Carmen Komode.

That's my name.

It always has and always will be. The thing you don't understand about me is I'm not just some ordinary girl. I'm a half dragon; yep, you did read that right and I'm not lying either. I go to a school in South America, Bolivia to be exact. It's a special one just for people like me half monsters, for some people it's easy to blend in because they look exactly like humans. Mika Elrond, one of my two best friends, is a half elf. Not the ones who help cobblers make shoes, more like the ones from Rivendale in J.R.R.Toliken's Lord of the Rings. Then there's Aretimis Swift, she is a half wolf. A bit like a werewolf but isn't so vicious. She does have a dreadful temper when provoked as well as during a full moon.

Ok, so back to me, I can't just go out exploring because I have scales. Yeah you read that right as well, I have scales on my face, arms, legs and stomach which makes it very hard to not be noticed among kiiles; I'm sorry that's what we call humans. Mika is so lucky, she just has pointed ears and is taller than average but Aretimis, like myself, cannot leave either. She has hazel fur and claws. As well as this, she also has these cute wolf ears that help her hearing and are on top of her head. She can move them to show emotion. Then, of course, there are half phoenixes, half cat and plenty of others that are simply ineffable. Then there's Bella Donna she's half wood nymph. You can tell that by the pale green tint in her skin. The boys all think she's the bee's knees, but, to be honest, she's as poisonous as her name.

Every school has a mean girl and Señora Piccada's Colegio para la salvaje y raro - which usually goes by the simple name of Piccada Colegio - is no different. Today, at the boarding house, when our House Matron, a half augerey, rang the gong that symbolised that it was time for visiting day, guess who was the first up - Bella. She raced over to the window and started her daily routine of spying on the centaur boys riding up from their specially designed stables/dorm room.

"Omg! They are so hot!" she squealed, "Someone make my bed for me, I am dreadfully busy."

I rolled my eyes and look over at the bed next to me where Aretimis was, in wolf form, curled up, sleeping on the end.

I forgot it was a full moon last night. That explains the reason why my trunk is a mess and the curtains have been slightly chewed. Aretimis - I just remembered to say - is the only half wolf in the school so she gets very lonely when we're all asleep at a full moon and she has no-one to play with.

I gently shake her awake and straighten my sheets. As a half dragon, everything I own is either burnt a bit or in tatters from when I have lost my temper and my scales have spiked outwards.

"Wakey, wakey, my wolf friend." I coo, tickling her under the chin. Slowly, the hazel wolf melts back into the shape of a fifteen year old girl, sprawled on the end of her bed.

"Ugh." She muttered, "What's the time? I was up all night, 'slept for the last three hours. I'm starving."

Mika giggled, "No change there, then, Areti."

Aretimis growled and her eyes flash, dangerously, "Watch it." She said, "You could be my next meal, Mika."

Aretimis is always making threats like that, and the thing is, she never means those things...unless, of course, that person happens to be Bella.

"What did I say, freaks!" Bella's ordering us about again, there are only four other people in this dorm besides her. Mika, Areti, me and another girl, a half basilisk this time, who's name is Tiena Serpan.

Tiena is short for serpentiena. That kinda makes sense seeing as she has yellow eyes with black slits for pupils and a long snake's tail instead of legs. It's her tail that is the reason she gets bullied on a daily basis. Even though centaurs are technically similar to her, horse bodies instead of legs, they still find reason to bully her.

Tiena's from South Africa and her tail is one of a black mamba's. When she first arrived, Bella 'took her under her wing', insisting that she would 'take care' of her but really, she just used her to do her dirty business. Tiena has learnt her lesson now, after getting detention for the third time, she stopped going after Bella and doing her duties.

"No Tiena, I'll make Bella's bed for her." Said Mika, hurriedly, throwing out a hand to stop Tiena from going over to Bella's bed.

Tiena's also extremely shy so we have barely heard her speak since she arrived, two months ago.

"Ok." She whispered, huddling back up on her bed in the corner.

When you enter the dorm, on the far left side is Tiena's bed, then mine, then Areti's and then Bella's.

On the wall on which the door is situated are two, large wardrobes. Tiena, Mika and me share one, Areti and Bella share the other. Bella's side of the wardrobe is full of designer clothes, Areti's has got shirts, combat trousers and trainers with a couple of jumpers in it. Quite the opposite to Bella's, as you can tell.

"Argh, Bella, what the hell is this stuff?!" cursed Aretimis, withdrawing her hand from Bella's bedside cabinet with her hand stuck inside a huge pot of what looked like seaweed and cat pee.

"Huh, trust you not to know what it is, Moon-Creep. Obviously it's a 10,000 Dragona face mask." Bella yawned as if this was every day info that she was throwing away.

Bella's father is Monkshood Donna. The designer. All the cash that he gets, he gives it away to his only - spoilt - daughter.

Oh yeah, by the way, Dragona is our currency. We don't use Pounds, Euros or Dollars, every half monster on this Earth uses Dragona to buy things, sell things and every other weird thing you normal people use money for. The sign for Dragona is this: ~D~

Mika grabbed hold of Bella's duvet and tugged it into place. She then plumped up the two pillows that lay at the head of all our four-poster beds and folded up the extra blanket - which was pink - on the end of it.

Aretimis rolled her eyes and her ears suddenly swivelled towards the door.

"Hurry up, you guys." She hissed, scruffily making her slightly ruffled bed, "I can hear people going down to breakfast."

As Areti said this, she had pulled off her pyjamas, shoved them under her pillow, and ran over to the wardrobe that was hers and Bella's - only wearing her underwear. After this, she scanned the shelves and hooks on her side before picking out some army camo patterned combat trousers and a khaki green top with some timberland walking boots. Areti's always ready for action. This was evidently ruined by Bella hollering, "Aretimis! You are polluting my priceless ensembles with your....yerggh! Your fashion sense has less range than a half full teaspoon!"

I laughed and quickly got dressed with the others to join her.

"Geez, Areti, why are you always so quick at everything?" shrieked Mika, Teina stumbled down after the rabble that was us three.

"Noooo!" screamed Bella as I knocked her 'face cream' onto the floor in my haste to get down stairs, "Carmen, you beast!"

I grinned, "Good thing I am one then!"

Very soon, I noticed too late that Areti had skidded to a halt opposite the huge oak door on the other side of the corridor that led to the Dining Hall.

With a yell, Mika slid into her, I fell on top of her and Teina stumbled into me.

"What the heaven's hell?" I swore, rubbing my shoulder that had connected with the hard, stone floor and grimacing.

"You shouldn't swear Carmen, you'll get put in the Well." Sighed Mika, nursing the large bruise that had bloomed on her elbow.

The Well is what we call detention. And for good reason.

It's a huge pit in the Warlock Woods that stands in the grounds , covering over two miles. The pit itself is twelve metres deep with a circumference of twenty four metres.

I've never been in it, but Areti has been put in it over three times. She doesn't mind though, she says it reminds her of the forest in which she spent her life before she came to this school.

I peered over Mika's platinum blonde head and immediately saw why Areti had stopped.

Her all time crush, a part vampire called Baid, was strolling along the corridor towards the Dining Hall door with his friends, a centaur called Darius and a half cat called Priam.

"Hey Aretimis." Baid called, raising his dark eyebrows as he noticed the scattered pile behind her that consisted of myself, Mika and Teina.

Areti blushed and raised a hand in hello.

I can kinda see why Areti likes him. He's tall. Pale skin, golden-brown, messy hair and he's adventurous. The only down side is, he's a vampire and Areti's a 'werewolf' and werewolves and vampires do NOT get along.