Page 43 of The Last Vampire
William is glued to the screen the whole movie. I keep waiting for him tolaugh, but he is utterly focused. It’s only when the film ends that he meets my eyes. “Thisis what vampires are to you?”
I shake my head. “Not tome.”
“I have service!” someone calls out, and I look across the aisle at Salma, who is already typing on her phone.
I dig into my bag for my cell phone. Two bars.
A text comes in from Salma:Omg he’s a Twi-hard!
Murmurs fill the air around us as everyone starts making phone calls, and I pull up my favorites list and call home.
“Lorena!” Ma says with unbridled joy, answering on the first ring. Guilt roils my stomach because I know I shouldn’t have waited four days to call them.
“Lore?” I hear Pa say in the background. “Put her on speaker!”
“This is the first time I’ve had reception,” I say, knowing it’s a lame excuse because the school has landlines. “Director Minaro surprised us this morning with a tour of the Harvard campus.”
“What!” says Ma. “That wasn’t on the list of approved field trips—”
“That’s so exciting for you,” says Pa, speaking over her. “I remember when you were ten, you used to talk about wanting to go there.”
“Are you staying overnight?” Ma interjects.
“No, we have to be back on the bus by five.”
“So, tell us, how is Huntington?” asks Pa.
“Everything is great,” I say, peering beside me at William, who’s the only person on this bus not checking his phone.
“What’s your room like?”
“It’s…” William meets my gaze, and I say, “magical.”
“What?” asks Ma, like she didn’t hear me right.
I clear my throat. “I mean it’s at the top of a tower, and one whole wall is a window, and we have this amazing view of the sky over the forest.”
“That does sound magical,” says Pa.
“How is Salma?” asks Ma, her voice softening.
“Much better than this summer,” I say in as low a voice as I can. “I think this was the right call.”
“For her, or for both of you?” asks Ma, and it seems to get quieter on the other end of the line.
They’re trying to understand my four-day silence, and I vow to myself to never go this long without calling. “I like it here,” I say, and before I can stop myself, I look at William again.
He’s watching the black screen like he’s still thinking aboutTwilight.
“Have there been any problems, anyone breaking the rules?” Ma’s pitch goes a bit higher, and I know why she’s asking me this.
“Not that I know of,” I say as casually as I can.
“Good,” she says, and I hear Pa whispering but can’t make out what he says. “I just want to make sure you’re being smart,” Ma speaks over him. “And not doing anything that you might regret later—”
“Mm-hmm,” I say, suddenly wanting off this call. “We’re here, so I gotta go. I promise I won’t wait this long to call again.”
“Oh, okay,” says Pa, sounding disappointed that we’re hanging up. “Te queremos mucho, Lore.”
