Eternity

by M.E. Timmons

  Chapter 12

  The next day in Skills Development we actually got to practice using our abilities. I was kind of glad that I actually had something to work on. Mr. Ramirez told us to get in pairs, and I ended up partnered with Melissa, who was eager to get started.

  "Check this out...oops," she said. The flame she had been holding in her hand had fallen through her fingers and ended up on her desk, where she quickly extinguished it, though it left a mark.

  "Maybe you should get a fire extinguisher to use during practice," I recommended, eyeing the burnt desk wearily. I was a little glad that I was supposedly fireproof. I hadn't told Melissa yet, but I had no plans to do so that day. I wanted to work on my drawing instead since I actually felt like I needed the practice. I was careful to keep my sheet of paper as far away from Melissa as possible, which was good because that wasn't the last time she dropped her flame.

  The drawing came easier this time, and I didn't have to pay attention to what I was doing at all. I watched Melissa instead, who was struggling to transfer fire from one hand to the other without dropping it. Usually it just went out instead, but she managed it a few times. Mr. Ramirez saw her do it once and clapped politely before moving on to the next pair.

  This time my drawing ended up being of Heather, who was standing in a hallway with everyone else moving around her. She looked like she was concentrating really hard on something, but I couldn't tell what she was doing or why. I also didn't know when it would happen. I decided to try to find a book in the library that described my ability and what I could do with it.

  Calculus was quite a bit like the day before. Adrian sat next to me again, and he would ask me random questions about my past when we were supposed to be working on some questions that the teacher had assigned. I didn't mind answering, and I asked a few questions myself. I learned that he was born in Romania but grew up in northern California, and that he had been arrested twice, but he wouldn't tell me why.

  "I won't tell anyone else, I promise," I said. "And I won't judge!"

  Adrian shook his head and answered a problem on his sheet, with a small smile playing at the corners of his mouth.

  "If you don't tell me, I'll just think it's something really bad. You didn't kill anyone, did you?"

  He chuckled. "You can think whatever you'd like. I'm still not going to tell you."

  I kept asking until class ended, but he was stubborn.

  The next day was the first full moon of the school year, and there was an almost tangible level of tension permeating the hallways, especially with the first year students. The werewolves were keyed up and anxious, and the rest of us were a little nervous about being so close to them at such a dangerous time. When I sat with Michael at breakfast he could tell that I was as nervous as everyone else.

  "Don't worry about it," he said. "I've never seen anything bad happen here. We were all scared the first time the full moon came in first year, but when it passed without incident we learned not to worry. It isn't that big of a deal."

  "I know that," I said. "I'm more worried for Jack than for myself. He hasn't changed yet, so this could end up being his first time. He did seem a little more temperamental yesterday than he usually is."

  "I have a few friends who are werewolves, and they like changing. It's part of who they are. Hopefully Jack will see it that way too."

  I sighed and picked at my pancakes. "He didn't even know he was a werewolf until he got to school. It hasn't been a part of his life before like it probably was for the others. It's all new to him, so he might not know how to react."

  "He seems like he can handle it. I'm sure he's been through enough in his life to be able to cope."

  I wasn't so sure, but I just nodded in response. Leon sat down a minute later and grabbed the plate of pancakes from the middle of the table without a word. I was learning that he wasn't much of a morning person. He merely grunted in response to a question that Michael asked him, though he still managed to throw a somewhat flirty grin in my direction before he started shoving food in his mouth like he hadn't eaten in days.

  I sat next to Jack in History. We were there early, so we had a few minutes to talk before class started. Jack noticed when I kept glancing worriedly at him, and he got annoyed.

  "I'm fine, Jules," he said. "I promise I won't flip out and attack anyone."

  My eyes widened. "I wouldn't expect you to," I said. "I'm worried about you, that's all."

  "Don't be. I think it might happen this month. I do feel kind of different. My skin keeps tingling and I think my vision and sense of smell are stronger."

  I was surprised, especially by what I could see in his aura. "You're excited?"

  "Yeah," he said, shrugging. "I've talked to some other werewolves and they say it's kind of cool. I've heard it can be a little scary at first, especially if you don't have much control, but it can be fun. At least I'll know what's happening, and I won't be able to hurt anyone."

  He was telling the truth, and I was happy. Knowing that he wasn't worried made me less worried, so I felt better during the rest of the day. I was even a little excited for Jack, and kind of hoped that he did change.

  Adrian wasn't in Calculus that day, and I was disappointed. I got my work done much faster, but it was boring. I realized that I had been looking forward to seeing him. I assumed that his absence had something to do with the full moon, but didn't know for sure. Maybe he was just skipping.

  I didn't see Jack for the rest of the day, so I didn't know how he was doing then, but he was up at breakfast the next day and still smiling. He waved me over when he saw me looking for somewhere to sit.

  "So, how was it?" I asked as soon as I sat down. I could tell by his mood that he had actually changed.

  Jack smiled widely. "It was really neat. The actual changing part was kind of painful, and it was weird not to be able to control what was happening, but when I was a wolf it was awesome. I still kind of felt like myself on the inside, though I had a few instincts that weren't there before, but my body felt so different. Walking on four legs was easy, but it took time to get used to the changes in my senses, especially with my eyes."

  "It wasn't too weird or anything?"

  "Nope. It might have been weird if I was by myself, but it's not like I was the only one going through the same thing. It just seemed kind of natural."

  I couldn't help but smile and share his enthusiasm. It did sound like it was kind of a cool experience. I wondered why Adrian didn't seem to feel the same way, even though he tried to hide it. I thought about asking Jack about Adrian, but decided against it. They didn't seem to like each other anyway.