Legacies: Infinite Journey

"This is the gymnasium, where you obviously can see the werewolves playing dodgeball." Hope said, her and John standing at the entrance of the gymnasium as red balls flew everywhere at speeds no olympic athlete could probably dodge. 

"Are group activities divided into species?" John asked, following the movement of the balls.

She nodded at his question. "Although the school tries to make the species interact and bond more together, we can't exclude the fact witches are weaker than vampires and werewolves and the wolves are weaker than vampires when it's not a full moon. So, classes like this are divided into species. The school doesn't wish to alert someone's parents that their child died by having their neck snapped by a dodgeball." Hope explained the situation, with John nodding accordingly.

It made a lot of sense. After all, even the weakest vampire could lift hundreds of kilograms with their strength. All it was needed for a tragedy to happen was a vampire to not have control over their strength for a second. And considering all of them were teenagers, control was not their strongest aspect.

"And unfortunately, it's because of these classes that witches, werewolves and vampires don't interact much normally." Hope complemented. 

"Care to give an example?" John asked as he watched one of the wolves falling face first on the floor as both his legs were hit. 

"There is no reason for a vampire or werewolf to take classes such as [Chemistry of Magic] or [History of Magic]. The same applies for [Introduction to Lycanthropy], which explains the behaviors and rituals of werewolf culture. A witch or vampire doesn't need to take these classes." She explained, observing the game as well.

However, different from John, Hope seemed a little bothered by the fact some wolves sometimes looked at her with strange eyes. They were not flirtatious or gentle gazes, but careful and fearful ones. And John could partially imagine why they looked at her like that.

"So that means I can't take these classes, right? But are there books about what is teached in the classes I can't take?" John asked.

"Yes." Hope said. "There are referential books used in these classes in the library. There are enough copies for those who wish to learn more about the other species' customs and traditions. Another way Dr. Saltzman and Mrs. Forbes attempts to bring all species closer." She explained, saying a name which actually caught John's attention.

"Who is Mrs. Forbes?" John asked even though he already knew who she was, to ensure that he didn't see he knew about everyone without asking others. He knew this would not be the first time he questioned about someone he already knew about, but he had to do this nonetheless to ensure there was a valid source of this information, and these sources would be the school's residents.

"The vice headmistress." Hope answered. "Don't worry if you don't see her much while you are here, she is mostly traveling around to recruit new students." 

Hope's answer was mostly correct. Yes, Caroline Forbes was out of the school most of the time and many students never even saw her. However, the reason she was always traveling around was not for new students. She was actually trying to find a way to stop "The Merge" , a curse ritual between the Gemini Coven twins when they were 22. And the result from the ritual would be only one of the twins coming out alive.

I wonder how exactly to break such a curse without the need of one of the twins becoming an Heretic. John thought, continuing to watch the match of dodgeball.

But, as time passed, John actually got bored of it. "What else to see?" 

"Come on, I will show you the laboratory of chemistry." She said, turning around before leaving the gymnasium. "Besides normal chemistry, it's also the place we take [Healing] and [Chemistry of Magic] classes." 

"Do you guys use a bunch of cauldrons and a big-ass spoon to mix your recipes in these classes?" John asked.

"No, idiot." Hope smiled. "Ever since the foundation of the school, the concept of potion-making has been modernized. Yes, most witches still use the traditional ways, with pots and natural herbs, but things are changing." She said, her explanation getting a little of surprise from John. An expected one but a surprise nonetheless. 

Ever since coming to this world, John had expectations about things that could be different because of the school. After all, even if the three species don't interact much, some things will still change when so many of them live in the same place, principally for the witches' covens and werewolves' packs. The exchange of information between the students would follow them back home, and from there this knowledge would change their environment and the people in it, and this would also happen with someone from there, who would go somewhere and the same process would repeat.

"Well, I won't lie, I expected something more Hogwarts-like." John said, faking disappointment. "Do you guys at least have quidditch here?" He asked.

"No, but we have our own magical sports." She said, guiding through the school's corridors as she explained the unique things and events of the school as she also toured him around.

For the next couple hours, Hope showed John every place in the school grounds. From the school's cafeteria to an open field, where they played the school's game, which basically you need to pass through some golden rings that seemed to come from the Sonic's games with a ball similar to that of Harry Potter. 

As Hope progressed with the tour, she would sometimes tell stories of things that happened in certain places. Like how a student transformed a rat into a sheep-sized one, or how someone mixed the potion wrongly and created an emotion amplifier that made some cry, others go crazy from anger or even get hornier. Thankfully, nothing bad happened.

At the end of the tour, Hope and John stopped by a pier near the school's lake right behind the main building. The lake was huge, comparable to two olympic pools with wildlife living in it. 

"And this is the pier. Normally, no one but me and Dr. Saltzman come here." She said, stopping right by the end of the pier.

"And what do you normally do here?" John asked.

"To spar. It's one of my ways to relieve some stress." She replied, turning around to face the lake. "It's also relaxing to just stand here and feel the breeze." 

"I understand." John replied, walking to her side. The cold breeze of winter mixed with calm scenary certainly brought a soothing and relaxing sentiment.

"May I ask something?" John asked after a few seconds of silence between the two.

"Yes." She nodded.

 "Do you like it here? This school?" He suddenly asked.

Hope's gaze remained unfazed regarding his question. Not because she was not surprised by it, she certainly was, but right now, she was enjoying the surrounding calm too much to react. "There are always problems. I have to deal with Lizzie Saltzman and don't really bond with the rest of the school, but…" She stopped, turning her eyes and looking up at the young man. "It's a place I can call home." Her lips bloomed into a refreshing smile.

Seeing her smile and sincere eyes, John nodded in understanding. "Good." Was all he replied. 

For a good time, the two stood there watching the lake, sometimes taking a peek at each other. 

"Hm… what do we do now?" John asked sincerely, not knowing how to progress from here. 

"I think it's almost lunch time." Hope grabbed her phone, looking at the time. "There are still some minutes until there. Want to go? We can talk while we walk there." She turned around, her back facing the lake as she walked away slowly.

"Okay." John nodded, following her. "First, let's talk how I need a new phone since mine apparently disappeared," He added. "And the biggest obstacle of this problem: I have no money." 

"You really don't have anything on you? No money or even documents?" Hope asked, remembering Dr. Saltzman mentioned it to her earlier.

He nodded to her question in affirmation.. "Nothing." 

"Why is that?" Hope asked. Even if the question was somewhat a more personal one, she was curious about the boy's origins. Even her 1.000 years-old uncle and aunts had modern identities, so someone like him not having anything, even an ID, made her curious.

"My family is just… reclusive. Very much so actually. They didn't actually interact much with the world. And then when I turned 16 and awakened my abilities and learned about everything, I decided to go to this school where they teached magic and here I am." John explained, trying to mix some truths with lies. The whole truth was something he couldn't entirely explain. 

"And what about your family? Do you really not know where they are?" She asked.

"They scattered in the wind as soon as I turned 16." He nonchalantly explained.

"Are you not worried about them?" 

"I know they are fine." He answered. There was no worry in his voice, but there was warmth. "I just know, you know?" 

"Yes, I think so…" She replied, but in her mind, the girl's thoughts were contrary. I wonder if dad and mom are fine… Remembering her parents, the jovial mood Hope turned into a gloomy one. John's words weren't enough to change the self-blame she had built over the years linked to her parents' death. 

Noticing the change in the mood of the girl, John did what came to his mind. "Come on, werewitchre. I ate nothing on the last day. I may eat an entire cow if there is one." 

Before having the opportunity to ask why he didn't eat anything, she was pushed by him as he put his hands on her shoulders and moved forward.

[Scene Break]

Private boarding schools' are really different. John thought as he moved step by step in the long line of students to choose what he would eat for lunch. And there were simply a lot of options on the menu, not to mention he was surprised by the quality of the food prepared by the team of chefs in the school. 

There was pasta, rice prepared in different ways, black beans, farofa, chicken, fried or not, fish, cow meat and numerous vegetables to be chosen.

"Is the school's food's quality always this good?" John asked Hope, taking his plate off the tray rail.

"Yes." She nodded. "Come with me. I kind of have my reserved table." Hope said, with John following right after her.

"Hey, I know that being alone is peaceful and all. I am also kind of a reserved person. But don't you think eating alone is already too much?" John asked, reaching the table where both decided to eat their lunch.

"What can I do? The wolves reject me since I am not part of their pack. The vampires are the same for me being a werewolf too. And I am not exactly friends with the witches." She explained, swapping some rice with her fork. 

"What, afraid of them cursing you and moles starting to appear on your face?" 

"Haha. Very funny." She laughed dryly. "Just not friends with them. Maybe because her covens alert them to not approach me, while the covenless witches are alerted by their friends to not approach me." The explanation was tried to be said emotionless, but the loneliness in the voice of the girl was as visible as the sun in the sky. "It's not that I care much anyway."

"There is really, literally, no one you can count in in this school?" He asked. "And Dr. Saltzman doesn't count." It was quickly added.

This left her thinking in silence for some time, with just the sound of the two teenagers chewing on their food. 

"Hm, I think Josie and MG probably are people I can count on? Josie is one of the Saltzman twins." She said.

"The cute brunette?" John asked.

Hope nodded. "Yes. And MG is a vampire who is… how can I describe? Too good and sometimes too innocent for his own good." She explained, the faintest of a smile struggling to form. "But they are more classmates than friends." 

"Then, you are saying I am your only friend?" John asked, taking a sip of his juice right after.

"We met today and already want to be friends with the lonely girl?" She asked in a playful tone.

"Well, I can't complain about the company." John replied in the same tone.

Hope smiled at his answer. She was not sad by having only one friend at school, but happy by having one. "I guess we are friends then. And you can't say much about me. As long as I know, I am also your only friend in the school."

"Urgh! That's a low blow." John faked pain, returning to normal right after. "But well, I can't complain if I only have one friend to accompany me in the years to come of my new immortal life."

"You are immortal too. By now, I am not even surprised by what you say." Hope added. "And how are you so sure our friendship will last this long?"

"Because as I said earlier, werewitchre, I decided to be your friend as long as you don't ask me to pose nude. Beyond that, I will stick with you until where life takes us." John replied with a casual smile as he continued to eat his food.

And although he might now know, his words reached Hope. His statement carried a soothing tone that calmed her heart and mind. A sentiment that made her remember one thing, how it is good to have someone there by her side, a friend.

From then on, the two teenagers continued their interactions, talking and laughing a few times. And for a few moments, it just seemed that the two of them were a normal boy and girl having lunch in school.

After lunch, the pair of teenagers went to the last part of the tour, where John followed Hope's class routine. Together they watched the classes of history and geography in the afternoon with John just silently paying attention to the classes or making some random comments to Hope, saying them in such a low voice so only she could hear that even the vampire found it strange when Hope sometimes contained her laugh at the seemingly silent class. 

At the end of the day, after classes ended and both were free, John and Hope returned to Dr. Saltzman's office.

As both of them entered the office, Alaric looked at them and gestured for them to sit as he started with good news. "I arranged for someone to create an identity for you, John." Alaric said, his back resting on his chair. 

"Was it difficult?" The young man asked.

"I had to pull some strings, but nothing much difficult. When you have a school full of teenagers who are thought to be dead to the outside world, you learn how to deal with it." He said, letting out a tired sigh. "Everything might be ready by the end of the week, so you will be only attending classes next week officially. But, if you want, you can already watch the classes Hope is attending just as you did today. I just hope you can catch up with the rest of the class as we are already in the middle of the semester." 

"No problem. I'm quite confident in my academic skills." John said.

"That we will see." Alaric said, throwing a key at the boy right after. "Your room's key." He said, watching the boy grabbing the key. "I left you with the room at the end of the corridor on the highest floor.

Listening to it, John raised his brows in surprise. "Wasn't that Stefan's Salvatore room?" He asked, remembering Hope mentioning it.

"Well, that's yours now. Make good use of it." Alaric said, the edges of his lips curling a little. "Now, go on. I still have things to deal with." Alaric basically told them to shoo with his hands.

Outside the office, John stared at the key of the room. 

"It seems we are neighbors." Hope said on his side.

"It seems so." He answered with a smile. "Let's go. I wanna see my room." 

Taking the corridors and then the stairs, the two friends quickly arrived in the building's last floor in front of a black wooden door.

Fitting the key into the keyhole, John turned it and listened to the 'click' sound coming from it before retreating the key and turning the doorknob, opening the door and letting him see the room.

The room was quite spacious, with a king-size bed already settled in it by the left wall from the entrance. Across the room, over the other side, there was a double-door which led to a nice warming balcony. The room had a renovated illumination system, with enough led lights to light up the room. But besides that and the closet attached to one of the walls, there was not much else in the room. 

Taking a few steps forward, John took off his shoes and jumped on the bed.

"Woof!" Feeling the embrace of the comfort of the bed and its warm sheets, John almost immediately fell asleep. "Want to come in? No pun intended." John said to Hope, not finding enough strength to take his head off the pillow.

"My bed is more comfortable." Hope said, although she approached him and stood by the bed.

"Okay." John nudges his nose on the sheet. "Ah… the only thing I am missing now is a phone and some things to decorate this room." 

"Want to help with that?" Hope asked.

"How could you help?" He asked back.

"I have the money to help. Benefits of a millennium-old family." Hope replied as she looked around the room

"Not wishing to pry, but satiate my curiosity. How much money are we talking about?" John moved his head to look at her.

"Some multi-billionaire companies and many properties across the world. When your family can simply compel anyone to give you what you want, material things start to lose some value." Hope explained a little of her family's fortune.

At the end of her phrase, Hope noticed how the wind blew against her a little as the young man on the bed moved as fast as a lightning, just to see him kneeling on one knee and holding her hand. "Did I ever tell you how beautiful, pretty, majestic and impressive you are? Because even the most beautiful princesses from fairy tales would fall over your beauty." John commented with a melodic voice.

To all of this, Hope just stared at him with a blank face. "Really? Gold digger?" 

In an instant, the Fairy Tale Prince's charm disappeared from John. "I had to try." He shrugged, raising up and sitting on his bed. "But really, are you that rich?" 

"Yeah. As I said, too much money with a 1.000 years of interest." She said, "Do you want my help?"

"I'll not decline. But will repay you for sure. With my abilities, I can earn some money 'legally'. Well, as legal as Dr. Saltzman permits." John answered.

"Okay, consider this my welcoming gift." She said, giving the place a last look around. "For today, I think that's it. I still have to finish my homework and take a shower before going to sleep." With rhythmic steps, she approached the door and looked back at the boy sitting on his own bed. A smile on her face at seeing him. "It was good to meet you today, John. If anything, that was the best thing that ever happened this semester. I hope to continue seeing you until graduation." 

"The same here, 'werewitchre'." John chuckled. "Relax, we have eternity to annoy one another."

"I hope so." She smiled, taking hold of the handle of the door. "Good night. See you tomorrow." She said, closing the door right after.

When the door was closed, John threw himself back and landed his back on the bed, once more feeling the comfortable embrace of the warm sheets. 

It seems these coming months in school will not be so bad. John thought, a smile blooming on his face as he adjusted his position on the bed and slowly fell asleep on the warm bed.