Once in a Full Moon Page 0,54

Clark said. "Get away from the window! You must sit down!"

But Brandon ignored her. Instead he took off a glove and placed the palm of his wounded hand on the pane of glass. He stared down at the leader of the pack, transfixed.

The wolves stopped howling. Brandon and the wolves locked gazes, as if the wolves were hypnotized by Brandon's stare.

It was spellbinding to watch. I didn't know what was happening, but the tiny hairs on my skin and the back of my neck tingled.

"What is he doing?" Ivy asked.

Brandon continued to stare at the leader of the pack.

"He thinks he's talking to the wolves," Abby said.

The wolves remained fixated on Brandon as if he was their trainer, as if Brandon was one of them and they were looking up to him as their new leader.

The police held their stance by their patrol cars, apparently working out their plan of action. The animal controllers, now at least twenty yards away, slowly crept toward the wolves.

Just then the leader of the wolves howled at Brandon.

As the handlers took aim, the pack tore off. They raced away from the campus and disappeared into the woods behind the gym.

Mrs. Clark, my classmates, and I watched in astonishment as Brandon replaced his glove and calmly walked back to his desk and took his seat.

I was dumbfounded. Along with my classmates, we were perplexed, confused, and amazed at what we'd just witnessed. It was as if we all were wondering if we had really just seen a student, one who didn't speak in class or make himself known, communicating with a pack of wolves. We looked to Brandon for answers, but by the way he was avoiding all eye contact or questions, it was clear he wasn't about to give any.

"That was totally freaky!" Ivy said. "Did you see what I just saw?"

"Yes! I swear they were looking right at Brandon," Abby confirmed. "I think he was talking to them."

The classroom was abuzz with gossiping, laughter, and disorder. The students glared at Brandon, bewildered. Mrs. Clark tapped her desk with her pointer.

I gazed back at Brandon. His face was flushed from all the attention, and he was doing his best to hide behind his textbook.

"They must have sensed the police coming," I said out loud. "Wolves are very intuitive that way."

Legend's Run High was buzzing with the wolf sightings. The lunchroom was packed with students replaying videos, showing pictures, and telling their version of the events that had occurred by the flagpole.

Ivy insisted Brandon had something to do with the wolves retreating, but everyone in our group laughed at her hypothesis.

"I was sitting right there!" she said.

"So was I," I said. "They left as soon as the animal controllers started to approach them."

"He took off his glove - the one he always wears," she said. "Don't you think that was freaky?"

"Maybe he was nervous and got warm," I said. "We all were excited."

"He was talking to them," she said. "Like the Wolfman."

They all laughed again, but I remained silent.

"You have to admit, it was pretty freaky," Jake agreed. "Maybe it was coincidence, but why did he go up there in the first place?"

"He might have psychic powers," Abby teased. "Like Dr. Meadows. Maybe he can give us our next reading."

"We always thought he was strange," Ivy said. "Ever since he arrived here at school." She looked to Abby for help.

My friends agreed.

"But that doesn't mean he can talk to wolves," I said.

"Why do you always defend him?" Ivy asked.

"Yes, why?" Nash suddenly chimed in.

Everyone waited for my response.

"Because no one else will," I finally said.

When I turned on my phone during lunch, there were at least five voice messages and a dozen texts from my mom. I immediately called to assure her I was safe and the school and community resources had done their best to protect us and maintain order.

"It's all over the news," she said when I arrived home. My mom left work early and had been watching the TV all day. "They closed several businesses around the school. I'm so glad you're home safe."

We were glued to the local four o'clock news. Animal experts talked about wolf safety, but most agreed that it was uncommon for one wolf to venture out of the woods in the middle of the day and come so close to an area with a human population. For a pack of wolves to do it was extraordinary.

The sun was going to be setting soon. I didn't