Amy sprung up from her bed and glanced around. She felt something dripping down her lip and touched it. She looked at it and saw it was dark red. She looked down and saw her shirt collar stained red. She jumped out of bed and ran to the door. She noticed her stepmom eating breakfast at the kitchen table. She breathed heavily and closed her door. She pulled her backpack off of the floor and sat it on her chair. She unbuttoned her shirt, pushed it into her bag, took off her pajama pants, and shoved them into the bag as well. Amy walked over to her closet and pulled out her school uniform. She got dressed and grabbed her scarf off of her desk. She tied it under the collar and pulled it to the side. Amy glanced in the mirror and saw her hair a mess. She sighed and dusted off her jeans. She grabbed her brush and brushed her black hair over her shoulder. Amy grabbed her boots and pulled them over her bruised ankles. She snatched her bag off of the chair and left them room. "Ames! You're up half an hour early, you know." Amy's stepmom said as she chewed her toast. Amy crossed her arms.
"Sorry for waking up early. I just wanted to miss Alice." Amy shrugged.
"Sit and eat. You have time to today." She grinned. Amy sat down and dropped her bag to the ground.
"Morning Ames. Jess." Amy's dad walked out of their bedroom and kissed Jessica good morning.
"Good morning, Ben." Jessica smiled as he sat down.
"Dad..." Amy nodded.
"Come on! Are you still mad at me? It's still a month away, honey." Ben scoffed.
"You're still getting deployed!! And I'm still going to lose my dad for almost a year!!!" Amy stood up so fast, the chair slid across the kitchen and slammed into the counter.
"AMY!" Ben and Jessica yelled together.
"What?!" Amy scoffed. "I'm going to school." She snatched her bag off of the ground, and ran out of the door. She slammed the door behind her and ran across the street. She walked to the bus stop, where three kids stood, two of which, her best friends.

"Amy!" One of them said with a smile.
"Hey Katherine, hey Megan." Amy waved slightly and sat on the wall.
"What's wrong?" Katherine asked.
"Nothing. I just woke up to another argument about my dad going off to the Army again. And last time he almost lost his leg." Amy sniffled.
"Amy, calm down. It's nothing to worry about. He'll be fine, trust me." Megan shrugged.
"Yeah, you're right. I'm overreacting." Amy scoffed as the bus honked. She stood up and climbed onto the bus behind her friends. Amy sat in a seat with Megan, and Katherine sat in the seat next to them with Tommy, the boy who's been crushing on Katherine since the day he met her.
"Katherine." Tommy smirked. Katherine scoffed and crossed her arms. The bus rumbled as it drove down the road. Amy moaned quietly.
"What's up Ames?" Megan asked. Amy shook her head.
"Nothing. My stomach is not the best right now." she shrugged.
"When's your dad leaving again?" Katherine asked.
"In less than a month." Amy held the seat in front of her as the bus rocked her back and forth.
"A month? That's gotta suck." Megan sighed. Amy felt Megan's arms around her shoulders. She inhaled as she looked over at Megan. She swallowed and breathed heavily. She could hear Megan's blood rushing through her neck. She pushed Megan away and smiled.
"Amy?" Megan scoffed.
"I'm fine. Just...My stomach...it's not the best. And your...perfume is so strong it's making me sicker." Amy moaned.
"Perfume? I only put it on my wrists." Megan chuckled. Amy moaned quietly as the bus stopped at the school. Her bus was always the last one to the school. She stood up as the door swung opened. She followed the other teenagers outside of the bus and inhaled deeply. Her friends followed her into the school where they started their second week of high school.

Amy opened her locker and slid her books into the bottom of it. Megan and Katherine approached her with smiles.
"What?" Amy scoffed.
"Nothing." Katherine chuckled.
"Just tell me!"
"There's someone behind you who's been staring at you since we came over here." Megan nodded her head towards Amy. Amy turned around and saw Benny, the star jock, staring at her. She scoffed and slammed her locker.
"I don't care about boys, Meg." Amy pulled her bag over her shoulder and leaned on her locker.
"Fine. Your high school experience is gonna suck, though." Katherine frowned.
"Kathie, I don't care. Boys don't interest me. I have my whole life to get a boyfriend." Amy complained.
"High school is where love lives are supposed to begin, and where they're expected to start." Katherine smiled. Amy scoffed and turned around.
"It's the end of the day. I'm gonna walk today." Amy said before walking out of the school.
"She's prissy today." Megan looked at Katherine just before they laughed.

Amy walked down the sidewalk, glancing in alleys she would pass. She sighed as her stomach rumbled. She grabbed her stomach in pain and tried to keep walking like nothing was wrong. She turned the corner and saw a rat skitter into another alley. She groaned in pain and followed the rat. It was hiding behind a dumpster. Her super speed overpowered its tiny feet. She grabbed it and sighed. The rats tiny face looked at her.

She sniffled and bit into its furry side. She wiped the blood from her lips and threw the carcass into the dumpster. She sniffled again and stood up. "I can't risk eating my family. But, I am terribly sorry for killing you." Amy grabbed her bag and pulled it over her shoulder. Her shirt splattered with blood. Amy folded her arms over the blood on her shirt and left the alley to continue her walk home.

"Amy, your bus is early." Jessica said as she chopped some onions.
"I walked today." Amy sighed quietly and ran to her room. She opened her door and saw Alice sitting on her bed, looking at her with a smile. 
"Amy?" Alice scoffed, her smile fading away. Amy shut her door and stepped closer to Alice. "What happened to your shirt?" Alice stood up, crossing her arms. Amy threw her bag to the ground.
"I don't know what you're talking about."  
"Amy, there's blood all over it." Alice shrugged.
"I-I...." Amy crossed her arms and sniffled.
"Amy?" 
"I'm a monster..." Amy whispered.
"What happened?"
"I'm a vampire." Amy sobbed.
"W-what?!" 
"It happened three months ago. " Amy nodded and wiped the tears from her face. "I was turned, on my way home from school."
"Three months...? Wasn't that when you disappeared for a week?"
"Alice, i'm so sorry." Amy exhaled shakily. "I wish I could've come home sooner. But I was unconscious." 
"What do you mean?"
"Other vampires took me into their care while I was...I guess changing. The process of changing into a vampire takes forever." 
"No...You have to be kidding. And you've gotta clean your shirt before mom sees!" Alice raised her voice.

"Shh! I'm not kidding, Al." Amy unlocked her window and pushed it open. "I'll be back. But, if Jess finds out-"
"Don't worry about mom. Go, now, before she finds out." Alice pushed Amy out of the window, shut it, and locked it. She left Amy's room and closed the door behind her. Amy ran away from her house and hid behind an apartment building. She shivered and started to sob. She didn't even freak out...she didn't call me a monster...nothing. I'm so lucky. She stood up and ran away from the apartment building. She knocked on her window and waited for Alice to open the window.
"Come in, quick." Alice waved as Amy climbed inside. They shut the window and locked it as footsteps approached the room.
"Ames?!" Jessica yelled.
"Mom?!" Amy scoffed, copying her stepmother's tone. Jessica entered the room and rested her hands on her hips.
"Dinner is almost ready. Go set the table and get your father." Jessica left the door wide open as she left to go back to the kitchen. Amy sighed deeply and looked at Alice.
"I'll get dad." Alice said as she walked out of the room. Amy scoffed and walked to the table to set it.

She sat down at the table with her family as they served themselves. She shivered slightly as she stared at the food. "Aren't you gonna eat?" Ben asked. Amy nodded her head slightly as beads of sweat formed on her forehead.
"Okay." She whispered and started to fill her plate. She picked at her mashed potatoes.
"How was school, Amy?" Ben asked.
"Fine." Amy pushed a piece of chicken into her mouth and tried to keep it down.
"I got a promotion." Jessica smiled.
"Really, honey? Oh, that's wonderful." Ben rubbed her hand.
"Yeah, they moved me to the publishing unit today. I'll start as a publisher tomorrow. I'm excited." Jessica ate a bite of potatoes.
"That's awesome, mom." Alice shrugged. Amy felt her stomach turn. She dropped her fork and grabbed her stomach.
"Amy?" Ben asked. Amy held her hand up and jumped to her feet. She ran to the bathroom and fell onto the toilet as she puked.
"What is wrong with her?" Jessica asked.
"It's...it's nothing." Alice stood up and walked to the bathroom. "What happened?" Alice leaned on the door frame.
"Nothing...I forgot I can't stomach table foods anymore..." Amy stood up, wiped her lips, and flushed the toilet. She crossed her arms and looked at Alice.
"Our parents are getting suspicious. You can't seriously keep this from them!" Alice whispered.
"I can, and I will, Alice. You can't make me tell them. And you won't tell them." Amy walked passed Alice and ran to her room. Alice sighed and walked back to the table.
"What's wrong with Amy?" Ben asked.
"Nothing, dad. She just got a little stomach sick." Alice shrugged.

Amy laid on her bed as she sobbed. She heard knocking on her window and sat up. "Megan? Katherine?" Amy unlocked her window and watched them climb into the room.
"Hey!" Megan hugged Amy and smiled at her.
"Why are you two here?" Amy crossed her arms.
"We thought you were acting a little jittery in school today. We knew something was wrong." Katherine shrugged.
"Nothing is wrong. I'm just not feeling all that well. I'll see y'all in school tomorrow." Amy pushed Megan and Katherine towards the opened window. Their blood scent was strong, she urged to grab one of them and bite into their neck, but they left, unharmed. Amy reached to shut her window, but felt her stomach gurgling. The pain was unbearable. She leaned on the window sill and moaned quietly. Amy knew she had to eat something...or rather, someone, but she couldn't. One bite from a human, and she'd just have a body to dispose of. She threw herself out of the window and tried to walk as far away from her house as possible. 

Amy passed multiple people in the dimming sunlight. She looked through as many alleyways she could, but no rats yet. It wasn't late enough. The pain came and gone like waves on the open ocean. She leaned against the wall in an alleyway as another wave washed over her. She slid down to the ground and held her stomach. The pain faded to a stop, and Amy stood back up with a sigh. She heard pitter patter, and looked around frantically. She saw a rat trying to chew threw a cardboard box. She ran to it and grabbed it by it's head. She bit into its fat, furry body and drained it to death. She dropped the rat and sniffled. "I can't keep killing rats to eat them for the rest of my life." Amy whispered as she stood up and ran back home. She climbed back into her room and shut and locked the window. She looked down at herself and saw a little blood on her collar. She groaned and unbuttoned her shirt. Amy pulled it off and walked to the laundry room. She shoved it into the washer and threw a few other things in with it. She threw in some detergent and ran the washer. She went back to her room and pulled off her jeans and laid them onto her desk for the morning. She unclipped her bra and threw it onto the jeans. Amy grabbed her pajamas and got dressed for bed. She sighed as she climbed into bed and pulled the covers over her shoulder.