Jack woke to a few different feelings. There was an aching in her neck and back, pressure on her shoulders, and a sharp pricking on her scalp.
After a few moments, she realized where those feelings were coming from. Troi was standing on her back, and Churchill was perched on her head, pulling a strand of her hair. As for the ache, it was because she had fallen asleep sitting at her desk, her face against an open book.
She groaned, “Okay, guys, I’m up! I’m up.”
As she sat up straight, Troi hopped onto the desk and Churchill fluttered to her shoulder. She reached out her hand and the cat rubbed against it. “Thanks for waking me up.”
Jack glanced at the clock on the wall and her heat skipped a beat.
It was almost time for work. Oh no.
She stood up fast, startling the animals, and ran upstairs to her bedroom. She got dressed quick, not bothering to put together a nice outfit, just throwing on the first things she found. She grabbed her phone and rushed out the door, giving a quick goodbye to Gideon and Sunny.
Upon setting foot outside her house, she transformed. In her place stood an American Crow, who took off into the air.
Jack flew over the town, taking in the sights. She could never get tired of this. She had almost completely forgotten about her previous frantic mood. As she passed over her favorite bakery, she remembered how hungry she was. Whoops, well, no time for breakfast now. Whatever, it wasn’t the end of the world. Plus, it would be more like lunch at this hour.
She was lucky to get an afternoon shift at the bookstore; “bright and early” never was her thing. On top of that, the store was closing early because of the festival. It was going to be an easy day.
She landed on the window sill of the Rabbit Hole Bookstore and shifted back in to a human, sitting with her legs hanging into the room. Her boss, Carol, barely batted an eye.
“Can’t you ever just use the door like a regular person?”
Jack smiled, “Of course not. Gotta make a cool entrance.”
Carol just snorted out a laugh and continued stocking books.
Jack hopped down from the window and took her place at the register, chatting with some of the regulars.