The Tiny Curse: Werewolf High Book 2(14)

I rolled my eyes. "I'm ignoring you and going back into the hat."





Chapter 9


At first it was kind of fun, going to class without anyone being able to  see me, being invisible. I could concentrate on the lessons and not  worry about getting bullied. That only lasted so long, though.

"The air smells so much fresher in here without the stench of that  commoner," said Charlotte Lu Pont on her way out of history class. "Did  you see her Facebook from yesterday when we were teaching her a lesson?  I'm taking a small vacation. I hope it's not too small!"

"I hope she never burdens us with her ugly face again," said Olivia.

"I hope she never burdens the world with her ugly existence."

The two of them burst into peals of laughter. I felt like being sick,  but was a bit heartened when Nikolai stuck out his foot as Charlotte  walked through the door of our English classroom and tripped her over.

After class, Nikolai met back up with Tennyson to hand over the hat.

"I'm not wearing that," Tennyson said.

"I made it with my own blood and sweat," Nikolai said, pouting.

"Then I am definitely not wearing it. Why would I want to wear a hat made from bodily fluids? She can sit in my pocket."

Nikolai shook his head. "Pockets are not safe."

"You know my feelings about headwear."

They stared at each other until Nikolai gave in and took off the hat for me to climb out.

"What are your feelings about headwear?" I asked Tennyson as he tucked me into his pocket.

"It is unnatural and an abomination. Now be quiet, you don't want the polo team to find you."

"Polo is unnatural and an abomination," I told him. "I will have no part in it."

He ignored me and kept walking. I poked my head out of his pocket to see  where we were, but it was a part of the school grounds I wasn't  familiar with. Because it was the sporty part. He obviously wasn't  joking about the polo.

"Hey, Mr 'You can't ride a rat in life threatening circumstances because  it's exploiting animals', are you seriously going to play polo? I am  not comfortable with this at all. Are there going to be actual horses  involved? Are there going to be boys' changing rooms involved? Because I  know you've got no issues going into the ladies' but that doesn't mean I  want to be surrounded by sweaty jock straps. How about you take me back  to the house and I'll have a nap while you're off torturing ponies for  funsies. I don't need a babysitter." And if I did need a babysitter, why  not Sam? I was sure he wouldn't wolf out on me again and it would be  nice to spend some time together.         

     



 

I tried to kick Tennyson but the fabric of his coat was too thick for me to have any impact.

"Be quiet," he whispered. "We're almost there."

I huffed and settled down into the pocket. I didn't really know much  about polo, but I'd seen how these people treated humans so I doubted  they had much regard to the feelings of a horse. Plus, all the polo  players I'd seen around school were the biggest jerks. This was not  going to be a fun afternoon.

Tennyson Wilde stood by some bleachers waiting for all the players to  gather. At the far side of the ground were the stables, but there were  no horses around.

"Today, we're practicing technique," Tennyson Wilde said in a commanding tone, once everyone was gathered.

"Wait, you're the captain?" I couldn't believe it. Like, I could believe  that he was the head of the jerk squad, that was easy to believe. I  just hadn't taken him for a hypocrite.

"Our technique is fine," said Astor, I recognized his voice.

"Your game record says otherwise," Tennyson said.

"What do you even know?" Astor muttered.

Although I couldn't risk peeking out of the pocket to see what was going on, I felt a sudden shift in the air. A coldness.

"You will note," Tennyson said, "that I was asking neither for your  permission nor your opinion. Today we are practicing technique. Go and  prepare."

They all filed off into the locker rooms but Tennyson Wilde stayed  behind. I wondered what he was doing but didn't care enough to ask. He  took off his coat and folded it on the bottom row of the bleachers in a  way that meant I could sit and peek out without it being obvious. It was  pretty cold out of the pocket and I was glad I didn't have to run  around on a field with a bunch of meaty guys waving their sticks at me.

Tennyson Wilde paced across the field, swinging his polo stick in his  hand. It wasn't very interesting to watch him and I wished I had a book  or something, but I doubted any books small enough for me to read even  existed. Wow, this whole world really was made for able-bodied people.  I'd come across it a bit before with my mother being sick, that type of  prejudice that isn't overt but just subtly excludes you from things.  Being around all these rich people when you were poor was a little like  that as well.

After a moment, I saw someone approach Tennyson. I raised my eyebrows in  surprise. Most people seemed too in awe of him to try to engage him in  conversation. It was that guy, Llewellyn, from my history class.

"E-e-excuse me," I heard him say. Poor guy had turned bright red and  looked like he was about to pop a vein, but he seemed determined to get  out whatever he had to say. "Have you seen my dog? She's a beagle.  Tricolor beagle. Bonkers. That's her name. She was playing with her ball  but then she just ran off and I can't find her."

To my surprise, Tennyson Wilde's face softened. He placed his hand on  Llewellyn's shoulder. "She probably just caught a scent," he said,  almost kindly. "I bet she has quite the nose on her?"

Llewellyn nodded.

"I'm sure she'll come home when she gets hungry, but I can put a message  on my blog about her, if you like. Do you have a picture you can send  me?"

Llewellyn seemed reassured as he wandered off, tapping on his phone. I  stared at Tennyson Wilde in shock, but already the image of him as a  kind, caring guy was fading and he looked harsh again.

The rest of the team came out, in their fancy polo uniforms. They were  all grumbling as they walked past me toward where Tennyson stood in the  middle of the field.

As they filed past, one of them knocked Tennyson's coat and it fell to  the ground. I landed softly, but the rest of the coat fell on top of me  and it was heavy and suffocating, so I struggled my way out of the thick  fabric and up to the fresh air. The snow had only fallen lightly on  this part of the grounds and had already begun to melt. Only a few  clumps here and there remained and luckily I hadn't fallen into one.  Still, the ground was frozen solid, hard and cold, and I climbed back  into the warm sanctuary of the coat. I'd just gotten comfortable when I  felt a shadow fall over me.

"Such a nice coat … " the person muttered. "Shame to get it all mucky."

They picked up the coat and brushed it off, flinging me off under the bleachers.

I landed hard, putting my arms out to break my fall as I went skidding  along. Through the gaps in the bleachers I could see the person fold up  the coat and sit it neatly back on the seat, well out of my reach. I was  stuck there, on the freezing cold ground, until polo practice was over.  How long did it go for, I wondered. From the way that Tennyson Wilde  was yelling at people, it seemed like it would probably be a long time. I  shivered and rubbed my arms. Why couldn't I have been shrunk in the  summer, when it was warm? Though, I guess that would've been worse, with  all sorts of weird bugs and snakes and who knows what else out and  about. Probably, no time was a good time to be shrunken out in the wild.         

     



 

I'd been so cozy inside Nikolai's ugly hat, and not expecting to be  dropped on the ground that I wasn't even wearing warm clothes. The grass  was wet from the melting snow and there was nowhere for me to go to get  out of it. I walked to the edge of the bleachers and looked up, hoping  I'd spot some easy way to get back up to the coat. Maybe like a tiny  person ladder or something. I was plum out of luck, there was no way I  was getting up there without being a whole lot taller.

So, I either had to stay there and freeze, or get some help. Well, there  was a third option, go and hide out in the boys' locker room, but if  Tennyson Wilde hadn't realized I'd fallen out of his coat, I might end  up stranded in there, and that was clearly a level of hell that I didn't  want to plummet to.

I took a deep breath and rolled my shoulders. Tennyson Wilde wasn't so  much as participating in the training as yelling from the sidelines, so  if I stayed off the field, it should be safe enough. I'd go find him and  he'd put me in his pocket and I'd be warm again. Man, I could so not  wait until it was Althea's turn to look after me.

It was a long walk, but I could do it. The grass was neatly trimmed,  even more so than the rest of the school grounds, and only came up to  just past my waist, so I could clearly see where I was headed. As if I  could miss it, all those big clodhoppers stomping around, with the  biggest clodhopper of all barking orders at them. Whoever let him have a  whistle was surely from the devil. I kept on the outside of the line  around the ground and headed for Tennyson Wilde.