The Werecats: Creatures of the Night (Original)

- Chapter V: Self Control -

- Chapter V: Self Control -

     I arrived at the bus stop at the end of my street just as the bus was pulling away. I may have been old enough to drive myself to school, but my aunt was over protective.

     "Wait!" I yelled, waving my arms frantically. I stood there, leaning against the bus stop sign and thought, Well this is classic TV over dramatization.

     Guess I'll have to walk, I thought as I began to walk, realizing I was going to be late, and picked up speed. Before I knew it I was running. I was up next to the school bus and could hear kids laughing at me from the inside.

     "Look!" I heard someone yell to the rest of the bus. All at once, I could feel the bus tipping slightly, because at least twenty kids crouded to one side to see me.

     I stopped suddenly, realizing that I was running along side a bus driving at least thirty miles per hours.

     I said, "What the hell?" and thought that it was becoming my catch phrase. I continued to walk, agreeing with myself that I would see the nurse as soon as I got to school.

     I arrived at school just before the final bell rang. Instead of headed to my first class, however, I headed for the nurse's station. I found Nurse McKay sitting at her desk, writing a "Get Out of School Free" card, as I called it, for another student.

     "Be right with you, deary!" she said in her Irish accent, not looking up from her work. She gave the boy his pass and he walked out, winking at me.

     "What can I do for you?" Nurse McKay asked, sitting me on a bench and inspecting my eyes and ears.

    "I think I have a fevor," I said, thinking for the first time that I was unusually warm, "and I ran almost the entire way to school today and didn't break a sweat!"

     Nurse McKay put a thermometer in my mouth and waited. After a minute, she took it out and gasped. "One hundred and two degrees!" she said.

     "But I was fine yesterday!" I said, snatching the thermometer to make sure it was currect.

     "Yes, yes." she said, thinking, "I'll let you go back to class. For now. It may just be a sudden rise because of your run." So I left, remembering my evening the night before.

     "There's a lot we can do that you don't know about, Riley." Dom had said.

     "We?" I asked. "Yes, we." Dom had said. I continued my morning as normal, trying to ignore the fact that I was beginning to sweat.  

     Aside from the fact that I was probably going to die, my day was normal. Up until lunch. Usually, I sat alone. But today, the most well loved person at the school, Rebbeca George, decided that that day was the purfect day to bother me.

     "Hey, Riley, is it?" she asked.

     "Yeah. What do you want?" I asked, not looking up from my book.

    "Well, five thousand dollars and a new engine for my Porche." she said, flipping her hair. Rebbeca George was one of those people who looked perfect all of the time. She never had a bad hair day, she never forgot her makeup (given that a monkey probably did it for her), and she had many followers. She reminded me of a cult leader.

     "Sure, just let me give you my bank account password." I signed, rolling my eyes.

     "I don't want your money. I have money." Rebbeca said.

     "Please," I said, looking up, "your parents have money."

     "Look," she said, her tone going from fake happy to sour, "you're taking up this entire table. My friends and I want to sit."

     I looked around to see that she was right. The closest person to me was six empty stools away.

    "Then sit. I don't care." I said.

     "Thanks." she spat, and twitched away.

     Five minutes later, she walked up with at least twelve other girls. she asked, "Why are you still here?"

     "Because I don't want to leave?" I said.

    "But you said we could sit!" she squeaked. She was beginning to draw attention. I stood, a terrible temper coming over me suddenly, and slammed my hands down on the table.

     "Look," I growled, "you can either sit here and ignore me or you can sit your rubber ass outside."

     Rebbeca turned around to walk away muttering, "God, what a bitch."

     I got up, grabbing my small slice of key lime pie and tapped Rebbeca on the shoulder. She turned around, probably expecting an apology, and was pleasantly surprised when I dumped the pie on her head.

     "Why you little mother-" she began, but was cut short when I grabbed her lunch tray and snapped it in two.

     "What was that?" I asked, smiling. Rebbeca's eyes widened then, and she yelled and ran off. Her group looked next and began to back away.

     "What?" I asked, looking around the cafeteria.

     I sprinted to the bathroom and leaned over the sink, looking carefully into the mirror. "What the hell?"

     I asked. Looking back at me was a combination of a human and a cat. She had all human characteristics, aside from her eyes and mouth. She had a smile of freshly sharpened teeth and her eyes we no longer raindow with brown contacts, but completely sky blue with slitted pupils.

     "What the hell is happening to me?" I asked, the reflection in the mirror mouthing my words. Deep down, however, I knew what was wrong. I was becoming an animal.