At First Bite Read Online Free Page B

seat.
Why do I have to be a vampire?
I think, anger growing in my chest.
It’s ruining everything!
    “Ignore them,” a voice says beside me.
    I swipe at my eyes and glance to my left. The girl sitting there has curly light brown hair, wide hazel eyes, and skin the color of a latte. She’s pretty, but she’s wearing a purple T-shirt and a necklace of big orange beads. Neon blue bangles slide up and down her arms. Everything clashes. There’s no way she’s in the popular crowd.
    “Those girls,” she continues. “They love to be mean every chance they get. But you can’t take them seriously.”
    I squirm in my seat. I hate that this weirdly dressed girl overheard how Paige insulted me. I hate that she’s taking pity on me. I wish she’d mind her own business.
    “I’m fine,” I tell her shortly, then face forward as the teacher walks in.
    “Good morning, everyone!” booms Mr. Harker, who is surprisingly young and handsome — for a teacher. He has sandy hair and cool, black-framed glasses. “I trust you all had a nice winter break?”
    “I went to Hawaii!” Paige bubbles from her seat.
    “And no one cares,” the girl next to me says under her breath. For some reason this almost makes me laugh, but then I decide it’s not funny.
    “Well,” says Mr. Harker, blowing his nose with a tissue, “I was laid up with the flu, so I was not so lucky. Ah,” he adds, lifting up a piece of paper from his desk. “I see we have a new student in our midst. Ashlee Lambert, can you please make your presence known?”
    I raise my hand and hear snickers coming from Paige’s area. My stomach turns.
    “Welcome, Ms. Lambert,” Mr. Harker says. “I’ll also be your sixth period English teacher. Please let me know if you have any questions.”
    I do,
I think.
I’d like to know if there’s any way for me to become popular.
But I keep quiet, folding my sunburned hands and looking down as Mr. Harker takes attendance. I learn that the girl next to me is named Sasha Hirsh, which sounds familiar, but I can’t figure out why.
    “All right,” says Mr. Harker when he’s done. “I want to remind folks that we still need a wardrobe master for the seventh-grade play. Opening night’s in less than two weeks! I’m the director, so come speak to me if you want to sign up for the position.”
    “And I’m the star,” Paige announces haughtily, turning in her seat. “We had to fire our last wardrobe master because she had a
terrible
sense of style.” She shudders, and Carmen and Wendy nod emphatically.
    I perk up. Now that I can’t ever be in movies or on TV, the theater is a great new option. It’s obvious that Paige and her friends are very involved in the play. If I become a part of it, too, that will give me a shot at joining their group! And though I’d rather be onstage, wardrobe master does sound right up my alley.
    “Which play is it?” I ask. Paige narrows her eyes at me.
    “It’s called
At First Bite,”
Sasha answers, her bracelets clanking as she turns to me. “I’m the stage manager,” she explains.
    I frown. Haven’t I heard that title before?
    “It’s based on a classic vampire movie that was filmed right here in Santa Monica,” Mr. Harker says. “You probably haven’t seen it, Ashlee, but I showed it to the cast and crew when we started rehearsals back in November. It’s really thrilling.”
    That’s when it hits me. “
At First Bite
was filmed at my house!” I blurt out. A chill shoots through me. I had no idea the movie was about vampires — though I guess the title should have been a giveaway.
    “Really?” Mr. Harker asks, raising his eyebrows. “What a funny coincidence.”
    A creepy coincidence,
I think. I shiver in the warm classroom.
    “Rash-lee lives in a horror-movie house?” I hear Paige giggle from across the room. “That explains a lot!”
    Wendy, Carmen, and a few other kids join in the laughter. For a terrifying second, I think that they
know
— they’ve figured out my