Everyone told me my mother was killed in a car accident, but I knew that wasn't true. I recall my mother being burned with a blazing twig against the wooden hut. I could see a ferocious face laughing wildly from the flame.
The face belonged to a vampire. He murdered my mother. Though another vampire saved me, I swore vengeance on the vampire, knowing I could do it.
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I was checking the latest post on Instagram. The basketball boys from my school won another fight. The crowds were talking in a cheerful tone.
Suddenly a shy but girly voice attracted my attention, "Hi, Jerry. Nice to meet you, do you mind…."
The girl didn't finish her words when the boy responded, "Yes. I do."
Astonishingly self—assured! The moment I raised my head to see what was going on, I saw a graceful youngster whizz by like the wind. He naturally drew attention. There was no other angel I could think of who was more beautiful than he was. It didn't take long for anyone to be captivated by his side face, even though I couldn't see the rest of his face. It was hard to believe that I hadn't noticed such a handsome young man before.
Jerry chose to ignore the girl and walked away, leaving the girl to remain where she was.
"Can't you mind your steps? You are as clumsy as a bell." The other boy ran into the girl and almost knocked her down.
I knew who they were this time. These young men belonged to the basketball team. The obnoxious boy continued to yell at the girl, "When you knock, bells ring. A bell is far more intelligent than you."
I was unhappy to hear them comparing a girl to a bell. Thus, I rolled up my sleeves and got prepared to have a fight.
"That doesn't seem fair." I knew my eyes were intense. These boys were taller than me, but I was stronger than them.
"Hey, you bastard. I will teach you how to be polite now." I was protecting the girl.
"Ging Gong is here." The boy was a little bit afraid of me. He intuitively hid behind.
As soon as I showed my combat skills, the other boys gathered around to support him.
"Go, Ford. Go. Show her you are the king." They heckled him.
Ford tried to pull me down, but I had much quicker reflexes to control his arms in advance.
"Ouch! Ging Gong. Get out of me." Ford shouted in anger.
"Apology to her. Now!" I held his arm tightly, forcing him to apologize.
"Are you really a girl?" I guess Ford felt pain. He cursed me, "you must belong to the vampires or the wolfs or the king kong."
"Apology." I insisted.
"No. Never" Ford replied. The other boys were watching us fight each other
Jason Sterling came over to stop us, "Boys, that's too much. Ford, you should apologize to her and Glinda."
Jason Sterling, captain of our basketball team, was charming and handsome. He was the most popular boy in my school. I used to think he had the prettiest face. But Jerry won out.
“Good afternoon, Glinda.” Jason smiled at me.
I was so nervous and regretful. I could not control my habits of saying these vulgar words. But now, I really wished Jason didn't hear my words.
Ford looked away while saying sorry. I didn't care about his apology now. All I was worried about now was that my imagination would be worse in Jason's mind.
Nearly every boy would make fun of me by calling me "Ging Gong", inspired by "King Kong". However, Jason would always call my name.
"Glinda, thank you so much." When the boys went away, the girl tried to talk to me. "I really dislike the boys from the basketball team. All they can do is to bully us."
"It's not a big deal," I replied under my breath.
However, It was a big deal.
Soon I could find my locker was rooting around by someone. I had to put everything in order again and again.
My changing clothes for the volleyball lesson were also misplaced at the point. In response to my decision to come up to volleyball class in jeans, Mr. Wood gave me a dogmatic lesson in "Never wear jeans to volleyball class."
It was fine if I wore pretty jeans, but my matching skills were so bad that I became the bad example of overwhelming the frame in front of all the girls.
How I wished to live once again.
Later that week, my student ID was painted with red paint and attached to the bulletin board by an unknown person.
Angry was not the word to describe my state of mind. Ford was the one who, I assumed, was responsible for all of his actions. Vengeance was something I yearned for.
"Glinda. Ready to go?" Jean, my best friend, found me when school was over.
"Jean, I can't find my pencil case," I said warily.
"Again?" Jean frowned, "Why? What happened to you recently?"
"I protected a girl from the basketball team. THE BASKETBALL TEAM." I answered with an emphasis.
"No wonder. So, what's your plan?" Jean asked.
I snickered and continued, "Follow me. I had been preparing for a few days."
I went to Ford's locker and found my pencil case there. But I didn't plan to take back my things. On the contrary, I put a leaflet inside and waited for the boys to finish their training.
When Ford saw me, he was startled for a while. Then he tried to ignore me.
"Ford, I can't find my pencil case." I started the conversation first. "I remember I lent it to you. Do you remember?"
Ford was confused about my plan. I urged him to open his locker in front of his teammates. He had to follow my instruction.
Then, he opened his locker, and the leaflet with "Tonic for man" dropped out. Ford picked up the brochure, and his face turned red out of shame as soon as he recognized the words.
"I used to think you are a little bit weak," I pointed at the brochure and said to Ford, "Sorry for you."
All the other boys and Jean saw the scene. They began to laugh. Ford felt so embarrassed.
I was relaxed now.
"We are one—one now, Ford." I was smug.
Jason seemed to hear the noise and came over. Finding out what happened, Jason couldn't help but burst into laughter. Later, he tried to handle the problem.
"Ford, Glinda. I'm assuming you're both well now." Jason was just stunning. I was almost taken in by his enticing features. "This Friday, Glinda, why don't you come to my younger brother's birthday party? We can have a lot of fun together."
"No. Your brother is someone I despise. He's a complete freak." Ford screamed.
In response, Jason shrugged his shoulders and made the expression, "That's him."
What astonished me was that Jason maintained his composure when Ford declared his brother to be a weirdo. If someone accused my brother of being a weirdo, I would fight back as quickly as I possibly could.
But I didn't pay much attention to Jason's reaction since I was invited to a party for the first time. And It was Jason who asked me. Usually, Jason would only invite the most popular or good—looking girls.
I was hilarious but pretended to be calm, "Sure, I will go. Perhaps."
"You must come, meet my brother." Jason showed me a relaxed smile.
"Do you have any knowledge of his brother Jerry? He's a cruel and jacked—up young man. Jerry never says anything to us and appears to be completely alone." Jean spoke in hushed tones.
Jerry? The pretty boy was Jason's brother? Why the boys from the Sterling family could be so gorgeous. I felt very bitter. But as soon as I recalled how impolite he treated the girl, I sucked in a huge breath. I hope Jerry will not be mean to me.
Never mind, Glinda. You came to the party for Jason. I encouraged myself.
Despite Jean's recommendation that we not attend, we went to the party on Friday night. I couldn't believe my eyes when I pulled up to the curb and looked around. The residence of the Sterlings was far too elegant. It was three floors tall and perfectly proportioned, and it was painted a soothing white. They even had a swimming pool on the premises.
I knew Jean could sense my nervousness because it was my first time attending a party. Jean lent me the most beautiful gowns, and she assured me that I was quite lovely. As a result, she and I walked shoulder to shoulder.
Ms. Sterling greeted us, and we walked through the deep shade up to the porch. At the entrance, Jerry reluctantly yielded to his mother's order and opened the door for us.
I still could barely see his face, but I could tell from his figure that he was so different and devastatingly beautiful.
Such a pretty golden—haired boy.
This time, I picked up my courage to look up to see his eyes. His eyes glared down at me, full of revulsion at first. Then, those crystal—like eyes were full of curiosity. I was surprised by the switch.
But the boy's face was too familiar to me.
Suddenly, something from my most profound memory punctured my fantasy, letting all the colors fade away.
I could remember the despair and the fear and the endless nightmare of that day.
That day, a vampire killed my mother, and the other vampire whispered in my ears, "Your soul is mine."
