Mary closed her eyes tightly and gritted her teeth.
I really should have tried this at home first, thought Mary. I have no idea what it will be like. Will it hurt? Will I lose control? How big will I get? Oh my gosh ... what if I burst out of my clothes?
Mary's heart raced with excitement, but she didn't feel any different. She heard the sound of an occasional snicker or chuckle. Slowly she opened her eyes. Mary saw all the other students smiling at her, wide grins plastered on their faces.
"Okay, Mary. I think we have waited long enough. Please take your seat," said Mrs. Ethel.
Mrs. Ethel felt sorry for the girl. Mary was smart, but so very peculiar. Always going on about transformations and other nonsense. Mrs. Ethel felt it had been very kind of her to let Mary proceed with her ridiculous request for an assignment. She had waited patiently for Mary's 'transformation' into a werewolf, imagining some kind of magic trick or fancy stage makeup. But this had gone on far too long. The girl had just wasted too much class time. She would talk to Mary after class and give her another oral assignment, maybe something about the Greek gods. They were always transforming into animals or turning other people into animals. Maybe something about Circe would satisfy Mary...
Mary hung her head in shame as she walked back to her seat.
"You didn't really think you were going to change into a werewolf, did you?" asked Brittany, the most beautiful girl in class and Mary's nemesis.
Mary blushed bright red.
"Oh my God! She did! What a loser!" said Brittany loudly. "As if you could get any hairier!"
The class broke out in loud laughter and Mary felt even more embarrassed.
"That's enough, class!" said Mrs. Ethel, loudly clapping her hands. "Please be respectful and act your age! Brittany, I want to have a word with you. The rest of the class can take a five minute break before the next presentation. "
The class surged forward, each student rushing to get out of the classroom. Some students headed for the snack machine, while others ran straight for the restroom. Mary felt someone push past her, giving her a rough shove on her shoulder as they walked by. Mary turned and saw Brittany give her a sneer before heading into the bathroom. Apparently Mrs. Ethel's little talk with her didn't last very long. Reluctantly, Mary followed her into the restroom. She didn't want to go in there, but she wasn't feeling very well.
In the girl's restroom, Mary rubbed her sore shoulder. Everything seemed to be hurting a little and her heart was still racing. She felt like a fool. It didn't help that Brittany was making snide comments about her to the other girls. Brittany was gabbing away as she checked her reflection in the mirror, careful to make sure her makeup was perfect. But that didn't stop her from bad mouthing Mary. She fled to the stall to hide. When Mary was sure that everyone had left, she started to cry.
Mary couldn't understand what went wrong. She had taken the right vial. And she had followed the instructions. Well, what little instructions had been included with her purchase. Maybe it had been a bad idea to buy a box of magic potions over the internet. Sure, the seller had high ratings. But maybe everyone was right - there was no such thing as magic and she was a fool for believing it.