Kirstie Corbett

At this point I don’t want to disrespect prom out of fear for my life but c’mon. How important is it, really?

Boo. Not important at all. Live a little. Stop pretending to care about an outdated tradition routed in patriarchy. It’s okay, this is a safe space. You can admit how little you care here.

“Frederick was--wait, has anybody ever called him Freddy? We should start calling him Freddy....Anyways, um, Freddy was there for me when nobody else was, and I basically owe him my life for that. I love how old-fashioned he sounds sometimes, but shhh don’t tell him that it’s not as bad as I pretend it is. I would probably die for him if he asked, I mean he saved my life already so doesn’t it pretty much belong to him now? I also like how calm he always is about stuff, it’s nice. But yeah, I’m really happy with his group, or gang, or whatever it is we’re calling ourselves. ”

My parents would kill me if I even thought about dropping out. Not– Not literally kill me, or anything, but– you know. Disappointment. Not that it really matters now, I’m so close to done. I’m pretty sure my entire class is literally counting down the days at this point. Oh, no, no no. Just the usual, strict parents with high expectations, kind of thing. Hah, you’d definitely be the first. Sometimes I struggle to say ‘Hi’ to certain people. I wish…. dropping them was as easy as you make it sound, but it’s fine. I’m fine. P-promise.

Ha, okay, you can relax. I don’t think you’re being awfully mistreated anymore or anything. You can go back to using basic metaphors without concern. Lucky you guys. I’m rootin’ for you all. Strict parents with high expectations, huh? What’s that thing people say about turning kids into mini-adults and making them boring? Not that you’re boring, you seem like a very....what’s an SAT word for cool? Multi-faceted? Whatever, cool person. Seriously? Saying hi is the easiest thing. Come on, try it on me right now. [Shrugs] Alright, kid, if you say so. But seriously, good luck.

“Yeah! It was a whole thing actually. Me- graceful and elegant me- actually managed to stumble so hard out of bed, I fell over. It was super embarrassing but thankfully I wasn’t the only one going hashtag through it so. Who knew I sucked at being human? It’s like… When you finish studying for a test, do the test and then throw literally all of your notes away just to find out you have to do it again,” she laughed. Jess was laughing but it felt hollow. No, it felt somewhere between hollow and heavenly. Laughing because she didn’t want to cry, she missed that.

“Um… No it’s okay,” she let out on a sigh. This was weird. Jess and Kirstie were friends but they hadn’t been before Jess was a vampire or even when she was a vampire with humanity. She’d never been sure if she had really felt- well, not felt but still- any kind of fondness for her until now. She did. A smile spread across her face, shaking her head a little while she looked at her feet. Was she blushing? God, what a mess. “It is like a flood. A big old flood that just doesn’t know when to stop. It’s like when you don’t check your email and then suddenly you have like, a bajillion unread messages. … Uh, I swear I was never that big into metaphors as a human but uh, here we are. Unless I was drunk, then I got super philosophical or something. Thank you though. Thank you. For the record though, there’s no way you could beat my ass at dance dance revolution.”

“I’m dying, human you must have been a riot. I feel like, completely privileged to get to see this right now. You once threw away your notes and then had to retake a test? That’s never happened to me, god. How awful. ‘Course, dropping out of school can have that effect on a person, but whatever.” Things would be better tomorrow, for all of them, but especially Jess. Coming back to life was the kind of thing that took a toll on a person.

It’s a good thing I can take care of myself. 

Of course you can. You’re big and tough and scary.

Oh, I don’t do those sorts of brownies anymore. It’s not really my vibe. I’m trying to focus on school now…

Mhh, sure. Once a bad girl, always a bad girl. You can’t really escape that.

You do? Thank you so much. I- … Kirstie, right? You work with Jess here? I haven’t really taken dance lessons since I was like, five or something but I have used the studio before for cheer stuff. Yeah, sounds good to me. Especially the granola bar part. And the relaxing. Both parts were great, really.

Mm, you would…think. And you’d be, um, correct. Prom.

Yeah, we can’t have our dancers getting dehydrated, you know. That’s me. You must be one of the endless supply of friends Jess charmed when she was growing up here. Ooh, a cheerleader. You must be flexible. Both parts sound like doctors orders, okay? I might not officially be a doctor, but I’ve watched enough Grey’s Anatomy to be close, so you should listen to me.

No.

There is a box dedicated to Jess’ bad ideas. I suggest you direct your attention to that.

No? You’ve barely even heard me out.

“Ugh, that would make life so much easier. But, at the same time, I don’t know if I want everyone knowing that. Sometimes secrets are fun.” It certainly made Connie’s life much easier. “Yeah, I haven’t met too many shifters, but I’m not complaining. I’m more of a lone wolf. Minus the actually turning into a wolf because I so haven’t figured that trick out.” The food chain comment sparked her interest. “Yeah? Really? You some sort of expert?”

“You’re sharp, that’s exactly how I feel. Keeping a little mystery can definitely can be fun.” And can keep you alive. “Really? That’s...isolating. I hope you find some shifter friends to talk with. And I’m always here to answer any questions, you know.” She offered a smile, nice and open, like she always used to smile. Before. This is easier than she thought it would be. “Have you ever met one? A wolf. Or any of the other animals you’ve been having trouble shifting into. I think we usually have to touch an animal before we can really become one, you know? It’s probably different with a lot of practice, or for the really powerful shifters, but I’ve never been able to do it without touching the animal first.” Kirstie shrugged. “I wouldn’t say I’m an expert, but I have friends in high places who have the answers to any questions you could possibly want answered.”

Just a weird couple of days, I guess. Can’t really explain it or anything, just… you know. Weird. No, no, I get it. You’re just making sure people are okay and that’s, uh, pretty cool. Dancing just isn’t really what’s expected of me. I don’t think they’d make me stop, but my dad definitely wouldn’t approve.

That’s high school, I guess. I got fed up with all the weirdness and left, so I can say that [it was hardly the truth of why she’d dropped out, but it was close enough]. As long as it isn’t problems at home, we’re totally good. No worries. Pretty cool? Anybody ever tell you that you have quite a way with words, kid? Parental expectations are the worst, like you can just see the judgement in their eyes sometimes. I say drop ‘em. Kidding. [mostly.]

That was, admittably, going to be my next complaint, but in my defense, I have quite a few.

Oh boy, you must be a hoot at parties. I’ll bet you’re the guy who brings out depressing death statistics in between complaints, right?