Read Bite Me for Free Online Page A

years,” he replied. “Whatever I have now, I’m sure she won’t be affected.”
That night I awoke from my recurring nightmare about the neighborhood setting up a factory for silver bullets and wooden stakes. I stumbled over to the bathroom, only to find the door locked. “Is someone in there?”
The toilet flushed, and a dry, choking, “Yes. . .” came.
“Mom?”
“Di, honey, I don’t think I can go to school tomorrow. Can you use the bathroom downstairs?”
I didn’t know what to say, and dragged my feet away sadly. True to her prediction, Mom called in sick the next morning, and I rode the bus to school. I spotted Matt and went to sit by him.
“Morning. I’m supposed to go see the sophomore counselor first thing. Do you know where their office is?”
“She’s not coming today.”
He looked at me funny. “How do you know?”
“She’s my mom.”
“Wait. . . does that mean she told you to be nice to me?”
“Not at all! She tried a couple times to have me help out new students but gave up. Fortunately you’re not a jerk like the other newbies were.”
“I’ll take that as a compliment. So what’s happened today?”
“She’s sick.”
“Has this been going on for a while? You sound like you really regret it.” Matt must’ve been a perceptive guy. I realized that my leg was nearly touching his and jerked it away.
“It’s nothing.”
“C’mon, Dianne.” My God, he had the nicest nose. Where do noses like that come from?
I played with my fingers for a moment before answering. “It’s just that Dad’s got something too, and we don’t know what it is. Both parents down.”
“Mmm. I’d be upset too. I’m sure you’ll be a great help to them. Can I show you something?” I decided I liked his hands as well. Lovely fingers. When I nodded, he did a funny whirly thing with his palms, spinning them around without tangling the wrists.
I chuckled despite my worry, and wondered if he was showing off to impress me. “Cute.”
“Do you want to learn how?”
My attempts at the trick were hopeless but fun. It turned out we had several classes together. I took him to each one. He made some efforts to chat with other people, with varying levels of success. Most exchanged pleasantries, a very few extended the conversation farther, and I could’ve sworn I heard a couple of statements to the effect of, “Ew, why are you talking to her?”
The result was that I saw a lot of my new friend that day. I learned that he had five siblings, one of whom was married and the other in college. The other three were elementary-school brothers. Also, Matt played hockey and the violin (not simultaneously) enjoyed messing with digital photography, and had a pet tarantula named Shelob. All of the details enamored me. Talking to him was the best experience I’d had a long time.
“Matt didn’t seem upset at all about being snubbed,” I said when I got home. “He was really, really nice to me. He’s so cool.”
Sipping her tea, Mom said, “I’m glad you had a nice day. I’ll talk to him tomorrow.” She was in bed, sitting up in a mound of fluffiness. A bunch of books lay strewn on the floor beside her, along with a remote control.
“Are you going back to work?” I was skeptical, as she still looked pretty flushed and hadn’t eaten anything since the night before.
“Yes. I’ll be honest that I’m not exactly at the peak of heartiness, but work just piles up and I couldn’t afford to lose any more time. I should be better for the day’s rest.” The telephone rang. I automatically started, but Mom touched my arm. “I’d rather you stayed with me. Dad can get it.”
“Isn’t he mowing the lawn?
“He has good ears. Tell me more about your day.” She lay back.
“Well, in Spanish, the teacher had our projects to return to us. The problem was she stacked them too high. First they swayed this way, then that–” I mimed it with my hands. “They actually did fall, but she caught them. Then when she managed