Running With The Wolves | Baskerville High Chronicles

Not Back To Normal

Several minutes later, her mom drove up.

Katelyn got in the backseat then the car U-turned into the left lane and drove forward.

Tense silence permeated in the car and neither was willing to defy it.

So it remained until the car reversed into their home's driveway. "Stay here, Kate," Mom ordered as she made to leave. The redhead did and anxiously furrowed her eyebrows.

"I was at work when the school called to tell me you hadn't been on the bus today and missed three classes. After I couldn't get onto you seven times, I reported you missing. Then for an hour and a half I was going between the police and the school until you finally answered. Only to learn you were unhappy so you gave poor old me a heart attack," she listed, turning to face her daughter.

Katelyn ducked her head and slouched.

"You know why we're here. This place is not ideal but it's better than what we had. And you decide to digest that knowledge and crap it out all over me!" "I didn't mean to-" "But you did it!" Mom shouted, her wavy red hair beginning to frizz.

Katelyn gulped.

"Mom, I..." What. Tell her some boy who very possibly wasn't human told her to lie? She'll just get yelled at for listening to a stranger.

Time to give a technicality.

"I...just wanted to miss Mr. Knowles' class. I didn't want to get stranded." "You should have thought more on your plan then," Mom stated bitterly. Katelyn twisted her mouth to one side.

"So, what's going to happen is that I will be putting a tracking device on your ankle from now on," Mom announced. "What?" her daughter cried. "And if you remove it somehow, I'll arrange to be with you during the school day, my job be damned."

"You can go in the house now. Here's the key," finished her mom. Wordlessly, Katelyn took the key and exited the car while Mom turned back and shut off the car.

She didn't recall unlocking the front door and going inside, climbing the stairs or entering her bedroom. So she was partially amazed to find herself laying first-down on her bed yet remained that way.

And can you blame her for disassociating? Her mom is putting an ankle tracker on her for listening to a weird boy.

Why didn't she didn't doubt him. He lives the woods, of course he'd never seen a phone before but can drive. That's ninety-nine percent of all wilderness boys.

Plus a school in the middle of no-where aren't uncommon. Riverside High ain't by any river.

And a confusing layout of a school isn't too out of the ordinary. But everything else...she couldn't rationalize.

She rose her head and exhaled sharply. Well now it didn't matter. She just had to live with it.

"Kate come down, lunch is ready," called up Mom. Katelyn rolled over, sat up and left her room.

🐺

In the morning, Katelyn awoke, went about bathing and brushing her teeth and hair then put on a crop sweater over a white undervest and leggings and went downstairs for breakfast.

This time, Mom had prepared bacon and eggs.

She wolfed them down and rose to go when Mom beckoned her to sit. Katelyn did, slowly. "Put your foot on the counter," was the instruction. She guessed what this meant. Yet she obeyed and that's when the black device was strapped to her right ankle.

"Does it hurt?" Mom asked. Katelyn shook her head. "Good. Now let's get you to school."

During the car ride, Katelyn repeatedly twisted her ankle around to get a feel of the tracker and a good look. It was pretty plain looking but to avoid possible questions about the device, and before she got out of the car, she pulled the right legging sleeve over it.

Four teenagers were waiting at the bus stop, including a tall girl with a pixie cut, dressed in a leather jacket and mini skirt and wearing aviator sunglasses.

Katelyn had never seen her before but there was something about this girl that made her skin crawl...

Suddenly she heard a honk from the car and when she looked back, she saw her mother waving goodbye. Smiling a little, she waved back.

Meanwhile, the tall and chic 'girl' readjusted her glasses. Where were those two? Is a simple possession so difficult?

"Forgive our tardiness," muttered a deep voice. 'Her' lips curled into a vague smile. "There's no need," 'she' purred as two average looking 'guys' also wearing shades approached 'her'.  "No, you must understand that Leon's vessel was...particularly strong willed," the deep voiced one continued, gesturing at his partner in a polo shirt.

'She' frowned at this. "Can you keep the vessel under control until we reach Baskerville High?" "Yes," Leon replied in a scratchy voice. "Good 'cause that's all that matters," 'she' declared with a slight smirk.