Wish Lash
By Melanie Brown
Copyright © 2007
“Hey, check her
out,” said my friend Brad, nodding his head in the general direction of the
people standing in line to place their order.
“Which one?” I
asked, noticing several high school aged girls standing in line.
“The blonde one,
Al. The one standing behind the little old lady with the gi-normous purse.”
The little old
lady was easy to spot with her ridiculously over-sized purse. Right behind her
stood a girl so cute it almost hurt to look at her. “Yeah, I see her. She's
in my English class. She's out of our league, that's for sure.”
I looked at her
for another second before returning to my burrito. This is how Brad and I
usually spend our lunch periods; eating a burrito at Taco Bell and checking out
the pretty girls. However, neither of us had a snow ball's chance in Hell of
getting a date with any of them.
“That hottie is
in one of your classes?” Brad asked, not taking his eyes off the girl. “And you
never said anything?”
Frowning, I
stared at my friend for a few seconds. I said, “And say what? Something
like...” I changed my voice to sound like what I'd think a moron would sound
like and waving my arm over my head I said, “...Hey Brad! You should like
check out this totally bodacious hottie in my English class!”
I didn't think I
was being particularly loud, but the girl in question looked over at us with
that 'what a couple of losers!' expression cute girls excel at.
Tossing himself
backwards in the solid booth seat and slapping the ball of his hand to his
forehead, Brad groaned, “You asshole! Now she thinks we're a couple of dick
weeds!”
I pushed the
rest of my burrito into my mouth and chewed for a few moments. Still trying to
swallow, I said, “I guarantee you, she thought we were dick weeds long before
now.”
Brad shook his
head as he bit a chunk out of his taco. “Ah man! I was going to ask her to
the prom!”
I gave Brad a
long sideways glance. I said, “This is the first week of October. Kinda early
for that, ain't it?”
Brad shrugged
and said, “It'd give me time to wear her down. I wish I knew her name though.”
I sucked down
some Pepsi and said, “Her name is Christine, she's a snobby bitch and until
now, she didn't know you existed. Now she knows, but she's still not going to
give a shit.”
I looked back at
the line. The old lady was placing her order and the hottie was yakking on her
cell phone. A movement out of the corner of my eye caught my attention. I
turned towards it and saw a strange looking guy walk into the Taco Bell. His
clothes were torn and dirty, and his long hair looked as if it hadn't been
washed in years. But I couldn't really see his face as it was oddly distorted;
almost as if it was out of focus. Looking directly at him actually caused
pain. I turned away; head starting to throb.
Suddenly the
little old lady yelled out, “My purse!”
I looked up to
see the strange guy pushing the people standing in line back from him as he
rushed towards the door. Brad was suddenly on his feet and rushing after the
guy. I called out, “Brad! What the hell do you think you're doing?!” But he
was already out the door and couldn't hear me.
I watched
through the windows as Brad's wiry frame caught up to the purse snatcher. He
reached out and grabbed the thief's streaming hair. He gave it a jerk and they
both fell behind some parked cars. After a few moments went by and I still
couldn't see Brad, I stood up and started to rush to the door. The old lady
stood by the window looking extremely worried.
Just as I
reached the door, Brad appeared between two parked cars, carrying the purse and
wearing a very confused expression. I stood next to the old lady and watched
Brad come back inside.
As soon as he
entered the restaurant, Brad's expression changed as he triumphantly held the
purse over his head. A few people in the restaurant clapped. The manager
hurried over to us as Brad handed the purse back to the old lady.
“Thank you son!”
she cackled as she took the purse from him. She opened the bag and extracted a
strange looking statue halfway out of the bag. She smiled and said, “It’s
still here!”
The manager
handed Brad a coupon and said, “Good work, kid.” He turned to the old lady and
said, “I’m terribly sorry, Ma’am. Nothing like this has happened in our shop
before. We’ve called the police. I trust you didn’t lose anything valuable?”
The old woman
frowned and said, “Please don’t call the police! There’s nothing they can do
and I don’t want to be bothered with a bunch of questions!”
The manager
looked annoyed and said, “Whatever you say, Ma’am. Order whatever you want.
It’s on the house.” He turned and walked away.
I looked at
Brad. He looked really bothered about something. I asked, “Dude, what’s the
coupon for?”
He looked at it
briefly and then said, “Just a free burrito.” He looked like he was about to
say something else, when the creaky old woman started to speak.
“Come over to
your table, boys.” She said as she started to walk over to where we had been
sitting. “I want to give you a reward.”
I said, “There’s
no need for that ma’am. And it was Brad who did it all. Too bad he got away
from you, huh Brad?”
Brad grabbed my
arm. I looked more closely at him. “You okay? You look like you’ve seen a
ghost.”
“Maybe I have,”
he said cryptically. “Al. That guy. When I grabbed him…he…he just didn’t get
away. He dissolved! One minute I was chasing him and the next…he
dissolves into dust!”
“Boys!” said the
old woman firmly. “Please! I don’t have all day.”
She was sitting
on one side of the table, so Brad and I sat on the other. I couldn’t believe
what Brad had told me about the guy he chased just disappearing into thin air.
Leaning across
the table and whispering, the old woman looked at us both before saying, “You
must not tell anyone what you saw today. No one will believe you anyway. But
by returning this amulet safely to me, I’m compelled to reward you.”
Still shaken,
Brad said, “What was that thing? And who the hell are you?”
Dismissing Brad
with a wave of her hand, the woman said, “That was just a Sprite. Don’t worry,
he won’t bother you. They’re afraid of the living. And who I am isn’t
important.” She reached into her over-sized purse and fumbled around for a
moment.
“Ma’am, are
you…” I started to say.
“Hush boy!” The
old woman shushed me. “Not so loud!” she whispered harshly.
Lowering my
voice and feeling silly for doing so, I said, “Are you trying to say that was a
ghost? And what are you? A witch or something?”
Shrugging, the
woman said, “Close enough for government work.” She pulled an odd looking coin
from the purse.
Leaning across
the table, I whispered, “I’m sorry, ma’am. But that’s a load of horse shit.
Ain’t no such thing!”
She just looked
at me and said, “Believe what you want. But just ask your friend there what he
saw. And about the cold emptiness he felt when he touched the Sprite.” She
placed the coin on the table.
I picked up the
coin and said, “What’s this? It doesn’t look like money.”
Smiling, the old
woman said, “It’s much more valuable than money. That coin has the power to
grant you two a single wish. You both have to agree and break the coin within
thirty seconds. That way you don’t throw away your wish on something stupid
like saying ‘I wish I’d never seen that weird old lady today.’”
“You’re joking,
right?” I said as I twirled the coin between my fingers. “Besides the obvious
bull about the wish, this thing is solid metal of some kind. How are we
supposed to break it?”
“It only breaks
when you two agree on a wish,” said the old woman. “I started using the coin
because it makes people think more about their wish, and I don’t have to be
around. I need to be rushing off. Be smarter than most, will you boys? Try
to make an intelligent wish.”
Brad said, “Who
are you? And can we wish for anything?”
She was moving
towards the edge of the seat so she could stand. She said, “I told you. It
doesn’t matter who I am. And the coin’s magic isn’t very powerful. You can’t
wish for more wishes, or wish someone dead or wish them back alive, or be your
love slave since that would be harming someone. Instead of wishing for a lot
of money, a wiser wish would be to win the lottery. No wishing for world
peace. If you wish to be a movie star, you won’t zap to the screen, but events
will happen that will lead you there. Like I said, the magic is limited, but
it can be persistent. Now boys, I must bid you adieu.”
We watched her
as she walked slowly to the door. She opened the door, and exited. We waited
for her to appear through the window, but we never saw her on the other side of
the door. It was like she just disappeared.
“Oh…my…God!”
stammered Brad. “Did you see that? What the fuck is going on, Al?”
I was stunned.
What I saw was impossible, but I couldn’t deny it. I said, “I have no idea.
This is nuts.” I looked at the coin in my hand. Could it really do what she
said?
*
* *
“You should have
seen it, Al” said a more animated Brad as we drove back to school. “As soon as
I grabbed him, he just dissolved into a pile of dust and blew away. It was the
freakiest thing I've ever seen!”
“I’m not saying
you’re lying, I just find it so hard to believe.” I said. “I admit there was
something weird about him, that's for sure. When he walked in, I couldn't get
a look at his face. It actually hurt to look at him.”
“And what about
that creepy old lady?” Brad stared at the coin in his hand. “What's up with
her, man? Do you think this thing can really grant us a wish?” He waved the
coin at me.
I laughed.
“Noooo! I mean, we saw some weird shit today, but come on, man. Coins don't
give out wishes!”
Brad looked over
at me with an odd expression. “You don't even want to try?”
I glanced over
at him and said, “You're joking, right? You don't believe that crap, do you?”
Shrugging, Brad
said, “What's it hurt to try?”
I said,
“Nothing, I guess. Tell you what. Be thinking of some wishes and come over to
my house tonight. We'll pick the best wish, try it, and we'll either have our
wish or it's all just bullshit. How's that?”
Brad smiled and
said, “That works for me! I'll just hang on to coin just so you don't
'accidentally' lose it.”
*
* *
‘Hey, Dude!”
called Brad as he walked up to where I was leaning against the wall in the
intersection close to our next class. We both had the same seventh period
Algebra class and our previous classes were close enough that we usually had
several minutes to critique the girls as they passed by. Thank God it was our
last class for the day.
As he leaned
against the wall as well, I said, “Oh, Christine wanted me to give you a
message.”
“Who?”
“Christine. You
know, that girl you saw waiting in line at lunch today?”
Brad’s face
brightened. “Oh! Yeah. Her. She asked about me?”
I shook my
head. “Not exactly. She wanted me to tell you that she thought it was cool
that you brought that woman’s stolen purse back.”
Brad
straightened up and said, “Cool. Do you have her phone number?”
“She still
thinks you’re a loser. She just thought that one thing was cool.”
Brad just smiled
and said, “Hey, that’s a first step!” He looked down the hall and nudged me in
the ribs. “Babe alert.”
Two of the most
outstanding looking babes and life members of the most popular beautiful people
in school walked past us. They were giggling and laughing at whatever inane
comments their equally vacuous, studly football jock boyfriends were making. I
really couldn’t tell whether the girls or the guys spent more on body and hair
care products.
Idly flipping
the old woman’s coin as he watched the retreating girl’s hips sway, Brad said,
“Man, I sure wish we were popular.”
Watching the
same girls, I sighed, “Yeah. Me too.”
Suddenly, a
couple of girls rushed around the corner of the intersection and bumped into
Brad, knocking the coin from his grasp. Laughing and not really caring, one
turned to face us and said, “Sorry!”. They hurried on down the hall.
In horror, Brad
grasped frantically for the coin as it arced towards the floor. “Oh shit, no!”
he cried.
He almost caught
it when another kid stupidly stepped in front of Brad. We watched as the coin
hit the floor. But instead of hearing the solid ring of metal and seeing the
coin bounce, we heard a dull clink and saw the coin shatter into dust.
Brad knelt down
to where the coin hit the floor. Stunned, he looked back up at me and said,
“It broke! How the hell could it break? We haven’t made our wish yet!”
Frowning I said,
“See? It was all bullshit. The coin probably wasn’t even metal and it would
have broken no matter what.”
Brad stood up
with a look of utter disappointment. His mouth suddenly fell open and he
turned to me. “No. You’re wrong. We did make a wish together. We weren’t
trying to, but we did.”
“What are you
talking about?” I asked.
“I said ‘I wish
we were popular’ and then you agreed! The coin can’t tell the difference
between a real wish and just saying something stupid!” Brad suddenly looked
nervous. “I wonder what’s going to happen?”
“Absolutely
nothing, that’s what.” I said, slapping Brad on the back. “Forget about it.
It was stupid. Go ahead and come on over anyway tonight. Check out the new
game I got.”
Brad just stared
at where the coin hit the floor and disappeared. I said, “Come on, man. The
bell's about to ring. We need to get to class.”
Brad just nodded
and we both turned to go the classroom. As I started to pass through the
doorway, my stomach suddenly knotted up and I felt a wave of nausea wash over
me. My vision blurred and I was momentarily disoriented. Out of the corner of
my eye, I could see Brad stumble as well.
It lasted only a
second and when the nausea cleared, I said, “Maybe we need to quit going to
Taco Bell...” My voice sounded really weird.
“Al?” said a
girl's voice beside me. I turned and where Brad had stood just a second ago,
there was now a blonde haired girl; possibly the most beautiful girl I've ever
seen. The girl said, “Al? Hey man, where'd you go?”
I stared at the
girl, feeling terribly confused. I said, “I'm right here. But who are you?”
Looking both
frightened and confused, the girl said, “You're not Al. You're a chick.” The
girl suddenly glanced down and seemed to notice her black shirt and black and
white plaid miniskirt for the first time. She said, “What the hell am I
wearing?” She pulled the hem of her skirt away from her and just stared
without any comprehension.
I looked down as
well, as long, dark brown strands of hair fell into my view. There were what
appeared to be breasts stretching a light blue t-shirt, making it difficult to
see the denim miniskirt I was also wearing.
I lifted my
hand. It wasn't my hand. At least not the one I was used to seeing. The long
slender fingers ended in nails longer than normal, shaped and covered in pink
nail polish. I was never particularly hairy, but I used to have hair on the
back of my hand and on my fingers. Not any more.
What the hell
was going on? How could Brad and I suddenly be wearing girl's clothes? And a
creeping suspicion made me start to think that it might be more than just
wearing girl's clothes. How is it possible that in a blink of an eye, Brad and
I could turn into girls? I couldn't deny the bra I felt going around my torso,
nor could I deny the weight of breasts that were being supported by it. I
couldn't deny the different clothes I was now wearing or the long hair flowing
over my shoulders. I just couldn't bring myself to believe it!
I looked up
though the open doorway to the classroom. Several of my classmates were staring
at us with odd expressions. A couple were starting to laugh. None of them
looked shocked or astounded that Brad and I changed into girls halfway through
the door. Not everyone had noticed us. And of course, all this had happened in
only a few seconds.
I looked back at
Brad and he was staring at me as if I was a space alien. He said in a hushed
tone, “What the fuck is going on, man?” I just shook my head.
Mr. Morgan, the
Algebra teacher walked up to the door and in an impatient voice said, “Would
you girls like to join our class? And do you two always have to make a
disruptive entrance. Try to make it on time tomorrow.”
Brad and I just
stood there and stared at Mr. Morgan. He didn't even care that we were girls.
He acted like it was totally normal! I started to feel dizzy. The room
started to spin.
“Amber!” called
a voice to my side. I felt strong hands grab my arms which steadied me so I
didn't fall. I looked at who had grabbed me. I think his name is Steve, but I
never talk to him. It was odd that he'd jump up to keep me from falling. He
led me over to the next row to where my seat waited and gently lowered me into
it.
Brad, not
knowing what else to do, hurried to his empty seat. His desk was across from
me on the next row. He quickly sat down, looking pale and as if he was about
to throw up.
Looking very
concerned, Mr. Morgan stepped up to me and asked, “Are you girls okay? Do we
need to send you to the nurse?”
The nausea
started to pass so I shook my head and waved my hand in a dismissing gesture.
I said in a voice I couldn't recognize, “No sir. I think we're okay.” I
looked over at Brad and nodded at him saying, “You're okay, right?”
Brad, looking
numb said in a pretty, silky feminine voice, “We'll be fine, Mr. Morgan. I
guess we shouldn't eat at Taco Bell any more.” There were a couple of laughs
around the room.
Mr. Morgan
turned and began teaching his class. Still dazed and unsure of what I should
do, I opened my book and got out my spiral notebook. I slowly started to
notice other things, such as I was wearing a tennis bracelet, along with the
hair, I could feel earrings brushing up against my neck. And something else
that was very disturbing... a boy's class ring with a cloth or something
wrapped around the bottom so that it fit my finger. Not only have I turned
into a girl, but I have a boyfriend too? I must have gone insane!
I didn’t really
hear anything Mr. Morgan said. Becoming a girl just wasn’t possible. No
rational person would believe it. But I couldn’t deny what I saw and felt.
Without being obvious about it, I brushed my hand against my new boobs. It
wasn’t just stuffing. Through the shirt and bra, I could feel my touch. I was
absolutely horrified at the thought of what else I might discover about me.
The notebook I
used for Algebra class looked exactly like the one I always used. The
difference was the feminine handwriting on the pages. I idly closed the
notebook to look at the front cover. Written in girlie writing was a
name…my…my new name “Amber Collins”. The last name was the same, but not that
first name. The ring left by the soda cup that leaked last week was there.
And there was something else.
My stomach
knotted again as I scanned across the cover of the notebook. Appearing
multiple times at odd angles was the name Aaron, written in that same girlie
script surrounded by little hearts and smiley faces. I touched the boy’s class
ring on my finger and looked back at the name scrawled all over my notebook’s
cover.
In my head, I
said, “Please God, don’t let that be Aaron Prahler! Whatever I’ve done,
haven’t I been punished enough?” Aaron Prahler was the Big Man on Campus. The
most popular guy in school. He was a star athlete as well as the favorite of
every teacher and girls literally sighed as he walked by them. Guys who wanted
to be on that top tier to have a chance at those unattainable popular girls
wanted to hang out with him. I’ve lost count of the number of times I’ve
overhead girls talk about him and how they wished they could go out with him.
And somehow, in
violation of all the laws of Science and common sense, it would seem that I was
now his girlfriend. Sure to God there’s more than one Aaron at school!
*
* *
The bell ending
the class rang. I barely noticed. The other students got up to leave the
room. Brad and I just sat there and stared at each other. Instead of Brad
though, I saw an absolutely gorgeous blonde, with long slender legs, flowing
shoulder length hair and big tits.
Brad whispered,
“What do we do, man?”
Mr. Morgan was
erasing the board and kept tossing curious glances at us. Tilting my head
towards Mr. Morgan I said, “Let’s get out of here first.”
I started to
stand only to find my upper thighs and butt were stuck to the seat of my desk
chair. I reached behind me and felt nylon panties, damp with sweat. I made a
mental note that should I ever wear a short skirt again, to tuck the skirt
under me so I don't stick to the chair.
I gathered my
books. They seemed heavier than I remembered them. I waited until Brad had
his stuff and together we headed for the door. Thankfully, the hall was it's
usual chaos of kids trying to get to their lockers and get out of the
building. Hopefully, no one would pay us any attention.
One of the halls
near our last class was a short one that let out onto the field and there were
no lockers, so it was relatively empty at the moment. To Brad I said, “Let's
get in this hall where it's quiet. We need to talk.”
As soon as we
moved out of the main flow of traffic, Brad set his books down on top of a
floor mounted heating unit. It used to be perfect for sitting on. Now it
seemed a bit high.
Brad looked as
if he was on the verge of tears. He was starting to shake as he said in a
hushed voice, “What the fuck is going on? What's happened to us?”
“It's your
stupid wish!” I hissed through clinched teeth. “You had to wish us to be popular.”
I held up my hand and waved the class ring in front of him. “Look at this! I
think it's Aaron Prahler's ring. This means we're going steady! Thanks a
lot!”
Wrinkling his
pretty face in a scowl, Brad said, “I thought you didn't believe in that wish
shit.”
“I don't.” I
shrugged and said, “Okay, I didn’t. I can’t really deny what’s happened.”
Brad said, “I
thought she said the magic wasn’t very strong. I mean, not only did we change,
but everyone around us had to change too.”
“Not that many
really know us.” I said. “And a lot of the people we’ve met in our lives
wouldn’t remember us either way. We need to see if we can find that old lady
and…”
“Hey,
beautiful!” called a very male voice from behind me. I turned around and saw
Aaron and his best friend “Harley”. Harley’s real name was Harry Davidson, but
everyone called him Harley. Aaron gave a brief nod to Brad and said, “Hi
Brandi. What are you two up to, hiding over here?”
Trying to sound
as if everything was normal, I said, “Oh, hi Aaron. Br…Brandi and I were just
getting in a little girl talk, that’s all.”
Harley stepped
close to Brad and slipped his arm around Brad’s waist. “Hey Sweet cheeks!
I’ve missed you.” He started to nibble Brad’s neck. Brad grew pale and looked
like he was going to hurl. He gently pulled away from Harley and said, “Um,
not here. Not now. We’re still in school.”
Harley looked
annoyed, but he backed off. I guess he wasn't used to being told “no” by
“Brandi” or probably any other girl.
It was hard
enough to accept that Brad and I had physically changed and that people's
memory of us had changed. But this was a further complication. Both Aaron and
Harley were dating, until an hour ago, other girls – Catherine and Tiffany.
Like Aaron, these girls were at the top of the food chain; very pretty, very
popular and cheerleaders. They were now displaced, and I'm not sure what that
meant for Brad and me.
That left me
with another sickening thought. Does this mean that Brad and I are now
cheerleaders? Before I could worry more, Aaron started to speak.
“I hope you
girls aren't busy Saturday night,” Aaron said with a toothy grin.
Oh God, was he
about to ask us on date? I wasn't ready for that. I said, “I uh...I think I'm
washing my hair that night.”
Guessing the
same thing, Brad said, “And I’m really going to have to do my nails. I mean,
just look at these!” He held up a perfectly manicured hand.
Aaron and Harley
both pulled out their wallets and started to remove something other than money
from them. Without skipping a beat, Aaron said, “Well, wash your hair some
other night or something, because Saturday night you're going to be at...” He
removed what looked like two tickets from his wallet. Harley did the same.
“...the Bowling for Carrots concert!”
This was a big
deal as everyone had been talking about them coming here for the past week. I
had wanted to go myself, but couldn't justify the sixty-five dollar tickets.
The tickets had been sold out since the first day they went on sale. I can’t
imagine how Aaron managed to get tickets this late.
Pointing at me,
Aaron continued, “I'll pick you up at six Saturday after I get Harley, then
we'll pick up Brandi. We should have time to get a pizza before heading over
to the concert.”
There was a tone
in his voice that suggested he wasn't going to take any answer but “yes”. I
almost felt compelled to say, “I'll be ready! I can't wait!” The way he stood
there, I think he expected a kiss from me. I just stood there and smiled at
him.
Aaron hesitated
for a second, then smiled and said, “Great! Well, I'll call you later. We need
to get to football practice. See ya.” He quickly bent down and gave me a
quick kiss.
Harley just
grabbed Brad by the shoulders and planted a big wet kiss on his lips. “See ya,
Sweet cheeks. I'll call you went I'm done with practice.”
They both turned
the corner and left down the hallway. As soon as they disappeared, Brad turned
and spat on the floor. “I think I'm going to be sick!”
“Me too!” I said
as I wiped my mouth with the back of my hand. I looked at my hand and said,
“Ah, crap.” I had lipstick smeared on the back of my hand. I pointed at my
face and asked Brad, “Do I have lipstick smeared on my face?” He nodded.
Great. That’ll just attract undue attention.
There was a
restroom across the hall. I said, “I'm going to wipe this off. I'll be right
back. Don't go anywhere.” Brad just nodded and stared off into space.
I walked up to
the mirror in the restroom and saw myself for the first time. I was totally stunned.
I had long dark brown hair that flowed over my shoulders and down my back. I
had large blue eyes and a cute button nose. I was thin, but not painfully so
and I had big boobs. I was gorgeous. It was unbelievable.
After staring at
myself for a minute, I grabbed a paper towel, wet it and gently wiped the
lipstick from my face. Satisfied the smear was gone so I wouldn't attract
undue attention, I turned back towards the door. There was no freakin' way I
was going to re-apply the lipstick.
I was just about
to grab the door handle when it swung inwards towards me. Mr. Morgan took two
steps inside and came to a sudden stop. His expression said it all and that's
when I realized I was in the boy's restroom.
“You have an
explanation, Ms. Collins?” Mr. Morgan asked as he folded his arms.
“Oh my God!” I
blurted. “Am I in the wrong restroom?” Mr. Morgan nodded. I said, “I am so
sorry! I wasn't thinking.” I hurried past him.
*
* *
Brad and I sat
in my car in the school parking lot. It was my car, but slightly different. I
always kept my car immaculate, but now it had fast food bags on the floor and
in the back seat, hair whatcha-ma-callits in the cup holder, and beads and
other shit dangling from the rear view mirror.
“What are we
going to do, Al?” asked Brad as he looked intently out the windshield. “We
can't go home like this!”
I shrugged.
“Why not? From what I've seen so far, I'm confident that I'll walk into my
house, there'll be some slight changes, and Mom and Dad won't notice one damn
thing wrong.”
Almost shouting,
Brad said, “But this is insane! How can we have suddenly turn into girls and
already have established lives? We didn't wish for this!”
I frowned.
“We're popular, Brad. We were looking at popular girls when you made
the wish. I'd be willing to bet that we're the two most popular girls in
school. We have the two most popular guys in school as boyfriends. I bet we
both have cheerleader uniforms hanging in our closets. We're girls forever
unless...”
“Unless what?”
asked Brad.
“Unless we can
find that old lady who gave us that fucking coin. Even then, who knows if she
can or would help us.”
Shaking his
head, his voice cracking with near panic, Brad shouted, “I don't want to be a
girl, man! I just don't! We have to do something!”
“We will. We
will. We just gotta figure it out, that's all.” I said, not really believing
it.
*
* *
I parked my car
in the driveway. I just sat there, scared out of my mind. Despite what I told
Brad before he left to find his own car, the thought of walking into that house
terrified me. At last I sucked in a few deep breaths and stepped out of my
car.
When I first
entered the house, I was shocked at how extraordinarily ordinary everything
looked. The same old couch. The same old television. The same old kitchen.
I felt more relaxed. Finally, there was something familiar!
At first I
didn’t think anyone was at home. Then I heard somebody moving around down the
hall. I hoped it was Mom. She only worked half days, so she was usually home
in the afternoons. Then there came the sound of footsteps coming down the
hall. I braced myself.
Mom came around
the corner and gave me a pleasant smile. “Hi honey. How was your day?”
Good question!
“It was okay,
Mom.”
She just smiled
and continued on towards the kitchen. “You’re home early today. They didn’t
have cheerleader practice today?”
Crap!
I said, “I guess
Brad…ur…Brandi and I forgot! I hope we don’t get in trouble.”
Mom frowned and
said, “Your father and I have already talked to you about this. Being a
cheerleader isn’t just about being little Ms. Popular. You actually have to
work at it.”
“I’m sorry Mom.
I’ll do better. I promise.”
Mom started
rattling pans and said, “I hope so. I’d hate to see you get kicked off the
squad.”
Yeah, wouldn’t
that be a total loss…not! I really hoped I wasn’t still Amber by the time
Friday rolled around whether I had to cheer at a pep rally or not.
Mom seemed to be
done with me, so I walked on down the hall to the bathroom. I really needed to
go, but I didn’t want to face this final truth. I knew what I was going to
find when I pulled my skirt down (or maybe up? Who knows?) I entered the
bathroom like a condemned man walking towards the gallows.
I was still
stunned to see this totally beautiful girl staring back at me. I touched my
face and my beautiful reflection did the same. I hoped I wouldn’t be this way
long enough for it to be normal to me. At least if I had to be a girl, I didn’t
look like Norma Mantooth, that really ugly girl in my History class.
The counter top,
which normally is fairly free of any debris, was covered with a dizzying array
of cosmetics and associated shit. I picked up a few items; foundation,
mascara, eye shadow, lipstick. All this crap had to be mine. What in hell was
I supposed to do with it?
I couldn’t stand
the suspense any longer. After locking the bathroom door, I took my shirt off,
and dropped my skirt to the floor. I stood there for a minute or two, just
staring at the girl in the mirror wearing only a bra and panties. I found
myself lusting for that girl.
I reached behind
my back and fumbled for a bit trying to unfasten the bra. Finally it came
apart and I let the bra fall to the floor. My tits were set free, and oh my God,
did I have a pair! I touched one. I ran my finger in a circle motion over a
nipple. I couldn’t believe the sensation I felt! The nipple started standing
erect. It felt really good. I never got this reaction when I did this as a
boy! I began to rub the other nipple and it responded the same. I felt
sensations all over. I stopped and put my hands down. What was I doing?
I still needed
to relieve myself. I really didn’t want to pull my panties down. I closed my
eyes and pulled the panties down. The shifting weight of my boobs greatly
bothered me. I tried to keep my eyes closed, but I couldn’t stand it. I
opened my eyes and looked. Crap! I couldn’t see anything because the mirror
just didn’t show that much.
I slowly slid my
hand down to where I’d normally find Mr. Happy. But Mr. Happy was no where to
be found. Just some hair and …and… my God! A pussy! I couldn't deny it now.
I was a girl. I was totally, one hundred percent girl. Then I remembered my
urgent need to pee.
I turned towards
the toilet and lifted the seat and... Crap! You're a girl, I thought. You
can't do this while standing any more. I put the seat down and sat down and
did my business.
When I was done,
I gathered up my clothes, but I didn't put them on. I looked up and down the
hallway to see if it was clear, and then hurried down towards my bedroom. Once
inside, I shut the door and locked it. I turned around to toss my clothes onto
the bed and stopped short. Oh my God, I said yet again to myself. Before me stood
a canopy bed, with a pink canopy and the bedspread and sheets were pink. There
were pillows and stuffed animals scattered across the bed.
On the walls
were posters of guys mostly. Various male celebrities and bands, a unicorn,
Kermit the Frog and some of those stupid painted ceramic masks. One wall had a
vanity dresser with a large mirror. The mirror had pictures stuck on it all
around its perimeter. I took a quick glance at the pictures. I almost choked
when I looked at them. There were pictures of Aaron and me in various poses
like sitting or walking and one disturbing one of us kissing. There were also
pictures of the new Brad and me, a few of them with us in our cheerleader
uniforms.
Still undressed,
I rummaged through the dresser. There were panties, bras, nightgowns,
pantyhose and everything you’d expect to see in a teen girl’s dresser. Nothing
in it was familiar. I half expected some of my clothes to still be there, but
maybe in a female style. But there was nothing.
In the bottom drawer,
I found a red covered book with a clasp holding it closed. Printed in white
was a drawing of a heart with words written in script saying “My Diary”. Holy
crap! Inside this diary would be the loopy writings of a teen age girl. Only
it would presumably be written by me. I set the diary on top of the
dresser. I really didn’t want to open it, but I thought it might give me clues
as to who I am now. I decided to look at it later. I really didn’t think I
could handle it at that moment.
I turned to the
closet and opened the door. On the floor was a jumble of shoes. Hanging in
the closet were various pants, tops, and dresses. And of course, there it was;
my cheerleader uniform. Oh, the humanity!
I sat down on
the bed, wondering just what kind of person I now was. I always considered
myself to basically be a good guy. I stayed out of trouble, I didn’t mistreat
people, I kept my grades up. Brad and I were your stereotypical nerds, into
computer games and techno-geek stuff and about the closest we’d gotten to girls
were the ones in the computer games we played.
I’d had some
dates, and had kissed some girls, but the sudden realization that I haven’t had
sex with a girl yet, overwhelmed me with depression. I was shy and a nerd and
I always thought I’d have time for that when I was ready. I looked down at my
round and firm boobs hanging there. Now…now…hell, now I can’t! Even if I find
a lesbian, it’s not going to be the same. I fell on my back on the bed and
stared at the canopy overhead. This was a disaster!
I laid there for
several minutes, feeling extremely sorry for myself. I had an itch and my hand
drifted down to my crotch. Curiosity finally got the best of me and I started
exploring this new part of me. As I slid my fingers along the length of my
pussy, an odd feeling began to grow within me. My finger slid further and I
began to massage it back and forth. Then my finger hit something and oh my
God…
I had found my
clit. It was incredible. I pushed on it gently repeatedly and I had to stifle
a groan. My fingers finally slid inside and continued to slide them in and
out. Holy shit! An indescribable feeling began to swell inside me. I started
rubbing a breast at the same time and felt the nipple tighten.
I continued with
increasing intensity until…Shit! I couldn’t hold back the groan as a pleasure
I never experienced before reverberated throughout my body. I continued
massaging until it began to hurt and then I dropped my hands and just lay
there, shaking and sweating. Oh my God, that was an incredible experience!
Maybe being a girl wasn’t so bad after all. I sniffed my finger and laughed,
“That’s me.”
After several
minutes of laying on the bed, I sat up slowly. Again I was annoyed at the
shifting weight of my boobs. I hoped I would get used to that soon. I fumbled
through the clothes I'd tossed on the bed and found my panties. I held the
panties for a second and looked at the smooth nylon underwear. There were baby
blue in color with a lace looking strip along the top of the waistband. On the
waistband in the front (I was guessing it was the front, was a little blue bow
sewn on. Finally I stood up and slid them up my legs.
I picked up the
bra. It also was a baby blue. I held it up and studied it a moment. How in
hell do you put this thing on, I wondered? I slid my arms through the straps
and brought the cups up against my boobs. I grabbed the ends of the big strap
and pulled the ends behind my back. After several tries, I gave up trying to
figure out how to fasten the ends together. I turned the bra around, and
clasped it together from the front. I rotated it back around pulled the straps
up over my shoulders. I didn't know if that was the right way or not, but at
least it was on.
I had finished
dressing when Mom's voice called through the door. “Honey! Dinner's on the
table!”
As I stepped
back into my Sketchers I said, “I'll be right there, Mom!”
I entered the
living room and saw Dad sitting on the couch with the remote. He glanced up as
I past by and said, “Hey, Kitten. How was your day?” Not surprisingly, Dad
didn't notice that his only son was now his only daughter.
“Pretty
uneventful, Dad” I said as I started to take my seat at the table. Dad was
still trying to find something on the television. “I've only been a girl since
three this afternoon.”
“That's nice
dear,” Dad said as he got up to go wash his hands.
At first, dinner
seemed pretty normal until I noticed the conversations. Usually at dinner, Mom
would remain mostly quiet, only asking things like “How’s your day?” and so
forth. Dad would talk non-stop about baseball, football, NASCAR, or events
happing around the world. Tonight, Dad was mostly quiet, while Mom talked at
length about the neighbor’s baby, a dress she looked at, and how she couldn’t
believe some character on some soap opera could possibly go back to a character
that used to beat her.
The phone rang
and Mom interrupted her digest version of another daytime drama to reach behind
her and pick up the receiver. I didn’t catch what she said at first, but I
could hear when she turned towards me and said, “Here she is…” Mom handed the
phone to me.
Unsure about who
was on the other end, I said simply, “Hello?”
“Hello, Ms.
Collins?” said a gravely but female voice through the phone. “This is Coach
Feinstein. We missed you today at practice.”
“I know.” I
said. “I’m very sorry Coach. I’ll make sure we’re there on time.”
“Please make
sure you do. Amber, I’ll be honest with you. If you and Brandi don’t start
taking being a cheerleader seriously, we’ll have to take you off the squad.
There’s too many other girls who are dying for a chance to be cheerleaders for
you two to be goofing off. I hope I’m making myself clear, young lady.”
“Very clear,
Ma’am.” I said. “We’ll do better, I promise.”
I broke the
connection and handed the receiver back to Mom. The conversation with Coach
Feinstein made me think. I needed to find out who I was. Dinner was over so I
helped Mom clear the table, and then hurried back to my room.
I picked up the
diary from my dresser, curled up on my bed and began thumbing through the
pages. The diary went back about four years ago, to my thirteenth birthday.
The mushy musings were about what I would have expected from a teen girl. But
this was supposed have been written by me.
One entry from
September, when I was fourteen caught my eye. In it, I described my first
kiss, with Howard Molotov. I remember him. All the girls thought he was so
cute. He later became not only gay, but flaming gay. Anyway, what was weird
was that after I read each entry, that memory would unfold into my mind as if
it had been there all along.
I was beginning
to follow the logic of the magic we had unleashed on ourselves. Nothing
changed, until it had to change. My cousin Arnold in Pittsburgh would
no doubt have memories (if any) of me as a boy. However, if Mom were to call
him, the new me would overlay his old memories.
I looked up at
the pictures stuck to the vanity's mirror and my eyes fixed on one of Brad and
me. Memories of that day flooded my mind as I suddenly remember us two and
another girl sneaking out of school after lunch one day back when we fifteen.
It was in the Spring of that year and we went skinny dipping at the lake in the
park. The other girl, Sarah, had taken the picture. Oh, how we got in
trouble over that!
I looked at the
picture of Aaron kissing me. Memories of that moment rolled into my head. The
moment was from just last month, at the annual school picnic for the football
team. We were sitting together at a picnic table in the park. We looked at
each other for several moments before Aaron slowly leaned in towards me and
before I knew it, his lips were on mine. I remembered vividly the tingling I
felt for that ever so brief moment that our lips touched. Other memories of
being kissed by Aaron began to fill my mind. I felt all warm and gooey inside
as I relived these moments for the first time. Oh my God could Aaron kiss! I
felt so lucky to be his girl.
I jerked myself
back to reality. I can't let thoughts like that into my head. I have to focus
on who I am and how we're going to get out of this situation.
Some song about
“Barbie Girl” started playing from the purse I'd tossed onto my bed when I
first got home. I ran over to it and found a pocket on the side with a cell
phone in it. I pulled the pink colored phone out and flipped it open.
“Hello?” I said.
“Amber! It's me.” said the voice on the other end of the phone.
I recognized the
voice as the new Brad. I said, “Hey Brad! It's good to hear from you. Man!
I've been experiencing some really weird shit.”
“I know, dude.”
Brad said. “I've been sitting in my room looking at a photo album. Each
picture puts a memory in my head that wasn’t there a second ago. It's crazy,
girl.”
“Brad. Listen.
We have got to stay focused on who we are.” I said seriously into the phone.
“If we're not careful, we're going to lose our identities. When it's just us,
let's don't use the girl names. I'll always call you Brad and you can call me
Al.”
“Yeah,
Am...ah...Al. That's probably a good idea.” Brad hesitated a second, and then
added, “Dude, we have so got to find that old witch or whatever she is. She's
got to be able to change us back. This wasn’t our wish. It was a god-damned
accident!”
“She might not
care that it was an accident. Anyone who's wish back-fired would try to claim
it was an accident.”
Brad's voice
rose in pitch as his anger got the best of him. He said, “Who the hell is
going to wish they were girls, for chrissake! It's an obvious accident!”
“I'm not
arguing, gir...dude.” I said, fighting the slip into girlhood. “But something
tells me she has a snappy answer for anything.”
We talked for
another ten minutes or so, mainly discussing our adventures into self discovery.
After hanging up
with Brad, I looked at my book bag lying on the bed. I’d be willing to bet I
had homework. I normally do it as soon as I get home to get it out of the way
quickly. A check of my memory revealed that the new me never gets her homework
done early. I guess I’ll have to start making some changes in Amber’s life.
I had just
started on the first assignment when my cell phone rang again. I looked at the
little screen and there was Aaron’s picture. Do I really want to bother
talking to this guy? I bet he’s a real pest too. I was suddenly enveloped by
a warm feeling and a tingling of excitement. Aaron was calling!
“Hi Honey!” I
said as I answered the phone, annoyed with myself.
“Hey Baby!” said
Aaron’s smooth voice. “How ya doing?”
We exchanged
pleasantries for several minutes. New memories of Aaron flooded my mind and it
was driving me crazy.
“What was up
with you and Brandi this afternoon?” he asked. “Neither of you acted normal
and I heard you missed cheerleader practice again.”
Not knowing how
to answer him, since I couldn’t just say that Amber and Brandi didn’t even
exist until that afternoon. I said, “Brandi and I just decided we didn’t feel
like going. That’s all.”
“Well, I don’t
want to see you get kicked off the squad,” Aaron said sincerely. “You used to
take it more seriously, but lately…and you haven’t taken me very seriously
lately either.” He hesitated a moment, then asked, “You’re not seeing someone
else, are you?”
A sudden panic
shot through me and before I could control it, I blurted, “Oh no, Aaron! I
love you! I don’t want anyone else. I…I…I just don’t know where my life is
going anymore.”
Sounding a
little relieved, Aaron said, “I love you too baby. You ahh…you wanna do
something tomorrow night? Just us?”
Go on a date
with Aaron? I wanted to scream “not only no, but hell no!” But I didn’t.
Fond memories of previous dates flowed into my head, filling me with warm and
fuzzy feelings and clouding my judgment. After all, Aaron is my
boyfriend. I said, “Sure Honey, that’d be great! What time?”
“I’ll pick you
up at seven. That movie you wanted to see starts at seven-thirty.”
Excitedly, I
said, “Cool! I’ve been dying to see ‘The Summer Cottage’! I’ll definitely be
ready at seven!” Actually, that movie was the kind that most guys would rather
slit their wrists than go see. I really have to control getting excited.
Strong emotions seem to over-ride my mental restraints.
“Great. I’ll
see you at school. See you.”
“I love you,
baby.” I said as I disconnected.
I returned to my
homework, wondering just what the hell have I gotten myself into…
*
* *
I was almost
finished putting on my make-up, when it dawned on me that I in the process of
applying make-up. What am I doing? How did I know how to do this? A few
random memories of me as a younger girl with Mom showing me how to wear make-up
as well as getting more pointers at a couple of slumber parties.
This was
starting to drive me nuts. An entire life that never happened kept building in
my head, obscuring memories of events that really did occur. Every time I
tried to think of something I did as a boy, it was replaced with a memory of me
as a girl. My entire real life was being slowly eradicated and replaced with
fake memories.
After finishing
my make-up, I pulled a mini-dress with a pleated skirt from the closet and
slipped it on. I added earrings and a bracelet and I was ready to head for
school.
As I was
starting to leave my room, I looked down at my diary. On an impulse I sat down
and opened to an unused page. On it I wrote: My name is Allan Collins, not
Amber. I’m a guy who, believe it or not, got magically transformed into a
girl. My memories are being slowly erased. My best friend Brad, not Brandi!
was also transformed. Do not forget this Al, you’re not really a girl. Try to
remember who you are.
I didn’t have
time to write more. Tonight I’ll try to write down more of who I really am
before it’s lost. Maybe that will help anchor my identity long enough to find
that stupid witch or whatever she is.
*
* *
Brad always
arrives at school a few minutes before I do. And as usual, there he was,
standing by the big oak tree near the main entrance to the school. The
difference this time was that he wasn’t standing there alone. Four girls and
three boys were gathered around him and he was laughing and talking with all of
them.
I wanted
desperately to talk to him about what was going on with us and try to come up
with ways to hang on to our identities. But that was impossible this morning.
We were “popular” now and everyone wanted to hang around us. I was greeted
with smiles and “Hi Amber!” from guys and girls alike as I approached Brad.
Brad waved and
called out, “Hey Amber!”
“Hey girl!” I
said as I joined the small crowd around Brandi. These were all the cool people
who wouldn’t even talk to us before. One of them was Candace, the girl who was
dating Aaron back in the real world. She showed no animosity towards me. A
sudden memory reminded me that she’s still a cheerleader and that our school
now had eight cheerleaders instead of six. Funny, I remembered us only having
six cheerleaders, but all the girls who were before, were still there. Brandi
and I had been added. Brad I mean. Not Brandi.
“Brandi!” I called
to Brad. “I need to talk to you for a minute. In private.” I walked away
from the little group.
A moment later,
Brad joined me. “What’s up, Al?”
“We need to come
up with a plan. We have to find that old witch.” I said.
“How?” asked
Brad. “I mean, she could be anywhere! She might not be in town anymore…or
even on this planet!”
“We have to
try!” I said. “I don’t think we have much time! To be honest, I don’t think
we’ll make it to the end of the week!”
“What do you
mean?”
“I mean, that at
the rate our memories are being replaced and how we’re already starting to be
more like girls, I really think that by the end of the week, our original
identities will be gone.”
Just as Brad
started to say something the bell rang. I said, “Let’s go back to that Taco
Bell for lunch today. Who knows? Maybe that old witch is a regular and we
just never noticed before.” Brad nodded and we both started walking towards
the entrance to the school.
Brad’s locker
was on the opposite side of the building, so he had to hurry off. My locker was
just around the corner. As I rounded the corner, my heart leapt into my
throat. There was Aaron waiting by my locker! An odd mix of emotions from
elation to dread pulsed through me.
“Hey, baby.
Where have you been?” asked Aaron as I arrived at my locker. “We don’t have
any time before class now.”
“Hi Aaron.” I
couldn’t believe how cute Aaron is. My eyes just drank him in. “Sorry, I had
some things I had to discuss with Brandi.”
Aaron did a
quick check up and down the hall to make sure no teachers were visible and then
he quickly leaned down and kissed me. Instead of running for the hills, I
pulled him closer. We kissed for as long as we dared and then Aaron pulled
away. I was amazed at how much I needed Aaron and how much I wanted to be near
him.
Aaron smiled at
me. He said, “Want to do something for lunch?”
I frowned and
said, “That’s what Brandi and I were talking about. I’m meeting her for
lunch. Don’t look so disappointed. We’re still going out tonight, aren’t we?”
“Yeah, but after
that kiss, I really would like to see you sooner!”