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Anomalous
Ring A (School) Bell?
As anyone during their first day of school, Gray felt like throwing up in his backpack.
Corbin nudged him as they were on their way to make sure he was still alive inside.
“Okay, you reviewed?”
“Yes. Now let me look like I don’t care about my education, like you told me.”
Corbin had given Gray a crash course in school, but not the academic parts. After lending Gray his dictionary and seventh grade math book, he was sure Gray was going to do fine with the nerd-work. But the social skills—a half wolf was going to need some work done in that department.
Gray learnt all about cliques, how to deal with bullies that weren’t two-dimensional milkshake-dumpers, and gym class. The way he described all in general, you’d think school was a battlefield with several different gangs, and dodgeball was the equivalent of war to the boys.
Silver Creek was quite small for a private school, with what seemed like fifty students just chilling outside, some talking, some eating, most standing awkwardly waiting for their best friend, or maybe they were just really lonely.
It had a giant billboard on top, with giant letters reading SILVER CREEK GRAMMAR SCHOOL in carmine and cyber yellow. All pupils were required to follow a strict dress code of the carmine blazer and striped tie, the only exception for accessories being watches and ‘simple earrings’, whatever those were.
Corbin looked slightly disappointed with the exception of blue in the uniform.
The hallways were crowded as they pushed through, Corbin leading Gray by the wrist (slightly closer to the hand now), and Gray’s ears were getting deluged by all the sound. He could exactly pinpoint who was talking about the new Netflix show, oat cookies, and the best strategy for getting lunch money. Gray noted to stay away from the northwest side of the entrance hall for the morning.
The noise was one thing, but the smells all collided. Lots of breath, some evidently didn’t brush their teeth, Gray could smell the leftover ramen noodles from them.
After countless shoulder bumps and helping Corbin up after he tripped on someone’s shiny leather loafers (they didn’t seem to mind Corbin, but they did care about the shoes) they finally got to Homeroom.
The duo sat at the back, next to a dirty-blonde haired boy that seemed strangely familiar. Though, with rolled-up sleeves and a gadget stuffed discreetly in his backpack that he was listening to music from, he didn’t seem like an undercover agent. More like a world-class slacker.
Their teacher walked in the room. Corbin pulled Gray up as the other students stood, though the boy with headphones did not rise at the teacher’s presence. There was something so familiar about him, like he was one of Gray’s earliest memories.
Wait, he was part of Gray’s earliest memories.
A shockwave rippled through Gray’s spine. He was the boy they had brought in when Gray first turned into a human. If he knew the expression, Gray would have thought ‘OMG!’.
“Corbin! Corbin, I have something absolutely important to tell you. It is essential—”
“Dude. Teacher’s here.” Corbin said. The ‘shut up’ was very implied.
“Good morning class. My name is Mrs. Abigail Emerson,” she wrote her name on the board neatly, “and I shall be your advisor and English teacher this school year.”
She turned to face the class. Mrs. Emerson was quite aged, with gray streaks in her very short, dark hair. There were laugh lines on her face, though she looked quite stern right now, her expression daring any of them to step out of line.
“So, for our first day, we will be playing a sort of icebreaker to get to know each other. We will go by row, from first to last, and right to left. You will stand, state your name, and two things about you. Understood?”
“Yes Mrs. Emerson.” The students chanted in near unison, Gray and Lab Boy a bit late.
The students in the front row faced their classmates directly, with backs straight as the blackboard behind them. A dark-haired girl with leather loafers glared at Corbin, apparently recognising him as the shoe-ruiner. Corbin glared right back.
Her name was Mira Scotts, and Gray made a mental note to ruin more than just her shiny shoes.
The second row had nobody Gray really paid attention to except for a guy with a cap who said he was interested in gun dealing. Gray really hoped it was about the political side.
Third row of eight, nobody of interest. Fourth row—now they were going to be of interest.
Lab Boy stood up, his hands in his pockets. “My name’s Finlos Levenstein, though my friends call me Finn,” he paused to grin a weird smile. “Basically, no-one. So, two facts—well, I like fire, and play the violin.”
So, Finlos was his name. Definitely a person of interest.
Corbin was up next.
“My name is Corbin Beowulf. I am excellent at psychology, as juvenile as I may be. For my second fact, I love books, and prefer it as a pastime compared to sports.”
Nerd.
Gray was up next. His paws—no, hands, were sweaty. He felt like vomiting on his nonexistent sweater already, knees were heavy, Professor Beowulf’s spaghetti.
“I—er,” Gray stuttered a bit and mumbled some nonsense under his breath. “My name is Grayson Beowulf,” he blurted out. Gray saw a tiny smile flicker on Corbin’s face. That made him feel better.
“I like all wild animals, especially wolves. I’m also his distant relative.” Gray said, gesturing at Corbin. The smile was back.
“Ah, two in my class named after the hero of a famous epic. Interesting,” Mrs. Emerson said. “Though poetry will be discussed next week. Now, let us have an orientation for our new students.” She looked at the back.
The video was about all the school’s programs, electives and clubs and fundraising products. Gray was much more interested, however in Finlos Levenstein. He could give away Gray’s secret to the entire school, and then the entire world.
Then the bell rang.
The rest of the classes were fairly uneventful, a big lecture about why Home Economics was important, how to not get injured in Gym class, blah, blah, blah. With the murderous looks two guys with the bodies of sumo wrestlers were giving him and Corbin, Gray was sure he would be getting injured soon enough.
Corbin nudged him as they were on their way to make sure he was still alive inside.
“Okay, you reviewed?”
“Yes. Now let me look like I don’t care about my education, like you told me.”
Corbin had given Gray a crash course in school, but not the academic parts. After lending Gray his dictionary and seventh grade math book, he was sure Gray was going to do fine with the nerd-work. But the social skills—a half wolf was going to need some work done in that department.
Gray learnt all about cliques, how to deal with bullies that weren’t two-dimensional milkshake-dumpers, and gym class. The way he described all in general, you’d think school was a battlefield with several different gangs, and dodgeball was the equivalent of war to the boys.
Silver Creek was quite small for a private school, with what seemed like fifty students just chilling outside, some talking, some eating, most standing awkwardly waiting for their best friend, or maybe they were just really lonely.
It had a giant billboard on top, with giant letters reading SILVER CREEK GRAMMAR SCHOOL in carmine and cyber yellow. All pupils were required to follow a strict dress code of the carmine blazer and striped tie, the only exception for accessories being watches and ‘simple earrings’, whatever those were.
Corbin looked slightly disappointed with the exception of blue in the uniform.
The hallways were crowded as they pushed through, Corbin leading Gray by the wrist (slightly closer to the hand now), and Gray’s ears were getting deluged by all the sound. He could exactly pinpoint who was talking about the new Netflix show, oat cookies, and the best strategy for getting lunch money. Gray noted to stay away from the northwest side of the entrance hall for the morning.
The noise was one thing, but the smells all collided. Lots of breath, some evidently didn’t brush their teeth, Gray could smell the leftover ramen noodles from them.
After countless shoulder bumps and helping Corbin up after he tripped on someone’s shiny leather loafers (they didn’t seem to mind Corbin, but they did care about the shoes) they finally got to Homeroom.
The duo sat at the back, next to a dirty-blonde haired boy that seemed strangely familiar. Though, with rolled-up sleeves and a gadget stuffed discreetly in his backpack that he was listening to music from, he didn’t seem like an undercover agent. More like a world-class slacker.
Their teacher walked in the room. Corbin pulled Gray up as the other students stood, though the boy with headphones did not rise at the teacher’s presence. There was something so familiar about him, like he was one of Gray’s earliest memories.
Wait, he was part of Gray’s earliest memories.
A shockwave rippled through Gray’s spine. He was the boy they had brought in when Gray first turned into a human. If he knew the expression, Gray would have thought ‘OMG!’.
“Corbin! Corbin, I have something absolutely important to tell you. It is essential—”
“Dude. Teacher’s here.” Corbin said. The ‘shut up’ was very implied.
“Good morning class. My name is Mrs. Abigail Emerson,” she wrote her name on the board neatly, “and I shall be your advisor and English teacher this school year.”
She turned to face the class. Mrs. Emerson was quite aged, with gray streaks in her very short, dark hair. There were laugh lines on her face, though she looked quite stern right now, her expression daring any of them to step out of line.
“So, for our first day, we will be playing a sort of icebreaker to get to know each other. We will go by row, from first to last, and right to left. You will stand, state your name, and two things about you. Understood?”
“Yes Mrs. Emerson.” The students chanted in near unison, Gray and Lab Boy a bit late.
The students in the front row faced their classmates directly, with backs straight as the blackboard behind them. A dark-haired girl with leather loafers glared at Corbin, apparently recognising him as the shoe-ruiner. Corbin glared right back.
Her name was Mira Scotts, and Gray made a mental note to ruin more than just her shiny shoes.
The second row had nobody Gray really paid attention to except for a guy with a cap who said he was interested in gun dealing. Gray really hoped it was about the political side.
Third row of eight, nobody of interest. Fourth row—now they were going to be of interest.
Lab Boy stood up, his hands in his pockets. “My name’s Finlos Levenstein, though my friends call me Finn,” he paused to grin a weird smile. “Basically, no-one. So, two facts—well, I like fire, and play the violin.”
So, Finlos was his name. Definitely a person of interest.
Corbin was up next.
“My name is Corbin Beowulf. I am excellent at psychology, as juvenile as I may be. For my second fact, I love books, and prefer it as a pastime compared to sports.”
Nerd.
Gray was up next. His paws—no, hands, were sweaty. He felt like vomiting on his nonexistent sweater already, knees were heavy, Professor Beowulf’s spaghetti.
“I—er,” Gray stuttered a bit and mumbled some nonsense under his breath. “My name is Grayson Beowulf,” he blurted out. Gray saw a tiny smile flicker on Corbin’s face. That made him feel better.
“I like all wild animals, especially wolves. I’m also his distant relative.” Gray said, gesturing at Corbin. The smile was back.
“Ah, two in my class named after the hero of a famous epic. Interesting,” Mrs. Emerson said. “Though poetry will be discussed next week. Now, let us have an orientation for our new students.” She looked at the back.
The video was about all the school’s programs, electives and clubs and fundraising products. Gray was much more interested, however in Finlos Levenstein. He could give away Gray’s secret to the entire school, and then the entire world.
Then the bell rang.
The rest of the classes were fairly uneventful, a big lecture about why Home Economics was important, how to not get injured in Gym class, blah, blah, blah. With the murderous looks two guys with the bodies of sumo wrestlers were giving him and Corbin, Gray was sure he would be getting injured soon enough.