Work

Jezebel jumped up and scampered to her room to get the phone. On the plus side, running along the hardwood with paw-pads actually gave a better grip than her feet would. She felt kind of stupid running on all fours, but at this point she didn't care much as long as she got where she was going. After grabbing the phone she used her excess momentum up flopping on the bed and swiping the 'accept call' icon.

"Jezebel here!"

"Oh thank God, Jez; it's Kathy. Can you take a 1:00 shift? Karl's come down with something he calls lizard flu and isn't coming in."

She glanced over at the clock. "I can't pozzibly make it zare in eight minutes. Maybe twenty, ten if I take a cab."

"Twenty's good. I'll book you in at one anyway, okay? Just hurry, I gotta go myself and Mr. Leeson would kill us if we actually shut the place down on account of a measly flu pandemic."

"Okay, I'll be there az zoon az I can."

"Are you okay, Jez? You sound a little funny."

"I'm fine; zee ya bye!"

I am not fine, Jezebel said to herself. Why did I have to agree to this? Because she's like my sister, that's why; she even helped me pay the damage deposit on this place when she makes the same money as me. We've got to stick together, thick and thin.

She gave a partial miss to the clean-up, tossing enough talcum powder into her fur to look like a ghost-kitty until she shook it out and whitened the whole bathroom. That got marked down as a dumb idea. She noted with relief that her earlier self-satisfaction episode had been a lot dryer than usual. Once she finally smelled nice (pretty heavily perfumed, actually, but that would come out on the subway) she hit her closet and got another shock.

"My undiez don't fit."

Her bra was now a full cup size too big, and her panties were catching and pulling like hell before she even got them halfway up her legs. Not good, but no time. She pulled out the shapeless gray blouse and knee-length skirt that were the coffee shop's 'uniform'. At least the cheap cotton didn't catch on her fur and going totally commando saved a lot of dressing time. The tail stayed under her skirt, though it did have a tendency to shift things around when it twitched. Her shoes didn't fit either, and there was no way she'd even attempt stockings. For that matter she found it a lot easier to stand on her toes now.

She looked at herself in the mirror, then stifled a laugh when she glanced at her makeup kit. Not going to happen. Gee, this whole cat thing is shaving minutes off my morning prep. They're going to have to put up with wild hair, though; it would take days to brush all this out.

Jezebel grabbed her purse and ran to the door. "Watch over ztuff, Anya!" And she was out.

Jezebel made it halfway down the ramp to the subway before vaulting the divide from the down escalator to the up. Even if she had nose plugs that worked in her new nose there was no way she could survive down there without vomiting. The weather was chilly, but her new fur coat took care of that, and she'd probably make just as good time running on the sidewalk anyway.

Halfway there a voice called to her.

"Hey pretty kitty, want a ride?"

She spotted him instantly; it was Mark on his courier scooter. He was a regular at the shop and would sometimes give her a ride on warm summer days when she chose to walk because of good weather. He was an ace in traffic and a perfect gentleman, and she would give him free coffee when she could afford it.

"Zankz!"

She ran over to him and he suddenly got bug-eyed.

"Jez? Is that you?"

"In ze fur. I got zat K-9 zing, but I feel fine uzzer zan a hangover. God Mark you're a life-zaver!" Jezebel climbed on the back of the bike and wrapped her arms around Mark's warm torso. When she pressed herself against him she got a whiff of his personal musk and held tighter.

"Jez, are you... purring?"

"Mmh-hmm. We zhould go fazt or I may not make it."

He laughed and put the bike into gear. Dodging through traffic they made it to the shop in record time.

Jezebel skipped off the scooter and took both of Mark's hands.

"Got time for coffee? Itz on ze house."

"I think so." He turned off the bike motor and attached the immobilizer.

She giggled, "Got time for a little puzzy?"

Mark coughed. "Uh, um, uh, Jez, you know me and Sara..."

Jezebel turned, suddenly embarrassed by what she'd just said. "Zorry Mark, I meant... like... talking? Boy did zat come out wrong!"