Author's Note: This is a Vampire: The Masqueraide RPG that I played in about two years ago during my freshman year of college. I have permission from everyone to use these characters. Later, as I get into it, I will pick up where the ST left off, since I got him to tell me all of the "secrets" of Seattle. The story is written in a conversational tone b/c it's mostly suppose to be Sarah's thoughts, and the language will improve as she ages. I know the tone annoys some people, but I like it and I think it fits.

Chapter 1

That day started out like any other spring day. The sun was shining, the birds were chirping, and everything seemed pretty and alive. Sure, in Seattle, it usually rains, but today it was sunny, so that day was what a late-March spring day should be. Maybe if I had understood that it would be my last day in the sun, I may have lied out in the grass and enjoyed it more. Maybe I would have woken up for the sunrise. I know I would have paid attention to the sunset. I would have sat on a bench and watched all of the color changes: from yellow, to orange, to pink, to red, then to purple and blue to the black of night. I miss sunsets. I also miss tanning in the warm sun.

Sorry…my mind wandered for a second. Sometimes it is hard to concentrate. It happens a lot more nowadays than it use to.

However, as I said before, the day was like any other. I had my college classes in the morning. I was a creative writing major, but not for any good reason, just because I was not planning to do anything with it, quite honestly. I was a good writer, but I was not planning on working when I got married. I wanted to be a homemaker like my mother was. I only went to college because it was what a good girl did. I was a cheerleader, and I had a football player as a boyfriend. We were going to get married as soon as we graduated from college in a big Catholic wedding, and I would loose my virginity on our wedding night. Good girls wait. We would have six children, as my parents did. We would grow old together. We would die together. I had this stuff mapped out.

Becoming a "creature of the night" kind of blew all of those plans out of the water.

I only now realize I was following the "good girl" path because I thought that I was suppose to. At the time, I thought that it was who I was. Whom am I kidding? I did not actually thing all that much. Most of what went through my head was cheerleading routines, clothes, and how my hair looked. I am major embarrassed by this now.

I have gotten this far and I have not even introduced myself. Sorry, but I forget. My name is Sarah Catherine. I was a Catholic schoolgirl that was actually innocent. I had a family: parents, three brothers, and two sisters. One brother lived in Portland with his wife and newborn son and the rest lived with my parents still. I had a boyfriend. I thought I loved him, but now I think that maybe, since we had been together for so long, that I was just use to him. I had known nothing else. Maybe that is why I did what I did that night.

I should stop being so emo and move on with telling you about the last day of my life.

I went to cheerleader practice that afternoon after my classes were done. My friends Kelly and Janice always made fun of me for being the "good girl" of our circle. (See a pattern here?) Apparently, being with some guy for five years and never getting past first or second base is weird and unnatural. I also may have had about five or six alcoholic drinks in my college career. This was also weird and unnatural.

The three of us were doing our stretches while talking about how…good I was. Kelly and Janice pick on me about once a week about this. We had about ten minutes before practice started, so we needed to pass the time before actual jumping and screaming started.

"It is very cute that you abide by all of the rules," Kelly said, "but it is every girl's right to cut loose at least once before marriage. You are getting married next summer, right?"

I stopped doing my stretches and looked up at her. (I am five foot even, so I look up to everyone.) "Yeah…, why?"

"I've got an idea," Kelly said. "Let's ditch the rest of practice, get dressed up, and go out tonight. No holds bar girl's night out."

"Yeah, it could be like a batchelorette party!" Janice exclaimed. "Collin would not even know about it. Whatever happens to us stays with us."

"Are you sure that you will not tell him if I get so drunk that I get sick?" I asked, thinking that this could be the worst thing that would happen to me.

Janice giggled and held up three fingers to make the Girl Scout sign. "On my honor." Kelly did the same thing. "But we've got to fix you up ourselves."

"What's wrong with the way I dress?" I asked.

"It's not that you aren't gorgeous," Kelly said, "but you dress a little…how do I put this…conservative. I've got the perfect dress for you."

So, we snuck out and scampered off to our dorm room "we split a three-person dorm room) and Kelly threw a pile of clothes at me from the bottom of her closet. After about an hour of trying on more dresses than I have ever owned in my life, we settled on a spaghetti-strap black lace dress that hit about three inches above my knees. (It was much shorter on Kelly, but she is much taller than I am.) It was also somewhat looser than it was suppose to fit.

"She looks like a flapper," Janice said.

"No, her breasts are too big to be a flapper," Kelly commented.

"I'm only a B!" I shouted, covering my chest, embarrassed.

"But on your petite little body, they look much bigger. You are going to have to go without a bra, though," Kelly said. "That the best dress I have, so do not spill anything on it." She then walked behind me and picked at my hair. "Now, what should we do with all of this hair?"

I have long, curly blond hair. It is really thick and it reaches about mid-back. I usually just let it hang down or pull it up in a ponytail.

"We should just leave it down," Janice said. "Guys find her hair hot."

"Why should I care whether or not a guy thinks that my hair is hot?" I asked.

"Free drinks," Kelly said quickly.

"Don't guys usually want something if they buy you a drink?" I asked.

Kelly and Janice start to laugh hysterically. "You really are that naïve, aren't you?" Janice asked. I just stare at her, more confused that ever.

Now I am just wondering why I ever agreed to do this.