Letters to Romeo

Julie found Roman staring at her, and she cleared her throat and said, "I should get going. Thank you for answering my question and helping me back in there."

She turned around, ready to leave, when Roman stopped her.

"Wait." Turning back, she looked back at him. He questioned, "Did you ever speak to Mr. Evans before yesterday?"

"The night I heard the scream, he was there with Mr. Borrell in the forest. He told us girls to not speak about it to anyone. Yesterday you mentioned something and I wondered if it was the same…" her words trailed when Roman continued to stare right into her eyes, and somewhere she turned conscious. When the evening wind increased, the side fringes of her hair came to hover in front of her eyes, and she brought her hand up to tuck it behind her ear.

"Did you tell it to anyone else?" questioned Roman, and Julie shook her head. "The counsellor told you not to speak about it to anyone, yet you have told it to me. Do you know the repercussions that can come if he finds out that you spoke to another soul who wasn't there in the forest that night?"

Julie gave him an awkward smile, "I was just confirming."

Roman looked around them and then turned back to look at her as if she had turned into an experimental mouse, "Let's try something. What is your wild sex fantasy, Winters?"

Instead of answering him, Julie's face turned bright red over the question.

"W-what kind of question is that?" responded Julie, looking at him in disbelief.

His head tilted to the side, and he chewed the gum that was in his mouth, "You don't like it? I thought it was a decent question. How about this, what were you doing last night outside your dorm?"

Roman watched her with his keen eyes. He had tried to compel her, but his compulsion did not affect her so far as if there was a wall between them. It was because, for a vampire who knew to compel the humans, the task was easy as to breathe. But the humans couldn't be compelled if they had silver water in their bodies. He doubted Julie had taken a sip of the silver water.

He noticed Julie's cheek had turned bright red at his first question, just like an inexperienced girl who hadn't been touched or kissed before. She pursed her lips, staring back at him with the same fervour.

"I came out to take fresh air," Julie replied softly while hoping it was believable, while not knowing that she was standing in front of her letter thief.

Julie looked towards the gates of the blue block, her cheeks still warm over this notorious boy's question. Did he have no shame asking her such a private question?!

"I understand now," hummed Roman, and Julie turned back to meet his eyes that looked at her with a relaxed expression in them. "My apologies, I forgot you don't associate yourself with such a type and rather prefer the boring."

"I feel like you aren't going to let that go," retorted Julie, pursing her lips.

"Of course," there was a hint of a smirk on his lips, and it only made her want to bring it down. His expression finally turned serious, and he said, "Don't discuss what you told me with the next walking person. And stay away from Evans."

"You feel the strange vibes from him too?" asked Julie, her eyebrows knitting together. "Do you know something?" her eyes searched for an answer from Roman, which he didn't give her.

Roman was surprised that Veteris had unknowingly accepted a student who couldn't be compelled.

The rules set by the vampires were absolute, and it was set so that no harm would come to occur on the existence of the night creatures. Keeping their presence a secret from the humans was the most important thing for them. And now that Roman knew Julie couldn't be compelled, he knew both Veteris and her were not safe for each other for different reasons. If the other vampires found the truth, they would kill her.

"He is more than weird, and it never hurts to be careful, does it?" he questioned back at her.

Julie wondered what Roman meant because it seemed like there was more than what met a person's eyes.

Carefully, she asked him, "Is this place linked with the drug mafia?"

Roman brought his hand in front of her face so quickly that she was sure he was going to punch her, and she closed her eyes. But when she didn't feel the hit even after a few seconds, she slowly squinted her eyes open, and the next moment, Roman flicked on her forehead.

"Ouch!" Julie brought her hand near her forehead to rub it.

"What did I say about not speaking about it again?" Roman pulled his hand back and ran his fingers through his hair as if to set it right and lightly ruffle it, unbothered by the wind. Sparing her one look, he walked away from there, leaving her standing there.

Bringing her hand to her side, Julie watched Roman's broad back as he made his way through the gates and disappeared from her sight.

"One second you are being nice and the next second you flick my head," muttered Julie under her breath, not forgetting his embarrassing question. She quickly shook her head to stop thinking about unnecessary things and started to make her way towards the lunchroom.

On her way there, she noticed Roman was with his friends, sitting on their bikes. They headed in the direction towards the entrance gates of the university as if they were going somewhere.

"Julie!" she heard her name being called and turned towards the lunchroom's door. She caught sight of her two friends waving at her. When she met up with them, Conner asked her, "Is it true? Is Ms. Piper making students who enter the detention room take part in the play?"

"Ah, you heard that. She did. It was a surprise," replied Julie as they headed inside the lunchroom.

"I heard some of them speaking when they walked past me. It is probably the time of the annual year," commented Conner, and Julie looked at him in question. "I mean every year after Halloween, we celebrate an annual day for three or four days. And everytime around this time, Ms. Piper picks students as she is also in charge of the drama club."

"No wonder she looked like she had found a pot of gold," murmured Julie, and they sat down at the table. Julie faced the window and her back facing the lunchroom.

"Students are wary of taking part in the play because Ms. Piper's scripts are rather strange. It isn't normal and she picks the students from the detention room so that they have no way out," chuckled Conner and added, "Have you heard about her past here? Back in the days when she used to study here, she used to be a frequent rulebreaker."

"So the rule breaker turned to controlling the rule breaker," murmured Melanie. "No wonder some of them have started to behave while there are still some who continue to cause trouble without anyone's knowledge. You should lock your windows properly so nothing drops out of the dorm, Julie," her friend advised her.

How many times did she close her windows, but it magically opened by the hands of the letter thief, thought Julie in her mind.

The story she had cooked up was that one of her books had fallen out of the window, and she had stepped out to pick it up when Mr. Evans caught her.

"I thought the drama club was something everyone liked to be part of," commented Julie, and she placed her bag to the side. She watched the sky that had turned inky blue and turned back to look at her friends, who gave her a nod.

"It isn't that it isn't popular, but Ms. Piper's plays aren't exactly pg thirteen. I remember two of them, one which was filled with gore and murder in it. Not literally. Another one was, well, too steamy. People are turned into walls or clouds, hanging up on the stage not knowing when you will break your bones once you fall down. Not to mention, the pairing is also strange, with people you don't get along with," explained Conner, using both his hands as if to emphasize the scenario.

"The headmistress and others allow it? I guess, one side there are strict rules, and the other side, they are liberal," remarked Julie while hoping she could be a wall and stand there on the stage without any need to move or utter a word.

"Veteris is just different and strange. Even if some of them object, I am sure the administrators will just say that they are only showing what things that already exist in this world without filtering it," said Melanie, and she looked around the lunchroom. At the same time, Julie watched the students who walked outside the lunchroom through the glass walls.

When Julie returned to her dorm, she noticed the letter from the letter thief.

"You. You are the reason why I have to memorize dialogues if I don't turn into a wall!" she pointed her finger at the letter before exhaling. She quickly got on her bed and picked it up to read. At least if something bad happened to her like Stacy Hopkins, the letter thief would know it when he wouldn't receive a reply from her.

Unfolding the letter in her hand, she started to read—

'-_-'

Seeing that was enough for her to put down the letter.

He didn't know what happened last night, did he? Julie asked herself. There was no way he knew it. Please God let him not know, she prayed in her mind.

Julie slowly picked up the letter—

'Did you think I would not find out what you did? I was standing right behind the tree and saw what you did with my note. You have quite some nerve to turn it into a cleaning article. I guess I have been too liberal with you. You almost got me into trouble, and what if that other student didn't interrupt? I can tell that you were trying to look for me.

Curiosity not only kills the cat but sends you to the headmistress's office and back home.'

"Mr. Evans you caught an innocent student like me but didn't find the actual person who caused mischief," commented Julie staring at the letter.

There was more written in it—

'To make up for it, on the eve of Halloween, go to the warning post of number sixteen. I will hand your punishment personally as you are eager to find out who I am. And it would be better if you don't whisper a word to your two friends, don't forget I still have the first half of your letter.'