The Frog and The Beast

The Frog Chapter 11

One morning, the phone rang at an ungodly hour—6 AM, no less. It jolted me awake, a rude awakening for someone who preferred the comfort of sleep. I wasn't an early bird; I'd rather be an early frog, snoozing in as long as possible. Wendy often reminded me that sleeping the day away wasn't healthy, especially given my current situation. She claimed it was one of the first signs of depression. How does she come up with this stuff?

"Hello?" I heard her answer the call. "Natsu isn't here right now. Can I take a message?... He's missing? Didn't you hear about it on the news?... Wait a minute, who is this?... Glen Grisham?"

My sleepy eyes snapped open at the mention of that name.

"I'm sorry, but my brother doesn't know a Glen Grisham," Wendy replied. "No, sorry, that doesn't ring a bell... Gray? Gray Fullbuster? Oh, hi! It's great to hear from you! How have you been?... I just told you, you can't talk to Natsu. He's missing... You know he's a frog?!"

Now I was fully awake. How did he know that?

Wendy entered my room, phone in hand, and placed it on my desk.

"I think you need to hear this," she said, setting the phone to speaker. I leaned in, unsure of the point in talking since only Wendy could hear me right now.

"Um... Hello?"

"Hello, Natsu," the voice on the other end said.

"Wait a second, you can hear me?!"

"Yes! I can hear you!"

"But how?"

"I've been affected by magic, just like you."

"Affected in what way?"

"Just answer me this first: are you really a frog? Like, seriously?"

"Yes! I'm a frog! I can't believe you're actually talking to me!" I croaked, my heart racing with disbelief and excitement. "Wait a minute, why are you talking to me? We haven't spoken since ninth grade! You ditched me, remember?"

"I know, I know," he sighed. "Look, I'm calling because... I don't know who else to turn to."

"Turn to for what?"

"Those witches did something to me too, Natsu."

"What do you mean? What did they do to you?"

"I messed with one of them, played a mean prank on her, and it really pissed her off. So she turned me into something."

"Was it a frog?"

"No. Honestly, I'm not entirely sure what I am anymore, but let's just say I can't ever show my face in public again."

"Well, it can't be that bad. Not as bad as being a frog."

"Wanna bet?"

"What exactly do you want me to do?"

"I don't know. I just need to talk to somebody. Somebody who won't look at me like I'm a freak."

"You mean like how you used to look at me and so many other people?" I shot back.

There was a pause on the line, and I could almost hear the gears turning in his head.

"Okay, okay, I deserved that. But you don't understand, Natsu. My uncle left me. I'm all alone except for the maid. I've lost everything."

Despite our rocky past, I felt a pang of sympathy for him.

"Alright, I get it. So do you want to come over or something?"

"No! I can't leave the house looking like this!"

"Well, neither can I! I'm a frog!"

"And I'm a monster! Which one of us is more likely to get shot on sight?!"