Page 11 of Dryad, Try Again
I’m not sure why I said that, but it makes us both calm down.
I look over to Cody and sense the strangest pull toward him. I was always told boys have to like girls, princes rescue princesses, and so on. But this is different; Cody’s the coolest boy I know. He rescued me from loneliness, and I want to treat him like the prince who saved me.
I crawl over to him, leaning near his face as he lies on the grass. He sits up and his smile fades, and now we’re both staring at each other. “You’re the only person who wants to hang out with me. The only one who makes me smile,” I say. “I…like you a lot.”
“I like you, too, Tan,” he murmurs.
I shake my head. “No, I mean…um…” Without overthinking it, I crawl forward. I lean into his face and kiss him, right thereon the lips. He doesn’t move at first, but doesn’t back away either.
Then, he moves his mouth. It feels good. Cody massages my lips with his, like he truly wants it. He’s soft, and tastes as sweet as candy and cupcakes. This is my first kiss, and it’s magical.
When I pull back, his face looks shocked. Then, his dark skin turns even darker. No, it’s turning into…wood?
“What the…?” I mutter.
Cody looks down at his hands in horror. Like Pinocchio, his whole body is shifting into a wooden person. Leaves are sprouting from his head and hands.
A woman from a few yards away shrieks, “Monster!” I turn around to see a crowd getting closer to us. When I turn back, Cody is gone. Instead, a giant tree monster is in his place. I try to crawl backward.I’m gonna die, aren’t I?
“Ah!” I yelp.
“No, I’m not a….” it bellows. The branch claws reach forward, and I shut my eyes. My head sears in pain, like I got a booster shot on my face. Something wooden, the monster I think, shoves me and I fall backward.
The next thing I know, grownups and kids surround me. When my hands come up, they’re red. There’s blood all over my palms. An ambulance is ringing from afar. My head throbs. Everyone’s muttering, but all I can see are giant trees floating around me. That’s the last thing I remember before going to sleep.
5
KOVI
I stepout of the trunk of the tree, my shifter form phasing out of the bark like a ghost through a wall. A dryad like me loves being surrounded by the flora. I could have lived here in the West Woods, but I didn’t want to miss out on the true college experience. Of course, that would have led to me avoiding the utter humiliation of last night’s party.
I groan and scratch my hip bark, then amble toward campus. The sun is up, and my human form needs a shower and a toothbrushing. I don’t need breakfast?perks of photosynthesis?but I could go for caffeine. But no, I won’t go to Mummy Mocha.
Because Tanner works there. AKA Tan, the little red-haired kid I used to play with. The one I kissed, and the one I nearly impaled. What are the odds I’d see him again and he’d be at CU? Why couldn’t I have graduated before they let humans in?
Once on campus, I shift back down, and enter Karloff Hall. I swiftly get up to my suite and start on my morning bathroom routine. As I shower, I groan inwardly at the events of last night. I’ve never been this embarrassed. This was probably worse thanthe day I cried to my parents, telling them I spontaneously shifted in public. They, naturally, forbade me from going out to the park anymore, and I was more than happy to comply.
Tanner…Tan. Ugh, why didn’t I realize from the name? He still has the same blazing red hair. And I flirted with him!
I let out a self-deprecating chuckle as I shut off the water. In my memories, Tan is adorable. And that first kiss we shared was nothing short of electrifying. It got me so hot and bothered that not only did I involuntarily shift, but I stayed as my dryad form for hours. The resources at OME would later instruct me to alternate between both my forms regularly to avoid these types of accidents, but I was a kid, I didn’t know any better.
And Tanner paid the price. Shit, I need to apologize to him.
When I walk out in a towel, Blake is already standing there in his boxers holding his toothbrush. “Oh, good, you’re home.”
“Yup,” I mutter.
“Get dressed. We’re going to get breakfast,” he states as he passes by me for the bathroom.
“Huh?”
“Seth told me what happened. He’s headed to work, but he said you needed a night to cool off in the forest. So now I’m here to talk to you.”
I frown. While there are very few secrets shared between Seth, Blake, and I?they know all about my horrifying childhood shifting incident?I still wish no one knew. But I can’t hide much from these two dudes.
“Nothing to talk about,” I mutter.
“Doubt it. And you’re coming with me to the dining hall, end of story.”
