Hobo Hoodie

I shake it open and hold it up for inspection. It's a hideous, ancient, oversized black hoodie, with strange white stains scattered across the sleeve, chest area, and cuffs. I'm genuinely scared to ask what those stains are. The hem looks shredded, like something's been chewing on it.

"Is this...also my birthday present?" I ask, thoroughly confused. Why would anyone gift me this disgusting, foul-smelling hoodie? My cousin clearly isn't as normal as I am. Or maybe our entire family's gene pool is fundamentally broken. Honestly, we should stop reproducing entirely, as a public service to humanity...and werewolf-kind alike.

"No, but just put it on," he insists.

"Seriously?" As if I hadn't just spent fifteen whole minutes trying to look this good, only to hide it under some hideous hoodie. "You want me wearing this on my very first day of classes, in this weather?" I'll be sweating buckets in this heat, on top of the awful smell. "Why?" I try shoving it back toward him.

"Just put it on, Freya." He pushes it right back at me and I wrinkle my nose in disgust.

"Why?" I repeat. There's clearly something he's holding back. He needs to understand I won't just blindly follow orders, not even after an amazing gift...or free food.

He exhales heavily, like he's summoning every ounce of patience he has. Like asking me to wear a giant, disgusting hoodie in eighty-six-degree heat is a totally reasonable request. "Freya," he warns.

"Caleb," I echo, mimicking his exact tone. "Why?"

He fixes me with a stare, like he genuinely believes he can control me through eye contact alone, and I hold his gaze right back without flinching. His jaw ticks exactly the way Corbin's does when he's annoyed. Okay, retracting my earlier statement, he's not sweet at all. Honestly scarier than Corbin, if anything, but I refuse to back down.

"Damn it, Freya, you're just like Nana!" he finally snaps, breaking eye contact first.

How exactly is that supposed to be an insult? My Nana was incredible, as previously established. "Thank you," I reply sweetly, crossing my arms firmly to make it clear I'm not putting on that hoodie without a real explanation.

"Corbin told me they sent trackers after you. If they show up here, this thing will hide your scent, keep you hidden." He eyes the hoodie like he's contemplating murdering it. Clearly he despises it just as much as I do.

Defeated, I sigh. Here I thought I'd finally escaped them completely. I nearly gag pulling the hoodie over my head. The overwhelming, sickly-sweet smell hits instantly. God, they'd better not find me, because honestly this smell alone might kill me first.

"Wow, is this literally the original bottle of Eau de Toilet?" Seriously, the odor is horrendous. I'm pretty sure even Satan himself would gag.

This thing will absolutely repel any decent, normal guy on campus. "There goes any chance of marrying a normal human man and having adorable normal human babies."

He shakes his head like he's dealing with a stubborn toddler, completely ignoring my commentary. "Corbin figured you'd probably shaken them off your trail by now, but wants you wearing this just in case," he explains. "At least until I've scouted the area and confirmed they're not around."

Honestly, I'd rather die drenched in sweat, choking on this disgusting sweet stench, than get dragged back to that pack house. Just the thought of being mated to old Mr. Thorne makes my skin crawl, so despite the smell and blistering heat, I yank the hood over my head anyway.

Caleb gathers the front together and zips it all the way up. "I look homeless," I tell him. Smell homeless too, probably. "You seriously don't own anything cuter?" The hem practically brushes my knees. I roll the sleeves up several times just to free my hands. "Purple would be way better. Remember that for next time."

"Try not to draw attention to yourself," he says, completely ignoring that comment too.

Seriously, wearing this monstrosity in this heat? "Oh sure, I'll totally blend right in...smell included. Definitely won't draw any attention whatsoever."

Caleb just watches me, apparently unsure whether I've lost my mind entirely or I'm simply being a smartass.

God, I'm actually going to die of heatstroke before noon even hits. One class down already, now heading toward my second in a different building. All morning I've been yanking the hood down over my face constantly, especially whenever some attractive guy walks past. I know, I know, that's the exact opposite of what normal, straight human girls typically do, but I refuse to let anyone see the weirdo hiding beneath this disgusting, oversized hoodie. Really nailing this whole "normal" thing so far.

Stay positive. Stay positive. Well, silver lining, at least I don't need to stress about birth control anymore. Who needs it when you've got a hobo hoodie doing all the repelling for you? Yeah, that's officially its name now: hobo hoodie. Nana would be so proud. Great start to my brand-new life here as Queen Normal. Truly awesome.

"Oh my god, somebody clearly bathed in cheap perfume," announces a brunette in a yellow sundress, fanning her hand dramatically in front of her face. The three girls seated in front of me all twist around to stare, then burst into laughter.

Wonderful, we've got a comedian in the room. This is my second lecture today, and I'd deliberately picked a corner seat near the wall, as far from everyone as physically possible in this massive auditorium. It was peaceful too, right up until these three girls squeezed into the row directly ahead of me.

"Maybe she took a wrong turn into a perfume factory," another one adds, this one wearing floral print. Wow, hilarious. Guess we've got two comedians now.

"Or maybe someone skipped their shower and tried covering their body odor with cheap perfume instead," the third one chimes in, also rocking a sundress.

"Ewww," they all chorus together. The whole sundress trio scoots a few seats over, still whispering and snickering while throwing occasional smug glances my way. I know they haven't dropped the subject, but honestly, whatever. Sticks and stones, like Nana always said. Be nice, Freya. It's literally day one, just be nice. I tug my hood down more securely, then slowly flip them off beneath its cover. Their gasps of outrage are extremely satisfying. Bitches.