I sat there for the longest of moments, staring at myself. It shouldn'tâ no, it COULDN'T be possible! That same black chitin; those hole-riddled legs; the tail, the muzzle, THE WINGS AND HORN!?
I just became a Changeling.
A FUCKING CHANGELING!
My breaths became shallow and quick as I tried to wrap my head around this bizzare turn of events.
Then a cough attracted my attention, and I paled.
Everyone in class, including the teacher, was staring at me with wide eyes and a strange purple glow around them (which I later learned was something only I could see).
My breaths became even quicker as my brain threatened to shut down. What just happened, WHY did this happen, and why NOW!? A dreadful feeling dropped like a cannonball in my gut.
A short moment of stunned silence passed.
Then one of the girls screamed, and the classroom was sent into utter chaos.
Papers flew as the students rushed to their feet, likely scared witless by the sight of me; Mr. Adler rushed towards his desk to grab something for defense; and I was frozen in my seat, trembling in fear. What was going to happen to me? Was there anything I could do, or was I helpless?
It was only when Mr. Adler obtained a pair of scissors that I managed to move.
I scrambled to my feet â or rather, my hooves â and leapt off the chair, straight out of my much-too-large-for-me clothes. Students rushed out of my way as I made a break for the door, tripping and stumbling over my new appendages. I reached it in no time, but quickly realized I had a problem; I couldn't open the door anymore.
Frantically, I tried to use my hooves to open the door, but they were far too smooth to acquire any purchase on the knob. I tried my teeth, but yelped out in pain as my new fangs clipped the knob. Finally, in one last desperate effort, I stupidly tried clawing at the door itself with my hooves.
That, of course, provided no such luck.
By that point, Mr. Adler had rounded his desk and was approaching me, scissors gripped tightly in one hand. I caught sight of the blades and immediately panicked, rushing towards the back of the classroom like an idiot.
Almost immediately, I was cornered.
I cowered as Mr. Adler closed in, a look of terror on his face. He raised the scissors, and I put my hooves over my head as I cried out, "Please!"
He froze in bewilderment, recognizing my voice even through the strange vocal effect. "R-Rove...?"
I trembled, not even looking up. "P-please, Mr. Adler, I'm too scared to die!"
His eyes widened as my voice confirmed his suspicions. He lowered his scissors slightly as he stuttered, "Wh-what happened to you...?"
I shook my head, tears of fright forming at the corners of my eyes. "I d-d-don't know!"
His face contorted to one of frightened concern. His initial reaction subsided, and he dropped the scissors. "Y-y-you don't?"
I nodded slightly, whimpering.
Mr. Adler slowly, very cautiously, crept forward. I cracked an eye open at the sound, and the sight of my strange new eye made him freeze for a bit.
Then, mustering up the courage he had, he knelt down and placed a hand on my cheek, lifting up my head to face his. He shivered at the feeling of my chitin, but powered through like a champ. "Rove, I... I-it's, uh..." He struggled to find anything to say, but came up blank.
I opened my other eye and stared at him, utter terror written on my face. "Wh-what's gonna happen to me, Mr. Adler?"
"I... I have no idea," he whispered, the concern now starting to overpower his fear, "but whatever this is... Whatever caused this... I'll do what I can to help."
Sniffling up some snot, I gave a hesitant smile. "Th-thank you..."
Then instinctively, I reached forward and gripped him in a hug. He froze initially, but after a moment of composure, he moved his hand to comfortingly stroke my head.
The sensation of him practically petting me was frighteningly comforting.
Eventually, I managed to pull myself out of the hug. Mr. Adler stood up and moved back to his desk, past the students who were all off to one side as if I were a wild animal. He grabbed the phone and dialed the main office.
"Mrs. Farvald, we've had a bit of an incident."
He then began to explain what happened as best he could while the rest of the class looked back towards me, some even pulling out their phones to take pictures. I, on the other hand, went back to staring at my arm.
My Changeling arm.
As soon as Mr. Adler finished, he walked back to me. "Alright, Mrs. Farvald has asked me to bring you down to the office, where you can wait for your Mom to pick you up. Do you, uh, think you'll be okay walking?"
I nodded shakily. "I... I think so..."
"Alright, let's get going."
He reached down to take my hoof, and he helped me up. It felt freaky, being able to remember how to move fingers but not actually having any to move anymore.
As he helped me to the door (grabbing my backpack and clothes for me), he turned back to address the class. "Class is on pause until I get back. Don't do anything you'll regret."
With that, we entered the hallway. It was eerie, the stillness allowing my hoofsteps to echo down the corridors. We walked in silence for a moment, me getting accustomed to walking on all fours. It was weird; I used to be eye-level with Mr. Adler's shoulders, but now I came up to just under his waist (not counting my horn).
Eventually, Mr. Adler broke that silence. "So, erm... do you have any ideas of, uh, what you are now?"
I nodded. "I think... I think I might be a Changeling."
He blinked. "A Changeling?"
I explained, "From a TV show my friend likes."
He raised an eyebrow. "Really? That's one hell of a coincidence..."
"i know..." I chuckled emptily.
A moment of silence passed, before he asked, "And, uh, how are you holding up?"
I shook my head. "I dunno... Just this morning, I was wishing for something interesting to happen, but this? I mean, look at me; I'm a bug-pony!"
Mr. Adler took a moment to look over me. "You have to admit, you do look rather cool, even with all those odd holes in your legs."
"Well, yeah, but I didn't ask to become one! I've just lost my humanity, and become a freak! You saw how the class reacted; heck, you saw how YOU reacted!"
He cringed, "Yeah, I'm sorry; I didn't actually see it happen, and I just kinda panicked..."
I lowered my head. "I don't blame you. I've become a monster..."
Mr. Adler gasped at my words. "You are not a monster! You are Rove Hummel, and you're still a person; you just... Have a new body."
I considered his words for a moment. "I suppose... Let's just hope they'll be able to see it, too."
We walked a few more paces before we rounded a corner, coming within sight of the office. Through the door, I could see the secretary, Mrs. Farvald. She took a glimpse out the door, then did a double-take when she saw me, eyes widening in confusion. I wilted at her gaze, but Mr. Adler kept me moving forward.
When we entered the office, she asked, "Mr. Adler, is that... Is that Rove?" He nodded, and she looked back at me. "You certainly weren't lying..."
I looked down at the floor, unwilling to make eye contact. "C-could you just call my Mom, please?"
She nodded, reaching for the receiver without taking her eyes off of me. "T-take a seat, please."
I moved to the waiting area and jumped up onto a chair, taking a moment to get as comfy as I could. Mr. Adler placed my backpack next to my chair, then draped my jacket over my back. It barely fit anymore, but that allowed some room for my wings.
Everything just felt so wrong.