Tenth Grade Bleeds (11 page)

Vlad resisted rolling his eyes, but it wasn't easy.

Snelgrove clasped his hands behind his back and twitched his nose—all the rat was missing were whiskers. “I should suspend you both.”

Vlad stiffened in his seat. That was the last thing he needed. But he wouldn't have to fret about it for long, because Nelly was going to murder him. If anyone could prove that the Pravus could be killed, it was an angry guardian who found out he'd been suspended for making out in a broom closet at school instead of learning about the joys of worm dissection. He sank down in his seat and silently hoped for a miracle.

“Detention. Both of you. That much is obvious and warranted. Thank your lucky stars I'm such a kind and forgiving individual.” Snelgrove slanted his little mouse eyes. “I'll be calling your parents, Ms. Brookstone, absolutely. And Mr. Tod, you can bet your bottom dollar that your guardian and I will discuss this situation at length.”

Vlad wasn't aware that he had a bottom dollar, or even a top dollar for that matter, but he did know that he'd like to be cremated, if at all possible, once Nelly heard from Snelgrove. It seemed like a nice blending of human and vampire funerary traditions.

Snelgrove seemed to be waiting for them to speak, but neither did. Vlad mused that he'd like Henry to give his eulogy.

“Ms. Brookstone, you'll have detention this Tuesday and Thursday for two hours after school. Mr. Tod, your detention will begin today after school, and continue on Wednesday.” Snelgrove snorted before waving them away. “And I do not want to see a repeat of this type of behavior in the future. Am I clear?”

Meredith mumbled, “Yes, sir.”

Vlad simply held the door open for her in silence. He wasn't about to give ol' rat face the satisfaction of a reply.

Plus, he couldn't exactly focus on there actually being a future anyway, what with his imminent demise on the horizon.

The remainder of the school day passed by in a haze of homework assignments, headaches, and an assortment of mind-numbing quizzes—all of which seemed to be pop quizzes which were pretty much like the regular quizzes except that when they were given, they made your eyeballs pop out of your head and explode. By the time the final bell had rung, Vlad had mentally prepared his last will and testament. He decided to bequeath Henry his video games. And, if she survived her own set of parental wrath, he'd leave Meredith his favorite hoodie and every last one of his books.

Speaking of Meredith . . .

Vlad looked up and down the hall but didn't see her anywhere. Maybe her parents had picked her up early. Or maybe she was avoiding him, for fear of more detention-inducing kisses. Or not. Vlad highly doubted he was that irresistible.

He dropped his physical science book inside his locker and sighed before grabbing his backpack and slipping his homework inside. When he closed the door, he nodded to Henry, who'd been high-fiving him since he'd heard about his and Meredith's closet adventures. Vlad's hand was practically slapped raw, and he blushed every time Henry did it. Whoever had invented the Neanderthal celebration of the high five needed to be dragged out into the street and slapped to death by someone with elephantitis of the hand.

Okay. That might be a bit extreme. But Vlad wasn't exactly feeling celebratory at the moment.

He slunk down the hall through the thinning crowd to the library, opened the double doors, and went inside. He stopped the passing librarian and said, “Excuse me. I'm not sure I'm in the right place. I'm here for detention.”

The librarian, Mrs. Moppet, smiled warmly and pointed to a table near the computer section. “Right over there. It looks like you'll have company today.”

“ Thank you.” Vlad moved to the table and stopped in his tracks before dropping his backpack on the table. He sighed, low and loud, resisting the urge to swear really loudly at the predicament he was in. Not the thing with Meredith or how Nelly was going to kill him when he got home. Oh no. What had Vlad's stomach in knots was . . . his company.

Eddie Poe threw him a glance, and Vlad would have guessed that Eddie was just as displeased about sharing a detention if it wasn't for the eager glint in Eddie's eyes.

The two sat in stony silence until Mrs. Moppet joined them a few minutes later. “Well, boys, it looks like it's just the three of us today. Principal Snelgrove had an afternoon appointment that couldn't be missed.”

Vlad imagined that that appointment included a stop at the cheese store, but he kept his humor to himself, allowing only a small smirk to crack his features.

Mrs. Moppet said, “I trust you boys can keep it down to a dull roar over here while I finish cataloging some new books? You can do homework or study, if you'd like. I'm not really sure what the principal had in mind.”

As she walked away, Vlad and Eddie exchanged bewildered glances. Eddie looked just as surprised as Vlad felt. Present company excluded, this looked to be the most pleasant detention ever experienced by mankind. Further proof that librarians should run the world—or at least be in charge of detention at Bathory High.

Vlad pulled his new leather notebook from his backpack and began a new journal entry—nothing even remotely vampiric, on the chance Eddie caught a glimpse. Instead, he wrote about him and Meredith, and just how much he'd enjoyed their stolen moment. He left out his urge to bite her and made a mental note to write that in later, in private.

The entire time, he could feel Eddie's eyes on him.

Vlad shot Eddie a look of irritation. “Don't you have something better to do than stare at me?”

To his immense surprise, the corners of Eddie's mouth rose in a smirk. “I was just thinking . . . it's pretty amazing how well you blend in with humans.”

Vlad's stomach sank. His fingers fumbled over the pen he was holding and it tumbled to the ground, but he didn't bend over to retrieve it. He held Eddie's gaze in fearful surprise. Maybe it was stupid, but he had really thought Eddie would have let go of that whole Vlad-is-a-monster thing by now.

He parted his lips to offer up his usual protest, but Eddie shook his head with an air of confidence that made Vlad squirm. “No need to deny it, Vlad. I'm quite convinced that you're not human. And after some long nights of research and watching you . . . I think I know what you are.”

Vlad's heartbeat picked up its pace, and he had to struggle to calm his panicked breathing. “Why are you doing this, Eddie? You used to be an okay guy. But now . . . you're just obnoxious.”

Eddie tightened his jaw. “I wasn't an okay guy. I was a loser. But I'm done being a loser, Vlad. And if you get hurt on my way to becoming a winner . . . well, that can't be helped.”

Vlad shook his head. “You're not a loser, Eddie. You're not what people say you are. You're whatever you make yourself out to be.”

“I wish that were true. But it's not.” Eddie shook his head sadly. Eventually the corner of his lips rose in a small smile. “Luckily, I've found the road to success. It's paved with your secrets.”

Vlad stuffed his notebook inside his backpack angrily. “You'd better back off, Eddie. I'm getting really tired of all of your bizarre theories.”

Eddie chuckled. “I can't believe I didn't see it sooner. Your pale skin, the way you always bring your lunch to school . . .”

Vlad's heart was racing in panic. Eddie knew. How could he know? Somewhere, somehow Vlad had royally screwed up, and now this determined little weasel knew what he was. He stood up and threw his bag over his shoulder in a frightened huff. He was leaving detention early, and he'd happily deal with the consequences, no matter what Nelly or Snelgrove or anybody else had to say about it.

Eddie leaned back in his seat, arms crossing his chest, not so much as a thread of doubt weaving through his soft-spoken words. “You're a vampire, Vladimir Tod. And I'm going to expose you to the world.”

Vlad didn't think. He reacted with all the anger, hurt, and shaking fear that was coursing through his veins and pushed into Eddie's mind, shoving the boy back as far as he could. He slipped out just in time to watch Eddie tilt back in his chair and hit the floor, whacking his head against wood. Eddie yelped. Vlad all but ran out the door.

As he pushed open the front door of the school, he noticed that his hands were trembling. He wasn't sure what he was more afraid of—that Eddie knew that he was a vampire or that he'd wanted to hurt Eddie far worse than he had.

He brushed the threat of tears from his eyes, shoved his still-shaking hands into his pockets, and headed for home.

H
ENRY DROPPED HIS VOICE to a horrified, but confused, whisper. “A knife? Or a dagger?”

They'd been talking the entire walk to school about Vlad's recent rash of nightmares. Doing so had somehow brought Henry out of his weird shell, something that Vlad was enormously grateful for. Maybe Henry had been flaking out lately, but when Vlad needed him, his drudge was there. Vlad had told him all about Eddie's accusations last week, and Henry had been absolutely sympathetic. Things seemed completely back to normal.

Vlad wrinkled his forehead in uncertainty. “What's the difference?”

Henry shrugged, as if it were obvious. “One's for eating; one's for stabbing.”

“I don't . . . know. It was a blade, double-edged with a cylindrical handle. I think it was ivory or bone or something.” The image of the weapon glinting in the candle's low light flitted through Vlad's imagination, sending a shiver down his spine.

“ That's a dagger. No question about it.”

“Whatever. Anyway . . . then he stabbed me in the thigh. But the weird thing is, before I woke up, my leg
really
hurt.”

“Huh.” Henry pulled the door to the school open and held it for Vlad. After they entered, he said, “Are the nightmares always the same?”

“Pretty much.” Vlad hesitated, then moved down the hall, offering Henry a one-shouldered shrug. “Well, I mean, it's always some guy torturing me with a knife—”

“Dagger.”

“
Whatever.
Like I was saying, the dreams are about a guy torturing me with some
dagger
—”

Henry smiled.

“—but not always the same kind of torture.”

Henry was quiet until they reached their lockers. His insightfulness was astounding. “Dude. That's messed up.”

Vlad bit his bottom lip for a second. If it were anyone else, he wouldn't even consider sharing his theory. But this was Henry. “Do you think maybe it could be a glimpse of the future or something?”

Henry seemed to mull this possibility over for a moment, then shrugged. “Weirder things have happened. At least, they have to you.”

He punched Vlad lightly in the shoulder. “But Vlad, who would want to tie you to a table and torture you? Aside from Snelgrove, I mean.”

After exchanging brief glances, they sighed simultaneously and said, “D'Ablo.”

Henry tossed his backpack in his locker rather roughly. “Man, what is that guy's problem, anyway? It's like he got picked last for dodgeball when he was a kid and is taking it out on you for the rest of your life.”

Vlad shook his head and reached for his health book. “I don't know. He mentioned some ritual last year, some crazy idea of how he could become the Pravus by killing me. Otis and Vikas both said he was nuts, but just in case, they're looking for the ritual pages he spoke of.”

Henry closed his locker and twisted the lock. “No offense, Vlad, but your life sucks.”

Vlad sighed and muttered, “ Tell me about it.”

Henry nodded and gestured behind Vlad with his eyes. Vlad turned and met Eddie's crooked smile with a glare. Eddie raised his camera and snapped a picture. He'd been photographing Vlad at every opportunity since they had detention together, no longer bothering to lurk in the shadows. It was getting really, really annoying.

Luckily, Nelly had been understanding about why Vlad had ditched detention that day and explained to Snelgrove that he had been feeling under the weather. But that didn't stop her from grounding him for two weeks after the little closet meeting with Meredith. His prison sentence was lifted as of this afternoon, and he wasn't about to have it ruined by a close encounter of the obnoxious kind.

Vlad squeezed the book in his hands. “Eddie, when are you gonna knock it off and leave me alone?”

Eddie smirked, looking somewhat anxious. “When are you just going to admit what you are?”

Henry stepped between them, looking Eddie in the eye. Offering a nonchalant shrug, he said, “What, a vampire?”

Vlad's heart stopped. He was pretty certain he'd died of shock and that only the aid of his locker was keeping him in a standing position.

Eddie looked almost as surprised as Vlad felt.

Henry put an arm around Eddie's shoulders and coaxed him away from Vlad. “It's not exactly a secret that Vlad's the equivalent of a giant mosquito, Eddie. In fact . . . he's not the only one. The whole school is full of them. And you're their next meal.”

Eddie had grown even paler than Vlad was. Henry whipped open a classroom door and shoved Eddie inside, closing the door behind him.

Vlad threw Henry a glance. “What the hell are you doing?”

Henry smirked. “Just trust me, Vlad. Maybe we'll scare some sense into the little weasel. Nobody messes with my friend.”

“When did you set this up?” Whatever
this
was. Vlad cast a nervous glance at the door after Eddie's screams echoed into the hall.

Henry shrugged. “Dude. I'm a McMillan. It's not like it takes a lot to get people to help me out. Especially when it comes to messing with a worm like Eddie.”