Diary of a Vampeen (39 page)

"Thanks. I'll see you inside." I
turned back to the doors.

Mel came running up beside me
squealing, "Holy sugar plums Lex! That was so awesome! I got it all
on tape! I knew he'd fall to bits over you now!"

Her words came out as a double-edged
sword. I knew she meant no harm yet she smashed a reminder in my
face. Apparently I did look like a fat ogre before and now I'd
emerged a swan. I was beautiful, appealing to most men, but for
some reason I still found myself cringing insecurely inside. I'm a
vampeen, yet my humanity still reigns supreme. I wasn’t ignorant to
their changed expressions and rather sickened by their new-found
lust. If you couldn't accept me before, then I would be a fool to
allow you access now. But I suppose Mel was right; there's no harm
in having a little fun with them.

"O.M.G. Lex look!" Mel
screamed.

I turned just as the announcer began
to speak again. "Wait, don’t leave us yet Lexi. You definitely will
not want to miss your gift being driven in by your father, Stewart.
Congratulations and Happy Birthday! You are the proud new owner of
a Mercedes E350 coupe! I hope you're ready to rev it
up!"

I stared in awe. I was shocked to see
my dad behind the wheel of a two door white car adorned with a huge
red bow on the roof. He drove up as the limo left.

"O.M.G. Lex! That, oh my! Wow! I love
it, don't you?!" Mel exclaimed. She had flipped open the camera
again to film my reaction and then my dad exiting the car. I heard
the gasps in the crowd, voices, some jealous, abuzz over my
gift.

I walked down towards the car. "Is… Is
this really for me dad?" I stuttered in shock.

"Absolutely. Kellan helped me pick it
out."

"Oh my gosh. Thank you so much Dad!" I
squeezed him tight caught up in the moment.

"Told you she'd love it Sharon." I
turned to see my mom and aunt standing nearby.

"Let's look inside! You are so driving
me to school Monday!" Mel squealed.

"But I don't have my
license."

"You will Monday morning. Kellan has
agreed to teach you tomorrow," my mother announced. "It's best I
not have to lie to your father should you be a slow
learner."

"Thanks for the confidence
Mom!"

"You know I love you sweetie," she
smiled.

"Yea, I know."

My dad handed me the keys. The moment
they touched my palm Mel was dragging me towards my new
gift.

The exterior boasted a shiny, snow
white finish still coated with a thin layer of wax visible only to
my keen eyes. Eighteen-inch six-spoke alloy wheels set abase the
curvature of the frame projected a design for speed as if the car
was already racing down the highway.

Inside, the seats were outfitted with
gorgeous sleek black leather. The new car scent hit my nose
immediately smelling of cleaning supplies and crisp leather. I
instantly noticed the panorama sun roof followed by the exquisite
walnut trim of the dashboard; centered was a fancy navigation
system I would probably never master. Just above it though, a red
iPod was attached to the dashboard. I recognized it as Kellan's
immediately.

"That's Kellan's," I noted aloud. I
lifted it out of the docking station and a note fell.

"What does it say?" Mel asked
nonchalantly as she opened every compartment and compulsively
touched every knob.

Happy Birthday to the only thing I
value more than music - my heart, my life - you!

Love, Kellan

"I hate to kill your tender moment,
but these people are getting impatient," Mel interrupted my melting
heart. Kellan loved his iPod, his music. He was always with it,
always toting it around his arm. I wasn't expecting this yet it's
better than the car. Now I could hear all the songs he passed his
days with. Ever improving, I couldn't wait to listen to them in the
car together.

"Lex, let's go," she
repeated.

"Okay." I put the iPod back in place
and tucked the note in the glove compartment while taking one last
look around.

I grazed my eyes along the black
dashboard complete with satellite radio and many other dials Mel no
doubt had messed with. The feel of the car was luxurious and it
appeared to be built for thrill rides, nothing less than twenty
over the speed limit. A surge of enthusiasm ran through me at the
thought of driving the car. A feeling of empowerment jumped out at
me from the steering wheel. There was no denying this was
definitely the car of a vampeen.

I slid out, delivered the keys back to
my dad for safe keeping, and returned to the entrance with
Mel.

"I can't believe you got a car! I knew
you were going to get one!" she shrieked as we entered the
hotel.

Mel abandoned me along the way leaving
me to blindly search for the ballroom. Turns out I didn’t have to
worry. Flowers and balloons marked the entrance as well as a large
banner above the doors reading ‘Happy Birthday Lexi.’

Inside the ballroom was Caribbean chic
all the way in décor. It reminded me of an upscale resort. The far
wall composed floor to ceiling windows revealing the ocean and
sunset outside. The center contained glass pocket doors opening
onto a cedar deck of black high-end wicker sofas and chairs with
tightly knit plastic weaves. The coffee tables were presented with
palm leaves and exotic floral centerpieces seeming drawn from the
inner jungle plants of the Amazon.

Within the ballroom, the
ceiling was draped with a sheer teal chiffon material intertwined
with white twinkle lights. Located to the right was the dance floor
built into a black square with a teal '
L
' monogram projecting onto the
center. The DJ was in the corner scanning a stack of
discs.

On the left wall stood
several buffet tables of sea food, chicken, sandwiches and other
items grab-n-go style. Empty pineapples monogrammed with the same
'
L
' design filled
the space between the platters. Like Halloween pumpkins they lit to
life with votive candles inside and filled the room with a mild
pineapple scent. A dessert bar was stationed beside it followed by
a cake table.

The cake itself was an extravagant art
piece. It reminded me of a colorful five tier wedding cake. It took
me a minute to piece together the resemblance: the cake was
designed after my dress. It held a soft aqua fondant base with
black lace on the first four levels. The top tier was cream with an
exact wrap around teal bow holding a replica broach centered
within. It wasn't until I saw the cake that I realized in absorbing
the scene before me that the entire party was colored and designed
via inspiration of my dress, no doubt on purpose by my Aunt
Claire.

Stationed next to the pocket doors was
the bar. Its top was covered with red and blue drinks. The
remainder of the inside center space flowed with round tables and
the same sofas and chairs filling the patio. Every chair held a
teal pillow monogrammed coordinately and the sofa cushions were the
same light aqua. Exotic floral arrangements of red, coral, and pink
were spread throughout. Each table was adorned with a silk teal or
chiffon light aqua cover, reversed of the fabrics on my dress. It
was all very matchy-matchy, but not overdone. It all worked
cohesively without feeling thrown together.

My aunt approached me with a drink in
hand. "I hope you approve of everything."

"It's gorgeous Aunt Claire. More than
I imagined."

She smiled. "We incorporated red into
your color scheme for your drink. Here is your extra special
'Luscious Lex'," she winked.

I took the chilled martini glass
shimmering with a red liquid. I sipped to taste and discovered it
was blood. "Thanks."

"Of course. You know you are the
closest I will ever come to a daughter. That's why I go overboard
with you sometimes. I want to give you everything I would have
given my own child had I been blessed with one. I'm proud of you
Lexi, and I love you as my own."

"I love you too. And you do go
overboard and spend way too much but I appreciate it all," I said
giving her a one-armed hug.

"You ready to get this party
started?!" Mel chimed in beside me.

"Absolutely," I beamed eager to mix
amongst the gathering outside rather than stand out.

"Mr. Hustle, hustle on over to your
booth and start the music!" Aunt Claire hollered to the
DJ.

"Ok. That was super elementary corny,"
Mel laughed. My aunt just shrugged and walked towards the guard at
the door.

"Do you know if Kellan's here?" I
searched the visible areas for him.

"Umm. I saw his parents talking to
yours in the lobby," she said.

"How do you know his
parents?"

"Your mom introduced me on my way in
after you."

"Oh. Ok."

"Come here. You have to taste this,"
Mel grabbed my hand and pulled me towards the food tables. I hadn't
noticed the table of plates and monogrammed napkins on the wall
beside the door. It came to create an L-shape of precise
flow.

I also hadn't noticed the
huge ‘
L
’ monogram
blue ice sculpture standing solid in the center of the room. It was
at least six feet tall and showed exquisitely amongst the décor.
Everywhere I turned I noticed tiny details my perfect vision seemed
to overlook prior.

"You have to try the spicy pineapple
wings," Mel gushed. "They're delish!"

Just the thought of it sent the serum
soaring into my throat. I took another sip of my cold
bloody-mary-esk drink. "Maybe later. I don't want to endanger my
dress right away."

The music pumped into the walls of the
room. I heard a herd of footsteps and chatter approaching the
doors. I knew they were piling in when I heard the first
exasperated, "Oh my God."

Within minutes the room filled with
buzz, motions, and swirls of bodies over the floor, in the seats.
It wasn't like prom. There were no stragglers; no one-off
exclusions huddled in a corner despite the obvious cliques. Nerds,
drama-geeks, goths, preps and jocks all filtered together at one
event yet each was adorned in their own slightly dressy attire
appropriated to their group.

Several girls approached me,
cheerleaders to my surprise, exclaiming, "Cool party Lexi. We love
the vibe."

I muttered a polite, "Thanks. Have
fun," before moving past them giving a shocked look at Mel. She
just shrugged.

"Let's dance. I see Caleb over there,"
she tugged me in that direction.

I passed my drink to my mom on the way
with a guarded, "Don't put this down."

Along the way we ran into Justin and
Sasha sashaying to the music.

“Great party Lex! You look good too,”
Sasha yelled over the music.

“It’s awesome! And she’s right. You’re
gorgeous,” Justin agreed.

“Thanks guys. Have fun!” I was yanked
away from them towards the dance floor once again. Did I mention
Mel is quite impatient?

Caleb met us on the dance floor
twisting and moving to the edgy hip-hop beat. He greeted Mel with a
smile and a kiss on the cheek fawning over how beautiful she looked
tonight. He was dressed in khakis and a blue button-up shirt that
was undone several buttons down at the top. It complimented his
dark curly hair and hazel eyes.

No sooner had Mel turned her attention
to Caleb that I felt a light tap on my shoulders. Expecting it to
be Kellan, I spun around and froze… in front of Mike. My heart
sputtered erratically as my serum held strong in the lower levels
of my throat.

"Hey Lex. You look gorgeous. I would
envy any guy you belonged to. I'm glad your mine."

My skin crawled at his words. "Mike, I
don't want to fight. It's my birthday party. But be clear, I'm not
yours anymore."

I wanted to placate him, avoid any
eruptions of fighting amidst the faces I would see daily at school.
The last thing I needed was more rumors surrounding me.

"Oh, but you are, unless you want me
to announce your little secret to everyone," he grinned
devilishly.

"What are you talking about?" I
questioned cautiously, though anger still filled my
tone.

"I think we should take this somewhere
private," he said motioning towards the door.

I hesitated, scanning the room. After
careful weight, I decided to go. Everyone, including Mel was
distracted, but should I lose control, I’d rather it be in private.
He guided me out with a firm hand on the small of my back. He
carried himself with an egotistical, annoying, nose-up grin. Out in
the hall he grabbed my hand but I jerked away heading down away
from the ears of any attendants.

"Now what are you talking about?" I
demanded.

"Does the name Keira ring a bell?” I
didn’t reply, didn’t move or give any indication of recognition.
“Ok, how about the word vampire?" he pressed arrogantly.

"I'm not a vampire Mike,"
I defended with technicality. I corrected myself mentally.
I'm a vampeen.
I felt
the serum rise with my sudden panic of apprehension and anger.
Keira got to him, but how?