Young Writers Society

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“Ugh,” Sarah fumbled for her phone in the dark room, eyes barely open.

Bzzzzzz bzzzzzzz bzzzzzzzz bzzzzzzz bzzzzzz bzzzzzz

“Where is it?” She grumbled. She looked over the edge of her bed, trying to see if it had fallen onto the floor.”

“Boo!” The lights flashed on.

“Ahhh!” Sarah yelled, startled, as she fell out of bed. “What the hell, Jay?”

“Sorry!” Jay laughed. “I thought you were more awake.”

“Clearly I’m not,” growled Sarah. “Did you hide my phone? It’s not plugged in like it should be, but I know it’s somewhere. I can hear it.”

“Did you check under your pillows? I know you have a tendency to fall asleep with it in your hand, especially when you are texting late at night with Logan. Which, based on the giggling coming from your room last night, I’m guessing is what you were doing.”

“I was not!” Sarah yelled.

“Whatever you say~” Jay winked and walked out of the room.

Sarah crawled back into bed and started looking for her phone again. Moving her pillows, she found her journal and a small sketchbook, but no sign of her phone.

“Jay!” She yelled, “call my phone! It’s not under my pillows, and I can’t find it anywhere else!” Gay ™

There was no response at first. Then, Sarah heard a familiar yet irritating ringtone sounding from the wall next to her bed. “Gotcha,” she grinned, pushing her bed away from the wall so she could reach the phone.

“Thank you, Jay,” she said sweetly, answering the phone.

“Yeah, yeah. Whatever. Hurry up. You need to get going ASAP. The bus isn’t going to wait for you.”

“The bus?”

“Sarah, it’s Monday. You have to go to school.”

“Shit!” Sarah yelled, hanging up the phone. She quickly put on jeans and a t-shirt and grabbed her backpack and flannel as she flew down the stairs and out the door to the bus stop.

~

Sarah looked at the clock, anxious for her last class to end. 2:55 the clock said, its red numbers glowing brightly in the dimly lit room. Her teacher, Mr. Powell, was having them watch part of a documentary. Sarah wasn’t really sure what it was about, though; she hadn’t been paying attention enough to have any idea. So, she continued to watch the clock and wait for the bell to ring as the voice from the documentary droned on in the background.

Riiiiiiiiiiing

Sarah sat up straight as soon as she heard the bell ring. All around her, her peers stood up and put their things away, talking loudly as they did so. Sarah shoved her work in her bag and tried to sneak out the door with the crowd.

“Sarah!” Her shoulders slumped. “Don’t go anywhere. I want to talk to you.”

Sarah walked back to her desk in defeat and waited for the rest of the students to exit the room completely. Mr. Powell closed the door, making sure to lock it, and then closed the blinds so no one could see into the room.

“Can you turn one of the lights off too, please?” Sarah asked.

“No problem,” He said, flipping the switch. “So, how are you?”

“My head hurts during the day, but otherwise I’m fine.”

“Okay, that’s not bad. I mean, it still is bad, but better than last week. How’s your diet? Are you eating okay?”

“It’s still… weird. I don’t like the taste of… it. I’ve tried to supplement it with ketchup to fool my body, but I don’t think it’s working…”

“No, no, no. Ketchup definitely won’t do. Just because it’s a red liquid doesn't mean you can have it. It doesn't have nearly all of the nutrients found in blood to keep your body functioning.” Sarah threw up a little bit in her mouth. “Animal blood is better for you, but it’s still not enough. Coconut water also works if it’s an emergency.”

“I know but-”

“No buts, Sarah! You’re a vampire. You need to get used to this! Nothing can change what you are now.”

“You can’t rush me! Everything is still new to me…”

“Nothing is new anymore! You turned 3 months ago. You’ve had plenty of time to get used to this change. If you don’t take care of yourself properly, you will die.”

“I should already be dead!” Sarah stood up, her pent up anger exploding. Her eyes glowed red with power. “Those… things had already killed everyone else, and I was a good as dead anyway. I was okay with it; I was ready to go! But then you just had to play hero and turn me. I didn’t want this! Any of this! I wish you had let me die!”

Mr. Powell stared at her dumbfounded for a while. Finally, her breathing slowed and her eyes returned to their normal gray. She looked up at Mr. Powell, realization spreading across her face.

“I-I’m sorry. I didn’t really mean it. I appreciate you saving me. I’ve just been… stressed. School is a nonstop thing, and no one else knows that vampires even exist, so I really can’t talk about what’s going on. Not to mention I’m always so fucking hungry! Nothing I eat, or even drink, really helps.”

“That’s normal, especially when you haven’t had the right food. Here,” Mr. Powell said, pulling a small bag full of a red liquid from a hidden drawer in his desk. “I keep some extra blood locked away in case of emergencies. It’s not as good as fresh blood, but it’s something.”

“Thanks,” Sarah took the blood awkwardly.

“You can go now, if you want. Just make sure you actually drink that. You know I’ll find out if you don’t.”

“I know,” she said, slinging her backpack over her shoulder.

The hallways were completely empty, with the exception of the occasional teacher. Sarah walked in silence, doing her best to hide the bag full of the red liquid before she got outside.

“Boo!”

“Ahhh!” Sarah yelled, almost dropping her bag. “Logan! Not funny!”

“I thought it was,” Logan smiled playfully, nudging Sarah’s shoulder. “Did you have a club or something today? You’re usually not still at school once the buses leave.”

“I had to talk to one of my teachers about something.”

“Okay. Do you have a ride home?” They blinked suspiciously at the clear avoidance of the topic, but let it slide anyway, shrugging it off.

“I was going to walk.”

Logan scowled. “You sure? It’s really hot out today, and I know you don’t like being in the sun for long periods of time.”

“I’ll be fine,” Sarah said. “It’s not like I live that far away. Besides, you probably need to get home too.”

Logan sighed, realizing that there was no use arguing with Sarah. She was definitely hiding something, but if she didn’t want to tell them than there was nothing they could do. “Fine. Be careful, though, alright? If it turns out you died on the way home I’m going to kill you.”

“Please, when aren’t I careful!” Sarah laughed, and when Logan raised an eyebrow, she quickly said, “You know what? Don’t answer that.”

Logan shook their head. “Get out of here, dork.”

They waved goodbye as Sarah walked out the front door. As soon as she stepped outside, Sarah was confronted by the sudden brightness of the sun. She staggered back slightly, but not enough for Logan to notice. She regained her composure, then began the trek home.