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Honestly I can't say I never saw it coming. Ever since the day that human-animal crosses were revealed to be possible, it was like opening Pandora's Box with what was unleashed. The world was torn into two camps; those that saw only animals and those that saw the people beneath the fur, scales, or whatever. A century had passed since a dying man showed the world his creations and since then their situation had only slightly improved. They originated from a small town in western Europe but since then had spread to most of the civilized world and at the beginning they were treated as though they were the simple animals they resembled. There were few of them but given time they procreated to the point that they actually had a sizable population and along with the fact that their genetics could mix with traditional humans their numbers increased until western governments could no longer relegate them to the sidelines as animals.

There were massive objections from those that feared and hated the hybrids for what they represented; the ultimate show of man trying to play God, and even worse, succeeding. Although their resistance was and remains strong, there was no realistic way to ignore a growing population of people that proved that they had the intelligence of normal human beings. Eventually they were given basic rights and there were laws put into place securing them from being used as normal animals would be but there's only so much that government laws can do to make life better for people. In the end, it turned into something similar to what happened with African-Americans except about ten times worse. It's easier to adapt to something that looks like you but nearly impossible for most people to get used to seeing something as tall if not taller than them and that has claws, strange ears, tails, or other radical difference. Most hybrids were pushed into a second class status and today that's how it remains. They're legally people but they're still treated as animals by a lot of people.

And that brings me back to the original subject. Today is a monumental day in history; today it was announced that the first two hybrids were going to attend a high school. My high school to be exact. Redridge Central High School was decided to be the first school to integrate hybrids into the system and while this sounds similar to the integration of schools back in the 60s let me tell you, it ended up completely different. While hybrid populations were on the rise, they never numbered as closely to humans so, although the right to education was generally accepted, most people still drew the line at hybrids and most states wouldn't even consider integrating the hybrid population into the public school system. The only reason that this even happened is that the state government volunteered our district to host a so-called "trial integration" as an experiment to test the viability of not only integration but to see whether or not, officially, hybrids could even fit into a school setting. The question of establishing a hybrid only school system was also considered but only as a last resort as there would be no doubt that the schools established by such an act would be far under the normal regulations.

It was a warm July afternoon when my father called me on my phone. I had been out with a few friends at the only remaining arcade in town when I picked up and the only words he said was to "come home because we need to have a talk" before hanging up. I looked over to my two friends and apologized that I had to get going because of family problems. Hastily I grabbed my stuff from the table we occupied and ran back to my car in the parking lot, my stomach in knots. Typically if my dad wanted to say anything to me, it was a bad sign in and of itself. To say we had a cold relationship was a mild understatement much like saying a blizzard was similar to taking a walk in the sunshine. As I unlocked my little Volkswagen, I glanced around and saw that no one was in the proximity and let out a breath before reaching behind me and pulling my three foot tail free from my pant leg. That was one of the reasons my father and I never got along well; I was a mix between an anthro and a normal human.

When I said that hybrids were rising in numbers, the fact that they could also reproduce with a normal human due to the tweaks made in hybrid's genetics was one of the reasons. It was absolutely taboo to cross the two but that didn't stop some people from tip-toeing over the socially acceptable line from time to time. I was praying that this talk with my dad wouldn't turn out like the last time he had pulled me aside. Turning the key, my car sputtered to life and I threw the shifter into drive to make my way out of the nearly deserted parking lot. I'm pretty sure that one conversation would be burned into my brain for the rest of my life. I was terrified of what people like my friends would think if they knew. The rest of the town would look at me like a disease and I would probably receive death threats for awhile. I just hoped no one would be bold enough to act on their threats. Thankfully the only ones who knew were my mother and father. My car slid unnoticed down main street and then out of town before I turned and start up a dirt road. Passing by the now unused fields, I wondered what was so important that my father had interrupted not just me but also his own busy schedule to have a talk with the son he didn't even want. Well that wouldn't remain unanswered soon because the house loomed darkly against the setting sun.

We lived in a large, former farm house that dated back to God knows when. It was an old fashioned Victorian-style home but the interior was re-conditioned to modern standards while retaining that old world charm as some people would say. My father was from a wealthy family and it showed. We had nothing but the best and my father even hired people to help take care of the house and the surrounding grounds. Getting help was where the "trouble" began as my father had put it back when he and I sat down in the upstairs study ten years ago. Surrounded by musty, old books on oak bookcases, with a window that was overlooking the snow covered grounds, and a blazing fire in the stone fireplace, my father sighed before taking a deep breath and telling the tale of why I was different from other people. When my father was still a young man, hybrids were still bound and used as lesser beings and with his family being one of the more well off families, it wasn't uncommon for them to have servants around their home helping with cleaning, cooking, and other menial tasks. They were provided shelter and a relatively low income but were still treated as livestock often times, but there came a day that changed everything. A young female hybrid by the name of Maybelle entered the mansion.

Coming from the south, as her name would suggest, she was a stunning specimen of a hybrid border collie with the stereotypical black and white markings even down to the classic split between the two sides of her head. Normally her arrival would be noted in nothing but paper work but there was something that happened that drew attention to her besides her harder than normal work ethic. On a night that my father was working on a papers for his masters degree for college, she passed by on her way back to the servants quarters. Doing her duty and asking my father if he needed anything before she turned in for the night, he ended up telling her exasperatedly about how poorly his paper was going without giving a second thought to whom he was relating his difficulties. Throughout his tirade, she stood there listening attentively to his every word ranging from his topic to all the information he had gathered for the paper and about how he couldn't figure out how to set up the paper to flow from one point to another. By the end he was up and pacing around the room heatedly before he simply threw up his arms, walked out, downstairs, and out into the courtyard to get a breath of fresh air. Apparently in the time that had passed since he stormed out to calm down, the servant he had told his problems to had written down an outline on a scrap of paper for her various ideas and recommendations on how transition from each point effortlessly.

It was the only time I had ever seen my father smile, if tentatively, as he looked out the window before letting out a breath and continuing about how he stared at the small scrap incredulously before running off to the servants quarters. That night, he had said, was the night that he had instantly recalled my mother's name. He remembered arriving in the small room outside the sleeping rooms and asking where the girl named Maybelle was staying. The older human in charge of watching the servants looked up and pointed to a corner room before returning his eyes to the computer screen sitting in front of him. Hard pressed to keep his excitement from bubbling over, my father quickly walked to the room in the corner and started reaching for the door's handle but stopped himself. It was strange. Were it any other situation he would have simply entered the room but on this occasion he didn't want to intrude, which at the time, seemed impossibly silly. Courteously knocking on the door led to a shuffle and a quickly mumbled apology as the girl within quickly made herself decent for any demand that would be asked of her. She opened the door and ended up running straight into my father knocking the air out of both of them. As they both recovered from the shock, she saw that she had ended up potentially hurting one of her masters and her brown eyes went wide as she bowed as fast as she could and excuses started running out of her muzzle as fast as she could muster them.

Normally he would have been furious that a servant had run into him but this time was different and he could only try and stifle his laughter at the situation. He failed miserably and ended up doubled over in laughter as he tried to catch his breath from the current situation. Maybelle looked up and couldn't help but look on in confusion with her head tilted to the side as he struggled to recover before he resorted to holding up the paper she had left on his desk. "Am I in trouble?" was all she asked quietly, her sweetly accented voice trembling. That stopped the laughter immediately and he saw that her ears lowered and her tail tucked immediately. He looked at her very seriously and she had felt tears building up before he answered her with a succinct "No".

My father took another pause before rubbing his temples and then sat there gauging my reaction. I couldn't exactly see what the point was in me telling this to me and under his piercing gaze I shifted restlessly. I guess my discomfort had made itself evident as he diverted his attention to the fire crackling in the fireplace. He told me of how that one night had led to him realizing that hybrids were just like any other person and that he had come to regret how his family treated them. They weren't just tools to be used and then forgotten about but were living, breathing people that had hopes and dreams. Before long he found himself falling in love with the maid Maybelle because of her intelligence, wit, and, even though he was too embarrassed, her beauty as well. Each time he saw her in the hallways or when they met out in the courtyard after dark his heart fluttered in his chest. Even though they tried their best to keep out of sight, his own parents had caught on to what was happening and gave him an ultimatum; cut off the relationship with Maybelle or she would be released of her service and sent to work for someone else. Their reaction, though expected, was still like a fist to the gut and left him reeling. For three days he ignored her even though his heart ached for the conversations and meetings that they had spent together before. The morning of the fourth day he decided that enough was enough. He drove into town quickly without a word and returned after dark. Just like that one night he walked silently through the corridors to go see her and just like that night he quietly knocked on the door. Maybelle answered it much more gracefully than that night so long ago but when she saw it was him, she was just as breathless.

"Why are you here?" Another question, another similarity. He looked over and saw that the man who was usually so diligent in his duty of watching the servants had casually slipped on a set of headphones. At least someone around the house had the decency to look the other way.

"I need to speak with you." He pointed behind her into her room. "Is it all right if we step inside for a second?" Her eyes looked like they would pop out of their sockets but he could only laugh slightly before saying that was all he wanted was to talk. She stood aside and he entered her room. He had never been in her room even with all the time they had spent together over the previous few months. Every time he had asked, she had politely declined with a shake of her head and slight blush. As he stood there and looked around he could understand why she wouldn't want him to see this. The walls were bare besides a single photograph that was taped onto the wall next to her bed which itself was a simple cot with a white linen cloth laying over it. There were no windows and the only light source was a bare bulb hanging from the ceiling. A rundown wooden table sat in the corner with what looked like a small journal along with an old style quill and ink jar. He looked with disbelief at the last two items and Maybelle followed his gaze as she shut the door behind them.

"Ever since I was young I liked to record the day's events," she said in response to his unasked question. Moving over to the table she ran her hand over the page before shutting it and looking back towards him. "Is there something I may help you with? Master?" The last part came out almost as a second thought and it was that time that he realized that 'master' coming out of her mouth was a disgrace to her buried sophistication.

"You don't have to call me that, you know?" She tilted her head in confusion. "Actually," he continued before moving next to her, "there's something I'd like to call you." He reached into his pocket and pulled out the small wooden box he had gotten in town earlier that day. Setting it down on top of her small leather bound book he said, "I want you to be m-" He was cut off as she practically jumped onto him and crushed the air out of him with the force of her embrace. "I guess I'll take that as a yes then?" he groaned into her ear.

"You're so stupid."