After Ever After

Chapter 1

I think there should be a ban against tacos. Especially at MI.

I ducked as a rogue taco hit the wall right behind me and I ran out of the cafeteria.

Nick had started another food fight.

Nick came out of the cafeteria a while later, splattered in gross taco meat and stuff.

Ew.

I watched as the clock struck 2:50 and the bell rung. Finally.

A long stream of kids scurried out of the cafeteria and I was swept away with them.

"Hey Ria!" Nandini exclaimed.

I smiled and looked away.

Recently my friends had been whispering about things. When I came by, they would start talking louder as if they weren't hiding something. I know they are my friends, but I couldn't help being a little mad at them.

I pushed open the doors and walked home . Alone.

I crossed my arms in front of my chest and shivered. I had left my red coat at home and now I regretted it.

The woods were abuzz with crickets and other animals.

The leaves crunched under my my feet along with the other noises and I started to hum a little tune.

I stopped in my tracks. Aside from the crunching of the leaves, the wood had gone quiet. Too quiet.

I cautiously walked along the path, looking around frantically.

A grey wolf pounced onto a squirrel that had crossed my path. The surprise almost made me scream. It was 4 feet tall and had sharp claws.

"Oh! It's you again." I grumbled.

I thought it would have sensed fear in my voice, but it came up to me and just stopped. I picked up a stick.

"What? You have your prey, now move along." I said, throwing the stick at the ground.

It whimpered, then growled, and stalked off into the thick trees.

I sighed and kept walking.

No wolf scares me.

****

Night dawned and I still couldn't sleep. My room felt stuffy and I had a feeling something bad would happen.

I threw my feet on to the cold floor. The floor boards creaked and I went outside to sit on the bench.

The moon was full but half of it was concealed by dark clouds that took over the night.

I felt safe, but at the same time, not.

The empty house behind me made no sound. I heard a howling in the distance and wondered if it was the same wolf.

I wondered what my brother was doing in the other side of the woods. He must be the only reason I'm not afraid of the wolves.

My eyelids closed.