Professor Crepsley

Chapter 1

Disclaimer" I do not own Cirque du Freak… It belongs to Darren Shan, the most swagtastic author evarrrrrrrr!

The orange-haired man rolled out of bed. Literally. He grimaced as he hit the floor with a thud. "Darn alarm clock." he said as he collected himself from the floor and unplugged the infernal machine. Sure, he loved his job as a college professor, but if there were one thing that would make the job better, it would definitely have to be not needing to wake up so early. He grabbed a towel from the linen closet it the hall, and showered quickly. Then, he brushed and blow-dried his orange hair and put on one of his many red suits. Being a college professor was the best thing that ever happened to Larten; he loved the looks on his student's faces as he taught them the stories in his Urban Myths and Legends class, surprisingly a hit in the small college campus he taught.

Larten had started teaching not too long ago, only two years ago. He had graduated in a breeze, focusing on nothing but his studies as his peers partied and drank until their heads spun. Larten stayed in his dorm, focusing on his papers and making so many corrections and checks that the finished product kept him well ahead of his peers. He was number one in his graduating class, and earned many awards. However, he was the type to not let any of this go to his head, and the plaques he had accumulated over the years remained under his bed in a box labeled 'those things.'

The man brewed himself a cup of coffee as he graded his papers at the table. At times, he felt as if he was too hard on his students, but they always surpassed his expectations, as they were very interested in what their professor taught them. More than once, his fellow professors asked Larten how he grabbed his students' attention so well. He always responded with a curt "It is not me who grabs the attention of my students. It is the class. I am just fortunate enough to be the one teaching it." When the coffee was done brewing, he took down a travel mug and poured the dark brew in, adding no sugar or milk. Taking a long drink from the cup, he sat back down as he went back to grading papers. He sat like that for half and hour, unaware that he was going to be late. After a while, he glanced at his watch and realized he needed to be on campus before his first class started in twenty minutes. And of course, it was a half an hour drive.

The coffee was swept up quickly as he replaced the papers into his briefcase. His keys were swept off the hook as he exited the door of his apartment. Walking like a ninja, he opened his car and threw his briefcase into the passenger's seat, uttering one or two profanities in the process. When he was seated in the car, he thrust the key into the ignition and turned it on. As he pulled out of the apartment complex's parking lot, he searched through his mind for any quicker ways to campus. There were none.

When he arrived, he was five minutes late. Picking up his coffee and his briefcase, he ran through the halls and stopped when he came to the door of his classroom. Taking a minute to smooth out his suit, he swore under his breath again. How could he have been so stupid? He put on his best professor-face and walked into the room. "I apologize." he said, interrupting the chatter of his students. He walked to his desk and put down the coffee and his briefcase. The noise of young adults readjusting their chairs and hushing quickly followed. Larten sighed. "I am sorry to disappoint you," he said, looking up at the faces of his students. "But, I shall make up for it," he said, picking up and Expo marker from the ledge of the white board. He uncapped it and started to write a word. "Today," he said when he had finished writing. "We are learning about vampires." Larten stood aside to show the word he had written on the board, vampires. Squeeing and sighing ensued. "Now, who has heard an urban legend or a myth involving vampires?" He said, twirling the marker in his hands. All hands in the room raised, all but one. "Miss Shan," he said, calling on the one person who did not raise their hands.

"Yes, Professor Crepsley?" she said, looking up from the binder she had doodled in.

"Surely you have heard a myth about vampires." Larten said, sitting on the edge of his desk. The girl, Annie Shan, fidgeted a bit before answering.

"Well, there is the one about…" Annie said, trailing off. Her brother, Darren, who was sitting next to her, shot her a look. Curious, Larten focused on the pair of siblings as he drank from his coffee. Darren continued to look at her, and all the other students in general seemed to be averting their eyes from their professor.

"Yes?" Larten said, growing more curious by the second.

"Umm… There's one that says that there's a vampire in the state…"

"Oh? Would you care to share?" he asked. Annie looked very uncomfortable as she fidgeted even more.

"Uh… Sure, I guess," She looked up, into Larten's eyes, her deep blue eyes boring into his. She stood up, as was the custom in Larten's classroom when one spoke to the class. "So, a bunch of years ago, there was like, this man who was bitten by a vampire. Supposedly, he was a pretty young guy, and he was really tall. He lives in the forest, and we know this because people are found there unconscious, and when they wake up, they have no idea what happened." When she had finished speaking, she quickly sat down, causing her long tan hair to fly up in above her.

"Well then," Larten said, standing up as he spoke. "Who else has heard that legend?" He asked, looking around the room. Every hand rose, all except Annie's as she doodled in her binder again. "Ooookay, so let's make a list. All of the things we associate with the myth that is vampires." He took one more sip of coffee then put it down. Then, he walked over to the whiteboard, marker still in hand. Under vampires, he drew a line and spun on his heel to face the class. "Well, I need things to put on the list." he said with a laugh. The class smiled as hands rose. "Mister Shan?"

"Biting." he said, causing snickers to sound throughout the classroom. The marker flew across the board as he wrote the word down. Again, he looked around to select another hand. He looked to the corner of the room, where Steve Leonard was bursting out of his seat.

"Mister Leonard?"

"Drinking blood!" he said, a gory excitement in his voice. The professor had expected no less from the boy. Sighs sounded through the room. Larten wrote the words down.

Soon, they had a lengthy list of things they associated with vampires.

"Alright. You have an assignment," Larten said, sitting back on the ledge of his desk as he took a long sip of his now cold coffee. Grimacing slightly, he faced the class. "Use your knowledge and this list we constructed to write a paper on the things associated with vampires, and why you think this is. Six pages minimum, not including bibliography. Remember to cite all of your sources, Mister Purl," Larten said in Gavner Purl's direction, a boy who tended to be caught up with his friends and forgot many things. "This is due next week. Also, I will be collecting your papers on modern legends at the end of class." Larten said, looking at the clock. There were about ten minutes left of class. "Well, class, we have ten minutes. You are free to ask me any question about my life or anything in general." As he said this, many hands rose, and he ran a hand through his orange hair. "Mister March."

"How many chicks you been with?" he said. Several groans were heard as multiple hands went down. Larten pondered this question. Of course, Vancha March would ask him that. He never really found time to seek a female companion, being so focused on his studies. Now that he really thought about it, he realized that he had never had a girlfriend, not even in grade school.

"None." he replied honestly. "Miss Evanna?" Lady Evanna looked up at him, her coal black eyes contrasting against her pale skin, and her pale skin contrasting against her wild black hair.

"How old are you?" Again, more groans filled the room as even more hands went down.

"How old am I?" he repeated. "I am twenty-nine." Gasps filled the classroom as the students chattered to themselves. "Class!" Larten said, bringing them back to attention. "Mister Tall?"

"How did you get that scar on your face?" Hibernius Tall said in his deep voice, raising his voice slightly to be heard. He sat in the very back of the classroom due to his height. His last name was the truth; he was over seven feet tall. Larten pondered yet again. The story of his scar was not really something he went around telling everyone. "Well, you see, I fell asleep studying one day, and I happened to fall against the table, where there is a loose nail. The nail tore through my flesh. When I woke up, I was in a hospital. My roommate had come home from a party and had seen me in a pool of my blood. I then needed stitches to close the wound." Larten traced a finger along his jagged scar. He looked back up at the mesmerized class. That was the most exciting thing they had ever heard from him. "Miss-" Larten began to say, but he was cut short by the bell. His class packed up their things and dropped papers on his desk as they left. When he thought they had all gone, he heard a small voice.

"Excuse me, Professor Crepsley?" Annie said, looking at him with her big blue eyes.

"Ah, something I can help you with, Miss Shan?" he asked, stacking the papers and putting them in his briefcase. She began to bounce on her heels, apparently not able to stay still when she was standing, either.

"Well, I was wondering if you believed in any of the things you tell us about." she asked, still bouncing.

"Yes, I actually do." Larten said, a bit taken aback by her question. "Where did this come from?" She began hopping from foot to foot. Wow, she has energy, Larten thought.

"Well, it was my question for the end of class, but we had to leave."

"I see."

"I have to go!" She said, suddenly turning on her heel ash she tried to run away. She tripped over the carpeting, landing roughly on her front.

"Miss Shan! Are you alright?" Larten said, rushing over to help her.

"Yeah, I'm fine…" She sat up. Larten looked around, seeing her school things scattered around. He stood to collect them, and he noticed what Annie had drawn during class. It was a portrait of him, with excellent detail and beauty.

"Wow…" he found himself saying aloud as he marveled her drawing. "You are very talented, Miss Shan." he said as he handed her school things back to her.

"No!" she said, blushing profusely. She grabbed her things quickly and rushed out of the door. Larten stood puzzling over her strange behavior. Why had she been so shy when he praised her drawing? Then another thought struck him: Why was she even drawing him in the first place?

A/N: Well. It's there now. TO ALL OF YOU LARTEN LOVERS, HERE'S SOME… LOVE! YEAH! Ok… Well, please review and tell me if I should continue. Thanks for reading!