Eleventh Grade Burns(75)

The sun peeked over the horizon. Joss turned with a grin, taking his stake and slipping it into the leather holster on his belt. Normalcy returned to the stage. “Morning, Vlad.”

Vlad could barely contain a chuckle. “Morning, Joss. How was your night?”

“Oh, not bad. Had to fend off this vicious bloodsucker, but that’s about it.” He shrugged casually, a twinkle in his eye. It was so good to see the old Joss again, the one from before Joss had learned Vlad’s secret. But really, their friendship was even better now. No more hiding things, no more lies. Joss knew Vlad was a vampire, and though he wasn’t okay with it, he was okay with Vlad.

Vlad smirked. “Bloodsucker, eh?”

Joss straightened his shoulders in an effort to make himself look bigger, tougher. The scary thing is, it worked. Nobody would’ve pegged Joss as a muscular kinda guy, but in his position, he had to be. “More like a mosquito, really. Bothersome, but no real threat to me.”

He rolled his eyes in response. “You had it easy. Some guy kept trying to poke me with a toothpick.”

They locked eyes and laughed out loud. Then Joss slugged him gently in the shoulder and said, “You comin’ over for breakfast?”

“Actually, I have to pack.”

They both knew what he was packing for. They both knew Otis’s trial was tonight, but neither wanted to talk about it. Joss had pretty much decided that he loathed every fiber of Otis’s being, and Vlad just wanted to forget the trial was coming up at all.

A look of sympathy came over Joss’s face. “Oh. Well ... see ya.”

Vlad walked home alone, and quietly stole upstairs to his bedroom. A heavy feeling filled his chest. He was escorting Otis to his death today, and no one—not Nelly not Henry, not anyone but the vampires involved—knew that it was coming.

Through his open bedroom door, he heard Nelly and Otis talking at the bottom of the stairs. Nelly’s voice sounded clueless and concerned. “Promise you’ll take care of him and hurry back soon.”

Otis didn’t speak for several seconds, then finally lied as well as he was able. “We’ll be back before you can miss us.”

As he listened to Otis ascend the stairs, a horrifying thought occupied his mind.

He was about to lose a father for the second time.





32





THE TRYING OF OTIS OTIS


I MUST ADMIT, I DO FEEL A BIT BETTER about your letting Joss survive after yesterday’s test.” Otis’s tone matched the bemused smirk he wore. He was in an awfully good mood, considering they were in the midst of packing for a trip that likely would end in his demise.

“What’s with all these quizzes, tests, and extra assignments lately, anyway? Am I being punished for letting Joss live?” Vlad tossed some socks into his duffel bag and shot Otis a mock-angry look. “Oh, I see. That’s your plan, isn’t it? Do me in with a bunch of quizzes. Bore me to death.”

“If I wanted to do you in, Vladimir, I can think of a few other ways.”

“Don’t I have enough people after me, Otis? Joss, Principal Snelgrove...”

“Don’t forget D’Ablo.”

“There’s somebody I could live without.” Vlad furrowed his brow. “Speaking of which, he’s been decidedly absent for a while now. Quiet, compared to how he usually is. I don’t trust it.”

Otis folded a T-shirt and placed it in Vlad’s duffel bag. “Think he’s working on some sordid plan to do you in?”

“Count on it. I’m that guy’s favorite hobby.”

“Maybe he’s changed.”

They exchanged looks and burst out laughing.

Vlad shook his head. “The question isn’t if he’s planning anything ... it’s what.”

A smile danced on Otis’s lips. “You’re very wise for being only sixteen years of age.”

Vlad met his smile with one of his own. “I learned from the best. This really old guy I know, goes by the name Otis. You might know him.”

Otis rolled his eyes. “I’m hardly old.”

“Oh, really? What year were you born?”

“Age is more than just a number, Vladimir.”

Vlad grew quiet for a moment, thinking about the immense age difference between Otis and Nelly. He wondered if he would just go on aging or if at some point in his life, time would freeze for him as well. “Have you told Nelly? Y’know, that you might not be coming back?”