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Dialogue Key:
"Speech"
"Emphasized speech"
"Powerful voice"
"Layered voices"
'Thoughts'
'Titles'
Season 1, Episode 1: First Day.
Kris Dreemurr, an androgynous teen, woke up, somehow on time. They weren't known for getting up at normal times, yet here they were.
Regardless, they got up and began getting dressed. They put on the same hoodie, sweatpants, and sneakers they wear every day. Their closet is full of nothing but that one outfit. Dozens of the same hoodies, pants, and shoes they wore every day.
Once they got dressed, they went to the kitchen to get breakfast and greet one of their two roommates.
"Mornin', Bendy," Kris muttered, mixing a cup of instant coffee.
"'Sup, Kris?" Benjamin 'Bendy' Stein asked. He was a tall, thin yet muscular man with a fixed grin, golden eyes, and inky black hair wearing a black biker outfit and sepia handkerchief.
Kris sipped the coffee as they answered, "Nothing much. You?"
"Well, Audrey's comin' to visit, so I'll be hangin' with her. Gotta pick her up from the station in a bit," Bendy explained.
Kris finished their coffee as they replied, "Huh, nice. Anything else?
"Nothing much besides that," Bendy piped, "Well, except you being up at a decent hour."
Kris sarcastically laughed as they grabbed a piece of bread and cream cheese from the fridge, slapped some of the cheese on the bread, and ate it as a sorry excuse for breakfast.
After 'breakfast', Kris brushed their teeth and worked their messy brown hair. They didn't care about making it look nice, they just wanted to make sure it properly cast a shadow on and hid their blood-red eyes.
Moving on, Kris walked out front to see the familiar heavily modified blue and silver muscle car, with their other roommate, Silas Welker, standing against it. His appearance of blue hair, a t-shirt, a blue jacket with rolled-up sleeves and golden stripes on the chest, fingerless gloves, jeans, and sneakers with a blue and silver microcassette recorder hooked onto his belt was normal, if a bit retro. What was not-so-normal were his metal faceplate and red visor.
Kris greeted, "Hey, Silas."
Silas responded in his slightly mechanical voice, "Morning, Kris."
Kris asked, "Could you pass me my cassette recorder? You know, the black and silver one?"
"Sure thing," Silas replied as he tossed Kris said cassette recorder.
They thanked him as they got onto their skateboard, put in their headphones, and pressed play as they rode to the first day of the new school year, 'Power of Love' playing.
As Kris rode along, they enjoyed the feeling of the wind in their face, the board smoothly gliding over the ground, the whirring as the board moved, the feeling of just being able to stand on the board and just enjoy it with the board propelling itself, everything. This all almost made them forget what it was. Almost.
Meanwhile, Luz Noceda was woken up by her mother to get ready.
"Mija, get up!," Camila Noceda called, "Don't wanna be late!"
Luz groaned as she rolled out of bed to get ready. She put on Eda's old Grudgeby jacket, a gift from her mentor, and looked at a set of letters from her friends in the Boiling Isles. She deeply missed them, especially her girlfriend Amity, and couldn't wait for them to start the Demon-Human realm exchange program, where witches from the Demon Realm would go to learn in the Human Realm. At the very least, her friends would be here by the end of the week.
After that, she went to the kitchen to get breakfast. Vee was already there, munching on some magical Hexes Hold 'Em cards to replenish herself. Luz poured herself a bowl of cereal and ate, all the while working on being more awake.
"Morning, Vee," she mumbled.
Vee perked up and replied, "Good morning Luz!"
Luz nodded at the Basilisk as she ate breakfast. When she finished eating, she went to the bathroom to brush her teeth and splash cold water on her face to fully wake herself up.
Luz continued to do all the little things she needed to do/missed due to tiredness. Things like fixing her hair, getting her backpack ready, brushing her teeth, etc.
While Luz was fixing her backpack, her mother Camila walked in and happily greeted, "Good morning, Mija!"
"Hola mami," Luz replied as she looked around her room.
After watching Luz scrounge around for a minute, Camila asked, "Luz, what are you looking for?"
"I'm looking for my laptop and my 'Good Witch Azura' book, but I can't seem to find it..." she trailed off.
"Have you looked in your old backpack?" Camila half asked, half suggested.
Luz stiffened, inhaled sharply, closed her eyes, and silently cursed herself for not bothering to look in the most obvious spot. She had looked at her desk, under her bed, her dirty clothes basket, and even the back of her closet, yet never considered that the things she was looking for were in her old backpack.
Luz opened the old backpack and, sure enough, her book and laptop were in there. With a sigh and a 'welp' shrug, she put the items into her new backpack, zipping it up closed enough to keep everything in, yet still open enough for someone to see a bit of her 'Good Witch Azura' book if they were behind her.
Luz got all of her stuff together and walked out of her room, her mother stepping aside to let her pass. Camila called out, "Have a nice day at school!"
Being fully ready and walking out the door, she called back, "Bye Mami, bye Vee!" as she began walking to school.
She had to walk as her mother's car was at the Witwicky Family Auto Shop. The car had recently been dented by an unknown navy blue muscle car with orange-tinted windows. As such, it needed to go into the shop for repairs. Fortunately, Spike Witwicky was one of the finest mechanics in town.
Luz walked down the road, looking all around. Dry brown, orange, and yellow leaves crunched under her feet and cool air blew, both signs of autumn. She enjoyed the season, both for pleasant weather and the two holidays in it, Thanksgiving and Halloween.
Luz continued to look for anything interesting but didn't see much besides an off-putting grinning biker driving to the train station. Something about the fact that every time Luz saw the guy he was always smiling felt a bit odd. But, she shook off the feeling and focused on the pleasant walk.
Luz got to a crossing and prepared to go across, but she stopped when she heard someone yelling, "Look out!" She barely had time to look at the source before being knocked over by a teen on a skateboard.
Kris and Luz were on the ground, getting their bearings after falling. Once they got up and got a good look at each other, they felt a few things.
At first, Luz looked up expecting to be mad at the person. She didn't expect someone like Kris. She found them to be intriguing. Things like their bandaged hands and wrists, the splotch of red peaking through the bandages on their right wrist, the splotch of purple peaking through the bandages on their left wrist, and the scar under their eye. But what she found most captivating was their blood-red eyes that seemed to almost glow. She was still a bit mad but intrigued nonetheless.
As for Kris, they immediately tried to get a read on her. Kris was good at reading people, and the impression they got was that she seemed kind but bold. A scar on her eyebrow signified that she had, at some point prior, gotten into the thick of it, yet her appearance didn't look hardened or jaded, instead being rather kind. However, they also felt something that they couldn't quite pinpoint. Some strange feeling in their chest and stomach that they weren't used to.
This first impression soon gave way to talk.
Luz, understandably frustrated, asked, "What the heck was that about?"
Kris, wanting to be polite but reserved, replied, "Sorry, I just-"
Before Kris could finish, the reason for why they rammed into Luz came speeding by. A black Ferarri sports car with red-tinted windows came speeding by, driving like a maniac. Luz could see that, had Kris not knocked her over, she would have been hit by that car. Kris sighed in relief, seeing that they were successful in what they were doing.
Luz, getting the idea of what Kris did, looked at them bewildered. She stammered, "Did... Did you just save my life?"
Kris looked at her and shrugged, replying, "I did."
Luz was surprised, to say the least. As Kris got up, they helped Luz get up as well. Kris explained, "I saw that maniac speeding like he was being chased by the devil himself, and I saw that you were about to walk right into that lunatic's path. So, I did what I thought was best, and rammed into you to stop you. Sorry about that, by the way."
Luz processed what they said and responded, "No no, you don't have to apologize... Jeez. I would have been roadkill if it wasn't for you.
Kris shrugged. "Eh, it's the least I could have done in the situation."
Luz shook her head. "Why aren't you taking this seriously?" she asked.
Kris answered, "It's not the first time I've saved someone's life. It is the first time I've interacted with the person I saved. Plus, I don't really take anything seriously."
"Oh wow..." Luz muttered. She awkwardly shifted on her feet before holding her hand out for a handshake. "My name's Luz Noceda."
Kris grinned at her as they shook her hand. "Kris. Kris Dreemurr."
Luz returned a smile as she resumed her walk to school. At the same time, Kris got back on their skateboard and also resumed their way to school. The two of them chuckled upon realizing they were both going the same way. As such, Kris got off their skateboard and walked beside Luz, holding the board under their arm.
As they went on their way, they started up some small talk. Kris felt obligated to at least be somewhat friendly with the girl they had just saved, and Luz was a natural extrovert.
Kris asked, "So, have you lived here long?"
"Not really," Luz replied, "Me and my mom moved here when I was six or something."
Kris chuckled. "Similar case with me. Came here when I was six. Well, without a mom. Or a dad. Or siblings."
Luz seemed a little concerned. "What do you mean by that?"
Kris casually explained, "I was an orphan. Came to town when I got adopted ten years ago."
Luz nodded but then had a confused expression. "Wait, you said you came here when you were six, right?"
"Yeah," Kris replied.
Luz continued, "And you also said you've been living here for ten years."
"That too," Kris responded.
Luz concluded, "So that would make you sixteen?"
"Yes. And?" Kris probed.
"I honestly thought you were my age," Luz answered.
Kris thought for a minute. "Well, how old are you?"
"I'm fourteen," Luz replied.
Kris shrugged, "Not that far off."
Luz and Kris continued walking for a bit, when Luz asked, "By the way, what's with the cassette thingy?"
"Oh, this?" Kris held up the 'cassette thingy' in question, "It's a microcassette recorder."
Luz looked at it with interest. "Huh... Looks bigger and different than most of the ones I've seen before..."
Kris slyly joked, "That's what she said."
Luz stopped dead in her tracks and sighed in exasperation, "Okay, wow."
Kris laughed, then apologized. "Sorry. I am very immature." After the brief half-life apology, Kris was still laughing, standing still.
"I can see that," Luz commented, resuming walking.
When Kris finally stopped laughing, they looked up and noticed Luz's backpack was open. Inside, they saw the corner of a graphic novel with the title 'Azura' being barely visible.
Kris pointed out, "Hey, what's that book you have?"
Luz turned around, a bit caught off guard by the sudden question, but realized what Kris was talking about.
"Oh, it's my 'Good Witch Azura' book," she explained, now being a lot more reserved in her appreciation of the series. She turned around again and resumed walking, changing her pace to be walking beside Kris.
Kris further asked, "Isn't it that super mushy 'manga-that-isn't-a-manga' fantasy magic series?"
Luz nervously chuckled, "Yeah, that's the one." She interpreted Kris' naturally sarcastic-sounding voice as them judging her.
Kris, not wanting her to think they were being judgemental, held up their hands and clarified, "Hey, I'm not judging. As a 'Dragon Blazers' fan, I'm no stranger to odd and niche fantasy stuff."
Luz nodded, then had a look of confusion. "Wait, what's 'Dragon Blazers'?"
Kris waved their hand, "It's an older fantasy RPG. More of a thing on the East side of town."
"'East side of town'," Luz pondered, "Wait... Are you from that part of town with all of those monsters?"
Kris stopped dead in their tracks when Luz mentioned that. They looked around, then grabbed her arm and pulled her into an alley.
Luz, understandably confused, sputtered, "Ow ow ow- what's going on?"
Kris ignored her, instead looking her dead in the eyes with their blood-red eyes that began to glow with greater intensity as they interrogated, "Did you just say 'monsters'?"
Luz, now a bit uneasy under Kris' intense glare, shifted and barely got out, "Yeah... Why?"
Kris further pressed, "How the hell do you know that?"
Luz, confused, responded, "I see them as being anthropomorphic animals, like reindeer, goats, bunnies, birds, and even that fish lady. The only thing they could be are monsters, but not in a bad way."
Kris studied her, then lifted the pressure off her, stepping back with their gaze lightening. "Very, very interesting..."
"What do you mean?" Luz asked, confused yet no longer uneasy.
"You're like me," Kris answered.
Luz, baffled, asked, "Like you?"
Kris explained, "Long story short, everyone living on the East side of town is a monster, and I'm the only human there. Only very special humans with very special abilities can see them as monsters, not the disguise made by the Mist. I can see them, and so can you. Therefore, you are like me in that one ability."
Luz, still a bit lost, asked, "What's 'The Mist'?"
Kris shrugged, "It's pretty much just a magic barrier that stops normal humans from seeing weird stuff like the monsters and instead makes them see what they expect to see. I don't understand it myself."
Luz, knowing she has barely any idea, and that Kris likely doesn't know or won't explain more, just decided to go along with everything Kris said, go "hm" in acceptance, and go back to walking to school.
As Kris and Luz left the alley and went back to walking to school, Luz asked, "So, you're the only human in a whole side of town populated solely by monsters... How's it like?"
Kris shrugged for the millionth time. "As far as I know, the monsters there act a lot like humans. The only oddities are young monsters asking me stuff like 'Where do skeletons come from?' and 'Does it hurt to have blood?'"
Luz chuckled. "Really? Kids there ask you those kinds of questions?"
"All the time," Kris simply answered.
The two walked for a while, before Luz commented, "So... That probably means you have a monster family..."
Kris replied, "Yep. Adopted by the Dreemurrs. Goat monsters."
Luz nodded, then went back to looking around. After a bit of walking around, the two got to the front of the school and entered, Kris tossing their skateboard into a small crevice only they knew about.
Kris, Luz, and all the other students got to the school for the first day. Established friend groups clumped together, and everyone spreaded out to grab their schedules and filtered into their classes. Kris and Luz chuckled some more when they found out they shared their first-period chemistry class, third-period art class, fourth-period gym, and seventh-period English class.
The two of them made their way to their chemistry class first. The two got seats next to each other, with Kris also having Berdly, a nerd blue bird monster who they are semi-friendly with sitting on their other side and Luz sitting by a pale, black-haired boy wearing a black skull shirt and a skull ring by the name of Nico DiAngelo.
The classroom looked like a standard chemistry class, nothing unusual. The bell rang, and all of the students settled into their seats. The chemistry substitute, Mr. Whitman, stood at the front of the room. He was the stand-in for an actual chemistry teacher, as the old one had quit and the new one wasn't available to work yet for at least two weeks, if not more. So, in the meantime, they had a substitute teach a pre-made curriculum until the actual teacher arrived
"Hello there, students," he greeted in a tired voice.
The students all uttered their greetings in response. "Hello." "Hey." "Morning."
The substitute simply nodded as he began to explain what was happening. As the substitute went on, Kris noticed Nico giving Berdly a death glare that was almost threatening in nature. They glared back at Nico, almost silently telling him, "Back off."
The teacher droned on and on with his explanation, just getting the basics out of the way. He continued until the bell rang, which made nearly all of the students get up to leave in unison.
As the students got up to head to their next classes, Kris made sure to always stand between Berdly and Nico.
As for Kris and Luz, their next classes were pretty boring. Kris had finance, Luz had geometry, and neither class was exactly exciting. Even in their shared third class of art, nothing of note happened. It was a gym class that was interesting.
As Kris, Luz, and everyone else filed into the gym, friend groups clumped together. Luz, who didn't have friends in the Human Realm, decided to go with Kris. There, they were chatting with their two monster friends Susie and Noelle, Susie being a purple lizard monster with rugged clothes and hair, and Noelle being a reindeer monster with a Christmas-color checkered blouse, a black skirt, and a belt with a chain accessory.
Luz approached them and asked, "Hey, can I hang out with you guys?"
Noelle slightly jumped, responding, "Oh! Uh..." while Susie gave her a suspicious look. However, Kris excused, "Relax. She and I are friendly with each other. Kinda saved her life this morning."
The two girls perked up at Kris' statement and immediately got more inviting, treating Kris saving someone's life like a normal thing. Noelle greeted Luz with a friendly, "Hello, my name's Noelle! What's yours?" while Susie went with a more blunt, "'Sup, dumbass?"
Luz responded to Noelle's greeting with a happy, "My name's Luz! Nice to meet you!" and let out a small laugh at Susie's blunt greeting.
Kris said, "Luz, these are my best friends, who are dating."
Noelle and Susie bashfully chuckled while Luz perked, "Oh, really? That's nice!"
Kris chuckled. "Yep. And let me tell you, Noelle is the gayest person on the planet."
"Kriiiiis!" Noelle playfully scolded while Susie laughed.
Kris defended, "Well am I wrong?"
Noelle whined, "I know, but still!"
Kris chuckled and shook their head as they continued, "Anyways, these monsters are two of the best gals I know."
The girls stiffened at Kris' comment, and Susie whispered to Kris, "Dude, you just said we were monsters in front of her."
Kris shrugged, "And? She already knows. She's a Seer."
Noelle and Susie immediately dropped their apprehension with an "oh."
As Kris, Susie, Noelle, and Luz chatted, the coach, a stout little man named Hedge, barked for everyone to go to the locker rooms. All four of them began to head over to the girl's locker room to change and get ready.
While heading over, Luz inquired, "So, Kris, any particular reason why you chose to go to the girl's locker room, being nonbinary and all?"
"Because both Noelle and Susie and here, and they're both girls, so I go in the same locker room as them."
Luz nodded, understanding Kris' reasoning, and continued on her way. When the four of them got in, they all went to their lockers and began changing. However, Luz noticed that Kris' gym uniform was a male uniform, looked old, and had the name "Asriel" on the tag instead of Kris' name. She thought about asking but decided against it.
While changing, another girl seemed to take an interest in Noelle and Susie, glaring at them. This girl, Greek in complexion with blonde hair and stormy gray eyes, was Annabeth Chase.
The two monster girls noticed her staring at them and tried to ignore her. But the demigod didn't make it easy, glaring as if Noelle and Susie were some kind of threat. Considering her previous experiences with monsters trying to kill her, that assumption wasn't totally uncalled for. Luz also noticed this, standing by the two monsters.
Eventually, Susie got fed up and bit, "Hey, dude? Can you stop staring at us?"
Annabeth simply glared at them. She seemed very apprehensive towards the two monsters as if they were a threat. In her experience, with them being monsters, they were. Yet, at the moment, she seemed like the more dangerous one.
Seeing that the demigod wasn't backing down, Kris stepped between her and their friends, their blood-red eyes almost beginning to glow. This odd eye color made Annabeth's eyes widen in shock.
Kris glared at her with a stone-cold expression, biting, "Didn't you hear them? Back. Off."
Annabeth's gaze narrowed at Kris as she reached to put her hand on the hilt of the knife she carried. In her mind, what they were doing made no sense: they were defending monsters. Plus, they were doing it while not looking very fit for a fight.
As Kris returned her look, they recognized that she was trying to discreetly reach for a hidden weapon. And it worked, for the most part. No one but Kris realized what she was reaching for.
In response, Kris put their hands in their hoodie pockets. Unbeknownst to everyone else, they were grabbing the dagger they kept in their inventory.
Kris glared at Annabeth, their gaze about as sharp as the sheather dagger they had hidden. After a minute of the silent standoff, Annabeth gave up and walked away.
Kris, seeing that the demigod was leaving them alone for the time being, turned around and let go of the dagger. Seeing that it was over, Luz and Noelle sighed in relief, and Susie scoffed and muttered, "Asshole."
They all shook off the experience and gave each other crooked smiles. Then, they resumed friendly chatting until Coach Hedge's blaring whistle signaled all of them out.
As the group of four walked out, Kris silently groaned when they and their friends saw Annabeth and Nico with two other guys. One had raven hair and sea-green eyes, while the other had darker skin, dark and curly hair, and a nature-lover vibe. They were the demigod Percy Jackson and the satyr-in-disguise Grover Underwood. At the same time, Annabeth's eyes narrowed upon seeing the strange mortal humans who stood by monsters.
Before either group could do anything, Coach Hedge barked for the class to go into two teams, with the demigod group and the monster group ending up on different teams. When Hedge, also a satyr-in-disguise, finally paid attention to each group, he noticed the monsters, but couldn't do anything. He simply told the two teams to start playing dodgeball.
Each group played very differently. All of the demigods were fit and could equally catch and throw balls, with no one demigod (or the single satyr Grover) specializing in catching or throwing. Meanwhile, on the monster side, Susie threw balls like a beast but wasn't that good at aiming and didn't bother to dodge, Noelle was fast and could catch pretty well but her throws, while accurate, weren't that strong, Kris dodged and accurately threw like it was no issue and near-instantly reacted, and Luz was the worst performing, not only of her group, but of both the demigod and the monster groups.
The game went on for a while until Hedge called for the end of the game and for everyone to get ready for the bell. Everyone funneled into the locker rooms as they changed, the ones who needed to shower showering. All the while, Annabeth watched the monster group with interest, Kris especially thanks to their exceptionally good athletic performance despite seeming physically unimpressive.
When they finished getting ready, everyone headed out of the gym and those who wanted to eat in the first lunch block made their way to the cafeteria to get their food.
Kris, Susie, and Noelle met up with Berdly and headed to their table, Luz following the group as she had no friends in the human realm.
Regardless, Kris and their friends sat down at a table and began chatting and eating. They talked about various topics, with Luz trying her best to follow along with the discussion due to her not being familiar with all of the topics they were talking about.
However, midway through their lunch, the demigod group returned, sitting right next to the monster group. The way everyone was arranged, the monsters were in between a wall and the demigods, truly stuck between a rock and a hard place
Kris and their friends tried to go back to having a normal lunch, eating and chatting, but couldn't ignore the presence of the demigods. The demigods, despite a generally intimidating appearance, seemed to believe that Noelle, Susie, and Berdly were the threats.
Kris and Noelle, due to Noelle being the smartest and Kris having the best intuition and instincts, knew that the opposing group was a group of demigods. Berdly, due to knowing a lot but not being very smart or wise, understood that they were different but didn't understand how so. Susie and Luz, due to Susie being kinda dumb and Luz not having any experience, barely understood anything. But all five of them reached the same conclusion: Percy, Annabeth, Grover, and Nico knew about and could see the monsters.
While the monster friend group was chatting, Annabeth, who was sitting next to Kris, asked them, "So, what's your name?"
Kris simply replied, "My name's Kris."
Annabeth nodded as she leaned over to look past Kris. She asked Luz, "And you?"
"I'm Luz," she replied.
Annabeth then asked the both of them, obviously in regards to Susie, Noelle, and Berdly, "So, how long have you known those three?"
Luz shrugged, "I've honestly only known Kris and their friends for today."
"I've known those three for years," Kris answered, "They're my friends."
Annabeth seemed a tad bit surprised, and almost suspicious, at Kris' reply, but nodded. She thought, 'How could a human be friends with monsters?' However, before she could say anything else, Luz blurted out a question to the three monsters, "So, what is it like? Being monsters and all?"
Kris, Susie, Noelle, and Berdly understood what Luz was doing. Meanwhile, Annabeth, Percy, Nico, and Grover were shocked when she blatantly admitted to knowing about the monsters via her question.
Berdly, not being able to help it even during the tense situation, corrected, "You're going to have to be more specific. That question is way too vague for any one answer."
Kris, Noelle, Susie, and Luz all groaned at Berdly's correction. Luz clarified, "Fine. What exactly is different between monster and human culture?"
Noelle answered, "Not much. We monsters eat a lot of the same foods, listen to a lot of the same music, play a lot of the same games, and use the same internet."
"Is there any monster-specific stuff?" Luz further inquired.
Kris explained, "I mean, there are restaurants like the ICE-E's P'e'zza chain, QC's Diner, and Muffet's Bakery, all of which are monster-owned and operated. There's also stuff like the 'Dragon Blazers' video-game franchise and the way they do funerals, which are almost completely exclusive to monsters."
"What about biological differences?" Luz questioned.
Berdly answered, "Monsters have magic-based bodies that turn to dust upon death, while humans have physical bodies that decay. Of course, there's also the obvious fact of us being anthropomorphic animal monsters."
"Hold on... If monsters turn to dust, then how do they do funerals?" Luz asked.
Susie explained, "Pretty much, we just scatter the dust of that monster on their favorite thing, then bury that thing."
Luz nodded, then went to eat a bit of her lunch. However, she cringed when she noticed she was eating chicken nuggets.
She apologized, "Sorry, Berdly. You know, about eating chicken nuggets with you being a bird and all."
All of the monsters and Kris were confused for a second, as none of them, not even Berdly, were bothered by her choice of lunch. However, they soon realized why she apologized.
Berdly replied, "Luz, you eating chicken nuggets doesn't bother me."
Luz, confused, asked, "Why not? You're a bird, and I'm eating another bird."
"First of all," Berdly explained, "I'm a bluebird, not a chicken. Secondly, I'm not an actual bird, I'm a monster. It doesn't matter to me if you eat chicken."
Luz gaped, "Ooooohhhhh..." when she realized what he meant. She then sheepishly chuckled as she continued asking questions.
As Luz continued asking questions about monsters and Kris and their friends continued answering questions, the demigods and the satyr kept on getting more and more confused. Why was Luz fine with these monsters? And why did Kris talk as if they were one of them? They couldn't fathom any answer that fits with their perspective of monsters.
Eventually, unable to keep quiet, Percy interjected, "Wait, you two can see the monsters?"
"Yes, we can," Luz responded.
"And you're fine with it?" Grover questioned.
"We are," Kris replied, "Why wouldn't we?"
"But... They're monsters," Nico muttered.
Susie snarkily commented, "We can hear you, ya know?"
"Still, how are you fine with it?" Annabeth asked.
Luz responded, "I'm pretty receptive to new, weird stuff," while Kris explained, "I was raised by a monster family."
The demigods seemed to accept Luz's explanation, but Kris' reveal made them all gape.
"You were raised by monsters?" Annabeth gawked.
Kris casually replied, "Yes, I was."
Percy stammered, "But... but-"
However, Kris, who had gotten tired of the staring, bit, "You know, not all monsters are the same homicidal beasts you demigods are used to."
The demigods' and the satyr's jaws dropped when they said that, as Kris had openly admitted to knowing they were demigods and knowing about the monsters the demigods fought. However, before they could ask any more questions, the bell rang, signifying the end of the first lunch block and the start of the second lunch block.
As Kris, Luz, and the monsters gathered their things to head to a different location for the second lunch block, the demigod group got up to follow them.
While the two groups were walking, the demigods were trying to wrap their heads around the existence of a town full of benevolent monsters. Sure, they did know friendly monsters could exist. After all, Percy's Cyclops brother Tyson, Percy's pet hellhound Mrs. O'Leary, and the harpy Ella were all examples of friendly monsters. But they believed that they were the microscopic exception. Now, they're hearing about a town full of them. To the demigods, it didn't make sense.
The remainder of the school day was pretty boring in comparison to the morning. The demigods, while not fully understanding the existence of friendly monsters, decided to just accept it and move on.
As well, most of the exciting things had already happened. They were all separated for the most part in their final three classes. The only exceptions were Kris, Susie, Noelle, Berdly, Luz, Nico, and Annabeth's shared eighth-period English class. Nothing too interesting happened, so I won't bother describing any of it.
With that in mind, I'll be skipping to the final bell.
At the ring of the final bell, students got up from their desks, packed their things, and went to either get home, get food, or hang out.
When they got to the front lot, Kris, Susie, Noelle, and Berdly huddled together to figure out where they would be going.
"So..." Susie asked, "Should we head over to the D.W., or what?"
"Unfortunately, if you were to head over there, I wouldn't be able to join you," Berdly commented.
Susie asked, "Why not?"
Berdly explained, "I have family board game night, and last time I missed that, my mom grounded me and my older sister Martlet for a month. Never heard the end of that."
Susie then proposed, "Well, maybe just me, Kris, and Noelle can go?"
"Sorry," Noelle apologized, "But I have a dentist appointment I need to go to."
Susie groaned. "Then it'll just me me and Kris?"
"Nah," Kris interjected, "I have to head over to Mr. Witwicky's shop to make some payments and pick up some parts, then I gotta go to a quick brunch with my dad, and I have to pick up some mashed potatoes and green beans from the convenience store 'cause Bendy's doing steak dinner for Audrey since she's gonna be in town."
"Why are all of you busy?" Susie complained:
Kris consoled, "Hey, maybe you can tag along, perhaps come over for dinner? Can't pass up free food."
"Free food is good, but I'd rather head to the D.W." Susie explained.
Kris shrugged. "Sorry, Susie. Maybe next time."
Susie groaned, "Whatever. Maybe I'll head over for that steak dinner or something."
Kris laughed at Susie's comment as they began to walk off, grabbing their skateboard from the crevice. They called back, "If you change your mind, you know where to find me!"
While Kris separated from the group, Luz went to walk to the Auto Shop. At the same time, Luz, who also had to go to the Witwicky Family Auto Shop to meet her mom while picking up the car, began walking to her destination. When the two teens realized they were going the same way again, they laughed at the jolly coincidence.
While Kris and Luz happily chatted, Percy went back to his mother's new apartment in the northeastern part of Gravesfield. Not only did Paul, his stepdad, get a new job at the high school, and his mom, Sally, also got a new job, but Percy, in keeping with his educational record, got kicked out of every school in New York... Somehow. As a result, the family moved here. Annabeth decided to tag along because she wanted to get a taste of life as a mortal, seeing as she lives at Camp Half-Blood year-round. Nico, a nomad, decided "Why not," and Grover finally had enough time off to get together with Percy and Annabeth.
Kris and Luz walked to the auto shop, talking to each other about why each of them was going there.
"My mom's car got hit by some jerk in a navy blue muscle cat with windows that were tinted orange... For some reason," Luz explained. She joked, "The tint was probably why the guy couldn't see."
Kris chuckled. "Heh. Anyway, Spike did some work on a motorcycle belonging to one of my housemates, Bendy, so I have to pay him for that. At the same time, I have to pick up some parts. So, I figured I'd go pick up the parts and pay him for the work he did on Bendy's bike."
The two continued with general chatting, and then the topic of Kris' cassette recorder came back up.
Luz asked Kris, "So how did you get your hands on that cassette recorder anyways? I haven't seen anything like that online."
Kris explained, "My other housemate, Silas, made a custom one for himself. When we became friends, he made a copy for me."
"Oh, that's nice!" Luz commented.
Kris nodded in agreement with Luz's statement. And after a bit, Luz asked, "Hey, can I have a listen?"
Kris looked at her, then shrugged as they took their microcassette recorder out from their pocket with the headphones and handed it to Luz.
Kris instructed, "Okay, you wanna hook the thing onto your pants or just put it in your pocket. Then, put the headphones on, and when you have everything hooked up, press the silver rectangle above the two smaller rectangles and between the two triangle buttons. That's the play/pause button, and it'll start the music. And if you want it to be louder or quieter, there's a volume dial on the side. Dial it up to turn up the volume, and dial it down to turn down the volume."
Luz nodded and hummed in acknowledgment, doing everything Kris said to do. Then, she pressed play, and 'Hand Me My Shovel, I'm Going In!' by Will Wood began playing. This was her first time hearing it, and she liked the way the song sounded despite how unhinged it was. She liked it enough to turn up the volume way high. However, Kris had forgotten to warn her that turning the volume up too high practically made the headphones noise canceling, meaning she couldn't hear anything going on around her.
Since they were on a sidewalk, it was fine. After all, with Kris looking out for Luz, they could easily pull her out of harm's way even if she herself didn't notice. However, just before the two of them were about to cross a street, Kris' attention was caught by a certain black Kenworth K100 Aerodyne sleeper truck with purple-tinted windows hauling a dark silver trailer.
When Kris was distracted, Luz went to cross the road. Unfortunately, at the same time, a red Freightliner FL86 cab-over semi truck with a blue bed and hauling a silver trailer was driving down the road. Thankfully, both Kris and the driver noticed Luz at the same time, so the driver could slam on the brakes while Kris tackled Luz out of the way, rolling to make sure they were the one to hit the ground.
While Luz was recovering from the sudden shock, Kris, who had somehow completely recovered nearly instantly despite taking the brunt of the impact, checked on Luz while asking, "Are you alright?"
Luz got her bearings back and looked at Kris, responding, "I think so..."
The driver then jumped out of the truck and went to check on Luz and Kris.
The driver blabbered, "Oh my God! Are you okay?!"
Luz shook her head and looked up at him, replying, "Yeah... I think."
"I am so sorry!" the driver apologized, still very guilty over nearly hitting a kid with his truck, even though Luz was more at fault.
Kris brushed themself off and got up, turning to the man and beginning to apologize, "Sorry, man. It's just that my friend-" However, they cut themself off when they realized they knew him.
"Cade?" Kris asked, tilting their head. They hadn't expected to see him around here.
Cade looked at Kris and also realized he knew them. He gaped, "Kris?"
They stood there for a second, collecting their thoughts, before they chuckled, awkwardly smiled, and shook hands.
"Hey, man," Kris greeted, cutting the handshake off short.
Cade nervously chuckled, "H-hey..." as he scratched the back of his neck. "Sorry for almost running ya over."
"How's life been treating you?" Kris asked.
Cade shrugged and waved his hand, responding, "Oh, you know. The usual."
Kris chuckled as they helped Luz get up. Cade was about to say something else, but the same black truck that caught Kris' attention earlier also caught Cade's attention.
A sharp look of concern crossed his face as he dismissively waved them off, saying, "Again, sorry... Sorry for nearly running you over... just go right along."
Kris simply shrugged it off as they and Luz began walking into the auto shop.
As they did, Luz asked, "Wait, you know that guy?"
"Sorta," Kris replied, "I met him a while ago. Pretty cool guy."
"And what was that all about...?" Luz asked, referring to why he suddenly looked so on edge.
Kris responded, "Probably just saw something odd. No big deal."
Luz silently muttered, "Huh..." as they both entered the Witwicky Family Auto Shop.
Kris and Luz entered the shop, and they were immediately greeted by Spike Witwicky, the owner of the Auto Shop.
He said a friendly greeting, "Hello there, and good afternoon!"
Luz smiled as she greeted, "Hello Mr. Witwicky!" while Kris simply nodded and replied, "Hey, Spike."
Spike chuckled as he saw the two wildly different yet very similar teenagers, both of which he knew in some way.
Spike looked at Luz with a smile as he notified her, "By the way, your mother and the car are in the back. I'll have Daniel help you get there."
Luz beamed, "Thank you!" as she began walking. As she did, Spike looked to where his two sons, the younger brother Daniel and the older brother Sam, were sitting. He called to Daniel, "Danny, can you help Luz find her mother?"
Daniel smiled as he got up and led Luz to the spot where Camila and the car were. There, Camila was talking to Carly Witwicky, Spike's wife.
Meanwhile, back at the front, Spike turned to Kris and raised a brow. Kris perked up and handed a bag full of wadded-up cash, also known as the payment for some of the parts he had given Kris before and the parts he would be giving them today.
Spike chuckled, then turned to Sam. "Hey, Sammy?"
"Yeah?" Sam replied.
Spike requested, "Can you get the parts for Kris?"
"Sure," Sam responded, getting up from his phone and walking over to the shelves where parts were stored.
As he searched in the wrong place, Charlie Watson, his cousin, called out, "Hey, cuz', you're looking in the wrong place. The parts are in a bag on the other shelf."
Sam looked up at the shelf Charlie was talking about, and sure enough, a bag with a bunch of parts labeled "For Kris" was on it.
He called back, "Thanks!" as he grabbed the bag and walked it over to his father Spike, who handed it to Kris.
As Kris was about to walk out, Luz waved and shouted out, calling them over to meet her mom. Spike raised a brow, to which Kris responded with a lopsided smile.
Kris and Spike walked over to where Luz, Camila, and Carly were. Luz smiled, then grabbed Kris' shoulder and presented them to her mom, catching Kris off-guard.
Luz introduced, "Mami, this is Kris, my friend!" However, for some reason, being called a friend made Kris happier than it normally would.
Camila chuckled as she looked between Luz and Kris. The difference between the two was wild. They were like night and day.
Camila asked, "So, how did the two of you meet?"
Kris shrugged as they nonchalantly answered, "I saved Luz's life from being run over."
Camila chuckled and nodded along for a few seconds before she finally processed what Kris said. When she did, her jaw dropped.
She looked at Luz and gawked, "You nearly got run over?!"
Luz just stammered while Kris explained, "Okay, the first time was pretty out of her control."
Camila had to do a double-take as she gawked, "The first time?!"
Luz flinched, and Kris offered, "Look, Ms. Noceda, before you go off on a 'panicked concerned mom' tangent, at least let me explain what happened."
Camila was about to argue but realized it would be better to know what happened. So, she agreed, "Alright. What happened?"
Kris explained, "So, she nearly got run over twice. The first time, she had already checked both sides before she went to cross the road, but some maniac in a black Ferarri with red windows came driving down the road like a maniac, so I tackled her out of the way. The second time was admittedly a little my fault. See, I had given her my microcassette recorder because she wanted to try it out. However, I forgot to warn her about the fact that the headphones practically block out all outside noise, and I also kinda got distracted, so I couldn't keep an eye on her. She walked out onto the street, a truck nearly hit her, but the guy stopped and I tackled her out of the way again."
While Kris was explaining, Camila gave Luz a look while Luz sheepishly smiled. However, Spike's brow seemed to crease in slight concern as he heard Kris' description of the car that nearly ran Luz over the first time. It seemed like that specific car slightly concerned him.
When Kris was finished, Camila looked at Luz and shook her head, jokingly scolding, "When we get home, I'm teaching you some road safety little lady." To which, Luz responded with nervous chuckling.
Kris was about to walk away, but Cade, with concern written all over his face, came up to the group. He tapped Kris and Spike's shoulders and pointed his thumb in the direction of Spike's office, asking, "Hey, can I talk to the both of you in your office?"
Both Kris and Spike turned to Cade, then shrugged and walked over to the office, Kris leaving their backpack and skateboard and both leaving everyone else behind. Camila raised a brow, and Luz's curiosity was peaked.
Against her better judgment, Luz snuck over to the office window to try to listen in to what they were talking about.
Luz crouched under the window, trying to see if she could make out anything. Kris, Spike, and Cade stood around a desk as Cade began talking about something that he was clearly concerned about. However, Luz couldn't make out any of it, only seeing Cade point at the door and assuming that whatever he saw was outside.
Seeing that she wouldn't be able to get anything from Cade, who had his back turned to the window Luz was looking through, she decided to try to read Spike. Spike's brow was creased in thought as he listened to what Cade had to say. However, he betrayed no detail of their conversation. Rather, he nodded along and turned his attention to Kris.
Luz thought that Kris would be easy to read. After all, they were very blunt with who they were and didn't hide behind anything. However, she forgot to account for one thing: Kris' poker face. From what Luz could tell, Kris was relaxed, but she had no idea about what they could possibly be saying. They just stood there calm as could be. Kris simply brushed things off and stood with enough confidence to make them look like the authority figure in the conversation despite being the youngest and the shortest person in that room.
Luz wanted to stay to try to figure out more, but she had to quickly get back to her mom when she noticed the three of them start to leave the office. After all, she didn't want to get caught eavesdropping.
As the three of them left, they all went their separate ways. Cade left to go back to his truck, Spike went back to the front, and Kris walked back to where Camila and Luz were.
When Kris walked back to where the Nocedas were to grab their stuff, Luz asked, "What was that all about?"
Kris brushed it off. "Nothing. Cade just heard about a demolition derby coming into town. With this derby, the participants are known for being rowdy and, well, crazy. He was just concerned about people getting hurt."
Luz nodded, then asked, "So, where you going next?"
"To my dad's place for brunch," Kris answered, "East side."
Camila interjected, "Is your father going to pick you up?"
Kris simply replied, "Nah. I'll just head over on my board." They lifted up the skateboard for emphasis.
Both Nocedas looked at Kris with a slight purse on their lips as they watched them begin to walk away. However, Luz called out, "Maybe we could drop you off?"
Kris looked back, a little confused, then grinned. "Sure. Why not?"
Luz smiled at them and looked at her mom. Camila simply nodded as she agreed to drop Kris off at their father's place.
Camila went to pay Spike for his work, then went to drive her car out of the shop. She stopped to let Kris and Luz put their stuff in the car.
They both took off their backpacks and put them in the trunk. Luz noticed that Kris had accidentally left their backpack a bit open, and she could see a book. It was old and leather-bound, but she didn't recognize it. She did see the title: 'The Illusion of Living'.
While Kris settled their stuff, Luz offered, "Hey, can I put your board into the trunk for you?"
Kris shrugged and replied, "Sure. Thanks."
Luz nodded as she squatted down to pick up Kris' skateboard. However, when she lifted it up, she noticed that it was strangely heavy. She commented, "Jeez, what is this thing made of?"
"Metal," Kris shrugged as they leaned against the car. When Luz finished putting the board into the trunk, she shut it and walked to get into the car, Kris opened a door for her and she happily thanked them.
Kris and Luz both sat in the back of the SUV while Camila drove. As the two teens talked, Camila asked Kris, "By the way, what's the address for your father's place? I need it for the GPS."
Kris answered, "Just put in 'Flower King'. That's his shop, and he lives there."
Camila nodded, "Thanks!" as she put in what Kris said. Since it was a store, she just had to put in the name, and the GPS gave her directions to the place.
As the teens chatted, Camila considered asking Kris about their father. Eventually, she worked up the courage to ask, "Hey, Kris?"
"Yeah?" Kris responded.
Camila continued, "Why does your father live in his store? Why not with you and your mother?" And, although Luz considered the possibility of the question being too personal, she was curious as well.
Kris seemed a bit put off, but honestly answered, "My parents are divorced."
Camila and Luz went quiet as they heard their answer. Both decided it would be best not to press any further.
Instead, they talked about more casual things during the car ride. Kris, in spite of the personal question with an uncomfortable answer, seemed unbothered and quite happy, much to Luz and Camila's relief.
After a few minutes of driving, they eventually got to the Flower King shop. It was a small flower shop that, while not exactly being run down, wasn't in the best condition. Outside was a single rusty pickup with bags of soil and tools in the truck bed.
Camila found a spot to park, and Kris got out of the car and went to the trunk to get their stuff with Luz coming to help them. After getting all of their stuff out, with Luz commenting again about the weight of the skateboard, Kris had all of their stuff as they walked up to the front door. Before fully going, Kris turned back to look at Luz and waved.
As Kris walked to the door and Luz got back into the car, both Nocedas were able to catch a glimpse of Kris' father, Asgore, greeting the teen at the door. Luz saw a large goat man with a fire-orange beard and large horns wearing a Hawaiian shirt and cargo shorts, but she knew that all Camila saw was a regular human.
They waved at the two Dreemurrs and left, catching a wave back from the pair. If they had stayed longer, they would have heard Kris call Luz a friend. But, no matter. It's obvious that both are aware of the mutual sentiment.