Vampire Crush by A. M. Robinson Read Free Book Online Page A

prevent Lindsay from one-upping me than because of my promise to James. There’s no reason I can’t tel her something that wil convince Mr. Amado to strike him from the list. I should do it. I wil do it. I’m frowning into my notebook, wondering how long I can legitimately stal without fal ing into the “bitchy” zone, when two voices float around the corner—one male, one female, and both angry. I scoot behind the door of an open classroom; they’l most likely be gone in a second, and I can stil maintain surveil ance on the speech practice.
    “Marisabel, I told you. This is politics,” growls a voice that I now recognize as Vlad’s. So far, most of what know about him I’ve gotten secondhand from Caroline, who’s stil overflowing with giddiness at having snagged the mysterious new guy. The only thing that I, personal y, have determined is that I would like to punch him. Hard. And not just because he refuses to give me my interview. I’ve watched him with Caroline. When her eyes are on him, he’s relaxed and charming, but the second she turns away, his face grows cold and strangely … resolute.
    Unable to resist the possibility of seeing Vlad uncensored, I peek around the edge of the door. They are by the far wal , Marisabel leaning against a locker with a knee up and Vlad looming over her. Devon and Ashley loiter to one side, silent as usual.
    “But it’s been a week,” Marisabel says, “and you’re getting nowhere. Al I’ve seen you do is whisk around that blond girl.”
    “It’s been three days. If you are so concerned, you might try helping instead of flitting around with that pack of harpies.”
    “They’re not harpies—they’re nice.” When Vlad gives a dismissive snort, she changes tack, reaching out as though to brush his face. “Why don’t we go away? Just the two of us, like before.”
    He smacks her hand away and then slams his fists into the locker, one on each side of her head. “I am sick of living like we don’t exist,” he spits as the clang echoes down the hal way. “If you want to traipse off and remain in obscurity, fine. I am staying here.”
    Marisabel doesn’t respond, just rubs her arms and stares at the worn blue carpet. I check to see if Devon and Ashley are finding this as frightening as I am, but they are staring off into the distance.
    “I am waiting for your answer,” Vlad says, straightening but not al owing Marisabel any more space to breathe. I can hear the tick of the classroom clock that hangs over the doorway.
    “I don’t want to go anywhere without you,” she final y murmurs.
    “Excel ent. Then I believe we can leave,” Vlad says, and then he pivots so quickly that I barely have time to tuck my head back behind the door. I hold my breath as they stride past. When their voices echo enough to signal that they’ve reached the main lobby, I emerge from my hiding spot with a new plan. First I am going to convince Caroline that she needs to drop Vlad, and then, no matter what Mr. Amado says, I wil be getting to the bottom of what these people are doing here. Because one thing’s for sure: He and Marisabel are not stepsiblings and they’re not just here because Vlad’s parents are “off in Europe.”
    As if on cue, the door to the speech room bangs open, and students start to trickle out. When Nevil e emerges, I jump in front of him and rush through my boilerplate proposal: interviews, new students, embarrassing icebreaker questions, please help me. I leave out the part where, after I know his favorite B-movie, I am going to gril him senseless.
    “Of course,” he says, placing a hand on my back to usher me into the nearest empty classroom—health class, if the mutant ovaries on the board are any indication. Once we’re seated he looks at me expectantly. Not wanting to scare him off too early, I start out with questions that I consider boring. But when I ask if he likes it here at Thomas Jeff, his face lights up.
    “I do! Everything is so