Northanger Alibi

by Jenni James

  “What are you ordering?” Cassidy asked me under her breath. “I was thinking maybe soup and salad?”

  I tried not to giggle. “That’s where I was headed.”

  Our waitress came by and took our order. The Hadleys wouldn’t allow my sister and me to just order starters, no matter how un-hungry we proclaimed ourselves to be. After we placed our orders, they made us choose a meal, too. We both settled on the cheapest thing—roasted chicken.

  The soup and salad were so good that by the time the rest of the food came, my mouth was watering. All at once, I didn’t care how much was being spent on me. The food was amazing. Cassidy and I both dug in—in a very ladylike way, of course. We were halfway through our meals before I looked up and saw Tony resting his head on his hand, pushing his salmon and prawns around his plate with his fork. It didn’t look like he’d eaten any of it.

  “Hey, are you going to eat?”

  He was so startled by my question, he dropped his fork against the plate. “Oh, you noticed?”

  “Yeah.” Was I not supposed to?

  He sat up and smiled a quick, short smile, then looked down at his plate. “Uh, well, I don’t think I’m feeling that good, actually.”

  “Are you sick?” I was worried.

  Tony glanced up, looking surprised. He must’ve realized I was concerned, because he straightened up and collected his fork. “Hey, no worries. I’m all right.” He stirred a chunk of salmon around in a thick, creamy sauce before he brought it up to his lips. I didn’t miss his slight hesitation before he opened his mouth and swallowed the whole thing without chewing.

  Oh my gosh, he is sick!

  His head snapped up, and he looked right at me. He studied my features intently for a moment before he mumbled, “You know, I think you may be right. I think I am sick.”

  His mom heard him, and she snickered across the table loud enough for everyone to hear. “You? That’s impossible.” Then, for Darlene’s benefit, she loudly whispered, “Anthony has never been ill a day in his life.”

  Tony’s eyes were still focused on me. Looking down, I could feel his stare on the top of my head. It was so weird.

  What’s he thinking? Why is he staring at me? Look at Cassidy or Nora or the view outside, for crying out loud.

  I took another bite of my dinner, but the food had lost its flavor. I washed it down with a gulp of the restaurant’s famous spring water.

  “Sorry.”

  I glanced up and saw Tony leaning toward me.

  He shifted nervously in his chair, then said again, softly, “Sorry.”

  “F–for what?” There was something going on here that I didn’t understand.

  “For staring at you just now. I didn’t mean to make you uncomfortable.”

  Okay, now I was uncomfortable. How perceptive is this guy, anyway?

  “Very,” he muttered.

  “Excuse me?” I gasped. Had I said that last thought out loud?

  Tony jerked back like I had slapped him. “Uh—very.” He looked around nervously, then shook his head and grimaced. “Look, I’m very sorry, okay? That’s all.”

  Oh, he’s very sorry? For a minute there I thought he’d . . .

  I looked back up. He was staring at me again, watching me intently. His eyes were lighter than any brown eyes I had ever seen before, and they simmered with emotion.

  Holy cow.

  That’s when it hit me—spinning five hundred feet in the Washington sky—and everything clicked into place.

  Anthony Russo was a vampire.

  Four

  My Own Twilight

  “Are you out of your mind?” Cassidy nearly shouted, loud enough to rock the cottage while she paced in our bedroom later that night.

  “Shh!” I hissed, instantly regretting that I’d told her about Tony.

  “Claire, you can’t go around declaring that people have sold their souls to the devil and not have me freaking out! What gave you such a crazy idea, anyway?”

  “Vampires are not evil. They don’t—”

  “They’re blood-sucking people who feed off other life forms, mainly humans! Living, breathing humans. How is that not evil?”

  She was blowing this way out of proportion. “Look—”

  “No, you look. This is ridiculous. You’re ridiculous. Oh my gosh!” She whipped around and headed straight for the bed where I sat. “Please tell me you haven’t told anyone else about this. Please, please, please tell me I’m the only one who knows you think Tony Russo is a vampire.”

  I rolled my eyes. Like I’m that stupid. “Of course you’re the only one who knows. Come on, give me a break.”

  “Claire. Do you have any idea what type of ‘break’ this would be for our family if word got out you were accusing the son of the director of Northwest Academy of being a stupid vampire?”

  That was it. She’d gone too far. “Vampires are not stupid, Cassidy!” I stood up and glared at her. “And excuse me, but I believe I would know if I met one or not.”

  She walked over to her bed and collapsed. “Are you kidding me? You actually believe in them? Them? As in, you think there are more? Ugh. And I thought this babysitting thing was going to be easy.”

  “Of course I believe in them. Vampires are real, Cass.”

  “Why me?” She rolled over on her side and stared at me before she shook her head. “Claire, fine. You win. I’m sure—I’m positive—that there are some pretty sick people in this world. Even sick enough to drink human blood. So in a sense, they’re vampires. But if you think for one minute that—”

  “But Stephenie Meyer says—”

  “Stephenie Meyer? Is that what this is all about?” Cassidy sat up and rolled off the bed. In two seconds, she was rummaging through my side of the dresser.

  “Hey!” I ran over to her, but I was too late. She had already found my Twilight book. “What are you doing with that?”

  “This is a book, Claire. A book. This isn’t real.” She shook it above her head for emphasis.

  I jumped up and tried to get it, but she was taller than me. “I know that. What do you think I am, a baby? Duh. Everyone knows Twilight came from a dream.” I jumped again and snagged the sleeve of her pajama top, pulling her arm down with it. “Give me my book.”

  Cassidy sighed and released her hold, letting me take the book from her. “Do you really know it’s not real, Claire?”

  “Yes.” I stomped over to my bed and set the book carefully on the nightstand.

  “Then what makes you think Tony’s a vampire?” she asked warily as she headed back to her bed.

  I sat down and shrugged. “Everything.”

  “And?”

  I crossed my legs. “Okay, did you happen to notice how he knew what I was thinking?”

  “Uh, no. I must’ve missed that.”

  “Did you feel how strong he was? He felt like steel.”

  Cassidy’s eyebrows shot up. “Wait. You touched Tony’s muscles?”

  “Yeah. And he’s a whole lot stronger than he looks.”

  “You touched his muscles? When did this happen?”

  “On the Ride the Duck tour. Why?”

  “Well, where was I?”

  “Right next to him.”

  “Oh.” She blinked and then asked, “So this is what makes you think he’s a vampire—he’s strong? And he knows what you’re thinking?”

  “And he wouldn’t eat his food, because he said he was sick. Except, then his mom said he never gets sick.”

  “And because he was sick, you concluded that he was a vampire?” I could tell my sister thought I’d totally lost it.

  “Yes, because being sick was just an excuse not to eat. Vampires don’t like to eat regular food. And . . .” I fiddled with my hands.

  “And?”

  “And he stared at me a lot.”

  “Oh my gosh,” Cassidy mumbled under her breath. “Are you for real?”

  “Yes, Miss Know-it-all, I am.”

  Cassidy started to giggle.

/>   “Ha ha. Very funny.”

  She laughed harder.

  “You know I’m going to prove you wrong, right?”

  Her laughter turned to snorts. Very stupid-sounding pig snorts, I might add. It wasn’t funny. “I will prove you wrong!”

  She fell off the bed. My sister was literally rolling on the floor laughing. And she thought I was the idiot.

  “You know, you can stop now,” I decided to add after another minute of listening to her hilarity.

  “I know!” She gasped. “But—but—b–b–but it’s j–j–just soooo fu-nnyyy!”

  “Ha ha.” I got up off my bed. “You know, knock yourself out, okay? Have a good li’l party down there, thinking all about Tony being a vampire.” She burst into more laughter. “I’m gonna go wash this gunk off my face.” I pointed to my makeup in case she was watching. She wasn’t. With a huge sigh, I stepped over my lunatic sister. Then I walked into the bathroom and slammed the door behind me. Peals of laughter vibrated off the walls, and I willed myself not to roll my eyes again. I will prove her wrong. Tony Russo is a vampire, and I know it.

  I waited until Cassidy had calmed down completely before I ventured into our room again. She was reading Twilight, propped against her pillows and the headboard.

  “Hey, that’s off limits.”

  She smirked. “Just brushing up on my vamp knowledge. I’ll give it back when you need it.”

  Like I need it. I practically had the thing memorized. “Don’t worry. Go ahead and use it. You’ll need it.”

  She snapped the book shut.

  Ooh. That got to her.

  “So, what are you going to do if he lures you away from everyone else and bites you?” she asked with a smirk.

  “I thought you were through.”

  “So did I!” She giggled and raised her hands in a defensive pose. “Okay, okay. I promise I’ll stop now, okay?”

  “Promises, promises,” I mumbled, then climbed between the sheets and turned off my lamp.

  Cassidy’s lamp was still on. It illuminated her bed and made her light blonde hair glow like a halo around her head. She set the book on the nightstand, and I watched her climb down to say her prayers.

  Sheesh. I totally forgot. Grudgingly, I pushed the covers off and knelt on the floor by the bed. My bare toes wiggled against her sock-covered ones before I started my prayer.

  Cassidy had gotten back in bed and turned off her lamp before I’d even finished. I had a lot to thank the Lord for. She would’ve started laughing again if I gave her a rundown of my silent prayer, so I kept it to myself.

  She waited until I was all snuggled in before she asked, “You know what I think it really was?”

  “What what was?” I asked.

  “All those signs with Tony.”

  “Yeah, what about them?”

  “Well . . .” I heard her roll over in her bed to face me. “I’ve been thinking about it, and I think he likes you.”

  I turned on my lamp. “What?”

  “I’m serious.” She smiled. “Why else would a guy let you feel his muscles?”

  “He didn’t let me feel them. I—”

  “And why else would he be watching you all the time?”

  He was worried I was onto him?

  “Or why else do you think he was too nervous to eat in front of you? So much so, it made him sick.”

  Now it was my turn to snort. “Whatever, Cass.” Like I’ve ever made a guy too nervous to eat in front of me. “Probably because he doesn’t prefer to eat food.”

  She ignored that. “I also think that’s why he knew what you were thinking.”

  “Because he likes me?” Is she high?

  “Yeah, because he was really into you and watching your reactions and stuff. It let him know what you were thinking.”

  “Oh, puh-leeze!”

  “You are pretty easy to read, you know.”

  I leaned over and turned off the lamp. “You need to get some more sleep. Obviously, you’re still jet-lagged.” I sounded calm enough as I said it, but I had to wonder if my heart could still beat properly at the speed it was racing. Holy cow. Could Cassidy be right? Could Tony be into me? No way. Just the thought of finding my own Edward nearly drove me over the top. And to think, it’s all happening in Washington!

  ***

  The next morning I awoke bright and early, eager to get a start on the day. Despite my crazy dreams and only sleeping half the night, I was amazingly refreshed and full of happy energy. The night before, the Hadleys had mentioned to the Russos that we’d hoped to go to church while we were in town. Our new friends were quick to tell us the direction of their building and the time the service started, so we were all set to go to service with them.

  I couldn’t wait. It was amazing what twenty-four hours could do to a girl’s outlook toward a family. It was like Cassidy and I had done a complete one-eighty. The more I thought about the Russos, the more excited I became.

  Once I chose the perfect skirt and top, I headed into the bathroom and primped and curled and beautified myself to perfection. By the time my sister crawled out of bed, I was already downstairs eating a bowl of Grape-Nuts in the kitchen with Roger.

  “Hey, sleepyhead,” I said after Cassidy groggily acknowledged my presence. “Did you have good dreams?”

  “Don’t even get me started about the crazy vampire dreams I had last night.” She pulled a bowl out of the cupboard and plunked it on the counter.

  Roger looked surprised. “Vampires, huh?” he asked around a crunchy mouthful of cereal. “Is that what girls dream about these days?”

  “Only certain bloodthirsty-type girls,” Cassidy answered, throwing me a withered look.

  “Yep.” I grinned back. “Cass is about as bloodthirsty as they come.”

  “Really?” Roger’s eyes got wide. “I’ll go see how Darlene’s getting along, okay?” He glanced at my sister. “We’re going to leave in about thirty minutes.”

  Cassidy gave me a look before she smiled sweetly at Roger. “Don’t worry, I’ll be ready. I’ve just got to put on my makeup and get dressed, and I’m good to go.”

  I could just see the wheels turning in Roger’s head as he imagined her showing up at church all Goth. He nodded once, then got out of the kitchen fast.

  “The poor guy—I think you scared him,” she said as soon as he was out of earshot. “Now he thinks I’m some vampire lover.”

  I smirked as I put my bowl in the sink. “You sure you don’t want to be? I could ask Tony if he’s got a cousin.”

  “Funny,” she murmured as she stepped up to the counter and filled her bowl with cereal. “So, do you still plan on proving to me that Tony’s a vampire?”

  “Yep.” I crossed my arms and leaned against the sink. “How much do you want to bet I’m right?”

  “I don’t make stupid bets,” she answered smugly as she poured the milk. “Besides, I don’t need to bet. I know I’m right.”

  “Fine. How about, if I find out Tony’s a vampire—”

  “He’s not.”

  “If I find out he is, then you’ve got to tell Mom and Dad you’re going with Ethan.”

  “What?” She nearly spilled her cereal as she walked over to the kitchen stool.

  “Ooh! Are you worried?” I smiled.

  “No.” She set the bowl down. “Whatever. Then, when you find out I’m right—”

  “Which you’re not.”

  “When you find out I’m right, you’re going to kiss him.”

  I gasped. I was glad my bowl was already in the sink, or it would’ve shattered on the floor when I dropped it. “Are you serious?”

  “Worried?” Cassidy smiled around her spoon.

  I grinned back. “Bring it on!”

  Five

  May the Best Man.....no GIRL, Win!

  Tony wasn’t at church. His mom said it was because he was sick—which Cassidy was quick to rub in—but I was positive they were just saying that to make his ploy look good.

  So,
I was bummed, more than I should’ve been. I hadn’t realized quite how excited I was to see him again, or how much my day would be affected when he wasn’t there. Maybe it’s love? Hmm. I didn’t know. I wasn’t sure how you were supposed to feel when you were in love. But my heart did beat like crazy every time someone mentioned his name—which wasn’t enough, in my opinion.

  I spent most of the service craning my neck to look behind me. I admit it. It drove Cassidy nuts, too. My mom would’ve probably given me the evil eye, but nobody else seemed to mind. Part of me hoped that once Tony was all alone in the house, he would get bored and tired of pretending to be sick, and he would come to church anyway. If he was a true vampire, he’d be able to run here so fast, no one could see him.

  Oh my gosh! Maybe that’s it! Maybe he’s already here watching me, like when Edward was watching Bella in the woods. I spun around and sat up straighter, my eyes alert.

  “What are you doing?” Cassidy whispered. “Will you pay attention to the sermon, please?”

  Now that I thought about it, I did feel someone watching me. “Hey, look around. Do you see Tony somewhere?” Just in time, I remembered to whisper.

  From the way my sister looked at me, I thought she was going to have a cow. “What? Why would I see Tony?” she asked.

  I picked up the hymnal and covered my mouth with it. “Because I feel like someone’s watching me.”

  “Well, duh! You’re acting like such a dork, fidgeting around like that, you’ve probably got the whole congregation watching you.”

  Yeah, right. I rolled my eyes and banged the hymnal shut. Everyone turned around and looked at me. Dang.

  “I’m gonna die of embarrassment right now,” Cassidy muttered as she scooted farther away from me on the bench. “Could you be a bigger spaz?”

  I slid down next to her and raised the hymnal again. “You know what? I don’t care what you think,” I whispered.

  “Claire. Tony Russo is ill, okay? He did not fly with his super bat powers—”