THE START OF THE LAST WEEK

29 FEBRUARY, MONDAY, ETHICS AND MORAL LESSON

I spent the minute long ride to school internally berating myself for speaking my mind aloud - I'm sure there was a time a place for that, but I'm equally sure this would've have been the time and place to use a mindlink. It was such a puppy thing to do too!

Most people would think mindlinking was a natural part of wolf life, and they weren't wrong, but I just got this ability this year! And while some newly shifted wolves took to this new ability like a duck to water, being newly shifted was also the most common reason for a wolf to forget to use the mindlink. Once again, I seemed to be among the "slow" ones.

"Are you alright, Sam?" Henry asked, while not looking up from his phone.

"Yeah." I nodded listlessly. Maybe I shouldn't have left my wolves back there. It wasn't like I was going to miss anything in school right? Like the term exams was over and it was just Ethics and Moral class now.

"Don't worry about James." Henry said, "He won't let Stephan have the upper hand."

That was really the last thing I was worried about. In fact, such a thought was nonexistent until Henry brought it up.

"I know." I answered to the window. I was watching the school pull up, but caught my reflection in the window and was surprised at how petulant I look. I quickly sat up straighter and adjusted my expression before turning the question back at Henry, "What about you?"

"What about me?" Henry scoffed, "I'm not the one who took a bomb in my face."

Will everyone just give that bomb in the face line a rest? I flared a little, "I didn't plan that!"

"Who does?" And then Henry laughed a little, "That wasn't the point, Sam."

And then he shook his head, "When I saw the news this morning, there was a moment I was sure you were a goner."

"Like, just one single moment?" I asked. It had felt just a tad more dangerous when I was on the scene.

Henry laughed again. Our car stopped and Peter got out to get the door for us.

"Well, if you had wanted to prove to the world what a monster you are, congratulations. You did it." Henry said.

The car door was opened before I could ask Henry what he meant. It didn't really matter though. I wasn't feeling like listening to anything serious.

I got out of the car, auto-mode on, and half expecting there to be a crowd of students trying to take a photo or video to earn their extra pocket money for the week.

"Thanks, Peter." I said as I stepped out of the car with my usual wide smile.

"The pleasure is mine, Alpha Princess." Peter answered. His formality surprised me, but I just kept smiling as Henry got off.

It was quiet at the porch. No junior photographers - I guess everyone was in class by now.

Henry and I walked down the empty hallways. I could hear a teacher blasting at his class somewhere ahead. It felt strange to be strolling down the school hallways when everyone else was in class. Henry and I didn't even have hallpasses!

"Where's Marcus?" I asked lightly, just to keep the awkward silence away, "I thought you usually came to school together."

"Yeah, we did. But my father wanted me to meet Stephan, so I dropped Marc at the back gate." Henry told me, "Pretty much the entire school was diverted to enter from the back gate today. I guess it was a good thing too, with what had happened and all..."

I didn't ask for a parade you know. And I definitely didn't ask for the bomb in my face. I wondered if everyone around would blame me though. It felt like I've brought nothing but trouble to Winderhill since coming here.

Well, good news. It would be my last week here.

We stopped outside the classroom. Henry knocked and stepped in. I followed, planning to ride on whatever excuse Henry came up with.

The classed murmured at my appearance but our Ethics and Moral class teacher was in a hurry to start his class, so he simply waved us to our seats with a stern, "Quiet class! We have a lot to do today."

Since when did we ever have a lot of do for Ethics and Moral class?

I never quite understood the idea behind ethics and moral class. You either have it or you don't. I mean, the kids who'd return the wallet they found, or help an old lady across the road, or tell the truth when they break a window would probably have done it anyway. With or without the classroom lesson.

And the kids who were unethical or immoral weren't going to change just because we read a comic about some fictional kid doing the right thing. Even if they crossed out the right boxes on the worksheet after. They could just be lying on the worksheet.

As if to prove my point, our teacher told us to sort the set of worksheets he had just passed out. There was a plastic folder too. He had bought it for us with money out from his own pocket. He stressed this a few times so we understood what a sacrifice he had made.

Now that the exams were over, our class has been selected at random for file inspections. Therefore, we must create the files in due order.

Step one, arrange the stack of worksheets that had been handed out. (Marcus had already sorted this out for both Henry and myself.)

Step two, put the blank worksheets into the file... Which, in case we didn't hear him the first hundred times, our teacher had bought for us - wasn't he nice?

Step three, copy the date and answers flashed on the screen for each worksheet.

The whole class groaned and I could feel my cynicism of ethics and moral class grow.

"This is supposed to be ethics and moral class, right?" Ivan just had to point out.

"Shh..." The teacher said, "Since you can talk, I'll assume we can move on to the next sheet."

And then to much groaning and gnashing of teeth, the slide was changed before we finished.

"Just shut up Ivan!" Leia scolded from across the few tables.

"I guess I'll just leave the bottom half blank then." Troy declared.

Our teacher suddenly had a change of heart and switched the slide back a page because he took pity on us.

"Take note to write in the correct date. And you must make sure to fill in every blank." He told us, "This will affect your Ethics and Moral grades."

"Ha. Fat load that would do." Ivan scoffed.

Our teacher pressed his lips together, and then he informed us that no matter how well we did in our exams, our future employer will look at our ethics and moral grade when deciding if they should hire us.

Yes, even our ethics and moral grade from our first year of high school would affect our chances of employment.

Therefore, we should all please copy down the correct answers dutifully. It was for our own good.

I would like all future employers of my class to take note: our ethics and moral grade was not reflective of us as a person. It was just an alphabet printed in our report books by someone who barely knew us.

All this cynicism was making me bitter. This was not why I came to school! I had a real purpose here! But first let me finish copying before our teacher clicks to the next slide!

---

I didn't think it was possible, but we finished copying everything at the bell.

"Music lesson!" Terence stood up immediately. I think all that sitting in one place and copying was hard for him.

Terrence usually liked moving around. He was the kind of guy who would walk up and down outside the classroom in between classes. At particularly long quiet lessons, he'd be the guy who raise his hand for a hallpass.

It wasn't exactly normal human behavior as far as I could tell, but I've gotten used to it over the term.

Just like I've gotten used to sitting next to Maria, so much so that her presence became like transparent to me when she was quiet.

She was quiet a lot lately.

"You've been really quiet." I told her before I thought about it.

Maria looked a little miffed that I was speaking to her, "You'll be transfering away soon."

For a moment, I felt bad.

"I don't believe in long distance relationship." Maria informed me in her usual cold glass cutting voice.

WTH? Was she breaking up with me? What happened to BFF? (Not that I wanted to be BFF with a vamp in the first place!)

And then she added, just a little more quietly, "But you may contact me again when you assume your position as the Ciara Queen. We will rekindle our friendship then."

I didn't quite know how to respond to that. I mean, thanks but no thanks? There was no way I would ever become a vampire queen! No, besides that... What did our friendship even mean to her?

But Maria was a vampire. I shouldn't have expected anything normal.

Anyway, we had to hand in our completed file for inspection before going to the music studio. As the class banged about with Troy's voice punctuating the air. I felt quite sure it would continue this way even after I was gone.

I let Marcus take my file and headed out of the classroom. Even though Maria was just a vamp, and I couldn't care less if I never saw another vamp again, I was starting to think that maybe it would be better if I just disappeared quietly.

Then everyone here could just get on with their own lives as if I had never existed.

"Wait, Sam!" Jasmine called just as I stepped out of the classroom.

"Zammi!" Zara slammed her file on top of Liam's desk and jostled her way out of the class.

"Will you girls stop pushing?" Ivan scolded, "Just wait your turn to get out of the classroom!"

"Shut up Ivan!" Leia scolded, "Don't be so cold hearted! She could've died!"

And then just outside the classroom, Zara grabbed me in a bear hug.

I froze, like a deer caught in the headlights. The other cool girls caught up and I was soon surrounded.

"What? What's going on?" Terrence asked from outside the tight circle of girls, "What are the girls doing?"

"Leave it Terrence." Ivan told him, "They're just over-reacting as usual."

"Yah!" Troy agreed too loudly, "They're always over-reacting!"

Jasmine growled that that, "She could have died, okay?"

Jasmine's momentary ferocity shocked me a little.

"Yeah!" Zara started crying all of the sudden, "I thought you were sure to die. Wait, you're alive right? You're not a ghost or something..."

Urm.. not right now. I was quite sure of it.

It turned out that they had watched the parade from inside the classroom. Well, most of the girls had. The boys were out playing football.

But almost everyone had watched the Ceremony of the Departed over the weekend and for some reason fallen in love with the blue faced warriors from Night Leaf.

The school didn't allow its students to take part in the parade, but Jasmine had made little blue origami flowers for me to bring back to place at our warrior's memorial because she was so moved by their sacrifice.

"I want to marry one of your warriors!" Zara told me as she dabbed away her tears.

Urm... I want to say okay, but it wasn't something that was in my control.

Apparently, my friends now think our blue faced warriors were all handsome, and strong, and young, and brave, and good with kids, and predominantly single.

I took mental note to try to get my hands on some of these videos when I got back home. Exactly what were they seeing through the reporter's lens?

They watched the rogue attack on my car this morning the same way - from the video clips attached to their social media feed.

"It's a miracle you're alive!" Krystal informed me.

"I'm not that easy to kill." I assured them, taking the chance to show off, just a little.

"Okay, but just let us know if you need help maybe carrying stuff today, or if anything hurts." Janice offered kindly.

I blinked, and then managed to answer, "Oh. Okay. Thank you."

"Let me help you with that!" Jasmine was quick to take my lunch box. I nearly flared, my lunchbox!

"Hurry up already!" Ivan yelled from across the hallway, "We're going to be late."

Like any of the guys were ever that keen to go for music class.

"Quiet!" Liam warned.

We tried, we really did, but in the end, the teacher in the next door class stepped out of her classroom and made us stand in two straight rows with our index finger held on our lips to keep us quiet.

"Now go for your music class like this!" She ordered shrilly at us, "I don't want to hear another peep out of any of you. Don't think I'll give any of you special treatment either."

She cast a stern glance at my direction. I kept my finger on my lip and tried to look innocent.

"Make sure you keep your finger there till you reach your next class!" She ordered as we shuffled down the hallway and turned down the stairs.

Jasmine dropped her hand from her mouth the moment we were out of sight. I kept my finger up.

"She won't know." Jasmine told me.

"I think it's funny." I told her, "I hadn't had to do this since I was a pup."

Jasmine laughed a little, "I'm just glad you're your usual self."

Me too. I mean, I'm glad our class was our usual selves too.