Ch. 27

For Rosemary, time was going slowly. She hadn’t bothered casting a spell the night before. She was too nervous.

It was only an hour before the first day of High School. Even though she was fully prepared, she was a wreck. Word about her being a vampire had gotten all around the city of Prague, and she was sure it was going to be horrible. There would be questions, and new enemies. People would stare. But, probably, most of the people would think it was a joke.

50 minutes left.

Rosemary had eaten enough sushi to last a decade in preparation. She had to brush her teeth almost a hundred times to get the raw fish stench out of her breath. She wanted to make sure she wasn’t thirsty at all on the first day of school.

40 minutes to go.

Rosemary picked up a book called ‘Wuthering Heights’ and set it down again. She picked up another book, ‘Robinson Crusoe,’ and read it five times through.

30 minutes until school.

Susan gave Rosemary an encouraging hug and told her, “You’ll do fine. You can fit in anywhere. And if you need anything, any help at all, I have a teaching degree and a few spells up my sleeve so I can substitute for a teacher whenever you want. We’ll learn about Kind Henry VIII and his six wives and three children as the lessons. Okay?” Rosemary didn’t answer.

20 minutes until the bell would ring.

Rosemary checked to see if she had everything she needed. She had already checked numerous times over the night, but she just wanted to make sure that she hadn’t missed anything. She decided to stick a few rolls of sushi for lunch just in case.

10 minutes to the start of class. Rosemary had said she would pick up Michael. She told Bodoleck, “I have to go. I’ll see you at three. Bye.”

“See ya,” Bodoleck replied, a bit too cheerful for Rosemary’s liking. She decided it was nothing so she picked up her book bag and raced at full speed to Michael’s house. He was waiting for her outside.

“Rosemary, can you do me a favor? I want to get there a little early, so can I ride on your back?” Michael asked her.

Rosemary, rather reluctantly, replied, “Okay. Sure.” She picked Michael up slower than usual. This worried him.

“Are you okay?”

“I’m nervous, that’s all,” Rosemary replied, sounding lifeless.

Michael kissed her on the top of the head (that was only thing he could do in the position he was in) and firmly told her, “Don’t be nervous. Besides, aren’t you the one who fought off goblins and vampires, out ran a dragon, pass three tests given to you by mermaids, and visited fairies. And you did that all while carrying a human on your back and worrying about your evil aunt and a poisoned wing. That’s incredible.”

Rosemary laugh. “But all that was easy. It’s hard for a vampire to blend in with humans, especially since some of those humans know I’m a vampire. This could be difficult.”

“I’ll be there with you to help you along the way. Kay?” Michael grinned foolishly and crossed his eyes.

Rosemary, still laughing, replied, “Whatever you say. But you do know that you’re giving orders to a princess, right?” They were both laughing by the time Rosemary started running.

But Rosemary stopped when she caught sight of the school. Already, hundreds of kids were piling in, and she had to set Michael down before anyone saw them. Slowly, even for a human, she started walking. Michael rolled his eyes and told her, again, firmly, “Don’t worry about a thing. I’ll always be here, unless your aunt comes. But she won’t,” Michael quickly added when he saw Rosemary’s face turn even whiter than before.

Rosemary shook her head and said, “You’re right. Why should I be worrying about a silly little thing like High School and reputations. It’s nonsense. Let’s go.” She took Michael’s arm and literally dragged him to the front door. They were to there lockers five minutes before class had even started.

“Okay, so I talked to the people in the office, and with the help of a spell or two, we have every class together. Even gym. Let’s see Veripema try and kill you with me in the same room. I can’t wait to see her face when even at school you’re off the menu. This will be hilarious,” Rosemary said smiling.

“Yeah. So, what are we doing after school today?” Michael asked her.

Rosemary thought on it a bit, and then said, “Well, I did tell Dekanire that I’d bring you to his mansion some time, and why not now? We won’t have much homework. We never have any of the first day of school. You’ll be learning how to dance and getting your suit fitted to your size. How about it?”

“Um . . . do a lot of vampires work for him? There’ll be a lot of vampires in his mansion, right?” Michael asked.

Rosemary stared at him in suprise. “You’re nervous? I thought you’d be used to the idea of being in the same building as vampires by now. I mean, you stayed with my family for a little while, and you were . . . mostly okay in the hospital. Why are you nervous about the mansion?”

“Well, don’t you think Veripema could easily disguise herself? She could kill me and you wouldn’t have known what happened,” Michael replied.

Rosemary blinked, and then laughed loudly. “That’s all? Michael, even if we change our appearance, our scent stays the same. I would know if she was a mile away from us. But that takes a lot of concentration. Besides. The vampires at the Dvorak Mansion are specially trained to know the scent of his enemies in a hundred mile radius, let alone the mansion itself. Veripema would never dare enter the city this close to Halloween.”

“You do have a point, but they’re still vampires and still might drink my blood. I don’t think I’ll be able to keep my nerves with me when we go there.”

“Just relax and you’ll be fine. He keeps the areas where the humans enter bright and calm, so whatever fear they once had just dissolves. And that brightness stays with you when you go to where the vampires are. Okay? Nothing to worry about,” Rosemary reassured him.

Michael was just about to answer when a tall, burly twelfth grader walked up to them and said, “So I hear that you’re a vampire. One of the blood-drinkers. Is that true?”

“Yes,” Rosemary calmly replied.

“Well, I don’t believe it. How can you prove it?”

Before Rosemary answered the question, she asked, “What’s your name?”

“Drew.”

“Well, Drew, I’ll tell you what. I know that you play football, so you and your team can meet me on the field at three and I’ll show you some things. I might even beat you. Which, with my skill level, will be as simple as cutting a piece of cake,” Rosemary told him.

“You still didn’t answer my question.”

“Don’t worry. You’ll find out when I win,” Rosemary promised him with a smirk. And with that, she dragged Michael off to their first class together.

Once they were safely inside, Michael asked, “What was that all about back there? I thought you didn’t want people to know that you’re a vampire. You said it was dangerous for them to know.”

“But it’s also dangerous to not know. Even with Dekanire’s vampires constantly on the lookout, Veripema could still infiltrate to city. People need to know what they’re up against, and this is the best way to teach them. I have to do this no matter what I feel about it personally. Understand what I’m saying?”

“What I understand is that vampires lead very complicated lives,” said a girl next to Rosemary. She looked around and realized that every student in the class was listening to their conversation. Even the teacher.

Rosemary, being her usual model student, straightened up in her desk and quickly got a notebook and pencil ready to take notes. The teacher took that as a cue to start the Math lesson.

Throughout the rest of the day, people talked about the football game. The entire team versus Rosemary, the vampire. People, like Rosemary had figured, stared and talked behind her back, and Michael was the only one who was able to keep her calm.

“Rosemary, breathe. In and out. That’s my girl. Don’t worry about what they think. If they think you’re making it up, they think the exact opposite by the time the game ends. By they way, who’s coming to the game?” Michael asked, wanting to change the subject.

“Besides the entire school? Bodoleck, Medeleck, and Susan are coming as well. But they won’t have any part of it. They know that I’m better at football than everyone in this city put together. But, seeing as Bodoleck and Medeleck are both stronger than me, they would win faster than I would,” Rosemary told Michael, finally getting calm.

“Are you going to use you’re wings?”

“If I have to, yes. I don’t want them to get any goals without my permission, now do I?” They both laughed. It was the end of the day, and everyone was talking while heading outside to the field. The busses were being delayed for the game, and people were all making bets on who would win.

“Well, people better be betting on you. I know that you’ll win. I’ve seen you in action,” Michael said. Rosemary rolled her eyes when Michael bet a hundred koruna on her.

Before they knew it, they were outside looking at the crowd in the stands.