This Totally Bites! (8 page)

Emma-Rose?

I blinked.

He called me Emma-Rose?

“Thanks,” I choked out, then turned away again, my mind reeling. It was the first time Henry Green had ever spoken my real name.

But I couldn’t focus on Henry now. There were more urgent matters at hand.

Like the fact that, in less than a week, my life would be changed forever.

A blur. That was the best way to describe the days leading up to Halloween.

On Sunday, every time I tried to read
The Vampyre,
I became so nervous about the Nocturne Ritual that I had to set the book aside. Next, I wrote a half-apologetic, half-angry e-mail to Gabby, but couldn’t work up the courage to send it. Finally, I drew some sketches that may or may not have included Henry Green’s face.

Monday morning, I was awakened by my cell phone’s beep. It was a text message from Gabby, but to my disappointment, she wasn’t writing to say she was sorry. She had sent the coldest message in the history of texting:

Won’t b picking u up.

Fine by me! I texted back, pressing the keys so hard I almost broke my phone.

Fine, Gabby responded, just to get in the last word, I’m sure.

I fumed as I wolfed down my sausages. When Mom and Dad asked me what was wrong, I told them Gabby and I had had a “misunderstanding” and left it at that. I didn’t want to burden my parents with my Gabby issues, considering they’d soon have a full-fledged vampire living under their roof.

Will I be a danger to them?
I wondered as I walked to school with Dad, keeping a safe distance from him on the street. I couldn’t possibly bite my own parents, could I? Or maybe I would try to, and they’d have to lock me in a cage, like Great-aunt Margo’s bats.

And if I become nocturnal,
I thought as I blindly waved to Dad and walked into West Side Prep,
will I even be able to go to school anymore?

I realized that, soon, my fight with Gabby would seem like small potatoes compared to my new problems.

At school, Gabby and I avoided each other, which was easy to do since we had no classes together. In the classes I had with Padma and Caitlin, they
looked at me with cautious expressions and said, “I hope you guys make up soon!” and “Stuff will be so awkward if you and Gab stay mad at each other!”

At lunch, I solved the problem for everyone by walking right by their table — Gabby pretended to be very involved in her tofu stir-fry — and sitting with Zora, Janie, and Matt from student council. I threw myself into discussing plans for the dance, trying to put out of my mind that Other Big Thing I’d be doing on Friday night.

I wasn’t too surprised when Gabby skipped that afternoon’s student council meeting. She missed out on Henry calling me Emma-Rose (again!) when he took attendance. Even Ms. Goldsmith looked a little surprised. That was the only sign, though, that Henry gave of our Saturday encounter. He was silent for most of the meeting, and so was Ashlee. She seemed run-down and stressed. Zora, Matt, Janie, and I did most of the talking. Matt told everyone how he got permission to borrow the skeleton from the science lab, and I asked people to bring in apples to fill up the cauldron.

Tuesday and Wednesday passed in much the same way. The amazing thing was that, despite my fuzzy state of mind, I was still all about the new
Emma-Rose. It seemed my abilities were actually sharpening the closer I got to my initiation. In gym class, I was still serving and spiking with incredible skill, leading Coach Lattimore to pull me aside and ask me if I would consider trying out for the volleyball team.

But I couldn’t share any of these random victories with Gabby. This was the longest we’d ever gone without talking, and it felt beyond strange.

Late Wednesday night, I was lying in bed, thinking about Gabby, and how I might lose
all
my friends once I became a creature of the night. (Though would I gain new fanged friends? I wondered.) Suddenly, I heard a key unlock the front door. I sat bolt upright. Mom and Dad had both gone to bed hours ago.

I slipped out of bed and peered into the hallway. Sure enough, Great-aunt Margo was gliding toward the guest room, her suitcase in hand. She didn’t notice me.

In the moonlight coming through the windows, I saw that she looked less pale than usual.
What kind of
spa
had she been to?
I wondered. An oasis for vampires, complete with gourmet blood drinks and luxurious bat caves to sleep in? And would I go to that spa, too, when my time came?

I went back to bed and tried to stay awake to listen in on Great-aunt Margo’s activities. But sleep pulled me under. I had the nightmare about the glowing eyes again, and this time the terror seemed all too real.

It’s Thursday,
I realized when I woke up in a cold sweat.
Student council meeting.
No wonder I’d had the nightmare. I wanted to text Gabby and tell her, but I didn’t feel ready to reach out yet.

Still, I found myself hoping I would bump into my former BFF in the halls at school. During lunch, I sat with my student council friends, but I barely listened as Janie described the spooky sounds she’d downloaded to her iPod for the dance. When I glanced over my shoulder, Caitlin and Padma waved to me, but Gabby ignored me, stabbing at her salad with her fork.

When I walked into student council, I was startled to find Gabby in her usual seat in the back. Without looking at her, I took my usual seat, too. After I’d pulled out my notebook and pen, Gabby leaned over my notebook, like old times.

I think you’re being immature,
she wrote in her neat, precise handwriting.

I let out a huff. The nerve!

ME?
I wrote back. You’re the one who’s turned all our friends against me.

I SO HAVE NOT!
Gabby responded, the tip of her pen bleeding into the paper as her cheeks turned bright pink.
You’re choosing not to sit with us at lunch!

I snatched up my pen to write back when Ashlee called out a halfhearted “Order!” and listlessly tapped her gavel against the desk.

I couldn’t help it; I glanced at Gabby, and she glanced at me, too. I knew that, despite our fight, we were wondering the same thing: if the strain of being president/princess was starting to take its toll on Ashlee Lambert.

Looking frail — but still managing a sneer in my direction — Ashlee reminded us that the dance was tomorrow, and then asked Henry to take attendance. I sat up straighter, eager for Gabby to hear Henry speak my name. But Henry, sitting in the front row with his legs stretched out in front of him, didn’t get up.

“I’ve been thinking, Ashlee,” he said. “Do we really need to take attendance at every meeting? If someone can’t make it once in a while, is it that big of a deal?”

Murmurs and whispers darted through the classroom — the sound of another rebellion in the works.

Ashlee looked horrified. Once again Ms. Goldsmith mentioned the “democratic process” and asked everyone to vote on whether or not they wanted attendance taken. The only people who voted yes were Ashlee and me.

So attendance didn’t happen, and Ashlee seemed so shaken up by this change that she adjourned the meeting early and flounced out with Eve. People cheered, eager to enjoy the afternoon. As I picked up my book bag, Henry appeared by my desk.

“Hey,” he said to me.

“Oh, hey,” I said, tucking my hair behind my ears and feeling my face turn warm.

“I just, uh, wanted to thank you,” Henry said with a quick smile.

“For what?” I asked, rolling my pen back and forth between my fingers. I could practically
feel
Gabby trying to listen in.

“For inspiring me to stand up to Ashlee,” Henry replied, his smile widening. “It’s easy to forget that she doesn’t rule the seventh grade, you know?”

I nodded, glad that Henry found me so inspiring. But was he going to keep on pretending that Saturday had never happened?

“So, are you … you know, ready for tomorrow?” Henry asked, dropping his voice.

“Yeah, sure,” I lied, fighting down a pang of nervousness.

“Okay.” Henry looked dubious. But he shrugged and put his hands in his pockets before wheeling around and walking off to meet Roger.

As soon as he was gone, Gabby tapped me on the shoulder. “What was
that?”
she whispered, her eyes huge with curiosity.

Part of me was bursting to tell her, but there were too many people around. Plus, I was still worked up from our note-writing battle.

“Nothing,” I said coolly, standing. “You wouldn’t believe me, anyway.”

That night, it was just me and Dad for dinner. Mom and Great-aunt Margo had to stay late at the museum to prepare for the opening. As I pushed my pasta around my plate, Dad asked me what I was going to be for Halloween. (He and Mom didn’t know that I’d be making an appearance at the gala.)

I realized that in all my obsessing over the Nocturne Ritual and my transformation, I hadn’t picked a costume for the dance. There was no time now to prep for my Goth Hermione look. So, after dinner, I ransacked my room for other options. As I shook open my book bag, out fell two items: One was the crumpled-up confession I’d written to Henry in the library. The other was the pair of plastic fangs from Gabby.

I stood in my room, holding my letter and the fangs, and I realized that the obvious answer had been there all along.

I would dress up as myself.

Friday dawned damp and gray — perfect Halloween weather. I put on the outfit I’d planned on wearing to the gala: my black satin skirt and ruffle-front purple blouse. Since it was a West Side Prep tradition to come to school in costume, I slipped the plastic fangs in my mouth. They felt natural in there, as I knew they would. I added white powder to my cheeks to make my face even paler, put mascara on my lashes, and drew two lines of red lipstick from my mouth to
my chin. I tied a black ribbon around my neck, and then looked at myself in the mirror.

I was — and wasn’t — surprised at how much I resembled Great-aunt Margo.
Better get used to it,
I told myself, baring my fangs at my reflection.

“Yikes! A vampire!” Dad yelped when I entered the kitchen. He clutched his chest and pointed at me, a goofy smile on his face.

“It’s okay, Dad, I’m not six years old,” I said, putting down my heavy bag of decorations. “I don’t take Halloween that seriously anymore.”

Unless it involves an ancient vampire ritual.

“But you look very convincing, Emma-Rose,” Mom said, handing me a glass of cranberry juice. “It’s too bad Margo left for the museum already and couldn’t see you like this! Did you know that there are all sorts of vampire legends in the town she comes from? Well, the whole region we’re from, really. Isn’t that funny?”

I looked at Mom. There was a whole lot I could have said in response but I decided to drink down my juice instead.

School was a maze of ghosts, superheroes, werewolves, pirates, and princesses. Ashlee Lambert
was, fittingly, one of the princesses, complete with a sparkling tiara and a pouffy pink ball gown. Eve and Mallory were dressed as angels, which made me snicker. And Gabby, Caitlin, and Padma were all dressed as faeries, which totally annoyed me. There were a few other girls dressed as vampires, but as Zora — dressed as a ladybug — pointed out during lunch, none looked as authentic as me.

There was only one boy dressed as a vampire, and I bumped into him on my way to science class.

“You didn’t,” Henry told me, his jaw dropping as he took in my fangs, powdered face, and fake blood.

“You
didn’t,” I responded, taking in
his
fangs, black cape, and fake blood.

“Hey, I had this costume planned way before last Saturday,” he laughed, holding up his hands. He glanced over his shoulder and took a step closer to me. “Are you gonna wear your costume to the … you-know-what?” he whispered.

I shook my head. “Hopefully, I’ll have time to wash off the blood before —”

“‘Sup, Dracula?” Roger called, coming up to Henry. I took that as my cue to leave and walked away, wondering if Henry was still going to help me set up for the dance.

After the final bell, Zora, Janie, and Matt helped me carry all the decorations to the gym doors. Then my new friends dispersed, promising that they’d try to get out of their commitments in time to come and pitch in. Feeling heavyhearted, I assured them it was okay. Then I lifted up two of the bags and walked into the empty gym alone.

“Happy Halloween,” said Gabby.

She was sitting on the bleachers, hugging her knees to her chest. Her expression was very serious — well, as serious as someone can look when their cheeks are dusted with gold sparkles and they have fake antennae on their head.

“What — what are you doing here?” I blurted, setting down my bags in shock.

Gabby stood up, her golden faerie wings fluttering. “Did you really think I wouldn’t come help you?” she asked softly.

I shrugged and glanced down at my black flats. “Well, last week you said …”

“I said a lot of things,” Gabby admitted. “Things I didn’t mean.”

I looked back up at Gabby, who was making her way down the bleachers. Was she actually apologizing?

“Me too,” I replied. I remembered the cruel things we’d said last Friday and felt a swell of regret. Seeing Gabby here, now, made me realize how much I had missed her.

“I like your costume,” Gabby said, smiling slightly.

I felt the beginnings of a smile, too. “Thanks. I think it’s all about the fangs.”

Gabby shook her head. “They were a thoughtless present,” she said.

“No,” I protested, feeling my throat tighten. “I just didn’t appreciate them at the time.” I realized that I’d been so quick to lash out at Gabby, when she’d been trying to help me, in her own way. “Your costume’s nice, too,” I offered, gesturing to her gold-sequined tank, black jeans, wings, and antennae.

“Caitlin and Padma totally ripped off my idea,” Gabby said, rolling her eyes. “When we got together to plan our costumes last night, all I could think about was how much more fun it would have been with you.” She looked down, biting her lip.

My eyes welled with tears. “Were you miserable this week, too?”

Gabby looked up at me, teary-eyed. “Totally,” she replied, her voice wavering.

All of a sudden, I realized how silly we had been, fighting with each other. Nothing could change the fact that we were best friends. Not even my being a vampire.

Gabby must have realized the same thing because she stepped forward and threw her arms around me. We hugged tight, both of us half crying, half laughing.