The v among the sex of it all

She hurries off toward her class, leaving Bryce standing by the fountain, watching her disappear through the glass doors. He takes a deep breath, trying to shake off the uneasy feeling settling in his stomach. Black eyes. Bite marks. A lust virus. And now he had to sit through a culinary class with his mind racing. He turns to head toward the culinary wing, but as he rounds the corner near the old music building, a familiar voice stops him cold. "Bryce? Bryce Melton? No way!" He looks up to see a woman with short dark hair and striking blond highlights, carrying a guitar case. Her face lights up with recognition. "Cecilia? Cecilia Henderson?" Bryce says, a genuine smile breaking through his tension. "Holy shit, it's been... what, almost 20 years since my graduation?" "17" she corrects, setting down her guitar case to give him a quick hug. "I heard you went to culinary school. Never figured you for a chef, man. You used to be so. Well lonely looking, especially after cortney dumbed you" Bryce laughs. "Yeah, well, people change. What about you? Still playing?" "Actually, yeah," she says, tapping the case. "I'm teaching music theory here now. Night classes, believe it or not. Just getting out of a session." Bryce's smile falters. "Night classes? Here?" Cecilia tilts her head, noticing his shift in mood. "Yeah... why? You look like you've seen a ghost." He hesitates, glancing around the dimly lit hallway. "Cecilia, have you noticed anything weird around here? Like... students acting strange? Eyes looking off?" She goes quiet for a moment, then lowers her voice. "You mean the sexpires? About there black eyes?" Bryce's blood runs cold. "You know about it?" "I've seen it," she whispers. "One of my students, kid named Derek. Bright kid, good musician. Then three nights ago, he shows up to class with these hollow black eyes and red irises. He kept staring at the girls in the front row. Made everyone uncomfortable. He hasn't been back since." The two of them stand in the hallway, the weight of the situation pressing down on them. Bryce glances toward the culinary classroom, suddenly dreading what might be waiting inside. "I just ran into Cortney McElroy," he says. "She told me something's infecting the night students. Turning them lustful, then" Cecilia grips her guitar case tighter. "So what do we do? Call the cops? The news?they wouldn't believe ..vampires are myths, and these are sexpires, a whole different strain of vampirism "

Bryce runs a hand through his hair, his jaw tight. "I don't know, but we can't just ignore it. Cortney's in there right now. I have to warn her, at least." Cecilia shakes her head. "Bad idea. If they're already after her, you'll just draw attention to yourself. We need to find out where it's coming from. The source." "The source?" Bryce repeats. "You mean like... patient zero?" "Exactly," she says. "The first student who got turned. If we can figure out how it started, maybe we can stop it before it spreads beyond the night classes." Bryce looks at the clock on the wall. "I'm supposed to be in culinary in ten minutes. If I don't show up, someone might notice." "Then go," Cecilia says. "Act normal. Keep your head down. I'll do some digging on my end. Meet me back here by the fountain at midnight. We'll compare notes." Bryce hesitates, then nods. "Midnight. Don't get caught." "You either." They part ways. Bryce walks toward the culinary wing, his senses on high alert. The hallways are quieter than they should be. A few students pass, but none of them meet his eyes. He wonders if they're already infected, or if they're just as scared as he is. The culinary classroom is brightly lit, smelling of garlic and onions. A dozen students are already at their stations, and the instructor, a portly man with a thick mustache, is setting out ingredients. "Ah, Mr. Melton! Glad you could join us," the instructor says with a hint of sarcasm. "Take your station. We're doing knife skills tonight." Bryce moves to an empty station, scanning the room. Most of the students look normal. A few chat quietly. But one girl in the back, with long bonde hair, gkasses, Stephanie ryan, once his cousin by marriage, who he hadn't seen since see moved to Texas serval years ago, seems to be staring at him. Her eyes are a little too still, a little too focused. Could be she recognizes him, and just want to talk, but then again, with these sexpires atound..it may be something else. He looks away quickly, grabbing a chef's knife and a pile of carrots. He focuses on the cutting board, trying to keep his hands steady. Stephanie doesn't look away. The minutes crawl by. Bryce's mind races with everything Cortney and Cecilia told him. He keeps glancing at the back of the room, Stephanie has turned her attention to her own cutting board, slicing vegetables with mechanical precision. When the class ends at 10:45, Bryce is the first one out the door. He heads toward the courtyard, his footsteps echoing in the empty hallway. The fountain is still running, water splashing from the bat statue's mouth. He checks his phone. 10:52. Over an hour until midnight. He sits on the edge of the fountain, watching the building's glass doors. A few students trickle out, heading to their dorms. Others linger in small groups, talking and laughing. Everything looks normal. Too normal. Then he sees her. Stephanie emerges from a side door, walking alone. She pauses at the edge of the courtyard, tilting her head as if listening to something. Then she turns and walks directly toward him. Bryce tenses, ready to run. But she stops a few feet away, her expression blank. Up close, he can see her eyes clearly. Normal. Human. No black sclera or crimson irises. " Bryce?" she says. Her voice is soft, almost shy. "Yeah," he says carefully.