Host Melody Martin mentions about a transfer student who apparently doesn’t actually exist, then talks about random topics with a boy who is more dead than alive. What a strange week.

Melody

Hello Manticores! My name is Melody Martin and I’m here to keep you up-to-date on the happenings at our school. The second week of classes went well, without any significant incidents. I’m not sure what I expected from a magical school, with all of the potions and spells being used by first timers. I suppose they start off the newbies with the easy ones. It’s hard to cause an uproar when you’re merely summoning light or making a potion to quell nausea.

There is something exciting happening over the next week, however. We’re getting a transfer student. Transfer students weren’t a big deal at my old school, but considering we have less than a hundred students here during the summer session, adding a new one can be a big change. This new student might also be new to magic, so when he or she starts tomorrow, I encourage you to be as supportive and helpful as possible. That’s not too much to ask from a bunch of teenagers, right? We’re the epitome of friendliness.

Ina is coming by to give me the note with the student’s name on it. Here we are…

Oh. This can’t…this must be…is this a trick? Or some cruel prank? Ina?

Ina claims the name is real, but that’s impossible. It’s simply impossible. This person…he can’t be coming here. There’s no way.

I don’t know whether this is a simply a mistake or an intentional act meant to hurt me, but I refuse to fall for it. Forget everything I said earlier, listeners. There is no new student. We have been lied to.

Let’s just move on. Time for questions. Let’s check the chat room…

Alan Sudworth is complaining about the lack of television programming here. It is an odd situation, I agree. We have an internet connection, so we can access Youtube and Netflix and such, but we don’t actually have access to live TV. That means if you’re planning on watching any fireworks celebrations on Saturday, you’re going to have trouble finding a place to view them. It’s not like the school is hosting anything. The fourth of July is a human holiday, not a magic one.

Ooo. According to Carley Morris, there will actually be a few fourth-year students hosting a fireworks show in the surrounding woods. One of the areas that has a clearing, I hope. As interesting as it would be to report on a forest fire, I’d prefer that our surrounding flora remained intact.

Back to the television issue. Apparently we can’t get access to television because all of the television companies are run by humans, and there is a spell that prevents humans from entering here. On the other hand, one of the main internet companies is run by magical creatures, so we can still get an internet connection.

As a representative of the school, I can’t advocate for any illegal activities on our campus. So I won’t. I will say, however, that I think Troy Fletcher in the mixed gender dorm would be happy to commiserate with your woes. He may even have advice to make you feel better about your inability to stay up to date on shows like Teen Wolf and Game of Thrones. Just talk to him, okay? And bring your computer and $20 with you…just because.

Next question. This one is a doozy. Linda Bai lives in a double and is describing a problem she has with her roommate. Apparently her roommate kicks her out at random hours and will scream at her until she leaves. That’s a bit much to get some privacy for sexy shenanigans, but isn’t completely unheard of, even among humans. Oh, but her roommate isn’t using the chance to bring over guys and put a sock on the door…and the noises Linda hears aren’t moans. According to her, they sound more like screams. Inhuman screams. And when she’s sat outside the room and watched the door, she’s seen smoking coming out. Upon her return, she notices claw marks on the floor. Yikes. That’s not going to be very good for your deposit.

Okay, so it’s clear that the roommate in this situation is up to something strange. Summoning, most likely. Summoning is banned outside of school-sanctioned events and classes, so Linda definitely has a case against her roommate if she decides to report her. But if Linda reports her roommate, she won’t be able to find a replacement, and she’ll have to pay the price for a single room, which she can’t afford.

The solution here seems pretty clear: blackmail. Sure, it’s not the most moral act, but neither is summoning creatures illicitly in your dorm room. Plus, the extra money could help Linda afford a single for the school year.

Problem solved. Considering our news portion was…not so newsly, I’ll cover an extra question to make up for it. This is actually a question I’ve been wanting to cover for a while, and by “cover” I mean completely shut down.

Christian Green writes: “show us your titties”. So, two main problems with this. One, radio is not a visual platform, so I couldn’t do it even if I wanted to. And two, no. Just no. I’m not going to do that. Anyone else who posts similar messages will also be ignored. Remember, your name is attached to all of your messages. This isn’t the youtubes comment section have some decency.

Now that I’ve addressed that, I think it’s time to invite our guest onto the show. Today I’ll be talking with Brian [redacted], who is part shade. From what I can see, that means he’s partially translucent. It’s a bit strange to look at, actually. Aside from being see-through, though, he looks human.

Ah, here he is. Hi, Brian.

BRIAN

Hello.

MELODY

*pause* So…how are you doing today?

BRIAN

Satisfactory, I suppose. I haven’t needed to speak with any other dead beings yet, and for that I’m grateful.

MELODY

…Other? Does that mean you’re dead?

BRIAN

Partly. The same part that is shade. Shades are spirits of the dead.

MELODY

Oh…do you mind me asking…how does someone who is part-shade get born? I mean, if one of the involved parties is essentially a ghost…

BRIAN

You are better off not knowing. My existence in general is anguish and it is best to remain uninformed about it.

MELODY

Aw, everything can’t be bad.

BRIAN

My life revolves around death. It’s a disheartening situation. Even now, here in this room, the presence of death tinges my reality. I can see an aura around you that suggests you have recently existed near a death.

MELODY

I- What? How do these conversations always get turned on me?

BRIAN

It is true, then, isn’t it?

MELODY

Well…yes. But if you see the aura of death around me or whatever, that proves the note I received earlier was faked.

BRIAN

The one about the transfer student? He is the one who died?

MELODY

*sigh* Yes, yes he is. That just makes it more cruel that someone would play that kind of trick. Your power confirms he died, right? There’s no way he could be transferring here.

BRIAN

It is possible your aura represents a different death. It is not limited to people you knew well. It could be that you saw a stranger on the street who died shortly after your encounter.

MELODY

No, that can’t be. I saw him die. I went to his funeral. There’s no way he’s alive still. The school…the school doesn’t accept zombies, does it? ‘Cause that would be…that would be devastating, honestly.

BRIAN

No, reanimated corpses cannot be students here. They do not possess the mental capacity to understand the class lessons or complete schoolwork. I of all people would know this.

MELODY

Because you live around death, yeah. Well, that’s a relief. The note was definitely a fake, then.

BRIAN

Although-

MELODY

No, you know what? I think we’ve spent enough time talking about that silly prank. Let’s get back to you. I imagine it would be depressing to be so exposed to death. But you still have your human side, right? If you wanted, you could live among the humans and keep your power hidden. You would appear as nothing but human to them.

BRIAN

I could, but I will not. It would be a betrayal to my heritage. Every student at this school has an obligation to experience their magical side to its fullest potential. There are far fewer of us than of humans, which makes it vital we continue our lineages.

MELODY

I don’t quite agree, but I’m not in the mood to argue. Do you have any other topics you wish to discuss or questions to ask?

BRIAN

Yes, I have one question…will you show me your titties?

MELODY

…Seriously?

BRIAN

My apologies. I am attempting to be more humorous and thought it was a relevant joke considering your discussion from earlier. How was it?

MELODY

It was…as a joke, I guess it was okay. But from this point forward, I don’t want to hear anymore about it. Not from you, Brian, or from Christian Green, or from anyone else at this school.

BRIAN

Understood. If our conversation is over, I will depart.

MELODY

Thank you for your time today, Brian. It was certainly an…enlightening talk.

Now that our guest has left, I think it’s time to close the program for today. I hope you all appreciated the topics we covered today and the complete absence of any type of news. Until next week, good night Manticores.