Viper's Kiss

Chapter 7

The next day had quickly came and the pain in my back had ceased to almost nonexistent between all the pain killers, the forcible massages Zarina had given me and the stretches. I was left with a slight throbbing in my back that wasn't painful as long as I didn't overexert myself.

The week had also been reaching its end and I was grateful to put this crazy week behind me. It felt like life was moving a bit too fast for my comfort between the club, the nurse's office, and the internship. At this point I just wanted to take the time to appreciate what little sanity I had in this moment before it all disappeared. Sometimes you have to appreciate the little things in life first then get your ass whooped by whatever s**t storm decides to blow by. Despite my mind feeling as if it was seconds away from shattering I was still at peace with the idea of putting my heart on a paper for my English class. I would be assigned a partner and we’d write a kickass tragic love story. Would death be an option? I mea death is always an option in a story if the cards are played right.

My mind was teetering between decisions on whether I wanted the story to be a cliche or if I wanted to spin around into a new genre. But then again all of that also depended on what type of partner I’d get and hoping that they wouldn’t settle for the cliche Romeo x Juliet. It was a long shot but then again it wouldn’t matter. As an aspiring writer I had to be prepared for the worst and hope for the best.

I had my mind made up by the time I reached the doors to my class. I’d go in and kick ass. I placed my hand on the knob, sucking in a huge breath as I pushed open the door. Professor Fletcher stood behind his desk with his hands resting on top of a small stack. His gaze drifted to the rows of table lined up before him. “I’ll explain shortly. Please take a seat anywhere,” He motioned.

Tables???

Confusion crossed my face but nonetheless I had taken a seat next to a girl in a blue sweatshirt. Neither of us said anything or acknowledged one another as the rest of the students piled into the classroom. It didn't take long for the rest of the class to come in and situate themselves amongst the tables. Much to Professor Fletcher's surprise, the grim reaper himself had managed to come to class on time today, although I'm sure he was too surprised to acknowledge him.

Dameon had sat down at the table across from me, scaring the absolute s**t out of the boy that was already sitting there. I could see the color visibly drain for his face and feel the class give a collective 'You'll survive' glance at him.

"Alright since everyone's here we'll begin. Last class I had you guys write about love. What you think its means...blah blah blah. I had ended the class saying that next class we'll be writing our own tragic love story with a partner. This is the start of our creative writing curriculum for the school year. I know the first month was interpret writing however when you guys signed up for the course I had promised fictional writing. A chance for everyone to show what they are made of. Now show of hands to those who are aspiring writers or authors in the free time." With that being said, a little over half the class had raised their hands including me. "Now I want those who aren't to stand up here with me. While those who are will need to seated one at every table."

The girl I was sitting with grabbed her bag and shifted to the table that was one occupied by Dameon and the boy who had been quivering in his seat. I had noticed that both of them moved to the front of the class including some other classmates that I hadn't learned the names of yet. The class hadn't gotten the chance to properly get acquainted with one another just yet so there was just a bunch of faces to me.

"Now that we established that. I want this to be an equal opportunity for everyone. I'm not separating based on skill but on experience. Those who haven't built stories tend to have ideas that aren't sweltering inside with no way for release. While those who write stories tend to get stuck in the middle and lose themselves in the story, which makes the plot run dry. Which is why I'm doing it this way. However I will not be choosing the groups because that can impede on your creative freedom and I wouldn't be a good editor if I did that. Which is why I'm allowing the 'interns'-," Professor Fletcher lifted his hands up to gesture air quotes before nodding his head to those that stood around him. "-to choose their mentor. However, interns, I want you to choose carefully. Remember the essence of the assignment and choose someone you believe that you'll have undeniable chemistry with. When everyone has a partner we'll move into the next phase of the assignment. In honor of Mr. Halloway coming to class on time he'll have the first pick."

In that moment I was getting a bad feeling, and it seem to me like the rest of the class was holding their breath. I watched as he took the first step forward and glances over the entire class. Once again with a stare like that it felt like he class had dropped a few degrees. I noticed the girl across from me move her bag into the empty chair next to her. She then pushed the chair all the way up until there was no space left between her bag and the table. I couldn't help but curse underneath my breath because it was such a smart move.

That bad feeling I was getting was now starting to sink to my stomach with every step he took forward. I know that I had made a dare with Zarina but now that I'm staring at him in all of his menacing glory, I had to wonder was it truly a good idea? I doubt it was too late to call of the dare especially since there was no progression between us. I had just made the bet and I'm sure she would sympathize with me enough to help find me a more suitable guy, right?

He stopped right between the tables next to me and the girl who had pushed her chair in. I stifled a cry as he pulled out the chair and sat next to me causing my back to painfully straighten. My breath was caught in my throat and if I managed to get a word out it'd feel like I was swallowing sandpaper. The rest of the class had visibly relaxed however Professor Fletcher had this look of sympathy on his face when he glanced at the two of us. Nonetheless, he didn't protest. More like he couldn't. He had told Dameon to choose his partner and I was the unlucky son of a b***h that had been chosen. It felt like I was shackled to the grim reaper and I was seconds away from having my soul stolen.

"Gabriel you choose next," The professor gestured to the crowd. A boy stepped forward brushing past the entire class to sit at the back. My mind was lost in thought once again not bothering to care about who had sat where. From the corner of my eye, I could see Dameon sitting there without a care in the world as I tensed up next to him. His hood was draped over his head covering his eyes, while his head was staring down at the desk. I couldn't see his face all that well because of his head was angled away from me. I couldn't help but feel a tad bit annoyed by this but nonetheless I didn't say a word. All I could think about was why I had been chosen and if I could use this as a good opportunity to get close to him but how?

A few moments had passed and I amongst the chatter between the class we still hadn't said a single word to each other. He was still positioned facing away from me and I couldn't help the nervousness that was biting at my skin. 'How the f**k can I work with him,' I thought. I hadn't even realized I was biting my nail until Professor Fletcher had slapped a paper on the table in front of.

"Now that everyone has a partner. I'm handing out the instructions for the assignments." He said brushing past. "There you will see the type of prompt I have given you and the details. Please don't bother asking for a reassignment, I'm handing these out randomly and I can't be bothered to fish for another one. Read it over and decide what you're going to do with your partner. I have high hopes for the each of you."

My eyes dropped down to the sheet and at the top it had read: Lovestory assignment

Due Date: Oct. 1st (This is plenty of time. Don't bother asking for an extension!!)

My future literature writers and critiques, I'm not asking you to write a 32 chapter love story. I'm asking you to write a piece of prose that touches on the topic of love. We've seen through media that the depiction of love drastically changes from person to person. It blossoms in it's on way and with that we can only wonder how to break the rules a bit. In the previous class I had given examples of noteworthy love stories such as Withering Heights and Romeo and Juliet.

I'm going to apologize for not seeing the idea of love also being a bit controversial. Whilst media tends to block the 'immoral' sections of love it doesn't stop it from being produced. Which is exactly why I'm offering 'Flowers in the Attic' as another piece of literature you may reference as well as the 'Fifty Shades Trilogy' (regretfully). What I'm saying is that I wouldn't want to censor your creativity. In any case if you feel compelled to write scene that involve nudity and other concepts of the sort then you have free rein to do so. I realized that much of these story have questionable themes and this happens to fall under such themes.

For this group I'm assigning a love story that involves horror.

Examples include: There's Someone Inside Your House, Flowers in the Attic, Frankenstein, Salem's Lot

For the criteria the assignment must be at least four pages. It must be a cohesive story and contain the given assigned prompt. Include dialogue, setting, and at least 4 characters. 3 pages minimum.

I felt a presence shift over to me and my eyes caught Dameon looming over my shoulder. I was upset with myself for not even noticing how close he had gotten but I was also nervous. He didn't say anything his eyes were glancing over the paper and I couldn't the butterflies in my stomach when I noticed the smirk that he gave. However it was gone as quickly as it came much to my dismay.

"So...any ideas," I asked, reaching in my bag for a pen.

Silence.

"I guess not," I flipped the paper over and started making notes on the back. Writing small details I'd like to use such as a serial killer and not a monster. I wanted the main character to be badass instead of the typical scared girl trying to survive. Little notes like this where I wanted the story to follow. Dameon didn't say anything instead he was just watching me jot down information with an unreadable expression on his face. It was only until I wrote 'hot guy' as the killer is when I notice a small shift on his face. "Did you just roll your eyes? If you have something you want to contribute you can speak up" I hadn't realized I said it a little too loud cause now all eyes were on us. The silence in the class was speaking volumes but I didn't care. I don't take writing lightly and I wasn't going to have my grade jeopardized by someone who acted like he didn't know simple words.

"Is everything okay over there," Professor Fletcher interjected. He lowered the book he was reading to peer at us. I quickly shook my head no and he let out and audible sigh. "Be mindful of your classmates." That was all he said before turning back to his.

My head immediately snapped back to Dameon who had a smirk plastered over his face. He had his head rested in his hands as he stared at me with those stupidly enchanting green eyes. I let out an inaudible curse and turned my head back to the paper. It was only the first week of school and I couldn't help but feel as if I was royally screwed.

"f**k my life," I grumbled.