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"The one and only," Jenny said She squeezedto worry about"

I pulled er an item since my newfound popularity had catapulted me from zero to hero in the eyes of the jocks, nerds, and the vast ht of popularity was the last thing I needed considering the dark secret behind my football skills Supernatural abilities were the only reason I could play the game and survive The oldBrad see to do, should I run into hi and I dashed out of the room On my way to History class, I saw Alan Weaver and Cindy Mueller ave ed around the a disastrous test of raphic scene in Calculus

Just down the hall, a faarded me from the doorway of his classroom Mr Turpin, aka Underborn, curled one corner of his mouth into a lopsided saze, a part ofNo doubt he atching and waiting for ain If vaoing to be hard to identify Maxiroup with hoodies I had to check they when I spotted one of the hoodie crew stepping inside a bathrooood a time as any to take a surreptitious peek at the face beneath the hood and hope they didn’t noticeurinal

Gross

I peeked inside the door A white cinder-block wall shielded the inside froed to the corner The cold presence of so not quite human abruptly revealed itself to my supernatural radar from less than a foot away A pair of hands shot out from the other side of the wall, pulled ainst the stalls The partitions rattled and groaned with the force of the iarded me from across the bathroorinned as the shock of recognition registered on my face

"Mortimer?" He looked hardly older than a kid, frozen in ti turned into a vampire

"So, you know my name" He seemed pleased as punch by his notoriety

"I remember that you whine a lot too" He’d been with Felicia when the va to save Dad I clenched ht have aure lowered his hood I recognized the face, but didn’t know his name He’d been there too But when the third person lowered his hood, my face went slack with disbelief and horror stole my voice

It was Brad Nichols

Chapter 33

"Brad?"

He ss "Where have you been, Case? I’ve been waiting for you"

"When did you become a vampire?"

"Maximus recruited me after he heard about our scuffle He told e and toldyourself into a stupid vampire?"

"Vampires are cool!" Mortimer shouted "A lot better than dumb spawn are"

"Yeah? I’d like to see you seduce a woman, pipsqueak"

"You think spawn are the only ones with seduction abilities?" He shouted back "I can have any woriross, dude You look prepubescent"

Mortih-pitched war cry but Brad hauled him back by his hoodie The three vampires looked paler than no colored eye contacts to disguise the red tint of their irises It seemed to me that hoodies made them more conspicuous--all except for Mortimer, of course, who could barely pass for a freshoatee on his chin

Brad cracked his knuckles and s your sorry ass back to hiht again? Seriously?" I sighed and gave oodlot, threw me in mud, a frozen water puddle, and then tossed my favorite knit cap into the bushes And you’re the one ants payback?"

"You knocked me out in front of everyone and ainst his chest "I have a rep to protect and I’ a stupid nerd like you ruin it"