“I have to ... ? But I can’t ... ? I mean—” Sunny, to her credit, tries to croak out.
“Um, can’t she just lay low, hang in the library or something? Take some electives?” I interject on her behalf. “You guys got to have basket-weaving here, right? Stake carving 101?”
“Look”—the headmistress’s once-watery eyes are blazing now—“I didn’t ask to have you here. In fact, I was very against the idea from the start. After all, your very presence here puts my students at risk and that’s not something I tolerate lightly.” She scowls. “But now that you’re here, you are under my rule. And you will not treat this fine institution like summer camp. You will participate as full-time students, taking all required classes and following each and every rule. You will keep a low profile and not cause any disturbance. If I find that you so much as get a tardy slip, I have every right to punish you.”
“And expel us?” I ask hopefully. Maybe misbehaving is the key to getting sprung from this place.
“Unfortunately no. But I can make life very miserable. After all, you have the nano-virus lying dormant in you, do you not? I’m pretty sure Teifert still does this to his potentials ...”
I make a face. Of course I do. Wooden nano-capsules, swimming through my bloodstream, ready to cause serious bodily harm, should I displease the bigwigs at Slayer Inc. “But Sunny—”
“Doesn’t,” Headmistress Roberta finishes for me. “Right. Well, then, I guess you, Rayne, will have to take the punishment for the both of you,” she says with a smirk. “Should, you know, you decide to ... get out of line.”
I can hear my sister’s soft whimper next to me. I reach over and squeeze her hand. I don’t know why she’s freaking out though. I’m the one at risk of getting staked from the inside out here.
“Look,” the headmistress says, her face softening a bit. “I don’t mean to sound harsh. But this is for your own good. You must act like regular slayer students in every way or someone may take notice and report you.” She sighs. “Remember, even the tightest-run organizations can have foxes in their henhouses. And I’m afraid Riverdale is no exception.”
Man, this is the best place Heather could find to keep us safe from the fairies? Some Relocator she is. I mean, why not send a vampire to a beach hideaway in the sunny Caribbean while she’s at it?
“I see. Well, never fear, we’ll be model pupils. Phi Beta Kappa, perfect attendance. Do you have a cheerleading squad by chance? I’m all about the after-school activities these days.” I rise from my seat, pulling Sunny up with me. “And uh, thank you for letting us stay here,” I grudgingly add, forcing myself to swallow the bitter taste in my mouth.
Headmistress Roberta sniffs again. I’m beginning to think she should have that nose of hers checked out. “You’re welcome,” she manages to spit out at last. Though I’m pretty sure she doesn’t mean it.
But in any case, we’re dismissed and we walk out of the office and back onto the grounds. “Do you want to explore a little?” I ask my sister. “Or go grab some food?” As a vampire I can’t eat ... food ... but judging from the current state of bloodlust I’m in, I’m betting Sunny must be starving.
“No,” she says sulkily. “I just want to go back to our room and fall asleep. Maybe I’ll wake up and find out this was all just a crazy nightmare and I’m not hiding out from evil fairies at a school for vampire slayers with my beautiful boyfriend on the other side of the world.”
Oh man. Is she going to be like this the whole time we’re here? I should have asked Headmistress Roberta if I could switch to a single ...
“Fine,” I reply, starting the trudge up the hill. Maybe I’ll walk her to the room and then go out exploring myself.
We make it about halfway to the dorm when the cathedral bells start to chime. Suddenly our path is flooded with children of all ages and teens, pouring out of the classroom buildings and down the hill toward the cafeteria. We do our best to push through them, feeling like salmon swimming upstream, but it’s pretty tough with the sheer number of students they got here. I mean, really, how many slayers does Slayer Inc. need to train?
Eventually, the crowds start to thin and we’re able to make more headway. But before we can get to the dorm, our path is obstructed again, as a group of five teens—two guys and three girls—purposely step into our path. They’re dressed like something out of one of those secret society-type movies—long red cloaks, dark sunglasses, haughty expressions on their faces. They look very out of place among the otherwise very normally attired Riverdale student body.
“Well, well, well,” says the tallest boy in the group, surveying me with a critical once-over. “What have we here?”
6
I square my shoulders and narrow my eyes preemptively as the group forms a semi-circle around us, effectively blocking any chance of escape. I can see behind them other students giving us a wide berth as they pass, throwing nervous glances in our direction. Whoever these kids are, I’m guessing they’re not from the Riverdale welcoming committee, here to invite Sunny and I to popcorn and movie night back at the dorm.
Luckily I don’t like popcorn. “Do you mind?” I demand, taking a step forward, facing off with the tall boy who’s standing directly in my path. He’s got messy brown hair, a strong chin, and cheekbones that could cut glass. Kind of hot, if you like the jerk-off, a-hole type—which, of course, I usually do. I mean, before I met Jareth anyway. “We’re trying to get back to the dorm.”