“No, Sierra. You’re not like us,” Josh tried to console her as they stepped into a spacious kitchen.

The room had a U-shape layout. Wooden chairs were scattered around a lovely kitchen island. Hanging above it were a few tiny pendant lighting that appeared similar to teardrops. Walls were painted white while the wooden cabinets were colored black. Countertops were all classic white marble. Neatly organized at the kitchen counter were electric stove, oven, microwave, blender, juicer, coffee maker, and electric hotpot. The room had no window but it was beautifully illuminated with pin lights and pendant lighting. It was also well-ventilated with an air-conditioner.

“How can you be so sure? You don’t know anything about me,” Sierra leaned on the kitchen sink and held her pounding chest.

Josh, on the other hand, placed his bag on the kitchen island and said, “I…” he hesitated, shut his eyes tight for a moment, then let out a deep nervous breath before deciding to tell Sierra, “I know a lot of things about you.”

“You know a lot of things about me? Even those things I can't remember?” Sierra shot a piercing stare at Josh. “I noticed you are not surprised by the fact that I have memories I can't remember. I also received the same expression from Dan and Renzo when I told them I can’t remember anything about my locket. They are curious but not surprised. Why does it seem that the three of you know me better than I know myself?”

Josh only gazed hesitantly at her. He was probably torn between lying and admitting the truth.

“You…” Sierra blushed when her belly growled louder than her voice. She could not believe that her empty stomach can be more powerful than her curious and anxious mind.

A faint smile curved upon her classmate’s lips.

“Eat first,” he said while opening his bag that was filled with instant noodles. “Take a seat. This will not take long.”

He approached the kitchen counter, grabbed the electric hotpot, and filled it with water. He added the noodles and sauces before placing it on the kitchen island.

“Add more noodles,” Sierra requested as she took the chair nearest to Josh.

“Are you that hungry?” he asked with a wider smile after plugging the hot pot.

“You should also eat,” she simply replied while checking the time on her phone. “Let’s celebrate your birthday. We still have ten minutes.”

Josh only stared at Sierra with disbelief.

“What’s with that look?” Sierra opened two more packs and added it on the hot pot. “You don’t want to celebrate your birthday with me?”

“I’m a monster, Sierra. You don’t have to be kind,” Josh seriously recommended.

“I’m doing this because you have plenty of things to tell me,” Sierra checked the drawers around the kitchen island to search for bowls, ladle, spoons, and forks.

They had an elegant collection of kitchen and dining utensils. Most were made of ceramic, some were made of wood, and a few pairs of spoon and fork were gold plated stainless steel.

Sierra also searched the kitchen for condiments but all she had seen were various jars of coffee beans, powdered milk, cocoa powder, and sugar cubes.

“I know it will be as disgusting as the contents of your fridge,” she went on after returning to her seat with dining utensils on hand. “We should somehow enjoy this meal before we hate each other, don’t you agree?”

“I don’t know,” Josh sighed with unease while taking oranges from the fruit basket at the center of the kitchen island. He made two glasses of orange drinks from the juicer before sitting beside Sierra. “Do you want ice?”

“Yes, please.”

Sierra was amazed when Josh opened one of the cabinets in the kitchen island. It was a mini freezer filled with ice cubes. He pulled one tray and emptied its content on their glasses.

“You have separate storage for ice cubes?” Sierra curiously asked while staring at the three two-door refrigerators lined side by side each other on the right side of the room. One was red, the other was white, and the last was blue. “Those fridges don’t have freezer?”

“It does but we don’t use it for ice cubes,” Josh seriously answered. “Let’s eat.”

For a second, Sierra was tempted to open the refrigerators. She was curious to see if Josh was telling the truth or not. But after witnessing his transformation and hearing his confession, Sierra decided to believe that whatever she sees inside will be terribly disgusting. Losing her appetite will be bad for her health, both physically and mentally. She needed to keep her sanity and stay on her feet. She needed to brace herself for whatever Josh would reveal to her.

But if ever her curiosity had grown too strong to be stopped, she wanted to know, “What color is your fridge?”

“White,” Josh answered without looking at it. He was focusing on filling the bowls with noodles. “You should eat, Sierra.”

“Okay," she let out another sigh and grabbed a glass of juice. "Happy Birthday, Josh!” she raised her glass and beamed at her classmate a minute before the clock hit twelve midnight.

“Thank you, Sierra,” Josh gratefully smiled at her and raised his own glass of orange juice.

They made a toast and sipped on their glasses before savoring the warmth of the noodles.

Sierra was too hungry to start a conversation while eating. She had to finish two bowls of noodles before she could finally talk.

“You don’t like instant noodles?” she asked Josh who was only halfway with his first bowl. But he was drinking a lot. He was on his third glass of juice that he finally decided to make pitchers of different fruit juices. “Is that because you are a… ah…”

“Yes, it is because I’m a werewolf,” Josh finished for her then emptied his third glass of orange juice.

“Okay,” Sierra composed herself. “I’ll ask more about that later. For now, let’s start from the very beginning.”

Josh seriously met her gaze and said, “Let’s start.”

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