New Blood_Adrift in a Vampire War by Alex Dire

Author:Alex Dire [Dire, Alex]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Urban Fantasy | Vampires
Publisher: Eliot Street Press
Published: 2017-07-05T05:00:00+00:00

Chapter 1: First Day

Norman squeaked the word “Welcome” across the white board with a blue marker. He stepped back to inspect his penmanship.

The students would feel anything but welcome. They’d been kicked out of enough schools to know that the person at the front of the class, in the office, at the other end of a call with their parents was not there to welcome them. The primary lesson those schools had taught them was that teachers, principals and mid-level administrators were their enemies.

Norman placed a bright orange card on each desk for students to fill out so the office knew who to call in case of an emergency. For most of Norman’s students, though, the emergency was their lives. But the person who showed up to help was not a cop, or an EMT, or a firefighter. It was a teacher, armed with copies of The Complete Works of William Shakespeare and an overhead projector with a burnt out bulb. No matter. Norman didn’t need the projector or any of the technology fancier schools had. He had other advantages.

The antiquated school bell tried very hard to ring but succeeded only in making a single ding and then a buzz. Nice try. A river of students flooded into the building, dividing into rivulets along the way and trickling into classrooms.

Each doorway was monitored by a smiling teacher. They were young. Idealistic. They’d learn.

The students slogged forward in a nearly silent march. Many had oversized headphones on or white wires dangling from their ears. Some wore hoods. Most stared at the ground. Norman wondered if they were hiding from each other or the teachers or all of it.

Down the hall, Norman saw the shiny top of a bald head weaving a path toward him. Headmaster Shapiro wedged his way between students, calling “Welcome” every few seconds. A boy with a basketball tucked under his arm lifted his head to the headmaster as if to respond. Shapiro snapped his gaze away, avoiding eye contact, but never dropping his smile.

Please not me, thought Norman as Shapiro edged closer.

Shapiro locked eyes with Norman. “Ah Mr. Bernard. There you are!”

“Shit,” said Norman through his teeth.

A young girl passing into his room stopped and looked up. “Hmmm?” Her wavy dark hair swept back from her eyes.

“Oh, um. Sorry. Sit, please. Sit at your numbered seat,” said Norman. He lifted his clip board. “Your name?”

“Felicia Gomes,” said the girl. Her accent leaned Puerto Rican. Norman had gotten good at accents over the years.

He glanced across his clipboard and looked up into her light brown eyes. “Seat number eight and welcome.”

She dropped her gaze and entered the room.

“Found you!” said Shapiro. The headmaster arrived while the river of students dwindled to a few drops.

“Yes, Mr. Shapiro. Here I am. Right in front of my room. Nice to see you.”

The headmaster shifted his weight from toe to heel. “So, how’s your year going?”

“What can I do for you?”

“Ahhh, yes. I wanted to let you know that…”

A loud crack down the hall interrupted him.

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