Vassa in the Night Read Online Free PDF Page B

dark and there’s no sound apart from faint snores coming from Iliana’s room. I heat up some leftover pasta in the microwave—Erg leans so far into the bowl while she’s eating that I’m amazed she doesn’t fall in—then watch some TV in our bedroom. I’m chilled and damp from being out for so long and the warmth starts oozing through me, beginning at my stomach and then bobbing up into my head.
    The lights were on when I fell asleep, but when I wake up the only light is a dim staticky flicker. Someone is knocking around the bedroom, yanking drawers and dropping things; I know it has to be Stephanie. Chelsea would at least make an effort to be quiet. “Oh my God,” she almost shouts, “I can’t find anything!”
    â€œYou can turn on the light if you want,” I tell her. “I’m awake.”
    â€œNo, I can’t, smartass. You try it!”
    I’m confused. “You can’t? Which one?”
    â€œAny of them!”
    My first thought is that there must be a power outage, but the TV still glows and chatters in front of me, its colors ambling from red to blue. I reach for the bedside lamp and twist the knob, once and then again to be sure. She’s right, nothing happens. “What’s going on?” Through the window I can see the building across the street, its panes a shining yellow grid against the darkness. Stephanie shuffles back and forth, blotting out the distant glow. One curve of her cheek is outlined in faint gray, but that’s all I can see of her face.
    â€œThe bulbs have burned out,” Stephanie says with ornate exasperation. “Duh, Vass.”
    Maybe I’m still dreaming a little bit because it takes me five heartbeats to realize that there’s a problem with this. “All of them? Um, Steph, that doesn’t make a lot of sense, does it? Why would they all burn out at the same time?”
    â€œWhy is the sky blue? They obviously did! And we don’t have a single spare bulb anywhere!”
    It’s true, I guess, that we’ve been using all our lights an awful lot, though this still seems like quite a coincidence. “In all the rooms? Did you check Iliana’s room? Because we could borrow a lightbulb from her and buy new ones in the morning.”
    â€œYou think I didn’t think of that? Oh, gosh, I just stumbled around the apartment in the dark for an hour, and it never even occurred to me to check my mom’s room! Thanks, Vassa!”
    Could this be one of Erg’s pranks? Not really; she’d never make it to the overhead fixtures. “Go to bed, then. We’ll deal with this tomorrow.”
    â€œSo you expect me to just sit here in the dark for ages? It’s only midnight.”
    â€œWhat do you want me to do about it?”
    She’s closer to me now, enough that her face shows up like an unstable map in the TV light. Terra incognita, an ocean at the edge of the world. Blues and whites squirm across her features; she won’t look at me.
    â€œWhy don’t you go out and buy some? You’re dressed.” She’s wearing pajamas, and she’s right, I fell asleep in my clothes. But if it’s midnight …
    â€œAll the stores will be closed, Steph.”
    â€œThey won’t all be closed.” Her lips pucker as if she’s fighting a smile. “BY’s is still open. It’s like five blocks away.”
    At first I think she’s kidding. At first I think she has to be. Her eyes are flickering toward the shadows behind her dresser and waves of gray light go crashing across her cheeks. There be monsters. “You aren’t serious.”
    â€œWhy wouldn’t I be? Make yourself useful for once.” Her gaze is shifty, darting, and her mouth twists with what looks like embarrassment.
    Where is Chelsea? She wouldn’t stand for this.
    I still can’t quite believe it; I’m still trying to give her the benefit of the