Title: Of Coffee and Cheese and Vampires Too (1/1)
Authors:  Cousin Shelley and Arletta Asbury
Faction: Cousins
Date: July 6th, 2001
Time: Sometime after 7 pm.
Disclaimers:  All participants used with permission


"I don't understand why you wanted to come here tonight?
You hate parties AND they nearly didn't let us in..."

"This is why," Arletta said heading straight for the
cheese table with Shelley following.  "Most parties
don't have a whole table full of cheese.  Oh sure,
everyone has a whole bunch of meats for the
carnivores but NEVER anything like this for us
vegetarians!"

Shelley who wasn't a vegetarian, didn't much like
being called a carnivore, and wasn't all that
fond of cheese herself, just nodded in faked sympathy.
"Uh huh, ... I think those Ravenettes are staring at
me ... us.  Can we go now?"  She picked listlessly
at the cheeses.  Not a slice of American anywhere.

Arletta said thru a mouth full of Havarti and crackers,
"I don't know what all that fuss was about.  *I* think
your jeans and t-shirt look just fine."

Shelley sighed.  She guessed her friend didn't meet the
'Dress Code' either but the doorkeeper hadn't argued with
*her* about it.  She HAD put on the t-shirt without any
stains, and the jeans that didn't have the frayed bottoms.
What more could you ask?

Sighing, Shelley said, "do you see any PepperJack cheese?"

"No, sorry.  Here's a nice hunk of sharp Cheddar, though?"

"Uhhhhh, no thanks.  Hey, what's that machine over there?"

"I think it's a cappuccino machine," Arletta replied, now
eating a hunk of Gouda.

"I've never tried it...let me go get one."  Shelley headed
over to the machine and grabbed a cup.  "MMMMmmmmmm," she
said, "this is REALLY good!"  Downing the first cup, she
immediately grabbed a second.

-------------------------------

"Shelley?  Just how many of those cups of cappuccino have
you had?" said a worried Arletta.  She hadn't seen her
friend leave the machine in over 30 minutes.

"HowmanyhaveIhad??  Well,I'vehadafewandletmetellyouthis
stuffisGOOD! IcoulddrinkitallnightIcould! Infact,gimme
anothercup!! Ican'trememberwhenI'vehadsomethingsogood,
canIhavesomemoreplease? Hey,whereyoubeen? Eatingcheese
still,huh? Youknow,I'mabithungrymyself....."

Arletta sighed deeply and took her friend by the arm.
Leading her to the door, she got more than one odd look
from the Ravenettes as Shelley rambled on and on at
the speed of light.

--------------

Once outside, the cool air had calmed Shelley down somewhat
but Arletta decided it was best to drive the van back to CERK
herself over Shelley's loud protests that she WASN'T drunk
and 'couldstilldrivehervanjustfinethank-you'. After about an
hour or so, Shelley's speech had slowed down to normal.

----------------

"That was the best party I've been to in a long time," Arletta
announced, still happy about the assorted cheeses she'd sampled,
"but wasn't Lacroix acting kinda strange?"

Shelley nodded, "I just wish I understood what was going on."

"Lacroix was *SO* not himself," Arletta sighed. "Has his mind
gone or something? Or are we just imagining things?"

"Hmmm," Shelley said, "you've given me an idea.  I may not
appreciate cheese the way you do, but I *am* good at
internet research."  Under her breath, she muttered "and no
one will kick me out for dressing like a slob, either!"

"Uhhhh, Shelley?  Are you okay?"

"Does....cappuccino....have....COFFEE...in...it?" Shelley
gasped out, holding her stomach.

"Well, it's MADE from coffee...why?"

"COFFEE MAKES ME SICK", Shelley yelled, then groaned loudly.

It was going to be a long night.