Serpentine Romance

Ch. 1: Meeting Vera

As a new transfer at Spooky High, you knew asking the right person to Monster Prom was imperative. Connections were everything here, you had come to see, and what better symbol of being in the in was there than taking the right classmate to prom. It had to be someone hot, someone cool, and someone powerful.

Idly sorting books and papers in your locker, your mind probed the possibilities.

Could it be Polly Geist? She definitely had hot and cool on her side--and if connections were your priority, her parties were the place to be. Although for a ghost, she wasn't very intimidating.

What about Damien LaVey then? Everyone was scared of him, and he was definitely a looker, even if he could be hot-headed. Plus, for connections and power, courting the prince of Hell never seems like a bad idea. Unfortunately, Damien had just recently started dating Miranda Vanderbilt, the mermaid princess.

You finished tidying up and closed your locker, pausing in front of it, still deep in thought.

Back to the drawing board. You considered Scott Howl. No, too dumb. Violet and Tate? Too taken. The coven? Too many. Leonard the Kappa...? Ew.

But then, as if summoned by the power of your silent consideration, there was the answer, right before you in the sleek, scaley flesh.

Vera Oberlin.

Of course! She was the hottest girl in school, and so cool she was cold-blooded! You'd heard manipulation was her specialty. The icing on the cake was her sprawling economic enterprise, as money is obviously the rawest form of power and influence. You had to have her and here she came.

Vera Oberlin swayed sexy and serpentine down the hall, attention buried in her cell phone. Her tall purple heels clacked against the hard floor, until she stopped at the locker just a couple down from yours.  You rolled your shoulders and straightened your posture, leaned smoothly against the lockers, and cleared your throat to speak.

But before you could say anything, one of the snakes on her head lurched at you, snapping its jaws as a warning. Vera spoke without even closing her locker to look at you.

"I've got better things to do than talk to the weird new kid," she said coldly.

You breathed in sharp, and offered your hand for her to shake. "I just thought I'd introduce myself. I wanted the most beautiful girl in school to at least know my name."

Vera's snakes settled down a little bit and her body tensed at your compliment. When she peeked around her locker door, angry slitted eyes squinting, she would've been embarrassed to know you noticed her one visible cheek blushing.

"Lisssten here..." she hissed. "I know what you're doing. If you think I would go to prom with you, you've got another thing coming." She slammed her locker shut, a book tucked neatly in one hand, the other pressed open-palm against the locker. You noticed her sharp purple fingernails, and the snakes on her head began to writhe again. "Time is money," she spat, her forked tongue flicking. "And you're wasting mine."

Her hips looked great as she stormed away.