“I feel great!” Garrick said.
“Amazing!” Serena commented, with a slight frown. She had clearly been expecting Garrick to be upset. “How long were you in that coffin?”
“Like seven, eight hours.”
“That must have been very unsettling,” Serena Star prompted sympathetically.
“Only when those pallbearer guys carried it around and woke me up,” Garrick said, shooting a peeved look off camera.
“Are you saying you were asleep in there?” asked Serena Star, her wide eyes widening even further.
“Yeah,” Garrick answered. “I slept like I was dead.”
Ivy winced as Serena Star shook her head in disbelief. “You almost sound like you enjoyed yourself.”
Garrick shrugged.
“Mr. Stephens,” Serena Star said, a hint of disapproval in her voice, “what kind of person sleeps in a coffin?”
“It wasn’t my idea.” Garrick shrugged.
“Oh?” said Serena Star. “Whose idea was it?”
Garrick was about to answer, but then he seemed to think better of it. He crossed his arms. “I don’t want to get them into trouble.”
“Are you saying the people who did this to you are friends of yours?” Serena Star asked.
“Totally,” Garrick replied, grinning.
“You mean—”
“We’re the kings of Franklin Grove Middle School!” Garrick cried, mugging wildly. “Yo, Kyle, Ricky, Dylan! I’m on TV!”
What an utter dork! thought Ivy.
“What exactly did your friends have in mind?” Serena Star probed.
“They dared me to climb in,” Garrick explained, his eyes glinting mischievously. “That’s why I did it.”
Ivy could tell Garrick was lying from the smug look on his face. He was just pretending it was a dare to avoid revealing any vampire secrets—like the fact that they slept in coffins. Still, it was a pretty lame alibi, especially because he kept going on about how it was “the best sleep” of his life.
“The Interna 3 is the sweetest coffin ever,” he gushed, grabbing the microphone. “When they say ‘rest in peace,’ they mean it!”
“Mr. Stephens, please,” Serena interrupted. “That still doesn’t explain how you ended up at Mr. Koontz’s funeral.”
“Oh, right. My friends just sort of thought it would be funny to leave me in there—thanks a lot guys!” Garrick winked. “Then the funeral home got the coffins mixed up. Did you know the Interna 3 is the best-selling coffin in America?”
Serena Star yanked the microphone away. “Are we to believe that this was really just an innocent student prank?” she said to Garrick, who shrugged again.
“Or,” she continued, turning slowly to the camera, “is there something more sinister at work?”
Uh-oh. Ivy thought. Serena Star smells blood. “Clearly, a gruesome obsession with death,” Serena went on as the camera zoomed in for a close-up of her shocked face, “nearly cost this misguided young misfit his life!”
“Who are you calling misguided?” Garrick’s voice whined off-screen.
“And he isn’t alone,” Serena said, ignoring Garrick. “One look around this sleepy town reveals a dark obsession consuming the minds of its children.” The live feed cut briefly to footage of the mall, showing a group of Goth sixth-graders.
“Are the youth of America next?” Serena asked ominously, as she reappeared on-screen. Then she frowned with determination. “I, Serena Star, will not rest until I find out the evil truth behind what’s happening here.”