Let's Go For A Pint (Vampire/Humor)

2.4 Attempt Number 3

Carmen and Max's friendship went a bit on a downward spiral after that study party. Carmen passed her test but, according to her, she didn't perform as well as she thought she would. I could've sworn she drank half the bottle of vodka she bought that morning, but she might've been celebrating her pass. After that, they weren't on speaking terms bar classroom interactions of asking for a pen.

And true to her word of going out every weekend, we decided on watching a film at the mall. Carmen is a big fan of Dallas Flowers films and the latest one came out that weekend. We arrived early to eat lunch and you-know-who was there by coincidence.

"Carmen! Lina! What a surprise seeing you here."

"Max, are you fucking NSA?" Carmen wasn't too pleased running into him. Neither was I.

"Sistah, you know I can hardly work my smartphone."

"Come on, Lena, let's get lunch before we're forced to get food from the movie theatre."

I was ready to follow Carmen and head to the food court, but Max stopped us again.

"Okay, I'm truly sorry for what I did and how I treated the both of you. The thing is I need Lina–"

"It's Lena." I wondered if he'll ever get my name right.

"Lena, sorry. I need you to help me pick out a gift for my grandma."

"Bullshit!" Carmen spat. "Your grandma died two years ago."

"I can't do this alone. Besides, my other grandma's still alive."

I was aware Max was leading me into something that would expose me. So I followed Max and Carmen reluctantly followed along. He hasn't been lucky so far anyway. He led us to the section of the mall filled with kiosks that ranged from novelty t-shirts to cell phone covers. I would've been glad to help search for a 'I dare you to lick my biscuits' shirt with a naughty granny caricature, but that wasn't why he wanted my help.

Max walked up to a jewellery kiosk called "Silver Delights". Sure, silver's associated with werewolves but fanboy here wasn't that dumb. First, silver objects work provided someone uses the right charms. Second, he chose Silver Delights for its location. The sun was shining through a huge skylight. From there it made anything that sparkled, shined, refracted — whatever light does as it does best around jewellery.

I knew what he was thinking. Okay, I can't read minds nor communicate by telepathy, but he clearly wanted to see if I'd burn up or change colour in direct sunlight. He has seen me outside and up in the daytime. It was cloudy that day of the quad free speech protests so that factored into what he already learned or presumed about me. The problem with me and bright lights is I can't see well. To quote one of my favourite Canadian singers from back in the 80's, "I wear my sunglasses at night." Speaking of sunglasses I pulled out a pair, put them on, and walked up to the kiosk.

"So, which one do you want me to look at?"

Whatever I did left him speechless. His eyes popped out and his jaw dropped, but Carmen was there to push it back up.

"Should I take off my sunglasses? They make me look silly, don't they?"

Max shook his head slowly then sped up a bit. His face blushed from embarrassment. He blushed even more when the kiosk attendant returned from talking to some customers.

"Hey, weren't you the one looking for something for grandma? If it's to surprise your girlfriend, I have the perfect pendant–"

Max said nothing as he darted out of kiosk alley.

Carmen looked at me. "Well, there goes having lunch before the movie. I got to deal with Max and make sure he doesn't have an asthma or anxiety attack."

And thus I screwed up a perfect day out. But if it weren't for Max showing up — ah what the Hell! I could've avoided this by not proving to him that I don't burn up in the sun. Even with that decision, who knew what lengths he'd go to get a shred of proof that I'm a vampire?

Once Carmen returned she said, "Max is alright. He's just a bit bummed out." We started walking and she continued, "You should tell him, Lena."

"Tell him what?"

"You know what. I don't care how you do it as long as you don't kill him or do any permanent damage."

"He's a fanboy! Just telling him won't work!"

"It'll make him shut up about vampires for a while. You're not the only one who has problems approaching people, you know."

Carmen had a point, but unlike Max I prefer not to approach people, unless I'm hungry. Which was why I let her order the tickets. Just before I could take my ticket, she pulled her hand away.

"You owe me lunch."

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That's not very nice, Lena. Then again, she's unaware of how Max's brain works. So this part of the episode deals a bit with disappointment. Was there a moment when you were certain of something? Or if the question is too much you know the drill: vote if you like this, maybe leave a comment, spread the word. 

Song featured: "One Way or Another" by Face to Face (cover of Blondie song)

Edited: 02/10/2017