Night. Part 1

At that moment it seemed to her that she was hit by a pile of books on the head. Eyes widened in surprise and fright. She rushed to the mirror, in a moment throwing back the hair from shoulder. On the other side of the glass the pale seventeen-year-old girl was looking at her, with long golden-dark hair that fell to the middle of her back, and fathomless gray eyes. Glancing her neck, she saw two red dots that brazenly flaunted on her skin under her ear. Hands fell limply, and mouth opened in a silent exclamation.

The gift of speech didn’t return immediately, only after some time.

“Nonsense! After all, it can’t be!” she told herself. “It was a dream! Doesn’t it?!”

Francesca sank down on the bed with frozen face, plunged into a maelstrom of disorderly thoughts.

Confusion swept her with such persistence that she didn’t notice how the sun rose and beat to her window. It seemed that unless an earthquake or flood occurred, she would never recover. But the earthquake wasn’t needed. Just a monotonous rattling of a phone. And that trill made her turn around. On the nightstand was a black machine, signaling her with a red light, announcing the incoming call.

Francesca picked up the phone, but she didn’t speak first.

“Good morning! Wake up, sleeping beauty!” Tammy’s cheerful voice was heard. Francesca was silent.

“Hey! Can anybody hear me?” receiving no answer, cried the friend.

Francesca rubbed her temple nervously.

“Tammy, I need to talk to you…” she only squeezed out of herself.

“Speak.”

“Uh…” stretched the girl. Probably not on the phone…”

“Well, let’s meet after school?”

Tammy was talking about Francesca’s school, of course. She had finished her studies a year ago and had a work now. For now, in a bookstore, but she always said with burning eyes that someday the whole world will know about her. Tammy dreamed of becoming a dancer. And I must say, she was really amazing at dancing.

“Okay.”

“In the park?”

“Agree.”

“See you then!”

“Yes…”

There was a long pause.

“Franky, are you all right?” finally asked the friend.

“Mmm…” Francesca ran her neck with the tips of her trembling fingers. “Yes.”

“Okay. See you!”

“Yeah.”

Francesca put down the phone and twisted her face again. Unbelievable…

At breakfast she drank two cups of tea, but ate almost nothing. Thinking about what had happened, she paid no attention to anything around her, as if she was present in some other reality.

What kind of person could bite her first, and then bring her home, undress and put her in bed? At first, bad suspicions arose in her head. A man undresses a girl and puts her in bed… Francesca threw a stern, as if accusing, glance in the bedroom. But for some reason, an inner voice assured her that nothing of the sort had happened.

It’s also possible that she unconsciously got to the house… took off her clothes… and went to bed… Hmm, not very believable. Maybe she hobbled back to the house, and there the neighbor found her, Mrs. Brown – an old, kindhearted woman living on the floor below – and helped her get into the apartment? Yes! I like this version. I’ll have to ask Mrs. Brown.

Then her attention finally got to the word “bite” and she was horrified as soon as she realized its meaning. Before eyes immediately began to appear the images of bloodsuckers from old legends and tales, which she never really believed. Well, let’s say he bit her skin. Then, most likely, he could be banal psychopath – this is a more like the truth option version. But he drank the blood… Francesca felt a pang of nausea.

“Okay, I’d rather think about it as little as possible,” she dismissed her anxiety from herself and went to school.

In the first two lessons, the girl couldn’t gather her thoughts and concentrate on her studies. Every break Francesca sat in a school cafeteria, which she usually did only after school. But now she was a little worried. It’s not every day you get attacked by psychos and even bitten.

She again began nervously rubbing her neck. Maybe she should inform the police? What would she tell them? “I was bitten!”? Would they send her herself to a nuthouse? Or maybe she should forget about what happened, and the end of it? Heal someday these foolish traces. And if he infected her with something? … Now that has acquired a dangerous meaning.

A saving bell rang, clearing the mind of obsessive thoughts. During the break she drank a whole bottle of water and, taking with her another, came out of the dining room and began to climb to the second floor. How she wanted to forget everything. She’s already pretty tired of thinking about it. But the screaming thoughts crowded queues into the brain pan. Some left and others came to their place, more intrusive and noisier than the previous ones. Enough! I have English now. I need to focus on English. Nothing else! – she was determined.

Entering the classroom, she sat down at her desk, put books on it and put the bottle of water next to it. Stared on the board, she tried to focus on the lesson topic, hand-drawn in chalk on a green background. A little later the teacher entered the classroom, said hello and began the lesson. But still, half of what he said, Francesca unintentionally missed the ears.

It became worse when twenty minutes after the start of the lesson her stomach ached. Maybe it was just hunger? She opened the bottle and took a little sip from it in order to relieve an unpleasant feeling. But the stomach ached even more. Now the unbearable pain was cutting and pricking all her insides. The girl wrapped her arms around herself, bent down and laid her head on the desk. God, it hurts… She groaned hoarsely.

“Francesca, are you all right?” suddenly, someone’s alarmed voice could be heard. Seemed that it sounded through a thick wall, but the girl realized that it was the teacher, who was talking to her. “Are you not feeling well? Maybe you want to go out?

“Yes,” she said in a choked voice, thanking the teacher in her mind. And, jumping out of the table, Francesca quickly left the classroom, slamming the door behind her.

Her eyes were dull, and she felt sick, and her legs carried her not to a medical center, but straight to a toilet room. Crouching almost in half, she finally reached the toilet, pushed the door with her hand and ran inside. Fortunately, there was no one there.

At first, Francesca rushed to a sink and coughed uncontrollably into it. A saliva mixed with blood flowed along the brilliant ceramic edge to a hole. In fright, she made a grunting sound and, turning, jumped to the toilet. When she felt another push from below, she immediately vomited heavily.

But all she got rid of in such an unpleasant way was only water with a strange pink tinge. Just water, which she, without even noticing, managed to drink before noon. And, apparently, there was either some blood present. However, from this she wasn’t as disgusted as expected. Yes, and the pain immediately gone.

She wiped her lips with her hand, washed off the water, straightened up and returned to the sink. Leaning on it, Francesca looked in a mirror. Her face turned pale, but otherwise she felt much better. And yet it would be better to go to a doctorfor an examination.

Rinsing her mouth and washing her hands, she turned to the door. She can return to the class. There are still three lessons left, and she so wanted to talk about all this with Tammy. But I can wait. And with this thought, she left the toilet and, slightly swaying, walked along the corridor back to the lesson.

The waiting was becoming unbearable. Every break she went to the dining room and bought another portion of water. She had never been so thirsty. But for some reason Francesca still didn’t seem to care about it. The only thing she wanted right now was to talk to Tammy.

When, finally, the last lesson ended, Francesca stormed out of the classroom and, not forgetting to drop into the dining room for a bag of juice, hurried to the park.

After walking a little among the trees of a shady alley, she came to her and her friend’s favorite bench near the fountain, hidden in the depths of the park. They both loved this place because it had a simple, low-key beauty: crystal water calmed thoughts, gave rest to the eyes and emotions, all around smelled freshly cut grass and sounded the chirping of birds. There they like to chat about some unimportant matters or, conversely, about global issues, share news and secrets. This place has been humbly keeping their secrets for a long time.

Tammy wasn’t there yet. Francesca sat down and slowly began to sip a scarlet cherry juice through a straw, drawing out patterns on the grass with a boot cape. Five minutes later, in the distance, a familiar figure loomed. Francesca was approached by a pretty girl of medium height with tanned skin and large waves of brown hair, gracefully lying on thin shoulders. Tammy smiled warmly from afar, hurried to her friend and flopped down next to her on the bench.

“Long wait?” she has begun to babbling in a cheerful voice.

“No.”

“Well, what did you want to talk to me about?” she asked.

And at that moment Francesca suddenly realized that the desire to talk about what had happened left her without a trace. The serene atmosphere cooled her ardor, and all she wanted to do was sit and be quiet. She slowly drank the juice and looked puzzled at her friend. But under the watchful gaze of Tammy, she still pulled away from the straw.