'I want an early morning appointment,' the man says at the other end of the line. His voice is gruff, working class. A hint of cockney. 'The earlier the better, please, love.'

'Eight thirty all right for you, sir?' Amelia tries not to show how annoyed she is at having to answer the phone on her lunch break.

'Earlier, if that's possible,' the man says. 'Say, five fifteen. That'd do me nicely.'

'I'm afraid our practice only opens at eight thirty,' Amelia says, surprised at the man's odd request.

'What's the latest appointment you can do?' the man says.

'Well, we close at four.' She hears the man tutting on the other end of the line.

'Eight thirty it will 'ave to be, then,' he sighs.

'OK, what's your name?' she says.

'Les. Les Powell.' She notes his name down on a bit of paper. She will have a laugh with the other girls about him later. Fancy wanting to go to the dentist at five fifteen in the morning.

'Can I ask what sort of work you require, Les?'

'I need me tooth put back in. I er, fell down the stairs at the weekend.' Les almost certainly did not fall down the stairs, but she is not about to press the matter. 'Is there any way you could possibly get me an earlier appointment, love? I've got, kind of a medical issue. I can't be in the sun.'

'Hold on. I'll check for you.' She gets up. Her supervisor Dushendree, a tall Indian woman, strolls out of one of the rooms. Amelia tries to attract her attention.

'Excuse me, Dushendree.' Amelia covers the phone so Les can't hear it. 'There's a geezer on the line wants to know if he can get an appointment for his teeth at 5.15am! I told him there's no way! He says he's got a medical condition where he can't be in the sun.'

'What's his name, dear?' Dushendree asks, an odd expression on her face.

'Les. Les Powell,' Amelia says.

'Give him the five fifteen appointment,' Dushendree says. 'Do as he asks, it's easier that way.'

'Hello, sir?' Amelia sits down and puts the phone to her ear, very confused. 'We can give you an appointment at five fifteen Wednesday morning. I'll put that in for you right now.'

*

The streets are dark on Wednesday morning. Dawn hasn't broken. Les presses the doorbell to the dental practice.

The intercom buzzes. He walks in. Dushendree is on the reception desk.

'Five fifteen,' she says. 'Take a seat. He'll be right with you.'

Les sits down on the seat and starts reading a home improvement magazine. Country Garden, it's called. Reminds him of the old days.

'Mr Powell?' a male voice says. Les puts the magazine down and walks to the treatment room, climbing onto the dentists' chair in his high-viz gear. The dentist hands him a cup of mouthwash. He swallows it, before parting his lips to reveal his gleaming white fangs.

AN: So Les Powell is going to be the MC in my vampire story which I'm going to start later this year. I'm massively excited about this story, hopefully it will be great. Hope you all enjoyed :)