You've seen harpies before. Who hasn't?
But you, and everyone you know, has only seen harpies on television and the movies. If the news happens to catch a hostage or terrorist situation being "resolved" by a national security agency, there's a chance you might catch sight of a harpy in her "vulture" form. After all, in modern society, harpies tend to gravitate to units like the US Marshals Fugitive Task Force or the FBI's Hostage Rescue Team. The SWAT teams of major cities always had at least one Harpy on them.
Then there was that show on cable, No Place To Run, that starred Christina Moustaka as a harpy trying to balance her career with an off again/on again relationship with a fellow marshal who had played politics to get his promotions while Christina's character was the one who always got the job done.
So the news and Hollywood had made sure that everyone knew who and what harpies were.
No one ever expected to meet a harpy. Particularly in such a mundane role as a substitute teacher.
But there was no denying that Ms. Smith looked the part of a harpy, at least one in her human form.
Ms. Smith had the Mediterranean features and coloring that all harpies seem to share. Her neat, conservative outfit displayed a slim but feminine form, and her long, dark thick hair was kept in a tight, neat bun on the back of her head. Her smile seemed pleasant enough, her eyes were friendly, but what caught your eyes were the wings.
In vulture form. a harpy's wing were supposedly in a state of perpetual molting. But in human form, they were (or at least Ms. Smith's were), in pristine shape, with not a pinfeather out of place.
When Ms. Smith's made the observation that none of the class had ever seen a harpy before, her wings extended with an audible 'snap,' which had everyone in the class, including you and Sid, sitting straight up in their seats. And who could blame you? Of all the "mythical" creatures in the world, harpies were the acknowledged badasses. Navy Seals didn't garner the respect and terror that a harpy would.
As Ms. Smith began quietly taking roll in a class that was suddenly very well disciplined, your mind began asking itself, What was a harpy doing as a substitute teacher in your classroom? A harpy substitute teacher was more out of place than Arnold Schwarzenegger as a kindergarten teacher.
In ancient times, harpies served as agents of vengeance. You consider all the pranks you and Sid have pulled over the years. Did some past victim of one of your practical jokes have enough pull to get a harpy on your tail?
When Ms. Smith calls first your name, then Sid's, she doesn't appear to be giving either of you more attention than she did the other students whose names she called while taking attendance. She just flashes you a friendly smile while moving to the next name.
Which makes you think it's just a big coincidence that a harpy is yours and Sid's substitute teacher.
Or maybe, you tell yourself, she doesn't know you and Sid are the ones who pulled those epic pranks, and she took the substitute teaching job as the final stage of her hunt. Or possibly she knows you and Sid are the notorious pranksters, and her taking the job as your substitute teacher is part of an elaborate punishment that is about to unfold.
As your mind threatens to spin out of control, you convince yourself
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