by Cleo Kraft
Author's note:
Per request, I'll start posting my old Cromexx Central stories here at topshelf.
This is an old six chapter story of mine I had on my old site Cromexx Central (no longer online). This story is followed by a pair of sequels. I'll just post a couple chapters at a time every other day or so, so I don't hog up the whole story board.
Ju-Ju Box
CHAPTER ONE - INTRODUCTION TO A NEW PERSPECTIVE
by Cleo Kraft
------------
"Why can't I play too?" Kristen asked with sad blue eyes.
"Get out of here, sis," my friend Mike said pushing his little sister
out the door. "Can't you see we're in the middle of a game?"
"But you never let me play," Kristen complained as Mike closed the
door.
"She's quite a little pest sometimes," Mike said sitting down to
the table and picking up some dice.
"Yeah, I guess, but why not let her try playing a game with us once
in awhile," I asked.
"Tried that before and she started mixing up terminology," Mike said
moving some miniatures around the table. "She was talking about ju-ju
being an actual learned skill but this game doesn't have that stuff.
She's a bit weird. Ever since Aunt Toni came back from her travels
around the world, Kristen's been acting strange. For that matter,
so have her girl friends she keeps bringing over. Anyway, Aunt Toni
gave her some weird trinkets and stuff as souvenirs. I could have
had some too but I'm not into that garbage."
"Right," I said and examined the grid map.
My character was standing at the entrance of a dungeon.
"Ready to enter the dungeon?" Mike asked.
"Sure," I said watching him roll some dice.
"The grate slides open with a creek and you walk into the mist,"
he said.
Just then, the bedroom door opened.
"Sandwiches and soda?" Mikes mom asked bringing a tray into the room
and setting it down on the table.
"Hey, watch the game board," Mike complained sliding the sandwich
tray a little to one side.
"Thanks Mrs. Tiederov," I said.
"You're welcome Andrew. Anything else, just let me know," she said
backing out of the room.
Mike got up and shut the door.
"She never knocks when I have friends over," he said angrily storming
back over to the table. "Now where were we? Oh, yes. You entered the
dungeon. There are three doors. One red, one green, and one blue."
We role played for a few hours and then Mike had to excuse himself
to go deliver the afternoon newspapers on his route.
"I'll be back in a couple hours," he said. "Feel free to play video
games or whatever while I'm gone."
I sat there in his room and started playing Galaxy Space Hippies.
I didn't hear the door open but suddenly as I was on level twelve,
I felt a pair of hands cover my eyes from behind.
"Guess who?" I heard the voice of Mikes kid sister ask.
"Come on, cut it out Kristen," I said pulling her hands from my eyes.
"You made me loose a life."
I shut off the video game and turned to see what she wanted.
She stood there looking at me with her blue eyes and an innocent
smile,"Why won't you take my side for a change and force my brother
to let me play in your board games?"
"They're not board games," I corrected. "Besides, it's not for me
to say. I wish you understood. I'm not trying to be mean or anything.
It's your brother who's a little mean around you. Why don't you just
keep your distance and he won't get mad at you?"
"Aunt Toni taught me some games too," Kristen said sitting down beside
me and crossing her legs.
She smoothed her hands down to her knees along her white pants.
"What games?" I asked trying to humor her.
"It's called perspectives," she said folding her hands and unfolding
them. "Come on out to the patio. I'll show you what I'm talking about."
I followed her down the stairs and out the living room through an
open sliding door.
I walked out onto the patio after her.
Little potted plants were lined up along a tall bamboo fence.
She sat down on a wooden bench and a white cat bounded up into her
lap.
"Snowy likes this trick," Kristen said closing her eyes and gritting
her teeth. "It took me awhile to do this one but I can show you how."
A moment later Kristen slumped over into a sleep and the cat hopped
down off her lap.
The cat stood in some gravel and started pawing it.
Within a minute I saw the words "Now I'm the cat" scrawled in the
gravel.
The cat leapt up into Kristen’s lap again and then Kristen suddenly
came awake.
"I get a headache every time I do that," she said standing up. "I've
got to get some aspirin or something. I'll be right back."
She set the cat down and left the patio for a few minutes.
She came back and sat down beside me with a wink.
"How did you train your cat to do that?" I asked, still not believing
what I had seen.
"Oh, it's no trick," she said brushing her auburn curls from her
eyes with the back of her hand. "It was really me. I became Snowy
the cat. We just switched perspectives is all. I made sure Snowy was
asleep though during the time I was in her body or else you never
know if she's let me switch back or what. You wanna try it? You wanna
be the cat?"
"Uh, no thanks," I said.
"Come on," she prodded me with an elbow. "I'll switch you right back
and no one will ever know. It'll be fun."
I tried to protest but she tugged on my sleeve and gave me her sad
eyed look.
"Oh, all right," I said shrugging. "I'll play along but I don't believe
it."
She started to pick up the white cat and then giggled.
"What's wrong?" I asked.
"Silly me," she said giggling. "Snowy is a girl cat. I can't switch
you like that. I know - I'll switch you with the bird."
She ran inside and brought out a bird cage.
Inside was a yellow canary.
"Mort won't mind switching places for a bit," Kristen said setting
the cage beside me on the bench. "Okay, now just close your eyes and
let me do all the switching work, okay?"
I nodded "yes" to her.
I heard a popping noise in my ears and a whoosh of air pass by.
The next thing I knew, I was sitting on a perch inside what looked
like a gigantic bird cage.
I had shrunk!
Kristen’s huge face smiled at me from outside the cage and she held
up a mirror.
I looked at my body and saw my feet were now bird claws and my arms
and hands were now wings.
I ruffled my feathers in a shudder of horror at what I saw.
I could not believe it.
I had actually traded places with the bird!
She opened the cage door and reached in.
Her pointer finger came up to rest against my breastbone and I hopped
off my perch and onto her finger.
She brought me out of the cage and up to her face.
"Good birdie," she said stroking the feathers on my back.
She brought a cracker up to my beak and I instinctively began to
eat.
When I finished she gently kissed the top of my head and brought
me over to look at my former, sleeping body.
"Want to go back now?" she asked.
I chirped an excited reply and nodded my head up and down.
"Okay, but just remember I can do this to you again," she said to
me bringing me back inside the cage.
I heard her giggle.
"What if I kept you this way?" she asked me closing the cage and
locking the little door. "Would you like that?"
She saw me nervously peck at the cage door.
"Okay, I'll turn you back," she said smiling at me. "But you do make
a cute birdie."
I flew back up to the perch and waited with eyes closed.
Once again I heard my ears pop.
Air seemed to whisk by and then I was lying down on the bench.
I sat up and opened my eyes.
To my relief, I was my normal human self again.
I shook and trembled in shock at what had happened to me.
"Kind of scary the first time, huh?" she asked patting me on the
back. "Well don't worry, you'll get over it. I'll get you some tea
or something to calm your nerves, okay?"
I nodded approval and she went back inside the house.
Snowy climbed up onto my lap and rested there, purring.
I started to wonder the extent of Kristen’s powers and if she ever
used them on her brother before.
She came back and handed me some ice tea with a lemon slice in it.
I sipped some tea and set the glass down on the bench beside me.
"Have you ever shown your brother this trick?" I asked at last.
"Nah," she said toying with her bead necklace. "He won't come near
me. I've been wanting to show him but I'd better not. Not just yet
anyway. Besides I wouldn't go and do this to anyone without their
permission first."
"Can you switch humans around like that?" I asked.
She thought about it for a moment then nodded,"I suppose so but I
never tried it before. Why? You want to switch with me and find out?"
"Well, we could try that," I nodded.
"Nah," she said shaking her head. "That would mean you'd be a girl."
She giggled and shook her head "no."
"Why not?" I asked. "I'm sure I wouldn't mind so much."
She elbowed me,"You're funny. Nah, it wouldn't be right. You're a
boy and it's best you stayed that way. Besides, you'd better be careful
what you wish for."
"No, think it over," I said. "You want to play those role playing
games like I do with your brother. This is your chance and you could
get to know him more. In return, I get to find out what it's like
being a teasing little sister. Sounds pretty interesting to me. What
do you think?"
She thought about it for a moment and said,"You know. I do want to
get to know my brother more. He just won't ever let me do anything
with him. This might not be such a bad idea but I don't know the first
thing about being Andy Smith."
"I'll teach you," I said patting her on the back. "And you teach
me what it's like to be Kristen Tiederov. I'll need to know your daily
routine, your likes and dislikes, everything."
"Wait," she said. "How long are you planning on wanting to stay switched?
Sounds to me like you want this to be for awhile."
"Well, you do want to get to know your brother, don't you? To do
that, you've got to take over my body and be his best friend. That
means all the role playing, the track and field meets, everything,"
I explained. "It's not as easy a job as it sounds."
"Neither is being a thirteen year old girl," Kristen warned me
rubbing the front of her yellow blouse. "I'm starting to....grow
like I never grew before. You may not like being a girl."
"How will I know unless you give me a chance?" I asked. "Come on,
Kristen. We won't switch today, or even within the next week or so.
We both have to get to know each others routines and everything before
we try this. How did you learn to do these body switches anyhow?"
She held up her necklace,"Magic medallion. Aunt Toni gave me this.
I didn't know what it did until one day I sat here on the patio with
Snowy on my lap and wondered what it was like to be a cat and not
me. That's when I found out I could switch myself into other bodies.
I can't explain it because it must be the medallions magic or something
but I just learned how to control it so the cat would be asleep in
my body while I borrowed its own. Then I showed this to some of my
girlfriends and they adored it. They come over here just to spend
time in Snowy's body.
They sure love it. What did you think when you were Mort?"
"The bird?" I asked. "Well, it was a little freaky. In fact, it was
way too freaky for me. I'm glad you didn't keep me that way. I prefer
human any day to being a cat or a bird. Anyway, you say your brother
doesn't know a thing about this?"
"Nope," she said with a satisfied grin.
"Then you shouldn't tell him about it. Not yet anyway," I said petting
the cat. "First we get to know each other, then we do the switch and
I assume your life while you take over mine for awhile."
"How long is awhile?" she asked picking up Snowy from my lap and
petting her.
"I'd say at least a month or so. Could be longer if you'd like. I'm
willing to stay swapped for up to a year if you're up to it. We've
got to be convincing though. Don't want any of our families to think
something is out of the ordinary about either of us." I said.
Kristen beamed a smile at me and hugged me,"Andy, you don't know
what this means to me. Now I can finally get to know my brother without
him shooing me away all the time."
"It's entirely up to you, Kristen," I said and she released the hug.
"Okay, come on," she said taking me by the hand. "Up to my room.
I've got to start showing you stuff so you'll be familiar with my
life and everything."
She led me to her room.
It looked like the usual little girls room. Pink walls, thick pink
carpet, white canopy bed with pink frills.
She sat down on the edge of her bed and introduced me to her stuffed
animals and dolls,"This is Mindy, she's my favorite, and over here
is Henrietta the rabbit...come on, you can hold them if you want.
You need to get to know my things."
She hopped up off the bed and skipped across the room to sit on a
small stool before a dressing table and mirror.
"Mom says I'm not old enough for makeup yet but I have a whole shoebox
full that I smuggled in from my girlfriends," she sad hunching her
shoulders and giggling. "Perfumes and everything - oh, and I'll show
you how to wear it. It's easy, and my girlfriends, Tanya and Heather,
they can show you too. Oh, look at all the jewelry. Mom gave me some
of hers and this cute little jewelry box. Like the music when I open
it? Wanna try? Just open it like this. Oh, and there's a key, too.
I'll have to give you that."
She opened up a drawer and took out a box of makeup.
"This is my lipstick. Kind of takes getting used to but I'll show
you, it's easy. This is my eyeliner kit. Just look at all the shades!
Oh, and my nail polish stuff. Hey, I know, let's look at my closet."
She got up and opened the French doors to her closet.
Inside on the floor were rows and rows of little shoes.
"Okay, now, lots to choose from but you gotta keep bugging mom for
more shoes, okay? Flats are good for almost anything but you want
'em to match but I'll show you how to do that," she said and pulled
some of her dresses along the clothes rack. "Mom makes me wear one
of these to piano lessons. Oh, and here's my tennis skirt. You play
tennis?"
"No," I said. "Tried it once though."
"Well you're gonna love it," she said. "Mom makes me play tennis
every Saturday morning at the country club. Oh, lookie here! I love
this dress. Mom says red isn't my color but I still love this dress.
Okay, look - here's my boots. They're knee-highs with a hidden zipper
in the back. Oh, and sometimes I like wearing these other boots. I'm
gonna be a cowgirl some day and these are the nicest white boots mom
bought for me. Okay, now, mom won't let me wear high heels yet but
don't stop buggin' her, okay? Bug her enough and you'll eventually
get what you want."
She quickly ran across the room and opened up her dresser drawer.
"These are my tights and stockings," she said holding up some examples.
"Oh, and my bathing suits are in this drawer too. You know how to
swim?"
I nodded.
"Good, then you'll love these swimsuits," she said giggling. "Mom
won't let me wear a bikini yet but I don't mind. These one piece
suits are so silky and soft....you're gonna love 'em. This turquoise
and white one is my favorite. I'll show you how to hang dry it too.
You got to take care of my stuff but I'll show you. It's easy."
She closed the drawer and opened another one above it.
"These are my panties," she said with a nervous giggle. She held
up a bra. "This is my training bra. Mom says I'll outgrow it pretty
fast so that's another thing you gotta remember to bug her about.
You're gonna love the stores mom takes me to."
She closed the drawer and opened another one above it.
"Here's my socks. These ones are bobby socks," she said holding up
a pair of small white socks. "I have all kinds of socks. See the
flowered ones? Cute huh? Okay, let's look in the top drawer."
She opened the top drawer and pulled out some pants.
"I gotta reorganize my stuff," she said. "Mom want's my panties in
the top drawer but I keep my shorts and pants there. Okay, come back
over to the dressing table."
She shut the top drawer and walked quickly back to sit down on her
stool again.
She handed me a brush.
"I got long hair," she said. "You're gonna have to learn how to brush
it. Go on, try brushing my hair."
I hesitated for a moment,"You really think this is necessary?"
"Come on, I don't bite," she said smiling at me through the mirror.
"Just be gentle with it 'cause it snags."
I started brushing her hair.
She grabbed my hand,"That's too rough. Like this."
She showed me.
"Okay, I think I got it," I said brushing her hair in long, slow
strokes.
"Right, now you try it on yourself," she suggested.
I turned the brush around and tried brushing my own hair, which was
much shorter, so the effect was lost immediately.
"Almost," she said. "Now you sit here and I'll show you."
I sat down and she began to show me how to brush my hair.
"You can do clips, bobby pins, or even pony tails," she said. "and
I'll show you all of 'em. Okay, now let's go look in the bathroom."
I followed her.
"You have your own bathroom?" I asked. "Aren't you a little spoiled?"
"Well mom didn't want me sharing with Mike so I got the room with
a bathroom," she explained. "Besides, girls take longer than boys to
get ready."
She put some boxes on the counter.
"This is my bubble bath," she said and I laughed. "No, don't laugh.
It's not for kids, it's for women. There's body moistener in it. You
don't know what you're missing. Okay, and here is some hair remover.
I don't need it yet but mom buys it for me anyway for when I will.
These are my tampons but I'll explain that to you later. Anyway, what
do you think? Pretty quick tour. I think you'll be ready to take over
my life really soon, Andy, what do you think?"
"Sounds good to me," I said scratching the back of my neck. "Um,
I better get back to Mikes room and play videogames or something before
he comes back and finds me talking to you in your room or anything.
I'll invite you over to my place tomorrow to meet my sister, Jenny,
then I can give you some information about my life. Sound okay?"
"Sounds just wonderful," she said hugging me about the waist.
"Okay, come on, none of that," I said gently urging her away from
me. "I'll be in Mikes room, okay?"
"Okay," she said waving at me as I walked out. "Just our little secret,
okay?"
"You got it, Kristen," I said turning.
She winked at me and I smiled back.
Then I hurried back into Mikes room and started playing video games
again.
Mike came back from his paper route and hurried up to his room.
"Okay, hey, are you on level fourteen?" he asked surprised.
"Yeah," I said and shut off the game. "Okay, back to role playing,
right?"
"Okay," he said taking his seat at the table. "Let's see. You
were in the Elf's Passageway and you found the staff of illumination."
"I remember now," I said rolling some dice just for the heck of it.
"Hey, has your sister ever shown you a magic trick or anything?"
"Nope," Mike said looking over at me with raised eyebrows. "Has she
been bothering you? Just tell me and I'll sock her one. I told her
not to bug my guests."
"If you were a little more considerate of her feelings, she might
not bug your guests so much," I suggested. "Just give her a chance."
Mike got up and opened his door.
"Hey, Kristen! Come here!" he yelled down the hall.
A moment later Kristen stood there in the doorway looking up at her
brother with a smile on her face.
"You want me to play?" she asked.
"No," Mike snapped. "You been buggin' my friend? Tell me you little
twerp."
"She hasn't been bugging me," I said.
"I'm asking HER," Mike said looking back at me and then at his sister.
"You leave my friend alone or I'll tell mom and then you'll be doing
MY chores for the rest of the week. Got that?"
The little white cat came to sat down beside Kristen.
"And get that stupid cat out of here," he ordered. "You aren't supposed
to keep that animal in the house. Put it in the garage where it belongs."
Kristen picked up Snowy and walked away with a sulky look on her
face.
Mike shut the door and walked back over to the game table.
"Okay, now where were we?" he asked.
"You know what?" I asked and said. "You are really mean to your little
sister. How would you like it if the tables were turned and you had
to take that?"
"Ah, come on, she knows I'm mostly kidding," Mike said. "It keeps
her in line and outa my way. That's the way it should be. Now roll
the dice or prepare to die from the wrath of a hundred monsters."
I continued to role play with Mike for a few more hours, then I headed
back home on my mountain bike.
Why I put up with Mikes display of temper against his own sister
was beyond my understanding. Hopefully things would work out in a
week or so and I'd be taking the heat in place of Kristen and she'd
get a chance to know her brother in my place.
I still couldn't help wonder why Kristen didn't switch places with
her brother to let him see what it's like when the shoe is on the
other foot.
CHAPTER TWO - MY LIFE
---------------------
The next day after a long day of school, I sat in the living room
and waited for Kristen's mom to drive up.
"Why do you want me to meet Kristen?" Jenny asked flipping the radio
stations on the big stereo. "I mean, she's just a little kid and I'm
sixteen."
"Well, for one thing, she doesn't have many older friends," I explained.
"And she needs to get away from her bully big brother."
There was a knock on the door.
I opened the front door and let Kristen in and waved to her mother
outside.
When her mother drove off, I shut the door and introduced Kristen
to my sister Jenny.
"Hi," Jenny said waving. "Cute dress."
Kristen blushed looking down at her red outfit,"Thanks."
Just then Jenny got up and picked up the phone.
"Got to call my boyfriend," she said bringing the phone out and into
the kitchen. "If you don't mind I need some privacy."
"Okay, no prob," I said. "Then I'll just give our guest a tour of
the house."
"Perfect break," I said leading Kristen up the stairs. "Come on,
I'll show you my room and we can talk more about our arrangement."
We went into my room and I closed the door behind us.
I sat in my chair at the drafting table and Kristen sat at my regular
desk chair.
"Nice room," she said looking at all the sports pendants tacked to
the walls.
"Yeah, well, it's home," I said shrugging. "Anyway, now it's my turn.
This is going to be easy since most of my family ignores me anyway.
I'm a Senior in High School."
"I go to a private school for girls only," Kristen interjected.
"I dress however I like which is usually blue jeans, a t-shirt, sneakers,
or whatever," I said. "There are some suits and ties in the closet
but I never wear 'em anymore except to weddings or funerals. I'll
show you how to tie a tie or you can just use clip-ons. As you can
tell, I'm trying to become a draftsman. I draw mostly mechanical designs
and stay far away from architectural design. This drawer is full of
templates, pencils, erasers, brushes, and all the other stuff needed
to draw what I draw. I use my dads computer downstairs for the computer
automated drafting programs. Anyway, you don't need to continue my
drafting while you're in my body. Do whatever suits you best but doesn't
get me out of character and into trouble."
"What about shaving?" she asked.
"Oh yeah," I said standing up and opening my top dresser drawer.
I pulled out an electric shaver. "Electric. No fuss, no cuts, and
very quick. Think you can handle it? Here's some cologne and some
other stuff."
I pulled out a jock strap and held it up briefly,"Jockstrap. I only
wear it at P.E. or track and field. It's use should be self explanatory."
"Can I try?" Kristen asked standing up and grabbing it from me.
"Better not do that," I cautioned.
Before I could do anything, she had the thing up under her dress
and out of sight.
"Feels weird," she said. "A bit loose in the front."
"Well, when you're me, it will be a bit tight in the front," I explained.
"Now give it back."
She stepped out of it and handed it back to me.
"What's this?" she asked picking up a half completed model airplane.
"Just an old hobby I never outgrew," I said. "Better be careful with
that. It's fragile."
I handed her a small notebook.
"This is a list of my relatives, their photos, names and addresses
and some brief facts about them," I said.
"Goodie!" she said. "I got one for you, too. I made it last night.
It'll be under my pillow, okay?"
"Okay, same here," I said. "I'll just leave this under my pillow.
There's also a list of friends that I have, including your brother,
and what to say to him. Things like that. Plus I have my entire schedule
in there along with locker combinations and everything. Oh, and I
hate veggies but I do eat them at my parents request."
I opened the door and gave her a tour of my house.
About an hour later we ate dinner and then Kristen's mom came over
and picked her up.
Over the next week I got to know Kristen's routine and she got to
know mine. This was a dry run. Friday afternoon we would try the real
thing.
The next two chapters of an old six chapter voluntary body swapping story of mine. There are two sequels on top of that.
CHAPTER THREE - New Friends, New Deal
By Cleo Kraft
-------------
I went over to Mikes house Thursday afternoon. He was busy on his
paper route so I had a chance to talk with Kristen again.
This time she had a couple of her girlfriends over.
Kristen brought me into her room and shut the door.
"Andy, this is Tanya and Heather," she said indicating the blonde
and redheaded girl in that order.
"Hi," I said.
"Hi," they said in unison.
"Tanya goes to tennis practice with me and Heather just hangs out,"
Kristen explained. "They both go to my school. I told you I go to
a girls only school, right?"
"Yeah," I said.
"Gristenson School for Girls," Tanya said. "You'll have fun."
"Kristen, have you been telling your friends about our agreement?"
I asked slightly disappointed.
"I told you he wouldn't like it," Heather said elbowing Kristen.
"What's going on here?" I asked. "Have you been telling them everything?"
"They're my friends," Kristen explained. "And they know about my
body switching amulet because I used it on them with my Snowy."
"Bein' a cat is nice," Tanya smiled looking up at the ceiling dreamily.
"Never mind that now, so you girls don't mind this arrangement?" I
asked.
"No," Heather said folding her hands in her lap. "Thing is, we want
in on it too."
"What are you talking about?" I asked Heather then turned to Kristen.
"What is she talking about?"
"They want to be boys," Kristen explained. "I mean, they want to
know what it's like to be a boy. So I figured you must know some guys
at school who might not mind taking a little change of pace in their
existence. We could arrange it for them just like you and I made arrangements.
Doesn't that sound like fun, Andy?"
"The only guys I know that might, and I mean MIGHT, be interested
in something this kinky are a couple of dorky looking guys in the
chess club. They're all around my age and you girls are what? Thirteen?"
I asked.
"I'm fourteen," Heather said proudly jutting her chest out in some
attempt to exaggerate her features.
"Come on, girls, this is nonsense," I reasoned sitting beside them
on the edge of the bed. "There's no way we can pull off three body
switches without at least someone finding out that something is kooky.
I mean, how long do you all want to stay switched? Certainly not
as long as Kristen and myself."
"We want at least two months," Heather said crossing her arms.
"And I don't want to be stuck in a geeks body either."
"Don't you girls have brothers?" I asked.
"Yeah," they said together.
"Then why not just ask your brother?" I suggested.
They looked at each other and giggled.
"They're geeks too," Tanya said laughing and brushing her blond tresses
back with her hand. "Or we could just take turns borrowing your body.
Let's see....two months apiece....that's about six months you'd be
stuck as a girl."
"I'll see what I can do," I said. "But you'll have to settle for
geeks. There's no way I'm gonna get my face busted up asking one of
the football players if he wouldn't mind being a girl for a couple
months."
"Thanks Andy," Kristen said hugging my waist. "You're the greatest,
and as soon as you bring two boys to switch with my friends, we'll
talk about our own body switch. Okay, Andy?"
"Okay," I said reluctantly. This deal was getting worse all the time.
__-----__
"King to Queen Bishop two," Ben said.
"Queen takes pawn - checkmate!" Lou said.
"Hey guys," I said after waiting a whole hour watching my friends
play chess. "I have to talk to you both in private. You ever been
over to Mikes house?"
"No," they both said.
"Well, I'm inviting you. He's going to be delivering newspapers
this afternoon so we can talk about stuff then," I said.
"What's this about?" Lou asked gathering up his chess pieces and wiping
his greasy brow.
"You both know what role-playing is, right?" I asked.
"Who doesn't?" Ben said pulling out a miniature dragon and making
it fly through the air with his hand. "I am the dragon king! Prepare
for a barbeque!"
"That's nice," I said ignoring the idiocy of it all. "Well, my friends
sister has -"
"Sister! Yuk! We don't play with girls!" Lou interrupted picking
up the chessboard.
"Yeah, girls are sissies," Ben added pinching his nose. "Ewww! And
they wear that nasty smelling perfume stuff too. Yuk!"
"Come on, guys, we're all eighteen here," I said.
"Seventeen," Lou corrected.
"Sixteen," Ben said.
"How come you're both Seniors then?" I asked.
They pointed to their heads.
"I can speak for myself here as I am a genius," Lou bragged.
"Me too, but only because my dad said so," Ben said folding his arms
and nodding.
"Well it doesn't matter," I said. "The point is, girls are a fact
of life so don't play like you're not interested in them."
"Repulsive," Lou said plugging his nose.
"Icky," Ben agreed.
"Just come with me over to meet Mike's sister. I have a role playing
game that is better than any you have ever played,"
I promised.
"Okay," Ben said.
"Yeah, if it's that good, we'll put up being around a girl," Lou
admitted. "But it better be a good game or we're leaving."
"Yeah," Ben said swooping his miniature dragon through the air. The
dragon king will permit a damsel if great hoards of snacks and soft
drinks will be there."
"I'll buy pizza and soda," I said. "Now you two got bikes?"
"Does a scooter count as a bike?" Lou asked.
"We ride scooters," Ben told me. "If you have a bike, we could rig
up some rope and you could tug us along like water skiers."
"We'll walk," I said trying not to slap myself too hard for trying
to put up with these morons.
__-----__
" . . . And that's the story," Kristen said finishing her proposal
to the Ben and Lou.
"What do you think?" I asked them.
"You want us to be girls for a couple'a months?" Ben asked in deep
thought.
"This is kinda sudden," Lou admitted sipping some soda before continuing.
"I wasn't planning on being a girl, oh, until next summer or something."
"Cut the sarcasm," I said closing the pizza box. "Kristen, show them
the bird."
"Whoa! No need to be vulgar!" Ben said standing up and covering his
eyes. "I'll consider it if you toss in an extra pizza."
"No, you don't understand," I said and turned to Kristen. "Show them
your pet Mort. Give them each a demonstration so they know this is
for real."
Ten minutes later, Ben and Lou sat there on the edge of Kristen’s
bed quaking with fear at what had happened to them.
"That was a rush," Ben said at last.
"Yeah, what a rush," Lou agreed clutching his stomach. "Couldn't
you have done that before we started eating? I feel sick."
"You believe me now, though, right?" I asked.
"Yeah," they said together.
"So, then, you'll do it?" I asked.
Lou turned to Ben and then looked at me with wide eyes,"Yeah, just
as long as crackers and birdseed aren't part of the deal."
"I'll do it too," Ben agreed.
Kristen stood up and said to the closet,"You hear that, girls? You
can come out now. They've agreed."
Tanya and Heather came out of the closet and stood before Ben and
Lou.
"I want this one," Tanya said sitting beside Ben with a suggestive
smile.
"I get this one then," Heather said looking at Lou and sitting beside
him. "We're gonna get to know each other real well before we switch,
okay?"
"Okay," Lou agreed with a gulp.
"Now this is a secret between only us," Kristen reminded everyone.
"So only we will know who is really who. Now you guys go outside to
the patio and talk over the rest of the details. Mike will be back
here any minute and he'd probably kill you nerds if he saw you here."
"So it's not safe to be here?" Ben asked getting up quickly.
"We're history," Lou said heading for the bedroom door.
After they all left, Kristen closed the bedroom door and it was just
her and I.
"So," I said shrugging. "This is it, I guess."
"Now, Andy, you know I've been looking forward to switching with
you for quite a while now, too, but we have to talk this over some
more, okay?" she said sitting beside me crossing her legs and brushing
her hands along the seam of her brown skirt.
"You don't want to switch right now?" I asked feeling let down.
"No, I really want to," she said. "It's just that we have to get
your friends ready first. Okay? When they are ready and everything
is all worked out to perfection, then we're going to switch all of
us."
"But I'm ready now," I complained. "It's not fair to make me wait
any more. Look, Kristen, ever since you suggested I could take your
place, I've been thinking about it and I want to try it out."
"You really want to be me?" she asked a little shocked at the idea
that I'd lower by age and social status willingly.
"Look," I said picking up her stuffed rabbit and looking at it. "You
got my curiosity up is all. I never actively had thoughts about being
a girl before but you showed me it's possible to take on new perspectives.
This is a fantastic opportunity for both of us. We can both learn
from this. So, yes, Kristen, I want to be you. I want to experience
your life for a little while and you can experience mine. Don't worry.
I'm no monster. I'll take care of your body while you're away."
"You know," she said smiling. "I didn't think anybody cared for me.
My brother is always mean to me and I get stuck doing all the chores.
I never get to do anything fun except girl things and that's the
same old thing. You were the only one who ever cared and defended
me. I wouldn't have shown you my body swapping trick if I didn't trust
you. Thank you, Andy."
I looked at her and said,"Come on, Kristen. Let's swap right now."
"But I told them I wouldn't swap until they were ready to," she said.
"This is between us," I told her. "Besides, you can swap back with
me when it's their turn. They won't know the difference and you'd
still be swapping with me."
Her eyes brightened up,"What about the final switch back after that?"
I thought about it for a minute,"Well, either we don't, or we do.
If we do another switch, it'll put me back in your body. Sounds interesting
if you ask me. We might even want to make that one a permanent one
if you'd like."
She clutched her medallion and jiggled it under her neck.
"As long as I get to keep the medallion," she said sniffing and wiping
a tear from her eyes.
"Sure thing, Kristen," I said smiling at her. "It's your toy. you
get to keep it."
She stood up.
"Lay down," she said gently pushing my stomach so that I sat back
on the edge of the bed. "But take off your shoes first."
I took off my sneakers and let them drop to the floor.
I saw her on the other side of the bed removing her shoes.
I stretched out and laid down on my back.
She lay there beside me, clutching her necklace.
"It's more than the medallion," she explained. "This is the ju-ju
box."
I looked up at the white canopy above me and wondered what it was
really going to be like to be a girl.
"Close your eyes," she said gently.
I closed my eyes.
I heard a popping noise in my ears.
A loud hissing noise traveled about the room.
I kept my eyes closed tight and clutched my hands into fists in
excited anticipation.
Then everything was calm.
I opened my eyes and saw the white canopy above me.
I could feel my smaller lungs breathing in and out, making my chest
rise and fall in a delicate manner.
I could sense a smaller body that I now inhabited.
A youthful vigor filled me up and I giggled happily.
I sat up and looked down at the brown skirt I now wore and the pair
of girls legs that came out of it.
I wriggled my bare feet and gave a nervous chuckle.
Some hands reached around my neck and unclasped the necklace.
"I'll be taking that," I heard my old, male voice say to me.
I hopped up off the bed and ran to the mirror with all the energy
of an adolescent girl.
I saw pretty blue eyes and a small girls nose on a well proportioned
face outlined by auburn curls.
I smiled and marveled at how white my teeth were.
I turned and saw my old body standing there beside me.
He flexed his arm muscles, which were really not much but certainly
bigger than my girls arms.
"Thank God it's Friday," he said at last with a satisfied look on
his face.
He seemed to have the look of a man who just conquered the world.
"If you have any questions, remember the tablet is under your pillow,"
he said combing his hair.
I looked up at him nervously.
"Don't worry," he said patting me on the shoulder. "You'll do fine.
You are no longer Andrew Smith, but Kristen Tiederov, okay? Now let's
go out to the patio and talk to the others."
"Okay," I said looking up at him. "This is going to take some time
getting used to."
I felt different but somehow it wasn't what I expected. I expected
some sort of inside-out-feeling or a feeling of flying
or some grand feeling of winning a race or something but instead
I felt small, weak, and a bit shy. I had a lot of bubbly energy in
me now but with it came the understanding that I was just a girl now
and probably anything I ever did from now on wouldn't make much of
a difference unless I really outdid myself. I was just the little
sister of a big, bully brother and couldn't begin to wonder how I'd
ever manage that situation.
We went out onto the patio and I sat down beside Heather.
"Hey, babe," Heather said to me. "These boys seem ready enough. Let's
give 'em the old switcheroo right now."
"I don't know if that's such a good idea," my old body said.
"Andy is right," I said smoothing my hands along my skirt. "Let's
all meet back in a week and do this, okay?"
"Oh, all right," Bob said let down. "Just when I was starting to
like the idea."
They all left out the front gate and I was by myself in my new life
even if it were only for a short while.
I picked up Snowy and pet her as I walked in the house and closed
the sliding door behind me.
I walked in the kitchen and saw Mrs. Tiederov there.
"Want to help with the dishes?" she asked.
I set the cat down and shrugged,"Sure mom."
I stepped up to the counter and got on my tiptoes and started rinsing
dishes and putting them in the dishwasher.
Mrs. Tiederov started dinner.
"Uh, I sort of already ate, mom," I said.
"That's okay, pumpkin," she said. "It's not for us anyway. It's for
your father and brother. You're on a vegetarian diet with me, remember?"
Vegetables? Yuk! I hated this deal already.
Dinner was horrible and my new brother, Mike, avoided talking to
me.
Afterwards I helped clear off the table and then my mom scooted
me up to my room.
"Isn't it a little early?" I complained.
"You have your studying to do and then it's bedtime," my new mother
told me. "Don't forget you have tennis lessons in the morning."
"Goodnight mom," I said.
She turned and glared at me as if I said something she never heard
before.
"Good night, young lady," she said and walked to my door. "Don't
forget you have tennis tomorrow morning."
She turned and closed the door as she walked out, leaving me alone.
I sat at my dressing table looking in the mirror for awhile.
My feet barely touched the ground so I swayed them back and forth
under the stool.
I felt like I didn't belong here. I felt like I was some sort of
spy hiding out in this young girls body.
"What am I doing?" I asked my reflection in a girls voice. "I'm supposed
to be an eighteen year old boy, not my best friends little sister."
If I were an eighteen year old girl, it might be different and things
might be fun. Now I started getting paranoid of my age and my lost
adulthood. Why didn't I ask Kristen to swap me with a girl my own
age?
I wish she left me with the medallion, if not for comfort at least.
I needed to feel secure and safe in this deal. Instead I felt insecure
and afraid.
I looked at the girl in the mirror and waved at myself, gazing at
my little hands in disbelief.
I opened up the jewelry box on the desk top.
Gentle music played and I ran my fingers through the necklaces, plastic
bracelets, and earrings.
I closed the jewelry box and opened the desk drawer.
I saw a small wooden box and pulled it out and set it on the desk.
Inside I found Kristen’s makeup that she kept hidden from her mother.
I swayed my feet back and forth under the stool and felt kind of
bored so I put the makeup box back and closed the drawer.
I hopped off the stool and walked across the carpet and over to the
bed.
I reached under the pillow and pulled out a tablet that Kristen left
for me.
I read the fist few paragraphs to myself,"Hi there! I hope by now
you're starting to get used to being me. I bet mom made you do the
dishes tonight, right? Well, you'll get used to the chores.
Okay, tomorrow is your tennis practice. You're really going to have
to try to make the best of it as you said you only tried tennis once.
I recommend you soak in the bathtub tonight before you go to bed.
Tomorrow mom will wake you up around seven in the morning. Don't forget
the white tennis skirt!"
I set the notepad back under my pillow, then walked across the carpet
over to the bathroom.
I looked in the mirror and saw myself again.
I couldn't get over the fact that I was now a girl. More than that,
I couldn't get over how trapped I felt now in this young body.
I completely undressed and tossed my clothes into a hamper.
I stepped into the bath tub and turned on the hot water, then the
cold.
I pulled up on the stopper so the water would fill up the tub.
Then I rummaged around the sink and found some perfumed bubble bath.
"Might as well do as she asked in her notes," I said to myself with
a shrug. After all, I didn't really know what I was supposed to do
in this body. I wanted to try out her schedule and then eventually
tailor it to my own needs.
I poured some pink powder into the tub and set the box of bubble
bath back on the sink.
Then I stepped in the tub and slid the glass sliding doors closed.
I sat down in the warm water and watched as the bubble bath grew
with the rising water level.
A few minutes later I shut off the water and lay back and relaxed.
I couldn't get over how slippery my bare legs were under water and
how soft my skin was now.
I held my breath and stretched out under water.
To my amazement, I was so short that my feet couldn't reach the far
end of the tub when fully stretched out. I was short!
I emerged, sitting up with bubbles all over my face and wiped my
eyes with my small hands.
I dunked under water a few more times just for fun, then I relaxed
for nearly a half hour or more just lying there in the warm bubbly
water.
I got out of the tub smelling all perfumed up and pat dried myself
with a large white towel.
I wrapped the towel about my body and looked in the foggy mirror.
I saw the distorted image of myself again.
"I sure wish I was an older girl," I said with a sigh.
I wondered if Kristen would let me switch with her again some day
after this was all over.
I wondered if I could ever experience being a real woman or if I
would be confined to spend the rest of my life back as a man again.
I tried a blow drier on my hair and brushed out the wet tangles.
Then I read the notepad again and was reminded to apply a green face
mask of beauty cream before going to bed.
I stood by the mirror and applied a cool, green, slimy paste to my
face. Then I washed my hands and brushed my teeth.
I shut off the bathroom lights and walked over to my dresser.
I dropped my towel and opened some drawers, looking for something
to wear to bed.
In the end I opted for some white cotton panties, and a rather embarrassing
pink nightgown.
"Got to fit the role," I assured myself slipping into bed and turning
out the lights.
I felt the heavy blanket press down upon my small body as I lay there
on my back. I especially felt weird as the blanket pressed heavily
upon my crotch, making me fully realize I was no longer a man anymore.
No more hard-ons or wet dreams. I felt trapped and put here in this
young girls body in some trick of agreement that I had not fully thought
out before. Now it was too late. I was a man, too full of curiosity
about being a girl. A man put in his place to fit the role of being
his best friends little sister whether he wanted to or not.
As soft and wonderful as my new, female body felt, I just couldn't
get aroused over this. I kept expecting a hard-on to develop but there
was nothing. No feeling of sexual excitement - nothing at all. I
was trapped, punished every moment by feelings of need, want and desire
to experience something I was no longer able to. I just lay there,
staring up at the dark canopy above me, wondering what I had really
gotten myself into here.
I slipped off into sleep and dreamt of all the dolls and stuffed
animals that surrounded me on my bed.
"Time to wake up dear," I heard my new mother's voice say to me as
she gently shook me by the shoulders. "Come on, Kristen, time to get
ready for tennis."
I sat up quickly and looked up at her and said,"Oh, Mrs. Tiederov!
I just had the strangest dream. I dreamt I was..."
I looked down at myself and realized it wasn't a dream after all.
I was really Kristen. A girl.
"Why did you call me "Mrs." ?" she asked looking at me with a puzzled
and concerned expression. "Oh, never mind. Now get up and get dressed.
I have breakfast waiting for you downstairs. Now hurry."
She walked out of the room and shut the door.
I wondered what was in store for me today and how I would cope with
trying to fit in this new role.
CHAPTER FOUR - Ready or Not
------------
I slid out of bed and turned around shoving my arms deep under my
pillow. I pulled out the notepad and read what it had to say I needed
to do for Saturday.
It read: "Wake up sleepy head. Today you need to get ready for tennis.
Hurry up and take a quick shower and get dressed or mom will be mad
and that means more chores."
I yawned and walked across the carpet to my dresser mirror and saw
my tired looking face and messy hair. For a young girl, I looked pretty
bad so I got out of my clothes and went straight for the shower.
After a quick shower, I dried off and started blow drying my hair
when my new mom came in and saw me standing there in a pink bath towel
trying to brush out the tangles.
"I told you a million times, young lady," she said angrily. "You
should have worn a shower cap. Now we'll be twenty minutes late because
you got your hair all wet. You washed your hair last night, right?"
"Yes," I said feeling guilty for some reason.
"You could have washed your hair after tennis," she said glaring
at me.
"I'm sorry," I said shrugging. "But my hair was all messy when I
woke up."
"No excuse young lady," she said wagging her finger at me. "If you
had short hair like your brother, I wouldn't mind. You want me to
cut your hair short like his?"
For a moment I actually liked the idea. It sure would save time
getting ready if I had short hair again like when I was a boy.
"No," I said at last, realizing Kristen would kill me if I did that
to her hair. I started to worry about what trouble she, herself, might
be getting into while she was in my body.
"Come on," she said grabbing a brush from the counter. "You're taking
forever. I'll help you get most of it dry, then you're wearing a hat.
I don't want the other mothers at the country club seeing my daughter
with messed up hair. You tell me before you get ideas like this again.
Do I have to write it down on paper for you?"
I thought of the tablet under my pillow and held back a laugh.
"No," I said feeling the brush tug painfully against a snag.
"Ow!"
"Stop your whining."
"Okay," I said looking in the mirror at my mother towering over
my shoulders, brushing my hair for me.
A few minutes later she was fed up with it and told me to just get
dressed.
I went over to my closet and took out the white tennis skirt.
Actually it was all one outfit with a little zipper on the back.
I didn't know if I should step in through the open zipper or pull
the outfit over my head.
I awkwardly stepped in through the zipper and pulled the skirt up.
It felt so weird that I decided next time I'd try just pulling it
over my head like a t-shirt.
I had a tough time getting the zipper up in the back but finally
managed.
Then, I went over to my dresser and pulled out some panties.
Heck, I didn't know what order I should be getting dressed. This
was too weird.
I pulled the cotton panties up under my skirt, then got some socks
from my dresser.
"Do I wear socks for tennis?" I asked myself, hesitating.
I wondered if showing my ankles was okay or not. I decided to wear
socks but still wasn't sure if I was dressing properly.
I sat on my little stool and pulled some simple, white socks on
my feet.
Then I went over to the closet and took out my tennis shoes.
So many to choose from, I had no idea which ones to wear. The pink
ones looked kind of funny with my outfit and the other ones were too
sporty. I decided on plain old tennis shoes.
I sat on the carpet and put my shoes on and tied up the laces.
I couldn't believe my feet were small enough to fit shoes this size.
I stood up feeling snug all over and I grabbed a white baseball
cap off a shelf on the way out of my room.
I walked downstairs and sat at the kitchen table for breakfast that
was getting cold.
"Young lady," Mrs. Tiederov said taking by chin firmly so I looked
in her face. "Are you wearing your training bra?"
"No," I said shrugging my shoulders.
"Go back upstairs this instant and put it on. You're really making
this difficult, Kristen. Now hurry up!"
I didn't know how she could tell I wasn't wearing a bra since my
chest was only just starting to bud out. Then I realized the fabric
of my outfit would probably have shown signs of straps being on underneath
or something. That's what I get for wearing tight clothes.
I went upstairs and tried desperately to get the zipper undone on
my back but it was stuck.
I went back downstairs and she yelled at me, taking me by the ear
and dragging me up to my bedroom.
I felt humiliated as she unzipped my back and pulled down my top.
She tossed my bra in my face and said,"You're really making me mad
right now. Why are you doing this? You never act this way.
Now hurry up downstairs and finish your toast and milk. I'll be out
in the car waiting. And don't forget your purse. You're walking home.
I'll get your racket. You'd probably forget anyway. Now hurry it up.
This is ridiculous."
I put on my training bra and fumbled with the zipper on my back
again while walking back down the stairs.
My first morning as a girl and I kept messing up. This was going
to take some getting used to.
"Hey little brat," I heard Mike, my best friend and now big brother,
say. "Keep it quiet down there. I'm trying to sleep!"
He wasn't much of a best friend to his little sister, that was for
sure. I ignored it. He was just a jerk around his sister and I was
sure to find that out more and more.
He peered down the stairs as I walked away and into the kitchen.
"You twerp!" he said and I heard his door slam shut.
I took a couple more bites of toast and downed the rest of my milk.
Then I walked through the open side door and into the garage.
"Come on!" my mother said honking the horn.
Suddenly, at the most inconvenient time, I realized I had forgotten
something rather important.
"I have to go to the bathroom," I said turning and running back
in the house.
I also forgot my purse so I ran back upstairs and into my own bathroom.
I didn't have time to think about what I was doing. I finished up
quickly and grabbed my purse off my desk.
I was about to go down the stairs when I saw Mike standing there,
wearing just his shorts.
"You keep making noise," he snapped and poked me in the shoulder.
"Let me pass," I said trying to get around him so I could get out
to the car.
I heard mom honking a few more times.
"Shut up," he said poking me again in the shoulder. "You keep making
noise."
"Come on," I said trying again to pass by. "Let me go. Mom'll kill
you if you don't let me go."
He pulled out a toy water cannon and shot water all over my skirt.
"No she won't," he said with a grin. "Because now she'll think you
wet yourself."
I was about ready to kill my best friend just then but realized
I couldn't do a thing as I was smaller than him and I was a girl.
"Let me go," I said.
He squirted more water on me,"Sister have a little accident? Better
go put on some dry clothes."
"I don't have another tennis skirt," I said.
"I know," he smiled back. "But now you'll know to be quiet when
I'm trying to sleep."
He squirted some water in my face.
I felt like I was going to cry. I was helpless against this bully
and he was getting me into more trouble than I already was.
He took my hat off and threw it on the floor before he went back
in his room and slammed the door again.
I picked up my hat and ran downstairs crying.
My mother had gotten out of the car by now and was heading in the
house.
"What in the world?!" she asked looking at me. "You're all wet!"
"Mike poked me and sprayed water on me with his water cannon," I
cried. "I don't want to go to tennis lessons now. Please don't make
me...."
I fell down to my knees on the linoleum floor and cried.
"I'll deal with him later," she said angrily. "Now get out in the
car. You're going to your tennis lessons no matter how you look at
this point. So deal with it."
She picked up my purse from my shoulder and headed back for the
car.
Reluctantly I got up and followed.
I didn't know how I was going to handle living here another moment.
Kristen definitely got the better end of this deal. I wanted to try
being a girl for awhile but not like this.
I sat in the back seat of the car and thought about the sacrifice
I had made so Kristen could be me and get to know her brother without
him treating her so awful.
Now I was her and I had to take whatever problems this new life
had and learn to live with it. I hoped Friday would get here soon.
The final two chapters of an old six chapter voluntary body swapping story of mine. There are two sequels on top of that.
CHAPTER FIVE - Swing Miss
------------
I got dropped off at the park and Mrs. Tiederov told me to go straight
to the tennis court and to come right home afterwards.
I watched as she drove off down the street and then I turned around
and headed up the gravel path through some trees.
To be honest, I had never been to this park before and I had no
clue where the tennis courts were located. I walked past the entrance
to a large rose garden and followed the path onward down a wide grassy
field and found a playground.
I walked down to the playground and sat on a bench.
"Kristen?" a girl asked from behind me.
I turned and saw a blonde girl walk up to me across the tanbark.
She set her racket down on the bench and put her hands on her hips.
"Hi," I said looking at her, trying to picture where I'd seen her
before. Something about her seemed familiar.
"Well?" she said impatiently. "Don't just sit there - come on!"
She pulled me by the arm.
She took her racket off the bench and looked like she was going
to kill me or something.
"Come on, Kristen," she said escorting me down a side path. "The
courts are this way. Hey - wait a minute. You're wet! What happened?
Did your brother use his water gun on you again?"
"Yeah," I said picking at my wet skirt.
"No wonder," she said with some sympathy in her voice. "I'm sorry,
Kristen. Look, the courts are over this way. A game of tennis will
help you forget all about it. If not you can pretend
your brother is the tennis ball. Come on."
I just then remembered her name. She was one of the two girls that
Kristen had over the other night.
"Heather?" I said as we walked through the shade.
"I'm Tanya," she corrected.
"Oh, yeah," I shrugged. "Sorry."
She stopped and looked at me up and down.
Then she reached for my neck and her hand brushed under my hair.
"Where's your necklace?" she asked.
She was getting the picture now. I just knew it. If she found out
I wasn't really Kristen, this might ruin everything.
"Um, I left it at home," I lied but what else could I say? The real
Kristen had the necklace and she was masquerading around in my place.
"Well as long as you don't ever loose it," she said relieved. "I
mean, if you ever lost it I wouldn't be able to change into snowy
anymore. Well never mind that now. Let's play some tennis."
We walked around a bend and there were several fenced in tennis
courts standing there before us.
"Kristen!" a lady called out to me. "There you are! You're tardy!
Now get your little fanny on this court immediately."
"Mrs. Worthington," Tanya said stepping between the instructor
and I. "Kristen is late because her brother got her wet with a water gun.
Please don't be mad at her."
"You've used this excuse before," Mrs. Worthington said to me. "No
wait - I don't care about excuses anymore. You just get out there
and play tennis."
Since I only played the game once or twice before in my life, I
stood there missing swing after swing.
"Look," the instructor said. "You know how to serve - so serve!"
"But I forgot."
She glared at me and then threw her racket down.
Tanya laughed and then quickly shut up as the instructor walked
over to me and took my arm.
"Like this," she said swinging my arm back and forth.
"Okay," I said. "I think I remember now."
She walked away and I swung at the ball again...and missed.
"Oh God save me," Mrs. Worthington said looking up at the sky. "Tanya,
why don't you serve this time? Kristen, quit playing games with me.
I don't have the patience for this. Just play tennis."
Well, I finally got the swing of it, pardon the pun, but I still
lost every game that morning.
I walked back out to the playground and sat on the bench with my
new friend Tanya.
"Kristen," she said patting me on the back. "You never let me beat
you like that before. If I didn't know better, I'd think you really
did forget how to play tennis. Boy you sure played like a geek today.
Were you just trying to be funny or something?"
"No. Look, this is just not my day," I said standing up. "Come on.
Let's go."
"You're going home?" she asked. "Already? I thought you were going
to take me your Aunt's place again."
"My Aunt's?" I asked and quickly said. "Oh yeah, my Aunt."
I started to walk alongside the playground pathway.
"Aunt Toni," she added standing up to follow me. "Come on. You're
going the wrong way. Let's cut through the rose garden."
"Okay, you're the guide. I'll follow."
I knew my new mother wanted me home right away but I didn't want
to go back just yet. Besides, this would give me an opportunity to
meet the woman behind the necklace.
We walked through a maze of roses.
"Kristen," Tanya said plucking some petals from a flower in her
hand.
"Yeah?"
"What do you think about those boys wanting to swap places with us?"
I looked over at her wondering if she only knew the truth about
me right now.
"What do you mean?" I asked.
She dropped her rose and plucked another from the side of the path.
"I mean, are you sure we ought to let them? After all, they're boys."
"So?"
"So they might wreck our bodies. You know? They might stuff too
many pizzas into our bodies while we're gone or something. They might
throw out all our makeup or something."
"I don't know," I said shrugging. The path led us to a small
white picket fence. "Why? Do you want to back off of this idea?"
We walked out onto a wooded path.
"Well, what if they won't change back with us?" she asked worried.
"Come on, Tanya. If you don't want to do this then just say so.
It's up to you," I said looking around at all the trees. "Say, are
we going near the swamp or something?"
"We're going to your Aunt's house, remember?"
"Oh," I said. "Well, you just lead on then."
She stopped and looked at me kind of funny.
"What?" I asked.
"You lead the way," she said gesturing to the path ahead of us.
"Why?"
"Well, first of all, Kristen Tiederov never played tennis that bad
before. Second - you are missing your necklace and Kristen never goes
anywhere without it. Third - you're not walking toe to toe like you
normally do."
"So?"
"So you walk like a guy," she said mocking my walk in a circle about
me.
"So?"
"You are not Kristen," she concluded with arms crossed.
"I'm practicing for when I swap places with Andy," I lied.
She thought about it for a minute and then said,"Then why play tennis
so bad?"
"I'm practicing for when I swap places with Andy."
"You're putting me on. Who are you?"
"I'm Kristen Tiederov," I said. "And who might you be?"
"Shut up!"
"Nice to meet you, Miss Shutup."
"No, cut it out."
"Nice to meet you, Miss Cutitout."
"Be quiet!"
"Will you make up your mind?"
"You're definitely Andy," she said and I smiled.
"Oops," I said covering my mouth with my hands.
"Ahah! Got you."
"Can't catch me!" I said running away down the path.
"Come back with my friends body!" she yelled chasing after.
I ran off the trail and into the forest. Tanya was catching up to
me and waving her racket at me.
I turned my head back and stuck my tongue out at her.
"Girl, girl, girl, girl, girl!" I said to her running under an overhanging
branch and through some bushes. My taunts only made her run faster.
I tripped over a rock and dropped my racket.
My body hit the ground and I slipped forward down a muddy hill.
I bumped hard into something and stared upwards at an old man.
He was wearing blue jeans, a black shirt, some sort of swamp boots,
and an old black hat.
"The witches niece!" he exclaimed picking me up and putting me over
his shoulders. "What a fine little piece of luck. I've been looking
for a break like this."
"Put me down!" I screamed, kicking my little legs up and down in
the air.
"I will do whatever you want just as soon as you tell me where the
ju-ju box is," he said carrying me along the edges of the swamp.
"I don't have it," I cried. "Please put me down."
"You'll tell me or I'll let the demon eat your flesh."
"I don't know where it is," I lied.
"And you also don't know who I am, do you?"
"No."
"You're the niece of a witch but I'm more powerful than she is.
She stole my ju-ju box and I want it back - NOW!"
He put me down in a little boat and got in, then pushed off from the
shore with his oars.
"If you're so powerful how come you let her steal it then?" I asked.
"Shut up, you, or I'll belt you one!"
He rowed through the swamp for at least a half hour, then tied up
the boat to a makeshift pier beside an old cabin.
He picked me up and carried me over his shoulders again.
I was taken inside the cabin and dropped down onto a couch.
A little fire burned in the hearth and across the room on another
couch lay a woman bound and gagged.
"I brought your niece," he said to the woman. "Now tell me where
the ju-ju box is or I'll feed her to the demon."
He removed her gag.
"Never!" she screamed.
He replaced her gag.
"She doesn't have the necklace," I said.
The woman's eyes got wide and then rolled upwards as if I'd said
something dumb.
"So you've transmuted it into a necklace to hide it from me have
you?" the old man asked the woman. "Well your stupid niece was helpful
after all. That's the least I can say about you."
He pulled off her gag and walked over to me to see if I was wearing
a necklace.
"Where is it?" he asked grabbing my neck.
"Thanks Kristen," the woman said. "Thanks a lot. Now old gray bones
here is gonna have his demon search for a necklace now instead of
a box."
"I won't have to if you just tell me where it's hid," he said to
both of us.
"Will you let us go if we tell you?" I asked hopefully.
"Oh, suuuuuure," he said knocking a clock off the wall angrily. "Now
tell me where the hell the ju-ju box is and I'll make sure you
both die a less painful death than I planned. Where is it?"
"Don't tell him, Kristen," the woman warned. "He's an evil magician,
not fit to possess the artifact."
"I am not evil," he said gagging the woman again with a rag.
He came over to me and sat beside me.
"I'll tell you what," he said clapping his hands. "I'll make a deal
with you. You can have anything you want. Anything at all if you tell
me where the ju-ju box is. I'll even release your Aunt Toni."
"I don't know," I shrugged. "You seem pretty mean. I don't think
I'm going to tell you anything."
"But she stole it from ME! She's the one who is mean. Not I!"
She spit out her gag just then.
"He's lying!" she said. "He gave me it as a gift, just like I gave
it to you."
"Well I want it back bitch!" the old man snapped.
His eyes got bright red and glowed like fire.
"Bellabog!" he called out in a loud voice.
The ground trembled and the fire in the hearth rose.
A tiny green demon stepped out of the hearth and craned its neck
to look up at the man who summoned it.
"What is it sonny?" the demon said in a squeaky old voice.
"The witch has hidden the box in the form of a necklace. Bring me
the necklace!"
"I can't," the demon said.
"What? But I COMMAND you!" the old man ordered.
"I work union hours. You can't make me," the demon huffed.
"I'll pay extra for overtime then," the old man shot back.
"Heubert, tell me, how many souls do you have?" the demon asked.
"Uh...one."
"So how the hell can you pay overtime?"
"Well, then I'll owe you or something," Heubert said scratching
his head. "Just go fetch me that necklace!"
"I'm off in a flash! Off to get me the cash!" the demon said vanishing
in a bright light.
"Good going," Aunt Toni said to me. "Well at least you didn't get
more specific and blurt out something about the medallion being on
the necklace."
"Medallion?!" Heubert exclaimed. "Wonderful! Now you both spilled
the beans and I won't be needing you much longer."
"Good going yourself," I said to Toni.
"Quiet or I'll gag the both of you!" the old man warned. "I have
a better idea. We're going to take a little drive in my car."
"Oh great, now we're going for rides. I prefer the rowboat myself,"
I sassed.
He looked over at Toni with a wicked smile.
"I'm going to take your place, witch," he said. "Just as soon as the
demon brings me back the necklace."
"You wouldn't dare!" she said with horror in her eyes.
He picked me up and carried me outside.
"Do you like chicken?" he asked me while putting me in the trunk
of his car.
"Sort of but I'm not really hungry right now."
"Well you're going to become one as soon as I get that
necklace. How do you like that?"
He didn't give me a chance to reply. Instead he clunked me over
the head with his fist and I blacked out.
CHAPTER SIX - Cooped Up
-------------
I woke up tied to a wooden chair in the middle of a chicken coop.
The place smelled so terrible I thought I was going to get
sick.
Through the chicken wire I saw a small patch of dirt that sloped
down to a small stream. A thick forest spread out on the other side
and vanished up into a mountain.
I glanced down at my lap and saw my tennis skirt was gone. I sat
there in just my panties. The kidnaper hadn't even left me with
my shoes or socks.
"Help!" I cried. "Somebody help me!"
The chickens started squawking loudly all around me.
A minute later a door opened beside me and a short, overweight woman
stood there with a broomstick in her hand.
She rapped me a couple times on the head with the end of the broom
handle.
"Ow!"
"Quiet you! You'll wake the dead with that voice of yours," she
scolded me. "Though it won't do you much good to yell for help.
Nobody lives anywhere near here for a good thirty miles or so."
I looked at her black dress and pointed hat, wondering if she was
the witch she appeared to be.
"Who are you?" I asked. "Where's my aunt?"
"Your aunt is in the stables," the woman said tapping me on the
head with her broom handle. "I am Claudia, Herbert’s mother."
"Where is he?"
She hit me again with her broomstick before answering. It was starting
to get annoying. She wasn't hitting me hard enough to do much more
than tick me off.
"He's been sent to his room," she said.
"What? What do you mean?"
"He's being punished."
"You're joking!" I declared. "Why he's not a kid. What do you mean
he's being punished?' "
Again she rapped her broom on the side of my head.
"You do not seem to get the full picture, my dear," the woman said
throwing her voice so it sounded like it came from one of the
chickens. "Herbert is not what he seems. You see, just over a
year ago he was nothing more than a teenage boy. He hated his
father so he snuck in the cellar and stole one of my magic items
and used it to swap places but he didn't stop there. He did some
more swaps and when I figured out what he was up to, he ran away
and your aunt sweet talked him out of the ju-ju box. So you can
see why he wants the box back. As his mother, I demanded he return
to me what he stole."
"So why am I tied up here?" I asked.
She hit me again with the broom,"He wanted to swap you with a chicken
so you wouldn't be able to get the box back or tell someone about
it. Your aunt is in the stables awaiting a similar fate, though I
think Herbert really wanted to trade places with your aunt. As his
mother I won't stand for him doing any such thing."
"So I won't get swapped after all, right?" I asked hopefully.
"You are too much of a threat to have around with the knowledge
of the ju-ju box. For once I agree with my son. You and your aunt
will be swapped with my pets."
"What then? What in the world do you plan on doing with this body
once there's a chicken-brain inside it? What about my aunts body?"
She started to swing the broomstick towards me but stopped
short,"I simply release your bodies into the forest to fend for
themselves and survive if they are able. If anyone does find them
it'll be a miracle and even so, people will think they are insane
or something with their primitive animal minds. So you can see,
dearie, everything is all worked out."
"What if you don't get the ju-ju box back?" I asked looking uneasily
over at the chickens. "Then what?"
"Then you simply stay here and I feed you bird seed for the rest
of your miserable little life," she hit me again with the broom handle
and stormed out of the chicken coop.
I sat there gazing out at the forest and wondered if I would ever
get out of these ropes or if I would ever find my clothes. Most important,
I wondered if I would ever swap back with my old body or not.
Whatever that demon was doing, it sure seemed obvious he wasn't
looking for the ju-ju box anymore.
Three days had passed and I still sat there tied up in the chicken
coop. I was only let out a few times a day to use the bathroom. They
force fed me bird seed, crumbs and water and told me to get used to
it.
I sat there watching the sun go down one night and listened to
the buzzing of mosquitoes coming up from the creek.
Once it was dark I drifted off to sleep.
"Pssst! Wake up," a girl whispered in my ear.
I looked up and saw several little girls standing around me.
They looked no older than six or seven years of age.
One of the girls held up a necklace with a smile on her face.
"It's me, Kristen," she said in a whisper. "I'm here to rescue you."
The other girls untied me and we snuck out of the chicken coop with
some flashlights.
"How did you find me and what about the demon?" I asked.
"Shhh!" a little girl said. "I'll explain it all later."
"Where's my male body?" I asked worriedly.
"Shhh! I said I'd explain later.
We headed for the house and some of the girls ran off towards the
stables to rescue aunt Toni.
We stood before the back door and one of the girls touched the
lock and I heard a click.
"How did you do that?" I asked.
"Would you be quiet?" a girl scolded me.
"I think we'd better leave her out here," someone suggested. "She'll
ruin the plan."
So they handed me a flashlight and told me to stay put while they
crept inside the house.
A few minutes later I heard a bunch of little feet running through
the house and there were screams and giggles.
It sounded like they were in trouble and I was just about to go
inside and investigate when out came Heubert followed by his mother.
Both held a screaming, kicking little girl in their hands.
"We got 'em," Heubert said to me as he walked by.
"That was easy," his mother said. "I'm glad that's over with."
I wasn't exactly sure what was going on but when all the other girls
came giggling out of the house, I knew that some body swapping had
happened.
"Put me down! Put me down!" one of the girls cried in Heubert's
arms. "Switch me back this instant you little brat!"
Yep, sure enough two of the little girls traded bodies with the
kidnapers.
"Where are you taking them?" I asked.
"We have a couple more body switches to do," one of the little girls
said to me taking my hand. "Come on. This'll be fun to watch."
We went over to the chicken coop and I stood outside and watched
through the wire with a few other girls.
"No, no! You can't mean it!" I heard a girl cry out.
"Don't worry, you'll both be fine in a minute," another girl said.
"I don't want to be a chicken!" another girl cried.
There was another struggle and then it was quiet.
"One more switch left," a girl told me with a giggle. "We don't
want chickens in little girl bodies, ya know."
A moment later the door opened and out ran Herbert and his mother.
They both started running around the yard in some sort of panic.
"What happened?" I asked.
"Oh, well, first we switched them with two of the girls here. Then
we switched them with the chickens, and finally we switched their
adult bodies with the girls again. Now the kidnapers are the chickens
and the chickens are the kidnapers."
I turned and saw a couple girls place the chickens back on their
little shelves in their nests.
"So how did you all figure out where I was?" I asked.
"The demon helped us," a girl said happily. "He didn't like the way
his master treated him so he decided to help us instead."
"He teleported us!" another girl added.
"Kristen!" I heard aunt Toni call out from across the yard.
She came up to me and hugged me.
One of the little girls looked over at me and winked.
Aunt Toni held up the necklace and put it on.
"Well, I think from now on I'll take care of the ju-ju box until
you're older," she said.
Several of the little girls got horrified looks on their faces.
"Why?" I asked.
"Because I said so," she answered.
"Look, I don't know who all your little friends are but the first
order of business is to get these girls back to their families," Toni
said walking for the car.
"Some of us aren't really girls," one of the girls said. "And we
would appreciate it if you would let us switch back."
Toni turned to look at me. "Kristen, have you been switching people
around with the ju-ju box?"
"I'm Kristen," a little blonde girl said raising her hand. "And
yeah, I've been switching people but only because they wanted to."
"If you're Kristen, then who's THAT?" Toni pointed over at me.
"I'm Andy Smith," I answered blushing.
"Oh, this is horrible," Toni said hitting herself on the forehead.
"There isn't enough power in this to keep switching so many people
around all the time. It wasn't meant to be used for cheap thrills.
Okay, how many of you are really boys?"
Nearly all the girls slowly raised their hands up.
"Are there any others?" Toni asked.
"Yeah, back in town," a girl answered. "There's a few more who got
swapped."
"Oh, plus the demon," another girl added.
"Yeah, I forgot," Kristen said. "Sort of traded the demon with some
lady. It was the only way he'd agree to let us keep the ju-ju box
without killing us for it. Still had some powers left after the
switch so we got some flashlights and she teleported us here to rescue
you."
"Who's idea was all this anyway?" Toni asked.
"Mine," I said. "I asked Kristen if she wouldn't mind trading places.
Then everything got messed up."
"No it's my fault," Kristen said. "I started using the necklace
to switch some of my girlfriends with my cat. That's how it all started."
"Well, all of you better be prepared to stay the way you are because
I'm not sure who of you is even telling me the truth anymore," Toni
said. "Now pile up in the car. I'm taking you all to your homes whether
you're in the right bodies or not. You messed with the ju-ju box and
so, at least for now, I'm going to keep you this way as punishment.
Now get in the car."
We all climbed in the car and Toni dropped us all off at our houses.
___-----___
I stood on the front porch of Kristen Tiederov's house and watched
Toni ring the doorbell.
Mrs. Tiederov opened the door and gasped both in shock and anger.
"Hi 'sis," Toni waved to her sister, Mrs. Tiederov.
"What happened? Where's your clothes young lady?" Kristens mother
asked me.
I stood there with just my panties on.
"I found her stranded just outside of town," Toni said.
"Oh, my!" Kristen's mother said hugging me. "Are you okay darling?"
"Yes," I said getting kissed over and over again on the cheek.
"What can I ever do to repay you for bringing my daughter home safe?"
my mother asked.
"Think nothing of it 'sis," Toni said. "Just promise me you'll keep
a closer eye on her in the future."
"Oh, yes," Mrs. Tiederov agreed nodding. "I won't ever let my princess
out of my site from now on. I promise."
"Won't you come in? It's been ages since I've seen you, Toni," my
mother said.
"No thanks. I need to get going," Toni said turning to look down
at me. "Now you be a good girl and mind what your mother tells you,
okay?"
She was enjoying this!
She was enjoying watching me be stuck as Kristen and left with
instructions for my new mother to keep a better eye on me.
"You say 'okay' to your aunt Toni," my mother said putting her
hand on my shoulder.
"Okay aunt Toni," I said looking up at the necklace she still wore.
"That's a good girl. Well I must be going now. Tah tah!" she said
turning and walking away out the courtyard and to the running car
in the driveway.
I was brought up to my room and my mother forced me to take a bath.
I ate dinner and then went back to my room.
___-----___
"So now I'm a girl," I said closing my diary.
"Mommy, what ever happened to the ju-ju box," my daughter Heather
asked.
"Yeah, mommy," my son Andrew urged tugging on my dress.
"I never did see Aunt Toni again after that," I said looking out
the window at the full moon and watching the clouds drift past it
in black silhouettes. "There was a horrible flood a few years later
and the swamp seemed to just erase her out of existence.
I went back but never found her cabin and I never did find out what
really happened to her. Every now and then, people driving along
old Hicks Road claim to see an old woman standing along the roadside
at the swamps edge. They say she's as white as a ghost and stands
there holding a silvery box in her hands."
"The ju-ju box, mommy?" Heather asked.
"Yes, princess. The ju-ju box."
The curtains blew gently in the night and off in the distance
could be heard the sounds of wolves singing to the moon.
I picked up my sleepy children and tucked them into bed.
I shut off the lights and closed the door.
I stood there in the hallway listening to the sound of wolves outside.
With a sigh, I turned and walked away.
THE END
After Notes: Or is it the end? What happened to Mike and the other
boys? Where did the ju-ju box really come from? What really happened
to aunt Toni? Did any of the displaced get switched back to normal?
Did the new Kristen ever learn to play a decent game of tennis?
Yes, there is more to this story so be prepared for a
sequel: Ju-Ju Box II
Ju-Ju Box Book II: Change Enough For All
This is the second "book" in the three book series of the story Ju-Ju Box.
CHAPTER ONE - MAGIC COMES IN PAIRS
by Cleo Kraft
-------------
"Mommy, tell us again about the Ju-Ju box," little Heather begged me,
tugging on my dress.
"No," Andrew complained. "Mommy, tell us the rest. Tell us the rest."
I gazed over at the book shelf on the far side of the room.
It's been so long. So terribly, terribly long since it all happened.
"There is more," I said with a sigh. "Though you must believe me when
I say I never saw the ju-ju box again or Aunt Toni. Yet there is more
to the story. Much more."
"No more magic box?" Heather asked climbing up into my lap as I sat there
on the couch. "No more ju-ju box, mommy?"
Were they ready? Were my children old enough to hear the rest of the
story?
"Magic entered into my life even after the first ju-ju box vanished," I
said.
"First box?" Andrew asked. "Then there's another ju-ju box?"
I smiled and said,"That's right, Andrew, and even more magic than before.
You didn't think mommy would go on living life without trying to find out
what happened to the ju-ju box, do you?"
A little bell went off down the hall.
"Popcorn's ready!" Heather cried, leaping off my lap and dashing down
the hall and into the kitchen.
I got up and brought some popcorn bowls, glasses of soda, and napkins for
my children.
We all sat back down on the couch and I resumed telling the story.
"Magic," I said. "Magic is what started it all. Just where do you think
magic comes from?"
"The witch?" Heather asked.
"The bad man, Heubert?" Andrew suggested.
"No," I said shaking my head. "They only took it's secrets for their own
selfish gains. Magic began long ago, before there were people. It was
always here for us to discover, and I certainly discovered what it could
do with the first ju-ju box. Now let me tell you the story of the
second ju-ju box. I didn't even know another one existed until a few of
the girls and I went out hunting for answers one day. It was a warm
July morning. I remember it well. We were out by the rose garden in the
park, talking about things. You know? Girl things. I was wearing a cute
little white dress with tiny pink flower patterns all over it. Each day
being stuck as a girl taught me new lessons and I started to grow attached
to my new body more and more."
"Were you really a boy mommy?" Heather asked, looking up and into my
face to see if she could see a hint of my former self hidden away in
my features.
"Yes, dear," I answered with a gentle smile. "I sure was, but that was
a long time ago. Anyway, the girls and I were walking along through the
rose garden, chatting and giggling as girls sometimes do."
___-----___
"So, I'm telling you, I never knew it was gonna be like this," Heather
said with a nervous giggle. "I mean, Kristen, you remember when I was
just Lou, a geeky guy who played too much chess?"
"Yeah," I chuckled.
"Well," Heather said stopping there on the path and sticking her left
leg straight out. "I can't believe these legs. I mean, they're not just
pretty to look at, but I can stand like this for almost forever without
falling over."
"Well," Tanya said. "You do take ballet lessons now."
"That's not the point," Heather said reaching out and grabbing her
knee. "As a guy, I never could do anything like this. I mean, I didn't
have the ability. Oh, what's the word I'm looking for?...."
"Agility?" I suggested.
"Yeah," Heather agreed and lowered her left leg down to the
ground. "I've got agility now. As a boy, I never had so much capability
of movement in my limbs."
"Well," Tanya said crossing her arms. "I'm sick of it. I want my body
back. I'm tired of being stuck a girl. I want to be Ben again. This
sucks."
"What's so bad about being a girl, Tanya?" I asked.
"I'm sick of it," she said tugging on her red skirt. "Just look at me.
I wear these stupid little outfits, not 'cause I want to, but 'cause my
mom - my new mom - makes me wear 'em. Plus, look at all this blonde
hair. It gets in my face all the time. Then there's these."
Tanya pointed to her flat chest.
"I'm growin' boobs," she complained. "They're sore almost all the time,
and I can't stand this body. I'm short, all the space between my legs
feels way too weird, I walk funny now, and I can't get used to hearing
this squeaky girls voice in my ears when I talk."
"So one of you likes being a girl and the other doesn't," I said. "Is
that it?"
"We've got to find that ju-ju box," Tanya told me with pleading eyes.
"But that storm last year wiped out Aunt Toni's cabin, and I haven't
heard from her since then," I shrugged. "What can we do? We're stuck
like this."
"What about the real Kristen?" Heather asked.
"She lives in New Mexico now," I said. "How are we gonna get there?
We're just a bunch of teenage girls. Plus, she doesn't have the ju-ju
box anyway. Her aunt did and now she's gone too. So what other bright
ideas do you suggest?"
"New Mexico?" Tanya asked. "When did she move there?"
"A few months ago," I answered. "Remember, she's stuck in another girls
body too, so she's not going to be much help. I think her name's Elsa
now."
"What about the old witch's house?" Heather suggested. "The one where
we turned her and that weird swamp dude into chickens. What about
checking that place out?"
Tanya brightened up and said,"Yeah! Now you're talkin'! Come on, let's
see if we can hitch a ride up to that place or something."
I plucked a flower and started walking after my friends.
"We'll get our old bodies back," Tanya said with reassurance. "I just
know it. There's got to be a way back. There's just got to."
If not, my friends sure did make cute girls.
___-----___
We hitched a ride up to the old place in the mountains.
The house was all boarded up and definitely looked abandoned.
We walked around back and found the chicken coup.
It was empty.
"This place gives me the creeps," Heather said tugging on my arm. "Come
on, let's go. I don't want my old body back this much. Let's get outa
here."
We walked over to the barn and looked inside.
The stalls were empty.
"Look," I said pointing. "Even the horses are gone."
"Well, they'd be dead by now if nobody was here to feed them
anyway," Tanya pointed out. "Let's go see if we can break into that
house and find something to help change us back."
We turned and walked across the dirt yard and to the back door.
"How are we gonna get these boards off the door?" Tanya asked.
Heather looked around and pointed.
"Look!" Heather said running across to a tree stump. "There's a chopping
axe here. We'll just cut our way inside."
I couldn't even lift the axe, let alone swing it at the door. The other
girls found similar difficulty so we gave up on chopping our way into
the house.
"Damn these puny arms," Tanya pouted. "I should never have agreed to
trade places and be a girl. This is horrible."
"Come on, girls," Heather said running to the side of the house. "I think
there's another way in."
We wandered over to stand beside Heather and she pointed to a small
crawl hole where a screen lay discarded to one side.
"It's a vent," Heather said. "We can go in under the house."
"I'm not going through there," Tanya protested. "It's dark in there,
plus I don't like closed spaces."
"Come on," Heather urged. "I'll go first. There's got to be a way in
the house through here."
"Yeah," I agreed and watched Heather vanish through the small
opening. "Crawl spaces always have an entry in some room of the house.
This is just the one time we're all lucky to have small bodies. Come
on Tanya. If you want your old body back, you gotta show some effort.
Follow me."
I got down on hands and knees and squeezed through the narrow hole.
I saw Heather up ahead through the dim light.
To my surprise, the light under the house wasn't so bad after all.
Other vents positioned all around the perimeter of the house allowed
light to enter in, helping us see where we were going.
"Found it!" Heather exclaimed pushing up a trap door above her head.
"See?" I said to Tanya behind me. "Come on. Now we're getting someplace."
I watched Heather climb up in through the trap door and Tanya panicked.
"No," Tanya cried. "Let me go before you, Kristen. I don't want you
to leave me to be last. I'm so afraid, I think I'm going to have an
accident. Let me go next."
I watched her crawl past me and climb up into the house.
I followed, wondering what we would find there.
CHAPTER TWO - Riddle of the Box
-------------
I climbed up into the closet through the trapdoor and stood there squinting
to see in the dim light of the room.
"We should have brought flashlights," Tanya complained.
I watched streams of light seep in through the cracks between the boards
on the windows.
"Follow me," Heather said wandering out the room and down the hall.
I followed them into the large, empty living room.
"Someone must have taken all the furniture and everything," Tanya noticed
looking around.
"Let's check upstairs," Heather said heading up the spiral staircase.
I gripped the dusty banister and followed up after my friends.
At the top of the stairwell it was so dark I used my hands to guide me along
by feeling the wall beside me.
"Heather? Kristen?" Tanya asked worriedly. "Hey, I can't see you guys."
"I'm right here," Heather replied from up ahead.
"I'm behind you," I said feeling the dust accumulate on my hands as I
felt along the wood paneled wall.
The wall gave way and a section of it swung back, revealing a small passage.
"Hey, come back here!" I cried. "I think I found something."
"What is it Kristen?" Heather asked coming closer to me in the darkness.
"It's a secret passage or something," I replied stepping inside the
opening. "Come on. Let's see what's in here."
I stumbled forward into the darkness, bumping into boxes and furniture
along the way.
"God, I can't see a thing," Heather complained.
"Hey I found a window shade," Tanya said and I heard shades rustle in the
darkness and suddenly the room lit up.
"Wow!" Heather exclaimed looking around at everything. "Lucky for us that
window wasn't boarded up or we might have gotten lost in here. Just look
at this place. What do you suppose all this stuff is for?"
I looked around at all the tables full of chemistry equipment, dusty books,
black candles, chalk pentagrams on the floor, and stuffed animal heads along
the walls.
"This must be where the witch practiced her magic or something," Tanya
suggested, picking up a skull from a bookshelf under the window sill.
"If this is the witch's stuff, then we shouldn't mess with anything," Heather
warned. "This place is creepy."
I saw a book lying open on a table beside me.
"Hey, look," I said pointing to the open page. "This says something about
the Ju-Ju Box."
"Let's see that," Tanya said walking over to peer over my shoulder. "Wow!
Heather, come here and take a look at this. This might be the answer to
what we're looking for. Kristen, read it aloud for us."
"Okay," I said glancing at the yellowed page and read. "Thy box master made
them whence troubles abound. They rest on thy hill in thy house of thee
hound. First he created for thy life exchanges, second came time for life
to have changes, when third thy box master lost his own wife, he went
searching for answers in thee next life. Thy neighbor holds thy key to
thy ails, while thy Ju-Ju Box never tells. Find a glimpse and find thy nine
hells. Remember thy warnings, remember them still, thy box master made them
on thy house on thee hill."
"Weird," Tanya said in low whisper.
"It's fake," Heather said pointing to the page. "Look at that stuff. It's
not bad enough they mixed Old English with modern, but that ink looks like
it was printed off a press or something. It's a fake. Who comes up with
this stuff?"
"Hey," I said flipping the page. "This may be our only clue to finding the
Ju-Ju Box, and we all know the Ju-Ju Box is real or we wouldn't be stuck
here as girls. The rest of the book seems to be in some other language."
"It looks like Latin," Tanya realized. "Darn it. Now I wish I'd taken
Latin instead of Spanish. Just look at the stuff. We've got to find an
interpreter or something."
"It's not Latin," Heather said over my shoulder. "There are a few words
in there that make sense but it's just like the English stuff. Who ever
wrote this junk seemed to mix in old and new styles of the same thing
and mix it in such a way that the meaning got lost. There's pages and
pages of some sort of ritual or something. That must be why there's all
these chalk pentagrams on the floor. Looks like the witch tried to use
this book to find the Ju-Ju Box."
"She found it alright," Tanya said. "But now she's a chicken."
"Or was a chicken," I added. "Remember that was over a year ago when
it happened. The chicken coup was empty, same as the stables and the
rest of the house. If the birds didn't die from starvation, they may
have already died of other causes by now. For all we know, the witch
and her son may already have wound up as someone's dinner by now."
"Yeah, but what about their old bodies?" Heather asked peering out
the window, looking at the forest on the other side of the creek. "What
do you suppose happened to their old bodies by now?"
"Who cares," Tanya said taking the bottom edge of her red skirt with
both hands. "It's us that matters anyway. What about OUR old bodies?
That's what I'd like to know. When do we get back our old bodies? I'm
sick of being this way. Just look at us! One minute we're a bunch of
boys about ready to graduate High School, and the next minute we're
reduced to going through it all over again but like THIS - as girls!"
I picked up the book and headed for the hallway.
"Where are you going?" Heather asked.
"Come on," I said. "We have to get to a library. I want to find out
more about the author of this book. We need to find out where this
author got all this information from and where he lived. We need to
find out where that house on the hill is located if we want to find
the Ju-Ju Box."
"Library?" Tanya asked following after Heather and I.
"Yeah," I said turning back. "And shut that secret door behind you.
We don't want anyone else finding that room. There may be more secrets
for us to find in there, but first let's get back to town and do some
research on what we've already found."
CHAPTER THREE - Booking It
-------------
If I thought the town library was big before, it seemed three times as
big to me now.
Hundreds of rows of bookshelves lined four floors of this massive library
and my friends and I wandered about like dwarves in a land of giants.
"Damn," I cursed looking upward at the shelf I needed to get to. "The book
I need is up there. Now what?"
"Let's get a librarian to get it down for us," Heather suggested walking
away.
"No," I called to her. "No, don't do that. Remember how a few years ago
a group of parents got the Library to banish a few children's books because
there was mention of demons in them? Well, what do you think would happen
if a bunch of school girls like us wanted to find a REAL book of black
magic, demons, and devils?"
"She's right," Tanya nodded. "That's what happens when you live too close
to the Bible Belt. They'd censor us right into the dark ages if we let
them. Let's get a ladder or something."
Tanya rolled a ladder up to the shelf and climbed up and got the book.
She climbed down and I couldn't help but laugh to myself as I glanced up
at her white panties. It wasn't just that my height allowed such a sight
to exist but that one of my friends, Ben, who once was just a geeky guy
from the chess club, was now stuck as this cute young teenage girl who
had no sense in the world that she was revealing her panties to me.
Though she'd hate me for saying it, I thought she made a better girl
than the boy she used to be before. Same with Heather as a matter of fact,
and though I desperately wanted my old body back myself, I even found
a fondness for my new state of existence.
Being a girl was, after all, the most fun I ever had in my life. New
experiences every day from a perspective I never hoped to have the
privilege of having.
Emotions alone were a whole new joy for me. If I wanted to cry, I would
cry. If I wanted to laugh, I'd laugh uncontrollably. If I wanted to
show feeling, I would show it. My emotions were no longer trapped within
a male body, in a world where men were always looked down upon for showing
a hint of true feeling for anything. If something looked cute or adorable
to me, I wouldn't hesitate to say it now. Girls could do that. Girls could
show feeling and people wouldn't think it out of the ordinary, but if a
man showed too much feeling then people would say things. It wasn't right
for a man to show too much feeling. That is what society told me all my
life, and finally I had a break from my confinement. Finally I could
be free.
What seemed even more fun to me than just being a girl was the fact that
this was something I volunteered for and even though I was stuck this way,
I kind of liked it.
When Kristen first suggested this possibility to me, I eagerly worked with
her to make this my new reality. My reality as a young girl. The little
sister of my best friend, Mike. Ten, a hundred, a thousand times weaker
than before and yet I loved every minute of it. This is the way I should
always have been.
Doors would open up before me and young boys seemed to glance in my
direction, showing approval of my developing beauty. Dresses would hang
there in my new closet, causing me to pause on the decision of what would
suit me best to wear for each occasion. Life finally smiling at me as I
smiled at myself in the mirrors of my pretty reflection. Every person
treating me the way I always wanted to be treated. Treating me as a girl.
Well, not every person. Mike still was his little sister's worst enemy.
Teasing me and tormenting me at every chance he got. That is - at every
chance that he wasn't already cruelly ignoring me. If I didn't know any
better, I'd think he was teasing me because he was jealous. Perhaps he,
too, secretly wanted to be a girl. One day I think I'll ask him.
"Here ya go," Tanya said handing me the book. "What's wrong? You look
like you're a thousand miles away. What's on your mind?"
"Oh nothing," I said carrying the heavy book over to a table. "Now let's
find out about this author, shall we?"
___-----___
The author was a Mr. Chenlau. He grew up in Arizona but when he wrote
the book on the Ju-Ju Box, he was living in New Mexico.
"New Mexico!" Heather exclaimed.
"Isn't that where Kristen moved to after the swap?" Tanya asked, slowly
realizing what that could mean.
"Kristen must have been on the trail all along," I realized. "We have to
find her and see if she's found the Box."
"Wait a minute," Heather said leaning back in her chair. "Then how did
she get her parents to move there? Isn't this all a big coincidence or
something?"
"Hey," Tanya said. "She lives in El Paso. Isn't that really in Texas?"
"Part of it," Heather said. "But part of it's also in New Mexico I think."
"And there's some mountains near there," Tanya said. "My dad was in the
Army and there's an Army Base or something around there."
"Biggs Army Air Field," I read from the back of the book. "The author
worked there on some research project according to this, but it doesn't
say where the house on the hill is located."
"It must be near there," Tanya suggested. "Now how are three teenage
girls going to get down there?"
Heather tousled her red hair back over her shoulders and smiled as she
kicked her legs up on the table.
"I'm sure one of us looks older than her age enough to trick some guy
into giving us a ride," Heather grinned, smoothing her hands along her
thighs while winking at us.
"Be thankful you're a girl just this once," I said to Heather and walked
away from the table with the book. "Come on, girls. Let's put this book
back and get out to the highway. We have a ride to catch."
CHAPTER FOUR - Runaway Hope
------------
"This isn't going to work," Tanya said sticking her leg out while hiking
her skirt up as traffic passed us by.
"This is silly," I agreed, trying to ignore the wind blowing my hair
all about my face.
Cars and trucks honked at us as we stood there showing off our legs on
the side of the freeway.
"Nobody's stopping," Tanya said.
"Uh oh," Heather said straightening up. "Here comes bad news."
A highway patrol car pulled up behind us and an officer got out.
"I told you this wouldn't work," Tanya complained. "Heather, now look
at what your stupid idea's gotten us into."
The officer walked up to us.
"Hello ladies," he said towering over us. "You weren't doing what I thought
you were doing were you? You know, hitch hiking's not allowed around here.
Where do you live? Where are your parents?"
"We just need to get to Colorado Springs," Heather said. "That's all."
"Yes, but you didn't answer me," the officer said. "Now be honest. What are
you three up to? You're not running away from home are you?"
"Not exactly," Tanya said looking down at her feet.
"Do any of you have some I.D. ?" the officer asked. "No?"
Great, here it comes.
"What are your names?" the officer asked. "Look, you better all pile up
in the back of the car. It's dangerous to stand out here on the side of
the freeway like this."
"We didn't do anything wrong," Heather complained.
"Yeah, and so what if we're running away," Tanya added. "It's our right."
"But hitch hiking is not allowed around here," the officer said ushering us
to the back door of the car. "Do you live near here? No? Okay then, now I'm
going to take you all up to the next exit and you're each going to make a
phone call to your parents from the gas station."
"But we don't want to go home," Tanya complained.
I elbowed her and whispered,"Shut up. This was a bad plan from the beginning.
Let's just call our parents and go home to face whatever we have to face."
"Damn it all," Heather said climbing into the back seat.
___-----___
"Grounded!" my mom said for the hundredth time. "I don't want you hanging
around those other girls ever again, do you hear me? They're a bad
influence on you, Kristen Anne Tiederov, and I don't want you giving me
any lip either because this time you've really done it. Don't you look
at me that way! Just you sit there and shut up until we get home. You
don't even know what trouble you're in this time, because this time
you've really done it. Do you hear me?"
"Yes mom," I said in a weak voice, still crying uncontrollably.
"Shut up!" she said reaching over from the steering wheel to slap me
again. "I told you to shut up."
We pulled up to a stop light and she glared down at me.
"I expected it from my own sister, but not from you, Kristen," she said
pointing her thumb back towards the book in the back seat. "I don't want
you ever going near that black magic occult stuff ever again, do you
hear me? And you're going to start going to Sunday School again, you got
that? If you think I'm going to let you fill your head with Satan, girl,
then you've got another thing coming. Where did you get that book from
anyway? I'm going to see to it that it gets burned! Burned! No, better
yet, I'll have you burn it yourself. Teach you a lesson. What kind of
daughter are you anyway? Messing with black magic like that - why I
ought to send you off to a convent or something. Teach you a lesson.
You don't even know how much trouble you're in this time, Kristen
Anne Tiederov. You can't even imagine."
The light turned green and my mom glared at me again before driving
on down the road.
"You make me sick," she said rolling down the window. "I need some
air. You're making me sick."
___-----___
We got home and I was sent up to my room without dinner, as part of
the usual deal when I was in trouble.
Awhile later my Dad came in and turned me over his knee and I got
the belt, as part of the usual deal when I was in trouble.
Then I got lectured to for awhile and then he left me alone in my
dark room to cry myself to sleep, only the next thing I knew, my
mom barged in with the magic book and ushered me out by my ear.
"You're going to burn it," she said leading me down the stairs and into
the living room. "Now toss it in the fire and watch it burn, girl. Toss
it in the fire and learn your lesson."
We rarely used the fireplace any more but mom was a bit fanatical when
it came to punishment.
Several presto-logs sat in there, burning away like a roaring inferno
and my brother Mike sat on the couch nearby watching with a content smile
on his face. He loved it when I got in trouble. Boy did he love it!
"First apologize for what you did," mom told me.
Dad looked on from his den just down the hall.
"Sorry mom," I said looking down past my pink nightgown at my bare feet.
"Now to your father," she said. "Apologize to him."
"Sorry dad," I said.
"Now to your brother," she said, and I paused for a moment. "Damn it, girl.
I said apologize to him."
"I'm sorry, Mike," I said at last.
"What?" Mike said folding his hands in his lap. "I didn't hear you. Could
you say that again?"
"Say it!" Mom yelled to me, twisting my ear sharply.
"Sorry Mike," I bawled. "I'm sorry . . ."
By this time I couldn't stop myself from crying. The tears just wouldn't
stay away. I couldn't help it. I felt awful.
"Burn the book," Mom ordered me. "Burn it. Burn the book."
I walked forward and stepped up on the hot bricks, only inches away from
the roar of the fire. My arms trembled under the weight of the large book.
My feet ached on the steaming hot bricks.
The sooner I did it, the sooner I could step back onto the soft, comfortable
carpet and away from the burn of the bricks.
"Burn it girl," Mom said.
"Yeah, sis, burn the book," Mike sneered, enjoying every minute of this.
"Burn it and all it's evil magic forever," Mom added. "Burn the book."
This was it. The key to whatever hope I had to get back my male body.
I was being forced to destroy my own escape from this madness.
There had to be another way. If only I could get to New Mexico and find
the real Kristen.
"Burn it sis," Mike said and laughed. "Burn it good."
There had to be a way.
"Obey me!" Mom demanded. "Do it now!"
"Yeah," Mike added. "Obey your mother like a good little girl. Burn the
book."
God, how I came to hate my best friend. One of these days he'd be sorry
for picking on his little sister. One of these days he'd pay for this.
I dropped the book into the fire and turned around, only to get slapped
across the face by my mother.
"Damn you," she said and slapped me again. "Damn you. You obey me next
time! Now turn around and watch it burn."
I stepped off the hot bricks and onto the carpet and turned around.
Black smoke streamed upward from the burning book. The blackest smoke
I'd ever seen in my life.
Slowly the pages crumpled up under the heat of orange flames. Crumpled
up and sent ashes spiraling upward through the chimney and into the sky.
I watched and listened to the crackle of sparks shooting away from the
smoldering book. Tiny sparks sending shivers up and down my spine as I
watched my hopes fade away into ash and smoke.
"Runaway," Mike jeered. "Little runaway got what she deserved didn't
she? Lost her little magic book didn't she? What's wrong? Now you can't
use your spells on me? Huh, sis? Kristen got busted. Ha ha ha!"
"Shut up," Mom said turning around to scold Mike. "Get out of here! Go
up to your room and do your homework."
Mike stood up and made a cross sign with his fingers and stuck out his
tongue at me as he left the room.
"Now you get back up to your room, Kristen," Mom said slapping me on
the behind. "Get up to your room and go to bed. In the morning, we'll
talk more about your punishment. Now get!"
I hurried up the stairs as fast as my little feet would carry me and
I ran in my room and shut the door. Then I leapt on my bed and cried
myself to sleep.
___-----___
I woke up early the next morning to the sound of someone whispering
something in my ear.
"Voodoo.... voodooo....," the voice teased over and over again.
I turned and looked beside me.
There on the pillow lay one of my dolls, or rather Kristen's dolls
that was now mine since I became her.
Hundreds of needles and pins protruded from the plastic doll's body.
"Vooooodooooo.....," Mike whispered, gazing down into my face.
I tried to scream but my mouth was gagged with a sock.
"Voodoo.... voodoo.....," Mike taunted, squirting water into my face
with his water pistol. "You are under my spell..... you seem to have
wet yourself again..... voooo-dooooooo....."
I struggled and kicked helplessly as he pinned me down.
He laughed at me and squirted more water in my face.
"So," he said, emptying out the rest of the water on me. "You thought you
could use your magic to get revenge on me, eh? Well, now who's laughing?
Now who's laughing, sis? Ha ha ha!"
I tried to roll over but he stopped me with his arm.
"Oh, no," Mike said shaking his head. "Not yet. You're not going no where.
Do you realize that Mom's blaming me for part of why you ran away? Do you
realize what trouble you've caused for me? Do you?"
I shook my head no.
"Well now I'm grounded along with you," Mike said poking me in the
ribs. "Now I'm in trouble because you tried to run away. How do you
like that? Huh? From now on I'm supposed to keep an eye on you so you
don't try nothin. You think I want anything to do with you? Do you? Well
I don't."
I moved my left leg under the covers a bit closer to the far side of
the bed.
"It wasn't even mom's idea either," Mike said and spat on my doll. "It
was dad who told me flat out that I should keep an eye on you. Prevent you
from running away again. For all I care, I wish you'd gotten away too. You
think I like having you around, pestering all my friends when I invite them
over? You're nothing but a punky little girl and I'm sick of you."
He climbed up on the bed and sat down on my legs, pinning me down further
from any hope of escape.
"You think I was glad when I found out mom had a girl?" Mike asked, looking
across the room at the wall. "I told all my friends that I was gettin' a
brother. I told ALL of 'em. I don't know how I could have been so stupid
but I was counting on you bein' a boy. Finally I was gettin' my own
brother. Then things would be different, but then YOU came along - a girl.
Made me a laughing stock. All my friends called me a liar because you
were a girl. Then when I got new friends I promised myself not to make that
mistake again. Nope, Mike Tiederov doesn't have a brother. No sir, but he
sure does have a bratty little sister. You know what you are, Sis? You're
a curse. You're my curse and I hate you for it."
He took my doll and threw it across the room into the closet.
Then he hopped up off the bed and opened the door, pausing to glare at
me with hatred before walking out the room.
CHAPTER FIVE - Much Too Much To Do
------------
I pulled the sock out of my mouth and sat up in bed.
Until now, I never understood why my best friend, Mike, treated his
little sister so bad. Now I wasn't so sure I really even wanted to
understand anymore.
I looked down at my thin, girl arms and my small girl fingers with
wonder. I wriggled my dainty little toes under the bed sheets and
gazed through the locks of auburn curls that dangled there before
my eyes.
Everything about me was so smooth, so delicate, so perfect now.
Waking up to this existence was always my favorite time of day for
me. Before, when I was just plain old Andy Smith, I hated waking up
to another day of same old dull existence, but now, as Kristen, I
found true joy in just being alive. Most of all, just being a girl.
I wasn't so bad at being a boy before, but after so many years of it,
I was waiting for something as miraculous as this to give me the
perspective I needed in life. A perspective that began as a simple
game.
"It's called perspectives," she said to me that day. "Come on out to
the patio. I'll show you what I'm talking about."
Perspectives.
That's what it's all about. How one perceives the world. We all each
get our own unique viewpoint. Some are luckier than others and have
viewpoints of a world filled with happiness, pink bunnies, and shades
of lipstick. Right now, I'm living in a world of pink bunnies. The
world as seen through the eyes of a young, pretty girl. Am I dreaming?
"Kristen!" Mom called out from downstairs. "Come down for breakfast."
I slid out of the covers and climbed down off the side of my bed.
Another day as a girl.
If I'm dreaming, don't wake me up.
___-----___
Breakfast was the same as ever and I was last to eat, as usual.
It seemed odd that Mom wasn't as angry at me like she was last night.
I finished my toast and milk and then mom sent me up to my room to get
ready for Sunday School. Then she suddenly changed her mind and said for
me to get into some jeans and a t-shirt. Evidently she wanted me to go
play baseball with my brother.
With my brother? Now I must be dreaming. He wouldn't give me the time
of day, let alone go play baseball with me.
"Come on, sis," Mike said from my doorway as I finished tying my pink
tennis shoes. "Mom says this is for our own good. This is supposed to
fix things or something, though I don't know how that could be. Hurry
up and come down to the side yard. We're riding our bikes to the field."
Finally, a normal family!
I just hope Mike wasn't going to pound the hell out of me when I got
outside.
___-----___
I grabbed a mitt and ran down the stairs and out through the back door.
"Bye mom," I cried closing the door behind me.
I ran around to the side yard and Mike stood there with a mean look in
his eyes.
"Just get your stupid bike and come on already," he said hopping on his
mountain bike and riding past me and out into the driveway.
I climbed on my small, pink girls bike and rode out after him.
"Come on," he said pedaling ahead of me on the sidewalk. "I hope you can
keep up."
Girl or not, I was one of the fastest bike riders in the area. Mike wasn't
going to loose me, that's for sure!
We rounded the block and rode onto the bike path beside the creek.
One thing was for sure - this wasn't the way to the baseball field.
"Where are we goin'?" I called out to him as we rode along beside the
trees.
He didn't answer. Instead he pedaled faster.
Fast as I could ride, I just didn't have the lungs I had before. I quickly
lost my breath and had to stop while Mike vanished off around the bend
ahead of me.
Stupid brother of mine - he ditched me! He ditched his own little sister!
I looked to my right and saw a small dirt path between the trees.
"A shortcut!" I exclaimed hopping on my bike and riding into the woods.
I rode about twenty yards into the woods and then suddenly my tires hit
mud and I slid out of control through some bushes.
"Not again!" I yelled, sliding down a muddy hill and landing flat on my
back.
A brown eyed brunette woman in a black dress gazed down at me and glanced
at her watch.
"It's about time," she said lifting me up to my feet. "It's about time,
young lady. I've been waiting here for hours. Where have you been? Oh,
never mind that now. Let's get going."
"Where?" I asked.
"To get your body back of course," she said leading me by the hand.
"But my bike," I protested.
"What's more important, getting your body back or your stupid bike?" she
asked. "Now come along now. Bellabog's tired of this body too. Come along,
girl. Come along. We have much to do. Much too much to do. Can't keep a
demon waiting like this forever, now. Can we? No, ma'am, we sure can't.
But don't you fret, my little one. We'll get everyone back to normal, oh
yes we will. You'll see. Now come along. The others are waiting."
CHAPTER SIX - Second Box
------------
Before I knew it I was in a station wagon with Heather and Tanya and
the lady who claimed to be the demon Bellabog.
"So when I put the book in the fire, you knew?" I asked.
Bellabog nodded her head,"Yep. Sure 'nough. A demon never forgets an old
signal like that. I knew it meant trouble an' boy oh boy does the
destruction of that book ever mean trouble! You're lucky all the hells
didn't open up an' swallow your whole family whole. Now we've got to
hurry up and find the second Ju-Ju Box before the other side does, or
we're all goners. I'm not stayin' this way longer than I have to."
"Second Box?" Heather asked.
"Yep, the ol' bugger made more than one of 'em," Bellabog nodded.
"So you don't want to be a lady anymore?" Tanya asked.
The woman shook her head,"Nope. It's not that it hasn't been real fun
or nothin' but after the first two bad relationships, I realized bein' a
woman's not all I thought it was cracked up to be. No siree, Bellabog's
goin' back ta bein' a demon again - a male demon, thank you very much."
"Why did you need to bring us with you?" Heather asked. "Couldn't you go
off to find the Ju-Ju Box without us?"
"Nope," Bellabog said as we got out onto the freeway. "It's like this.
I made a deal way back when, and as part of the deal I was stuck this way
just so long as you three were also stuck. Don't ask me why you three
were the chosen ones, you'd never believe me, and besides, it's not the
first Ju-Ju Box that we're after. It's the second."
"What's the difference? First or second, we get our bodies back,
right?" Tanya asked.
Bellabog drove on for awhile and then said,"Well, that's just it. The
first box is gone, kaput, out of the picture. Someone used it to gain
access to the third box. That's a big no-no in magic-land. That mistake
left only two boxes, and we sure as hell ain't goin' after the third
either. No siree, the third is not for us. We just want the second box
to get our bodies back."
"What's wrong with the third box?" I asked.
"Do you want to live to see another day alive on this earth?" Bellabog
asked me back. "If you do, then you'd know better than to try messing
with the third Ju-Ju Box. That box is supposed to be the key to everything.
Nope, we don't want that one. Too dangerous. We just want the second box."
"Aren't all the boxes the same though?" Heather asked.
Bellabog turned momentarily away from looking at the road and glared at
Heather.
"No," Bellabog said turning back to resume driving. "The old bugger made
each one do something different. Some help that was though because it
sure as hell got him deader'n a doornail in the end. Can't fight death,
you know. Death's not to be toyed with. That's where the old bugger made
a mistake. Thought he could bring back his wife. No siree, not on this
world he wasn't. Not like that anyway."
"Where are we heading?" Tanya asked.
"New Mexico of course," Bellabog said with a smile. "It sure has been
awhile. Don't you worry yourselves a bit. Bellabog's gonna fix everything,
you'll see. The second box is in the bag. Everything's gonna be A-O-Kay."
I gazed out the window at the Rocky Mountains off in the distance, still
wondering if it all wasn't some sort of dream.
"Get ready for some changes, girls," Bellabog said in a crazed voice,"Oh,
how this is going to change the world. Get ready for some changes, girls.
We're goin' for the Ju-Ju Box and you ain't seen nothin' yet! No siree.
Change enough for all and you ain't seen a thing!"