Magic

" You'll see. You may already be feeling the first bits now. Perhaps...in your chest?" Scarlet replied with a smirk. She was right. Something was happening. Your can feel your chest with your right hand and it was indeed a more sensible. Or was it merely a cheap trick of suggestion ? You couldn't help but start to feel confused and scared. Who is this woman? Or maybe ... what is she?

"You're thinking all kind of nonsense, don't concern yourself with that. I've given you the power to make your dreams a reality. You will blossom in due time. It will happen when you face your new self, and accept the gifts offered."

"Gifts? What on earth is she talking about?" You thought. " I didn't ... sold you my soul ... right?" You asked not really wanting to hear the answer.

"Hahaha of course not. I told you already what was in the pact. All I've done is enhance your voice a bit and push your body towards accepting the female side of things. Your only job is to improve upon your music skills. Once that's done, you'll focus on building up a huge crowd of adoring fans. We take care of the rest and no harm will come to you, not from us at least." Scarlet said all this confidently, but you couldn't help but notice that last part was a barely audible whisper.

"Harm me? Who'd want to harm me?" You asked a little alarmed.

" Crazy Fans ? Jealous partners ? It doesn't matter." Scarlet retorted, beginning to sound annoyed. " Now that you're on my path you'll need to pick a girl name. Chris is sort of gender neutral, but common and not befitting someone destined for stardom. You should pick something that is easy to remember and adds a hint of uniqueness that we can turn into a brand and sell. What would you like to be called? "

You felt like you were being pulled in four directions at once. You had a ton of questions and Scarlet somehow never gave you the chance to compile your thoughts into something coherent. Still you kept finding yourself compelled to obey her instructions for some reason. So you gave it a quick thought and you blurted out...

"Kelly."

You're not sure why or how you came up with that name. At the same time you didn't really hate it either.

"Kelly ? Not bad. I like the sound of it. Come then Kelly, let us meet with your band mates and discuss future arrangements. After that we'll have a talk with your parents."

She had a short meeting with Erick and Eddie. It was odd but after she was done talking to them they immediately began calling you Kelly as if that had been your name all along. Scarlet then followed you back to your home to meet with your parents. Same thing happened again, it was like they had always called you Kelly and regarded you as if you had always been their daughter. Once she was done with the meeting at your house she went to discuss things with each of your respective band mates parents.

Scarlet insisted that you finish high school before moving out and start your music career as a professional. At least you had a bit of time to get used to your new circumstances before moving out.

You were never sure how, but from that point on, anybody you knew regarded you as if you had always been female. It was quite strange, especially since you're from your point of view you are still mostly biologically male.

So you started to dabble in dressing like a female since Scarlet had already said the full change would happen eventually. You wanted to take it slow at first. But once your mom saw that you were willing to dress in female clothes, she started telling you to stop being a tomboy in male jeans and t-shirts. You quickly got sick of those comments from her, so your guy clothes started being replaced fast on your wardrobe. Soon you were wearing clothes sized and shaped for a female body daily.

It was an odd feeling wearing girl clothes all the time, but after a week or so it became the new norm. Your adaptability to this scared you a little. Were you always this adaptable ? Was it part of Scarlet's gift ? That's when you started to reflect a little.

Who knew that what started out as a favour to friends so that you could sing at a concert, would end up becoming a new lifestyle.

Once that realisation dawned on you, the depth of all the crazy changes in your life suddenly became overwhelming. It was like the shock of it all at first didn't totally register, and the reality of it never sunk in. You were a new person and the old you was gone. Were you still you? How could you ?

The realisation of that caused a heavy hit on your mood. Plus it's not like you could discuss this with anyone. As far as your friends and family knew you were always Kelly. Not Chris.

You tried turning to music to escape, or at least distract you and bring back some familiarity from before your change. But even that failed, because for some reason your guitar playing got a lot worse. You knew what and how you wanted to play, but your hands just didn't seem to work as fast or move as precisely as they used to. This frustrated you to no end and you found yourself looking for other escapes like snacking a lot. It didn't help your mood either when this starting to show on your body.

The rest of your days in high school were relatively quiet, save for a few awkward moments when boys would hit on you. A small part of you sort of liked the attention, but another part was a bit disgusted too. You weren't sure how to feel about these sorts of things. Before your change you never had any romantic experience.

Now you are in between genders, but people view you as female. A part of you definitely still found girls attractive. But a small part of you stirred when guys paid attention to you. It was all confusing. Graduation finally came and your high school life finally ended. Once you graduation date passed Scarlet called you and said that she was able to secure you and your band mates an apartment to share in New York. It was time to move out and start your new life.

After a long plane ride, perfect for a beauty sleep nap, you enter the cab that took you to the city. You finally arrived at your apartment building in Queens. The sounds of car horns and city noise were more loud than you expected. But moving to the big city sounded pretty exciting.

As you got out of the car a jogger accidentally bumped into you. He apologized profusely and after you both got yourselves sorted out he went on his way.

"This place really is more crowded than back home." You thought to yourself as you dusted yourself off. Scarlet went in to get your room key from the landlord. After that you all grabbed your belongings and made it up to your room. You walked inside and you and your friends were immediately assaulted by a musty odor.

"This place smells like ... Was it previously some sort of drug den or something?" Eddie asked rhetorically.

" I'm not sure I really want to live in this place. Yuck!" Erick said.

"Well boys, if you want to leave be my guest. But you're not going to find a better and more affordable place to live in my City. I can guarantee you that. The two of you will be coming with me for a week for some professional training anyway. Kelly is completely carrying you all with her voice, and that won't be good enough if you all want to make a career out of this. As a singer she's great but as a band you all ... suck." Scarlet said bluntly.

" My company has given you all a small fund to start out and paid each of your deposits of 2000 dollars. That said, what we're giving you isn't going to be enough to get by. So you'll all need to make some money from paid gigs, and find side jobs to help support yourselves, until you get famous. Welcome to the professional circle. " None of you liked the sound of that, but it all made perfect sense.

"This apartment will be fine once you all clean the place up a bit. But you're welcome to find a new one if you want something better. Rent controlled apartments in New York are a difficult thing to come by though. We were lucky to get hold of this one, so be a little more appreciative. Or as they say here, capisce?" Your friends watched enough about mafia movies to recognise the Italian word, and decide not to argue further. But only you felt that she Scarlet was more than the others could see.

"Let's check out our rooms Eddie." Erick says before the two of them walk away down the hallway. Scarlet then turns to you.

" You probably have noticed that your coordination is likely a bit off." Scarlet says pulling a circus trick on you. You can't see it, but was clear that having your head buried on books was the cause for your missing talent. You simple need to practice more.

"You're right, how'd you know?" You ask her falling on her trick, and getting ready to fall on the rabbit hole.

"It's not rocket science, my dear Kelly. Your muscle memory need to catch up with the new you. You'll be fine with a bit more practice. It'll all come back. On the bright side, I noticed improvements on your sweet voice. " Scarlet says giving you a small wink.

"Improvements?" You ask, still not sure what she was getting at. The whole contract thing was confusing to you from the start.

"Per your contract with Ev0l records you've been granted access to ... suggestion. You'll likely notice that people may be more ... willing to be captivated by what you're saying to them if you put your ... feelings into it. Have you noticed anything of the sort yet?" Scarlet asked.

"Um, no..." You answer still somewhat confused.

" I'm sure a chance to give it a try will come up soon. Be careful though, use in moderation." Scarlet says turning her attention to the hallway, and closing the trap. To have power that can't be abused is similar to that story of the magician that can only levitate on his room, without cameras filming or anyone watching. Everyday a fool and a scammer walk out of the house, when they meet, a new myth is born, and money starts flowing. But Scarlet wants more, she wants to reshape you into her doll, using magic excuses to make you believe that you own her a bigger debt. And you have no idea of this.

" Can you give me more details ? About the ..." You start to ask, but then you see Eddie and Erick returning back to the two of you cutting you off.

"This place is so gross. I don't know...I didn't put off college to live in a shithole like this." Eddie says, Scarlet ignores it, changes the subject, and forgets to answer your question.

" Boys, you already have your clothing bags. Bring them, anything else you need will be provided. We're heading out now, and don't worry, you'll be back in a week."

"Yeah, alright Miss Scarlet." Erick says grabbing his bags.

" I suggest you start by finding some side work and practicing up a bit on those guitar skills. You'll also need some basic cleaning supplies for this place. There's a convenience store just around the corner from here. Just give me a call on your cell phone if you have any questions."

You're about to open your mouth to ask something, but before you can say anything, Eddie and Erick each hug you goodbye before heading out the door. And then you were alone.

"Soooo just like that they're gone...leaving me to clean this shithole all by myself. Assholes..."

You decide to go ahead and give your parents a call to let them know you arrived safely. But when you look in your handbag you see that your phone is not there. Your thoughts immediately go to the man who bumped into you outside of the apartment building.