Chương 3: THE WAY TO SCHOOL

Going to Winderhill was like a journey – one where each step forward broke through with a startling reality, or rather, I'm sure it was the standard reality. In fact, now in hindsight, I realized everything that happened on the way to school was the most probable scenario. I'm annoyed I hadn't even considered the possibility that real life wasn't anything like how I imagined it would be. It was real life in all its uncomfortable glory. The train was crowded and hot.

My dad and I got a seat immediately simply because the two wolves seated in front of us were mature and polite enough to recognize and show respect to an Alpha when they saw one. I shall assume I would have to stand in the train all the way to school from tomorrow onwards. I loosened my scarf and tried to unbutton my jacket before the heat suffocated me. My socks were now wet from sweating in my boots. I wriggled them and sighed. My dad sat next to me typing quickly on his phone. He needed to work, I know.

I sighed again. When we got off at our stop, my dad beamed, "Winderhill Station! It's like the school had the train station named after it!" I huffed at that. I'm 15, not five. I knew that the station and school were both named after the hill. Seriously. We crossed Winderhill Road and followed the pavement along Winderhill lane and I waited for my Dad to say it's like the roads were all named after my new school, but he didn't. He was looking at the people walking ahead of us.

"These are probably your school mates, Sam." Dad said softly to me. I was holding his hand, when I suddenly noticed the other young people walking to school. I noticed how they were in the same uniformed jackets, and how none of them were walking with their parents. I can't believe I'm the only one who still needed a parent to take me to school! I let go of Dad's hand. His eyes widened just for a moment, but he continued walking without pause.

The scenery wasn't particularly breathtaking, bare trees with patches of snow and ice. Dark browns of bark and earth, stone, pavement, road... It was only January, but it felt like the snow got tired of hanging around and was just waiting for winter to get over with it. At one point I saw some boys run off the path up through the shrubs and trees. I heard a yelping in the cold, followed by frantic unzipping and the rustle of clothes being yanked off before shifting. I stopped in surprise.

Dad paused and turned to watch with me.

"Oh!" I mouthed my surprise, as a couple of wolves appeared and leapt over a fallen branch. They scrambled clumsily over the ice on a large rock. Clothes bunched in their mouths, they disappeared further up into the woods. I guess that's the shortcut to school. Their clothes were going to be nasty in a wolf drool kind of way. Boys are so gross. I took a step back towards my dad. The pavement was icy and my sweaty socks had frozen in my boots by now. I reached out for his hand and he took it without a word.

The road continued all around the hill and right into the school on top of it. After more walking, I saw other kids turn off into a very long flight of stairs up to the top of the hill. My dad stopped one of the boys who was about to step onto it, "Do these step take you into the school?" Reading on Amazon or a pirate site? This novel is from Royal Road. Support the author by reading it there. The boy bowed his head instinctively, "Yes sir. To the cafeteria."

"Interesting." My dad said, waving his dismissal with his hand. The boy nodded his head in another quick bow and sprinted up the steps two at a time, but not before I caught scent of his human panic. Hahaha.

"You can try this on your own sometime." My dad said lightly and we continued along the road. Try what? Taking the stairs or scaring the humans? I sniffed the air from the foot of the stairway, catching whispers of human scent intermingled with damp trees and dirt in the cold crisp air... I suppose this was the human entrance. We continued walking. Now we were the only two who were travelling on the pavement. All the other pedestrians must have shifted and ran through the woods or taken the stairs.

I noticed it was just dad and me, and cars... There were a rather many cars suddenly, snaking slowly up through the large front gate of the school. Something about them gave me pause, they were mostly black, except for few grey ones slotted in. I watched them warily as we walked, unsure of what to make of it. It was quite the ominous school run. Dad suddenly stopped at the main gate and announced, "And this is the front entrance to your school."

I looked and saw the large sign "Winderhill High School" with the school crest. It's grand and honestly stupid, because by now I have realized that most of the students would never see this sign. Dad took my hand and we made our way into the school. I subtly pulled my hand out of his grasp as we neared the front porch. The continuous train of black and grey cars were pulling in and out of the porch, each one depositing a single student.

I watched the students walk and disappear behind the curtain of adults on the front porch. Such strange silent wisps that they hardly seemed there at all. The curtain of adults were still draped around the front of the porch. I quickly looked about, perhaps parents? I'm a little relieved that I was not the only one who came with a parent. Suddenly one of the ladies in front opened up her arms in a welcoming gesture, "Alpha Kingsley!"

I looked up, a little thrown off as a thin veil of adults started closing in on us. Somewhere beyond them, I could still sense the silent ghosts of students, slinking out of the line of cars and into the school one by one. The cool air would shift just slightly each time in a way that pricked the hair behind my neck to stand. I looked up at my dad, who towered like an immovable rock.

I saw his proud shoulders squared, and I knew he was also on guard, but whether it was due to the eerie disturbance in the air or the adults now looking expectantly at him, I didn't know.

"Madam Principal." My dad acknowledged, and suddenly I felt like a fish realizing too late that the net had closed around me.

"Alpha, please! Just call me Laura." The Principal extended her hand and my father took it in a firm handshake. I cast a fugitive glance around the adults, suddenly realizing that there were two groups of adults: one circle close around us, and the real parents milling along the sidelines in heavy coats.

"My vice principal, the head of discipline..." Principal Laura introduced in turn. While the Vice Principal, a grey haired man in a brown suit, had bobbed his head and stepped back upon his introduction to my father, the head of discipline turned to stare at me, as if to size me up. She had short curls and large loud earrings that matched her lipstick. Her blouse under the yellow dress suit was brightly colored too, and when I say "brightly colored" I meant aggressively cheerful.

I broke eye contact nonchalantly and looked to the next person.

"... And this is Alpha George, his son, Henry." Madam Principal continued, thinking I must had been curious. Alpha George was a large stocky bearded man, everything else was covered in his winter coat and hat. Real parent. Henry was in the school coat too. Real student. I nodded.

"Well, you better be heading to class." My Dad finally moved to look at his watch. I immediately took the chance to pull away, my only consolation: this awkward circle was not in front of a student audience. I passed a couple of mums, still standing by the side, eyeing me, trying to see who I was. I steadily refused to meet their gaze. The little parade of mysterious silent students had vanished by now. I continued walking, relieved to see temporary printed signs pasted around.

I let out the breath I had been holding, and a wave of relief washed over me as I saw my assigned classroom come into view. Lucky! I was just running away (as usual) but I ended up running in the right direction (also, as usual). I've always had a lucky sense of direction.