“What do you mean Zara bullied her? Can’t you see how banged up my daughter looks? If anyone’s getting bullied here, it’s my daughter!” The Luna of the Blackwood pack yelled at the principal and glared at me.
In case anyone’s wondering where we were, I was called into the principal’s office after beating up a classmate into a pulp and was made to stand before them while they tried me like a criminal.
“Well? What else do you have to say, Nyla?” Principal Frank looked at me judgingly. “I understand you’re frustrated about flunking your exams, but it wasn’t an excuse to hurt your classmate. Apologize to Zara and Luna Blackwood, now.”
I scoffed in disbelief. Even if they hit me back a thousand times, I have nothing else to say, and I wouldn’t apologize either because I’m not the soft-hearted Nyla they thought they were talking to.
Who am I, you wonder?
I’m Kaida Bloodhowl, her twin sister, and I took her place in this uncultured werewolf school to give them back the hell they put Nyla through.
It all started two years ago, during the freshmen end-of-the-year parent-teacher meeting. Nyla had always been an achiever. She was so good in academics and athletics that the teachers in the local school in our territory got nothing more to teach her, so they recommended that she continue her studies at the prestigious Wolf High in the big city. Nyla was so excited to go. She kept telling me she couldn’t wait to make new friends at her new school.
To be honest, I didn’t want her to go. I would be too lonely without her around in our pack. She was the only friend I had.
Although we were identical twins, Nyla and I were the exact opposites of each other. She was bubbly and shone bright like the sunshine while I took after our parents’ brutish side, which was unfortunate for me because the dangerous power I was born with isolated me from the rest of my peers. My parents felt terrible that one of their daughters had to stay indoors all the time, but I didn’t mind since Nyla was always there to brighten my day. I guess I could say, she was the light that warmed our home. But, something changed in her after the first few months she attended Wolf High.
In the beginning, whenever we Facetimed with her, Nyla would talk nonstop about the great things she noticed in Wolf High. Then, one day, she called in, looking a bit depressed. We thought she might be having home blues, but she started calling less, and whenever we got to talk to her, she looked way more terrible than the last. Mom and I noticed something was wrong, but since she wouldn’t talk about it over the phone, we insisted she come home for summer break.
Nyla acted like her usual bubbly self when she got home. Mom looked relieved but I had a nagging feeling that something was seriously wrong with her. That night, Mom and Dad threw her a party. Everyone in the pack was happy and congratulated her, but halfway through the celebration, she said she was tired and turned in early. I didn’t follow her until about half an hour later. I was thinking of the right time to check on her, and I regretted that a lot.
I caught a whiff of strong blood when I came to knock on her door. I didn’t think twice to bust my way in and I was horrified to see her lying in the pool of blood. That was the first time she tried to kill herself.
The pack doctor managed to save her, and we tried to ask her why she did it, but her mouth was shut. Mom and Dad tried to get answers from her school, but they couldn’t provide us with anything.
Eventually, our parents decided to pull her out of Wolf High, and Nyla couldn’t be more happy about it. However, she quickly changed her mind and wouldn’t tell us why. She just cried and begged us to let her go back to Wolf High. I felt frustrated but couldn’t do anything. So, we sent her back with a heavy heart.
Things seemed to have gotten better after that summer, and Nyla got through her junior year without problems. However, Mom suddenly got a shocking phone call from a hospital out of town right before her winter break.
Nyla was rushed to the E.R. after jumping from the rooftop of her school building.
Nyla’s second attempt had us all confused and worried. We didn’t know what kept pushing her to the edge. Jumping down a three-story building wasn’t that dangerous for a werewolf like her. Then, I found out why.
Dad allowed me to visit Nyla out of town, and I was just coming back after talking with her doctor when I overheard some condescending voices inside her ward.
“You have one job, mutt, and you can’t even do it right! Why are you acting so dramatic? ”
“That’s right, bitch! It’s just three floors. Is poor Miss Genius afraid of heights?” They mockingly laughed
“Listen up, you bitch. Because of your little stunt, the school board’s looking into things they shouldn’t be. You’re lucky they didn’t find anything. If you pull this shit one more time, I’m gonna send people to destroy your dirty little pack. You know what the Blackwoods are.” Nyla struggled not to cry as the first girl threatened her.
My blood boiled and I wanted to rush in and beat the crap out of them, but with one glance at Nyla’s pained expression, I didn’t. She endured all of their torments because she wanted to protect our pack. I couldn’t just destroy her efforts by lashing out.
As her bullies left her room, I hid away and called Mom and Dad. I told them everything I heard, and what I found out from the doctor. Nyla’s blood levels were showing signs of toxicity from hemlock and nightshade. They suspected she was smoking an illegal blunt right before she jumped. I didn’t buy that. Even though she had been out of sorts lately, Nyla didn’t like the scent of burning herbs, especially those with strong scents like hemlock and nightshade. She wouldn’t even breathe sage smoke to save her life, so why would she willingly take a shady blend? Something’s clearly not right, but we’d never get a clear answer if we only asked around.
“Mom, Dad,” I sighed deeply. They were probably going to get angry but this was the only way I could think of. “I’m gonna switch places with Nyla.”
“Are you crazy, Kaida? Who knows what else is going on in that bloody school? I’m gonna have a talk with the Blackwoods and the school board. You’re not going in there.”
Dad was furious, but I insisted.
“Dad, you know that’s not gonna work. We need evidence of what they did to Nyla. Just let me gather them for a few months. I promise I’ll be back by spring break.”
I heard Dad sigh and Mom took over the phone.
“Just be careful, honey. I know you’re strong, so I’m not that worried about you. You’ll keep it low, okay?” she said, worried.
“Yes, Mom.”
I ended the call and went back to my sister. Through a small crack in the door, I overheard her sobbing and the same voices of those vicious girls again.
“I catch you talking to Mason again, I will tear your face. Let’s see how you can still seduce men in our school then.”
“You got that bitch?” and they laughed.
I thought they had come back, so I busted in but I only saw Nyla, hiding something behind her.
“Kaida!”
Despite her horrible state, she still greeted me with a warm smile. Looking at her like that hurt me just as much, and I hugged her tightly while fighting hard not to cry.
“Nyla, don’t lie to me, okay?” I said with a trembling voice. “Tell me what happened.”
Nyla bawled her heart out and said with a broken voice, “They bullied me, Kaida. They ripped my clothes… and took videos…”
Nyla told me everything they did to her and I had no words enough to describe how despicable they were. I couldn’t take that as bullying anymore. It was an assault.
I comforted Nyla until she fell asleep and went to the nearest moon temple. I prayed to the moon goddess for guidance and apologized because I would be breaking my oath to avenge my sister.
Mom and Dad transferred Nyla to a hospital in our territory after a week, while I prepared to enter her school after the winter break. I went through every blackmail material her bullies sent her and memorized their names and faces. The one that struck me most as the ring leader was the girl named Zara and her cronies. They started with simple harassment like hiding her stuff and throwing dirty water at her, but that quickly escalated into battery and assault, and their latest was dumping her head into the sink filled with water, which didn’t come close to the worst things Nyla had told me. It made me so angry that I had to isolate myself for about two weeks until school started.
That day, vile whispers and murmurs immediately welcomed me the second I stepped through the gate. They were loud enough for me to hear, which was obviously intended to be. It made me think of what Nyla did during her last summer break, and I couldn’t even come close to feeling how great the pain she endured all this time. It was a hideous place for a good girl like her.
I headed toward her classroom with heavy steps, trying to control myself, but they kept testing me.
As soon as I entered the classroom, a book flew to my face. I pretended to pick something and dodged it easily.
“Lazy mutt! Didn’t we tell you to answer when we call? Do you want to die? Where’s our breakfast?” It was Mira, one of Zara’s cronies, and out of everyone who hurt Nyla, she laughed the hardest while watching her getting tortured.
I ignored her and walked straight to my sister’s desk. It was covered with obnoxious words carved onto its surface.
“Hey, bitch! I’m not done talking to you!” Mira yanked my shoulder so hard that I almost crashed into someone else.
She suddenly snickered and slapped the table. “What? Do these words blow you away? Looks good, right?” She grabbed my chin and leaned closer with a dirty sneer. “How about we carve them on your face this time?”
“That’s a great idea! Zara would love it,” her friend agreed, and I could hear the entire class snickering.
I never thought people could be this horrible. To think my parents chose to homeschool me because of my condition, but even a prophesied monster like me wouldn’t do such petty violence as this.
Faced with this unfairness, the darkness I painstakingly kept at bay leaked out from its restraints and coursed through my veins. Their wicked smiles and laughter fueled my rage and I grabbed her, swinging my hand to her face.
A crisp slap echoed through the classroom, and Mira tumbled back onto the floor. She glared at me with utter shock. Her hand covered my handprint on her cheek.
“You dare hit me? Just wait until Zara gets back. You’re dead meat!” she yelled with a shrill voice.
Looking at her shocked expression made me understand a bit why they love hitting people. Giving brats like her a taste of their own medicine sure felt good.
The buzzing room fell silent as everyone looked at me with the same shocked faces, and I scoffed.
“What’s wrong? Why did you all stop laughing?”
Mira got up fuming with rage and raised her hand to hit me back, but the bell for class rang. She glared at me and returned to her seat frustratingly mad.
I stuffed my books into the desk and it felt oddly wet and sticky, so I took them back, but it was covered with a disgusting goo made out of glue and stinky decaying garbage.
“What the fuck?” I muttered in disgust.
