Alex Van Helsing Voice of the Undead - By Jason Henderson Page 0,17

It’s like a harbinger of success; every single winner has gone on to great things. Not that there’s any pressure.” Ms. Daughtry smiled. “Performances will be voted on by the attendees.”

“Performances,” Sid muttered, slumping a little. He clearly liked the idea of writing, but reading aloud sounded a bridge too far.

“Come on,” said Alex. “You could do that.” At least, Alex thought so. Sid seemed to spend every moment writing something or other, most of it descriptions of characters from his vampire games. Alex had never met anyone who carried around so much information on one subject—if it might be called a subject—in his head.

“We start reading on Tuesday, so get those stories written and those monologues practiced and get your names on the sign-up sheets,” Daughtry concluded. And with that, class was over.

As the class filed out, Alex turned to Sid excitedly. “This is a great idea, man.”

“I’ve never read a story aloud before,” Sid said. “I’ve never even written that kind of story.”

“You’ve written whole books on that vampire game,” Paul said.

“Those are more like articles,” Sid protested. “They’re in a folder where you already know the game. This is . . . harder.”

Alex watched Vienna go talk to Bill, who glared at Alex hatefully but then softened when he talked to her.

“Well, I do this every year,” Minhi said. “I mean, I don’t get anywhere, but you’ll love it. Everyone reads from a big chair in the library, surrounded by candles. They move the chair for the singers and actors to perform.”

“Oh my God, I don’t have any of my articles and books,” said Sid, thinking of the items Paul had mentioned. “All that stuff is gone.” He looked ill suddenly, as though he’d forgotten.

“We’ll go into town,” Minhi said. “It’ll be fun. We’ll get some new stuff, maybe some books on how to write a story. Hey, I could use some actual instructions.” She smiled encouragingly. “Huh?”

Sid nodded and Paul folded his arms. “That sounds perfect.”

Minhi turned to Vienna, who was approaching as she moved away from Bill. “Vienna, you up for a trip to Secheron?”

“Anything to get out of here,” she said.

They got up and neared the front of the class, where Ms. Daughtry was erasing things on the chalkboard. A cloud of chalk dust rose and scattered, and Alex coughed. He felt a speck or two get into his eye. He squinted and rubbed at his eyelid.

“What is it?” Minhi asked.

“Ow—I got—” Alex doubled over, leaning on the desk. He could feel the specks swimming over his eyeball. His eye sang out with pain and he felt the plastic lens begin to wrinkle. “I got chalk in my contact.”

“Does it hurt?” Paul asked. Alex held up a hand, both in agony and almost wanting to laugh.

“Jeez—” He reached his fingers toward his eye. He needed the contact out right away.

“Do you have any solution?” Vienna asked, already rooting through her bag.

“Do you?” Minhi asked her.

“Not here.”

“I don’t have any,” Alex said. “I need to get some. Don’t worry, gimme a second, I can use spit.”

“Ew,” Minhi said.

Alex winced as he started to pry open his eye, and then felt it shut in defiance. “Please, don’t make me laugh.”

“Good Lord,” Vienna said, “come with me.”

Still slightly hunched, Alex felt her take his sleeve and guide him out of the room. They walked down the hall and he heard the footsteps of the others behind him. It never ceased to amaze him how delicate the eye was, and how easily he could be rendered nearly powerless with a few specks of dust. It was the equivalent of bending someone’s pinkie back—just a little bit of pressure and the subject is subdued. “Hang on, I can just take it out and hold it in my mouth.”

“Don’t be ridiculous,” she said. “I have solution in my room.”

They reached a doorway on the floor level and Vienna stopped for a second, seeming to stare at the door as though she needed a key.

“He can’t go up there,” Minhi said behind them.

“Eh.” Vienna scoffed. “You three wait here.”

Up a short flight of stairs onto a second level, and suddenly Alex was in a different world, a hallway of wooden floors and throw rugs and warmly painted walls.

A girl in a robe was coming out of a bathroom and whispered, “Are you insane?” to Vienna, who rushed him to a door halfway down the hall.

Still blinking, Alex was barely able to take in the room. He made out two beds opposite