Jill sat at the small desk in the bedroom, looking at the small holes in her wrist. The injuries from the shadow beads had cauterized.

Jordan slept soundly in the bed. Jordan’s injuries had mostly healed. Fast healing was one of the benefits of being the Queen of All Vampires, and the Queen of All Mermaids.

Umbrella by Rihanna began to play. Jill looked from her wrist over to Jordan.

Jordan weakly muttered something. She reached into her pants pocket, found her iPhone, with the ringtone playing Umbrella. Jordan lifted the phone to her ear, coughed weakly, did not even open her eyes to view the caller ID.

"Hello?" Jordan said.

"Hey Lady J," said a man's voice. It was a deep voice, and Jordan instantly recognized it as the girls’ basketball coach, Coach Thomas. "I know today has been a crazy day in Avalon Springs. I'm just checking in on you, and to see if you knew where Kaya Potts is at."

"I've had better days coach, but I'll live…" Jordan opened her eyes. “I don’t know what happened to Kaya.”

Jordan sat straight up in bed, grimaced with some stiffness, looked around the room.

"Kaya is fine," Jill said.

Jordan looked at Jill for several moments. She'd never seen Jill before. She measured the strange woman, decided Jill was not a threat.

"Coach," Jordan said. "Kaya is probably fine too."

"That is great news," said Coach Thomas. He cleared his throat. "I don't know how to tell you this, but there was an accident at the police station today. A gas line blew, and then there was a second explosion later in the day. Several people were killed. Kaya's dad was one of them. I'm sorry to say, they also found Savannah's body. Savannah died today in the explosion.”

Jordan processed the information, tried to at least, but she knew there was not an explosion at the police station. Plus she’d learned that her good friend Savannah was dead.

"What?" Jordan said, after several seconds.

"I know that's a lot to take in Lady J," said Coach Thomas. "But unfortunately there is a bottom line to this phone call. And the bottom line is this. Despite the gun prank at the school today, and despite the tragedy at the police station today, there is a basketball game to be played tomorrow night. And I need you and Kaya there."

"But Kaya's dad died today."

"I know. We can dedicate the game to Kaya's dad. We could dedicate the game to all the police officers who lost their lives today. Either way the game has to be played."

"Well, okay. We’re playing Pinehurst tomorrow night. Pinehurst sucks. I bet our bench players could beat them by at least thirty points. You don't need Kaya or I for that."

"Unfortunately we do. Before the gun prank at the school today, I was in a meeting with the vice principal. He's been dealing with the school board. Budget cuts. And he was pretty black and white about it. If we do not sell one-hundred tickets to tomorrow night's game, the travel budget for the girls’ basketball team will be cut. We won't have a bus anymore from the school. We will need to find our own way to basketball games."

"That is BULLSHIT!” Jordan was now fully lucid, face reddening with anger. “We are the DEFENDING STATE CHAMPIONS. We should have a bus no matter what."

"The school still has to pay for things. And if you and Kaya aren't playing tomorrow, it won’t matter who wins the game because we won't sell enough tickets."

"The school board should cut the budget for the football team. They won four games in the last three years. I mean, last week Aberdeen beat them by sixty points, and Aberdeen didn’t even play their starters in the second half.”

"True, but the boys’ football team sells tickets. They sell out most of their home games. We don't sell out. We struggle to sell fifty tickets sometimes."

"We are the defending state champions. They can't take our bus."

"The bottom line is the bottom line. I need you and Kaya to play tomorrow night, or we lose the bus."

"Fuck. Okay, Kaya and I will be there. And we will beat those bitches from Pinehurst by a hundred points. Will that make the school board happy?"

"No. What will make the school board happy is if we sell more than one-hundred tickets to tomorrow night's game. So get on Facebook, Twitter, whatever you have to do. Try to get people to come to the game."

"Shit."

"Lady J, I'm sorry. It's just the world we live in. Thanks for your help. "

“Whatever."

"When you see Kaya, give her my condolences. She has not answered my phone calls today."

Jordan looked at her phone, noticed she had several missed text messages and phone calls from her coach. "Coach, thanks for checking in on us.”

Jordan clicked the phone, the call ended.

"So you might lose a bus?" Jill asked.

"Who the hell are you?" Jordan hissed, sliding her legs over the edge of the bed, grimacing with pain. Her feet touched the floor.

"I helped save you and your friend from the shadow nymph."

"Oh." Jordan sighed. "Thanks." Jordan grimaced. “She’s not my friend. Kaya probably doesn’t even know how to play basketball. But she’s on the team, competing for a scholarship against other girls across the country. All because of her magic. She cheated. I worked my ass off to get where I’m at. I didn’t even use steroids or drugs. But Kaya just snapped her fingers or something and BAM ... she’s an elite basketball player.”

“I don't think she meant for this to happen.”

“I’m a vampire because of her. And a mermaid, I guess. She didn’t ask me. She doesn’t even know me. But she turned me into a fucking vampire.”

“Jordan-”

“And then she made me believe we were friends.”

“Calm down.”

“She turned me into a monster! How would you feel if someone turned you into a blood sucking vampire?”

Jill nodded, conceding. “I’d be pissed.”