"Now here we go Amy. Just a few more hours till we reach the new house. Are you getting excited?" Hector, a furry man with wolf ears and wolf snout, says to his daughter trying his best to sound positive about them moving. They have been driving across the states from a safe monster community for the last two days and are finally only hours away. "Amy… Amy, the house is only a few hours away. Aren't you excited?"
Amy, like her father is covered in fur and has wolf features, has been feeling more and more anxious the closer they came to their new house. She has never been around humans before and kept hoping they would turn around. She kept hoping that they didn't really have to move and this was just a bad dream. "What?... oh, excited? Not really dad. I'd rather we had stayed back home" she already misses her friends and dread having to live in a human town. She is going to be the only monster around.
"I know honey. But this oncologist job is a good opportunity for us and for all monsters. The humans have finally figured out that with my wolf nose I can smell several kinds of diseases and cancer on people. This can start bridging the relationship between monsters and humans" Hector says. The truth is that he is also worried and almost declined the job several times. But with this job he can afford giving Amy the education and the things she really wants. And if she got some human friends and got accepted by the human society she would be far better off than staying in a monster society.
"I just miss my friends and our family and mom's grave is going to be so far away" Amy sighs. Her mom died in a car crash seven years ago when Amy was just eight.
"We'll still see them for all the holidays and then we can fly back and forth instead of spending this much time in a car. And maybe one day we can afford a teleportation circle then we can pop back to the community whenever we want" Hector says trying to give her a little more hope even though teleportation circles are expensive and it will probably take him a year to save up for it.
Amy has turned back to stare blank out of the window and doesn’t even hear what he is saying. In just a week she will be walking through the doors to her new human school and the thought is twisting up like a knot in her stomach. She has read some sad stories of how it is to live close to humans and now they keep running through her head.
Here she stands in front of her new school about to start her first day. And though it is a warm sunny day she is wearing a big hoodie to cover up her ears and her tail. She knows it will only be a matter of time before the entire school knows that she is there but maybe she can get to her first class without getting noticed. The bell rings and as soon as most of the students are gone she walks in through the doors and down to her classroom. She got shown around yesterday evening with her dad; they had asked the principal to get the tour at a time where they wouldn’t be interrupted by students staring. This is it, her last chance to turn around, once she goes inside everyone will know off her. She has thought about skipping school but she promised her dad that she would really try.
She knocks three times and then walks through the door “good day Ms Jones, I’m Amy your new student” she says politely and slowly lowers her hood. She can feel everyone stare and it is like this moment takes forever.
“Good day to you too” Ms Jones greets and turns to her class “class, this is your new classmate Amy she has just moved to town and I hope you will take good care of her. Amy would you please tell the class a bit about yourself?”
“Ms Jones, how can they let a werewolf into our school isn’t there safety codes for that” a girl calls out before Amy can take the word. She looks like the classic rich superficial queen bitch from any high school movie.
“Be quiet Sofia” Ms Jones says in a stern tone. But Amy gets the feeling that she likes the situation just as little as the students do. “Now, Amy the floor is yours”.
“So I’m Amy, a wolf-person and not a werewolf. Werewolves are cursed humans who turn into a wolf when hit by the light of a full moon and have existed for over a thousand years. While in their wolf state they lose all control and sense of self. Even in monster societies they have special werewolf centres where they have to stay during the three nights of the full moon. Wolf-people are human wolf hybrids who were created by a scientist back around 1850. He tried to create new stronger soldiers but we turned out too wolf-ish for the US army. We always look like wolves but we have complete control” she explains as it is an important distinction and if humans are going to trust her they need to know the truth.
“But you do know that moonlight doesn’t actually exist; it is just light from the sun reflected off the moon and down to earth. And the shape of the moon is based on how much of the sunlight the earth is blocking from being reflected off the moon. So the werewolf curse doesn’t make scientific sense and vampires shouldn’t be able to walk in moonlight either” a normal looking girl interrupts with her question. Amy guesses that she must be the nerdy kid of the class.
“You are right that the curses don't make scientific sense but curses don’t care about science. Curses are old magic and work purely on the semantics. As long as the moon is fully visible and the werewolf is hit by the light coming off of it then they will transform into their wolf form. It does not have to be the reflection of the sunlight for it to work. You could cover the entire moon in lights and if it would hit the werewolf they would change. They can even change during day time, which is why they stay at the werewolf centres for all of the three days during full moon. Also if you take a video of the full moon and play it for a werewolf they start to get hairy as the curse recognizes it technically fulfils the criteria. With the vampire curse, it is the light of the day star that is harmful. At night the sunlight reflects off the moon and is no longer off the day star…” Amy answers but no one seems to be listening.
“Sit down bitch” a big jock calls from the back of the class. He looks like he has been held back once or twice.
“Ha good one Tommy” one of his friends says and gives him a high five.
“And that will be detention for you Tommy” Ms Jones says and turns back to Amy “thank you, you can take a seat now”.
“But Ms Jones I wasn’t calling her a bitch like calling her a bitch. I was calling her a bitch as in a female dog because she is a dog and she is female” Tommy argues but Ms Jones doesn’t listen. “And by dog I mean she is ugly” he whispers to his friend.
“That may be, but it is still not an acceptable word to use and the detention stands. Now since Amy started explaining the importance of semantics in curses then let us review what semantics is…” Ms Jones starts teaching English.
Amy walks down to the empty seat and clearly feels and hears how everyone tries to silently move their tables away from hers. It looks like she is sitting at a lonely island in the middle of the classroom. This day has started pretty much as she expected. As the class slowly continues she can see students who have gotten out of class trying to sneak a peek of her through the windows to confirm that the rumours are true. That there is a monster attending class at their school. She can also hear how Sofia and others are whispering about her. She can hear every word they say. She really wants to pull the hood back on and disappear but knows that it won't change anything. The whole day goes by like that; people come from all over the school to find her and see the monster. But no one dares to come close to her most takes big steps away from her as she passes.
Amy knocks on the door to a small classroom. She has been in school for a couple of days now and doing her best to find some friends. Yesterday she tried the anime club thinking they might be interested in knowing her; she doesn’t really like anime, but she has heard that fans of anime like human-animal hybrids like catgirls. But they didn’t like her at all; half of them ran away screaming. Today she is trying the high fantasy club hoping for the best. She opens the door and walks inside.
“Is this the high fantasy club? I would like to join” she says carefully trying not to scare them away.
“It seems like the beast of Hollow high has found our lair. Escape out the hidden path while I fight off this foul creature” a guy dressed a knight says while pointing a plastic sword at her. The rest of the group grabs their things and leaves out another door. “I expected you to find us and have prepared for this meeting. I will slay you monster. How do you like my holy water and my silver dust” he says and throws water and dust on her while keeping his distance.
“I’m not a werewolf. I’m a wolf-person, I thought you guys would know the difference” Amy exclaims.
“Stay back beast or you will get my blade. We don’t want your kind here” the knight says and swings his sword at her.
Amy leaves the room and the knight while holding back her tears. She will not let people see her cry; it will give them too much power. She walks fast down the hall trying to find some place where she can let out her tears in peace. At the end of the hall she finds a small empty classroom. And as soon as she is inside the tears start falling. She hates this place. She hates this school and all these stupid humans. She has never hurt anyone and they treat her like a monster.
“Hey look the big bad wolfie bitch is crying like a little baby. What’s the matter baby wolfie are the humans too mean for a scared little doggy like you” Sofia taunts. She is filming Amy with her phone.
“Go home and cry baby wolfie”
“Bad dog look at this mess you made”
“Something smells like wet dog here”
“Is the bitch going to cry?”
“We don’t want you here dog breath”
People call all sorts of things after her as she walks the school halls. It’s been almost two months since she started and people don’t fear her anymore. She knows it’s a good thing that they don’t fear her. But it was easier when they did. After Sofia put up the window of her crying everything changed. Before nobody was pulling her tail or throwing her outside and locking the door while saying dogs weren’t allowed inside. Now she can’t be anywhere without fearing something will happen. She is on her to the gym lockers to change clothes like she does several times a day now. Tommy and his friends just played their new game “wet dog” where they drench her with water. The tears start rolling as soon as the door locks behind her. This is her private gym locker room where she can be safe. She got it because everyone at first complained about her sharing locker room with them. Then it changed and they tried to take pictures of her undressing to humiliate her in the halls. This is her only safe place from the constant bullying. Nobody likes her; even the teachers seem to disappear when she is around.
“Wolf is that you?” A voice sounds and Amy jumps up in shock.
This was supposed to be a place where she could be alone. And now there is someone in here with her. Why can’t they just leave her alone? She can’t take it anymore. She just wants it to stop. Angry and hurt she walks inside the showers to find who has entered her safe place. And there bound to the showers is sitting a goth girl with a note reading “wolf snack”.
“Why are you here? Is this a new stupid joke?” Amy cries.
“For Tommy and his gang of Neanderthals it is. They suddenly got that braindead idea that I must be a vampire because of my style. Yet another proof that supports the theory of football being bad for your brain. So they thought it would be fun to feed one monster to another. I have been sitting here for almost two hours waiting for you to arrive” the goth girl explains with a soft voice that sounds like it has been painted with dark eyeliner “my name is Calli short for Callista derived from the Greek meaning ‘most beautiful’ because my mother thought I was the most beautiful baby girl. She is such a white trash mom”.
“Why are you telling me all this? What do you want from me?” Amy asks, she is starting to get angry and just wants to be alone.
“You seem like you have had a really bad day. So I wanted to share a bit of my personal humiliation to restore your feeling of power and to show that I trust you with my secrets. I don’t want you any harm but it would be nice if you could free me. I need to pee” Calli says trying to comfort Amy.
“Aren’t you afraid of me like all the others? Not even the teachers like to be alone with the big bad wolfgirl” Amy asks a little surprised and releases Calli who immediately goes to the bathroom.
“No one has the power to choose what they are born as. It is not your fault that you are a non-human nor is there anything wrong with it. We can try and change what we look like as we get older but our appearance won’t change who we are on the inside, only how we and others feel about ourselves. Some change their appearance to blend in, others because they want to stand out and some just want their appearance to match who they feel like on the inside. And it is who we are and what we do that really matters and you are a good person on the inside. Besides I think you look like a cute little puppy” Calli says as she returns “you are still wet. Do you want me to leave so you can change in peace?”
For a moment Amy had actually forgotten that she was wet. She even forgot that she was at school. It is nice to finally talk with someone who treats her like a person instead of some monster. But now she has to change quickly and get back to the reality of high school that is outside this room. “You can leave if you like. It will probably be better for you if you are not seen hanging out with me”.
“Their opinions have no significant value to me. It is all just idle gossip to fill their own void of insecurity and unimportance in this society. Before you started here, they picked on the fantasy nerds and after you leave they will pick on someone else. They don’t care who they pick on, they just need a target they can take their insecurities out on, in order to feel some kind of power and control in their life” Calli says as Amy changes her clothes “I’d rather be friends with you than any of them”.
Without being too optimistic about it Amy feels like, for the first time since she moved here, that she can actually have a friend. “Do you want to hang out again some day?” she asks, trying to sound casual as they are about to part for their classes.
“Let’s hang after school, wolf. I’ll show you some of the cooler places around town” Calli says and then she leaves.
With a friend request received during the last classes off the day and a quick conversation, they plan to meet outside school. Feeling like this could be too good to be true Amy is very hesitant to meet up. Calli seemed nice but it could easily be an elaborate trap to humiliate her even further. She finds herself a corner where she can keep an eye on the meeting spot and wait. The time comes for the meeting and it passes. Ten minutes goes by and she is ready to give up. She doesn’t blame Calli for not showing, no one else would.
“I understand why you didn’t believe I would show up with how people have treated you. But I applaud your courage and your hope in there still being decent humans around” Calli had snuck up beside her “come let’s get out of here, I know of a cool coffee shop”.
“Look at the werewolf and vampire teaming up. Go home monsters”
“We don’t want your kind here”
“Stinking beasts”
“I’m sorry that you have to experience this” Amy apologises as they leave the school ground together.
“It’s not your fault; you have no control over the actions of these small minded and narrow people that we call our peers. Most of them have the intelligence and maturity level of a dead fish” Calli says and leads the way
She leads the way to a small underground coffee shop that Amy has never heard of. There are just about ten people inside chatting, all look and dress like Calli. As soon as they walk inside everyone turns to look at Amy. She has become quite used to all the starring eyes by now but had hoped that this place would be different. Calli walks up and orders two coffees unaware of the sudden tension rising.
“Are you sure it’s okay that we are here?” Amy whispers to Calli at the counter.
“Of course it is. Isn’t it right Karl, my friend Amy here is welcome here” Calli says to the barista that she apparently knows.
Karl frowns at Amy “I ain’t got nothing ‘gainst monsters just keep your furry paws to yourself and don’t bite anyone” he says and hands them their coffees.
“And did all of you hear that?” Calli calls loudly to all the customers “Karl may not be entirely thrilled but he has given Amy his blessing that she is accepted here. And if you have a problem with that you can use one of the oppressive mainstream corporate coffee shops”.
Most of the coffee shop shifts uneasy by Calli’s sudden proclamation. A single couple stands up and leaves while trying to avoid eye contact.
“You didn’t have to do that” Amy whispers.
“Don’t worry wolf, now you have a place you can come and have coffee. Everyone knows that you are welcome. This is your place now and if anyone gives you trouble they’ll get with me or Karl” Calli reassures and proceeds to introduce Amy to a couple of her friends at the coffee shop.
“Yo Callista baby, what about you wash your pretty face and go out with me tonight” a quite handsome guy stands by Calli’s locker and poses.
“And why would I ever want to go on a date with you James?” Calli dismisses him without even giving him a single look. She is packing her books for the next day.
The words clearly hurt as James is not used to getting rejected. He stands up a little taller and stifles himself before continuing “we used to date before you changed your style. And we are seniors; it is our last chance to make this work before we go off to college”.
“Do you have any reason to want a date with me other than my natural conventional beauty and physical features?” Calli asks, giving James a chance to surprise and impress her.
“Come on Callista, beautiful people like us belong together and you are beginning to get a real bad reputation with this ugly style and now that you hang out with that monster” James says after thinking for a moment.
“Oh my white knight, saving me from having other values than being a pretty face, how great. Go save some other girls, your narrow mind got nothing of interest for me” Calli says and leaves James behind.
“Fuck you monster lover” James calls after her “I wouldn’t date you if you paid me to. You are nothing but a little bitch like that dog of yours”.
Calli stops and turns around. She is tired of people talking bad about Amy for looking different than them. She is tired of everyone assuming all sorts of things just because Amy is a non-human. She has tried talking, she has tried arguing, she has tried informing and showing that Amy isn’t evil, bad or dangerous to be around. But no one is listening. No one is giving Amy a chance. “Shut the fuck up James, you are nothing more than a flaccid dick. Amy is ten times a better person than you are. You got your mom to help you make a fake underwear poster and hang up around town to make people think you got money. She helps take care of the poor and homeless who can’t afford the hospital. And you know what? Last week your dad showed up at the hospital and Amy provided him with food for your entire family” she now stands face to face with James and people around them start laughing at his humiliation. Calli turns around and they all quickly disperse, scared what she could be saying about them.
“Do you want to come to dinner with me and my dad tonight? He wants to thank you for being my friend” Amy asks with a teasing smile. She has known Calli for a month now and it has been nice though it hasn’t made school much easier.
“Of course wolf it will be an honour. He has probably been worrying sick about whether bringing you here was the right thing to do. And this is the least I can do to help you two. Besides I would like to learn more about your family and your history” Calli gestures for Amy to start walking “let’s get some lunch”.
As the two walk towards the cafeteria they are suddenly met with a horde of panicking students running and stumbling away screaming. Because of her exceptional hearing Amy had time to pull Calli under a doorway to a classroom and avoid getting trampled. They look confused at each other but before they can ask what’s happening two gunshots sounds from just around the corner. Calli opens the door and pulls Amy with her inside the classroom and they cover down behind the wall. Several shots are fired outside in the hallway and with every shot Amy can hear the soft thump of a student falling to the ground. Between the alarm warning the school of the shooter, the screams of panic from fleeing students and the sporadic gunshots, she can also hear the footsteps of the shooter and now he is standing just outside their door. The handle rattles as the shooter’s hand grabs it. Amy and Calli withdraw further from the door. A small gasp of panic comes from another group hiding behind some turned over tables. The shooter opens the door and steps inside scanning the room. He is a scrawny kid not more than fifteen crying angry tears. His eyes lock on the turned over tables and moves towards not noticing Amy and Calli to his left. Calli has stopped breathing and Amy can feel how her body is shivering with fear. She can hear two sets of heavy footsteps out in the hallway approaching the room and if the shooter hears it and turns around she will be found. It is like time slows down. Even the sound of her heart becomes a slow thump-thump. The shooter takes another step closer to the tables with his gun raised and ready. She has never seen Calli so scared and emotional before. She has to save her. She has to do it. The shooter falls over sliding across the classroom. A gunshot goes off just before he drops the gun. Amy is lying on top of him grabbing for his flailing arms. She has just tackled him to the ground. The heavy footsteps get closer, now running towards the gunshot. Students emerge from behind the tables, one with a phone in her hands recording the situation. The classroom door opens again.
“Turn around with your hands in the air”
“This is the police. Turn around with your hands in the air”
Amy let go of the shooter and stands up confused by what is happening.
“It wasn’t her” she can hear Calli call.
“It’s a monster. Shoot!” one of the policemen commands.
Without registering what happened Amy is back on the ground. She is pretty sure she heard five shots being fired. Calli’s face is right above hers with tears in her eyes. She is saying something. Crying something. But Amy can’t hear her. The world has gone silent around her. The world is getting dark around her.
“Five days ago we had a shooting here at Hollow high. Fifteen students, fifteen of our classmates and friends, were killed or injured before Mortimer was stopped by our own wolf-person and hero Amy” Calli is standing in the assembly hall in front of the entire school talking. But her words no longer sound like they are covered in black velvet. They are filled with pain and anger and she is fighting hard not to break down crying here on stage. “We have all seen the video of how Amy tackled and apprehended Mortimer. How a girl who has endured nothing but torment, hatred and bullying from all of you for the last three months stepped up and saved us. And just a moment later she was gunned down by two cops who saw nothing but her wolf appearance. They saw nothing but a monster standing in front of them just like all of you have seen her as nothing but a monster for three months. But the truth is Amy was a real hero and one of the kindest souls among us. And all this time the real monsters have been all of you” she takes a long pause to see them feel the shame of their behaviour. “And while Amy has been fighting for her life, her father didn’t break down. No, he continued to work tirelessly trying to save others as a Doctor. This has been the worst days in his entire life and he still managed to be an exceptional person and a real hero. Learn from Amy and father Hector, do the right thing, be a hero. Never forget that you can always do some good even when life is tough” she takes another dramatic pause to let the words sink in with all the students. “Now to the good news. Last night Amy woke up, she is recovering and the doctors have declared her stable. She will soon be able to return to school. I want to thank everybody who has shared their support and helped and I hope you all will try to make this a better place for people like Amy”. She leaves the stage and school after finishing her speech. There is no more need to spend time with these people. They sit here with their fake wolf ear headbands to show their love and support as if they haven’t been treating Amy like shit. They are nothing but a gathering of phonies following the latest social trend that just happens to be human decency this week. She just hopes that this will last for as long as Amy has to go to that school. She hopes that Amy will be save there even after she herself has left for college next year.
The Chief of police is currently holding a press conference announcing that the two officers have been fired. He is talking about how the police are here to protect the citizens and all citizens no matter what they look like should be able to feel safe. He also promises that the police department will be taking care of all of Amy’s medical bills.
Calli turns off the TV and takes Amy’s hand “hey wolf… how is it going?” She has been spending nearly all her time here at her bedside and helping out with anything she can.
“You are a goof” Amy laughs as she slowly wakes up from a nap “you’ve been here all of last week and know I’m going home in two days. I’m fine. But you know I do miss your soft smooth dark goth voice”.
“It might return when you get home and we go back to school with those hypocrites of self-important human waste. Look at all these cards and flowers they have sent to let you know that they like and think about you. But none have actually shown up here in person or ever treated you right. Tommy and several others have even put up videos of how good friends you are and how important you are to them” Calli finds the video Tommy made and shows it, making them both laugh.
“They don’t matter as long as I have a friend like you. You have called me hero many times since that day but you are a hero too. You have been standing by my side no matter what the others did. You never wavered or quit just because it got tough, you stood by what was right. Your mom might have named you Callista for your physical outer but you are also the most beautiful on the inside. You are my hero and my dad’s hero” Amy squeezes her hand. She is happy. Her life and world isn’t great here. But right now she is happy.
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