Finding the Wolf Within

Chapter 3

The next two and a half weeks actually pass by pretty quickly. I’ve managed to avoid contact with the MP in the hallways and in lunch. I haven’t been as lucky in gym, but I’ve tried to brush off the almost daily minor disasters since there’s not really much I can do about them. While I’m starting to feel like all this constant looking over my shoulder is going to wear me out, I don’t see how I can change anything. It’s not like I’m really afraid of what members of the MP will do to me, since I’ve never heard any stories about them forcing themselves on girls. And I know that my dad’s status in the pack and my brother’s former status as a member of the MP afford me some protection. It’s just that I hate unnecessary attention and confrontation. Not to mention the fact that I still get goose bumps every once in a while, thinking that someone is watching me.

At least I have something to look forward to after school. For the past five years, I’ve been volunteering as a tutor at the local homeless shelter. It’s a pretty stable community since we live in a suburb and don’t have too many people who can’t afford adequate housing. I started in sixth grade helping out one fourth grader, Amy, in math. Lindy and I actually volunteered together as part of a group in middle school, but she’s so scatterbrained and impatient that she didn’t make a very good tutor and the rest of the kids stopped after a couple of weeks. I still meet with Amy once a week even though her mom found a stable job a couple years ago and was therefore able to move into an apartment. In addition to Amy, this year I’ll be working with 11 other kids ranging from second to tenth grade. It’s a lot, but the students are divided up over three afternoons, so I only have a small group each day. It was awkward at first tutoring kids that were the same age as me and in the same school, but since I’ve spent so many years with them, we’ve actually become more like a big family. They look to me for advice and help, and I can truly be myself around them. They don’t judge me as school cliques usually do and we end up having a lot of fun together. Amy especially has been a good friend, and I wish that she had been my year so we could see each other in school. Since she’s a freshman though, the most I can hope for is passing her in the hall.

Anyway, it’s the last period of the day before the weekend. Yesterday’s Frisbee game wasn’t too bad since I sat out for half of it and cherry-picked the other half, only crashing into Ryan once. It’s not like my classmates who are werewolves are going to throw the Frisbee to me anyway. The only thing I have to worry about is the weres on the other team trying to knock me out. Today’s game starts out without a hitch. I’m sitting out again watching Matt and Lindy dominate for our team against Ryan and Eddie on the other team. Amber likes to play cheerleader, which basically means she jumps up and down so her boobs jiggle and distract some of the guys. She and I get called in halfway through so that people playing on both teams can take a break. My plan is the same as it’s been every day so far – stay near the other team’s end zone, but out of the way of any incoming bodies. I’ve pretty much got it down to a science, moving around a little bit so that it isn’t too obvious that I’m just waiting for someone to throw it to me so we can score. Everything was going well until Matt decided to launch one at me. Just as I made a move to grab the Frisbee, I felt an elbow smashing into the side of my face.

Ouch. That hurts. I land on the ground, dizzy. I open my eyes to see a pair of green ones staring back at me. The only thing I’m surprised about in this situation is that those eyes actually show a hint of concern, which quickly passes before I can blink again. Instead of offering me a hand, Eddie just turns around and walks away while Ryan, Amber, and a few others snicker and laugh. Exactly what I expected, but hurtful and embarrassing nonetheless. I manage to make it through the rest of class without getting hit again, but his eyes continued to haunt me. I don’t think I imagined that brief moment of emotion, but I don’t see why he would feel anything towards me but disdain. While I haven’t necessarily done anything to him to deserve his contempt, besides accidently hitting or almost hitting him a couple times, he’s always been the type of guy to walk all over anyone socially inferior. But that passing flicker of concern is enough to get me thinking for the rest of the day and several times over the weekend.