Chương 173: EVERYBODY'S CHANGING

Had you ever just woken up on a Sunday morning and decided to sleep in? I know it's a thing with some people... like Carlie or Jay... but I had never slept in on a Sunday morning in my life. Admittedly, this wasn't by my design or choice. Breakfast with the pack was mandatory for the Alpha Family. And we attended it every single Sunday without fail. Even on the day Savy was born, Mum took a shower, bundled newborn Savy into a sling, and showed up for breakfast with a large smile. Dad couldn't stop her.

Every Sunday the pack came together for breakfast. Seeing and eating with their Alpha Family each week had provided a sense of familiarity and security for our pack members. Most families would try to attend at least once a month; there were those who attended every week, and those who attended once or twice a year too. But the Alpha Family would be there every single Sunday.

The Beta and Gamma families were almost always there too, although sometimes one or both of them would be busy somewhere else in the packhouse or attending pack matters. Their mates and children would still be there though. It wasn't a rule, but there were also natural consequences for missing Sunday breakfast. Once, Jonah didn't show up because of a school project meeting.

The entire pack asked about him, and then word got around that he was the only guy in that particular project group and all the girls in the group had a crush on him. Ben had coined the girls over the years as Jonah's crushies. Jonah denied it, the crushies. But he couldn't deny that they were all girls. He kept saying the teachers assigned the group. Lizzy said the crushies must have bribed the teacher. That was how I learned about the tale of Jonah the Casanova. Jonah was tall, dark, and handsome.

He was the captain of the middle school football club and the Gamma's only son. Jonah was extremely shy. Perhaps having grown up with no other female influence aside from his mother, Lizzy, and Savy, he almost never spoke to girls. Ever.

"Maybe he had some kind of childhood trauma with a girl," I had wondered aloud. Savy said if it were trauma, it had to be the time Jonah asked me if I were really a girl and I pretty much pounded him into the ground. After that, he never dared to ask any girl-like being anything again. Of course she exaggerated! To prove it, I had grabbed Jonah by the scruff and asked him if that was it. Back then, I was still at least a head taller than Jonah. He had immediately assured me that he had no recollection of it. See?

Straight from the horse's mouth—it was nothing to do with me. But whatever the totally unknown reason (because it was nothing to do with me), Jonah's shyness was translated to coolness by the girls at middle school. His small circle of close friends was translated as exclusiveness. Technically, the only ones he actually joked or laughed in front of were Ben, some of the guys in his football team, and Lizzy and Savy, and me. The more distant he was, the more girls chased him.

They took secret photos of him, which he found posted on the school website. They screamed his name whenever their team played. On Valentine's Day every year, his locker and desk would be stuffed with chocolates, homemade baked goodies, and notes.

"I hate girls," Jonah confessed.

"They scream and cry over everything."

"That's a baby, not a girl," I told him. Stolen content warning: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.

"But I eat all the chocolates," Jonah said, since he was in confession mode, "because they are delicious." See, so it wasn't me that traumatized Jonah. It was another kind of girl. Probably one a lot like Carlie. Hahaha. Word was, Jonah the Casanova's rule toward girls: Don't talk. Avoid eye contact. Always say "no". On the flip side was his best friend, Ben10. Ben10 was the perfect 10. Middle School Section's Student President, his grades were straight A's.

An all-rounder who could do sports, play the guitar, and ace the "gifted program". Ben always said "okay" to EVERYTHING.

"Help the basketball team take home championship this season?" Okay.

"Help the teacher carry books?" Okay.

"Call me?" Okay.

"Wanna hold hands?" Okay.

"Will you be my boyfriend?" Okay. And he said okay to EVERYONE. He could be dating multiple girls simultaneously. They all knew it.

"My brother is such a player," Lizzy rolled her eyes.

"Why?" I pretty much picked Ben up by the collar to shake some sense into him. Ben shrugged.

"After a while, the girls figure it out and stop having unrealistic expectations about me." What?

"It's better than living in fear like Jonah," Ben explained. It wasn't always this way. A few years ago, life wasn't so complicated. Sometimes I wondered between my Beta and Gamma, which was the greater evil? As their Alpha, please allow me to apologize for all the broken hearts in the academy. Please forget about these two idiots and find someone more worthy of your affections. I was told Shannon was also very popular among the female population. So my best guy friends were all players. Why?

Lizzy and Savy had a ranking system which listed the guys' popularity among the female population. They took pains to make disclaimers that this was not in any way representative of their own preferences, proof being Jonah and Ben on the list at all. Here is the list of Green Leaf Academy's Top 10 most eligible bachelors (according to Lizzy and Savy): Harvey (Morning Light Beta, Academy Student President, bassist, looks hot but plays it cool.) Jonah (Night Leaf Gamma, Middle School Football Captain, no instruments, cold towards everyone except close friends.) Ben (Night Leaf Beta, Middle School Student Representative, guitarist, cool.) Nix (Morning Light Gamma, High School Football Captain, lead singer, suave and charming.) Marlow (Morning Light Warrior, Fight Club Captain, bassist, bad boy.) Link (Night Leaf Warrior, Band President, guitarist and singer, super nice friendly guy.) Ethan (Morning Light Warrior, no club, no musical instrument, very funny guy.) Shannon (Night Leaf Warrior, formerly from Morning Light, Band Committee, guitarist, flutist, sensitive gentle guy.) Kevy (Night Leaf Warrior, High School Basketball Captain, drummer, sporty and friendly guy, Link's training partner and best friend, so the two of them together is like being with the two friendliest hot guys in the school.) Drew (Night Leaf Warrior, Middle School Basketball Captain, guitarist/flutist/drummer, lead singer, dancer—I'm sure all the musical ability must be credited to his mum, Florence—he's another super nice guy.) Apparently playing in a band was very important in Green Leaf Academy, and Night Leaf had a lot of super nice guys. And in case you're curious, I also have the list of Green Leaf Academy's Top 10 girls. This list was made by Ben and Jonah, under the coercion of Lizzy and Savy: 1 & 2.

Lizzy and Savy are tied in first place... I was beginning to understand where Jonah's fear of the opposite gender came from. My theory now was that Lizzy and Savy had scarred Ben and Jonah irreversibly, but of course I would never say it out loud. Another thing I would never say out loud to them was that I had overheard Mum, Mrs Beta, and Laura saying how nice it would be if the goddess paired Ben with Savy, and Jonah with Lizzy.

"They would be the fantastic four!" Laura had proclaimed. I decided to keep this to myself for the boys' sake; I don't think they could have handled it. Lola (Nix's cousin, High School Section's Student Vice Captain, Track and Field Captain, lead singer, known as the school's number one beauty.) Hayley (Harvey's sister, no club, pianist, quiet and beautiful ice princess.) Darlyn (Dean and Drew's sister, Dance Club Captain, pianist, lead singer, dancer, very delicate and pretty. Shannon had even described her as a flower fairy...) Angela (Tim's sister, Middle School Student Vice Representative, lead singer, fiery beauty.) The guys got tired after number 4. Jonah said he didn't know that many girls. Ben claimed he couldn't remember all their names. They decided numbers 6 to 10 would be whoever Ben was currently dating.

"How do you date them if you don't know their names?" I asked.

"He calls them all 'babe'," Jonah informed me.

"Why do they even date you?" I asked.

"Because they couldn't get a piece of me," Jonah boasted. I. d. i. o. t. s. For some reason, Jessica wasn't on the list. Neither were Carlie and Delilah. But what got me thinking was how things became like this. Once upon a time, we had spent hours making lists just like these, but they were about Pokémon. When Dad talked about us growing up, I thought it was a faraway thing, but lately the guys were getting taller, and the pups we used to be were fast becoming a distant memory.