The Protagonist Speaks

Dear readers, tonight with me is a young man who has been forced to go back to school – a century after he originally graduated. It’s not too bad, as he is a creature of the night, and is able to manipulate time.

He is here to tell us about his extraordinary powers, his time travels, and his continuing quest to be reunited with his younger brother.

Tell us a little about where you grew up. What was it like there?

I was born in Missouri in 1893 so you can imagine it was definitely in the country. My father owned a brewery and my mother raised my younger brother and I. Or tried to, anyway. I never could get control over my bloody temper and my younger brother was no better. That’s why we were sent off to Tompkin’s Academy when it opened in the autumn of 1910.

What have you been doing since 1910 and now?

Since my brother and I have been separated, my powers haven’t been progressing like I know they were meant to. So I’ve been using what power I do have to sense other beings like myself in the hopes that I find  the one powerful enough to reunite me with my little brother, Edwin Bartholomew.

What powers do you have?

When in transition, which happens each full moon or whenever I want since I’m untied from the full moon, I have black eyes, claws, and huge wings that allow me to fly faster than you could possible imagine. I also have the power to feel the heartbeat of other beings, of invisibility, super vision, see and communicate with the future, move time, and manipulate people. But I haven’t been able to travel to the future since my brother has been gone.

What can you tell us about your latest adventure?

I can tell you this. I didn’t enjoy reliving the twenties very much. There’s a huge risk in messing with time and I wish Izara understood this, but she never listens to me. It’s upsetting as hell. I wish she was as easy going as her twin brother, Kain. But anyway, yeah the only thing good about the twenties was the jazz and the booze. Other than that it was a weird mess, but you’ll find that out for yourself soon enough.

What did you first think when you transitioned?

My first thought was that it was incredible. I could see everything, from the small ants a mile away, to the farthest galaxies. But the transitions and killing was awful. I thought I was a monster. That is, until I found others like me and saw how they lived. After transitioning for over a century, I found a way to accept the darkness inside of me and harness its power. I’m no longer controlled by the darkness, I control it.

What was the scariest thing in your adventures?

When the Artesian hotel burned down in 1962, I remember being questioned by the police. I remember panicking because technically Bart Bessler, which I was calling myself in those days, didn’t exist in the 1960s and all my forms of identification showed that I was 23 years old born in 1887. All wrong, all fictitious, and I kicked myself for not immediately updating my identity in the sixties. Luckily I got away and immediately fixed that.

What is the worst thing about living forever?

I guess the worst thing would be coming up with new identities. It’s not only a pain to remember and dreadful to set up, but the worry that one day someone is going to figure me out is the hardest thing to live with. Also, because I’ve had so many lives forgetting who I am would be a nightmare. I’ve been Lawrence Bartholomew, older brother to Edwin and demon in the night, I’ve been Bart Bessler, a salesman trying to find other beings like myself, Berry Art, a hippie traveling the country in a stuffy van with the same mission as all my previous aliases, and many many others. Now I’m Choyce Barton, student at Tompkin’s Academy…again.

Tell us a little about your friends.

So far I have all of two friends at Tompkin’s Academy. Izara (or Izzy as she prefers), which is more of a love/hate relationship, and her twin brother Kain who is my new roommate. He’s introduced me to some of his buddies on the school’s basketball team like Lee Walker, apparently Izzy’s main squeeze, but I don’t care to have anymore friends. I’m on a mission and Kain and Izara are the only two who can help me.

Whom (or what) do you really hate?

I loathe Tompkin’s Academy and everyone who’s associated with this establishment. They are scum of the earth and need to be put down. I will find a way to destroy the school if it’s the last thing I do!

What’s your favourite drink, colour, and relaxing pastime?

Jack Daniel’s neat. As for a relaxing pastime, doesn’t that count? I do enjoy the theatre, though, which is something Izzy and I have in common, but like I said she hates me so no hope there.

What does the future hold for you?

After the surprise the Torvik twins and I were left with at the end of last school year I’m not sure what to think. My plan is still to take down the school and the animals who hunt us, but I’m not sure how. With the storm that is coming, I’m afraid nothing is certain.

Tabi Slick was born in Kansas and grew up in the country where she was homeschooled for the greater part of her childhood. In middle school, her family moved to Davis Oklahoma where she attended public school for several years. Here she began her writing adventure and soon the world of Tompkin’s Academy came to life. After graduating from high school in 2008, she spent a few years in Puerto Rico and wound up in Texas where she graduated with a Bachelor’s degree in Linguistics from the University of Texas at Arlington. She was born with an immense appreciation for literature and continues to dedicate her time to her passion of writing.

You can find Choyce on the pages of the Tompkin’s School trilogy.

Join us next week to meet a half-vampire who is, most of the time, on the right side of the law. Please follow the site by email (bottom-right), via Twitter, or like our Facebook page to be notified when the next interview is posted.