Tuesday\u2019s cafeteria was the usual wall of noise \u2014 trays clattering, voices overlapping, the smell of fryer oil and something calling itself \u201cbeef stew\u201d drifting through the air. Gabriel and I claimed our usual spot near the back, away from the crush, where you could see everything and not get boxed in.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Halfway through my Salisbury steak, I saw him. Mark, tray in both hands, pausing just inside the doorway like he wasn\u2019t sure where to land. He scanned the room, the kind of searching look you give when you don\u2019t know a soul and hope somebody waves you over.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Two kids at a nearby table smirked at each other, whispering. One of them muttered loud enough for me to catch it: \u201cPastor\u2019s kid. Easy pickings.\u201d<\/em> He half-pushed his chair back like he was ready to intercept.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Then his eyes flicked past Mark\u2026 and landed on us.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Me, leaning back with a fork in hand. Gabriel, quiet but coiled, blue eyes cutting sharper than any blade.<\/p>\n\n\n\n That chair never moved another inch. The smirk cracked, and suddenly those two found their mashed potatoes very interesting.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Mark noticed. I saw his brow furrow, just a little, before he tightened his grip on the tray and started walking toward us.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cUh\u2014hey,\u201d he said, voice quiet but steady when he reached the table. \u201cMind if I sit?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Gabriel shrugged. \u201cGo ahead.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Mark slid into the seat, careful with his tray, like he was trying not to spill on anyone. He glanced between us, clearly aware of what just happened.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cSo\u2026\u201d he started, a faint smile tugging his lips. \u201cDo people usually\u2026 scatter like that when you\u2019re around?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Gabriel smirked faintly. \u201cSometimes.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Mark blinked, clearly unsure if that was a joke. \u201cI mean, I swear that guy was about to\u2014\u201d He stopped himself, shaking his head. \u201cNever mind.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n I leaned in a little. \u201cYou\u2019re not imagining it. They thought about it. Then they thought better.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Mark\u2019s eyes narrowed with curiosity, not suspicion. \u201cBecause of you two.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cMaybe,\u201d I said, keeping it casual.<\/p>\n\n\n\n For a few beats he just studied us, like he was trying to understand a puzzle no one had given him the pieces to. Then he cleared his throat, soft smile returning. \u201cSo, introductions \u2014 again. I\u2019m Mark Harcourt. We just moved here from Titusville, Pennsylvania. My dad\u2019s Philip. He\u2019s a Lutheran pastor \u2014 just took the call to First Lutheran over in West Barnstable. Mom\u2019s Betty. I\u2019ve got four siblings \u2014 Miranda, Andrew, Linda, Chris. Big family.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Gabriel gave a low whistle. \u201cFive kids. That\u2019s a lot of names to keep straight.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Mark chuckled, sheepish but proud. \u201cYeah, it\u2019s\u2026 loud at home. But it\u2019s good. My family\u2019s\u2026 close. We kind of have to be.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n I tilted my head. \u201cAnd you? What do you do besides survive your brothers and sisters?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n That earned me his first real grin. \u201cI play trumpet. Concert band, marching, jazz \u2014 pretty much anything with brass, I\u2019m in. And I\u2019m decent with computers. Okay, more than decent.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Gabriel raised an eyebrow. \u201cMusic and tech? Not a bad combo.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Mark shrugged modestly. \u201cKeeps me busy. Keeps me\u2026 me, I guess.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n The three of us fell into a rhythm after that \u2014 trading questions, half-jokes, and the kind of easy conversation that usually takes weeks to build but somehow clicked in an hour. Mark wasn\u2019t flashy, wasn\u2019t tough, but there was something solid under the quiet.<\/p>\n\n\n\n When the bell rang and trays started scraping, Mark looked at us again, still thoughtful. \u201cSo\u2026 I gotta ask. Why do<\/em> people back down when you\u2019re around?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Gabriel smirked without answering, slinging his case over his shoulder.<\/p>\n\n\n\n I gave Mark a small, knowing smile. \u201cGuess you\u2019ll find out sooner or later.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n The confusion on his face was almost enough to make me laugh. Almost.<\/p>\n\n\n\n But the wolf in me already knew: sooner or later, he\u2019d understand exactly why.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Tuesday\u2019s cafeteria was the usual wall of noise \u2014 trays clattering, voices overlapping, the smell of fryer oil and something calling itself \u201cbeef stew\u201d drifting through the air. Gabriel and I claimed our usual spot near the back, away from the crush, where you could see everything and not get boxed in. Halfway through my […]<\/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-93","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-high-school-life"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/threewerewolves.com\/firstsemester\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/93","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=93"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/threewerewolves.com\/firstsemester\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/93\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":94,"href":"https:\/\/threewerewolves.com\/firstsemester\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/93\/revisions\/94"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/threewerewolves.com\/firstsemester\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=93"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/threewerewolves.com\/firstsemester\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=93"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/threewerewolves.com\/firstsemester\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=93"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}