"So class, you're assignment tomorrow is to bring a family heirloom of yours as well as a full report about it's history." Mr. Schneider said. "And it must be rooted in fact."
"Yo, what's the point, Teach?" Vinnie Stoker asked. "Why do we have to bring in some old junk?"
Mr. Schneider frowned. "Because people can learn a lot from the past, Mr. Stoker. And this gives us a chance to learn about each other as well as ourselves. And if you expect to have a better grade in this class, I suggest you put some effort into this project."
Sarah watched with a hint of sadness. She wished her uncle wasn't so hard on Vinnie. But of course, Vinnie was lazy when it came to schoolwork and academia.
Reggie adjusted his glasses. "If I recall correctly, Vinnie, your family has an array of antiquities you could present to the class."
"Fugedaboudit, Reg." Vinnie said. "The old trinkets aren't worth reportin' about."
"Well, if you want an A Vinnie, then you better put your problems aside and do some actual work." the teacher suggested.
After class, Sarah went up to Vinnie. "Y'know, Vinnie. I can help you with your project if you want."
Vinnie turned to her surprised. "You'd wanna help me?"
Sarah nodded. "Sure, I mean, if that's okay with you."
"Hmm, well, I'm usually not a study buddy kind of guy..."
"But with me helping, I'll make sure we both get an A." Sarah bargained.
Vinnie grinned. "As I was sayin', meet me at my place, six o'clock sharp, huh?"
"Awesome!" she giggled in excitement. She quickly composed herself. "I mean, yeah, sure...uh, your place, you said?"
"Yup," Vinnie took out a piece of paper and wrote something down. "Here's my address and how to get there. Trust me, ya can't miss my pad if ya tried." He snapped out his wings and flew off. "See ya tonight, partner."
Sarah sighed as she swooned, leaning against a locker. A romantic evening at Vinnie's house. It was too good to be true. It was going to be-
"Hey, Schneider."
Sarah snapped out of her happy thoughts and saw Duzer in mean girl mode. "So, you're going on a date with Vinnie Stoker, huh?" She sneered.
"No!" said Sarah, though she started blushing. "I just offered to help him with our projects and he agreed. This is so not a date!"
Duzer sneered again. "Well, good luck surviving at the Stoker residence. I actually feel sorry for you. I heard his parents love humans. They say they're delicious."
Sarah gulped.
"And I've heard Vinnie's house is infested with bats! And it has a torture chamber complete with skeletons!"
Sarah felt her heart pump faster, her stomach was tightening. Her first study date that was seemingly not a date with Vinnie Stoker was going to be a nightmare!
"Good luck, Sarah." Duzer waved goodbye and walked away.
It was almost sundown, Sarah warily looked out her window. Because at sundown, that's when the vampires come out for a bite. But Sarah had to be brave. She gathered her supplies, took a deep breath, and walked on her way to Vinnie's house.
Sarah enjoyed walking. It took her mind off things. But right now, Sarah was thinking about what Duzer had said about Vinnie's home. Was it really everything she said it was? And were his parents really as bloodthirsty as a vampire should? And what about that torture chamber?!
'No,' Sarah thought. 'None of that can be true. Duzer's just making it up just to scare me.'
Sarah entered into the town of Gravedale and was immediately spooked. The "town" of Gravedale consists primarily of multiple cemeteries. According to the directions, all Vinnie put down was "the castle on the corner of Dead End street".
When Sarah walked down the poorly lit dirt road, she looked up from her note and saw Vinnie's house. It was a tall, Gothic castle on a high hill. It was as dark and chilling as the cold evening. Sarah felt her goose bumps sticking up. After taking another deep breath, Sarah walked over to the creepy castle and knocked on the antique, wooden door.
The door slowly opened with an eerie creak. Sarah could see nothing but darkness inside.
"There's nothing to be afraid of. There's nothing to be afraid of. There's nothing to be afraid of." Sarah whispered to herself as she warily stepped inside. Once she came all the way in, a cold hand gripped her shoulder.
"Good evening." a deep, Transylvanian voice bellowed in her ear.
"AAAAAAAAAAAAH!" Sarah screamed and fell to the floor with her hands over her head. "Please don't suck my blood!" she whimpered.
Instead, Sarah heard hardy laughter from her "attacker". "Hey, yo, it's just me, Sarah!"
Sarah looked back and saw that it was only Vinnie. "Vinnie! That was not funny!"
Vinnie shrugged. "Sorry, doll. Couldn't resist. So, what do ya think of my pad?"
Sarah's eyes traveled around the room. It was barely lit, cobwebs and dust strung all over the macabre décor. It was the perfect home for a vampire.
"It's...charming." Sarah finally answered. "I never knew there was a castle built in this neighborhood."
"That's because it's from our homeland in Transylvania." Vinnie told her. "When we moved to America, we had our family castle brought here brick by brick."
"Wow." Sarah did another look around. "Uh, anyway, we better get started!"
Vinnie led Sarah up the stone stairway to Vinnie's room. When they went inside, Sarah was even more suprised. Vinnie room looked like a typical teenager's bedroom, with posters of his favorite rock band, some clothes that were tossed on the floor, and a trash can overflowing with empty soda cans.
The only thing that stood out was the blood red carpet, black oak furtinure, and not suprisingly, a long black coffin sitting on a pedestal, placed in front of a wall.
Vinnie opened his black mini fridge and took out two soda cans. "Here. Have a drink."
Sarah took a can and watched Vinnie open his with his teeth. Sarah looked at the van and discovered it was Blood Pop. She suppressed a quiver of disgust and put the can down on Vinnie's desk. "So...what antique were you thinking of bringing, Vinnie?"
Vinnie rummaged in his jacket pocket and pulled out a silver pocket watch by it's chain. "Well, I found this in my old man's dresser with the rest of his junk. So what do ya think?"
Sarah gazed at the watch as it gently swung. Her eyes started to droop. "I feel tired..." She stared into the watch, unable to avoid following it.
Vinnie noticed Sarah's dull eyes follow the watch, he smiled playfully as he kept swinging the watch back and forth. "Yes, Sarah. Watch the watch. You are under my power..." Vinnie bellowed in his perfect Transylvanian accent. "You're eyelids are getting heavy, you're falling into a deep sleep..."
Vinnie was really digging this little act of his, until Sarah's eyes rolled back and she dropped down on the dirty carpet.
"Whoa!" Vinnie jumped back, dropping the watch. "Yo, Sarah! Wake up!" He shook Sarah's shoulders in an attempt to wake her up, but she didn't wake up. She was completely out cold. Vinnie picked up her body and placed her in his coffin bed.
"Oh, man! Mr. Schneider is gonna do more than just fail me for this!" Vinnie panicked. He grabbed the watch. "Somethin' in this watch must have done it! I gotta find Dad!" Vinnie snapped his fingers and flew out the window. But just as he was about to leave the yard,
"Vincent? Is that you?"
Vinnie looked down and saw his father standing on the sidewalk. He crossed his arms as Vinnie flew down to him. "And where do you think you're going?" It was amazing how he and Vinnie looked alike, the only different was that Mr. Stoker dressed like he was hosting a funeral. He wore nothing but a black tuxedo and a crimson necktie, all under a black trench coat.
The young vamp looked nervous. "Uh, well, Dad, I have this friend over to help me with my schoolwork and, uh..." He took out the watch.
"My hypnotizing watch?!" Mr. Stoker shouted. "What are you doing with that?!"
"It's kind of a long story." Vinnie said. "I hypnotized her by accident and-"
"Wait." Mr. Stoker lifted a hand. "You hypnotized someone?"
Vinnie nodded.
"And this is a girl?"
Vinnie nodded.
"Let me see." the father ordered.
His son took the father to Vinnie's room and there was Sarah, still sleeping.
Vinnie looked ashamed, but his father looked ecstatic.
"Isn't there anything you can do?" Vinnie asked.
"Why would I?" Mr. Stoker said. "This is great!"
Vinnie turned to his father with a miffed expression. "Excuse me?"
"Vinnie, my son. This is the starting point for you." His father said in his most serious voice. "Now that you've mastered the art of hypnosis, you're getting closer to being a true vampire! There's just one thing you need to do." He pointed down to Sarah. "A live peasant stretched out in front of you. It would only take a second to sink your teeth into that inviting flesh."
That was where Vinnie put his boot down. "Yo! Vinnie Stoker don't need to take a bite outta nobody to prove I'm a vampire, cause I am, a'right?!"
The father vampire's eyes narrowed, and his smile dropped. "Hmph. If you were the Stoker I raised you to be, you wouldn't hesitate. I must say, Vincent. I'm disappointed in you. Ever since we moved to America, you've changed. You're ruined."
Vinnie clenched his fists. "Will you just snap Sarah outta it please?!" he demanded.
"Just do what you just said." his father replied. "Snap her out of it." And he took his leave.
Catching his drift, Vinnie knew what to do. But before he did, there was one thing he wanted to know.
Vinnie came beside Sarah. "Sarah? Can you hear me?"
"Yes, Master." Sarah mumbled, hypnotized.
"Then tell me the truth," Vinnie took a deep breath. "Do you...like me? Like, like like me?"
"Yes." muttered Sarah in that dull voice. "Very much."
Vinnie was shocked. "Why?"
"People at school think you're a rebel and a slacker, but I know that deep down, you're a really nice guy who truly cares about others."
The vampire was silent, then he smiled.
A few minutes later, Vinnie snapped his fingers in Sarah's face. She woke up with a gasp. "Wha-?! What happened?!" And she saw Vinnie's grin
"Get a good rest, angel baby?"
Sarah's heart ba-bumped with affection. Waking up to see Vinnie's sleek, handsome face smiling back at her. "Uh, y-yeah...I did." She looked around. "Was I asleep?"
"Yup, and I took care of my half of the project." Vinnie held up a piece of paper filled with writing! Vinnie actually did his schoolwork! Without any help!
Sarah was too stunned to speak.
"Hey, what are you gaping at?" said Vinnie. "We still gotta work on your paper."
Sarah blinked twice. "Oh, yeah! Let's get to it!
The next morning, everyone presented their family heirlooms and the history of it. Reggie presented a lunar-powered engine developed by one of his great Uncle Elmer, Gill brought in his very first surfboard, it had enough bite marks and dents to make it completely un-surfable. Duzer showed a haunted mirror from her grandmother, with her grandmother's ghost inside it. And Sarah told the story about the necklace her father brought from another country during his world travels. And how he loved to travel before he joined the war.
And now, that everyone was surprised to see, Vinnie came to the class with his project. He took out his family pocket watch. The class was in awe of it's shimmery, silver beauty.
"So you see, this watch was used in my family to practice their hypnosis with. Every vampire family has one. A long line of Stokers used this exact same watch for hundreds of years." explained Vinnie. "Just like my father, and his father before him, and his father before him."
Mr. Schneider clapped his hands. "I must say, Vinnie. I'm impressed you actually did a real project!"
Vinnie shrugged. "Well, I couldn't have done it without my favorite tutor." He winked at Sarah.
As a result, Vinnie and Sarah both got an A. After class, Sarah was on her way out when Vinnie stepped in front of her. "Hey, Sarah. Thanks for the help."
"Help? I didn't do anything." Sarah said.
"Sure you did." Vinnie replied. Sarah was going to ask why until asked the one thing she never expected. "So, you wanna go out with me after school?"
Sarah took a surprised step back. "What?!" Was this really happening?!
Vinnie smiled. "Yeah, maybe catch a movie and have dinner. You in?"
"Oh! I-I'd love to! I'll see you tonight?" she said hopefully.
"Cool. I'll pick you up." And Vinnie flew off to the cafeteria.
Sarah stood there, looked around,
"YES!" Sarah jumped in the air and started dancing. "I'm going on a daaate! With Vinnie Stoooker!"
"Yeah, baby! Yeah!" said someone doing an Austin Powers impression. It was none other than Sid the Invisible Kid. He shook Sarah's hand."Congratulations, Sarah! You've got a boyfriend!" He said like a game show host.
Sarah hugged her best friend. "This is the best day of my life!"
And it was. Sarah may not know exactly what happened to her last night, but she didn't care. She couldn't be happier right now.