Free Night School by Mari Mancusi Page A

I finish the ritual, uninterrupted, with a little twirl, as per the book.
    I plop down on my chair, feeling more than a little bit embarrassed. Did I really just do a jig in the middle of the library, thinking it would turn me into a fairy? Seriously, Rayne, you’re losing it, definitely losing it.
    But just as I’m about to close my book and go home, the room starts to spin. I grab on to the sides of my chair, my heart in my throat. Is something happening? Did the ritual work? I try to look down at the book, but the text seems to waver in and out of focus. I try to stand, but my legs are too weak to hold my weight. My heart pounds in my chest and my breath comes in short gasps. What’s going on? Am I becoming a fairy at last?
    Before I can know for sure, I find myself succumbing to the blackness.

    “Excuse me? Miss?”
    Feeling a rough hand on my shoulder, I wake with a start. A beady-eyed man with a big nose and an even bigger potbelly peers down at me. He’s dressed in light blue coveralls and is holding a broom.
    “Sorry, miss,” he says. “Library’s closed. And it’s well past curfew. You’d better get back to the dorm before Johan catches you.”
    Wow, how long was I out for? I scramble to my feet, forgetting I have a pile of books still on my lap, and they all go crashing to the floor. The janitor looks down, his eyes widening as he catches a glimpse of them.
    “Fairies?” he asks, looking up at me suspiciously.
    “Um, yeah. I have a ... project,” I reply, not knowing why I suddenly feel so nervous. What do I care what some janitor sees me reading? “An essay about the history of the Sidhe.”
    The janitor gives me a hard stare—like he doesn’t believe me—and I squirm under his gaze. Am I in trouble here? Did I just give myself away? I try to surreptitiously glance over my shoulder to see if I’ve suddenly sprouted wings. I don’t see anything, but still ...
    The janitor shrugs and starts picking up the books. “I’ll re-shelve them for you,” he tells me. “You’d better get back to your dorm.”
    I nod and grab my coat, hurrying toward the library entrance, completely creeped out. I look back at the janitor, who has taken a seat in the armchair and is paging through my books. I shake my head. Seriously, paranoid much, Rayne? I mean, who cares if the janitor knows what I’m reading? Or anyone else, for that matter? It’s not like someone’s going to be all “Hey she’s reading a book about fairies—I bet she actually is one!”
    Still, I can’t shake the nervousness as I slip out of the library and start heading up the cobblestone path toward the door. The campus is quiet and dark, all good slayers have long since gone to bed.
    Except for one building where the lights are blazing and I can see shadows moving through cracks of boarded-up windows. A strange hum of electricity dances in the air, igniting my vampire senses. Little hairs prickle my arms and a chill crawls down my back as I study the building curiously, wondering what on Earth could be going on in there. Are there really Alpha slayers training for secret ops inside? And if so, why are they doing it late at night? Do they have some sort of secret they don’t want the rest of the slayers to see?
    I take a step closer, curiosity overwhelming me. Suddenly the front door creaks open and a solitary figure steps out, dragging a large bag. I leap aside, trying to retreat to the shadows, but the figure’s eyes are already locked on me. Crap. I’ve been spotted.
    “Rayne McDonald?” it demands. “What are you doing out here?”
    Oh great. It’s Headmistress Roberta, of all people. The last person on Earth I wanted to run into after curfew. After all, she’s practically looking for an excuse to nano me anyway and here I go, handing her one on a silver platter.
    “Um, sorry, I just fell asleep in the library,” I stammer. “I didn’t mean ... I’m ... I’m heading back to the dorm now.”
    The headmistress narrows her