As much as I hated going back to school after spring break, I knew at least my daylight hours brought a safe reprieve from Jagger.
I returned to Dullsville High a different person than when I had left--as if being the only goth in a conservative town hadn't made me different enough. I couldn't concentrate in class, knowing I was privy to a secret world of vampires.
Classmates continued to bury their heads in textbooks and anticipate the next soccer game, while I doodled in my journal and couldn't wait for the next sunset.
I was still an outcast, but I think my classmates got a rise that Trevor had been dethroned from his kingdom. And although they didn't high-five me in the hallway or invite me to their parties, I was actually given a cutter's privilege at the drinking fountain.
"It's a shame Alexander is homeschooled. It would be nice to eat lunch as a foursome," Becky said at lunch on the baseball bleachers. "Yeah, that would rock."
"But still, we should do something together."
"How about going to the drive-in?" Matt asked, as he walked up the bleachers behind me. "Kissing Coffins is playing tonight. Admission is half price if you wear a costume."
"Cool! I've always wanted to see it on the big screen. I'm sure Alexander would love to go."
"And I'll be able to see what happens to Jenny," Becky said excitedly. "I can dress as one of the town's vampires and wear a cape."
"And fangs!" I added.
Just then Trevor walked onto the field with his soccer-snob groupies. He looked up at Matt, who sat down next to Becky.
As much as Trevor tormented me and as pathetic as I thought he was, I felt a tinge of pity for him. He was an even sadder case now that he was Matt-less. I watched Matt offer Becky his sandwich.
"I'm glad you got traded to our team," I said to Matt, who closed his brown bag and gave me a warm smile.
After school, Becky and I searched through my closet to find her a costume to wear to the drive-in.
"Man, you do have a lot of black," she said, as I tossed out dozens of skirts and shirts for her to choose from.
Becky modeled black tights, a black miniskirt, and a lacy black chemise. "That's perfect. You'll be one of the members of the vampire gang who tries to convert Jenny. I just need my outfit."
I heard my mom's SUV pull into the driveway, and Becky and I raced to meet her at the back door.
"Can I have an advance on my allowance?" I asked hurriedly.
"Calm down," she advised. "Don't I even get a hello?"
"Hello," I replied. "Now, can I have an advance on my allowance?"
"I hope you didn't bid on a Hello Batty toaster on eBay again. I thought we told you--"
"I want to dye my hair blond."
"Blond?" she asked, shocked. "You are not going to ruin your gorgeous black hair."
"But it needs to be blond to complete my costume."
"Are you in a play?"
"Well, sort of."
"For school?"
"No, I just need your help."
"Well, I have some wigs from college in the box I emptied for Nightmare. I know there's an auburn one. There may be a blond one, too."
"Can we go see?" I begged.
Mom reluctantly put her purse down on the kitchen table, and Becky and I followed her into my parents' bedroom. She rummaged through an old Harrod's shopping bag. "Here it is!" she exclaimed, as if she'd found a sunken treasure. She handed me a weathered blond wig. "I wore this in college. Your father loved it!"
I rolled my eyes. "I also need a white dress," I confessed.
She looked at me, pleased, as if her rebellious daughter were finally asking to borrow pearls. "I'll see what I have!" she replied gleefully.
She picked up a pair of flared denims with rhinestones from the box. "Do you believe I once wore these?" she asked, holding them against her pleated Ann Taylor skirt.
"I have a white blouse," she said.
"Ahh. Here's a white eyelet skirt."
"Perfect."
My mom stuck the wig on my head, and I held the clothes in front of me.
"It's like looking at a teenage version of myself," she said fondly.
I threw the skirt and blouse in the wash, and Becky and I returned to my room.
"We are so going to rock!" I said. "But we just need one thing to complete our outfits."
I hunted through my dresser drawers, closet shelves, and boxes underneath my bed.
Halloween was months ago, and in a town like Dullsville it was easier to find a fake Prada purse than fake teeth.
Frustrated, I banged on Billy Boy's door. He opened it slightly, sticking his Charlie Brown--shaped head out. I could barely see Henry typing at my brother's computer. "Did you take my vampire teeth?" I accused him.
"Why would I want your nasty saliva near me?" Billy Boy said, starting to close the door on me.
"Well, I can't find them, and I have to have them for tonight," I argued, pressing the door back open.
Henry rushed over to the door. "I have some," he offered. "Never been used."
Henry and Billy Boy rode their bikes, and I followed with Becky on mine. We must have been quite a sight as we headed to Henry's house at the edge of Oakley Woods--two goths and two nerds riding alongside one another.