Chapter Four

Something nice and warm and silky was pressed against her leg. Serena slowly opened her eyes and looked down. Her eyes widened and her hands shot up to muffle the scream that followed.

'Oh, my God! Oh, my God!' she thought, almost hysterically, as she looked down again. 'I have a t-tail!'

Slowly, taking in deep breaths, she sat up in the bed and assessed the white thing attached to her behind. 'Okay. There must be some rational explanation for this! There has to be!'

Thinking back to the last few days, she still couldn't come up with any conclusion as to why she had the tail. Oh well, time for some research.

Rolling over onto her stomach, she pulled out the Mercury mini-computer and typed in 'tail'. She groaned as tons of info came up.

'I'm never gonna be able to look through all this.' Then something caught her eye. She clicked the arrow and then blinked as a picture of a beautiful young woman with flowing black hair and black eyes stared back at her.

The caption read: A 50-year-old Saiyan female.

"What?!" she exclaimed in disbelief. "That lady is way too young to be 50!"

Then she remembered her father and that man, Vegeta. They both looked quite young but she knew that her dad was at least 35 years old.

Pondering over how young Saiyans looked, Serena clicked ENTER for more information and then everything began to click into place.

The passage read: Saiyans are usually born with brown or black tails. Saiyans generally live longer then humans and normally look much younger then they are supposed to look in human terms. Some Saiyans, mostly lower class, feel pain when their tail is pulled on or irritated in any way. Tails can also give a sense of pleasure though and give Saiyans a slight energy boost. If the tail is removed, the Saiyan will feel disoriented at first and will probably be a little clumsier then usual. If the Saiyan has never had previous training then the Saiyan will probably seem inferior to most humans.

Saiyans are normally an aggressive species. From young to old, they are trained in many types of martial arts and know how to create energy blasts. They are born with enhanced senses like that of a monkey, and, if they look at the full moon while their tail is still attached, they will transform into large monkeys who sometimes may or may not have control of themselves.

'Well, that explains some things,' Serena thought, rolling her eyes. 'Like why I've always been a klutz. Oh well. I think that's enough for today. I'll read more tomorrow. Now I've got to find an actual job and figure out to hide this tail.'

She emerged from the room an hour later, looking like any normal human girl. Well, any normal girl with silvery-blonde hair and silver-flecked blue eyes. She was dressed in white tennis shoes, light tan cargo pants, and a formfitting white top under a light tan button down shirt. To jazz up her outfit a bit, she had added gold crescent moon earrings and a matching necklace. A golden ring with an interlocking star and crescent moon adorned her finger and there was a simple gold watch on her left wrist. To finish up the costume, she held a nice and compact purse that was also a light tan to match her outfit. She clutched a manila portfolio in her left hand filled with papers and recommendations.

Smiling slightly, Serena left the building and then entered a school nearby called the Orange Star High School to look for a job.

She got a few whistles from the boys and envious looks from the girls as she made her way to the office, doing her best to look calm and in charge.

"Ummm... Hi, how can I help you, miss?" the secretary asked.

Serena smiled brilliantly and replied, "I'm looking for a job and I thought this would be the best place to start."

"Aren't you a little young?" the secretary asked skeptically, eying her critically.

Serena smiled again politely. "Things aren't always as they seem. I've already earned my college degree."

The woman gaped at her. "How old are you, miss?"

"I am eighteen."

"That isn't possible!"

"I assure you that I am an exception. I have my diploma if you wish to see it and I am sure that I could prove my intelligence by taking an exam, could I not?" Serena asked, sounding completely plausible.

'I'll win either way. If they give me an exam, I'll pass. And they can't possibly refuse someone that looks as smart, confident, and in control as I am at the moment. I'd make a great teacher 'cause I'm young, I'll know what the students are thinking, and I can make them pay attention. This is easier then I thought.'

The secretary sized her up once more and then sighed. "Please speak to the school principal about such matters as attaining a job in this school district. I am not authorized to do so."

Serena plastered on a fake smile and nodded slightly. "All right. Thank you very much. Can I speak to him right now?"

Inside she was actually fuming and overly annoyed at the secretary. 'You could have just said yes and made everything easier. Fine, I'll go talk to the stupid principal.'

She entered his office and sat down. He talked something over with the secretary and then nodded, sitting down at his desk. "I understand that you are looking for a job, Miss..."

"Tsukino," she answered. "Serena Tsukino."

"Yes, Miss Tsukino, you are eighteen years old and you have a college degree and high school degree."

"Yes, I do," she replied calmly, drawing out two certificates, her college diploma and high school diploma.

The principal looked over the papers and then smiled. "Welcome to Orange Star High, Miss Tsukino. You are now a calculus professor."

Serena flashed him a dazzling smile. "Thank you, sir," she said calmly, standing up to shake hands with him. 'Now what was it that Raye said about teachers needing teaching degrees? That must be completely bogus in this world or something.'

When she finally got away from all the people, she pumped her fist in the air and exclaimed in triumph, "Look out, people! Here comes Professor Tsukino!"