Page 4 of Vexing the Viper

"King. Nice to meet you."

He's about to say something else when the doors swing open and slam shut. An older woman with gray hair glides down the aisle. And I do meanglides. She's floating down the aisle on a mortar—which looks like a barrel—her eyes focused on the front. The room quiets down, her presence commanding our attention.

"Wow," I whisper, in awe of her.

"Good day, students," she says as she reaches the front of the room. "My name is Dean Yaga, and I'm here to lead the human orientation. Firstly, I want to say welcome to everyone here. We are very lucky to be welcoming human students for the first time to Creelin University."

Dean Yaga gives us her introduction speech, telling us all about the history of Creelin U. She explains more about what they call the Halloween Wave. It was a paranormal event that happened two decades ago that ended up turning a large number of the population into monsters. We still don’t know what caused the wave, only that it came and went overnight. I was a baby when it happened, so while I don't remember it, I grew up existing side-by-side with monsters. She explains the different courses we will be enrolled in, including Intro to Monsterkind as well as Monster History. I’m looking forward to taking them; Iwantto learn everything I can about monsters. After giving us a rundown on what to expect this school year, she dismisses us so we can finish unpacking and getting ready for classes.

"Hey, man. Do you want to walk over to the Athletics Center together for the team meetup?" Sam asks as we stand up and start heading out of the room.

"Yeah, sure." We walk out of the building, and I stop abruptly. "Do you know where it is?"

"This way." He takes off to the left, and I follow his lead. "I learned my way from my dorm room to the facility this morning. I figured I would need to know that path, plus I had extra time since none of my roommates were there."

"Yours, too?" I ask him, catching up and walking beside him. "Mine weren't there either. But anyways, are you going to that bonfire tonight?"

"Yeah, you?"

"Yeah, I think so. I debated not going, just because I still need to unpack, but I probably should get to know the other students here.”

“Let's go together. I don’t know anyone else here, and I bet you don’t either," Sam says, turning left toward a huge gray building with gargoyles perched on the top. Rumor has it someof the gargoyles are alive, but no one knows which ones–or if that even stands.

"Hell yeah, sounds good!"

We end up at the Athletics Center, and Sam shows me the way to the locker room. I walk inside, taking everything in. There’re lockers lined up all around the wall with benches in front of them. There’s a hallway off to the side, and I can see the signs that point to the Coach’s office. There's already a ton of players–and no seats left, so we lean against the back wall.

Coach Mahone walks into the room, clearing his throat. All of us shut up real quick, waiting to see what he has to say.

"Afternoon, all. First, to those who weren't here last year, welcome to Creelin U. It's a pretty damn good school, with a damn good baseball team, if I'm being honest." Coach Mahone chuckles, and while I hear what he's saying, all I can focus on is his head. He looks completely normal—like a human—except for the fact that under his baseball cap aresnakes. The reptiles are hissing and winding around his neck, and I can't help but to fixate on them.

"Are those dangerous?" I whisper to Sam, not taking my eyes off the snakes.

"Yeah, they can be."

"So, fucking cool," I murmur.

Coach Mahone finishes his speech and introduces us to the rest of the assistant coaches. Then he gives us time to introduce ourselves and share our positions.

"Uh, I'm Kingston. Or King, or even Porter if you like last names. I'm a catcher," I ramble nervously. Sweat starts to form on my brow and I quickly wipe it off. “I’m a junior this year at CU, and excited to start the season.” Fuck, starting over on a new team is hard. I’m anxious about having to show everyone I was worth the scholarship to come here.

Next to me, Sam pipes up. "Hi, I'm Sam Santora. I'm a pitcher. Can't wait to get out on the field!" The rest of the team whoops and cheers before moving onto the next person.

"Hell yeah, man, catcher and pitcher. Dream team right here." I fist bump him.

"This is going to be a great fucking season." Sam replies, bumping his shoulder into mine.

We stay at the Athletics Center for another hour talking with other teammates before finally deciding to leave. I’ve learned many of the players on the team are monsters, but they’re excited to have humans join in. A few of them give us newbies a tour of the facilities, showing us the weight room and field. I’m still nervous about riding the bench, but the team has welcomed me with open arms.

"Meet you outside the dorm at eight for the bonfire?" I ask Sam as I begin walking away.

"Sounds good."

I sipon my third beer as my eyes scan the students dancing around the fire. Sam and I have been at the bonfire for the past hour, and I’ve been taking everything in. Humans and monsters are mingling for the most part. There's flirting, dancing, and drinking. A few people are acting wild, shot-gunning beers or playing beer pong. It's a typical college party, and I'm loving it.

This is my kind of scene.

I love being the party guy, the happy one. I always try to see the good things in life, and I don't let many things get me down. Some people consider me to be too much, but I tend to think I'm just enough.

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