Rel's first class was Mathematics. His teacher, Mr. Norman, was a middle-aged man who was very knowledgeable and taught the class well. However, he had an eccentric personality which caused the students to either really like or really dislike him depending on their personal preferences. He was also quite nosy, which he would always defend by saying he merely wanted to connect with his students better. Even though he was genuine in this regard, students who were more private found him annoying as he constantly tried to pry into their lives.

This was especially the case for Rel, who was usually bombarded with at least five personal questions a day.

However, today, Mr. Norman was not sitting by his desk finishing his last drops of coffee before the bell like he usually did. Instead, Rel saw a familiar girl wearing the academy uniform standing next to the blackboard with a pointing stick.

"Sera?" Rel said with slight shock.

Sera smiled and pointed towards the right side of her chest, displaying the silver badge of a substitute teacher.

"Yep! Mr. Norman is going to be gone for a bit so I'm filling it for him! I'm a part of the accelerated class so I've already covered the stuff you guys are supposed to learn. That's why until he comes back I'm going to be your substitute teacher!"

Rel let out a sigh.

[This girl... Member of the accelerated class, student council, and now even a substitute teacher? How is she able to commit to all this stuff and still have such a bright smile? Is she really human?!]

Rel gave Sera a thumbs up and went to his seat. Normally, if the teacher was absent it was the duty of the student representative to fill in for them. However, Andi seemed to be away as well.

This wasn't uncommon as Andi was known for getting excused absences on a constant basis. If he wasn't in class, ninety percent of the time it was because he was out currying favor with someone with influence, such as a faculty member or political figure.

[Wonder who the bootlicker is sucking up to this time...]

Rel did not mind Andi's absence. With him gone, it meant one less person who might talk to him, and he was perfectly fine with that.

Despite being the same age as the rest of them, Sera was a decent teacher. The class took a bit of time to adjust to her style of teaching, but a steady flow eventually developed. Her skill was slightly lacking compared to their original teacher Mr. Norman, but one thing she had him beat was keeping the class awake.

With a subject like mathematics, a few students were bound to get a bit bored no matter how good the teacher was. The course material was dry and many students just didn't have the attention span for it.

Yet, when Sera was teaching, she had the classes full attention and focus the entire time. This was especially the case for the boys, who seemed to be interested more in her than the contents on the board.

Even Rel felt energized and alert throughout Sera's lessons. Initially, he was feeling a bit drowsy, but as the lesson progressed, he found that his fatigue was decreasing more and more.

[Damn. Is she really that pretty that I'm being riled up like these other hormone driven idiots? Or is her enthusiasm and teaching just that good?]

After class ended, the boys roared with praise at Sera's lesson. They began to clap and some of them even asked if she could teach their other classes as well.

"Thanks guys! Good job keeping up with the lesson! Even though math can be a bit slow you all looked like you were paying attention!" Her bright turquoise eyes and innocent smile made for a very cute appearance.

She was hit up with many offers to hang out after class, but she denied them all. A few of them even came from some of the girls, who instead of getting jealous actually developed admiration and respect for her.

"Sorry guys, I'm pretty busy with all my other duties so I don't have much time after school or between classes. I'll see you all tomorrow in class though!"

Sera sighed as she saw the dejected faces of some of the students leaving the room. If she had the time, she wouldn't mind making some new friends, but she simply had too much left to do. Packing her things, she noticed that there was still one student left in the room.

"Hey, Nath right? How come you haven't left for your next class yet? If you don't hurry, you might really be late this time."

Rel let out a short chuckle and stood up from his seat.

"I'll manage. I just don't like to get stuck in all the traffic that builds up right when the bell rings."

"Smart guy... What happened to being just your typical everyday high school student?" She said with a mischievous grin.

Rel put up his hands in defeat.

"You got me there. Guess I'm a bit special after all."

He walked towards the door and Sera followed behind him.

"What's your next class?" She asked.

"History."

"Ah, I see. Guess we're going in the same direction then. I have to talk to the department head about a conference that is going to be held in a couple weeks."

The walk to the history building was awkward. Sera was a very outgoing person and usually attracted those of a similar nature. She was used to spirited conversation and idle chatter, but she got none of that with Rel. Whenever she tried to start up a topic, it would be shut down fairly quickly with Rel's one word responses.

"Sleep well last weekend? You look much better now compared to when we first bumped into each other before the break."

"Yeah."

"Do anything interesting during the days off?"

"No."

"Looking forward to anything once university starts?"

"Not really."

Sera was frustrated, but didn't show it. She didn't know if Rel was intentionally brushing her off or was just acting like he normally did.

"History is a boring class to alot of people. The stuff that is covered goes far back into medieval times. To most, it's just a collection of old stories and legends that sound too crazy to believe. It's optional too. Why did you take it?"

Rel did not answer right away. There was a brief pause before he finally spoke.

"Just because it sounds outrageous doesn't mean it's fake..."

Sera's eyes lit up. She finally found a topic that they could discuss about.

"That's true. There's plenty of evidence that many inhumane atrocities were committed by certain tyrannical rulers back then. Even supernatural creatures that were thought to exist during that time weren't completely baseless either. In reality, they were just glorified versions of real animals."

Rel let out a faint smile when he heard this. He didn't say anything and just chuckled.

"Let's just say that I have alot of interest in that supernatural stuff. You can call me a bit of a nerd I guess. What about you? Are you taking history too?"

"Yeah... I'll be honest though, it wasn't really my decision. My dad is a history nut as well and he really pushed me to put it on my timetable. I was going to refuse because my schedule was already busy enough, but when he started to get on his knees I just couldn't."

"Haha! What a shameless guy. Do you enjoy it yourself though?"

Sera shrugged her shoulders.

"It's additional knowledge. I don't think I'll use it too much in the future, but it's an easy course and a nice break from the rest I took."

"Nothing wrong with a good grade booster."

Soon enough, Rel and Sera arrived at the history building. They were about to part ways when they heard voices coming from down the hall.

"Hurry up! We're going to be late!"

"Hey! You can't rush going to the bathroom! Geez..."

"What an interesting start to our first day."

The voices seemed to belong to children, filling the area and coupled with the sound of stomping feet. As the sounds drew closer, Sera noticed two young boys and a girl running down the hallway towards them. Rel's eyes widened when he saw who the three individuals were.

"Hey guys. Isn't that Rel over there?" Ital pointed.

Piri slapped him on the back of the head.

"Quiet! We're supposed to keep our real names a secret remember?!"

"Come to think of it, we never found out what we were supposed to call him in public." Sly added.

"Hey! Mr. Teacher!" Ital shouted.

Within a few short moments, Ital, Piri, and Sly arrived before Sera and Rel.

Sera looked over the three youths standing before her. Based on how young they looked and how they wore the academy uniform, she assumed that the three of them were freshmen.

"You know these students Nath?" She asked.

Rel scratched his head.

"Um, yeah. They're my... distant cousins." In truth, Rel did not really know how to describe his relationship with the three junior vampires. They were all part of the same clan and thus shared the same blood, but it was hard to say where they would fit within a family tree.

Ital's eyes sparkled as he turned his gaze towards Sera.

"Yo Nath! Who is this? Is she your girlfriend? Man you scored big! She's the prettiest girl I've seen in this school so far!" Ital said outloud.

Rel's eyes flickered red. He swore that the next time he was alone with Ital he was going to throw him into a concrete wall.

Piri covered Ital's mouth and pulled him over.

"Sorry about that, our friend isn't right in the head. He just blurts things out without thinking first. He didn't mean what he just said." She said quickly.

Sera did not get angry and instead showed the same kind smile she always put on.

"It's alright, you guys are new to this school right? Welcome! I'm Sera. I'm a senior student just like your cousin Nath. I'm also part of the student council, so if you have any questions just drop by the council meeting room. Anyways, I have to go see one of the professors now, you guys should get going too or your going to be late for your next classes!" Checking the clock at the main entrance, Sera noticed that she was already a few minutes behind schedule. She quickly waved goodbye to Nath and began to walk away down the halls.

After she was no longer in view, Piri slapped Ital hard in the head once more.

"Owww... What was that for?"

"You idiot! You can't just say things like that to other people!" Piri scolded.

"What's the issue? I was complimenting both of them. I called that girl pretty and I called 'Nath' a winner for being with her."

Piri shook her head.

"You need to learn something called social intelligence..."

"What's that?"

"Something you don't have." Sly laughed.

Rel let out a faint smile as he watched the three bicker. He didn't feel like punting Ital across the the ends of the earth anymore, Instead, he let out a deep breath and decided to act like the responsible mentor he was supposed to be.

"Alright kiddies, it was nice seeing you all again, but its time for class. How about we all meet back here after school and get some ice cream to celebrate your first day?"

"Sure!" The three immediately stopped bickering and agreed in unison. They then walked out of the building with smiles on their faces as if their argument earlier was just a dream.

[They really are kids... I just mentioned ice cream and they immediately stopped arguing. Well, this is my last year, so I guess I should give back to this academy by making sure these three adjust to the system.]

Leaving for his History class, Rel didn't notice that two pairs of eyes were watching him from the roof of a nearby building.

"Interesting, it looks like he's taking care of three little brats now. What do you think of this Livac?" Sirvis asked while stroking his chin.

Livac clenched his fists so hard that his nails left imprints in his hand.

"I will slaughter them. Once they're dead I will throw their corpses beneath his feet. Only after beating him to a bloody pulp while watching him despair over the deaths of those close to him will I have avenged my brother!"

"Since you're so motivated, I will let you take the lead on this mission then." Sirvis reached into his coat pocket and threw a small object towards Livac. Upon receiving the item, slight shock appeared on his face. Livac paused for a moment and furrowed his brows before he began to walk towards the roof exit, putting the item into his pocket.

"Put on a good show." Sirvis smiled.