Moonstone mysteries; The Werewolf Within

Friday night

The next Friday sailed by like a breeze. It was your typical day at Moonstone Academy—school lessons till noon, then sports until the day ended. On Friday nights, there'd be movie nights in the auditorium, which got super packed super-fast.

This time, it was a French-themed romance movie about a guy who met a girl who could only speak French, while he could only speak English—or so she thought. Turns out, the guy secretly knew French and understood every time the girl confessed her feelings in French. Everyone was captivated by the film. Well, everyone except Aiva, who was scanning the crowd, trying to spot Adam and Bryce.

"Who are you looking for?" Stephanie asked, looking puzzled.

"I can't see Adam. Or Bryce, for that matter," Aiva admitted, sounding a bit worried.

"I dunno, maybe they're playing basketball or something. You know how boys are," Stephanie dismissed, stuffing a handful of popcorn into her mouth.

"Still, I think it's pretty unusual for them," Aiva said as she sat down gloomily. Deep down, she would've loved to have Adam or Bryce sit next to her. What's the point of watching a romance movie if you're not with someone special? It just sucked the romance out of it.

Aiva sighed, trying to focus on the movie, but her thoughts kept drifting. She couldn't help but wonder where they were and what they were doing. She missed Adam's goofy comments and Bryce's steady presence. Watching the couple on screen navigating their language barrier made her think about her own feelings and the tangled web of emotions she was caught in. The movie's romance felt hollow without the people she cared about beside her.

***

Luna was strolling down the hall towards the auditorium, having just come from class. She was tracking the scent of something very dear to her, a scent that led straight to Adam's locker. She paused and stood in front of it for a while, a thousand thoughts rushing in all at once. She had developed a liking for Adam and now found herself in a dilemma. She really wanted to open up to him and tell him the truth about what she was; that would lift a heavy burden from her heart. But that was forbidden. He had no real reason to know anything, and it would be dangerous to tell him.

Besides, Adam had expressed multiple times his disbelief and dislike for werewolves in general, so what if telling him the truth would actually make him hate her? She took a deep breath to try and shut these thoughts out. She was a warrior, trained to be a weapon, but deep down she was just a girl, with feelings and hopes like everybody else.

She drew closer and put her hand on Adam's locker, almost as if she wanted to open it, but then paused. She sniffed and realized the book wasn't there anymore; he had probably taken it with him. Luna sighed, feeling a mix of relief and anxiety. She leaned against the locker, her mind racing. She didn't have time for this—or at least she was supposed to think that way. But she couldn't help it. She was torn between her duty and her feelings, between the warrior she was trained to be and the girl she was inside.

Luna had intentionally left that book where she did so that Adam could find it and maybe read it. In the hope that maybe he'd get a little enlightened and maybe hate werewolves less? Or at least that's what Luna was low-key hoping would happen. She felt dumb rethinking her previous idea. Either way, she needed that book back now. She withdrew from the locker and began heading for the auditorium once more. As she passed by the basketball court, she briefly paused to see what was going on inside.

Some of the boys who didn't like watching movies were casually playing basketball. Luna watched as Jayson McLain, the best player at the school, zipped by a couple of defenders. He spun, crossed the ball behind his back, and took a step back as he prepared to shoot. Another player saw this and jumped to block him, but he had fallen for the trap. Jayson faked the shot, turned the other way, and charged into the paint. Luna watched as Jayson jumped magnificently and dunked the ball over some other poor defenders. The other boys were ecstatic, laughing and cheering.