Author’s Note: This is a work of fiction. Any resemblance of the characters or events portrayed to any person or entity, living or dead, is purely coincidental and unintended. This work also includes mature subject matter and may not be appropriate for those under the age of eighteen. No part of this work may be reproduced in any form, including electronic storage and retrieval, without the prior express, written consent of the author. All rights reserved. Personal archiving for private use is approved. The "Altered Fates" Universe, and the "Medallion of Zulo" are copyrights of Jennifer Adams.

I am greatly indebted to Terry for her friendship and her editing skills, which are an integral part of this story.

 

The Girl Next Door
by: Julia Manchester
© 2001

 

 Ryan wiped the sweat from his brow and glanced across the field to where the cheerleading squad was gathering up their purses and gear, preparing to call it a day. Even from that distance he could pick out Emily Watkins, his gorgeous girlfriend, as she stooped to retrieve her pompons. Emily was incredibly graceful, and Ryan could have remained where he was all day, just gazing at her.

"Hey lover-boy, get the lead out."

Ryan was startled out of his reverie to see Coach Edwards standing over him. The coach had that tough look on his face, but his eyes twinkled with amusement at having caught his starting middle linebacker staring at his girl. The strapping young man blushed and rose to his feet, gathering up his helmet and gear.

"When’s the wedding?" The coach asked with an amused expression, while Ryan glanced away to hide his embarrassment. "I don’t know," he replied in a low voice as he hurried off to the lockers.

Everyone in school knew Ryan and Emily would be married sometime after graduation, but they hadn’t really set a date because there were so many things to consider. Ryan had an athletic scholarship, a partial scholarship anyway, to the state university, and Emily planned on going into nursing. She had good grades and had managed to pull in a lot a financial aid too, including several small competitive scholarships. She and Ryan had sat for nights at her kitchen table working out the figures, and they estimated they would have just enough money to make it if one or both found a part-time job.

Ryan showered quickly and dressed. At least he didn’t have to worry about carrying books home -- school wouldn’t actually start until the day after Labor Day -- so he yelled his good-byes to his buddies and ran out the door.

Emily was waiting for him in the usual spot, an old wooden bridge that spanned a narrow, but swift little stream, and Ryan hurried over to her.

"Hi," he greeted his fiancée, putting an arm around her waist and kissing her tenderly. Emily returned his kiss with restrained passion and snuggled up against him. Not for the first time Ryan considered he was the luckiest guy in the world. Emily was every guy’s dream girl -- an extremely pretty face with long thick chestnut hair, long, graceful legs, a narrow waist, and the most wondrous pair of breasts Ryan had seen in real life. She looked incredibly sexy in her little cheerleading outfit, and even better in a swimsuit. But, surprisingly, her best attribute was her wonderful personality. She was sweet, caring, down to earth, and absolutely genuine, and Ryan loved her for it. He loved the way her smile lit up her face and brightened the room, and any day she smiled at him he counted as a good day.

Ryan had been having a lot of "good days" lately, because he and Emily always walked to and from school together. It was natural since not only were they the class couple, but also they lived next door to each other. Of course they hadn’t always been the class couple, but they had known each other since they were small children, and had played in sand boxes together when they were barely able to walk. Their parents were also good friends, so Ryan and Emily had gone everywhere together as children. The beach, the circus, school outings, and parties.

From the earliest either could remember they had been good friends, almost like a brother and sister, except without the fighting. Strangely, when they entered puberty neither Ryan nor Emily looked at the other as "date material." They had too good of a friendship to screw it up by dating each other, but that changed in their junior year, when Emily’s prom date had an attack of appendicitis and Ryan suddenly broke up with his girlfriend. Ryan’s mother told him that Emily was devastated at not being able to attend the prom. She had spent a small fortune on her dress and shoes, and had a hair appointment all lined up. Now, at the last minute, she had nobody to take her, unless Ryan would agree to fill in. His mom pointed out that he already had a tux reserved, and it would be a shame to waste the money.

Ryan suspected his mother had ulterior motives for her request, but he wasn’t too concerned about that. He and Emily were good friends; nothing more. However, precisely because they were good friends he hated to see her depressed, so he casually asked if she would like to go to the prom, just so they wouldn’t have to stay at home and miss the big event of the school year. Emily was grateful, but she turned him down at first because she didn’t want to be considered a charity case. Ryan told her she would actually be doing him a favor, and mentioned that he’s already dumped a bundle on his tux. When he mentioned he had dinner reservations at the nicest restaurant in town -- his treat -- she agreed to go.

When Ryan walked next door to get Emily for the prom he was stunned by her beauty. She was wearing an incredible emerald, off the shoulder gown that exposed just enough of her alluring breasts to tantalize, and the slit over her right leg exposed a generous amount of her perfectly proportioned legs whenever she walked. Her chestnut hair was done in a flowing style that made it appear she was wearing an auburn cape, and her makeup was done to perfection. Ryan was completely shocked by the sight of his friend, and after posing for the obligatory pictures from both sets of parents, they drove to the prom.

Ryan impressed Emily, too. She thought he looked very handsome in his tuxedo, and he treated her with respect and courtesy as he escorted her into the ballroom. She thoroughly enjoyed the evening, and she was very grateful that Ryan had been available to step in. He danced with her all night, and his eyes never wandered once. He made her feel special, even though they were only friends, and towards the end of the evening Emily realized she had never had more fun on a date and she wouldn’t have missed that night for the world.

They stayed long after many of the other couples left, enjoying the music and each other’s company. During the final dance of the night Ryan looked down at his beautiful partner, and Emily gazed up at him, and the two "friends" re-discovered each other, each seeing the other in a completely new light. Emily could hardly believe the handsome hunk holding her was the kid next door, the boy she’d once made sand castles with, and Ryan felt like he had searched the world for gold only to discover a priceless treasure right next door. At the end of the dance they kissed, and the world changed forever.

That summer they had been inseparable, and their love seemed to grow and mature with each touch, each kiss, every time their eyes met. By the 4th of July Emily was wearing Ryan’s class ring, and she could barely remember the name of the boy whose place he took. By the middle of August their college plans were nearing completion, and when Ryan nervously asked Emily to marry him after they graduated she began to cry. Ryan was afraid he’d blown it until Emily threw her arms around his neck and nearly knocked him over. When Ryan showed Emily the ring he had saved for, she cried again, and when her mother came to see what was going on she began crying too. A quick yell to Emily’s father and a phone call next door began an impromptu party with the happy couple and their parents, and Ryan’s suspicion that both sets of parents had hoped for this very development were confirmed when Emily’s dad produced several bottles of champagne.

Ryan and Emily walked along the little path that bordered the stream, talking about the upcoming football game and where they go afterwards. Emily was bubbling over with school gossip, especially about who was going with whom, and Ryan listened patiently, though he enjoyed the sound of her voice more than the news she related. As they continued down the path Emily happened to glance at the brook, and her eyes were drawn to something that glinted in the afternoon sun.

"What’s that?" She wondered aloud, pointing at the object.

"I’ll check it out," Ryan volunteered, releasing her waist and moving a couple of steps towards the stream.

Emily waited on the path, and Ryan returned in a moment with what looked like a medallion on a chain. He showed it to her, and she saw that the medallion looked rather cheap, though the chain was nice. There was a picture of an angel or a fairy on the bronze medallion, but it certainly wasn’t an heirloom from the looks of it.

Ryan dried it off on his pants leg and casually flipped it to Emily, who caught it neatly. "Looks like you’ve acquired another piece of fine jewelry to add to your collection," he joked.

Emily grinned back at him. "I’m so lucky to have a man who keeps giving me jewelry," she gushed jokingly. "It doesn’t compare to the engagement ring you gave me, but I think it’s cute," she announced as she slipped it over her head and flipped her hair so the medallion settled directly between her voluptuous breasts.

"Well, in that case, I think I deserve at least a kiss as a reward," Ryan told her, and Emily grinned mischievously at him.

"I’d give you more than a kiss if I didn’t think someone might see us here," she replied, with a sigh. "But I suppose a kiss will have to do for now," she added, leaning forward and rising up on toes to kiss her betrothed.

Ryan felt a slight tingling when he kissed Emily, but it wasn’t that unusual -- kissing her did that to him -- so after a few moments they continued down the path towards their homes. A few minutes later Ryan began to feel a little strange, and when he nearly tripped he looked down and noticed his slacks looked awfully long. His cuffs were dragging on the ground and material was pooled around his shoes. For some reason the waist of his slacks felt like it was sliding down, riding a lot lower than normal, and his shoes also felt a little loose. He tried to pull his pants up with his free arm, but they just slid back down again so he released Emily’s waist and used both hands to tighten his belt.

That seemed to help a little, but when he put his arm around Emily again it didn’t seem to reach as far as it had a moment before. Not only that, but he was used to resting his hand in the delightful notch formed by her narrow waist and her wider, feminine hips, but now that notch seemed less pronounced, as if Emily had gotten thicker around the waist. Ryan glanced over at his girlfriend and gasped when he saw that she appeared to have grown several inches. He stopped dead in his tracks, and Emily looked at him curiously.

"What’s wrong, Hon?" She asked, and as she looked over at Ryan, she too gasped.

"Ryan! What’s happened to your face?" She asked in a shocked tone.

Ryan’s hands reached for his face. "My face?" He asked, pausing as his voice cracked. "What’s wrong with my face?"

"Ohmigod! Your Hands! Look at your hands!" Emily exclaimed, and suddenly her voice seemed deeper than it had been.

Ryan held out his hands, and they definitely appeared . . . smaller, less rugged, almost . . . feminine. He couldn’t believe what he was seeing, but when he looked back at Emily he got an even greater shock. His girlfriend was now at least as tall as he was, and her face was not nearly as pretty as it should be. She looked almost butch, and her shapely figure was now ordinary at best.

As he watched in horror Ryan suddenly became aware of something protruding from his chest, and when he looked down at himself he nearly fainted. Two conical mounds were pushing outward from his chest, growing and expanding even as he watched. Ryan’s hands shot up and covered the twin peaks, willing them to stop growing, but he could feel them ballooning beneath his hands, growing ever larger.

Emily uttered a most un-ladylike groan and frantically reached behind herself and unfastened the button of her skirt and lowered the zipper. The damn thing had grown so tight she could barely breathe, and the same thing was happening with her bra. Without hesitating, she reached behind herself again and unhooked the band, sighing in relief when it parted, allowing her to breathe.

"My God! What’s happening to us?" She asked in a deep voice that was vaguely familiar.

"I don’t know!" Ryan squeaked in reply, noticing that Emily was now several inches taller than himself.

Suddenly a very strange look came over Emily, and she reached under her skirt, and gasped. Nestled in the midst of her pubic region was something that definitely did not belong there. She felt a fleshy, tubular protuberance that seemed to expand slightly with each beat of her heart, and when she groped around a little, she felt a soft sac growing beneath it.

"What is it, Emily? What’s wrong?" Ryan asked in his new, high voice.

Emily didn’t answer. She turned to stare at him for a moment, then grabbed his arm and pulled him into a nearby grove of trees. Ryan had a rough time not tripping over his ridiculously long pants, and by the time they reached the glen he was begging her to slow down. In the last few, hurried paces Ryan had stepped right out of his shoes, but he was preoccupied with the jiggling sensation he felt on his chest, and the way his butt and thighs seemed to have expanded, significantly changing his gait.

Emily saw hair sprouting from her arms and watched, as her hands grew larger. Her normally large breasts seemed to have shrunk to practically nothing, and her hair seemed to be getting shorter. When she reached up to touch it she noticed a fair sized bicep on her arm. Her feet began to feel terribly pinched by her shoes, and she sat down on the ground and quickly removed them, as well as her white peds. By the time she stood up again she realized she was a good eight to ten inches taller than her boyfriend -- but she saw that Ryan wasn’t a "boy" anymore. She could see that he was much smaller and delicate looking, with a pair of boobs tenting the front of his polo shirt. His waist was so narrow that his slacks were riding low on his newly widened hips, and his shoulders had narrowed to the point his short sleeve shirt hung on him.

At that point Emily noticed that Ryan’s hair had grown much longer and was turning a bright chestnut color. She gasped when she realized that he was becoming a duplicate of her. That meant that she was becoming a duplicate of HIM, and although Emily couldn’t see her own face, what she could see confirmed her suspicions.

"Oh my God! Ryan! You look exactly like me!" She intoned in a stunned, masculine voice.

Ryan looked down at himself as the changes continued to alter his form, but he couldn’t see much with his body drowning in clothes that were suddenly ridiculously large. He felt the tickle of his growing hair, and the tightness of his hips and butt in his slacks, but he refused to believe it was true -- until he felt his penis and scrotum shrinking. Now it was his turn to reach beneath his waistband, and after struggling to get past the voluminous material he reached down to find the "family jewels" -- just in time to feel them pull into his abdomen and disappear entirely. At that point Emily saw Ryan’s eyes roll back, showing mostly white, and she jumped up to catch him before he fell.

____________________

Ryan’s eyes flickered for a moment, and then opened. Somehow he knew he was lying on the soft pine needles of the little copse of trees, and when his eyes were finally able to focus, he found himself staring up at -- himself! He moaned and tried to get up, but Emily held him in place with a large powerful hand.

"Don’t try to move until you’re sure you won’t faint again," she advised, sounding exactly like Ryan.

Suddenly everything came back to Ryan, and he stared at his transformed girl in open-mouthed wonder. "What happened to us?" He breathed with Emily’s soft, feminine voice. "How --"

"I don’t know," the transformed girl replied, "but I suspect it has something to do with this." She held up the strange medallion that Ryan had retrieved from the stream. "Right after we kissed we started changing. It has to be some sort of magic amulet," she added. "I think that when we both touched it at the same time it caused us to switch forms."

"Well, let’s do it again and get back to normal," Ryan replied with urgency.

"I already tried it, while you were unconscious, but it didn’t work," Emily informed him.

"Well, let’s try it again!" Ryan demanded.

"Okay, grab hold of the medal," Emily instructed, and Ryan touched the medallion while she held it in her hand. Nothing.

"I remember feeling a slight tingling sensation when we kissed," Emily noted, and Ryan told her he had felt the same thing.

"But, what are we going to do now?" he moaned. "We can’t go home like this, and if we told anyone what happened they’d think we were either pulling a prank or just plain crazy!"

"Maybe it’s only temporary," Emily suggested hopefully. "Maybe it will only last a day or so, then just fade away or let us switch back using the medallion again."

"Oh, God! I hope you’re right! But, what do we do now?" Ryan asked plaintively.

"I think we have to pretend to be each other until we can switch back," Emily reasoned, but Ryan was having none of that.

"We can’t!" He protested.

"Sure we can," Emily disagreed. "We’ve known each other and each other’s families since we were kids. We know all about each other, or certainly enough to get by for a day or so."

Ryan had to agree with her there, but he didn’t like it one bit. He liked what came next even less.

"We’ll have to swap clothes," Emily noted, and immediately began to strip off her royal blue tank top. The only bulge beneath it now came from her empty, bunched-up bra, and she removed that too, and passed the items to Ryan.

Ryan’s face turned beet red when he gazed down at the bra and feminine tank top, and he was speechless when he saw that Emily’s chest was now an exact copy of his own, with muscular pecs and a washboard set of abs. He grudgingly began to remove his navy blue polo shirt, but when he’d gotten it halfway up he suddenly remembered what was underneath and he modestly turned his back to Emily and passed it to her without turning. He groped behind him for the bra and top she had bequeathed to him, but when he picked up the bra he just couldn’t make himself put it on.

"C’mon. We have to get home before somebody wonders what happened to us," she reminded him, smiling at Ryan’s newfound modesty. The previous day he had been proud to show his incredible physique at the beach, but now he didn’t want her to see him, even though it was really her tits he was wearing. It wasn’t like she hadn’t seen them before.

"How do you put this damned thing on?" He asked.

"Slip the straps over your shoulders and I’ll help you fasten the band," Emily told him, and Ryan complied. He tensed up a bit when he felt Emily’s hands grasp the band of the bra and fasten it, and it took a moment to arrange his new breasts in the cups, but at least they wouldn’t bounce around so much, he told himself, trying to make the best of the situation. The royal blue tank top clung to his new figure and really emphasized his new "assets," but at least he didn’t feel so naked.

The rest of the exchange did not go quite so smoothly, however, and it took several minutes of prodding by Emily to get Ryan to relinquish his slacks and jockey shorts in favor of a skirt and panties. When she finally did get him to agree Ryan insisted upon hiding behind several trees and tossing his slacks and underwear out to her, and again Emily had to smile when she thought of all the times they had seen each other naked. It seemed that Ryan had acquired a highly developed sense of feminine modesty with his new form.

____________________

Ryan hated the way the skirt swirled as he walked, leaving his legs exposed and vulnerable, and he detested being short too, but there was absolutely nothing he could do about it. While they walked home together they planned how to proceed. Emily thought they might try to use the medallion after a few hours, and that was fine with Ryan. The sooner he got back to normal the better, so they decided to get together in eight hours, around eleven o’clock that evening.

". . . And if it doesn’t work then we’ll just try it again tomorrow," Emily pronounced.

"Oh shit!" Ryan exclaimed. "Emily, tomorrow I’m leaving with my parents to visit my grandparents, remember? We’ll be gone for the Labor Day weekend!"

"Oh damn!" She replied, hitting her forehead with the palm of her hand. "I forgot completely!"

"This has GOT to work tonight!" Ryan gasped. "I’ll never be able to be you for a long weekend!"

"We can do it, if we have to," Emily assured her panicky fiancée. "I know your grandparents well, and you’ll have it easy. My family isn’t planning on going anywhere special."

"I don’t know . . ." Ryan replied doubtfully.

"You can do it," Emily said encouragingly, placing an arm around Ryan’s shoulders to comfort him.

When they reached their houses, Ryan felt very strange watching Emily enter his home. He almost knocked on the door before entering Emily’s house, but caught himself just in time.

 

"Hi honey. How was cheerleading practice?" Emily’s mother asked him, looking up from the dinner she was preparing.

"Uh, fine . . . mom," Ryan managed before turning and making his way up the stairs to Emily’s bedroom. Once inside he locked the door and sat on the edge of her bed, and his entire body shook for several minutes. When he was finally able to get himself under control, the first thing he did was get out of Emily’s cheerleading outfit. He rummaged around in her drawers and closet for something to wear, and finally decided on a pair of jeans and a plain white tee shirt, but the jeans didn’t do anything to hide his feminine hips, nor did the tee shirt help with his "upper body problem" -- a pair of world-class hooters. If anything, the white tee actually emphasized Ryan’s new additions, and he sunk down on the bed in despair when he saw himself in the mirror.

Somehow Ryan made it through dinner with Emily’s folks, and he retreated back to her bedroom as soon as it was diplomatic to do so. He tried to occupy his mind with television and magazines until eleven o’clock, but he was too restless for TV, and the only magazines Emily had were Cosmo, Seventeen, and other girl’s publications. Ryan wound up pacing the room like a caged animal until it was time to meet Emily.

"Well, where’s the medal?" He demanded when he met Emily in her back yard, behind the garage.

"Right here," she told her shrunken, feminized boyfriend, pulling it out of her pocket. She was wearing a pair of Ryan’s jeans and his old tank top, which showed her broad muscular shoulders. Ryan couldn’t help but feel a little intimidated when he looked up at her. "I’ve been giving some thought to our situation," Emily continued. "I think we should try to re-create the exact conditions that existed when the changes occurred, in order to give us the best chance of getting back to normal."

"Makes sense," Ryan agreed.

"Okay, since I was the female and I was wearing the necklace when it happened, you should wear it since you’re now the female."

Ryan shrugged. He didn’t like being referred to as female, but he didn’t object when Emily placed the chain over his neck. He held the cheap looking medallion in his hand for a moment, examining the strange disc, and then he dropped it and felt it settle between his ample breasts.

"Ready?" Emily asked, but Ryan wasn’t sure what she meant.

"Ready?" He repeated, confused.

Emily’s meaning suddenly became crystal clear when she bent down, took him in her arm, and kissed him passionately.

Ryan was taken by surprise and tried to pull away, but he was completely overpowered by Emily’s superior strength, and his girlfriend effortlessly pulled him close to her and sustained the kiss until Ryan thought he would pass out for lack of oxygen. When Emily released him she looked down at him strangely, and Ryan looked away as he caught his breath. The soft gaze of Emily’s deep blue eyes was strangely disturbing, and Ryan was confused and distracted by all of the strange sensations his modified body was experiencing.

"Did you feel anything? Do you feel different?" Emily asked.

Ryan looked up at her. If there ever was a loaded question . . . He couldn’t begin to tell her just HOW different he felt, but not the way she meant. He simply shook his head, unable to trust his voice at that point.

"Damn. That leaves us with Plan B," Emily announced.

"Plan B?" Ryan repeated, finally finding his voice.

"Yeah. I’ve got a few ideas I want to run by you," Emily replied with the sureness of someone who has analyzed a problem and come up with a course of action.

"If this medallion is going to work again, and there is no reason to believe it won’t, we’ll have to give it more time -- longer than 8 or 9 hours anyway. I have to be you this weekend, and I think I can handle that. If you just hang around the house you should be fine, and if you run into any situation you don’t think you can handle, like going out to eat, just tell my folks you’re not feeling well. You can stay in my bedroom practically the whole weekend, and then we’ll try this again when I get back."

Ryan was uneasy about the whole situation, but when he looked up at Emily he saw her confident expression and felt a little better. He was still distracted by the kiss, and all he could do was nod his head.

"Oh, and one other thing. I want to do a computer search on that medallion. I’ll need it back, and I’ll need your computer password."

Ryan slipped the medallion over his head and handed it to Emily without question. "My password is ‘Emily,’" he told his tall, muscular girlfriend, and she laughed.

"Mine is ‘LOVERYAN,’ she replied with a grin, and for the first time since their dual transformation, Ryan smiled.

____________________

Later that night, as he was getting ready for bed, Ryan discovered he was completely clueless when it came to a female’s nighttime routine. He knew they did various things because his mom always took forever in the bathroom, but he had no idea what she actually did so he settled for finding something to wear.

Emily had a collection of nightgowns, but Ryan couldn’t bring himself to wear any of those, and he finally decided on a large satin, baby blue sleepshirt. The sleepshirt had a pair of matching panties lying on top of it, so Ryan removed his tee shirt and jeans, stepped out of the panties he was wearing, and tried to remove his bra. It was a struggle, but after a couple of minutes he managed to unhook the clasp.

The satin sleepshirt felt deliciously smooth and soft against his skin, and no matter how hard Ryan tried to ignore the sensation every move he made caused the smooth fabric to tantalize his sensitive body. The sensations made him shiver, and he marveled at the heightened sensitivity of his new form. As he climbed into bed Ryan recalled Emily’s kiss behind the garage, and his body responded to the memory with another round of the same incredible, bewildering sensations. It took the confused, transposed male a long time to fall asleep.

Meanwhile, Emily worked quite late on Ryan’s computer. Using several good search engines she came across a couple references to a "Medallion of Zulo," and though she couldn’t find any images the description she ran across seemed to match the medallion in her hand to a T, and she spent a lot of time familiarizing herself with its lore. She soon realized they had tried to use it too soon after their initial transformation. According to the information she now had, it took twelve hours for the body to recover sufficiently to allow another change.

Emily glanced at the watch on her thick, hairy wrist and saw it was nearly 2AM. Theoretically, they could change back now, but it was too late to call Ryan. She decided to wait until morning.

____________________

Emily awoke to the sound of Ryan’s alarm, and she yawned and scratched herself as she made her way to the bathroom. Overall, she preferred her own form to Ryan’s, but there were certain advantages to being a guy. She enjoyed being taller and stronger, and not having to worry about her hair or makeup, and being able to pee standing up was a real hoot. She knew it was childish, but she couldn’t resist tracing designs in the toilet bowl as she took care of her morning ablutions.

Shaving was an entirely different matter, though. Emily had shaved her legs for years, but she had no idea how to go about shaving her face, and she hesitated; her hand inches from Ryan’s razor. Then it occurred to her that she wouldn’t have to shave if they used the medal to get back their normal forms, and she went back to Ryan’s room to call him. She began dialing her own number, but as she punched the numbers into the handset she paused, then set the phone down. It occurred to her that she had a unique opportunity -- a chance to experience life as a guy for a short time. Did she really want to miss out on the opportunity of a lifetime -- a chance to see what it was like on the other side of the great gender divide?

The masculinized woman hesitated, weighing the pros and cons, and finally decided to grab the chance. It was just too good to pass up. Besides, Ryan would never know, and what he didn’t know wouldn’t hurt him. Emily reasoned that it would not hurt her boyfriend to spend a few days as a woman. It might be good for him to experience life from the feminine side, she considered with a smile. At that, Emily returned to the bathroom to shave.

____________________

Ryan was confused and disoriented when he awoke in Emily’s bed, but he soon recalled what had happened the previous day. As he swung his legs out of bed and rose to his feet his movements were less awkward, more natural, than the previous day, and even the sway of his hips as he walked felt less weird than yesterday. He despised having to sit down to take care of business in the bathroom, but at least he now knew enough to wipe himself properly.

When he saw himself in the mirror, he groaned and closed his eyes for a moment. His hair was snarled and tangled, and he imagined Medusa would look better. The notion that he should have tied his hair back before going to sleep popped into his mind out of nowhere, and while Ryan wondered where that thought had come from, he began raking his fingers through his hair as if it were the most normal thing in the world. Without thinking, Ryan found a hair pic and straightened most of the tangles, then used Emily’s brush to finish the job. After tying his hair in a cute ponytail, he returned to the bedroom and removed his sleepshirt and panties.

Ryan chose a plain white bra and panty, and was surprised at how easily he was able to fasten the bra. He searched through his girlfriend’s clothes until he found a pair of white walking shorts and a sleeveless knit pullover. He couldn’t bring himself to wear any of her more feminine outfits, and he just wanted to get dressed in something that wasn’t too flashy or revealing.

____________________

Emily enjoyed the weekend even more than she would have guessed. She already knew Ryan’s grandparents, and they treated her wonderfully. Ryan’s mom took her "son" aside after they arrived and suggested "he" help his gramps fix an old lawn tractor that was acting up, and Emily was afraid she would make a fool of herself. Ryan knew a lot about engines, but she didn’t have a clue how they worked. She agreed to take a look at it, though, and when she did she was surprised to discover that she knew exactly what to do. It wasn’t a very large engine, and after she disassembled it and checked a few things she knew just what the problem was. She borrowed the car and made a quick trip to the lawn and garden center, and came back with the parts she needed. A couple of hours later the riding mower was purring like a kitten, and Emily was very proud of herself.

Emily was also called upon to help move some heavy boxes from the basement to the attic, and though they weighed quite a bit, she found that she was able to lift them easily, and she took pleasure in her newfound strength as she carried everything up the stairs. Later that night Ryan’s grandfather suggested his grandson might like to take the car and check out the nightlife in the city. At first Emily was shocked at the suggestion. Her parents would have never suggested anything like that, and in fact she wouldn’t have considered it before her body swap, but now that she was a guy she realized there was nothing to stop her, and the feeling of freedom was exhilarating.

By the time Ryan’s family left on Monday, Emily had done quite a bit of lifting and all of the heavy chores that needed doing. Her excursion into the city had turned out to be a riot. She had gone to a teen nightclub, had a few beers, and even danced with a couple of girls. She could have done a lot more than dance with them, too, as each girl made it clear she was attracted to her handsome partner, but Emily resisted the temptation, even though she found them both very cute.

____________________

Ryan’s weekend was entirely different from Emily’s. He was too scared to venture out, and wound up spending most of his time in Emily’s room, or watching television with her parents. When Monday finally rolled around he began to keep a close eye on his house, watching for Emily’s return. He knew his family probably wouldn’t get back until early evening because it was a long drive, but he felt a few occasional stomach cramps and he was generally feeling out of sorts, so he was anxious to switch back. As the day wore on Ryan began to grow increasingly anxious, and when the sun set, he became genuinely worried. He and Emily had school the following day, and Ryan did not want to contemplate going to class as Emily.

By eleven o’clock Ryan was pacing back and forth, terrified that something terrible had happened. When the phone rang he pounced on it.

"What?" He nearly screamed into the receiver.

 

"Take it easy, honey, it’s me," Ryan heard the sound of his own voice over the phone.

"What happened -- Where are you?"

"Calm down. We had a slight automobile accident. I’m fine, but your mother broke her arm."

"Ohmigod! How is she?"

"She’s fine now. It’s a simple fracture, but we’re stuck here at the hospital, and I don’t think we’ll be home until very early in the morning."

"What are we going to do? We have school in the morning!"

"I know, and I have an idea," Emily replied soothingly. It was obvious that her boyfriend was becoming hysterical, and she had to keep him together until they could switch back. In retrospect she realized that she should have used the medallion last Friday, as soon as she discovered the waiting period had elapsed. "Plan on leaving for school a half hour early tomorrow morning, and we’ll make the switch in the woods, just like before."

"Are you sure it will work?" Ryan asked nervously.

"Yeah, I am. From what I’ve been able to learn we just tried to switch back too soon the last time. You have to wait a minimum of twelve hours before the medallion will work again. We shouldn’t have any trouble tomorrow," she assured him.

"If all it takes is twelve hours why didn’t you tell me before you left with my folks?" Ryan demanded. "We could have switched back the next morning, before you left."

Emily realized she had no excuse, and to keep Ryan from becoming enraged she made up a convenient story. "Oh, I didn’t learn about that until I was already at your grand parent’s house. I used their computer," she lied.

"Oh. Okay," Ryan replied.

"Oh, by the way, make sure you wear my cheerleading uniform. I have practice after school again," Emily reminded her boyfriend.

"Can’t I just bring it with me?" Ryan asked, thankful he would soon be back to normal.

"No. I always wear it to school on practice days -- you know that -- and I don’t want to lug around an extra set of clothes," Emily told him.

"All right," Ryan replied resignedly. "At least I won’t have to wear them for long."

"See ya tomorrow morning, sweetie," Emily said as she broke the connection.

____________________

Ryan’s fifth day as a girl was one of the worst days of his life. Although he become somewhat more comfortable in Emily’s body over the past several days -- entirely too comfortable as far as he was concerned -- that comfort disappeared when he awoke to discover he was going through a quintessentially feminine experience. He felt horrible cramps in his stomach, an achy, bloated feeling throughout his entire body, and there was blood in his panties. He stared down at himself dumbly for a few moments before it finally dawned on him that he was experiencing his first period.

Ryan felt completely humiliated. If he hadn’t been so sick he would have marched over to his house and demanded that Emily switch them back that very instant, but as it was he felt terrible, and all he could do was slump down on the edge of the bed with his head in his hands. As he did his eyes filled with tears, and in moments he was sobbing uncontrollably and cursing the female hormones that flooded his system.

When he finally regained control of himself, he wiped his tears and wondered how he was supposed to deal with this latest crisis. Ryan wasn’t a fool. He knew women used pads and tampons but he didn’t know the specifics, and he knew there was a bit more to it than that. But what?

The displaced man went into the bathroom and took a quick shower. He quickly discovered that his breasts were very sensitive, and a little sore. He found Emily’s special supplies in the vanity beneath the sink, and as he retrieved the boxes of tampons and pads he discovered he knew exactly what to do. It was a truly odious experience, but after Ryan inserted a tampon, affixed a thin pad to his panties, and swallowed two menstrual pain relief tablets, he felt a little better.

Ryan had managed to avoid skirts and dresses the entire weekend, and he detested having to wear Emily’s cheerleading uniform, but he consoled himself with the thought that he wouldn’t have to wear it for long. He wore the same bra and panties his girlfriend had worn on Friday, and he didn’t even notice how naturally he slid the bra straps up his arms, or how he leaned forward to settle his breasts into the cups, or how easily he fastened the clasp. Neither did he notice how naturally he stepped into the short skirt, or how he automatically adjusted the tight, sleeveless top over his ample endowments.

He was still distracted by thoughts of his mother’s broken arm when he sat down at Emily’s vanity, and he was genuinely stunned a few minutes later when he emerged from his reverie to discover that he had fixed his hair perfectly, applied his makeup flawlessly, and added earrings, bracelets, and even a touch of perfume. Ryan just stared at himself in the mirror, wondering where he had learned to do all that.

As he was leaving a sudden thought to check his purse for extra tampons came to him, and after satisfying himself that there were a couple of extra at the bottom of the purse he headed out the door.

____________________

The lovers walked to the small stand of trees where the confusion had begun, and Emily produced the medal and slipped it over her head. But, when she drew Ryan against herself there was no tingling sensation like the previous Friday.

"I don’t feel anything happening," Ryan complained, looking up at Emily. "I thought you said it would work!" He added in an accusatory tone.

"It SHOULD work," she replied, thinking back over all the information she had garnered about the medallion. "Unless . . ."

"Unless what?" Ryan demanded, getting a bad feeling about the whole thing.

"Unless you’re menstruating, or . . . pregnant," she responded.

"Oh NO!" Ryan moaned loudly.

"Hey, keep it down, will ya? Somebody might hear you and decide to come over and find out what’s going on," Emily admonished her distraught fiancée.

"Th-this morning, when I woke up, I-I found out . . ."

"That you’re having your period," Emily finished for him, and Ryan just nodded silently.

"Does that m-mean w-we’re stuck like this?" He asked in a small, forlorn voice.

Emily shook her head. "Not permanently, but we won’t be able to switch back until your period is over," she replied.

"Oh my God!" Ryan sobbed. "H-how l-long?"

"Three, maybe four days. I’m really not sure," Emily replied.

"What are we gonna DO?" Ryan demanded through his tears. "I c-can’t go to school like this; I can’t be you for a week; I -- Ohmigod! The game!"

Emily stared at Ryan when realized what he meant. The first football game of the year was Friday -- four days away -- and Ryan HAD to play. He was the middle linebacker, the most important player on the defense, and there was no way he would ever miss a game. Emily couldn’t fake an illness because everyone knew Ryan would be on the field if he had to drag himself out on his hands and knees, especially for THIS game. They were playing Southern High School, their bitter cross-town rivals, and a lot of school pride was on the line. If Ryan didn’t play and they lost, he would be the most hated guy in the school. What’s more, Emily had to cheer too! If they couldn’t switch back Ryan would have to cheer, and Emily would have to . . . "Oh shit!" She muttered.

Apparently, Ryan realized his own situation at the same instant, because he blurted out: "NO -- I just COULDN’T!" Then he dissolved into tears.

Emily was really worried now, and she kicked herself for not telling Ryan about the medallion’s time limits before she decided to take a long weekend as a guy. Now it looked as if her curiosity could cost them a lot. She looked down on her sobbing boyfriend and gathered him up in her arms and hugged him, trying to comfort him. Ryan resisted at first, but then he just broke down completely and gave in, allowing Emily to wrap her huge arms around him. Strangely, it seemed to have a calming effect on him, and after a few minutes he felt a little better.

"So, now what?" Ryan asked between sniffles.

"I guess we don’t have much choice, do we?" Emily replied. "We’ll just have to pretend to be each other, and hope we can switch back before the game."

"But, you don’t know anything about football, and I haven’t got a clue about cheering!" Ryan objected.

"We’ll just have to fake it and hope for the best. I can’t see any other alternative," Emily replied. "Besides, we can’t miss an entire week of school."

Ryan still wanted to protest, but he couldn’t think of anything else they could do, either. After Emily helped him repair his makeup they headed on to school.

____________________

Emily was nervous as she entered the school, worried that she might make some mistake that might embarrass Ryan. She knew how competitive and macho the guys on the football team were, but she wasn’t used to interacting with them on that level. She didn’t know how to behave, and she was concerned about the subtle social dynamics that were at play. Things got a little better after her (Ryan’s) first period class. As she walked through the halls, trying to imitate Ryan’s usual strut, she couldn’t help noticing that she was one of the biggest guys in the school, and that gave her a lot of confidence. She also got a kick out of the way people treated her, both the guys and the girls. The guys accorded her a lot of respect, and there were countless high fives and discussions about how they were going to kill Southern High in the game. The girls looked at her quite differently though, and she knew those looks too. There were quite a few girls that had a crush on her fiancée, and that made Emily feel proud. Her only worry was the football practice after school. Could she hack it? Would she know what to do?

Ryan’s day was completely different than Emily’s. He, too, was nervous -- very nervous -- but things didn’t get any better as the day went on. He felt incredibly exposed in his little cheerleading outfit, and it seemed that just everyone in the school was bigger than he. He talked a little with the "other" girls during the day, but in general he tried to keep to himself as much as possible. He did sit with Emily’s friends at lunch, but he let them lead the conversation, and he kept his remarks to a minimum. One thing that really made him nervous was the way every guy in the school looked at him. Most smiled, and some stared at him with obvious lust, but nearly all of them just riveted their eyes on his boobs when they spoke to him or passed him in the hall. By the time the last class ended, Ryan was as nervous as a cat, and couldn’t wait to get out of there.

Emily looked around the lockers and tried to ignore everything that was going on around her and pretend it was routine. But it wasn’t, not for her. The entire football team was changing into their practice uniforms, and she saw just about every one of the school "hunks" parading around half-naked or completely in the buff, exchanging good-natured insults and taunts, telling off-color jokes, or gesturing with their hands to describe different plays. There was even some mock pushing and shoving, but it wasn’t serious, she realized, and for some reason nobody bothered her. It took quite a while for her to realize that, as Ryan, she was probably the strongest guy on the team and intimidating as hell to the others.

When she got out to the practice field and strapped her helmet on, Emily followed Coach Barnes, the defensive coach, off to one side of the field with the rest of the defensive players, and listened as the coach described what they were going to do. As she listened to the coach describe the plays by number, she suddenly realized she knew what he was talking about, and that realization amazed her. She cocked her head and found she able to call up all the defensive plays by number and even remember the "keys" she was supposed to read to make the call.

Ryan had discovered much the same thing, over on the sidelines. After a series of light stretching exercises to loosen up, the girls began to run through their routines, and Ryan discovered he knew just when to turn, kick, jump, and yell. After a few minutes his fears melted away, and he discovered he was actually able to do the splits and balance on the shoulders of two of the larger girls during one of the routines. After fifteen minutes, he didn’t even have to think of what to do; it just came naturally.

"Blue 15," Emily yelled out when she saw the offensive alignment, and the defense shifted in obedience to her command. A second later, the ball was snapped and when Emily saw the wide receiver slant inside she took two steps towards the line, then moved to her left, and intercepted the pass. She immediately broke downfield with the ball, and she easily shrugged off two would-be tacklers before she finally stopped, after a fifteen-yard return.

‘I can do this!’ She thought with more than a little pride as she got to her feet and tossed the ball to the coach.

"Nice move, Reed. Good read, too," the coach called to her, and Emily bobbed her head in acknowledgment of the praise.

". . . And we’re gonna get YOU!" Ryan yelled in unison with the other cheerleaders, standing on his toes with his legs together and pointing sexily at the invisible foe. Then, on a silent two count the girls all turned and bent over and flipped their skirts at the opposition bench, then they dissolved into giggles as they broke from the routine.

It was a funny cheer, Ryan thought, completely oblivious to the rather provocative ending. He had been concentrating so much on his timing and moves that he hadn’t had time to think about that, so he wasn’t particularly embarrassed when they took a break and sat down to watch the football team. Once Ryan was seated though, he searched the field until he found Emily, and he watched her for a few plays. She seemed to be doing pretty good, and he was thankful she hadn’t embarrassed him in front of the guys. He stared intently at his large masculine girlfriend and listened as she barked out the defensive signal, and Ryan suddenly realized he had no idea what those signals meant.

The feminized boy stared at the field and concentrated as hard as he could, but he didn’t have a clue as to what all those letters, numbers and colors meant, and suddenly an icy ball materialized in his stomach. Something was terribly wrong! He’d been playing football for years, and he knew almost everything there was to know about the game, but suddenly it seemed like Emily was speaking a foreign language! Worse yet, he couldn’t seem to recall any of their plays or, or what did they call it -- the way they lined up?

Formations. The word finally came to him, but that was about it. Ryan discovered that there were things just beyond his reach that he couldn’t seem to access anymore, and the longer he thought about it the worse it got. After a few minutes he was truly scared at what was happening to him.

____________________

Emily emerged from the lockers and spotted Ryan waiting for him by the bridge, and she couldn’t help grinning and chuckling to herself at the extent of their role reversal. She waved goodbye to a couple of her buddies -- Ryan’s buddies, she reminded herself -- and headed off towards the sexy little girl in the cheerleading uniform.

When she approached Ryan, Emily could see that something was bothering him, and she was instantly concerned.

"Hi babe, what’s up?" She asked, unknowingly using the identical words he always spoke to her.

Emily’s greeting didn’t go unnoticed by Ryan, but he had more important things on his mind, and he related the problems he had remembering the details of the game. He was nearly in tears as he struggled to explain the problem. Now even the terms and simplest aspects of the game seemed like quantum physics to him, and he realized he had gotten to the point where he didn’t even know what he’d lost. Emily was shocked, and then a little scared when she realized she couldn’t recall much about cheerleading. Ryan looked like he was about to lose it completely, so she put her arm around him and tried to soothe him.

"It’s probably just part of the magic of the switch. I’m sure we’ll get all of our old knowledge back when we return to normal," she said with more confidence than she felt.

"Do you really think so?" Ryan asked, sounding like a little lost girl, and Emily hugged him again. "Sure babe," she answered confidently.

____________________

The next couple of days went pretty much like Tuesday, and each of the lovers seemed to adjust somewhat to their new roles. Ryan found he had enough knowledge to handle Emily’s classes, even advanced anatomy, and he knew everything he needed to know about her friends, including a lot of juicy gossip and intimate details of relationships. Emily discovered that she knew all of Ryan’s friends, including the ones that went to other schools, and she had no problem with taking his place on the team. By Thursday afternoon she was convinced she could do the job if necessary, and she almost hoped they wouldn’t be able to switch back, just so she could be in the big game. After all, she reasoned, how many girls ever got a chance to play middle linebacker for their high school football team?

Ryan still had a moderate "flow" on Thursday, so he knew they couldn’t possibly switch back yet, and he hoped he would be over his period by the next day. It was their last chance.

The next morning Ryan awoke and immediately checked himself, and discovered he was still spotting a little. He hoped it wouldn’t be enough to keep them from changing, but when they tried to switch on the way to school, it still didn’t work. Emily slipped her arm around Ryan’s waist as they walked to school, and Ryan was so dejected he leaned against her and let her steer him towards the entrance.

Classes were canceled for the last hour that day so the student body could attend a massive pep rally in the gym. The principal introduced the coaches, and after a few remarks the players were introduced one by one. Meanwhile the cheerleaders waved their pompons and did high kicks as each player was introduced. Several of the players received special attention from the crowd, and Ryan was happy to see that Emily, introduced as Ryan, received one of the loudest and longest ovations. Finally it was the cheerleaders’ turn, and as each cheerleader was introduced, there was enthusiastic applause and the inevitable wolf whistles. When Ryan’s turn came there was a huge roar and lots of whistles and catcalls, and he took his place next to the other girls, with his hands holding his pompons at his hips and his right leg slightly in front of his left, perfectly posed.

Judy Walker, one of the other cheerleaders, picked Ryan up about an hour before the game and they headed to the field to get ready. Ryan was incredibly nervous. Even though he had played before large crowds he had never cheered before in his life. The pep rally was bad enough, but there would be fifty times as many people at the game, and Ryan was scared out of his wits. He also felt cheated. He had worked his butt off all summer long in the weight room and on the track, and now that his big moment had arrived it would be Emily, and not him, out on the field.

He had little time for such thoughts however, since he and the others girls had to get ready for the game. Earlier that week they had made a large round frame, covered it with paper, and painted the school’s name and a reasonable facsimile of the mascot on the paper. Two of the cheerleaders would hold it up for the team to run through when they took the field; while the other girls would line both sides of the path and wave their pompons as the boys sped by. After pre-game warm-ups the team went into the locker room and the girls got ready. When the boys emerged from the lockers, a few minutes before the kickoff, Emily was leading the way, and Ryan Leaped in the air and did a high kick, shaking his pompons as Emily ripped through the paper target and led her teammates onto the field.

Ryan was caught up in the excitement of the game, and he bounced around like all the other girls as the team congregated in a huge huddle at the center of the field and began to chant, "Win! Win! Win!"

The game turned out to be gripping, gut-wrenching defensive duel, with neither team being able to score, or even move the ball very far. The first half ended with no score, and the second half started out as a repeat of the first. Every time one team looked as if they would break out for a good gain the other defense smothered the ball carrier or receiver, and the game remained scoreless well into the fourth quarter. Ryan had to admit that Emily was playing superb defense. Not only was she making quite a few tackles, but also as the defensive captain, her play calls were perfect.

Then it happened. Late in the fourth quarter one of Emily’s teammates fell down while covering a receiver, and the Southern player scampered for 25 yards up the sideline until he was finally pushed out of bounds. A groan went up from Ryan’s side of the field. Even if the defense was able to stop the other team cold they were in a position to kick a field goal, which just might be the game. On the very next play the Southern quarterback took the snap and dropped back to throw again, but Emily had anticipated the play and she charged through a slight gap in the offensive line. The Southern quarterback saw the huge middle linebacker coming and attempted to scramble away, but Emily caught him 15 yards behind the line of scrimmage and dragged him to the ground.

A roar went up from the fans when they saw the magnificent play. The loss of yardage meant that Southern was out of field goal range, and though they tried another pass Southern was forced to punt the ball. Emily had saved the day.

Unfortunately, Ryan’s own team still couldn’t move the ball either, and they too were forced to punt. With less than three minutes to play, Southern had the ball on their own 35-yard line, and once more Emily and her defensive team took the field.

Emily was absolutely determined to stop Southern one last time, and she pounded her teammates on their shoulder pads and yelled to get them fired up, just as she had seen Ryan do on many occasions. After a brief huddle the defense broke for their positions and prepared to dig in against the Southern team. After a running play that went nowhere Emily knew the Southern quarterback would try another pass, and she barked out the signal for a zone defense. When the ball was snapped Emily saw she had guessed correctly, and she moved a step to her left just as the quarterback let go of the ball. The throw was a high one, but Emily leaped and managed to tip the ball high into the air. The ball seemed to hang in mid air forever, and when it finally came down Emily caught it, dodged to her right, and snaked her way downfield to the cheers of the crowd. Two Southern players had a chance to stop her, but she ran right over the halfback, and stiff-armed the quarterback before streaking into the end zone for a touchdown!

The crowd erupted in a tremendous roar, and Ryan watched as the entire team swarmed into the end zone and mobbed Emily. The celebration was so boisterous, and lasted so long, the referee finally called a penalty for delaying the game, but even that didn’t stop the cheering. Following the extra point Southern got one last chance to score, but there were only seconds remaining and their hearts weren’t in it. Emily’s interception and touchdown in the final minute of the game had doomed their chances and produced a great victory for Ryan’s team.

But was it really "his" team anymore? Ryan watched as the guys lifted Emily up and carried her off the field on their shoulders, and he felt incredibly sad and empty. Nobody paid any attention to the cute cheerleader with tears in her eyes; they all knew she was Ryan’s girl, and they assumed her tears were tears of joy. Only Ryan knew the depth of his sense of loss, and even Emily was oblivious to his feelings when she drove them to the local hangout after the game for the victory celebration.

The restaurant was a scene of total chaos, with at least half the student body trying to get in. The parking lot was jammed with cars, and there was a long line at the door, but when Emily appeared with Ryan on her arm the crowd parted magically, and they were allowed to pass right through. As they made for the door, Emily was bombarded with cheers and pats on the back, and when they entered the restaurant the entire place gave her a standing ovation. Ryan was completely ignored as Emily was pulled from one excited group of fans and players to another, and somehow he got lost in the shuffle. His short stature made it difficult to see over all the huge players, and after a while he gave up and looked around for a place to sit. But all the seats were filled, so Ryan retreated to the ladies room to compose himself. When he came out, several minutes later, he spotted Emily talking with a reporter from the local newspaper. She didn’t even appear to notice his absence.

Emily was still flushed with excitement as she drove them home, and she went on and on about every little detail of the game. Ryan sat very quietly and listened to her, wondering if she would ever run down. She still hadn’t noticed anything was wrong when she pulled into the driveway, and when Ryan got out of the car without a word; Emily finally sensed something was amiss.

"Hey, what’s wrong?" She asked as Ryan turned away and began walking towards the place he had been living for a week.

Ryan turned and looked at her for a moment before replying: "I want my life back."

____________________

The next morning they met and the medallion worked perfectly. Thirty minutes after Emily put it on and touched her cute little boyfriend he was once again his large, masculine self, and she had returned to her own form. After eight days of living as each other their original forms felt almost strange, and each required a period of adjustment before they were able to walk and move naturally. Even still, Emily retained a bit of a swagger, and Ryan’s gait was slightly effeminate, and though each noticed the subtle difference in their partner neither was aware of their own altered mannerisms.

Ryan felt incredibly relieved as he finished dressing with his back to Emily, and his joy at regaining his natural form lightened his mood considerably. Unfortunately, his good humor was short-lived. When he returned to his own home for the first time since the switch he discovered a full-page spread on the game in the sports pages of their local newspaper, and the phone rang all day long with people calling to offer their congratulations. By the end of the day it was really getting on his nerves, and Ryan left the phone off the hook on purpose after ten o’clock.

____________________

The remainder of the weekend was more of the same, and when he and Emily returned to school on Monday the place was still humming about "the play." By that time, Ryan had lost most of his "swishy" gestures and mannerisms, and Emily was also more or less back to normal, but each retained most of the memories they had inherited, and Emily now knew far more about football than was normal for a girl her age. She wasn’t afraid to discuss it, either. She couldn’t resist mentioning that she had upheld Ryan’s honor on the gridiron, and that he had looked "awfully cute" in her cheerleading outfit last Friday. Whenever anyone complimented Ryan on his great play Emily smiled smugly, and usually expressed her enthusiastic agreement. Ryan began to think she was mocking him, and at that point their relationship began to sour.

In the following weeks Ryan was unable to live down "the play," though he made some truly excellent plays. But each week his play was compared to Emily’s spectacular feat, and he never seemed to measure up. As a result of the constant comparisons, Ryan drove himself harder and harder, and became increasingly angry and withdrawn. It didn’t help that Emily, with her new knowledge of the game, actually questioned a few of his decisions on the field.

Emily soon realized that she had gone too far and needled Ryan too much. She suddenly saw that she was in danger of losing him completely, and she began to wish she had never gone to Ryan’s grandparents. Her weekend of fun had changed their lives and their relationship in ways she could have never imagined. Now, she also dreaded to hear about "the play," and began to wish people would just forget about it. But it was not to be. In an effort to turn things around Emily stopped referring to the play and tried to talk up Ryan’s latest exploits. She also began wearing her engagement ring to school, though it was against school policy and she and Ryan had agreed she would keep it in her jewelry box until their graduation ceremony.

Ryan wound up leading the team in both tackles and sacks, and was named All-State, but it seemed like he was never able to match Emily’s spectacular feat. Several times during the season Ryan made plays that were at least as difficult, but none occurred in such a crucial situation, and that was the big difference. At the end of the season, and Ryan’s high school football career, he realized he would always be known for that one play, a play he didn’t make.

____________________

After football season ended the constant references to the big play eased up a little, and Ryan tried to forget it. His parents didn’t understand why he hadn’t hung the specially framed, full color, 11x14 photograph of his remarkable interception on the wall where he displayed all of his trophies. The photograph had been presented to him at his All-State induction, along with a very nice trophy, but he refused to display the photo, and the trophy occupied an insignificant niche off to one side of the display. Despite repeated questions about it, Ryan refused to explain his actions.

His parents also noticed that his relationship with Emily had changed quite a bit since the beginning of the school year. They had been virtually inseparable since they started dating, but lately they seemed to be drifting apart. It was clear that Ryan wasn’t happy -- he actually seemed depressed -- but they had no idea what had caused the change, and they were reluctant to pry into their son’s life too deeply, so they kept their peace and hoped for the best.

Ryan felt . . . empty. He didn’t blame Emily for stealing his thunder, but she had nonetheless. He never questioned her explanation about why she hadn’t switched back before leaving for his grandparents’ home, and that was no longer an issue as far as he was concerned. The real problem was that of lot of Ryan’s self-image was tied to football; Perhaps too much of his self-image.

He had fallen in love with the game as a youngster, and he had worked extremely hard to develop his considerable God-given talents. He’d spent countless hours in the weight room, pushing himself to the outermost limits of his strength, and he had run almost as many miles as a marathon runner in his quest to build up his lower body strength. He was justifiably proud of himself, and prior to the bizarre switch he had always possessed something that was uniquely his own. But now it wasn’t his anymore. He couldn’t brag to Emily about his accomplishments on the field because they both knew that she had outshone him in her brief time on the team, and regardless of the fact that he had made other spectacular plays in other games, he was living in her shadow.

Before the discovery of the medallion each of them had their own unique claim to fame. Emily was absolutely gorgeous, and a great student, but Ryan had always had his talent for football. It had earned him prestige among his peers, a college scholarship, and the right to date the most beautiful girl at his school. Now, well Emily still had her beauty and brains, but, at least in Ryan’s mind, he had nothing.

____________________

When spring finally arrived Ryan’s parents decided to take a few days during spring break and visit his grandparents again. His mom’s arm had long since healed, and Ryan was looking forward to seeing his grandparents. Since Emily had gone in his place the last time he hadn’t seen them for nearly a year, and Ryan missed talking with his grandfather. They planned to be gone for a full week, and they’d be coming back the day before the Prom.

Ryan had almost decided to skip the Prom, but Emily had pleaded with him, and she had been so nice to him since football season that Ryan felt he was obligated. But he just couldn’t seem to find the same feelings for his girlfriend that he once felt, and he planned to use the time away from her to think through their relationship. Graduation was fast approaching, and they had planned on getting married at the end of June, and Emily and her mother had already made most of the arrangements for the ceremony, caterer, cake, dress, and a million other details. Everything suddenly seemed to be going too fast for Ryan, and he wanted to be sure before he took the plunge.

Ryan’s grandparents were overjoyed to see him again, and they treated everybody to a fine dinner at one of the nicest restaurants in the city. During the dinner, his grandfather talked about the last time he was there, and Ryan’s head snapped up when is gramps mentioned he had returned from his night on the town with lipstick on his collar.

"What?" Ryan asked, visibly shaken.

"Oh, don’t worry Ryan, I won’t tell Emily," his grandfather assured him in a conspiratorial tone. "After all, I’m sure it was just an innocent kiss. Besides, you’ll be married soon, and then you’ll find out what true misery is."

While his grandmother and mother heckled his grandfather, Ryan’s mind raced through what he had just learned. He couldn’t believe that Emily had gone out while they were switched, while he was sitting home suffering through his period, and the idea that she had actually done something with another girl seemed incredible! The next question, of course, was exactly what did she do? It was obvious that she had at least kissed a girl, perhaps more than one. What else had gone on that he didn’t know about? Had she made love to the girl, and if so had she used protection? Was it possible that his girlfriend had actually gotten another girl pregnant? Was it possible that Emily could be a father before Ryan? Did she use his name? Did Ryan have to worry about being named in a paternity suit for something Emily had done?

All sorts of bizarre thoughts raced through Ryan’s mind as his imagination got the best of him. He forced himself to calm down and kept his face completely neutral, but inside he was seething. Emily hadn’t said one word about any of this to him, and as far as he was concerned, her silence was tantamount to deceit. At the very least she had a lot of explaining to do.

Ryan was preoccupied by his grandfather’s revelation during the rest of the dinner. He had to fight off images of Emily bedding another girl, and struggle to stay focused on the conversation. His parents and grandparents all noticed that he was unusually quiet, but they put it down to fatigue, and they decided to call it a night right after they finished their meal.

When they returned to the house Ryan carried his luggage into the guest room he usually occupied during his visits, and he noticed that the room looked different, somehow. It took a moment before Ryan realized that his grandfather’s computer was missing. He had always used the smaller of the two extra bedrooms as his computer room, and Ryan wondered where he moved it. When he left the room to get his mother’s bags, he asked his grandfather about it.

"Oh, that damn thing! It’s been broken for ages. I was going to ask you to dismantle it and toss it out that last time you were here, but I thought I’d given you enough work to do as it was," he replied.

"Oh."

"Yeah, I finally threw it out a couple weeks ago and bought a new one," his gramps told him.

Something about that revelation bothered him, but Ryan couldn’t put his finger on it until later that evening when he was getting ready for bed. Then it hit him like a slap in the face.

Emily had told him she didn’t use the medallion to switch them back to their proper forms before leaving to visit his grandparents because she hadn’t known about the time limit on the medallion. She told him that she had found the information during the visit, while using his grandfather’s computer. But the computer had been broken! She couldn’t have possibly used it, and that meant she had known about the time limit before she left!

No! Ryan refused to believe it. There had to be a flaw in his reasoning. He forced himself to calm down and review everything again.

Emily had told him about the twelve hour limitation when she called from the hospital, after the accident on the way home, so obviously she knew about before she returned from his grandparents’ home, and if his grandfather’s computer had been broken before she arrived for the visit, that meant she would have had to know about the time limit before she left home. Since they had accidentally switched forms around 4:30, after practice had ended, they could have re-swapped any time after 4:30 the following morning. His parents hadn’t left for his grandparents’ home until around 9:00 that morning, and that meant . . .

She had lied to him.

The more Ryan thought about it, the more convinced he became. Emily had lied. Everything fit too well for it to be a mistake. He knew that Emily had enjoyed her time as "Ryan," and she would have known his grandfather had a computer because he kept it in the guest room. She just didn’t know it was broken. Then there was his grandfather’s remark about the lipstick on her collar, and her complete silence about going out while she was here.

Ryan was stunned as he realized that the woman he loved, the woman he had proposed to, had betrayed him. He thought about the consequences of Emily’s lie and how it had affected his entire life, and a howl of bitter rage boiled up within him and exploded from his lips. He slammed his fist into the mattress and was looking for a more satisfying target when the door to his room burst open and his father rushed in, followed by his mother and grandparents.

____________________

The next morning Ryan left the house early and went for a walk by himself. He hadn’t slept all night, and had nearly worn a hole in the bedroom carpet from pacing back and forth like a caged animal. When his parents and grandparents had rushed into the room to find out what was wrong, he had refused to tell them, despite their entreaties. He just couldn’t bring himself to explain what had happened, or that his whole world had just collapsed. Besides, they wouldn’t have believed him anyway.

He wandered down the road shoulder in the general direction of the city, staring ahead blankly, lost in thought. Perhaps if he hadn’t been quite so preoccupied he would have heard the SUV approaching from behind, and if he had, he may have turned around to see it weaving down the road. If he had, his athlete’s reflexes would have undoubtedly responded in time, but as it was Ryan never heard the vehicle approach.

The driver of the SUV was on her cell phone, checking with her secretary. She was late for work after having dealt with a sick child, and was in a hurry to make up for lost time. She never saw the young man walking by the side of the road until her vehicle veered onto the road shoulder. By then it was too late.

Ryan felt himself being flung through the air, and the next thing he knew he was lying in the shallow drainage ditch that ran along the road. He felt an excruciating pain in his left leg and heard the squeal of brakes, but it took several more seconds before he realized that the vehicle had struck him. Just about the time he figured out what happened, he heard a woman screaming, "Oh my God!"

The driver rushed over to the young man lying in a heap in the ditch and saw that he was badly injured. She apologized tearfully as she again used her cell phone to call an ambulance. Ryan asked her to also call his grandparents’ home, and she did, sobbing into the phone as she related what had occurred. Ryan’s parents and grandparents all arrived in his grandfather’s car within minutes, beating the ambulance, and they followed it into town to the hospital. On the way in Ryan kept asking about his leg, but the paramedic who hovered over him would only assure him he would receive the best of care.

The examining physician at the emergency room took one look at Ryan’s leg and ordered immediate surgery. He placed a call to the resident orthopedic surgeon and alerted him that there was a trauma case headed up with a particularly nasty knee injury, and gave him the details. Ryan was sedated and taken to surgery, where the surgeon worked on his knee for over three hours.

Ryan awoke in a private room in the hospital, and saw his parents and grandparents for the first time since the previous night. His father’s face looked strained, and it was obvious that his mother had been crying. His grandparents looked no better. He could tell that his injured leg was elevated slightly, and he was relieved to see that at least it was all still attached to him.

"Hi," he greeted his family groggily.

"How do you feel, son?" His dad asked.

"Tired, numb. Kinda weird," he replied. "Am I going to be okay?"

Ryan knew there was something wrong when his mother turned away and stifled a sob with a tissue, and his dad’s pained expression grew worse. "Well, you’re alive, and that’s the most important thing," his dad told him.

Ryan knew that there was more though. "But . . ." He looked at his dad, waiting for the other shoe to drop.

His dad sighed heavily, then seemed to steel himself and looked directly at Ryan. "But your knee was badly damaged. The doctors did everything they could, but I’m afraid you’re not going to have full mobility in the knee. The damage was just too severe."

There was absolute quiet in the room for several seconds as Ryan digested the news. They all knew what this meant, and Ryan closed his eyes as he considered the loss of his football career and his scholarship. Suddenly all of his plans for the future were gone, destroyed in an instant. He wasn’t good enough to get an academic scholarship, and though he had some money set aside it wasn’t enough to get him through four years of college. He knew his parents would help all they could, but it would now be a struggle to get his degree, and there would be no career in the pros to shoot for. Coming on the heels of everything he had learned the previous night this latest blow seemed like the end of the world.

____________________

Ryan spent the next three days in the hospital, and though the doctors examined him and x-rayed his knee several times he knew there was nothing they could from the expressions on their faces. The irony of it was that, aside from his knee he had suffered very little trauma. He had a few scrapes and bruises on his face and arms, and his ribs felt a little sore, but aside from the knee he had come through the ordeal fairly intact.

He managed to hobble out the hospital on crutches, wearing an air cast, the day his parents had planned to leave for home. His knee was sore and stiff, but the doctors had assured him that he would regain some mobility in it with physical therapy. He had asked about the possibility of an artificial knee, explaining about his football scholarship, but the doctors had informed him that artificial knees were not designed to stand up to the rigors of football. It might be an option if physical therapy proved ineffective in increasing his range of motion, but only for normal activities, not football.

It took longer than usual to get home because they had to stop every so often so Ryan could stretch his leg a bit. As a result they didn’t get back until eight o’clock, and it took another forty-five minutes for Ryan to hobble up to his room and take a bath. He was able to remove the air cast using the Velcro strips and set it by the tub as he examined his knee. There were surprisingly few marks on it, and just three small bandages covered the locations where the surgeon had gone in and clean up the mess.

 

Before he went upstairs his mom suggested it would be a good idea to call Emily and let her know what happened, but Ryan refused.

"But, Ryan, the Prom is tomorrow!" His mom objected.

"I won’t be to be going to the Prom," he grumbled as he climbed the stairs using one crutch.

Ryan’s mother stared after him as he climbed the stairs. She knew he was devastated by his injury, and she knew that there was something else bothering him too, but she felt he was being unfair to Emily, whatever the problem was. Emily had undoubtedly gone to a lot of trouble to get ready for the big dance, and Ryan’s mom knew she had to have a hair appointment scheduled for the next day. It wasn’t fair not to go just because he couldn’t dance, and it was inexcusable not to tell Emily he’d been hurt.

Ryan bathed with his knee bent, keeping it out of the water, and he dried his leg carefully afterwards before re-fastening the air cast around it. He hobbled to his bedroom and changed into pajamas with short legs before sliding into his bed. He really wasn’t tired, but his leg ached, so he sat up in bed and tried to read for a while. But every time he opened one of his Sports Illustrated magazines he was reminded about the loss of his football career, and he tossed the stack aside angrily.

____________________

A few minutes later there was a knock on the door, and when Ryan called out that the door was unlocked, he was stunned to see Emily standing in the doorway. She had an anguished look on her face, and it was clear she had been crying.

"What are you doing here?" Ryan growled, turning away.

"Ryan! Why didn’t you call me? Why didn’t you tell me what happened to you?" Emily asked, barely holding back tears.

"You lied to me!" Ryan replied in a low voice that sounded almost like a growl.

"What? When?"

"You know damned well what you did!" Ryan said bitterly. "Last fall, after we found that damned medallion, you decided to have a little fun and leave me here, as a girl, while you took off to visit my grandparents with my folks. We could have switched back the next day, but you didn’t tell me, and while you were visiting you went out and had a little fun, pretending to be me. Because of what you did I had to endure a period, and spend an entire week as you!"

"I had looked forward to the Southern game for a long time. It was the biggest game of the year, but I didn’t get to play that game, did I?"

"No," Ryan answered himself. "No. Instead I had to stand on the sidelines and cheer while you got to play, and because of the situation that play you made has haunted me ever since! Everything I’ve done since has been compared to it. I’ve had other interceptions, other tackles and other touchdowns, but they were never quite as good, because they didn’t happen in the Big Game!"

"As much as it hurt to miss that game I could have lived with it. I could have lived with everything that happened because I loved you and believed you. Besides, I told myself there was always college ball. Maybe I’d get another chance to make my mark. Then I found out the truth, along with the part about you going out on the town, and it was like getting stabbed in the back! That’s why I was out walking alone the morning I got hit. I was trying to figure out why you had done that to me. Why . . . you stole my dream."

"Oh, God! Ryan, I am so sorry!" Emily sobbed when she heard the sense of betrayal in his voice. "I never meant to hurt you! I just wanted to spend some time as a guy -- to see what it was like!"

"But you knew; You knew that a woman’s period could prevent the medallion from working, and you knew you were due soon," Ryan accused.

"Yes," Emily admitted, "but I didn’t know it would be that weekend. I took a chance, but I didn’t think missing one game would be that important."

"That’s because it wasn’t your dream; it was mine," Ryan reminded her.

"I didn’t think it would happen!" Emily insisted again. "I thought we would just switch as soon as I got back, and that would be the end of it."

"Well, it’s the end all right. It's the end of my career, and the end of my scholarship. But, hey, look at the bright side. You’ll always be able to take credit for my biggest play. Years from now, when people mention it, you’ll have the satisfaction of knowing it was actually you that made that play," Ryan said caustically.

"Ryan, please don’t say that," Emily begged. "I can’t give you back what I took from you, but it’s not the end of your career!"

"Tell that to the surgeon," Ryan replied sarcastically.

"You don’t need a surgeon. We have this," Emily reached into her jeans pocket and pulled out the medallion and dangled it in front of him.

"Ryan flinched when he saw the instrument that was the cause of all his problems, then winced as the movement caused a reaction in his knee. "Get out of here, and take that damned thing with you!" He roared.

"Look, all you have to do is put it on, and --"

"Didn’t you hear what I said?" Ryan demanded. He wanted nothing to do with the cursed medallion. "Get out of here!"

Emily was sobbing openly now, and she was desperate to repair the damage she had done. She felt so horribly guilty, so terrible, that she couldn’t just leave. "But --"

"Get out!" Ryan yelled, and started to get up.

Emily desperately thought of a way to accomplish what she wanted to do. Then it came to her. There WAS a way, though Ryan would hate her for it, at least until she could put things right, but it was the only option she could see. Before Ryan could get up she quickly slipped the medallion over her head and reached out and touched it to his leg. She immediately felt the now familiar tingling sensation, and so did Ryan.

"No! What are you doing?" Ryan demanded.

"I’m doing the only thing I can to make things right," Emily cried. "You wouldn’t listen so I, I had to!"

"Why should I believe you now?" Ryan demanded, noticing the changes beginning to take effect. Already he was a lot smaller, and he felt his hair beginning to tickle his neck.

"Because I really do love you, and I won’t see you lose everything because of my stupid mistake," Emily replied softly. She too, was changing, growing, and she could feel her arms and legs growing stronger and more powerful.

"Sure!" Ryan retorted. "This is going to help a lot! In case you don’t remember this is how it all started!" As he spoke, his voice cracked and jumped upwards nearly a full octave. He looked down at himself and saw two conical protrusions beginning to push outwards from his chest, and his arms looked thin and weak.

"It will!" Emily insisted, her voice becoming deeper. "Look, I don’t blame you for not trusting me. What I did was wrong, and if there was anyway to undo the damage I would. I never meant to steal your dream! But I CAN give you back part of it, and you’re not going to lose your scholarship, because you’re going to be as good as new when I’m finished."

"How can you do that?" Ryan asked in his now soft and feminine voice.

"By using the medallion," she responded. "It can -- OHHH, that hurts!" She groaned as her knee collapsed under her.

Ryan looked at his masculinized girlfriend, writhing in pain on the floor, and suddenly he realized she had inherited the identical injury he had sustained. He looked at his own, now shapely leg, lying loose within the air cast, and he realized that he was completely healed. Shocked, he turned to look at Emily again and saw that she was nearly finished with her metamorphosis. For all practical purposes Ryan Reed was lying on the floor, and he was Emily Watkins -- Again!

The feminized boy slipped his shapely leg out of the air cast -- He didn’t even need to undo the Velcro -- and carried it over to where Emily was lying. "Hold still for a minute," he instructed as he loosened the straps and gently wrapped it around her leg.

Emily’s bra had literally burst before she could get it off, and her tee shirt was stretched like a second skin over her now muscular chest. Ryan had to actually peel it off her skin. Fortunately she had managed to undo her shorts and slip them off before she collapsed or they would have to cut them off, and she had kicked her sandals off early in the process too. Her panties were a total loss though, and Ryan took the tee shirt and shorts and sandals into the bathroom.

He pulled Emily’s shorts over his hips and zipped the fly and fastened the button. Of course they fit him perfectly, as did the sandals, but the lack of panties felt awfully weird. The Tee shirt was stretched completely out of shape, and it hung on him like a tent, so Ryan tucked it in and arranged himself as well as he could. When he glanced in the mirror he saw Emily’s huge breasts riding high on his chest, pushing into the shirt seductively without a trace of droop. His girlfriend’s oversize nipples pushed into the fabric with an alluring upward slant, and his new boobs jiggled and bobbed with every twist and turn.

"Oh shit! Not again!" He moaned.

Emily managed to get into Ryan’s pajamas while he was in the bathroom, and when he returned she was sitting up on the edge of his bed, one crutch under her arm to support her left side. Her decomposed bra and panties lay beside her on the bed. When she saw Ryan she noticed that he had managed to brush his hair, and aside from a lack of makeup and nail polish, he looked exactly as she had when she walked into his room.

Ryan took one look at Emily and shook his head. "You’d better get rid of the makeup. You’re making me look like a clown."

Wordlessly, Emily struggled to her feet and hobbled to the bathroom while Ryan looked on impassively. When she emerged a few minutes later she struggled over to the bed and sat down again. Ryan was sitting well away from her, at his desk on the other side of the room, and his face showed no emotion at all when she looked at him.

"So. Tell me again how turning me into a chick is going to give me back what I lost," he demanded coldly, his arms crossed beneath his breasts to support them.

Emily looked at him, then lowered her eyes, unable to stand the look of pure hatred she saw. "The medallion works in several ways," she said in a voice barely above a whisper. "If you touch a piece of clothing to it while you’re wearing it, it will turn you into an exact copy of the person who last wore the clothing. There are stories about people who actually transformed into little children, even babies."

"So?"

"The transformation creates an identical copy of the person as they appeared when they last wore the article of clothing," Emily replied. "What I wanted to do was have you wear it, then touch a piece of your clothing to it -- something you hadn’t worn since before the accident. Then your leg would have returned to the way it was, and you’d have your career back."

Ryan was stunned. "You mean to tell me that it would repair my knee -- just like that?" He gasped.

Emily nodded. "But you refused to put it on, and you wouldn’t let me explain, so I’m going to have to show you myself. Tomorrow morning at . . . 10:45 AM, I’ll use the medallion again with something you haven’t worn since your injury, then we’ll have to wait twelve hours and switch again."

"Wait a minute," Ryan piped up. "Why don’t we just get together tomorrow morning, and I can use the medallion with a piece of my clothes while you use it with some of your own. That way we can do it all at once."

"I WANTED to do it all at once, tonight, but you wouldn’t let me," she reminded him, adding: "Not that I blame you."

"So, let’s just do it tomorrow morning," Ryan repeated, but Emily shook her head.

"We can’t, or at least I can’t -- I mean you, now."

"What are you talking about?"

"I have a ten o’clock dress fitting, followed by a hair appointment at one o’clock. My mom and dad are taking me to dad’s club after that. We weren’t planning on being back until six or seven."

"Then we’ll switch when you get back," Ryan told her, but Emily shook her head.

"You mean when YOU get back, but we can’t. It’s a little more complicated than that now. If we did a simple swap, like we just did, then you’d still have the bad knee, and we won’t have accomplished anything, and I can’t touch the medallion to just anything because my hair and face wouldn’t be done for the prom. No, the only way now is for you to be me tomorrow, and for me to be you. I’ll use the medal as soon as I can in the morning, then we can swap back around eleven tomorrow night."

"Ohmigod! You mean I have to go through all that tomorrow, and go to the prom as YOU?" He demanded.

Emily nodded, visibly cringing at the tirade she knew was coming.

"Well, I won’t do it!" Ryan decreed. "I went down this path before, and I’m not gonna do it again. I won’t go to the prom as you!"

"Ryan -- Please! My folks spent a fortune on my dress and shoes, and I’ve got the hair appointment, and I’m never going to have another Senior Prom!" Emily begged.

But Ryan was adamant. "No chance," he retorted. "I might wind up having another period, and graduation is only a few days away. I won’t take the chance."

 

"I just had my period," the big guy on the bed told him. It sounded ridiculous, and Ryan had to laugh.

"That is the most absurd statement that ever came out of that body," he snickered.

Emily gave him a blank look, then burst out laughing. "I DID sound kinda strange, didn’t it?" She agreed, grinning at her small, female boyfriend.

"But, seriously honey, my folks spent a fortune on my dress and accessories, and mom and I have a mother-daughter appointment at the beauty shop tomorrow. This is important to her, too. It’s the last time I’ll be going to a prom, and she wanted to get all dolled-up and spend a little time with me before the dance. Dad even bought her a corsage. I’d hate to disappoint her. I was really looking forward to it too."

"Then why did you . . ."

"Because I felt so bad about what had happened. I know it was wrong, but I never meant to take anything from you, and I certainly didn’t want to take your dream away. "When I came in here and saw you like . . . this," she gestured to herself, "I couldn’t stand it. I had to do something now or I’d never forgive myself."

"Can you ever forgive me?" She asked plaintively.

Ryan studied her face for a moment, and then he thought back over all the years. From the time they could sit up Emily had been his best and closest friend, and she had never done anything to hurt him in all that time, until this incident. Yes, she should have told him the truth -- Who knows, if she had asked he might have agreed to spend the weekend as her anyway -- but he now believed that she hadn’t intended for it to go as far as it did. He wanted to believe her, and in the end he nodded his head.

Emily’s eyes teared up again, but this time the tears were happy tears, and she held her arms out and Ryan went to her and gave her a hug.

"Ouch! Hey, take it easy!" Ryan groused as Emily nearly squeezed the breath out of him.

"Oh, sorry." Emily apologized, wiping tears from her face with one hand while she hung tightly to Ryan with her other, unwilling to let go. Ryan was almost embarrassed by her reaction to his simple reaffirmation of their love, and he decided to give her a hard time about tomorrow before she got too mushy and inadvertently squeezed him to death.

 

"Just great!" He groused, slipping away from Emily. "Now I have to endure a dress fitting, a trip to the beauty parlor, and God knows what else -- To keep your parents happy."

Emily looked at Ryan contritely again. She knew he was kidding her now. Ryan liked both her mom and dad, and they had about the best relationship of any future in-laws she had ever known. But she decided to play along, and sweeten the pot to assuage his male ego and show her appreciation.

"I’ll make it worth your while," she said coyly. "After the dance."

Ryan stared at her for a moment, then burst out laughing again.

"Hey, what’s the idea? Are you mocking me?" Emily asked, somewhat peeved by his response to her offer.

"Honey," Ryan said when he finally caught his breath. "You really should have seen -- no heard -- how funny that sounded, with you like that!" Ryan started giggling again, and this time he slid from his seat to the floor, practically helpless from his hysterics.

Emily actually blushed, which got Ryan going again, and now he was wiping tears from his eyes. "I nearly peed my pants!" He announced, adding: "Okay, you’ve got a deal, but you’ll have to tell me what to expect and what to do."

For the next two hours Emily tutored Ryan on what to do and told him, in general terms, what to expect. By 1AM Ryan thought he had a pretty good idea of what he was in for the following day, and he agreed to do everything just like Emily would.

____________________

Ryan knew exactly where he was when he awoke in Emily’s bed the next morning. The previous night he had been surprised by how quickly he became acclimated to his girlfriend’s body, and he had no trouble slipping out of her clothes and into a summer nightie. He had even remembered to pull his hair back in a nice ponytail before going to bed, so he didn’t look like a wild woman when he arose.

Emily had informed him that he had to dress nicely for the fitting and beauty shop, and she told him exactly what she had planned to wear, so Ryan went to her closet and found the short, yellow floral print skirt and her white, ribbed tank top and laid them on the bed. Then he found the white sandals with 2 3/4" heels and went to take a shower.

He was surprised at how quickly he had adapted to Emily’s body this time, and when he emerged from the bathroom he had no problem settling himself into a nice, lacy, low cut bra. He fastened the band like he’d been doing it all his life, then stepped into the matching panties and wiggled into them. After gliding a pair of light tan pantyhose over his legs Ryan sat down and proceeded to do his makeup and fix his hair. He found that if he didn’t think about what he was doing too hard it just came naturally, and after he stepped into the short, flowery skirt and pulled his tight, white top over his ample breasts he strapped his feet into the sandals. After that, all that was left to do was add earrings, a necklace, and a quick spray of cologne. He checked his purse for Emily’s wallet, then went downstairs to meet her mom.

____________________

Ryan got quite an education that morning. After a light breakfast Emily’s mom took him to the dress fitting. Actually she had already had one fitting, and the seamstress only wanted to check her work. It was a breathtakingly beautiful jade silk gown with a full length, A line skirt, empire waist, and a scoop neck. The inch wide straps crossed and reached to a very low back. The gown’s simple elegance was stunning, and when Ryan slipped his feet into the dyed-to-match single strap sandals and stood on the platform to model it for Mrs. Harris, the seamstress, he was stunned by his reflection in the many, full length mirrors that practically lined the walls. He couldn’t help admiring the image he saw, and for about the millionth time he marveled at Emily’s beauty.

Mrs. Harris pronounced herself satisfied with the fit, and well she should, Ryan thought. The silky gown fit every curve of his girlfriend’s wonderful figure perfectly. Emily’s mom had allowed extra time in case the gown needed any final alterations, but when she saw how it fit she decided they could take it with them to the beauty salon, and "Emily" could change right there. There were tears in her eyes as she told Ryan how beautiful he looked.

"I hope Ryan likes the way you look in it," she remarked as they left the dress shop.

"I know he will, mom," Ryan replied with a smile.

"Your dad and I just love him," she told her ‘daughter.’ "I’ve watched you two grow up together, and I knew you were perfect for each other. I can’t believe that in a few short weeks you’ll be married."

"He loves you too, mom," Ryan replied, unable to keep a sweet smile from his face. He thought Mr. and Mrs. Watkins were great people, and on impulse, he gave Emily’s mom a kiss on the cheek. "I know we’ll be happy together."

Ryan had never even seen the inside of a beauty shop before he walked through the door to have his hair done. Emily’s mom seemed to take charge of everything, and after they decided on an elegant upswept style, the hairdresser went to work on his long auburn hair while another; younger woman came over and worked on his nails. The sensation of having his hair washed felt so good that Ryan almost fell asleep, but he was rudely aroused when it was time to head for the dryer. By the time his hair was dry his nails, including his toenails, had been perfectly manicured and sported a jade nail polish that matched the dress and his eyes perfectly. Then the hairdresser combed out his hair and began fixing it just so. When she was finished Ryan had to gasp at the results. Emily -- He -- was an absolute vision of loveliness.

Emily’s mom took him into a back room, and helped him get into his dress and shoes, and handed him a small matching clutch purse. She had retrieved her own dress from the car while Ryan was having his hair done, and when she saw that ‘Emily’ was perfect she set about changing for their lunch at the club. Twenty minutes later the two beautiful women made their way out to the car, and set out for the club.

____________________

Emily’s father was waiting just outside the door, wearing a nice blue suit, and when he saw the two elegant women approach his eyes lit up and a broad grin appeared on his handsome face.

"This is truly a great occasion," he remarked. "It will be an honor to escort you two lovely ladies this afternoon."

A gleam appeared in the eyes of Emily’s mom, and Ryan couldn’t help blushing. He didn’t know what had come over him, but he had actually enjoyed the compliment. Perhaps it was because of all the time and effort it had taken to achieve the complete look, or perhaps it was due to something else, but he giggled and kissed Emily’s father on the cheek. "Oh daddy! You’re such a smooth talker!" He heard himself say.

"Remember how I warned you about men like him," Emily’s mother quipped, and her husband gave her an appreciative leer, which caused Mrs. Watkins to giggle a little too.

As they walked into the dining room of the club a white coated bus boy happened to drop a tray of dishes, shattering several of them in the process.

"That," announced Mr. Watkins, "is the sound of all the hearts you ladies are breaking," and both women giggled softly.

"Oh, you comic!" Emily’s mom laughed. "Stop with the corny jokes and feed us before we pass out from hunger."

"I’m completely serious," he replied. "However, your wish is my command, fair lady." He made a short bow, then took her hand and led them to their table.

____________________

The luncheon was great, though Ryan didn’t eat very much. He wanted to save his appetite for later. He’d made reservations at Emily’s favorite restaurant, weeks before, and he knew she’d enjoy it, though it might be a little awkward now.

As they were finishing Emily’s dad glanced at his wife and she nodded her head slightly, with a sparkle in her eyes. He smiled and reached into the breast pocket of his suit coat, and produced a small, blue velvet box.

"Honey, your mom and I know how special tonight is, and . . . well we want you to have this as a remembrance of the occasion." he said as he hand the box to Ryan.

Ryan looked from one to the other as he accepted the box. They both had bright smiles, but Ryan thought he detected tears forming in Mrs. Watkins’ eyes. He turned his attention to the velvet box, worked the cover open, and gasped. Inside the box was a magnificent jade pendant in a gold setting, flanked by matching earrings. One look told him the set must have cost a fortune, and though Ryan had never cared much about jewelry he recognized the love behind the gift, and he was overwhelmed by the expression of Emily’s parents love for their daughter.

Suddenly he had tears in his eyes too, and he found it was easier to play Emily than he would have believed. "Oh Daddy -- They’re beautiful!" He breathed, then he leaned over and hugged Emily’s mom, reasoning that she would want him to do that.

Emily’s father stood up and walked behind Ryan’s chair. "May I?" He asked.

Ryan held the box out to him, and then gathered his hair as Mr. Watkins placed the pendant around his neck and fastened the clasp. He leaned down and kissed Ryan’s cheek, telling him, "It’s not half as beautiful as you."

Suddenly Ryan was overcome with emotion, and he covered his face with one dainty hand as he began to cry.

"Now honey, you’ll ruin your makeup," Mrs. Watkins warned. "C’mon," she said, grabbing Ryan’s hand. "Let’s get your face repaired."

Ryan allowed himself to be "mothered" by Mrs. Watkins, much as he imagined Emily would do, and he stood still while she removed his earrings and replaced them with the new, post-style jade earrings. He was shocked by the strong emotions he was experiencing, and realized that this time he had adapted to being a girl almost immediately. When he examined himself in the mirror he realized that the jade jewelry was a stunning addition to his outfit, and he wondered what Emily would say when she saw the teardrop pendant and matching earrings.

____________________

Emily arrived right on time to pick Ryan up for the Prom. She was using one crutch, and Ryan could see the outline of the knee brace he’d been given under her slacks. Ryan was a little taken aback by how handsome his girlfriend looked, as well as the way his body reacted when he saw her. Emily’s black tux accentuated her broad muscular shoulders, and Ryan felt his nipples harden and his breath catch when she walked in the door. He knew it was just the female hormones that were flooding his system, but knowing why he was reacting like a girl couldn’t stop the reaction, and he smiled coquettishly and leaned against her as Mr. Watkins took the obligatory battery of photographs.

"What’s with the leg brace and crutch?" He asked as Emily opened the door of the car and handed him in.

"Don’t worry," she replied. "I used the medallion, and your body is as good as new, but I couldn’t just walk out without the crutch or brace. I would never have been able to explain a ‘miracle cure’ to your parents. The way I see it, you’re going to have to pretend that the physical therapy is working wonders. Maybe you can also suggest that the doctors were too pessimistic in their prognosis. Your parents might buy that."

"Good idea," he agreed. "Now, when can we switch back?"

"Not until 11:00," Emily told him. "Your dad wanted to talk about tonight, and I couldn’t get some time alone before that."

"Did you bring the medallion?"

"Yeah, I got it right here," she replied, pulling it from her pocket.

"Good. Let me have it," he insisted.

"Why?"

"Let’s just say for safekeeping," Ryan replied with a smile to ameliorate the request. He didn’t want Emily to think he didn’t trust her, but he would feel better if he had it in his hot little hands.

"You know you can’t wear it," Emily reminded him. "You might brush against someone accidentally, and there really would be a major problem."

"I understand," Ryan replied as he slipped it into his purse.

"I don’t know when we’re going to make the change, either," Emily told him. "I mean, we can’t just switch out on the dance floor."

"I know. Don’t worry. We can change at the Towers, after the dance," Ryan replied.

The Towers was a swanky hotel, and after Emily had promised to make this "Worth his while," Ryan had reserved a room in his own name. He figured they could switch as soon as they arrived, then Emily could fulfill her promise.

"Uh, yeah. I booked a room," Ryan answered sheepishly.

Emily just turned and smiled down at him.

____________________

Despite being stuck in his girlfriend’s body Ryan had a wonderful time. Their dinner was superb, and he and Emily talked for a long time before leaving for the dance. During their conversation Ryan seemed to sense that their relationship was back to normal, despite their current forms, and was surprised to discover that he didn’t mind being Emily’s "girl" for the evening. When they finally got to the ballroom they met most of their friends, and they all sat together at a large round table. The music was fantastic, and he and Emily danced so many times Ryan lost count.

During the course of the evening Ryan felt more and more comfortable as a girl. There never was any conscious thought or decision on his part, but everything just felt "right." After an hour or so he began leaning his head against Emily’s chest during the slow dances, and he began to feel the sensation of her strong arms enfolding him protectively. He was also aware that he was drawing a lot of attention on his way to and from the dance floor -- admiring looks from the guys and envious stares from the other girls -- and on a subconscious level Ryan actually enjoyed being the subject of the surveillance. Something deep within him relished being the center of attention.

Through it all, Emily was the perfect gentleman. She had discarded the crutch and knee brace, leaving them in the car, and Ryan could tell that her knee was as good as new from the way she danced. Emily held his chair for him, offered her arm when she escorted him anywhere, and was very attentive to his needs.

Ryan and Emily stayed to the very end and danced the last dance, a slow, sensuous ballad that seemed all too short. As Emily held him close for the last time they seemed to move as one, and when she bent down and kissed him as the last strains of music faded Ryan felt Emily’s kiss to the tips of his toes. He melted against her and returned the kiss avidly, and when their lips finally parted they were all alone on the dance floor.

 

Emily guided Ryan back to their table with her arm around his waist, and they said their goodbyes. Nevertheless, their entire group of friends left the ballroom together, and Ryan found himself waiting with the other girls by the doors as the guys all went to get their cars. One or two of the girls intimated that their guys were about to get very lucky, and during the good-natured teasing Ryan found himself wondering what it would be like to be on the receiving end of a seduction.

When Emily pulled up near the double glass doors, Ryan unconsciously imitated the first few girls who had been picked up, and he waited for Emily to come and escort him to the car. He waited, holding his little clutch purse in front of him as she opened the car door, then he sat down and gracefully swung his legs in, taking care that his gown was properly arranged and clear of the door.

____________________

It was awfully quiet in the car for the first few minutes as Emily and Ryan both reviewed the evening in their thoughts. Ryan considered that his memories of his Senior Prom would always be from the feminine perspective, and though that was definitely odd he discovered that it didn’t bother him. Perhaps he would be embarrassed in future years, but at that moment he just wanted to remember every detail. He wanted to be able to tell Emily how the dress felt, and what it was like to be held and kissed, and the expressions on her parents’ faces at lunch, and how he enjoyed dancing with her arm around him. He figured that if they kept their memories alive then they might both be able to experience the Prom from both sides.

"Well, what do you think -- Did you have a good time?" Emily asked, finally breaking the silence.

"Yeah. Surprisingly, I did," Ryan admitted, adding, "It was certainly different."

"It certainly was," Emily replied with a grin. "Hey, would you mind -- I mean, would it be okay if . . . if I put my arm around you?" She asked.

Ryan looked up at her, and then grinned. "Okay. One last time," he agreed, and slid close to Emily.

When Emily put her arm around his shoulders and pulled him closer Ryan had to admit it felt pretty good, and he let himself relax, feeling his body mold itself to Emily’s taut, muscular form. Her strong arm held him protectively, and Ryan felt very safe and secure in her embrace. It was nice feeling, he had to admit, and he enjoyed the sensation all the way to the hotel.

____________________

Ryan hung back a few steps and tried not to blush as Emily signed the register and got the key to their room. As they took the elevator to their 8th floor room Ryan was conscious of several men giving him that look he was beginning to know so well, and he had a shyness attack. He instinctively reached out and slipped his arm around Emily’s, and leaned against her. She looked down and seemed to understand, and she patted his arm affectionately.

When they reached the room, Emily retrieved the key from her pocket and opened the door. As Ryan started past her to enter the room she turned to him and said, "Allow me." Then, with a wide grin on her face she swept him up in her arms and carried him across the threshold.

Ryan couldn’t help giggling. "I should be the one carrying you," he remarked, "Because in 30 minutes or so things will be very different."

Emily set him down on his feet gently, making sure he didn’t twist an ankle. "Was it really that bad, being me for the Prom?" She asked her gorgeous boyfriend.

"No, I guess not," Ryan allowed, unwilling to admit that he had really enjoyed himself, "but it’s time to switch back."

"Okay, get the medallion," Emily prompted.

Ryan picked up his mall clutch purse from the bed and opened it, but the medallion wasn’t there! He frantically dumped the entire contents on the bed, and then looked in the empty purse. "Ohmigod!" He breathed. "There’s a hole in the bottom! The medallion must have fallen out!"

Emily snatched the purse from him and examined it, only to discover that the bottom seam had split somehow, leaving a two-inch gap. It was just enough for the medallion to pass through.

"C’mon!" She shouted, grabbing Ryan’s hand and pulling him out the door. "We’ve GOT to find it!"

An hour later Emily and Ryan re-entered the hotel room and Ryan slumped down, sitting on the edge of the bed. They had re-traced their steps from the hotel room to the ball room, then back to the hotel again, without success. They had even searched through the car, with Emily practically tearing the front seat apart.

"What are we going to do?" Ryan moaned with tears in his eyes.

"I don’t know," Emily sighed heavily. "Maybe someone found it at the dance. If so they might turn it in."

"Do you think so?" Ryan asked hopefully, looking up at Emily.

"I don’t know, Hon. All we can do is hope it turns up." Emily gazed down at her small, feminized fiancée. He looked so forlorn, so pathetic, that she scooped him up in her arms and held him close.

Ryan was gripped by an overwhelming sense of despair. Somehow he knew they would never find the medallion, which it was gone for good, and his heightened emotions got the better of him. He began crying softly, unable to meet Emily’s eyes. This time it was his fault. If he hadn’t insisted on having the medallion in his possession it wouldn’t have been lost, but he had, and now they were stuck.

Ryan’s tears turned to sobs as he lost all control of his emotions, and Emily hugged him tightly and stroked his long auburn hair as she told him everything would be okay. Ryan clung to her desperately, and apologized between sobs, but Emily just continued to hold him and tell him everything would work out.

The tiny, feminized boy needed to hear that. He needed to be reassured and comforted, and he laid his head against his fiancée’s chest and cried softly as Emily held him tenderly and whispered encouragement. He felt the same safe, secure feeling he had noticed earlier that night, and after a few minutes he regained a semblance of control.

"Emily, I’m so sorry! This is all my fault. If I had just trusted you, none of this would have happened," he confessed through eyes bright with tears.

"Shh. It’s okay, Hon. We’ll get through this because we love each other," Emily replied softly.

Ryan pulled back a little, just enough to see her face, and looked up at her. "Do you really think so?" He asked in a very small voice.

"Sure. We’ll make it -- No matter what!" Emily assured him.

"Oh Em --"

Emily cut him short by leaning down and covering his lips with hers. Ryan was taken by surprise, but he immediately responded, sliding his arms around her neck and pressing himself against her. The kiss seemed to go on forever, and once again, Ryan felt it down to the tips of his toes. He drank in the scent of Emily’s after-shave and trembled as he felt her hand caress his bare back.

As the kiss lingered Ryan felt his nipples grow hard and erect, and he was filled with a strange, undefined longing. When Emily cradled his head in her hands and kissed his tears away Ryan stood on his tiptoes and kissed her cheek, feeling the roughness of her emerging stubble. Her hands felt so good, caressing his cheeks, that he closed his eyes and remained absolutely still while Emily’s fingers brushed across his sensitive skin. His own hands found her hard muscular chest, and he luxuriated in the feel of her solid body.

When Emily’s hands slid down to his shoulders and began kneading them Ryan felt the tension drain from his body, and he slumped against her. Then her hands slid lower yet and followed the contours of his feminine form down to his softly rounded bottom. Ryan gasped when he felt Emily’s hands caressing him there, and suddenly he felt a curious dampness between his legs. The anxiety over the lost medallion was completely forgotten, replaced by new, pleasurable tension that seemed to build within him.

Ryan leaned against Emily and meekly waited for her to make the next move. He was puzzled by his reaction to Emily’s explorations, but it felt so wonderful that he didn’t want to break the spell.

"Do you want to go home?" She asked suddenly, and Ryan looked up at her. When he raised his head he found himself staring into his own, crystal blue eyes, but they appeared different somehow. Suddenly they seemed like two azure pools, and he stared into them, mesmerized.

Ryan shook his head slowly, and when Emily smiled down at him it was as if the world had opened itself to him. He felt a responsive smile appear on his lovely face, then he looked away, losing the test of wills. He was dimly aware that he was careening towards a precipice, a point of no return, but another part of him pointed out that there was no going back anyway.

Emily eased the zipper of Ryan’s dress down and gently slid the straps over his shoulders. They slipped down to be captured in the crook as Ryan’s arms, until he forced himself to disengage himself from Emily and step back. Then he lowered the straps and his gown slid to the floor. Ryan stooped slightly as he stepped out of the cloud of jade fabric and retrieved it in one motion. Without taking his eyes off Emily he tossed it over a nearby chair and stood before his fiancée in his white, strapless bra, panties, garter belt, stockings and heels.

The expression on Emily’s face was too intense for Ryan to bear, and he looked away modestly, blushing furiously.

"You are so incredibly gorgeous," she breathed, seeing her own form in a whole new light as she stepped forward to embrace him again.

Ryan felt completely vulnerable next to his large, muscular fiancée, but he knew she would never hurt him. Her touch was like a feather as she reached behind his back and unfastened his bra, and her fingers danced lightly across his back as they removed the bra and discarded it. Ryan’s voluptuous breasts shifted slightly, freed of their silken confinement, but they remained firm and high on his chest, almost defying gravity. When Emily removed her tie and opened her shirt Ryan stared at her rippled form as if for the first time, and indeed it appeared entirely different than it had in a mirror.

He felt himself growing strangely excited at the sight of his former body, but new instincts had replaced the old, and Ryan waited patiently, passively, for Emily to remove her shirt and slacks. When she too was undressed she advanced on him and Ryan felt the excitement begin to build to almost unbearable levels. He was breathing hard even before she took him in her arms and carried him to the bed, and when she laid him down with incredible care his eyes looked up at her and tracked her every move.

Ryan waited for Emily, and when she glanced at his panties, he understood the unspoken command, and he submissively slid them down his silk-clad legs and tossed them aside. A moment later Emily joined him on the bed, and immediately assumed the dominant role. She kissed Ryan’s engorged nipples, and the former boy felt the electricity in every molecule of his body. His back arched as he moaned and put his arms behind Emily’s head to hold her in place.

After that, Ryan was treated to an entire universe of strange, wonderful new sensations. Emily seemed to know exactly what to do, and she orchestrated his emotions like a symphony conductor. When she finally entered him Ryan lost all control, and he thrashed and squirmed beneath her as she had her way with him. The former male surrendered to her mastery, and somewhere in the process their relationship was completely re-defined.

____________________

The quarterback crouched over the center and barked the signals. When the ball was snapped he faded back in the pocket, but somehow the middle linebacker managed to muscle his way through the protective screen, and he caught the quarterback before he had a chance to release the ball, dropping him for a 12-yard loss. Ryan Reed had been a force to be reckoned with since his enrollment the previous year. Now, as a sophomore, he had won the starting middle linebacker’s job and everyone was expecting great things from the youngster. Even the pros were beginning to take notice.

Meanwhile, on the sideline, the gorgeous cheerleader with the auburn hair, balanced on the up thrust hand of a male cheerleader. She was perched on one leg with her other leg bent at the knee and her pompons in her outstretched arms. When the cheer was finished the male cheerleader pushed upwards and the girl hung in mid air for a moment, and then felt her partner grip her tiny waist and ease her to the ground.

Cheerleading was a great way to keep her figure, she reflected as she made her way over to her purse. Her diamond engagement ring glittered in the sunlight as she opened her shoulder bag and rummaged for a clean tissue. She couldn’t help but pause and admire her wedding and engagement bands for a moment. She had just celebrated her second anniversary, and it was still hard to believe.

Mrs. Emily Reed was not only the only married cheerleader; she was also a mother -- to 6-month-old Ryan Reed, Jr. As usual, her Mom had little Ryan this afternoon -- she and Mom Reed took turns baby-sitting little Ryan during games or exams -- and her and Ryan’s fathers were somewhere up in the stands.

The pretty cheerleader smiled as she checked her makeup with a compact. Despite the incredible circumstances, and the ordeal of her pregnancy and delivery, she was perfectly content with the way her life was evolving. She still missed the old days, a little, but she adored her husband and baby, and wouldn’t change anything for the world. When she graduated she would be a fully accredited registered nurse, and she had married her childhood sweetheart in a storybook wedding, and he was a wonderful guy. Being the only female in the family felt sort of strange, especially since she had once been the male in the relationship, but the person who had once been Ryan Reed had completely adapted to his new role as wife and mother, and not one soul had ever guessed the truth; that she was once the football player, and that the incredibly talented linebacker with the professional prospects had once been his girl -- The Girl Next Door.

 

The End

 

 

 

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© 2001 by Julia Manchester. All Rights Reserved. These documents (including, without limitation, all articles, text, images, logos, compilation design) may printed for personal use only. No portion of these documents may be stored electronically, distributed electronically, or otherwise made available without express written consent of the copyright holder.