Taming the Alpha of Red Ember

Chapter 3 - Wolf Course Work

I made it just in time to see Rachel getting out of the black SUV with her brother and her brother's friends. She ran over to me and I smiled widely.

“Say it..” She said, waving her slip and looking at me for mine.

My smile disappeared.

“No! No! Im not accepting this, he said you could go to the next one so many times and when they turn up there is something more pressing”

“Sorry” was all I could answer as we started walking to our first class.

After hearing her rant I managed to change the subject to help lift my mood again.

“So, I went for a run this morning and I saw a beautiful wolf!” I said as I sat down and started taking my books out.

“Really? Where?” She asked.

“Crackley Woods” I answered.

“Oh, how strange!” She replied, she looked deep in thought.

“Hardley strange, we are surrounded by forests, there is going to be wolves everywhere right” I said exciting.

Professor Welsh came in and started talking and getting the lesson started and Rachel leaned in to me.

“What did the wolf look like?” She asked.

“A…wolf” I laughed back.

“Obviously…but what features?” She asked.

“Girls? Is everything okay? Are you ready to participate instead of talking?” Professor Welsh spat. I looked up to see Professor Welsh’s eyes looking at us over her thin glasses.

We said our apologies and started working hard in the lesson. I do love this lesson, it's learning fine art and Architecture. This is the lesson that is doing the trip to show us the industrial designs in Paris and to look at the Eiffel Tower so we can then draw it.

The lesson was finished in no time and we all started packing away.

“Please hand me your Paris permission slips” Professor Welsh said, loudly.

“Harlie..Can I have a word?” Professor Welsh asked.

She managed to grab me before I made it out the door, Rachel said she would meet me at lunch as we don't have the same lesson next.

I looked around and everyone else was gone and I looked back at the Professor with a soft smile.

“No permission slip?” She looked sad.

“I am afraid not, I am needed at home” I reluctantly replied.

“I can't express how much this disappoints me, you are one of my star students in this lesson, your fine art and skills are so very impressive the trip would be such a good boost for your course work. We can help with funding Harlie?”

“You see, it is not the funding that is the issue, I managed to work hard over summer with jobs that I got together . I am just needed at home, I help my dad out in his garage and I help at home” I answered.

“It would be a great opportunity Harlie, and we are gone for five days? Surely that won't be an issue?”

I could hear in her voice that she was not going to back down from this.

“Professor, I think it is more of my father being too worried for me to go” I answered, honestly.

“What does mum think?” She asked.

There it is, the thud in the stomach called grief that gives you that reminder that it's still around.

“Erm, Professor my mother died when I was six” As I said this her face went into horror and sadness.

“Harlie..I am sorry”

“It's fine…it was a long time ago now” I answered.

Truthfully what I just said was complete cow poop. It can still be as raw as the day it happened but I have learned that this one sentence will help the Professor feel less bad for asking me and not over-think the situation. My grief is for me alone and I would never like for it to cause a negative impact on others around me.

We said our goodbyes and I made it to my next lesson, everyone was already sitting down so I just quietly got seated and started to listen straight away.

Structural engineering has always fascinated me but I think part of that is helping my dad out at the garage. I can be good at fixing cars and for being on his reception as I have always been a fast learner.

This lesson went quickly and I walked into the hallway to see Rachel, she was in a deep conversation with her brother Jax and Jax’s best friend Knox. It looked important as Jax looked miffed with the situation.

“Hey…” I said as I walked over to them.

“Harlie” Jax nodded to me.

I give him a smile and then look at Rachel who looks awkward as she starts randomly baffling about something random. I have been her best friend for so long I know she does this when she stops talking about something she didn't want the person approaching to hear. I just looked down for a moment but I felt eyes on me and looked up to see Knox staring at me.

The boys in the college football team are all good looking, except my brothers of course. I have never spoken to the others only Jax, I am not very social.

I look back at my shoes before I look back up at Knox who still has his eyes on me, I give him a polite smile as Jax and Rachel finish their conversation. Knox’s hair is black with shaved sides but long and tufty on the top with gel in. I look at his brownish red colour eyes and then his smooth lips, I quickly look away to make sure he didn't realise I was looking at him in admiration.

Jax had black curly hair that came down past his ears, he has the same type of hair as Rachel and has always been nice and polite with me. Knox started to get bored, he looked at Jax and said he will dip and see him later, he stormed off rudely without even saying bye.

Jax said to Rachel they will continue the conversation at home and ran after him.

“All good?” I asked.

“Absolutely” She hooked on my arm and we walked to get some food.

“I have a party this weekend, a family party..please help me find something to wear?” Rachel asked.

“Okay, after college we could walk into town?” I asked.

“Deal!” I smiled.

I wanted to ask her what she, Knox and Jax were speaking about in the hallway near the lockers but I knew that it was me being nosey. Knox lives in the same street as Jax and Rachel in a posh closed gate estate in the woods. It's a lord's manor and their family all work for him and they live near him.

We eat and get to our next lesson. I am happy we are in this one together.

Professor Landon comes in, he is tall with big round glasses and is a fun vibe teacher.

“This year in my class we will be looking at Art Anatomy and Art Zoology, this means we will be focusing on figures, muscle structure, skeletal frames and posture. Your first piece of coursework would be to concentrate on one animal but one part of their body. Examples could be a dog's ear, bird's beak or claw or an insect part of their body.”

I start researching animals not knowing what to do, I start looking at cats and horses but then see that Rachel has chosen a horse and is researching what part to do.

I spent ages looking through and then decided to look at the wolves.

“Are you going to be doing a wolf?” She smiled.

“I am but I am trying to find the different breeds, the one I saw this morning looked different and bigger” I said looking through google.

Rachel stared for a moment

“I think wolves would be boring to do? What about a fox you love foxes?” She said excitedly.

“I think my favourite animal is a wolf you know, it is the way they look, howl and hold themselves”

I spent the rest of the lesson sketching out a paw and I have to say I was loving it.