by Millie Ho
(Content Warnings: violence)
We swoop into the mall at night,
side-swept bangs and fingerless gloves,
literally emo vampires out to have
a good time. Mandopop karaoke
and blood popsicles. Our fangs
clink against the microphone,
five in our coven and not one
in tune. No more school for us.
No more piano lessons, detentions,
comparisons to cousins. No more
awkward school dances, leaping into
homeroom before the tardy bell,
or totally deep MSN conversations
at 1 a.m. Now we paint our coffins
with black nail polish. Wake up late
and exsanguinate. Celebrate the sinking
of the sun, the ache of a good kill.
A riot of flesh, a blur of teeth.
Forever fourteen and we still love malls.
Watch K-pop stars on LED screens,
fight over anime DVDs. Nearly break
the DDR machines with our pounding feet,
glamour suspicious security guards to sleep.
Force down ramen for old time’s sake,
get bubble tea just to shoot tapioca
through straws in the street. The end
of the night is always the same:
kawaii poses, V signs, bodies crammed
into a photobooth. Countdown starts,
artificial hearts. We draw cat ears
above where our heads should be,
put whiskers around smiles
no one can see.
Things change but
stay the same.
We still believe in selfies,
our legendary immaturity, the flashes
of bravery, our annoying needs.
Most of all, we believe in each other,
in moments we can’t exactly capture,
moments like these.
MILLIE HO is a writer and artist based in Canada. Her short stories and poems have appeared or are forthcoming in The Book of Witches, Lightspeed, Nightmare, Uncanny, and elsewhere. Her work was a finalist for the Ignyte and Rhysling Awards. Find her at millieho.net.
the mall at night can be found in Augur Magazine Issue 5.1.
