Don`t we need bracelets? I asked. Not tonight. The bar is dry until eleven oh one.
How did you know about the bracelets? my aunt whispered.
Uh...I saw it in a movie.
Jake hopped off his stool and, like the valet at a five-star hotel, kindly opened the coffin- shaped doors.
My aunt and I paraded through the doors like we were royalty.
When I grow up, Aunt Libby, I want to be just like you! I exclaimed.
My aunt took a moment to take in the Coffin Club, beginning with its neon tombstones.
I love it! she blurted out.
I, however, was taken aback. The mood of the club had totally changed from the previous nights I`d visited. It was like a cryptic sweet-sixteen party. No amount of white powder or Graveyard Gray lipstick could hide the pimples, braces, and bubble gum attached to the teens running amok throughout the club. Sure, some teens were bopping to the macabre music or experimenting with a darker fashion palette, but for most it seemed a chance to be away from Mommy and Daddy and play dress-up for the evening.
Aunt Libby couldn`t have cared less, even if she`d known. She was absorbing her surroundings like a tan addict enjoys the sun.
This club is amazing! she said. I didn`t realize there were so many of you.
Neither did I, I said.
Who is this singing? she asked, swaying to the music.
The Skeletons.
I`ll have to get this album, she said. I mean download it. Whatever.
As we made our way farther into the club, I did notice an older group of goths dancing and partying. They, like me, seemed to gaze at the younger set with disdain. Perhaps I should have been more open-minded.
I want to quench my thirst, my aunt said when she spotted the spiderwebbed, bottled bar.
Sure. My treat, I offered.
Absolutely not.
The same woman from last night waited on us.
Hey, didn`t I see you before?
Uh...no.
I swear I saw you in here last night.
I`m afraid not.
You were here with your boyfriend. He`s tall and really hot.
It wasn`t us.
Sadly she was at home, my aunt confessed. I had her chained in all night.
Well, you must have one of those faces.
My niece? She`s as original as they come.
My aunt read the virgin drink specials, etched out on a gravestone next to the cash register.