Elemental Wolves

Chapter 10 - Jackie

Jackie POV

Looking over at the countdown calendar, it's July 3rd. Thank the lords it's almost over. I seriously cannot go through this anymore. Being cooped up in one place seeing the same things over and over. I just can't. Plus I'm missing tennis camp for this thing and my parents don't even seem to care to much for the money lost at camp. In fact they were stressing out over this camp. God the anxiety levels coming off them. Eesh.

Oh right, forgot about this. Hi, I'm Jacqueline Thomas. But I'll punch you in the face if you call me Jacqueline, so everyone who chooses to live calls me Jackie. Anyway I'm half Japanese and half African. I've got straight dark brown hair and caramel colored skin with brown eyes. My mom's Japanese and she met my dad on a Doctors Without Borders trip in South Africa. They got married and moved back to the states once my mom's stint was over. I'm an only child and we live in a small gated community outside the school district. I'm going to be as senior when we go back and on the varsity tennis team. Oh and today I turn 17.

Okay so back to the task at hand. I've always loved to garden so here I am sitting in the clearing in the middle of the forest digging my hands into the soft grass. I hate being indoors and I always find myself somewhere among the plants outside. The animals that come by are just a plus.

I here a rustle behind me and turn to see a little brown wolf peaking its head out from a nearby bush. I slowly sit up and beckon it over. It looks back at something but within minutes it's standing a foot away from me looking into my eyes.

We stare at each other for some time. I really don't know what it saw, but soon find it in my lap curled into a little ball. It looks up at me hesitantly and pokes my hand that was resting on my knee with its wet nose. I look at it confused. It does it again a couple of times and follows it by running its tail over my other arm.

Ohhhh. "Do you want me to pet you?" I ask it. I mean it's not like it can respond or anything, but who doesn't talk to animals. I look down at it and see it shaking it's head up and down. Okay then, it couldn't have understood me right? Figuring I was just tired from a long Friday night and waking up early today on Saturday I just let it pass.

I slowly rub my hand over its fur. It's sooo soft and fluffy. I continue petting it and scratching behind its ear for a little while when I hear my name being called from the entrance of forest. I slowly pick up the pup and put on down in the grass and walk away. Feeling the calm I had wash over me disappearing as I walked closer to cabins and away from the serenity of the forest.

I come out to see Amaya leaning against one of the trees in shorts and a racer back tank. "Hey, Crabclaws called us all in for our fittings and insisted we come in as a cabin to save time. I'd have left you out here since no one really wants to see her. Yet I don't think you want be alone with her later. So, here I am."

I nod my gratitude. Sure I'd rather stay out here. But I definitely would rather not be alone with the bright yellow terror.

Amaya and I walk back in silence toward the rest of the group and once we get there we all nod our hellos and head out the the rec center. I've got the say this past month and a half we've all become a bit closer. Sure we're not friends but at least we aren't at each other's throats about everything anymore.

Once we get to the center, mrs. Crascaw ushers is all into a room, tosses us these weird stetchy suit things and requests us to change into them. She mumbles something about it allowing us to shift and move easily without worrying about other issues. Whatever the hell that means.

I walk into one of the stalls and notice that I'm surrounded by mirrors. A tad extra if I do say so myself, but whatever. I drape the black suit over the rod on the door and start pulling of my clothes. It's to be work like a bathing suit so no under garments either. I bend down and pick up my clothes to hang on the rack, but when I stand back up I gasp.

In the back mirror, on my right shoulder, I can see a light green circle with a curved leaf floating in the middle of it. What in the ever loving fiddle sticks is happening.

Knock knock. "Are you okay in there?" I hear a voice on the outside ask.

"Uh yeah, I fine, just dropped something. Almost done." I frantically pull on the black suit and thank the lord when I see it looks like a full wet suit. I open the door and walk out to see all the other girls standing on pedestals as a small man walks around them taking measurements. I go to stand on the Only empty one and wait.

Once we all get measured, we are instructed to take our transift suits back with us and to wear it for the rest of camp and until the final camp activity. So all six of us packed up and left.

When we got back to the cabin I booked it upstairs and closed the door.

What was happening? I can't have a tattoo like this. My mom is going to kill me. Why me? Why no one else?