The next morning, Larara's alarm clock rang at 7:00. She lazily clicked the annoying beeping noise off and rolled out of bed. She shuffled to the bathroom and took a shower. It took a hot shower to actually wake up and realize that it was Monday - her first day of school. She hurriedly got dressed and ready. When she got downstairs, she went into the kitchen and quickly poured herself a bowl of cereal.

"Good morning, Larara. Are you ready for your first day of school?" Larara's mother asked her. No response. "I said, Good morning!”

"Okay! Good morning!" Larara snapped.

Her mom gave her a sharp look, then turned her back to pour herself a cup of coffee. "Now, are you ready for your first day of school?"

"I don't know. Maybe. Maybe not. Get off my case," Larara said.

She finished the last few bites of cereal, washed out her bowl, and went back upstairs. Her mother sighed, annoyed. Larara finished getting ready and went outside where she waited in the car for her mother, who usually took quite some time to finish getting herself ready in the morning.

* * *

The next thing she knew, Larara was standing outside her new high school. She was hesitant at first, but she finally began walking toward the building. She entered the office and confronted the old woman sitting at the front desk.

"Excuse me," Larara said calmly. The elderly woman didn't seem to notice, so she asked a little more loudly. "Excuse me...?"

The old woman jumped back, sending pencils, pens, and loose pieces of paper flying everywhere.

"What?! What?! What is it?!" The lady screeched.

Obviously, she hadn't noticed that someone was standing there because she looked around frantically, which, in turn, caused her glasses (which were on a chain around her neck) to fall. She then looked up at Larara, who smiled nervously.

"Oh, sorry, child. Didn't see ya there. Just give me one second to find my glasses, dearie. Um..."

The woman had a southern accent. She flung her head in all directions looking for the glasses that were strung around her neck. Larara rolled her eyes, which eventually landed on some kids standing in another doorway, watching her intently. She quickly looked away, embarrassed. Finally, the lady looked down and saw her glasses. She lifted them onto her nose and looked back up at Larara.

"Right. Now, what's your name, sweets?"

"Um, Larara. It's Larara."

"That's a very perddy name. That's good, very good." Her long nails tap-tap-tapped away at the keyboard of the computer in front of her. "Ah-ha!!! There ya are, child. First day? That's good, very good. Here's your schedule. I'm Mrs. Krisp, just so's ya know. I'll be seein ya round, alright? Ok, buh-bye, now."

Larara slowly took the paper from the woman's old, shaking hands. She smiled at Mrs. Krisp, then exited out the back doors to the courtyard. No one was around, so she figured school had already started. The school was all outside. She had never heard of an all-outside school before. The thought of it was so bizarre. She had started walking around looking for her class room when she was suddenly knocked over. As she started to pick up her backpack, her schedule, and herself, she noticed that there was another girl sitting on the ground, dazed.

"I'm so sorry," Larara said to her.

The girl shook her head, as if she was trying to wake herself up, then said, "No, no, it was my fault, really. I was a little...distracted. I'm really sorry." She walked over to Larara and held out her hand to help her up. "I'm Conqet. Conqet Carrison. Who are you?"

"I'm Larara Caneero. Nice to meet you."

"Likewise. Where ya headed?"

"Um..." Larara said, looking down at her schedule.

Conqet peeked over her shoulder and looked at it, too. "It looks like you're headed to math. You've got it with me. Awesome. C'mon. I'll take you there. We're in Mrs. Smith's class."

"Oh, um...okay..."

It was as though Conqet tried to use as few words as possible. Her sentences were short and to the point. It seemed like forever, but they finally made it to the room. Conqet glanced back at Larara, who was very nervous. She slowly opened the door, as if trying to make a scene. She walked inside, followed by Larara. A thin, beautiful, brunette woman stood and approached Larara and Conqet.

"Larara, this is Mrs. Smith."

"Larara? Hi. It's so nice to meet you."

"Hi.."

"Please...pick a seat!"

"Okay. Thanks."

Conqet showed Larara to a seat next to hers. There were two other girls sitting nearby - one sitting behind Conqet, the other sitting on the opposite side of her. The one behind her had short blue hair, and the other had long reddish-pink hair.

"I'm Kitsune," the one with the blue hair said. "This is Suna. You must be Larara. We've heard so much about you."

"Really?" Larara asked, giving Conqet a 'what’s-going-on' look. "How is it that you've heard so much? Conqet hasn't told me about anything she's heard."

Conqet smirked and tried to keep herself from bursting out laughing. "You mean, not that you know of! I'm probably the one here who knows the most about you!"

"Ahem?!" Kitsune coughed.

"Okay...the SECOND person. Better?"

Kitsune nodded. "Much better."

"Um...okay...that's a little scary...but could you just tell me why?!" Larara asked, feeling a bit freaked out.

"Okay, we'll explain, but first," Suna began. "What's your last name?”

"Caneero," said Larara. "Now, tell me why you've heard about me. I didn't even know that any of you existed until today. How do you know me?"

Conqet took a deep breath, let it out slowly, and began: "Long, long ago, there lived a man by the name of Kularoka Caneero. Now, we don't know if he's related to you or not, but it is very likely."

"This man didn't have the best reputation, either," Kitsune added. "In fact, he was downright evil. Everyone hated him. And why?"

"Why?"

"Because he was a vampire, that’s why!" Suna blurted. Conqet and Kitsune shot her a menacing look, but she ignored it, and continued. "Kularoka was a murder, and a damn good one at that. His victims - for the most part - were women. He'd mingle his way into their hearts and then slice his teeth into their throats. Now, you may have heard stories about how when a vampire bites someone, they, too, turn into a vampire, right?"

Larara nodded.

"Wrong!" Kitsune shouted. "Dead wrong! When you get bitten by a vampire, you are good and done for! You've got no chance of survival!"

"Most vampires are male, but recently, there have been rumors of female ones. We only believe them to be rumors, but apparently, they're seen on a rare occasion," said Suna.

"Don't let Kitsune get you all freaked out, though, Larara. I assume the reason Suna mentioned male and female vampires is because there is one - and only one - way to prevent yourself from dying because of a vampire bite," Conqet said.

"Yeah, it's-" Kitsune began.

"I’m saying this one!" Conqet yelled as she slapped her hand over her friend's mouth. "That is if the EXACT same vampire who bit you kisses you no later than one hour after the bite. So, if you're bitten by a female vampire, you're out of luck, even if you DO kiss that vampire."

"Because only male kisses are effective on females, and vice-versa." Suna chimed in.

"Exactly." Conqet said.

"Um, okay, hang on," Larara was confused and scared at this point. "Back up...you're telling me that vampires actually exist? And you expect me to believe it?"

"What, you don't believe us?" Kitsune asked.

"No, of course not!" Larara said, crossing her arms.

"Well then, maybe you should come with us sometime," said Conqet with a mysterious smile.

"Go with you...where?"

"On our hunts," said Suna. "We are professional vampire slayers."

"Oh, shut up, Suna! We're not professional ANYTHING, we just hunt and kill vampires," Conqet snapped at her. She turned her attention back to Larara. "If you REALLY want proof, you should come with us."

Larara smiled fiendishly. "Count me in. When do you guys go next?"

"We go every night," Kitsune said, lowering her voice.

"Meet us here, in the courtyard tonight. 8:30. Don't be late."

At that moment, the bell rang, and it was time to switch classes. Larara and Conqet had every class together, but they only had one other class with Kitsune and Suna. Larara successfully completed her first day of school in Malibu, California, and she was ready for her big 'adventure' that night.