Chapter 12 Ch. 9.2
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 backway. 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 went 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 over 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 you 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."