Chapter Two- The New School

Jaden consulted a school map, located the vice-principal's office on it, and made his way through the crowd, feeling nervous and a little scared. He saw people with healthy skin tones and others with pale skin. He wondered if those with healthy skin were vampires posing as humans or werewolves. Could be both, he decided.

"Jaden?"

The brunette turned to see a short boy with sky-blue hair and no glasses. A grin lit up his face as recognizing him. "Syrus," he said as his friend ran up to him and bumped fists with him, knowing Syrus was stronger than he remembered; hence the fist bump.

"Ja, it's great to see you again."

"Same here and it's cool to finally be here."

"Got your schedule yet?"

"No. I was going to get it."

"I could show you where it is."

"No need. I saw it on my map." He held up the paper.

"Okay. Catch you later." Syrus vanished into the crowd and Jaden shook his head.

Whoa, that's not quite the Sy I remember. He's gained some confidence and wearing contacts it would seem. On second thought, being a vampire or a werewolf would cure one of whatever eye problems one had. Jaden continued to his destination, still a little surprised by the change in Syrus. He knocked on the door and heard, "Come in." He opened the door, stepped in, and closed it before saying, "Mr. Crowler?"

"Doctor Crowler," a tall pale man snapped behind a desk. "I have a PhD in education and prefer doctor."

Jadan executed a respectful bow. "Sorry, doctor."

"Fine. Who are you?"

"Jaden Yuki."

Crowler shuffled through a sheaf of papers in front of him. "Jaden Yuki…Yuki…Yuki…ah! Here we are." He scanned the page. "Sophomore transfer. Didn't turn fifteen until recently, hmm?"

"Yes, Doctor."

"Very well. Welcome to our school, Mr. Yuki. Here's your temporary schedule."

"Temporary?" he repeated as he accepted a rectangle piece of paper that also had his locker number and combination.

"All new students receive a temporary one for the first day. See the blank square at the bottom? Today, you will be allowed to visit the study halls of the vampires and werewolves and ask them questions. Tomorrow you will be placed in one of those halls based on your turning tonight."

"Okay." Jaden was aware that Crowler was a vampire based on the skin tone and the fangs that showed as he spoke. He wondered if all the teachers were vampires and decided there had to be at least one werewolf teacher.

"Well, off with you. You have time to find your locker and store your supplies in it."

Jaden left and was aware of a bald man in the open doorway of the principal's office. He smiled at the boy. "Hello. I'm Principal Sheppard." He held out a hand.

Jaden took it. "Hello, sir. I'm Jaden Yuki."

Sheppard smiled and Jaden realized that Sheppard was a werewolf due to the lack of fangs. Or is he a disguised vampire? "Are you a vampire, sir?"

Sheppard chuckled. "No. I'm a werewolf. It's believed that this school runs better with one werewolf and one vampire running it."

"Pureblood or half?"

"Pureblood. Most students are pureblood but half-breeds are valued just as much. Now, run along, my boy and welcome."

Jaden headed off, dropped off his afternoon binders, and then went to his first class. He was struck by how the class had vampire students and two werewolf ones…maybe. He did spot Syrus before taking an empty seat. Class started and the teacher had Jaden stand to give his name and that he was a half-breed with a father vampire. The students exchanged looks of faint disapproval except Syrus who already knew Jaden's parentage. Two students didn't seem to disapprove: One had blue hair and a happy grin while the other had black hair and a bandage over one eye. The blue-haired one gave Jaden a friendly grin while the other smiled and gave a nod.

Jaden's other morning classes involved him introducing himself to those who hadn't met him yet and the vampires again shared looks of disapproval. This annoyed him. Sheppard had said that half-breeds were just as valued as the purebloods, so why the disapproval? He left his last morning class to head for lunch, when he spotted Zane! "Hey, Zane!" he called as he came closer.

The taller boy turned and regarded Jaden with an almost cold look. "What?"

Jaden blinked. "Zane?" he asked, almost timidly. "Is something wrong?"

"You're a half-breed." Zane's voice was as cold as his look.

"I am. Didn't Sy tell you back when he found out?"

"Yes, but I was too naïve when I was your age to not be bothered by it. It was my upper classmates that realigned my opinion. Half-breeds tend to end up as werewolves, despite their parentage."

That explains the disapproval, but maybe I will prove them wrong by being one of them. "Perhaps, I won't be a werewolf."

"No, you will. Pity. You would have been an asset to my kind." Zane's voice held no emotion and the lack of emotion stunned Jaden, allowing Zane to depart.

Jaden turned to stare after him. Zane's changed too, but not in a good way. He headed for the cafeteria, feeling put-out at how the vampires perceived him. They dislike me because I'm a half-breed and thus they see me as someone who will become a werewolf. I don't want to be a werewolf; I want to be a vampire and I will tonight. Dad told me what werewolves are like and it sounds horrible. Turning into a half-wolf every night and desiring human flesh? No thanks. The full moon is another part I don't like. The idea of thinking like a normal wolf scares me. I don't want to live as a werewolf.

Jaden entered the cafeteria and joined the lunch line. He saw the food that he saw at his last school and the familiarity comforted him. He put the meat entrée, two side dishes, a fruit, and a milk carton on his tray as he slid it along the rails. When he reached the end, he saw something that definitely had not been at his last school's lunch choices.

There was a nest of ice and sitting in the ice were plastic vials of blood. A sign under it, used only on the first day of school said, "For vampire use only." A little further down was a selection of raw and cooked steaks with a sign saying, "For werewolf use only."

Well, yes that makes sense. Vampires drink blood to live while werewolves prefer raw and cooked meat. Both can eat normal food, though. Jaden glanced at a table of vampires to see regular food on their trays. Quick looks of cold disapproval aimed at him made Jaden turn away and seek out a place to sit and enjoy his meal.

His eyes roved over the room and again was struck by how many vampire students there were. A sea of pale, fanged teens met his eyes. Clearly the ones posing as humans had dropped the disguise, at least for now.

He spotted the freshmen sitting at a table near the vampires and considered joining them as they were human like him.

"Ja!" a voice called and he turned to see Syrus waving to him from a table on the other side of the room. He mentally shrugged as he headed over; he'd rather eat with his best friend than total strangers.