Energy of the Omega

Part Three

KINDERGARTEN MEMORY

I was so excited to be heading to the little schoolhouse. Every day last week Mama had walked me out of the packhouse and told me a little more about the school. It had a red brick in the front, all lined up nice and neat like mom showed when we played with legos. You have to put the blocks a little bit over onto the next one every time you change rows.  You have to or your house will fall down.  Mama said the building was really old, more than 100 years! So making the lines nice helped it last so long.  It was the only place in the whole pack that had red brick, so it looked nice. There was another room stuck on the side of the building, and it looked different.  It didn’t have any bricks at all, just wood on the outside, all painted white. Mama said it was because they made the school bigger after many years.  When I asked why Mama had told me because wolves keep making more pups.  And all around the school, there was a tall metal fence. It was also painted white. That was so all the pups wouldn’t run away from the school.  When I looked up to the top of the school, I saw a little hut-type thing.  Mama said in the olden day’s schools had big bells on top of them, and it told the whole town when school started and when it ended. 

Everything has a reason she said.

After we talked about the school for a few days, we talked about the inside of the school.  I would be in one of the little rooms and it would have all the pictures we drew sticky-taped to the walls.  The special pictures would be in the windows so everyone could see it! Inside there would be paints and crayons, anything I would need to make the best picture I could.  There would also be fun things like big lego blocks, storybooks, and playhouses so I can pretend to be different people.

Lastly, we talked about the people in the school.  I would have a teacher,  and I should always use my manners and call all the adults Miss or Mister. The teacher would look after all the pups my age, and she was going to teach all of us new things.  She told me to play nicely and share, be kind to the other pups, and always be willing to help out.  Helping out others is what a pack is about.

Today I wasn’t just walking to see the school. I was going to be a big kid and get to stay all day.  We walked inside and went into a pretty room. It looked just like Mama said.  It had little circle tables and four tiny chairs around each one.  And the walls around the room had so much stuff to play with or read. Mama took me to a pretty woman in a yellow summer dress.  Her name was Miss Emily and she was my teacher. 

She crouched down and shook my hand, “Hello, Calypso. That’s such a unique name! It’s nice to meet you.  I hope we can have lots of fun today.”  She smiled real big at me, so I know she likes me. But I want to tell her something important, but I don’t know if I’m allowed.  What if I make her mad at me. I scrunch up my face a bit and tug on my Mama’s hand a few times.

Mama looks down on me and whispers, “It’s alright Caly, I can tell her.”

Miss Emily stands up so she can talk to Mama.  “Miss Emily, she only likes to be called Caly.”

“Oh, I understand.”  She goes over to her desk and picks up something and a slip of pink paper. “Caly, I’ll show you to your seat,”  and she waves us to follow her.  “Caly, do you know your letters?”  I nod my head yes! “I’m going to write your name and put it by your seat. Do you know how to spell your name?”  She picks up my old name card and folds it into her pocket, and I tell her how to write my name.  Miss Emily makes my letters look real pretty. Then she shows me what else she brought. Magic hologram stickers!!

“You can pick whatever sticker you like, so you’ll always remember it’s yours.” I choose a pretty butterfly sitting on a pink flower. While I look at it, she asks me, ”Is it alright if mom goes to work now?”

“Yep!!” I exclaim.

Mama laughs and kisses me on my forehead, “I’ll come to pick you up after school.  Be a great girl, l love you.”

“I love you too.”

*****

After we all said our names and sang a hello song, we coloured a picture, and read a story. We had snack time, it was crackers and peanut butter with apple juice. Then we all went outside to play.  A bunch of us went over to the playhouse. Two girls were already inside playing.  I don’t know their names, they weren’t in Miss Emily’s class.  Bigger kids have different teachers.

A girl from my class asks, “We could play packhouse.  I can be the Mommy.”  She points at my new friend Sarah and says, “You can be the daddy,” and then she turns to me and says, “And you will be our pup!”

I would rather be a Mama, but pup is ok I guess. Sometimes you gotta take turns.  

My friend Sarah doesn’t look very happy. “I don’t wanna play the daddy.  Daddy’s are always away from the house!  My dad has work and training, and sometimes he even leaves after bedtime to go on patrol!”

Sarah’s dad doesn’t sound like he gets to be home very much. She must miss him sometimes.

“Fine Caly, you be the daddy!” says the little girl with a huff.  I wish I remembered her name.

“I don’t wanna,” I say. I don’t. And I don’t wanna say why.

“Why not?  What does your dad do?” says the little girl.

“I don’t know.”   She and Sarah just keep looking at me. They are both looking at me weird. I know they want to know why.  I just stare right back.  The two girls already in the playhouse start looking out the tiny windows.  They are whispering and giggling at me and Sarah. 

“Don’t you have a daddy?” says the shorter girl in the purple dress.

“Nope.”  I look right at her.  She whispers again to the girl in the pink dress.  I wish I was a big wolf.  When you get big and get your wolf, you can hear better.  I think they are just whispering to be mean.  Mama would tell me to ignore them if she was here right now.  I promised to be a good girl so I just turn to my friend, “I’ll just be the pup.  Maybe you can be a different person Sarah?”

Sarah seems a bit sad.  It takes her a minute to think of something else. “ I’ll be the Luna!”

Those two meanies in the playhouse start laughing really hard.  The girl in pink has a laugh that’s squeaky and  I don’t like it.  I don’t like her.  Then she points at Sarah and says, “You

can’t be the Luna!”

“It’s pretend!  I can pretend to be Luna,”  Pretty sure Sarah is going to cry.

“No, you can’t!  You won’t ever be a Luna cause you’re just an omega.”

Yep, she’s gonna cry.  I touch her arm and it feels so warm under my hand.  I whisper to her, “It’s ok you can pretend to be Luna, the Alpha marries whoever the Moon Goddess makes his mate.”  I can feel her getting a bit calmer.  Mama says sometimes a gentle touch helps people feel better.  I want Sarah to stop crying, so I grab her hand and start pulling her to the swings.  “We don’t need the playhouse anyway.”

The little meanie in purple “Omegas just work, they aren’t important so they don’t get to marry Alphas. “

“Everyone in a pack is important,” I holler at her.  More kids come over to see the fight.  Sarah starts to cry again.  Even my warm hand doesn’t help.  And she’s getting worse.  I need to find a big wolf.  But I don’t see one outside.

I guess I wasn’t paying attention.  Those to girls come over and are right behind me when I feel one of them poking me really hard in the arm.  You’re supposed to always keep your hands to yourself!  Miss Emily said that when we learned about rules.  I guess I should ask if holding hands is different, cause I forgot I was holding onto Sarah.  My hand heats up again and I know Sarah is now sad and angry.

I turn around and see the little girl in pink, she’s about to poke me again.  This time on my shoulder.  Even harder, cause I almost fell.

“She’s not going to be Luna cause she’s just a crybaby, and Luna’s are strong wolves.  And you can’t be Luna cause if your mom doesn’t have a mate, you won’t get one either!”

My hand feels like it’s burning on the oven hot.  Sarah wails and runs inside. I am so angry!  Mama must have had a mate, she had me!

It looks like all the big kids are by the playhouse now.  Maybe they all are in the same class.  They all look mean and are laughing.  Lots of kids in my class are standing behind me at the swings.

“Stop being so mean!” I scream at them.  All of them, just being mean to the new kids.  It’s not right.  And then that evil little girl in the pink dress shoves me,  she wants me to land on my butt.  But I’m quick and I make a fist and I pop her right on the nose.  She starts screaming and her hands hold her nose.  Uh oh, she’s getting blood on her hands.  It’s dripping down her dress.  Oh no. I’m going to be in so much trouble!

Just then a big wolf is behind me.  Miss Emily puts one hand under each arm and lifts me off the ground.  The girl in the pink dress gets picked up by another teacher. The teachers take us right to the back of the school into an office.  I meet the Principle.  She looks like she’s trying to be nice to me, but she’s pretty mad at what I did.  I try and explain that she was the one being mean and laughing at us. She made Sarah cry and everything! 

When I’m done saying everything I can she tells me about all the rules I broke and all the things I should have done.  She sounds really angry, she’s using that voice.  The one when you hear it you’re supposed to look at the floor and be sorry.  I’m not sorry!  

For some reason, this lady looks at me and knows I’m not sorry at all.  She picks up the phone on the desk and calls someone.  She said I have to wait til they get here. I sit in a big chair and wait. It seems like a long time but I don’t really know.

When someone knocks on the door, it’s Mama and a man I don’t know.  They call Mama to tell them I was bad. It’s so unfair!

Mama tells me to stand up for the man.  I do what she says.  I know Mama is mad, but I know later she’ll let me tell her what happened.  Right now Mama looks at the man and she looks kinda scared.

“Calypso, do you know who I am?” He asks me.  I know I’ve never met him.

“No, Mister.”

“I am Alpha Darius.  So you should say, ‘No Alpha’ ”  

Oh.  That’s’ why Mama is so scared.  Our Alpha is really strong.  But he has to be to protect the whole pack.  “No Alpha.”

“Thank you, Calypso.  I’m here because you hurt someone quite badly, and that’s against our rules. So I need to think of a punishment, to remind you not to let your anger out.”

“Yes, Alpha.”

 “You will also apologize to Heather.”  He sounds angry.  It’s that voice again.

“No, Alpha.”

“Calypso, You need to apologize.”  I know he’s talking to me but I can see the Principal behind him.  She has this weird look on her face.  She looks kinda likes she’s in pain. Her eyes are down, and her head is bowed to one side.  I’m pretty sure she’s being polite to the Alpha because he used his mean voice. I peek behind me to look at Mama.  Mama seems ok. 

“No, Alpha,” I say again. “I’m not wrong!”  I look in right at his face, to show him I was telling the truth.

He crouches down to look at me.  He looks right in my eyes.  I look right back.  

He sighs real loud and says, “We are going to have our hands full with you, aren’t we?” 

Should I say Yes, Alpha?  Is it no?  I remember that sometimes big people don’t want answers.  Since I don’t know I keep my mouth shut.  Alpha Darius tells me to sit in the hallway.

I go and sit against a wall.  There’s a rack with some sweaters hanging on it.  I try to hide under a sweater. In a few minutes, everyone comes out of the office.  Mama points at the floor right beside her.  She sees me.  I stand up and stand where I’m told.  Mama grabs my hand and we all walk down the hall all the way back to my classroom. 

I see Miss Emily is there at the door. She has my backpack, and the drawing I made for Mama this morning. She hands it all to Mama.  She gets down on her knees to talk to me.  “It was nice meeting you today, Caly.”  She looks real sad.  Then she hands me my name card, the pink one she made pretty with the butterfly sticker.

I didn’t even last the whole day.