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Sam may not be the only person at WunderGirl getting more than bargained for!

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WunderGirl

Copyright© 2020 Shauna J. Rousseau
All Rights Reserved.
(Cover image designed by Joyce Melton.)
(Image Source: Photo 30023749 © Vladimir Nikulin - Dreamstime.com)

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~ Day 8 ~
 

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* * * * *
Sam
* * * * *
 

I groan as the alarm goes off. That’s getting to be a morning staple—groaning at the alarm!

I hate getting up for a ‘normal’ day at the lumberyard. Today is going to be worse than ‘normal’!

I caught so much shit from Dad last night before we went out to eat—at least until Mom shut him down. Like I asked for any of what happened! He seemed to be under the impression it was my idea.

I get in the shower and start my morning routine as my dark thoughts continue to fester. At least I now have bar soap for those private areas where body wash and a scrubby just don’t get it done. The steamy shower and the tingling of the bodywash only serve to wake me up—which only augments my ability to brood on my thoughts.

When we finally went out to eat last night, I continued catching shit from Chad, and for some reason Mom only partially shut him down. I know what he dished out is only going to be the tip of the iceberg compared to what I’ll catch at the lumberyard today. Maybe she was trying to ‘toughen’ my skin—I have no idea!

She mostly just ignored Chad and spent a lot of time explaining the ‘cool’ cosmetics aspect to Gemma. She even told her she was considering using the semi-permanent stuff herself, but that it wasn’t recommended for ‘active’ models since they have to change their look more often than ‘reserve’ ones. She tried to pull me into that conversation, but I just sat there brooding and trying to force some food down.

Dad just chugged one beer after the other.

I sigh and get out of the shower—all tingly and feeling good. Well, physically. My dark mood is not improved, however, and just darkens more when I start washing my face and see myself in the mirror.

I remember sitting there as Joyce colored my hair. The crap she put on my hair stunk like a cesspool full of ammonia. The only good part about that whole time under that dryer thing was the gum. It was surprisingly good. I don’t normally chew gum, but that stuff was good! At least I still have a huge bag of it!

Anyway, then she cut my now completely red hair into a girl’s cut. Oh, she played like it was ‘unisex’—but it’s just flat out girly. No one ever believed the few guys at school that were ‘brave’ enough to try it out, either.

That would have been bad enough, in-and-of itself—but then she pierced my ears! Multiple times! I mean it didn’t hurt too bad. The hole she made in the top of my left ear did hurt more than the ones in the bottoms. I just can’t believe she did it!

One hole in each, I could maybe explain away—but two?

The way my hair is now cut, it almost completely covers my ears and the sparkly diamonds in them are peeking out and shining in my lobes in all their glory for anyone to see. I groan and disinfect them like Joyce instructed me to and just groan more.

I focus on washing my face and scrub my eyes in vain—again. Brea wasn’t kidding when she said this stuff won’t come off! I look at the way she put that eyeliner junk and mascara on them—and how it makes them look cat-like. They look a lot like Taylor Swift always does hers. I like the look on Taylor—I do not like the look on me!

It just draws attention to my eyes—and the hypnotically-weird green flecks are somehow becoming more visible. Maybe it’s just because it does make me look at my eyes more.

My blood-red lips are certainly competition to my eyes, though. They’re hard to ignore—especially when I put the gloss on them. I’ll admit, though—after I got used to the taste of the gloss, it’s kind of nice. The feel of the gloss is still strange, though—particularly when my lips kind of stick together when I open my mouth.

I sigh and apply my day cream. I still marvel at how it just soaks right into my skin—and makes it sort of shine and feel all soft. Not that I’m looking for my skin to be soft, or anything.

I grab the bottle and tilt my head back to put in my eyedrops. I’m a pro at that, now. I have no problem getting them in and the stinging is down to maybe a one on the lava scale.

Finally, I put the new serum stuff on my lashes, as instructed—it’s weird putting it on over the mascara crap that’s already on them. I blink a couple of times. I’m supposed to apply it to the base of my lashes, but it’s kind of oily and drips into my eyes, where it blurs my vision for a second. I wonder if that’s on purpose—if my vision is blurred, I can’t see what they’ve done to me. Is that the plan?

Finally, I massage in the nail balm as instructed—paying particular attention to the cuticles—and cringe at the amount of time it now takes me to get through all of this.

I sigh again and comb through my damp hair to try and make it less girly-looking. But with the way it’s cut, it just falls right back into place the way Joyce styled it. I sigh and am thankful that at least she didn’t give me bangs!

I get dressed and put on my lip gloss before I go down to breakfast—still in a complete funk.

Chad and I start at the same time today, so I’m riding in with him to the lumberyard. He’s already downstairs eating and gives me a shit-eating grin when he sees me. He just shakes his head and says, “I can’t wait for today!”

I eat in silence—doing my best to ignore his ribbing. He keeps it up the whole way in the car and by the time we get there, my mood is even fouler.

I just chew furiously on my gum and storm into the store behind Chad when we arrive.

 

* * * * *
Mr. Rollings
* * * * *
 

I nearly spit out my coffee when I see Chad come in with his…brother(?)!

I clear my throat and say, “Good morning, Chad. Sam… Is that really you? Son, are you OK?”

He gives me a dark look and just nods. He’s clearly in a foul mood and chewing furiously on a piece of gum. I can understand his mood. If I looked like that, I would be in a bad mood, too. The question is, why does he look like that?

I press him, “Ummm, is there something you want to tell me, Son? I mean, you’re not breaking any dress codes, but are you sure this is how you want to come to work? Let alone…look?”

He just grumbles something about WunderGirl and contracts. I don’t catch it all, but I do know he’s part of some trial over there where his mother works.

I guess the less I know, the better.

He’s sure going to catch heck from the guys out in the yard and the mill, though. There’s not much I can do to help him, there. If he’s going to walk around like that, he better develop some tough skin—and fast!

I finally shrug and say, “Well, if you’re sure this is what you want, then go ahead and make fresh coffee. After that, there’s logs to be counted! We just got a fresh truckload in. So, hop to it! But don’t even think about complaining to me, if the guys give you heck out there!”

I shake my head and go back to my office to order a new sawblade.

I’m not sure this is going to work out. I hate to do that to Gary, but I don’t want the kid’s blood on my hands.

 

* * * * *
Chad
* * * * *
 

I know what to expect when the Squirt comes down—I mean I saw what he got himself into yesterday—but I still do a double-take when I see him.

He’s so going to catch Hell at the yard! In a way, I feel sorry for him. I mean, I get he was trying to find an easy way to make money and get out of going to work at the mill. Even if he did get me in trouble, I can understand that.

I guess there really isn’t such a thing as easy money, though. If that’s what he has to do to get ten grand, I’ll just keep sawing! There’s no amount of money worth looking like that!

Of course, I give him shit all the way to work. I am his brother after all! And he’s going to have to toughen up. Dad’s right—he looks like a fruit—and the guys at the mill are going to slice and dice him.

I keep after him—just to egg him on. All he does is sit there in a stew, furiously chewing on that new gum of his. It makes him look even more like an air-headed girl when he does. It’s a good thing he’s not a blonde anymore!

Old man Rollings nearly has a heart attack when he sees us. I have to fight hard not to laugh at his reaction. I just wave to him on my way out to the mill and snicker as I overhear him tell the Squirt to make the coffee and then come out and count logs.

As predicted, when he does come out, the guys give him total shit! I mean they give it to him with both barrels, a bazooka, then an M1 tank! To top that off, they drop napalm on him.

He’s in tears in no time. To his credit, he doesn’t run off, though—and after a while, the guys let up some. I guess they respect that’s he’s taking their crap like a man—even if looks even less like one than normal.

Maybe their starting to see him as a girl?

He sniffles and finally stops crying by lunchtime and we go to the bathroom to wash up. He looks in the mirror and rinses off his face. I’m just amazed that the black crap around his eyes hasn’t run at all!

I have to admit, I was kind of looking forward to seeing that signature racoon look on him that girls get when they cry.

I know that’s mean, but…so what?

 

* * * * *
Rhonda
* * * * *
 

I go into Lissa’s office, not sure what to expect. She’s been really good to me since I got out of high school and am deciding on what to do for my future. She gave this special ‘head-hunting’ contract to seek out individuals for her trials—and I’ve done mostly OK. Sometimes she wants something very specific and I’ve had to get creative.

Lately, she’s encouraging me to go into chemical engineering like she did, but I’m not sure yet. And now she has another specific ‘desire’, in terms of subject. Only this one is even more specific than normal. The odd thing is she pitched it as an option for me to do.

That’s not her normal style—and I have a feeling she’s getting ready to up the pressure.

She smiles as I enter and says, “Rhonda! Sit down! Have you given my offer any more thought?”

I sigh. It’s not that I haven’t given it any thought, but it’s not something I really want to do. I hedge my bets and reply, “I’m still thinking about it, Lissa. Is there any particular deadline you need an answer?”

She purses her lips in thought. I know she’s not used to being made to wait—or not getting her way. She finally says, “I need to know at least a week before school starts. The sooner, the better. Just remember your contract with me and your quotas. If you’re not meeting them, Hon, things can get tough. I can be more forgiving, however, if you do this for me.”

There it is! I knew her…business…streak would come out sooner or later. Some would call it an evil streak, not just business. Actually, I think it’s pretty cool how she always gets what she wants. Well, it’s cool when she’s aiming that streak at someone else and not at me!

Still, I can learn a lot from her on getting my way. So what if people think I’m a bitch—like her!

I nod and say, “OK, Lissa. I’ll let you know before then. It’s just a lot to ask, you know? I’m not into…that. What you’re asking goes well beyond my contract and quotas.”

She gives me a contemplative look and says, “Stop by and see Ginny on the way out. She has a package for you. It will help you when you decide to do as I ask, since we both know you will. You’re too much like me—you can’t turn down a challenge! What bigger challenge is there than overcoming an aversion to something?”

She pauses, then winks and adds, “Besides, how do you know you’re not into it if you haven’t tried it?”

I sigh and know she’s right. Ultimately, I’ll do what she wants. There really isn’t much sense in resisting, but I’m not ready to give in just yet. She needs this from me, so I still have some cards to play.

I shrug and say, “Yeah, but…it just doesn’t feel like it’s right, but you’re correct. I’ll think about it. I just hope Ginny’s package is really helpful if I do!”

 

* * * * *
Melissa
* * * * *
 

I watch Rhonda walk out and turn down the hall to find Ginny. Her package will certainly be helpful—in ways that she’ll soon find out!

I’m disappointed that she’s resisting, but I’ll break her down—and in. She has the potential to be a tremendous asset to me.

I just have to help her see things a little more clearly.

It was disappointing when I got word that the gender evaluation tool has a potential flaw that may skew it towards ‘male’. That means that Sam may be less of indicator than I’d hoped. Either way, I need to shore up that data and I have just the plan.

Rhonda just has to get onboard.

I tap my fingernail on my desk and then pull up my email application on my computer. I send a quick text with some specifics to Ginny, while it loads. Then I compose an email to Joyce, and Dharma. I can’t trust Brea to be in on this.

Rhonda will get onboard and those three will help me—even though they don’t know what they’re doing when they do it.

I smile and hit send.

Yes, Rhonda, my Dear—there’s no sense trying to avoid your destiny! You’re going to enjoy it a lot more than you know.

 

* * * * *
Ginny
* * * * *
 

I get the package ready for Rhonda to pick up. Lissa was clear that I’m not let her in on the specific qualities that this package offers. And then there was the last second request, that she just sent, to add sensitizer to it.

I’m surprised, but I guess I shouldn’t be. Lissa will be Lissa, after all!

This is something we’ve been working on lately—and it’s largely untried. The product, when used correctly will ramp of female’s pheromones and it has a strong aphrodisiac in it.

This version has a cumulative effect that won’t be immediately noticeable. After a few weeks, the user will be a very horny and totally irresistible woman.

Boys will do anything to get her—and she’ll very much want the attention. Assuming she’s into boys.

Otherwise, she’ll be in a mess—she’ll attract guys like flies to honey. And want girls very badly—a recipe for disaster.

It’s really important to know the woman’s sexuality when using this—she at the very least needs to be bi. It’s really best if she’s solidly heterosexual, though.

I smile as she comes in and say, “Hi, Ronni! I have your package ready. It’s a special moisturizer that Lissa wants you to try. It’s not ready for an official trial yet, but it’s completely safe. It’s important that you use it daily and don’t quit until I tell you to, though. OK? Can you do that?”

She looks a little confused, but nods as she replies, “Sure. I guess. I mean if you’re sure it’s safe. What does it do?”

I smile and say, “It’s completely safe. It’s a moisturizer with benefits. You’ll notice a nice tingling when you use it. Most people consider it very invigorating. Let me know what you think!”

 

* * * * *
Joyce
* * * * *
 

I’m taking a quick break with Dharma when both of our phones ding, signaling we have a work email. I pull mine up and see it’s addressed to both Dharma and me.

I read through it as I see Dharma is doing, as well.

I smile and say, “Well, it’s about time we can get our hooks into Rhonda. That girl is a diamond in the rough! She could be so pretty! I know she was a geek in school, but she was also a cheerleader! How could she have let herself go, so much?”

Dharma smiles back and says, “Yes. I know what you mean. I’m not sure what Lissa’s motivation in this is, but I agree. Ronni needs to step up! She may only be a headhunter for Lissa, but she does represent WunderGirl when she’s recruiting! It’s bothered me for a while!”

I nod and say, “Maybe that’s what Lissa’s thinking, too. That she would be a more effective recruiter now that the trial is about to expand…”

Dharma says, “I’m not sure how Lissa thinks that we’ll get her to play along, though. Especially, since we’re not supposed to let her know what we’re doing…”

I smile and say, “I think it’s time we start up that weekly girl’s night out that we’ve been talking about. We’ll Julia in on it, too. Then we’ll just steer Ronni in the right direction—we can just gradually amp it up. With all of us girly-girls, she’ll just get so used to it that she’ll never know what happened.”

Dharma nods and says, “And we can do some after-work things, too. Lissa can put some pressure on her to come along—maybe to ‘scout out recruits’. Going out to bars and such with us all as ‘bait’ would be something that we sell?”

I laugh, “I like it! Let me send the idea to Lissa!”

Dharma says, “I’ll send out the invite to the girls…”