The question was: What happened to him? The answer to that question haunted Morgan for the rest of the weekend, and staying over at Matt’s to monitor the transformation was not any fun either. Werewolf transformations happen on three consecutive nights of the full moon. As much as Morgan wanted to, by the second night, he could no longer deny the truth. He is a werewolf.
They prepared everything to make sure nothing bad happened this time. Morgan’s body, however, was not prepared for the pain, no matter how much he conditioned his mind. The second night was the most painful. It may be because they say the second night of the full moon is when it is actually at its fullest, or maybe that just by the third night, his body was already adjusting to the pain.
He thought school work would keep his mind off things, but school was a different problem of its own. The entire school was in a gloomy mood over their loss at the basketball match. The team was worse. They were not just sad; they were hateful. They have been blasting Morgan with hate messages over the weekend. Matt thinks it's funny how they keep insulting Morgan’s skills, but they blame the loss on his absence. It may sound a little arrogant, but aside from him, Cedric is their only decent player. And Morgan is ahead of him by a mile. A lot of his teammates have the potential, but they need someone to carry them.
Oddly, Cedric was not involved in any of the trash talk he had been receiving from the team. He has remained quiet for the rest of the week.
Then there is that other problem. Morgan has been trying to avoid thinking about it, but it just keeps popping up in his head. If they had won the game that night, then he and Kira would probably be out on a date. It wasn’t technically a date yet because he did not officially ask her out, but he might as well have. And now he can’t even manage to approach Kira to say anything.
“Do you think you’re gonna need a flea bath at some point?” Stupid questions like this one had been coming out of Matt during the week. This one shoots up the top three with the question, 'Have you had the urge to pee somewhere to mark your territory?' and 'What do you think about bones?' with it. Morgan could be mad about it but they make him laugh and forget about his problems, even for a short while. “Were your claws coming out earlier the reason why you weren’t able to play the guitar well?”
“Just finish your cake,” Morgan responded. The night sky has settled over the horizon, and the town square is now bathed in warm yellow lights from the lamps again. It was a comforting view outside while sitting inside the cozy atmosphere of Crimson Cafe, and Morgan hopes he could just lock himself in this enjoyment for the rest of his life.
“Hey, remember that one door in the basement we can never open? Turns out we wouldn’t have been able to open it after all, no matter how hard we tried. It was enchanted with a spell. Doc said that there's a magical veil that separates the mortal world from the magical world, and unless you have magic in you, you won’t get to see the shenanigans on the other side. But if people from the non-magical side get exposed to magic for some reason, their eyes adjust and the veil gets lifted on them. You turning into a werewolf and me witnessing it, and all the spells Doc cast were it for me."
Morgan’s hand was shaking when he tried to cover Matt’s mouth, smudging his palm with some of the chocolate icing that was on Mouth's lips. “Can you not say those words out loud? And stop eating like a four-year-old.”
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“You know, your cakes here make me feel like Hansel and Gretel eating through the gingerbread house. And who cares anyway? Spells, enchantment, witchcraft, and the like entered the pop culture vocabulary decades ago. For all they know, we’re just a couple nerds discussing a new anime we're watching.”
Matt does have a point, but even so, it could be dangerous if someone overhears them and gets the right idea. It’s been a week, and Morgan has not decided if being a werewolf is a good thing. He is definitely not yet ready to let everyone in on the secret. Then there are his dad and his brother.
“Is this how coming out feels like? What if they think I’m actually coming out? I’m too messy to be gay. I haven’t cleaned my room in three days. No, weeks. I haven’t cleaned in weeks.”
“Morgan Lee Angeles, that’s a very homophobic stereotype. You can be gay and sloppy at the same time. Take Jameson, for example. Guy looks like a pig that has been rolling in the mud every morning, even before the flag ceremony starts.”
“Jameson’s not gay,” Morgan insisted. Matt smiled slyly and then nodded his head affirmatively. “Jameson’s gay?”
“Yeah I read this story he wrote in one of his notebooks. Basically, it's like a coming-out tale for the hero. Scared, feeling alone, hopeless, and all.He writes so beautifully and with so much heart. You’d really feel for his character. Apparently, it was his diary.”
“You know that's an invasion of privacy.”
“It was an accident. He left the notebook on my desk, and I thought it was mine. I started reading it but stopped soon as I understood what it was really about.”
“How long did it take you before you realized?”
“‘Bout two pages in. It was prosey, and detailed, and so very juicy. The point is, I am a nosy kid, and I can keep a secret. I've known about it for two years, and the only reason I'm telling you is to make you feel better. If you’re not ready to tell them, then don’t. But when you are and when the timing is right, you'll know. You'll be able to drop it right there and then. Dad, Greyson, I’m… planning to take engineering in college.”
It was a swift swerve outside the topic, but Morgan understood why. Greyson appeared behind him with Matt’s second helping of cake on one hand and a roll of money on the other.
“I thought you wanted to take psychology. Had a change of heart lately?”
Matt snorted a laugh. An easy kick below the table stopped him before he could say anything.
“Choose well. You still have another year to decide. You wouldn’t wanna get cold feet, or else Dad’s gonna have you man the cafe too, even after you tell him you'd want to pursue music. Food is free, but pay is minimal at best.” Greyson handed Morgan the money and asked Morgan to make sure to buy his insulin tomorrow after practice. Matt kicked him under the table this time, followed with a meaningful glance. “And make sure to leave my guitar back in my room in good condition later. I have band practice early tomorrow.”
Greyson left quickly to tend to the line that built up at the counter, and it was a good thing he did because he would not have appreciated the words that came out of Morgan’s mouth.
“I left the guitar somewhere. I don’t know where. Greyson’s gonna kill me.” He curled up his fist and started nibbling on his knuckles.
“I do. Remember earlier when we were leaving the classroom and I said, hey Morgan, you gonna leave the guitar here for the weekend?” Matt was already halfway through his cake once again, but Morgan still cannot muster a response. His mouth left it gaping wide. “Yeah I don’t think you did. You seemed out of it earlier?”
Neither of them spoke another word, but they both had the same thought in mind. Matt looked exasperated, knowing they would need to leave the comfort of Crimson Cafe and walk all the way back to school. They quickly reached for their bags, with Matt mumbling words that Morgan didn't care to hear. He tucked the money Greyson gave him in his pocket while Matt groaned about the small piece of cake on his plate. He did not have the time to finish it after Morgan grabbed him by the collar of his shirt as they rushed out of Crimson into the dark, lamp-lit streets of Lawton.