Bailey

Chapter 4

"So she just left!" Veronica said, enthusiastically. "Who's side are you on, Bailey?" Bailey's head shot up.

"Uhh, neither?" Bailey guessed, not knowing what she was talking about anymore.

"Huh." Veronica said. "I'm on her side." Bailey stood up.

"I'm gonna go outside now." Bailey informed her friends. Camila stood, too.

"Same." Camila followed Bailey to the trash and recycling area. Bailey dropped her plate into the trash bin and went back to the table to grab her jacket. Camila hurried over to her.

"You didn't eat." Camila whispered, worriedly. "Too nervous?"

"Kinda," Bailey mumbled.

"Come on guys!" yelled Nathan. "I'm out here!" He waved through the window. Bailey opened the door and held it open so Camila could get through. "What took you so long?" asked Nathan.

"Good lunch," Bailey lied. Everyone knows school lunch is the worst. "Follow me." She led Nathan and Camila over to the bench no one sat at anymore.

"Rumor has it, bees had a hive here." Nathan told the girls. Bailey rolled her eyes. She sat down.

"B-Bailey?" Camila whimpered.

"Yeah?" Bailey asked, unafraid.

"Bee!" she squeaked. Bailey jumped and ran toward the tables, then to the nearby woods, and back.

"Is it gone?" Bailey panted. Nathan laughed.

"Afraid of a little bee?" he chuckled.

"No," Bailey lied again. "But just in case, let's sit somewhere else." Nathan kept giggling while they walked over to a table near the woods.

"So, Nate." Bailey whispered. "Can I trust you?"

"Psh, yeah." Nathan said.

"Okay, I have something to tell you." Bailey told him.

"Yeah, yeah?" Nathan encouraged.

"I'm a shapeshifter." Bailey blurted out. Nathan stood there, stunned. Then he shook his head.

"No way." Nathan couldn't believe her.

"It's true. Come with me to the woods." Bailey ran over to the woods. "Favorite dog breed. Go."

"Uh, uh, uh..." he thought about all the dog breeds Bailey had told him about. "Frenchie!"

"French bulldog." Bailey focused. She rolled her shoulders and neck.

"What's she doing?" whispered Nathan to Camila.

"Watch." Camila ordered him. When Bailey was ready, her hands turned to paws. Short black fur grew all over her body. Her ears turned gray and stuck up. Nathan stared at Bailey in shock.

"Am I black and white?" Nathan asked. Bailey tried to roll her eyes, but as a dog, it was pretty hard.

"No, dogs can see in yellow, blue, black, and white. But the important thing is, dogs are not colorblind." Camila informed him. She had learned that from Bailey. Nathan poked Bailey's nose curiously. Bailey sneezed.

"Woah, you're a dog!" Nathan exclaimed. No kidding, thought Bailey. Nathan started to scratch Bailey's chin.

"Whoozza goo' girl?" Whoozza goo' girl? You are!" Bailey's leg slapped the floor in contentment. Camila lightly pushed Nathan.

"Change back Bailey." Camila told her. I smell something, frenchie Bailey thought. No, you don't, Bailey told herself. Bailey waddled over to Nathan's leg and sniffed it. Nathan laughed suddenly and loudly. Then, in fright, Bailey bit him.