SOS: The School of Supernaturals

“Are you okay? You seem a bit lost.”
I turned quickly to see a fairly normal-looking guy beside me. He had thick and messy dark hair and blue eyes... he was fairly tall, too.
He didn’t look like a ghost, or a werewolf. Certainly not an Origin... I was at a loss.
“Um... I’m trying to find the office.” I replied. He was very British. This was exciting.
“It’s just up there, through your left.” He replied.
I smiled gratefully.
“Thank you.”
He nodded and walked off.
“I’m Ray!” I called after him.
He smiled at me, walking backwards, and waved.
“I’m Dean.”
Then I lost my new friend Dean in the crowd.

**

I stared at the form in front of me at the list of majors I could choose from in front of me.

Banshee Programme
Banshee Immunity Programme
Demon Programme
Faeries Programme
Elementals Programme [Beginner Course, Non-Origin]
Elementals Programme [AP Course, Non-Origin]
Shape-Shifting Tutorials
Witchcraft Programme
Wizardry Programme
Wolf Programme
Vampire Programme
Etc, etc.

Oh, and let’s not get into the submission forms. Everything asked for your race- or, if you were an Origin- what you were. How did I answer? Just make a brand new box and tick it? Nobody would believe me if I did.
Perhaps I should explain in more detail. Of course you know what an Origin is; who didn’t? Any Origin was practically famous in their hometown... Original Race people were treated like royalty; who knew, maybe even better. However, it was just my family who were different.
A lot of people tried to come across as Origins, just to get the prestige... that was why they did tests now. My family were different though... almost too different for my liking.
I guess I should explain.
My mother was a half-vampire, half-wizard. As if that wasn’t crazy enough; she was her own species! My dad was normal [in the supernatural sense, of course]; an old Quileute wolf, actually, traditional and an Origin in every sense of the word. He was pretty cool. My mom and him had nothing to do with each other, though; that was the strange thing. They want to a normal high school, with normal [mortal] people... they didn’t even know anybody else in that town was supernatural, let alone an Origin.
My mother’s name was Tamara Tetris- Tammy for short. Everybody called her Tanya for short. Being half-wizard, half-vampire, she was... different to anybody else. For starters, she inherited the ability to turn on the fangs whenever she wanted, but didn’t have any bloodlust. Like, at all. Kinda lucky, considering where she lived.
She had the half of the vampire powers she would get as a vamp Origin; instead of flight, glamour-ing [a kind of hypnosis], extra-speed, high-powered sensors and a very sickly sweet smell to other supernaturals, she only got half... she got the speed, but could easily be in daylight. She had above-norm sensors, but not as highly powered as a true vampire’s. She couldn’t glamour, but had a special effect on people and couldn’t fly, but didn’t have the sickly smell either. Plus, thanks to her wizard heritage [note, WIZARD, not WITCH. And Wiccan and Witch are two totally separate things, by the way], she was born with the natural ability to use magic... even if she did wreak havoc sometimes, practicing it.
As for my dad... his name was Jacob. Jacob Black. Yeah, I know what you’re thinking. Quileute. Werewolf [technically shapeshifter, but the wolf was the preferred host]. Jacob Black. Well, all I gotta say to you is this; Stephenie Meyer did not use her imagination as much as she pretends and my dad should have got his life copyrighted, goddamnit [to an extent. I mean, come on, Bella Swan? Total airhead. As for Edward? ... get out of the closet, dude. That’s all there is to say].
How they met and how the hell they managed a relationship is a total mystery to me. Well, okay. It’s not. But this is not about them, or their weird relationship, or their selfishness and idiocy when they had unprotected sex and I don’t CARE if rubbers aren’t made durable enough for wolf-shifters and half-vampire-half-wizards because OBVIOUSLY if they had stopped to think they would have come across the thought that Oh, our child won’t have a race and Hey, when she ticks those little boxes on application forms on what her supernatural background is, THERE WON’T BE ONE AND- I am going to stop now. Before, you know, I lose my dignity.
Oh, I’m sorry, did I lose my dignity? I mean lose it even more than I already have.
Anyway, so they ended up with me. That’s right. A vampire-wizard-shape-wolf-shifting hybrid. Top of the Origin food chain... except I never wanted anyone to know. As a young child, I was exceptionally bright; my parents came more aware of their, uh, talents at the late-teenage stages of their life, whereas I grew up very quickly. At the physical age of seventeen, I actually have the mind of a thirty-something year old... in the sense of my knowledge.
For starters, I know everything my parents have, did or most probably will. I can shape shift... into a werewolf, or a vampire. Technically, I am vampire most of the time... I can drink blood. I just choose not to, and don’t have to. I love human food- I get that from my dad. Thing is, when I shift, it’s usually straight to wolf form. My senses are amazing and I know forests like the back of my palm; even if I’ve never been there [the forests, I mean]. I can perform really cool magic... When I am furiously angry, I shift into a wolf. Just like that.
You see, I am half shifter – of the wolf kind -, quarter vampire and quarter wizard. I get magic from all sides, but practiced magic comes more naturally to me than others. I have a lot of speed- for crying out loud, my parents are genetically-perfect Olympic candidates that the Olympians probably only dream as winners! My senses, too. As for control over people... well, that’s complicated. You see, my dad was the Alpha of his kinda weird pack [Stephenie Meyer got it wrong again. He was no Beta. He was an unwilling Alpha to a very chilled pack... though he did always do the right thing, for some reason] and, as aforementioned, my mom had an effect on people... I... I don’t know. I just think I’m persuasive, whereas my parents think it’s something more. I’m not sure. Thing is, when I concentrate on a certain aspect of my being- like glamouring- I have this thing inside of me that is sure it works... maybe the vampire genes in my mom’s side of the family skipped a generation. Who knows?
One thing we are totally in the dark about, is what a bite from me can do. I’m not a full shifter, but because the wolf thing is so inherited from my dad’s side [I think I actually have original werewolf descent. Which makes me part werewolf, part shape-shifter, part wizard and part vampire. Wow, my parents really didn’t think this one through, did they?], if I bite someone, I have the capacity to make them a wolf. However, because I’m a vampire [to an extent] too, they balance each other out... would I make another hybrid? Or just kill somebody?
I think my favourite is being a vampire. The way my eyes ice over, when I want something to happen my way... my parents say it’s a sheen of desire. I just call it really, really cool. The speed and sensors are amazing... Plus... Well, this will sound crazy; then again, my being is crazy, right? Anyway... I think I can read thoughts. It’s not perfect, and I plan on taking a class in it, but my parents don’t think I need it. All I know, is that when I talk to someone? All I have to do is look them in the eye- for one minute, really stare and not break it for one minute- and I know a lot about them. Like, really personal stuff, sometimes. Once, I found out the mailman was trying to hook up with this pro, who happened to be an exiled vampire princess [there are so many, it’s not a big deal in the supernatural world]. That was pretty cool.
Mostly, I try to stay out of people’s head, though. Especially people I’m around all the time.
So... yeah. Pretty human-looking on the outside, not really inside.
Actually, I don’t think I have any human in me. At all.
Awesome.
Oh. Crap. Sorry. Descriptions and explanations are mainly supposed to be about personality and physical appearance and shit, right? Um. Okay. Epic fail. Let me rectify this... or try to, anyway...
Okay. So. I’m, like, you know. Normal looking. Sorta. I mean I have this weird, woodsy look but kinda vampire-ish and sassy wizard from my mom... I curse a lot- I mean, swear, not, you know, I damn you to eternal hell! Kinda thing.
Urgh, this isn’t going well, is it?
Well, I have really weird hair. As in, it changes colour. It’s a sort of dark-ginger, light-brown colour when the sun hits it, but otherwise it’s totally black. My skin is weird too. My dad has this kinda tan look and my mom just looks human... but I’m white. As in, albino white, with this tan undertone. Does that even make sense?
I have icy blue eyes- I know, brown eyes are more dominant, and my dad’s are this really cool chocolate brown. But, anybody with vampire blood has this dominant gene that makes anybody with any vampire ancestor have these really flat, icy blue eyes... but, my mom’s were blue anyway, so mine are really bright. My teeth are really white and sharp too- they don’t look it, but if I bite my lip, I instantly draw blood. Plus, I am mega-strong. Oh, and if I get cut or anything, I heal real fast. As in, something that’ll take two months, takes two seconds. I’m immune to stakes and garlic and shit. The only real thing is stakes, anyway. Any sharp object, really.
I can die. I’m not undead, so I can die. It’s just really hard to kill me.
I’m tall. My body temperature depends on what form I take- usually, it’s just a couple more or less degrees than the human average. Slender- my parents both have killer bodies [hey, that I’m proud of], so I’m slim but super-strong. But you don’t see the muscles- I just feel the strength.
My hair used to be really long, and my mom used to plait it Indian style. I hated it, and told my parents to stop being so supernatural. Now, it’s cut and styled by Vidal Sassoon. It comes just below my shoulders, in long, usually ironed-straight, layers with short and choppy bangs. I have a side-fringe that usually covers on eye... sometimes I pin it up. I wear glasses, sometimes. I don’t need them, obviously [brilliant eyesight is a must, right?], but I don’t like bringing attention to my eyes. This way, people focus on the frame; bright red and purple circles on a thin, rectangular build. Not the freakishly bright blue eyes and so-long-people-might-trip eyelashes [Dad’s side].
Right, where did all this come from?
Oh. Yeah. Forms.
In the end, I just ticked Other and continued with my day.

**

It was lunch. I’d sat out the remainder of the fourth period in the office, acting confused. Ha, really, I should be. People say they don’t have identities? I have too much of one.
I came to a very colourful drinks stand. Lots of different coloured liquid drinks with no labels.
I sneakily took a look at the people beside me. Straight for the red. I caught a whiff as the boy beside me opened the bottle. Mm. Smelt like cranberry.
I picked a bottle up on my tray and thought nothing of it... until...
“You can definitely tell your new here.” I turned to see a guy. Talking. I looked behind me- nope. No-one there. This guy was talking to me. He was okay-looking, too.
He had light-brown [with highlights] hair that swept across his forehead, kind of obscuring one eye. His eyes were a blue-gray colour- not a freakish shade like mine, but pretty. He was tall. Black skinny jeans, a brown and white checked shirt with the sleeves rolled up and a white T-shirt underneath. He wore Vans, too. Black ones.
I was lying earlier, he wasn’t okay-looking, he was hot.
Shocker. And no, that wasn’t sarcasm.
I wrinkled up my nose.
“Am I really that obvious?” I asked.
The guy laughed.
“No! No, that’s not it.” He nodded towards my tray, a smile on his face. “You... well, you don’t seem vampire.”
I followed his gaze to my tray.
“What? O-Oh, my drink!” I laughed. “No, it’s cranberry. Though I guess it’d be hard to judge, without labels!”
“That’s how I do know.” The guy smirked. “It’s blood.” He picked up the bottle, unscrewed the cap and sniffed. “O negative.”
I raised an eyebrow and sniffed myself.
Damn. That did not smell nearly as unappetizing as it should.”
“O-kay, then.” I muttered, placing the bottle back on my tray. “Well, try something new everyday, right?”
The guy smiled.
“Yeah, sure. Though, not all people here would agree with that.”
I shrugged and picked up some- after looking at the mystery guy for verification and got raised eyebrows in response- water.
“Then again, who knows what you might need, right?”
“So, do I get to know your name?” The guy asked me, smiling as I put my water down beside my O negative.
“Oh! Right! Sure! Yeah! Just hang on a second...” I felt my pockets for my wallet.
“Hey, let me get that for you...”
“No, no, it’s fine, honestly-”
But by then he’d already thanked the lunch-lady and was pulling both my lunch tray and his down to the cutlery.
“Thanks... I’ll pay you back...”
“Nah, it’s okay.” He smiled and carried both of our trays to a nearby table, taking two opposite aisle seats. “I’m Mark, by the way. Mark Gold.”
“Oh. I’m Ray. Ray Black.” I shook his hand.
“Ray Black, huh? Cool name.” Mark smiled, taking a bite of his burger. “Is Ray short for something?”
“Uh, yeah, actually.” I smiled. “It’s kinda lame, though.”
“Oh, yeah?” Mark inquired. “C’mon, I won’t laugh.”
“You will.”
“No, I won’t, promise!”
“You will!”
“I swear, okay? Cross my heart and hope to die.” Mark said, hand over his heart and smiling playfully at me. “C’mon. Tell me.”
I sighed theatrically.
“Okay, okay, fine.” I played with the cap of my water bottle. “Estraya. Pronounced est-ray-ah. It means star.”
“That’s cool!” Mark exclaimed. “Nothing to be ashamed of! My name’s Mark, for crying out loud. What’s interesting about that?”
I laughed.
“I like Mark! Anyway, my parents were going for the whole unique thing when I came along. And I’m not just talking about the name.”
“Oh?” Mark replied casually. “How do you mean?”
Well, I thought to myself. It’s a long story...