Vampires Rule

The Homicidal Janitor

The next morning Jack rode to school with Silver since they were living in the same house. She drove so he wouldn't have to borrow Billy's car. Even though his brother always gave him the keys without making a fuss, Jack hated asking. When they arrived at school, they found flowers lined up against the school building in memory of the three missing teens. The police were calling them runaways because no one believed a word the witnesses said about flying zombie creatures.

Jack walked Silver to each of her classes, and he insisted on carrying her books. All day her cheeks hosted a wild pink blush. The other kids stared at them as they walked down the hallways, a few of them pointing while others whispered. By lunchtime, everyone in the school knew they were a couple. The news spread faster than Jack could run.

"This is so intense." Trina blocked them as they tried to enter the cafeteria. "Why didn't you tell me you were engaged?"

Silver shared an amused glance with Jack before bursting Trina's bubble. "We are not engaged."

"Oh. I guess the other things I heard aren't true either then."

"What did you hear?" Jack asked.

"That you're going to Prom together." Trina listed the rumors on her fingers. "You have a cabin where you meet every other weekend, and you're having a baby." Upon seeing Silver's shocked expression, Trina added, "I squashed that rumor real fast."

"Thank you." Silver glanced around the crowded room.

"I'll give you two some privacy," Trina said. "I'm sitting with Lauren and Braden today. They're like an old married couple now, so I'm sure they won't mind having the company."

Jack bought Silver lunch, even though she had her own money. Once again he insisted, reveling in the new feeling of being her official boyfriend. They sat at the vacant end of the table nearest the doors. She took a bite of the greasy pizza and opened her carton of milk. It took a few minutes for her to notice he wasn't eating. He sat with elbows on the table, watching the other students interact.

"What's wrong?" she asked.

"Nothing's wrong. I'm people watching. Human behavior still fascinates me."

"Oh wow. He was right."

"Huh?" Jack dragged his gaze away from the other students to look at her. "Who was right about what?"

"Your upper lip curls when you say the word human as if you aren't one of us. You really need to work on that."

His hand went to his mouth. "Sorry. Bad habit."

"Do all vampires sneer when they talk about people?"

"It sort of comes with the territory. We also can't say the word werewolf without practically choking on it."

"I've noticed." Her eyes took a trip around the room. "What do you find so intriguing about them?"

"I was trying to figure out who they are by observing the way they interact with each other. There are certain small groups that migrate away from the others. I may not be a vampire anymore, but I can still smell fear. I still have no idea who half these kids are, but I could point out the alpha dogs real fast."

"You need to stop saying the 'v' word. We need a word to replace it with when it comes up in conversation in case someone is listening."

He removed the plastic wrap from his sandwich and took a bite. He chewed twice before he made a disgusted face. It tasted like sawdust. "Yuck." He dropped the sandwich and wiped off his tongue with a napkin. "What word do you want me to use?"