The six of us went home for the first week of Winter Break, I to Welsburry Village, Shadow to her grandmother’s house, Naomi to Petersville, Brazen and Harlow to Maybell, and Calli to Woodville. Naomi and I hadn’t spoken since our fight. I sat alone instead of next to Naomi on the train. Naomi sat next to Calli. If any of our friends noticed this change, they didn’t mention it. The train got to my stop and I walked as fast as I could to get off the train. I was the last stop. I grabbed my bag and ran down the path. Luckily for me and my family, it is impossible to get mad for more than a second around Raza. I say more than a second because I managed it, once, but only for a short amount of time. This meant that it would be much easier to keep my temper in check and avoid hurting my little brother or parents like I did Naomi. I heard footsteps, running behind me and turned around. Raza was sprinting, probably only jogging for him, down the path towards me. I smiled as he skidded to a stop in front of me. “Hi!” I laughed. “Hello yourself, Mr. Speedy.” He grinned his impish grin as the two of us walked down the path. It was December and chilly, I was wearing a sweatshirt and jeans. Raza had on a jacket over his dark green shirt. Winter Break was a little more subdued than Spring Break last year, on account of the multiple holidays and colder weather. On the fifth day of the week, I was sitting at the bar at home, head on the table. Raza climbed up onto the barstool next to me. “Why are you sulking?” I looked up. “I’m not.” He nodded. “Yes you are. You’ve been a moody teenager for the past two days. What’s up?” He wasn’t wrong, I had been sulking a bit for the past few days. I hadn’t written a single letter since I’d arrived, and the lack of communication was killing me. I didn’t answer. He sighed. “You haven’t written a single letter since you got here, as far as I’ve seen. You usually write to Naomi at least once a day. Why aren’t you?” I glared at him. “We’re not talking.” “Why?” I didn’t answer. He rolled his eyes, swatting me. “You know I’m just going to keep bothering you until you answer. What’s wrong?” I sighed. “Fine. We got into a fight.” “About? Argument or fists?” “Argument, luckily. I pushed her too hard, we both got mad.” “So apologize. Duh.” “Can’t.” “Why not?” “We’re not talking, remember?” “So you’re never going to apologize. C’mon, you’ve got a better reason than that. Why can’t you apologize?” “I told you, I can’t. If I try to apologize I’ll make things worse.” “That’s not how apologizing works.” I smacked my forehead. “It won’t end in an apology, it’ll end in something else to apologize for is what I’m saying.” “Why?” I glared at him, staying silent. He rolled his eyes again. “Stop playing with your words and explain it like I’m five.” I leaned back in the barstool, almost falling off since I’d forgotten there was no backrest on the seats. “Remember Ren?” “Yeah, your friend’s father. The one with the monster.” “Well, his monster was banished. But it became, like, a shroud of shadows. And it could move around and inhabit other people.” “Okay?” I took a deep breath. “I think the monster might have gotten into me,” I confessed, saying the words as fast as Raza could run. Raza nodded. “So if you try to apologize, you’re afraid it’ll trigger the monster and make things worse.” I nodded. “Yeah.” “So why haven’t you lost it here?” I laughed. “It’s impossible to get actually angry around you, by the way.” “But you get annoyed by me easily?” “That’s different. Being angry is what triggers the monster, so hanging around you twenty-four seven has helped a lot.” He smiled that impish grin of his. “Just promise me you’ll take care of it when you go back to the school. And that you’ll apologize to your girlfriend.” “She’s not my- never mind. Alright, I promise.” He held out his hand to shake. I grabbed it and we shook. “Deal,” we said in unison. Who knew my nine year old brother would be the one to help repair Naomi’s and my relationship?
Notes/Credits: If you're reading this, you probably know I wrote The Wolf Boy. Well, here's the sequel: The Monster's Curse. This is Chapter 12. Previous Chapter(s): Chapter 1: https://scratch.mit.edu/projects/652476202/ Chapter 2: https://scratch.mit.edu/projects/652950608/ Chapter 3: https://scratch.mit.edu/projects/655177024/ Chapter 4: https://scratch.mit.edu/projects/655177565/ Chapter 5: https://scratch.mit.edu/projects/655621072/ Chapter 6: https://scratch.mit.edu/projects/656955201/ Chapter 7: https://scratch.mit.edu/projects/657580423/ Chapter 8: https://scratch.mit.edu/projects/657583863/ Chapter 9: https://scratch.mit.edu/projects/657586191/ Chapter 10: https://scratch.mit.edu/projects/657668860/ Chapter 11: https://scratch.mit.edu/projects/658404211/ Credits: Me, for being the author Shannon Messenger, JK Rowling, Eoin Colfer, and many other authors for inspo @aqua_di_angelo, @AL600AWESOME, @Lanze_cupcake_face11, and @Yayabinks for inspo and supporting the story! QOTC: What do you think Wolf is going to do to take care of the monster?
