Vampire Manifesto (7 page)

“
Yeah, I’ll be ready.”

Abigail disappeared around the corner. I must have really zoned out, because we got home around two in the afternoon. I took a step back and really looked at the painting, at the amazing amount of detail I had poured into it. I had lost myself inside my mind again. I do that sometimes, getting so wrapped up in artistic outlets that hours pass like minutes to me.

I simply stared at the canvas, at the man whose been trying to kill me in my sleep while he stared back.

It didn’t take me long to get ready. I had to shower of course, rinse the paint that had splattered over my body down the drain. Abigail had taken it upon herself to pick out an outfit for me. Something extremely skimpy that, honestly, I don’t remember ever buying. I put it on anyway. Sometimes it was better to just appease the beast then to antagonize it.

I came downstairs and Aiden took one look at me and almost shit a brick. Back upstairs I went to change. This time when I returned he was a lot more satisfied. Just a pair of shorts and a faded Rainbow Brite tank top. Abigail threw her hands up in disgust. She was, by far, a diva when it came to clothes. The fashion Nazi. Back upstairs I went to change again.

This time I chose a pair of super tight jeans and a green polo shirt. If either one of them doesn’t like it, they can bite me.

“
Who’s driving?” I asked, coming down the steps for a third time.

“
I will.” Aiden volunteered. “Cause I am not driving back.”

“
Please! Don’t fool yourself; you’ve been banned from driving. For life.”

“
Besides, nobody ever drives back from The Dave’s.” Interjected Abigail. “Their crib is like the universal crash spot.”

“
Well I don’t care if we crash there overnight or not, but I can’t miss another day of school tomorrow.” I announced.

“
Don’t get all 1984.” Said Aiden. “The Thought Police will still be there in the morning.”

“
Shut up Aiden, Madison’s right, I’m not missing class again either.”

“
Whatever-whatever, well burn that bridge when we come to it. Let’s get up out of here though.”

“
I don’t think we should take Dads car.” I said. “You know how he is; I don’t want it to get messed up.”

“
What’s the point of having a car like that if you you’re not gonna drive it? It’s like buying a brand new computer that only has a floppy disk drive and no Internet.” He complained.

“
Hey, like you said, Dad left you in charge, not me. Let the chips fall where they may on that one.”

“
Then I get to drive right?” He asked.

“
No.” I didn’t even wait to hear him cry about it, but he didn’t.

We took
The Rolling Stone
anyway; Aiden did have a point about that. This was a once in a lifetime deal we had going on here with that car. I don’t know what possessed Dad to leave the keys with us, I wasn’t even allowed to look at the
Rolling Stone
with my eyes directly, only at a tilt, but I doubt if we would get another chance like this again.

So we piled into the car and hit the blacktop with a vengeance.

The Dave’s didn’t live that far from us really, maybe fifteen minutes if you took the long way. It was a nice little two-story house, perfect for the two of them. Much too expensive then they could afford, yet they managed to pull off rent every month and that’s what really counts in the end.

Half of America lived that way.

I could tell the place was packed by the sheer number of cars parked along the shoulder of the road. Much more than normal, which could or could not be a good thing. Either it’s filled with a bunch of people we know or it’s crowded with a bunch of people we don’t. Their parties could go either way on that front. Regardless, it’s still gonna be banging.

I got out the car, making my way up the driveway. I was hoping Ethan was already there. That was my main reason for wanting to come now, even though I had already made plans to make an appearance. I was starting to get butterflies again, the feeling in my stomach creeping up into my chest, little waves of excitement whipping my body into an over anxious frenzy.

“
Slow down!” Abigail called out.

I turned to see them at the end of the driveway trying to catch up with me.

“
My bad.” I tried to play it off.

“
Flash fact. I am not the Flash.” Commented Aiden.

“
She just wants to see her new boy toy!” Laughed Abigail.

“
Shut up Abby.” I said. “Just come on though.”

The garage door was open and there were people chilling inside, smoking cigarettes, drinking and playing what seemed to be an overly intense game of beer pong.

“
Madison!” Someone yelled.

It was Dave Berger. Cool kid. He tossed me a beer.

“
What’s up my girl?” He asked, giving me a hug.

I opened my beer and took a sip. “Good, good. What’s up with you?”

He just laughed. “Nothing much, same old-same old. Aiden, bro! What’s up?”

Aiden gave him a high five. “What’s up with you man?”

“
Just got my butt served to me on Call of Duty by some ten year old Asian kid that hasn’t hit puberty yet, but other than that...” Dave joked. “Abigail, looking nice.”

“
Thanks Dave.”

“
Check it people, I’ve got beer here in the cooler, but we just put it in there so it’s still a little warm. There’s more beer down at the beach, that should be good to go.” Dave Berger explained. He leaned closer so the other people in the garage couldn’t hear. “That’s just the cheap stuff though. I got that good-good in the house, I don’t need these people drinking my expensive shit, know what I’m saying.”

“
Really?” Asked Aiden. “I think I might need to use the bathroom then.”

“
Hahaha! That’s what I'm talking about bro!” Agreed Dave. He turned to the rest of people in the garage. “Hey, people, I’m gonna show my man Aiden here where the restroom is, be back in a sec.”

Resounding cheers all around from the Ping-Pong crowd.

Dave and Aiden picked their way through the throng before Dave stopped and turned around. “Madison, there’s this pretty looking mofo asking about you. Tall, kinda built...smells like oranges.”

My heart literally skipped a beat.

“
Oranges? Really?” Questioned Aiden

“
Hey dude...” Dave just shrugged his shoulders. “Maybe it’s his deodorant. I just know I talked to the dude and after he left, I wanted to eat oranges. Like, a lot of them.”

“
You’re just high, Dave.” Abigail said.

“
That could explain a lot as well.” He agreed. “Anyway, he’s down by the bonfire. Come on Aiden; let me show you where the, uh, bathroom is.”

The two of them disappeared inside.

I followed Abby out the garage, working our way around the house. It was dark here and the ground was uneven, so we had to take it slow. It wasn’t before long until we hit the back patio. There were people here and it was much brighter due to the vote you off the island survivor torches they had burning.

We gave some causal hellos then kept it moving, taking the stairs that led down to the beach from the patio. The Dave’s backyard was the beach. It was awesome. People were everywhere. Some dancing, some gathered in small little cliques around the bonfire. The music was blasting Notorious B.I.G. as the crowd sang along.

“
...It’s the N-o..t-o..r-i...o...u-s, you just, lay down slow!” Everyone screamed in unison.

“
Abigail! Madison!” Someone yelled out our names close to the bonfire.

“
Hey, it’s Miranda.” Abigail stated. We headed over and took a seat in the sand next to her and a couple of our other friends. It was Mitchell, his sister Miranda and her girlfriend Audrey.

“
Glad you two could make it.” Mitchell said. “Where’s that knucklehead brother of yours?”

“
He’s up at the house with Dave.” I replied.

“
Haha, Daaave!” Mitchell was clearly wasted. “I just watched him get beat down by some nine year old. He’s talking all this crap over the mic and this little kid is like, POW, headshot, respawn. POW, headshot, respawn. POW, headshot. It was awesome!”

I took a sip of my beer. “Yeah, he told us. How long have you been here?”

“
Not long.” Miranda said. “We brought in some wood pallets for them to burn. Our contribution to the cause.”

“
So who are all these people?” Audrey asked. “I only know about half of them.”

I just shrugged.

“
They had flyers all over Flagler beach this morning.” Abigail stated.

“
I wanted to go swimming all day!” Audrey exclaimed. “And it sucks because I sit by the window in most of my classes and it was so nice out.”

“
Did I miss anything at school today?” My beer was done already and I wanted another.

“
Nope. Most exciting thing was a fire alarm, but that’s about it.” Mitchell got up. “Beer run. Who wants what?”

“
Heineken.” I said.

“
Corona.” Said Abigail.

“
Me too.” Miranda added.

“
I wanna Bud light.” Audrey stated.

Mitchell paused. “Really? A Bud light?”

“
What’s wrong with that?” She asked.

“
What are you on, a diet? Forget it. Bud Light. I’ll be back.”

I scanned the crowd searching for Ethan, but he wasn’t here. Well I knew he was here, especially after the way Dave described him, but he wasn’t
here
. I hope he hasn’t left already. That would totally suck.

Besides, Abigail, Miranda, Audrey and Mitchell were the only people I really kicked it with. There weren’t a whole lot of things I had in common with the people of Palm Coast, yet the few that I did click with made my life extremely easier.

“
Hey, have you seen this kinda tall guy...” I made a motion with my hand to demonstrate height.

“
Girl, you got to give us more to go on then that.” Laughed Miranda.

“
Well if you would just let me finish.” I rolled my eyes. “Kinda tall, dark hair, really cute...”

“
Really cute, or really cute to you, there’s a difference.” Audrey asked.

“
What’s that supposed to mean?”

“
Cause, you thought that one guy was cute, what’s his face.” Continued Audrey. “The one who looks like Conan O’Brien?”

“
Jimmy!” Abigail cried out.

“
Yeah, that’s him, Jimmy.”

“
What are you talking about?” I demanded. “Jimmy was cute.”

“
Jimmy peeled and ate his on scabs.” Audrey made a barf face.

“
What? No he didn’t.” I refused to believe that.

“
Yes he did. I was there. In Chem class.”

“
Yeah, I saw him. I was there to.” Abigail sadly agreed.

“
Why would he, why would anyone do something like that?” I asked.

“
Because they dared him to do it.” Audrey exclaimed.

“
Well that’s different then, that’s a dare.” I conceded.

“
Are you really making excuses for him?” She asked

Mitchell returned with an arm full of alcohol. “Ladies.” He started passing out orders, then sat back down. From his pocket, he pulled out a bunch of shot glasses and a bottle of Grey Goose Vodka. “Curtsey of Dave. He just said don’t drink it all and don’t share it with nobody but us.”