Finally, it was happening! After years of persuasion, months of information, and weeks of chore bribes, we were finally going to L.A.! I didn't want to go there because of the sunshine (I hate sunshine), or the view, or palm trees, or stores, or cool places to be, no. What I really wanted was to be in the place where my favorite TV show of all time was.

At least placed, anyway, I loved Moonlight. Anything to do with vampires, the supernatural (but mostly vampires), or many (NOT) people, I was there. Theoretically, I did not have the money or time to go places. I am only twelve after all.

I wanted to take a stroll along the pier and see where Arrested Development (my favorite episode) was filmed (I think, it could have been just a set.). I wanted to see all the lavish homes and think of all of them as Josef Kostan's home, or mine, whichever came first.

The plane ride luckily didn't take too long, thanks to a little sleeping pill called, I-have-no-life-so-I'm-just-going-to-pretend-I-have-friends-in-my-dreams. The airport however, took very long to get through. After about an hour of trying to get a taxi, we were in our hotel. It was nothing special, until you went to the pool.

The pool was big and blue with a swim-up bar that I wouldn't be going to unless they served smoothies. There were two waterslides, one bright blue that twisted and turned in a completely black tunnel, and one bright red one that dropped straight down. I stuck with the blue one. A kid's area sat in the farthest possible place from the swim-up bar, with many tiny slides and water spouts. Unfortunately, free water guns were also lying around, or so it appeared. Those three-year-olds couldn't have so many water guns brought with them right? Right?

After the pool, the first place I visited was the pier. The rides all looked awesome, and though I looked at the roller coaster, I didn't ride it. I'd had too many unpleasant memories with the things. My foster dad was the one who came with me, my kind-of brother and foster mom staying at the hotel to enjoy the pool a bit more.

I rode a few rides, had a few ice-creams, embarrassed a few love-birds, and played a few arcade games. And then fate started to kick in. I took a little shortcut around the edge of the pier to meet up with my foster dad since I had promised to meet him under the Ferris wheel in an hour before he fried. While taking that shortcut, I fell off the edge of the giant structure supporting many things, tried to grab onto one of the supporting boards, and hit my head while doing so. The last thing I saw was the ocean below.

What? Why is it dark? What's that below me? What am I on? Why is it so uncomfortable?

These thoughts and more were running through my mind when I woke up. I realized I had fallen on a beam, and that was why I wasn't dead. That also must be why I didn't fall in the ocean. I sighed in relief. Then I heard voices above me.

"I'm sorry sir but we couldn't find her. How about you go back to your hotel and we'll continue to look." The voice sounded strangely professional, and I wondered if it was a cop. Another voice that I couldn't quite make out protested, but then I discovered it was my foster dad. I tried to raise my voice to tell them I was down here, but my throat was dry and my voice was hoarse from breathing in so much seawater.

I would like to tell you with my clever wit and amazing skills I was able to get off the beam and back onto land, but I would be lying. So why is this bothering me? Because, there is a much cooler story to be told. So now I shall tell you it with no more annoying stalling.

So I pretty much just hung there uselessly on the beam for a few more hours. Eventually the cops stopped calling out and I heard one say almost sadly that I had probably fallen off the edge of the pier and was swept away by the ocean and that I was probably gone by now. Funny how they only seemed to get one part right.

Finally something kicked in inside my brain and I realized if I was ever going to be found I'd have to start trying to climb up and get back by myself. So now try to imagine me struggling to use the muscles I hadn't used for a good portion of the day and night, crawling very heroically across the narrow board, and jumping about three inches off of that very same board to try and reach another beam which I could crawl very heroically along again to get up onto the pier.

Actually, after jumping up about three inches I lost my footing and fell toward the water yet again. This time I grabbed onto one of the huge pillars supporting my destination. So now try to imagine me sliding very heroically down a square of wood and to the sea. Then I mustered up all my strength and used all of my non-existent training to swim to shore. But before I could drown something dropped into the water from above. Wait a minute that was a person. How convenient.

I found myself looking at a dude. Not just any dude. My favorite TV dude. Whom I thought didn't exist. That's right, Leonardo Di Caprio. Kidding. Nope, I was looking at a swimming vampire. Mick St. John to be exact.