High School Bites

by Rachael Alcobia

  “What’s so funny?” Kodi asked.

  “Nothing. I like your shirt,” I said, and he frowned.

  “What’s wrong with Scooby Doo? It happens to be a classic television show and movie series. The animated ones, of course,” he said, and his tone of pride made me laugh.

  “I agree completely. What’s your favorite one? Scooby Doo and the Reluctant Werewolf?” I asked with a grin. There was a snicker from the front seat and Kodi’s attention snapped to Trina.

  “Mom, who’s side are you on?” he asked in mock offense.

  “Rut-roh,” I said like Scooby, causing Trina to laugh even harder.

  Kodi threw up his hands in surrender and settled back into his seat while shaking his head with a smile. He looked at me and up seeing my grin that had yet to fade, gave me a wink before placing his hand in mine that had been resting on the seat between us and laced our fingers together. I gave him a smile before turning my head away to look out the window. I didn’t want him to see the doubt on my face. I couldn’t help but wonder how things would be between us at school. We hadn’t discussed what exactly this thing between us was and although I was content with it and didn’t want to push him, I didn’t know if this was something we kept between us or if he was content with it being public. Honestly if he rebuked me and was too ashamed to be linked with me in front of anyone but we, it might hurt me more than Simone’s bite had. The time to find out had arrived when Trina pulled into the staff parking lot and Kodi let go of my hand and jumped out of the vehicle, his school binder in hand. In that moment, my old insecurities reared their ugly heads and I thought he’d gone on without me until my door opened and I found him holding his hand out for mine. While I was getting ready for heartbreak, he was being a gentleman and jumped out so fast so that he could open my door for me. I was an idiot. Unbuckling my seat belt, I grabbed my backpack from the floor before accepting his hand. We said goodbye to his mother and walked to onto the school property with our hands still locked together and I waited for awkward stares or looks of shock that never came. Then I remembered that I was just as anti-social as Kodi, so a lot of the student body probably had no idea who we were. I looked at Kodi who smiled at me and I made a decision. Today, nothing and no one would bother me. My phone played a four-note melody signaling that I had a text and I pulled it out of my pocket to see who it was from. Katie had texted me asking if I wanted to meet her at the office to get our classes switched out since I could no longer be with Remy in Agriculture. After that was my free period so I needed to decide what to do instead and get it changed on my schedule.

  “I have to meet Katie at the office to get out of agriculture. Do you want to go with me?” I asked.

  “I should go find Stephen. I’ll meet you in Algebra,” he said, and I nodded before letting go of his hand but before I got two steps away, he pulled me back for a peck on the lips.

  “I’ll see you in a bit,” I said with a smile and headed toward the office. Once inside the doors I spotted Katie at the administration desk. It didn’t take more than a few minutes to sort everything out. I already had all of the required credits for electives so I decided not to replace Agriculture but to leave it as another free period which meant I’d have second and third period to do whatever I wanted. I figure I could use it for swimming or working extra hours for Dr. Thomas. I walked to Algebra and got there just before the warning bell rang to find Kodi settling in at his desk. He smiled at me as he noticed me coming toward him to take my seat. If every day here was like this, I could really have a newfound love for school.

  “Did you get everything sorted out?” he asked.

  “Yeah, now I just have to find something to entertain myself for second and third periods,” I replied.

  “I can think of something,” he said with a grin.

  Looking at him suspiciously I asked, “Oh yeah, what would that be?”

  “I have second and sixth periods free because I’m done with PE and elective credit requirements. I could switch my sixth period so that I have third off instead, then we could do whatever you wanted. We could go to the movies, go for a swim in the river, or after your change we could even go running,” he said.

  “Running?” a voice said from the other side of Kodi. Kendra stood leaning against the desk next to his and crossed her arms with a sneer. “I wasn’t aware that someone of your size could run.”

  I braced my hands on the top of my desk to get up and give her a few choice words but Kodi put one hand on top of mine to still me.

  “Twenty bucks says Meghan can beat you in a race,” Kodi said with complete confidence.

  She scoffed, “Yeah, sure, how about a hundred-meter dash?”

  “Make it a thousand meters,” Kodi said and I was so confused by the situation that I said and did nothing but watch the exchange.

  Kendra laughed for a good fifteen seconds before she realized that no one else joined her in her merriment.

  “You can’t be serious,” she said with scorn.

  “Oh, I am. After school on the track?” he said with a raised eyebrow, daring her to accept the challenge.

  “You’re on,” she told him before turning her attention to me. “Try not to have a heart attack, I don’t want to get blamed by Jane if you drop dead on the track.” And with that, she was gone.

  I spun to Kodi with the beginnings of anger rising in my chest. “What were you thinking?” I whispered because class had begun.

  Kodi leaned closer and whispered back, “I was thinking that since we’re making plans for things to do, like the movies, why not make her pay for our tickets?”

  He sounded so calm, as if he were making perfect sense and that explained everything.

  “What makes you think I can run that fast? Or that far, for that matter?” I whispered harshly.

  He looked at me like I was insane. “How far do you think you ran last night with Stephen and me?” he asked. I had no idea, so I gave my best guess.

  “I don’t know. Three hundred meters?” I replied.

  Kodi laughed. “Meghan you ran about two miles. That’s over three-thousand meters.” My brow furrowed in confusion. There’s no way that was right. I tried to think about it, and I remembered whipping through the trees and bounding over boulders. Is it possible that I’d been going as fast as it had seemed? Two miles was probably more than I’d even walked all at once, much less ran. If what he said was true, that would explain his incredulous look at my hesitation to run a thousand. Maybe I could do it. I said so out loud.

  “Of course, you can. Your wolf will help you,” he said that last part even quieter.

  I took a moment to think on it and decided that he was right, my wolf and I together could probably run faster than the track team, so a cheerleader shouldn’t be too difficult to outrun. If I wasn’t mistaken, I believed my wolf was excited by the bet and relished the chance for a challenge. Challenge. I’d forgotten yet again to ask Kodi about how challenges within the pack worked. Well we had the next period off together so I would have the opportunity to ask him then. Forty minutes and one assignment later the bell rang, and we were out the door. After another trip to the office so that Kodi could change his schedule, we were free for the next two periods. Kodi didn’t really live within walking distance of school and although the old truck at his house was technically his, neither of us had driven to school so we were confined to campus or somewhere nearby.

  “So, where to?” Kodi asked and I thought about it.

  “The athletic department doesn’t use the pool this semester. Would you be interested in going for a swim?” I asked.

  “Yeah, that sounds good. I have PE shorts in the locker room so I’ll meet you in the pool,” he said and gave a peck to my temple before heading to the opposite side of the gymnasium that I was going to. After changing into my suit, I returned to my locker for my towel and reached in to grab my shorts before stopping myself. I had nothing to hide with Kodi. I slammed the locker shut and turned to the large metal door tha
t led to the pool. Simone stood in front of it. I couldn’t help but roll my eyes.

  “What do you want?” I asked and didn’t pretend to be polite.

  For a moment she said nothing. Then she slowly sauntered toward me until she was mere inches away and I struggled not to attack. I didn’t know who I needed to contain more, my wolf or myself. I had noticed, however, that my wolf and I were beginning to feel like one being, like just myself rather than two entities. It might have something to do with the full moon being right around the corner. I guess that meant my test was coming soon. I would survive and become Changed, or I would die in agony.

  “I can smell Kodi on the other side of this door. By all means, enjoy what little time you have left with him. You and I both know you’ll never survive the Change. I was born a werewolf and the pain for a Born was bad enough. Why do you think there aren’t any Changed in the pack?” she said and before I could lash back, I realized that she was right. Kodi had never mentioned anything about another member of the pack being Changed. The final warning bell rang, and I turned my attention back to the redhead.

  “Isn’t there somewhere you should be?” I asked flatly. Simone smirked and said nothing but did leave me alone in the locker room. Taking a deep breath to calm my nerves, I opened the door and found Kodi in the shallow end of the pool leaning against the side. I would have never believed that just looking at someone could affect a person as much as the sight of Kodi did to me. Maybe it was because he always seemed to be shirtless and in water. Or maybe it was just Kodi. Although, a shirtless Kodi in water was the best combination I’d ever come across since chocolate and peanut butter.

  Tossing my towel on the bleachers and trying not to be self-conscious, I descended the staircase into the water and waded out until I was three feet from him. The pool’s only light beneath the surface caused the water to glow and almost sparkle in the dimly lit room. The illumination around Kodi looked like a bright blue aura and I mentally catalogued the image of him waiting for me in such wonderful conditions. One could easily confuse the moment for a dream, and I hoped with all of my might that it wasn’t because really, a girl could only take so much. It would be like a homeless man dreaming that he’d won the lottery and suddenly had everything he’d ever wanted, just to wake up and realize that it was all a lie.

  Kodi wore the shorts given to us at the beginning of each year for our athletic period which sported the school colors of royal blue with a white logo that said Mountain Falls High School with the outline of a mountain lion. I could see them flare out with the currents of the water and I moved my upward but took my time as I did so. The shorts rode low enough on his hips that his belly button was visible, which led to a light line of hair about three inches long. Then came his abs. Those perfect indentations that I could explore forever that rested below a chest that was unmistakably a man’s chest and not a boy’s. The only thing about Kodi that I would ever consider boyish was when he was annoyed at his hair falling into his face, which I found amusing.

  Continuing my perusal, I found that his clavicle ridged beneath his chest which outlined a strong neck and even stronger jawline. When I came to his face, his eyes seemed glazed with wonder and his mouth was slightly parted. Something had surprised him.

  “What is it?” I asked.

  He licked his lips and had to clear his throat before answering, “No one’s ever looked at me like that before.”

  “Like what?”

  He hesitated just a moment and said, “Like they wanted to eat me.”

  I stiffened, puzzled at his words. Half of my brain said to ask him what he’d meant by the statement, and the other half said to tell him “because you look delicious”. I chose to smile in lieu of saying anything at all. He shook his head as if to clear it and I was surprised to see him angry. Kodi nodded his head toward the door of the girl’s locker room that I had just come through moments ago.

  “Ignore what she said. She’s just trying to make you nervous about the Change. You’re going to be fine and I’m going to be right there with you.”

  He’d heard that? Oh, right. Werewolf hearing. I didn’t doubt that Kodi would help me during the Change but naturally, I had to wonder if I was strong enough. However, I was not going to do so while I had a shirtless Kodi in a pool all to myself. There was one question I’d like to put to rest, though.

  “Kodi, were you ever with Simone?” I asked.

  “With?” he asked carefully.

  “Yes. As in relationship of any kind?” I clarified.

  He knew what I was asking. I watched as his facial expression let me know he understood.

  “No.” He hesitated.

  “You hesitated.”

  He ran a wet hand through his dry hair and sighed. “No, we were never in any relationship and I’ve never had feelings for her. As you saw, there aren’t many female wolves my age and falling in love with a human that can accept what you are is extremely rare, especially since we can’t Bond with humans. Simone took that to mean that eventually, I’d have no choice other than to be her mate. It also doesn’t hurt that as long as no one challenges and defeats my dad, I’ll most likely be the next Alpha and well, what girl doesn’t want to be a princess?” he said that last part with sarcasm and an air of disgust.

  I don’t think I’m wolf enough yet to be able to tell if someone’s lying or not, but even so, I had no doubt that he was telling me the truth. Given Simone’s character it made a lot of sense. She wanted to be the First Lady of the pack. For love? Unlikely. Power was probably more accurate. If Kodi became Alpha would wolves challenge him for the position? I don’t think I could take watching people trying to kill Kodi without intervening. It was nothing that I needed to worry about for now, I decided.

  Something else Kodi had said drew my attention. Bonded? What did he mean by that? The way he said it made me doubt he was simply referring to the bonds of friendship or something corny like that.

  “What did you mean you couldn’t bond with humans?” I asked and before I’d even finished the question, I watched his face transform into an expression that clearly said he’s made a mistake.

  A thought struck me. “Is that the thing you aren’t ready to discuss with me?” He nodded and I said, “I’ll that one go for now.” That brought a smile to his face and he held a handout to me which I gladly took in my own and allowed him to draw me closer.

  “It’s not necessarily that I’m not ready to discuss it, but also that I don’t think you’re ready to hear it. I don’t exactly understand it all myself, but I promise you, if I told you what Bonding was, you’d have more questions than you do now about it. We have time. After your change, I will tell you everything and there will never be any secrets between us,” he said. Honestly, I had more question after what he’d just told me, so telling me that might have been redundant. I just smiled and enjoyed the closeness of his warm body to mine. Taking a step back from him, I slowly reached my arms around his neck and upward. Without warning, I dunked his head under water and dove away from him toward the deeper end that went to eleven feet. I swam until I reached the edge and came up for air and to see where he was. I searched the water for signs of movement or a shadow and found neither. Where had he gone? I squealed as I was lifted out of the water from under my arms and found Kodi out of the water, laughing at me.

  “How did you get out so fast?” I said breathlessly while I turned in his arms.

  “I’m super-human, remember?” he said with amusement twinkling in his eyes. “Or maybe you’re just not as fast a swimmer as you thought.”

  My mouth opened in mock offense and I pushed him back into the water. Before he could come to the surface, I jumped in near him, careful not to land on him. We both laughed as we surfaced and spent the next hour chasing and splashing each other. It was the most fun I’d ever had, and, in the end, it was a very good day.

  Sixteen

  Saturday had arrived, which meant that tonight, I would either die or become a werewolf like Kodi a
nd his family. It was three o’clock in the afternoon and Kodi and Jack were set to pick me up at four in the old green truck that I had found out was a fifty-four Ford pickup. I’d just gotten out of the shower and was stuffing clothes into the gym bag that I’d used for camping when Kendra came and snatched a black bra that I had packed into the bag. She swung the piece of clothing around a finger using one of the straps and when I tried to grab it from her, she snatched her arm away quickly.

  “Kendra, give me back my bra.”

  “You know,” she began and just her tone told me she was going to tell me something I wasn’t going to like. “Isn’t it weird how chubby people have bigger boobs? I mean, it’s not like everyone doesn’t know that your boobs would be smaller if you lost some weight. Doesn’t really seem worth it if you ask me.”

  I fought not to growl at her. “I didn’t,” I said as I bristled inwardly.

  She got a dumb look on her face before asking, “Didn’t what?”

  “Ask you,” I said and used almost inhuman speed to recover my bra and shoved it deeper into the bag before zipping it up.

  “You know this Kodi thing is all in your head, so why bother fooling yourself by going to his house? It’s only going to make it harder when you get rejected so why bother?” she said snidely and it was getting increasingly harder to control my anger so I said the only thing I could think of that might shut her up.

  “Because Kodi’s bed is more comfortable that this one.”

  The expression on her face gave me a small amount of satisfaction. I turned with my duffel bag in hand and moved to leave the room that I shared with Sarah. Kendra yanked the bag off of my arm and at this point I was so exasperated with her that I acted without thought, without conscience. I watched her blonde head snap back when I decked her directly in the face. The move was so quick that if it wasn’t for the sting on my knuckles, I would have doubted it had actually happened. Kendra fell backward through the doorway and landed against the wall in the hallway. Red droplets trickled from her nose and she reached her hand up to catch a little before bringing her hand up to confirm with her own eyes.