She led us to a door marked with the number seven and opened it for me. The room was lit with natural light from a large window, which offered a view of an expansive courtyard. Rooms that lined the courtyard were visible and I squinted, trying to see if I could peer into anyone else’s room. An exam chair stood idly in the middle of the room with a small counter that held a perfectly organized assortment of gauze, cotton balls, swabs and some other items that I didn’t recognize.
“Alright, Claire, if you would just take a seat, we’ll get started.”
The nurse closed the door behind us and sat down on a small stool. She flipped through a folder in her hands and then began to open drawers, pulling out needles and other items I didn’t much care for. I stared out the window to distract myself.
“First I need to ask you if you have watched the introduction video to blood donation?”
“Yeah, my mom had me sign up online. I watched it a couple weeks ago, I think.”
“Okay, good. Did you have any questions? Or would you like to watch it again?”
I vaguely remembered watching the video and then asked the first question that popped into my head. “Yeah, how often will I have to donate? Not that I don’t want to or anything, I’m just a little scared of needles.”
“That’s perfectly normal. Now, that can range depending on your results, of course, but typically, it’s only once or twice a month.” She typed information into her computer and walked over to my chair, adjusting the arm-rest for me to lay my arm out straight. When instructed, I pressed my finger down on a small pad, so that she could scan my print and enter it into their database.
I started to bite my lip when she tied my arm off and started patting the vein to get it to show up better. After a few tries, she was satisfied and gently sterilized the area. “Don’t tense up now, sweetie. I’ll be gentle on ya, I’m a professional. I do this every day.”
She smiled at me and pulled a tray close to her before opening up a new syringe. I held my breath as she pushed the needle into the delicate flesh. I was relieved to find that she hadn’t lied to me. It really wasn’t as horribly painful as I expected it would be.
Four quick vials later, “All done,” she said as she wrapped my arm.
“Wow, that wasn’t as bad as I thought it would be.” I cradled my arm while she filled out some more information in the folder and reached into a cabinet, pulling out a slip of paper.
“All we need to do is take your photo. If you’ll just stand against the wall over there?” She pointed to a bare part of the wall.
I hopped down and silently wished I would have taken one more look-over in the mirror before we left. She snapped my picture before I had a chance to smile and I wanted to ask if she could retake it, but bit my tongue. I was starting to sound like Liz. She asked me the basic identification questions: hair color, eye color, height, weight and then she printed off a small slip of paper from a printer tucked inside a cabinet.
“This is your temporary ID card. Once your blood has been fully tested, we will issue you an official card. Okay? We will give you a call and you can come pick it up.”
“Great, thanks.” I took the card from her and resisted the urge to look at the picture - I would wait to torture myself in private for that. “So, I’m all set then?”
“Yes.”
I tried to not look too eager as I headed out of the room then back down the hallway. I made my way back through the double doors and saw my mom clicking away on her cell phone, as usual. She was worse than the average teenager.
“All done,” I announced as I stuffed my temporary paper ID into my wallet.
She snapped her phone shut and looked up at me, relieved. “Well, that was quick.”
“Yep, looks like we made it before the rush,” I said as I looked around the newly filled room. Dozens of people had shown up during the short amount of time I had spent away from there.
“Well, that gives us some extra time. Do you want to get some coffee before I head into work?”
“No, it’s cool. Liz will probably be over soon.” I could tell she wanted to protest over my hanging out with Liz so much, but she didn’t say anything. The desire to get to work was too much for her to resist, and I knew it.
The ride home was quick and I said goodbye to my mom while her attention stayed plastered to her cellphone. I walked the short trip home, realizing my mom hadn’t even wished me happy birthday yet. It didn’t bother me as much as it used to, but it still sucked big time.
The irritation slowly built up as I walked home and stormed into the house, causing the pictures on the walls to rattle when I slammed the front door.
“Geez, just relax. You knew she wasn’t going to say anything.” I only talked to myself when I was truly annoyed and luckily, I immediately sought somewhere private to have such a conversation. I’m certain most people would tell me I was a friggin’ nutcase.
After grabbing a leftover slice of pizza from the fridge, I retreated to my room and fell onto my bed. Louie joined me when he smelled the scent of pepperoni wafting through the room.
“You’ll at least tell me happy birthday, won’t you?” I asked Louie as he tentatively sniffed at the slice of pizza in my hand. He meowed at me in response and I tore him off a small nibble of pepperoni.
“As much as I love you, Louie, I sure hope you’re not the only man in my life.”
“Talking to that fat cat again, I see,” Liz said sarcastically as she strolled into the room. “So, how’d it go?”
“Well, I survived, at least for now. Ask me again after I see what you have in store for us tonight.”
“Oh don’t be so dramatic.” She flipped her long, blonde ponytail over her shoulder as she set a giant makeup case on top of my desk. “Where’s your card?”
“In my wallet, I haven’t looked at it yet.” I began to open my purse and Liz snatched it from me with inimitable speed. “Hey!”
“I’ll let you know if you should look at it or not.” She smiled at me and pulled out the small square piece of paper that the nurse printed my temporary ID on. “Not bad Claire Bear. I’ll turn you into an H to T girl yet.”
I rolled my eyes at her and snatched the paper back. “I thought you didn’t like that term?” She waved me off and flipped through stations on my radio until she found something she liked.
Liz danced to the music as she started sorting through the pile of clothes she had dropped off the day before. I looked at my picture and it really wasn’t as bad as I thought it would be. Both my eyes were open - unlike my usual habit of always getting my picture taken when they were closed - so that was an improvement. I suppose I wouldn’t really know for sure until I got the official color copy from the blood bank.
“So what really
is
the plan for tonight and who all is coming?” I asked Liz as she analyzed her obviously perfect makeup in the mirror.
“Oh, the usual crowd; you, me, Amy and some new boy toys she’s been stringing along. Can you believe she broke up with Blake?”
“They didn’t really have much in common, so I wasn’t very surprised. Who are these new boy toys?” I wasn’t the least bit interested, but I knew Liz would talk about it whether I wanted to know or not, so I pretended that I cared. Amy and I didn’t always get along anymore. We used to be close, but about a year ago, she got totally jealous when she thought Blake had a crush on me. He was not even close to being my type, but she never seemed to believe me.
“Nothing in common? Who cares? The guy is hot! I haven’t met these new guys yet, but she says they’re cool. So, did you see those people protesting outside the blood bank when you were there?”
“No, my mom took me to the one in uptown.”
“Good, ‘cause those people are friggin’ crazy. Why anyone wouldn’t want to be a donor is beyond me. Vampires are immortals; they’re practically gods. Whatever, anyway, that’s why they live in downtown and we live near uptown, right?”
“Yeah.”
I knew Liz’s perspective was probably a little bit snobby, but she did have a point. I couldn’t really think of a reason why someone wouldn’t want to be a donor. There were so many benefits for doing it. For starters, social standing: you got to support the royal vampire family in a big way and make some really decent money, which as selfish as it sounded, was something that excited me most. Liz and I had plans after high school. We wanted to be famous, well she wanted to be famous and important, but me? I just wanted to be important. I wanted to
do
something; I just wasn’t quite sure what yet.
“I’m going to get something to drink. You want anything?” I saw the look in her eyes that suggested the onslaught of party preparations was about to begin.
“Get me a soda, but hurry up because we’ve got a lot to do. I’m going to need to straighten that hair of yours.” She continued our to-do list and I walked out of the room to get our drinks. I returned, sure that she hadn’t even noticed I left the room.
Even with as much time as we had, we still barely finished. Liz’s mastery of hair had managed to tame my wild, auburn tresses into a sleek, side ponytail, while she pinned hers into a high up-do, then plastered it in place with a bucket of hairspray.
Slightly curious about the wild side, I let Liz persuade me into wearing an outfit I normally wouldn’t be caught dead in, but I thought it might be fun to throw caution to the wind and live a little. The look of satisfaction on Liz’s face was so priceless, it made me feel like a million bucks. Her expression was so exuberant it appeared she had just found the cure for cancer.
We each did our makeup with dramatic, smoky eyes. The tight dress Liz squeezed me into made me wish I hadn’t eaten that slice of pizza, but it was nothing compared to how bad my feet were going to hurt in the heels she insisted I wear. They were nowhere near as high as hers, but my typically flip-flop-clad feet did not appreciate them.
We arrived at the sushi restaurant at a time that Liz insisted was fashionably late to all that were waiting. Liz talked the sushi chef into comping our table with a few special rolls in celebration of my birthday. Though I was usually against her habit of utilizing her attractive features to get what she wanted, when she managed to score us free sushi, I didn’t mind at all. Being one of my favorite foods, but a bit pricey, I wasn’t always able to indulge in it as often as I would like.
The night progressed all too quickly, and it ended up being one of the most fun nights I had ever enjoyed. Amy, Liz and I got along as if there had never been any fights and the guys that Amy brought along ended up being pretty entertaining. When we eventually made it to the club, the loud, electronic beat of the music as well as the kaleidoscope of lights dancing across the sea of thrumming bodies made us almost run to the dance floor.
Clad in my new risqué outfit, I got more attention from guys than I had ever before in my life. Even though I refused to dance with about ninety percent of them, it was great just to have been asked, especially by the really hot guys. Because the club was so close to uptown, it attracted a much hotter group of people, compared to what I usually saw, clubbing with my friends in midtown.
“Oh my gosh! Tonight was so awesome!” Liz giggled as we rode the train back home. “That one guy really liked you. What was his name? In the black shirt?”
“Um… Jason, I think.” I guessed because I really didn’t remember. He was more Liz’s type than mine and I was almost certain I saw him checking himself out in mirrors more often than he did me. “We stayed out super late; I thought that club closed at midnight.”
“Who cares? Like your mom would notice anyway. Besides, it’s only like two, and we were in up-town.”
“Whatever. I’m tired. I’ll probably sleep all day. What are you going to do?”
“Get my beauty sleep, of course. Want to grab a smoothie in the afternoon though, and hit the mall? We need to get you some new clothes. You were such a hit tonight!”
I looked down at the dress I was wearing and wished I had brought a jacket. Even though it was warm out, now that I was no longer celebrating, it just felt really uncomfortable to be wearing it. I had already removed the torture devices that were my shoes, having decided I would rather risk walking through the streets barefoot than take another step in them.
“Ew! And we should probably get pedicures too. I can’t believe you are walking around like that.”
“Oh shut up, Liz, we used to go everywhere barefoot when we were little. Besides, the cold concrete feels kind of good. I know your feet have to hurt in those heels; why don’t you take them off?”
She just laughed at me like I was crazy. As we finished the walk home, we gushed about the night’s events. I couldn’t help my continued praises on how amazing the sushi was.
Liz and I parted ways when we got to the front of my house. I stared up at the windows and when I was certain I didn’t see a light on in any of them, I walked toward the front door. I knew Liz was right, that my mom wouldn’t notice I was out late; and on the minute chance that she did, she wouldn’t say anything about it. When I was younger, Liz convinced me to test my mom on how far I could push the rules and see what I could get away with. As alien as it sounds for an eighteen-year-old girl to say, I got away with way too much.
I successfully crept back into the house and slipped into my bedroom without making too much noise, other than rattling my keys and creaking on the fifth step of our staircase. I should have remembered that one was the creaky one.