BEEP! BEEP! BEEP! BEEP! That's the sound that Josh wakes up to every morning at six-thirty sharp. It was the weekend, and as much as he would like to sleep in, the dining hall only serves breakfast for one hour and he didn’t want to have to wait until lunch to get a decent meal in his stomach. Groggily switching off his alarm, Josh got out of bed and went into the bathroom for his morning shower. Afterward, he got dressed in his usual outfit, a gray hoodie with a Nike swoosh on the chest, slightly faded blue jeans, and black sneakers. He hastily combed his medium length brown hair, cleaned the grime from his deep blue eyes, and left the dorm.
He made his way across the campus and to the dinning hall. Monsters typically didn't eat the same food as humans did, with diets varying based on species, so after accepting humans as students, the Academy had to make a few changes to the menu. Food was served buffet style, with two serving stations on opposite sides of the room. One for monsters, with such delicacies as raw meat, bugs, and other things humans would consider gross, while the other had eggs, bacon, toast, typical human breakfast foods.
Josh helped himself to a tray of scrambled eggs and sausage with a side of pancakes, and began contemplating how his life at Monstrossia Academy had turned out so far.
It had been a month since he had been accepted to the Academy, a month since he received that letter telling him he had been awarded a scholarship to the most prestigious school in the monster world. In that time, he had made some new friends as well as a couple of enemies.
Speaking of which, one such friend was approaching his table, it was Nancy the centaur. She had long silver hair tied in a ponytail, and wore a white tank-top over her human torso, with her horse half being black, and her tail the same color as her hair. She and Josh had met on his first day at the Academy, when they were assigned as work partners in one class, and they quickly became good friends. She placed her tray aside of his and stood at the end of the table as she ate. Being half horse made it extremely difficult to use any form of chair.
"Mornin' Josh. Any plans for today?" Josh shrugged. "Nothing comes to mind, why?" "I was just thinking, since we have the whole day free, how about we head into the city for the day, you know, just for fun. I could show you around town, we can get some lunch, just hang out together. "Sure." said Josh " I finished my homework last night, and don't have anything better to do. Sounds like fun."
After breakfast, Josh and Nancy were walking together down the cobblestone path that lead from the campus courtyard to the iron gates of the main entrance, when they ran into the two monsters they had hoped to avoid, Malcolm Graveston, and Morgan Reeves. Malcolm was a vampire, who always dressed in expensive black suits and had dark, slicked back hair, which contrasted with his pale skin and matched his eyes. When out in daylight, he carried a black umbrella to shade himself, as was common with his race. Real vampires won't die from sunlight exposure, but it does bother their eyes and irritate their skin if they're in it for too long. Morgan was Malcolm's girlfriend, and a literal succubus. She had skin as red as a tomato, and wore a black tube top and skirt with high heeled leather boots and fishnet stockings. But her most distinguishing features were the two small horns protruding from her forehead, the bat-like wings on her back, and her piercing yellow eyes with slitted pupils that almost seemed to glow, as well as a long tail with an arrowhead shaped tip that protruded from her backside.
The two of them were the meanest monsters in the whole school, especially to the human students. "Well, if it isn't the bloodbag and his horsey friend." said Malcolm with a sneer. Morgan snickered. " Why don't you and the rest of the apes go back where you belong, to that festering trash-heap you call Earth?"
"Get lost you two." said Josh "We're not in the mood for your crap today." Malcolm just smirked and crossed his arms "Really? And who's gonna make us?" Nancy stepped forward, a scowl on her face "I am." Now it was Morgan's turn to smirk "Ooooh, is the little pony feeling brave today?" Morgan quickly realized her mistake when Nancy pivoted around so her rear end was facing Morgan, and kicked with her hind legs, hitting Morgan in the face and sending her flying backwards several feel, a couple of horseshoe prints embedded on her forehead. Malcolm ran to help his girlfriend, who hissed angrily at Nancy as she and Malcolm decided to leave. "Why'd you do that?" Josh asked Nancy " Because" she replied " it is a very serious insult among centaurs to call someone a pony, and besides, she deserved it anyway." Josh nodded "Can't argue with you there."
After leaving the school grounds, Nancy allowed Josh to climb on her back and ride her into town. "You're sure you're okay with this?" Josh asked as Nancy galloped down the sidewalk. "Of course. You should feel honored, letting someone ride you is a centaur's ultimate show of trust." Her response flattered, as well as confused him "We've only known each other for a few weeks, and you trust me that much already? How?" Nancy shrugged "I guess you just have that affect on people."
As they entered the city, Nancy slowed down to a trot due to the crowded sidewalks. Monsters of all kinds, as well as humans, went about their routines, while the sky was filled with flying creatures, from harpies to dragons. Josh asked "So what is there to do around here?" "All kinds of things." Nancy said "We could see a movie, go to the mall, head over to the beach, there's lots of stuff to do here."
They decided to hit the mall first, since it was nearby. It was a lot like a mall in the human world, with shops selling clothes, shoes, a food court, and so on. But aside from that, there were also stores that specialized in magical things, such as enchanted objects, potion ingredients, there was even a book store that sold all kinds of spell books. " We'll have to take a look in there later." Said Josh upon passing the book store. "Maybe we can find a book of curses to teach Morgan and Malcolm a lesson." They both laughed at that.
After walking around and checking out the various shops for a couple hours, they decided to get some lunch. They made their way to the food court, where Josh ordered a couple hamburgers and fries, while Nancy had a plate of hay. As they ate, Josh noticed a large shadow loom over him from behind, and heard a voice that made his blood turn to ice. "Hello Joshie, fancy meeting you here." Josh turned in his seat to face the nine foot tall wall of fur and muscle that was Kayla Halfmoon. She was a werewolf with gray fur and bright yellow eyes, dressed in shorts and a pink tank-top. She never wore shoes, as her feet had natural leathery pads that cushioned her steps.
Josh couldn't help but be nervous around Kayla, not because she was a girl, but more due to the fact of her huge size, sharp, flesh rending claws, and her muzzle lined with razor sharp teeth. Not that Kayla ever noticed, because she was madly in love with Josh, and would do anything to have him as her boyfriend. Josh knew he was afraid of Kayla, but he couldn't bring himself to say it to her face. Partially out of not wanting to hurt her feelings, but mostly out of fear how she would react, which would likely end with him being torn in half by a heartbroken werewolf.
"Hello Kayla." Said Josh, trying to keep his voice from shaking. "Mind if I sit with you?" Kayla asked. Josh timidly shook his head. Kayla sat her tray of bloody raw meat on the table and sat next to Josh. "So Joshie, I'm gonna be going home to visit my family later today, and I was wondering if you'd like to come along so I can introduce you."