Damn it, I just hate it when my folks come for a visit unannounced. I mean, seriously. Why do parents do stuff like that? I've never really been the social type. That's part of the reason why I left my native New York and moved all the way to Los Angeles for higher education purposes. It wasn't because of the scholarship money. More like the chance to travel and the call of adventure. Actually, I really wanted to get away from my family. I love them but they were suffocating me, folks. You've got unwittingly annoying relatives too so you probably know what I mean.
My situation is a little bit unique, though. First things first, ladies and gentlemen. The name is Jeremy LaPerle. It's French for pearl, in case you don't know. My parents originally come from Haiti. Marc-Aurel LaPerle and his wife Martine Lemieux LaPerle moved to America in the early 1980s. In 1988 they had a son. He grew up to be the six-foot-two, 210-pound, coconut-brown stud with the neatly styled cornrows who's about to take you for a ride. I come from a weird family, let me the first to say it. Why? I'll get to that in a minute.
There is more to the world than what you know, folks. The supernatural is real. Stuff most people think of as only myth is actually quite real. I've met vampires in my day. They're some of my parents best friends, actually. What were they like? Not what you expected, I take it. For starters, these vampires were lively and friendly folks of Caribbean origin. Not the pale and gloomy Transylvanians often seen in the movies. They looked like normal people. They had jobs and led mostly normal lives. Oh, and they can walk in sunlight. They only let humans believe that because they think you're shmucks.
Wolf-men and wolf-women are real too. They look normal. They're not the hairy beasts folklore make them out to be. Some of them are actually student-athletes in the Ivy League. Zombies walk the earth as well. Far from the shambling, dull-minded monsters seen in TV shows and bad Science Fiction movies shown on Cable on Saturday nights, they're actually quite nice once you get to know them. Some of them anyway. If a person was a jerk or a bitch while alive, he or she will remain that way while undead. Even the supernatural world can't cure jerk-hood and bitchiness.
How come my family knows all these strange creatures? Well, it's mainly because we're not exactly one hundred percent human. My father Marc-Aurel is the grandson of a fallen archangel named Luciel. These days, Luciel dwells in Hell where he was cast down for rebelling against the Kingdom of Heaven. From his grandsire my father inherited certain abilities. He's got the ability to control the spirits of the dead. He's a Necromancer. He can also move objects with his mind, a power called Telekinesis. My mother Martine is of supernatural stock too. She's a direct descendant of Fanm Dlo, or " the Water Woman", a legendary mermaid who had relations with a Haitian sailor who captured her near the coast of Cap-Haitien during World War II. Mermaids are not what you think, folks.
The average mermaid is not something you care to encounter. Yes, they're beautiful female entities which are half human and half fish. They're also immortal. What most legends won't tell you is that mermaids hate humanity. They can shape-shift at will and make themselves look completely human, or transform themselves into sea monsters. They have a taste for human flesh. Especially the flesh of unwary men who fall for their charms. I am not making it up. From her inhuman grandmother, dear old mum inherited abilities which made her a virtual powerhouse. My mother can breathe underwater. She can also control all matter of marine animals. Sometimes, through sheer force of will, she can create marine storms.
My twin sister Marguerite inherited my parents supernatural abilities. She can do everything my father can do, and she has my mother's powers as well. How to describe Marguerite? A six-foot-two, lean and athletic, coconut-brown young woman whose looks make models grit their teeth in jealousy and whose smile has stolen many a woman's husband and many a man's wife. Like me, she is bisexual. Like me, she is a magical being. Unlike me, she's a sociopath. No conscience whatsoever. She can do anything at all without feeling guilty. She once unleashed a storm which battered the state of New York for three days, causing billions of dollars worth of damage and costing twenty human lives. All because her then-girlfriend cheated on her with some guy from the football team. She killed them both by the way. She's a powerhouse and a real nutcase. I mean that in the nicest, most brotherly way.
These days, she's on the run. I don't know where she is and neither do my folks. You see, there are rules in the supernatural world. It doesn't matter if you are a Pagan god or goddess, wolf-man, vampire, zombie, witch, warlock, demon, monster or spirit. You have to follow the rules. If you don't, you will pay. There are magically endowed Enforcers out there and they hunt those beings who break the rules. My sister has been tagged by them. They will hunt her for all eternity. My parents blame themselves for the nutcase's rampage. If you ask me, I think it's partly their fault. Marguerite is nuts and they've never disciplined her. If I showed up late after a date, or accidentally scratched dad's car, I never hear the end of it. Marguerite was never punished. That's why she grew up to be a spoiled brat who saw the world as her playground and people as her toys. I don't know where she is and I don't care. If I never see her again, it'll be too soon. Yeah, that's my family, folks.
Anyhow, I came to Los Angeles to start a new life for myself. The Los Angeles Institute of Technology, also known as L.A. Tech was offering me a full student-athlete scholarship for varsity soccer. I've always loved the game of soccer. Most of the world does. It's only in America that soccer takes a backseat to less known sports like football, basketball and baseball. Folks, the first time I came to Los Angeles, I knew I had it made. The city was awesome. The chicks were so pretty. The guys weren't bad-looking either. Yeah, I'm a bisexual guy. Sue me! The place looked cool. The city was so...huge, and the weather was much better than New York, which was cold for half the year.
I moved into the dorms at L. A. Tech. I didn't know too much about the school, other than the fact that they were a private institute full of science geeks with a lousy athletic program. I mean, tech means nerd, hello? I walked around the campus and was amazed at how high-tech everything seemed. Every student received a laptop computer as part of their academic package. It was a necessity these days. The school had thirty dorm buildings, most of whom were single-sex, fifteen academic buildings, and five all-night and all-day libraries. I don't go to the library too often except maybe to check out online porn but whatever.
I noticed that there were quite a few black men and black women on campus, along with some Hispanics and lots of Asians. That's cool. I would hate to feel like I was the only minority guy. It's not a pleasant feeling. I used to go to Saint Martin Preparatory, a private, all-male Catholic school in New York and I was one of sixty eight black guys among the three-hundred-persons student body. I felt like an alien, folks. The rich white brats didn't like us, and never took pains to hide it. I was happy to be going at a more diverse school. Officially, the Los Angeles Institute of Technology had thirty three thousand students. Thirty eight percent of them were non-Caucasian. What pleased me even more is the fact that the school was fifty four percent male and forty six percent female. These days, male students are a minority on college and university campuses across North America. A school that has less female students than male ones is a refreshing change of pace these days.
I went to check the athletic facilities. To my great surprise, they were off the hook. The football stadium could easily seat thirty thousand people. It was used by the school for football games along with soccer games, field hockey games and also lacrosse matches. The track and field course was vast, almost Olympic size. The aquatic facilities were truly gigantic. I hadn't seen a pool this size in ages, not even on ESPN during the Olympics. These people were filthy rich! I smiled to myself, knowing I had it made.
The school boasted of a vast athletic department. Men's varsity sports teams compete in baseball, basketball, cross country, soccer, swimming, volleyball, water polo, fencing, rowing, sailing, wrestling, rifle, football, lacrosse, rugby, ice hockey, gymnastics, golf and tennis. Women's varsity sports compete in softball, basketball, rifle, cross country, soccer, swimming, water polo, rowing, sailing, wrestling, fencing, field hockey, ice hockey, squash, volleyball, gymnastics, golf and tennis. All the sports teams, known as the Blue Blades and Lady Blades, compete in the N.C. A. A. Division One.
I was summoned to the first meeting of the men's varsity soccer team. To my great surprise, our coach was a woman. A tall, good-looking lady with light bronze skin, icy blue eyes and long, dark brown hair. Head Coach Eileen Stewart. She was a 1991 graduate of the Los Angeles Institute of Technology, with a degree in sports management. She also used to be the captain of the women's varsity soccer team, back in the day. I wasn't the only guy who was surprised by our dear coach. Still, after a few minutes, once we got introductions out of the way and began talking business, I could see that she knew her stuff.
