Chapter 9. Lorena
lorena
Waking up in the morning is brutal.
I try to lift my eyelids, but they’re too heavy. I feel like I haven’t slept in weeks. I don’t even remember how I got to bed last night—
My hand flies to my neck as the memory hits me hard.
I brush my fingertips over the spot where the vampire’s fangs sank in. My skin feels tender from his bite, and goose bumps ripple across my body as I think of how close he came to killing me.
How am I still alive?
“You sleep like the dead.” I roll over and see that Tiffany is already in her uniform. “You look dead, too.”
The door opens just then, and Salma strides in. “You’re still in bed?” she asks me, alarmed. Then she scowls at Tiffany. “I told you to wake her up!”
“She’s up,” says our roommate with a shrug.
“You were definitely not lying about needing your sleep,” Salma says to me, setting down her toiletries. “Hurry. Breakfast will be over soon.”
I sit up slowly, holding the sheet to my neck because I don’t know if there’s dried blood there. The thought triggers a hazy memory, probably of a dream I had last night. The vampire was depositing me in my bed, and before leaving, he leaned over, as if to kiss me good night.
Only his mouth hovered over my neck.
And instead of sharp fangs, I felt his cold tongue licking my wound clean.
I shiver.
“Are you sick?” Salma presses the back of her hand to my forehead.
“I’m fine,” I say, sliding out of reach.
I’m still dressed from my late-night outing, so I grab my bathroom things and head downstairs.
I’m winded by the time I reach the first landing, and when I look in the mirror, there’s no blood or bruising on my neck.
No evidence at all, other than a couple of barely perceptible cuts.
I don’t have time to shower. Climbing back upstairs, I have to take a break between levels to catch my breath.
I change into my uniform to the beat of Tiffany’s heel tapping the floor. “You didn’t have to wait for me,” I say when I can’t take the metronome of her impatience any longer.
“Told you we could have gone without her,” Tiffany says to Salma.
“Of course we waited for you,” says my best friend. She seems nervous, and I wonder why—until I remember how she and the others ditched me last night.
“You look pale,” she says, still scrutinizing me like I might be sick.
“No, Zach is pale,” I correct her.
“You know what I mean,” she says with an eye roll. “Your skin looks less tan than usual.”
“I’m fine,” I insist as I pull on my uniform, and when I slip a period pad into my book bag, I ask Salma, “You need a pad?”
“I have my own,” she says without looking at me. “Come on, let’s go.”
It takes most of my energy to keep up with my roommates on the way to the dining hall, even though I’m in sneakers and both Tiffany and Salma have paired their uniforms with platform heels. They practically tower over me.
I don’t know if I should have breakfast or call the police. How can I just go about my day when I know what’s happening at midnight? The vampire is going to kill me, and I have no way to stop him.
The fact that he actually bought my bluff is miraculous. But once he figures out that I don’t know anything, he’s not going to give me any more chances.
I need to get out of here.
But for all I know, he could be watching and listening even now. I cast my gaze all around as we enter the dining hall, searching for a sign of him.
When we get to our table, the guys are just setting down their bags. They look as exhausted as I feel, which confirms my suspicions—everyone went to the basement but me.
I take longer than the others to fill my plate because I’m not eager to sit with them and act like I don’t know what they did.
I pile on servings of eggs, bacon, and toast, feeling hungrier than ever this morning.
When I finally take my seat, Salma is moving some fruit around her bowl of granola, but she’s barely touched it.
Once I’ve polished off my bacon, she says, “I think it’s time we vote.”
Zach looks from her to me, the discomfort clear on his face. Even Tiffany stays quiet. Then Trevor asks, “Who wants to go back to that secret library tonight?”
He raises his own hand, casting his vote as he asks the question. Salma’s goes up next, then Tiffany’s and, after a beat, Zach’s.
As they wait for my decision, I ask, “Was this whole performance just for me? Should I be flattered?”
At least Zach and Trevor have the decency to drop their gazes to the table, but Tiffany meets my stare with her own. “You’re the one who gave us an ultimatum.”
But I’m uninterested in her excuses, so I shift my gaze to Salma, whose brown eyes are soft with regret. “I’m sorry, Lore—”
“How could you ditch me like that?” My voice comes out louder than I expected.
She flinches like my words physically hurt. “We all discovered that place,” she says, her low voice contrasting with mine. “You can’t just decide that none of us gets to go.”
“So you lied to me?” Yet even as I say it, I feel my jaw tightening at my own hypocrisy.
“You were just so worked up about it—”
“We’ve known each other our whole lives, and you couldn’t trust that I had my reasons?”
“Which are what, exactly?” Tiffany butts in. “Why are you so dead set against us going back there?” When I don’t answer, she says, “I think you’re the one who’s not being honest.”
“About what?” I ask, my heart pounding harder.
“Whatever happened down there the other night.”
Salma, Zach, and Trevor watch me expectantly, like even they have their doubts. And more than anything, I want to warn them.
The word vampire is on the tip of my tongue—
But he could be listening. Then not only will I be proving he can’t trust me, but I’ll be putting my friends in danger.
“Never mind,” I say, swallowing hard, and again I scan the hall in search of the vampire.
“Who are you looking for?” asks Tiffany. She’s like a reporter who’s just caught a whiff of a story.
“No one,” I say with a sharp shrug. “Are any of you going to tell me what was in the coffin?”
“Nothing,” says Salma with a long sigh, relief blowing out of her like a deflating balloon. “There wasn’t any trace of a corpse ever being inside.”
“Whatever the gimmick was, we couldn’t figure it out,” says Zach. “I went to the library and used one of the computers to search that encyclopedia database Minaro mentioned, but I couldn’t find anything about a tech powerful enough to stop digital cameras from recording images.”
“Is the plan to go back tonight?” I ask.
“Of course,” answers Trevor. “We even settled on a name for it: The Library of Unwritten Books—”
“LUB for short,” interjects Salma.
“—and we decided we’re not going to tell anyone about it.” Trevor looks at me like I’m supposed to say something.
“Zach and I are going to be the ones who break the story,” says Tiffany in a warning tone. As if I might scoop her.
“Whenever we figure out what the story is,” adds Zach.
“So are you in?” Trevor asks me.
The intensity of his gaze makes me think of the green book in his bag. He seems to be taking this library more seriously than the rest of us. Is it because of something he came across in that text?
“I’m in,” I say when I realize they’re all waiting on me. A smile splits Salma’s face that reminds me of the old Sal, pre-mourning. She brings a spoonful of granola to her mouth, and it looks like her appetite’s back.
“Attention, students.”
The director rises to her feet, and the hall quiets down.
“Given that most, if not all, of you will be applying to college soon, this is not the time to slack off. The standards for admission have never been higher, so you must find ways to stand out beyond your GPA. To that end, we are requiring that every student sign up for at least one extracurricular activity.”
“Oh, come on,” says Trevor, rolling his eyes.
There are more disappointed reactions from other tables, but Minaro ignores them.
“As we are a new school, it will be up to you to establish the clubs and organizations you are interested in. If you have ideas, please pick up forms from the administrative office and submit your proposals. We will make our official selections on Friday, and over the weekend we will post enrollment sheets for every activity. You will sign up for at least one, and meetings will begin next week.”
“Film club,” Zach announces as soon as talking breaks out.
“I know what I’m proposing,” says Tiffany. “Morning announcements!”
She sits up and plasters on a smile like she’s already on camera.
“Good morning, students of Huntington, this is Tiffany Carter, bringing you the news this Tuesday. Today will be a high of sixty-five degrees, with a low of fifty-three. Breakfast offerings this morning include scrambled eggs, bacon, toast, and cereal with your choice of dairy and nondairy milks—”
“You’re perfect,” says Zach, and when he sees the pointed way both Salma and Trevor look from him to Tiffany, implying a romantic link, he doesn’t seem bothered by it. “I can handle the videography if you want.”
“I’d love that,” she says.
“Football,” says Trevor, and he sits up. “If we can get a solid enough team, we could qualify for a league.” He sizes up our classmates like he’s scouting potential prospects.
“Occult club,” says Salma, her gleaming eyes meeting mine. “I was sure when I saw pictures of this place that it had paranormal vibes, and obviously the LUB confirms it.”
The word paranormal is a knife to my throat, and I look away.
“But you can’t tell anyone about the LUB,” Trevor warns her.
“Calm down, Fight Club,” says Salma, who looks like she’s biting back a grin when Trevor flashes his dimples at her. “What about you?” she asks me, and I shrug.
“I’m … not sure.”
First, I need to survive long enough to fill out the form.
“You heard Minaro,” says Tiffany. “You need to pick one.”
“Okay then, maybe…” I scour my mind for things I enjoy doing. “A book club?”
“Right,” says Tiffany, cracking a sardonic smirk. “I’m sure everyone will sign up to do even more reading just for fun.”