Vampire Beach: Legacy Part 7

Van d.y.k.e took the lead, weaving through the crowd on the boardwalk, which was really just a sidewalk running right along the beach. Jason tried not to stare at the insanity that bombarded them from all sides. He tried to remind himself that he was a native now. But, good G.o.d, that guy had an albino boa constrictor wrapped around his neck! The thing was so big, its tail almost touched the ground. And it definitely wasn't stuffed because its slick black tongue kept flicking out of its mouth, tasting the air. Who did that? Who walked around wearing a killer reptile as a necktie?

'I can't believe the grain of rice stand is still open,' Brad said, gesturing to a little sidewalk stand. 'Why would anyone want to get their name written on a grain of rice in the first place?'

'Look, it's the roller-skating, guitar-playing dude,' Priesmeyer said. 'You can't make your first trip to the boardwalk without seeing him,' he told Jason. 'The guy's a local legend.'

'A legendary freak,' Van d.y.k.e put in, watching the guy in the flowing robe skate past, strumming away.

'Van d.y.k.e used to be afraid of him,' Brad explained. 'He literally wet his pants the first time he saw the guy.'

'I was four,' Van d.y.k.e said. 'And I grew up in the Heights. I'd never seen anything like him. I thought he was an evil wizard.'

'Oooh. My favorite henna tattoo chick is working the booth today. I've been fantasizing about how it would feel to have her do one of those Hindu designs on my head. I'm all fresh shaved.' Priesmeyer ran his hands over his gleaming scalp. 'Today is the day to make my fantasy come true. I'll catch up with you.' He veered off toward the brightly colored tattoo tent.

Jason and the other four guys kept walking. They paused for a few minutes by an outdoor weightlifting area. 'Muscle beach,' Harberts explained. 'This is Brad's fantasy. Watching oiled-up musclemen in Speedos.'

Brad slapped him on the back of the head. 'We stopped for you, Harberts.'

Harberts gave a snort and moved on down the boardwalk. Jason and the others fell in beside him.

'Well, here's my fantasy,' Van d.y.k.e said. He jerked his chin toward Sausage Kingdom. 'Jody Maroni's sausages. And lots of them.' He sat down at one of the empty tables outside the food stand.

'Eating some sausage and watching the rollergirls. Not bad for a Wednesday afternoon,' Harberts said.

'Not for you, Harberts. You should stick to a wheat gra.s.s smoothie or something,' Brad joked. 'Your time in the medley has been c.r.a.p. You don't need any extra weight dragging you down. In fact, I've been meaning to suggest you start shaving your head like Priesmeyer to get a little less drag in the water.'

'I was thinking of suggesting you shave your legs,' Van d.y.k.e added. 'Me, I think I should pack on a few pounds. Just to make the compet.i.tion interesting. It's so dull when I have the best time meet after meet without really trying.'

He handed Harberts a fifty. 'I want an apple maple, a sweet Italian, and an orange-garlic-c.u.min.'

'Why am I waiting in line for you?' Harberts complained.

'Because I'm holding the table. And I can swim your a.s.s off,' Van d.y.k.e said. 'And while you're at it, get an a.s.sortment of the finest for my friend Freeman here. My treat. The rest of you bozos are on your own, though.'

Jason grinned, appreciating the gesture from Van d.y.k.e. Not that it helped take his mind off Sienna. All the sausages on the planet wouldn't help that. His name engraved on a grain of rice wouldn't help. A couple of dozen supermodels on skates wouldn't help. It was an impossible task. But still, it was good to know that his friends were there for moral support.

'Thanks for arranging this,' Jason told Adam. 'But you know, you're actually going to have to help me with French at some point, right?' he continued. 'Because I will seriously not pa.s.s if somebody doesn't help me.'

'After school tomorrow. My place,' Adam promised. 'French will be conjugated and otherwise humiliated. It'll be good for me too. Get me ready for the ladies. You know how they all go crazy for French the language of lurve and all.'

'Please open your French textbook to page one hundred and three,' Adam instructed the next afternoon. He and Jason sat in the Turnball kitchen, a jumbo bag of seasalt and vinegar chips open in front of them and a couple of Mountain Dews to wash them down.

Jason obediently opened his book and saw the little story about Jacques and Pauline at the Tour de France. 'c.r.a.p!' he exclaimed. 'Everything makes me think of Sienna. Even page one hundred and three of my French book.'

'How'd it go today with the friend thing?' Adam asked.

'She and Belle went someplace off-campus for lunch,' Jason said. 'So I only really saw her in European History. Cauldwell has us doing these group projects, and I'm not in her group, so . . .'

'Got it,' Adam said.

'It's probably better that way. Easier,' Jason added.

Adam nodded, but it didn't look like Jason had convinced him. Which made sense. Jason hadn't actually convinced himself.

'OK, I've decided that we're going to use the same method to study French as I did when I taught myself Klingon in the fourth grade,' Adam explained.

'Oh, my G.o.d. You have just revealed a whole new level of nerdiness,' Jason told his friend.

'I had to learn it to do the voices for the doc.u.mentary I made with my action figures,' Adam explained.

'I don't think you can make a doc.u.mentary with dolls,' Jason said.

'Action figures. And I was ahead of my time,' Adam answered. 'Some day that doc.u.mentary is going to be recognized as the beginning of Adam Turnball's brilliant directing career.'

'How does this have anything to do with French again?' Jason asked.

'Me learning Klingon. Which is a much more difficult language than French,' Adam said. 'What I basically did was take part in this Klingon Language Inst.i.tute project to translate the Bible Old and New Testament into Klingon.'

'Uh, I think the Bible has already been translated into French,' Jason commented.

'That would be a little beyond the two of us anyway. Although Madame G.o.ddard would probably sh.e.l.l out some bonus points if we gave it a shot,' Adam answered. 'The thing is, during the project, I emailed a lot of people in Klingon and that got me pretty proficient.' He stood up. 'So come on.'

'Come on where?' Jason asked.

'To the computer. I found a chat room where everybody writes in French. We're going to hang in there, improve our skills, get some pointers,' Adam explained.

Jason snagged his soda and the chips. 'Worth a try. Doing some writing and translating can't hurt my French grade.'

'Oh, we're definitely going to get you at least a C on the mid-term,' Adam promised. 'Plus, we might hook up with some tres jolies French babes.'

Tres jolies. The words sent Jason back to lying on Sienna's bed with her, 'studying' French.

'd.a.m.n, I got you thinking about her again, didn't I?' Adam asked as they headed toward his room.

'Doesn't matter. Everything does it.' Jason hoisted his Mountain Dew. 'Even this. I was drinking one of these when I talked to Sienna at my first DeVere Heights party. The one at Brad's. She accused me of bogarting the Dew.'

'So are you going to the party at Ryan's? If you want to avoid it and the hours of Sienna-proximity torture the two of us could do something else,' Adam offered.

'No, I want to go. I can't wait actually,' Jason said with a lopsided grin. 'All those hours of Sienna-proximity torture.'

Nine.

'I CAN'T BELIEVE Mom and Dad gave me permission to go to Ryan's party,' Dani said sarcastically to Jason as they walked down their driveway. 'His place is two whole houses away from ours! I might, I don't know, get lost on the way home.'

Or you might, I don't know, fall in love with a vampire, Jason thought. And end up like me.

'Wow. Look at the Patricks' yard,' Dani breathed. Gla.s.s hearts some red, some white hung from the branches of every tree, glowing with the light of the candles that burned inside. More candles these ones as long and thick as Dani's arm had been staked into the ground on both sides of the walkway leading to the front door. And somehow Jason couldn't quite figure out the mechanics of how a second moon was suspended over the house, full and silvery, looking almost as real as the one nature made.

'It's so romantic,' Dani said as they cut across the street.

Jason was suddenly struck by the fact that this was a Valentine's party. It was all going to be about couples. He was probably the only guy there without a date. Well, except Adam. Adam didn't do the dating thing much. He claimed he had a rare disease that made him sound like an idiot whenever he was around a girl he liked.

'No offense, but I don't want to walk in with my brother,' Dani said. 'I'll see you in there.' She picked up her pace, and a few moments later disappeared through the open double doors leading inside.

Jason wasn't ready to go in anyway. He was beginning to feel like this was a big mistake. He spotted a stone bench under one of the trees and headed over. He decided he'd sit there for a while, and then, if he still felt like the party was going to be a torture fest, he'd take off and swing by for Dani later.

He leaned back against the trunk of the tree and watched people drift into the party. Lots of couples, just like he'd thought. Sienna wouldn't show with someone else, would she? he wondered suddenly. We're not trying that hard to fool her parents. Are we?

No, there she was. Walking slowly through the candlelight. Her hair pulled up, showing off her long neck. G.o.d, she was gorgeous. She hadn't seen him, and he didn't call out to her.

'Why didn't I bring my camera?'

Jason smiled, recognizing Adam's voice.

'I could use a few more shots of Sad and Lonely Boy by Candlelight,' Adam continued, stopping next to the bench.

'And you aren't sad and lonely?' Jason asked with a grin. He looked up at the glimmering gla.s.s hearts above their heads. 'And also by candlelight. Or is there a girl with you I don't see?'

'Belle is meeting me here,' Adam answered.

Wait. Adam and Belle? Wasn't Adam the one who'd spelled out the reasons why a vampire/human combo wasn't all that great? 'Belle's meeting you here?' Jason repeated, trying to wrap his head around the fact.

'Not like that,' Adam told him. 'Belle has decided I'm much too groovy to be single. She's making it her mission to find me the perfect girl sometime tonight, at this very party. Her one condition was that I didn't bring the camera along.'

'In that case, I'd like to add a condition too,' Jason said.

Adam raised his eyebrows.

'Don't mention the Klingon Language Inst.i.tute until you're . . . until you're married. Maybe have a couple of kids,' Jason told him.

Adam shook his head. 'a.s.s. So are you going in? Or are you continuing to brood or whatever it is you're doing?'

'I'm sticking with the whatever for a while. Sienna's in there. I thought it would be great just to see her. But I'm not sure I can take it.'

'I feel you,' Adam said. He started to sit down on the bench.

'No way. Get in there. If Belle can't hook you up, no one can,' Jason told him.

Adam grinned. 'I know. I have the best wingman wingchick? going. I cannot help but score.'

'As long as you speak English only,' Jason reminded him.

Adam shouted something guttural and unintelligible as he started for the house. 'That's "screw you" in Klingon,' he called over his shoulder.

So much for hanging with Adam tonight, Jason thought. But he probably shouldn't really do the Lonely-Guy-by-Candlelight thing either. That was just too pathetic. He shoved himself to his feet and walked straight into the party.

Wild! he thought as he looked around. Somehow Jason didn't think Ryan's mom had helped with the decorations at least not inside. There was another one of those freaky how-do-they-do-that moons beaming down from the ceiling, and there were go-go girls that was the only way to describe them all over the place, s.h.i.+mmying to the music. They wore s.h.i.+ny white vinyl thigh-high boots and s.h.i.+ny white vinyl cupid wings. A few pieces of lacy red material and a few strategic heart tattoos completed their outfits.

'How much do I love Ryan Patrick right now?' Van d.y.k.e asked from behind Jason. He held a plate with some lobster, some cinnamon hearts, and some strawberries on it. 'He's got to have collected all the red food in the state and hired every unemployed model in Hollywood,' he added with a grin.

'Seems that way,' Jason agreed, smiling back.

'Uh-oh. Here comes my date. She'll be p.i.s.sed if she catches me looking,' Van d.y.k.e said. He put his plate down, rushed across the room and swept Maggie into a deep dip straight out of a chick flick. He kissed her as the go-go cupids boogied around them.

Jason didn't need to be watching this. A drink is what he did need. Make that drinks. Lots of drinks. He wasn't driving, so no worries on that front. He spotted a goofy fountain of deep red punch on a table to one side of the room. He was sure it would be spiked, but syrupy sweet drinks weren't good for the long haul.

He decided to check out the kitchen for beer. Sure enough, Jason spotted a trashcan full of iced beers as soon as he stepped into the room. But a half a second later, he spotted Sienna. She was sitting on the counter, laughing at some story Lauren Gissinger was telling.

Jason backed out of the room quickly. He knew it was totally within the just-friends rules to walk over and join the group. But he also knew there was no way he could get that close to Sienna and not want to touch her. And that was too risky. 'Punch it is,' he muttered.

He strode back out to the fountain, dipped himself a cupful of the red stuff, and downed it. It was definitely spiked. He quickly refilled his cup, then decided to check out the backyard. Who knew what Ryan had going on poolside?

The first thing he saw was Erin Henry feeding on Harberts in the hot tub. Red and pink rose petals swirled around them, matching the dinner-plate-sized blossoms in the huge vases all around the pool. To non-vampires it would look like the couple were just making out, but Jason knew better. He also knew exactly how radical Harberts was feeling right now. When the vampires drank from you it was like getting a bliss injection. Like getting high on the best drug ever created.

Jason turned away, not wanting to think about anything vampiric. He heard the rhythmic thump of a dribbling basketball and quickly found the source. A lighted outdoor court. Full size. Now that he could handle. Jason chugged his punch, grabbed a beer out of the ice-filled garbage can near the diving board and made his way over to the court.

Brad and Priesmeyer were playing one on one. As Jason approached, Brad made a perfect basket from half court. 'And that's it. Priesmeyer goes down!' he cheered. A couple of girls applauded from the sidelines. 'Who's next?'

'Me,' Jason called.

Brad threw him the ball, and they were on. Jason pounded down the court but Brad got in front of him, blocking him.

Brad's super-strength and supernatural speed made him a killer opponent. But basketball wasn't all about the physical. Jason feinted left. Brad fell for it, and Jason managed to duck around him and . . . 'He shoots, he scores!' Jason cried.

But then Brad shot, and scored twice. Jason pulled off his sweater and tossed it off the court. Time to get serious.

Even at absolute seriousness, Brad won 11-9. But since Jason wasn't supernatural, he felt pretty good about those nine points.

'Good game,' Brad said.

'Thanks.' Jason used the hem of his T-s.h.i.+rt to wipe the sweat off his face. 'I definitely need another beer after that.' He s.n.a.t.c.hed up his sweater.

'I'm buying,' Brad joked as he led the way back to the garbage can stuffed with beers.

Jason stared at the fake moon above the Patrick house. 'Does one of Ryan's parents work at a movie studio or something? That's one h.e.l.l of a special effect.'

'No. His dad's a lawyer. And his mom is a V.P. at the DeVere Center for Advanced Genetics and Blood Research.'

So that made it absolutely clear. Ryan and his family were vampires. There was no way you could get to be a V.P. at that place with blunt teeth. Sienna's dad was on the board there. Maybe a few non-vampires held some lower-level positions, but quite possibly not even that.

'I don't know Ryan very well,' Jason said, doing a little fis.h.i.+ng. 'It was cool of him to invite me to the party.'