The Beta's Sister

Chapter 7

Nicole

I must have been excited for my first day. I woke up early and had more than enough time to shower, do my hair, change my outfit five times and get a hearty breakfast. I landed on some flowy, dark blue shorts that look like a skirt and paired it with a crop top that only showed off a little skin. Shoes took me the longest to decide on, but I went with some white converses and threw my hair in a tight bun with some fringes hanging at the front. I had found Cierra at the bus stop and we chatted all the way to the school. She walked me to the counselor’s office then left, heading off to her first class. 

When I got into the office to meet the counselor I was surprised that the schedule he had pre-made was spot on. I was told I could make changes if I wanted to, but I saw no need. He already had a good idea on the classes I needed to graduate and made some guesses on the classes that I would be interested in according to the school transcripts I had sent over. Our meeting was over quick and I was heading to class about twenty minutes after entering. 

With my schedule in hand and my new ID card, I was heading to my first class. There were only two floors to the school not including the basement, but the way the halls twist and bend had me super confused. I swear I walked past the same trash can twice, but I couldn’t be certain. Everything looked exactly alike. Just when I was ready to give up and go back to the counselor’s office, if I could find it in this maze, I bumped into a girl coming out of the bathroom. Our things falling to the floor with our collision.

“Sorry.” I say looking her over as we both kneel down to gather our things. Her shoulder length hair is obviously dyed blonde with the visible brunette roots and the front fringes a bright pink. Her eyes are crystal blue, like icicles, and when she stands I can see that she is tall. Even more so thanks to her two inch tall ankle boots. 

“It’s my fault, I was looking at my phone and not paying attention to where I was going.” She says, looking at my ID she gathered off the floor. “Nicole?”

“That’s me.” Her ID is one of the few things of hers that I gathered off the floor. I mimic her action, but am confused when I look at the ID. “Fredrick?”

“Yep. That’s me. Or at least it was. I’m trans. I go by Ferrah now, just haven’t changed the ID.” She explains. 

“Oh nice to meet you.” I say as we exchange our things. “You…uh… didn’t have to tell me that. I didn’t make you tell me that, did I?” Great. I’ve been here less than an hour and I just outed someone. Ferrah replies to my concerned look with a cute chuckle. 

“It’s not a secret. Everyone here knew me as Fredrick and now they know me as Ferrah.” She explains with a shrug. “What are you doing out here? Are you lost?” 

“How could you tell?” 

“Well, I caught a glimpse of you walking around when I first went into the bathroom, and seeing that you are still out here tells me that you may be having a hard time finding your class.”

“Everything looks exactly the same. It’s hard to find my footing.” I explain.

“Understandable. It takes a little while to get used to it. What class are you going to?” She asks as she cranes her neck to look at my schedule. I turn it around to face her so she doesn’t have to try so hard. 

“History. Room 133?” 

“Oh that’s right up the hall from me. Come on. I’ll drop you off on my way back to class.” She says cheerfully. 

“Thanks. I really appreciate it.” 

“No problem. After class is over, I’ll meet you at your door and show you where your next class is.” 

“I would like to be reserved and say you don’t need to do that, but I am sure I will be lost without your help.” She laughs in response, making me laugh too. 

“I’ll meet you here after class.” She says when we get to the door. 

I wave her away as she walks towards her class, but don’t walk into mine right away. I pause for a moment to take some calming breaths and settle my nerves. This is it, my official first class, even though I am more than thirty minutes late. After a short moment I grab the door handle and walk inside. As expected, all eyes are on me as soon as I enter. 

Ms. Myers was really sweet about everything. She understood about me being late and thankfully didn’t make me do an embarrassing introduction in front of the class. She introduced me and gave me the quick rundown on what I missed. It wasn’t much, just class expectations and the syllabus. After class was over I met with Ferrah in the hall as promised. She dropped me to my next class and apologized that she wouldn’t be able to do the same for the next one. I assured her I would be fine and told that I would ask for help if I got too lost. We promised to see each other at lunch and I entered the class minutes before the bell rang to see a familiar face. 

Warren

I woke up this morning super excited about the day. I could lie and say that it was because of the fact that I am able to drive this year instead of taking the bus in. That is definitely something I’m happy about, but that wasn’t the only thing that had me buzzing. Today was the first day of school and I will get to see Nicole. We hadn’t talked much about school and classes on our runs. I didn’t even know what year she was in. My assumption would put her in junior year or senior year. If I could get a class or two with her that would be nice. Either way my hopes were definitely up. 

For the first time in a long time I was actually happy about having to go to school with Dark Moon and Red River. It’s not that I didn’t like those packs, but a few years ago when some changes needed to be made to accommodate pup population, my dad suggested that a few of us split from our usual school and join theirs.  I was not into the idea at the time. The school has since grown on me and I have my group that I genuinely enjoy being around. 

Once I get out of the shower and dry off, I get dressed in a dark blue, short sleeve button up and some khaki shorts. I am definitely feeling myself a little today. I already have my crisp white tennies to pair with my outfit sitting by the front door. After getting dressed I rub some pommade in my hair, making sure to give it a little bit of volume up top. I step back to check myself out in the mirror and can’t help but smile. Once I spray on my cologne, I walk out the room and head downstairs for breakfast. 

When I walk in the kitchen my sister is already sitting at the island eating apple slices. She has been waking up early all summer. Most mornings she would be downstairs before me even though she wasn’t tasked with early morning workouts like I was. She had the option to sleep in as late as she wanted, but chose not to. I didn’t really understand her, but whatever. 

My mom was at the stove frying eggs. I can already see the pancit and the sausage on the plates she had prepared sitting out on the counter. On the first day of school she always made sure to give us a hearty Filipino style breakfast, everyday after we were mostly on our own and eating cereal unless it was a special occasion or she was feeling really generous. Usually I was running down late so it made the most sense to just grab a bowl of cereal before running out the door. 

“Morning, mama.” I say as I walk up to her and give her a kiss on the cheek. My mom is not short, but I still tower over her.

“Oh wow! Come here again.” She says, pulling my collar  and sniffing at the air. “You smell good. And you look…handsome.” She moves away to look me up and down with a quizzical look on her face. 

“What? Mama, I always look good.” I say giving her a grin and fixing my collar. I step away from her and sit next to Miriam at the island, not missing the side eye that she gives me. “What?” I ask as I take one of her apple slices.  She narrows her eyes at me for a few moments then shrugs before going back to eating. 

“Nice to see my handsome pup excited about school.” My mom says as she sets the plates in front of us. 

“Who me? I’m always excited.” I say sarcastically. 

My mom sits down with us with a smaller plate of what we are having. She is always eating scraps like she doesn’t make enough food to feed an army. Whenever I ask her about it, she says it’s because she eats as she cooks. I don’t buy it, but I don’t usually force the issue. About five minutes go by before my dad can be heard rushing through the door.

“Did I miss it?” My dad asks frantically as he takes a seat at the island. 

“Just in time.” My mom says, getting up and placing his plate in front of him then returning to her seat. 

My dad's excitement isn’t because it’s our first day of school, I mean I guess there is some happiness in there for it. He just really loves a big breakfast. Whenever there is an occasion for my mom to cook in the morning, he will move around his entire schedule so he can be home. 

After breakfast Miriam and I make our way to school. She has to take the bus to the primary/middle school that is shared between ours and the three surrounding packs. I get to set out on my forty-five minute drive to the high school on the other side of Dark Moon. 

The first days are always the same. Syllabus, class expectations, maybe a reading assignment, then open conversation until the bell rings. The routine is so monotonous that before I know it, it’s already third period and I haven’t even caught a glimpse of Nicole. My day started off so well and now I feel my mood starting to falter.