Imogen's eyes flare with anger as she rounds on me. ‘What are you doing?’ Imogen growls, her voice rising in pitch.
‘Look, I need you to listen to me for a moment,’ I tell her.
‘How about you listen to me and get out of this cubicle,’ she shouts, pointing at the door.
I grab her shoulders, gently push her against the wall and stare into her eyes with determination. Her eyes widen in surprise, then concern, as she took in my fierce expression. ‘Well, what is it then?’ she asks.
‘Imogen. I am being serious, and you need to believe me right now if you wish to live. So, heed my words. Do NOT get in that car tonight, or you will not live to see the sunrise tomorrow,’ I tell her sternly.
Imogen's gaze darts back and forth across my face, searching for some hint of a joke or prank. But my stare is unyielding, and slowly, she begins to comprehend the gravity of my words. With a shaky nod, she agrees to heed my warning.
I release my grip from her shoulders and leave the cubicle, ‘You can thank us later,’ I say over my shoulder as I leave the bathroom. Now, Janie and I can only hope that our warnings will be enough to save Imogen's life.
The bell rings, and I catch up with Janie at our lockers. Xander has his arms crossed, leaning against Janie’s as he smiles at her.
‘Yeah, um, you can go now, Xander,’ I tell him.
He glowers, and then his features soften as he makes eye contact with Janie. ‘I’ll see you tonight,’ he says with a suave flourish. He takes her hand and presses a kiss to the back of it, sending a flush of colour to Janie's cheeks, before he walks away and vanishes in a flash.
‘I swear he like farts and vanishes. Each time I blink, he disappears.’
Janie giggles, ‘Don’t be so crass, Rose. Come on, let’s finish our last lesson so we can go home and figure out what to wear,’ she says.
‘Or figure out how to get rid of these,’ I retort, pointing at my hidden wolf ears.
We exit the gates of the academy. The breeze shifts through my hair, and I can feel my tail trying to wag and break free of the rope. I have the sudden urge to race against the wind and can’t fight it any longer. Without hesitation, I take off, my legs pumping as I race forward with newfound speed and agility. The world around me blurs as I pick up speed. I howl down the street, my heart racing with wild abandon.
I realise I’m a creature of both worlds, a human with the instincts and power of a wolf. As I run, I am in tune with the natural world, sensing its rhythms and feeling its energy coursing through my veins.
‘Hey, Rose! Wait up!’ Janie squeals, trying to keep up, but I’m way too fast. I’m running faster than I’ve ever been able to, faster than human, and it feels amazing.
I race into my house while waiting for Janie and greet my mother before racing upstairs, tossing my bag on my bed, and remove the rope, and freeing my tail. I stick my butt out, happily wag my tail, enjoying the freedom, and run my fingers through the fur of my tail. It’s so soft and fluffy that I keep brushing my fingers through it. I remove my beanie and touch my ears. They are soft, too but feel silkier rather than fluffy. I make a guttural sound, like a heavy, deep purr, as I continue to feel my ears. Finally, Janie arrives, entering my bedroom, panting for breath.
‘What are you doing?’ she asks.
‘I’m petting myself, obviously,’ I tell her.
‘Right…’ she says. Then gazes at my wardrobe, ‘Come on, we better find you something to wear for the date,’ she says.
‘Can’t we cancel? I don’t think it’s a good idea to date, at least until we reverse the potion's effects.’
‘Let’s get ready, and if we have time. I will try to research some magic,’ she replies.
‘Fine, but what will I wear to hide my tail and ears?’ I ask her.
Janie scavenges through my wardrobe and smiles as she pulls out a deep purple dress with a bow on the lower back. ‘You won’t notice you have a tail under there with this bow over your butt,’ she grins.
My shoulders slump. I take the dress and hold it against myself. ‘I’d prefer something that will cover my boobs rather than have them on display,’ I say to Janie.
Janie returns to my wardrobe and pulls out a black long-sleeved shrug, ‘Perfect,’ she says and tosses it toward me. ‘Now get changed,’ she orders, pointing to my bathroom.
I fasten the straps of my lace-up black sandals that stop beneath my knees and return to my bedroom.
‘Wow, so beautiful,’ Janie says.
‘Thanks, you don’t think it’s too much?’ I ask her.
‘No way, it’s perfect,’ she says, looking me up and down. ‘We just have to cover your ears now,’ she smiles.
We go through all my accessories, but none are thick or big enough to cover my ears. I slump onto my bed in defeat, but Janie’s face lights up, and she pulls out a black scarf from my wardrobe, wraps it around my head, pulls my ears down flat and ties it over my hair, creating a big bow to match the one on my dress.
I stare at myself in the mirror, surprised. It looks as though I’m wearing a fancy headdress that was meant to match the dress. I nod at Janie, who seems chuffed with herself. I smile, and we hi-five.
‘Now it’s my turn to get ready,’ she beams.
We go downstairs to leave, ‘You look beautiful, Rose,’ my mother says.
She gestures for me to spin around, so I do. ‘What’s his name?’ she asks me.
‘Brad,’ I reply.
‘I hope I will get the pleasure of meeting Brad. He must be special to be taking you on your very first date,’ she smiles.
‘If we end up officially dating as boyfriend and girlfriend, then I’ll invite him over for you to meet and interrogate, Mum,’ I tell her.
‘Oh, I would like that,’ she smiles.
‘I bet you would,’ I laugh. ‘Brad is handsome too, but I don’t know much about him, so I’ve accepted to go on this date tonight to get to know him,’ I tell her.
‘Well, good luck, sweety. I hope it goes well and want to hear all about it tomorrow,’ Mum says.
‘Yes, Mum,’ I reply, rolling my eyes.
‘Bye, Mrs Peregrine,’ Janie waves.
‘Bye, Janie,’ my mother smiles.