Nightschool chapter 4

Alex slammed the door behind her, gasping for breath. Her knees buckled under her and she slid down against the door, her Astral hovering protectively over her.

"W-what… happened?" Alex said to herself, her hand on her head. "How did I get home…?"

***

Teresa, Cassidy, Ten, and Jaq ran toward the three other Hunters.

Teresa knelt down beside the girl and put her hand on her neck.

"Not dead," she said after a moment.

"But just barely breathing," Cassidy said, kneeling next to the African American boy.

Jaq lifted J's head off the ground and shook him, more than gently. Ten stood over them and stared, gaping slightly, eyes wide. The vampire girl stood behind her, uncomprehending.

"Whatever happened, happened fast," Cassidy continued. "No struggle, or we'd've felt it."

He and Teresa both looked at the footprints that lead out.

"Let's go," she said, starting to get up.

"Wait!"

She turned toward Cassidy.

"We can't," he said. "Not right now." He looked back at Jaq, who was propping J up, stone-faced. "We have no idea what's wrong with them. Need to get them to St. Luc's, get help." He looked at the vampire, who still looked like she didn't understand the situation. "And look after her. She still has a chance."

"Trail's gonna get cold," Teresa insisted.

"I know. But also…" he started. "J's a lightweight, okay. But whatever that thing was, it took out Terrance." He looked at the African American boy. "And Noh." He looked at the girl. "Without even a fight. This is out of our league. We have to tell the old man."

***

"I can't remember," Alex said to herself. "Four Hunters, I saw them. Did they see me…?" She shook her head. "No, no. I was hidden. And far. And they were busy with the vampire missing link and his girlfriends. I grabbed my bag, ran, and…" She paused. "And then what?"

She searched her mind.

Three fuzzy silhouettes, two of them saying something she couldn't make out…

Shhh.

She sighed. "Ugh. Nothing. I must've been so freaked, I blanked out all the way here."

Her Astral tugged on her sleeve.

"What?"

It held a tissue above its head and pointed at it.

Alex raised an eyebrow. "I don't get it. Trying out a new look or something?"

The Astral dropped the tissue and folded its arms across its make-shift chest.

"Or maybe not, heh." Alex shrugged and smiled a bit. "Well, all's well that ends well, right? Narrowly escaping danger, kinda exciting, huh?"

The Astral looked at her meaningfully.

"I can't tell Sarah, are you kidding?!" Alex exclaimed. "She'll ground me for life!!" She paused, then looked at it, eyes narrowed. "How many cookies to keep you quiet?"

It thought a moment, then held up five fingers.

"Deal." Alex got up and started walking, unzipping her jacket. "I might as well make a new batch. Could use some too… Can't believe I almost ran into Hunters face-to-face, urgh."

The Astral tugged on her sleeve. She turned to it.

It held up eight fingers.

Alex's mouth dropped open.

"What?!! You are not getting eight cookies, you'll get sick!! I'd rather deal with Sarah being mad!"

***

Sarah sneezed hard.

"Are you feeling under the weather, Miss Keeper?" the handsome man standing in front of her asked, one hand holding a lacy handkerchief out to her, the other brushing a strand of wavy blond hair out of his eyes.

She took the handkerchief and sniffled, an eyebrow raised. "No, I am allergic to vampires hitting on me."

"Now, now," he said, putting an arm around her waist and smiling wide enough to reveal a pair of fangs. "All I asked was if I could interest you in dinner."

"Oh, dinner, sure!" Sarah said, amused. "The one involving my neck, right? All you vampire want the same thing."

"Maybe I am different," he said, looking at her neck.

"My face is up here, Mr. Kristepher," Sarah said, pointing up.

"Ahhh, the beautiful face of an angel, the promise of redemption for this tortured soul," he continued, not looking up.

"You are still talking to my neck, Lars," Sarah said, smiling. "Also, soul, what…?"

"Mr. Kristepher!!"

The two of them turned, surprised.

"Don't you have a class to teach?!!" the night principal continued.

He did.

He sighed. "Alas, cruel fate cuts short our tryst…"

Sarah giggled.

"Until we meet again, sweet angel of the night," he said, disappearing in a whirlwind of light and shadow.

"See you at lunch, heartthrob," Sarah said, smiling.

The principal walked closer to the keeper, suddenly dwarfed by the keeper's not-quite-impressive-but-slightly-more-than-average height. "Are you two… friends?" she asked suspiciously.

"Yes, ma'am, Madame Chen!" Sarah said, smiling, the other woman's tone not getting through to her. "We went to college together."

"But not dating?" Madam Chen asked, taking a sip out of her ever-present coffee cup.

"Oh no, no!" Sarah said, all smiles. "Workplace dating = can of worms, I know. And he's not really my type."

"Oh good…" the older, if noticeably shorter woman said. "I'd hate to fire you, you've been ever so wonderful here."

Sarah pulled back, eyes wide and moderately terrified.

"So, I must agree with Mrs. Hatcher's note wholeheartedly!" Madame Chen said, taking another sip. "You've done impressive work in your short time here."

Raise? Sarah thought hopefully.

"I can't give you a raise," the older woman said quickly, as if sensing her thoughts.

Sarah blinked, surprised at the precision.

"I can, however, see about the club budgets!" Madame Chen said, smiling.

She pulled out a sheet of paper. "Exactly how many have you, erm, started, let's see… amin/mehnga?"

"Anime manga," Sarah corrected brightly.

"I see, I see," the principal said. "A writer's group, a Midnight News Daily–oh, a student newsletter, that should be fun!"

She stopped suddenly, seeing the next one on the list.

She turned toward Sarah. "A "Vampires Suck" club…?"

"That one wasn't my idea, it was Lars!!" the keeper said quickly. "I-it's to help promote a positive counter to the negative stereotype of vampires in our society."

"Oh, Lars is the last person who should be doing that," Madame Chen said, chuckling and walking again. Sarah sighed with relief. "I will need to have a talk with that man."

"Oh! Do you mind have one with Mr. Roi, as well…?" Sarah asked.

"Uh-oh, what's he done now?" Madame Chen asked, turning back toward her.

"H-his… His class presentations–" Sarah started.

She was interrupted by a loud RUMBLE.

The cement underneath their feet cracked.

"He didn't," Madame Chen said, dropping her mug, eyes wide.

"Ah!!" Sarah cried, clutching her head. "Oh no, not the floors! The daytime keeper is going to kill me!!"

Madame Chen's hands clenched into fists. "He's opening dimensional portals indoors!! Again!!" She put one hand on her hip, the other pointing an accusing finger nowhere in particular. She looked so enraged, Sarah could've sworn she was literally encased in blue flame. "THAT MAN NEEDS A REMINDER THAT THIS IS A RENTED PROPERTY AND NOT HIS PERSONAL LAB THAT HE CAN BLOW UP TO SMITHEREENS WHENEVER HE LIKES!!"

"Yes, yes!" Sarah agreed, smiling and nodding vigorously.

"You go right ahead and tell him I said that," Madame Chen said, setting a hand on the keeper's shoulder. "I have a committee meeting now."

The principal dashed off. "And be nice!" she yelled back. "We're so lucky he's teaching here!"

"Don't make me go alone…" Sarah whimpered, a hand still reaching out in the direction the other woman had disappeared in.

She frowned, suddenly overcome with wrath toward the teacher.

She started stomping toward his classroom. "Okay," she said to herself. "I can do this. I will tell him off once and for all!! Who does he think he is?!"

She took a short stop by the bathroom mirror.

"Does my hair look okay?" she thought out loud, blushing slightly and trying to fix it.

She could see the echoes of light and shadow coming from the room in question halfway down the hall. She stepped in against her instinct to make a run for it, making sure to step over the holes in the floor and looked at the silhouettes of students, anything else concealed by the light emanating from above, the only other source of darkness being the symbols swirling in the brightness.

She walked up to an African American girl scribbling in a notepad, her shoulder-length, thin braids swirling in the wind.

"Hi, Ronee," the keeper said.

The girl looked back, amber eyes seeming to glow in the white light.

"Hello, Miss T," she said. "Any news on the yearbook?"

"I am this close to convincing Madame Chen," Sarah said, holding her fingers a centimeter apart. "Come see me after your class, okay?" She glanced around. "Is, um. Where's Mr. Roi?"

Ronee pointed up.

Sarah looked and saw a giant hole in the ceiling, a figure floating above it in the middle of the whirlwind.

"Should I be seeing the sky in here?!" Sarah exclaimed.

"Not usually, no," Ronee said, smiling.

"Mr. Roi!!!" Sarah yelled up. "Mr. Roi, please stop this presentation immediately!!! Mr. Roi, do you hear me??!! Mr. R…"

The man in the center of the storm looked down and smiled slightly, seeing the keeper standing in the midst of the swirl of light and symbols.

"Ah," he said, making her blush deeply. "Hello, Miss Keeper. I am in the middle of a lesson. Is this urgent?"

She frowned, one eye twitching.

"You are wrecking the school!!!" she yelled up at him, her hands balling into fists. "Disrupting other classes!! Are you trying to make me lose my job?"

He stared down at the angrily flailing woman, not able to make out a word she was saying.

"One moment, Miss Treveney, your voice is not carrying in all of this." He snapped his fingers.

"Restore."

The classroom returned to its previous pristine condition.

"Aw crap, I didn't get that last pattern," one of the students grumbled to another. "Do you have it?"

Mr. Roi brushed off his hands, then ran one through his unkempt, short black hair. "To what do I owe the pleasure?"

"U-uh. Umm," Sarah started, blushing again. "Do you… I have… A message! From Madame Chen! …A rented property… Not personal lab…"

The smile melted off of his face.

"Smithereens…"

He turned away.

"Please?" Sarah finished meekly.

Mr. Roi flexed his hand, not turning back to her. "One: if Madame Chen has something to say to me, I encourage personal contact in the future. Two: These premises are inadequate for my lectures. As long as I am to suffer these ill teaching accommodations… the ill teaching accommodations are to suffer me. Good night."

Sarah found herself being swept outside, the door slamming in her face.

She fumed.

She leaned in toward the door, pulled her bottom eyelid down, and stuck her tongue out.

The door opened.

"Oh, one other thing, Miss Treve…"

She froze, wide-eyed. Mr. Roi stared at her.

"You know, it really can get stuck that way," he said a moment later.

She dashed off. "Please stop wrecking the school, thank yooooouuuuu!!!!" she yelled over her shoulder.

He watched her a moment, then smiled a bit.

***

Several more small disasters later, Sarah dragged herself into her office.

"Ugh, all the crazy is loose tonight," she muttered.

She walked over to her desk, patting the ash off her shoulders, having literally put out fires.

She plopped down in her chair, shuffled through a stack of papers on her desk, put them down, and enjoyed a brief moment of peace.

She thought a moment, smiled mischievously, and pulled a paperback out of the desk drawer.

"Hello," a voice said from behind her as soon as she picked it up.

She jumped and whipped around.

Ronee was standing a few feet into the room, an Astral behind her. The wisps it was made up of were tightly wound, almost curly, and its mask of a face resembled a gray-toned traditional Mardi Gras mask around the arched-up, slightly rectangular eye sockets, with a thin line under it forming the basic shape of a jaw.

On her right was a red-haired girl, only the outline of her eyes visible under her hair, another Astral wound around her outstretched arm. Its face was a simple circle with a slight point on the bottom. A good portion of the sides of the circle were white and the center, which was left in the shape of a funnel, gray, with a thin black counter-clockwise spiral hanging from the top.

On Ronee's left was a vaguely masculine figure with short blue hair, black swirls tattooed around the neck, and solid red eyes like Mrs. Murrey's.

"You said you wanted to see me?" Ronee finished.

"How did you get in here?!" Sarah said, surprised. "So quietly…"