It's me and Paulie, in the middle of the woods. She's calling out to the hawk. But the hawk, the raptor, it isn't a bird anymore. Paulie disappears, because she is the hawk. They are one. The hawk swoops down to me and it becomes a dark cloud growing larger in my sight. Larger…larger…
"Mary! Mary we're going to be late, get out of bed!" my stepmother screeches up the stairs. I groan and throw the covers off violently. My uniform is folded neatly on the chair beside my bed. I'm glad; I realized I hadn't washed it. My stepmother must have.
The drive to school felt so different than last year. Last year, I was a terrified little mouse. This year…. I wasn't sure exactly what I was. Like I was under a magic spell that kept shifting my shape. One moment I was a tiger, the next a fat guinea pig waiting for a raptor to swoop down and peck out my insides.
"Mary!" I was at the school and didn't even notice. There was Cordelia, waving like an idiot. I smiled sheepishly and opened the car door.
She met me with a light hug. I returned. My father carried my bags while my stepmother talked to different teachers down the hall. Cordelia was cynically cackling about some "fresh meat". I remembered that used to be me.
"Hey, I'm gonna go down and see who my room mate is. I hear yours is a new girl. Are you in the same room as last time?" She said, and my head shot up.
I looked at the sheet crumpled in my hand.
"Yes, it…it um, looks like I am."
"Cool! I'll come up and visit you sometime in the Penthouse. Catch ya at dinner." She waved and disappeared.
"Hey Dad, I'll take it from here." Reaching out I softly removed my trunk from under his arm.
"Goodbye Mary." He nodded at me. No hug, no handshake. Just a nod.
Walking up the stairs things flooded back to me. Tears formed behind my eyes but I just clenched my teeth and kicked open the door. Someone shrieked.
"God, you scared me!" A girl flew back from the sink. Our eyes met. Something rushed through me like hot water.
She had shorn brunette hair that stopped directly at her chin. Her face was smooth and rough at the same time, her body strong and solid. The eyes she caught me with were an almost orange, like a tiger's.
"Oh, I- I'm sorry. I didn't mean to startle you." I looked down and my hair fell in front of my face.
"Don't worry about it, I'm really jumpy." She had a crooked smile on her face. She stepped forward and extended her hand. "Hey, I'm Kat."
"Hi, I'm Mary. People call me Mouse."
She laughed. "Wow…Cat and Mouse. Isn't that cute?"
I beamed, deliciously aware of her palm against mine.