Original Fragment: Coping with B.A.V. (scene)
Started poking through my files and finally got around to cleaning up this bit of story. I still think the idea of a support group specifically for vampirism is hilarious. Not finished. Don't know if I'll ever get around to writing more.
Billy was nervous.
He was standing in the Health Department building, staring up at the bulletin board covered in support group announcements. They came in all different colors: from hot pink for the Gay Alliance to muted blue for the Living With Terminal Cancer group to a serene yellow for the local Stitch and Bitch. Whatever that was. Billy thought the support group he wanted was Coping with B.A.V., but he wasn't sure. It was so... vague.
"Can I help you?" asked a polite female voice. Billy jumped and turned. He hadn't heard anyone come up behind him. Some vampire he was.
"I don't know. I'm looking for a support group and I was told that this was where they met. I'm just trying to figure out if this is the right place for me. I'm not sure about going in there, because I've had some bad experiences before..." Billy trailed off as the middle aged woman with her hair neatly in a bun held up her hand.
"You don't have to be nervous. I can assure that the Gay Alliance group is very accepting. You can choose to participate as much or as little as you want. They understand that new members might be nervous at first." The smile the woman was very friendly. Billy could only blink at her in confusion.
" Um... I'm not here for the Gay Alliance meeting."
"Oh! I'm so sorry. Usually when I see a nervous young man on Thursday... I shouldn't have assumed." The lady seemed genuinely concerned that she had upset Billy. Which just made him feel bad.
"It's okay. Really. I... kind of am gay. But that's not why I'm here. I'm actually looking for the Coping with B.A.V. group." Really, he still wasn't sure about this but there was no backing out now.
"B.A.V? I remember that group. They're quite an odd bunch. Good people though. If you go down this hallway, it will be the third door to your right." She pointed for emphasis. "You know, I don't think I ever had it explained what B.A.V stood for..."
It wasn't quite a question, but it was close. Billy's mind went totally blank. Luckily that didn't stop his mouth from responding. "Well... I just got diagnosed with it. I still haven't quite gotten the medical words right. They're pretty big."
"Oh." The lady looked vaguely disappointed. "Good luck then. There's punch and cookies on the side table."
Somehow Billy managed not to make a face. Faking dinners with his family was bad enough - his mom was already making noises about eating disorders. He definitely didn't need anything else that wasn't blood on his stomach.
"Thank you," Billy said as he turned towards the hallway. He walked until he was standing in front of the door. It was painted an off white, plain looking with a heavy duty push handle also in white. Black room numbers were the only thing breaking up the monotony. Room 143. Here went nothing.
The room was just like any other room: industrial gray carpeting, echoing bare walls, folding metal chairs, and rickety tables covered in white paper in lieu of an actual table cloth. There was even punch and cookies. Cheap red punch that made Billy a little nauseated just looking at it.
It was still too early for the meeting to start. Some people were in loose groups, chatting amongst themselves. Others were already sitting in the seats. One woman in her mid-twenties was busily knitting what looked to be a scarf. That more than anything else caused Billy to relax. There was something too domestic about knitting for him to feel nervous.
A woman in a shockingly blue dress suit approached him. She was the only one in the room with a name tag. "Hello there. I don't think I've seen your face before. My name is Margaret. I'm the leader of the support group."
"My name is Billy. Billy Kaplan. I'm not sure if this where I'm supposed to be..."
"Well, that’s why I'm here. I guess the first question is 'Are you a...'" Margaret made a gesture with her fingers which looked like two fangs biting something. Billy felt a surge of relief.
"Yes, yes. I'm a vampire." Margaret broke out into a huge smile, seeming to be relieved as well. "I didn't know if I was in the right place. I mean someone assured me that it was the right place, but the name is really vague."
"I know. Sorry about that. We try to keep a low profile. Too many crazies from the clinics trying to come to the meetings," Margaret said in a tone that spoke from experience. "That's why we have all the secrecy."
Billy could understand. He'd gone to the clinics on the recommendation of the councilors at his school when he'd told them about being a vampire. It had only been few a days since he'd been turned. These are specifically designed so that vampires can have a safe, comfortable place to feed.
It was like walking into a meat market, only he was the one who felt like a piece of meat. Billy wasn't sure if the people who were there to be fed on reminded him more of drug addicts or street walkers. They all had that vaguely hungry look to them.
Everything had been fine at first. It was obvious that the volunteers, the ones who were offering to let vampires feed off of them, had been coached on what to say and how to respond. They'd answered all his questions under the watchful eye of one of the coordinators. He had just been on the verge of relaxing, and the coordinator has stepped out the door, when it happened. The guy he was going to feed on had leaned over and whispered to him.
"I can be your doll. I'm good at that. The last vampire that was my master said so."
Thralls. Billy was willing to bet that every "volunteer" had once been a thrall and was looking for a new master to control them. It had made him sick. He'd bolted out the door, telling the confused coordinator that he'd changed his mind and would figure something else out.
Thinking about it made his skin crawl.
"Let me introduce you to Yolanda. She's been with the group the longest and can help you figure out the ropes." Margaret's voice broke into his thoughts. They were heading towards the woman knitting, who was now chatting with a bookish looking man with rumpled hair and threadbare clothes.
"Oh, Robert. Just wanted to let you know that they have chocolate cookies tonight. I know your kids love them," the knitting woman said. Robert smiled, nodded his head to Billy and Margaret, and headed over to the table.
"You've probably met Lou Anne," Margaret said as they stopped in front of Yolanda. "She always brings refreshments. None of us can eat them and the punch is awful, but she's always hurt if we don't touch them. So Robert takes the cookies home to his kids and we all dump our punch into the plants before we leave."
"My name is Yolanda. I see you've already met Margaret."
"I'm Billy Kaplan. It's nice to meet you."
"So Billy, how long have you been a vampire?" Yolanda asked. It was strange how... normal this seemed. Margaret beamed and wandered away. Yolanda smiled. "And don't feel you have to answer. Margaret's nice, but she thinks that everyone should be buddy-buddy. That just doesn't happen when you have a group as diverse is this one."
"No, it's fine," Billy said. "I've been a vampire for only a few weeks."
Billy was nervous.
He was standing in the Health Department building, staring up at the bulletin board covered in support group announcements. They came in all different colors: from hot pink for the Gay Alliance to muted blue for the Living With Terminal Cancer group to a serene yellow for the local Stitch and Bitch. Whatever that was. Billy thought the support group he wanted was Coping with B.A.V., but he wasn't sure. It was so... vague.
"Can I help you?" asked a polite female voice. Billy jumped and turned. He hadn't heard anyone come up behind him. Some vampire he was.
"I don't know. I'm looking for a support group and I was told that this was where they met. I'm just trying to figure out if this is the right place for me. I'm not sure about going in there, because I've had some bad experiences before..." Billy trailed off as the middle aged woman with her hair neatly in a bun held up her hand.
"You don't have to be nervous. I can assure that the Gay Alliance group is very accepting. You can choose to participate as much or as little as you want. They understand that new members might be nervous at first." The smile the woman was very friendly. Billy could only blink at her in confusion.
" Um... I'm not here for the Gay Alliance meeting."
"Oh! I'm so sorry. Usually when I see a nervous young man on Thursday... I shouldn't have assumed." The lady seemed genuinely concerned that she had upset Billy. Which just made him feel bad.
"It's okay. Really. I... kind of am gay. But that's not why I'm here. I'm actually looking for the Coping with B.A.V. group." Really, he still wasn't sure about this but there was no backing out now.
"B.A.V? I remember that group. They're quite an odd bunch. Good people though. If you go down this hallway, it will be the third door to your right." She pointed for emphasis. "You know, I don't think I ever had it explained what B.A.V stood for..."
It wasn't quite a question, but it was close. Billy's mind went totally blank. Luckily that didn't stop his mouth from responding. "Well... I just got diagnosed with it. I still haven't quite gotten the medical words right. They're pretty big."
"Oh." The lady looked vaguely disappointed. "Good luck then. There's punch and cookies on the side table."
Somehow Billy managed not to make a face. Faking dinners with his family was bad enough - his mom was already making noises about eating disorders. He definitely didn't need anything else that wasn't blood on his stomach.
"Thank you," Billy said as he turned towards the hallway. He walked until he was standing in front of the door. It was painted an off white, plain looking with a heavy duty push handle also in white. Black room numbers were the only thing breaking up the monotony. Room 143. Here went nothing.
The room was just like any other room: industrial gray carpeting, echoing bare walls, folding metal chairs, and rickety tables covered in white paper in lieu of an actual table cloth. There was even punch and cookies. Cheap red punch that made Billy a little nauseated just looking at it.
It was still too early for the meeting to start. Some people were in loose groups, chatting amongst themselves. Others were already sitting in the seats. One woman in her mid-twenties was busily knitting what looked to be a scarf. That more than anything else caused Billy to relax. There was something too domestic about knitting for him to feel nervous.
A woman in a shockingly blue dress suit approached him. She was the only one in the room with a name tag. "Hello there. I don't think I've seen your face before. My name is Margaret. I'm the leader of the support group."
"My name is Billy. Billy Kaplan. I'm not sure if this where I'm supposed to be..."
"Well, that’s why I'm here. I guess the first question is 'Are you a...'" Margaret made a gesture with her fingers which looked like two fangs biting something. Billy felt a surge of relief.
"Yes, yes. I'm a vampire." Margaret broke out into a huge smile, seeming to be relieved as well. "I didn't know if I was in the right place. I mean someone assured me that it was the right place, but the name is really vague."
"I know. Sorry about that. We try to keep a low profile. Too many crazies from the clinics trying to come to the meetings," Margaret said in a tone that spoke from experience. "That's why we have all the secrecy."
Billy could understand. He'd gone to the clinics on the recommendation of the councilors at his school when he'd told them about being a vampire. It had only been few a days since he'd been turned. These are specifically designed so that vampires can have a safe, comfortable place to feed.
It was like walking into a meat market, only he was the one who felt like a piece of meat. Billy wasn't sure if the people who were there to be fed on reminded him more of drug addicts or street walkers. They all had that vaguely hungry look to them.
Everything had been fine at first. It was obvious that the volunteers, the ones who were offering to let vampires feed off of them, had been coached on what to say and how to respond. They'd answered all his questions under the watchful eye of one of the coordinators. He had just been on the verge of relaxing, and the coordinator has stepped out the door, when it happened. The guy he was going to feed on had leaned over and whispered to him.
"I can be your doll. I'm good at that. The last vampire that was my master said so."
Thralls. Billy was willing to bet that every "volunteer" had once been a thrall and was looking for a new master to control them. It had made him sick. He'd bolted out the door, telling the confused coordinator that he'd changed his mind and would figure something else out.
Thinking about it made his skin crawl.
"Let me introduce you to Yolanda. She's been with the group the longest and can help you figure out the ropes." Margaret's voice broke into his thoughts. They were heading towards the woman knitting, who was now chatting with a bookish looking man with rumpled hair and threadbare clothes.
"Oh, Robert. Just wanted to let you know that they have chocolate cookies tonight. I know your kids love them," the knitting woman said. Robert smiled, nodded his head to Billy and Margaret, and headed over to the table.
"You've probably met Lou Anne," Margaret said as they stopped in front of Yolanda. "She always brings refreshments. None of us can eat them and the punch is awful, but she's always hurt if we don't touch them. So Robert takes the cookies home to his kids and we all dump our punch into the plants before we leave."
"My name is Yolanda. I see you've already met Margaret."
"I'm Billy Kaplan. It's nice to meet you."
"So Billy, how long have you been a vampire?" Yolanda asked. It was strange how... normal this seemed. Margaret beamed and wandered away. Yolanda smiled. "And don't feel you have to answer. Margaret's nice, but she thinks that everyone should be buddy-buddy. That just doesn't happen when you have a group as diverse is this one."
"No, it's fine," Billy said. "I've been a vampire for only a few weeks."