You Were What You Eat

by Stephanie Prochaska

Just before dusk, Anna walked up an unfamiliar street, scanning the houses as she went. The houses in this neighborhood were all two stories and separated by tall hedges instead of the customary fences that Anna was used to. They were set farther back from the street than most of the homes Anna’d seen, and she had a little difficulty finding the addresses on some of them. A torn piece of notebook paper in her hand had Carmine’s address scribbled on it, and Anna kept glancing down at it for reference. She was almost to the very end of the street when she finally spotted the house she was looking for. It was a nice stucco one that had been painted a light beige color. Slowly, Anna started walking up the driveway towards the front door.

  Anna stepped up onto the porch and knocked on the door. Within a few moments, the door was opened – by Mina.

  “Hi. Come in – Carmine’s almost ready.” Her face darkened a little as she added, “I’m not really sure what she’s doing though…”

  Mina stepped back from the door, and Anna followed her through the house and into the kitchen. Carmine’s schoolbooks were sitting in a messy pile on the table. The pantry doors were open, and Anna could see the crown of Carmine’s head over the top. Carmine shut the pantry door, and Anna saw she had her backpack in one hand and a box of fruit snacks in the other. When she saw Anna she smiled a little sheepishly.

  “Last night,” she explained, “I got really hungry. If tonight’s going to be anything like that, I’m going to want a few snacks.”

  Carmine saw the look of mild annoyance on Mina’s face and told her, “Hey – it’s not like I’m only packing food! I’ve got binoculars and garlic just in case.”

  Mina grudgingly accepted this, but was left in shocked surprise when Carmine added with a gleam in her eye, “Besides, all this food isn’t just for me – you can have some, too!”

  The look on Mina’s face was priceless. Anna laughed out loud as Mina protested, “But that’s not the point!”

  It clearly hadn’t occurred to Mina that Carmine’s packing could have any kind of selfless gestures in it – she’d only seen it as Carmine taking forever to get ready.

  Anna thought about what Carmine had said and was fairly impressed. Carmine had good planning – especially considering the fact that she hadn’t even wanted to go on this trip. And it hadn’t occurred to Anna before Carmine had said something that staying up all night without really doing anything could make someone hungry. Anna was glad she never got hungry.

  Carmine walked around the kitchen, pulling out various drawers and throwing a few more things into her backpack. A few minutes later, she was finally ready. The three of them walked out to the backyard.

  Both Carmine and her parents were fairly active, so they had a few bikes outside that were in good shape. The girls had already decided in advance that they would ride the bikes over to Fredrick’s house so they could get there as soon as possible.

  Carmine lived about twelve blocks from Fredrick’s house, so they set off as fast as they could. The sun had slipped almost completely below the horizon by the time they left. Anna knew they had to hurry; she didn’t want to miss what could be her last chance to convince Carmine that Fredrick and Jacqueline were the dangerous vampires she’d been looking for. And if Carmine didn’t believe them, then where would they be?

  They turned right onto Fredrick’s street. Without saying a word to each other, they all slowed. None of them wanted to be noticed, especially since they wouldn’t actually be going into any of the houses when they stopped. If they were noticed by some nosy neighbor, things could get ugly – at this point, any attention was bad attention. They went slower and slower with every house they passed, and by the time they were in front of Fredrick’s house, they were all but crawling. Anna’s bike started to wobble with the lack of speed, and she had to get off to keep from falling over. Carmine and Mina followed suit. They walked their bikes up to the driveway and looked at each other. Mina pointed to the spot where they would be spending the night – at the side of the house where they’d been stationed the night before and the night before that.

  The fence met the house about seven feet away from the corner, and a couple of very tall and very overgrown bushes had been planted between Fredrick’s house and his neighbor’s. The result was a small inlet where the girls could park their bikes and manage to stay hidden. As they walked into this space, Carmine started to lean her bike against the side of the house. Anna stopped her and twirled her finger in the air, motioning to Carmine that they should turn the bikes around before setting them up against the house. Carmine smiled and nodded knowingly; if they had to make a quick exit, they didn’t want to have to waste time turning the bikes around first. Anna leaned her bike next to Carmine’s. Mina looked at the two bikes for a second before putting the kickstand down on hers. She then dragged it over to the side with the bushes. Anna realized that while this would mean that they had a little less room to sit in, it would save precious time when it came to following Fredrick – if they got that chance. By the time they sat down between the bikes, almost thirty minutes after they’d left Carmine’s, it was completely dark outside.

  The girls sat down on the cold concrete and settled in for a long night of nothing.

  The first hour wasn’t so bad. They whispered very quietly to themselves, Anna and Mina knowing what Carmine only believed – vampires have excellent hearing. They didn’t want to alert Fredrick to their presence if he managed to come out of the house without them hearing.

  While the hiding spot that the three girls had chosen was on the left side of the house, the front door was on the right. So they had to keep an eye out to see if Fredrick walked down the driveway. Anna and Mina were also listening for the sound of the front door opening. They all assumed that if he did come out of the house tonight, he would take is car. Fortunately, they could see a sliver of the front headlight from where they sat. And, if all else failed, they figured they’d hear it start or see the beam of light from the car as he got ready to leave.

  The second hour passed a little slower. The girls started running out of things to talk about as boredom set in. Carmine shivered slightly. Despite the fact that it was almost summer, it was still a little cold at night. And sitting, doing nothing on a concrete slab didn’t help matters.

  By the third hour, the girls were practically bored out of their minds. Anna reflected that stakeouts never seemed so boring in the movies. Mina pointed out that this was because they cut out most of the waiting. Carmine slowly and very quietly unzipped her backpack, looking for something to do as much as anything else. She reached into the bag and pulled out something wrapped in plastic. Anna looked. It was a Twinkie. Carmine offered it to first Anna then Mina. Both refused. She shrugged and opened it for herself.

  Carmine polished off the Twinkie and a pack of fruit snacks in just a few minutes. She was reaching into her bag for yet another pack of fruit snacks when Mina suddenly sat bolt upright. Anna and Carmine froze. Anna listened in the darkness, straining to hear what Mina had heard. She closed her eyes in the hopes that it would help her hear better.

  In the darkness, she heard a small click – the front door locking! Then, footsteps. She exchanged quick glances with Mina. This was it – the moment they’d been waiting for! Reading the looks on her friends’ faces, Carmine carefully took her hand out of her backpack and started, ever so slowly, to zip it back up. Anna had never seen someone move so slowly. But the careful movement worked – the zipper didn’t make a sound.

  The footsteps got closer and closer, and Anna suffered a momentary panic. What if he was coming towards them? Could he know they were waiting for him? If they were seen, it’d be all over. Then suddenly, the footsteps stopped. Anna guessed that he was still ten to fifteen feet away and relaxed just a fraction. She heard him cough slightly. Then, the fumbling of keys. The cough alerted Carmine to just how close he was, but Anna barely noticed the color draining from her friend’s face; she w
as too intent on listening.

  She thought she heard the car door open, but she knew for sure when she heard it close. The car started up with a roar, and the headlights lit up the entire front of the house. The three girls leaned back instinctively, not wanting to be caught in the light. The engine whined slightly as the car sped backwards down the driveway. It was clear that Fredrick wanted to get wherever he was going as fast as he could. The girls were momentarily bathed in the headlights as the car turned and headed down the street. Fortunately for them, Fredrick was too preoccupied to notice. He headed down the street and out of sight.

  Mina was already running down the driveway as the red glow of the car’s taillights disappeared down the street. She crouched down on the sidewalk, taking care not to be seen. She watched the car for a few seconds before running back up the driveway. Anna and Carmine were still sitting there, frozen in place, watching her.

  Mina looked incredulously at them. “Come on!” she all but shouted. This was enough to stir them, and Anna and Carmine jumped up. Anna grabbed her bike and pulled it down the driveway. Carmine, who was already running hers down towards the street, jumped on it in one fluid motion. Mina was right on her heels, quickly leaving Anna alone in the driveway.

  Anna hurriedly mounted her bike and peddled furiously until she caught up to her two friends. From a few feet ahead of her, she heard Mina say “He went this way!” just before making a hard left.

  The announcement was so sudden that Anna and Carmine almost passed the street, only barely making it in time. They peddled as hard as they could in a desperate attempt to catch up with the car.

  In her heart, Anna knew this was an impossible task. There was no way they would be able to catch up to a car as fast as this on their bikes. She felt her heart sink as she realized that it was very likely that she would never be able to prove to Carmine that she wasn’t imagining this. Her heavy heart made it hard for her to peddle, but she kept on going, doing all she could just to keep up.

  They peddled on, Mina leading the pack with Anna and Carmine close on her heels. They made a few more turns. First right. Then left. Despite the fact that Fredrick’s car was nowhere in sight, Mina seemed to know exactly where he was headed. Anna wondered how Mina could possibly know where they were going. She began to think that Mina was just guessing when she realized she could hear the faint sounds of an engine in the distance. Mina must be following that sound as well!

  Realizing they still had a chance filled Anna with a renewed sense of hope. She peddled even faster, until she managed to catch up to Mina. They went on for three more blocks. Finally, when Anna thought she couldn’t take it no more, Carmine shouted “Stop!” and skidded to a halt in the middle of the street.

  Mina, not wanting to stop unless they absolutely had to, shouted over her shoulder, “Why?”

  “Look!” Carmine said, pointing to the parking lot Anna and Mina were now passing. “There!”

  Mina looked, and Anna followed suit. On their right was a huge, almost empty parking lot. Anna realized it was the movie theater. And there, parked three rows from the very back, not thirty feet away from where the three girls were riding, was a deep red sports car resting under a big oak tree. Mina pulled her bike over so fast Anna had to swerve to avoid running into her. They hurriedly got off their bikes and started looking for a place to hide.

  One of the nicest things about this city, Anna realized, was that it had a lot of trees. Moving as often as she did, she knew that not every city had as many trees, which was a real shame. Trees – and especially bushes – provided a much-needed cover. She was starting to wonder what she’d ever done without them.

  This parking lot, like so many others in the area, had one side lined with bushes. Apparently, the people who made these kinds of decisions thought bushes looked nicer than fences – a decision Anna was more than happy with. The girls laid their bikes on the grass between the sidewalk and the hedge and slipped quickly into the leafy cover.

  As they lie panting on the ground, Anna realized that a fence actually ran through the middle of the hedge. Apparently, this allowed the theater to have the security of a fence, while still keeping the air of sophistication that a hedge provided. She liked the fence. It proved to be a great support to lean on while she tried to catch her breath.

  No one said a word for several minutes; they were all trying too hard to breathe. Carmine, looking absolutely exhausted, started fumbling for the tab that would unzip her backpack. After what appeared to be quite an effort, she managed to open it and started riffling through the contents. Anna just watched; she was too tired to ask what Carmine was looking for.

  After a minute, Carmine pulled a bottle of water out of her bag, looking at it with incredible joy. Anna and Mina didn’t even try to hide their jealousy. Carmine looked at Anna and smiled triumphantly before turning to Mina.

  “See?” she panted. “And you… thought… it was… stupid… of me to… bring… so much… stuff… didn’t you?”

  Mina looked at her a little sheepishly.

  “I didn’t!” Anna said quickly, in a belated attempt to be supportive. “I thought… it was… a really… great… idea.”

  Carmine looked at Anna. She had already taken several gulps of water in that short time, and was feeling much better.

  “No, you didn’t.” she said. “You didn’t say anything at the time, but I could tell by your face.”

  Anna looked at Carmine through the shadows being cast by the parking lot’s lights, and could see that she was smirking. She reached into her backpack, and brought out two more.

  “Nah…I’m just kidding. I brought a couple. Here.” She handed one first to Anna, then to Mina.

  They took their drinks and opened them immediately. Anna wasted no time in gulping down half a bottle, but Mina muttered something under her breath that even Anna barely heard: “It was a stupid idea.”

  Carmine looked up. “What’d you say?” she asked.

  Mina, who’d started drinking by that time, put down her bottle and smiled sweetly. “Nothing.” she replied.

  “Uh-huh” Carmine said, clearly suspicious.

  They finished their drinks quickly, and Carmine held out her hand, ready to take back the empty bottles. She zipped them back into her backpack and stood up. “You guys ready?” she asked. The two nodded and got to their feet.

  Hunched over, they walked as fast as they could single-file, along the edge of the parking lot, doing their best not to be seen. When they got about thirty feet from the front of the building, Mina, who was in the lead, stopped suddenly. Anna and Carmine crashed into her, nearly sending the three tumbling to the ground. Anna grabbed onto the fence to keep from falling into the dirt. When they regained their balance, they saw what had made Mina stop. Fredrick was standing outside the theater doors, waiting.

  Immediately, the atmosphere became tense. This was it – they’d actually managed to track him down. Now, all they had to do was settle in and wait for the inevitable.

  Chapter 30: The Horror Show