Second: First Day

I believe I just stand there looking shocked at the man. I am totally unmoving. I am clouded with thoughts of how to deal with this smoothly. A flash of myself in the wilderness bring me back to reality. If I screw up now, there is no hope for me, and I will live as a wild wolf forever.

What do I do? Kill him? Bribe him? Talk it out?

The man is looking at me with the same expression, brows are arched and lips are literally saying "what?"

"That's not a howl..." I say but then regret. What! Who says it's a howl. I am initiating the suspicion. I am panicking.

"No, I mean... Uhm," I am doomed. My father just told me to stay out of trouble, and here I am howling on the street and a human hears me.

"Sorry miss... you need something?" I hear the man asks politely. I look at him. Is he playing innocent?

I feel like an idiot when I see him holding his earphones using his both hands. He just removed it probably because he can't hear me clearly. A splash of relief wash down my growing anxiety and I stop panicking. I even chuckle at how stupid must I look.

"He didn't hear me howl because he has earphones."  I comforted myself. His wide eyes and open mouth must mean he is asking if I want something from him. I suddenly froze awhile ago so it is understandable for anyone to have that expression.

"No-nothing..." I desperately want to end the encounter. He just nods and looks at our surrounding. He seems to be looking for something or someone.

While he is busy looking around I am able to check him out for some seconds. He has a wavy brown hair that looks lucious under the faint street light. I am not sure of his eyes, but I think it is green and beautiful. He has quite a well-built body, doesn't have bulky muscles, but thick enough to expect he has some hard abs under his covers.

Really?! Right now I'm checking him out?

I am surprised of myself. I don't usually give attention to human visage. I hardly even check out or flirt with my fellow werewolves - not that I know many, and most of them are my cousins - so, this is so unusal for me. The same thing happened earlier today with the man with the blackest hair.

"Ah. Okay. You should go home now. I think I heard wild animals howling somewhere," he says trying to have a peek on my face. I freeze in my position, but I am quick to answer.

"I didn't hear anything. How can you hear better you're wearing some ear stuff," I say. Okay, that is so defensive. If I am this human, I might suspect this girl standing in this dark flower field in this time of the night.

He looks straight at me and replies, "You're right,". It is hard to read his mind, not that I have pscho powers, but living for over a hundred years and studying pyschology have made me perceptive of human reactions. But, I can hardly use my proud background on him.

"Okay. I think I am imagining things again," he shrugs his thought over. I think he is just dumb. I think I am making a sour face now, so I decide to take an exit.

"So... I'm going now."

"Ah! You are the new neighbor," he says excitedly. I turn back around and raise my hand to say yes. He is now smiling from ear to ear, checking me out from head to toe. This makes me uncomfortable because I am wearing just shorts and a messy bun. I don't even know if my eyeliner is still okay or if it is all over my face now, because I didn't have time to check my face when we arranged the house.

"Great! You're also attending Trenfor High?" he says getting friendly. I nod to agree. I prefer to lessen my words to let him now that I don't want to talk, and I want to go home. I think he picks it up and bids goodbye.

"See you then...?" he is waiting for my name.

"Hansel. Hansel Hills," I said with a fake smile then walk away not minding if he is to call me back or not. He looks friendly but I don't feel comfortable talking alone to a human. 

Not anymore...

-------

"Hansel. Hansel!" I jolt at the sound of my mother's growl.

It is morning. The first day.

I sit on my bed and yawn looking annoyed in front of Mom who is thinking deeply over the two pairs of socks she is almost shoving on my face. I ask about the early weirdness she is achieving in front of me.

"Imagine you're a nerd. Maroon or black?" she asks referring to the high socks.

"Black?" I say unsure. She murmurs 'I thought so' and commands me to take my shower quick.

"Change to this after showering." She is bossy as ever. I look over the uniform neatly ironed and folded on my drawer. So Trenfor High has a uniform I say to myself remembering the name of the school from the man last night. I am checking from afar the 'disguise' prepared for me. Cute uniform, flat black shoes, black high socks, black ribbon pony tail, black-rimmed study glasses, maroon backpack and braces. Braces?

"Mom-"

"You will be an undercover nerd, my dear. Be smart, be kind, be simple, and be obedient. Five minutes and I am driving you two to school. It's 7:10." 

She slams the door leaving me dumbfounded. I am thinking to retaliate but she will not hear me anymore as I hear clanking of plates below. She must have been preparing breakfast for us. Also, I am in no position to disagree. I already made up to her last night. I agreed to the high school thing because we pretty much don't have any choice. She told me that this time, she will look over me more and I have to follow her demands. I know Mom loves me and the last thing she wants for her daughter is be sent to the wilderness.

I just sigh my thoughts away and prepare for SCHOOL. I fix my bed, take a bath, and wear my disguise. I am chuckling like an idiot in the mirror as I fix my cute red tie. A hundred and twenty one years old, in high school, as a nerd - I think nothing funny can't ever happen to my life again. I put on my fake silver braces and look at my favorite flower-shaped table clock.

"7:14" the clock says. Having werewolf speed is helpful in this kind of rush. I then proceed below, so I can grab a quick breakfast.

"What is with you?! HAHAHA" Alex laughs at me like crazy. I just stared at him thinking how immature he gets every single day.

Mom knocks him over and explains that it is my disguise. Unlike Alex, I had been to high school before and we are not sure of I am unlucky enough to meet my old classmates as parents or teachers or whatever. If I maintain my old visage, someone familiar can pinpoint me right away, so I understand we badly need a disguise like this.

"Sorry, dear. We have to put you into this," Mom awkwardly apologizes as she refixes my tie.

"No, Mom. It's for me. The nerd thing can help me be invisible too. I will keep it low this time. I promise," I reply to her and she hugs me. Alex just makes face on the side and eventually secures his seat in the car.

"We don't know each other at school. Okay?" I hear him say. I roll my eyes.

"Count on me." 

-------

The car ride to school is already tiring. Mom's lesson about Alex's dos and donts are mind-cracking to hear. We arrive at school at 7:25 and the pavements are full with kids. I suddenly feel uncomfortable. I think I am even nervous.

"You okay, Hansel?" Mom asks. I quickly confirm I am okay and get out of the car. I think I am going to puke and I don't want Mom to see me like this. 

I am not usually this freaky when seeing a crowd of young humans. I love interacting with people. I already mastered it before. I even attended a big and crowded university for my pharmaceutical degree, but right now I feel nauseous after seeing this many teenagers. I think the incident in St. Patricks keeps me weary and untrustful of humans. 

Crap. Not now.

I am walking past classrooms and lockers and people looking for comfort rooms. I find one and immidiately enter into it. In my rush, I bump into a female human. I tried my best to control my force in the impact but it still sends her to the ground. I am shocked and is about to throw up, so I ignore her for the meantime and go the nearest cubicle. 

I kneel on the floor and throw up the growing stress in my stomach.

"Are you f*cking kidding me!" The girl I bumped into shout in frustration. I think she is cursing on me. I flash the toilet and stay inside longer.

"Oh my g! What happened to you, Gale?" I hear other girls enter the comfort room and symphatize with her. As I remember, this girl I bumped into is quite pretty for a human standard, and I think she's applying make up when I enter. Did I just bump the queen bee?

"Check my skirt. Is it okay?!" she commands her friends in high pitch.

"I think it's okay - Oh no, Gale! It's a little crumpy now," one of the girls say and they laugh at the female human. I want to get out of the cubicle and make ammends but I feel like throwing up again, so I stayed inside. 

The girls outside ask about what happened and the girl who I bumped into exaggerate things and tell them I push her. If I am feeling okay I will surely explain in detail what happened and probably apologize, but I am in the middle of calming down, so I don't really want to be disturbed.

When they get no response from me, they start kicking the door of the cubicle I am in. They easily give up after realizing I might be scared to face them right now.

But no... I am not scared. I just want peace, so please leave.

"Oh b*tch. The class is about to start. Let's get out of here."

"Okay. But, I am a generous person you know. What I receive, I give."

No time to react to their drama, a pile of used tissues, candy wrappers, and plastic bottles rain on me. They throw a garbage bin in my cubicle. What the! I hiss in irritation, but I know I need to calm down. I am mature enough to handle this situation. Inhale. Exhale.

"See you, freak!" The girls laugh as they make their exit. I am left there brushing off lipstick-stained tissues.

"Life is kidding me," I can only sigh.

-------

Narration...

In a classic coffee shop outside town, Tom waits for his wife patiently. He is reading a fresh newspaper that features the peaceful town of Trenfor which has zero crime rate for the past three decades. The feature story also talks about the families that run the town for generations, the growing business centers, the lively party hubs, and all the good stuff.

His assistant already run prior investigation to this town and reported no oddities but he can't just bring himself to believe. Is this town safe for his family?

"Wow. I think you are considering living in Trenfor," a young waiter disturbs his reading. He lowers the newspaper and smiles.

"That town is the best. I graduated from Trenfor high and their football team is international level," the man shares as he put down two plates of egg and bacons, a cup of coffee, and a milkshake.

"You live there?" Tom gets interested. He thinks he can get real stuff from a citizen himself.

"Nope. Never had. That town's pricy. I just got lucky to get a scholarship in Trenfor High when I won a Science fair in my 6th grade," the man answers. Tom nods quite disappointed. 

"Good morning, Babe," a woman joins the table. It is Carrie, as confident and as beautiful as ever. The waiter is checking the older woman out when Tom clears his throat and gives him a warning gaze. The waiter immidiately distances from the table.

"Uh-oh. And here I am getting jealous of your secret conversation," Carrie jokes and picks up her milkshake. Tom says the waiter studied in Trenfor high and he wants to know more about the town. 

Carrie knows her husband so well, they have been living together for a hundred and twenty seven years. They literally know every little thing about each other. Tom is always serious, and he takes his family first - always. He is a smart guy too who can read a whole library when given a chance to take a week of vacation. He is a doctor with six specialties, a scientist, the chronicler of their pact, and the beta everyone in their family trusts.

He is almost perfect except his hunches. Tom worrying about them living far away from him in Trenfor looks unnecessary for Carrie. She's a wolf too; she can protect their young ones.

"It's just that... this town is new to us. This is not our territory. I'm pretty worried," Tom expresses his thoughts. "If only our family accepts Hansel in their town..." he mumbles shyly. Carrie understands what he is feeling, but according to her instinct, there is nothing to worry about. Yet.

"Look, our wolves already check this town out. It's an okay town," Carrie whispers holding her husbands firm hands, trying to comfort his worried wolf.

Tom never wins Carrie when it comes to hunches, but being a scientist in nature Tom always find himself curious about someting - sometimes even in nothing.

"Okay. But if there is someting odd, phone me in the very second," Tom requires. Carrie sweetly salutes and chuckles at her husband's odd habit.

Tom only smiles and put down his newspaper to join his mate and wife to a simple breakfast.

-------

"And who are you?" asks a fat blad teacher to me as I stand still and awkwardly at the entrance door of the classroom. 

I miss the first period of the class because of the incident in the comfort room. I also needed time to calm down, and when I realized it, it's already 50 minutes late for my first class. 

"Uhm... transfer student?" I literally don't know what to say. I forgot to ask Mom about the background details of my 'nerd disguise'. We only talk about Alex's background story in the car: why he is in grade 9 (while he must be G7 for being 13), he's 15 years old in papers, he comes from Canada, he likes reading and hates sports, and etc.

"Transfer... Oh! The one Ms. Gomez has mentioned," I sigh knowing I get it right. "Okay. Nice impression - being late on your first period," the teacher jokes, the class laugh and eye me from head to toe. 

I then enter the classroom and look for a free seat. I have not totally washed out the nervous feeling I had a while ago, so I try my best to look down and avoid eye contact. Luckily, I find two vacant seat at the right corner of the room, both are right beside the window. Naturally, I choose the very last seat; isolated and free from human contact.

The teacher asks me few questions about my basic information. He writes down my name and other details on his dandy notebook probably for record keeping. I must thank him for not commanding me to introduce myself as I don't know what did Mom tell to this school. My classmates are not that interested too since I am in nerd disguise right now. Few kids are paying me glances, but mosly don't even flinch with my abrupt existence.

Two more subjects go by and I try my best to be invisible. I never speak, never recite, never answer to volunteer questions, and never spend energy in misbehaving. I am a nerd and I am trying to live in it. I jot down notes and only look at my teachers, showing my full attention, while in fact I feel like dropping dead to sleep because the topics and lessons are old movies I already watched before.

When lunch arrives, I go to the cafeteria and I try to look for Alex but he is nowhere to be found. I am thinking of checking the field because I have a wild guess that he is playing sports again - a thing Mom told him not to do so. I am holding my tray of food and on the way to the exit door when a pack of b*tches block my way. I almost shout at them but I remember my disguise and just look at them innocently.

"How d'you doing, freak?!"  the girl in the middle greets me. She looks familiar. The queen bee! I immidiately try to apologize for what happened in the comfort room this morning.

"Oh look... I am really sorry for-"

"Wrong answer. Sorry's too late. Just how lucky you are to be at the same class as me. Expect your high school to be fun," she warns me behind her sarcasms. 

We are classmates? I didn't see her in the class at all. Maybe it is because I focus to much to our teachers, I actually didn't remember any of my classmates except the very engaged nerd in the front seat who takes one-on-one discussion with most of the teachers.

I try to speak and explain myself again but she stomps her feet signaling me to stop talking. She looks really pissed, but not scary at all. Her sweet angel features totally contradicts her b*tchy personality. I am imagining how this face overreactingly panic at the small crump I caused her skirt, and how she threw the garbage bin at my cubicle. I want to smack her like what I do to Alex when his joke is out of control. But I am a nerd, I remember, so I submittingly lower my face and take a step back.

They walk pass through me sending me sharp glares that somehow come funny at me. These kids...

When I assure they are gone. I continue my exit just to find another familiar face.

The man last night!

He is wearing Trenfor's uniform but he looks exceedingly handsome. His tie is neatly fixed and his hair looks clean too despite being wavy and longer than normal. He is fair-skinned, a thing I didn't observe last night. And now that I confirmed his bright green eyes, I am almost enchanted, and it takes me more than ten seconds to look away from his curious orbs.

What just happened?! This can't be happening.

I try to get away from him and just pretend we didn't have an eye contact. I am not sure why he is having such an effect on me, and I am not that curious to learn it - especially with my situation right now. I turn to my left to dodge him, but his wide chest bump onto my tray and makes my corn soup spilled a little.

"I've seen you before."

Was the last thing I want to hear from him, but I hear it.. from him.