“Please Frank, concentrate, please. Did you memorize your notes?” Ruby whispered after asking the teacher for a five minute break.

During their presentation, Frank had stood in front of the whole class looking dumb, and it was one of the most embarrassing moments in Ruby’s life. The class burst into a raucous laughter when it happened, unsettling the quiet school.

“What do you want me to do?” Frank asked Ruby roughly while raising his hands. His thoughts were faraway, swarming like bees.

“Frank, if we fail this assignment, we’ll repeat the grade again next year. I just wish I didn’t partner with you now,” Ruby said while throwing her hands on her head.

Instead of answering, Frank remained silent, boiling with a whole lot of emotions, and when Ruby saw this, she nudged him with her arm, bringing him back to reality. After returning to reality, Frank looked at his notes knowing that the situation was serious. He read over them one more time, and recited them without making a sound.

The assignment was about Macbeth. They were tasked with finding out the reasons why Macbeth killed had King Duncan, and to notice words that were not found in other books. They also had to analyse why the book was written in such a manner.

“Stop thinking a lot, and let’s get this done, then later I will accompany you to the priest,” Ruby said, showing sympathy for him.

Frank nodded in response, and they both went back to class. Everyone was waiting for them, and after they entered, the teacher, Mr Parkinson, winked at them, informing them that the stage was theirs.

“We can do it babe,” Ruby whispered.

Frank felt boosted by her support. He smiled when he saw her eyes glittering. It made him melt, and the confused thoughts he’d had went away for a while. He then regained all his confidence, and the assignment became easier for him. He loved the moment because he had forgotten about his dreams, or whatever he called it, for an hour, and he felt alive again.

“You did well,” Mr Parkinson said after the presentation. He clapped his hands, and the whole class applauded for them too.

Mr Parkinson called another pair to give their presentation. Ruby kept raising her thumbs up, indicating that they had made it. Mr Parkinson always told the truth, and he never beat around the bush, so Ruby knew they had passed, but Frank was miles away again.

Suddenly, a howling sound echoed through the trees, and Frank snapped. Ruby then quickly sat near him and put her arms around him. Lucky, the whole class and Mr Parkinson were listening to the other group’s presentation, and they didn’t notice the big elephant in the room.

“This is serious, we need to see the priest ASAP,” Ruby whispered.

Frank looked at her questioningly, then he understood. He once again felt boosted by her support. Throughout the experience, Frank kept scratching in his hair as if he had small insects crawling on him. Ruby kept on watch, but she felt worried that they might have missed out on how the others had panned out on their assignments because it was going to teach them something. She couldn’t leave Frank like that though, he needed her, and she had to help him.

A whole two hours felt like hell for them, and when it was done, Ruby held Frank’s rough hands and dragged him to the Roman Catholic Church. Like him, she had not concentrated in class. He was not himself, and she suspected that he could be cheating, but she knew it was more than that.

They had to do their homework at Ruby’s house after visiting the church because her parents had gone to church, and she was always a caring girlfriend. They started walking after having snacks, and the sun was setting in the horizon. The walk was an hour long, and it was already getting dark. Dusk brought with it a colourful horizon, but Frank didn’t move when they reached the front of the church. The lights in the church were on, and they could see them through all the windows. The door was open, and only a few people entered quietly while Frank stood there wandering.

“I don’t feel good about seeing a priest,” Frank muttered under his breath.

“But baby, how will we do this, because the thing that’s affecting you, is also affecting me too! Look, we’ll all fail, but I’m worried about you. I don’t like seeing you like this,” Ruby said while trying to persuade him. “I know, but I think he’ll help you. OK, how about you make your choice after seeing the priest, then?”

Before answering, Frank took in a lungful of air and relaxed. He wasn’t sure if it was the right thing to do, but he wobbled and his hands trembled because the moon was three quarters full when he looked up. It was going to be a full moon that day, and he recalled that changing into an unknown monster was his life. But how could he explain it to her?

“You stay behind,” Frank finally said, warning Ruby before storming into the quiet church. She noticed that his voice sounded strange, and that it was full of sadness and rage.

When Frank rushed into the church, Ruby wondered what the matter was. She wrapped her arms around herself when the chilly breeze blew toward her. It was disturbingly cold outside, and chills grew on her back as a result. To get herself warmed up, she entered the church and sat in the benches near the door. She turned her gaze to the front, and saw Frank enter a cabinet. She then took a hopeful deep breath, and she hoped that all would go well.

**********

“Father, I don’t know what is happening to me,” Frank muttered between his breath. He was tense and uneasy, so he sighed loudly. His hands were curled into fists, and he had a mixture of fear and dissatisfaction. He wished he had kept his emotions private because he felt unsafe.

“What did you do, Son? Talk,” a voice replied to him.

There was a window with a curtain between them, and he couldn’t see who was behind it, but he felt the priest’s presence because he was breathing hoarsely. As he was talking, he suddenly felt something happening to his body. He then snapped, screamed and started stretching his body in response. Before he knew it, there was hair all over his body and his ears were pointed, but he tried not to make noise because it was all happening at a wrong time.

“I’m waiting, so talk, son,” the voice spoke again.

While Frank was listening to the voice, his nails grew and turned to glass, and his eyes turned yellow. His bones were snapping into a new position, he became taller, and his ears became pointed. He knew that he had to get away, and when the curtain opened, he raced out as quickly as he could and used the backdoor to exit. A woman saw him and screamed, alerting others to gather closer. The priest couldn’t believe what he was seeing, and he raced out and wondered what he had encountered.

Ruby saw the commotion from a distance, but when she raced over, she saw that Frank was nowhere to be found. He seemed to have been blown by the howling wind from outside.

***

Tell us: Do you think Frank should tell Ruby about his transformations, and why?