Four

With each passing day, I found myself gradually feeling better. The lingering memories of Felix no longer consumed me entirely, though they still hovered at the edges of my thoughts. 

Despite the progress I had made in getting back on track, I woke up at my usual time of 8 am, only to notice that classes seemed to be starting later than usual that morning.

I quickly grabbed whatever clothes were easily accessible, shoved my bag with a random assortment of books, and seized the key to my electric scooter.

I arrived at school, having enough time to savor the sandwich my mother had prepared. I took off my helmet as I walked onto lobby, feeling a bit more relaxed than usual. 

A sense of urgency washed over me as I approached the nearly closed school gate, but the school was unusually abuzz with activity, as clusters of students milled about outside the classrooms, even though it was already 8 am.

I was suddenly tapped on the shoulder, jolting me out of my thoughts. I whipped around quickly, surprised by the unexpected touch.

"Nina?"

Nina let out a small chuckle, folding her arms in front of her chest. 

"Looks like you're running late again, huh? Maybe you need a new alarm clock, Kate. You've been late a lot lately," she observed, her tone slightly surprised by my recent tardiness.

I cracked a smug smile, revealing my deliberate decision to arrive late. 

"I was enjoying the morning air, it's quite pleasant," I explained. Then, I turned to Nina, casually asking, "What are you doing still outside the classroom?"

Nina explained, "Today is our second day to paint. The artworks will be displayed in the school lobby. If I remember correctly, the school owner's son is visiting today as well."

I nodded, feeling a pang of frustration at my memory lapse. 

"Yes, you're right. We need to focus on that painting this week. And you're right, the school owner's son is visiting today," I confirmed, my voice tinged with a hint of irritation at my own forgetfulness.

I followed Nina's gesture, my eyes locking on the fancy car parked in front of the school's main lobby. Frustrated with myself, I slapped my forehead, the realization of my own scatterbrained mood sinking in.

I glanced around, looking for Brittney. "So, where's Brittney?”

Nina exclaimed, her tone laced with a mix of frustration and resignation. "Oh, Moon Goddess, why do I have to deal with this? Brittney went out with Jay to get some brushes and watercolors. I swear, this task is so annoying!"

After a moment, I suddenly remembered that Brittney had mentioned needing a modified pencil today. Frustrated, I let out an irritated sigh and turned to Nina, noticing the ID hanging around her neck.

My brow furrowed in confusion as I asked, "Did the school owner's son give you that ID card?"

"Felix is a student council member and he gave me the ID card. Yesterday, when he tried to give the ID to you, you ignored him," she explained, her voice calm and composed. I let out a sigh, feeling a bit guilty as she handed me the card.

Nina smiled as she handed me the ID card, her tone lighthearted. 

"And I got you the ID card with the pink hanger, since I know it's your favorite," she added, holding up the card for me to take.

I couldn't help but snort at Nina's gushing, feeling a pang of annoyance. I hoisted my backpack onto my back and slowly started walking away from her, eager to escape her endless comments about Felix and me.

Brittney sprinted towards us, her arms filled with a bag of painting supplies, panting slightly as she arrived. She quickly handed us each a drink before addressing the group, her voice breathless but cheerful.

I looked at the drink in my hand, curious about what it might be. 

"What is this?” I inquired, lifting the beverage up to inspect it.

Brittney let out a breathless chuckle before answering, "It's a Nutella latte!"

"Mmm, it smells heavenly," she chimed in, breathing in the aroma of her paper cup.

Brittney took a brief sip of her Nutella latte before setting it down and turning to the group. 

"So, have you guys got any inspiration for this painting yet?" she inquired, her voice eager and hopeful.

"Nope. I don't know either," I admitted, looking around at the others for any ideas.

Nina chimed in, her voice filled with eagerness and enthusiasm. "What if we just do abstract paintings for the whole lobby?"

 Brittney and I exchanged glances, both of us unable to hold back a stifled giggle at Nina's unusual idea.

Brittney rolled her eyes in frustration. 

"Can you believe it? The principal said we had to paint something that has meaning, but she didn't give us any examples. It's so annoying!" she huffed, pouting her lip slightly. "I mean, what are we supposed to paint? It's like she's expecting us to read her mind or something."

Brittney let out a heavy sigh, her shoulders slumping in resignation. 

"Calm down, Brittney. We don't want to get worked up over this, do we?" Nina, sensing Brittney's frustration, placed a gentle hand on her arm. 

"All right, all right. Let's take a deep breath and think this through. Perhaps we should try looking up some inspiration online or taking a walk through the gardens to get ideas for a nature theme," I suggested, aiming to diffuse the tension.

Brittney and Nina both nodded, their faces lightening a bit at suggestions. 

"That's a good idea," Nina said, her tone laced with relief. "Maybe we can find some really cool scenery or pictures that we can use for references."

"Totally, girls," I agreed.

We cautiously entered the room that had been assigned to us and our eyes widened at the sight that lay before us. 

The room was in complete chaos, an explosion of disorganization and disorder. Paintbrushes were scattered everywhere, paint cans lay overturned on the floor, and the once clean room was transformed into a chaotic mess. 

The three of us stood in front of the disaster area, our mouths falling open in shock. 

My heart sank as I took in the sight of the ruined canvas, paint splattered everywhere, and my own broken piece. 

Frustration and anger surged within me as I realized that someone had deliberately and maliciously destroyed our work. 

The evidence of their purposeful vandalism was clear, the room in complete disarray, and our hard work torn, shattered, and smeared.

Brittney let out a strangled cry of despair as she saw her ruined paintings lying among the wreckage. Her eyes filled with tears as she knelt and picked up a shattered piece, her voice tremulous. 

"No, no, no," she whispered, her voice quaking. "Why would someone do this? It's all destroyed..."

Nina stood frozen in shock, her face pale as she took in the havoc surrounding us. Despite her disbelief, she managed to find her voice. 

"I can't believe this," she murmured, her voice quavering. "Calm down, guys. We need to assess the damage before we get too worked up."

My eyes scanned the area, taking in the full devastation. 

"I think someone did this on purpose," I spoke, my voice filled with anger. "This looks deliberate, like someone wanted to sabotage us."

As Brittney stood amongst the chaos, a stream of profanities poured from her lips in anger. 

"Oh, for f*ck's sake! Who the hell would do this?" she ranted, shaking her head in disbelief.

Nina let out a sigh, attempting to act stoic in the face of the chaos. 

"Alright," she said, her voice a mix of resignation and determination. "We still have time to redo it, right? Besides, the principal has warned us not to cause any trouble since the Miracle Academy owner's son is visiting. Let's focus on fixing this instead of looking for trouble."

Brittney's eyes flashed with determination as she countered Nina's suggestion. 

"We're not looking for trouble," she asserted, her voice tinged with stubbornness. "We've worked hard on those three paintings, and time is running out! It's not about causing trouble; it's about justice. Someone destroyed our hard work, and they should be held accountable!"

"Brittney's right. We've put a lot of effort into these paintings," I stated. "And there's CCTV in this room, right? We can check the video footage to find out who did this."

"Whoa, wait a minute," Nina interjected, trying to rein in the situation. "Let's not get ahead of ourselves. The principal has warned us not to cause any trouble. We don't want to risk being expelled from school. Let's not go looking for trouble; we just need to fix this issue and move on."

Brittney turned to Nina, frustration evident on her face. 

"Why are you always so quiet when people bully us?" she asked, her voice rising in irritation. She gestured towards the damaged paintings, the destroyed canvases and scattered brushes. "Look at this! We spent a lot of money on these supplies, not to mention the time we spent working on the paintings!"

"We should clean up some of these ripped canvases now. Then we'll repaint," Nina muttered.

Brittney's eyes narrowed, her voice taking on a sharp edge. 

"We've worked hard on these paintings, and someone comes and damages them like it's nothing," she accused, anger and disappointment evident in her tone. "Don't you think it's unfair? Don't we deserve justice for our hard work being destroyed like this?"

I sat silently, watching the heated exchange between Brittney and Nina, my thoughts racing. I felt uneasy about the situation and the destroyed paintings, but I remained quiet, unsure how to interject in the conversation.

I noticed Nina glance at me, trying to smile reassuringly, but there was something off about her expression. My senses tingled, and I picked up traces of another werewolf's scent mixed with the familiar scent of our paint supplies. The scent was faint, but it was definitely there, and it caught me off guard.

In response to Brittney's anger, Nina hugged her, attempting to soothe her frustration. 

"Shh, calm down. We'll do another piece, okay? Just take a deep breath," she murmured, her voice soft and soothing as she tried to ease the tension.

Brittney nodded in agreement, her expression a mix of determination and resignation. "Alright, then. We'll go see the principal after school and explain everything."

"Okay."

I took a deep breath, trying to control my own emotions, and picked up a broom and a trash can. I started silently cleaning up the shredded canvas fabric, focusing on the task at hand and trying to push the anger and frustration to the back of my mind. 

An unexpected pang of inner agitation began to churn within me, causing my wolfside to react with growls and low groans. Confused and unsettled, I couldn't understand why the vibe was returning all of a sudden.

"Kate, are you okay? Are you hurting somewhere?" she asked, her eyes filled with worry.

"No," I stood there in shock, my eyes scanning the room and taking in the sight of our work destroyed. "I can't believe this. Our paintings, they're all ruined."

The inner wolf within me suddenly cried out, its instincts roaring to life, "Mate! I can sense a mate!" The realization hit me like a thunderbolt, my heart pounding wildly in response to the unexpected discovery.

Brittney, concerned by my sudden outburst, offered to get me some pain pills, assuming that I might be in pain. "Maybe I should get you some pain medication."

I shook my head, gently declining her offer. 

"No, no, I'm alright," I assured her. "I'm just really ticked off because of whoever ruined our work."

Nina was quick to chime in, trying to focus on the task at hand. 

"Don't get too fixated on it," she said, her voice steady. "Let's focus on figuring out what we're going to paint instead."

Brittney made her way to the closet to retrieve an apron but stopped suddenly. "Hey, wait a minute," she exclaimed, her eyes widening in confusion. "Where are the brushes? We left them in here, right?"

I approached the closet and peered inside, my eyes scanning the area where the brushes were normally stored. 

"Let me check," I said, my voice filled with curiosity.

A flicker of anger passed over Brittney's features as she spoke up, her voice laced with annoyance. "Do I have to stay calm? Can't we express our anger when someone has sabotaged our hard work and messed up our paintings?"

"Yeah, let's stay calm," Nina affirmed. "We don't know who did this or their intention. Losing our temper won't solve anything."

Brittney's eyes narrowed as she stared at the empty space where the brushes should have been. Her face contorted with frustration and anger, and she clenched her hands into fists. "Stay calm? Are you kidding me? Someone stole our brushes! How can we paint without brushes?"

"Brittney's right. We need to inform the principal immediately. It's gone too far. These kids are even stealing our brushes now," I asserted, my tone filled with determination.

Nina's expression remained stoic as she spoke up, trying to shift the focus away from the situation. "Maybe the students who took our brushes could have access? Who knows? Could the owner's son be involved?"

"Are you kidding me, Nina? This is blatant theft. Someone has stolen our brushes, and it's completely unacceptable," I asserted, my anger resurfacing.

My eyes widened in disbelief as we both turned towards the sound of applause, only to see a girl standing in front of us, holding a torn-up painting in her hands. 

Her face was adorned with a smug smile as she continued to clap, a mocking expression on her face.

"Congratulations, darling. Your garbage is complete," she taunted, a cruel smirk playing on her lips.