Beautiful Curse

Chapter 1

        Tap tap. Tap tap. My fingers drum along the desk in a repetitive manner, almost in sync with the ticking of the clock that I can't keep my eyes off of. I'd been waiting for the last period of the day to finish...pretty much the moment I entered the class. The time seems to be moving one second for every minute that passes. Please, please just let the day end! I can't stand listening to the math teacher drone on about crap I don't even care about. She acts like a monotone robot; just pumping out the information and not waiting for the class to actually get the gist of what it's about.

        When I almost can't stand it anymore, the bell finally rings. The shrill clanging against metal makes my ears deafen in protest, but I couldn't be any more happier to leave this hell called "school." I quickly stack my loose papers over my math book before taking off. I'm the first one out the door since my seat is closest to the exit. I'm always one step ahead of these things. Luckily Mrs. Quinn didn't assign the class a seating arrangement at the beginning of the year, which I'm grateful for. Other than that, she's just a really lame math teacher.

        "Hey there, (Name)!"

        I clench my teeth in irritation. My locker is just a few feet away and I've been spotted by...him. Ignoring the voice, I scurry to my locker and quickly put the combination in. From behind I can hear one set of footsteps that are far louder than the rest of the kids roaming the hallway. "Don't ignore me, sweetie pie!" I feel the growing need to slap somebody in the face.

        Barely turning my head I hiss out, "Back off Rex." I was extremely happy when the bell had rung for school to get out, but now my mood is quickly declining.

        "Girl, it's Rexer the Hexer." The boy leans against my locker with an annoying smirk on his face. "'Cause, you know...I'm gonna cast my magic on you so we can finally have that first kiss!" He waves his fingers in the air as if he's showering me with a powerful spell. He then returns to leaning against the locker beside me, waiting for some sort of reaction.

        I can feel my face growing a light shade of pink. Flirting situations make me extremely uncomfortable, especially when it's a teen who's never up to any good. So I say the first thing that comes to mind.

        "Ew."

        The boy's mischievous expression falls straight to the floor. He's about to spit out a retort, however, it never comes out because I have already slammed the locker shut and raced down the hall! I hide a smile behind one of my hands, using the other to heft my backpack comfortably around my shoulders. Quickly I race out of the school's front doors, the slight breeze blowing my (length) (color) hair behind my face. Once outside I shake a few stray hairs to the side. I hate it when hair gets caught in my eyes.

        Taking a deep breath I glance around at the horde of teenagers spilling from the school. Just like me, they are all excited that the week has finally ended. Now they can finally spend time with their friends while enjoying weekend activities. The first thing I'm going to do is head straight into that forest over there...

        When nobody appears to be watching, I sneak to the side of the school and hide out of sight. Seeing absolutely nobody here, I tense my muscles, ready for hasty movement. I then take care to rescan the school grounds before breaking toward the woods in a full-scale sprint.

        Ever since I've had my first "change," which wasn't too long ago, the forest always seems to be calling me. It just feels so natural roaming around with the tall grass brushing at my chest, and the cool breeze blowing through my fur.

        I finish sprinting when the view of the school is covered by a layer of tall and thick trees. I'm not gasping for breath since I'm used to the excursion. Almost every day after school I come out here to enjoy the fresh air. The community can be pretty stinky—I just need a break from it sometimes.