by Zenia, Zara
Laurie grinned. “Actually, this one isn’t dangerous. Well, not to us. We’ve tamed it.”
“Wow, really? I don’t think I’ve ever heard of a cockatrice being tamed.” They had notoriously violent tempers.
“We’re the first person in our State to manage it, but I can’t say about elsewhere. I read something about it once, just a little segment in a book I was reading, without much detail, but when we had one born I knew I had to at least try. And yeah, it actually worked. He’s called Stanley, and he guards the chickens on the farm for us now.”
“That’s crazy. I’d love to see him up close.”
“You’ll have to come out sometime. It’s really interesting to watch him interact with the other chickens. He’s so protective of them. We can’t slaughter our ageing chickens anymore because he’s so possessive of them, but other than that, he’s really friendly. He got into trouble once for petrifying a burglar, but that’s all. He’s a great guard.”
“That’s so interesting.” I beamed. “I’m so glad you’re my roommate.”
Laurie laughed. “Me too! I was super nervous about it, but actually this is great. I’m so glad I already know someone who’s taking the same course work now as well, I bet we’ll have so many classes together.”
I shifted in my seat a little. “Can I ask you a question?”
“Go for it.”
“What kind of supernatural are you?”
There was nothing obviously supernatural in her appearance. She didn’t have the red eyes of a Vampire and was perfectly fine in the sun. Her ears weren’t pointed like a Fae’s. She definitely wasn’t a Gray: there was none of the pallid gray skin, large head and small black eyes.
Maybe she is a Witch, like me. I’d only ever had brief conversations with other Witches in real life. Most of my communications with other Witches had come on online forums, which was where I’d started to learn more about my powers.
“I’m a weredog. My whole family are. I shift into a white Labrador.”
I resisted vocalizing my initial reaction of, “Oh, cute!” It probably wouldn’t have been appropriate. Instead, I said, “Cool! I’ve never met a weredog before.”
“I know, I barely know any other Shifters to be honest. My town actually isn’t that human-centric despite how small it is, but it’s got a distinct lack of Shifters. I’m excited to meet more. What about you?”
“I’m a Witch.”
“Ooh! I know plenty of Witches. What kind of magic?”
“I can manipulate luck. I’ve can perform a lot of blessings and curses.”
“That sounds so useful.”
“It is, I suppose. I’m really excited to learn more about my abilities. The teaching was a bit… lackluster in Fort Ann.”
“I can imagine. But now you’re here at the best school in the country. The world is your oyster.”
We grinned at each other. “So,” I said. “Do you want to go and have a look around campus together? I’m dying to go and have a proper look around, and to meet some more people.”
“I’d love to.”
3
Marina
Just walking through the dorms was fascinating to me, and I could see in her eager face that Laurie felt the same. Watching her now, I felt like I should have been able to recognize that she was a weredog. She had the boundless energy of a puppy and seemed excited by everything they came across.
They’d been about to get into the elevator when someone had stepped out of it. An albino woman with long silvery hair and silver eyes framed by white lashes. She had delicate features, and immediately her mouth curled into a smile. “First years?” she asked.
“We’ve just gotten here,” I said. “Just going to go and have a look around now.”
“What room number are you?”
“Seven.”
“I’m across the hall then. You’ll love it here, it’s so nice and spacious. The dorms below ground are so stuffy, if you ever go in them you’ll see what I mean. The Vampires love them, but I was beyond relieved they didn’t insist on having all the dorms underground just to make everyone feel equal.” She rolled her eyes. “Anyway I’m rambling. I’m Nala. Were-unicorn. Second year. I’m sure I’ll see you around a lot.” She checked her watch. “But right now I’m going to go and change for a coffee date with a guy I am very interested in seeing the nasty underground bedroom of.” She winked. “Have a good explore!”
She walked off without Laurie or me even having a chance to say anything else, and we stared after her, a bit dumbstruck.
“Well,” Laurie said. “She was a bit intense.”
“So gorgeous though,” I said. “That hair is incredible. I’m jealous.” My own brown hair seemed so lackluster in comparison.
“Don’t be silly.” Laurie waved me off. “Anyway, come on, let’s go and see more of the dorms.”
They took the elevator down to the ground floor, and found that a little table had been set up in the foyer. On it was a large sign saying, “Welcome to Sleepy Hollow University!”, and an array of cookies.
My stomach gurgled, and the fact I’d barely eaten all day due to excitement reared its head. “They smell incredible,” I said.
There was a woman behind the table who spotted them immediately. She was tall and slim, with a collection of thick, short, tightly-curled hair on top of her head. Nothing in her appearance gave away her supernatural abilities either. She had dark skin and dark eyes that showed no sign of her being a Gray or a Vampire.
“Hi!” she called the second she noticed us standing in front of the elevator. “Welcome to the girls’ dorms! I’m Maggie, you’re den-mother. It’s just my word for hall monitor, really, but I’m here to make sure you’re all settled in, and so you know who to turn to if there’s anything going wrong with the dorms in specific.” She gestured to the table in front of her as we walked over. “Cookie?”
We introduced ourselves and told her our dorm room number so she had some reference.
The cookies all looked and smelled amazing. There were four different types, all decorated with different things baked into them. Some looked like chocolate chips, and there were others with caramel.
“So,” Maggie said. “The ones at the front on the left are infused with magic that will give you energy. It’s as if they’ve got caffeine in them. These ones at the back are the opposite. They’ll send you to sleep, if you want one before bed. The ones on the front right here are focus ones, they’ll not be much use now I suppose, since classes haven’t started yet, but trust me, when it gets to finals season I’ll be selling out of these! These ones at the back right here are have minor healing affects. If you’ve got any cuts or bruises they’ll clean them right up. Anything you like the sound of?”
“You bake them with magic?” I asked. “You’re a Witch?”
“I am! Witch and culinary genius at your service. My magic is based around things I can do in the kitchen. It really is culinary magic.” She laughed at her own joke. “I can imbue food with a variety of different spells. I bake throughout the year and sell them cheaply to students, but today it’s a free trial I’m offering.”
“I’m a Witch too,” I said excitedly. “My spells aren’t anywhere near as tasty as that, but it’s so interesting to meet another Witch.”
Maggie tilted her head. “You’ve never met another Witch before?”
“I have, but I think this is the longest conversation I’ve had with one in person.” I scratched the back of my head. “It’s great to meet someone else like me.”
“We’ll have to have a proper chat at some point! I’m sure there’s a lot we can learn from each other.”
“I’d love that.”
Laurie had picked up one of the energy-inducing cookies and was nibbling on it. Her face let me know just how tasty the cookie was.
I hovered my hand over the table, trying to decide which one I wanted to sample. Then I noticed a small paper cut on my finger that I’d gotten when unpacking books earlier.
>
Maggie noticed the same thing. “A healing one?” she asked, gesturing to the cookies that would heal the cut in case I’d forgotten which was which.
“Yeah, I’ll take one of those.” I picked up the cookie. It was double-chocolate and still warm. It almost looked too good to eat.
I took a large bite while looking at my finger. Within moments, the small cut had begun to shrink, and then disappeared entirely. “That’s incredible,” I breathed.
I knew that healing spells and potions existed, but weren’t something that I’d ever used before. Watching my cut heal before my eyes mesmerizing.
“See!” Maggie said. “Top quality cookies.”
“It really does taste amazing,” Laurie said. “Thank you so much.”
The elevator door pinged and a woman stepped out. She was wearing a deep scowl as she strode across the foyer and toward the exit. Black-hair bounced around her face as she walked, and her black eyes stared straight ahead.
“Carlotta!” Maggie called in a sing-song voice.
The woman turned her scowl on the den mother. “What?” she snapped.
“Cookie?”
Carlotta looked at the three of them with unbridled malice in her eyes. “No.” And then she stormed out of the dorm building.
“Jeez,” I said.
Maggie sighed. “She’s been like that ever since she arrived here. I have no idea what her problem is. She’s just a strange fixture around here that’s better left alone.”
“Well I definitely won’t be trying to make conversation with her,” Laurie said. She turned to me. “Did you want to go and do some exploring outside?” She was bouncing with energy after the cookie.
“Sure!”
“You don’t need to go outside, you know,” Maggie said. “The entire campus is connected by underground tunnels. A lot of it is underground, for the sake of the Vampires. You can get anywhere without having to go to the surface.”
I would definitely still be spending a lot of time above ground and outside, but the thought of exploring the tunnels— and seeing a Vampire —was too tempting, so we decided to head underground instead. Maggie sent us a map of the campus to our cells so that we would be able to navigate it more easily.
“Though there are plenty of maps down there too,” she said. “Everything is labeled really well. You shouldn’t get lost.”
“Thanks!”
We took the elevator down to the tunnel that ran below the dorm and headed in the direction of the building that housed the cafeteria. The cookie had reminded both of us how hungry were actually were, and the thought of trying out some of the college’s food had turned us in that direction. The tunnels were like huge corridors and there were several rooms leading off from them, most of them classrooms and lecture theaters. We passed a sign indicating the boy’s dorms were nearby.
And there were plenty of people actually in the corridors, too. Sleepy Hollow University wasn’t a huge college, but it definitely wasn’t small either, and classes would be starting in a week. Plenty of people were already on campus.
The first Gray that I saw, I had to stop myself from staring. Of course I’d seen Grays on TV before, but it was nothing compared to seeing one in real life. They were the strangest of the supernatural creatures that had emerged after the Great Awakening. There were even theories that they were part alien. Their powers were incredible: as a race they shared a close telepathic network and were very loyal to each other, having telekinetic abilities and psychic healing powers. Their affinity for technology meant they were responsible for some of the groundbreaking developments of the past fifty years.
But it wasn’t their abilities that made them strange, but their appearance. Always between four and five feet and with large heads and gray skin and completely hairless, they were easy to pick out in a crowd. They had biological sex, but there was nothing in their appearance that indicated man or woman. They looked weak, but were just as strong as humans.
Despite their strange appearance, though, they were notorious for being friendly, if a little condescending, to those outside their race. The strong empathetic abilities they possessed meant they understood fear, and the reaction they had from people, especially in the earlier days.
I didn’t have any fear or disgust of the Grays, just pure curiosity. They were easily some of the most powerful supernaturals on the planet, and their origins the most unknown of every races. I just wanted to know as much as possible, to speak to one and hear things from their perspective.
But there was no one I’d met in the context to have a conversation with that was a Gray. I hoped that someone in my class would be, I’d maybe be able to get close to one that way.
Laurie did a less subtle job of not outwardly staring, and I tried to hide my giggle when the Gray she’d been looking at wide-eyed stared straight back at her with a small smile.
They dining room was surprisingly full, and I realized it was almost seven o’clock. I hadn’t realized that time had passed so quickly at all.
I hoped the whole of my time at Sleepy Hollow didn’t pass in a flash like today.
As part of the payment for our dorms, we had access to the cafeteria for three meals a day, and could purchase extra food from there for more money if we wanted. There were plenty of people sitting at the tables, but the queue at the desk wasn’t long.
I’d half-expected trays of food that had been sitting out for hours under a heating lamp, as if we were back in middle school, but instead there was a list of things we could order to be made, and a vast array of fresh sandwiches and salad pots. It was like a proper restaurant.
I went for a basic mac and cheese, because the best way to see how good the quality of the food was had to be to try something standard. Laurie got a falafel wrap that looked— and smelled when she opened it —incredible. She took a large bite while we looked for somewhere to sit. There were a couple of free tables, but I felt like we should be making an effort to meet more people while we were still so new.
We were still looking when two people made the decision for us. A Gray and another guy came up behind us.
The guy said, “You guys first years?” He was wearing baggy jeans and scuffed sneakers, with dyed-blue hair pushed out of his eyes.
“Yeah,” Laurie replied. “You too?”
“Yes,” the Gray said. He looked like all the Grays I’d seen before, but he was wearing similar skate clothes and a ball cap. His voice was soft and unobtrusive. “I’m Zap.”
“Brian,” said the other.
“Laurie and Marina,” we introduced ourselves too, and all of us went to sit at a table together. I was opposite Brian, and Laurie opposite Zap.
“So, you just moved in today too?” I asked.
Brian leaned forward and rested his chin on his hand. “Sure did. Thought we’d come and explore the campus, and I’ve already run into something I’d like to explore further.” He grinned.
I laughed too, aware my cheeks were flushed. “Did you get your class schedule yet?”
I’d never been flirted with before, it was strange. All through high school I’d never even dated, never mind been in a serious relationship. I felt kind of prepared for the academic stuff, but being alone on a campus with people who were my own age— and weren’t human and therefore wary of speaking to me —was going to be a totally new experience socially.
“We did,” Zap said, bringing a tablet from his bag and putting it on the table. “It looks like it’s going to be a busy semester.”
I pulled out my phone and tried to make the schedule fit onto the smaller screen without success.
“Can I?” Zap asked, holding out his hand.
“Sure.” I passed it to him.
Within moments he’d switched the format to a list where I could easily see what I had on which days without having to endlessly scroll. “Thanks!”
We all compared classes, and had a surprising number in common. Laurie and I had nearly all ours together since we were going into the same
major, but plenty of the general education classes we had different. There was a good mix.
“You’re in the Witch-specific classes,” I said to Brian, peering over the table at his schedule. “You’re a Witch?”
“Sure am! I specialize in technomancy. Between my brother and I, we’ve got computers down to a tee.”
“You’re brothers?” Laurie asked, surprised.
“Twins!” Brian turned his attention to her. “You wouldn’t have guessed it, eh? A whole ten minutes younger than that one.” He gestured at his brother. “You definitely wouldn’t have guessed that one. I got some height on him.”
Zap just rolled his eyes. “And I got the brains on him. I know I’m pleased with how things turned out.”
“So you’re both majoring in comp-sci?” I asked Zap while Brian started talking more eagerly to Laurie. I was almost relieved to have Brian’s flirtation diverted from me. Laurie looked like she was enjoying it a lot more anyway, leaning into the conversation and flashing him an impish grin.
“We are,” Zap said. “We have different interests in general within the discipline, but with his magic and my general knack for it, we can pretty much do whatever we want.”
“It’s cool that you’ve always been able to do it together. I was from a tiny town with barely any supernaturals. Most of the things I know, I know from books or the internet.”
“But you still got into Sleepy Hollow, so you must have put a lot of work into it.”
I grinned. “Yeah, I did.” And I intended to keep that level of dedication up. I was going to make the absolute most my place.
The mac and cheese I’d ordered appeared at the table, and I ducked out of the conversation for a while to eat it. But I was content to just listen to people talking, explaining the quirks of their own abilities and sharing stories of when they’d run into supernaturals and cryptids in the past. It was all so natural, all things I’d wanted since I found out I was different from my family.
I didn’t really want to leave when I’d finished eating, but Laurie was ready to go and I didn’t want to upset her when the first day had been going so well. Besides, having an early night seemed like a good idea. We’d have more exploring to do tomorrow, when even more people had arrived.
