anna knew without a doubt it was her fault.

"How are you doing?" Anna asked gently.

"I'm ok." Carmine replied evenly.

She was a little pale, and she had bags under her eyes. But overall, she didn't seem too bad. She was certainly looking better than Anna would have imagined, especially considering the circumstances. Before Carmine could say anything else, Anna spoke up.

"Listen," she said. "I just wanted to let you know...If you don't want to do this anymore – you know..." Anna glanced around, making sure no one was near enough to hear before continuing on, her voice barely audible. "The whole vampire thing – you don't have to. I didn't realize it was going to be as bad as it was. I'm really sorry I dragged you into it."

"I know you didn't know what was going to happen – how could you?" Carmine sighed, looking resigned. Anna tried her best not to look guilty as Carmine continued, "But just because I don't like what happened doesn't mean I should ignore it. The fact that he's so brutal is actually more of a reason to help – not to quit. Besides, you guys are definitely going to need my help after this."

Anna smiled, appreciating what Carmine said and noticing the twinkle that was dull, but nevertheless still present in Carmine's eye.

***

Anna's day continued on much like any other. She ate lunch with Mia and Carmine, and was relieved to see that Carmine seemed to be in much better spirits than she had been earlier that morning.

The girls had talked, though somewhat cryptically, about what their next move would be. It was clear that they were going to have to act, and the sooner the better.

Anna had been slightly embarrassed to realize that she'd formed no plan whatsoever; she'd been too busy worrying about how Carmine was doing. She decided to devote the rest of her day to planning. But even with every spare moment being spent trying to come up with something, she didn't have much. She'd been relieved to get to math early; she could use those few uninterrupted minutes try to come up with some ideas before the end of the day.

Luke walked into the room and sat down behind Anna. She waved absentmindedly at him. As nice as it was to talk to him, she really couldn't be bothered today. Luke got out his books, waiting for Anna to give him a more friendly acknowledgement. When it became clear to him that this wouldn't be coming any time soon, he decided to start the conversation himself.

"So...me and a couple of friends were thinking about going to the movies this Friday..." he told Anna, shifting a little in his chair.

"That sounds nice." Anna told him in a friendly, if disinterested manner. She hadn't really been paying attention to him; she was much more preoccupied with her own problems than whatever Luke's weekend plans were. Luke smiled a little and leaned forward.