I was in shock as Eve led me out of the conference room. This whole day was turning into one big blur of insanity. My circumstances were changing so fast that my brain was having a hard time keeping up. Frankly, I wasn't sure how much more I could take.
"So, what's your name again?" Eve asked conversationally.
"Umm... C-Cyprus."
"Cyprus. That's different. I like that. Anyway, look, I'm sorry if I scared you back there. Me and Reza were just messing around. I'm perfectly sane, I promise. Not so sure about him, though."
"Hey, I heard that!" Reza said.
Eve laughed. We stepped through a heavy wooden door. On the other side was a beautiful penthouse apartment, with plush white carpeting, a modern kitchen and brand-new furniture. And, of course, all the potted plants were a given, by now.
Eve was still talking, though I was probably not in the best state of mind to listen. "So, first shift, hey? Yeah, I know what that's like. I thought I was going crazy my first time. Broke through my bedroom window and ran off into the woods. Pretty sure the whole neighborhood heard me scream when I started to change. Oh, and when I got home there was an army of cops in my driveway," she laughed again. "My parents thought I'd been kidnapped."
I felt like she was trying to make me feel better but, to be frank, it wasn't working. Comparing a broken window with my current situation was like comparing the common cold with freaking Ebola or something.
My nose picked up on a strangely familiar smell. One that compulsively made me think of home. I scanned the room and spotted my backpack, looking especially sad and tattered on top of a pristine white couch.
"Oh, I guess this is yours," Eve swiftly grabbed the bag and handed it over. She didn't look fazed, didn't mention that the stupid thing looked like it had been stolen off a homeless person, but she had to notice.
"Anyway," she threw her arm back over my shoulders, "The most important thing to remember: always keep the animal side of you under control. Believe me, it will have it's own ideas. But, you can't let it run things. That will only end in disaster. Trust me, I've been there.
"It helps if you exercise. The animal will get restless if you just sit around all day, and that makes it harder to control. Exercise also helps prolong the amount of time you can go without shifting."
I was still only half-listening. Not necessarily because I didn't want to. More because my ears were filled with this strange, unidentifiable ringing that partially drowned out her voice. But, here, she caught my attention.
What did she mean, exercise would prolong the amount of time between shifts? Was she saying I would have to do all that again? The turning into a wolf? The earthquake? The ground being split right in two?
No! I couldn't do that. Just look what had happened already! Best case scenario, I had caused millions of dollars in damages and come within inches of killing someone. Worst case scenario, I actually had killed someone. How could I even think of repeating all that?
My bag vibrated, causing my heart to skip about three beats in a row. I reached into the front pocket and removed my ancient flip-phone with trembling fingers. Then I almost dropped it.
I had exactly two-hundred and ninety-six text messages.
Who the heck was texting me? My mom worked night shifts. She was probably still sound asleep with the phone unplugged and the doorbell disabled. And I didn't really have any close friends. Definitely no one who would text me almost three-hundred times in one day.
Eve asked me something, but I was too distracted to understand it. "Huh? What?"
"I said what kind of shifter are you?" She didn't seem bothered by my lapse in concentration.
"Oh. Umm... well I turned into a wolf..."
"Cool! Level two wolf-shifter, I'm guessing? I mean, with the hair and the eyes and everything. Or did you do that yourself? A lot of people are dying their hair to look like shifters these days."
"Err..." I had no idea what she was talking about.
My cell phone vibrated again. I jumped almost as much as I had the first time. I was turning into a complete nervous wreck, here.
We turned down a short hallway into a spacious bedroom. My eyes were drawn past the messy, unmade bed to the biggest walk-in closet I had ever seen. I mean, it was bigger than my living room, and filled with a department store's worth of stuff. Designer jeans. Brand name shirts. About two hundred pairs of shoes. Enough purses and handbags to use a different one every day of the year.
Eve rolled her eyes as she dragged me inside. "Ya know, there's a lot of things people don't tell you about being famous. I hardly paid for any of this crap. I can barely walk down the street these days without a representative from some company or other shoving free stuff in my face. It's a promotional thing, I guess." She dove into the endless racks of clothing. "What size pants are you?"
I told her. While Eve was rummaging around, my phone went off with yet another incoming text message. I felt a stress headache forming, throbbing behind my left eye. It seemed like my thoughts were being pulled in about a hundred different directions.
I glanced up at Eve. She was half buried in a rack of designer jeans. Against my better judgment and feeling ready to throw of up from nerves—for all I knew the cops had tracked down my cell phone number—I tapped on the most recent message.
And stared in utter confusion.
Hey, Cyprus! It's Becca. I know this is so random, but I just thought I'd say hi! We should hang out sometime, I miss you. Txt me back, k?
What the heck? Here I had been expecting an angry threat from the police and instead I got a completely normal, out-of-the-blue message from an old friend that I hadn't talked to in over a year.
It wasn't all that strange, really. I had been pretty close with Becca for a while, and it's not like we'd had a falling out or anything. We had just sort of drifted apart when she got all into parties and make-up and boys and I... didn't. But, of all the days she could have texted me...
Frowning, I closed the message from Becca and opened the next one.
Cyprus!!!! What's up, girl???? It's been too long!!!! Hit me back! Lov ya!
Huh? Okay, that was from a girl I hadn't talked to since middle school.
I began opening messages at random, completely baffled. They couldn't all be like this, could they?
Apparently they could.
OMG, Cyprus!!!!! Long time no see!!! R U busy tonight? I'm having a party, U should come!!
Hey, girl!! How are you?? I miss you!!
CYPRUSSSSSSS!!! Just thought I'd say hi!!!!!!!!
Hi, Cyprus. I'm not sure if you remember me. My name's Ian. I was in your forth-period math class last semester. Angie gave me your number, I hope you don't mind. I just wanted to say that I've always noticed you and if you ever wanted to go out for a drink or something-
I snapped my phone shut so quickly that a piece snapped off and landed on the carpet. Okay, this was officially the weirdest day of my life. What, did everyone think it was cool that I had decimated an entire neighbourhood?
Eve bounded towards me with a pair of jeans and black top. "Here, try these on. If they don't fit, there's plenty more where that came from."
"T-thanks," I managed to stutter. Man, she probably thought I was such a complete idiot. I couldn't even talk properly right now.
I put my cell phone away and took the clothes into the en-suite bathroom. It was just as over-the-top as everything else in the apartment. Marble tiles. Oversized shower. Jacuzzi.
I peeled off the hospital gown with trembling fingers. I kept my back deliberately turned away from the mirror that dominated one side of the bathroom. I knew there was something weird going on with my appearance. Eve had mentioned my hair. Isaac had said something about my eyes. I had seen the flashes of colour for myself, but... I wasn't sure I could face all that right now. I was holding onto this image of myself as a normal person, who didn't ride on the backs of dragons or turn into a wolf or cause gigantic earthquakes.
I got dressed in a daze. The jeans had little rhinestones on the back pockets. The shirt glided over my skin like silk and clung in all the right places.
When I was finished, I just stood there for a moment or two. I could see a vague outline of myself in the rippled glass around the shower. My phone vibrated again, shuddering against the marble floor.
I was trembling all over. I tried to swallow, but it caught in my throat. My knees felt weak, like they were about to collapse out from under me.
Get a grip, Cyrpus. I thought. If I couldn't handle a few changes in my appearance how would deal with the next hurdle racing towards me? Namely the informal hearing Isaac had mentioned. With the freaking chief of police who was probably livid that I had managed to slip through his fingers
My insides seems to dissolve into liquid. Thinking about the hearing did not exactly boost my confidence levels.
I took a few deep breaths and turned around, facing the gigantic mirror.
A complete stranger gazed back at me.
My face was utterly flawless. It looked like someone had polished even the tiniest of imperfections out of my coppery skin. Something about my otherworldly beauty, my smooth, even complexion and the almost unnatural symmetry of my features reminded me strongly of Isaac. My new clothes highlighted a lean, muscular figure. Even standing completely still, my whole body rippled with strength, balance and speed. My pitch-black hair was streaked with glowing, iridescent colours. Brilliant shades of blue, green, yellow, purple and red. And my eyes, they were...
I leaned in closer, until my nose was almost pressed right against the glass. No, I wasn't seeing things. My eyes were a swirling vortex of the exact same luminous colours, moving and shimmering like the northern lights.
I don't know how long I stared. It could have been five minutes or half an hour. I almost jumped right out of my skin when Eve knocked lightly on the door.
"How's everything going in there?"
"Umm... F-fine, thanks."
"Clothes fit okay?"
"Yeah... yeah they're good."
"Okay. Come on out to the conference room when you're done. We'll be waiting there for you."
"Sure..." I agreed vaguely.
Eve left.
It was another minute or two—or maybe significantly longer—before I was able to move. I was amazed, mesmerised and baffled all at the same time. For months I had been seeing shape shifters all over the news. On magazines and billboards and bus-stops and everywhere in between. Not once had I ever seen eyes like this.
Finally, with a huge amount of effort, I managed to drag myself away from the mirror. I picked up my bag and headed out the door, my head spinning, images of my swirling irises seared into every corner of my mind.