36

1991-fall



I remember class with Mr. Ralfe, chemistry that is. He always loved to play his guitar when class was slow. He really liked young girls, I remember that as well. It always bothered me when he rubbed my back so much. He had this strange desire to rub young girls on the back and smile into their faces as if he was a comforting need for them.



I was reading her poem. Nasha wanted my opinion on a poem she had written and so I was more than happy to take a look at it. It was beautiful, sexy and well written, well to a sophomore in high school, that is. I noticed the relation to the books she was reading. The poem was filled with references to immortality and death. One line of the poem referred to a woman with ‘emerald green eyes that pierced her soul’. Just as I read this line, Kathy turned around in her desk and smiled. She spoke to me out of pure curiosity.



“Whatcha readin?” she said as she twirled a large chunk of her chocolate brown hair between her fingers. Her ‘emerald’ green eyes sparkled with mischeif…or so I would have liked to imagine.



“oh, its just some poem Nasha wrote, wanna read it?”



She smiled and reached out her hand. “sure.”



Hey! be careful, Mr. Ralfe is watching. I looked back down to my notebook and cleared my throat. Kathy took the poem and hid it underneath her chemistry book.



After class, kathy gave the poem back to me and sprinted away to her next class. I felt sad, the poem was about Kathy and I knew it. Later on that evening on the phone, Nasha admitted that she had a crush on Kathy and talked over and over about how her eyes were so green…just like Louis de pointe dulac.



1991

fall…



I spoke to Nasha again between classes. I wanted to know if she had finished Interview yet. She said, it was really hectic in her life at the moment and she couldn’t concentrate on the book. I got frustrated because I had already read all three of them at that point. She asked me to be patient.



1991

fall



She called me in the middle of the night, crying. Nasha was very upset about a fight she was having with her boyfriend. She told me that she had been in this off and on relationship with a guy named Matt. Her mother was opposed to the relationship but Nasha loved him. lately he had been distant. She just wanted to talk to me about other things to get her mind off her problems. This was okay with me…perfectly okay


Fall 1991.



we talked about her crush on Kathy and I assured her that it was a dead end road to pursue the girl, in the first place. Kathy was very homophobic and wouldn’t even hug me at times. Of course, it was hard for me to seperate my attraction to Nasha from the facts about Kathy. Our conversation roamed from one subject to the other and landed right back on the topic of the Vampire chronicles. It seemed that Nasha had been reading the books lots more, lately and had finished almost half of it. she was distraught about some things she felt from the characters.



“sherrie, I really feel attracted to Louis, he seems so real to me. I know he is just a character in a book but what if…” she stopped and the phone line crackled a bit.



I didn’t know what to say to her. I was amazed by her raw feelings. “I…uh….”



Nasha cleared her throat and continued. “oh listen to me…hehe, I guess I sound so silly, huh? I just feel so connected with Louie. He is so sensual, so beautiful…and those eyes. You know that graphic novel you let me borrow..you know, to follow along with the story better?”



I thought for a moment and remembered the other book, the companion to Interview that I let her take home several weeks before. “Yes, I do… what about it?”



“Sherrie, that one painting of Louis, it is amazing. His eyes just pierce my soul.” Nasha stopped and I could hear her breathing grow rapid. “I believe he is real, I mean, I believe she based that story on someone real.”



I didn’t laugh at that moment, nor did I feel sorry for her. My mind churned so very fast that I felt faint. I spoke softly to her hurting. I gave her the comfort she was craving. I knew it was what she wanted.



“Nasha…I have to tell you something…”



She spoke quickly with excitement. “what…what is it?”



I hesitated and wondered about my own soul. “He is real, Louis de pointe dulac, he is based on a vampire, a real one. How do you think they painted those pictures so well…so realistically?”



Nasha gasped “I knew it, sherrie, I knew it. Do you think it would be okay if I came over sometime? I mean, I want to talk about this…I want you to tell me about him.”



1991

fall



“Sherrie, I had a dream.” Nasha spoke softly next to my ear.



I swallowed and thought very quickly. “So did I…” I lied.



Nasha moved back on the bed and stared at me. Her pink nightgown relaxed around her body as she exhaled deeply. Her eyes were huge and curious..gray and sparkling. “oh my, what did you dream of?”



“I dreamed that we were together, in a castle far far away from here. The wolves were howling through the cold night. We sat so close together because we shivered… ” I waited and looked into her eyes



Nasha smiled so very big and clasped her hands together. “oh my god…do you realize that I dreamed the very thing. We were sitting on the bed in a castle and we were caressing each other to make our bodies warm and…” Nasha blushed “we ended up kissing each other and undressing…but then, I woke up.”



I bit my lip and rolled my eyes. My black hair rolled off my shoulder as I laughed softly. I could feel the ends of it tickle my back just below the hem of my nightshirt. “Isn’t it strange, Nasha, how we dream the same things?”



She lay down upon my bed and stared at the ceiling. “yes, it is…”