School these days seemed pretty pointless to Gary. He was listening to teachers’ lectures, but all of it seemed to be going in one ear and out the other. The green haired teenager couldn’t help but ask himself what the point of all of this was.

He still had two more years to go until graduation, but could he really continue to live a normal life until then? Or at least keep up this facade? Would his grades now even matter at all, if he were to really transfer to the AFA?

Truth be told, the main reason that was keeping the high schooler in Westbridge was that Gary was afraid social services might come to investigate if he would stop coming in. Since not going to school was illegal, it would warrant an investigation.

Gary was afraid that not even Kai would be able to do anything about the siblings not having an actual guardian with their mother in hospital. Still, there was another reason why Gary couldn't quite concentrate, and it wasn't because of the full moon that would arrive in twelve days, it was the report he had gotten yesterday. Just thinking about it, made him clench his fists and wish to just head over to the Grey Elephant gang now and deal with them.

‘I can’t believe those guys are still going after Amy? Is this their way of coming after me? Is this supposed to be just a warning or something? I’m just glad that Olivia was there personally. It seems like the system's rules are really keeping her in place… but I can't let this continue.’

The Grey Elephants had gone one step too far. In order to stop them from further pursuing his family, the teenager had come to the decision that it would be best to get rid of them. Whether it would be via turning their leaders to force them to follow his rules, as he had done to Olivia or kill them, he didn't care any more.

‘These guys are sick in the head… how could they go after a school girl like that?’ Gary thought. However, the next moment he caught himself. Lately he was thinking about killing far too easy, and he noticed that these thoughts tended to pop up more easily when it was close to the full moon. Taking a deep breath, he calmed himself.

Besides, he had something else he needed to worry about today, and that was the special meeting between the small-time gangs in Slough. After what felt like an eternity, the school bell finally rung, signalling the end of the school day.

“Hey, so Gary, my Dad told me this morning that I got accepted as an intern at the company he’s working at.” Tom told his best friend as they were walking out the school building. “My Mom apparently handled Headmistress Young, and she just texted me that I’ll be excused. My parents will come pick me up this evening, and I’ll only be back at some point next week.’”

At first glance, It seemed preposterous to give any student time off in the middle of a school year, however, there were always exceptions. Unlike Gary, Tom was actually one of Westbridge’s smartest students, so he enjoyed certain perks. Besides, in their current year, the school even encouraged the students to pick a couple of weeks to gain work experience, though normally it was meant to happen in the second half of the school year at a specially designated time.

Hearing that, Gary contemplated whether he should ask the school to sign off on him working at one of the restaurants in Burnham street for a couple of weeks as well. It would be easy enough to have Olivia write a report about what a great worker Gary been, and it would give him days of school then. Then again, it might be wiser to use that at a later time…

“Anyway, you know my parents work in Brocknell, so I won’t be able to come back before the internship ends. However, I promise you, I’ll ask my Dad your question about the beasts and see if I can find out anything about Werewolves as well. I just wanted to let you know that I will be back before the next full moon, and while I'm away, I just hope…that no more trouble comes your way.” Tom smiled.

Smiling back, Gary was reminded that he was really lucky to have one of the most supportive friends. Every time he thought of Tom this way, the Werewolf felt like he was a little brother that needed protecting just as much as his sister.

‘One day, Tom, when I don't have to lie to you any more. When the Underdogs are dealt with… I’ll tell you the truth.’ Gary thought.

——

With school over, Gary was happy to see that there was no crowd in front of the school this time. He had strictly warned Kai not to pull such a stunt again, and apparently it had worked. There was no longer any reason for him to head to the Wolf’s Pool Club, since they had plenty of workers, including White, so he decided to head home.

Since Amy had nearly been attacked yesterday, Gary wanted to reassure her that everything was alright. The only way he could do that was by spending time with her. Afterwards, he would meet Kai in the Wolf’s Pool Club, and they could drive to the meeting with the small-time gangs.

On his way home, though, the teenager decided to stop at his go-to convenience store, grabbing his daily food to replenish his Energy. When entering, Gary was expecting to see Tyler there like he did every day, and the cashier was there, only his attention wasn't focused on him.

Instead, it turned out that the drunken man who had thrown a tantrum last Saturday had returned. Only this time he wasn't so drunk. Gary quickly and silently hid between the aisles, wishing to avoid any unnecessary attention. He also didn't want Tyler to get in trouble, but from listening to what was going on, it seemed like it was little too late anyway.

“Tyler, you need to apologise to this man immediately. The customer is ALWAYS right! You’ve disrespected this hard-working man, and you're lucky that he hasn’t decided to press charges. Really, I can’t believe you would do that, but then again, maybe I shouldn’t be surprised coming from someone who is treating the store like a storage unit, and taking expired food from it! You're on your last straw, young man!”

******

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