Aurora Sky Vampire Hunter - By Nikki Jefford Page 0,21

The end was near. Literally.

I threw back my shoulders before joining the girls. "Hi, guys! How was your holiday?"

They exchanged looks at my cheerful tone. Mom had advised me to be more peppy. Like if I acted that way, I'd feel that way. Fat chance.

"Fine," Denise said. "How was yours?"

"Wild!" My mouth expanded on the word.

"That's nice," Denise said, turning back to Erin. "So anyway, like I was saying, Alan Baxter called me yesterday to invite me to the winter ball."

Once upon a time, in a world without vampires, Denise would have tracked me down to share that news.

"When's winter ball?" I asked.

"At the end of the week."

"What did you tell him?" Erin asked.

"I told him yes."

"Who do I want to go to winter ball with?" I pondered aloud.

This was enough to pull Denise's attention away from Erin. "Aurora, you've been acting like a complete freak lately. Who's going to want to go take you to winter ball?"

I never realized how little I cared for Denise until now.

I straightened to my full height and took a step toward her. "You mean I haven't quite been myself since I nearly DIED?"

She glared at me, keeping her ground even though I was practically in her face.

"Um, I should get going to class," Erin said.

Denise shot me a nasty look before turning to Erin. "I'll come with you."

Good. Denise should be friends with someone whose mission in life was something other than killing vampires.

I could make new friends, too. Maybe even ones who were aware of 'demonic beings', as Melcher called them. I thought about the hickey I'd seen on the black-haired girl's neck. Only I no longer believed it was a hickey.

It was just a hunch, but there was only one way to find out.

I made my way to the girl's bathroom in C Hall and, sure enough, I noticed three familiar forms: the juniors with their varying shades of highlights. I followed them inside the girls' bathroom.

They were all short, like they'd formed a club - the Three Mouseketeers.

I set my backpack on the counter in front of the mirror and made a show of digging through my bag. A toilet flushed behind me. There was a spray of water at my side. The warning bell rang, and several girls rushed out. The Mouseketeers kept their places at the mirror, applying liner and rouging their lips. At least they didn't chatter.

When the final bell rang and it was just the four of us in the ladies' room, I unwrapped my scarf, folded it, set it on the counter in a corner clear of water drops, and turned my exposed neck to the mirror, reflecting the fading wound. I dug around in my pack again.

The hooded girl looked over and nodded at my neck. "What is that?"

I pulled out a tube of pink lipstick, puckering my lips after I applied pale pink shimmer. "What does it look like?"

The girl with the red streaks in her hair laughed. "It looks like you and your boyfriend had a heavy make-out session."

"Oh, please," I said with a roll of my eyes. "Like I need a boyfriend. What I've got is so much better."

"And what's that?"

"None of your biz."

All three girls turned toward me and folded their arms.

"Wait a minute," Red said. She lowered her arms. "Are you the girl who was in a coma?"

"Yep." My lips puckered as I formed the word.

The two other Mouseketeers lowered their arms. They looked me up and down. "I heard they had to reattach your body parts."

"Nope, just replace my organs."

"Wicked."

Red took a step toward me. For someone so short, she did a good job of giving me the once-over. "So are you looking to party?"

I tossed my lipstick inside my pack and picked up my scarf. "I'm not looking to party. I party."

"I'm Whitney," Red said. "This is Noel and Hope."

"Noel," I repeated, looking at the girl in the hoodie. "Don't tell me your parents wanted to give you an 'Alaskan' name, too?"

"I was born on Christmas."

"Then I guess you're in the right place."

Whitney lifted her chin as I threw my scarf over my shoulder. "Where'd you get it?"

"The mall."

She smiled slightly and waited.

"Crashed a party across town during the holiday."

"It wasn't one of Marcus's, was it?" Noel asked. "Marcus throws the best parties."

Crap. I hadn't thought this through enough.

I rolled one of the red fringes at the end of my scarf between my fingers as I reached for an answer. "I didn't get a name. I didn't