Vampire University (Book One in the Vampire University Series) (12 page)

"A gay
person
, not a gay. Gay is not a noun. And I'm not your little anything. Just because you popped out first does not change the fact that I'm taller than you. And no, it's not a perfect metaphor. I just think it's something that can't be helped. It's not right or wrong, it just is. And it can't be cured."

"Can't it?" asked Eric. "I seemed to be pretty well and cured. I should write a book.
I'm Ex-Vampire and So Can You!
I'll be rich. There's my consolation prize in all this."

"Let's not jump to any conclusions. This could all be temporary. I don't really think you want to stay this way, do you?"

"I... dunno... no. I feel... weak. Stupid."

"Well, that was always the case. I'm talking about the vampire thing," Joseph said, nudging his brother playfully in the arm with his fist.

Eric gave a weak attempt at a smile.

"I may be the thick one, but you were always the weakling," Eric countered.

"No and also, no. You are forgetting that I'm a full inch taller than you. I could take you in second."

"Well, now you could. But only because you can cheat."

"Oh please. That's always how I've won. This doesn't change anything!"

"This... But Joseph, what is this?"

"Whatever it is, Eric, you know we're in it together. We always have been. Since the day we were born."

"As humans or as vampires?"

"Both. All of the above. Always."

Joseph slid closer to Eric and this time his brother did not move away from him. Joseph put his arm around his brother and pulled him close. Eric did not resist this time and let his head fall onto Joseph's shoulder.

"So what are we going to do, little brother?" Eric asked.

"I think you should just focus on surviving school right now. It just got a lot tougher. Let me see what I can find out from Hannah. I'll tell her that I cleared your memory, so you just need to need to act like it. Lay low. Study."

"Whoa, there buddy. Let's not get carried away. Lay low, I can do. Lie, I can do. But studying is where I draw the line. You're just going to have to glamour all my homework for me. It's the least you can do."

"The least," said Joseph, gently squeezing his brother's shoulder.

Neither of them spoke any further. Neither of them had what they would have considered easy lives, but as twins they always felt fortunate to have each other. In these moments they felt safe. Connected. There was nothing that could be said that would change how they felt about each other. Nothing that needed to be said.

-12-

"So, the eyes," said Taylor off-handedly as she and Hannah walked towards their first freshman orientation class.

"Hm?" said Hannah, who had been cheerfully humming as she walked.

"The eyes. What was up with Eric's eyes? I saw something before. Like a shadow. Especially when he was trying to... thrall me?"

"Enthrall. Thrall is what you are in when you are enthralled. Get it? A vampire will ENthrall you to put you IN thrall. He was trying to enthrall you. Make sense?"

"I guess so. I mean, at least grammatically. So en... enthralling does something to your eyes?"

"Oh not at all," said Hannah matter-of-factly. "You were just seeing through the glamour. Glamours generally work on everyone, but vampires... well, vampires and you, apparently, are more... aware of them. You can see the cracks in the seams as it were. When you saw the shadows in his eyes, you were simply noticing his actual eyes and not the glamour."

"Wait, so he doesn't have blue eyes? I knew they were too dreamy to be true."

"Did you just say dreamy?"

"Ew," Taylor said quickly. "No, I mean, yes, but... ew. That is definitely not how I feel now. Ew."

"Well, I'm sure dreamy was what he was going for, so no need to beat yourself up over that. But no, his eyes aren't blue. They're black, in fact. They say your eyes are the window to your soul. I don't know about that, but they are your best clue to a person's true identity. It is the weakest part of a personal glamour, so always look at the eyes."

"So does that mean..." Taylor stopped short with a gasp.

Where Hannah's normally unassuming brown eyes had been, Taylor saw solid black, with nothing distinguishing the pupil from the rest of the eye. It was just uninterrupted black.

"Okay, stop that. Put it back," Taylor said after taking a moment to overcome the shock. "It's creepy."

"Gee thanks. I'm sorry my appearance is so unsettling for you. But I didn't do anything. Apparently, you are quite perceptive."

"Sorry, I..."

"Look, it's no big deal. It's weird. I get that. See, the trick to seeing past a glamour is simply knowing that it's a glamour. If you know exactly what is behind the glamour, it's even easier, but just knowing that it's a glamour can be enough to unravel it. Since you correctly surmised that my eyes are black, you were able to see right through it. Congratulations!"

The combination of Hannah's smile and her midnight black eyes was completely unsettling to Taylor and she made a point to look very intently around her at the buildings, the sidewalk, the cars and passersby, and anything but Hannah's face.

"Still creeped out, huh?" Hannah asked.

"No, it's just..." Taylor said, at a loss for words.

"No, it's just yes. I get it. You can still see the glamour. It's still there. It's all about seeing what you want to see now. The truth or the lie. You can pick."

"How?"

"Well, it can take a little practice but you seem like a quick study."

They reached an intersection where the crosswalk sign was red, but the traffic flow was light and the pedestrians around them continued to cross. Hannah held out her hand to stop Taylor as she began to step into the street. Hannah pointed at the light.

"Really? I think it's safe to cross," said Taylor.

"Rules are rules," replied Hannah. "We have to respect them. We, especially. Let the humans break their little rules. You should always follow them. Always."

"Um, okay..."

"I mean it, Taylor. There are those who are watching for people like us to make exceptions of ourselves. There are keepers of order. You do not want to be the exception."

"Well, isn't everyone else crossing right now? By following rules that everyone else isn't, aren't we being exactly the exception we aren't supposed to be?"

"Huh," said Hannah. "Alright, smarty-pants. We can cross."

"Thanks Mom," replied Taylor. "Light's green anyway."

Taylor hurried to keep a step ahead of Hannah. She felt deeply uncomfortable looking at those eyes and wanted an excuse to not make eye contact.

The building they were headed to was just on the other side of the street. Their classroom was on the first floor and easy to find as there were several sets of double doors all labeled with the same room number. As they entered, Taylor realized that she had been picturing a high school classroom, with rows of a couple dozen desks. This was nothing at all like what she had imagined. This was more like a movie theater, with each set of double doors opening up to its own aisle with rows upon rows of cushioned seats all arching around a low stage and a movie theater-like screen.

There had to be hundreds of seats, if not thousands, Taylor guessed, though only dozens of students scattered about among them.

Hannah, as Taylor might have predicted, marched straight for the front row. Taylor would've preferred a seat far less distinct, maybe halfway back and a little to the side, but Hannah was as forward with her seat selection as she was with her introductions. Resigned, Taylor followed close behind and sat next to her.

"How is sitting in the front row not being the exception? We're the only ones up here," Taylor whispered to Hannah, careful not to make eye contact.

"Sitting in the front row is perfectly normal. There's no reason to not be exceptional, just because we're not being the exception," Hannah whispered back.

"That... that makes no sense," replied Taylor, looking around to
confirm
that they were the only ones sitting in the front row.

"Sure it does," Hannah said confidently and pulled out her notebook.

She wrote very neatly in the top corner:

Hannah Cohen

FROS 101 - Freshman Orientation

And then, at the top center of the page:

NOTES

"Do we really need to take notes for this class? Is this even actually a class?" asked Taylor.

"Well, we are in college now, hon. Time to start building good habits!"

"Right. Can I, um, borrow a piece of paper? And, a, um... pen?"

"I see we definitely
have some building to do!"
Hannah said while handing Taylor a notebook and pen.

"I'm not usually this unprepared. I've just had a lot going on."

"Oh, I know," Hannah said, patting Taylor reassuringly on the shoulder. "I bet being a student is the last thing on your mind right now. But don't lose focus! We have plenty of time to get you adjusted to your... situation. But class won't wait!"

"Guess not," Taylor said glumly.

"This seat taken?" said a voice from behind them.

Taylor turned to see Joseph pointing at the empty seat next to Hannah's. All Taylor could pay any attention to were his eyes, however. They were black as Hannah's. Taylor felt a chill run up her spine and shivered noticeably.

"Are you... okay?" Joseph asked.

"Oh she's fine," Hannah said. "It's just your eyes. Here, have a seat."

Hannah patted the seat next to her invitingly and Joseph accepted her invitation.

"My eyes? What's wrong with them?"

"Oh nothing, dear," Hannah reassured him. "She just can see them."

"Oh," he replied. "Sorry about that."

"Oh there's nothing to apologize for! You know how it goes. Adjustment period and all."

"Right," said Joseph.

"Yeah, no big deal," added Taylor, making a point to stare straight ahead.

Never mind the small matter of his brother trying to eat her last night, she thought.

"You'll be able to turn it off with practice," he said leaning towards her.

"That's what I hear," said Taylor, stiffening a little as he got closer.

Seeing her discomfort, he leaned back in his seat.

Looking over at Hannah's paper, he asked, "Are we supposed to take notes?"

"Well we are in college," Hannah replied. "Let me guess, you didn't bring any note-taking materials either. Lot going on, right? It's a good thing I come prepared. Here you go."

With that, she produced another notebook and pen for Joseph.

"Yeah, prepared enough for a crowd, it appears," said Taylor.

"That's me!" Hannah agreed.

"Alright everybody!" came a voice booming from the back of the room.

Taylor turned to see
the same older man who had barged in on them their first night at the pizza dinner walking up the aisle. Taylor's heart sank.

"There are several hundred seats and about fifty of you," he continued loudly as he walked. "So of course being the little snowflakes that you are, you all have to sit in such a manner as to be as equidistant from your neighbors as possible. Must be individuals right?"

He slammed the binder he was carrying on the podium at the front of the room.

"Equidistant. As in equally distant. Meaning you are too spread out."

"He sounds fun," said Joseph in a whisper to Hannah.

"So if you will kindly take the hint and come occupy the first three rows, I would be most obliged. I am sure you will enjoy the company of Mr. Chatty Chat-a-lot here in the first row who so clearly feels that he deserves to be the center of attention that he has the nerve to both occupy the front row and then chatter away as if he selected the back."

Joseph slumped in his seat, clearly embarrassed.

"Yes, I am talking about you, sir. What is your name?"

"Me?" asked Joseph, pointing to himself.

"No, the other gentleman in the front row," the man replied sarcastically.

"It's, uh, Joseph."

"And...?" the man said after staring back at Joseph for what seemed like several minutes.

"And... I'm from Boston?"

"What a fantastic piece of historical trivia, Mr. Joseph. I will be sure that it is included in your biography. Consider that perhaps when I ask for your name, I in fact want the entirety of your name and not half of it with added backstory."

"Yeah, he's real fun!" Hannah whispered to Taylor, except she sounded sincere where Joseph was sarcastic.

Taylor waited for the teacher to scold her as well, but he didn't seem to notice. Taylor remembered breakfast where Hannah had mentioned using a glamour to hide their conversation and wondered if this is what had just happened here.

"Joseph Evans, sir."