As I lay beneath the water, I think to myself ' how would it feel to drown? Is it even possible for me?' I listen to the sounds that have been intensified by the water surrounding me. I can hear the drain and its very subtle leak. Listening to the movements I make, I lift my arm above the water and listen to the water drops as they fall from my hand. I can hear my heart, beating in my chest.

How long have I been under? 30 seconds? Two minutes? I wouldn't know.

I bring my hand back under and hear the water slosh around in the bathtub. I wonder what the record time that a single person has held their breath. How long would be too long for me? Maybe I should time myself one of these days. It could be interesting to know.

I begin to think about the woods behind our new house. Oh, how wonderful it would feel to have the wind blowing through my hair as I run without a care in the world. Just, let go.

I can feel my skin start to tingle, and I know that my time as a human is yet again coming to an end very soon. I have to get out of here.

I don't even bother to dry off or even cover up with a towel as I reluctantly lift myself out of the tub, ignoring the goose bumps as the cold air hits my skin. Dripping wet, I head out of the bathroom that attaches to my bedroom and make my way to the window by my bed. It creaks as if years have gone by since it was last opened.

Stepping out into the cool night air, my body begins to quiver and my bones begin to ach.  I set out in a run through the thicket of the forest, cutting the soles of my feet as I go, but that doesn't bother me much as each cut heals before my foot touches the ground again.

'Ah!' I cry out and fall to my knees as my bones start to snap out of place and change. I feel the hair begin to grow from every pore on my body. The pain is unbearable and I double over and lose my dinner as my spine snaps. Fear and excitement run through me as everything begins to shift and my nails start to elongate.

A small whine erupts from my throat as I try to catch my bearings and make my way off the ground. I breathe in deep and smell the woods, the dirt and grass on the ground, the bark on the trees. My ears twitch as the breeze makes its way through the leaves in the trees. This feeling, still so new and unknown to me, is so powerful. I dig my claws into the dirt, throw my head back and howl to the moon.

To my surprise, my howl is answered by another.

Another wolf?

I have no time to think much more about the possibility of another wolf in these woods as my new urges take over.

Running. This is what I like best about this curse, running so fast, that I feel as if I could fly, the trees speeding past me in a blur, seeing nothing and everything all at once.

 The scent of the forest is still so new to me, yet so very familiar. I smell the damp dirt beneath my paws, I smell the stream just about a mile deeper into the forest, off to the north. I hear everything as well, the critters scurrying away from the threat that is me. The wolf in me feels completely at home out here, free and at peace and excited!

                                                                                                -----

I wake up to a twig pulling at my hair. It is still very dark in the woods, but I can tell the sun will start to rise soon. I hear the stream not ten feet away from me and I smell blood.

Oh no, blood, what have I done? My hands are sticky with partially dried blood and some of my hair is in clumps. I have an aftertaste of copper on my tongue. What did I eat? Then an even worse thought; who did I eat? I feel a chilly breeze flow over my whole body. I am naked and from what little I can see, very dirty. Slowly, I get to my feet, my two human feet, and make my way to the small stream. I want to wash whatever or whoever I ate off of me before I head back home. What would my mom do if she saw me like this?

The stream feels too cold, but also refreshing as I rinse what I can of last night away. I begin to feel more myself as my body and mind wake up. I try desperately to remember what all I did last night. This is just what I need, we just move to a new place to start fresh and I go and possibly kill someone. I don’t think there would be anyone out in the woods at this time, so I am hoping it was just some critter, even though the thought still grosses me out.

I have nothing to dry off with or even cover up with as I slowly get out of the stream. I am so glad no one is here to see me like this. Even if I had worn clothes on the way out, they would have been ruined during the change.  The woods are still peaceful and dark, so I make the walk back to the house a slow one. I have been changing for 2 months now. Not just on the full moon, but almost every night.

 Ever since my friend, Anna, and I were attacked back home in Texas.

                                                                                                -----

We were walking back to my house from the library after it closed when we were attacked by a huge wolf, what I now assume was a werewolf of some kind. I remember Anna screaming;

‘Sarah, help!’ She yelled as I heard the creature tearing at her clothes and skin.

‘Ah-!’ Her screams were cut short by more ripping and the sound of blood filling her lungs and throat. I grabbed a huge rock, the biggest one I could find and still pick up, and slammed it on the wolf’s head. It didn’t so much as whine, but turned to me and threw itself on me instead. I remember feeling its teeth bear down on my shoulder and back, its breath hot against my cheek as I lost consciousness.

They told me as I woke in the hospital three days later what had happened, and that Anna didn’t make it. I was able to make it to her funeral. There was no casket, just an urn. She had already been cremated, for that I was actually grateful.

I turned the night of her funeral for the very first time. The pain was unbearable, it still is.  I was so confused and for weeks I thought I was going crazy. Miraculously I was able to keep it from my parents, but they did notice a change. I wasn’t the same.

I would hear my mother and father talking late at night, discussing what they think would be best for me.

‘We need to leave.’ My mother would tell my father. ‘There is just too much here to remind her of what happened.’ I could hear the tears in her voice as she pleaded with him. ‘I want my daughter back. If we stay here, she won’t get better. She needs new friends, a new school.’

‘She needs a new start.’ My father agreed. ‘I will see what I can do.’

No less than a week later, my father came home to share the news of his transfer opportunity. We would be moving to ___. I looked to my mother as relief glowed in her eyes. My little sister, Lilly, was excited, beyond excited actually. Lilly loves change, she loves meeting new people and trying new things. I used to like change, but now, change just hurts and doesn’t make sense. No matter where we move, and what we do, I will still be what I am, cursed, nothing can fix me.

‘So, how is the new school?’ My father asks my sister and me as he looks at his menu. We decided on a local diner in town for dinner. My mother is sitting next to our father in the booth opposite us. She puts down her menu and smiles, waiting for us to tell them about our day. Lilly starts off by telling us about her algebra teacher. According to her, he seems to hate teaching and issued way too much homework. She talks about the friends she met and asks if she can have someone over on the weekend.

‘Well, I don’t see why not,’ my mother smiles ‘what about you, Sarah. Would you like to have a friend over on the weekend?’ The hopeful look in her eyes almost tears me apart. My dad puts his menu down and looks at me as well. I don’t know how I could have someone spend the night. I never know when I’m going to change. It has been almost every night. ‘Um, maybe,’ I smile back, and to keep my mom from frowning, I add ‘I did meet a really nice girl today, her name is Holly, I will see if she is able to come over.’ Of course I probably won’t but tell my parents that she was busy. But just the thought makes my mom beam.

When the waitress comes to get our orders I eagerly order the steak but refrain from ordering it rare.

‘We should be getting our internet hooked up tomorrow,’ my father states eagerly.

‘Oh, thank God!’ Lilly has always been an internet person. Any social networking site you can think of, she has. Blogs? She has those too. I would rather read a book.

Our meal was good and we spent the whole time talking about our day and what we were looking forward to. Lilly is really excited about the school choir. I didn’t even think to check out the school clubs. Maybe I will do that tomorrow. Holly might have some information about them for me. A school club my help distract me. But on second thought, maybe it won’t.

                                                                                                _____

I just unpacked my desk and got it put together in my room and it is already a crazy mess. I tried to organize it as I went, but once I started on my homework and studying, I realized my organizational skills didn’t have a chance. My sister is listening to music in the bedroom next to mine and I can hear my parents unpacking in their room and talking to each other. I try to give everyone their privacy and put my ear buds in and play some Mozart. I begin studying for a French test that Madam Francis scheduled for next Monday. I don’t get very far though, by 9:30 I am exhausted. I can’t believe it, I’m about to go to bed and I haven’t changed yet! Oh, thank goodness. Maybe I can actually get some rest tonight.

I go out and tell everyone ‘goodnight’ and head back to my room to get ready for bed. I get my pajamas on, brush my teeth, let my hair down, and lay in bed. I fall asleep soon after.

                                                                                                _____

I’m running, running through the forest. My breath is fast and ragged. I can’t seem to tell if I am on two feet or four. I see people running in front of me, not too far ahead. I pick up speed. They scream as they look back, and push harder to get away. One of the people running is Holly. What is she doing in the forest? What is she running from? I look behind me and nothing is there. I see a tail, my tail. Oh no, they are running from me! I’m the danger, I’m in wolf form.

Suddenly I am eating something, wait no, not something I realize in horror, someone. What am I doing? I can’t seem to stop; the blood and the taste of fresh meat keep me from giving in to my disgust. I roll the person over to get more.  A whine erupts from my mouth as I recognize who it is.

It’s Anna.

What have I done? Wait, I didn’t do this, she was killed by the same wolf that attacked me. This can’t be right.

Suddenly a howl cries in the distance and I jolt straight up. I look around, I am in my bedroom sweating and trembling from head to toe. Oh, thank God, it was a dream. That doesn’t stop me from crying, crying from relief and despair. I look over at my alarm clock. Not even 11:00.

My head begins to pound and my body trembles even harder. Oh no! This can’t be happening. I am so tired. But there is no stopping it. I get out of bed as fast as I can without making any noise. I can’t wake anyone up. I open the window, cringing at the sound it makes, crap, I need to see what I can do to fix that. Once I am out of my bedroom, I make my way to the forest as fast as I can. I feel so sick. I put my hands on my head, ‘AAHH!’ I cry out. The pain, the pain is still beyond anything I have ever felt. I trip and land on the damp ground. No sense in getting up. I lay there and scream into the leaves. My scull seems to split apart and reform. My nose breaks itself and my spine snaps once again.

Just make it stop, just make it stop, I plead to no one. My knees snap backwards and my body expands. I hear ripping as my clothes are torn to shreds.

Panting, panting is all I can do. The pain has finally gone and my body is no longer mine. I begin to run, the wolf taking over. Oh, the forest. The forest smells so fresh. The leaves on the ground crunch beneath my feet. Oh, the wind. The pain, forgotten, I howl once again at the moon in the sky.

There it is, the howl that answered mine last time. The other wolf is here again and really close. I pick up speed. I’m not sure I want to meet another wolf. I wouldn’t know what to do. It could be way too dangerous.

‘YIP!’ I yelp as something large darts in front of me and we collide. A growl escapes my lips as I turn to find the other wolf, right there, in front of me.

 So much for trying to stay away.

The other wolf is larger than I, a male, with darker fur. It stares at me, not in a challenging way, it seems. More curious than angry. Whoever this is has more control than I do. I can tell whoever this is, has been a wolf much longer than me. His movements are more precise, more controlled.

A shiver runs through me as we stare at each other. He comes closer, very slowly. Another growl rumbles deep in my chest, a warning. He pauses but doesn’t look away or back down. Slowly he begins forward once more.

His gaze isn’t challenging and neither is his stance. I let him proceed closer. After taking two steps toward me, he dips his head low to the ground and comes back up with something in his mouth, a rabbit. I was so worked up and alarmed when we collided; I hadn’t realized he had something. He steps a little closer and to my surprise drops his catch at my feet. Sitting back, he watches me. I am too scared to take my eyes off the wolf. The smell of the rabbit is making my mouth water, the thought of ripping into it with my teeth is taking over my thought process. Not letting myself think anymore, I let my instincts take over and snatch the rabbit from the ground. I look back up at the wolf and he makes no move to stop me or try to take the catch back. Turning around, I take off, the rabbit still hanging from my mouth. I can hear the other wolf following me, but not chasing, just following. I reach the stream I found last night and sit to enjoy the rabbit. This seems so natural. It doesn’t take long to devour the whole animal and I begin lapping water from the stream into my mouth. It’s so cold and refreshing.

The other wolf sits a few feet away and laps water into his mouth as well. When I am done drinking, I sit back and watch him.

                                                                                                -----

I wake up to a dark gray sky. I stretch out my arms in front of me and notice they are just that, arms. I am human again. I am covered in a blanket of dry leaves. Remembering the other wolf, I look around, nothing. I listen as hard as I can, but all I hear is my own breath and the slight crinkle as the leaves rustle around me. He isn’t here. I go to get up and notice a small pile of clothes. Picking it up, I unfold a large black short sleeve shirt and a pair of dark plaid boxers.

Well these definitely aren’t mine. Then realization hits me. He saw me naked! Horror and embarrassment runs through me as I hurry to put the clothes on and begin to make my way back to my house.

I make it back to my bedroom window as the sky was just turning gray. The sun will start to rise soon. Luckily, we don’t have neighbors to close to us. It wouldn’t be very good to start off my first day in a new place to be labeled a streaker, or nudist. I climb back in my bedroom, careful not to stumble over the boxes left on the floor from unpacking. I don’t really have much time before I need to get to school, so I do a quick wash in the shower and start to get dressed.

The smell of the woods still lingers on my skin, not enough for anyone to notice but me. My senses have been heightened ever since I changed for the first time. Even while in human form, I can smell what others can’t, my need for glasses has disappeared, I see deeper shades of color and my hearing is more sensitive. Not only that, but I am also faster and stronger than I used to be. I don’t look much different than I used to. The only thing new is the large white scar that stretches from the front of my shoulder to the middle of my back. It has actually healed better than I thought it would. But it is still a terrible reminder of that night I lost my friend.

I finish getting ready for school and check my full body mirror to make sure everything looks good.

My long wavy blonde hair pulled back in a loose bun with a few stray strands hanging around my face, which supports minimum makeup. My figure is petite and I chose dark fitted jeans and a forest green long sleeved shirt that brings out the green in my eyes.

I hear my family in the kitchen, from my bedroom at the other side of the house, I hear my sister pour cereal into a bowl, a coffee cup being filled, and a paper rustling.  Giving myself and my wardrobe the ‘okay’, I make my way to the kitchen as well.

‘Good morning, Sarah,’ my mom greats me with a warm smile. Both my sister and my father look up and mumble the same greeting.

‘Morning,’ I say as I grab an apple and pour myself some orange juice. I don’t seem to be too hungry, probably because of the midnight snack I had in the woods. A shiver runs through me as I remember the taste of blood in my mouth. I really do hope it was another animal I ate, and not a human. The more I think about it the better I feel, the chance of a person being out in the woods in the middle of the night is far lower than that of an animal. Pushing all of those thoughts aside in my mind, I take a bite of my apple and sit down at the table.

I love to watch my family as they go through their normal morning routines. Lilly likes to read a book as she eats breakfast, the one she is reading now is quite big. I can’t tell which book it is, but whatever the book is about, it must be interesting because she barely looks away even to shove another spoonful of cereal in her mouth. My father sips his coffee as he reads the paper, just like every other morning. And my mother leans against the kitchen counter as she waits for her toast to pop from the toaster.  My father is a tall man, with dark, wavy, short hair and very prominent features. He radiates authority, but his eyes are kind and reassuring. My mom is beautiful, especially when she smiles, with short blonde hair and a petite frame like me. Lilly looks a lot like our dad, she has brown hair and blue eyes, just like him. She is also quite stubborn like him.

‘So,’ my father says, startling me. I hadn’t realized he had stopped reading his paper and was now watching me. ‘Do you have the address and directions to the High School?’ He asks me. I reassure him that everything I need is with my binder and he smiles. Lilly and I are both in high school, her, in ninth grade, and myself in eleventh, so we will both be attending ___ High.

I finish my apple and juice and stand to get the rest of my things ready.  

‘Oh, girls,’ my father calls out before I can make it out of the kitchen. ‘I was thinking we could go out to dinner tonight. It would save your mother the trouble of having to unpack and cook in the same night.’ He says with a warm smile.

‘Oh, that sounds like a great idea.’ My mother agrees. I can see the relief on her face. I know with everything I have been going through, I have also been putting a lot of stress on my family, especially my mom. 

Lilly’s eyes light up, ‘Yeah, that sounds great!’ She hops up from her chair and heads to her bedroom, probably to go finish getting dressed.

I smile and agree as well, heading back to the table to pick up the cereal bowl my sister forgot to put away. My family seems so normal, so easy going. I can’t imagine them finding out about me. It would completely throw their world upside down. I couldn’t do that to them. Ever. Not only is it unbelievable, but also dangerous.

Very dangerous.

                                                                                                _____

I throw my binder and bag in the backseat of my small used car, a nice little, reliable, Civic. It was a gift from my parents when I turned sixteen and got my license. I had been doing great in school and they were in the market for a new car for my mom anyways, so they decided to give me her old one. It’s great to be able to rely on myself for a ride, and not my parents.

I start the ignition and wait while Lilly heads to the car. Right as she reaches her hand out to open the passenger side door, I hit the gas and the car lurches forward a few feet.

‘Hey! No fair!’ She yells and runs after the car laughing.

I love messing with my sister, it’s too fun. We have always been pretty close. Slumber parties usually meant she would come to my room before bed and we would sit up, painting our nails, listening to music and gossiping. Lately we haven’t been doing much of that. For the past two months my bedroom door usually stays locked, just in case. Just until I can figure out what to do next with myself, and learn to control what I am now.

After I finally let her in the car, she looks at me with a ‘You suck’ look but smiles and buckles her seatbelt. As I follow the directions to our new school, I begin to think of how it may be. Are the teachers cool? What about the other students? Will Lilly and I be able to adjust easily so far into the school year? I sure hope so.

We finally pull up to the school, no more than fifteen minutes later and sit in the car for a minute. I guess I’m not the only one who may be a bit worried about today.

‘So, what do you think it will be like here?’ She asks, not taking her eyes off the school building and the students walking in.

I look around and notice that it is much smaller than our school back in Texas so the relationships among the students might be a bit more close than that of those at our old school. This is a smaller city, one of those cities where the idea of everyone knowing everyone else is actually a realistic one. Other that, it looks like a normal school.   

‘I think it will be like two new students going to a new school.’ I say looking at her. ‘But if we sit in the car any longer, we run the risk of not only being the new kids, but also, the late kids that draw attention to themselves as we rush into our classrooms only to have all of the other students stare at us as we walk to our seats.’ I raise my eyebrow and nudge her toward her door.

‘Okay, okay. I get it, let’s go.’ She laughs and steps out of the car as I grab my stuff from the backseat.

We both walk into the main office and get our new schedules and student handbooks, which the councilor insisted we read.

After we head out of the office we bid each other good luck and head our separate ways. Lilly goes right, toward her Algebra One class, and I head to AP U.S. History.

My senses are going crazy; I can smell everything, girls’ shampoo, cologne, perfume, even the body odor of some, all at once. I can hear everything; conversations going on around me, the buttons from someone’s phone as they text and I am ninety-nine percent sure a girl two hallways over just got dumped.

This is definitely going to make it hard to concentrate. I try breathing through my mouth to dull the scent that starts giving me a headache, and I promise myself I will bring earplugs to wear while in the hallways starting tomorrow.  

I finally make it to my AP U.S. History class with plenty of time to spare, so I go ahead and introduce myself briefly to the teacher and ask where I can sit.

‘Well, welcome to ___ High and of course to my class, Sarah,’ He says with a big grin. He seems very upbeat for a teacher, especially a history teacher. I love history, it has been my favorite subject for years and it is actually the only AP class I have.

‘As you probably already know from your schedule, my name is Mr. Jones,’ he introduces himself excitedly. ‘You can have a seat right over there,’ he points near the back right corner, ‘that is the only seat we have open in this class, unfortunately, second to last row from the right and third seat from the back.’ He hands me a text book of my own and has me sign a paper stating what number is printed on the inside. I will probably have to hunt down my locker after this class to drop off my book. History books always tend to be heavier than all the other books, no matter where you are.

Luckily the class is still pretty empty, everyone is out in the halls talking to friends before the bell rings and the few students already in class are going over what looks like notes. I look at the board at the front of the class and see that a quiz has been scheduled for today and open my textbook to the two chapters indicated. It seems like the quiz is on the Civil war. Another good thing about being a werewolf seems to be that along with better sight, I noticed that I can actually read faster. So I read through the chapters quickly and finish them in just four minutes, right as the bell rings for class to begin. As everyone piles in and sits at their desks, the teacher lets everyone know that I am a new student and insists that I stand up and introduce myself.

Oh gosh, I was really hoping I wouldn’t have to do this. Reluctantly, I stand at my desk.

‘Hi’ I greet everyone awkwardly. Every eye is on me and most everyone in the class waves and greets me back enthusiastically. ‘My name is Sarah and my family and I just moved here from Texas.’ Not really knowing what else to say, I sit back down in my seat. I wish I’d have worn my hair down today, at least then I would be able to hide behind it, this is definitely not my thing. Everyone is staring at me, most of them are smiling, but it’s still quite awkward. I don’t really like being the center of attention.

‘Alright,’ says Mr. Jones enthusiastically, ‘Welcome to our school and especially to our class. Let’s get started.’

I pull out some paper and a pen and got ready to take notes.

‘We will begin with our quiz, Sarah, since today is your first day here, you don’t have to take it today.’ He tells me. ‘I could give you the chapters we covered and you can study the material and we will schedule your quiz for next week.’ He says with a grin.

‘Actually, sir, I would like to take it today, if that is okay.’ I really don’t want to get any further behind than I already am. My sister and I took a week of from school in order to have time to move and I am just eager to get back into the groove of things.

‘Well, ok,’ He agrees, seeming a little unsure, but willing to give me the chance.

The quiz is only ten simple questions on the two chapters I read through before the class began. I feel pretty optimistic about my answers as I turn in my quiz and sit back down. I’m pretty sure I aced it. The rest of period Mr. Jones gave a presentation on the next two chapters that we will be going over and gave us homework.

‘Hi, my name is Holly!’ the girl that sat next to me held up her hand to wave as we were packing our stuff up to leave for our next class. She seemed to be a very outgoing girl with short brown hair and small features. ‘Hey’ I responded lamely. Even though I really want things to work out here, I am still hesitant to make close friends. I don’t want anybody else ending up like Anna just because they got to close to me. But I don’t see a problem with having a lunch or study buddy.  She smells like strawberries, I’m guessing that is the scent of her shampoo. She seems to be such a happy individual, so happy I can’t even picture her any other way. I find myself smiling back at her without having to fake it.

Holly and I walk the hallways and I listen to her point out who is who, what class is where, what teachers she hopes I have and which teachers are regarded as evil. It’s really entertaining listening to her. She has a little brother, only six years old, is in the school choir, which she doesn’t hesitate to try to recruit me to, and turns out, has French III with me for fourth period. Our conversation gives me something to focus on while we are in the crowded hallway, so the other noises don’t seem to give me too bad of a headache.

We are both laughing and in a great mood when she leaves me at my Biology class. We both have first lunch together so we agree to meet outside the cafeteria.

I soon realized why the seat next to my new lab partner is the only one still available. I’m not sure if the other students in the class can smell it, but he has a very strong body odor, at least to me.

He smells like day old sweat. My first impression is that he is not very sociable. He gives off the impression of being a bit of a loner. His skin isn’t very well taken care of and he is quite scrawny with glasses. Despite all of that, he is nice and I learn that his name is David and his best and favorite subject is none other than biology, my worst subject.

Score!

I’m grateful when he doesn’t get frustrated with my lack of knowledge in this subject, instead seems very patient and understanding.

‘So, you don’t like biology, hu?’ He states with a knowing and shy smile as we start on a project together.

‘I think it is safe to say, I would rather jump into a pool of subzero temperatures.’ I admit with an apologetic glance at him. I feel terrible that he got stuck with me as a lab partner.

He doesn’t seem to mind though; in fact he seems a little glad to even have a partner.

‘No worries, just stick with me and you’ll pass this class.’ He smiles confidently. I guess I slightly misjudged him. At first glance he is shy but maybe it’s just that no one has really given him much of a reason to speak. With his appearance and body odor, I can see how most might keep their distance. I think we could be good friends though.

Through the entire period, he took great care to explain everything to me in simple terms. I realize then, biology this year won’t be as bad as I anticipated.

It’s finally lunch time and I am starving. As I head down the hall toward the cafeteria I catch a familiar scent. I can’t tell who it is coming from, but I smell the woods. The woods behind my house, the very woods I was in just last night. Just then I remember the howl I heard when I changed, the howl that answered mine. Maybe there is another wolf here. If I smell it hear in the crowd that means that what I heard last night wasn’t just a wolf, but a werewolf. 

What am I going to do? Is this a good thing, or a bad thing?

Before I could think much more about it, I spot Holly waving enthusiastically from the cafeteria entrance and the scent is gone.

‘So, how was biology?’  She asked as we made our way to the cafeteria line. The smells coming from the kitchen are distracting me. I am really in the mood for some stake, but obviously I won’t be finding any here. Just fake processed meats on this menu. So I pick up one of their spicy chicken sandwiches and follow Holly.

‘Well, it was ok, for biology,’ I tell her. Trying to keep my mind off stake I continue, ‘My lab partner seems to know what he’s doing, which is good, since I have no idea when it comes to biology.’ I can’t seem to get the image of a juicy rare stake out of my mind. If I weren’t trying so hard not to, I would probably be drooling right now.

I start to feel like I am going to throw up, my body feeling more and more uncomfortable in my own skin. My head starts to pound and my fingertips tingle. Oh no, this can’t be happening here. My body is getting ready to change, right here, in the cafeteria, at school. This is not a good thing, what am I going to do?

Next to me Holly asks, ‘Sarah, are you okay? You look like you are going to faint.’

I can barely see her as my eyes tear up.

‘CRASH!’ Someone drops a huge pot in the kitchen bringing me back to myself. My breathing is ragged as I steady myself and start to regain my focus. My body has stopped tingling and the pounding in my head starts to ease. Saved by someone’s clumsiness.  I couldn’t be more thankful.

I see genuine worry etched on Holly’s face. To ease her mind, I take a tatter tot from my tray and shove it in my mouth. ‘Low blood sugar,’ I grin weakly.

‘Oh, goodness,’ she sighs with relief. ‘Here, take my peaches, I never eat them anyways,’ she grabs her little bowl of peaches and puts them on my plate as we reach the register and pay for our lunches.

That could have been bad.

She leads me over to the table her and her friends sit at. ‘Hey, everyone,’ she greets them as she sits down across from me. ‘This is Sarah, she just started here today,’ she says, full of excitement.

‘Hey,’ the boy next to me says. ‘I’m Bryan.’ He is very handsome. Light brown hair, strong body and features with striking blue eyes. He seems to be all smiles too.

Does anyone here ever frown?

‘My name is Jessa,’ the girl sitting next to Holly says extending her hand. I shake it and smile. Just then a boy comes up from behind me and steals one of Holly’s tatter tots from her plate. ‘Hey, who is this?’ He asks as he sits down, gesturing to me. I try to save Holly the trouble of introducing me and try to do it myself this time. But just as her and I both open our mouths to answer, Bryan pipes up first. ‘This is Sarah.’ He doesn’t look away from me as he says my name. I can’t help but smile a little as I look back down at my plate. Again I wish I would have left my hair down this morning, I can feel my cheeks getting hot.

‘Awesome, I’m Eli, can I have your tots?’ He asks beginning to reach over.

‘No, you cannot! She has low blood sugar, she needs those.’ Holly grimaced as she smacks his hand. Oh yeah, I forgot I said that. To make it seem real, I pop a tatter tot in my mouth. Eli shrugs and goes for her food instead and she doesn’t seem to mind.

Through the rest of lunch I learned more about everyone else and tried to keep my story as vague as possible. As far as they know, I have a little sister that attends this school as well, and we moved here solely because my father got a job transfer.

When the bell rings to tell us lunch is over we all throw away our trays and head to class. Turns out, Bryan has French with Holly and me. So we all make our way to Madam Francis’ class.