Free This Totally Bites! by Ruth Ames

west along 83rd Street. “She is. Padma can’t make it because she has piano lessons. But you should come, too, Em!” she added hurriedly. “I’m sorry I didn’t invite you before — you’ve seemed really distracted lately. Like you’d almost rather be alone.”
    “Yeah, I know,” I said, fighting a wave of guilt as we sidestepped a cluster of pigeons.
    “Is it because of that whole ‘vampire’ thing?” Gabby asked with a half smile, making air quotes with her fingers.
    I stopped walking. Maybe it had to do with her fangs-are-funny! gift, or her light tone, but suddenly I was really annoyed.
    “Would you keep it down?” I whispered, glancing over my shoulder. The Museum of Natural History was close by. Margo herself could appear at any moment, fangs out and wings spread. The thought made my whole body turn rigid with terror.
    “I knew it,” Gabby sighed, putting her hands on her hips. “I knew you were still obsessing. I bet you haven’t talked to Great-aunt Margo yet. Probablybecause you know she’ll give you a logical explanation, and you don’t
want
that!”
    My patience snapped. “No,” I hissed. “I haven’t talked to her because she’s totally nocturnal, okay? Oh, and remember how you tried to convince me that I don’t have any of those
symptoms?
Well, you were wrong.”
    Keeping my voice as low as possible, I explained to Gabby about my twelfth birthday realization. I waited for my best friend’s eyes to widen with fear. For her to apologize for doubting me.
    Instead, she rolled her eyes.
    “That doesn’t prove anything,” she scoffed. “Just because it happened to say that on
one
website …” She shook her head as we stopped on the corner to wait for the light. “I wish you’d told me that earlier. I could have saved you a lot of stress.”
    Thunder rumbled overhead. I stared hard at Gabby, at her superior expression and her arms folded smugly over her chest.
Has she ever really understood me?
I wondered.
    “This
is why I didn’t tell you,” I retorted. “Because I knew you’d act like this. I knew you wouldn’t really believe me.”
    I realized that I’d known all along that Gabbywould dismiss whatever I said. But wasn’t a best friend supposed to stand by you no matter what?
    “I’m only trying to help,” Gabby protested, raising her voice over the honking of car horns. “I mean, come on, Em. You’ve been a mess all week!”
    I felt a pinprick of hurt.
You are a descendant of an ancient dynasty,
I reminded myself. I heard another threatening roar of thunder.
    “I may have been acting a little weird,” I retorted. “But I’m better now. Actually, I’m doing great, in case you didn’t notice.”
    “Oh, I’ve noticed,” Gabby snapped as we crossed the street. Her cheeks were pink, a sure sign that something was bothering her. “I’ve noticed how all you care about now is being the most popular girl in student council, and being friends with eighth graders, and —”
    “What?”
I stopped in the middle of the street, and Gabby had to tug on my arm to pull me forward. My skin was flushed with anger as we reached the curb. I’d been feeling so good about myself all day, and now Gabby was ruining everything. “I thought — I thought you were
happy
for me. You nominated me designer-in-chief!”
    My stomach tightened. Suddenly, it seemed like our conversation was spinning out of control. Spinning in a direction that was somehow even scarier than vampires.
    “Well, I never expected it to go to your head like this!” Gabby shot back.
    As if shocked by her words, the sky opened up and the first raindrops began to fall on us. I’d been in such a rush that morning I’d forgotten to bring an umbrella.
    “I can’t believe it,” I muttered. “You’re totally jealous! That’s what this is about.”
    Gabby rolled her eyes again.
    “You’re jealous,” I repeated. “Because
I’m
finally standing up to people and speaking my mind, and
you
haven’t even