Congratulations to the winner of our August contest, Mattie Sage! We delayed posting the piece to accommodate an external submission schedule, but we're absolutely delighted to share Mattie's winning entry today.
Each month we hold a writing contest for our members, by our members. Writers are given parameters, such as a word count and/or a prompt. Entries are judged and discussed blindly. For August, our authors were given a selection of genres, subjects, and characters and challenged to write a 1500-word story.
Photo by cottonbro studio: https://www.pexels.com/photo/smiling-girl-with-blue-eyes-5547068/
Breakfast at Teethany's
by Mattie Sage
The sun was going down, and it was almost time for the little vampires to feast. Teethany was having a sleepover with all her friends, and it was my job as her nanny to prepare breakfast for her and all the little vampires.
While they rested in their little coffins, I plucked the eyeballs from the men I had hunted the night before and placed them into a bowl as if they were grapes. I drug the intestines out and tied them up to make little sausage links for them to enjoy. I chopped some liver to make a chopped liver omelet that I topped with eyelashes that I had carefully plucked as a garnish.
The hardest but most rewarding part was the gelatin. I crushed their arms and legs and filled a bowl with the dust that remained. I mixed it with water until it was a gelatinous substance then stirred in a few drops of blood which added both color and taste. I poured the foul mixture into molds that looked like vampire lips. Halloween bakeware worked all year round in this household.
I removed the men’s brains one by one and scrambled them in a pan with a bit of rosemary. As a human, I would have preferred my brains with garlic, but never for Teethany. Garlic would make her and the little ones ill, and I would be punished for that.
For the most part, I do not fear Teethany, but she is a particular little vampire. I must follow her rules, or I will end up like the last nanny and be served as an afternoon snack. Not even an important meal, but an afternoon snack.
Now, onto the most important part: the hearts. I baked the hearts at 350 for 25 minutes wrapped in bacon. This was always a special treat for Teethany, and her favorite part of breakfast. I hope the other little vampires like it, too.
It was almost time for breakfast. I had started draining the men’s blood this morning and had plenty to go around, so the little vampires had something to wash their breakfast down with.
The clock struck ten, and I could hear their coffin lids start to creak open as they rolled out of bed. With messy hair they marched down the grand staircase led by Teethany, some rubbing their eyes. Before them was a candlelit spread across the dining room table. Each plate had a heart, with the other items, in the finest dishes to be served to the little vampires. They all sat down in front of a plate at the table. I looked over at Teethany and she was smiling and looked pleased. I had done my job.
It was time for breakfast at Teethany’s.
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