Whoppee! Acne Through the Ages: A Social Study of Teenage Angst... So not!
I wobbled my head at volcano-face and allowed my gaze to drift around the semicircle of chairs. Gries, a sour-looking girl with long black hair, a shortish fattish man with a goatish beard and Mephisto eyebrows, my dearest friend Dr. Al, and in the place of honor facing the group, a gigantically obese woman with incongruously dainty ankles and tiny feet propped up on a foot-stool.
Eight of us in all. And with that inimitable aura of misfits. These were not the stylish and elegantly erudite, self-satisfied creatures that populated the Vermilion Club. These were the geek-vampires. And I was one of them.
Dr. Al smiled at me broadly and winked. "Greta!" He cried, "Welcome!"
The obese woman cleared her throat and all conversation ceased.
"We are here tonight in honor of the Ancient Law. We are here tonight in Brotherhood."
"Mama Leme!" The respectful murmur rose around me, I nodded awkwardly and mumbled under my breath.
"We who live on Life, are the ones who most revere it. We who drink from the Chalice are commanded to protect it."
More reverent murmurs. "So the Gods and the Spirit in the Blood command." The woman's head swiveled as she looked at each of the little group straight in the eye. She gazed at me a second longer, with a glimmer of a curious smile. "Will any Profess tonight?"
The thin girl lifted a thin, languid hand. The woman nodded at her. "Speak my child."
The girl flipped her hair and bit her narrow lips.
"My name is Sandra and I'm a Vampire. I was Converted in 1968."
"Hi" "Hello, Sandy" "Cheers.." Greetings drifted around the room.
"It has been a week since my last Infusion, and I am due in two day's time." She twisted her fingers together and sobbed. "I don't know how I can do this again...Each time it becomes harder and harder to...The taste, the smell...Can any of you understand?"
With Rosa's blood still echoing in my system, I most certainly could. "I do, yes I do!" I cried. They all turned to look at me in blank astonishment.
"We...Well..." I stammered in embarrassment, " I know how hard it is to stop - how enticing the taste and scent of it is...How irresistible...That rich, thick, salty taste.." The very thought of it brought a surge of saliva spilling into my starved mouth. I'm ashamed to say some may have dribbled out.
The girl gagged, pressed her hands against her mouth, and looked at me in undisguised horror and disgust. "How can you? Stop? I can hardly start! I'll have you know I am a Vegan!"
OMG! This must be the person Dr. Al had spoken about. I murmured a vague apology and sunk deeper in my chair. Next to me Gries stirred his bulk and rumbled.
"I don't get this Vegan shit. You hungry, you eat. If there's fruit, you eat; if there is meat, you eat - and if all there is is man-meat you better pray you are fast enough to eat, and not get eaten."
Personally, I agreed. Nothing was quite as satisfying as a delicious filet mignon covered in perfect pepper sauce, or a wall-to-wall T-bone sizzled on the griddle...Well, unless it was human blood, but that was a recently acquired taste.
Sandra's mouth pursed even more. "Please! Have you no conscience? We suck life from people, we are worse than carnivores! We, we..."
"Oh for the Lord's sake, get a life! Or give it up!" This from tomato-soup-face. "You were Converted when? 60 years ago?If your conscience so plagues, why don't you just find a wannabe serial killer on the Internet to chop off your head? It's quite the rage this season!"
Sandra looked furious. " I don't want to die, I just don't want to live like this!"
Dr Al interjected "We've been over this before, Sandra. It's your choice. Live or die, we must all make peace with our conscience - nothing in this world survives without taking life. In fact, the only true innocents are the very creatures you feel no qualms in devouring. So unless you too find a way to live from photosynthesis, I suggest you sit down and shut up."
Sandra did. Donnie stirred next to me. "My name is Donnie and I'm a Vampire. I was Converted in 1873."
Greetings wafted around us. "Through my incompetence, a woman was Converted without consent...And because of this one man is dead."
The huge woman in the center spoke. "Dead? Dead how?"
I hear myself cry out "It wasn't really his fault at all! It was mine!"
"My name is Mama Leme and I'm a Vampire. I was Converted before the Dawn of Time. Who are you, child?" Those dark unfathomable eyes drew me to my feet like a recalcitrant teen called to the carpet by a wise but stern schoolmistress.
""My name is Greta and I'm a Vampire. I was Converted three days ago." There was absolute silence.
"It is not Donnie's fault. I killed my husband." I took a deep breath. "It's not Donnie's fault because I did not kill him because I am a Vampire, I killed him because I wanted to. And I rather enjoyed it."
MC
I wobbled my head at volcano-face and allowed my gaze to drift around the semicircle of chairs. Gries, a sour-looking girl with long black hair, a shortish fattish man with a goatish beard and Mephisto eyebrows, my dearest friend Dr. Al, and in the place of honor facing the group, a gigantically obese woman with incongruously dainty ankles and tiny feet propped up on a foot-stool.
Eight of us in all. And with that inimitable aura of misfits. These were not the stylish and elegantly erudite, self-satisfied creatures that populated the Vermilion Club. These were the geek-vampires. And I was one of them.
Dr. Al smiled at me broadly and winked. "Greta!" He cried, "Welcome!"
The obese woman cleared her throat and all conversation ceased.
"We are here tonight in honor of the Ancient Law. We are here tonight in Brotherhood."
"Mama Leme!" The respectful murmur rose around me, I nodded awkwardly and mumbled under my breath.
"We who live on Life, are the ones who most revere it. We who drink from the Chalice are commanded to protect it."
More reverent murmurs. "So the Gods and the Spirit in the Blood command." The woman's head swiveled as she looked at each of the little group straight in the eye. She gazed at me a second longer, with a glimmer of a curious smile. "Will any Profess tonight?"
The thin girl lifted a thin, languid hand. The woman nodded at her. "Speak my child."
The girl flipped her hair and bit her narrow lips.
"My name is Sandra and I'm a Vampire. I was Converted in 1968."
"Hi" "Hello, Sandy" "Cheers.." Greetings drifted around the room.
"It has been a week since my last Infusion, and I am due in two day's time." She twisted her fingers together and sobbed. "I don't know how I can do this again...Each time it becomes harder and harder to...The taste, the smell...Can any of you understand?"
With Rosa's blood still echoing in my system, I most certainly could. "I do, yes I do!" I cried. They all turned to look at me in blank astonishment.
"We...Well..." I stammered in embarrassment, " I know how hard it is to stop - how enticing the taste and scent of it is...How irresistible...That rich, thick, salty taste.." The very thought of it brought a surge of saliva spilling into my starved mouth. I'm ashamed to say some may have dribbled out.
The girl gagged, pressed her hands against her mouth, and looked at me in undisguised horror and disgust. "How can you? Stop? I can hardly start! I'll have you know I am a Vegan!"
OMG! This must be the person Dr. Al had spoken about. I murmured a vague apology and sunk deeper in my chair. Next to me Gries stirred his bulk and rumbled.
"I don't get this Vegan shit. You hungry, you eat. If there's fruit, you eat; if there is meat, you eat - and if all there is is man-meat you better pray you are fast enough to eat, and not get eaten."
Personally, I agreed. Nothing was quite as satisfying as a delicious filet mignon covered in perfect pepper sauce, or a wall-to-wall T-bone sizzled on the griddle...Well, unless it was human blood, but that was a recently acquired taste.
Sandra's mouth pursed even more. "Please! Have you no conscience? We suck life from people, we are worse than carnivores! We, we..."
"Oh for the Lord's sake, get a life! Or give it up!" This from tomato-soup-face. "You were Converted when? 60 years ago?If your conscience so plagues, why don't you just find a wannabe serial killer on the Internet to chop off your head? It's quite the rage this season!"
Sandra looked furious. " I don't want to die, I just don't want to live like this!"
Dr Al interjected "We've been over this before, Sandra. It's your choice. Live or die, we must all make peace with our conscience - nothing in this world survives without taking life. In fact, the only true innocents are the very creatures you feel no qualms in devouring. So unless you too find a way to live from photosynthesis, I suggest you sit down and shut up."
Sandra did. Donnie stirred next to me. "My name is Donnie and I'm a Vampire. I was Converted in 1873."
Greetings wafted around us. "Through my incompetence, a woman was Converted without consent...And because of this one man is dead."
The huge woman in the center spoke. "Dead? Dead how?"
I hear myself cry out "It wasn't really his fault at all! It was mine!"
"My name is Mama Leme and I'm a Vampire. I was Converted before the Dawn of Time. Who are you, child?" Those dark unfathomable eyes drew me to my feet like a recalcitrant teen called to the carpet by a wise but stern schoolmistress.
""My name is Greta and I'm a Vampire. I was Converted three days ago." There was absolute silence.
"It is not Donnie's fault. I killed my husband." I took a deep breath. "It's not Donnie's fault because I did not kill him because I am a Vampire, I killed him because I wanted to. And I rather enjoyed it."
MC
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