Academy of Monsters (on hold for now)

Chapter Three- Kota's POV

I slept like the dead, something that is a regular occurrence for me considering I'm half dead anyways, but that is beside the point. Waking today is different from the others since we've been in this house. Well, ever actually. I never knew how things would be when my father was still around. Tiptoeing around the house, hoping to not anger him with my presence, or set him off into a rage. Today, I have a new friend and we have a plan to bring others like us to a school just for us.

Just have to convince my mother that it's a good idea.

Looking to the couch, I realize Marc isn't asleep on the pullout couch like he was when I closed my eyes last night. Glancing around, I can't spot him in the room at all. My feet are up and I'm out of the room before I even made the conscious decision to search for him. When I find him in the kitchen with my mom and younger sister, a breath I didn't even realize I was holding releases from me in an audible breath.

"Dakota, dear, join us for breakfast."

"Thanks, mom. Marc, did you sleep well?" My mom smiles at my question. She has always tried to instill manners in us, though Jessica and I argued many times that we didn't have a reason to learn such things. Seems her teachings have stuck.

"Hey, Kota. Yeah, I slept great! Much more comfortable than the concrete slabs I'm used to."

His response has my head snapping to him and giving him a questioning look, but what I see reflected in his mismatched eyes, one blue and one green, is a horror that I don't want to push him on. I was always curious how other monsters in society lived. From a non-judgmental standpoint, I could understand how my family had it easy. We lived in a nice house, food was provided for three meals a day, and I always have a bed to call my own. Looking at Marc now though, I realize not all monsters had that luxury. What horrors did he encounter? How many years did he have to survive out on his own?

Hopefully in time he will trust me enough with his past and let me in. Maybe I can ease some of his suffering by being his friend and lending an ear whenever he needs one.

We sit through breakfast with my mom and sister, chatting and talking about lighter subjects. My mom must have seen something in Marc as well and wasn't willing to push him on the issues. When she was a human, she was a nurse's maid, taking care of elderly and sick patients in a local hospital. Her caring demeanor is what drew my father in. She still has that caringness about her, but it's now focused on me and Jessica. And I'm sure Marc soon as well. Convincing her to open a school for monsters will be hard, but I think if we hit her soft spots, we can get her to cave quickly. Just need to have a presentation she can't say no to.

After finishing our food, Marc and I head back up to my room to begin brainstorming.

We set out what we hope to gain by offering this opportunity to monsters. Classes we want to have provided to us. Meals for every monster we can think of (I only have a limited knowledge of this, unfortunately, but Marc knew several different species from his travels). Our goal is to create a place where the students will be able to embrace and celebrate what makes them different. We want them to be able to accept themselves, as well as others. Whether they are like them or different because all of their unique qualities are what real friendship is all about. Everything has come together nicely, but only one issue remains.

"How are we going to find monsters to invite to join the school?" I voice my hesitancy as to how this can work.

Marc looks to me then to my computer.

"Do you have access to the monster web?"

I pride myself on my intelligence. That isn't me sounding conceited or tooting my own horn. I have a high IQ, but I have noticed that it causes me to misunderstand some social circumstances. I only ever searched for things that caught my interest, not searching for things that could possibly lead me down a wrong path or into trouble. Maybe this is one such occasion where my inability to pick up on societal normalities.