Vyck

"Favorite food?"

"I don't know."

"Favorite movie?"

"Probably You've Got Mail."

"Favorite animal?"

"Why? So you can not eat it?"

Gryffith had found me on the sidewalk immediately after my mom dropped me off at school and was pelting me with questions about Emma. I had none of the answers.

It had been a busy weekend for me. Half of it I spent dramatically not killing vampires and sitting around police stations. The other half I spent doing homework and trying to convince my parents that I did not need counseling. It was an unsuccessful few days all the way around.

"I don't eat animals usually. I try to find people."

"See, that's just super disturbing, Gryffith," I said. "I was not looking for a run-down of your lunch menu!"

"Mac 'n Cheese today," he said.

"Is Mac a person?"

Gryffith grinned at what he thought was a joke. I was totally serious. I was also mad because mac 'n cheese was one of my favorites and now all I could think of was someone's face melting into cooked elbow noodles.

"Let's do this later," I said, brushing him off and hurrying through the front doors of the school building.

I knew I had to find out more about Emma or Gryffith would run out of use for me. That would leave him with only two options (assuming he could count that high): stop giving me information about vampires or just kill me straight out.

Neither seemed much worse than having to spend time with Emma, but I had to keep my priorities lined up. Kill vampires. Everything else was secondary, really. 

"I see you survived the killing."

Zack had fallen in step with me.

"Who told you?" I asked.

"You're here aren't you? Anyway, spiders are pretty nasty business, so I wasn't that surprised when I didn't hear from you all weekend."

Right. I might have lacked some bravado in attempting to kill a spider in the library, but I wasn't sure cluing Zack in on the almost-vampire-murder was worth the small amount of dignity I lost over the arachnid. 

"Yeah, sorry. Phone died."

"Chris wants me to remind you about band practice tonight," Zack said. "And please fix your phone because you know he starts calling me when he can't get through to you. I don't even know why because I don't see that much of you anymore either."

"I'll be there, I promise," I said.

"Sure you will."

We took our seats in biology where Mr. Vandewalle spent much of the period trying to explain mitosis to teenagers who did not care at all. I would have cared but I was too busy passing notes to Zack (who actually did care). 

What would you think if I became a vampire?

He gave me an inquisitive look and passed the note back to me.

Thought you were trying to kill them...

I am. Have to be one to kill one.

It took a while to get an answer back from him because he started taking notes about cellular whatever. When he finally slipped it back to me I suddenly felt bad for ignoring him so much lately.

Always side-effects. Do your research.

Of course. Why had that not occurred to me? Surely there were side-effects - maybe psychological? Zack would naturally think things like this through. Good little geek-freak friend of mine. I made a mental note to ask Chris to stop calling him, but the bell rang before I could save the note in my mental file cabinet. 

Zack stayed back to ask Mr. Vandewalle something so I walked to history by myself. Gryffith intercepted me along the way.

"What perfume does she wear?" He asked. "It smells like sweat pea, but I can't tell."

"I'll find out - but hey, I have some questions for you!"

Suddenly he got rather defensive.

"You haven't answered any of mine all morning. I'm not answering yours." 

I couldn't argue, so I just sneezed loudly and when I recovered he had disappeared.

I sat next to Emma in history class - she was wearing a purple sweater with kittens on it. I wanted to puke but I was rolling my eyes too hard.

"I think we should hang out," I finally managed to mutter to her.

"I'd like that!" she said. "I was really hoping we could be friends! I know we got off to a rough start."

"Great, let me know when works best for you," I said. She smiled showing both sets of teeth. I was a little disappointed that her bottom teeth were as straight as her tops ones. 

Eventually, I found myself sitting outside the counselor's office thinking about all the things I was dreading: band practice, hanging out with Emma...And of course, whatever was about to go down with the counselor.

The door opened and a skinny, sallow boy walked out. I felt like I had seen him before but could not place his face. He moped past me, his swollen, red eyes glancing at me for less than a second. Surely my parents didn't think I deserved the same session time as this poor guy.

"Erin? Why don't you come in."

Miss Carol escorted me into her lovely office. Emma would have spent five minutes at least pointing and cooing at the pretty pictures and the porcelain rabbits lining Miss Carol's desk. I did not.

"I've read your file and I had a talk with your parents, but I want you to know that this is a safe space and you can tell me anything."

"I don't think so," I said.

"Erin, I know what it is like to be a girl your age. There are so many pressures put on us and it can be hard to cope with. I am here for you."

"I appreciate the gesture, but I don't think you can relate here." I didn't intend to sound harsh, but I probably did. Surprisingly, Carol met my guns with a few of her own.

"Try me," she said with more curtness that I would have thought her mousy little voice could exude. 

I knew this was not going to be pretty. Deep breath.

"I found out that the girl who died a few months ago was killed by a vampire and that there are more vampires at school and in our town than anyone knows about. One of them is trying to date a girl I know and she doesn't know so I'm using her to get information from him about vampires in town so I can kill them. I tried killing one of them last weekend but it didn't work and now everyone thinks I'm crazy." I think that covered most of it. I didn't see the point of dragging Zack or the band into any of this. "I'm not doing drugs," I added for good measure.

Carol seemed to be having trouble exhaling and, not knowing what else to do, I handed her a tissue.

"That's, um. Most of that was not really in your file..."

She looked at me and then began using the tissue to clean off her glasses, sniffling a little.

"Do your parents know?" she asked.

"Nope. And you can't tell them."

"No, I know. Safe space. Safe..." I could tell she wasn't sure where to go from here.

"Since it's clear I'm not doing drugs like that other kid who was in here before me, do you mind if I go?" I asked. "This is sort of a waste of both of our times."

Carol blinked and then said, "Yes, Ok. Yes. Well ... uh. Just come back on Wednesday and we'll talk again."

I showed myself out. The corridors were empty. So was the parking lot and the lunch patio. But someone was walking along the sidelines of the football field and through the dusty windows I could barely make out who. But I had my suspicions. 

It took me several minutes to get onto the field. He was still there, meandering behind the bleachers.

"Hey you!" I called. He stopped and turned. His frail figure seemed even smaller in the sunlight. As I came closer I knew - I'm not sure how, but I did.

"Erin," I said, nodding to him.

"Vyck."

"Hi," I said. I was huffing a little to catch my breath and he waited for me to finish panting.

"I think you're a vampire," I blurted. I needed to work on my presentation...

He smiled sort of lopsidedly. "Sure, whatever."

"Don't go!" I said as he turned away. "Please, I just... I just want to talk."

"I've got nowhere to be," he said, lazily. I had. Band practice. I had to make this quick.

"I want to talk with you, maybe tomorrow?"

"Whatever," he said again.

"It's just that, I want to become a vampire," I said, still trying to explain myself to the receding figure. He stopped.

"No, you don't."

Turning and around and pulling his lips back like a five-year old would, he displayed his teeth and I realized why his smile was lopsided. For a vampire, he was missing a very important part of the package. Something, or someone, had pulled out his canines.

To be continued...