"ABSOLUTELY NOT!" dad fumes once Aunt Beth mention of my request to attend a human school. As you can tell, he is not taking this news lightly. Our dinner is forgotten since dad is too worked up to eat.

"But dad... I want to do this," I say, pleading for him to understand. It's now or never. "I want to experience school."

Dad casts a glare at me. His face is turning so red that I'm afraid his face is going to explode. Uncle Seb is sitting silently while playing with his veggies in front of him. I notice he occasionally make a smiley face then turn it into a frown and back to a smiley face using the veggies, rice and chicken on his plate. Uncle Seb can be very childish sometimes.

"No, you will not go to that school, Melinda," dad commands with anger in his eyes.

I jump up to my feet and glare back at him. "I am not a kid anymore. I know how to act human and I won't let anyone know of my real self. Please, dad, I really want to do this..."

"What if you slip up? What if you didn't know you slip up and on the next day I will find you dead somewhere? I will not take that risk," dad roars, banging his fist on the table.

My breath hitches at that thought. Fear seeps into me at the thought of death.

"They will never know," I mumble weakly, sitting back down. An idea hit me. "As long as I'm not near the sea, I am as human as everyone else. The school isn't near the beach so I will be fine. Besides, I will have Valerie with me. She's as human as me too!"

"Valerie is different," dad says. "She is human and you are not. She can go to that school for all I care, but it is up to her parents. You are not going anywhere near everyone else."

"You can't lock me up here forever, dad!" I yell angrily. "I will have to go out there eventually!"

"As long as I am alive, you will obey me, Melinda Caesar," dad orders calmly. "You are not going to that human school. End of discussion. Now eat your dinner."

I stand up and huff loudly. "You are not my real father, so you are not the boss of me." 

With that, I stomp out of the dining area and head straight for my room. Childishly, I slam the door shut to make sure everyone in the house can hear me.

I pace up and down in my room until the clock strikes 12 midnight. A few minutes after the fiasco in the kitchen, Aunt Beth approached my door and attempted to let her into my room. She gave up but left what's left of my dinner in front of my door. I didn't have the appetite to eat so I stubbornly left the plate where it was.

I called Valerie to tell her about my father's decision and she told me that her parents were also against the idea. Val mentioned that her mother seems to understand what her daughter is going through so there might be a chance for her to go to the school after all.

Then I spend hours on my laptop learning as much as I can about humans. I didn't realise how much information there is about Sirens on the internet and how accurate most of the websites are. The Great Battle has the whole world thinking that all Sirens are evil and should be hunted down the extinction. There is even a government-funded association dedicated to hunting Sirens.

However, I am not a Siren. Not a full-blooded one, anyway.

There isn't much to know about mermaids since apparently the King of Atlantis has kept the mermaid away from human sight for safety purposes. A handful of mermaids live close to human civilization since their job is to hunt every Siren in sight.

One thing for sure, I can never swim in public waters. My appearance makes me look more like a Siren compared to a mermaid. No doubt that the mermaids will kill me on sight if they see my Siren self. Sometimes I wonder what characteristics I have which still makes me related to a mermaid.

Dad always tell me that what's important is that I know what is right from wrong. I don't lure humans to their death, although I do have their singing abilities to hypnotize people.

Also, I am different from both the Sirens and mermaids. I can gain a human body once no seawater touches me. No one else has that ability.

To keep my existence a secret, I gotta avoid seawater in the human school and not swim in public beaches. Oh, and I can't sing.

Simple enough, right?

I look out of the window to see nothing but trees. Val said that there is a town not far away from here. I can sneak out and observe how other supernatural beings interact with humans. Based on several websites, the town has a handful of vampires and werewolves. The number of human citizens exceeds if the number of both vampires and werewolves are combined. The Minotaurs are excluded since most of the Minotaur population lives at the edge of the forest.

I look at the time to find out that it is almost 2 in the morning. Not many would be awake now so there is no use sneaking out to see nothing.

The moment I wake up, I put my ears against my door to hear any movements in the house. Aunt Beth and dad are still asleep and judging from the lack of a car in the driveway, Uncle Seb has gone to work. It is 7 in the morning and they won't wake up until 8.

I manage to tiptoe until I reach the front door without waking anyone up. The way to the town is simple since there is only one road leading towards it. In no time, the view of the town enters my vision. Most of the houses are terrace houses and the buildings are short. Unlike the Minotaurs' place, the town is less spread out and more advanced. There are many modes of transportation and the people who look around my age travel using bicycles and skateboards.

I look around as I wander aimlessly in town. I make sure I stay on the pavement like everyone on foot does. I find myself in a park of some sorts and take a seat on a bench.

This is way different from the Minotaurs' town. Children younger than me are playing at the playground set. I notice two girls chatting loudly while playing in the swings. A young werewolf has transformed into his wolf and a human child is wrestling in the sandbox. The werewolf is careful to make sure that his teeth and claws will not cause any damage to the human child. A pair of vampires sitting in a bench next to me, eyeing everyone in the park.

The young werewolf shake himself to get rid of the sand and jog his way to the vampires with his tongue sticking out. The female vampire smiles at the werewolf and rub behind his ear. I can't help but stare at the small family. I am guessing that the vampire couple adopted this werewolf child and I have never seen anything like it before in my life.

The female vampire notice that I have been staring at them and I quickly look away, cheeks turning red in embarrassment. I wait for a while before I look at them again. This time, the three of them stare at me.

I am about to leave when the female vampire strolls her way to me with the werewolf by her side. I quickly scoot away to the edge of the bench, fearing that she is after my blood.

Instead of showing her fangs and launching towards my throat like I had imagines vampires do, she gives me a kind smile. It takes me aback how normal-looking vampires are. The female vampire is short. Almost as short as Aunt Beth. She is wearing simple clothes; a blouse and shorts. Her shoulder-length black hair is hanging just above her shoulders and dull red eyes staring straight into my soul.

I cringe at her stare. Red eyes creep me out.

"Where are your parents?" she asks me softly. Her hands are in front of herself to show me that she does not intend to harm me.

I do not reply, only shaking a little in fear. I have never been this close to a vampire before. I wonder if her eyes are red because she is thirsty.

"Are you lost?" she asks again, genuine concern in her voice.

My throat is dry as I try to come up with a lie. My stomach grumble suddenly, announcing to the world that I'm hungry. I am starting to regret not having dinner last night and skipping breakfast.

The werewolf tilts his head to one side, staring at me with his brown eyes.

The female vampire looks down at her watch. "It's going to be noon soon. I can't leave you in the park alone... It's dangerous to be here without your parents, child."

Motionlessly, I stare at her. She sighs and look down at the werewolf.

While the male vampire joins her, I notice something moving from the corner of my eyes. The werewolf also noticed since he growls sharply with eyes on the moving bushes. The two vampires stand defensively in front of the werewolf and I, fangs exposed at the possible threat.

I turn my attention to my right where I see someone familiar heading towards our direction in inhuman speed. A smile come to my face when I recognize who it is.

"Vaughn!" I say happily, running towards the furry creature with ease. Vaughn grumbles in his chest when I hug him. He is bigger than the last time I saw him. His horns looks closely like a pair of bull's horns. He pushes me behind his large form and snarls at the two vampires threateningly.

The two vampires snarl back. The small family is surprised to see a Minotaur. The female vampire glances at me with concern.

"It's okay, Vaughn. They didn't hurt me," I say, grabbing a fistful of his fur and gently tug for his attention.

Valerie's older brother turns to look at me with his pitch black eyes. He lets out a grumble in an attempt to tell me something.

"Sorry, Vaughn. I don't speak caveman," I say snarkily.

He growls at me, insulted. He scoops me easily into his arms and run towards the Minotaurs' town before I can do anything.

Vaughn brought me to the main house where dad, Aunt Beth, Valerie, Mr. Caleb and Miss Lisbeth awaits our arrival.

I am so in trouble.

Author's Note

Stay tuned for more!

-M.