How did you become a vampire?

Connie asks me how I became a vampire. I was worried about this, and I've been rehearsing what I want to say in my head over and over. Now that they've said it out loud, I can't stop the words from spilling out.

I wasn't famous yet, and my friends and I were having a party at a laser tag place. I think it was someone's birthday. Anyway, we were standing in this little area with the blacklight carpet waiting for the dude from the counter to bring us the laser tag gear. It was me, my friends Rena and Pattie, and 2 boys they brought with them. One of the boys was named Alex and I forget the other one.

So we're outside the door, the music is playing and the staff can't hear us, and Rena is telling us that Alex is my team captain. "Nooo, I want to be captain!" I jokingly whine at my friends. Pattie and the other boy walked over to negotiate for vests and lasers.

"You should slap her for disobeying the captain hahahahaha!" Rena giggles. It stung enough that she called me "her", and Alex limply bopped my cheek. "That didn't even hurt" I said to both of them. I told Alex to slap me again. He did it a little harder and I felt the smack, but I could still feel Rena staring up at me. She was shorter and cuter than me, with a pointy nose and straight brown hair. She had the cutest speaking voice, so it's kinda funny that... anyway...

Alex smacked me again. I kept saying "harder" and he slapped me like 5 more times. Rena finally looked shocked when Alex felt bad and started refusing to slap me anymore. Our friends and the worker came back with the laser tag stuff and saw the handprint on my face but they didn't say anything. We put the stuff on and went into the dark room.

There were these glowing foam things, and all the walls and stuff were painted black. Me, Rena, and Alex went to the other end of the laser tag arena and Pattie and the other kid went to their base.

"I'm so sorry" Connie says politely. "Oh, it doesn't bother me that much anymore" I respond. "So, did you become a vampire that day? What happened?" Connie asks. I continued talking nervously.

The game started normally, but then I returned to the base and Rena was yelling at me for getting hit. She told me to take my mask off and let Alex slap me again. I didn't want to be a pussy, so I took it off. After he slapped me, Rena seemed happy again. "Janie, you better get some points this time" she said. I ran around, jumping behind the barriers, but only got a couple points. I heard the explosion noise in my headphones and sat down behind the barrier where I "died".

Rena and Alex were winning without me, and then the timer ran out. Rena came over and straddled my lap, and she lifted up my mask. "I'll make you better" she whispered in my ear. The techno music was playing for the break, and a robotic voice gave instructions for teams to switch. Rena leaned in and bit my neck, leaving a tiny mark and making me suddenly feel more... dead? alive? I don't know. She got up and pulled me by the hair, leading me to the base on the other side of the room.

The flashing lights and music start, indicating that it's time for the next round. Rena and I are glowing green, and I see 3 blue vests darting between the obstacles. "Don't make me lose" she mutters before pushing my head behind the barrier.

I crouch down, and suddenly Rena's knee is on my back. She's peeking over the obstacles trying to snipe the other players. I start to feel weird, and then I hear her say they're getting closer. Alex, Pattie, and their friend were laughing and Rena jumped down. "Don't laser me! I'll give you anything! Hahahaaa!" she giggled, jogging towards our opponents.

I stood up from behind the box, figuring the game was over. The voice on the loudspeaker said "Game One, Over. Twenty Minutes Remaining". Pattie led the others around, and I saw that Rena was being lifted up by the boys, one holding each arm. Pattie grabbed my vest and lifted me up, saying that since we lost they were taking us as prisoners back at their base.

She dragged me back to the neon tunnel on the other side of the room and threw me on the floor. The boys set Rena down gently. She whispered something to them, and they all turned towards me. I touched the bite mark on my neck, and Alex reached down and pushed me back against the foam boards by the throat. He held me there and motioned for Rena to come over. She watched my face as he slapped me again, and then she said she wanted to play truth or dare. Of course Alex just said dare immediately, and Rena said she dared us to make out.

He started kissing me and biting my lip, and I bit his back. That made him squeeze my throat and pull away, before leaning in and biting me right where Rena had done it earlier. Pattie and her friend were leaning against the wall behind Alex, giggling and rubbing each other.