For Rei and Nat it felt as if a boulder had been lifted from their shoulders. Not only were the Harris's understanding of Nat's heritage, they wanted the two of them to babysit for their children more often.
"I can't believe how cool Mrs. and Mrs. Harris are," Nat stated in astonishment.
"I know," Rei added. "And they even said they would recommend us. By the way, did you mention what happened to your folks?"
"Um not really," Nat replied sheepishly, rubbing her neck. "I mean they probably would have freaked if I told them someone else knows about me. You know how secretive they are about the whole vampire thing."
"Reiko? Natalia? Is there a question?"
The two young teens now blushed as they gazed at Ms. McKinnon. The young auburn haired teacher giving them a stern look. "Sorry Ms. McKinnon." Quieting down the two now focused on their science teachers lesson. For both girls, science was one of their favorites as well as one of the hardest. Ms. McKinnon was brilliant, explaining to her Freshman class difficult subject matter in a way that could be digested. Still, the material was difficult and their teacher had developed a reputation for not tolerating any nonsense.
As the bell now sounded dismissing everyone, Rei and Nat began to leave only for Ms. McKinnon to call them back. The two teens now cast a nervous glance at one another as their teacher closed the door. "I'm sorry we were talking Ms. McKinnon," Nat said softly. Ms. McKinnon said nothing, narrowing her eyes as she studied the two teens carefully. Nat and Rei now began to fidget nervously, wondering just how much trouble they were in.
The girls were now surprised as a group of Seniors entered the classroom from a rear door. Rei and Nat now studied the group, recognizing Adam Haskins as well as Gloria. The looks on the Seniors faces though was emotionless, their eyes narrowed as they stared at the two Freshman.
"Hi I'm Rei!"
Nat appeared flummoxed, her eyes bulging as she slowly turned her head to face her best friend. "Hi I'm Rei," she exclaimed. "A horde of grumpy looking Seniors surround us and your best answer is hi I'm Rei!"
"I'm just being friendly Nat," Rei replied defensively. "I mean there's a teacher here and we always thought Adam was cute. Maybe he wants to ask us out on a date or something."
Nat could feel her cheeks flush in embarrassment as she awkwardly glanced in Adams direction. Rei had a bad habit of just rambling whenever she was nervous. The fact that she had let slip that the two of them had developed a crush on the schools star football player was more than a little embarrassing. "Um sorry," Nat answered meekly.
"Nah its cool," Adam smirked before turning to his girlfriend. "See babe I told you everyone thought I was hot." Nat now watched as a very pretty blonde now sighed, shaking her head before giving her boyfriend a sour look.
Inspite of Rei's outburst it appeared the Seniors were unmoved by Rei's outburst. Nat now watched as a skinny, dark haired teen approached them, his magenta eyes seeming to burn through them. "Which one of you is the damphir?"
Nat and Rei now felt the color drain from their faces, gulping as they looked at the teen. How did this guy know about damphirs? Unsure what to say the two teens now began to stammer, nervously glancing between everyone in the room.
"Rei. Nat, its okay," Ms McKinnon stated. "You don't have to be nervous. They mean you no harm. They're just curious."
"But how do they know," Nat asked. Ms. McKinnon now grinned, rolling her wheelchair towards the two frightened teens. "Because Mika and Claudia Harris are friends of mine. They told us all about your talk."
Nat and Rei now gaped at their teacher, shocked to learn that their favorite teacher knew about magic. "Wait does that mean they know about magic too," Rei exclaimed, pointing at the group of seniors.
"Geez kid not so loud," Sasha grumbled. "We don't exactly like to broadcast that."
"Sorry," Nat replied meekly. The damphir teen now took a deep breath as she gazed at the magenta eyed teen. "So, um, I'm the damphir. My names Natalia but everyone calls me Nat."
"Duke," the teen replied. Duke now pulled up a chair, a smile spreading across his face as he exposed his own vampiric fangs. "It appears we have alot in common."
"Holy crap Nat," Rei exclaimed. "Hes a damphir too!!!"
"Why are Freshman always so loud," Felicia sighed. Once more Nat and Rei blushed. Nat now stared at Duke, shocked to discover another damphir. "I thought I was the only one," she whispered. "I mean I heard rumors about another damphir but I've never actually met one."
"Neither have I," Duke replied. "Its incredibly rare. Vampires usually don't mate with humans. So, who's the vampire in your family? Your mom? Your dad?"
"My mom," Nat said. "Her name is Marissa. Marissa Belova."
"The author," Diane asked, to which Nat nodded. "Wow she's one of my favorites! She writes a bunch of supernatural stories, I've been reading her books since 7th grade!"
"Yeah mom is a good writer," Nat grinned. Turning she now looked at at Duke, curious about his parentage. "So what about you Duke?"
Duke paused, not willing to reveal his parentage just yet. "You said your moms last name was Belova," he asked, to which Nat nodded. "Thats just the name she uses to publish her work," she said. "She took my dads last name when they married. Our last name is MacGregor."
"Makes sense," Duke nodded. "Not many vampires leave the nation. I'm sure if any knew who she really was it could be problematic."
"Thats what mom says," Nat said softly. "She tries to keep a low profile. Now, who is the vampire on your side? Is it your mom? Your dad?"
"My father," Duke sighed.
"Is he nice?"
"No," Duke replied bitterly. "He took my mother as a concubine. An arranged marriage to produce a powerful heir. Unlike your mom, he cares little for humanity."
Nat balked, surprised to hear of a cruel vampire. All her life she had grown up believing that vampires were simply misunderstood. Yes they had a bad reputation however she had seen nothing but love from her own vampiric mother. It struck the teen with how fortunate she was to have a vampiric parent that cared deeply about humanity. "I'm sorry," she whispered. "Whats your dad's name?"
Duke now gazed at the young damphir teen. He couldn't help but feel a bit jealous of Nat's situation. Two loving parents, a vampire that cared, a happy childhood. As far as families went Nat had hit the jackpot. Duke couldn't help but admire the girls curiosity though, her persistence in learning of her vampiric heritage was a complete opposite of himself. He wondered now what the girl would think about his answer.
"My fathers name is Miro. Miro Tepes."
Nat's jaw dropped, her eyes bugging out at Duke's revelation. Everyone knew who Miro Tepes was as well as the Tepes name. They were royalty. Feared amongst vampires. "I didn't know he had a son," she whispered.
"I'm kind of the black sheep of the family," Duke smirked.
"Nat, Rei," Ms. McKinnon stated. "When we learned about you two we wanted to meet you. Introduce ourselves."
"We've only just gotten to know Duke," Gloria stated.
"And it didn't go well at first," Naomi added. "Glorias boyfriend Caleb tried to stake him."
"Thanks Naomi," Caleb grumbled. "Yall know I already apologized a hundred times."
"Regardless," Ms. McKinnon interrupted trying to get everyone to focus. "The reason for the introductions is because it seems Claudia and Mika approve of you as babysitters. It appears we'll be seeing more of eachother in the future."
Nat and Rei simply gawked as the group, watching as Gloria now stepped forward, a small smile etched across her face.
"Welcome to our world girls."