SMACK!

We all stand in silence as my actions sink in. Shasha reacts first, glaring at me.

“HOW DARE YOU!” She yells.

“I’m sorry.” I apologize readily. I didn’t mention how half of the apology was for the fact that I want to keep hitting her. My reaction shocks me so much, since I normally refuse to react to anything she says. Chris is left to be the peacemaker, but only makes matters worse.

“She is going through a hard time and is in denial. Regardless of the truth, you should have waited for proof before bringing this up.” I feel the urge to slap Chris as well, but this time manage to hold myself back.

“You both can take a long walk down a short pier,” I say and start walking away. I only take a couple steps before Chris’s response stops me in my tracks.

“I was just calming her down, but with that attitude, I am starting to believe she is right.” I’m speechless. This is the same guy who, only a month ago, was trying to stay in a relationship with me.

“You’re right, babe.” Shasha chimes in before I can respond. “We should really have just said congrats and walked away.” I see red, but they are already walking away before I can do anything.

I remain standing there, feeling my muscles shake and my heart pound. There is also a slight pain in my chest that is slowly making itself known, so I take off out the side door I was originally going for. Looking around, there isn’t anyone there, but I keep running, unable to calm down my boiling emotions. I leave school grounds and dodge behind buildings. All the while, the interactions I just left behind plays on repeat in my head. My anger builds with each repetition, and the pain in my chest escalates out from my chest. 

I duck into an alley just shy of the edge of town when the pain reaches my joints and fall forward. The pain is manageable so I don’t black out this time and watch in horror as I start to shift. 

First my joints break and realign, twisting and popping back into place. Stripped black, white and orange fur rapidly grows across my skin. My jeans and shirt start to rip as my torso bulks. Once everything settles, I look over to see the same tiger that I ‘saw’ in what I originally thought was a dream.

While I am still in disbelief, I don’t make a sound this time. I would hate to start a panic from someone seeing a tiger in the middle of a small town in Montana. 

I look around, trying to think about what I am going to do, praying nobody is around. Although one side of the alley is clear, there is a man looking right at me from the direction I just came from. I take off before he can react, finally making it out of town. 

I keep running through the trees until I am sure there is no way anyone could have followed me. I stop for a minute, hearing the sound of footprints. I turn around just in time to see a cougar lounge towards me. Instinctively, I swat my front paw at it and end up hitting the cat in the face. The cougar is caught off balance and falls to the side and I dart away again. This time, I don’t stop until I come across the trail that leads back behind my house. I look over to see if the cougar followed, only to sigh in relief after seeing I am alone.

I follow the trail down to the edge of our family’s property, tense and ready to jump out of sight at the first sign of someone. Once I make it home, I circle around to see if I can see who is there and who isn’t. Luckily, only Viv’s bike is there, but I still cannot decide if it is safe for me to enter like this. I may have told her I shifted, however, that doesn’t mean she will recognise me in this form. I also can’t guarantee that Mom or Dad won’t enter while I am still here. I go back to the edge of the property to decide. 

After a bit, while I think about how much I want to shift back, I feel a pain in my chest. I watch in delight as four feet change into arms and legs, and the fur covering my body recedes. Once the shift is finished, I run my hands through my hair in wonder before getting up.

I run into the house and listen for Viv. If she is about to start shifting, then she might have heard me come in. When no one comes out, I walk stealthily upstairs and change into my clothes. Once dressed, I look at the clock to see that it is almost time for Dad to return home. I mouth a curse before rushing down the stairs and out the back door, no longer caring if Viv could hear me or not. In hopes of avoiding Dad from seeing me walking down the street, I walk to the intersection behind the houses to the next street before walking back to Lillie’s.

It’s nearly dinnertime by the time I make it back. My bike is in the driveway, so I know Lillie is here, but Tina’s car is missing. I wonder for a moment where she is but then sit on my bike, reluctant to go in and face my sister’s interrogation. As I sit, thinking about how I intend to answer her, what ifs started going off in my head. While I am relieved to know I am not going crazy, I am scared to realize the implications of what will happen now. I also start wondering how this happened. 

Before I can get too far down the rabbit hole, the front door slams open. Lillie comes rushing out, throwing her arms around me and nearly knocking the bike down. 

“Whoa there. I know you're not happy about me going m.i.a., but don’t take it out by crushing my leg under a bike.”

“That’s just karma from disappearing. Where did you go? You even left your phone at school.”

“I needed to get out of there.” I hesitate for a moment when the argument from the hospital crosses my mind. However, deciding honesty is better, I push on. “I shifted again.”

The concern in her eyes becomes secondary to anger. “Now is not the-” Before she can finish, we hear Tina’s car pull into the driveway and she comes running out to where we are.

“Oh my goodness, are you ok?” She asks in a panicky voice. “What happened? Where were you? Why didn’t you have your phone on you?” She rapidly fires questions at me with no space for answers.

“I’m sorry, Tina, the noise and smell from lunch was too much. I meant to only go outside for a moment but ended up falling asleep.” I say it as an excuse.

Tina gives me a reproachful look. “Next time, at least get your phone from your locker first. Did the doctor’s suggestions not work?”

“Most of them did. I just forgot to pack lunch.”

“I’ll get your mom to write you a note so that Lillie can get you a tray next time.”

“Ok. Thank you.” Tina nods and turns to walk in the house. Lillie stops me from walking in with a tap on my shoulder.

‘This conversation isn’t over’ she mouths. I nod and we head inside.