A Lesson in Maturity

"Probably Rae," I answer after considering it for a bit. "Sure, Carmen is more than frustrating to deal with, but Rae has got to be one of the most selfish, annoying people I have ever met. Not to mention that there's no way to avoid her. At least there are some days I don't have to interact with Carmen. With Rae, I'm stuck dealing with her all day, everyday."

"Hmm... Rae..." Luck muses to herself. "Let's see... bratty attitude... never takes any responsibility... constantly looks down on others..." Suddenly, she seems to get an idea, as her face lights up and she snaps her finger, the sharp sound ringing throughout the room. "Aha! I've got it!"

"Got it? What does that mean?" I ask before quickly realizing what she's thinking about. "Now hold on a second, Luck. Don't-"

I can't even get the rest of that sentence out before Luck disappears in the faction of a second that I glanced away. Goddammit. I knew I shouldn't have answered that question. When Carmen and Rae came in here a moment ago, they got me so riled up that I wasn't thinking clearly. And now Luck has decided that's she's going to try to step in to fix things. What the hell is she going to do to Rae? Probably nothing good, if I had to guess. As much as I despise Rae, I should probably go put a stop to that before something bad happens.

Or at least, that's what I would have tried to do if I could actually find them. I search around the building for a bit, but despite having just seen both woman less than a minute ago, they seemed to have totally vanished. Which I'm guessing means Luck is intentionally doing whatever it is she does somewhere private. The level of secrecy she likes to keep when using these powers of hers is starting to tick me off. She keeps telling me that she likes to mess with people in all sorts of crazy ways, and yet, she doesn't seem willing to actually tell me any of these supposedly wacky ideas. Have I mentioned that I hate surprises yet?

With no way to find Luck or Rae, I have **** but to head back to the storage room to resume my work. I just can't afford to spend the next hour on a wild goose chase when my job is still on the line. So I take the new files Rae gave me and get back to it. Not long after I get started, Luck reappears back in the room, once again taking the opportunity to scare me. As I spin around to face her, I see her with a calm smile on her face as she brushes a lock of hair out of her face.

"What did you do?" I waste no time asking.

"Oh, not much. Just made your life a little easier," Luck responds before leaning in and speaking in a softer voice. "And a little sexier, if you ask me. You can thank me later."

"I already told you, Luck: I don't want to be part of you weird sex experiments. I thought I made it very clear I didn't want you messing with the people in my life."

"First of all, you totally missed the chance to say 'sexperiments.' Second, if you didn't want me to fix your coworker, you shouldn't have told me you wanted to get back at her," Luck explains.

"What? But you said-"

"It doesn't matter what I said. If you didn't want this, you should have known better than to tell me. Or maybe you did want this and just don't want to admit it," she winks. "Don't worry. I won't tell."

She can't seriously be trying to turn this around on me, can she? None of this is my fault. Although, I suppose she is right about the fact that I shouldn't have told her anything. Argh! Stop agreeing with her, Kyle! I swear, Luck probably needs to be "fixed" just about as much as anyone else I know. And to think that I almost believed the two of us were starting to get along...

Ugh... I really don't have time for this. Talking in circles isn't going to help put these files away, so for now, I have to just suck it up, hand Luck a stack of files, and get back to it. At some point, I will need to find Rae to assess the damage, but that will have to wait until later.

Luck doesn't have any issues starting up again as I hand her things to put away. If anything, knowing that a "new and improved" Rae is running around out there (her words, not mine), seems to put an extra spring in her step. The two of us keep working for the next few hours, but I notice every now and then, Luck will stop what she's doing and look towards the door, as if she's waiting for something. It gets to the point that I'm about to ask her what she's doing, but before I can, there's a knock at the door, which seems to get Luck really excited.

"Um... hello?" I hear after the sound of the door opening.

Well, I'd know that voice anywhere. Looks like I won't have to bother finding her after all. I don't even bother turning to look at her as I reach into one of the cabinet drawers in front of me.

"Rae, I know you just love to throw out insults as soon as they pop into your head, but can't you just wait until I'm done with this before you start berating me again?" I request halfheartedly.

"A-actually, that's not why I'm here," Rae says behind me, her tone much less nasty than usual. "I came to see if you wanted some more help."

Hearing that causes me to stop what I'm doing. Am I going insane? Wait, don't answer that. Did Rae just ask if she could help someone? Did she just ask if she could help ME? After SHE was the one who got me into this mess?! There's no doubt in my mind that Luck has something to do with this, but what exactly did she do? Convincing Carmen not to fire me was one thing, but this is on an entirely different plane of existence. No. There's no way. I just can't believe even Luck has the power to turn Rae into a nice person. This has to be some sort of prank or something.

"Haha. Very funny. Now would you-"

My voice dies in my throat as I turn around to tell the redhaired imp off to her face.

I-is that really Rae? I mean, obviously it is, but... wow. I'm not even sure what to say. Only a few short hours ago, Rae looked like your typical, entitled young adult, clearly having never had to lift a finger in her whole life. But now, she appears... older. More capable. Like she might actually be able to accomplish something on her own. She also has a smile on her face. And not a fake smile, or a mischievous smirk. This seems like an honest-to-goodness, genuine smile. As though she's happy to see me. Honestly, it's kind of off-putting, seeing her like this.

It's pretty clear this new body is Luck's handiwork, not just because it would be physically impossible for someone to change this much in such as short time, but also because Rae seems to have quite a bit more of a... shapely figure than she used to. But while it shouldn't really shock me that Luck tried to "improve" Rae's body, it does make me wonder why she made the woman appears to have aged up a decent bit. Is that just a result of her new curves, or is there more to it than that? Either way, even if it isn't as out-there as my dad suddenly becoming a woman overnight, it's still hard to accept that this is the same Rae I've worked with over the past year.

After staring at her with my mouth hanging open, not saying a word, Rae looks away as a slightly more irritated expression appears on her face. That emotion seems much more natural on her, though it's still a bit less pronounced than I'm used to. I also notice a slight blush on her cheeks, which definitely isn't normal given the confidence she always seems to have.

"W-would you quit staring at me like that?! You should be grateful I'm giving up my precious time for you. Now do want my help or not?" Rae asks, clearly upset, which makes her sound much more like the Rae I'm used to.

Hearing her act like her help is some kind of godly gift makes me want to kick her out, but before I get the chance to, Luck taps me on the shoulder.

"I think we should let her. We're starting to run low on time, and there's still a lot to do," she expresses.

I glance over my shoulder and notice a large pile of folders in the corner of the room that we've pulled from various places. Doing some mental math, I realize that it would be difficult for the two of us to get it done by ourselves. Not impossible, but we would be pushing it for sure. There's a part of me that thinks this is all just some ploy by Luck for me to get to know this weird new Rae, but I'll have to ignore that and take what I can get. There will be a chance to fix this later... hopefully.

"Alright, fine. You can help," I say as I look back at Rae. "But if I find out that this is just another trick, I swear, I'm gonna kill you."

"No tricks, I promise. You have nothing to worry about. Just leave everything to M..." Rae begins happily, before her expression slowly fades to confusion. "...me. Just leave everything to me. A-and make sure you stay out of my way."

I watch as Rae walks past me, her movements a bit jerky. Half the time, it looks like she's elegantly swaying her hips with each step, the other half, she almost appears to be stomping violently. Okay, now I'm even more confused. It's like she's flip-flopping between trying to be nice and her normal bitchy self. As she passes us, I pull Luck to the other side of the room.

"What did you do to her?" I ask.

"I have no idea what you're talking about," Luck says coyly.

"Luck... She went from a petite 20-something to a-"

"Hot MILF with big tits?" Luck jumps in.

"You know that's not how I was going to phrase it. And clearly her brain is all kinds of screwed up, so just tell me what you did," I demand.

"But that would take all the fun out of it. You have to at least try to figure it out for yourself. Tell you what: if you can get the basics, I'll fill you in on any details you miss," Luck proposes.

"No! You need to undo whatever you did. She looks like she's on the verge of a mental breakdown!" I whisper as aggressively as I can.

"Listen, you can't completely rewrite someone's personality in just a few minutes. She just needs some time to mentally adjust. At least spend some time with her and see what you can learn. Once we leave the office for the day, I'd be happy to collect feedback, but until then, just enjoy the ride," Luck replies.

I look over Luck's shoulder to see Rae looking through the pile we made. She appears to be carefully reading the information before putting items away. I have to admit, it certainly looks like she's helping.

"Fine. If it means we can actually get our work done. But you better believe I'll have some feedback for you when we get out of here," I tell Luck.

"Wonderful! Can't wait to hear it!" She says cheerfully.

"Also... one last thing: wasn't Rae wearing a dress earlier? Where did those new clothes come from?"

Luck turns around and examines Rae. The redhead (who's red hair now seems to be a bit more of a brownish-red shade, I might add) now has on some sort of tight-fitting floral top with a light blue cardigan over it as well as a black mini skirt. While Rae was never afraid of showing skin before, her new body makes it all the more apparent just how revealing her choice of clothing is.

"I... don't actually know," Luck eventually answers. "When I left her, that dress of hers looked like it was about to burst. Honestly, I was hoping it might actually burst by the time you saw her again. But I have no clue where she got that outfit. Love the choker though."

So it looks like there are things even the great Luck doesn't know. Interesting. Well, I guess it doesn't matter. I should probably just be thankful that she was able to find something to wear before she had a wardrobe malfunction, as much as I know Luck would have loved to see that...

I mostly try to keep my distance from Rae as we get back to work. Occasionally, I look over to make sure she's not trying to sabotage us, but every time I do, it looks like she's genuinely trying to do things correctly. To be frank, I'm shocked she even knows how to do this with any amount of efficiency. However, she really does seem to be taking care of things. In fact, at some points, it almost feels like she's working the fastest of the three of us.

Every once in a while, I'll also notice her start to sneak closer to me. Anytime she does, it makes me feel on edge, as if she's about to push me or try some kind of stunt on me. But that never happens either. I never really get comfortable around her, though. And usually, after a few minutes of being near me, she realizes what she's doing and leaves in a huff. No doubt that has something to do with what Luck did, but I still can't manage to sort out the specifics with any certainty.

At one point, as we're reaching the end of the work day, I notice Rae fingering through a cabinet to make sure everything is in order. As I finish the file I'm working on, she perks up slightly while continuing to stare into the metal box in front of her.

"The 'Guardsmith Construction' account is still missing it's files for 2003 and 2008," she calls out to me. "Can you get those and bring them to me, sweetheart?"

Instantly, both of us freeze as we realize what Rae just said. Surely I misheard that, right? She didn't actually just call me...?

I look over to Rae, who is just silently looking down into the filling cabinet, though her eyes aren't actually focused on anything. Her mouth is open slightly, as if she's trying to say something, but the words never seem to come out. I have no idea what to do, but eventually, I feel my body make a decision for me. Before I have a chance to really think about what is going on, I find myself walking over to the few remaining files in the corner of the room.

Despite the awkwardness I feel inside, I still look through the folders until I come across the two she asked for. What am I doing? Rae just called me... well, you know... How is that not the only thing I can focus on right now? Normally, the only kind of nicknames she gives people are things like "loser" or "idiot." And why am I even listening to her in the first place? I hate it when she tries to tell me to do something. Yet here I am, doing what she asked without any real issue. It must have something to do with what Luck did. In addition to her body and personality changing, she also has this strange... aura around her. An aura that makes it much easier to listen to what she says. It almost feels like I can sense that she knows what she's talking about now. I'm not really sure how I feel about that...

Still, once I find the folders, I pick them up and bring them over to her. As I do, I notice Luck watching with an odd intensity, confirming to me that this is somehow her doing. Trying to put her out of my mind, I hand Rae the folder in an attempt to get this strange interaction over with as quickly as possible. As Rae reaches her hand out, she gives me a surprisingly loving look before she leans forward to take the files, showing off the incredibly deep cleavage she now has. After a few more seconds pass, she once again realizing what she's doing and scowls, though it takes her an extra second to stand back up.

"About time..." she mumbles, though I swear that when she turns back around to put the files in the drawer, I can barely make out her saying "Thanks," in the quietest voice possible.

As soon as she slips the papers into the cabinet, she quickly smashes the drawer closed, causing a loud metallic sound to echo throughout the room. She then begins making her way to the door, doing her best to not turn back to the two of us on her way out.

"Alright. I've done more than enough. Even you two b-b-bozos should be able to handle the rest from her," she says, though it seems like it takes real effort to get that insult out. "Don't say I never did anything for you."

And just like that, she walks out, slamming the door behind her. Well, that was quite the dramatic exit. Luck and I just look at each other, even Luck seeming a bit caught off guard by her over-the-top display. To say that the past hour has been crazy would be the understatement of the century. However, I still don't know if I have any idea what Luck actually did. Clearly she attempted to make Rae less bratty and more compassionate, though how much she succeeded could be debated. Still, it feels like there's more to it than that. I got hints of something else, I'm just not sure what.

After taking a minutes to assess the situation, it dawns on me just how little work there is left to do. Our pile is now less of an actual pile and more of a small stack. I was so focused on Rae that it never occurred to me just how much work we got done. And as much as I hate to say it, I think a majority of it was actually done by Rae herself. I can't say I was expecting that. Thanks to her, it looks like we're actually going to finish with time to spare. Who would have guessed?