At first bite a poison apple book

Chapter 1 of 12

There are a few myths about vampires I should clear up, right from the start.
Myth#1: Vampires are waxy and pale.
This is totally untrue. Take me, for example: Ashlee Samantha Lambert. My skin is rosy and glowing ( helped along by blush sometimes, but whatever). With my long blond hair,glossed lips, and skinny jeans, I appear to be a perfectly normal twelve-year-old girl. I hope.
Myth#2: Vampires drink blood.
Um, ew? Okay, yes, there are some of us out there who hunt small wild animals for the purpose. But thankfully my amazing vampire mentor, Arabella, told me about Sanga!, a refreshing blood substitute drink that comes in these adorable frosted cups with rounded lids, like Frappuccinos. Sanga! was invited by a genius vampire who was as grossed out by hunting as I am.
Myth#3: Vampires sleep in coffins.
No way. I sleep in my white canopy bed, high above the streets of Manhattan. Of course, now that my family's moving to Los Angeles, I'll no longer be able to see skyscrapers from my pillow but, I guess I'll see the ocean instead. Not a bad trade-off, and much better than starting up at the velvet lining of some creepy coffin. Obviously. Myth#4: Vampires turn into bats.
All right... this is, we'll... this actually seems to be the case. At least, in my limited experience. It's how were meant to hunt (if we have to) or hide from the prying eyes if non-vampires. The problem is, I stink at bat-shifting. You have to visualize wings sprouting from your body and fangs shooting out of your mouth- and then presto, your transformed. Instead, I start to transform when I least expect it, like in the middle of a stressful math exam. Then I have to dash to the nearest bathroom and wait to shift back. It's horrifying - worse than split ends and chipped nail polish combined. This is what I'm thinking about tonight as I'm packing up my bedroom with my best friend, Eve Epstien. I'm cramming books into a box and praying that I won't suddenly feel my ears going all long and pointy. I reach up and touch them to make sure. My teeny diamond studs are still there, so I let out a relieved breath. What are you doing? Eve demands from across the room. She's standing on my desk in her wedge booties, removing the Christmas lights I'd strung across the the wall. It's already January, but I forgot to take them down. I asked you the same question like three times now. Oh, sorry, I say blinking. I was wondering- um, if there would be enough space for all my clothes in my new bedroom. Eve doesn't know the truth about me. No one does. Not my mother, not my brother, no one. We'll, there is one girl from school who knows. We where never friends (she's not in the popular crowd even though she's now sort of dating the cutest boys in the grade), but she swore to keep my secret. Still I've been terrified she might tell someone. At least in my new school, I won't have to avoid her in the hallway anymore. Whew. Of course, I freaked out. I almost told Eve and Mallory, but I knew they'd think I was crazy. So I went to the ceremony by myself. There, I was joined by many other frightened twelve-year-olds from around the world. The Empress of Vampires recited an incantation and we all bat-shifted for the first time. Then we followed older vampires- also in bat form- into Central Park as they hunted down small creatures.