A summary of my bet with Elaine: Houston, we've really got a problem.
It's been a week since Kimberly Almiris transferred to Ordrienne High, and I still haven't managed to get even a single "hi" out of her — she acts like I'm completely invisible. My classmates must've filled her head with some insane nonsense for her to avoid me this much — that's the only thing that makes sense.
«Fastest time in the hundred-meter dash goes to Kimberly Almiris — eleven seconds flat. Unless something completely unexpected happens next week, she'll represent Ordrienne High at the national athletics meet,» Professor McCrary announces.
Professor McCrary is in his fifties, and I'm pretty sure he became a PE teacher just to stare at girls' butts in tight shorts — and honestly, I can't even blame him. Watching my classmates' butts bounce and their breasts jiggle while they run feels like reason enough to spend years studying to become a PE teacher.
But none of them come close to Kimberly. Her boobs looks even bigger under that white T-shirt, and her shorts… God, the way they hug her ass is unreal. If I wasn't terrified of getting expelled — and arrested — I'd probably give it a nice loud smack.
But i knew it the moment I first saw her: that body is the result of serious, constant training — and the insane time she just ran in the hundred meters proves it.
I, on the other hand, have to settle for a miserable second place, but only because she had the luck of running after me. With my vampire abilities, I could've easily beaten her time, but I had to hold back to avoid raising suspicion. So I stopped at a modest 11.4 seconds — a time that would've guaranteed me a spot at nationals in any other year… but this time it just wasn't enough. Whatever. Doesn't matter.
«Looks like the unreachable Kimberly is really unreachable,» Elaine comments with a teasing smirk.
Okay, fine — pretty good joke. But it'll take more than that to kill my motivation — we still have three weeks before our bet ends.
«Shut your mouth and keep your eyes open,» I say.
Kimberly's school record is the perfect chance to start a conversation with her, and there's no way I'm letting that slip away.
«Really, congrats, Kimberly. You were amazing!» I tell her, adding the friendliest smile I can manage. But…
«Thanks.» she replies, without even turning toward me.
A cold, flat, emotionless "thanks" — the kind that kills a conversation instantly.
And she's not like that with the others! With everyone else she's cheerful, bright, talkative — I've seen her laughing and chatting with people so irrelevant I didn't even know they were in my class until I saw them with her. What the hell is up with this girl? Whatever. No point pushing now — there'll be better chances.
I'm about to walk away when she speaks again, in that same distant tone.
«Thanks… for letting me win,» she adds, turning her head just enough to give me a sideways glance sharp.
And what the hell is that even supposed to mean? I can't tell if I should be happy that Kimberly actually spoke to me again even though the conversation was basically over… or just more confused by what she said.
«I may be a gentleman, but when it comes to competition, I don't go easy on anyone — not even pretty girls,» I reply with a cocky smile — a desperate attempt to wipe away that cold, almost contemptuous look she's giving me, like I'm some worthless extra unworthy of her attention.
«Yeah, I'm sure,» she says, walking away before I can even respond, heading straight toward a group of losers from my class.
And there she is — laughing and joking with them. Why? This girl is really starting to get on my nerves. If it weren't for my bet with Elaine, I would've already told her to go to hell and stay there forever with those pathetic nobodies. But damn it… doing that would mean admitting defeat and letting Elaine win — and there's no way in hell I'm letting a girl resist me. It's never happened, and it never will.
«What the hell did you do to her? You sure you didn't accidentally screw her mother?» Elaine asks, just as confused as I am.
She said it as a joke, but honestly, it's not that impossible. I spent years hanging out in bars full of middle-aged women — those classy places where rich wives gather to gossip over cocktails. And every time, I never left alone.
What if one of those women actually was her mother… and Kimberly saw us? There's only one way to find out — tail her.