Vampire Boy

I

"I think a family just moved in next door." My mother hummed happily, looking through the kitchen blinds while being nosy.

She had always wanted a couple to move in next door; she wanted to have friends her own age, but her life was quite socially restricted. Being a single mother, she had to singlehandedly take care of not only me but also her two seven year old children as well. Plus, she was busy at work; being a nurse meant working very awkward and long hours. I helped out as much I could with the twins, but it was still like juggling a million things at once sometimes for her.

"That's good, Mum." I nodded at her, forcing a tinge of enthusiasm into my voice for her.

"We could take them cookies! In this television show I'm watching, I saw that saw some Americans do it as a house warming present. Do you think they'd like that?" My mother gushed, already looking through the cupboard for whatever baking ingredients she needed.

"I'm sure they'd appreciate that." I agreed, humouring her.

I'm sure that she didn't even listen to what I said, since she had already started her cookie mission, but I didn't really mind since school work had me semi-distracted anyway. I was home schooled because going to school every day would be far too difficult and risky with my condition. It had its pros, such as teaching me to be incredibly independent, but it also had its downsides. Most significantly, my lack of social skills.

At this point, however, I wouldn't want to join a regular school. I'd like to think that I was too far gone to ever catch up to other kids my age in the social skills department. What would we even talk about? The most interaction I have ever had with any of them is when they yell at me in the street. Admittedly, however, that had happened a lot more when we were younger than it did anymore.

The phone ringing snapped me out of my daydream, forcing me out of my seat to go and answer it. God knows Mum wasn't going to, since she was somehow now covered in flour. Pressing the green answer button, I leant against the cool, dark wall as I held the receiver to my mouth; whenever we received a phone call in the middle of the day, it was usually because my younger brother, Andy, had started trouble at school again.

"Hello, you've reached the Williams household" I answered plainly, studying the kitchen cabinets as if they were the most intriguing object on the planet while I spoke.

"Afternoon, Daxx. I'm afraid that you're going to have to come and pick up Andy; he's been suspended again." The principle informed me, a tired sigh tagged onto the end of his sentence.

"I'll be there in about half an hour" I estimated, which was a pretty well-informed guess, considering this wasn't my first rodeo.

"I'll have the receptionist collect his things." The principle chirped, hanging up the phone.

Pocketing my cell phone, I gave Mum a look as if to say 'yes, he really is in trouble again'. She sighed, but only offered me a shrug in response; she wasn't any more sure on how to handle Andy than I was, despite being his legal guardian. He was a handful, after all.

Breezing through the dimly lit house, I entered my even darker room; with black walls, carpet and furniture, it was the exact opposite to the breezy, all-cream rooms you see in show homes across the country. When I had suggested we decorate it like this to Mum, she thought it was a bit depressing, but to me it felt comforting and safe.

Pulling open my wardrobe next to my drawn, black-out curtains, I had to squint to tell the difference between all of the black folded pieces of fabric. When your whole wardrobe is pretty much the same colour, it's hard to differentiate between items of clothing sometimes. Changing into something more appropriate than my pyjamas didn't take long, so I was marching back down the stairs in no time.