Vampires Rule (7 page)

“You will recall we were talking about the
war between the Greeks and Trojans and how it could have been
avoided during our last session,” Jersey said. Still facing the
chalkboard, the teacher spoke to him as if he had eyes in the back
of his head and knew exactly where Jack was sitting.

“We have a new student,” he said. “Tell me
something, Jack. Have you read The Illiad? Will you be able to
offer an intelligent opinion on the subject?”

Jack stiffened as every eye in the room
turned to him. He hadn’t expected to be singled out this early in
the game. “I’ve read it,” he said, giving silent thanks to Lily for
insisting he read her copy.

Jersey added his pale blue eyes to the mix. A
slight smile tilted his thin lips as if he was secretly amused by
something. “Then tell me, Jack, what do you think of the whole
mess? Who was the most at fault in your opinion? Was it young Paris
for falling in love with another man’s wife? Was it Helen for
leaving with him when she knew what trouble it would cause? Was it
Achilles for refusing to battle for so long? Was it Hector for
standing beside his brother on the matter even though he should
have thrown him to the wolves?”

Jack felt Silver watching him too, waiting
for an answer to the teacher’s question.

“I would have to blame the gods,” Jack said,
defiant.

“The gods?” Jersey’s smile widened. He sat on
the edge of his desk and stared at Jack in wonder. “You blame the
gods for the war? Please tell me why.”

“They meddled. If they had stayed out of it,
things might not have gone as far as they did. The gods chose
sides. They each had their favorite mortals here on earth, and they
were determined to see them win the battle. They used tricks,
deceit not only with each other but with the humans as well. Really
the war was between the gods themselves. They just used the humans
like pawns.”

Jersey clapped his hands together.
“Brilliant. In all my years teaching I have never had a student
blame the gods, believe it or not. Refreshing. I think you are
going to be a wonderful addition to our class.” He stopped clapping
and added, “Although, you speak like you aren’t one of us, Jack.
Not a mere mortal. Puzzling. Your upper lip curls into a little
sneer when you say the word human. Did you know?”

The good feeling that came with giving an
acceptable answer vanished. He froze to his seat and tried hard not
to react to the teacher’s probing gaze. There was something about
Jersey Clifford, something different about him, something out of
synch. Jack made a mental note to watch his step with the
teacher.

Silver gave Jack an I-told-you-so look, but
he kept his own expression neutral. Surely the teacher didn’t know
about vampires. He had probably minored in psychology at whatever
university he’d attended. Maybe analyzing students was Jersey’s
favorite hobby.

Jersey’s all-seeing gaze flickered over to
Silver, almost bored. “Miss Reign, I do believe you’re in the wrong
class. Did you get lost?”

“I was showing Jack around the school.” She
ignored Meghan’s grunt of outrage. “I was just going to sit here
for a minute to make sure he was in the right place, but then I got
caught up in your lesson on The Illiad. It’s…wow.”

Jersey rolled his eyes. “Goodbye, Miss
Reign.”

He got off the edge of the desk and turned,
effectively dismissing her. Silver had no choice but to leave the
classroom. Once outside the door, she mouthed words at Jack through
the glass. Unfortunately he hadn’t learned to read lips. She tried
again. When he didn’t understand her, she threw her hands up and
walked away.

Jersey smirked behind his copy of the
assigned book. “We are going to discuss characterization now. Who
wants to begin?”

Several hands shot into the air.

Jack kept his firmly on the desk’s cool
surface.

Jersey pointed at someone in the first row,
and Jack breathed a sigh of relief.

****

English class flew by. Listening to Jersey’s
insightful lecture on Homer’s book made Jack momentarily forget
Silver, being a former vampire, the mess his life had become,
everything. He even forgot to worry about keeping his past a
secret. Before he knew it the hour had passed.

While everyone else left the room, including
Meghan, Jack stared down at his list of classes. He had no idea
where he was supposed to go next. After English he had Study Hall.
He didn’t even know what that was. He groaned. How was he going to
survive the rest of the day? He should have taken advantage of
Meghan’s attention while he’d had it.

“Problem?” Jersey asked.

“I think I’m lost already.”

The teacher glanced at the list. “Study Hall.
No problem. I’ll walk you.”

“You don’t have to do that.”

“It’s my pleasure.” Jersey smiled. “I
remember what it was like to be the new kid. In any case, I enjoyed
your comments about the book. I’d like to talk to you for a few
minutes while we walk.”

Jack stiffened. “Why?”

“You should be in my advanced class, not in
here with the average students. Most of them aren’t even listening
half the time. The girls are thinking about the boys, and the boys
are thinking about their next meal.”

“I don’t know if I’m ready for a harder
class. I’m still trying to feel my way around in the dark. School
is tougher than I remember.”

Jersey’s eyes narrowed. “Than you
remember?”

“I mean this school is different from the one
I left in Boston.”

Jersey shrugged, but there was nothing casual
about the intensity of his stare. “You’ll do fine. If you have any
problems, my door is always open to you.”

Jack mentally kicked himself for the slip.
Maybe Silver was right. He should go home until he got comfortable
in his human skin.

As if reading his mind, Jersey said, “You’ve
made a good friend in Silver. She is one of our best students. To
my knowledge she has never skipped class before. Yet she did it for
you. She most certainly didn’t stay to hear my lecture. How did the
two of you meet?”

Jack’s mind went blank.

Jersey laughed. “It isn’t a trick
question.”

“My brother introduced us. I was just
wondering why you care so much who I hang out with.”

“Curious. She’s a good student, but sometimes
she hangs out with the troublemakers. I would hate to see you fall
in with the wrong element.”

“How do you know I’m not the wrong
element?”

Jersey laughed, loud and deep. “I pride
myself on being a good judge of character. You’re no more a bad
person than I am.”

Jack smiled. He wondered what the English
teacher would do if he told him about his former fangs. “I’d better
get going. Why don’t you just point me in the right direction?”

Jersey insisted on walking him the entire
way. At least he stopped asking questions. Instead, he took the
time between his classroom and the library to fill Jack in on the
history of the school. Boring. Jack began to relax, but the second
he let down his guard the teacher flashed a knowing smile.

“You look familiar, Jack. I’m sure we haven’t
met, but I’ve seen you before. Don’t worry. I’m good with faces.
I’ll remember.”

Jersey began to whistle.

Study Hall took place in the library. Jersey
Clifford opened the door to the huge book-filled room and waved
Jack inside. There were several tables in the center, most of them
already occupied. The final bell had rung six minutes ago, so
students were in their seats, noses in their books. Every single
one glanced up when he entered the room.

Jersey introduced him to Mr. Kyle, the
teacher on duty, before he left.

Mr. Kyle checked his papers. While the
teacher looked over the list of Jack’s classes to make sure he was
in the right place, Jack searched the room for a familiar face. In
seconds he found the one he most wanted to see.

Silver smiled at him. She had an empty seat
on one side of her and a blond girl on the other. There were a
couple big guys sitting on the other side of the table. One of them
continuously glanced up at her. Jack didn’t like the expression on
the kid’s face, a sort of possessive smirk.

She motioned for Jack to join them. Smiling
in relief, he sat next to her. They weren’t allowed to talk, but he
was itching to say something, anything. He wanted to hear her voice
and look into her expressive eyes. Instead, he opened his Biology
book and stared at the words without seeing them. His thoughts
remained on communicating with Silver.

Jack wondered if kids still passed notes to
each other. He opened his notebook and scribbled a quick sentence.
Can you give me a lift home?

He folded the paper in half before sliding it
under her fingertips. Out of the corner of one eye he saw her
glance his way. He fought the urge to look at her. The note could
speak for itself. He shouldn’t have to tell her to read it. She was
a pretty girl. No doubt he wasn’t the first guy to pass a note to
her.

She brought it down to her lap and unfolded
it. She glanced his way again. Her hand reached in front of him for
his pencil. She jotted something beneath his question and set the
paper on his open book.

He made sure the teacher wasn’t watching. Mr.
Kyle leaned over a student at another table and helped him with a
problem. Jack unfolded the paper and read it. A slow smile
stretched his lips.
Yes. Need to talk about your future at my
school.

Her school? He wrote:
My school first. Why
do you want me gone
?

He returned the note to her and watched her
read it out of the corner of his eye. He almost laughed when she
sighed. She sounded frustrated. Grabbing his pencil again, she
wrote another line with a fierce scratching motion. He leaned
close, read it as she was writing.

Can’t tell you yet. Trust me and go.

They passed the note back and forth for the
entire class hour while Silver’s friends watched with amused
expressions, everyone except for the one boy who obviously liked
her. He glared at them, his disapproval evident.

Jack wrote:
Promise to be good
.

She wrote:
Too dangerous. You don’t
know
.

Tell me.

I will.

When?

On the ride home.

The bell rang, cutting their silent
conversation short. Students gathered their belongings and headed
for the door. Jack stood. He stretched his arms over his head,
arched his back. Spending an hour in a wooden chair was hell on a
human spine. He waited patiently for Silver to get ready.

The boy with the crush made a beeline for
Silver. He approached her from behind, moving fast. Before Jack
could warn her, the guy had his arm around her throat. Her eyes
widened in surprise.

Jack lost it. In a series of quick movements
that would have been the envy of any martial arts movie nut, he
grabbed the guy’s finger, twisted it back, swung the jerk around
and slammed him, head-first into the wooden table.

All of this took place in a matter of
seconds.

Silver pulled on him from behind. “What are
you doing?”

“He attacked you.”

“No, he didn’t.” She yelled at him. “Tucker
is a friend of mine, you idiot!”

A friend? Jack let Tucker go and took a step
back. He still wasn’t convinced, but Silver seemed pretty mad about
the whole thing. Somehow he’d misread the situation.

She explained, “He’s on the wrestling team.
Sometimes he tries to get me into a hold I can’t get out of. This
is exactly why I didn’t want you here.”

Mr. Kyle charged over and pointed at Jack.
“You! Principal’s office! Now!”

He opened his mouth to argue with the
teacher, even though he had no idea what he could say at the moment
to defend what he’d done, but Silver took over. She pushed him to
and out the door before he could say a word. Once she got him into
the hallway, she cornered him against a row of lockers.

“What is wrong with you? You can’t go around
punching people for no reason. You didn’t even give him a fair
chance.”

He stared down at the toe of his shoe. She
was right. He had only been in school for two hours, and he’d
already screwed things up. He was angry with himself, but he was
furious with her. Why did she defend this Tucker guy so vehemently?
Did she like the jerk?

Jack grumbled, “I’d better go. I have to see
the principal.”

“No, you don’t. I want you out of here.”

“Too bad. I’m staying.”

Silver glared at him. “I can’t believe I was
looking forward to meeting you. You’re going to ruin my life. Stay
away from me.”

Her words cut deep. She was his only friend,
the only one outside of his brother who knew the truth about him.
In fact he suspected she knew more about him than he knew about
himself. He needed her.

She walked away, but he followed her. “I
still need a ride home.”

Her lips compressed into a tight line. She
was really pissed. She refused to look at him, charging down the
hall like a bull, dodging stationary students. It was kind of hard
to keep up with her.

He added, “It might make you feel better if
you hit me.”

She spun around and the flat of her hand
struck his chest. Jack wasn’t prepared for the attack. The force of
it sent him flying backwards. He crashed into the lockers with a
loud clang before falling to the ground. His flailing arms knocked
books out of some guys hands.

Jack noticed the janitor watching them from
the other end of the hallway. In light brown coveralls, he had long
graying hair that covered his face, and his greasy hair hung down
as usual, blocking the rest of his face.. There was a mop in his
hand, but he wasn’t using it. He turned, walked away.

Passing students snickered and pointed.