Midnight Howl (9 page)

After the hike, I spent the rest of the day hanging out with Hailey, Jack, and my other friends. First, there was a fun scavenger hunt, followed by a picnic dinner and an evening singing songs and making s’mores around the campfire. I was having such a good time it was easy to put my werewolf worries out of my mind.

But once we were in our tent, lying in our sleeping bags in the dark, I started obsessing about it again. I didn’t think Hailey was going to bite me or suddenly turn into a wolf, so why couldn’t I just let it go? I felt like a little kid again, lying awake in bed, afraid of monsters in the dark.

It took me a long time to doze off, and when I did, my dreams were confused. Quick images flashed
through my mind:
tree branches like skeleton hands against the full moon; the rattle of the wind sweeping through dried leaves; a gleam of teeth. I didn’t sleep well.

In the morning, I felt spacey and anxious.

Bonnie nudged me at breakfast. “Are you okay?”

“Mmm,” I said, taking a bite of granola. Hailey was across the clearing, talking to Jack.

“Yeah, I’m just distracted.”

She followed my eyes to Hailey and Jack. “Oh, I
see,”
she said, giggling.

After lunch, it was time to head back home. I squeezed into the back of a minivan between Lily and Hailey. Bonnie turned around in front of us and whispered to them.

“Marisol
likes
Jack, but she won’t admit it.”

I could feel myself turning red. Lily looked at Bonnie coolly and shrugged. “Everybody likes Jack,” she said. “Isn’t that right, Hailey?”

Hailey, straight-faced, nodded. “My brother’s very likable.”

Bonnie snorted and rolled her eyes. “You know what I mean.”

“Seat belts
on,
kids, and face forward,” said the teacher driving our van. Bonnie turned back around, flipping her curly red hair over her shoulders.

Lily turned toward me. “So?” she whispered. “Do you?” Hailey raised her eyebrows at me.

I squirmed in my seat. “I don’t know,” I muttered. “I mean, of course I like him. Like you said … everybody likes Jack. What’s not to like?”

Lily nodded calmly. “True. And I think he likes you.”

“He’s my friend,” I decided. “I don’t know if I
like him
like him, but he’s my friend and I like that.”

This time, both Lily and Hailey nodded. “Friends are good,” Lily said, and smiled.

Hailey said, “He definitely likes you, too. He was saying how cool you are.”

“Oh,” I said, blushing. “That’s nice.” Hailey grinned at me and turned toward the window.

We were all quiet for a bit, while the noise of the other kids in the van and the radio playing country music made a comfortable babble around us. On either side of me, Hailey and Lily relaxed, and I saw Hailey’s eyes flutter shut as she dozed off.

Like mine, her hair and clothes smelled of wood smoke and pine. I liked Hailey. Couldn’t I just let this
go? Couldn’t I just
decide
that there was no such thing as a werewolf and forget about these crazy suspicions?

For some reason, I felt confident Jack wasn’t a werewolf. The horses hadn’t been afraid of
him
near the full moon.
He
hadn’t had any trouble crossing water, and I hadn’t seen any evidence that he’d been outside at the full moon either. The only thing that had made me suspect him was that he was Hailey’s twin. And I prided myself on being scientific; I knew fraternal twins didn’t share all their genes.

But I couldn’t seem to get over my suspicions about Hailey. What if she was a werewolf? What could I do about it? The idea of exposing her secret, of people with guns and dogs hunting her down or of doctors and scientists trying to figure out what she was, crossed my mind, and I shivered.

No,
I thought, sitting up straight, I could never do that to Hailey. Not to anybody, really, but definitely not to shy, openhearted Hailey, who dreamed of seeing seals in the wild. Never. Even if there was something different about her, I was sure she wasn’t a monster.

Could I just let this whole thing go?

I would. I would forget about this crazy idea.

The full moon was coming. It would be here tomorrow night.

It meant nothing. I would forget about the full moon and the wolf howls, and make myself believe that Hailey was an ordinary girl.

The next day, I was totally on edge. By the time my alarm clock went off, I had already been lying awake in bed for an hour, staring at the ceiling and trying to breathe slowly. It was the day of the full moon.

It was easy to tell myself to forget something, but it was much harder to actually do it.

At breakfast, I couldn’t help watching Hailey. Her cheeks were flushed, her eyes were glowing, and her hair shone. She looked excited. And that made me nervous.

“Marisol.”
From the tone of Jack’s voice, I could tell it wasn’t the first time he’d said my name.

“What?” I asked, making myself turn away from Hailey.

“Pass the milk, please,” he said. “Jeez, are you okay? You’ve been staring blankly across the table for, like, ten minutes.”

“Sorry,” I said, and passed him the milk. “I’m fine. Just a little tired.” Jack was looking at me curiously, and I smiled weakly at him.

“It’s a beautiful day,” Hailey said cheerfully. “It’s the kind of day when it feels good to be alive.”

Whenever I saw Hailey during the day, she looked alert and intense. I tried to ignore it, but I couldn’t help being aware of her.

At lunch, I was sitting and talking with Amber and Lily when Hailey appeared, smiling.

“Have you seen?” she asked, setting her lunch tray down on the table.

“What?” asked Amber. “I haven’t seen anything except today’s mystery-meat special.”

“Look!” said Hailey, pointing across the cafeteria. We’d been expecting Bonnie to show up eventually — she had gym right before lunch, so she had to change — but there she was, sitting at a table with one other person: Anderson. They were totally focused on each other, smiling and laughing as they gazed into each other’s eyes.

“Holy cow,” said Amber. “Do you think they’re, like … a couple?”

“She said she thought he was cute,” I remembered aloud. I looked at Bonnie’s smile. I couldn’t imagine
liking
Anderson — he was so high-strung and hyper — but she looked happy.

“That’s Bonnie,” said Hailey. “If she wants something, she makes it happen.” She nodded. “That’s the only thing to do, I’ve realized. You can’t wait around for things to happen
to
you.”

Lily looked at her curiously. “Is there something you want to do, Hailey?” she asked.

Hailey shrugged. “I’m just sort of talking about life. You know.”

Lily smiled back at her. “I get it.”

I wasn’t sure I did. Was Hailey acting this way because of the full moon? Bonnie caught us watching her and waved, grimacing at us to stop staring. Hailey drummed her fingers on the table, looking impatient.

“Hey,” she said suddenly to Lily and me, “are you two going out with your telescopes tonight? Isn’t it a full moon?”

“Um. No,” Lily said, a little line appearing between
her eyebrows as she frowned. “Remember, we stay in at the full moon because of the wolves.”

Hailey rolled her eyes. “You know,” she said stubbornly, “wolves aren’t so dangerous. They don’t just suddenly attack people.”

Lily stared at her. “Wolves
are
dangerous, Hailey. They don’t bite people for fun, but it’s still not a good idea to get close to them. They’re territorial. They’re wild animals. They’re not
friendly
.” She rubbed irritably at the crescent moon–shaped birthmark on her arm.

Hailey rolled her eyes again. The line between Lily’s eyebrows got deeper, and she opened her mouth as if she was going to say something, hesitated, then closed it again.

Of course
, I thought,
maybe Hailey already knows all about wolves.

At the after-school astronomy club meeting, Anderson slid into the desk next to mine.

“Pssst,” he hissed out of the side of his mouth. “Hey. Psst. Marisol.”

“Shhh,” I said, listening to the presentation.

He huffed and fished around in his backpack. A minute later, a note landed on my desk:

I had almost forgotten Anderson’s suspicion that the gym teacher was a werewolf. I really didn’t think he was, but what did I know? As long as he and Bonnie left Hailey alone, Anderson’s theories didn’t matter. I also really didn’t think Bonnie would want me coming along.

“I can’t come, but thanks for asking,” I whispered. “Let me know what happens. And be careful.”

Anderson nodded seriously. “Roger,” he said. “Will do.”

After astronomy club, Lily and I sat together on the activities bus. She seemed irritable, glaring out at the sun, which was already low on the horizon.

“What were you and Anderson passing notes about?” she asked suddenly. “Did he say anything about Bonnie?”

“Not really,” I said. “They’re staking out Mr. Bonley’s house tonight in case he’s a werewolf.”

Lily turned and stared at me. “He thinks
Bonley’s
a werewolf?” she said roughly. “He’s really a nut.” This was so different from her earlier, more relaxed view on Anderson’s obsessions that I must have looked surprised, because her eyes narrowed. “You don’t believe him, do you?” she asked.

“No …” I said.

Lily frowned at me. “You sound like you’re going to say ‘but.’ You couldn’t possibly think Mr. Bonley’s a werewolf. Anderson just hates doing push-ups.”

“Well …” I hesitated, then leaned closer to her, looking around to make sure no one was listening to us. I wasn’t going to do anything about my suspicions, but it might help to talk to Lily. She would never hurt Hailey. “I’m not talking about Mr. Bonley. But there’s someone else I’m worried about. There’s been weird stuff I’ve noticed, and it seems crazy, but I can’t help worrying” — I took a deep breath — “that she might be a werewolf.”

Lily stiffened. “Have you talked to anyone else about this?”

I shook my head. “No, and you can’t either. You have to promise not to repeat this, not even to her,” I said. “Especially not to her.”

“Who are you talking about?” Lily’s eyes were wide.

I took a deep breath. “Hailey. I think Hailey might be a werewolf.”

“Are you
crazy
?” Lily asked. She shook her head. “Honestly, Marisol, Hailey’s been, like, the shyest girl at school forever, and she’s finally starting to come out of her shell, and you’re calling her a
werewolf
? I thought you were her friend.”

“I am her friend,” I objected, “but listen —”

Lily put up her hand to stop me. I had never seen her look so angry. “Stop it,” she growled. “Marisol, there
are no werewolves.”
She whipped around to stare out the window and ignored me for the rest of the ride.

As the bus stopped to let me off, I got to my feet and then paused next to our seat. “I’m sorry, Lily,” I said softly. She didn’t answer.

Great. Now Lily was mad at me. I sighed. I should
have kept my thoughts to myself. I climbed off the bus and headed toward the house. Jack had gone to a friend’s after cooking club, and I was sorry he wasn’t there. I could have used a friend to take my mind off Hailey.

During dinner, Hailey was restless. Her glass chimed as she tapped her fingers against it, and her plate jumped as she beat out a rhythm on it with her fork. Jack raised his eyebrows at her across the table and whispered, “Hail, what’s up with you?” to which she just shrugged. Our parents didn’t seem to notice a thing.

“A toast!” called out Mike cheerfully. “Here’s to a month of living together. I know I speak for Molly and the kids when I say we couldn’t have enjoyed it more. You know you’re welcome to stay as long as you like,” he added, smiling.

“Hear, hear,” said my mom, tapping her glass against his. “I just want to say how much Marisol
and I appreciate the way you’ve opened your home and your family to us.”

We all touched glasses. Jack smiled as he tapped his water glass against mine. It seemed like we were in a golden glow of friendship. But I couldn’t stop thinking about how, outdoors, the sun was setting and darkness was beginning to fall. I wanted to run outside of that warm golden glow and see if the moon was rising.

After dinner was over, Hailey cleared the table and kissed her parents. “I’m going to read for a while,” she said sweetly. “I’ll probably go to bed early, so I’ll say good night now.”

I looked at the clock. It was seven thirty.

Didn’t anyone else think it was weird that Hailey was going upstairs to bed so early?

I guess not, because her parents and my mom just smiled and said good night. Jack waved a hand to her as he slouched off into the living room to watch TV.

“I’m going to go up, too,” I said quickly. “I have more homework to do, and then I’ll turn in.” There was no way Hailey was a werewolf. But still … just in case …

I hurried up the stairs after her.

When I got to the second floor, Hailey was going into the bathroom, so I went into my room to read. I couldn’t focus. All my senses were on edge, wondering what she was going to do. After I heard her go into her own room, I waited another half hour, watching the clock, then went after her. Just to check.

I knew she wasn’t going to be there.

I tapped on her bedroom door.

“What?” she said.

Oh.

I opened her door. Hailey was curled up on her bed with a book.

“Nothing,” I said. “I mean … have you seen my red sweater?”

She shook her head.

“Okay,” I said awkwardly. “Thanks.”

I went back to my room.
See?
I told myself.
She’s just lying there reading, like she said she was going to. She’s not sprouting fangs or sneaking out to howl at the moon. Now let this go!

Twenty minutes later, I headed down the hall. Maybe it would be easier for me to concentrate on my homework if I was in the same room as Hailey. I
hoped she wouldn’t mind a reading buddy. I tapped on her door. No one answered.

I opened the door. The light was still on and Hailey’s book lay on her pillow, but Hailey was gone.