Team Human Read Free

moving as fast as she could to the back of the room. Though Cathy, Ty, and I usually formed a bit of a quartet with Anna, we hadn’t seen her much over the summer.
    Not after what had happened with her dad. I wasn’t surprised she looked pale. I was glad to see her in school at all.
    Of course, it’s harder to skip when your mom is the principal, no matter how much Anna must have wanted to, once she heard there would be a vampire in class. That would have to hurt.
    â€œDon’t make a habit of it,” Kaplan said before continuing to extol the unique opportunity of a vampire in class, living history, blah blah blah.
    Anna hardly flinched when she saw Francis. She slid into the empty seat by the window and smiled at Ty and me. At Cathy too, who didn’t notice on account of being fixated on the back of Francis’s head.
    I thought Cathy could maybe have spared Anna some attention, given what Anna had been through. But Cathy has a focus like a laser: It’s how she gets such good grades.
    Kaplan seemed pretty focused on Francis himself. Not that he was alone. Everyone seemed to be staring at the vampire.
    â€œWould you like to tell us why you’ve chosen to continue your education almost one hundred and fifty years after it was prematurely cut off?”
    â€œNo,” Francis said.
    Half the class made that sound that comes from breathing in quickly when you’re surprised. Ty actually snorted. (One of the many reasons we broke up. What’s fine in a best friend can be deeply wrong in a boyfriend.)
    Perhaps Francis isn’t so bad, I thought, watching Kaplan’s face change color.
    â€œThose reasons are too personal,” Francis continued. “But it would be my utmost pleasure to contribute to this class in any way you may find useful, Mr. Kaplan. I thank you again for allowing me to take part.”
    No, he was just as bad as I’d thought. Was there enough room in this class for Francis Duvarney and his ego? Was it too late for me to switch classes?
    Cathy’s eyes were bigger and shinier than ever.
    There would be no switching classes.
    I was going to have to keep watch over Cathy. I wondered how her mom would feel about me moving in.

CHAPTER THREE
    The Deadly Allure of the Vampire in the Lunchroom
    I ’d seen a feeding frenzy in the lunchroom before. It usually happened when there were chicken fingers on the menu, though. Not vampires.
    Classes had been bad enough. For the first time in my life I wished there was a teacher to supervise us at lunch. It seemed to me like there was an urgent need for someone to yell, “Anyone who licks that vampire gets a detention!”
    Not that I was close enough to see if there was any licking being done. The four of us were sitting at a table pretty far away, as we hadn’t been willing to fight our way through the crowd. It seemed like everyone wanted to get as close as possible to Francis.
    â€œDoes anyone else think it’s a bit ridiculous that he came to lunch when he doesn’t eat?” I asked.
    â€œTo be fair, neither does half the cheerleading team,” Ty said.
    Like the rest of the lunchroom crowd, Ty and Cathy were staring transfixed at Francis. I glanced over once or twice. Anna kept her eyes on her lunch.
    It was like a one-vampire zoo. Francis was sitting as if someone had tried to put a stake through his heart but accidentally inserted it where the sun did not shine—which I guess is anywhere for vampires, but in a place where the sun does not shine even for regular people. His hands were folded on the table, in the empty space where his tray should have been.
    I couldn’t see where the head cheerleader Robyn Johnson’s hands were, but she was leaning pretty close to Francis, and for a brief moment his facade of beautiful indifference cracked.
    I’d never seen anyone look scandalized before. It was kind of hilarious.
    Robyn’s boyfriend, Sam Martinson, from whom she was