Chapter Three - Meeting Michael

I woke up in the dark with a panicked flinch that sent the ice pack thumping off of my pillow and onto the floor. I slid out of bed and fumbled for a lamp and found one next to the bed. I heard music playing downstairs, the music was slow and warm, kind of like a guitar. I fluffed my out my hair to make it somewhat presentable, put on a little foundation make-up and opened the bedroom door. The music was coming from downstairs, in the living room. I checked a clock hanging on the wall at the far end, it was after midnight. I had slept for more than twelve hours. My bruises felt better, and in fact my head hurt only a little. My ankle was still the worst of it, sending jabs of pain up my leg with every step down the stairs. I was halfway down the stairs when I saw the boy playing his guitar. Oh the music, I thought it was a recording, but no, this was real, this was live, and he was playing it.

I coughed. The boy turns, startled, and saw me standing there on the stairs, his frown cleared after a second or two. "Oh you're the one Shane said wanted to talk to me about the room. Hey, come on down. I'm Michael, and you're not even seventeen. We don't take anybody in this house who isn't legal. Not that you'd be signing onto orgy central, but sorry. Me and Shane have to worry about things like that. All it takes is you living here and somebody even hinting there's something going on," he says. "Wait, I wouldn't do that, or say that. I'm not looking to get you guys in trouble. I just need...." I say as he interrupts me. "No. I'm sorry , but you can't stay here. House rules," he says. I reach into my pocket and pull out my wallet. "How much? I ask and start counting bills.. "Three hundred enough? I can get more if I have to," I say. "How? he asks. "What? I reply. "How would you get more?" He asks. "Get a job or sell stuff. Not that I have much to sell. I want to stay here Michael, I really do. Yeah I'm under eighteen, but I swear, you won't have any trouble out of me. I'll stay out of your way. I go to school and study. That's all I do. I'm not a partyer, and I'm not a slacker. I'm useful. I'll help clean and cook," I say. "No.I'm sorry kid. But it's just too much risk," he says. "Eve's only a bit older than I am!" I say. "Eve's eighteen, you're what sixteen?" He asks. "Almost seventeen! I really am in college. I'm a freshman, look here's my student ID...." I say as I'm holding it up. He ignored it. "Come back in a year. We'll talk about it then. Look what about the dorm? He asks. "They'll kill me if I stay there. They tried to kill me today," I tell him. "What?" He asks. "The other girls. They punched me and shoved me down the stairs," I say. "What else? Besides what I can see? You're not going to drop dead on me are you?" he asks. "I'm ok. I saw the doctor and everything. It's just the bruises and a strained ankle. But they pushed me down the stairs, and they meant it, and she told me....."

Suddenly Eve's words about vampires came back to me and made me trip over my own tongue. "The girl in charge, she told me that tonight, I'd get what was coming to me. I can't go back to the dorm, Michael. If you send me out that door, they'll kill me, because I don't have any friends nor do I have any place to go!" I explain. He unlatched the guitar case again and cradled it. I thought was his comfort zone. He then asks me to have a seat on the couch as he starts to play his guitar again. "These girls, do they go out in daylight?" He asks. "You mean outside? Sure. They go to classes. Well sometimes," I reply. "Do they wear bracelets?" he asks. " You mean like...." Eve left hers on the table so I pick it up. "Like this? I never noticed. They wear a lot of stuff," I reply. I thought hard, and maybe remember something after all. "The bracelets didn't look like this though. They were gold, and Monica and her friends all had them on their left wrists, although I never paid much attention," I reply. "Bracelets with white symbols? Do you remember?" He asks. "No. Does that mean they have protection?" I ask. "You mean condoms? Doesn't everybody?" He asks. "You know what I mean," I say. "Don't think I do," he says playing dumb. "Eve said....." I start to say.

"Eve needs to keep her mouth shut. She's in enough danger as it is, trolling around out there in Goth gear. They already think she's mocking them. If they hear she's talking...." He says as his voice trails off. "They who? I ask. "People. Look I don't want your blood on my hands. You can stay for a couple of days. But only until you find a place, right? And make it fast, I'm not running a halfway house for bettered girls. I've got enough to worry about keeping Eve and Shane out of trouble," he says. I put the money on the table and he stares at it, with his jaw tense. "The rent's a hundred dollars a month. You buy the groceries, once a month too. First month in advance. But you're not staying past that, so keep the rest," he says. "Thanks," I say. "Don't thank me, just don't get us into any trouble. I mean it," he says. I went to the kitchen, spooned in two chilli bowls, added the bowls to the trays along with sppons and cokes, and brought it all back to set them on the coffee table. Michael took his bowl and tasted it. "Shane made it. It's pretty good," I tell him. "Yeah. Chilli and spaghetti, that's pretty much all Shane can cook. You know how to make anything?" he asks. "Sure," I reply. "Like?" he asks. "Ratatouille, Aloomasala, Potato and Truffle Torte, and hamburgers," I reply. "Could you make hamburgers tomorrow?" He asks. "Sure. I have classes from eleven to five, but I'll stop and pick up the stuff," I reply. "I'm sorry," he finally says. "About what?" I ask. "Being an ass. Look, it's just that I can't, I have to be careful. Really careful," he says. "You weren't being an ass, you're trying to protect yourself and your friends. That's ok. That's what you're supposed to do," I say. "If you're in this house, you're my friend. What's your name by the way?" He asks. "Claire, Claire Danvers," I reply. "Welcome to the Glass House Claire Danvers. But only temporarily," he says. I went up to my room, spread out my books on the desk, and started the day's studying, as I listened to Michael play the guitar downstairs.