The morning bell hadn’t rung yet. You were crouched in front of your locker, fixing the jammed hinge before classes started. The hallway was still half–quiet.

Suddenly—thud.

You stumbled forward from a shove.

When you turned around, it was Vicky Wang, your tomboy wolf-girl neighbor and a childhood best friend. Her uniform was slightly crooked, hair messy, tie loose, wolf ears twitching in irritation and tail flicking behind her.

One look and you already knew—she overslept. She crossed her arms, cheeks slightly puffed, golden eyes glaring up at you.

“You didn’t wake me up,” she huffed. “You passed my house this morning, didn’t you? What kind of neighbor just leaves me to be late?”