III

“Zoe! Zoe! Wake up you lazy bum! Class is about to start”

Voice . . . loud . . . annoying . . . Cassandra. I thought to myself once again half conscious. As I slowing open my eyes I see a full classroom mumbling a soft tune along with face full of disappointment.

After an unnecessarily deep yawn I stated, “I am going to take a guess and say you didn’t find him?”

“Yeah . . . ah well we should see him soon. He is supposed to be in our class . . . right?” She asked with a lack of confidence and a pitiful look on her face.

This could be a great opportunity to shove it in her face and say “I told you so.” But, that would just be rubbing salt on the wound wouldn’t it? It’s best just to remain quiet for now. I thought to myself with some sympathy while gazing blankly at Cassandra’s remorseful face.

After a few moments of gazing a face on a level of disappointment on chilling proportions, Mr. River, our homeroom teacher, walk in and commanded with a warm yet stern voice, “Aright everybody please sit down and prepare for class.” This statement caused a slight uproar among the students because they all know that there is supposed to be a new student. “Students, please calm yourselves. I know we were supposed have a new stu-” Mr. River was cut of by soft knocking on the door. “Oh speak of the devil, here he is. Please come in!”

As I sit with my elbow on the desk and my palm to my chin, unknowingly expressing my lack of interest, I calmly think to my self, This is so stupid; it seems like Mr. River planned this just to make it seem all the more dramatic. I wouldn’t put it past him; he always liked spicing things up in the weirdest of ways. As for the guy who just walked in, he doesn’t seem to be anything special. To be absolutely truthful he looks like a . . .  I gave the new student a quick examination. Well, he is relatively difficult to describe. He looks like a walking contradiction. His hair is a dark black that has no shine to it whatsoever, that could in fact be the lighting but it truly doesn’t matter. He has thick bangs that reach almost to his eyebrows but the rest of his hair is compact yet a mess giving him a slight lazy-boy look. And his eyes, they are so dark and seem absolutely soulless. I can’t even tell their color from here; but . . . I can not look at them for more than a second . . . I can’t explain it, but it feels like if I stare for a second longer I will begin trembling. Even more unsettling is his pale and somewhat lifeless face . . . zombie like. Yet he stands a nice six feet tall, more or less, which gives him a dominant look to him, on top of that he is slightly slouching, giving off an “I don’t care” vibe about him. And his build is one of slight bulk but it is hardly noticeable under the school dress. Plus, if this guy is supposed to be some kind of super genius, if so he must be one of those mad geniuses, I simply can’t imagine him being smarter than mediocre. With all of these features he really is the type that any idiotic girl will easily fall for.

I slowly begin to turn my face towards Cassandra’s face. Cassandra must be extremely disappointed. She can’t seriously be the type to fall for such a clic . . . My thought was interrupted by the less than expected sight of Cassandra’s ecstatic face. As I resume my train of thought I turn to face the front again where the new student has remained silent. Oh, how foolish of me to expect anything more from Cassandra. I will be very sure not to make the same mistake twice. At that moment I lost a good amount of the little respect I had for Cassandra. But something isn’t right with the atmosphere. The second this guy walked in everyone has kept silent . . . they all seem to be watching him. Even the talkative Mr. River has been gazing at this man. And this man has been standing there just as silent, he doesn’t even seem to be surveying his surroundings. He is simply standing . . . gazing . . . at nothing.

“Ple- please . . . do not be shy; tell the class your n-name.” Mr. River unconfidently demanded.

I raise my head in a slight sense of shock with a thought. Did Mr. River just stutter? There is no way a man of his experience would stutter because of a normal student like this. But, now that I think about it, this man carries a heavy aura around him. It feels heavy enough to keep a hungry baby from making the slightest sound.

“My name is Silver.” He responded without a single glance towards Mr. River.

The sound of his voice almost stunned the classroom. His voice is so soft; such a low voice that contains no sense of love but at the same time is expresses warmth. It is so calm yet it seems that it can easily command a nation. With simply the sound of his voice he could melt the heart of women and earn the undying respect of men. His voice is truly one that belongs to a god; but all of this seems to completely contradict his slightly rugged and threatening appearance.

“Y-yes well, umm do you have a last name?” Mr. River interrogated with an increasing lack of confidence in his voice.

“No.” Silver calmly responded with out moving from his original position.

“Is that so? Do you care to explain w-why?” Mr. River pestered with a slight tone of growing defense and fear.

Silver paused for a moment as if he were growing irritated. But his facial expression did not change in the least when he responded with the same calm voice, “I am not obliged the answer such a question.”

Mr. River then weakly glares at Silver, whose facial expression has yet to make the slightest change, and with a combination of irritation, fear, respect, and restraint asks, “Well now, is there anything you believe the class should know about you before we begin working together?”

Without much hesitation Silver responds quietly with, “There is one thing that must be made known. According to law I am considered blind, thus giving me right to take a guide d-” he abruptly stopped and turned towards Mr. River’s direction, who had just jumped in his chair due to shock and fear, and with a voice that felt commanding yet to a blind eye did not change in the least, says, “Mrs. Wolfe. Away from the kind sir’s lunch and come here.”

Only after a moment’s hesitation, a beast that could not be more obviously a wolf, walked upon scene from behind Mr. River’s desk holding what appeared to be Mr. River’s lunch box. It was only after everyone realize the shocking fact that there was a massive wolf in their presence, did the class, excluding myself, fled to the far left corner of the class room. I simply sat there shocked only at the somewhat over the top reaction from the classroom. I do not see why they are struck with fear. Mrs. Wolfe seems like a majestic creature; her fur is a pure and shiny white which is filled with a subtle beauty that calms the heart. Yet her eyes seem to be a bright hazel that makes you feel as if you watched by an all knowing being. Also she seems rather large, about three and a half feet tall from paws to shoulders, and she also has a bulky yet slender appearance to her. But without a doubt this animal is indeed a wolf, and even more interesting, Mrs. Wolfe’s presence strongly resembles that of her master. But, have a weird feeling coming from the bottom of my gut . . . it has a slight eerie feel to it, a feeling that I am being watch . . . It is a heavy one, even worse it holds little emotion . . . yet it feels as if I am being crushed . . . I’m being crushed by nothing. The only person currently in the room capable of affecting me in such a way is . . . Silver. I move my focus up and meet his eyes. He is staring at me, no . . . he’s glaring at me, what does he want from me? His face is still expressionless, I can’t read his intentions.

We steadily glared at each other for what felt like an eternity. I began to feel a cold sweat slowing running across my cheek. Only on what felt like my second eternity did I work up the courage to ask, “Ma-may I help you?”

At that moment his eyes seemed to have changed, although his expression didn’t change, I felt as if he was smirking at me. “Can I ask you a question?”

“Of course . . . but that doesn’t mean I’m going to answer you.” I retorted with a false confidence, with the feeble intention of keeping him from asking his question.

“Well can I make a deal with you?”

“You can sure as hell try.”

“Then, if you answer my question truthfully, you can ask me any question you wish and I will answer to the best of my ability . . . deal?”

I unconfidently debated to within myself, I need to calm down I’m getting to defensive. Besides that . . . what is he trying to do? Is he trying to prove something? Probably . . . but . . . at the very least . . . it will be entertaining to accept this deal. Right? After the two of us share a pause filled with a disturbing calmness considering the tension coming from our surroundings.

“Well?”

“I accept . . . pl-please ask your question.”

“How is it that you are the only calm one in this room?”

“How you ask?” I took a moment to collect my thoughts, “Well if I recall you were stating that you are legally blind thus giving you a right to have a guide dog . . . correct?”

“Indeed.”

“So why should I be alarmed? If Mrs. Wolfe really is your guide ‘dog’ then I have nothing to be afraid of. To become a guide dog she would have to pass a test to make sure that she is calm, controlled, and safe around people along with other creatures. On top of that she is a really beautiful wolf; it would be a crime to fear something so majestic.” I responded with slight confidence, “Happy?” The entire time I spoke, I didn’t dare to move nor did the rest of the class.

“Quite.” The pressure he was exerting seemed to relieve itself.

“May I as my question now?”

“You may indeed.”

I needed to think to myself for a moment. What kind of question should I ask him? There are so many things that would be interesting to know. But if I ask something to personal there is a chance I won’t understand without knowing his past. It would be best to ask a question to test his personality. The silence continued until I finally asked, “Just who are you?”

“Who am I? That is a rather vague question . . . is it not?” He asked with slight suspicion.

“I believe we had a deal.” I responded with slight irritation. 

“Indeed we did.” With a small sigh he answers with “I am Silver, and I am going to assume that you are trying to test my persona . . . So I will tell you this. Who I am is not for me to decide. Who I am purely depends on your perspective.”

I couldn’t help but show the shock on my face. S**t, I ask a single question and he’s already reading me like a book, plus I didn’t learn a damn thing anything other than the fact that he is clever. Mr. River along with the rest of the class has relaxed a bit yet they remain in the corner huddled together watching the entire situation run down. “But, at least the rest of the class seems to have settled down. On the other hand, I have no idea how to keep this conversation going. The silence continued for a short moment but the tension seems to have been lifted.

With the calmest voice I could muster I simply said, “I can respect that.”

“Interesting response.” In the last moment that our eyes stayed in contact I saw a glisten in his eye. The very next, he turned towards Mrs. Wolfe who has been laying down patiently watching behind Silver with Mr. River’s lunch box beside her.

What was that? I think I might of sa. . . No, there is no way a guy like him would. It was just my imagination. I thought perplexed by what I may or may not have just seen.

Now Silver is simply locking eyes with Mrs. Wolfe while he sat on his calves and faced her at eye level. “What did I tell you about taking people’s personal items?”

Mrs. Wolfe swiveled her head away from Silver’s face and lets out a low yet non-threatening growl.

Without a single pause and same soft voice he responds quickly with, “What do you mean ‘I don’t have to listen to you.’?”

At this moment the rest class burst into a quiet controversy among the other students. It sounds like the rest of class has caught that; but this all just too crazy. Could a clever boy-genius like him really be mentally unstable? But there is no denying the fact that Silver is imagining a conversation with a wolf . . . damn it this guy just isn’t making any sense. I frustratingly thought to my self while twirling my hair to signify stress and confusion.

Silver then let out a small sigh and stood back up. “Mrs. Wolfe, if you are hungry you simply need to ask me. You know that I always have food ready for you. Now go take that food back to the kind sir and say that you’re sorry.”

After a moment filled with a heavy irritation, Mrs. Wolfe stood up, picked up the lunch box once again within her jaws, and slowly walked over to Mr. River as if she was pouting. When she stopped and sat only a foot away from Mr. River, who was in a fear filled stance trembling ready to run away if necessary. She placed the lunch box at the feet of the still trembling man and then bowed her head as if asking for forgiveness. With a trembling hand Mr. River reached for the lunch box and with a voice that sounds as if he was about to breakout crying said, “Th-th-th-thank y-you.” He then picked it up and slowly backed away. When Mr. River stopped, Mrs. Wolfe got up and began walking towards Silver. When she got back to Silver she sat down and looked up at Silver with a hungry look in her eyes.

“Good” Silver said with a very small amount of appreciation. He then reached in to his back a pulled out a rather small and tightly compacted bag and opened it. He then pulled out what seemed to be a cooked steak. “Here you go . . .” he throws it up in the air and Mrs. Wolfe catches it about six feet in the air within her large jaws without leaving the ground, “as promised.”

Mrs. Wolfe then begins walking towards me . . . she stops in front of my desk and glances up at me. Our eyes locked for less than a moment but . . . I felt an amazing presence . . . I felt frozen . . . not with fear . . . but with a feeling that I need to show respect. How could anybody control a wolf that demands such a respect with a single glance? Even if Silver is the disturbing super genius he is made out to be . . . even if he is slightly threatening and demands respect himself . . . he is nothing compared to Mrs. Wolfe. Yet, he commanded her as if he had a gun to her head. No, not even then should he be able to command her. This just feels completely inconceivable. I thought to myself without moving the smallest muscle within my body. She then turned away and sits in the corner defending and eating her steak . . . just like any other wolf would.

Silver then turned towards Mr. River and says with a mockingly calm voice, “Well then, I do believe it is about time we started our class . . .  shall we?”