I wished I could
have said hello, but of course that was impossible.
just before Patrice stepped inside,
she paused at the door and looked! upward, directly at where I was hovering.
Could she see me ? I realized quickly that she couldn’t,
but the coincidence was striking. Patrice hesitated a second longer before
readjusting her sunglasses and going inside.
A few more familiar faces began to appear, both vampire and
human, mostly people I hadn’t known too well but had shared classes with and
spoken to from time to time. A couple of teachers, too — both Mr. Yee and
Professor Iwerebon mingled among the newcomers, saying hello to 52 parents. I
looked for my mother and father, half in dread, half in hope, but they didn’t
make an appearance. Among the human students, I didn’t see any old friends but
recognized a few faces — like Clementine Nichols, whose ticket to Evernight had
been her family’s haunted car, and Skye Tierney, Raquel’s sophomore — year lab
partner. Raquel had said Skye was “good people, basically.” Coming from Raquel,
who hated most people on principle until they gave her a reason to feel
otherwise, that was high praise.
And yet I never tried to have a real conversation with her,
or with a lot of these people. How could I never ask Clementine what it was
like to have a haunted car ?I should’ve reached out to
people more often. I’d never been incredibly outgoing, but death made me feel
lonelier, somehow.
The Woodsons’ car finally showed up, and Vic and Ranulf both
emerged. Each of them wore the regulation uniform, but Vic had on a Phillies
cap, as usual — and to my delight, Ranulf wore one as well.
“How very striking.” Mrs. Bethany swept out of the school,
as if she could sense deviations from protocol at a distance. “Mr. Woodson,
your sartorial influence on Mr. White is both profound and unfortunate.”
“We’ll take them off before class,” Vic promised, edging
around her. “Absolutely.”
“See that you do.”
Mrs. Bethany watched them go, her sharp eyes following them
like a hawk follows prey. She looked darkly beautiful with her thick hair piled
atop her head and her long fingernails painted crimson. But the only thing I
could think about was the last time I’d seen her — during the raid she’d led on
Black Cross’s New York headquarters. She’d killed Lucas’s stepfather in front
of my eyes without hesitating. The headmistress of Evernight enforced her idea
of the law, absolutely, whether seeking revenge for a Black Cross attack or
regulating the school dress code. I wondered if tl10se things were any
different for her, or whether it was all just a matter of rules.
That was what Balthazar seemed to think. I wasn’t sure,
though. Lucas and I had met because, two years before, Mrs. Bethany had
suddenly changed the rules of Evernight Academy in order to allow human
students to enroll — without informing those humans that they would be
surrounded by vampires, of course. Each of those many human students had
connections, one way or another, to ghosts. She’d been hunting the wraiths — creatures
like me — for reasons we had yet to learn. Mrs. Bethany was complicated in ways
I couldn’t pretend to fathom.
But I had to hope she would play by the rules today, at
least, because I recognized the car that Balthazar had rented coming up the
long gravel drive.
When Balthazar stepped out, several of the students — vampire
and human — smiled at him; he’d always been effortlessly popular, trusted by
everyone. But when Lucas got out of the passenger seat, the vampires’ smiles
vanished, replaced by expressions of pure loathing.
The ones who had been here t\vo years ago knew that Lucas
had been Black Cross — that he had first come to Evernight to spy on them, and
that he had been raised to kill vampires on sight. All of them would have heard
how narrowly he had escaped Mrs. Bethany when he’d been discovered. The fact
that Lucas had been changed into a
have said hello, but of course that was impossible.
just before Patrice stepped inside,
she paused at the door and looked! upward, directly at where I was hovering.
Could she see me ? I realized quickly that she couldn’t,
but the coincidence was striking. Patrice hesitated a second longer before
readjusting her sunglasses and going inside.
A few more familiar faces began to appear, both vampire and
human, mostly people I hadn’t known too well but had shared classes with and
spoken to from time to time. A couple of teachers, too — both Mr. Yee and
Professor Iwerebon mingled among the newcomers, saying hello to 52 parents. I
looked for my mother and father, half in dread, half in hope, but they didn’t
make an appearance. Among the human students, I didn’t see any old friends but
recognized a few faces — like Clementine Nichols, whose ticket to Evernight had
been her family’s haunted car, and Skye Tierney, Raquel’s sophomore — year lab
partner. Raquel had said Skye was “good people, basically.” Coming from Raquel,
who hated most people on principle until they gave her a reason to feel
otherwise, that was high praise.
And yet I never tried to have a real conversation with her,
or with a lot of these people. How could I never ask Clementine what it was
like to have a haunted car ?I should’ve reached out to
people more often. I’d never been incredibly outgoing, but death made me feel
lonelier, somehow.
The Woodsons’ car finally showed up, and Vic and Ranulf both
emerged. Each of them wore the regulation uniform, but Vic had on a Phillies
cap, as usual — and to my delight, Ranulf wore one as well.
“How very striking.” Mrs. Bethany swept out of the school,
as if she could sense deviations from protocol at a distance. “Mr. Woodson,
your sartorial influence on Mr. White is both profound and unfortunate.”
“We’ll take them off before class,” Vic promised, edging
around her. “Absolutely.”
“See that you do.”
Mrs. Bethany watched them go, her sharp eyes following them
like a hawk follows prey. She looked darkly beautiful with her thick hair piled
atop her head and her long fingernails painted crimson. But the only thing I
could think about was the last time I’d seen her — during the raid she’d led on
Black Cross’s New York headquarters. She’d killed Lucas’s stepfather in front
of my eyes without hesitating. The headmistress of Evernight enforced her idea
of the law, absolutely, whether seeking revenge for a Black Cross attack or
regulating the school dress code. I wondered if tl10se things were any
different for her, or whether it was all just a matter of rules.
That was what Balthazar seemed to think. I wasn’t sure,
though. Lucas and I had met because, two years before, Mrs. Bethany had
suddenly changed the rules of Evernight Academy in order to allow human
students to enroll — without informing those humans that they would be
surrounded by vampires, of course. Each of those many human students had
connections, one way or another, to ghosts. She’d been hunting the wraiths — creatures
like me — for reasons we had yet to learn. Mrs. Bethany was complicated in ways
I couldn’t pretend to fathom.
But I had to hope she would play by the rules today, at
least, because I recognized the car that Balthazar had rented coming up the
long gravel drive.
When Balthazar stepped out, several of the students — vampire
and human — smiled at him; he’d always been effortlessly popular, trusted by
everyone. But when Lucas got out of the passenger seat, the vampires’ smiles
vanished, replaced by expressions of pure loathing.
The ones who had been here t\vo years ago knew that Lucas
had been Black Cross — that he had first come to Evernight to spy on them, and
that he had been raised to kill vampires on sight. All of them would have heard
how narrowly he had escaped Mrs. Bethany when he’d been discovered. The fact
that Lucas had been changed into a
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