No, something wasn’t right. She raised her arm. It was…green and slimy. Oh, yuck.
What the hell had they put in the nachos?
No, no, this couldn’t be happening.
“Hey, look at that frog, guys.” One of the scouts pointed toward her. “It’s huge! If I can catch it, I’m going to take it home.”
“We can make frog soup!”
Ria quickly glanced around, then made a mad dash for the trees. For a frog, she could move pretty fast. But anyone would with several scouts chasing you, wanting to make frog soup.
Feet pounded on the ground, coming closer. Her heart slammed against her chest. She moved between the trees and wiggled under some green leaves, triing not to breathe.
Feet scurried over the ground.
“Boys, recess is over. Let’s get back to tying knots, then we’ll go for pizza,” the scout leader spoke.
“Yeah, pizza.”
“Lots better than frog soup.”
Laughter erupted around her. They were leaving. Thank, God!
“Oh, wow, someone lost their clothes.”
Ria peeked out long enough to see her underclothes being twirled around.
“Oh, man, these are sweet,” an older scout said.
“Boys, those probably belong to a vagrant. Run and toss them in the trash can.”
The kids took off, making a slingshot out of her thong.
Vagrant! Her thong alone had cost fifteen bucks! The lacy bra thirty-five. She opened her mouth to protest, but the only thing that came out was another loud belch. She hunkered down deeper under the leaves.
At least they were gone. Now what was she supposed to do?
Then it hit her: She was part alien. Everything Kristor had told her was true. But she didn’t want to be an alien. And she certainly didn’t want to go to his planet. She had a women’s meeting tomorrow night. And who would run her business while she was away? Besides, she was not about to get on anything that would leave the ground.
Her tongue shot out and she snatched the fly.
Eww! She’d just eaten a fly. Yuck!
She sniffed. Or attempted to, at least. What if she stayed like this forever? Destined to live her life being chased by boy scouts or worse, ending up in someone’s soup pot, or at Donald’s restaurant.
“Come on, Trisha, no one will see us here. I just want to hold you in my arms.”
Ria looked up. Was that Jeremy Harris? Just her luck. He was really mean. A senior with a chip on his shoulder. His parents had never been able to control him. Wild as a young bull.
She watched until they came into view. It was. He was what?—eighteen, and he was with Trish Simpson. And Trish was only fourteen. Well, almost fifteen, but way too young for the likes of him.
“I don’t know, Jeremy. I don’t think my mom would like knowing I was in the woods with you.”
“I promise I won’t hurt you. You said you liked me. And I just want to hold you.”
“I do like you.”
“Then prove it.”
What a sleaze! Ria opened her mouth and croaked as loud as she could. Trisha jumped and screamed. Jeremy laughed.
“It’s just an old bullfrog. He can’t hurt anything. See.” He removed the plastic lid from his drink and dumped ice and soda on Ria.
She sucked in a deep breath.
“Oh, leave it alone,” Trisha cried.
Jeremy laughed. “It likes the cold, baby. Frogs can’t feel anything.”
Trisha pouted. “Are you sure?”
He pulled out a lighter. “Yeah, watch this.” He flicked it and the flame shot out.
Ria shied away. Ohmygod, she’d gone from the soup pot to the fire!
“No!” Trisha grabbed his hand. “Jeremy, you’re mean! Everyone is right about you. Don’t ever call me again or I’ll tell my mother!” She turned and stomped through the leaves, heading away from the trees.
Jeremy looked at her…the frog, then kicked a clod of dirt toward Ria before hurrying after Trisha.
Could frogs cry?
Ria didn’t want to be a frog. She wanted to go home. If this was what it meant to be an alien, then she wanted no part of it. If…
Wait a second. If she could think herself a frog, then she should be able to think herself human again. She closed her eyes.
A deep burning pain gripped her. She couldn’t see, she couldn’t breathe. The world swirled around her. She felt as if someone had her on a rack and stretched her limbs out. She was dying.
Who would tell her parents? Oh, God, no funeral or anything. What could they do? Have a froggie funeral? Kristor might realize she’d shifted, but her family wouldn’t believe the lifeless frog was their daughter.
The burning pain stopped. She opened her eyes. Blinked. The trees were back. She raised an arm, wiggled her fingers. Except for the sticky soda, and the dirt stuck to it, she was human again. She sat up. Yes, she was back. She jumped to her feet.
Yes!
She swung her arms out and twirled around before leaning against the tree as she tried to catch her breath. Then it dawned on her.
She was totally naked.
Chapter 9
Kristor spotted Rianna’s car, and pulled in beside it. He’d worried about her since this afternoon at the pet store. He could see she was starting to have doubts. What if she decided to try shifting? He remembered his first time had been traumatic, although it had gotten easier with time.
It might have been wise if he’d mentioned the downside to shifting. Like the burning pain that would lessen the more times someone changed to animal form. And he probably should have told her that after one shifted back to human form, they wouldn’t have their clothes.
His gaze scanned the park. It wasn’t that big so it shouldn’t be difficult to find her. He walked down the paved path. If she was running, then they should eventually meet.
“Pssst.”
Kristor waved his hand in front of his face, but he didn’t see the flying insect.
