Vampire World (12 page)
Finally
it stopped.
“Whoa,
that was nice,” Brett said.
I
couldn’t help it. We kissed again. Except this time, as I kissed him, I was
able to think. And the only thing I could think about was going to the grave
with him. There was nothing else I wanted more than to be his girlfriend and
lover. He was fantastic.
I
clutched his hand and pulled him forcefully down to the nearest flat grave. At
first he went willingly, but then hesitated.
“Wait
Janice,” he said. “I know what you want to do, and I want to as well. You’re
incredible. I’ve never felt like this about anyone before. But I still think we
should wait.”
“Really?”
I said. Obviously, I felt let down.
“It’s
a very big commitment. And there's something I need to tell you before we go
through with it.”
“So
tell me then,” I said, forgetting how bossy I could sound sometimes.
“I'd
rather tell you on our next date. It’s really important.”
I
asked why he wouldn’t tell me now. He assured me he was not with another girl
or anything like that. But he would not say any more.
Eventually,
I was forced to accept the situation. Anyhow, the good news was that I had
another date with him.
We
exchanged numbers, then kissed goodnight. I wanted to carry on kissing him
forever, but that wasn't possible of course. He told me he’d call tomorrow to
set up the date.
On
the way home, my hands wouldn't stop shaking as I tried to hold the steering
wheel. I’d never felt happier in my life. Even though I couldn’t remember
anything before the accident, I guaranteed myself that this was true.
My
phone rang while I was waiting at a traffic light. I opened it carefully so as
not to slice my fingers on the protruding teeth. Let me guess….Brett is checking
to make sure I got home safely. How sweet is that?
But
it was not Brett. It was Mrs. FangCut from the Vampire Clothes Supermarket,
calling to tell me that I'd got the job. Wow! Just when I thought things
couldn’t get any better, they had.
At
home, I waited to tell Mr. FreeCut all the good news.
“You
look happy,” he said, while fixing me a late night snack of blood-soaked
crackers.
I
told him everything. He was overjoyed, which made me feel on top of the world.
It was almost like we were connected. When he got happy, I got happy. Freakin
weird!
Alone
in my room, I was at last able to read my next 'clue'. I grabbed the envelope
and unfolded the paper inside. In the middle of the page was a transparent
circle with wispy patches of white on it. I frowned at this for a moment. Then
I remembered that this was only the second part of the puzzle to reveal my
first secret. It needed to go together with the first clue I'd found at the
library for it to start making sense.
I
put the two circles together, and they fitted perfectly. Now I was gazing at a
blue circle with patches of white covering portions of it. What was this? I
still had no idea.
Frustrated,
I read a message below.
'Very
good, Janice. You determination to discover the truth is impressive. You’re about
to discover the first of three major secrets, just as long as you do one more
thing. Take the first two clues you now have in your possession to Bloodmore
Observatory. Directly behind the colossal telescope is a bookshelf with star
charts on it. To the left of the bookshelf is a hidden passageway leading to
the secret. To open it, press firmly up against the wall. Good Luck.'
Well,
it looked like I'd discovered another great date idea for tomorrow night. And
the good news was that entry to the observatory was most probably free. I fell
comfortably asleep in my coffin, dreaming of Brett and ready for an exciting
first day at work.
The
next morning I fixed my hair the best I could, wore my pretty shirt Kate gave
me and made my way to the train.
It
didn’t take me long to get to downtown. Within a few degrees I was outside the
splendid Vampire Supermarket. I knew it was going to be challenging, especially
with my disability. But I had to hold my head up and try. Besides, it couldn’t
be worse than the blood café. And I loved working with clothes. Maybe I’d even
get a good staff discount so I could afford some decent vampire wear.
Inside,
Mrs. FangCut greeted me.
“Well
Janice, I'm glad to see you could make it. You’re gonna love it here. For the
next week I’ve assigned you with Mira. She’s going to guide you through our
sales procedures and help you deal with the customers.”
Mira,
a tall and attractive vampire with a typical knotty hair style and ruby red
lips, smiled a hello at me.
“I’ve
assigned you to the women’s department,” Mrs. FangCut continued. “Don’t worry
about any sales goals this week. Just learn the ropes and relax. You’re going
to do fine.”
After
she left, Mira directed me to my department. At first I was intimidated by her,
what with her wonderful hair and tight shirt laced with impressive 3-D artwork.
“You
look nervous,” she said. “Just relax. You'll be okay.”
Surrounding
me were the canyon-like shelves stacked with shirts and other clothes. Some of
the shelves towered way up out of sight. Long ladders were needed to reach the
upper sections.
“The
hardest part is learning the inventory,” Mira continued. “We stock so many
different shirts that women vampires like. I’ve been working here forever and I
still don’t know everything we keep.”
She
handed me a heavy book from a nearby table. “Here is the inventory for this
section. Whenever a customer asks you about an item and you don’t know where it
is in the store, use this to help you find it.”
I
flipped through the book. The listings were endless – everything from
glow-in-the-dark tank tops with blood-drenched spikes on them, to bikini tops
with miniature skulls attached. There were so many different shirts, I was both
amazed and overwhelmed at the same time.
Two
customers approached us.
“Just
relax and watch,” Mira said. “I’ll handle this.”
Two
teenage vampire girls, each with jet black hair tied in knots a mile wide and
sporting triangular shaped nose rings, stood in front of us.
“Can
you find me the shirt with the bloody vampire head bashed in?” one of them
asked.
“And
I’m looking for the shirt with the bloodsucker on the front,” her companion
added.
I
heard the bloodsucker girl whisper to her friend. “I like it because it makes
my boobs look bigger.”
“Boobs?
What boobs?” the other replied. “You’re only thirteen, girl.”
“The
bloodsucker shirt is on a display shelf in aisle two,” Mira said to me. “As for
the bashed head shirt, I’ll have to look that one up.”
She
rapidly flipped through the book, telling me to pay attention.
“You
see, it’s right here in section 6-G-32. The number six at the start of the
reference means six levels up. Follow me.”
Mira
pushed one of the super tall ladders that rolled against the shelves. They were
so tall, I couldn’t even see their tops. I hoped I wasn’t scared of heights. If
I was, this job was bloody toast.
She
advised me to watch her as she climbed the shelf. Soon Mira was so high that
she vanished into the dark red ceiling.
I noticed the two young customers
checking me out and could hear what they were saying.
“I
can’t believe that cheap bimbo wearing her hair straight and down is actually
working here.”
“Yeah,
just look at her pants. And they expect her to sell clothes? What a joke.”
I
was tempted to tell those little bloodsuckers a piece of my mind. But I
remained strong and kept my mouth shut. Besides, I couldn’t let two immature
vamps ruin my day.
As
Mira made her way down the ladder, I told myself to block out any negative
thoughts that might hurt my job performance. I was gonna do well at this job.
And I wasn’t gonna let anything stop me.
Mira
gave the shirt to the bratty teens and thankfully they departed. After that, I
watched her help several more customers before lunchtime came around.
“After
lunch, it’s your turn,” she told me.
Sitting
in the empty lunch room, I was too nervous to eat. I thought of Brett and
decided to call him on the cell, even though I only had limited credit. Now
would be a good time to ask him about meeting up at the observatory.
His
voice resembled an angel’s. He accepted my offer, though he did ask why I had
chosen such a destination.
“I’ve
always wanted to see what’s beyond those patches of green in the sky,” I told
him.
He
laughed kindly and told me they were called clouds. I said I had to let him go
because I didn’t have many degrees left on my phone. I wished I could have
chatted with him all day long.
I
was more than ready to do a fine job when I faced the second half of the day.
On the floor, an aging vampire with flaky green skin embraced both Mira and me.
“I’m
going to a death party because my mother passed away,” she said. “I’m looking
for the black dress with live beating hearts imprinted on it.”
Mira
glanced at me. “Okay, you’re on your own.”
She
handed me the book. Where did I begin? I flipped through it, confused.
“Let
me give you a hint,” Mira said. “Start at dresses.”
Okay,
that made sense. I found the dress tab and started searching. I knew I was
taking too long, but there were so many dresses of different sizes and colors.
Some carried 3-D images, while others had objects like skulls, stars, and
bloody bones imprinted on them. There were also some others with pretty freaky
things I didn’t want to think about. Eventually, I found the black dress I was
looking for.
“Section
9-E-36,” Mira said. “I’ll help you with the ladder. But you’re the one who's
going to go up there and get it. That’s all the way to the top, by the way.
You’ll be fine though.”
She
pushed the ladder to the right section. I gulped and began to climb, completely
unable to see the top. As the height increased, so I started to feel a bit
dizzy. I peered down and could barely make out Mira or the customer’s face. My
hands were sweating from where I was gripping the ladder so tightly. I could
feel myself shaking. I felt like climbing down and saying the hell with this job.
But
I couldn’t do that. Pushing myself as hard as possible, I continued to climb
past hundreds and hundreds of outlandish shirts, dresses and nightgowns. I
finally reached the top and tried not to look down. Seeing the dress I was
searching for, I immediately grabbed it.
Something
moved, making my hand jump away again. I was stunned to see what looked like
three very real beating hearts attached to the dress. Jeez, was that sick. I
thought it would just be artwork. Blood from the thumping hearts had trickled
onto my hand, making it more slippery and harder to grasp the ladder.
Taking
a deep breath, I picked up the dress again and made my way down out of the
clouds back to the freakin planet. After my feet touched the ground, I felt an
incredible burst of confidence when handing the lady her dress. She thanked me
profusely before leaving.
“Wow,”
I said, feeling good. “It’s so much higher when you’re up there.”
“Yeah,”
Mira replied. “You did good, girl. We’ll work on your speed.”
I
helped a few more customers before the end of the day. I was scared shitless
during every climb, but on each occasion I did it a little quicker and gained a
touch more courage.
Mira
said I was doing well, and I felt pretty good as the workday came to a close.
“Tomorrow,
you should be able to start on your own,” Mira said. “If you run into trouble,
I’ll be close by.”
I
left my job feeling fabulous. The day had gone well. Now I could focus solely
on Brett.
That
evening I told Mr. FreeCut about my first day at Vampire Supermarket, and about
my date that night. He seemed proud.
“Stay
safe tonight, and have a good time,” he told me.
I
waited for Brett outside on the porch and watched Garlic Moon. It was so nice
of him to pick me up, not to mention romantic.
He
pulled up in his shabby, uniquely sexy car and opened the door. Our arms were
all over each other before we'd even climbed inside. In his midnight-dark jeans
and a tight T-shirt that clung to his chiseled abs, I wanted to melt into him.
“Let’s
go have some fun,” he said.
We
laughed together.
On
the way, Brett looked into his rear view mirror a surprisingly high number of
times.
“What’s
the matter?” I asked.
“I
don’t know. I have a bad habit of thinking someone is following me. I need to
stop it.”
I
peered behind and saw a sporty car with flames along its side. I couldn’t make
out the driver.