Emily looked up at the knock, wondering who could be stopping by at this hour.
The other girls wondered as well, and scrambled from the room in their nakedness. Lisa took the removed bracelet away to the safely of its jewelry box.
After three knocks, Emily gave up hope of them going away, and tossed on a robe before answering the door.
She was greeted by the familiar sight of Rhonda Chapman, with her white-streaked red hair and double ear piercings, clad in jeans and a tight cut-off T-shirt. In her hands was a large plastic Tupperware bowl. “Hey, girl. How’s your bod?”
Emily was about to respond, when she remembered her excuse for getting out of work. Rhonda had covered shifts for her before when she’d called out, and she didn’t want her to know she was faking, much less the real reason she called out three times a month. “Um…<cough cough COUGH>…been better.”
Rhonda looked genuinely sympathetic. “Yeah, sounds like it. You look all sweaty and flushed, too. Fortunately, this should help.” She proudly held up the plastic tub.
Emily smiled. “What’s that?” She already knew it was chicken soup; her lupine sense of smell told her as such. She had to pretend to be human, though.
“Chicken soup. Jewish Penicillin, my mom used ta say. If you’re willing to let me into the kitchen, I can heat you up a bowl.”
Emily faked a sniffle. “Thanks, really, but I wouldn’t want you to catch…what I have.”
Rhonda waved her hand dismissingly. “Please. I’ve got an immune system like a cockroach. No mere cold can stop me!”
“This is a little more than a cold,” Emily mumbled.
“Ya know, just a suggestion, but maybe you should consider going to a doctor. Seriously, Em, I’m worried about ya. Garrison is getting pretty pissed about you calling out so much. He hit the roof after you phoned in today.”
Emily shook her head. “It’s not like I don’t have a reason.” She could feel the approaching moon, and her impending change, and knew the others were feeling the same. “Listen, Rhonda, thanks for the soup. If you don’t mind, I’m feeling…”
Wed Jul 10 07:34:08 2002