"Come on, let's do it. That way we can all see each other's faces when we talk," he said.
Silently, the students obeyed. The stranger didn't sit at Mr. Tanner's desk; instead, he pulled a chair to the circle and straddled it backward.
"Now," he said. "I know you all must be curious about me. My name's on the board: Alaric K. Saltzman. But I want you to call me Alaric. I'll tell you a little more about me later, but first I want to give you a chance to talk.
"Today's probably a difficult day for most of you. Someone you cared about is gone, and that must hurt. I want to give you a chance to open up and share those feelings with me and with your classmates. I want you to try to get in touch with the pain. Then we can start to build our own relationship on trust. Now
They stared at him. No one so much as moved an eyelash.
"Well, let's see... what about you?" Still smiling, he gestured encouragingly to a pretty, fair-haired girl. "Tell us your name and how you feel about what's happened."
Flustered, the girl stood. "My name's Sue Carson, and, uh..." She took a deep breath and went doggedly on. "And I feelscared. Because whoever this maniac is, he's still loose. And next time it could be me." She sat down.
"Thank you, Sue. I'm sure a lot of your classmates share your concern. Now, do I understand that some of you were actually there when this tragedy occurred?"
Desks creaked as students shifted uneasily.
But Tyler Smallwood stood up, his lips drawing back from strong white teeth in a smile.
"Most of us were there," he said, and his eyes flickered toward Stefan. Elena could see other people following his gaze. "I got there right after Bonnie discovered the body. And what I feel is concern for the community. There's a dangerous killer on the streets, and so far nobody's done anything to stop him. And - " He broke off. Elena wasn't sure how, but she felt Caroline had signaled him to do it. Caroline tossed back gleaming auburn hair and recrossed her long legs as Tyler took his seat again.
"Okay, thank you. So most of you were there. That makes it doubly hard. Can we hear from the person who actually found the body? Is Bonnie here?" He looked around.
Bonnie raised her hand slowly, then stood. "Iguess I discovered the body," she said. "I mean, I was the first person who knew that he was really dead, and not just faking."
Alaric Saltzman looked slightly startled. "Not just faking? Did he often fake being dead?" There were titters, and he flashed that boyish smile again. Elena turned and glanced at Stefan, who was frowning.
"No - no," said Bonnie. "You see, he was a sacrifice. At the Haunted House. So he was covered with blood anyway, only it was fake blood. And that was partly my fault, because he didn't want to put it on, and I told him he had to do it. He was supposed to be a Bloody Corpse. But he kept saying it was too messy, and it wasn't until Stefan came and argued with him - " She stopped. "I mean, we talked to him and he finally agreed to do it, and then the Haunted House started. And a little while later I noticed that he wasn't sitting up and scaring the kids like he was supposed to, and I went over and asked him what was wrong. And he didn't answer. He just - he just kept staring at the ceiling. And then I touched him and he - it was terrible. His head just sort offlopped ..." Bonnie's voice wavered and gave out. She gulped.
Elena was standing up, and so were Stefan and Matt and a few other people. Elena reached over to Bonnie.
"Bonnie, it's okay. Bonnie, don't; it's okay."
"And blood got all over my hands. There was blood everywhere, so much blood..." She sniffed hysterically.
He stood up and paced around the center of the circle, his hands opening and shutting nervously. Bonnie was still sniffling softly.
"I know," he said, the boyish smile coming back full force. "I'd like to get our student-teacher relationship off to a good start, away from this whole atmosphere. How about if you all come around to my place this evening, and we can all talk informally? Maybe just get to know each other, maybe talk about what happened. You can even bring a friend if you want. How about it?"
There was another thirty seconds or so of staring. Then someone said, "Your place?"
"Yes... oh, I'm forgetting. Stupid of me. I'm staying at the Ramsey house, on Magnolia Avenue." He wrote the address on the board. "The Ramseys are friends of mine, and they loaned me the house while they're on vacation. I come from Charlottesville, and your principal called me Friday to ask me if I could take over here. I jumped at the chance. This is my first real teaching job."
"Oh, that explains it," said Elena under her breath.
"Does it?" said Stefan.
"Anyway, what do you think? Is it a plan?" Alaric Saltzman looked around at them.
No one had the heart to refuse. There were scattered "yeses" and "sures."
"Great, then it's settled. I'll provide the refreshments, and we'll all get to know each other. Oh, by the way..." He opened a grade book and scanned it. "In this class, participation makes up half your final grade." He glanced up and smiled. "You can go now."
"The nerve of him," somebody muttered as Elena went out the door. Bonnie was behind her, but Alaric Saltzman's voice called her back.
"Would the students who shared with us please stay behind for a minute?"
Stefan had to leave, too. "I'd better go check about football practice," he said. "It's probably canceled, but I'd better make sure."