Free This Totally Bites! by Ruth Ames Page B

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Transylvania.
    I heard a whimpering sound, and noticed thatBram was all the way down the hall near my parents’ bedroom, clearly waiting for Great-aunt Margo to leave.
    “I must get some rest and beautifying before the gala on Friday,” Great-aunt Margo continued, heading for the door. “Your mother and father know I vill be gone for a vile. They are off having dinner vit friends tonight.”
    I spun around. “Wait!” I cried after her, feeling desperate.
    Great-aunt Margo turned back to me, raising her brows. “Yes, dah-link?”
    I opened my mouth. A million questions flooded my brain.
    What have you and your bats been up to every night?
    Are you only going outside now because it’s gray and raining?
    Are you good at volleyball?
    When will I become a full-fledged vampire?
    But somehow the words never made it off my tongue. All I could get out was:
    “When will you … will I … will you have a good time?”
    So much for being brave and speaking my mind.
    “Oh, I vill, dah-link, thank you,” Great-aunt Margo purred as she opened the door. “You make sure you get enough rest, too. Next Friday vill be a big night for you!”
    Before I could tell my great-aunt that I wouldn’t be going to the gala, she had swept out of the apartment. Only a cloud of flowery perfume lingered in her wake. Bram let out a bark that sounded sort of like “Good riddance!” And I stood there in my wet clothes, still brimming with unanswered questions.
    “I have a question,” I whispered to the librarian.
    It was the next afternoon, and I was at my local library. I’d woken up depressed, thinking about all the things I should have asked Great-aunt Margo, and imagining how much fun Gabby and Caitlin were having without me. When Mom found me moping, she told me to do something “productive,” and I remembered that we were supposed to visit the library for Ms. Goldsmith’s class. It was not the coolest way to spend a Saturday, but I guess that’s what happens when you’re a vampire who’s just lost your best friend.
    The librarian, a skinny young man with black-framed glasses, glanced up from his computer screen.
    “Yes?” he asked me in a normal voice.
    I was surprised. I’d thought librarians were supposed to whisper. “I’m looking for books on Transyl — on Romania,” I corrected myself, making sure to whisper.
    “Got it, Romania,” the librarian said briskly. His words sounded like a shout in the silent room. I cringed, and he pointed me toward a set of bookshelves nearby.
    “Thank you,” I mouthed, turning to go.
    Then I paused. Out of all the cruel things Gabby had said to me yesterday, one in particular was sticking in my head, refusing to go away:
    Just because it happened to say that on
one
website
…
    I hated to admit it, but my ex-BFF had a point. I’d been basing all my theories on that one site about Transylvanian vampires. Hadn’t Ms. Goldsmith said that the Internet wasn’t always the most reliable source? Maybe thick, old, dusty books would hold more answers. That was always the way it worked in
Harry Potter,
anyway.
    I turned back to the librarian, leaned forward, and whispered extra-quietly, “Where would I find books on vamp — vamp —” I couldn’t get the word out.
    “Vampires?” the librarian all but yelled. “Right over there!” He pointed to another section of the room, in the far, far back.
    I held my breath and turned to look at the people sitting at the tables. I was sure they’d all be glaring at me or waving knobs of garlic in the air. Miraculously, everyone was still bent over their laptops and books. I let out a shaky sigh of relief.
    I swung by the Romania shelves, but I couldn’t concentrate on any of the books there when I knew there was vampire knowledge waiting across the room. So I hurried past Mr. Loud Librarian and into the vampire section.
    Here, the library seemed dimmer. My heart began to beat faster. I came to a row of shelves marked FOLKLORE AND LEGENDS . I