Timber had survived her first month of public school without Turning and unexpectedly found that she was really delighted in going just like Emily had said. She still managed to avoid speaking but she was participating more and spending recess on the swings. The four girls that had approached her on her first day continued to keep her company every day during lunch and they stayed with her during recess while the rest of their classmates left her alone. She liked them a lot. They would invite her into their group for projects and they even went the extra mile to attempt to communicate with her by asking her simple yes and no questions or talking through hand gestures and facial expressions. Timber tried several times to say something to them but all she managed to produce was a hiccup when she opened her mouth. Though, because Timber didn't speak, the five of them found a way to communicate with each other during class by reading each other's faces and memorizing expressions. It was a skill they would have never learned otherwise.
It was Valentine's Day now and Timber had spent two hours the night before making extra special cards for her brand-new friends for the card exchange. Grace had even gotten up early to bake cupcakes from scratch for her class and Emily's class and both girls spent the whole morning before school decorating them with red, white, and pink frosting, and a variety of Valentine's sprinkles. Timber was determined to try and talk verbally that day at school, if not for the class, then for her new friends, Xianna, Gina, Ashley, and Kendra. She knew that's what they wanted more than anything.
Timber got dressed up that morning for the occasion and put on her deep red lace top and her black buckle shoes. She put on her faux pearl necklace and a headband that matched her top. She made sure she had her Valentine's cards for her class, the special ones for her friends, and the cupcakes before she said goodbye to Grace and left the house bundled in her thick coat because it was by far the coldest day of the month.
She walked to school alone in wintery silence as usual but she was greeted with a very welcome surprise. A blue van pulled up next to her. She tensed up and prepared to run away until a mess of pink balloons and long blonde hair came out. Her new friend Xianna Greydlan joined her on the sidewalk and the van drove off.
"Oh! Cupcakes!" she said happily, looking at the large plastic containers that Timber was carrying. "Are those for the whole class?" Timber nodded and smiled. "Kendra, Gina, and Ashley are going to be so happy! Oh! Even better! They're homemade! Oh, this is for you!"
Timber took the balloon with two of her fingers and gave Xianna the biggest smile she could. She wanted to say something but she couldn't find her voice. Xianna and the girls had just seemed to accept that Timber wasn't ready to speak yet so Xianna simply smiled back and said, "You're welcome."
The pair walked into their classroom together so Timber could deliver the cupcakes to Mrs. Gibney and Xianna could tie the balloons to all the girls' chairs before going to the monkey bars on the playground. The girls taught Timber how to use them after they noticed her interest and her lack of ability. The first time Timber got on them she missed and fell, hitting her head on the tanbark. She managed not to Turn but she had to keep her eyes closed for a moment until she got her breath back so they were not blue when she opened them.
The second time, the girls stood under her and they all ended up in the nurse's office after a teacher saw her fall and the four girls try to catch her. The end result was five pairs of scraped-up knees and elbows and a dozen band-aids total. Now, she had mastered them and it was her favorite thing to do so all the girls met at the monkey bars every morning and had races. Ashley always won because she could skip bars.
"Timber!" cried Ashley cheerfully. "Happy Valentine's Day."
"Happy Valentine's Day!" said Gina, and Kendra together.
YOU ARE READING
The TimberWolf Effect (Book I)
WerewolfNine-year-old orphan Timber Brogan was headed to an unknown future with her father's sister and her family. Being half-human and a trained killer, Timber must learn to embrace her more human side and accept her new family despite her fear. But life...
