Bikini Beach: The Purse Snatcher free porn video

Author's Note: This story got written while I was also working on the story, "Teaching Sally". I never meant it to be so long, but after I set up the initial situation, which involves a thirty-day pass, I had to do something to fill that time. I decided to try developing multiple story lines, sub-plots. So, this is an experiment. Let me know what you think. Negative constructive criticism ("I don't think you did X very well") is welcome. Suggestions on how to improve ("I don't think you did X very well; you should try doing Y") are very welcome. Lavish praise is appreciated, but less useful (except to make me feel good). Flamers are left to roast in their own stomach acids. * * * * * Bikini Beach - Purse Snatcher By Ellie Dauber Copyright 2000 "C'mon, man," Rudy said. "You got to prove yourself if you're gonna hang with us." "Yeah, _Melvin_," Ken added. "We don't hang with no uncool guys; no yellow ones either." Mel Haywood sighed. This was the fifth move his family had made in three years. As always, he'd had no great luck making friends. He had thought things would be better when he met Rudy and Ken and found out that they lived in his buildings. The trouble was, they were a couple of punks. "But why do I have to steal somebody's purse?" Mel asked one last time. "Cause I said so," Rudy answered. "It shows you got guts, that you can think on your feet." "Yeah, think on your feet," Ken echoed, as he always did. "Now, you're gonna do it, and do it this afternoon, _Melvin_, or me and Ken are gonna spread the word all over the school just what a pansy you are." Shit! Mel knew he was stuck. These two weren't much, but they knew enough kids at the school that they could kill any chance he might ever had of making friends here. "All right, I'll do it." "Now you're talking sense. C'mon, we'll head over to the Italian Market. It should be plenty crowded today, lots of good targets." * * * * * The three teens headed over to the Market, about a mile and a half from their neighborhood. It was a warm Saturday afternoon, and the distance was no problem for the three sixteen-year olds. On the way they mostly made small talk. Ken and Rudy joked about their teachers and the school. Rudy had an itch for a couple of the female teachers, including Ms. Serranno, the gym teacher, whom he claimed to have already had sex with. He told a story about the two of them, though he was somewhat vague on a lot of the details. They got to the market in the middle of the late afternoon rush, people grocery shopping mixed with a few tourists, and with people stopping to buy something for their supper. The Italian Market was about 150 years old, a mass of small, family-owned shops inside a block long two-story building. Some of the stores were in their fifth or sixth generation in the same family. It was a good place for fresh meat, fish, and produce, with a few shops actually doubling as small take-out restaurants, and food courts at the end of each floor. "I don't know," Mel said. "It's awful crowded." "Hey, that's the best time, man. A skinny dude like you can wriggle through holes in the crowd that some fat cop or old lady never could. Then you just sort of blend in with all these people till they can't even guess which way you went. It's a breeze, man." "Yeah, a breeze," Ken said. "Unless you're chicken." "No, um, I'm cool. I'll do it." Mel swallowed hard and started looking for a target. He passed on a couple of women in slacks and sneakers. They looked like they could run as fast as he could. Some of the women were carrying big purses, really big ones that would probably slow him down if he had to run through a crowd with it. Besides, if he had to do it, he wanted a small purse he could hide, not some monster that would make him stand out. Finally, Rudy did the picking. Mel had just decided on not trying for the purse of an older woman who looked like she might be on social security or something from the shabbiness of her dress. "All right, already, man. What are you waiting for, somebody with a 'rob me' sign on her?" He pointed to an old woman who was standing about twenty feet away talking to a very pretty young brunette. "There's your target, that old lady." Just as Mel looked, the old woman turned in his direction. She seemed to be looking right at the three of them for a moment. Then she smiled and waved at somebody in his general direction. They must have waved back because the two women started walking towards the boys. As they'd arranged it, the boys started walking towards the women as well. When they got close, Rudy and Ken made a zig to the left while Mel reached over and grabbed the purse off the old woman's shoulder. He started running off to the right, tucking the purse inside his light brown jacket. Rudy and Ken hunched over and ran in two different directions so as to distract people and possibly draw any pursuers away from Mel. Strangely, nobody seemed to be chasing them. The old woman didn't even say anything when Mel took her purse. * * * * * The boys met about ten minutes later at a Greek bakery on the second floor of the market, each arriving by a different route. They bought cokes and a half-dozen big cookies covered with powered sugar and took seats at one of the tables in a corner of the nearby food court. "So, what'd we get?" Rudy asked. Mel took the purse out from under his jacket and laid it on the table. He looked around to see if anyone was watching. Nobody was, so he hunched over the table and, without lifting the purse, opened it. Rudy reached over and pawed through it, spilling the contents onto the table. "Nothing!" he said in disgust. It wasn't quite true. There was a hairbrush, some make-up items, a few pieces of colored cardboard, and some kleenex(TM). There was _not_ a wallet, a checkbook, credit cards, or cash. There also was no ID. Mel had hoped that he could at least get the purse back to the owner somehow, even if he couldn't return the money. No chance of that now, though. He sighed. He really was a thief now. He wondered if Rudy and Ken's friendship were worth it. They were all set to go, when Rudy idly turned over one of the pieces of cardboard. "Whoa!" he said in an excited whisper. "We got something good after all." "What is it?" Ken said. "Rudy lifted the three pieces of cardboard in triumph and showed them to the others. "Three...count them, three one-month passes to that water park, Bikini Beach, and there's no names written on them." "Bikini Beach," Mel asked. "What's that?" "Man, you are new in town. It's this water park that opened across town a few months ago. They got ads and billboards all over the place; great rides and a lot of really sexy babes in real tiny suits." "Yeah, yeah, I heard about them," Ken said. "They say it costs a lot a money to join, or even just to buy a one-day pass. Now thanks to Rudy, here, we got us three thirty days passes." "Thanks to Rudy?" I was the one who grabbed that lady's purse. "Yeah, yeah, but Rudy made you do it, and he's the one who picked the old lady out. Good eye, man. Good eye." "Thanks, Ken. It _was_ a good idea." Rudy took the passes and stuck them in a pocket inside his own jacket. "Look, it's too late to go over there today. How about we meet tomorrow about 10. We can catch the cross-town bus and spend the day at the park." * * * * * The bus dropped the three boys at the stop near Bikini Beach about 10:30, Sunday morning. It was no more than a five-minute walk to the entrance. The night before, Rudy had used his father's old typewriter to type their names onto the passes, and he had handed out the passes while they were on the bus. As they got near the park they saw an unexpected problem. The cute brunette checking memberships at the entrance had been with the old lady at the Italian Market the day before. "Jeez," Mel said. "What if she recognizes us?" "Us," Rudy laughed. "You're the one who grabbed the purse. I don't think she even noticed me and Ken." "Yeah," Ken said. "_We_ got nothing to worry about." "Great, but I do." "If you're so worried, go home. It'll leave more girls for us." "Yeah, Chicken, for us." "Shut up, Ken." Rudy paused and looked at the brunette. "Listen, man. You grabbed that purse real slick and ran off before they could get a clear look. Right?" "Yeah, I did." "And they didn't even chase us -- chase you. Chances are that chick's such a pinhead, she doesn't even remember that somebody snatched the old broad's purse. C'mon. If they _do_ ask, we just say that we found the passes. The worst that can happen is they don't let us in." Rudy pulled at Melee?s arm, and the three of them walked to the gate. The brunette looked up as they neared the entrance. "Sorry, boys. This is a private park." "We know," Rudy said. He put on his most innocent smile, the one that always worked so well on his mother. "We have passes." He held up his pass. Ken quickly held his up. Mel was a little slow, but he showed his as well. "Fine then," the brunette said. "I'm Anya. Go on in and have a good time. Just remember to shower after you put on your suits." "Thanks, Anya," Rudy said. "Nice to meet you." The three hurried in. Once they were well clear of the entrance, he whispered. "See, I said there was nothing to worry about." "Yeah, Rudy," Ken said. "You was right, nothing at all." * * * * * The Men's Locker Room wasn't far from the entrance. The boys went in and picked three lockers fairly close together. "This is gonna be great," Rudy said as he took of his shirt. "Thirty days. We can come here after school every day, spend the weekends here. Man, the babes will be all over the three of us." "Yeah, Rudy," Ken said. "You was smart to pick that old lady's purse." "I'm just glad that girl at the gate didn't recognize us," Mel said. "It's just lucky you was the one to grab the purse," Rudy chuckled. "She'd have remembered a guy as handsome as me." By now, he was in his swimsuit. He tossed his towel over his shoulders and headed for the door. "See you guys outside." "Wait a minute," Mel said. "We're supposed to shower first, remember." "That's only for guys like you with kooties." Rudy tried the door, but the knob refused to turn "What the hell..." Mel noticed light snap on over a sign on the wall by the door. "Please remember to shower before leaving the locker room." He pointed to the sign. "I think they've got it rigged somehow so the door locks until you use the shower." "Screw that," Rudy said, trying the door again. Ken had his swimsuit on now and went over to help Rudy. The door stayed locked. Then the showers turned on by themselves. "The hell with it," Rudy said. He tossed his towel on a bench and walked into the showers. Ken scurried after him. Mel shrugged and joined the other two. The showers felt nice and warm, almost like a massaging showerhead. It relaxed away some of Rudy's anger and most of Mel's tension. All three boys stayed in the shower a few moments turning slowly to get the full effect. None of them noticed the pink shading to the steam that filled the shower room. Then, after a few minutes, the showers turned themselves off. "I guess we're done," Rudy said. "Let's go find some babes." They grabbed their towels and began walking towards the door. Mel watched Rudy and Ken walking ahead of him. Something seemed to be wrong. They were - they were shrinking, getting thinner. Rudy's hair was growing down past his shoulders, and Ken's - his hair seemed to be getting more and more curly. He wondered if anything was happening to him and looked down at his body. He saw - no, it couldn't be - he was growing breasts. "What the..." he said, surprised at the softness in his voice. Rudy and Ken turned. 'Damn,' Mel thought, 'they had breasts, too.' The other two boys not only had breasts, but also the round hips and long slender legs of a couple of very pretty girls. Girls? They couldn't be girls. As if with one mind, the three boys stared at each other's crotches. Their swimsuits were changing as well. Mel's "baggies" clung to his body as the legs of the swimsuit rose up before disappearing into a French cut panty. Ken's briefs now sported a lacy little skirt. The elastic waist strap on Rudy's speedos narrowed until it turned into the ties of a string bikini bottom. The three very female swimsuits only had one thing in common. They each lay flat against their wearer's crotch with no evidence of the male organs that had been there minutes before. Their faces had changed as much as their bodies as features softened and cheekbones shifted. The scar Rudy had gotten from a fight the year before had disappeared from above his left eye. Rudy was now a blonde with long straight hair halfway down her back. Ken was a brunette with her hair a mass of curls cut short like one of those kewpie dolls they gave out at carnivals. When he looked in the mirror near the door, Mel saw a girl that might have been his sister, her brown hair cut to just above her shoulders. They were all slender girls with attractive, but not excessive figures. "What happened to us. Rudy?" Ken said. He - no, she seemed ready to cry. "Young ladies," a voice came from behind them. "Nudity is not allowed here. Please put these on and follow me to my office." It was the woman whose purse Mel had stolen. She was holding three bikini tops that looked like perfect matches for the bottoms that their male swimsuits had become. "What'd you do to us," Rudy asked. "All in good time." She tossed him one of the tops, then handed Ken and Mel the other two. "Now put these on immediately. I don't allow nudity here." The trio put on the tops. Mel noticed that she put her own top on without any problem, as if she had always worn such things. * * * * * The office was nearby. It was a small room, a desk covered with papers, a file cabinet in a corner, and a few chairs near the door. Ken and Mel sat down, embarrassed at their new forms. Rudy stood defiantly beside a chair, her arms crossed just below her breasts. "Okay, lady, we're here. Now what did you do to us, and how soon are you going to _undo_ it?" "You are a nasty one, aren't you? Did you think you could get away with stealing my purse?" "Ma'am," Mel said. "I still have the purse at home. Would it help if I brought it back? There wasn't any ID in it, so I couldn't return it." "No, I already have it." She reached into a drawer in the desk and pulled out what looked like an identical purse. "Okay, lady," Rudy said. "You got your purse, so change us back to guys and let us out of here." "Yeah," Ken said. "I wanna go home." "Not so fast. The important fact isn't that I got it back, but that you three stole it in the first place." "Mel stole it," Ken shouted. "Yes, he did, but you two forced him to do it. Besides you were all ready to profit from what you found in the bag, those three passes." She smiled. "You thought those passes were a reward. Actually they're your punishment." "What do you mean?" "Purse snatching isn't a major crime, especially for a juvenile. Thirty days seems to be a suitable sentence." "Thirty days," Mel said. "You mean..." "Yes. The spell that changed you into girls lasts the duration of the pass plus twelve hours. You'll be girls for the next thirty days." "You mean we gotta spend the next thirty days as chicks," Rudy said. "My old man won't stand for that." "Your father -- none of your parents -- or your families or friends won't remember you ever being anything _but_ girls." She pointed at Rudy. "You, you seem to be the leader of this group. What's your name?" "Now that's a dumb question. I'm Rita, Rita Sandow -- wait a minute, that ain't right. I'm not a girl; I'm a girl. My name is Rita. Rita. Rita! Shit, I can't say my real name anymore." "Yes, you can, my dear, because as far as the rest of the world is concerned, your name is and always has been Rita." She turned to the other two. "Just as you are Karen and Melanie -- and always have been. Only five people, you three, my granddaughter, and I, remember the boys that you used to be." "This is crazy," Rita said. "We're leaving." "I wouldn't advise it. I told you the sentence was thirty days. Now, you get to decide if you want hard time, as they say, or easy time." "What do you mean 'hard time'?" Rudy -- now Rita asked. Ken, Karen now, was in a panic. "I don't like this, Rita. I don't wanna do 'hard time'." "Easy time means you come here every day, just as you'd planned. Only, instead of lounging around and leering at girls, you'll work for me; helping behind the food stands, cleaning up after the guests, things like that." "And what's the 'hard time'?" Rita asked suspiciously. "You leave here without agreeing to my terms, and you'll spend the month as just the sort of girls you were hoping to meet here." "So our choice is to work or not to work," Rita said. "Hey, that's an easy one; not work. Let's get out of here." "You're all free to go, but I warn you all; there's serious consequences if you leave." "Yeah, right. We'll probably change back when we leave. C'mon, guys." "Oh, you'll change if you leave now. I promise you that. You're each free to go with Rita, but I remind you that it was doing things _her_ way that got you all turned into girls in the first place." "I don't know about Mel," Karen said, "but I'm sticking with Rita." She stood up and walked over to stand next to Rita. Her arms, too, crossed naturally in front of her chest as if she had always had breasts to contend with. "It's your choice, of course. I'll give you sixty hours to re-consider, that's till 11 PM on Tuesday. After that, you live with the consequences for the rest of the month." "Bullshit," Rita said. "You coming, Melanie?" "I think I'm going to stay here, Rita. Sorry." "I always knew you was a pussy." The two girls turned and walked out the door. Melanie thought that their bikinis seemed to be changing again, becoming skimpier, but they were gone before she could be sure. "That was probably the smartest thing you've done in weeks, Melanie," the old woman said with a smile. She reached into the desk drawer again and pulled out a T-shirt with the Bikini Beach logo and the word "Staff" embroidered on it. "Put this on, dear, and come with me." In a few minutes, Melanie was working near the entrance, spearing trash with a nail on the end of a stick and putting it in a large trash bag strapped to her shoulder. "So that's 'easy time'." Melanie turned in the direction of the voice. Rita and Karen were standing watching her. "Where'd you get the clothes," Melanie asked. "It's weird," Rita said. When we went back into the locker room, we found this stuff instead of our old clothes in the lockers. "What do you think?" She turned around so Melanie could get the full effect. She was wearing a white lycra blouse and a short wrap-around brown skirt that was tight around her hips and stopped at least six inches above her knees. She had on sandals with a one-inch heel and was wearing a thin gold bracelet on her wrist. She was also wearing make-up, and it looked like an expert had put it on. Karen wore a clingy sky blue lightweight dress that was no longer than Rita's. She had on a pair of two-inch heels. A small glass pendant hung from a thin chain between her breasts -- were they bigger than before? Melanie wasn't sure. Karen also was wearing make-up that looked expertly done, but who had done it? "Not bad. How'd you manage with the clothes -- getting them on, I mean?" "It's the funniest thing. Somehow we knew how to wear all this stuff." Rita giggled but continued as if she hadn't noticed. "I guess it's just part of the spell, like not being able to say our real names. I don't think I'll get used to it, but I guess I can live with it if I have to." "Yeah," Karen added. "It's a pain, but we'll manage." "Enough of this shit. Karen and me are getting out of here before that old broad gets any more crazy ideas. So long, sucker." She turned and they walked towards the entrance. Melanie noticed that they managed to walk pretty well in the heels, but as they walked, their stride seemed to become more feminine. There was even a bit of a saucy little strut to their hips as they went out the gate. Melanie stared at the gate after her two friends left. Was it her imagination, or had they both seemed a lot more feminine? Was the same thing going to happen to her? She tried not to think about it by getting back to work, but she took a certain satisfaction in pretending that every piece of trash she stabbed was Rita or Karen. * * * * * Melanie had been working for about an hour and was well into the park. She heard some shouting and looked over to see a group of girls playing volleyball. The game looked like fun, and she wished she could join in. 'Better not, though,' she thought. 'I'm supposed to be working.' She did watch for a while, and she began to realize something else. The players were all attractive young women, some of them in fairly skimpy suits. Mel would have loved watching them jiggle and shake, and he would probably have had a tough time keeping track of the score. Melanie, on the other hand, was enjoying watching the sport. The only thing she noticed about the girls - besides how well they were all playing - was how attractive their swimsuits were. 'It's not that different than if I were a boy watching a bunch of guys playing,' she thought. 'Except that I never thought about any guy's suit.' "You'll never get finished if you keep staring at the guests." Melanie turned. The speaker was a very pretty redhead wearing, of all things, a pair of bib overalls. She filled them out very nicely. She was carrying a heavy-looking toolbox in her left hand and stuck out her right hand for Melanie to shake. "Hi, I'm Jenny, Jenny Michaels." "Melanie Haywood. I just --" "I know, _she_ told me." She took Melanie's hand and gave it a surprisingly firm handshake. "She thought you might know something about pumps and such. You know anything like that, kid?" "A little; I'm - I _was_ taking auto shop in school. I got a B on my last quiz. It was on the fuel system." "You still may be taking shop, even if you are a girl now. Oh, don't look so surprised. You aren't the first person to get changed by those showers, you know." "Are you?" Melanie looked closely at Jenny. Was there any way to tell? "To tell the truth, that isn't the politest quest to ask." "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to --" Jenny smiled reassuringly. "Don't worry about it. I'm the one who brought the subject up. Just don't go asking anybody else, especially so soon after you meet them. Okay?" She stuck out her hand. Okay." Melanie shook hands with Jenny. At least she hadn't gotten somebody she worked with mad at her the first day. Jenny pointed at what looked like a giant grass hut nearby. A blonde and brunette were unloading boxes from a hand truck in through the back entrance. "Go tell Belinda, she's the brunette over there, that I said she should take over for you on stick detail. I've got a stubborn water pump that needs to be taught its place, and it sounds like you might be able to help. Oh, and bring back a couple of diet cokes. It's a hot day." Melanie smiled and went over to the hut. Belinda turned out to be a rather buxom girl a few years older than Melanie. "I saw Jenny pointing at me," she said. "I guess she's got some job for you, and I get left holding the stick." "I'm afraid so. Sorry." "At least she trusts you near the equipment. She scowls if any of us get anywhere near it." "Why?" "It's a long story, and I don't know you well enough to tell you - yet." She helped take the garbage sack off Melanie's shoulder and put it on her own. She sighed and took the stick. "See you later, Holly," she said and started back to the trail Melanie had been cleaning. Melanie looked at Holly, shyly. "I'm sorry to have interrupted." "That's all right kid. We were just about done anyway. Besides, we all have to do what the Boss says, and Jenny's one of her key people. She keeps all the equipment running. What's your name, by the way?" "Melanie, Melanie Haywood. Umm...Jenny said I should bring some diet cokes." "Figures. Don't worry, there's no charge for on-duty staff - as long as you don't abuse the privilege." She went inside and came back out with two chilled 20-ounce bottles. Melanie took the soda and headed back over to where Jenny was waiting. * * * * * They spent the better part of the day working on the pump, taking about a half hour break for lunch about 1 PM. Melanie mostly just helped by handing Jenny tools or holding something that she had disconnected. Still, it was better than spearing trash, and she learned a fair bit about pumps that she probably wouldn't have gotten in shop class. She also began to make a friend. About 5:30, Jenny said that she had to run an errand, to pick up something at a pool store in a mini-mall about two miles from Melanie's house. She offered to drive Melanie home at the same time. "Let me ask the old woman if it's okay," Melanie said. "Say, what _is_ her name? I don't want to piss her off by leaving early, and I sure can't keep calling her 'the old woman' for the next 30 days." "I know what you mean, but I don't think I've ever heard her name in all the months that I've been working here. Anya calls her 'Grandmother', though I'm not always sure that they're really related. A lot of the rest of us call her 'Ma'am' or 'Boss'. It seems to work okay." "What works okay? Is that pump fixed?" They both turned at the sound. "Hi, Boss," Jenny said. "Yeah, it just needed a good cleaning and lube. Melanie here was a big help." "I thought she might be. Why don't you get the truck while she changes." Jenny nodded and headed back towards the park office. "Melanie, it's all right for you to go home with Jenny." "Thanks, umm, Boss, but what do I say to my folks? How do I explain this?" "As I told you and your so-called friends earlier, you've nothing to explain. As far as your family and friends are concerned, you've always been Melanie. The only question that they're likely to ask you is how you did today on your new part-time job." "New job? You mean here?" "Certainly. You got a job here starting today; weekends 10 to 6; and 4 to 9 weekdays after school. You get off Fridays and when the park closes for bad weather." She smiled at Melanie's surprised expression. Now go get into your street clothes - unless you want to go home in that bikini." "No, of course not." "I didn't think so. You'll find that the soap in the dispensers in the locker room will get rid of the grease and dirt on your hands and arm. You can even use the showers. It won't affect you again, I promise." "Thanks, Boss, but I'd better hurry. I don't want to keep Jenny waiting. Please tell her that I'll be ready in about 20 minutes." She gave a cheery wave and headed for the locker room. Melanie stripped off the T-shirt, hanging it in her locker. There were a couple of sinks with mirrors near the showers. She worked up a good lather and rubbed it on her face and arms. The soap had a sweet floral smell, more like hand cream than soap, but it worked as well as that awful glop they had in the auto shop at school. It smelled a lot better though. It had a pretty floral scent that she didn't remember from earlier in the day. When she washed off the lather, her skin was absolutely clean. Even better, it didn't sting her skin like the stuff at school sometimes did. Some of the scent stayed with her, too. Now came the tough part. She took off her suit, trying hard not to look at her new body. She hesitated a little before reaching into the locker. After seeing the way Rudy and Ken - no, better think of them as Rita and Karen now; that's who they were for the next month - after seeing they way they had dressed, she wasn't sure about putting on such feminine, downright sexy, clothes. Only, they weren't very feminine. Melanie found a rather plain blue cotton panty and matching bra. She stepped into the panty and pulled it up around her hips. It fit smoothly on her hips, against her flat groin, and felt so soft and cool, so different from the shorts Mel had worn. She put her arms through the straps of the bra and pulled them up onto her shoulders. Her breasts fit naturally into the cups, and she reached behind herself to fasten the clasps as if it were second nature. The feeling of the silky material against her sensitive nipples was amazing, and the support that the bra gave to her new breasts was somehow comforting. Melanie was even happier to discover a loose-fitting short sleeve green blouse and a pair of brown jeans in the locker. They were hardly what she'd been expecting. In fact, they were just the feminine counterparts to the shirt and jeans that Mel had put on this morning. So was the footwear, a pair of girl's socks and sneakers, rather than the heels that Rita and Karen had worn. Melanie was curious, but something told her not to ask too many questions. She tossed the staff T-shirt into her swim bag. There was a purse underneath with her wallet inside. Her school ID had the same information as always, except that it was made out to Melanie Anne Haywood, instead of Melvin Andrew. It was getting spooky how thorough the - the Boss's magic was. * * * * * Jenny was waiting just outside the gate. She was driving a green van with the Bikini Beach logo on the side. "Hop in," she said. "You don't have to come with me to the store. I'm only picking up a small piece of equipment. You'd better tell me where you live, too. The Boss just said it was somewhere near the store; she just didn't give me the exact address." Melanie told her. "Oh, yeah," Jenny said. "I know the neighborhood. I can drop you there, then go to the store. I used to live there in one of old man Walker's buildings." "Mr. Walker? He's gone." "Gone? What, did that S.O.B. finally die?" "Better. The city got him for endangerment because of the conditions in some of his buildings. He's in prison now. It happened just after we moved in, and the whole neighborhood was talking about it. Some developer named Harris bought up the buildings for a song." "Harris? Ronnie Harris bought those buildings?" She let out a hearty laugh. "You know him, Mr. Harris?" "Yep, and it's Ms. Harris. She owns those condos across from the park. I live in one of them, in fact, and she has a lifetime membership here at the park." "Is she...was he...like me?" "That's a rather personal question, hon. Look, the great majority of the members were born female. The Boss built the place, so they could have somewhere to go and relax without being ogled by men. The transformation magic just part of that protection." "Some protection. Look what it did to me and my friends." "I'd say that you three asked for it. Purse snatching _is_ against the law, you know." "I know, and I really didn't want to do it. But Rudy egged me on. He said that he and Ken would spread the word all over the school that I was a chicken. I'm...we're new in town. I haven't had much of a chance to make many friends." She seemed almost ready to cry. Jenny took Melanie's hand and squeezed it. "Well, you have another one now, Hon, and don't worry, things may be different now." "How different?" "I don't know, but you're Melanie, now, and her life is different from Mel's. Not better; not worse; just different. You'll just have to wait and see _how_ it's different." "I guess - hey, we're here." The van pulled up in front of Melanie's apartment house. She jumped out of the van and waved as Jenny pulled away. She sighed and went in. "'Wait and see.' I think the wait's about over." She rode up to her family's 8th floor apartment nervously. How could she possibly explain what had happened to her parents? And Lenny, what kind of grief was her 10-year old kid brother going to give her? Melanie braced herself for the worst as she let herself into the apartment. "Hey, Mel," Lenny looked up from the TV show he was watching. "How'd the new job go?" "Okay, I guess." She took a deep breath. "Hey, squirt, I look any different to you?" The boy stared at his sister for a minute. "Nah, same as always. Why?" "I don't know. Just asking." It was true! The world had changed around her. She shrugged, a little confused at the enormity of the change, and headed for her room. And it was _her_ room. There was no trace of Mel in the flowered bedspread and ruffled curtains. The basketball posters on the walls were gone, too, replaced with pictures of the U.S women's soccer team; not sexy posters, like the captain after she took her blouse off, but action pictures of the team in play. Mel's dresser was in the same place as before, but now it was painted a pale blue, and there was a small tray of make-up on top. She glanced over to the closet. The door was open, and Melanie could see dresses and skirts in there with a few pairs of jeans or slacks. She shook her head and sat down on the bed in disbelief. It was true! As far as the world was concerned, she was Melanie Haywood and always had been. She ate dinner in silence, much to the amusement of her parents. "She's just like her old man," her father said. "Put in a good day's work, and she's too tired to do anything but eat." He laughed heartily. Jack Haywood was a master electronics technician, a civilian contractor for the Navy who traveled with his family from job to job. At the moment, he was helping design and build the guidance component for a new type of radar navigation and tracking system. The job was expected to take about twenty-two months, then they'd be off to someplace else. Melanie pushed herself away from the table. "I'm - I'm done, I guess." The changes were beginning to get to her. "I've got homework to do." She went into her bedroom. Her book bag - her _pink_ book bag - was waiting on her desk. She pulled out the geometry text and began working on the first problem. * * * * * Three hours later, her mother knocked on the door. "Melanie, dear. It's almost 11. You should be getting ready for bed." Melanie looked up from the history notes she was reviewing. Mel had always been a fairly good student. At least, that hadn't changed. She put the book down, yawned, and stretched. It _was_ late. She stood up and started unbuttoning her blouse. She fumbled with the buttons a little, they were on the wrong side, after all, but got it undone quickly enough. As she took off the blouse, she stared down at her breasts, secure within the bra. Mel had always enjoyed looking at a girl's breasts, but he never expected to see them from this angle. 'Better get used to them,' she thought. 'They'll be there for the next thirty days.' After she had stepped out of her sneakers and jeans, she looked for a pair of pajamas, but could only find a frilly pink nightgown. She wasn't quite ready for anything _that_ feminine. It was a warm night, so she decided to sleep in her underwear. She climbed into bed and was asleep almost at once. * * * * * Morning came fast, too fast. The alarm by Melanie's bed woke her at 6:45 instead of 7:15. She wondered why, even as she realized that it was set to a music station instead of the sports channel Mel had listened to. She looked around the room; it was as feminine as ever. A quick glance under the covers told her that so was she. With a sigh, she climbed out of bed and threw on a white robe hanging on a hook on the back of the door. She padded down the hall and into the bathroom. She shut the door behind her and took of the robe. There it was, reflected in the mirror above the sink, a girl's body, _her_ body, displayed in pretty undies. Mel had let himself get talked into doing something really stupid, and _she_ was the result. Melanie felt embarrassed. Then she felt mad. If she was going to be stuck like this for a month, she was damned if she was going to let it get the best of her. She's show Rita, the...Boss, all of them. She'd get through it. And when she and Rita and Karen were guys again, she was going to beat the crap out of the both of them! Now that _that_ was settled, she felt better somehow. She went through the morning routine, only realizing later that she had used a moisturizing soap and a perfumed body talc that she'd never seen before. She did notice that her straight razor had somehow turned into a pink Lady Schick and that her deodorant was now Ice Blue Secret. 'The Boss certainly covered everything,' she thought. There was a hamper for dirty clothes near the door. Melanie sighed, another moment of truth. She reached behind her back and unclasped the bra. It slid off her shoulders and down into her hand as if of its own free will. She tossed it into the hamper and reached down to grasp her panties. She could feel the weight of her breasts as she leaned over to step out of the panties. It felt really weird, she decided. She put the robe back on, knotting it tight at her waist and headed back to her bedroom. Melanie took off her robe and opened the dresser drawer. She picked out a matching yellow bra and panty set. They were a bit fancier than what she'd worn, a little sheerer with lace swirls on the bra cups and on the gusset of the panty. She remembered to put the bra on first, then stepped into the panty. She took a yellow-green blouse off a hanger and put it on. This time, she had no trouble with the buttons. Melanie thought about wearing jeans, but she decided to force herself to face facts. She found a green skirt that she knew somehow would look good with the blouse. She stepped into it, pulled it up and buttoned it at the waist. It was a little tight, accentuating the curve of her hips and the narrowness of her waist. Pantyhose? No, the skirt was feminine enough, she decided. Melanie found a pair of green socks that went about halfway to the knee. Then she checked for shoes - gad! How many pairs did she have? She slipped on a pair of green flats, not wanting to try heels without a little practice. Now came the risky part. Melanie went over to the tray with her make- up. She picked a pale pink lipstick and applied it carefully, surprising herself again at her skill. A little blusher on the cheeks and she felt she was ready. No, one more thing, she found a thin silver necklace and slipped it over her head. She automatically lifted her hair and let the necklace slide down against her neck. She looked in the mirror and smiled at the pretty girl she saw reflected. Melanie took a deep breath as she walked into the school. She was getting used to the fact that everyone remembered her as a girl. Still, she half expected somebody to yell "Queer!" at her or to start laughing at her for wearing a dress and trying to pass as a girl. When nobody did, she almost felt disappointed. There was a crowd gathered down one hall. She could hear a bunch of people laughing at something, and she decided to see what was going on. About a half dozen guys were coming on to a pair of great looking babes, a blonde and a brunette wearing tight, very short skirts. As she got closer, she could hear their voices. "C'mon, Rita, say you'll go out with me." "Hey, Karen, if Rita goes out with Jack, you can double with me." "No, man, I'm taking her out." "I am, or better yet, all of you come over to my place this Friday. My folks are gonna be out of town. We can party _real_ good." Melanie was amazed. Those two girls were Rita and Karen. It couldn't be. 'They must hate being hit on like that,' Melanie thought. Then, above the boys' voices, Melanie heard Rita saying, "Oh, you boys. You stop fighting over Karen and me." "Don't you like it," one of the boys said. Rita giggled - giggled! "Of course, I do. It makes me feel all _warm_ inside, but we have to get to class now." She threw them a kiss as she and Karen headed off to first period. Melanie stared at them in disbelief, then she hurried after them. First period was geometry, the one class the three of them shared. Melanie had checked her schedule the night before. She was still in all the same classes. Even auto shop; Jenny had been right about that. They all reached the classroom at about the same time. Rita and Karen had a head start, but Melanie could move faster in her flats than the other two could in their three inch heels. They way they walked in those heels, hips swinging back and forth invitingly, had been more amazing than the fact that they could manage to get anyplace in those shoes without falling over. "What's with you guys," she whispered. "It's the spell that old woman put on us," Rita said. "These outfits are about the least sexy clothes we could find - don't even ask about our underwear. My closet looks like a Victoria's Secret catalog." "Yeah," Karen added. "And we get all giggly and flirty around the guys. We can't seem to help ourselves." "Isn't it like that with you, too, Melanie?" Rita asked. Then Rita took her first good look at Melanie. "Hey, how come you're dressed like little miss homebody?" "It's the Bo-the old woman's spell," Melanie said with a sudden understanding. "I agreed to her terms, so she's going easy on me. You guys didn't, so she's got you acting like a couple of hot-to-trot babes." "Bull," Rita said. "If she thinks she can get us to come crawling to her by pulling something like that on us, she's even crazier than I thought she was. Right, Karen?" "I - I don't know..." "I said, '_Right_, Karen." "Yeah, I guess - I mean, right, Rita." "Good. Then the subject's closed." Rita walked into the classroom while Karen hurried to catch up. * * * * * The rest of the morning went fairly smoothly. Some of girls that Melanie passed in the halls smiled at her. So did one or two of the boys. That bothered her a little, especially when she caught herself smiling back shyly. Melanie was a little unnerved by it all when the bell rang for lunch. After she'd bought lunch, she walked out into the cafeteria looking for a place to sit. Mel had usually eaten with Rudy and Ken and a few of their friends, but Melanie saw that Rita and Karen were surrounded by a crowd of boys. Even if she had wanted to sit with them, there didn't seem to be any empty seats at their table; not much standing room, either. "Hey, Melanie, over here." Melanie turned automatically. It was one of the girls who'd smiled at her when they passed in the hall. Dana Something - 'Dana Wynn,' a voice in Melanie's mind told her. She walked over to where Dana was sitting with two other girls. 'Stacy Brenner and Tina Feldman,' the voice said. "Hi, Melanie. How was your weekend?" Stacy asked. "Umm, different." "Ooh, and what exactly did you and Ed do that was 'different'?" Dana asked. "Ed?" "Where is your head, Melanie? Ed, Ed Nathanson. The two of you had a date last Saturday night." Melanie knew Ed. He was in a couple of Mel's classes. They'd worked together in one of those "team projects" that Mr. O'Brien, their U.S. history teacher liked to run. They'd hit it off and hung out together a few times since. In the new reality, they must have really hit it off and begun dating. She remembered Ed as a friendly guy with the cutest grin and big brown "puppy dog" eyes. Wait a minute, what was she thinking? She felt her face grow warm. "No-nothing, it was just a date. We went to see a movie, that's all." "Uh huhn," Tina said. "Just a movie." She giggled, and the other two joined her. "We know you didn't do anything, girl. You're way too straight. We're just giving you a hard time." "Sure," Stacy added. "What are friends for if not to give each other a hard time?" Melanie set her tray on the table and sat down next to Dana. Somehow, she felt comfortable with these girls. 'That must have been what Jenny meant,' she thought. 'Mel really didn't have any friends, but Melanie does." The girls talked as they ate lunch. Tina was a "fashion geek", at least that's what Dana called her at one point. She had a couple of teen magazines in her book bag, and she was showing the other girls articles and giving her opinions on the different clothes. Melanie listened without offering many opinions. A few times, though, she did find herself wondering how she would look in some of the different outfits. "I think you'd look good in that one, Stacy." The girls looked up from the magazine article on capri pants. Jeff Hogan stood there smiling and pointing at one of the pictures. Ed Nathanson, Harry Weiss, and Tom Brill were standing with to him. Stacy beamed up at him. "Do you really think so?" "Yep, what do you think, Tom?" "I think Dana would look good in anything she wore." "Flatterer," Dana said. She reached out and took Tom's hand and squeezed it gently. Ed looked at Harry. "I guess we have to say something nice about our girls now." He winked. "Yeah, but what is there to say?" "Thanks a lot," Tina said. Harry continued. "I mean, after you say that you think she's the prettiest girl in the school and how lucky you think you are to be dating her, what else is there to say?" "Good save," Ed said. "And, you know, I feel pretty much the same about Melanie." Tina tried to frown, but giggled and broke into a happy grin. "You two just saved yourselves from a _very_ lonely week." Melanie smiled, too. Ed was looking at her. She found that she liked him looking at her. Her whole body was starting to tingle from it. Ed pulled a chair over from a nearby table and sat down next to Melanie. "I tried to call you yesterday," he said. "I wanted to tell you how much I enjoyed our date, but your folks said that you were working at that new job you just started. Did they tell you I called?" Melanie thought quickly. "Umm, no, but I got home a little late last night. I ate and went right in to do my homework. I guess mom and dad didn't want me to stop and call you. By the time I was done, it was too late to call." She reached out without thinking and touched his arm to comfort him. "I'm sorry." "I'm not - well, I am, but I understand, I guess. I just hope I'm going to be able to spend time with you." He frowned for a moment then brightened. "Hey, how much does it cost to join that place? Maybe I can swing a membership and spend time with you that way." "No!" Melanie caught her breath. She liked Ed too much to have him changed into a girl. "I...I mean, the park is for girls only. My Boss says she built it, so girls could have a place to relax without guys. You know, watching them." "Hey, not to worry, I don't notice other girls when you're around." Ed took Melanie's hand. They both knew that he was laying it on a little thick, but she found that she seemed to be enjoying it. "Seriously, I do want to take you out again next weekend. Are you going to be able to make it?" "Yes, and thank you for asking so nicely. I only work till 6 on Saturdays and Sundays. I stayed a little late yesterday to help out on repairing a pump." "Great. Then we --" Ed was interrupted by a bell. "Better get to class," Dana said. They quickly put their trays in a rack near the door and headed to their respective classes. Melanie found that Tina and Jeff were in Spanish class with her. * * * * * Last period was study hall. Mel had always used the time to try to get some of his homework done, and Melanie wanted to stay in the habit. She was working on a geometry problem when she heard a whisper from the next seat. "Melanie, are you going to go back _there_ again today?" It was Karen. Mr. Snitter, the teacher in charge, was Acting Assistant Principal, and he had left the room on a short errand. Karen had shifted over from her usual seat. "Yeah, I don't think I have a choice." The part she left unsaid was "unless I want to end up like you and Rita." She looked at Karen, sitting there in a skirt that came almost to her -- good grief! She hadn't noticed earlier, but Karen was wearing stockings and a garter belt. Melanie could see the garter tab hooked onto one of the patterned stockings. The way she way sitting, Karen showed a nice bit of thigh above the stocking, too. Ken had always had a thing for girls who wore garter belts, now he was one. Maybe that was the point of the Boss' spell. She had the other two acting like their own sexual fantasies. "Look, Karen," Melanie said. "Why don't you come with me to the park after school today? Maybe you can apologize." "No. It...it would really piss Rita off if I did." "So? She can come, too." "Never. At least that's what she said. She's already pissed off at what the old lady did, and she says she'll be damned if she's going to kiss ass and apologize. She's gonna rough it out for the month." "Just because she's feeling that way doesn't mean you have to go along with her, does it?" "I don't know. I always went along with what she said; ever since we was little kids." "Yeah, and listening to Rita is how we all _got_ to be girls in the first place. Maybe it's time you stopped going along with her lame ideas." "I don't know. Let me think about it." "Okay, but don't think too long. The old lady said you guys only had until tomorrow night to change your minds." Before Melanie could say anything else, Mr. Snitter came back into the room. Karen and several others, who had switched seats while he was gone, scurried back to their assigned seats for the remainder of the period. * * * * * Melanie got to the park about 5 minutes before 4 PM. She signed in on a crew sheet at the gate. The same brunette who had been working the gate yesterday was on duty. "Hi, Melanie," she said. "Glad you decided to come back." Melanie smiled then remembered that this was also the girl who'd been with the Boss when Mel had snatched the Boss's purse. "I don't think I had much of a choice." "Sure you did. The same choice that Rita and Karen still have till tomorrow night." She offered Melanie her hand. "I'm Anya, by the way. _She's_ my grandmother." "Um, hi. I'm sorry about what happened." Melanie shook her hand cautiously. Anya seemed friendly enough, but she _was_ the Boss's granddaughter. "Don't be. I'm sure it'll work out. Or, rather, Grandmother will make sure that it works out." "Yeah, I guess she will." "Well, you better go change. You can use the Ladies' Locker Room now. Grandmother said to tell you that she wants you helping out over by the Junior Lifeguard Academy. A mother's throwing a birthday party for her nine-year-old twins. A lot of their friends are going to be here for the afternoon." "Twins, neat." Anya giggled. "Yeah, but there'll be about twenty noisy kids in here with them. After you change, head over that way and look for the tent with the balloons. The brace yourself for a really busy afternoon. You better hurry, too. The party starts at 4:30." "Okay, Anya, and thanks." Melanie waved goodbye and headed for the Ladies' Locker Room. It was empty, which was good because she didn't think she was quite ready to change clothes in front of other women -- or to watch them change clothes. "That'll come soon enough," she said aloud. She stripped down and stuck her clothes in a locker. She put on her swimsuit, the bikini from the day before, without any trouble, not even hesitating with the clasp for the top. Melanie didn't expect to go swimming, but she decided that the rule about showers probably still applied. She took a quick run-in-run-out shower, then toweled herself dry before putting on the staff T-shirt. The Lifeguard Academy was easy to find, there were brightly colored signs along the paths in the park. As Melanie came near, she saw a mass of balloons floating above a twenty by thirty rental tent set up between the Lifeguard Academy pool and the paddleboat dock. 'That must be it,' she thought and headed over. There were already two staffers in the tent, setting things up. One was, Belinda, the brunette who had replaced her at trash pick-up the day before. The other was an auburn beauty about the same age. Melanie found herself noticing the way the girl's short haircut framed her face and wondered about getting her own hair cut that way. "Hi, umm, Melanie, is it? The Boss said we were going to have help with the party. I guess you're it." "Yeah, it's Melanie, and you're...Belinda, right?" The other girl pushed her bangs away from her forehead. "She is, and I'm Marta. Hi." She pointed at a stack of soda cans in a corner of the tent next to a large portable electric cooler. "Can you put that soda in the cooler, about a dozen cans of each kind for a start?" "Sure." Melanie went over to the soda. Cans of coke, orange, root beer, and some generic lemon-lime mix were stacked on cardboard trays, 24 cans to the row, in six-packs with plastic connectors. She took two six packs of coke and put them into the commercial cooler nearby. "Take off the plastic," Marta said. "When the kids come over, it'll be quicker if that's already done." "Right," Melanie said. She pulled the plastic off the cans and tossed it into a trash box next to the cooler. While she worked, she watched Belinda setting up the grill just outside the tent. There were several white refrigerator boxes labels "burgers" and "franks" standing on a long table a foot or so away. Marta was unpacking paper bags filled with chips, pretzels, paper plates, straws, and napkins. The guests of honor arrived with their mother, a cheery woman about thirty wearing a pair of jeans and a PBS "Fawlty Towers" tee top. The girls were already in matching green and blue swimsuits. "Girls," she said pushing two identical nine-year olds forward. "These nice ladies are Belinda and Marta and - I'm sorry I don't know your name." "Melanie, ma'am. Melanie Haywood." "Girls, this is Belinda and Marta and Melanie. They'll be helping at your party today. What do you say to them?" "Thank you," one of the girls mumbled. The other seemed to be clenching her teeth to keep from saying anything. "You're very welcome, girls," Belinda said. "What are your names?" "I'm Angie," the mumbler said. "This is Amy. We're nine today." "I know," Belinda said. "Happy Birthday." "Can we go now?" Amy suddenly said. "Yes, dear," the mother said. She watched the twins grab their swim bags and run for the locker rooms. "Kids, they're so, so eager, but I'm sure you were that way when you were little girls their age." Belinda looked a little uncomfortable. "Yes, ma'am, I guess we were." "Well, I might as well go change into a suit myself." She started off then stopped and turned. "By the way, I'm Mrs. Connolly." She waved and continued walking without another word. "Well, that was sweet," Marta said. "C'mon, Marta," Belinda said. "Give her a break. She was trying to be nice." "I suppose. She's got the rest of the afternoon to prove it." The guests started arriving about ten minutes later. They put their presents on another long table and went to change into swimming gear. By now, Melanie had the soda in the cooler, with the other soda close by to replace as needed. "I'm done," she said. "What's next?" "Next is those tables," Marta said. She pointed to a stack of six folding tables in a corner of the tent. There were several big stacks of folding chairs near them on the grass. "We set them up in two rows of three tables each. Then those chairs go around them, four to a table." Melanie and Belinda set up the tables and chairs while Marta worked at the grill. As they worked, they talked. Marta and Belinda were about twenty, students at the local college majoring in Business and Computer Science. They'd been working for the Boss for a couple months, though Belinda didn't want to talk about that very much. Melanie wasn't sure how to make small talk as a girl, but she found that Belinda was also a baseball fan. They spent about an hour arguing about the prospect of various teams for the current season. Just in time, everything was set up and ready. A horde of wet little girls wrapped in beach towels came into the tent. They lined up by the grill, and Marta and Belinda were hard pressed to get the burgers and hot dogs onto plates fast enough. Melanie stood by the cooler passing out cans of soda. Before the girls had come in from swimming, Melanie had put out a bowl of chips at each table, so the girls just helped themselves. The girls settled down to their suppers, while Belinda, Marta, and Melanie sat in chairs near the grill waiting to be asked for more food. Mrs. Connolly looked up from watching her daughters eat. She stood up and came over to where the three workers sat. "I'm sorry, girls. You must be hungry, too, from setting everything up. There's more than enough food, so, please, help yourselves." "Thanks, ma'am," Marta said. "To tell the truth we are kind of hungry." The trio fixed themselves suppers and sat back down by the grill. If any of the kids came back for more, there was still plenty of food left. A couple of the girls did come back for seconds. Then Mrs. Connolly lit the candles on a cake, and all the girls sang "Happy Birthday." Belinda, Marta, and Melanie helped hand out the cake afterwards. They each took a piece for themselves and went back to finish eating while the kids ooh and aahed over the presents. Anya came into the tent. "Okay, girls. Grandmother says it's time for your break. Head back to the office. I've got a couple of other girls coming to relieve you." "What about the party," Melanie asked. Don't we have to stay and clean up?" "There'll be time for that," Belinda said. "Did you bring your schoolbooks?" "Yeah, there're in the Locker Room, but..." "The Boss says she doesn't want stupid people working for her. She gives us an hour or so break every night during the week to study or do homework." "I hear McDonald's has something like that for the kids that work for them," Marta added. Melanie ran back to the Women's Locker Room and fetched her book bag. Belinda and Marta were waiting in a small "conference room" next to the office. Melanie spread her books out on a section of the long table and spent the next hour wrestling with the theory of auto transmissions. After which, they went back to the tent. Holly, the blonde who'd been working with Belinda the day before and another girl, who introduced herself as Norma, were waiting. "The Boss says we get to help with the clean-up," Norma said with a shrug of her shoulders. "Looks like we're needed." She was correct. The little girls had left a mess of paper plates, wrapping papers and ribbons, soda cans, and partially eaten food inside the tent. Holly and Melanie took sticks and trash bags and began walking around spearing trash off the ground, while Norma and Marta cleaned up the tables. Belinda emptied the coals from the grill and began taking it down. They folded the tables and chairs, piling them onto hand trucks that were waiting behind the tent. They loaded the grill, cooler, cooking gear, and leftover plates, cups, and plastic ware onto a smaller hand truck. Mrs. Connolly seemed to have taken all the leftover food with her, but she'd left an envelope marked "For the Girls" next to the grill. There were twenty-five dollars inside. "Tips," Norma said. "I love them." Each girl took one of the five-dollar bills, and they pushed the hand trucks back towards the office. They had just unloaded everything into a storage room at one end of the building, when Anya came by. "Grandmother said you can all go home now. You were a big help with the party." "But my bus won't be coming by for about forty minutes," Melanie said. "Where do you live, kid," Norma asked. When Melanie told her, Norma turned to Marta. "That's not much out of our way. Why don't we give Melanie a lift home? There's enough room in your van." "Hey, why not," Marta said. "Thanks," Melanie said. "Hey, we all work together. Why not? Heck, we can do it every night - unless you've got a boyfriend coming for you." She thought of Ed for a moment, but she wasn't quite sure if she wanted to think of him as "friend" or "boyfriend". She did know what _he_ wanted her to think, though. "No, umm, no, I don't." "A pretty little thing like you? That's a surprise." "_We_ don't have boyfriends either, Marta," Holly said, nudging her in the ribs. "Remember." "Oh! Oh, yeah, I'm sorry, Melanie." She looked at Melanie as if seeing her for the first time. "I'm really sorry." Melanie looked closely at the older girls. Did they know? Or...or were they transformed guys the same as she was? She thought about asking, but decided not to press. It might be better to _not_ know. "That's okay, no hard feelings." As they went in to change, Melanie suddenly realized that she was about to watch four babes get naked in front of her. She smiled in anticipation. Then she frowned. The idea didn't seem to do anything for her. It was like her body was numb. No, worse. It didn't care; not even when she saw the real thing. She watched as Belinda, only three lockers away, unfastened her bra, letting her breasts sway free; and later as Norma, almost as close, wriggled out of her one-piece suit and stood there, stretching as if she were on display in a centerfold. Nothing. Why should she be aroused? Wasn't she a girl, too? Dammit! * * * * * "Melanie!" Stacy waved at Melanie as she got off the bus the next morning. "Rita Sandowsky and Karen Geller live in your building, don't they?" "Umm, yeah. Why?" "I was just wondering if you'd heard anything about last night?" "Not really. At least my folk didn't say anything when I got home from work last night. What happened?" "They got arrested or something. They went into Hannigan's, you know, the bar over on Woodbine Street." "I know the place." Rudy had boasted that he had fake ID, and that he could get them all served at the bar. The reason that they'd stolen the purse had been to get some money to pay for their drinks. Melanie guessed that they had somehow gotten the cash to go in the night before. "The bartender tried to throw them out after he figured out that they weren't legal age. Somebody tried to stop him, and there was a big fight. They called the cops and everything." Jeff Hogan came over. He said "Hi" to Melanie and kissed Stacy lightly on the cheek. "Well, if they busted Rita and Karen last night, they let them out again." He pointed towards the entrance to the school. "There they are." Melanie looked to where he was pointing. Both girls were standing near the steps surrounded by a crowd that was mostly male. Rita seemed to be telling a story - it was too far away to hear - from the way her hands and arms were moving.