Page 3 of Only Fangs

We all do the same job.

We all work on the same things.

We all have the same priorities.

There are ten of us in the team.

The round robin takes almost an hour and I want to stick pins in my eyes.

Danely goes last and I try not to imagine the ways I could kill him.

Finally we’re finished and Clive announces an “exciting new opportunity” – his words not mine. He’s positively electric at the idea of unpaid overtime and the chance for one of us to prove just how good at coding we really are. “Gonna need some late nights,” he says, voice brimming with excitement.

I groan, only realising I’ve vocalised it – which I really must stop doing – when Clive turns his beady eyes towards me. “Well, I guess we know who’s going to be first to man the old Idea’s Wok.” He laughs, the staccato echoing around the silent room. Prick. And the worst thing about it, is he isn’t even joking. I mean, he literally does have an “ideas wok”. It’s virtual – yes, I will give you that – but even so. Such an absolute douche bag.

I manage to make it out of the meeting without saying anything more or taking on any other of Clive’s “special initiatives”. I’m in desperate need of a pick me up and so I head to the kitchen for more coffee, even though I can already feel the tell-tale tingle in my finger tips that says I’ve probably already drunk too much. As I wait for the kettle to boil, I allow my mind to wonder, daydreaming about a different job, in a different company.

I haven’t always been this negative about work. Once upon a time I would wake up refreshed and raring to go, uber keen to take on new projects and prove myself to my colleagues. But I guess even the keenest amongst us get ground down eventually by working somewhere like this. “This place will kill your soul,” Sharon had told me last week when she took Heather and I out for an after-work drink.

“Mine is already dead,” Heather had confirmed before taking a large swig from her gin and tonic.

“You should get out while you still can,” Sharon added.

“I don’t know what else I’d do,” I replied, allowing the melancholy to sweep over me.

“What would you want to do. If you could do anything?” Heather asked.

“Well…” I started. “There is something.”

“Ooh, dish,” Sharon said, leaning forward, her interest piqued.

“It’s stupid.”

“No dream is stupid.” Sharon put her hand on my arm.

“I want to work for a start-up. I want the opportunity to build something from scratch.” I said it quietly, it felt too much like I was tempting fate to actually put it out into the universe.

I’d kill for a job like that.

Chapter 3

Ari

So, I know there’s a whole belief in the idea that we can’t go out in the sunlight, but it isn’t strictly true. It isn’t as if we’d actually set on fire or anything, but we do burn really quickly and the bright pink lobster look is never attractive. Luckily, Clarins have been sorting out sensitive vampire skin for over fifty years now and so all it takes is a – ludicrously expensive, but need’s must – cream to mean I can pretty much live a normal life.

I’ve spent the afternoon in town, wondering around the shops but not actually buying anything. There’s another misconception people have: that we’re all loaded. Again, there’s a kernel of truth to the idea. You’d think if you’ve been alive for well over a century you might have figured out a way to earn a suitably passive income, like made some money on the housing market or something. And it’s true there are a disproportionate number of landlords who’re vampires.

But then there’s me. Let’s just say that I have made some bad choices over the years.

Benedict. The starting point for everything. I won’t bore you with all the details but the bad choice was allowing him into my life in the first place. Getting away was the only good decision I ever made.

Then the rebound boyfriend, one I wasn’t even all that in to, who took all my savings before running off with another woman.

A couple of bad investments. I mean, how was I meant to predict the dot-com crash in 2000? Although I will admit I shouldn’t have put quite so much confidence in beanie babies. But that 2021 Game Stop thing could have worked out if I’d been able to cash out fast enough.

But anyway, not to put too fine a point on it, I’m broke. Seriously broke. I’m living in a shitty part of the city in a flat that’s basically a shoe box and I’m not going to lie, things are tough. This might be an understatement in terms of how dire the situation is, but I’m trying this new thing where I ignore my problems and try to focus on the good.

Luckily I have fabulous friends like Clara who live in gorgeous town houses and have a pretty much open invitation policy so I can pop round whenever I like. Which is basically every evening. In fact the invitation is so long standing, she doesn’t even need to let me in anymore, I have my own key.