Ninth Grade Slays Read Online Free

him, and Vlad could tell by the similar facial features that they were related. Vlad gave a nod to Henry. “Hey.”
    Henry beamed and nodded toward the newcomer. “Hey. This is my cousin Joss.”
    Joss smiled but didn’t say anything. Oh good. The strong, silent type.
    They trudged toward the school together, following beaten paths between houses and worrying aloud about their impending first day as high schoolers. Vlad’s heart was hammering its objections against his ribs. And just as he’d taken enough deep breaths to calm the beating in his chest, he rounded the corner to face the front steps of Bathory High.
    Bathory High School was quite a source of gossip in the small town of Bathory, as it had once been a Catholic church. The church had been deserted sometime in the mid-1800s, due to some sort of horrific affair that no one in town—including the librarian, who knew everything about Bathory’s history and seemed to take great joy in sharing it with everyone—would talk about. Nearly a hundred years later, a wealthy businessman had purchased the property and developed it into what had been known as Bathory Preparatory Academy. Twenty years after that, the school had been turned into a public institution and eventually became what Vlad was squinting up at as he approached with his backpack slung over his shoulder.
    â€œHenry!” Carrie Anderson waved her hand enthusiastically through the air.
    Henry smiled sheepishly. “Be right back, guys.” In a moment, he was enveloped by a wave of the kind of popularity that Vlad had only managed to witness from the shore.
    Vlad sighed and turned to Joss. “Henry says you moved in from Cali.”
    Joss nodded. “He tells me you suck at video games.”
    After a moment, they both burst into laughter. Vlad beamed. “He’s a funny guy.”
    â€œPopular, too, it seems.” The look on Joss’s face was one of disdain.
    Vlad raised a surprised eyebrow at him. “I assumed all McMillans were popular.”
    â€œNot me, man. Not my thing.” Joss shook his head, casting an unsettled glance at the crowd. “I prefer a select group of friends—generally people who don’t suck up to you because of who your family is or how much money they have.”
    Vlad smiled. He and Joss were going to get along just fine.
    Henry waved, and before Joss was swallowed up by the throng, Joss adjusted the messenger bag on his shoulder and smiled at Vlad. “Well . . . see ya, I guess.”
    â€œSee ya.” Vlad watched Joss disappear into the crowd and turned to squint up at the school again.
    But he didn’t squint for long.
    As hands gripped his shirt and yanked him to the side of the building, Vlad’s eyes widened in fear.
    Bill Jensen and Tom Gaiber. Just his luck.
    They hated him and had ever since the first grade for no particular reason as far as Vlad could tell.
    Together, Bill and Tom slammed Vlad against the school’s stone wall, their mouths distorted into wicked grins. Tom snarled, “Welcome to your first day of high school, goth boy.”
    Vlad winced as his head bounced off the wall. He tried to keep his eyes glazed with indifference, but they betrayed him by flitting back to the sidewalk for any sign of help. He was about to have his face pounded into hamburger. Where was Henry when he needed him?
    Bill leaned close. His breath smelled like tuna fish and three-day-old mayonnaise. “What’s the matter, goth boy? Cat got your tongue?”
    Several witty retorts flitted through Vlad’s mind, but he thought better of saying anything and kept his mouth shut.
    Sometimes your best defense against bullies is silence. Of course, if you let a bully push you around, you’re nothing but a total wuss. Straightening his shoulders, Vlad shoved back against Bill, but Tom grabbed him by the collar. A pain shot through Vlad’s back as he returned forcefully to the