The Heart of the Wolf

I nervously tugged at the bottom of my skirt. I glanced at the mirror one more time to make sure it wasn’t short. Of course, I knew it wasn’t but at the same time I had to be sure. How stupid would it look to be pulled to the office the first day? Dad surprised me last night with my new car. I had to say, I was so grateful. I really didn’t want to spend the twenty minute car ride, freaking out about my first day, with my Dad who wasn’t sympathetic. When I had mentioned something about being nervous, he laughed it off.

“Diana, you are going to be late for school if you don’t leave soon. I’m headed off to the office.” Dad’s footsteps clunk down the stairs as he called for me. I bit my lip and gave the skirt on finally tug. I slung my backpack on, my books resting on the space between my shoulders. I raced out of my room before the urge to skip was too much.

My brand new baby was sitting where I left her yesterday. I said brand new but it was actually an older model Grand Am. I smiled as I opened the driver’s side door, shoving my bag into the opposite seat. The engine purred as I started the car. I sat there a moment, cherishing the sound. It may not be off a new lot somewhere, but this car was more than I ever wanted. I patted the dashboard lovingly, “You’re such a good girl.” Taking one last look at the house, I put the car in gear and drove away.

The scenery along the road to town would ever get old, its very sight always took my breath away. I always considered myself a city girl, considering I was from the busy streets of San Francisco. After being here just a day, I don’t know if I could claim that title anymore. Sure, I was upset about being uprooted from my friends but that didn’t mean I couldn’t enjoy my time here. I definitely wouldn’t tell dad that though. Eventually the old dusty sign of Ashford greeted me as I passed into town limits. My stomach started to twist in knots.

The sign for Ashford High School was toward the end of town. The school itself was up a long driveway. I groaned to myself,” What’s so wrong with short driveways?” Softball, soccer, and baseball fields covered the grounds up to the building. At least it was an active school; hopefully, the teams were pretty good. I parked in one of the parking spots that had STUDENT PARKING scrawled over the pavement. I inhaled deeply before grabbing my bag and placing it between my shoulders. I could do this. I shoved my door open, almost colliding into the side of another nice car. I gasped and quickly shot a hand out to prevent the huge dent it would probably place.

I inhaled again, exhaling very slowly and then built up the courage to leave the car. I probably looked insane to any bystander. The front door was a typical automatic sliding one, which promptly opened as soon as I placed a toe on the mat. The front corridor was empty, a small sign above a large window claimed OFFICE was the only way I knew I was close to where I needed to be. I slowly moved and tapped on the glass since no one was there. The room was tiny, a small desk took up most of the room. A lady with graying hair opened the door and smiled at me as she meet me at the counter.

"Hi, My name is Mrs. Palmer. How can I help you?" She asked as she pulled some paperwork from a hidden drawer.

I stammered, my cheeks turning a bright red. "My name is Ellis, Diana Ellis."

Mrs. Palmer sharply looked up at me. "Is Ellis your first name or last name?"

I awkwardly rubbed my arm and tugged on my skirt. "Last name, Ma'am."

"Ah, here. I have your schedule." She slid a piece of paper through the slot in the window. I carefully scanned my classes, cringing when I saw I had to take Calculus. She must of noticed because she gave me a reassuring grin. "Don't worry, dear. You'll do great here. Your first class is two doors down the hall there." She pointed in the opposite direction. "If you need anything, just come back to me and I'll help you out. Have a good day, Miss. Ellis."

I nodded to her and quickly shuffled away. My first class was my favorite class. English. I knocked on the door proclaiming MR. LASTER-- ENGLISH 4. An abrupt pull of the door and there was a balding man with a furious expression. "You are late."

I apologized quickly," I am so sorry, Mr. Laster. I was up at the office..."

Mr. Laster cut me off. "I don't need excuses, just find your seat. Anywhere is fine. We are currently reading The Outsiders. There's a copy on any of the desk." I practically ran to my seat, scrabbling into the desk. Mr. Laster went to the board and wrote that we had to read chapters one through six tonight. And wait for it... Quiz tomorrow. I groaned internally as I rapidly flipped through the pages. I would be spending a good portion of my afternoon reading.

A girl with hair the touched my desk, turned around and beamed at me. "Hi! I'm Alexandra. You must be new." She offered her hand to me so I took it and gave it a small shake.

I tucked a stray brown hair behind my ear. "I'm Diana. I moved here yesterday."

Alexandra asked," Where did you move from?"

Mr. Laster glared at us from across the room. "Girls, I believe you can wait until after class to chat." We both cringed and fell silent. I fiddled with the ends of the book, not having the proper concentration I needed in order to read. Everyone else in the class was buried in the material. One ginger in the front row was swiftly turning the pages. I wish I could read that fast.

It didn't take long for the bell to ring, startling just me. I jumped a little before grabbing my bag and shoving The Outsiders in, promising myself I would read it later. Alexandra caught me in the hallway. "Where's your next class?"

I hastily glanced down at my schedule. “Chemistry with Mrs. Mark."

Alexandra's lips turned up instantly. "Great, that's where I'm headed! Follow me" She cut gracefully through the crowd with me clumsily coming behind her. Everyone stared at me discreetly as I passed. I heard one guy whistle behind me. Alexandra turned on her heel. "Hey fucker, why don't you go on to class like a good boy and not embarrass yourself?"

I didn't even turn around to see who the guy was. He gulped audibly, “Sorry." Alexandra swished back around and opened the door to the right of her. The class was small, the normal lab tables set up. She sat down in the third desk from the front and motioned me over.

"Here, I don't have a lab partner so you can be mine!" Alexandra patted the stool next to hers so I sat down, dropping my bag at our feet. Then came twenty questions," So why did you move from California? Where does your dad work? What about your mom? Where do you live at? You have to sit with me at lunch..." She droned on, not missing a beat.

I hesitated before answering. "Dad wanted to live in the country. He's lawyer. My mom passed away a couple of years ago. I live on the other side of town. We brought the old farm out there."

Alexandra quickly apologized," I'm so sorry about your mom. I didn't know. I'm so use to knowing everybody. It’s nice to see a new friendly face.”

I smiled,” Don’t worry about it. It’s like you said. You didn’t know and you couldn’t have possibly known. I can’t imagine knowing everyone in town.”

“It can get really boring. Same people, same drama. I personally don’t like having drama, but I’m not above hearing the newest drama. The cheerleaders here can be over the top mean so when you hear about one of them getting in a nasty fight and losing… It makes you feel just a little bit better.” Alexandra shrugged as she spoke.

“I prefer to keep to myself when it comes to a bunch of drama. It doesn’t take much to drag you into it.” Several kids started pouring through the classroom, throwing around a football.

Alexandra rolled her eyes at them as they passed. “They can’t just leave it on the field. Those boys already practice for two hours after school every day.” One of the bigger boys from that group stopped in his tracks and scanned the room. “Well… that’s a little weird.” I nodded in an agreement. The boy’s brown eyes flicked to me and stayed. Everyone in the room was starting to notice the strange behavior.

Mrs. Mark swept into the room at the last chime of the bell. “Aaron, please take your seat. The rest of you pull out the textbooks from the drawers under the lab tables. We will start on the Periodic Table.” Her lecture lasted the entire class period. I was strangely alert, feeling familiar brown eyes on the back of my head.

Alexandra grabbed my arm as soon as the bell rang. “We have to hurry, or we’ll be take in the human traffic.” She laughed but she was definitely serious which I realized once the crowds of people started invading the halls. We stopped in front of the cafeteria. It was one of the biggest ones I had seen. For a small school, they sure could afford luxury. Alexandra pointed to one of the round tables next to the windows. “That’s where I usually sit with a couple of my friends. Would you want to sit with us?”

“Sure!” I couldn’t possibly say no when she looked at me so hopeful. She dragged me through the line and to the table she had suggested earlier. Another pair, obviously a couple, was waiting for us.

Alexandra gestured to each of them. “That’s Matt.” Matt waved, showing me his pretty white teeth. “And this is Ellie.” Ellie looked like she was a pixie between her hair cut and smallness. We sat down across from them and dug into our lunches. The buzz of conversations was loud enough for us not to hear each other.

Ellie grinded her teeth in frustration and stood up with her tray. “I’m going outside if you guys want to join.” I could barely hear her over the roar. Everyone grabbed their trays and filtered out the side door to the outside. Ellie’s frustration instantly eased as she crossed her legs on the grass. “Now that I can hear you, what is your name? Alex didn’t say.”

Alex blushed,” Oh, I’m sorry. This is Diana.”

I waved awkwardly at them. “Hi”