Wearily, I climbed up a tree. Reaching the lowest limb, I leaned back against the trunk and closed my eyes. I heard Karl playing his violin from his usual perch.

I sighed. The first day of eighth grade had been hell.

I had seen my friends after a long summer, so that had been fun. It was also funny to see my step-brother to react to middle school for the first time.

I heard footsteps. Looking up, I saw a familiar figure walking into the park. I blinked in surprise. What was she doing here? Jumping out of the tree, I followed her silently, keeping to the shadows.

She headed through the park swiftly, sure of her path. I noticed that she was heading toward Pirate Island. I winced. Not a good place for a human…

I sped up. "Mickayla!" I called out.

She jumped in surprise. "Kelly! What-what are you doing here?"

"I could ask you the same thing!" I replied, stopping next to her. Then I notice something: "You have a tail!" I exclaimed, eyes widening.

She blinked, moving her reptilian tail behind her, out of sight. "I don't know what you're talking about."

"Really," I said, raising and eyebrow and crossing my arms.

Mickayla sighed, letting her tail droop. "Fine. I have a tail. So what."

Before I could reply, a voice sounded from behind her: "Hey Raina!"

We both jumped in surprise, the turned.

Karl was standing there, violin in hand, Arma on his head.

Mickayla smiled at him. "Hey."

I blinked, confused. "Wait. How do you know Karl? And why did he call you 'Raina'?"

Mickayla turned on me. "How do you know Karl?"

"I asked you first!"

Karl butted in: "How do you know a vampire?" he asked Mickayla.

"WHAT! You're a vampire!" she exclaimed, turning on me, eyes wide, steping backward once or twice.

I glared at Karl. Thanks a lot. "I-um-well…yes," I said awkwardly. "But, one, why is he calling you 'Raina'; two, how do you know him in the first place; and three, why do you have a tail?"

"How are you a vampire!"

"Why do you have a tail!"

"Why are we yelling!" Karl chimed in.

"Oh, hi Kelly!" The three of us turned and saw Climber standing there, pickaxe in hand.

Before I could reply to him, Mickayla and Karl rounded on me. "How do you know Climber?" They said simultaneously.

"Why do have a tail!"

The outbursts kept building on each other until finally I cried out, "Everyone SHUT UP!"

Silence.

I turned to Mickayla. "Let's go in order, starting with me. Three questions: one, why do you have a tail; two, why was Karl calling you 'Raina'; and three, how do you know him and Climber?"

Mickayla sighed. "Fine then. I have a tail because my mom's a dragon, which makes me part dragon. Raina is my real name, not Mickayla. I know Climber and Karl because I worked at this park for years before it shut down."

"Okay…" I said slowly, absorbing the information she had just given me. "So…I call you 'Raina' now instead of 'Mickayla'?"

"Yes," she replied. Then she asked me her own question: "You're a vampire?"

I smiled, showing her my now-extended fangs. My eyes flashed red.

Raina took a step back. "That's… different."

I rolled my eyes. "Not as different as living inanimate objects," I said, gesturing to Karl and Climber.

Karl feigned offendedness. "That's not very nice!"

Climber cocked his head. "What's 'inanimate'?

"Forget about it," Raina said. "But how do you know them?"

"I met them while hunting here several years ago," I explained, hoping that Climber wouldn't say anything. I glared at Karl. "He almost cut my head off."

Karl looked shocked. "I do not remember doing any such thing!"

I rolled my eyes. Then a thought came to me. "Raina, when did you work at the park?"

Raina stared into space, thinking, "I guess around six years ago."

I froze as a memory rushed to the forefront of my mind: a small statue with one arm and a large hat saying, "Anyway…don't we have…enough children…working here already?"

"Kelly…Kelly!" I started out of the memory. Raina was staring at me. "Are you okay?"

I nodded slowly, then noticed that we were alone. "Where did Karl and Climber go?"

Raina shrugged. "Dunno where Climber is, but Karl went back to put his violin away."

I nodded again, then noticed for the first time that Raina wasn't wearing her usual clothes: she was wearing a getup similar to Karl's, with a sword hanging from here waist. "I'm guessing you worked at Pirate Island?"

She flinched. "Yeah, but don't say the p-word around Karl if you value your spleen."

An idea came to me: "Do you want to spar?"

"Sure," she replied, "but what's your weapon?"

I smiled, bearing my fangs. "A vampire doesn't need a weapon to fight."

She drew her sword. "So be it." She lunged at me.

Moving quicker than the average human, I sidestepped, then whacked her in the back of her neck with my arm. She fell face first into the gravel.

I smelled blood.

"Ow!" she cried out. She sat up. Three bloody scratches had been dug into the left side of her face.

"I'm sorry!" I apologized. "I didn't me-" Her sword tip went under my throat.

She smiled. "I win!"

"Says who?" I said, melting into the shadows and reappearing behind her.

As she whirled around, I knocked her sword out of her hand, into the air, caught it, and pointed it at her face.

"Let's call this a draw," I said, flipping the cutlass. I held the hilt out to her.

"Fine." She took back her sword and sheathed it. She then wiped some of the blood from her face off with her jacket. I notice that her blood smelled weird, almost reptilian.

I checked my watch; it was just past midnight. "I've got to go," I told Raina. "I'll see you at school tomorrow."

She nodded.

As I was turning away, she called, "Kelly?"

I paused and turned toward her. "Yes?

"Don't call me 'Raina' at school okay?"

I nodded. "I won't." I resumed my walk out of the park.