Chapter 3

The rain began to fall harder, and a thunderstorm was approaching. The shoes had been wet for a long time, and the cold seemed to have crawled into his heart. The boy hurried home. He did not have time to enter the long dark tunnel that separated the two sides of the road across the hill, when suddenly he was called up by a familiar voice.

“Mike!” It was May. A pale girl in a dark dress stood to the right of the arch a good five feet away, holding a long dark umbrella in her small palms.

“A-a-a! God, May, you didn’t have to scare me so much! You are like the ghost of a miner’s bride who soiled her white dress with black soot.” Mike joked, but quickly realized that it was literally just him, May, and the long tunnel ahead. Pleasant relief swept over his back.

“So you think the miner would be a good groom for me?” May joked, not imagining the awkward position she’d put Mike in.

“What are you doing here anyway? And how do you know which way I am taking home?” He asked.

“I live four blocks from you, fool. I see you every time I go to school… It’s just raining, so I decided to hide under a concrete cover, hoping that this terrible weather will end soon.”

If the guy knew about his charming neighbor, he would definitely find more reasons to see her.

May noticed that Mike was not like himself and walked with his head down all the way to her.

“It is unlikely to end, rather the opposite,” said Kevlich, nodded, and offered to go to the tunnel.

“What happened, Mike? You're kind of gloomy…” May tried to find out the reason.

“Yes... I fell out with Alistair. He has been behaving oddly lately.” The guy did not want to let out the details of their quarrel. But, to his despair, the girl began asking more questions:

“What exactly is wrong?”

“He… seems to want to be better than me at everything. In chemistry class, he lied that he wasn’t ready for the lesson so as not to help me. And then there was nonsense about the fact that once he learned the answers to questions. I would write it off if it were a one-time thing. Even today… It was he who specifically talked to Jordan about that ball to show off his speedy reaction.

“Hmm… I don’t think he would do that to you, although I haven’t known you two that long. Really. But I saw how he treated you.” The girl looked very focused and flustered, which Mike, who now lacked a man who would listen to his thoughts, really admired.

“Come on, get under the umbrella, I’ll walk you home, and then go home myself, you shouldn’t stand here, or we’ll be down with fever tomorrow.” May suggested.

Mike nodded silently looking at her, and they came out of the tunnel.

As they walked, Mike kept thinking about how he could spend more time with the girl. He wanted to talk to her every second… Although everything he heard was her voice.

“May.” MJ had an idea in his head. “I want to go to Alistair tomorrow… I want to say I’m sorry. Would you like to keep me company?” The guy blushed while asking that question.

“Yes, it would be great, but I have no idea where he lives… Maybe you can give me his address…?” The girl was embarrassed.

“Let’s meet here, by my house, and then go together, or you will get lost…” Mike was upset and probably a little jealous of her reaction, but he managed to pull himself together and still win some time with May.

“Oh…” May moaned half sadly. “Okay, and thank you for being concerned about me.”

“Then… See you tomorrow?

“Yes, I’ll see you right after school… And good luck to you in explaining to your parents the reason for your suspension.” The girl giggled.

“Thank you… Goodbye, May. You look beautiful today, by the way!” Mike shouted after her.

The girl turned around and without stopping answered:

“It’s just my birthday.” She exclaimed, laughing.

Mike did not fully take it in, stood for another ten seconds, turned around, and went into his house.

Eleven o’clock in the morning. Alistair’s dream was interrupted by the doorbell.

“Mom, open, please!” He shouted in a sleepy voice, to which he received only silence. “Mom, are you home?” He asked loudly again, because someone was still ringing the doorbell.

“Damn, I’ll have to go down.” The guy thought and began to get out of bed. Al put on his shorts and, going downstairs, climbed into his T-shirt. The rumble of the doorbell did not subside.

“I am coming… Coming!” The young man said very dissatisfied with whoever was ringing that bell.

Alistair walked to the door, expecting to see a postman, scout girls selling cookies, but not this.

“Good morning, Mr. Smith, I understand?” Mr. Orwell greeted in a calm voice, taking his time as he spoke.

“Good morning…” Alistair replied, opening his eyes wide in surprise.

“Will you invite me or should I keep standing here?”

Alistair just stepped away from the front door and encouraged Mr. Orwell to come inside.

“I would mind a cup of coffee.” He looked at his student. “And cookies, if you have any.”

Al made coffee, took out the leftover cookies hidden in the cupboard, and invited his teacher to sit down.

While the teacher drank and ate, enjoying himself, Alistair sat silently across the table and just watched. He probably couldn't get into the situation because he woke up only five minutes ago.

After finishing his drink, Orwell pushed back his coffee cup, folded his arms, placing his elbows on the edge of the table, and began the conversation.

“I noticed your impressive success, although I saw you shine only once. But, to be honest, it was absolutely impressive. You have answered questions that not every professor knows answers to.

“Thank you, sir, but…” Al couldn’t agree, because Orwell continued.

“How old are you now? Fifteen? Seventeen?” The teacher began to ask.

“Sixteen, sir, I’m turning seventeen soon.” Alistair replied.

“Your father… William… He was an impressive chemist who specialized in blood. You have his genius genes! This is a great chance to get a ticket to a brilliant future.” The man was saying something weird Alistair wasn’t in the know about.

“Did you know my father?” Alistair asked, hoping to learn something about his father.

“Of course. He was a wonderful man and a wonderful friend. Our families were friends… to the last…” Sadness appeared on his face.

Alistair could not absorb such information so quickly, so he simply remained silent.

“Smith… You have his genes, I’m ready to fight for you to get a place in college after you finish school.” The teacher offered to take Alistair under his wing.

“Em…” Al barely started speaking as the doorbell rang again.

“My mother probably came back earlier.” Al got up to open the door.

“Mister Smith, I’m leaving. If you come up with something, here’s my business card… Or meet me at school.” Mr. Orwell said goodbye.

“Okay... But I am suspended for two weeks.” He admitted, opening the front door as he spoke.

“Hello..!” Mike said before Alistair could look back. “Mr. Orwell? Good morning.” The young man looked at the professor in surprise. May nodded back from behind.

“Mike? Am I sleeping? What is happening today?”

“Can we come in?” May asked, looking over Mike’s shoulder.

“Yes, of course.” Alistair stepped back in confusion, letting the professor out.

“Good-bye, children.” He said, giving May a strange look.

The door finally closed.

“What was that…?” Mike’s amazement was growing more and more every second. Alistair was surprised by the visit of a friend, especially because he came with his new girlfriend.

“I don't know… He just came in early and started telling me some nonsense about chemistry, and… about my father.” His voice trembled for a second.

“Father? And what did he say? Although, wait a minute, I didn’t come for that…” The three of them went to the living room.

“That’s what I wanted to say… I am very sorry for what happened earlier. I was angry in vain.” His voice was soft and sincere.

“I wanted us to make peace. I’m very glad you came. May, why did you come?” Alistair asked very rudely.

“Just for the company… to support.” Sparks of incomprehensible origin could be heard in her voice.

At that moment, Mike wanted to sit down, but he saw a business card lying on the corner of the table.

“Ernest William Orwell… Is this a chemistry teacher’s business card?” Mike wondered. “Why did he give you his business card?”

“Even I do not understand… I have never been drawn to chemistry. He insists that I go to some college after finishing school…”

This dialogue was interrupted by May, trying not to be left out of the conversation:

“So what did he say about your father? By the way, is your father at home?”

Mike broke out in cold sweat at that moment. He whispered softly.

“His father is dead…”

“Oh! I’m sorry, I didn’t know. I'm so sorry.”

It didn’t hurt Alistair. He had never seen his father. However, the interest in his person has never faded.

“All right. He said he knew him and that he was a great chemist who specialized in blood.” Al knew something about his dad from what his mother had told him, but nothing about his hobbies or friendship with the Orwells.

“Blood ..?” Friends asked at the same time.

“I heard about it for the first time. I was more surprised when I found out that they were friends.” Alistair seemed to hang on to these words and just stared at one point at the wall. Mike knocked him out of his zoned out state as usual:

“Can I have a pomegranate?” He pointed to a noble red fruit lying in a bowl on the table.

“Yes, of course! We just need to cut it open. This was my father’s favorite fruit. My mother told me about it...”

“All right, let’s go then!” The boy commanded, taking a kitchen knife out of the drawer and separating the skin from the pulp.

May clearly didn’t like it. Splashes flew in all directions, including Mike’s clean clothes, so she did not wait long and suggested:

“Let me cut. You are doing it wrong. I know how to cut pomegranates correctly.” She emphasized the last word, looking at Alistair.

“All right, chef, if that’s your calling, take it.” He said, trying to wash his hands, covered with red juice till elbows, under running water, which he did poorly, to be frank.

May deftly cut the fruit into pieces, then began to separate the skin. Almost finished, she suddenly shouted: “Ouch!” And dropped the knife onto the floor.

“What happened?!” Mike asked instantly and anxiously as he ran to the girl. She held out her hand to him, which showed a small, medium-deep cut. The hand was bleeding.

“God, what a horror! Alistair, go get a band-aid!”

Alistair quickly braced himself and went to the drawer for a first aid kit. Taking out a neat white package, he looked at May’s hand. Something moved inside him. He felt dizzy, everything darkened in his eyes, but he managed to sit down.

“What are you doing? How long have you been afraid of blood?” Mike asked, taking the band-aid from confused Alistair. He quickly dealt with May’s gentle hand, and continued:

“I remember you ate an earthworm for a dare without twitching, and here, seeing one little wound, you almost lost your consciousness.”

Alistair was clearly not kidding. Something inside him grew incredibly hot. It seemed to him that he suddenly wanted to drink, so he slowly raised his head and asked:

“Maybe… water?”

Mike and May were stunned. They stared at Al as if he were a ghost, no one even moved to pour a glass.

“What is wrong with both of you? What happened?!” Al asked very nervously.

“I need to go home. Urgently. I forgot about some things…” May answered suddenly and hurriedly started collecting her stuff.

Mike didn’t move half a step. May quickly said goodbye and, without waiting for an answer, ran out of the house.

“Mike, what happened?” Alistair was on the verge of crying.

“Your teeth…”

“Teeth? What’s wrong with them?” Al got up and ran to the mirror. To his horror, he noticed that two of his teeth were sticking out, resembling long sharp fangs.

“What on earth…? Oh Lord, what is wrong with me?”

“That’s crazy, dude!” Finally Mike came to his senses. “Yes, you have fangs like a wild beast!”

“What is happening in general? This is a complete disaster. No wonder May freaked out and dashed home. What if she tells someone? What should I do? How can I hide them?” The questions arose in his mind one after another, Alistair barely keeping himself from panicking.

Mike, on the other hand, thought it was so fantastic that he didn’t even care about May’s sudden disappearance.

“Dude, I don’t know what it is and why, but try to move them.”

Unexpectedly for himself, Alistair realized that he could control the ‘tumor.’ He widened his mouth and, in a yawning motion, pulled them back. Stunned by the situation, he released them again and pulled them in.

“Wow!! Then you can control it!” Mike exclaimed enthusiastically.

“Yeah, I think so… But we need to understand what is happening. I have one idea…”

“What is it?”

“You’ll see…”