Catherine was just coming around the administration building after her uncovered dash across the parking lot. There was another large open space coming up and then the campus center where a group of guys and girls were standing around talking.
Catherine looked back and forth to weigh her options. Then she looked down at her misshapen body. She wanted to cry but couldn't afford the time. Who knew how quickly the others were taking their turns? The quickest path was into the bushes behind the group of students. How could she face people recognizing her? But there didn't seem to be another way. Leaving the safety of the building's edge, she crept slowly to the next hiding spot.
"Check it out - a stray!" one of the guys commented pointing in Catherine's direction. Terror seized her. Knowing they could not see more than her down on all fours and her tail from where they were, she walked nonchalantly into the nearest shadows, her heart pounding. Luck was on her side this time though. There was a shadow from the large maple in the planter. She could sneak along it and hide in the box hedge that the group was sitting near.
Stealthily she crept along, waiting for someone to step to this side of the large planter. No one did. Safely inside, she realized she recognized a couple of voices. She was almost numb with horror as she tried to remember the rest of the plan. How did she wind up here? It was supposed to be a night in with the girls staying out of trouble, yet here she was naked, outdoors on campus inches from classmates. On top of that she wasn't even human having acquired pieces of dog all over her body. It was time to make a break for her dorm. As she took a deep breath, the hedge began to rustle.
A male voice said, "I'll be right back. I need to pee." Then there was Chris. They locked eyes. She yelped and bolted. As she turned, she heard him ask disbelievingly, "Catherine?"
Disoriented by her shock, she jumped right into the middle of them. The girls screamed; the guys backed up startled, but Catherine kept moving. If she ever got back into her normal body, she was sure she would here about this one. Still, with people confronted, she merely stayed to the side walk and ran as fast as her four legs would carry her. Soon the dorm was in sight. Running to the stairwell with the broken light, she jumped and hit the handicap door opener with her front paws. She stepped into the hallway and came face to face with a girl in her English class. Then Catherine vanished again.