New Day Rising

I was running away from someone or something. I didn't know.

My bones ached as I pushed my body to the limit. Cryinig out in pain I hit the ground - running. Only this time on all fours. My body shot forward faster than it ever had. My senses were hightened, making it easier to dodge trees and brush in my way. 

I could do this. I could out run it. But something pulled me towards another part of the forest. The part our parents have warned us not to ever step foot on. I had paws, so technically I wasn't breaking any rules. Smiling to myself I ran across the forest feeling so alive and free.

The closer I got, the more I felt a need to be there. A burning desire mixed with a sense of duty. As a track athlete I knew how to run. I knew how to bring a team together even though most track and field sports are individual competitions. I was running towards a new team. A team that needed me. 

Warm scents surrounded me. My entire being felt relaxed and I wanted to stop running. 

The moon was right there. At the treeline. I needed to get to the moon, to see the moon.

Pounding my paws on the dirt I pushed myself so hard to make it to the moon but before I do, I black out. 

***

I woke up in my twin sized bed that was wet from my own sweat. My long dirty blong hair was wet from it. So gross!

"Mom, I'm serious, these dreams are getting more and more vivid. I need to see a doctor! What if it's a cardiac issue. Colleges are going to be recruiting me this year, I have to be the best out there."

I had showered after stripping the sheets off of my bed and even my tank and sleep shorts that were soaked through like I had run a marathon. Winter break was over and it was back to school. In two weeks I'd be in pre-season training. And hopefully by the end of the semester I'll have secured a scholarship to a good college. But for anyone to notice me I'd need to be at the top of my game. I was tall and skinny on top, but I had some seriously big thighs which were pure muscle. I looked like a Russian tennis player. Blue eyes, blond hair, no boobs. Unlike my mom. She was fit but curvy. Her hair was naturally bright blond with golden highlights that seemed too good to be true, but she was all natural. 

"I'll call Dr. Marshall again but he said that it's just part of puberty." She shrugged it off like it was no big deal.

"I'm not talking about wet dreams here, mom! This isn't normal. Please can we go to another doctor?" Dr. Marshall was the internal doctor in town and had been my physician since we moved here after dad died, almost 2 years ago now. Dad died of a heart attack while working out. He was a very healthy man and taught me that my body is a like a good car. It needs the best fuel and to be driven often to be useful. I was a little girl when my dad told me this. I loved listening to him talk, even if I didn't understand a lot of it. He was really into restoring old cars so most of his advice was car related.

"We'll see, honey. Now scoot your boot or you'll be late again. For someone who is so fast, I don't know how you are rarely on time." My mom, Carol, was gathering her stuff for work. She's found work as a make-up consultant at the mall. She's a naturally beautiful woman so other women ask her for tips and tricks on make-up. Apparently one of the beauty counters at Macy's had a spot available and overheard her helping out a customer who bought every item she had suggested. She was hired that day. Things tend to fall into her lap like that. I don't know if her looks have anything to do with it, but I wouldn't be shocked.

"Fine. I'm going but you know you should be eating a full meal. Like dad always said, food is fuel! Love you, mom! Bye!" I shut the door and dashed the quarter of a mile to school. I could take the bus or get a ride but I love running outdoors. Usually this is a nice time to walk but my mom was right, I would be late if I didn't put some pep in my step.

***

"Miss Henderson, so nice of you to join us." I was winded and sweating but I didn't care. I wasn't at school to become the Prom Queen, I was here to learn and get a track scholarship.

"Sorry about that, Mrs. Bishop. Won't happen again." She rolled her brown eyes and continued to welcome everyone back from break. We both knew I as lying. My night terrors were causing me to miss my alarm since sometime this past fall. 

"Everyone should have read To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee, The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne, and Night by Ellie Wiesel. Why are these books important? What themes do they have in common? Well, that's for you to tell me in your final essay due at the end of the semester. It counts as 40% of your total grade so make sure you put some effort into it. Double spaced, Times New Roman font, at least 2 pages but don't exceed 4 because I have a life outside of school too." Groans because of the assignment became laughter since it's hard to think of a teacher outside of school actually having a social life and a family. Mrs. Bishop was very pretty. She always wore her dark brown hair in a long French braid down her back.

The rest of my morning classes went by quickly. Lunch was the worst. Everyone had somewhere to sit. From popular kids to jocks, cheerleaders, nerds, to quiet loners. My "friends" were teammates that I met last year after I made the track team. I had quickly became the team captain but it was because of my performance, not my ability to be social.

But I didn't feel like I fit in. Even in a table full of people that were similar to me in what they liked to do, staying healthy, eating right, pre and post game workouts, I still felt like a fish out of water. 

Dad died without warning. The insurance company paid out what they thought deemed his life to be worth, but it wasn't enough to cover the funeral, mortgage, and living expenses in our cushy little town near the Hills. His company was a start-up so they weren't very helpful like a more established corporation would be in our situation. 

It forced my mom to move in with her second cousin who was a hermit. Ginny was 60-something years old but looked like she could be 80. She collected newspaper clippings on old murder cases and read books about werewolves. She swore she saw one, knew of them even, this was all before I was born. And it's because of her fear of werewolves she hasn't left her house in over a decade.

That's probably why I've had dreams of wolves and the moon. She has moon shrines everywhere. Orders funky stuff online like crystals, books about the moon, and she has Selene, or as she refers to her since she is not one of their children like the wolves are, Moon Goddess candles. Ginny even celebrates the new moon and full moon like they are holidays. 

Mom and I got the house back in some sort of order, Ginny lost her sh*t when she saw us throwing out her books and old newspapers and candles that were only a burnt wick left. Mom does the grocery shopping and cooking for her, well us, and I help her with other chores so we get to stay there rent free. 

Today's "healthy" lunch was a kids lunchable pack. I couldn't just pull that out and eat it in front of everybody because it was for kids and the truth is, cold cuts aren't that healthy.  I sat and drank my water bottle at the end of the table, only getting up to refill it. 

"Hey, Legs!" Legs was my unfortunate nickname at this high school. Unsurprisingly, I didn't give myself. When I competed and won in last years state track competition it counted as a win for the team. I was seen as a goddess among mere mortals with my win. The jocks were all over me with high fives and even butt swats, which I hated almost as much as my nickname.  The boys also commented on how long my legs were, hence the unwanted nickname. Usually only the jocks gave me some sort of attention but today was different.

"Not my name, dude." I tried to force some attitude behind my calm facade. This could feel his presence before he even had yelled to me from across the cafeteria. 

"Funny. Dude isn't my name. Henry." He held out his hand. I knew exactly who he was. He was the second most popular guy in school. 

"Hi, Henry, I'm Tara. I didn't know you had lunch this period."

"I don't, but Max and I snuck out of English literature to come by and say hi to you, Tara." Henry said. He had golden locks of hair and hazel eyes and his lop sided smile that just made you want to open up to him.

If Henry was a GQ model, Max was a Calvin Klein model. Think about Mark Wahlberg in those Calvin Klein underwear. Add some bulk and pretty blue eyes and you've got Max. Max was the quarterback of our high school football team, the lead in the school musicals, and top of our class. How he did it all of that was beyond me. He seemed to good to be true. Why are they talking to me?