NEW HABIT
1935 – Mick and his friends are 13. He was a lot more outgoing and happy in his pre-vampire days, and also a little more reckless. This is a continuation of First Date. The name of Mick's girlfriend is used with permission.
Coralline posed in front of the mirror, tucking stray curls under her starched wimple. "I can see the habit, but my face keeps blurring. How do I look?" she purred.
Cardinal Counting pursed his lips. "Delicious, if I didn't know you better. Who do you think you're going to fool in that get-up?" He took a sip of blood from the chalice and looked up at her from the easy chair.
"It won't be for very long," she said. "I need an excuse to get closer to this boy. I'm evaluating his potential."
"For what?"
"One of us, when I think he's ready of course. His name is Mick St. John. He's 13 at the moment, but he's filling out well. I can't keep accidentally bumping into him on the streetcar and in front of movie theaters. He might start to wonder. He's already got a girlfriend, so I know he's not shy. Ronnette is her name, I think. He's too engrossed with her right now to notice an older woman who has designs on her boyfriend." She licked her lips and closed her eyes thoughtfully. "But that doesn't matter since I usually get what I want. Let's see how I can get to know him better. Perhaps a little careful maneuvering?"
"If you want your future plans to be fulfilled, you don't want that," Cardinal Counting said. "Well, maybe you do, but not yet. I seriously recommend retracting those fangs. He's still too tender and thirteen is not a good age for a vampire. He'd hold it against you the rest of his undead life."
"Therefore, the charade," said Coralline, sighing and posing again, hand on hip. "You're right. He won't remember meeting me, but someday, when the time comes, he'll feel our connection. That, I'm sure of." She snapped her fingers and smiled, just the tips of her fangs visible. "Mouse in a trap. Pretty mouse."
With her chin supported on her crossed fingers, she reminded Cardinal Counting of a prayerful cat wondering how long to play with her prey before she pounced down for the coup de grâce. "Pretty trap," said the Cardinal.
She sat down and piously lowered her smoky-colored eyes. "I'll be Sister Anne Marie, on temporary leave from my convent in Paris to teach a special art course to the students at Saint Agatha's. Tell the Mother Superior I'm staying with you so she won't expect me to eat in the refectory. I remember enough from my convent school days to pull it off if they don't look at me closely."
"You don't want to make too much of an impression. What if this Mick boy remembers you later?" He set down his empty cup. "You might scare him off."
"Don't worry, Armand. How many of your teachers do you remember from when you were 13?" He smiled, not saying a word. "I'm not going to be that memorable; not yet anyway," she said. The empty chalice reminded her she felt a bit hungry herself. She nodded toward the curtain-covered icebox. "Is there enough for me in there too? I don't want to have to look for a bite while I'm dressed like this. Someone might get the right idea. Where do you get this from anyway?"
"From the biggest investor in Hollywood - our friend Josef. He has starlets lined up to give blood in exchange for auditions. He doesn't tell them why he needs it and they think it has something to do with the movies he's producing. It's a new kind of casting couch. That's aside from his regular fresh donors who know about us. I'm sure he's made some of them available to you during your visit." She nodded. "He sends me a supply twice a week. It wouldn't do for a cardinal to be noticed frequenting jazz clubs and houses of ill repute. The Church might hear of it. We all have to keep undercover, as it were, even in Los Angeles." He nodded to the private icebox. 'Help yourself."
Coralline filled a coffee cup from the bottle and took a swig, savoring the blood on her tongue before swallowing. "For bottled, it nearly tastes fresh. Who would have thought? No heartbeat, no screams. It could get boring after a while."
"Still, it's useful. Who can guess what humans will come up with next to make life easier for vampires? Wipe your lips, girl," Cardinal Counting advised. "You should learn to be less messy when you eat." He came to a decision. "All right. I'll put together a little introduction and walk you to the school. You'll be the youngest daughter of the last curator of the Lourve Museum. Do you think you can keep in character?"
"Let me think. I lived there when it was still a palace, before my dear cousin Louis Sixteen lost his stupid head. I know my way around art, and the French accent comes naturally when I'm not concentrating on sounding American. They won't cable for details with you there to vouch for my authenticity. Let's do it."
Coralline set down the empty cup and wiped her mouth with her sleeve. "Damn," she said. "Blood on my habit."
If you read this, I hope you will be good enough to share your thoughts on what I did
with the characters.