The first bell hadn\u2019t even rung, but it felt like the whole school was already watching us. Gabriel and I moved down the main hall side-by-side, our footsteps in sync, still riding that Humvee entrance high. Every few yards, someone turned their head just enough to track us\u2014some whispering, some pretending not to.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Locker doors slammed a little too quickly when we got close. The ones who didn\u2019t know us moved out of the way without realizing it. The ones who did<\/em> know us didn\u2019t need reminding.<\/p>\n\n\n\n We passed a pair of varsity jackets\u2014guys who normally barked jokes at Gabriel whenever they thought I wasn\u2019t around. Today? They both went quiet, glancing at each other before suddenly finding the floor really interesting.<\/p>\n\n\n\n I leaned just enough toward Gabriel for him to hear without anyone else catching it. \u201cRecognize them?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cOh yeah,\u201d he murmured. \u201cThey used to think they were hilarious.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n I smirked. \u201cFunny how quick people get polite when the air smells like predator.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n By third period, the word had spread. Kids I barely knew were giving us the nod in the halls like we were part of some exclusive club. We didn\u2019t even have to do<\/em> anything\u2014just walking together was enough to bend the social current around us.<\/p>\n\n\n\n It wasn\u2019t about looking for trouble. It was about presence.<\/em> A shared, unspoken understanding: if one of us was in it, we were both in it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n And then it happened\u2014the micro-intervention.<\/p>\n\n\n\n We were heading to lunch when I spotted it: one of the smaller kids, backpack half-unzipped, being corralled into a corner by two meatheads from gym class. Their shoulders were squared, their voices low and sharp.<\/p>\n\n\n\n I didn\u2019t even look at Gabriel. I just angled toward them. He followed without hesitation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The two bullies looked up when my shadow fell over them. I didn\u2019t stop walking\u2014I just passed close enough for my shoulder to almost brush one of them, my eyes catching his for a heartbeat too long.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The effect was instant. They stepped back, muttering something about \u201cwrong hallway\u201d and disappearing fast.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The kid looked at me like he couldn\u2019t decide if I was real. \u201cUh\u2026 thanks.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cEat your lunch,\u201d I said simply, and kept walking.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Gabriel caught up, grinning wide. \u201cWe didn\u2019t even touch them.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWe didn\u2019t have to,\u201d I said. \u201cWolves don\u2019t growl to scare sheep. They growl to warn other wolves.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" The first bell hadn\u2019t even rung, but it felt like the whole school was already watching us. Gabriel and I moved down the main hall side-by-side, our footsteps in sync, still riding that Humvee entrance high. Every few yards, someone turned their head just enough to track us\u2014some whispering, some pretending not to. Locker doors […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-77","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-high-school-life"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/threewerewolves.com\/firstsemester\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/77","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/threewerewolves.com\/firstsemester\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/threewerewolves.com\/firstsemester\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/threewerewolves.com\/firstsemester\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/threewerewolves.com\/firstsemester\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=77"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/threewerewolves.com\/firstsemester\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/77\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":78,"href":"https:\/\/threewerewolves.com\/firstsemester\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/77\/revisions\/78"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/threewerewolves.com\/firstsemester\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=77"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/threewerewolves.com\/firstsemester\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=77"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/threewerewolves.com\/firstsemester\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=77"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}