Prologue
I heard the door creak and closed my eyes. I was afraid to look, afraid that it might be what I thought it was. I told myself not to look over and over again but as usual, my curiosity took over. So I looked. Straight into his eyes. It was a choice that would change the rest of my life.

I should be happy. Today is the day I get a new phone, maybe even the new iphone 6! But today is the day my powers come in. I remember when I was little and I fantasized about being a superhero. Whenever I brought it up, my mom would act really weird.

“Superpowers always end badly. I mean, at least 200 people die in every superhero movie,” my mom would say. Well, duh. That’s what makes them interesting. But I always thought it would be fun to fight an enemy. Now I realize how wrong I was.

                               ***
April 11, 2011~

“Willow, breakfast,” my dad called.
“Coming!” I yelled back. I ran downstairs and then back upstairs because I forgot to let my dog out of his crate.
“Sorry Bubbles,”  I said as I unlocked his cage. We raced each other downstairs. He won of course. He’s the fastest dog I know. After I put food in his bowl, I went into the kitchen. My mom was making apple-cinnamon pancakes (my favorite) and my dad was eating Honey Bunches of Oats (his favorite).
“Happy Birthday!” my parents yelled in unison.
“Good morning,” came from a groggy voice on the stairs.
“Mornin’, sleepyhead,” said my mom. “Isn’t there something you want to say to your sister, James?”
“Oh yeah, where’s my highlighter? I gave it to you yesterday.”
“No, stupid, its my birthday.”
“Oh yeah, happy birthday, may all your dreams come true, bla bla bla, can I have my highlighter now?”
“No, I’ll keep it as a birthday present.”
My dad looked at me and held up the spoon he was using like a microphone.
“So, Willow, you're 13 now. How does it feel to be a teenager?”, he asked in his game show host voice. I thought about it. It didn’t actually feel any different.
“The same.”  I just can’t believe how quickly time passes. I feels like just yesterday I was celebrating my 10th birthday party.
“Willow,” said my dad with a huge smile, “since its your birthday and you're turning 13, guess where we're going?”
“Where?!!” I asked excitedly. I thought of  all the places we might go. The first place that comes to mind is Sanjana’s house. She was my best friend since elementary school but now she moved to Lake Tahoe which is 5 hours away. I haven’t seen her since she moved last year because its “too far”. I erased that thought from my mind. My parents probably wouldn’t drive 5 hours just to meet one of my friends. Apparently, I was wrong.
“We are taking a trip to…, drumroll please, Sanjana’s house!” I was so happy, I could scream! If only I knew what would be waiting for me behind the doors, then I’d really be screaming…
“Really! Thank you so much!” I said as I ran over to hug them.
“WHAT, no fair!” cried James. “How come I don’t get to meet any of my friends?”
“‘Cause its my birthday.”
“Fine, as long as we’re not driving there, you know I hate car rides.”
“Well, suck it up, ‘cause we are driving there.” said my dad. My brother made a groaning sound. I personally don’t see what's wrong in driving there. He loves to play Wii with Sanjana’s brother. But then again, I wouldn’t be very happy driving 5 hours to my brother’s best friends house even if he did have a sister.
“I’m pretty sure he’ll be fine as long as we stop at Burger King along the way and get an Icee.” I whispered to my dad.
“Good idea, I’ll go get my coupons.” I smiled, my dad truly was the most awesome dad in the world.
“So, how long are we staying there?” I asked hopefully.
“The whole spring break!!”
“YOU MEAN ONE WHOLE WEEK!”, shouted me and my brother in unison.
“Well, of course, what did you expect? That we would drive 5 hours and only stay for a day?”, asked my mom.
“Actually, yeah that was exactly what I was expecting. I thought we would stay there for a day, 2 days max, and then go see some other relative nearby.”
“Well we’re not doing that, but there is a catch,” she said with a grin.
“Oh no, your not saying I have to be nice to James, are you?”
“Unfortunately, I am.”
I sighed. This is going to be one LONG car ride. Oh well, at least I get to meet Sanjana.
“Don’t ruin it,” I called out to James. He stuck his tongue back out at me. For a 7-year old, he has a lot of attitude.
“Alrighty then,” said my dad, “lets go sit in the car”.
“But we haven't even packed our stuff.”
“We packed it for you,” said my dad.
“Really, thanks! Did you pack my phone?”
“Yep.”
“How ‘bout the ipad?” asked James.
“Yeah, and we got the charger too” Good. James wouldn’t survive a day without the ipad.
“Alright, lets go.”
As we hauled our suitcases to the car, I thought to myself that there must be a catch, being nice to my brother just doesn’t seem like enough. I erased that thought from my mind and tried to focus on how much fun we would have. We could play board games, watch TV, go to the park and pet random people’s dogs… DOGS! In all the midst of excitement,  I completely forgot about Bubbles!
“What are we going to do about Bubbles?” I asked my parents. “We are taking him, right?”
“Oh yeah, do you mind getting him?”
“Sure.” I didn’t even actually have to get him. He was waiting at the garage door. I smiled as I let him through the door. He is really good about knowing when we're leaving. Then I went upstairs to get his bed, food and some toys.
When all the suitcases were in the car, everyone got in. Bubbles first as usual. After my dad started the car, it hadn’t even been 5 minutes before-
“How many more minutes?” escaped from James’ lips.
“A lot,” I answered.
“Where’s the ipad?”
“Here,” said my dad as he handed to him. “Wait, because I don’t want you two fighting and giving us both headaches, you have to take turns. You each get 5 minutes to play.”
“But what if we're in the middle of a-”
“I don’t care if you're in the middle of a game. You've still got to take turns, OK?”
“Fine” he agreed reluctantly.
“Good.”
“You can go first,” I told him. Then I set a timer for 5 minutes and closed my eyes.
I must have fallen asleep at one point because when I opened my eyes, the scenery had changed and the ipad battery was only 56%.
“Good morning, Willow,”  said my mom.
“How long have I been sleeping?”
“2 hours.”
“Wow, really?”
“Oh, you’re awake.”, said James as he handed me the ipad. “I think its your turn”
“Ya think?”
“Hey, Willow, James,” called my dad from the front. “Its already 2pm and we haven't had lunch. So do you want Burger King or McDonald's?”
“Burger King” said James.
“Willow, how about you?”
“Burger King”
“Than we shall go to the king of the burgers!” he exclaimed.
“Can you ask him to put extra mayo in mine?” I asked.
“Sure.”
“And less mayo in mine?” asked James. We have very different tastes when it comes to fast food.
“Of course.”
“Can we get an Icee?”
“Ok.”
After we eat and finish our icees, me and James watch a movie that my dad downloaded. By the time the movie ends, we reach their house.
For the first time, I am the first person to come out off the car. Bubbles follows. Without even bothering to bring my stuff, I run across the driveway to ring the doorbell. Sanjana answers. For some reason, her face looks a bit pale. Well, I guess it is a bit chilly outside.
“HI!” I say. She doesn't look too enthusiastic when she responds
“Hi Willow” She pulls me into a hug. I feel a prick on my neck.
“You should cut your nails, You poked me on my neck.”
“Oh, sorry, let me see.” she said as she moved aside my hair. “Oh, Its bleeding.”
“It should activate in 2 days,” she said quietly to herself.
“What will activate?” I asked.
“Nothing, nothing…”
“You know, for some reason, you seem a little different.” And she did actually feel more distant.
“Hi Sanjana,” came my dad’s voice. “how are you?”
“Good.”
“Where are your parents?” asked my mom.
“At the grocery store, they didn’t expect you to come for another 20 minutes.”
“Yeah, neither did we.”
“Well, come in.” As soon as we stepped in, I smelled a lot of garlic.
“Are you trying to ward off vampires or something?” I wondered. My mom cringed at the sound of it.
“Hey, Willow honey, can I talk to you for a sec?” asked my mom.
“Um, sure.”
“Ok, come here,” she said as she dragged me to an empty bedroom. She turned on the light.
“Has Sanjana been acting a little strange to you?”
“As a matter of fact, she has,” I replied, wondering how she knew. She sighed and looked at me.
“Ok I’m just going to come right out and say this.” She took a deep breath. “I think Sanjana's a vampire.
“What! What do you mean, how do you know?”
“Because I'm one too.”
“WHAT!” I screamed as I slowly walked away from her.
“I’m not one, am I?” Even though it didn’t sound true, the way she said it was making me believe every word of it.
“Depends. Did she bite you?”
“M-maybe,” I stammered, thinking of when she pricked me.
“Did she say anything?” she asked, her voice shaking.
“She said something about it activating in two days. Do you know what that means?”
“I think what she means is your powers will activate in 2 days.”
“So you mean I’ll be a superhero?”
“No, It means you will not be yourself anymore. Lucky for you, I have a special trait which makes me resistant to the bite. But since I married a mortal, by my calculations, you will be able to resist your bite until you are 16. Thats when your powers come.”
“Thats bad, right?”
“Yes and no. It depends on how you use them. When you are 16, someone will knock on your door,  he is the biggest known vampire- Dracula. Whatever you do, do NOT look into his eyes. He will give you your powers, use them wisely.”

THE END…?