The Nine Lives of Felicia Miller by Joe Augustyn

the ground several meters below. A half-dead clump of marigolds offered the only promising landing pad, surrounded by gravel and hard packed soil.
    Instinctively she fanned her tail wide and shifted it like a rudder. A second later she flopped down hard on the rotting mound of flowers. She lay there breathless, lungs knocked flat by the impact.
    She realized that the voices of the boys had faded from the bedroom then heard their clomping footsteps charging down the stairs like a herd of angry rhinos.
    Tearing herself free from the withered tangle of marigolds she ran for her life. She made it across the front yard and slipped into the woods just as the front door banged open and the angry curses of the gang rang through the night.
    81

 
    The Nine Lives of Felicia Miller

16
 
    The cafeteria buzzed with the vibrant energy of high school students on a bright autumn day. Felicia set her tray down at the end of a table and smiled as Ruta took the seat across from her.
    “How’s the tuna?” asked Ruta, eyeing Felicia’s lunch tray doubtfully.
    “I have a craving. Funny, I was never really big on fish before. Now I can’t get enough of it.”
    “Tell me about it. I get the munchies whenever I see those meaty little rats in the biology lab.”
    “Ew.”
    “Relax. I’d never act on it. At least not in my human form, anyway.”
    “When did you…?”
    “Get the power? Elmo found me in the woods a year ago. Elmo the bear,” she smirked, drawing her lips tight in a reptilian grin. “He carried me to Granny Dola’s and my life’s never been the same. But you know all that.”
    “Did you ever tell anyone about the attack? Other than Granny?”
    “I couldn’t. Not the way I was back then. Shy. Weak. Too embarrassed to speak up for myself. Sometimes it really sucks living in a small town, where everyone knows your business. And the creeps knew it. That’s why they picked on me. And you too. That’s how they pick all their victims.”
    “You ever think about getting revenge?”
    “Oh sure. Of course I’ve thought about it. I think about it all the time.” She cast a glance across the aisle, where Wally and his crew were holding court at their usual table. Acting rowdy and loud and obnoxious. Flicking food at students foolish enough to be sitting in range or walking by. “How can you not, when you see their smugly faces day after day?”
    “Why didn’t you?” Felicia asked.
    “I don’t know. I was really hot about it for the first few weeks. But the more I grew into my power, the cooler I became. I kept telling myself that old chestnut about revenge being best served cold. But I’m starting to think it’s just an excuse. I think there’s something in my reptilian nature that keeps me putting it off.”
    “But if nobody does anything, they’ll just keep doing what they did to you and me. And soon they’ll be out of school and out on their own. If they move out of town, it’ll be too late.”
    “I know.”
    A girlish shriek drew their attention towards Wally’s table. Wally’s foot was planted in the aisle—tripping Crystal as she walked by. As Felicia looked over she was already flopping forward, with the contents of her food tray flying skyward.
    The students nearby sat transfixed as Crystal’s white china lunch platter whirled through the air like a flying saucer, about to crash-land and splatter them with applesauce and green beans and spaghetti.
    In a flash Felicia sprang from her seat. She soared several feet and landed gracefully in the aisle, sliding on all fours towards Crystal across the waxed tile floor.
    Her left arm shot up with uncanny precision and she caught the flying dinner plate squarely, not spilling a drop of food. Her right hand grabbed Crystal by the arm and steadied her, saving her from a nasty fall.
    Everyone stared in awe, amazed by the unlikely feat. Then they all erupted in applause, and rose to their feet in a standing ovation.
    Wally scowled. Pissed that his prank had