User:VulpesToTheSecond/PublicInCode

Prelude

August 17th, 2002, 5:30 AM

I woke up. After maybe a few minutes, I got up and looked at the mirror in the corner of my small bedroom in a small apartment in Cambridge, Massachusetts, and saw fur. "What am I now? A fox in a human disguise?" I said. I rushed the whole rest of the morning.

Out in Cambridge

6:30 AM

I groaned as I saw the Charles River. Another LOOOONG day of Chemistry. On the trip, my head became much itchier, but I hadn't checked the progress of my fur, other then when I saw it on my arms. My friend Andrew, who I called A, said "Hey, Tobie, why are you so late?"

"HOW MANY TIMES have I had to tell you to call me Tobies? Besides, when was it not school-legal to be slightly late?" I said.

"You're late by a half hour. Hurry up, or you'll miss Chemistry."

The rest of the day went by, other than lunch. I have always had a problem with school lunches, not because of the quality, but because of the noise. My fox-hearing only made it worse. 11:03 PM

"EVERYBODY, SHUT- SHUT UP!"

"Whoa, Tobie, why the intensity?" A said, startled.

"What? You never noticed all the OTHER hundreds of times I pl-"

"I did, but this one is louder."

"Maybe that's because it IS louder?"

"I'm fine. Maybe you can just hear better."

I'm sure everyone ELSE noticed. I thought.

Inquiry

2:32 PM

When I got home, I checked the fur's progress. It was all the way down my legs, covering my feet, with only a few toes uncovered. It was growing each second. After that, I checked the days... August 17th. (Note: August is the end of the school year for Tobies. Likewise, school starts in December.) I struggled to remember the events of the 16th. Chemistry... Lunch... I then remembered some quirk called the August Flu that I read about on the Internet. I had felt sick the whole day, and even the day before.

After done with the details, I went on IRC and talked to A.

<Vulpes> Hey, A, did I look different today?

<AR> No. Different like what?

<Vulpes>A fox. Have you ever heard of the August Flu?

<AR> The kind around the 17th? Yes.

<Vulpes> I came down with it.

<AR> Sad. Wait, why do I feel itchy?

2:33 PM <Vulpes> A symptom on the 17th.

<Vulpes> I'll send you a pic.

A click. A flash.

<SYS> PicFMe sent to AR.

<Vulpes> View it.

(pause)

<AR> Why the hell is there a fox at the computer?

<Vulpes> Vulpes. Get it? I only signed to IRC only today.

2:34 PM

<AR> So what now?

<Vulpes> Look in the mirror, or your webcam if you're so inclined.

(pause)

2:35 PM

<AR> Why the hell do I have cat eyes- No, now there's fur...

<Vulpes> By the end of today there will be... Lemme check...

(pause)

<Vulpes> 32-something, more or less. Just an estimate.

<AR> Of what?

2:36 PM

<Vulpes> Us.

<AR> Uh... Wil anyone notice?

<Vulpes> *Will

<Vulpes> AFAIK, No.

<AR> Are there others at MIT?

2:37 PM

<Vulpes> AFAIK, No.

<AR> Can it... uh...

<Vulpes> AFAIK, can not be cured. Gonna leave now.

<AR> Bye.

I logged off, sighing.