Ninth Grade Slays Read Online Free PDF Page A

conversation, the locker next to hers closed, revealing a very blonde, much-older-looking-than-last-year Melissa Hart. Meredith and Melissa started talking and soon passed by Vlad and Henry without so much as a glance . . . even when Henry whispered a breathy, “Hi, Melissa.”
    Henry looked like he might melt into the floor with happiness. After she’d passed, he nudged Vlad and wiggled his eyebrows. “Somebody’s been drinking their milk over the summer.”
    Joss rolled his eyes.
    Vlad watched after Meredith, wondering what he’d just said to her, exactly—and what it was about pretty girls that could make a person ramble on like an idiot. After chewing his bottom lip for a moment in contemplation, Vlad closed his locker. “Hey, Joss, Henry’s ditching me this afternoon for a student council meeting. You wanna hang out at my house later?”
    Joss smiled. “Anything to escape Aunt Matilda’s quilting club.”
    As the trio walked into class, the bell rang shrilly. Mrs. Bell looked up from her book. Vlad had expected crooked teeth, blue hair, and painted-on eyebrows. Instead, he was greeted with straight teeth, tawny brown hair, and painted-on eyebrows. Some things never changed. “Take your seats.”
    Vlad moved to the back of the room and sat. Henry chose the desk next to his. Joss sat in front of Henry.
    Mrs. Bell stood, snapping her book closed. “The bell signifying that class and the school day have begun rings precisely at eight o’clock and I expect you to be in your seats at that time. Not a minute after, not three minutes after. Eight o’clock. I will forgive today with a warning, but the next time we have stragglers”—she flashed a sharp look at Vlad, Henry, and Joss—“detention slips will be handed out.”
    Vlad looked at Henry and nearly laughed but managed to contain his amusement. Henry was sitting absurdly straight in his seat, with his hands folded neatly on the desk, batting his eyelashes in the direction of Mrs. Bell. Joss glanced back at Henry and smirked.
    Mrs. Bell didn’t seem to notice. Instead she turned to the chalkboard and began scribbling things that Vlad wasn’t paying attention to. He was too busy watching Meredith walk in the door without Mrs. Bell noticing. Meredith scanned the class, offered Vlad a polite nod, and took a seat at the front.
    Despite feeling enormously happy to see her, Vlad slid down in his seat.
    He wasn’t exactly sure why he was avoiding Meredith. It’s not like they’d declared their undying love for each other or something stupid like that. It was just a date. Followed by an almost-but-then-not kiss. But ever since then, he’d felt a huge weight on his shoulders. Guilt. He was almost sure of it.
    Henry was writing something down in his open notebook. At first Vlad thought it was a note, perhaps some snide comment on Mrs. Bell—or maybe some crucial info on Meredith. But then he realized that everyone was writing . . . everyone but him.
    Mrs. Bell snarled. Well, she might not have snarled, but with the expression on her face it was hard to tell. She may have been smiling, but Vlad doubted it very much. People like Mrs. Bell don’t smile. They gnash their teeth at innocent passersby. “Vladimir Tod, I suggest you pay attention and get busy copying down this week’s assignments.”
    Thankfully, the rest of first period English flew by, but by the time the bell rang, Vlad was convinced that it was going to be an awful year.
    He, Henry, and Joss parted ways for second and third hour, with brief breaks at their lockers that were filled with short conversations about how much biology sucked and how fine arts was okay, that Mr. Kareb was pretty cool for a history teacher and that Mrs. Bell was going to make this the longest school year ever.
    After third period, they rushed to the lunchroom and looked around for Greg. They found him sitting with