As we entered the hallway, I reached for Karen’s hand, but she quickly pulled back.
“Don’t touch me until I give you permission. And walk behind, not beside. Understand?”
“No, I don’t. Did I do something wrong?”
She shook her head no, and we continued on to Georgio’s Pizza without another word, where we took a table by the window. Outside, the streets of North Myrtle Beach were beginning to fill with vacationers eager to spend their money.
“Why are you so standoffish?”
“I’ll tell you at seven o’clock, and not a minute sooner. Now let’s order before it gets crowded.”
We got an all-veggie with onions, green peppers, black olives, mushrooms, sliced tomatoes, and broccoli; my favorite, or at least, it used to be. Karen looked at me with a grin and ordered another. A meat-lovers, extra-large.
“Have you talked to Scottie lately?”
“No, he’s still pissed, thinks I made a mistake giving up my job to move in with you.”
“Well, you are an out-of-work freeloader living in my condo.”
“Ha Ha.”
Her comment, said jokingly, did hit home for a moment. After all, it was true. But being a shapeshifter gives me the ability to get any job I want. With just one touch I can have the skills of anybody I meet, making me a real Jack of all trades.
“Christian, let’s walk up to Duck’s for a few drinks after we eat.”
“Sounds good to me. I need to pound a few after a day like this.”
“Pound a few—really?”
Duck’s had a row of bright yellow outdoor seating where we sat to people watch. A few girls even looked at me until Karen’s burning eyes met theirs.
Looking down, I saw my watch and said, “It’s—.”
“I know what time it is,” she responded.
Shift is an online work of fiction.
This is the first draft of my manuscript Shift – Don’t judge a book by its cover. I am writing it online in sections as I go. So feel free to comment, good or bad. If you see mistakes, point them out.
The story centers around shapeshifting.
I’m currently working on chapter Ten.
Timothy French 