Wolf Pack

Chapter 6

The next day was even more excruciating than the last. My classes seemed endless, my homework kept piling up, and to top it all off I got a detention for being late to US History. Jessica was also sick with the flu, so I had to sit with her annoying friends alone at lunch. Luck was definitely not on my side today.

A look of utter disgust plastered my face as I stormed into detention after school. I had never gotten a detention in my life, and now I had one for being late? Unbelievable. The teacher nodded her head at me in greeting, but I ignored her and took a seat near the back of the room.

There were a few kids scattered around the room, but they were all underclassmen; I didn't know them. They were all wearing punk clothing and indifferent expressions. I curled into a ball in my seat, scared out of my mind for no reason at all. I definitely did not belong here.

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An hour later, I was still scrunched up in my seat when the teacher told us we could leave. I made it! I grabbed my bag and walked out the door as fast as I could without drawing too much attention. Once free, I ran all the way out the glass doors, down the steps, and to my car without stopping.

My car seat was reassuringly warm. I breathed heavily, partly from exhaustion and partly from relief. I still couldn't believe I'd gotten a detention. I always followed the rules! Now I had a big ugly blotch on my personal record, all because I was a few minutes late to one class!

I huffed, pushed on the gas pedal, and drove my way through the tight maze of teachers' cars.

I spent the whole drive home trying to convince myself that it hadn't even been that bad, but it didn't help. Most people would probably just brush this kind of thing off, but it really worried me. Colleges looked at your personal record.

I glanced over at the dashboard clock: 4:30. A sigh escaped my mouth. My parents would both be home by then, wondering where I had been. They were as careful as me about trying hard to keep my record spotless, so when I told them about this they would be so disappointed. I wished for the thousandth time that day that Jessica was sitting right next to me.

My parents were waiting for me at the door when I walked in. They didn't look angry, which bothered me. But when I stepped inside and put my bag down on a chair, I looked closer. I could clearly see the disappointment on their faces.

"Hyacinth, do you want to tell us why you got a detention?" My mother asked, stepping closer to me and folding her arms across her chest. I knew I hadn't really done anything wrong, but I still felt incredibly guilty.

"How- how did you know?"

"The school called us." That was my dad. He didn't seem as upset as mom, but it was still there, just behind his eyes.

"Mom, I didn't do anything wrong. I swear! I was a few minutes late to class, so Mr. Singer gave me a detention. It's no big deal, really." I said. I hoped my voice sounded reassuring. Their faces turned skeptical, but after a few seconds I could tell they understood. I mean, they knew me. I would never purposely do anything wrong.

We all breathed a collective sigh of relief, and my parents each hugged me for a full thirty seconds before letting go. Once free, I climbed the stairs to my room. As I lay on my bed, looking at the poster of John Lennon, I thought about all the homework I had to do. Ugh, there just wasn't enough time to be lying there. I forced myself into a sitting position, which gave me a head rush. I lifted my hands to steady the spinning, but it didn't pass like it usually did. The dizziness got worse and worse until I had to lay down again.

My vision tunneled. Oh no, I thought. Not again.

I was by the creek again, lapping at the water with many other wolves by my side. I knew each one by name, but I was too busy drinking to think of them. My hair was matted with mud, so I slipped my sleek body into the shallow water and rolled around for a while. The water felt delicious. After a hard run, a dip in some crisp, cool water was just what I needed. I could feel the piercing blue eyes on me; I ignored them.

I wanted to stay there forever, lying in the water with the light of the moon shining down, but the other wolves were stirring, and I knew what that meant. It was time to return to the den.

I heaved out of the creek with all my might. Most of my strength had been sapped during the run here. In our community, though, that was a good thing. My pack and I lived for runs like these: hair-whipping, muscle-burning races through the forest, our pack by our side. We were strong, graceful creatures who were built for pushing our muscles to the limit, and that's exactly what we did.

As we began to trot back the way we came, I looked up at the moon. It was full tonight, which was why I felt so powerful. I looked around at my pack and I could see the hunger in their eyes. Now was the perfect time. I leaned my head back, mustered all my will power, and howled as hard as I could.

The howl rocketed through my entire body, filling my chest with pride. I howled and howled for what seemed like forever, all the pack's eyes on me. I didn't mind, through. I knew they would howl too, eventually. Sure enough, one by one they joined in until every wolf was howling out their soul at the silver-white moon. It sounded so good, like a world-famous orchestra performing in front of a huge crowd. I never wanted it to end.

I finally trailed off, however. As quickly as it had started, it seemed, the orchestra had finished playing their beautiful song, and we were once again reduced to a pack of mangy wolves in the middle of a forest. We continued our trek back to the den, as if nothing had happened. It was slow goings: most wolves enjoyed the company of the full moon, taking their time to appreciate everything around them.

My vision blurred as I focused my attention on a stunning purple flower, and once again I was lying in my bed at home. My heart beat raced and my breath came in short, strangled gasps.

That had been the longest vision yet. They're definitely getting longer, I thought. I laid there, thinking about all the details this vision had just revealed to me. Compared to the visions I'd had in the past, this one was strangely comforting. Peace and calmness enveloped my body, despite the physical exhaustion that always came after one of these.

Just when my heart beat finally slowed to it's normal pace, I heard my dad calling me for dinner.

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I kept my head down while I ate. It was still throbbing from the vision, plus I didn't really feel like talking to my family. I knew they would be suspicious of my silence later on; I would have to think of a cover story. In the meantime, I would keep the visions under my parents' radar until I figured out why they were happening to me.

After dinner, I trudged up the stairs, slowly brushed my teeth, and crawled into the safety of my covers, where I knew another dream would be waiting for me. It felt kind of like walking into a river that I knew was infested with piranhas. At this point, I was beyond trying to prevent them. As my mind began to drift off into sleep, I thought again about those blue eyes, how they looked so familiar....