Puppy Love!

by Sienna Mercer

  ‘That’s right,’ Milo said. ‘Make way for the winners!’

  Daniel put his hands in his pockets until he was sure he was not going to ‘wolf-out’, then followed the others inside.

  With every seat empty, the auditorium looked humongous. Only Principal Caine stood inside, looking bored and impatient.

  Is she really the right person to decide the music for a dance? Daniel wondered. I doubt she’s ever enjoyed a song in her life!

  Still, there wasn’t any choice. Her voice echoed around the massive space as she asked, ‘Who would like to go first?’

  Milo and Riley both spoke at once. ‘We would!’

  Principal Caine sighed heavily, and glanced down at her watch as if she were only counting the seconds until she could leave. ‘Fine,’ she said. ‘We’ll do a coin toss.’

  ‘Heads!’ Milo shouted. Then he punched the air, whooping, a moment later, as the coin came up. ‘We win!’

  ‘Not yet,’ Riley muttered under her breath.

  She’d said it so quietly, she probably thought that no one else had heard her, but Daniel’s werewolf hearing picked it up. He traded a tight smile with her as In Sheep’s Clothing settled down in the front seats of the auditorium, leaving Milo’s band to take the stage.

  It only took a minute before Daniel was leaning forward in his seat, feeling a frown on his face. Milo’s group seemed to be fumbling as they plugged in their instruments, as if they hadn’t done it often before – but that wasn’t what was weirding him out. There was something missing. He couldn’t figure out what it was, but . . .

  ‘Hey,’ Otto said, tapping Daniel on the shoulder. ‘Where’s their drummer?’

  Milo tossed him a contemptuous look from onstage. ‘We don’t need a boring drummer,’ he called down. ‘Because unlike you guys, we’re all rock stars in this band!’ Then he grabbed the mic and swung it around, striking a pose. ‘That’s right . . . We are Victor Vengeance and The Righteous Wrath! ’

  Daniel had to clap one hand over his mouth to stop laughing. Are you kidding me?

  Honestly, had Milo really taken losing out to Riley that badly? His band name almost exactly echoed his oath of vengeance . . . but otherwise, it made less sense than having a rock band with no drummer!

  Don’t laugh! Daniel ordered himself. Do not laugh!

  Then Milo launched into their song . . . and Daniel thought he might never laugh ever again.

  Guitars jangled. Chords broke. The tune was new and unfamiliar . . . but Daniel knew all the words.

  ‘. . . No more puppy lo-o-o-ove!’ Milo wailed.

  Horror sank like a stone through Daniel’s chest. I can’t believe this is happening!

  Nathan leaned over to whisper in Daniel’s ear: ‘Man, they need to fire whoever they got to write their lyrics!’

  Daniel didn’t answer. He couldn’t. All he could do was listen, frozen, as his work was destroyed right in front of him.

  There hadn’t been any melodies in Daniel’s songbook, so Milo must have come up with his own. The end result was totally different from how Daniel had imagined the song . . . but was that the only reason that it sucked?

  Or were the lyrics as terrible as they made them sound?

  With one final clash of chords, the song came to an end . . . and was met with an awkward silence.

  Daniel might have been the only one apart from Milo who knew what had just happened, but he wasn’t the only one in total shock. All around him, his band mates were staring at the stage with horrified disbelief.

  Obviously, none of them have heard a song that bad in a long time, Daniel thought miserably. I can’t write a song to save my tail.

  ‘Ahem.’ Principal Caine cleared her throat. ‘We all . . . I’m sure . . . ‘appreciate’ your efforts, Mister “Vengeance”.’ She cleared her throat again, looking as if she were in actual physical pain. ‘Now, In Sheep’s Clothing ? It’s time for us to hear you . . . if we must.’

  Daniel cringed as he heard the depressed tone in her voice. Obviously, she did not expect his band to be any better than Milo’s.

  And she’s right, he thought. After all, I wrote Milo’s song!

  Miserably, he followed the others onstage. At least Nathan and Otto seemed more cheerful now, even as Daniel’s own confidence levels had sunk to rock-bottom. As they set up, Otto even tossed his drumsticks in the air.

  Right, Daniel told himself sternly. He took a deep breath. It doesn’t matter how I feel right now. I have to suck it up, for the sake of the band!

  Forcing himself to square his shoulders, he counted off. ‘And a one and a two and a –!’

  Otto hit the drums, and the band rocked out to the strains of Moonlight Girl. A song they were now pretty familiar with playing.

  If Daniel had not seen Riley that morning, he would never have guessed how little sleep she’d had. Her voice soared above the band, strong and confident, as she raced up and down the stage with all the energy of an out-of-control car . . .

  Hey! Daniel thought. That’s actually a good line. It was exactly how he felt about Debi. I should write that down later!

  For now, though, he had to focus – and, inspired by Riley and their band mates, he finally managed to shake off all the panic and misery of the last few hours.

  So what if he’d messed up one song? He’d written Moonlight Girl, too, and that really did rock – just like his band! As they all launched into the final chorus, real satisfaction coursed through Daniel’s body, making him feel like he could leap right across the empty auditorium.

  He flung back his head and howled with satisfaction as the song came to a close. If there was a real audience, they would totally be cheering!

  Unfortunately, their only audience right then was Principal Caine . . . and she looked just as unimpressed as ever.

  ‘Well,’ she said, ‘thank goodness that’s finished.’

  Uh-oh.

  Daniel lowered his guitar, trading a worried look with Riley. We can’t have lost after all . . . can we? He glanced nervously at where Milo and the rest of his band sat with their arms crossed. She’d have to be totally tone-deaf to choose them . . . But knowing Principal Caine, she really might be. In fact, that would explain a lot.

  Gulping, he gathered at the edge of the stage with his band mates as Principal Caine stood up and brushed herself off, looking pointedly back at her watch.

  ‘Come on!’ Milo said. ‘Who won? Did we win? We won, right?’

  Principal Caine sighed. “All I can say is, the second band was less offensive . . . and marginally quieter.”

  Marginally quieter? Daniel blinked, barely stifling a snort. Of all the compliments he’d ever imagined for their band, that sure wasn’t one of them!

  ‘Most importantly, though,’ said Principal Caine, ‘the second band’s song was better.’

  Daniel bit back the urge to tell Principal Caine that he must have been having an off-day when he wrote No More Puppy Love. He got the feeling he would not be helping his own band to claim the terrible song their rivals sung as his own!

  He barely even heard Principal Caine finish: ‘. . . And therefore, In Sheep’s Clothing may play at the Dance. I suppose.’

  ‘Woo!’ Riley cheered and jumped in the air. ‘I knew it!’

  ‘Right on!’ Nathan and Otto exchanged a high-five, while Riley danced around the stage, making to pull them all in to a group hug, only to stop when she noticed that they all looked like they had been asked to put on the gym socks from the lost property cupboard.

  In the auditorium, Daniel saw Milo standing up and turning away . . . taking the last remnants of Daniel’s excitement with him, just like he had stolen his song.

  As Milo and his band stomped out of the auditorium, Daniel faced the truth: In Sheep’s Clothing might have won . . . but his romantic song-writing skills had lost.

  Big-time.

  Chapter Six

  As soon as Justin got home from football practice, he charged up the stairs.

  ‘Congrat
ulations, man!’ He bounded into Daniel’s room, where Daniel was sitting scribbling something at his desk. ‘I heard about your big win!’

  To his surprise, Daniel winced. ‘Um, yeah.’

  ‘“Yeah? ” That’s it?’ Justin stared at him. ‘You won, man! You defeated Milo’s band! Is that all you can say about it?’

  ‘In Sheep’s Clothing did great,’ Daniel said. His smile looked forced. ‘It was good for the band. But I’m working on a new song now for Homecoming, so . . .’ He started to turn back to his desk.

  ‘Hang on a minute!’ Justin took a deep breath.

  OK, maybe his twin wasn’t as revved about the band news as Justin had expected, but still . . . When would he get a better opportunity to ask this favour?

  ‘Look,’ he said. ‘You know the full-moon gathering tonight . . .’

  ‘Oh, no!’ Daniel groaned. ‘Dad didn’t change his mind about that, did he?’

  ‘Well –’

  ‘He has to let you go instead of me, this time,’ said Daniel. ‘I’ve only had a few days off since the last gathering – and the Beasts are going to spend the whole time talking about football, anyway, since they think I’m you. All the talk about plays and tactics is all gibberish to me, and –’

  Justin laughed. ‘Calm down, Bro.’ He struck a superhero pose, his hands on his hips and his chest puffed out. ‘Justin to the rescue! The football king is in the house! – or, uh, at the gathering. Dad understands.’

  ‘Good.’ Daniel gave a sigh that sounded like relief, and picked up his pen again. ‘In that case . . .’

  ‘But I need some help,’ Justin said quickly. ‘Before I go, I need to know how to handle myself there. Won’t they notice that I’m not a wolf? I mean, when the big . . . ‘rrrrrraaarrrrrgggghhhh ’ happens?’ He formed claws with his hands, mimicking a movie werewolf.

  ‘Don’t worry.’ Daniel shrugged. ‘Transforming isn’t mandatory. There are some wolves who choose not to.’

  ‘And they don’t get weird looks from all the others?’ Justin asked sceptically.

  ‘Nah,’ Daniel said, ‘everyone’s pretty relaxed about it.’

  ‘OK.’ Justin nodded. ‘I’ll just say I’m not in the mood.’

  ‘Yeah.’ Daniel sounded distracted, and Justin could tell that his brother was already thinking about his music again. ‘Anyway, a natural athlete like you should be able to keep up without transforming.’ Daniel’s last words came out as a mumble as he bent back over his songbook.

  ‘That’s not the part I’m worried about.’ Justin sat on the corner of Daniel’s desk, trying to catch his brother’s attention. ‘Didn’t you say something about “howling” at the last gathering?’

  Daniel’s head shot up, and he pulled the same face Justin did whenever he fumbled a football. ‘I forgot about the howling,’ he said, slapping a hand to his forehead.

  ‘Don’t panic, Bro,’ Justin said. ‘I’ve got it all worked out. How about if you recorded yourself howling on a loop? Then I can put my phone on speaker . . . and join in with the others!’

  Daniel’s mouth fell open. His eyes narrowed. A low growl built up in his throat, rumbling ominously. ‘Are you kidding me?’ he asked.

  Uh-oh, Justin thought. He scooted off the desk, keeping a wary eye on Daniel’s face. His twin had given him dark looks before, but never anything like this.

  ‘Err . . . uhm . . .’ Justin stammered, trying to figure out what he had said that had made Daniel go all Monster Boy. ‘It was just a suggestion.’

  ‘Tell me,’ Daniel growled, ‘that you are joking.’

  ‘I, uhh . . .’

  Daniel stood up from his desk. Justin could see that his hands were hairy now, and balled into fists. ‘Are you seriously suggesting that you . . . lip-sync? ’

  ‘Well . . .’ Justin shrugged, sticking his hands in his pockets. ‘I figured –’

  ‘I don’t believe you!’ Daniel stepped away from his desk, snarling. ‘Have you ever listened to anything I’ve said about music?’

  Justin tried a winning smile. ‘About as often as you’ve listened to me talk about football.’

  ‘Justin!’ Daniel grabbed his own hair and tugged at it, looking desperate. ‘Lip-syncing goes against my whole code as a musician! It’s –’

  ‘It’s my only option!’ Justin said. ‘Come on, dude! I can’t exactly sing live, can I? I don’t care how caught up the other guys are in the howling – if Kyle sees that I’m not joining in, you know there’ll be trouble. So unless you want to go to the gathering yourself, and work on your new song another night –’

  ‘OK, fine. Fine!’ Daniel sagged back down on to his chair. ‘I’ll do it . . . as long as you promise never to tell anyone else about this!’

  ‘Your secret is safe with me, Bro.’ Justin pulled his phone out of his pocket. ‘Now help me pretend to be you . . . pretending to be me!’

  Daniel shook his head and snatched the phone out of Justin’s hands. ‘I can’t record myself howling here. I need to go to the bathroom!’

  ‘Uh . . .’ Justin stared at his brother. ‘Why, exactly? I’m your twin – you don’t have to hide anything –’

  ‘I’m not hiding,’ Daniel made a face at him. ‘The acoustics are better in there . . . obviously!’

  Justin rolled his eyes. ‘Obviously. ’

  As Daniel closed the bathroom door behind himself, Justin sighed and wandered over to the desk. The piece of paper Daniel had been working on had just four words written on it.

  . . . out-of-control car . . .

  Justin pursed his lips in a silent whistle. Ohh-kay!

  As his brother’s howls echoed through the bathroom next door, Justin shook his head. Yeah, he loved his twin . . . but occasionally, he had to admit, Daniel really did veer a little left of ‘normal’.

  Three hours later, Justin was walking through the woods with his dad. Firelight flickered from the clearing up ahead. The sound of yips and growls echoed in the distance.

  Justin grinned, feeling adrenaline pump through his body.

  Finally, I’m getting to see what all the fuss is about!

  Just before they stepped into the clearing, Dad pulled Justin to a halt. Lowering his voice to a whisper, he asked: ‘Are you sure you want to do this, son? I’ll understand if you’ve changed your mind.’

  ‘Don’t worry, Dad!’ Justin was so revved, he was actually jogging in place now. He just couldn’t keep still! ‘I’ve got it all covered – the running and the howling. Everything’s cool!’

  ‘Well, if you’re sure . . .’ Still, Dad looked nervous even as he let go of Justin’s arm. ‘I won’t transform tonight, either, so we can tell the others that it was a “family” decision.’

  ‘Thanks, Dad,’ Justin said. And he meant it . . . but he couldn’t wait any longer. He took off like a rocket, into the clearing full of firelight and action and excitement – and the Beasts, who were clustered in a hooting, wrestling group on the other side of the fires.

  ‘Packer!’ The Beasts all bellowed his name at once as Justin jogged towards them.

  ‘At last!’ Kyle said. He raised one hand to high-five Justin, and long, claw-like nails sparkled in the firelight. ‘We’ve been waiting for you!’

  ‘Well, I’m here now,’ Justin said, and he felt his grin widen on his face. He didn’t even show the pain of the high-five, because he barely felt it. He’d been waiting all his life for this, ever since Dad had first told him, all those years ago, what it would be like to be a werewolf.

  Finally, he thought. I’m where I belong!

  ‘Let’s run!’ Kyle roared.

  The Beasts all echoed his roar.

  Justin launched himself forward, excitement burning through his veins.

  Within moments, they were running faster than he’d ever seen before. The Beasts might be fast and strong on the football field, but they had obviously been holding themselves back until now. Justin’s leg muscles seemed to scream with effort as he pushed himself to keep up, his breath coming in
pants and his heart thumping crazily against his chest.

  ‘Hey, good job keeping cool this time, Packer,’ Kyle said, and whacked him on the shoulder. ‘I know you’re a wild man, but you’d better not run off the edge again!’

  The Beasts all shouted with laughter, and Justin forced a chuckle through his burning chest. ‘You know me!’ he said faintly.

  His head was swimming with lack of air. Maybe that was why he had no idea what they were talking about?

  Or maybe ‘running off the edge’ is some kind of werewolf in-joke . . .?

  As the Beasts slowed to a stop by a riverbank, Justin tried not to punch the air in front of them. I did it! I kept up. And now we’re having a rest . . . right?

  ‘Come on, now, let’s run a drill for the Homecoming Game!’ Kyle said. He grinned, his teeth long and feral in the darkness. ‘But this time, we won’t hold ourselves back – we’re not in school now!’

  Uh-oh, Justin thought. But as the Beasts roared and got into position, he felt the excitement come rippling back through his aching muscles.

  He was here, wasn’t he? And he’d kept up so far. And man . . . how many 9th graders in the world got to play football this hard core? If he hadn’t been born into a werewolf family, he would never have even known football got this hard core.

  By the time they all ran back into the fire-lit main clearing an hour later, Justin was streaming with sweat, his muscles felt as wrung-out as limp noodles . . . and he was happier than he had ever been.

  I did it! he thought. I survived a full-on werewolf practice! And now . . .

  Looks like it’s time for . . .

  ‘The Howling!’ Kyle said. Justin spun around and saw that, in the time he had spent thinking about his relief at getting through the practice, his quarterback had transformed. His lips peeled back over his sharp teeth as he tipped his head back to face the clouds that covered the night sky. The rest of the Beasts pressed tightly around Kyle and Justin, part of the great furry mass drawing close together all around the clearing.

  Time to put the plan into action, Justin thought, licking his lips nervously and shooting a quick glance at the Beasts around him. Let’s hope this works!