+ 1.25: Growing Pains

WARNING: Memories within memories within memories!

Friday Afternoon

“Troye, the bus is here!” Morrigan knocked on the bedroom door impatiently.

“I don’t want to go!” His response came stubbornly and swiftly. This Spirit of Camaraderie Camp in Twinbrook was a stupid idea. His relationship with his classmates was too far gone to be salvaged for a civil friendship. He hated them all. ‘They’re all a bunch of mean and ugly bullies’. He pouted thinking about the emotional and mental abuse they had submitted him to.

Freak. Cat eyes. Geek. Those were only some of the insults hurled at him. All because he looked different and was smarter than them. He read books faster, solved complex math problems and hung out in the science lab during breaks mostly because the sun burned his skin to blisters.

Tom Huffman was the main instigator behind it. If he had another opportunity, Troye would have punched his lights right out.

The first time he did, it was after English class.
“You know something? You must be adopted.” Tom jabbed him hard in the chest. Troye doubled over, almost losing his balance; if he fell it would only give the bully and Co. another reason to make fun of him.
"Do they even adopt?" He heard Brad ask Jerome in a snide whisper.

“No I’m not.” He whispered after what seemed like forever.

“I don’t blame your real mother for giving you up. You’re such a little snot nosed freak.” The other boy probed on. Was he really adopted? He didn’t look like anyone in his family. But that couldn’t be true. They loved them. They must! This brat was just testing how far he could push him.

“You know what else you are? A spineless jellyfish. Coz your sister was always standing up for you. Freaks of a feather flock together, isn’t that right Troye?” Tom’s lips curled into a satisfied leer when he saw Troye’s face contort with anger; his fists balled tightly.

Before either of them could blink they were rolling around the classroom floor; Troye dealing punch after punch into the bully’s nasty little face. With each blow his anger only mounted, his fists growing numb from the hard beating loaded with retribution. It wasn’t long before someone called the teacher and they were pulled apart; ordered to detention. They were lucky not to have been expelled.

Tom of course played the victim when he realised his nose had been broken. The blood dripping from his smashed nose only made Troye see more red. But it wasn’t mounting anger; it was a thirst he couldn't understand.

“Get away you filthy bloodsucker!” Tom yelled before running off to the nurse’s office.

That day when he returned home he asked his mother the question he believed he already knew the answer to.

“Are we really vampires?”

“Yes.” Morrigan hung her head feeling ashamed for keeping it from him for so many years. ‘It was such a stupid idea!’

“How could you not know, dufus?” Belisama had to add her two cents’ worth. She laughed at him coldly and mockingly. Her eyes glowed with smug satisfaction from knowing something the little genius didn’t.

Being a pureblood vampire was something she swelled with pride over. And the snob in her only intensified her belief that she was better than her half-breed adopted brother – even if he attained better grades than her: something she envied so badly. However, at their parents’ behest she was nice to him; or at least she pretended to be. Behind the closed doors, though, she insulted and cursed him; because Troye always got the attention. Their parents treated him like a fragile doll; scared he would break from hearing the whole truth about who he really was. But she knew. And she couldn’t wait for the day he would be shattered by it.

On the other hand despite her dislike toward him, Bella never hesitated to stand up for him when the humans bullied him senseless. That was only because she had to; because discrimination against one of their kind was discrimination against all of them: pureblood or not. And the school officials were all too happy to turn a blind eye to the bigotry. She too had been a victim of discrimination. It was only when she took a bite out of Rough Ruby's neck that she was finally left alone. But being able to empathise with Troye didn't stop her from bullying him herself - that is when no witnesses were around.

She clicked her tongue at him, turned on her heel and retired to her bedroom leaving Troye feeling like a real dolt for having not realised sooner. Morrigan laid a comforting hand on his shoulder and steered him away to the kitchen to explain everything to him over a cup of hot chocolate: everything except the truth about his real parents.

Knowing he was a vampire only made him feel more isolated from his classmates. Other vampire children didn’t have to go through this. They had the privilege of attending the prestigious DeLioncourt Academy from grade four onwards. Even Bella had left him and enrolled at the private all-vampire school at the beginning of the term, leaving him alone and unprotected.

“You’ll be able to go once your powers develop.” Wogan explained.

“Why aren’t they developed now?” His husky voice demanded. There was only a year between him and Bella and she had already shown all the signs by the time she was his age.

“One day, son. Be patient.”

“Troye!” Morrigan’s voice pulled him back to reality and he groaned miserably as he gathered his tent and suitcase.

“Have you packed that special sun block?” She asked as he marched out of his room, feet plodding heavily with each step. He nodded briskly and trudged his way out the door.

_____

Sunday Afternoon

It was the last day of the camp and Troye sat in a corner away from the rest of his grade. Everyone else was scattering about packing their belongings away at the last minute. He whimpered as the cool aloe vera cream met his singed and blistered skin. His eyes were darkly lined from losing sleep over the pain of the blisters.
“Stupid camp. It’s finally over.” He brushed away a tear with the back of his hand, wishing he was back at home safe under his parents’ protection.

“I’m sorry.” He heard Tom’s voice but didn’t believe that those words had escaped that vile mouth of his. “Really I am.” The other boy was practically begging now. Troye pretended not to hear until he felt the footsteps grow closer, the deck creaking under the weight.

“Okay okay I forgive you!” Troye whipped around, dropping his cream on the floor: he was afraid he may get a beating for not accepting the over-due apology.

“Great!” Tom’s face lit up enthusiastically and for a moment Troye believed that there might be a gentler side to the bully.

“Let’s go to the creek while we have some free time. Brad said there’s some wicked awesome toads we can slip to the girl’s bags later.”

Troye ignored all the errors in that sentence. No wonder the bully was flunking English so badly: his grammar and vocabulary was limited. He eventually resigned to joining them pick out the ugliest of the toads. Maybe his mom was right about giving these kids another chance. Maybe it was time to forgive Tom Huffman for all the injustices he had dealt out over the years.

“Boys meet Troye.” Tom introduced everyone to each other unnecessarily. Troye already knew who the others were. Even Martin the Martian (nickname) was there: and he was never invited to hang out with Tom and his gang of cool boys.

“Boys... Do you know what Troye is? Troye is a blood-hungry vampire.” The other boys jeered cruelly and at that moment Troye realised he had been led into a trap. He willed his legs to break free from their invisible shackles but he remained rooted to the ground; his feet heavy as lead.‘Why am I so gullible!’ He closed his eyes and imagined a happier place; a happier time; anything that would distract him from what was about to come.

After what seemed like an eternity of pummelling and pain his world went black.

“We don’t need any more of your kind around...” Their words echoed spitefully, ramming into every side of his head with the intensity to match their punches and kicks.

His short life flashed before his eyes and he saw people he had never met. The first was a man with jet black hair and eyes just like his. The other was a woman whose face he had seen before in his dreams. She looked young for her age and had the saddest brown eyes he had ever seen. She kneeled down before him, brushing his hair away from his face, a golden aura about her.