The Prophecy of the Red Wolf [WattpadPrize14]

Prologue

“Come on, Blake! Cut it out! It’s annoying the hell out of me! Put your twitchy fingers to good use by playing a game or something! Just don’t touch the privacy screen control” I groan, slapping a palm over my face.

 I could tell that Blake was bored. He’s been playing with every electronic button he could get his hands on since he sat down. I’m not sure if I should count myself lucky or unlucky that I’m sharing the twin seats with Blake, while Nate was on my left across the isle, on the single seater. Right now, Blake’s having fun with the privacy screen between our seats. It rolls up, it rolls down, it rolls up, it rolls down.

 “Aww… Come on, B-boy. Give Caleb a break. This was your bright idea anyway” Nate grins at both of us. I have this irrational urge to drown both of them. Blake, for his irritating fingers and Nate, for his irritating grin.

 “I know.. I know.. But we could have taken a ship instead. Or better yet, why didn’t we think of a road trip! Wouldn’t that be more fun? Us, driving to London. Yeah, I think that’s a MUCH better idea. I’ll get right on it, let me just tell the flight attendants we will be disembarking..” Blake said as he unbuckled his belt and moved to stand up.

 “Sit down, Blake!” both Nate and I shout in unison.

 “Dude, seriously?! Drive all the way to London? From New York? I believe it’s highly impossible to drive over the Atlantic ocean! Or were you planning on speedboats for that?” I hiss between my teeth.

 “Oh hey! Speedboats are a great idea! Let me just- “

 “Sit down, Blake!” Nate and I cut Blake off before he suggests arranging for speedboats and disembarking again.

 Burying his head in his hands, Blake mutters quietly, “I’m sorry, guys. I’m just scared. I hate not having both feet on the ground and my nerves are building up like pent-up energy, and I have no way of releasing it.”

 Hearing Blake’s vulnerable confession, all prior irritation quickly dissipates until only guilt remains. I feel guilty because I knew about Blake’s paranoia. It’s always been there since we were kids and I should have been more understanding instead of lashing out at him.

 “Hey B-boy, I’m sorry too. I know I get cranky when I don’t get enough sleep and I haven’t slept the whole night but it’s no excuse. Neither of you slept either. I’m sorry..” I said as I poked my hand through the space between us - where the privacy screen should have been - for a handshake.

 Blake takes my hand but his eyes were downcast and I knew he was feeling embarrassed and dejected. Looking over to Nate, I cock my head towards Blake, willing Nate to say something to lift his spirits. Lifting both hands in surrender, he mouths “I’ve got nothing” and then quickly changing his gestures to one resembling a gun, he mouths “you da man!” followed by a wink. I give him the stink eye before turning back to Blake.

 Racking my brain, I decide the truth would be a good way to go. “You know Blake, we wouldn’t be here without you. I never even thought about leaving New York. I figured NYU would be a great choice – near home and familiar surroundings. But you came up with this idea that we should push ourselves, push our boundaries, get out of our comfort zones. And what better way than to go to a completely new country that drives on the wrong side of the road, with totally different systems. We will be better people with loads of fantastic experiences because of you, B-boy.”

 “Oh! Uh… Really?! Umm.. I never thought of it that way. I’m just happy to help in whatever way, you know” Blake’s chest puffs up a little, his confidence returning and there was a tiny smug smile lingering on his face.

 “Yeah B-boy, you’re the coolest, dude!” Nate piped up, giving him two thumbs up. Blake’s face lit right up. “Wow! Ok! Hmm… Do you think maybe I’m good enough to convince our folks to buy us tickets for cabin suite with beds next time?” Blake mused quietly.

 I blanched, “What?!?! We’re already in first class seats, dude!”

*****

 “Thank you for flying British Airways, we hope to see you again soon.” I nodded in thanks to the polite flight attendant before shrugging on my backpack and disembarking the plane with Nate and Blake in tow.

 “My butt has gone numb..” Nate groans while trying to discretely scratch said body part. “My entire body is aching..” Blake joins in the whine fest. Chuckling at the both of them, I shake my head. “B-boy, that’s coz you couldn’t stop fidgeting! Give your body a break, man.”

 We dodge our way past the large crowds inside Heathrow Airport to the immigration. Stepping up to the booth, I greet the officer with a small smile. “Hello. Good evening ma’am.” The officer gives me a quick once over and then another lingering one. “Good evening. What is your purpose in London?”

 “My friends and I will be starting college here. Oh.. I’m sorry, I mean university. We call it college, back in the states.” I say as I jerk my finger towards Nate and Blake who were next in line after me. She does a double-take at the two of them and then turns back to me with her mouth slightly gaping. I bite the insides of my cheek to keep from bursting into laughter and mentally count, one, two, three. “Ma’am? Is there a problem?”

 The officer blurts out a single word – “Modelling?”

 Trying to keep a straight face, I politely thanked her for the compliment and explained to her that we were due to attend Cambridge to study economics – myself; international relations – Nate and engineering – Blake. The embarrassed officer quickly processed our passports and waved us through to baggage claims.

 “Well, at least we only got that comment once, this entire day” Nate mutters as we waited for our luggage to arrive.

 Hauling our luggage into three trolleys, we maneuver our way through the throngs of people hurrying in and out of the airport. Exiting the arrival hall, I sigh in relief at finding the driver sent by the hotel. Nate had the foresight to arrange for a hotel since our flight was scheduled to land at 6.30PM plus the hour long travel time to Cambridge, we wouldn’t be able to get checked into our university accommodation that late.

 “You know what the only good thing about our ridiculously long day today is?” I ask as I sink into my bed, not bothering to change or clean up.

 “What?”

 “We don’t have to deal with jetlag” I slur as I fall quickly into a deep slumber. I vaguely remember the clock on the bedside table reading 9.30PM.