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Or was it the chirpy voice with which he replied?
When he was done preparing her drink, he added a pink paper umbrella, put the glass on top of a napkin, and pushed it toward her. "Would you like another bag of peanuts with your drink?"
"No, thank you. I've exceeded the daily allowance on those as well."
He arched a metal brow. "I was not aware that there was a limit. Are peanuts harmful when consumed in large quantities?"
"They can be if they are moldy, but that's not why I don't want any more. I’ve just had enough."
"I see." He turned his head and smiled at a group of teenagers heading his way. "Mistresses Lisa and Cheryl, and Master Parker. How lovely to see you again. Pink lemonades for the young ladies? And root beer for the gentleman?"
"Yes, please." Lisa sat on a stool next to Frankie. "Hi." She smiled. "How are you feeling?"
For a brief moment, Frankie was confused by Lisa's question, but then she remembered that she was supposed to be recovering from a gunshot. "Much better. Can't beat a god's—" she stopped herself before saying something inappropriate in front of the teenagers "—influence."
Lisa laughed. "You mean venom, and yeah, it's good to have a boyfriend with potent venom on hand." She leaned closer and sniffed. "You've started working on your transition, right?"
It was a little embarrassing to talk with Lisa about what it took to activate a Dormant, but the girl was over sixteen, and some of Frankie's cousins who were that same age were already sexually active.
Frankie had always been so small that people had assumed she was a kid even in college, so her first time had been when she was nineteen, but she was the exception rather than the rule.
"Yeah, we did, but I'm still not sure I'm even a Dormant."
Lisa leaned over and sniffed again. "You are definitely not entirely human. I think you've already started transitioning."
Frankie's heart leaped with excitement but was then gripped with fear. "Can you smell it?"
Lisa shrugged. "Not really."
"Then why did you sniff me?"
The girl turned to her friend. "It was Cheryl's idea. She asked me how I knew who was a Dormant and who wasn't, and I said that I didn't know, so she suggested that maybe it was the smell. But it's not. I just sense it, and I can't explain how."
"I don't have a fever," Frankie murmured. "Isn't that one of the first signs?"
Lisa shrugged. "I don't know. My mother passed out and was unconscious. I was freaking out, but it all ended well. Perhaps you should talk with her and some of the other transitioned Dormants."
"Yeah, I probably should. Maybe one of them didn't get a fever either."
It was so scary. What if she was transitioning already and didn't know it?
"Parker transitioned." Cheryl turned to the boy. "Did you get a fever?"
"I did, but it was nothing. I felt worse getting the flu when I was still human."
"How does it feel?" Frankie said. "Do you feel different after your transition?"
He nodded. "I'm fearless, which my mom keeps telling me is not good because immortals can still be killed. But I feel invincible."
"That must be awesome," Frankie murmured. "What about the prospect of living forever?"
He shrugged. "I don't really think about that, and when I do, I think of all the things I can do. I don't need to limit myself to one path in life. I can be a pilot, an engineer, a doctor, and a ballet dancer. I can be whatever I want."
Cheryl chuckled. "I've seen you dancing. You can forget about that one because you suck."
"For now." He leaned toward the girl until their noses were nearly touching. "But I can practice indefinitely until I get better."
As a wild idea popped into Frankie's head, she perked up. "Hey, you can dance with the stars."
