Chapter Four- Turning Decision

Chazz awoke near the Slifer dorm after finding that he was the lone werewolf on the island. He was delighted to find himself human again. So if I change like that again, I'll know that I'll change back in the morning. That's a relief.

He headed into the cafeteria where some Slifers were already having breakfast, Syrus among them. Chazz asked for no soup and extra fish. He received his request and sat with Syrus and Chumley. He started on the rice, aware of his company staring at the extra fish- or at least Chumley was. Syrus saw something else. "Uh, Chazz? You nails are a bit long."

"I'm aware of that. It's not your concern," Chazz answered harshly. Syrus flinched slightly at Chazz's tone. Chazz rolled his eyes as he continued to eat. Syrus is such a wimp, I can't believe anyone would want to be friends with him. He needs to grow a spin and stand up for himself, like I do. I've definitely gotten more confident since the ritual. Hmm, more confident. Yes. If I bite Syrus on the full moon, he'll become a werewolf and will grow more confident between moons. Yes, that's what I'll do; I just have to lure him into the forest and make sure there's moonlight to make sure this works.

Syrus lowered his eyes to his tray. Chazz intimidated him and he found himself looking away from him. He knew he had self-esteem issues due to his talented older brother and said brother's put downs on his dueling skills. He admired Jaden's upbeat attitude and awesome dueling skills. I want to have more self-esteem. If I had that, I might even stand up for myself. I can't let Ja defend me all the time. I just don't know how to be surer of myself.

Meanwhile, Chazz had finished his breakfast and found he still wanted more fish. He got more and came up with a possible explanation. It's my wolf side again. I'm craving meat and that's why I eating a lot of fish. It's also a little less than two weeks to the full moon. I didn't crave meat two weeks ago. As Chazz ate the last of his fish, Jaden came in, his trademark smile in place.

"Morning, everyone," he greeted as he sat down with his food.

"Morning, Ja," Syrus replied.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah," Chazz grumbled. How can someone be so perky? It just doesn't seem natural. He started thinking about what to do for the day. His eyes drifted over to Syrus and Chumley. "Hey, you two. How about dueling me?"

"Uh, well…," Chumley said.

"Not really," Syrus added.

"Oh, come on," Chazz insisted. "You won't improve your skills if you don't practice."

"Chazz has a point," Jaden commented. "Hey, how about you duel me after Sy and Chum?"

"You're on, Slacker."

"Armed Dragon Level Ten, attack his monster and the rest of his life points!" Chazz declared, pointing at the target. His dragon swung its clawed arm, turning Syrus' monster to digital bits and his life points hit zero. Syrus dropped to one knee as Chazz smirked.

"That was pathetic," he sneered. "Hardly a challenge. You better improve your combos or get yourself a different deck."

"But I like my 'roid monsters," Syrus protested weakly.

"Hey, don't pick on him," Jaden said.

"Someone has to," Chazz replied. "Syrus needs to stand up for himself."

Jaden took on a serious expression; one that meant business. "All right, Chazz. You want a challenge? Well, you got one. Get your game on!"

Chazz soon found himself in a red-hot duel which attracted the attention of their dorm. The end result was unexpected, though: It was a tie!

"Whoa," Jaden panted as he stared at Chazz for a moment before grinning. "Sweet duel, Chazz. You been practicing? 'Cause it shows."

"Yeah, I've been practicing. I've also been studying as well as devising strategies and combos." He looked over at Syrus. "I suggest working on combos. I've seen your duels early in the year as well as today. You've got combos in there that you either haven't noticed or can't use either by bad draws or missing cards."

"I think it is missing cards," Syrus said softly, a little surprised by Chazz offering advice.

"So, let's go to the card store and see if we can get them there and if not, maybe someone will be willing to trade if they've got them," Jaden said before taking off with Syrus and Chumley behind him.

Chazz watched them leave, thinking that the harsh words he said to Syrus had been balanced by his suggestion. Best if I ease up on Syrus as I'll be teaching him on how to be a werewolf soon enough. He heard murmurs behind him and turned to the students who were still gathered. "Who else wants to duel The Chazz and maybe get some advice?"

"I think dueling Chazz was a good thing," Jaden commented. "I mean, he was actually nice giving you that suggestion, Sy."

"Yeah, that was a surprise."

It also made up for his harsh words since around dinner last night. Chazz is right, though: I need to stand up for myself and not let myself be bullied. I'm just not sure how to start. Maybe I should observe others to get some ideas.

Syrus spent the next several days observing his friends' confidence as they interacted with him and other students. He admired Jaden's display of confidences as usual. He found Chumley a bit shy, but he didn't hesitate to speak up when defending his views and friends. Bastion showed a confidence that appealed to him and decided to try and emulate that level of self-esteem. It definitely beat Chazz's behavior.

The Slifer transfer came across as arrogant, rude, and too confident for Syrus' liking. Yet, Chazz seemed to have taken an interest in the shorter boy for reasons he didn't know. He may think he was helping Syrus with his comments and suggestions, but Syrus found him creepy with his way of helping.

Chazz, on the other hand, thought he was being quite helpful. He knew Syrus was resolving to be more self-confident and was observing their friends. He could tell that Syrus was impressed with Bastion's calm and cool demeanor. Indeed, Chazz was impressed with the calm that Bastion exuded and Chazz decided to try to stay calm like that, so as to insure that he didn't change due to anger like last time.

The desire to attack those boys scared me back then; it still does. The only time I attacked humans was the night I became a werewolf. The combination of the ritual anger and the feral, primal anger prompted me to attack and kill. After that, I've only killed animals for food. I don't want to change out of anger again. I fear if I do, I might actually indulge in my anger. I doubt Syrus would get angry enough to change, but I'll tell him about it anyway. Just a couple more days until the full moon. I think I'll lure him into the woods by saying I need to talk to him in private and have something to show him. I may have to be forceful to get him to follow me, but I hope not.