A Deranged Man

"Most of my classmates told me that there were tiny cockroaches and flies stuck up inside my huge brain. Is it true, mom?" I curiously utter to her with my mouth and fingers shivering while she gently swings the ropes of the swing I was on.

Dad intentionally built me a wooden seat suspended by ropes under the huge oak tree in my favorite place on the island owned by my parents - in front of the wide blue ocean.

He also put my best friends, mommy bear, daddy bear, and baby bear on the swing. The three of them were said to be teddy bears that can speak nothing but my name.

Since then, I keep visiting the swing as it always helps me clear up my bothered mind. However, no matter how hard I try to remove the thought of having tiny insects in my brain, it only makes me feel more bothered.

The swing and the bears no longer work for me. And it worries me to the point that I search the entire mansion to look for a hammer to crack my head and check myself if their claims are true.

Unfortunately, my dad and mom are werewolf doctors and scientists, not carpenters to keep hammers or any similar tools I could use to open my brain.

They have thousands of syringes with pointed needles in their drawers but I am terrified of them - that every time I could see one, it bitters my stomach and causes my mouth to puke.

"No, it's not, honey." mom utters in a calm tone. "your classmates were only envious of you because you have the smartest brain in the world - that no matter how hard they read books, no one can outsmart you. You're on top of your class, remember?"

"Really? I'm smart because my wolf will be turning eighteen in a few days, right?" sunshine flooded my soul with that news. Then, I grabbed mommy bear and gently swings her in my arms.

"I think it's time for you to drink your meds. Can you stay here with the bears?" she lets go of her hands from the ropes of the swing.

"Why?" mom was very patient every time I bombarded her with questions.

Mom slightly crouches and crawled her arms onto my lap and said, "I'll ask your new nanny to bring you cookies. You love cookies, right?"

"I love four cookies. One for mommy bear. One for daddy bear. And one for baby bear and me. Give me four cookies, mom. Thank you."

"All right. Sit still, okay?" was mom's last words before she disappeared from the swing.

My name is Charles Bridgerton. A second-year werewolf college student with what my parents referred to as Autism Spectrum Disorder. I don't know what that means, but my classmates said it has something to do with my big smart brain.

Some of them also dubbed me the "Deranged Man" because I sometimes cry, laugh, and sing kid songs in the middle of our professor's discussion. And worst of all, I sometimes repeated my professor's discussion from his first word till when he stopped talking.

Funny to share but, my wolf already used up four pencils in just a week, not because I use them to write, but because I like crushing its wooden stick into pieces using my teeth.

And what I hated the most is when someone touched my personal belongings. When that event in my life happens, I always lost consciousness and woke up with a few drops of blood staining my body.

Mom and dad said I shifted into a beast the humans could barely imagine. That was also the time when mom and dad come to the rescue and always clean up the mess I made.

"Mr. Bridgerton, here are your cookies! Your mom freshly took them out from the oven." eagerly says my sixth nanny for this month.

Her expression upon seeing my trembling arms and mouth abruptly changed as I expected. Since the first nanny, my parents hired, they looked at me the same. A deranged man.

My wolf completely doesn't like the idea of having a nanny who always tails me everywhere I go. They go farther even in the toilet. I mean, I'm turning into a legal adult in a few days. Despite my indifference, I still feel uncomfortable and ashamed.

To my surprise, the new nanny snatched the mommy bear away from me and changed it into cookies. She even dares smile at me while trying to feed my mouth.

"Why did you do it? I hate you!" I yell at her before I jumped out of the swing and tears began pouring down my cheeks.

Then, I pushed her away by force when the beast inside me wanted to take over my human body. And I hope my parents invented a miracle switch control for my wolf to make sure no one gets hurt anymore.

Chloie POV

"Congratulations, your sim number has won $5,000,000! To claim the prize, please call me for further instructions as soon as you get this message. Thank you!" sender: +1 (646) 555...

It was a shocking message coming from unknown and unregistered digits that completely changed the cycles of my life. Who could not be?

Getting that kind of amount in a blink of an eye is such a blessing coming from heaven that falls upon us amongst the billions of people around the world. All these years, the family I had has been suffering from extreme poverty.

My mom, Charise, works as a street vendor while my dad, Virgil, also works as a garbage collector. However, their income combined was still not enough to fill and fit our daily needs.

Some people, especially our loquacious and "nothing-to-do" neighbors, considered my parents disgusting, pitiful, and irresponsible for having four poor children despite the adversaries of life.

But for me, never have I ever thought of them that way. I am very proud of them, especially mom who endures working day and night to keep us four alive.

So, when the message popped up in my inbox, I immediately informed my parents about it. All their suffering was lifted and superseded by happiness.

My name is Chloie Clarkson. Twenty-one years old but still nailed in my second year of college because I have been in and out of school. I am the eldest of three poor siblings.

Many believed that everything parents have - land, money, houses, and all with value will be inherited by the eldest. Indeed as the eldest, I inherited everything my parents have.

Sad to say, everything was not reasonable but continuous heartaches, humiliation, and insults as it turned out the person we negotiated with for the prize that I won was a big scam.

Dad and mom were flooded with more debt because they borrowed hundreds of thousands of dollars with interest from banks, shark loans, and their friends in order to pay for the required amount to claim the prize.

We even pawn our tiny piece of land where we built our simple abode. The worst part is that the one-year contract for the mortgage is about to expire and we haven't paid even a portion of it.

Because I brought this karma upon my family, I was forced to work a few part-time jobs day and night. Wasting even a minute of my time was like letting my parents believe I am not a good daughter - that I really sucked things up.

"Chloie, take a look at this. Quick!" exclaims one of my classmates while she put her undivided attention to the screen of her phone.

Out of curiosity, I stop answering someone's paid school assignments and catch a glimpse of the screen of her phone. Our professor did not show up, so I still have an hour free and made it profitable. So, I answered someone's assignment for a few bucks.

At first, I thought my classmate was simply watching Korean dramas but a job website instead. I already have a few part-time jobs, so it was the least of my interest. But, I'm interested to know their benefits.

"Cool!" she added before she pointed the screen at me. "So, it happens that I was browsing for a better job than your six part-time jobs combined. I got two."

The first secretariat position she referred to me comes from a well-known company just a few blocks away from the school but the job qualifications are also high. Even the benefits are also promising.

The second position intrigued us the most when someone was looking for a nanny for their eighteen-year-old son. And their benefits were ten times more promising than the secretariat position.

For me, the job was too good to be true. It was a BIG NO. And I am pretty convinced it was another scam business scam to scam applicants.

Aside from the excellent benefits, the applicants who are willing to apply are furthermore given one-day free accommodations on the cruise ship since the interview will be held on a small private island a few kilometers from the mainland.

I mean who's deranged man is willing to give that full privilege for a nanny position?

"Which among the two would you like to choose? Or would you try both? As the old proverb goes to say, two is better than one, right?"

The proverb was indeed right that two or more are always better than one. However, I have to be more realistic here. I already learned my lesson from the five-million-dollar case that cost us our fortune.

I don't want the extreme trauma that my family felt in those days will recall to our memories. Needless to say, a single penny is worth a thousand for us already.

Before picking one, I heaved an abrupt sigh and utter, "I'll give my everything to the secretariat position. And it so happens that I always bring my resume and application form with me."

"What are you waiting for? This well-known company was just a few blocks away from us. Go! Give your best shot." she helps me boost my confidence.

Without further ado, I grabbed my purse and rushed to the building for the interview. Thirty minutes after the first interview is another downfall for me.

I barely passed the preliminary interview because of my poor work experience. Out of the six companies that I have experienced working for, three months was the longest that I lasted.

The funniest thing about failing the preliminary interview is that after thirty minutes, I found myself being one of the passengers on a cruise ship and realize only when the captain announces our journey. It was heading to the second job my classmate recommended to me.