Chapter 1

"Eat your breakfast quickly because I need to leave you off at school and go to my workplace. Mr Jenkins has already phoned me multiple times..." My father grumbled as he ate large scoops of cereal from his dish.

"Dad, I can take the bus if you're in a hurry."

"It's fine. Today is your first day of school. How can I miss that? Did you forget that I've been dropping you since you were in first grade?"

"Dad… I'm no longer a child. And… This September, I will become 17 years old. I can take the bus by myself."

"Did you take all of your school supplies with you?"

"May I take the bus?" I was adamant.

"How about your class schedule, notebook dividers, and calculus…"

"I prepared everything last night," I groaned.

"Well, eat your breakfast quickly then."

I began eating the cereals quickly from the dish, putting them into my mouth one after the other.

I took my bag and proceeded to the door after finishing breakfast, while my father was already outside waiting for me in the car. I exited the house, and shut the door behind me. Seeing my father struggle to get into the car made me laugh a little.

There was a notification.

I pulled my phone from my backpack to see what it was. It was the phrase memo that appears on my phone at 7 a.m. every day. I tapped on it and it showed me today's quote of the day.

'You're always one choice away from changing your life.'

Woah! That's deep.

"Stop gazing at your phone and rush inside the car. I had to leave for work."

I walked to the car, my phone still in my pocket. My ears became cold as I was about to enter the automobile, causing me to quiver for a few seconds.

"What exactly are you waiting for? Enter immediately!"

Dad removed my headgear as soon as I sat alongside him in the car and asked, "What's the use of wearing this to school? Haven't you washed your hair today?" He grabbed part of my hair and leaned in to smell it. I pulled my hair strands from his grasp.

He finally started the automobile after some time and said again, "It is your first day of senior high school. Why are you upset?"

I didn't respond to him and continued to stare out the window. In this neighbourhood, there are many more trees than buildings. We have the impression that we are living in a forest.

He moved my hairline behind my ear, causing me to turn and look at him.

"I'll drop you off at Deres Avenue, where you can catch a bus."

I smiled all the way to my ears.

"Because I have to get to my office," he continued.

"All OK, dad."

He stroked my hair and urged, "Be a good student and study hard. Don't isolate yourself from others like you did in middle school. Try to make some friends."

While he was speaking to me, I kept silent.

After a while, Dad dropped me off at the address he mentioned before. I'm still unfamiliar with the street names because we only moved here two weeks ago.

He came out and hugged me, saying, "Have a good day, my little chipmunk." He kissed my forehead, which surprised me because we're in the middle of the street.

"Dad…"

I looked around and noticed folks looking at me as I rubbed my brow which embarrassed me.

"Thank you very much, Dad, for embarrassing me."

He stroked my hair and whispered, "Why should I worry about others? You're my young girl afterall."

"Aren't you running late for work, dad?"

"Ah! I had forgotten about that!" He hugged me again and entered the car, adding, "Take the 657 bus to Hales Avenue, where you're Westchester high school is located on the second block. I'll come pick you up in the evening. Please contact me when school is over. Take care, little one."

"I'll take the..."

He drove away before I could finish my sentence.

Okay. 657 bus. Hales Avenue The school is on the second street. Easy.

While waiting for the bus, I kept an eye on the road to my right. In the distance, I noticed a bus approaching.

After the bus arrived at the bus terminal, I climbed aboard. I sat in my seat, took my bus ticket, and clutched it closely. Because I always lose my bus ticket, and I'm not sure why this is happening to me. Because of the wonderful breeze, I peered out the window. When the weather is like this, I enjoy it. I leaned back in my seat and stared forward. There was a guy who appeared attractive from behind. He was listening to something on his earphones and shaking his head to either side. He appeared to be in a good mood.

When I saw the Hales Avenue sign on the bus as the next stop, I got up, moved to the door, and clutched the handle for balance. The bus came to a halt, and the doors opened. I stepped off the bus and looked at the roadside sign.

Two blocks. I looked to either side of the road and thought, 'Is it to the right or left?'

"Hi!" A man waved his hands in front of my face, a bright smile on his face.

I discovered the guy in front of me was the one who was vibing to some tunes after inspecting him from head to toe. Not bad, he looks good from the front too. I just stood there, not knowing what to say or how to respond to him.

"Westchester high, right?" he inquired.

That's the name of my school! How did he know that?

My response was a nod.

"I'm going to Westchester as well. Shall we go together?"

Tag along? No one had ever asked me to accompany them before. It felt strange and unfamiliar to me, but because I had no idea where I was going, I accepted his offer.

I gave another nod and said in a lower note, "yeah."

He began strolling on the bus terminal's left side. Okay, it's on the left. Got to remember that!

On the sidewalk, we walked next to each other.

He asked, "You don't appear to be known to me. Where did you attend middle school?"

I believe he is a talkative type of man. Urgh!

He shook his hands in front of my face once more and asked, "Hey! Did you hear what I said? I inquired as to the name of your school."

"Arcadian secondary school."

"Where's it?"

"Louisiana."

"Woah! That is one of the top places to visit near Texas. I've always wanted to eat Cajun food there…"

He kept talking, so I stopped thinking of him as gorgeous and started thinking of him as a blah blah man. I put up with his suffering for a while because he's the only one who knows how to get to school.

I finally found the school after walking for two blocks. I let out a relieved sigh and outpaced him.

"Hey! Wait for me..."

When I turned to look at him, some guys jumped on him and hugged him, seeming overjoyed. I believe these are his friends. As I continued walking towards the school, I noticed a large field beside me with a huge railing placed above my head.

I walked alongside the railing while looking at the playground.

I was already in front of the main building. High school in Westchester. It appeared to be one of those antique structures shown on television. I entered it and strolled through the vast halls. I opened my suitcase, pulled out my class schedule, and determined what time my first hour was. But I'm not sure how to get there.

Should I seek help? When I looked around at the people strolling by, I noticed the talkative guy among them approaching the corridor with a group of guys, so I walked away swiftly.

I got lost in the corridor while looking for my class by door numbers and accidently ran into someone.

"I apologise. I didn't mean to do it."

When I looked at him, he was tall, dressed formally, and had glasses. I believe he is the teacher.

"Where are you looking about as you walk? What exactly are you looking for?"

I showed him my class schedule and told him, "Sir, I was looking for my class. I was stumped as to where it was."

"Are you the new Arcadian middle school student?"

"Sir, yes."

"Come along with me. I'm also on my way to class. This is my first hour."

I walked behind him, scolding myself for running into a teacher. What a moron I was.

We arrived at the class. He went to the left desk, and I went to the right side, where the students were sitting. I looked around the room for an empty seat and found one in the second to last row. I walked up to the empty seat and sat down.

After a while, the teacher took the stage and began speaking "Everyone, good morning. Can I get your attention here? There is a new student among us. Mrs. Hopper… Ms Hopper, please come up and introduce yourself in front of the classroom."

I rose from my seat, walked to the front, took a stand beside the teacher, and began, "Good morning, My name is Abigail Hopper."

I didn't know what to say after that so I stood like an idiot in front of everyone. The eyes of the students were all on me which made me more nervous to even make eye contact with them.

The teacher explained, "Since it's a new place, Ms Hopper seems nervous I guess. Why don't you all introduce yourself to Ms Hopper and make her feel comfortable?"

The students stood one by one and started introducing themselves from their places.

A guy in the front stood up, "Lucian Laurier, member of beta hounds pack. I like basketball."

Another guy stood up, "I'm Ralph Bensen, a member of the beta hounds pack too. I like trekking. If you like to go trekking sometime, I'm pleased to help you."

Lucian hit on Ralph's shoulder and made him sit in his place.

"I'm Jacob Elrod, member of stealth Mane pack."

"I'm Teo, a human." looked at the guys beside him and made a smile at me.

"I'm Rudina Hart, alpha female of a howling jaws pack. Nice to meet you, Ms Hopper."

Why are there so many werewolves in this class than humans?

I saw the guy who helped me from the bus terminal to the school. The talkative guy? He's in this class too?

He stood up and said while smiling at me, "Hi, I'm Michael Whitlock, an Alpha from spirit walkers wolf pack. You can call me Mike."

A werewolf??? Why do handsome guys have to be werewolves? Urgh!

Once everyone was done with their introduction, the teacher greeted me saying, "You can call me Mr Gonzalo, I'm your homeroom teacher."

After the introduction part got over, I returned to my place.

The girl next to me extended her hand and said, "Hi! My name is Luna, and I'm a member of the Lost Pride pack. It's a pleasure to meet you."

A werewolf again? I already hate this school.

"I'm sorry, I have OCD."

She drew her hand back with a concerned expression on her face.

Mr Gonzalo began, "I hope you all finished the assignment I assigned you yesterday and..."

Werewolves irritate me! They irritate me to no end! Why did dad enrol me in this school? Didn't he know that I asked to a human-only school? I'm getting nauseated just thinking about sitting among the werewolves!

A town in which humans and werewolves coexist peacefully and harmoniously. Whoever said that is a jerk! Harmoniously and peacefully???

In middle school, I was bullied by both humans and werewolves for speaking negatively about the werewolf species, and I got isolated when I spoke out against them. So I didn't make any friends back then, and I wasn't keen to make any now. I was ok being alone because I'd always been alone since childhood, so it was never an issue for me.

I'm going to notify my father to change my school as soon as I get home. I don't want to spend the next two years here! I don't think I'll be able to study with these repulsive werewolves.

My name is Abigail Hopper. A human who despises werewolves but lives among them.