Chapter 5: Amber Wakes Up
The next morning Amber woke up in her warm waterbed when her sister got out of bed to turn off the CD alarm clock. She felt the water shift and she rolled on top of the bed to the side.
She thought, what a weird dream. She didn't think any of it was real since she was back home. She looked at Jasmine and told her, "I had the craziest dream last night." Jasmine asked, "What was it about?"
Amber replied, "I woke up in a lake and thought you left me there as a prank, but when I looked around, you were not there. There was a cheetah drinking water from the lake, and when we locked eyes, he came up towards me.
I was about to run away when suddenly, he changed into a beastman. Then he told me I was his mate since he found me in the wild all alone. He brought me back to his Cheetah Village, and there were other cheetah beastmen.
I met a cheetah beastman doctor, who gave me some dry barbecue. Then, Nick, the first cheetah beastman came back and beat up Tony, the doctor. He told me he was jealous and wanted my first kiss. Then he kissed me! I helped him barbecue some seasoned meat, and he helped me wash up for bed. Finally, I fell asleep in his arms."
Jasmine responded, "Wow, that is a crazy dream. What did you eat last night?" Amber replied sarcastically, "The same thing as you." Jasmine just thought that her little sister was going through puberty and had her first erotic dream.
Neither of them thought the dream was real. Amber had no idea about the chaos that she caused in the beast world. She didn't know that Nick had led search parties for her, or that he was currently losing his mind thinking she was kidnapped.
They both got ready for school since it was a Monday. Amber would think about that kiss all day. Nick was even more handsome than her school crush. He was a handsome beastman!
How could any schoolboy compare to that? Nick was assertive and took what he wanted. Schoolboys were always so scared to show their true feelings. Even if a boy did like you, sometimes they would deny it to their friends so they wouldn't get teased.
She decided she did not want to waste any more time thinking about boys after she dreamed about beastmen! She wondered what else she would dream about.
The rest of the day was normal. Amber's mom dropped her off at her school after her older sister and her younger brother were dropped at their schools. Throughout the day, Amber was distracted and drew a picture of Nick in her notebook.
She used to have a crush on a blond boy with blue eyes named Eric in her class. He was a football player and in ballet. She thought that he was strong and sensitive. Eric always hung around a girl who was also in ballet named Adriana.
He had noticed Amber like all the rest of the boys. She was the only girl in school with blonde hair, green eyes, and freckles. She was rare, but boys will be boys. So instead of appreciating her uniqueness, they would make fun of her. They called her names like Pizza Face. They didn't make sense, but young boys rarely are forthcoming with their emotions.
That was one of the reasons she liked Nick in her dream. One of the girls in class noticed Amber drawing and not paying attention to the lecture. She leaned over and saw the picture of a man with cheetah ears. She was curious and snatched the drawing away from Amber.
Amber whispered/yelled, "Hey, give that back!" Valerie replied in a teasing voice, "Amber, I didn't know you were into furries!" She raised her eyebrows and smiled mockingly at Amber. This caught the attention of others in the class who were interested in what Amber had drawn. Amber shyly replied, "I'm not! It was just a dream!"
The girls in the class thought the man in Amber's drawing was handsome while the boys scoffed and thought she was a pervert. Some of them thought about secretly dressing up like a cheetah for Halloween. They might catch some female attention that way if girls were interested in them.
Amber finally got angry enough to snatch her notebook back and got up from her desk. The teacher noticed her get out of her seat and told her, "Sit down and pay attention, Amber!" Amber was humiliated! She quickly grabbed her notebook and sat back down.
She turned to a clean page and started to take notes. Her ears were red in embarrassment, and she kept her head down. She had never been so embarrassed in her life, and it was all thanks to that frenemy Valerie! She was so mad at her!
Amber didn't make friends easily and Valerie was jealous of Amber's unique looks. Valerie had brown hair and eyes like most of the other students. Valerie noticed the extra looks that Amber received even if Amber didn't notice because she always had her head down.
Valerie thought if she was close to Amber, she might also get extra attention from the boys. She craved attention and was jealous that Amber received it without trying. What was worse was that Amber didn't even want the extra attention! Valerie would love it! She sneered to herself that Amber was wasting all the attention she received.
Amber still thought about the beast world all day but didn't dare to draw anymore in class in case something else happened like earlier. She hoped she would dream about it again!
She missed Nick even though he was only a figment in her dreams. He was so much better than the immature boys in her school. Even if they liked her, they wouldn't say so.
They would tease her just to get a reaction from her. They thought if they could make her angry she would remember them. They also thought it was fun to watch her skin turn pink from embarrassment or anger. Their tan skin didn't show their blushes as easily as her fair skin. She didn't like it when they teased her. She wanted the boys to be more straightforward like Nick and Tony.
Amber kept getting curious glances the rest of the day. During lunch, she sat by herself as usual, but Valerie and a few other girls all came to sit with her. Valerie asked, "So, what was up with that drawing?"
The other girls looked interested. They had never seen anything like that before. Amber was a surprisingly good artist. With just a pencil, she was able to shade in the spots and tips of Nick's ears.
Amber ignored Valerie and tried to focus on her food. It was a dry hamburger that reminded her of the dry barbecued meat that Tony offered her in her dream.
She washed it down with her chocolate milk and ate as quickly as she could to avoid Valerie. She didn't want to talk to Valerie about anything anymore. Valerie noticed Amber was ignoring her and got upset. How dare this girl ignore her?
Valerie was the only girl in her family of boys and was doted on and pampered until she got a princess complex. She tapped on Amber's shoulder and raised her voice a little, "Earth to Amber! I asked you a question! Don't ignore me." Amber continues to ignore her. The rest of the girls started to whisper to each other about how stuck-up Amber was.
Everyone knew Valerie was a princess at the school and no one else would ignore her. Valerie got mad and poured the rest of the chocolate milk over Amber's fries.
Their school didn't allow ketchup because the year before there was a huge food fight. Amber wasn't even in the school that year. The ketchup was the hardest to clean up because the packets allowed the ketchup to squirt all around the walls and ceiling. Fries without ketchup were barely worth eating. She would usually save them for last if she was still hungry after eating her other food.
She had already eaten most of the burger, so she just stood up and left. She was supposed to clean up her tray, but since Valerie messed it up, she left it for Valerie to clean up.
Valerie was so mad about being ignored she almost threw the tray at Amber. A Cafeteria Lady noticed her and called out to her, "Clean up that tray, young lady!" Valerie was embarrassed to be called out like that. She had never been so embarrassed in public before. This was all Amber's fault! She would make her pay later!
The rest of the day was uneventful. Amber couldn't wait to go to bed and dream about Nick again!
Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone