Nightschool chapter 5

"Want to see you, yes!" Sarah found the words she was desperately searching for, blushing lightly. "I did, I did say that." She stuffed the paperback back into the drawer. "The yearbook, right."

"Do you really think you can talk Madame Chen into it?" Ronee asked. "She's turned us down cold both times before."

"I have a cunning plan," Sarah declared, grinning. "Her main problem with the yearbook–besides money concerns–is that vampires don't photograph, right? At all. So they'd feel excluded from the photo portions of the book."

"I'd be up to my neck in disgruntled sires and parents!" Madame Chen had said.

Ronee nodded. "Yes, that's the reason she gave me. What's your solution?"

Sarah summoned a folded sheet of paper, looking proud of herself. She unfolded it to reveal a very well-drawn picture of Nicholas, leather jacket and all, leaning back casually, arms across his chest. "Drawn portraits. The art club volunteered their best artists for this. I already talked to them."

Ronee took it, the other two looking over her shoulder. "This…"

The red-haired girl took it from her.

"Heeey, is that Nicholas?!" the blue-haired teen asked, chuckling.

"Ha-ha, it totally is!" the redheaded Weirn said. "The attitude is dead on. He's cutting school tonight."

"And if they don't like the drawings?" Ronee asked the keeper.

"They have the option of providing their own!" she answered, smiling.

Ronee thought a moment. "Clubs, working together, vampires getting socially involved, for once–this is clever on so many levels. There is no way she will say no."

She took the paper back from the other Weirn and placed it on Sarah's desk. "Miss Treveney."

Sarah looked up at her.

"You are new, so you may not know this. At the student level… I run this school." She turned away, looking at the keeper over her shoulder. "Get us the yearbook… and you'll never have to worry about anything from the students here."

Sarah blinked.

Ronee put a hand on the doorknob, the other two behind her. "We'll be in touch."

Sarah stared, then thought a moment.

"Ronee!" she called out the door a moment later, looking at the trio a few yards away. "I-if I get you the yearbook, can you do something about Mr. Roi, too?"

Ronee looked back at her for a moment.

"Mr. Roi does not obey any known laws of our universe," she said, turning back around.

"Awww…" Sarah muttered. "Dangit."

"It's true…" the redhead said, smiling.

"He looks hot doing it, too," the blue-haired student said, smiling, too, and blushing slightly.

A shorter, fair-haired student bumped into the blue-haired teen's shoulder, books clutched by arms wearing a pair of long, black leather gloves that matched the student's small, bat-like wings and baggy black pants.

"Hey, watch it," the blue-haired teen said.

The shorter student whispered something and slipped past them, eyes completely concealed by shoulder length, wavy hair. The student walked past Sarah's office, glanced back, saw they were out of sight, walked back over to it, and looked through the window.

Sarah mumbled to herself, rummaging through her purse.

"Aha!" she said, pulling out a compact. She flipped it open.

"Open," she said.

The mirror was taken over by white swirls that parted to reveal a dark-skinned woman with chin-length, platinum blonde hair, solid red eyes, short black horns and claw-like hands.

"Operator," she said.

"Um, hello!" Sarah said. "How are you? I would like to place a call."

"Name and location?" the operator asked.

"New York City, Queens, line crossing 234-Delta Hellgate area."

"And the name?"

"Oh, sorry! Alex, Alexius Treveney."

"Opening a line, please hold." The operator held a small strand of light on one claw and slid it to another of the hundreds of mirrors floating around her.

Sarah's compact blinked, and Alex's face appeared.

"Hello?!" Alex asked, surprised.

"Hey, hon!" Sarah said brightly. "Just checking in to see how you're doing!"

"Oh, fine, fine," Alex said, a big, fake, desperate smile on her face. "Doing great!"

She was distracted by a loud CRASH.

She turned around. "Hey, stop that!!" she yelled at the Astral scratching the wall behind her.

"Is-is everything alright?" Sarah asked.

Alex whipped back toward the mirror on the kitchen table. "Yes! Everything's perfectly fi–"

"Aaaalex?" Sarah insisted, eyebrows raised, amused.

"I-it's nothing!"

Alex looked at the papers being flung at her.

The Astral flitted around the room, tossing books on the ground, scratching at the walls, flinging papers up in the air, and messing up her hair.

"Well, maybe something," Alex said miserably. "Like, a little something."

"Alex, did you overfeed her again?!" Sarah asked.

"I didn't mean to!" Alex insisted, trying to pry her Astral from around her neck. "I made a new cookie batch and she liked them so much, I…"

"Oh, Alex…" Sarah said, smiling warmly at her younger sister through the mirror, face held in her hand. "You act so tough, but you're such a softie, I swear."

"Y-yes, softie, that's me. Er…" Alex said, watching the Astral try to braid her hair.

"Well, no worries," Sarah said. "I think we still have some Snakol."

"We do?!" Alex said, perking up.

"Yeah, on top of the shelf to your right, I think? Just give her a couple of spoons, she'll be alright. Oh, I think someone's at the door. Gotta go! See you in the morning."

"See ya!" Alex said, getting up and walking over to the shelf.

The mirror blinked off.

Alex held her hand up and a corked glass vial, half-full of black, oily-looking liquid flew into her hand.

She looked down at the paper tied to the lip of the vial by a piece of twine.

"Snakol*
Ingredients:
 dried newt eyeballs
 beetle juice
 vegetables
 snake oil
 really foul-tasting mushroom

(*may contain peanuts)"

Alex stuck her tongue out, disgusted. She turned to the Astral, grinning desperately. "Mmmmm, delicious!"

The Astral started and dashed off.

"Hey, come back here!" Alex yelled.

She chased the speedy spirit around the room.

***

Sarah opened the door to her office. "Oh, hello!" she said to the small, fair-haired student standing outside.

The student looked up, startled, hair still not letting the bat-winged teen's eyes show.

"Are you lost?" Sarah asked. "Do you need something?"

The student pointed to the left, looking down again, and whispered something. The gloved arm quickly returned to clutch the pile of books to the student's gray, short-sleeved hoodie.

"In the west wing…?" Sarah asked. "Let's check it out."

A few minutes later, the pair was walking down a flight of darkened stairs, the way only illuminated by the small flame floating above Sarah's hand.

They stopped in front of a doorway opened in the middle of the floor of the dark hallway. Sarah checked the map in her other hand.

"Oh, this hallway isn't even in use tonight…" the keeper said. "This definitely shouldn't be here." She looked over her shoulder at the young-looking student. "Wait here, I'll check it out and be right back, okay?"

The student nodded.

"Hello?" Sarah called down the portal, the light now floating behind her. "Is there someone here?" She started down the stairway, the light staying just above ground. "You have to keep you presentations to the east wing tonight, please!" Her head disappeared down the stairway. "Hellooooo!"

The door to the portal creaked, shut, and sealed into the hallway floor.

"It's done."

The student turned slowly and walked away, leaving the hallway seemingly abandoned but for the fizzling light floating above where Sarah had disappeared.

***

"I am sorry, she is in a committee meeting right now," the secretary in the main office said to the mirror in front of her, one dark-skinned, claw-like hand holding a small notebook, the other a pen. "Would you like to leave a message?"

"Agreed, then?" one of the dozen of mirrors floating around Madame Chen's desk asked.

"No objection here," the night principal said, taking a sip of coffee.

"Good with me, too. Anything else on the agenda?" another mirror asked.

"I think that's it, actually," another said.

"Oh, finally," a fourth sighed, relieved.

"Haven't had lunch yet…" the second said. "Oh, Sue…"

Madame Chen looked up from the pen scribbling on a floating notepad.

"Did you ever find a night keeper replacement?" the mirror finished.

Madame Chen smiled, eyes closed, looking proud of herself. "Yes, we did! She's new, but she's a gem."

"Oh? What's the name?"

"It's…" Madame Chen started. Her eyes opened. She frowned, looking away.

"Uh, we…" she said, "we don't have a new night keeper. Why did I say we…?"

"Well, I have a recommendation. I'll send it over."

"Er, yes, thank you," Madame Chen said, eyes glazing over in thought.

"This meeting is adjourned. Back into the breach, guys!"

The mirrors blinked off and floated back to Madame Chen's wall, the night principal staring blankly.

She poked her head out of her office. "Shelly, do we have a night keeper?" she asked the secretary.

Shelly shrugged, one fleshy hand running through her fizzy, almost-white hair. "Not since you fired the last one a month ago. Really need one, though.

"Huh," Madame Chen muttered, slipping back into her office. "I was so sure. Hm."

She summoned a stack of paper and flipped through it. "Well, there is definitely a contract. It must have a name."

She found the signature, the name Sarah Treveney fading before her eyes.

"It's blank?" she asked.

The vague image of a smiling, short-haired young woman popped into her head, evaporating even as she thought about it.

She blinked. "Why was I looking at this again?"

She thought for a brief moment.

"Oh, that's right, we need a new night keeper."

***

Ronee eased the door of Sarah's office open and poked her head in. She took in the abandoned desk, the only things still on being Sarah's purse and the computer.

She stared a moment, then looked away, frowning.

She flicked the light off, closing the door behind her as she slipped back out.

***

Alex glared at the Astral now dozing on the couch.

"No more cookies for you, ever, ever, ever…" she grumbled, cleaning up the mess the spirit had left in her wake.

"Phew," she said, wiping the sweat off her forehead. She looked around the now-pristine room, smiling to herself.

"Probably too clean," she muttered, still smiling. "Sarah will just mess it up again."

The picture one of the lower bookshelves tipped over, landing facedown.

Alex turned around, surprised. She walked over and lifted it up, studying the picture of her and Sarah, the older sister's arm around her, laughing, the younger looking insecure.

A sudden wind blew through the apartment, blowing sheets of papers around the girl, who looked around nervously until she heard a crack.

She looked back at the photo, the glass now cracked between the two of them.

The older girl faded, then disappeared, leaving only Alex in the picture.

The girl stared, alarmed.

Sarah?!