The forgotton school

“Eeew!” Liam hollered. 

“What is that smell?” Vinny complained. 

The scent of rotten eggs wafted through the air as they arrived at the school gates. 

After a year, the North Collegiate school mystery had not been solved, and in that time, it was forbidden to enter the school. 

The gate looked very different to the gate the two students remembered from when they attended the school. Now it was covered in stinking moss and wrapped up in a metal net like a dark secret. 

The boys found a way in, under the dent in the metal, over the rusted ledge. They quietly made their way through the now overgrown front yard and into the lobby of their school. 

“Hey, what was that?” Liam whispered.

“What was what?” Vinny replied frightfully.

“That sound! It was like a creepy laugh.” Liam retorted.

“I told you we shouldn’t have come! Ronaldo told us he barely got out of here alive!” Vinny exclaimed. 

There were rumours of a fearsome, hairy, creature living in the hallways that everyone heard but couldn’t seem to find. The problem was that Liam and Vinny missed their school. They met in P.E class and became the best of friends since then. And now, some monster was probably tearing up their beloved memories. 

“This thing has to be stopped.” Liam stated firmly.

Vinny nodded with understanding, “Let’s kill the monster.”

They crept along the hallway, past the scattered papers and creaking locker doors. The deeper they went in, the louder the noises got. Screaming, clawing, thudding noises echoed. They got chills and started sweating. 

“Let’s get to the gym and pick up some weapons.” Vinny whispered. 

Knowing the monster could be anywhere, they tiptoed to the gym and slowly opened the thick door. They rushed to the corner where the P.E supplies were but immediately stopped dead. There, in between all the nets and rackets, were glowing eyes. And then…. 

“AUWWOOOO!!”

A deadly howl filled the gym and rattled the windows. 

Vinny grabbed Liam and they sprinted back to the door. In a flash the werewolf was in front of them. The boys got ready to fight when suddenly…. Tick, tock, tick, tock… the clock struck midnight. In a flash of green light, the huge werewolf shrunk down into a small girl. 

Shocked, Liam asked, “A-are y-ou the werewolf?!”

The girl looked up weakly and nodded. 

The boys sat in silence. They couldn’t believe it. 

Then, the girl spoke. “I become a monster every 20 minutes, so you better leave.” 

“What? What do you mean?” Vinny asked. 

“How can we make it stop?” Liam pleaded. 

The girl tried to get up but stumbled back to the floor. She seemed to be injured. 

“Are you okay?” Vinny said, trying to help her. 

“I got hurt, and all I need are some bandages to help me heal. Then I can control being changed into a wolf. But everyone’s been too scared. No one has stopped to help me,” she explained.

“Just bandages? That’s easy!” said Liam. 

“Yeah! We’ll get them for you. Wait here!” Vinny exclaimed. 

The boys had a new mission now: save the monster. 

They ran as fast as they could to the medical center on the other side of the school. Down the halls, through the courtyard, around the office. They stuffed their pockets full of white bandage rolls and began their journey back. 

As they arrived back at the gym the girl screamed, “Hurry! It’s almost time!” 

They wrapped the girl’s wounded arm in as many bandages as they could and helped her stand up. 

Tick, tock, tick tock. 

Twenty minutes passed and they all waited, terrified. 

A flash of green light and the girl jerked upright. But she didn’t change. She stayed a human. 

The boys sighed with relief. 

“Let’s get out of here.” Vinny said.

“Yeah, we’ll help get you home.” Liam added. 

“You guys aren’t scared of me?” The girl asked nervously. 

“Nah, it’s kind of cool that you can become a werewolf,” Vinny said, giggling. 

“Yeah, it’s like a special power - when you can control it of course,” Liam added.

They left the school that night, and after a few silent months the school opened again. The boys kept the little girl’s secret, and sometimes they played in the school courtyard together. 

It turns out that sometimes the monsters are the ones that need our help the most.