Seven

Seven

“The hardest part about being an outcast, isn’t the love you don’t receive. It’s the love you long to give that nobody wants.”―Jodee Blanco, Please Stop Laughing at Me... One Woman’s Inspirational Story

I’m collecting a couple of apples from our fruit bowl to take to school when I hear the sound of a car horn outside. Not thinking it’s for me, I place my apples in a container and move them into my bag. The car horn sounded again, and I walked over to the window and looked outside. Was she serious? I didn’t think she was. Quickly, I grab my keys from its hook and put them in my pocket before walking out the door.

Moira’s car is sitting in my driveway, looking all sleek and polished. I notice some of our neighbours looking out the window. No car like this has ever been down my street before. I slide into the passenger seat and am hit by the strong smell of leather. Hmm, the smell is stronger than yesterday. The next scent that enters my nose is a light floral scent from Moira.

“Good morning,” Moira grins as I shut the car door behind me.

“Morning,” I reply, buckling my seatbelt. Moira revs her car and backs out of the driveway with such quick speed and precision I only just manage to hold on.

“Whoa. Did anyone ever tell you; you drive fast for a girl?” I ask as she speeds off up the street. Moira laughs.

“All the time. All the time.”

I try to keep my screams inside as her car weaves around cars as she races up the hill. At one stage, she’s on the wrong side of the street, and I can’t help but swear and squeeze my eyes shut. The car lurches to a stop, but I sit there, my eyes squeezed tight.

“We’re here,” Moira says, trying to hide her laughter. I give her a sideways glare, making her laugh harder.

“Were you trying to get us killed?” I ask.

“No! Of course not! Come on, let’s go,” she says, opening the car door and getting out.

I leave the car and ensure the ground is firmly at my feet before closing the door behind me. Moira laughs as we walk down the street towards school together.

I’m shaking my head as a range of scents hit my nose. Frack! The aromas are overwhelming, and I try to think of my parents’ advice when they found out I was beginning to mind link. I stop walking and close my eyes, concentrating on pulling the smells away. Blinking my eyes open, I see scents, which is weird. I know, through pack school, that wolves with excellent tracking skills can ‘see’ scents. And I can. The colour of each scent mingles and turns, crossing and weaving in and out and around. I can see the colours are stronger near the person they belong to and weaker the further away from them. I can see where they went and how they came to get where they’re standing or being right now.

“Are you okay?” Moira asks, looking at me. There is something strange about her… her scent clings to her, but there’s no trail. I shake my head and close my eyes, willing my brain to shut down what I see. I know that this is part of my transitioning into my wolf. My birthday is a few days away, and I will shift then. But my body is preparing me for this gift.

What did Mum say? Lock it down. Put my skill in a room in my mind and close it shut. I try this, thinking about the scents that invade my personal space, and I put them in the room. I open my eyes and take a deep breath in.

“Yeah, I’m good,” I tell her, giving her a fake, reassuring smile. Maybe I shouldn’t have come today? I know some guys take the week off before their birthdays because of their burgeoning transitions into their wolves. Males tend to sprout hair erratically before their first shift. Thankfully female wolves don’t have the same symptom.

Moira smiles in reply and returns to walking towards her friends. They’re standing there in a circle, smiling and talking. I try not to scowl when I see Yvonne standing next to Jaymie. They both made me realise that they’re not my friend. They only put up with me because of my relationship with Moira.

“Good morning!” Moira greets.

“Good morning,” her friends reply.

“Morning,” I greet. Logan and Blake greet me back with a friendly good morning.

“Morning,” Yvonne replies, but I can see she isn’t sincere. Not that I care. She lost my respect when she left me to work with someone else. Who does that? It’s not nice, and I don’t want to be friends with someone who can so easily toss me aside like that. Jaymie, to her credit, says nothing.

“Yeah, I picked her up. Why? Jealous?” Moira says to Blake. What did I miss?

“You can always pick me up, you know,” Blake states, giving her a look.

“Me too,” Logan adds.

“And me,” Yvonne smiles.

“Ah, my car is pretty small. It only really fits four people,” Moira replies.

“That’s okay. Jaymie buses in, but I’ll fit,” Yvonne smiles. The bell goes, stopping the conversation, which I am secretly happy about. Did Yvonne just suggest that Moira pick her up instead of me? I feel unhappy about that. I am standing right here, you know. This is why I am grateful that the bell went, so I don’t have to listen to Yvonne make me feel even more like shit than I already feel.

The morning classes go slowly, and by the time the bell goes for recess, I’m ready to go home. I like school, I do. I love learning. But I hate, sorry, dislike the people who go here with me. I wish I could learn from home. I remember begging my parents to do distance education, so I didn’t have to face the bullying I received at school. But they told me it was un-wolf-like of me. We are part of a pack, and our wolves crave others. I tried to argue that I didn’t have my wolf yet, so that didn’t apply, but my parents insisted that I needed others.

I’m lost in these thoughts as I walk into the school lunchroom, looking at the floor before me. I am strong. I can do this. A scent hits me; watermelon and lemonade. But I thought I shut that down. I scan the room to see where the odour is coming from. The smell is intense, and it’s the only one I sense. I can’t see it like I did the others this morning, but it hits me.

Catherine is sitting on to-be Alpha Zach’s lap, sucking face. The smell is coming from their direction. I feel sad when I see them. Catherine’s arm is wrapped around Zach’s shoulders, and his hands grip her hips. People say that Catherine and Zach will be mates, but they will know for sure when it is her birthday, two weeks after mine. I don’t know why I feel sad. Catherine is nothing but a bully. She looks like a lollipop; her head is much bigger than her body. Like a stick. Which is mean I know. When we were friends, we both had healthy figures, but Catherine looked like she didn’t eat.

I don’t know what life would be like if Catherine became Luna. Would she make a good Luna? Maybe. Will the way I’ve been treated get better by her? Probably not. I think if she becomes Luna, I’ll leave. I don’t think I can take this anym`11ore. I hate my life in Clevedon. I don’t want to stay. I’m better than this. I deserve better.

“Sera, are you okay?” Blake asks. I look up at him and smile.

“Yeah,” I say. Just having a down day.

“I’ll get you some chocolate,” he says, getting up.

“No… you don’t have to,” I reply, trying to grab Blake’s hand. But he’s gone. Bloody wolf speed. I feel eyes on me and see Jaymie glare in my direction. I don’t know how to respond, and I watch as Yvonne nudges her and whispers into her ear.

“Aww, how sweet,” Moira comments as she watches him walk away.

“He doesn’t like me like that,” I softly reply.

“Of course, he wouldn’t”, Jaymie growls. I turn to look at her, and Yvonne smiles at me.

“Hey! Be nice. It costs nothing. And Sera is awesome, by the way,” Moira replies.

“I’m sorry, Moira,” Jaymie apologises. I look at her and frown. What about me? Blake walks back to our table and puts a bottle of chocolate milk and a Cadbury milk bar in front of me.

“Thank you,” I tell him.

“You’re welcome. Anything I missed?” he says, looking at everyone at the table.

My next lesson is Maths, which drags by slowly but uneventfully. What do they say? Time flies by when you’re having fun? I’m not having fun. I’m too worried about what’s going to happen next.

“Mr Dunn, can I go to the bathroom?” I ask, putting up my hand. Mr Dunn nods, and I get up and leave the room.

I walk into the first bathroom I see, and the scent of watermelon and lemonade hits my nose. The following sense that strikes me is my hearing. I hear grunting and moaning coming out of one of the cubicle stores. The bathroom door slams shut, and the noises stop. Oh shit, oh shit, I think. I’m frozen on the spot. I want to move, to get away from here, but I can’t.

The toilet door opens to a smirking Zach. I just look at him; he must have a thing for having sex in a toilet cubicle. Yuck. As he walks past, his whole side bangs into me, making me stumble back and fall toward the sinks.

“Keep your mouth shut, omega,” he tells me. I bow my head and look at the floor.

“Yes, Alpha,” I admit softly. I stand there as I wait for him to leave the bathroom and take a breath.

“What the fuck is wrong with you?” Catherine asks as she stomps out of the stall Zach came from, “Do you like following me around or something? Want to be like me? Well, guess what? You. Are. Nothing. You’re a useless and pathetic omega. When I become Luna, I will make you the pack slave. Your job will be to clean all the high-ranking pack houses. Pathetic, that’s what you are,” Catherine sneers. Her face’s beauty has left, instead replaced by this ugly thing in front of me. She is not the girl I grew up with, the girl I was best friends with.

Tears fall from my eyes, and I begin to snivel, making Catherine groan in disgust. I don’t look up at her; I don’t want to see the disdain on her face.

“Oh. My. Goddess. You are so weak, aren’t you? I pity your mate. Who’d want a snivelling pathetic omega like you?” Catherine taunts. The next thing I notice is my head being pushed forward with tremendous force. I cry out in pain as my forehead hits the porcelain sink. I try to steady myself, but everything goes grey, and I fall on my butt on the ground.

I don’t know how long I sat there or when Catherine left, but her distinctive scent of eggs and cheese is faint. I get up from my spot on the floor and go to the toilet stall against the wall (Not the one the Alpha and Catherine came out of), closing the door behind me. I slide my back against the tiled wall and rest my head against the door, grey and dark patches taking over my vision. I try to keep my eyes open but feel drained, exhausted, and tired.

A few minutes later, I heard a banging on the stall door.

“Sera? Are you in there? Open up! Sera?” Moira. Moira is calling out to me. I slowly open my eyes and assess where I am. The toilet stall. That’s right.

“Coming,” I manage to say. I shuffle to the side and reach for the lock. Dam, it’s far away. I get off my bottom and unlock the door, falling back onto the toilet lid.

“Hey… Hey… are you okay?” Moira asks, coming into the stall with me. I nod slightly but don’t see her response. My head still hurts, and everything is blurry. I hear Moira say something but only hear, ‘I’m sorry; I wish this didn’t happen to you.’ I shrug in response.

“This is my life,” I murmur back to her. I feel her cold fingers against the sore part of my forehead, squeezing my eyes shut when the light in the cubicle brightens.

“I’m sorry I can’t do more,” I think I hear Moira say.

“It’s okay,” I murmur back. My head doesn’t hurt as much, and Moira helps me onto my feet. She wraps an arm under my arms and walks me out of the bathroom.

“Where is everyone?” I ask as we walk along empty stalls.

“It’s home time already. I came looking for you when I didn’t see you at lunch. Don’t worry, I’ve got your bag.”

I don’t say anything as I let Moira lead me back to her car. I’m feeling tired again, and all I want to do is sleep. Moira takes me home, and the next thing I know, she’s helping me walk up the stairs and putting me to bed.

“Thanks, Moira,” I say, giving her a smile as my eyelids struggle to remain open.

“You should be right by morning,” I think Moira says. I don’t catch everything as my lids refuse to stay open.

~ Edited with Grammarly