him until changing into a demon. Me? I was content to leave the glamorous young actress behind and get back to being me. However, on that awful night three years ago, Jesse and I formed a special bond.
We had grown up in the small Colorado town of Union, a farming community that over the years attracted a wild herd of granola types eager to grow organic produce. Jesse’s parents owned both a produce farm and an organic dairy, and were one of the largest employers in town. I had seen Jesse at school but never really met him until he came to help my dad with a project on our small farm that summer. We were both pretty much loners with few friends, not members of any social cliques, and so we gravitated toward one another and soon became inseparable.
That Halloween night, Dad dropped us off at the school dance and promised he’d be back to pick us up before he left for a party of his own. When we arrived at ours, the gym already throbbed with music and laughter. The theme, Hollywood, had the place crawling with everyone from Jennifer Lawrence in her Hunger Games’ Katniss persona to Robert Pattinson’s sparkling vampire from Twilight . No one else had gone retro like us, but no one in Union came close to being like us.
I had a blast with my vintage 1950s get-up. The black full-skirted knee-length dress had a saucy caged top that showed off my ample cleavage. A rockabilly petticoat gave it that jive appeal. Black velvet slingback shoes and a fake fur jacket rounded out the outfit. I topped off the look with bright red lipstick, loads of mascara, and permed hair. I was all golden-age Hollywood glam.
Jesse looked hot in his tight jeans and tee shirt. Even at fifteen, he had muscles from working the farm. He took a cigarette out of the jacket pocket and stuck it behind his ear as the final touch.
I shook my head. “School. Rules. You might get in trouble for that.”
He shrugged. “I live for danger.”
I raised a perfectly penciled eyebrow.
“Girls dig the danger vibe,” he said.
I looked around at the bevy of girls giving him the eye. “You seem to be right about that. Just give me a signal, and I’ll disappear and leave you to them.”
He turned to face me, grasped the string of pearls I wore around my neck, and pulled me close. “Glamour puss,” he whispered, “I totally expect you to protect me from my crazed female fans.”
I batted my eyelashes. “Well, if you insist, you sexy rebel you.”
With that, he led me out onto the dance floor. Not big on social activities, in Jesse’s company I found myself strangely at ease. That is, until his father crashed the party.
We were slow dancing and Jesse was reciting a bunch of tragically lame jokes in my ear when Cosmic James, his long hair disheveled, his tie-dyed shirt especially loud, and his stoned eyes crazy, parted the sea of kids like an avenging Moses. He grabbed Jesse by his jacket collar, yanked him toward the door, and said, “I’ve come to take my people home.”
The non-sequitur was oddly fitting.
I stumbled after them. “What’s going on, Mr. James?”
“Jesse’s mother’s sick and I need his help to take care of her and the baby,” Cosmic said through clenched teeth. “I left a half-dozen messages on this brat’s cell—” he shoved Jesse ahead of him— “but I guess he was partying too hard to care.”
Jesse almost fell, but quickly regained his balance. He didn’t argue, didn’t resist, he merely gave me a sad look and said, “Sorry to ruin your night.”
Before I could respond, they were gone.
My friend, Carmela Sanchez, appeared at my side. “Poor Jesse. You okay?”
I shook my head.
“Wanna come join me and mine?”
I wasn’t a joiner and, although I liked Carmela one-on-one, I didn’t much care for her cool crowd. “I’ll call Dad to come get me.”
“It’s so sad. Jesse’s like the hottest—and I mean the hottest —guy in this godforsaken little school, but he’s got the most bizarro family,”
We had grown up in the small Colorado town of Union, a farming community that over the years attracted a wild herd of granola types eager to grow organic produce. Jesse’s parents owned both a produce farm and an organic dairy, and were one of the largest employers in town. I had seen Jesse at school but never really met him until he came to help my dad with a project on our small farm that summer. We were both pretty much loners with few friends, not members of any social cliques, and so we gravitated toward one another and soon became inseparable.
That Halloween night, Dad dropped us off at the school dance and promised he’d be back to pick us up before he left for a party of his own. When we arrived at ours, the gym already throbbed with music and laughter. The theme, Hollywood, had the place crawling with everyone from Jennifer Lawrence in her Hunger Games’ Katniss persona to Robert Pattinson’s sparkling vampire from Twilight . No one else had gone retro like us, but no one in Union came close to being like us.
I had a blast with my vintage 1950s get-up. The black full-skirted knee-length dress had a saucy caged top that showed off my ample cleavage. A rockabilly petticoat gave it that jive appeal. Black velvet slingback shoes and a fake fur jacket rounded out the outfit. I topped off the look with bright red lipstick, loads of mascara, and permed hair. I was all golden-age Hollywood glam.
Jesse looked hot in his tight jeans and tee shirt. Even at fifteen, he had muscles from working the farm. He took a cigarette out of the jacket pocket and stuck it behind his ear as the final touch.
I shook my head. “School. Rules. You might get in trouble for that.”
He shrugged. “I live for danger.”
I raised a perfectly penciled eyebrow.
“Girls dig the danger vibe,” he said.
I looked around at the bevy of girls giving him the eye. “You seem to be right about that. Just give me a signal, and I’ll disappear and leave you to them.”
He turned to face me, grasped the string of pearls I wore around my neck, and pulled me close. “Glamour puss,” he whispered, “I totally expect you to protect me from my crazed female fans.”
I batted my eyelashes. “Well, if you insist, you sexy rebel you.”
With that, he led me out onto the dance floor. Not big on social activities, in Jesse’s company I found myself strangely at ease. That is, until his father crashed the party.
We were slow dancing and Jesse was reciting a bunch of tragically lame jokes in my ear when Cosmic James, his long hair disheveled, his tie-dyed shirt especially loud, and his stoned eyes crazy, parted the sea of kids like an avenging Moses. He grabbed Jesse by his jacket collar, yanked him toward the door, and said, “I’ve come to take my people home.”
The non-sequitur was oddly fitting.
I stumbled after them. “What’s going on, Mr. James?”
“Jesse’s mother’s sick and I need his help to take care of her and the baby,” Cosmic said through clenched teeth. “I left a half-dozen messages on this brat’s cell—” he shoved Jesse ahead of him— “but I guess he was partying too hard to care.”
Jesse almost fell, but quickly regained his balance. He didn’t argue, didn’t resist, he merely gave me a sad look and said, “Sorry to ruin your night.”
Before I could respond, they were gone.
My friend, Carmela Sanchez, appeared at my side. “Poor Jesse. You okay?”
I shook my head.
“Wanna come join me and mine?”
I wasn’t a joiner and, although I liked Carmela one-on-one, I didn’t much care for her cool crowd. “I’ll call Dad to come get me.”
“It’s so sad. Jesse’s like the hottest—and I mean the hottest —guy in this godforsaken little school, but he’s got the most bizarro family,”
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