Saving The Bridges

Chapter 2

"Alright, class. Settle down," Mr. Makhneva called out just as the school bell rang for first period. "We've got a lot of things to cover today so if you could pay attention for a change, we'll get through this quicker." Despite his words, more than half the class wasn't really paying attention as they talked amongst one another, texting on their phones, or just staring off into space. "Whatever," the teacher muttered, picking up his attendance sheet. "Maxine Alder."

"Here!" a girl sitting on the left side of the room called out without looking up from her phone, making duck lips to her camera.

"Patrick Ashton."

"Here, unfortunately," a guy sitting in the back called, resting his head on his desk and was soon snoozing away causing some of his friends sitting around him to laugh.

"Jacky Bane."

"Here," a girl said softly, her voice velvety causing a few guys around her to melt. It made sense since she was a vampire. They were naturally very alluring by nature from the way they speak, to the way they walk, the way they act and even the way they look even if they are staying perfectly still.

"Owen Birchwood."

"Here," a guy sitting by the window answered gruffly, glaring at the vampire girl who merely gave him a sideways glance with a look of pure uninterest. As if she were looking at a bug causing the werewolf to growl low in his throat.

"Noah Bridgeton."

More than half the class froze, looking over or glaring at the blonde who was sitting in the very center of class. Noah felt extremely awkward, glancing around him. There were only six humans in the entire class including Noah with the rest either vampires or werewolves. To Noah's right, there were werewolves who were sitting together, having pulled their desks closer to one another. It wasn't so it was easier for them to talk since werewolves could talk on a telepathic level, mind to mind. They did like to group together, like a pack, as they drew strength from one another. Strength in numbers, so to speak. To Noah's left, there were vampires who were a little too still to be normal which made them stand out against the human students. They weren't sitting prim and proper like great nobility as most of the vampires originally were but, even as they slouched in their seats or acted like the humans did, there was a certain air about them that made them stand out even amongst humans who were oblivious to their existence. Just like all the stories, werewolves and vampires hate one another with a rivalry that dated back centuries, maybe over a millennia. They fought like cats and dogs anytime they came together but there was one thing they hated more than each other.

Hunters.

"Here," Noah called meekly, rubbing the back of his neck feeling intense stares that felt like individual knives stabbing into his skin.

The teacher continued to call attendance, all the while all the werewolves and vampires were glaring at Noah. "So I guess everyone heard about the hunt last night," Noah thought with a sigh, slumping in his seat like that would somehow hide him from the other students.

It wasn't long before everyone was called on and the teacher was explaining what they'd be doing for class today. It was the worst possible scenario for Noah as the teacher was assigning a group project. "I want you all to look up unique inventions and make a presentation about it which you will all present next week. I've given you a list of options to choose from so I'll have you split up into groups of six. Except for the last group which will have seven since there are thirty one of you," Mr. Makhneva told them all, adding that no one was allowed to switch groups. Just like that, Noah found himself in a group with three vampires and three werewolves who all hated his guts. "I expect you all to work together on this. No sharing a slide presentation you can work on at home. You'll need to buy a presentation board, write down all the information you found, no printed out words other than pictures since I know most of you aren't that artistic. Then you'll present it before the class like you were presenting a revolutionary invention. You'll get an A depending on all these factors so try to put a little bit of effort into it," Mr. Makhneva drawled, clearly not having expectations for this class.