and youâll have a blood flood.â
Gunther strides over to where the wulf kids are sitting. His guys follow.
The wulves stand up. Deadlock.
Gunther is a full head taller than Charlie Hogan, but Hogan is built like a fire hydrant.
âWe stick to refined sports,â Gunther says. âAll you moon-dogs know how to do is smash and bash. Limited animal brains, lower form of life.â
Hoganâs nostrils flare and he balls his hands into fists.
Mr. Wentworth gets up again and moves toward them.
âDo it, troglodyte,â Gunther says.
But Hogan doesnât hit him. He grabs Gunther by the front of his shirt and shoves him hard. Gunther goes into the pool, hitting the water with a big splash.
The crowd roars.
Gunther heaves himself out of the water. His expensive clothes drip heavily. Two teachers have come to walk Charlie Hogan out. Heâs laughing.
âThis is a Rolex, face-case!â Gunther screams at Hogan. âIf itâs ruined, youâre paying for it.â
âSue me,â Hogan calls over his shoulder.
âYou couldnât afford it. I could buy and sell your whole family.â
Mr. Wentworth and two custodians escort Charlie Hogan to the doors of the pool house. The vamp kids cheer, while Gunther looks up into the bleachers and clasps his hands over his head in a champion gesture. Then he tosses his blond hair, sending a spray of water onto some vamp girls, who squeal with delight.
The rest of the meet canât match the excitement of the floor show. Carpathia wins, mainly due to Alana Gibson.
âWell, that turned out to be a decent meet after all,â Claire says to me as we climb down the bleachers.
âThat was an outstanding meet,â I say while pulling on my leather jacket. âDid you hear Gunther scream about his stupid watch?â
We shuffle along with the crowd toward the exit. I lean into Claire. âOh. I came up with a really good solution to our problem.â
âWhat problem is that?â
âAbout how to tell if Juliet Walker likes me or not.â
âRight, see, thatâs not our problem, thatâs your problem,â Claire says, staring hard at the back of Tiffany Welshâs head, impatient because Tiffany is yakking instead of trying to move forward.
âWhatever. Anyway, I figure the simplest way to do this is for you to come tomorrow night so you can watch and give me your opinion.â
âGee, really? I can? What an honor!â She sneers at the back of Tiffanyâs head and mimes punching it. âThanks, but Iâll pass.â
âIâll be forever in your debt.â
âYouâre already forever in my debt. And anyway, itâs a stupid idea. Youâre trying to figure out if she likes you so you show up with another girl?â
âYouâre not another girl.â
She jams the point of her elbow into my solar plexus, half knocking the wind out of me. I should have seen it coming.
âGood luck getting me to help you with any thing after that,â she says.
âYou know what I meant. Iâm saying, youâre not a girl friend . We couldnât pretend to be together even if we wanted to. Just come. I know you donât have any plans.â
âHow do you know?â
âBecause itâs Saturday night. What plans would you have besides hanging out with me?â
She rolls her eyes. âFine. Itâll be fun watching you try to flirt.â She stands on her toes, trying to see whatâs holding things up. âWould you guys move?â she shouts.
We finally get outside, and the crowd spreads out. Claireâs dad is supposed to pick us up. âHe said to wait for him there,â Claire says, pointing to a far corner.
Just as we head in that direction, we hear the voice of our schoolâs golden boy. âNope, not this weekend,â Gunther says. âIâm going hunting with my father.â
âYeah? For deer, or
Learning to Kill: Stories