The Remaining Sunlight

A/N: Sorry I have to repost this story. AFF is giving me grief about the Disclaimer that hopefully now is to their satisfaction. I'm sorry this got deleted suddenly. I also have to put up my other story The Worth of Love up with new disclaimers. Happy reading! And remember, this story is unbetaed and unedited so expect grammar mistakes, awkward phrasing and plot confusion.

PART I: New Vampire Hunter On The Block (Her apprenticeship)

I

The rattling old bus roared in the distance, lifting a cloud of dust. Fanning the clouds of polluted smoke and dust with her hand, her features twisted in suffocation. Juline McCauley, age 17, adjusted the strap of her backpack, as the bus neared. To her frustration, it did not stop. As if…  Rolling her eyes at that thought, she broke into a frantic run, while her bag banged painfully against her back. No matter how much she waved her hands, the driver just kept on going. He wasn’t the only one picking on her, other than the celebrities of the school. Greenrville was one of these little rich-family towns infected snobbish, stuck up kids, immediately disdaining one who didn’t bend to their neat and perfect standards. In one word, Juline was considered as the disease of Karin Greenville High School, avoided by anybody who didn’t want to have a bad reputation. Since eighth grade when she had transferred there, she hadn’t been able to adapt herself to these egotistical teenagers.

Her breath whistling through her lungs, she crossed the road, keeping up the same speed with growing regularity. The driver was probably following the requests of one of the kids. But on the fourth stop crossroads, it finally stopped, letting her in.

At the entrance, boos and cries of regret surrounded her. A latex gloved flashed across her eyes, while a hushed comment from a bunch of tenth graders provoked a riot throughout the bus. In unison, they spilled out insults again, as she struggled to push her backpack through the narrow alley. To her dismay, she could only sit in one place, and it was one of her worse tormentors: a ninth grader Dylan Baxter. He shifted as if to get away from her, then gave a daredevil chuckle, while she took her seat, already not enchanted by the prospects of the day. She uselessly attempted to control her anger. But no matter how hard she tried to convince herself that they were just a bunch of rich immature and uncompassionate teenagers, she could not resist a glare of fury.

Giving out an exaggerated moan of terror, he urged on his friend, Simon Stone, her other regular tormentor in the same class as her. Then there were brief comments on Tina’s end of the school year party, the most popular girl in school, who was organizing a party where supposedly everyone was invited, but that implied the looser crowd was out. In the window she stared at her reflection. She was an average height girl, with long black hair and dark expressive eyes, which she always hid by lowering her gaze to people she met. She would have been beautiful if she smiled more often, or if she met other’s eyes more frequently. She wasn’t a slouch, nor an Olympic athletic, though blessed with a firm toned body she honed with her regular martial art’s class she had been practicing since the age of three.

It was a relief when she reached the school. Habitually, she checked her watch upon touching ground. Who in his normal mind would go to school at 7.35? The Headmaster has to be nuts to make these rules! Her locker, opposite the quadrangle stood in the shade of Elm trees and as usual, it was a warm for fall. The Christmas vacation approaching, festive decorations cluttered the halls, cafeteria entrance and the gym. Her locker was jammed, so she had to force it open, feeling her irritation grow stronger. Her first period was lab science and she knew she would probably paired up with another guy or girl who would leave her with all the work, while the supposed partner gossiped with the fellow classmates. But that was usual life, everyday boring life, a life she would gladly exchange for something more exciting.

            “Get out of the way! Can’t you see you’re in the way, or are you blind?” Someone she didn’t even know muttered. Angry, she turned to the person who had insulted her, yet realized it was Tina Harrison: the belle of the school.

“What are you going to do?” She added, tossing a flirtatious smile at a boy who passed her, carrying a guitar. “Bite my head off?” Her imperious tone left room for no questions.

“Uh…” Yet Tina had already spun around and sauntered towards her inseparable friends: Danielle and Brooke, who threw great parties, the kind the whole school went to, except her of course.

“Don’t you get it Juline?” Dylan said in a saccharine sweet tone with the approval of the “in” crowd. “You’re a looser! Should I spell if for you?”

Juline hastily hurried up to the ladies room to wipe the incontrollable stream of tears spilling down her cheeks. Don’t let them get to you…  Her hands quivered as she pulled a paper handkerchief out of her packet. The bell rang, hence, she was about to be late for her History Class. Frantic, she ran down the hall to her room, flooded with relief when she realized the teacher hadn’t come. All this year, she had been able to maintain a honorable record, with straight As and good teacher appreciation: it would have been a shame to botch this, especially on her way to college.

“Hey the teacher’s pet is getting ready for class!” Simon Stone, one of too many of the jerk mocked creating general class laughter. So intense was her fury that her head started spinning, blood roaring through her head.

“That’s it!” She yelled, slamming her fist on the desk, while stalking up to the sneering, yet handsome boy. “I’ve had enough of your insults… Don’t ever do that again…” With a swift move, she slapped Simon full on the face, her anger gone in one swift movement. Stunned, Simon flew back with the force of the blow, his chair cluttering to the floor while an ugly bruise darkened on his pale cheek. Thus relieved, she spun and bolted out of the class, hiding her streaming face with her arms, scolding herself severely. You blew it Juline…  Shouldn’t have blown your top off! Have to learn to control your temper!

The bus stopped just in time at the station, so she hopped in, making her way downtown. She pictured the scene again and shuddered. I’m going to have expelling for three days at least… What will Mom think? Pushing that thought away, she wandered through Central Market, admiring the beautiful jewelry and clothes. She walked slowly, taking in all the silver, gold metals and the gemstones. Spying a gemstone she liked, she asked to try it on: a silver bracelet with a jade stone.

“It looks good on you…” The seller complimented. “Jade is a sign of good luck, you know?”

“I don’t believe in good luck, I’ve only had bad luck.” She replied, somewhat unhappily. He didn’t say anything more, as she clasped the bracelet around her wrist. It truly was beautiful, bringing the dark color of her eyes, framed by dark brows and thick curly black hair. She walked on to the stores, deliberating on the mannequins, presenting the different outfits and found one, which suited her.

Paying the outfit culpably, she couldn’t help but wince at the money she had just spent, but exempted herself, for she needed some manner of solace. Grimly, the expelled girl made her way back to her house, disliking the prospect of confronting her angry mother.

“You got what?” Her mother’s voice toned so loud it made her daughter wince. “I can’t believe this…” she came up to her daughter, gripping her arms with incredible force. “ARE you crazy?” She shook her daughter then finally let go of her.  “I’m sorry… I should maybe ask you what happened.” She recounted the eyesore experience, halting between tears and comforting hugs from her mother.

“Poor Juline, you got out of control didn’t you?” Mrs. McCauley kissed her gently. “I would have done the exact same thing, you know…” Chuckling, her mother smoothed her daughter’s hair out and shocked her with loving words. “I forgive you… It’s only thee days, anyway… And when I was your age, I suffered the exact same thing, only I didn’t have as much guts as you.” Mrs. McCauley turned to the kitchen, ruffling Juline’s shower of curls. “I got you some Comfort Food…” she winked witnessing her daughter’s mouth water at the sight of the pasta bake and salad.

“Oh mom!” She clamored while throwing herself to the table. “I love it!”

“Eat up, Juline. You need to fill your skinny body up…” Mrs. McCauely replied, taking a seat next to her daughter and serving herself.

“Oh mom…” The women squeezed hands over the table with compassion.

“You got a bracelet?” Her mother’s brows rose. “Nice one…”

“It’s a Jade bracelet…” Juline explained, getting up and loading the dishwasher and greeted her mother goodnight, intending on relaxing in a nice warm and sudsy bath.

“I need to get my head together…” Her mother nodded at Juline’s suggestion and headed for the bathroom. While drawing a bath, she fitted the top over her clothes to assess her appearance on the full-length mirror. The top was a large sleeved maroon top and the pants, were her favorite: baggy beige pants.  She hurried into her robe and soaked into her bath for an hour or so. After an hour, feeling fed up, she slipped on the outfit, checking her reflection once more.

“I’m going on my business trip, I remind you…” Her mother called, across the hallway and heaved her suitcase down. As a translator she had to travel all over the place, and was demanded on a global scale for her fluent French, German, Norwegian and her mother had a true affinity for languages. This, her daughter could never grasp Thankfully, she had kept fluent in French, since her childhood and she maintained it by taking honors courses in French and reading in French, as well as speaking it to herself and to her mother from time to time. “I’ve called a cab….”

“Oh…” Juline went down to hug her Mom goodbye. “I’m going to miss you then…” Mrs. McCauley responded with a light laugh and patted her arm. They said their good-byes on the porch of their house, the breeze lifting their hair.

“And don’t forget…” Her mother reminded, when the cab had come. “Phone whenever you can…”

“Of course, have fun on your trip…” Juline clasped her once more and was soon gone. When she realized she was alone without her mother, she felt ambivalent: she could do just about anything she wanted, as long as it wasn’t against the law. But how cool was that when she only had one friend? I could stop by Lynn’s house when she goes out of school…

She wandered aimlessly around the house, and finally, deciding she couldn’t stay inside anymore, grabbed her jacket and took her house keys.  She was lucky to have a house so close to the forest, which she loved the most, when her daily worries were overwhelming.

What are Dylan, Jason or Simon doing now? Struggling with math problems?

She felt ashamed for running out of school and getting expelled for a few days but as long as her mother wasn’t too angered…

The walk to the forest took about five minutes, and soon, the trees sprouted instead of buildings, grass grew, instead of concrete. The sun felt warm for an autumn day, but Juline didn’t care about that. What she cared about were the colors and the play of light on them. She was infatuated with the green of the trees, some bright green and some paler and finally an array from yellow to red. It really was a beautiful sight to be lost in nature to forget the real world for some time. The air smelled of pines and maples, untouched by the pollution of the town. The whispering of the leaves, the cries of the insects and the omnipresent sound of wildlife were welcome for her overwrought mind.

She took a seat against a pine tree and spread her palm over its rugged bark, sensing the pulsing growth and strength. By the time she was wandering around once more, her head constantly pointed towards the roof of leaves. Without a care of where she was going, she tripped over something, when she caught the flash of an old well, barely visible over the brambles, tuffs of wild grass.

Her voice escalated, as the wind rushed up to meet her, head and eyes swimming and the speed of her fall almost making her faint. What is happening? I’m not hitting bottom! Her panicked thoughts echoed painfully in her mind, as she started feeling the pull of fatal gravity. Her heart thumped frantically, trying to recuperate the beats it had missed, her blood rushing in her head while her endless screams rebounded against the blurred walls of the deep well. Fear tightened her chest and suddenly it was so hard to breathe, until she finally lost consciousness. Her last thought echoing madly incoherently in her head was: I hope I get out of this alive…