The ritual

Millie waited until Jada left for volleyball practice. That would afford her at least two hours to set the ritual up and give it a try. Luckily, she had taken detailed notes about the entire process, which was easier than she expected. There was no blood sacrifice or burn offering. No recipe list of complex ingredients. Instead, all that was required was a simple chalk circle ringed with arcane symbols and a chant. The chant was where the difficulty lay. Millie knew she had to get the words exactly correct - no easy feat when dealing with a dead language of an ancient tribe. Archaeologists were mostly certain of the pronunciation of words from the tribe, but there may have been gaps. Even so, this was the best she had to work with. She spent fifteen minutes practicing the chant until it was nearly perfect.

From there, Millie built the chalk circle and placed the large tomatoes, swiped from the cafeteria, in the center. She lit a few candles for extra atmosphere and then turned off the lights.

For a moment, Millie looked at her handiwork and pondered what she was doing. The momentary clarity hit her like a sharp ache. She had stolen an artifact from her professor, turned her room into a ritualistic altar, and was now going to perform a ritual to turn herself into a boy for her gay crush. It all seemed absurd.

Millie slumped onto the ground and pulled out her phone. She would email the professor and do her best to explain why she had stolen a precious artifact. Her screen unlocked on her social media feed, which just so happened to feature a recent post from Brad. He was flashing his sweet, sensitive smile.

"I love him."

But did she love him enough to undergo a change so permanent? What would life even look like as a boy? The thought of it repulsed Millie to her core. She was a girl. Even if she was uncomfortable in her own body at times, she liked being a girl.

But I love him.

Millie brought her phone screen so close she was practically kissing it. She had fallen in love with Brad at first sight. No other boy could possibly compare to him. She knew it in her heart. She may move on and find someone new, but that someone would never be as sweet, beautiful, and perfect as Brad.

The idol seemed to call out to Millie then. Like a whisper on the breeze, it drew her attention subliminally.

"It's not like this will actually work..."

Millie stepped into the circle.

"Magic isn't real," she positioned herself over the idol.

"I've come this far. I might as well at least _try _the ritual. Besides, it might make it easier to sell to Professor Hannigan when I return this thing."

Millie gazed at herself in the mirror. She saw a short, scrawny, shapeless girl with a mess of pink hair barely reigned in with a loose bun. She saw big blue eyes and a delicate, elfin face. She wore a simple gray tank top and old athletic shorts. Simple, disposable clothes on the off chance that the ritual _did _work and somehow messed with her dimensions.

"If it works, I get to have Brad," she said. "If it doesn't, so be it. It wasn't meant to be."

Millie pulled the sheet of paper with the chant written phonetically on it, took a deep breath, and began.

"Oonok! Naklan! Inga!"

The air in the room went still. Gooseflesh rose on the girl's exposed arms and legs. She tried to tell herself it was just her imagination, but the excitement boiled in her belly all the same.

"Oonok! Kotla! Yaga Badanaga!"

A dull hum began to emanate from nowhere in particular. The charged feeling in the air intensified.

"Oonok! Oonok! Naklan! Yaga Oonok!"

The chalk circle and symbols seemed to catch fire, glowing green in the pale light of the dorm room. The hum grew into a whistle, and then a shriek.

"Oonok! Oonok! Yaga Naklan Oonok! OOONOKKK!"

The green fire caught the stone idol, causing it to pulse with a blinding verdant glow. Millie stumbled forward and gazed down at the idol in awe. It was real! Magic, sorcery! Every myth and legend now had the potential to be true as far as Millie was concerned. She cut loose a giggle straight out of childhood and stooped down to look closer at the glowing idol.

"It worked! I can't believe it, it worked!"

A moment later, the idol quivered and then erupted, sending a jet of glowing liquid fire right into Millie's open mouth.