Chapter 15: Acceptance
"Welcome; welcome to the newly, just recently created, School of Lycanthropy! I am your Dean and co-owner of this magnificent school, Harold Hadden." Harold yelled out boisterously. The crowd in front of him looked so zombie-like, with their beady eyes, and vacant stares. There was a boy around the age of eighteen, who had a huge body. He was overweight, and had a big double chin. His hair was short, and was white as a blizzard; it closely resembled his steel grey eyes. He had been wearing a long sleeved blue shirt, black khaki pants which matched his sneakers. "May I ask what your name is young man?" Harold asked. "M-my name is George; George Sky, sir." he replied in a low voice.
"Nice to meet you young man, please step inside. George nodded, then walked through the old, rickety door. This building was so small that it would be lucky to even fit a tiny family let alone all of Philadelphia's werewolves. However, Harold was confident that Hilary was well on her way to making it more roomy. The night air felt chilly, but not too cold. Behind the shack, was a tiny field, with golden wheat moving slowly in the tiny wind. Ahead of Harold, past the small crowd of people, was a thin, winding pathway that lead down the hill to a set of solid steel gates, which were painted black.
Surrounding the base of the hill was a thick brick wall, painted black as well. Down to the right of the hill, another small building could be seen. It was barely hanging in there, but still stood. There were a set of four windows on the left, and Harold assumed there was matching windows on the opposite side as well. I wonder what that place is. he thought. Just then a girl about age seventeen, with thick black hair, and wide, purple colored eyes stepped up to him. Her lips were thick, and cheeks sunken in a bit. She was fairly short, at least shorter than Harold. She had skin so dark, that she could blend in with the shadows around them.
"And what is your name?" Harold asked her. He looked at her clothes, noticing that she had a purple dress on, stopping at mid thigh. The dress matched her eyes completely, and she had the same colored sandals. "My name is, Hazel Fringe, sir." she replied. Her voice was very soft and angelic which was a nice change compared to Hilary's raspy voice. "Come right in m'lady." he said, holding the door open for her. Then another set of people walked up to him, one was a tall, twenty year old man. he towered over Harold, and had the face of a troll. His bottom lip stuck out, which went very well together with his small eyes, making him look like a gorilla.
He had thin, arms, and huge hands along with long thick legs. His hair was blonde and eyes; orange. He had a thick, trench coat on, that was black, with flames rising up from the bottom of it. His pants were dark brown jeans, and he had brown Nike shoes on. "Who are you my man?" Harold asked him, gazing up into his face. "My name's Troy Cot." He replied. His voice sounded even deeper than George's which was befitting to him. "Who's this young lady next to you, Troy?" Harold asked. She was at least half his size, with long waist length, red hair, a thin nose, thin lips, big blue eyes and tiny ears. Freckles splotched each cheek fairly well.
Her dark red shirt, matched her hair so exquisitely that Harold could tell she was from an upper class society. She wore a short, white skirt, which showed off her thick, built legs. Both of her feet were in red go-go boots, which went half way up her calves. She appeared to be very young but Harold asked anyway. "How old are you, and what is your name?" Troy interrupted her before she could speak. "Her name is Erika Stein and she's nineteen." "Why don't you let her tell me young man?" Harold asked him. Troy bent down, going face to face with him, and breathed hard into Harold's face. "A-alright then, welcome to the school." he ushered them inside, and exhaled hard. His heart was beating fast. I can't imagine how giant that kid is during the full moon, my God! he thought.
Those were the last two people for now, so Harold wiped his brow from the sweat, and leaned against the shack, taking in all the beauty of the city. He knew that Jennifer would be coming up there soon, he could just feel it. It wasn't just success that he felt however, it was also depression. He knew what hell she was about to endure once she got here. He just shook his head in shame, then headed back inside the shack, as he awaited Hilary's orders.
* * * *
John yelled through Jenny's door, asking for her to come downstairs. "I'll be right there." She replied. Nothing sounded any more annoying then having to go back downstairs and leave her room behind. All Jenny wanted to do was stay there, her entire life and never leave for anything. She closed her window and went to turn around when something flashed above the buildings across the block. High above the buildings, a white light could be seen, blinding all who dared to look into it.
Jenny shielded her face, trying to make out who or what was causing such a distraction, and failed to even summon an accurate answer. "Are you coming down yet Jen?" John asked. "I'm coming Dad; didn't you hear me?" she replied, breaking her gaze onto the building. She got to her door, and opened it, realizing that John was still standing there. He had been holding a thick envelope in his left hand, and what looked like a pen in the other. "What's all this?" Jenny asked. She crossed her arms, and waited. "Come downstairs, There's something I need you to look over and consider." Her waved his arm and headed down the stairs. Jenny, feeling enormously annoyed by now, reluctantly followed.
"What is it? It better be important!" she said in an aggravated tone. "I think it is, so that should be a good enough excuse." John replied. He was partially annoyed at Jenny's attitude, watching her stare at the floor. After a while he lead her downstairs, to the living room, which still had the photo album laying on the floor. "You haven't gotten rid of that thing yet?" She felt disgusted, just by staring at it. "OH, I'm sorry! I'll be right back." John replied. He grabbed the album and rushed out of the room to the pantry. She only expected that he was going to the basement. While she waited, Jenny waltzed over to the coffee table where the big manilla envelope was. She picked it up; reading the shipping address.
"It's addressed to us alright, but who sent it? and why is it so heavy?" Jenny whispered. John re appeared, noticing that she was holding the envelope. His face was mixed between shock and worry, which scared her a bit. He strolled over to her, stopping just as he got to her right side. "Why do I have to be down here for this?" She asked, shaking the envelope. "It's not the casing that concerns me Jen; it's what's inside. Go ahead and open it up." He urged her to, waving his hands at it. Jenny nodded, and sat down; readying herself for the insides of this package.
Once she tore the paper open, a rush of heat coursed her hands and arms. There was a folded up, blue paper inside. Jenny pulled out the blue paper, and unfolded it. On the cover there was a picture of an old looking, run down shack which was perched on top of a two dimensional hill. Underneath it, in bold lettering was the words: HAROLD HADDEN'S SCHOOL OF LYCANTHROPY! And underneath it was a brief description of where the school was and what the purpose was of that school. It said: Come one, come all! If you've got the curse, we've got the knowledge. Knowledge for what? you might ask. Well, knowledge to tame the beast within you! What's more to ask for? You've probably wondered why this happens to you in the first place; I know I did. That's right! I'm one of them too! Come by our shack on top of the hill nearby the abandoned Cave Mountain. If you have fangs, a hairy body, and yellow eyes under that full moon; then you're in!
"Huh..." Jenny said. Her tongue had been sticking out, pursed between her front teeth. "What is it honey?" John asked. Jenny set the paper down, and crossed her legs; folding her arms over the left knee as she did so. Her eyes were still fixed on the advertisement when she summed up the right words. "What is this all about?" John; being taken aback, waited a few seconds, drumming his hands on the coffee table. "Um, well... I think it'd be a good thing for you to attend this school. This guy sounds legit and if it's true, then maybe he can teach you how to control that beast." John knew he opened up Pandora's Box when he said this so he waited for the barrage of questions.
"How do I even know if this place exists? Why haven't I actually been invited up there before I transformed for the first time? Who's Harold Hadden? For that matter, who are you for suggesting that I go up there? For all I know it could be a house of; of freaks!" Jenny said. She felt so annoyed at the moment, because it seemed like John didn't think she could handle this on her own; which was the truth, but she didn't want to admit it. "I spoke with Harold Hadden earlier. He handed me this envelope while you were upstairs, which is weird because it's night. I guess stranger things have happened, anyway... Once I read it; I was convinced that you could get help, so I drove up to the base of that school. I got inside the gates, then walked up to the front door, where I was instantly greeted by Harold.
Jenny tapped her right foot on the ground, feeling impatient and yet excited. John had been watching his hands harder than ever before, while talking to her. He definitely chose his words wisely, because he was thinking hard before each statement. Once sentences finally exited his mouth again, he looked up. "Jen, he told me that this was the place. This was the area where you would be accepted as a friend and not as a freak. I know, that no one else knows about your problem, but if they ever did; you'd be shunned your whole life. Harold told me that up there at that school, there's kids; around your age, who suffer the same problems."
"How does he know all this?" Jenny replied. John hesitated, then shakily answered. "I-I-I have no idea! I j-just have to trust that he knows what he knows." With that being said, he sat down next to Jenny, after she slid over. Jenny unwrapped her legs, letting her hands rest on her stomach. She rested her head on John's left shoulder. John wrapped her up into a hug, sighing out loud. "So, there's kids who'll go through transforming alongside me?" she asked. "That's correct! It's the only place that can accurately describe to you the effects of this disease and maybe help tremendously!" Jenny was silent for a while, contemplating whether or not she wanted to join.
There's kids who have the same problem, why not join them? They'll be there every step of the way. No; they'll just laugh at you and make fun of your condition! Come on now. I'm sure it's going to be fine. Jenny rocked her head left and right, running her decision around her brain. "Okay... I-I'll go!" She finally said. John smiled and kissed the top of her head. "You've made the right decision Jen. Trust me; you'll never regret it. Here; you have to sign your name on the bottom of this and bring it with you when you show up." "Here?" she asked, pointing at the bottom of the ad. John nodded, so she put her first and last name down. "Okay, we will have that up there tomorrow, for now; you need to get to your room. I'm going to call Harold tonight and tell him you're in. He'll be pretty excited to hear so." John told her. "Right, I'll see you tomorrow then Dad." Jenny replied.
"Alright then sweetie! I'll bring something up to you for dinner in a bit." "Alright!" Jenny said, and walked out of the room. When she got to the stairs, her head started buzzing; ringing really, with a loud piercing sound. Her ears rang along with it, making her head fill with fogged thoughts alongside stinging pain. She slumped up the stairs, shakily opened her door; closed it and nearly collapsed on the way to her bed. When she hit the blankets, she felt the pain intensify. When her eyes teared up, it all stopped. As if someone flipped the switch to her pain, cutting it off completely. She watched her window, sitting up against the headboard. There was a look of fear etched on her face. Jenny hated all that had been going on in her life now, and she was going to have even more of it; when she is accepted into that school. There was a final sigh of exasperation, and then she let her mind float off; at an attempt to escape her life for a few, brief moments.