Lycanthropy and Me: The First Semester(mlm)

Day 49. Friday, First Quarter

Day 49, Friday First Quarter

The wide lawn of Redwood campus was marred with spots of brown, orange, and red. Fallen leaves were squashed against the paths, and ghosts made of muslin and paper hung from the lamp posts. Passerby walked with paper cups of warm cider speaking in hushed tones with searching eyes.

There was one topic on the minds of many--The wolf attacks, and their victims.

Ashley Smith, found on the grounds, presumed alive.

The dead wolf, found in the woods.

And the strangest of all, the trio of Hunter Reeds, Serena Song, and Grayson Lee.

The Joyner building, despite its state-of-the-art gym equipment, had no footage of the night. And stranger still, others had said Hunter Reeds had left campus in the custody of several armed policemen just days before and Grayson Lee had disappeared for days right after.

No local hospitals released any information on the three, and Serena Song was reportedly sent back east for 'further treatment'.

But now, with the victims spotted on campus, perhaps students and faculty of Redwood could do more than just speculate.

Now back at school, Grayson could not avoid the curious gazes. With a large totebag in one hand and a backpack slung over his shoulder, he made his way back across the green and towards the hillslope.

"Grayson?"

He stopped. Tom was there, a foot away, gripping his bag and eyeing him curiously. "What happened... to your neck?"

Grayson's eyebrows raised in surprise. He stifled a laugh, touching the cast. "Just some bruising and lacera...tearing." He corrected himself, recalling a previous conversation about his vocabulary. "It's fine."

His voice was deeper than Tom had expected to hear, and he furrowed his brow. "I haven't seen you or Hunter on campus in days."

Grayson adjusted his hold on the bag. " I had to go home." He turned his gaze to the Howard Dormitory building. "Hunter is...around."

Day 45. Monday, Waxing Crescent

"My poor baby." Lena shook her head. "This room is the size of a shoebox."

With Serena arrested and Grayson whisked away to Boston, Hunter and Lena returned to Redwood campus. Over the weekend Hunter received an e-mail from Sandra Nunez. Apparently, the interim dean wanted to meet with Hunter as soon as possible.

Cleared to go home and now mobile, Hunter saw no reason not to oblige.

Outside his prior blackmailing, that is.

Not sure what to say to his mother, Hunter opted instead for showing her around campus. Redwood's grounds gave a different impression from its virtual tour.

They ate at the mess hall and visited the buildings he frequented for class. The last stop on their tour was his dorm room.

"It's not that bad." Hunter shrugged. Now that the window is actually fixed...

Lena smoothed out the duvet cover on Hunter's bed. "Well, I suppose with a little work, you can make any room feel like home." She checked her phone. "Isn't it almost time for your meeting with the dean? We should get going."

"Oh, ha ha..." Hunter glanced at his laptop and rubbed his hands together in a nervous gesture and talking quickly. "But we haven't even had lunch yet! Besides, I'm sure he's just looking for info on the wolf attack right? And Abner said that we shouldn't say much. Aren't these things always something that could be said over email--"