A "Winds of Change" story

By Jon Sleeper

Saturday

At least, I hoped it was Saturday. I seemed to recall yesterday being "Friday" so today must be Saturday. Saturdays were my favorite days of the week. Because of one thing.

The band.

I blinked the last of the dream from my eyes and finally woke up (kinda) fully. Nine in the morning and my friends would be here at ten for an all-day practice. But this morning, for some reason, I found it hard to get myself going. I felt like I hadn't slept wink all night! And for a growing high school sophomore, and not yet having his First Sign, that isn't good. At least that's what mom says...

Of course my parents are up at the crack of dawn. They can't help it, though. My dad's a Middie elk morph, and my mom's a Hiddie whitetail deer morph. Cervids are early risers. I threw the covers off of me, and forced myself to stand up, then take the few steps into the bathroom that was just next to my own room. I sloughed off my pajamas and turned on the shower.

Ten minutes later I was a lot more awake. There was only one thing I hated about Saturdays. After a full week of school I always felt wiped out and very tired the next morning. A bit of coke helped that. Though this morning I felt odder than usual. LOTS odder. I shrugged it off to it being early in the school year and not having settled in yet.

I got dressed, and went back to comb my hair. I put on my glasses and looked carefully at the tufts that wouldn't lay down. "Goddamn it, I shouldn't have gotten that new hairspray." I said aloud. I never use the stuff. It looked like I had some sort of mohawk. I've never been too picky about my hair anyway, so I put on a hat and went out to breakfast.

Of course my father was busily tugging on his HUGE rack of antlers. Again. My mother was saying, "Yes, dear. They're very nice this year. Better than last year. Better than your first set certainly."

I couldn't help but chuckle. My mother looked at me with her soft doe's eyes and snuffed once, "You're smelling rested this morning, David." She said, ear-grinning.

"That's funny, I don't feel that way," I replied.

"Are the cars out of the garage?"

"As usual," my dad said. "I've set up Michael's drums, too." he finished.

"Great!" I replied. I ate fast and went out to tune my guitar.

I play a few instruments, but guitar is my favorite. I started playing with the chords, my garage door open, waiting for my friends. I'd played a bit of Paul Simon's "The Obvious Child" before Mano arrived. "You're looking a bit bedraggled this morning," he said.

"You noticed," I replied with a bit of a smirk. Mano was probably smarter than the rest of us by far. He was a bit of a mystery to me, though. I'd known him since seventh grade and have never known him to be out much. Mano plays practically anything with a reed, from oboe to clarinet to saxophone. He sat down on a folding chair right away, and put his alto sax he had together while he wet a reed in his mouth.

My best friend Todd arrived next with his guitar, "great day out there, guys. We should practice fast and head to the mall or something," he said with a smile. "Hey, Mano, what's up?" he asked.

Mano's response was a very un-musical "honk!" from his sax.

"Changing into a goose, eh?" Todd replied, smiling even wider. I'd known Todd since Before the Change just over nine years ago. Longer than anyone than perhaps Mano (whose actually been around longer, but not as my friend). Then Todd sat down on the chair across from me and started tuning.

Jim and Michael (don't call him "Mike") arrived last on their electric bikes.

"Hey Dave, what's up?" Jim said.

I just grinned and took off my hat, "my hair! See?" No matter what I did, it seemed, I just couldn't make that ridge of hair lay down.

Jim was looking at it closely, "That new hair spray?"

"Yeah. I'm sure it's not a First Sign or anything." I replied with a sigh. "I hope I get that soon..."

"You and me both," Michael replied. Those were the last words for a while, while we tuned our instruments. Of course, Jim was already ready, since a keyboard doesn't need tuning. Lucky.

"So, what we start with for warm up?" Todd asked.

"Paul Simon? Savage Garden? Hootie and..."

"No, NOT Hootie!" Mano implored. "Anything but them."

"How about some Jimi Hendrix? 'Purple Haze' maybe?"

"Well, if you feel up to it band leader," Todd joked.

"Funny, ha ha. Let's..." I had a brief moment of dizziness. I recovered quick enough that nobody noticed, though. Then I took a breath. "Guys, when what he last time you all took a shower?" The response to that was blinks of surprise. "Never mind. How about just 'She Moves On'?"

Nods all around, and Michael started us off. My turn to talk. Sing, rather. "'I feel good, it's a fiiine daay. The way haaay ha...'" I choked on the lyrics, and coughed a few times. Another moment of dizziness.

"You okay, Dave?" Todd asked in a concerned voice.

I really wasn't sure. My head felt like it was wrapped in a blanket. I tried to talk, I could only croak out "I'm fi-ne" before I decided to head into the house for a drink. I must have eaten a bad bowl of corn flakes. Yeah, that's it... I thought.

I could never have been more wrong.

I got into the bathroom just in time. My face went mostly numb, which is just as well. The first thing I noticed was a faint black-and-white striping on my face. Then with a cracking and popping sound, my jawline started to extend.

My whole skull was changing shape before my eyes. My jaw deepened, I could feel teeth moving around with my tongue. As my face swelled even more my lips seemed to go all rubbery, my nostrils flared with each breath. There was an odd creak from the base of my neck. My neck was getting longer with my altering skull, my upper torso changing slightly to support my head. My glassed hopped of my face and clattered in the sink.

My ears, small for a human anyway, elongated before my eyes and started to twitch and move all around. I hears things I never could before. Smell things I never smelled. No wonder everyone stank! My nostrils flared with the thought, I smelled mildew from the shower.

I had a definite equine muzzle now. As it completed itself there was no question. Zebra. I was a zebra! My hair had finally vanished, leaving the striped mohawk that stood straight up from a mostly equine neck. I reflexively shook my head on my newly flexible neck. I didn't seem to be the victim of the pins-and-needles sensation many seemed to get, so I took a while to look before I went to announce it (like I needed to say anything) to my friends and family.

I noticed several things right away, so I experimented. I felt inside my mouth with my tongue, feeling huge teeth. I moved my large ears around just to be sure I could do it, then I discovered those "rubber lips" all equines have. I stood there making faces until...

Apparently the Change wasn't done with me yet.

"Haa-haaw! Haa-haaw!" I screamed in a zebra's voice as I suddenly felt the tail behind me. One tail, striped like the rest of me from my chest up, with a tuft of black hair on the end. Of course my parents rushed in right away.

My father bashed the door in and looked at me rolling on the floor with my hand massaging the tail that was visible sticking out of the bottom of my shorts. It moved if I wanted it to or not, and my shorts weren't built for it.

Todd had come running to see what was going on, I heard him say "oh, WOW! Bet you're going to the Change Doctor now!"

I hadn't tried to speak at all, so I was understandably distressed when I spoke again, "Yeah ha. No kidding!" My voice was deeper, but it had NO musical qualities to it at all. I also kept wanting to make zebra sounds.

"Feeling better?" my mother asked. "Can you get up?" I nodded. "Well, we'd better go then." I could only nod, nearly knocking my chin against my chest. I felt my tail swish around, though confined by my shorts.

Todd was smiling, and he smirked, "always have to be first, don't you?"

"I guesso," I replied, wincing at the roughness.

The others were staring at me of course. Only Mano said anything before we left, "Dave, you've got stripes!"

The nickname would stick.

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