Alexander inclined his head in his own way of approval. Max was confused at how she had pulled it off, while also looking furious at her flirtatious ways with Alexander, and even how Acard’s… hands were getting time with her. Why didn’t he think of falling on her like that? He’d have to figure out better strategies in the future.

  “It is your turn, Vincent,” Chikaze said, her eyes falling on him.

  He gulped and nodded, slowly moving to his feet before making his way to the front.

  He gnced over at Isabel and noticed she looked upset again as she gripped her seat, nails digging into the material. Was she really that mad about Acard’s little stunt that she thought was cheating, or something else? He did notice she didn’t seem to like the teacher. But he also couldn’t figure out her moods. One minute she was mad, the next she was kind. Then again, she did know that he had a thing for her sister, so… it made sense she was angry. He rubbed the side of his neck, thinking about all these awkward things and how hard it was to navigate a social life. Ironic, really.

  While he had no clue about matters of the heart and attraction, he had to shake it off as he needed to focus on the task at hand. And how had Mizuki pulled it off so easily? The only thing that came to mind was the sway of her hips and bounce of her chest. Perhaps a rge chest and the weight distribution made some sort of anchor for her to easily walk about without worrying about tripping or being flung somewhere. Which was totally inappropriate, even if it was a bit mesmerizing. How pathetic was he to think those sorts of things? He had to shake that off and focus – focus, Vincent!

  He certainly didn’t want to look like a fool, totally messing this up, so he took a deep breath and exhaled, thinking about the details. This was a lesson in bance, right? Which was actually quite difficult because while they could somewhat see where the bus was moving, it was fairly limited. The random, jerky movements of the bus when it turned, stopped, or accelerated, made it difficult to keep one’s bance because of the limited perception of being inside the bus. It was kinda like having a blindfold on. And it was doubly hard to keep one’s bance without the use of one’s hands or outstretched arms, which if he did that, it would be more likely he’d use his hands to stop a fall out of instinct. Perhaps the secret was, like in most things, about not worrying so much about it, and just letting the moment happen.

  So, perhaps he’d just do that. Walk forward, not thinking about it too much. Then again, there had to be some sort of strategy, right? It was a lesson after all, so there had to be a trick to it, a way to do it right, just like Mizuki had. Even so, even if it lost some points, the end goal was completing the task, so he’d focus on that.

  One thing was for sure: Chikaze and Mizuki both knew something the others hadn’t grasped. Perhaps it was something in their Kindred blood that gave them the ability to do it. Either way, he had to take his first step. So, why was he making such a big deal out of it?

  He felt his anxiety rise with the increase in his heartbeats as he looked toward the back of the bus, trying his best to ignore all the eyes on him. He didn’t want to lose points, but he also didn’t want to fall ft on his face, hurt himself, or look like an idiot falling. Granted, even if he did lose points, there were ways to gain them back, even if they were probably unbecoming, so perhaps he should just use his hands as leverage, and then learn the lesson ter? Maybe just going with the movements, taking the fall and the pain, would be the best lesson there was? Decisions, decisions.

  “You can go anytime you wish, Vincent,” Chikaze said, which made him give a little start as he was thinking deeply, not realizing he had been standing there for a long, awkward moment.

  Vincent nodded and took a step forward, feeling the movement of the bus, thinking about his body and feet, but not thinking too much. As he moved forward, he felt as if he had figured something out. Then the bus jerked, and he went flying. He closed his eyes as he fell forward, his hands stopping his fall reflexively as a fshback of falling from the roof hit him.

  “That’s 10 points, chump,” Acard said with glee.

  Quickly taking his hands off the seats, he corrected himself, and stepped forward a few more times, thinking that focusing on the back and hoping for the best would get him there. As the bus jerked unexpectedly, it sent him falling right into Isabel.

  He had closed his eyes once again, putting his hands out to stop himself, because he couldn’t just fall into her and touch something he wasn’t supposed to like Acard did with Mizuki. If he did, Isabel would resent him forever, so he took the loss of points.

  “That was a close one,” he huffed out, opening his eyes. “Sorry about that, Issy.”

  Her cheeks ran red as their faces were several inches from each other. He noticed the rise and fall of her chest as if she was out of breath, perhaps surprised at him lurching at her like that, which he couldn’t really help. What would she think of this, what would she do? He held himself like that for a moment, and the scent of lemons and honey fell over him from being so close. The dark abyss of her eyes and the radiant red ringed irises pulled him forward, freezing him in position as he leaned over her, holding steady against the seat, and losing a ton of points. As she blinked and turned away from him in embarrassment, he was released from her grip, and he pushed off from the seat and made his final steps to the back, cursing himself for letting that happen.

  Crap. That really did it, he thought. It was intense, and he felt heat radiating from her in that moment of closeness, taking in her scent, and the first time he thought back on that moment, how she had looked, how close they were and… No. It was just a weird moment, nothing more. It didn’t mean he liked her or anything. But the way she had flushed, pulled back, become startled, it really made him want to pounce on her and… Okay, Vincent, back to reality. Let’s not go there.

  What mattered was that he had made it to the back in one piece. Okay, he thought as he did his best to loosen his body and look toward his final goal in the front and banish all thoughts of Isabel ying back, red-ringed irises staring up at him, the tempo of her rising and falling chest calling to him to continue onward, to lean into her and – Nope, focussss, Vincent. Focus. That was just his Beast Mind. She wasn’t some piece of meat, and he didn’t think of her that way, did he? No, certainly not. He looked up, let out a breath, and somehow made it back to the front without incident. Yes!

  He gave a little fist pump, not caring that Acard was sneering at him.

  “Good job, Vincent,” Chikaze said before turning her eyes on Isabel. “Finally, we have Isabel.”

  And they all watched her as she stood and moved to the front, shifting nervously, but as she met eyes with Vincent, an anger fshed over her face as if remembering how he had embarrassed her a moment ago, and he couldn’t tell if she was upset, or something else.

  Either way, she stiffened and lifted her chin, confident and proud, then pushed off from the front, her strides smooth and light. While she stumbled once or twice, she didn’t fall. And after reaching the back without an error, she turned her nose in the air as if full of pride, then marched forward to the front without incident. Clearly, she knew the same thing Mizuki and their teacher did, or perhaps her anger had a way of making reality bend to her will. Maybe it was some sort of vampire ability. It made Vincent shiver as she had a scary elegance to her that reminded him of Alicia in a way.

  Isabel plopped down in her seat in an angry huff, turning to look out the window with her arms folded.

  “Well done, Isabel,” Chikaze said, looking pleased at the outcome. “Wonderful effort, everyone.” She gnced at the driver. “Driver, please take us back to the school. I thank you for your willingness to help out with this lesson.”

  The driver gave Chikaze a little tip of his bck bus driver cap. As he turned back to face the front, his dark eyes and gaunt face passed by Vincent’s. Vincent shivered because the man reminded him of a skeleton, his skin was so taut to his face and his eyes looked dead. Vincent shook off the uneasy feeling, doing his best not to think about it, and the bus turned with a jerk and headed back to the school.

  .   .   .