Wednesday, Carmine felt fine. Same thing on Thursday. She would have expected to feel more tired, more drained – especially considering her recent blood loss. Not that Carmine knew how much blood Mia had taken. She hadn't bothered to ask; it wasn't really something she wanted to know. Even the idea of Mia actually doing that to her was still weird to think about.
Friday morning started out just as good as Thursday. But by around fourth period, she was starting to feel a little nauseous. Maybe she shouldn't have eaten anything at lunch last period. She figured it'd be better to get something in her stomach, but now she wasn't sure that was a good idea. And if she actually did throw up, the school would call her mom for sure. No matter how bad she felt, Carmine knew she had to make it through the day. If she could just get to Anna's house, she could sleep it off, and no one would have to know.
By fifth period, Carmine was having trouble concentrating. The teacher was saying something, but it was really hard for her to focus. She felt hot and sweaty, and she still couldn't shake that feeling of nausea. Carmine tried to focus on the teacher, to block out all thoughts of just how bad she felt. Out of the corner of her eye, Carmine saw both Luke and Conner watching her. She stared down at her desk so she wouldn't have to make eye contact. Besides, this was much better anyway – the fluorescent lighting was starting to give her a headache.
She propped her head up with her hand and tried to act like she was reading along with the history book. She might not be taking notes, but that was ok. With the looks Luke and Conner were giving her, she'd have no problems borrowing either of theirs.
Suddenly, a wave of nausea overtook Carmine. She put a hand to her mouth and closed her eyes, willing herself not to throw up all over her desk. When she was reasonably sure she could keep it down, she raised her hand.
"Mr. Wilson? Can I go to the bathroom?" She tried to say it in as normal a tone as she could manage. The only thing Mr. Wilson liked less than excusing students from the room was having them act dramatic about it. She crossed her fingers and hoped that he would take pity on her – and fairly soon.
She must have looked even worse than she felt, because Mr. Wilson took one look at her and said, "Go." Carmine didn't need to be told twice. She got up out of her seat and made her way straight for the door.
The bathroom wasn't too far away, only three doors down. But suddenly the hallway seemed so long. She found herself walking along the side, using the wall as a kind of support. She pushed open the door and staggered into the bathroom just in time. No one else was in there, so she ran into the nearest stall, slammed the door shut, and proceeded to throw up for the next five minutes.
When Carmine had finally gone a whole minute without throwing up or even dry heaving, she made her way back to class. She put on her most nonchalant smile as she walked back into the room. But when she slid back into her chair, she couldn't help but notice Luke and Conner staring at her. And they weren't the only ones.
When the bell finally rang, Carmine didn't even bother to move. She decided to just wait until the room cleared before staggering all the way to art. She almost didn't notice that two people stayed behind.
"Let me walk you to class." Conner told her. He put her arm around his shoulder and his hand around her waist and practically carried her out the door – which was good, because Carmine wasn't sure how far she'd have gotten on her own. Luke leaned over to Conner.
"If she gets any worse, text me."
"Ok." Conner nodded.
Carmine went as fast as she could, but they were still a few minutes late. Once they were outside the door, Conner let go of her.
"Can you walk into class by yourself?" he asked.
"Yeah." Carmine said after a minute. There was no way she was going to let her entire class see him carry her through the door.
They walked into class and the smell of paint immediately hit her. Carmine wondered if she was going to throw up all over again. "Can we at least sit in the back?" she asked, covering her mouth with her hand.
They found a couple seats away from most of the rest the students and their paints. Good thing most students were still in the sketching phase of their projects. Conner went up and talked to the teacher for a bit. Carmine put her head down on the desk, using her arm as a pillow.
"Good news." Conner told her, sitting down a few minutes later. "We don't have to do anything today. Just make sure all your stuff's ready by next Friday."
"Ok." Carmine said through her arm.
"Are you ok?" Conner asked.
Carmine gave a short, humorless laugh.
"I'm mean – I know you're not right now...But you will be, right?"
Carmine actually looked up at him. She hoped he appreciated the effort. "Do I really look that bad?"
"Well, kind of. That plus the fact that I basically dragged you to class."
"Yeah. Thanks, by the way."
"Are you sure you don't want to go to the doctor's?"
"Positive." Carmine told him. She could only imagine what the doctor would say.
"You really think you should go over Anna's tonight? I mean, shouldn't you wait until you feel better to do something like that?"
"Something like what?" She was too busy trying not to pass out to figure out his hidden meanings.
"I thought they were going to...you know. Change you. Tonight."
"We already did it." Carmine told him.
"What?" Conner stared at her like he thought she might be delusional.
"Why do you think I'm so sick?" she asked. That shut him up.
Carmine watched for a minute as he struggled for something to say. When it didn't look like he'd be responding any time soon, she put her head back down. She must have fallen asleep because the next thing she knew, the bell was ringing. Conner shook her awake and led her out the door while everyone else was still putting away their things.
By the time school finally got out, all Carmine wanted to do was go home. Slowly, with Conner's help, she made her way towards the back of the school to wait for her friends. Conner sat down on the short steps beside her.
Carmine had driven her car to school that day, since she was feeling fine that morning and hadn't bothered to think of a good excuse for not taking it. But now, she felt so terrible she wasn't sure she'd even be able to make the short trip to Anna's house. A wave of dizziness swept over her and she decided to rest her head on her knees while she waited.
Carmine closed her eyes and waited for Anna and Mia to show up. It seemed to take forever, but finally a hand was placed on her shoulder.
"How're you feeling?" Carmine recognized Anna's voice and didn't bother to raise her head off her knees.
"Sick." Carmine said simply.
"I'm really sorry." she said.
"Not your fault."
"Really, I think it is."
Carmine actually laughed, despite herself. "Yeah, I guess it is."
"Get her up. We need to go." someone said briskly. It took Carmine a minute to recognize Luke's voice. What was he doing here?
Carmine and Anna walked behind Luke and Conner, arms over each other's shoulders. It looked like they were just two friends walking through the parking lot. But Carmine knew it normally wasn't something Anna would do.
They were almost to the edge of the lot before Carmine realized they were going the opposite way from where she parked. She was about to say something to Anna when she finally realized where they were headed – Luke's car.
"I get front seat." Carmine mumbled automatically. Luke turned around. He still looked incredibly serious, but Carmine thought she saw a smile flicker across his lips before he gave her a short nod.
Luke hopped in the car then leaned over the passenger seat to unlock the other door. Carmine waited for Anna to get in the back before sliding into the front seat. No headrests – great. She slid forward until her knees were practically touching the dashboard and leaned her head on the back of the seat. She was asleep again before they even left the parking lot.
The next thing Carmine knew, she was being woken up in the parking lot of Anna's building. She staggered into Anna's apartment, dropping her backpack on the floor as she made her way to the couch. She landed face first and pulled a pillow over her head in the hopes that it would help keep the world from spinning.
"We need her keys." Luke said. "Where are they?"
"I don't know." Anna said.
Carmine wished they would all just be quiet.
"Where are your keys?"
Carmine wrapped the pillow around her head, trying to block out the conversation.
"The keys?" someone asked again. She ignored it – again.
"Carmine!" Someone shook her shoulder. Conner?
"What?" she asked groggily. Why couldn't they just leave her alone?
"Carmine, where are your keys?" Anna asked gently.
"In my backpack – the small pocket." she told them. Why did it matter? She was already here, and she didn't bring the car.
She heard someone going through a bag at the front hall, then a jingling sound. Keys. Great. That meant the questions would stop. She closed her eyes and fell into a dreamless sleep.
The next time Carmine opened her eyes, the room seemed dark – how long had she been asleep? There was a kind of rustling sound, and the soft creaking of floorboards near her. Zev was sitting on the floor a few feet away.
"How're you feeling?" he asked.
"Great." she told him weakly. She still felt nauseous, but at least her headache was almost gone. Zev gave a weak laugh.
"You look like crap." he told her.
"Thanks." Carmine closed her eyes. Then, a thought managed to find its way through the fog. "How did you get here?"
"I drove."
"Drove what?"
"Your car. Mia's here too, by the way."
"How did you get my car?" she asked. Wasn't it still at the school parking lot?
"Conner ran the keys back over to the school for us."
"You can drive?" Carmine asked. She didn't remember ever seeing him drive to school – he always seemed to be in the passenger seat of Luke's car.
"Of course." he told her, like it should have been obvious. Then, as if he understood her train of thought, he added, "I might not have a car of my own, but I do actually know how to drive one."
"You any good?"
"Yeah."
"Did you crash?"
"No, I didn't crash – what kind of question is that?"
But Carmine didn't answer. She sat there a minute before telling him, "I'm going to throw up."
"Come on. Bathroom's this way." Zev got her to her feet.
He started to lead her down the hall, but Carmine shook her head. She made her own way to Anna's bathroom, locking the door behind her, just in case. She might feel worse than she ever had in her entire life, but that didn't mean she wanted any of her friends to come barging in on her, even if they were just checking up.
When she was fine, she rinsed her mouth out with the hand soap on Anna's counter. It tasted gross, sure. But it was better than nothing. She made her way back to the couch and laid down again, closing her eyes.
"When did you do this?" someone said. Luke. Carmine was about to tell him to shut up, when she heard someone else respond.
"Tuesday." Mia said quietly.
"You did this to her on Tuesday?" Luke asked. Carmine could tell he was trying to be quiet, but as far as she was concerned, it wasn't working. She really wished he'd keep it down.
"But she was fine up until history today." Luke said.
"It takes a couple days." Mia said flatly.
"So why didn't you do it Wednesday?" Luke sounded angry.
"It's not an exact thing." Mia retorted. "We thought she'd be ok until tonight or tomorrow."
"Well, obviously you failed."
"I see that. Thanks."
Carmine groaned. She didn't mean to, but they were just so loud. Why couldn't they have their fight in any room but the living room?
"Is she awake?" Luke asked suddenly.
"I don't think so." Mia told him. "Probably just passed out."
"Good. It looks bad enough without her having to be awake for this."
"I know." Mia snapped. "I've gone through it too."
"Then how could you do that to her?" Luke said, matching her tone.
"You agreed to it." Mia reminded him. "You didn't like Conner's idea–"
"It wouldn't have worked." Luke cut her off. "I just really hope for your sake that yours does."
"Or what?" Mia spat. "You won't do anything. So stop talking to me like you're above me."
Carmine would have liked to hear the rest of their conversation, but she was just so tired. She thought she'd just take a short nap and listen in again when she felt better. She turned over and was asleep again before Luke even had time to comment.
When Carmine woke up, it was light outside. She made yet another trip to the bathroom, wondering if anyone had brought her bag in from her car. It sure would be nice to brush her teeth – Anna's soap could only do so much. She made her way back to the couch and only then noticed that Anna and Mia were sitting in chairs on the far end of the living room. Carmine sat down on the couch.
"How are you feeling?" Anna asked sympathetically. Carmine could hear more than a trace of worry.
"Much better." she said truthfully. She still felt pretty bad, but it was hard to think she could ever feel worse than she did last night.
"Your keys are on the counter in the kitchen." Anna told her.
"How'd they get there?" Carmine wondered.
"Zev left them there. He brought your car over with Mia last night."
"So they were here." Carmine had started to think that hearing the boys last night was just a dream.
"Yeah."
Carmine sat there a minute, going over last night in her mind. She wanted to ask about that conversation she overheard but decided against it. Right now, she wanted to do as little thinking as possible.
It was almost dark outside by the time Carmine finally felt good enough to get off the couch. Actually, she felt great. And all it took was about a day and a half, she thought sarcastically to herself.
She thought about asking Anna and Mia if they wanted to do something – go to a movie, maybe. It had been a long time since she'd actually wanted to hang out. And now that she wasn't lying in pain on her friend's couch, she thought it might be time to celebrate. But first, she needed to brush her teeth.
Her backpack was still by the door, presumably where Zev had left it when he came over last night. She grabbed her toothbrush container out of the small pocket next her pencils. She put toothpaste on the brush and started raising it to her mouth. Her hand was about halfway there when she stopped. She just stood there for several minutes, mouth open, toothbrush in midair, staring at her reflection.
She looked perfectly normal. A little pale, sure, but healthy. There was only one thing wrong. The reflection staring wide-eyed back at her had fangs.
Carmine slowly set the toothbrush back on the counter and leaned forward. Part of her kept insisting that they must be fake. But she knew they weren't. She touched the tip of one and was surprised to realize it wasn't quite as sharp as she would have thought. She pulled lightly on it with her thumb. Yep, attached. Definitely real.
"You feeling ok?" Mia called from the other side of the door. Carmine jumped.
"Yeah – fine. Just brushing my teeth." Carmine told her.
"Good – open the door. I need to brush mine too."
Carmine hesitated for a minute. She almost laughed at herself when she realized what she was doing. Who cared if Mia saw her teeth? It wasn't like Mia didn't know. Carmine leaned over and unlocked the door.
"Thanks." Mia said, walking into the bathroom. She took one glance at Carmine and stopped. "That's a good look for you." she said before putting toothpaste on her own toothbrush. Carmine opened and shut her mouth, not sure what to say. Mia laughed. "Looks like it really did work then."
"Uh, yeah." Carmine said dumbly. "So what am I supposed to do now?"
"What do you mean?" Mia asked.
"I mean, I can't just go around town with fangs. What do I do with them? Just ignore them? ...Do I have to brush them?" Carmine asked. Maybe it was a dumb question, but they kind of made her nervous.
"I guess not." Mia shrugged. "My mom tells me I only have to brush the teeth I want to keep." A slow grin spread across her face.
"So funny." Carmine rolled her eyes. "How do I get rid of them?"
"It takes a little practice." Mia admitted. "But don't worry – we'll show you."
"So much for going out somewhere tonight." Carmine mumbled to herself.
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