IN THE FULL MOON

chapter 7 love and the library

It was mid-November, and a few weeks had

passed since my friends and I were circled around

a campfire in the woods and Nash had told us his

frightening werewolf story. Footballs, goalposts,

and grass were replaced with basketballs , hoops,

and hardwood floors. The red, gold, and orange

autumn leaves had fallen or been blown away and

now many trees stood na**d. The temperatures

fell, too. There was just a dusting of snow on the

ground.

I loved the first fresh snow when it blanketed

the town and closed the schools, or a weekend

snowfall when it accumulated enough for us to

stay indoors with a cozy comforter, a good book,

and tasty hot chocolate. I loved the sound of the

snow crunching underneath my boots or the

ultralight snowfall on a silent street. I loved

magical moments when the only impressions in

the snow were the tiny footprints of a bird. And I

cherished the memories of when Juliette and I

were younger and dragged our sleds to Hillside or

another nearby slope.

We hadn't had a major snowfall yet,

however, only cold weather and occasional

flurries. Snow wasn't nearly as great when it

wasn't enough to close school. Then it was just

inconvenient and messy to trudge through,

soaking the hallways, and leaving me crossing my

frozen fingers that I wouldn't wipe out and land

on my backside in front of the entire student

body.

Abby, Ivy, their beaux , and Nash and I were

in library study hall keeping warm. In our English

class we were studying American folklore and had

been assigned a paper on the subject. I kept

thinking about Mr. Worthington's werewolf story.

I decided werewolves would be a good subject for

my essay. It was one thing to have Nash tell a

campfire story to scare us, but I was even more

intrigued that Mr. Worthington seemed

impassioned by the tale himself. And besides, I

could use him as a resource for my paper. Nash's

story was exhilarating and frightening because of

the thought a werewolf could be living among us.

Though I didn't believe in their existence, I could