It was nearing 3 o'clock one Monday afternoon, and a certain black-haired red-eyed wolf boy was sitting in the middle of the foyer, having his eyes fixed on one of the many clocks in the room. Several friends passed by the foyer, wondering what he was doing, but didn't bother to ask. That is, until everyone's favorite blue blob of mischief walked by.
"What are you doing?" he asked Shane. He broke his stare at the clock and looked at Bloo. Then he shrugged.
"Waiting on Kay and Mac, I guess," he replied. "I'm bored out of my mind."
"Tell me about it," Bloo agreed, and sat next to Shane on the floor.
Just then, Shane and Bloo heard voices on the other side of the door, followed by knocking. Shane and Bloo practically pounced on the door to open it, which startled Mac and Kay.
"It's about time!" Bloo exclaimed. Shane's face brightened a bit.
"Well, hello to you, too," Kay replied in a duller tone than normal. Shane's ears drooped a bit.
"He's not exactly the patient type," Mac said.
"I think we've all noticed," Shane said. "Anything interesting happen today?"
"It's school. Why would it be interesting?" Kay asked with irritation in her voice and walked away, claiming she had to use the restroom. Shane looked over to Mac.
"She's been talking like that since school ended. She was fine this morning," Mac informed him. "Maybe she's getting picked on again."
"Again?" Shane asked, but dropped the subject when she was on her way back. She had slightly puffy eyes, but her tone lightened up.
"Sorry about that, guys. What do ya wanna do?" Mac and Shane knew she was hiding something, but Bloo, being oblivious, grinned widely and suggested they play video games.
"Again?" Mac groaned.
"Why not?" Shane said. "You guys go ahead, I'll catch up with you."
"Don't be too long," Kay smirked and followed the dynamic duo to the arcade room.
"I shouldn't be that long," Shane said to himself as he walked toward Mr. Herriman's office. He slowly opened the door and saw Herriman with Frankie and Madam Foster, discussing things about the house.
"Is this a bad time?" Shane asked carefully.
"Oh, not at all, deary. Come on in," said Madam Foster, one of the nicest elders Shane had ever come across. Herriman sighed, due to the fact that he had been interrupted. However, he never went against his creator's wishes.
"What's up, Shane?" Frankie asked casually.
"Well... I wanted to ask you guys something," he said with uncertainty in his voice.
"Go on, out with it," Mr. Herriman said impatiently.
"Oh, hush. Don't mind him deary," Madam Foster said, getting out of her chair and walking over to the boy. She put a hand on his shoulder, although he was a bit taller than her, and asked, "What do you need?"
"I wanted to know.. if I could enroll in school?"
The room was quiet for a moment. When Shane had first entered the house months ago, he was offered the chance to enroll in school, but turned it down, saying he wanted nothing to do with normal children.
"Of course you can, deary!" Madam Foster said proudly.
"Awesome, Shane! I'll call the school to see when you can start," Frankie said enthusiastically.
While Frankie was speaking to someone from Kay and Mac's school, Madam Foster smirked and asked, "This sudden decision wouldn't have anything to do with that sweet little girl who comes by, now would it?"
Shane slightly blushed, crossed his arms and looked away. "No! I just need to get an education! I can't hide from normal humans forever, can I?"
The Madam chuckled and replied, "No, I suppose you can't."
The next morning, Mac left his apartment and met Kay at hers so they could walk to school. She wasn't very talkative, and only smiled when he mentioned how badly she had beat Bloo playing video games yesterday.
"Well, I guess we should go to class now, huh?" Mac said.
"I guess," Kay replied reluctantly.
"Just try to take it easy, okay?" Mac asked.
"I'll try," Kay said, and walked into her homeroom. She was immediately hit with a ball of paper and heard giggling among a group of other girls.
Just as class was about to begin, the teacher came in followed by Shane. Kay's jaw dropped when she saw him with his wolf qualities tucked away. The group of girls who were laughing at Kay grew quiet.
"Good morning, class," the teacher began.
"Good morning, Mrs. Rogers," the class sang back.
"As you can see, we seem to be getting a new student today. Why don't you introduce yourself?" Mrs. Rogers motioned to Shane. "My name's Shane."
Kay had never seen this side of Shane before; her protective, demanding friend was suddenly shy, soft spoken, and had a hard time taking his eyes off the ground.
"Let's try to make Shane feel welcome," Mrs. Rogers said, noticing how uncomfortable Shane was and allowed him to sit. He took the only available seat in the back, while Kay was up front.
"Okay, class, let's open our English textbooks to page 116."
For not going to school for several months, Shane was pretty smart, especially when it came to math. They were finally able to talk once recess came around
"I had no idea you were coming to school!" Kay exclaimed.
Shane smiled and said, "Surprise."
"It definitely was one!" she replied. Mac soon walked over to join Kay, not expecting to see Shane.
"What are you doing here?" he asked.
"Today is my first day of school," Shane explained. "It's going pretty well so far."
"Awesome," Mac said, happy that Shane would now be walking home with him and Kay, which means Terrance would pick on him less.
Kay's mood had definitely changed for the better, until she caught sight of the group of girls in her class walking passed them. She growled.
"What's the matter?" Shane asked.
"Them. Don't get mixed up with those girls, okay?" Kay asked seriously.
"Okay, I won't. But why?" Shane asked.
"Just cause," Kay said, and made her way back to class early.
"Who are those girls?" Shane asked Mac. He pointed to a red-headed girl in a purple top.
"That one's Jessica. She's kind of like the leader of the pack, and the one who picks on Kay all the time."
"I see," Shane said, looking over at her, and back to Mac. Then he smirked. "Not anymore."