*
The rest of the morning passed uneventfully. I’d managed not to eat Drake or anyone else, although I seriously considered sucking a few teachers dry just to spare everyone from the boredom. School seemed so much more exciting when I was alive. I wasn’t quite getting the same feeling now. Maybe I was trying too hard to recreate something that had died with me and was still buried in that coffin in Rochelle.
At lunch, I caught Drake’s eye and gave him a knowing nod as I headed for the door. Time for a little snack. Then maybe I could come back in and munch on something for show.
The hall monitor guarding the door stopped me.
“Whoa there, I’m going to need to see a pass.” The man, easily seventy years old, held up a hand. He wore the most hideous sweater I’d ever seen.
I gazed into his eyes.
“I have my pass right here, you just saw it.”
“I saw your pass,” he murmured. “Uh, alright, goodbye young lady.”
“I’ll be right back,” I said. I shoved the heavy door open and was slapped in the face by a cold wind. I wove through the cars in the parking lot, finding the Mustang where I’d left it, all the way at the back, under a tree. Hopefully no one would see me having lunch here. Students weren’t allowed to leave campus for lunch like they were at my old school. That should make it a little easier.
I slid into the front seat, put my key in the ignition, and turned up the volume on the radio. I pulled the cooler from the floor and put it on the passenger seat and drained two bags of blood, throwing the empties back into the cooler. There were still two bags left in case I needed them for an after school snack.
I turned off the radio and climbed out of the car. The wind whipped my hair around me, and I pulled at the strands, trying to get them to behave so I could see.
“Excuse me young lady,” I heard a voice say before I could find the source. A short, plump woman in a poofy down coat waddled up beside me. Her hood was pulled tight around her round face.
“Yes?” I turned to her, hoping she hadn’t seen what I was doing in the car.
“That your car over there?” She pointed to the Mustang.
“Yes ma’am.” I nodded, trying to keep an innocent look on my face.
“It looked like you were drinking something in there. You got a cooler on the floor, I saw. Why don’t we go over and take a look at it, or do I need to call the school police liaison officer?” She waved a school walkie-talkie/cell phone at me with a mittened hand. “I’m going to need to smell your breath.”
“Fine,” I said and walked closer. Ew, I so didn’t want to blow my blood-breath in this lady’s face. She honestly thought I was drinking alcohol. I stepped forward and bent down so my mouth was near her nose. I exhaled, confident she would be disappointed and then leave me alone.
“Well, it doesn’t smell like alcohol, but you could’ve taken some drugs, so I’m just going to need you to open that car for me,” she said.
I was really getting tired of having to do this all the time, even though it was much more convenient. I’d have to come up with a better way to have a snack than this. It was too annoying.
I leaned in towards her, my eyes piercing her beady brown ones. Her pupils dilated instantly.
“We just had a pleasant conversation and I am now going back in the building. You didn’t suspect me of anything. Now run off and have a nice day,” I said with a sigh. She nodded and turned on her foot, dutifully marching off through the sea of cars. Disaster averted again.
I picked my way carefully through the parking lot, making sure there were no other monitor-types assessing my every move. I sensed a temperature change as I entered the building and joined the noisy throng of students in the crowded lunchroom. Their scents were much less noticeable. After filling up with a snack, it was easy to ignore the different flavors. Drake waved from across the room and I wove through the tables to where he sat with a group of friends.
“Care to join us? Or do you have somewhere cooler to sit?” He joked and patted a plastic stool next to him.
“Where would be cooler than this?” I beamed and plopped down, setting my purse on the table. For good measure, and to make sure people saw me eat something, I grabbed a fry off his plate and shoved it in my mouth. It didn’t taste great, but I didn’t expect much more from school cafeteria food. My eyes traveled over the four students seated at Drake’s end of the table. It was obvious from the way the students at the other end of the table were sitting that they weren’t part of the group. They seemed totally engrossed in their own conversation and hadn’t even looked up when I sat down.
At our end of the table sat two girls and two boys.
“Aren’t you going to introduce us?” asked a blond boy across from me.
“Oh yeah, sorry!” Drake gestured to each person. “This is Monty, AKA John Montgomery.”
Monty nodded and gave a slight bow. His long, blond hair was gathered in a ponytail and he sported a Grateful Dead shirt. He had accessorized with a worn hemp necklace that I was pretty sure he never removed, and a pair of tiny hoop earrings.
“This is Callie, and this is Lauryn,” he said, pointing at each of the two girls. Callie was clearly athletic, her tight clothes showed off her muscles. She was cute but strong,it was written across her face. Her blond hair was swept up in a tight knot, with a headband circling it. Lauryn was petite in comparison. Her strawberry-blond curls cascaded around her face. A sprinkling of freckles graced her nose, which brought out the gray of her eyes. She was dressed more conservatively, with a black cardigan over a light blue shirt.
“And last, but not least, this is Ernie.”
I shook hands with everyone around the table. Ernie was a little smaller than Drake and Monty, and dressed pretty similar to Drake, in a fitted navy blue polo and jeans.
“It’s nice to meet you,” I said as their eager eyes combed over me, assessing every detail.
“You have lovely eyes,” said Lauryn with a smile. The others nodded in agreement.
“So, Drake was telling us that you just moved here,” Callie said, waving a French fry.
“Yeah, I just moved in with my aunt in Bartlett.” I shrugged. “I’m hoping to stay the whole year.” I glanced at Drake and smiled.
“That’s cool. We’ll make sure you have a good time here,” Monty said around a mouthful of turkey sandwich.
“What are you guys up to tonight? Up for some ice cream?” Drake took a bite of another fry.
“Yeah, I could do that,” Ernie responded as Monty and Lauryn nodded in agreement.
“I’m out unless we can go after six. I’ve got basketball practice,” Callie said them.
“Cool, so we’ll swing by and pick you guys up around seven.”
“Are we all going to fit in the jelly bean?” I stifled a laugh.
“Oh, that’ll be kinda tight.” Drake nodded. “Don’t get too excited, but I might just be able to talk my mom into letting me borrow the minivan.”
“Hells yeah. Shaggin’ wagon!” Monty snapped his fingers and pumped a fist.
“Just make sure you’ve had your dinner first.” Drake threw me a knowing smile accompanied with a ridiculous wink.
This is what I had wanted. A normal life, date with new friends for ice cream, hanging in the shaggin’ wagon. I just hoped we didn’t have any uninvited fangy guests.