As we push through the crowds of students, I notice Janie's face scrunch up in discomfort whenever someone bumps into her. Her brows furrow, and she grits her teeth, trying to hold back any noise of pain. She holds her head as if trying to block out overwhelming sensations, but no one notices her distress.
‘Watch it,’ Janie says.
I notice her bright green eyes flashing every time she's touched.
She can't take it anymore. 'Stop touching me!' she snaps, but the students around us continue to bump into us. I can feel my frustration mounting, and suddenly, without warning, I let out a loud, guttural growl that echoes around the crowded hallway and through the entire academy.
The students around us freeze and step back in alarm, their faces twisted with fear and confusion, and for a moment, the entire hallway falls silent as everyone stares at me. My chest is heaving from the effort of the growl. But then the students turn to whisper to each other. Janie grabs my hand and runs into the nearest lady’s room. We lock ourselves in the same cubicle.
I grasp Janie's face with both hands, feeling the warmth of her skin under my palms. My features show concern as I look deeply into her bright green eyes, which flicker with pain. 'Janie,' I say softly, 'Are you okay?'
She shakes her head. 'I was seeing so many things,' she says, trembling. 'One after another of what was going to happen to them. I don't always see what will happen, but just then, I saw everything from everyone bumping into me. It was too much. It was hurting my head.'
My heart aches for her, and I embrace her tightly. 'You should not have growled like that,' she says, her voice muffled against my shoulder. 'It's already bad enough they target me for my sight. I don't want them to bully you too.'
'Don't worry about them bullying me,' I say firmly, pulling back to look at her again. 'I could see something wasn't right. I've always been protective of you, but strangely, the feeling of protectiveness I now have over you is tenfold. This will sound weird, but it's like the wolf in me sees you as a pack member and will do anything to protect you.'
Janie looks up at me, her eyes wide with surprise and wonder. 'I'm a part of your wolf pack and not even a wolf. That is so cute!' she squeals, I nod, and my lips widen into a smile.
Now calm, we leave the safety of the cubicle and head back out into the academy to class. I can feel the eyes of the other students on us, but I hold my head high and ignore them.
As Brad catches up to us, my shoulders slump, and I groan quietly. 'Oh great...' I mutter under my breath, much to Janie's disapproval, as she elbows me and shoots me a brief glower. I force a smile and turn to face him. 'Brad, hi,' I greet him.
'I've been trying to catch you all week, but you would vanish every time I saw you. I was starting to think you were purposely trying to avoid me?' Brad says.
'Oh, really?' I laugh nervously, feeling my tail twitching under the rope and my hidden ears under my beanie lowering back in guilt. 'I didn't even notice you around, to be honest.'
'That's strange. I thought I saw you looking straight at me at least twice,' Brad frowns.
'Oh, um, daydreaming will do that,' I reply, still laughing nervously.
'Are you ladies ready for the double date tonight?' he asks.
Damn it, I had totally forgotten about the double date.
'I can't wait,' Janie beams.
But I know we have bigger problems at the moment. I face Janie and murmur, 'Don't forget we had that thing come up, Janie. It might be best to postpone the dates because we wouldn't want it to get us into trouble. Perhaps we should focus on finishing that assignment on reversals before it affects our grades.' I blink, hinting at the need to deal with getting rid of my ears and tail first.
'Oh, don't worry about that assignment,' Janie replies. 'We can worry about that tomorrow.'
'Tomorrow? We're meant to be getting rid of it today,' I grind the words through my teeth.
But before I can argue further, Brad chimes in, 'If it's an assignment, I can help you ladies finish it at lunchtime so you can keep tonight free for us lads.'
I lean against my locker, knowing I won't be able to get out of tonight's date. 'Fine, we'll do the assignment tomorrow,' I concede to Janie and then turn to Brad. 'So, Brad, where are we going tonight?'
'Oh, Xander never passed you on the details?' he asks.
'Xander and I prefer not to talk,' I reply.
Brad laughs. 'I see. Well, we will go out for soda and pizza and then see a movie at the new drive-in.'
'How riveting. I can't wait,' I say unenthusiastically.
'Ooh, a movie! What kind?' Janie asks eagerly.
'A scary movie about werewolves and vampires,' he smiles.
'Oh, how fitting,' I say, and Janie gives me a knowing look and smiles.
The bell rings to enter class.
As I turn to head to class, I feel Brad's hand grab onto my arm. I pause and look down at his hand, feeling a frown crease on my forehead. He looks up at me with a smile and asks, 'I was wondering before you go if we could all sit together for lunch today?' he asks with a smile.
I hesitate momentarily, not wanting to spend more time with him than necessary. 'We're already going on a date tonight. Don't you think it will be annoying spending lunch with me as well?' I ask.
'Never,' he replies, his smile unwavering as he gently lets go of my arm. 'See you both at lunch,' he waves before walking off.