I awoke the sound of the alarm clock going off. As I rubbed my eyes, I looked down to see Taylor laying on my chest. She was still asleep. She looked so beautiful that I didn’t want to wake her up, but it was time to get ready. Gently I nudged her with my snout. I was rewarded with a yawn and my snout being pushed away.

“Just five more minutes please,” she said in a soft voice. It was so cute, but there was no way that she could have five more minutes when I knew mom would be coming to make sure we were awake soon. “Sorry, Taylor, but unfortunately, we have to go to school,” I said as I wiggled my way into a sitting position, causing her head to fall into my lap. She then tried to bury her face in my lap.

            “You don’t want Ashley to hog all the water, do you?” I asked, trying to persuade her. She looked up at me with a frown.

            “Ashley isn’t the one who’s going to hog all the water, miss fur everywhere,” she said, then batted at my nose. As much as I wanted to argue with her, she was right. It took forever to for me to shower. This is why I had to be up so early. “By the way, happy birthday!” she said before kissing me on the cheek. I had almost forgotten that it was my birthday. Today I was eighteen. I didn’t want to think about my age. It just meant that soon I would have to figure out where to live and then college. With a sigh, I pulled myself out from under Taylor and climbed out of bed.

            After I showered, and Taylor helped my dry, I headed back to the room to get my clothes. I felt awkward walking down the hallway in nothing but a towel, but I forgot to grab them in my attempt to wrestle Taylor out of bed. As I was pulling my skirt up, there was a knock at the door. “Angel, can I come in?” I heard mom ask.

            “Sure, mom,” I said as I finished getting dressed. She walked into the room, a smile on her face. She was carrying a tray with breakfast.

            “I hope you girls had a good night’s sleep,” mom said as she placed the tray on my makeshift table, made from boxes. We didn’t have time to grab a real table. Sitting down in front of the table, I nodded to her. “That’s good. I guess Taylor is still in the shower?” she asked as she looked at the room, running her fingers through her brown hair.

            “Yea, she had to help me get dry, so she decided to go ahead and take a shower since she was already in there,” I said, removing the lid to one of the plates. She made eggs and bacon with toast. It wasn’t pancakes, but it would do.

            “Now, I know that today is going to be difficult for you. It will be the first day back since everything happened, but I want you girls to know, you can do it,” she said, placing her hand on my shoulder. I wanted to believe her, but I didn’t see it being any easier given everything that has happened so far. Just then, Taylor walked in the door.

            “Oh, hi, Mrs. Avery. How are you this morning?” she asked in a very bubbly tone. I guess the shower finally fully woke her. she sat next to us, opening the lid on her breakfast.

            “I’m good. Just got out of the shower and ready to face the day. I just hope that we can have a semi-normal day,” she said as she began eating her eggs. Her tail kept hitting me as she ate. I guess she was enjoying it.

            “Well, I am glad to see you so optimistic, Taylor. Yes, I hope everything goes fine today. By the way, your girls need to come straight home after school. Mr. Carver has some things that he needs to discuss with us,” mom said as she watched us eat. I wondered where Esme and Ashley were. I guess they weren’t eating with us. I also wished I could do something to help Esme get her brother back. Perhaps we could talk Mr. Carver into coming up with a plan to break him out of that lab.

            Once we were done with breakfast, mom took the tray out of the room. Taylor and I got our bags and followed her out the door. Ashley was already out in the hall. She flew towards us when she saw us coming.

            “Good morning, sis, good morning Angel. Did you two sleep well?” she asked. She seemed very cheery. Taylor and I both nodded. She flew over and sat on Taylor’s shoulder. It was weird to think that she was the older sister when she was so much smaller than Taylor.

            “I can’t wait to get to school. I’m dying to talk to Erin and see how Emily is doing. I know that mom and dad no longer want us around, but I’m sure Emily still loves us,” she continued. I know that Taylor wants to believe that everything will stay the same, but I knew Emily. She was even more stuck up than Ashley ever was. And now, with their parents basically disowning them, I could only imagine that she was going to be worse.

            As we got out of the elevator and into the parking garage. Mr. Carver was waiting by the van. He waved at us as we got closer. “Good morning, everyone,” he said. He was in a pair of blue jeans and a polo shirt. It was weird seeing him like this when I had always seen him in a suit.

            “Good morning, Mr. Carver, you didn’t have to meet us at the van. Everything is fine. There isn’t a soul around right now,” mom said, getting her keys out from her purse. She unlocked the driver-side door and unlocked the van for us to get in.

            “I know that, Karen, but I just wanted to make sure you all were alright anyway. After last night, I can’t have another incident. I will be hiring some security today,” he said as mom got in the van.

            “Well, I have to drop the girls off at school; we can discuss this more when I get back,” mom said before starting the engine. Mr. Carver nodded and stepped away from the van, and mom pulled out of the parking garage. Mom wasn’t kidding. There wasn’t a soul around

            It was a ten-minute drive from the building to Ruskin Heights. Once we were there, we could see students filing into the building. Many students had very viewable changes. One kid even looked like a lizard. It was going to be an unforgettable day. Mom pulled up at the drop off zone and parked, then looked back at us.

            “I want you girls to be safe today. There is no predicting what is going to happen with all these kids who have changed. Please stay out of trouble and have fun.” Mom said with a smile. I didn’t know what she expected us to do. It wasn’t like I went looking for trouble.

            All four of us got out of the van and headed towards the school building. That’s when I saw Erin. She was waiting at the entrance. Without thinking, I ran up to her. “Erin, oh my god, it is so good to see you,” I said, embracing her in a hug. She pushed me away with a look of confusion on her face, her black hair covering one o her eyes.

            “I’m sorry, but do I know you? “ she asked as she studied me. Oh, that’s right; she didn’t know what I looked like.

            “It’s me, Michael. The storm changed me to look like this. Remember when we used to sneak out and play house in that abandoned house down the street until Mr. Langston caught us?” I asked. I watched as her eyes got huge.

            “Oh my god, Michael. I can’t believe that it is you. you look so adorable.” She said as she attacked me with a hug. The truancy officer watched us closely. He was a pervert who needed to be fired, but it was difficult for the school to find someone to take the job. Letting go of me, she looked at me. “So, what do I call you now?” she asked.

            “My name is Angel now. My moms’ boss is working on getting it official.” I said. Just then, Taylor and Ashley came up.

            “Oh boy, looks like that storm got you two too,” Erin said before laughing. Once she got a good look at Ashley, she looked shocked. “Ashley, you are so small. Are you a fairy?” she asked with a hint of joy in her voice. Ashley landed on her shoulder and smiled.

            “I would say it is a long story, but I’m sure you can see everyone who has changed for yourself,” Ashley said, giggling as we all started to head inside. The fifteen-minute bell rang, which meant the first day of hell was about to begin.

            After a little conversation, while we headed to our locker, we all went our separate ways as we headed to the first period. Taylor and I had English II together. When we got into the room, many people were conversing with each other. They all stopped talking when they saw Taylor, and I walk in. If I had to guess, they were staring at me more than Taylor.

            As the final bell for the first period sounded, Ms. Jones walked into the classroom. She greeted us all and told us she was going to do rollcall. This is where the fun was going to begin for me. As she started calling off the names, I waited in anticipation. And then she got to me.

            “Michael Avery.” She called. Everyone looked around the room for a moment and were surprised when they noticed that I wasn’t there. Then I raised my hand. Everyone was staring at me now.

            “I’m here, Ms. Jones,” I said as I heard people whispering. I could not make what they were saying, but I could guess.

            “So the storm hit you as well,” she said. I nodded at her. I didn’t feel like answering that question; it was kind of obvious.  Without saying another word about it, she continued taking roll—what a fantastic way to start the school day, with everyone starring. I rolled my eyes as class began. There was going to be more of this as the day went on. Reluctantly I prepared myself for what was surely going to come next.