Were-Freak
an excerpt

Right now, I’d have to say life sucks. Like, beyond belief. You wanna know why? Because I’m a freak of nature. It’s not even that I hate the way I look or something. Actually, I’d have to say I have a rather lovely figure. My face is unblemished, thank god. And I have the coolest eyes ever. No, that’s not the reason I’m a freak of nature.

I’m a freak of nature because I’m some sort of cross breed that should’ve been genetically impossible. Dogs can't mate with cats, can they? No. Then how on Earth does it make sense for a Werewolf to make with a Werecat? Huh? Answer me that one. ‘Cause it’s downright impossible.

My mother calls me the miracle child, because I shouldn’t have been able to happen. I just take this as a kinder way of saying: “I love you and all, but how the hell did you happen?” So as a result, I took on my mom’s traits of being a werecat, but I was born into a family of werewolves. In modern day Suburbia.

Oh. What. Joy.

The alarm clock buzzed at me, even though I was already awake. I just leave it on to help my cousins get up, dumb dogs that they are. School started every morning at 7. So as such, we left the house every morning at 6:30. Yes, regular human high school, in the even that you were wondering.

I’m almost done with this school, and then I’m supposed to receive private mentoring. Which I guess means that I’m gonna be stuck listening to my mom lecture me for all eternity. I really wanted to go to College, too. But what are the chances a roommate would find it “cool” to have someone living with them that turns into a cat (well, more like a tiger-panther mix to be exact) every so often. Yeah. That’d go over well.
As I rolled off my bed, breaking my focus from the moth hovering around the ceiling tiles, I took a glance in the mirror and scowled at my bed head. My long, curly brown hair had turned into one giant bundle of brown mess. On the upside, still no sign of acne. At this point, I wouldn’t get a single zit. My mom claims to have had a couple, which is unusual for were-creatures, so it makes me feel a little more normal to know that I’m still good in that field.

Still listening to the buzzing alarm clock as it flashed big red sixes at me, I turned to my closet and began picking out an outfit for school. It was actually the first day, hence my current state of lethargy, but I still wanted to look good. Pulling out a nice green cami and a black blazer to go over it, I modeled my choice in front of the mirror before putting them on with a new pair of slim-fitting, boot cut jeans. I smiled, liking how the green in my shirt accented the green in my eyes. Combing out my hair and applying a touch of lip gloss, I gave myself one final glance before grabbing my thin-heeled boots, a “newsies” style hat, and heading downstairs for some breakfast.

My mother was always up before me, if that’s possible to believe. For the first day of my senior year, she had decided to make something special. Blueberry pancakes, scrambled eggs covered in cheese and sprinkled with hot sauce, fruit smoothies, and freshly fried bacon. The kitchen swelled with the scents and my stomach grumbled at the sight. Before thinking another second, I sat down and began to gobble up the food put before me.

Now I know they say cats are more well-mannered than dogs, but it’s a downright lie. We just know how to behave ourselves when someone important is watching. Otherwise, it’s a complete free for all. And I, for one, was not about to lose.

As the cousins came racing down the stairs, howling at the abundance of scents bombarding their noses, I stood up and placed my now scraped-clean dishes on the counter. The boys never ate breakfast. Ever. Their coming down the stairs meant our departure. I quickly grabbed my backpack, zipped on my boots, reapplied my lip gloss, threw on my hat and gave a final toss of my hair in the mirror before following them out to the car.

Sam, the oldest of my cousins and being the same age as me, had finally acquired a lovely red Chevy corvette for his seventeenth birthday present. And instead of following suit with me, I received a television in my room. Now, don’t get me wrong, I enjoy watching tv as much as the next adolescent. I just wish I had a car, too. I have a license, but no car. Not even keys to Sam’s. Closing the door behind me in the front seat, I waved a goodbye to my mother and we were off.

The still dark streets of our home flew by as Sam took us blazing through empty streets, immediately slowing down by up to 40 mph when we reached a place with traffic. The unusual speed change used to make me nauseous, but if you get in the car enough times with him, you learn to live with it.

As we pulled into the parking lot, I was greeted by the school’s large clock tower chiming at its students. Quite frankly, it was an eerie chime that reminded me of those scenes in horror movies where the little girl is singing some children’s rhyme while swinging on an abandoned playground. Not the picture you like to have in your head upon entering the school.

There was approximately five minutes before the first class started, though you could never trust school clocks. I swung my backpack around to my front and began digging around in it for my schedule. I knew it was in there…somewhere. Aha! I pulled it out with a smile, severely crumpled up from being at the bottom of my bag. Not that there was much in it or anything. I scanned over my classes. First period. Hmm. History. Yargh. First thing? How grody. Oh well, as I headed off to what would be my first class every other day for all eternity, I scanned over my other classes. I’d have Art next. Yays! Nothing would be cooler than having art class every day. Next would be English, and then Psychology. Awesome.

My current light mood, however, quickly turned dreary as I heard Sam peering over my shoulder and snickering. “Guess we have some classes together, huh Leora?” his deep voice taunted me. Now, I’ll face the music and state that my cousin was hot. Like, really really hot. But, then again, weren’t most werewolves? It was just those things, though, the things that made other girls swoon, that made me want to hurl. He was such a butthead.

But since it turned out we had first period together, we walked down a portion of the long hallway, turning down some stairs into a locker bay and heading to class.