I'm Sorry 4: The Search for Red Food

Anakin tossed in bed, unable to sleep. As soon as the sun had sunk below the horizon he had grown restless. His stomach growled noisily, ignoring the fact he had ate a full supper just hours before. The image of his Master's neck appeared in his mind and he unconsciously smacked his lips. He felt the slight tingling sensation as the long fangs sprouted from his upper gums until they protruded from his lips. Realizing what he was thinking, the Padawan pulled the fluffy pillow on top of his face. "I must not bite my Master, I must not bite my Master…"

But the more he told himself that he mustn't bite his Master, the more he wanted to bite his Master.

His heart pounding in his chest, Anakin leaped out of bed and found himself exiting his bedroom. As if of their own accord, his stockened feet led him to Obi-Wan's closed bedroom door. He could hear his Master softly snoring, totally unaware that a hungry vampire lurked nearby. But then an image of the dreaded dentist popped in Anakin's head and he frowned. If he bit his Master again, he would be dragged kicking and screaming to see Doctor Ike and that was the last thing he wanted! The Doctor would do more poking and prodding inside his mouth with the nasty little metal pricks. With a wistful last glance at the closed door, Anakin slunk towards the kitchen.

Once there, he opened the refrigerator door and peered within. Earlier in the day Obi-Wan had gone shopping and had brought home a large sack of healthy foods. He had purchased several giant beefsteak tomatoes, as he was planning on cooking fresh pasta the next night for supper. Now Anakin reached for a plump tomato and eagerly sunk his fangs into it. He sucked hungrily until the tomato was nothing more than a hollow, wrinkled skin. Placing the wrinkled skin back in the refrigerator, he reached for another and sucked that one dry, too. The juicy fruit appealed to the vampire in him and he closed his eyes in pleasure as he drank. Before he knew it, all the tomatoes had been drained. Glancing guiltily over his shoulder, he was relieved to see he was still alone. Placing the last hollow skin onto the glass shelf with its cousins, he quickly closed the refrigerator door and hurried back to his bedroom. This time he didn't even glance at his Master's door but crawled right into bed, burping. Within a few minutes, he was fast asleep.

The next evening found Obi-Wan bustling about in the tiny kitchen. The Jedi Master was planning on making pasta, one of Anakin's favorite dishes. And since he liked eating healthy, he preferred to make his own sauce instead of using the bottled stuff that was high in salt and other preservatives. Going to the refrigerator, he opened the door and stopped dead in his tracks, his bottom jaw dropping open. "What…?"

Some odd wrinkled things sat where his plump tomatoes had been! The things were red like tomatoes, but all caved in. Dozens of wrinkled marred their flesh and for the life of him Obi-Wan couldn't figure out where his tomatoes had gone and why these odd things were in their place! Reaching for one, the Jedi poked it cautiously with a finger. Seeing that it didn't move or try to bite his finger off, he picked it up and studied it for a moment. The texture of the skin was familiar, if wrinkled and the inside…"Why, this IS one of my tomatoes! But what in the world happened to it?"

Obi-Wan stared suspiciously at the refrigerator, then turned. "Anakin! Come here!"

A few moments later Anakin came into the kitchen. He spotted the drained tomato in his Master's hand right away and tensed slightly, his nerves jumping. "Yes, Master?"

"Look what the refrigerator did to my tomatoes!" Obi-Wan cried as he held the wrinkled vegetable up before Anakin's blue eyes. "The temperature control must be acting up again. Remember last month when it froze the celery solid?"

"Yes, Master." Anakin sighed silently with relief. Obi-Wan had blamed his midnight snack on the old refrigerator. "I'm sorry, Master. I had thought I had fixed it."

"Well, it's apparently on the fritz again!" Obi-Wan tossed the tomato skin into the disposal unit and reached for the other drained tomatoes. As he picked each one up, he noticed how dry the shelf was underneath them. "Odd. I had thought it would be wet…"

Anakin held his breath and tried to act as normal as possible, but it wasn't easy. He had to be more careful and in control of his emotions; if he wasn't Obi-Wan would guess the truth. Yet he felt guilty. He wasn't supposed to be lying to his Master. Yet he didn't want to get blamed for draining the tomatoes dry, either. "I'm sorry, Master. I'll take another look at it."

"And I'll go buy more tomatoes. Supper will be late today, I'm afraid." Obi-Wan hurried out of the apartment to go to the nearest market. A half hour later he returned, a paper sack full of groceries. He pulled new beefsteak tomatoes from the bag and placed them on the counter, then pulled a few more items from the bag. "How is the refrigerator?"

"I did the best I can, Master." Anakin carefully replied, knowing nothing had been wrong with the unit at all. "It should work fine now."

"Good." Obi-Wan placed a few things into the refrigerator, then pulled out kettles, spices and the other ingredients. "Go work on your assignment. I'm going to cook supper now and I don't need you in the way."

"Yes, Master." Anakin left the kitchen, his blue eyes lingering for a few seconds on a plump tomato. He wondered briefly what he would snack on later when his fangs appeared. Knowing Obi-Wan, he'd use up all the beefsteaks in the sauce. But as he settled down in front of the computer his mind focused on the current assignment and he forgot about his nighttime problem.

Hours passed. Supper was eaten and now Anakin found himself once again awake in bed and staring up at the ceiling. His stomach protested and the long teeth in his mouth reminded him of the need to feed. Crawling from bed in a fluid movement, Anakin once again paused outside Obi-Wan's bedroom door. His stomach full of pasta and fresh baked bread, the older Jedi slumbered in complete contentment. It would be easy to slip within and take a little nip…

Anakin shook his head, the long Padawan braid slapping his face. "I can't bite him. I won't bite him!"

Pushing himself away from the door, Anakin forced himself into the kitchen. Like the previous night, he found himself standing in front of the refrigerator looking for red food. Opening the door, he glanced about hopefully. One of the bottles within the door caught his eye. Without looking at the label, he tore the small white cap off and locked his lips around the small opening at the top. Upending the bottle, he allowed the dark red contents to flow into his mouth. He swallowed the first mouthful quickly, but the second mouthful…

Anakin's eyes bugged out and he dropped the bottle, his hands clutching his throat. The bottle crashed to the floor where it shattered, glass and Obi-Wan's Extra Hot Red Pepper Sauce splattering all over the floor. "HOT…HOT!!!"

"ACK!!" Anakin staggered from the kitchen. "FIRE! FIRE!"

Sensing the panic coming from his Padawan, Obi-Wan rushed from his bedroom in his light-colored pajamas. "A fire? We must get out of the building!"

Obi-Wan grabbed Anakin and shoved him towards the apartment door.

"WATER!!!" Anakin tried to dash towards the bathroom, but Obi-Wan had a firm grip on his nightshirt and wouldn't let him get away. He was shoved out into the hall just in time to see Master Mace stick his head out his apartment door, yawning.

"What's all the yelling about?" Mace asked, who had his apartment right across the hall from Anakin and Obi-Wan, the later two being well known as loud disturbers of the peace.

"FIRE!" Obi-Wan shouted as he dragged the gagging Anakin down the hall, a good solid grip on the younger man's Padawan braid.

"FIRE?!" Mace dashed down the hall several feet and pulled the Fire Alarm. A loud bell and siren started to ring throughout the Temple and soon all the half-asleep, grumpy Jedi and Padawans found themselves standing outside in the middle of the night, everyone asking the other why. Once outside, Anakin had thirstily sucked most of the water from a decorative fountain, the entire front half of his nightshirt and pants soaking wet, water droplets running down his chin and neck. His stomach felt bloated and he thought he heard it swooshing with each step, but at least the burning fire within his mouth and throat was gone. Ferus shot an angry, disgusted look his way but Anakin ignored it. The two of them had never gotten along and they certainly weren't going to start now. The Jedi Council had gathered nearby, their loud voices rising above the din of the large assembly of Knights and apprentices.

"I don't understand." Mace was saying to Yoda and the others. "I could have sworn I heard someone yelling about a fire. Of course, I was half asleep…"

"No fire have we found." Yoda said. "Searched the entire Temple we have. Smoke scents there be not."

Mace rubbed his tired face, trying to remember why he had thought there had been a fire. The Jedi shrugged. "Guess it made a good drill…"

Obi-Wan glared at Anakin. "You better not have been drinking my new bottle of Hot Sauce!"

To be continued…