He looked around the busy street. Lots of people were on their way to school or work. Suddenly he froze. His heart began to beat faster.
‘What is it?’ Tim asked.
Alfie pointed across the road.
His voice changed to a whisper. ‘That’s him, I think.’
‘Who?’
‘The man from the park.’
Tim stared. Cars and mopeds zoomed past. There were a lot of people on the other side of the road.
‘I can’t see him,’ Tim said. ‘I don’t even know what he looks like. I’ve never seen him.’
‘There, with the hat and the walking stick. I’m going after him.’
‘I’m coming too,’ Tim said.
They crossed the road and ran after him, dodging between the people. In the distance Alfie saw the man’s hat. He ran even faster. Tim couldn’t keep up with him and gave up. Just round the corner, Alfie caught up to the man.
‘Excuse me,’ he panted.
The man stopped and turned around. He was wearing dark glasses.
Alfie stared at him for a few seconds. And then at the white stick. He only noticed that now.
‘Can I help you?’ the man asked in a friendly voice.
‘I, I, I …’ Alfie stammered. ‘I thought you were someone else. I made a mistake.’ Then he quickly made himself scarce.
‘Wow, you can run fast all of a sudden,’ Tim said. ‘Before, you couldn’t even keep up with me. So, was that him?’
Alfie shook his head.
‘No, it wasn’t the right person, it was a blind man.’
Tim looked at him as they walked into the playground. ‘Does this mystery man really exist? You sure he wasn’t just a dream?’
‘He exists,’ Alfie said. ‘And I’m going to find him.’
But he didn’t sound so sure.
At school things were going well. Nick Bragman stayed away from Alfie. And he left Tim in peace too. That wasn’t all that had changed, as Alfie discovered during P.E.
‘On the ropes,’ Mr French said.
Alfie had never been good at P.E. And he’d always been especially bad at climbing ropes.
In the gym there were six ropes hanging from a rail on the ceiling. Six children had to take turns climbing while the rest of the class cheered them on.
Alfie was in the last group. He looked at the rope with a sigh. At the bottom there was a big fat knot you could stand on with both feet. Alfie didn’t usually get much further than the knot.
‘Come on, Alfie,’ Mr French said. ‘Just try. If you get halfway up, you’re a star!’
Alfie nodded. He looked at the rope again. I’m not going to let it beat me, he thought. I climbed up the drainpipe at home, didn’t I? I didn’t think about it, I just did it.
‘Ready?’ Mr French called.
He blew hard on a whistle. The kids grabbed the ropes. They pulled themselves up until they were standing on the knots.
Alfie felt the rope between his hands. And suddenly he knew what to do. He bit into the rope.
His hands grabbed the rope above his head. He pulled himself up.
Bite. Grab. Up.
Bite. Grab. Up.
He went so fast that no one even noticed until Noura, a girl with long black hair, suddenly screamed, ‘Hey, Alfie’s already at the top!’
All at once everyone in the gym fell silent.
26
Round of Applause
All eyes looked up at the ceiling, where Alfie was holding on to the very top of the rope. Even he was dumbfounded. He saw his classmates’ faces with their mouths hanging open in shock.
Mr French was speechless too. His whistle had dropped from between his lips and there was a dazed look in his eyes as if he had just seen a miracle.
The other climbers were only halfway up. They too stared up incredulously and forgot to climb any further.
Alfie clamped the rope between his feet and held on with one hand. He grinned shyly and waved with his free hand. Then he slid down carefully.
All the kids gathered around him when he got to the bottom. Everyone was talking at once.
‘How did you do that, Alfie?’
‘Have you been taking pep pills?’
‘You looked like a rocket, you zoomed up so fast.’
No one paid any attention to the other climbers, who were still up on their ropes. Not even Mr French. He laid a hand on Alfie’s shoulder.
‘That was extraordinary, Alfie. I didn’t know you were so good at climbing. Actually, I didn’t think you could climb at all.’
Alfie looked at his teacher shyly.
‘I didn’t think so either, sir. But all of a sudden I just knew how to do it.’
Mr French thought for a moment.
‘When did you get so good at climbing, Alfie?’
Alfie almost said, ‘When I turned into a werewolf, sir.’ Fortunately, he stopped himself just in time.
‘When I turned … um, when I turned seven, sir.’
Mr French shook his head. ‘I’ve never known anyone to improve so quickly before. It’s extraordinary! Do you think you could do it again, Alfie? You were so fast, I didn’t even see it properly. I don’t think anyone really saw it.’
‘He cheated, of course,’ mumbled Vincent. Vincent was the best at sport in the whole class. He was best at long jump, high jump, running and rope climbing. And he was also the worst loser.
Mr French ignored Vincent. ‘Try it again, Alfie,’ he said calmly.
The other climbers had come back down in the meantime.
‘OK,’ Alfie said.
He walked over to a rope and grabbed hold of it. Everyone in the gym fell silent again. Alfie looked around. All eyes were on him.
‘Here goes,’ Alfie said.
He pulled himself up on to the knot.
Bite. Grab. Up.
Bite. Grab. Up.
Mr French and the children blinked. They saw Alfie shoot up the rope like a rocket. In moments he was already back up at the ceiling.
‘Incredible,’ Mr French whispered with deep awe in his voice. ‘That’s a star turn, Alfie.’
‘See, he’s cheating,’ Vincent suddenly shouted. ‘He bites the rope. I saw it myself.’
Noura gave Vincent a shove. ‘So what? It’s not against the rules. And anyway that makes it a lot harder than normal climbing.’ Her eyes gleamed as she looked at Alfie and she started clapping very loudly.
The other kids followed her example. Everyone started clapping. Even Mr French joined in. Only Vincent sat in the corner scowling.
But no one paid him any attention.
Alfie was the hero of the day.
After school, Noura came up to Alfie.
‘Would you like to come to my birthday party next month?’ she asked.
Alfie looked at her, stunned. No one ever asked him to come to their party. Everyone always thought he was a wimp and not worth inviting. That seemed to have changed.
‘I’d love to,’ he said, and ran off singing.
Maybe the mystery man was right. ‘You should be happy with your gift,’ he had said.
Today, at least, I am happy, Alfie thought.
‘What are you so cheerful about?’ Tim asked on the way home.
‘I’m glad to be,’ sang Alfie, ‘I’m glad to be a werewolf like me.’
He climbed - zip-zip - up a tree and dangled from a branch while he sang.
Tim looked at his friend thoughtfully. He’s getting a bit too confident, he thought. That could be trouble!
27
Pain
Alfie had never felt so great. Suddenly everything was going well.
Nick Bragman was as meek as a lamb. He didn’t dare tell anyone what had happened that night. He was too scared they would all laugh at him. Alfie was suddenly a hero at sport, thanks to the ropes. And soon he’d get to go to Noura’s party. Things couldn’t have been better.
Weeks went by and Alfie almost forgot about the mystery man.
I don’t actually need him, he thought. E
verything is fine the way it is, isn’t it? I can stop looking for him.
At last the day of Noura’s party had come. Six kids had been invited. They watched The Lion King and then they played games.
Alfie was really enjoying himself. Noura smiled at him now and then, and that made him feel even happier.
It was only towards evening that things went wrong. They turned off the lights and lit candles, and then everyone got a piece of cake on a plate with a small silver fork.
‘Look how beautiful the moon is.’ Noura pointed out through the window. ‘It’s just like a Chinese lantern.’
Alfie nodded. He brought the silver fork up to his mouth to take a bite of cake and then …
Pain! Pain!
A burning pain shot through his body. As if the fork had given him an electric shock.
The fork clattered to the floor and Alfie dropped the plate with the cake on it. Cream splattered all over the rug.
Astonished, Alfie looked at his hands. What had happened? Was it because of the fork?
The pain was already gone.
He looked back at his hands. His nails looked longer. Or was he just seeing things? Suddenly his neck felt itchy. When he scratched it, he felt hair under his collar.
Oh no! thought Alfie as his legs started shaking. It’s happening again.
Noura came up to him. ‘What’s wrong, Alfie? Where’s your cake?’
Noura’s mother turned on the light and looked at the rug with a frown. ‘Do you smear cream over the floor at home too?’ she asked as she went to the kitchen to get a cloth.
Alfie turned bright red. He’d ruined the party.
Anxiously, he looked out of the window at the moon. The full moon! He hadn’t given it a second thought over the last few days. Oh, how he hated the moon. Now things were going to go wrong again.
‘I … I’ve got to go,’ Alfie stuttered.
He felt itchy all over his body. What if he turned into a werewolf on the spot? A werewolf that had smeared cream on the carpet. That would be a disaster! Just when Noura was starting to like him.
Nervously, he started to scratch everywhere: his back, his neck, under his arms. He had to twist into all kinds of weird positions.
Noura gave him a worried look. ‘Are you all right, Alfie? Aren’t you enjoying the party?’
Now the other kids were looking at him too.
Maybe my face is already hairy, thought Alfie. And maybe my ears have already changed.
He covered his face with his hands. He couldn’t let them see him like this.
‘Yeah, I’m fine, it’s great,’ he mumbled. He saw white hair emerging from his sleeves. ‘But I have to go.’
Like lightning he raced to the coat rack, grabbed his coat and tore out of the door.
On the way home, tears scalded his eyes.
A fool, a fool, he looked a fool! He would always have to hide and run away to avoid getting caught out.
Being a werewolf was horrible.
28
Eyes
Alfie ran all the way home. He went around the back and into the kitchen. Panting, he looked in the mirror. Nothing was happening. His ears were normal. His nose was normal. His face was normal. No hairs in sight.
He had been scared about nothing. He had just imagined it all. That was why he’d felt itchy all over. There wasn’t even a white hair poking out of his sleeve. It was just a thread.
He’d run away from the party for no reason. He stamped on the floor angrily.
‘Stupid! Stupid! Stupid!’
‘What’s up with you?’ Tim asked.
Alfie jumped. He hadn’t heard Tim coming in.
‘Nothing,’ he said. ‘There’s nothing wrong with me at all. The only problem is I’m a werewolf.’ He sighed deeply.
‘Come on,’ Tim said. ‘Let’s spend the whole evening chilling in front of the TV with a bag of crisps.’
Alfie looked at Tim.
‘The whole evening? Is that allowed?’
Tim started laughing.
‘Sure. Mum and Dad have gone out to see the musical Peter and the Wolf. I didn’t want to because you couldn’t go.’
‘So we’re home all by ourselves?’ Alfie said.
Tim pulled an enormous bag of crisps out from behind his back.
‘It’s sad, isn’t it?’ he said grinning.
Tim was stretched out on the sofa watching a horror film on TV. Alfie was sitting on the armchair with his legs over one of the armrests.
Big letters appeared on the screen. THE END.
‘Cool film,’ Tim said, stretching. ‘They should make a book of it. Catch!’
He threw a handful of crisps at Alfie. Alfie didn’t catch them. He stared ahead gloomily. The film had hardly got through to him at all.
He was thinking of Noura. He liked her a lot. Running away like that had been really stupid. She was bound to be furious with him and her mother would never forgive him. He had completely wrecked things. Why on earth had he dropped that stupid cake?
Suddenly he sat up straight. He swung his legs over the armrest and put his feet on the floor.
‘Silver!’ he shouted. ‘Now I understand! It was because of the silver fork. The man in the park was right.’
Tim looked at the crisps that had fallen on the carpet. ‘A silver fork? You can eat crisps with your fingers, you know. It’s not soup or something.’
Alfie shook his head. ‘No. I don’t mean that.’
He explained what had happened at Noura’s party.
‘It hurt,’ he said. ‘Like a burning pain.’
‘The fork?’ Tim asked.
Alfie nodded. ‘Silver is dangerous for werewolves. The mystery man in the park told me that.’
Alfie grabbed the arms of his chair. He looked around the room, his eyes taking in all the silver. In the glass cabinet there were silver pots and jugs. There was a silver tray on the cupboard. They had silver cutlery. There were silver clocks, silver watches, silver rings and silver bracelets.
Tim’s mother loved silver. She even collected it.
‘I’m surrounded by danger,’ Alfie stammered. ‘The whole house is full of silver. I only just noticed.’
Tim didn’t say a word. He stared at his friend. Alfie’s ears had turned pointed and hairy. The hands holding the armrests were covered with white fur, and white hair had started sprouting all over Alfie’s face.
‘What are you looking at?’ asked Alfie.
Tim pointed at Alfie’s hands. ‘Er … it’s that time again, I think, Alfie.’
Alfie held his hands up in front of his face and looked at them. They had turned into paws.
‘Wrow!’ said Alfie.
Tim just nodded. Fascinated, he watched the hair grow out of Alfie’s sleeves and the legs of his jeans.
‘Wrow!’ Alfie said again.
Tim still couldn’t speak. His eyes widened as Alfie’s socks ripped open and his toes appeared, long and hairy with sharp nails.
High in the sky, from behind a cloud, the full moon watched silently through the window.
There was someone else watching too. A dark figure at the window.
Two gleaming, yellowish eyes peered over the window ledge.
29
Sirens
‘I knew it,’ Mrs Chalker mumbled while peering in through the window. ‘I knew I had to keep my eye on those brats. Especially the one with the glasses. He’s a beast. But I’ll get him. I’ve taken measures!’
Silently she slipped out of the garden.
Alfie leapt up. Quickly, he pulled off his socks.
‘What are you doing?’ Tim asked.
‘I’m going away,’ Alfie growled.
‘Away? Where?’
Tim stared at Alfie as if he had gone mad. Then he saw the tears in Alfie’s eyes.
‘I dunno. Away. I can’t stay here. I’m not normal. I can’t even eat cake with a silver fork! I don’t want to have to hide for three nights every full moon.’
For a moment Tim was
totally astonished. ‘But … I don’t want you to go away. You’re my best friend.’
Suddenly Tim got to his feet. ‘I’m coming with you!’
Alfie shook his head. ‘I’m going alone, Tim. First to the park. I have to find the mystery man. He’s the only one who understands how it all works.’
‘But I can help you look, can’t I?’ Tim asked.
‘Wrow!’ Alfie shook his head. ‘You have to stay here with your parents. Maybe I’ll find my own mum and dad somewhere. They must love me. Then I won’t have to hide all the time.’ He scratched his head with a claw. ‘I think they must be werewolves too. How else could I be one? But first I have to find that man. He can help me find them.’
Tim felt himself getting desperate. ‘But my parents love you too!’
Alfie laughed joylessly. ‘They don’t know that I’m a werewolf. If they knew …’ He shook his head. ‘No one wants a werewolf around the house.’
He threw his clothes on the chair. ‘Bye, Tim,’ he growled. ‘You’ll always stay my best friend.’
Then he turned and ran out of the kitchen.
‘Wait, Alfie, wait!’ Tim shouted. Tears choked his voice. But the back door slammed shut and Alfie was gone, - only his clothes were left behind.
Alfie sucked in the night air. It was as if the moon was smiling at him. High above, the stars were twinkling. Not once did he look back.
He felt a pang of sorrow thinking about Tim. He was his best friend.
Then he shook his head. He really couldn’t stay here. Werewolves weren’t welcome anywhere.
A quiet howl rose up out of his throat. His ears drooped sadly. He knew every house on the street. This is the last time I’ll see these houses, he thought. I’ll never come back here again.
At least I won’t miss that creepy old biddy, he thought as he passed Mrs Chalker’s house.
Suddenly he froze. There was a racket coming from Mrs Chalker’s chicken coop. Cackling and fluttering.
Alfie’s ears stood up. What’s going on with those chickens? he thought. Every time I go past, they … Shall I have a quick look? Just a look. I’m really not going to eat any of them.
Alfie the Werewolf 1: Birthday Surprise Page 5
