CHAPTER FOUR: ZAVIER GETS OUT (a secret)
The alarm rang, bringing me
out of the murky waters of my nightmare. It was the same nightmare
that I had every time I was a little stressed about something. The
one where I was bodily thrown into the himalayas, where everything
was white and my body was so numb it hurt to think. Looking around, I
saw that my bedroom was indeed a mess as Zavier had said it was. I
didn't have many clothes, as I only wore them when I had to, so there
wasn't any clothing on the floor. Instead, there were wires,
leftovers from my scream-extractor from ten years ago, a full-length
mirror, a few different disassembled radios, and other junk I didn't
know what to do with. My desk was so cluttered, because I didn't use
my beat up computer anymore. It was a version 95 and had almost as
many problems as my sister's old Chevo. (Sort of like Chevy in the
human world.)
I
moaned and rolled out of bed. Today was saturday, so I didn't have to
go to work. It also meant that Zavier didn't have to go and meet her
old friend, 'kitty' though I doubted he would any longer be her
type.
I got to my
four feet and walked into the kitchen to pour some cereal. Looking
into the living room, I saw that Zavier was still asleep, in the
street clothes she'd had on when I'd met her. She was sprawled out on
the couch, covered by a thick black comforter, one arm beneath her
and the other with her knuckles scraping the floor. I chuckled to
myself and continued to the kitchen.
I
opened the cupboards and dug out a bowl and some cereal, called Slimy
Rings. They were sort of like fruit loops in the human world, only,
as the name implied, they were slimy and tasted to me like bannanas
way past the expiration date, which I liked. (Laugh if you want, but
monsters have very different taste buds.)
I
was eating while reading my book when a very sleepy looking Zavier
shuffled into the kitchen. I took one look at her and laughed. Her
hair was a mess of what looked like black straw and her skin was
whiter than milk this early in the morning. Her clothes were all
twisted around her body, making her appear to be in a straightjacket
of some sort. She yawned and looked around the bare little kitchen
groggily.
"You
up already?" she asked in a throaty voice filled with sleep. I
rolled my eyes and smiled smugly, swallowing my mouthfull of cereal.
Zavier eyed it with what looked like an attempt at disgust or horror,
I couldn't tell. I pointed to the box and she picked it up and read
the back. Her face broke into a grin and she dropped the box and
started laughing. I tried quieting her, but she couldn't
stop.
"Monsters...are--so-weird!
Slimy-...Rings!" she gasped between laughing. Her face was
turning pink from laughing so much. She was clutching her throat when
she finally quieted down. I was still holding my spoon halfway to my
mouth, staring dumbstruck at the dilusional human
female.
Here she
was, hair looking like someone's ratty old dog, clothes all twisted,
eyes stille yellow, and fangs, and she thought Monsters were wierd? I
laughed in spite of myself.
"You
hungry?" I asked. She giggled again and shook her head. I
shrugged and finished my breakfast. After I was done cleaning up, I
suggested we go out and get some fresh air. She
smiled.
"Okay,
sure. Could I bring my CD player?" she asked. I shrugged and
said "Who's it gonna hurt?" she giggled again, and I had
time to think. Wonder why the lights don't flare?
In the car
on the highway to the next town heading towards the mall, I asked
"Hey, Zave? Why don't you take out those contact lenses." I
suggested. She looked at me funny with her gold-yelow eyes and
frowned. "Contact lenses? I took those out lastnight. This is my
true eye color." she said oddly. I raised an eye. "Yellow?
I didn't know humans could have anything but brown, blue, green,
gray, or hazel." I speculated. Zavier looked at the floor, a
crease in between her eyebrows. "Well...If you promise not to
tell anyone, I'll tell you." she said quietly. I smirked and
crossed all four arms. "Try me." I invited. She looked up
at me, her yellow eyes almost glowing. "My father's a reptile."
she said quietly. I smirked again and rolled my eyes. "Yeah,
right. The chromosones would never match up." I countered. She
glared at me and then, she did something that astounded
me.
She stuck out
her tongue. It wasn't pink or red or white, even. It was long, past
her chin, and slender, thin and forked deeply. It was a deep, shiny
black, like her hair. Raising her upper lip, she exposed her fangs
fully for the first time. The fangs were slender, sharp like needles
and dripping in saliva. "Okay. I'm convinced." I said, eyes
wide. She looked down at her CD player again, a blue sphere with a
few buttons on the bottom that and a trademark that said 'Sony'. I
drove on, listening to the radio in my sister's olde car. I'd decided
that since it could drive at least a few miles at a time before it
broke down, I'd use it for today.
