I'm Stephanie Tjang. I'd really been looking forward to our class trip. I know I'd gone there before, but I can't get enough of the Sydney Powerhouse/Science Museum. I could tell that the rest of the kids were ready, too. Everyone was full of energy when we walked into science class happily that morning…
That's when I saw him. "Oh no," I groaned, "not Mr Hennings."
"Phooey," My classmate Andrew said. He curled his nose and sniffed like he'd smelled something bad.
You'd think a classy school like St Ives High School could afford to hire good substitutes. And, to be honest, I guess I'd have to say that most of the time they did. But Mr Hennings was terrible- and I mean really. He thought he was great with kids, but even Andrew agreed with us. Mr Hennings had no idea what we really liked. He also wore boring brown clothes, had balding hair and shouted a lot, which I guess is pretty strict.
This is going to ruin the trip, I thought. I'd been looking forward to going to the museum with Mrs Rohan. She was such a great teacher. And she was nice to all of us.
"Listen up," Mr Hennings said. "Mrs Rohan is sick today. But don't worry; we're still going on the class trip. Isn't that wonderful class?"
There was silence in the room. Nobody said anything. Andrew rolled his eyes and made a face at me. I did too.
"Well," Mr Hennings said, "I'm looking forward to it. So, let's go get on that bus and have a great time at the museum."
We got on the bus. Andrew threw rolled-up paper balls on the walls. I took a nap. Morning isn't my best part of the day because I always get sleepy. When we reached the museum, Mr Hennings led us into the lobby when we explored the exhibitions.
"We always go to the Hall of Mammals," I told him. "That's our favourite place." I loved seeing the rabbits, the squirrels and the other small creatures there. They looked so cute in the glass windows, half-frozen as if they were almost alive.
"Well," he said, looking around at the signs on the wall, "it's no good to get into a bore. You need to experience new things. Otherwise you'll all become creatures of habit. Ah, this is perfect," he said, pointing to one of the signs, barely legible. "There's a show about to start in the planetarium in a few minutes."
Andrew shook his head. "I don't think that's such a good idea, Mr Hennings." The teacher quirked his head in the other direction.
"Why not Andrew? It's a wonderful idea, come along class," Mr Hennings said.
Then I saw the name of the show and a chill ran across my spine, "Andrew's right. I really don't think it's a good idea at all." I protested.
"What's wrong, are you afraid of the dark, Drew and Stephanie?" Mr Hennings asked.
"Hardly," Andrew said as he scratched his hair.
"Not really," I said. I shrugged, soon he'll find out anyway.
Before we could argue any further, Mr Hennings was leading everyone into the planetarium. Andrew and I took our seats. The room grew dark as the show began to start. Mr Hennings sat down right next to me. "See," he said, as the stars appeared projected on the ceiling. "This is wonderful. You all should just relax and enjoy the show, class."
"Welcome to the planetarium," the taped and dull voice of the announcer said over the loudspeaker.
"I really think we should leave right now," I told Mr Hennings. But just as I was about to get up, the substitute teacher dragged me down again…
He shushed me, "It is very exciting Steph, just relax and enjoy the entertainment!" Okay, I thought. That's it. I'd tried. There was nothing more I could do except sit and listen to the announcer speak.
"Our show is called Phases of the Moon. If you look toward the eastern horizon, you'll see a spectacular full moon rising over your heads."
It was a fake moon, of course. I wasn't really sure if it would work on us. But it certainly did the trick. By the time the round and partly seen moon was visible over the horizon, we'd changed for the worse…
I'd tried to tell Mr Hennings it was a bad idea taking us to the planetarium. Maybe I should have told him our secret before we went into the planetarium. But what use is a secret if it actually gets out among the students…?
And even if I'd told him Andrew and I used to be werewolves, he'd never have believed me. But it's true. When the fake moon rises above our heads, we turn into wolves- some of us, that is... I don't mean those cute pretty wolves you see in nature shows on TV - I mean those snarling, raging and howling wolves you see in movies.
I lifted my head and howled, showing my long fangs… Mr. Hennings got up and ran for the door, but it was locked from the outside. Andrew joined me, also transformed into his lupine form, snarling and prowling around…
St Ives High School should have known better than to hire him. I guess good substitutes are hard to find now days. Of course, by the time Andrew and I get through with Mr Hennings, he's going to be pretty hard to find… Too.