Becoming Female: A Teen's Awakening (Part 3)

"Here’s the cheerleader’s stuff," I said, handing my bundle to Aunt Therese. She stuffed it into a brown bag and stuck it by the door. I was curious as to how she’d get it back to school but decided not to ask. I had other things on my mind.

"Aunt Therese, can I ask you a question about this spell?"

"Certainly, dear. You want to know how to break it, of course."

"Well, yes. But I was going to ask what exactly I had to do to get you to end it."

"Why? Don’t you like being a girl? Goodness me, did you and our young man have a fight?" She smiled at that, maybe trying to look sympathetic, maybe just laughing to herself.

"No, we didn’t have a fight—I mean, no, I don’t like being a girl." Why had I answered like that. Which was more important?

"Well, I’m glad to hear that you two are still together. As far as ending the spell, I hate to admit it, but I can’t."

"What!"

"Not just yet, anyway. The spell is to teach you a lesson for all the trouble that you caused me as Alan. I expected that to take a while, so I linked it to a woman’s menstrual cycle. You must go through a minimum of one complete cycle, thirty days, before the spell can be reversed."

"Oh, great," I thought. "Besides everything else, I get to see what having PMS is like."

"Yes, and remember, dear. Most of the time, you’ll be Alice. The only reason that you change back to Alan at all is so he can attend school. If I don’t reverse the spell before your Spring term ends, you get to be Alice all Summer. Think about that for a minute."

I did. As Alan I had definite Summer plans: a job, working on Jerry’s car, dating, swimming out at the Lake. I could just see myself out at the Lake. I’d wear a really skimpy bikini. Rick would like that. Even if I felt embarassed showing off my body like that, I’d do it for him. We could -- oh, hell, Alice was taking over again.

I think Aunt Therese could tell how my thoughts had strayed. "Yes, my dear.

All Summer as Alice, unless you show me that you’ve changed your ways.

Now is there anything else before you go upstairs to study?"

"What the hell," I thought. "If I’m going to be stuck as Alice for a while yet, I may as well see how the other half lives." Aloud I asked, "Rick Medford, the boy who’s been driving me home, he—well, he asked if he could take me out this Saturday. I said that I had to ask you first. May I go out with him?"

"Since you asked so nicely, and since you’ve been behaving in such a ladylike manner, I suppose a reward is in order. Very well, you two may go out. But he will come into the house to introduce himself; not just honk to the horn on that car of his. A "Honk!", and his date with you will be over before it begins. And you must be home by 11:30 PM."

"Thank you, Aunt Therese," I said, hugging her impulsively. I knew that I was a lot happier to be going on the date than I should have been. I was really Alan after all. Wasn’t I? But I was so happy that I didn’t care. I ran upstairs to start my homework, so I’d have time for a little extra primping before I went to the Library to meet Rick.

- # -

Rick was waiting for me at the door to the Library. "Did you ask your Aunt about our date?"

I suddenly felt very shy, scared almost. I found myself looking down, rather than at his face. "Yes, yes, I did, and she said that I could go out with you."

"That’s great," he said. I looked up. He had the cutest smile on his face. "I’ll pick you up at 6. We can get something to eat, then go to a movie, if that’s okay."

"It sounds fine. But Aunt Therese said that you have to come into the house and introduce yourself. If you just honk for me, she won’t let me go. And I have to be home by 11:30." Now I felt embarrassed. And scared. It suddenly occurred to me that Rick might not want to come in; that he might call the date off. I held my breath and waited.

"That’s okay. A lot of parents are like that. My folks used to be that way with my sister, even."

"You don’t mind, then?"

"Nah, I’ll come ten minutes early, so your Aunt has time to ask me whatever questions she wants. It’s cool."

I felt so relieved. I wanted to kiss him for being so understanding. My body was tingling at the thought of being with him for the evening. Then I remembered where we were and those two girls from the night before. If someone saw us kissing, I’d just die. I felt my face get warm and realized that I was blushing. "Let’s go in and get started with our research," I said, trying to change the subject. Rick took my hand, which made me tingle even more, and we walked into the Library.

About a half hour before the Library’s closing time, I heard Rick yawn. I looked up to see him stretching like a cat. "I think I’ve worked enough tonight," he said winking at me. "I’m kind of tired, and if we—if I—leave now, I don’t have to drive home so fast to make curfew." He winked again, this time with a little bit of a leer thrown in.

I realized that what he was saying was that, if we left now, we’d have some time to park before he had to get me home. Time to do all sorts of things - alone - in his car - in the dark. All I had to do was say "No", or even just keep on with my studying. Only I didn’t want to. I wasn’t sure what was going to happen, but I found myself wanting it to happen - wanting to be with Rick in whatever way he wanted. It was like Alice had locked up Alan in a cell in her - his -our mind. He’d get to watch, but that was it.

Fortunately, or unfortunately, or both. Nothing happened on the way home. That is, nothing happened to me. There was some kind of accident on Pine Street, and Rick and I got caught in mid-block in a long line of cars. Rick started to pull over to park, but I was afraid that we’d get stuck. I didn’t want to get home so late that I couldn’t change back to Alan for school the next day.

Rick put his arm around my shoulder, while we inched our way down the street. I smiled and moved closer to him on the seat. Then he moved his hand down and began rubbing my breast. It felt good, damned good. I wanted him to keep doing it, then I suddenly remembered where we were. "Rick," I yelled.

He jerked his hand back. "What’s the matter, Alice?"

"There’s people here all around. Somebody will see us."

"Alice, it’s nighttime. Everybody’s trying to see whatever caused this tie-up. Nobody will know."

"I’ll know. It—it just feels like everybody’s staring at me. Please, stop."

"Well," he said, sounding very disappointed, " if you don’t like it."

"Oh, I like it, Rick. I like it a lot, but I just feel uncomfortable doing anything where people can see us." I reached up and squeezed his hand. "Can you understand?"

"I guess so." He took his hand away. "I kind of like shy girls."

I beamed. I was so afraid that he would have called everything off; maybe even told me to get out of the car. I promised myself that I would try to make it up to him on our date. Then I realized again what that would mean. Alice wanted to be with Rick—to sleep with Rick—but I was Alice, and I was Alan, too, wasn’t I. Was Alan gay, or was Alice taking over. I was beginning to get scared of just what Alice might do on that date.

I didn’t really say much of anything to Rick the rest of the way home. Not that he said a lot to me, either. I gave him a very sisterly kiss as I got out of the car. He got back in, shouted, "See you tomorrow," and drove off.

Thanks to that accident, I got home about ten minutes later than usual. Aunt Therese said not to worry. It was still early enough that I’d have no problem changing back to Alan in time for school. That was good because I had enough other things to worry about.

*** Thursday

I was hoping that Jerry and Phil wouldn’t be a problem at school. Wrong! They both blamed me for starting the fight. Jerry even blamed me for having a week’s worth of detention, even though it was his fault for not showing up the day before. "Had more important things on my mind," he smirked.

They did both offer to forgive me if I’d fix them up with Alice, maybe give them some tips on how to seduce her. Now that they’d met her, they wanted to see more of her. Which meant, eventually, to see all of her—naked in a bed. I was beginning to wonder what I’d ever seen in them to consider them my best friends. Was I like that? I didn’t think so, but who could tell? I decided that if—if? I meant when—when I got back to being Alan full time, I’d look for a better class of friends.

"There’s no way that I’ll help you do anything to Alice," I said. "I mean come on, you guys, she is my cousin."

"So?" They both said.

"You guys are hopeless," I said and walked away shaking my head. I was half expecting them to start another fight. In fact, I was half hoping for a fight, a chance to get some of the "Guy" hormones into my system after the heavy doses of "Girl" hormones I was getting as Alice. Besides, I knew from past experience that I was a better fighter than either of them, and I figured that I had a fair chance of taking them both if I had to.

But nothing happened. At least not then.

- # -

Both guys showed up at my house about 10 minutes to 4. Jerry must have cut detention, which was going to make him real popular with Mr. Graydon; he’d probably get detention for a month. I guess that I should have been flattered that he thought Alice was worth it. I was going upstairs to get ready for the change, and I heard them at the back door. They claimed to be looking for me—Alan, but I had a hunch that they wouldn’t be too disappointed to find me—Alice, instead. I ran the rest of the way upstairs and crouched at the top of the stairs to listen. If I needed to—if the change started, I could get to my room and lock the door before they caught me. I heard them arguing with Aunt Therese. She repeated my story that I was grounded and told them to leave.

"Hey," I heard Phil say. "If we can’t see Alan, we’re willing to settle for that pretty cousin of his. Is she around?"

"I expect her here shortly," Aunt Therese said. She must have looked at the kitchen clock. I had checked my watch when I got home, and I figured that it was now almost 4 o’clock. "However, knowing the sort of hooligans and reprobates you two are, I have no intention of allowing you boys anywhere near my niece. Now get out before I get mad, and you get very sorry."

"Go, guys!" I thought. "If she gets mad, you’ll be as able to get as near me as any other two girls would."

I heard Jerry say, something about "Later", but then the door slammed.

Aunt Therese yelled that they were gone, and I could relax. She’d known that I was listening! Thank heavens the guys weren’t too stubborn. I got up and walked to my room, getting there just as the change began.

- # -

I found out at the Library what Jerry meant. We were leaving early like the

night before, when there was an announcement that Rick was wanted at the

Reference Desk. The Reference Desk was half way across the Library from the

main doors. Rick told me to wait for him. It was a warm night, so I said that I’d wait just outside the building. That way, I could drink some of the soda we’d just bought. (You can carry food out of the vending area, but you have to go outside the building to eat or drink it.)

Phil was waiting for me. "Don’t bother waiting for Medford, Babe. Jerry had him paged. There’s a message at the Reference Desk about a book in the Stacks. By the time he figures it out, we’ll be long gone. He grabbed my arm and began to pull me towards his car.

I froze. As Alan I could take him out easy. But I wasn’t Alan. I was Alice. Weak, female Alice. I suddenly found that I remembered as much about Alan’s fighting techniques as I did about his skill with cars. Nothing. Besides, Phil was several inches taller than me now and a lot heavier and stronger.

I looked around the lot. Our sneaking out of the Library early had helped him. Just about everybody was still inside. I tried to pull my arm free, but I couldn’t. There was no point in yelling. Nobody would hear. I slapped Phil’s face, but he just laughed. I began to hit him on the arm, but it didn’t seem to do any good either. "That’s it," he said as if to encourage me. "I like my girl to get feisty when I hold her hand."

"What do you mean, your girl?" It was Rick! He grabbed Phil by the wrist and squeezed till Phil let me loose. Phil turned and tried to throw a punch. Rick blocked it and threw one of his own. Then a couple more. Phil caved like a ton of bricks and fell to the pavement unconscious.

"Are you all right," He asked. I saw that idiot Jerry trying to hide near the Reference Desk. When the librarian said that he’d been the one to have me paged, I got worried and headed out here."

"And just in time," I said. "Would it be corny to reward my gallant rescuer with a kiss?"

"Not when it’s this gallant rescuer, fair damsel."

I threw my arms around Rick and pulled him close to me. Who cared if anybody saw. He’d saved me, and he deserved a kiss.

As we kissed, I realized that my nipples felt like two steel points poking through my bra. My crotch felt warm and moist. And empty. I wanted Rick, wanted him in me. I moaned and rubbed myself against him. I felt him get hard, and I was very happy knowing that I was doing that to him. I opened my mouth and met his tongue with my own. My knees began to feel weak and my entire body was tingling from 1,000 watts of sexual electricity.

He was the one to break the kiss. "That’s a wonderful reward. Let’s go someplace very private and do something more about it."

I smiled, and we both half ran to his car. It was a good thing everybody was still inside, because Rick didn’t take a lot of time to watch for pedestrians when we drove out of the lot.

We got as far as the hill on Pine Street. Rick pulled over and parked under a big maple tree. Its leaves would give us extra shade. He turned off the engine and leaned over to kiss me. I hesitated for a second, then kissed him back. My mouth opened, inviting in his tongue. He put one arm behind my back, pulling me closer. I felt his other hand on my left breast, gently massaging it through my blouse and bra. My nipples were still hard from those kisses in the parking lot. He began to play with my left one with his thumb. The sensations were incredible!

He broke the kiss and pulled his arm back from behind me. He was unbuttoning my blouse. I could have stopped him, but I didn’t want to. I found myself lowering my head and smiling shyly. My blouse was wide open now, my nipples poking out, clearly visible beneath my bra. I felt them rubbing against the silky lacework of the bra. It was wonderful, and I wanted more. I reached down and began to pull at his t-shirt.

Suddenly, I heard the bank clock. Nine. No! Nine fifteen by now! I felt as if a bucket of ice cold water had been thrown on me. What was I doing, letting Rick kiss me, touch me like this? What was I doing trying to get his shirt off? I pulled my hands back in horror. Wasn’t there any of Alan left? Then I remembered what Aunt Therese said about needing my sleep, if I was going to be able to change back into Alan for school. That made me stop. I had really wanted Rick and had been ready to do whatever he wanted, but, now that I’d had time to think of what I was doing, I was suddenly very afraid of going too far with Rick.

I sat up and pushed Rick away. "Please, Rick. My Aunt’s expecting me home right after the Library closes." To emphasize my point, I readjusted my bra and began to button my blouse.

Rick started to protest. "Besides," I said, smiling coyly, "if I’m late, she may not let us go out Saturday night. We’ll have a lot more time then."

I realized what I was saying, what I seemed to be promising him. Alan might not like it. But right then, I was Alice. I wanted Rick, and I didn’t want Rick. My feelings, my body, were scaring me because of how strongly I wanted him. I kissed him lightly on the cheek. "Please take me home before we get into trouble."

Rick started the car and drove the rest of the way in silence. I used the time to finish buttoning my blouse and pulled down my skirt from where it had ridden up as we squirmed on the seats. Once, when we stopped for a red light, I saw him reach down and adjust something, too. I pretended that I hadn’t noticed, but I felt pleased to have had that effect on him.

I know the effect that he had had on me. My nipples were still erect, rubbing against my bra as if begging to be touched. It felt like my panties were damp from the moisture I had leaked, and my female parts down there were definitely sending me messages. It was all I could do to keep from asking Rick to stop the car, but I was afraid. Whether it was of going all the way or of not getting home early enough to be able to change, I couldn’t tell. We did kiss again when he helped me out of the car at the house. A short kiss, but—oh, boy! He hopped back into the car and drove off waving. I stood at the curb until he turned the corner then went inside. My body was still tingling, and I tried very hard not to smile too much at Aunt Therese when she asked how my studying had gone. "Dreamy," I said. "That is, it’s like a dream the way the information just comes together. I think this will be a really good paper."

"I’m glad the work is going so well." Aunt Therese knew exactly what I’d really meant. And she was enjoying it. "But now, you’d best get to bed, Alice dear. We do want Alan to be rested for school tomorrow." I nodded in agreement and headed upstairs.

I took off my blouse and skirt and hung them back up in the closet. My nipples were still poking against the material of my bra. Any movement on my part and the lace rubbed against them, making me tingle. My panties were actually a little damp. I took them off and put on a short nightie and matching panty. Then I washed upand got into bed.

I was hoping to doze right off, but I kept thinking off Rick. At first, I just pictured his face and that cute little smile that he had. Then I remembered the feel of his lips on my lips and his hand on my breast. I closed my eyes and laid there in the dark thinking about them. Suddenly I felt his hands on my breasts. No! They were my hands, moving—rubbing—my extended nipples. It felt so very good! I felt my groin get moist again.

Without thinking, my hand reached down to touch my groin, to feel the moisture. I only meant to touch for an instant, but my hand stayed there! I reached up under my panties. My fingers moved across my patch of hair, moving it and tickling my pussy. One finger reached inside and found my clit. I began to rub it in time with the motion of my other hand rubbing my nipple.

Fireworks were going off inside me. I rocked back and forth on the bed. My legs were thrown wide apart, and my hips bucked like a wild horse. I moaned! I knew that I didn’t want Aunt Therese to hear me; to have her come in and discover my like this. But I knew even more certainly that I didn’t want to stop. Not ever. I took my hand off my nipple just long enough to grab a pillow and throw it over my face.

My hand went back to my breast, now rubbing the other nipple in time with the hand in my pussy. I arched my back and screamed into the pillow as jolt after jolt of pleasure shot through me. This wasn’t like jacking off as Alan, one quick spurt and it was over. The sensations went on and on and on. If this was what a girl’s multiple orgasm was, I didn’t want it to stop until I was a dry husk lying dead in my bedroom. One last, incredible explosion, like being inside - no, like being that last big blast in a fireworks display, and it was all over. I lay panting on my bed drenched in sweat and too weak to continue.

I was probably still smiling when I fell asleep.

*** Friday

Alan was back in the morning.

I climbed out of bed and carefully stripped off the nightie. It had looked great on Alice, but it was much too small for me as Alan, so tight that it was almost painful to wear. It was also still a little damp from my - from Alice’s, umm - exertions of the night before. Still, I was very careful as I took it off. There was still a little of Alice in me, I guess, because I was thinking that I didn’t want to tear anything that pretty. I stuck it in the dirty clothes hamper and headed in to tke a morning shower.

Fifteen minutes later, I was dressed and downstairs. Aunt Therese had breakfast waiting.

Jerry and Phil didn’t want to have much to do with me at school, which was fine by me. Phil had a black eye and walked a little hunched over as if his ribs hurt. He claimed that he had tried to help an old guy who was being robbed and had gotten beaten up for his troubles. Well, it sounded better than the old "I fell down some steps" routine, though very few people believed him.

I did run into Rick Medford. He stopped me in the hall on my way to Algebra. "How’s your cousin?" he asked.

It was a litle weird. As Alice, I I really liked him - liked him enough that it scared me. But as Alian, he was just another friend, a guy that I’d known since grade school but didn’t hang out with very often. "Okay, I guess."

"She say anything about what happened - about last night?" He was definitely worried that Alice might have said something to Aunt Therese, and the date would be off. I wondered if it would have made a difference. Aunt Therese might have enjoyed knowing how I’d panicked when Phil grabbed me, and how I’d needed a male protector just like any other weak, timid little girl. Of course, I couldn’t tell him that.

"I was upstairs when she came in. I heard her talk to our Aunt for a couple of minutes, then she went to her room. I don’t know what they said, but, from the tone, it sounded fairly routine." I decided to have a little fun. "Why? Did something happen that my Aunt and I should know about?"

He squirmed. "No! Ah - you know how it is, Alan. I’m spending time with a girl that lives with you. I thought that she might have said something about how she feels about me."

"So you want me to spy on her for you. Nope, we don’t tell each other’s secrets in my family." He looked really sad, and I decided to toss him a crumb. "I will say that she’s really looking forward to that date you have with her on Saturday." Before We could say anything else, the bell rang. We both had to run to get to our classes. I thought that I might see him after school, but I didn’t. Of course, I couldn’t wait around to look for him.

- # -

I got home about five minutes before the change. Aunt Therese was sitting in the living room reading from some over-sized book with a leather cover;

The Joy of Witchcraft, maybe. She looked up as I came in. "Good afternoon, Alan. I thought that we might have something easy this evening, so I’m sending out for pizza. You can putter around as Alice until I call you for dinner."

That sounded simple enough. As I headed upstairs to change - my body and my clothes - it occurred to me that Aunt Therese had been a lot more pleasant the last couple of days. Maybe, she was mellowing. Or, maybe, timid, ladylike little Alice didn’t put as much of a strain on our relationship as I had as Alan. Whatever the reason, Aunt Therese could be fairly nice when she wanted to be. Having seen what she could do when she was angry, I decide that her nice side was much more preferable. I decided to encourage it by behaving better.

Then I remembered that her wanting better behavior was exactly why she’d turned me into Alice. Was the whole thing some kind of mind game? I planned to think about that after I’d changed.

It was 4 o’clock. I didn’t need to hear the bank clock. I could feel the change begin. My hands were getting smaller, my fingernails growing out and shaping themselves. I loosened my pants and let them fall past my widening hips. I stepped out of them and out of my shoes—which were, again, far too big - at the same time.It was trickier taking off my T-shirt as my breasts grew out. As I pulled the shirt off over my head, I felt my hair—so short a minute ago—fall down against my neck and back. Anybody looking in my room would have wondered why pretty little Alice Webster was standing there in her cousin’s jockey shorts and socks.

She didn’t wear them for long. I stepped out of the shorts, holding my feet, so the socks came off at the same time. I walked over to the dresser and picked a matching lemon panty and bra set from my drawer. I stepped into the panties, pulling them up tight against my butt and hips. The nylon felt so much better than Alan’s cotton shorts that I wondered why I’d even tolerated them as a boy. I put my arms through the straps of the bra, leaning in to get my breasts into the cups. Then I reached behind and fastened it as if I’d been doing it for years instead of for a few days.

As I walked over to get a shirt and blouse from the closet, I caught a glimpse of myself in the full-length mirror. Even without any make-up I looked pretty good. Phil and Jerry would kill to see me looking like this. Not that I wanted them to see me like this. It was too bad that they were such jerks. They were both kind of cute. Rick was much more handsome, but they weren’t too bad looking.

I’d listened to both guys brag about their sexual exploits for years, and the memories of some of their stories flooded back into my brain. If only a third of them were true, they were both accomplished lovers, and I wondered -- What was I thinking? It was bad enough to fantasize about Rick, but now Phil and Jerry. "Don’t go there, girl," I said to myself.

I decided to do some homework before dinner. The Library closed early on Friday, 6 PM, so I didn’t expect to see Rick until tomorrow. I thought that if I could get all my homework done, I could spend some time with him on Sunday. I’d have to see how the date went, but it sounded like a good idea. Especially since I was going to have to stay home and write that paper the first part of next week.

English was easy, read some more of Jane Eyre, the book we were discussing in class. I finished a chapter and put the book aside. It had gotten more interesting now that I was Alice, but I was well ahead of the class discussion. We had no civics homework, since we were supposed to be working on the paper. I spent a half hour going over Spanish vocabulary, then moved on to Algebra. I was still working on math problems, when Aunt Therese called me down for the pizza.

I was a little surprised at what she’d ordered. First of all, it was the small size, rather than the medium one that I would have expected. More important was the kind of pizza. She’d ordered half with just mushrooms, her favorite, I guess, and half sausage, onion, and extra cheese, my favorite. This was the first time that we’d had pizza since she’d arrived. How had she known?

"Well, I am a witch, you know, Alice." She reached in and pulled out a slice, carefully putting it on a plate.

"As if I could could forget." I picked up a slice and took a bite. After that we didn’t talk much, just ate. I finished that piece and another, but I had trouble with the third. I left almost half of it. I guess my stomach was just smaller. Aunt Therese ate about as much as I had, leaving some crust and part of a third slice. No wonder she’d only order the six slice small pie.

After we finished the pizza, I found myself cleaning up without even being asked. Something Alan would never have done. I also found that I was starting to think of Alan in the third person, as if he were somebody else and not my real self. Did Alan—did I—think about Alice the same way? I thought that he—that I—did, but it still bothered me.

I went in to watch some TV. Aunt Therese was watching the news. I sat down on the sofa and tried to listen, but after a while I found myself getting a little bored. I looked over and saw that Aunt Therese was doing something with a needle and thread.

"It’s called embroidery, dear," she said without looking up. "Would you like to try it?"

I figured what the heck and went over. Aunt Therese showed me the stitch she was doing. Then she threaded a second needle and let me make a couple stitches in a corner of the fabric. It was really easy and a lot more fun than I’d have expected it to be.

Aunt Therese reached into a big cloth bag, something shopping bag size, next to her chair. "Ah, here you are, dear. I got this in the mail a while back as a promotion for that new crafts store in the Maytown Mall." She handed me a small paper bag with a picture of a strawberry on it. I opened it up to find a piece of white cloth, a line drawing of the strawberry showing what colors went where, and a little cardboard piece with about six different shades of colored yarns wrapped around it.

Aunt Therese fit the cloth to plastic circle from her bag and showed me how to thread the needle. In a few minutes, I was happily sewing away.

It only seemed like a short time had passed, when Aunt Therese mentioned that it was past eleven o’clock. I looked at the embroidery I had been working on. The strawberry was about half done. So were the leaves and a little of the decoration around the edge. And it looked pretty good.

Aunt Therese agreed. "I thought that you might have a bit of talent for sewing," she said.

"But I can’t sew," I said. "I mean, I, as Alan, can’t sew." I’d tried to sebody looking in my room would have wondered why pretty little Alice Webster was standing there in her cousin’s jockey shorts and socks.

She didn’t wear them for long. I stepped out of the shorts, holding my feet, so the socks came off at the same time. I walked over to the dresser and picked a matching lemon panty and bra set from my drawer. I stepped into the panties, pulling them up tight against my butt and hips. The nylon felt so much better than Alan’s cotton shorts that I wondered why I’d even tolerated them as a boy. I put my arms through the straps of the bra, leaning in to get my breasts into the cups. Then I reached behind and fastened it as if I’d been doing it for years instead of for a few days.

As I walked over to get a shirt and blouse from the closet, I caught a glimpse of myself in the full-length mirror. Even without any make-up I looked pretty good. Phil and Jerry would kill to see me looking like this. Not that I wanted them to see me like this. It was too bad that they were such jerks. They were both kind of cute. Rick was much more handsome, but they weren’t too bad looking.

I’d listened to both guys brag about their sexual exploits for years, and the memories of some of their stories flooded back into my brain. If only a third of them were true, they were both accomplished lovers, and I wondered -- What was I thinking? It was bad enough to fantasize about Rick, but now Phil and Jerry. "Don’t go there, girl," I said to myself.

I decided to do some homework before dinner. The Library closed early on Friday, 6 PM, so I didn’t expect to see Rick until tomorrow. I thought that if I could get all my homework done, I could spend some time with him on Sunday. I’d have to see how the date went, but it sounded like a good idea. Especially since I was going to have to stay home and write that paper the first part of next week.

English was easy, read some more of Jane Eyre, the book we were discussing in class. I finished a chapter and put the book aside. It had gotten more interesting now that I was Alice, but I was well ahead of the class discussion. We had no civics homework, since we were supposed to be working on the paper. I spent a half hour going over Spanish vocabulary, then moved on to Algebra. I was still working on math problems, when Aunt Therese called me down for the pizza.

Aunt Therese had ordered the pizza half plain and half beef, mushrooms, and extra cheese. "Just the way I like it," I said. "How did you know."

"Oh, ah, I am a witch, Alice; in case you’ve forgotten."

"As if I could." I shrugged and pulled a slice free. It was still kind of funny, but this was my favorite. I finished the slice and managed to eat one more slice and most of a third. I hadn’t eaten since lunch, but I wasn’t nearly as hungry as I might have been as Alan. I guess Alice had a smaller stomach. Aunt Therese had ordered a small pie - I guess she knew I couldn’t eat as much. Between us, we pretty much finished the thing. There were only parts of two slices and a bit of crust left.

After we finished the pizza, I found myself cleaning up without even being asked. Something Alan would never have done. I also found that I was starting to think of Alan in the third person, as if he were somebody else and not my real self. Did Alan—did I—think about Alice the same way? I thought that he—that I did, but it still bothered me.

I went in to watch some TV. Aunt Therese was watching the news. I sat down on the sofa and tried to listen, but after a while I found myself getting a little bored. I looked over and saw that Aunt Therese was doing something with a needle and thread.

"It’s called embroidery, dear," she said without looking up. "Would you like to try it?"

I figured what the heck and went over. Aunt Therese showed me the stitch she was doing. Then she threaded a second needle and let me make a couple stitches in a corner of the fabric. It was really easy and a lot more fun than I’d have expected it to be.

Aunt Therese reached into a big cloth bag, something shopping bag size, next to her chair. "Ah, here you are, dear. I got this in the mail a while back as a promotion for that new crafts store in the Maytown Mall." She handed me a small plastic bag with a picture of a strawberry on it. I opened it up and found a piece of white cloth, a needle, a little cardboard piece with six different shades of colored yarns wrapped around it, and a line drawing of strawberry showing me what colors went where.

Aunt Therese fit the cloth onto a plastic circle from her sewing bag and showed me how to thread the needle. In a few minutes, I was happily stitching away.

It seemed like only a short time had passed when Aunt Therese mentioned that it was past eleven o’clock. I looked at the embroidery I had been working on. The strawberry was about half done. So were the leaves and a little of the decoration around the edge. And it looked pretty good.

Aunt Therese agreed. "I thought that you might have a bit of talent for sewing," she said.

"But I can’t sew," I said. "I mean, I, as Alan, can’t sew." I’d tried to sew on a loose button one time a couple months ago, and I was all thumbs.

Suddenly I realized what I’d been doing. How could I have a skill as Alice that I didn’t have as Alan

"But you’re not Alan, dear. That is, you and Alan are two different personalities, two different people within the same body. The same magic that keeps you from knowing about cars the way he does also gives you skills, or, rather, the potential for skills that he doesn’t have."

It seemed simple enough, but it bothered me. Alan and Alice were two different people. But I was Alice a lot more of the time than I was Alan. If I stayed Alice too long—if I didn’t change back over the Summer—would there be any of Alan left.

I gave Aunt Therese bit of a sad smile. "I’m not sure I like that, but I did enjoy learning how to do embroidery. Thank you, Aunt Therese." All of a sudden, I felt very sleepy, so I added, "and good night." I put down my work, promising myself to get some more of it done over the weekend. If I got it done before I changed back to Alan full time, it would make a nice souvenir. I yawned and went up to bed. It never occurred to me that the thought of not switching back to Alan wasn’t quite as scary as it had been a few days before.

As I changed into my nightie, I realized how much later it was than I had been going to bed. Since I was going to be Alice all weekend, I didn’t need the extra sleep to have the energy for the change. I’d just have to remember not to stay up too late on Sunday.

And, best of all, it meant that I could stay out later with Rick. What had Aunt Therese said? Be home by 11:30. That was time enough for a lot of things to happen. I was beginning to think of some of them, when I dozed off. Smiling.

*** Saturday

I slept in Saturday morning, something I often did as Alan. I put a robe on over my nightie, a pair of fuzzy slippers on my feet, and went down to get something to eat. There was a note on the table. Aunt Therese had gone out to run some errands. She said that, if I was dressed "and looked presentable", she’d drop me off at the mall after lunch. I wasn’t sure what I’d do at the mall. I mean, Alice didn’t have any friends to hang out with, but, somehow, it seemed liked something to look forward to.

I had a quick breakfast and ran upstairs to get dressed, I put put on a pale green pair of panties and a matching bra. I dug an old T-shirt of Alan’s out of the closet and put it on. It fit pretty good except for being a little tight in the chest. I decided that I liked the way it accented my figure. I’d wear a light sweater, at least till I got to the mall, so Aunt Therese wouldn’t object. I’d have liked to put on a pair of jeans, but Aunt Therese hadn’t let me get any, so I picked a light brown skirt that matched the colors in design on the t-shirt. It was a little shorter than the skirts that I’d been wearing, showing off my long legs. I put on a pair of yellow socks and my brown sneakers. I grabbed a light brown sweater from a hanger and tossed it over my arms and head. I pulled my hair out from inside the sweater, and I was ready.

As I looked in the mirror to put on my make-up, it occurred to me how much I was enjoying the way I looked. "I’ll worry about it Monday, when I’m Alan," I thought. "No, wait a minute. Just how much am I enjoying being pretty little Alice? This isn’t right. I’m the victim of a spell, and I should resent it. Shouldn’t I?" This was getting damned confusing. I decided that the best course would be to go with it. Just not get too caught up in being Alice, since she—I—she was only temporary.

My mind was definitely made up—sort of. I finished doing my face and went down stairs. Aunt Therese wasn’t back yet from her errands. There didn’t seem to be anything really interesting on TV, not even the cartoons that Alan used to enjoy. I found the strawberry embroidery that I’d started the night before and began working on it again.

Aunt Therese came back just before lunchtime. I helped bring in a couple of boxes and some groceries from the car. She fixed us both a light lunch, salad with a little chicken. "We girls have to watch our figures you know. I thought that I’d still be hungry afterwards and planned to grab something at the mall, but it was surprisingly filling. I guessed that Alice’s stomach was smaller than Allen’s.

Aunt Therese kept her promise and agreed to drive me to the mall. If she had noticed the tight shirt that I was wearing, she didn’t say anything. On the way over, she asked, "I need to take some boxes down to the basement tomorrow. There’s some stuff down there of your Aunt Liz’s that I want to sort through as well. Would you be mind helping for an hour or so?"

"No, Aunt Therese," I said, sensing an opportunity. "But it’s a little dusty down the basement by the storage shelves for me to wear a good skirt. I know that you don’t approve of a girl in pants, but may I buy a pair of jeans to wear?"

I wasn’t sure how Aunt Therese would react. She’d been very stubborn the day I changed about buying me pants. Now I was asking her again. She got a funny smile on her face while she thought about it. "Very well," she finally said. "I agree with your reasons. In fact, you may buy two or three pair, so long as you agree to only wear them around the house."

When we got to the entrance to the mall, she pulled over to let me out. She turned off the engine and reached into her purse, taking out $60 dollars. "This should cover the pants. I expect to get the change and the receipt."

"Thank you, Aunt Therese." I wanted to hug her. Pants just like every other girl wore. Every other girl? What was I thinking? But now, I was so happy to be getting permission to shop for jeans that I just didn’t care.

"I’ll expect you home by 6. There’s a bus stop here at the mall entrance."

"I know. The 5:15 bus should get me home on time."

"See that it does. Oh, and make sure that you get nice jeans—and not so tight that you look common." She started the car again and drove off.

- # -

I went into the mall and wandered just wandered around for a bit. I couldn’t help thinking of how different it was from last Sunday. Then, I’d been terrified at the thought of being a girl. Now, I’d gotten used to it. I was even enjoying myself—a little.

I was looking at some books on a rack in front of the B. Dalton’s when I heard a voice behind me. "Excuse me, but do I know you from school?"

I turned and without thinking said, "Oh, Hi, Grace."

Grace was Grace MacAvoy. She was a short, cuddly brunette that I—Alan—had dated for a while. We’d had a fight over something—a really stupid, sexist joke that Alan told her—and sort of split up about two weeks ago. That was part of why I’d gotten drunk the week before, I missed her. She still was as pretty as ever. Her hair was styled differently and she was wearing the cutest—but what was I thinking? Worse yet, what had I just done?

"I’m sorry," she said. "I thought I recognized you. We must know each other, or you wouldn’t know my name. But I can’t for the life of me remember who you are?"

"Well," I said, trying to recover. "You really don’t know me. But you do know my cousin, Alan Webster. Everybody says that we look a lot alike."



"Oh, umm, sure, Alan. But how did you know me, then?"

"I’m staying with him and our Aunt Therese while my parents are out of the country. Alan showed me your picture. He talks about you a lot. He said that you two had some kind of fight, and he was really sorry about it and wanted to make up."

"Well, he should be sorry. ‘ll tell you about it later—maybe. Anyway, welcome to town. Will you be going to the school while you’re here?"

"No, my parents got so much stuff from my old school that I can stay home and study."

"Sounds like fun, but you won’t meet many people at home."

I suddenly had an idea. I’d wanted to get back together with Grace. If Alice got to be her friend, I could pick up a lot of pointers that Alan could use. "Well, I met you. How about giving me the grand tour of the mall? I need to pick up some jeans for working around the house."

"Great! A new friend and an excuse to shop, what more could I ask for."

We both giggled. Alice, it seemed, had a friend.

Grace took me to a "Jean Shack" store. We passed right near "Le Moderne". I could see Mariah watching me from inside the store. When she saw me, she got a funny smile on her face, kind of like a cat watching a canary.

"Jean Shack" sold jeans, blouses, and some accessories. It was full of teenaged girls, all sizes and shapes. "What size are you," Grace asked.

I didn’t know. I hadn’t really been paying attention last week when I got all those dresses. And weren’t there some differences between dress and pants sizes because of hips and length of the leg or someting? I stammered for a minute while Grace looked at me. Was she getting suspicious? Would she somehow guess that I was really Alan? Finally, I blurted out, "I—I’m really not sure. I just lost some weight."

"Lucky you," Grace said. "I’d guess that you’re about my size. "Here. Try these." She handed me several pair. "If they fit, I can borrow them from you." We both giggled at that.

"It’s a deal," I said and walked back to the changing rooms. It was a busy afternoon, and two were in use. There were some clothes in the third, a dress and a pair of heels, but nothing else. I went in and closed the curtain behind me. I was just hanging my own skirt up on a hook, when I heard somebody else come in.

"Well, there should be enough room for us both." I turned. It was an absolutely gorgeous blonde a few years older than me. She gave me a smile and walked over to the other side of the small room and began to wriggle out of the jeans she was wearing.

I recognized her almost at once, Sheila Hartman. She’d been a senior when I was a freshman, head cheerleader, homecoming queen, and the fantasy of almost every male in the school. Now here she was, even prettier than I remembered, and she was stripping her luscious body for me.

And I didn’t care.

Alan would have been in lust with her in a minute. Alice studied the way she did her make-up, glanced for a moment at her pretty undies, then looked away. Partly out of politeness, but partly because I found myself comparing my body to hers - and coming out a poor second.

I couldn’t believe what I was thinking. Sure, I was a girl at the moment, but if this vision couldn’t get a reaction out of what little remained of Alan inside me, then he - I - must be dead. Or all girl, which might be worse.

I realized that I was beginning to stare at her again. I turned away and undid my skirt. I stepped out of my shoes and my shirt and hung the shirt on one of the hooks. I stepped into the jeans and started pulling them up. I had to yank some to get them past my hips, but it was worth it when I looked in the mirror.

Shiela had left, and I was alone in the room. The jeans looked great. The weren’t tight enough to look "slutty", but they really showed off the curve of my leg, my round hips, and the narrowness of my waist. I turned, posing, and saw that my butt looked pretty good, too. I had just the right amount of curve and bounce to be interesting to Rick - or any other boy, I guess.

I went out to show Grace. "What do you think?"

She studied me for a moment. "Boy, I wish I looked that good in jeans."

I decided to start my campaign to win her back. "Alan told me you had a great figure. He said that he loved walking with you, watching all the boys looking at you, and knowing that you were his girl."

"His girl? You mean like he owned me. Why that—"

"No, no. I asked him about that, too." I had to think fast, or I’d have made things worse. "He - umm - he said that he felt lucky knowing that such a pretty girl - um - wanted to spend her time with him."

"That’s better. He is a nice boy, but he can be a little dense at times."

"How so?" This was it. Grace was going to tell me how to get her back.

"Oh, you know how boys get. Look, I know I’m probably going to forgive him in a few days - don’t tell him that - but I’m still a little mad for that dumb joke he told. So, can we change the subject and talk about something else?"

Darn! I’d hoped to pump her for more information. Still, she had said that she was almost ready to forgive me. I decided to change the subject and smiled. "Okay, my aunt gave me enough money for three pair of jeans. What colors do you think I should get besides these?"

"Let’s see what they’ve got." We spent almost an hour looking at and trying on jeans. A couple of times, Grace and I were in the dressing room together. The first time that it happened, I was really looking forward to seeing her undressed again. (Let’s just say, that we were passed the stage of holding hands, okay.)

Grace took off her skirt, and I snuck a glance at her. Nothing! I mean, I looked at her slender legs, at her butt in that little pink bikini panty that she was wearing - especially when she bent over to take off her shoe. And nothing happened. I could appreciate how pretty she was, but she was just another girl. That was the problem. I was a girl, too, and whatever Alan might have appreciated seeing Grace half-naked was lost on Alice.

I wound up getting a second pair of jeans, in the same style but chocolate brown. Then Grace talked me into trying on some regular slacks. I remembered what Aunt Therese had said, but Grace persuaded me that I could talk Aunt Therese into letting me keep them as long as I just wore them around the house. I chose a dark green pair with a bit of lace at the ankles and on the pockets. They looked very pretty on me, and I had a couple of ideas about which of my blouses would look best with them.

After we left the Jean Shack, Grace and I walked through the mall window shopping. I was never much on shopping as Alan - even with Grace. Now it was fun. We talked about the clothes, sometimes making jokes. Grace told me one about a girl on her wedding night while we were looking in the window at the Bridal Boutique. It was just as dirty as the one I’d told her as Alan, the one that had started the fight. I was a little shocked, but it was funny. I giggled at the punch line and tried unsuccessfully to think of a topper.

As we walked on, we passed a Piercing Pagoda. Grace looked at me critically for a moment. "Want to get your ears pierced, Alice? You’d look really cool."

"I think I’d better ask my Aunt first." I was tempted, I admit, but I was afraid that the holes might still be there when I changed into Alan. I was also afraid that they’d disappear when I was Alan and not be there when I changed back into Alice. "Changed back?" Great, now I was beginning to think of Alice as my true body as Alan as the magic trick.

I had another problem when we turned down one of the rows of stores. Grace started talking about the Victoria’s Secret about halfway down that row. In my mind’s eye, I started visualizing all those great commercials for the store, those sexy babes posing in really hot lingerie or modeling them on a fashion show runway. I liked the image. That meant that there was still at least a little of Alan left in me after all.

Then I saw myself - Alice - in some of that same lingerie, and I liked that image, too. Alice was walking down the runway wearing a skimpy little babydoll nightie with a thong panty, matching thigh high stockings, and three-inch heels. I saw her looking down at the people and smiling, and I felt scared. I tried to think of her walking slowly, slumping over so nobody would want to look at her. Then I saw Rick in the audience, looking at me - at her - and smiling. I - the Alice in my mind - smiled back. She straightened up and put a really sexy strut in the walk, wiggling her butt just for him. At the same time, I suddenly felt my body - my real body - tingling.

This I did not need. I looked around for a way to talk Grace out of going into the store. About four stores past the Victoria’s was the mall cineplex. The marquee said that RUNAWAY BRIDE was starting at 2:45. I looked at my watch. It was 2:30. Grace had mentioned the movie while we were in the Jean Shack.

I grabbed her hand. "Hey, look. Didn’t you say that you wanted to see RUNAWAY BRIDE?"

"Yeah," Grace said. "I hear it’s a great movie."

I pointed at the marquee. "It’s starting in 15 minutes. C’mon."

"I thought we could shop some more."

"We can—later. Hey, I’ll buy the popcorn." That did it. She forgot about the store, and we headed in to the theatre.

I’ve always enjoyed watching Julie Roberts. She has that hip, girl next door look about her. The kind of girl that a guy knew could be a pal, who knew about football and other "guy" stuff the way Julia did in the movie, and who’d also be fantastic in the sack. This time it was just like back at the Jean Shack. Julia was just another girl. Oh, but Richard Gere! When he told Julia the way he’d propose to a woman, I found myself sighing right along with Grace and probably half the other females watching the movie. My body tingled a more than a few times, a female response that I was getting to both like and hate. Still, it was better to be turned on by a movie star that I was never going to meet than by thoughts of the guy who’d be picking me up in a few hours.

"A few hours!" I suddenly remembered that Rick was picking me up at 6. If I waited to catch the 5:15 bus, I’d never get home in time to get ready. What time was the movie over? I began to panic. "Grace," I whispered. "I may have to leave before the movie’s over.

"What’s the matter Alice."

"I didn’t realize how late it was. I—I have a date tonight."

"Well, that was fast. Who is it?"

"Rick Medford."

"Not bad for somebody new in town. He’s cute. As far as getting home, relax. My Dad’s out of town, and Mom let me drive over to the mall. I can get you home in ten minutes."

"Thanks."

"No problem. Now be quiet. I want to watch the rest of the movie."

I sat back and watched the movie. I had definitely lucked out meeting up with Grace, even if I hadn’t learned much about how to get back together with her when I was Alan. But now that she and I—as Alice—were friends, there was still time for that. The movie ended about 4:30, and we headed out to Grace’s car.

"Are you doing anything tomorrow," Grace asked as she pulled out of the mall parking lot.

"No, why?"

"The Alpha Aides—that’s the school’s service club—is having a picnic over at Morton Park. Everybody’s invited, and I thought you might like to go."

"I don’t know." I wasn’t sure about spending a lot of time with my—

Alan’s—classmates. I was sure that somebody would recognize me, or that I’d give myself away. Besides, somehow I didn’t feel as confident at the thought of being around a lot of people as Alan would have been.

"You can bring Rick."

Suddenly the idea got a lot more interesting. "I’ll see how the date tonight goes," I said, smiling at an excuse to spend more time with Rick.

The car pulled up in front of the house. "I think I’ll head back to the mall," Grace said. "If Alan sees me, he might get the idea that I want to get back together with him."

"Don’t you?"

"Yes, I really do like him, but I want him to stew for a while more." I giggled at that, even though Grace’s actions were really at my - well, at Alan’s expense. I grabbed the bag with my new pants from the backseat and got out of the car. Grace started the car and did a U-turn to get back to her own house. Then she stopped, rolled down the window, and added, "Don’t forget about the picnic. Alan can give you directions to Morton Park. He can even come, if he wants. It starts at 2."

"I’ll try," I said, but she was already driving off.

The house was locked. I guess Aunt Therese wasn’t expecting me home so early. I used my own key to get in. There was a note on the table, "Alice, I’ve gone on an errand. Please leave your new clothes on the table for me to look at." I smiled at that. Let her look. I had done what pretty much she wanted. I put the bag on the table with the receipt and her change next to them.

Then I headed up to get ready for my date. My date!?