Read The Coffin Club for Free Online Page B

wanted more. What were Alexander‘s and Jameson‘s plans?
    ―Do you think you‘ll marry Ruby?‖
    ―Uh…‖
    ―If so, will you live in the manor house? Or in the Mansion?‖
    ―I‘m not planning…‖
    ―Well, if you did.‖
    ―I suppose…it would be up to…Why all of the questions, Miss Raven?‖
    We were volleying steadily now, and it was time for me to end the match. I paused, then asked, ―I‘m just wondering, what are you and Alexander doing here?‖
    Jameson pulled the car to the curb in front of the Old Town Folk Music Center. I‘d swung too hard, hitting the ball over the fence. The match ended, Jameson the obvious winner.
    The rain had subsided and the streetlights and lampposts were dripping wet. Jameson climbed out of the Mercedes and kindly held the door open for me, like I was an A-list starlet arriving at a premiere. The only thing missing were the paparazzi. I waved good-bye and was heading for Old Town when I noticed something flashing at the end of the block—the flickering neon red sign of the Coffin Club. As Jameson puttered down the street, I paused. The sounds of banging drums pulsed out of the music center.
    It was as if the blinking neon coffins were drawing me to them, like a vulture to a corpse.
    No one would be the wiser if I just popped my head in for a nonalcoholic bubbly Execution…or two.

    4

Return to the Coffin Club
    I held my breath in wild anticipation of seeing the Coffin Club up close once again, but when I approached the underground club, I was shocked. More than a hundred young goths were anxiously awaiting admittance to the club—twice as long a line as I remembered it being last time. The procession of clubsters, dressed similarly to me (except sporting different-colored streaks, tattoos, piercings, and shoes), wrapped the block like a line at Disney World. I‘d be lucky if I gained entrance before summer break was over.

    Frustrated, I began walking toward the end of the line. I was about halfway down the block when I noticed a guy with a cape and vinyl pants bent over, adjusting his monster boots. I snuck in the space before him and tried to appear inconspicuous. I avoided any trouble by standing with my back to him and gazed at the stars and then a few birds flying above the roof of the club. When the birds began to hover instead of fly off, I realized I‘d spotted a cluster of bats.
    How wicked—bats at the Coffin Club!
    I checked my watch. Aunt Libby‘s class was going to end in less than an hour, and it appeared that I‘d be spending the time waiting in this never-ending line.
    I anxiously shifted back and forth. I peered out toward the club‘s entrance to see if there was an obvious holdup, but there wasn‘t anything more than a bouncer checking IDs. It was then I noticed a familiar couple standing at the head of the line. I leaned out, holding my place with one foot like a checkers player holds his place with his finger before making his next move. It was Primus and Poison, two clubsters I‘d snuck in front of last time I‘d visited the club.
    Primus and Poison. How could I forget their names when all I‘d ever known were names like Billy, Matt, or Becky?
    I took a chance and stepped out of line, racing up to the macabre duo. ―Primus! Poison!
    It‘s me, Raven!‖
    The pair scrutinized me. It was clear they wanted to recognize me—after all, I did know their names. But I could tell by their gaze that they couldn‘t place my face.
    ―I met you a few months ago, here in line,‖ I said, finagling my way into the crowded line beside them.
    ―Oh yeah,‖ Primus, a Marilyn Manson look-alike, said, finally remembering. ―How are you doing?‖
    Poison looked at me with venom in her eyes.
    ―I‘m great!‖ I said to Primus. ―It‘s so cool to see you again.‖ Then I turned to Poison. ―I love your corset! It‘s beautiful!‖
    Poison‘s disposition changed. ―I just threw this together.‖
    ―No way! You should be a model for Gothic Beauty