The Wolf Boy

The Wolf

Gulf hardly spoke to anyone all day. Even Mild and Boat, who used to have a bit of time for him, seemed to be keeping out of Gulf's way. At long last, the school day came to an end and Gulf could escape.
To comfort himself, he went into a snack shop. He didn't go into the shop right by the school, where people would jeer at him for buying snacks. He chose a snack shop that was half way home and bought a bag of basil flavoured Lay's. Then he took the shortcut home that went past the edge of the Kwangjai Woods.
Biting into his Lay's was the first truly good thing that had happened to Gulf all day. The basil in it made him feel better at once. As he chewed and swallowed, he felt his spirits lift. He knew that feeling wouldn't last, but it was so lovely while it lasted. He tried chewing slowly, to make the Lays last longer.
The woods were looking their best. Vines and ivy grew over the rubbish that people had dumped on the edge of the woods. The low autumn sun glowed through the branches of the trees and lit up the red and orange berries that hung there.
Gulf didn't know why, but he left the little lane he always took on the way home. Instead of going past the garden gates of the endless row of houses at the edge of the woods, he went deeper into the woods. He followed the new path until it came to a stop, in a small clearing in the trees.
A single crow was hunched on a branch, looking at him. Gulf flapped his hand at it to shoo it away, but it didn't move.
"What's the matter? Are you hungry?“ he asked.
The crow stared back at him without blinking.
" What's wrong with with all these berries? Why don't you eat those? They too healthy for you?"
The crow stared back at him, still not blinking.
"You're like me, aren't you? A Junk Food King." Gulf grabbed one Lay's Crisp and tossed it toward the crow. The crow lifted silently off the branch and floated down on wide black wings to the ground. It found the bit of Lay's, pecked it up and looked up at Gulf again.
" That's your lot, mate, "he said.
Then he turned around and started to walk back through the trees.

A sudden rustle of the bushes startled him. That's when he saw it. It's fur was as black as night and it looked much bigger than an avarage wolf. Gulf sucked in his breath hoping to go unnoticed.
Then it fixed its golden eyes on him, with its black snout pointing at him.
Gulf grabbed his uneaten salmon sandwich and tossed it at the wolf still maintaining eye contact. He didn't care if wolf didn't eat salmon. The wolf still hid in the bushes so Gulf decided start backing away slowly.
Gulf walked on and heard the rustling of the branches, making him look up but when he looked back down the wolf he had seen was nowhere to be found. His breathing became frantic as he continued to back away.
The crow that had been previously staring at him, landed on a branch above Gulf's head. It streched out it's neck and fixed it's eyes on him.
Gulf was really spooked. Wolf long forgotten, he started to run, and as he ran he sang loudly and waved his arms about to frighten off the crow. Only when he got to the lane at the edge of the woods did he feel safe again.