_{Tom The Vampire} 

Growing up in a Sussex village Tom loved his life. He played for the local football team, went to a decent school and had a number of great friends. They were really close and loved winding each other up. Life was good. Tom was 16 and in Year 11, he was only a few months away from his GCSE exams, but was confident he would do well. 

Tom was an athletic boy, he could run fast, think fast and jump extremely high. He lived with his parents; they were kind and supportive. Tom was an only child and never felt he really fitted in with the extended family. He had a pale complexion and was six foot tall. His parents were different, short, stout and had a darker skin tone, Tom towered over them. 

Out of the blue, Tom received an email which stated in the subject line; “There’s something you should know”. Immediately, he thought it was Spam so ignored it. 

A week went past, and he received another email. Then a week later, another. It was annoying but Tom gave in out of curiosity and opened the message. It read,

“All is not what it seems. You will be changing soon, and you’ll need to adapt. The only way for you to survive is if you meet with us. We can help you.

Please reply. 

Your Mother and Father.”

Tom immediately thought it was a wind up, maybe one of his mates was playing a joke on him. However, for a laugh, Tom replied,

“Hi Mother and Father, I can meet with you, somewhere public. When and where?”

A reply, simply said, 

“Great, Ichor Coffee Bar, 11am tomorrow”. 

That was it, Tom thought that this could be a laugh, and he wondered what his friends would do when he actually showed up. 

He’d never been to Ichor Coffee Bar before but knew where it was. It always looked dark and mysterious, so Tom was intrigued. 

Tom woke up at 10:30 the next day and after slowly getting ready he was running late, typical for a 16 year old. He plodded to the cafe and looked through the window as he arrived, like a secret agent checking out the ground. There were no customers, just a couple of staff. No sign of his friends, he thought that they might be running late so he entered. 

It was eerie and had a chill to it. The cafe was dark inside with old dusty paintings on the walls. There was a strange damp smell which was unpleasant and music coming from a speaker on the wall. It was playing some type of foreign music, whilst Tom was sat down waiting, he used Shazam to identify it, as it was odd, but he liked it. It was a Hungarian band called, Omega and the song was gyöngyhajú lány, translated as “The girl with pearls in her hair”. Tom found it mesmerising. 

Whilst sat in an almost hypnotic and relaxed state, Tom was approached. The middle-aged lady asked him what he would like, she had a strong Eastern European accent. Tom ordered a hot chocolate, it had been his favourite drink since he was a small child and it was like a comfort blanket to him, especially when he felt nervous. 

Five minutes later and Tom was still the only person in the cafe. The lady brought his drink over and sat down opposite him, the man at the counter, slowly made his way over without making a sound, almost floating. 

The lady said, “Hello Tom, there’s no easy way to say this, but I’m your mother and this is your father”. 

Tom replied, “What are you talking about? I have a mum and dad, who are you?”

The lady explained that they had to give Tom up when he was a newborn. They were not in a position to care for him and that his mum and dad aren’t his biological parents. They had to return to Europe as they had a lifestyle which wasn’t suitable for a child. Tom listened and listened and was confused but engrossed in her ability to articulate herself. She was wise and thought provoking and led him into a mysterious world. 

Tom must have been there for a while, and to cut a long story short, he was told he was going to turn into a bloody vampire. Tom was really hoping this was a joke but, he was informed that he was immortal, which grabbed his attention. 

“So, I can’t die?” 

The lady replied, 

“No, but there are ways you could be murdered, have you heard of a stake through the heart?”

Tom realised that immortality was sustainable but with conditions; main condition, don’t annoy people who might want to kill you! 

They claimed they were originally from Budapest, but due to their lifestyles they have had to move around the continent. Being vampires themselves, they had to be careful not to draw too much attention. 

Tom wanted to know how his life would change, what was going to happen to his body, would sunlight damage him? So many questions went through his dizzy mind. He felt like he was in some surreal movie. 

Another hot chocolate was brought over to him. He sat quietly for a while and looked around. The cafe was really run down, and the pictures were all faded. He wondered why the adults kept looking out of the window and why they kept disappearing into the back room. 

Then suddenly, behind him he could hear the front door open. Footsteps behind him and a muffled noise. Probably more customers, he thought. Tom slowly turned around and it was his friends laughing their heads off, giving him a push saying, “Got Ya”. 

Tom, at this point realised he was part of an elaborate joke, and he was the main target. 

“You bastards”, Tom said, over and over. He eventually joined in the laughter. His “new mother and father “appeared behind the counter and apologised whilst laughing. They had just bought the cafe and they all thought they could have some fun before it was renovated. Tom was an easy target as he was always talking about why he looked so different to his family. 

Tom eventually went home, feeling like an idiot. This was going to follow him around for ever. 

Tom was no longer a vampire!