Becoming a Dragon Read Online Free PDF Page A

excitedly. "Teaching you is my special privilege. Funny to think that that strange boy thought he could talk me into giving it up!"
    Crystal's smile vanished. "What strange boy?"
    "You know, the blond one, um, John, was it? Anyway, he asked me whether I'd mind letting him teach you how to transform. As if I'd let anyone else do it, let alone a sixteen-year-old boy. Why, he'd have to stand there watching you naked for most of the day!" Her mother chuckled, and then paused when she saw her daughter's face. "What's wrong, Crystal?"
    Crystal had forgotten about John and all of the irritation that he had generated at the party flooded back to her. "How dare he? Who does he think he is?"
    "I know, darling," her mother replied soothingly. "It is a bit of a cheek, although you seem more cross than I expected. He probably just likes you. I wouldn't give it a second thought."
    "I've a good mind to go over to where he lives and tell him exactly what I think of him," Crystal replied angrily.
    "Don't bother," her mother said. "I told him that I thought it was a very inappropriate thing to ask. Although, I must admit, he didn't react the way I thought he would. He seemed more worried than disappointed. He left the party shortly after that."
    "Worried? Why would he be worried?"
    "I have no idea, dear. I'm just telling you how he was. He did seem a little strange, to be honest. Perhaps he's not used to speaking to people he doesn't know. I think your father said that he was from some border settlement far from civilisation, so I wouldn't get too cross with him. Anyway, don't let it spoil today, whatever you do. This should be a fun day. Well, a memorable one anyway."
    Crystal resolved to forget John and not let him spoil her birthday as well as putting a damper on her birthday party. "You're right, Mother. When shall we begin?"
    "First thing's first, dear. I have your new clothes for you."
    Crystal brightened at this news. "What new clothes?"
    "Clothes for today of course! It'll take you a while to get used to transforming, and you can't stand naked all day. You'll get cold, even on a lovely summer day like today. These are special clothes that you can wear while transforming. You'll see when you try them on." Her mother laid a large parcel in front of her.
    "Can I open this now?" Crystal asked.
    "If you've finished your food, dear," her mother replied.
    Crystal wolfed down the remainder of her light breakfast and ripped the wrapping from the parcel. There were several bright red garments inside, but not ones that Crystal could identify. She picked one up and examined it.
    "What is this, Mother?"
    "That's your underwear, dear. I'll show you how to put it on. Everything has a simple release mechanism, so they'll fall off you when you transform rather than being ripped to shreds. I know they'll look a little strange, but these are just clothes for learning in. Once you can transform properly, I'll give you some new clothes, ones that you can put on very quickly when you transform back, rather than having to find somewhere to hide each time."
    Crystal had never considered this. Getting this wrong could be rather embarrassing, and she was painfully aware that most of her class would have had months of practice at this, their birthdays all tending to fall in the middle of the school year. "What will I do at school until I can get this right?"
    "Don't worry, dear; you'll have separate rooms to transform in for the girls and for the boys. You won't need to wear these clothes at school. I'm afraid that you won't learn an awful lot this term about being a dragon — just some very basic flying skills, enough to get you from one place to another — so you won't be doing enough transforming to need these clothes at school. There's always one or two in your position who've just had birthdays late in the year, or whose parents weren't very good at teaching, so they don't push you too hard at the beginning, although I think you're meant to practice