"Hmmph," I said sleepily from underneath my blankets.

 

"Come on," Violet said. "Get up already."

 

"Don't wanna," I mumbled. I folded my ears down underneath my blanket to drown out the noise.

 

"Alright, fine," Kiku said. She marched over to my bed and yanked my blanket off.

 

"Hey!" I said, sitting up. I tried to grab the blanket back, but Kiku pulled it out of my reach.

 

"Are you awake now?" She asked.

 

"Yes," I answered.

 

"Good," She said. I got out of bed and headed toward the bathroom. Kiku tossed my blanket back on my bed.

 

I went into the bathroom and closed the door. I pulled down my underwear and sat down on the toilet.

 

I felt a strange pressure at the base of my spine. It grew more intense before suddenly bursting out. Along with it came pain several times worse than anything I had experienced before.

 

I cried out, doubling over. After a few seconds, the pain subsided. After it was completely gone, I could hear  Kiku knocking on the bathroom door.

 

"Olivia!" She said, loudly. "Are you alright?"

 

"I'm fine now," I told her from my side of the door. "I'll be out in a minute." I looked behind me and realized what had happened.

 

Growing from the base of my spine were nine long, fluffy tails. They were each over three feet long and were covered in fur the same color as my hair. As I stood up from the toilet, I noticed that everything seemed a tiny bit bigger. When I looked at myself in the mirror, I saw that my height had decreased by nearly a foot.

 

I pulled my underwear up, although they didn't fit quite right anymore. I couldn't pull the back all the way up because my new tails got in the way. I opened the door to see Kiku wringing her hands nervously. When she saw my tails splayed out behind me, she gasped.

 

"You're so short now!" She said, pulling me into a hug. Before, I had been a few inches taller than her, but now my face was level with her chest.

 

"Oh, so that's what it was," Lauren said, seeing my tails as well.

 

"Oh yeah, you can feel my pain too," I said.

 

"They look really cool," Violet said. "Kinda makes me wish I had a tail."

 

"Now you're almost fully changed," Kiku said. "What magic do kitsunes have again?"

 

"Illusions, ice, and telepathy," Violet said.

 

"They can also transform," Lauren said. "Into a fox."

 

"Can you do that!?" Kiku asked, turning to me with bright eyes.

 

"Not yet," I said. "I don't have any magic yet."

 

"Oh," Kiku said, drooping.

 

"Well, we need to get you new clothes," Lauren informed me. "Not only have you gotten shorter, but you'll need new pants and underwear anyway because of your tails."

 

"Alright," I said. "So, shopping trip today?"

 

"I'm in," Kiku said.

 

"Same," Violet said.

 

"I'll go ask Cinder," Lauren said. "Violet, ask Stephanie if she wants to come too." With that, she dashed out of the dorm and toward Cinder's. I laughed to myself about her excitement and started looking through my closet to find clothes to wear while we found new ones.

 

 

The next few days I spent getting used to my new height and my tails as well as figuring out how to use my magic.

 

Creating illusions was tricky to figure out at first, but I managed to get the hang of it. Ice proved to be much trickier. The most I had ever managed to do so far was cool down objects and the air around me. I've also managed to transform enough times so that it barely requires any effort.

 

Being a foot shorter was very annoying. I kept misjudging the distance between things and navigating the kitchen is a pain. And sometimes I forget how long my tails are and they get pinched in doors.

 

But now, finally, the day has come. Winter break is over and I'm going to go back to classes at my university.

 

"I feel nervous," I said that morning.

 

"You'll be fine," Lauren said. "Wan an egg for breakfast?"

 

"No thanks," I said shaking my head. I grabbed a third strip of bacon and ate it.

 

"What?" Lauren asked. "You love eggs!"

 

"I think it's part of being a kitsune," I said.

 

"Oh," Lauren said. "Well, more for me."

 

"I'm ready now," Violet said, coming out of the bathroom. I'm going to head to school early."

 

"See ya!" Kiku said.

 

"Bye," I said. Violet left the dorm and headed toward the campus.

 

After a few more minutes of getting ready, Lauren, Kiku, and I left as well. We walked toward the campus, passing by a road at one point. When we were at that point, I folded my ears back in annoyance.

 

"The cars are so loud," I complained.

 

"You'll get used to it," Kiku said. We walked through the main gates of the school and the volume decreased a bit.

 

"Heads up, Jacob Ernal is coming our way," Lauren warned us.

 

"Ugh, not that asshole," Kiku complained.  "Why's he coming toward us?"

 

"He probably doesn't recognize me," I said. "So he's coming over to 'introduce himself'."

 

"That son of a bitch," Kiku said. "I'm going to kill that-"

 

"Sh," I said, placing a finger on Kiku's lips. "Let me deal with him by myself." I cast an illusion to hide Lauren and Kiku so it only looked like I was walking.

 

"Hello there," Jacob said smoothly. "I haven't seen you around before."

 

I turned to face him. He was wearing a pair of cargo pants and a blue shirt. Two wolf ears poked between his dark curly hair and I could see a tail behind his back.

 

"Really, Jacob?" I asked, tilting my head at him.

 

"Oh, it's you," He said, deflating.

 

"Yes, it's me," I said. "Goodbye." I twirled around, smacking Jacob in the face with my tails before stalking off. Once he turned around and walked away, I dropped the illusion around Lauren and Kiku.

 

I burst out laughing.

 

"Oh, that was funny," I said.

 

"Yeah, it was," Lauren said. "Now, let's get to our first class."