CHAPTER 2

Sitting through history class was torture.

Mantha half-heartedly gave a short lecture about her grandfather, the war, the medal and why he won it. It was a grievous tale. Several students gasped when they heard about how his limbs had been blown away and gone missing. Yet, Thatch thoroughly enjoyed hearing about the fleshie massacres in the aftermath. His snickering stopped when Mantha got to the part about the medal.

He began to sweat.

Spit built up in his throat several times and he swallowed hard. Her face still looked diminished of pride, as if it had been broken along with the heirloom.

"And that's why, even though he's not with us anymore, it'll always be special to my family." Mantha finished.

It was over with.

"Thank you, Mantha. That was a wonderful speech." Miss Hopper smiled, levitating toward the center of a podium. "I hope that this demonstration encourages all of you to study your lineage. I would like for you all to share your history with us."

After that, Thatch ignored the rest of the lecture. Class was almost over anyway.
He knew he had to act fast and kept stealthy attention to Mantha; this was their last class together and then everyone would return to their room, go out to eat, or whatever other activity one would do after school hours.

Mantha usually went to the library to study with Polter-geek and Ra. As usual. Then he'd make his move.

The vampire sat quietly, hands folded together on the desk and peered down with a far off look in his eyes. He would just steal the medal. Then he would collect the pieces and figure out exactly what in the hell that thing was made of.

Class was dismissed.

Students hastily put their books away while others naturally made a mad dash for the exit.

Ra was ready to go, however Mantha was still collecting her notes. As Casper sat up from his seat, he noticed Thatch's tense focus on nothing in particular. By now he would have pushed a few students out of his way to leave.

"Thatch, you've been quiet today. Are you okay?" Asked a soft voice, it was Casper, that nib nosing little runt. Thatch didn't reply and just sent a wicked glare in the ghost's direction. "Because, you know if you're feeling bad about Mantha's medal you could come to the library with us and help look up…"

"Does it look like I feel bad about it?" Thatch slammed a fist on the desk top a little harder than he intended. He flinched and turned away from them catching his mistake and quickly regained his composure. "Get over it." He snarled.

Mantha raised an eyebrow. Nice cover, bat boy. She thought to herself. Always the tough guy.

"You know, it wouldn't kill you to help, Thatch." Ra scolded. "After all the trouble you gave me over that leprechaun stealing our powers, I had to own up to my mistake, and this seems a little like a reflection of your own hypocritical insecurities."

Mantha turned around and just stared. Her jaw could have hit the floor. "Whoa. Where did that come from?" She stated shocked. Since when was Ra the philosophical type?

"I've been paying attention in history lately." Ra smiled proudly. "It was the great Pharaoh Amen that said…"

"Oh! Who cares?" Thatch groaned. "I'm a vampire! I don't have a reflection!"

Mantha just rolled her eyes.

Casper and Ra looked at each other and shrugged, and after a few moments, ghost boy let out a defeated sigh. At this point, Thatch had completely turned his back on them all, away from his desk, and rummaged through his bag pretending to look for something.

'Those idiots.' He mentally hissed. Just wait until they find out what he's going to do. He paused. What was he going to do?

Casper and Ra whispered behind him about the medal, something to do with Mr. Burn's advice failing to work, and that they would need to find a solution on their own.

Secretly glancing in their direction, Thatch mentally cursed. Now what? That punk ghost and gullible mummy were useless. He'd have to take things into his own hands. Who could he manipulate to do this for him? Yet, perhaps he should work alone as vampires do, he determined. That and who better to take the glory when he showed up, impressing the girl with her repaired medal? Seemed like a good idea. Grabbing his bag, he slung it over his shoulder and walked out, not so much as looking at the three. His mind mulled over the resources available to him. He had to be sneaky. No one could know. So, where to begin? Pondering for a few short moments, he smiled a wide toothy grin.

Time to pay the girl's' dormitory a visit.