Vampire Lies (Blood and Snow Season Book 1) (9 page)

“We have to change into different clothes?” I hugged the copy of
Wuthering Heights
Miss Riplinger had given me like it was life support.

“Yeah, silly. Your gym clothes. Didn’t you do that at your other
school?”

“I was homeschooled,” I said, deciding to tell Abby the truth.
Sort of.

“Oh. That explains a lot.” She glanced down at my super high heels that were actually starting to pinch my toes.

“It does.” I followed Abby over to her locker and sat on the bench while she changed.

“I couldn’t quite figure out the doe-eyed look you had going on. I wondered if it was a way to get attention.” She shrugged off her shirt and kicked off her shoes.

“Oh. No.” I glanced down at the floor while she took off her jeans and put her shorts on. “Nope this is just me being me.”

Abby sat on the bench and dropped her shoes in front of her. “I thought so.”

A whistle blew. “Let’s go, ladies.”

“That’s Mrs. Hadley
. She’s our PE teacher. Come on.”

I followed Abby, thankful for the moment I didn’t have to get undressed. I was worried about what people would think if they saw my wing tattoos.

When we reached the door, a tough looking woman in polyester shorts, knee highs, tennis shoes, and a white shirt with a red collar blocked our exit.

“Who’s this, Ms. Jones?” The teacher looked from me to Abby and back to me.

“This is Jack. She’s new.”

A tiny smile lifted the teacher’s thin lips. “Nice. Now why isn’t she in her gym clothes?” Her small smile vanished and she glared.

“I-uh… didn’t know I’d be taking this class so I didn’t bring anything.”

She lifted her clipboard and wrote something. “Abby go into my office and
find her something to wear.”

“Yes, Mrs. Hadley.”

“And hurry up.” She walked out of the locker room.

My heart sped up. Could I change in a room by myself? Ask Abby to turn around?

Mrs. Hadley’s office was cluttered. A volleyball sat on top of a bunch of papers. There were trophies all along the dusty shelves and a picture of Mrs. Hadley with some man hung on the wall behind her desk.

Next to the door was a big cardboard box. Inside was a bunch of clothes. Abby bent over and started digging through it. “I’m sure we’ll find you something that isn’t too horrible.” She pulled out a pair of black shorts. “How about these?”

I shrugged. “Sure.”

She handed them to me.

“Here’s a shirt.” It was also black.

“And what should I do about shoes and socks?” I asked taking the shirt.

She looked down at my shoes. “Are you kidding me with those stilts?”

I shook my head. “No.” I looked at them. “They’re pretty, right?”

Abby snorted. “Oh yeah, if you enjoy wearing shoes that tear down a woman’s spirit.”

“Huh?” I lifted a foot, trying to understand what she meant.

“It’s nothing.” She laughed. “I have a clean pair of socks in my locker. What size shoe are you?” She went back to her locker and opened it. Took out a pair of white socks and a pair of tennis shoes. “These are size seven. Let’s hope they fit.” She glanced at my shoes. “Even if they’re too small, I’m sure you won’t feel a thing after wearing those.”

I sat on the bench. My heart raced so fast I thought I might faint. What would Abby say when she saw my back. Maybe I could change without her seeing. I turned so that I was facing her.
“Thanks for all your help.” I took off my shoes and looked around, wondering where I should put them.

“
Just toss everything in my locker,” Abby said, understanding.

“Okay.” I set my shoes at the bottom next to her ankle boots and then turned so that I faced Abby, unzipped my skirt and put on the black shorts. So far so good. I stood slightly and unbuttoned my shirt, pulling it off. Abby didn’t look away like I had. She took in my curves and my bra.

“Cute.”

“Thanks.” I tried not to look embarrassed. I picked up the shirt and went to pull it over my head.

Someone gasped. “That’s a big freakin’ tattoo.”

My shoulders slumped.
I should’ve known I wouldn’t get away with it.

Abby glanced in the direction of the voice. I’d spent enough time with Sydney
already to know the voice belonged to her.

“What tattoo?” Abby stood.

I put my back against the lockers and quickly pulled the black shirt over my head.

Sydney came over.
Abby gave me a strange look.

“Are you old enough to have a tattoo?” Sydney asked.

“I’m almost sixteen.”

“Where is it
?” Abby asked, looking surprised.

“It’s on her back. A tattoo of wings
.” Sydney spun me toward Abby. “Check it out. The new girl is baaaaaad.” As she spoke she lifted my shirt.

Abby gasped. “Wow, it almost looks real.” She lifted my shirt higher.

Blood rushed to my face. I was mortified.

“Can I touch it?” Abby asked. Her voice was a whispered awe.

My mortification gauge flew off the chart. “Sure.” I swallowed.

“Me too?”

I hung my head. “Yep.” No point saying no. I had a feeling if I didn’t let them check it out now, they’d bug me later and later there might be more people around.

“Whoa, the outline almost feels like real feathers.” Abby traced
the outline with her fingers.

“
It does.”

“What in tarnation
is going on in here?”

The three of us jumped.
Abby and Sydney helped pull my shirt down.

Mrs. Hadley had her hands on her hips
. “Let’s go, ladies.”

I quickly put my shoes and socks on. Then went through the door Sydney and Abby had already followed the teacher through.

Chapter
13

Gym class
was easy after the show and tell with Abby and Sydney. Troy, the boy who’d smacked me in the forehead with the door, was also there.

“Small world,” he said, running past with another guy.

“Yeah.”

Mrs. Hadley blew her whistle. That meant we needed to gather around. I followed after Abby. At first I worried she or Sydney would treat me differently.
If anything, my tattoo seemed to have upped my coolness factor.

When Mrs. Hadley called Sydney and Troy up to be the captains in a game of volleyball, Sydney picked me first.

Troy seemed disappointed. “I wanted you, Jack.”

I felt my cheek heat up. “No you d
on’t. Trust me. I don’t know how to play volleyball.”

“What?” Sydney gave me an evil glare. “You
’d better stay out of the way then.”

Coolness factor back to zero,
I thought.

Once teams were picked, we went to a net. The first set of people rotated in. That meant me. Troy was in the back serving. The ball went over the net and over my head and landed on the floor in front of another girl. 

“That was yours, Jack!” Sydney shouted.

I thought maybe it should’ve been
the other girl’s, but I didn’t know the rules to the game. “Sorry,” I said.

Our team rotated so that I was no longer in the middle but on the right. Troy served the ball again. This time it went right to Sydney. She put her hands together, bent her knees slightly and bumped the ball in the air. The
n the girl standing in the middle tossed the ball in the air.

“Spike it,” she yelled in my direction.

The ball was coming down fast. “I don’t know what that means,” I said, but copied what Sydney had done and bumped it over the net.

The girl in the middle looked at Sydney. “Why’d you pick her?”
She shook her head in disgust.

Sydney
made a face. “Shut it, Bree.”

Coolness factor has now reached a negative ten.

I was glad the person on the other team didn’t knock the ball over, which meant a point for us, until the other team rotated. The girl had seen our team’s weakness, aka me, and she served the ball right at my face. I backed up a little and tossed it in the air the way I saw the other girl do it.

Bree
glared disgustedly, jumped in the air, and slammed the ball over the net. “Spike it,” she yelled, walking over. She stood several inches taller than me, but I wasn’t intimidated. I’d contended with ogres. Bree would have to get a whole lot scarier before I showed any sort of emotion. Except amusement. I smiled.

But at least now I understood, to a degree.
After that, I didn’t’ miss a ball and by the time class had ended, each team had won a game.

After class was over, I walked behind the others toward the locker room.
Abby was talking to a friend, and I didn’t want to interrupt.

Troy jogged over. “You’re a fast learner, Jack. And damn, you can spike.” He gave me a
fifty-megawatt smile. 

“Thanks.”

“If you ever want tips, let me know. Volleyball is my favorite summertime sport.” His green eyes twinkled.

“I just might.”
I wanted to ask why summer, but he smiled and took off toward some guys.

It seemed that guy was always running somewhere.

***

After
PE, I had Homeroom. Abby helped me find the class. It was basically just a ninety minute block of time set aside to do homework, read, or do what most students did, which was talk or mess around on their cell phones.

I
pretended to read
Wuthering Heights
and tried not to eavesdrop. But it was so easy with my vampire hearing. And listening to them talk was interesting. Really interesting. They were so… mature and immature at the same time. They talked like they lived their own lives. Then would talk in the next breath about curfews, allowances, and family trips. It was weird. And amazing. I couldn’t get enough.

When the class ended, it was time for lunch.

I tried to remember how to get to the cafeteria, and on more than one occasion I got lost. The school was huge.

It was frustrating. Irritating. I wanted to scream with rage.

“Hey, are you okay?”

In front of me
was a cute couple holding hands. Somehow they looked familiar. They felt familiar. Even smelled familiar. I gave them a closer look. “Do I know you?”

The guy shrugged. “Don’t think so. We’re new. Just moved into town.”

“So did I.”

They gave each other a quiet look.

“I’m trying to find the cafeteria.”

“Yeah, I think it’s this way.” The girl smiled. She had short red hair, green eyes, and a friendly smile.

They moved down the hall. I followed, trying to push away the strange feeling the two of them brought.

The guy was tall and had dark hair. I hadn’t seen the color of his eyes
, but he was handsome. Just as the girl was pretty. They looked like they belonged together. Which was strange. Why was I even thinking about them like that? I didn’t know them.

The guy
pushed one of the swinging doors open. The girl walked by, kissing him on the cheek. “Thanks, Peter.”

He patted he
r cheek. “Anything for you, Zoe.”

Peter and
Zoe. I didn’t know anyone in Sharra by those names. I hadn’t met anyone at school with those names either.

“Thank you, Peter.” I said as I we
nt in. “I’m Jack.”

“Oh?” The look on Peter’s face suggested he didn’t believe me.

Zoe gave me a big smile. “Nice to meet you, Jack.”

“Let’s eat.” Peter walked toward the long line of students.

I hung back. “No thanks. I’m not hungry.” If I got any closer to the human food I’d puke.

A strange look, almost like approval appeared on
Zoe’s face. “Okay, well see you around.” They walked away, hand in hand.

I stared after them, strangely unsure of the immediate connection
I felt for them. I figured it was probably because they were new to the school, same as me. I knew they could relate to my apprehension. Except they didn’t seem all that worried. In fact they appeared to be right at home.

Sydney b
ounced over. “Hey, who are those two?”

“More new kids
.” I glanced at Sydney. “Their names are Peter and Zoe.” I studied them.

“Oh. Cool.”
She took me by the arm. “Come with me. I want to introduce you to everyone.”

“Wait.” I searched the noisy cafeteria for Abby or the guy I
met earlier, Cam. I couldn’t find either of them in the sea of faces.