After the fight in the woods that night, no one bothered me for a long time. I also ran into the group of sophomores in school. They always saw me from a distance and quickly walked away, as if they had seen a ghost. I also often heard from others that they called me a monster. I didn't care.
Time passed quickly, and in a blink of an eye it was time for the midterm exam. My grades were unexpectedly good. Except for a few points deducted from my Chinese composition, all other subjects were close to full marks. This made my homeroom teacher, Mr. Liu, have a significant change in his attitude towards me.
"Liam, your grades are excellent." Teacher Liu asked me to come to his office for a talk, "but your interpersonal relationships need to be improved."
"I think it's good like this now."
"A person's success does not only depend on grades." Teacher Liu took off his glasses, "You need to learn to communicate with others and integrate into the group."
I nodded and responded perfunctorily. When I walked out of the office, I saw several senior high school students whispering in the corridor.
"That's him, the monster."
"I heard it can turn into a wolf."
"It must be made up. How could such a thing happen?"
I stopped and turned to look at them. They immediately shut up and hurried away.
Back in the dorm, Noah was reading a book. Lucas and Henry were nowhere to be found.
"How is your relationship?" Noah asked me after putting down the book.
"What is it?"
"You and those legendary wolves."
I was stunned for a moment. Noah was the first person to ask me this question directly.
"What do you want to know?"
"I want to know if those legends are true." Noah's eyes were serious.
"What do you think?"
I didn't continue to answer, but lay on the bed and closed my eyes. I always felt that Noah didn't have good intentions towards me.
A few days later, Lucas suggested that everyone go out for dinner together.
"There are four of us in the dormitory, so we should improve our relationship." Lucas said excitedly, "I know a very good Chinese restaurant."
"Good idea." Henry pushed up his glasses, "We really need to communicate more."
Noah nodded his agreement. I wanted to refuse, but seeing their expectant eyes, I finally agreed.
On Saturday evening, we agreed to meet at the school gate at 6 o'clock. I arrived on time, but found that only Noah was waiting for me.
"Where are Lucas and Henry?"
"They can't come because of something." Noah's expression was a little strange, "Henry said he had a cold, and Lucas said there was an emergency at home."
I frowned. Just now in the dormitory, both of them were fine, why can't they come suddenly?
"Let's go then." Noah said, "It's nice to have dinner for two."
We walked towards the Chinese restaurant Noah mentioned. On the way, I noticed that Noah looked back from time to time, as if observing something.
"What are you looking at?"
"Nothing." Noah shook his head. "Maybe I'm overthinking it."
The Chinese restaurant is located in an alley near the school. It is simply decorated but very clean. We asked for a small private room and ordered some dishes.
"What do you like to do besides studying?" Noah poured me a cup of tea.
"I don't have any special hobbies."
"So what was your life like before?"
I looked up at him, "Why are you asking this all of a sudden?"
"Just curious." Noah's eyes flickered.