Chapter 6 - Gen 8 - Paige

"I really don't want to put on you like this!" she said

"Your not really - to be honest I rattle around in this house on my own, I could use the company and its not like I don't know you at all!!"

"Wow!! this place is amazing!!"

"Mine is the blue room upstairs, you can use the green room, but if you don't like that one there are two other rooms empty, tell me and I'll get them furnished"

"Its all so easy for you isn't it!!"

"What is?"

"Life, money - all this" she waved her arms around

"I'm sorry!!"

"I suppose its not your fault and I bet you take it all for granted don't you!!"

"Probably I do because its what I have always had and been used to"

"WOW!!  I am scared I am going to get lost in this house!!"

"Don't be silly"

"The size of this hallway, I dread to think what size the rest of the rooms are"

"Well go look and if you do get lost, phone me I'll come and get you!!"

"Your so funny!!"

"Just make yourself at home - oh and plasma is in the fridge - the red cartons!!"

"Thanks!!"

"On a serious note I do need you to think about how this happened to you!!"

"Does it matter, its done now its not like it can be changed"

"I know but there is a nasty vampire out there who should not be doing this - it needs to be stopped, surely you must remember something - its not like you wouldn't notice it happening because you would!!"

"I'll try but I really don't remember anything"

"Do you know where my uncles live?"

"Yes I think so"

"Well maybe we need to pay them a visit - you never know it could be one of them - and if not if there are any more vampires in town they might know"

"Your deadly serious about this aren't you!!"

"Yes and so should you be, you were lucky, the next person might not be and the last thing I want is to have a vampire which hunt aimed and me and you and any other good vampires in this town"

"Do they like vampires where  you come from"

"In Riverview the human is the minority, in fact a none Swan is a minority - our family has sort of over ran the town - there are way too many of us - a big part of why I left there in the first place and I really don't want to have to go back!!"

"OMG!!"  I could hear her squealing in the bathroom

"What wrong?"

"What has happened to my eyes and my neck how do I get this mark off!!"

I started laughing out loud

"Paige its not funny"

"I am sorry, I know I shouldn't laugh - your eyes have changed because now you can see in the dark"

"Get away, your having me on"

"Can you actually see any lights on in this room, to a human this house is in total darkness you know, there aren't any lights on - you just think there is because you can see normally - look I'll show you"

I flicked the light switch on and off to show her and she just stood there with her mouth open

"And my neck"

"I am afraid that you can not remove - see its the same as mine"

"Great!!"

"and what is that?" she said pointing to the bath a half smile on her face  "a swimming pool or a bath?"

"No thats the bath, the swimming pool is downstairs"

"NO!!  -  you don't have a swimming pool in your house! - do you?"

"Yes downstairs go look if you don't believe me"

"Your a snob - you know that!!"

"If you say so!!

"Yes I do!!"

"Before you go to bed - don't forget plasma not food and in the morning DO NOT go outside whatever you do!!!  I need to sit down and explain a few things to you - the ins and outs of being a vampire."

The next morning still half asleep I kind of let it slip my mind that Razz was here, so set in my ways I got out of bed and made my way to the bathroom, and it was while I was brushing my teeth that I noticed her in the mirror standing behind me watching me.  I was looking and not believing what I was seeing, it was like an ugly duckling turning into a beautiful swan overnight.  I just stared at her in the mirror thinking maybe it was not Razz I was seeing a mirage and when I turned round it would be gone.  Paige Swan you are so shallow!!!!

I took a deep breath and turned round and there she still stood in front of me.

"WHAT THE ......."

"I am sorry did I scare you - I didn't mean to - I should have knocked"

"No I ......" I was speechless and I must have looked a right fool standing there mouth wide open

"Well you can pick your chin up off the floor - anyone would think you have never seen a women in just underwear before?"

"Yes, No, its not that its ....."

"What?" she seemed irritated

"I hardly recongnized you, you look...

(and I was about to say beautiful but changed my mind at the last minute) 

....so different without your glasses on!!"

"Oh is that all - I was beginning to think I had gained  horns and a beard or something overnight to go with my dodgy eyes, and my new tattoo by the way you were just looking at me." she stood there smiling at me and my stomach flipped over

"You just took me by surprise that's all!!" 

By surprise - I felt like I had just been punched in the stomach!!

 "Did you sleep ok??"

"I think so it was kind of wierd though, I am not used to a bed"

"Just how long have you been sleeping on park benches!!"

"Quite a while before you came to town."

"So that house you was outside, wasn't where you lived?"

"No I was rooting throught the bin"

"Razz that is just awful!!"

"I know but I had to sometimes!!"

"I couldn't imagine having to live that way!!"

"Well you wouldn't would you!!  - but you know there are quite a few homeless people in Twinbrook, I am actually one of the lucky ones at least I had a job - things would have been a lot worse for me if I didn't have a least some money for food now and again."

"Why has nobody ever mentioned this at work?"

"Because nobody knows or cares enough to notice, I think you know that already and if you had not slipped up that day and told me you could read my mind it would not have been long before you found out!!"

"That is why you have been keeping your distance from me!!"

"Yes, even though I didn't want to because it has been so long since I even had a friend!!"

"How long have you been a "Snack Hawker?"

"Too long - I have only had 1 promotion since I started there last year"

"I am going to do something about that!!"

"What do you mean? - how can you?"

"Just - oh nothing - nothing for you to worry about!!"

How could I tell her how bad it really was, how much she was the centre of the jokes, the Office Geek was never going to get any promotions  everyone was too busy laughing at her to even notice how hard she worked!!  The boss was like a playground bully and unfortunately Razz was the victim.

"Have you thought any more about how this could have happened?"

"I have but nothing seems to make sense"

"I would have been two or three days ago, actually around the time you went a little wierd on me - what happened to put you in such a crabby mood?"

"Nothing much other than I woke up that way, I had been having a nightmare and ......."

"and what?"

"I woke up in pain!!"

"What was the nightmare about?"

"I was being attacked by thousands of bats, they were hurting me and I had blood running all over my face and into my eyes I was trying to get the bats off me and when I woke up I was thrashing about and it hurt"

"Where was the pain?"

"All over but mainly my left arm, I think I must have been sleeping on it, or I hit it when I was kicking about in my sleep having the nightmare"

"That wasnt a nightmare"

"Of course it was a nightmare"

"No that was real - that was when you were being bitten - the evil b**** bit you while you was asleep - it makes sense you not knowing because as soon as he bit into your skin you would have blacked out for a short time - the hurting all over was the venom running through your blood and the pain in your left arm was because that is the arm that was bitten!!"

"Why would anyone want to do that?"

"I don't know because you can feed off a human without turning them into a vampire - what has been done to you is just downright evil - he basically abused you and left you to die!!

"A bit like rape"

"Its exactly rape, but not your body - your life!!"

"My life?"

"Yeah you do realise don't you now you are - technically dead!!"

"What!!??"

"Your heart does not beat anymore - your blood no longer flows through your viens - you are dead - the propper term for it is "undead" because you are trapped between the living and the dead and plasma is the only thing that keeps you going - like a fuel in a way - like oil in a car - keep running a car without oil and the engine will seize and die - your body without plasma will seize and die.  Mechanically your body is still working because of the plasma - it is no longer your heart keeping you alive - you no longer have a pulse"

"Wow - thats just ........!!"

"But its not all bad!!"

"You tell me I am dead and says it is not all bad!!"

"Besides the sunlight - its actually pretty good being a vampire!!"

"So what's good about it?"

"Your brain, eyesight and hearing are a lot sharper than they used to be, you might not even need  those glasses of yours anymore!!"

"Oh yipeee!!!" she said sarcastically

"I am being serious, your brain especially - you learn things and take thinks in 10 x quicker than you would as a human - you will pick up a paintbrush and instinctively know how to paint, musical instruments, it will just come to you like you have been taught it already!!"  Of course you being a turned vampire is not so good as being a born vampire - my senses are probably a lot sharper than yours - you will move a lot faster too!!"

"Yeah I have seen you run so fast you leave a trail behind you!!"

"Well you will now do that too!!"

"So there is hope for a promotion yet then!!"

"Why did you chose to work at the stadium anyway?"

"I want to be a Superstar Athlete one day - but thats not likely to ever happen, but I can dream a little it gives me something to get up for every morning!!"

I started to laugh

"What is so funny??!!"

"You and me have too much in common!!"

"Like what?"

"Music, starsign, Athletic trait, Neat trait, Hopless Romantic trait, we have the same life time wish, my favourite colour is blue (your hair), yours is purple (my hair) and now the vampire thing and believe it or not I used to love peanut butter and jellie sandwiches when I was a kid!!"

"Yeah but the difference is - your rich and famous and I am a homeless tramp!!"

"Your not exactly homeless now are you"

"Sort of - this is your house and its not like you are going to let me stay here forever"

"Don't worry - I will never let you go back out onto the streets"

"You can never say that for certain - anyway I need to drink some of that nasty stuff"

"Ok - Ill be down in a minute!!"

I just stood there for a while after she went downstairs - I was in shock!!!!
Shocked that I had never really looked at her properly before
Never judge a book by its cover isn't that what they say!!!  The problem is this book has two covers so you can not really blame me for feeling a little shallow right now!!!!
The "Hardback" Geek and the "Paperback" Beauty - who would ever believe me!!!
I feel shallow because I have not looked past the glasses, hair and clothes - the "Hardback" version I did not like but the "Paperback" version - I do like!!!
 All the time she was standing their talking to me I was finding it hard to concentrate - I was memorised by her face and had all these weird emotions running through me that were driving me nutz!!

 The lads at work are going to give me hell when they find out about this!!!
Cause I am falling for the "Office Geek"!!!!!

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Chapter 7

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