At First Sight Of Sunshine ~Chapter 2~

Chapter 2

“Class and Classes”

           It didn’t take me long to find my first class. Room 354; third story, right in the middle of the floor. My teacher was one, A. Crawft. A name which sounded vaguely familiar to me, but I couldn’t place it. The bell wouldn’t ring for a good five minutes still, so I stood outside of the door contemplatively. I reached out and traced the long chrome handle with my fingertips, then tested the handle to see if it was locked. It wasn’t, so I proceeded inside. It wasn’t the appearance of the classroom that surprised me, for most classrooms look the same no matter what degree of personalization you try to achieve. It was the smell. It was a clean smell. Fresh. Carpet cleaner, board cleaner. And… muffins. Banana nut and blueberry if I was correct. It smelled wonderful.

          “Why hello there.” It was a cheerful voice. Happy and light. It caught me off guard after my first two encounters of the day. I turned to see the speaker. “You must be my new student. Lillith is it?” She was, in a word, stunning. She was in her early to mid fifties. But she carried her age well. Tall, slim and clean. Her salt and pepper, silk hair was pulled back in an orderly bun. And yet, it was worn loose enough to not remind me of an old English school teacher who carried a stick. A friendly smile sat on her face, accented by laugh lines and dazzling hazel eyes. She smelled like cinnamon and vanilla, with something that was annoyingly familiar lurking underneath that I just couldn’t seem to place. It was easy to tell that when she was younger she was stunning, no doubt, for she was stunning now.

          I took a moment to answer I was so startled by her jovial appearance and pleasant smile. But I finally managed to answer her with a smile of my own.  “Yes. Pleasure to meet you Miss Crawft.” I assumed it was Miss, due to the absence of a ring on her finger. She didn’t correct me.

          “A pleasure indeed Lillith. That’s a good name you know, “The dark woman” known in mythology as the mother of all magik.” She took in my look for a moment, I was still getting over the shell shock of being treated so nicely, she smiled and waved her hand a bit, “But listen to me prattle…  Would you like a muffin?” she motioned to the tray of warm, baked goodies. I normally don’t eat much in the way of actual food, but they smelled so wonderful I couldn’t resist taking a banana nut and munching on it.

          “Thank you.” I hummed between bites. Pausing for a moment in my snack, I once more glanced around the room. “Creative Writing.” I stated as I double-checked my schedule just for reference. “I’m a week in a half behind. Have I missed much?” Actually somewhat worried about being behind in this class I looked to her curiously, and her warm smile reassured me immediately.

          “Not too far. There have been a few short essays due, but nothing that a little extra credit work can’t compensate for.” She said this in a little humming tone while rummaging though some papers on her desk, pulling out a small pile of brightly colored sheets and handing them too me. I took them and began to leaf though them slowly as she explained. “These are the class rules and expectations, a lesson plan and assignment due date sheet, I’ve stuck in a page of extra credit ideas I came up with this morning, and there is also a syllabus I will need you to read over and have your guardians sign.”

          I paused at the syllabus and looked up, trying to think of a logical explanation of why I had no parents to sign my paper. Somehow I didn't think ‘Oh hey. Well the thing is. I’m a 300 year old Vampry, so can I just sign it on my own’ was going to cut it. “Miss Crawft. I’m an... Uh… emancipated minor. I don’t have any guardians to sign for me.” There was something in her look that told me she didn't quite believe my story, but she let it slide with a nod and a smile.

          “Well then. Just sign it yourself after you have read it. Just make sure you understand everything in there.” I nodded, very sure I would remember and understand. “There is an empty desk over there.” She pointed to one of the corner of the room next to the window. I almost cringed at the thought of sitting in sunlight, but refrained from saying anything. “I’ll assign you there if that is alright.” She paused over her seating chart, pen in hand and quirked a brow at me.

          “That will be just fine Miss Crawft.” I said as I walked over to the desk, captive muffin in hand, and sat down, allowing my bag to fall to the floor with a muffled ‘thud’. Just as I picked up my pile of papers to read the bell rang, and a slow, but study stream of students began to file into the room. Each stopped by the desk and selected a muffin from the platter and made their way to their seats. Some looked at me with an ounce of fear, others with a level of hate, most with a little of both and some not at all. The seat next to mine remained empty. I could already tell that this was going to be a fun couple of months.

          The second bell rang and almost immediately Ms. Crawft began to speak. Announcing that there was to be a pop quiz, much to the classes’ dismay, on Edgar Allen Poe. There was to be no talking, or looking at anyone else in the class and she also reminded that the staff had installed new equipment in the classrooms to pick up on any telepathic communication. I had to smile, they really had thought of everything. She walked around passing out the quizzes, passing my desk, and telling the others to begin. Raising my hand, I waited for her to come over and asked if I could try the quiz, she looked a bit doubtful but consented and gave me one. Smiling and reading the questions, I proceeded. Being the only person in the class who had actually met Poe, I was at an advantage, and was the first one finished. The half-shocked glares of my now fellow classmates almost made me feel guilty. Almost.

          The others finished and class progressed. We were assigned a new project, a poem in the spirit of Poe. I was delighted, to say the least. Then we were released to go to our other classes. My schedule went as follows: First, second, break, third, lunch, fourth, fifth, sixth. My second class, History, was something of a bore, but I did my best to pay attention to the lesson. History is something I was well versed in and had studied vigorously on my own, to say the least this was repetition for me. My new professor spoke with me briefly before class and caught me up to speed, and recommending I read the first chapter in the book. The break was nothing more than an extended passing period. Third period, Chemistry, was relatively interesting; science is a fascinating field. Mr. Breming was my professor, a short plump little man with bright eyes, a bright smile and a good laugh. I liked the class already, but the class room I was not as fond of, seeing as the western wall was comprised of little more than windows. Next was my lunch, I latter found that the school had four separate times for lunch due to the number of students. Lunch was about an hour long and gave me time to familiarize myself with the school, and its menu. I didn't order anything, but I got the general idea.

          The commons was crowded during lunch, despite its vast size, and it was noisy. Very, very noisy. Sounds of idle chit chat spoken very loud in order to be heard above the defining roar of all the others doing the same, mixed with the clanging of pots and pans and the sizzling of grills. It gave me a headache, so I headed for the door leading to a courtyard. Stepping though the doors the freshness of the air hit me like a wave and the noise from inside faded out almost completely. The courtyard was all grass, from the moment you stepped out the door, it boasted perfectly groomed flowerbeds along the wall, and nicely sheered trees though out. A few of the trees were rather large some willows, some maple, and one oak, reaching up towards the sky and casting shade over vast amounts of the ground, while others were a bit smaller, eight feet or so high, maples mostly. A willow tree was my choice. Pushing aside the long draping leaves I stepped inside the shaded haven it offered me, sitting with my back to the dark, warm base and pulling out some papers to read.

          After a few minutes, a soft scratching noise from my right caused me to look up. From a low branch of the tree a slim black cat sat watching me. Its shimmering black fur rippled slightly in the breeze, the purest black a cat has ever been seen wearing. Intensely yellow eyes sparkled with a strange curiosity as we observed each other in complete silence for a moment or two.

          “If you’re really a cat, then I’m King Tut.” I said plainly looking back down at my papers with a quirk of my brow and a smirk. There was something of a shuffling noise from the cat’s direction, and a good-humored chuckle.

          “What gave it away? The lack of a collar or my unearthly cute-ness?” The cat turned boy’s voice joked from beyond my line of sight. I shook my head slightly at the comment and began to put my papers away.

          “Let’s try the idea of. We are at a school where I’m guessing about one fourth of the student body is Magus or Shift.” I normally would never use the shortened version of either Animagus or Shifter in this society was slightly rude to use the slang for the terms, but it didn’t seem to phase the cat at all.  I zipped up my bag, stood and looked at him. The same yellow eyes were still looking right at me.

          I should explain briefly, before I continue on too far, the difference between the Animagus and the Shape Shifter.  Animagus are magic users who are able to take the form of only one or two animals of their choosing, at any time of their choosing. However, like all magic there are times when it is easier or harder to do this.  The Shape Shifter, on the other hand, is born with the ability to change shape into almost anything it chooses, provided it is in the family line. Anthro Shifters can change into animals, Homeo Shifters change to look like any person they choose, and Terra Shifters are able to look like almost everything else, trees, rocks, walls etc.  Despite the differences between the Magus and the Shift, their scents are relatively the same, so it’s hard to tell them apart by smell alone.

          “Geezs… Miss No Since of Humor.” He smiled with a laugh and a roll of his eyes. Sitting there on the branch I couldn’t tell how tall he was, perhaps six feet. He wore faded blue jeans, a floppy gray T-shirt with some lesser known band name on the front, and a well worn pare of fading, black converses. Around his neck and right wrist were leather bands adorned with spikes, and his left wrist a black and chrome watch. His bottom lip was pierced to the left side with a loop, as were his ears. As a ‘human’ his hair was almost exactly the same color as his cat fur, new moon black, and cut in a fashion so that it was to his chin in the front and about an inch in the back, spiked. With black hair framing the fair skin of his face, he almost looked paler than I would have on a normal day. He would have just about fit in with the Vampry crowd… if he could have just wiped that silly grin from his face.

          “And you’d do well to remember that.” I said somewhat sharper than I had planned to.

          He held up his hands in mock defense, “Easy there. I didn't mean nothing by it. It was just a silly question.” Tilting his head to one side he held out a hand about at my face level, “The name’s Adrik.”

          I smirked slightly and just looked at his hand for a few moments before turning and starting to walk off. As I parted the willow leaves again I paused and glanced back over my shoulder, “Hey, Adrik. The cat is a good look for you.” And with that I was gone. Or so I thought.

          Only a few moments passed before the footsteps caught up with me, “Hey. Is that any way to treat a person who was only trying to be nice?” His voice came from behind me to my right. I glanced over to him as he paralleled me, I had been close he was about six feet or so, and still grinning like a fool. Did the smile ever die? I wondered.

          “Can’t you try someplace else?” I opened the door and walked into an empty hallway, Adrik followed.

          “I…could…” he was still grinning.

          “I since a ‘but’ coming on…” I sighed, and rubbed my temples softly.

          “BUT. You seem much too interesting. Besides, I know almost everyone else.”

          “Social butterfly, much?” I raised a brow at him.

          “Yep that’s me!” He made a gesture to himself with his thumb, walking proudly. “What about you?” He leaned in a bit to close looking at me curiously; I bent my spine to lean away and then stepped to the side.

          “What about me…”I said in a contemplative tone, as if asking myself the same question. I wasn’t about to answer any questions, I didn't want to lie to people about what I was, but I wasn’t exactly thrilled at the idea of people knowing what I was. Especially in a society that primarily hated Vampry. Room 123 caught my attention. Finally my next class, I stopped before he had time to word his next question. “Well… here’s my class. Have a nice day. Got to go.” I slipped inside before he had time to even wave.