Shapeshifter.

Z

zombiiiez

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Isaac Evans sat quietly at his desk in his office, hunched over a heap of papers that needed reading and grading. It was a daunting task, considering the subject matter. Two months prior, he'd given his students the assignment, instructing them to write an 8-10 page paper on the effects of corporations such as Wal-Mart on small towns, and other such injustices to small businesses, or "little people."

A half-drank beer sat on the desk next to his keyboard, accompanied by two other empty bottles of the same brand. This was how he unwound at night. As he thumbed through pages, his head began to hurt, and he sat back, rubbing his temples as he took deep breaths. He reached for his beer, chugged the last few gulps, and sat the now empty bottle next to the others.

It was then that his impulse became too great for him to control. He frowned in concentration, and a half-smile appeared on his lips as he began to morph. He could feel his cells mutating, his limbs retracting. It was almost painful, but it was a good pain, he thought.

Seconds later, a black and white tuxedo cat replaced him on the swiveling desk chair. He swished his tail and hopped onto the desk, knocking the bottles over with a clatter to the ground, a few flecks of leftover beer splashing out and onto the stack of unread papers.
 
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Eclaire Silivan stood in the door as she watched as the man she'd come to know as her teacher Mr. Evans jumped up on the desk as a cat. The girl couldn't quiet believe what she'd just seen. She'd come to him to check on her grade--she had to get a b + minimum on the paper to keep her perfect 4.0 GPA for the semester. If she didn't her parents would yank her 'free room and board at the college of her choice' scholarship type system they had set up and make Eclaire work while she studied which would destroy her GPA completely.

She'd opened the door with the expectation that the man wouldn't be there--she'd been fully ready to leave a simple note for him to call her back and tell her her score so she could sleep through the night. She hadn't expected to watch a man contort in pain and then slowly fall out of view to be replaced by a cat.

The bell that was at her neck which she always wore around her neck jingled as she inhaled sharping, filling her deprived lungs as she stared with large brown eyes. Her Tripp dress that (See spoiler) contrasted with her milky skin and silver framed glasses revealed that she had either come straight from classes or a party. Her messenger bag revealed it had been the former rather than later. She wasn't a party girl. She hated parties. She just liked wearing the clothes that gave off a different picture of her than she really was.

"M-M-Mr. Evans?" She squeaked.
 
Isaac heard the jingle first, and then the squeak of a voice in the doorway. It was Eclaire, one the student he'd admired - hardworking, and dedicated. He knew that she valued her education, and it was a rarity to find that these days..

"Fuck..." he thought to himself. Maybe she hadn't seen him change. Maybe she would just figure he was a cat and that would be that. He eyed her suspiciously for a minute and decided to pull the cat card... He approached her silently and sat in front of her, swishing his tail and purring. "I'm a cat, I'm a just a stupid cat," he thought. "Just a cat.."
 
Eclaire took a step back, almost letting the door swing shut to cut him in half. She rubbed her eyes as she stared at the cat, waiting for it to do something that would prove to her that she hadn't been dosed or somehow or another this cat had been sitting there and she'd just over exerted herself into thinking that it had been a human. Slowly she stooped in such a way that her skirt didn't flash anyone, even the cat, and watched the cat before offering a hand to it for it to smell. Her mind was in hyper drive and she wasn't going to let go that he had been a cat. No, she was going to figure out some way to prove that Mr. Evans was one or the other. "Hello kitty," she said softly. "Do you have a owner?"
 
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Isaac looked at her outstretched hand and pondered what he should do. He leaned his head forward to sniff her fingertips, and after a couple seconds, he pushed his head against her entire hand, purring quietly. He stood and circled her legs, hoping this would be convincing.

It was slightly awkward...brushing himself against her slender ankles, putting on an act of enjoyment and affection. If cats could flush from embarrassment or shyness, this cat would be. He continued this for a few minutes, and decided it was time to go. Never mind the empty bottles and half-graded essays.

Without warning, he darted off to the commons down the hall, where teachers and students alike would gather in the daylight between classes or teaching. He made a brief look around, heading for the mens' bathroom which was across from the womens' in a small hallway towards the corner of the commons. It was there he made the quick change back to his human form.

He pushed himself into the mens' bathroom, and hurried to flush a toilet, followed by the sound of running water from the sink. He splashed the cool water over his face, looking at himself in the mirror. "You idiot."

He left the bathroom and headed back into the commons, hoping Eclaire would just assumed he'd left his office for a bathroom break. His heart fluttering with nerves, he made his way back towards the hall that would lead him back to his office.
 
Eclaire had called out after the cat and started to run after it, knowing the campus rules did not allow pets. She made it to the commons just as the cat disappeared into the bathroom. Frowning and looking around she saw several people staring at her. Blushing she turned and walked back, ignoring the giggles that came as her bell jangled with each step. She'd gotten used to that a long time ago. It wasn't all that odd to get the occasional grin or snicker as she walked by because of the small silver bell that tapped at her throat.

Sighing with disgust at her overactive imagination she walked into his office and went to write the man a note. When she'd written it she noticed the spilled bottle of beer and the two left on the desk. Sighing softly she picked them up and tossed them into the trash before looking at the pile of already graded papers. Nibbling her lower lip, she stepped closer before looking at the door.

She had to know. She wouldn't be able to sleep otherwise. When she didn't hear anyone nearing his room she stepped forward and started to ruffle through the papers, trying to find hers. "Don't let anyone see this, don't let anyone see this," She was muttering to herself as she neared the end of the pile. She was regretting looking. She hadn't seen her's by the time she'd reached the end of the pile, which only made her anxiety worse so she started to go through them again, just to make sure.
 
"Looking for something?" Isaac questioned smoothly as he stepped into the doorway. "I haven't gotten to all of them, as you had probably noticed."

He stepped into his office, his heart calming, but only slightly, as he approached her. He gathered up the tests, somewhat booting her out of his way. He was extremely focused on the papers, and couldn't look her in the eyes as he noticed the bottles in the trash.

"I suppose I should thank you for disposing of those," he said, nodding to the garbage can. "And I also suspect that I could trust you not to let the faculty, or any other students, come to the realization that their professor drinks after hours at school." Or anything else...

He sat down in his chair, thumbing through the stack of ungraded essays for Eclaire's. "Yours will be the last I grade for the evening. I don't usually take to corresponding with my students outside of the classroom, but I know you're just dying to know how you did.. am I right?"
 
The young woman jumped practically the room length away from the desk, her back pressed against the wall as she looked up at the man. Her heart stilled, worried that he was going to yell at her and chase her out for looking at other people's tests. She slowly started to edge out of the room, shaking her head.

"No need to thank me Mr. Evans," the girl said as she back up towards the door. "Um, you, erm, needn't worry about it," she said weakly before stopping in the doorway and nibbled her lip. "Mr. Evans, you might want to keep your door closed. There was a cat that got in here when I first came in here. It seemed friendly enough but one never knows with strays." Despite her words of denial that he didn't need to worry about it, her eyes were on the test that he had fetched. She wanted to race over and consider the essay. Her fingers were trembling to run over the score and know what she'd learned. She wanted to ask him about the cat, but she also wanted to find out her grade.
 
"Oh, I'm sure he's harmless," Isaac replied, going to the small table behind his desk to put on a pot of coffee. He silently cursed himself for admitting to the cat being a 'he.' As he prepared the coffee, he looked over his shoulder at her.

"You don't have to leave. I can get you a cup of coffee if you want to wait for me to finish grading this," he said, holding up her essay in one hand as pressed the "On" button of the coffee-maker. The water began trickling into the filter full of Gevalia and down into the pot.

He sat down once more at his desk, motioning for her to sit in the chair across from him, but only if she wanted. "Although, I suppose it's getting late, and you're probably tired from the long day."
 
She watched him from behind her lenses and slowly stepped forward to sit on the chair. It hadn't been one of her best essays. She knew she could have done better but she'd been stressed for time. Now she could only hope that she'd get the grade she needed. "Coffee would be nice, Mr. Evans," she finally said as she watched him, "But I never mentioned the cat was a he. Is he yours? He took off towards the restrooms, maybe you saw it?"

She was watching his reaction more than listening to his words. Maybe the coffee would wake her mind up and show her that she'd just been feeling to tired to watch things carefully. Sometimes her mind could bring up the strangest things if she'd been cramming and working hard in the recent time.
 
He was taken aback, hoping that Eclaire wouldn't notice the gender tense he'd placed on the cat. He had to think quickly.

"I call all cats he's, for some reason," he covered. The coffee sputtered the last of the water into the pot, and he quickly reached behind him to pour two small cups, one for himself, and one for Eclaire.

He set the cup in front of her and began reading through her paper, although, not really reading. He was preoccupied by her question, and a bead of sweat accumulated on his temple and began running slowly down the side of his face. He nonchalantly wiped it away and glanced up to make sure she hadn't seen. He read faster than what a person would expect, making corrections on grammar here and there, and underlining sentences he liked. Finally he'd spent enough time in silence while sipping at his coffee and dropped the paper on the desk before her, an A- stamped on the front in red ink.

"Very well done, Eclaire."
 
Eclaire took the cup of coffee and simply held it, watching the pen marks on her paper appear. Her heart leapt as she saw the grade and she beamed at him, pushing herself up. The sip of coffee she had taken had woken her up and the grade had set the part of her mind that was worried about her grade at ease and now she could focus entirely on the problem of him turning into a cat.

She had no doubt about it after that sip of coffee. "Mr. Evans, I did have one more thing I would like to discuss with you," She said, putting her paper down along with the coffee. "Can you turn into a cat?" She said it quickly, softly, but directly, holding his gaze as she asked it. There were really only two ways he could react--telling her yes or by acting as if she were drunk or high as most college students were, and she knew she wasn't the latter.
 
Isaac sputtered on the hot coffee he'd been swallowing when Eclaire asked him the question. He was sure he couldn't keep up the facade of a guilt-free existence, especially not from her. She was too bright, and he'd deflected the subject too many times already for her to not be suspicious.

He set down the mug and looked her directly in the eyes.

"Eclaire..." he sighed. "Yes."

Instantly he felt the pang of embarrassment as he remembered rubbing himself up against her legs, nuzzling her hand, and this time, she'd be able to see the flush of color to his cheeks. "Please understand that I was only trying to convince you otherwise, er... before..."

Isaac had never felt more shame in his life. First, alcohol consumption, and now the carelessness of shapeshifting on school grounds, in his very own office, no less.
 
Eclaire stared at him, her mouth dropping open a little. She felt herself flush a little as she stared at the teacher. Honestly she might have preferred if he'd called her drunk. Slowly she stepped back as she remembered him rubbing up against her legs and had been too cute to ignore. The young woman couldn't figure out just what to say. Instead she grabbed the first paper she found near her coffee cup and turned, bolting from the room before he could stop her.

It would take her time to actually understand this. It went against everything that she knew about the universe. It wasn't until she was halfway across campus that she noticed that she didn't hold her own paper in her hand but that of another students. Groaning, she came to a stop and debated. She could turn, go back to the man, return the paper and leave, or she could demand answers, for him to explain it. She bit her bottom lip and looked around, considering the darkness around her. Groaning as she took another sip of coffee she turned and trudged back. It was maybe ten minutes before she got back to his office door. "Mr. Evans?" She called through it, not going to walk in on any more man-to-cat shows if she could help it.
 
"Forgot your paper. Don't worry, I'm human," he half chuckled as he grabbed her paper and held it up, his elbow propped on his desk. "Eclaire, you have to promise that you won't tell anybody about this. I know it's absolutely ludicrous to believe, and I know you must have a lot of questions for me, that is, if you even want to know."

The 10 minutes and coffee and residual alcohol buzz had given him more confidence than he'd had before, and a clearer head. He thought about bribing her with A's for the rest of the semester if she promised not to tell a soul, but that seemed like a dirty thing to do, especially considering it was Eclaire he was talking to, not some bimbo attending college for the boys and booze.
 
Eclaire looked at him and walked over, dropping the paper she had grabbed on the graded piles and took the one he held out to her. Well, snatched would be more like how she took the paper. It wasn't that he frightened her--well he did, but at the same time how could someone that turned into such an adorable creature be dangerous?

As she stuffed the paper into her messenger bag, she avoided his gaze before she downed her coffee, hoping it would give her some form of confidence in the situation. It was difficult enough having a teacher as good looking as Issac was, to top it off he could change into an adorable kitten! How was she ever going to deal with this during class when she had to sit there taking notes?

"Mr. Evans," she said before she slumped into the chair she'd been in earlier, staring at him as her mind wound itself around the information. "How? How can you do it if you are human?"
 
He leaned back in his chair, taking a breath before beginning the story.

"About 8 years ago, before I transferred here, I was working at UCLA as a lab assistant for the biology department. They were experimenting with mutations that happened in the m-RNA of amphibians, and more specifically, the development of tadpoles into frogs. What they found was that if they altered the encoded message in the DNA, they were able to control the growth and development of said tadpoles, and the timespan it took for them to change. They were able to control when a tadpole would be able to mature, and thanks to the mutation in the DNA, they were also able to control *what* it could turn into.

"It sounds crazy, I know. It gets better. Eventually, they decided it was time for human experimentation, and being the expendable lab assistant with no living relations or friends to speak of, they couldn't think of a better candidate than myself. I don't remember much after they put the mask on my face to put me under, but when I woke up, I felt... different. At first it started out that I would change only partially, say growing a tail, or a pair of ears. But as the changes started happening more frequently, soon I was able to morph fully into a feline specimen that they studied.

"One night, I'd had enough, and I just... escaped. No human can keep up with a cat, let's be honest. I changed my name, started wearing glasses, and shaved my face. I even studied a whole new degree in order to teach here. 8 years later and they still haven't found me. And I doubt they ever will."

He studied her as he explained, wondering how much of it would really sink in, and more importantly, how much of it she would accept.
 
Eclaire watched him as he explained before standing and walking around the desk. Without waiting she pulled his glasses off his face and stared at him, trying to imagine him going without them all the time. She frowned as she rested against the desk. While on any other girl that was studying him so closely her pose--hip resting against the desk, head tilted curiously to the side, eyes examining every inch of his face for some sign that he was lying--might been considered sexy or even seductive, especially with her mini-skirt style dress, she was able to pull off looking simply studious.

"And say I believe all this," she said slowly before she shifted so that she could sit on said desk--her feet were killing her from the boots she'd worn with the outfit that went up to just below her knee. "That means, at will you can change from a perfectly hot guy to that of an adorable cat." It was already out of her lips before she could stop it. She'd meant to say a perfectly normal guy, not hot. She wanted to stuff a gag in her mouth sometimes and never take it out.

"I want to see it. You changing. I won't believe it otherwise," She said, trying to cover up her embarrassing mistake by pushing forward. Despite her pink cheeks she kept her gaze locked on his face, though it was a challenge. Any other time she might have looked down and away or simply fled. She was more comfortable with books and essays than men. This man however wasn't normal and she felt that she could be bolder, less shy around him.

((And with this final post, I bid you good eve xD I'm going to stop watching these movies before they rot my brain. Sleep well when you do sleep, looking forward to seeing your reply))
 
Isaac was surprised by her sudden actions... was she coming onto him? It was then that his mind rushed to all the things that could go wrong if someone walked in on what was going on.

He took her hands in his and pulled them away from his face, then reached for his glasses, replacing them on his face. Next he stood and stepped backwards, away from her.

"Eclaire," he said firmly. "This is highly, highly inappropriate. Granted, I'm flattered by your sentiments, but we can't do this here. You saw the other students, few as they may be, out in the commons, did you not?"

He pondered if the next statement was a good idea or not. And then decided fuckit, tonight had not been a night for good ideas anyway.

"If you come to my apartment, I will show you there. I simply cannot risk someone else seeing me here tonight. I'm not being sleazy, but you understand the circumstances, don't you?"
 
Eclaire stared at him for a minute before slipping from his desk though she didn't near the the man as he backed up. She frowned a bit as he called whatever was happening inappropriate. She turned from him, her embarrassment rising. She hadn't meant for it to be like this. She'd just been curious.

Slowly she picked up her bag and went to the door, keenly aware that he was inviting her to his home which was offering up a whole crap load of new opportunities--both ill and good. She stopped in the doorway and looked over her shoulder as she stopped just at the doorway. "My curiosity and sanity is on the line Mr. Evans. If that is the only way I can see what I saw before then I'll take the chance of sounding like one of the girl's that would sleep like a grade and agree to come to your apartment," she said, her eyes watching him with that same curiosity.

Sighing, Eclaire rested her hand on the doorknob and looked down. "When would you like me to come Mr. Evans? To be truthful I'm exhausted and don't think I can drive tonight."
 
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