Just a Little Late
By Bill Hart
"Hurry up, John! Drive faster! We're going to be late."
John Turner calmly looked down at the clock in the dash. "You don't
have to worry, Andy," he told his fraternal twin brother. "We won't
be late; we have plenty of time."
"Will you just speed up. I just know we're going to be late," fretted
Andy nervously. "This is supposed to be the hottest fraternity party
of the whole semester and we're going to be late." Andy shook his
head. "Wasn't it bad enough that mom and dad told us we couldn't go
to this frat party? We had to wait until after they left tonight so
we could sneak out like spoiled little children. We didn't even have
time to find appropriate dates for the party."
"Just relax, Andy," smiled John. "We'll get to the party with plenty
of time to spare. As I told you when we were planning this earlier,
once we're there we shouldn't have any problems picking up a couple of
unattached single girls."
"How are we going to pick up girls, John?" asked Andy. "I'll bet
we'll be the only guys there without dates. They're all going to
laugh at us. And I'm sure they'll laugh even harder when we have to
leave hours earlier than everyone else just so we can beat mom and dad
home. I hate being laughed at." Andy looked down at the clock in the
dash. "Is that thing right? Would you please hurry up? If we're
going to get grounded for the rest of our lives or even longer, I
don't want to be late or miss any more of this party than I absolutely
must."
"Just chill out, Andy. How many times do I have to tell you we're
doing just fine? We've got plenty of time." But, as Andy continued
fidgeting in the passenger seat, John decided he'd push down a little
harder on the accelerator and make his younger - by nearly fifteen
minutes - brother Andy a little happier.
"That's a little better," said Andy, as soon as he felt the car's
small acceleration. "But I'm still certain we're going to be late."
John sighed. Some days - no matter what he did - he just couldn't
win.
Suddenly, a bright red flashing light appeared in the rear view
mirror.
"Oh shit!" swore John. "I just knew speeding up was a bad idea. Damn
it! I knew I should have never listened to you, Andy. How many times
have mom and dad warned us about this stretch of wide-open highway
being such a notorious speed trap?" John pulled the car over to the
side of the road. "Just how am I going to explain getting a ticket to
them when we're supposed to be home?" As John saw one of the police
officers approaching, he quickly turned to Andy. "Now just keep
quiet, Andy. I'll do all the talking. And whatever else you do don't
get excited and do something we'll both regret."
"Whatever you say, John," replied Andy. "I'll try not to let them get
me too excited, but I won't allow them to make us late. I'll do
whatever I think is necessary to insure we won't late to the frat
party."
John sighed nervously, as he rolled down his window. "Yes, sir," he
said politely.
"You were speeding, boy," said the officer brusquely. "Did you know
you were speeding?"
"No, sir," replied John. "I really thought I was under the speed
limit, sir."
"Did you hear that, Eddie Joe?" chuckled the officer. "This boy here
thought he was driving under the speed limit."
"He probably missed that sign for the school zone a few miles back,
Bobby Ray," smiled Eddie. "Lots of people speeding through here seem
to miss that small sign, you know."
"Did you miss that school zone sign back aways, boy?" asked Bobby Ray.
"I guess I must have, sir. I didn't see any signs indicating a
school."
"Let me see your driver's license and registration, boy."
"Yes, sir," replied John, as he handed the officer his license. "The
registration is in the glove box, sir." He turned to his brother.
"Andy, will you reach into the glove box and get the registration for
the officer?"
Andy nodded his head, then slowly reached for the glove box.
"Hmm, John Turner," mumbled Bobby Ray, as he scrutinized John and his
license very carefully. "You look kind of familiar to me, boy, but I
just can't recall ever seeing you around town before. Would you be
any relation to that little Turner bitch who caused such a ruckus in
town just a few weeks back?"
"No, sir," answered John quietly.
As soon as Andy opened the glove box, Eddie Joe saw the small light
inside flicker on. "Just hold it right there, boy!" he shouted.
"What's up, Eddie Joe?" asked Bobby Ray.
"It's that other boy there in the car, Bobby Ray. He was reaching for
something in the glove box. I couldn't see what it was, but I ain't
about to take any chances."
"But, sir," said John nervously. "Andy was just getting the car
registration for you like you wanted."
"Get out of the car, boys!" ordered Bobby Ray with a widening grin.
"But officer..." began John.
"I said get out of the car boys." Not thinking he'd need his gun to
explain things, Bobby Ray undid the fastening on his billy club
instead. "I really don't want to have to tell you boys again."
"Okay. Okay," said John. "We don't really want any more trouble with
you, sir." He and Andy slowly opened their doors and got out of the
car.
"All right, boy," said Bobby Ray, motioning at Andy. "I want you to
come stand over here, boy." He held his club menacingly so both boys
would realize he meant business. "Eddie Joe, why don't you take a
look in that glove box."
"You got it, Bobby Ray," he grinned. Eddie Joe casually slid into the
passenger seat as if he owned the car.
"Both you boys still seem awful familiar to me," said Bobby Ray. "Do
you live around here?"
"Not exactly, sir," John nervously replied.
"There's no sense lying to me, boy. I'll figure out exactly who you
are and where we met sooner or later. I'm generally real good at
remembering faces."
Eddie Joe, a wide smile spread across his face, slammed the door shut
as he exited the car. "Look what I found in that glove box, Bobby
Ray." He held up a small plastic bag. "This kinda looks like some of
that mary-julie-annie all them college kids are always smoking."
John stared at Eddie Joe in disbelief. "But that's not ours, sir. We
don't smoke anything; smoking is bad for you."
"So you say now, but that stuff was in your car, boys," smiled Bobby
Ray. "I hope you're not trying to tell me that good old honest Eddie
Joe planted that stuff in your car. You wouldn't be telling me that,
now would you? That would be illegal."
"Of course not, sir," replied John. "But I don't know how it got in
there. We really don't want any more trouble from you."
"We were on our way to a fraternity party up at the college," said
Andy. "And you're making us late."
"That's just too bad, boy," smirked Bobby Ray. "But it's a real shame
that you college boys didn't bring along a couple of good-looking hot
college babes. Don't you boys know that a couple of hot sweet young
things are always good for bailing bad boys like you out of trouble?
I'm sure you know what I mean." Bobby Ray chuckled. "But you bad
boys came out here all alone; it sure looks like you are gonna wind up
being more than just a little late for that wild frat party of yours,
boys."
"Yeah, you're gonna be real late," grinned Eddie Joe. "Knowing the
judge around these parts, I'm guessing you'll probably be a good five
to seven years late unless you get out early for good behavior."
Eddie Joe turned to his partner. "You know something, Bobby Ray.
I've always had a hankering to bust one of them college frat parties.
All them little farts are always looking down on us and thinking
they're better'n us. Maybe we can mosey on over to that college and
bust a few more snooty college brats after we book these two
delinquents."
"Put your hands on the car, boys!" ordered Bobby Ray sternly.
John quickly obliged; he was beginning to think their going to this
frat hadn't been such a good idea. He shouldn't have let Andy talk
him into going. He wanted no more trouble from the officers. Hadn't
he taken enough shit from them already? John just wanted to go home
where he could be safe. He didn't want to be anywhere near either
Bobby Ray or Eddie Joe.
But Andy had other ideas. He kept glaring at Bobby Ray with growing
anger and increasingly obvious contempt.
Bobby Ray glared back at Andy. "It seems to me that you're resisting
arrest, boy." He pointed his club directly at Andy. "Put your hands
on this car right now or I just might have to teach you what resisting
arrest really means."
John gasped. "Please, sir," he pleaded. "Please don't beat my
brother."
"Shut up, boy! This is just between him and me now," replied Bobby
Ray angrily. "Or maybe you want a taste of what resisting arrest
means too." Bobby Ray turned back to Andy. "Well boy, what's it
gonna be?" he smiled, knowing that this little puke, just like all the
other little pukes in town, would give in to his authority.
"I'm just gonna stand here staring at you, you stupid asshole,"
replied Andy calmly.
Bobby Ray turned beet red with anger. "That was the wrong fucking
answer, boy." He glared at the defiant boy. "Eddie Joe. You saw
this little puke resisting arrest - didn't you, Eddie Joe?"
"I sure did, Bobby Ray."
"That's strange," replied Andy calmly. "I would have never guessed
you could use those great big rattlesnakes to beat someone."
"What?!?" exclaimed the two very startled patrolmen, as they quickly
dropped the rather large diamondback rattlesnakes they suddenly found
in their hands in place of their drawn batons.
>From the ground, the two snakes turned back and stared at them. Their
rattles rattled menacingly. They warningly spat at the two officers,
before losing interest and slowly slithering away.
"What did you just do, boy?" asked Bobby Ray.
"I did nothing," replied Andy with a cryptic grin. "I told you I
didn't want to be late for this party. And all this bullshit you've
been trying to pull just keeps making us later and later."
"You boys were speeding; you broke the law," stammered Eddie Joe
nervously. "And we're just police officers doing our jobs. You can't
do anything to us without getting yourselves into a serious heap of
trouble."
"Perhaps," grinned Andy. "But as long as you're both here, I think
you should know I've never considered either of you very good police
officers. You should have been kicked off the force years ago, tossed
into your jail, and had the keys thrown away. Everyone knows it. If
something happened to you, I really doubt anyone would even miss you."
Suddenly, Andy's smile widened. "And yet, I've just had a very
interesting idea. Maybe you two can finally serve a useful purpose
for once in your miserable lives. How'd you both like to go to that
frat party tonight... with us?"
"Oh no! Don't do that, Andy" said John in alarm. "It'll just get us
deeper in trouble."
"But I have to, John. They aren't really giving me another choice,"
replied Andy. "I'm sick and tired of always having to take their crap
all the time. Aren't you? And you know as well as I do that they'll
just turn around and try pulling this shit again on some other poor
innocent person if I let them continue getting away with it. It's
well past the time that somebody stopped them." Andy turned back to
the cops. "I hope you know there will be a lot of girls at that frat
party."
"A lot of girls?" mused Eddie Joe. "Can we go with them, Bobby Ray?
Please. If there are gonna be a lot of girls there, it sounds like
we could have us a helluva lot of fun."
"As much as I'd really enjoy having a few hours of fun sticking it
into a couple of snooty, stuck up college bitches, we just can't go,
Eddie Joe." Bobby Ray frowned. "We're still on duty until tomorrow
morning."
"Oh please," groaned Andy, as he countered with a really wicked smile
of his own. "We really can't let a little thing like your work keep
you from having a little fun. Now can we? Besides, neither of you
has ever let performing your duty stand in the way of your pleasures
before. Why would you want to start now?"
"Who the hell are you?" asked Bobby Ray nervously. But suddenly his
bravado returned. "It certainly sounds like you're trying to bribe
us. What do you think, Eddie Joe?"
"It sure sounded a lot like a bribe to me too, Bobby Ray," replied
Eddie Joe. "But it also sounded like a damn good one to me; one I
really wouldn't mind taking. Maybe..." he began, but as soon as he
saw his partner's look of scornful disapproval, his tone suddenly
changed. "You boys are now in even bigger trouble than before. Can
you imagine them trying to bribe us with all them loose college broads
when they can't even get themselves dates."
"Damn it, Andy," swore John. "Didn't I tell you to keep quiet?"
"You should have listened to your brother, boy," smirked Eddie Joe.
"But now, it's a little too late for that."
"Late? We're late, aren't we?" Andy looked over at John. "I told
you I didn't want to be late to this party. I never thought we had
that much time to spare and then we had to run into these two
buttwipes." Andy turned and stared at the two police officers. "It
really looks like the two of you will be going to this party with us
whether you want to or not."
Bobby Ray stared angrily at Andy. Both officers drew their service
revolvers and pointed them straight at Andy. "I don't like being the
butt end of your stupid little tricks, boy. And I sure as hell don't
like being threatened by some little snot-faced college boy." Bobby
Ray glared at Andy. "Believe you me, boy, you're going to be one
sorry little bastard once I'm through with you."
Andy gazed defiantly back at Bobby Ray.
"No, Andy; you can't. Please don't do whatever it is you're thinking
of doing," pleaded his brother. "It'll only get us into far more
trouble than they're worth, if we're caught."
"I'm still afraid I don't have any other choices, John. And it's all
their fault that I have to do this, you know. If it wasn't for them,
we'd already be at the frat party." Andy looked over at Eddie Joe.
"I don't think you'll be needing that gun anymore, Eddie Joe."
Eddie Joe gasped. As if it were suddenly greased, his police special
slipped out of his hand and fell to the ground, making an odd hollow
echoing sound as it struck the asphalt.
Andy turned his attention to Bobby Ray. "And you really won't be
needing your gun anymore either, Bobby Ray."
As the two startled cops watched in stunned astonishment, the service
revolver Bobby Ray held in his hand slowly faded away.
"What the hell did you just do, boy?" asked Eddie Joe, sounding
frightened.
Andy ignored him. "Since you'll be going to the frat party with us, I
think we can do without that police cruiser. It would just worry a
lot of people needlessly if someone found it out here empty and
abandoned." And while all of them watched, the police car rapidly
rusted away, disintegrating before their amazed eyes.
"How the hell did you do that?" asked Bobby Ray, fear increasingly
evident in his voice.
"Andy, you've got to stop this. We're going to get into a lot of
trouble when somebody finds out what we've done."
Ignoring his brother John, Andy continued. "I think both of you
should be better dressed for the party; it's not a costume party, you
know. And as you've already so kindly pointed out, John and I didn't
have time to find dates for tonight." Andy smiled. "Although I
really think we could do a whole lot better than you two, I suppose
you'll just have to do for the time being."
"What the hell are you talking about, boy?" asked Bobby Ray. But all
of a sudden, as if they'd somehow become bared, his legs grew chilled
in the slight evening breeze. When Bobby Ray looked down, he quickly
discovered that not only were his legs now completely uncovered, but
he also appeared to be wearing a skimpy woman's skirt and shoes with
noticeable heels. As he turned back towards Andy, he also discovered
he was also somehow wearing a woman's skimpy halter top. "Just what
the hell do you think you're doing, boy?"
Andy looked him over carefully. "You're now much better dressed for
going to the frat party, but you're still not overly attractive, you
know. What's that line you always use, Bobby Ray? 'I've seen better
looking dogs,' isn't that it?" smiled Andy. "I suppose I'll just have
to fix that. And if neither of you have realized it - which I doubt -
you both walk like truck drivers. That will never do, but I can
adjust that as well. And just so you won't start worrying when it
happens, you'll soon be filling out your brand new sexy clothes a
whole lot better than you're doing now."
As Bobby Ray looked down at his legs again, he couldn't believe his
eyes. Both of his legs had inexplicably become long and slender;
every last hair on them had somehow disappeared. His new soft hand
slid easily across his equally smooth leg. And when he lifted his
hand to his face, he found it smaller and smoother than he remembered
with long slender fingers and long nails painted bright red.
He suddenly felt his closely cropped hair flow out quickly over his
shoulders and down his back. After grabbing a handful of his newly
lengthened locks, he stared at his new silky blonde hair in stunned
disbelief. "This can't be happening to me," he said quietly, although
his voice eerily crackled with his every spoken word.
And then, Bobby Ray cringed as he felt his chest begin tingling. Two
small, but very obviously, female breasts began pushing out his new
halter. But in short order, his new firm breasts had more than
adequately filled the halter he wore, easily stretching it near its
breaking point and exposing cleavage of nearly alpine proportions.
Obviously stunned by what was impossibly happening to him, Bobby Ray
turned back to Andy. "Just what do you think you're doing to me,
boy?" he asked in an unrecognizable, yet erriely sultry, soprano.
Shaking his head again in total disbelief, he was amazed at the feel
of his long golden hair swishing across his shoulders. And then,
suddenly wondering if these same impossible things were also happening
to his partner, Bobby Ray turned slowly in the direction where he'd
last seen Eddie Joe.
What an absolute babe, thought Bobby Ray, as he stared at the sexy
long-haired willowy brunette standing across from him in the same
apparent state of confusion he felt. And yet, as he realized this
lusty babe might actually be his partner Eddie Joe, he felt strangely
jealous that his partner had been given a pair of breasts that were
easily as large as his own. "Is that really you over there, Edie
Joy?" he asked, never noticing the slight shift in his partner's name.
"Of course it's me, Barbie Rae," smiled Edie Joy. "Just who did you
think I was, girl?"
"That's much better," smiled Andy. "Are you girls ready to go now?"
"Go?" replied Barbie Rae icily, slowly sweeping his long silky blonde
hair away from the front of his face.
"Go where?" added Edie Joy, placing his hands on his hips and staring
at Andy with contempt.
"To the fraternity party, of course," replied Andy. "Where else would
we be going tonight?
"You've got to be kidding," snarled Barbie Rae contemptuously. "We
ain't going anywhere with you looking like a couple of your common
everyday bimbo wet dreams."
"Of course you're going. You've been looking forward to it? Don't
you remember?" Andy smiled as his suggestion told hold making both
Edie Joy and Barbie Rae shake their heads.
Edie Joy looked over at Andy and smiled. "We'd better be on our way,
Andy honey," she cooed. "We certainly wouldn't want to be late for
what promises to be just the hottest college frat party of the last
several years."
"But Andy," objected John. "We're going to get into trouble."
With a mischievous grin, Barbie Rae slowly slid her arm around John's
waist. "I don't see how you can get into much trouble if you keep
doing all the driving, Johnny baby." She began nibbling on John's
ear. "Why don't you let Andy drive the rest of the way so we can have
that big backseat all to ourselves for a while?"
* * * * * *
John and Andy Turner walking into the frat house alone would have
never raised an eyebrow. But they weren't alone; eyebrows most
certainly raised and several mouths gaped wide open as they entered
with the sultry blonde Barbie Rae and the slinky brunette Edie Joy
draped on their arms.
"I didn't know they were coming tonight," said a girl.
"But who are they?" asked another girl.
"Who could have ever imagined those two getting dates with a pair of
really hot babes like them?" asked a boy enviously.
Another boy replied, "I don't know who they are either."
A male voice tinged with obvious jealousy answered, "I certainly would
have never guessed those two even knew any girls like them. I wonder
if there are more beauties like them hanging around wherever they
found them?"
"Maybe those two have got something a lot more interesting then
anything we ever thought possible," said a girl's voice.
"Maybe you're right," replied another girl nearby. "But if you want
to know something really interesting, now that I've had some time to
look them over more closely, both of them are really kind of cute."
"You know, Mitch. It shouldn't be all that tough for us to take those
two righteous looking babes away from those two losers." Both John
and Andy recognized Howie Foster's voice. "They deserve a whole lot
better than them. I think it's our civic responsibility to rescue
hot babes like them from the dregs of total loserdom."
"You've got a good point there, Howie." Neither of them was surprised
to hear Mitch Wilson agreeing with Howie; he'd always thought himself
God's gift to women. "Why don't we give it a shot? Other than
pissing off our current dates, what have we really got to lose?"
"Did you hear them, Andy?" asked John. "Mitch and Howie are gonna try
stealing our new girlfriends away from us. It's just not fair."
"I heard them, John, but don't worry about it," replied Andy. "But I
just might have to think about doing something about them before we
leave tonight - I really hate being thought a loser."
"But what about Edie Joy and Barbie Rae?"
"What about them, John? Everyone knows they came with us - that's
good enough for me. They've done exactly what we needed them to do;
they got us noticed when we walked through the door. As far as I'm
concerned, those two can now run off with someone else if that's what
they want to do." Andy could tell his brother was confused. "Just
think about it for a few minutes, John. Remember that despite their
incredible outward physical appearances and current mental
dispositions, Edie Joy and Barbie Rae aren't really the girls they
appear to be. When they return to their true forms, they're bound to
be royally pissed at whomever they're with. Now, would you rather be
with those two later tonight or would you rather be with some real
girls?"
"That's a real good point, Andy. I hadn't thought about what might
happen with them later," replied John, as he reconsidered who these
two gorgeous babes truly were. He smiled, as he watched the
co-captains of the football team - Howie Foster the quarterback and
Mitch Wilson the wide receiver - leading the giggling Edie Joy and
Barbie Rae off to the dance floor. Left behind to fume were two
extremely furious cheerleaders, who had been the dates Mitch and
Howie had brought to the party.
"Hi, I'm Kelly Mitchell," said the redheaded cheerleader as she
strolled purposely over to Andy. "It seems those two stupid football
jocks we came with have dumped us and stolen your dates. I really
have no idea what I could have ever seen in him. What a god damn
fucking loser."
"It certainly seems that way, Kelly. Doesn't it?" he smiled
thoughtfully, but knowing full well he'd also helped Howie and Mitch
just a little bit with their decision. "I'm Andy Turner. Would you
like to dance, Kelly?"
"I'd love to dance with you, Andy. I thought you'd never ask." She
returned his smile.
"I'm Taffy Sawyer," said the raven-haired cheerleader to John. "You
wanna know something? I think you're really cute."
"I am?" stammered John. "I mean, you do?"
"Of course I think you're cute, silly boy," giggled Taffy. She leaned
into him and brushed her pouty lips against his. "So what do you say?
Do you want to dance with me, cute stuff?"
"Sure, Taffy. I'd love to dance with you."
Nearly oblivious to everything and everyone else around them, the four
new couples danced together for the next several hours. They might
have easily danced with one another until the party ended early the
next morning, but eventually Andy looked down at his watch. He
frowned as he saw the time. It was a lot later than he thought it
should be. Where had all the time gone?
Andy realized he and his brother would have to leave the party soon.
Unless it was already too late - a very definite possibility - they
risked, if they stayed much longer, having their parents coming home
and finding them gone. And he guessed it wouldn't take either of them
very long to figure out where they'd probably gone.
And then - especially when they found them - the shit was very likely
to hit the fan.
As all of them continued dancing, Andy purposely led Kelly towards the
general vicinity of the two transformed cops. Andy smiled, hearing
Kelly mumble "god damn fucking bitch" beneath her breath. She
alternated glaring daggers at her former date - once she'd spotted
him - and that whore, who had somehow stolen him from her, as they
danced right beside them. But if looks could actually been deadly,
there would have quickly been a very dead blonde sprawled out on the
floor.
And after Andy caught Barbie Rae's eyes for just a brief instant, the
girl slowly shook her head as soon as Andy turned away. With an
increasingly mischievous smile, she then whispered something into
Mitch Wilson's ear.
After leading his dance partner somewhat closer to Edie Joy, Kelly
also failed to notice Andy catching the brunette's eye just as
briefly. Having already been dumped once tonight, Andy figured Kelly
could easily fly into a rage if she'd caught him looking at the
willowy brunette. But Kelly was still obsessively glaring at Mitch
and wishing some really serious harm would befall Barbie Rae.
But then, just as Barbie Rae had done when Andy turned away, Edie
Joy shook her head and, with a sensual giggle of girlish delight,
whispered something into Howie Foster's ear.
When the band finally reached their scheduled break, everyone began
talking among themselves.
"C'mon Taffy," said Kelly brusquely. "I think we need to go powder
our noses."
"Sure thing, Kelly," giggled Taffy. She kissed John on the cheek,
then followed her friend to the ladies' room.
"You know, Andy, I really don't want to go home right now, but I
really think we'd better leave," said John, as he watched Kelly and
Taffy disappear into the crowd.
"I know that, John; it's a lot later than I thought it was," replied
Andy. "I guess I was having a little too much fun dancing with Kelly.
I completely lost track of the time."
"Me too, Andy. Tonight's really been a lot of fun," said John. "But
I'm also afraid Kelly and Taffy will be really pissed at us when they
return and find us gone."
"I know. It's a damn shame we have to disappoint them again tonight,
but some things just can't be helped."
"Do you think they'll ever forgive us?"
"Probably not, John. I mean, would you forgive us if we were in their
shoes and the guys we were with left us stranded without saying a
word? But in the long run, does it really matter whether or not they
forgive us?"
"I guess not, Andy. I doubt we're ever going to see them again. But
it would be better if we're long gone before they come back."
As John and Andy Turner quickly made their way to the frat house
door, Edie Joy and Barbie Rae with Howie Foster and Mitch Wilson
respectively in tow bolted past them. All four of them had wide-eyed
looks of expectant delight unmistakably etched across their faces.
* * * * * *
"What did you do to them, Andy?" asked John curiously as he drove them
home.
"Who are you talking about?"
"You know exactly who I'm talking about, Andy... Those 'girls' Barbie
Rae and Edie Joy. You did something to them while you were dancing
with Kelly. And don't bother denying it; I saw you doing something."
"Oh those; why didn't you just say so?" smiled Andy. "I really didn't
do all that much to them. Since we weren't going to have time to take
them home or restore them, I just made certain that they'd wake up
their more or less normal cheerful selves tomorrow morning."
"Are you sure that's all you did to them? All four of them looked
kind of ... well, you know ... aroused and overly excited as they
were rushing off. What if ... What will happen ... After Howie and
Mitch take them home ... they ... well ... ah ... you know what I
mean." John's face turned a brilliant scarlet.
"They did appear rather excited. Didn't they?" Andy grinned. "It
might make a very interesting sight to watch those two bumbling idiots
Eddie Joe and Bobby Ray waking up in some strange bed next to Howie
and Mitch." Andy's grin widened. "Especially since those two will
remember every little detail about what they've said and done while
they were sexy young women. But on the other hand, it's just as
possible that it won't be Eddie Joe and Bobby Ray waking up next to
them."
"What do you mean, Andy?" asked John. "Oh shit; I knew it. You did
something else to them. Didn't you?" John watched Andy nod. "Just
what did you do to them?"
Andy's smile widened. "Not all that much. Given it was Eddie Joe and
Bobby Ray, I didn't think you'd mind. You noticed how excited they
were as they left." John nodded his head. "Well, if those four go a
little overboard in having fun tonight, those new girls might wind up
getting pregnant. If they do, then they'll have to remain physically
Barbie Rae and Edie Joy until after they've delivered. And once I
overheard Mitch and Howie plotting to steal them away from us, it was
a simple matter to link the four of them together for the rest of the
evening. If the new girls do find themselves in a family way in the
morning, then Barbie Rae and Edie Joy will still remember the men they
once were, although they'll never be able to tell anyone else. But
even if they could tell someone what happened to them, who would ever
believe such a fantastic story?"
"You didn't." John sounded shocked. "Well, uh, you know."
"Help them out? You can relax, John. Don't you remember one of those
odd quirky little details mom tried explaining to us when she first
told us about our powers? Any guy who gets transformed into a girl
can't get pregnant until he's been a girl for at least an entire day."
Andy smiled. "I don't know whether or not that's really true, but I
still upped all of their sexual appetites a couple of smidgens and
then nudged their libidos into a hornier state of mind. They're going
to rut like sex-crazed rabbits tonight."
"Oh. As long as it's them, I guess it's okay," replied John. "But I
always thought that full day thing was just something mom made up so
we wouldn't worry ourselves sick about daddy going out and getting
himself knocked up. You know how much he enjoys going out on the town
and getting laid while he's a woman."
"It was always an easy way for daddy to pick up a little extra
spending cash; he always seemed to find big tippers. But we might
find out if its true tonight," said Andy. "Regardless, it should be
a lot of fun finding out what actually happens to them tonight.
Besides, do you know anyone who'll really miss having those two
assholes Bobby Ray and Eddie Joe hanging around town for the next
nine months?"
"I sure as hell would never miss them," replied John angrily.
"I never thought you would, little brother."
"But I almost wish they could be sent away forever instead of for only
the next nine months," mumbled John, never noticing his brother's
cryptic smile.
* * * * * *
Near dead silence reigned during the rest of the drive home. John
just drove. Thinking about those two slimeballs had reminded him of
that night a few weeks back that he'd rather forget.
"I just don't believe this," said John, as he pulled the car onto the
driveway. "We're a hell of a lot luckier than we have any right to
be, Andy." He looked at the clock in the dash. "Even as late as it
is, mom and dad still aren't home."
"I wonder what's keeping them out so late tonight. When we finally
got away from the frat house, I was really afraid they'd be home
before we could get here." Andy got out of the car and headed for the
front door. "But we'd better not try pressing our luck much further."
After opening the front door, Andy and John quickly went inside.
"I think we'd better hurry up, get changed, and hop into bed. Mom and
dad should never know we haven't been here all night, John."
"That's true. I really don't think either one of us would like to try
explaining to mom and dad why we're still up so late on a school
night."
"Or why we're currently dressed the way we are either." Andy sighed.
"I really doubt they could understand why we went to that frat party
tonight."
"That's an understatement, Andy."
"Besides, I don't think either mom or dad were expecting my powers to
manifest themselves quite this soon. From everything they've told us,
they shouldn't have even begun developing yet. But if they see that
I have mine now, they'll begin wondering if yours have also developed
early."
"I really wish they would," sighed John. "It would make plenty of
things a lot simpler for me. I could have dealt with those two
assholes tonight."
"Don't start worrying about getting your powers, John. I'm sure
they'll start manifesting themselves soon enough. Are you ready?"
John nodded.
Andy began concentrating.
Although he and his brother John had had lots of fun being college
juniors at the frat party tonight, tomorrow was just another school
day for them at Danlinger High School. And they had to be their
normal high school sophomore selves again and not this pair of lusty
college boys they'd been before their parents came home.
It didn't take long for them to change.
Andrea looked across at her sister and smiled. "It worked perfectly,
Jo. We're our normal selves once more."
"And it's about time too, Andi. Although I'd have to say being a boy
was a really interesting experience, it just felt wrong somehow. I've
felt strange all night," said Joanna. "And another thing, I really
don't understand how boys manage to walk around with that thing
hanging between their legs. It felt so weird; it was continually
alternating between being hard and being soft, especially when I was
dancing with Taffy."
"I know exactly what you mean, Jo. But you know we had to find out
what being a boy felt like sooner or later. And we certainly couldn't
have gone to the frat party as ourselves. They would have never let
us in; we aren't old enough. But I'm also really glad I don't have
one of those monstrous things hanging there all the time. It felt so
strange - mine got so huge, when Kelly kissed me. And afterwards, she
gave me the strangest smile."
"She was probably wondering what it would feel like doing it with
someone hung like wild stallion," giggled Joanna.
"Joanna Turner!" exclaimed Andrea, as she blushed bright beet red.
"But I was almost kind of glad you were able to restrain yourself with
those two scumbags, Andi. If I'd had control of even a small part of
my powers now, I really doubt I could have restrained myself where
those two were concerned. I'm afraid I probably would have done
something a lot more permanent to them."
"But that's totally understandable, Jo," replied Andrea. "After all,
it was those same two dirtbags that tried to rape you only few weeks
ago. Fortunately, they were scared off when you started screaming and
all those people came running to help. Who knows what else could have
happened to you?"
Joanna shivered as she again remembered that night she'd rather
forget, but knew she never could. "But nobody even believed me when I
told them who attacked me. Everyone said it was only my overactive
imagination playing tricks. Everyone said they would never do
something like that. And to make matters worse, Eddie Joe and Bobby
Ray lied to everyone about what had happened, Andi. And everyone
believed them; no one believed me."
"Not 'no one', Jo. I always believed you." Andrea hugged her sister.
"I knew you could never say anything false about anyone."
Joanna smiled. "I know, Andi, and I really appreciate it," she
replied, hugging her sister back. "But what you did still isn't fair,
you know. Everybody still thinks my being attacked was somehow all my
fault." Joanna suddenly frowned. "It's just a real shame you're
letting them enjoy having sex; it would have been better poetic
justice if they were raped a few dozen times themselves."
"We'll just wait and see if they learn anything tonight," said Andrea
with a cryptic smile. "And if we don't think they've learned their
lessons well enough after tonight, then we can always try something a
little more drastic the next time."
"That might be more interesting. Maybe I'll have my own powers the
next time," smiled Joanna.
"I wouldn't be surprised if you have the same powers I do the next
time we see them," whispered Andrea.
For several minutes, Joanna and Andrea hugged one another. When they
finally separated, they headed off for their bedrooms.
After all, it had been a very long and eventful night.
* * * * * *
Andrea smiled at her reflection as she brushed out her hair. With
the exceptions of the unexpected interference by Mitch Wilson and
Howie Foster, which hadn't really hurt anything, everything had gone
down pretty much as she'd hoped and planned. She'd known they'd be
out there tonight; those two sorry excuses for policemen had always
been so predictable. But she felt relieved that the whole mess was
finally coming to an end.
Her sister Joanna believed everything would be back to normal once the
sun rose in the morning. And, in a real sense, everything would be
literally normal once more. The only real difference would be that
what would be normal come morning wouldn't exactly be what had been
normal this morning.
Whether or not Howie and Mitch had the necessary stamina to impregnate
the new girls was more or less irrelevant. Andrea wasn't overly
interested in finding out if that full day thing was true or not.
Whatever else happened to them during the night, Edie Joy and Barbie
Rae were still going to be around long after the sun rose in the
morning. During the night, they would be going through additional
physical changes and acquiring a new outward mental outlook. In the
morning, they'd be somewhat confused girls for a while, but they'd
quickly settle into their brand new lives as high school seniors, in
place of the two college girls she'd recast those middle-aged perverts
as earlier tonight.
They'd both know - how could it be any type of punishment if they
didn't? - that they'd once been lecherous male cops named Eddie Joe
and Bobby Ray, but, just as she'd told Joanna, they'd never be able to
tell anyone. While their male psyches would be unable to do anything
but silently watch, they would act just like the girls they appeared
to be. And everyone else in town would think they had always been
Edie Joy and Barbie Rae. They'd be assuming the roles of the pretty
girls every town seemed to have with such scandalous reputations that
men like they'd once been continually sought out for their company.
And there was a major plus side to them remaining girls.
Once reality altered during the night effectively erasing Eddie Joe
and Bobby Ray's existences from everyone's memories, her sister Joanna
would no longer be troubled with memories of either of the men who had
tried raping her. In addition, she would no longer recall that such
an attempt on her had been made. How could anyone possibly remember
something about what someone had done when no one could even recall
that that someone had ever existed?
But, as there always was, there was also a down side - of sorts.
Andrea knew she was probably going to lose all of her new powers. She
didn't know exactly how she knew what she now knew, but somehow she
just knew with an absolute certainty that she wasn't supposed to have
these powers yet. It wasn't right. And yet, relinquishing them for a
while would probably be just as well in the long run; her own actions
tonight had already convinced her she wasn't really ready to accept
the great responsibility her powers represented.
But with that same odd sense of absolute certainty, she also knew she
could retain her powers - if she really wanted to retain them. But to
do that would mean having to remember the real reason she now knew had
caused her powers to manifest earlier than they should have. When
asked, their mother had told them several times they needed to become
women first, but she had never elaborated on what that meant. But
with all other things being equal, Andrea didn't want to remember
being raped by Eddie Joe and Bobby Ray less than a week after their
aborted attempt on Joanna.
Besides, if just one person other than those transformed continued
remembering Bobby Ray and Eddie Joe as they'd been, there was always
an outside chance they might someday be restored,
After seeing how the justice in the town of her birth had thoroughly
worked over her innocent sister, incredibly making her the villain
instead of the victim, Andrea had quickly decided against making that
same mistake. As a result, she'd kept quiet about being raped, just
as so many other girls in town had done before her. Other than the
three of them - and she wasn't totally sure about them - nobody knew
Eddie Joe and Bobby Ray had raped her.
What they'd done to her that night wasn't fair. Apparently, they
hadn't even wanted her - they'd kept calling her 'Joanna' or 'bitch'
as they'd repeatedly penetrated her and laughed. And everything
they'd done to her had only made her more and more angry with them.
But what could she - they were both so much larger and stronger - have
possibly done to stop them?
Nothing at the time. And even worse, the town probably wouldn't have
believed Eddie Joe and Bobby Ray had raped her any more than they'd
believed Joanna.
But then, it had been the rape - not their first period as she and
Joanna had both expected, only to be disappointed - that had made her
a woman. Not long afterwards, her powers had begun manifesting.
Although it had made no sense to her at the time, what had happened
explained their parents' odd sense of relief, as well as their first
question, when first notified Joanna had been attacked.
And, although Andrea had always been taught that seeking revenge was
wrong, she'd decided - since no one else ever likely would - to get
even with them. They were going to pay for what they'd done to her
and Joanna and all the other girls. Not only would they be paying
for a long time, they were never again going to rape another girl.
Consequently, when she awoke in the morning, she'd be just like
everyone else in the world; she'd no longer have any memories - good
or bad - of Eddie Joe and Bobby Ray. But that was probably for the
best. Otherwise, she knew eventually she'd start feeling sorry for
them.
Other than deep in their own minds, neither of them would have ever
existed. And their rape of her, which had caused the premature
development of her powers, would have never happened. She wondered
briefly if regaining her virginity would hurt, but quickly realized
that she'd never even know she'd ever lost it in the first place.
Even better news for everyone else in town, none of the other unsolved
rapes those two perverts had committed and covered up over the past
several years would have happened either. At the morning's first
light, several other things were probably going to be significantly
different around town. Only no one would ever realize that something
had changed.
But losing her powers until she was old enough to use them wisely and
more responsibly was a small price to pay for ridding the world
forever of two loathsome perverts like Eddie Joe and Bobby Ray. With
them gone, the peace of mind of every girl in town would increase,
even though no one would ever notice.
And Andrea was also firmly convinced that it would be better for her
if she gained her powers through an act of love rather than an act of
violence.
Andrea yawned.
It had been a really long day and she was tired, but she couldn't help
thinking she'd forgotten something that needed being done. But
whatever it was couldn't have been overly important. She never forgot
anything that was really important. Maybe it was just the excitement
of the junior varsity cheerleader tryouts tomorrow afternoon.
That must be it, decided Andrea. But that's really kind of strange -
I don't really remember wanting to be a cheerleader or even deciding
to tryout for the junior varsity cheerleading squad. And yet it might
actually be a lot of fun being a cheerleader; boys always seemed to be
attracted to cheerleaders.
And if that wasn't what it was, then whatever was bothering her could
certainly wait until morning.
But as sleep gradually overtook her, her sleepy mind focused briefly
on two male faces. Strangely, they seemed very familiar. But they
also appeared to be of college age. She couldn't recall having met
either of them, and she didn't think she would have ever forgotten a
couple of hunks. Besides, where would she have ever met any college
boys around her?
* * * * * *
Mitch Wilson awoke with a sudden start.
What an utterly fantastic night he'd just had. His mind was still
abuzz with thoughts of her. In his entire life, he'd never known
anyone as totally incredible or absolutely insatiable in bed as Barbie
had been with him. She was most definitely one exceptionally hot
babe; something she more than obviously knew quite well.
But as Mitch opened his eyes, he wondered where he was. Although he
didn't recognize this room he was in, he was certain it wasn't the
motel room where he'd taken Barbie after leaving the frat party early.
It was an odd-looking room; it seemed more like a room that belonged
to a teenage girl.
But what was he doing here?
And more to the point, just where the hell was here?
As he turned his head slightly, he saw Barbie still sleeping
peacefully beside him. Although she still looked absolutely great,
she looked different somehow. And then Mitch realized she appeared to
be several years younger than she'd been last night. But that just
wasn't possible; nobody got younger overnight. Mitch began wondering
if Barbie had lied to him about her age last night; it wouldn't have
been the first time a pretty girl had lied just to be with him.
But regardless of her current youthful appearance, Mitch had totally
believed Barbie was a college girl last night. And she just as
obviously wasn't one this morning. Mitch knew he was headed for a
hell of a lot of trouble now - that is, if anyone found out and he
was convinced someone would. Barbie was very obviously underaged and
most definitely oversexed and overdeveloped. But that would make no
difference to the law. She might have been an eager and more than
willing bed partner, but statutory rape was still rape. And that
would also raise a morals issue, which would be a more than sufficient
reason to get him booted off the football team.
And yet, Mitch was convinced he'd taken Barbie to a motel last night.
He even remembered the man at the motel leering at her.
How had she got him to her room?
Why hadn't he noticed she was underage last night?
But on the other hand, she definitely hadn't looked so young last
night.
Before Mitch could make a move to get out of the strange bed, the
still soundly sleeping Barbie rolled over towards him. As her arm
slid slowly across his waist, he began experiencing tingly sensations
all over. They made him feel really good. And he also felt a
tremendous surge of incredible pleasure rushing through his body
unlike anything he'd ever felt before.
Mitch sighed, as Barbie's soft hands rose slowly upwards from his
waist. He couldn't believe how good it felt, when she began gently
caressing his full firm breasts.
Breasts?
As soon as he realized what she was doing to him and how it was making
him feel, his eyes suddenly grew wide in puzzled astonishment. "What
the hell is going on?" he whispered, even as he leapt awkwardly from
the bed. Standing dumbfounded before the mirror, he muttered, "I must
be dreaming; this can't possibly be true."
For several additional minutes, Mitch could only stare at his naked
reflection in stunned disbelief. Even knowing what he saw in the
mirror was quite impossible, he appeared to have transformed sometime
during the night. He now had long hair the same blode shade as
Barbie's. He also had a pair of bigger-than-average sized tits. Even
though they weren't nearly as large as Barbie's, the fact remained
that there was still a matching pair of humungous tits hanging proudly
from his now hairless chest. Even worse, his dick had also vanished
during the night; in its place he now had a moist pussy. And making
something already bad even worse, he also appeared to be younger than
he should. The image he saw in the mirror didn't make any sense. How
could it? He was a girl who didn't look much older than fifteen
himself. He didn't want to believe what the mirror insistently kept
showing him. It was impossible. Wasn't it? Somehow during the night
he'd lost about a decade of his life. And during that impossible
process of becoming younger, he'd also become - just as impossibly -
a girl.
Mitch turned from the mirror and glared at the sleeping Barbie. She
must have done this to me somehow, he swiftly concluded. Although I
don't know how she could have done this, she must be responsible for
my being turned into this young girl. Scrambling quickly back to the
bed, Mitch roughly shook Barbie shoulders. "Wake up, bitch! What the
hell did you do to me last night?" he screamed.
Barbie's eyes slowly opened. Confused surprise clearly showed in her
blue eyes as she looked sleepily about the room. "Where am I?" she
asked Mitch. But then, she sat up and stared at him. "And just who
the hell are you?"
Mitch glared back at her. "You know damn well who I am."
"I do?" Barbie - her hand absently fondling one of her breasts -
looked even more puzzled than before. Although she didn't think she
knew this strange girl, she did, quite oddly, seem very familiar.
"Of course you know me. We met at the frat party last night," replied
Mitch. "I don't know how you managed to do this, but I know you must
have done this to me." He held his newly slimmed arms out from his
body. "Why?"
"I don't know what the hell you're talking about; I've never been to
a college frat party, although I'd imagine I'll be going to several
of them once I've graduated from high school. And just what the hell
do you think I did to you?" asked Barbie nervously.
"Isn't it fairly obvious?" snarled Mitch, as he wondered how this girl
could have duped him so thoroughly. "You did something last night
that turned me into a girl."
Barbie's mouth dropped open. "You must be crazy," said Barbie. This
odd girl really worried her; she might be capable of doing anything.
"Could you explain something to me? How could I, or anyone else for
that matter, have possibly changed you into a girl. You must know
something like that's totally impossible." And yet worriedly, Barbie
shook her head. Although she knew this strange girl's story of being
a boy changed into a girl couldn't possibly be true, something about
it seemed vaguely familiar and that disturbed her. "And now, if you
wouldn't mind, would you kindly tell me how you got into my room?"
My room wondered Barbie?
Even though it couldn't be overly important, Barbie wondered why she
hadn't recognized this as her room before now.
"I don't really know how I got here. I just woke up here in the bed
next to you a little bit ago," replied Mitch. "I figured you must
have brought me here yourself for some reason."
"And just why would I do something dumb like that?" asked Barbie
snidely. "Since you obviously haven't noticed, you're a girl. And
I'm a girl. I'm not really into other girls - never have; never will.
And if you want some proof, just go into town and ask any boy you
happen to see."
"But I'm not a girl," objected Mitch, even as he casually swept
several silken strands of his blonde hair away from the front of his
face. "Well, I wasn't last night."
"Oh, really." Although Barbie's eyebrow raised in apparent surprise,
Mitch thought he could see something in her eyes that told him she
believed him. But her next words swiftly shot that notion down in
flames. "With that body and those big boobs you certainly could have
fooled me, girl. Just how old are you anyway?" she asked curiously.
"Twe..." began Mitch, wanting to answer twenty-four. But he suddenly
and inexplicably was unable to finish answering her question as he'd
intended. But after shaking his head, he finally answered her
question with a simple, "Fifteen." But he wondered why he'd told
Barbie he was fifteen, because deep down he knew that, regardless of
how young he looked at the moment, he wasn't really fifteen.
So why had he told Barbie he was fifteen, when he knew he wasn't?
Feeling a momentary dizziness, Mitch's mind swirled rapidly as it
sought a simple and logical answer to this dilemma of his age. And
after only a few seconds had passed, his mind had found its simple
and logical explanation. He'd just told Barbie that he was fifteen,
because he really was fifteen. In fact, he'd just celebrated his
fifteenth birthday last week. How much simpler a reason could there
be for him telling her he was fifteen. Although it seemed somewhat
peculiar, he'd obviously merely forgotten about having his birthday.
Mitch suddenly felt very relieved that, aside from his still being a
girl, there was nothing else wrong with him.
"You know, girl, if you're going to insist on sticking around here for
a while, I really need something to call you. Do you have a name?"
asked Barbie. "I really doubt you'll enjoy having to continually
answer to 'hey you' or 'girl' for very long. That kind of shit tends
to get awful stale pretty damn fast."
"But you already know my name," answered Mitch, fighting back a new
surge of dizziness. "It's Molly," he said. With an expression of
total surprise etched across his face, he looked across at Barbie. He
wondered why he'd told her that. "My name is Molly," he repeated.
"Molly Wilson." Molly suddenly shook his head. His name being Molly
still didn't sound right to him for some strange reason. But at the
same time, if his name wasn't actually Molly, then what could it be?
He couldn't recall ever answering to a name other than Molly.
"Wow! I don't believe it!" exclaimed Barbie, an odd faraway look
showing in her eyes for an instant. "This is really starting to get
strange. That's my name too."
"Oh, it is not," snapped Molly in mild annoyance. "You're just a damn
little liar. I know your name isn't Molly like mine. I know your
name is Barbie."
"I know that too, you silly little twit," replied an equally annoyed
Barbie. "I didn't mean my name was Molly. It's just that Wilson's my
last name too. Don't you think that's really strange the two of us
having the same name."
Since when did your last name become Wilson thought Molly? He
couldn't exactly remember what her last name really was - had she even
given him one last night? - but he knew damn well it wasn't Wilson.
He would have remembered something like that. Molly suddenly glared
at Barbie with disgust. "Well, I really don't think your last name
being Wilson is all that strange, Barbie," he replied, surprising
himself. "Or don't you remember? Your last name is Wilson because
we have the same parents; you're my older sister."
Barbie looked over at Molly again. Suddenly, she kind of vaguely
remembered having a little sister. And this odd girl with her blonde
hair and big boobs did sort of look like a younger version of her.
But Barbie still had an issue that needed to be settled with this girl
before she could accept Molly as her sister. "If you're supposed to
be my little sister, as you've just now claimed, then you must really
be a girl," she said smugly.
Molly's mind briefly spun seeking new answers. Hadn't he already been
down this long path with Barbie before? But then, his older sister
had never had a very long attention span - unless there was a boy
involved. "Duh!!" Molly finally replied as her mind found its answer.
"I really don't know what it is about you, Barbie, but sometimes you
can be really weird... even for you. Of course, I'm a girl. We're
sisters aren't we? And the last time I checked, in order for us to be
sisters we both must be girls. Didn't we just spend all last night
sitting on your bed and talking about boys - that is your most
favorite subject in the whole wide world, isn't it? I guess we must
have fallen asleep on your bed sometime last night."
Barbie shook her head. "That kinda makes sense. I do sort of
remember talking about something with someone somewhere last night. I
guess it could have been boys with you right here in my room, Molly."
After considering her little sister's - she now totally accepted her
as such - explanation of what had happened last night, Barbie thought
it sounded as plausible as any other reason. But after looking down
at the clock radio on her dresser, she frowned. "The alarm never went
off. We'd better hurry and get ready for school. We wouldn't want to
be late."
For just an instant, being a sophomore at Danlinger High School didn't
seem quite right. Wasn't she in college? But how could she be in
college? She was only fifteen. "I wish we didn't have to go to
school today," replied Molly sullenly, still sounding vaguely troubled
at the thought of attending high school.
Glancing at herself in her older sister's full-length mirror as she
passed, Molly wondered how Barbie could have ever doubted she was a
girl? After all, they were sisters. And it should have been totally
obvious to anyone looking at her that she was a girl. After all, if
she were not a girl, then she'd have to be a boy; there were no other
alternatives in this universe to choose from. As she slid her hand
onto her hip and posed briefly before the mirror, she glanced back at
her sister and smiled. "Just for the record, Barbie," she teased.
"How many boys do you know that look anywhere near as good as me?"
Barbie quickly smiled back. "For the record? Why none, of course,
Molly dear. But that's very fortunate for them; I don't think a boy
looking like you could ever be happy. I really hope I never run
across one of them either. I also doubt I could ever be interested
in any boy that looked like my little sister. Besides, if he had his
own boobs, he'd probably be more interested in playing with them than
mine."
For several minutes, the two sisters laughed at the totally ludicrous
thought of some unsuspecting boy suddenly having to deal with breasts
as large as theirs. They quickly decided he'd never be able to
survive.
Finally Molly left Barbie's room so they could both get ready for
school. On the way between Barbie's room and hers, Molly decided her
older sister had probably been yanking her chain all morning. That
made Molly smile. Barbie hadn't been so playful with her in a very
long time, but then, Barbie was so popular with nearly every boy in
town that the two of them seldom had any time for a really good
sister-to-sister chat.
But Molly also knew she had to hurry and get ready for school.
Whether or not she wanted to go, she knew she had to go to school
today. There was something - she didn't recall what it was exactly -
she had to do there today. And once her older sister was ready to
leave, Molly knew that Barbie wouldn't wait more than a few minutes
for her to get out to the car so they could be on their way.
* * * * * *
Having finished her hastily made breakfast, Molly was ready to head
for school. And, as she almost always was, she was ready to leave
several minutes before Barbie.
Throughout breakfast, Molly had the distinct impression that something
was bothering her sister. She was still acting kind of strange - at
least, stranger than was normal for her - this morning.
She'd even asked Molly where the kitchen was - as if it might have
somehow moved from where it had always been during the night.
But even weirder, Molly couldn't understand why her parents and her
sister had acted like they'd never met at first. But that couldn't
possibly be true; Barbie was their daughter. As far as she could tell
none of them were any different than they'd always been; they were
still the same Barbie, Mom, and Dad that she remembered.
However, by the time they'd all finished eating breakfast, everything
appeared to be back to normal - more or less - between them. Their
father had even kissed both of his girls on the cheek before he'd
left for work.
As the girls left the house, heading for Barbie's car, Molly saw
Edie Foster waiting for them. But at least that was something not
overly unusual. Edie didn't have her own car yet and she almost
always bummed a ride to school with them.
And yet, if there were something that might be considered unusual
about Edie and Barbie, it would have to be their friendship. At first
glance, no one would have ever guessed they could be such really good
friends.
>From what Molly could tell, Edie and her sister seemed to be engaged
in a long running contest. For those who didn't know them as well as
she did, it might have seemed an odd contest for two girls to be
playing. Which of them could score with the most boys in town almost
seemed a game more likely to be played by boys. Although Molly didn't
know who was ahead in their game, she doubted either of them knew
either. She wouldn't have been surprised finding out they'd never
kept score. Molly didn't think Barbie or Edie even cared who was
ahead or behind or even whether or not they won or lost. As long as
each of them kept getting everything she wanted, they'd always be
perfectly content with things the way they were.
After opening the car door, Edie turned and shouted over her shoulder.
"C'mon slowpoke! Could you please try hurrying up for once in your
life? Why are you always so slow day after day."
"I don't know, Edie," replied a girl's voice shyly. Very strangely,
the girl's soft voice sounded both familiar and unfamiliar at the same
time to Molly. "I guess it's just the way I am, Edie."
"Helen?" asked Molly hesitantly, as she stared at the girl about her
own age who'd just arrived. "Is that really you, Helen?" But for a
fleeting moment, Molly had had the strangest notion that Helen should
actually be someone else entirely and not Helen at all.
Feeling thoroughly bewildered, the girl glanced over in Molly's
direction. "Of course it's me, Molly," she answered with a shy smile.
"I mean, other than my older sister Edie, just who do you know that
consistently gives me a hard time about my slowness?"
"No one I guess," replied Molly. "But you wanna know something really
strange? For a couple of seconds, I actually thought you should be
someone else instead of you."
Helen stared back at Molly. "I think there must be something strange
going around here, Molly. Would you believe, I was just thinking the
very same thing about you? Isn't that really weird?"
"It sure is," agreed Molly. "I wonder if whatever it is has affected
everybody in town or just us? I mean you and I have know