I ran a hand along the wall, marveling at its textures and patterns. How had I never noticed them before? They’d obviously always been there; I doubt anyone took the time to redo Mateo’s walls overnight. And then there were the colors on my pajamas. I poked the knee of my pants, watching the shades move with the fabric. There was lavender mixed with a deep purple, royal purple, and the teensiest trace of blue. To the human eye, it was one simple shade of purple. But to my new eyes, a million different shades were within the one.
“Good morning, Ari!”I turned to smile.
“How’d you do that?”She propped up to peer around, then groggily reached for her glasses.
“Do what?”I went back to poking Mateo’s stuff. The wooden dresser had almost as many patterns and textures as the wall.
“Know I was awake.”
“Oh, that. Your breathing changed. It’s not as mellow when you wake up. Have you ever noticed?”
“How could I? I can’t tell what it’s like when I’m asleep.”She climbed out of the spacious bed and set to work making it.
“This purple has like fifteen different shades in one. And the yellow mixed in with the green is noticeable.But only enough to make it lighter. You can barely tell, though—”
“What are you talking about?”
“My pajamas.” I pointed to the characters of my favorite cartoon, which were scattered along the pants. “The colors are insane. There are probably hundreds in here.So many new shades.”
“I can’t see anything. It’s too dark.” Shestraightened up after smoothing the last section of comforter.
“Is it? I can’t tell. It all looks the same to me.”
“I need light.” She crossed the room and turnedona light.
“Agh, I’m melting!”I threw an arm over my face to shield it from the blaring light.
“You’re being such a vampire right now.” She giggled andturned the light off. I sighed in relief, then cried out when she turned it back on.
“Stop it.” I had the light off before I even decided to move.“I don’t know what happened.” I stared between my current location and where I’d just been, then down to my feet. Apparently, I was fast enough to basically teleport now. I ‘teleported’ back to grab our bag. “Let’s get ready.I’m excited to see how everything works now.”I flung the door open and led the way to the bathroom.
“How long have you been awake?”Ari reached for the light as we entered, but my hand shot out to catch hers. “What?”
“That hurts my eyes.” I shut the door, leaving us in full darkness. Much better. ”It’s okay, I can still see.”
“Well, I can’t.I can’t even tell which toothbrush is mine.”
“Magenta for you,”I held hers out,“and purple for me.”I used my vampire eyesight to give us both toothpaste and take in our surroundingswhile we brushed. Everything was so clear now. It was hard to describe. Almost crisp?I finished and rinsed my mouth, then froze. I ran my tongue across my teeth. This was new.“Ari, look! I have fangs.”I smiled wide and pointed, but she only squinted.
“I can’t see anything,”she finally said.“I’m turning on the light.”I groaned and covered my face as blinding light filled the room.“Lemme see.”She tried to pry my hands down, but I shook my head. “Stop being a baby and move your hands. You’re not gonna die.”
“Fine.”I dropped my arms to glare, but it faltered when her jaw dropped. “What’s wrong?”
“You.”She poked my face, like she was checking to see if it was real. “Not wrong. Just… different. Your eyes. And your cheeks are so… and your lips.”She spun me to face the mirror.
“Ohshit,I can’t see myself!”I shouted, leaning so close I nearly hit the glass. I cautiously touched it. My reflection was nowhere to be found.
“You have to see your reflection. Hold on.”Ari rushed from the room and returned withphonein hand. She opened the camera andheldthe screen to my face.
“Whoa,”I breathed, moving back to see better. I moved close again, then stopped somewhere in the middle. I could see perfectly, I was just having a hard time believing what was there.
My eyes had changed colors overnight. My whole life people had gone on about my‘shocking’ blue eyes that were supposedly as vibrant as a sunlit, tropical ocean. But now the vibrant color had gone to a rich, almost impossible shade of cobaltblue. They were gorgeous. I’d never been too attached to the shocking blue. This cobalt was perfect.
“Look at the rest of you,”Arisaid.
I stopped staring at my eyes to examine my face as a whole. She was right:everything was different, but in such a subtle way it was hard to pinpoint how. My lips were an alluring shade, like I’d found the perfect lipstick without wearing any lipstick at all. My cheeks had a natural flush that stood out well against my glowing complexion, my eyelashes were fuller and longer than before, and my hair was a glossy, silky smooth. Even the black and purple ombre had become richershades.
“I feel like a model.”
