After winter break, things quieted down a bit. I got a few letter updates from Shadow about Ren. Naomi checked the treehouse village, as Brazen had started calling it, daily, to check on Carlos, but he stayed asleep. We had the usual school schedule, moving on to more dangerous and effective potions, hexes, curses, and spells. Calli let us in on more of her backstory: She had ADHD, her mother was Professor Glinda, and her father was the famous artist Kyle June. Brazen & Harlow also updated us on other things: Their Aunt was another more famous artist, Zoey Anderson, and Brazen’s drawing’s were the best I’ve ever seen. On January 10, 11 days after we returned from chaos, Shadow requested for me to come down to the woods alone. I sent back a letter saying yes, and we met up in the Wolf Fruit Grove. “Hey,” Shadow said once we’d spotted each other. “Hi. Any updates on your mom?” I asked. She sighed and kicked a pebble. “She’s at Welsburry, but the medical bills are way too expensive for us. Ren has no money, Mom has almost no money, and my grandmother doesn’t have enough.” I thought for a moment. My family had always been okay, money wise, but occasionally we’d barely scraped by. Two parents, one with a part-time job, and one with a full-time one, raising two kids would usually be financially challenging. “I could write home. How much are the bills?” Shadow smiled slightly. “Expensive. My grandmother never said how much, but I suspect they’re well into the hundreds, maybe even thousands.” “What about Ren? Where’s he staying?” “In the guest room in our house. It’s awkward being around your father that you’ve never met - well, never had a great relationship with, in your own house, his room being right next door.” I nodded. I could imagine what it must’ve been like, even though I’d never had this situation. “What about you? Carlos okay?” Shadow asked, changing the subject. “Um, he hasn’t woken up, but he’s alive.” That’s pretty much all I knew, or really all I felt comfortable sharing. Anything else would lead to Naomi, which was a minefield for me and Shadow. Even more so now that I knew why. She nodded. “Better than nothing, I guess.” I nodded. The conversation had reached that point of awkwardness that you either needed to change the subject or leave. So I changed the subject. “What does your grandmother do? Like, what’s her job?” She thought for a moment. “Um. She is a writer. She’s written multiple series, but mostly for younger adults. Although she has written one series for our age. It’s called The Lost Temple, I think.” “I’ve heard of that, but I haven’t read it. Is it good?” “It’s like, 6 or 7 books long. It’s okay, I guess, I never thought much of it. It’s about two girls who live in a desert village, and one day they fall through the sand and find a temple. But they only have 1 week to get out, otherwise they’ll be lost forever.” “Sounds interesting.” “You can borrow my copies, if you’d like,” She suggested, smiling shyly. My eyes lit up and I smiled. “Sure." She held up her hand. “Wait here.” She ran off, and came back with 3 different books in her hand: The Lost Temple, The Missing Children, and The Hidden Treasure. “Thanks,” I said as I took the books. She nodded. “When you’re done, write me. I’ll have the next ones ready.” We chatted a bit more, then the conversation hit a block. “Well. I should probably get back,” I said. I smiled and turned to leave. “Wolf - wait.” I turned around. “Just- I thought you’d want to know. I’m happy for you and Naomi - even if it’s not what I wanted,” she said that last part under her breath, but I heard, “But, yeah. I’m not gonna try to steal you from her or anything.” I nodded. “Thanks.” She smiled and waved. I waved back, and that small motion made me realize that Shadow and I would get back on track, at some point. I turned away and walked back up to the school, just in time for dinner.
Notes/Credits: So, I am writing a story. It's called the Wolf Boy, and it's about a werewolf. This is Chapter 27. New chapters will come out whenever I add something new. You guys are all up to date! Chapter 1: https://scratch.mit.edu/projects/534060010/ Chapter 2: https://scratch.mit.edu/projects/534063855/ Chapter 3: https://scratch.mit.edu/projects/524407102/ Chapter 4: https://scratch.mit.edu/projects/535116523/ Chapter 5: https://scratch.mit.edu/projects/539191166/ Chapter 6: https://scratch.mit.edu/projects/541091515/ Chapter 7: https://scratch.mit.edu/projects/542478639/ Chapter 8: https://scratch.mit.edu/projects/543943477/ Chapter 9: https://scratch.mit.edu/projects/545518981/ Chapter 10: https://scratch.mit.edu/projects/547310742/ Chapter 11: https://scratch.mit.edu/projects/547908874/ Chapter 12: https://scratch.mit.edu/projects/548716751 Chapter 13: https://scratch.mit.edu/projects/548720777/ Chapter 14: https://scratch.mit.edu/projects/548720823/ Chapter 15: https://scratch.mit.edu/projects/548720878/ Chapter 16: https://scratch.mit.edu/projects/548720909/ Chapter 17: https://scratch.mit.edu/projects/548720955/ Chapter 18: https://scratch.mit.edu/projects/548720993/ Chapter 19: https://scratch.mit.edu/projects/548721015/ Chapter 20: https://scratch.mit.edu/projects/548721051/ Chapter 21:https://scratch.mit.edu/projects/548721077/ Chapter 21.5: https://scratch.mit.edu/projects/548721102/ Chapter 22: https://scratch.mit.edu/projects/548721149/ Chapter 23: https://scratch.mit.edu/projects/548721182/ Chapter 24: https://scratch.mit.edu/projects/555107764/ Chapter 25: https://scratch.mit.edu/projects/559056137/ Chapter 26: https://scratch.mit.edu/projects/559059376/ Credits: Me, for writing it. @aqua_di_angelo for being the first reader & giving feedback. J.K. Rowling & Shannon Messenger for some inspiration.
