Broken Halves

Chapter Twenty-Nine

POV: Cole

            Rushing down the halls, I try to ignore the loud beating of my heart and the ringing in my ears. I can't do this, I need out; I need to leave. On auto pilot, I turn the corner, thankful that the exit is in sight. To my horror, just before I reach the double doors, my elbow is grabbed and I am pulled into a janitors' closet. No! I was so close to freedom.

            "Cole," the person who prevented my escape turns me to face them and puts their hands on my shoulders tenderly. "What's wrong?" The room is illuminated in such a way that I can make out the blue worried filled eyes of my best friend. "Jorden," I breathe, feeling some of the heavy weight in my chest disappear. "I can't do this." I whisper to him. Jorden shuffles on his feet, bringing my head up to gaze at him again. Puberty hit us both differently in the past couple of years. Jorden shot straight up, but is still working on bulking out his form to match his height. I on the other hand, have always had the muscles from all the time I spent training and sword fighting. Nona said I would grow more; 'You're only 15 Cole, and you are already taller than me. You'll shoot up.' Nonetheless, I am still shorter than Jorden.

            "What can't you do man?" Jorden asks me, bringing my attention back to him. "This high school Fly, I can't do it." I respond, my tone revealing the panic that I have been feeling all morning.

Today was the first day of high school for both Jorden and me; it's also our first day going of school with humans. Typically, werewolf children will go to a pack run werewolf only school while growing up to avoid the possibility of children blurting out our secret to human children. It also gives us an opportunity to learn a curriculum that is specific to our kind. However, human interaction is important. Therefore, we all go to the local high school once we are of age.

            "How come? What's wrong with it?" Jorden questions me. Of course, he is totally in his element at this school. Jorden is a child at heart and lives off of humor. What is funnier to a teenage werewolf than messing with human teachers? Technically, because of the way our birthdays worked out, in human school I am a grade ahead of Jorden. I was able to convince grandad to allow me to wait a year to go to human school until Jorden was of age. But, it doesn't change the fact that I am a sophomore and Jorden a freshman as they call it.

            "Everything is so different Fly, and you aren't by my side. You've always been by my side." I blubber pathetically. "The classes here are so weird Jorden. In the past we learned werewolf history, hunter history, reading, finance, everything there is to know about your wolf and your first shift, and then we had training. Now, now they expect me to know all about the American Revolution and be able to solve whatever the hell algebra is. Don't even get me started on biology Fly, we aren't humans I don't have the same genetics as them it's all too much." If he were anyone else, I'm sure he would be laughing at my flustered state right now. But, he's Jorden. My best friend, my brother, the one who knows me better than anyone in the world; the one who has always been by my side, and he only squeezes my shoulder tenderly and allows me to ramble hysterically. 

            "I mean when am I going to use any of this when fighting against our enemies?" Jorden doesn't argue knowing I have made a good point. "I know how to fight, I know how to manage money, I know my history, and the history of my enemies. What more do I need to know to be an Alpha? I shadow Grandad; I know the names of the other packs and their territory boundaries. This shit Jorden, I am never going to use." Jorden shrugs lightly, "That's why I'm not focused on grades or whatever the hell they are called." I roll my eyes knowing exactly how my best friend is solely focused on being a prankster.

"This school is so weird." I whisper tiredly. "Tell me about it!" Jorden laughs making me laugh as well. "I mean we go to school Monday through Friday and then have Saturday and Sunday off." My eyebrows furrow at the thought of the strange schedule. "And there are holiday breaks. Like, well actually, I don't actually know the holidays." I chip in with a smile. "Yeah I've heard they are breaks that last weeks." Jorden says. "Oh Fly," I say in surprise once I remember the big difference. "Have you heard of summer break yet? Apparently school stops and we have like three months off." Jorden shakes his head, "Humans are so dumb." "Agreed; they are setting up their people for failure."

            We werewolves believe that you have to work hard to succeed, and start that belief young in our children. Basic training begins when the children turns six. Granted, they only learn self-defense until age 12 where they truly begin to learn offense fighting skills. After their first shift, at 16, the teens will then undergo a full year of training in wolf form before the warrior exam at age 17. If you pass, you become a pack warrior and graduate into combat training that is ran every morning by the Head Pack Warrior. If you fail the warrior exam, you pick up another field of study and make yourself useful to the pack in another way. There are no judgements or hierarchies because everybody is needed. Some become doctors, and others run the local pack run shops that generate money. Either way, everything is necessary and useful.

            Children first start pack schools when they are eight years old. Every year you take the same classes with the same teachers, but they teach different areas of the subjects based on age group. For example, you don't teach the young children how to financially run a business. School runs year round but students have Wednesdays off. Also known as, The Moon Goddess' Holy Day.

            "Are you ok to go back to class Cole?" I sigh and look down. "Think of it this way," Jorden continues. "Here nobody knows you as Future Alpha Cole. Nobody knows about your mother's death and the horrors your father did. Here, you can be anybody you want to be, not who you were born to be." I stay silent allowing Jorden to pull me into a hug. "I'll always be here for you brother, you know that. We will make it through this together. Now go back to class, fourth period is about to begin." I nod and return his hug, thankful for his words before leaving the closet and making my way to my English class.

            "Ok everybody, please take a seat. The test for your summer reading assignment is already laid out on your desks. You may begin as soon as you sit down. Once the bell rings signaling class's end all pencils must be put down; that is all the time you get. Good luck." The older woman says as soon as I walk into the room.

            "Ma'am," I say walking over to her desk. "What is a test?"

Question of the day: Who is your favorite Disney character?

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