Vampire Diaries - The Awakening | Page 6

there was always fresh material. No boy had ever
resisted her successfully, and no boy had ever ignored her. Until now.
Until now. Remembering that moment in the hall, Elena found that her fingers were clenched on the pen
she held. She still couldn't believe he'd brushed by her that way.
The bell rang and everyone flooded out of the classroom, but Elena paused in the doorway. She bit her
lip, scanning the river of students flowing through the hall. Then she spotted one of the hangers-on from
the parking lot.
"Frances! Come here."
Frances came eagerly, her plain face brightening.
"Listen, Frances, you remember that boy this morning?"
"With the Porsche and the—er—assets? How could I forget?"
"Well, I want his class schedule. Get it from the office if you can, or copy it from him if you have to. But
do it!"
Frances looked surprised for a moment, then grinned and nodded. "Okay, Elena. I'll try. I'll meet you at
lunch if I can get it."
"Thanks." Elena watched the girl go.
"You know, you really are crazy," Meredith's voice said in her ear.
"What's the use of being queen of the school if you can't pull a little rank sometimes?" returned Elena
calmly. "Where do I go now?"
"General Business. Here, take it yourself." Meredith thrust a schedule at her. "I've got to run for
chemistry. Later!"
General Business and the rest of the morning passed in a blur. Elena had hoped to catch another glimpse
of the new student, but he was in none of her classes. Matt was in one, and she felt a pang as his blue
eyes met hers with a smile.
At the lunch bell, she nodded greetings right and left as she walked to the cafeteria. Caroline was outside,
posed casually against a wall with chin up, shoulders back, hips forward. The two boys she was talking
to fell silent and nudged each other as Elena approached.
"Hi," Elena said briefly to the boys; and to Caroline: "Ready to go in and eat?"
Caroline's green eyes barely flickered toward Elena, and she pushed glossy auburn hair out of her face.
"What, at the royal table?" she said.
Elena was taken aback. She and Caroline had been friends since kindergarten, and they had always
competed with each other good-naturedly. But lately something had happened to Caroline. She'd begun
to take the rivalry more and more seriously. And now Elena was surprised at the bitterness in the other
girl's voice.

"Well, it's hardly as if you were a commoner," she said lightly.
"Oh, you're so right about that," said Caroline, turning to face Elena fully. Those green cat-eyes were
slitted and smoky, and Elena was shocked by the hostility she saw there. The two boys smiled uneasily
and edged away.
Caroline didn't seem to notice. "A lot of things changed while you were gone this summer, Elena," she
continued. "And just maybe your time on the throne is running out."
Elena had flushed; she could feel it. She struggled to keep her voice steady. "Maybe," she said. "But I
wouldn't buy a scepter just yet if I were you, Caroline." She turned and went into the lunchroom.
It was a relief to see Meredith and Bonnie, and Frances beside them. Elena felt her cheeks cool as she
selected her lunch and went to join them. She wouldn't let Caroline upset her; she wouldn't think of
Caroline at all.
"I got it," said Frances, waving a piece of paper as Elena sat down.
"And I have some good stuff," said Bonnie importantly. "Elena, listen to this. He's in my biology class,
and I sit right across from him. And his name is Stefan, Stefan Salvatore, and he's from Italy, and he's
boarding with old Mrs. Flowers on the edge of town." She sighed. "He is so romantic. Caroline dropped
her books, and he picked them up for her."
Elena made a wry face. "How clumsy of Caroline. What else happened?"
"Well, that's all. He didn't really talk to her. He's ver-r-ry mysterious, you see. Mrs. Endicott, my biology
teacher, tried to get him to take off his glasses, but he wouldn't. He has a medical condition."
"What kind of medical condition?"
"I don't know. Maybe it's terminal and his days are numbered. Wouldn't that be romantic?"
"Oh, very," said Meredith.
Elena was looking over Frances's sheet of paper, biting her lip. "He's in my seventh period, History of
Europe. "Anybody else have that class?"
"I do," said Bonnie. "And I think Caroline does, too. Oh, and maybe Matt; he said something yesterday
about how it was just his luck, getting Mr. Tanner."
Marvelous, Elena thought, picking up a fork and stabbing at her mashed potatoes. It looked as if seventh
period was going to be extremely interesting.

Stefan was glad the school day was almost over. He wanted to get out of these crowded rooms and
corridors, just for a few minutes.
So many minds. The pressure of so many thought patterns, so many mental voices surrounding him, was
making him dizzy. It had been years since he had been in a swarm of people like this.
One mind