A knock on the door interrupted my pep talk, and I sat up. Svana poked her head in. “I brought you dinner.”
I nodded, smoothing my hair down and standing to meet her and take the bag. She sat down in my chair, holding a baggie of blood with a straw in it for herself. It looked absurdly like one of the fruit juice pouches Josie took in her school lunches. “Are you sure?” Svana asked, sipping daintily from the tiny straw. “We still have a week until classes start.”
“Yeah,” I said. “I need to get out of here. I think I need a dose of reality. This summer feels like a long, crazy dream.”
“I get it,” she said. “But first, let me show you how to hide your drawing teeth.”
“I wondered how you did that,” I said.
“It’s not exactly comfortable,” she said. “But it’s doable. It takes a little practice, and you’ll probably pop fang on occasion for a few years, if you smell blood or even get overly excited. It’s kinda like… You know how drag queens can push their junk, like, up inside them?”
“Um, no,” I said, shaking my head. “I can’t say I do.”
“Well, they do,” she said. “And we pull our teeth up in.”
She showed me, and it was just as uncomfortable as she predicted, but it only took a few tries before I could hold them in with a bit of concentration. “See?” she said. “I hope one day we won’t have to hide them from humans, and it won’t even be an issue. We’d just be how we are. But for now, it’s better for them not to know.”
“Okay,” I said. “I think I’m suitable for a public appearance.”
“Oh,” she said, bouncing up from her chair. “I almost forgot! I have some good news.”
“I could use it,” I said, forcing a laugh.
“We’re going to be roommates,” she said, giving a little flurry of claps before retrieving her drink from the desk.
“Really?”
“Yes,” she said, smiling big enough for me to see the tiny points of her teeth, the ones I’d never really noticed as a human. Now I knew how they kept humans from seeing the dangerous truth. Being able to leave our fangs out was like being able to be our true selves, something we could only do around each other. That was definitely something I wanted in a roommate.
“Isn’t it great? We can go to the mainland and go shopping for decorations!”
I wondered if Amy had felt this glum about the prospect the last summer when Svana had told her they were rooming together. Somehow, I didn’t think so.
“Okay,” I said. “I’ve never really decorated my room.”
“What’s wrong?” Svana asked, a little frown creasing her perfect brow. “You don’t seem very excited about it. Are you afraid you’re not ready? Don’t worry, Timberlyn. We’ll stop and eat before we go, so you’re nice and full. And I’ll be right beside you the whole time. I won’t let you hurt anyone.”
“It’s not that,” I admitted.
“Well, I guess you don’t have to room with me,” Svana said. “You could room with Amy. But I’m the more experienced one, so I’ll be able to help you more if you lost control, or if you get too hungry…”
“No,” I said. “I’m happy to room with you. It’s just… I think Alarick just dumped me.”
“Oh my gosh,” she said. “Why didn’t you say something? I’m so sorry.”
“Are you?” I asked, studying her. She hated Alarick every bit as much as he hated her. Plus, I knew she’d been rooting for me and Viktor to get together at some point.
“Of course I am,” she said, looking hurt. “I mean, you know how I feel about him and his brothers. I know this is the best thing for everyone. But I still don’t like to see my best friend all sad.”
“I’m your best friend?” I asked, surprised.
“Well, yeah,” she said. “Besides Viktor, but, you know. He’s my brother, so that doesn’t really count.”
“I would have thought Amy was your best friend.”
“She’s one of them,” Svana said. “But listen. You’re my bestie, okay?”
I knew it wasn’t a competition, and I shouldn’t care, but I’d never had a best friend before. After years of not having any friends at all, it meant more to me than I wanted to admit.
“Thanks,” I said at last. “You’re my bestie, too.”
Svana grinned broadly, not trying to hide her happiness. “And as your bestie, it’s my job to make you feel better after a breakup. Shopping is just what you need to get your mind off things. So, let’s go to the city for a few days before school starts. There’s nothing like a few eat-your-heart-out ensembles for your wardrobe to boost your confidence after a breakup. And we can get stuff for our room, go see a girl-power movie, and do some normal things. You’ve been cooped up here way too long.”
“And maybe a haircut,” I said, getting into the spirit. She was right. I had changed. I needed something to reflect that. “And definitely an obscene amount of cookie dough ice cream.”
“Oh,” Svana said, her smile faltering. “Timberlyn. You can’t eat ice cream anymore.”
“Shit,”
