Fever Ch. 02

Chicago:

Obsessive: A persistent disturbing preoccupation with an often unreasonable idea or feeling: compelling motivation. (2013, Merriam Webster)

Excessive: Exceeding what is usual, proper, or necessary...(2013, Merriam Webster)

Tavis

Excessive: That's my word for today. Mom said I needed to learn it because she was so tired of hearing me talk about vampires and anything related to them. She said that I needed to know how close to sick I was, and how unhealthy my passion for a creature that's not even human is. It was so bad that although I was only ten, I had resulted to begging my dad, who by the way is the reason I'm obsessed with Vampirism, to allow me to be like them and stay in during the day time and conduct my affairs at night.

Conduct was my word last week; compliments again of mom, who said I needed to learn how to conduct my behavior while out and about with Aunt Jill, who's also my day sitter, and my sister Olivia. While Olivia eats up any thing that Jill says, I can't stand being around her because she has a rare disorder involving house plants. I'm not saying she's crazy, or anything like that, but she has some weird obsession with those things. They're accumulating around her home as if she has her own green house. I know a person can love plants but seriously, I'd diagnose her with OCD if I could, because the woman has a plant for every season in her home.

She started out with having them as decorations, but ended up using them on a habitual basis, in a ritualistic way. That was about two years ago. Now she makes sure the house is the right temperature at all times, she is always vac cumming and cleaning anything with a plant in site, which is everything in her home.

She has them in the bathroom, in Olivia's room upstairs, my room down stairs- everywhere, they are covering the living room, of course neatly, but it's so bad that you can barely walk through her house. She even has them hanging from her kitchen ceilings like lanterns. I don't like being here because ironically enough, the soil makes my allergies flare up, but mom says I'm a hypochondriac- Which I am not! I just don't want to end up sick or in the hospital dead somewhere before I get the chance to turn.

She and dad are lucky they don't have to go through any of that. I know what it's like to be sick for days on end and believe me, it's no fun. That's why I want to become a vampire. There is so much about my mom and Stefan that is so cool, that I just can't wait til the day my chance comes along, because I'm taking it. I'm going to dive head in first and not look back. Why would I need to when I will be able to vanish anywhere I think of in my mind, communicate with my family when far away and I will also be able to have a super strength that succeeds anything known to the human race.

I mean, I'll even be able to hear from the other room without straining my ears against the door. Another thing that has me fascinated is that I will become an even better warrior than what I am as a human. I am good at being on my feet. I love Karate and am quite advanced at it for my age. I am also good at spells, particularly casting and protecting. I can put a protective spell on anyone or anything I want. Once I put a protection spell on my sister's diary and she couldn't open it for a whole week. It took her that long to figure out that's why it would never budge when she tried to open it. After chasing me around the living room, demanding that I take the spell off her diary, she threatened to beat me to a pulp.

While I was good at using my body for martial arts, my sister was very limber and quick with her moves. She was so fast that often times, she beat me when ever we spar. This makes her excellent at fighting with weapons of her choice. She's like a buffy the vampire slayer in real life, except for she's black. However, while she's buffy, I am great at balance and doing things on point. I push myself in everything I do. My dad also says I have a gift for learning because at ten, I have a vocabulary that would blow most kids my age out of the water. It's easy for me to learn anything that has to do with reading, writing, science, which is my favorite subject, and history. Science is my favorite subject because we get to build things in class and experiment to see how they work

My parents and I- including my other two siblings- have traveled to many many places around the world and it's been fun, at-least about as much as we could have from a mother who has to be around us twenty four seven. My mother is so paranoid that it took her three years to even allow us to leave the house after what happened to Stefan Jr. the youngest in our family. It was something about a lady named Pearl snatching him from his crib and making off with him for some unknown purpose.

My parents won't explain to me why, it's just the way it happens. Anyhow, I think that my mom and dad need to chill out, especially mom, who freaks out when she can't get a hold of one of us. The only reason she allows us to go with Jill is because she knows that we will be safe with her and the fact that me and Olivia are humans, makes it least likely for anything to happen to us in broad day light, she encourages aunt Jill to do all that she can with us during the day time. We go to school, go to the mall, hang out with our friends, do all things that normal teenagers our age do, with the exception that we under no circumstances use what we have learned on others. No magic, no fighting and no weaponry, just good old fashioned fun.

I think she's trying to make sure we enjoy our human years because she no longer has hers and there are times that I think she misses it. She's been a vampire for seven years and she often complains that the only times she gets to go out in the day light is when it's raining out or in the winter, after the evening, right before dusk.

She says the summer is too hot and that it burns her flesh when ever she even opens the front door. I tell her that's because she's meant for the night, when life is fascinating and everything that's worth observing is observed. I love my mom, don't get me wrong, but man, that woman complains about everything. It's amazing that my dad doesn't walk around with plugs in his ear.

I honestly don't knows how he handles the billions of complaints she make all the time. If she's not fussing at me about proper clothing for the season, she's fussing about my sister's horrible taste in music. My sister is pure hip hop and pop. I like some hip hop but mostly old jazzz. She always say I'm a grown man stuck in a young boy's body.

Aunt Jill says I have an old spirit. I agree with her, because I find the mall boring and I find most kids my age trivial. I don't like sports, that's what I believe Jr. the youngest of us will be into when he gets older. Six years old and he can already throw a football. I don't like television or movies.

I prefer anything structured,with an educational back ground to it.I'd rather sit around building science projects with my dad or going through his extensive collection of library books, where he has everything from the Grimm's brothers to Tom Sawyer.

I don't mind being outside, as long as I can go off into the woods somewhere just to inspect the insects and animals. I know, all of this may sound dull and boring but hey, what's a kid like me to do? Become dumb down by what they consider entertainment now a days? I think not...I'd rather keep my intellect any day over that mess. The cartoon I hate more than any of these stupid things is sponge bob.

I'd really like to go shoot the guy in the head who made that moronic cartoon. It makes adults look like brainwashed idiots and besides, I swear sponge bob and Patrick are gay. Sponge bob may just have an I.Q. So low though that he eats crayons on a regular basis. There is nothing I like about that cartoon. Most of the shows I like are ones that were out when my mother was a kid. I swear the nineties was cool and I wish I could have lived back then. The shows make much more since. Are you afraid of the dark, all that, hey dude, salute your shorts. Yeah, I like those. My favorite is goosebumps. R.L. Stine is the man. Doug, yeah, I know all the greats. They had a less acid trip imagination in my opinion. It just makes since.

I think they tried to become creative for my generation but instead ended up with the stupid stick if you know what I mean. Anyway, enough of how stupid my generation is and back to what is the real purpose of this voice recording...

"Today I wanted to share with you about how old I plan to be when I become a vampire..."

My tape recording was interrupted as the door to my room opened and my sister came in, threw herself on my bed and looked up at me, "Hey El Stupido." I cut the record button on my tape player. "I'm not the one with straight f's on my report card." I stated.

"Hey, I didn't get all f's. I managed to hit a home run with a D this semester." She smirked back.

"Congratulations, there is a p-sized brain in that head of yours." My tone was full of sarcasm.

"Hey, just because I'm an educational reject, doesn't mean you have much room to talk. Look at your wardrobe. Looking like you stepped out of a decade old photo shoot."

"Fades are going to come back in, as well as the coveralls and my converse."

"God I hope not, because you look atrocious in what you wear!" Her tone full of laughter.

"Did you come in here to annoy me with your ugly face or was there something worth saying going to come out of your mouth."

"Mom wants to know what you want for dinner."

I shrugged my shoulders, "I'm not really hungry."

She sighed, "You better pick something, because I really don't want to hear another one of her lectures. You know how she get when we tell her we are not hungry."

I rolled my eyes, already irritated. "Tell her what ever she decides is fine with me."

"Even if it's those ugly green peas?"

Another shrug of the shoulders stated my answer, "Peas don't matter to me. I'm just hungry."

"Alright." She stated and then hopped up off my bed and left my room.

~~

A half an hour later, mom called me downstairs for dinner. I went from my room, following my nose. The aroma of pork, southern style baked beans and buttery mashed potatoes made my stomach rumble. I made my way through the living room and into the kitchen, where I was greeted with a hot colorful dish. I felt my stomach rumble upon looking at the food that had been sat in my usual seat. Pulling a chair out and sitting down, I grabbed my napkin and tucked it into my chin.

Just as I did this, my mother came into the kitchen, and glanced at our plates, a forlorn look in her eyes. I knew she missed the taste of cooked food, which was why she prepared it for us herself. I could sense her sorrow. I let out a sigh of empathy on her behalf. Mom had been a vampire for seven years and it seemed as if she hadn't gotten used to the fact that she wasn't completely human.

She could eat anything we ate, but it didn't give off any flavor with the dried blood. It was no secret that she still longed for her human life. She still longed for day walks and the ability to do things humans did. After all, she had been human all but the last seven years of her life.

"Dinner looks good mom." I stated, looking up at her.

Her emotion was that of sadness as she sighed, "Yeah, it does doesn't it?"

"You did a great job, it smells delicious." I stated.

"I didn't cook this time. I tried but..." I watched as tears welled up in her eyes.

"Maybe you shouldn't have become a vampire," A voice stated, her tone cold. I rolled my eyes as my sister came into the kitchen. "Now you are missing out on all of these delicious delights, beautifully, fully cooked meals, scrumptious deserts...but most of all, precious sunlight." She came and sat down across from me. Her tone sounded tender yet cynical. "Did you know mother that humans need at least fifteen minutes of sunlight a day, that way they can get all of the nutrients sunlight provide, like vitamin D?"

Mom flickered her eyes at Olivia, irritation in them, "Yeah, I guess, but I'm going to do some studying, I'll see you later." She stated, taking off toward their library. Mom was entering her last year of med school for dermatology and then afterward, she would continue on through her clinicals. Although my mom had major sat backs regarding her schooling, that was one thing she never complained about. Mom truly did love her family. I've never once heard her complain about having us or how we were a burden to her.

When she left, I glanced over at Olivia. Although she was the spitting image of mom, I swear the girl was evil. She would often times hurt people the same way she'd done mom by rubbing something in their face. I couldn't wait for the day when she'd get hers. It was no secret that Olivia did not like Stefan nor did she interact with Jr. at least not too much, but she seemed to fester in hatred for our mother and I knew why.

"Why do you have to be such a snide a hole?" I asked, my tone a sharp whisper.

"You mean snide ass hole?" She corrected, her eyes beautiful honey brown slits.

"Yes. Why did you do that? You know mom's been having a hard time adjusting. So why are you feeding her discouragement?"

Olivia rolled her eyes, "It's not my fault she's a damn blook sucker!" Lascivious indignation wrapped around every word.

"The least you could do was give her encouragement to grow into it, instead you make everything worse. Your attitude, grades, smart mouth, all of that stuff just makes her boil over. I know what you can do Olivia, I remember what your grades looked like before this year. You are very intelligent, but you go around acting stupid."

Olivia yawned, signaling a dismissive gesture, "Not that that's any of your business, but I swear, everyday you sound more and more like him. It's sickening."

"He's our father." I stated, "I should sound like him."

A malicious laugh bubbled up from her mouth, "Our father? Our father? That man is not our father!" She hissed. " Our father is human. I hate him!" She gasped, her tone shaky with emotion, "If I could, I would drive a steak right through his heart first and then his skull."

I leaned back, appalled at her words, "Don't say that." I whispered. "He's not a bad guy and he does way more than our real dad has ever done for us. Have you forgotten that he's the one who brought us this home and furnished everything in it?"

Olivia laughed, her tone spewing it's hatred, "It doesn't matter. I hate him. He can't do..." She paused to wipe the tears out of her eyes, "anything our mother couldn't do before she met him. We were fine before he took her and made her one of those things. Look at her, she can barely stand to be in the room with any human without breaking down. He did this, he did!"

"He loves her." I whispered to her, feeling as if her anger was justified, but at the same time, seeing in my mind's eye that our father did love our mother. He loved her ferociously. Olivia shook her head, "If he really loved her, he would never have taken her from her kids, at least not while we were young. If he really loved her, he would have given us those times we needed with our mother. What kind of love is the kind of love that makes you take someone else's life? What love is that? Please tell me, I want to know."

I exhaled, "We have Jill to do the things with us that our mother can't. Olivia."

"Things she can't do because she's dead." She seethed out.

"She's not dead, Olivia. She still has her soul."

Olivia balled up her fists, "She's dead Tavis and the sooner you accept that, the more realistic you will be when it comes to wanting to be one of those things. Why would you want to drink human blood? Why would you want to be imprisoned in such a way that you are limited to what you can and can't do?"

I felt my own blood boil at this, "Limited to things like what; going out in the daylight? Making stupid friends that will only talk about you behind your back? Or maybe I should get friends like yours, the kind of people who hate vampires and all other animals?" I stated. "You guys are crazy."

She became defensive. "We are not crazy. We just think animal blood shed is wrong, that human blood shed is wrong."

"Yet you're willing to take the life of a vampire?" I whispered at her.

"Vampires are different. They are neither human nor animal."

"Olivia Petty!" I stated, my tone out raged, "You are awful. Uhk! I can't stand you right now." She pushed her plate full of veggies away from her. "You're my brother, my only brother and you won't even take up for me. You call me crazy? I'm human, you're human and we're living in the midst of a den of vampires and you call me crazy? It's a surprise our mother has not eaten us or even our beloved father. It's amazing we have not become what's filling their palate." Pushing her chair out from the table, she went upstairs to her room.

I was left staring into my plate, trying to understand why my sister hated Vampires so much, why she hated the way we lived when we never lacked for anything? She still got to do everything she wanted with our mother, provided that she would go when mom asked her too, but she always said no. It was like she was here but not a part of our household. The only one she would even communicate with was me. She even ignored Jr. most of the time, when it wasn't even his fault he'd been born into this family.

He had no say in what he'd become. I exhaled sharply and picked up my fork and knife, not withstanding any longer. My food had gone from sizzling hot to luke warm. Sticking my fork into the meat, I positioned the knife in between the little prongs and sliced through the meat. As I did, I felt my stomach fill with nausea as the juices displayed blood to my eyes. I felt my nostrils flare in disgust and my skin crawl. The one thing I had to get past with vampirism, was being squeamish around blood.

~~

Olivia

Repel: (to be incapable of adhering to, mixing with, taking up or holding. (2013, merriam Webster dictionary.)

Disgust: marked aversion aroused by something highly distasteful. (2013, merriam webster disctionary)

I stared at myself in the mirror, thinking of the type of young woman I was on the verge of becoming. Although I'd inherited my mother's beauty, I'd inherited my father's side of physical genetics. Super skinny, borderline sickle cell anemia, and I was petite. Sickle cell anemia is a disease in which the blood is unable to produce oxygen in the red blood cells and deliver it to the body in an efficient manner. The only way to describe this would be the cell being curved in the form of a sickle or crescent and clumping together in blood vessels, causing the blood not to flow too good. This then causes fatigue, shortness of breath, dizziness, headache, coldness in both hands and feet, pale skin and chest pain. What a disease right?

Anyhow, even though I don't have it, I do have the trait. My father's mother had it and his sister had it. I know more about my dad's side of the family than Tavis do, because I ask mom about them all the time. She's even adapted to allowing me go stay with our aunt, also her best friend. The weirdest thing is that I'm not sure Tavis knows that Jill is our real aunt, but her and mom have been best friends since high school.

As a matter of fact, our mom met our aunt first and then became involved with our dad while they were in high school. As I think of this, I become angry at the fact that my mom and dad didn't stay together. Why? I don't know. I just know they didn't. Mom won't tell me why. Instead she fawns over the blood sucker. Saying how good of a man he is, and how good it has been being with a man that actually care about her and her kids. She's always talking about how sweet and adorable Jr. is.