“She has abs, man. Summer never did a single sit-up in her life,” Tommy said to Liam as they smoked weed together.
They were protected from the rain by an abandoned pergola in the park. A family of owls on a tree kept them company. The rain was worsening as Liam thought about his kid crush on Summer.
“It is happening,” Liam said thinking about Pris. But he decided not to share his suspicions about her with Tommy. He was too worked up over Summer already.
“What we should do? There is no Quarantine anymore …”
“Do you really want to them to lock Summer up in one of those concentrations camps?”
“Concentration camps!?! It looks like an Olympic Village! You heard the stories coming out of there ... sex, huge orgies. She would be happier there, living with her kind,” rationalized Tommy.
Liam could not be more adverse to Tommy’s opinion.
“What’s really the problem, Tommy? What is actually tormenting you? Tell me … what’s the worst that can happen? Summer will beat you up?”
Tommy had some difficulty answering that question, considering he thought it might be true. He was still struggling to find an answer when suddenly a three-colored stray T-Cat appeared from nowhere and caught one of bigger owls from the top of the tree with a single jump, causing the others to flee and take flight.
“Did you see that!?!”
“Wholly fuck …” Liam mumbled as he watched it.
The T-cat’s size was closer to that of a small panther than a house cat. It ran faster than a Cheetah with its large prey in its mouth. It was elegant, happy ... and deadly.
“ ... she is as muscular as a horse ...” mumbled Liam.
Tommy was suddenly scared that there might be other stray T-cats nearby. Even though he knew that T-Animals generally did not attack humans and were mostly friendly, they had been known to kill to protect themselves or their offspring.
“Well, that killed my buzz,” said Tommy, putting out his joint.
“You aren't afraid of a T-Cat, are you? It is just a little pussy,” said Liam.
Tommy ignored him and walked slowly, watchful of his steps as he passed over some bushes.
“Summer likes cats ... I don't. How do you know that T-Cat is a she? Her size?”
“T-Females are naturally more muscular, aren't they? By the way, I’m not 100% sure but I think some of the girls in our class may be starting to change into T-Girls. I just noticed that Christin is looking somewhat different ... and Marion, too. Marion is already so tall …”
Liam emphasized with his hand two inches above his head, and then added another half.
Tommy tightened his hood around his head.
“Yeah, the rich, brainy snob and the diva volleyball star will become even more insufferable now,” he said, speaking as if those two girls were the lowest of creatures.
Liam snapped.
“What the fuck is wrong with you? From you of all people … I didn't expect you to be the one taking this idiotic stance against these girls. I just can’t understand it.”
“What you mean 'me of all people'?”
“Ah, no… really? You really want to talk about it? Pris and I know about your thing for muscley girls. We knew about it even before there was a T-Gene thing. We thought that the T-Gene was what you always wanted … and now…”
Liam noticed that Tommy was not following him. He was just standing with a perplexed expression on his face some feet away. Liam wasn’t sure if he was even listening.
“Are you going to freak out? There is nothing wrong with it … who gives a shit? I mean, look - now we have Amazons in every city. It should be a happy ending for you, right? I was never into Amazons, but even I get it. They must be phenomenal in bed. I mean …”
Liam's speech did not appear to have any effect on Tommy. He was still stuck in a seemingly inert state.
Finally, Tommy opened his mouth.
“Summer knows about this?”
Liam was not sure. Pris and Summer had been getting awfully close lately.
“We never told anyone … it is personal, dude. But it is not our fault either. You were sloppy with it. We just saw ... ”
“I think I’m going to vomit,” said Tommy.
“Dude, do it. Exorcise those dark feelings. But first I have one last bit of bad news ...”
“What?”
“I suspect that Pris is going to be a T-Girl, too.”
Tommy threw up.