Chapter 2: A Day in the Life of...

She was looking at herself in the mirror. This was the third blouse she had tried on. It was the first day at a new school; she had to make a good impression. She spent hours coiffing her light brown flyaway hair and decided to just make a fishtail braid she saw in a magazine once. She looked in the mirror and this was it; this was the look.

She kept feeling an itch on her left shoulder. "Oh no; Not today, not now," she panicked. She looked through her drawers searching for the gel her mother gave her. But she had packed it into a trunk she had already sent to the school. It was most probably in her dorm.

"Come on Callidora, you just have to make it through one day and then get to your dorm and apply the warped fungus gel without anyone noticing," she sighed to herself. Being a teenage vampire doesn't immunise her from the agony of being a normal one.

She could hear her father smithing iron downstairs. It was 6:30 in the morning, an hour and a half before the first day of school started and he was already working hard in the morning. Callidora went downstairs for breakfast and noticed a note attached to the fridge that read,

"Hope your first day at the B.A.A is splendid honey! I'm out for that sale on bloodfruit in the east. I've already packed your things in your bag, ask your dad for it. Don't forget to grab Nora. I'll see you again when you're on break and make sure to write! Love, mum."

There were bloodfruit in the fridge for her as well as a half-eaten pie and some leftover sausages. Callidora picked up a few bloodfruit and sunk her fangs into them. The fruit which was bright red turned into a faded grey.

She threw the faded fruits away. She was never quite fond of the flesh like texture. She couldn't understand how werewolves, other vampires or any creature ate them whole. She strolled out the door to see her father, hammering away at another sword.

She loved playing around and using swords; but after she stabbed herself accidentally near her heart while tripping over a rock, she was afraid of using one again. She healed but if her heart was struck, she would've died right then and there.

"Hey dad, do you have my bag?" she asked. Her father, a somewhat portly, tall redheaded man smiled at her, "Ah there's my little girl! I thought you said you would wake up as early as five?" "Dad I'm 16! Please stop calling me little..." she whined. And also I woke up earlier than that to make sure that I make a good impression," her eyes gazed down.

"You'll always be my little girl, no matter how old you get," his eyes wrinkled in a smile. "Making a great impression is great honey, but don't let it be your main goal," he advised.

"Of course not dad. I'll be the first vampire to officially leave the isles!" she replied with hope glimmering in her eyes. "Also for a first impression, you might want a clean top," her dad pointed. Her white blouse covered in trickles of red from breakfast as she glanced down.

"Be right back!" she said as she ran at a gust of wind. She came back wearing a clean green blouse in a matter of six seconds. "This one matches my eyes anyway," she shrugged. Her dad shook his head and handed her backpack to her. He had kept it next to his anvil.

"Don't forget Nora," her dad reminded. "Right. Nora! Noooraaa!" Callidora shouted, cupping her hands. Nora hopped from the back of the house and leaped into Callidora's arms using its wings.

"Ready for school Nora? This one allows pets," she spoke to Nora. "You and that wolpertinger..." he shook his head with a proud smirk. "Anyway, what time do the carriages arrive?" her dad asked.

The sound of the powerful wings blew the leaves to their porch. Their hooves landing and clopping to a halt nearby. "Right now!" she exclaimed. She placed Nora into her bag carefully so that her antlers didn't tear the bag; or her bunny fangs for that matter.

Her father opened his arms hoping for a hug but Callidora had already run towards the carriages in a panic. She turned around and blew a flying kiss to her dad and waved, "Bye dad!" "Stay safe and have fun Cali!" her dad yelled as she opened the door to one of the many carriages.

She got into the carriage where three other vampires were already sitting. "Uhm… Hi!" she said. There was an awkward silence in the carriage as the other 3 just stared at her and went back to what they were doing. Callidora closed the door as she sat down and held her bag.

The vampire next to her was deep into a book. She didn't want to bother her reading. A guy sat across her with his neck up; head held back by his hands and his eyes closed. The girl in front of her was slowly munching on bloodfruit looking out the window; she had entire container of them.

Callidora was excited about a new school. To even get enrolled you must be good at something. But she could be a whole new person. Nobody would know the stupid things she did in her last school since she was five. Her anxiety was riling up with just how she introduced herself in the carriage.

She wasn't going into this spontaneously however. Oh no, she had a plan. Make friends as soon as possible and be one of the 'group'. Be the top in her class and surely she'll get some amount of notice.

She leaned her head against the carriage and started stroking Nora in nervous angst. She could see the town of vampires as the carriage started to lift off into the air to the northwest.

It was a long way from home. And using her super speed back and forth between home and school would just be tiring. Doing it too many times will just give her migraines and it would just get worse from there.

She fantasized about the friends she would make and the subjects she would excel at. She wasn't even sure of the subjects that were being offered or taught but that didn't stop her. The school was still new and only opened 8 years ago in 1976; she could do something that would be immortalized forever.

She thought of all of this as the carriage flew through the puffy white clouds. She could see the skyskippers spring forwards through the puffs.

At the sight of the smoke-like fish leaping in and out of clouds, she unknowingly dozed off with her hand still on Nora. She could hardly sleep last night with everything happening today.

"Miss… Miss?" Callidora slowly opened her eyes to an empty, landed carriage with the coachman waking her up. Her eyes widened and she sat upright. She quickly wiped the drool off her face. "Sorry!" she apologized. "No worries Miss, but you need to get off, I have a schedule to follow," the man spoke.

Callidora got out of the carriage and closed the zip on the bag just enough so that Nora could breathe but not fly or jump out. She put on her bag and super speeded to the front opening in a frantic motion.

There was a large open door. The school itself was a renovated fortress in a once abandoned area of the isles. The long line of carriages were on a big open ground that had patterned, brown tiles.

To her left were trees with a shrubbed path and to her right was a path with foliage, tables and chairs which seemed to have students chatting, studying or otherwise. It went on past the entrance of the school.

Behind her, a forest that was possibly millennia older than her father, stretched high with it's auburn trees. The castle itself reaching higher than the treescapes. Windows at the higher floors and large cylindrical towers at the corners. The stone-grey steps led into the interior.

She paced quickly into the building and accidentally bumped into someone in the crowd. "Oof," she sounded before saying, "Sorry!" "Watch where you're going," the girl was told her off.

"What is all the commotion back there?" the woman upfront giving the run down to all the first year vampires questioned. "Sorry! I'm just a bit late!" Callidora yelled. "Well young lady, you better be not late to your classes," the woman replied.

Callidora's face turned visibly red. She kept her head down as the crowd moved forward. The woman continued talking, "Straight ahead up the stairs, on the third floor are your dormitories; make sure to pick up your keys from the school office and the form on the subjects you will be taking.

You will all be required to take Tempultas Class for your first years and it will be your first class before you do anything. You will be combined with every other creature rather than just vampires so be respectful and hatred between species will not be tolerated here," the woman continued as Callidora somewhat zoned out.

She was much more intrigued about the classes and doors in the building. The woman was also the school's librarian, which she said was on the second floor and was open until midnight and reopens at sunrise.

There were students in class and roaming around the halls who were either 2nd, 3rd and 4th years or other 1st year creatures who got the tour first.

The school had witches, vampires, werewolves, wendigoes, demons, satyrs and even nymphs all going about their business. A sudden burst of leaves flew from a class on the right startling the crowd.

"Mr Aubora, control your students," the librarian yelled while leaning into the classroom. "Don't worry vampires, that is the Nature Magic classroom, you will not have to study... there," she said rolling her eyes.

Callidora had leaves stuck to her hair which she didn't notice but were somewhat patterned; it looked intentional. The tour came to an end and she pointed them to the Tempultas Class and said,

"After your class is over, go to the office and grab the required items I mentioned. Fill out your classes and check at what time they start. Once again my name is Mrs Blaidd and you can find me in the library if Ms Tarlia is once again failing her duties at the office."

The crowd broke apart into areas of the school to explore as class only began at 8:30; so there was around ten minutes to spare. Callidora could move on to finding a group of friends, so she didn't stick out like a sore thumb. However, an unfamiliar blood scent caught her senses.

She knows the smell of blood of mostly every creature like any vampire but this one was odd; smelled more delicious than bloodfruit. All the creatures looked at the entrance. Callidora turned back to see the headmistress, Ms Blackthorne walking in with a boy.

He looked terrified; his eyes were wide open and many of the creatures could hear his heart beating fast. He was wearing a satchel, pulling a suitcase and holding a duffle bag. Almost every student could easily tell that this was not just a boy; but a human boy.

Ms Blackthorne projected through the corridors, "Students of the Bermuda Academy for All, this is our newest student; and yes, he is human. I expect you give him the same respect you give any other species here. And if anything happens to him, the Council of the Dead will have their way with you and your souls," her fangs grinned.

He was even more terrified as he walked down the halls with eyes glaring at him and whispers were within his earshot. He was heading towards the Tempultas Class. Callidora was somewhat relieved as everything she had done to embarrass herself on that day would be easily overshadowed by a human showing up as a first-year student. The bell rang signifying the next class was about to begin…