Tenth Grade Bleeds by Heather Brewer Page A

funerary traditions.
    Snelgrove seemed to be waiting for them to speak, but neither did. Vlad mused that he’d like Henry to give his eulogy.
    â€œMs. Brookstone, you’ll have detention this Tuesday and Thursday for two hours after school. Mr. Tod, your detention will begin today after school, and continue on Wednesday.” Snelgrove snorted before waving them away. “And I do not want to see a repeat of this type of behavior in the future. Am I clear?”
    Meredith mumbled, “Yes, sir.”
    Vlad simply held the door open for her in silence. He wasn’t about to give ol’ rat face the satisfaction of a reply.
    Plus, he couldn’t exactly focus on there actually being a future anyway, what with his imminent demise on the horizon.
    The remainder of the school day passed by in a haze of homework assignments, headaches, and an assortment of mind-numbing quizzes—all of which seemed to be pop quizzes which were pretty much like the regular quizzes except that when they were given, they made your eyeballs pop out of your head and explode. By the time the final bell had rung, Vlad had mentally prepared his last will and testament. He decided to bequeath Henry his video games. And, if she survived her own set of parental wrath, he’d leave Meredith his favorite hoodie and every last one of his books.
    Speaking of Meredith . . .
    Vlad looked up and down the hall but didn’t see her anywhere. Maybe her parents had picked her up early. Or maybe she was avoiding him, for fear of more detention-inducing kisses. Or not. Vlad highly doubted he was that irresistible.
    He dropped his physical science book inside his locker and sighed before grabbing his backpack and slipping his homework inside. When he closed the door, he nodded to Henry, who’d been high-fiving him since he’d heard about his and Meredith’s closet adventures. Vlad’s hand was practically slapped raw, and he blushed every time Henry did it. Whoever had invented the Neanderthal celebration of the high five needed to be dragged out into the street and slapped to death by someone with elephantitis of the hand.
    Okay. That might be a bit extreme. But Vlad wasn’t exactly feeling celebratory at the moment.
    He slunk down the hall through the thinning crowd to the library, opened the double doors, and went inside. He stopped the passing librarian and said, “Excuse me. I’m not sure I’m in the right place. I’m here for detention.”
    The librarian, Mrs. Moppet, smiled warmly and pointed to a table near the computer section. “Right over there. It looks like you’ll have company today.”
    â€œ Thank you.” Vlad moved to the table and stopped in his tracks before dropping his backpack on the table. He sighed, low and loud, resisting the urge to swear really loudly at the predicament he was in. Not the thing with Meredith or how Nelly was going to kill him when he got home. Oh no. What had Vlad’s stomach in knots was . . . his company.
    Eddie Poe threw him a glance, and Vlad would have guessed that Eddie was just as displeased about sharing a detention if it wasn’t for the eager glint in Eddie’s eyes.
    The two sat in stony silence until Mrs. Moppet joined them a few minutes later. “Well, boys, it looks like it’s just the three of us today. Principal Snelgrove had an afternoon appointment that couldn’t be missed.”
    Vlad imagined that that appointment included a stop at the cheese store, but he kept his humor to himself, allowing only a small smirk to crack his features.
    Mrs. Moppet said, “I trust you boys can keep it down to a dull roar over here while I finish cataloging some new books? You can do homework or study, if you’d like. I’m not really sure what the principal had in mind.”
    As she walked away, Vlad and Eddie exchanged bewildered glances. Eddie looked just as surprised as Vlad felt. Present company excluded, this