Page 1

1

Kenna

This is it. My first day as new-Kenna.

New job. New haircut. New shoes. New me.

Stepping through the front door of the Paranormal Citizens Relations Bureau, it feels like exactly the fresh start I need.

The lobby is open and bright, with Bureau employees streaming in to start their work week. The crowd is a mix of humans and paranormals, and every species from orcs to fae to shifters seems to be represented.

Impossible to imagine just five years ago, when the Paranormal Acts were passed and allowed creatures of all kinds to come forward and join the human world, but standing here today it just feels right. I’m beyond excited to be a part of the organization helping to integrate the paranormal world with the human one and making a better path forward for everyone.

“Good morning,” I say as I approach the front desk.

The receptionist looks up and a smile splits his stone-gray face. A gargoyle with rough-hewn features and massive stone-like wings, he greets me cheerfully.

“Good morning. How can I help you?”

I give him the papers my new boss emailed me over the weekend. “Here for my first day. Yvette told me to check in at the front desk when I got here.”

“Oh,” says the gargoyle, whose name tag I’m close enough to see reads ‘Lawrence’. “Welcome! We’re glad to have you. This way, please.”

Thanking him, I follow as he beckons me around the desk and through a door leading into a short hallway.

“We’ll take you back to HR first,” Lawrence explains, “to get all your new hire paperwork completed.”

I’m starting a new job today as a graphic designer and communications assistant in the Bureau’s Community Outreach department, and for me, it’s a pretty damn big deal.

I’m twenty-seven, and this is my first AdultTMjob. Maybe I should be more embarrassed about that, but all I can feel is excited as I follow Lawrence back to the HR department.

So what if it took me a little longer than most to finish my degree? I finished it, and that’s all that matters. Graphic design major with a communications minor, and after years of bouncing around and juggling multiple part-time jobs while I finished school, I’ve finally landed my first full-time gig.

New-Kenna’s got this in the bag. She’s professional, smart, on top of the world. Old-Kenna can’t come to the phone right now.

Lawrence shows me into a small conference room, lets me know an HR rep will be in shortly, and wishes me good luck on my first day. I thank him again and wander over to study some of the photographs on the conference room wall after he leaves.

The photos show some of the historic milestones for paranormal folk—the passage of the Acts, the opening of the Bureau’s headquarters here in Seattle, tons of different events and celebrations marking leaps forward in paranormal integration. The faces in the photos are human and not human, a jumble of both together, sharing the work of helping paranormals find their way in our changed world.

“Kenna,” a warm voice says as the conference room door swings open. “Welcome!”

The HR rep introduces herself as Yolanda, and though she looks mostly human, her eyes have the distinct red tint of a vampire’s. She helps me fill out my tax forms and all the confidentiality agreements that come with working for a government agency. Once those are done, we head up to the fifth floor so I can get settled in at my desk.

And, to my surprise, my cubicle is decorated with streamers and a welcome sign, and Yvette is waiting with a big smile and a warm welcome.

“Happy first day!” Yvette says. “We’re so glad to have you here.”

Though I got to meet her during the interview process, I’m struck again by Yvette’s appearance. A faun with huge doe eyes and platinum blond hair, she radiates a joy and kindness that immediately puts me at ease. I set my stuff down on my desk, and Yvette starts a round of introductions with the rest of the department.

Susie, a human with brown hair and a petite frame, who works on events and community organizing.

Jax, a wolf shifter with electric-blue dyed hair and a tall lanky build, who runs all the Bureau’s digital channels.

And finally Vera, a nymph with light lavender skin and hypnotic turquoise eyes, who handles Bureau PR.

Each of my coworkers greets me with the same openness and enthusiasm, and all of it makes me feel warm and fuzzy as some of my lingering first day nerves slide away.

This is a good thing. I was meant to be here.