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in this class believe that werewolves really exist?” he asked.
    I snickered. I didn’t think any kids would raise their hands.
    But to my surprise, every single hand in the room shot up.
    “You all believe in werewolves!” Mr. Shein declared.
    “Yes, we do,” I heard Arjun murmur softly.
    “Yes, we do,” Sean repeated.
    I turned and realized they were both staring hard at me.
    I felt a sudden chill. What is their problem? I wondered. Why are they acting
so weird?

 
 
16
     
     
    After school, Sean and Arjun came up to me at the back of the classroom.
Outside the room, lockers slammed. The tile walls echoed with shouts and
laughter.
    The two guys studied me solemnly. “What’s up?” I greeted them, zipping my
backpack.
    Mr. Shein waved and walked out, carrying a bulging briefcase. The three of us
were alone in the room.
    “How’s it going?” Sean asked.
    “Is it weird being in a new school?” Arjun said.
    “Yeah. Kind of,” I told them. “Especially since I know I’m only here for a
few weeks.”
    “You’re lucky!” Arjun joked. “Sean and I are stuck here.”
    “Wolf Creek isn’t so bad,” I said. I swung the backpack onto my shoulder.
    The two boys stared at me intently. They didn’t say anything. Sean shoved his
hands into his baggy jeans pockets. Arjun fiddled with a silver ring on his little finger.
    Finally, Sean broke the silence. “You don’t believe in werewolves,” he said
softly.
    “Huh? Well…” I hesitated.
    “You didn’t raise your hand,” Arjun added. “Everyone else did.”
    “Yeah. I know,” I replied. “I really don’t believe in them. I mean, come on,
guys. It’s practically the twenty-first century. See a lot of guys with fur on
their faces walking around the streets? I don’t think so!”
    I meant it to be funny. But they didn’t laugh. They kept staring at me with
their solemn faces.
    “Werewolves exist,” Arjun said softly. “We can prove it to you.”
    “For sure,” I replied sarcastically, rolling my eyes. “The Easter Bunny
exists too. I saw him riding a bus back home in Cleveland.”
    “We can prove it to you, Alex,” Arjun insisted. “We can show you a werewolf.”
    “A real one,” Sean added.
    “No, thanks,” I said. “I really—”
    “You can take pictures of it,” Arjun interrupted.
    “Yeah. You can take a whole roll!” his friend cried.
    That made me stop and think. I remembered the photo contest I planned to
enter. I needed a Halloween photo—a really good Halloween photo—for the
contest.
    They moved closer, surrounding me, forcing me to back up until I bumped into
the windowsill.
    “Want to see a real werewolf, Alex?” Sean demanded.
    “Want to take photos of a real werewolf?” Arjun asked.
    They stared hard at me, challenging me.
    “What do I have to do?” I asked.

 
 
17
     
     
    Aunt Marta laughed. “Hannah—you look dreadful !” she cried, pressing
her hands against her cheeks.
    “Thank you!” Hannah took a low bow. “Thank you!”
    After dinner, Hannah had come over to show off her Halloween costume. She
changed her mind about dressing as a pirate. The costume she chose instead was
hard to describe. She had taken a lot of old clothes, torn them all up, and sewn
them back together.
    Her baggy pants had one brown leg and one green leg. And they had checkered
patches at the knees. She wore a ragged shirt of yellow, blue, red—every color
you can imagine. An even more colorful jacket over the shirt. And a floppy rag
hat that kept falling over her face.
    “What are you supposed to be?” I asked. “A junkyard?”
    She didn’t laugh. “I’m a rag doll,” she replied. “Don’t you get it?” She
tugged at the jacket. “Rags?”
    Aunt Marta and Uncle Colin both laughed. I was happy to see them enjoying
themselves. They had both seemed tired and low at dinner. They had barely spoken
to me.
    “There used to be a song about a rag doll,” Aunt Marta said. “Remember it,
Colin?”
    My uncle