Lone Werewolf Duology (bxb)

28. The Soulmate

They met in the fall, Toshka and Volya. It was late October or early November. Third grade, probably. Maybe even fourth? It was hard to remember now, since the years braided together like strands of hair. It didn't matter when it was, because meeting Toshka ushered a new era for Volya, and it had nothing to do with the calendars.

This far into the school year after the summer break, Volya had already come to terms with sitting behind his desk all day. He still glanced out of the window into the schoolyard from time to time, and tiny needles pierced his butt. He didn't belong inside.

What's so great about sitting? he wondered. Also, why couldn't it always be summer? How long till the lunch break?

He was trying to psych out the clock on the wall to move faster, when the door to the classroom opened. Everyone's heads whipped at the sound like wound-up toys to look at the visitors.

Anna Leonidovna stepped into the classroom, totting a scrawny kid. The newb's head was shaved down to red fuzz, but he still looked ruffled, reminding Volya of a sparrow. But where the sparrows quarreled non-stop, the kid mutely watched his feet.

"Boys, welcome our new student, Anton Velichko," the principal said, silencing the class with a stern look.

Anton glanced furtively at the class. His too-large eyes stood out against the dirty-yellow stains of healing bruises on pallid skin. They searched for something.

Or someone.

You, something whispered in Volya's mind, he's looking for you.

Volya slid his chair to the side, freeing half his desk. Just like that, he surrendered the spot he'd won in a scowling contest before the first period. He wanted to sit alone back then, and now he didn't. So sue him!

This Anton Velichko, or whatever his name was, would be eaten alive without protection. Volya's heart flipped in his chest. If the new kid sat next to him, he figured, it would be okay to make friends with him.

The boy's blue gaze lingered on Volya, then on the vacant chair next to him. His deer-in-headlights look slipped off. Sure, his shoulders remained hunched, but at least he dodged feet that darted into the aisle to trip him up. He made a beeline to the seat next to Volya and collapsed into it.

"Hi there." Volya scribbled his name on the margins of his notebook in blocky letters, circling the 'O' a few times, and pushed it over.

"Volya? Cool. I'm Toshka." Toshka's reply was so quiet, that it would be inaudible to anyone but Volya. The other boys yelled all the time, till Volya's ears nearly bled. He punched them to get relief, but it only netted more screaming. Toshka was the first quiet soul Volya had met in his life. His soulmate pretty much.

The moment the bell rang, and the teacher left the classroom, Volya's hackles rose. The giggles that even the principle couldn't completely hush, silenced on their own. The temperature shot up at least ten degrees from the collective panting. Each boy there knew what was coming.

"Sit still," Volya commanded, as the Bruiser sauntered over.

Even back then, the Bruiser was a few inches taller than everyone else, with a huge round head crowning his fat neck. The institutional bowl-cut looked intimidating rather than pitiful on him. His shoulders rolled like boulders inside his stretched-out shirt. It didn't take long for any shirt to start hanging on him, he was such a slob.

Volya watched the Bruiser's approach from under his brow. A slow smile spread over his features, as he tilted his chair back. He won't let the Bruiser or anyone look down at him. The Bruiser ignored his glare and went straight for his target.