Krystal109
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« on: November 17, 2009, 12:01:45 PM » |
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Vampire Diaries: Chapter 12
Written by Krystal
As Elena examined herself in the full-length mirror, Margaret looks on, admiring the beautiful Renaissance dress that was custom made to fit Elena perfectly. She looked like she had stepped out of one of her Italian Renaissance books and into life, but before she could think more on the subject Stefan’s car approached the house. Rushing downstairs, Elena grabbed the doorknob and pulled it back revealing herself to Stefan. A sharp indrawn breath and shocked expressed covered Stefan’s face and Elena felt cold. He recovered quickly, reassuring that she looked beautiful, but something about him made her unsure. Trying to put the feeling off, Elena comments on his outfit, he looked perfect as Dracula and when she first mentioned the idea he had seemed amused. As they walked to his car, Elena knew that Stefan was further away than ever before and her heart felt like ice.
The sky was covered in thick clouds and the air charged with electric feel as they arrived at the school. Since the evening at Bonnie’s house, Elena had lost her appetite for the eerie and although she was better now, her diary had never been found. As she approached the gym, a handful of ghouls and ghosts approached, expressing admiration and issues. Elena waved them all to silence and asked Meredith what was wrong. Apparently, Coach Lyman had fallen ill and someone had replaced him with Mr. Tanner. Making their way through the Haunted House and to the druid priestess near the exit, Elena found Mr. Tanner arguing the accuracy of the display in which they stood. As Tanner verbally abuses Bonnie, Stefan comes to the aid and quietly smoothes the incident over. As Elena watched Stefan work his magic on Mr. Tanner, a flash from the first day of school rang in her head. Before she could think anymore about it, Bonnie suggests they go back to the front of the house; leaving Stefan to deal with Mr. Tanner. On the way, Elena bumps into Matt and Caroline, who had not forgiven Elena for taking Stefan away. As Caroline left, everything was finally ready to start and Bonnie hit the tape deck before heading to her post near the exit. Stefan arrived, curious as to what he could do to help and Elena suggests helping Matt, but the tension between them was obvious so she changed her mind and send him to help with refreshments. As he went to leave, Stefan’s footsteps faltered and Elena wondered if he was ok, but he just wrote it off as usual.
As the night went on Elena ran around troubleshooting anything that went wrong. Normally this was the part that she enjoyed in the past, but this time a sense of foreboding kept her on her guard. As a Grim Reaper passed, Elena thought the figure moved in a familiar way, but pushed it aside.
Meanwhile, Bonnie was dealing with a bunch of junior high boys and directed them to the Druid Room where Mr. Tanner lay. A sense of triumph filled her as the boys approached the altar, but Mr. Tanner seemed almost comatose to everything around him; even when a boy plunged his hand into the blood at Tanner’s head. Rushing to stop the boys, Bonnie tried to rouse Tanner, but he just lay there unresponsive. Something told Bonnie not to touch him, but when she reached toward him she began to scream.
Elena had heard the screams and recognized it as no joke. She ran to the Druid Room and found Bonnie in utter shock at Tanner’s death. Ordering the lights on and everyone out but staff, a voice rang through the screams with authority to close all the doors. As Elena turned to look, she was shocked to see Tyler’s bruised face behind her. Tyler suggests that Mr. Tanner had died recently by the sacrificial dagger and the killer had to be close, someone who didn’t like Mr. Tanner; in fact someone who had an argument with Tanner just recently and had a history of violence. This of course meant Stefan Salvatore. As Elena tries to defend Stefan, Matt enters and accuses Tyler of being prejudice. Tyler rebuts the accusations with evidence that the attacks had only started since Stefan’s appearance and that he was in the cemetery the night Vickie Bennett was attacked. As Tyler rallied the crowd into an uproar, Elena searched for help from someone who believed that Stefan was innocent. Her eyes met Matt’s face, but the look was uncertain; that was until something changed and he turned toward her, nodded and slipped into the mob.
Matt made his way through the crowd to the other side of the gym where, after ordering some boys to move fallen partitions, he slipped through a door into the locker room. Looking quickly around, he found Stefan on the floor and helped him up. Matt explained what happened and Stefan began to understand. He had to get out of there, but before he did, he had to make sure that Elena was looked after and made sure that Matt would do it. Matt agreed and Stefan fled.
Characters Involved
Elena Gilbert
Margaret Gilbert
Aunt Judith
Stefan Salvatore
Meredith Sulez
Bonnie McCullough
Mr. Tanner
Matt Honeycutt
Caroline Forbes
Tyler Smallwood
Characters Mentioned
Mysterious Man
Coach Lyman
Mrs. Clarke
Vickie Bennett
Places Visited
Elena’s House
Robert E. Lee High School
Memorable Quotes
Elena: “ I like you best as a little white cat.” (Page 184)
Stefan: “No, no, it’s beautiful. You’re beautiful.”
Elena: Then why are you standing there looking as if you’d seen a ghost? she though. Why don’t you hold me, kiss me – something! (Page 186)
Tyler: “Somebody who has a history of violence,” Tyler was continuing, his lips drawing back from his teeth. “Somebody who, for all we know, is a psychopath who came to Fell’s Church just to kill.”
Elena: “Tyler, what are you talking about?” Elena’s dazed feeling had burst like a bubble. Furious, she stepped toward the tall, husky boy. “You’re crazy!”
Tyler: He gestured at her without looking at her. “So says his girlfriend – but maybe she’s a little prejudiced.”
Matt: “And maybe you’re a little prejudiced, Tyler.” (Page 198)
Tyler: “I’ll tell you something else,” shouted Tyler, gesturing at them to be quite. “Listen to me! I’ll tell you something else!” He waited until everyone was looking at him and then slowly, impressively, “He was in the cemetery the night Vickie Bennett was attacked.”
Matt: “Sure he was in the cemetery – rearranging your face.” (Page 199)
Questions for consideration:
Who do you think killed Mr. Tanner? Do you think it could have been Stefan, weakened by his thirst for blood?
Were you surprised that a major character like Mr. Tanner died in the book? Do you think more major characters will die throughout the series?
Why do you think Stefan wants Matt to watch over Elena? Do you think it’s short-term or long-term?
Did you see any particular symbolism or little detail you have never noticed before while re-reading this Chapter?
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