minutes of “me” time is what I’m craving right now because there are too many vampires in this house.
I am glad I got my biology homework out of the way. It’s so hard to concentrate after a satisfying meal. I’m sure you’ve been through that. You just want to zone with some music, am I right?
Oh, how do I decide on whom to snack on? I just look for someone healthy and fit over the age of thirteen. I tend to look for a long neck, just for convenience sake.
Okay let’s get settle for a little “me” time. I've got my Glow Pod pillow in place. I love this thing. This thing is awesome. It's a kind of pillow case for your pillow and it has a pocket for your cell phone or iPod so you don't lose it somewhere on the floor or roll over on it. And it glows softly - like all night long. Best is… it doesn't bother my vamp eyes at all. It always welcomes me home after a night of feeding. Well generally it welcomes me home... Skyla keeps stealing it the little scamp.
Okay, who should I listen to? The Con’s “Paradise” should do the trick. iPod ENGAGE!
“All your life… livin’ in some small town like it’s paradise… Breaking the shop windows, thinkin’ all bricks are good… they do just what they should… aaaaaahhh.
So please, please, give me somethin’ to believe in… Please, please ‘cause I got nothing now. Now you’re like…”
FAMILY TREMAINE
“Luna, get up!”
I didn’t hear my sister, Christian, while I was zoning out to the Cons and even if I did, I wouldn’t have responded. I don’t like my zone, my personal space, to be invaded by anybody-- especially, Christian-- and most especially during my “me” time.
Even Lily knows better than to invade my “me” time. I’m not a happy vampire if you do this. You might see some fangs if you mess with my “me” time. I might even “flare” at you if I’m really ticked. Flaring is a fang display with the mouth opened; sometimes combined with hissing. If it’s a “full flare” the lower and upper jaws are extended to their maximum range and saliva injected with venom will be dripping down those fangs. That means “back off” or get ready to fight. A full flare will also be present when we strike a human. It’s our most primitive state.
If it was Skyla that was interrupting me, I’d let it go. That smile of hers is so full of youthful innocence and those sparkly, inquisitive, puppy-like hazel eyes-- she totally melts me. My zone and personal space are always available to her. I love her whimsical, sandy blonde hair. I wish it were mine. I can’t do much with mine. It is what it is.
Skyla, Christian, and my Dad, all have a shade of brown hair and green or hazel eyes. My mother and I are so different from them. Our hair is so black that in the right light it has a bluish sheen. We both have these natural waves. I guess you call them locks or something. They are spiral cords of wavy hair. All we have to do is wash it and it comes out like that. Mom and I both have brown eyes. We look so much alike despite the twenty-three year age difference. Even though my Mom looks like me, her overall presence and style is more like Christian’s.
Christian at seventeen-years of age is a good six inches taller than me, with legs to the sky. Her legs end at a killer butt, which slides into a thin torso, and a chest with a perfect set of boobs. Her very straight posture, with shoulders perfectly squared like a soldier makes her look like a beauty queen on stage. You know that posture they have. Boobs out and a stick up their butts. Well that’s Christian. And in almost every way two people could be different, that’s Christian and me. She is the All-American, girl next door, but can turn on the sexy in the blink of an eye. It’s like a total transformation from antelope to lioness. You add the beautiful shiny brown flowing hair and Christian is like any box office star you see on the red carpet. So not like me. HATE HER!
Christian is my older sister, so the tension is thick between us. Vampire families are just like human families. Parents are always stricter with the first born, and that resentment results in a psychological rain down of, “You’re going through what I went through and you are not getting away with any less pain than me girl!”
At the end of the day I know she’s there for me and if I really needed her-- she’d step up. Believe me, she’s one kick-butt vampire.
I’m actually faster than Christian now, but she is so sleek and graceful in her running that her long strides are deceiving as to the ground she’s covering. It’s beautiful to watch. And when she makes her explosive launch towards a victim or just jumping for any reason, it is so mesmerizing to watch. It’s not like any other vampire I’ve ever seen. It’s like she’s floating and the landscape is magically moving past her. I’m jealous because my legs are shorter, but they do move. I’m also getting there with my leaps. I can’t see myself, but I think I’m getting pretty close to Christian.
I’ve never fought with Christian in the physical-sense save the occasional fang display hissy fit. I’ve seen her fight other vampires though and she’s like a snake. Striking. Recoiling… then striking again. She uses those long legs for stinging leg kicks. She doesn’t back away from a fight despite her beauty queen exterior.
I do however back away. I don’t like conflict or drama even though drama seems to find me a lot of the time. Family conflict and drama and BFF stuff I’ll engage in but that is not the real world. In the real world I’m a total bunny rabbit. Where it comes from I don’t know. I guess I’m just insecure about everything. My looks… my body-- everything. So it’s easier just to withdraw as much as possible from the real world-- and I’m an expert at that.
To limit the drama in my life I only have one single solitary friend-- Lily Burgoyne. She’s the only one that understands me. I hope she continues to as we change now that we are officially adults. We both recently turned fifteen; the vampire age of young adulthood. The biological clock is already clicking. Yuck! I’ve got to worry about that already? When does life get easier?
I don’t think Christian’s stronger than me anymore. But then again, I’ve never fought her. That would be a no, no. She’s already an Elder, so I’d be in trouble if I did. Elders have a lot of sway over our lives even if they are just a year or two older. A vampire can be an Elder at age seventeen, if they’ve gone before an Elder tribunal, and proven they are worthy of the status. I think Christian simply pranced in front of the tribunal, smiled, and they made her an Elder. This all leads to my most perplexing question in life. Why is she with Alexander Morgan?
Like I said, I’m faster than Christian now. Score one for Luna! How do I know? I raced her several months ago and won. I cleaned her clock by a mile. She didn’t talk to me for a week. Maybe I should race her every week and then I wouldn’t have to talk to her at all! I gained more respect from her but she showed it by treating me like dirt. That’s how I knew deep down she respected me.
Very odd the older-younger sister dynamic. Not as odd as the puberty-age-driven relationship between parents and child though. That’s another book by itself. They know what they want you to be, but they’ve forgotten who they used to be at our age. Their inner-conflict becomes our inner-conflict. Can’t they just leave us alone and understand we’ll eventually find our way to where they are? No… they can’t!
When I and the rest of the family have our game-faces on, look out, we’re locked on and there is no escape. You can be in a car going fifty miles-per-hour with the windows down, or have the top down on your convertible and it doesn’t matter. Six stories up in an apartment in a secured building-- you’re not safe from us.
Christian exudes zero emotion when she attacks and feeds. She’s
