C2 CHAPTER TWO

Ivan Willow was at that point in his life where most teenagers feel awkward about their entire existence. He had his loving parents with him, but for some reason he wanted them to keep their distance more than ever.

"Good morning, sweetheart."Martha, Ivan's mother, greeted him as soon as she saw Ivan coming downstairs all dressed up for school. He pulled out a chair at the dining table where his breakfast of mashed potatoes and eggs was already served, taking his seat before replying"Good morning, mom." She moved closely to him, planted a kiss on his forehead before adding"You sure you don't want me to pack you a snack, honey?"Ignoring her kiss, Ivan replied without looking up at her."No, mom, its fine.""Alright, sweetheart, hurry up now so I can drop you off."Martha replied, moving away from the table towards the door, beaming with a smile, almost like she was oblivious to Ivan's mopey attitude."No, mom, I'll take the bike to school today, thanks."Ivan replied, still focused on his food.

Martha paused at the door where she was, and the smile on her face gradually faded."Okay, don't forget to stay away from the forest. I love you" she replied sadly before stepping out of the house.

As soon as she left, Ivan stopped eating and fell on his seat, sinking into it while having a deep sigh."Damn it, he couldn't explain why he was acting so cold to his mom.Their drive together to school used to be their little chit chat moments, but as he was growing older, he wanted little of that.He didn't want to be mocked for being a mummy's boy in high school like he was in middle school."Shit! Ivan yelled as soon as his eyes gazed at the wall clock; he was almost late.

He jumped out of his seat, grabbed his backpack, and hastily made his way out of the house, clumsily ensuring the doors were locked, before hopping on his bicycle and headed towards his school. As he cycled faster and faster, his eyes fixed on the road, he suddenly noticed someone looking at him from one of the low fences in the neighborhood. He turned around to see who it was but almost lost balance on his bike, so he quickly resumed peddling and continued on his way to school. Ivan had seen who it was.It was a young girl of about sixteen years old; she was wearing a white gown, and her arms were over the low fence, and she was looking directly at him while he peddled.Her dark eyes made her look imposing, but even so, Ivan couldn't deny how drop-dead gorgeous she looked; her hair was also pitch black and extremely long; she looked weird and amazing at the same time.Ivan wondered why she wasn't in school at that time; "she is probably sick or homeschooled."Ivan said to himself.

As soon as he came into the Wolfspring High School premises, he parked his bike and quickly put on his headphones and immediately blended with the crowds of other teens hurriedly making their way to class.

As Ivan sat in the class, his mind was already far away from the whole school environment as his headphone was still on and the rap music coming from it was set at the max volume.The noise caused by the sudden chattering of his other schoolmates didn't bother him, and he also couldn't hear when the principal made an announcement through the class room speakers. About the curfew after 6:00 clock and a total ban on going near the Wolfspring Woods, a directive issued by the police department.

Ivan was only brought back to reality when he felt someone poking him from behind. By the time he took off his headphones and turned around, he realized it was Daniel, his best friend, who hasn't been in school for a week due to an injury he got in last week's basketball game.

"Hey man, you didn't tell me you'd be back this Monday." Ivan replied, genuinely happy to see his friend,

Daniel was equally glad to see Ivan and slowly brought out something from his backpack while responding."I wanted it to be a surprise, he paused a bit before exclaiming"Check it out while dropping the latest issue of the Wolverine comic on the table."No way, it's out?" Ivan replied, grabbing the comic and turning around to quickly feast his eyes on the content.His focus was only disturbed when he suddenly noticed the noisy class gradually freezing in silence for no reason. Ivan raised his head to look around; that was when he noticed the utterly jaw-dropping figure of a man standing in front of the class.Dark shades and blond hair, a long-sleeved shirt on, unbuttoned at the chest area revealing a golden cross on his neck, and ash pants on, this man looked like a movie star.The more reason everyone was shocked when he spoke"Good morning everyone. You can call me Mr. Craig, and I'll be your new history teacher.".Ivan looked around to find everyone's eyes glued on this dude; even the girls who were chattering about their latest nail polishes a while ago were so busy being awestruck by this teacher that they just looked on their mouths open in admiration at the new teacher.There and then Ivan decided that he didn't like the man; there was just something off about him, and he was going to find out what.