Lycanthrope

An amused smile slowly spreads across my face as I grab a book out of my locker and listen to Caroline ramble on excitedly to Elena and I about the upcoming Masquerade Ball that seems to be held every year. After placing the book in my bag and slamming my locker shut, I turn to face my two new friends with my smile still intact.

“Are you going to go to the Masquerade Ball?” Caroline asks me, her eyes shining brightly with excitement.

Before I have a chance to reply, Elena quickly adds, “You don’t have to decide now. It’s actually not for a few weeks but Caroline just gets a little crazy about these type of things.”

Caroline rolls her eyes playfully which causes a soft giggle to pass through my lips. “I think I might go. It sounds like it could be fun and I’ve never been to a Masque-” I begin only to be interrupted by a soft gasp coming from Caroline.

“Oh, my God. Sydney, don’t look now but Tyler Lockwood is totally checking you out.” My eyebrows raise and I turn my head slightly, glancing over my shoulder only to find Tyler sending death glares in my direction. I feel someone hit my arm lightly which causes me to turn around and Caroline exclaims, “I said not to look!”

I smile playfully and roll my eyes before saying, “If looks could kill, I’d be dead right now because of the glares Tyler’s sending me.”

“Regardless, a guy from the varsity football team is staring at you. Other girls around here, especially a new girl, would kill for that,” Caroline retorts, elevating her eyebrows just a bit.

“Right. Well, I guess I’m just not one of those girls,” I simply shrug then turn to Elena. “I’m gonna head to History now. I need to talk to Mr. Saltzman about something before class starts so I’ll see you there.”

Elena simply nods her head and waves goodbye. Turning on my heel, I begin walking towards my History class, passing Tyler and his death glares on the way. An annoyed sigh escapes through my lips as I think about what problem Tyler could possibly have with me. Granted, I may have came off a bit strong with my attitude but I wasn’t about to bite my tongue when I have every right to stick up for myself.

I have been so wrapped up in my thoughts that I didn’t realize that I am already standing outside the History classroom. I shake my head slowly as if shaking my head would clear my head of thoughts of Tyler and then enter the classroom.

“Excuse me, Mr. Saltzman?” I call out, adjusting the strap of my bag on my left shoulder.

He glances up from his desk for a brief moment before dropping it once more to write something on the paper in front of him and replies, “I encourage all of my students to call me Ric.”

“Uh, okay. Ric,” I begin while walking into the middle of the classroom, “can I ask you a question?”

He drops his pen on his desk as he rises to his feet, slowly making his way to the front of his desk where he sits on its edge and answers, “Go right ahead, ask me anything.”

Running a hand through my reddish-brown locks, I exhale a deep breath and ask, “Is it common to see wolves around here?”

“No, I don’t believe there are any wolves in Mystic Falls,” he answers. Crossing my arms over my chest, I simply nod my head as a new sense of fear creeps through my body. I had my suspicions about what I had seen in the woods last night but hearing Mr. Saltzman confirm wolves not wandering around Mystic Falls, I could only wonder if things were true. Noticing my worried expression, I hear Mr. Saltzman ask, “Are you okay? Is there something else on your mind?”

“What are your thoughts on folklore? Do you think any of it is real? Like werewolves, for example.”

“Folklore was my wife’s area of expertise before she disappeared. I never paid any attention to it but she was a believer,” he answers. He stares at me quizzically for a minute before saying, “If you don’t mind me asking, why are you curious about this?”

I shift my weight uncomfortably from my left foot to my right as I recall what I had seen in the woods the previous night. “I went for a run last night and ended up lost in the woods. While I was there, two wolves came out in front of me.”

Dropping my gaze from Mr. Saltzman’s eyes, I look down at my bracelet on my right wrist and start to play with the charm on it. After a minute or two of silence, I finally hear Mr. Saltzman ask, “Where is the idea of werewolves coming from?”

“These wolves were different than any other wolves. Their golden eyes glowed and when they ran away, they ran at a speed that I have never seen before,” I explain in a soft tone, “and werewolves never would have even crossed my mind but then I remembered how my mom mentioned that my dad was really into doing research on werewolves. It just made me wonder if he wasn’t crazy for believing in them.”

He furrows his eyebrows in confusion but just as he’s about to say something, the bell rings indicating the beginning of class and students swarm into the room. He clears his throat and says, “We can talk about this some more at another time if you’d like.”

I simply nod my head and turn around to take my seat. Once everyone is in their seat, Mr. Saltzman starts class. I’m trying to pay attention to what he is saying but my thoughts keep distracting me. The gold glowing eyes are burned into my memory and all I can see is the wolf staring me down as if he was ready to pounce on me.

I’ve been so consumed with my thoughts that I didn’t realize that class is almost over until I hear Mr. Saltzman say, “Before class ends, I just want to give you all a heads up on a project that I have in mind. I was having a conversation with someone earlier about folklore and I’m curious to see your take on it. So for this project, I’m going to partner you up with another classmate and the two of you are gonna pick some type of folklore. This is only going to be a small, side project so it won’t be due for a while.”

A small smile tugs at the corner of my lips and excitement bubbles in my stomach as Mr. Saltzman starts calling off names, pairing students together. “Sydney, you’ll be partnered with,” he calls out while scanning the faces of the students who do not have a partner yet, “Tyler Lockwood.”

I can hear a groan coming from the back of the room which causes me to roll my eyes. Mr. Saltzman pairs up the remainder of the class and explains that once he has the details of the project sorted, he will let us know. Just as he finishes talking, the bell rings indicating that class is over.

Grabbing my bag off the floor, I toss it over my shoulder and walk towards the back of the room where Tyler’s desk is. When I reach him, he simply looks up at me with his eyebrows raised and I quickly say, “We’re doing our project on werewolves.”

Tyler’s body stiffens as his jaw clenches and his Adam’s apple bobs up and down. He rises from his seat and says, “If this is because of what happened last night, forget about it. They were just regular wolves, that’s it.”

“This isn’t just about what happened,” I begin while following him out of the classroom and into the hall, “I mean, sure, the incident might have got me thinking but that’s not the only reason why I want to do the project on that.”

“Oh, really? Then what’s the other reason?” Tyler challenges, turning around to look at me with one eyebrow raised and his lips in a hard line.

“My dad was really into folklore, werewolves to be more specific. Since he walked out, doing this project on werewolves will be the only way that I still feel connected to him.”

Tyler’s expression softens at my reason and he nods his head. “Fine, we’ll do it on werewolves but I have football practice everyday after school so we’ll meet up this weekend to start. Is that okay?”

“Great, can’t wait,” I answer dully causing Tyler to roll his eyes before walking away without saying another word.

Leaning back against a wall, I raise my fingers to my head and lightly begin massaging my temples to ease the pain of an impending headache as I think about having to work with Tyler on this project.