FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

"Next please!" the lady at the desk said

I was third in a big line-up of people who wanted to be the schools new mascot. Our school's sports team is The Middleton Junior High Wolves, my friend Ted had always teased me about how I should join a sports team, but all the spots in the football team were taken, and I was the new girl in school.

"Next please!"

I really didn't want to be like those peppy girls in cheerleading, flipping up their skirts and talking about how, "Guy's like the girls on top best." I think that that is one of those things people do to new girls at the school.

"Next Please!"

So here I was, signing up for the position of mascot because the old one had moved out just as I moved in. Hoping I make the cut.

"Name please."

"Cassie Hardwood," I said.

"Home room class?"

"9H"

She looked up from the desk at me and said, "Gender?" Then she looked at my chest and said, "Oh. Sorry honey, I have to get new glasses."

That was kind of rude, I thought. I thought the name Cassie would be enough to convince her I was a girl, and my chest isn't exactly large, but it is hard to miss. She handed me a slip of paper and said, "Go to the gymnasium in five minutes, with the slip and your gym clothes."

I walked out the door to see Ted standing outside the door waiting to greet me. He had brown hair and blue eye's and I had black hair and brown eyes. We walked along the hallway towards my locker to get my gym clothes.

"So," said Ted, "how did it go?"

"The lady at the desk gave me a slip and told me to get my gym clothes," I said.

"Sounds like you're in."

"The lady was rude though, she thought I was a guy for a second."

"Well let's see, you're wearing a Metallica T-shirt and black denim jeans, and she is as blind as a bat. You shouldn't hold it against her."

He was right. How many girls' do you know who wear Metallica T-shirts? Not many I bet. And the lady at the desk was old, it's not her fault she needs new glasses. I got my clothes and shut my locker to walk towards the gymnasium

Once I got there, I was nervous to go out and supposedly make a fool of myself. Ted and me did our good luck handshake, and when I pulled back my hand, I found what looked like one of those lucky rabbits foot's, but it was gray and it had a claw at the end.

"It's a wolf paw," said Ted, "it brings good luck."

I looked up at him and found that the thought of good luck calmed me down.

"Thanks," I said.

"No problem," he said, "but I suggest you get in there and change, or do you want to be late?"

I slipped into the girls changing room and found the mascot costume lying on the bench. I looked at it as I put it on in he mirror; it looked more like a cartoon dog than a wolf. The costume fit like a glove and I finished by putting the wolf paw that Ted gave me in my shorts pocket and putting the gloves on my hands.

I walked out into the gym with the slip of paper in one hand and the costume head under my arm. At the end of the gymnasium, there was a table and on the other side of the table were a few teachers, judges I guess.

"Welcome, Cassie Hardwood," one of the teachers said, "May we see the slip of paper please?"

I walked over to the judges and handed them the slip in a gloved hand, they took it and I stepped back while they looked over their notes. One of them looked up and said, "Ok, here is basically what your job is, once you put that head on, you cant speak except to do a wolf howl every once in a while, like when our team scores a point, or growl when the opposing team makes a penalty."

"You can also do some thing's like jump up and down, clap your hands, or *ahem* wiggle your backside to simulate the tail of the suit wagging," said another judge.

"Now, if you could do the things we just listed for you, we can grade you."

I did everything they told me to do, jumping up and down, cartwheels (although it was hard to do with an oversized head), even shaking my but to make the tail wag. Then came the final part.

"Ok, doing good so far, now, do the last part, the growl and the howl."

I thought to myself: well, hear goes my reputation. I looked for that deep voice somewhere in my throat, and let out a menacing snarl and threw back my head and howled, and it was even convincing to me. I lowered my head and peered through the mesh eyeholes of the wolf head, and saw that all of the judge's eyes were on me. They quickly looked over their notes then looked at each other.

"Ladies and gentlemen," one of them said, "we have a new mascot!"

I quickly changed back into my normal clothing and went to greet Ted at the good news.

"I made it!" I said, "I made the cut! I am the new mascot!"

"Wow, congratulations!" he said, "Great job. We should head home now, its your first day as the new school mascot tomorrow, and its also the big game against the West Field school basketball team, you should get some rest."

"Ok," I said, "see you tomorrow."

---

The next day, I was as nervous as a squirrel on sugar. I felt around in my gym shorts pockets for that wolf claw that Ted had given me, I couldn't find it; I had lost it! That and I hadn't felt the best when I woke-up, but I knew this was an important game for the basketball team, so I came despite the way I felt.

"Ladies and gentlemen," the speakers in the gym announced, "here they are, your school's basketball team, The Middleton Wolves!"

That was my cue to get ready. I slipped into the mascot costume, and found it was warmer than the first time I wore it.

"And here to cheer them on is your cheerleaders and your mascot, Archie the Wolf!"

I came out right after the cheerleaders waving my hands in the air as I came out. The cheerleaders did a pyramid and I let out a loud howl, it was better than the one I did in front of the judges!

The coach blew his whistle and the game began. And as the game began, so did the pain. My arms and legs felt itchy, my head felt like it was inside church bells, and my feet started to cramp. No, I thought to myself, if I let people see that I'm in pain, then that means Archie is taking a trip to the hospital, and I'm here to motivate the team.

I heard a ripping sound and saw that the feet of the mascot were being torn apart, and underneath the costume; I saw only what could be described as wolf hind-legs, my hind-legs!

The same thing happened to my arms and hands, the muscles in my arms rippled and tore the sleeves of the costume. And what was once my skinny white arms with soft fingernails was now a arm with shaggy grey fur and claws for fingernails, black coarse pads formed at my now digit-grade toes, the ball of my feet which is how I stand, my fingers, and the palms of my hands.

I heard a ripping sound and saw a shaggy, wolfs tail explode from the backside of the costume where the false tail once was. I was able to move it back and forth and it looked like I was wagging my tail. By now the pants of the mascot was in shreds on the floor.

My head began to fill the false mascot head. My face stretched into a wolf snout and my ears traveled up the side of my head and stopped at the top where they changed their shape till they were wolf like. My snout burst through the snout on the costume, fallowed by the rest of my head that split the false head in two and fell to the floor.

I opened my eyes to see that all other eyes in the room were staring at me. My transformation was complete; I was a large wolf, standing erect on my hind legs. The only thing I had on that wasn't shredded was my own grey fur and the mascots jersey. If it were possible to blush through grey fur, I would have. One reason was because everybody was eyeballing me in the gymnasium, another reason was because I didn't even have underwear on anymore, but the thick fur had covered everything so it wasn't too bad.

I was about five seconds from running out the door crying, when someone in the stands across the gym stood up, it was Ted! The crowd was dead silent.

"Hey everybody," he yelled, "let's give it up for our new mascot, Cassie Hardwood!"

The crowd exploded in applause and everyone clapped their hands and cheered. I let out a long howl and they cheered louder.

"Play ball!" the coach yelled, and the game started again. Every time our team sunk the ball, I let out a howl and wagged my tail. And every time the other team got a penalty, I would growl and snarl at them, and I was having fun doing it!

Our team won 45 to 38; I think the other team was scared that if we lost or if they got any more penalties that I would run over and eat them. But it's nothing like that, I don't have a craving for raw meat and I didn't want to taste flesh and blood like people describe in movies about werewolves. That's what I am, I thought, a werewolf. Once the game was over, our coach walked up and shook my hand, or paw I should say.

"Well done Cassie," said coach, "you really helped the team! I spoke to the team in the locker room and they all said that you inspired them to go and play to the best of their abilities. They also said that you might have intimidated the other team a little too, I'm proud of you."

"Thanks coach," I said, my voice was a little more raspy now that I was speaking through a different throat, "sorry about the mascot though."

"That old thing? That thing may be the reason why we never won a game for almost five months! That thing was more like a cartoon dog than a wolf anyway."

Ted came up to me through the crowd with a look of happiness on his face. We did our handshake and walked out of the gymnasium heading towards my locker to get my normal pants.

"Congratulations," he said, "You helped us win the basket ball game."

"You wouldn't happen to be the cause of my transformation, would you?" I said.

"No, but that wolf paw I gave you might," he said, "That might be the reason for your current appearance. So, how about we celebrate, kibbles and bits? Or ice-cream?"

"Ha-ha, very funny, could you at least wait until I have some clothes on?"

I got the clothes out of my locker and walked towards the bathroom. "So, you wouldn't happen to know how to reverse this, would you?"

"By now it has become part of you."

"Well that makes sense, but how I change back?"

"Basically, you do the opposite of what you did to become the wolf, be the human."

I walked into the girl's bathroom and felt myself wanting to be the human I was born as. Amazingly it worked! Everything was transforming backwards. As I changed back to my human self, I thought of other ways I could use my new power to help people, and not just the basketball team.

END