Scarlet Prison

Chapter 30

I woke up feeling cramped and dangerously close to falling out of bed. One of my legs was dangling off the side, and my face was squished against the mattress, with no pillow in sight. I felt around for the pillow, not sure I had the energy to re-center myself on the bed, let alone get out of it. My fingers came in contact with the corner of the pillow, and I tugged. It resisted my pull, though, and I gave up for a minute to regain my strength. I was close to falling asleep again, without a pillow, but a sudden burst of frustration caused me to grab a fistful of pillow and yank.

"Hey!" Someone squealed when it came free.

I was on my feet, poised to strike the intruder down with my pillow, before I realized who the voice had come from. Nes. In my bed.

"Nes, what the hell?!" I asked, not budging from my threatening pose.

Nes stretched and sat up, smirking. "Well, geez, Nova, if I had known that this slumber party would involve a pillow fight, I would have brought ammunition."

I grinned. "Your mistake."

Her smirk fell. "You wouldn't."

I took a step closer. "This is fully loaded," I warned.

"I don't suppose it's loaded with feathers?" Nes scooted toward the edge of the bed, away from me.

I laughed. "At a place like this? No, this thing is filled with one hundred percent polyester."

Nes's eyes widened in horror. "No wonder I felt like I was sleeping on a pile of bricks!"

I let out a battle cry and swung the pillow toward Nes. She jumped off the bed, just in time, but I dove across it to pursue her. She attempted to run around to the other side of the bed, but before she made it, I descended on her in a furry of pillow whacking.

"No, stop, you're messing up my hair!" she yelled.

I ceased the whacking and smothered her head with the pillow. "How about now?!" I asked. She screamed and we both dissolved into laughter, as she struggled to push me away, until I had ruined her hair to my satisfaction. I pulled back to sit on my bed, hugging the pillow to my chest, in case she got any ideas about revenge. Nes gave me the stink eye and marched to the bathroom to look at her hair in the mirror. Her crazy mousey brown hair reminded me of the time we first met. We'd both come a long way since then.

"You know, Nova, if your job at the restaurant doesn't work out, you should become a beautician. You've got a real knack for it," Nes said, tugging at the knots with her fingers.

I smiled sweetly. "You think so? Mind if I practice on you more often?"

"Your siblings must be glad to be rid of you," Nes muttered.

My smile disappeared. "I don't have any siblings," I said. I threw the pillow to the floor and marched over to my food chest, which was surprisingly lacking in food. I had to go shopping soon. I grabbed the bag of dried mangos, and gazed at its contents in disappointment. There were only two pieces left. "Nes, have you been eating my dried mangos?" I asked.

"I've never had anything so delicious! I was definitely missing out in my first human life." She replied from the bathroom.

"Yes, poor you. You were so deprived. That doesn't mean you have to take it out on my food supply!" I snatched the last couple of mangos and angrily bit half of one off.

"Calm down, I'll buy you some more." Nes emerged from the bathroom with tidy hair. "Right now, we should talk about how you're going to become a powerful vampire."

"Well, you better talk fast. I have to be at work soon." I glanced at the clock. Technically I had to be at work five minutes ago.

She clapped her hands together. "Excellent! Work is the perfect place to start. You need to move up the ranks."