by Jayme Morse
“As soon as I got there, she tried to seduce me. And I won’t say that it didn’t work,” Gabe continued, looking away from Lexi and down at the ground. “I was a teenage boy with human hormones, and she was just a pretty girl. At least, I thought she was just a pretty girl. She was only pretending to seduce me. The only thing she wanted that night was to turn me into a vampire. It happened so quickly that I didn’t even really understand what was happening.”
“I see,” Lexi replied, looking down at her nails. The pink nail polish that she had applied was beginning to chip away. She began scratching the rest of it off. “So, that’s why you hate being a vampire then? Because you didn’t choose this for yourself?”
Gabe sighed. “It’s not that. I’ve been a vampire long enough where I’ve accepted the fact that I didn’t get to make this choice for myself. Things happen in your life that aren’t always in your control but that doesn’t mean that you have to walk around with a chip on your shoulder. I hate being a vampire because I’m going to live forever, even after everyone who I love has already passed away.” He glanced over at Lexi and reached for her hand. “There’s one thing I’m grateful for, though. If Veronica hadn’t turned me into a vampire, I never would have met you.”
Lexi smiled. He was right. She might hate Veronica already, but if it weren’t for her, Lexi’s life would be a whole lot different right now. She wondered if she would even be alive right now if Gabe hadn’t been there to help her over the past few months or to distract her aunt and uncle on the night of the Halloween festival.
“So, is that what Veronica meant when she said she thinks she’s responsible for your strength or whatever?” Lexi asked. “Because she was the one who changed you?”
“I think so, but I can’t explain to you most things about what she says or thinks.”
Lexi thought about bringing up the supposed strength that she had, but now didn’t feel like the right time to talk about it. The conversation was flowing with all of the answers that she wanted to hear about Gabe’s previous relationships (or at least some of them). Lexi didn’t want to start talking about herself and mess things up. “When is the last time you saw Veronica before now?”
Gabe shrugged. “I don’t know offhand. Fifty, sixty years? We used to see each other all the time, but that eventually changed when we reached what would have been our human adulthood years. It’s probably because she came here to teach.”
Lexi hesitated. “Why does she teach here? Is she anti-vampire or something, even though she is one?”
“I don’t know why she teaches here. Her parents were some of the most powerful and vicious vampires I’ve ever met.”
Lexi looked around to make sure that no one was watching them. It would really suck if Veronica, for example, was hiding in one of the bushes and listening to their entire conversation. Luckily, she didn’t see anyone else outside with them.
“So, tell me about Professor Lindstrom,” Gabe said, his voice suggesting that he had picked up on the attraction between Lexi and Craig . . . or that he at least knew that something had gone on between them.
Lexi shrugged her shoulders and looked away to hide her cheeks, which were reddening. “He was just my gym teacher.”
“Who you had a crush on,” Gabe pressed.
“No, I didn’t,” Lexi insisted, trying to force herself to sound believable. She wasn’t sure how convincing it was, though, because she felt like she was about to burst out into a fit of giggles. She knew that she still had a semi-crush on Craig, but she assumed it was just because she could never keep a straight face when she was trying to lie to a person.
“Oh, come on, Lexi, I’m not a total moron. I know that’s why Mr. Gym Teacher was switching you out of his class that day when I came to see you at school. Something obviously happened between the two of you.”
Lexi’s mind flashed back to the day that Craig had switched her to another gym class because he had told her that it was too weird for him to be her teacher anymore (like it was normal for him to want to be her teacher when he thought that he still had a thing for her). That was the day Gabe had come back after he had intentionally crashed his car. He had said something along the lines of, “Really, Lexi? A teacher?” At the time, she had been annoyed because she didn’t think he had any right to criticize her; after all, he had tried to kill her and had disappeared.
“I don’t care that you liked him,” Gabe said, bringing her mind back to the present. “I mean, it’s kind of weird that he’s here now. It could get awkward for me. But don’t feel guilty about crushing on him, Lexi. I was gone. You didn’t even know I was coming back.”
Lexi nodded. If she and Gabe were going to have any sort of relationship with each other, she was going to have to be honest with him about the past. “Okay, you’re right. I did have a crush on him.” She paused before looking away again so that he wouldn’t notice that she was semi-lying. “I don’t have a crush on him anymore, though.”
Gabe squeezed her hand. “I think he still has a crush on you.”
“Really?” Lexi asked, trying to mask the hopefulness in her voice.
“Yup,” Gabe replied knowingly. “It was like you were the only person in that hallway with him earlier. It was like the rest of us didn’t even exist.”
“Well, you have nothing to worry about,” Lexi replied. “I have you now. I don’t need Craig Lindstrom.” She hoped that this time, she was telling the truth.
*
The next morning, Lexi woke up with the blaring sound of the alarm clock. Glancing at Anna’s empty bed, she changed into her favorite pair of skinny jeans and her favorite white cashmere sweater. She wanted to look her best for Vampire Geography and Tracking class with Veronica. Lexi had to force herself not to groan just thinking about it. The last thing she wanted was to have Veronica as a teacher. If she had to be in her classroom, she might as well try to look her best, though – not that there was any competition. Veronica was really beautiful, and Lexi was just average, at best. Still, it didn’t hurt to try.
Hopefully, Veronica would realize that Lexi wasn’t about to back down simply because she saw her as a threat to their relationship. She wasn’t going to play the role of the weak girlfriend who would let an ex walk all over her.
As she slid her Ugg boots on and headed into the hallway that led to the cafeteria, Lexi passed Professor Shields, the tall lanky Defense teacher, and Mrs. Wiseman, the adorable little woman who Lexi thought reminded her of Mrs. Claus and who taught Blood and Poison. Anna had introduced them to these professors last night. Afterwards, Lexi had crawled into her bed and fallen asleep. She hadn’t even stirred throughout the night; she had been so exhausted from everything that had happened in the past few days.
After she got to the cafeteria and got a cup of French vanilla cappuccino, she found Austin and Anna huddled at a table all by themselves. Anna whispered something in Austin’s ear, and he laughed loudly. Lexi smiled. It was good to see her cousin happy with someone, and even though she wasn’t sure yet, it really seemed like he was into Anna. Although that made her feel a little awkward because she wasn’t sure what would happen between him and Mary-Kate, she was glad that he didn’t seem depressed or lonely. Afraid of interrupting whatever it was that was going on between the two of them, Lexi sat down quietly in one of the chairs across from them.
“Good morning, Lexi!” Anna said cheerfully, a big smile on her face. Today, she wore her purple-streaked hair pin straight against her shoulders. For the first time since Lexi had met her, she was wearing a tank top, revealing her tattoo of a heart with angel wings.
“Morning,” Lexi replied, pointing at her tattoo. “I didn’t know you had a tattoo.”
“Oh,” Anna said quietly, glancing down at her shoulder. “Umm, yeah. Let’s talk about it some other time.”
“Sorry,” Lexi replied sympathetically, realizing that she had obviously brought up a touchy subject. It probably had something to do with Anna’s mom.
She pulled the
crumpled schedule that Austin had given her out of her pocket. After Veronica’s class, she had Conflagration Studies, which Gabe had explained to her was fire science. Just the idea of having to take a class about fire freaked her out a little. When she was ten, her mom had made one of her very few flawed attempts to cook them a home style meal. It had resulted in a kitchen fire that had left Lexi feeling panicky about even lighting a birthday candle through her teen years.
“Aren’t you going to eat something?” Gabe asked Lexi as he sat down next to her. “Breakfast is the most important meal of the day.”
Lexi shook her head. “Nope. Only coffee for me. I hate eating breakfast too early in the morning. It makes me nauseous.”
“That’s too bad,” Austin replied. “I love breakfast. I’m gonna go get something.”
Anna laughed. “The way he eats, you would think he’d be a fatty. He’s such a typical high school quarterback.” Getting up, she followed Austin to the cafeteria line, leaving Lexi and Gabe alone at the cafeteria table.
Lexi noticed that he had a strange look on his face and he appeared to be shaky. “What’s wrong?”
“Nothing, I just . . . I had a vision,” Gabe replied. “That’s why I’m later to the cafeteria than Austin. I think I might be a little bit closer to figuring out who stole the book.”
“Really?” Lexi felt hopeful. If Gabe could crack who had stolen the book, she would feel a lot better. “What exactly was your vision?”
Gabe shut his eyes, as though he were trying to remember. “I saw two arms carrying the book. The thing is, I couldn’t see the person’s hands and they were wearing a navy blue fleece sweatshirt. So it didn’t really help me figure out if it was a man or a woman.” Gabe opened his eyes and looked at her. “I don’t know who it was. Not yet. But usually when I have a vision like this, I start to see other things soon after.”
“Thank goodness.” Lexi breathed a long sigh of relief.
Shortly after Anna and Austin came back to the table, the first bell rang. Lexi felt a nervous feeling fill the pit of her stomach, like water that was about to flow over the rim of a bucket. Normally, school didn’t make her nervous. In fact, being at Huntington with vampires and vampire hunters didn’t even make her nervous. Veronica, though? She definitely made Lexi just want to skip class for the rest of the semester.
Gabe seemed to sense Lexi’s unease. He grabbed her hand as they walked towards Veronica, err, Professor Hart’s classroom together. The only thing that made her feel a little bit better was just knowing that she didn’t have to do this alone. Gabe and Austin and Anna were going to be there every step of the way. She could only imagine how much it would suck if they had different schedules from her and she was forced to endure this by herself.
When they got to Veronica’s classroom, all of the students were lined up whispering amongst themselves. Lexi heard one girl whisper, “Why is she giving us assigned seats now?”
A guy whispered back, “I don’t know. It’s so weird. She never did before, and it’s the middle of the semester.”
Lexi gulped. She hated classrooms where she had to get an assigned seat. It had always been her luck to sit next to the girl who got stares from everyone because she blew her nose like an elephant or in front of the guy who threw paper airplanes at the back of her head and did everything he could to annoy her.
Veronica walked into the room and tossed the pile of books that she had been carrying in her arms loudly on her desk. One fell to the ground, but she didn’t bother to pick it up. “Okay, I got the seating chart that we will be using for the rest of the semester. In case you’re wondering, the reason we’re doing this is because of certain new students who have decided to join us.”
Lexi scowled. She should have known that they were the whole entire reason for this new seating arrangement.
Veronica was wearing a short red dress that hugged her curvy hips, accentuated her cleavage (which even Lexi had to admit was pretty stunning), and revealed her long, silky-smooth legs.
She watched as Veronica turned in her red porn star heels, tossed her hair over her shoulder, and winked at Gabe.
Lexi gaped at her. She felt her cheeks growing red as the anger rose in her chest. She felt even angrier as she watched Gabe simply stare back at Veronica. Didn’t he realize that Veronica still had a thing for him? If he knew, did it just not bother him or did he not mind her actions because he felt the same way? Here, Lexi had felt guilty about still being attracted to Craig, when Gabe might still be interested in Veronica for all she knew.
“Okay, I’ll point to the desk I want you to sit at,” Veronica said, looking down at the list. “Austin Graham.”
Austin walked over to the corner that Veronica was pointing at and sat in one of the chairs. Lexi hadn’t realized until now how big and tough her cousin looked; it took a puny high school-sized desk to realize that he was the size of a quarterback.
“Anna Delaney,” Veronica said, smiling warmly at Anna. After the way Veronica had snapped at Anna yesterday, Lexi had assumed that she didn’t like her, but it didn’t seem that way today. Anna took her seat in the back of the class next to Austin.
“Gabriel Marshall,” Veronica read from the list, looking up at him. Lexi huffed at the starry-eyed look that Veronica got when she stared at him. Could she make it any more obvious that she wanted him? Feeling the anger rise once more to her face, Lexi watched Gabe sit down in front of Austin.
“Dylan West,” Veronica read from the list. The Dylan guy sat down at one of the desks.
“Katie Thompson.” A dark haired girl took a place next to him.
Once Veronica had made it halfway through the list, she read, “Alexandria Hunter.”
Lexi gritted her teeth. “It’s Lexi.”
“Well, I don’t do nicknames in the classroom. I find it very unprofessional. Sorry, but you’ll have to get used to the nickname that you were given at birth, Miss Hunter. If you have a problem with that, feel free to see me after class,” Veronica said, flashing Lexi a tight smile. “Now take your seat, please.”
Glancing at Gabe, who was staring into space at the back of the classroom, Lexi plopped down in her chair. It was obvious that Veronica had purposely given her an assigned seat in the front of the classroom so that she wouldn’t be able to sit anywhere near Gabe. It was obviously just part of her plot to try to make them feel separated, in hopes of separating them in other ways. It made Lexi angry.
“Today, we’re going to talk about something a little bit different, class,” Veronica said, strutting to the front of the classroom. She picked up a piece of chalk and twirled it around with her freshly manicured nails. “We’re going to talk about how love and relationships and all that good stuff affects a vampire’s sense of tracking another vampire.”
“A vampire’s sense of tracking?” a guy in the front of the classroom asked. “What does that have to do with us? We’re vampire hunters.”
“To be a good vampire hunter, one must have a good understanding of vampires. It’s always important to learn as much as you can about your enemy.” As she said the word enemy, Veronica glanced over at Lexi. “Besides, this is my class and this is the lesson that I have planned for today. If you don’t like it, then you may leave,” Veronica snapped. “I take it we’re all okay with it then? Good,” she said, in a mocking tone. Whispers filled the classroom, as Veronica went on. “Now, let’s see a show of hands. Raise your hand if you think vampires can sense each other’s physical location.” Half of the classroom’s hands hesitantly shot up in the air, while the other half left theirs down. “Can someone please explain to me why they think vampires can sense each other’s location?”
The girl who Veronica had called Katie raised her hand. “It’s because vampires have a good sense of smell. Vampires don’t have a scent, so they know that they’re not humans if they encounter them.”
Veronica ran her hands over her silky dress. “Well, you’re partially right, Katie. A vampire can sense if someone else is
a vampire. What I was asking is does a vampire know another vampire’s location even if the other vampire is across the globe?”
Everyone stared at Veronica blankly. After a few minutes, she turned to the back of the class. “Gabe, you’re a vampire. I’m pretty sure that you would know the answer to this one. Why don’t you tell us?”
For a moment, Gabe didn’t say anything. Lexi turned around and looked at him. His mouth twitched in a grimace before he got an angry expression on his face. When he met Lexi’s gaze, he looked down at the ground. “We cannot track another vampire’s whereabouts, but there is one exception. We always know where to find the vampire who created us and the vampires who we have created. If we try hard enough, we can even tap into their thoughts.”
Veronica gazed over at Lexi and, tossing her fiery red locks of hair over her shoulder, flashed a sinister smile. “That’s right, Gabe. We always know where to find them.”
*
“So, are you ready to start your super intensive training?” Anna asked, as she and Lexi stood in the girls’ bathroom in between classes. “Stakeology and Conflagration Studies are the most important classes you’ll take.”
Lexi tossed her long blonde hair over her shoulder, glancing at Anna in the mirror. “Stakeology sounds . . . interesting, I guess. I hate fire, though.”
“Well, don’t worry. You’re not the only one,” Anna replied. “Most of us hate fire, too. We know how powerful it is. I mean, come on, it’s one of the only ways to kill a vampire. Of course it intimidates humans, too. There are a few pyromaniacs in our class, though. They all sit in the front so they can be close to the live demonstrations.”
Lexi giggled. “Lovely. I’ll have to remember to stay away from them . . . this is one class that I won’t feel bad about sitting in the back.”