II
The classes at the Belift Boarding School for the Supernatural were surprisingly mundane. Sure, you had subjects such as ´principles of eastern witchcraft´ and ´history of merfolk´, but there was still plenty of chemistry, literature and trigonometry to fill the day. After all, as much as the school tried to create an environment for the supernatural to find community, there still was a lot of talk about giving the kids the tools to fit in and adapt to regular society. Plus, being a supernatural creature doesn’t excuse illiteracy.
Jake had just gone over two hours of inorganic chemistry and was making his way around the science building. According to Jungwon, Jay’s dorm should be somewhere in the first building (the Witches and Wizard building). As Jake thought back on all the things he had seen his friend do; everything from turning objects into goop, to covering whole rooms in frost, it became quite obvious to Jake that Jay was likely classified as a magic user.
So, with Jungwon´s directions as his only guide, Jake had decided to venture over to the witches’ quarters and see if he could find his friend there. The school grounds were endless, and as much as Jake appreciated the greenery and intricate pathways, it made it ridiculously easy to get lost. Especially for someone like him. He did try to use his sense of smell to find Jay (the guy always doused himself in cologne after all) but there were at least another ten thousand students on campus, and Jake never really exercised the full extent of his abilities. So he was left to wander around like any other mortal.
He picked up his pace when he saw a building that very much looked like it could be one used for dorms. As he approached the entrance, Jake thought he had already skillfully weaved past the small crowd of chatty students, when he felt a sudden thud!
Jake staggered, someone appeared in his path out of nowhere. He went and looked at the guy he had just crashed into, and found a very tall and goth looking student in front of him. The look of absolute disdain on the guy’s face as he looked down at Jake made the latter shrink a little. Was he in trouble? Why was the other so pissed?
“I, uhm, yeah. I’m very sorry bro. I was on my way to… you know. The first building? Like, the witches and wizards one. Is this one, right?” Jake stumbled over his words as he tried to ignore the menacing vibes thrown in his direction.
Without honoring Jake with an actual answer, the boy pointed his head towards a sign next to the entrance that read in big bold letters 4th. Oh.
Before embarrassing himself further Jake walked out of there. His search for Jay could wait, he wasn’t any closer to getting to those dorms anyways. So, he was just going to head back to his room and call it a day.
On his way back he couldn't help but to be extra careful of not bumping into anyone. You wouldn't catch him tripping over the same stone twice.
He ran into Jungwon on his way to their floor and the boy looked very happy to see him. Despite the two of them starting off with Jake low-key physically attacking the kid and his ability giving Jake the creeps, Jungwon has turned out to be a very nice roommate.
As the other questioned him about his day, Jake remembered something he wanted to ask “- hey, and how is there a fourth dorm building?” As far as he was concerned there were the WW (witches and wizards), the shape-shisfters and the ghouls, making that a whopping total of three. Jungwon looked at him a bit puzzled.
“Oh, you mean the unclassifieds?”
“The whats?”
“Yeah, I mean. There are the three main divisions, but whoever doesnt fit in any of those goes to the dorms of the unclassified. It’s pretty straightforward”
Unclassified… it made sense. “How come I wasn´t told about that option during the inductions?”
Jungwon shrugged. The mimic did seem to stay at the margin of anything going on at the school, at least from Jake’s initial impression. When his roommate asked why Jake was mentioning it to begin with, he had to narrate the happenings of just a couple minutes ago. “Your sense of direction is frightful” was all the other had to say about it.
Jungwon then proceeded to ask the obvious; why didn’t Jake simply contact his friend via call or text? And to that Jake had to explain.
“Well, the phone where I had his contact saved kind of… broke. So now I don’t have his number, nor do I use social media”. When Jungwon inquired about what happened to his phone, Jake sighed “-It’s a funny story actually, I- hahah, I kind of was having a bad day and I… bit it, like bit into it”
“You chomped your phone?!”
Jungwon uninhibitedly laughed at him, while Jake simply stood there and accepted it. It happens sometimes. We all had moments we weren’t proud of, right? And some of the incidents caused by his nature were very laughable. Jake himself didn’t hold back when it came to making fun of Jay’s mishaps with magic.
“I still don’t know how you even ended up all the way over the fourth building. But I did hear that the unclassified includes some pretty interesting individuals. And from what I’ve gathered the fourth building is known as the dorm where the wackiest things happen. For example, there was this time that- oop ”
Jungwon shut up as a girl appeared and walked past them in the hallway. Out of nowhere his roommate busied himself with his phone and fully stopped the conversation for like five solid minutes. Jake saw another couple of students tensing up as the girl made her way out of the floor.
“Who is she?” Jake asked once the girl was out of sight. It was pretty odd how such a tiny girl could cause such a reaction out of the other students. She looked around 5.1 feet and despite having her hair up in literal pigtails, the expression on her face was pretty stern.
“That’s Iroha-” Jungwon said, looking a bit apologetic. “, she is the principal's daughter, and a class topper too. She’s not known to snitch to her mom or anything, but most people are cautious around her just in case. She’s also like the only kitsune at the school, so… there is a bit of an aura about her”
They eventually got to their room, the sun set and Jake’s first week as a student of a supernatural school inched closer to the end. He tried to sit alone with his thoughts for a while, but the noise coming from Jungwon’s phone made it quite a task to concentrate. If he were to ever buy a gift for his roommate, earphones would be at the top of the list. He opted for simply going to bed early, he was never one to waste a good night’s sleep anyways.
…
Jake was having the time of his life. It was finally time for physics class, and the teacher mentioned being a lycanthrope too, just like him! He was genuinely a bit bummed out when the bell rang to announce it was lunch time. Before everyone could speed out of the classroom Jake grabbed the attention of a girl seated near him.
“Hey, sorry to bother you…” they’ve just done introductions, her name couldn’t have escaped him just yet. “Minju! Yeah, I just wanted to ask, do you know how I can get a book from the library?”
“A book?”
“Yes, to study for this class. I’m sure the library here has some physics books”
The girl pursed her lips for a bit, “They do, but I think you might want to study with google instead. The science books are still at the old library and everyone says that place is haunted” she shrugged lightly “Is a bit stupid, especially coming from creatures like ourselves, but everyone agrees the place is at least creepy” and with that she left the classroom.
Okay, so that was encouraging. At least now he knew there wasn’t going to be much of a waitlist to get the book.
Jake wondered, not for the first time, what had Jay been up to during his stay here at the school these past couple of years. The guy always was a bit of a nerd, but even back at the orphanage he seemed to have a very loud and theatrical energy about him, Jake did feel like the world around him dimmed a little the moment his friend vanished. But as he now himself was at the Belift School he could see how it would’ve been difficult for Jay to reach out to him, or anyone for that matter. It's not like they were imprisoned, but the whole place had a very isolated feeling that encapsulated it. The way all these supernatural beings concentrated in a single place made it appear as if they were in a different reality entirely. The campus felt like it was its own little city, and it almost seemed illegal to mingle with the world outside; plus, they were kind of in the middle of nowhere, so there’s that.
He had already made plans to meet up with Jungown for lunch at one of the cafeterias. He found the boy already waiting for him at a table in the shade; his plate of very regular food contrasted with the very meaty tray Jake had brought over.
For once Jake could eat how he really needed to without sneaking around at night to steal the steaks off the freezer; in fact, there were wildest food options from what he could see. No one batted an eye as he stacked his plate with whole chops of rare meat and a mountain of cold cuts. He’s never been better fed.
“-is the old library really haunted?” he asked in between bites.
“I don’t really know, never been there. I think it’s mostly the atmosphere. But wouldn’t it be cool if there were actual ghosts in there?” said Jungown, a little too excited about the idea. Jake did not fuck with ghosts. Even horror movies were out of his comfort zone.
Once he was done eating he pushed his tray aside and took out of his pockets all the flyers that have been given to him for the past few days. Having to uncrumple them one by one to actually take a good look at each. Jungwon, whose curiosity was easily peeked, leaned closer to see.
“Are those for the school clubs?”
Jake nodded, as a new student and nosey person Jake actually kept all the flyers and pamphlets that club recruiters handed out around school. “Which one are you joining?” he asked Jungwon.
The kid rested his chin on his palm, “I’ll try out gardening” he said and his eyes rolled even before Jake pointed out the obvious.
“Your name is Jungwon and you’ll do gardening? Are we trying to fulfill a prophecy or is this a family thing?”. The comment was lame but he had to.
To his credit Jungwon did laugh a bit, “I mean, it does sound cute and peaceful. Last year I tried archery and I almost pierced through someone’s eye” his face scrunched up at the memory. “- what about you? any club that caught your attention?”
As Jake laid out all the flyers on the table, it became obvious which one he should go for. He lifted up a wrinkled flyer and showed it to Jungwon; the music club. Fun fact about Jake, he learned how to play the violin when he was younger and was pretty decent at it. But more important than that, he knew for a fact Jay was going to be there.
…
Classes were over for the day, and now Jake had found his way to the front of where the music club was supposed to be. He knocked on the door, awkwardly shuffling his feet while he could hear voices and steps coming from inside the room. Then the door opened and, good lord, Jake had to actively stop himself from gawking; the student that received him at the door was drop dead gorgeous, he was taller and broader than Jake, his skin was honey colored and his big doe eyes were looking down at him, a subtle smile already on his face. Jake must have actually froze in place for a solid minute, because the boy had to ask “Hi… are you alright?”.
Jake mentally shook himself, “Oh, yeah, I’m fine, I’m great! I came here for the music club? This is the place, right?”
The taller fully formed a smile and relaxed, “Of course. You’re at the right place, that’s us”, and then moved aside to let Jake in.
As he swiftly scanned the room he noticed a couple of people lounging around, but his eyes halted into a full stop when he saw the guy that was sleeping on the piano bench; a music sheet was covering his face, but Jake could recognize that scent of cologne anywhere. He walked up to the sleeping student and lifted the sheet off his face in a swift movement.
“Hey! What the fuc- Oh my god! Jake!”
The boy jumped up and squeezed Jake in a bone crushing hug, Jake would’ve responded in kind if it weren't for the fact that he could actually break a bone if he got carried away. Instead he laughed alongside his friend and tousled his hair excitedly.
“Man, where have you been?!” Jay shouted, still looking at Jake as if he could hardly believe he was actually there.
“This place is huge! If I knew you’d be so hard to find I would have make you carry around a dog whistle”
Jay laughed loudly as he always did and gave Jake a moment to look at his surroundings. The room was enveloped in warm light; with a huge window taking over one of the walls. It was quite messy too, with instruments, notebooks, cups and pens all haphazardly spread over the place.
The people in the room were all looking at the pair, and it was the tall girl leaning on a wall close by the first one to break the moment, “I take that you two know each other, am I right?”.
She had very sharp and alluring features, in fact, if he looked closer she kind of looked like the more feline version of the boy that had opened the door just now.
“Yes, this is my childhood friend Jake,” Jay provided enthusiastically. “- he is new to the school.”
“Then it’d be rude not to introduce ourselves.” said the handsome guy.
He walked closer to the newcomer and put a hand to his own chest “-I’m Heeseung, the girl just now was Yunah,” he nodded towards a very young looking girl, so much so that Jake would’ve thought she was still in middle school, “-and that is our pianist and designated cutie patootie Wonhee”.
The girl waved shyly towards Jake upon being acknowledged, “Welcome to the music club” she said.
After bowing and introducing himself, Jake felt Jay’s hand pat him on the back as he announced “Jake right here might not look it, but he is pretty good with the violin. We’ll be able to add another instrument to our repertoire now”
“Impressive”, commented Heeseung.
Jake waved his hands in front of him, insisting he wasn’t even that good. He could feel a bit of a blush crawling up to his face.
It didn’t seem like he had walked in the middle of practice, so he took a seat next to Jay and tried to keep the small talk going and exchanged contacts with the others. He was glad that his friend was as predictable as he was, god knows it would have been even harder to reunite otherwise.
“By the way guys, Jake is a werewolf”
Jay said it very nonchalantly, but everyone in the room stopped and stared. The girl- Yunha, was it? She grinned and gestured around the room with her hand “Well, that makes you the only non-wizard here”.
That was unexpected. He scanned the room to take a second look at everybody. Jay chuckled next to him.
“Oh yeah, that's right. If we were to be specific; I am an element manipulator-” he said with a proud wiggle of his eyebrows, then he pointed towards Yunah “She is a necromancer, so is Heeseung, and Wonhee is an alchemist. All magic users”
Yunah flipped her hair dramatically “Don’t worry though. Everyone that’s part of the triple W is very nice, you’ll love it here”
“The triple W?”
She smiled “Yeah, you know; Witches, Wizards and Whor-”. Heeseung lunged from where he had been standing to come behind her and put a hand over her mouth, she made a face at him.
“Excuse my sister-” he started, as he wiped his hand off with his shirt. “, no one but her calls us that”
Oh, so they were siblings. That was very good to know, Jake thought.