At First Bite (13 page)

“I couldn’t have done it without you,” I tell him honestly.

“Cheers,” he says, lifting his cranberry juice. As we tap our cups together, I finally admit it to myself: I may have a tiny, sort-of crush on Marc. I’m not sure if he feels the same way about me, but I do remember something Sasha said, back when I first became wardrobe master.
“I bet a certain someone will be glad about that.”
Had she meant Marc? Had her brother said something about me?

I’ll have to ask Sasha later, when the time is right.

“Look, they’re taking the photo,” Marc says, pointing through the crowd. “I’m glad they forgot about us.”

I stand on my toes to see, but then my phone buzzes in the pocket of my black pants. I take it out and read the text:

Hope the play went well! Call u tomorrow! XOXO Eve & Mal

I smile. I’m not sure if I’ll ever be as close to my New York City girls as I once was, but I know we’ll always be friends. And I have new friends here.

I gaze around the cafeteria. The cast and crew are clustered together, making goofy poses as Ms. Anderson snaps their photo. Arabella and Beau are
getting autographs from Mr. Hirsh, and Mom, Dylan, and Diana are all talking with Nurse Murray. The air in the room smells like sugar and punch. Outside, I know, the palm trees are swaying in the wind and the ocean waves are crashing against the shore.

Tomorrow, maybe, I’ll bat-shift out of the blue again. Or get annoyed at Dylan. Or worry that my mom will catch me drinking Sanga! That’s tomorrow, though.

Life isn’t always perfect, after all. But tonight, at least, it feels pretty close.

The bat on the windowsill began to transform. The wings disappeared and were replaced by long, graceful arms. The squat, furry body lengthened out and began to take on a human form. As I stared, my eyes growing wider, my pulse pounding at my throat, the big bat ears shrunk. Then, the tiny bat head began to morph into a human face. A
familiar
human face.

The face of Great-aunt Margo.

I clapped my hand over my mouth to silence my scream. All I wanted to do was run, but my legs wouldn’t work.

Please let this be one of those nightmares,
I prayed over and over.
Please let Mom call my name. Please let me wake up in my bed.

But I didn’t wake up. I stood there, trembling from head to toe. Finally, I was able to move. I spun around and tore toward my bedroom. With quivering hands, I shut the door and flung myself onto my bed, burrowing under my covers and trying to stop my teeth from chattering.

Did I really see that? Am I going crazy?
My mind was racing as fast as my heart.

I drew my knees to my chest and sat still in the darkness while the storm raged outside. All my life, I’d suspected that there were secrets lurking behind the ordinary, that there was more to reality than met the eye. And now, I had actual evidence.

The realization struck me all at once, as fast as a flash of lightning. It was so crazy, but so obvious that I couldn’t deny it.

My great-aunt was a lot more than just weird.

She was a vampire.

The Dead End
by Mimi McCoy

This Totally Bites!
by Ruth Ames

Miss Fortune
by Brandi Dougherty

Now You See Me …
by Jane B. Mason & Sarah Hines Stephens

Midnight Howl
by Clare Hutton

Her Evil Twin
by Mimi McCoy

Curiosity Killed the Cat
by Sierra Harimann

Ruth Ames was born and raised in New York City, where she still lives. She has written several best-selling young adult novels under another name. Growing up, she loved reading spooky books and imagining her apartment building was haunted. Though some of her family hails from Transylvania, she’s pretty sure they’re not vampires….

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Copyright © 2011 by Ruth Ames
Cover art by Katie Wood
Cover design by Yaffa Jaskoll

All rights reserved. Published by Scholastic Inc. SCHOLASTIC, POISON APPLE, and associated logos are trademarks and/or registered trademarks of Scholastic Inc.

First printing, November 2011

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eISBN: 978-0-545-38823-8