Sofia, her cheek resting on her hand in a gesture of boredom, looked at her other friend. Again he was restless, fidgeting in the chair as if he was not comfortable in any posture. Occasionally, he rubbed the base of his back as if he had some kind of discomfort. He was nervous, and she couldn’t blame him considering how much he had at stake, but it wasn’t only that. The moon had been full three days ago, but it was still visible in the sky. She knew he was dealing with what he called partial changes, which meant that his fangs were larger and his tail was hidden inside his pants. Dave had told her it was really uncomfortable.
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Desperate, still fidgeting and starting to shake a little, Dave put his hands in his hair and lowered his head, focusing his gazeonthe desk. There it was. The boy parted his lips and Sofia saw his sides start to move faster. As much as a cinanthrope tried to suppress their natural instincts, the body was wise and forced them to use them. Not panting meant a real risk of suffering a heat stroke, and before it came to that the instincts were going to take over. Sofia knew this, she had suffered it all her life and she always ended up panting when she was hot, whether she tried to avoid it or not.
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As was always the case when a teacher left, the students began to talk louder and louder, and a group of them started to play hangman using the blackboard. The game caught other classmates'' attention, and within minutes the letters were flying around the classroom amidst laughter and excited shouts. The only one who wasn''t participating was Dave, who kept looking at his desk, panting and visibly nervous. Sofia sighed and walked over to him, seeking to get his attention by gently stroking the blond hair on his arm. It was a thick enough hair that it wouldn''t go unnoticed, but it was also surprisingly soft.
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“Let''s just say I''ve learned to keep a cool head in tense situations. Getting nervous isn''t going to help me pass my exams,” Sofia explained, shrugging. “I imagine that never having changed helps, too. I feel the moon, but it doesn''t affect me the same way it affects you,” she said with a small, apologetic smile. She didn''t know if she should be relieved or annoyed by that fact.
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He smiled, and in doing so he showed how much he relaxed when he was with her, because he let the tips of his fangs show. They weren''t so big that their classmates on the other side of the room would notice, but it was obvious they weren''t human. With flushed cheeks she had to admit that this was another feature she found strangely attractive. It matched his pretty boy face, made him look more wild and dangerous.
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Both Sofia and Dave frowned. Those two broke the rules as they pleased. They could have reported them a long time ago, but not only was Luis'' father one of the town’s Civil Guard officers, but also, being a small place where everyone knew each other, they were less inclined to pursue those kind of offenses. Not every officer was honest, despite wearing the uniform. The only remarkable thing was that, since the week he had been missing, Rodrigo had radically stopped talking about werewolves and black witches. That didn''t change the fact that he had become the target of cowards and wretches, but it had made him and Luis become like brothers again.
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Rodrigo put his hands to his head and clenched his jaw tightly. His eyes bugged out in an expression of utter despair. Months had gone by and they never got tired of humiliating him whenever they could. Not just some of his classmates, since it really wasn''t all of them, butpeople from all over the school as well. Van Helsing they called him, and not in a good way. It was bad luck that a movie about a hunter of supernatural creatures featuring werewolves had just come out. Not all of the class participated in the humiliation, but most of them simply looked the other way. Yeah, she did too, Sofia thought biting her lip. Rodrigo was a miserable psychopath who hadn''t minded pointing a gun at a creature he suspected could transform into a man, but she couldn''t justify this bullying.
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The blow was forceful and abrupt enough to take everyone by surprise. Suddenly there was a stony silence, and thirty pairs of eyes were focused on the young man who was slowly moving his gaze around the classroom. Sofia saw in him an attitude she had never seen him before. He stood as tall as he was and raised his shoulders and head with integrity and pride, but he was the image of serenity and strength, like a gallant tree. His breathing was slow as he looked at the rest of his class, and the bulge in the back of his trousers showed that he would have raised his tail if he could..
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Again there was silence. Some people looked at Dave in wonder, seeing in him just the light that some need to find their way, to dare to speak out. Others lowered their heads in shame, suddenly aware of what they were doing. They had gone along with the crowd without a second thought, simply because there had been no one to punch the table and tell them it was wrong. A small group refused to admit that they had done anything wrong, but the hatred in their eyes showed that, deep down, they knew he was right.
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Then it happened. The miracle. The first step that inspires others to dare take their own had taken effect. Another classmate stood up and he too looked at his classmates, one of many who, without participating in the outrage, had remained silent so that he would not be caught in the dirt. Then another girl did the same. Before they knew it, several students were on their feet,staring that rest of the class with the same annoyance as the young man.
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Gradually more voices rose, emboldened by the first ones. The bullies, suddenly seeing themselves cornered, tried to defend themselves because they refused to accept that they had done something wrong. Rodrigo looked around the class surprised at the amount of support he was suddenly receiving. Yet he was still the same miserable bastard he had always been, the bastard who was bullied for talking about witches and werewolves, not for saying he wanted to kill a feral dog. For that alone Sofia could have no sympathy for him, but neither was she going to defend attitudes such as those displayed by some of her classmates.
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As she pondered those thoughts, Rodrigo abruptly stood up and stormed angrily toward the classroom’s door. Sofia felt the hair on the back of her neck bristle. The boy was white with rage, all his muscles were tense and his fists were so tight that his knuckles had turned pale. Confused, Sofia exchanged a quick glance with Luis who shrugged, and an icy chill began to run through her veins.
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Outside there was a commotion, a roar of unleashed rage followed by the unmistakable sound of glass shattering. The whole class, still immersed in their discussion, gradually fell silent. For Sofia that was all she needed to rushto the door. As she ran past Sara, she nodded at her and the girl stood up brusquely and followed her. A handful of other classmates also joined them, mainly because they wanted to know what had happened, not because they had any intention of helping. As they stepped out into the hallway, they saw that the door to the toilets was open, and there stood Rodrigo, shaking with rage right in front of Dave, who was holding onto the sink. His breathing was very fast, and his lips were pursed in a grimace of restrained anger. The mirror right next to him was broken and there was blood between the pieces.
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He was making such a scene that the teachers from other classes, alerted by his screams, came out of their classrooms and surrounded Rodrigo to try to calm him down. Rosa, who had appeared at that moment, hurried to ask her co-workers what had happened there. While all this was going on Dave, who had begun to tremble and had a grimace of restrained pain, finished cleaning his hands as he had been doing before Rodrigo assaulted him. Sofia realized he had them more than clean, and was looking for a way to distract himself.
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It wasn''t just that, Sofia knew it well. He was losing control and needed to change, and he couldn''t do it in front of his classmates. Biting her lip, she looked back towards the bathroom. Both on the sink and on the floor were bloodstained shards of glass, and neither of them had any wounds. What was less clear to her was who had broken the mirror; whether Rodrigo had punched it, or whether he had pushed her friend against it. Considering what she knew, she didn''t have much doubt as to who the blood belonged to.