Page 133 of Wicked Hungry

School passes by pretty normally the rest of the day. Some kids give me funny looks, a few give me sympathetic pats on the back. The worst is biology class, without a lab partner. My teacher puts me to work with another group, making three of us, and I swear the two of them don’t make eye contact with me the entire time. I don’t blame them; it must be hard for them, too.

After school I sit with Meredith on the bus and we don’t talk about anything, and not in a good way, either. I mean, it’s not like we’re quiet because we’re kissing or playing with each other’s hands, or even just staring out the window. None of that. We’re just silent, although she makes me promise to call her before I go to bed. I’ll keep that promise. But right now, when Enrique and I get off at our stop, there’s someone waiting in front of our house, someone I haven’t talked to since last Friday night.

Blaine Whelan. Alone.

“Are you okay?” he asks me.

“Yes? No? I don’t know,” I say.

He just looks at me, his hands in his pockets.

Enrique moves to walk away to his house, but I reach out and grab his arm to keep him there.

“How about you?” I ask, looking back at Blaine.

“Could be better,” he says. “Could be worse. Listen, the Seelie Queen is very grateful for all you’ve done. She’s so sorry about Eternal Cleanse.”

“Yeah, well, sorry doesn’t help us any, does it?”

“Listen, Stanley. She’s made two pills. The blue pill will bring you back to where you were before you started taking the supplements. You’ll be normal, just like before.”

“And my knee?”

“Will be like before the supplements.”

I’ll never run again.

“And the other pill?” Enrique asks.

“The red pill will leave you as you are right now. You’ll never take the supplements again, but you’ll be a jaguar, Enrique, and you, Stanley, will be a werewolf. Forever.”

“What is this, The Matrix?” Enrique asks.

“It’s true that Eleanor enjoys her movies,” says Blaine, unsuccessfully trying to hide a smile.

“I’ll take the red pill,” Enrique says.

Blaine hands him a pill and he dry swallows it.

“And you, Stanley?”

“You want to know if I’ll give up my humanity in order to keep running?”

“If you want to think of it like that, yeah.”

“I’ll take the red pill, too.”

“You sure about this? After you decide, there’s no turning back.”

“You didn’t say that to Enrique, did you, Blaine? Just give me the pill.”

I dry swallow it.

“Good,” Blaine says. “I just need to approach another couple of hundred teenagers.”

“You’re not letting the zombies stay zombies, are you?” I ask.