Decisions Ch. 08

I looked behind me to make sure my team was following. Sure enough, they were, dismounting the bus in their royal blue hoodies and sweats. All of them. No one backed out, which pleased me to no end and filled me up with pride. Stasi said it was because of my leadership. I think it is because the entire team would rather be playing football than learning at school.

"THERE THEY ARE!" A hyperactive child screamed, pointing at us. I froze, my eyes widening as a mob of kids descended upon us, jumping around. You'd hardly think that they feared monsters. I watched, amused, at the expressions of my teammates. They ranged from the astonished, confused, and delighted.

I didn't blame them. If you had seventy human elementary school students souped up on sugar mobbing you, you'd be pretty surprised too. Not at the kids, but at being accepted by humans.

Taking care not to look at the news cameraman that was in my face, I held up a football. "Who wants to play some football?" I announced.

"We do!" The kids cheered.

"Ok!" I said, cheerfully. I loved kids and it showed. "Let's get each other split up by positions. Who wants to be on offense?"

A flurry of hands shot up and we soon had the group of kids separated into two groups: offense and defense. Our defensive starters took charge of the defense and the offensive starters took charge of the offense, taking them to a secluded field. From there, we placed them into subblocks by position, with each individual player showing them the ropes.

Naturally, I was showing them how to be quarterbacks.

"Who knows how to play quarterback?" I asked the group of five kids. One hand was faster than the rest. "What's up?"

"You throw the ball and hope it doesn't get intercepted!" He squeaked back, making me laugh.

"You're half right. What's your name, kiddo?"

"Ernie!" He squeaked. He was pudgy and short. Maybe he'd be better in the offensive line circuit, but hey, I was going to take anyone.

"Ernie, well, being a quarterback isn't just about throwing the ball. You have to be able to be in charge and have your team trust you. Can all five of you do that?"

"Yes, sir!" They chorused.

"Please, just call me Chris."

"Yes, sir!"

It was clearly a lost cause. "Ok, so I'm going to show you how..." My eyes caught sight of someone watching us, a beautiful girl wearing a royal blue baseball cap and large aviator sunglasses. I didn't need binoculars to know that it was my best friend and that she was smiling a smile so large that her fangs were showing. My heart fluttered in my chest, that feeling of being whole once more. "I'm going to show you how to throw." I finished, handing the football off to Ernie. "Let's all get in line shoulder to shoulder. Now, the thing that matters the most if that you should always have a good stance..."

Even though I was only to coach them for twenty minutes before we had them rejoin the offence, we lost track of time and went for thirty. It wasn't until Vik came over did that we stopped.

"Chris, we're waiting for your quarterbacks." He noted.

"Alright, we're on our way." I said. "Come on, guys."

"Why's he wearing sunglasses?" Jamie asked. He was a lanky kid, with a throaty voice and glasses. "It's cloudy."

"He's a vampire. Vampires don't like sun." I replied.

"Oh..." Jamie muttered.

"Is something wrong?" I asked.

"No, it's just... my mom and dad said vampires are bad." He said, embarrassed.

"Do I look bad to you?" Viktor asked.

"No."

"Then I'm not bad." He grinned, revealing his fangs. I swear, I saw Jamie shudder when he saw them. I wrapped my arm around him, patting him on the shoulder.

"Don't worry, Jamie. Vampires aren't bad people, at all. They're just like the rest of us. We're all humans at heart." I turned to Vik. "Where's Stasi? I saw her here earlier."

"Yeah, she decided to show up. Principal Finch let her leave school early. You two are so lucky that Principal Finch loves you two. She's waiting at the field. She stopped by to see how we were doing. Kind of irked that she didn't bring Abby."

"Sweet. Can you take these five and get them set up?" I asked.

"Sure. Come on, guys." He said, leading my five prodigies away. They were wary of him because of what he was and it showed. I crinkled my nose, resisting the urge to sigh. Vik was a good... no, not good. Great. He was a great kid. He didn't deserve to be judged because of his pale skin or fangs.

I frowned, something that was pretty rare for me to do. Sometimes, you couldn't do anything but hope you left a good impression. With differences and intolerances seeming to have intensified, maybe this would change their opinion, maybe this wouldn't. Perhaps it'd be good PR, playing football with a bunch of disadvantaged kids. Nobody knew for sure with these kind of things.

I walked off, crossing the field to where Stasi was standing. She was more beautiful up close. The way her raven hair was done and the way her body fit into her gray jacket and jeans. When she saw me, her face lit up behind her sunglasses.

"Hey, you. Aren't you supposed to be coaching kids?" She asked, giving me a kiss and a crushing hug.

"Had to see someone far more important to me first." I replied, happily. "You came."

"Of course I came. I'm not sure why you're so surprised that I showed up. I haven't missed any of your games ever since we were kids. What makes you think I want to start now?" She retorted. "Even though this isn't really a game. More of an event."

She grabbed a hold of my hand and together we walked to the field where everyone was getting set up for a game of pickup football. "How is this thing going? Papa wants to know your opinion."

"I think that... this side of the city is more neutral to monsters." I said.

"Why do I sense a 'but'?" Stasi asked.

"Because there's one coming. I don't know why, but I have a gut feeling that things are going to go bad soon. We haven't had anything that's outright racist other than some kid mouthing off to one of our ogres. We've had some problems with prejudice and uncooperative kids, but they're warming up to us. I didn't have problems with mine, but maybe that's because I had a smaller group." I said.

"Maybe it was because you were human?" Stasi suggested.

"Maybe, maybe not. Maybe it's because I'm totally awesome."

"And modest." Stasi quipped.

"Touche. Why don't you give it a shot?"

"Give what a shot?"

"Playing with the kids." I said.

Her mouth dropped open in an 'o' and I knew that her eyes bugged out behind her sunglasses. "Chris," She said. "I'm not good with kids, we both know that. You're way better at this stuff than I am."

"Oh come on. There are a few girls here. They're always looking for a role model."

"You think I can be a role model?" She asked, shyly. "I'm a vampire."

"I think you can be a model and a role model." I declared, giving her a quick kiss. Her cheeks flushed when my lips made contact with them. "But it wouldn't hurt to talk to them. Vampire or not. I'm sure they'd love you, your cute accent, your wittiness, your intelligence, your kindness, and your beauty. The same way that I love you."

She beamed at me. Her smile threatened to split her face, her fangs exposing themselves. "Alright, maybe I'll talk to them. If I derail this entire thing, you're taking the blame, lyubov."

I decided that I wouldn't have it any other way.

Chapter 3:

"So, Christopher, you know what field of law you're doing for your project, correct?" Mr. Zasor asked, looking up at me from his desk.

"Yeah, I'm doing Civil Rights law." I replied, packing up my bag. I was in a hurry to go see Stasi. We had a free period next, so that meant 45 minutes of doing nothing but messing around in the Cafeteria.

"Excellent." He said, turning back to his paperwork. "You're free to go."

Despite my love of my Law class, Mr. Zasor didn't rank too highly on my list of favorite teachers. He was curt and always a bit on the condescending side. He wasn't outright mean, but he didn't go out of his way to be nice. Despite all that, he was an excellent teacher. I threw my backpack onto my shoulders, walking out of the class after saying goodbye. I met up with Lucy outside, who was waiting for me.

"What'd Mr. Zasor want?" She asked, as we began to navigate through the crowded hallways together to the Cafeteria.

"Just wanted to check in with my project to see which field of law I'm doing." I replied. "Why do you always carry your books in your arms?"

"No point in throwing it in my backpack if I'm going to take it out after I get to the cafeteria." She said.

"That's like saying why make your bed if you're going to mess it up by sleeping in it." I countered.

"That's a horrible analogy," She snorted. "Anyways, what field of law are you doing?"

"Civil Rights." I said. "You?"

"Criminal. Figures that you're doing Civil Rights. You know, when you said that, I think Mr. Zasor felt a little pride for you right then and there."

"Oh come on. We all know that Mr. Zasor doesn't feel pride. He hates his students." I argued.

"You're obviously his favorite." Lucy pointed out.

"Ok, so that's like... one teacher. You and Stasi have a monopoly on being the favorite of every teacher in the school." I said, exiting out into the quad.

"That's not true and you know it. I can name so many teachers that peg you as their favorite." Lucy insisted.

"Yeah, well... oh, hey Elena!"

"Hey, Chris. Hey, Lucy. Bye, Chris! Bye, Lucy!" Elena said, breathlessly running past us to get to class. Her arms were lugging an armload of textbooks and her other hand was holding down her baseball cap that was used to ward away the sun.

"She's in a rush to get somewhere." Lucy giggled, glancing at Elena's retreating back. Her blonde ponytail was bobbing up and down as she literally sprinted to class.

"She's on her last tardy. Her Pre-Calculus class is all the way across campus from her AP World History class so she has to run to beat the bell." I said.

"At least she's getting exercise!" Lucy replied. "Always nice to go out for a run in the morning. I would've but... the sidewalk is a bit rough on my eight feet." Arachne could walk around on their regular feet just fine. Some of them even wore shoes. They especially needed shoes when they were running. Lucy probably would've done that had her family been in a better situation, financially. "I'm too lazy to do it every day anyways."

"So true. I can't even get out of bed half the time."

"It's probably worse when Annie's sleeping over." Lucy giggled. "How are you two doing, anyways? Perfect, I imagine?"

"Absolu-... what the...?" I asked, confused, looking through the glass door into the cafeteria. Everyone inside was frozen in place and Ricky was walking about with a camera, filming everything, Jazz behind him playing something on her phone.

I opened the door, walking in with Lucy skittering in behind me. When the door slammed shut behind us, everybody groaned and unfroze. "What's going on?" I asked, my eyes roving around the room at everyone.

Ricky swore, putting his phone down. "Damnit. I told you we should've waited." He said.

"Good thing he arrived. My neck was starting to hurt." Stasi said, rubbing her neck. She was pantomiming sleeping on a pillow made up of stacked textbooks. "Hi, lyubov."

"Hey, Stasi." I replied, my face lighting up in a smile. "But, what were you guys doing?"

"We were doing the Mannequin Challenge." Jazz piped up.

"The mannequin what?"

"The Mannequin Challenge!" She repeated. "You're supposed to stand still and we film everyone and post it on Twitter."

"Why do you have to stand still?" Lucy asked.

"Be-...because that's just how it is. Now, are you going to do it with us or not?" Jazz demanded.

I would like to say that I acted responsibly and made everyone go study. The reality, however, was that in minutes, I was frozen in position pretending to draw on Stasi's sleeping face with a sharpie while Lucy was in the middle of an arm wrestling match with a freshman. All in all, the video actually came out pretty cool. I was impressed that Ricky managed to keep his phone so still, given that he was giggling behind the camera like a schoolgirl.

Chapter 4:

I steered my car up onto the street, shifting up a gear. It was only days after the Belcourt High School Minotaurs showed up to Travis Saunders Elementary School and we were still gauging public opinion. It was hard to advance the agenda of monsters while suppressing the fear of humans.

In short, Travis Saunders Elementary School was on the fence with us. They didn't get a lot of attention from their local high school and when we showed up to play with them for one day, they loved it. However, there was something holding it all back and that was because of what we were. It was frustrating to no end, but the media attention on the event had given the Coven significant rapport in their attempts to shed light on the DTOSA and show the world that maybe we aren't as dangerous as portrayed in pop culture.

There was just something attractive about playing football without the lights, the electronics, and the PA announcers. We just played football, the same way we did it when we were growing up. It was like we were all kids again.

We had a great time. When we arrived, the entire team was trying to hide their scowls. When we left, everyone was sporting grins. Stasi's was quite possibly the widest of them all. The wide, fang filled grin I loved. When she met the girls, her cold and standoffish exterior made everybody cringe, but it took only minutes until it melted away into her gentle, kind, and friendly attitude that I knew so well.

I may be a bit biased, but I think that Stasi was who every young girl should aspire to be. She was super smart, ambitious, and had dreams to do some good in a world ravaged by racism and discrimination.

I parked my car behind Stasi's. Parking was never my strong suit. I had abysmal spacial awareness when I was behind the wheel. When all was said and done, I was 3 feet away from the curb. Deciding that I wasn't too away from the sidewalk to get dinged by a passing vehicle and that I couldn't be bothered to fix it anyway, I exited the vehicle, breathing in the cold, afternoon air. Spring could wait. I loved the winter.

I glanced at Stasi's car. Her white Mercedes was the same as always, except the license plate was changed. She had to get new ones, ones that specifically identified her as a non-human. All monsters had to get it for their vehicles. Either that or pay a hefty fine.

Before I closed the door to my car, I made sure to grab the bouquet of roses, holding it in one hand. Patting myself down and making sure I had everything, I shut the car door, locking it behind me with my free hand. As I walked up the steps to Stasi's front door, I made sure to wave at the parked SUV up the street. Even though the windows were tinted, I knew that they waved back.

Stasi and I were becoming very comfortable with our security detail. Before, they watched us like a hawk. Now, they kept their distance, allowing us some much appreciated privacy.

Once I got to her front door, I did one last inspection of myself, making sure that I looked half decent. I thought I cleaned up fairly well. I had on a nice pair of dark denim jeans, a black button up, and a elf-made jacket. Swallowing nervously, I leaned forward and rang the doorbell, taking a deep breath to calm my nerves.

"I got it, mama!" A voice called out from inside. The deadbolt shifted and the door opened a crack. Rather than coming face to face with my beautiful girlfriend, I instead found a bob of blonde hair. "Oh... hey, Chris!"

"Hey, Elena." I greeted her, my face morphing into a grin.

"Oooh... roses!" She exclaimed, smiling widely. Her fangs were smaller than Stasi's, but obvious nonetheless. "Are those for me?"

"No, they're for someone else." I replied.

"Figures that you get them for Annie and forget all about me." She snorted, stepping to the side. "Come on in, big bro. The Sun is making my eyes burn."

"Thanks, little squirt." I said, stepping inside the cool house. "Whew, it's freezing out there and it's barely any better in here."

"Yeah, I know. Hasn't Anna told you that we like our houses cold?" Elena giggled. She cupped her hands around her mouth, calling into the study. "Mama, Papa, Chris is here!"

"One moment," A voice called back. Judging from the feminine tone, it was Yulia. Sure enough, Yulia poked her head out of the study. When she saw me, she smiled widely. "Hello, Christopher! Kak dela?"

"I'm fine, thanks for asking." I replied. "How are you?"

"I'm also fine. Thank you for asking." Yulia's eyes shimmered with mirth. "Oooh, roses! Yest' te, dlya menya?"

"No, they're for someone else." Elena laughed, wrapping her arm around me. "Why are you so dressed up today, Chris?"

"Well, I was..." I stammered. "I was hoping to surprise Stasi and take her out on a date."

"A date?" Yulia asked.

"Yes, a date." I blabbed. "I just thought that we haven't gone out in a really long time and I want to show her that I love her alot by taking her out to eat."

"Oh, Christopher, how I wish I was younger! Have I told you how lucky Anna is to have someone like you in her life?" Yulia gushed in her accent.

"Yes," Elena quipped. "Many times, in fact."

"I'm the lucky one." I argued, making Yulia's eyes sparkle in happiness. She was planning the wedding behind those eyes. I just knew it.

I kind of was, too.

"That may be," She said. "But we all must agree that we're all lucky to have you in our lives. Is that not right, Elena?"

"Right, mama." Elena said, squeezing me tighter into her. "Shall I go get Annie?"

"Da." Yulia replied. Elena nodded, heading off upstairs, leaving me with Yulia. She simply watched me with those warm green eyes of her, before she advanced on me, her arms outstretched. "Come, Christopher. Let me relieve you of those flowers so I can find a vase for them. They'll look awfully nice on her desk."

"Spasibo, Yulia." I said, handing them off to her. "Where's Anton?"

"Business with the Coven in the study." She snapped her fingers. "Oh, before I forget! Did you enjoy your little assignment? I was just reviewing the news coverage just now."

"Yes, I enjoyed it. The football team especially. We all thought it was a nice way to spend our day, playing football with disadvantaged human kids. Who would've thought that Princess Natasha could've come up with such a creative idea? I thought she didn't like sports."

"Ah yes, Princess Natasha," Yulia crinkled her nose in annoyance. She must've shared the same sentiments about her as Stasi did. "I would've thought Josie would've come up with the idea, but then again, this is Princess Natasha's forte. If there's anything she's good at, it's using that major in Communications she earned in Saint Petersburg."

I was lost on the second part because I heard footsteps upstairs. My ears perked up and I turned to face the stairs. A few short seconds later, Stasi came into my view, out of breath. When she saw me, her eyes lit up and her pale face, broke into a beautiful goofy smile. My breath hitched when I saw her in her pajamas (even if it was in the afternoon) and fuzzy slippers, the tight squeezing I felt in my heart disappearing. "Hey, zaichik," She greeted. "What are you doing here?"

"Uh..." I said, digging my nails into my palm. "Here to see you. I missed you. Come on, let's go."

"What? Go where?" She asked, confused.

"Out."

"Out where?"

"Out on a date!" I exclaimed.

"Out on a date?" She asked, still as confused as ever.