"No, no, believe me, she's definitely got an issue with the sun," he assured me quickly. "But she might be misdiagnosed. I read up on sun allergies, and people usually get rashes with them. This overall weakness she gets... I don't know. I think it might be something else."
Oh no. "Like what?"
"I don't know," he mused. "But I'll keep researching theories and let you know."
Wonderful.
PE also gave me my first glimpse at one of Amberwood's metallic tattoos in action. Greg Slade was impossible not to watch during class, and I wasn't the only one who got distracted. Just as Kristin and Julia had said, he really was faster and stronger. He made dives no one else was quick enough to react to. When he hit the ball, it was a wonder we didn't hear a sonic boom shortly thereafter. This earned him praise at first, but soon, I noticed something. There was a sloppy edge to his game. He was filled with ability, yes, but sometimes it was unfocused. Those powerful hits didn't always help because he'd blast the ball out of bounds. And in running to make a shot, he rarely considered those around him. When a guy from my English class got knocked down flat on his back, simply for being in the path of Slade and the ball, Miss Carson stopped the game and roared her displeasure about Slade's aggression. He took it in with a sulky smirk.
"Too bad Eddie's not in this class," Jill said afterward. "He'd be a total match for Slade."
"Maybe it's better no one notices," I remarked. Eddie, from what I'd heard, was already a shining star in his PE class. It was part of a dhampir's natural athleticism, and I knew he was actually working hard not to be too good at everything.
I checked in with Ms. Terwilliger after PE, happy to find my teacher fully stocked with coffee of her own. I spent most of the period going through the book and taking notes on my laptop. Partway through, she came over to check my work.
"You're very organized," she said, looking over my shoulder. "Headings and subheadings and sub-subheadings."
"Thank you," I said. Jared Sage had been very particular in teaching his children research skills.
Ms. Terwilliger took a sip of coffee and continued reading the screen. "You didn't list the ritual and spell steps," she pointed out moments later. "You just summarize them in a couple lines."
Well, yes, that was the point of note-taking. "I cite all the page numbers," I said. "If you need to check the actual components, there's an easy reference."
"No... go back and put all the steps and ingredients in your notes. I want to be able to have them all in one place."
You do have them in one place, I wanted to say. In the book. Notes were about condensing the material, not retyping the original text word for word. But Ms. Terwilliger had already wandered away, staring at her filing cabinet absentmindedly as she muttered to herself about a misplaced folder. With a sigh, I flipped back to the beginning of the book, trying not to think about how this was going to set me back. At least I was only doing this for credit and not a grade.
I stayed past the late bell in an effort to make up some lost time. When I got back to my room, I had to wake up Jill, who was sound asleep after her exhausting day.
"Good news," I told her as she blinked at me with sleepy eyes. "It's feeding day."
Definitely words I never thought I'd say.
I also didn't think I'd be excited for it. And sure, I certainly wasn't thrilled about the idea of Jill biting into Dorothy's neck. I was, however, feeling pretty bad for Jill and was glad she'd get some nourishment. Being on such a limited supply of blood had to make things doubly hard for her.
We met up with Eddie downstairs when it was time to go. He looked Jill over worriedly. "Are you okay?"
"I'm fine," she said with a smile. She looked nowhere near as bad as she had earlier. I shuddered to think what Eddie would've done if he'd actually been in our class and seen her at her worst.
"Why is this still going on?" he asked me. "Weren't you going to talk to Keith?"
"We're a little delayed," I said evasively, leading them to where Latte was parked in the student lot. "We'll make it happen." If the Alchemists didn't come through with the note, I was going to try to act on Micah's suggestion and get her switched into morning PE.
"We know you will," said Jill. I could just barely pick out the sympathy in her voice, reminding me that she knew about my fight with Keith yesterday. I hoped she wouldn't mention it in front of Eddie and was saved when she switched to a more random and surprising topic. "Do you think we can pick up some pizza along the way? Adrian doesn't want any more of Dorothy's cooking."
"How terrible for him," remarked Eddie, getting into the backseat and letting Jill ride shotgun. "Having a personal chef on hand to make him whatever he wants. I don't know how he gets by."
I laughed, but Jill seemed outraged on Adrian's behalf. "It's not the same! She cooks really super-gourmet stuff."
"Still waiting for the problem," said Eddie.
"She tries to also make it really healthy. She says it's better for Clarence. So, there's never any salt and pepper or butter." Jeez, how often did she and Adrian talk? "There's no flavor or anything. It's driving him crazy."
"Everything seems to be driving him crazy," I remarked, remembering his plea for new lodging. "And he can't have it too bad. Didn't he go to LA last night?" Jill's only answer was a frown.
Nonetheless, I had a feeling we'd be hanging out at Clarence's for a while, and I personally didn't want to eat anything prepared in that house. So, it was more for selfish reasons that I agreed to stop at a takeout place en route and buy a few pizzas. Adrian's face was radiant when we entered the sitting room, which - pool games aside - seemed to be his primary hangout at Clarence's.
"Jailbait," he declared, leaping up. "You're a saint. A goddess, even."
"Hey," I said, "I'm the one who paid for them."
Adrian carried off one of the boxes to the couch, much to Dorothy's dismay. She hurried off muttering about plates and napkins. Adrian gave me a conciliatory nod.
"You're okay too, Sage," he said.
"Well, well, what have we here?" Clarence came tottering into the room. I hadn't noticed before, but he used a cane to get around. It had a crystal snake head on top, which was both impressive and scary. Just the kind of thing you'd picture for an old vampire. "Looks like a party."