Moscow

31 August 1998; Loch Tay Regional Combined School; near Killin, Stirling, Scotland, UK
.
Ken shuffles down the thickly-carpeted corridor beside Murron, stomach a storm of butterflies.
Murron tows him into the fancy administrative reception area, then across toward the biggest of the offices.
Ken drags his feet.
Murron tugs his arm.
Ken whines.
"They'll /love you," she says.
"There's no guarantee—"
Murron gives him a Look, hands on her hips.
"What?"
"Kris loves you and he doesn't trust just anybody, so they will, too." 
"A sample size of one—"
"Don't be pentatonic."
"Huh—/pedantic. You mean 'pedantic'."
"Stop changing the subject and go meet your new friends."
Ken whiiines.
Murron knocks, works the knob, stuffs Ken through the door.
He staggers to a stop in front of Mister Fairbairn's huge desk.
From the couch, three sets of eyes drill into his skull.
Ken swallows, wipes his palms on his trousers.
"Perfect timing, Mister Gorman!" cheers Mister Fairbairn. "We were /just talking about you."
"A-all good, I hope?"
"Positively glowing."
Ken waits for an itch, but none presents itself.
"Introduction time~!" Mister Fairbairn inclines his head.
Ken swallows, swallows again, manages, "Uh, hi. My name's Ken and I'll be yer werewolf this term?"
The three kids on the sofa stare, blank.
Ken wonders if the kelpies would kill him quick if he jumped out the window into the loch.
A giggle snaps Ken's attention back into the room.
The smallest of the kids, a primary schooler with curly black hair, claps his hands over his mouth.
Ken blinks at him.
"You are very funny."
"I am?"
Kid nods, completely earnest. "You are. No one jokes about being werewolf." He grins nearly ear-to-ear. "I like you, Ken. We will be /best friends."
"A-alright ...?"
Kid keeps on grinning.
Mister Fairbairn clears his throat. "Mister Gorman, meet your new best friend, Mattia Colombo."
"'ello~!"
"Mister Colombo and his parents are the newest residents of Killin."
"Uh, welcome to Scotland."
"/Grazie."
"You're Spanish?"
"Uh uh. Italian." Mattia's expression crumples. "I would like to be Scottish soon, though."
The older boy on the sofa—blond, glasses-wearing, serious-looking—frowns at him.
Mattia pouts into the cushions, crosses his arms, mutters, "/You would want a new country, too, if your whole village turned against you."
"We /do know," sniffs the girl, who sounds and moves kinda like a French version of Lessie. "We were expelled from our schools."
"/I wasn't expelled," sneers Glasses, accent German. "I /left in order to complete my education in a place with fewer distractions."
"Aaand?"
"My grades were not up to the standards of the Moscow Institute."
"Is that what they told you?"
"Yes."
"Nothing about Moscow's anti-werewolf ordinance?"
"No," spits Glasses.
Girl smirks.
Ken looks from one to the other.
"Those stories can wait for another time, I think," says Mister Fairbairn. "Mister Gorman, these are Tobias Richter and Aurelie Leclercq, who'll be joining Years Three and Four, respectively."
Ken sketches a wave.
Tobias bobs his head.
Aurelie eyeballs him, suspicious.
Ken ducks his head.
"With everyone haled-and-well-met, we'll leave the four of you to get better acquainted. Come along, Dreamboy."
The dog hops up from its cushion in the corner, stretches, patters over to the door.
Mister Fairbairn lets them out, closes up behind.
Ken slinks over to a stuffed chair, perches, fiddles with his tie.
Aurelie keeps up her dubious look, declares, "I do not believe you're a werewolf."
Ken's jaw drops.
"Why would they lie about /that?" squeaks Mattia. "No one wishes to be a werewolf!"
"A headmaster wouldn't make up such a story," sniffs Tobias.
"Then prove you're a wolf."
"H-how'm I s'posed to do that?"
"Show us the bites."
"Wh-what?"
Aurelie shoves her right jumper sleeve up past her elbow.
From wrist to cuff, her arm's covered with criss-crossing scars.
Her wolf must've feckin' /gnawed on her.
"You must have them if you really are a werewolf." She yanks the sleeve back into place.
Ken swallows. "O-okay. If that's what you want."
Aurelie snaps a nod.
Tobias leans forward: curious, maybe.
Mattia—"You do not have to—"
"'s okay." Ken loosens his tie, undoes his top button. "If this's what you need to trust me, I'm willing." Tugs his shirttails from his trousers, stands, turns his back to them, pulls his shirt and jumper up to the stop of his shoulders.
He waits, letting them get an eyeful of the chomp his wolf took outta his shoulder and the marks from deep scratches across his back.
"That's enough. We've seen," says Tobias.
Ken grunts, tucks in his shirt, straightens it and everything else, turns around, plunks down. "So ... yea, werewolf."
"I believe you now," concedes Aurelie.
"That is an /awful scar. I am surprised you are alive," croaks Mattia.
Ken rests a hand on the back of his neck. "Me, too. The doctors say I nearly died before they got the bleeding stopped."
Aurelie rubs her scarred arm.
Mattia hugs himself tight.
Tobias looks a tiny bit impressed.
Ken's face gets hot.
"So ... what sports do you play?" asks Aurelie
Ken startles. "Uh, me? N-none." He laughs weakly. "I'm not real athletic. But my friend Royal plays for the school rugby team."
Aurelie snaps up straight. "Really? I want to play rugby again."
"Oh, cool. I'll introduce you to him; he's one of the captains."
Aurelie sparkles.
"Is this Royal a werewolf, too?"
"Nah, but he has magic."
Tobias leans forward. "Do you have magic?"
Ken grimaces. "A little a-and I can't make it work all the time, no matter how hard I practice."
"That must be frustrating," says Tobias.
Ken shrugs. "I'm kinda used to it? I've /always had trouble."
"Are you here because of the trouble or because you're a werewolf?"
"Neither, actually. My da's family's come here since before it was a combined school." Ken smiles at Tobias. "Story is, they left a school closer to home so they could get their education in a place with less distractions."
"What sort of distractions?"
"Mostly being bullied for being Jewish."
"I take it they were better treated here?"
"Yea, that's kinda what this place is about. They call it a school for 'the unwanted and inconvenient'."
"So werewolves are treated well?" asks Mattia.
"Mostly? There're still a—jerks, but there're also a lot of folks who're on our side, like Royal and Lessie and Murron."
"Who're they?"
"Lessie's my mentor and Murron's—" Ken swallows. "—she's my girlfriend."
"You have a /girlfriend?" breathes Aurelie.
"Umm, yea?"
"But my mama and papa said it was /impossible for werewolves to find love!" squeals Mattia.
"I guess they're wrong?" Ken shakes loose an idea. "She's actually waiting to meet you outside, if you wanna?"
Mattia flings himself off the sofa. "Yes yes! I want to meet this girlfriend who likes werewolves!"
Ken laughs. "You two wanna join us?"
Tobias nods, eases to his feet.
Aurelie hesitates.
"What's wrong?"
"You will still introduce me to Royal, yes?"
"Of course."
"Wonderful!" Aurelie hops up, marches to the door, calls, "Are you coming?"
Everyone scrambles after her.