The Last Shapeshifter Ch. 03

The teacher in Sabrina's second hour class was droning on about political science, but Sabrina wasn't paying attention to a word. Her thoughts were too scattered by the morning's events. It had started with an early morning phone call from Trevor's father. He had asked her if Trevor had stayed the night at her house. She replied groggily that she hadn't seen him since school yesterday, and asked if anything was wrong. Trevor's dad apologized for waking her and said he must have misunderstood what his son had said, then abruptly ended the call.

When she was a little more awake, she seemed to recall that Trevor's father had sounded genuinely concerned. She texted Trevor, "Hey, your dad called asking where you were. What's up?" Normally Trevor would text back within a couple minutes, but her phone remained silent. This caused a cloud of worry to slowly envelop her brain, and when she got to school, she actively looked for her friend and asked her classmates if they had seen him that day.

Sabrina thought Max might know something or at least be of some help tracking Trevor down, but he showed up minutes before class started. She tried to give him a quick hello and ask questions, but the moment he saw her, he ducked into the nearest restroom. When that happened, worry blended with confusion as she wondered what the hell was going on. One of her best friends was missing, and the other had avoided her. She played back their most recent interactions in her mind and could not see how she might have offended Max. She teased him as much as usual and didn't feel like she had crossed a line. Trevor on the other hand had, well, he had acted a little odd yesterday, especially after that asshole Lance had knocked him down in front of everyone. Maybe his pride had been hurt, or maybe...maybe it was something else. She couldn't forsee him doing something stupid though, not intentionally anyway.

Sabrina's mind swirled these thoughts about during first hour and midway through second, when they were interrupted by the soft buzzing on her wrist. Phones were not allowed in class, at least, not openly. They could be in your pocket, bag, or purse, just not out in the open where they were seen as a hostile enemy towards educational development. But thankfully, someone had invented smart watches. Sabrina tilted her wrist casually, which only looked like she was checking the time, and saw that she had received a text. Her heart sped up when she saw that it was from Trevor. Her first thought was relief that he was okay, but then she read his cryptic text.

"Emergency. Meet me at Second National Bank in 30."

Sabrina glanced away at her watch, stared at the teacher for a few seconds, then looked at her watch again. Why the hell did Trevor want to meet her at a bank? Maybe he really was doing something stupid and was in trouble. If he needed her, of course she'd come but, this was bizarre. She raised her hand to get the teacher's attention. He stopped his lecture abruptly and acknowledged her.

"Yes, Miss Patterson? Do you have a question that pertains to the topic at hand?"

"No, I'm sorry. I just need to be excused. Lady stuff." Her candid response caught a few snickers, but she couldn't waste time arguing with her teacher, not if she was going to be at that bank in 30 minutes.

The teacher did not appear flustered by her request. He didn't even respond verbally, just pointed to the restroom slip on his desk and resumed talking. Sabrina got up and took one, then retreated from the room. She immediately took out her phone to examine the message again, and saw that it had been a group text. The other name on the list was Max. That was good. She could ask him why he was acting weird while they drove to the bank together, for their friend, who was acting weirder. Why couldn't she have normal friends?

Sabrina stopped by her locker and retrieved her purse, then walked down the long hallway where freedom beckoned at the end. There was a possibility a teacher or administrator would try and stop her, but she was a senior. Underclassmen were kept on a tight leash, but when you were a senior, you could get away with more and more as the year went by. Not one person blocked her path though, so she confidently strode out the double doors and into the sunshine. Her eyes squinted immediately at no longer being in artificial light, and she used a hand to block some of the sun's rays. She kept walking towards the parking lot, scanning not just for where she parked her car, but if Max had somehow beat her outside. It was a forgone conclusion that Max would come. Of course he would. But then where was he?

When she got behind the driver's seat of her car, she thought about leaving without Max. Maybe he hadn't been able to receive the text in his classroom like she had. She'd give him another minute, then would take off. A minute passed and she turned the key in the ignition. A second later, she saw him. He hadn't come out the door she had, but had exited from another part of the building and was heading towards his car. She backed out and headed his way. She laughed as she saw him react like he'd been caught in the act of skipping. But then he recognized her car and relaxed, but didn't get in. Rather, he continued towards his own. Sabrina shifted into reverse, rolled down her window, and yelled, "What are you doing? We're going to the same place. Get in."

Sabrina watched Max hesitate, like her car was infested with bees or something. Then his head lowered in defeat, and he opened the passenger door. Sabrina was now trying not to be offended. "Dude, are you avoiding me this morning?"

Max wouldn't look her in the eye, but squeaked out a soft, "No."

Sometimes Sabrina liked a little mystery or adventure in her life, but she wasn't feeling it at the moment. "Yes, you were. I saw you this morning. You ducked out of sight the moment I saw you. What's up?"

Max gave a deep sigh. "I just...I just don't want things to be awkward."

Sabrina gave him an inquisitive look. "What are you talking about? What would be awkward?"

Max was about to answer when Sabrina ventured a guess. "Is this about whatever's going on with Trevor? Did his dad call you too?"

Max's facial expression seemed to register that she was close. "He did call me. I told him I hadn't seen him since yesterday at school."

"And that was the truth?"

"Yeah, why wouldn't it be?"

"I don't know. I just hoped you had seen him, because I hadn't, and his dad sounded worried over the phone. And then he wants us to meet him at a bank, during school, I mean, is there something going on I don't know about?"

Max gave a low chuckle. "It has been a strange twenty four hours."

Sabrina focused on blowing past a yellow light before digging into that statement. "What else has been strange?"

"...you know..." Max said in his quietest voice yet.

Sabrina managed a glance that she hoped conveyed how lost she felt. "No, I don't know much of anything right now. Anything you could tell me about what's strange I would love to hear."

"Well, I'm glad you didn't think it was strange. It was just a little out of the blue for me. I mean, don't get me wrong, I'm glad it happened, but..."

"What happened? You're speaking a foreign language right now. What the fuck are you talking about?"

Max looked hurt by this. "Us, at my house yesterday. Hooking up."

Had she not recently merged onto an expressway, Sabrina would have slammed on the brakes. Instead, she gripped the steering wheel very tightly and growled, "Excuse me?"

Max watched his friend tense up, and assumed she was also having second thoughts about yesterday's tryst. "Uh, you know. At my house when we..."

"No, I really again don't know what the fuck you are talking about? When did this make believe fantasy of yours happen?"

At this, Max became angry. "Don't act like it didn't happen. If you don't want to talk about it, that's fine. We never have to bring it up again if you don't want to, but don't deny it."

Sabrina was so confused, and angry, but she wanted answers. She also hated that this weird conversation was happening while she was driving. "Okay, okay, I'm sorry. Please, yes, let's talk about it. What happened?"

"Shut up," Max moped.

Sabrina gritted her teeth. "No, really. Please go over the details with me. Please, I want to know."

Max proceeded to tell her about the events that he claimed happened yesterday. Sabrina had come back into his house shortly after she had left it. They had talked a little more, she had teased him about getting an erection, things got heated between them, and they started making out. Then she had given him a blow job. Right after, she seemed to freak out, then left in a hurry..

At the start of her friend's tale, Sabrina was convinced that Max was making it up. But he kept adding detail, and seemed to very adamantly believe that she had been there and done those things to him. As she pulled up in front of the bank, she began scanning for Trevor, while trying to talk reason to Max. "Okay, look, I don't know if you got really, really high on something after I left, but that wasn't me. I didn't come back yesterday. I went home. I most certainly didn't come back in and stick your dick in my mouth." She sighed as she saw her words sting him. "No offense to your dick. I'm sure it's very nice, and will make a girl very happy someday, but..."

"Why are you doing this?"

"Doing what?"

"I didn't initiate it. You kissed me! And now you're denying it all. That's a pretty shitty thing to do."

Sabrina clasped her hands together and put them in front of her mouth. She wanted to scream. She was really worried about both her friends now, but she was not going to let Max be mad at her for doing something she hadn't done. She was about to let him have it, when someone rapped on her driver's side window. She turned to see who it was, and recognized the face. "Mr. Burrtrick, what are you..."

Mr. Burrtrick motioned to the back door and lifted the locked handle. Sabrina's worry spiked with fear now as she unlocked the back door. Trevor was nowhere in sight, but his father was here, and seemed frantic. She would have to table Max's crazy right now, which she really didn't want to do, but she wanted answers about Trevor.

Steve Burrtrick climbed into the back seat. "Drive," he ordered.

Sabrina was taken aback by this. "Uh, we're actually here to, well, to pick up your son."

"I know," Steve countered. "I'm going to take you to him, but right now it's important that we get away from here before...well, please, just go."

The strange and weird kept coming and all Sabrina could do was stare at him blankly for a second, then ask, "To where?"

Instead of giving her a destination right away, he seemed to ponder it for a moment. "Uh, I guess, I mean, go to the uh, the Must Stay motel."

"That's like, 30 miles away though."

"Yeah, it'll be perfect."

"And...Trevor is there?"

"He will be, yeah."

"Do you need to call him?"

"I will in a bit. Please, it's important we go."

Sabrina shook her head, but did as she was told. After a few minutes of riding in silence, she asked, "So I'm guessing you found Trevor?"

Steve was clearly thinking about something else as he responded, "Hm? What do you mean?"

Sabrina saw Mr. Burrtrick's face in the rear view mirror when he answered. He honestly didn't know what she was talking about. No one knew what they were talking about today, it seemed. "Mr. Burrtrick, did you call me this morning?"

Mr. Burrtrick's expression looked like he was flipping a coin in his mind. "Yes? Yes. I did."

"Uh huh," Sabrina said and clicked her tongue. "And what did you tell me?"

"I, you know..." Mr. Burrtrick stammered. "It was early, I don't uh..."

Sabrina took a chance. "You said you and Trevor had gotten into a fight, you hit him, and he ran away."

"My dad wouldn't..." Steve's hand clamped over his own mouth before he could go any further.

Those three words found purchase in Sabrina's ears, tumbled into her brain, and then became a jigsaw puzzle that just would not fit together. She decided she wasn't going another mile until she got some answers though. She quickly took in her surroundings, decided there was no immediate danger, and pulled to the side of the road.

"What are you doing, Sabrina?" Max asked.

"I don't know," Sabrina answered flippantly as she turned in her seat to look at them both. "I guess I just felt like pulling over and sucking you both off."

She hadn't said this as a test of any kind. She was just honestly fed up with the entire day and everyone's behavior. But with her response came the strangest thing she had witnessed yet. As soon as the words had come out of her mouth, she saw Max give a slight head nod in Mr. Burrtrick's direction. This was code for, "Dude, shut up, there's a grown up in the car and you're casually mentioning head." But she also saw Mr. Burrtrick's reaction.

Sabrina had really liked the former Mrs. Burrtrick and had been very sad when she got sick. She was the nicest lady and seemed much older than her years. She was one of the few people Sabrina went out of her way to show respect to. One of the ways she had done this, was by not cussing around her. Mrs. Burrtrick, for whatever reason, didn't appreciate certain swear words, so Sabrina would check herself whenever she had been in Trevor's home, or later when she had visited Mrs. Burrtrick in the hospital. Because of this, Trevor also hardly ever swore. There was always an exception though, and it always came after Sabrina said something outlandish, which she often loved to do just to see their reactions. Max mixed it up, but Trevor's was always the same. He would extend his palms up like a person passing on a second helping of food, and say loudly, "Well fu..." He would hold out the "u," never actually completing the swear. It had always elicited a stern look from his mother, and laughter from Sabrina. She just saw Mr. Burrtrick do it now, the hands, the "u", all of it. And she couldn't believe it, or understand it.

Sabrina looked pointedly at Trevor's father, a man who she knew and respected, and demanded, "Tell me what is going on right now or I will drive us straight back to your house."

She watched the grown man fidget, and saw wheels begin to turn, so she stopped him before he could say whatever lie he was about to spin. "You're not a good liar. I don't know why you're lying to us, but knock it off. If the next sentence out of your mouth isn't the truth, I'm turning this car around." Sabrina thought she'd have to wait until motherhood to say something like that.

Steve Burrtrick's face fell, and he mumbled, "It's me, Trevor."

Max and Sabrina made eye contact. Sabrina couldn't lean on Max for much support though. As far as she was concerned, she was in a vehicle with two crazy people. She was about to pull an illegal u turn and head towards Trevor's house, when the man in back said, "I know you don't believe me, so...watch."

Max and Sabrina's eyes turned back to the backseat, and grew impossibly wide as they watched the face of their friend's father ripple, then a second later, become Trevor. Silence filled the small space for a full minute. Then Sabrina faced forward again and merged back onto the road. "Okay, so, the Must Stay hotel. No problem."

"Can we stop for some food on the way?" Trevor asked. "I'm starving."

"We're just not going to talk about this?" Max asked incredulously.

No one said a word though for over a mile. Then Sabrina began laughing hysterically as something dawned on her. Max and Trevor looked at each other for a clue, while their friend had to wipe tears from her eyes so she could see the road.

"What's so funny?" Max finally asked.

Sabrina was able to compose herself long enough to say, "I think I know who really sucked your dick yesterday." Then another fit of giggles overtook her.

Max could only stare at her in increasing confusion. He went to look at Trevor again for support, but he was avidly avoiding his gaze. He turned back to Sabrina and with some trepidation asked, "What do you mean?"

Sabrina took a couple of deep breaths. She thought she had gotten it out of her system. If she was right, she should be mad, but, given the circumstances, she was pretty sure Max would be even more so. "I mean, we just watched Trevor shapeshift. And yesterday, you said that 'we' made out and that I went down on you. Well, I'm telling you now, it wasn't me, so..."

Max looked at her, then back to Trevor who still wasn't making eye contact, then he bellowed the ever articulate, "Dude!"

"I'm sorry!" Trevor yelled back defensively. "I can't control it! It's a curse, okay. And I'm sorry, but I need your help. Both of you."

"So how was my technique?" Sabrina asked Max mischievously.

"Shut up!" both Max and Trevor retorted. They drove mostly in silence for several miles, interrupted occasionally by a snort of laughter from Sabrina.

Less than an hour later, they had gotten drive thru, and were now pulling up to the entrance to the Must Stay hotel. Sabrina started digging in her purse, but Trevor stopped her. "Thanks to my mom, it's on me. Besides, no credit cards. I don't want my dad tracking me down right now."

Max and Sabrina were both about to ask questions, but were too transfixed by their friend transforming again. He had become one of their teachers. The one who, what now felt like days ago, had been teaching Sabrina political science. He looked at them, and said, "You'd better pull forward after I get out. Don't need anyone seeing you. If they see me, well, it won't matter." He winked, then got out of the car.

Sabrina parked in the middle of the lot, near a few other cars, then waited. The silence was back, until finally Max started with, "Sabrina, I'm real sorry that I..."

"Don't worry about it," Sabrina said coolly. "Besides, it sounds like we had a good time." She watched Max's face become stoney, and she quickly added, "I'm sorry, I'll stop. I'm just glad I know what's going on...well, we still really don't, do we? But we're about to."

Max's face was still a mask.

Sabrina sighed. "Max, look, you're a good looking guy, and, yeah, have I thought about you that way before, maybe when we were younger, but I got a certain type right now. And our friendship, yours, mine and Trevor's is too important." She stopped herself as she saw Max's smile return.

"I didn't hear anything after maybe," he said happily.

Sabrina rolled her eyes, then saw her teacher wave at them from a side door to the hotel. "There's Trevor. Let's go." As she walked away from her car, she marveled how easy it was to improve a boy's mood. Max was practically skipping.

A few minutes later, the trio shut the door to their two bed third floor room. They all explored the relatively small space for a couple minutes, before Sabrina pointed out the obvious. "This is great, but where are you guys going to sleep?"

Trevor, still in the form of their older teacher, laughed. He must not have liked how it sounded, so he abruptly shapeshifted back into himself, and then laughed again at the look on his friends' faces. "One of those key cards is for the room next door and it belongs to you, Sabrina."

She put a hand on her hip and finally let some of her ire come to the surface. "Thanks, but I'm not sure privacy will be a big issue. From what Max told me, it sounds like you've both seen a lot more of me now."

Max protested. "I never saw you naked! Or at least Trevor never got naked as you." He stopped talking as he realized he was not helping their case.

Trevor glowered at no one in particular. "I'm sorry. I can't...I don't know how to stop it or control it sometimes."

Sabrina thought he looked like he might cry, which is something she never wanted to see from her friend, or her teacher. Her anger dissipated as quickly as it had come, and she went to hug him, but he flinched and back away. "Hey, sorry, I was just letting you know I'm glad you're okay."