Pi Market

     The following morning, I woke up early and quickly took a refreshing shower. I chose a light yellow plain shirt and a well-fitted pair of old, worn jeans from the limited selection of clothes I possessed. Regardless of whether they were new or old, I was always grateful for any clothing I received. Because I have nothing. I combed my damp hair and let it air dry, intending to tie it back in a messy bun later. 

     After making myself as presentable as possible, I organized my school enrollment papers neatly on the table.

After a few minutes, the sound of footsteps descending the stairs caught my attention. Pink emerged, her pink hair tousled from sleep.

With a sleepy smile, she greeted me, "Good morning," and approached.

Returning her greeting, I replied, "Good morning." 

"We will accompany you," she declared

I just nodded at her. Pink's determination to accompany me was clear, and I sensed that she wouldn't easily give up. She smiled and decided to take a bath. Soon, she returned after her bath, dressed in her overall pink cute style. Pink shorts and a matching long-sleeved blouse.

"Lucy is still sleeping? She needs a prince charming's kiss to wake up," Pink joked while applying pink lipstick, 

"Who needs a charming prince?" Lucy asked as she descended the stairs.

"Nothing," Pink chuckled in response.

     Lucy's unruffled straight hair impressed me, even after she had just woken up. She saw us just already in our outwear clothes then she decided to take a bath. Then she emerged from her bath in her usual gothic attire, her makeup featuring bold black eyeshadow.

     Together, we made our way to the dining area for breakfast, where we enjoyed a meal of rice, tocino, and eggs. With breakfast finished, we set off for school. 

     Lucy informed me that our street, Omicron, was just two streets away from the school, which was situated on Rho Street. As we walked through Omicron, I observed the various houses, including Peach's residence where we were staying. Alongside Peach's house were a light blue and a red one, both serving as homes for unmated and orphaned female werewolves.

     Passing Pi Street, which is the only market in the barangay. I asked about the stall selling near barangay hall. They said that stall is for human only. We continued walking for about 15 minutes until we reached Rho Street, where the school was located. The school provided education from preschool to grade 12, with limited college courses such as education, medicine, agriculture, and business management. Enrolling in another city required the Alpha's permission for werewolves. 

     We entered the building designated for grade 11, where I completed my enrollment. To my surprise, the teacher informed us that classes would begin the following week, catching me off guard as I had only just graduated from grade 10 a week ago. Another surprise awaited me is both Pink and Lucy were assigned to the same class. Upon seeing my birth certificate, Pink playfully remarked that I was the youngest still 16 years old, with Lucy in the middle and Pink being the oldest, both 17 years old. With our errands completed earlier than anticipated, we decided to spend some time window shopping.

     As we strolled through the market, I marveled at its organized layout. Wet and dry foods were separated into different stalls, and non-food items were arranged in distinct sections. The absence of unpleasant odors was a relief, a stark contrast to my previous experiences in the market back in my old city. Our heightened sense of smell as werewolves made such visits torturous. 

     This all kinds of shop in Pi Market is nearly complete. With various fresh vegetables, fruits, meat, milk and eggs is produced by Kappa. Fish is the only food that Kappa buys in Sagrado. Kappa can also produce wooden furniture and clothing material. But appliances, plastic materials and other chemicals are picked up in Sagrado. Kappa can make many products but only rice can be sold to humans. Because werewolves are very cautious, we don't want to find out our secret. 

   While walking along the pathway, we encountered a group of men, including my brother among them.

"Another fight for Ace's and Uno's subordinates, huh," Lucy commented.

"Ace and Uno?" I questioned.

"They're brothers competing to become the next Alpha," Lucy explained.

"The group with your brother is Ace's subordinate, while the other side is Uno's," Pink clarified.

"I thought the Luna appointed the Alpha," I stated matter-of-factly.

"Due to certain circumstances, our Luna rarely leaves her room. She believes this competition will remedy her negligence," Lucy revealed.

     A competition to determine the new Alpha? I couldn't help but ask, "So who is Uno and Ace among them?" My curiosity about the faces of our potential Alpha was piqued.

"They are not here," Lucy informed me.

"The subordinates are fighting while the leaders are not here?" My disbelief was evident.

"The brothers are not actually fighting. It's the subordinates who are. In fact, the brothers are quite close to each other," Pink explained.

"Then why are the subordinates fighting?" I inquired.

"Because of Tres," Lucy revealed.

     Who was Tres? What were they fighting over? 

Lucy continued, "Well, Tres is a genius werewolf skilled in management and is well-suited to become the barangay captain."

"Then what's the problem?" I probed further.

"The problem is that Uno was the first to discover Tres's talent, but Ace recruited Tres to become his subordinate," Pink chimed in, her expression exaggerated.

"Why don't they just agree that whoever becomes Alpha will appoint Tres as the barangay captain?" I suggested.

"Well, men, especially werewolves, can be complicated creatures to understand," Lucy mused.

"Yeah," Pink agreed.

     Feeling bewildered by the complexity of the situation, I absentmindedly scratched my head. It seemed wiser to swiftly address and comprehend this issue, rather than allowing more problems to accumulate. To Ace and Uno, I silently thought, you need to address this matter promptly to quell the conflict. If one of you becomes the Alpha, past conflicts might resurface, leading to unrest among other subordinates. And will affect on Alpha's health.