by Brent Miller
“I’m fine,” he nodded.
“Are you sure?” She asked, placing her hand on his bare arm. Cailean felt shivers run down his spine and goosebumps race across his skin. His heart rate picked up, but it wasn’t an entirely unpleasant feeling.
“Yeah, I’m okay,” he affirmed. As an afterthought, he added, “I brought lunch though. I’ll go get a table and wait for you.”
“Oh, okay,” she replied slowly.
“Maybe we can sit outside in the courtyard?” Cailean suggested. Her concern was clearly about his panic attack earlier that week, and Cailean was beginning to worry about the same thing. The chatter around him began to grow louder and the smells only grew stronger as more students arrived and began eating.
“Sure,” she accepted. The hint of concern didn’t leave her voice.
“Really, I’m fine. I’ll see you out there.”
Cailean backed away, almost running into the person behind him in line. There was no doubt in his mind that his clumsiness only furthered her concern, but he quickly turned and walked toward the door. The voices grew louder – almost deafening – and he could hear his own footsteps resounding through the cafeteria. As more students opened their lunchboxes, even more odors wafted through the room, confusing Cailean’s brain even more. Trying to keep his cool, he avoided running for the door, but his pace increased as he got closer. Cailean could feel his heart rate increase, pounding in his chest as the sensory input overwhelmed him. The cafeteria lights seemed to grow brighter, burning his eyes. Everyone around him seemed to be screaming as they spoke to their friends.
Cailean pushed open the doors to the cafeteria and stepped into the courtyard. Above him, the sun burned brightly. For a moment, the light blinded him, coloring his field of view with a pure, white light. As the door closed behind him, though, the sounds started to quiet down and the smells faded. Of course, there were still plenty of students outside, but it didn’t compare to the interior of the building. Steadying his breathing, Cailean could feel his heartbeat returning to normal and his thoughts clearing up.
Stumbling toward a bench, Cailean fell into a seat and set his backpack on the ground next to him. Cailean placed his elbows on the table and rested his forehead on his palms. He heard footsteps approaching him and assumed Brooke had already worked her way through the line, so Cailean sat up straighter and lifted his head. He didn’t want to give her any reason to assume there was something wrong.
When he looked up, though, Cailean couldn’t see Brooke anywhere. There were a multitude of student wandering around the courtyard, so it made sense that he would hear frequent footsteps.
Cailean looked around, examining his surroundings. To his left there was an open area with a few benches surrounding a large planter with a few green shrubs. Beyond that was a building which housed most of the classrooms. Cailean sat at a bench in the outdoor seating area which was covered from the sun by a large awning. The library was directly behind him and there was a dirt lot to his right. He was fairly certain that the school didn’t own the lot, technically, but many students would spend their lunch playing sports out there.
Cailean exhaled deeply, trying to calm himself down a bit. He couldn’t figure out why his nerves were on such high alert, but he hoped things would calm down as he grew more accustomed to the larger school.
“Hey,” an angry voice spat from behind Cailean. Cailean turned to see an eighth-grader scowling down at him. Two other boys stood at his sides wearing similar expressions. All three of them were far taller and more muscular than most of the other kids.
“Hello.”
“You’re in my seat.”
“Strange, I guess your ‘Reserved’ sign blew away,” Cailean shrugged.
“You must be new. Clearly you don’t know how things work around here.”
“That’s the line you’re going with?”
“What?”
“I don’t know, it just feels cliché. Wait, are you a bully?” Cailean laughed. “Am I getting bullied?”
“Get away from our table,” he ordered, ignoring Cailean’s sarcasm. Cailean stood, placing himself between the table and the bullies. Each of them stood at least a foot taller than him, so Cailean looked upward. Amusement forced its way onto his face as Cailean processed the situation.
“I don’t think I will.”
The boy in the middle – the one who had been talking – shoved Cailean. Surprised, Cailean almost stepped backward, but the bench was in his way. Barely able to maintain his balance, Cailean stood his ground.
“Pushing people isn’t nice,” Cailean taunted.
“I recognize you,” the bully smirked, stepping backward and looking at Cailean. Cailean observed his face and his mannerisms carefully. “You’re that weird kid who freaked out in the hallway, aren’t you?”
“Hey!” Another voice called out angrily. Cailean heard a tray slam down on the table behind him as Brooke walked around the table. “Leave him alone.”
“Oh, here’s your girlfriend to protect you again. Look, guys, this little brat needs a girl to defend him.”
Cailean held his arm in front of Brooke, keeping her behind him. Adopting the bully’s smirk, he looked up intimidatingly.
“I don’t need a girl to protect me,” Cailean said menacingly, “but she may prevent me from killing you.”
“Oh yeah?” The bully puffed his chest out and stepped toward Cailean in an attempt to intimidate him. Cailean didn’t budge.
“Why don’t you go walk away and let me and Brooke eat our lunch in peace?” Cailean offered. A crowd had begun to gather, and all eyes were pasted on Cailean. The bully’s resolve wavered for a second. Clearly, he wasn’t used to being challenged. Hardening his face, though, he stood his ground. With so many other students watching, Cailean knew that the eighth-graders wouldn’t back down.
“Alright, Father,” he thought. “Time to stand out.”
As the bully took a step toward him, Cailean closed the distance, stepping off to the side and driving his fist into his assailant’s ribs. The older kid clutched his stomach and fell backward, falling to a seated position. Rocking in pain, he was incapacitated in one attack. His friends looked scared, but they weren’t willing to give up either. One threw a poorly aimed haymaker toward Cailean, who stepped in and drove his forearm into the attacker’s bicep. Following up, he landed an elbow at the boy’s solar plexus – knocking the wind out of him. To end his combination, he swept the boy’s leg out from under him and pushed him to the ground. The third boy ran toward Cailean. Without hesitation, Cailean lifted his leg and extended it to his side, driving his heel into his opponent’s stomach. The boy was launched backward a few feet and landed hard against the concrete.
Nonchalantly, Cailean turned away from the three boys writhing on the floor and back to his table. Sitting down, he fished through his bag for his lunch. Brooke, surprised, hesitated before taking her seat across from him. Cailean could still feel the eyes of all of the other students as they peered at him in disbelief.
“What was that?” Brooke asked.
“I know karate.”
“Evidently.”
“I’m sorry if that was too violent. I get it if you don’t want to eat with me,” Cailean quietly told her. Fear flooded his mind as he said it because he was terrified she’d actually leave. The moment before she replied was the longest he’d ever experienced.
“Are you kidding? That was awesome!”
“You really think so?”
“Of course. Those guys are jerks, they deserved it.”
“Well, in that case, let’s eat quickly. I don’t think I have long before one of the teachers or security guards notices this.”
❖ ❖ ❖
“Mr. Phoenix,” the principal began slowly. Cailean and his father sat in the principal’s office awaiting whatever discipline was deemed necessary. “Your son was in a fight with three eighth graders today.”
“They started it,” Cailean pitched in. “They pushed
me.”
“It doesn’t matter who started it,” the principal sighed. “There is a zero-tolerance policy for fighting on campus.”
“So I was supposed to let them push me around, both literally and figuratively?”
Aldric, apparently satisfied with the way Cailean was handling himself, leaned back in his chair silently with his arms crossed over his chest. Cailean couldn’t tell if his steely gaze was meant for him or for his accuser, but it was intimidating nonetheless.
“Of course not, but there is always an alternative.”
“No,” Aldric interjected. “There isn’t. If Cailean is saying he didn’t have a choice, then I believe him.”
“Sir,” the principal began slowly.
“Have you spoken with any of the witnesses?” Aldric asked.
“I have spoken with all involved.”
“So you got three friends to corroborate stories and have chosen to blame the victim because you blindly accept the word of three eighth-graders with wounded pride?”
“I…”
“I don’t understand why you called me down here.”
“I’m going to have to suspend Cailean,” the principal declared firmly.
“If you hinder my son’s education for defending himself, rest assured that there will be a law suit in your near future.”
“Sir…”
“No. Don’t waste another minute of my time. Conduct an investigation – obtain actual witnesses – or drop it.”
The principal’s face twitched for a moment as he tried to regain control of the situation. Glancing between Cailean and his father, he tripped over his words and eventually stopped trying to speak. Sighing deeply, he looked down at the paper in front of him.
“They told me that you were sitting where they typically eat. They asked if they could sit there and you responded violently. Would you like to tell me your side of the story?”
“Okay,” Cailean accepted, sitting up straighter. He was grateful for his father’s forcefulness because he was confident that the principal wouldn’t have even listened to him without Aldric’s support. It was clear that the evidence looked bad for Cailean – there were three people who agreed on a set story and all of them were wounded while Cailean didn’t have a scratch. Regardless, Cailean was convinced that if anyone took the time to ask Brooke or any of the students outside, he would be vindicated.
His reaction was intentional and excessive, of course. It would have been simple for Cailean to dissolve the tension by walking away or by using an arm bar instead of throwing strikes. Still, he had allowed them to publicly shove him in order to build the perception that he was a victim.
“I was sitting there and they came up and demanded that I leave the table. I told them I wouldn’t – I was there first after all. I stood up, just trying to talk. The guy who seemed to be in charge pushed me. I didn’t even attack after that, but then Brooke came up behind me. I was concerned that they’d hurt us both, so when he took a step toward me, I punched him. His friends both tried to attack me, so I punched one and kicked the other. I only used the required amount of force to ensure my own safety and that of my friend.”
“Mr. Phoenix, do you see my dilemma here?” The principal asked, turning his attention to Aldric. “Even your own son has admitted to attacking these boys.”
“He has admitted to defending himself – and that is not a crime. Is self-defense disallowed on this campus?”
“No…”
“Then I don’t expect to hear of this again. Please don’t waste my time.”
Aldric stood and walked toward the door. Hesitating, Cailean looked back and forth between his father and the principal. When Aldric opened the door, though, Cailean stood and rushed to his father’s side. Aldric’s cold gaze didn’t lighten up, so Cailean began to worry about what was running through his father’s mind. The two of them walked outside and found a place where they were out of earshot from anyone else.
“How badly did you hurt them?” Aldric finally asked.
“They’ll be fine, they just had to catch their breath.”
“How many people saw?”
“A lot,” Cailean admitted.
“What do you think it looked like?”
“What do you mean?”
“What would you have thought if you saw it?”
“I think they would think I am a good fighter. I don’t think they would guess what I am – they were just happy to see the bully dethroned. I think I stood out.”
“That you did,” Aldric nodded. Slowly, his stone-cold expression softened. Aldric rubbed Cailean’s hair and pulled him in for a hug.
Chapter 6
Seven Years Ago
Aldric
“Can we play?” Cailean asked, eagerly tugging on Aldric’s pants. Sitting at his desk, Aldric sighed deeply. It had been quite a while since he’d had a moment to think. Even with his lycanthropic stamina, he found himself becoming fatigued. The problem wasn’t that he didn’t have the physical capacity to keep up with his son – who was quite possibly an endless stream of energy – but he had trouble with the mental component. He couldn’t remember the last time he’d been able to think or have an actual adult conversation without hearing, “why?” every second.
Cailean’s tugging became more forceful, threatening to rip a hold in Aldric’s pants. With a quiet groan, Aldric rubbed his forehead with his thumb and two fingers as he rested his elbow on his desk. Realizing that any attempt to regain focus was futile, Aldric closed the book in front of him without bothering to mark his page. There was nothing supernatural about his ability to recall the information; he merely hadn’t passed the first page before being interrupted.
“What would you like to play?” Aldric questioned, trying to sound more pleased than he actually was. He didn’t want his son to notice his lack of desire to play and take that as a personal offense.
“I don’t know,” the boy shrugged, releasing the cuff of Aldric’s pants. Tucked under his right arm was a stuffed gray wolf. Aldric had yet to tell his son much about his lycanthropy, but Cailean had selected that specific toy from the store and was unable to be dissuaded. Since then, he had carried the animal with him everywhere, and he slept with it nightly. Aldric had taught him not to fear the dark by refusing to grant him a nightlight, but Linda had insisted that he be allowed to sleep with his wolf. After all, it wasn’t a security blanket as much as it was a connection to the item itself.
“Well, why distract me if you don’t have a plan?” Aldric groaned, too coldly.
“Let’s play something fun!” Cailean offered.
“Ambiguous,” Aldric muttered.
“What’s ambigagus?”
“Ambiguous,” Aldric corrected. “It’s when your answer doesn’t provide any actual decision, so it’s inexact.”
“Oh,” Cailean thought for a moment, placing a finger pensively on his lips. His eyes drifted upward as he searched his mind, making connections between the newly presented information and that which he already possessed. “So because I said I wanted to play a fun game, but it wasn’t clear, it’s ambigagus?”
“Ambiguous.”
“Ambiguous,” Cailean sounded out slowly.
“That’s right,” Aldric praised.
“I know!” Cailean added excitedly, quickly moving past his new vocabulary word. “Let’s play Fight.”
“Fight’s not a game,” Aldric informed him.
“It is if we make it up,” Cailean reasoned.
“I suppose I can’t argue with your flawless logic.”
Cailean smiled, proudly standing tall and placing his hands on his hips. Aldric wasn’t sure that he actually understood what he’d said, but clearly Cailean was able to discern at least the context.
“So, can we play Fight?”
“How do we play?” Aldric inquired, finally turning from his desk and looking down at his son.
“We fight,” Cailean cheered. Without warning, he jumped forward, grabbing at Aldric’s arm. Y
ears of training taught Aldric to react instinctively, so he barely noticed as he dropped his hand and threw a light back-knuckle at Cailean’s chest. Connecting while Cailean was in the air, Aldric’s counter was enough to redirect the boy’s momentum and send him flying backward. Cailean collided with the wall on the other side of the room with a thud and slid to the ground. As he looked up at his father, tears welled in his eyes. Aldric sighed, standing and walking toward him to try to comfort him, scolding himself for his lack of control. He knew better, and he couldn’t hide behind his past. He’d trained with countless humans, so Aldric had been forced to learn how to pull his punches. Still, it was far too easy to slip back into his basic instincts and become too violent for his child.
Cailean’s chest began heaving as he sat against the wall. Aldric dreaded the moment of explaining to his wife how he’d hurt their son that time. Despite the fact that the boy was a werewolf and healed nearly instantly, Linda was very overprotective. Cailean’s shoulders rose and fell as he cried silently. As Aldric got closer, though, he saw that Cailean’s frown twisted into a smile and he jumped onto his feet, laughing hysterically.
“Yeah!” Cailean yelled excitedly, pumping his fist into the air. With a roar, he raced forward, ducking his head down as if it would increase his speed or protect him from a defensive attack. Charging blindly at his father with the wolf swinging wildly from one hand, Cailean barreled forward. Smoothly, Aldric stepped to the side and gently placed a hand on Cailean’s lower back as he passed him, pushing the boy. With the extra force, Cailean tripped over his feet and dropped to the ground, rolling over his shoulder before falling to his side and tumbling into the wall.
Cailean stood shakily to his feet and placed the wolf at his side. “Wait here, Nina,” Cailean ordered. Aldric couldn’t recall whether his son had ever given an explanation for the name, but the boy had taken a liking to it.
Quickly learning from his mistakes, Cailean didn’t charge quite as recklessly this time. Instead, he kept his head up as he ran. In an attempt to confuse his father, he skidded to a stop just before he reached Aldric. Of course, Aldric didn’t budge, as he could predict the child’s movements with near perfection. Cailean threw a punch toward Aldric’s leg, but his short arms prevented him from reaching their target.