Darlings of Darkness: A Vampire Anthology Part 81

Billy added, "I need to get a bandage from the upstairs bathroom. d.a.m.n cat got me good. Be right back."

After Billy left the room Jack ran a hand over Blanca's back again. She let out a violent hiss and arched her spine. Long white fur stood on end. She flashed tiny sharp teeth at her owner.

Jack growled-an inhuman sound.

Blanca shot out of an invisible gun. She raced around the corner, heading to the living room, and disappeared from view. It was the first time the cat had shown fear in Jack's presence. Blanca had seen him at his worst, sharp fangs and black eyes. Why would she be afraid of him now?

What was happening to him?

Jack dragged his tongue over his gums, searching for fangs. Still nothing. Strangely that didn't rea.s.sure him. His gut twisted in knots. Silver was wrong. The werewolf hadn't miraculously changed him back to a mortal. It had temporarily robbed him of his powers and the curse that went with it.

If he looked in the mirror, he'd see a vampire.

Chapter Four:.

A SENIOR AT LAST.

"This must be our new student."

It was a week after his transformation, Monday, and Princ.i.p.al Hardwick stuck a huge hand out to shake Jack's. A big man in a dark suit, Hardwick was in continuous motion like a five-year-old on a sugar high. He rubbed his hands together, checked papers on his desk, paced the floor, and poured coffee all within a five-minute span.

During those five minutes Jack got slammed with reality. He couldn't recapture his lost life. What was he thinking? He shouldn't be trying to return to school as if nothing had happened. That stern voice in the back of his mind, the one that sounded like his father, taunted him while Hardwick was talking.

He should have stayed home.

Fortunately he had one thing going for him. Hardwick had only transferred to Jefferson Memorial a few years ago. Jack hoped his luck would hold for the rest of his senior year and he wouldn't run into any teachers he used to know.

Princ.i.p.al Hardwick interrupted his thoughts with, "Lunch is just ending. You'll begin with your fifth period cla.s.s today. I like to a.s.sign a student to show our new people around the school. This is Meghan Welch, star pupil."

Hardwick gestured to a pretty brunette standing in the open doorway. She flushed a happy pink at the softly spoken praise. Smiling at Jack, she walked straight up to him and latched onto his arm as if they were the newest, hottest couple in town. "Nice to meet you."

Hardwick continued, "You couldn't be in better hands. Meghan is student body president, editor of our school paper, and head cheerleader. Teachers and students love her. Follow her lead and you'll do fine."

Ignoring the girl and the princ.i.p.al, Billy said, "I'll pick you up after school."

"Don't bother," Jack said. "I can find my way home."

Billy raised an eyebrow but didn't argue. With a lazy shrug he left the room. The princ.i.p.al followed suit, returning to his private office. Meghan pulled Jack into the hallway. He already regretted telling Billy not to return for him. He hadn't wanted his brother to make two long trips in one day. Surely he could convince someone to give him a ride at least part way. He could walk a few miles if he needed to.

Meghan went into a long boring roll of what cla.s.ses were where and told him some things about the teachers on his list. This obviously wasn't the first time she'd shown the new kid around. She droned on and on until he thought he might fall asleep standing up. Her giddy voice sawed on his nerves.

"You're in luck," she said, hopping like a demented rabbit. She waved his list of cla.s.ses in front of his face. "Your next cla.s.s is English with Jersey Clifford. I have him too. He'll ask you to use his first name. Always does. He is so cool and fun and super smart. Some of the girls have a crush on him. Mr. Hardwick scooped him up from a big school out east last year. One thing you should know about Jersey is that he loves quoting poetry. If you want to make points with him, memorize a poem by Frost or Yeats or one of those other dead poets. That'll impress him."

The hallway flooded with rowdy teenagers as lunch ended. Some rushed to their lockers while others strolled along with friends, chatting and laughing. Jack froze to the spot. Feeling claustrophobic, he wanted to run for the nearest exit. He hadn't been surrounded by this many people in years. Vampires shunned the company of mortals-unless they were hungry.

"Where did you go to school before?" Meghan asked.

"Uh...Boston." He had to work to remember the lie.

"Did you go to a smaller school than this? Cause you look like a kitty dropped in the lion cage."

A kitty? Annoyed with her unflattering description of him, he fantasized about sprouting fangs and ripping her throat out. Maybe losing her vocal chords would shut her up for a while. He should be asleep in the abandoned house with his friends, not listening to a peppy speech from a cheerleader.

Then he saw her, and his world flipped upside-down.

Silver had her hand inside her locker. She was talking to a blonde girl in a crazy looking outfit, unaware of his presence. He couldn't hear what she was saying. His vampire-hearing had faded. He took one step closer, desperate to know if she was talking about him to her friend. The conversation ended, and the blonde girl walked away.

Silver turned, caught him staring at her, and the ends of her lips slowly lifted. The surprise in her eyes quickly became joy. She was glad to see him. The knowledge fueled his confidence.

Jack totally forgot the cheerleader. He left her standing alone and went to Silver, drawn in by her eyes. When he reached her, he glanced inside the open locker, amused but not surprised at the sight of the interior. She had put the textbooks in alphabetical order. The inside of her locker looked more sterile than a hospital.

She asked, "What are you doing here?"

"Decided to rejoin the human race."

Her smile vanished, and she looked anxiously at the faces of nearby students. Jack didn't have to check to know they were clueless. Most people didn't believe in vampires. That's what made it so easy for them to roam free without being hunted by every nut with a sharp stick.

After she was satisfied no one was listening she asked him, "Are you sure this is a good idea?"

"Why wouldn't it be?"

She shrugged and closed her locker, a blush staining her cheeks. Why did he get the feeling she was holding something important back from him? He wanted to question her, but he didn't get the chance to do more than part his lips. Meghan stepped between them, irritation evident in the tight set of her jaw.

"I had no idea you two knew each other," she said. Moving to stand beside him, she looped an arm through his. When he tried to extricate himself, her grip tightened. She was stronger than she looked. He couldn't get away from her without making a huge scene and drawing everyone's attention to them. She added, "I was a.s.signed to show him around before his first cla.s.s."

"How nice for you," Silver said, eyes narrowing on the other girl's face.

Jack thought he saw a glint of jealousy in those eyes. Or maybe he had simply gotten in the middle of an old feud. It was hard to tell. Still, it gave him hope. Silver might actually like him as much as he liked her.

"What cla.s.ses did they give you?" Silver asked him, ignoring Meghan. "Maybe we have some together."

Meghan answered for him. "He's going into Jersey's English cla.s.s next, and you have Math with Mr. Barter, don't you? Too bad. The bell's about to ring and we don't want to be late. See ya."

The hallway emptied. Jack desperately wanted to talk to Silver, but Meghan pulled him in the opposite direction. Silver stared after them, mouth open. She obviously wanted to talk to him too. With a determined look she followed them across the hallway and into the cla.s.sroom.

"What are you doing?" Meghan asked.

Silver forcibly removed Meghan's arm from his and gave her a gentle push toward the front of the room. "Jack and I are good friends. He doesn't need you to play Tour Guide Barbie anymore. I'm here now. Take your seat."

The threat in her eyes was clear. Not even Meghan could miss it. The other girl spun around, swinging her hair in Silver's face. She went to the front of the cla.s.s and sat down.

Jack took an empty desk at the back of the room and Silver sat next to him. The other students were too busy with their own lives to notice the new kid. It gave Jack time to breathe. Meghan turned around a few times and shot nasty looks at Silver, but Silver didn't notice. Her full attention was on Jack.

Silver leaned close to him and whispered, "On second thought I don't think you should be here. This is too dangerous."

"I'm not a va-you know what anymore." At lease he wasn't displaying any signs of being a vampire at the moment. "Why is it dangerous?"

"There are things you don't understand. I can explain later, but you need to get out of here. Go home and wait for me."

"Nope." Jack stretched his legs out and crossed them at the ankles. He folded his arms over his chest. "I'm here, and I'm staying."

"Do you trust me?"

He nodded reluctantly, knowing she would try to use it against him. If he dropped out of school on the first day, Billy would have his head. He had to have more of a reason than 'Silver told me to go home.' He had a feeling what Silver wanted wouldn't matter to Billy.

"I promise I'll tell you everything when I get to your house later," she said.

"Why can't you tell me now?"

"This isn't the place."

"We could go into the hallway or the janitor's closet, or we could go to the parking lot for a few minutes."

She gnawed on her lower lip and played with her bracelets. He waited for her to look at him. Her eyes remained fastened on the multi-colored bangles. There were so many secrets in her eyes; he didn't know where to start.

The teacher entered with a loud voice. He slammed the door behind him and tossed a thick folder overflowing with papers onto his desk. Jack liked him on sight. The man was tall and slender with a receding blonde hairline and the palest of blue eyes. He wore solid black, a turtleneck and trousers, but when Jack looked at the man's feet he had to stifle laughter. Jersey Clifford had bright red sneakers on. A non-conformist?

Lily would love him.

Sadness washed over Jack, stealing his smile. His friends were gone. They didn't know what had happened to him yet. They weren't going to like it, and they wouldn't want to be friends with a human. He had lost them forever.

Jersey began to write on the chalkboard in fluid cursive with curly letters. He spoke while he wrote, and his voice was as charismatic as the rest of him. Jack felt drawn in like a moth to a flame, and he wondered if the other students felt the same.

"You will recall that in our last session we were talking about the war between the Greeks and the Trojans and how it could have been avoided," Jersey said. Still facing the chalkboard, the teacher spoke to him as if he had eyes in the back of his head and knew exactly where Jack was sitting.

"We have a new student," he said. "Tell me something, Jack. Have you read The Illiad? Will you be able to offer an intelligent opinion on the subject?"

Jack stiffened as every eye in the room turned to him. He hadn't expected to be singled out this early in the game. "I've read it," he said, giving silent thanks to Lily for insisting he borrow her copy.

Jersey added his pale blue eyes to the mix. A slight smile tilted his thin lips as if he was secretly amused by something. "Then tell me, Jack, what do you think of the whole mess? Who was the most at fault in your opinion? Was it young Paris for falling in love with another man's wife? Was it Helen for leaving with him when she knew what trouble it would cause? Was it Achilles for refusing to battle for so long? Was it Hector for standing beside his brother on the matter even though he should have thrown him to the wolves?"

Jack felt Silver watching him, waiting for an answer to the teacher's question.

"I would have to blame the G.o.ds," Jack said, defiant.

"The G.o.ds?" Jersey's smile widened. He sat on the edge of his desk and stared at Jack in wonder. "You blame the G.o.ds for the war? Please tell me why."

"They meddled. If they had stayed out of it, things might not have gone as far as they did. The G.o.ds chose sides. They each had their favorite mortals here on Earth and they were determined to see them win the battle. They used tricks, deceit not only with each other but with the humans as well. Really the war was between the G.o.ds themselves. They just used the humans like p.a.w.ns."

Jersey clapped his hands together. "Brilliant. In all my years teaching I have never had a student blame the G.o.ds, believe it or not. Refreshing. I think you are going to be a wonderful addition to our cla.s.s." He stopped clapping and added, "Although, you speak like you aren't one of us, Jack, not a mere mortal. Puzzling. Your upper lip curls into a little sneer when you say the word human. Did you know?"

The good feeling that came with giving an acceptable answer vanished. He froze to his seat and tried hard not to react to the teacher's probing gaze. There was something about Jersey Clifford, something different, something out of synch. Jack made a mental note to watch his step with the teacher.

Silver gave Jack an I-told-you-so look, but he kept his own expression neutral. Surely the teacher didn't know about vampires. He had probably minored in psychology at whatever university he'd attended. Maybe a.n.a.lyzing students was Jersey's favorite hobby.

Jersey's all-seeing gaze flickered over to Silver, almost bored. "Miss Reign, I do believe you're in the wrong cla.s.s. Did you get lost?"

"I was showing Jack around the school." She ignored Meghan's grunt of outrage. "I was just going to sit here for a minute to make sure he was in the right place, but then I got caught up in your lesson on The Illiad. It's...wow."

Jersey rolled his eyes. "Goodbye, Miss Reign."

He scooted off the edge of the desk and turned, effectively dismissing her. Silver had no choice but to leave the cla.s.sroom. Once outside the door, she mouthed words at Jack through the gla.s.s. Unfortunately, he hadn't learned to read lips. She tried again. When he didn't understand her, she threw her hands up and walked away.

Jersey smirked behind his copy of the a.s.signed book. "We are going to discuss characterization now. Who wants to begin?"

Several hands shot into the air.

Jack kept his firmly on the desk's cool surface.

Jersey pointed at someone in the first row, and Jack breathed a sigh of relief.

English cla.s.s flew by. Listening to Jersey's insightful lecture on Homer's book made Jack momentarily forget Silver, being a former vampire, the mess his life had become, everything. He even forgot to worry about keeping his past a secret. Before he knew it the hour had pa.s.sed.

While everyone else left the room, including Meghan, Jack stared down at his list of cla.s.ses. He had no idea where he was supposed to go next. After English he had Study Hall. What was that? He groaned. How was he going to survive the rest of the day? He should have taken advantage of Meghan's attention while he had it.

"Problem?" Jersey asked.

"I think I'm lost already."

The teacher glanced at the list. "Study Hall. I'll walk you."

"You don't have to do that."

"It's my pleasure." Jersey smiled. "I remember what it was like to be the new kid. In any case, I enjoyed your comments about the book. I'd like to talk to you for a few minutes while we walk."

Jack stiffened. "Why?"

"You should be in my advanced cla.s.s, not in here with the average students. Most of them aren't even listening half the time. The girls are thinking about the boys, and the boys are thinking about food."

"I don't know if I'm ready for a harder cla.s.s. I'm still trying to feel my way around in the dark. School is tougher than I remember."

Jersey's eyes narrowed. "Than you remember?"

"I just meant that this school is different from the one I left in Boston."

Jersey shrugged, but there was nothing casual about the intensity of his stare. "You'll do fine. If you have any problems, my door is always open to you."

Jack mentally kicked himself for the slip. Maybe Silver was right. He should go home until he got comfortable in his human skin.