“What happened?! Tell us everything! Are you sure you’re okay?”
I retold the same version my mother shared with the police, including my clumsy trip into the ravine.
“You are so lucky you’re a bit of a klutz, Colby. I mean he could’ve killed you or worse!” Rachel’s eyes were as big as plates and I couldn’t help wonder what was worse than being dead in her eyes. Being Undead?
“She’s right, you know. Stumbling during a stunt just embarrasses you in front of the whole school, but stumbling down the hill
saved your life
!” They both nodded in unison.
I wasn’t that klutzy, was I?
“Why are you wearing sunglasses?” Marci demanded, trying to remove them. I shooed her hands away.
“Black eyes, I don’t want to gross you guys out.”
“It’s okay, we don’t mind. We’re your friends.” Rachel looked only too pleased to see my phantom injury but I held firm. What would they do if they discovered I was really hiding yellow eyes? I imagined Rachel’s first concern would be accessorizing with the appropriate matching shadow.
They didn’t stay long once they realized I had nothing new to share. I stood at the door, assuring them as they climbed into their car that I would see them later on.
“You’re not going to school tomorrow,” Mom announced, coming toward me.
“Why not?”
“School can wait a couple days until we figure out what we are going to do. How do you expect to go to class when you sleep all day? We have to go to the police station and make an official statement. No, no. You’re staying home for awhile.”
I still held the door open as I started to complain, “Mom, I can’t miss school. What about cheering? What about my classes? I have that college interview coming up, midterms to prep for. I can’t just hang out at home.”
“I’ll get your homework.” Piper surprised me by sliding through the door and greeting my mother with a container of baked goods.
“See? It’s all settled. Piper will get your schoolwork, cheering can wait, and you can go back to school when you are physically ready.”
I glared at Piper as Mom went back to the kitchen.
“Well, aren’t you helpful.” My voice dripped sarcasm.
“Good to see your ordeal hasn’t changed the sweet Colby we all know and love,” Piper retorted.
I sighed deeply. Piper was right—she was just trying to help and I was being a brat.
“I’m sorry, Piper. Thanks for offering to bring me my homework.”
Piper shook her head as though she couldn’t believe her ears. She even went so far as to try to clean them out with her finger.
“Ha, ha,” I said, smiling.
“Maybe you fell harder than we all thought.”
“Klutzy me,” I said with a self-deprecating smile.
“You’re not klutzy. If some nut job surprised me on the trail, I would have fallen down the ravine too. Just be thankful you’re okay.”
“Thanks. Do you wanna sit down?” Too late I remembered the sofa embedded in the wall.
She lifted an eyebrow. “Rearranging the furniture?”
“Uh, we had a little accident. Follow me.”
I led her into the kitchen, where Mom had left the plate of cookies on the table.
“Try these. They’re great,” Piper said, popping a piece in her mouth.
“Maybe later,” I said, eyeing them longingly.
“It wouldn’t kill you to eat a cookie now and then, Colby.”
Fat lot she knew.
“It’s not that. I just can’t seem to keep much down with my concussion and all. I guess it’s pretty common.”
“Dude, I’m sorry. That was real insensitive of me.”
I felt bad for lying to her but what was I going to say? Sorry, I can only have blood cookies, the chocolate ones make me hurl?
“Listen, I’ll let you get some rest.” She stood up from the barstool and started to back away when Aunt Chloe entered the kitchen.
“Colby, I have a friend who volunteers at the blood bank. I think I can get us a couple of pints to see if you can drink it out of the bag and then you won’t have to use those fangs your father made you.”
I froze. Piper froze. But Aunt Chloe just kept talking.
“He means well, bless his heart, but you can’t be expected to feed wearing that silly headgear. What would the other vampires say if they saw you? You can hardly defend your existence if everyone knows you don’t have real fangs, now can you?”
I was horrified. Aunt Chloe simply hadn’t seen Piper and there was no way I could explain away what she was talking about.
Aunt Chloe finally realized someone else was in the room with us.
“Oh, hello there. Are you one of Colby’s vampire friends?” To be fair, looking at Piper with her pale skin, lined eyes and many facial accessories, she made a pretty strong case for mistaken identity.
Piper wasn’t sure what to say. She stood there kind of gaping at me.
“No, Aunt Chloe, Piper is a friend from school. She lives next door,” I said.
“Oh, that’s just as well, dear. Do you really think it’s a good idea to go telling all your friends you’re really a vampire? You should probably keep it a secret.” She
tsked
at me, as though Piper knowing my true identity was entirely my fault, and left the room.
Piper and I looked at each other awkwardly. I didn’t know what to say and neither, apparently, did she.
“Look—”
“What—”
We both spoke at the same time.
“You go first,” I said, expecting all sorts of freaked-out questions and hysteria.
“What happened to your fangs?”
I blinked twice at her. Piper wasn’t freaking out and she seemed to take what my aunt said at face value.
Now it was my turn to be flustered. “Uh, well, I had them removed. When I was twelve. For braces.”
Piper nodded knowingly. My father was also her orthodontist.
“Why do you have to defend your existence?”
“I’m not licensed. You have to have a vampire license to be a vampire.”
“Why don’t you have a license?”
“Because I didn’t know I was going to become a vampire.”
“Makes sense to me.”
We both nodded in agreement.
“So, how’d it happen?” Piper finally asked and I started to laugh. Apparently,
nothing
fazed Piper. She joined in and we both sat down at the table and I told her the truth about my attack.
“So these guys just showed up earlier tonight and gave you a summons to go to vampire court? That’s really bizarre.” She sat across from me, munching contently on cookies and milk.
“I know, it’s like, hello? I didn’t ask to be Undead. Can’t I get off with a warning or something?”
“Do you think those other girls were changed into vampires too? Especially that last girl who said she was knocked down. Sounds a lot like your story, don’t you think?”
“Hey, I didn’t even think about that! When was she attacked?” I got up and checked the recycling bin that had last week’s papers in it.
“Here it is. Look, this last article has the days of the attacks. There. That’s the last attack. Wow, that was almost a week ago.”
“Maybe she needs to get her license too?”
I nodded in agreement.
“I wonder if there’s some way to find out who she is. They don’t list her name.”
“It says she goes to Newport. That can’t be too hard to figure out. Between both of us, we’ve got to know someone at Newport who would know.”
We both tried to think of anyone we could call but came up blank. Anyone sports-related I knew, I didn’t have their full name or contact info. Anyone Piper knew, she only had a nickname and didn’t know their real name. She did see people in chat rooms who might go to Newport but when she logged on at our kitchen computer, they weren’t online.
“I’ll just keep checking the chat rooms until I can get the scoop. So why are you wearing those sunglasses?” she asked me.
I took them off and explained about my skin and eyes.
“Too weird. How are you going to hide them? You can’t wear sunglasses in class, you know. For that matter, if you’re a vampire, don’t you need to sleep during the day?”
“Well, I am able to go out in sunlight, believe it or not. I’m going to try to stay awake during the day tomorrow. I was thinking I might be able to wear colored contacts.”
“Do you have any?” she asked.
“Yeah, I don’t need glasses but I have contacts to enhance the blue in my eyes. I just haven’t tried them since I changed.”
She jumped up. “What are you waiting for? Come on.”
We went upstairs to my bedroom and I tried the contact lenses. Piper was slowly doing the rounds in my room, mocking my shaggy pink bedspread and playing with my pom-poms.
“Cut it out, will you? How do they look?”
She walked closer to examine them.
“Still too light. They look bright green.” I guess when you mix yellow with blue you really do get green.
“You need those opaque contact lenses to completely disguise the yellow.”
I sat down at my vanity and started a list.
“Buy self-tanner?” Piper questioned.
“Yeah, I’m not walking around like some chalky zombie. I need my color.”
I continued with the list.
—new makeup to match complexion
“What else?” I said.
“I don’t know. What else do vampires need?” She started roaming around my room again, stopping at my window and peeking out.
“Uh, Colby. Who’s that?” she said, pointing.
I got up and looked. Standing in my driveway was my attacker. He was wearing the same clothes as the night he turned me into a vampire.
“I”—I cleared my throat—“I’m not sure. Do you recognize him?”
“Yeah, kind of. I think I’ve seen him at school. Just can’t seem to think of where. Detention? Or maybe he lives around here?”
I was trembling slightly so I moved away from the window and sat down on the bed.
“Are you okay? You’re not going to faint from lack of blood, are you?”
I shook my head to assure her I was fine, but I was anything but. My attacker knew where I lived and he was outside my house at this moment. I just didn’t know what to do.
“Piper, I just remembered I have to make a phone call. Do you think we could talk about this tomorrow?”
“Yeah, sure. No problem. And don’t worry, I won’t tell anyone. Promise.”
It just occurred to me that Piper would need to go outside to get home. Outside where my attacker was waiting.
“Thanks. Let me walk you home.”
“I don’t need an escort, Colby. I just live next door.”
“Yeah, I know, but I kind of want to get out of the house. Get a little cool air. Do you mind?”
“Oh. No. I guess not.”
We walked downstairs together and I braced myself to look out the window again before we left. There was no sign of my attacker.
I walked Piper home quickly and she promised to stop by after school with my homework. I breathed a sigh of relief when she entered her house safe and sound. I walked slowly around her yard, checking behind the large boat in her side yard, next to my house and peeking around the white picket fence that separated our properties. Satisfied no one was lurking, I crossed her driveway and entered my front yard. The scent of day-old bread filled my nostrils.
“I know you’re here. So come out all ready.” A slight breeze kicked up and a dog barked down the street. Other than that, it was quiet.
“Fine, you want to play games. We’ll play games. I spy with my little eye …”
He materialized behind me in a flash and touched my shoulder. I turned to face him.
“Someone who is dead.”
Six
“
H
ello, Colby. Surprised to see me?” He smiled in delight, like a child who was allowed to play with a school chum an extra hour.
I stood my ground and repeated “He can’t hurt me” in my head until I felt myself relax a little. He’d done his worst to me and I was still here, so I let go of the rest of my fear.
“Who are you and what do you want?” I was surprised how annoyed I sounded. At least I didn’t sound scared, which was how I thought it would come out.
“Oh, forgive me. Where are my manners? We have not been formally introduced.” He bowed with flourish, as though we were meeting in a renaissance courtyard and not in a modern-day cul-de-sac.