《Portal Problems》 The New Girl

My Science Professor Built A Portal To Other Worlds, And It¡¯s Bringing Along A Lot Of Problems

The New Girl Marcus anxiously opened his phone¡¯s home screen again, checking the date. Yep, Wednesday 19th of May. His birthday was on Saturday, and he was kind of dreading it. It just meant one more year in nowhere-high school, stuck in a town right at the limit between a proper city and the rural world. Almost nothing but villages and cereal fields for the next 50 miles in all directions. So he was loitering in front of the high school gate, waiting as usual for his bus to arrive. The orange hues of the evening started to make themselves known in the sky. Even he knew each bus barely reached half the seats filled every day. The entire region was emptying out a bit more every year, families leaving the countryside for a shot at finding jobs or better education elsewhere. And here he was, stuck there for at least a year more, as his parents expected him to find a temp job for the sake of experience before being allowed to go in further studies. The bus Marcus was waiting for was late as usual, leading him to look down at his phone once again. ¡°Damn it, it¡¯s already half past six.¡± He muttered absently, biting at a nail. His dad was going to get mad at his lateness again, questioning him ceaselessly over it as if it was his fault. The few students left about were all waiting for the same bus as him, and he couldn¡¯t help but eavesdrop. They were talking about their plans for the summer, the clean shaven brown-haired guy and the short blond girl were graduating apparently, and told their third friend they planned to go together at some school whose name he didn¡¯t recognise. Marcus wanted to sigh. It was near the end of his junior year and he still barely knew the name of any other student here, apart from his classmates, which included his few friends Jules and Sam.Support creative writers by reading their stories on Royal Road, not stolen versions. His phone vibrated in his hand and he turned his attention back on it. It was a message from Jules. ¡°Bus still not here yet? Wanna come in?¡±. He turned his gaze to his friend¡¯s house, who lived in the same street as the school, and indeed there he was waving from his window. Marcus usually took Jules up on his offer, but he didn¡¯t feel like playing yet another session of gun blazing FPS action. ¡°nah¡±, Marcus typed back, ¡°im sure it wont take long now Bsides i got homework 2 do¡±. The reply came quickly. ¡°Your loss. See you tomorrow!¡±. Marcus sat on a nearby bench, setting his schoolbag besides him. The other students were now silently checking their respective phones. The bus couldn¡¯t come any sooner¡­ After a couple minutes, someone caught his eye in his peripheral vision. Climbing the slope leading to the parking lot in front of the gate was a young woman he had never seen before. As she got closer, he could make out more details of her: she was wearing black clothes, and had fiery red hair that looked dyed, falling to her neck. Well, her clothes weren¡¯t entirely black, her denim rider was covered in button badges depicting various album covers, and her striped stockings alternated between black and purple. Her massive boots were making a clicking noise as she walked in the direction of the school: they were covered in little metal bits and baubles, such as little chains flowing on each side. She had piercings on her ears, nose and even one on her lower lip, and she was wearing a very light layer of makeup around her eyes. As she passed by Marcus, she threw him a polite smile and a quick salute, before turning her head back to the path ahead of her. Marcus hazarded a guess. Was she a new student or something? The principal was not going to react kindly to her punk aesthetic, that was for sure. Turning his head to the other students, Marcus started to mutter ¡°Did anyone else see¡­¡±, but considering their absence of reaction they probably hadn¡¯t paid attention neither to the girl nor his question. He let out a sigh, and turned his head back in the direction she¡¯d went. She looked cool, right? It must take boldness to come to school with these kind of clothes. She looked intimidating, and she was rocking it with a smile. Marcus could only wish he had half of her confidence. His train of thought was interrupted by his bus finally arriving. Climbing aboard, he threw a last glance in the direction of the school before taking a seat. Home Life Home Life ¡°Oh, so the bus was late again? How many times do you think you can get away with using this excuse, Marcus?¡± Accused his father with an angry glance. ¡°But it is the truth, dad...¡± He half heartedly replied. They¡¯d had this conversation hundred of times already . Marcus was just waiting for his dad¡¯s tirade about respecting public servants- ¡°You need to show respect for public workers, Marcus. They work tirelessly every day to make sure you can go on with your life, and all you do is accuse them and lie about them just to get out of trouble.¡± Said Marcus¡¯s dad, almost if on cue. Marcus stayed silent. It really was what happened, the bus driver was regularly late. In fact, it was rarer for him to be on time than anything else. He tried to get his mom¡¯s sympathy, but she didn¡¯t look up from her knitting. ¡°Now Marcus, I want you to tell me what actually happened.¡± His dad demanded. After a few seconds of silence, he made up a lie. ¡°I missed the bus and had to come back on foot.¡± At least that way, it wouldn¡¯t suggest he had ran off to do something else instead of waiting at the school¡¯s gate -which, again, was what had happened anyway. ¡°Ah, see honey, it¡¯s way better when you¡¯re honest.¡± His mom butted in with pretend-obliviousness, dropping her needles and yarn on the couch before standing up as well as her legs allowed to. ¡°Now, how about we get to the supper?¡± A short time after stuffing his face with what little grub was considered the last meal of the day in this house, desiring not to spend one more moment with his parents than he needed to, Marcus climbed upstairs and entered his room, second door on the right. He threw his school bag on his desk, opened it and started his homework for tomorrow. He decided to start with maths. It was his favorite subject, and he wasn¡¯t half-bad at it, to say the least.Reading on Amazon or a pirate site? This novel is from Royal Road. Support the author by reading it there. But five minutes had passed and all he was doing was drumming his pen on his desk, idly distracted by the punk girl from earlier. What was it about her that made him keep thinking of her? ...Well, it probably was self-evident, he thought. He had literally never seen someone sporting clothes like these before. He sighed. Maybe it should be his turn to leave the countryside, go see what the world out there looked like from his own eyes, rather than the screen of a tv or a computer. Long after dark - which came relatively early for the month of May - Marcus shoved his finished homework in his bag and glanced at his phone. Not too shabby, it was only 11PM. Maybe he had the time for a bit of browsing, maybe even join his online friends for a raid. Or two. It was at 6 AM that the tiresome alarm rang with a annoying, low quality mp3 of an old timey alarm clock. He had barely slept for four hours that night¡­ With a groan, Marcus told himself he¡¯d just have to catch some Zs in the bus. After a -mostly- uneventful breakfast (he successfully sneaked some coffee in his chocolate milk), Marcus was out the door and walking to the bus stop. Immediately, he cursed his late gaming session, as he felt like he was about to fall back asleep any moment. As he arrived to the bus station, he still had twenty minutes before the bus would too - and that¡¯s even considering it would be on time. He sat himself on the bench, struggling to keep his eyelids open. Well, maybe just closing them for five seconds¡­ The noise of a motor roaring back to full force suddenly awoke him. Marcus barely had the time to open his eyes and comprehend what was happening. ...Was the bus leaving without him? Despite the fact he clearly was waiting right at the stop, and could¡¯ve just needed a shove to be woken up and climb aboard? He was dumbfounded as the bus continued on, which to him, felt as if it was leaving him there out of spite. Marcus wanted to be so angry at the driver, so mad for how regularly he was late yet didn¡¯t wait for him the one time he needed it¡­ But he couldn¡¯t bring himself to. It was his own mistake that made him fall asleep, right? He convinced himself he was to take the blame here. One of his biggest fears was to grow resentful, he didn¡¯t need to tempt that into his life. Guess this journey on foot he¡¯d lied about yesterday was going to take place in the reverse direction, in the end¡­ At least the coffee had kicked in after his nap. He took out his phone and sent out a message to Jules and Sam, ¡°will be super l8 for class tell teachers k tks¡±. Corridor Meeting Corridor Meeting The school was finally in sight after a painful climb of the final stretch of his marathon. It was 11 AM - right in the middle of a school hour. The corridors were going to be deserted, and entering class was going to be awkward. Marcus groaned and wheezed, his bag straps feeling like cast iron weights on his shoulders. He had to pass by his locker quickly and drop off some of his books if he wanted to survive this day. Marcus exhaled, wiping his sweat off his forehead with the sleeve of his hoodie. Quickly entering his combination, he slouched forward to drop his bag in his locker, taking a moment to breathe. He swiftly opened the main pocket¡¯s zipper- Clonk. ¡°What just¡­?¡± He turned around. The noise seemed to have come from the janitor¡¯s room next to his locker. Did a bucket fall off a rack or something? Probably nothing to worry about- Another noise rose up. A single noise again, but Marcus had no idea how to describe it correctly, other than the sloppy sludge of a car motor revving up while stuck in jello. He stood completely still and felt tense, while the noise slowly grew quieter. He looked at the door for a bit: it was painted the same grey as the wall, had a small frosted glass window, and a triangular, yellow sign, with a stick figure using a mop that indicated the room¡¯s purpose. ¡°Ooh, what are you looking at?¡± asked a voice behind him. Marcus turned around and instantly recognised the girl from yesterday, pushing her head towards him with a smile. ¡°Ah, uh¡­¡± he tripped on his own words for a couple instants, ¡°I-I was wondering about the¡­ The door here.¡± He tentatively pointed to it with his thumb, before bringing it to his mouth to nervously nibble on his nail. ¡°Oh!¡± She exclaimed, walking towards the door inquisitively, Marcus following just behind. She looked at it for a couple moments and reached for the handle. ¡°What are you doing!?¡± Whispered Marcus in a panic, glancing back and forth between the two ends of the corridor - thankfully empty, besides them. ¡°Well what¡¯s the point of wondering when you can just open it?¡± She spoke as if it was self-evident. ¡°We¡¯re not going to investigate that noise, we have to get to cla-¡± Marcus managed to speak out before being interrupted by the punk girl. ¡°Oh, there was a noise too!? Well now we¡¯ve definitely got to open this up.¡± She pulled the handle down and opened the door¡­ But instead of facing a closet, all they found was a metallic stair leading down, tightly following a cement wall before turning a sharp angle to a barely visible floor. The only light in the room was downstairs, letting them spot a few tables with boxes on them through the handrails. The noise from earlier was barely audible again, accompanied by what sounded like someone thinking aloud to themself. ¡°C¡¯mon, let¡¯s go see.¡± Said the girl, gesturing to Marcus to follow her as she started to walk down the stairs. He didn¡¯t even have the time to properly grasp how bad of an idea his mind was telling him it was that he found himself following her reflexively.Unauthorized use of content: if you find this story on Amazon, report the violation. The room appeared to have been some sort of boiler room, reclaimed as a makeshift lab by a man in a lab coat. He didn¡¯t seem to have heard them descend due to the gigantic noise-blocking headphones he was wearing. Despite being faced with the man¡¯s back, Marcus instantly recognised the pretend-unkempt haircut adorning his head: it was his class¡¯s physics teacher, Mr. Robert. Boxes were filled with unrecognizable apparatus, most of them looking broken down, and certainly all of them lacking batteries or being unplugged. Adorning the wall opposite to the stairs was a gigantic, circular-looking contraption out of which dozens of cables of various sizes and colors were plugged in - this machine was the source of the noise, that had shifted to a now more recognizable low rumble, akin to a washing machine. Marcus froze up out of confusion. Well, it didn¡¯t feel like the situation warranted it, it was weird and he had a thousand questions about the logistics and legality of all this, but the room had an ominous air to it that he just plain didn¡¯t like. He looked at his right to the punk girl -who¡¯s name he still didn¡¯t know, he realized. She was glancing around the room, taking in the sight with an air of curiosity and awe. Mr. Robert opened a panel on the central machine, revealing a beat up monitor and keyboard. In fact, now that Marcus was looking at it, he noticed how scrappy the whole thing looked - it wasn¡¯t fragile by any means, but it was chaotically assembled from whatever must¡¯ve been laying around. ¡°Damn piece of crap autocorrection miscalculation¡­¡± muttered Mr. Robert, turning around... ¡°Oh.¡± he plainly exclaimed, noticing the teenagers. ¡°Shouldn¡¯t you two be in class?¡± he said, disinterestedly pointing in their general direction with the monkey wrench he had been holding. Mr. Robert was considered an eccentric by pretty much everyone in school, from the students to the professors, and even the administration. It was said the only reason he was employed here was due to a lack of local options. None of that had ever bothered Marcus, but that didn¡¯t mean it didn¡¯t traverse his mind whenever they met. Marcus stayed silent, searching for what exactly to say. He didn¡¯t exactly have the time to do this, though, as the girl instantly spoke up. ¡°Yeah yeah, we¡¯ll be going. But what¡¯s this place?¡± She asked. ¡°And what¡¯s this thing?¡± She pointed at the circular machine. ¡°Look, kids.¡± Mr. Robert replied, pinching the bridge of his nose. ¡°The principal does not want any student down there. I¡¯d gladly show you around anyway, but not while you¡¯re skipping hours.¡± ¡°Sorry.¡± Marcus stammered out, avoiding his teacher¡¯s glance by looking at the other student. She was checking the time on her phone. ¡°So we¡¯ll come back in¡­ Twenty-six minutes, right? During the morning break?¡± She enquired. ¡°If you want to, yeah, the lunch break would be fine too. Just make sure no one sees you enter.¡± Answered the teacher in his usual, mildly fatigued tone. ¡°Sure. See ya later doc!¡± Replied the girl with enthusiasm, turning around and climbing the stairs. Marcus promptly followed her. The whole scene had felt¡­ awkward to him. He went somewhere he wasn¡¯t supposed to, got more questions than answers, and was basically forced into coming back without getting a say in the matter. But it wasn¡¯t a bad thing somehow? He really wanted to know more now. ¡­.Maybe it was for the best he hadn¡¯t gotten an occasion to refuse Mr. Robert¡¯s offer, in a kind of roundabout way. ¡°Name¡¯s Lucie by the way.¡± stated the punk girl as they got back in the corridor. ¡°Yours?¡± ¡°I¡¯m, ah¡­ Marcus. It¡¯s a pretty bad name, I know.¡± He replied with the answer he gave everyone that asked. ¡°How so?¡± She questioned, with a sudden air of concern. Marcus sighed. ¡°I don¡¯t¡­ really know. I just never liked it.¡± ¡°Well, why don¡¯t you just get a new one?¡± ¡°Wh¡­¡± He thought about it for a second. ¡°Wow, I kinda never considered that.¡± He quickly wondered why exactly this sounded so normal, even though he¡¯d barely just learned it was an option. ¡°Did you do something similar when you were younger?¡± He asked. ¡°Kinda had to.¡± Lucie replied nonchalantly. ¡°Anyway, in twenty minutes or at lunch break?¡± He frowned. ¡°I¡¯ll need to take the break to catch back on my math and french classes of this morning, you know, learn what homework was given, make photocopies of a friend¡¯s notebook and... And all that¡­¡± ¡°Okay, okay, no need for your entire life story.¡± She teased. ¡°I¡¯ll see you at lunch break!¡± With a quick wave of the hand, she was off to her classes, going the direction opposite to where Marcus¡­ To where he needed to go. Getting back to his locker, he dropped off his books and went to his own class. Lunch Reunion Lunch Reunion ¡°So yeah,¡± Continued Jules while stuffing his fork overflowing with spaghetti in his mouth. ¡°Mrs. Howart was bummed out you weren¡¯t there. She didn¡¯t manage to keep up with all the people requiring help with the exercise today.¡± He looked up from his friends¡¯s notes to answer. ¡°Eh. I don¡¯t really get why¡­ This looks pretty easy as usual.¡± ¡°Heh, of course Marcus the math nerd would say that.¡± Jules snickered. ¡°Ah, actually, I wondered if¡­¡± He tentatively started, unsure about his own decision. Sam dropped his enormous hand on his shoulder. ¡°Something the matter?¡± Asked the colossus of few words. ¡°Nothing- I mean no, not nothing, but¡­ Not much either, ah¡­¡± He started to mumble, trying to get out of the awkwardness he had just created. ¡°Come on dude, looks pretty important to me if it¡¯s making you hesitate like this. What¡¯s the deal?¡± Asked Jules with a mischievous smile. He realised Jules was probably expecting some gossip. ¡°It¡¯s nothing like that! It¡¯s just¡­ I¡­ I don¡¯t like my name.¡± He felt Sam¡¯s hand shifting to his upper back, trying to put him at ease. ¡°Yeah, we know. Was there new development on that front?¡± Enquired Jules, now sporting a concerned frown. He paused for a moment, gathering his thoughts, and took a breath to calm himself. ¡°I¡¯d like if you didn¡¯t use that name for me anymore.¡± His friends stayed silent momentarily, which was unusual for one of the two. Sam looked as usual, distant yet deeply invested, Jules ended the pause with a relaxed sigh. ¡°Sure. What should we call you then?¡± ¡°I¡­ Don¡¯t actually know yet.¡± ¡°That might be a problem.¡± Jules shrugged. ¡°I mean, we can try just not calling you anything through clever phrasing, but that¡¯s not exactly sustainable, is it?¡± It was true, but¡­ He didn¡¯t answer. He couldn¡¯t. He didn¡¯t have a name in mind, and whatever came up in his head didn¡¯t feel right. ¡°Just for today, okay? I¡¯ll¡­ Find something before tomorrow. If I don¡¯t, just¡­ Just call me Marcus again, I¡¯ll stomach it.¡± He smiled, feeling an uncomfortable tug at his heart.This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere. ¡°...Anyway, how¡¯s your team doing, Sam?¡± Queried Jules. It had become an habit to ask that question at every lunch, as otherwise Sam would barely say anything. ¡°Training¡¯s good.¡± Replied Sam. ¡°Still don¡¯t think 4-4-2 is correct for the next match, but that¡¯s what coach has been making us focus on last night.¡± He continued on, describing how each of his teammates were doing. As usual, the discussion was a bit too technical for his friends to be able to completely follow, but they were simply happy that Sam had this outlet for opening up. The conversation continued, changing topic every once in a while. Their trays were barely emptying up, Sam was listening to Jules going on about the new RPG that came out, while the last person at the table was deep in his notes, copying word for word the lessons he¡¯d missed this morning like a dutiful scribe. He was pulled out of his trance by the sound of metal clicking he now recognised. He raised his eyes just a bit and caught a glance of the incriminating boots - yep, Lucie was walking straight towards them, her own tray in hand. ¡°Hail and well met, Knights of the Lunch Table. Mind if I join your little party?¡± she jokingly said to break the ice. Jules immediately hit it off. ¡°Well excuuuse me, princess, but this warmachine in shining armor you¡¯re ogling right now has been finely oiled over lifetimes! Indeed, my noggin and body contains the experience of hundred of heroes- from mere princess-obsessed handymen to literal gods!¡± he retorted with humor. ¡°Gosh, lucky me.¡± replied Lucie, sitting down across Sam. ¡°Name¡¯s Lucie.¡± ¡°I¡¯m Jules, and the lad in front of you¡¯s Sam. He¡¯s a bit timid, you¡¯ll have to excuse him.¡± The aforementioned threw out a half-smile and a quick hand gesture to the girl. ¡°And that last one¡¯s¡­¡± Jules¡¯s eyes lit up with an idea. ¡°Call him N, for Nobody.¡± ¡°Hello again, ¡®Nobody¡¯.¡± she said with a knowing smile. N, who took on the moniker immediately, blushed. ¡°Ah come on, you should¡¯ve started with that.¡± Blurted Jules with a mock annoyance that ¡®Nobody¡¯ felt might have actually been genuine. ¡°You know each other?¡± ¡°We¡¯ve met this morning. And we¡¯re supposed to go somewhere before the end of lunch break.¡± Lucie said, though N thought it wasn¡¯t really wise to reveal that. ¡°Hey, maybe you guys could come with us too.¡± ¡°What!? That¡¯s not on you to decide, that¡¯s on Mr. Robert!¡± He almost shouted before catching himself and toning the volume back to that of a regular conversation. ¡°Ah come on, if he¡¯s fine with us he won¡¯t mind them either. Worst case scenario a half-assed lecture, from what I¡¯ve seen of the guy.¡± ¡°What does Mr. Robert want to show you?¡± Plainly asked Sam, glancing at the two people arguing. ¡°Some sort of teleportation device, I think!¡± Affirmed Lucie, eyes beaming. ¡°Oh come on, that just does not exist. It¡¯s probably a¡­¡± N thought for a moment, searching for an explanation that existed within the realm of the possible. ¡°...A complex hologram screen at best.¡± Jules and Sam looked a bit lost in all this. Lucie leaned towards Jules and mock-whispered ¡°You really need to teach him how to have an imagination.¡± Jules giggled, but Sam was having none of it. He grabbed onto his friend like a mother bear shielding her cub. ¡°Come on. That¡¯s just not fair to say.¡± The mischief makers glanced away, now feeling kinda guilty. They finished their meal quite quickly, the conversation struggling to start back up for a while. N put his notebook back in his bag, and was the first one to stand up, grabbing his tray to deposit it atop the neat pile that started to accumulate from the other students that had already left the cafeteria. He then waited at the door for the rest of the gang to do the same. Once they were all regrouped, Jules spoke up. ¡°So, time to see Mr. Robert¡¯s thing then?¡± Lucie nodded, and they walked back to the main building. Mad Explanation Mad Explanation Lucie ended up leading the group, with Jules right at her heels and Sam trailing slightly behind N. The corridor wasn¡¯t exactly empty this time, but nobody seemed to pay them any attention - she opened the door, the four of them got in and she closed it back in its original position, as if it was a shelf leading to a secret passage. Since Jules and Sam were slowing down to glance around, N found himself as the front of the group, and he descended the stairs to the main room. Mr. Robert seemed to have been taking a nap on a chair he probably had taken from a classroom, but the noise from all of them arriving down awoke him. ¡°Should¡¯ve expected you¡¯d bring your whole group.¡± Mr. Robert sighed, his eyes rolling. ¡°Teenagers.¡± He stretched and stood up, walked towards his machine. ¡°So¡­ What¡¯s this thing then?¡± asked Jules, as the professor crawled under a desk to turn on a few multi-sockets. ¡°Right now, just a pile of scrap metal that doesn¡¯t know the damn difference between floor and ceiling rounding.¡± The teacher stood back up, barely avoiding hitting his head on the bottom of the desk. ¡°But in a few hours, kids, that thing¡¯s gonna be a portal to other universes.¡± No matter how triumphantly Mr. Robert was wagging his finger, it didn¡¯t affect the four students¡¯ reactions. Lucie was in total awe, Jules was processing all the possibilities, Sam was stoic as ever, and N looked totally confused. ¡°You¡¯re¡­ Joking, right? Like, there¡¯s no way that kind of thing exists¡­¡± N muttered in protestation. Lucie was excitedly hopping about, barely holding back a shriek of amazement. ¡°It sounds like a clear breach of the rules of physics, doesn¡¯t it?¡± boasted the professor. ¡°But it¡¯s not that the portal breaks the rules, it¡¯s that what we thought were the rules were wrong.¡± He added with confidence.This story originates from a different website. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there. ¡°So that means... other universes exist out there? Like, multiverse, slightly different versions of the same universe as us?¡± Questioned Jules. ¡°No, it¡¯s not really like that. Turns out the multiverse is less like an identical universe over and over with minor variations, and more like grapes - a bunch of radically different universes floating next to one another, with other grapes even further and out of reach even for my machine.¡± He paused. ¡°Well, for now, that is.¡± ¡°Is it dangerous?¡± Asked Sam, taking a step forward. ¡°Don¡¯t worry. I¡¯m not putting anyone in there until I know for sure it¡¯s not gonna break down in the middle of it or something.¡± Reassured the professor. ¡°Essentially, it¡¯s just a very long range teleporter.¡± ¡°Oh! Ooh!! Show us how it works! Please?¡± Demanded Lucie, a gigantic smile on her face. ¡°I would, but... not during school hours. Plus, I just said I need to fix something with the code first.¡° Said Mr Robert, back to his usual half-absent look on his face. ¡°...You can come back at 6PM, alright?¡± Lucie nodded, and Jules did the same after checking his schedule. But N had an objection. ¡°Hold on! Hold on. I only came back because I didn¡¯t get a chance to refuse this morning.¡± Lucie looked at him, dejected. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, this is just- this is just too abnormal for me. I can¡¯t do this.¡± He argued, rubbing his face to wash away the fatigue that had been creeping up since the start of the explanations. Sam put his hand on his shoulder to keep him calm, and Jules joined in quickly enough. ¡°It¡¯s alright, dude. Nobody¡¯s gonna force you if you¡¯re uneasy.¡± Jules said, before switching to whispering. ¡°I mean, you¡¯re probably not gonna be missing much, what are the chances this thing works anyway, right?¡± He went back to a normal volume. ¡°It¡¯s fine. I¡¯ll tell you about it tonight, okay?¡± ¡°Thanks.¡± N sighed, and turned to Sam, wanting his opinion. The tall student took a moment to notice N was waiting for a comment from him. ¡°I have to be there. Just in case something bad goes wrong.¡± This answer surprised him, but the explanation offered did fit Sam¡¯s character. ¡°As your friend Jules said, I won¡¯t force you to be here if you don¡¯t want to, Marcus.¡± stated Mr. Robert. ¡°It¡¯s not like you should be here anyway, but I¡¯ll be damned the day I let the principal decide for me what I can or can¡¯t do.¡± He muttered to himself. The bell rang, signaling the end of the lunch break. N sighed in relief and was the first to go for the stairs. He just needed to distance himself from all this and cool off a bit. Jules and Sam followed him quickly enough, but Lucie stayed behind to discuss with the professor a little more. Eventually lockers were opened, bags were grabbed, the correct books were put in, and the three of them got on their way. Accidental Release Accidental Release N¡¯s phone told him it was 10 past 6. The bus was late. Again. And he felt so¡­ fidgety. It felt to him like he was wasting his time, but not in the same manner as usual. Not just sitting and getting bored as stuff failed to happen around him, but that instead stuff was happening, but he had refused to partake. But¡­ So what!? So what if he¡¯d been distracted by it all afternoon? It had been his choice. It was dangerous. It was ridiculous. He didn¡¯t want any part of it. Like, what, a portal to other worlds? A likely story. The biggest consequence it would probably have would be a blown fuse or something like that. He found himself biting his nails and crossing his legs, looking at the horizon. The sky was the same hues as yesterday - perhaps a bit more sanguine-looking at best. 12 past 6. His left foot was now silently tapping against the asphalt. The bench he was sitting on was crummy, and the people from yesterday ditched sticking around this time, so he had no conversation to distract himself from his thoughts with. Still 12 past 6. Damn it. Okay, so¡­ Maybe he was regretting his choice a bit. But only because he had nothing else to do. It would¡¯ve been good for a laugh after it failed to work, right? ...Probably not. He really, really wasn¡¯t the kind of person to laugh at other people¡¯s misfortunes. 13 past 6¡­ He told himself he was going to stop checking his phone so often like this. After a moment, he felt a wave of resignation crash upon him. This whole thing just¡­ sucked. He was trying to understand what his brain was telling him, but the only thing he got out of the jumbled mess of thoughts was that he felt like a damn coward... He had no reason to! That¡¯s not even what cowardice is! ...What even is cowardice anyway? A roundabout way to mock following one¡¯s survival instincts? He wanted to huff, but that¡¯d have been unlike him. But yeah. He was regretting it. Why did he even refuse? He slouched on the bench a bit. He thought of Sam. Of Jules. Of Lucie, too. Were they helping with the preparations, or only watching? Was it finished already? Had it failed? Had they been sucked into another world by accident? Urrgh. Morbid thought. He felt a shiver crawling down his spine. He looked down. He could feel his torso rising and lowering with each of his breaths. They were drawn out, slowly eroding his desire to stay put. He looked down on his phone one last time. 17 past 6. Still no sign of the bus. He stood up, and walked back in the direction of the main building. Walking through the corridors of the school, N felt an eerie tenseness. The air smelled different¡­ He was considering going back out and thinking some more about the meaning of cowardice as he neared the lab¡¯s door. As his hand was slowly approaching the handle, he heard - no, not just heard, but felt- an ungodly screech of something tearing apart. His instincts kicked in and he swung open the door, hurtling down the stairs as fast as he could. The noise was horribly loud. He quickly covered his ears with his hands, before noticing his friends, spread across the room, doing just the same. The professor was near the machine, holding himself up thanks to an adjacent table, his headphones on. In the center of the device was a ray of purple light, slowly expanding and widening. The bigger it got, the more it took on the appearance of a crack, of a crevice in the air itself. An immense gust of wind started expelling from the hole. Cardboard boxes started falling off the tables, their content spilling out on the floor, the lightest bits of metal and hundreds of papers blowing across the room.A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation. Something tried to pull itself out of the portal. The surface of the hole expanded forward like something gooey, and as it got tense, it eventually broke out. The portal slowly oozed away from what appeared to be a bandaged hand. Behind the hand was an equally bandaged arm, followed by a torso covered in the same gauze-like fabric, as well as expensive-looking jewelry - center piece was an intricate collar with a green emerald in the middle. Other bumps were making their way through the stretched rift - undoubtedly a leg and a head. But the head had bizarre triangular shapes atop it. It too pierced through, and was revealed to be just as covered in bandages and jewelry as the rest of the creature. ...A mummy? It slouched forward in a way that looked unintentional, and the rest of its body slipped out of the crack, which went back to its original shape before starting to shrink at alarming rates. In an instant, the portal was gone, and in the middle of the gate was a (probably?) undead (did actual mummies even follow the rules of pop-culture?) creature covered in precious trinkets, with triangular bumps on top of its head and¡­ a tail, too? The machine started to ominously beep and creak and the professor quickly rushed to it. ¡°What the hell happened!?¡± N shouted, hoping for an answer. They hadn¡¯t seemed to have noticed him arrive yet. ¡°Marcus! You came!¡± Exclaimed Jules in panic. Urgh. He had forgot not to call N this name - but in an emergency like this it was understandable his mind was focused elsewhere. ¡°I don¡¯t know! The professor managed to get the portal to work once, but it did not look like that at all!¡± Sam was taking a stance like he was ready to pounce at the creature at any moment, Lucie seemed concerned as she shuffled in her bag looking for something, Jules was fleeing towards N and the professor was occupied trying not to let the machine break down. Then the mummy slowly stood up. Its movements were slow and restrained by the tight fabric covering it. The four students stayed silent, stunned. It seemed to look around. Wait, could it see through its coverings? Its illogical gaze stopped on Lucie, as she was approaching it with compassion in her eyes. ¡°Are you okay? Can you understand me?¡± She asked, extending her hand towards it, presenting it a half-unwrapped chocolate bar. ¡°NOOOOOOOOO!¡± suddenly screamed Sam, rushing towards her and grabbing the creature¡¯s wrists before it could touch her - a remarkable feat of instinct, as its hands were glowing ominously. To everyone¡¯s surprise, he was struggling. The creature matched him in strength. Sam was pushing with all his might, but his opponent, while not able to fight back with as much energy, didn¡¯t flinch. Lucie ran back to her bag and emptied it on the floor, looking for anything that could help. Jules had gone to the professor and was now helping him keep the device stable. Meanwhile, N was looking around for anything he could use as a weapon. Sam¡¯s hands slightly slipped from the mummy¡¯s wrists, and found themselves in contact with the creature¡¯s own hands. Their fingers interlaced and he groaned in pain. Sam¡¯s bones started cracking and shortening, his muscles wasting away. N ran in with a nearby chair and shoved it in the creature¡¯s torso, immediately severing the connection. Sam scurried off to one of the corners of the room, coughing and struggling to catch his breath. But now N was the one fighting with a monster that clearly overpowered him, he had lost the element of surprise, the chair would probably not hold for long, and he had the info he absolutely had to avoid being touched by its hands. ¡°Hey!¡± screamed Lucie trying to get his attention. She jumped into the fight and helped him hold the chair. ¡°Take this and attack them from behind, I¡¯ll distract them¡­!¡± She held out a pair of scissors. He nodded, grabbed the makeshift weapon and let her handle the chair. The creature seemed to double its efforts, desperately trying to grab her, but she held out as best she could, the chair wincing as its plastic foot started to bend and splinter. Without wasting a moment, N shifted to the creature¡¯s behind, grabbed a bandage. The mummy groaned in panic and shifted its attention back to him, trying to turn around, but its movements were too sluggish. He started cutting through the multiple layers of cloth until he¡¯d opened them all. A dusty gas started leaking out of the mummy, and it deflated as whatever was inside wasted away. Lucie fell on her butt, sighing in relief. He followed her gesture and did the same, panting. Mr. Robert and Jules were still desperately trying to hold the machine together. But it was a lost cause. The professor quickly grabbed Jules by the shoulder and dragged him away as fast as he could as the metallic structure fell apart in a cacophony of noise. Aftermath Aftermath They stayed silent for a few moments, processing it all. A cloud of dust was now floating about near the ceiling. ¡°Are you kids alright?¡± asked Mr. Robert. ¡°I¡­ I think Sam got hurt¡­¡± N said, looking at his friend collapsed in the corner. Everyone but him rushed to Sam¡¯s aid. He felt an ominous presence still that concerned him even more. He looked up and saw the dust slowly fall down towards the pile of cloth, from which a faint green light was emanating. He approached it, curious, but mostly afraid trouble was brewing back up. ¡°Sam! SAM!¡± screamed Jules, shaking his friend¡¯s vigorless body. He sighed in relief as he heard a grunt and a cough in response - it was so unbelievably better than nothing. Sam pushed on his now frailer looking arms, trying to get himself into a sitting position. His hair kept falling and obscuring his vision. Had it suddenly grown? He feebly turned around and met the looks of his friends. ¡°Oh my gosh Sam¡­¡± Exclaimed Lucie, covering her mouth with her hands. ¡°You look so¡­¡± ¡°Androgynous?¡± Said Jules, finishing her sentence. ¡°I was gonna say ¡®cute¡¯, but that¡¯s a better word to describe it, yeah.¡± She answered. ¡°Wait, what!?¡± Sam exclaimed with, at Jules¡¯s surprise, a gigantic smile on his face. He tried to catch a glimpse of himself, but couldn¡¯t beyond his arms and torso, failing to gather the energy to look further. ¡°Someone bring me a mirror!¡± Mr. Robert sighed with restrained relief and turned away to take note of the state of the room, while Lucie quickly gave Sam her phone after opening the camera app. ¡°Marcus!¡± shouted the professor as green light engulfed the room. Lucie snapped her head around, almost feeling blinded by the sudden light. N was tugging at an ornate collar stuck on his neck. The emerald scarab medallion in its center was glowing and absorbing the cloud of dust whole. He tried to get it off as much as he could, but to no avail. As the last of the dust was swallowed, he felt a shove that made him take a step backwards, and the gem stopped glowing. Most of the collar fell off, leaving him with only a small gold band around his neck with the emerald gently laying on his collarbone. ¡°Oh my gosh are you okay-¡± Said Lucie as she hurried to his side to look at the collar. ¡°Yes- yes. I think I am. I can¡¯t get it off, but I¡¯m okay.¡± He glanced up. ¡°More importantly how¡¯s Sam?¡± ¡°I think¡­ They¡¯re happy.¡± Said Lucie tentatively. He raised an eyebrow, puzzled, and the both of them went back towards Jules and Sam. The professor disinterested himself from N once he knew he was safe, and turned to the remains of the portal.Unauthorized usage: this narrative is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings. ¡°Sam? Are you okay?¡± N asked. His friend had lost about a foot in height, putting them closer to the rest of the group. Their hair had greatly lengthened, falling down onto their shoulders, and their facial features had lost masculine attributes, putting them at a middle ground that looked like neither gender. And while their muscles had seemingly evaporated, and their body lost its impressiveness and towering aura, Sam had a smile on their face from checking themself on the tiny screen of Lucie¡¯s phone that he had never seen from them before. ¡°I feel so tired, but it sooo doesn¡¯t matter. My¡­ My wish has come true.¡± Sam answered, tears of joy swelling in their eyes. Jules was patting them on the back in support. ¡°So¡­ You¡¯ve been non-binary this entire time, eh?¡± Said Lucie with a gentle smile. Jules and N exchanged a look that made it clear they had no idea what that meant. ¡°Ah ah, yeah¡­ I should¡¯ve come out so long ago... But with my naturally muscular body, it just... Didn¡¯t feel right.¡± Sam answered with a hint of regret. N noticed how different their voice was now, way less booming, with a hint of daintiness. Lucie jumped on them and they shared a hug of mutual understanding. Their smile came back immediately. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, I don¡¯t mean to pry, but¡­ What¡¯s non-binary, and why is he that?¡± asked Jules. ¡°Oh, that brings me a good question!¡± Exclaimed Lucie, completely deflecting Jules¡¯s quizzing. ¡°Should we use they-them pronouns when we talk to you?¡± She asked, grabbing her chocolate bar from earlier on the floor and handing it to Sam. ¡°Yes please!¡± They answered while taking the sweet, in total adoration for this newfound ally. ¡°I am completely lost.¡± N stated. ¡°Eh¡­ Don¡¯t worry, I¡¯ll go over this after all that has settled.¡± She explained, before turning her head away. ¡°But, first... I think the teach¡¯s angry.¡± Mr Robert was on his knees, muttering swears over and over, picking up bits of machinery and observing the damage on each of them. He firmly planted his head in his palms in frustration, before pounding his fists on the ground. ¡°Damn this all¡­¡± He growled, calming down, if not feeling better. The group closed down on him, Sam walking thanks to Jules¡¯s help (and munching on the chocolate bar Lucie gave them). N had many questions, but all of them amounted to one. ¡°What happened?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know.¡± Answered the teacher. ¡°That wasn¡¯t my portal¡¯s doing. Whatever that was, it came from the other side of the connection... it was probably that... being¡¯s fault.¡± He gestured towards the pile of linen-like material that had been left behind. ¡°One way or another, it broke the portal. It could take me months to build it back up, especially if some specific parts got smashed and need to be completely replaced, which I don¡¯t know yet.¡± Lucie took a step closer, but stopped herself as he added ¡°And before any of you try and touch me, no, this is not something that can be fixed with a smile and a hug. Keep them to yourselves, thanks.¡± They stood silent for a while again, no one really knowing what to do. This whole thing had turned out so catastrophically, Sam aside. ¡°Eh¡­¡± Sighed Jules, half-smiling. ¡°Can you imagine if that had happened while you were alone down there, professor? It was pretty good luck we were there...¡± The teacher slid his finger in his messy hair. ¡°Yeah¡­ Pretty good coincidence wasn¡¯t it.¡± He finally cracked a smile. ¡°Thanks kids. The worst was avoided thanks to you all.¡± ¡°That¡¯s what I was here for.¡± Joked Sam, shrugging as best they could. After helping the professor clean up the room somewhat, the four friends finally took their leave. Jules ended up carrying Sam up the stairs as best he could. Finally, they were out the door, and back into the more usual school corridor. ¡°So¡­¡± Started Jules. ¡°Yeah. Let¡¯s find some bench to sit down on and I guess we¡¯ll review what just happened or something.¡± Said Lucie, knowing what the question was about to be. ¡°There¡¯s a few outside if you¡¯re okay with stone.¡± N replied, checking his phone. It was past 7 - there was no doubt in his mind he¡¯d missed the bus, and he really didn¡¯t want to walk back home after already having done it in the other direction this morning. Not to mention what his parent¡¯s reaction would be¡­ A more severe repeat of yesterday. No thanks. The last rays of the sun were tentatively holding on, but night was slowly gaining. They took a seat upon one of the slabs, except Sam, who asked to be laid down in the grass so they could look at the appearing stars. N tried to tug at the collar again, but nothing happened. It still wouldn¡¯t come off. ¡°I guess we should start with me...?¡± Tentatively said Sam. Jules nodded in agreement. ¡°Only if you¡¯re ready to.¡± Replied Lucie. ¡°It¡¯s fine. I guess I am as much as I¡¯ll ever be now.¡± Questions Questions ¡°...What¡¯s non-binary then?¡± Asked Jules. Sam nodded at Lucie. They wanted her to give the general information first. ¡°Sam here feels like they¡¯re neither a man nor a woman.¡± She explained. ¡±Maybe they¡¯re in-between, or agender, genderfluid could be possible too, or even something completely different.¡± ¡°That¡¯s¡­ That¡¯s a thing!?¡± N exclaimed immediately. ¡°Yeah. That¡¯s what I am.¡± Said Sam. ¡°The first option Lucie enumerated, that is. It¡¯s not that I feel like I¡¯m both, or that I¡¯m neither. I do feel like I have a gender, but more like, it¡¯s right in the middle of the common two, if that makes sense?¡± They smiled. ¡°And that stuff about pronouns¡­?¡± Jules said, scratching his head. ¡°Well, when talking about Sam, instead of saying ¡®he¡¯ and ¡®his stuff¡¯, you¡¯d just say ¡®they¡¯ and ¡®their stuff¡¯ like if it was the most natural thing in the world to say to describe them.¡± She answered. ¡°I think I¡¯ll really like being a they.¡± Absentmindedly stated Sam. N had been stunned for a while, listening with great attention. It seemed so... logical. Like, of course some people wouldn¡¯t like being neither a guy nor a girl, that felt so obvious in retrospect. People are different and very varied, after all. Anything one could conceive of was bound to be someone¡¯s experience. It felt as if he had processed it immediately, yet something tugged at the back of his mind about all this. He... didn¡¯t know how to put it into words, and stayed silent. ¡°You¡¯ve¡­ Been speaking a lot more than usual, Sam.¡± Noted Jules. ¡°If that¡¯s what had been holding you back, I¡¯m so glad you got what you wanted.¡± ¡°Oh, you wouldn¡¯t believe how much I¡¯d been wishing for that every day.¡± Their tears were coming back, an expression of genuine happiness adorning their face.This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it. Jules sat down next to them. The other two followed after a little moment, and they all laid on the ground to look at the twilight sky. ¡°How are we going to do for school tomorrow?¡± Jules asked worriedly. ¡°I mean, we can¡¯t exactly tell everyone you just melted overnight or something. And we probably shouldn¡¯t get Mr. Robert in trouble either.¡± ¡°It¡¯s fine. I was tired of hiding who I was anyway.¡± Answered Sam. ¡°We¡¯ll just ignore anyone that asks for an explanation, I guess. The school¡¯s probably not gonna pry if I stay silent, and what if rumors go wild? It¡¯s not like they could stumble upon the actual reason. Nobody would expect it.¡± ¡°Does your sister know? How will you do with soccer training?¡± ¡°Knowing her, I doubt she¡¯ll be surprised, honestly. As for soccer, it¡¯s fine. We have substitute players, and if I get put on the sidelines I¡¯ll finally be able to focus on giving advice rather than my own play.¡± They paused. ¡°That¡¯s always been what I wanted to do from the start. That¡¯s why I was team captain.¡± ¡°What about you?¡± Lucie asked after a short silence, turning towards N. ¡°Any luck with that collar?¡± ¡°Nope.¡± He answered plainly. ¡°And god knows I¡¯ve looked for a clip to open and remove it.¡± She lifted up the scarab to look at it closer. A tingle chimed from the emerald insect. ¡°Uh. Sounds like there¡¯s something in there. I guess it¡¯s hollow?¡± She placed her ear near the precious stone and shook it again, hearing the same tingle as before. He blushed a bit and looked away - she was a bit too close to him for his taste. Jules smirked. ¡°Aaanyway!¡± N said, jerking back to a sitting position after Lucie removed herself. ¡°What am I going to do tonight!? There¡¯s no way I¡¯m getting back home this late!¡± ¡°I guess that¡¯s the same problem for me.¡± Said Sam. ¡°Too tired to get anywhere far. I can tell my sis I¡¯m not gonna be home, but I need a place to sleep in tonight.¡± Jules shrugged. ¡°You can come at my home? I can¡¯t take you both though.¡± ¡°Well, I just moved in town, so my house¡¯s only a couple streets away? You can come to mine for tonight.¡± Lucie told N. ¡°There¡¯s still gonna be boxes and stuff around, and my parents are probably gonna... tease me a bit, but nothing too serious.¡± ¡°You¡­ You¡¯re sure it¡¯s gonna be okay? I mean¡­ I don¡¯t know your parents, but aren¡¯t they gonna get the wrong idea if you bring a guy home?¡± He replied. ¡°Oh they¡¯ll definitely get the wrong idea.¡± She smirked. ¡°But you¡¯re not the first person.¡± ¡°So I guess that¡¯s the plan for tonight? Sam goes to Jules¡¯s and I sleep at Lucie¡¯s?¡± N asked. ¡°Yeah.¡± Said Jules. ¡°Yes.¡± Continued Sam. ¡°Yep.¡± Finished Lucie. ¡°So... now it¡¯s just up to Sam and me to tell our families and we¡¯ll get going?¡± His friends nodded in confirmation. Sam and N took out their phones, and typed in a quick message each. Sam told their sister they wouldn¡¯t be home tonight, and they had an amazing thing to show her tomorrow¡­ But N, he hesitated. He feared telling his parents anything. After pretending to send the message, he deleted it and shut down his phone. Dreamy Conversations Dreamy Conversations Lucie quickly closed the door after they both rushed into her room. ¡°I think your mom¡¯s music is gonna give me tinnitus¡­¡± N remarqued, feeling slightly nauseous. The walls were still trembling from the volume of the percussions. ¡°Don¡¯t worry. It¡¯ll fade out quickly once it gets to the end of the disk and she falls asleep.¡± He didn¡¯t really know what to say for small talk, so instead he looked around the room. The walls were a deep purple, covered in posters of music groups, concerts, albums. A single bed was placed against a wall, perpendicular to the window. There was a built-in closet next to the nightstand, and on the wall opposite the bed was a desk with a laptop on it. And, true to what Lucie said earlier, the floor was littered with various cardboard boxes. ¡°It¡¯s a mess and it¡¯s pretty small, especially for two people, I know. I didn¡¯t expect to need to help a friend in this way this soon. Anyway...¡± She jumped around the room looking for a place she¡¯d be in his field of view. ¡°That¡¯s home!¡± She said, presenting the room with an extravagant arm gesture. A question dawned on him. ¡°Where am I gonna sleep?¡± The awkward silence persisted for a few seconds, perturbed only by the sound of the bass reverberating through the walls. Lucie was reddening by the second. ¡°I completely forgot about that!¡± She rushed to her closet and started rummaging around. ¡°Oh¡­ I hope I still have a sleeping bag. I¡¯ll take the bag and you the bed, okay?¡± ¡°No, no, it¡¯s fine, I¡¯ll take the bag!¡± He answered, thankful for the offer but not willing to disturb more than he already was. ¡°Oh, uh-¡± She hesitated. ¡°Yeah, I guess I¡¯ll have the bed, yeah¡­¡± By chance, she found what she¡¯d been looking for in the fifth box. ¡°After all that¡¯s what society expects, eh? The delicate lady and the noble gentleman¡¯s sacrifice?¡± He nervously laughed. ¡°Or gentleknight¡­¡± She added. Was this in reference to Sam, or¡­? This felt slightly less uncomfortable, though he didn¡¯t know why. ¡°Anyway, we should probably grab a bite before going to bed. You coming?¡± Lucie moved back towards the door. He hadn¡¯t realised how hungry he felt, and quickly followed her. Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit. ¡°I didn¡¯t take you for the carnivorous type¡­¡± Murmured Lucie with silent concern as they got back to her room. ¡°I¡¯ll¡­ Be honest, I didn¡¯t either.¡± N answered with the same tone. ¡°Supper at my home is usually just vegetable broth. And snacking is completely prohibited.¡± He scratched his head. ¡°I guess I¡¯ve just been craving meat lately, without realizing it.¡± The musical noisiness finally arrived at its end. He sighed in relief. ¡°How the hell do you survive without snacking?¡± Asked Lucie in jest, though the question was more or less genuine in its intent. ¡°I know I wouldn¡¯t. I need my unhealthy salt and fat!¡± He giggled in response. They took turns in the bedroom changing into pajamas (he was wearing a pretty neutral one she¡¯d lent him, it was a bit tight, but he¡¯d manage). They snuggled themselves in their respective beddings, and Lucie turned off the lights. Time passed. N really felt like sleeping, but his mind had been in turmoil since Sam¡¯s change. He turned his head towards Lucie¡¯s bed, and despite the darkness, could still make out from the shapes he was deciphering that she wasn¡¯t asleep either. ¡°You think Sam will be okay?¡± He asked. She took a moment to think of her answer. ¡°Well, I don¡¯t know them as well as you and Jules do, but¡­ I¡¯m sure they will.¡± ¡°How did you know so much about them? ...About their situation, I mean?¡± She didn¡¯t respond. The silence came back for a few minutes. ¡°I¡¯ve known someone in the past that fell in similar circumstances. Someone very important to me.¡± She eventually admitted. ¡°Oh?¡± ¡°Y¡­ Yeah.¡± she hesitated. ¡°She was born male.¡± ¡°Like me?¡± These two words escaped his lips before he even realised it. ¡°Uh- I mean- the born male part, not the¡­ the she. ...I think.¡± He didn¡¯t even know what he meant by that. She listened carefully, and thought for a few moments how she¡¯d phrase it. ¡°...Excuse me to call you that, but... Marcus?¡± ¡°I¡¯m- I¡¯m sorry, I didn¡¯t mean¡­!¡± ¡°No, no, it¡¯s okay, it¡¯s not that. I just wanted to ask¡­ Have you ever considered a girl¡¯s name?¡± The words reverberated in his skull for a while. He didn¡¯t know how to respond¡­ And fell asleep. When N opened his eyes, he had no idea where he was. All he could see was a darkish pink nothingness in all directions around him. He felt like he was on solid ground, but when he tried to knock on the floor with his knuckle, it was like there was nothing there, yet he wasn¡¯t falling through. He stood up and looked around¡­ And spotted a humanoid figure in the distance, slowly walking towards him. He threw a look on his right, then his left. He was alone with an unknown entity. Then, in the space of a blink, she was right in front of him. A young woman, tanned skin, dark hair, wearing an antique-looking gown made of white linen. Behind her, a tail of the same color as her hair was swishing back and forth. She sported atop her head two feline ears, and her cat-like eyes were highlighted by some intricate makeup. She had an ominous grin on her face. Slowly, she closed down on him and started to speak in a language he didn¡¯t understand. He tried to speak back, but found his voice to be missing as soon as she touched him. He felt pain all over his body. It was like hundred of parts of his anatomy were moving about, even turning into other things in the process. Something felt wrong with his scalp. Yet when he looked down, nothing had changed, and the pain had subsided. ¡°What did you do!?¡± He exclaimed in a language he didn¡¯t recognise. ¡°Just some prreparrations.¡± He was surprised to understand her answer, though it sported an unnatural accent. ¡°Yourr body will be mine soon, so trry not to brreak it, okay?¡± ¡°What¡­?¡± His vision started to get blurry. ¡°You know, I wouldn¡¯t have to take such desperrate measurres had you let me take overr yourr frriend.¡± She said as he fell to the ground, asleep again. The New Self The New Self N¡¯s head hurt as if he had been hit with a huge hammer. Little colored dots filled his view, too numerous to count. He tentatively tried to recall his surroundings. Where was he? ...In Lucie¡¯s room. What time was it? Likely morning¡­ First time of his life he woke up so disoriented though. Who was he? ...He knew the answer but refused to say his name. N it was. All he could hear was a continuous, straining noise drowning out everything else. He tried to move, to open his eyes, but everything felt bizarre - like he was submerged in jam, rendering his movements difficult. In time, the stars were lowering in number and the noise in volume. He was regaining his senses slowly. ¡°Hey! Wake up! Hey! Heeey!¡± He heard Lucie shout from just above him, like she was avoiding calling him any specific name. ¡°Mmmh¡­¡± He murmured, still groggy. He tried to lift his arms up and managed to grab onto Lucie, who fell over on him as his arms coiled back towards his torso. He could feel her trying to escape his grasp, to no avail. What was he even doing? Struggling, he gradually opened his eyes. He was exactly face to face with her, and she was as red as a tomato. She squeaked in surprise and managed to pry herself out, his arms unceremoniously dropping on the sides. Trying once more to stand up, he managed to approximate sitting by putting all his weight on his arms. His whole body felt different, but not in an alien way. In fact, the usual discomfort of moving about was gone, it seemed¡­ natural for once. The pajamas from yesterday, originally too tight, now felt just right on his body. Had they stretched during the night? ¡°You have¡­ changed.¡± said Lucie, covering her mouth with her hand like she did yesterday with Sam. ¡°W¡­ What? What happened?¡± He managed to extract out of his vocal chords and mouth. It wasn¡¯t his voice. Well, not his usual voice anyway. This one was higher, and¡­ And¡­ And¡­ Reality suddenly crashed down on him and he was back to his full cognition, stupefied. He was smaller. Lither. Curvier. His mouth was agape in surprise. He had become a g¡­ A gi¡­ The thought refused to come out, but he knew it exactly anyway. ¡°I¡¯m a¡­¡± He started, looking down his shirt and blushing at what he found. ¡°A woman.¡± He looked at Lucie, who had just spoke up. She had scuttled on her knees back next to him. Gigantic tears were pouring down her face. ¡°Yes.¡± He simply replied. ¡°Oh gosh I¡¯m so sorry are you okay is this okay are you feeling fine please tell me you¡¯re not losing it like I am-¡± She blabbered out. Instincts took over and he jumped forward to hug her. ¡°I¡¯m okay.¡± He muttered. ¡°I¡¯m okay.¡± The embrace continued for a little while, until Lucie calmed down. ¡°You¡¯re¡­ Okay? As in okay with this, or just okay?¡±Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings. He didn¡¯t know what to respond. She understood that¡¯s what his silence meant. ¡°Have you thought of a name during the night?¡± She asked with sincerity, letting the hug come to an end. This question could have been taken as a non-sequitur, yet it felt like it belonged to this conversation all the while. He understood why she asked now. And, matter of fact, he¡¯d found one, just now. Being called N felt better, it was simple and short, it lacked just a notch of flair. ¡°Anna.¡± There. Now it was him. ¡°Do you want to try female pronouns?¡± Lucie queried gently. ¡°I don¡¯t know.¡± She lied. She wanted to, she so wanted to... Anna so wanted to try being a she. But it was so frightening. ¡°Do you want to continue with male ones?¡± ¡°Absolutely not.¡± That answer, comparatively, came so naturally. ¡°I understand, Anna.¡± Lucie said with an emphasis on her name. She observed her for a moment. ¡°Wow, your hair has become so long.¡± ¡°It has?¡± Asked Anna. ¡°Yeah. There¡¯s some strands that go as far as your middle-back.¡± She felt her eyes tear up in joy when she heard this. She buried her face in Lucie¡¯s shoulder and sobbed. ¡°Even if you¡¯re not sure this is what you want¡­¡± Lucie told her, ¡°Let¡¯s try making you go with she and her, okay? As a trial period. If it doesn¡¯t feel right we¡¯ll switch to something else.¡± ¡°Okay¡­ Okay.¡± Muttered Anna through Lucie¡¯s shoulder. She held herself back up. Going second in changing back to her everyday clothes, Anna noted how baggy her hoodie looked on her, but it hid her curves just as needed. She had to get to school to inform Mr. Robert, and her transformation was way harder to just wave away like Sam did their change. She had to make it look like she was still a boy, and the plan they¡¯d come up together for now was her usual clothes, a medical facemask, and sunglasses. It¡¯d obscure her face well enough, and she¡¯d just feign a sickness for the voice and refusal to drag her hood down. It was shaky at best. But it had to do for now. And she didn¡¯t even want to think about her parents right now. She didn¡¯t want them to see her like this. Like¡­ herself. The two girls had come down to the kitchen, eating their breakfast in awkward silence. Lucie¡¯s parents were sat right opposite of them, doing just the same. Her dad had his nose in his newspaper, and her mom was staring at Anna with unbridled suspicion. The whole ordeal was very uncomfortable to her - and the cereals tasted bland too, yuck. ¡°Now, I don¡¯t mean to pry, but...¡± Started the oldest woman in the room. ¡°Wasn¡¯t this kid a man before you two went to bed?¡± Anna¡¯s heart skipped a beat as her disguise was busted in an instant. ¡°It¡¯s complicated, mom.¡± answered Lucie, trying to deflect the subject. ¡°No, no, I get it. You just rubbed off on him haven¡¯t you?¡± She accompanied her joke with a greasy laugh. ¡°Moooom¡­¡± Lucie groaned, and Anna relaxed. ¡°Kids these days can become so hard to get, don¡¯t you think, honey?¡± Lucie¡¯s mom said with a wink, elbowing her husband to get his attention. ¡°Well, our generation wasn¡¯t exactly the easiest to work with either. Remember our nights of sneaking out to listen to punk bands and get wasted on cheap beer?¡± He answered without breaking his gaze off his newspaper. ¡°Aah¡­ Those were the days.¡± She answered with mock-nostalgia in her voice. ¡°You should try growing a mohawk again, sweetie.¡± ¡°Not sure my boss would appreciate it.¡± He said, turning the page. Anna felt so¡­ normal here. Lucie¡¯s parents were weird, and she fit right in. It didn¡¯t feel constantly off like back at home... She produced a sound halfway between a giggle and a sob, not sure herself which one of the two that was supposed to be. ¡°You alright, kiddie?¡± Asked Lucie¡¯s mom. ¡°Yeah, yeah, I just¡­ It¡¯s just a flake that went down the wrong way.¡± She coughed as to make her lie more believable. ¡°...Is it fine if I only drink the milk and leave the cereals behind?¡± She¡¯d found chocolate ones which, according to the taste, must¡¯ve been in their cupboard since before the move. ¡°I¡¯ll tolerate it¡­ But you¡¯re on thin ice now, missus!¡± She joked. ¡°Moooom!¡± Growled Lucie with a hint of frustration. They quickly strapped their bags to their backs -oof , was it always that heavy?- and went out the front door. They needed to get to school early to meet up with Sam, Jules and Mr. Robert to discuss the recent¡­ development. But right now, Anna didn¡¯t really think about that. She just felt happy. ¡°Sorry about my mom back there.¡± Explained Lucie. ¡°She can get very annoying sometimes.¡± ¡°How so?¡± Asked Anna. ¡°Well, you know, the constant prying, and bad jokes, and¡­ all that.¡± Lucie replied, herself growing unsure she even had a valid reason to be angry at her mom. ¡°I like your mom. She¡¯s cool and caring.¡± Anna replied. Even through the facemask, Lucie could tell how much Anna was smiling right now. She sighed. ¡°Yeah¡­ I guess she is.¡± Need To Focus Need To Focus They¡¯d gotten here early enough that the busses hadn¡¯t arrived yet. Sam and Jules weren¡¯t there either, but it was just a matter of sending them a message. Anna turned her phone back on and was immediately assaulted by hundreds of notifications of missed calls from her parents. She did her best to pretend nothing was wrong, and quickly typed ¡°smthin cam up regroup @ prof lab !!! important¡± as a joined message to Sam and Jules. She saw her friends look through the window after receiving the message, and she quickly waved at them. Jules¡¯s reply came quickly, and confused by what it said, she found herself reading it aloud. ¡°You two look so cute together¡­?¡± She looked down and finally noticed she¡¯d been holding Lucie¡¯s hand since climbing the slope to the school. Her cheeks reddened and she let her friend¡¯s hand go, who quickly tugged it under her other arm, equally embarrassed. The two girls took advantage of the mostly empty corridors to make their way to the lab first without gathering attention. Once they made their way down the stairs, they found the lab empty - though most of the mess from yesterday had been triaged or sweeped in a pile. ¡°We might need to go fetch a few chairs¡­¡± Anna remarked. The lab only had two, and one of them had taken a beating during yesterday¡¯s impromptu fight. They climbed back up the stairs, got to the closest classroom and ¡®borrowed¡¯ four seats before making their way back to the door - only to find Jules and Sam waiting for them here. ¡°Hold on, let me help!¡± Said Sam, grabbing one of the chairs off Lucie. ¡°I¡¯ll hold open the door.¡± Offered Jules, and so he did, and the four of them quickly finished their manoeuvre. ¡°You wouldn¡¯t believe how my mom reacted last night.¡± Said Jules as he dropped in his chair, the others quickly following. ¡°The entire time she thought Sam was a girl, and she spent the whole evening asking if we were a couple.¡± He rolled his eyes with great exaggeration and a smirk on his face. ¡°Like, when will she finally grasp I don¡¯t give a damn about that stuff, ha ha?¡± ¡°It was pretty funny.¡± Added Sam. ¡°If annoying after a while. Maybe I should shave half of my hair just to make it clearer I¡¯m not a girl nor a guy.¡± They smirked. ¡°Though I¡¯m sure there¡¯s a few people it¡¯d just confuse even more.¡± The two girls stayed silent, not really knowing how to broach the subject. Sam leaned forward, sensing their friends were a bit lost. ¡°So¡­ What¡¯s the important thing that has happened? I¡¯m guessing it has something to do with him, considering he¡¯s covering his face...¡± ¡°Oh, uh, while we¡¯re at it-¡± Added Jules, ¡°You found a name yet?¡± Lucie put her hand on Anna¡¯s thigh in support. ¡°Yes.¡± She stammered out. Her friends quickly noticed her different voice. She removed her sunglasses, facemask, and dropped her hood. ¡°I¡¯m Anna.¡± ¡°Oh no.¡± They heard coming from a voice at the top of the stairs. ¡°No, no, no, no, no...¡± Continued Mr. Robert in a panic as he hurtled down the stairs, a coffee mug in his hand. He ran towards Anna and grabbed her by the shoulders a bit too forcefully, scaring her beyond death. ¡°What the hell happened to you!?¡± He looked down and lifted the scarab jewel. ¡°Is it the amulet!? How the hell did it do that!!? What even is it!!!?¡± He released her and sprinted to a table, dropped his mug, grabbed a gigantic sheet of paper and a pencil, and started frantically writing.Find this and other great novels on the author''s preferred platform. Support original creators! Anna found herself feeling uncharacteristically skittish, her heart racing at the sudden surprise from the professor. Seeing her expression, Sam jumped out of their chair in rescue. ¡°Are you okay?¡± They asked. She took a moment to breathe slowly, relaxing as best she could. ¡°I¡¯m okay.¡± She replied. ¡°I¡¯m okay.¡± Mr. Robert was still trying to write something down that made sense of what had happened. In the meantime, explanations needed to be given. Anna took another breath and started. ¡°So, uh¡­ I just¡­ Woke up like this this morning. At first I couldn¡¯t move at all.¡± Sam muttered, moving to sit back at their chair. ¡°Like me yesterday¡­¡± ¡°And¡­¡± She wanted to avoid mentioning what she was about to say, it was embarrassing... But she needed to give all the details. ¡°I grabbed onto Lucie while I was trying to get myself to move. And somehow, I managed to put an enormous amount of grip strength in it... I don¡¯t know where it came from.¡± She realised Mr. Robert was listening attentively, still writing things down on his paper. ¡°Then everything kinda fell back into place and I was in full control of my body again, like nothing had happened.¡± ¡°That part¡¯s different.¡± Noted Sam. ¡°It took me the whole evening to get all my strength back.¡± The professor started rummaging in his boxes, looking through his various apparatuses. He grabbed some sort of electronic visor, and put and turned it on. He approached Anna and looked in her direction, standing still for a few seconds. ¡°...Did it just crash?¡± He muttered. ¡°It crashed as soon as I made it look at you...¡± He straightened up, thought for a few seconds. ¡°Does that mean¡­ You said it was no longer Marcus, but Anna, was it?¡± Her heart skipped a beat and she nodded. She didn¡¯t expect the teacher too to change so readily. Actually¡­ No, she was keeping that thought for later. They were in the middle of something important. ¡°Well, Anna, right now, there¡¯s something about you that does not operate accordingly with the rules of physics of our universe.¡± He explained. ¡°Stay here for the entire morning. I have tests I need to try out to understand what¡¯s happening.¡± He started muttering again. ¡°Whatever. The students will be happy they get to skip class.¡± ¡°That¡¯s pretty convenient actually.¡± Realized Lucie. ¡°That means no risk of blowing up your cover this morning.¡± ¡°Kinda defeats the purpose of showing up in the first place, though..¡± Anna lowered her head. Jules rolled his eyes again. ¡°Heh¡­ Math is in the afternoon on thursdays. At least you won¡¯t miss your favorite lecture.¡± ¡°Yeah, I know... But the other classes are important too...¡± ¡°Glad to see Anna is still as studious as she ever was.¡± He joked, making her blush again. She quickly hid her cheeks with her hands. ¡°I¡¯m feeling emotional over the littlest things today¡­¡± ¡°That¡¯s probably more due to the fact it¡¯s now Anna we¡¯re talking about instead of some weird stranger.¡± Interjected Sam. ¡°I get it.¡± She stammered for a while, unable to get any coherent words out of her mouth, red as a tomato. Sam looked a bit smug, thinking to themself they¡¯d hit the nail on the head. Jules took out his phone to look at the time, and thought about something. ¡°Hey, could you three scoot over? I have an idea.¡± Sam closed over to him, with Lucie following up quickly. Anna hesitated, but got out of her chair and carefully approached. ¡°C¡¯m¡¯here, closer. Just a bit closer¡­¡± ¡°You¡¯re gonna snap a photo?¡± Asked Sam. ¡°What!?¡± Exclaimed Anna, taking a step back. ¡°It¡¯s just a photo, Anna. It¡¯s not dangerous.¡± Jules reminded her. Lucie threw her a comforting smile. She felt tense, but in the end snuggled over between her friends. ¡°Alright, I just need to focus the camera properly¡­¡± He murmured, tapping on his screen and letting the phone do the rest. ¡°Say cheese!¡± ¡°You think she¡¯s going to give me back my phone soon?¡± Mock-complained Jules. ¡°I¡¯m sincerely sorry... I guess I forgot to make her take a look in the mirror this morning.¡± Replied Lucie. ¡°At least that means she¡¯s liking what she sees, right?¡± Anna couldn¡¯t believe that cute smiling girl in the photo was her. It felt so surreal. Her eyes, her lips, her hair¡­ She touched her face, it did correspond. And it was all so different. So¡­ Unlike before. She didn¡¯t know if it was quite right yet, but she couldn¡¯t bring herself to care. She loved this way more than being Marcus already. She spent a couple more minutes looking at this cute girl -at herself!- before giving back his phone with a whispered ¡°sorry.¡± They spent a few more minutes discussing about things - their situation mostly, but also other things when Anna hit her limit and needed to distract her mind with different topics. They talked school, Sam¡¯s upcoming football match, video games, music -unsurprisingly, Lucie had so much to say on that one. Meanwhile Mr. Robert was sorting through his inventions, picking whichever he thought he¡¯d need for Anna¡¯s tests. The bell finally rang. Lucie grabbed her bag, lifted herself up and came to Anna to give her a hug. ¡°Stay strong, okay? I know it gets hard.¡± ¡°Thanks.¡± She replied. They finally left, not wanting to be too late to class. Anna was now alone in the lab, with only the professor as company for the rest of the morning. Battery Of Tests Battery Of Tests Mr. Robert started to align various items on the table in front of him. Each pile corresponded to a different test he¡¯d need to get Anna through. She gulped. ¡°Alright.¡± He said, putting on the visor from earlier. ¡°We¡¯ll try this one again. Normally the result should be the same.¡± She sat on her chair, turning it to face him. He flicked the visor¡¯s switch to power it on and looked in her direction. ¡°Crashed again. Glad that¡¯s consistent.¡± He turned it off and put it back on the table, grabbing the next one - some sort of metallic wand with a diode at the end, and some small screen on it. ¡°Don¡¯t look directly at the laser. It¡¯s a frequency humans can¡¯t see, but it can still blind you if you gaze at it too long.¡± ¡°Can¡¯t I simply close my eyes?¡± she asked. ¡°You could, but I want to test something about your vision, if you don¡¯t mind.¡± ¡°What? Is something different about my eyes?¡± she asked with concern. ¡°Hopefully not, probably yes. I did say you weren¡¯t operating under the same rules of physics as usual, so anything could be different. Which means¡­ Test everything.¡± She felt a growing worry about all this¡­ But she had to endure it. The professor switched the wand on, and she saw a little purple light appear at its end. He turned it towards her and she looked down. There was no indication of anything related to the laser, but there was an annoying speck running about on her clothes that she tried to brush off repeatedly. ¡°Uuuuh¡­¡± the professor hesitated. ¡°What are you doing?¡± ¡°There¡¯s a¡­ thing that keeps moving all over the place. I don¡¯t know what it is.¡± Anna said as she batted at her clothes once more.The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation. The ¡®thing¡¯ disappeared instantaneously, leaving her confused for a couple seconds, before it showed up again in between two folds of her hoodie. She did her best to ignore it, only following it with her eyes while the professor finished his test. ¡°No anomalous spike detected¡­ But you seem to be able to see ultraviolet light.¡± ¡°Oh¡­ What?¡± ¡°The spot you complained about came from the laser. It¡¯s supposed to be outside of the human spectrum of visible colors.¡± He put the laser back down. ¡°I don¡¯t know why you¡¯ve got that ability. Could you see it before your change, maybe?¡± ¡°I¡­ Don¡¯t think so¡­¡± Mr. Robert grumbled. ¡°At least that confirms the problem is something about your body.¡± This routine continued for a while. Though technically all Anna had to do was stay put on her chair, something about the tests just exhausted her greatly. She felt like she was about to fall back asleep at any minute. Was it the stress? It could be¡­ ¡°Professor, I¡­ I think I need to take a nap.¡± She came clean, hoping he could explain it or something. She could already feel her nose dipping. ¡°That¡¯s¡­!¡± he exclaimed, turning around. ¡°That¡¯s problematic. Why?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t¡­ know. I swear, I slept well last night.¡± ¡°Really? No nightmare, no weird dream, nothing of the sort, you sure?¡± She thought for a moment. Something felt wrong. ¡°...None that I can remember.¡± He sighed again. ¡°I did say it¡¯d be preferable if I could get your side of the story while I tested you¡­ But I can¡¯t do anything against you falling asleep. If you need a break, take it. I¡¯ll continue the tests while you rest.¡± ¡°Thanks¡­ Thanks a lot.¡± The last thing she saw before falling asleep was Mr. Robert grabbing the next device on the table. Anna awoke some time later, curled up on her seat. She rubbed the sleepiness out of her eyes and straightened up back to a sitting position. Mr. Robert was sleeping on one of the other chairs they¡¯d brought earlier, his empty coffee mug barely hanging on his fingers by the handle. She realised he must¡¯ve stayed up all night to fix some of yesterday¡¯s mess¡­ She thought the least she could do to repay him was to help with the triage of the pile of junk that he hadn¡¯t finished yet. She stood up and stretched, then moved towards the pile. Everything that looked pristine she put in one of the nearby boxes, what was obviously broken she put away in another pile, and for the in between she didn¡¯t have the knowledge to make a judgement call on, she put back under the table. The bell rang and reminded her she could look at her phone to know the time. ...Oh no. It was already lunch period. She had slept for multiple hours. Mr. Robert emerged from his sleep and slowly climbed the stairs without paying her much attention. Guess that meant she was free to go? She grabbed her bag, put her facemask and sunglasses back on and went out. Afternoon Planning Afternoon Planning Anna was amongst the first ones to arrive at the cafeteria, her friends weren¡¯t there yet. After grabbing her plate and filling it with whatever fancied her attention today, she sat at their usual table and checked her phone while waiting for her friends to get there. Her parents hadn¡¯t called again since yesterday evening. She didn¡¯t know if that was a good thing or not. Urgh, the greens tasted even worse than usual today. The cafeteria food was never high standard, but this was just awful. She put aside the vegetables on her plate and focused on the three sausages she¡¯d taken. A bit too greasy, but somewhat raw, slightly sanguine. It was like a taste from heaven, she thought, to her own surprise. Lucie arrived first this time. She accelerated her pace to sit down next to Anna. ¡°Are you doing fine?¡± ¡°Yeah, I am.¡± She noticed Lucie only took vegetables. ¡°Urgh, these taste horrible today.¡± ¡°Is that so?¡± she asked, quizzical, before grabbing a bite. ¡°Eh. Not worse than usual. Actually, I don¡¯t think I took enough.¡± ¡°How convenient!¡± Anna said before lifting her plate to hers. ¡°Is it okay if I dump mine in yours?¡± ¡°Yeah, go ahead, that way I won¡¯t need to go fetch some more.¡± ¡°Thanks.¡± She dropped the vegetables to her friend¡¯s plate and went back in line to get some more meat. When she came back to the table, Jules and Sam had arrived and taken their seats. Good, she could catch up on the missed classes again. ¡°...And he said that was gonna be on the test next week, so mark it as important.¡± finished Sam. ¡°Okay.¡± Anna scribbled a little cross next to the section she¡¯d just copied.Stolen story; please report. ¡°Speaking of tests, how¡¯d this morning go, Anna?¡± Enquired Jules. She thought for a moment. ¡°I don¡¯t really know yet. I fell asleep in the middle of them.¡± She paused. ¡°I guess we¡¯ll go see Mr. Robert after classes and he¡¯ll tell us¡­ Oh, I do know i can see ultraviolet though, apparently.¡± ¡°Freaky.¡± Commented Jules. Lucie looked very surprised. ¡°Wait, like¡­?¡± Gears spinned in her head as she put something together. ¡°Do you think the collar is done transforming you or is there more to expect?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know¡­? I have absolutely no idea.¡± Said Anna. ¡°Let me see the scarab for a bit.¡± ¡°Uuh¡­ Sure.¡± She dropped it out of her hoodie and Lucie pulled on it to look at it closer. Anna felt a bit embarrassed and looked around the room as she moved her chair closer to her so as to not be strangled. ¡°It definitely has changed a bit. Super subtle though. Look, there¡¯s a small hole at the bottom, and its proportions are a bit more round.¡± ¡°I-I can¡¯t see the bottom. The link¡¯s too small to turn it towards me.¡± Lucie released the emerald and Anna was able to sit back down on her chair. Sam leaned forward a bit. ¡°So¡­ Trouble is not over yet.¡± ¡°No it isn¡¯t.¡± Lucie confirmed, leaving Anna a bit tense. ¡°Speaking of trouble,¡± Jules said. ¡°Are you sure you want to go to class this afternoon? I mean, you could just stay in Mr. Robert¡¯s lab for as long as necessary.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t wanna.¡± She pouted, thankful her expression was somewhat obscured thanks to her disguise. ¡°I want to be in class. Like normal.¡± ¡°You really are too studious for your own good, Anna.¡± He grimaced. She wanted to change the subject. ¡°How did it go for you this morning, Sam?¡± ¡°A looooot of weird looks.¡± They answered. ¡°But as I expected, it all went according to plan. I was brought to the administration and just stayed silent, and on the student side nobody asked any question.¡± Jules laughed. ¡°Sam, masteress of silent coercion!¡± ¡°Oooh, I like that word.¡± They cooed. Anna smiled, relieved to know it went well for them. ¡°You think I could do the same? Just¡­ Go in and pretend that¡¯s how things have always been?¡± Her friends stayed silent, none of them really finding the right words. Sam leaned forward again to caress her hand in compassion. ¡°...It¡¯s a ¡®probably not¡¯, then?¡± She muttered, her voice cracking a bit. ¡°Sorry.¡± Answered Sam. ¡°If only magical over-night sex changes were more common and understood, right?¡± Said Lucie in an attempt at gallows humor. It didn¡¯t really make her feel better. ¡°Anna¡­ Anna look at me.¡± Jules managed to obtain her gaze. ¡°I might not be in your shoes and all, but¡­ I want you to know no matter how hard it¡¯ll get, even if it does not go like you wish it could, we¡¯re here for you.¡± Sam and Lucie nodded in agreement. ¡°I know, but...¡± She trailed off, not wanting to be a downer. ¡°Thanks. I love you guys.¡± The mood didn¡¯t particularly improve after that, but small talk laboriously resumed. They eventually finished eating, and Anna, lifting her empty tray, felt like this was her last moment to back out of her plans for the afternoon. She took an instant to reconsider Jules¡¯s proposition, and, solemnly, deposited her tray on the pile and prepared herself for her classes. Grabbing Attention Grabbing Attention The first hour of classes of the afternoon went¡­ Okay. ¡®Marcus¡¯ was questioned by the history teacher about her absence of the morning and her refusal to remove her hood, but with Sam and Jules corroborating and her voice selling it, she managed to get him to believe it was due to sickness. Still, she attracted a few looks from her classmates, and she did her best to silence out the various whispers she was hearing to focus on the lesson. Next class, thankfully, would be maths. Nothing could make her feel like nothing had changed more than helping her classmates get through the exercices, and she desperately looked forward to that distraction. When entering, she decided to play it safe and sat down at the back of the class. ¡°Marcus!¡± Remarked Ms. Howart. ¡°Oh, I am so happy that you¡¯ll be with us this time. I gather you¡¯ve been sick since yesterday?¡± ¡°More or less...¡± Anna replied, feeling happy at how normal this small talk with her professor felt. ¡°It¡¯s... complicated. I¡¯m still a bit sick, actually...¡° ¡°I¡¯ll let you take it easy, then. Don¡¯t feel obligated to lend a hand if you feel too tired, Marcus.¡± ¡°No no, it¡¯s fine, I want to help!¡± She interjected, and the unease died down. She could feel her classmates had come around - it was the same Marcus as always, the math brainiac that helped in a pinch, and he only looked weird for today. She threw a quick glance at her friends. Sam was smiling, and Jules was giving her a thumbs up. The noise of chalk scouring over a blackboard announced the proper start of the class. She was so happy. The math lessons had always been her bubble of normalcy, where she felt like she did belong, and today, despite the craziness of the recent events, was no exception. They¡¯d be presented to a new notion, as usual, get assigned a few exercises to do to understand it, as usual, she¡¯d finish them in a dozen minutes, as usual, and get to flutter about the class moving from student to student, dispensing advice and explanations, as usual. Sure, she had the extra challenge today to not let her hair slip out of her hood just in case, but in the moment, she got to feel fully like himself again. Err, herself. Unfortunately, a knock on the door heralded the end of her relaxation. When she heard the vice-principal come in and announce ¡°Could I borrow Marcus for a few minutes, please?¡±, she felt her blood run cold. ...What was happening? She glanced at Sam, who looked as concerned as her. She had doubt at this point - she was being sent to explain herself at the principal¡¯s office, like they had this morning. Could she use the same strategy and refuse to say anything? Would she have to explain she was the same person? Her brain ran wild with nightmare scenarios. She didn¡¯t want to already have to give up who she was. Nonetheless, she stood back up and followed the woman, leaving her explanation to her classmate unfinished. The seconds withered away, counted one by one by a noisy clock in the corner of the room. The principal, looking ever tired, was sat right in front of Anna. He adjusted his tie and pressed a folded handkerchief on his sweating forehead a few times, neatly placing it atop his desk once finished. ¡°Marcus,¡± he commenced, ¡°we¡¯ve been assaulted by distraught calls from your father all morning.¡± ...Uh. That wasn¡¯t what she expected. ¡°He said you haven¡¯t come home since last night. Now, sure, I get how you teenagers can get with your recklessness, but suddenly, you reappear in class like nothing happened?¡± He continued. ¡°Do you even know the worry you¡¯ve caused your parents?¡± She sank lower in her chair. This was not a conversation she wanted to have right now, but¡­ That was when she realized she couldn¡¯t be fleeing it forever. ¡°I¡­¡± She stammered, at a loss of what to say.This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it ¡°Also please, could you remove your hood? It doesn¡¯t rain inside buildings.¡± She obliged without really thinking it through. The cat was gonna be out of the bag anyway, so it¡¯s not like it was worth obscuring her face any longer anyway, right? She also removed her glasses and facemask. The principal¡¯s skintone dropped a few hues, his eyes almost jumping out of their orbits. ¡°You¡¯re not Marcus...¡± He exclaimed. ¡°No¡­¡± She admitted. ¡°I¡¯m not Marcus. I¡¯m Anna.¡± She admitted to it all. With that simple declaration - this was her real identity, and it needed out. Tears started to stream down her face. ¡°I¡¯m terribly sorry for the mix-up!¡± He blurted out while his body jolted from his chair. ¡°Oh, don¡¯t cry little miss Anna, that wasn¡¯t meant for you!¡± ...What? She was utterly confused as the middle-aged man in front of her offered her a tissue to clean her face with. Did he think Marcus and Anna were different people? He turned towards his intercom, pressed the little red button on the bottom. ¡°Agnes, could you bring Miss Anna back to her classroom, please? And do check you have the right person with you next time.¡± Anna heard heels furiously clacking in the corridor towards their room. An irate vice-principal opened the door with a few choice words to address to a certain someone, but she lost all composure when she spotted the young lady in the room - sporting the same clothes as the student she¡¯d brought to the administration offices. The walk back through the corridors was very tense, with the vice-principal throwing a few prying glances at Anna. She was seemingly trying to piece things together, but thankfully was unable to make the leap in logic needed to connect the dots. Anna prefered to do her best to avoid her gaze, looking away. The old woman immediately knocked on the door of the classroom, opening it without waiting for an answer. ¡°I¡¯m bringing you back a student apparently named Anna.¡± She said with restrained frustration, before pushing the student in and closing the door. As the sound of her irate footsteps faded away, a complete silence fell on the class. Anna could read the confusion on her classmates¡¯ faces, Jules dripping with cold sweat while Sam looked at her solemnly. Ms. Howart seemed to be waiting, expecting some form of explanation. When none was offered, she spoke up ¡°I wasn¡¯t informed of a second new student this week¡­¡± Anna thought quickly and decided to use the narrative that had been given to her on a silver platter. ¡°Yeah- yes! Sorry about that, my inscription was kind of a mess.¡± She laughed nervously. ¡°My name is Anna¡­¡± Damn, she had no family name in mind. She just skipped ahead and hoped no one noticed. ¡°And you must be professor Howart, for the math class? I¡¯m sorry, I don¡¯t know my timetable very well yet.¡± The teacher mellowed back to her usual gentleness. ¡°Ah, don¡¯t worry, my dear. Take a sit, and we¡¯ll resume the lesson.¡± She turned towards the class while Anna gingerly sat back down on her seat. ¡°Dearie, this chair is already taken.¡± ¡°Ah, yes! Uh¡­ Silly... me.¡± She scuttered over to the next table. ¡°Now, can anyone resume what we¡¯ve done so far for the new arrival?¡± She didn¡¯t want to slow down the class any further. She pretended to take a long glance at the blackboard, and spoke up. ¡°It¡¯s fine, it¡¯s fine! I¡¯ve already learned that at my last school. I¡¯m¡­ Pretty good at maths, actually.¡± She added, unsure if it even was a good idea to reveal that. ¡°Oh my! I¡¯m sure you would get along well with Marcus, then.¡± Another idea quickly hatched in her brain. ¡°...Is that the brown haired, bit scrawny guy wearing a facemask I passed by?¡± The teacher nodded. ¡°He looked super sick. I think he went home¡­¡± ¡°Ah¡­ Well I sure hope he recovers quickly¡­¡± She said with a bit of a dejected expression. ¡°Anyway! As I was saying before the interruption¡­¡± Anna furtively grabbed a pen and some paper from ¡®Marcus¡¯s bag¡¯ and resumed taking notes. The class continued surprisingly normally afterwards. Only, she was now unabashedly Anna, and she didn¡¯t need to cover her face! This was so great! Sure, she was still getting looks from the other students from time to time, but they were wildly different in nature. It wasn¡¯t that they were confused or suspicious anymore, but interested in the new girl. She¡¯d been forcibly thrown under the spotlight as Marcus, and now she¡¯d managed to turn that around with confidence as Anna. It felt so good. The day ended on this great high note. She started to gather her material when a few of her classmates came up to her with the intent to bombard her with questions. Where did she live? Where was she from? After a small silence where they were waiting for the first couple answers, she muttered a few excuses about being tired and slithered away to Jules and Sam, starting to descend towards the lab. ¡°That. Was. Ballsy.¡± Complimented Jules in awe, before catching himself. ¡°Err¡­ You¡¯re okay with that word, right?¡± She nodded with a content blush on her face. ¡°So, cat¡¯s out the bag then, Anna?¡± Said Sam with a gentle nuzzling of their head against her shoulder. ¡°It¡¯s downright miraculous how well this went.¡± She couldn¡¯t restrain herself from shouting anymore. ¡°I know! This is so great! Aaaaaaaaah!¡± They arrived at the door to find Lucie pensive, headphones on her head. She took only a glance at them, paused her music and went ¡°The missing camouflage tells me something happened?¡± with a restrained smile. Anna pounced on her, giving her an unabashed hug. ¡°Everybody thought Marcus and Anna were different people! They didn¡¯t even make the connection!¡± ¡°That¡¯s... great¡­¡± Responded Lucie, apparently taken aback. ¡°That¡¯s¡­ That¡¯s great!¡± She repeated, her enthusiasm recovered, and she returned the hug. Jules whispered something to Sam, who gently smiled. Tiring Complications Tiring Complications Walking down the stairs, they found Mr. Robert sitting cross-legged on the ground, wrapping up the triaging of the portal parts. He waved at them as they arrived. ¡°Heya kids. Didn¡¯t cause too much trouble I hope?¡± He asked in between two yawns, slowly standing up. ¡°Eeh¡­¡± Muttered Sam, ready to give the explanations. ¡°About me, my intimidating old self is enough that no one asks questions, and for Anna, the current story is that she and Marcus are separate people. The only potential threat would probably be the vice principal lady, who after meeting both Anna and me looks like she¡¯s two steps away from calling the police or something.¡± ¡°She looked piiiissed.¡± Added Jules for emphasis. ¡°Damn it. That¡¯s not good.¡± Replied the professor. ¡°Let¡¯s just hope they don¡¯t stick their nose in my business again¡­¡± Anna and Lucie sat down on the chairs, while Jules glanced at what was left of the portal. ¡°Oh boy, that box of broken parts looks pretty full¡­¡± ¡°Eh. It really is, isn¡¯t it?¡± Replied the professor while pinching the bridge of his nose. ¡°It¡¯s definitely gonna take me months just for finding replacement parts. Add to that building the actual machine back up¡­ I don¡¯t think it¡¯s gonna be running again for at least half a damn year.¡± He slouched onto one of the chairs in defeat. ¡°Did¡­ Did the machine work before the mummy accident?¡± Asked Anna. ¡°Yeah. We could even see through it and everything. There was this gigantic desert on the other side¡­¡± Answered Lucie. ¡°But there was no buildings or anything. How did that mummy even get through?¡± ¡°I wish I knew.¡° Said Mr. Robert. ¡°Maybe it detected my portal and opened it from the other side somehow¡­ Does that mean the portal leaves residues behind when it opens or something like that, that¡¯s how it tracked it through to here? Mmh... It would help my research so much to know...¡± He lifted his gaze at the ceiling and started thinking. ¡°And I still have no damn idea how what happened to Anna, well¡­ happened.¡± The professor added. ¡°Tests completely inconclusive.¡± ¡°Mr. Robert, how long has it been since your last full night of sleep?¡± Asked Sam, a bit unpromptedly. They had been standing up for a while, observing the teacher. ¡°Beats me.¡± He answered. ¡°That¡¯s probably the problem, then. You¡¯re too tired to figure it out. Take a break, a good night¡¯s sleep, and come back on it when you¡¯re refreshed?¡± Mr. Robert chuckled. ¡°Never thought I¡¯d be lectured by a kid¡­ But you¡¯re probably a smart cookie on this one.¡± He stood up, gathered his belongings, and climbed the stairs with a wave of the hand. ¡°Don¡¯t stick around too long, okay? Wouldn¡¯t want peeps investigating the noise while I¡¯m not around.¡± They heard the door close behind him. Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings. ¡°I should probably leave too, my bus should be here any minute and I really want to show off my change to my sis.¡± Stated Sam, who stood up from their chair. Anna followed suit to give them a hug before they left. They didn¡¯t hang around at the lab for long either anyway, what with the professor¡¯s warning. Lucie, Jules and Anna climbed the stairs and went back to the corridor, walking towards the schoolyard. ¡°When did you become this touchy-feely, Anna?¡± Asked Jules in jest. She took a second to process the question, but didn¡¯t get it. ¡°What do you mean?¡± Lucie gave Jules an accusatory glance. ¡°Well, this morning you clung to Lucie¡¯s hand as if it was a lifeline, and this afternoon you gave her and Sam hugs like they were NBD.¡± ¡°...I did what!?¡± She said, stunned, her face growing red with embarrassment. ¡°Wait... You hadn¡¯t realised? Like, it was just a reflex or something?¡± Enquired Lucie. ¡°I thought¡­ Nevermind.¡± Jules glanced away, realising a bit too late he shouldn¡¯t have brought the subject. As Anna thought through the implications, her face paled. ¡°Oh no. If I¡¯m not doing that willingly, then what is!? Is it the collar that¡¯s making me act like that? Am I trying to repeat the thing that happened to Sam yesterday!? Like, I need to drink life force to sustain myself now, and I do that by touching you all all the time!!?¡± Lucie caressed her back while they closed in on the benches. ¡°How do I say this¡­ Yeah, I don¡¯t think that¡¯s it. I¡¯m pretty sure the collar¡¯s having some sort of weird effect on your behavior, but that specific thing doesn¡¯t sound like it¡¯s part of it. Maybe you¡¯re just touch-starved.¡± She made her sit down on the stone slab and continued her explanation. ¡°I mean, you did just get out of I don¡¯t know how many years of restraining yourself in all kinds of way, didn¡¯t you? Maybe you always were a hugger, but just didn¡¯t do it while it felt like you didn¡¯t belong in your body.¡± Her time as Marcus already felt so long ago, and it hadn¡¯t even been a day. She sighed and calmed down. ¡°Maybe¡­ You always know so much about this, Lucie. I¡¯m so glad you¡¯re here for me... and for Sam too...¡± ¡°Eh.¡± She shrugged while receiving another hug. ¡°I¡¯m pretty sure Sam has themself figured out by now. Doesn¡¯t feel like they needed much of my help beyond explaining to you two.¡± Jules had been staying silent for a while, but seemed to have nothing to say, still blaming himself for bringing the topic up. ¡°Uh, by the way¡­ You said the collar¡¯s changing how I act?¡± Asked Anna with worry. ¡°Eeeeeeh¡­¡± Lucie shrugged again, trying to deflect the question. ¡°It¡¯s really just a hunch more than anything. I¡¯m probably reading too much into it anyway¡­¡± ¡°Speaking of ¡®anyways¡¯,¡± Butted in Jules, ¡°Should we go do something before the sun sets, or?¡± ¡°We could study!¡± Replied Anna with piqued interest. ¡°Ah come on.¡± He grumbled. ¡°You literally get turned into a girl by a mummy monster from another world and all you still care about is school work? For your own good, take a break.¡± Lucie glared at him with an anger she hoped was enough to shut him up. ¡°Wait, wait, I didn¡¯t mean it like that! Just, don¡¯t overexert yourself, you know?¡± ¡°But work is what calms me¡­¡± Anna answered timidly. Jules threw her an incredulous glance, and rolled his eyes. ¡°Ok, sure, I guess you know you, yeah. Still, maybe things will have changed in that aspect, maybe you just didn¡¯t enjoy other stuff because you didn¡¯t feel like you and that won¡¯t be the case anymore.¡± ¡°Okay, since when are you a psychologist?¡± Growled Lucie. ¡°Since when are you one too?¡± He retorted. ¡°Can we, please, not fight over this?¡± Demanded Anna with pain in her voice. ¡°I think we¡¯re all kinda tired in our own different way, so let¡¯s just calm down, alright?¡± ¡°...I¡¯m just gonna go home. You¡¯re right, I¡¯m tired too, and I need to go do something to relax. Bye.¡± Jules flung his bag over his shoulder and left the girls by themselves. Lucie spent a few minutes hugging Anna, making sure the tears wouldn¡¯t arrive. But, well, they¡¯d be tears of fatigue, Anna thought to herself. She didn¡¯t want to harbor any ill will to Jules, or anyone else ever for that matter. ¡°So¡­ Gonna sleep at your parents¡¯ tonight, or...¡± Tentatively queried Lucie. Anna¡¯s grip on her clothes grew tighter. ¡°...My house again, then.¡± She nodded against her shoulder. Lucie slipped her fingers in Anna¡¯s hair and caressed her gently. Something about this felt greatly calming. Here Again Here Again Anna dropped her pencil back on Lucie¡¯s desk, finally done with her homework. It had taken her longer than expected - well, she was also catching up for yesterday. As for the desk¡¯s owner, she¡¯d just been listening to the music on her phone in silence, lying down on her bed. Things had gotten pretty tense in the past few hours, and despite their best efforts, they didn¡¯t manage to make the mood come back down. It was still pretty early in the evening, but they had already both switched to pajamas, considering they had no plans to get out of the house. Anna stood up from her friend¡¯s chair and packed her stuff back in her bag, before joining Lucie in lying down, letting herself drop on the sleeping bag. ¡°Wanna take the bed tonight?¡± Lucie asked, dropping her headphones. ¡°No, I¡¯m good. Plus it¡¯s yours and I don¡¯t wanna impose¡­¡° She answered. ¡°Well, more than I already do anyway.¡± She added. Lucie thought for a second. ¡°You really don¡¯t like your parents, do you?¡± She stayed silent. ¡°It¡¯s fine if you don¡¯t wanna talk about it.¡± Lucie said. ¡°No, no, it¡¯s okay, I should talk about it anyway.¡± ¡°So¡­ What? They abuse you? Hit you? Try to control your life?¡± ¡°None of that¡­ It¡¯s actually pretty tame, so¡­ I dunno. It makes me feel like I¡¯m a spoiled child, overreacting with my¡­ dislike of them. It¡¯s not like they do things actually awful parents do.¡± ¡°Hey, just because it¡¯s not as bad as it could be doesn¡¯t mean it isn¡¯t bad. What do they do?¡± ¡°Just¡­ I feel like they¡¯re never here for me. I mean, that¡¯s an exaggeration, It¡¯s not like I¡¯ve never ever received any encouragement or that they don¡¯t love nor support me, but¡­ Dad is always so ready to blame me for stuff, and mom just stays completely passive.¡± ¡°So you¡¯re running away from home because they ain¡¯t perfect.¡± Anna paused. ¡°...It feels even worse when you put it like that.¡± ¡°Nah. I get it. I wouldn¡¯t let it slide either. Just¡­ You¡¯ve confronted them about this first, or¡­?¡± ¡°Not as strongly as I should¡¯ve. I¡¯m not¡­ Brave, like you, you know.¡± ¡°Are you kidding? Have you seen how you¡¯ve jumped at that mummy when Sam was in danger?¡± Lucie turned on her bed to let her head peek out towards her friend. ¡°Look, maybe you¡¯re like non-confrontational and stuff when it comes to yourself, but you¡¯re definitely brave since you stand up for your friends. So, I¡¯m thinking, maybe you just need to see yourself as your own friend and it could work?¡± Anna looked at her friend with a sad smile. ¡°Maybe.¡± ¡°What about you?¡± Anna asked. ¡°Your parents are cool. Why do you avoid them like that?¡± ¡°That¡¯s¡­¡± Lucie hesitated, scratching her jaw with her index, and lying back down properly. ¡°I don¡¯t want to tell you the full story.¡± ¡°I¡¯m fine with just parts of it.¡± ¡°Okay, so¡­ We kinda needed to move because of me.¡± She admitted. ¡°Multiple times.¡± ¡°Did something happen?¡± ¡°Not always, but I just¡­ Like, every time, I¡¯d just eventually start feeling super uncomfortable wherever we settled, and we had to move again. Sometimes it took only days, longest I held was a few months.¡±This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report. Anna stayed silent. ¡°It¡¯s like, it was never perfect. I¡¯d always end up spotting an ultra red flag, and from there, I just couldn¡¯t leave the house. I was too scared. So, we moved. And moved again. And again, and again again¡­ And¡­ It¡¯s like it doesn¡¯t bother them that I¡¯m flighty like this. I¡¯m sure it¡¯s because they¡¯re great and they care a lot about me feeling well, but I still end up feeling guilty that I¡¯m such a weight on their life, get what I mean?¡± ¡°I think I get it, yeah.¡± ¡°They gotta find a new house, and do the actual moving, and having stable friends in a situation like this is basically impossible.¡± Lucie paused. ¡±So there. It¡¯s guilt. I feel like a burden to my parents, so I tend to get a bit uncomfortable with them because of that.¡± Anna lifted her head up to look at Lucie, who was smiling. ¡°Man, I feel so much better now that that¡¯s off my chest.¡± ¡°Ah ah, yeah¡­ Same for me.¡± lied Anna. ¡°Wanna go grab a bite and go to bed early?¡± ¡°It could help with the fatigue, I guess¡­¡± Lucie stretched out her hand to Anna, and they stood up and walked down to the first floor. When they came back to her room, Lucie was just deep in thinking, eyeing Anna and making her feel a bit uncomfortable. ¡°Okay, seriously, what is it?¡± Anna tentatively asked, dislodging a bit of meat fiber that had gotten stuck between two of her teeth. ¡°I¡¯m just¡­ worried about something. I don¡¯t know how you acted before I arrived so maybe it¡¯s always been like that, but I¡¯m seriously sensing a vibe.¡± ¡°...Is it about the collar?¡± ¡°Yeah.¡± Sensing she wouldn¡¯t receive any more precise answer since Lucie wasn¡¯t done thinking through, Anna maneuvered around the boxes in the room and laid down in her sleeping bag. Lucie tucked under her own covers and hit the lightswitch. ¡°Seriously¡­¡± Lucie muttered. ¡°Mmh?¡± Anna twisted in her blanket, turning to better hear her friend. ¡°The¡­ nuzzling, the food issues, the weird collar change, the ultraviolet eyes... Heck, even the way the mummy looked¡­¡± ¡°You¡­ think you found a connection?¡± She asked with concern. ¡°...What if you¡¯re turning into a cat?¡± Anna felt stunned hearing this last word. She suddenly remembered. She remembered her dream from last night with the egyptian cat woman. ¡°I really think I¡¯m overthinking this, but there¡¯s this nagging ¡®but maybe¡¯, Anna¡­¡± Lucie turned around. ¡°Anna?¡± Anna had fallen asleep. Opening her eyes, Anna recognised the pinkish void she was in. The woman was already here, sitting, turned away from her. She turned herself around to sit down on her butt, which caused her presence to be noticed, and the stranger turned her head around. She looked in stupefaction at Anna. ¡°Surrprrising, has even yourr mental image changed? This is a new one¡­¡± ¡°Whu- what? Have I done something wrong?¡± Anna looked down at her body, and it was still hers- well, the female one. She sighed in relief. ¡°This is the firrst time I trransforrm the body of a man and they become a woman even to theirr corre¡­¡± The cat-lady approached Anna slowly on all fours, sizing her up. ¡°Wait wait wait, first up, who are you and why are you doing this?¡± she said, scuttering backwards. ¡°Didn¡¯t I alrready tell you why? I need to take overr yourr body. As forr my name, it is Qelhatat, queen and rrulerr of Egypt!¡± She pounced on Anna and caught her by surprise. Anna felt the same pain as yesterday, only focused in specific places, amongst which the top of her head, her ears and¡­ somewhere¡­ above her butt. She didn¡¯t know what that was. The pain subsided quicker than last time, and Qelhatat relaxed her grip on Anna. The two ladies helped one another up, and Anna let go of the woman¡¯s arms. ¡°You¡¯re¡­ A queen?¡± ¡°Surrprrised?¡± ¡°And you snatch people¡¯s bodies?¡± ¡°Immorrtality comes at a cost, sweethearrt.¡± Qelhatat paused. ¡°A cost forr otherrs at least, I perrsonally find it a sympathic offerr.¡± ¡°That¡¯s¡­ That¡¯s immoral!¡± Qelhatat rolled her eyes. ¡°Yes, yes, I have hearrd that beforre. Morre imporrtantly, look at you!¡± She cooed. ¡°This is verry special!¡± She grabbed Anna¡¯s face with her hands and playfully squished it a bit. ¡°I don¡¯t get it!¡± Anna growled while freeing herself from her grasp. ¡°What are you even gonna do with my body anyway?¡± ¡°Continue to live my life, of courrse.¡± was her vague answer. Anna remembered a choice question from her teacher. ¡°How did you find our portal?¡± ¡°Thanks to my powerrs, I felt it frrom farr away, and... cirrcumstances made me need to go thrrough.¡± Anna took a leap. ¡°Powers¡­ Like, magic or something?¡± ¡°What else, darrling?¡± ¡°So you have magic in your universe?¡± She couldn¡¯t believe she¡¯d been right on the first try. ¡°Does that mean you don¡¯t? ...Well that is prroblematic then. It means I have to go back the otherr way...¡± Qelhatat took a step away from Anna, letting her face her back. ¡°Tell me, what is yourr name? I might need to imperrsonate you to get yourr frriends to open the porrtal again.¡± ¡°The portal¡¯s broken! It¡¯s gonna take months to repair it!¡± Why was the conversation so casual and honest, anyway? Was Qelhatat so certain that she wasn¡¯t a threat!? The cat-lady¡¯s face snapped back towards Anna, horrified. ¡°What have you just said?¡± ¡°I said, the portal¡¯s not working! It broke when you forced your way through!¡± ¡°You arre not saying the trruth, arre you?¡± The cat woman¡¯s face grew more scared. ¡°Why would I be lying!?¡± She screamed atop her lungs. Qelhatat¡¯s expression froze in terror. Anna felt her vision blur, before she collapsed onto the ground. The New Additions The New Additions Anna¡¯s eyes popped open instantly, looking straight up towards the purple ceiling. Considering the light, it must¡¯ve been morning. Although¡­ Colors seemed to be blurred, especially at the corners of her vision. It took a few moments to adjust before her sight went back to normal, if a bit more vibrant than usual. The surprise was immediately overshadowed by a sudden calm that took her without warning. She just felt¡­ Not quite sleepy, but more like things would just glide off of her right now. Like she¡¯d lost her ability to feel concerned about most things. She did remember her dreams this time, though. This warranted telling Lucie about them. ¡°Lucie.¡± she called. ¡°Hey, Lucie, wake up.¡± She stood up and shook her friend for a bit, who slowly emerged. ¡°...Wha?¡± Lucie slurred. ¡°Whazzapening?¡± ¡°I just realized I had a dream last night, and I also had one this time too!¡± ¡°...Waitaminit¡­¡± Lucie grabbed her phone on her nightstand and looked at the time, then sighed. ¡°Anna, iz the middle of the night.¡± ¡°...You¡¯re kidding right? It¡¯s bright as hell right now.¡± Lucie jolted awake. ¡°Wait, what?¡± She reached for the lightswitch in an instant and turned the lights on. Anna felt blinded and had to close her eyes for an instant, which quickly adjusted to the sudden brightness. But Lucie¡­ Lucie was speechless when she caught a glance of her friend. ¡°Err¡­ Are you okay, Lucie?¡±, Anna asked, leaning her head on the side. It escaped her lips before she could think. ¡°Oh god my hunch was right.¡± Anna quickly grabbed at her ears -why did she reflexively reach for the top of her head?- and found them fluffier than usual. They were triangular, and covered in fur. She looked down at her back and found a tail, slightly swaying left and right, having managed to snake its way out of her pajama pants. Glancing back at her friend, she found herself plainly saying ¡°Oh.¡± Lucie was doing her best to keep it together. ¡° ¡®Oh¡¯? That¡¯s all that inspires you?¡± Anna thought for a moment. ¡°...I guess?¡± ¡°This is a pretty fricking big deal, Anna.¡± ¡°Yeah, I know¡­ It¡¯s just, ¡®oh¡¯, you know.¡± ¡°No I don¡¯t! I don¡¯t get it! How are you so calm about this!?¡± She did her best to silence her voice, not wanting to wake her parents up. ¡°I honestly have no idea.¡± Anna replied, her eyes fixated on her friend''s face. ¡°Wh¡­ What?¡± ¡°Seriously, I don¡¯t know.¡± Lucie took a few minutes to just process it all, her mouth agape. Anna was glaring at her with little conviction, occasionally licking the back of her hand. ¡°Oh my god you even act like a cat.¡± Lucie muttered. She paused to process what she was doing. ¡°I guess I do, yeah.¡± ¡°C¡¯mon.¡± Lucie pulled her blankets aside, grabbed Anna¡¯s hand and dragged her to the bathroom. ¡°Yep, these are cat ears.¡± Remarked Anna as if that was the peak of her analysis. She¡¯d been looking at the mirror for a while, just taking in her new elements. Like, the ears and tail she¡¯d already noticed, but thanks to the mirror she could see her eyes had changed too, her irises had become green and her pupils had taken the shape of a slit, like Qelhatat¡¯s. Even her hair had changed texture, feeling a bit more spiky to the touch. Opening her mouth, her teeth had become pointier and her tongue was covered in little backwards-facing spikes. ¡°Heh heh¡­ I¡¯m cute.¡± She smiled and playfully touched her cheeks a bit. Lucie was looking away, slightly blushing. ¡°Urgh¡­¡± She sighed and calmed herself. ¡°If only I had listened to my hunch. We could¡¯ve prepared for this. I mean, the evidence was right there¡­¡± ¡°It¡¯s fine.¡± said Anna, turning around and jumping to sit on the sink countertop, a little tingle escaping her collar. ¡°Anyway, I guess it¡¯s that ladycat¡¯s doing? She looked pretty concerned when I left her.¡± Lucie''s gaze snapped back to her friend ¡°...Who?¡± ¡°You know, the lady from my dreams.¡± Anna replied, lightly tapping her noggin. Lucie exhaled a mighty sigh. ¡°Okay. No. You haven¡¯t told me about that yet. Back up a bit, please.¡± ¡°Okay, so, yesterday when I went to sleep, in my dream I found myself in some sort of weird pink room¡­¡± ¡°...And then I told her ¡®But the portal¡¯s broken!¡¯ and she was like ¡®You¡¯re kidding right?¡¯ and that¡¯s when I woke up.¡± Anna finished her explanation with a toothy smile. Lucie had to hold herself on the towel handlebar to keep herself from falling in shock. ¡°So our adversary is a body-snatching catgirl queen from an ancient Egypt in another universe. Just¡­ Wow.¡±This story has been taken without authorization. Report any sightings. ¡°Hey, catgirl! That¡¯s what I am now, isn¡¯t it?¡± Anna replied with a little satisfied hum. Lucie finally cracked a smile. ¡°I guess, yeah¡­ It¡¯s really disconcerting how bubbly you¡¯ve become, though.¡± ¡°That¡¯s fair.¡± The shorter girl started swinging her legs back and forth. ¡°I actually really wanna feel worried right now, but I just can¡¯t somehow.¡± Her smile didn¡¯t last long. ¡°Excuse me to say that again, but wait, what?¡± Anna shrugged. Lucie¡¯s eyebrows furrowed as she thought of something. She looked at Anna. ¡°I think I¡¯m having another hunch.¡± ¡°Ah?¡± ¡°Yeah. Not gonna keep this one for myself though, one mistake was enough.¡± She raised her hand to her face and pointed her index up. ¡°What are you thinking right now? Like, just blurt out the first thing that comes to your mind.¡± Anna dropped down from the counter. ¡°I wanna hug you.¡± ¡°Oh, uh¡­¡± Lucie blushed and coughed. ¡°Anyway, what else?¡± Anna thought for a bit. ¡°No, that¡¯s it.¡± ¡°Really? Nothing else?¡± The other girl asked. She nodded negatively. ¡°What if you focus? Does anything else pop to mind?¡± Sure, she could do that. Anna closed her eyes and tried to look for other thoughts she could be having. She realised what Lucie must¡¯ve been thinking - she was assaulted by little thoughts of immediacy. Trying to brush them off and they only reappeared elsewhere, slogging her ability to reach further. Still, she said aloud a few of them for Lucie to hear. ¡°I want to be warm.¡± ¡°I like the smell of this room.¡± ¡°I¡¯m kinda hungry.¡± ¡°I like being like this...¡± This one was trailing off. She tried to grasp onto it, use it as a lifeline to plunge deeper into her mind. ¡°I like being like this, but¡­ But what if¡­ What if it¡¯s the collar that¡¯s making me enjoy this? What if I stop enjoying it?¡± She could feel her eyes growing watery. This process was surprisingly exhausting, but she felt like if she just reached further¡­ ¡°Will it be okay? Won¡¯t it cause trouble? Won¡¯t I cause trouble? I don¡¯t want this to end. What if it does? I¡¯m scared.¡± She felt so close to the deeper end. If she just dug a little more¡­ ¡°I¡¯m scared my parents will make it end. I¡¯m scared of what people will say. I just want to be myself...¡± She managed to grasp onto her thoughts by the tip of her fingers. It was as if a tornado in her mind was trying to get her off, but she held on and tightened her grip. She was about to collapse onto her knees, but Lucie managed to grab her before she fell. She was heavily panting, tears pouring over her face. But, most importantly, she felt in control of her emotions again, and she was determined not to let go. ¡°What just happened to me¡­?¡± Anna asked, desperate for an explanation. ¡°Must be part of that lady¡¯s plan to take over your brain, I bet. She¡¯s trying to prevent you from thinking or something.¡± Lucie was seething. This didn¡¯t sound right, but¡­ She had no idea what it could actually be. ¡°I¡­ I¡¯m just glad to be in control of myself again.¡± They bent down on their knees and hugged for a while, letting one another¡¯s head rest on the other¡¯s shoulder. ¡°The trouble just keeps piling up, doesn¡¯t it?¡± Lucie sighed and closed her eyes, slowly caressing Anna between her new ears. It was soothing beyond a level she ever expected. She felt a wave of relief wash over her, bringing her tense expression back into a smile. ¡°Aah¡­ Whatever you¡¯re doing, please don¡¯t stop¡­¡± ¡°Mmh?¡± Lucie reopened her eyes and glanced at her hand. ¡°Oh wow, I didn¡¯t even realise I was¡­ You really like it that much?¡± She felt Anna¡¯s tightening grip as her only response, a relaxing vibration reverberating in her body. ¡°Anna¡­¡± Lucie smiled tenderly, interrupting it only to yawn. ¡°Anna, you¡¯re purring.¡± But while she did get a glance of acknowledgement, there was no further answer. Anna wanted to bask in this feeling, so she let her, for a while. Ultimately though, the time of the night caught up to her. ¡°I need to go back to sleep.¡± She accompanied with another yawn. And so, they¡¯d moved back into their bedroom. Lucie collapsed nonchalantly on her bed, scuttered towards her pillow and swiped her blanket over herself again. Anna was standing back, feeling a bit concerned. She was afraid to turn back into carefree kitty mode, and so made sure to keep a small part of her brain focused on not letting that happen. ¡°Uuuuh, I need sleep so muuuch¡­¡± Groaned Lucie in her pillow, before lifting her head up again. ¡°Though, I kinda wanted to ask something first, Anna¡­¡± Anna hesitated for a moment, and went to sit on her sleeping bag. ¡°Sure, what is it?¡± ¡°Want us to be a thing?¡± Lucie asked plainly. It took her by surprise, and she blushed immensely. ¡°What do you mean?¡± she asked, pretending not to have understood it correctly. ¡°Like, you know, a couple, girlfriend and girlfriend, cute lesbians...¡± Anna grew redder with each description, hiding her face behind her hands. A lesbian? Her? That word felt forbidden to her. She hadn¡¯t even been a girl for more than two days! Yet, she could do that? Just go and call herself a girl that loved girls? ...But that was what she was, wasn¡¯t it? What she¡¯d always been, but just didn¡¯t know. Anna, the girl with a crush on a friend which also was a girl. Well, and also one on¡­ She muttered something, muffled by her hands. ¡°Mmh?¡± Inquired Lucie, slightly lifting her head up. ¡°I want to, but¡­¡± She repeated. Lucie turned herself on her back and looked at her. ¡°I think I¡­ Sam¡­¡± The words came out with difficulty. Lucie showed a pained expression. ¡°Ah¡­ I thought you were¡­¡± She¡¯d misunderstood. Anna tried to clarify what she meant, but her thoughts were too difficult, too embarrassing to say. She jumbled some more words out of her mouth. ¡°No! No no, I meant, Sam, too! Like¡­!¡± Her face was culminating towards red beet. She¡¯d never done that before, fall in love with one person¡­ Even less so two¡­ ¡°Gosh, and you¡¯re polyamorous too?¡± replied Lucie with a lack of tact fueled by her exhaustion. Anna felt relief wash over her. Once again what she was had a name? So it wasn¡¯t bizarre, then? It wasn¡¯t unheard of? It wasn¡¯t abnormal, or wrong? The words could come out now. ¡°Yes. I love you¡­ And I love Sam too.¡± ¡°I am so happy for you, girl.¡± Lucie replied with a smile, as well as somewhat uncharacteristic fingerguns. ¡°And now I feel like I won¡¯t be able to sleep if I don¡¯t ask you what about them charmed you.¡± Anna hesitated. ¡°I don¡¯t¡­ know¡­ They¡¯re pretty? And protective? And kind, and smart, and gosh they don¡¯t let anyone walk them or their friends over? Maybe it¡¯s not enough and I shouldn¡¯t be liking them¡­ but¡­¡± Her train of thought was interrupted by a somber realisation. ¡°And what if I¡¯m being unfair to them? Like, only their appearance changed, that¡¯s always who they¡¯d been, why didn¡¯t I love them before? Wouldn¡¯t it be unfair to love them only after the change, when I couldn¡¯t do it before despite the fact they were the same person, only in a different body?¡± Lucie snappily replied with an angry tone. ¡°Anna, what would be unfair to them would be to not let go of what they used to look like and to refuse to date them because of the past.¡± Anna fell silent, guilt overtaking her for ever thinking it in those terms. Lucie sighed in her pillow. ¡°Sorry. I shouldn¡¯t even have asked why you were attracted. It was none of my concern.¡± Anna swept the palm of her hand over her face. ¡°No, no, it¡¯s fine. I needed to be taught that.¡± ¡°Really going back to sleep now though. See ya in the morning.¡± Lucie turned around to face the wall and stood immobile. Maybe it was time for Anna to do the same, but¡­ Sleeping on her butt was impossible with her tail, and the covers didn¡¯t feel right. She pulled them aside and contented herself with the mattress, though she discovered with a bit of uneasiness she felt the need to curl up into a ball to fall asleep. Those That Know Those That Know Once the proper morning approached, Anna woke up a bit early. She felt hungry, and got out of the bedroom to go grab a bite. She descended the stairs and entered the kitchen, only to encounter Lucie¡¯s mom sat on a chair, eating, who threw her an incredulous look. Wait, did she just¡­? Anna reconnected with reality when she realised she¡¯d let herself go with the flow again. She¡¯d completely forgot to hide her new feline features. She hadn¡¯t even checked how Lucie was doing¡­! ¡°This is¡­ a look.¡± Lucie¡¯s mom said. ¡°Y-yeah¡­ ¡° Anna hesitated, glancing away. She felt her new tail wrap around her leg in panic. ¡°You don¡¯t need to tell me anything if you don¡¯t want to.¡± The older woman reassured her. ¡°But I can feel you need someone to confide to.¡± Anna sighed in relief, and took a couple moments to think. ¡°It¡¯s¡­ It¡¯s fine.¡± She said, taking the chair opposite to Lucie¡¯s mom¡¯s. No doubt, with the state her mind was in, it was the smart thing to do. ¡°I probably need to get it off my chest, yeah...¡± ¡°You can count on me to not tell a soul.¡± She waved her coffee affirmatively, then looked up in thinking. ¡°Well, maybe my husband purely so that you don¡¯t have to give the explanations twice.¡± Anna smiled with a bit of reservation, then started to go through the events of the past few days. The lab, the portal, Sam¡¯s change, the collar (which she reflexively tugged at whenever she mentioned it), her own changes, the encounter with the principal and vice-principal - everything was laid down, save for her family troubles and her new relationship with Lucie. Once Anna was done, she felt relief over putting into words the madness that had been this series of events. It was always a wonder how therapeutic speaking can be. ¡°Feeling better?¡± The mom asked. ¡°Yeah.¡± Anna eventually replied. ¡°I know it probably doesn¡¯t feel like that to you, but I assure you, you¡¯re holding up really well.¡± She stood up and walked to the fridge. ¡°What do you want for breakfast?¡± She asked, opening it. ¡°I don¡¯t¡­ I don¡¯t know, I guess I¡¯m pretty limited if I¡¯m mostly carnivorous now¡­¡± Anna scratched her head, feeling slightly lost in her own shoes¡­ Ah, how that sentiment was familiar now that she realised it. ¡°Well, you managed to digest your milk yesterday, right? Maybe I can spruce that up a bit with¡­ Hold on, I¡¯ll check on the internet what cats can eat.¡± She said and went upstairs to look for her phone, giving Anna another moment to herself. She decided pretty quickly not to dwell on the upcoming day - gosh, how will she even hide the cat parts of her?- and instead reflect on¡­ herself, a little bit. On how much better she was, now. Sure, she had had the time to observe and get to know her new body in the mirror, but she hadn¡¯t explored her mind and feelings on all this yet. Anna felt like her existence as Marcus had been a lifetime ago. She still couldn¡¯t believe that¡¯s been what she needed all this time, all those years¡­ The little ways in which she¡¯d been uncomfortable as Marcus, avoiding mirrors, refusing to turn her webcam on, only using her mic for the most critical informations during raids. How she had never revealed her name to her guildmates, exclusively asking them to refer to her by her character handle. The weekend couldn¡¯t be close enough, she itched to calculate some optimal DPSes and buff charts again. Though that¡¯d require going back home to get her computer¡­ Maybe not, then.The genuine version of this novel can be found on another site. Support the author by reading it there. She stopped her gaming tangent and went back to thinking of all the signs, those that make so much sense in hindsight, but that she¡¯d never noticed until now. A lifetime of them hidden in plain sight, that she hadn¡¯t been taught to decipher. It was a bit embarrassing, but¡­ It was also mostly sad. If she hadn¡¯t understood them¡­ Could it have been the same for others? Could it be the same for others to come, even? A terrifying prospect. She silently swore to herself to do her best never to let people feel as lost as she did. She thought once more of her current body, just for good measure. So far, it had been inconvenience after inconvenience - the bizarre thought process, the new instincts, the food restrictions. But¡­ She didn¡¯t mind all that as much as she thought she did. Sure, it was still something she had to deal with, and it was just adding to the pile of problems, but there was something about it she had to admit felt right¡­ Or at least enjoyable. Purring last night had been incredibly relaxing, and even if thinking like herself required a conscious effort, the loss of inhibitions was something that¡¯d work to her advantage. ¡°Alright, so I jotted down the list of things you should probably avoid from then on.¡± Said Lucie¡¯s mom, descending the stairs. ¡°Surprisingly milk is on it, so maybe you don¡¯t actually have a digestive system that cat-like?¡± She handed Anna the piece of paper, who quickly read it over. Chocolate, nuts, bread, alcohol, amongst other stuff¡­ Nothing she couldn¡¯t do without, she supposed. It felt very akin to simply having allergies. ¡°Thanks.¡± ¡°Maybe you¡¯d want some fruits, sweetie? You can still taste sugar, right?¡± The older woman asked. ¡°Gosh, I hope so.¡± Anna answered a bit too genuinely. She liked her sweet tooth, she better have kept it. Lucie¡¯s mom cut a slice of an apple and presented it to Anna. She grabbed and tentatively ate it - thankfully, its taste was intact! She nodded in relief, and the mom went on to cut the rest of the fruit up into some milk she was boiling in a saucepan. Anna had another question surface in her mind. ¡°How come you¡­ Well, it¡¯s kinda silly to ask, but that you¡¯ve accepted me so readily?¡± The mom grimaced. ¡°It¡¯s unfair that we live in a world where you¡¯re correct to assume it¡¯s not simply because it¡¯s the right thing to do that I didn¡¯t raise an eyebrow at you.¡± She sighed, and pondered for a few moments if it was the right idea to add what she was about to say. ¡°But you¡¯re right. It¡¯s because I¡¯ve been used to stranger things.¡± Anna¡¯s ears perked up in surprise. ¡°I can¡¯t really tell you much. It¡¯s¡­ due to an old job of mine. And secrecy was sworn, for better or worse.¡± She took a wooden spoon from a drawer and tasted how Anna¡¯s breakfast was coming along. Satisfied, she turned off the stove and filled a bowl with the delicious apple milk and presented it to the catgirl. It smelled sweet, and as fruity as expected. ¡°I feel like I need to tell you at least a couple details, for your own safety.¡± ¡°Gosh¡­¡± Anna took a sip, discovering her tongue¡¯s new sensitivity to heat. Thankfully, the mom had apparently expected it, and made it only tepid, even if to Anna it felt like a warm treat. ¡°It¡¯s really that bad?¡± ¡°Gracious no, it isn¡¯t that bad. Just misguided. But it could still be trouble.¡± She sat down next to Anna. ¡°There¡¯s some stuff out there that people are devoting their life over to prevent anyone from learning they exist. The government¡¯s in on it.¡± ¡°Oh.¡± Anna replied, stunned. ¡°So some sort of¡­ Men in black?¡± The older woman chuckled. ¡°That¡¯s exactly the movie everybody goes to, and it is indeed quite accurate. Except they don¡¯t deal with aliens, those we have yet to know whether they exist, but things that are already on and from Earth.¡± There was a moment of silence. ¡°Anyway¡­¡± Lucie¡¯s mom said, standing back up. ¡°That¡¯s about all I can reasonably tell you without risking way too heavy consequences. Hope it¡¯ll be help enough.¡± ¡°It¡¯s¡­ Pretty mind-boggling stuff.¡± Anna replied. ¡°I guess I¡¯ll¡­ Make do with that info?¡± Her ears picked up on someone coming down the stairs. Lucie made her entrance in the kitchen, wearing little slippers to go with her pajama. She smiled and approached Anna. ¡°Morning kitten.¡± She said with a peck on the cheek that left the catgirl a blushy mess, before she moved on to hug her mom. ¡°Morning mom.¡± Her mom returned the embrace with a laugh and a glance at the family guest. ¡°So it IS that kind of relationship!¡± Anna buried her face in her bowl of milk to avoid the embarrassment, while Lucie replied with a roll of the eyes and a smile. ¡°It evolved into it.¡± The last member of the family passed by the corridor and took a mildly surprised glance at the kitchen, before going out to fetch his newspaper, and getting a quick briefing from his wife. After a breakfast full of parental banter, the two girls were on their way, with not much they could do but reuse yesterday¡¯s disguise and tuck the feline features in. Looking Sharp Looking Sharp The walk to school was rather uneventful, save for Anna discovering a new urge of hers to excitedly run about on all fours, and almost failing to keep it in check when it came to climbing the last stretch. Surprisingly, Jules was already waiting for them in front of the gate, and came running to them with a wave. ¡°Heya girls!¡± He said with a smile, pacing down to walk in the same direction as them. ¡°Sorry about last night, a rest really did me good.¡± Lucie grabbed him by the head and ruffled his hair mischievously. ¡°Same here, don¡¯t worry. I¡¯m sorry too, for what it¡¯s worth.¡± He pulled himself out of her grasp and turned his gaze towards Anna. ¡°Huh. More complications I gather?¡± She nervously lowered her head. ¡°Gosh, is it that obvious?¡± ¡°You¡¯ve got two bits sticking out under your hood, Anna. So, yeah.¡± Said Jules, with Lucie nodding in resigned approvement. ¡°Dammit.¡± She brought her hand to her mouth to nervously nibble on a nail (claw?), but found herself stopped by the facemask. ¡°That means staying in the lab for the entire day, doesn¡¯t it?¡± Jules patted her on the back. ¡°Hey, no maths lectures today. You¡¯re at least not missing out on that.¡± It was his turn for a jokester smile. ¡°Plus, I think you might get a nice surprise this morning.¡± She looked back up, interested, and Lucie vocally echoed the sentiment. ¡°Oh, what kind of surprise?¡± ¡°Hold on, I have it on my phone.¡± He said, pulling it out of his pocket and looking for the right app. ¡°Here, take a look.¡± He showed it to Lucie, who cooed. ¡°Can I see too?¡± Anna asked reflexively. ¡°You do know what a surprise is, right?¡± He responded, to her dismay. She muttered little noises and let go of the topic, as they approached the main building¡¯s doors. Double-checking that her ears were correctly obscured, she let her friends take the lead and followed them to the lab. ¡°Alright!¡± Jules exclaimed while stretching his arms, before taking one of the chairs. ¡°Gonna show me what changed today?¡± Anna fidgeted in her own seat, feeling similarly to yesterday. Once more she found herself¡­ Feeling like she¡¯d need to assert she¡¯s fine with the changes. That she¡¯s enjoying them, even, somewhat. ¡°Need some help?¡± Her girlfriend asked, noticing her inability to make progress. She quickly nodded with a thankful smile, and Lucie moved her chair next to her to help slide her tail out of her clothes, remove her hood and other face obscuring devices. Her ears flicked as they met with the air again, causing her to let out a little mewl before she caught herself and tried to keep her mouth shut with her hands, blushing slightly. Jules had a shocked expression that seemed to say he¡¯d seen it as a possibility, but hadn¡¯t expected it nonetheless. ¡°Wow.¡± He plainly said, his gaze following the sway of Anna¡¯s tail. ¡°That sure is something new again.¡± Anna hesitated, searching for the right way to phrase her thoughts. ¡°It¡¯s¡­ Weird. I don¡¯t always exactly control my body sometimes, there¡¯s like, little things that just slip out? But I kind of like it anyway. And, like, not despite the slip ups, but even them? They feel like they come so naturally, it¡¯s¡­ It¡¯s relaxing to not have to think about my every moves sometimes.¡± ¡°Seriously?¡± Jules asked with a smile. She nodded in response. ¡°That¡¯s rad. Happy you¡¯re happy, Anna.¡± She answered his smile with her own, her teeth noticeably pointier. Jules¡¯s phone notified him of an incoming message, and pulling it out of his pocket, he read it and chuckled. ¡°Looks like your surprise wants to do a grandiose entrance.¡±This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there. ¡°Huh. Sam¡¯s really come out of their shell, haven¡¯t they?¡± Said Lucie with a smile. ¡°Sam?¡± Asked Anna, wondering what they had to do with her surprise. Her ears picked up the door at the top of the stairs opening, and she felt her heart go haywire at the sight of her friend descending the stairs, gracefully avoiding tripping their feet on their sky blue dress. ¡°Hello everyone!¡± Sam announced, smiling at the room, before their sight stopped on an heartstruck Anna. ¡°I see I¡¯m not the only one with a new look today.¡± She tried to respond, but her mind failed her and the words came out as timid meows. They took a graver look and squinted at her a bit. ¡°Oh, it¡¯s not just cosplay, is it?¡± ¡°It¡¯s fine, she¡¯s okay with it.¡± Corrected Jules before the misunderstanding grew too wild. ¡°Looking sharp, by the way.¡± Sam relaxed again. ¡°Ah, that¡¯s good.¡± Now informed there was no pressing problem, they switched the conversation back to themselves. ¡°I do, don¡¯t I? My sis¡¯ is awesome!¡± They said, spinning around in their dress. ¡°Have you seen what she got me out of her wardrobe? It¡¯s perfect for when I feel femme!¡± Lucie gave them a thumbs-up, and the catgirl traversed the short distance that separated her from them and started to rub herself against their torso, purring. ¡°Oh!¡± They exclaimed in surprise. ¡°Feeling affectionate, Anna?¡± ¡°She gets like that sometimes, now. I like to call her kitten when she does.¡± Lucie explained with her mischievous tone that she¡¯d missed getting occasions to use yesterday. ¡°Oh, while that¡¯s on my mind, do you want me to tell Sam what you told me last night, Anna?¡± Anna¡¯s eyes grew wide as she turned her head towards her girlfriend, her cheeks positively red. She went back and forth between nodding yes and no a couple times, before settling on approval. Lucie grinned. ¡°Sam, kitten is totally in love with you.¡± ¡°Uh,¡± they replied, with a confused look. ¡°I thought she loved you¡­?¡± They quickly grasped the nature of their error from Lucie¡¯s expression. ¡°Oh! Oh my, Anna, you¡¯re poly? That¡¯s so cool!¡± They rewarded her with one of their signature bear hugs before letting her sit back down to catch her emotions, all starry-eyed. ¡°So that too has a word to describe it? I just thought ¡®fuck monogamy¡¯ was enough by itself!¡± Joked Jules. Lucie snickered. ¡°Want to know what else has words?¡± He turned his head towards her, interested. ¡°Correct me if I¡¯m wrong, but you¡¯re asexual and aromantic, right?¡± He raised his eyebrows in surprise. ¡°If that suffix means what I think it means, wow, I guess that¡¯s one more thing I¡¯ve learned today. Yeah, that sounds like me. You picked up on it real quick!¡± She shrugged her shoulders triumphantly. ¡°I just make a lot of guesses is all. The only reason I have many of them right is experience.¡± ¡°I just bumped into the soccer coach, by the way!¡± Announced Sam as they sat down, uncharacteristically taking the lead of the conversation once more. ¡°He was very confused by my clothes, that was fun, but has no issues with having me off the grass and onto the sidelines as a coach.¡± ¡°Nice!¡± Jules offered them a high-five that they gleefully completed. ¡°So, how¡¯s it feel to be yourselves, you two?¡± Lucie queried, a gentle smile on her face. ¡°It¡¯s nice¡­¡± Uttered Anna. ¡°Definitely nice.¡± Sam added. The door opened again at the top of the stairs, and after it closed with a clack, Mr. Robert didn¡¯t even wait to finish descending before asking ¡°So, what new troubles await us today?¡± He was eerily calm as the students came into his field of view. ¡°I see. Complications, complications.¡± ¡°Feeling better today, sir?¡± Asked Sam, standing up from their chair. ¡°Better yes, great still a no. Still have some amount of rolling with the punches to do¡­¡± He approached Anna and crouched to her eye level, studying her for a moment before pinching the bridge of his nose. ¡°Yeah, you¡¯re not leaving this room for the reminder of the day. Too risky.¡± Anna sighed, feeling already tired. ¡°It¡¯s alright¡­ That¡¯s already what I was expecting.¡± Her eyes suddenly lit up. ¡°Oh, before I forget! I¡¯ve met the person that was the mummy? In my dreams. Her name¡¯s Qelhatat, and she¡¯s the queen of Egypt in her world?¡± ¡°The most unbelievable part in all this is the fact the other universe also has an Egypt, to be honest.¡± Responded the professor. ¡°Alright. What else?¡± She thought back to both conversations she¡¯d had with the queen. ¡°Okay, so she told me she takes over people¡¯s bodies so she can live eternally, but she refused to tell me why. She wanted to take Sam¡¯s body at first, and¡­ I think the collar is some sort of fallback plan?¡± ¡°Puzzle pieces!¡± Exclaimed Lucie. ¡°Okay, so what I¡¯m guessing is direct contact is way more effective and that¡¯s why it changed Sam so quickly, and if they had let go even later they¡¯d be even closer to being a woman.¡± ¡°Wow. My ideal body, the fruit of perfect timing.¡± Sam muttered, eyes wide. ¡°That¡¯s crazy to think about.¡± She nodded, and continued her bout of logic. ¡°So, instead, she¡¯s changing Anna little by little, first her sex, then her¡­ Her species I guess, if that¡¯s how that works¡­ Damn it, we might have little time left then.¡± Mr. Robert nodded in agreement, a grave expression on his face. ¡°If we don¡¯t manage to convince that lady to have a change of heart, this might just be Anna¡¯s last day on Earth before she gets replaced¡­¡± Anna¡¯s face went pale as a ghost. Catgirl Convincing Catgirl Convincing Anna blinked a couple times, and, confused, observed the empty room around her, save for the professor who was busy putting the visor from yesterday on. ¡°Wh¡­ Wha...?¡± She muttered. ¡°Oh, finally back with us, Anna?¡± Asked Mr. Robert, who closed in on her and dropped a concerned hand on her shoulder. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, I should¡¯ve been more tactful with the whole last day on Earth thing. You¡¯ve been comatose for the past hour. I sent your friends to their classes.¡± ¡°O¡­ Okay.¡± She said through the disorientation. Was this too amplified by the cat parts of her, or had it really just been that brutal a shock? ¡°Anyway. This is the moment where I discover sleep deprivation made me commit a stupid mistake yesterday.¡± He said as he switched his visor on, and prepared himself to glance in Anna¡¯s direction. ¡°What do you¡­ mean?¡± She asked, still fighting off some of the daze she had been put through. He walked all the way towards her, making sure to only have body parts of her in his field of view at a time. He glanced at her head first, then avoided her neck to lower his vision down to her torso, her arms, then her legs. He sighed, then looked straight at the collar. ¡°Indeed,¡± he muttered while removing the visor, ¡°a stupid mistake.¡± She blinked a couple times, and found herself unable to remove the rest of the fatigue¡­ Ah. Well mistake on her part this time. She was sleepy, simply enough. ¡°Your body is completely fine. It¡¯s only the collar that¡¯s not in accordance with our world - and that¡¯s almost no surprise since it doesn¡¯t come from it.¡± He rolled his eyes. ¡°I¡¯m a total buffon when I¡¯m sleep deprived.¡± ¡°It¡¯s alright. We all make mistakes.¡± She said reassuringly. The professor chuckled. ¡°Eh, sure. It¡¯s better when they don¡¯t happen at critical times, though.¡± She thought for a moment, looking for the right thing to say. ¡°...On a, uh, practical level, does that change anything?¡± ¡°Yeah. Means your super strength is exactly that rather than a field of physics bending.¡± Mr. Robert explained. ¡°My¡­¡± He nodded, confirming she¡¯d heard correctly. ¡°Yes, your super strength. Grip strength most of all. Plus I¡¯m sure your claws provide yet another boost to that now.¡± She looked at her hands for a moment, took in once more what her nails had become. ¡°Super strength¡­¡± She muttered absentedly. A moment of silence passed, during which Mr. Robert prepared the laser from yesterday. And Anna didn¡¯t see herself able to avoid the elephant in the room any longer. ¡°So¡­ Why would¡­ today be my last day on Earth?¡± Mr. Robert sighed, closing once more towards her, then sitting on the nearest chair. ¡°It¡¯s definitely a lot of assumptions, but most likely, tonight will be the last change for you, and at that point Qelhatat will probably take over there and then.¡± He looked at the ceiling for a moment, avoiding her gaze. ¡°Biggest assumption in that theory is that there really is a pattern in the scale of changes she can make each night.¡± Anna didn¡¯t want to reply. The professor thought for a moment. ¡°Do you think it¡¯d be possible to talk to her before tonight? Like, try to sleep now and see if you can force a discussion to happen from your end?¡± She scratched the back of her head, this time being the one to avoid the teacher¡¯s gaze. ¡°I guess I could try¡­¡± ¡°Then you need to try.¡± He moved around, crouching in front of her once more. ¡°Feeling sleepy by any chance?¡± Anna fidgeted for a moment. ¡°Yeah, actually¡­¡± ¡°Okay, great! So try to get in that dream of yours with her again, and your goal will be to convince her to leave you alone at any cost. Alright?¡± He said with a little pump of his fist, trying to instigate peppiness in the student.Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon. She appreciated the encouragement, though her brain was still very confused by so much. She thought back to her conversation with Lucie¡¯s mom this morning, and figured there was no harm in asking. ¡°Mmh¡­ Is this important for anything? Beyond just me surviving I mean¡­¡± ¡°There¡¯s other reasons, but that¡¯s plenty important enough by itself already.¡± He replied, confirming her suspicions. ¡°Men in black reasons?¡± The professor seemed surprised for a moment, before smiling. ¡°You kids really are smart cookies. Who told you of those?¡± ¡°Ah¡­ You, you know¡­ Someone¡­¡± She stammered out¡­ And to her dismay, this answer didn¡¯t satisfy the professor. She looked at the ground and muttered ¡°Lucie¡¯s parents.¡± He took on a calculating look once more. ¡°Okay.¡± Standing up once more, he turned on the laser he was holding, then started flashing it upon the collar. ¡°Go to sleep, now. I can take care of the rest alone.¡± ¡°Thanks, professor¡­¡± She replied, curling up in her new sleeping position once he was done inspecting the front of the collar. She focused her thoughts on Qelhatat, on the pink room, on this dream space¡­ Hoping that was how she would get back in... Anna slowly opened an eyelid, catching the silhouette of Qelhatat¡¯s back once more, the queen sitting cross-legged. Stretching, Anna slowly crawled next to her, making herself comfortable in the same position. ¡°Hey.¡± The queen glanced at her, almost unsurprised that Anna¡¯s mental image once more fit her current body. ¡°A strrange, strrange man, that you arre.¡± ¡°That¡¯s probably because I¡¯m not one. Your magic helped me realise that.¡± She smiled, let out a little sigh. ¡°Thank you. I¡¯m Anna.¡± ¡°You arre welcome, I suppose.¡± Replied the egyptian woman. After a moment of silence, she added ¡°Arre you surre therre is no magic on yourr worrld?¡± ¡°Not so much anymore, actually. Could be part of the things that are being kept secret to the general population.¡± ¡°That¡¯s good that it could exist.¡± The queen muttered. ¡°Forr me, I mean.¡± ¡°I was wondering¡­ Is tonight the night you¡¯re gonna take over?¡± ¡°That it¡¯ll be indeed, my dearr. I only have to rrecharrge my enerrgy a bit morre. It is not easy to cast magic when you arre but a soul in an amulet.¡± Well then, the hypothesis was true. Her last day on Earth. ¡°Oh.¡± was all she managed to reply. The discussion fell into a rhythm for a while. One of them would ask a question, the other would answer, then the roles would be reversed. The queen asked questions about Anna¡¯s appearance and her acceptance of it, while the younger catgirl asked questions about Qelhatat¡¯s world, and why she¡¯d appeared as a mummy originally. Apparently, the queen had been fleeing her palace and got cursed on the way out, though she refused to explain why. She¡¯d sensed the portal far in the desert, and had managed to ride a horse over before the mummification took her completely, sealing off most of her magic. Anna simply repeated the things that she told herself this morning. How it felt good, how it fit. How it inspired her to help others that feel the same way as her. Despite the queen¡¯s nefarious acts that she planned to continue on Anna, there was no fear when the two women talked. In the middle of the craziness of these last few days, it seemed almost eerie how Anna seemed unphased by her incoming erasure, and how little hostility there was between her and her to-be-murderer. Maybe she was simply resigned, she told herself. Or maybe there was something, some unspoken agreement between the two women, that they could rely on one another, somehow. That, despite everything, they wished no harm upon one another. Eventually, the topic of Anna¡¯s homelife was brought up by one of the queen¡¯s questions. ¡°My parents are¡­¡± She sighed, biting at a claw. ¡°I dunno. They¡¯re not good, I¡¯ve learned to accept. Maybe even a bit bad, but I couldn¡¯t tell. I¡¯m completely unable to judge them fairly¡­¡± The queen grabbed Anna¡¯s head, then guided it onto her lap, gently petting her hair. ¡°That is a story I have hearrd beforre. One that is too common.¡± ¡°I¡¯m sorry¡­¡± Muttered Anna, absentedly pawing at Qelhatat¡¯s gown. ¡°Do not be. The amount of bad carretakerrs on both ourr univerrses is none yourr fault.¡± Anna smiled sadly, then took notice what she was doing, bringing to her mind another question. ¡°I¡¯ve been acting so catlike all day¡­ Do you know why?¡± A little ¡°Prrrf?¡± escaped the queen¡¯s lips as she glanced at her captive. ¡°Well, if you werre to ask me I would say it was that you acted monkey until now, but would you have morre detail to give?¡± ¡°It¡¯s just¡­ There¡¯s this whole slug of thoughts I gotta traverse through before I get to do anything coherent¡­ And when I don¡¯t, I start mewling, purring, getting excited over anything¡­¡± She paused, searching for the right words. ¡°It¡¯s not like that can¡¯t be enjoyable, but... ¡° The queen stifled a giggle, only to explode in a guffaw. ¡°You arre acting like a child! This is prrecious! I am not a betting woman, but I suppose my magic worrks differrently on the likes of you monkey-folks. It is making yourr thoughts be like those of a human childrren.¡± Anna took a page out of Lucie¡¯s book, opting for the jokey out. ¡°Dammit, you too call yourselves humans? That sure is gonna complicate things¡­¡± ¡°Differrent language, dearrie. Parrt of the spell of ourr firrst night togetherr, I made you underrstand mine as yourr own.¡± Anna blushed in embarrassment. ¡°Ah, right¡­ Explains the Egypt thing too.¡± Despite the absence of any feature in this endless void, the two women heard a loud ringing, seemingly coming from everywhere at once. ¡°What¡¯s happening?¡± Demanded Anna, confused. Once again, the queen provided a simple answer. ¡°Wouldn¡¯t that be the signal that you need to wake up, dearrie?¡± Anna squinted her eyes for a moment, and finally connected the dots - the school bell for lunch period was ringing. In a panic, she realized she still hadn¡¯t asked the question she came here for. ¡°Is there really no other way? Can you not take me over, please¡­?¡± To her surprise, the queen genuinely mulled it over for a moment. ¡°I will considerr yourr demand. It isn¡¯t as if I have no time to think, in this empty space of ourrs¡­¡± Anna mouthed a tentative ¡°Thank you.¡± before consciousness took her again. Required Talking Required Talking Anna awoke with a mean knot in her gut. She did feel like her relationship with Qelhatat had become something to be optimistic about, but it still felt very uncertain whether she¡¯d managed to convince her out of her plan. Maybe she should¡¯ve immediately started with asking. Maybe she should¡¯ve begged, maybe she should¡¯ve fought, maybe¡­ Maybe going with her gut and offering what she was best at, honesty and emotions, had been the right thing. She couldn¡¯t do anything but wait until tonight to know, now. She didn¡¯t even have the time to wonder if she would even be able to somehow get lunch in her new form that her phone buzzed with a text from Sam. ¡°we will bring you some food my lovely! also lucie you and i need to talk. xoxo sam¡± She put the device back in her pocket with an apprehensive smirk. Yes, of course they¡¯d need to talk. Between the latest update regarding Qelhatat, and figuring out how the heck she was gonna simultaneously have a girlfriend and¡­ Uh¡­ An enbyfriend? What even is the word? She¡¯d have to ask Lucie¡­ She glanced back at her pocket as it suddenly hit her she didn¡¯t even have her girlfriend¡¯s number yet. Anyway, she waited. And waited some more¡­ And didn¡¯t want to waste her phone¡¯s battery on playing the cheap rendition of Snake that was on it. Waiting turned to boredom, boredom turned to letting the cat slip out. When Lucie and Sam finally arrived with a water bottle, a bag of chips and a chocolate bar in tow, they stumbled upon a very busy Anna chasing after a loose screw she¡¯d found in a corner of the floor. As she spotted their arrival, her dilated pupils slowly took back their newly usual slit shape, under Lucie¡¯s amused smirk. ¡°I can¡¯t believe my girlfriend is an otaku¡¯s wet dream.¡± The punk girl muttered before her smile drooped. ¡°Actually, that sounds pretty creepy when put like that¡­¡± Sam took a seat on one of the chairs, handing Anna the chips she gently started munching on. ¡°...So, polycule talk time?¡± Anna quickly interjected. ¡°Wait, got something to say quickly first.¡± She shoved a few chips in her mouth before munching then downing what crumbs were left with a gulp of water. ¡°I¡¯ve got a chance to talk with Qelhatat again. I confirmed she¡¯s planning to take my body tonight, but she could potentially show mercy, I think.¡± Lucie sneered. ¡°Pfeh. Mercy¡¯s a generous word here to be honest. Oh, she¡¯s gonna spare you from something she shouldn¡¯t be doing in the first place, lucky us¡­¡± ¡°She¡¯s probably not telling me the whole story¡­¡± The catgirl replied, tapping her chin with an index. ¡°I know you¡¯ve yet to meet her, so it might be hard to look past her actions, but her words don¡¯t really match them? She¡¯s been seriously so caring and curious¡­¡± ¡°If you say so, Anna.¡± Sam said, crossing their arms as well as their legs. ¡°I¡¯m gonna give her the benefit of the doubt since you stand by her, but that doesn¡¯t mean actions don¡¯t speak louder than words.¡± ¡°Thank you.¡± She uttered with a timid smile. ¡°We can polycule talk now.¡± ¡°Well then, first off, maybe deciding to date in the middle of a multiverse battle of wits with a body stealing cat queen that threw your identity in for a self-discovery journey wasn¡¯t the smartest idea.¡± Lucie rambled on, apparently having been mulling over the best way to word this sentence for the past few hours. ¡°I know¡­¡± Replied Anna, hugging her legs. ¡°But I love you two so much, I¡­¡± She trailed off. ¡°Don¡¯t worry,¡± assured Lucie, ¡°we are not putting it on pause or anything. I was just making an observation that we¡¯re not making this easy on ourselves.¡±Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon. Sam nodded in agreement. ¡°The feeling is similar for me. Anna, you¡¯ve become so exciting to be around since discovering yourself...¡± They let a gentle smile creep up their face. ¡°I want to make this work, despite the circumstances.¡± Anna blushed and mewled. ¡°Secondly, Sam, you¡¯re a good friend but I don¡¯t see myself date you.¡± Lucie continued plainly. ¡°So, metamours?¡± ¡°Fine by me.¡± They replied. ¡°Wait, what does that word mean?¡± The catgirl asked, her ears at the attentive. Sam was the one to explain for once. ¡°Partners of the same partner that don¡¯t date each other.¡± They gestured a ¡®V¡¯ shape in the air using their two index fingers, connecting them at the bottom. ¡°But¡­ But then how does it work, in terms of¡­ You know¡­¡± Anna stumbled on her words, biting at the claw on her thumb. ¡°Like, time management, schedule? Like, each taking one day or one week, or something like that?¡± Lucie dismissed the proposal. ¡°Nah, this is love, kitten, not a divorce. Just hang out with whoever you wanna hang out with or wants to hang out with you. If stuff poorly sets in place to the point we need actual rules it¡¯s gonna jive bad with me.¡± ¡°Oh, speaking of! Wanna sleep at my house tonight, Anna?¡± Bounced off Sam with a smile. Anna retreated her neck in her hoodie, before nodding enthusiastically with a blush on her face. They replied with a thumbs up. ¡°Oh woe is me, having to tolerate my parents alone.¡± Lucie theatrically uttered, overplaying a faint. ¡°They¡¯re gonna drag me along for family board game night, oh the horror. Seriously though, have fun Anna.¡± ¡°Oh, and before I forget,¡± added Sam, rummaging through their bag. ¡°You¡¯ll want this morning¡¯s lessons, right?¡± They pulled out a few notebooks and gave them to the catgirl, who put them down on a nearby table, being careful not to disrupt any of the professor¡¯s work. ¡°Thank you. Thank you both.¡± Anna gratefully said. ¡°I love you for taking care of me.¡± ¡°Careful, you¡¯re really starting to sound like a cat!¡± Lucie replied, ending it with playfully sticking her tongue out. ¡°Meow¡­ Humans have fed me! I love humans!¡± Anna continued the goof before jumping to grab Lucie and Sam into a hug. The ensuing purring was not an intentional part of the performance however. ¡°Love you too, Anna.¡± Said Sam, returning the hug. Lucie simply hummed in agreement, her hand caressing her girlfriend¡¯s hair. The cuddling ended when they heard the door at the top of the stairs open, Mr. Robert having entered, with Jules trailing very little distance behind him. ¡°Has the nap worked, Anna? Managed to get into contact with your tormentor?¡± The professor asked, walking to one of his work desks. Anna nodded. ¡°I¡¯m¡­ hopeful. Still scared, but hopeful.¡± ¡°What¡¯s the plan for the reminder of the week?¡± Jules asked as he took a seat. ¡°Like, isn¡¯t tomorrow your b-... Wait, is it yours or is it Sam¡¯s we don¡¯t celebrate?¡± The catgirl¡¯s eyes went wide with surprise. Oh no. Her birthday. She already usually skimped on it, surely she couldn¡¯t take on the stress of it on top of everything already happening? That would absolutely be a mistake, right? Yet, as the thought crossed her head¡­ This was now Anna¡¯s birthday, not Marcus¡¯s. She liked herself. She liked being celebrated, it wouldn¡¯t feel like a lie anymore. And she wouldn¡¯t have her parents around to be control freaks, it would be between friends, between partners, between her own, real, chosen family. Maybe, just this time, it would alleviate stress instead of adding to it? Or maybe she shouldn¡¯t take the risk¡­ Or this was to be the start of her first actual year of existence, and she wanted to kick it off with ceremoniously casting away her habit of avoiding her birthday. She was now Anna, and Anna is adventurous, Anna tries things out. ¡°Yeah¡­ My birthday tomorrow.¡± She finished Jules¡¯s sentence, scratching the back of her head and looking away. ¡°Wanna do it this time around.¡± Lucie pointed at her with fingerguns. ¡°The first birthday of the rest of your life!¡± ¡°As long as we stay careful.¡± Sam said. ¡°Where should it happen?¡± ¡°Well, I still have my console at home.¡± Jules announced while grabbing a notepad from his bag, already formulating plans. ¡°How about you let me organize all this? I probably have the least busy schedule of you all.¡± ¡°Thank you so much, Jules. Thank you all.¡± Anna uttered with her voice weakening a bit, getting emotional over how understanding her friends were. Lucie grabbed her hand to bring her into another hug. Mr. Robert walked back into the discussing circle. ¡°So, Anna, how about we test that strength of yours this afternoon?¡± ¡°Strength?¡± Questioned Sam, curious. ¡°I¡¯m a super hero! ...Super heroine.¡± The catgirl replied. ¡°I have buff hands now!¡± ¡°Well isn¡¯t someone¡­¡± Started Jules before stopping himself. ¡°Nevermind, what with the potential death tonight maybe not.¡± ¡°Yeah, word.¡± The punk girl continued, an uneasy look on her face. The conversation wrapped up into a more relaxed direction, Lucie leaving first due to having gym classes and having heard rumors about the sports teacher being very demanding when it came to punctuality. A few minutes later Jules and Sam also left, the latter giving a hug to Anna before climbing the stairs. For the third time in two days, she was now alone with the professor in his lab. Intruding Elements Intruding Elements After a short warm up under the professor¡¯s demand, Anna bounced on her soles and clapped her hands. ¡°Alright, so what should I do?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t really know.¡± A spectacled Mr. Robert replied. ¡°I don¡¯t have pre-planned tests for that kind of thing, I just know I want to have a general ballpark for your new abilities. Hmm¡­¡± His gaze circled around the room, before settling on a twisted metal pipe, in the box of destroyed remains of the portal. Taking it, he tossed it in her direction. ¡°How about you straighten that thing for starters?¡± Anna looked at it for a moment, took note of its girth and make. Well, she had seen people manage to bend metal like this, but they were specifically trained bodybuilders, not meek girls with noodle arms. Still, it didn¡¯t hurt to try. She took one end in each hand, then pulled in the direction opposite the bend, her hands shaking in effort and a groan escaping her mouth¡­ And to her greatest surprise, she did eventually see the pipe straighten slowly under the pressure. She looked at it, amazed at her own feat of strength. It was nothing superhuman, but it definitely wasn¡¯t an act that fit her current carrure. Mr. Robert shared the shocked feeling with an astonished look of his own. ¡°That is definitely special.¡± ¡°Yeah¡­¡± Anna absentmindedly replied. ¡°Think if I actually exercised it¡¯d get even stronger?¡± He fiddled with a dial on the side of his visor for a moment while intently looking at her, then shook his head to the negative. ¡°Not to any discernible degree. This isn¡¯t just a plain boost in power, it¡¯s more akin to a reorganizing of your muscles into a more feline-human hybrid disposition. You¡¯d be surprised at how much strength a tiger can pack relative to its size, for example.¡± He paused for a moment. ¡°Point is, strength building exercises would only up this by a fraction of where you¡¯re already at.¡± ¡°...To be honest... I wouldn¡¯t have exercised even if it could¡¯ve impacted it anyway.¡± Admitted Anna, looking away and biting at a claw. ¡°Apparent muscles, it¡¯s just¡­ Not me.¡± ¡°We all have desires for what we want to look like. Nothing wrong with wanting some things but not others.¡± The professor said, leaning down on a chair. ¡°Take me for example, when I was your age I wanted to grow a beard. Now as to whether I¡¯m here yet¡­¡± He continued, running his palm over the few odd hairs on his chin. ¡°Could your Qelhatat offer me a lion¡¯s mane, maybe?¡± Anna stifled a laugh and shook her head, before stopping for a moment and actually thinking about it. ¡°I guess I¡¯ll need to ask her¡­¡± She then added ¡°If I survive tonight.¡± in a meeker tone. ¡°Hmm.¡± Mr. Robert straightened himself, then changed the topic. ¡°How high can you jump? Think you can reach the ceiling?¡± He asked, pointing up. She looked up and evaluated the height. The ceiling was about in par with the one in the corridor, which made it significantly higher as this room was one floor lower. Still, looking at the lamp hanging up there, it seemed like she could give it a shot, and even a bad fall afterwards wouldn¡¯t be too awful.Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon. She nodded, took a breath and tensed her legs, then pushed as fast as she could to bounce up¡­ Only to find herself in a direct collision course with the ceiling. Quick reflexes saved her as her hands took the brunt of the shock, but she then found her claws having instinctively dug into the concrete, leaving her to dangle there for a moment. ¡°Huh¡­ Little help?¡± She tentatively asked, before feeling her claws slip and gravity taking hold of her once more. The professor grunted as he ran to come catch her, then once more as she fell into his arms. ¡°Woah there! Are you okay, kid?¡± Anna glanced up at her savior, eyes affluter, and¡­ Felt nothing. Beyond the normal gratitude that is. And she was thankful for that - in some ways, this was confirmation that she wasn¡¯t randomly falling in love with anyone even mildly kind to her, and that her feelings for Sam and Lucie were something else. ...Uh, the fact she even needed that confirmation sounded to her ears like unresolved anxiety. ¡°Oh gosh... Thank you professor.¡± She replied as she hopped out of his grasp. He replied with a simple nod, crossing his arms. ¡°No problem. I should¡¯ve thought a bit longer before making that test, don¡¯t want you to get hurt. Means we¡¯re not gonna check whether you always land on your feet either.¡± He sighed. ¡°I really underestimated how high up you were gonna be able to jump¡­ I gave the ceiling as a point of reference, didn¡¯t think you were gonna reach it, even less so effortlessly.¡± ¡°Tiger muscles, eh¡­¡± Anna muttered, scratching the back of her head and looking away. ¡°Yes. Tiger muscles is a fine way to summarize it.¡± He replied. Their gazes suddenly jerked to the door as they heard something rattle inside its lock. Mr. Robert quickly gestured Anna to hide. It was a peculiarly recognizable set of heels Anna heard clacking down the stairs. The vice principal appeared at their end, directing herself in a straight line towards the professor with barely restrained anger, fists curled and arms swinging with controlled restraint. ¡°Where are you been for these past three days, skipping your classes!? Did you really think we wouldn¡¯t hear of it!? An entire class of loitering seniors isn¡¯t something we would miss!¡± She screamed, spittle jumping out of her glossed lips. ¡°I hope for your sake you have an explanation for this!¡± Mr. Robert immediately jumped on the defensive, his hands doing a little appeasing handwave as he took a step back, hoping for the vice principal not to turn her head towards Anna, who took the moment to retreat in the shadows against the staircase. ¡°Well, as you know, I¡¯ve been working on some improvements for the boiler, but¡­ There was an accident and I had to focus on it, lest it blew up, you see.¡± Her gaze hardened, piercing through the professor¡¯s aloof demeanor. ¡°Do not take me for a fool, Morgan. We¡¯ve given you the privilege to use this room as you wish, and we can take it away if you continue to shirk your duties. Am I clear?¡± She pivoted on her feet before he had any time to respond, and her head stopped as she caught the silhouette of a teen hidden underneath the stairs. ¡°Now what in the blazes...!?¡± Anna immediately hightailed it, jumping straight up and slipping over the stair¡¯s ramp, hurtling out of the scene with her heart beating out of her chest. ¡°Get back here this instant!¡± She heard behind her as she slammed the door and continued her escape, ears and tail carefully concealed by her hoodie. It didn¡¯t take long to lose her pursuer and hide in the toilets. She waited in silence for a few minutes, her heart pounding. She quickly realized she¡¯d left her bag and phone in the lab, though¡­ That was really bad. After making sure the coast was clear, she left her hiding place and directed herself to the front gate of the school so she could loiter for an hour or so, just to let some time pass before going back to fetch her stuff without risking a new encounter with the vice principal too much. Cat Out Of The Bag Cat Out Of The Bag The walk back through the empty corridors of the school brought back a tenseness she remembered from the day Qelhatat traversed the portal. There was a mean feeling in the air, and the main difference was that now she had much more hair that could stand on end now. She made her way to the lab¡¯s door without a hitch, only to find after a pointless rattling of the handle that it was under lock and key. Damn. ¡°Looking for this, Marcus?¡± A voice on her left made her jump in surprise - it seemed having waited an hour had done nothing as the vice-principal had simply stayed prowling around the door all this time, holding Anna¡¯s school bag hostage. It was the name used that made her jump the most however. Her heart beating wildly, she took a step back, feeling panic take hold. She wanted to say something, anything to get out of this mess... which with her female voice would¡¯ve been a terrible idea, consequently leading her to feel strangely grateful for hyperventilating right now. ¡°You are Marcus, right?¡± The lady continued at the absence of a reaction from the student, dropping her arm holding the bag back down. ¡°Is that where you¡¯ve been? Hiding in professor Robert¡¯s cupboard while your parents rummaged heaven and Earth to get you back?¡± ¡°I¡­ I can¡¯t¡­¡± She muttered despite herself with a raspy voice, her emotions too raw to stop from flooding out. ¡°I can¡¯t go back¡­¡± The older woman sighed. ¡°I know that with puberty you teens tend to have wild reactions, but running away from home because of a disagreement?¡± ¡°Is that- Is that what they¡¯ve been calling it? A disagreement?¡± Anna replied indignantly, her shaky voice growing unmistakably feminine as her volume augmented. ¡°An entire life of being constantly dismissed and blamed for everything, a disagreement?¡± The vice-principal only paused for a moment before reaching for Anna¡¯s hood, who swiftly dodged before grabbing her bag out of the woman¡¯s hands and running off. ¡°Now will you please stop running for a moment!?¡± She shouted before giving chase for the second time this afternoon. ¡°I¡¯ve called your parents, young man! They¡¯re en route as we speak!¡± The threat of her parents made her heart skip a beat, the accumulating revulsion having grown to something so terrible she lurched forward, wishing herself to be anywhere but there... But it made sense. Of course they would call her parents. Of course they would still call her young man. Of course they would still think she¡¯s Marcus. It was all because of this charade of keeping things secret, wasn¡¯t it? At least that¡¯s what her mind told her just now. Her emotions were on overdrive, she was scared, afraid, panicking, and so were her thoughts. She pulled off her hood and ripped away her mask to the gasp of the vice-principal, sending her a glare full of the contempt she was afraid she had in her. ¡°This is what you wanted to check, wasn¡¯t it?¡± ¡°What in the blazes¡­¡± Like a reflex, the older woman pulled out her phone and started punching in a number, while Anna hightailed it, her instincts giving her the simple command of searching somewhere safe. She ran through the corridors of the school, climbing on all fours the stairs to the main classes block, galloping up to the third floor where she knew her class was in session. A slight voice at the back of her mind, grasping for control, told her to stop before she sowed even more chaos, but Kitten required safety, and it was behind that door.This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience. So the door was flung open, and the catgirl leaped across the room, landing on a very startled Sam¡¯s desk, a nearby Jules seeming as flabbergasted, and the faces of the classmates and teacher sporting similar expressions. Details got blurry. There was joy and safety, but safety was waning. The sensation of being carried, a bell ringing far away. A scent that was similar to safety. A low, continuous roar all around her, moving forward without running. Safety regained, held onto tight. Drowsiness. When Anna came to, she rubbed her eyes and found dried tears, accompanied by a mild but persistent headache near her right temple. She realised her head was gently resting on Sam¡¯s shoulder, and she quickly processed her whereabouts as the backseat of a moving car, a young woman, about late twenties, in the driver¡¯s seat that sported hair of a similar color as Sam¡¯s, only cut short and spiked up with gel. Sam apparently noticed her shifting and turned their head. ¡°Are you back with us, Anna?¡± Her thoughts were a bit of a jumble. She stayed immobile, enjoying the feeling of contact against her partner¡¯s shoulder. ¡°I¡¯d went somewhere¡­?¡± She remembered her mental exercise from last night. Visualise the sea of thoughts, look for the epicenter¡­ Grab tightly, and no letting go. The headache receded, her eyes blinking away the fatigue. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, what¡¯s happening?¡± Sam shifted their arm, wrapping it around Anna. ¡°Depending on perspective, you¡¯ve either been knocked out for thirty minutes or an hour.¡± ¡°What¡­?¡± ¡°Do you remember anything?¡± They asked, a concerned look on their face. Anna dragged a hand to her forehead, focusing for a moment. She could recall sensations, feelings, blurry images¡­ Nothing concrete. She shook her head to the negative. Sam sighed, then took a breath, expediting the hard part out of their mouth as quickly as possible. ¡°You went full cat and revealed yourself to our entire class.¡± The moment she knew what she was looking at, the images in her thoughts became clearer. She clearly remembered the feel of sitting atop a desk, her tail swaying side to side, while she looked Sam dead in the eyes with affection. Of hearing the disbelief of classmates. ¡°A real tail?¡± ¡°Is that the new girl?¡± ¡°Holy sh-¡± Sam standing up from their chair and in a swift motion carrying her away before anyone could stop them. Grabbing their phone out of their pocket and calling their sister for an ¡°early exit¡± while she was busy nuzzling her head against their neck and purring. The recollection of all this made the headache come back stronger than before. A groan escaped her lips as the grip of her hand on her head tightened ever so slightly. ¡°Woah woah,¡± exclaimed Sam, pulling her into a hug. ¡°Easy there. I think that happened because you¡¯re completely mentally exhausted. No more shouldering everything by yourself, okay? I¡¯m here.¡± ¡°I messed up so badly¡­ Now an entire class knows, the vice principal knows¡­¡± She sighed. ¡°Heck the entire school must know by now, there¡¯s no way the government people aren¡¯t gonna come dig for info¡­¡± ¡°I know. We can worry about that later. For now, evening at my house, alright?¡± Their hand went to caress Anna¡¯s back in soothing circles. ¡°Calm, relaxing evening, tomorrow your birthday party, then we¡¯re gonna worry about what the world¡¯s gonna throw at us next.¡± She shifted around, throwing her head backwards into Sam¡¯s lap. ¡°Couldn¡¯t even keep the secret up for two whole days...¡± ¡°It¡¯s okay, love.¡± They soothingly muttered in her ear, softly caressing its fluffy inside with two fingers. ¡°I was a ticking time bomb myself. Neither of us wanted to stay cooped up at home, if it was really that much of a problem Mr. Robert would¡¯ve stopped us earlier. The mere fact he went along with our crazy idea is enough to tell me we can handle the trouble.¡± Anna looked up to Sam¡¯s face, then timidly nodded, prompting a smile from them. ¡°I hear your girlfriend¡¯s awake?¡± The lady at the wheel asked. ¡°Name¡¯s Monica. My lil¡¯ sib told me a lot about you, Anna.¡± As the car stopped to a red light, she turned her head backwards, taking an appraising glance at the catgirl. ¡°And if you ask me...?¡± The big sister paused, an angry look on her face that made Anna pull her knees up to her torso. ¡°You are frickin¡¯ a-do-ra-ble!¡± She shrieked with a wink and a smirk, before turning her attention back to the road and roaring the motor to full strength as the light went to green.