Episode Two: Total Makeover

“I’m Miss Delacruz, the Vampiress. From now on I am your master. You do not disobey, disrespect or disagree with me under any circumstances. How did your last master treat you?”

Chase was scratching the bite on his neck like crazy. It itched worse than the allergies. He had to wear a turtle neck shirt to cover the bite. To the Vampiress surprise, he was healing faster than any human could. It drained his blood and he turned pale at first but his recovery was extraordinary. She remembered how wonderful her last night’s meal was. She regained energy and seemed livelier than before. She was so full she couldn’t bite a mouse.

“You mean my boss, Mr. Mason? Well, he was cheap and liked to yell at people. He’s always angry,” joked Chase.

Miss Delacruz was standing so close to him, he thought she was going to have him as dessert.

“I am 100 times much worse than he is. Speak nothing of me, our deal and everything that happens here. Break the 3D’s and I’ll reap your soul right away!”

She stared him with those big red eyes of hers. Chase definitely felt small.

“Erm... Okay?”

“I still don’t trust you. But off you go. I don’t want any troubles. We will discuss more of this later.”

“But what about yesterday? What will the guys say?”

“You need not worry.”

She slammed the door on his face.

“I didn’t know Vampires could be emo.”

She re-opened the door.

“I meant- I’ll see you some more. Emo is the short form of some and more. ‘E’ from ‘some’ and ‘mo’ from ‘more’. See?”

He put his best smile on. Again, the door was slammed right at his face.

***

“What happened yesterday?” asked Oliver.

This time Oliver didn’t have any follower and he was freaking out. There was a sign of guilt in his eyes. Perhaps he had regretted of last night’s event.

“Yesterday?” Chase pretended not to know.

Oliver slammed Chase’s body to the wall and gripped tight his collar.

“Don’t play dumb with me!”

Then Ben, Noah and Sam interrupted them.

“Dude, watcha got with this loser?” asked Sam.

“Yesterday.”

“What about yesterday?”

The three stooges were looking at Oliver like they didn’t really understand. It wasn’t the first time but even Chase was taken aback by it. All of them tried hard to remember something but couldn’t figure out what it was. Then it struck them...

“Oh, right! How did your date go with Gina, man?”

They were making fun of Oliver; which was something unusual to see.

“Gina? What the hell are you talking about?”

Then Gina and her girls passed their way. She stopped and pulled Oliver aside.

“Boyfie, I thought I told you not to beat them here! Or you’ll get into trouble again,” she whispered.

For the first time in his life, Oliver looked at Chase for answers. Even Chase was confused. Gina put some words and Oliver walked away. He was too overwhelmed by his hot new girlfriend to remember anything. Sam pushed Chase hard his head hit the lockers.

“Man that was a close one!”

A gothic girl then stopped beside Chase.

“Since when did they become an item?”

“Since yesterday.”

It was a miracle. Usually Gina would blow off all the boys that came in her way but now all of a sudden, Oliver was her boyfriend. Chase wanted to ask more from the girl but she had vanished without a trace.

***

A week passed and Chase felt so peaceful. Oliver and his gangs were too busy hanging out with their girlfriends to call on a prey. Keeping up with Miss Delacruz’s orders were not easy but Chase had been through more terrible employers than her. She was strict, she didn’t say much but she kept to her words. She slept all day and only wake up an hour in the middle of the night. Chase didn’t have a lot of chores to do as he thought it would be because the electricity has an ‘automatic sensor’ that would be turned on whenever needed. He didn’t have to cook any meals coz he was Miss Delacruz’s meal himself and the mansion itself was spick and span.

The portraits from the ancient time looked real and alive. Everywhere he goes, the eyes were tailing his every move. Miss Delacruz did say she had ‘spies’ all over the house. The eyes might be the ‘spies’. Chase thought the eyes could be the older version of security cameras or something.

“This way she doesn’t need to pay Homeland Security! Nice!”

“What’s nice? You haven’t been snooping around have you?”

There she was, in her black robe, again.

“I thought vampires sleep during daylight?”

“We do but you woke me up. Did I not tell you to keep silent?”

Chase smiled weakly, “sorry?”

“Why bother! Come, we have important matters to talk about.”

He was quite happy. The house was too quiet and empty. He didn’t have much companion to talk to. But she was cold. Colder than the winter snow in the North Pole.

“About school...” Chase started.

“Did you get into troubles again?”

“Well, no.” Chase wondered why she used the word ‘again’. As if she knew about his daily activities. She read his mind too.

“I have mentioned this before, I have spies. I am quite powerful in this area. It is after all my territory.”

Chase noticed her eyes were bright red. They were brighter than before.

“I have used my ‘connection’ to alter those minds and they have no memory of what took place.”

That made sense why the bullies couldn’t remember a thing. They never had a good memory to start with. Chase had a good laugh about it. But Miss Delacruz kept quiet. She was looking at him intensely it made him stop laughing. She noticed that his skin was peeling off. His whole face had a layer of unhealthy skin hanging on, waiting to be peeled off.

“What’s wrong?”

She slapped his face with all of her force till he was dropped on the floor.

“Ow! Jeez, what was that for?” asked Chase.

When he looked at him, Miss Delacruz already had a bucket of green slimes and they were boiling hot. She was pointing it toward him.

“What’s that?”

“This will be good for your skin.”

“Okay, but what is that? And why is it boiling? Is that acid?”

He almost made her chuckle.

“No silly human, this is my barf.”

“Your what?!”

But she splashed her puke all over his face. He screamed as his face was burning.

“God! What did you do to me?!”

He was crying in pain. He held his face in his hands and kneeled to the floor.

“Get up.”

Then the pain stopped. Chase stood up but was still holding to his face. He was afraid his face might be deformed by the acid vomit.

“Did you just try to turn me into an ugly dwarf or something? God you’re cruel!”

“Let go of your face and look into the mirror.”

He gulped. Slowly, he pulled his hands off his face. What he saw in the mirror then almost gave him a heart attack. His face had changed. It was clean! No pimples or scars anymore. His skin was fair and his cheeks were pink. Miss Delacruz waited for him to jump in joy.

“I look like... a gay boy! Oh God! What? Why? Give me back my teenage face!” Chase demanded.

He wasn’t jumping in joy.

“Your skin was peeling. I just made the process short and simple.”

“That’s your explanation? I’m sorry lady but you don’t just go around and throw your acid gag at people just because their skin was changing!”

“You should be thanking me. If I had been any late, you would have to suffer itches for a week. It’s already bad you’re walking in my lair and been scratching that mark. I can’t suffer anymore!”

Chase was still touching his face to make sure he wasn't imagining it but Miss Delacruz was waiting for him to finish up.

“Sit down,” ordered her.

“You are only making it worse. If you keep scuffing that mark, it will eventually bleed.”

She pushed his head as far as she could from his neck. Gently, she reached and licked the mark. The redness ceased and his skin turned back normal. She then kissed it and sealed the mark. She handed him a mirror.

“Did you just make the scar go away?”

“Yes, I did.”

Chase felt a little ticklish but the worst had passed so he could move on. His face wasn’t the only thing that changed. He became taller and his looks may have somehow appeared more mature. His sinus was gone and his wardrobe had changed too. From wearing torn out T-shirts, he now preferred polo T-shirts and long sleeves. Miss Delacruz didn’t want any servant of hers to look poorly. In other words, she gave him a total makeover.