Southern Exposure Page 7

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  I went straight to the upstairs bathroom when we got home. Surprisingly, Elizabeth and Benjamin were nowhere to be seen. They would have heard us coming miles away, but perhaps they were giving me some space. The paint was extremely difficult to remove. It seemed in my effort to make certain it wouldn't rub off, I'd made it a little bit too waterproof—still, better safe than sorry, there was a lot at stake. With the paint finally gone, I reapplied the black lipstick for my trip into town. Outside the window, the sun was setting.

  Elizabeth and Benjamin were hovering in the living room when I got downstairs. I'd expected some sort of interrogation, but they waited for me to speak first. Elizabeth was extremely edgy which, if I was right, seemed logical since she held all the cards when it came to what I was allowed, and not allowed to do. Maybe I could put this off.

  "Um, I need to go into town for some school supplies. You know, a book bag, art supplies, stuff like that," I announced.

  Benjamin glanced at Elizabeth before responding. "I believe there are some knapsacks in the closet upstairs."

  "Yeah," I droned, "about that, see, a book bag kind of says something about you. Some of the girls have nice designer bags, the athletes, sports bags, you know volleyball, cheerleading, field hockey, like that."

  Benjamin chuckled. "What sort of book bag suits an Emo vampire?"

  "Don't tease the girl, darling." Elizabeth replied, and then turned toward me. "Do you need money?"

  "I'm good."

  Elizabeth and Benjamin exchanged a puzzled glance.

  "I'm good in this case means, I have enough cash." I explained.

  They smiled at each other and then Elizabeth spoke. "Well, you run along. We'll look forward to hearing about your day upon your return." Without waiting for my response, they moved with vampire speed up the stairs and out of sight.

  It was twilight when I stepped out onto the front porch, my favorite time of day, not sunny, but not dark either. Tink was waiting, but I convinced him that I didn't need a chaperone. I recited what Tink said about the engine as I backed out of the garage and headed toward town. Just in case I ran into the boys.