Unwanted Alpha

Chapter 6

Shane's POV

“Well, you guys already know who I am, but I don’t know you guys yet.” She said while walking us to our class and looking pointedly at me. She took our schedule card earlier to know which class we belong to.

“Nice to meet you. I’m Garreth, this is Phoebe and this girl beside you is Shane.” Garreth said, leaving out the part about the werewolf stuff because Amber is human too.

“So, Shane, do you have a boyfriend?” she asked, stopping in front of a room.

“Um… no” I answered, then tried to get in the room but stopped when her hand took hold of my arm.

“Where are you going? Are you running away from me?” she said, laughing. “This is not your class.” She then showed and pointed to something on our schedule card. Phoebe and Garreth have written ‘Class C’ and mine is ‘Class A’.

Phoebe and Garreth looked apologetically at me as they went in. While I’m still thinking how out of place I would be because, aside from the fact that everyone in my class probably already knew each other for three years, I also enrolled two months late, which means everyone would probably already belong to another group of friends. I should have realized this earlier when we compared schedules because both Garreth and Phoebe have exactly the same, even the break times, while mine is completely different. I just sighed at how dreadful my high school life would be.

Amber glanced at me when she heard me sigh and chuckled. “If ever you’re thinking that you don’t know anyone from Class A… let me tell you the Clifden is also there.” I looked at her, surprised. Why am I even surprised? Its already clear how smart he is. “Why don’t you have a boyfriend?”

I looked at her, not knowing how to answer her question. Now that I think about it, the answer is probably because I was waiting for someone that felt right to come along and I’m just too busy to have a boyfriend I’m not serious about. I’m completely aware that my answer is almost the same as Clif’s so I didn’t say it because she might have thought something about it. I was thinking of a half-ass answer but we had already arrived at my room.

“Actually, never mind, I won’t force you to answer my question. I’m not looking forward to Clifden taking my car privileges off for the weekend.” Her nose scrunched at the thought. “Anyway, we’re here. Good luck!” she winked at me, then skipped off to her own class.

After 2 hours, here I am now, running to, I hope, where the cafeteria is because my friends and my break times only overlap for 10 minutes, and my teacher decided to overtime for 7 freaking minutes. Now I only have 3 minutes to spend with my friends if they haven’t gone back to their classes yet.

I was sprinting down the hall, trying to find my way to the cafeteria. How big is this freaking school? I was about to stop and ask someone where it was when a familiar voice called my name.

“Shane!”

I looked at where it came from and saw Phoebe jumping up and down, waving at me. “What are you guys doing here? Haven’t your class started yet?” I asked while suspiciously glancing at another girl with them who I didn’t recognize.

“Well, Ms. Ross here excused ALL of us from our class and volunteered to give us a tour and also to take a picture of us.” Garreth explained, glancing and pointing his hand at her.

The girl, Ms. Ross probably took that as an invitation to hold her hand, so she placed her hand on his. Garreth immediately pulled away then hid behind me. “Wait, why is she taking a picture of us?” I asked, looking at the camera she was carrying.

“Because… I’m one of the best writers of Capethorn Chroniclers. And it’s a tradition to put the transfer students in the school newspaper.” She boasted, looking proud of herself. “Let’s go, Mr. Adler. Let’s finish this already so I can give you a private one later.” She added, seductively looking at Garreth behind me. I felt Garreth’s shiver of discomfort, so I stepped forward, blocking her view of him, then gestured for her to start already.

When she started walking, I asked my friends through mind link what this girl Ross was talking about when she said Capethorn Chroniclers.

Guys, am I stupid that I don’t know what those Capethorn Chroniclers are? And also, what’s her name? I added because it felt weird calling her Ross.

Nah, I think it’s more like ignorance. Phoebe answered. Oh and she told us her name earlier, but I don’t remember anymore.

Seriously though, that Capethorn Chroniclers is like a club at this school. Garreth explained. They’re the ones responsible for writing and deciding which story to put in the newspaper. Some club members of theirs actually write not only for their school but for the whole town.

I was gonna answer him but a commotion in the hall to our right caught our attention. The girl Ross immediately ran there, probably trying to get something to write about. When we’re finally close enough, we can hear two guys fighting while some other people around them are egging them on. Sigh, kids. I thought while shaking my head. Ms. Ross was snapping one picture after another, then she suddenly stood straight and stared somewhere.

“Enough!” I heard Clifden’s voice shout, so I stood on my toes to look for him. He’s standing on the other side of the corridor with Jon standing behind him. He’s wearing grey shorts and a black sleeveless shirt with its side open, showing his sweaty arms. He’s also wearing glasses, holding a bow with his left hand and had a quiver attached on his right hip. “Can anyone explain what’s going on here?” he asked, looking between the two guys fighting, while running his hand across the soft curls of his brown hair.

“Um…” one of the guys looked down on the floor, nervous and unable to continue. The other guy looks at the floor, unwilling to say anything. Are they scared of Clif? Why?

Seeing he couldn’t get any answer from the two, I watched his eyes analyze the whole scene, sighing, and cringing at the dents in the lockers, and then he leaned down and picked a crumpled paper. When he unraveled it, he laid his hand on the guys fighting earlier.

“Give me your schedule cards.” They were about to object, but a glare from Clif’s ocean blue eyes easily made them comply. When he finally had the other schedule card, he looked at it with furrowed brows, then the lockers. It’s actually amazing that you can see when Clif finally figured things out. He raises his eyebrows and it’s like his eyes flood with realization when it happens.

He crumpled the schedule cards and threw them at their owners. “Please tell me I’m wrong.” He said, getting closer to the two. “Did you guys really fight because you had the same lockers?” disbelief evident in his eyes and voice at the outrageous reason of the fight.

“Well…”

Clif just sighed and put his hands on their shoulders. “It’s obvious that you guys are 1st year students and transferee’s so, let me tell you now, when this thing happens, you don’t have to fight each other like babies over a toy, ok?” he said slightly crouching to match their eyes. “You just have to go to the cashier’s office, and they will correct it for you guys.”

“T-thank you, sir!” they said in unison, making Clif smile.

“However, as much as I understand your situation, both of you still need to be held accountable for your actions.” He said, gesturing at the whole mess. He then looked around, winking at us when our eyes met, and then his gaze settled on Ms. Ross who’s still standing like a statue.

“Ms. Ross? Right?” he asked, at which the girl nodded. “Can you escort these two to the principal’s office?”

“But Editor in c---” she stopped when Clif raised his hand.

Editor in what? I asked the other in our mind link.

The only thing that comes to mind is Editor in chief, which’s like the highest position in the club that Ross belongs to. The chroniclers one. Garreth answered.

“We’re not in the boardroom so you don’t have to call me that.” He said, then turned at us smiling. “If you’re worried about these people’s tour, I’ll gladly take over, so don’t worry.”

We heard some people gasp at that. Even Ms. Ross here looked shocked. “You’re going to give them a tour, Sir?” Clif glared at the word sir but nodded anyway.

“Is there a problem with that?” he asked.

“No, Sir! Absolutely not! It was just… a little weird.” She answered, whispering the last part.

“Go along then.” He said, shooing Ms. Ross away. Then turned to the crowd watching. “The show is over! You can go now unless you want to go to the principal’s office too!” he shouted, making the other students scurry off except us and Jon.

“Hey, can I ask you a favor and bring these to the clubroom?” Clifden told Jon, handing out his bow and quiver.

After agreeing and exchanging goodbyes with us, Jon ran off to somewhere, probably to the clubroom Clif was talking about.

“So, where are you guys on the tour?” he asked us with a smile.

“Well, that Ross girl hasn’t taken us anywhere yet.” Phoebe answered. “She got distracted and started taking pictures of the commotion earlier instead of stopping it.”

Clifden laughed a little and gestured for us to follow him. “Yeah, that’s so like her. Her stories actually had a chance to be in the town newspaper. Anyway, what’s your next subject?” he directed the question at my friends.

“Um… it’s our study period, why?” Garreth answered after looking at his schedule.

“Hmm, since it’s study period, I’m going to show you guys the library and gym, so we can drop you off at the library and we can go to our next subject, which is P.E.” he explained, making me frown. Is P.E. my next subject? Clifden, probably seeing my frown, said, “Amber has already told me we are from the same class, which means that we have exactly the same schedule.”

He then stopped in front of the bulletin boards on the wall. “This is the Freedom Wall while the other one is, well… it doesn’t really have a name because it’s pretty boring. That nameless bulletin board is for school announcements and those sorts of things. As for this Freedom Wall, I think the name already explains what it is. Anyone can put anything they want there, no matter how weird, bizarre, or random it is; missing items, posters, party invitations, and even love confessions.”

I looked closer at this Freedom Wall he’s talking about. There really are some posters about a party, missing underwear, application to be someone’s boyfriend. There are also some sticky notes containing love confessions, some are romantic, some are cheesy, while some need to be addressed either because of the writer’s obvious desperation or obsession.

“Every building has one of those for each year. This is for us, 4th years. However, there is also a bigger one in the school plaza, where you can put anything that concerns the other years. That school plaza is our next destination, by the way. Any questions so far?” he asked, turning to look at us.

Phoebe raised her hand. “Are there any weird rules we need to know?” She said, pointing at one of the posters. The poster is about a guy who is asking signature from others to help add a rule that requires every student to wear paper bags on their head every Wednesday. What the heck, isn’t that like some serial killer stuff?

All three of us must have an incredulous look on our faces because Clifden laughed at our expressions. “To clear the confusion first, look!” he said with amusement in his eyes. He removed some kind of flashlight from his ID and shone UV light onto the poster. “See? The new rule is just a ruse, so the teacher won’t know their plans. This poster is actually about a party they are going to do here in the school grounds. This is a FREEDOM wall, but teachers still inspect it in case some students were planning to do something illegal like… drugs or a party in school grounds.”

“We’re not allowed to party in this school?” Phoebe asked, disappointment laced in her voice.

“To answer your earlier question, the rules our school has are the same for every school out there, so you don’t have to worry about any weird rules. As for partying, you CAN go to parties anywhere and get drunk or stoned if you want, however, what you CAN’T do is hold a party here in the school grounds.” He clarified, ripping the ‘paper bag rule’ poster, throwing it away and started walking again.

Garreth! Can you elaborate on what rules we are talking about here? I asked Garreth in a mind link because he’s the only one who experienced going to school before.

Garreth glanced at us and sighed, “Clifden, can we get a copy of this school’s handbook?”

“Oh sure, let’s head to the admin office first, then before going to the plaza.” He answered with a smile, then looked at Phoebe and my confused face. He probably realized that we didn’t know what that school handbook contained, so he explained it to us. “Our school handbook contains the rules and regulations that students need to follow, the members of the school faculty, the grading and its reward systems, clubs, mission, and vision of our school. It’s really helpful for students to understand what the school expects of them.”

“Ohh.” Phoebe and I said, making Clif smile, amused at us. It made me understand that there are probably tons of annoying sets of rules we need to follow, which is why Garreth asked for a copy of it instead of explaining it all.

As promised, we went to the Admin office to get our handbooks. After that, he took us to the plaza, which was filled with a lot of students, some taking a break, some napping on the grass and even some playing with their friends. He also showed us the 3 cafeterias, 4 cafes, different clubrooms, the clinic, the principal’s office, the swimming pools, and pool tables. He also showed us where the rooms for some of our class too, like the computer room and laboratories. Clifden is such an easy person to talk and be with. He has such an easy and outgoing personality that makes people comfortable around him. He also has the air of confidence, calmness and authority which results in the other students respecting him.

Authority, huh? I guess it’s understandable because he IS the captain of one of the clubs here, which is probably the Archery one. It’s also possible that he’s the editor in chief of that Chroniclers club, but then, why does EVERYONE respect him? I would understand if it's just the members of the Archery and Chroniclers club, but EVERYONE we encounter ANYWHERE we go greets him, even the teachers. Is he just that popular or…

The tour is almost done, and we are now on our way to the library to drop Phoebe and Garreth off. I was thinking about this when Garreth asked him what exactly I was thinking about. “Hey, I was wondering,…” he started, making Clif look at him. ”what is your role here in this school? I mean, just going around school with you made it clear that you’re pretty important?”

“Ohh, that. Well, for starters, I’m the Captain of our Archery team, which is probably obvious already because of what happened earlier this morning and the fact that I was holding a bow when you saw me again a little bit later.” He explained, scratching the back of his neck, and avoiding our gaze. “I am also the Capethorn Chroniclers editor in chief, which means that I’m the one deciding whether a story would get published whether it’s the school or town newspaper.”

“Oh wow, you must be pretty busy the---” Phoebe tried to say, but Clif cut her off.

“There’s actually one more,” he shyly said, scrunching his nose. “I’m also the elected Student Council President.”

“Oh, really? I heard that position is only for seniors, right? Because the highest position a 4th year can have is Vice President.” Garreth said, amazement obvious in his eyes.

“Well, yeah, you heard right. But then again, I was the Vice President last year already sooo…” Clifden said with the tips of his ear turning red. He doesn’t like bragging and talking about his achievements, huh. Spending the day with Clifden made it clear that he’s kind of shy, but he also knows when and how to be confident when the situation calls for it, like taking charge and stopping the commotion earlier.

“Wait, so you were the one who rejected that Ross girl story from being published?” I asked after remembering what he said earlier. He nodded at my question. “Why? You made it sound like she’s talented.”

“She IS talented. When the stories she writes are not biased and written for her family’s gain,” he sighed.

“Family’s gain?” Garreth asked.

“Since you’re new here, you probably don’t know yet, but her family is one of the richest families here.” He rolled his eyes and said, “Her dad even tried to bribe me when I wouldn’t allow her daughter’s article to be published. He said that he would give me anything if I were to write and publish an article that would ruin his rival’s name.” Rival?

“Wow, why would he go that far? And also rival on what?” Garreth asked, clearly confused like us.

Clifden just sighed. We finally reached the library, but he didn’t make a move to open the door. Instead, he looked around to see if anyone was listening. Then get closer to us. “I don’t know why I’m telling you this, but listen, what I’m about to tell you is something that only very few people know, OK? So, you have to promise that you won’t tell it to anybody else.” We nodded our heads and promised to keep his secret safe.

He looked around again and then whispered, “To answer your question, rival in mayor elections. Mr. Ross ran as Mayor but fortunately he didn’t win. When he approached and bribed me, I also thought why he would go that far and what his reason for wanting to be the Mayor so bad, so I did a little investigation. Apparently, his family, Mr. Ross, his father, grandfather, and even their ancestors, had already tried to run as Mayor so that they could control the town but nobody from his family won.” Investigate… is this how he knew of the animalogue attacks?

“According to some people I asked, their great grandparents are the ones who told them to never vote for someone from their family, not even if it’s a distant relative. Everyone I asked who originated from here is saying the same, but none of them knew the reason why, until I met someone who did know. Now, the credibility of this information is low because it came from some from an elderly person who has Alzheimer’s, but according to that person, the reason why nobody should ever vote for Ross and his family is because they are involved in something illegal… human trafficking.”

“If that person has Alzheimer’s, then why trust the information? Much less consider it.” Phoebe inquired.

“I don’t really know, it’s weird actually. During our whole conversation with a nurse supervising us, it would be obvious that he was sick. However, when it was time to leave, that old person moved fast and closed the door behind the nurse, leaving me inside with him. When I looked in his eyes… they were pitch black” Clifden has a distant look in his eyes, he shivered, as he remembers what happened. “His eyes were pitch black and the way he spoke is suddenly normal. Like he was not sick a while ago. That is when he told me about the illegal activities of the Ross family, which is why I believe him.“ He looked down on his feet, breathing deeply, looking conflicted.

I looked at my friends and see that Phoebe is confused like me, but Garreth has an entirely different expression, it’s as if he knows what’s happening. I raised my brows at him, asking him what is it but he just shook his head at me and said later through our mind link.

Clifden caught our exchange, narrowing his eyes at us. I could see wheels turning in his eyes, so I decided to distract him from thinking. “What happened next?” He looked at me, then sighed as he opened the library door.

“Well, I tried asking the triplets about it because, aside from the fact that they’re the only ones I trust enough to share this secret, they also know a lot about this town’s history.” He said, then smiled at the librarian at his desk.

“What did they say?” I asked him, looking around the library a bit to see if anyone was eavesdropping.

“They said that the Ross family does have a history with this town, but when I asked them what it is, they said that it’s something they can’t tell me and that I should try to figure it out myself.” Clifden said, smiling and waving goodbye at my friends.

“You know, I can proudly say that I’ve already read every book in our school and town library, but surprisingly, none of those books contain ANY information about this town’s history.” Clifden added, watching Phoebe and Garreth walk away from us and take their seats but stopped when they heard what Clifden said next. “Which made me conclude, maybe that information is forbidden for humans and… only exclusive to werewolves.”