It’s weird waking up next to your girlfriend in your bed on the morning before school, but here we are. I snuggle up closer to her, her arms wrapped around me protectively. It’s hard to admit but I feel so safe and cherished, and as I sit here I wonder…can we do this every night? God, I hope that’s the case some night soon.

Now that telling my dad was out of the way, mom is probably gonna want me to go to the courthouse sooner or later to get a name and gender change. But for now, I’m not worried about that. I’m more worried about when we have to leave for school, because I don’t want the snuggles to end. Unfortunately, my alarm goes off shortly after I have that thought.

Lina stirs as she instinctively paws at my phone, before I reach over her and silence it. She groans as she hugs me tighter against her. It’s so goddamn blush-inducing, it isn’t fair for her to fluster me like this. I see my opportunity, and turn my head around to kiss her. She’s surprised at first, but I can tell as she leans into it that she’s thoroughly enjoying it.

Unfortunately, we really do have to get up, and I lead the way by hopping out of bed in my pajamas, then stretching. My bed’s too short for her to stretch out laying down, so instead she gets up and stretches herself. She’s breathtaking. I stand there, gazing at her. She’s breathtaking, holy fuck.

She eventually notices, and all to taunt me, flexes her biceps. I look away for a moment, but then I realize that she’s given me the perfect opportunity to tackle her. I jump at her playfully, surprising her enough to push her back onto the bed. As we wrestle for a few minutes, she finally ends up on top of me, restraining my wrists, with me, out of breath and panting below her.

“So, I’ve finally wrestled you to the ground. Just like I’ve always dreamed of,” she says, towering above me.

“Well, before tonight, it was probably for different reasons,” I reply as I gasp.

“That’s true,” she replied as she chuckles and releases me, “we should really get ready, shouldn’t we?”

“I don’t want to but…yeah,” I reply, “I still have to make up that calculus test.”

“Tragic,” she replies as she picks her outfit for the day out of her backpack. I go to grab the door to give her privacy, only to find her paw resting on my shoulder.

“It’s nothing you haven’t seen,” she says with a grin as she pulled me back gently from the door.

“That’s what I’m afraid of,” I replies, “last night was um…”

“I know,” she says with a smirk, “it was good. Don’t worry, I’ll look but I won’t touch. Unless you want me to.”

Despite her invitation, and a lot of looking, nothing of that sort happens. We each change into our clothes for the day and walk together into the kitchen, where Mama’s walking out the door. She waves to us and shuts it behind her, leaving us alone in the apartment.

We pack our bags, and tupperwares full of leftovers from last night, then walk out the door holding hands. She helps me into her car, which smells like her in a way I’ve never fully noticed before. It’s a little chilly this morning, but the jacket I have on, plus the new coat of fur, make it markedly easier to go to school.

According to Mama, I’ll probably be a wolf all day with how my changes have been going, which excites and scares me. I look down at the skirt and leggings I’m wearing and wonder, how are people going to react to the mobster’s son being…a girl and a wolf? I mean, the wolf part, they’ll probably get, but the whole girl part might be a bit harder to explain.

Lina’s got my back, though, and she’s there to help me through it, I know. Tom does too, after I told him my plan over text. Hopefully that’ll make things a bit more manageable. Lina seems to notice my stress (stupid ears, giving everything away), and gives me some light pats on my head. Okay, calming down…jeez, headpats really are addictive.

“It’s funny now that I know who you are,” Lina says, “all the little quirks about how you walk and talk and present yourself. They used to irk me, but now they just keep reminding me how adorable you are.”

“It’s funny now that I know you’ve always been in love with me,” I reply as I smirk.

She lightly punches my arm as I cry out in fake pain. As we pull up to the school, I notice Tom standing outside, looking out for us. He waves at me as I wave back enthusiastically. I can sense Lina still has a somewhat muted demeanor towards him, but hopefully they’ll chill out with each other over time.

“Hiya Tom,” I say as I hug him, “got any plans, or just here to help walk me in?”

“I mean, you’re going to the office to tell them, right?” he asks, “I can at least go with you that far.”

“Okay!” I reply as I hop out of the car, waiting for Lina.

Lina walks up to me and holds my paw, staring at Tom for a few seconds before tugging me along, causing me to follow her into the building. I’ve never noticed how disgusting the school smells, that’s the first thing I notice as I enter. Everyone’s scents are just too strong.

“Now you understand why I’m grouchy all the time,” Lina says.

“Hm?” I ask.

“Your nose, I can see it scrunching up,” she replies.

“O…oh, sorry,” I reply as I instinctively cover it.

“Why are you sorry?”

“I just, I’m new to this whole thing and…”

Lina turns around and puts her paws on my shoulders, then stares deep into my eyes, “there is nothing wrong with your body. You are beautiful, and any new things you discover about it are beautiful. Okay? Stop being embarrassed.”

“Okay!” I squeak as we arrive at the office.

Inside, we find Mrs. Dean standing around. She looks at me as if she’s never seen me before, which… Oh! I muster up my courage to introduce myself.

“Hi Mrs. Dean,” I say, “I’m Teresa Lupo, and I want to change my gender in the school’s records, along with my name.”

“O..oh, Teresa, that’s who you were! I was concerned I had missed introducing myself to a new student,” she said as she shook my paw, “we can get that done right away.”

“Thank you, Mrs. Dean,” I say as I smile.

With that, we’re still a few minutes before the first class, so we decide to hang out in the lobby and wait for things to start. I notice a few people staring at me, as if to try and ask who I am to be hanging out with these people. Most, however, are frantically looking at their notes for some exam indubitably later in the day.

I lean into Lina’s arm for comfort and she gives me a hug in return. Tom is looking about the lobby, as if to scan for trouble. He’s always been more protective of me than I thought, I guess.

“Hey Tom,” I say, “is there any chance you’d want to watch a movie at my place this weekend with Lina?”

“Sure,” he replies as he turns to look at my girlfriend intensely, “as long as she’s okay with it.”

“Tom,” she begins, “I don’t really have any problems with you. I know you’re suspicious of me after how I hurt Tess for so many years, but I really do care about her and I’m not going to do anything like that anymore. You have my word.”

“If Tess trusts you, I trust you for now, but break her heart and I’ll break yours,” he replies as he gives me the thumbs up.

“It’s a deal,” Lina replies, a serious tone permeating her voice.

“Alright,” Tom says, “well, you should probably see O’Neill, so I’m gonna see you there, then take off.”

“Okay!” I reply as I skip off with him, waving goodbye to Lina.

As we enter his classroom, I see him put his papers down and stand up to greet me. “What can I do for you, Miss Lupo?”

“I um, well, I’m here to take the test,” I say nervously.

“Alright,” he says as he pulls a paper packet and a graphing calculator out, “remember, you have the full hour, even if I start teaching class. I’ll write you a note for your next class once you’re done.”

“Thanks! Oh, one more thing, when’s that after school club?”

“Funny you should mention,” he replies with a smile, “we have our meeting after school today. This room,” he replies.

“Oh! Perfect, thank you!” I say as I rummage for a pencil in my backpack and walk back to my seat.

The test isn’t nearly as hard as I thought it was going to be, and aside from one or two questions, I’ve got it handed back to O’Neill before the first class of the day starts. He smiles and waves at me as I walk with my backpack out of the classroom.