Chapter 1
School Time
Lee Price was nine years old. He lived with his mom and dad in an ordinary house in an ordinary street and, like most nine-year-olds, he went to school every day.
Or rather, every night.
Thatâs because St. Orlokâs Elementary School was no ordinary school, and Lee was no ordinary boy.
St. Orlokâs was a school for young vampires. Young vampires like Lee Price.
At St. Orlokâs, Lee and his friends learned to do all the things that vampires do.
Like cloak-swishingâ¦
Scary staringâ¦
Tying a bow tieâ¦
Losing your reflectionâ¦
Flossing your fangsâ¦
And cooking without garlic.
Early one night, Leeâs mom called up the stairs, just like she did every evening.
âLee! Time to get up for school!â
Lee blinked sleepily in the bright moonlight.
âAw,â he groaned. âJust five more minutes!â
âNo, dear. Itâs already ten past eight. If you donât get up now youâll be late.â
Lee got dressed and went down to the kitchen for breakfast.
Dad was getting ready to go to work. He patted Lee on the head.
âSee you later, Lee,â he said. âHave a good night at school. And good luck in the game. Donât let any of those werewolves near the casket!â
âThanks, Dad, I wonât,â grinned Lee, gulping down a mouthful of blood-orange juice.
Lee was on the St. Orlokâs school casketball team. Casketball was the vampire version of basketball. Today they were playing in the Junior Interschool Series against the werewolves of Chaney Street Elementary School.
With a little POP! Dad changed into a bat and fluttered out of the kitchen window.
Then Lee remembered.
âHey, Mom! Weâre starting bat lessons today! Weâre learning how to turn into bats and how to fly. I canât wait!â
âCome on then,â said Mom, looking at her watch. âGot your casketball uniform? Good. Now put your cloak on and run upstairs to comb your hair. And donât forget to brush your fangs.â
Chapter 2
Bat Lessons
Mom left Lee at the gates of St. Orlokâs. She gave him a peck on the cheek, said, âSee you at half past three,â then with a POP! she turned into a bat and flapped back home.
Lee ran to join Bella Williams and Billy Pratt, his best friends at school. They were all in Miss Gargoyleâs class and were very excited about their first bat lesson.
âBeing a bat will be great,â said Lee. âWeâll be able to fly to the tops of trees instead of climbing them.â
âNo way!â said Billy, who didnât like heights. âThe best thing will be flying really fast.â
âDid you know that there are over a thousand types of bats?â said Bella. âMom bought me a book about it. I wonder what kind weâll turn intoâ¦â
âDuh,â said Lee. âVampire bats, of course.â
Lee, Billy, and Bella reached their classroom just as Miss Gargoyle was about to take attendance.
âSettle down now, children,â said Miss Gargoyle. âTonight I will show you one of the most important vampire skillsâhow to turn into a bat!â
The children all gathered around.
âFirst of all, you must think really hard about being a bat,â said Miss Gargoyle. She closed her eyes.
âMy arms are not arms but bat wings. My legs are little bat legs. My body is small and furry. My head is a batâs head with big bat ears. Got that?â
âYes, Miss Gargoyle,â chorused the class.
âNext, I say these words to myselfâ
Iâm a bat, a bat is me,
A bat is all I want to be.â
With a soft POP! Miss Gargoyle changed into a little brown bat flapping in front of the blackboard.
âSee?â squeaked Miss Gargoyle. âTo change back, just sayâ
Pointy fangs
and swishing cape.
Itâs time to take on
vampire shape.â
With another POP! Miss Gargoyle
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