Vampires Don't Fall In Love

Tragedy

Things remained tense between Mrs. Jeepers and Mr. Lobo over the following weeks. They rarely spoke to one another when she brought the children over to the auditorium for their music class. When they did say something to each other, it was work related, or necessary to appear polite in front of Mr. Davis and the other teachers and students.

Even Eddie felt the awkwardness and discomfort between the two teachers. He made one attempt to cause trouble in Lobo's class. All the man had to do was look at him and Eddie felt the urge to avert his gaze and sink down in his chair. He didn't act up again.

There was something strange about Mr. Lobo. Melody, Liza and Howie noticed it too. The music teacher's eyes did weird things when the light hit them a certain way. They thought they saw his pupils shrink to the size of pinpricks and sometimes the irises seemed to glow a molten gold in the dark.

They did what he said and didn't talk unless he asked them about the assignments he gave. When the time came to return to class, they'd practically run to line up at the doors when Mrs. Jeepers came to get them. Eddie found himself watching the clock and feeling relieved each time their third grade teacher entered the auditorium.

He'd been dead set on getting rid of Mrs. Jeepers, or at least disliking her, but now she was the buffer between him and an odd music teacher whose lower canines were almost as long and sharp as his eye teeth.

He was walking home from school with Liza, Howie and Melody one afternoon when they heard cries coming from inside his house. Eddie ran to unlock the door only to find it was already open. He and his friends went inside.

His grandmother was laying on the floor. At first, Eddie thought she'd tripped and landed on the coffee table. Shards of glass and splintered wood littered the rug. Then he moved closer and saw that she wasn't breathing.

Eddie didn't have time to panic. A large hand clamped down on his shoulder and pulled him out of the way. He looked up to see Mr. Lobo who went over and knelt beside his grandmother.

Mrs. Jeepers appeared holding Eddie's six year old sister, Josie, in her arms. The girl was all red faced and puffy eyed from tears. Mr. Lobo pressed two fingers to their grandmother's throat.

"Call for an ambulance," he said.

Mrs. Jeepers ushered the other kids into the dining room where she grabbed the corded phone off the wall and dialed 911. Mr. Lobo turned their grandmother over and started CPR.

It was all for the sake of the kids. He and Mrs. Jeepers had known the old woman was dead when he'd felt for a pulse and couldn't locate one. Her skin was cool to the touch and her chest neither rose nor fell.

His heightened senses failed to pick up a heartbeat or the thrum of blood flow. He kept at it until paramedics arrived. The woman was pronounced dead not long after. A heart attack, they said. Not surprising given her age.

Josie cried herself to sleep while Eddie sat there watching people dressed in white shirts and black pants wheel his grandma out on a gurney unsure how to process what had just happened.

Melody and Liza had to go home with their parents. Howie stayed along with his dad. Dr. Jones had offered to care for Eddie and his sister until other arrangements could be made, but authorities refused, so they all waited until Eddie's father and aunt Mathilda arrived.

Aunt Mathilda wasn't keen on the idea of taking in her older brother's children. She'd never liked their mother.

"If I wanted to take care of kids, I would've had my own," she told Eddie's father. "It's bad enough you pawned them off on Mom. Now you're trying to dump the brats on me!"

"They're not brats," Eddie's father argued. "I can't work and look after two kids at the same time. What am I supposed to do?"

"Hire a babysitter," Mathilda retorted.

Eddie's father scowled at her. "I'm barely making ends meet now. How do you expect me to afford a sitter?"

"I'm not doing your job for you. You're the parent. You deal with your children and stop trying to unload them on other people."

Mathilda turned and walked out the door. No one was sad to see her go. Nor did they try to stop her. Mr. Lobo went so far as to insinuate that her husband had faked his death just to get away from her.

"She is not a very kind person," Mrs. Jeepers agreed.

Eddie's dad ran a hand through his disheveled hair. "What am I going to do?"

Mrs. Jeepers reached up to touch her brooch. "Perhaps I might be of assistance?"

"How?" Eddie's father asked.

"The old Clancy Estate is a large house. It holds many rooms. The children could always stay there with me while you are traveling for work. You could visit during holidays and when you get time off. The children would not have to move from Bailey City or give up the lives or friendships they have built. And selling this house would ease some of the financial strain as well. You could pay off any debts, tuck the money away for their college fund or use it if there is ever an emergency of any sort."

Eddie's father couldn't believe her generosity. "You'd do that?"

Mrs. Jeepers nodded. "Despite what some of my students may think, I care for their well-being, and I want them to have every chance to succeed in life." She gave one of her odd little half smiles. "The Clancy Estate is a lovely place to live. I doubt I will ever be lonely with the children around."

Eddie avoided her gaze. He'd lost his grandmother. Now his vampire teacher was using her brooch's magic to convince his dad to hand him and his sister over to her so she could turn them into bat bait! Could this day get any worse?

"Your house is in need of fixing," Mr Lobo said. "It would need to be repaired and renovated to be suitable for niños. I can do it, but it will take two or three weeks to gather the necessary materials and complete all the work."

"Only three weeks?" Dr. Jones inquired.

"I'm a diligent worker," Mr. Lobo replied.

"Eddie and Josie can stay with us until everything's ready for them over at Mrs. Jeepers'," Dr. Jones offered.

Mrs. Jeepers kept stroking her brooch. The green oval shaped gem seemed to glow when she spoke. "It is settled then."

Eddie gulped. Not only were he and his sister going to be at the mercy of a vampire. They were stuck with a werewolf too!