Эллен Шрайбер - Vampire Kisses

"I heard you're hanging with the vampire," Trevor said the day before the Snow Ball as Becky and I walked through the hall after lunch. Signs for the dance hung from the ceiling and were plastered on the walls. "Isn't it enough that you're a freak and Becky is a troll? Now you have to date a lunatic? Don't you know that the Mansion is haunted?"

"You don't know anything! You've never even met Alexander."

"Oh, Alexander. The monster has a name. I thought you just called him Frankenstein. If I do ever meet him, I'll kick his ass and run him out of town. We need to know that we can walk the streets safely at night!"

"I'll kick your ass if you ever even come near him. If you ever even look at him."

"If he looks anything like you, I'll need sunglasses to guard against the blinding ugliness."

Principal Smith walked by. "I hope everything is okay with you two. We haven't received a budget for new lockers." Then he put his arm around the jerk and said, "I heard you kicked the winning goal in yesterday's game, Trevor."

They turned away, Principal Smith engaging the reluctant Trevor in jock conversation.

"How did he know I'm seeing Alexander?" I asked Becky, puzzled.

"Uh, I guess people…you know how people talk in this town."

"Well, people in this town are stupid."

"Listen, Raven, I have something to tell you," she began in a nervous voice that was even more nervous than her normal nervous voice.

But I was distracted by the signs for the dance, tickets on sale now. save five dollars if you pre-purchase.

"Tickets? Frig! I didn't know I needed tickets! Do I get them at TicketMaster? Charge by phone?" I laughed. "That's what happens when you're on the outside, you know?"

"I totally know. The outside gets worse and worse each day."

"Maybe they'll be sold out and we'll have to dance on the school lawn," I joked.

But Becky wasn't laughing.

"Maybe it's best you and Alexander have a private dance at the Mansion."

"And miss seeing Trevor's face when I walk in with Alexander?"

"Trevor knows a lot, Raven," she said oddly.

"Fine, so he'll get into a good college. What do I care?"

"I'm afraid of Trevor. His father owns half our farm."

"The corn or the sugar?"

"I have a confession—"

"Save it for Sunday. Forget about Trevor. He's just a bully."

"I'm not strong like you. I never was. You're my best friend, but Trevor has a way of making people say things they don't want to. But please— don't go to the dance," she said, grabbing my arm.

Suddenly the bell rang. "I've gotta go. I can't get another detention or I'll be banned from the dance."

"But Raven—"

"Don't be afraid, girlie, I'll protect you from the monsters."

19 The Snow Ball

I couldn't sit still through the rest of my classes. Not through algebra, history, geography, or English, which I spent underneath the football bleachers composing love poems to Alexander. I raced home and danced around my bedroom. I tried on every piece of clothing I owned in a million combinations until I had the perfect ensemble. "Are you okay?" Billy Boy asked, peeking his head into my room.

"Just jumping around and dancing, my most precious little brother," I glowed, giving him a big squeeze and a kiss on the head.

"Are you insane?"

I sighed deeply. "You'll understand someday. You'll meet someone who is connected with you in your soul. And then everything will be exciting and peaceful at the same time."

"You mean like Pamela Anderson?"

"No, like a computer-math girl."

Billy Boy gazed off into the distance. "I guess that won't be so bad, as long as she looks like Pamela!"

"She'll look even better!" I said, messing up his hair. "Now get out. I have a ball to attend."

"You're going to a dance?"

"Yes."

"Well…" I could see he was revving up for a big sister major put-down. "Well…you'll be the prettiest one there."

"Are you sure you're not on drugs?"

"You'll be the prettiest one there…with black lipstick."

"Now that sounds more like your style."

I finally paraded into the kitchen, wearing high-heeled knee-high vinyl boots, black fishnet stockings, a black miniskirt, a lacy black tank top, and metallic black bracelets. A black cashmere scarf hid my love bite, and black leather fingerless gloves revealed my black nail polish—glittering like black ice, in keeping with the theme of the Snow Ball.

"Where do you think you're going dressed like that?" my mom asked.

"I'm going to a dance."

"With Becky?"

"No, with Alexander."

"Who's Alexander?"

"The love of my life!"

"What's this I hear about love?" my dad asked, entering the kitchen. "Raven, where are you going dressed like that?"

"She says she's going to a dance with the love of her life," my mom said.

"You're going nowhere in that! And who's the love of your life? A boy from school?"

"Alexander Sterling," I proclaimed.

"As in, the Sterlings that live in the Mansion?" my dad asked.

"The one and only!"

"Not the Sterling boy!" my mom said, shocked. "I've heard horror stories about him! He hangs out at cemeteries and is never seen in the light of day, like a vampire."

"Do you think I'd be going to a dance with a vampire?"

They both stared at me strangely and said nothing.

"Don't be like everyone else in this town!" I shouted.

"Honey, I've heard the stories all over town!" my mom gossiped. "Just yesterday, Natalie Mitchell was saying—"

"Mom, who are you going to believe, me or Natalie Mitchell? This night is very important. It's Alexander's first dance, too. He's so dreamy and intelligent! He knows about art and culture and—"

"Cemeteries?" my dad asked.

"He's not like what people say! He's the most fantabulous guy in our solar system—besides you, Dad."

"Well, in that case, have fun."

"Paul!"

"But not in that outfit," my dad quickly demanded. "Sarah, I'm glad she's going to a dance. Raven's actually going to school without being forced. This is the most normal thing she's done lately."

My mom glared at him.

"But not in that outfit," he repeated.

"Dad, this is all the rage in Europe!"

"But we're not in Europe. We're in a quiet little town where turtlenecks are the rage. Buttoned-up collars, long sleeves, and long skirts."

"No way!" I declared.

"This boy hasn't been out of his room in years, and you're going to let him escort your daughter looking like that?" my mom asked. "Paul, do something."

My father went to the closet. "Here, wear this," he said, handing me one of his sports coats. "It's black."

I stared at him in disbelief.

"It's this or my black bathrobe," he said.

I reluctantly grabbed the coat.

"And we'll be meeting the most fantabulous guy in the solar system when he comes to pick you up?" my mother chimed in.

"Are you kidding?" I was stunned. "Of course not!"

"It's only right, we didn't even know you were seeing him. We had no idea you were going to a dance."

"You want to interrogate and embarrass him. Not to mention me."

"That's what dating is all about. If your date can stand the questions and the parental embarrassment, then he's all yours," my dad teased.

"It's not fair! Do you want to come with us, too?"

"Yes," they both replied.

"This is hideous! It's the biggest night of my life, and you're going to ruin it!"

I heard a car pulling into the driveway. "He's here!" I screamed, peering out the window. "You guys have to be cool!" I said, running around frantically. "Channel those hippie days for me, please! Think about love beads and Joni Mitchell. Think bell-bottoms and incense, not golf pants and china," I begged. "And nothing about cemeteries!"

I wanted this night to be perfect, like it was my wedding day. But I felt like a bride who suddenly wished she had eloped.