Unraveling Soren by Marisa Maichel (books under 200 pages txt) 📕

room in our expansive garage.

I got settled in the Nissan, then started the journey to school. I went to a public high school, North Hampton High School. The biggest public high school in North Hampton, New Jersey. Across town there was Martin Luther King Jr. High School, a private girls school, and a Catholic school. My school was in the center of town, close to City Hall.

I found a parking place and parked. I was just about to get out, when I felt a jolt and heard a BANG!

Dazed, I looked around. I’d only been in one car wreck before, and it was a lot worse than this. Sarah, who was with me, had to go to the hospital.

I got out and saw the spark of fear in Caden Cartwright’s eyes. So it was him. His yellow Mustang was severely damaged in the front, and I wondered about the engine. Immediately, a secretary came out to see what had happened.

“I’m so sorry,” Caden squeaked, flinching under my glare. “I was looking at my phone, and I wasn’t paying attention….”

“At least you’re still alive,” I said. “But I don’t think your Mustang is.”

“Dear, do I need to call the police?” asked the secretary.

“I d-don’t th-think that’s n-necessary,” Caden trilled.

“It should be reported, at least,” I said. The secretary went inside to call the cops and I got out my insurance.

Principal Turner came out, looking displeased.

“Oh, did you cause the accident?” he snapped at me.

“Of course not,” I snapped back.

“It was my fault,” Caden said, regaining some of his confidence. “I was looking at my phone.”

The police arrived and I told my version of events to a cute dark-haired Hispanic female officer while Caden was questioned by a formidable-looking bald male.

“All right, it was clearly not your fault,” she said to me. I saw Principal Turner’s glare deepen in my peripheral vision. I’d deal with him later.

I was thirty minutes late for my first class, Calculus. Principal Turner was with me.

“He has an excuse,” Turner said. “He was in a car accident. Everyone’s fine.”

“Everyone?” said my neighbor.

“It was just me and Caden Cartwright,” I explained. Then the buzz started and everyone started shooting questions at me. “I had just parked, when Caden rammed me from behind. He was looking at his phone. There was some minor engine damage to his car, and some mild damage to mine.”

“Enough gossip,” Principal Turner snapped. “If you’re done being a show-off, Reese, class may continue.” He left, leaving me to glare at his back. My fists were clenched so tight the knuckles were whiter than usual.

“What the fuck is his problem?” said Tyrese Mallow.

“Language, Tyrese,” chided Mr. Grouse, though I could tell he was confused with the principal’s behavior as well. “Well, Reese, I’m glad you’re okay. We’re discussing logarithm. If you would turn your book to page thirty, we’ll continue.”

I managed to get through my first two classes, Calculus and Advanced Senior English, without more problems. It was break between my second and third class that things got weird.

“I swear, Caden said he’s a vampire!”

I paused. Did I hear Jody Williams correctly? I decided to continue. But by the middle of Sociology, I could no longer ignore it. People were whispering all around me, despite the quiz we’d been assigned. I ignored them, trying to focus on the terms in front of me.

According to Marxist theory, a character mask is a-

“He’s, like, got fangs! And what’s with the hair? I always thought it was dye!”

I could name several dystopian novels that had character mask as a theme. I’d recently read 1984 again and The Hunger Games.

Name one of the problems women still face on a daily basis because they are women. Obvious answer. Unequal pay.

“He’s super rich! He’s got a million cars, and his dad’s, like, a prince!”

Focus! Name one book or movie with a character mask in it with a female leader.

“He’s a prince too!”

“I never knew! Is that why he doesn’t speak?”

Name three things women have done to achieve power or fame.

Oh, there were a number of answers to that question, but the teacher had only asked for three things.

Name one past female leader who has been arrested, killed, or impeached because she was female.

I’d have to think about that one. What was it the teacher had said? Oh, he’d mentioned Empress Elisabeth of Austria, who stabbed in the chest by Luigi Lucheni. Lucheni later committed suicide. I named the reasons he’d killed her and read the next question.

“Is he really a prince? What country?”

“Oh, it’s not a country. He’s a prince of vampires.”

“That’s crazy.”

Mr. Patson re-entered the room, and quiet resumed. He paused at my desk, then moved on. I continued, trying to ignore the thoughts swirling around my brain. How many people knew, or suspected? Did Sarah tell her clique? Would she do that? If they asked, would she tell the truth or lie? Or could it possibly have been Caden, or Elliot, or one of my other rivals?

By my fourth hour, I was hearing another rumor.

“Did you hear about Sarah?” Amara Ruick asked me as she slid into the seat next to me in Mythology and Folklore.

“What about her?” I asked.

Amara picked at her chipped multi-colored nails.

“This is information from Jody Williams,” she warned. Of course. The gossip queen. “Apparently, in Sarah’s English class, Mrs. Kleaver started yelling at Sarah because she thought she was copying another student because they chose the same book. Sarah lost her temper and yelled back. She said Kleaver was a bad teacher, that crosswords and puzzles are for first-graders, that she had idea what she was talking about, that it was a mere coincidence, and that…she said ‘First Kent, now you. When will you people realize that there are more dangerous things out there than you?’ Kleaver sent her to the office, and Principal Turner gave Sarah a detention.”

I was shocked, then furious. How dare they?

“Sir, may I be excused to the restroom?” I asked Mr. Nguyen.

“Yes, Mr. Emerson,” he said without looking up from his papers.

I took off for the restroom, where I sent Mother a text explaining the situation. Of course, she called me immediately.

“What happened?!” she screamed.

“Look, I can’t talk long, because class has already started. But a teacher yelled at Sarah in front of everybody, and Sarah yelled back. I didn’t see this, I heard it from a friend. But she got a detention. The teacher’s name is Mrs. Kleaver.”

I hung up and went back to class, where we discussed Brynhildr and Sigurd. I already knew the story, of course. It was like a Norse version of Sleeping Beauty, except Sigurd was a hunter, not a prince. Brynhildr was a princess, though. We discussed similar stories and tales, and compared notes. Mr. Nguyen told us to compose our own version of Sleeping Beauty. It had to be original, complete, and had to be at least ten pages.

During my lunch hour, I texted Sarah, as it was her free period. She was in the restroom, according to Angela, who actually texted back. She was apparently having a panic attack.

I walked over by the girls’ room and sat on the bench to listen in.

“It’s okay, Sarah,” said Rachel’s voice.

“You really told her,” said another voice. Mia Rayport.

“Yes, but…but…”

“Come on, your mascara’s running,” said Angela. “It’ll ruin your foundation.”

“What will Marina say?”

“She loves you to death,” said a voice I recognized as Ariella’s. “Come on, let’s dry you up.”

I heard the sounds of wiping and makeup containers being opened. I went back to my lunch table, where my friends were watching me closely.

After school, Sarah went straight to her car without greeting me, but I managed to catch up with her.

“Hey-what happened?” I asked.

“I couldn’t deal with her bullshit anymore,” she said. “I just…lost control.”

“There are witnesses,” I said. “We can sue the school for this-“

“I don’t want to sue anyone,” she said. “I just want to get home and pretend this never happened.”

“When do you have to do detention?”

“Tomorrow morning. Super early. I have to get up at four-thirty.”

“We’ll fight it,” I said.

“Indeed,” said a voice. I turned and saw Mother.

“Hello, Mother.”

“Hello, son. Daughter.”

“What are you doing here?” Sarah asked.

“I have come to fight it. Alexander will be here shortly. He has a tendency to terrify people into submission.”

“He has a tendency just to terrify people,” I said.

“Exactly. I will order them to send me videotapes, and then I will speak to Principal Turner.”

“He hates me,” I said.

“Indeed. However, he has not met me yet. I will make him see reason. Go on home, my children. And do not worry. I will handle this.”

Sarah got into her car and drove away, and I got into my Nissan GT-R. I drove home, worrying the whole way. I saw Sarah’s car in the drive-thru at Starbucks.

I decided to go to Mother and Alexander’s house first. I was greeted by the usual kisses from Spunk, and the usual yappity mistrust from Coffee. Zie briefly greeted me, then went back to the kitchen, where she was making snacks for the girls. I sat on the couch and flipped on the TV, turning it to the local news.

“And here we have Patty Nelson with the story.”

“Thank you, Jen. More signs of wolf markings have been placed around several parks. It appears to be a wolf howling at the moon. Is this a new gang sign? Is it a club or a cult? No one knows for sure, and the police haven’t given us any ideas. Meanwhile, police believe they know who killed seventeen-year-old Michael Nales last year, who was indicted for raping a classmate.”

The camera panned to show Emma Greene. “We can’t say anything now, but we have a general idea of not only who killed Michael Nales, but several teachers at North Hampton High. We will be talking to him soon.”

My stomach dropped to the floor. I started shaking, I felt cold all over. This was all my fault. I asked Father to kill Nales as a favor to me. Now he was going to be arrested, and it was my fault. I had to go home.

Father was on the porch, smoking a cigarette, when I arrived.

“The police know what you did!” I yelled as soon as I got out.

“I know,” he said, stepping on the cigarette.

“You know? But what are you still doing here, then?”

“I did wrong. I have to pay for what I did. Even if he deserved it, the little shit.”

“But Father-“

“No buts. I broke the law and now I have to face the consequences. But here’s the twist: I have diplomatic immunity, due to my position. So they can’t arrest me.”

“You would really…I mean…you would tell them that you’re a prince?”

“Yes. Father thinks it’s time that the general public knows, anyway.”

“Even though the Council…?”

“Don’t worry about the Council. We will handle it.”

With that, he got up and went inside.

The next day, I got a text from Sarah.

Sarah: Marina and Alexander worked it out. I don’t have to do the detention!

Reese: That’s fantastic, honey. So now what?

Sarah: I’ll be moved into a different classroom. My grades are good enough that I can be in Advanced Senior English!

Reese: Wonderful!

I headed to school apprehensively. When I got there, Mrs. Kleaver was not to be seen, and word was she’d been suspended. Sarah arrived shortly after I did, and we each headed to our respective classes. I thought about all the people my family had killed lately. I made a list in my head.

Michal Nales

Darla Danielson

Matthew Herman

Peter Scott

Not to mention all the murderers and rapists we’d gotten rid of. I thought about that. Were we really helping? Or were we hurting?

I was confused. I was beyond confused. School passed by in a blur, and I went home in a daze.

Father was on the front steps again, drinking blood. I was afraid he’d be caught, but he finished it in seconds and threw it ten feet into the garbage can.

“You and I