Mirror

The woman stares at her reflection: Her NEW reflection.

When she went to bed, she looked like a guy in an ill-fitting teddy. Now it fits… mostly. Where once was a square jaw now sits a pointed chin. Where once was stubborn stubble now rests smooth skin. Where once was a thick neck with an atrocious Adam's Apple now stands a dainty ivory tower. Where once we're broad shoulders over a flat hairy chest now stand narrow shoulders with chest pillows that overflow the D cups on smooth skin. Further down, what was a thick muscled waist has become a dainty little hourglass… which spreads to some wide child-bearing hips with a very well padded rear rather than the tiny little teenage man's ass she used to have. No more unsightly bulge, just a smooth mound filling out the fabric. And the legs? From practical muscled members honed by years of the sports that her parents made her go to… to artistic flared columns that look like they belong on a dancer.

“I'm beautiful,” is all the woman can say looking at her NEW reflection.

She pauses, “...and this is going to be the only thing I have that fits. Stupid Mom. Stupid Dad. Thank you Grandma.” Yes, her Grandmother. The teddy was a gift last Christmas… wrapped in a hand-knit ugly sweater so her parents wouldn't see it… and Alice still has no idea how her Nana figured out the perfect gift: Her parents never let her get any good clothes… and her scholarships only cover tuition, the dorm, and books… fortunately the medical comes with the tuition.

“Well… I know I can just change again whenever I want…” Alice tries to convince herself to go back.

“But if the power fades…” the woman just can't do it.

Instead, she squeezes into a frumpy sweater (ironically, the same one her grandmother used to hide the teddy… she made sure to wear it every time she visited her grandmother, just to let her know, and brought it to her FAR AWAY college as a reminder) and the sweatpants her parents made sure she brought. Her socks fit mostly okay… but the shoes are a loss. As she's sweating about how to get to class, there's a knock at the door.

“Hey, Alice?” It's her jock roommate.

“I'm decent enough, come on in Brian,” the woman sighs.

The man comes in, carrying a bag from the bookstore, “I… umm…. sorry? I figured you'd have trouble with shoes, and I know your scholarships aren't exactly robust, so I…” the man awkwardly holds out the bag.

Alice reaches for it, noting that her palms are still stained red like the clay she was using, and grabs the bag, opening it… and seeing a pair of women's flip-flops. She just holds it, blinking for a minute.

Brian awkwardly continues, “I didn't know your size, but flip-flops take a pretty good range, and that was the only kind of shoes they had so….”

Impulsively, the woman stands on her tiptoes and kisses her roommate, squeezing those new globes against his muscled chest and shutting him up. When she lets him go, he takes a deep breath as the woman smiles, “thank you.”

“Ah… okay, this is weird, umm… is that a one off or…” he pauses, “...I would enjoy getting to know this new you, um….”

Cheeks flushed, Alice gives the idiot another kiss, feeling his excitement for a bit before she breaks away, and adds “how about you take me for a walk around the campus park this evening after class, hmm?”

“Yes ma'am,” he swallows, getting a little flushed himself, “it's a date.”

“It is…” Alice takes a slow breath, “...but I need to get to class.”

“See you later…” the man breathes slowly as Alice walks out the door.

Alice gets to class okay… but can't focus on the lecture… which is OK, the professor on this one just rehashes the book. She rubs her belly, thinking about what's inside, wondering about it and getting a detailed image popping into her head of a full reproductive tract, along with her intestines, muscles, and everything else as a full 3d model in her head… including her missing appendix. Barely listening to the lecture, she rubs her red hand on her skin, picturing her fallopian tubes sealing off, and feels that pins and needles sensation Brian mentioned briefly… and the model in her head updates accordingly.

Unsure if it's simply her imagination or real, she puts one hand in the other, rubbing her fingers and picturing a change. She gets the same pins and needles feeling, then checks… yes, she now has little extendable cat claws hiding under her fingernails… and an instinctive control over the muscles she added in her fingers to control them, despite not previously having anything like them.

Alice makes a note to visit the local animal shelter to get a research subject besides herself….