Biff took it slowly at first. Lakeside was a quiet town. The radio seemed to be talking about the Mist virus again. She didn’t want to listen to it, but her paws couldn’t quite work the control to change it. She was just barely getting by controlling the car.
The female voice was tinged with some concern but remained neutral. “-population of those affected by the Mist is less then 0.01% worldwide which is less then a million. There is no need for any residents to panic. Experts say that this cyclic nature of the phenomenon is normal and will receed. While this is higher then at any time in history, this is explained by the higher population-”
Biff scoffed at that. “Yeah, try being that 0.01%” she muttered. That’s why so little research was done. With the low numbers it was like it didn’t even matter. People- usually young teenagers or chidren changed, went through life, got old and died- then everyone and eveything was normal for a few generaitons and it came back harder each time. Nobody considered the storm when all was calm- Biff… included. She didn’t really have a care about it before. Sure, she heard something about a changed girl this morning and she heard the kids have their own class. Frankly, she envied them...they were not freaks to each other, but Biff was older and soon to face the world after she graduated. People changed at her age were even less then that one in a billion. She could be the only one… What the heck would her graduation robe even look like! Even if she did graduate… what would her photo look like...
It just wasn’t fair- She felt her paw lose its balance suddenly as she tried to reach the break pedal. However her paw slipped and she tried again. “Shit- SHIT!” The car lurched forward.
bang
Biff felt her body thrown forwards. She felt an instant sheering pain on her neck as the impact threw her from her sitting position. It was a crash… she just crashed her car… God no… No… what speed was she at? Maybe it will be okay… The sphinx groaned a bit.. “Oh.. shit….” She felt something bruised. Her.. wing? Damn- well- she didn’t use it anyway.
She saw a small family step out of the car. “Oh no...” there were kids at the back.
“My car! My car!” A man suddenly came out of the car. “You dented my car you freak!”
Biff felt her ears flattened. Her body- well- something in her was just gearing up for a fight. She suddenly realised she -could- very easily tear this man apart… if she wanted to.
A woman came out from the passenger. She seemed to be checking on something in the back. There was a young boy and girl there. Biff felt her heart skip a beat. This was… bad. Biff slowly crawled out of the car. She was dazed but.. her wing didn’t feel right. Not that it -ever- felt right.
“I- I’m sorry-”
“It’s a monster!” One of the children gasped. The boy with dark brown hair and blue eyes. He looked at her startled though.. there was no fear in his voice. It was more of excitement and wonder.
The girl knew that wsan’t the right word to use. “No- she’s one of those um- changed people-” The elder girl quickly told her siebling. “We can’t call em monsters.” She seemed somewhat mature for a six year old. She was a pretty girl with blonde hair though looking alike with similar facial features.
“She’s gonna eat me!” The litlte boy said- who couldn’t have been more then three years old. Her older sister however seemed amused at that.
“No she aint! She’s cute!”
The boy looked at her again still ever curious.
“Uh...” Biff steadied herself on her paws. She was trying to fold her wing but the pain didn’t allow her. Crap… what was she to do about it now?
“Look dear, no harm was done.” The man’s wife quickly said perhaps noticing how distress Biff looked. “It’s okay, and the important thing is that nobody was hurt right?”
The man, Phil, seemed to calm down a bit on seeing the state of this strange.. lion woman. His wife was right. “Yeah… I’m- I’m sorry too. I didn’t mean to shout. Just I had my kids in the back and… I thought it was some guy being a dick-”
Biff struggled to contain the tears in her eyes. She was glad of that. “.. can we.. just swap insurance,” she whispered. She wanted out of this situation and away from the pyring curiousity of the two children.
Phil looked at Biff at that putting his hands in his Jacket. He seemed to be evauating her with a practiced manner. “… are you even insured?”
“Of course I am!” Biff growled.
The man polished his glasses before taking another look. “… uh, I hate to break this to you. I work in insurance. A changed body as yours… is not insurable. Not with a standard car as that… even then...”
Biff swollowed. She had not actually told anyone about her.. condition. When she just suddenly decided to drive off. She realised it was going to be… damn- oh crap. She was in worse trouble then she thought! Points in her license possibly going to .. to jail?! What would something like her do in a jail!
Phil looked at her as Biff started swelling with tears. “Hey- hey- . Look it’s okay.” He glanced at his own expensive car compared to the teenager’s and sighed. “Look… let’s.. keep our insurers out of this one okay Come on…”
“Really? C-Can we?” Was he really going to just let her off? It was entirely her own mistake. Biff didn’t like to owe someone a favour though.
Phil looked again at his car with the massive dent- that was probably a six hundred dollar cost at a minimum. He then the look of his wife and the children.. and back to Biff. “Yeah I don’t… think it’s worth what would happen to you under the circumstances. You’re still young.. everyone gets one.” He gave a soft smile. “Here, let me give you my card. I specialise in unique insurance needs- maybe we can sort a quote for you in future right?”
Biff looked at the card.. and at her four paws on the ground.
“Eh… I’ll just slip it in your car seat.” Phil passed it through Biff’s window.
The two children were still looking a bit in awe of Biff. The young girl especially. “She looks so cute! Look at her wings!”
Biff felt herself smile at that. A slight fang of her teeth in view. “Uh.. thank you. Really. I mean it.”
Phill’s wife then gestured to Biff’s car. “Tell you what, want me to drive you home? Phil you can drive the kids home, I’ll take her back to wherever she needs to go.”
“Sounds like a good plan,” Phil nodded. “Come on kids.”
“I want her dad!” The boy suddenly blurted out. “Can’t we keep her?”
“When you’re old enough, I’ll get you one. Come on...” Phil gave an apologetic look to Biff. “Kids,” he winked. “Have some of your own and you’ll have to lie about the entire world all the time.”
Biff gave a cautious smile at them. This was an awkward enough situation for her.
“I’m Sandy,” The woman said. “So, let’s get you home.”
Biff glanced to Sandy as she drove her car. She was a bit cramped up in the passanger seat. “You know, I think Thomas really liked you,” she smiled.
“I guess,” Biff shrugged. She didn’t really want to talk about it. “I live just up the road.. you can part it there.” Her own car had a broken light. She probably wasn’t going to be able to drive it in a while. Still her wing ached and was growing worse. “Urgh...”
“You okay?” Sandy asked the young sphinx.
“Yeah.. my..” She didn’t want to say -wing-. She didn’t even want to aknowledge it was there or might be broken or- anything. “Just a bit sore.” She muttered. “Thanks for.. um… you know. I can’t really repay you.”
Sandy laughed. “Well- you know there is one thing you could do. Would you be interested in doing a bit of baby sitting?”
Biff gasped. “What? Me? Baby sit? But- I- I don’t even have any hands...”
“You were able to drive around for a bit.. besides I think it’s good for the kids to have some experience of changed folk. Just consider it dear,” Sandy nodded. “So, park here? Oh! What was your name by the way?”
“Y-yeah...” Biff looked awkwardly. It made no sense at all.. why was she so trusting… Biff was a monster! “My name? It’s.. It’s um…I’m.. B-Becca..”
She felt somehow like she lost something… but.. maybe.. she had gained something too.
