26 FEBRUARY FRIDAY BEFORE DINNER
I ran away. I'm not proud of it, and in hindsight there could be a hundred other things I could have done instead and everything would have worked out better, but I was dumb and just bolted.
The moment I saw me on Lizzy's screen as a ghost and heard us scary movie screamed... I just short circuit and fled. I was in such a hurry to get away, I shot myself right out of the wall - like on the side that led to the outside of the house.
Ben showed us a funny clip once, of a guy who was in the bedroom with somebody else's wife. Then her husband comes home suddenly and storms up to the room with a baseball bat. And the guy in the bedroom totally freaks out and jumps out of the second floor window - like in just his underwear.
And as the dumb pups we were, we all laughed at the video because it was so funny how he landed in the swimming pool with a big splash, and then splashed desperately out and into the street, before realizing he was in only his undies! He took cover in a bush and popped in and out because he couldn't decide what to do next - go back for his clothes, stay in the bush indefinitely, or run home in his undies.
But now, I kinda understood. When a person acts in blind panic, he doesn't always think, "I should put on some pants first" before he leaps.
Lucky for me, I was a ghost. So I was just left floating outside my home, in the magical fall of snow.
Apparently, in my ghost form, the cold didn't bother me. What did bother me though was the little bit of emptiness I felt inside even as I was outside. I could just float like a balloon by the side of my house all day and no one would notice - even if it were really busy outside and lots of different wolves were going in and out of the packhouse.
Was I...feeling lonely? But I was the alpha! Alphas always stood up front of their packs, proud and alone! Furthermore, I was a ghost! I mean, I was supposed to be a fun ghost, not a mopey one that got lonely just because no one could see it! I decided to discard the feeling. "Let it go, let it go! The cold never bothered me anyway!"
Okay, focus, Sam! I probably didn't have much time left. Now that I had been caught on camera, it was only a matter of time before my ghostly existence would be made known to the adults. With the way Savy and Lizzy were screaming like the end of world, I was sure that at the very least, Ki would have stopped his work to check on them. It's tough being the only adult in the house. Hahaha. You had to be responsible for everyone.
But that was his problem. I had to stay focus on my own ghostly business: If there was only one more person I could prank, who would it be?
No prizes for guessing, but of course it would be B.E.N.
Hahaha. That kind of bada**, know it all, apathetic attitude was just begging for a pranking.
I dive bombed into the packhouse kitchen. I was getting pretty good at moving around as a ghost now. I thought I was good when I popped through the door, but I wasn't thinking out of the box enough because as a ghost, there were no walls, or windows, or roofs, or floors or anything really. Basically, there was no box.
I found Ben in the dining hall as expected. Pizza was going all around. Was that a mountain of red cola cans? Yes, yes it was! I hadn't had a coke for like a lifetime! I helped myself to a can and moseyed over to the single round table in the packhouse dining hall - the Alpha Table.
Ben and Jonah were both there. Usually, NO ONE would sit at the alpha table. Even during Saturday breakfasts with my gang, when Dad wasn't around, we'd sit along one the assorted dining tables stretched out across the dining hall. Every time any of our wolves wanted to change their dining table and chairs, as long as their old table was rectangular or square, they may donate it to our pack house dining hall. To date, we have collected more than 20 tables in every color of wood, one in glass and cane, one with a tiled top and wooden frame, and I think there used to be one with a metal frame - but that rusted because these tables were also used outdoors in the summer and the metal frame was deathly allergic to the summer showers we had one year.
OUR table, the one my gang and I always sat at was a long oak one. It was really scratched up, but I personally liked it because the coloring and grain of the wood was beautiful, and even after the stains and scratches and water rings, I could still see that this was once a special table. It also felt really nice to touch, the worn edges of the table smoothed out just so. One day, when I grow up and have a dining table of my own, I want a table like this one.
Right now, OUR table and all the tables in its row, were lined with boxes of pizza.
Anyway, Ben and Jonah were at the Alpha Table. I guess it was because they were sitting with River, Keanu, Wilhelm, Wolfgang and Adele. I supposed the Young Prince River was probably considered Alpha enough to set the table. There was even a table cloth. The packhouse kitchen only put out the tablecloth when Dad was expected in the dining hall.
I looked around, just to make sure Dad wasn't around. Then I floated over Ben to see what was going on, coke in hand. They had a nice set up. It wasn't just the table cloth. They also had a small stack of pizza set up in the middle of the table.
"Kshhh..." I popped open my can to take a swig.
"Wha..." Ben looked up. I froze. And then Ben shrugged and turned back front.
"What?" Jonah asked.
Ben shook his head, "Nothing."
I smiled satisfied that no one was seeing a floating can and drank my coke. Ahhh... its too bad I couldn't smell it, but its still good. I helped myself to Ben's slice. Oh, why were there olives? And the pepperoni had the same effect as certain sausages on me now. I picked them both out and left them on Ben's plate. Ben who currently had his head turned to River next to him.
River was fretting at his pizza, "I wonder why Dad hasn't asked to see us yet."
"Why so anxious to face the music?" Keanu teased wryly.
"I just want to get over with it!" River sighed, "The waiting is always the worst part!"
"They like to make us wait on purpose." Ben informed River.
"That would be somewhat calculated even for Alpha Gunter." Keanu commented.
Ben smirked, "Half of discipline is a mental game."
No, Ben! Sigh, now the snow wolves were going to think our adults here were mental!
"Is that so..." River considered this.
"Beta is probably taking the brunt of it." Wilhelm said to no one in particular.
"Yeah, it sucks to be beta." Jonah agreed quite readily. I was pretty surprised he spoke. Jonah was usually pretty reserved in front of unfamiliar faces. And to my even bigger surprise, the snow wolves, who I thought were rather serious and formal wolves laughed like they were good friends. Since when did they become pizza buddies?
"It can't be easy being Gamma either." Wolfgang said, "The two of you best work hard."
Ben just realized his plate now only contained a sprinkle of olives and a slice of pepperoni. He raised a brow, narrowed his eyes at Jonah. But then Wolfgang spoke, his eyes scanning the wolves mingling with one another before us, "Your pack might be primitive and somewhat savage in nature, but I don't hate that."
Who did he think was primitive and savage? I flared.
Ben quietly helped himself to another two slices.
"In fact, I don't dislike it at all." Wolfgang allowed, "We are wolves after all. Staying close to our roots is not a bad thing."
Yes, because pizza parties were in our roots. At least, I've decided to make them part of our roots from now on. I helped myself to the new slice Ben had placed on his plate.. This one had ham and mushrooms and peppers...it's cheese was still stretchy too. Stretchy cheese was the best! I picked out the peppers and returned them to Ben's plate.
Ben was too busy picking a fight to notice, "Is it that hard to admit our pack is better than yours Wolfgang?"
Wolfgang huffed, "Don't even think to compare your backwoods pack with our Snow Moon Kingdom! Even if you include your shiny Gate City, it would still never be able to hold a light to Snow Moon's white stone foundation."
Snow Moon was famous for its white stone - the entire pack was built on this white stone foundation, and the buildings in the oldest parts of their city were in the same white stone. The older the stone, the whiter it was... and the louder it sang. Yes, the white stone sang. I've never heard it myself, but Mrs Beta had been there once. When under the moonlight, the white stone would make a humming sound, almost like a choir coming to life.
"Why?" I had asked.
Mrs Beta smiled, "Its one of the great mysteries in our lycan world. No one knows even though many scholars have studied it. Its a very old magic."
"It's not fair." I complained, "They've already got snow wolves, why do they get singing stones too?"
Mrs Beta had laughed, "Well, we have more healing wolves in the Green Packlands than any other Colored Packlands. And we have no lack of mysteries either."
"Like what?" I perked up immediately.
"A mystery is anything you cannot explain yet." Mrs Beta smiled because she had just come up with homework for us, "Why don't you spend time this week looking out for some of these mysteries and we can talk about them in our next lesson?"
I shouldn't have asked.
Ben blinked at the two skinny strips of peppers on his otherwise emptied plate. He growled just a little at Jonah.
"What?" Jonah asked, "Oh, do you want more coffee?"
Wolfgang pushed his cup forward, "More for me too, if you don't mind."
"Yeah, okay, sure." Jonah nodded and got up. I thought it was going to fetch the carafe from the coffee maker at the other end of the hall, but he only yelled, "Oi, more coffee here!"
"Coming Gamma!" One of our warriors (Dave), shouted back. He lumbered over with the carafe and a goofy grin, "Congrats on your first shift, Jonah!"
"Let's have another toast to our brave new young gamma!" One of the guys nearby shouted.
And all the warriors yelled, "Yo!"
Hahaha. That's right. Jonah had shifted to protect my Mum and Dad from rogues in the Warlock forest. Bet he was a hero now!
Oh, that meant my entire leadership had shifted, right? We were no longer pups now. Wow.
Ben's lips were turned down, but he took another two slices without a word.
I took the slice he put on his plate the first chance I got, but Ben was only faking it! He snapped his head back to catch Jonah in the act - and as usual, without waiting to actually confirm it was really Jonah, Ben slapped the slice he was holding in his hand into his best friend's face.
"Hey! Wha-?" Jonah had just sat back down so this totally baffled him. (Especially since he wasn't the pizza thief.)
Ben grabbed Jonah's wrist to catch him red handed, but realized belatedly that Jonah wasn't holding anything, "Where's my pizza?"
"Uh... in my face?" Jonah hazarded.
Ben frowned. I'm sure he realized that Jonah wasn't his pizza thief by now. Actually, it was really dumb of him to think it was Jonah in the first place. Jonah ate EVERYTHING, so just the fact that there were some bits returned should have indicated pretty clearly that the thief was a picky eater - I mean a discerning consumer. Maybe Ben wasn't as much of a genius as I had credited him for. I mean, a real genius would have been able to deduce things.
"Sam?" Ben whispered.
I freaked out, did Ben guess I was here? Luckily, I was the type who thought quickly on my feet, I grabbed the nearest slice of pizza and slammed that into Ben's face.
Ben growled and the entire hall became still.
The young beta's wolf was on the surface. Ben's wolf had a dangerous vibe that even the older warriors were cautious of, "Who.threw.that?"
Ben plucked off the offending slice, the tomato sauce splashed generously on his face. Hahaha. He was so p***ed.
No one else laughed though. They looked at their young beta and gamma with pizza on their faces and then at one another. Either somebody was going to be in big trouble, or everybody was. Ben was not the beta to mess with.
I quickly grabbed another slice and slapped it on the nearest wolf - Dave, who was not my best choice since he was pouring the coffee.
"I'm hit! I'm hit!" Dave yelled. He was also overly dramatic.
Wilhelm was quick to relieve him from coffee duty.
I didn't want anyone to be unfairly blamed, so before anyone could throw an accusation, I quickly grabbed another two slices and threw it. Then I zipped over to the pizza table and picked up a whole box of ammo, slapping it on random wolves in the hall. Naturally, my wolves wouldn't take the pizza attack lying down. So even if they hadn't a clue who was throwing it, they threw back. They were pretty good at it too. I think it was their "return shot" training. Like if you get shot, shoot back in the direction the bullet came from very quickly so that you'd hit the enemy before he changed position.
If I wasn't a ghost, I'd have been creamed with pizza. But since I was a ghost, it just passed through me like I was air and hit someone else, someone else who'd return the shot. Because my warriors were all well drilled warriors like that.
I can't really remember what mysteries I observed for Mrs Beta's class, but it looked like I've since graduated to creating my own pack mysteries now. I present to you, the mystery of the biggest pizza fight in Night Leaf history ever! So fun!
"I'm going to be so dead." Ben groaned.
I picked up an unopened box on the way out. I'll just leave this on Savy's bed for the girls since they didn't like bangers and mash.