My Crazy Life

by Katrina Kahler

  “I’d be honored,” Timmy said sliding over for Frank.

  Well, at least something seems to be working out.

  Nina Note: Yeah, it was a risk telling Ruby...but if Frank was right, I would need all the friends I could get. Ruby was a sweetie. I knew I could trust her. Right? I mean Frank did and for all of Frank’s quirks, he is great at reading people.

  I felt terrible about Jimmy. The fact that his mom didn’t want him to talk to me, kind of confirmed that yes she was most likely a vampire hunter. Which meant Jimmy had the genes to also be one. Funny, how vampire hunters are born to hunt us. They can’t figure out that we are really working to help humans. Maybe Jimmy is different? Maybe that’s why I got along so well with him? Maybe our parents are wrong?

  Chapter 11: Schooling

  Entering the school, I saw my Aunt Mika standing by the office with a tall golden skinned younger woman. Aunt Mika had makeup on so her skin appeared to be flesh color and not green.

  “That’s my Aunt Mika!” I said.

  “Mine too!” Frank noted.

  “Who’s that woman they are talking to?” I asked Ruby.

  “That’s Ms. Anna the dance teacher,” she said.

  “She’s pretty,” Frank said.

  “Way too old for you bro,” I told him.

  “Yeah, she’s gotta be ancient. Like 25,” Ruby said.

  Walking over to Aunt Mika and Ms. Anna I said. “Aunt Mika, why didn’t you tell us you’d be coming to school today? You could have given us a ride.”

  Aunt Mika smirked. “Sorry Nixy, Ana, my old friend, just sent me a text late in the morning. She told me they have an opening for a music teacher that I would be perfect for. She knew I was looking for work.”

  “What happened to old Miss Jewel?” Ruby asked. “She was old and cranky but I kind of liked her. The blue hair was so cool.”

  “She suddenly won the lottery and retired,” Ms. Anna said. “Since we were shorthanded I reached out to Mika. I’m sure I can convince Principal Peters she’s the best choice.”

  As if on cue, Principal Peters came storming out of his office. “What’s this I hear about Miss Jewel??”

  “She won the lottery and retired,” Ms. Anna said calmly.

  The principal groaned and rolled his eyes. “Figures! Trust her to win the lottery and leave me without a music teacher.” He looked off into space and smiled. “Why can’t I ever win the lottery….”

  Ms. Anna snapped her fingers in front of the principal’s eyes. “Earth to Peter,” she said.

  “Right, right!” he said snapping back to the moment. He looked at Aunt Mika. “So who do we have her?”

  Aunt Mika offered the principal her hand. “Mika Thorn, I have a BA and MA in music theory.”

  “Mika was the lead musician and vocalist for The Green Roses group,” Ana said enthusiastically.

  Nina Note: About 10 years ago when I was a little kid, Mika and her all zombie friends had a top 10 hit called, “Nothing Will Stop Me From Loving You. It really was a catchy tune about brains.

  “I’m not sure, a rock singer will make a good teacher,” the Principal said staring at Mika.

  Anna locked eyes with the principal. “She will make an amazing teacher!” she said firmly. “You and the kids will love her!”

  “She will make an amazing teacher,” the principal repeated. “The kids and I will love her.” He shook Mika’s hand. “Now come with me and let’s finish the paperwork.”

  “The paperwork is already done,” Ms. Anna told him.

  The big man smiled. He clapped politely. “That’s great that the paperwork is already done. I am so happy for you.”

  “I will take her to the dance and music room,” Ms. Anna told the principal.

  He grinned. “Great please take her to the dance and music room!”

  Moving next to Ms. Anna I locked eyes with her and said, “Thanks for giving my Aunt this job.”

  Ms. Anna didn’t let her eyes waver from mine. “It was my pleasure. I am here to help the students to do more than dance.”

  I leaned in and subtly sniffed her. I wanted to make sure I didn’t smell any vampire on her. She grinned and whispered. “Just be glad it’s the start of the day. A whiff of me at the end of the day will knock even your lights out for a bit.”

  Aunt Mika took my hand. “If you need me for any problems that might be Glitter related...you know where to find me,” she said.

  “Yes, yes I do,” I said.

  “What just happened there?” Ruby said. “I’ve never seen Principal Peters take to anybody like that before?”

  “Our Aunt sure is a cool person,” Frank said.

  “Agreed,” I said, but there was something else going on here. Just didn’t know what.

  Ruby whispered to me. “Did you use vampire powers on him?”

  “Cross my fangs I did not,” I grinned.

  The bell rang and we went to homeroom.

  Nina Note: Yeah, that was a weird turn of events. First Ms. Jewel mysteriously winning the lottery, that from what I understand, she was too cheap to actually play. Second, my aunt replacing her instantly. Third, the way Ms. Anna could manipulate the principal. It was like she was a vampire but I didn’t get a vampire vibe or scent from her. Still, there was something different about her...just wasn’t sure what. I figured though it must have been a good different since my Aunt knew her and liked her.

  Chapter 12: Allies

  For the next couple of days, everything went well. I slowly got used to the school. Frank, of course, became Mr. Popular due to his good looks and success at sports, and the guy was super friendly. I liked most of my classes. Music with my aunt felt freaky at first but I had to admit that Aunt Mika did a cool job with the class. She made music both fun and educational. I still couldn’t get a read on Ms. Anna. She seemed friendly enough. But I had no idea if she was a monster or not. I decided to be like Frank and think the best of people.

  Meanwhile, Ruby and I became even better friends. Turns out I loved having a friend who happens to be a nice normal kid. Okay, to be clear she wasn’t completely normal. For one thing, she loved the idea of being great friends with a vampire and she quickly soaked up a bunch of vampire knowledge and lore. By the end of the week, I believe she knew more about vampires and other monsters than I did.

  There had been no signs of the Glitters either, but that didn’t make me feel any better. I knew the Glitters were around. I figured they were just biding their time waiting for the right time to cause utter confusion and chaos.

  On the Jimmy front, everything remained stable. He would look at me when he didn’t think I was watching. I would look at him when I knew he wasn’t watching. We would just sigh. We’d pass in the hall and nod to each other. That was it.

  Until…

  To avoid contact with Jimmy, I decided to walk home from school every day with Frank and Ruby. On Friday, while sticking around the school waiting for Frank’s practice to end, Ruby and I heard Timmy Taylor shout. “Hey, stop that!”

  “Stop being a cry-baby kid, you owe us two days lunch money,” one of the Holmes boys taunted.

  “Yeah,” the other laughed. “Hanging out with that giant boy scout Frank, may keep you safe on the bus but there ain’t no Frank around now!” the other laughed.

  The two bullies had Timmy up against a locker.

  Yeah, this wasn’t going to happen. Not when I was around.

  As I started to quickly walk towards the two big bullies, I saw Jimmy running at them from the opposite direction.

  “Guys! Put Tim down now!” Jimmy ordered.

  The two big dopes dropped Timmy to the ground. They turned to Jimmy. “Look, Jimmy, this beef ain’t with you,” one of them said.

  “Yeah go back to baseball practice and nobody gets hurt.”

  Jimmy kept coming. In fact, he sped up his pace.

  I smiled. Then looking up I frowned. There, hovering above the two Holmes boys, I saw a big Glitter cloud. From what Ruby and I had learn
ed, Glitters loved taking advantage of simple-minded people.

  Ruby walked up behind me and whispered. “You’re going to let Jimmy take on those two by himself?” she asked.

  “It’s not just those two, there’s a Glitter there!” I said.

  Ruby gasped. “Well, then you HAVE to get involved.”

  Yeah, I knew Ruby was right; the question now was how would I do this? I couldn’t expose my powers to these guys. And I didn’t want to make my mom angry.

  Nina Note: Mom would not be thrilled about me interacting with Jimmy and also telling Ruby that I was a part vampire. But I had to do something. I loved my mom, but she could be so stubborn sometimes. She just couldn’t comprehend that Jimmy and Ruby really were both good people. I had hoped that with Aunt Mika in the school and getting to know them she would stand up for them, but I needed more time.

  Of course, time seemed to be the one thing I didn’t have now. I had to react to the situation and fast.

  The two Holmes thugs had dropped Timmy and were now concentrated on Jimmy. They closed in on him and I heard them say.

  “Jimmy, man, we don’t want to hurt you.”

  “Yeah turn around now dude and walk away.”

  While their words said one thing their tone said another. These two so wanted to hurt Jimmy. I could sense their feelings in my gut. The Glitter had control of them. From what I’d learned, when Glitters make people do crazy things, they also make them stronger. Jimmy wouldn’t have a chance without me.

  “Stop, you fools!” I yelled.

  The two brothers stopped and turned towards me.

  The larger Holmes boy pointed at me. “I hope you are talking to them.”

  Shaking my head as I drew near. “Nope, I’m talking to you two bozo bros.”

  The two fools now turned all their attention to me.

  “You know, Nina I appreciate the effort, but I’ve got this!” Jimmy said, making a fist at the bros.

  “I understand, Jimmy. I know you could handle this but believe me I want to help. In fact, I have to help. It’s in my DNA.”

  “Fair enough,” Jimmy said.

  The Holmes bros laughed at Jimmy. “Hey Jimmy, buddy if you fight us, win or lose and you will lose, you will get suspended from the baseball team. Can the team afford to lose you?”

  Hmm, for a really dumb boy, this Holmes brother had some intelligence. He’d certainly got Jimmy thinking.

  “Do that and you will let down all your teammates,” the smarter of the two brothers insisted.

  “Jimmy, please let me handle this,” I asked. “I’m not on any team so I can’t get kicked off. These big macho dudes won’t even be able to admit to anybody that I kicked their behinds.”

  The taller of the Holmes boys walked towards me grinning. “Look, I don’t want to hurt you, girlie,” he said sarcastically to me. He put his hand on my shoulder. It was power move meant to show who the boss was.

  Funny thing was...I was about to show him.

  I grabbed the bigger twin’s hand, lifted it off me, twisting and squeezing at the same time. Driving him to the ground with ease, I told him, “It’s impolite to touch a lady without her permission!”

  The other brother stepped towards me. I shot my head in his direction and growled. “You don’t want anything to do with this!” I ordered.

  He stopped in his tracks and moaned. “I don’t want anything to do with this…” he mimicked.

  Glancing at the brother whose arm I had locked with my hand. “Do you now understand that shouldn’t touch a woman without her permission?”

  “Yes,” he groaned.

  I released his arm, letting him stand up. I kept one eye on him and another on the pulsating Glitter shadow cloud that was lurking above. It shrunk with each word I said.

  The brother straightened and rubbed his arm. “Yep, I get it,” he said.

  “What’s going on here!” the gruff angry voice of Principal Peters bellowed down the hall.

  Jimmy walked towards the principal. Jimmy smiled. “Just a friendly talk about manners between friends,” he said.

  The principal eyed the Holmes boys and me. “Is that true, boys?” he asked.

  I gave the two of them my look. They both shook their head. “Yes, sir!” they both agreed.

  Nina Note: Well...what do you know. The two Holmes brothers were like animals, they could sense my power. Good.

  The principal crossed his arms and stood there thinking. I knew he had to be displeased that the boys wouldn't rat me out. I saw the Glitter floating over towards him. I had to stop that thing from getting to my principal. Pointing up at the ceiling I said, “Is that a spider web up there?” I asked.

  I had to try something I had never done before. Channeling the energy from my body through my finger to give that Glitter a jolt to remember. I concentrated on merging all my energies, combining them and letting them bubble up and grow. I felt the energy crackle through me. The invisible force ripped from my finger hitting the Glitter. The creature screamed a scream that made my blood curdle. It also made my body feel the need to shiver, but I couldn’t let it.

  I shook my head. “Nope, I guess not,” I said.

  Principal Peters grumbled. “My school is clean. Of course, we don’t have cobwebs.” He looked at us all. “Just make sure you kids head home soon.”

  “Right sir,” we all said.

  The principal turned and walked away talking to himself.

  I turned my attention to the two brothers. “You heard the man. Go home!”

  The two brothers grumbled and walked out of the school.

  Timmy ran up to me and smiled. “Do you mind if I take your hand?” he asked.

  “No, of course not,” I said.

  He took my hand and smiled. “Thank you. You and your brother Frank have made my life so much better.”

  “I’m glad,” I told him.

  Timmy’s phone vibrated. “That must be my mom saying she is here to pick me up. Do you need a ride?”

  “Thanks, Timmy, I think it’s a nice day for a walk,” I said looking at Jimmy.

  “Right, okay, see you on the bus tomorrow!” he said.

  “You bet,” I told him.

  Jimmy walked up to me slowly and cautiously.

  “Don't worry, I don’t bite,” I told him.

  He reached me and said softly. “That’s not what my mom says about you…”

  “Well, we’re old enough not to believe EVERYTHING our parents tell us,” I said.

  Jimmy smiled. I loved his smile. “That’s the thing, after seeing you in action I totally believe all the weird stuff she said about you.”

  “Oh,” I said letting my voice drop.

  Jimmy took my hand gently. “Here’s the thing, I don’t care. You Nina Thorn, otherwise known as Nixy are somebody I want to get to know better.”

  “Ah, so sweet,” I heard Ruby sigh.

  For my part, my heart skipped a beat.

  Nina Note: My mom would not be happy about me disobeying her and helping Jimmy. Sure, Jimmy and his mom might have been vampire and monster hunters but to me, that meant that they were good people. They really thought they were helping make the world a better place. They didn’t realize they were really helping these unseen Glitters. I knew I could convince Jimmy and therefore turn the tables on the Glitters even more. Because come on, if vampires and monster hunters worked together, nothing would be able to stop us.

  I’m not sure what felt better, Jimmy touching my hand or me zapping that Glitter with vamp energy. They both felt great!

  Chapter 13: The talk

  Jimmy and I started walking home. We walked close together but without holding hands. I fought back the temptation to take his hand. Frank and Ruby walked behind us giggling. So mature.

  Ignoring my giggling best friend and brother I asked Jimmy, “How are we going to do this?”

  Jimmy smirked. “Walking home is easy, left foot, right foot, left foot, right foot, and repeat.”

  “I do right
foot then left foot,” Frank offered.

  Ignoring them both I said, “I mean, what are we going to tell our moms?” A slight delay. “My mom made it very clear I should avoid you.”

  “My mom did the same thing,” Jimmy said.

  “Your mom thought you should avoid yourself?” Frank asked, truly confused.

  Nina Note: I love my bro dearly, but he could be so dense sometimes.

  “Ha, funny one, Franky!” Jimmy said.

  “I don’t think he was kidding,” Ruby said.

  “Ruby nailed it,” I told Jimmy.

  “No, mom said I should avoid Nina some because she’s a vampire. Mom is convinced we are vampire hunters. I used to think she spent too much time breathing in old dust at her antique shop,” he paused. “But now. I’m really starting to believe her. What you did back there was amazing.”

  I had two options here. I could lie and make up a story or I could tell the truth. This happened to be one of those times where a lie made more sense than the truth, but I didn’t want to lie to Jimmy. That’s not the way to start a relationship.

  “Ha!” Frank laughed. “That’s funny!”

  “You mean she’s not a vampire?” Jimmy asked hopefully. “I did always think vampires couldn’t go out in the sun and stuff like that.”

  “No there are ways around all those old silly stories,” Frank said.

  “Oh, I thought you’d say she wasn’t a vampire,” Jimmy said, his voice dropping.

  “Oh, she’s not,” Frank said in a tone you knew was the truth.

  Nina Note: Actually, I’m not sure Frank could lie if he wanted to.

  “That’s great!” Jimmy said. “Then my mom is crazy and there’s a logical explanation for what I saw back there!”

  “Of course, there is!” Frank said. “Nixy is half vampire and half weretiger.”

  “Oh, I’m not sure that is better,” Jimmy said voice dropping again.