Free Girls That Growl by Mari Mancusi Page A

tearing through the local chocolate factory, and de-vouring all their goods. Ditto to three convenience stores— cleaning them clear out of HoHos and Ding Dongs. Hope-fully, all this ravaging burned a lot of calories or these girls will so have to go on Atkins to fit into their size-two uniforms.
    "Wow," I murmer. "I had no idea they did all this."
    "Not to mention that they don't even have their shots," Teifert adds. "You want them running around town infecting more and more people? Pretty soon our town will be one big werewolf pack."
    "But still!" I put the paper down. "They're not just were-wolves! They're teenage girls! And no matter how ditzy they are, they don't deserve to die."
    "Look, Rayne, Slayer Inc.'s job is to police our commu-nity's supernatural element. To slay when necessary those who step out of line. These are not vampires living in secluded communities, keeping to themselves and not interfering with human life. They're a pack of wild dogs running around de-stroying everything in their path. I don't think you fully under-stand the danger here. They could break into your house. Kill your mother. Or worse, turn her into a werewolf. And then what would you do? Imagine finding out your mom's now a real bitch 'cause you were soft on fur."
    "I know," I say, slumping into my chair. "I mean, I under-stand what you're saying. We can't let them continually ravage the town every full moon. But at the same time, there's got to be another alternative to just killing them."
    "Like what?"
    "Like ... an antidote. I mean, that town in England. The one the cheerleaders stayed at after their competition. If that's where the biting occurred, maybe the townspeople know some way to reverse the curse."
    Teifert is silent for a moment, then he nods. "Very well, Rayne," he says. "If you'd like to go to England and find out if there is a cure, Slayer Inc. will support the move. After all, we have a month before the next transformation. But if you can't find anything on your travels, then we will be forced to proceed with our plan."
    "Great!" I exclaim. "Thank you so much. You won't be sorry. I'll find the cure. We'll get them back to their old fur-free selves."
    "I hope so, Rayne," Teifert says, wearily. "Because I'm not sure our town can take another night like last night."
    Right. Once again it's all up to me, Rayne McDonald, to save the world.
    How do I get myself into these things?

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    After school, I head to the beach. I find Jareth there, wearing brightly colored Bermuda shorts and lying on a Corona beach towel. Oh, how cool. Not. I still can't believe my beautiful crea-ture of the night has suddenly become tackier than a bottle of Super Glue. But how do I tell him he's lost all sense of style and dignity? Especially when he looks so radiantly happy?
    "Rayne!" he cries, scrambling up to greet me. I jump back to avoid being hugged by a six-foot sand monster. I mean, I'm happy to see him, but have you ever had sand in your un-derwear? It's so not worth the affection.
    "Hey, Jareth," I say, opening my black umbrella and holding it over my head to avoid any late-afternoon rays. Some of us vampires still have standards.
    He looks hurt at the hug rejection and I immediately feel bad. This is my boyfriend, the love of my life.
    So why am I feeling so icky around him lately? Why can't I just be happy that he's happy? Why does he suddenly annoy me so much?
    And the worse thing is, we're stuck together! Forever. This isn't like a regular BF/GF kind of thing where we can break up and never speak to one another again. Jareth gave up everything to be with me—to become my blood mate. And we are supposed to be together forever with no chance of a divorce! Scary. So very scary.
    But whatever. I can't think of this now. Not when Oakridge High cheerleaders are chomping on football players. Relationship stuff can be figured out at a later date.
    "So," I say,