Synopsis: Terri is asked to do the unthinkable, try out for the cheer squad, and strangely enough, she does, but not because she wants to, but because there is something she needs to do.

 

Accidental Magic

By
Allystra Krane

Chapter Two
Acceptance, but for the wrong reason.

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Allyssa was running down the sidewalk to catch up to Terri who was walking at her usual, strained pace. It was the most widely known thing about school. Terri's speed at traversing the halls was almost legend. Allyssa often wondered why she had such a stride. She thought to herself that Terri must go through shoes rather quickly.

"Terri, wait up!" she yelled as she got close.

Terri turned to look behind her while she continued walking. "I got out of the house later than usual, we'll be late if we stop."

"You're a machine, you know that?" Gasped Allyssa as she slowed down to a light jog to keep up.

"I once read that military personal have a required twenty inch instep. I thought to myself that I could beat that. I'm up to twenty-three myself." Terri rattled off idly. "It has improved my fitness level. I was a complete wuss in middle school, and now I can keep up with any runner in class during the warm ups."

"Well, since we still have a few blocks till we get to school, I thought we could discuss what happened a little more in detail. I'm really curious about the whole thing." Said Allyssa, trying to change the subject. It was obvious by her breathing that she was not in as good of shape.

"I really thought I told you everything." Said Terri.

"Well, it's not everyday that people just happen to accidentally cast a spell off a scroll they just find lying about."

"Well, like I told you, I thought it was part of Mom and Dad's act."

"What act is that?"

"Mom and Dad were in a magic show in Atlantic city in a casino somewhere. Dad used to cut mom in half and stuff, make her disappear, and other illusionist tricks. He used to say strange words when he was doing them, claiming he was casting magic spells. I thought that sheet was the stuff he used to say."

"Oh, so you said them out loud, pretending to be your father."

"Uhm, no, not exactly. I was up in the attic looking through one of their old steamer trunks. They had some of their old performing clothes in them. I found the spell in the bottom of the trunk."

"And that's why you thought the spell was part of the act. You were playing dress up with your father's old things..."

Allyssa stopped as Terri did, and turned toward her, Terri's eyes now focused on hers, and Allyssa swore she saw flames behind them again.

Terri's words came clearly, through gritted teeth. She seemed pushed into speaking.

"You. Will. Tell. No. One. What. I. Am. About. To. Tell. You."

Allyssa felt a bit of abject fear from this seethed enunciated statement. "Alright. It will be between you and me."

"I wasn't up there trying on my father's old clothes."

Allyssa first said "Oh." very casually, then again, this time the depth sunk in.

"It doesn't seem fitting of my behavior, does it?"

Allyssa took her hand. "You don't need to feel bad. There are many men who dress up in women's clothes. It's so common they even have a word for it."

Terri looked down at herself. "I don't know what's wrong with me. "When I woke up, and realized what happened, I should have been overjoyed, but I freaked out and ran downstairs, still in mom's white bodysuit and tried to convince her that I was a boy, but she was under the charm like everyone else."

"Ah, now I understand your comment from yesterday. About not being like everyone else."

"Yes."

"So what happened when your dad came home?"

"He was just as brainwashed. It was a good thing, because by that time I was scared about going to school. I don't know how I would have explained being a girl if the charm hadn't gone off."

Terri suddenly looked at her watch. "Shit, all this time explaining and I forgot about the time, we gotta run or we'll be late!"

Allyssa grabbed Terri's arm. "Don't worry about that. You forgot who you made friends with yesterday."

"Huh?" Asked Terri, before squeaking feebly as she felt the ground fall away under her, as her feet lifted off the pavement.

Allyssa was smiling as she continued to hold her arm. "Now hold on tight, we're going to teleport to school in half a twitch."

And suddenly, it was dark.

"Whoa? Where am I?" Terri cried out. The hand still on her arm gently pulled on her, and she felt the floor under her again.

Allyssa turned the handle of a door and opened it, letting the light in and allowing Terri to realize they were in a small closet. She recognized the hallway outside as being near the auditorium. She had passed this door many times since her freshmen year, but never knew what was in it. There was little traffic on this hallway as it was on the end of the wing of the school and classrooms were almost fifty meters down the hallway and most did not need to use this hall to get around. Allyssa peeked outside and stepped out, motioning for Terri to do the same.

"It's okay. No one saw us step out."

"You use that closet often?"

"Only when I have to. A magic spell I cast last year made the staff forget it's even here, but they can still use it if they need to. I have a ward up inside the door to let me know if anyone is in there, or if the room is too cluttered to land."

"Oh but the room itself is clean. There were only a few shelves up in there and everything is nice and neatly arranged."

"I did that too. No magic though. The morning janitor thinks the evening guy did it, and vise versa."

"So they just keep stuff off the floor now?"

"Yes, but enough about that." and she shut the door. "We need to get to class now. See you at lunch, okay?"

"Okay." Replied Terri as she hurried down the hallway, and weaving into the loose throngs of students passing down the main hallway to their lockers.

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Lunchtime could not have come fast enough for Terri. That is, until she actually got to the cafeteria commons.

She was not delighted to find six other people sitting at her usual table, the one she had enjoyed alone since the beginning of the year. They were all actively looking around and got excited when she appeared from the food serving lines.

She stared at them, all waving at her to come over, four girls and two boys, wondering what she had done to deserve all the attention.

Allyssa stepped into her field of vision, a smile on the Goth girl's face. "Boy they do seem happy to see you today, don't they?"

"Why are they at my table? I've had that table all year by myself and now they just decide to sit there."

"Oh, well they want to get to know you better. If you want to come sit at our table, I'll explain it while you eat."

Terri looked over Allyssa's shoulder again at her old haunt, nodded, then began to follow her in the opposite direction, much to the surprise of those who were motioning to her.

Allyssa plopped down in her usual seat, her back to the rest of the commons area. This left a large open area on the far side, which Terri happily took up, so she could see almost all the activity and anyone approaching.

"Okay Terri, you can start eating as long as you promise not to spray food on me as I tell you about this."

"Okay." she replied, as she began unceremoniously unwrapping the large egg salad sandwich she had bought and stuffing into her face.

Samantha and Jennifer were sitting on the other two main cardinal points of the table and were rather stunned as to how she ate.

"You are such a pig, said Sam. You need to learn some restraint if you want to pass."

"Time to explain things." said Allyssa. "Okay, the reason they are at your table today is mainly thanks to that charm spell. Every time people look at you, and they knew who you were, when they try to place your face to a name, their mind says 'wait a minute. Something isn't quite right about her.' The charm begins fighting a little mental battle with their minds, and if they try to place the problem too much, the charm will actually give people headaches, breaking their concentration. So not only can't they remember that you are different, whenever they try to remember anything about you, like say your habit about eating alone, they can't remember why. It basically left people knowing less about you and usually just staring at you for a minute."

Allyssa continued. "So your popularity has gone through the roof since everytime people look at you, you become more and more of an enigma. It just makes the shallow ones who recruit for their cliques want to get to know you now, since they can't figure out why someone with a body like yours isn't a cheerleader,
fashionista whatever."

Sam added. "You'll have to get used to it."

Terri swallowed the bite she was currently on, nodded and added, "Okay, I can buy that. I don't know why you would think I was going to spray this at you."

"Oh, well, the reason I asked you to not be surprised, is because I need you to put on that cheer uniform you got yesterday and try out for the team after class."

Terri choked, began to cough, and tore open her carton of milk, and knocked back half the contents in order to regain her breath.

"What did you just say?" Terri wheezed.

"Hear me out. There are two boys in this school who raped one of the cheerleaders two weeks ago. I don't know how to make you believe this, but I have moments where I can see the future and they are going to do the same to you tonight."

"Why me?"

"No idea, I see the future, not people's thought processes."

"What does this have to do with me trying out for the cheer squad?"

"Well, if you try out and fail to make the team, which I know you will, you'll get sent to the showers early where they'll be waiting for you."

"And you want me to get raped?"

"Absolutely not! If you do this, I'll make sure stuff is in place to catch them before they can hurt you. The police don't have a suspect in Naomi’s case, just two sperm samples. If we can hand in those two, she can get some justice."

Terri looked down at her food, and then crushed her now empty milk carton in her hand. "What do I need to do?"

"First off, you need to convince them." Said Allyssa.

"Huh?" replied Terri as she raised her head in time to see the pep squad members once again making a beeline through the tables and crowds to reach her.

"Hey Terri, you ready for this afternoon? I know you'll make the team, did you remember your uniform?"

Terri nodded. "Yes, I did. I just didn't plan on wearing it all day."

"Oh, we all always wear our uniforms all day. We supposed to inspire school spirit."

"Well, I didn't feel right doing it until I had actually made the team. You understand, right?"

The girl nodded. "I guess so. But you shouldn't have had to worry about it; I just know you'll get in. But how come you're sitting over here today?"

"Well, Samantha here is my lab partner in chemistry and I was borrowing her notes. I wasn't paying enough attention in class."

Samantha rolled her eyes. "Yes, and you are going to owe me for letting you borrow them, I don't want to fail because you're to busy filing your nails and chewing bubblegum at the same time to take notes.

As Sam uttered the last line, Terri dropped one hand under the table, while the other simply curled her fingers under her palm and rested it on the table.

Allyssa smiled as she watched Terri's fingers flex open again, this time with longer shaped nails, complete with a reddish pink shine to them.

"I'm sorry okay?" Snapped Terri, "I chipped a nail on my locker, it was driving me crazy." She was looking at Samantha with a hostile glare so fake, she could see the smirk through it.

"Give her a break Sam, you just don't understand, do you?" the head cheerleader added.

"No, I suppose I don't." Replied Sam. "I thought this was high school, not a runway."

"What do airplanes have to do with this?" questioned the head cheerleader.

"Never mind!" cried Terri, holding her hand to her temple. "She's using her smartness mind games on us. You'd better go, I'll see you at practice, alright?"

"Okay then. See you at practice." The three all chimed in almost perfect unison. They then turned and left.

Once out of earshot, Terri flopped backward, hanging her head off her chair. "Dear Goddess, did I just speak that kind of drivel?"

"Yes, and a very good job on your nails too, I was wondering if you had in fact been learning anything from those magic books you found along with that spell."

It's not the only thing I've learned, but it just feels like more schoolwork.

"You get used to that too, but on to step two. Now that you've convinced them you want to show up, you might want to put on your uniform now."

"Now? There is like half the day left! I don't need to wear it until after classes at three."

"Yes, but if you wait to change, you'll upset the plan. They will grab you as you coming down the hallway to the changing rooms, and who knows where they will take you."

"Oh. So I have to change now, so I'll be ready for practice right away."

"Yep, and here..." Allyssa fished through her bag, pulling out a folded bundle of gray fabric. She passed it over the table to Terri. It looked to be made of the same cotton fabric like that many of her old t-shirts.

"Wear this under your cheer outfit, and make sure to take off your bra and undies, just wear that. It's magically enhanced and while you wear it, I promise that no one will be able to stick their penis, or anything else for that matter, in where you don't want them to."

"What is it?" Asked Terri, as she rubbed the fabric between her fingers.

"It's like a cat suit. It'll cover you from your neckline to toe. It's insanely comfortable. Oh, and you have to tell it to put itself on you, as it has no zippers. Once you're in it, you won't be able to get out, at least without my say so."

"So how do I pee in this?"

"Ever heard of a convenience crotch? When you need to use the toilet, just grab the fabric on the inside of both thighs and pull it apart. It will act as a split seam, and open enough. When you're done, it'll just seal itself back up. But that's why you have to take your undies off, else you'll have problems in the potty."

"Gotcha, so where should I change?"

"Use the closet from this morning. You find the door is unlocked."

"I totally hate you for this. I am going to be so embarrassed wearing that uniform the rest of the day."

"Buck up and take one for the team here. You agreed to this, you can't back out now."

Terry took the bundle, stuffed it into her bag, and rose from her seat and after looking around, hopped over the low divider wall that divided this large room into the commons and an outer ring hallway that circled it.

She darted up the steps and turned down the lonely hallway toward the auditorium, then slipped into the closet.

A few minutes later she emerged, now garbed from head to toe in soft, gray cotton with the cheerleader skirt and top over that.

She was stuffing her pants into her backpack as she walked back down the hallway, and then realized she would have to descend the grand staircase in her new outfit.

She steeled her resolve and hung to the right-hand side, holding the rail as her feet barely managed to keep up with the steps during her very quick decent.

She walked along the wall, now partially obscured from view until she reached the point that she was only across the wall from her chair. She leaned over enough to quietly ask, "Is it just me or am I getting stared at even more now?"

"Both." Sam and Allyssa replied said in unison.

"I am so totally going to get you back for this."

Sam looked at her. "You're not fooling me. You are actually enjoying wear that."

Terr snapped back. "That's not the point!"

Allyssa interrupted. "You better get going to class. We have some things to discuss."

Terri sighed, then turned and proceeded with her usual power walking until she had disappeared under the grand staircase and around a corner.

Sam looked at Allyssa. "That was a good idea, putting her into a bio symbiotic suit like that. I suppose she would be injured otherwise, huh?"

Allyssa shook her head. "On the contrary. It's not her that is due to be injured. The suit to comfort any fears she might have, even though it's still an underdeveloped symbiont, it lacks a download from an adult counterpart. Though I doubt wearing it, or knowing how to use it will even be necessary."

"Terri is still getting used to her new hormone levels. She seemed a bit too eager to help 'catch' those boys." Said Jen.

Allyssa nodded. "We have to get ready, because if my vision is true, then those boys are the ones that have something to worry about, they just don't know it yet."

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After school, in the middle of the gymnasium, Terri stood there with her arms at her sides and her eyes closed. She was holding the requisite poms in either hand and looking psychologically broken and tired.

"Well Terri." Said a normally cheerful voice, which was still trying to put forward some optimism despite having something quite negative to say. "... I think you have the look totally down, but you seem to lack the amount of cheerfulness that that this requires. Did you get enough sleep last night?"

"Actually, I didn't, though I didn't feel tired at all until just now." Terri replied calmly, then dropped the pompoms and walked over to the bleachers on the side of the gym, plopping herself down.

"Ok Terri, we're going to start practice now, if you still want to join, I think you can learn a lot by watching." the head cheerleader piped.

Terri relaxed herself a bit. She turned and stretched out lengthwise on the bleacher bench. She turned her head enough so that one eye could still see the squad now in full practice mode.

The cheer coach, who also was the chemistry teacher, however cleared her throat softly before sitting down next to Terri as the squad went about their routine without much need of her guidance.

"You don't really want to be on the squad, do you?"

"I have no idea what gave them the idea that I would."

"I was told that you had practically begged them to let you try out."

"A lie, I swear. They practically forced this uniform into my hands and badgered me until I wore it."

"I believe that. You didn't put a bit of effort into your tryout. Like you hated it. And you don't have any enthusiasm toward this at all. You do seem to be putting a great deal of effort into being not worth paying attention to."

"It's something I do best, and up until yesterday, it worked well. But well...."

"You seemed to have blossomed over the weekend dear. You are a stunningly beautiful young woman, and don't let anyone say otherwise."

"Yeah well, I miss being overlooked. I didn't mind being a shadow, and now that I can't possibly go back, I miss it."

"If you missed being overlooked so much, then why did you cast that spell?"

Terri's eyes flew open; she sat up and turned quickly so she was facing the teacher. "How do you know about the spell? You remember me before I looked like this?"

The coach nodded. "I know about the spell, because I wasn't effected by it. I'm a resistant. Even the most powerful spells usually just roll off me like water to a duck's back."

Terri's eyes were the size of dinner plates. "Then... you. You know that I'm....."

"Regardless of what you were, you are now as female as I am. When the girls told me you wanted to try out, I went to the office for your record, since I am a senior advisor I like to know the names of all the girls I might encounter, and I couldn't place your name with a face I remembered."

"Your records were altered by the charm, and so was every other teacher, but I suddenly remembered you, and I knew."

Terri sighed and looked down at herself. "I'm a damned freak. I didn't mean to do this to myself, it just kind of happened."

Suddenly, Terri found herself in another surprise embrace. "I didn't know hon, I'm sorry."

Terri leaned into it, instead of backing away. This was the second time someone had cared for her this much to just hug her. She couldn't control her emotions again and she found herself tearing up.

"I thought you had wanted this." Said the Coach. "I had no idea you were a victim of an accident. It's as bad as getting attacked and...."

"Raped?" Added Terri. "Yeah, I think that might be what its felt like these five days, mostly because I thought I was the only one who knew who I really was. It was a personal hell, let me tell you."

The coach continued to hold onto her. "Terri, I want to be here for you. My mother is a user, and it hurt her deeply when it was determined that I was a resistant; so I know the kind of pain you are going through. If you need a shoulder to cry on or just someone to talk to, you can come to me."

"I could use that. I'm not used to being female, and thanks to the charm, I can't just change back."

The coach nodded. "Are you at least feeling a little better now?"

"Yeah." Terri replied. "I'm just glad that you aren't mad at me for being a magical pervert, trying to sneak a peek at girls in their underwear."

The coach chuckled softly. "Please. The first thing a male user, that transfigures themselves like you did in an attempt to see girls, will realize is that they can pose nude in their own mirror."

Terri smiled slightly. "Yeah, I suppose you're right. I'm still scared of taking a shower like this though."

"Then take hot bubble baths. You'll love em, trust me."

Then Terri remembered why she had agreed to tryout in the first place. She decided that she would take that bit of advice. "I so want to run home now and sink into a tub full of water. I'm so not getting anything from watching them practice."

"Well, no sense in asking you to show some more school spirit, I think that Cindy and Michelle were seeing something there because they wanted to see it."

"What's that supposed to mean?" asked Terri, both curious and skeptic.

"I think they wanted you to join the team, maybe because they wanted to get to know you a little better."

"You mean they're..."

"They are."

"I would never have known that. Of course that might require me to converse with them once in awhile. That also might require them to speak in a language other than vacuous prattling."

"Such words."

"I doubt they could even understand that I was just insulting them."

"They aren't stupid, Cindy is getting A's and B's in her classes."

"But why can't they sound intelligent in public? That's the other reason I wouldn't join this squad even if I wanted to. The rest of the school subtracts intelligence points just because of this skirt." Terri grabbed and tugged at the bottom of her skirt with two fingers.

The Teacher chuckled to herself softly. "I think you are stereotyping cheerleaders."

"I might be, but if they want my respect, they will have to take off these uniforms and try to speak with me without the cheerful chirping. If they can speak and act like normal people, I want to see proof."

"Alright, I'll speak with them and see what I can do. If Cindy and Michelle show up at your house after practice maybe?"

Terri lowered her head and mumbled "Yeah, fine, whatever."

"Well, you'll still have to return that uniform, unless you plan on making another go at it. The squad will be practicing for another half hour, so you can change in peace."

"Alright." replied Terri as she stood up and then stormed down to the auxiliary hallway toward the girls changing room.

*****************************************************************

Two boys in all black clothes wearing ski masks were crouched against the wall in the shower room of the girl's gym locker room.

"You sure she's coming?"

"Shut up. I told you, if she's as bad as I know she's going to be, she'll be sent to the showers early. We do this just like we planned. She'll never know who we are and we'll get away through the office and out the small gym's exit doors."

"I think I hear someone coming, shut up!"

There was a creaking as the door to the girl's locker was pulled open, and soft footsteps as someone entered the main changing area.

The first motioned to the second, and they leaped out, intending to grab the girl who's back was turned only to pass through Terri completely as if she was only an illusion. They stumbled over the bench just beyond her and nearly fell.

As they stared at this apparition, she appeared to get furious at them and stormed forward and through them again, crooking her arm back for a punch...

...Only to disappear as the real Terri stepped out past her illusion curtain, landing the punch right on the jaw of one of her confused attackers.

The punch connected with a force far greater than he suspected it should have, lifting him off the floor, tossing him a good ten feet into the far locker bank, before he fell forward, sprawling out on a bench. He had however, managed to get his hand into the v-neck of her cheer sweater and tore the front open as he caught air. This only seemed to get her angrier.

The second turned to see her recoiling for a second blow. He swore he saw glowing marks on her face and across the knuckles of her fist it approached his face.

Time seemed to slow to a crawl as he saw vapors bleeding off the glowing marks on her knuckles as it tore through the air on it's path to connect squarely on his cheek.

The impact smashed into his face, and he heard the crunching of bones. Time returned to normal as he felt his feet lifting off the tiled floor only to feel the hardened steel of locker doors against the back of his head, then the rest of him, knocking him into unconsciousness.

The noise of young men impacting school equipment could be heard in the gym and the coach and several girls all had a sickened look upon their face and immediately took off running toward the locker room.

As the second boy slid down the locker into a crumpled heap, his vision escaping into black, he could see her approaching, and knew that the pain wasn't yet over. He couldn't seem to lift his arms enough to block; he was already too far-gone.

"TERRI!!" Shouted Allyssa as she and three female police officers threw open the door and started to storm into the room.

As Terri turned toward the door from hearing her name, she broke her concentration and the glowing marks faded quickly away, just in time as the officers rounded the corner.

They stopped as the witnessed the scene before them. A girl, who's outer top had been ripped open, was standing over the unconscious body of one of her would-be attackers.

The cheer coach, and her charges had made it into the hallway just in time to see police charging into the girl's locker room at the other end. They too were now entering, and bore witness to the scene laid out for them.

By now, two of the officers were slapping cuffs on Terri's attackers leaving the third to inspect her for injury. She was surprised to find her unharmed, except for the ripped top.

"How did you manage to knock them both out?"

"Oh, I caught them by surprise, and got lucky shots in." remarked Terri, staring at the floor.

The three cheerleaders suddenly realized what had happened and nearly threw themselves around Terri, tears already beginning to flow.

"Aw, get off me. You're soaking me, ewwww!"