What Friends Are For
Before, I never realized how lucky I was. I mean, it wasn't like I took my friends for granted, but it never dawned on me that I had people who really cared about me.
I guess you can call it our little clique, just us girls hanging out after school and on weekends. We'd talk about music, boys, school, that kind of stuff. And we'd do everything together and tell each other our deepest, darkest secrets.
Well, I kept some of my secrets to myself. See, I love animals, which in itself is not such an ugly rumor. But you see, I REALLY love animals. I am a big fan of anthropomorphic art ever since I was twelve, when I got onto the Internet. I took to reading some of those furry stories you see on the web. You know, stories and pictures about foxes, tigers, and wolves acting like humans and all that. It's really hard to explain, you would understand if you were into that kind of stuff. I tried to stay away from more of the adult material, but sooner or later I couldn't help it.
When I was fifteen, boys starting toppling all over me. Then there was sex education, not exactly one of the more comfortable things you'd like to talk about. When I became...more interested in the more mature subjects in life, I also took interest in the adult furry material. And there was a lot out there. It was...nice to look at.
Needless to say, if it ever got around that I was a furry, I would be the laughing stock of the entire high school. So I kept it to myself, hoping no one would notice. Still, embarassed as I was, I always imagined what it would be like to turn into a wolf and run with the pack. To have fur all over your body and to howl graciously under the light of the moon. It was an exciting idea.
I never thought I would get my chance.
It all happened when me and my friends were at the mall, hanging out and looking at all the coolest clothes. Lise and Rachel were into that. We then went down to the music store, 'cause Michelle and Nicole wanted to check out the newest singles.
"I'm telling you," Nicole said, "If I see one more R&B or dance album I'm gonna kill myself!"
"Shut up Nicole!" Rachel replied, "We all know you love listening to dance music!"
"I only listen to it because you and Michelle play it on the radio all the time!"
Michelle looked up, "Hey! And what's wrong with dance music? Better than that rap Lise tries to sing to!"
"Alright, alright, enough," Lise retorted, "What about you, Jenna, what should we add to our collection?"
I looked at the singles rack, going through all the selections, finally picking out the perfect single and showing it to the others. They all smiled and agreed, "Oh, that is the coolest song on the radio," or something like that.
Most of the visit to the mall was pretty much a blur, until we headed to the bookstore. It was the time to change calendars, so I picked out a new one with wolves in it, of course. The other four got their romance novels and young adult books - they're still crazy over that R. L. Stine books - and we all waited in line. It was there that I had this strange feeling. I couldn't explain what it was, except that it was a sign to me that something was happening. I stood in line impatiently - there were two people in front of me.
As I rocked back and forth (this is a strange habit of mine), I got the urge to scratch the back of my left hand uncontrollably. It was an annoying urge. By the time I got to the counter, the itch still refused to go away. I put the calendar on the counter when I noticed the back of my hand. The clerk didn't notice it as he punched in the price, but there was lots of tiny brown hairs on the red spots of the skin that I scratched away at. I froze and looked at it in horror. I must've been mistaken, but I could've sworn that it was growing all the time I gazed at it.
"Jenna? Jenna?" Nicole, who was behind me in line, tapped me on the shoulder and broke me away from my little trance.
"Yeah?" I replied.
"Pay the clerk already!"
"Oh!" Embarassed, I fumbled for my wallet. As I took out a couple of one-dollar bills, I saw my own nails lengthening. 'What's going on!?' I thought to myself. I slapped the money onto the counter and withdrew my deformed hand so the clerk wouldn't notice.
Something WAS wrong as I pulled away from the counter with my purchase. I saw something strange, something I've never seen before. What's worse, when I looked at it again, it was still there. I tried not to show that I was not panicking or suffering from a wave of emotions. And WHY did I have the sudden urge to eat raw meat? I gripped my stomach, feeling dizzy and sick.
"Hey, Jenna?" Rachel asked, "You alright?"
I gathered up all my self-control, trying to push the thoughts aside. "I'm...fine," I said, "You guys done?"
"Yeah, we're finished here," Lise said.
"C'mon," Michelle added, "Let's get out of here and go to Nicole's place."
The hairs did not go away. We were heading out of the mall when I my front teeth were hurting. 'Great,' I thought, 'Something else that could go wrong.' I stopped and slid my tongue under my teeth, feeling that they were also growing. The others, who were a couple of steps ahead, stopped and looked behind to see what was wrong.
"Excuse me," I said in painful bursts, "I gotta go back inside...bathroom. I...have to go." And with that, I rushed back inside.
As I was running towards the nearest bathroom, it dawned on me. I was getting my wish...to become a werewolf. But why now? Why, of all times, in front of my friends? Right there, as I dashed across the mall, hair was sprouting all over my body. Well, I could feel it growing under my clothing, the spread of the...fur hadn't really affected my face or my arms and legs just yet. But that wasn't that comforting at all. Where would I go after I've turned into a full-blown werewolf? I couldn't hide in a bathroom stall forever.
Mall security interrupted my train of thinking, disorganized as my thinking was as I slowly changed. "Hey!" the officer shouted at me, "No running in the mall!" But with his wide stature, he couldn't keep up with me. Besides, if he knew, I figured he wouldn't want a piece of me right now. 'Geez,' I thought, 'I wonder how odd my friends think I am.'
The bathroom was empty, thank heavens. I rushed in at the moment when people were starting to notice I was losing my human qualities. After closing the door, I breathed a sigh of relief. My hand, upon examination, was completely covered in fur and had a full set of claws that could probably put marks in the door of the bathroom stall. I peered into the mirror, and the reflection, I thought at first, wasn't pretty. The whites of my eyes were now glowing yellow, my nose had turned into a muzzle, and my teeth were as sharp as my claws, perhaps capable of tearing into meat. As the fur spread onto my face, a tear rolled down my cheek. It was what I wanted, but I didn't know why it was happening, in the here and now. How was I going to get out of this mess?
Yet the transformation continued. I heard my bra snap off and my clothing tear. The extra mass of my body was too much for my tight jeans and t-shirt. From the ripping of my jeans, a tail freed itself and waved in the air involuntarily. My lengthening feet were finally free from the pair of sneakers that I had on. "No...no," I said, my voice losing its human quality. I looked away and locked myself in the bathroom stall. I sat on the toilet and put my head in my arms.
It couldn't have been more than a minute before someone came into the bathroom. Actually, it was four people, and I knew exactly who they were.
"C'mon, Jenna, get out of there," Michelle said.
Nicole said, "It can't be that bad, Jenna."
"No," I replied, "I'm a monster."
"Open the door, Jenna," Lise said, "We'll understand."
So I figured if anyone would tolerate what I became, it would be my friends. I unlocked the door and saw my friends. I let them see what I was. But instead of seeing shock, or fear, or perhaps hate on their faces, I couldn't determine what emotion they were displaying at all.
"OK," Rachel said in determination, "Let's get her out of here. Nicole, get to the car and wait at the curb. Lise, help me carry her out. Michelle, isn't there a employee's entrance around here?"
"Yeah," Michelle replied, "There's one outside the bathroom."
"Good. Now c'mon Jenna, everything's gonna be alright. You're going to be just fine..."
The ride to Nicole's house was quiet, and I barely remembered any of it. Surely if I could turn into a wolf, I could turn back into a human. But I didn't know how. I stayed the way I was. And the funny thing was the others didn't even look at me in fascination or in horror. 'What were they up to?' I said to myself.
Once again I found myself back in a bathroom, in Nicole's house. They told me once I put on some clothes that Nicole gave me, ones that were larger and could support my larger mass, they would talk about it with me. So I did so. The new set of clothes, which I thought were very large, fitted myself very nicely. I put my torn clothes, which didn't survive the transformation, into a plastic bag. I looked at myself in the mirror one more time. Breathing deep, I finally left the bathroom to face my friends.
"Well, there you are!" Rachel said, "You took so long in that bathroom!"
"How are you feeling?" Michelle asked.
Nicole added, "Sit down, sit down. Tell us all about it."
"Bet you can't explain what happened to you, right?" Lise said.
Slowly, I sat down. I couldn't believe all the understanding I received from my friends. So I finally questioned, "Why?"
The four exchanged glances with each other. "I think we should tell her."
"Tell me what?"
Lise sat down next to me, "Jenna...we're all good friends, right?"
I didn't know why she popped that question, "I guess so..."
"See, Jenna," Nicole said, "We mix together very well, right? We hang out a lot together because...because we're very much alike. We're all pretty much the same. Do you understand what I'm saying?"
I shook my head, not knowing where this conversation was going, at the same time forgetting how embarassed I was in my transformation.
Rachel added, "We became your friends 'cause one of the reasons is you're fun to be with. I mean, you're smart, funny, and guys want you so bad. You've got everything we've always wanted. But...another reason is...that we can sense our kind a mile away. I mean, we're rare, but we can tell our own people apart. And you can sense us, and that's why you wanted us to be your friends, too. You're still not getting this, are you?"
I shook my head again in confusion.
Michelle kneeled in front of me, saying, "Alright, alright, I'll do it." What happened next was a shock to me, aside from all the other shocks of the day. Michelle closed her eyes and seemed to focus on something. After a moment, she rolled back her sleeve. My jaw dropped as I saw silver fur sprout on her arm.
"You mean...?" Needless to say, I was speechless. The others, too, were changing as well. They were like me - I mean - I was like them. They had turned into werewolves right before my very eyes. If I had not experienced my own transformation, I would've passed out in shock. But still, it was quite an eye-opener.
"Now do you get it?" Michelle said. Her voice, mixed between human and wolf, was deeper and more animal-like.
"But how...?"
"Like we said, girl," Nicole replied, "We can tell apart who's what. And besides, talking about this with normal people is a bit awkward, wouldn't you say?"
I agreed dumbfoundedly. "What do you mean, when you said that we're all alike? I mean, besides being werewolves?"
"Well, lots of things..."
"You like animals."
"You wish you were an animal."
"You are intrigued in transforming into an animal."
"And...you would feel completely embarassed if anyone else found out."
"That's right!" I was surprised at their accuracy, though by now I shouldn't. Not everyday you discover you're a werewolf, in the company of werewolves. "I thought I'd never find anyone who would understand."
Lise put her arm around me, "Hey, what're friends for, right?"
I laughed, and they laughed with me. That day, they taught me how to control the change, and how to change completely into a wolf, and not just some human-wolf mix or whatever. They told me that Nicole was the first of our little circle that found out she was a werewolf. She was fourteen, and she was making out with her boyfriend, when she changed and made the boy wet his pants. Nicole was frightened, sure, but she got over it. Then in her freshmen year, she found Michelle and Lise, who both transformed first during a timeout of their first varsity basketball game. They had been worked up so much, they figured, they must have let the animal loose, so to speak. Still, with dozens of people in the stands, they were able to slip away without anyone noticing. Except for Nicole. Then there was Rachel, who came into our high school in the second year. She was the victim of the classical forced change, the school Halloween dance, the night of the full moon. Everyone was in costume, Rachel said, so no seemed to mind.
They all found each other, and were lucky enough to have each other to talk to. They confessed that they probably would not have survived their high school years without each other's friendship and understanding. And that's why they became friends with me the second I entered the high school in the third year. They knew, no matter how clueless I was, how scared I would be that day at the mall. I guess I'm all the more fortunate.
Nicole's mother would be running late that day and would get home later than night, so we all stayed over. We retained our wolf-form and had some fresh raw meat for dinner. We took in each other's friendship, especially myself. The day was just a trip. It was an amazing, eventful day. So eventually, we went back to what we usually do...talk about school, music, and of course, boys.
"Say," I said, "Is there anyone else like us in the school?"
"Yeah," Lise said, "You know Terry in physics class?"
Michelle added, "You know, Jenna, he's got a crush on you!"
"No way! I wanted to ask him out for the school dance!"
"Go ahead!" Rachel replied, "Hey, at least you two got something in common!"