I never did find out why my boss had to leave work that afternoon, but she was back again the following morning as if nothing was wrong. And as much as I wanted to know if there was anything going on, I wasn't comfortable prying about what was almost certainly a personal matter. Assuming there really was something wrong in the first pce.

  The rest of the week went fairly smoothly. I picked up another listing and helped an older gay couple find a nice retirement property in town. Meanwhile my girlfriend and I exchanged a few texts and emails every day, to help her get the hang of using a phone. We even used it to talk a couple times, at lunchtime I'd call her or she'd call me.

  By the end of the week my genie was texting like any other young woman her age... The age she looked that is, not her actual age. She'd also discovered social media and was suddenly following more people than I ever did. She had plenty of followers too, but she didn't seem to post that much so I tried not to worry about it.

  That brought us to the long weekend that signalled the official end of summer and the beginning of a new school year. Fortunately the weather was perfect so we were able to make good use of our backyard and our BBQ over the entire weekend.

  Now it was the first Tuesday of September, and for my genie it was her very first day of school. And even though it wasn't actually that far to walk, I insisted on giving her a drive. We exchanged a hug and kiss when I dropped her off in front of the campus, then as she made her way into the building I turned the car around and headed to work.

  I greeted Erin as I passed her office, but when I did the same for Jason he gave me a questioning look.

  "What's wrong Vikki?" he asked. "You look a little stressed this morning."

  "Nothing's wrong. Just a bit distracted I suppose," I replied.

  After a brief hesitation I added, "It's my girlfriend's first day at college, and I'm just hoping everything goes ok for her."

  He frowned, "I thought you said she worked in the online gaming industry? That's how she could afford to buy that house, right?"

  My cheeks coloured slightly as I remembered telling him that at one point. And I knew Erin was probably listening in too, so now she'd know my thousand-year-old supernatural genie girlfriend was attending college with all the normal young human students.

  I tried not to sound too uptight as I expined, "Right, she used to do that. But she's decided to go back to school instead, she wants to try and finish her education. And maybe change careers as well, I suppose."

  "Huh," my coworker frowned for a moment. Then he shrugged, "Good for her. I'm sure she'll do fine Vikki, after a couple years in the gaming industry college will be a breeze for her."

  "Thanks Jason," I replied as I continued on to my desk.

  Fortunately once I was settled behind my desk I was able to focus on my work, instead of sitting around worrying about Jenna all day long. And while the day wasn't too busy, it was just busy enough to keep me occupied.

  Come lunch time I turned down offers from both Erin and Jason. I'd packed a lunch this time, since I was pnning on leaving early so I could pick Jenna up after her st css was finished. So I ate at my desk, and exchanged a couple quick texts with my girlfriend like we'd done the previous week.

  According to her texts there was a lot going on but she was doing ok, and that helped set my mind at ease. And after lunch things got a little busier, with a few more calls and some emails that resulted in a potential new listing. I set up an appointment for the following morning, then as I was adding it to my schedule the arm on my phone buzzed to remind me of the time.

  So I quickly finished what I was doing, then sent an email back to the client to confirm I'd be there for ten o'clock sharp the following morning. And with that done I shut down my computer and grabbed my purse.

  "Erin, Jason, I need to head out early today," I let my boss and coworker know. "I'll check messages and emails when I get home. Call me if anything comes up!"

  Ms. Rhodes replied, "Don't worry about it Vikki, enjoy the rest of your afternoon."

  "See ya tomorrow Vikki!" Jason added.

  I smiled then made my way out back to our staff parking, then climbed into my Jeep and set off for the local college campus.

  Less than five minutes ter I was there, and I easily spotted my girlfriend standing by herself on the sidewalk near the corner. I pulled to a stop and unlocked the doors, then gave her a happy smile and a wave. She responded with a small smile of her own as she moved to open the door, but she didn't seem to be her usual happy bubbly self this afternoon.

  "So?" I asked warily as Jenna climbed into the passenger seat next to me. "How did it go, how was your first day of college?"

  My genie buckled her seatbelt then sighed. And as I pulled away from the curb and started heading home she replied in a quiet thoughtful voice, "I thought going to college would be a good way to meet lots more humans, instead of just watching people on TV. I thought it would let me get to experience more of life as a human, going to school with other humans."

  I gave her a worried gnce before focusing on the drive again, "What happened? Was there some sort of... Did you get into any trouble? With your magic, I mean?"

  "No," she shook her head. "Not yet at least."

  "So what's wrong love?" I asked again.

  Jenna sighed quietly, "I wanted to go to college with humans, to observe humans and learn to act like one of them?"

  I nodded, "Yeah?"

  "The pce was literally crawling with supernaturals!" she excimed in an exasperated tone.

  "First off I saw that demonic goddess girl there," my genie continued. "And she wasn't alone, she was hanging out with a cambion. At least they weren't in any of my csses. But I do share one css with a wolfgirl! And at lunch the demonic goddess and her half-demon friend joined up with the wolfgirl and a catgirl and even a pnt nymph!"

  "At least the demonic goddess looks mostly human," Jenna continued. "Her half-demon girlfriend is pretty obviously different. For one thing she's got pure white hair, and she talks with an English accent, and she acts even weirder than I do!"

  By that point it seemed like she was maybe ranting a little, but I let her go with it. I figured it was best that she got it all out. And anyways I had no idea what to say yet, so it was easier to just keep listening as she carried on about the various supernaturals at school.

  "The wolfgirl seemed kind of normal apart from having lupine ears and a tail. The catgirl's small and cute and has grey hair and fur, and if not for the ears and tail she'd probably blend into the background because of her size and she seems kind of quiet. But the pnt nymph has bright purple hair and was wearing flowery clothes, like she was going out of her way to draw attention to herself!"

  "And that's just one group!" she added as we pulled into the driveway at home. "Then there were all the other supernaturals I saw in the halls and hanging out around the campus! There's at least one human witch, a fae, a werewolf, and one student who dabbles in necromancy."

  I frowned as we made our way to the front door, "So wait. There's a wolf girl, and also a werewolf? What's the difference?"

  "Werewolfs are the supernatural beings of lore," my genie expined as I unlocked the front door and let us into the house. "They're like shape-shifters, but they're limited to two or three forms. And their moods are sort of controlled by the moon. But a wolfgirl is just a normal human with some furry ears and a tail. They can't shift, or at least not on their own. Like catgirls and mousegirls and other demi-humans?"

  It felt weird referring to a girl with lupine ears and a tail as a 'normal human', but I sort of understood what my girlfriend was saying. Then as I closed the door behind us I asked, "So what happened? Did you introduce yourself to any of the other supernaturals? I know you wanted to get to know more humans, but maybe you'd also like some supernatural friends too?"

  Jenna shook her head and grimaced, "I spent my lunchtime hiding in a washroom. Some of the supernaturals make me nervous, and I wasn't sure if I should trust them..."

  Her voice trailed off for a moment before she sighed, "I don't think they can tell what I am at a distance, but if I went up and started talking to them I'm sure some of them would know I wasn't normal. Werewolfs can usually recognize supernaturals by scent. The demonic goddess would definitely know, and maybe the cambion and the nymph too."

  "Would that be so bad though?" I asked. Then I crified, "I'm asking because I honestly don't know, love. Is there a reason you need to hide from other supernaturals?"

  She sighed, "I don't know Vikki? But I'm wondering now if I even need to hide from humans. Like if there's supernaturals openly walking around and going to csses, then what's it matter whether I'm a genie or not? Maybe it doesn't matter anymore. Maybe I should just -"

  We were both startled by a sudden knock at the door, and since we were still standing right next to it the sound was fairly loud.

  I turned and opened it up, but there wasn't anyone there. Which was certainly strange, since it only took a second or two between the knock and when I opened the door. Even curiouser, there was a pin white envelope resting on the front step.

  "That's weird," I commented as I bent down to pick it up. Then I saw the name on the other side and added, "It's addressed to you."

  "Really?" Jenna asked with an excited smile. "I've never got mail before!"

  Her mood had completely turned around, like she'd suddenly forgotten all about her first day at college. Now she was focused on something new and interesting, like that's all that mattered.

  So I handed her the envelope but I also pointed out, "I'm not sure it's mail? There's no address, and no postage. Just your name."

  The envelope was almost completely unmarked, except for where it had 'Jenna Jenkins' written on one side. It wasn't done by hand though, the clean precise bck lettering was obviously printed.

  Jenna didn't waste any time tearing open the fp, then she pulled out the card inside. It looked like a typical commercial greeting card, with a glossy full-colour image on the front. It depicted a little piglet wearing a racing bib, sitting next to a rge gold trophy that stood taller than the piggy.

  "Oh wow!" my genie excimed as she stared wide-eyed at the card. Then she grimaced, "Looks like I owe Pinkie an apology."

  I frowned, "You do? Why?"

  "Wait you're not saying... The card isn't from Pinkie, is it?" I added after a slight hesitation.

  Jenna gave me a funny look, "What? No! Of course not. Seriously Vikki, you know Pinkie's just a giant plush pony, right?"

  "Yeah. That's what I thought," I mumbled as my cheeks warmed up. Then I frowned, "So why would you owe her an apology?"

  My genie rolled her eyes as she gestured at the front of the greeting card, "Because that's Pinkie's preferred piglet, Petunia? And she's sitting next to the Professional Piglet Racing League's grand championship trophy! Isn't it obvious? Pinkie's precious piggy must have won the season championship! Now Petunia's probably famous, and it looks like she's nding all those big sponsorship deals. I mean, she's on the front of a greeting card right? You don't do that for free."

  For a brief moment I worried I was losing my grip on reality, as I found myself wondering if the piglet racing thing was real after all. And if so then who was managing it, since I hadn't heard Jenna mention it in over a month. And if it was still going on did Petunia really win the grand trophy? And if she did, how would that transte into getting on the front of a commercial greeting card? And finally, who would even know about Jenna's connection to Petunia the prize-winning piglet, to send her this specific card?

  Before my thoughts wandered too deep in that direction I forced myself to stop thinking about all that. Whether it was real or all just part of Jenna's imagination, it really didn't matter. The st question was the biggest one, so that's what I focused on.

  "Maybe you should open the card and see who sent it?" I suggested. "There might be a message inside, or they might have left their name."

  "Oh right!" Jenna agreed with a bright happy smile.

  Unfortunately there was no writing inside the card, no name or signature or anything else that might help us figure out where it came from. It wasn't completely bnk though. Centred in the middle of the right-hand side of the card were a dozen or so lines of verse, pre-printed in crisp bck italicized text.

  "Oh," my girlfriend said as she frowned at the little poem. "This is..."

  Something about her tone set my nerves on edge so I asked, "What is it? What's wrong?"

  Jenna looked unsettled as she held the card out and shook her head, "Read it. The poem."

  "Ok," I said as I took a closer look at the card.

  My eyes widened in surprise as I read the poem, and suddenly I understood why my girlfriend looked and sounded a little freaked out. This wasn't some random greeting card, it was a very specific message. And whoever sent it seemed to know an awful lot about my girlfriend.

  The gods decreed your kind ensved,But cupid smiled, thus you were saved.

  You're not the first genie set free,Of all your kin, you're number three.

  The first and second came to woe,Incurred the wrath of status quo.

  Fear not the demon goddess girl,With her help soon I'll mend this world.

  Until such time, if I might ask,Complete for me one simple task?

  Your nature keep from public eyes."Are you a djinn?" "No that's all lies."

  In private do enjoy yourself,Laughs love and friends, no greater wealth.

  Someday we'll meet, when it is time.I'm proud of you oh child of mine.

  ~ End of Book One ~

  PurpleCatGirl