Animal Nature

Chapter 33

In the mirror, Shy saw a total badass: red hooded cloak, knife sheathed to her thigh, gun in a shoulder holster.

She was sure everyone else would be able to see it, too, unless she kept that cloak tight around her.

The red and white checkered dress was way shorter than she had thought. It barely came halfway down her thighs, which meant the knife was clearly visible. If only the knife was shorter than her skirt... and it also left no place to hide the gun holster, which was even bulkier. The vials of the wolfsbane cure she had concocted fit in her bra, but they pushed her cleavage up to obscene levels. The flimsy white fabric on the top of the dress was nowhere near enough to make her look decent for a school function.

"Shyanne! Your friends are here," Mrs. Brown said, and Shy could tell in her mother's tone that she had seen Mara's blood-covered costume and Did Not Approve.

"Coming!" Shy called back.

The reflection didn't show how nervous she felt at the thought of seeing David again. These weapons, she could barely imagine using them on him. Not unless he was in wolf form and attacking her. But she felt different than she used to: more capable of standing on her own two feet and not hiding behind David. Less mousy.

She took the gun out of the holster and stuck the gun in the top of her boot. She hadn't had any good shoes to wear with the thigh-high white socks that came with the costume, so she had ditched them for her tall black boots. She wasn't sure she could walk with a gun in her boot, and she worried that she would shoot herself in the foot.

Lifting the back of her dress, she fit the gun into the back waistband of her leggings. It would be a pain to get out, but the length of the cloak would keep anyone from noticing the bulge there. She stuck the sheathed knife into her boot. That felt safe enough, though anyone staring at her boot would notice something off.

She grabbed the basket her mother had given her to use, and adjusted the checkered cloth inside to hide the other bottles of bane water and extra ammunition.

Before heading downstairs, she checked her reflection again. Hopefully, everyone would see mousy Shyanne Brown, who would never dream of bringing a weapon to school.

Mara was on the porch talking through the screen to Shy's parents. "I have a series of protests ready for whatever happens. I mean, the whole situation is highlighting how ill-prepared the town is to handle a simple wildlife problem—Wow, Shy! You look awesome!"

Shy nearly tripped at the bottom of the stairs. She smiled wide, hoping no one would look at her costume too closely.

"Oh," was all her father could say.

"Let's get some photos!" Mrs. Brown said, turning around for her new phone.

"They'll have a photo booth at the dance." Shy ran past her parents and out into the chill of the evening. "Don't worry, I have money for photos there. It'll be too dark in here. Plus Chester is still in the car and David's meeting me at the dance. He's probably already there. Bye!"

She grabbed the furry arm of Mara's costume and dragged her a couple of steps before taking her hand away. "Ew, what did you use for fake blood?"

"It's just paint," Mara said. "Is it dry?"

In the darkness there didn't seem to be anything on her hand. "I think so. It just felt... not like fur."

"Just wait till you see it in the full light," Mara said, grinning.

Chester rolled down his window as they approached the car. "Whoa, Shyanne! Nice!"

"Hey," Mara complained.

Shy was glad it was dark all the way to the school. She knew her face was bright red. She had only thought about how much David might like how she looked. She didn't think every other guy would like it, too. It made her flustered in a way she'd never felt before – in a not entirely unpleasant way.

Since Shyanne had never been to a school dance, she was a bit disappointed that the school looked mostly the same as during the school day, just with more balloons and crepe paper, and loud music blaring from the open gymnasium doors. A few students loitered out in the hallways, but most everyone else was inside, dancing and whooping.

"Five dollars each," Melanie Silvero said, holding out her hand for money. Shy drew her cloak around her to get at the bills she had tucked into her bra, for lack of any pockets, while Mara pulled out a paint-stained five and Chester painstakingly counted out handfuls of change. Melanie pursed her lips. "Really, Chester?"

"Money's money," Chester retorted.

"I guess I'll wait out here for David," Shy told Mara. She was a little nervous to walk into the gym, even alongside Mara and Chester. She also couldn't imagine David willingly going into the gym.

"You have your cell phone, right?" Mara asked. "I'll text you in a few. I'm sure you'll be able to spot me in a crowd, anyway!" She lifted up the wolf head of her costume and put it on. Shy could see Mara's eyes gleaming inside the wolf's mouth.

"What large teeth you have," Shy joked.

"All the better to eat you with, my dear!" Mara called out as Chester dragged her away.

Shy moved into the hallway past the table where Melanie was selling tickets.

"You can't go any further than the bathrooms," Melanie said without looking at her. She grinned at the next group walking in.

With nothing to do but wait, Shy checked her phone for a message from David. Of course, she would have heard it beep or something if he had texted. Or maybe the phone would vibrate? She wasn't quite sure what her settings were. In any case, there was no new message. She sighed.

Five minutes dragged into ten, and without Mara remembering to text her, Shy decided to go to the bathroom. Inside, she found a horde of girls applying lipstick and quickly backed out.

Across from the bathroom was a dimly lit hallway that led to the stairwell and a rear entrance to the gym. One of the florescent overhead lights was about to go out, leaving the stairwell in shadows.

Shy pulled out her phone to text David, but had only typed in "Hi" when a movement in the stairwell caught her eye.

When she looked up, two eyes glowing green looked back at her.