The Blood Catalyst

Chapter 9

She didn't respond, instead she rolled her eyes and walked to her locker. She opened it and began looking in as though searching for something when in fact she had everything she needed. Her books were clutched in one hand, her timetable stuck to the door as usual, and nothing out of the ordinary or exciting lay there, yet she lingered there because her head was foggy and her brain would not quieten.

She was still questioning everything about Ethan and what she had witnessed yesterday.

Noah leaned against the locker beside hers, savoring the last bite of pancake slowly. "You okay?"

"Yeah," she said, opening and closing her book, although she didn't need to. "Just tired."

He frowned and leaned his head to one side. "Still? You didn't sleep at all?"

"Barely," she said, closing the locker finally. "Let's just get to class."

The first class was with Miss Penelope, and she had already written on the board what they were to cover when they sat down. Zara sat in the window seat, second from the back, Noah to her right. Miss Penelope started speaking about analyzing poems, but the words moved in and out, and Zara could not follow them.

She looked at the dangling string along the side of Miss Penelope's skirt, then at the frayed rim of the whiteboard, then at the clock, which was stuck. A pen was in her hand but her notes were blank.

"Zara," Miss Penelope said sternly, "are you with us today or should I move your seat closer to the board?"

Zara jumped a little and blinked fast, her heart racing more than it should have. She nodded, muttering something like sorry, then looked down at her book and started scribbling random lines.

Miss Penelope narrowed her eyes but moved on.

Noah leaned closer, whispering, "You okay? That was weird."

"I’m fine," she whispered back, not looking at him.

By the second period, it was History with Mr. Hudson, who always spoke loudly and paced around as if on a mission. Zara tried to listen but her mind wandered again. Her eyes scanned the room. A girl in the front whose name was Maya, the one whose braces had just been taken out—kept smiling and showing her teeth, as if attempting to make people notice.

Zara stared for a bit too long.

Then she looked away quickly.

What if she was a vampire?

What if she wore braces to hide them, and now they were out and she couldn’t stop flashing them?

Her hands went cold.

"Zara!"

She flinched again. Mr. Hudson had paused mid-sentence and was now staring at her. "If you’re done spacing out, maybe answer the question."

Noah shot her a look.

Zara swallowed and answered, "Sorry. I didn't hear the question."

"Obviously," said Mr. Hudson. "Pay attention."

She nodded quickly and sat up straight in her chair.

Later at lunch time, the cafeteria was noisier than ever. Individuals roamed around, chairs scraped across the floor, plates shattered, and orange juice was spilled on the floor by someone. Zara didn't even think about going for food. She sat at their usual table and scratched the inner region of her palm with the thumb nail, daydreaming.

She spotted Devon in the back of the room. He was resting half asleep on the table, his hoodie on his head. He always skipped P.E., always made up an excuse, never showed up for the track events or the basketball tryouts. He usually had a parasol for the sun.

What if he were not lazy?

What if he couldn't play sports because he'd run too fast?

What if he avoided the sun because he was a vampire.

Zara felt sick.

Noah placed his tray on the table and sat beside her.

"Zara, what's up with you?" he asked, pulling out a fork through his mashed potatoes. "You're being really weird."

"Nothing," she said, already knowing she couldn't keep saying that.

He chuckled. "Miss Penelope glared at you like she was going to devour you whole. Hudson too. And you winced like they were poking you with knives. That's not nothing."

Zara looked around, then stood up. "Come with me."

"To where?"

"Just come."

She rushed, moving between tables, with Noah lagging behind her, dazed. She opened the door to the hallway, then continued toward the locker rooms. Nobody was permitted in the hallway to take lunch, so it would be empty.

She went into the girls' area, looked around quickly, then pulled him into the corner where nobody would be able to hear them.

"Zara," he told her, looking around. "We're going to get into trouble."

"I have to tell you something," she said.

"Okay," he put his tray on a creaky bench. "What?"

She looked at the wall for a second, trying to find the right words.

"It's Ethan," she explained. "Something really weird is about him."

Noah raised his eyebrows.

"I saw him," she told him. "That day, after training. I was going home and I was cutting through the back way. He was there too, by the gate. There was a child in the middle of the road and there was a delivery bike speeding really, really quickly. The child didn't see it. And Ethan. he grabbed the child out."

Noah blinked. "Okay.?"

"No, listen. He wasn't even close to the kid. He was across the street. And in a split second—I swear, less than a second—he was there, holding the kid like it was nothing. I blinked and it was over. It was like he teleported."

Noah stared at her.

"And that's not the weirdest thing," she went on. "I followed him. Not that day. Another day when he didn't have practice, so I was like, why not tail him from afar. Eventually we go to a back alleyway and he... Noah, I saw him fight. Like really fight. He fought two guys. They didn't even stand a chance. And—" she hesitated. "He had fangs. Like actual vampire fangs."

Noah's mouth dropped open a fraction. "Fangs? Vampire fangs?"

She nodded.

"Zara," he said, rubbing his hand through his face. "You sound like a conspiracy theorist."

"I know it sounds irrational. But I saw it. He is not human. Or at least, not fully human. That's why he's so fast at running."

"Maybe you were tired or dreaming it. Fangs don't just grow out of people."

"He did. And his eyes. They glowed. Like this totally strange red color. I don't even know how to put it into words."

Noah ruffled his hair, looking down. "You're sleep-deprived. And hungry. And maybe need to get off watching these creepy supernatural TV shows."

Zara rolled her eyes. "I'm not making this up. He didn't move like.... I know what I saw Noah, I'm not crazy."

Noah looked at her again, then went on, "Okay. Let's suppose you're right. What do we do with that? Stake him during gym class?"

She gave him a hostile glare. "I'm serious."

"And I'm seriously worried about you cause you're.... You're not yourself."

She folded her arms and turned away.

"Zara," he said after a pause. "Why couldn't you just have told me in the first place?"

"Because you'd tell me I was crazy. Which you're literally doing now."

He let out a sigh. "I just think perhaps you need to unwind a little. Perhaps he's just. quick. And hopefully skilled in hand-to-hand combat. Doesn't qualify him as a vampire."

"Then explain the fangs."

He parted his lips, then closed them. "Some people naturally have teeth like those you know?."

The bell was ringing in the distance.

"We should go back," he said.

Zara didn't budge.

"Come on," he said. "We'll discuss later. I'll even keep an eye out for Ethan if it will help any."