Mom's necklace

Though it was late in the night, Amber could not get herself to sleep. She sat on the big bed with her legs folded against her chest and her hands gripping it tightly. When she saw the tree branches swaying outside her window, she decided to take a walk. She slowly opened her door, peeped through to see the desolated corridor. She tiptoed out of the grand hall and corned by the left, where her window is facing. She found a concrete bench in the middle of the small garden, and she sat on it, going through the day's activities in her head.

"Just so boring," she lamented.

"What about a cup of hot coffee, then?" A voice spoke, and she trembled as she looked back; it was Miss Peyton.

"Miss Peyton, I'm sorry for coming out this late. I'll just retire to my room now." She muttered words subconsciously with her eyes blinking behind her glasses, but Miss Peyton gave her a smile.

"It's fine; you already violated the rule, and some rules are meant to be bent." She took her seat beside Amber and gave her a cup of coffee, sipping hers.

"What are you doing out here?" Amber asked out of curiosity.

"I heard the sound of your door, so I followed you here. Why don't we talk about something else? The half of the year is in two months; how anxious are you to become a wolf?"

Amber sighed and looked straight. "Two months is all I have left, right?"

"What do you mean by that?" Peyton's brows were raised.

"Can I trust you with this?" She asked and scoffed.

"Even if I can't, does it make any difference?" She added.

"What do you mean?"

"I can't access my wolf side," she said, burying her head on her legs, and Miss Peyton laughed loudly and quickly covered her mouth with her hand not to wake anyone up.

"That is because we are not in the second half of the year yet. Maybe you weren't prepped well before coming here; I'll do that now. Long time ago, there was war in the werewolf world because wolves experienced their shift at random times, which could even endanger the wolf, so the moon goodness and the witches decided that on the first of the half month of the year, every wolf who was to turn eighteen or had turned eighteen that year would access their sides, so wait a little more while." She finished the statement with a smile.

"I know that, but the moon goddess has cursed my pack, so I can't access my wolf side."

"Cursed? So why are you here? To spread your curse in this pack?" Miss Peyton, now furious, stood up and shut Amber up, who was about to explain further.

"If you know what is good for you, park your things by tomorrow and leave. If not, you might not make it out of here alive," she said, leaving.

Amber dropped to the bench, sobbing. Then she heard her Alpha's voice again.

"I'll always be here to help you."

Amber looked in the direction of the voice, but she could see no one. She huffed and went back to her room.

The next morning, the students were assembled in the hall. Miss Peyton walked in with a frown, jammed her hands together, and a pin-drop silence fell upon the hall.

"Who is Amber Emerson?" Her voice was harsh, and her eyes carefully ransacked the hall, looking for the person, when a hand popped up.

"I'm Amber Emerson."

Miss Peyton scoffed and gave her a disgusting look. "You again? Always violating the rules! See me immediately after breakfast."

*

Knock! Knock!!

"Come in," Miss Peyton's voice said from behind the door, and Amber slowly opened the door.

Miss Peyton rolled her eyes as she walked further into the office.

"Being cursed isn't enough." Now you have to lie to the school authorities?"

"I don't quite understand what you're saying, Miss Peyton."

"How old are you?"

"He would be eighteen by next month."

"Eighteen or nineteen?" She said that, and Amber looked at her, surprised.

"I'm really eighteen. If this is because of last night, it's fine; I'll go park my bags. I never wanted to be here in the first place." She retorted and turned to leave.

"Why did you beat up a student?"

She slightly turned her head. "Because she messed up with the wrong person," she said, and she left the office.

She went to the school call center; she met two students, so she had to wait for two minutes—one minute per student. When it finally went to her turn, she punched her mom's number on the phone, and she picked it up almost immediately.

"Hello, mom. It's Amber. Can you come pick me up at school? Like right now? ...... Okay, thanks. I'll be expecting you."

She dropped the phone and went to her room to park her bags.

*

Peyton stood up and began to pace the office, thinking about what Wenda, the witch, had told her. Wenda opened the door, and Peyton's gaze was fixed on her as she walked in.

"Why the urgent meeting, Peyton?" Wenda asked, sitting and crossing her legs.

"Didn't you say there was going to be an oddity in the grand hall?" She bent over, looking at Wenda, who was looking at the view outside the window.

"There wasn't an oddity." She looked into her eyes with a grin.

"There was!" Peyton stood up straight.

"And you said she was going to stand out, but the odd is cursed," she began to pace again.

"You're going to make my head spin, Peyton. Stop that already."

"Mine is already spinning, so just give me the answer I want." She stopped pacing around.

"Fine! You said she's cursed; are the others also cursed? That means she stands out." She laughed mischievously.

"If you send her out of this school, you'll endanger her life, and you will live to regret it. I'll see you some other time." She left the office.

Peyton rushed to stop Amber, but when she got to her room, it was empty. She quickly sent a message to the security department through a mental link.

"Nobody goes in or out of this school, and if a nerd-looking girl has left, make sure you find her."

"Taken, Miss Peyton."

*

Amber went to the gate after finishing packing her things, but she was stopped by security.

"Where are you going?"

"I'm going home," she said and made to leave, but the security man stepped in her way, and she looked up to him.

"There is an order that nobody goes in or out of, so I'm afraid you have to stay here till the order is lifted."

"Fine!" She scoffed and sat in the security department.

Peyton met with the security officer in charge and walked to Amber.

"I was about to leave; I'm just waiting for the order to be lifted," she said, backing away.

"I'm sorry for how I reacted earlier. I shouldn't have said any of those.

"But the fact still remains that you did," Amber cut in.

"You can stay if you want," Peyton said with a smile, and Amber looked at her.

"Thank goodness you said if I want. Well, I never wanted to be in a wolf school because I see myself as a human, so if you would excuse me, I have to go now." She stood up, grabbed her bags, and took some steps away from Peyton.

"You're here for a purpose; why don't you try and see for yourself?" Peyton's soothing words calmed her.

"Only this once!"

Peyton smiled and was relieved she was able to convince her. She helped her bring her bags back to the room.

"I'll go call my mom not to bother coming." She said that, and Peyton nodded, smiling as she watched the retreating figure disappear.

She decided to help her unpack, and she saw a necklace. She instantly remembered it, and Amber walked in on her.

"Whose necklace is this?" Peyton's voice was shaky.

"My mom's. Any problem?" She asked as she moved closer.

"It's time to get it done," Peyton said, dropped the necklace, and left the room.