The Trial

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This story wouldn't leave me alone. It's not like I don't have a dozen partially completed stories in the queue. I was thinking of fleshing this story out more, but I kinda like it the way it is.

~o~O~o~

John was tricked into swapping bodies with Tiffany so that he could receive her punishment. It didn't work quite the way that she had hoped.



The Trial

"This tribunal is now in session," the inhuman voice intoned.

I had just fallen asleep, so I would normally have considered this to be a dream. After all that has happened, I know better. This was an attempt by Tiffany to yet again escape the consequences of her actions and pass them on to me.

"The plaintiff will now state her complaint."

Tiffany stood up. "I agreed to swap bodies with John Josephson..."

A gong sounded.

"I offered to swap bodies with John Josephson for three month..."

A gong sounded again.

"I offered to swap bodies with John Josephson. He accepted. Now, more than seven months later, he refuses to swap back. What kinds of perverted things is that old man doing with my body? I don't know why he won't give me back my body..."

A gong sounded again. One of the judges spoke up. "Miss Josephson, please try to get through your statement without lying."

A very frustrated looking Tiffany Josephson huffed and started again.

"I offered to swap bodies with John Josephson. He accepted. Now, more than seven months later, he refuses to swap back. What kinds of perverted things is that old man doing with my body? He is twenty years older than I am! He's stealing twenty years of my life! I just want to go back to my own life!"

Then, she broke down and sobbed. The three hooded judges looked on impassively.

After she quieted down, the lead judge said, "John Josephson, you may now give your response."

I stood up. "Thank you, your honors."

"I was the oldest of four children. My childhood was pretty normal, but pleasant. My parents were loving and supportive."

"I did reasonably well in school, but my parents insisted that I could do better. As an incentive, they promised to buy me a car and insure it through my college years if I got excellent grades and earned a scholarship. With that incentive, I managed to attain a perfect 4.0 grade point average."

Tiffany jumped up. "I'm sure that we're all soooo interested in your goody two shoes life, but we don't have all night to listen to your bragging. And what have you been doing to my body?"

*** BANG! ***

I jumped about two feet in the air. They must have a magically enhanced gavel.

"MIZ JOSEPHSON! SIT DOWN! YOU WILL HAVE SUFFICENT OPPORTUNITY TO MAKE YOUR REBUTTAL."

More quietly, the judge added, "And we do have all night, if necessary."

I looked at Tiffany. "What have I been doing with your body? I have been exercising and eating properly. Should this trial go in your favor, you will find that you have a clear mind and a healthy body. I would hope that you make good use of the boost I have given you, not only with a healthier body, but with the good grades that I have been earning. Alas, your past performance doesn't give me much hope that you would do so."

"If you would continue with your story," the judge said.

"Sorry, your honor."

"Instead of going for a standard scholarship, I applied for the R.O.T.C. program. While the other students were joining frats, drinking, and partying, I was learning military discipline and leadership. I applied myself to my studies. I couldn't decide if I wanted to learn mechanical or electrical engineering, so I went for a double major. I also took a full load during the summer. The stipend was enough to keep my old reliable car gassed up, but little more."

"But I managed to do it because I truly love science and engineering. In my junior year, I was inducted into Tau Beta Pi, Eta Kappa Nu, and Pi Tau Sigma, the engineering, electrical engineering, and mechanical engineer honor societies. I truly enjoyed designing and building both of my senior projects. In some ways, they were some of the best years of my life."

"In a very important way, they weren't. My parents and siblings were struck by a drunk driver. Right during finals week, I had to plan a funeral. There was no one else to plan it. Instantly, my entire family was gone. The funeral was attended by me and a few friends."

I paused for a minute as I wiped the tears from my eyes. Even now, the memory hurts.

"The graduation ceremony was bittersweet. While I was proud to give the valediction speech, it was a hollow victory without my family to share it."

"My six years of military service weren't as enjoyable, but I definitely learned things that I wouldn't have learned anywhere else. I left the service with a feeling of accomplishment -- not wanting to ever go back, but glad for the experience. I had kept a foot in academia by slowly earning an MBA via an on line school."

Tiffany was sitting with her arms crossed and rolling her eyes, but she didn't dare say anything.

"I managed to land a job as an engineer in training. I was told that it was my GPA and my experience as an officer that landed the job because my engineering degrees were six years old. A lot of the manager types don't think much of old degrees, figuring that technology had advanced and left the student behind, and that the student had forgotten a lot."

"I took the opportunity and ran with it. It didn't take long to ditch the 'in training' part and become a full engineer. A few years later, I was a project manager. I wasn't fond of the extra paperwork, but I loved working on the project as a whole. I still got to enjoy being creative, but didn't get as much into the details as I might have wanted."

"I started having strange dreams. I was back in school. I was partying. I was ignoring my homework. No matter how much I was determined to do the right thing, I ended up goofing off. I was getting frustrated. When I woke up, I would realize that was just a dream. But when I was in it, I was sure that it was all real. I was thirty-five years old, but I was back in high school."

"Then, I got to watch myself fail my exams. It was frustrating. In a few cases, I didn't know the answers. For science and math and a few other classes, I knew the answers, and got to watch myself get them wrong anyway."

"'OK Smartypants!' a voice came from nowhere. 'If you think you can do better, just say the word. Do you want to do it yourself?'"

"Of course I did. As soon as I said so, the dream faded."

~o~O~o~

John's story

"Tiffany! Get your lazy butt out of bed!"

"Uh..." I mumbled as I sat up. Who is Tiffany? What is this woman doing in my house?

"Have you even packed yet? I don't know what makes you think you can get out of this! Now get your butt in gear and get packing! We leave in an hour!"

The first thing I noticed was that I wasn't in my own bedroom. The second thing I noticed was that I wasn't in my own body.

Then, memories started to come back. I remembered my own life, but I also had memories of another life -- the life that had been in my dreams.

I remembered all the partying and goofing off that I did. I remembered getting caught cheating on a test. I remembered being given the ultimatum that I would spend my three month summer vacation in military school, or I would repeat the last grade and be banned from all extra curricular activity. And Mom added a more or less permanent grounding to the list. Since I was already a year behind, I couldn't afford another if I wanted to get out before I turned twenty.

And I remember poking through a bunch of old magic books looking for a solution. That was a shock to me, since I knew nothing about the existence of magic before the trap was strung on me.

So now, as Mom was yelling at me to get ready, I had to wonder what an irresponsible fifteen year old girl was going to do trying to do a job that required an engineering degree and several years of experience. Would I even have a job when I finally returned to my body? Was I even going to return to my body? As soon as I asked myself the question, I remembered that she did plan on trading back -- after I had finished military school for her.

I must have paused to think just a bit too long because Mom threw up her hands in frustration and started to randomly pile clothes into my suitcase.

I ran into the bathroom for a quick shower.

"Don't take too long in there!" she yelled.

I quickly showered off and washed my hair. There was no time to explore my new body. I would have to do that at school.

In a mass shower room.

With all the other girls.

Other girls.

Part of me was used to the idea, and part wasn't. Those body, or rather brain memories were there, but they felt like someone else's memories.

After some thought, I realized that the memories stored in my spirit were really mine, but the others were just memories stored in the flesh -- that is, in the brain.

I wrapped a towel around my hair, and started drying off with another. I grabbed my toiletries on the way out, but left my make-up alone. I probably wouldn't be allowed to use it at school, anyhow. Not that I knew how to apply the stuff.

Or maybe I did. I guess I can figure that out later, if I feel like it. I decided to put off the war paint for as long as possible.

"I hope you like sitting with wet hair until it dries on its own. You don't have time to blow it dry it."

I quickly put on the panties and sports bra that my mother had put on the bed. I followed that with a pair of sweat pants and a t-shirt. Quick and easy. No sense being fancy. I knew I'd be wearing a uniform by the end of the day.

I grabbed my phone, tablet, and mp3 player, and ran out the door after my mom.

That's what really confused me. She looked like my dearly departed mother. Or, rather, she looked like my mom did when I was a teen. She had the same name, too.

Once I got into the car, I took the time to think about what had happened. I thought over the spells that were used to trap me in this alternate life. That's when I realized that I was kind of stuck. We can switch back, but we have to both consent to the switch. It's doubtful that she would do that before I do her schooling for her.

I also realized that we weren't in the same world. Universe, actually. Tiffany and I are are alternate versions of each other.

I have to wonder if she realized that she would be a thirty five year old male when she pulled her switcheroo. It'll be interesting to see how she reacts to body hair and that meat hanging between her legs.

I looked on my phone for mail and texts. There was nothing important -- just some teenage chatter. I turned it off, put it into its padded carrier, and stuffed it, along with my tablet, into my suitcase. I pulled out my mp3 player and tried to relax to some music. Alas, Tiffany's taste in music left much to be desired. Eventually, I just powered it down and put it into my suitcase.

I remembered wanting -- that is, I remembered Tiffany wanting top of the line Apple products -- iPhone, iPad, and iPod. What I had was Android stuff, which was fine by me. It was passed down from Mom when she got a new contract with the phone company. It was actually about as old as my real stuff at home. I might be a nerdy engineer, but I don't need to have the latest and greatest personal electronics.

I looked over at my mother. She didn't look like she was in the mood to talk. I just sighed and tried to take a nap. After all, it would take another two hours to get to school.

When we got there, Mom tapped me on the shoulder to wake me up. She parked in the visitor's lot and hurried me out of the car and over to the office. The initial in-processing was quick, but the whole process promised to be lengthly.

As Mom was about to turn to leave, I reached out and gave her a hug. It was like hugging a statue at first, but she softened and let some of the anger she had been holding on to dissipate. "Make me proud," she said.

"I will," I replied.

She looked dubious, but gave me a pat on the back and walked away.

~o~O~o~

I walked out to the quad and waited with the other students. I tried hard not to cry. Seeing someone who looks so much like my mom was the final straw on a stressful day.

And the day was only beginning.

Five adults in military uniforms walked out of the building -- two staff sergeants, a first sergeant, a captain, and a colonel. The two staff sergeants split off of the group. One stood in front of the girls, and the other in front of the boys.

I had gotten up as soon as they left the building, so I was ready when they simultaneously shouted, "Students, A-ten-SHUN!"

I snapped to attention with military precision. A few others did a credible job, but most just stood up looking confused.

We were all called by name and received our dog tags. This school was serious about drumming military discipline into us.

The next half hour consisted of a quick lesson on what it means to stand at attention in a military formation. Dress right dress and cover down. Attention! Parade rest! At ease. Attention!

I somehow ended up at the end of the column. My military precision got me designated as squad leader.

The first sergeant, the captain, and finally the colonel gave us all a long speech about what it means to be a student at the West Branch military academy, and that we should all be proud of what we are going to learn.

Left face! Right face! About face!

I helped tutor those who didn't catch on.

We were all instructed to put our luggage near the building.

We spent hours learning drill and ceremony (D&C). Right flank, march! Column left, march! Counter column, march! To the rear, march!

The first sergeant and the two officers went back inside, leaving us to the tender mercies of our platoon sergeants.

After about six hours of drill, we were all pretty much wiped out. Our fearless leaders still looked fresh, though.

I definitely planned to have a discussion with Tiffany about keeping in shape. A teenager shouldn't be in such lousy shape.

I tried to look fresh. As a squad leader, I had to lead a good example.

While we were marching up and down the quad, our suitcases had disappeared. I thought I saw some older cadets working outside the building.

The sergeants, along with some older cadets, herded us into the showers. There, we were issued military hygiene kits. We were instructed to put our civilian clothes into bags and put our names on them. The bags were gone when we left the shower.

There was much complaining about the scratchy OD green towels, and even more complaining when we were all given military haircuts. They weren't male military haircuts, but they were shorter than what all but a few normally wore.

It was a clean but tired group of girls that were led to the barracks carrying a pile of freshly issued camouflage uniforms. I gave a quick glance to the poster that describes the proper way to stow the uniforms, and put mine away. Then, I made my bunk, crawled into it, and fell asleep.

~o~O~o~

The next morning, I woke to the sound of a billy club banging against the bunks. A pair of staff sergeants had the dubious honor of waking us up for morning PT (Physical Training.)

I jumped out of bed, put on my PT uniform, rounded up my squad, and headed for the quad. By the time everyone else was out there, my squad was already in formation.

The less said about that first PT session, the better. I REALLY wanted to have a long discussion with Tiffany about taking care of her body.

Still, I wasn't worried. As a newly minted teenager, I had no doubt that I would be in shape soon.

After morning PT, it was time for showers, clean up, and inspection. I swear that some of those girls didn't know one end of a broom from the other.

We had to take all of our tops to the quartermaster to have the name tags sewn on. Then, they showed us the proper military way to hang our clothes. Of course, I was drafted to be an extra instructor.

Then, it was tests. Lots of tests. Since we were a bunch of misfits and bad girls and slackers, they needed to figure out what classes we should attend.

~o~O~o~

The next morning, it was PT, D&C, shower, clean up, inspection, classes, more D&C, shower, and bed again.

Just like the last time I was in the military, the mess hall food was good. It would have been easy to get fat on the desserts if I had overdone it. It was hard, since I have a sweet tooth -- in both bodies. Still, I kept things balanced. That, along with the PT, got me into shape.

It was the same thing day after day for two weeks, including Saturday. We got to go to an optional church service on Sunday. Then, they started slacking off and we got a little more free time. Some of us earned extra privileges.

I spent a lot of my free time in the library. I looked up some of the historical facts that I didn't think quite matched what I had learned. Nothing big. Just minor details.

Current events were pretty much the same. I think some of the celebrities were different, but it's hard for me to tell. I pretty much ignore celebrity issues.

Still, according to chaos theory, even a tiny difference should propagate and yield a totally different history. Maybe there are some strange attractors involved. Or maybe the two universes are close enough together for them to affect each other.

Any search for information about magic was fruitless. That fit with my flesh memory that magic was a carefully kept secret. I would love to have done some studying, but that obviously wasn't an option.

One of the privileges that I earned very soon after the two week 'hell period' was the return of my suitcase. I was able to stow the contents in my foot locker and turn it back in.

I checked the phone. Just the usual teenage chatter again. I replied, explaining that I had just gotten my phone back. I sent Mom a text telling her that I was doing OK.

When I pulled out my tablet, I had another flesh memory come to the surface. I had stored some magic text books onto my tablet in an encrypted folder.

That actually sounds better than the old stories of magical grimories that can't be opened by anyone but the owner. Not only is it more compact, nobody is going to find it without thoroughly searching the tablet. And even then, it can't be opened without the proper password.

So that gave me another thing to study.

~o~O~o~

After a couple of weeks, I was awakened by two of my partners in crime -- the same two that got into trouble along with Tiffany. They told me that they had scored some pot, and invited me to sneak out with them and smoke it.

I told them that I had sworn off that stuff. Mom had read me the riot act. If I wanted to go to college, I needed to straighten up. She wasn't going to waste money on tuition just so that I could go party.

They were miffed, but they left readily enough. I went back to sleep.

~o~O~o~

The next morning, we had one of those random drug tests that the military is fond of giving. Oops!

They claimed that I was with them, but a quick meeting with the colonel, along with the fact that my test came up clean, made that a non issue. The fact that I have been doing so well with both the military and the academic portions made it easy for the colonel to believe that I had, in fact, turned over a new leaf.

They ended up getting some Special High Intensity Training (S.H.I.T.) They essentially went through the two week period of hell again. They were watched carefully. Extra effort was required of them to get even the smallest privilege back.

~o~O~o~

By the end of the three months of school, I was in tip top shape and deemed able to start high school on the advanced placement track. I managed to ace all of the math and science courses, up to and including high school calculus. English and history took a little more effort, since I hadn't used them for better than fifteen years. Geography was a mixed bag. I had, after all, seen a number of places in my military career. Also, in my civilian career, I had gone to a number of customer sites.

So when it came time for the graduation ceremony, Mom just sat there with a stunned look on her face as my accomplishments were listed. As the Valedictorian, I was asked to give the standard valedictory address.

"I told you I would make you proud," I said to her as I hugged her.

"Who are you, and what did you do with my daughter," she asked.

"Umm..." I whispered. "Can we discuss that later?"

~o~O~o~

The drive home was pleasant. Mom asked me question after question about my time in the school. She also gave me the gossip about our coven, and about the family.

It turns out that I not only have some brothers and sisters in this universe, I have some aunts and uncles and cousins that never existed in my old universe. And my dad is still alive.

When we got home, I opened up my tablet and showed Mom the spell that her real daughter had used on me. It's a spell that she shouldn't have known about, much less used.

Mom's face turned so red that I was sure that she would pop a vessel. I felt some of her magic rising. That was a new experience for the real me, since I didn't try even the smallest spell when I was at school.

I worriedly backed up. "I'm sorry," I said softly.

She took a couple big breaths, then said, "I'm not mad at you, sweetie. You are a victim in this. And she only hurt herself, since she totally missed out on the education that I paid so much for. I just hope she didn't mess up your life too much. What grade are you going into, anyhow?"

"I'm male, thirty-five years old, a veteran, and an engineer. I don't see how she can have done a credible job, even with my knowledge at her disposal. I'll almost certainly have to look for another job once we swap back."

"Oh, sweetie! I'm so sorry! I should have done a better job of reining her in."

"Don't blame yourself. You're not the one who kept working hard at getting out of the consequences of her actions."

"Still," she said, "I'm going to do all I can to make it up to you."

"If you can teach me more about magic, we'll call it even. That's something I could never have gotten in my old universe."

~o~O~o~

I had never thought I would be going to high school again. Still, there I was, wearing a blouse and a pleated skirt, walking to the office to pick up my schedule.

I had fully expected the real Tiffany to want to swap back once I finished military school for her, but she wasn't at all pleased about being enrolled in the advanced placement classes. She shut down the connection in a huff after saying that I could just do her AP classes for her, too.

I really had to wonder what she was thinking. It's not like I'm going to slow down. The longer she waits, the further she will be behind. Did she expect me to do the whole year? Did she think that the sophomore AP classes would somehow be easier?

On the way to my first hour class, I met my partners in crime again. They were both standing there with their hands on their hips, looking angry, and blocking my way.

"What's the big idea getting us in trouble? Because of you, we're grounded until Christmas!"

"Don't look at me," I said. "I'm not the one that smoked that pot."

"You didn't have to tell on us!"

"I didn't. You got caught with a random piss test. Do you really think that I had the power to order up a random drug test?"

They looked at each other. "You used to be our friend!"

I just shrugged. "That's up to you. We can still hang out, if you don't do anything stupid while I'm there."

"Oh, so you're just too good for us now?"

I snorted. "Again, that's up to you. You can get serious about preparing for life, or you can keep slacking. One thing I won't do is let you drag me down with you."

By now, a crowd was gathering. I heard murmuring about a 'cat fight' or 'bitch fight.'

I backed up a bit to give myself room. I was trying to edge around them and go to class when they both tried to jump me.

I just brushed them away and hopped back. They landed on the floor. About that time, a teacher arrived.

"You saw it! She attacked us!"

"Yes, I saw it," the teacher said. "You two have just found out that it's a bad idea to attack someone who knows something about martial arts. Now, I think that the two of you need to go to the office."

I gave the teacher my information and headed to class.

~o~O~o~

Near the end of class, the teacher received a text on his school notebook. He glanced at it briefly, then looked at me. "Well, that's pretty much it for the day. Miss Josephson, please go to the office now. You are not in trouble, but there is a little unfinished business to be dealt with."

~o~O~o~

The principal frowned at me. "The security cameras make it clear that you were attacked, and used minimal force to escape. Is there more to the story that I need to know?"

My two former friends just scowled at me.

"Not really, sir. They managed to get into trouble when we were in military school. I refused to have anything to do with it, so they blame me that they got caught."

He picked up one of their folders and started paging through it. "Would that be the incident with the cannabis?"

"Yes sir."

"And can I assume that you took advantage of the opportunity and made good use of the schooling at West Branch?"

"Yes sir."

"Very well, then. Congratulations. Carry on," he said in his usual taciturn manner.

"Thank you sir."

I turned around and left the office. If looks could kill, I would surely have a hole bored through me.

~o~O~o~

I was eating lunch when I was hit with another blast from Tiffany's past. Her sorta-kinda boyfriend sat across from me and said, "So, are you ready to pick up where we left off?"

"Actually, no," I said. "Mother read me the riot act. I need to concentrate on school so that I can go to college."

"So, the rumors that you have gone goodie-two-shoes are true."

"Yes, as are the rumors that I am coming out as a lesbian."

"What? What rumors? And you didn't act like a lesbian last year! Are you crazy?"

I sniffled a couple times for effect. "I'm sorry! I tried and tried to deny who I really am inside. I tried hard! I... I figured that finding a real man like you could make me straight, but it didn't work. And then I saw all those naked female bodies in the showers at military school..."

He gave me a look of disgust.

"But don't worry. My two sidekicks kept telling me that if I didn't put out for you, that they would. They kept threatening that they would take you away from me. I guess they can, now. Maybe you can do both of them at once."

"Bitch!" he muttered under his breath. He picked up his tray and walked away, heading in the general direction of the gruesome twosome."

As soon as he was gone, I gave a faint smile, then a smirk. I really am a lesbian in this body, but coming out was a good way to sever the last of the bad relationships that Tiffany had made while simultaneously keeping the rest of the boys at bay.

~o~O~o~

"You bitch!" Tiffany screamed at me.

Mom had been teaching me more about magic. One of my first lessons was how to play with the connection between me and Tiffany. I had pushed some of the day's events to her. She was upset about the boyfriend she had taken so much joy in stringing along, but coming out as lesbian really infuriated her. I think part of the problem is that she really was fighting that side of her.

"Hey, you're the one who stuck me here, and proceeded to trash my life. You won't have to do much more to convince me to jump ship and stay here. Do one little thing more to my life, and you'll be stuck with it, babe."

"You wouldn't dare! I'll call the tribunal on you!"

"Go right ahead! You're burning through my savings way too quickly. I'm planning on asking for restitution as it is. Mom tells me that the tribunal has its ways."

"And stop calling her Mom!" Tiffany shouted. "She's my mother, not yours!"

I just smirked at her. "As long as I'm in this body, she's my mother. I love her like my mother, too. And I'm a better daughter than you have ever been."

I had been getting really angry at the way that she had tricked me, and what she had done to my life. I wasn't kidding about being close to just staying in this new, younger girl body. I was missing a lot of the goodies and prerogatives that I had earned in my old life, but I was having fun building a new life.

There might have been a bit of revenge in the way that I dumped her old boyfriend and came out as lesbian, but it was more preparation for living life the way that I want to live it.

"I'll get you back for this!" she said.

"You do, and you'll be stuck with the consequences," I reminded her. "One more thing, just one more thing, and you'll be stuck as a thirty-five year old man. If you come out as homosexual and find a boyfriend, you had better enjoy him because you'll be stuck. If you use up my savings account, you'll be stuck as a broke thirty-five year old man who can't get a good job. If you dip into any of my retirement funds, you had better learn quickly how to make them last for the rest of your life. Any attempt as revenge on your part will backfire. Badly."

She screamed and broke the connection.

~o~O~o~

School continued to go well. I had not just an A, but a 100% score going in every class. I made a few friends in the AP classes, and we would often study together. It was useful to be able to discuss English and other subjective subjects with others. I learned to appreciate those studies more than I ever did in my previous life. Also, going through math and science again, and teaching others, allowed me to remember it in better detail.

Mom was happy with the new friends that I brought home.

~o~O~o~

When I tapped into my connection with the other Tiffany, I found her doing shadier and shadier things. She never got caught, and she never quite went over the line, but she was getting close.

I warned her, but she just laughed at me, and continued to dip into my savings. Fortunately, my retirement accounts continued to do well, and actually made up for what she took from my more liquid accounts.

~o~O~o~

The ancient black cat sitting on my lap was almost too weak to lift his head. I stroked him gently.

"Really, Mom? A black cat?"

She smiled gently. "He calls to you, doesn't he? You can't blame it on me. He is destined to be your familiar."

I sighed. "What's going to happen when we swap back?"

"It'll take some complicated spell work, but he'll go with you. In fact, you won't be able to go without him. He'll anchor you here."

"I was going to wait until you had swapped back and let you do the ritual on your own side, but this kitty called to you. When your familiar calls, you make the connection or forever regret the loss."

"It doesn't look like he would last much longer. Poor guy," I said while scritching him behind the ears.

"So, don't make him wait."

And I didn't make him wait.

Magic is essentially a matter of the will. There are often rituals and materials involved, but they just provide focus and, in the case of materials, matter.

I picked up the cat and held him to my heart.

"I claim you as my familiar and constant companion. I offer you food, shelter, love, companionship, protection, and new life."

The cat leaned into me, just as so many other of my past pets have. This time, though, there was an undefinable warmth and closeness.

"My name is Carl," he said in my mind.

I looked down at my now very young cat. "He says his name is Carl!"

~o~O~o~

"You Bitch! You stole my familiar! Do you know how long I have been looking for a familiar?"

The other Tiffany ranted for quite a while.

"No, I bonded with my familiar. He called to me, not you. Maybe he simply couldn't stomach the idea of bonding with such a selfish mean useless bitch as you," I said quite calmly and with a faint smile.

"You'll pay for this!"

"No," I replied, "but you might. Remember, messing with my old life will just come back on you. Three fold."

"Don't give me that three fold crap! That's just an old myth that the crones give us to try to keep us in line."

"It obviously didn't work with you," I smirked. "And when's the last time you saw a crone? Anyone sufficiently advanced in the art can appear any age he or she wishes."

"Well, anyway," she said. "When we swap back, I'll have my familiar, and you'll go back to your old body in your old lonely house."

"If you say so," I replied with a faint smile.

~o~O~o~

School went by easily. With the knowledge and wisdom from my previous life, and with the small group of friends that I had acquired, I had no problem acing all of my tests. I went into exam week confident and happy.

Mom rewarded me by letting me invite my friends over for an end of term party. It wasn't the wild boozy teenager party that Tiffany would want. It was a calm gathering of friends. With pizza.

~o~O~o~

"OK, I'm ready to swap back now!"

She was hiding something. I looked into what was happening and saw that she was calling from within a jail cell.

"I don't think so. You made your bed, so now you can lie in it."

"But, you have to swap back! It's not fair! I don't want to go to jail!"

"I'm very sorry," I said. "I really wanted to give you some new opportunities, but you never learned your lesson. You spent your whole life finding ways out of the consequences of whatever stupidity you tried. But this time, it isn't going to work. You trashed my life, so now you can have it. I've already done a good job of building a new life on the little rubble heap that you had left me with."

"Mom is going to be so disappointed in you when I tell her what you did."

"That's what you think!" she said triumphantly. "You're not the only one who has been studying. I found some interesting enhancements for the transposition spell that has served me so well."

I was a little worried, but I didn't show it. "Do tell. What kind of dark magic will let you rip my soul out of my body without my permission?"

"It's not your body! It's my body! And I'm getting it back!"

"Do you mean the lazy sallow out of shape body that you gave me, or the beautiful healthy body that I now enjoy? And by the way, Mom got me some nice clothes that show off my long legs and shapely curves. And she bought me a membership to the Y so that I can learn gymnastics and dancing and martial arts and all that good stuff. Enjoy your time in jail! Bubba wants you for his wife."

Yes, I was making her mad on purpose. I figured that if she was angry, whatever she was trying would be a whole lot less likely to work. One thing that Mom drummed into me over and over is the fact that one must have control of oneself if one wishes to control other things.

The miscalculation that I made is that the particular spell that she planned on using required anger to fuel it.

She said some words that hurt my ears. I wouldn't try repeating them if I could. I felt the words tug at my soul, trying to rip it from my body.

Then, I felt Carl as he wrapped me with his love. My soul slipped easily back into my body -- the body that I had built up and was now intimately familiar with.

I broke the connection with Tiffany and pushed her away.

~o~O~o~

Mom was, indeed, quite disappointed with her daughter. "I'm sure we haven't heard the end of it. She might slack on everything else, but she is quite tenacious in her attempts to get out of the consequences of her actions."

The next night, I felt her tug at me several times. The night after that, I found myself facing this tribunal.

~o~O~o~

Back to the trial:

The judges pondered among themselves at length. Tiffany stared at me with a confident sneer on her face, but I ignored her.

Finally, the judges approached. As one, they faced me.

"John Josephson, please rise," the lead judge intoned.

I rose, trying to keep a confident posture.

"John Josephson, you were tricked into a deal that was designed to benefit Tiffany Josephson with little return for you. You did your best to improve Tiffany's life, even though you knew that she was tearing yours apart."

"While she may have taken exception to the way that you abandoned her boyfriend, and how you came out as lesbian to reduce the number of possible suitors you might have to fend off, that, too, would have been to her ultimate benefit, should she return to her body."

"In your old life, you put twenty years of work into achieving the position of project manager. We wish that we could return you to that position with the clean record that you had earned. Alas, it is not possible."

"It is therefore our judgment that you will be allowed to stay in Tiffany's body. It is our hope that the youthful body, the love of your new family, and the friendships you have built will be a suitable compensation. As further compensation, a trust fund containing the same amount as the retirement funds you were forced to leave behind shall be created in your name."

"We wish you joy in your new life. Perhaps, through study, you will be able to find the spells that can transform you to whatever body you may want to inhabit, and allow you to live a lifespan limited only by your ability to avoid fatal accidents."

I was stunned. While I had hoped to avoid having to go back to the ruins of my old life, I had never expected them to bend over backwards and actually apologize for not doing enough for me. As far as I was concerned, my new life was a great improvement upon my old. I had never realized how dry and sterile it had become. I had lost my family, but I never tried to build new relationships. I guess I felt that trying to replace them would be the same as betraying them.

Tiffany, on the other hand, broke down into tears. The judges waited patiently, then addressed her.

"For the first fifteen years and three months of your life, you have sought only to entertain yourself -- often at the expense of others. Every time you had to bear the consequences of your actions, you worked hard to avoid those consequences. If you had put that work into actually bettering yourself, you would not be here right now."

"You have defrauded John of the fruits of twenty years of labor, even as he labored hard to improve your life. For those selfish crimes, you deserve to lose twenty years of life. For the crime that you committed while in John's body, you deserve whatever punishment the courts may impose."

"But we are a court that doles mercy as well as justice. We will therefore provide you with a lawyer that is capable of having you acquitted. It will cost most of one of your retirement funds, but that is a small price to pay."

"You mean that I'll have to pay for the lawyer?" Tiffany gasped.

"Still acting like your old selfish self, are you?" the lead judge said with some heat.

"Sorry," she said meekly.

"That's the best thing that you have said in a long time," replied the judge.

"It is the hope of this court that you have learned a valuable lesson. It is the hope of this court that you will listen to and heed the mercy of this court."

"Thanks to John, you have enough money in your retirement funds, even after paying the lawyer, that you won't have to earn any more for as long as you live. If you live frugally at first, the funds will build faster, and you will have enough to have a reasonably affluent retirement."

"You may not appreciate it, but you still have twenty years worth of knowledge and experience. Very few people have the opportunity to gain knowledge and experience without working hard for it. If you connect with that and use it, you will be able to again gain employment. Doing so will give you something that you have sadly lacked -- self respect and a feeling of accomplishment."

"Just like John, you can do the research necessary to find a transformation spell. Then, the twenty years that you have lost will be returned many times over."

"Tiffany, you are now John. It is best that you not pine for what you once were."

They turned to me. "John, you are now Tiffany. Now and forever, unless you decide to regain your male form via a transformation spell. Good luck in your future endeavors. We are sure that you will succeed wildly at whatever you put your effort into."


Some rights reserved. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 License.

Author's note:

This story is complete. I do not plan on writing any sequels. Anyone who wants to follow up on the life of either of the characters is welcome to do so. If you want to post your sequels on another site, let me know so that I can post the original there.

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Comments

Thanks!

Thanks! :-)

Thanks for the Gumball!

terrynaut's picture

I'm a little uncomfortable with the ending but I do like the story. I learned something too. I never knew about all of the Engineering honor societies. I have an Electrical Engineering degree and I'm a member of Tau Beta Pi but I've never heard of the other two. Dang.

Anyway, thanks and kudos (number 15).

- Terry

Ending

Was the ending too syrupy sweet?

You know how I am. I like happy endings, sometimes even for the antagonists.

And congratulations on earning a Tau Beta Pi membership.

I'm guessing that your alma mater didn't have an Eta Kappa Nu chapter. If you qualified for Tau Beta Pi, you also qualified for Eta Kappa Nu.

Oh wow !

This is a great story, although I would like to read more of Tiffany. this was pure entertainment.

Karen

Thanks. :-)

If you want more about Tiffany, you can always write it yourself.

I usually go into a lot more detail about relationships and the like in my stories. This one feels so much like a Readers' Digest condensed version. I tried to add more, but the characters just weren't talking to me.

Oh well. There is plenty of character development in my next story, which is a Chakat/MORFS crossover set in the MORFS universe.

Syrupy endings

In a story thats all about polarisation between black and white there are no shades of grey. Yes the ending was syrupy and sweet but it was justice and with the exception of a black horrible ending, any other would have been out of place. I liked this story.

Evil

I didn't mean to portray her as evil. Just immature and selfish.

Thanks for your comment.

down the road

licorice's picture

I'd love to see these two later on in life, see how the new 'John' has dealt with things and how Tiffany has grown. Good story, kudos to you.

Transformation

I have to wonder how much effort the new John will put into finding or creating a transformation spell. Or if he'll want to. Who knows? He might like having meat and two potatoes.

Anyhow, there's nothing like a goal to encourage personal growth.

Thanks for your comments.

Gender Inequality

Why are these soul exchange stories so often caused by evil women that want to exchange positions with innocent men. This premise sounds a bit sexist to me.

I am sorry for the negative comment. This was a good story.

epain

Actually...

Actually, I never noticed. It's probably because most of the stories on this site are MtF, so they have the protagonist being unwittingly put into a female body.

By the way, I didn't intend to portray Tiffany as evil. She's spoiled, immature, and selfish.

interesting point.

For as long as I've been on this site, I've never seen a GG show up and write an FtM story (although that would be a welcome change of pace)

Most stories here are written by crossdressers or transgenders (no we're not the same), who look at the female as the target form. (and I might add, tend to extend the side effects of being within female bodies to extremes - but how are they to know the truth after all... such as the average large breast doesn't weigh anymore than about 2-3 pounds each or a woman's walk isn't really as extreme as they think (unless the woman is on the catwallk or putting it on for show)

An FtM story is sure to have some similar discrepancies though, I am sure. It would be quite entertaining to be able to read a few. :)

Liked it

Thank you

Thanks!

Thanks!

A fun tale of magic and consequences

And an adorable kitten named carl. :3

I thoroughly enjoyed your story, and am glad that tiffany got her comeuppance, although my heart hopes she actually works at learning her magic and makes something of herself.

Amy

Tiffany

You can save her -- I mean him. You can turn the natural consequences of her immaturity and selfishness into the catalyst that makes him into a wonderful and successful human being. You can determine if he's going to rebuild his engineering career, or use his retirement fund frugally and spend his time researching magic. You can decide if he wants to turn back into a she. You can even determine what it was that got him sent to jail in the first place. I'm leaning toward something driving related, since we have an irresponsible person with a valid driver's license.

We need to start a 'save ex-Tiffany' campaign.

Interesting

Nice story but I venture to guess that a quad in this story isn't the same as here in the Western Hemisphere. I can't picture a bunch of army people hanging around a 4 wheeled recreational off road vehicle.

Not exactly western

Not exactly western hemisphere, just where you are from. You call it a quad, I'm used to them being exclusively called ATVs

Quad here = quadrangle, common at colleges and universities for providing an open space to study or relax or common courtyard.

I'm told STFU more times in a day than most people get told in a lifetime

Quad

'Quad' is 'quadrangle.'

A quad is a large area between buildings where people can gather and do stuff. In the military, that stuff is generally things like formations, drill and ceremony, physical training, and the like.

I'm not aware of it being called anything else in other English speaking countries. That doesn't mean that it isn't. After all, I recall having to look up what a 'lorry' is after reading a British news article.

Quad!!!

Aine Sabine's picture

Drill Field
Grinder

Those are two names I remember from my time at Bootcamp! LOL!
Also based on on convo on My Name is... Part 10 I was thinking, has anyone taken you up on the offer at the end? If not, remove the Note and continue as you wish.

Wil

Aine

Interesting..

Interesting story and well executed.
I also like the story premise. Magical trial hearing.
The only thing missing is a mandatory attendance for the new John to visit gender bender anonymous.
But that may be wishful thinking on my part.

Very Enjoyable Read!

Aine Sabine's picture

I really enjoyed it! And while I would like to see more of it. I am not willing to ruin it by trying to make the new John better or explain how the New Tiffany might actually enjoy being a woman better then a man. Thanks for the story!

Wil

Aine

Nicely done

AuPreviner's picture

I don't usually like magical stories. But I really enjoyed this one because it wasn't so much about the magic as it was about the choices we make with the cards we are dealt.

As to electrical engineering. My brother was one. I couldn't tell the difference between a diode and a transistor. Needless to say, I still can't.

But, I am tempted to ask if this was a circuit court? ;-)

Keep up the good work,

AuP


"Love is like linens; after changed the sweeter." – John Fletcher (1579–1625)

Diode and transistor?

A diode has two wires. A transistor has three. Or maybe four. Or sometimes two, if it's a phototransistor.

Clear as mud, right? :-p

Thanks for the comment. It means a lot to me that you like it even though it isn't your normal cup of tea.

Part of the ending was missing!!!!

My5InchFMHeels's picture

The part of the ending that was missing is after the tribunal, Tiffany looking at her mom and singing... "I think I'm alone now"