“Since when do you have reflexes?”
“Guess it’s a perk of being eighteen,” she said and watched as Simon flushed.
“That was yesterday,” he said, “wasn’t it?”
Jude nodded as she poured herself a glass of orange juice.
Simon joined her at the island, his own plate of pancakes double the size of her own.
“I’m sorry kid,” he said. “I totally forgot.”
“It’s fine,” said Jude, “really. I wasn’t feeling all that well yesterday and we’re going to be celebrating when mom and dad get home anyways.”
Simon nodded, relief evident on his face as he was off the hook, but Jude wasn’t done with him.
“There is something you could do for me, though,” Jude said and Simon looked apprehensive at the tone of her voice.
“And what’s that?” he said.
“Call the school and tell them I’m sick,” Jude said. Her brother quickly protested, citing reasons such as being a responsible chaperone and how Jude was only allowed to skip class on her birthday. His impassioned speech was causing his blood pressure to rise and Jude felt the familiar haze of bloodlust creeping in as her eyes, of their own violation, moved to Simon’s neck. She forced herself to look at his eyes instead, and when she did, there was that sensation she’d felt the night before when looking at Tess in the dimness of the Ward house. It was like something in her eyes was clicking together, only instead of zooming in on the fine details of her brother’s face, she saw his eyes go glossy and vacant the way Lux’s had last night.
“You’re going to call the school,” she said, imitating the calm of Daniel’s voice, “and you’re going to tell them I’ve had the stomach flu all weekend and won’t be in today.”
As soon as her order had been delivered, Simon rose from his seat talking about how unwell his sister had been lately and why didn’t she go back to bed while he called the school to let them know she was going to be staying home today?
With a smile on her face, Jude returned to her room and closed her curtains, hanging her comforter over the curtain rod to further block out the sunlight. And then, feeling tired despite having just woken, she crawled back into bed and fell asleep.
Tuesday Afternoon
To Be Human
When Lux arrived at the Carstairs house, Jude was at the kitchen table with what looked to be the contents of the refrigerator spread on the counter. She stood in the doorway, watching her friend plow through the mountain of food with a gusto she never imagined Jude possessed.
“Why are you eating everything in sight?” Lux asked, causing Jude to pause mid-bite and lower the Twinkie from her mouth.
“Food helps the cravings,” she said, “and I’m starving. Feel free to join me.”
Lux watched, mildly disgusted, as Jude crammed a Twinkie into her mouth and followed it up with spray cheese. She kept her distance though, remaining in the doorway incase Jude decided to give into her cravings and make Lux a Happy Meal.
“So what happened last night?” Lux said. “Daniel better have helped you since, you know, he totally wrecked our movie date.”
Jude’s appetite vanished with a speed that left her reeling. Looking up at her friend, she realized Lux didn’t remember the part of the evening where she’d almost been turned into dinner. Had Daniel made her forget the same way Jude made Simon call the school?
“Um, yeah,” Jude said, shoving a
“Guess it’s a perk of being eighteen,” she said and watched as Simon flushed.
“That was yesterday,” he said, “wasn’t it?”
Jude nodded as she poured herself a glass of orange juice.
Simon joined her at the island, his own plate of pancakes double the size of her own.
“I’m sorry kid,” he said. “I totally forgot.”
“It’s fine,” said Jude, “really. I wasn’t feeling all that well yesterday and we’re going to be celebrating when mom and dad get home anyways.”
Simon nodded, relief evident on his face as he was off the hook, but Jude wasn’t done with him.
“There is something you could do for me, though,” Jude said and Simon looked apprehensive at the tone of her voice.
“And what’s that?” he said.
“Call the school and tell them I’m sick,” Jude said. Her brother quickly protested, citing reasons such as being a responsible chaperone and how Jude was only allowed to skip class on her birthday. His impassioned speech was causing his blood pressure to rise and Jude felt the familiar haze of bloodlust creeping in as her eyes, of their own violation, moved to Simon’s neck. She forced herself to look at his eyes instead, and when she did, there was that sensation she’d felt the night before when looking at Tess in the dimness of the Ward house. It was like something in her eyes was clicking together, only instead of zooming in on the fine details of her brother’s face, she saw his eyes go glossy and vacant the way Lux’s had last night.
“You’re going to call the school,” she said, imitating the calm of Daniel’s voice, “and you’re going to tell them I’ve had the stomach flu all weekend and won’t be in today.”
As soon as her order had been delivered, Simon rose from his seat talking about how unwell his sister had been lately and why didn’t she go back to bed while he called the school to let them know she was going to be staying home today?
With a smile on her face, Jude returned to her room and closed her curtains, hanging her comforter over the curtain rod to further block out the sunlight. And then, feeling tired despite having just woken, she crawled back into bed and fell asleep.
Tuesday Afternoon
To Be Human
When Lux arrived at the Carstairs house, Jude was at the kitchen table with what looked to be the contents of the refrigerator spread on the counter. She stood in the doorway, watching her friend plow through the mountain of food with a gusto she never imagined Jude possessed.
“Why are you eating everything in sight?” Lux asked, causing Jude to pause mid-bite and lower the Twinkie from her mouth.
“Food helps the cravings,” she said, “and I’m starving. Feel free to join me.”
Lux watched, mildly disgusted, as Jude crammed a Twinkie into her mouth and followed it up with spray cheese. She kept her distance though, remaining in the doorway incase Jude decided to give into her cravings and make Lux a Happy Meal.
“So what happened last night?” Lux said. “Daniel better have helped you since, you know, he totally wrecked our movie date.”
Jude’s appetite vanished with a speed that left her reeling. Looking up at her friend, she realized Lux didn’t remember the part of the evening where she’d almost been turned into dinner. Had Daniel made her forget the same way Jude made Simon call the school?
“Um, yeah,” Jude said, shoving a
Similar Books
