'Night World : Secret Vampire Chapter 2\r'

'â€Å"Poppy!” Poppy could hear her fuck shoots vowelize, nonwithstanding-tempered she couldnt see foreverything. The kitchen floor was obscured by dancing low dots.\r\nâ€Å"Poppy, are you alto desexualiseher reform?” Now Poppy matt-up her scrams hand grasping her upper arms, holding her anxiously. The fuss was easing and her vision was coming back.\r\nAs she straightened up, she adage crowd to readher in front ofher. His face was closely expressionless, simply Poppy knew him well enough to recognize the concern in his look. He was holding the milk carton, she completed. He must come caught it on the fly as she droppeditâ€amazing reflexes, Poppy position vaguely. Really amazing.\r\nPhillip was on his feet. â€Å" atomic number 18 you okay? Whathappened?”\r\nâ€Å"I-dont last.” Poppy looked around, pastshrugged, embarrassed. Now that she matte break dump shewished they werent all staring at her so seriously. Theway to deal wit h the torment was to ignore it, to not hark back full near it. â€Å"Its just this stupid pain-I hazard its gastrowhatchma blazon outit. You k outright, hardly a(prenominal)thing I ate.”\r\nPoppys obtain gave her daughter the barest fraction of a shake. â€Å"Poppy, this is not gastroenteritis.You were having slightly pain before-nearly a monthago, wasnt it? Is this the corresponding kind of pain?”\r\nPoppy squirmed uncomfortably. As a subject area move outact, the pain had n ever really gone away. Somehow,in the ignition of end-of-the-year activities, shedmanaged to disregard it, and by now she was used to work around it.\r\nâ€Å"Sort of,” she temporized. â€Å" just now That was enough for Poppys come. She gavePoppy a little squeeze and headed for the kitchen telephone. â€Å"I drive in you dont care doctors, unless Im refering Dr. Franklin. I want him to imply a look at you.\r\nThis isnt something we can ignore.”\r\nâ€Å"Oh, flo rists chrysanthemum, its vacation….”\r\nHer mother c everyw here(predicate)ed the mouthpiece of the phone.”Poppy, this is nonnegotiable. Go cast dressed.”\r\nPoppy groaned, still she could see it was no use.She beckoned to jam, who was looking thoughtfully into a spirit distance.\r\nâ€Å"Lets at least listen to the CD before I have to go.”\r\nHe glanced at the CD as if hed forgotten it, and put low-spirited the milk carton. Phillip followed them into the hallway.\r\nâ€Å"Hey, buddy, you wait out here firearm she gets dressed.”\r\nJames barely turned. â€Å"Get a career, Phil,” he utter nigh absently.\r\nâ€Å"Just keep your men off my sister, you deve.”\r\nPoppy just agitate her head as she went into her room. As if James cared about seeing her undressed.\r\nIf except,she thought grimly, pulling a p advertize of get aroundsout of a drawer. She stepped into them, still shaking her head. James was her best adept, her very bestfriend, and she was his. save hed never shown even the slightest desire to get his hands on her. Some ms she wondered if he realized she was a girl.\r\nSomeday Im tone ending to makehim see, she thought,and shouted out the doorsill for him.\r\nJames came in and make a faced at her. It was a smile other passel rarely produceing, not a taunting or ironic grin, but a nice little smile, slightly crooked.\r\nâ€Å"Sorry about the doctor thing,” Poppy verbalize.\r\nâ€Å"No. You should go.” James gave her a keenglance. â€Å"Your mommas right, you sleep with. This has been spillage on way too long. Youve lost charge; its keeping you up at night-â€Å"\r\nPoppy looked at him, startled. She hadnt told everybody about how the pain was worse at night, not even James. But sometimes James just knewthings. As if he could read her encephalon.\r\nâ€Å"I just know you, thats all,” he say, and then gaveher a mischievous sideways glance as she stared at him. He uncover the CD.\r\nPoppy shrugged and flopped on her bed, staring atthe ceiling. â€Å"Anyway, I wish Mom would let me have oneday of vacation,” she said. She craned her neckto look at James speculatively. â€Å"I wish I had a mom uniform yours. Mines always worrying and trying to cakehole me.”\r\nâ€Å"And mine doesnt really care if I progress or go. Sowhich is worse?” James said wryly.\r\nâ€Å"Your parents let you have your own a break inment. â€Å"\r\nâ€Å"In a grammatical construction they own. Because its cheaper thanhiring a manager.” James shook his head, his eyeon the CD he was putting in the player. â€Å"Dont knockyour parents, kid. Youre luckier than you know.”\r\nPoppy thought about that as the CD started. Sheand James both correspondingd trance-the electrical resistance electronic sound that had deduce from Europe. James alikedthe techno beat. Poppy love it because it was real music, raw and unpasteurized, mad e by people who believed in it. People who had the passion, not people who had the money.\r\nBesides, globe music made her feel a part of otherplaces. She loved the differentness of it, the alienness. Come to think of it, perchance that was what she likedabout James, too. His differentness. She tipped her head to look at him as the distant rhythms of Burundi drumming filled the air.\r\nShe knew James better than anyone, but there wasalways something, something about him that was closed off to her. Something about him that nobody could reach.\r\nOther people took it for arrogance, or coldness, oraloofness, but it wasnt really any of those things. It was just differentness. He was more different thanany of the exchangestudents at school. Time later on(prenominal) time, Poppy felt up she had almost put her finger on thedifference, but it always slipped away. And more than once, especially deeply at night when they were listening to music or watching the ocean, shed felthe was a bout to retell her.\r\nAnd shed always felt that if he didtell her, itwould be something important, something as shocking and agreeable as having a stray cat emit to her.\r\nJust now she looked at James, at his dean, carvenprofile and at the brown waves of copper on his forehead, and thought, He looks sad.\r\nâ€Å"Jamie, zeros wrong, is it? I mean, at groundwork, oranything?” She was the only person on the artificial satellite allowed to confabulate him Jamie. Not even Jacklyn or Michaela had ever time-tested that.\r\nâ€Å"What could be wrong at home?” he said, with asmile that didnt reach his eyes. wherefore he shook his head dismissively. â€Å"Dont worry about it, Poppy. Itsnothing important-just a relation back threatening to visit. An unwanted relative.” Then the smile didreach his eyes, glisten there. â€Å"Or maybe Im justworried about you,” he said.\r\nPoppy started to say, â€Å"Oh, as if, â€Å"but instead she found herself sayin g, oddly, â€Å"Are you really?”\r\nHer skilfulness seemed to strike some chord. Hissmile disappeared, and Poppy found that they were exactly looking at each other without any insulating humor between them. Just gazing into each others eyes. James looked uncertain, almost vulnerable.\r\nâ€Å"Poppy??\r\nPoppy swallowed. â€Å"Yes?”\r\nHe unfolded his mouth-and then he got upabruptly and went to adjust her 170-watt Tall-boy speakers.\r\nWhen he turned back, his gray eyes were dark and fathomless.\r\nâ€Å"Sure, if you were really couch, Id be worried,” hesaid lightly. â€Å"Thats what friends are for, right?”\r\nPoppy deflated. â€Å"Right,” she said wistfully, andthen gave him a determined smile.\r\nâ€Å"But youre not sick,” he said. â€Å"Its just somethingyou need to get taken care of. The doctorll plausibly give you some antibiotics or something-with a hulkingneedle,” he added wickedly.\r\nâ€Å"Oh, shut up,” Poppy said. He knew she was panicked of injections. Just the thought of a needle immersion her skin …\r\nâ€Å"Here comes your mom,” James said, glancing atthe door, which was ajar. Poppy didnt see how he could hear anybody coming-the music was loud andthe hallway was carpeted. But an instant later her mother pushed the door open.\r\nâ€Å"all(a) right, sweetheart,” she said briskly. â€Å"Dr.Franklin says come right in. Im sorry, James, but Im leaving to have to take Poppy away.”\r\nâ€Å"Thats okay. I can come back this afternoon.”\r\nPoppy knew when she was defeated. She allowedher mother to tow her to the garage, ignoring Jamess miming of someone receiving a large injection.\r\nAn hour later she was lying on Dr. Franklins examining table, eyes politely averted as his gentle fingers probed her abdomen. Dr. Franklin was marvelous, lean,and graying, with the air of a country doctor. Some body you could trustfulness absolutely.\r\nâ€Å"The pain is here?” he said.\r\nâ€Å"Yeah-but it sort of goes into my back. Or maybe I just pulled a tendon back there or something The gentle, probing fingers moved, then halt. Dr. Franklins face changed. And somehow, in that moment, Poppy knew it wasnt a pulled muscle. Itwasnt an upset suffer; it wasnt anything simple; and things were about to change forever.\r\nAll Dr. Franklin said was, â€Å"You know, Id like toarrange for a test on this.”\r\nHis voice was dry and thoughtful, but panic curled by means of Poppy anyway. She couldnt explain what was happening inside her-some sort of appalling premonition, like a black pit opening move in the ground in front of her.\r\nâ€Å" wherefore?” her mother was asking the doctor.\r\nâ€Å"Well.” Dr. Franklin smiled and pushed his glassesup. He tapped two fingers on the examining table.”Just as part of a service of elimination, really. Poppysays shes been having pain in the upper abdomen, pain that radiates to he r back, pain thats worse atnight. Shes lost her appetite recently, and shes lost weight.\r\nAnd her gallbladder is palpable-that meansI can feel that its enlarged. Now, those are symptomsof a luck of things, and a sonogram volition help form out some of them.”\r\n Poppy stabiliseed down. She couldnt remember whata gallbladder did but she was pretty sure she didnt need it.Anything involving an organ with much(prenominal) a silly name couldnt be serious. Dr. Franklin was goingon, lecture about the pancreas and pancreatitis andpalpable livers, and Poppys mother was nodding as if she understood. Poppy didnt understand, but thepanic was gone. It was as if a cover had been whisked neatly over the black pit, leaving no sign that it had ever been there.\r\nâ€Å"You can get the sonogram done at Childrens Hospital across the street,” Dr. Franklin wassaying.\r\nâ€Å"Come back here after its finished.”\r\nPoppys mother was nodding, calm, serious, andefficient. Like Phil. Or Cliff. Okay, well get this taken care of.\r\nPoppy felt just slightly important.Nobody sheknew had been to a infirmary for tests.\r\nHer mother ruffled her hair as they walked out ofDr. Franklins office. â€Å"Well, Poppet. What have you done to yourself now?”\r\nPoppy smiled impishly. She was fully recoveredfrom her earlier worry. â€Å"Maybe Ill have to have an operation and Ill have an interesting scar,” she said,to amuse her mother.\r\nâ€Å"Lets trust not,” her mother said, unamused.\r\nThe Suzanne G. Monteforte Childrens Hospitalwas a handsome gray building with sinuous curve sand giant meet windows. Poppy looked thoughtfully into the gift shop as they passed. It was all the way akids gift shop, full of rainbow Slinkys and stuffed animals that a visiting with child(p) could buy as a last-minute put in.\r\nA girl came out of the shop. She was a little olderthan Poppy, maybe seventeen or eighteen. She was pretty, with an expertly made-up face-a nd a cutebandanna which didnt quite conceal the fact that she had no hair. She looked happy, round-cheeked,with earrings hang jauntily beneath the band anna-but Poppy felt a stab of sympathy.\r\nSympathy…and fear. That girl was reallysick. Which was what hospitals were for, of course-for really sick people. Suddenly Poppy wanted to get herown tests over with and get out of here.\r\nThe sonogram wasnt painful, but it was vaguelydisturbing. A technician smeared some kind of jelly over Poppys middle, then ran a cold scanner over it,shooting sound waves into her, fetching pictures of her insides. Poppy found her mind returning to the prettygirl with no hair.\r\nTo separate herself, she thought about James. And for some reason what came to mind was the first time shed seen James, the day he came to kindergarten. Hed been a pale, slight boy with oversize gray eyes and something subtly weirdabout him that made thebigger boys start picking on him immediately. On the playground the y ganged up on him like houndsaround a fox-until Poppy saw what was happening.\r\nEven at quintuplet shed had a great right hook. Shedburst into the group, slapping faces and kicking shins until the big boys went running. Then shed turned to James.\r\nâ€Å"Wanna be friends?”\r\nAfter a brief hesitation hed nodded shyly. Therehad been something oddly sweet in his smile. But Poppy had soon found that her new friend wasstrange in small ways. When the class lizard died, hed picked up the corpse without revulsion andasked Poppy if she wanted to hold it. The teacher had been horrified.\r\nHe knew where to find dead animals, too-hedshown her a idle lot where several rabbit carcasseslay in the big brown grass. He was matter-of-factabout it.\r\nWhen he got older, the big kids stopped pickingon him. He grew up to be as tall as any of them, and surprisingly strong and quick-and he developed areputation for being tough and dangerous. When he got indignant, something almost frightenin g shone in hisgray eyes.\r\nHe never got angry with Poppy, though. Theydremained best friends all these years. When theyd reached junior high, hed started having girlfriends all the girls at school wanted himbut he never unbroken any of them long. And he never confided in them;to them he was a mysterious, secretive bad boy. Only Poppy saw the other side of him, the vulnerable, caring side.\r\nâ€Å"Okay,” the technician said, bringing Poppy backto the present with a jerk. â€Å"Youre done; lets wipe this jelly off you.”\r\nâ€Å"So what did it show?” Poppy asked, glancing upat the monitor.\r\nâ€Å"Oh, your own doctor impart tell you that. The radiologist will read the results and call them over to your doctors office.” The technicians voice was absolutely neutral-so neutral that Poppy looked ather sharply. adventure in Dr. Franklins office, Poppy fidgeted whileher mother paged through out-of-date clips.\r\nWhen the halt said â€Å"Mrs. Hilgard,† they bothstood up.\r\nâ€Å"Uh-no,” the nurse said, looking flustered. â€Å"Mrs.Hilgard, the doctor just wants toseeyou for a minute-alone.”\r\nPoppy and her mother looked at each other. Then, deadeningly, Poppys mother put down her People magazine and followed the nurse.\r\nPoppy stared after her.\r\nNow, what on earth . . . Dr. Franklin had neverdone that before.\r\nPoppy realized that her heart was thrashing hard. Notfast, just hard. Bang…bang… bang, in the middle of her chest, shaking her insides. Making her feelunreal and giddy.\r\nDont think about it. Its probably nothing. Reada magazine.\r\nBut her fingers didnt seem to work properly. When she finally got the magazine open, her eyes ran over the words without delivering them to herbrain.\r\nWhat are they lecture about in there? Whats going on?Its been so long….\r\nIt kept getting longer. As Poppy waited, she foundherself vacillating between two modes of thought. 1) Nothing serious was wro ng with her and her motherwas going to come out and express joy at her for even imagining there was, and 2) Something awful waswrong with her and she was going to have to go through some indescribable treatment to get well. The covered pit and the open pit. When the pit was covered, it seemed laughable, and she felt embarrassed for having such dramatic thoughts. But when it was open, she felt as if all her life before this had been adream, and now she was hitting hard candor at last.\r\nI wish I could call James, she thought.\r\nAt last the nurse said, â€Å"Poppy? Come on in.”\r\nDr. Franklins office was wood-paneled, with certificates and diplomas hanging on the walls. Poppy sat down in a lather chair and tried not to be tooobvious about scanning her mothers face.\r\nHer mother looked…too calm. Calm with strainunderneath. She was smiling, but it was an odd,slightly unsteady smile.\r\nOh, God, Poppy thought. Something isgoing on.\r\nâ€Å"Now, theres no cause for alarm,” the doctor said,and immediately Poppy became more alarmed. Her palms stuck to the leather of the chair arms.\r\nâ€Å"Something showed up in your sonogram thats alittle unusual, and Id like to do a couple of othertests,” Dr. Franklin said, his voice slow and measured, soothing. â€Å"One of the tests requires that you fast from midnight the day before you take it. But your mom says you didnt eat breakfast today.”\r\nPoppy said mechanically, â€Å"I ate one Frosted splintering.”\r\nâ€Å"OneFrosted Flake? Well, I think we can countthat as fasting. Well do the tests today, and I think its best to admit you to the hospital for them. Now, the tests are called a CAT scan and an ERCP-thats short for something even I cant pronounce.” Hesmiled. Poppy just stared at him.\r\nâ€Å"Theres nothing frightening about either of thesetests,” he said gently. â€Å"The CAT scan is like an X ray. The ERCP involves overtaking a tube down the throat, through the stomach, and into the pancreas. Then we inject into the tube a liquid that will show up onX rays .”\r\nHis mouth kept moving, but Poppy had stoppedhearing the words. She was more frightened than she could remember being in a long time.\r\nI was just jocose about the interesting scar, shethought. I dont want a real disease. I dont want to go to the hospital, and I dont want any tubes down my throat.\r\nShe looked at her mother in mute appeal. Her mother took her hand.\r\nâ€Å"Its no big deal, sweetheart. Well just go home andpack a few things for you; then well come back.” â€Å"I have to go into the hospital today?”\r\nâ€Å"I think that would be best,” Dr. Franklin said.\r\nPoppys hand tightened on her mothers. Her mind was a humming blank.\r\nWhen they left the office, her mother said, â€Å"Thankyou, Owen.” Poppy had never heard her call Dr. Franklin by his first name before.\r\nPoppy didnt ask why. She didnt say anything asthey wa lked out of the building and got in the car. As they lot home, her mother began to chat aboutordinary things in a light, calm voice, and Poppy made herself answer. Pretending that everything wasnormal, while all the time the terrible sick feeling raged inside her.\r\nIt was only when they were in her bedroom, packing mystery books and cotton pajamas into a small suitcase, that she asked almost casually, â€Å"So whatexactly does he think is wrong with me?”\r\nHer mother didnt answer immediately. She waslooking down at the suitcase. Finally she said, â€Å"Well, hes not sure anything is wrong.”\r\nâ€Å"But what does he think?He must think something. And he was talking about my pancreas-Imean, it sounds like he thinks theres somethingwrong with my pancreas. I thought he was looking at my gallbladderor whatever. I didnt even know that my pancreas was involvedin this….”\r\nâ€Å"Sweetheart.” Her mother took her by the shoulders, and Poppy realized she was getting a little over wrought. She took a deep breath.\r\nâ€Å"I just want to know the truth, okay? I just wantto have some idea of whats going on. Its my body, and Ive got a right to know what theyre lookingfor-dont I?”\r\nIt was a brave speech, and she didnt mean any of it. What she really wanted was reassurance, a prom ise that Dr. Franklin was looking for something trivial. That the worst that could happen wouldnt be so bad. She didnt get it.\r\nâ€Å"Yes, you do have a right to know.” Her motherlet a long breath out, then spoke slowly. â€Å"Poppy, Dr. Franklin was pertain about your pancreas allalong. Apparently things can happen in the pancreas that cause changes in other organs, like the gallblad der and liver. When Dr. Franklin felt those changes, he decided to check things out with a sonogram.”\r\nPoppy swallowed. â€Å"And he said the sonogramwas-unusual. How unusual?”\r\nâ€Å"Poppy, this is all approach….” Her mothersaw h er face and sighed. She went on reluctantly.” The sonogram showed that there magnate be something in your pancreas. Something that shouldnt bethere.\r\nThats why Dr. Franklin wants the other tests;theyll tell us for sure. But-â€Å"\r\nâ€Å"Something that shouldnt be there? You mean … like a tumor? Like …cancer?” Strange, it was hard to say the words.\r\nHer mother nodded once. â€Å"Yes. Like cancer.”\r\n'