After a fifteen minute or so ride Graham pulled into a local primary school Christina was vaguely familiar with and parked his car. He then turned his attention back to the frog sitting on his dashboard.
"Ok Christina, I wouldn't normally ask a lady to do this I promise, but could you jump into the jar for me?"
Graham held out the pickle jar Jenkins had stored Christina in earlier and she jumped oblingingly back into place, the lingering smell of her temporary homes previous contents hitting her all over again.
"Thanks" Graham smiled as he produced a green plastic tube from a compartment near the dashboard "Are you hungry?"
Christina croaked once, though she was a little apprehensive about what she might be fed.
"I assumed you wouldn't want to eat bugs and flies, but I found this at the pet store" Graham poured a small amount of the contents of the tube into the jar where it landed neatly at Christina's webbed feet "I have no idea what it tastes like, but apparently it's something frogs like to eat"
Christina looked down at the nondiscript granules on the glass floor in front of her. They didn't really look or smell like anything but seemed inoffensive. She decided to give it a try and was shocked at the speed and force with which her long, sticky tongue shot out from her mouth, snared a morsel of her lunch and flung itself back to her. The process was so quick she was barely able to even taste what she was eating, but it felt pretty bland.
"That good?" Graham joked.
Christina croaked twice to indicate it wasn't but continued to gobble down the contents of her jar until it was clean. She would need all the sustenance she could get for today.
Once fed, Christina was carried through to the class Graham would be taking that day and placed on his desk, facing towards several rows of giant children who all seemed to be inspecting her with curiosity. Once again it hit home just how small and fragile she currently was. The stack of exercise books next to her jar was towering over her like it was a block of flats.
"Ok, I'd like you to meet my friend, Christina the frog!" Graham announced as he opened the jar and invited his guest to jump onto his hand.
It was a strangely intimate sensation for Christina, having her entire, naked body cradled in a giant human hand. It had felt gross with Jenkins, but with Graham it was really quite pleasant.
"Why are you friends with a frog?" One of the children asked.
"Because this is no ordinary frog!" Graham announced theatrically "Christina was once a beautiful, young woman but she was turned into a frog by a wicked witch!"
It was actually a wicked wizard, Christina thought to herself, but she would take the compliment in her backstory.
"No way!"
"You're lying!"
"That's just a normal frog! We have them in my garden!"
These children may have been young but they weren't easily fooled. But Graham had an ace up his sleeve.
"Oh yeah?" Graham grinned "Can a normal frog do maths?"
The class all seemed to agree that it couldn't.
"Christina, what's five plus four?" Graham asked. Christina croaked nine times.
Some of the class gasped in amazement but a few weren't quite ready to believe yet. A bespectacled boy in the front row raised his hand.
"Christina, what is six multiplied by three?" He asked.
Christina carefully counted out to eighteen in croaks,. The boy looked amazed. More hands were quickly raisex and more sums were thrown at the performing frog and, while Christina was no mathsmatician, at this level she had no problem answering all of them. The class were enthralled by the spectacle.
"Ok, we'll be seeing more of Christina later, but I think she has earned herself a rest. Now, who knows where she will be staying today?"
"The terrarium!" Some of the brighter kids shouted out.
"That's right!" Graham confirmed.
The teacher offered his hand for Christina to jump into again and carried her carefully towards a shelf at the side of the classroom on which there sat a large (huge to Christina) tank filled with water and decorated with pleasant looking greenery. Relieved not to be back in the pickle jar, Christina leaped into the inviting water and was surprised at just how blissful it felt against her skin. In fact, this whole experience felt surprisingly pleasant as she glided about the place, her powerful hind legs propelling her with ease wherever she wished to go.
"Thanks Christina, that was awesome!" Graham whispered before placing the lid of the terrarium.