Pink Teeth

Miss Dotty always gave Friday Marcus and her family strawberry ice-cream every summer solstice. It was a nice little tradition.

The two girls, seemingly of the same age, sat on the porch. Miss Dotty had a pink dress, and pristine white gloves. Friday had cargo pants and an oversized t-shirt. They were talking about multiple things, mostly in the media category.

“...so yeah. That's why I think Twilight is so overhyped.” Friday told her.

  Miss Dotty nodded.

“Yes. A toxic relationship does seem to degrade the concept of true love.” she replied.

  Just then, Friday’s grandfather, Papa Marcus, walked outside. He tapped his cane against the door.

“Girls! It’s dinner time! I made pastrami burgers.” he announced.

  They sat down and ate. Papa Marcus sang along to “devil in disguise.”  He liked to listen to Elvis while he cooked. Miss Dotty used a fork and a knife. She liked to keep things proper. Friday’s little sister, Sunday, had ketchup all over her face. Miss Dotty quietly gave her a napkin. The television blared in the other room. The news was on. There was a woman in a red suit. Police tape was in the background.

“This has been the sixth gruesome murder this week in this same area, and police are baffled! There appears to be some teeth marks-”

The television shut off. Miss Dotty was holding the remote.

“Why’d you shut it off?” Sunday asked.

  Miss Dotty shrugged.

“No use listening to the same bad news if no one’s gonna do anything about it.” she replied.

  The sun started to go down slowly. Sunday made a pink paper crown and placed it on Miss Dotty’s head. Miss Dotty yawned.

“Excuse me.” she told Sunday.

  Sunday stared at Miss Dotty in shock.

“You have two rows of teeth!” Sunday exclaimed.

  Miss Dotty tensed up.

“Yes… I was born with it.” she replied.

“That’s so cool! I wish I had two rows of teeth! That means more money from the tooth fairy!” Sunday told her.

  Miss Dotty relaxed. She looked outside. It was getting darker. She took off her paper crown.

“Well, I have to go. We will play tomorrow.” Miss Dotty told her.

  Sunday hugged her. Miss Dotty smiled. She walked into the kitchen. Friday was doing the dishes. Papa Marcus was asleep on the couch.

“I’m leaving now. My sojourn is over until tomorrow.” Miss Dotty announced.

Friday turned around.

“Do you need a ride home? My mom’s still at work but I can call her–” she began.

  Miss Dotty waved off the offer.

“That won’t be necessary.” she replied.

“Are you sure? There’s like a sick slasher person on the streets. It’s safer to–”

“I’ll be fine. I promise. You have a good night Friday. Say hello to Mrs. Marcus for me.”

  Friday hesitated. Miss Dotty always walked home when it was dark. She was always unscathed.

“If you're sure. Goodnight.” Friday told her.

“Goodnight.”

  Miss Dotty walked down the sidewalk. The night breeze felt good on her face. The stars shone like pearls. She noticed a car coming from behind her. Headlights burning into her skull. She tensed up and gritted her teeth.

“Not tonight.” she whispered.

  She kept walking as calmly as possible. Breathing as slowly as she could. The car, which Miss Dotty could see is a convertible, pulled up beside her. There were three men in the car who smelled strongly of alcohol. The driver, a scrawny man with a gold chain and earrings that suspiciously look like human teeth, smiled at her.

“That’s a pretty little dress you have there, girlie! Is there a dance nearby?” he asked.

  Miss Dotty kept on walking. She tried not to pay any mind to how the men in the car were looking at her.

“Hey! Did you hear me?” the man snapped.

  Miss Dotty took a deep breath. 

“You men should go home. There is a killer on the loose.” she replied.

  The men laughed. The shorter one in the back seat leaned out the window.

“You seem relaxed about that. I’ll tell you what, dollface, you get in our car, we’ll keep you safe until tomorrow morning.” he said.

“I would much rather walk. It’s good for me.” she told them.

“So there’s no killer?”

“Oh no, there is.”

“So why aren't you worried about it?”

“I try to keep out of their way. Now drive off. Let me walk alone.”

  The bigger man next to the driver pulled out a gun out of his leather jacket. He pointed it directly at Miss Dotty’s head.

“Get in. Now!” he roared.

  Miss Dotty glared at him.

“Are you threatening me?” she asked.

“GET IN!” the big man repeated.

  Miss Dotty clenched her fist. Something monstrous bubbled inside of her.

“You have five seconds to get out of here, and never ever speak to me again!” she warned.

The driver glared at her.

“Aren't you cute…” he snarled.

  The car radio turned on. The song playing was “Devil in disguise.” It was slow and distorted. All three of the men looked at the radio in complete confusion. The street lights shut off. The stars vanished.

“What the–”

A pair of talons grabbed the shorter man’s arms. The man screamed and flailed. He disappeared into the darkness. The big man turned around and shot at where his friend was screaming.

“We need to get out of here!” shouted the driver.

“What about Tiny?!”

“I’m not staying here!”

  He hit the gas. The tires squealed. After some time, the car slowed down.

“I think we lost that thing.” the driver said.

  Just then, something fell on the hood of their car. “Devil in disguise” started playing again. It was Tiny. His face was frozen in terror. Something landed in front of them. It had large pink wings. The big guy got out of the car and shot at the thing. The bullets bounced off. The thing pounced on him in a flash. It started sucking something out of the screaming man. Something that looked like dimmed light… The driver stepped on the gas. His car wouldn’t go. He ran out of the car into an alley until he reached a dead end.

“I tried to warn you…” whispered a voice.

  It was Miss Dotty. She smiled at him. The driver backed away. She had so many teeth…

Miss Dotty brought Sunday a gold chain. They started putting charms on it. Friday watched.

“This necklace is so pretty! Where did you get it?” Sunday asked.

  Miss Dotty smiled. She made sure that her two rows of teeth were clean.

“From last night. I saw it and thought that it was pretty.” she replied.

  Papa Marcus tapped the door frame with his cane.

“Girls! I made pie!” he announced.

  Sunday squealed with delight and ran to the kitchen. Friday and Miss Dotty followed.

“So… you didn’t have any problems when coming home?” Friday asked.

  Miss Dotty felt the tooth earrings in her pocket.

“I never do.” she replied.