“It seems like I`d better finished school…” Niran hissed, baring his fangs.

He stood in front of the Kasetsart University building and he didn't know what to do next. He had spent all week on the internet, trying to figure out what exactly was that building from the prediction bowl. The photo, taken on Sun`s old phone in a dark room a moment before the university's emblem disappeared, didn’t do much to clarify the situation. Niran broke two phones in rage as the search queries revealed one nonsense after another.  It was only a shitty screenshot from one forum that contained part of a similar emblem, and the vampire latched onto it. All next night he spent messaging some stupid strangers, interrogating them for answers. By morning, he’d finally gotten the answer and almost had launched the fireworks he had stashed in his closet straight through the apartment window. Afterward, he fell into another twenty-four hours of sleep. Unfortunately, the disadvantages of being a supernatural creature didn’t exempt one from certain basic human needs. So Niran slept for exactly seven hours, not a minute more or less. He could endure it, but it affected his hunger and then still needed to sleep off the wakefulness. The total time he spent identifying the university ended up being twenty days. And then the other kind of problems began.

In order to enroll to the university he needed money, which he had plenty of. Usually people asked for other fake documents, not a high school diploma. The paperwork and a few meetings cost him another couple of weeks. Finding the Marked one should’ve been a relatively simple task. After all, it was easy enough to track prey with a unique scent. But thanks to three incompetent witches, he held a folder filled with fake documents, squinting at the university entrance. 

Students passed by, glancing at him and wincing unashamedly. Niran, however, growled back at them, completely unbothered. He was about to have meeting with the university administration. This conversation was going to be the most akward one in all his years of living. Still, if he was going to endure the absurdity of this situation, he wasn’t about to do it alone. 

“P’Niran, are you sure we need to enroll too? I already have a degree in medicine…” San twirled a strand of dark hair around her finger and blowed out a bubble gum, that instantly popped. A small drop of saliva landed right on Niran’s face.

“And how the hell did you manage to enroll into university by yourself? Don’t you dare ever work in this field! Even I feel sorry for mortals if they're going to be treated by a doctor like you” he wiped his face, realizing that murdering her right in the square in front of the university would draw too much attention. He’d get rid of her later. But Buddha knows, his patience had its limits. 

“I actually passed all the exams by myself!” San started to blow another bubble, but one threatening glare from Niran made her almost swallow her tongue along with her gum in fear. “But P’Niran, we don’t really have to study, right?”

“Oh, so I really need an engineering diploma, huh?! You are a marketplace fortune teller, so would be better for you to enroll in the administrative division and suffering along with me. Otherwise, I swear, I’ll offer your body to the ancestors as a sacrifice” he snarled and the passersby, who had previously been looking at him with mild suspicion, now slowed down entirely and Niran could hear them murmuring whether they should call the police. “San, please don’t make me mad.”

“Why not get another degree, San? P'Niran will pay for our education as long as we help him figure out how to deal with the modern world. You know how much has changed over the years. He’s falling behind. It`s like teaching grandfather to use TikTok’’ Naam stepped into the conversation. Without her intervention, there would’ve likely been bloodshed in front of a crowd of hundred people. 

 “I’ll sacrifice you too,” Niran clarified.

“I just mean…” she realized that she had said the wrong thing and tried to change the subject of conversation quickly. She knew that San wouldn`t likely live to thirty years—either Niran would kill her, or she’d drop a hairdryer in the bathtub. And, more likely, those two things would probably be connected. “We have to help P’Niran adjust and we are to blame in some way,” the vampire growled at her words. “We're to blame for a lot, so it’s only fair that we work together to get out of it.”

“He’s gonna get out using our heads as stepping stones,” Ji whispered.

“Well, I won’t step on San’s head, that’s for sure. It’d be like stepping on a haystack—not exactly reliable,” he nodded forward. “The three of you. Come on. If you somehow reveal me or my status, you really don't stand a chance make it out of here alive.”

“We’re not the ones with fake documents,” San whispered, butgot a shove in the shoulder and an angry look from Naam. 

They headed to the unniversity building. Naturally, all eyes were on them, and Niran knew why. He was dressed in black palazzo pants with a beige, thin belt that prevented them from falling down. His black loafers clicked rhythmically against the ground as he walked. But the main focus for attention was his satin, flesh-toned shirt, unbuttoned three buttons. There was a silver cross on his chest—a protest against the demonization of vampires in Christian culture. His hair fell in soft waves, both sides of his face. His pale skin completed his image of wealthy and arrogant brat. His shirt was rolled up to his elbows, so everyone could enjoy the pattern of veins on his muscular arms. He held his posture proudly as he walked up the stairs while the three witches walked behind him. They looked like circus poodles with their overdone hairstyles and overalls. Naam wore lime-green, San was in bubblegum pink, and Ji sported sky-blue.  Opening the door, Niran knew it was only the beginning of his challenge and it wouldn`t simple for sure.

“You! Take us to P’Krang, or I’ll break your legs.” Niran grabbed a random a head shorter than him boy from the crowd and pushed him towards the stairs. The boy went pale and looked ready to break into full-blown sobs at the entrance. 

“Don’t worry, Nong,” Naam looked at Niran, fearing that she might get in trouble for such an explanation, but he only snorted and let the pity boy go. “We’re new here—it’s, um… a sudden enrollment. Could you help us find the way to P’Krang? We’ll pay you a little.”

“Just please don’t break my legs,” he folded his hands in a ‘wai’ gesture and began to pray unintelligibly. 

 “Lead us to P’Krang, or I’ll send you straight to Buddha,” Niran snorted and the boy took off at a hurried pace. 

They exited the building into a large courtyard. For a second, Niran’s anger wavered, and almost froze, looking around. Nice and classy, just how he liked it. A small fountain was in the center, surrounded by topiaries, benches, and a plenty of narrow pathways. Students were walking on them, chatting, laughing, some chasing each other. As they walked under a covered walkway, Niran shamelessly stared at the youngsters. He considered he was entitled to look— even at the threatening stare no one looked away, and some were foolish enough to take pictures of him. 

The vampire felt strangely malaise as they almost ran after their frightened guide. He remembered he hadn’t been to the blood bank in a long time. He really didn’t need to eat so often due to his more relaxed lifestyle. He used to run through the forests and hunt, but now he was getting into his Mercedes and could go anywhere in the city without any problems. They finally entered some building, the icy chill of air conditioning immediately hitting him. Unlike humans, he didn't feel the temperature as strongly. But the day had been really hard and hot in all senses.    

“P’, we just need to go up one more flight of stairs, and you’ll reach P’Krang… You must be one of the investors?” the trembling boy asked, stammering. 

“No. We’re here to study,” Niran replied in a low tone. 

“I-I just want to warn you in advance … He’s a little… uh, obsessed with supernatural stuff,” said their guide and stopped in front of a suspicious-looking door.

The vampire was somehow alerted by the steel patterns all around it, as if it was not the administration office of the university, but an ancient castle. He glanced at their guide, expecting some kind of explanation.

“ Well...uh, he believes in all that supernatural stuff. People say he started to believe in all of this after an accident ten years ago. He's simply lost his mind. So… you know, maybe try not to yell, because… he’ll call the firefighters,” the boy looked at Naam, clearly pegging her as the most rational of their group. “But out of all the things he believes the most in...vampires.”

“Vampires, huh? Really?” Niran allowed himself a smirk at the coincidence.

“Oh yeah, yeah. When you get inside, uh… don’t freak out . He’s got crosses everywhere, garlic and Bible quotes,” their guide waved his hands. “He’s a good dude, though. P'Khrang is actually Buddhist and follows all the traditions, but… Well, you’ll see by yourselves soon. Anyway, I’ll just…  go to class or whatever people go when they’re very afraid.”

“They just disappear,” Niran tipped him.

And the boy really disappeared. Niran turned to glare at his ridiculous companions. They shouldn’t be heirs to a grand coven, rather festival fortune tellers.  Sure, he was theoretically safe from any suspicion about his true nature, but he didn't want to run away. Niran had to locate his Marked one, or he'd wipe out the entire vampire race. The hunters or eccentric old men could interfere with his noble mission. For now, his own coven of bumbling assistants was doing just fine in derailing his noble quest.

“Well, Totally Spies, let`s go? We should make this quick.” Niran snorted and grabbed the bat-shaped door knocker.

“I thought we were here to get diplomas,” San groaned.

“Thinking’s not exactly yours thing,” the vampire answered her and slammed the knocker against the door. It was loud enough that the entire university probably knew of his arrival. “I feel like I've gone back for about two hundred years”