"Okay, let's try this again." Calvin said patiently as he opened his notebook, "This is a human tongue, got it?" He drew a U shape on the last page of the book.

"That does not look like a tounge." Braedon commented.

"Shut up and listen." Calvin shaded the tip of the supposed tongue, "This is where you taste sweet stuff, got it?" He then circled different section of the tongue and labelled, "This is sour, this is bitter and here is salty. Easy enough?"

"So," Braedon asked, dragging out the oo, "if I were to take sugar and put it here," he pointed to the bitter detecting taste buds part, "would sugar taste bitter?"

Calvin sighed and banged his head on the desk once before saying, "No, it would be tasteless. The taste buds don't make taste. They just detect it. Besides, if you put sugar at the back of your tongue, it would still taste sweet because salvia keeps mixing stuff up." 

After a moment of silence, Calvin asked, "You got it, right?"

"Whatever you do in life, Calvin," Braedon said seriously, "don't become a teacher."

"Calvin, you ready?" Sally asked, as Calvin stood in front of the mirror, tugging at the frills of his shirt. His mother had brought him his school uniform from the noble market the day before from her way to work because apparently, they couldn't wear the same thing as the 'locals'. 

It was a white shirt with more frills than he would've liked, the kind you see vampires wear. 

It was bad enough his dad always called him a vampire because he looked like one (hey, it's not his fault he doesn't go out a lot) and now his clothes were vampire-ish too.

The shirt was tucked in a plane black pant, with a leather brown belt, which had a sort of hook in the side, which his mom said was for a sword, if he got selected. 

The clip on the belt was blank grey, which seemed a little odd, but Calvin didn't question it. Maybe they added the logo on it based on what house he got into, if there were houses in the first place. 

At least, it wasn't like the ridiculous clothes they had worn to market. These were comparatively more human. At least, now he looked like a vampire rather than a clown.

"Yes mom!" He called out, as he entered the dining room. His father was at the stove and his mom was sitting at the table, fiddling with a pin in her hand. 

Both of them were in their job clothes, which had more frills than Calvin could ever pull off without looking like a three year old wearing a Cinderella dress two sizes too big, but both his parents looked regal. At least, they didn't look like vampires. 

His mother called him close and brought the pin she was holding close to the grey section of his belt. It stuck like a magnet. It had green background, with a faceless person with deep red angel wings surrounded by larger, shiny fairy wings. They were in sharp contrast to each other and looked amazing in their green background. 

"It's the McKay badge. It depicts a part of every living McKay, in a way. Right now, it's just the three of us. We'll have your wings added to the design when they unfurl." She said. 

"So, junior McKay, excited for school?" His dad asked.

"I don't know." Calvin said, pensively, "I mean, one way, I want to see this new school, but then I am nervous. I know nothing about what's going to happen. I don't even know the basics."

"If it's any consolation, Susan's in your year too. Until the segregation, at least."

"Segregation?"

"You'll know. It's better if it's a surprise."

"Is it like Hogwarts sorting ceremony?"

"No. We don't have a magic hat. Or different houses, at that. Don't worry, you'll know." 

They had their breakfast and went to the street, where dad hollered for 'bird-brain', Cavin made an avengers reference and they Knights came down.

Susan had similar clothes as his and her belt had a logo with five to six wings.

Susan probably saw him looking and said, "That's my cousins and uncles and aunts." 

They started walking down the street. Calvin tried to keep a idea of direction, but the crisscrossing, as well as the lack of any sort of markings made his confused. 

Right, as if you had any idea where you were going when you were in human world, either. 

'Thanks, voice in my brain,' Calvin thought. But it was true. He was directionally hopeless. 

One moment they could be walking under a bridge, and next they could be walking above one. It was like a bunch of roller coasters smashed together without the curves. 

"So, supernaturals don't have any sort of cars? Or transportation?" Calvin asked after five minutes of walking in awkward silence. Well, it was partially awkward because his dad seemed too busy to take all of it in to feel awkward. 

"Not really. Well, unless you count flying as a transportation." Mathew answered.

"Really? But a thousand people city got to be huge. Especially since the houses are so few and far between."

"It is. But lack of pollution makes walking everywhere quiet fun. You wouldn't get tired even if you walked for hours. Besides, if the distance is long, you could just fly." His dad replied. 

"How far is the school?"

"Half an hour." His dad answered, and they once again went into silence, broken by the occasional comment by his dad on the houses that they passed. 

"Those are the Parsons. Real nice people, I've worked with them."

"That's the Grindel household. They have a penchant for chaos."

"And that's the Heims, nasty people. I wouldn't recommend making friends with them."

***************************

Warpoeist was huge. 

It was stunning, beautiful, wonderful, and every single positive adjective in the dictionary, well, except maybe delicious, because Calvin wasn't going to bite the building anytime soon.

It was a cluster of lots of rooms on poles like their houses, some of them fused together to make a larger room, like their library, all at various heights. It was so large that Calvin couldn't see the end of the school. It was like an endless sea of poles.

Its ground was filled with children his age and two or three years older than him, probably because the school had only four years curriculum, before they went into job specific universities. 

Their dad's had left them at the gate saying that the journey was theirs to take and they entered. 

Most of the kid's clothes were not as frilly as theirs, just like the normal, white shirts Calvin wore in human world and they didn't have a badge on their belt either. 

"How do they get to wear normal sensible clothes, and we are stuck in this monstrosity?" Calvin asked and as Susan opened her mouth to answer, "I know its because they're not nobles, but I am just..."

"...whining? Sounds about right." Susan replied, but she didn't seem so enthusiastic in their bickering as always. She was eyeing the buildings warily. 

Calvin felt glad to know that at she was as nervous as he was. They went towards the sphere everyone was milling around.

A voice of a girl called out from behind them, "Oh hey, Susan!" They both turned to see a girl walk towards them. She too had the frilly clothes. In fact, there were more frills than strictly necessary. 

She smiled at her, "Hi, who is your friend?" Her smile didn't quiet reach her eyes or voice.

"Hi Alberta. This is Calvin. Calvin, Alberta." She introduced icily.

Calvin stuck out his hand to the girl, giving her a benefit of doubt, but given Susan's tone of voice, she was probably one of those stuck up nobles she always complained about, "Hi Alberta."

"I have never seen you around before. Who're you? I thought I knew every noble kid." She said, ignoring his outstretched hand which Calvin retracted awkwardly. 

He opened his mouth to say that he was in the human world, but Susan cut him off with a raised eyebrow, "Maybe that's just because you're not as all knowing as you thought."

"Or maybe its because it's a local dressed in old noble clothes. Seems likely, given that he's hanging out with you, a thief."

"Her family is not a thief." Calvin snapped. Calvin didn't know why he suddenly got so angry when Alberta called them a theif, but something made him snap, hearing Finney and now Alberta call them that. 

"Really? Their secret will come out soon now. I've heard the McKays have come back. It's not long before they report a thievery and you're done for. Wannabe nobles." 

Calvin opened his mouth to retort when a woman's voice spoke into the mike.

She was standing in the half open stage like room, with her fairy wings half spread out elegantly behind her. "Good morning, Warpoeist's warriors." 

An unenthusiastic reply of good morning was given by the older students and most of the first timers were too nervous to reply.

Alberta hissed in Susan's ear, "Very soon, you wouldn't be in this school." and strutted away from them to a bunch of frilly monsters. 

"So, the older students got their timetables, scurry off." She made the universal dismissing hand motions, "And now, the first years, segregation." 

She rubbed her hands together with a smile, which didn't help Calvin's nerves at all.