Angelina led Bart and Lisa into her bedroom, whose walls were generously decorated with pictures of landmarks from around the world. Lisa's attention was grabbed by a poster attached to one wall, on which were printed two simple words, FREE TIBET. To her consternation, a second poster stood to the right of the first, bearing the slogan…

"Free China?" she blurted out.

"It's complicated," said Angelina. "Don't ask me to explain."

While Bart examined a stack of laminated baseball cards that appeared to date back to the 50's, Lisa sat on the edge of Angelina's bed, holding hands with Vladimir and bombarding the red-haired girl with questions. "I can't help but notice that there's a nice, soft mattress underneath my butt. If you really are a vampire, then shouldn't you sleep in a coffin instead?"

Angelina laughed dismissively. "You're thinking of what we call the Stoker vampire—can't stand garlic, terrified of crucifixes, works best at night. Totally fictional."

"As much as I love to read about vampires," said Lisa maturely, "still, my rational mind can't accept that they exist in the real world. If you want to convince me, you'll have to provide some concrete evidence."

Angelina shot a knowing grin at Vladimir. Then she snapped her fingers, and as if on cue, both the bedroom window and the blinds covering it flew upwards, exposing the room to the full light of the sun.

"Huh?" said Lisa, alarmed. "How'd you…"

She felt Vladimir's hand tugging on her fingers, and all at once, gravity forsook her. The boy with the glowing blue eyes flew ahead of her, leading her over the currents of air and directly through the window, which seemed to fall away as she passed. By the time her mind was cleared of the euphoria of flight, she was hundreds of feet above the ground, the trees dwindling into matchsticks below.

"What the heck?" she cried, the wind blowing vainly against her face. "You're flying! You can fly! I can fly!"

Bart and Angelina watched them vanish into the firmament. "They make such a cute couple," gushed Angelina. "Don't you agree, Bart?"

"Humina humina humina," the boy mumbled.

Lisa felt no fear at all, somehow certain that Vladimir's grip on her hand would never fail. "Omigosh," she said, her arms spread out like an eagle's wings. "You are a vampire. I shouldn't have doubted you."

"Your skepticism is understandable," said the boy, his eyes fixed intently on the horizon.

"Correct me if I'm wrong," said Lisa as they sailed over the local Krusty Burger, "but don't vampires drink the blood of the living?"

"Some vampires do," replied Vladimir, "but Angelina and I do not. We are vegetarian vampires."

Lisa coughed a bit as the Springfield Tire Fire passed by far below. "Is it really that easy?" she wanted to know. "I mean, doesn't your vampire nature make you want to drink blood?"

"The bloodthirst is common to all vampires," Vladimir told her, "but it can be controlled."

As they zipped over the spectacular vistas of Springfield Gorge, Lisa said, "This is so weird. Here I am, hand in hand with a genuine vampire. I should be terrified, but I've never felt happier. You're not using some sort of demonic mind control on me, are you?"

"If I were," said Vladimir, "would you want me to stop?"

Lisa pondered his question as her hair points flapped wildly in the breeze. "No," was her response.

All along Evergreen Terrace, the townspeople looked up in wonder as Lisa and Vladimir soared by. "It's a bird!" exclaimed Milhouse.

"It's a plane!" cried Nelson.

They both glared at Martin, expecting an observation from him. "Well?" he said with a shrug. "It's obviously either a bird or a plane, since anything else is scientifically unfeasible."

Nelson promptly punched him in the gut. "Ow!"

Professor Frink, armed with a pair of enhanced binoculars, scribbled furiously on a notepad as he traced the movements of the flying children. "Good glavin almighty! Unless my senses deceive me, those two school-age young people have discovered a way to nullify the effects of gravity, with the climbing and the diving and the zooming and the ever-present danger of falling to an all-too-probable death!"

Shortly, Vladimir and Lisa settled into a circular pattern around the summit of Mount Springfield. "The world looks so small from up here," remarked Lisa. "Since you're a vampire, I suppose everything looks small to you, all the time."

Vladimir nodded. "More or less."

"What do you think of us mortals, Vladimir?" Lisa asked earnestly. "You won't drink our blood, so I imagine you must have some respect for us."

"Your lives are so short," said the young vampire with a hint of regret. "But that is your choice. There was a time when we offered immortality to all mankind, but rather than accept it, they turned against us, hunted us, and tried to exterminate us."

Batting her eyelashes, Lisa uttered one more question: "What do you think of me?"

Vladimir gazed into her eyes, the sunshine reflecting from his sparkling skin. "I have great affection for you, Lisa Simpson," he admitted.

Lisa's entire nervous system nearly burst with delight. "Oh, Vladimir," she gushed. "I can't help myself anymore. I want you. I love you."

The boy pursed his lips, bright red and pulsating with life. Lisa, unable to resist the pounding of her heart, welded her own lips to his, and was rewarded with the purest sensation of softness she had ever known. Such was their passion as they kissed that a nearby flock of geese swooned and plummeted from the sky.

To be continued