To an alien race, clock watching must look like a national sport. It would be practiced from 3 pm to 5pm every day, where everyone would drop (or, at the very least, slow down) what they were doing and start concentrating on the designated clock wall. After said long, hard session people congratulated one another and looked forwards to the next day’s training, “Nice work today, see you tomorrow!” Training started from a young age at school and so it went until you became to old to play and ‘retired’.<br/><br/>Elbows on the desk, Eve pondered this as her co-workers filed out around her, squeaking the occasional “buh-byyyeee,” in reply and playing squish-your-head between thumb and forefinger, killing a few moments before she had to leave, hanging the latch so she could avoid trouble. Truthfully she was bored as hell, not to mention hungry. Ain’t no digesting food without a good bit of human blood in yo system. Not even one lil chicken McNugget, not if she didn’t want to paint the floor with chicken McStomach-contents . Was way past due her feeding time…. But nooooo. It wasn’t in the script/ stars / The Will of The Yuppie Queen!<br/>Yuppie Eve was too busy avoiding awkward situations with awkward co-workers and remained blissfully ignorant of the gnawing sensation in the pit of Eve’s stomach, the fresh coatings of saliva, the dull ache in the glands behind her fangs.<br/><br/>She shimmied her bag up her shoulders and made a little dance of it, using the chair to push herself to her feet like the world’s most unenthusiastic dirty dancer and ambled over to perch on window sill in the stairwell to suss out the parking lot.<br/>The white faux porcelain tiles were cracked and warped like they’d been caught in the middle of a tectonic drift. The window itself was flecked with dirt, barred on the outside and so cold she only needed to look at it from three rooms over and it condensated in warning. Come any closer and I’ll get you damp with other people’s breath! I’m not joking! I’ll do it!<br/>Nice spot.<br/>Everyone used it when a clander mix up meant that their mistresses and their wives happened to both turn up to pick them up on the same day or when the boss had left a ‘see me after’ post-it on your desk, or when you wanted to watch that pretty thing with the legs that went all the way up to heaven and the skirt that stopped at the golden gates bend over when she dropped her glasses etc. From here Eve rested her chin on her crossed arms and watched Primrose crunch across the frosted autumn leaves to fumble with her car.<br/><br/>Her hair matched the late autumn colours, long soft looking coat pinched in at her waist, heels clicking against the wet pavement; something human ‘Eve’ would never be able to hear, but vampire Eve had taken the wheel now, this was HER time.<br/><br/>“Keys,” she snorted under her breath, grinning away to herself.<br/><br/>The little Primrose figure paused, you couldn’t make out her features but you could see the frustration as she went through her bag. Keys.<br/><br/>From here there was no act, Eveline was herself and grinning she was, “Check the guys,”<br/><br/>The little red head that you could pick out from a mile bobbed up and looked down someone in a grey parker at the other end of the lot, paused for half a second then carried on. Guys checked.<br/>That would have been the last time they spoke if character Eve had her way.<br/><br/><br/>‘Eve’ would watch feeling tragically guilty as though, oh shit, was it somehow her fault?! Lil old me?! Who’d never do ANYTHING to upset anyone?!<br/>Was it something I said?!<br/>Shock shock horror horror.<br/>Jesus this role was like running a skipping disk (sorry that wasn’t the THING any more, a song download from dial up even) of manic pixie dream girl CLICHES. It was like reading a check list from the trope cupboard inventory.<br/>Oh, hand on heart in the fucking pinnacle gesture of sincerity, I DO hope she comes in well again tomorrow… I hope I haven’t hurt her! Suddenly vampire Eve became aware of a new emotion in her characters repertoire. The personality had gone ahead and done something it was never supposed to, it had reacted all on its own. It was developing sentient life! Oh god it was Skynet all over! She hated it when they did this, but what it had felt made her hate the character even more…<br/><br/>It was hate.<br/><br/>A little bit of her tragic character wanted to see Primrose get hit by a bus or something. ANYTHING to not come back… no matter what the cost, anything for an easy life, anything so SHE didn’t look like the bad guy… Eve suddenly felt a stab of guilt, whether it was from the yuppie or her own authentic brand of reactions, she could never be too certain, but that in itself meant trouble. She had to disconnect herself from her character, even though you were living in their flesh, their bones you simply stayed a viewer, a voice over the shoulder. She’d heard of actors that got too into roles before, most were found dead in hotel rooms under bizarre circumstances, they may as well have pole vaulted into their own graves still wearing their stage make-up…<br/><br/>Eve sighed and massaged her temples, mustering together what little peace there was to be had in the dark sanctuary behind her eyelids.<br/>She’d hand in her notice soon or fake her death. Change her face and make Eveline King as this world knew her disappear altogether. It was time for a new alter ego…<br/><br/>Somewhere outside a car engine sputtered reluctantly to life.<br/><br/>Sorry Prim.<br/><br/>Eve sighed and followed suit into the car park. This week she’d distance herself from the girl, try to lessen the blow a little…