I threw a pillow at him. "I'm sorry I told you," I grumbled.

"I'm only kidding. But I'll tell you what." He turned serious. "Don't tell Mr.

Crepsley. He'd probably move us on to a new city immediately, or at least a new hotel."

"You're right," I agreed. "I'll keep quiet about Debbie when he's around. It shouldn't be hard: I barely see him. And when I do, he hardly says anything. He seems like he's in a world of his own."

Although I couldn't have known it then, it was a world me and Evra would soon be part of... and Debbie, too.

The next day pa.s.sed slowly. My stomach was a jumble of nerves. I had to drink warm milk to calm it down. Evra didn't help matters. He kept reading the time out loud and announcing: "Five hours to go!" "Four hours to go!" "Three and a half..."

Luckily I didn't have clothes to worry about: I only had one outfit, so there was no problem choosing what to wear. But I did spend a couple of hours in the bathroom, checking that I was spotlessly clean.

"Calm down," Evra said eventually. "You look great. I'm half tempted to go out with you myself."

"Shut up, stupid," I shot back, but couldn't help grinning.

"Well, anyway," Evra said, "do you want me to disappear before Debbie arrives?"

"Why?" I asked.

"You might not want me here," he muttered.

"I want to introduce you to her. She thinks you're my brother. It'd look strange if you weren't here when she shows up."

"It's just - well - how will you explain?" Evra asked.

"Explain what?"

"My looks," he said, rubbing a few of the scales along his arm.

"Oh," I said, as it finally dawned on me. Debbie didn't know Evra was a snake- boy. She was expecting an ordinary boy.

"I might frighten her," Evra said. "Lots of people get scared when they find themselves face to face with a guy like me. Maybe it would be for the best if -"

"Listen," I said firmly. "You're my best friend, tight?"

"Right." Evra smiled weakly. "But -"

"No!" I snapped. "No buts. I like Debbie a lot, but if she can't handle the way you look, too bad."

"Thanks," Evra said quietly.

Night came and Mr. Crepsley arose. The vampire looked haggard. I'd fixed a meal for him - bacon, sausages, pork chops - so he'd eat quickly and leave before Debbie arrived.

"Are you feeling all right?" I asked as he wolfed down the food. "Fine," he mumbled.

"You look terrible," I told him bluntly. "Have you fed recently?"

He shook his head. "I have not had time. I may tonight."

"I took blood from a guest last night," I said. "It'll keep me going for another week or so."

"Good," he said absentmindedly. It was the first time I'd fed by myself, and I'd been expecting some sort of a compliment, but he didn't seem to care. It was like he'd lost interest in me.

I cleaned up once he'd left, then sat down to watch TV with Evra and wait for Debbie.

"She's not going to come," I said after what felt like a couple of hours. "She stood me up."

"Relax," Evra laughed. "You've only been sitting here ten minutes. It's still early."

I checked my watch - he was right. "I can't go through with this," I groaned.

"I've never been out with a girl before. I'll mess it up. She'll think I'm boring."

"Don't get so wound up," Evra said. "You want to go out with her, and you are going out with her, so why worry?"

I started to answer him, but was interrupted by Debbie knocking on the door.

Forgetting my nerves in a second, I jumped up to let her in.

CHAPTER SEVEN.

I had expected Debbie to dress up, but she was in a pair of jeans and a baggy sweatshirt, wrapped in a long, heavy coat.

I noticed she was wearing a pair of red gloves.

"You found the gloves?" I asked.

She made a face. "They were in my room all along." She groaned. "They'd fallen behind the radiator. Of course, I only found them after I'd told Mom about walking around outside without them.

"Are your father and brother here?" she asked.

"Mr. Cre - I mean, Dad's out. Evra's in." I paused. "There's something you should know about Evra." I said.

"What?"

"He's not like other people."

"Who is?" Debbie laughed.

"You see," I began to explain, "Evra's a -"

"Look," Debbie interrupted, "I don't care what kind of an odd bod he is. Just take me in and make the introductions."

"Okay." I grinned shakily and gestured for her to enter. Debbie swished confidently ahead of me. A couple of steps into the room, she spotted Evra and stopped.

"Wow!" she exclaimed. "Is that a costume?"

Evra smiled nervously. He was standing in front of the TV, arms crossed stiffly.

"Debbie," I said, "this is Evra, my brother. He's -"

"Are those scales?" Debbie asked, surging forward.

"Uh-huh," Evra said.

"Can I touch them?" Debbie asked.

"Sure," Evra told her.

She ran her fingers up his left arm - he was wearing a T-shirt - and down his right.

"Wow!" Debbie gasped. "Have you always been like this?"

"Yes," Evra said.

"He's a snake-boy," I explained.

Debbie whirled fiercely on me. "That's a horrible thing to say!" she snapped.

"You shouldn't call him names just because he looks different."

"I wasn't calling him -" I began, but she interrupted.

"How would you like it if somebody made fun of that stupid costume you wear?" she fumed. I looked down at my suit. "Oh, yes!" she sneered. "I could have said plenty about that crazy getup, but I didn't. I figured, if you wanted to look like something out of Peter Pan, that was your choice."

"It's okay," Evra said softly. "I am a snake-boy." Debbie stared at Evra uncertainly. "I am, really," he vowed. "I have many serpentine qualities: I shed my skin, I'm cold-blooded, I have snakelike eyes."

"Still," Debbie said, "it's not nice to be compared to a snake."

"It is if you like snakes." Evra laughed.

"Oh." Debbie looked back at me, half ashamed. "Sorry," she said.

"It's okay," I said, secretly pleased that she'd reacted the way she had - it proved she wasn't prejudiced.

Debbie was fascinated by Evra and kept asking him questions. What did he eat? How often? "Was he able to talk to snakes? After a while I told him to show her his tongue - he had a really long tongue and was able to stick it up his nose.

"That's the grossest, greatest thing I've ever seen!"

Debbie howled when Evra demonstrated his nostril-licking abilities. "I wish I could do that. It'd freak the life out of everybody at school."

Eventually it was time to leave for the movies.

"I won't be back late ," I told Evra.

"Don't rush on my account," he said, and winked.

It was a short walk to the cineplex, and we arrived in plenty of time for the start of the movie. We bought popcorn and drinks and headed in. We talked away to each other during the ads and previews.

"I like your brother," Debbie said. "He seems a little shy, but I guess that has to do with the way he looks." "Yeah," I agreed. "Life hasn't been easy for him."

"Is anybody else in your family snakelike?" she asked.

"No," I said. "Evra's one of a kind."

"Your mom isn't unusual?" I'd told Debbie my mom and dad were divorced and that Evra and me spent half the year with each. "Or your dad?"

I smiled. "Dad's strange, too," I said, "but not like Evra."

"When can I meet him?" she asked.

"Soon," I lied. Debbie had warmed immediately to the snake-boy, but how would she react to a vampire? I had a feeling she wouldn't warm up to Mr.

Crepsley, not if she knew what he was.

The movie was a stupid romantic comedy. Debbie laughed more than me.

We discussed the movie afterward as we walked back to the square. I pretended to like it more than I did. As we walked down a dark alley, Debbie took my hand in hers and held on to me for comfort, which made me feel great.

"Aren't you afraid of the dark?" she asked.

"No," I said. The alley seemed pretty bright to my vampire-enhanced eyes.

"What is there to be afraid of?" I asked.

She shivered. "I know it's silly," she said, "but I'm always half afraid a vampire or werewolf's going to jump out and attack me." She laughed. "Stupid, huh?"

"Yeah," I said, laughing weakly. "Stupid."

If only she knew...

"Your nails are really long," she commented.