Suck It Up Read Online Free PDF Page A

out of the chair and paced. “
Doing
is what makes you a hero. Heroes don’t sit on their butts and play video games, heroes take action. There’s no way Leaguers can be superheroes. We’re just a bunch of vampires who’ve traded bloodsucking for
product
-sucking! It’s right there in the Motto:
Drink Culture, Not Life
.”
    He caught his breath, but he couldn’t cage the bitterness in his voice. “And that’s fine, that’s what I’ll do. I’ve got my Leaguer Goals.” He thrust a finger at the computer. “You can read all about ’em, but since you wanna hear it from me, here they are. I’m going to read comic books, I’m going to play video games, I’m going to get myself a Star Wars stormtrooper suit, join the 501st Legion, and march in the Rose Bowl Parade every year! I’ll be a good Leaguer like everyone else, and I’ll do it because I don’t have a choice!”
    Unfazed by Morning’s outburst, Birnam slowly stood.
    Morning didn’t know what to expect. For all he knew, Birnam’s eyes were going to turn into pools of fire and zap him with red-hot lasers, and he’d burst into flames.
    Birnam was eerily calm. “What if I gave you a choice?”
    Morning didn’t move. “What choice?”
    â€œWhat if I gave you a second chance to achieve your dream: to be a superhero?”
    Morning blinked. “I don’t get it.”
    â€œI want you to be the first vampire to reveal yourself to Lifers.”
    A chill shot through him. The same chill he felt when Birnam had stared at him at the end of commencement and talked about Worldwide Out Day. “You mean, come out?”
    Birnam nodded.
    He couldn’t believe what he was hearing. This had to be a last joke they were playing on him before he left the Academy. “You’re kidding, right?”
    â€œI’m never been more serious in all seven hundred and eighty-three years of my life.”
    Morning stared, dumbfounded. “But why me?”
    â€œI’ve been looking for someone like you for a long time: young, innocent, nonthreatening, someone who’s more victim than vampire. You challenge every myth and fear of what Lifers think vampires are. But most important, you’ve never been tainted with bloodlust. You’re a SangV.”
    â€œNot really!” Morning blurted. “I tasted animal blood. I snuck a sip of Bled Bull from someone’s bottle at a party.”
    Birnam’s forehead knitted. “Did you like it?”
    â€œIt made me hurl.”
    Birnam’s expression relaxed into a smile. “Even better. Everyone loves a hero with a weakness. You’ll be a vampire superhero who’s animal-blood-intolerant. No,” he added as his smile widened, “hemo-intolerant.”
    Morning squinted in confusion. “I don’t follow. How is coming out going to make me a superhero?”
    Birnam’s serious expression returned. “Think about it. As the first, you’ll be a hero to all Leaguers. More important, if Lifers accept you for what you are, and if you blaze the trail to the day we all come out, we’ll no longer have to
hide
our powers. We’ll be able to use our powers to help people. You’ll be the first vampire to be a superhero.”
    As his words sank in, Morning’s insides spun with wild exhilaration. The boring, obedient future he was dreading had suddenly been swept away. Birnam was offering him more than the chance to revive a buried dream. He was giving him the chance to live again!

----
    THE LEAGUERS’ NEW COMMANDMENTS

    1. You shall not age.
    2. You shall not drink anything but properly milked animal blood, or artificial blood substitutes.
    3. You shall not frighten Lifers with your powers.
    4. You shall not destroy your maker.
    5. You shall not destroy, or make, a blood child.

----

5

    Catching a Ride
    Back in his dorm room, Morning tried to shut out the