You’re frozen in place as you hear your front door begin to open. Who was it? What do you do? These questions raced through your mind as you found yourself unable to move.
“Oh! Sorry!” a voice says before closing the door shut.
You recognize the voice. It’s Jocelyn. She went to your university and had graduated alongside you. Although you didn’t have the same major, you had a few classes together. So you would often share notes and sometimes study together. Especially since she lived in the apartment right beside you. But… what was she doing at your front door now? And how did she open your door? You were certain you locked it the day before.
“Hu listen. I need you to turn me back into a human. And I mean a human-human. You know, my ACTUAL old self. I need to answer the door and I can’t do it like this,” you quickly tell him, hoping he could tell you were in a rush.
“Very well. If this requires your original form then so be it.”
You feel the usual warmth return as it spreads through your body. Removing your fur and shifting your body back to its old self. You lose size and muscle as your face and head readjust to your human one. Within seconds you are back to your original human body as the heat fades. However, your eyes were now amber instead of their usual blue. You don’t even notice as you’re preoccupied with the resurgence of your clothes. You look in fascination as you see the same outfit from yesterday on your body.
A knock comes from the door again, drawing your attention back to it.
“I’ll be right there!” you say in your old voice as you stand up. You look at your reflection for confirmation before running to the door.
You open the door to see Jocelyn standing behind it, her face looking slightly red.
“I’m so sorry! I was just knocking to see if you were home and your door opened. I didn’t know it wasn’t closed all the way,” she apologizes as she’s clearly embarrassed. Although you feel more embarrassed in the moment at your carelessness. You must’ve made sure to lock the door but not closed it completely in your excitement the day prior.
“No. It’s alright. It’s my fault. I’m the one who didn’t close it fully,” you awkwardly respond in flustration, your own face beginning to feel warm. You were lucky that nobody had entered when you were transforming or even after you finished your transformation. You couldn’t even begin to imagine the excuses you would have made in that situation.
“Anyway, did you need me for something?” you try changing the topic, trying your best to ignore what happened or what could’ve happened.
“Oh, right! I was moving a few things to my car and I was wondering if you could help me,” Jocelyn said and pointed to a few boxes in front of her door.
“You’re finally moving!?”
“Yeah, I got a job offer in California and I need to begin sending my stuff to my new place.”
You smile and feel happy for her although you feel a slight tinge of jealousy. Why was it that everyone was able to find a job except you? It just didn’t seem fair. At this point you might have to consider Hu’s offer.
“No! What am I thinking?” you suddenly shout into the hallway as Jocelyn looks at you confused. “Er… sorry I’m a bit stressed. Still can’t find a job.”
“That’s alright. Honestly, I wasn’t able to find one that easily either. But after a few days I was able to get a really good offer,” she tells you sympathetically. “I’m sure you’re bound to get one eventually!”
“Thanks,” you say, grateful for her words. “So when are you leaving?”
“Probably tomorrow or the day after. I need to finalize a few things before I board a plane to Cali.”
“I’ll miss seeing you around. Your notes helped me a lot in my classes.”
“Hey, you also helped me with my assignments. I wasn’t even sure what some formulas even did until you explained them,”she responds with a laugh.
The both of you talk for a few minutes as you begin to help move some heavy boxes to her car. Eventually you place the last box in the trunk and slam it shut.
“Thanks for you help. It would’ve take me ages to put everything in here.” She’s in the driver seat and already has the car in drive. “We need to remember to keep in touch. Anyway, I’ll see you later.”
She waves goodbye as she drives away while you walk back inside the building and head to your apartment. You open the door and, making sure to properly close it, lock it.
You stagger to your couch and lay on it, slightly exhausted and unhappy. “Man, why is everyone leaving but me? Am I the only one who can’t find a proper job?”
Lost in annoyance and your recent conversation with Jocelyn, Hu and everything associated with him has slipped your mind.