Anthro: Chapter 4

Chapter 4 of my novel in progress.

CHAPTER FOUR

 

After several hours of bringing up stuff from the car to her new room, organizing everything the way she wanted and bidding her parents farewell, Terra finally dropped onto her bed and let out a long content sigh. She stretched out and looked up at the posters she had tacked to her ceiling, she grinned with a satisfaction of her job.

Terra sat up in her bed, when she heard a rapping knock on the door. In the doorway stood a tall well-built female, she had the resemblance of an Alaskan malamute. The girl sported white and gray fur with medium length black hair. She wore a short stonewashed gray sleeveless tank top and blue shorts.

“Ahh, so you must be my roommate then if I’m not mistaken?” The girl asked sipping a cup of coffee as she leaned against Terra’s door frame.

“Yeah, hi, Terra Cheltari,” Terra greeted getting up off her bed and putting out her hand.

“Ashia Karsune, pleasures all mine. Nice setup you got going here!” Ashia replied shaking hands and scouting out Terra’s space.

“Thanks. Are you all set with your own room? If not I could help out.” Terra asked opening her fridge for a water bottle.

“Nah, I got a little bit of this and that to complete but I can handle it. You might want to shower up for the welcoming ceremony though. Things start kicking off tonight at around eight thirty or so.” Ashia said tapping her watch and heading back to her own room.

Terra’s wall clock read six fifty-five.

“Oh yeah, that’s right, thanks for the reminder!” Terra recalled as she began to gather up some shower supplies and something nice to change into.

“Hey! Try and take a fast shower so I can get in myself okay?” Ashia warned as Terra dashed into the bathroom locking the door behind her.

 

Terra stepped into the shower, yanked the curtain shut and began washing her hair furiously. After rinsing off, she leaned against the shower wall and let out yet another long sigh.

So much had happened to her, not to mention all of it on her first day. She had finally met her roommate, who Terra could already see in becoming a close friend with; she was to be asked out by the guy she had, in truth, fallen for. If all of that wasn’t enough, she had been accepted into a college specialized for students much like her free of charge! That was one thing that could be difficult for anyone to get over she was sure of it!

Her thoughts then returned to that very afternoon at the registration building. She was, as they had said, a very exceptional student to this school, why exactly, was what had her baffled. Terra threw back her hair and peeked out of the curtain a moment to stare at her key upon the bathroom counter. With the school colors embedded and her own name etched into its surface was a nice touch but was the key just for her dorm or did it serve another purpose, maybe it was her ticket of entry to the meeting held next week Thursday for her. On the inside, she somewhat hoped for the latter.

She felt normal and she hadn’t experienced anything unnatural recently, but by this college’s standards she was something more than the regular run-of-the-mill student. If only she knew why.  

Suddenly, the door was being heavily pounded on from the opposite side. Ashia called through the door irritably.

“You know, I distinctly recall that cats actually hated getting wet! If I’m wrong, then by all means, tell me why you seem to be enjoying that shower so much!”

Terra grimaced; she had completely forgotten why she had been in such a hurry in the first place.

     After several curses upon herself, Terra leapt out of the shower, wrapped a towel about her, and then unlocked the door. Ashia stood there, arms crossed, a look of spite in her eyes.

“How long?” Terra dared.       

“Fifty-seven minutes.”

Terra cringed, her ears drooping slightly, “Sorry.”

“Ahh, it nothing big, what happened though? You fall asleep or something?” Ashia asked calmly as she slipped past starting up her own shower.

“No, I was just thinking about my first day here so far. Sorry again for taking so long.” Terra explained as she began to get dressed into her set of formal attire.

“Forget it; it’s good this building has a massive water heater though. By the way mind if I ask you something?” Ashia called from behind the shower curtain.

“Sure, about what?” Terra responded putting in a pair of earrings.

“Did you by chance happen to see a German Sheppard guy talking about me at all?” Ashia asked.

Terra stood up and suddenly realized whom that other student Sly was hanging with was talking about. He was going to ask Ashia to the dance!

“Yeah I did actually! I think his name was Shep, said he was going to ask you to the bash tonight!” Terra replied with a slight grin.

“Ugh! Great, now that slob is going to be after me all night long!” Ashia complained punching the curtain.

“Is he…really that bad?” Terra thought looking back at how she had actually viewed Shep.

“You saw him right? Just look at him, he’s wearing such baggy pants that his boxers are always showing, and that undershirt of his has a huge beer stain down the front. The Hawaiian button down that looks like he hasn’t washed it since he bought it, his hair reaches his shoulders and I swear that cap is trying to hide something underneath it! He’s a total slacker!” Ashia complained.

“Looks are not everything you know, he might be a really sweet guy on the inside,” Terra countered brushing back her hair.

Ashia scoffed.

“I’m serious! In fact, I bet since this is to be a formal party that he’ll be looking real sharp tonight! If not then I’ll give you my own, autographed poster of Ben Warren, Whaddya say?” Terra asked clipping on a jade stone necklace she had gotten from her grandmother at the age of sixteen.

“The country Christian rock artist? How did you get that? Never mind, okay fine, but how about, if I’m right on how he’ll look, I get the poster and you have to go with him to the dance no matter how bad he looks! What say you to that?” Ashia shot back.

Terra’s heart dropped into her stomach, her own roommate was trying to make a devils bargain with her! Sure if she won she would get the satisfaction of matching her roommate up with a really great guy but if she lost she’d loose her favorite poster and have to dump Sly and date his best friend instead! Terra shuddered at the thought.

“Well? Do we have a deal?” Ashia questioned as she held out a soaked hand from behind the curtain.

“D-deal.” Terra agreed shaking hands with regret.   

“Alright then, well I still need to finish up and all so how’s about you head down to the front desk and ask for directions to the dance? Meet me back here when you’re done kay?” Ashia agreed continuing her shower.

Terra perked up and allowed herself a roguish grin “Sure…I’ll go and get the directions, just take your time and I’ll catch you later!”

Terra ran to her room then reached under her bed withdrawing a huge black box; she opened it and withdrew a pair of hair scissors, a bottle of cologne, and some styling gel. She was stuck between the facts of thanking her Aunt Luce for sending her this set from her salon and why she had never used any of its contents before. She then picked up the phone and began dialing.

“Safters front desk, how may I help you?” Someone answered on the other line.

“Yes, I need the room number of Skyler Grenherst please.”

“One moment…the number is…”

 

     There was a knock on the door of room 384 and Sly folded down the paper he was reading and looked to the door

     “Get that will ya Sly? I’m having a little trouble keeping my hair down!” Shep called from the bathroom.

     “Yeah, yeah, I got it covered! Hold on!” Sly answered as he walked to the door that was still being knocked on constantly. Sly opened the door to find Terra standing there before him in a striking Crimson dress holding something behind her back.

     “Terra? Wow! Uh...you-you look really nice! What are you doing here?” Sly said taken aback a bit by how stunning Terra actually looked.

     “Thanks. Err…has, Shep finished getting ready by chance?” Terra asked hoping Sly would think she was planning to go with Shep instead.

     “Ah...no, I don’t think so, why?” Sly questioned looking back to the bathroom.

     “Because, that girl Shep was ranting about earlier-”

     “He still is.” Sly interjected

     “-Well she’s my roommate.” Terra finished.

     “Wow, that’s-um, neat. Why do you want to know if Shep is finished or not?”

     “Well the thing is that she thinks Shep is a total slob and I came, for reasons unexplainable, to help Shep look better for Ashia.”

Suddenly Shep skidded out of the bathroom in just his dress shirt and pink boxer shorts looking around madly.

“Who said her name? Is she here? Where is she? Huh? Where?” Shep began frantically asking.

“Dude! Put on some pants! There’s a lady present!” Sly roared pointing to Terra who had turned away intent not to stare.

“That’s not her! Where is she?”

“No it’s not, and if it was you would have scared her off! Now get on your damn pants!” Sly bellowed

“Alright! Alright! Sheesh!” Shep complained heading back into the bathroom.

“Sorry about that, now what were you saying?” Sly asked shaking his head in disappointment.

Terra was doing her best to hold back a fit of laughter, but with little success.

“Err, Terra are you okay?” Sly asked and saw that she was attempting to cover her mouth but an unmistakable grin was showing through.

“W-what’s so funny?” Sly asked, a slight chuckle in his words as he attempted to figure what was so amusing.

“H-he wears p-pink boxers? Pink?!” Terra managed to get out through her numerous giggles.

“Oh, that, yeah he says only real men are brave enough to wear pink. I just think he’s nuts.” Sly said helping Terra to a chair.

Soon, Terra finished and wiped the tears from her eyes; she took in a deep breath and tried holding it in but then burst out laughing once more. Sly sat across from her watching as she continued her fit of humor.

“Done?” Sly asked when Terra had finally calmed down.

“Yeah, yeah, I’m okay, I’m fine.” Terra sighed. “Now as I had been saying before, Ash…I mean, my roommate, made a bet with me about Shep, if he doesn’t look like a complete slacker this evening then she’ll go out with him.”

“And, if he does…what then?” Sly asked and Terra’s ears drooped at this.

“Then I have to go with him to the dance.” Terra mumbled her fingers fidgeting in front of her.

There was a moment of silence between the two; the steady ticking from the wall clock was the lone sound that broke the silence.

“And…I presume you agreed to this?” Sly asked and

Terra nodded.

Sly sighed and rubbed the back of his neck.

     “So what was your plan?” Sly asked causing Terra to perk up a bit.

     “W-well, I was going to give Shep a makeover of sorts. That’s why I had those with me.” Terra explained pointing to the bag of hair clippers, cologne and gel on the floor.

“Well then, in that case, I’ll get a chair and you grab the supplies and set them up.” Sly announced getting up from his seat and yanking a fold-up chair from the small kitchenette table and unfolding it. “Alright then I’ll be right back I just hope she hasn’t left yet.”

Sly rushed from the room and soon returned with a tall female equine student dressed in jeans and a white top.

     “I can’t thank you enough Jenna for staying back to help us out. Terra this is Jenna, She’s one of our dorm advisors, plus she is going into the field of cosmetology. Jenna, Terra, Terra, Jenna.”

     “Please to meet-” Terra began but then Jenna let out a gasp of fright.

     “Oh, I see what you meant Skyler boy! Just look at this frizz and split ends, we must get started right away!” Jenna explained, and then proceeded to sit Terra down into the chair.

     “No, no, no! Jenna! It’s not her; it’s my roommate who needs work!” Sly stopped her just as she was about to start snipping at Terra’s long hair.

     “Oh, well, this is embarrassing, sorry about that hon, by the way I can give you some excellent tips to help with your hair, just give me a ring sometime, okay?” Jenna apologized in a giddy valley girl tone.

     “Thanks, but I’ll keep my hair the way it is, thank you!” Terra mumbled as she brushed down her hair to keep it away from Jenna.

     “Alright then! So where’s the victim of this so called hair emergency, hmmm?” Jenna asked setting up a table with cutting supplies.

     “He’ll be out in a minute, watch.” Sly said with a coy smile. “OH, LOOK, IT’S ASHIA, SO GOOD TO FINALLY MEET YOU, WELL, SHEP ISN’T READY YET BUT-”

The bathroom door unlocked and once again Shep slid into the main room, this time with his pants on.

     “Where! Where is she! Is she really-” Shep exclaimed but was cut off when shoved into the chair by Sly.

“Terra, quick tie him down with this!” Sly said tossing a belt to Terra who latched Shep to the chair.

“Hey man! What the big idea? Let me up, now!” Shep bellowed struggling against the bindings.

“Oh calm down hon! This’ll be over within a few minutes! Now just sit still this won’t hurt a bit.” Jenna claimed whipping off Shep’s hat and picking up an electric razor from her personal hair kit and flicking it on.

“Wait, what are you gonna do with-Hold on! What if I don’t want…wait I like my hair long! No don’t! No! No! NOOOOO!”

Shep’s cries of terror drifted off across campus into the night as the transformation ensued.

 

(Minute’s later)

“So how’s it coming Shep, are you nearly finished getting dressed?” Sly asked peeking into the room.

“First of all, for what you did, death is imminent for you pal! And secondly if you don’t stop bugging me, your fate only draws nearer! Now back off!!” Shep bellowed throwing his dress shoe at the door.

 “Well you got thirty minutes, just to warn you!” Sly yelled through the door.

“Yeah, yeah, whatever, damn tie!” Shep responded lazily as he fussed with his tie.

“Thanks again for the help, Jenna!” Terra called out after the D.A.

“No problem hon, I just wish I could do something about your hair now!” Jenna called back with a giggle.

“Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha…Yeah right!” Terra laughed sarcastically slamming the door shut then sighed.

“Well, I’ll make sure Shep looks in tip-top shape for the dance, you better head back up before Ash…I mean, your roommate figures anything out.”

“Oh, shoot! That’s right! Quick, do you happen to have a campus map at all?” Terra recalled what she was supposed to be actually doing this whole time.

“Sure, here you go, uh do you want your hair supplies back at all?” Sly asked.

“Lets just make a trade off later, your map for my supplies, kay?” Terra said quickly as she began down the hallway.

“Terra wait! Err, I want to ask you something real quick.” Sly called bringing Terra back.

“What’s on your mind?” Terra asked brushing a strand of her hair from her face.

“I-I wanted to ask you…if you would go to the dance with me!” Sly blurted out all of the sudden.

   Terra blushed. In reality, Sly had never asked her to go with him yet. But she already knew that he was going to from what she overheard of Sly and Shep’s conversation in the stairwell. She felt like smacking herself for knowing therefore ruining a perfect moment between the two of them. She quickly thought of how she could fix the little moment.

   Terra then stood on her toes and kissed Sly on the cheek making him ease up a bit.

“Yes.” Terra whispered then she walked down the hall looking back a few times at the stunned fox and finally heading into the stairwell and out of sight.

Author's Note

Corrections, advice, reviews and constructive criticism are welcome!

3/27/11 Update:
I'm pleased to see that I've received quite a few views on my story here but unfortunately still no reviews or criticisms. Again I would be most pleased to see someone even offer minor input of any kind! In hopes of getting this I will be adding another chapter to the list and see what comes of it. Please make an effort to review or say something so that I can further improve my work!