14 - Alyssa tries to keep up, Part 2

Alyssa smiled when she heard the barista call her name. She left her phone behind at the table as she went to grab her drink. Claire was still wearing her cute little yellow string bikini, which barely covered her C-cups, under an apron which kept her chest and toned belly tantalizingly hidden. Alyssa grabbed her latte from the counter, and Claire leaned down to receive a thank-you smooch. When she stood up, her chest was right at Alyssa's eye level. A moment passed.

~ Da-Ding! ~

Another change. After glancing around, Alyssa's eyes landed back on the small gold pendant hanging from a chain, right above the hem of Claire's apron. The icon had the familiar shape of a penis and balls (The penis, if you were being particular) and was inscribed with three tiny, indecipherable Greek letters.

She didn't know Claire was religious. Maybe she'd just pledged?

Claire coughed. "Not used to the new view, huh?"

"Sorry, sorry!" Alyssa blushed, looking up at Claire's face. She didn't mind being short. But everyone was just so tall!

She decided to take the opportunity to try to satisfy her curiosity. "hey, um, Claire, this is awkward, but... You didn't seem all that surprised by me losing, like, a whole foot of height? What's up with that?"

Claire scowled, confused. "What do you mean?"

"I mean, like, that doesn't just happen, right? I expected more, I don't know, Surprise? Like, whoa, what the hell happened to you>, that kind of thing?"

The barista shrugged as she wiped down the counter. "You look good, if that's what you're fishing for? I figured it was just a penalty for something, I didn't think you'd want to make a big deal out of it."

"W-wait, what do you mean, penalty? How do you know about that?"

Claire took a deep breath, speaking with a tone that made it clear she resented being asked such obvious questions. "Look, clearly if someone changes in a fucked up way all of a sudden, it's probably a punishment from some kind of magic reality game or something like that, right? Just because it's literally never happened before doesn't mean it's, like, weird or something. Honestly, its kind of crazy that you're making a whole thing out of it."

Alyssa stammered out, "Oh, o-okay, sorry, thanks-" But before she could finish her sentence, Claire stood bolt upright, her face turned to a glowing customer-service smile, and her eyes went completely vacant. She recited cheerfully, "Congratulations! Social Normalizing Filter Options have been unlocked for all players in the settings menu! Bonuses are available at higher difficulties!"

Alyssa was stunned. She blinked, processing what she'd just heard.

"You're staring again." Claire looked down at her with annoyance, and turned around, returning to work.

Bringing her drink back to the table, Alyssa's frustrated embarrassment blended with anticipation. She knew her turn at the game was about to be up, and all the fantasies she'd thought up since this morning would be within reach. She'd embarrassed herself staring at Claire's chest. Maybe her first command would be to make Claire go topless, and wear the cafe's menu in magic marker across her tits. Maybe she'd give the barista some extra chest meat, and make her get offended when people didn't stare, or make her mix drinks with her breast milk. Fuck. And it had to be Claire. Goddammit. She liked Claire. She never could keep her eyes to herself. She didn't want to take her frustration out on a friend.

On the other hand, it's not like Claire would know about it. Would she really be bothered if, for example, her tits grew bigger and more sensitive from being stared at, or her clothes became invisible in photographs? It would just be Alyssa's own little inside joke.

She checked her phone. Just seconds left, now. Lauren was still on the line, but she was silent. Probably hurrying to get one last command in before the end of her turn.

~ Da-Ding! ~

...and there it was, whatever it was. Alyssa took a sip of her latte as she watched her friend work behind the counter, enjoying the way her yellow bikini hugged her toned ass.

Alyssa smiled. Life was good.

"Nice cheeks, slut!" she yelled. Claire gave her a friendly smirk and rolled her eyes playfully. Alyssa blew her a kiss. It was a shame Claire was straight. Maybe she could fix that. If I wasn't already in a relationship, she reminded herself, belatedly. She hadn't even even decided what, if anything, to say to Katie about this whole thing. If her conversation with Lauren this morning was any indication, it might not be possible to discuss it properly with her without bringing her into the game as a player. She decided to worry about it later.

Looking around the building once more, Alyssa shamelessly drank in the copious female flesh on display around her, looking out especially for any girls who were staring at her. No such luck. A few boys were, which made her feel a little more confident. One even winked, and make a suggestive groping motion with his hands, when their eyes met. She shook her head politely.

"Okay." Lauren's voice came through the phone line once more. "You're up."