The Vampire's Apprentice

"Goodnight, Miss Kitty," Clancy said. He went downstairs and started writing out her list.
~Arrange scheduled call with Mr. Hilderguard (details in next page)
~Arrange scheduled call with Mrs. Hiroshema
~Arrange scheduled call with Mr. Locker
~Arrange scheduled call with Mrs. Jones
~Arrange vet visit for dog
~Arrange visit with next door neighbors, I wish to meet them
~Please bake a chocolate cake with white frosting
 
Kitty examined this list thoughtfully the next morning during breakfast. The first four she hadn't the slightest clue what to do about, having never done such a thing, the fifth she knew she could do, and the last two....

A smile crept onto her face.

Just perfect.

Not a minute of her day was wasted, it seemed. No matter how much she thought about it, never had she been asked to bake simply for the sake of it; she always laughed silently at the notion that he enjoyed the smell. Well, at least she'd found something he liked. Nothing was greater joy than making a person happy.

Slide the pans into the oven, lick—then wash—the dirty dishes, and just barely manage to finish the final few pages of her book before the timer goes off and she has to take the pans out again. The whole place smelled alive by mid-afternoon. Four strange learning experiences were up next while the cake cooled, and though she survived, it would likely never be something she'd desire to do of her own free will.

Frosting cakes is fun, though difficult if one doesn't know "how" to do it. First is the crumb layer, the layer of frosting that goes directly on the cake and often looks absolutely hideous afterwards, having chocolate cake crumbs mixed all throughout it. Of course, this is also the layer that sits in the center of her cake as well, having made two layers this time just for kicks. Best to let it all sit for a minute before adding the main layer, the one that looks nice and white and pristine.

Though there weren't any apples this time—not being very purposeful on a chocolate cake—I'd be lying if I said Kitty simply left it empty. There's a certain thing called piping gel that's quite fun to work with if one has the time. But more on that later; she had other things to do before getting too carried away. For instance, scheduling a vet call. She wrote it down on the notepad she'd been using to keep track of dates and times for the first four experiences, having this visit listed for sometime on Friday.

With one long breath of air in accompaniment—she still did not trust Sam to come with her—Kitty went next door. It was almost four by that time, though it seemed much later in her opinion. She only hoped she wasn't interrupting dinner or some-such event. That would have been most awkward.
 
It was quieter today. Norville was on the porch chair, but he was sound asleep. He sprawled over the chair, his lanky body dripping over the sides like frosting on a too-hot cupcake. EJ was nowhere to be seen or heard, but soft voices wafted from the back. It sounded like the twins and their mother. There was no gate to the back here, same as with Clancy's and Mrs. Pugglesworth's houses.
 
Kitty crept towards the back, calling semi-quietly in effort not to wake the sleeping Norville on the porch. She didn't want to seem as though she were snooping, so she tried not to go too far.
 
JP came running forward after a few seconds. "Hi! It's Kitty!" he grinned. "Come back! You need to see what we're doing!" He reached out to take her hand and lead her back.
 
JP led her back to a very basic back yard with patchy grass. Mrs. Mooney sat on a patch of grass with JC, helping the little girl to plant a weak little plant into a large pot. Assorted pots and planters, bags of dirt, and farming implements lay strewn about around them. Two other pots were already planted with tulips, and one smaller window box planter held a row of what looked like herbs. Mrs. Mooney seemed a lot calmer today, smiling tiredly as she talked to JC in a quiet voice quite unlike the screaming one Kitty usually heard.

"Mum's helping us plant a garden!" JP announced cheerfully, pointing at the pots.
 
Mrs. Mooney looked up, some of the openness of her face closing when she saw Kitty. "Oh, hello," she greeted cautiously. "How's it going?"
JP prattled about the different plants in the pots, not really caring that no one was paying attention.
 
"Nice enough." She answered carelessly. "Been a little dreary inside, so it's nice to be out again. How've you been faring?"
 
"Good, good, all's good. The kids wanted a garden, so I thought we'd do that on my day off." She looked around and shrugged. "It'll probably all die, but at least it's something green for a couple of days."
 
Well that's depressing.... Kitty brushed it off. "I wanted to know if you guys would like to come over sometime in the evening. Mr. McCleary wanted to meet you,"
 
"And why doesn't he come ask this, himself?" Mrs. Mooney asked.
"Because he's a ghost and can't come out of the house!" JC chirped. "I don't believe it, but we've seen him out of our window at night, haven't we, JP?"
JP nodded enthusiastically. "He dresses like a fancy lawyer."
"Is he a lawyer?" Mrs. Mooney asked, seeming to forget her first question to a new fear.
 
Kitty smiled a little at the twin's comments. "I don't believe so. He just tends to be a tidy person. Hence tidy clothes."
 
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