You Were What You Eat

11. The Confrontation

Anna made it to school just as the bell was ringing. She'd been up almost all night, thinking about what she'd discovered. It was funny, really; she'd been so caught up in hiding her own vampiric tendencies that she'd completely missed the fact that one of her own friends was just like her.

Anna knew she was going to have to say something – it was too good an opportunity to pass up. She'd never talked with another vampire – at least, not knowingly. Now all she had to do was figure out what she was going to say.

Anna walked into English two minutes late. She hadn't been late to anything in almost two hundred years, but somehow she always seemed to be late to English. She wondered if it was due to the fact that Mrs. Boyd was always late herself. How was Anna supposed to care about being on time when her teacher couldn't even be punctual? Anna walked over to her desk, dropped her backpack on the floor and sank down into her seat. She looked over at Summer – her only friend in the class. As usual, Summer was happy and cheerful. Anna yawned.

"Long night?" Summer asked, looking over at her.

"Yeah." Anna replied. "I just had a lot on my mind."

"That's understandable. A lot's been going on lately." Summer said cryptically.

Anna's eyes narrowed slightly. "What do you mean?"

"Well, with all those late-night attacks going on..." Summer shrugged.

Anna nodded but didn't say anything. She wanted to press Summer, but didn't know how. At least, not without giving too much away herself. But after a few minutes of silence, Anna's worries got the best of her. She needed to know what Summer knew.

"Have you been thinking about it a lot?" Anna asked cautiously. Summer looked straight at Anna and sighed.

"I've been trying not to, honestly. This whole thing is...disturbing. I just hope it stops – soon."

Anna nodded, not knowing what else to say. What could she say? There was something about the way Summer talked about it – a look on her face – that told Anna very clearly she was holding something back.

Suddenly, Anna felt sick and looked down at her desk to steady her nerves. She found herself tracing the patterns in the faux wood on the desk with her eyes. Summer seemed to know more than she was saying, but what, exactly? Did she know that Anna herself was behind some of these attacks?

Anna closed her eyes and steadied herself. After taking a deep breath, she looked back at Summer. When she did, she saw that Summer was no longer looking her direction. Instead, she was chewing on her lip and looking lost in thought. It occurred to Anna that Summer actually seemed nervous. But what did Summer have to be nervous about? It must be the stress of all the attacks building up, she reasoned. Anna had been hearing whispers in the hallways about what had been happening. That had to be it. Right?

***

Anna, Sharon, and Carmine found a table by the window that day. Anna pulled her sandwich out of her bag, looking across the cafeteria for any signs of Joanna and Mia. She hadn't seen Mia yet, and Anna hoped that she'd come to school. Nervously, she fingered the red ribbon curled in her pocket. It was nice to know someone else who was in the same boat as her. Suddenly, she didn't feel so alone.

Mia walked in with Joanna, as usual. Anna noticed instantly that her hair was down, falling below her shoulder blades. It was the first time Anna had ever seen Mia's hair down. And she wasn't the only one to notice.