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Chapter 11
I leave the diner at the end of my shift, walking through cars in the lot and heading for the trees. Dinner is in an hour. Mom and Grandma are making a chicken pot pie—they've been wanting to make one ever since we arrived in Waindale. Apparently, my mom used to crave them as a kid and again when she was pregnant with me. I would always hear about Grandma's pot pie, how I must try it and must fall in love. All the women in our family learn this recipe by heart. I wonder what else the women in our family have in common.
Dinner is in an hour. Instead of making my way home, I'm weaving through trees like a child running away. I grip my school bag as I rush down a dip in the forest. The sun is starting to fall behind the very tips of the pines, and I consider calling this place Pinedale—or Paindale.
My school bag hits the ground
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Waindale Chapter 12
My mother's persistent knocking sounds against my bedroom door. "Are you dressed? They'll be here any minute!" She calls from the other side.I lay on my bed, dressed on the top but not the bottom. It took me a while to pick the top and put it on and crash into my blankets. Doing the same with pants seems like a lot. Getting up and walking to my closet feels as if it might drain the last bit of my energy. If I tumble to my butt—I may just lay on the floor and stare at the wall for the rest of the night. The blank section of wall displayed by my bed has gotten old."Almost," I manage to yell.I called in sick to work. I wish I could call in sick to dinner. Vivian has been chatting about this dinner all week while I've been contemplating my future and existence. I wanted t
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"I know! I'll be back by dinner!"I quickly pull on my jacket and shrug my backpack up my shoulders. Grandma comes into the front room with an umbrella and hands it to me."Thanks," I smile and take it."Always forgetting. Been here a month and—how many times has it been—caught in the rain maybe ten? Fifteen times?"My brows furrow. "No way. No more than ten.""Alright. Alright. Remember to say goodbye to your mother.""Out on the porch?" I double-check and grandma nods.I find my Mom with a blanket tossed over her shoulders and her laptop on her lap, the screen and its
Waindale Chapter 14
The sidewalk is coated with leaves as the trees that line it grow bare. Vivianne stays a step ahead of me, then two, then three. The thought of seeing him again is distracting my feet—hell, my entire body is in a confused state, not knowing what to do anymore. Whenever I was in trouble, I would fidget with my hands. They were uncontrollable and awkward, no longer attached to my body. That same feeling is returning, but this time the only part of myself that I feel connected to is my head.Vivian glances back at me. "Come on," she says, crossing the street. I catch up and walk alongside her."What are we going to talk about?" I ask. The need to prepare is growing inside of me."Whatever you feel the need to talk about.""Do you k
Waindale Chapter 15
This feels like the longest night in existence. All the lights in the house are out—my mother and grandmother had gone to bed a while ago—and I'm left to lay in the darkness of my bedroom. It's quiet, so painfully quiet. It's gotten too cold for the crickets and now the night is filled with unsettling, infrequent gusts of wind. I'd much rather hear the wet tapping of rain than this silence, but the one night I need noise is the one night of clear skies.Tomorrow is my first day at the Academy. I have my uniform hanging on the back of my desk chair. Contrary to my mother's beliefs, it fits near perfectly, which makes my mind wander to Adam. This situation that I've been thrown into is insane, completely unreal, but I still feel guilty for acting so cold towards him. He is clearly trying to make it work; I just can't get my mind around the idea of it actually working. There's n
Waindale Chapter 16
"Are you ready for your first day at Waindale Academy, dear?" Grandma asks as I enter the kitchen in my spiffy new uniform. I sit down at the table and she places a plate in front of me. "What would you like? Something special for your first day?""I can't eat. I feel sick," I tell her. "If I eat, I may just vomit.""What? What's wrong? Did you catch the flu? Maybe you shouldn't go to school today, Wrenley, not if you're going to be sick.""No, no," I mutter. "I have to go. I just can't eat. The thought of it makes my stomach hurt."Grandma sighs. "Oh, goodness. Will you bring something with you? There are granola bars in the pantry." I nod and she fetches them. I lift my backpack to my lap and stuff them inside, knowing that I'll for
Waindale Chapter 17
"Someone is hungry."Peering up from my dinner plate, I find my mother and grandmother watching me. "Yeah, I am. Sorry.""No, no, it's a good thing," my grandmother assures me. "Why don't you tell us about your first day at your new school?"I nod and set down my fork, but my mom looks to her plate and doesn't lift her gaze again. "Well," I start, a little hurt, "today I was just shown around the school. I got my schedule and met the Dean. It's really nice. There's this courtyard, and the cafeteria food is amazing, and the people all seem—""Thanks for dinner, mom, but I have to get back to reviewing. Leave the dishes, I'll do it later," my mom says flatly and gets up from the table. I watch her disappear into the hallway. Momen
Waindale Chapter 18
I walk into my first class of the day and immediately sit at the back. I fiddle with the buttons on my sweater as I wait for other students to make their way in. My schedule is almost the same to what I was enrolled in at Waindale High School, except for two electives. They've been replaced with nutrition and wellness and the very mysterious lycanthropy. Vivianne explained before class that it's something the humans at the Academy can take. It teaches them about their fellow students, how to cope with the idea, and how to view the world from this new perspective without becoming overwhelmed.I never thought I would be taking a class about werewolves, especially at some private school that's filled with them. I never thought I would be okay with it because it makes the person I am mated to feel better. I never thought I would be giving into all of this.
Waindale Chapter 19
"Oh, Wrenley, you're home. I thought you'd be back later than this. Oh! Also, I found your mother's old yearbook." Grandma grabs the thick book off of the dining table and flips to a page she had marked. She points to a small picture of a guy. "That's him. He's your mother's first love. John Aymon."I glance at the image for a second before hurriedly taking off my shoes and bag and jacket. "Grandma, where's mom? She wasn't on the porch working.""Why, she's gone to the grocery store to pick up a few things." I think for a moment before stepping back into my shoes and tugging my jacket back on. "Where are you going, dear?" Grandma asks."I'm going to go find her.""I'm sure she'll be home soon. Just wait here and I'll make you a snack.
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