Bite Me (10 page)

Though immensely satisfied with how my parents’ affairs of the heart, though not of the immune system, had turned out, I still wondered and wished that mine would be sorted out. When the next evening, the night of the high school performing arts concert, dawned— or maybe I should say “dusked”—I was tense enough to be used as one of Matt’s violin strings. I carefully chose what I thought would be an attractive, yet unpretentious, outfit. After much more deliberation than I had used when choosing a dress for Homecoming, I settled on stonewashed jeans, a plain green peasant blouse, a pearl-gray jacket, and a silver necklace and earrings.

Dad was going to go to the concert with me, since Mom got tired very easily now and needed her rest. She looked much happier than she had before, though, and came to give me a hug as I stood in the foyer, waiting for Dad to get ready. When her skin touched my necklace she breathed in sharply and jumped back. There was a red mark on her neck.

“Why didn’t you tell me that you were wearing silver?” she reproached me.
I gave her another hug, careful to keep my jewelry away from her. “I’m so sorry, Mom, I forgot.” It’s a little known fact that not only are silver bullets the only thing that can kill a werewolf when in their lupine form, but silver will burn werewolves no matter what shape they are in. Thus Mom could never eat at very fancy restaurants without wearing gloves. It was one reason I was glad to be a shapeshifter rather than a werewolf.
Dad looked rather dashing in his crisp crimson long-sleeved shirt with a black tie and trousers. “You look like you’re going on a date all dressed up like that, Dianne,” he commented as we stepped outside.
“In a way I feel like I am,” I murmured, too softly for him to hear, opening the car door, and slipping inside.
It was deplorably easy to find a parking spot, and the audience wasn’t even halfway full in the cafeteria. I am no artist, but it still saddens me how people’s interest in the arts is declining. I like to think of myself as a patron.
The band played first, then the girls’ choir, of which Taylor was a member, followed by the jazz band, then the mixed choir, and finally the orchestra. Though impatient for the orchestra to hurry up and let me see Matt, I did find the music stirring. The girls’ choir sang an eclectic mix— ”I’ve Got Music in My Soul”,
Chicago
’s “He had it Comin’” with various girls having short, murderous solos, and ending with “How Can I Keep from Singing?” a traditional Irish ballad led by Taylor. It was a complete surprise to me. Her voice was gorgeous, full, and rich, and I wished I had brought a big bouquet of flowers to give to her.
Dad hadn’t brought his sunglasses since that would look too weird, and had his eyes shut almost the whole time. I didn’t know whether that was because he found the music sublime or because the light was too strong for him—or if he had fallen asleep. The first option was more pleasant, so I gave him the benefit of the doubt and didn’t ask. He had looked tired, but again, happier than before.
Throughout the performance I was intensely annoyed by five whiney voices behind me, gossiping about who broke up with whom and how, “My God the conductor’s hot, isn’t he? Too bad he’s a teacher.” Finally my irritation reached the point where I turned around to see who it was.
Tammy and her entourage of her new boyfriend, Demetrius, and three female friends were there, applying makeup to prostitute proportions and constantly giggling (not the boyfriend, no matter how funny that would have been). When my eyes met Tammy’s, she snapped her rouge container shut and her face hardened as much as it could under the weight of all that powder. I could see that she had put on even more than usual to hide the scar my claws had left on her cheek.
“What are you doing here, freak? You better not try to hurt me again, because my boyfriend will break your arm.” Tammy instinctively put a hand to her face as if to protect it.
Her boyfriend put an arm around her and scowled at me. “You’re not wanted here, Angel.”
I raised an eyebrow. “To start with, it’s AHN-ghel, not AIN-jel. I hope the concept of pronouncing my last name property doesn’t overtax your feeble brain capacity. Secondly, do you realize how pathetic it is to be scared of me when it’s five against two? Finally—”
One of the BBQs, an anorexic-looking Hispanic girl named Jennifer, butted in. “Who’s the two? You’re alone.”
“My dad happens to be sitting right next to me,” I said, speaking each word carefully and deliberately. I really needed to take my frustration out on someone, and every day since I slapped Tammy had made me hate the popular crowd even more. They had turned all my tenth-grade friends against me, had ostracized me while I was trying to deal with Mom’s death sentence and her fights with Dad, and now they were ruining my concert!
Dad sat up and turned to me. “I’m sorry, were you talking to me?”
Tammy’s boyfriend began to laugh. “That’s your dad? He looks like a bunch of toothpicks painted white and taped together! Hahahaha!”
The other kids joined him in his snickers, disregarding the parents who were glaring at them for being so noisy. My vocal cords were shifting into a wolf’s; my breaths were becoming deeper and more like growls with every second. Dad was rubbing my shoulders, whispering in my ear. “Calm down, Di. It’s okay. There’s no need to get upset on my behalf. I don’t mind it at all. You don’t need to mind. Don’t change. Calm down. Don’t change. . .”
The wild animal inside me was taking over despite all my attempts at calming down. My tormentors were so busy mocking us that they didn’t notice that my hands were growing blue-gray fur. I wanted to rip them, bite them, devour them—
A sudden, piercingly sweet strain of music shocked me back into myself. I looked at the stage and Matt was there, caressing his violin strings the way I had fantasized about him touching me. My chest ached with the delicate strength of his notes, calming the beast that had threatened to consume my reason. No one else existed in the entire room, just him and me. I felt as if, somehow, that piece had been written and was being played only for me. In this eternal moment it was a love song, the most wondrous piece of classical music I had ever heard.
When his solo ended, the spell was broken, and I leaned back in my seat with a sigh. Dad saw the look in my eyes and flashed me a quick smile of understanding. Tammy and the others had lost interest in making me miserable and were discussing a party a few blocks away from the school that they planned on walking to afterwards. One made a couple comments about getting drunk and they all tittered, even the boy. I rolled my eyes and wished I could sit in a different seat.
When the last symphony had ended, I tugged at Dad’s sleeve. “Dad, could I go backstage to congratulate Matt?”
Dad’s expression was warm despite his eyes watering from their light sensitivity. “Of course. Give him my regards.” I started to walk away, and then Dad pulled me back. “But be careful with these things, all right?”
At that point, I didn’t care if my dad had figured out my raging crush. I nodded quickly and swam through the throng of parents and some students, forcing my way over to just outside the boys’ dressing room. All the orchestra members were required to wear long-sleeved green shirts and bow ties with gray pants, a uniform of such geekiness that I was sure Matt would be eager to peel it off. Others stood outside the dressing rooms as well—the girls’ room was just across the hall— waiting to enthuse to and praise their friends and family members.
I watched the hugs and high-fives as the group thinned, wondering whether something had happened to Matt. I imagined a coat rack falling on top of him and didn’t know whether to feel dread or amusement. All the adults were gone now, and a group of teens was casually advancing towards me. I gulped when I saw that they were all boys of the druggie/delinquent sort, and from a safe distance all the popular girls sat with evil grins.
“O-kay. . .” I said with false bravado, “you guys had friends in the concert too?”
Demetrius seemed to be the leader. “I wouldn’t say that,” he said, jerking his head towards me. His minions—I don’t want to sound overly dramatic, but they definitely felt like minions—came forward until I had to back against the wall. Demetrius put one hand on each side of my head in an unmistakable gesture. I bent my knees in an attempt to duck and exit the scene, but he grabbed my arm and pinned me there.
“Don’t go,” he said softly. “I want to talk to you.”
I giggled nervously. “Okay, let’s talk. Wonderful weather today, don’t you think?”
He laughed in my face. Not a particularly pleasant experience. “We need to make some rules clear. First, you’re not going to scream. It won’t do any good, because all the parents and teachers have left, and you don’t have any friends. Plus, if you do, we’re going to beat you up. Second, you’re going to tell the truth, you hear? If we find out that you’re lying, we’ll need to have another talk.”
“Got it. Could you please give me a little space?” I wanted Dad to be there, but if he came to save me, people would know he wasn’t human, and we would have to move again. I resolved to keep quiet, stick it out, and do my best to not change.
Demetrius scowled and grabbed my rear. “Sorry. No.”
I tried to push him away. “Hey! That counts as sexual harassment. You could get into a truckload of trouble for that.”
“But who’s going to back you up, hon? I’ve got witnesses who’ll say I was at the party three blocks away.”
“Get to the point!” yelled a blonde girl.
“All right, all right.” He turned back to me. “Okay. Now tell me what’s the deal with your family. Why does your dad almost never leave the house?”
“He’s not very sociable,” I replied.
Now, this is very painful to write this, as it was the most disgusting experience in my life. Demetrius
licked
me. I grimaced as he said, “I think you can do better than that. We all saw you change into something when you hit Tammy, right?”
There were nods and murmurs of assent. “Something’s not right,” someone said.
“It’s my family’s business what we do, and it’s my business what I do,” I answered.
Demetrius twisted my arm. “What’s going on?”
I winced. “I’m not saying.”
“Look, bitch, you’re going to tell me, or else –” he stopped. “What’s wrong with your eyes?”
Oh no. How did it come to this? “I have an eye infection,” I said, making myself as small as possible.
“Eye infections don’t look like that.”
“Leave me alone,” I snarled. My hands were growing fur again.
Demetrius’ jaw dropped. “That just isn’t normal!”
“Some people have been sniffing a bit too much glue,” came a voice– the most welcome voice in the world. I turned my head and saw Matt standing just outside the ring of my interrogators. He saw my transforming face and raised his eyebrows. “Now, what are you picking on poor Dianne for?”
“You’re new, so we’ll let that slide. You don’t know anything about it,” said one of the boys. “Now just go away.”
“Oh yeah? Which one of you has actually spoken to her dad? Probably a lot of you have seen her mom, since you all seem to have a lot of iss–” Someone punched him in the jaw, and he fell onto the floor.
“Matt!” I shrieked/howled. I tried to run to him but strong arms held me back.
He got up. “I’m okay. Look, just leave her alone. She slapped Tammy, her dad’s a writer, end of story.” The guy nearest him punched him again.
“Matt, just leave. Don’t worry about me!” I shouted.
The girls giggled. “Has drooling Dianne got a boyfriend?”
“Look, he has AIDS, okay?” Matt exclaimed.
There was a silence. Everyone looked back and forth from him to me. “If he’s lying, you’re going to really regret it,” Demetrius threatened.
I started to cry. “Both my parents are dying! Both! And you’re all trying to hurt me for giving Tammy just one slap!” With wolf-strength, I forced Demetrius away. He seemed stunned.
“Hey, Demetrius, doesn’t your sister have–” one of the boys began.
“Shut up!” He now looked torn.
Matt put an arm around my shoulders and whispered, “I’m sorry I told. I just wanted to get them off you.”
Dad emerged from the darkness of the corridor. “Dianne! What’s going on? You’ve been gone for nearly half an hour. . .” He stopped, and his voice turned icy cold. “Are you doing something to my daughter?”
“He looks like he’s got AIDS,” a girl, Felicia, said.
The chorus went through the gang: “Yeah, he does, he does. That makes sense.”
“You said all the adults were gone!” hissed one of them urgently.
“C’mon,” another girl said, “let’s go to the party.”
“You didn’t see anything, mister,” Demetrius said, and scuttled away, his posse following him.
We watched them disappear into the distance, and then I gave Matt a huge bear hug. “Thank you for supporting me, Matt! I’m so sorry that you got hurt. Did you lose any teeth? Are you okay?”
Matt, after a moment of surprise, hugged me back. “Hey, no worries. It was waiting for me that got you into trouble, so I wanted to try get you out of it.” He turned to Dad. “Mr. Anghel, I’m really sorry. I let the cat out of the bag about your sickness and your wife’s. It was the only way to keep them from hurting Dianne.”
Dad was thrown for a moment, but bounced back. “Well, we’ll just have to deal with that as it comes. Thank you for helping her out.”
I very much wanted to kiss Matt, but definitely not in front of Dad. Instead, I let go of him and said, “Why’d you take so long?”
He turned pink. “Some of the boys were throwing my bow tie around, and I had to get it back. Then I put my pants on backwards, so I had to put them on again. Then I fell over. . .”
Dad and I chuckled. “You clearly believe that honesty is the best policy,” Dad said. “Now, shall we go home, Dianne?”
“Sure. . . do you have a ride, Matt?”
“Uncle Shawn’s picking me up. There he is now—hey! I’m over here!”
Shawn was unnerved to see Dad again. “No violence, agreed?”
Dad smiled, showing his fangs. “I think there’s been too much violence tonight.”
Then Shawn saw me holding Matt’s hand, and grew very angry. “Matthew Stephen Spiralli! What are you doing with that girl? Haven’t I told you a thousand times that her family is evil? Are you out of your mind?”
I gave Matt’s hand a quick, apologetic squeeze, and then undid my necklace. “Hey, Shawn, catch!” I called out, throwing it to him.
He automatically caught it, and shrieked as it sizzled his hands in the split second before he dropped it. “Let’s get out of here.” Grabbing Matt by the arm, he hauled him away. Matt waved at me behind his uncle’s back.
I picked up my necklace from the floor and put it back on. “I’m surprised that you didn’t do anything to him, Dad.”
“I think your form of retribution was sufficient,” Dad said, coolly. “Besides, I think having him around jolted me back into my senses where your mother is concerned. Shall we leave? On the way, you can tell me what happened. I’m sorry I didn’t come to get you earlier.”
I had just begun to tell the story during our drive when we heard screams from the sidewalk. Dad rolled down the windows. “What’s going on?”
“I have no idea,” I replied.
They were teenage voices, and. . . was it Tammy? Yes, it was Tammy. “Help! They’re going to bite me!”
I wanted to see what was happening, and then, suddenly, I could. My eyes must have changed, for it was all very clear, though black and white. Several large, fierce dogs were chasing and scattering the partygoers, though they did not seem to be rabid, as there was no foam at their mouths.
“Stop the car!” I reflexively ordered Dad.