I rolled out of bed the next morning with the smell of strawberries still wafting around my head. I stumbled around the room trying to shake it away, but it clung to me as if my dream had become tangible. With a gruff sigh, I continued with my morning routine. On the way out of the bathroom, I caught a glimpse of my reflection in the mirror (an object which I despised and usually avoided). Aggressive green eyes stared coldly through a sheen of greasy black bangs, attached to a face that could have been the before-the-product picture for acne cream. Don't get me wrong, I shower twice a day; but somehow the animal part of me has just screwed with my genes even more than needed. Besides the acne though, it would be easy to mistake me for an adult. At six foot one and having the build of someone who spent an hour in the gym every day, most people avoided getting too close. I've tried hiding my musculature under baggy clothing, in hopes that fat is less intimidating, but my face seems to be deterrent enough. I let out a huff and ground my teeth at my reflection, turning away from the constant reminders of the monster that was buried beneath my human frame.
After shaking the water out of my hair like a dog, I continued downstairs for class. I buried myself contentedly in my AP Calculus book, and before I knew it, I heard Simon's (my foster brother) stomach growl from across the room.
As if on cue, Mrs. Talbot stood and announced the end of classes. Simon and I jumped up: it was time for our daily kitchen raid. Food was not allowed outside of mealtimes, so we used the 15 minutes in between the end of classes and lunch to stock up on the snacks the nurses in Lyle House thought they had kept well hidden. No snack-food got past my nose. We were about to turn the corner into the kitchen when I froze: somebody was on lunch duty already. Seeing me stop Simon halted too.
"Who is it, bro?" he inquired.
"I can't tell." I said after a few deep breaths.
"What?!" he hissed. I could always tell, dog's noses are about 50 times more powerful than people's.
"I don't recognize the scent. Must be that new kid you keep talking about. You walk in first." I grumbled.
He shrugged and strolled into the kitchen.
"Peeling duty already? What'd you do to deserve that?" I heard him whisper.
I peeked in to see Simon standing by the sink, talking to the girl I guess.
"You must be Chloe." he added.
I heard Chloe drop the carrot she had been peeling. Stunned by his looks, like all girls. Simon motioned for her to be quiet, explaining that we weren't supposed to be here and then introducing himself. I rolled my eyes and stepped into the kitchen as Simon disappeared into the pantry. I finally stepped into the kitchen as Simon brought out a sleeve of graham crackers.
"The other one's already open," a girls' voice said, motioning to the box Simon held.
"Thanks, but he'll want the whole thing. Right bro?" Simon said to me.
Before I could let out an affirmative grunt, Chloe had wheeled around to see me and let out a strangled cry of terror. I winced. You should have seen that coming, I scolded myself inwardly.
"I-I-I-I-I d-didn't see you there," she managed to stutter, still shaking.
I snatched the crackers from Simon and was about to make a hasty retreat when the smell of strawberries again filled my nose. Chloe smelled like strawberries. I froze like a deer in headlights and took a second look at Chloe. She was incredibly short, with red-streaked blonde hair and big blue eyes. Before you get attached, realize that those big blue eyes are gaping at you in terror, my subconscious recommended.
"We're still teaching him manners," Simon said,"Derek, Chloe. Chloe, my brother Derek."
"Brother?" she said, questioning how we could ever be related.
"He's my foster brother," Simon explained. Before he could finish his sentence, I snapped "We done here?" and stormed off in shock.
She's the one that I dreamed about. As far as I knew, werewolves only dreamed about one person besides themselves.
I stormed upstairs to find the only book I had on my kind.
