Dog Boy

35

Lucas rubbed his eyes as he looked at the screen in front of him, and in the process, was immediately reminded of the fur growing on his hand. The stuff wasn't thick yet, but at least wisps of it were all over him.

His ears were growing larger and more droopy - and it was hard to talk to his coworkers with a straight face, knowing what they saw when they looked back at him. It had been very hard to maintain composure since the truth had come out.

Tessa had effectively said "I told you so." Clive just said to not let it bother Lucas, and to work like normal. But working normally was hard. He no longer had the drive to find a cure anymore, and that had drained most of the energy out of him.

He glanced beside him as Melina came in.

"Hey Lucas," she said, a slight smirk on her face.

"Hey," Lucas said, avoiding  bringing attention to his changes.

Melina's eyes rested on Ashley, who was idly spinning around in a swivel chair to the right of Lucas.

"So you're fully changed huh?"

Ashley did not answer her.

"Your dad says you need some blood drawn?"

"Yeah," Ashley said very quietly.

"Hopefully this time," Melina smiled, "I'll be able to do a better job finding where I need to go than when I did your brother."

"What do you mean?" Ashley asked.

"Just a bit hard finding the veins I need to get to under all that fur," Melina said, "but don't worry, it'll be fine."

"I'm not scared," she pulled up her shirt sleeve. "Prick me."

Melina laughed as she readied her things. "You seem a lot more confident than your brother was. Though of course he hadn't been out around people since changing."

"I just have given up caring," Ashley spoke more boldly. "People are going to look at me with disgust, I'm going to feel terrible. Giving a reaction doesn't accomplish anything."

Melina used a wet wipe to clean Ashley's upper arm, then readied the syringe. Ashley looked firmly in the other direction away from the needle.

"Hm. I heard though that you made a bit of a reaction yesterday."

"That," Ashley said, "was justice."

"It was completely inappropriate is what is was," Lucas said as he typed at the computer.

"Oh I know it was," Ashley said. "But he deserved it. If anything gives me energy to go forward, it's knowing that a trembling golden retriever boy is going to walk into school one day, and I'll get to watch as he gets bullied, and knows how I felt."

"There," Melina said, emptying the syringe into a container. "You're done."

"Fantastic," Ashley said flatly as Melina wiped off her arm again.

"Personally," Melina said, "I think that's a little cruel, Ashley. You really want him to be bullied too?"

"He is the worst person I've ever met," she said. "I don't care what happens to him."

"Hm. These are awfully harsh words," Melina said, "especially coming from a cute little golden retriever girl."

Ashley tensed up. "I'm not cute. I'm a monster, and I won't entertain anyone's pity claiming otherwise."

Melina laughed. "I'm sorry, but just... even when you're acting all 'tough and serious,'" she said in a joking surly tone, "you still look like a really big puppy wearing clothes."