Abnormalities

(Lena's POV) Chapter One

Summer was near its end. Students were dreading the fact that school in Old Ranch was about to start. I, for one, was very excited. I grew up always excited and ready to learn, from my ABCs in kindergarten to Chemistry Honors in tenth grade. That made me the oddball of the crowd. I was fine with it; I didn't need to receive any attention from the hybrids and monsters of this place.
Old Ranch sounds like an ordinary city in the middle of nowhere, full of cowboys and horses, but it's actually the home of many creatures that most humans can't imagine. Nymphs the size of wrestlers, human-animal hybrids (which are basically different variants of werewolves), and mermaids that can walk on land once dry, they all exist here. Because of the enormous distance between Old Ranch and any other settlement, they've been able to claim so much land for their own that this city, once so small you'd barely see it from a mile away, grew to the size of San Diego County. Wherever you went, it would feel and look almost so different from where you came that you'd swear you were visiting a whole different town.
Very few human families live in this city, including mine. Some were mislead during a road trip and ended up staying much, much longer than intended, others moved in for research. No monster here has been harmed yet by us; we're all too chicken to lay our hands on them. My parents honeymooned here, and they loved this place so much they decided to pack up their things and buy an apartment. They never moved out, so this little place was the only home I ever knew growing up.
I looked out my bedroom window and gazed down into the private streets below. A human dad was dragging his hybrid children to the car to take them to the pool, two centaurs were roller skating together, both with scared expressions on their faces, and a U-Haul truck was pulling into the apartment building beside mine. Behind the truck drove an expensive looking minivan, parked right beside it. I pushed back my dark chocolate curls out of my face and pressed my face against the window. The shiny doors of this minivan popped open and pushed back, and out jumped a boy. Just an ordinary guy, no horse hooves, no cat ears or tail, nothing. He was sure cute though, pretty tall and nice hair. He pulled out a brush from the car and ran it through his ombré fluff before helping his parents, who came out of the front seats shortly after, empty the U-Haul.
I wanted to keep watching, but the guy looked up my way—he might've noticed me staring out of my window, and hurried into his new place. My face grew warm from the embarrassment, so I backed away from the glass. I walked from my room to the kitchen in five steps and sat on my favorite barstool. I leaned in, my dark skin contrasting with the cold marbled counters, and watched as my mom rolled out some dough to make a batch of pastries, as she always does on the weekends away from the bakery.
"Hello, Lena," Mama says as she looks up from the dough. "What's with the smile?"
"Mama, we have new neighbors. I just saw the moving truck outside! They have a kid too! I think he might be my age," I reply with excitement.
"Really? What species this time? I'm really hoping we won't be dealing with more werewolves. Those guys can be a pain in the butt to clean up after," she said with a smile.
"Mama!" I shout, laughter following. "That's racist!"
"I'm only kidding, darling!" She picks up a pairing knife and starts cutting the tops off of some strawberries above the kitchen sink. "Anyways, go on."
"I think they're human. I didn't see anything out of the normal with either the parents or boy."
Mama looks back up after tossing an old berry in the trash. "You positive?"
"Mhmm!"
"Maybe we should bake them a cake, ya know, to welcome them into the neighborhood and let them know they're not alone! It's been a while since we've gotten new neighbors like them."
"Just the two of us?"
"Well, there might be a third member to the baking party. You never know," she says, waving her knife in the air.
I looked at her quizzically, then felt a jab at my sides. I start screaming with laughter as my dad, or as I like to call Papa, tickles me to death from behind.
"AAHH!! NOOOO!! PAPA, STOP—AHAHA!"
"Roar!! The tickle monster attacks!" His deep, soothing voice exclaims. His bear-like hands take me by the hips and drag me out of my barstool, holding me close to Papa's body. He swung me around, as if I were a child once again. Mama laughs as he tosses me onto the L-shaped couch near the door; the sudden screams of my baby brother down the hall caused all joyful sounds to come to a halt and are replaced with worried whispers. I calm down and take a breather as Mama rushes down to her room and comes out with a cooing baby Hayden. Papa sits down next to me and takes Hayden from Mama so she can continue making whatever pastry she decided to make. Papa tickles Hayden's feet and gets him to laugh before turning to me and asking, "Are you ready for the start of your new school year?"
"Ready? You know I'm always more than just that, especially with all these 'non-human' people around."
"That's my baby girl."
I smile at him and then proceed to tell him the news. "We have new neighbors, Papa! And this time, they're human. Can you believe it?"
"Human, eh? It feels weird saying that, since we are that after all.. Is that what the cake thing was about?"
I nod. He asks if he could help with baking the cake, and I reply saying that he better not touch the frosting, otherwise it's a slap to to the hand he'll get from me. He laughs, and says that I sound just like Mama. We play around with Hayden before he starts on dinner and Mama finishes up her infamous imitation Pop Tarts.

It's late at night, and everyone else has gone to bed. I'm sitting at my computer, watching America's Worst Cooks on Netflix while eating one of Mama's Pop Tarts. The family cat, Daisy, jumps onto the table, resting her fat body on the keyboard, like every other typical cat and meif'wa I've met. I run my fingers through her silky grey fur multiple times, starting up the engine that roars within Daisy's chest. As I reach for her chin and begin the scratch the good spot, I hear a knock from the window. I get up from my wooden chair and open the window, only to find my ex boyfriend, Todd.
"How's it going, baby girl?" Todd says, hovering at the windowsill. He bared his teeth, flashing a smile I once enjoyed.
"Todd, I told you, we were done. I'm kinda sick of being under your thumb all the time," I reply harshly.
"What? I would never do such a thing."
"Leave, Todd."
Instead of leaving, like I asked, Todd instead climbs in and sits down on my bed. He takes off his leather jacket and throws it across the room, stretching his arms and yawning. He leans over and rests his head in his hands, then goes on to say, "It's been too long, sugar pea. Almost three months since I last saw you..." He looks up and down at my body, clad in floppy pjs, and continues on to say, "You've grown. Look at you!"
I walk over to my closet and search for my robe. While digging through the wall of clothes, I hear Todd stand from my bed and soon feel him place his hands on my hips. I blush hard, and out of fury, I smack him in the face.
"Geez, did you really have to hit so hard?" He says, rubbing his pink cheek.
"Touch me like that again and I'll make sure you get it on the other side too." I continue searching through my clothes and find my robe, quickly covering my body with a wall of protective fluff.
"Do you remember why I dumped you, Todd?" I ask, placing my hands on my hips.
"Was it because I'm too much to handle? Or was it because you can't handle the smell of french fries that lingers around wherever I go?"
I shook my head. He must've thought he was being cute, playing dumb and bringing up how much of work has to go into being a relationship with a vampire and the fact that he works at McDonalds.
He stepped closer so our faces met. I frowned, he smirked. I went on to say, "No. I dumped you because you played around with me, like I was some toy. You used me for things I didn't want to do. You almost killed me, literally. There must've been a million different situations you put me in where I was put in physical peril."
"But, Lena, can't you just put that all in the past? You know you still love me, deep down."
"I've tried, and I can't. Just leave, before I call my dad."
Todd's smile vanished. He knew I was serious, and he's seen what happens when people like him mess with people like my dad. He stood up straight, picked up his jacket from where it landed, and headed for the window. "You're missing out on something great, you know," he says before transforming into a bat and flying off into the night. I shut the window behind him and sighed. I slouched onto my bed and called Daisy over, thinking about all the times Todd had ever done something horrible while using me to do it. I stare at the wall, petting Daisy and starting up her engine once again. I then start to think of the guy from earlier, asking myself questions that I needed answers to: what's he like? Is he kind? Will he be going to my school? What's his name? Are his parents nice? Is he and his parents actually human, or are they hiding something?
Papa interrupts my train of though by entering my room with a frying pan in his hand. He looks dead at me in the eyes with a serious look on his dark face, asking, "Is he still here?"
I decline. Papa sighs with relief and comes to my bed. He looks over at my glowing computer and says "So it's one of those nights, huh?"
I nod. "I'm so ready for school to start. I'm bored as heck."
"Well, luckily for you, I received a call from the principal. He said that the first day of school has been pushed back a few days, so instead of it starting on the 19th, it'll be starting the day after tomorrow. Don't know why that happened, but at least you get to go to school early."
"Really? Finally! It's been forever."
"I know. You get some rest, you'll need to pack up and plan out the day all day tomorrow, like you always do." Papa smiled. He went to turn off the computer and turn off the lights, taking his trusty frying pan with him. "Oh, and if you see that Todd at all on Tuesday, don't hesitate to call me. I'll have my arsenal prepared."
I giggle and wave Papa goodnight. He shuts the door gently and goes to his room. I continue petting Daisy until all consciousness melts away and I escape into the dream world.