"I'm meeting someone...," Owyn answered the hostess' question as he scanned the restaurant. He was mostly looking for his date; but, he also took the opportunity to appraise the restaurant. He'd never been there before but the red and gold decor reminded him of every other Chinese restaurant he'd visited. Elegant murals of mountains and dragons were painted on the walls; and, he guessed the food was good if nothing else. Every table he saw was packed, except for one. A young, pale woman with pink pigtails sat alone at a table for two. She spotted Owyn and waved at him. "...there she is," he excused himself past the hostess; but stopped after a step.
He felt a sudden, intense vibration in his pocket. Owyn grew concerned when he realized his phone was in his other pocket. He glanced at his date to make sure she was still waiting for him, then he reached into his pocket. Someone bumped past him as he pulled the vibrating badge out.
"My friends are already here," a teen girl with a black visor over her eyes answered the hostess' unasked question. She flew by without apologizing to Owyn.
"Huh...," Owyn gripped the badge in his hand and felt the silent vibrations course through his hand. He glanced at the pink-haired stranger who smiled at him with a curious tilt of her head. She was gorgeous, he couldn't deny that. She was much more beautiful than her picture. Although, she did seem to hint that she had an important secret to share before things got serious. He took a step forward with his eyes on her and the vibrations became noticeably more intense. "...well, this should be an interesting date...," he sighed and wondered what her secret could be.
He continued forward and slipped the vibrating badge back into his pocket. His father gave him the badge before he died; he said it would vibrate in the presence of absolute evil. He carried it around all the time; but, it was the first time in 10 years he'd felt it vibrate. As he reached the table, he noticed the loud group sitting next to them. They sounded noisy from the other side of the restaurant; but, next to them their teenage laughter sounded more obnoxious than anything. He was starting to hope his date was evil just so he could cut the night short.
"Hi Owyn," Justice smiled at him as he sat down. "Everything okay?" she asked.
"Yeah," he nodded. "I'm glad to finally meet you, Justice," he said. He'd read somewhere that using people's names helped put them at ease. And, it helped distract him from the constant vibrations in his pocket. "...I just didn't think it'd be so loud here," he half-tilted his head at the table of teenagers. Justice giggled and nodded.
"I guess I'm kind of used to it," she said. "Some of them are my students, and they're not much better behaved in class."
"Oh?" Owyn glanced at the table to pay more attention to the group. "Which ones?"
"The kid with the red hair, that's Keys," Justice said. "The girl with the dark bob cut is Dara, and the girl with orange hair is Riot. The girl wearing the black visor on her face is named Abby," she nodded at each of the students as she gave their names. "The other ones are Frost and Ace; but, they're not my students." Owyn guessed the blue-haired teen was named Frost; that left the blond kid with curls named Ace.
"Well, I already know Abby's a little on the rude side," Owyn chuckled as he remembered her pushing past him.
"Knowing the things I know about that girl, that's a hilarious understatement," Justice replied.
"So..., speaking of secrets...," Owyn thought he could ignore the vibrations. He was very wrong and it was getting difficult to focus on anything else. "...you said you had a big one you wanted to share...," he asked.
"Oh, we're getting right to it?" She giggled and Owyn was glad that she seemed genuinely amused. "We haven't even ordered yet," she reminded him.
"No offense...," Owyn shrugged. "But, you're so concerned it's a deal-breaker, I kind of have to make sure it isn't, you know?"
"That's fair enough," Justice nodded. She straightened her back and sat up while looking into Owyn's eyes. "Don't panic, you're not in any danger," she said. "I'm not going to hurt you." Owyn nodded, but he didn't entirely believe her. The incessant vibrations in his pocket told a different story.
"The truth is...," Justice paused for a moment as Owyn stared. He couldn't believe his eyes. Fine, baby fur sprouted on her face, then grew longer. Her nose and mouth stretched forward and her ears changed shape all while he watched. "...I'm a werewolf," Justice said. Several thoughts raced through Owyn's mind as soon as she spoke the words. He'd seen it happen; but, somehow he needed to hear her say it to understand what he witnessed.
"I KNEW IT!" He jumped to his feet, backed away a few steps, then pulled out the vibrating badge as if it would protect him somehow.
"Oh," Justice seemed genuinely confused. "Okay, that's great," she nodded. "How did you know?"
"This told me!" he held out the bade towards her. It was vibrating silently; and, he didn't know if anyone could tell. "It vibrates in the presence of absolute evil!" he said.
"Hey! Ms. Knight isn't evil!" one of the male teens shouted from the table; Owyn was closer to their table now than Justice.
"Your teacher's a werewolf!" Owyn said. The table broke out into laughter and in an instant, Owyn was back in school being laughed at by the popular kids again.
"Owyn, you're embarrassing yourself, and me. I can answer all your questions...," she said.
"Sir, if you continue to make a scene, I'll have to ask you to leave," a young woman with twin afro-puffs on her head and a nametag that said: Britt, appeared next to him.
"She's a werewolf!" Owyn repeated. He held out the vibrating badge to show it to Britt. "This proves she's evil."
"No, she's not," Britt shook her head; but, golden stars appeared in her eyes. She focused on the badge, then her gaze seemed to follow an invisible line. Except she focused on the table of teens instead of Justice; then, she giggled.
"That's an interesting artifact," Britt said. "You're misunderstanding it; but it works fine." Britt grabbed his wrist and led him back to Justice's table. "Sit down, talk about it. You're safe in this restaurant," she said.
"Werewolves aren't evil by default...," Justice said as soon as Owyn looked at her. She seemed notably relieved when he nodded. He looked at the vibrating badge in his hand. "But, if not you, then who?" he asked.
"This restaurant is kind of like neutral ground. There are several evil people in here right now," Justice said. Despite being surrounded, that somehow put him at ease. At least, Justice herself wasn't evil. "And of course, the evilest person of them all is sitting right next to us," Justice nodded at the table of teens.
"Ms. Kniiiight...," Abby shook her head and grinned as she looked at them. She'd somehow heard Justice's comment. Owyn spotted a faint flush of red on her cheeks under the black visor. "...stop, you're embarrassing me," she said.