Mythfits

2- Steve

Later, in math class, I find that my thoughts keep drifting away from unit conversions (at least I think that's what Mrs. Leigh is talking about) and towards Ella, who's seated next to me. How did she become a werewolf? And why did she get so touchy when I mentioned dominance? It didn't seem like she knew what I was talking about, so what got her all riled up?

As far as I know, there are only 5 ways to catch Lycanthropy: 1) You could be born one. 2) You could eat a wolf brain. 3) You could get werewolf saliva into your bloodstream. 4) You could drink dew from a wolf's paw print. or, 5) You could create a special cream or potion.

She doesn't seem like the type of person who'd go around eating brains like some kind of whacked out-psycho-wolf-zombie-thing, but then again, you never know. That leaves the dew, the cream, and the saliva in the blood stream. And however much people may talk about wanting to be a werewolf or vampire or whatever, I don't think most people are actually serious. In the rare case where people succeed, they usually make a really big deal of it, so they end up really easy to spot; their massive ego acts like a giant beacon.

I'm also fairly sure that she hadn't been born one, because full-blooded lycans give off a slightly different vibe and are fairly rare, or at least they were in San Francisco. She also claimed not to know about the dominance system' which was weird. However, she may have not known about San Francisco because it was one of the major vampire-dominated city, so not many werewolves. Most cities generally have only one dominant type of semi-human species. Usually vampires or werewolves, but kinnara-dominated city's, kitsune-dominated cities and diwata-dominated cities do pop up, although there are only a few and are mostly in a few specific areas.

It's not like some complicated-plot type movie where vampires and werewolves can't stand each other, have been at war for eons, kill each other at every chance they get and all that crap, we just tend to stick to our own type. It's easier that way and prevents misunderstandings.

The only place that doesn't have a dominant type is here- middle of nowhere, South Dakota and it's surrounding towns. In the five years that my family's been here, we've found a few other vampires, two families of werewolves, (not counting Ella) kinnaras, centaurs, and several non-humanoid mythical creatures like basilisks and hell hounds. Which is strange, as they generally tend to stay away from major towns and cities.

Another odd thing is that, judging by the fact that she made it clear that she dislikes me, she probably knows what I am as well. How she knows, I have no idea- as far as I can tell, knowing what other people are is mainly a vampire and kitsune thing. Not a werewolf thing.

My train of thought is interrupted by Mrs. Leigh, the math teacher "Stephen, can you answer my question?" Feeling her eyes boring into me, I blush, my ears probably turning bright red, realizing that not only, A) I had been staring off into space and that B) I had absolutely no idea whatsoever what was going on.

"Um...." my brain shifts out of 'contemplative' and into 'frantic' as I try to think - what was Mrs. Leigh talking about? I look over at Kevin and Jake, two of my friends, but they shrug helplessly, palms up. Thanks for the help, bro's.

Looking over my shoulder at Ella, I can tell that I'm not getting any help there: through a part in her curtain of dark hair, her brown eyes, now with a hint of gold around the edge, glare out at me with contempt, daring me to say something. Okay.... what did I do?

Turning around to face the teacher, I can feel everyone staring at me in anticipation, "Um, sorry, ma'am, could you repeat the question?"

As if I hadn't said anything, Mrs. Leigh scans the room, " Are any of you actually paying attention?" When she pauses for an answer, no one raises their hand, not wanting to get called on by the teacher on the first day of school. Sighing, she begins what has become known as the 'beginning of the year lecture'. Unfortunately, she had been our math teacher since 4th grade and we'd gotten this lecture enough times for it to have a name. The content of the lecture hasn't changed much, but come to think of it, the maturity and attention span of the people in my class hasn't changed much either.

"Now, I know that it's the first day of school, and you are all probably still on the summer break mindset, but it is now time to get out of that state of thinking and start thinking like a student....." As Mrs. Leigh drones on, I stare off into space, my posture, along with everyone else's, automatically adjusting to mimic the 'Teacher-Proof Mindless Stare' and I settle in for a very long day.