They had been on the road for 5+ hours without a stop. This being because their Mother refused to allow any stops along the way, citing it was important to get their new lives started as soon as possible, no sense dwelling on the past.
Right. No sense dwelling on the past, when that's exactly what they were doing; walking into their Mother's past, Carmilla thought to herself as she sat up in her own row in the Cadillac Escalade. She looked back in the row behind her to find her brother Will, two years younger, sprawled out, eyes closed and drool slowly making its way to the floor. Gross she thought as she chuckled to herself, looking around to see if she could find something to stick in his mouth. What were younger brothers for anyway?
Deciding there'd be plenty of time to torment him later, she turned up her music on her Iphone which was, ironically, Green Day's Welcome to Paradise, as looked out of the windows around her, noticing the scenery had drastically changed. No longer were they surrounded by skyscrapers and lights of the city, but now the scenery consisted of nothing as far as the eye can see. Absolutely nothing. It was literally as flat as could be outside. Trees and fields rushed by, and she wondered how her life came to this moment. One day, she had been living it up as a teenager in the big city, freedom (for the most part) to come and go as she pleased.
Freedom to make beautiful women come and go as she pleased. She smirked to herself. She had known from the very young age of 4 that she had a special love for the same sex. Her mother had sent her to an orientation at the most acclaimed private academy for youth in the city, and she had immediate butterflies in her stomach at the sight of an older 6 year old who was chosen to describe her experiences thus far at the academy. All of the children lucky enough to attend were extremely advanced for their age. Cut to a few months later as Carmilla began chasing around said 6 year old after their shared theatre class. She didn't know much, but she was certain that she just really wanted to touch that beautiful long blonde hair. Ah, what ever became of Hillary. What a cutie. Sigh.
She noticed the vehicle slowing down apparently, exiting the highway. She looked up to the driver, an older gentleman named Vordenberg, or "Vordy," as the children had always referred to him. Her mother was not in the vehicle with them, as she had her own private car citing she didn't want the two teens complaining on the way or "begging to turn around and go back. This is final. The move is happening." So glad Mother was being such a superb mother in this time of upheaval.
"Hey, Vordy, are we here? Is…this…it?" Carmilla asked Vordenberg as she looked around at the bleak surroundings. Two lane roads (if you could call them that) as far as the eye could see. Dirt roads seemed more prominent than paved roads. Small houses were spread out along the roads with plenty of room in their yards and plenty of green grass to go around. Wow, people really like their space here, huh?
"Yes, Miss Carmilla, we have arrived in Silas. It'll be but a few minutes before we arrive at the Karnstein Manor. " It was still bizarre to her that in 17 years, she had never visited Silas. She had never seen the house where her father lived as a youth before moving to the city. The house had been in the Karnstein family since it had been built and passed down through the generations. Her mother and father even lived there before moving to the city and having Carmilla a few years later. It was odd, because her father returned to the house after his divorce with Lilita, but neither Carmilla nor her brother Will were ever allowed to visit. Her mother said it was because Carmilla and Will needed to focus on their studies, on extracurriculars and needed to align themselves with the paths to the future. No sense revisiting the past. Ironic. Here we are walking into my mother's past. This should be interesting.
As the vehicle slowed pulling up to what appeared to be a very out-of-place mansion considering the smaller houses surrounding it, Carmilla noticed a group of 3 teens slowly walking alongside the road. Well, at least there seems to be life surrounding this deserted mansion. Two of the three, a guy and a girl, seemed to tower over their third friend, a shorter girl with honey blonde hair. The tall guy appeared to be well-built with short brownish hair and was very animated in his movements. The girl had red hair and seemed entirely too tall. Her shorter than short shorts showed off her Amazonian legs. Definitely not my type. She couldn't get a good look at the blonde, but from this angle, the back view was looking very nice indeed. I could definitely work with that.
"Miss Carmilla, did you hear me?" Vordenberg pulled her from her thoughts. "What did you say, Vordy?" she replied with a smirk. "Ahem, I said we have arrived, Miss. If you'd like to kindly proceed inside, I'll get your things. I'm sure your mother can already be found inside." He gave her a knowing look, that he had clearly interrupted her sightseeing. "Oh, right. Be right in," she said, shaking Will to wake him up. "Come on, Willy Boy, we're home sweet home…I guess." Will groaned as he slowly sat up and looked around. "Ugh, fine, Carmilla, I'm coming. But seriously, you just woke me up from the best dream," he said, thoroughly annoyed. "Yeah, yeah, you can have your wet dreams later tonight in your new bed. No sense in ruining the upholstery in the car," she said as she flew out of the car before he could retaliate. "Carm, shut up! It was ONE time!" he yelled angrily even though she was out of ear shot. It was definitely fun watching him explain that one to Mother. Ha.
As she grabbed her duffel bag and slammed the door she heard a male voice from behind her shout out, "Hellllooooo Hottie!" followed by a female voice shushing him. She turned around and saw the ginger giant covering the tall guy's mouth. She seemed frustrated at his outburst, and he seemed very eager to approach Carmilla, almost like a dog wagging his tail when he meets new people.
"Sorry about my friend," the ginger haired girl said with an embarrassed smile. "We're still trying to train this one," as she looked over at the tall teen. He walked up and stuck out his hand, "Hi, Wilson Kirsch, but you can call me Kirsch. I take it you're the Karnsteins? I knew the family was moving in, but they didn't mention that a hottie like you would be joining us." "KIRSCH! Seriously!" exclaimed the red haired girl as she hit him in the side. "Sorry," he smiled sheepishly, "uh, they didn't say a beautiful young lady would be moving in as well." Carmilla smiled an annoyed smile and stuck out her hand, "Well, Beefcake, here I am, in the flesh. Carmilla. And you can call me… Carmilla and NOT hottie because I'm definitely into ladies. Sorry, Stud, you're just not my type." He smiled big as if not hearing what she said and exclaimed, "No worries, Carmilla bro, I'm definitely accepting of all types. I know Silas is small town, but a lot of us around here don't care about sexuality. We're pro everything. So you can always be yourself around myself and Danny," he said pointing to the ginger on his right. "Ah yes, that's me, Danny Lawrence. Nice to meet you," she said shaking Carmilla's hand. "Kirsch is right, we are small town, but not small minded. So if you want to hang out with us, it's definitely a safe space," she said with a gentle smile. Well at least the ginger giant seems pleasant and gay friendly. No complaints there. But where did the cute blonde go…
"So, how old are you Hott-uh, Carm-sex…uh, Carmilla?" Kirsch asked with a grimace, as he tried to avoid any sexy terms for his possible new friend. "I'm 17 and am starting my senior year in the fall," she replled. It was towards the end of summer but they still had about a month before the school year would start. "Oh, cool! Us, too," said the ginger. Danny, right, gotta remember that. Eh, I like ginger giant better. Carmilla smirked to herself. "This is SO AWESOME BRO!" yelled Kirsch. Wow, he was very excitable. "Bro, what are the odds that we'd be walking by RIGHT when you pull up to your new place? We're totally meant to be friends. You should totally come to this party we're having tomorrow night. We have school orientation in the daytime where we help any of the new kids and the freshmen find their way around Silas High, but then we all come to my house and have a huge bonfire and party at night." Kirsch looked like a kid on Christmas. "Uh, yeah, I mean, I guess I can do that. Might as well find out what you guys do for kicks around here," Carmilla replied hesitantly. "Kicks, huh? Wow, Carmilla, are you sure you're 17 and not 70?" Danny replied teasingly. "Yeah, yeah, ginger giant, I promise. I'm just an old soul, if you will," Carmilla retorted with a smirk. "Ginger giant? Really, wow, Elvira, we literally just met and you're already throwing out names?" Danny said with a smirk. Carmilla looked down at her appearance, and yes, her raven hair and fair skin mixed with her desire to wear a typically black in nature wardrobe did warrant a vampire joke or two. "Elvira," Carmilla said with a smile, "good one. What else you got?" They both gave a slight laugh as Kirsch joined in realizing they were on good terms despite the names being exchanged. "Oh! You need to meet our friend, Laura, hey, where is she by the way?" Kirsch said as he looked around, realizing they'd lost her before meeting up with the new girl. They all started to look up and down the street from Carmilla's driveway until they heard a honking coming from a Jeep a little ways down the road. "COME ON, you guys, we're gonna be late! The kids aren't gonna ref their own games!' came a tiny but fierce voice from the Jeep. Kirsch and Danny both chuckle. "You know she's probably making a face to go with that command, right?" Danny asked Kirsch. He covered his mouth to cover the laughter because he knew Laura was still watching. And although she's tiny, she's very very mighty. "Yeah, bro," Kirsch said, "we better go before we get the Hollis wrath! Hey, Karmilla, put your number in my phone fast, and I'll text you about the party." He unlocked his phone and handed it to her. "There's a lot more people you'll want to meet that we hang out with," he said as he took it back from her. Laura started honking from the Jeep like a mad woman. "Uh, we gotta go, but nice meeting you Carm-Sexy!" Kirsch yelled as he and Danny made a run for the Jeep diving in as Laura peeled out. Carmilla heard a "Sorryyyyyyyyyy Carmilla," from the Jeep, assuming Danny was apologizing for Kirsch's sexist name for her. Well, it looks like things are definitely going to be interesting around here. Really wish I could've seen this Laura girl…
"Carmilla dear." A stern and proper voice cut through Carmilla's daydream abruptly and she turned to look at her mother. "Yes, Mother," Carmilla replied with an annoyed tone. "Dear, why hasn't my glittering girl come inside to take a look around her new home?" Lilita asked with a tight smile. "Coming, Mother. I was just meeting some of the students from Silas." Carmilla started to walk up the long driveway to her front steps where her mother stood. "Oh, lovely. Any fine young gentleman in the mix?" she asked with a hopeful tone. Carmilla stared at her, annoyed that they were still having this discussion as she had always made it known that she wanted to date girls. "Mother, we've talked about this…" Carmilla started with a tone ready to argue. "Okay, FINE, Carmilla, you know I still have to try and make sure you haven't changed your mind. You know, taste buds change as we grow older, Dear," Lilita spoke as she put her arm around Carmilla's shoulders. Carmilla tried to shrug them off to no avail and confidently responded, "Mother, my taste for women isn't going to change unless we're talking blondes to brunettes." She smirked at her smart ass comment. It's true though. Women it is. And blondes for sure. "Carmilla, Dear, please don't give me details. I try to be…accepting, but I'm not quite ready to delve into your…tastes," Lilita replied with a grimace. "Oh, come on, Mother. We're in your hometown now. Don't you feel youthful again, and just want to trade secrets on who we like and can't stop thinking about?" Carmilla poked her mother in the side as her mother closed the front door. "Carmilla. No," her mother replied curtly. Carmilla knew her Mother would back off if she pushed hard enough. "Anyway," her Mother started, changing the subject, "take a look around Karnstein Manor. It's where you're going to spend the next year of your life." Carmilla turned In the foyer and looked around. Wow. Why did we never visit this place?