The White Wolf

Chapter 3: Will

I still have no idea why we moved to this place, why we went from living in the middle of nowhere in Oklahoma to living in the middle of nowhere in North Dakota. All that changed was the fact that now it was freaking cold in the middle of nowhere.

 I remember coming home after hanging out with friends one day to find boxes everywhere and my mom and dad standing in the kitchen. I remember asking what was going on and both of them looking at each other, neither one wanting to say anything. Finally, my mother looked at me and told me we were moving. When she told me, I just stood there, not really processing it.

I spent the next few days leading up to the move looking for any excuse for us to stay. I did not want to leave my friends behind. I did not want to go to a new school, a new town, and be that awkward new kid who does not know anybody. It was my senior year. I wanted to stay.

I brought up every argument I could think of, but to no avail. My dad told me we were moving because of his job. What I did not understand was why we were not moving to the city where his job was, but to some tiny town half an hour away.

Anyway, it turned out exactly how I thought it would. We moved to Wahya a week before school started. The house we moved into was in the middle of town. It was a quaint, two-story home, slightly bigger than the house we had back in Oklahoma.

The people in town seemed nice. A few of our neighbors dropped of gifts and food as a way of saying hello. They were a little nosy, but that was to be expected. Apparently, they did not get many visitors, and the last time someone moved into town was nearly sixteen years ago. The things you learn from nosy neighbors.

I spent the week leading up to school wandering around the small town, seeing what there was to do. Like I suspected, there was not shit to do. On top of that, I got weird looks from all of the kids that I saw that were around my age. I did not have anything to look forward to…or so I thought.

***

Even though I could have easily walked to school, my dad insisted that he drop me off before he left for work. I walked through the double doors of the high school and stopped, scanning the nearly empty halls. It was too early for anyone in their right mind to be here. I wandered around for a little while until I found the office.

I gave the lady at the desk my name, and in turn, she handed me a piece of paper with my class schedule and a locker number. She gave me directions to find my locker, and I thanked her. I made my way down the hall and up the stairs to senior hall. I walked down the hall and glanced at the lockers as I passed until I found mine, locker 352.

I opened the locker and stuffed a few things inside. The locker was tall, but narrow, forcing me to come up with some creative ways to shove my shit inside. Once I finally managed to fit everything inside, I closed the locker and looked down at the list the secretary had given me. My first class was history with Mr. Ricardo.

I sighed as I looked up from the schedule and searched for Mr. Ricardo’s classroom. I did not see it at the end of the hall, so I turned back the way I had come. It took me a few minutes of searching, but I finally found it.

The door to the classroom was open, so I walked in. Nobody was at the desk in the front of the room, so I scanned the rest of the room. That is when my eyes locked on his. I could not move, it was like his grey-blue eyes held me in place.

As he stared at me, I took in the rest of him. He had dark brown, curly hair that almost covered his eyes. He was wearing blue jeans and an old t-shirt that just slightly hinted at a muscular body underneath.

I let my eyes focus back on his and I gave him a small smile. His face turned red and he looked away, which only made my smile grow even wider. I decided not to completely embarrass him and turned around, taking a seat in the chair closest to the door.

After I sat down, I could feel his eyes on the back of my head, making me grin, but I did not look back. It stayed like that for the rest of the class period. When class was over, I rushed out, not exactly sure why, but I knew I did not want to talk to him just yet.

I did not really talk to anyone in any of my other classes. A few of the teachers pointed me out as the new student, but aside from that, no one paid me any attention. I was also sad to realize that the boy from this morning was not in any more of my classes.

I was the first one in my last class of the day, and I chose to sit in the middle. I watched as the other students filed in, a part of me hoping that the mystery boy would walk through the doorway.

I did not see him, but the boy and girl he was with walked into the classroom. I made eye contact with the girl for a moment, and a mischievous grin crossed her face. I narrowed my eyes, but her smile just grew. She and the boy she was with sat behind me. The seat next to me was still empty, but no one else came in, so I opened the textbook in front of me to see what we would be doing for the rest of the year.

A few minutes later, the girl behind me let out some sort of whisper-shout. She said someone’s name, but I did not recognize it and paid her not attention. Then, someone walked down the aisle and sat down next to me.

I looked over and at the sight of the boy from this morning, my stomach clenched, and a smile automatically formed on my lips. He slowly turned his head towards me and met my eyes. He gave me a small smile that made my stomach flip. His face turned red again and he quickly turned back towards the front. I felt my cheeks flush a little and a slight twitch down below.

I mentally berated myself. Now was not the time for this. I turned to face the front again, and as I did, the teacher walked in. At the sight of the teacher, the boy beside me let out a groan, which caused the teacher to turn and look at him, his eyebrows raised. The boy gave a little shake of his head, and the teacher turned to the board. That was weird.

The teacher finished writing his name and the class at the top of the board and turned to greet the class.

“Good afternoon, everyone,” he greeted. “My name is Mr. Daines, and this is English IV. Now, before we begin, we have a new student.”

I sighed inwardly. Here we go again.

“William Summers,” he said as he looked at me.

I nodded. “Will is just fine,” I told him.

“Well, Will, it’s nice to have you with us.”

I could feel the boy’s eyes on me as the teacher was talking, but I did not look at him. The rest of class went by like the rest, with me not saying much, and not one paying me any attention, except for the boy, of course.

When class was over, the boy rushed out, only giving his friends a quick goodbye. I felt a small pang in my gut. Why did he leave so quickly? I waited for everyone else to file out of the classroom before I stood up. But, before I could leave, I was stopped by Mr. Daines.

“So, Will,” he started. “How was your first day?”

I shrugged. “It was okay,” I told him. “A little weird.”

He chuckled. “I bet. So, where are you from?”

This guy was being a little nosey, but he seemed to actually care, so I did not mind too much.

“I’m from Oklahoma. My parents lived on one of the reservations for a while, but when I was little, we moved to a small town closer to my dad’s job. And, now, we moved here for his promotion.”

“I see. Well, it’s nice to have you here in Wahya.”

“Thanks,” I said, and made my way out of the classroom. I walked home from school, and when I went inside, I found my mom in the kitchen.

“How was your first day, sweetie?” She asked.

I could tell by her expression that she was nervous and worried that my first day had not gone well.

“It was fine,” I told her, even adding a smile to make her feel better.

She gave me a small smile, but did not ask any more questions. Instead, she told me that dinner would be ready soon and went back to the kitchen. I went up to my room and threw my bag in the corner. I jumped on the bed and stared up at the ceiling. I could not get thoughts of that boy out of my head. I needed to talk to him. I needed to find out his name. These thoughts kept running through my mind, over and over, until I drifted off to sleep.