Chapter 6: Chapter 6 - Questions and Principals

The next morning, John entered through the large front doors of the school with a new sense of purpose. The sun shone behind him, warming his neck. As if on cue to ruin his day, a shadow walked behind him. It was Principal Watkins.

“It seems I have a meeting with you and Mr. Franklin,” He sneered. “I really hate it when little miscreants try to mess up my school. I eat miserable cretins like you for breakfast.”

John wondered why Mr. Watkins was always so crabby. “No, ‘cause your school has to be perfect,” he muttered under his breath.

“What did you say?” Principal Watkins snapped as he straightened his already perfectly centered tie.

“Nothing, sir,” John said. They walked toward the office. Emilee, still seated at the front window, smiled at John as he entered. She did have a nice smile. He also really liked her blond hair and high cheekbones.

As he walked into the principal’s office, John noticed Sam was already standing there, waiting. John, Sam, and Principal Watkins sat down. The principal looked at them from behind his desk. Somehow, it felt like Principal Watkins’ chair was higher than theirs, and there was something menacing about the painting of the garden. It was just a little too perfect. Sam smiled reassuringly at John.

“The question is what to do about you, Mr. Blackstone. I had to spend all yesterday figuring out how to get rid of the camera recordings. We had to tell people that Mr. Merrick was expelled.”

John didn’t know what to say. “Thanks?” was all he came up with. Principal Watkins continued. “Your fight caused me a lot of headaches. If it were up to me, you would be booted out of this school so fast your great-grandparents would feel it.”

John didn’t know what to say, so he kept his mouth shut. Looking over at Sam, he could see Sam thought this was a good idea.

“That isn’t the question at all,” Sam answered, “Our agreement stipulates that you cannot stop one of ‘us’ in the fulfillment of our duties. It just so happens that John is one of us.”

“I don’t think...,” Principal Watkins started to speak, teeth slightly bared. He did not look happy. “Since when? I am supposed to be notified when one of you comes into the school. That’s our agreement.”

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Sam pressed on. “The question really should be, ‘How did a vampire get in this school?’ I looked through the hard copies of our student files. I can’t find any mention of James there.” Sam scratched the scruff on the bottom of his chin and stared back at the principal.

Principal Watkins hesitated. “We don’t know how that happened. Perhaps he was able to hack our computers.”

“In my experience, vampires don’t ‘hack computers.’ They only care about one thing: blood. They have a one-track mind that way. I am going to recommend that we investigate further. Until that time, I suggest you allow this boy and me to fulfill our duties.”

Principal Watkins acted as if he were about to speak, but he stopped himself. “I will concede your point. But I want you to know that I’ll be talking to your superiors about your boy’s shenanigans.” He jabbed a pudgy finger at John. “I will not have this hooligan destroying my school.”

Sam said, “Thanks, Mr. Watkins. Rest assured that I will only do what is necessary to protect the kids in this school. I’m sure John would say the same.”

“Yes, sir,” John agreed, breathing a sigh of relief. Sam and John stood and exited the principal’s office. Sam looked at John. “I’ll see you in class in a few minutes, but I’ve got to run an errand.”

John nodded. “Yes, sir.” He paused and then added, “Thank you for helping today.”

Sam smiled. “Any time.”

With that, John and he left the main office. Sam continued walking away while John stood there, willing his heart to stop beating so fast. He had not realized how nervous the principal made him.

After a few moments, John calmed down. He turned his head and noticed Donovan was at the window, chatting casually with Emilee. John felt a twinge of jealousy. Donovan effortlessly talked to her. He made it look easy. As John approached, they looked up.

Donovan smiled. “Well, look who survived. Come on, let’s get to class. Want a cookie?”

“Thanks, I think,” John said as he took it. The cookie’s appearance seemed a little random, but John made it a policy never to think too deeply about food. It was delicious. They walked to their American History class. “How do you know how to talk to girls? I’m so terrible at it.”

Donovan playfully hit John on the shoulder. “If you want a girl to notice you, you gotta be willing to be seen by her. You mentioned on the way home last night that you liked that girl on the other side of the room in history class.”

John nodded. “Yeah, Madelyn.”

Donovan smiled. “I just found out that Emilee’s friends with her. Maybe I can have her talk to Madelyn for you.”

“That’s still not going to solve my talking-to-girls problem.”

“Here, I’ll give you some tips. First, if you want a girl to notice you, then you need to start talking to her. Say something. Anything. You’ll get better with practice. Second, you need to be yourself. Well, maybe not yourself,” Donovan grinned.

“Hey!” John used Donovan’s teasing as an excuse to lightly punch him on the arm. “Oh, before I forget, mom and dad want to start training you on Saturday. Just thought you’d want to know.” “That shouldn’t be a problem. Dad’s going to be working at the hospital all weekend. I’ll see you then.”