Leesha opened one golden eye lazily and yawned. She stretched her tired limbs and gazed around the room for a moment, drinking it in as she always did in the morning. What will I do today… She thought absently, flicking her long brown tail from side to side as she looked down from her tree onto her bed. Her thoughts wandered as she wondered what Karol was cooking for breakfast and whether or not she’d have to eat the gross school lunch again.
Oh! Leesha sat bolt upright. Today was the day she would finally be made an apprentice! Leesha leapt out of her tree shrieking at she went. The Monkey Warrior trainee quickly morphed into her human form and changed out of her banana PJs. After deliberating a moment, she selected knee-length plaid shorts with a cute brown tank top to match. She shrugged on her favorite hoodie which was chocolate brown with blue, white, black, and gray words printed all over it and pulled up her short brown hair into a loose ponytail. A pair of adorable brown skateboard shoes with yellow streaks completed the outfit.
She stomped down the stairs with a determined and excited expression on her face and darted into the kitchen. Her family was already there forming a loose half circle around the table. As soon as Leesha walked in they fell silent, watching her with cool eyes and solemn expressions. Leesha’s sunny smile faded, replaced by a frown of confusion and worry. “Hey everyone!” she greeted them, flashing them a convincing grin though they all knew her well enough to know that the confidence she showed was fake. She plopped down in the nearest chair.
“What is the plan for today?” Leesha asked, still pretending to be cheerful as she got herself a bowl of Lucky Charms. She thought she knew what was on today’s agenda, but they all seemed so serious…
No one but Leesha moved as she self-consciously shoveled the cereal into her mouth washing down each bite with a swig of milk. Soon she was too nervous and confused to eat, so she just sat there tensely, waiting.
Suddenly, Kelsi burst out laughing, surprising the youngest trainee in the family. “You look so funny!” she gasped between bouts of giggling. Leesha scowled, still not getting it. This made Kelsi laugh harder.
“’S not funny,” Leesha muttered. “Tell me!” Kelsi just shook her head laughing so hard tears came to her eyes. One of the most annoying parts of having an animal spirit inside you was your inability to control your emotions, Leesha thought bitterly.
Karol and Jim smiled at Leesha’s confusion too, though they tried hard not to. None of the others tried. Jared and Simon, the twins, were hooting openly. Naomi and Sarah, the only real siblings besides the twins, giggled, pretending to be discreet. Marian gave her a lofty, pitying smile which turned into a playful grin when she gave up the mask. Sean let the corners of his mouth turn up ever so slightly, a rarity, while Kelly with her cheerleader smile pointed at Leesha like they did in movies with the cute giggle that made her the most popular girl in school. Sasha smirked while Kyle, standing next to her of course, rolled his eyes with a humored grin and mouthed, “You’re crazy!”
Leesha stuck her tongue out at all of them and leapt to her feet. “Not funny you guys!” she growled. This was getting old fast. Her scowl deepened as Karol and Jim, her adopted parents, laughed even harder. Before anyone had time to react, Leesha was a monkey, an extremely short-tempered monkey that was flying through the air screeching its war cry.
Leesha glowed as she registered their shocked and somewhat scared expressions. It was wonderful to be the fastest morpher in the family. She was stopped rather suddenly when her lithe brown body collided with that of an African cheetah.
She hissed in annoyance, wishing once more that Sasha’s reflexes weren’t so fast. Both creatures crashed to the floor. “Girls!” Jim’s voice rang out sternly. They instantly de-morphed looking rather sheepish.
“Sorry,” Sasha muttered.
“I’m not!” Leesha announced, tossing her head arrogantly. “And I want to know what’s going on.”
Jared rolled his eyes. “Dimwit! You know what’s happening today. It called a joke, okay?” he smirked and rolled his eyes as if stating the obvious. “I thought of it,” he added smugly.
“Oh,” Leesha blinked. It made sense, but now she was piqued that she hadn’t thought of that explanation. “I knew that.” They smirked.
“Okay, boys, you’ve had your fun. Now keep your end of the deal,” Karol ordered, her expression leaving no room for objection.
Jared and Simon groaned in unison, but it was obvious they didn’t mind. As one, they transformed into large eagles and swooped away, supposedly to keep a promise. Leesha was filled with curiosity. As a monkey, emotions overwhelmed her one at a time more forcefully that for a normal person, or even the other warriors for that matter.
She sat down again, but quickly realized that was a mistake. Sitting still was even harder than standing still. She got to her feet again and rocked back and forth. Everyone was smiling and exchanging knowing glances. It was annoying!
A couple seconds later, which had spread into an eternity, the twins returned each of them carrying one edge of an enormous banner that spanned the room.
Good Luck with Your Initiation!!!
The banner read. Someone had added in red scrawl to the end: You’ll need it! Leesha laughed, shook her head, and scowled. Then she cocked her head, unsure of which emotion to show. Everyone laughed at her concentrated expression.
“Boys!” Karol exclaimed disapprovingly. The eagles screed, a sound akin to laughter and switched places. The back hadn’t been ‘edited’. Karol nodded approvingly.
“Thanks!” Leesha burst, looking around at her adopted family. Though it was sometimes hard to get along with them, they were the best she could ask for. Her thoughts look a different turn when she was suddenly pelted by pillows.
A miniature battle followed, but was eventually stopped by Jim. “Enough, it’s time to meet The Council, Leesha.” She gulped. No trainee met The Council until the day they were sent on their first mission. When the trainee returned their initiation was planned and usually occurred the same day or within the next week.
She nodded and forced a confident grin to spread across her face. “Let’s go,” she agreed, using to front handsprings get into the hallway and a flip to reach the door. Everyone was right behind her. They piled into the sleek silver bus outside that managed to look rather sporty despite its enormous size.
The interior was not like that of normal vans, there were no seats, only benches along the outside where they could sit and shallow dips in the floor to lie down in. Leesha chose to sit. The windows were darkly tinted. This allowed them privacy to morph if they wished. Most of the others did so since their kind was calmer in animal state and they were all anxious for her sake.
The drive, though short enough normally, seemed endless. The air was electric with tension. Kyle made a show of whipping out his pocket knife and pretending to slice it. A few nervous laughs were all he received in response.
Leesha was almost jumping up and down with anticipation, something only she could pull off while remaining still. “What’s it like, the council meeting I mean,” she asked excitedly even though she knew no one could tell her. She wasn’t really asking anyway, just thinking aloud as she often did.
It wasn’t as if she didn’t know all the members of the council, all warriors, trainees, and apprentices knew each other. And it wasn’t as though she hadn’t been in the meeting chamber. All trainees were shown the sacred meeting place the day they were accepted into warrior training. But the day trainee’s were given their first quest was the first tie they were permitted to witness The Council actually in session.
They pulled up to the nondescript gates of a private school a few miles out of town. As the steel gates swung noiselessly open, the first butterflies fluttered in Leesha’s stomach.
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