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“Dad?”
“What is it?”
“Are you nervous?”
“No.”
“But, you won’t sit still.”
“I am not nervous.”
“Yes, you are!”
The teacher at the front of the room cleared her throat loudly.
“Mr. Belmont, do you have something to share with the class?”
Gabriel shifted uncomfortably in the small plastic chair designed for people several feet shorter and several dozen pounds lighter than himself. Trevor’s gaze fell to his desk.
“Not at all. My apologies,” Gabriel answered.
The teacher resumed explaining the purpose of Career Day. The primary school classroom was packed with students and their parents. Some of the adults looked excited to be there and share their work with their child’s classmates, while others looked like they’d rather be anywhere else.
Gabriel looked a bit like a deer in headlights.
Their family had moved to this little town at an awkward time, meaning that Trevor had to be enrolled in a new school halfway through the semester. That would be stressful enough for any child, but his son had always had a bit of trouble when it came to making friends. Trevor was a quiet child, who preferred the company of his toys to the company of other children. His responses to Marie’s daily “how did things go at school today?” question ranged from uncomfortable silence and shrugging, to “It was…okay, I guess,” to reports that the other children were teasing him.
Somehow, Trevor’s rebuttals of “My dad is a vampire, and he’ll totally beat you up if you don’t leave me alone!” didn’t help the situation much.
Gabriel didn’t know what possessed Marie to suggest he go to this school function, rather than her. She was infinitely more diplomatic than he, not to mention less intimidating. Nevertheless, she had insisted, and he found himself sitting awkwardly in the back of the too-small classroom in a too-small chair, watching a parade of parents come to the front of the room and give 5-minute speeches about their chosen careers.
The first parent up was a man on the younger side, dressed in a hospital uniform. He went over the exciting life of being a nurse. When it was time for questions, a girl in the front raised her hand.
“I thought only girls could be nurses?”
The nurse laughed.
“That’s a common misconception, actually. But clearly it’s not true, since I’m a nurse, and I’m a dad, not a mom.”
The next parent up was a middle-aged woman who worked as an accountant. She did an impressive job of making the work sound far more exciting than it actually was. A boy sitting near Gabriel raised his hand.
“How much money do you make?”
Some of the parents laughed, including the accountant.
“Let’s just say ‘a good amount,’ and leave it at that.”
Parent after parent gave their presentations. Gabriel was surprised that he had been left towards the end – the teacher must have been calling out names in reverse-alphabetical order. Eventually, after an anthropologist, a music-store owner, a computer science professor, a librarian, an attorney, a medical engineer, two retail employees, and a waitress gave their presentations, it was Gabriel’s turn.
“Hello,” he awkwardly greeted the class. The ceiling of the classroom suddenly felt far too low, the walls far too close.
He was terrible with children.
“My name is Gabriel – uh, Mr. Belmont – and I’m, well…”
“He’s a vampire!” Trevor piped up from his seat. The teacher rolled her eyes, and several students snickered. The parents were torn between looking confused and laughing.
“Trevor, how many times have we been over this, vampires don’t exist.”
The snickering became louder, a few students throwing mocking glances back at Trevor.
“Actually, he’s right,” Gabriel said. “I am a vampire.”
He wouldn’t stand for people making fun of his son.
“Oh, are you now?” The teacher inquired, her voice dripping with sarcasm as she adjusted her narrow glasses with a finger.
Gabriel nodded.
“Exhibit A.”
He pulled his lips away from his teeth, revealing the sharp canines. Students seated in the back of the room craned their necks forward, trying to see what he was showing off.
“Pointy teeth is hardly evidence of – ”
“Exhibit B.”
Gabriel snapped his fingers, a vibrant ball of flame flickering to life in his hand.
That got the class’s attention.
“Watch closely, now.”
Gabriel clenched his fingers into a fist, quenching the flame as quickly as it had appeared, only to bring the flame back to life in his other hand, urging it to grow bigger, brighter.
“Trevor, if you’ll come and assist me…?”
Eyes wide with excitement, Trevor hopped off his chair and rushed to the front of the classroom.
“Hold your hands out, son.”
Trevor did, thrusting his hands out with the palms facing upwards. Gabriel turned to the class, all eyes on him.
“Vampires’ powers can hurt people, but only people they don’t trust. The son of a vampire gets to do all sorts of cool things. For example…”
He held out his burning hand parallel to Trevor’s outstretched palms, willing the flame to move into the boy’s hands. It did, gliding smoothly to hover in Trevor’s grip. Trevor turned to the other kids, proudly showing off the fire.
The class was enraptured, their full attention on the flames. After a moment, Trevor clapped his palms together, just as Gabriel had shown him, and the fire vanished. Trevor held his hands up, wiggling his fingers and showing no soot or burn marks on his skin.
“Exhibit C.”
Gabriel took a deep breath, concentrating on transforming his body. Darkness swirled around him, and his human form vanished, replaced by a company of rats on the classroom floor.
Trevor picked up the one with glowing red eyes, presenting it proudly to his classmates. About a third of the class let out startled yells, with more joining the chorus as people noticed the rest of the creatures on the floor.
Trevor giggled and put his father down.
“I think you’re scaring them, dad.”
Gabriel immediately rebuilt his human body, grinning smugly at their still-startled audience.
“Exhibit D – Trevor, pull that spare desk over here, please.”
There was a desk with a broken leg shoved unceremoniously into the room’s corner. Trevor dragged it in front of his father.
“I’ll bet you all I can walk straight through this desk, without breaking it at all.”
“Yeah, right!” A girl in the center of the room called out.
“Just watch him!” Trevor replied.
Smiling, Gabriel vanished into dark violet mist, phasing through the desk and re-solidifying on the opposite side.
“Any further doubts that I am, in fact, a vampire?” Gabriel asked, looking over the students intently. The teacher spoke before anyone could respond.
“Well, that was certainly an exciting presentation, but it’s time for the next parent. Thank you, Mr. Belmont.”
Gabriel gave a small, only half-sarcastic bow before carrying the desk back to the corner and settling back into his seat beside Trevor.
The last few presentations passed in a breeze. Before Gabriel knew it, a shrill bell rang, signaling the end of the period. The teacher announced that it was recess, and parents could choose whether to join their children in the yard or stay and chat with the other parents. Gabriel was about to choose the latter, but Trevor tugged on his arm.
“I think they want to talk to you,” he said, gesturing to the other students, many of whom were staring at him curiously. “Can you come outside with us? Please?”
Gabriel sighed, but nodded, following the rush of bodies out to the yard behind the school building. True to Trevor’s predictions, Gabriel was almost immediately accosted by children.
“How did you do the rat thing?”
“Can you show me how to make fire?”
“I know the desk was an optical illusion, can you explain how you set it up?”
“If you’re really a vampire, how are you outside during the daytime?”
Gabriel held up his hands, overwhelmed.
“One at a time, please!”
-
Trevor’s teacher walked out into the yard to find children running around, which wasn’t unusual. What was unusual was the fact that they were chasing after small hordes of bats, which were being thrown around by Gabriel Belmont as casually as if they were frisbees.
She sighed, shaking her head, but she had to admit she was impressed. The man was one of the most impressive magicians she’d ever seen.
She clapped her hands and shouted to get her class’s attention. Gabriel started at the sound, before beckoning the bats back to him with a mere gesture of his hand.
“It’s time to come in, everybody.”
A collective sigh was heard as the students began reluctantly heading for the door. All of them, except Trevor Belmont, who ran up to his father and practically jumped into his arms, throwing his skinny arms around the man’s neck and burying his face in his father’s chest. She was just close enough to hear their conversation.
“Thanks, dad.”
Gabriel smiled, returning the hug and pressing a kiss to the boy’s hair.
“No problem, son.”