A New Family

Chapter 6

After Jake left the library, he headed straight to his dorm to freshen up. When he opened the door, he saw his roommates chatting and getting to know each other better - all except Sophia, who was engrossed in a book on her bed. As soon as Jake entered, the room fell silent, with all eyes on him, trying to gauge his mood.

"Hey, Peter, can we talk?" Jake asked, his voice softening.

Peter shrugged, trying to lie down on his bed. "I'm not really in the mood for talking."

Jake persisted, "Come on, please just hear me out. I want to apologize and explain why I acted out earlier."

Peter sighed, but Kate gave him a glance and a nod which made him sit up and listen. "Fine, let's talk."

Jake took a deep breath. "Firstly, I'm really sorry for my behavior earlier. The truth is, I've been haunted by a traumatic experience since childhood. My parents were killed by werewolves - and to make it worse, they were our relatives who had been turned."

Jake paused, collecting his thoughts as he gazed around the room. Even Sophia looked up from her book, intrigued.

"That's why I struggle to trust anyone. I was determined to join the academy to grow stronger and avenge my parents. But when I got here, I realized I was too weak to make a difference. I felt like I'd hit rock bottom."

The room remained silent, with only the sound of heavy breathing filling the air. Vynn's eyes dropped, his expression somber, while reflecting on his own struggles.

Peter's voice cracked as he spoke, "Why didn't you share this with us? You would have felt lighter, and we could have supported you."

Jake headed to his bunk, his movements slow and deliberate. "I didn't know any of you well enough, and I wasn't ready to open up."

Kate's voice was gentle but firm. "We're roommates, Jake. That makes us family. You should have shared your struggles with us."

Jake smiled, a hint of gratitude in his voice. "I'm sorry. Sharing this with you guys has made me feel a little better."

Kate's palm faced upwards, a gesture of unity. "Family?"

The others placed their palms on hers, a symbol of their bond. "Family," they chimed in unison.

Sophia, initially reluctant, eventually joined in, her expression softening. "Fine, I'll join in."

Together, they shouted, "Family!" as they separated their hands.

After a little bit of getting to know each other more, they decided to get some sleep. When it was 5am, Jake woke up to take his bath and dress up for today he was planning to go out into town. Students are only permitted to go into town on weekends only. So he decided to get ready.

By 5:30am, Jake was ready and by then the whole room had already woken up. After a little bit of argument of who to go into the bathroom first, they finally decided on who to go in first and do whatever they wanted to do. They were forced to come to an agreement otherwise they were gonna miss their breakfasts which was gonna be served by 8am.

By 7:30am, they were all ready and they decided to go to the dining hall together. On their way going, Jake and Jack couldn't stop arguing about an irrelevant matter. And that's when they mistakenly bumped into someone.

"Hey are you blind? Can't you see?" The person asked irritated.

"We are so sorry about that. We didn't see you," They both apologized.

"Huh? Then that definitely makes you guys blind," The person said, amused.

"Hey, what's your problem? They already apologized and admitted their fault, so why are you creating a scene?" Sophia asked finally catching up with the guys.

"Are am I creating a scene? Really?." The student asked amused. "You bumped into me first and now you are giving us attitude. Are you for real now?"

"But we already apologized so why are you now making a mountain out of a molehill." Jack angrily said.

"Oh really! Do you know who I am?" The student asked, pointing to his shoulder that had two stripes on it, indicating he was a second- year. And he also lifted up his wrists, displaying the number six.

"And so?" Jake asked now quite irritated. "Does that make you the general or something." Jake asked, his tone sarcastic.

"You little first year brat! How dare you talk to me like that!" The student exclaimed furiously and threw a punch that landed squarely on Jake's face sending him crashing to the ground.

The whole friends got angry and readied themselves to charge and deal with the second year but they were stopped by a sergeant and they were all dispersed.

"You." The sergeant said pointing towards Jake. "Go get your nose treated. It looks broken. And the rest of you leave here now."

"I have marked your faces. Just watch your back." The second year said while walking towards his school building.

After the sergeant left, Peter offered to take Jake to the nurse's office to get his nose treated.

After the nurse tended to Jake's face, she finally let him go. Throughout the checkup, Peter couldn't help but stare at nurse Hayley, who was a beauty in every sense.

Her symmetrical face had no blemishes, her skin looked smooth, and her body shape would make many guys chase after her.

After nurse Hayley discharged Jake, he decided to still go ahead with his trip to town.

"Are you for real!" Peter asked surprised. "Aren't you supposed to be resting after getting your nose broken and now treated? And you're saying you want to visit town."

"Yes, I have something to take care of. Besides it's just a broken nose, nothing much. I'm fine." Jake reassured Peter.

"Fine but let me come with you." Peter asked.

"No don't worry, am fine. No need to babysit me." Jake reassured again with a smile.

"Fine. But please take care of yourself okay." Peter said.

"I have heard you. Stop behaving like my girlfriend." Jake said to which they both laugh.

And then Jake finally made his way towards town. When he got to town, he noticed that it wasn't as bad as where he came from. Despite the torn-down buildings, he saw people walking around, market stalls set up, and even little children playing.

"Wow, this place is filled with a little bit of happiness compared to my own town." Jake thought dejectedly.

Jake passed the town's market stalls and was making his way to the town's library, maybe he could see something of relevance there. But just before he could get to the library, he heard screams.

Jake decided to turn around to identify where the screams were coming from, and that's when he saw people running Helter skelter, trying to get to safety like something was chasing them.

And that's when Jake could finally see what was chasing them. It was a werewolf.