The bat

Teia, the terror of the entire school, impulsive, capricious, the coolest, the most beautiful, the district champion in track and field, the dream of any guy, and my older sister. My cross to bear, the most spiteful person in my life. If I need something, she won't just refuse to give it to me; she won't let anyone else give it to me either. Why? I don't know; she's just like that with me. But I think she's only like that with me. With her rivals, she's haughty, and with friends and acquaintances, she's sweet and friendly. It seems like some kind of defense mechanism; I haven't figured it out yet.

This time, I was prepared and acted more rationally. I simply knocked before entering. In the corner of the room sat Teia, clearly no longer human, something white and... gray.

"Teia, hi, this is hard, but we're all going through this. If it makes it easier, I've turned into a girl. It's me, your brother Tyler. Look at me; it'll amuse you."

"Look at you? I can't even look at myself. I'm a monster! A freak!" With these words, she removed what turned out to be a leathery wing from her head and revealed her face to me. The changes she had undergone were clearly the most drastic. She was a bat, a vampire with a hideous face, a raised vampiric nose, huge bloody red eyes, enormous leathery ears, fangs, and claws. She truly was a monster, and I genuinely felt sorry for her.

"Tyler?!" she asked, instantly jumping to me in one leap and sniffing.

"Meow," I confirmed.

"How did my loser brother become a sexy cat, while I turned into a horrible monster?" she asked someone who wasn't there, examining me with her huge red eyes.

"This is payback for how you, meow, humiliated me, sis," I retorted.

"For that, I should have become a monkey or a slug," Teia said after a moment of thought. I looked at her with astonished eyes, not believing my furry ears.

"No, you know what? I actually deserve this. I showed everyone what a monster I am, that no one should argue with me, that no one should contradict me, or I'd bite their head off. AND NOW I WILL BITE!" With her last words, she spread her wings and displayed her body in all its glory: a white, slender, sinewy body with soft, sparse white fur, a distorted bat face, clawed limbs like mine and Mom's, and enormous leathery wings on her back.

"Wow..." came a voice from behind. It was Mom, who had finally managed to leave her room and saw her formidable beloved daughter in all her glory. "I can do that too." With these words, she spread her feathered black wings and also made a threatening gesture. I looked back and forth from the black bird to the white bat. "Well, now you've met, girls. By the way, you're not the worst off; I've been a girl for an hour and don't know how to live. Will you help?"

I sink to my knees in the hallway; it's all too unreal. My knees press against my breasts, and it's an unusual and pleasant sensation. I think about this instead of understanding the absurdity of the whole situation. It makes me laugh, and I end with a melodic meow.