The sunlight beamed through the diamond-lead window of my tower, cascading fragmented light against the hardwood floor. With that much light, the dust bunnies living in the crevices were much more noticeable. If this was going to be my living space for the rest of the year, I seriously needed to find some time to clean. And redecorate.

When I crawled out of bed and looked out the window, students were already walking across campus. Satyrs galloped down the sidewalk, and werewolves ran on all fours with shredded backpacks. The pink sunrise blushed across the mountainous horizon, so the view was fantastic.

My friends were probably heading to the cafeteria for breakfast, so I threw on a baby blue sweater, a cream-colored skirt, and white leggings. Lastly, I slipped on two wool-lined moccasin boots to keep my legs warm. Now, I was ready for my second day at Specter High!

Taking my backpack, I flew down the spiral staircase and unlocked the door to the outside. It felt so nice to be out of that stuffy tower and to breathe in the fresh air. My throat felt a little scratchy from the dust, so I strolled down the sidewalk in the direction of the lunchroom.

Students piled through the massive door and into the hallway, so I slipped past the crowd and sidled against the edge of the wall to stay clear of the hoof zone. Luckily, I made it to the cafeteria in one piece, and lunch ladies were serving hot trays of breakfast.

"Oh, Miss Brown!" a chirpy voice called out.

I turned around and saw Ms. Milky clopping in my direction on her glittery turquoise hooves. Had she painted them with nail polish or something?

"Oh, good morning, Ms. Milky." I casually waved.

"Good morning. I just came to inform you that from now on, I will provide you with your special human meals for breakfast and lunch." She then handed me a blue slushie and a damp paper bag with the Squishy Burger logo—aka, the greasiest fast-food industry on earth.

"Oh, for me?" I forced a smile.

She peppily nodded. "Mhm. We hope it's to your liking."

Squishy Burger used the lowest quality ingredients on earth, so was it really considered "human food?" Oh, well. Rusty was eating kibble, so I guess I couldn't expect too much for breakfast. Once again, I sat down at the empty table in the far back of the room.

"Millie!"

The sound surprised me, and I looked up to find Rusty rushing my way with a Styrofoam container of food.

"Oh, morning, Rusty!" I cheeped.

He sat down in front of me with a serious expression. "Don't call me that. It makes me feel like an old jalopy."

"Aw, but I like it."

His face turned red, but he quickly changed the subject, "Anyway, that's not the point. Why didn't you tell me they locked you in a crappy tower?"

"Well, they didn't lock me in it. They gave me a key."

"Ugh, that's just wrong. I mean, can't you live with the fairy girls or somethin'?"

"They said it was for my own protection against the 'gang wars.'" I quoted the air with my fingers.

"Gang wars? We're not at war. We just hate each other. And sometimes we beat each other up," he muttered.

"Exactly."

His shoulders fell. "Ugh." He then popped open the Styrofoam lid, and as soon as I smelled his "breakfast," I nearly hurled. The acrid smell of canned dog food made me lose my appetite. He dipped a spoon into the shredded meatloaf drowning in gravy.

I pinched my nose and recoiled. "Ew. What is that?"

"What? It's breakfast."

"It smells like canned dogfood."

"What? No way." He then took a bite and chewed on the squishy substance. I could only imagine what his breath would smell like afterward.

Finally, I couldn't stand seeing him torture his intestines, so I cut my greasy burger in half with a plastic knife. There were enough fries to fill me up until lunch. "Here, let's share."

"Just throw it under the table. He'll eat off the floor," a monotone voice interrupted.

Asher was standing there with his soup can helmet and sipping casually on both straws. Today, he was wearing a black hoodie printed with the words: Mornings Suck. Was that some kind of vampire pun?

"At least I don't drink from a sippy cup strapped to my head!" Rusty grumbled with his ears pinned back.

Asher ignored him and sat down beside me with a book titled 101 Facts About Humans by Reginald von Fae.

"What'cha reading?" I peered over his shoulder.

"I dunno. It's just somethin' I picked up the other day."

Rusty was clearly fuming because his nose was scrunched up. Ignoring him, I read a few of the "fun facts" from the book.

Fact #72: A human's natural habitat is on their couch in front of their television.

Fact #73: For a human relationship to survive, the two must be in harmony on the positioning of the toilet paper roll.

Fact #74: To a human, a spider is a very deadly threat that strikes terror into their hearts.

Well, I had to admit. That last one was true—at least for me.

"Do you seriously believe this stuff?" I asked.

"No, I'm gathering research on how stupid the fairies are," Asher simply replied.

"Hey, don't lean in so close to his mouth!" Rusty warned.

Asher scoffed. "If I wanted to bite her, I'da done it when she got off the bus. I could smell her a mile away."

"Wait, do I smell bad?" I worried.

"Don't encourage him!" Rusty barked.

Finally, I decided to change the subject. "Oh, that reminds me. I wanted to ask you a favor." I turned to Rusty.

"You don't have to say you wanna ask me a favor. Just talk. Don't be so formal."

I smiled. "Okay, then can you come to my tower after school?"

"You mean your bedroom?!"

Suddenly, Asher choked on his iron-fortified soup.

"Yeah, I need someone to help me clean. It's really dusty, and it was giving me allergies last night."

"Oh. Yeah. Sure. I mean, I can't believe they put you in a filthy place, but I'm startin' to think this place is pretty shady."

"You shouldn't be alone with a werewolf," Asher cryptically warned. "Especially one you just met."

"And what? A vampire's better?" he snarled.

"Do you know what happens when werewolves get angry? They become malformed."

Malformed?

"Don't listen to him!" Rusty shot back. "He's the guy that listens to faeries give facts about humans. Like he knows anything."

"I'm just sayin', I had an aunt who got bitten by a Pomeranian. And she had to get stitches. And if it was that bad from a Pomeranian, imagine a werewolf."

"Don't compare me to a lapdog!" Rusty seethed. "Or any dog!"

"Well, since this guy obviously has anger issues, I'm goin'. I can't leave you alone in a tower with a werewolf."

"Really? So, you'll help us clean?" I smiled gratefully.

"Sure, why not."

Rusty gritted his teeth. "I can't believe this."

"Oh, are you guys going somewhere?" Herb asked as he sat next to Rusty.

"Yeah, they're gonna help me clean my tower after school," I informed.

"Really? Cool! I'll help, too."

I clasped my hands together. "Yay! Thanks, guys."

After breakfast was over, I attended my first class with Rusty—Paranormal History. Ms. Milky had given us our new schedules this morning, so it felt nice to be with a friend. Ever since he started talking to me, the teasing from the other kids had died down. But still, that didn't stop the staring and the blatant gossiping.

Once again, I sat down in the back of the class. Rusty was to my right . . . and the creepy vampire in the Edwardian suit was to my left. For some reason, he was wearing the exact same costume as yesterday, along with the top hat. As if to complete the look, he had an inkwell and a quill on his wooden desk. How was this guy a high schooler? He must have been one of those ancient vampires or something.

"What do you want, human?" he questioned in a grim voice without looking at me.

His voice sent a shiver up my spine, so I quickly averted my gaze. "Uh, nothing."

"Are you curious about me?" he asked with a silvery lilt.

"Not really."

"I'm not used to girls talking to me that way." He slowly creaked his head in my direction with a lifeless expression. "I'm not sure what to make of it."

"It means stay outta her business, you goth freak!" Rusty snarled as his ears pinned back.

The guy hissed, revealing his jagged fangs. "Man does not take command from dogs."

"Well, you're not a man anyway. You look like one of those porcelain clowns in the window of an antique store."

The vampire simply ignored him and looked at me with a dour expression. "Choose your friends wisely, dear. It shall be more important than you think."

Says the idiot in a top hat still using a quill and inkwell. Rusty may have been a little behind on the times, but this guy was clearly in another century. He then bored his icy glare into the chalkboard without another word. Rusty looked like he wanted to maul this creep, but I shot him a pleading look. Thankfully, he backed down . . . for now.

"Alright, class," Mr. Higginsworth rasped as he hobbled into the room on his cane. "Open yer textbook to page one. Today, we're gonna be discussin' the history of the vampire werewolf dispute—"

"History? That's current events," a werewolf in the front goaded.

"Well, I know dat, but I'm talkin' about how it started. So, shaddup. It all started back in 1863."

Ignoring the vampire beside me, I turned to page one and found a painting of a battlefield full of incapacitated werewolves and vampires. How cheerful.

"The Romanians were leavin' out pumpkins and watermelons under the full moon. Thus, was born the vampire."

What the heck?

"Ugh, please!" Asher banged his head against his desk.

"Now, it was a common belief that an inanimate object left under the full moon would turn into a vampire. So, these pumpkins were sproutin' arms and legs. And you know what they did? They went for the women."

"This is, like, the stupidest story ever. That's not how vampires came about!" a goth kid yelled.

"Who's got the PHD in Mysticism, little boy? Anyway, since the vampires were goin' crazy bitin' everybody, the sheepdogs realized that they needed to evolve in order to protect mankind. And thus, was born the werewolf."

"We just evolved? From what?" Rusty shot back.

"Sheepdogs. Weren't you listenin'?"

"We did not come from dogs!"

"Well, how do you explain that instinct to scratch the furniture?"

He scowled. "Look, just because I did that in first grade, you're never gonna let me hear the end of it."

"Anyway, ever since then, vampires and werewolves have hated each other ever since," Mr. Higginsworth philosophized.

"You're makin' us sound like idiots in front of the new girl!" a wolf boy whined.

"Oh, I'm sorry, you tryna impress or somethin' fer a date?" the teacher blurted out loud.

"What?! No way! Wait—actually . . . why? Is she interested?"

I gasped in horror. "I don't even know you!

"Oh, I'm sorry. My name's Marmaduke."

Great. Another dog name.

"Give it up, Marm," his friend spat. "She's already been claimed by Rusty."

"Excuse me, but I have not been claimed!" I huffed, crossing my arms.

"Really?!" All the werewolves cheered in unison. "Yaaaay!"

From the corner of my eye, I noticed Rusty facepalming.

"Now, class!" Mr. Higginsworth snapped. "This is not a bachelor party. As long as yer in my tutelage, I expect ya to act like fine civilians. And since y'all are obviously incapable, that's what this class is all about. Now, turn to page two, and let's move outta the gutter, folks. We're gonna move on to the most deadly vampire in history: Dracula."

"Dracula's a book!" Asher shot back.

"Behind every book is an essence of truth. For this semester, we'll be watchin' Dracula to show ya how he really terrorized. And then we'll move on to Teen Wolf so you can see how an American teen struggles to keep his humanity despite the wolf form. But we won't watch Twilight 'cuz that's inaccurate. Sorry, ladies."

"This is ridiculous! You're just playin' reruns of monster mash!" Rusty accused.

"Yeah, those movies were made by humans," Asher pointed out.

"Well, humans do have a perspective since they's the ones who suffer the attacks. We need to know what they go through so we can relate to 'em better and be more sensitive to their pain. We wouldn't wanna trigger anythang."

For some reason, I started to fume inside. This guy was insulting all of us! Including me—the only human in the room.

"Excuse me, but we're not as sensitive as you think we are!" I shot back. "I mean, only six-year-olds are scared of vampires and werewolves. No offense."

A smile crossed his sagging, wrinkly face. "Oh, finally, a real-life perspective. Tell us what you've been through."

"We're in class! Shouldn't we be learning real stuff instead of talking about our feelings?"

"Well, yes, but accordin' to the human blogs on cyberspace, a teacher is supposed to become friends with his students and bond with 'em."

"That's how lawsuits happen!"

Mr. Higginsworth blinked as if he couldn't grasp the concept. "Lawsuit?"

Rusty scowled. "Ugh! Are you ancient people so senile that you don't even know what a lawsuit is?"

"Well, I have been alive for a while now—maybe two hundred years. Perhaps I've been outta touch with the human world fer too long," Mr. Higginsworth muttered.

"Well, lawsuits are no problem when you know how to erase memories," a creepy vampire guy retorted from the back of the room.

"Idiot! Only a fool would believe that you really erased someone's memories," the werewolf behind me shot back.

"Yeah, if you erased her memory of you, she must not've been that into you," a member of his pack goaded.

"Or maybe she was just so sick of you, she went along with it to start a fresh life."

The two werewolf jocks high-fived each other while their friends hooted and hollered.

I couldn't believe my education was in the hands of this oaf. Something was seriously wrong with this school. They fed their students grass, kibble, and Teen Wolf was a part of their curriculum!

The rest of the day consisted of scrambling from class to class. But everything went downhill when the most dreadful part of school arrived: P.E. The teachers gathered us behind the building on the massive campus. At first, I was a little confused about what I needed to do.

"So, Rusty, what do we do for P.E.?" I asked as we waited for the other students to arrive.

He groaned at the nickname. "Well, we all get in our own groups and beat each other up."

"What?!" I froze.

"Well, at least the werewolves do. I don't pay attention to the riffraff."

"Aright, boys! Line it up!" A ferocious wolf man in a sun visor and a red jersey bellowed. Brown fur grew out of his face and dangled to his broad waist in matted clumps. "I wanna see some real wolf action! I wanna see what it means to be a pack!"

He then blew his whistle, and a mob of werewolves sprinted toward the field on all fours. The coach tossed an oval-shaped ball into the horde.

"Uhm, excuse me, sir?" I hesitantly asked.

He turned around and looked down at me. He was at least two heads tall with perked up ears, so he bent down and smiled a goofy grin. "Oh, hey, little human! You lost or somethin'?"

Little human? "No, I'm just not sure what I'm supposed to be doing."

"Oh, don't worry! I'm sure we'll figure out something. Hmm." He then held his chin and checked out the other teams.

The fairies were darting through the air and playing an airborne version of lacrosse. The satyrs jumped hurdles and galloped fiercely down a track. And the vampires were performing chin-ups on a steel bar. Some of them were even swinging around like acrobats!

"Oh, you got a point," the coach muttered. "Hey, I know. Why don't you sit out for today? We'll figure something out tomorrow. You can watch the boys play rugby! Feel free to cheer 'em on."

Sit out? But I didn't want to—! Wait. Actually, that gave me an idea. I was a cheerleader at my old school as a freshman—okay, it was only for a week, and I accidentally signed up. (Huh, I seemed to make a habit of that). But the dance moves stuck with me. Now, I could finally put them to good use!

The werewolves were running into each other like a bunch of lunatics as the flashy red and white ball zigzagged into the air. With a newfound surge of confidence, I skipped to the edge of the field and did a few stretches before I got into position.

"Who's the best above the rest? Werewolves! Werewolves! Those fangs are sharper than those fools! Hoorah! Hoorah! Yaaay, werewolves!" My hands flew to the sky in perfect harmony with the chant.

Suddenly, every werewolf on the field froze in their tracks to stare at me. Including Rusty. At that point, pretty much everyone was staring at me like I had just committed a crime.

"Woah, is she cheering for us?" a boy with silver fur asked.

But nobody answered. They were all too bewildered to respond. Even the coach was shocked at my enthusiasm. However, Rusty charged in my direction and quickly pulled me aside.

"What're you doing?!" he whispered.

"Cheering. Is that illegal around here?"

"No, it's just not done! Werewolves don't have cheerleaders. There's nothin' to cheer about. And that's beside the point! You shouldn't be out here flauntin' your body anyway."

"Flaunting my body?" I snorted. "You've clearly never seen what a real cheerleader wea—"

"Just—you're not in a human school! This place is full of leeches. I mean, you're attractin' the vampires, and they're on the other side of campus!"

We both looked over and saw the vampires gawking at us.

I frowned and turned away. ". . . I just wanted to blend in. But it seems like everything I do is a disaster. I guess I should've left when I had the chance. The teachers are having to make accommodations, and people keep fighting everywhere I go. I'm not trying to make anyone uncomfortable."

His reddish-brown eyes softened. "Hey, don't worry about it. We all feel that way. Don't you think we'd like to blend in with humans?"

"I couldn't even blend in at my old school."

"None of that matters. Just be yourself and don't try to impress anybody. You don't even know what kinda effect you put on people."

"What do you mean?"

"Ugh, if I have to say it, don't worry about it." His ears drooped, and for some reason, my heart ached a little.

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to make you sad."

"What? I'm not sad."

"Your ears are drooping."

At that, he grabbed them with his hands. "Ugh. I hate these things." He then walked away while holding both of his fluffy ears in shame. As much as I hated to admit, I couldn't help but smile.

. . . At least until two frozen eyes pierced into my skull. The vampire in the black overcoat with the long platinum hair was staring straight at me from beneath the shade of a tree. For the first time since coming here, my blood ran cold. Maybe sitting out this time wasn't such a bad idea.