parlor. Destynee sighed. âYeah, okay,â she said. âGood luck with that. Let me know how it works out for you.â
âAh, children!â said Quimby, appearing once more in his jar. âAnd how are we? Did we make lots of little friends? Did we listen to the vice principal?â
âWe listened to him,â said Destynee, and rolled her eyes. âHe went, âblah, blah, blah.ââ
âYeah,â said Merideath, âhe went, âblah, blah, blah!ââ
âDid he reach out with one of his tentacles and swallowsomeone?â asked Quimby.
âHe did,â said Falcon.
Quimby sighed. âSame gag, every year.â
âI guess my roommates arenât here yet?â said Falcon.
âNo, not yet. Tonight, perhaps tomorrow. Theyâre coming from a long way off, I understand.â
âAre they vampires?â said Destynee. âLike us?â
âWho told you youâre a vampire?â said Quimby, his eyes growing wide. âIs that what they told you?â
âOf course weâre vampires,â said Merideath. âHel-lo?â
âIf you were vampires,â said Quimby. âTheyâd have put you in the Tower of Blood. With the others. Wouldnât they?â
âLook at these teeth,â said Merideath, displaying her canines. âHave you ever seen teeth like this before?â
âIâve seen all kinds of teeth,â said Quimby. He shook his head sadly. âDonât get me started.â
âI donât care what youâve seen,â said Destynee. âWe know what we are, and what we are is the bomb .â
âThe bomb?â said Pearl. âWhat is this bomb?â
âWhat I mean,â said Destynee, âis that vampires are, like, the top of the monster pyramid. We rule!â
âPyramid?â said Falcon. âThereâs a pyramid?â
âWell, yeah,â said Merideath, as if this was the most obvious thing in the world. âAt the top you got vampires. After them, shape-shifters, mummies, leprechauns,anything with magical powers. In the middle thereâs your half-human, half-animal branch, the werewolves and bigfeet. At the bottom you got your reanimated corpsesâyour Frankensteins, your ghouls. Bottom of the line is zombies.â She smiled. âLike you, Falcon.â
âSay,â said Quimby. âHow about if you all wait until tomorrow, when youâve been diagnosed, before you start deciding whoâs the bomb. I have a suspicion tomorrow will be a day full of surprises. For all of you.â
âYou know what I think?â said Merideath. âI think we should put cyanide in your jar. Poison!â
âOh, goody,â said Quimby. âPlease?â
âEnough,â said Pearl. âIn this I agree with Quimby. Tomorrow, we know. For nowâthe mystery. Good night.â
With this, Pearl flew out into the hallway to a high shelf lined with books. She suspended herself upside down from the shelf, by her feet, and folded her head beneath one of her wings. A moment later there came a soft snoring sound.
âThatâs how she sleeps?â said Merideath.
âThatâs so lame,â said Destynee.
âThatâs soâwhatever,â said Merideath.
âIâm glad sheâs asleep,â said Destynee. âSheâs so totally annoying!â
âAnnoying is definitely what she is,â said Merideath.
âYeah,â said Destynee. âHey, letâs head into our crypt now for a mani-pedi!â
âExcellent,â said Merideath. âYou want to do your nails, Megan?â
âIn a second,â said Megan. She looked at Falcon with an odd expression. âAre you okay, Falcon?â she said.
âYeahâ¦,â said Falcon. âItâs justâIâm confused.â
âWhat a shock,â said Merideath.
âWhat are you confused about?â
Falcon
Hugh Cave
Caren J. Werlinger
Jason Halstead
Lauren Blakely
Sharon Cullars
Melinda Barron
Daniela Fischerova, Neil Bermel
TASHA ALEXANDER
ADAM L PENENBERG
Susan Juby