VAMPIRES AND HUMAN-E

The next morning, she woke up as usual and Grandpa Jones told her he will be going to the other end of the Mellow Forest to look for an old eucalyptus tree. He will be gone for 3 days and told her to take care of herself and continue with Route 7 for the time being.

Astrid hugged her pop and kissed his cheek, before saying `Pop, you know the Wagner guy? The one whom I helped?

`What about him?' Grandpa Jones was tying up his bag and some parchment into a cylinder container.

`Err…I met one of them again' this time Grandpa Jones looked at her face and his face turned sour.

Astrid quickly explained about the incident at Route 7 and how she lied about their address and the dinner invitation. Grandpa Jones was quiet and thoughtful. Well, it's just a simple dinner but better be safe. He passed her chain to be worn on her belly and to be hidden. The chain was in gold with a tiny bell at the bottom which made no sound and a thunder shaped metal attached to the bell which glimmered under the light. It was pretty.

`Keep it with you at all times', Grandpa Jones warned her.

`Yes, Captain Jones.' She joked.

Both parted ways soon after.

For the next few days, her days were uneventful. She found out that her workmates were friendly, and they were attentive towards her. She was still wary and kept her guards up. She summed them up by their characters:

Alex Mann=vampire=shy, deep marron eyes, tall and very good looking.

Lewis Kerr= vampire=outgoing, a scar on his neck, strong, quick but dim-witted.

Aaron Milton=vampire=mohawak hair, piercings all over the body, talks a lot but has a decent attitude.

Matilda Meyer=human=attractive face with green eyes, pierced tongue, and an extremely fouled mouth.

Bettany Adams=human, quiet, observant, and polite. She has a crush on Lewis Kerr but he is unaware of it.

Vanessa Zula=vampire=she is the girlfriend of Aaron and is an exact copy of him. Except her hair is dyed in violet.

Astrid also realized that her workmates were outgoing and always keen to have a meal together. Astrid tried to avoid a few times but when they stated eyeing her with doubt, she allowed herself to be invited to go clubbing at a club nearby on a Sunday. It's better she starts socializing with them when they made efforts to make her feel welcomed. Why wasn't her high school life like this?

`Finally, Ice Queen Astrid has decided to join us' Aaron spoke while flipping the burger patty.

`You guys are relentless. Besides, this Ice Queen bestowed her graces by agreeing to go clubbing with you mortals', Astrid rolled her eyes in humour, smiling at them.

`Awwww come on don't tell me you have never been to one?' Vanessa was packed a FunMeal for a customer and smile albeit a fake one.

`I did, in my dreams, I think' Astrid laughed but stopped halfway when everyone eyed her with surprise.

`I just don't go anywhere near a crowd of people who talk too much. I am an introvert'. Astrid shrugged it off, wanting to divert their attention to someone else.

`Girl, we are going to be your first for everything. First clubs, then drinks, then come to the dance followed by men and more men than straight to snoggle', Matilda shook Astrid's shoulder and spoke in a serious tone.

Astrid just grinned and shook her head. ` No men for me, please',

`Astrid, you do know that we vampires can smell the distinct smell of people and their scent. How come you smell different every other day? Are you sure you aren't a vampire?', Lewis looked at her while moving a large bin of garbage into a bin dispenser.

`Dummy she uses different perfume', Vanessa stood behind Aaron and gently nibbled his ear.

`Duh, just asking',-Lewis

Astrid did not bother to explain further. Maybe after she learns to trust them, she will tell them of her business selling essential oils and creams.

`Astrid, do you have a boyfriend….you know…' Alex mumbled while keying in the daily sales into the computer.

`No, Alex',

`Oh come on, Alex don't tell me you want to hit on her? She is fresh off the pen',-Matilda

`I mean she..can bring her date along', Alex was blushing.

`Astrid, do you have any clothes suitable for clubbing?', Bettany spoke this time.

`Explain, suitable. In my world suitable is a pair of jeans and a top.'-Astrid

`Suitable as in a sexy dress, or sexy halter neck, or anything with fewer clothes and bright lipstick',-Matilda

`I guess I fail in that department',-Astrid

`It's ok, Mother Hen Matilda will guide you,-Vanessa

`Oi, I'm not a mother, and I am certainly not old, you better watch that ass mouth before I turn it into an ass,' Matilda was livid being called an old woman when she was only 31.

`This boob and this ass gets any man asking for Holy Mother!', Matilda cupped her assets and wiggled her bottoms at them before rushing to the toilet.

Astrid could not take it anymore and laughed her heart out. It was so funny, she laughed until her stomach hurt and her eyes were filled with tears. It has been many years since she laughed like this. I guess, this is how it feels like to have friends, she thought. I think I will not regret having them as my friends, she thought.

Just as Vanessa was about to close the shop, an elderly man walked in. Vanessa cursed under her breath. she wanted to leave early with Aaron and a customer came in to ruin her date tonight. Astrid noticed her reaction.

`Vanessa, you go ahead, I will take this order',-Astrid

`Are you sure? Bettany can assist you?-Vanessa looked at Astrid and Bettany.

`Shoo..shoo. We can handle this', Astrid pushed Vanessa to the exit door and went to the front counter to stand behind Bettany.

`Hello, Astrid', it was the same butler again. He was about to ask what she was doing at McPhearsons, but Astrid caught his look of confusion faster and answered him.

`Hi, Mr Lionel. I'm just doing part-time here', finally she saw a familiar face after a long day of serving strangers.

`This is Bettany, and this is Mr Lionel.' Astrid introduced the butler and her colleague.

`Hello, sir. Nice to meet you. May I take your order for the day?' Bettany was polite.

`Umm, I am not sure of the order. I was told to go McPhearson and purchase the regular meal. What is a regular meal?' the butler was clueless and rubbed his bald head.

`We have the chicken and rice regular set, nuggets and chicken popcorn, wedges and sandwich wrap…' Bettany started explaining but the stopped when the butler looked lost and puzzled.

What was he thinking of sending me here, to order regular set when there was variety to choose from, the butler thought.

`Say whom are we getting this meal for? Human or vampires? Age?' Astrid enquired.

`Vampire. 29 years old', the butler was taken aback by the weird questioning. He hid Hadwin's original age, not that it mattered to the vampires, but the humans tend to be intimidated by the real age of vampires.

Bettany and Astrid looked at each other and smiled.

`Chicken popcorn large, Chicken Nuggets medium, French fries large, a large soda, mash potato small, chicken drumstick spicy and potato wedges large, Bettany keyed in the order and Astrid went back to the kitchen.

`That will be $48.50, sir' Bettany took the note from the butler and prepared the change.

`Keep the change, dear. You saved my head', the butler was astonished at the people working in the fast-food chain. They were observant and smart. Hadwin was the opposite of everything. Many girlfriends, daily booze, and god know what he does outside of his room, butler thought.

`Here you go Mr Lionel' Astrid handed him 2 bags full of hot pipping food. The butler thanked both profusely before leaving and he prayed Hadwin Wagner will eat this meal. Sometimes he can't wait for the young master to be kicked out of the house.

`Let's call it a day', Astrid spoke while yawning. She was tired.

They closed the shop and packed up to leave their separate ways. Alex offered to walk Astrid to the nearest bus stop, and she agreed. Astrid found him shy but polite and she had burning questions to ask about vampires and their kind.

`Alex, can you tell me more about vampires?'

`Curious?' Alex's eyes twinkled in excitement. He felt very comfortable with her. Should I flirt with her? Maybe, I should, he thought.

`We feed on blood as you know, and meat, not raw but some do. To each their own. We are faster, live longer, stronger, in a nutshell, we are as humans, but all the senses, reflexes, and healing abilities are multiplied by 50x'.

`Do you crave killing other beings?'

`No, there was a mutation several hundred years ago and it rendered all the vampires not to eat human meat, but only draw their blood, that too if we want to. The human blood and those we get from packaged tastes the same, so the thrill factor is not there. We can hunt and eat animals though. The mutation allowed us to stay together with relative peace I guess.' Alex was nearing the bus stop and raised a brow as if asking if she wanted him to continue.

Astrid nodded her head and spoke `But if there was a mutation to turn against humans, a reverse of what happened years ago, is it possible Alex?'

`In Anubia and the other city, everyone is closely monitored not to allow reverse mutation to happen. We have survived until now, so I guess not'.

`But there is still a slight chance of it to happen'?

`If it does, I will be there to protect you, Astrid' Alex spoke softly and looked into her pale brown eyes.

Astrid blushed hard and involuntary she smiled.

`Socio-economic wise there are more vampires who are rich compared to humans. Exaggerated abilities help. But the humans are good administrators, and a few are genius. Vampires don't have geniuses in their family.

`Can a human turn into a vampire?'

`Yes and no. If the human body is not capable of the blood transfusion then they will just die. If it is successful, then voila you have a vampire'

`You mentioned vampires live long?'

`Yes, they do age slowly. The average vampire lives up to 500 years or more. We do get diseases but it's rare. Most of the death you see are either by gunshot or accident or old age.'

`You mean special bullets, or any bullets will do?

`Why do you ask, Astrid? Anyone in mind to try the bullet on?' Alex teased her and Astrid realized that she went too far.

Alex took a deep breath and explained that the current bullets, guns, and military equipment can kill both humans and vampires. It was changed shortly after the mutation started to prevent each other from murdering their races.

Astrid signalled for a bus and after a few minutes of silence, a bus arrived. Astrid stood up and waved to Alex.

`Astrid you are forgetting something', Alex rushed nearer to Astrid who was already on the ledge of the bus door.

`What is…. ', Astrid quickly turned her face to look at him and was startled when Alex placed a warm kiss on her cheek and quickly retrieved his face before she could finish her sentence. Astrid was stumped and she blushed. She stared at him from the glass window and saw Alex was equally red-faced waving at her.

Astrid was surprised. She lacked the knowledge in communication or intimacy with the opposite gender. She wondered if Alex liked her or he was just being attentive as a friend. She groaned internally and pushed it aside. Alex will be on leave tomorrow and she will not be seeing him. Astrid thought of asking Matilda or Vanessa. They seemed experienced in relationships.

Alex was embarrassed by his action. He was in turmoil when he saw Astrid leaving. He felt as if he was going to miss a chance and kissed her cheeks out of desperation. He never imagined he would do that. Alex always asks for consent in a relationship. He has good manners and he likes to maintain it. It separates the barbarians and the cultured that way. He had a feeling Astrid will drill him on Sunday.

Astrid reached her house and showered before hitting the bed and snoring away. A wisp of white mist circled her a few times as if wondering where to go. It settled on her back and Astrid felt a warm tingling feeling enveloping her, further putting her into slumber.