Chapter 17
Tuesday 2ndSeptember 2014
When I saw yesterday that my first class of the day would be Astronomy, I couldn't help but roll my eyes.
This school, honestly.
The rest of my subjects for the day seemed pretty normal, and ones I had more or less done before.
So when I turn up to classroom A2 in the Hub, with Mai chattering about everything I missed at the party last night, I hardly know what to expect.
The in mind, in the end there was nothing mystical or totally ridiculous about what Ms. Martin was lecturing to us about.
Apparently last year the class covered most of the basics: commonly known constellations, the Greek and Roman versions of the planets origins, and the history of Astrology around the world.
This year seems like it will be more of the same, and it doesn't take long for me to completely lose interest.
Cloud, who had been the perfect gentleman last night, had refused to spend our evening together making out, instead insisting we use the time to get to know each other better.
Thus the game of '20 Questions' was commenced. Unlike playing with other guys, he hadn't asked me extremely personal or embarrassing things, which I'm unendingly grateful for.
He's the type of guy who I feel like I can be who I am around, without needing to put up pretenses or hide things about myself. After less than twenty-four hours as an official couple, it might be a little soon to tell, but I just know I'm falling for him.
I'm startled when I hear the tolling of the great brass bell situated at the top of the Hub, signaling the end of the class period. I scramble to collect my notebook I'd been doodling in, as well as the textbook I had been handed at the beginning of class.
"Dozing off the first class of your first day?" Mai asks, shaking her head in mock-disappointment. "You know the teachers will be keeping an eye on you," she adds, more seriously.
"Yeah, Cloud said the same thing," I reply. We're on our way to our next class – biology – and the halls are packed with students on their way to their next class.
Mai turns to me, seeming as though she's barely reigning in her excitement. "That's why you're so spacey, isn't it? Neither of you were at the party last night, and you were already asleep when I got back to the room."
I avert my gaze, knowing full well that of all the people to tell, Mai is the best, seeing as she knows Cloud so well and can help me avoid any potential sore spots.
"Well, yeah… he kind of asked me to be his girlfriend."
I knew even before I said the words that she would be excited, but what I wasn't prepared for was Mai squealing, coming to a complete stop in the middle of the hall, and whirling on me, gripping my shoulders excitedly.
"I knew it," she proclaims, the enormous grin on her face looking almost painful. I glance to the side and flush with embarrassment when I see the stares and frowns we're getting from people trying to get past us.
"Can we finish talking about this at lunch?" I implore her, unbelieving that she's so unperturbed by the attention. "People are staring," I add, in case for some reason she just hasn't noticed.
"Oh screw them," she scoffs, releasing me anyway. We continue on to the labs and I keep my head down as she chatters on. I don't know if I'll ever get used to people staring, and while my usual strategy would be to remain anonymous, it seems that ship has already sailed.
Where I thought that at a school dedicated to the wolf-human offspring of the country, that we would be just like everyone else here, but it appears we get an unordinary amount of attention.
"Why do people give us more attention than they do others?" I ask Mai, as we pass by a group of glaring girls. This is getting beyond ridiculous.
"Hmm? Oh, it's kind of a long story," she says, as if that even came close to answering my question.
"If Biology at this school is anything like at my old school, I think we'll have plenty of time," I tell her pointedly. I'm so over everyone dodging my questions or telling half the story. Or in the case of my Mother: not saying anything at all.
Mai sighs. "All right, all right."
Turns out biology class is nothing like I'd experienced at my old school. While the lab and equipment look the same, that's where the similarities end.
Our teacher, Mr. Carter, isn't your usual pasty-skinned, bespectacled, lab coat-wearing teacher. Far from it, actually.
Mr. Carter is the closest thing I have ever seen to a real-life Hagrid. He has the over-grown beard and hair, the height and build of a rugby player, and the personality of a teddy bear. Just minus the moleskin vest and three-headed dog and yep, got ourselves a Hagrid.
Mai notices my open-mouthed awe as we settle into neighboring seats. "He kind of defines the whole werewolf stereotype, doesn't he?" she says, snorting to herself.
I think about the werewolf movies and TV shows I've seen and have to agree. If there's one thing I've learned since moving to Serenity Falls, it's that you can't judge a book by its cover.
"Okay, so spill," I demand as soon as Mr. Carter starts speaking. We're seated towards the back of the class and I have no doubt he can still hear us, but I need answers.
"I promise I'll tell you everything later," she says, casting a furtive glance at the students sitting around us. "There's a short break after this period. We'll talk about it over food."
I roll my eyes. This girl and her food, honestly.
I realize why she was worried about people overhearing our conversation; even in classes we seem to get an inordinate amount of side glances and whispers.
Flying under the radar is not going to be an easy feat when I get this much attention for seemingly no reason.
Class passes without a hitch and I find that I might enjoy biology this year. Not that I understand all that much of it, but it seems like a subject I might actually gain something from.
Mr. Carter stops me on the way out of the lab at the end of the class. Mai tells me to meet her at the café with a pointed look, leaving me alone with the small giant.
"So, Miss Oaken, I hear from Mrs. Dowle that you're a new student this year?" he starts, shuffling around with some papers on his desk.
I nod quickly, wondering if I'm in trouble or something.
"While that isn't a problem for me – Grade Two work is still fairly elementary – I will need you to do a couple extra assignments, just so it seems I'm doing my job," he says, chuckling slightly and smiling at me kindly.
I smile back and laugh awkwardly. He hands me a few pieces of paper and I glance at the top one. I'm relieved to see it looks like a normal school assignment instruction page, but other than that I don't understand much of it. Maybe Mai or Cloud can help me out with it.
"I've included the first assignment for the semester that everyone else will be getting next week, so you'll have some extra time to think about it," Mr. Carter says, already busying himself with getting ready for the next class.
I thank him, edging out of the classroom. He doesn't call me back or anything, so I figure I'm free to go. The hall is packed with students again, and I get bumped more than a few times as I make my way through the foyer and into the dining hall.
The door to the café is propped open with a chair, and I see students in there getting their caffeine fix.
By now I'm starting to recognize certain people, and even spot Victorie and Mason eating lunch together. They seem to be arguing over something, which for them seems to be the norm. They have such a turbulent relationship, going from a sickeningly happy couple one minute to metaphorically tearing each other's throats out.
My thoughts turn to Cloud and our budding romance. I couldn't imagine either of us behaving that way, which comforts me, realizing we're a lot more alike than I ever thought.
"Serenity!" Mai calls out to me through the hall, and I flush red at all the heads that turn to look. She really knows how to capture the attention of a hundred-plus teenagers, that's for sure.
She's sitting at the far end of the hall, a tray of food already in front of her. She waves me over, a cheeky smile on her face. She knows she's embarrassing me, and she's enjoying every second of it.
Rolling my eyes and wishing the ground would open up and swallow me whole, I go to join her at the table.
"Aren't you going to get something to eat?" she asks incredulously as I take a seat across from her.
"Nah, not really hungry," I say, eyeing off the mountain of food on her plate. It reminds me of what Cloud said about increased appetite before the First Change, and when I see Mai staring down at her food too, I know she's remembering the same thing.
Time to distract. "Now, you said you'd tell me why people seem to steer clear of us, so spill," I demand, crossing my arms and fixing her with a hard stare.
She holds up her hands in defense. "All right, all right. Chill out," she grumbles. "I don't know the full story myself, because technically I'm not part of the pack yet, but I've heard the basics enough times by now."
Her comment about the pack brings me up short for a second, having never really considered that there were two sides to the group of friends I'd been hanging around with for the past weeks: there was the side who could turn into wolves and the side that couldn't.
I feel odd suddenly, as I think about all the times we'd been together and I'd never realized at the time that I was still on the outside. It had never occurred to me that my not turning yet could be a factor; I'd always been more worried about the fact I barely knew any of them.
"So, Cloud told you a bit about your ancestors, right? The ones that founded Serenity Falls?" Mai asks. I'm a little surprised she knows about the impromptu history lesson, but I nod confirmation anyway.
"Okay. Well it was the seven Founders who started it all, really. They invaded the original villages, planning on killing all inhabitants and taking the land for themselves." Mai's voice is low and hypnotizing, drawing me into the world her words describe. "One thing they weren't at all prepared for was the natives to suddenly turn into giant wolves, ready to defend their families in a fight to the death."
My eyes are wide as I try to picture in my mind what had happened. Guilt washes through me, knowing my ancestor was one of the ones who had tried – and succeeding in – taking the land from its rightful owners.
Mai continues. "You'd think that the Founders would have been killed in the fight, but they were smart, and had thought to bring with them dozens of men who they were willing to sacrifice for the sake of their cause.
"Basically, because the native people were outnumbered, despite the clear upper-hand they had, they were slaughtered. What men weren't killed in the fight were executed later, in full view of their women and children."
"That's awful," I breathe, my mind filled with the horrible images and cries of those forced to watch their loved ones die. "But, what does that have to do with us?" I ask, trying to bring myself back to the present before I started getting all teary-eyed.
Mai rolls her eyes. "I'm getting there, just hold your freakin' horses, woman," she scolds, making me laugh at her choice of words. "Okay, so after the men of the village were killed and the Founders took control of the village and those surrounding it, sometimes taking beautiful women for themselves to marry.
"As the years went on, it became quickly obvious that something wasn't right. Children born of the seven Founders found that on their seventeenth birthdays – the year they were considered to be adults – they would begin their First Change and become wolves."
"Yeah, Cloud said that there was a curse or something that was put on the Founders, so that they could know the pain they caused," I interject, raking my brain for the exact words he'd used and coming up short. My memory is officially useless.
"Something like that," Mai says, glaring at me for interrupting her again. "But as the generations went on, families began fighting and eventually led to them leaving. They settled in different towns and continued passing down the wolf gene, although only some ended up actually being able to Change."
She pauses and waits for the information to sink in. While it's a lot to take in, I'm beginning to see the point she's trying to make. "So, they hate us because it all started in Serenity Falls?" I guess, feeling like I'm back in class and answering a teacher's question.
"Yup," she says, popping the 'p'. "Even though we all share the same ancestors, apparently those of us still living in Serenity Falls – and those of you who bear the original Founders names – are abhorred more than the rest." She wrinkles her nose, as if the idea of it left an unpleasant smell.
"That's totally stupid," I protest, wondering who could be stupid enough to hold a grudge against us for something we couldn't even help. "So, they hate me, Cloud, Luca…" I rack my brain for the rest of the last names. "Kailya, Avery and Victorie, more than the rest just because of our last names?"
She nods sadly. "Along with your sister and Acacia."
Sky? A sudden, horrible thought runs through my mind. "Will Sky have to go through this, too?" I ask, dreading the answer.
Mai gives me a sympathetic smile. "There's no real way to know for another year, at least. It's a high chance, considering she's an Oaken, but even if she doesn't actually Change, she'll still have to attend school here."
I frown. "Why? If she isn't going to sprout fur or claws, wouldn't it be better letting her have a normal life?"
The look she gives me says that I'm missing a huge point here. "Even if she doesn't Change, she'll still carry the genes, and there's a high possibility that if she ever had children, that they will be exactly the same."
Oh. I hadn't even considered that.
"It's all kind of depressing, isn't it?" Cloud says, appearing from nowhere and plopping down beside me. He gives me a sweet, if a little sad, smile.
I want to hug him, but I don't want to give anyone more reason to think badly of me. I lace my fingers through his instead, squeezing his hand tightly.
"Didn't think I'd see you until lunchtime, at least," I say, returning his smile.
"We have the next class together, so I thought I'd come find you," he says, using his teeth to unwrap a muffin. I briefly wonder where he got it from, because it looked mouthwatering.
"Since when do we have any classes together?" I demand, not recalling anyone mentioning that little bit of info.
"Mmmhmm," Cloud mumbles, eyes closed in pleasure as he finishes off the last of his dessert. I stare at him, slightly jealous, waiting impatiently for him to hurry up and answer.
Mai answers for him, obviously seeing that he wasn't going to respond anytime soon. "Gym, history, languages and whatever sports we chose are shared between year levels. Grades One through Three are lumped together, same as Grades Four and Five."
The bell rings, sounding distant over the noise of a hall full of chattering students. "What do we have now, then?" I ask, not having memorized my timetable yet.
"Languages," Cloud answers as we all stand, clearly finished with his food love affair. "So that means we get to sit in the back of class and swap cute notes." He grins cheekily, grabbing me around the waist and pulling me to his side.
I giggle, loving this playful side to him, as Mai makes mocking retching noises. I poke my tongue out at her, which she immediately returns.
Somehow, I think I'm going to enjoy this school, despite the crap that comes along with it. At least I have actual friends now.