Free Team Human by Justine Larbalestier

myself almost believing that he really did care about her. But I knew better. He was studying us.
    â€œShe’s human. She’s a teenager . You’re a vampire and, yes, technically also a teenager, but you’ve been one for way more than a hundred years. You should find yourself a nice vampire teenager.”
    â€œYou can assure me that anyone else who knows will also be silent?”
    â€œI can,” I said, thinking of Anna, who was the most discreet person I knew.
    Francis placed a twenty-dollar bill on the table and stood up. He bowed to me. “I will do as you wish. Neither you nor Cathy will ever see me again.”
    I almost fell out of my chair.
    I had been thinking more along the lines of him transferring out of Cathy’s classes.
    â€œYou’re going away?” I said. “Awesome!”
    Francis’s chilly demeanor became even further chilled.
    â€œUh,” I said. “I mean, it’s been real, Francis. Bon voyage.”
    This didn’t seem to please Francis either. Oh well.
    â€œIt is best for Catherine if I simply remove myself from her life forever,” Francis said bleakly. “Without me, she can live a long, full life. She can be happy. I must leave her, in fact, for her own good.”
    I didn’t much like the way Francis put that. Parents are always trying to make you do things for your own good. Not boyfriends. With boyfriends, the relationship is supposed to be equal. They’re supposed to let you make your own decisions.
    But I couldn’t tell Cathy about Francis’s undead love-weasel ways. Anyway, this was more proof that Francis really was too old for her.
    It truly was for her own good.
    Agreeing with Francis gave me a stomachache, so I sat there and made a face.
    â€œYou’ll keep your promise?” Francis pursued. “Not a word to anyone? Especially not your principal.”
    â€œI promise.”
    He bowed again, walking away without making his own request, or leaving me with a message for Cathy. I wasn’t feeling as happy as I’d thought I would.
    I was also confused. Surely Principal Saunders knew about his book? It was right there in his school file.

CHAPTER TEN
    Cathy in Despair
    â€œH ow about we go see a movie?”
    Cathy shook her head wanly. “No thanks, Mel.”
    â€œHow about we go take a walk?”
    A smile landed on Cathy’s mouth before bouncing off, repelled by the force of her sadness. “No thanks, Mel.”
    I had to get Cathy out of her house. Hell, I had to get her out of her room . She had been sitting in here for so long, I was afraid the fossilizing process would begin soon. It was time to bring out the big guns.
    â€œHow about,” I suggested, “we go get milkshakes—and it will be my treat?”
    â€œNo. But thank you anyway.” Cathy wasn’t even tempted.
    â€œYou drive a hard bargain. Milkshakes with sprinkles it is.”
    Cathy had not moved from her chair since I’d come in. She had not shifted from her piteous, curled-up position. She wasn’t even looking at me. Her big dark eyes were fixed on the dirty windows, as if their grimy state was upsetting her.
    Since Cathy and her mom have lived in the old Beauvier house all their lives, and it’s always been falling down around their ears, I didn’t think it was the windows upsetting her. I knew the house was the other really old thing that Cathy mysteriously loved. (Though I had to admit Francis was better preserved.)
    In a way, Cathy’s misery was all my fault.
    â€œOh, Cathy,” I said. “I know you’re sad. Francis is a complete jackass.”
    â€œFrancis is not a jackass!”
    â€œHe left school without even sending you a text message saying ‘I hope you enjoy the beautiful scenery on your trip through Dumpslandia.’”
    â€œFrancis hates text messages,” Cathy said. “And voice mail. And the internet. He—he thinks that