I hate vampires.
That was the first thought of Rowan Ashborne as he sat on the last bench of his classroom, pretending to listen to his English teacher. She was explaining a short story from their textbook.
Of course, it had to be about vampires.
In Eldermoor, vampires were everywhere. Not in the streets, not in real life, but in stories, lessons, and rumors that refused to die. The country itself felt stuck between centuries. Modern technology existed, sure, but most buildings still carried an ancient weight. Schools, apartments, even government offices were built from dark stone, tall and imposing, as if they belonged to a different era entirely.
Rowan lived in Gravenford, one of Eldermoor's busiest cities and its financial center. Despite the crowds and money flowing through it, the city never quite shook off its gloomy atmosphere.
Rowan didn't hate vampires because of the bloodsucking or horror tales. He hated them because they kept increasing the syllabus. Half of their English textbook was filled with vampire stories.
Why do people even believe in stuff like this? he thought. There's no such thing as vampires.
It was the twenty-first century. Stories like these were nothing more than exaggerated myths, leftovers from ancient times meant to scare kids into staying indoors after dark.
Rowan checked the clock again. Lunch break was next.
***
Lunch lasted only fifteen minutes, so Rowan moved fast. He skipped the cafeteria and went straight to the vending machine, grabbed a packet of chips and a cold can, then disappeared before anyone could try starting small talk.
He headed toward the audience seats near the football ground. Almost no one came here during lunch, which made it perfect. No crowd. No noise. Just the wind brushing over the grass and distant footsteps echoing faintly.
Peace.
"Hey, bro!"
The voice came from behind him.
Rowan turned around and saw a boy he'd never met. The guy looked way too friendly for a stranger, and there was an odd amount of enthusiasm radiating off him.
"Uh… hey?" Rowan said. "Do I know you?"
"Do people need to know each other before talking?" the boy replied. "Kinda impossible to get to know someone if you don't talk, right?"
He didn't wait for an answer.
"Anyway! I'm Alistair Crowne. You can call me Alista."
"Umm… hi. I'm Rowan Ashborne."
"Cool. So… Rowy?"
"No. It's Rowan."
"Yeah, yeah, I know. But I'm calling you Rowy. Feels like a good nickname."
"It isn't."
"It is! Never mind. So, Rowy—did you hear the rumor that a vampire haunts the school basement?"
Alista's eyes lit up like he'd just shared the best secret in the world.
Rowan stared at him, silently wondering how someone could function with that much energy.
"Stuff like that doesn't exist," Rowan said. "Someone probably saw a bat and panicked."
"But what if it's real?"
"It's not. Vampires are fiction."
"Our textbooks talk about them, though."
"I know," Rowan said, annoyed. "English? Vampires. History? More vampires. Somehow even physics manages to drag them in."
"Wait, seriously? Physics?" Alista blinked. "Isn't that just acceleration and gravity?"
"Aren't you literally in my class?"
"Yeah, but I don't really pay attention," Alista admitted with a shrug. "I mostly read vampire comics."
Of course you do, Rowan thought.
Alista leaned closer. "So… what if we check the school's underground floor? Just to see if the myth's true."
Rowan hesitated. "There are lectures after the break. If we bunk, they'll cut our academic marks."
"Who said we're going now?" Alista said. "We go right before sunset. Try not being dumb for once."
Rowan sighed. "Fine. This evening, then."
By sunset, one of them was going to be wrong.