The Vampire Prince goes to High School (Book 1)

Between a Rock and a Hard Place

It's his fault for being stupid, I told myself. He just jumped to conclusions like everyone else. Why do I need to go after him? Besides, even if I were going after him, where would I even find him? He's a vampire. He probably has safe houses everywhere. 

I shook my head. There was no way I was going to go after him. It was probably better this way. This just meant that the Prince had officially left me alone. He wouldn't bother me anymore and that's all I wanted. I nodded to myself. Yeah. He was bothersome and arrogant. I didn't need people like that. 

"Miss Borek, is there something you want to share with the class?"

Startled, I glanced up. The substitute for my English teacher stood over my desk with her arms across her chest. 

"You haven't started reading the novel either," she continued. "I think detention will be good for you."

I kept my mouth shut. There was absolutely nothing I could say that wouldn't get me in trouble. She waited, expecting me to say something.

"Sorry?" I said. To show good faith, I picked up the novel and turned to the first page. 

She wasn't convinced. "Get your things," she said. "I'll have someone inform the rest of your teachers."

I kept my head down. Knowing her, any expression would result in more days in detention. At this point, I didn't even care. I wouldn't mind mindlessly working on assignments with little to no supervision. The substitute teacher gave me a slip and left me to my own devices. What were the odds that I could walk out of the school with no one the wiser? But that wouldn't work. They had too many cameras and eager security guards ready to pounce on you. Off to detention for me.

When I found the room, (it was one of the old chemistry labs on the basement floor) I saw a familiar face. Carlos waved at me from the back of the class. Including me, there were five of us in here. Aside from the desks and tables, everything else had been removed. I guess they didn't want students fires down here.

Mr. Wells sat behind his own desk, engrossed in something on his cellphone. Wordlessly, I placed the pink slip down.

"Take a seat where there's an empty table," he said without looking at me.

I took the table to the right side. At a closer look at the people in the room. Most of them were on their cellphones, others had their headphones on, and the rest were sleeping. As I sat, Carlos buzzed his way over to my table and sat. I inched my seat away as quietly as I could without arousing suspicions. 

"Fancy finding you here," he said. "What did you do?"

I glanced at the teacher. 

"Oh, he doesn't really care."

"Right. Well, for starters, I wasn't reading and here I am."

"Lame."

"Excuse me?"

"I went into the teacher's lounge and ate all their cake."

"Good for you."

He scooched closer and I leaned back. "I got your message."

I nodded. Was this really the time for this? Didn't he see that I didn't want to talk? He scooched closer. With nowhere to go, I kept leaning back.

"Pat wants to see you."

Speechless, I stared at him. What was he talking about? Then, it hit me. Oh. Oh. 

"It's not only you," Carlos said. He lowered his voice. "We've gotten a lot of support since that happened. This couldn't have turned out any better. Now people are really starting to see the truth."

"Uh, yeah, yeah," I stammered out. 

In a way, it made sense. With no comment from the Royal family, people were left with their own imagination. The video was turning people against the vampires, against the Prince. Even if I tried to think of a reason, I still didn't know why the Royal family had turned on the Prince. Did they really believe the video was real? Didn't they have experts to check the credibility of stuff like that? Didn't they have people shadowing the Prince? Or had he actually done it? What if it was all real?

"Hey, are you okay? You look pale."

The classroom swirled around me. No. It was a lie. The Prince wasn't capable of hurting all those people. He had no motive. He wasn't like that. I didn't register Carlos's hand on my arm until I looked down. Trying not to draw any attention, I pulled my arm away.

"Fine," I forced out. 

"So, do you have time tomorrow?" he asked.

Tomorrow? Right, Pat. At this point, was it even worth helping the Prince? He wasn't going to bother me anymore. He hated me right now. He didn't need my help. And yet, knowing him, he would show up sometime down the line and say the contract wasn't nullified because I hadn't helped him.

I chewed on my lip. "I don't know," I began. "It's better if I stay out of the public sphere. Ever since the Prince attacked me at school, people think I know everything. With all that's happening, there's some . . . hostility."

"Plus, everyone thinks the Prince is romantically interested in you," he added.

"That's just gossip," I reminded him. "That was never confirmed."

Carlos gave me look. We both knew the truth. There was no point in lying to him. The false rumor was part of the cover to get Carlos out of trouble.

"I'll talk to her," Carlos said. "Just leave your schedule open. When we have something figured out, I'll text you." He snapped his fingers. "As a matter of fact, we can go watch a movie. I'm sure there's something good playing. I'll get the tickets and I'll text you the time."

Satisfied with himself, Carlos returned back to his table. I watched his departure with a gaping mouth. Was I just set up on a date with a terrorist group? I shook my head. No, it wasn't a date. It was a business meeting. 

Granted, I could always say no. This had been the Prince's idea, sort of. Maybe I was over thinking this. At this point, the Prince could just leave me alone for the rest of my life. That would be amazing. 

Sighing, I rubbed my face. The guilt was there, pressing against my chest. Even though I knew it wasn't my fault the Prince had misunderstood, I hadn't told him about the spray. How was I suppose to tell him that, though? 'By the way, my friend gave me an anti-vampire spray because the government is developing discreet weapons.' That would have worked out well. Plus, he was lucky I didn't try it on him since he tried to kill me so many times. What did he expect?

"Stupid jerk," I muttered.

I didn't owe the Prince anything. He brought this all on himself. I didn't need to meet Pat. I didn't need to make plans with them. I could ignore them. What could they do? They were a terrorist group. I could do more harm to them than they could do to me. I had a lawyer. Mr. Keys would help me out. I just had to keep him in the loop. Maybe I could make a deal with the police and go undercover for them . . .

Boy, I was really overthinking this. Sighing, I placed my head on the table. Why couldn't the Prince just tell me where he was that night? Who was he with? If he could just answer that all of this would go away.

What did he have to hide?