Jason Low as Project HEARD presents GD-10: Coming of Age MEMORIAL JUNIOR HIGH SCHOOL HOMEROOM 102 (MRS. SANDERS' CLASS) 9:01AM MONDAY, 28 AUGUST "Now look, grade eights," Mrs. Sanders said, banging a book on her desk to quieten the class, "I know it's the first day back, and you think it's unfair that we have to start a week early this year, but we've got a lot of ground to cover in the first semester, so let's get rolling. I'll take the attendance now. And for a twist, today I'd like you to talk for a moment about how your summer went." She looked down at her list. "Acheson, Tyler." The youth paused his chatter with friends long enough to give a response to the teacher, then resumed it. Mrs. Saunders proceeded down the list almost mechanically, talking to three other students before calling out, "Carter, Danielle." Dani raised her hand. "Here," she said. "I had an okay summer.. I just had my birthday on Saturday." "Is that right?" Mrs. Sanders said. "Congratulations. I hope you had a nice day." "Well, I WOULD have," Dani said, her voice turning frosty, "if everyone I'd invited had bothered to show up." Mrs. Sanders adopted an apologetic tone for a brief second. "Oh, that's too bad. Better luck next year, Danielle." She looked at her list, then up to the room again, resuming the roll call: "Diggers, Britanny." No response. "Britanny Diggers? Is Britanny here today?" Brit came back to reality at the third calling of her name. "Oh," she said while looking up and getting her bearings. "Present.. I had a good.. uhm.. my holidays were okay." The teacher nodded and said something about paying attention, but Brit was already off in another world, reliving Friday night and Saturday morning. On Friday, the last weekday off before school, she'd had her dad take her shopping, where she found the perfect gift for Dani and a fabulous dress for herself, for the party Saturday afternoon. On the way home, they rented some videos. One she managed to sneak into the bundle past her father was a little flick called Evil Dead 2 that all her friends had seen earlier that year in the theaters and said was a great movie. Late at night, after Dad had gone to bed, she and Gina got back up and started to watch the movie. However, not long into the movie, Brit found herself frightened by a scary scene, and she was startled enough to change to her feline form against her will. It didn't dawn on Brit for several moments that she'd be stuck as a cat for 24 hours--in other words, until late on Saturday night. When the full force of that revelation hit her, including the realization that she'd have to miss Dani's party, she rushed to her room and bawled (as much as is possible for a cheetah) for hours. Gina and Theo tried their best to console their sister and daughter, but she seemed to be beyond comfort. She cried herself to sleep Friday night, and continued to cry when she awoke on Saturday morning. She seemed to cry herself out by midday, but it all started up again just after noon, when Theo thought to phone the Carter residence and tell them that Britanny wouldn't be at the party after all because she was sick. The gift for Danielle, and Brit's new dress, remained in the corner of Brit's room where she'd flung them late Friday night in frustration (showing great restraint, however, in not shredding them both with her claws). The gift went undelivered on Sunday, after Brit had returned to normal form; she couldn't bear to confront Dani after committing such a grievous faux pas as missing her birthday party. As Brit returned her thoughts to the classroom, she looked up. Judging by the silent glare she was receiving from Dani, before the latter turned to face forward again, she'd been wise not to approach. Hours and days came and went, and the two young ladies spoke not a word to one another. Finally, though, on Thursday, Britanny decided that enough was enough. She took Dani's gift to school, and kept the cylindrical, giftwrapped box with her all morning, despite the stares it drew from her classmates, including--especially--Danielle. At lunch, in the schoolyard, Brit sought out Dani. The latter stared tight-lipped and arms crossed, regarding Brit. "Your dad said you were sick," Dani said flatly. "But you looked pretty good on Thursday, and you were FINE on Monday." "I wasn't sick," Britanny acknowledged quietly. "I wish I HAD been, it'd have been a lot easier." She held out the gift. Dani looked down at it, then back up to Brit. "Maybe I don't WANT it any more." Britanny looked hurt. "Please. Take it and I'll explain everything." Danielle hmmmmed. "You first," she said evenly. "All--all right," Brit nodded nervously, unsure of how her next few words would impact her friend. "I'm not--" "I'LL tell you what you're not," came a voice. Brit and Dani turned to see three other girls from their class approaching. The lead one, Terry Smith, continued, "You're NOT going to try out for the basketball team on Monday, shorty. Coach Joe isn't here this year to take pity on you, and everybody knows you proved just how sucky you are at it LAST year." "Shut up an' go away," Brit muttered with a frown. "Or what?" Elisa Thompson said, stepping right up beside Brit and looking down at her. "You gonna bite our ankles?" "Stop it!" Dani said, largely being ignored. "Guys, quit picking on her," Tracey Middleton, the third bully, provided. "Everybody knows she's a weak, scrawny, little NOTHING." "And a scaredy-cat," Elisa contributed. "Scaredy-cat!" Tracey nodded. "C'mon," Terry added, "say something, scaredy-cat!" "Go away!" Brit protested. "Go awaaaayyyy!" Terry mocked Brit, reaching out to slap the gift box out of her hands and onto the ground. Brit gasped. "NO!" "YES!" came the response from Elisa. She stomped on the box while Tracey got around behind Brit and pinned her arms. "Tell Terry you're sorry!" "Why??" Dani blurted out. "Keep out of this, Carter," Elisa said, "Or you'll be next!" She turned back to Brit. "Say you're sorry!" "Nnnnh!" Britanny complained as Tracey added some pressure. "Oh come on, weakling, I'm not even HURTING you yet!" Tracey said. Brit moaned and winced as Tracey gripped and twisted tighter and tighter. Brit blushed when she heard the three bullies laughing, and wished that just ONCE she could be the stronger one, so she didn't have to put up with the bullies any more.. The next few moments ran together in a blur for Britanny. She heard a gasp, then opened her eyes to see that her perspective had slightly changed. Other senses and sensations seemed different, too, but the most important thing of all was that Tracey's grip, which was still the same, was no longer hurting her.. and she felt like she could break it with ease. She did just that, bending forward and throwing Tracey over her head. Terry's eyes widened and she screamed, a second before Tracey slammed into her, knocking both of them to the ground. Brit whirled to face Elisa, but she was long gone. A moment later, Terry & Tracey disentangled themselves and fled as well. Brit turned around again to see if Dani was all right--she appeared to be in the physical sense, but the pale, gaping expression she wore was more than enough proof that not everything was okay. "Oh my gosh--Brit?" Dani whispered. "Is that YOU? What's happened to you?" Britanny didn't know--she knew she was very uncomfortable, way too hot and her clothes far too tight--and she told Dani that. Her tail flicked back and forth irritatedly as she tried to figure it out, and after a moment, she recognized its somewhat familiar sensation. she said to herself. But wait--she stood on two legs, not four, and she could talk, she realized. She looked down to see, to her profound surprise, that she was basically a taller, bigger, furry version of her normal self, with vaguely human hands, except that they were all furry too, with claws in place of fingernails. "AACCKK!!" Britanny expounded. "What's happened?! Are you okay??" Dani inquired. "Dani, quick!" Brit blurted out. "Help me get home without being seen! If ANYONE can figure this out, it'll be my dad!" Five minutes later, the two were sneaking along through back alleys that led them more or less towards the Diggers' house. "Okay, time to come clean, Brit," Danielle said firmly, leading her friend home via out-of-sight places. "What's happened to you? You know, don't you?" A second later, she added, "You're not.. human, are you?" Brit shook her head slowly after a moment. "Not completely, no. I guess it's obvious I'm adopted.. I'm.. well, Dani, I'm a were-cheetah." There was a long pause, then: "You mean like a werewolf?" "NO!" Brit said a little more harshly than necessary, then immediately regretted it. "Sorry.. no, nothing like a werewolf. Well, maybe a little like them, but only physically speaking." "If you know what you are, then, how come you seem so surprised at how you look right now?" Britanny lifted her hands to look at them, then threw them out widely before letting them fall to her sides. "'Cause I've never looked like this before, Dani.. I've only ever been a girl or a cheetah before, never half- 'n'-half." Dani hmmmed, then asked, "Does this have anything to do with why you skipped out on my party?" Brit turned to face Dani as they kept walking. She said with an apologetic expression, "Yes. I'm SO sorry. I even went out and got a new dress and everything, but I watched a scary movie on Friday night, and scared myself into my cat form." "Friday night," Dani said leadingly. "Sooo...." "Once I change, I can't change back for another 24 hours," Brit explained quietly. "So I guess I'm stuck like this until about 12:30 tomorrow." Dani didn't know what to say, so she was quiet for a while. Finally, she queried, "What's it like?" "This?" Brit asked in return, holding out her arms to regard them, bulging under her stretched-out-but-still-too-tight clothes. "Well.. fuzzy. And I feel like I'm a lot stronger and faster now, too.. and I can hear and smell things I can normally only sense in cat form." "You must be six feet tall now," Dani observed. "And you're, um.. bigger. Way bigger." Brit looked down at herself. "I noticed," she deadpanned. Theo was, of course, home when the two girls arrived. he was briefly startled at Brit's appearance, but soon adopted a look of understanding. "So it's happened," he nodded. "Your hybrid form has finally come to the fore." "Hybrid form?" Britanny questioned, her tail flicking this way and that. Theo nodded. He looked at the clock, then Dani. "Danielle, though I'm sure you'd much prefer to stay and learn about Britanny, you'll have to get the details from her at some other time. For now, you must return to school before you're missed." "Aww," Dani complained. "Dad's right, Dani," Brit said with a smile. "Thanks for getting me home, but there's no sense in the BOTH of us getting detention the fourth day back." "Perhaps," Theo suggested, "Danielle could explain that you fell ill and she had to bring you home, and thus, neither of you would be in trouble." Dani nodded. "I will, Dr. Diggers." She nodded at Britanny. "And I won't breathe a word to anyone." "Thank you, Danielle," Theo nodded. "Thanks, Dani," Brit said. "Call you tonight." Danielle gave a reluctant wave and then left, and Brit turned to face her father. After a moment in which he said nothing, she prodded, "So.. what now?" "I was waiting for you to tell me," he said. "Huh??" "Give me your thoughts on this," he told her. She thought about it for a moment. "Welllll.... at first, I was kinda scared--no, that's not true. At FIRST, I didn't even NOTICE, 'cause I was too busy fighting off some girls that were bullying us. Well, ME. THEN I was scared,.. but after a while, I feel like I'm getting kinda USED to it, you know? I mean.. I feel like I have the best of my human and cat forms in one. I can hear, see, and smell a whole lot better, and I feel really strong and fast too, but I don't have to go around on all fours all the time, and I can talk okay too." Theo nodded. "There are other benefits, but they can be discussed another time. Right now, you have something more important to think about." Brit's expression was a question mark. "You have a very critical decision to make," Theo said, as if stating the obvious. "You sound as if you'd much prefer to call hybrid your normal form, for all the advantages it grants you. However, you'll also have to consider that you'll still have to interact with other people as well. And if you choose to live day-to-day in your hybrid form, you'll have to be prepared to answer a great many questions.. possibly over and over." "So what should I--" Theo shook his head and held up a hand. "This is a decision I cannot make for you, dear Britanny. You'll have to decide for yourself. Choose soon, though, and choose wisely. You'll have to live with this decision for the rest of your life." Britanny hmmmed and nodded, thanking her father, then got up and went looking for some clothes that would allow her to be somewhat more comfortable for the next 23 hours. Those 23 hours were quite interesting, as far as she was concerned. First of all, when Gina got home from school, she wanted to find out how her sick sister was. When she found her there in front of the TV, however, in hybrid form, she freaked out for a minute until things were explained to her. Then the same 'how-does-it-feel' routine that went on with Dani was repeated with Gina, and the inevitable teasing between sisters ensued, though Brit was in a much better position to retaliate, except for the fact that Gina was pulling her tail. Brit still hadn't gotten used to her new form at bedtime and rolled over onto her tail painfully a couple of times, but that sorted itself out quickly. Next morning, Gina went off to school, grumbling goodnaturedly about how Brit got another half-day off school again. Brit smiled and laughed, but that evaporated quickly when she realized she'd have to take a shower in her hybrid form. After her shower (and subsequently overheating the blow-dryer trying to dry herself off), she sat at home with her dad for the morning, talking about the situation and what she intended to do about it. The decision was made that she'd shift back to human form at lunchtime, when she could, and complete Friday's classes, then come home and think about it over the weekend. From the look on his daughter's face as she said that, however, Theo figured he knew her mind was made up already. Dani watched as Britanny came into fifth-period just after one o'clock, in human form. She seemed depressed, though she nodded hello to Dani, unable to say or do more because the class was already starting. Dani snuck a glance as Brit sat down in her seat, shrugged off her bookbag, and sat there starting at her desk, chin in hands, moping. That afternoon, the two of them walked home together. "You seem upset," Dani observed. "Well... not upset, just depressed," Brit said, stuffing her hands in her pockets. "Why?" "I feel weak and tiny like this," she said. "I hate it." "So.. what are you going to do?" Brit was quiet for a moment. "I don't know," she finally muttered. "You want to use that other form, don't you?" Brit nodded. "So why not?" "'Cause I don't know how people will react," Britanny complained. "Why worry about what other people think?" Dani asked her. "You're the one that has to live with it." "I know, but.. it won't do anybody any good if I do this and get kicked outta school or something for it, or lose all my friends.." Dani rested a hand on Brit's shoulder. "There's no possible way that can happen." "How do you figure that?" Dani smiled. "You'll never lose all your friends.. 'cause you'll never lose me." Britanny smiled back after a moment, and gave Dani a quick hug. "Thank you." "You're welcome, Brit," Dani said. "So, does this mean you're going to start using your other form from now on?" "It's called my hybrid form, and yes, I think I might," she nodded. "I just hope I can do it without having everyone call me a freak or worse." Dani hmmmed. "Tell you what. Don't do it yet. Maybe over the weekend, you and I can come up with something." "Thanks, Dani. You're a real friend." "I know. Ain't it wonderful?" she grinned. On Monday, in fourth period, the girls' class was scheduled to give speeches, three to five minutes long, on any topic they wanted. Brit was surprised when Dani got up to the front of the room and motioned for her to follow. "This is my best friend, Britanny Diggers," Dani introduced. "You all know her well." There was a bit of a murmur in the classroom; nobody else had thought to use props, apparently. The teacher eyed Dani and Brit, wondering what was up with this somewhat unorthodox speech. Dani turned to Britanny and whispered. "Okay, now change forms." "What??" Britanny whispered back with surprise. "Trust me," Dani smiled. "I have it all worked out." She held up the cue cards. It took a little more urging, but finally, Brit concentrated hard, trying to remember how it'd happened the week previous, and suddenly, she heard a collective gasp rise up from the room as she felt herself become fur- covered once again. "And this is my best friend Britanny Diggers too," Dani went on. "She's the same person inside, but she's got a different form now. This is what she calls her 'hybrid' form. If it looks a little like she's partly a cat, there's a good reason for that--it's because she is. Britanny is what is known as a were-cheetah, which is sort of like the were-wolves you see in movies, but only in physical terms. She's the only one like her, and she's had to hide herself until now, because she's been afraid of how people would react. But I found out about this last week, and I'm still her friend.. because nothing's changed except the way she looks." Dani paused, turning to look at Britanny for a moment before going on. "Inside, she's still the same person, and that's the part that counts. You won't turn into one of her if she bites you, which she wouldn't do anyway, and she won't attack anybody like you see in all those movies. She's the same girl that came to school this morning in human form, and I can accept that just fine, myself." Dani glanced around the room at a select few people. "And I know some of you think you're better than the likes of me and Brit, so if you're better than me, you can accept it too. Thank you." Dani went and reclaimed her seat in an utterly silent room. After a few seconds, the teacher said, "B..Britanny, you may sit down now too"--she looked at Brit's increased size, as well as her tail--"that is, if you can." Britanny frowned a little at the teacher. "Of course I can, Mrs. Elliot," she said, and walked slowly towards her desk. She avoided the stares from everyone, and knew they'd be staring for quite some time yet, but it didn't seem to bother her. As she passed by Dani's desk, she briefly put her clawed hand on Dani's shoulder comfortingly, and whispered, "Thank you." Dani looked up, smiled, and nodded as Brit continued on to her seat. THE NEXT DAY NEARING END OF LUNCH HOUR "Oh! There you are," Dani said, rushing up to Britanny. Brit turned and smiled. "Hi!" she said. "You're.. it's been 24 hours," Dani pointed out. "25, in fact." Britanny looked down at herself. "So it has, hasn't it?" She looked back up and smiled, the tip of her tail going back and forth slightly. "I like it better like this," she explained. "Besides, if anyone gives me grief about it, I can take 'em on now." Dani allowed a little smile at that. "I guess so," she said. "Thanks again for doing that," Brit said. "Although I wish you'd've clued me in beforehand.. I would've worn looser clothes." "Sorry," Dani shrugged. "I didn't think of that. OH! Speaking of clothes.." She reached into her bookbag. "This is where I was at lunch, I went home quick to get this. How does it look?" Brit's eyes widened as Dani pulled her birthday gift out of her bag and plunked it down on her head. It was a silly hat to go with all the others in Dani's collection, and this one was no exception, being a wide-brimmed one that was entirely pink. "Oh!" Brit gasped. "I thought I'd lost that!" "We left it on the schoolyard," Dani smiled from underneath the brim. "Someone took it inside after we left and turned it into the office, and they saw my name on the card and gave it to me." "It is SO you," Britanny laughed. "I love it," Dani nodded. "Especially the color. Thank you very much!" The two walked back towards the doors as the bell rang. "You know," Brit said, nodding to the hat, "that thing almost looks like it belongs on a superheroine." "Well, you look like you ARE a superheroine," Dani laughed. "So there!" "You know, that's not a half bad idea," Brit joked as the two went back into the school. END