by Tara West
I looked up in time to see my substitute teacher spitting a long trail of brown phlegm into the wastebasket beside his feet. It was too late to shield my eyes, and a little bit of my banana sandwich projected into the back of my throat.
And yet, even the worst day with Mr. Dallin was by far better than the best day with Mr. Sleznick.
Chapter Fourteen
Since most of the drama club was sick, practice had been canceled, but I wasn’t ready to go home yet. Ethan and I worked together putting up the set, and stealing a few kisses in-between. Ethan was showing a lot more restraint with his kisses, which I knew was supposed to be his way of slowing down.
Too bad the soft swell of his lips feathering across mine only made me more crazy. Just as I’d lean into his kiss, he’d pull back, pick up a hammer, and get back to working on the set.
Ugh! The boy was so frustrating!
My mom was waiting by the mailbox again when he dropped me off, but he called me a few minutes later and we talked for what seemed like hours, not about witchcraft or family, but about our hopes for the future.
Ethan was planning on working for his dad after high school. His dad owned an air conditioning and heating repair shop and his business was booming. Ethan worked for him on weekends and some weeknights. I had no idea how he managed to keep up his grades and study his lines, much less have a girlfriend.
It was as if Ethan had been reading my mind when he reassured me he’d always make time to be with me.
My heart did a little flip in my chest at that.
I told him about my awesome math teacher last year, who’d inspired me to go into teaching, although after dealing with freaks like Sleznick, I wasn’t so sure I wanted to be a teacher anymore.
Ethan told me he was turning seventeen in a few months, which meant he was over a year older than me. I wouldn’t turn sixteen until May. I wondered why he was a sophomore like me, but I suspected it had something to do with his difficult childhood. I figured some questions were better left unanswered, at least for now.
We worked on our homework together over the phone, and I was reluctant to finally say goodnight, but my cellphone was beeping that the battery was about to die. Besides, I needed a good night’s sleep. I had the feeling I’d need to reserve extra energy for babysitting tomorrow night.
*****
What the heck was happening to our school? It was like a freaking ghost town. More than one teacher complained about the epidemic and the district should shut down.
As Ethan and I walked hand in hand to history class, I silently prayed Mr. Sleznick was out sick again.
My heart sank when we walked through the door and I saw his familiar bald head bobbing behind the podium, like a giant, glowing spotted orb.
My teacher was so creepy.
He looked up at me when we walked through the door, flashing a feral grin. A shiver raced across my arms and coursed up my spine, giving me the feeling that thousands of tiny spiders were racing across my skin.
Ethan squeezed my hand as he leaned down and whispered into my ear. “You okay?”
“No,” I said through frozen features. “I’ll tell you later.”
Ethan squeezed my hand once before letting go as we made our way down the narrow row to our desks. Every other seat was empty, a sure sign a serious virus was going around.
I kept my gaze focused on my desk where I’d spend the next fifty minutes in interminable hell. But even as I did my best to block Sleznick from my line of vision, I could still feel those beady orbs of his staring at me.
Oh, yeah, this was so not normal. That’s when decided I was definitely going to tell someone. I’d start by warning Ethan, and tonight I’d ask Alessia what was up with my teacher from hell.
Just as I sat down and heaved a shaky breath, Sleznick called. “Miss Sinora.” His voice was a sibilant hiss searing the distance between us like tongues of fire. Yeah, dramatic, I know, but this time I wasn’t exaggerating at all.
When my gaze darted toward him, the blood in my veins froze. Had I just seen another flash of red beneath his malevolent glare? Oh, dear gawd, I had to get away from this freaking teacher. My first thought was to run, bolt from the classroom. Maybe go to the nurse and pretend I’d come down with the virus, too. But what about Ethan? I couldn’t leave him alone to face Sleznick, not when he didn’t realize he could be in danger.
“Y-yes, Mr. Sleznick?” I squeaked, hating the fact I sounded like a frightened mouse.
His serpentine lips curled back in a smile, exposing twin rows of rotten teeth. “Come here. I need you to hand back the tests.”
He held up a stack of papers. Even from a distance, I could see big Fs and Ds scrawled across the top of the tests in bold red marker. And the jerk was waving them around like he was proud of failing students. My legs wobbled beneath me as I hesitantly rose from my chair. A small voice inside warned me not to go up to his podium, to turn around and grab Ethan and tell him we had to run for it. But all eyes in the classroom were on me, and I realized if I bolted, Sleznick would call my mom. Besides, would Ethan even run with me, or would he insist we stay? Would he think I’d gone crazy?
I shot him a nervous glance, but he was digging for something in his backpack. Damn.
I slowly made my way toward the front center of the room, touching the desks as I walked, needing something to ground me to the earth as the overwhelming feeling that I was walking straight into the pit of hell threatened to overwhelm me.
I reached for the tests with the tips of my fingers, fearing if I touched Mr. Sleznick, the sensation would be far worse than being burned by Ethan.
Just as I secured the tests within my grasp, Sleznick leaned into me, and I thought I’d pass out as I caught the scent of his rancid breath. I pulled back quickly, but not quick enough. Sleznick’s hand came down across mine, barely grazing my skin with his leathery flesh.
I dropped the tests and gasped, stumbling back, as a sudden wave of nausea overcame me.
Ethan was beside me in an instant, wrapping me in a strong embrace. “Sophie?” His voice sounded like it was coming from miles away, and I could barely make out his features through my blurred vision. I reached for him, but only grasped air. I was slipping quickly into what felt like quicksand.
“I’m taking you to the nurse,” I thought I heard him say, but my head was swimming too fast to respond.
I was vaguely aware of him carrying me out the door, and it took all of my strength to summon the words of warning. “Don’t take me there. Sleznick will find us. Please,” I begged. “He’s evil.”
That’s all I could manage before my head lolled to the side. My eyelids felt like deadweights, and I could no longer keep them open.
*****
Even though the bean bag chair was nice and cozy, sleep eluded me for some reason. Maybe it was that overwhelming sense of nausea that felt like a cyclone was twisting inside my head. My ears rattled with an incessant throbbing. I had no idea if the sound was coming from somewhere inside the room or maybe it was the sound of my own heartbeat as it pounded out a wild staccato that reverberated in my brain. Either way, I wished the banging would stop.
I wondered where Ethan had gone, but as I opened my mouth to call his name, no sound came out. I ran my tongue over my parched lips. My mouth was so dry, it felt like I’d swallowed a wad of cotton.
Slowly, I opened one eye and then the other. The room was mostly dark. A small shred of light crept in from the opposite corner of the room. I had no idea what time it was, but I knew it was late. My phone buzzed in my pocket. Probably my mom trying to figure out where I was.
Great. How was I supposed to explain to her I passed out after touching my teacher from hell? A low groan escaped my throat as I realized my nickname for him may have actually been more accurate than I’d imagined.
Was there a heaven or hell? I wasn’t quite sure. Alessia and I hadn’t covered the whole afterlife thing in my witch training. But of one thing I was certain—Mr. Sleznick was not
human. Whatever he was, I knew it had to be pure evil.
The banging continued, so much louder now I swore my ear drums would break. As my eyes began to adjust to the dim light and as my senses slowly returned to me, I realized the sound was definitely coming from somewhere in the room.
Though I was still nauseous, I knew I had to get up and see what was happening. First, I had to make sure I was up to the task.
I wiggled my toes and fingers first. They moved, but felt stiff and sore, kinda like my joints were made of rusty metal.
Weird.
I struggled to sit up, but it felt like I was stuck in quicksand. The cushy bean bag gave me little support. I had to roll to one side and lean on my elbow just to heave myself out of the bag. I landed on all fours with a grunt as pain winced through my extremities.
Why was I so sore, as if I’d just run a marathon?
Then I wondered if maybe I did get the virus Vanessa had. I remembered how much my body ached last winter when I’d gotten the flu, but as I struggled to flex my fingers and toes, I realized this pain was different. This pain made me feel…old.
A wooden chair was lying on its side next to me. I briefly wondered who’d overturned it and why it hadn’t been put back, as I steadied myself on its armrest and pulled myself to a standing position. Or at least a stooping position. I tried to stand up straight, but my body wouldn’t let me. It was as if someone had taken a vice and bent my spine. Okay, now I was starting to freak.
Out of the corner of my eye, I saw the chipped wooden table Ethan and I had sat at to rehearse our lines on numerous occasions. Whatever that banging sound was, it was coming from that direction; I could see a shadow of something thrashing around on top of the table like a fish out of water.
I barely had time to register the panic that welled up in my throat, clenching my chest like a vice. I hesitantly took a step toward the table, crying out as a stiff pain shot up from my knee. I took another step, and then another, until I was standing over the person on the table.
I let out a strangled cry when I looked into the bright eyes of my boyfriend. Or what was left of my boyfriend. The person with Ethan’s eyes looked to be ninety-years-old. He was strapped to the table, writhing around, a big festering bloody gash on his bony shoulder, oozing putrid green pus.
“Ethan,” I barely choked out the words, my hoarse voice sounding foreign to my ears. “What happened?”
I reached for him, and that’s when I noticed my hand! It was this bony, withered thing. I turned it over, gaping in horror at the wrinkles and liver spots marring it like tributaries on an old weathered map.
What had happened? Who had done this to us?
Ethan began thrashing harder, bucking against his restraints. His eyes widened, and when his mouth fell open he let out a sibilant hiss. My heart must have stopped beating as my limbs iced over with fear. Ethan was looking at something behind me!
I grabbed the side of the table and slowly turned around. Sleznick was standing there. Or at least I thought it was him. He looked far more youthful, his liver spots and wrinkles gone, a thick crop of black hair covering his head, and he no longer walked with a stoop. He looked at me with eyes red and glowing and then flashed a slow smile. It was then I noticed his gums and teeth were dripping with blood.
I was hardly aware of my horrified scream before his hands were around my neck. And then my world darkened.
*****
“Ethan!” I woke up, chest heaving, as beads of sweat trickled down my brow. I quickly scanned the room. I was lying on my back in the bean bag chair. Ethan’s letterman jacket was spread out on top of me. I struggled up on my elbows.
“I’m here.” A shadow moved across my line of vision, and my heart skipped a beat during the split second it took Ethan to kneel beside me. “Are you okay?” he asked, clutching my hands in his. Lines of worry were etched into his forehead, and he looked a lot older than sixteen years old.
I sat up and ran my hand over his face, panic welling up at the thought of Ethan turning into a feeble old man. “Sleznick?” I asked through a sob.
“He’s not here. It’s just us.” The reassuring look in Ethan’s direct gaze set me somewhat at ease. “Sophie,” he asked. “What happened?”
I instinctively lifted my hands to my line of sight, turning them over and then breathing a sigh of relief when I noticed the same smooth fingers with purple chipped nail polish at the tips. No wrinkles or liver spots.
“Sleznick touched me,” I said as I turned my hands over and looked at them once more for good measure. “And then I got so sick.” I lowered my hands and looked into my boyfriend’s weary gaze. “Ethan, he’s not human.”
Ethan’s eyes widened. “What do you mean?”
“I just dreamed about him. He turned us into old people.” My hand flew to my throat. “He drank our blood.”
I barely choked out that last part. I had to bite down on my knuckles to stifle a scream. The dream felt so real. Why had I dreamed it? How had I dreamed it? Was this a premonition? But I didn’t have the power of foresight. That was AJ’s gift.
Before I realized what was happening, I was wiping away hot tears as they streamed down my face.
Oh, please don’t let my dream be a premonition.
Ethan wrapped his arms around me, pulling me into his warm embrace. “Shhh. It’s okay. It was just a dream.”
I grabbed him in a fierce hug, holding him so tight, I thought my arms would break. I could not get that visual of his shriveled, mangled body out of my head. What if Sleznick really was a monster who sucked the life out of us? What would I do if anything happened to Ethan? He’d only just become mine! I couldn’t bear to lose him now!
“It felt real.” Sobs wracked me as I cried into his shoulder. I knew I was soaking Ethan’s shirt, but I didn’t care. I couldn’t lose him. I wouldn’t lose him.
“There must be something we can do,” I cried, “to stop him from hurting us.”
“I think you’ve got what’s going around,” Ethan mumbled against my ear. “I should’ve taken you to the nurse.”
“No, you don’t understand.” I pulled out of his embrace and grasped his shoulders, searching his gaze with desperation. I had to make him understand the danger we were in. “I’ve seen his eyes turn red before.”
Ethan frowned. “Red?”
I nodded. “Like a demon’s eyes.”
I saw the flash of recognition in Ethan’s face and then he plastered on an impassive expression. Ethan wasn’t fooling me. He knew something. “I’ll talk to my dad about this.”
I had already suspected why Ethan’s adoptive parents were so cool and how they’d accepted him so easily into their family. “Your dad’s a witch?” I asked.
“Yeah. He’ll know what to do.”
I thought on that for a minute. Maybe I should tell my cat. She’d had lifetimes of experience, after all. “I’ll tell Alessia. I should have told her before.”
Ethan grabbed me by the elbows and slowly lifted me to my feet. “I need to get you home. It’s past five.”
“Omigod,” I squeaked. “I slept that long? I need to babysit tonight.”
Good thing my mom thought I had drama practice after school. What would she say if she knew Ethan and I had spent all this time alone? I cringed at the thought. Gah! Now was not the time to be worried over a little nagging when I obviously had a much bigger problem, namely an evil teacher who wanted to steal my youth and drink my blood.
Ethan frowned as lines of worry drew together in a deep V along his brow. “Maybe you should cancel babysitting.”
I shook my head. “I can’t. It’s my sister’s birthday.” I thought of my frazzled sister and how much she’d been looking forward to tonight. Then there were the babies. I couldn’t possibly turn my back on them. My family might never give me another chance to prove I was responsible.
Ethan flashed a half-hearted smile. “I’m sure she’ll understand.”
“No,” I said, resolve strengthening my wo
rds. “Just take me home.”
Ethan’s gaze searched mine for a long moment. “Sophie, I’m worried about you.”
“I’ll be fine.” I lied, but would I be?
Chapter Fifteen
After practically shooing away Ethan at my front door, I walked into what could only be described as a tornado of activity. Mom was hopping around on one foot, trying to adjust a strap on her high heel, Dad was straightening his tie using the reflective surface of the fridge, and Rose Marie was holding a naked baby over the kitchen sink, washing something sticky off its legs. Ewwww. Another baby was screaming and jumping up and down in his saucer, flinging little cereal loops into Buster’s open maw.
“There you are!” Mom squawked like a deranged chicken while she continued to hop on one foot. “We have to go.”
“What?” I gasped. “I thought you weren’t going out until later.” I checked the clock on the wall. It wasn’t even six yet. I’d thought they weren’t leaving until seven.
“Dinner reservation is at six.” Dad came over and patted the top of my head before adjusting the cufflinks on his jacket. “We couldn’t get another time. Mrs. Stein is holding our table, but I don’t know how long they’ll let her save it.”
I was disappointed my former algebra teacher, Mrs. Stein, hadn’t come over with my sister. Even though I absolutely hated math, she had been my favorite teacher ever. I was so hoping I could have seen her tonight. Rose Marie had moved in with her last year shortly before she delivered the babies. Mrs. Stein babysat for my sister while she took night classes. I always knew my teacher was a wonderful person, but her act of charity toward my sister and nephews pretty much made her a saint.
“It was my fault,” Dad continued, as mom shot him a look that confirmed it. “I was supposed to make reservations last week and I forgot.”
Rose Marie ran through the room with a naked, wet baby in her arms. She ducked a fistful of cereal projectiles from the baby in the saucer (whom I assumed to be naughty little Alex) before turning toward us, a frazzled look in her bloodshot eyes. “We should just cancel and do it next week.”