Date: Fri, 5 May 2000 
bill.hart@mscsoftware.com

SRU: If the Suit Fits
by
Bill Hart


Only a single second remained on the game clock at the championship
game of the church league basketball tournament.  The crowd fell
silent as Justin Stevens, fouled moments earlier, took his place at
the free throw line with an opportunity to win the game.

Justin, awarded three shots to make two, needed to sink at least one
of the free throws to tie the game and force it into overtime.  But if
he could somehow sink two of them, his team would probably win the
game since the opposition wouldn't have much time left to even get a
shot off before the final buzzer sounded.

Justin was nervous.  Even at his best, he was only a fair basketball
player.  And calling him a mediocre free-thrower was almost a
compliment.  In truth, he'd really rather be swimming.  Yet he didn't
need to be a genius to figure out that his abysmal free throw shooting
was probably the biggest reason they had fouled him instead of one of
the other guys. Their coach must have decided Justin might
accidentally make one of them, but for him to make two in one night,
let alone two in a row, might just signal the beginning of Armageddon.

Justin took a deep breath.

He dipped his knees, then cocked his arm, before letting the ball fly.

Accompanied by a mixture of hoots and groans and laughter from the
crowd, the ball fell short of the rim.  Justin had missed everything.

"Great shot, Stevens," crowed Chet Warner, as he, along with everyone
else on his team, laughed.  "You shoot worse than a girl."

Mark Thompson looked at his longtime friend.  "It's okay, Justin.
You've still got two free throws left.  Don't let Warner bother you.
We know you can do it."

As Justin looked down at the ball in his hand, he really wished it
were someone else in this situation instead of him.  He also wished
they were playing any team other than the one Chet Warner was on.
Having gone to school together since kindergarten, he'd known both
Chet and Mark almost forever.  But where Mark and he had always been
close friends, he and Chet had taken an immediate and total dislike of
each other that had continued ever since.

"Don't take all day Stevens," chuckled Chet.  "We've got a trophy
waiting for us.  We really don't have the time to stand around waiting
for you to miss these next two shots.  I'll bet you don't even hit the
backboard on either one of them."

Justin looked down at the ball, then inhaled deeply.

He cocked his arm, then let loose his shot.

The ball struck the front of the rim, then bounced high into the air
before coming down on the base of the rim.  It bounced once ... then
twice ... and yet a third time ... before lazily rolling into the net
to tie the game.

Justin's teammates cheered.

The small crowd sat in silent disbelief.

"Wow," sneered Chet.  "I guess miracles can still happen.  But all of
us know it will be an icy cold day in hell before you can possibly
sink two free throws in a row."

The closest referee, an elder from one of the previously eliminated
church teams in the tournament, glared disapprovingly at Chet.

Just what I need, thought Justin.  Even more pressure.

"You can do it, Justin," reassured Mark.  "Just relax and take your
time.  Remember, it's just a game."

"Yeah right.  And fat pigs fly," muttered Chet, just loud enough for
Justin to hear.

Justin took his place at the charity stripe again.

He took a deep breath.

After letting it out slowly, he took another, even deeper, breath.

He dipped his knees.

And cocked his arm.

He shut his eyes tightly, not really wanting to see the ball miss the
rim or the backboard altogether.

He wished he were somewhere else - someplace far away would be nice.

Justin blindly let the ball fly; he only hoped it was on its way
towards the basket.

But a moment later, he heard an odd swishing sound followed by an
unexpected eruption of cheers from the small crowd.

Opening his eyes, Justin was just in time to see the ball caught, for
that one split second, at the bottom of the net.

"Way to go, Justin," cheered Mark Thompson.  "We all knew you could do
it."

His teammates mobbed the totally unexpected hero of the game.  "There
is still one more second to play, but then that championship trophy is
ours!" one of them shouted.

"What a lucky shot, Stevens," grumbled Chet.  "I never would have
guessed in my wildest nightmares that you could actually sink two free
throws in a single game."

Justin simply smiled.  If the truth were known, he still couldn't
believe he'd actually made two free throws in the same week, let alone
two in the same game.

The hurried inbound pass was intercepted and the buzzer sounded ending
the game.  In celebration of their victory, Justin's teammates mobbed
him again.  While he and his teammates were celebrating, Lana Tyler,
the captain of the girls' swimming team walked by.

"Nice shot, Justin," she smiled warmly at him.  "I'll see you at
school Monday."

Justin blushed brightly.  He couldn't believe that Lana Tyler had
actually spoken to him.  Justin had had a major crush on her ever
since he'd first discovered girls.  But, with her being as popular as
she was, he'd never even imagined she knew he was even alive.  But
she'd actually talked to him; she even knew his name.  It was
unbelievable.  He'd always dreamed about getting to know her better.

Chet glared at him from the other side of the court.

Justin looked away quickly.  Although he and Chet didn't like each
other - never had, most likely never would - they'd pretty much
learned to ignore one another over the years.  As a result, things
between them were more or less livable; that is, until Justin had been
named captain of their high school swimming team.  Chet had been
absolutely livid at the coach's decision, knowing he was clearly the
better swimmer of the only two seniors on the team.  By Chet's
reasoning, he should have been the only logical choice to captain the
team.  But the coach had decided that Chet's hot temper would wind up
being more costly to the team in the long run.

And now that Lana Tyler had spoken to him, Monday at school promised
to be even worse than it would have otherwise been.  And it was
already going to be bad enough because Justin's team had just defeated
Chet's team for the championship.

But Lana Tyler was also Chet's current girlfriend.  Justin wondered if
she might have spoken to him just to make Chet jealous - not that it
had ever been all that difficult to anger Chet.  He hoped that wasn't
the case.  But it was times like these that made him wish he could
understand what went on inside a girl's head.

* * * * * *

With the arrival of Monday morning, Justin wished he could stay home.
However, both swim teams held their practices in the morning before
the first classes began.  With the big swim meet coming up tomorrow
afternoon, Justin couldn't afford to miss his time in the pool.  Even
though he'd always been a better than average swimmer, he was always
wishing he could be an even better one.  Although he won his fair
share of races, he always wanted to win more.  Besides, hadn't Coach
Gannet always impressed it on the whole team that there was always
room for improvement, no matter who you were?

"Lucky couple of shots Saturday night, Stevens," snarled Chet, still
obviously upset, as Justin entered the locker room.

Justin said nothing to Chet in reply.  But to himself he thought, well
the shit's started.

"I saw you talking to Lana after the game," said Chet.  "I don't want
you getting any strange ideas, Stevens.  I don't want you to start
thinking you can get lucky against me again.  You aren't going to
steal my girl away from me."

"Yeah, we don't want some loser like you thinking he can steal any of
our girls," agreed Greg Morton, one of Chet's flunkies.

"But all she said to me was 'nice shot' and 'see you at school',"
replied Justin.  "That was all there was to it."

"That's just what she said too."  Chet glared at Justin.  "But I saw
how you were looking at her.  And I really didn't like that way you
were appraising her."

"But I didn't say anything to her," objected Justin.

"That's right, you didn't say anything.  And, if I have my way, you
won't be saying anything to her either," snarled Chet.  "I've already
had a really long chat with Lana about her little error in judgement.
She won't be seeing you at school anytime real soon."

As Chet and his smirking cronies headed out the locker room door,
Justin wondered what Chet had meant about Lana not seeing him anytime
soon.  He hoped Chet hadn't hit Lana, but deep down Justin knew Chet
was just nasty enough to do something like that, or possibly even
worse, to Lana.  He wondered how and why Lana continued to put up
with an asshole like Chet Warner.

After changing into his Speedo, Justin turned and headed towards the
locker room door.  For a brief moment, he stopped before the mirror
that covered the entire locker room wall.  He looked at his green
eyes, which he normally hid behind brown contacts and his straight
brown average length hair.  He knew he was in excellent shape, but he
often wished he were taller than his 5'10" frame.  If only he could be
granted a wish ... he'd really enjoy being a height that would make
Chet pay a lot more attention to him and whatever he had to say.

"But wishes like that never come true," mumbled Justin as he continued
outside.  "After all, if wishes came true, then the world wouldn't
have so many people like Chet."

Once outside, he was greatly relieved to see Lana practicing with the
girls' team.  Fortunately, she didn't seem to be injured in any way,
but as soon as she noticed Justin looking in her direction she quickly
looked away and found a spot where he couldn't find her again.  "Just
what did Chet do to her?" he mumbled.

"You shouldn't be looking at her, or even in her direction, Justin,"
said Tom Dalkins.  "If Chet finds out, Lana will get more of the hell
she suffered through the other night.  That asshole Chet's one crazy
jealous dude."

"You won't tell him?  Will you?" asked a nervous Justin.

"Of course not.  I don't like that pompous little jerkoff any more
than you do," replied Tom.  "An intelligent girl like Lana deserves
someone a helluva lot better than an asshole like him."  Tom left,
heading towards the pool.

Justin once again wondered what Lana, or any girl for that matter,
could possibly see in someone like Chet.  Although he wasn't certain
he deserved someone like her, Justin knew with certainty that he'd
treat her far better than Chet could ever dream of treating her.
"Just what made an otherwise intelligent girl put up with a guy like
him anyway?" he mumbled.

* * * * * *

Between worrying about Lana and trying to avoid Chet, Justin had a
singularly unspectacular practice.

"Something bothering you today, Stevens?" asked Coach Gannet.

"Not really, coach."

"It's just that Stevens has already used up more than his share of
luck for the next several months," smirked Chet.  "Can you actually
imagine him sinking those two free throws the other night?"

"I heard about that basketball game," replied Coach Gannet.  "You beat
Warner's team for the championship the other night.  Didn't you,
Stevens?"

"Yes, coach."

Before storming away angrily, Chet glared first at Justin and then
at Coach Gannet.

"You need to get your head totally back into swimming, Stevens,"
replied the coach, totally ignoring Chet's unimportant childish
behavior.

"Yes, coach."

"I don't want you thinking about anything else but swimming the rest
of this week, Stevens.  That means no basketball - no girls.
Understand?  If it ain't swimming, you ain't thinking about it.  I
fully expect to see a marked improvement in your morning practice and
at the meet tomorrow.  I hope I've made myself clear, Stevens."

"Yes, coach."

Having overheard the conversation between the coach and Justin from
nearby, Chet smiled.  If Justin had a bad practice and a poor showing
at the meet tomorrow, followed up by another couple of poor practices
like this one, he considered, then the little wimp will be gone and
I'll be taking my rightful place as the captain of this team.  I'm
pretty sure I can help him have a few more very miserable practices.

* * * * * *



As fate would have it, Justin incredibly managed to avoid seeing Chet
and all of his friends for the remainder of the day.  And yet, at the
same time, he'd also been assigned what he guessed must be close to a
ton of homework - all of it due the next day.  But in order to finish
all of it tonight meant staying up late, which very likely meant
having another horrible practice the next morning.  It also meant
Coach Gannet would be on his case again.

"Just what I needed," he sighed.  "It never rains but when it pours."

Justin tossed his schoolbooks onto the backseat of his car, a
twenty-year-old junker.  It wasn't much to look at, being in bad need
of a paint job, but it basically got him anywhere he needed to go and
back again.  And besides, he'd paid for the car himself.

During his last class, Justin had decided to head for the mall after
school.  It hadn't even been that hard of decision, given everything
that he'd been through that day along with the nearly ton of homework
that he'd been assigned.  There were always plenty of good-looking
girls wandering around the mall after school.  He wasn't expecting to
get lucky with any of them; he doubted if many of them would even
speak to him.  It was more a case of Chet, for some inexplicable
reason, never having discovered his not overly secret hideaway.

It was a short drive to the mall from school.

As he generally did, Justin parked his old car in the small parking
lot near one of the lesser-used entrances - the one closest to his
two favorite stores.  He locked his car, although he knew that no one
in their right mind would ever consider stealing it, then made his way
towards the door.

After entering the mall, Justin was surprised at what he saw.  "That's
strange," he muttered.  "I've never seen that little place before."
Directly in front of him was a small, somewhat odd-looking, shop
situated between the bookstore and the computer store, his two most
favorite haunts.  "It's really weird," he mumbled.  "I could have
sworn those two stores always shared a common wall before now.  I
wonder how, and when, they squeezed that place in between them?  None
of the guys at school said anything about a new store opening."

Justin walked over to the small shop.  Strangely, there were no
windows through which he could peek inside.  And the antique
handcrafted sign that really looked out of place in the modern
mall read simply 'Spells R Us'.  "They must be selling magic tricks
with an odd name like that.  I wonder why the mall people decided to
locate it between the book and computer stores - putting a magic shop
between those two stores just doesn't make much sense."

And yet, even if its location made little sense to him, Justin's
curiosity still got the better of him.  He decided he just had to go
inside and take a quick look around.  What could it hurt?

As Justin pushed open the door, its hinges squeaked.  "I guess they
need a little oil."  And then, as he stepped over the threshold, he
heard the tinkling of a little bell over his head announce his
arrival.

He was surprised when he noticed there wasn't much merchandise in the
shop, which seemed larger inside than Justin thought it should have.
A pretty young girl looked up from the counter.  "Hi Justin.  I'm
Dannie," she smiled at him.  "He said you would be coming by today,
but I was beginning to think I'd finally caught him slipping up."

"What?" he said with surprise.  "How'd you..."

But before he could finish his question, Justin heard a small cough
from somewhere near the cash register on the counter.   However,
except for Dannie, whose voice was too high for what was obviously a
male cougher, no one else was around.  Motioning him to follow her,
Dannie led him towards the rear stock room door, where a small sign
that read "He knows your name because he's a wizard" was hung.

A wizard?  That's impossible thought Justin.  He knew there were no
such things as wizards.

Dannie opened the door, then shouted inside; "Justin's finally here!
Are you coming out here or not?"

Moments later, an old man, wearing a tattered bath robe, which
appeared as if it might be even older than its wearer, came out of the
stockroom.  Looking up as he entered the store proper, he smiled at
his young visitor.  "Welcome to my little shop, Justin," he said in
greeting.  "And of course, there are such things, young man."

"What?" asked Justin.

The old man smiled.  "Why wizards of course, young man," he answered.
"You can't deny that you were just thinking there were no such things
as wizards, my boy.  But there really are wizards.  In fact, there
must be wizards; I'm one myself you know - and Dannie here is my young
apprentice."

"But she's a girl."

"And just what's the matter with girls, Justin?" asked an annoyed
Dannie.  "Don't you like girls?"

"Calm down, Dannie," said the old man.  "I'm sure he didn't mean
anything by it.  I'm sure you remember how boys can be sometimes,"
he grinned.  "It's just that Justin's a little shy around pretty
girls."

"I am not," objected Justin.

"Have it your own way, Justin," replied the old man.  He turned to
Dannie.  "Would you go into the stock room and get that item Justin
needs?"

"Sure thing, master."  For a moment or two, Dannie glared at Justin,
then abruptly turned in the direction of the stockroom door and walked
off.

Justin watched Dannie walk away with an apparent growing interest.

"She's certainly a pretty young girl," said the old man with a
widening grin.  "Don't you think so, Justin?"

"What?" asked Justin, engrossed with watching Dannie.  As he watched
her walk through the open doorway and disappear into the stockroom,
he stammered, "Oh yeah; she's very pretty."

"But as far as you're concerned, she's not nearly as pretty as Lana
Tyler.  Isn't that right, Justin?"

Justin looked at the old man with surprise.  "How do you know about
Lana Tyler?"

"Justin, Justin.  I thought we had already covered all of that,"
replied the old man.  "I'm a wizard.  Remember?  I know all about your
longtime crush on Lana Tyler, your even longer running feud with Chet
Warner, your problems at the swim team practice this morning, and that
seemingly ton of homework you were assigned that you must complete
tonight."  Justin looked surprised by what this strange old man knew
about him.  "And I also know about those two free throws you made that
won the basketball game the other night."

Justin's look of surprise turned to one of confusion.  "But how could
you..."

"He told you how, Justin," replied Dannie, as she returned from the
stockroom carrying a small package in her hand.  "Or don't you bother
listening when people tell you something?  He's a wizard.  And I'm his
apprentice.  We're simply trying to help you."

"Help me?"  Justin sounded puzzled.  "But how?"

"We're going to fix a few things in your life.  You and Lana will soon
become much closer friends.  At the same time, we're also going to put
a stop to your silly little feud with Chet Warner," replied Dannie.
"And after we're finished, I really won't be very surprised if you
wind up being a whole lot more popular than you currently are."

Justin smiled.  "You'll need a huge barrel of industrial-strength luck
to accomplish something like that."

"Not at all.  Luck is a totally unnecessary quantity, Justin," said
the wizard.  "And Dannie's already taken care of all that homework you
were given today."

"It's been done to absolute perfection, I might add, although I can't
remember ever finishing that much homework so quickly before," added
Dannie.  "And you won't have any problems at either tomorrow morning's
practice or the afternoon meet ... with this."  She handed Justin the
small package she'd retrieved from the storeroom.

"What's this?" asked Justin, as he took the package.

"Open it and find out," replied Dannie.

After opening the package, Justin stared at its contents for several
seconds.  "It's a Speedo."  He shook his head.  "It's identical to
those we wear at practice.  How is this supposed to help me?"

"It might look exactly the same," replied the wizard with a grin, "but
trust me, Justin, this one is not quite as identical as it seems.
You'll become an improved swimmer just by wearing this at your morning
practice tomorrow."

"I will?"

"Of course, you will."  Dannie smiled at Justin.  "Didn't he just tell
you that you would?  Or weren't you paying attention again?"

"I suppose; if you say so.  But - assuming I'm at all interested - how
much is this going to set me back?"

"Why absolutely nothing, Justin.  It's a freebie," replied the old
man.  "I wouldn't feel at all right about charging you anything for
our service, especially while you're being a practical exercise for
Dannie."

"And, if you have any problems - which, by the way, you won't - then
just come back and see me, Justin."  Smiling warmly, Dannie battered
her eyelashes at Justin.

"Okay, I'll take it," he smiled back at Dannie.  He carefully put the
Speedo back in its box.  "Even if everything works out okay, can I
still come back and see you anyway, Dannie?"

"Of course you can," she replied sweetly.  But after watching Justin
almost literally float out of the shop, Dannie questioningly turned
back to her mentor.  "Is he all right, master?  He's acting kind of
odd."

"He's just fine, Dannie" smiled the old man.  "As I said earlier, he's
just a little shy around pretty girls.  I suspect he's been more than
a little overwhelmed by all your feminine charms, just as any other
boy in his same situation would have been."

Dannie blushed.  However, after thinking about what she'd done for a
moment, she knew if she'd had some girl do to her what she'd just done
to him when she'd still been a boy, then she might have tried
aimlessly floating out the front door as well.  "Then you don't think
I laid it on a little to thick?"

"Not at all, Dannie."

"What about those free throws?" asked Dannie.  "Do you think I should
have mentioned that I kinda helped him sink those two free throws the
other day?"

"No," replied the old man with a wry grin.  "Not at all."

* * * * * *



As soon as Justin returned home, he went straight to his room, where
he opened his books and checked his homework.  Impossibly, not only
was every last assignment finished, but he now also remembered
actually doing every last bit of it himself.  However, with all the
things he'd been up to since school had ended, he couldn't seem to
remember when he'd found the time to do any of it.  Even as he opened
the book he'd been assigned to read several chapters, he remembered
he'd already read every chapter.  Not only that, he could also answer
every question at the end of each assigned chapter.

He began wondering if the old man and Dannie might have actually been
a wizard and his apprentice wizard as they'd claimed they were,
instead of being just another odd pair of crackpots hanging out in
the mall.

He took the Speedo out of its small box again and looked it over
carefully.  If this were actually some magical artifact, then, in all
likelihood, it would be some kind of icon representing his swimming
ability.  Justin assumed that wearing this Speedo would let him swim
better and faster than ever before.  But he saw no way how wearing
this simple Speedo could do anything to help him get closer to Lana,
or end his feud with Chet.

"Poor Chet," smiled Justin, "He really won't know what to do with
himself once he doesn't have me to pick on any more."

* * * * * *

The next morning, Justin woke later than usual.  As a consequence, he
was going to have to skip breakfast - something he really didn't like
doing - in order to get to practice on time.  Unless he was lucky,
he'd also end up listening to his mother's tirade about how bad it was
for a growing boy to skip breakfast.  But he also knew he'd be able to
eat something during his snack break after second period.

Once again, he picked up and examined the Speedo that the strange old
man, who'd claimed to be some kind of wizard, and the pretty girl,
who'd told him she was the old man's apprentice, had given him the day
before.  After a good night's sleep, he saw things more clearly.  He
didn't care what either of them told him about this Speedo; it was
identical, right down to the school logo, to those he wore during
practice.  In the light of a new day, he couldn't begin to imagine
what this particular Speedo could possibly be capable of doing for him
that any other one he picked up at random in the locker room couldn't
do just as well.

He decided the old guy and the girl must have been pulling his leg.
It must be some kind of a practical joke; a joke made more sense than
believing in magic.  There were no such things as wizards.  Someone he
knew must have tipped them off about everything and given them the
Speedo to give him as part of the joke.  That must be the real reason
the old guy knew all that stuff about me, reasoned Justin.  And, as
gullible as I am, I almost fell for it.

However, as he was busily rationalizing all the magic away, Justin
never once considered the completion of his homework as anything out
of the ordinary.  If he'd only thought about it, he would have
realized that all of his homework assignments had been done while he'd
been in their shop.  But on the other hand, if he had taken some time
and thought about it, Justin would have simply remembered doing all of
his homework himself.

And yet, thought Justin, as he considered the Speedo again, what harm
can possibly come from wearing an ordinary Speedo?  Besides, if I'm
wearing it, then maybe it will give me some great psychological edge
over all of my competition.  Justin began to smile.  "Yeah right," he
muttered, as he packed the Speedo into his school bag and headed off
for school, relieved his parents had already left for work.

* * * * * *

Justin still arrived late for practice.  Although he thought it was
much later, he was only tardy by about five minutes.  Only a few of
the guys were currently in the pool.  He didn't know how he'd arrived
so quickly, but he had noticed that Coach Gannet was frowning in his
direction.


Just great, thought Justin.

As he entered the locker room, he ran into Chet coming out.  "You're
late, Stevens," snarled Chet.  "Coach Gannet is going to be royally
pissed, you know.  After all, you're the captain; you're supposed to
set good examples for the rest of the team."  Unseen by Justin, Chet
smiled, as he turned away and walked out to the pool.  He couldn't
believe his sudden good fortune - Stevens already had a black mark
on his record from his poor practice of the day before and now he'd
arrived late for this important practice.  Stevens is
self-destructing, thought Chet.  At this rate, I won't have to do very
much to help him along.

Justin went straight to his locker; he was now the only person left in
the locker room.  After quickly stripping, removing his contacts, and
stuffing his clothes into his locker, he snapped the combination lock
shut.  For a moment, he gazed at the Speedo the old man had given him,
then casually slid it on.  As he'd been expecting, it fit perfectly.

However, when Justin took his first step towards the door, something
about the Speedo began feeling very peculiar.  Justin shook his head.
Was it all in his imagination or had his Speedo begun changing?
Without noticeably thinning as it did, the material from which it was
made impossibly seemed to expanding upwards.  At the same time, the
Speedo was also riding upward on his hips.

Alarmed at what appeared to be happening to his suit, Justin tried,
without success, to remove the Speedo.  But the altering swimsuit
stubbornly refused to budge.  Horrified and helpless, Justin watched,
as well as felt, the Lycra fabric continue creeping upwards over his
body, covering first his stomach and then his chest.

After covering his chest, the material extended two tendrils further
upwards and around his neck, which then eagerly slithered down his
still bare back.  As if they were alive, he felt the two tendrils
converge and meld into one near the middle of his back before
splitting apart and branching out again as twin serpents.  One of the
sinuous vines joined the newly extended material a few inches below
his armpits; the other one fused seamlessly into the material above
his hips.  Justin could tell that his deltoids were still bared, as
was the middle of his back, but he was very definitely wearing a
swimsuit that was a far cry from the one he'd originally donned.

As if afraid of what he'd see, Justin slowly and nervously walked over
to the mirror that ran nearly the entire length of the locker room
wall.  "Oh shit!" he swore at his reflection.  "This dumb Speedo has
somehow become a girl's swimsuit."  Once again, he tried removing it,
but just as before, the willful suit resisted his every effort.  "I
can't go out to practice dressed like this," he moaned.  "They'll
laugh at me.  I'll never hear the end of it from the guys, especially
Chet.  What am I going to do now?"

Suddenly, Justin noticed that everything around him seemed to be
getting bigger.  How was that possible?  But then, he realized things
weren't getting larger around him; it was him - he was actually
getting smaller.  Fortunately, his shrinkage ceased before he'd lost
very much of his height.  Justin thought he might be only a couple of
inches shorter than he'd been, but certainly no more than three at the
most.  But two or three inches removed from his previously 5'10" frame
was still a definitely noticeable change.

And yet, that wasn't the worst it.  As he watched in the mirror, his
waist seemed to be contracting inwards.  And even though he saw no one
standing near him, Justin could almost swear someone with huge hands
was squeezing him.  His hips and buttocks tingled oddly.  But his
altering reflection left little doubt that both of them were swelling
increasingly larger and wider, while his waist thinned.

He looked at his eyes; they were brown.  But that was impossible; he
knew his brown contacts were in his locker.  He always removed his
contacts before swimming.  His eyes should be blue.  And yet, even
though he knew they were in his locker, Justin saw everything around
him as clearly as if he were still wearing his contacts.

Even his light brown hair had changed.  It had very quickly spurted
out several inches longer.  And with every new inch it had grown, his
hair had become increasingly darker.  By the time his hair finally
stopped growing, it had become an inky black hue and easily reached
down to the tops of his newly expanded buttocks.  As he slowly shook
his head in total disbelief of what was happening, the tickling of his
ass cheeks, as his long hair swished over them, felt most peculiar.

An odd itching sensation spread quickly across his chest.  "What now?"
he mumbled, although he was afraid he already had a good idea.  He
gasped at his reflection as two small nubs started pushing out the
reformed top of his altered Speedo.  Without consciously thinking
about it, one of his hands shot up to chest.

The twin nubs were small, but unmistakably there.  As they rubbed
against the fabric of the swimsuit, the little nubs felt sore and
overly tender.  But as he absently began massaging them, they started
feeling better - actually, they felt even better than better.  A
completely new and unknown set of pleasurable sensations began
coursing through his entire body, rapidly replacing all feelings and
thoughts of both soreness and tenderness.  "This really feels good,"
he mumbled.

As he continued gently caressing his chest, he felt his small nipples
stiffen.  It was an odd feeling - unlike anything Justin had ever felt
before - but the pleasure accompanying it was absolutely incredible.
He wondered if what he was doing could be addictive.  And yet, as the
itchiness in his chest continued increasing, Justin, wrapped up in his
newfound pleasures, simply ignored the feeling and, as a result,
failed to notice the other changes in his body.

Abruptly the itching ceased.  Its sudden absence jolted Justin back to
reality.  He was stunned at what his mind told him he now held so
casually in his hands.  But a look into the mirror confirmed it all.

He had breasts?

And they weren't little ones either.

Although he considered it possible, given his earlier loss of height,
that his breasts might just look bigger than they actually were, he
was reasonably certain, without really knowing how he knew, that he
now possessed an impressive pair of 38D female breasts.

Once again, Justin stared at himself in the mirror; he didn't want to
believe what he saw reflected back at him.  In spite of the continued
presence of the telltale bulge at his crotch, he looked exactly like a
girl, especially with his new firm and full breasts.  He imagined he
could see a little of himself - an almost sisterly image, who was even
sort of pretty - in the girl looking back at him from the mirror.

As he gazed at his reflection in disbelief, he suddenly felt - what he
could best describe as a pair of hands - grab his balls and pull them
upwards into his body.  There had been a momentary twinge of pain at
first, but it had been quickly followed by indescribable, but
intensely pleasurable, sensations as his genitals and internal
structure altered in the leading wake of his family jewels' journey
to their new homes.

Without conscious thought, Justin's hand fell to his crotch.  He'd
never even noticed his penis disappear.  He'd never felt his new
fleshy mound or the slit within it form.  Another look into the mirror
again confirmed it all.  The bulge that had been the final remnant of
his manhood was gone, just as if it had never been there in the first
place.  

In body, even if not in mind, Justin was now completely and
unquestioningly a girl.

"But how can this have happened?  It's impossible!  It's just like
magic," he wondered aloud.  "Magic!" he exclaimed suddenly, as the
cause of his sudden change of gender finally dawned on him.  "That
damn old man and the girl weren't pulling my leg after all.  They
really are wizards.  They did this to me!  But why?  I didn't ask
to be a girl.  And I've never in my entire life wanted to be a girl."

Once more, Justin looked at his altered self in the mirror.  He shook
his head.  "I've got to go back to the mall and talk to them again.
If they can change me into a girl, then they can just change me back
into a boy again."

But first, he had another problem in need of a solution.

Justin had to find some way of escaping the boys' locker room without
being seen.  And, given his new appearance as well as the way he so
impressively filled out this girl's swimsuit he was wearing, that
escape was definitely going to be a difficult task.  How could he get
out of the locker room without getting caught?

Once again, the suit wouldn't budge as he tried to remove it.  He
wondered if he'd change back to normal if he could only find some way
to take the suit off.  It was a possibility, but there could be no
guarantees.

Even if the suit allowed him to doff it, what could he wear if he
remained a girl?  He briefly considered putting his old clothes on
over the suit, but then quickly decided they would neither fit his new
smaller frame nor make him look very much like a boy.  Whatever he
found to wear in the locker room, he was still going to look like some
girl who had mischievously sneaked into the boys' locker room for a
quick peek of some naked male flesh.  Justin shuddered at the thought.
He was probably going to wind up spending the rest of the day in the
office of the girls' vice-principal, while they tried to figure out
who "this girl he'd become" was and why "she" was found in the boys'
locker room.

For a fleeting moment, Justin felt oddly disoriented.  "What now?" he
muttered.  Although the strangeness passed as quickly as it had begun,
nothing seemed out of place following his swift perusal of the room.
And yet, he realized that his assessment wasn't exactly true.  There
was something intangibly different about the locker room, but, no
matter how hard he tried to figure out what might have changed, he
just couldn't put his finger on anything specific.

He heard the outside locker room door open.  When he looked towards
it, he was surprised seeing Lana Tyler walking unexpectedly towards
him.  "Shit," he muttered.  What does Lana think she's doing walking
into the boys' locker room so blatantly?  We'll both catch shit if
we're caught here, he thought, while wondering where he could hide.

"There you are," said Lana as she spotted him.  Strangely, she sounded
relieved.  "Coach Drake sent me in here to find out what was keeping
you."

Justin was thoroughly puzzled.  In spite of what she'd said, he still
couldn't believe that Lana was here with him in the boys' locker room.
But, not only was she here, she was reacting to him and his newly
altered form as if absolutely nothing was wrong at all.  "Lana?" he
asked hesitantly.

"Yes."

"Is that really you?"

"Of course it's me, silly," replied Lana.  "Were you expecting someone
else?  Some boy perhaps?" she asked with an impish smile.

Justin wondered what she meant.  "But you know who I am?  Don't you?"

With a sudden look of concern, Lana looked back at him.  "Are you sure
you're all right?"

"I think so," he replied uncertainly.  "But I've been having a really
strange day."

"I think we should make sure you're all right," replied Lana.  "Just
sit down on the bench.  I'll go get the coach."

Justin watched in growing confusion as Lana hurried off only to return
moments later with Miss Drake, the girls' swimming team coach.  Why
was Miss Drake with her?  And why was being inside the boys' locker
room not bothering either of them as Justin thought it should?

"Lana says you're not feeling well," said a concerned Miss Drake.
She put her hand across Justin's forehead.  "What seems to be your
problem, Justine?"

Justin's eyes grew wide with surprise.  She just called me Justine.
From the bench, he looked up at Miss Drake.  But as he started to
answer her question, the peculiar events of the day with all their
attendant stresses finally caught up with him.

Justin passed out.

* * * * * *


As his consciousness returned, Justin found himself stretched out on
the cot in the small room adjoining the school nurse's office.  He
could hear Mrs. Watkins speaking to someone on the phone.

Not wanting to look at himself, he kept his eyes shut tight while his
hand quickly confirmed the longer length of his hair, as well as the
two rather large mounds of flesh on his chest.  He shuddered when his
exploring hand discovered his penis still missing.  He quickly
realized what had happened to him hadn't been a bad dream after all.
It was all too real; he'd actually been transformed into a girl.

Slowly opening his eyes, he saw he was still wearing the girl's
swimsuit that had been a boy's Speedo before its own metamorphosis
right after he'd put it on.  He was glad they hadn't tried removing
it.  Or had they tried - only to discover it wouldn't come off?  He
wondered what Nurse Watkins would have done if, while he had been
completely naked, he'd changed back into his male self while she
watched.  Of course, that scenario assumed the mere removal of the
transformed suit was the only thing necessary to restore his normal
form.  Somehow Justin didn't believe the restoration of his maleness
was going to be as simple as that.

After the nurse hung up the phone, she peeked into room.  "I see
you've rejoined the living, Miss Stevens."

Justin blanched.  Miss Stevens, he thought.  She thinks I'm a girl
too.  "Yes ma'am."

"Are you feeling better now, Miss Stevens."

"Yes, Mrs. Watkins," replied Justin nervously.

"I just spoke with your mother."

"Did you have to call her?" asked Justin.

"Of course, I had to call her.  You know that's S.O.P., young lady.
She told me you might have skipped breakfast this morning.  Is that
true?"

"Yes ma'am," he replied shyly.  "But I was late for practice."

"That's no excuse, young lady.  As an athlete, you should know better
than that."

"Yes ma'am."  Justin nervously fidgeted, as Mrs. Watkins gave him the
full lecture - modified somewhat for his newly acquired gender - he'd
managed to avoid hearing from his mother this morning.

"You and your boyfriend haven't been experimenting, have you?" asked
Nurse Watkins.

Justin paled noticeably.  Boyfriend, he thought, I can't have a
boyfriend.  Can I?  "Of course not, Mrs. Watkins," he replied with all
the indignation he could muster.  But as he continued fidgeting on
the cot, the strange look the nurse kept giving him make him think she
didn't believe him.  He was very relieved when Mrs. Watkins changed
the subject.

"When is your snack break, Miss Stevens?"

Looking up at the clock, Justin was surprised by the time.  "In about
twenty minutes."  He'd only now realized that he'd already missed his
first class entirely and most of his second.

"All right, Miss Stevens," replied Nurse Watkins.  "I want you to go
eat something high in carbohydrates; you definitely need the energy.
And I don't want to hear any of those complaints or excuses you girls
always give me about being on some kind of diet.  You're too skinny
now as it is."

"Yes ma'am," replied Justin, surprised he wasn't being sent home as
he'd been expecting.  "What about my clothes?"

"I'll close the blinds and the door so you can change your clothes in
here," she replied.  "Miss Tyler retrieved your clothes from your
locker and brought them here.  I'm sure you're aware you aren't
supposed to share locker combinations with your friends.  Now get
yourself dressed, Miss Stevens.  Make sure you eat something high in
carbohydrates during your snack break.  And don't skip breakfast
tomorrow morning; I don't want to see you back in here tomorrow."

"Yes ma'am."

After Nurse Watkins left the room, Justin quickly looked around, but
he couldn't spot the clothes he'd been wearing earlier.  And what had
that been she'd said about Lana getting his clothes from his locker?
He'd never told anyone his locker combination.  On the other hand,
even if he had told her, it wouldn't have made any difference since
Lana wasn't allowed inside the boys' locker room.  But hadn't she and
Miss Drake been in the locker room with him earlier?  "Oh, no,"
muttered Justin, not liking what his mind was suggesting to him.  He
took another look around the room.  "Oh shit," he mumbled, as he
spotted the only clothes in the room.  In all likelihood they were his
clothes, although they weren't what he'd been wearing earlier.  As his
mind had kept trying to tell him, the clothes he saw very obviously
belonged to a girl.

The nurse peeked back in at him.  "Let's hurry up, Miss Stevens," she
said with mild annoyance.  "We just can't have you hanging around here
all day."  Mrs. Watkins ducked back out again.

Justin slowly stripped out of his swimsuit, which surprisingly came
off without any trace of its previous resistance.  But after several
seconds of standing around naked and hoping he'd regain his true form,
he was annoyed, although not overly surprised, when his body simply
refused to change its newly gained shape.

He stared at his clothes.

If he was going to leave the nurse's office, he had no choice but to
wear them.  But how was he supposed to wear these strange things?  He
had no idea how, or even where, to start putting any of these girlish
clothes on.

He decided to start with the panties, which, other than the soft silky
material from which they were made, didn't seem all that different
from his shorts.  They slid on easily enough.

However, the brassiere was a complete mystery to him.  After several
minutes of totally exasperating trial and error with the damn thing,
he was still holding it in his hands.  Finally, he fastened every
hook and pulled the whole damned contraption over his head.  "There
must a better way to put one of these stupid things on," he muttered.
At the same time, he was glad Nurse Watkins had closed the blinds and
the door.  He would have been thoroughly embarrassed trying to explain
the weird contortions he'd just gone through to simply put on this
bra, especially since, given the better than average size of his
breasts, everyone would probably believe he'd been wearing one of
them for years.  But at least it was now in place.  And, just as
remarkably, the stupid thing seemed to fit perfectly.

Like the panties, the blouse didn't turn out to be very difficult.
Other than the fluffy softness of the fabric and the buttons being on
the wrong side, it was just like wearing a shirt.

Even the skirt slipped on easier than he'd imagined it would.  But its
length disturbed him.  Justin thought it was far too short for him to
be wearing to school.  He was worried that boys would stare at him,
since the short skirt revealed a little too much of his new slinky
legs.  However, he also knew that, before his own metamorphosis, he
wouldn't have minded seeing one or more of his female classmates
wearing something just as short, if not even shorter.

Justin worried about the white sneakers for a while.  But they were
the only shoes in the room ... and, thank goodness for at least one
small favor, they had no heels.

As he looked up at the clock, Justin saw that only a couple more
minutes remained until his snack break started.  Seeing his reflection
in the wall mirror unnerved him.  He noted quite nervously that not
only was he a girl at that moment, but he was also an attractive one
as well.  That thought made him remember the nurse's earlier comment
about him and his boyfriend experimenting.  What will I do if some boy
comes up to me thinking I'm his girlfriend?  It's too bad Nurse
Watkins didn't just send me home - it would have simplified
everything.  But I guess I'll have to take my chances with school as
a girl for the remainder of the day. "Just how hard can being a girl
really be?" he asked himself, while absently picking up the purse that
had lain beneath the clothes he now wore.  "As soon as school ends for
the day, I'm definitely heading for the mall to have a word or two
with that old man and his apprentice."

* * * * * *

Leaving the nurse's office behind, Justin walked slowly and
apprehensively towards the snack area.  He wasn't exactly certain
what to expect.

Even though everyone he passed now treated him as if he were this girl
he appeared to be, he still encountered a few difficulties of his own
with others thinking him female.  Guys turned their heads and stared
at him with very obvious intent written across their faces.  Even some
of the girls turned as he passed.  Although their looks were every bit
as obvious as those from any boy, Justin didn't appreciate the glares
he was getting from them.  On top of that, he couldn't believe how
femininely his body moved.  It almost seemed as if he'd been walking
this way his entire life.  But in any event, it still felt strange to
feel his ass swaying back and forth with each step he took, the twin
weights that kept shifting on his chest, and his long hair swishing
across his back.

But right now, he was really hungry - even more than he usually was
after practice whenever he'd skipped breakfast before.  And he hadn't
even done anything all day.  He wondered if his transformation might
have tapped into his own energy resources.  As hungry as he felt at
the moment, Justin knew he would soon be gobbling down every calorie
he could possibly buy, even if the nurse hadn't told him to load up
on carbohydrates.

After impatiently waiting in line for what seemed like several hours
instead of only a few minutes, Justin finally bought his overloaded
junk food carbohydrate-laden snack.  A couple of skinny girls standing
behind him gaped at him and what he'd bought with a mixture of
surprise and disbelief as he left with his little "snack".  Justin
heard some of the other girls whispering as he passed, but he really
didn't care what they were saying about him.  He was famished.

Shortly after sitting down at one of the tables, he heard a familiar
voice behind him.  "Justine, how are you!" exclaimed the voice.  "I'm
surprised to see you here.  I was certain Nurse Watkins would send
you home."

Justin turned around and found himself looking directly into the blue
eyes and smiling face of Lana Tyler.  "I'm okay, Lana," he answered
quietly.  He was glad to see her.  He was also happy that Lana,
instead of ignoring him, was treating him as if they were really good
friends.  At the same time, he was not overly enthused that he'd had
to become a girl in order for them to be such good friends.  The old
man's apprentice in that peculiar shop last night had mentioned
something about him getting closer to Lana, but this was definitely
not what Justin had imagined Dannie had meant.  "Have a seat, Lana."

As Lana sat down, she asked, "What happened to you this morning,
Justine?"

"Nothing really important," replied Justin.  "I must have forgotten to
set the alarm last night.  I just overslept this morning and then
skipped breakfast to help make up some of the time.  I guess my body
decided to tell me I shouldn't have skipped breakfast."

"You know better than that, Justine."

"Yeah, I guess so.  But I really don't need another lecture right now,
Lana," replied Justin, sounding contrite.  "Nurse Watkins told me you
got my clothes from my locker."

"That's right.  I knew you wouldn't want to walk back to our locker
room from the nurse's office in that old swimsuit.  It's almost okay
for the meets and the swim team, but it's not all that flattering to
your figure.  I'll bet you wouldn't have minded walking back to the
locker if you'd been wearing that hot little thong you bought last
week to wear at my sleepover tonight."  Lana suddenly looked
concerned.  "You will be able to come tonight?  I hope your parents
won't decide to ground you and keep you home tonight because of this
little problem.  After all, it wouldn't be much of a party if my very
best friend weren't there.

I'm now her best friend, thought Justin.  However, being her best
friend right this moment didn't exactly mean the same thing to him
that it would have meant earlier this morning.  "I'm fairly certain
I'll still be able to make it tonight, Lana.  Hopefully there won't
be any major problems with my parents."  And yet, as Justin began
thinking about all the girls that Lana had likely invited to her
little gathering tonight, he couldn't seem to get real excited about
seeing any of them.  "But what about today's meet?"

"Our next meet is next week," replied Lana.  "The boys have one after
school today, but we don't; we have a bye."  A light seemed to go on
in Lana's eyes.  "Oh... I understand.  You must be thinking it would
be a good idea for the captain of the girls' team to show up and
support the boys' team.  That makes sense.  If that's what you want to
do, you should have plenty of time to watch their meet and then make
it over to my house."  Lana suddenly hugged Justin.  "But just
remember tonight's little get together is a girls-only party, Justine.
That means he can't come with you tonight."

Justin looked puzzled.  "He?"

"Are you sure you're all right, Justine?" asked Lana.  "Although I
really wish you would forget all about him, the 'he' in question is
that dipshit of a boyfriend of yours.  I'm sure you remember him; he's
the captain of the boys' swim team - Chet Warner."

Justin paled and wanted to gag.  Chet Warner was his boyfriend?  How
the hell could those two pull that kind of an asinine stunt on him?
"That's not a problem, Lana.  I know you don't like him very much."
But to himself he added, but he was your 'dipshit of a boyfriend' this
morning before I slipped on that stupid Speedo.

"I don't like him?" smiled Lana in sheer disbelief.  "You must know
that's the biggest understatement about anything I've ever heard in my
entire life.  Chet's an idiot, and that's being overly kind.  I really
don't understand what you can possibly see in someone like him."  Lana
paused.  "But we've already had this argument more times than I care
to remember.  Arguing about him has never changed anything before.  I
can't see any sense in starting up that old argument again."  Lana
looked at her watch, then stood up.  "I'm glad you're all right,
Justine.  But I really need to get headed for my next class."

Justin watched Lana leave with mixed emotions.  Even if she was now
his best friend, he knew that watching her walk so sexily away from
him and towards her next class would have definitely aroused him a
lot more yesterday than it was doing right now.

"Damn," he muttered, thinking about what Lana had said about his
boyfriend.  It had been bad enough that those two oddballs from the
mall had gone and changed him into a girl to be closer to Lana, but
this newest development was absolutely intolerable.  "How could they
have decided the best way to end our long running feud was by making
me and Chet a couple?"  Justin decided there must have been a better
way to end the feud that wouldn't have involved turning him into
Chet's main squeeze.  "That settles it," muttered Justin, as he slowly
stood up.  "As if I didn't have enough reasons to be angry with those
two wizards already, they turn around and give me another reason.  As
soon as school's out, I'm heading for the mall."

Before he could move very far, a pair of male arms slid around his
newly slendered waist from behind.  "How are you feeling, babe?" asked
the male voice he'd rather never hear speak to him again.  "I heard
you had some problems at your practice this morning, babe."

"You could say that, Chet," replied Justin icily.  "I passed out
before practice started this morning."  With difficulty, Justin
wiggled out of Chet's grasp.

"You'll still be coming to my meet after school; won't you, babe?"

"No, I won't be able to go to the meet, Chet," lied Justin.  "I've
got to go home right after school.  The nurse called my mom."

"How about we get together afterwards, babe?"  Chet flashed him a
smile; Justin didn't appreciate the obvious meaning behind it.

"I can't," replied Justin.  "I'm going over to Lana's house tonight."

"Whatever for?" snarled Chet.  "Why don't you just blow that stupid
cow off.  The two of us could easily have more fun tonight than you
could ever have with her," he grinned.  "That is, if you know what
I mean, babe."

You dumb asshole, thought Justin, suddenly tired of being called babe
all the time.  "I told you I'm going to Lana's tonight.  I don't care
whether you like her or not, I'm going and that's final."  Justin
turned and stormed off in the general direction of his next class.

"I wonder what's bothering her?" mumbled Chet as he stared after his
departing girlfriend.  "It's a good thing she's so pretty, because
sometimes she can be just as stupid as all the other bitches around
here," he muttered.  "I guess I'll have to think up some way to remind
her that there are a lot of other girls just waiting for their chance
to replace her as my girl."

* * * * * *



With the exception of attending classes he'd never been to, and in a
couple of cases had never heard of, before, the rest of Justin's day
was more or less uneventful.  To his eternal joy, he had even somehow
managed to avoid crossing paths with Chet again.  Unfortunately,
successfully avoiding Chet all day had a downside that was equally
worrisome for Justin.  Knowing him as well as he did, Justin was
certain Chet would not take kindly to "his girlfriend" dodging him all
day.  Justin had no desire to be made some sort of example for Chet's
inane group of friends.

Despite what he'd decided earlier, Justin had changed his mind about
heading straight for the mall after school.  Instead, he'd decided to
go home first.  By the end of the day, he was sure every boy in the
school had stared at him at least once.  He'd had more than enough of
being ogled for one day.  He wanted to change his clothes before going
to the mall.  He was certain there must be something in his closet
that would be just as comfortable, but far less clingy and revealing.
After all, he definitely had no intentions of attracting any boys once
he was inside the mall.

Justin also had a big advantage in going home first.  His parents
should still be at work.  He'd be able to go inside the house, quickly
change his clothes, and then head over to the mall without anyone
asking him any embarrassing questions or telling him he couldn't go
out again.  Of course, his simple little plan required him and his
parents to still live in the same house he'd left this morning.
Living in the same place had been such a simplistic assumption that
he'd never even considered it until he'd walked out to the parking lot
and couldn't locate his twenty-year-old clunker.

At first, he'd been really pissed that someone had stolen his car.
But why would anyone want to steal his old car?  And then, after
opening his purse to see if he had any money for the pay phone, he'd
found a strange set of car keys.  As it turned out, one of the keys
opened the door of the brand new sporty red Mustang parked in the
stall where he remembered parking his old junker in the morning.

As soon as he sat down in the Mustang's bucket seat, he reached over
to the glove box.  As he checked the car's registration, he saw that
it was made out in his name - or, more correctly, it was made out in
the name of "Justine Stevens".  Even though the address on it wasn't
where he'd awakened this morning, he still recognized the address on
it as his home.  He couldn't believe that he now owned this brand new
Mustang.  Apparently, he was now another of those spoiled girls at
school whose doting parents had bought their daughter a sporty car.

Driving as if he were on automatic pilot, he found himself turning
onto a familiar-looking street several blocks away from where he'd
been living this morning.  A few minutes later, he pulled into the
familiar driveway of an equally familiar house.  After locking his
brand new Mustang, he strolled up to the door of the house and very
casually opened it with the house key that was on the ring with his
car keys.

As he went inside the house, he picked up the mail that was lying on
the floor.  He was surprised to see another letter from the State
University.  "How many times must you reject me?  Wasn't once enough?"
But then he noticed the name on the envelope - Miss Justine Stevens.
After quickly opening the letter, Justin discovered that his alter
self Justine had just been accepted on a swimming scholarship to the
same school that had sent him a rather impersonal form rejection
notice only last week.  "This isn't fair!"

But then, his attention was caught and focused on the family portrait
sitting on the mantle above the fireplace.

The photograph had obviously been taken very recently.  But very
surprisingly there were four people posed in it.  He immediately
recognized his parents - they were totally unchanged from how he
remembered them.  He, or rather Justine, was in it; he hadn't noticed
before now how much Justine resembled his mother.  But who was that
other girl in the picture?  She must have been at least three or four
years younger than him.  And from her appearance, she was obviously
some close relative.  If it were possible, she might very easily be
his sister.  "Sally Ann?" he muttered.  This girl had to be his
younger sister Sally Ann.

But how could she be here now?

He remembered seeing Sally Ann struck by a car and killed in the
street just outside this very house about eleven years earlier.  That
must be why this house seemed so familiar.  Sally's death had prompted
his parents to sell this house and move across town, but now, for some
unknown reason, she was alive again and his parents had never moved.
Justin realized there must have been something about his becoming a
girl that had kept his sister from being killed.  But what could it
have possibly been?

As if he knew where he was going, Justin quickly and easily found his
room, even though it was totally a teenage girl's room that bore no
resemblance to the room in which he'd awoken this morning.  After
finding exactly what he was looking for in his dresser drawer, Justin
quickly changed into the baggy pair of pants and the matching
sweatshirt he'd selected.  Hoping they would make him appear modest
and unattractive, while not being overly revealing, Justin sighed with
disappointment as he gazed at his reflection in the mirror.  In spite
of what he was wearing, Justin still thought he looked really hot.
"Even wearing baggy things like these, I guess I'm still not going to
be able to hide myself for long in the crowd at the mall."

He slipped his tennis shoes back on his feet, then picked up his purse
from the dresser.  After a quick look around the house for what he
hoped would be the last time, he exited the house, closing and locking
the door behind him.  As he reached his car, he looked back at the
house that he'd lived in as a young boy.  A moment later, after wiping
a tear from his eye he wasn't exactly sure why he'd shed, he jumped
into his red Mustang and sped away towards the mall.

* * * * * *

Justin parked in the same mall lot he generally used, then headed for
the mall door.  With every step he took along his way, he swore he
could feel the eyes of every guy he passed staring at him.  He didn't
like this feeling of being seen as some kind of an object.  Things
even took a turn for the worse once he was inside the mall.  Several
guys had found enough courage to quit staring at him; they were
actually coming up and hitting on him.

Justin felt a surge of relief as soon as he arrived outside the little
shop that sat between the computer store and bookstore.  After quickly
ducking inside the old man's shop, he was surprised when none of the
annoying boys, who'd been right on his heels almost from the moment
he'd entered the mall, followed him inside.

The little bell above the door tinkled to announce his arrival.

"Hi Justine.  While you in here, you don't need to worry about any of
those boys outside," said Dannie with a wide smile as she looked up
from the counter.  "Welcome back.  I just knew you'd be back today."

"Whatever gave you that idea?" snarled Justin, his hands firmly
planted on his hips.  "Just what did you and that old man do to me?"

Dannie shook her head.  "Well, gee whiz, Justine," she continued
smiling.  "By now, I'd think it was pretty obvious.  I mean, you must
have noticed that you're now a girl, much closer friends with Lana
Tyler, and no longer involved with that silly little feud with Chet
Warner.  And just as I told you the other day, you're even a lot more
popular than you were.  That was what you wanted - wasn't it?"

"But I never said anything about being turned into a girl."  He
returned his hands to his hips for added emphasis, which inadvertently
pushed out his ample breasts.  "I wanted Lana to be my girlfriend; I
didn't want to become her girlfriend.  And, given a choice, I'd much
rather be punching Chet in the face than have to be his girlfriend."

"Oh," replied Dannie simply.  "But aren't you and your parents happier
now that your little sister Sally Ann is alive and well once again.
After all, Justine always watched her little sister better than Justin
did."

Justin stared at Dannie.  How?  He wanted to ask her the question, but
decided he already knew the answer she'd give him.  "I haven't seen my
parents... or Sally Ann... yet.  I need to talk to the old man.  Where
is he, Dannie?"

"He's not available right now.  He had a few other urgent errands that
needed being done elsewhere first.  But he told me to help you as best
I could when you finally arrived."

Justin looked at her hopefully.  "Does that mean you can change me
back into my real self?"

"I'm sorry, Justine, but I can't do that," she told him.  "I wish I
could - I mean I will be able to eventually - but, unfortunately for
you, the master hasn't yet taught me everything I need to know about
negating complicated spells.  You weren't just one of those
off-the-shelf simple change-a-boy-into-a-girl spells, you know.  You
might check back in a week, or I suppose I could try to change you
back, but ... I'm afraid I might make things even worse for you."

"What could be worse than this?"  He spread his arms out wide.

Dannie glared at him.  "Well, for one thing, Justine, those 38D boobs
you're now sporting could suddenly balloon up to a pair of 52H's, or
possibly a size or two even bigger.  If you think you've got problems
with the boys around here now, just what do you think will happen when
you step outside with an even larger endowment?

"Or I could accidentally turn you into a sexually insatiable wanton
little slut ... but on the bright side, at least you wouldn't be
worrying so much about trying to avoid all those boys outside.

"And, no matter what else you're thinking, there are worse things than
being a girl, Justine.  Believe me, I know.  You could easily wind up
a fluffy pink woolly wombat with varying sizes of purple polka dots.
Or maybe you'd become some kind of bipedal zebroid with alternating
chartreuse and fuchsia stripes.  But you know something, Justine, I
think chartreuse stripes running across your nipples would look really
hot."

Dannie paused for a moment to let what she'd told Justin sink in.
"But if you still want me to give it a try, I guess I can.  After all,
you're still our customer."

"On second thought, that no longer sounds like such a great idea,"
stammered Justin.  "I guess I can live with being a girl until the old
man returns.  When did you say he'll be back?"

"I didn't say; I don't really know exactly," said Dannie.  "It could
just as easily be an hour, or even a week, from now.  However, knowing
the master as I do, it's totally possible for him to return before
he's even left."  Dannie paused again.  "But I guess he won't be doing
that this time because, if he'd done it, then he'd already be here now
and he very obviously isn't here at the moment."  Suddenly Dannie's
smile widened.  "I'll bet this is one of my tests, Justine.  Over the past couple of
weeks, he's been teaching me how to alter relationships between people
without physically changing any of the people involved at the same
time.  Sometimes the master can be really sneaky when he's testing me;
I'll bet he's watching us right now."

"What are you talking about, Dannie?" asked Justin in growing
bewilderment.  "What you're talking about is very confusing."


"It's actually quite simple, Justine.  I can't do anything about
changing you back into a boy right now," said Dannie.  "However you
also don't like the idea of being Chet's girlfriend; that is something
I can fix for you."

"You can?"

"I certainly can.  Making you not Chet's girlfriend should be really
easy," replied Dannie.  "However, a few other things might shuffle
about unpredictably, since I still don't possess the perfect mastery
over reality that I'll have once I've finished my training."

"Do whatever you have to do, Dannie," replied Justin.  "Even if
something else happens, at least I won't have to be Chet's girlfriend.
That's an absolutely horrible fate to inflict on anyone - I can't
imagine anything worse than that.  Even becoming one of those fluffy
wombat things you mentioned might be better."

Dannie reached under the counter and retrieved a fine golden chain.
Hanging from it was a small amethyst stone.  "All you have to do is
remember to put this necklace on before you leave for Lana's party
tonight.  Once you put it around your neck, you'll no longer need to
worry about being Chet's girlfriend."

"But what's it gonna do to me?" asked Justin suddenly suspicious.
Dannie and her master had already caught him unawares once and he
wasn't about to get caught again.  "Is it just gonna change me into
some other girl, who isn't currently Chet's girlfriend?"  But in spite
of all of his misgivings, Justin still took the proffered necklace
from Dannie and quickly stashed it in his purse.

"Of course not.  It won't change you physically at all.  You'll still
be Justine," replied Dannie.  "If it changed you physically in any
way, then I'd fail the master's test.  All this will do is change your
relationship with Chet."

"That's all it will do?" asked Justin.  "You're sure about that?"

"Of course I'm sure, Justine - more or less.  As I said earlier, there
may be some other observable fallout from my altering of reality, but,
hopefully, none of that will adversely affect you.  And the final
decision of whether you wear it or not still remains yours to make."
Dannie smiled reassuringly at Justin.  "But shouldn't you be on your
way home for dinner with your parents and your younger sister?"

"I suppose," replied Justin.  "I should have plenty of time afterwards
to get ready for Lana's party, provided my parents haven't grounded
me for life."  Justin shook his head.  "Will you tell the old man I
was here?"

"Of course I'll tell him you were here, Justine," replied Dannie.
"However, I'm absolutely certain he already knows you were here, what
I've done for you, and whether or not I've passed my test.  He's just
like that, you know.  After a while, you just get kind of used to him
being the way he is and knowing everything all the time."

"Please tell him anyway," said Justin, as he turned to leave.

"Of course I will, Justine.  You're still our customer."  Dannie
watched the pretty girl exit the shop.

Suddenly, Dannie heard a familiar voice from behind her.  "You've
passed your test with flying colors, Dannie," said the old man.  "For
a brief moment, I thought you might fail to recognize you were being
tested - I should have known better."

Although she was pleased to hear she'd passed her test, Dannie still
blushed.  It wasn't often the master admitted being uncertain about
anything.  Compliments were just not some commodity the old man handed
out lightly.  "Thank you, master," she told him.  "But he'll be back,
you know."

"Perhaps, he will.  Perhaps, she won't," replied the old man to
Dannie's surprise.  "For our young Justine, there are still several
decisions in need of being made.  Any of those things which have yet
to be decided may, or may not, affect our young client's future."

* * * * * *



As soon as he'd exited the old man's shop, Justin decided he might
as well go home.  But it had been an easy decision that hadn't
required much thought.  He really had no where else to go at the
moment.  Wandering about the mall hadn't offered him much of option
because it seemed every boy hanging out at the mall had begun
gathering around him again.  It was almost as if they'd just been
waiting for him to come out of the magic shop.  Even dressed as
casually as he was, he still felt very uncomfortable receiving so much
attention from every boy that came near him.  It was still too early
to head for Lana's party.  And he quite definitely had no intentions
of heading back to watch the boys' swim meet.

He thought about the amethyst crystal on its golden chain that Dannie
had given him and he'd put into his purse.  She had told him it would
only affect his relationship with Chet.  And yet, Justin couldn't keep
from worrying that wearing it might somehow make their relationship
even worse.  The way his luck had been running of late, he was
suddenly afraid of winding up Chet's wife - there just couldn't be
anything worse than that.  But his emerging paranoia also made him
wonder if he should make an attempt to wear the necklace at all.
However, if he didn't put it around his week, it was a guarantee that
nothing would change at all.  He'd still be Chet's girlfriend, which
meant the next time he saw him, Chet would be endlessly pawing him
and continually calling him babe.

"Damned if I do; damned if I don't," he muttered.

As he pulled onto the driveway, he noticed his mom and dad were home
from work.  Now, he realized, he'd probably get one of those long
winded lectures his parents loved giving him whenever he did something
they thought was wrong.  It might have only been a little fainting
spell at school, but Justin had known he'd have to face the music
sooner or later.

And as he entered the house again, he saw his younger sister Sally Ann
sitting in the living room watching television.  Justin couldn't keep
from smiling as soon as he saw his little sister.  He hadn't realized
until that moment how much he'd missed her.  He went over to his
sister and hugged her, as if he hadn't seen her in a very long time.

Sally Ann looked at her sister with a puzzled expression.  "Are you
all right, Justine?" she asked, while wondering what her older sister
wanted from her.

"I'm just fine, Sally," replied Justin.  "I'm just really happy to see
you."

Sally's eyebrow raised.  "Since when?" she asked with surprise.  "You
need to go talk to mom.  She's more than a little PO'ed with you right
now, Justine?"

"Where is she?"

"She's in the kitchen."

"Okay," replied Justin, as he headed for the kitchen.  "Hi mom," he
said sheepishly after entering the kitchen and spotting his mother.

"Are you all right, Justine?" she asked with parental concern.  "I was
really worried after that phone call from your school nurse this
morning."

"I know, mom."  Justin looked down at his feet.  "I wish Mrs. Watkins
hadn't called you.  She really didn't need to, you know, but she said
it was S.O.P.  It only happened because I was running a little late
for school this morning and skipped breakfast."

"I thought you knew better than that, young lady.  You're a growing
girl.  How many times must we discuss this subject?" Justin's mother
scolded her daughter.  "I was afraid you might be pregnant."

"Mother!" exclaimed Justin in surprise.  What made people always jump
to that conclusion?  "There's no way I can possibly be pregnant, mom."
At least I hope he added silently.

"That's good to hear, Justine," replied his mother.  "But I still
don't trust that sneaky little weasel you've been dating.  I've never
really liked that Warner boy.  It wouldn't have surprised me at all
if that lazy no good boy somehow convinced you to do something you
knew you shouldn't do."  Justin's mother sighed.  "For the life of me,
Justine, I really don't know what it is you think you possibly see
in that boy."

Justin was surprised at his mother's words.  He'd never realized
before now that she didn't like Chet.  Before today, she'd always been
the one trying to get them to patch up their many differences.  But
then, before this morning he'd been her son - not her daughter.  "I
don't think you'll need to worry about me seeing Chet Warner much
longer, mom.  I'm thinking about calling it quits with him."

Suddenly, and quite unexpectedly, Justin's mother hugged her older
daughter.

"What was that for?" asked the surprised Justin.

"Just because, sweetheart," smiled his mother.

"Are there going to be any problems with me going to Lana's party
tonight?"

"Is that tonight, dear?  I'd forgotten what night you'd told me her
party was."  Justin's mother suddenly frowned.  "Is that Chet Warner
going to be there?" she asked coldly.

"He won't be there, mom.  It's girls only tonight."  Justin cringed,
realizing he'd just referred to himself as a girl, but then, why
shouldn't he - as far as everyone else was concerned, he was a girl.

"Then have a good time at Lana's party tonight, sweetheart."

Once again, Justin was surprised.  He'd been expecting his mother to
put up more of a fight about his going to Lana's party.  Despite what
he'd told Lana earlier, he'd actually expected to be grounded.  Given
the identical situation - except with him his former male self -
Justin was certain his mother would have put her foot down to him
going anywhere, other than back and forth to school, for at least the
next couple of weeks.

"Go tell your father and sister that dinner's ready and on the table."

"Sure thing, mom," smiled Justin, who had begun wondering if being a
girl for a short while was going to be such a bad thing after all.

* * * * * *

After dinner, Justin went upstairs to change his clothes before
leaving for to Lana's party.  All through dinner, his little sister
had kidded him about doing those kissy faces with boys.  Her teasing
hadn't even bothered him.  "Just wait until you get a couple of years
older," he'd warned her back, as their parents smiled.  But Justin had no intentions of kissing
any boy as long as he remained a girl.

Justin removed the amethyst stone and its golden chain from his purse,
then laid it carefully on his dresser.  He still had a few misgivings
about what he was about to do, but despite all of them he'd still
finally decided to wear it.  But, unless he wanted Chet to remain his
boyfriend, he had no other option.  And if things actually took a turn
for the worse after he put the stone around his neck, he'd deal with
whatever his new situation became at that time.

Justin found the thong bikini Lana had earlier mentioned that he - or
rather Justine - had bought last week to wear tonight.  "How can I
possibly wear this?" he asked himself as he looked over the skimpy
suit he held in his hands.  However, inasmuch as his best friend Lana
was expecting him to wear this thong tonight, Justin, not believing he
had another choice, packed the skimpy suit into his overnight case.
Justin continued wondering if he'd ever work up enough nerve to wear
it.  After all, the thong was so tiny and revealing.  And yet, a
simple peek at his reflection quickly reminded Justin he now had the
perfect body to wear it.  He was suddenly glad Lana's party was girls
only, since wearing this less than skimpy little suit where boys would
see him would inevitably draw them to him, just as bees were drawn to
flowers.

With far more ease than he'd possessed in the nurse's office earlier,
Justin slipped into a loose fitting blouse - he'd decided to forswear
one of those troublesome bras - a knee-length skirt, and a pair of
tennis shoes.  Justin looked himself over in the mirror.  Once again,
he was thankful there would be no boys at Lana's party.  He still
thought he looked really hot even though he'd tried to dress plainly.

He gazed down at the amethyst stone hanging from its fine golden
chain.  Although, he wasn't absolutely certain he could trust either
Dannie or that odd old man, he'd already decided he had no other
choice.  If he chose not to wear it, he'd be stuck as Chet's
girlfriend - the most horrifying thought he'd ever thought - until
the old man returned, whenever that might be.  But whatever happened
to him after sliding the gold chain over his head and around his neck
was still bound to be better than being Chet's girlfriend.

Justin picked up the chain, then carefully slipped it over his head.
The chain quickly slid into place around his neck, while the amethyst
stone came to rest nestled within his ample cleavage.  But after
several minutes had passed, he was surprised, as well as annoyed, that
he still felt absolutely the same way as he had before he'd donned the
stone.  After waiting for a few additional minutes, still nothing
had changed about him.  Justin felt very disappointed.  He'd fully
accepted what Dannie had told him; he knew he wasn't about to become
male again, but he'd still been expecting to feel or see something
different - even if only a little bit - about himself and his
surroundings.

He went down the stairs.

Nothing along the way looked any different than before.

For a fleeting moment, Justin thought his mother and sister had
changed their clothes while he'd been upstairs.  But they hadn't had
enough time.  As anxious as he knew he was to see any kind of change,
Justin quickly decided that his imagination must have started working
overtime.

"Have a good time tonight, dear," said his mother, as she looked up.
However, to Justin's surprise, she made no further mention of their
earlier conversation.

Sally Ann flashed him a peculiar little smile.  It almost seemed that
she had some strange notion her older sister might be trying to put
something over on their parents.

"What's your problem?" he asked her.

"I don't have any problems, Justine."  Sally appeared to smirk.  "You
don't have to worry about me.  I won't tell on you," she whispered,
before turning and skipping up the stairs to her room.

Justin wondered what his little sister thought she knew that she
shouldn't tell their parents.  As far as he knew, there was nothing
that needed to be kept secret about Lana's party; it was just a simple
girls only sleepover.

"I'll see you in the morning," Justin told his parents, but he
received no answer from either of them.

As he walked outside, Justin saw that his brand new Mustang was still
sitting right where he'd parked it earlier.  He was relieved it hadn't
changed again; he liked it just the way it was.  Besides, after all
the effort he'd put into getting his daddy to buy him this car, Justin
would have been very upset if his new flashy pink Mustang convertible
had been changed into something he thought as less desirable.

And as he hopped into his car and began heading for Lana's house, he
shook his head.  "Why hasn't anything changed?" he mumbled.  And if
nothing had changed, he hoped he wouldn't encounter Chet, who knew
this car of his on sight, along the way.

* * * * * *



As he arrived outside Lana's house, the large number of cars parked on
the street surprised Justin.  Only a few of the other girls had their
own cars.  And there were definitely more cars parked near Lana's
house than he'd expected to see.  After parking under a large tree, he
got out of his pink Mustang and made his way towards Lana's front
door.  He recognized every car belonging to one of the other girls as
soon as he saw them.  But there were several other vehicles he also
recognized immediately.  He couldn't believe how many cars belonging
to his male classmates were here.

"Oh shit," he muttered as he spotted Chet's car.  "What the hell is he
doing here."  He fingered the amethyst stone nervously.  "This damn
thing must not have worked at all.  Or maybe it did - only now, as I'd
feared, things had grown worse than they'd been.  I'm certain Lana
told me her little get together was girls only.  Why would Lana have
lied to me about something like this?"

But Justin suddenly realized that Lana probably hadn't lied.  He might
not have noticed anything different before now, but he guessed this
evening's list of invitees had significantly changed after he'd donned
the necklace.

Justin also realized that his little sister must have known this party
was now a coed gathering, even if he hadn't.  That must have been what
Sally Ann had meant when she'd said she wouldn't tell on him.

This change in people attending Lana's party had probably been one of
those unpredictable side effects Dannie had warned him might happen.
Up until he'd put the amethyst stone around his neck, the party had
very likely been girls only just as Lana had told him.  But
immediately afterwards, the list of attendees had very obviously been
expanded to include several boys.  And just as had happened to him
before, he was the only one who perceived any alterations in the
fabric of reality.  It was the same effect as when he'd first put that
damn Speedo on and it, then he, had transformed with no one else even
remembering he wasn't the girl he appeared, and everyone thought him,
to be now.

With all the odd twists and weird turns his life was suddenly taking,
Justin was developing a headache just trying to keep up with it.
"Maybe I should just go home," he mumbled.

He stared at Chet's car again.  But what if Dannie were right?  She
said I wouldn't be Chet's girlfriend after putting the stone around
my neck.  That meant there might still be some hope.  And yet, things
might still be worse than they'd been before.  Justin knew he would
never know one way or the other until he went inside and found out
for himself.

He knocked on the door.

Lana answered.  "I've been wondering what was keeping you, Justine,"
she smiled.  "I was afraid your parents might have grounded you for
the next month, if not longer."

"A month?  Just because I skipped breakfast and fainted at school?"
asked Justin.

Lana gave her friend a puzzled expression.  "You fainted at school?"
she asked with obvious surprise.  "When did that happen?  And why
didn't you tell me about it before now?"

"But..." began Justin, before realizing he might not have fainted in
this newly altered reality.  "Never mind, it's not very important."
However, given he probably hadn't fainted, he began wondering what
Lana was referring to that would have made his parents ground him for
an entire month.  "I thought you told me your party was going to be
all girls."

"Is that the story you told your parents?" smiled Lana mischievously.
"You're usually more creative than that, you know.  It's way too easy
to check."  Lana shook her head.  "Besides, why would your parents
believe I'd throw a party with no boys.  Boys can be a lot of fun to
have around sometimes, as I'm sure you'll remember from the other
night."

Knowing he couldn't ask Lana ehat she meant, Justin wondered what
might have happened the other night.  Just what did Lana think he'd
done?  And an even better question - with whom did Lana think he'd
done whatever it was she'd thought he'd done?  But whatever it was
he'd done, he hoped he hadn't done it with Chet.

"Come on in, and join all the fun, Justine," smiled Lana.  "I know
everyone here will be really happy to see that you've finally
arrived."

That's just what I'm afraid of, thought Justin nervously.  But, as if
to justify his worst fears, no sooner had he and Lana entered the
living room, Justin spotted Chet standing all alone across the room.
He was slowly looking around as if trying to find something ... or
someone.  And as soon as Chet spotted Justin, he began walking towards
him and Lana.

Shit, thought Justin.  It is going to be worse than it was.

As Chet approached nearer, he began smiling.  "It's about time you
returned, babe.  I was getting ready to send out a search party."

Damn it, thought Justin.  He's still calling me babe ... and Lana just
implied that I'd ... oh shit, it's even worse than I thought it could
ever be.  Whatever our new relationship is now, it certainly appears,
from my viewpoint, to be a helluva lot worse than merely being his
girlfriend.

But when Chet reached where the two girls were standing, he continued
on past them as if they didn't exist.  Chet casually slid his arm
around Margie Johnson's waist, then pulled her close and kissed her.
And, with equal passion, she returned his kiss.

"Isn't that simply disgusting?  I really don't understand what Margie
sees in that little turd," said Lana with undisguised contempt.  "He's
pure slime that will never amount to anything.  Doesn't Margie know
that once Chet plants his seed in her, he'll just dump her and move on
to his next victim."

"I guess some girls have to learn everything for themselves," replied
Justin.  He breathed a big sigh of relief, knowing the stone had
actually worked its magic as Dannie had promised.  He was no longer
Chet's girlfriend; poor Margie Johnson now held that dubious honor.
However, Margie seemed to be enjoying herself.  On the other hand, if
Chet and Margie were now presumably a couple just what and with whom
had he done whatever it was that Lana thought might warrant being
grounded a month or more.

Suddenly, Justin had the strangest feeling that he shouldn't be here
at the party.  He couldn't explain why he felt that way, but this
party wasn't anything like he'd expected it would be.  And yet, his
whole day had been one big surprise after another.  He didn't like the
idea of having another major surprise suddenly sprung on him out of
the blue.

Justin hoped no one was watching as he slipped out the front door of
Lana's house and headed back to where he'd parked his car.  But he
couldn't find it.  The tree was there, but the car now sitting where
he'd parked not more than twenty minutes earlier wasn't his.  "Shit,"
he silently swore, "Some damn asshole's stolen my brand new car."

"Is something wrong, Justine?" he heard a male voice from behind him
ask.  "I saw you trying to slip out of Lana's unnoticed a few minutes
ago and thought I'd better follow you.  I hope I haven't done
something or said anything to offend you."

Offend me?  Justin wondered how someone he didn't know could have
possibly offended him.  But when he turned around to face the owner of
the unfamiliar voice, he immediately recognized his friend Mark
Thompson.  "No, of course you haven't offended me, Mark," he replied,
although he thought it very peculiar he hadn't recognized his old
friend's voice.

"That's good to hear.  I thought you might be angry at me for some
reason," said Mark.  "But, if you're not mad at me, why were trying
to sneak away?"

Justin saw little reason not to tell Mark at least a part of the
truth.  He wasn't about to tell him everything, because he knew his
friend wouldn't believe the whole story.  "I have to go to mall,
Mark," replied Justin.  "But someone seems to have stolen my new car."

It was Mark's turn to look puzzled by one of Justin's statements.
"I'm certain that really hot pink convertible of yours is still right
where you parked it after you drove home from school today.  It was
sitting on your parents' driveway when we left.  Don't you remember,
Justine?  You came with me tonight.  Are you sure you're feeling all
right?  Lana told me you've been acting a little strangely tonight."

He wondered what Mark was talking about, since he clearly remembered
driving his own car.  Suddenly it dawned on him that reality must have
shifted again for some reason.  "I'm just fine, Mark," he answered
with a smile.  I guess if I must have a boyfriend, he thought, then
Mark is definitely a much cuter choice than Chet.  Justin shook his
head.  "What the hell am I thinking?" he mumbled.

"I don't know why you have to go to the mall, Justine, but if you'd
like, I can drive you there.  I know it's not very far, but my car's
parked right here."

Justin suddenly realized that the car now parked in the spot under the
tree where he remembered parking his car was Mark's.  He wondered what
he'd done this time that had made reality alter.  But, if he'd
actually come with Mark tonight, as Mark - and no doubt everyone in
the world - now believed, then there was no reason his car should be
parked here.  His brand new Mustang his daddy had bought him was, as
Mark had suggested, probably sitting safe and sound on the driveway at
home.  At least it hadn't been stolen.

"We can come back here afterwards, if you'd like, Justine," added
Mark.  "Or, if you'd rather go home afterwards, then I'll be happy to
drive you home."

"Thank you, Mark.  That's very sweet of you," replied Justin.  Without
consciously thinking about what he was doing, he smiled at Mark.  "I
really appreciate your doing this little favor for me, Mark."  Justin
couldn't get over how really nice Mark was being to him.  At the same
time, he still couldn't believe he'd never noticed how really cute
Mark was before now.  Just thinking about him made Justin realize that
being Mark's girlfriend while he waited for the old man's return might
not be that bad after all.  Justin suddenly shook his head.  Once
again he muttered incoherently, "What the hell am I thinking about?"

"Are you ready to go to the mall, Justine?" smiled Mark.

"I guess so," replied Justin uncertainly.

* * * * * *



Justin was stunned once he and Mark had entered the mall.  What he'd
been expecting to see was no where in sight.

"Is something wrong, Justine?"  Mark's voice sounded odd.

Not wanting to believe what he was seeing - or more accurately what he
wasn't seeing - Justin's eyes rapidly shifted back and forth between
the front doors of the bookstore and the computer store.  The little
magic shop that he'd been inside twice before simply wasn't there at
all.  And, with the bookstore and computer store once again sharing a
common wall, there was no evidence the little shop he clearly
remembered being between them had ever truly been there.  He was
almost certain if he asked someone about the old man's shop, they
wouldn't even remember it had ever been there.

"I wonder where it went?" he asked, forgetting that Mark was standing
beside him.

"Where what went, Justine?" asked Mark curiously.

Justin gasped, as realized Mark had heard him.  He hadn't meant to say
anything about the old man's shop out loud.  "It's nothing, Mark.  I
was just thinking out loud about something else entirely."

"Oh," he replied simply.  "To which of these stores did you need to
go, Justine?"

"I've just decided what I need to do can wait until tomorrow," replied
Justin.  I only hope, he added to himself, that the shop will be here when I
return.  He still felt oddly disoriented.  Something definitely had to
be wrong and the disappearance of the old man's shop had done nothing
to ease his peculiar feelings of disorientation.

Why had the store been here when he'd come both times before?

Why was it missing now?

What was different about this time?

Justin thought he knew the answer; he'd return tomorrow by himself.
He wasn't completely certain, but it made sense that Mark's presence
might be the problem.  After all, there was real magic in that shop.
Just maybe, he conjectured, those who with no need of magical aid
couldn't find the shop.  Or maybe, like the old man, it was simply off
somewhere else at this particular moment.  Hadn't the girl Dannie told
him that the old man was taking care of business elsewhere when he'd
seen her the last time?  Perhaps the old man, wherever he was, had
required the presence of his shop for a while.  Hopefully, the odd
little magic shop would return to the mall again tomorrow.  Or in the
worst case, it would wait and come back when the old man did.

"I've got something I want to give you, Justine," said Mark, while
stumbling shyly over every word.

"You do?" replied Justin with surprise.  "Why?"

"I want to show you how special I think you are."

Justin felt his face redden.  He didn't want to blush, but his body
wasn't giving him another option.  He looked at Mark, who was
nervously staring down at his constantly shuffling feet.  Justin
wondered what Mark was thinking about?  "What did you get me?" he
asked Mark with an innate curiosity that was far more obvious than
he had intended.

Mark slowly reached into his pocket, then pulled from it a small box.
After opening it, he removed a fine gold chain from inside.

Justin looked at the chain.  "It's very pretty, Mark," he replied,
wondering where this was leading.  But before he could say a word,
Mark pulled his hand away to reveal his senior class ring hanging from
the chain.  "I put my class ring on this chain after we arrived at
Lana's party.  I wanted to give it to you at the party tonight.  I
want us to go steady, Justine," he stammered.  "Will you go steady
with me, Justine?"

Justin wondered why Mark would want to go steady with him.  But when
he realized almost as quickly that Mark, like everyone else, thought
of him only as this attractive girl named Justine he'd become, he knew
exactly why.  Somehow, he'd have to figure out some way of letting him
down gently; he certainly didn't want to hurt Mark's feelings.

But suddenly, right out of the blue, Justin made another decision that
even surprised him.

Why shouldn't I agree to go steady with Mark?

After all, the way my reality has been constantly shifting about of
late, I can easily accept Mark's ring and be his steady girl tonight
and by the time morning arrives, I could still be someone else.
Besides, once the old man's shop returns and I'm restored to my true
male self, I'll bet no one will remember Justine at all.  Even if the
old man and his shop took a few days to return, Mark can easily be my
shield against any unwanted male advances.  Being Mark's steady
girlfriend had its advantages; it also meant Chet wouldn't give him a
second look.

Going steady with Mark was the perfect solution for his current
situation.

Justin smiled at Mark.  "I'd love to go steady with you, Mark," he
whispered.  And to cap everything off, he surprised himself again by
leaning towards Mark and kissing him gently on the cheek.

Mark blushed.

That really wasn't so bad, thought Justin, as his grin widened.  "Will
you put the chain around my neck, Mark?"

"Of course, Justine," he stammered.  "I should have thought about
that myself."  Mark gently slipped the chain over Justin's head.  As
soon as Mark's class ring came to rest between his breasts, Justin
felt an odd flush of warmth flow through his entire body.  It was
almost as if some enormous weight had been lifted from his chest, but
with a quick glance downwards, he saw that wasn't the case - his
larger than average sized breasts were still hanging there proudly.

Never noticing that he now wore but a single golden chain nor that the
amethyst stone had merged into Mark's class ring, Justin decided that
he'd give being this girl he'd become a try for a while.  What could
it hurt if he were a girl?  He could always come back to the mall and
look for that odd little shop in a week or two.  He was convinced the
old man and Dannie would eventually return, but until they did ...
what was the big rush?

At that moment, the only thing that seemed overly important to Justin
was knowing who he really was and that he could as a girl, even if
only for a little while, make several people he knew happy.

Isn't my Mark a happier person now that I'm his steady girlfriend?
Justin smiled.  And even though I'm his girlfriend now, there's
certainly nothing that says I have to marry him or anything else like
that later on.

Not only that, but as a girl, the State University - the same one that
had rejected his application when he'd been a boy - had accepted hers
on a swimming scholarship.  That also made him a happier person.  And
there wouldn't be any problems associated with that, since all of his
school records now reflected his being Justine and not Justin.

Even his parents seemed much happier now that their younger daughter
had been returned to life.  But obviously, neither of them remembered
that Sally Ann had died before.  Justin still hadn't been able to
figure out what had changed when he'd become a girl that had kept the
car from striking and killing his little sister as they'd played
together in front of the house.  But now it only mattered that Sally
Ann was alive and well.

Suddenly, and quite impulsively, Justin kissed Mark fully on the lips.
His impulsiveness surprised him.  He didn't have the slightest idea
why he'd done what he'd done, but kissing Mark had somehow felt like
the right thing to do at the moment.

Mark had responded eagerly.

After several minutes locked tightly in each other's embrace, they
slowly pulled apart from one another.

"That was real nice, Justine."

"It sure was," smiled Justin.  He'd never felt the way he now felt
before.  And the more he dwelled on Mark's kiss, the more he liked how
that kiss had made him feel.  At that instant, Justin made another
surprising decision.  Until he located the old man or Dannie so they
could change him back again, he thought it would probably be a good
idea to start thinking of himself - or should that more realistically
be herself, now - as Justine instead of Justin.  That would be far
less confusing in his - that is, her - mind, as he, that is she, dealt
with all the people she knew.

Besides, she was only planning to remain a girl for a little while -
at most a couple of weeks.  Unless, of course, she decided on using
her scholarship at the University, in which case she'd stay a girl
for the next four years.  So where was the harm in her remaining a
girl for the next four years?  It wasn't as if many people were going
to miss the boy she'd been.  She glanced in Mark's direction.  He was
smiling back at her cryptically.  "What?" asked Justine.

"Do you want to go back to Lana's party?"

Justine returned his smile.  "I suppose we'd better, Mark.  If we
don't, they'll all be wondering what happened to us.  And knowing my
best friend Lana, they'll soon be endlessly gossiping about us."
Besides, she added to herself, her smile growing still wider, now
that I no longer feel so self-conscious about it, I wonder what Mark
will have to say, when he sees me wearing my sexy new thong bikini?

As Mark slipped his arm around Justine's waist, she casually leaned
into his embrace.  Arm-in-arm, heading back to Lana's party, the two
of them left the mall behind oblivious to everything else around them.

* * * * * *



Dannie watched with some sense of satisfaction from inside the shop
as Mark and Justine slowly departed the general vicinity where both
of them had expected to find her master's small shop.  And yet,
regardless of what both of them had been thinking, the shop hadn't
actually moved anywhere at all.  It was still sitting in the exact
same place it had been when each of them had last come visiting; it
was just slightly out of phase with their new reality and couldn't
be seen.

Dannie turned to the old man standing beside her.  "You knew all of
that was going to happen.  Didn't you, master?"

"More or less," he smiled that irritating little smile he sometimes
gave her when acting as her mentor in the arcane arts.  "What has
happened was well within the established parameters of this new
reality that's been woven about Justine and Mark."

"But I didn't know Mark even knew Justine when he came into the shop
earlier today," said Dannie.  "All he told me was he wanted a little
something that would influence this very special girl he knew into
wanting to be his steady girlfriend.  How was I supposed to know the
special girl he had his eye on was our Justine?"

Knowing it would annoy her somewhat, the old man continued smiling at
his apprentice.  "All of that will come with time and practice,
Dannie.  Knowing with precise certainty what shall or shall not
transpire as the result of any tinkerings we do with reality is a
practiced art - even a gift, if you'd prefer to call it that - which
takes time to nurture in those few, like yourself, who possess it."
The old man could tell his young apprentice was still puzzled.  "Tell
me, Dannie, did you give Mark the chain on which to hang his class
ring before or after you gave Justine the necklace with the amethyst
stone?"

"From my standpoint ... before.  But from theirs, I'm not entirely
certain.  I didn't think any of that was overly important."

"Your uncertainty here is understandable, given that subjective time
within the shop need not be coincidental with the objective time
outside it," explained the old man.  "But one thing you must always
remember when tinkering with reality is that nothing done, no matter
how small it may seem, is unimportant.  As you've now seen firsthand,
even two quite small and seemingly insignificant details may be
interrelated in such a way as to yield something of consequence when
combined.

"If you indeed gave Mark his golden chain first, then it is very
likely that the girl Mark originally had designs of making his steady
girlfriend was someone other than Justine.  However in this new
reality crafted about them, who that girl may have been is now no
longer of real significance, as what once was never was.  When you
altered their former reality in order to have Justine never be Chet's
girlfriend, you very likely allowed Mark's subconscious to seek out
a dream he may have thought unattainable in their previous reality."

"Oh," Dannie said simply, as she tried to digest everything her mentor
was telling her.  "Do you think they're going to be happy, master?  Or
haven't you found the time to snoop into that part of their new lives
yet?"

"Of course, they'll be happy, Dannie," replied the wizard.  "That was
one of the reasons they were here."

"So the two of them are now going live happily ever after ... just as
if they were living in some fairy tale."

"Life seldom allows fairy tale endings, Dannie," replied the wizard.
"While Mark and Justine will definitely live happily ever after, it
won't be with each other.  Justine has yet to meet her life's partner,
although she will discover him in the first class of her first day at
the State University when she goes away to school next fall.  By the
time she completes her education and returns home, she will no longer
consider returning to her previous life as Justin a viable option.
She will never forget who she once was; Justin's life will always be
an integral part of Justine's.  It's simply that Justin won't be of
great importance to her until after her first son is born."

"But what about Mark?" asked Dannie.  "From what you've told me this
doesn't sound like a very happy ending for him."

"Perhaps, Dannie.  But you must always remember that the mechanics of
life can be truly mysterious given its own way," replied the old man.
"As it turns out, Mark's true soulmate, as well as his future lifetime
partner is already well known to him.  He just hasn't realized he
knows her yet.  Shortly after Justine leaves for the State University
next fall and discovers her own true love, Mark will realize that he's
really in love with Sally Ann, who will likewise admit to having
always loved him.  In that old reality that no longer exists, Justin
was not there soon enough, as Justine had been in this one, to prevent
their younger sister from running out into the busy street.  In that
reality, Mark would have been a life-long bachelor, as he would have
never met Sally Ann."

"But the end result is still going to be everyone winding up living
happily ever after.  Isn't it, master?"

"Indeed they shall my young apprentice.  But would you want it any
other way?"  The old man's grin turned mischievous.  "I just love it
when everyone winds up happier than they would have otherwise been.
Besides, its one of those enjoyable little perks of this job I find
generally drives those stuffed shirts of the Wizard's Council
bonkers."  The wizard uncharacteristically hugged his even more
surprised young charge.  "You've done very well with this assignment,
Dannie."

Having once more received her master's unexpected praise, Dannie
blushed with pride.  She might sometimes think her mentor was a
little peculiar, but he was special the way he was.

The old man smiled back at her.  "And to think you've accomplished
all of this more or less accidentally.  I think you're going to be
an exceptional wizard, young lady.  That is, once you learn a little
better control."


THE END