Wayside Middle School, Monday morning, 9 a.m.

On a typical Monday morning at the world's weirdest school, everything was as "normal" as normal could be; well, except for one thing: Around this time, Maurecia, the indigo haired tomboy on rollerblades, would seek out Todd, her not so secret crush, and punch him on the shoulder. But not this time: This time she was sleeping at her desk, snoring as loud as a bulldozer, not that Mrs. Jewls would notice.

"What's with her lately?" thought Todd, as he stared at her from his own desk, "Normally, she'd try to pass me some stupid love note, or come over here and land a punch on me that would land me in the hospital. But for the past three days, she's been sleeping thru class, and hasn't been very active. I'd better ask."

Walking to Maurecia's desk during free period, Todd gently nudged her on the shoulder to awake and asked "Hey Maurecia, can we talk?"

Hearing Todd's voice, Maurecia pulled herself up, revealing black bags beneath her red, sleep deprived eyes, and yawned "Sure Todd. What is it?"

"Well, it's just that for the last few days, you haven't been yourself lately; you've been sleeping in class, you haven't tried punching me, you haven't rushed on your rollerblades like a maniac, and you've been pretty quiet instead of a loudmouth. Wanna explain?"

"Oh, well, uh, it's like this Todd. My family's, er, having some renovations to the house, and well, the noise, has been keeping me up, so I don't get enough sleep. Does that answer your question?"

"Yeah, I was just wondering. Thanks for explaining."

But as Todd walked back to his desk, Maureica thought to herself, "I wish that were the truth. I wish I could tell you what I was really doing last night, and about what I've been going thru lately. But I know you wouldn't understand; you'd just freak out like everyone else…" And after that thought, Maurecia looked at her right shoulder, and stared at a birth mark that was shaped like a wolf head…and that was glowing.

We've all got our little secrets, right? Some are good, some are bad, and some are ridiculous. Some you can hold on for your life, and some you only hold on to for about a month . But there are some secrets that are too dangerous to share with others, as Maurecia already knows. And that's nothing to howl at.

That afternoon, after school had been let out, Maurecia was on the bus, when she overheard Stephen and the Erics talking.

"Stephen, you're so full of shit", said Small Eric.

"No kiddin'" said Fat Eric.

"But it's true!" replied Stephen, "My uncle saw what broke into that butcher's last night! See, he's a night watch man at the local mall, and he was on his way to work, when he heard a window crash, and saw that it came from the butcher's shop. He went into see what caused it, and when he got there, he saw something that looked like a wolf, except that it was on it's hind legs, it had arms and hands! Seven feet tall, it was, and it was covered in black fur all over! And when the shop keeper came out to see what was going on, this monster swiped him aside like he was a rag doll, and actually injured the guy. Then, it ripped the freezer door open like it was cardboard, and just started devouring the meat in there! My uncle was so terrified, that he ran to the mall, and called the police, but they didn't know how to explain what had happened! I'm telling you, a werewolf did it!"

"Sure, and Mr. Kidswatter actually cares about the students!", said Tall Eric, "Stephen, you uncle probably just imagined it was a werewolf. I mean, he probably doesn't get much sleep due to his job."

"Say, what you will, but I believe my uncle! And I know that only a werewolf could have committed that crime!"

"Oh no!" thought Maureica, "Someone else saw me! I thought the butcher was the only one!"

"Hey Maurecia, are you feeling alright? Cause normally you'd wanna join in this conversation."

"Uh, n-no, I-I'm good."

"You sure? Cause Todd told us about your sleeping problems, due to the renovations."

"I'M FINE, OKAY?! SO JUST GET OFF MY CASE!"

"A-alright, Mo. Suh-sorry to have bothered you."

Once at home, Maureica ran up to her room and sat on her bed, thinking about what was going on, and trying to hold back her tears to no avail.

"Dammit", she said, with tears rolling down her face, "why me? Why? It's just not fair! I didn't wanna inherit some dumb family curse and turn into a monster!"

After two hours of sobbing until she was red in the face, Maurecia finally stopped crying, had some dinner with her family, showered, and went to bed, but while she was doing that, she remembered the day her parents told her about the family curse; of how her father's great great grandfather was scratched by a thorn of wolfs bane,; of how the curse was passed down from generation to generation; and of how on the night of the full moon, she would transform into a werewolf, and that her animal instincts would sometimes come over her from time to time, making her act and behave in ways that were more wolf than human. Even then, she didn't like this news, and refused to accept this. But when the transformation happened the first night of the full moon, she saw that she had no choice but live with this curse, especially when she accidentally injured a young couple on the first night of the moon, when they frightened her, causing her to mistake them as enemies .

"Well, it's the last night of the full moon", Maurecia thought as she looked up at the night sky, "Better prepare myself if I do anything stupid."

As the clouds moved away, the white light of the full moon struck Maurecia. Then, black fur started to sprout on her skin, and her ears became curved and pointed; her teeth became sharp and curved, and her face began to elongate to that a wolf's; her hands started to change into claws, and her feet became paws; her eyes became red, like spots of blood, and a tail instantly grew out of her back; her body grew by three feet, and she grew muscles that shredded her pajamas. Once transformed, Maurecia, opened the window, and leapt down to the ground, then ran off into the night.

'This time", she thought, "I gotta make sure know one sees me. I can't risk exposure."

But while Maurecia was running, she picked up the scent of meat, and, overcome by her wolf instincts, dashed towards the direction the smell was coming from. Dodging all the areas with light in them, Maurecia headed towards the mall, where the smell was coming from. Once on the roof she picked the lock of the roof window, and leapt down to the floor. But the minute she did, she was caught in a steel mesh net, and surrounded by bright lights. From out of the darkness stepped a man in a night watchman's uniform, about in his late thirties and forties, with red hair and a beard. It was Stephen's uncle, the mall night watchman, the one who saw her last night.

"Knew my meat trap would lead you here, my furry friend", said the watchman, "I bet you have know idea what I'm saying, so you probably don't know that you'll help make me rich once I show you to the world, and get me outta this dead end job. But first, I gotta find a cage big enough for ya."

The sound of being caged suddenly caused Maurecia's animal side to take over. Snapping the net like it was made of paper, Maurecia lunged at the watchman, and began to mercilessly claw at him, scratching him with her massive claws. But just was she was about to deliver the final blow, her human side soon took over again, preventing her from killing him.

"No", she thought to herself, "I'm not a killer! I'M NOT!"

As she walked away, the watchman pulled out his gun, cocked it ,and prepared to fire a bullet in her back. But before he could, a large bat like shape leapt down from the roof, and attacked him. Hearing the sound of the struggle, Maurecia turned and saw the watchman on the floor, unconscious, with two small bite marks on his neck. Then the figure who attacked the man turned to her and said "Hello, Maurecia. Pleasant evening, isn't it?"

'Who are you?" ,she asked, "and how do you know my name?"

"I know a lot about you, Mo. I also know that you consider what you have as a curse. But it's not; it's actually a blessing if nothing else. All you have to do is control your animal side, and it'll be all right."

"Wait a minute. Are you who you think you are?"

Stepping out of the shadows, the figure was revealed to be Todd, wearing all black and a Batman-like cape with a large collar on it.

"Todd? But what-how-what's with the Dracula look?"

"I've suspected that you were hiding something when you told me about the renovations to your house this morning. We live in the same neighborhood, Maurecia, people would've noticed if any changes were happening. And as for the look…" Todd said as he smiled, revealing two small, blood covered fangs, "well, what else would a vampire wear?"

"But why would you help me? I mean, after all the punching I do to you, I'd think you want to be rid of me."

"Well, to be honest, Maurecia," Todd answered in a nervous voice, "the truth is…I love you. I've loved you since I met you, and I knew that there was something special between us. So, what do you say? Wanna give it a shot?"

Shocked by what Todd had just said, Maurecia walked towards him…and they kissed like in a romance movie.

"Guess Mom was right", Todd thought, "I really would meet someone I had something in common with at Wayside."

See? Even Todd had a secret. I guess it puts a new expression to the phrase "Love bites", huh? And as for Todd and Maurecia? Well, they're having a howling good time as boyfriend and girlfriend. In fact, you could say Maurecia barked up the right tree.