Page 6 of When Storms Awaken

The bell rang, and I packed my bag, trudging to second period. These days dragged on forever, I would rather be doing literally anything else. Second period was much the same as first, history was a boring subject, and I entirely ignored the teacher while doodling on my notebook.

Next period I would get to see Tess, and I hoped she wasn’t mad at me for dragging her to the mountain landing in the first place. History passed with exaggerated slowness and I speed walked to third period and sat in my usual seat near the back of the classroom next to Tess. She wasn’t there yet, and my Spanish teacher eyed me speculatively. She knew the excited look in my eyes was not due to the anticipation of her forthcoming lecture.

Out of the corner of my eye I saw Tess walk in, her presence always drawing the eye of everyone in class. She was slender and fashionable, always the one to go to when I needed clothing advice. She was part of the popular crowd, and our friendship made no sense whatsoever. During my first week at school she had seen me sitting alone in the cafeteria and had asked me to join her table, the rest was history. I didn’t fit in with her other friends, but I was closer with her than any of them.

“Wow,” she said in a huff, throwing herself down into the seat next to mine. “I can’t believe what happened yesterday, can you?” she asked, turning her body towards mine with a smile in her eyes.

“It was out of this world, I had nightmares last night I was so freaked out. I barely got any sleep, and I just had to sit through Mr. Sampson’s class listening to him droneonandon. Do you believe me now?” I asked her.

“Of course!” she replied, “I saw it with my own eyes.”

“So…you’re not mad at me?” I asked.

“Of course not! I agreed to go, it was my own decision. I knew it could potentially be dangerous,” she replied as she pushed a piece of straight chocolate brown hair behind her ear.

Well, that made one of us. I had been so wound up with excitement over seeing a wolf in the first place, I hadn’t thought we would be in any danger returning to the mountain landing. I was sure the wolf wouldn’t be there again.

“I will admit, I didn’t believe the eyes were human-like at first. But now that I’ve seen it with my own eyes, I believe you. How is that possible?” She sat for a moment, turning her body towards the front of the room as the professor took her books out, feigning attention. “Do you think that was the same wolf that attacked Mrs. Madden?”

“It might be. I mean, we’ve never had a wolf sighting this close to town, but I’d like to find out,” I responded.

Tess nodded in agreement. “I’ll see what I can find out through my coworkers at The Daily Drip during my next shift.”

The bell rang, signaling the start of another boring lecture. At least Tess wasn’t mad at me, and we would try to find out the details of Mrs. Madden’s attack. I had to know if these two incidents were related, I was awfully suspicious that they were. Was this wolf something…supernatural? I shook my head trying to toss that idea out. That was impossible. It couldn’t be, I’d been watching too much TV lately. I pulled out a notebook to sketch on and let the rest of the periods before lunch slip by.

The lunchroom was crowded as usual, with brightly decorated posters covering the walls showcasing student elections, clubs, and sports meetings. Tess and I grabbed some pizza together and sat at our regular table, one of the biggest in the far corner of the cafeteria.

The table was a combination of Tess’ friends, and the few that were mine, mostly other bookworms who I had met working on group projects together. I waved to Sloane as we crossed the room and took our seats. Sloane was one of the few people who had first welcomed me to Colorado when we moved here, and we had been good friends ever since. Sloane didn’t hang out with anyone outside of school all that much, she was incredibly dedicated to her studies. She was trying to get a full scholarship to Yale and was always either studying or working on extracurriculars. We were friendly, but had never had the opportunity to get that close.

“Hey, Diana, how was your weekend?” she asked, nibbling on the end of a snap pea as we sat down beside her.

Tess and I exchanged a loaded glance as she took the seat next to me, and she shook her head ever so slightly. She didn’t want me to tell Sloane about the wolf, which was understandable. I’m not sure anybody else would believe us, anyway. We would keep it our little secret, for now.

“Pretty boring. Homework, lots of reading, the usual,” I laughed, picking up my pizza to take a bite.

Sloane was the only friend of mine here today. The rest of the table was flooded with Tess’ dance friends along with an array of other girls vying for her attention. I never spoke with them much, and Tess largely ignored them in favor of talking to me, but that didn’t stop them from trying.

Sloane and I chatted about the English paper that was coming due, and Sloane’s time volunteering down at the animal shelter while Tess entertained her more popular friends. Sooner than I realized, the lunch bell rang. Half of the school day had already passed, thank God. My next period was art with Tess, my favorite subject by far. It was one of the few classes that I looked forward to, even if Ms. Finch was a little bit…odd.

I quickly disposed of my tray, swallowing my last bite of pizza as I slung my backpack over my shoulder and crossed the room to the large double doors that lead to the hallway. I threw the door open, Tess close on my heels with her dance friends as we made our way to the end of the hallway where the art classroom was.

The art classroom was cornered between two long hallways. The walls were painted a bright yellow and the desks were all replaced with large round tables, each with a set of chairs. The far wall was a set of big picture windows that overlooked the back-football field. The view had to be Tess’ favorite thing about art class.

I took my usual seat at the table closest to the back windows and Tess followed, throwing her bag down on the ground next to mine. Without waiting for the teacher to arrive, I gathered my art supplies from the bins on the far wall. I grabbed an array of colored pencils, chalks, and a few sheets of blank poster paper. I returned to my seat and waited with my materials for the second bell to ring.

Tess didn’t bother to get any art supplies, art class wasn’t her favorite subject. Come to think of it…no class was her favorite. She found it hard to get the creative juices flowing when all she could look at was the gym classes being held outside the window and half of the lacrosse team running their drills without shirts.

Ms. Finch walked in appearing disheveled, her long, frizzy, grey hair tied in a bun at the nape of her neck. Her overalls were covered in fresh wet paint, a large canvas in her hands. She set the canvas down as the bell rang and the remaining students shuffled in to find their seats.

“Hello class,” she began, leaning one hand against her desk to support her weight. She looked utterly exhausted. “Today we are going to work on our senior portfolios. Sketch something unique that you haven’t already tried or switch up your techniques. If you have been working with chalk, try paint. If you have been working with paint, try sketching with the colored pencils.” She took a deep breath, closing her eyes and steadying herself. “I will remind you that your senior portfolios are due in a few weeks. Alright get to…” She hesitated, her eyes flashing towards the open doorway.

I followed her gaze to see what had grabbed her attention, and in the doorway stood someone tall, blond, and…handsome. He leaned against the door frame, his arms crossed over his broad chest, no backpack or books in sight. He had a smirk plastered across his face and looked as though it took all of his energy to keep from bursting into a fit of laughter at the sight of Ms. Finch frazzled at the front of the classroom. Arrogant.Nothandsome, I decided. Arrogant.

“Nikolai, how gracious of you to join us. Why are you late?” Ms. Finch asked, the entire class turning their attention towards the newcomer.

“Nik,” he corrected with a nod of his head, “—I was busy.” He shrugged, scanning the room lazily.

“There are no excuses, Nik. This is not the same as your last school. Tardiness at Silver Oaks Academy isunacceptable. You have earned yourself a detention this Saturday,” she told him. She moved around her desk and sat in the swiveling chair, her eyes still focused on his smug expression.

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