“It will be a small, intimate gathering.”
“Shall we have it at the cemetery?”
Alexander disagreed. “We’ll have it at the Mansion. That way it will be discreet and no one will find out about it.”
I gave Alexander a huge hug. I was excited to be hosting a party and thrilled at the prospect of seeing Scarlet and Onyx again.
“But how are we going to invite them?” he finally asked.
I reached into my purse and took out my cell phone. “I have them on speed dial.”
After a few minutes of canoodling, I strolled outside the covered bridge to get more light from the streetlamp. I avoided a few puddles, as the rain had ceased.
I scrolled to Scarlet’s contact number and pressed send. The line began to ring. And ring. And ring.
“Is she there?” Alexander asked impatiently.
I shook my head.
Just then, someone picked up. I could hear the pounding of loud music with overloaded bass in the background.
“Scarlet?” I said.
“Hello?” I barely heard her voice. “Hello?”
Then the phone went dead.
“I don’t think she wants to speak to me,” I said.
“I think she probably can’t hear you. That club can be deafening.”
“I’ll try again.”
I pushed redial and waited.
This time she picked up right away. “Raven, is that you?”
“Yes! Can you hear me?”
“Raven—is that you?”
“Yes!” I yelled.
“I think it’s Raven—but I can’t hear her,” she said to someone.
“Scarlet? Onyx? Are you there?”
The call was dropped. All I heard was my own voice shouting.
“I guess we’ll have to try later,” Alexander said, resigned. He wiped off the damp bench with a tissue he had in his pocket and sat down.
“If she can’t hear my invite, then maybe she can see it.”
“What do you mean?”
I sat down next to Alexander and texted as fast as I could. He peered over my shoulder, curious.
Onyx and Scarlet—
Mansion Mayhem!
Mansion on top of Benson Hill only a few towns away.
Saturday Night @ Sunset
Raven
“Now what?” he asked.
“We wait.”
“How long?”
“If she sees the message, it could be within a minute. If she doesn’t, it could take days.”
“We don’t have days.”
“I know….”
We sat in silence, his arm around me, my cell phone in my lap. We both were zoned out when we heard a few beeps. I showed Alexander my phone.
Can’t W8 2 party w/u!
X, S & O
Alexander gave me a huge squeeze, and we spent the rest of the evening pressed against each other’s black and pale red lips.
10
Interview with a Vampire
The party at the Mansion was going to have to be top secret. I couldn’t even invite Becky and Matt. I hated having an intimate party and not inviting my best friend. However, I had to remind myself of the motivation for the party—to get Sebastian’s mind off Becky and onto a vampire girl.
Becky and I sat at a side entrance to the school, she intently eating her lunch on a step while I was perched on a half wall, doodling a macabre party in my notebook.
A figure stood next to me. “What’s that?” Trevor said, snatching my notebook.