I was walking home from school on an unusually dark afternoon when I felt a pair of eyes staring right at me. I looked around uneasily to find … the thin-looking cat of crotchety old Mr. Barnus.

“Hey there,” I asked, “what are you doing so far from home?”

I was a little surprised, for the cat rarely left its owner’s yard. Even stranger, it was usually shy, yet today it wasn’t retreating from me but just sat there softly hissing.

“Ummm,” I said awkwardly, “what do you want?”

At this, the cat walked a few steps away, paused, and looked back. I moved toward it, and it took another step.

“OK,” I thought, “it wants me to follow it.” So I did. To my amazement, we ended up at the front door of Mr. Barnus.

“Why here?” I asked the cat.

“Because we need you,” came a voice behind me.

I jumped and turned to see Mr. Barnus, looking cranky as ever.

“Need you for tea!” he continued.

“Not tea,” I moaned. “I hate tea!”

“Come!!” said Mr. Barnus fiercely.

Seeing no way out, I followed Mr. Barnus into his house. I coughed and gagged on the dust, but he didn’t notice. We entered a room with two tea cups on a table. I sat down and looked inside one cup to see a weird red liquid.

“Drink!” said Barunus, and I drank. It had a peculiar taste, and I felt as though I knew it from somewhere.

“Nice, isn’t it?” asked Barnus. “I do like the taste of blood in the afternoon … one of the better things in life!”

“Ughhh!” I yelled in disgust, dropping the tea cup. The cat licked the spilled blood as I looked at an outraged Barnus.

“That was my best tea cup!” he shouted.

“S-sorry,” I stammered.

“Nevermind,” said Barnus. “Have a lump of sugar.” I took a bite and found a chewy substance. “Sugar-coated eyeballs…so delicious!” he said.

“Ughhh!” I yelled again, spitting out the sugary eyeball. “What’s with you and body parts?”

“Well, it’s kind of hard for a vampire to get some, so I try to savor the mo–“

“You’re a vampire?!” I shrieked. “But vampires aren’t real!”

“Well, of course, we’re real,” said Burnus wickedly. “I’m afraid I’m not big on drinking directly from the body, so I pour blood into a cup.”

“Why’d you invite me here?” I asked.

“I like young blood,” snarled Barnus. I screamed and fell off my chair. Barnus lunged forward, trying to bite me. I scrambled out of his reach and dashed toward the door. Moments later, I was in the safety of my own house. Breathing hard, I ran to my bedroom, where I stayed for 24 hours.

A few months have passed, and I’ve settled down. I’m even planning to visit Mr. Barnus soon for some more tea. When I check the mirror, I see the tiniest of fangs beginning to grow.