On a Monday whose morning light seemed to hesitate before entering the school windows, Nicolas Landry walked beside the principal with the cautious gait of someone stepping into a dream he had not asked for. It was his first day in this new French school, though for over a month now, the school year itself had already marched on. Time, as always, indifferent, hadn't waited. He had come all the way from a little town in Quebec, that cradle of homes and familiar street corners, and now. He wandered around this labyrinthine building whose hallways seemed longer then the road behind the home he had left behind.

He had left Quebec more than 3 months ago and still felt as if in need of adjustment, yet there he was. Following an uncommonly kind woman with gray hair as she led him toward his first class: History.

From behind the closed door came the unmistakable voice of a man losing his patience.

"Monsieur Dubois! Class hasn't even started and you're already asleep? Don't tempt me into giving you another detention. Wake up!"

There it was. one of those small, unassuming peculiarities he would have to grow accustomed to. In France, the teachers addressed their students not by their given names, but by the surname, fastened neatly after a monsieur or mademoiselle. A trifling convention, perhaps, yet to him it felt curiously formal, almost foreign to the warmth he had known in Quebec. It was, like so many things here, another reminder that he had crossed not only across an ocean, but to a place of a similar but different culture.

The principal gave the door a polite knock, and the voice silenced swiftly. A moment later a man emerged: thin, harried, spectacled. "Monsieur Bertrand," the principal said, "this is Nicolas Landry. Your new student."

Bertrand nodded once, brisk but not unkind. "Well? No need to lurk in the hallway, boy. Come in. I presume you've been given all your books already?"

"Yes." Nicolas said quietly, his voice a little more than a whisper. His palms were damp. He brought to his mind the promise he had sworn to himself: He would remake everything, be bold, be unafraid, be someone new.

"Well then," Bertrand said, stepping aside, "are you coming in?"

"Oui, Monsieur."

He walked in, feeling like a man going up onto a stage. The teacher followed and closed the door behind them.

"Class." Bertrand said, "this is Monsieur Landry. I trust you'll make him feel welcome." Then he turned to the boy with a polite tilt of his head. "Would you like to introduce yourself?"

Introduce himself? What is this? kindergarten? Nicolas thought as heat crawled up the back of his neck.

"Uh… sure? I mean. yes. I don't know what to say, though." He turned to face the sea of staring faces. "I'm Nicolas. I'm from Quebec. And… that's kind of all I've got. I don't know what else to say.”

Immediately he regretted speaking. He felt his throat tighten. They're all judging me. They'll think I'm pathetic. I'll get bullied again, and then we'll have to move again, and where would we even go? What am I supposed to-

"All right, that will do," the teacher said mildly. "Take a seat."

Nico did, selecting a desk in the second row by the window. There, he could at least pretend he had something to look at besides people.

The lesson started. The words on the board were easy to follow; academics had always been merciful to him. But there was something... someone that unsettled him. The boy sitting in front of him kept turning around, looking at him, staring right into his eyes with an unreadable expression. Each time their gazes met, Nico would freeze. Was he being judged? Mocked? Already disliked?

No. Not this time. He had promised himself that he would change. After class, he would confront the boy. He would stand up for himself.

But the second the bell sounded, the boy ahead sprang to his feet, collecting his books in quick, practiced motions, and darted out before Nico could even blink. It didn't matter. Nico's mind was made up. He took off after him. He caught up and followed him down the hall, keeping a short distance behind.

"Wait! Hey- YOU!"

The boy turned, looking genuinely puzzled. "Me?"

Nico caught up, panting. "Yes. You."

"What's up?" asked the boy, raising his eyebrows.

"Why were you… looking at me all throughout class?" Nico demanded, although his voice revealed more anxiety than firmness.

"What?" the boy said blankly.

"You kept staring at me. During history. I saw you."

"No, I wasn't." The boy peered at him through his glasses. "I was looking at my girlfriend. She sits behind you."

Nico felt his soul leave his body.

"I- I'm so sorry, I didn't-"

The boy burst out laughing.

"I'm kidding!" he said, chuckling. "I don't have a girlfriend. I was looking at you. Your eyes caught me. They are pretty."

"My eyes?" Nico whispered, so surprised he failed to be offended.

"Mm-hm. They're two different colors."

"That's… not that rare." Nico said, unsure of himself.

"For monsters, maybe. Humans, not so much." The boy's grin grew wider, mischievous as he stepped closer. "So tell me. are you a monster, Nico?"

"No! What? Wait. how do you know my name?"

The boy blinked at him. "Are you being serious?"

"Yes…?"

"You introduced yourself in front of the class."

"Oh." Nico's face flushed hot. "Sorry."

Embarrassed once more, he felt compelled to shift the focus off of him. "What about you? What's your name?"

"I'm Gabriel." he replied easily. "Nice to meet you."

"Nice to meet you too. And… is it really that rare? Having two different-colored eyes?"

Gabriel shrugged. "I don't know the statistics. I just know that monsters get them more often than humans."

"You know a lot about monsters, then?"

"You could say that. Everyone does, though, we have an Occult Zoology class."

"Yeah… we didn't have that in Quebec."

"Right, Quebec... No monster classes over there?"

"No classes," Nico said, "but I read a lot. Ever since I was a kid, I've always been obsessed with them."

"You have?" Gabriel's smile brightened, genuine. "So have I."

Nico blinked. It felt strange, this ease, this sudden sense of connection.

Gabriel leaned in slightly. "Tell me, Nico… have you ever met one? A real monster?"

"No," Nico admitted. "I want to, though. It's just- don't you think it's stupid? Most monster-hunting agencies require you to have experience to join, but you can't get experience without working for an agency. You need experience to get hired, but you need to get hired to get experience. how does anyone start? It makes no sense!"

Gabriel laughed softly and set a hand on Nico's shoulder. Nico tensed, the sudden touch startling him.

"Oh, Nico mon cher.," he said warmly, "I have a feeling we're going to get along wonderfully."

"Oh? And why is that?" Nico asked, now intrigued.

"Well, my friend," Gabriel said, "You want experience, and I can help with that... Okay well not me alone, but my friends and I-" He stopped himself and looked at his watch. "Ah, Merde. We don't have much time left. What class do you have next?"

"English."

"And after that? What's your whole schedule?"

"History, English, Math, Occult Zoology, lunch period, French, and Gym."

Gabriel's face lit up. "We have the same exact schedule. What a crazy coincidence. Well then, come along English starts soon. I'll explain everything at lunch."

They walked together to their morning classes. By noon, Nico was almost lighthearted, buoyed by a tentative happiness. He still didn't understand what Gabriel meant about "his friends and he" but he had made one friend already, and that was far more than he had expected.

When Occult Zoology ended, they made their way into the hall, on their way to the cafeteria- or so Nico thought. Gabriel slowed and looked over at him.

"Before we go any further." he said, "tell me something. Are you a snitch?"

"A… snitch?"

"If we did something illegal, would you rat us out?"

"I- uh. no?"

"Good." Gabriel said, relieved. "We aren't going to the cafeteria. Is that okay? I brought snacks. We can share." 

"O-okay…" As they walked, Gabriel continued casually: 

"At the start of the term, my friend Louis and I started an agency. Before you say anything, yeah, we don't have a permit. We're too young. Louis and I are older, but still seventeen. The others are sixteen. Anyways... we meet at night, at one of the member's house, it's just right next to the school. Like any other agency, we take clients and investigate supernatural stuff. Last night, for example? We got a called from a distressed family on a camping trip, They had heard mysterious howling. It was a werewolf. We stopped it before it could kill them. Pretty intense, but that's the job." 

Nico stared at him, wide-eyed. 

"We call ourselves O.M.B.R.E, Louis came up with the acronym. Don't ask me what it stands for; I can never remember." They stopped in front of a classroom door. 

"This is where we meet everyday at lunchtime" Gabriel said. "Madame Aubin's room, art teacher. She's cool and lets us spend time here every day." 

His hand rested on the doorknob. "Wanna join us?" 

A thousand emotions collided in Nico's chest: Fear. Fascination. Hope. Doubt. It was everything he had ever wanted, and everything he was terrified of wanting. It was dangerous, unlicensed, reckless, but mostly irresistible. And maybe, just maybe, he would finally belong somewhere. 

"Yes." He said, breathless but certain. 

"Yes… I want to join."