A week later, Vlad sits across from Ingrid at the dining table, working his way through a bowl of Count Chocula - It being the only cereal their father had allowed them to get, deeming the rest too unvampiric. This morning, like most in the Dracula residence, was a quiet affair. What with the Count being asleep during the day, and Renfield being much less excitable without his lord and master around to appreciate his work.
Ingrid scrutinizes Vlad as he munches away at the chocolate mush in his bowl, dragging her gaze up and down his form in an attempt to understand the strangeness she was currently woeful to perceive. "What in garlics name are you wearing?"
Looking at himself in an exagerated fashion, Vlads head and eyes move in a similar motion to Ingrid's as he scans himself. Turning his attention back to Ingrid, Vlad smirks, an unhealthy dose of sarcasm in his voice as he speaks. "Clothes, I think?
"You know what I mean BAT-BRAIN!" Ingrid attacks.
"It's a school uniform." Standing up from his seat, Vlad moves away from the table to give his sister an unobstructed view of his current outfit. His clothing consists of a sky blue shirt, a deep blue jumper, a navy blazer, and a yellow and blue striped tie tucked snugly into his aforementioned jumper. The ensemble is neat, but not strict or stiff in any way. Spinning slowly to display his outfit, Vlad smiles. "Nice, right?"
"And why are you wearing.... that?" Ingrid presses, not answering his question.
"Well, it's cause I'm going to school!" Vlad answers, unbothered by his sister's seeming inability to say anything nice. At least when it didn't immediately benefit her.
At Vlads declaration, Ingrid scrapes her chair along the floor as she pushes it away from the table, getting up from her seat and marching swiftly over to Vlad. Stopping with only a few centimetres distance between them, she stares unyealdingly into his eyes as she speaks, firm in her statement. "No. You're not."
Yes, he, in fact, is.
Last week, when Vlad had snuck out of the castle, he'd gone to Robins house. While it was indeed quite late when he'd arrived, he'd found Robin still wide awake in his room. Why he was awake so late, Vlad figured he could probably hazard a decent guess. After some questions about how he'd gotten up to his second storey bedrooms window (he'd climbed) Vlad and Robin had 'hung out'. Conversation started with Robin asking his many questions about vampires and Vlad being, for the most part, unable to answer them.
Conversation drifted, and eventually landed on school. After Vlad expressed his desire to go, and his fathers certain opposition, Robin (after questioning exactly why Vlad wanted to go) decided to help.
Over the next few days, or nights more accurately, Vlad and Robin carefully hatched a plan on how to get Vlad into school. At first glance, the problem didn't seem too serious, what with The Count being asleep all day. He could just go and The Count, soundly asleep in his coffin, would be none the wiser.
Sadly, this solution fell through at even the slightest probing. If Vlads father decided to stay up early even once, the jig would be up. Not to mention that Ingrid or Renfield would notice immediately, and would surely inform The Count. No, that wouldn't work at all.
Eventually, after much back and forth over the course of a few nights, the two had settled on a seemingly suitable plan. The next few days after that were spent preparing, ordering his school uniform, books, and any other miscellaneous items needed to attend school. And now, the time had come to put their plans into action
Vlad smirks, turning from Ingrid and waltzing happily out of the room. Though, despite his outward demeanor, inwardly Vlad was sweating bullets! He didn't know if this was going to work, even while making the plan, and putting it to the test was fucking nerve-wracking! And it's not like you could blame him, could you? He knew his sister, and her proficiency for manipulation, so trying to trick her would be difficult. The only upside being that, what with Vlads general dislike towards anything even remotely evil vampire-esque, she'd never expect it....probably.....
Having landed himself just beside the great oak doors of the castle, Vlad slings his backpack from the floor and onto his shoulder in a WAY too practiced motion, before turning around to look back into the dining room. A startled "YAH!!" escapes him as he once again comes face to uncomfortably close face with ingrid. 'I didn't even hear her walking!'
As their eyes meet and she stares him down, Vlad does his best not to gulp, not to let any sign of fear or weakness show in anything he does.
After a few tense seconds of silence, Ingrid asks "What are you playing at....?"
'Bingo!' Now grinning both outwardly and inwardly, Vlad points to the corner of the room, where a set of clothes hang from an unlit wall sconce "You wanna find out? Come on!" Saying this, Vlad opens the double doors, stolls out of the castle, and let's the doors close themselves behind him.
Ingrid, now alone with her thoughts, let's the unfiltered confusion she feels show on her face. Her features scrunch up as she thinks on her most recent interaction with Vlad, the strangeness of the whole encounter beaten out in weirdness only by the thoroughly out of character attitude of her brother. He could be cocky and smug, but confident? That's never happened before...
Snapping out of her thoughts, at least momentarily, Ingrid looks to the clothes Vlad had indicated earlier. Swaying slowly over to them in a way distinctly Ingrid, she picks them from the wall sconce and examines them more closely.
'....A uniform.'
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Outside the castle doors, Vlad practically collapses into the castle walls, slumping heavily against the aged stone of the castle exterior. 'UUHHHHGGG!!!!! That was exhausting!'
Taking whatever time alone he has, Vlad internally groans and gripes about how stressful this plan is. Acting like that with Ingrid was a risk, plain and simple, but it was one he felt he should take. If he pissed her off too much, she'd just call dad on him, but if he made her too curious then she'd just force him to tell her what was going on, one way or another. He had to make her just the right amount of curious and annoyed. He wasn't quite sure how small or large the margin for error was there, so he'd pulled out all the stops when acting, unsure of if he could afford to screw up even once.
Now all he has to do is wait to see if she takes the bait. And so he waits...
Five minutes....
Ten minutes.....
Fifteen minutes.....
By this point, Vlad is starting to get antsy. He'd been waiting for a while and can't help but begin to think that this part of the plan had flopped, and while it wouldn't be the end of the world or anything if that is the case, it does open up a whole new bag of worms to deal with. After all, if Ingrid didn't rat him out to dad, and also didn't force him to spill his guts, then what would she do? Ingrid wasn't one to forgive and forget, and even if his only offence had been being a bit snippier than normal, that was more than enough to elicit some form of revenge from his sister.
As he begins to contemplate just cutting his losses and leaving, a loud "CRREEAAAK" sounds out, breaking him from his thoughts.
At the sudden noise, Vlads eyes widen in surprise. Turning his head to the doorway from his spot against the wall, the boy smiles a small smile as he looks at Ingrid. He understands now why it took so long for her to get ready, seeing the alterations she's made to the standard uniform.
She hadn't bothered with the jumper, nor had she with the blazer. Her shirt was completely unbuttoned, showing a black and blue t-shirt beneath. Her tie hung loosely around her neck, with her skirt slightly tilted to one direction, and held up by a black, silver spike studded belt.
He isn't sure how much thought she'd put into the outfit, whether she'd purposefully sculpted it to look like she didn't care, or if that really was the case, but either way, it wouldn't change much.
Vlad had never been able to read Ingrid all too well, and that isn't to say he does't know her, because he does, but that's just how good an actor she is. If she wanted him to do something, wanted him to think something or say something, she knew just what to do to have that happen.....most of the time. He can only thank his lucky stars that her proficiency for manipulation isn't a one to one translation into her ability to not be manipulated.
Pushing himself away from the wall, the young vampire begins his slightly faster than normal trek down the mountain/hill, doing so in fear of being late more than anything else.
Ingrid, with her superior hight and longer stride, quickly catches up to Vlad after his sudden start. Moving at what she sees as a regular pace, she stares at Vlad, scrutinizing him with utmost curiosity as they move.
Vlad, while aware of her inquisitive glare, steadfastly keeps his focus on the road ahead as he continues to make his way down the hill, worried that any more interaction between them would result in her, somehow, losing interest and screwing up the whole plan.
It isn't a particularly complex plan, but it is particularly fragile. Such is the case with most all plans involving vampires.
While fiercely intelligent, Ingrid could never be said to have any particular aptitude towards patience, and as such can't help but cut straight to the point. "Spill Vlad. What do you mean you're going to school!?" The words came out halfway between a hiss and a growl, which Vlad realizes is probably most fitting when he finally looks over to her. She looks pretty pissed.
"I mean that I went on the internet and registered for us to go to school." Vlad answers as he continues walking, keeping his voice as calm and level as possible in spite of the panic rising in his chest. "Turns out you can skip any test taking and evaluations if the schools extenuating circumstance clause applies."
At Vlads answer, ingrid's face slowly eases out of its livid expression, being replaced with an inquisitive side-eye.
Vlad isn't sure what he did to cause such a sudden change in her attitude, but he can only hope it wasn't anything bad. After all, he's pretty sure that nothing he'd just said had any reason for calming her down.
""...""
As the walk to school continued, no more conversation was had between the two, both occupied with the thoughts buzzing about their heads from the current situation.
All things considered, Vlad supposes that went about as well as he could have hoped for. Step one of the plan had gone down without a hitch, and the preteen vampire couldn't help but pat himself on the back for his Oscar winning performance. 'Well done, me....'
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Chapter 10: 1907 words (not including this bit)
Sorry there wasn't a chapter last week, hadn't finished the chapters corresponding drawings yet. 😅
To make up for it, imma be givin y'all a double chapter upload next week. And maybe the week after that too if I can manage. Anyway, comment, stones, yadayada. But sryusly, I'd appreciate, like, any indication from y'all on wheather I'm doin a decent job with this so far. K, have a nice Day/Night! BYYYEEE!!!!