I let out a loud groan as I turn my body, pulling my blanket further up to block the sunlight bathing my room. I should’ve closed those blinds. After a moment of soaking up the warmth of my bed, I open an eye. Eric’s gone and the chair is back in it’s proper place. My phone pings, making me sit up. Weariness seeps into my bones as I pick it up from the bedside table. It lights up, the single notification being for an e-mail informing me that my ID badge is at the reception desk. The clock reads 07:34. Too early… There’s a knock at my door. My gaze travels to the door as it slowly opens. Theo pops his head in.
“Matt, can you drive me to school?”
I frown at the teen. “Why?”
“Do I need a reason?” He rolls his eyes. “Come on, be a good guardian. Besides, it’s your first day of work.”
“That’s not even for another two hours.” I sigh and sit up, throwing my blankets off to the side. “Fine. I’ll meet you at the car.” I grumble.
He lets out a quiet cheer and runs down the stairs. I head to the bathroom, noting Kaiden’s door is closed. Eric’s door is not fully closed while Theo’s has been left wide open. After brushing my teeth and washing my face, I quickly change into a t-shirt and jeans. I glance at my closet again, eying the burgundy hoodie adored with the logo of a nearby national park - a moose standing on a rock, which sticks through the middle of a ring with the words “Georgetown National Park”. After a second of indecision, I grab it and shrug it on, finding comfort in the one-size-too-large sweatshirt.
I head downstairs, pausing to grab my wallet before heading out the door. Theo is huddled in the car, sheltering from the cold winter air. The car shifts as I get in. Theo hands me the keys and the car sputters to life as I start the engine.
“Well, let’s get you to school I suppose.”
Theo nods as he reaches over to the console and turns on the heaters, flinching as he’s blasted by a stream of cold air that slowly warms up.
I shake my head with amusement. “Should’ve started up the car while waiting.”
He mutters a few choice words as we drive to the school, much to my amusement. The drive is short with the radio filling the otherwise quiet car. We pull into the drop-off zone in front of the school.
“Thanks Dad.” Theo unbuckles his seatbelt as I reach over and ruffle his hair.
“No problem kiddo.”
He groans with mock annoyance. “Stop it old man.” He scrambles out of the car and closes the door, waving goodbye with a small smile on his face.
I return his wave and watch as he walks down the path towards the front of the school, stopping to talk with some other students near the door. I pull away from the curb and drive down the road.
My stomach grumbles and I sigh, checking my watch. 7:53. “Guess I should eat…” I mumble to myself, navigating my way to a nearby diner. It’s a nice little building, having been built recently. The bottom half of the walls are made of brick, with the upper half a white plaster. Several large floor-to-ceiling windows reveal the interior of the building, filled with several tables and chairs, along with a long bar facing the kitchen window. There’s a few customers in the diner already. I get out of the car and lock the door before hastily entering the building to escape the cold. The bell on the door rings as it’s jostled. A familiar red-head pops around the corner. “Matt! Long time no see.”
I offer a grin as I sit down at the bar. “Hey Marie. How have you been?”
She shrugs as she walks over with a menu, notepad, and pen. “Same old, same old. What can I get you?” She slides the menu in front of me.
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I glance at the menu. “Think I can get a steak this early?”
She rolls her eyes. “I’ll ask, but I don’t think you will.”
“Come on, for an old friend?” I tease.
“Yea, now it’s a definite no.” She replies dryly, amused smile on her face.
I laugh and gesture at the menu. “Can I just have the ham and eggs benedict with hashbrowns on the side?”
“Sure. Anything to drink?”
“A coffee, thanks.”
She nods and tears the ticket out of her book and slides it over to the chef. “I’ll be right back with your coffee.” She grabs the menu and disappears into the kitchen through a set of swinging doors. I glance around the restaurant, taking in the wooden chairs and the matching wooden tables scattered about the room. There’s enough seats to comfortably fit forty or so patrons.
A mug sliding across the bar top grabs my attention. Marie grins at me. “Liking the place?”
I nod. “You and Jordan have really outdone yourselves.”
“Yea, it was a lot of blood sweat and tears poured into this place.” She leans on her elbows. “How was the flight back?”
I shrug. “It was alright. Kaden was actually quiet for once.”
She snorts. “Yea, I bet. Red eyes suck for anyone but him.”
I wrap my hands around the mug of coffee, savoring the warmth of the ceramic. “Anything new?”
“Well, the council is discussing with surrounding packs.”
I look up in surprise. “What?” There’s a sinking feeling settling at the bottom of my stomach. “You’re joking.”
She shakes her head. “I wish I was, but the council is under a lot of strain right now.” She sighs. “People are leaving Matt. That’s leaving us in a vulnerable position. That’s just how a small shifter town is I suppose.”
“So-” There’s an edge to my voice. “- we’re just going to hand our land over to a pack? What about the people? Where will we go?”
“No, they’re discussing integration.” She turns around as a chef rings the kitchen bell. She grabs the plate of eggs benedict and deposits it in front of me.
I bite the inside of my cheek, no longer feeling hungry. “Do we know which packs at least?”
There’s a battle inside her, a conflicted expression on her face. “Well, it’s most of the surrounding packs. Including-”
“Nattedyr.” I finish her sentence with a quiet breath. “Christ.”
“It’s for the best.” There’s a small, reassuring smile on her face. I groan and run my hands through my hair.
“That pack isn’t prone to change though,” I argue.
“That was almost thirteen years ago. You haven’t seen them since.” Marie sighs. “Besides, from what I’ve heard, Nattedyr and the two other large packs are only going to supervising the whole negotiation between us and the smaller packs.” The door chime goes off again, drawing her attention. “Finish your food. Don’t want to be late on your first day.” She grins at me before hurrying to attend to the new customer. My eyes track her as she moves across the room gracefully before my gaze slides to my cup of coffee, which is now cold. With a glance at my watch, I quickly start shoveling the food in my mouth before paying my bill and leaving to return to the school.
* * * *
“I don’t know what happened!” The teacher, an older woman, is distressed. “I was getting my lesson ready this morning when it just froze and restarted.”
She leads me over to her desk in the front corner of the room, next to the whiteboard occupying the wall at the front of the class. The bright red background with a message on a white box on the center of the monitor catches my attention.
“Oh.” I can’t stop myself from reacting. “Hmm, this is not good.”
“Can you fix it?” She asks, slight desperation in her voice.
I shake my head. “Unfortunately, this isn’t fixable. Did you save all your files on the school network?”
She shook her head. “Not all of it.”
I grimace. “That’s a problem that we can’t fix. What were you doing when it happened?”
“I was checking my e-mail.” She frowns. “I think right before it broke, I was trying to open this document that was in an e-mail from my bank or something.”
I blink owlishly at her, mind trying to comprehend what she just told me. “Was this your school e-mail?”
She nods and then stops with realization in her eyes. “That… That wasn’t a real e-mail, was it?”
I shake my head. “It was, but the file-” I gesture to the computer. “- was a virus. I’ll have to delete all the files on the computer.” I offer a small smile. “At least you’ll be able to use your computer by tomorrow.”
She nods with a frown. “I suppose that’s what I get for not being cautious enough. Thanks so much for taking the time to explain it to me though.”
I nod. “No problem.”
The bell rings and students start flooding into the room and taking their seats. The teacher clears her throat as the students find their places. “Today’s schedule is going to be a little different than from what the board says since I’m having computer issues.” She offers a smile. “But, we’ll cross that bridge when we get to it.”
While she continues on with teaching her class, I pull a USB stick from my bag and plug it into the computer after restarting it. I sigh quietly. This is going to be a long process.
* * * *
“Matt!” Someone jumps onto my back, making me grunt as I shift my weight to avoid falling over.
“Theo.” I chuckle. “Don’t you have class?”
“I have lunch.” The teen says, hopping down. “And then study period.”
“Mmm, lucky you.” I grumble, stopping in front of a storage closet. I dig through the keys hanging off my lanyard before finding the right one and unlocking the door. “What do you need?” I cock a questioning eyebrow at the teen. There’s a shit-eating grin on his face.
“Can I have $20?”
“For what?”
“I want to go to the movies with my friends.”
I sigh and dig my wallet out of my pocket. “Here,” I say, handing him two twenties. “At least get some popcorn or something too while you’re there.”
“Thanks Dad!” He wraps his arms around me in a hug before dashing off, most likely to tell his friends of the news. I turn back to the storage room with a small smile on my face and head in, digging around till I found what I needed - a projector, albeit an older model than the ones that currently occupy the classrooms. I place the projector on the cart in the room and retrieve a few cables before rolling it all into the hallway, closing the door behind me. It’s a miracle the projector didn’t hit any kids.