Read Online Almost Final Curtain by Tate Hallaway - Free Book Online

morning, especially, with thunder rattling the windows, the rooms felt cavernous and huge. Lightning threw long, flickering shadows across the expanse of the dusty, unused parlor, down the golden hardwood hallway, to glitter on the glass beads of the heavy chandelier above my head. I sat in my customary chair in the corner of a dining room set that could easily seat twenty. The noise of my spoon clanking against the bowl was the only sign of human habitation.
    With a heavy and resigned sigh, I padded on stocking feet to the kitchen. There, I put my dishes in the sink and then wandered out toward the door to get ready for school. I found my bright yellow raincoat in the closet by the door and an umbrella in a wicker basket near the coatrack. Shouldering my backpack, I headed off to the bus stop.
    Umbrellas were so stupid. They never really kept the wind from sneaking under and spattering your face with wet. The fourth time it bent backward, I gave up on it and collapsed it. Thus, my hair was completely soaked by the time I found a seat on the bus next to a shy, first-grade girl with thick braids and frog eyes on the hood of her rain jacket. The weather subdued the usual raucous mood, and we bounced along glumly, everything smelling of moistness. The older kids’ gossip had already shifted to a new topic—apparently someone had done some kind of typical high school prank—and so, thankfully, no one asked after Nik or Ingress.
    I read my history chapters as the bus shuddered from stop to stop.
    When we got to Stassen, I waved good-bye to the little girl. She rewarded me with a big white smile.
    Bea and Taylor waited by my locker. My Converses were completely soaked, and the rubber treads squeaked on the polished linoleum floor. When I saw my friends, I considered dashing into Mr. Knutson’s art room to hide, but Bea saw me and waved.
    They both looked so happy; I felt miserable.
    Taylor hopped up and down on her toes with excitement. “You didn’t text us!” she admonished. “How did it go with Nik last night?”
    “Oh, great,” I said as casually as possible as I dialed the combination to the lock. “We broke up.”
    Though I quickly buried my head in my locker, I could almost see their horrified double takes in the pregnant silence.
    “You’re not serious,” Bea said. “This is a bad attempt at a joke, right?”
    “I thought he got this gig with the musical just to hang out with you,” Taylor added. “Why would he break things off?”
    I shoved the books I needed for the next couple of periods into my backpack, and then pronounced, “Boys are stupid.”
    “Yes, but they’re so cute.” Bea smiled, the wheels clearly turning over her plan on how to make her move now that Nikolai was free. Bea had always had a crush on Nik.
    “I thought older guys were supposed to be more mature,” Taylor said, sounding honestly confused. “He always seemed so into you. What changed?”
    Bea and I exchanged a glance. She knew about the vampire/ hunter/witch problem, but Taylor was our nonmagical friend. All the mystical stuff was supposed to be secret.
    So I shrugged and offered up something I hoped she’d understand. “His dad is Russian, you know. I guess they’re kind of traditional. There’s a lot of pressure for Nik to follow in his dad’s footsteps.”
    Bea gave me an appreciative nod, like she was impressed at how accurate I could be without saying anything about vampires.
    Taylor chewed on her lip for a moment, tugged thoughtfully on her hijab , and then came to the conclusion: “Man, I hate that family shit.”
    I laughed a little. “Yeah, me too.”
    “The musical is going to be way awkward,” Bea noted solemnly, as we made our way to first period.
    Except, even updated to some kind of rock opera, My Fair Lady was so not my kind of production. What kind of part was there for a gangly, pasty girl with different-colored eyes? “I’m not even sure I’m going to try out,” I said, though my gut clenched