Laeddin smirked. “Something like that.” A set of keys appeared in his hands.
I chugged the remaining blood until it was gone. Usually I drank it warm, but cold wasn’t bad. I could’ve had more, but a quick check inside the refrigerator revealed there wasn’t any left. “You’re driving?” I asked, giving him a sideways glare. “Wouldn’t it be faster to do your magical disappearing and reappearing thing? You know, poof.”
“Of course it would be faster but it might alarm the humans.” He opened the door.
“Oh, right.” I’d forgotten that in the human world magic wasn’t real. “I wish you were going with me. It’d be nice to know one person in the school.”
Laeddin chuckled. “Is that an actual wish? Because it would be awkward, but your wish is my command.”
I covered my mouth and swallowed down my worry. “Oh my gosh. No. You’re right. That wasn’t an actual wish.”
He seemed relieved. “Good.”
We walked outside. Sitting directly in front of us on the circular driveway was a gleaming white Mercedes.
“Hot,” I said climbing in the passenger seat.
After he got in and the engine roared to life, I turned and looked at him. “You called me Princess? What’s up with that?”
He glanced at me as he pulled forward. “It suits you… Princess.”
“I don’t like it,” I told him, leaning back in the leather chair.
Laeddin turned, his face alight with mischief. “All the more reason I’ll continue to call you Princess, Princess.”
“Ugh.”
Laeddin smirked. He did something with the shifter and the car lurched forward, down the driveway. Laeddin flipped a knob on the left of the steering thing as we came to a stop. A large silver truck flew past us. It honked and roared down the street.
“I’m guessing one of your uncle’s kids.” Laeddin turned left and we followed the truck all the way to the high school.
Chapter 10
The school was big, bigger than the castle. Laeddin dropped me off at the front of the school. “I’ll be back to pick you up at two thirty.”
I climbed out of the car. “Thanks. See you later.” I watched him drive away. All my senses were heightened. New smells—weird smells—assaulted my nose. And there was so much noise. The sound was like a flock of sea birds. Dozens of human students swarmed past. They went up the stairs and through the front door. I turned, trying not to wobble in my heels, and made my way up the stairs. Inside the air became denser, probably from all the bodies. Straight ahead was an open area with hallways breaking off to both sides. Ahead there were two sets of double doors, with a staircase to the right of the doors.
“Are you lost, honey?” A guy with short black hair and skin much darker than mine bounced in front of me. His face was friendly. Dark eyes sparkled and his smile took up a large portion of his face. He was wearing a hot pink button up shirt. It wasn’t tucked in, but hung loose. His shoes were blue with a hot pink streak. Both of his ears were pierced and diamond studs covered the holes.
I couldn’t stop staring. He reminded me a little of Zenny.
“Hey,” he snapped his fingers.
“Where is the office? I-I, uh am new.”
He gave me a look. “Yeah, I figured.” He took my hand. “Come on. I’ll get you there.”
I froze, surprised by his friendliness and shocked by the smell coming off him. It was like a bouquet of copper, rust, and sweet thick… I smelled his blood. Laeddin had given me human blood for breakfast. I didn’t know whether that was a good thing or not. I guessed it was his way of showing me I could get blood without drinking from animals. But I had to go to school with the humans. They weren’t food. At least not if I wanted to be normal.
My fingers had a death grip on the guy’s hand.
“Hey.” He was giving me a strange look.
“Sorry. Thanks.” I relaxed and followed him.
“It’s alright. Don’t be scared. Most of the kids here won’t bite.” He glanced back while walking and smiled.
I returned his with one of my own. But couldn’t help thinking that the humans might not bite, but I did. At the thought of his blood hitting the back of my throat, my mouth watered. When I saw Laeddin again I was going to give him a serious piece of my mind.
“My name is Cameron, but you can call me Cam. What’s yours?”
“Jasmine,” I responded before I really thought about it. The name on my transcripts said Jackie Ryder, which was the name Laeddin game me. They were fake, of course. But I couldn’t come out and say I’d been going to school in a fairytale land called Sharra where my teacher was a vampire, and that I drank the blood of unicorns and ogres for sustenance. Nope that wouldn’t go well with my wish to be a normal teenager.
So I was from Las Vegas. I went to public school for a while and then I was homeschooled and taught by tutors. It was kind of true. Also, my mom and dad worked in the entertainment industry and liked their privacy.
“Well, it’s actually Jackie but I like the name Jasmine.” I tried not to blush, fiddling with my backpack straps, and readjusting my skirt.
Cam smiled bigger. “I like it, but I might have to call you Jack.”
“Jack. Why?”
Cam’s eyes shone with happiness. “You look like a Jack.”
“I do?” I thought Jack was a boy name. I shrugged. “I guess that’s fine.”
Cam squeezed my hand and pulled me along as he turned right. The sign above the door said OFFICE.
Cam walked me over to the tall counter. A gorgeous girl with blonde hair and bright blue eyes sat behind the desk. “What’s up, Cam?”
“Hey Sydney.”
Cam turned to me. “This is Sydney. She’s the student aide during first period.”
“Hi,” I said and waved.
Cam went on, “This new girl,” he pointed to me, “has been caught in our web of evil and is here to attend our scary school.” He did a faux laugh, like a villain.
Sydney snickered. “What’s your name?” She gave me a once over.
This time I was prepared with the correct name. “Jackie Ryder.” I glanced at Cam.
He slapped his palm on the counter. “We’re going to call her Jack though, because it suits her.”
“Okay.” She pressed some letters on a machine and then stood. “Be right back. You need to speak with the counselor, Mr. Butters.”
Cam gave me a horrified look.
“What?” I asked after Sydney walked away.
“Mr. Butters is crazy and he looks even crazier.”
I giggled nervously and pulled at my hair. “Really?”
“He’s looks like Einstein.”
“Ohhhh,” I said, even though I had no idea who Einstein was. And that had me worried.
“You’ll be okay though. Just don’t look at him for too long or you might turn to stone.” He patted my hand.
When I gasped, he laughed. “I’m totally kidding.” Then his face grew serious. “Don’t test the theory though.”
“Right.” I couldn’t tell when Cam was serious or joking. He kept bouncing back and forth.
Sydney came out of the office behind the desk with a man wearing a green bow tie, a blue, green, and white plaid shirt, and tan pants. His hair was thick and white like the driven snow. He had bushy salt and pepper eyebrows and a matching mustache.
“See?” Cam whispered.
I nodded. If that’s what Einstein looked like, he must’ve been a character.
Mr. Butters came around the desk. “Hello, Jackie.” His voice was crackly and had an accent.
I took his hand and shook, knowing that was a human custom. “Hello.”
Mr. Butters wrinkled his nose, which made his thick mustache move like a caterpillar. “Let’s go into my office and we can discuss which classes will work best.” He motioned for me to follow him.
I cast a glance at Cam, who shrugged. “Have fun, Jack. I’ll look for you at lunch.” He turned and walked out.
> My shoulders folded in. I kind of already felt ready to quit. Why had I thought I would like living in the human world? I had nothing in common with them.
“Jackie.” Mr. Butters stood at the entrance to his office.
I went inside.
“Have a seat.” He shut the door as I sat in one of the cloth-covered chairs in front of his desk. When he was seated he asked, “Do you prefer to go by Jack? I heard Cameron call you Jack.”
“Sure.”
“Okay, then, Jack. Give me a second to pull up your file.”
While he tapped some keys I perused his desk. The top was a mess, with an assortment of papers, books, a screen and a telephone, which I’d never actually seen before, but had heard about. He opened his drawer and took out a tin. Then he opened it, pulled out something round and white and popped it in his mouth. “Want one?” he asked, holding the tin out for me.
It smelled like peppermint. “No thanks. I’m good.” One thing I did notice was that the strong peppermint scent blocked out a lot of the smell of blood. I’d have to remember that. Maybe I could wear a peppermint necklace around my neck so that I wouldn’t be able to smell the blood.
Mr. Butters shrugged, closed the tin, and put it back in his drawer. “Now.” He scooted his chair forward and started clicking keys. “Jackie Ryder. Let’s see.” He pulled a pair of glasses from his pocket and put them on. “It says you’ve completed two years of English. Good.” He glanced over, checking for verification.
“Yes,” I said, allowing my backpack to fall into the chair beside me.
“Looks like you’ve taken one year of history and a semester of Spanish.” He continued to look at the screen. “So, you still need a semester of PE and a three semesters of Spanish.”
I grinned even though I had no idea what PE was. “That sounds right.” I thought about asking if being able to speak ogre, elfish, and unicorn would count, but I had the feeling he might thing I was cracked, so I held my tongue.
“Since you’re coming in halfway through the first semester, there is limited availability. You understand?”
“Yeah, I get it.” My heart was pounding rapidly. I had a feeling that at any moment Mr. Butters would see I wasn’t human, and that I didn’t understand at all.
But he seemed to be oblivious.
“Let’s do this.” He spoke while he tapped on his keys. I realized he wasn’t talking for his benefit not mine, and used the opportunity to glance around the room. On the wall behind him were a few different certificates. I guessed they had to do with his schooling. On the wall next to the door was a metal cabinet. Books were stacked almost to the ceiling on top of it. To my right was a window and underneath it was a machine. I glanced outside. It was a bright October morning. The sky was a crisp blue. The office overlooked a grassy area. There was a couple kissing heavily, their arms roaming all over each other.
A bell rang and they broke apart, running in opposite directions.
I turned my attention back to Mr. Butters. He was watching me, a strange look on his face. “So,” he began. “I think I’ve got it figured out.” A noise came from the machine under the window. A paper came out the bottom. “That’s your schedule.”
I took the paper and read over it.
“I gave you the same lunch as Mr. Anderson, so you’ll know one person at least.” He smiled, showing his crooked teeth. Somehow they worked on his face.
“Um, okay.” I had no idea who Mr. Anderson was.
“Cameron. The young man who brought you into the office.” Mr. Butters clasped his hands together.
“Oh. Thank you.”
“Of course.” He began typing again. “Your locker will be on the second floor, which is near several of your classes.” He wrote something on a yellow piece of paper, pulled it off and held it out. “Here’s your locker number and the combination.”
I took it.
“Tell no one your combination. Memorize it and then throw that paper away. Got it?”
“Yes.” I wasn’t sure what a locker was, but I figured I’d find out soon enough.
He stood and opened his door. “Sydney, would you mind giving Jack a tour of the school and help her find her first class?”
Sydney nodded vigorously. “Of course, Mr. Butters.” She grabbed her jacket. “Come on. You’re going to love it here.”
I wanted to believe her. I did. But I wasn’t feeling excited. Instead I felt kind of sick.
Chapter 11
The school had A days and B days. On A days I was supposed to go to different classes than my B days. Each class was ninety minutes long with a thirty-five minute lunch—except Tuesdays. That was what they called a “short day,” which meant school started at eight-thirty instead of seven-thirty.
It was Monday, a B day, and according to the paper schedule I clutched in my hands, that meant I had Creative Writing, PE, something called Homeroom, Pre-Calculus, and history. On A days, I had accounting, Homeroom, chemistry, English, and Spanish.
Sydney walked me around the school, taking me to the cafeteria, the auditorium, and the gymnasium. She even showed me where my locker was.
“This isn’t a bad spot.” Sydney flipped her hair and turned around. She wore tight jeans, a long peach shirt that was see through and had a tie around the hips. Underneath was a white tank top. On her feet were gold ballet flats. She looked cute. But I noticed she wasn’t nearly as friendly once we’d left the office.
“I like your shoes. Where’d you get them?” she asked as I tried to open my locker. I didn’t respond right away, trying to figure out Mr. Butters’ chicken scratch. He’d written left 32, right 12, left 7 so I had an idea what I was supposed to do, but I couldn’t seem to get the locker to open.
“Bloomingdale’s,” I said, spinning the knob filled with lines and numbers.
“Shopping in New York. Nice.” Sydney voice seemed to bubble with excitement. She scooted me out of the way. “Let me help you.” She twisted the knob the opposite direction I’d been spinning it. “What’s the combo?”
I remembered that Mr. Butters said not to tell anyone so I hedged. “Uh, um.” I glanced at the yellow paper with sticky stuff on one end.
“It’s okay, Jack. I won’t tell anyone.”
I really needed her help, so I decided it was fine. I showed her the paper.
“Didn’t your school have lockers in Las Vegas?”
“Yeah, but they were different.” I grabbed a piece of hair and twisted nervously.
“Okay, well this is how our lockers work.” She glanced at the yellow paper again. “Left 32.” She turned until it reached a line two after thirty. “Right 12.” She spun the knob to the right, going all the way around once and then stopping on the line two after ten. “Left 7.” She turned to the line two after five. Then she pulled up on a silver lever and the locker opened. “See, easy.” Her blue eyes twinkled.
I had a feeling it wouldn’t be as simple as Sydney made it look, but I nodded. “Thanks.”
“Sure. Did you want to leave your backpack?”
The inside of the locker had two hooks and a shelf but was otherwise empty. “No. I’m going to keep it just in case I need something.” I patted the nylon strap.
“Cool.” She shut it and leaned into my side. “What’s your first class?”
“Creative Writing.” I tried to inhale a quick breath, not wanting to drool at the scent of her blood so close. Hers wasn’t nearly as sweet smelling as Cam’s or Mr. Butters’. It was weird. Everything about this morning was weird. Humans seemed much more touchy-feely than I’d thought they’d be. I wasn’t used to having my personal space invaded unless it was by my parents and more recently, Laeddin.
“Who with?”
I showed Sydney my paper.
“Ah, Miss Riplinger. You’ll like her. She’s also the cheerleading coach.”
I had no idea what a cheerleading coach was but I copied Sydney’s word and said, “Cool.”
“Her room is on the fifth floor. I think she’s li
kes it up there because it makes her students have to work out. She’s always telling us we’re getting too flabby.” Sydney patted her flat stomach. “You’re lucky you don’t have to worry about your weight.”
She took in my body. I felt the urge to cover up, but held still. “I do try to eat healthy.”
She snorted. “Yeah, which probably means you only have one donut instead of two?” She raised an eyebrow and slapped my butt. I yelped, surprised. “You’d be perfect on our cheerleading squad. You have a great ass. Maybe second semester you should try out.”
“Try out?” I had no idea what she meant.
“Yeah. One of the girls got herself knocked up. Our coach, Miss Riplinger kicked her off the squad. Safety issues or something, which means we’re a cheerleader short.”
I was getting frustrated. What was knocked up? I didn’t want to ask Sydney though. So I just said, “Sounds fun.”
“It totally is.” She linked her arm with mine. “Come on. I’ll walk you to your class.”
We went up several more flights of stairs. Sydney chatted about all sorts of random things. I didn’t pay much attention until she said my name.
“What?” I asked, snapping out of it.
A look of impatience crossed her pert face. “The cheerleaders and the sports boys sit together at lunch. You can join us if you’d like?”
It was an invitation and I wanted to accept. I had a feeling spending time with Sydney and her group would give me the exact teenager lifestyle I was looking for.
“Does Cam sit with you?” I asked, hopefully.
She shook her head. “No, Cam’s all right, but he sits at a different table.” She stopped walking, pulling me to a stop with her. “You’ll figure out soon enough who you should spend time with if you want to have any fun in high school.” Leaning in, she whispered, “I’ll give you a hint though. My group is the group and I’ve decided you’d be a perfect fit.”
I wondered how she could tell I’d be great for her group. She didn’t know anything about me. Was it the clothes I wore? The way I did my hair? That always seemed important in the magazines. Or maybe it was because of my body. The way a person looked meant something to humans. I recognized that pretty easily. And I should be glad Sydney thought I fit into the human category where I had the right look. But what about Cam? Surely he was perfect for their group too.
Vampire Lies (Blood and Snow Season Book 1) Page 5