he lights were too bright and the room was too loud.

To make it worse, I was ten minutes late.

"Class, I'd like to introduce a new student who just moved here from Maine," The teacher, whose name I forgot, turned to me and smiled brightly, "Her name is Lia."

I stood there stiffly, unsure of what to do next.

"Everyone say hello,"

"Hell-o!" The class yelled.

"Lia, why don't you sit next to Taylor?" The teacher pointed to the desk in the middle of the third row. The girl named Taylor smiled, showing off her braces, but it didn't look very genuine.

I didn't speak as I sat down and class resumed normally.

"Everyone take out your math books and do numbers one through four." The teacher commanded and everyone began taking out their books. I took my new book out, too, and looked at the problems. Addition and Subtraction. I'd already learned this.

The teacher wrote down the problems on the board as we worked on them.

Well, as some of us worked.

Someone poked the spot between my shoulder blades so I turned around. A girl with blond ringlets and big blue eyes was looking at me with an unfriendly stare.

"What's the answer to number one?" Her fingernails were glittery and her pen had a pink crown at the top.

"Twelve." I whispered.

"Number two?" She didn't whisper very quietly.

"Ten."

"Number three?"

"Nineteen."

"Number four?"

"Stella, are you bothering Lia?" The teacher asked suddenly, her hand hovering over the board.

Stella feigned innocence, "No."

"Is she, Lia?"

"No."

"I'm sure she wasn't. Get back to work," The teacher turned back to writing the problems on the whiteboard.

"What's number four?" Stella asked quickly but then the teacher turned around.

"Pencils down. Now, who would like to do number one?"

Everyone around me raised their hand. But she didn't pick any of them.

"Nicole, why don't you show us."

"But I didn't raise my hand." A girl with brown hair sitting in the front protested.

"Now." The teacher commanded. Some kids laughed.

"Bet you she doesn't know it." Some skinny boy with glasses taunted.

Nicole huffed angrily but stood up. She walked to the front and took the marker from the teacher but didn't move any closer to the board.

"I don't know." She gave up pretty easily.

"Maybe if you actually paid attention in class instead of looking out the window you'd know." The teacher took the marker back and everyone laughed as Nicole sat back down. Her face was red.

"Lia," I picked my head up when she said my name, "How would you start this problem?"

"I'd borrow from the two so it would become a one and the zero would become a ten. The answer is twelve." I answered, trying to be as polite as possible.

"Correct." The teacher beamed.

"Teacher's pet." Stella hissed behind me and some kids snickered. The teacher called on someone else to do number two before class ended.

The bell rang and everyone started running out of the classroom.

I followed them, taking my coat and lunchbox with me.

Most of the kids were eating inside but I wanted to feel the sun on my face. I sat down on a bench and ate alone.

Until someone blocked the sunlight from hitting my face, casting a shadow onto the grass.

It was the girl with the blond ringlets and the fancy pink pen. And behind her were two other girls, one with brown hair and one with braces, both whom I recognized from class.

"Look, it's the teacher's pet." Stella pointed at me like I was some zoo animal.

"Woof!" Nicole, the girl with the brown hair and the one who was called on by the teacher during class, said randomly.

"Shut up, Nic," Stella snapped, "You're new around here so I'll give you a warning. No one likes a teacher's pet, got that?"

"Yeah, stay out of our way." The girl with the braces, whose name was Taylor, added before they all turned away.

But what did I do? I didn't do anything to them.

After lunch and recess, I walked back to the classroom and the teacher tried to quiet everyone down.

"Settle down, everyone. Let's get back to the problems. Who would like to do number three?" She looked around before choosing between the sea of hands, "John,"

The class groaned as a skinny boy stood up and wrote the answer on the board.

"Good job," She praised and continued to the last problem, "Stella, why don't you do number four for us?"

"I think John should do it, Ms. Lance." More laughter.

"Now, Stella."

She tapped me on the shoulder and demanded, "Quick, what's the answer?"

I could've given it to her. . . but I didn't.

"No." I defied.

"What?"

"Stella, now." The teacher repeated. Stella ignored her.

"Did you say no?"

"Just tell her." Taylor hissed beside me but I shook my head.

"Stop being so stupid!" Nicole also directed at me.

"Taylor, Nicole, do you have something to say?" The teacher looked between the two of them.

"Not to you." Nicole replied rudely and Stella and Taylor laughed loudly.

"Lia, Stella, Taylor, Nicole. Hallway. Now." The teacher demanded and pointed to the door.

I, along with the other three, stood up and followed the teacher into the hallway.

"Finish problems five through ten." The teacher instructed to the rest of the class before she closed the door.

She stood infront of us, her face unfriendly.

"Now, what's happening between you four?"

No one spoke a word.

"Taylor? What happened?"

"Nothing."

"It didn't look like nothing." She crossed her arms and turned to Nicole, "Nicole?"

She shook her head.

"Lia? Anything you want to say for yourself?"

I stared at the ground and kept my mouth shut.

"Ms. Lance, I have a question," John opened the door and asked.

"Not now." The teacher said sternly.

"But I-"

"Not now!"

"For God's sake, you're a teacher, aren't you? You're supposed to goddam teach." John muttered and the teacher followed him into the classroom.

"John Prescott, what did you just say to me?" The way her shrill voice rose in pitch made me want to burst into laughter.

"I didn't say anything."

"That is no way for a student to talk to a teacher!"

"I wasn't talking to you! Stop butting into my conversations!"

I muffled a laugh with my hand, trying to keep it in.

I looked over at Stella, who was laughing so hard she had to wipe her eyes. Taylor and Nicole were giggling.

"Thanks," Stella smiled at me for the first time, "You know, for not telling. That's pretty cool."

Even Taylor had a genuine smile on her face.

I gave her a small smile, happy she wasn't mad at me.

The teacher came back abruptly and looked at the four of us. Although we wiped the smiles off of our faces, she had a faint smile on hers.

"Go in," She said in exasperation, "But if one of you makes a single peep, I'm sending you to the Principal." The teacher warned and we all nodded.

Stella walked into the classroom first, Nicole followed Stella, Taylor followed Nicole, and I followed Taylor.

.•*•.

I'd never forget the moment I met my best friends.

We've been friends since that day in second grade, nothing changing our friendship.

Until now.

"Why did you decide to be my friend when all this time your life was one big lie?" Stella asked accusingly.

"Stell-"

"You were a fucking werewolf and you didn't even tell me. You didn't think even bother to share that little piece of information with your best friends, did you?" She demanded, clearly hurt.

"Stell, calm down-" Nicole began but it only made her more angry.

"Fucking reality check." Stella pivoted on her heel and shoved passed everyone to exited the cafeteria.

Nicole and Taylor looked at me in shock.

"Are you really a werewolf?" Taylor asked and I nodded.

"I need some time to process this." Nicole shook her head and walked away, Taylor following her.

This time, I didn't follow them.

It wasn't like it was my fault I didn't tell them. I had to keep it a secret.

I wondered if they'd ever forgive me.

I stayed and waited for Roan. His results were just being announced.

"Negative." The doctor says and I do a double-take.

"What?" There must've been some mistake, Roan was a werewolf, like me.

"I wasn't aware your name was Roan." The doctor said quizzically.

"Do the test again."

"Lia," Roan said sharply, "Let it go." I watched in shock as he walked into the human line and didn't look back.

What the hell?

I tried to follow him but Jesse got in my way.

"Stay back, you might have rabies." Jesse joked and everyone started to laugh.

"Shut up, asshole." The smile left his face as soon as I spoke.

I tried to leave but a swarm of doctors stopped me.

"You're not allowed to leave until we-"

"I can do whatever I want! This is my school!" I tried to slip through them but they grabbed my arms and shoved me back behind the tables.

"You lied."

I stopped struggling and whipped around.

"You're a werewolf." Asher said matter-of-factly. He and I were the only ones on the werewolf side.

"So are you." I narrowed my eyes at him.

"Why did you lie?"

"Why did you lie?"

"And what did I lie about?"

"That Laurel's your mate, when I know for a fact that she's human." To prove my point, I spotted Laurel on the human side. Separated from us.

He didn't say anything.

"What makes her better than me?" I demanded, not thinking about what I was saying.

Again, he didn't say anything.

"What is so special about her. . . that I don't have?" I asked quietly, though I knew he could hear me.

"It's true. . . Laurel isn't my mate, but ever since I've met her, I've wanted her to be." Bullshit. "I never meant to hurt you." He looked me in the eyes and I almost lost it.

"You didn't." My voice wavered.

"Lia, I don't want to stop being friends."

I don't think I can be friends with you right now. It's what I wanted to say.

But I didn't want to stop being friends either. I wasn't ready to let him go.

"I'm sorry." He apologized for the first time.

"Me, too." I felt a little guilty about the whole peanut butter thing I did to Laurel. But I also felt tremendous guilt for sacrificing our friendship for my own selfish fantasies.

"Friends?"

I would've given anything to be more than friends, but I had to realize that we wouldn't be anything more. There was a small voice in my head that hoped he'd see me as someone else, but for now, it was just enough to be near him.

"Friends." I confirmed.

He changed the subject, "So, are you moving to Mystic High?"

"Why would I do that?"

"Because Mystic High is a school for werewolves. Didn't you know that?"

Mystic High was a school for werewolves?

"No." If that were true, why didn't my parents send me there, too? "I didn't know that."

"Well, sooner or later, your school will find out. . . and I have a feeling many of them won't take that lightly."

No, they won't.

❤️