Read Online Evernight by Claudia Gray - Free Book Online Page A

couldn't get back into the school right away. They were
patrolling. Then they realized where you guys were and took off. I only got in
here about three minutes before you did."

Patrice shrugged as she reached for her nightshirt. I did my best to get
changed without turning away from my corner. The conversation was over, and I'd
successfully lied to my roommate for the first time.

Maybe I should've told Patrice why I was late. Most girls would probably be
bubbling over to tell everyone all about the gorgeous guy they'd just made a
connection with. But I liked the secret. That made it more special, somehow,
the fact that only I knew. Lucas likes me, and I like him back. I think
maybe, soon, we're going to be together.

That last thought was probably taking it a little far, I decided as I slid
beneath the blankets again. All the same, I couldn't help myself. My mind was
racing too fast for me to sleep, and I smiled against my pillowcase.

He's mine.
    * * *
    "Heard there was quite a party last night," Dad
said, as he placed a hamburger and fries in front of me at my family's table.

"Mmm-hmmm," I answered through a mouthful of fries. Then I caught
myself and mumbled, "I mean, that's what I heard, too."

Mom and Dad traded looks, and I got the impression that they were more amused
than ticked off. That was a relief.

This was the first of what would be our weekly Sunday dinners. Every second I could
be back with my family in the faculty apartment instead of surrounded by
Evernight kids was good with me. Even though they were trying to act all casual
about it, I could tell that my parents had missed me almost as much as I'd
missed them. Duke Ellington was on the stereo, and despite the parental
interrogation, everything was again right with the world.

"Things didn't get out of hand, did they?" Mom had apparently decided
to ignore the fact that I'd denied being there. "From what I heard, it was
mostly beer and music."

"Not that I know of." It wasn't really a denial; I mean, I did only
attend the party for about fifteen minutes.

Dad shook his head and said to Mom, "It doesn't matter if it was just
beer. The rules have to be obeyed, Celia. I don't worry about Bianca, but some
of the others—"

"I'm not against rules. But it's natural for the older students to rebel
against them occasionally. Better to have a few minor slipups from time to time
than some major incident." Mom turned her attention back to me.
"What's your favorite class so far?"

"Yours, of course." I gave her a look, asking if she really thought I
was silly enough to answer any other way, and she laughed.

"Besides mine." Mom put her chin in her hand, ignoring the entire
elbows-on-the-table rule. "English, maybe? You've always loved that
most."

"Not with Mrs. Bethany."

This didn't earn me any sympathy. "Listen to her." Dad was stern, and
he set his glass down on the old oak table too hard, with a thunk. "She's
someone that you need to take seriously."

I thought: Stupid, she's their boss. What would happen if word got
around that their kid was bad-mouthing the headmistress? Think about somebody
beside yourself for a change .

"I'll try harder," I promised.

"I know you will." Mom covered my hand with her own.
    * * *
    On Monday, I went into English class determined to make a
fresh start. We had recently started mythology and folklore, both subjects I'd
always enjoyed. Surely if I could prove myself to Mrs. Bethany in any area, it
would be that.

Well, apparently I couldn't prove myself to Mrs. Bethany.

"I expect that relatively few of you will have read our next
assignment," she said, as a stack of paperbacks made its way around the
room. Mrs. Bethany always smelled slightly of lavender—feminine, yet sharp.
"However, I imagine that virtually all of you have heard of it."

The paperbacks reached my desk, and I took a copy of Bram Stoker's Dracula .
From the next row of desks, I heard Raquel mutter, "Vampires?"

As soon as she'd said it, a weird sort of