Investigations and discoveries

The next day, you wake up as usual, even if half an hour early. Your dreams, like the ones in the last nights, have been very wild, thus the tent in your boxers is no surprise.

After you've dealt with it, you decide it's no use to stay in bed. You dress up in t-shirt and jeans and go to the bathroom, where you wash your face. Your sisters are still sleeping (you guess, their doors are closed), and that's good since you don't have to queue. You watch at the man behind the mirror: from the oustide, you are apparently the same 19 yo boy of always, an average guy with an average life. But if you focus on your eyes, they say something different: a tired and profound melancholy, of those who have gone too far to even hope to go back. They are that boy's tombstone, the rests of his shattered innocence, if you've ever been innocent. Ingenuous, at least.

You then go downstairs to have breakfast. When you enter the kitchen, however, you stop on a dime.

Your parents are heavingly making out in front of the stove, your father is wearing a shirt and trousers while your mom is only in a skimpy black nightgown that highlighs the curves you've learned to know. You obviously aren't supposed to watch this, but your penis doesn't take it into account and goes stiff again.

Your mom finally notices you and interrupts the session.

-Hello Tom, sleep well?-.

-Yeah...- You nod. Your dad turns around, and surprisingly doesn't even flinch. He has a strange look in his eyes, like he's really tired. You recall that in the last few days he's worked from early morning to the evening, he had barely time to lunch with you. And probably your mom is keeping him up late...

You duck your face, unable to look at him even more. You're afraid he may catch some hint in your expression, plus you feel ashamed towards him, since you have become his wife's, your mom's, lover. And his daughters' too.

-Glad to hear that. Mmm, Robert, do you have really to go now?- She purrs, petting his shaved cheeks. Even for you it's embarrassing to see your parents like that.

-Yes.- He answers after some strange seconds of silence. His voice is... pitched, someway.

-Dad, are you ok?- You ask, genuinely concerned. Your mother frowns and looks at him in a strange way.

-Yes, I'm just a little stressed out. See you later.- He then walks away, much to your surprise. However, you're alone with your buxom mom now.

-Oww, are you jealous honey?- She suggests, distracting you from those thoughts.

-No, of course I'm... not...- Resolution fails you. Have you felt some envy, even if for just a moment? You can't honestly affirm it's not the case.

-Don't worry, there is just one man in my life. My special, best man.- She comes to you and traps your mouth with a breathtaking kiss.

You realize that the excitement you feel in your chest is also pride, the pride of knowing that she's telling the truth. No matter what your dad may think, no matter what she may do with him: she's yours, and yours only. Your hands are guided on her boobs, which they grope with trepidation.

-Did seeing mommy like this turn you on?- She moans between kisses.

-Yes...-.

-Mmm, mommy is turned too.-.

You're about to take off her nightie and lay her down on the table when she jumps away and casually wanders around, leaving you holding a handful of air. Some seconds later, your father reappears, now properly dressed, he smacks your mother on the cheek and finally departs.

-Poor teddy bear, he's so clumsy sometimes!- Your mom feigns emotion, but you know that she just wants to upset you. Yet, she is succeeding.

"You just said you were mine.".

With a bit of a sulky mood you sit down, waiting for breakfast to be served. Your mom decides to ignore you, and you simply draw out your phone. Nothing new. After a dozen minutes later, Tina first and later Kim join you. You hide your face with one hand when the latter arrives. You don't know what to do, what to say, should you pretend nothing has happened? Or should you, you know, talk about it and clarify some things?

She chooses for you: she's even in a worse temper than you, even more than in the usual mornings. Actually, Tina seems worried too, her attitude is less lively than yesterday. She almost reminds you of the old Tina, that is, the Tina you thought to know. Maybe they will be like this for the entire day, and this day will be as it used to be. Not even a week has passed since those times, and it seems you a lifetime ago. You wouldn't mind a day off.

Whatever it is, the first part of the morning passes quietly and you're ready to walk to Uni. You no longer count on being driven by Kim, and you know that when she's in these moods it's best not to give her an excuse. However, as soon as you are on the sidewalk, you notice your younger sister down the road, having left just before you. You remember what Melissa said two days ago, about her look. It's pretty plain now, like in the other days, and probably she was lying.

Well, what the hell, why not check? So you change your path and begin to follow her stealthily. Luckily, she doesn't turn around even once.

"Why would she? Oh God, I feel like a stalker.".

She takes a detour in the park, strolling around offhandedly like she has no care in the world. You see many people turning at her passage, bewitched by her simple beauty fill of childish purity, but she parades her perfection flaunting an apparent indifference, like a goddess walking among plebs. You wonder what role you play in the play: the lucky mortal who can own her, or just her toy?

You are about to leave and you think to quit, by now she has almost arrived at school and maybe you still have time for the first lesson. But then she turns the corner and, when you do the same, you have to rub your eyes for the incredulity. Her clothes are completely different! A very revealing top and a pair of mini jeans perhaps suitable for a pool party, definitely not for a school day! She suddenly stops and you crouch around the corner.

For some reason, you know she has just spun around. She has felt something too. But how do you know it?

You wait for her steps to fade, and then you begin searching for her old attire: she couldn't have put it in her backpack, it wasn't bloated enough. But you can't find it anywhere, neither in the bushes nor behind the fence. You feel dull. Why should she hide it outside? And, overall, how did she manage to change so quickly? Was she wearing those clothes under the others?

The more you think about it the less this story makes sense. There is something wrong, like really wrong, you perceive it. Something weird must be going on, and must be linked to her, no, to their behavior. But by now she is far away, and you have no more hope of finding out more. So, with a lot of questions and few answers, you kick up your heels and head to college.

Classes have started for five minutes when you enter the building. The corridor is clear. Perfect. You sneak into the toilets, locking yourself inside a stall.

Now it comes the hard part. You close your eyes, take a deep breath, and you strive to excrete as much goo as possible. Not just from your mouth or vagina, but from every pore in your body red patches of jelly flow out, squashing to the ground and immediately crawling out. You feel like coming out after two hours in the gym. It's the second time you do this, the first being yesterday afternoon, after having escaped from that woman, but you couldn't find a decent candidate to take Maria's place. So you wasted all night trying to find another solution, and now you're gambling everything.

You cannot make any error, or someone could notice a surreal march of sentient blobs trying to get into students' bodies; so you assure control over each one of them, being immediately bombarded with various and discordant feelings and points of view. You're over, under, left, right, up and down more times and at the same time. Overall, you feel a strong need, a compelling, mmm, hunger, to get a physical form. It's difficult not to go haywire, not to lose control and scream; you know that if you try to count the instances of yourself you will lose control of everything. But you, you must succeed, at any cost.

You make some of you crawl into cubicles and place themselves into the bowls, while you condense the others together and slip them out of the bathroom. Now it's time to break them up, and it's like breaking a diamond with your fingernails. It's painful, it's trenchant, you urge to throw up but you don't even remember where is your mouth. No, you don't have time to rest! With one group you reach the doors of the first offices, where you will find some professors alone. Kim will never share her conscience with an older woman, but their intellect may help you with your search, so you move in and, where you see a woman, you slowly squirm to her seat. Meanwhile, another group has arrived in front of the classrooms. The sweat shines on your real brow as a pair for each room creeps in.

Someone yells something. Who? Where? Did a student find you? No, it's in the corridor. You focus your pov on the mass detected: a janitor has just noticed you, and he's holding the mop uncertainly. On his face, you read the kind of confusion that precedes fear. You need to deal with him now.

You simultaneously leap on the teachers' mouth and on his face. They all struggle for some seconds, then they eventually calm down and fall silent. Only that the janitor has fallen on the floor and he's **** his neck, while your jelly blocks his throat. You want to react, but then tons of information flow in your mind-you have to prepare for the next exams, your son is in the hospital, the last meeting destroyed you, that bitch stole your job-not now, not now! Back in the classrooms, you are behind the last rows. The teachers' explanations come muffled to your ears, and all you see are the hairy heads of the students giving their backs to you, all in a shade of red that feeds your hemicrania. You know them, you have seen them in your lessons-no, they're not your thought-you have to get the ones in the corner so you are less likely to be noticed-URGH!!! You clench your teeth and shrug your shoulders for a shudder. What's this slimy coat you feel on?

You shiver with all your bodies-did it get cold in here?-the janitor, where is-what janitor?-the one in the janitor?? You localize it and jump out of his esophagus, your instinct is to go to him with your main body-such a young form, how nostalgic...-but as you try to stand up you are hit by pain, confusion, fear, who are you, what are you, where are you, who's inside your head???

You can't give up now.

While you reach the other classrooms, you're hopping under the skirts of the students in the back rows, your perspectives change dramatically now that you feel limbs, breasts and heads and new minds join yours. It's a mess, they all crowd into your brain, they're shouting and they're noisy and they're confused, they're suffocating you like, like the janitor!!-is he ok?-that old creep-oh Jesus have you kil-where am I where am I w-a convulsion pushes you forward, pulling you back to your Cindy's body, you pinch your nose with one hand and find it stained with blood, you're on the edge now, you have to quit but there are still many missing and your head hurts, it hurts so much! You can't do it, it's impossible! ARGH!!! Stop it, stop it! Why are you doing this?? Have you just killed an innocent man?? Why such many limbs, are you falling, are you wet, why do they keep talking, why do new ones keep coming??

-Urr... I... can't... now!-.

Why are you doing this???

-To save her!!!-.

.

.

.

Someone is shaking you by the arm. He asks you why you suddenly got dazed, if everything is okay. You nod and whisper that it is. Indeed, it is.

You've found your candidate. You cut off all ties and finally get up, then you bend over and throw up on the bowl. Later, you actually exit the bathroom.

You... you've done it. You haven't got her yet, but you know who she is. You seem to have known her for a lifetime, even though neither Tom nor Cindy has ever met her. And she'll fit, in a way or in the other.

You bump into someone. Someone very familiar.

-Cindy!-.

It's... it's you. The old you. Why isn't he in class?

-Cindy, your nose...-.

You touch it again. Damn.

-No, it wasn't you.- You say, but you're not sure you haven't babbled something incompressible. He's watching at you with wide eyes. You must look like shit.

-Are you ok? You're pale like a ghost, do you want me to call someone?-.

-I, I am. Thanks.- You answer properly this time. You then notice you've dirtied his sweater.

-Uh, oh. Just... forget about it, are you sure you don't need a medic?-.

-I've said I'm fine!- You yell at him. You would get it back right away, it was like someone has possessed you. He lowers his head and mutters an: -Ok.-. You watch him go with his head down, entering the men's room.

"I did it again. I've hurt someone who cares about me." You reflect sadly. Then you see the pieces of goo retreating towards you, like a swarm of slugs from all directions. You have to admit that's it's a creepy sight even for you. When they reenter, however, you identify the position of the janitor. You rush towards him, finding him laying down, and with terror beating in your chest, you check his pulse.

"Oh thank God!" You think reassured. You make sure no one sees you and then you spit inside his mouth. You just want him to go back to his life and forget what he has witnessed. You can finally breathe now, but then you realize that not all your goo has returned, meaning that someone hasn't abandoned his place. You feel guilty, you've just robbed someone's lives and you're not even sure who they are. And the one in the toilets! When you go back you don't find them, meaning they've gone down the flush. You have a Deja Vu, only it's worst now.

Fuck.

But you can't think about it now, now you have to...

-Cindy?-.

You freeze. When you turn around, there's Maria near a sink. You check with your heart up in your throat that she's still... Maria.

-H-Hey. So, uhm, how are you?- You try to chuckle, but your mouth is painfully dehydrated.

-I'm fine. Uh, and what about you? You're pale...-.

You hesitate for a second, not wanting to repeat the same scene of some minutes ago.

-I wasn't feeling good before, but now I'm ok. Just need to, you know, redo my makeup, ahah! Yeah.-.

An embarrassed silence then settles. Last time was, awkward to use a euphemism, you're surprised that she's even talking with you. Could you hope... no, don't kid yourself Cindy.

-Listen... I, I want to apologize for what I've said about your friend.- She timidly says, catching you off guard.

-Oh. T-There's no problem, really.-.

She curls a lock of hair with one finger, keeping her eyes down nervously. You gulp, the lump of saliva crawls down your fired throat. How much would you like to sink your face into that beautiful hair and see what it smells like. They must perfume like heaven.

-I'm sorry too. I shouldn't have gone away like that. It was very rude of me.-.

...

-It's not that... uh... that I didn't like being there with you.-.

Here, you've said that. Ohh, now she has jolted! What is she thinking now? Were you too impulsive, too cheeky? And what the hell did you mean by "It's not that I didn't like being there with you"? God, she must think that you're stupid now!

-...The same for me.- She says in one breath.

-And I'd... I'd love it if... if you come back again...-.

BUBUMP

Your heart misses a skip.

"She has said love.".

Now you have really to sit down.

It's a day like any other. You have just got home and you have left your stuff in your room. You're now going to the kitchen, and on the table you read a note saying: "Lunch is in the fridge. XOXO Mom". You chuckle. You're less happy when you find out it's soup.

"Ah, Mom...".

You heat it up and eat in silence. A drink of water, no more, as usual. You put everything in the washing machine and go to your room to study. More than once tufts of blonde hair fall on your sight, and you spend some time pushing them away. Stove, you take a rubber band from the drawer. You know that this way you lose what little beauty you possess, and that if you look in the mirror you would only see the dorky face of a girl that in high school they called "loser". But, after unsuccessful attempts to appear what you were not, you've gotten over it. You're about to start studying again when someone rings at the door.

Strange, your mom should have the keys. You check through the peephole and you don't recognize the person you see. It's a girl you've never seen before, some good-looking brunette of your age. You lock the deadbolt and open the door.

-Yes?-.

-Hi, Charity Dawson? I'm Cindy Hope, I go to the same university as you.- She introduces herself with a friendly smile. You inspect her closer: well-groomed hair, a carefully made-up visage, a well-proportioned but sinuous body. She could be a model, not the kind of person you hang out with often. Your body is indeed small, poorly developed during adolescence, your head is slightly disproportionate and, as you've said before, your face, not particularly attractive, does not make you regain points. You are two girls from different leagues, you are perfectly aware of that.

-I see.- You close the door, unlock it and re-open.

-Nice to meet you. Do you need something?-.

-Yes, actually. I've heard that you've passed my exams with good grades, and I was wondering if you could help me out.-.

You frown; it's not the first time someone asks you this, but they've never shown themselves at your house out of nothing.

-How did you know where I live?- You ask with a little growl.

-I didn't. You see, I live down there- She points towards some direction on the street that you try in vain to locate before he starts talking again: -and I've seen you entering here before, so I had lunch and came back here.-.

You keep silent, still unsure of how to proceed. She has spoken very casually, and in fact she's not saying anything odd. Rude, sure, but not really strange. Courtesy would include letting her in, right?

-I'm sorry, maybe I caught you off guard.- She apologizes, giggling out her discomfort.

-A bit. But please, let's talk inside. I don't want to keep you out like this.- You step aside and she enters, thanking you for your hospitality. She seems affable, after all.

-Isn't there anyone else?-.

-No, we're alone. So, uh, you have your backpack. I have half an hour if...-.

-Oh, you're so kind! I promise I will repay you!-.

-...Ok then.- You turn around and guide her to your room. What you can't notice is that her expression changes as you turn around, from a cordial mask to a grimace of insecurity and agitation, with her lips quivering and eyes constantly drifting away from your frame, as if she was ashamed of something. But, when you look at her again, she has put back her disguise.

-Feel free to put your things at the foot of my desk. So, what exactly do you need?-.

-Well, it's... uh, what's that thing on the floor?-.

You instinctively lower your gaze to where she has pointed, but you see nothing. As soon as you raise your face, however...