tonight, âWeâve been very patient and tried to understand, but enough is enough. Start co-operating â or else, no TV or computer games for a week.â
âBy co-operating ⦠you mean, what?â
âI think you know,â interrupted Dad. âItâs time you were pulled into line. And that punishment is just the start.â
âDad, you canât bully me into being a half-vampire, you know.â And I stormed upstairs.
6.35 p.m.
Dadâs just called me downstairs. Air was quite dark, I can tell you. And I was ready to say all sorts of stuff, I was so worked up. But instead, Dad stared at the ground and said, âIâm very sorry for what I said earlier tonight to you. It was wrong. I want to help you, butnot like that. Will you please accept my apology?â
âWell, I donât think youâll make that mistake again,â I said. (Iâve always wanted to say that to an adult.) âSo yes, I will accept your apology.â And then we shook hands for several seconds.
9.50 p.m.
Neither Dad nor Mum has said another word about cravings or half-vampires all evening. Iâm not sure why theyâve suddenly clamped up. They keep whispering away in the kitchen though.
Thursday 11 October
11.15 a.m.
There are stickers in just about every room in the school now saying: âM.I.S. RULESâ. Tallulah has organized this operation really well. And Joel tells me thereâs now a waiting list of people who want to be M.I.S. members.
8.30 p.m.
Karl is back. He pretended heâd just droppedby. But really he was here to give me a pep talk. Mum and Dad melted away as soon as he appeared.
He swaggered around the sitting room. âSo whatâs happening ⦠whatâs new?â he asked. Before I could answer he leaned over me and hissed, âYou still havenât had your cravings?â
âNo, I havenât.â
He shook his head. âAnd the doctorâs called?â
âOh yeah, heâs round here nearly as often as you are,â I said.
âIâm going to be honest with you, Ved,â he said, suddenly stern. âYouâre becoming a bit of an embarrassment. In fact, do you know what you remind me of ?â
âAmaze me,â I said.
âA little kid whoâs at the swimming pool and he sees all his mates and his mum and dad in the water, but he canât jump in with them because heâs too scared. So he runs around the pool saying, âOoh, ooh, I donât want to get into the water because Iâm frightened.â Thatâs how I see you right now.â
âJust one thing,â I said. âI can swim.â
He paused for a moment. âOh, can you?Yeah, well thatâs only an example. But you know what Iâm saying. Stop being a scaredy-cat and dive in. Weâve all been very patient with you. But itâs time you sorted your head out and crossed over. Thatâs all Iâm going to say now. Before I split, Iâll leave you with this to think about.â
He let out a howl which I have to admit was truly magnificent. In fact, it could have been in a film.
âI wonât ask you to follow that,â he said, âbecause I donât want to embarrass you. But one day with a lot of practice you might be nearly as good as me ⦠thatâs something to think about, isnât it?â
Friday 12 October
7.15 p.m.
Told Mum I was going to see Joel. But really Iâm off to Brent Woods to practise my howl. I still donât want to be a half-vampire. And Iâm very determined about that. But itâs bugging me that my howls are so earth-shatteringly terrible.
And if an annoying weasel like Karl canlet out ear-piercing howls, surely I can too.
9.30 p.m.
Well, I thumped off to the woods. And there was a low mist so I couldnât see very clearly. Maybe that was why I felt so uneasy. I just had the weirdest feeling that someone was watching me, and
Robin Stevens
Patricia Veryan
Julie Buxbaum
MacKenzie McKade
Enid Blyton
MAGGIE SHAYNE
Edward Humes
Joe Rhatigan
Samantha Westlake
Lois Duncan