1
present day
The moment is pregnant with anticipation as I sit inside Dean Ramirez's office while she studies my transfer paperwork. She's unlikely to find any errors because I pay an overseas businessman a hefty sum of money to create a new life for me whenever I see fit. Should he ever create a life story that causes anyone to raise eyebrows, he knows his payment would be a swift death, so needless to say he does a pretty good job at triple checking everything.
Still, Dean Ramirez regards me with a careful look, probably taking in the sights of my long dark hair and piercing blue eyes. She's wondering how someone like me can have such a perfect and well-rounded resume because I sound too good to be true, but she doesn't question for long once I start talking about her rescue animals.
The inside of her office is reminiscent of someone who spends way too much time trying to convince others of their happiness. There are family pictures scattered around the room, each featuring herself alongside an unnamed man and three children, but there is no ring on her finger despite her insistence on having the best honeymoon vacation with her husband in Hawaii. She's a fraud and like most frauds, she puts on the appearance of her life being picture perfect when it is anything but.
But I can't blame her because I am a fraud, too.
Except my fraudulent activity isn't in the vein of impressing my peers. I am on a mission to achieve happiness and unfortunately, this happiness comes in the form of Savannah University in the heart of New Orleans.
"Here you go, Ms. Winters," Dean Ramirez says as she hands me a flimsy folder filled with papers with a pleased smile. "With your grades from your previous school and all of the amazing organizations you've been a part of, I just know you'll make a great addition to the gladiator family. Welcome, we're so glad to have you."
"Thanks," I say with the biggest smile I can muster. Of all the personas I have acquired in my lifetime, a college student is one of my favorites. Something about being in such close proximity to unsuspecting warm bodies who have no worries other than acing their Calculus test brings me a weird sense of joy. College students are happy, unrightfully so, but it is the kind of happiness I can only dream about. The kind of happiness I had when my fiancée was alive.
"Oh—" Dean Ramirez stands up abruptly from her swivel chair and moves around her desk to place a hand on my shoulder, ushering me out of the door along with her, "—now, before you head out, I'm going to send you off with one of our best student counselors. He's going to show you around and answer any questions you might have."
I open my mouth to object. The last thing I want is to become too much of a familiar face around campus, but Dean Ramirez does not want to take no for an answer. "I know it might be difficult having to transfer to a new school halfway through your career, so just know that you can utilize all of the student resources in order to acclimate better, m'kay?"
I am reluctant, but I say, "okay."
She nods her head in the direction of a boy who miraculously appears beside us. He stands close enough for me to catch a whiff of the strong, harsh scent of his cologne that he must've bathed himself in. "Hey, I'm Theo," are the first words to leave his mouth which are accompanied by a large grin that doesn't quite meet his forest green eyes.
His facial features are precise—a square face, a strong, angled jawline, a straight nose, and high cheekbones—but there's something about his face that has an oddly boyish charm to it. He spends a lot of time smiling because he has to showcase his unnaturally straight teeth that are probably the work of braces, and I can tell he's broken a lot of hearts with that smile.
"Chloe," I say. It's a fake name, one that will last me for the next ten years or so. I have had many names, each just as meaningless as the last.
"Think I can take it from here, Dean Ramirez." He redirects his smile to the dean and begins to walk out of the admissions office, leaving me to trail behind. He wears the same ugly grin as he asks questions that he doesn't really care about and walks with me around campus, pointing out buildings and offices that he thinks will be of use to me, but really, I can't care less.
Because I'm not here to learn.
Theo's skin is a tawny beige in the rays on sunlight that beat directly on us, as are most people in this part of Louisiana. My skin is rather pale in comparison, which gives away that I'm not from here. I have considered getting a tan to blend in, but I decided I would use being an outsider to my advantage.
"So, where you from, Chloe?" Theo asks to cut the silence that has ensued between us ever since we started walking.
I give him a dry and bitter laugh. "You and I both know you don't actually care."
Theo gives me a smile in return, but this one seems more genuine. "You're right, but it'll pass the time—unless, of course, you'd rather us walk in awkward silence."
"Who says it has to be awkward?" I retaliate which makes his smile widen. "I'm from Hawaii," I lie with ease. Not many people know about Hawaii, my businessman assured me, so they have no reason to doubt me.
My life requires me to be nomadic. If I were to stay in a place for long, people would start to ask questions when they realized I didn't age, and because of that, I don't really know where I'd consider to be home. Ages ago, home might have been the little town of Anjou, France, but that place has been long forgotten ever since I became a vampire. It's not like I have a reason to return, anyway—no family, no friends, and no one who cared.
"Hawaii," Theo responds, bringing me back to the present. "That's cool. What brings you to New Orleans, then? I mean, I know we got cajun-style food and all, but it's nothing compared to beaches and tropical weather, right?"
"Wanted a change in scenery," I tell him, and unlike most of the lies I've told today, this one holds a little truth. There isn't much that can hold my interest, but Louisiana is particularly new to me, so I don't mind getting to explore a new area while on my mission. After all, I did always prefer hot weather.
Theo concludes the tour on the outskirts of the large quad in the heart of the university. It is bustling with kids who are fresh out of high school and overly excited to escape the throes of living under their parents' roof. The fresh cut green lawn is adorned with meticulously placed cherry trees, colorful lawn chairs, and patio seating to provide Savannah's students with a false sense of uniformity and security. A college campus is supposed to be safe, which is why all of these kids have such bright smiles on their faces as they head into a cold, unknown world that'll surely tear them apart.
"Well, that's pretty much all I can show you," Theo says as he stops walking in his long strides and faces the quad with his arms outstretched wide, "do you have any questions?"
"Just one—" Theo gazes at me with anticipation dancing in his eyes, "—how much do they pay you to pretend to care about the school?"
This makes Theo smile, and I instantly know meeting me is the highlight of his day. "Not nearly enough," he responds through a warm chuckle. A questioning look flashes across his face as though he is deciding whether or not he wants to learn more about me, but he shakes the thought away and instead, runs a nervous hand through his unruly brown curls. He has no reason to be nervous because I don't intend on hurting him, but most people feel uncertain when they meet me, though they never quite know why. "It was nice meeting you, Chloe. Something tells me you're gonna fit in just fine."
I give him a smile, which he returns, just before slowly backing away from me until he becomes another face in the crowd. I've already piqued Theo's interest, and I'm certain this won't be the last time we meet. It wouldn't be the first time I've gotten involved with a human. It's very rare to cross paths with my kind as we are a species that don't take too kindly to being discovered, even by fellow vampires. Even so, vampires can't love—at least, not in the way that humans do. Humans love unconditionally and without cause, and even with how much human blood we consumed, we could never obtain their humanity.
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