ChangeDay: Advent - Part One - by: Danielle Krieger (c) 2010 How would you react if all of the sudden everyone around you began a fifteen-minute-long metamorphosis from one sex to the other, including yourself, only to learn that it isn't an isolated incident but happens worldwide? Then, exactly twenty-eight days later, the whole thing happens again, only in reverse. Over several years, humanity will adapt and this sort of thing will become common place. But, we witness this crucial advent through the eyes of an average American teenager, Micheal MacAllister, and learn how he copes with the fact that for half his life he will now be known as Mekayla. In this installment, we witness the first two events to soon be called "Change Day" and what could be in store for Micheal, his friends, his family, and the whole world.

---

(Originally posted on FictionMania, so forgive some continuity mistakes in this disclaimer. xD)

DISCLAIMER: The following story is based on the ChangeDay universe, created by BobH. However, below I use exact dates that are NOT conducive with the universe canon and should not be confused as such. As part of my creative process, it helps if I have exact dates, but, again, these dates are NOT universe canon. If you feel the inspiration to write in this universe, I would suggest contacting BobH first. He's a very nice man and incredibly helpful. It's been a pleasure to experiment with this universe, thus far.

I apologize for how long it has actually taken me to finish this much of the story. It has been a while since I announced on the "hyperboard" that I was writing this. Sadly, life has occasionally gotten in the way. Other times, there was some major game launch during this holiday season that distracted my attention. Yes, I'm a gamer and highly recommend my distractions of Fallout: New Vegas, Fable III, and Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood to those interested parties. Other than that, the holidays are a busy time for a lot of people.

On this final day of the first decade of the 21st Century, I submit this tale to you. I hope that you enjoy it. If so, do not fret, there are more installments of the tale to come. I don't know, yet, how long the tale is going to be, but it should be a great ride. If there is sufficient response, I may extend the tale longer than anticipated. Feeding my ego is very welcome. xD

---

— Prologue —

"...A day which will live in infamy!"

Franklin D. Roosevelt, the 32nd President of the United States, said that on December 7, 1941, after the Japanese had attacked the Navy at Pearl Harbor that Sunday morning. Admittedly, it was a terrible day for anyone who was alive to see it. In the collective minds of the United States, it unified the country into a new resolve to end the isolationism that had permeated since World War I and march headlong into its successor, World War II. Certainly, it was a day that has lived in infamy. However, it’s not the most infamous day in modern human history. There was another day, not too long ago.

If one takes certain things literally, then strange happenings occur on planet Earth every single day. Television shows, books, stories online, movies, and even religious texts tell of such amazing things that it’s impossible to categorize and list them all. The tales are so elaborate that it’s hard to fathom all the alternate realities that could be generated from them. In all reality, however, life on Earth is rather mundane and humdrum. In the early part of the 21st Century, there are amazing things that happen, but they can all be explained by science. Gone are the days of wonderment when Henry Ford first capitalized on mass production of the automobile; or when the Wright Brothers first put Bernoulli’s Principle to the test at Kitty Hawk, North Carolina, and launched us all into an age of manned flight; or the days when mankind was taking its first steps off the confines of the planet we’ve called “home” for more than 10,000 years and then proceeded to walk upon the moon. All these are in the past though ingrained in our collective psyche as great things man has done.

However, as I stand naked as a newborn babe in front of the mirror in my bedroom, I await with hesitant anticipation the recurrence of an event that changed mankind forever. The event was so profound that it uprooted deep-seated cultural and philosophical beliefs that had been a part of humanity for longer than I can recall. With baited breath, I check the time on my radio alarm clock. Thirty-five seconds remaining. The entire world was on the very same countdown. It had been this way since the first day it had happened two years ago. The one and only truly paranormal event to ever be catalogued into the history books as true fact that it very much happened.

To some, it was very much the day that will live in infamy as the day that is more infamous than all the others. In retrospect, it was not a terrible tragedy, after all. However, when you add into the equation the mass hysteria and confusion that occurred all over the world, it trumps any preceding day, easily. In random places all over the world, there were car accidents, riots, frightened mobs, and even mass suicides on that day and those following it. In my lifetime, I have never seen so much panic, despair, and confusion from the human race. The news reports were filled with all manner of human beings showing the negative side of all of us that we never want revealed in polite company. It begged us to question every “moral” value we ever had.

The new day that will live in infamy for the whole world was June 2, 2008; the first Monday in June a little more than two years ago. From that day forward, mankind has never been the same. That was the day the first “Change Day” occurred. On that day, every man, woman, and child suddenly felt strange and fifteen minutes later found themselves in a body that belonged to the opposite sex. Naturally, given our bonds to our own physical sex and the social constructs of gender that accompanied such a thing had been officially challenged. There was panic, confusion, and despair to go around for everyone. However, not everyone acted this way. Certainly, the media had a field day with this information, so that is what they broadcast. In truth, most people (though very disoriented) would deal with such a thing on their own terms in a calm and rational matter. Most, though, feared the change was permanent and the ramifications of such a suggestion was not comfortable for them. However, four weeks later, at the exact time of the first, the second Change Day was upon us and we all reverted back to what is now referred to as “the alpha stage” or the original sex we started out as. Many were relieved, others were complacent. It took us, as a worldwide society, quite a while to catch on that this cycle would likely continue on for the rest of our lives.

In my own experience, it took a very long time to catch on. I was nearing my seventeenth birthday, coming in October that year, and looking forward to becoming a junior in high school. I did not take to Change Day very well, at first. Though, it’s said that the younger generations adapted to everything much sooner than the older ones. Still, many remember exactly what they were doing at the very moment the first Change Day came upon us. It’s the same as any other significant event in history that people still ask questions about, such as: “Where were you when J.F.K. was shot?”; “What were you doing when you learned Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., was assassinated?”; “Where were you when they were chasing O.J. Simpson on the L.A. freeway?”; “Where were you when the Twin Towers fell on 9/11?”. Many people ask these same questions today and the answers are much more numerous and varied.

I remember very vividly what I was doing the exact day the first change hit us. Allow me to share with you my experiences during those first few cycles. Perhaps, someone will read this at some time in the future and learn something from an average citizen of this time… the time before Change Day was common place.

— Chapter One —

Friday May 30, 2008 — 3:15pm Mountain Daylight Time (MDT, GMT -6)

The final dismissal bell for the day echoed through the hallways of Century High School in the sleepy “rural metropolis” of Pocatello, Idaho. Like any Friday, students flooded into the hallways with the decibel level steadily rising as their excitement grew. The day had come. It was finally the last day of school before Summer Vacation and many were discussing their plans for the next three months. It being the last day and all, we’d already taken our final exams and were not really doing much at all, besides turning in books and finalizing our grades. Most carried emptied backpacks and folders they wouldn’t need until next year.

I emerged from my final class with a smile on my face. My history teacher had just reassured me that I would be maintaining my 4.0 Grade Point Average with an “A” in his class, my father would be pleased. There were a few people that greeted me in the halls and wished me a happy summer. I wasn’t too popular, so there weren’t many at all. I navigated through the crowds and went straight for my locker. Unfortunately, most of the student body had the same idea at that point. Most people were digging things out and clearing everything in preparation for the next fool that got assigned their locker next year. I, however, typically kept mine in immaculate condition. Save for the single mirror inside (yes, I was a little vain), there were only 3-ring binders and a few notebooks to collect and take home.

“Ready for the camping trip this weekend?” A voice greeted me from over my shoulder with a volume level sufficient to override the dull roar of the hallway.

I glanced up from stuffing my backpack to view the visage of one of my best friends. Kaleb Anderson and I had known each other since my family moved to the Portneuf Valley when I was still in the early years of elementary school. He was a little older than me, having just turned 17. He stood a little taller than me, as well. He was about six feet even and I was holding at five feet, ten inches. His brown hair reminded me of Christian Slater when he’d played “Will Scarlet” in that Robin Hood movie we both liked so much, starring Kevin Costner and filmed way back in the early 90’s. His eyes were a neutral blue color and I envied his physique. He had some really nicely toned muscles and never went to the gym. I almost hated him for it.

“Oh, hey, Kaleb.” I grinned stupidly at him. “Yea, dude, I’m pretty psyched. My parents aren’t big fans, though.”

He cocked his head to the side and raised an eyebrow. “Why not? Don’t they trust me, yet?”

I shook my head as I continued to stuff my bag. “Nah, that’s not it. I think they have a problem with the idea that there’ll be girls there the whole time. You know, the parental paranoia of 10 teenagers out in the woods with no supervision.” I let out a sigh. “That, and Dad wanted to take us all out to Massacre Rocks again for Memorial Day.”

He scoffed. “You guys do that every year. Can’t the old man give it a rest for this one time?”

“I know what you mean.” I rolled my eyes. “He makes us suffer because he’s such a huge history buff that he’s even a History Professor at I-S-U.” My father pretty much ran the History Department at Idaho State University. Since we moved to the region, he’s been climbing the ladder up to his current position. “Not only that, he gives us a new factoid about the region every year and tests us on it before we can get new clothes for school in August.”

I could see the pain in his face. “Oh, man, that’s rough. Doesn’t your mom speak up about it, though? Wouldn’t she vouch for you?”

I finished gathering the notebooks and binders, grabbed my mirror, and slammed the door shut. “Heck no! She’s on his side!” I felt quite a bit deflated. I had actually forgotten about the ill-fated camping trip until he had brought it up.

I zipped my backpack closed and stood up just in time to have a large hand land on my shoulder. Startled, I spun around to face the grinning visage of my other best friend, Mekaisto Lahoma. He was an inch taller than me and quite the muscular Native American. His ancestors had been Apache, so I had long ago assumed that there was a genetic predisposition for him to be one big side of beef. He had typical features of dark skin, black hair, brown eyes, and almost no body hair to speak of. I always thought it sucked that he’d likely never grow a beard… and thanked I my lucky stars that I was only a quarter Native. My family was predominantly Irish, but my mother was half Sioux.

“Geezus, Kai! You scared the frakkin’ daylights out of me!” I shouted.

His laugh billowed. Oddly, for such a big guy, he had a pretty decent tenor voice. “Relax, man. It’s not like I’m gonna scalp ya.”

Kaleb and I both rolled our eyes at his reference to his tribe’s legacy to the ages. “So not funny, Kai.” I glared.

He shrugged. “You white boys are just jealous that I can get away with sayin’ it. And, Mike, you really need to lay off the Battlestar Galactica. It’ll rot your brain.”

“What? Because I used ‘frak’?” I protested.

Kaleb shook his head. “I keep telling him that.”

Kai pursed his lips. “So, what were you guys talking about before I almost made Mikey here wet himself?”

“His dad’s a douche bag.” Kaleb sighed.

“I could have told you that.” Kai chuckled. “Seriously, what’s goin’ on?”

I almost spoke, but Kaleb beat me to it as we all continued down the hallway. “Kai, you’re coming camping, right?”

“Hell yea! Wouldn’t miss it! Why can’t Mike go?”

I rolled my eyes and released a very guttural grunt. “Because my parents are afraid of my ability to reproduce but not considering my overriding sense not to. That and Dad’s doing his thing at Massacre Rocks again this year.”

Now Kai scoffed. “Doesn’t that guy ever get tired of that? I mean, haven’t you guys done that for 10 years straight, now?” I nodded. “There’s only so much you can learn from one place, man. Believe me. I’ve been on that Sho-Ban reservation for a few years. There’s only so much desert and mountains you can explore and learn about before you want to scalp yourself.”

We all laughed.

“Yea, they really put those guys on a crummy piece of land, didn’t they?” Kaleb added.

“No joke. You should see the Apache lands, though. They’re almost worse.” Kai nodded. “It’s either in the middle of nowhere in Oklahoma or out in Crapsville, Arizona.”

Kaleb looked a little uneasy as we traversed the threshold of the school out into the late May sun. “So… anyway… camping?”

I shrugged, becoming more deflated as the time passed. “I dunno. I’m ready to give up, really.”

“Some warrior you are.” Kai furrowed his brow. Then, his entire face lit up with some sort of realization that was some kind of profound importance. “Hey, wait a sec. Does your mom stick pretty heavily to the Sioux ways or would she let me do some kind of vision quest with you?”

I stopped dead in my tracks. “Kai, neither you nor anyone in your family is a recognized medicine man. My mom would know that. There’s no way you would get that to slip past her.”

He shook his head. “No, no, hear me out… I tell her that, yes, we’d be going up camping with everybody, but I’d take you off and show you some of the more traditional ways to become a man in Native culture. Specifically, Apache, but we might make it work. She knows more of the Shoshone, Bannock, and Sioux stuff, but she wouldn’t know about the Apache ways. I’m pretty sure of that.”

Kaleb threw his hands up in surrender. “I’m out of that discussion. You both know I’m just a clueless white boy when it comes to that stuff.”

Kai’s face turned to pleading. “C’mon, man. It’s this or you do that boring history crap with your dad again this year.”

I took a moment to consider the options. I sure as heck didn’t want to be stuck going back to the same historical location my family visited every single year. I often wondered why we never toured the battlegrounds where Lt. Col. Custer had skirmishes with the Nez Perce tribe and Chief Joseph. Combining U.S. History with a little Native American history would have done us all some good. Alas, my father was hooked on the history surrounding the Oregon Trail. He still goes out and finds lost pieces of the route by observing the environmental damage of hundreds of wagons following the exact same route when he has days off. He’s mapped about 6 miles of previously unknown forks in the path. It somewhat unnerved me, really.

I let out a long sigh. “Okay, let’s see what we can do. Kaleb, you got a ride home?”

He nodded sharply. “Yep, I’m good. I was gonna hang out with Danika for a bit.”

“Still chasing her, eh? You know it’s really unlikely she’s gonna cave to your whiles, right?” Kai smiled as he attempted to stifle his laughter.

Kaleb tried to object, but I stopped it by interrupting. “Okay, so, Kai’s with me?”

He grinned. “Lead on, dude. Let’s work a little magic.”

Again, I was rolling my eyes.

* * * * * * *

Sunday June 1, 2008 — 9:30pm MDT

The fire at the center of our campsite snapped and crackled through the wilderness’ ambient sounds that were always ever present. Somewhere in the distance, there was a pack of coyotes whose cries echoes across the mountaintops. A few owls hooted. Of course, there was always the near constant crickets chirping. We’d been out here for a night and a full day already and I still couldn’t believe that Kai had convinced my parents to let me come along. Along with the sounds of nature were the sounds of several adolescents on the cusp of adulthood chattering, laughing, and otherwise making whatever noise felt good at the time. My eyes drifted skyward and I couldn’t remember the last time they’d viewed such beauty. In the mountains outside of Hailey, Idaho, there were no cities to produce enough light to obstruct the view. I would guess that we had a better view of the stars and one arm of the Milky Way galaxy than many astronomical observatories.

As predicted, there were about ten of us. Kaleb and Mekaisto were off to one side, supposedly discussing courtship ideas for the young, fair Danika Haines who had several times previously rejected such advances. The short (5’5”) brunette with astonishingly pleasing proportionate curves that had had Kaleb lusting after her for almost a year. She and I got along well, but Kaleb was always asking me to “put in a good word” with her. He was my best friend, but I really hated it when he put me on the spot like that. She was sitting on some camping chairs discussing I could only guess what with Jessica Newton and Jakobi Langley. Jessica was something of a late bloomer. She stood about five feet, four inches and her curves had yet to be truly defined. She kept her nearly platinum blond hair in near perfect condition at all times, even out here which I imagined was quite the feat. Jakobi, however, stood over both of them at five feet, eight inches and truly had a model or dancer’s physique. Being on the drill and flag teams had sculpted this, I’d wager. Her chocolate tresses always seemed to be in a ponytail, so I didn’t give it much thought.

As for the other guys in the troop, most of them were horsing around somewhere down by the cars. I knew Marcus Sanchez and Silus Ramsey fairly well, but the other two guys I didn’t know. There was another girl with Danika, Jessica, and Jakobi that I’d never met as well. Marcus was a wiry half-Hispanic who got all the Hispanic benefits of dark black hair, brown eyes, and nice tan skin, but all of the European disadvantages of a tall, lanky frame with very little muscle tone. He was a six-foot tall distance runner on the track team, so he didn’t give it much thought. Silus, on the other hand, was the group’s “super jock”. He stood six-foot-one, had muscle tone at every angle, played almost every sport, and could have any girl in school he wanted. He had that perfect combination of blond hair, blue eyes, and blemish-free fair complexion that was the envy of just about everybody. To say that I was jealous would be a massive understatement.

For the moment, I was alone with my thoughts. If I wasn’t staring blankly into the fire, I was glancing up considering the vastness and infinitely beautiful wonders of the universe. This is what ancient man must have seen many years ago. I knew that the land this national forest we were in had been the hunting and foraging lands of at least six local tribes. For me, seeing the silhouette shapes of the mountains against the interminably numerous stars above was something I almost never had the chance to see. Back then, they wouldn’t have appreciated the beauty as much because it would have been common place for anyone who wasn’t using the stars to make one prediction or another. Back then, they used the stars for everything.

My thoughts began to wander to the fact that I could never truly understand some of my heritage the way that Kai could. He was fully Native American. I was only one-quarter. I looked like the invading “White Man” instead of having some Native features show. It frustrated me when some would doubt that I was Native at all. Looking at me, one could see a young man of fair complexion, a small bit of muscle tone, naturally red hair (if I slept with anyone, they’d know that for certain), and not a freckle on me. One good thing about my heritage, I could actually tan and not have hundreds of little brown spots all over. I kept my dull red hair rather short in a style that even Danika had said reminded her of Leonardo DiCaprio, except that he’s blond. She also compared my eyes to what the waters of the Caribbean Sea look like on a fair day: a deep light green, I’m told. I felt torn between two worlds. Little did I know that in just over 14 hours, the feeling would be even stronger.

In my daze, I didn’t hear Danika approach and sit down on the log beside me. At this point, my eyes were focused on the dancing fire before me. She mocked clearing her throat, which sent a jolt through my body as she pulled her legs toward her chest and wrapped her arms around them. I offered a weak smile.

“Hey, Danika.” I stated softly.

“Hey, yourself. Penny for your thoughts? There seem to be a lot of them.” She noted.

I shrugged. “I’m fine. Just got a lot on my mind, I guess.”

“And…?” She almost pleaded.

“Just some stupid stuff.” I sighed. “Enjoying the trip, so far?”

She rolled her eyes. “I guess. I might enjoy it more if Kaleb would back off a little. I should bring a whip next time so I can actually yell ‘Down, boy!’ ” She threw her head back and let out a good giggle.

I joined her. “Yea, that might actually work. Though, I’d be careful. He might actually enjoy it.”

She visibly shuttered. I shook my head. It took all of my strength to stop myself from slapping myself with the palm of my hand, the fabled “facepalm” maneuver.

“Hey, look, I’m sorry. If there was anything I could do about the situation, I would have done it. They guy’s like the friggin’ Energizer Bunny, he doesn’t know when to quit.” I let out a sigh.

She shrugged. “I know, Mike. I’m not mad at you, though. You’re not his keeper.” She gave me a reassuring smile that I was obliged to return. She let out a quick breath and continued on another topic. Girls seem to be proficient at such a task. “So, why not hanging out with the guys?”

I glanced over at Kai and Kaleb, then back at her and pointed to them with my thumb. “Them? Oh, they’re finding new and dubious ways for Kaleb to seduce you. I’d wear your armor if I were you.”

She nodded. “Oh, really…? Thanks for the tip.”

“You’re welcome.”

She indicated by moving the crown of her head quickly toward the other male bonding occurring. “What about the other guys?”

I glanced over in their direction. “Oh, those guys?” I shrugged. “I dunno. I guess I’m not all that great at this ‘male bonding’ thing. They kind of strike me as the ‘Neanderthal’ type and, even though I play football, I don’t see us having much in common.”

She furrowed her brow. “You are a tough one to crack. No wonder she’s into you.”

My eyes widened and I could swear someone had dropped a pin and scratched a record in the same instant. “Um… what? Who?”

A raucous laughter emitted from her luscious lips and perfect teeth. Though, I found myself somewhat self-conscious at this. She reached over and playfully slapped my arm. “You are pretty dense, Michael MacAllister.” She nodded. “You haven’t been noticing any notes in your locker for the past couple of weeks?”

Was there some sort of female interwebs that guys were just not privy to? How does this sort of news get around? “Um… yea, I found some notes. They were interesting. Why do you ask?”

She let out a quick sigh and shook her head. “You still haven’t figured out who sent them, have you?” I shook my head. “And, I’ll bet you haven’t noticed the eyes baring down on you in U.S. History, either. Am I right?” Again, I shook my head. Girls really knew how to make a guy feel totally inadequate and foolish. There’s a sucker born every minute, they say. “So, you couldn’t possibly have a clue that the same girl is actually here tonight?”

My eyes darted over to the new girl. I really had no idea who she was. Sure, I’d seen her around campus and in classes, but her name eluded me. She, unlike some of the other girls, was full-figured. I’m not saying she was grossly overweight, but the girl probably enjoyed a slice of pizza or a burger more often than most girls would. She was a brunette and wore a stylish cut, but I’d never noticed her soft, subtle eyes behind the glare from the fluorescent lights on her glasses. Tonight, she wasn’t wearing said glasses and I think the other girls may have helped her do her hair. As for her height, I don’t think she ever came close enough to me for me to make an accurate guess to how height compatible we were.

“The… new girl? The brunette over there that usually wears glasses she’s not wearing tonight?” I wanted to point, but I knew it was rude and would likely embarrass the poor girl.

“Catches on quick, doesn’t he?” Danika grinned sarcastically. “She’s been eyeing you since she overheard you telling Marcus about a lightsaber thing your parents had gotten you for Christmas.”

I nodded, knowing she was referring to my Force FX Lightsaber gushing. I had been a very spoiled geek that Christmas. Before the lightsaber, I’d unwrapped a new, bigger hard drive for my Xbox, Fable 2, Gears of War 2, Fallout 3, and Dead Space. The lightsaber trumped them all. “Yea, I was a little excited about it.” I could feel my cheeks warming as I blushed.

She let out a quick sigh. “Yea, it was a little too obvious, if you ask me. I mean, my dad bought me a brand new car when I turned 16, but you didn’t see me gushing over it all over the school did you? Don’t get me wrong, I love my car, but you got a little annoying about a plastic stick that lights up and makes noise through a speaker at the bottom.”

I lowered my head in near shame. “Danika, I know you’re not a near total geek like I am, but could you not stampede all over my hobbies like that? It’s a little harsh.”

She sighed. “Sorry, Mike. You know I don’t get into that stuff. Though, she does and I’m sure she’d like to hear more about it. You up for it?”

My head quickly came back up again. “Um…” my palms started to sweat and my heart rate increased dramatically. “You’re playing ‘Matchmaker’, aren’t you. That’s the whole reason she came.”

“Hey, I didn’t have to drag her kicking and screaming. Do you wanna hang with her or not?”

“Sure. What the heck.” I shrugged.

She gave me a devious grin as she bounded back over to the other girls. With each passing moment, my anxiety grew. I watched as Danika gracefully walked over to the others and nodded her head for some reason. Jessica and Jakobi looked rather excited, whilst the new girl seemed pretty apprehensive. She was shaking her head and mouthing the word “No” several times. Finally, the other girls lifted her up and brought her over to the log and sat her down beside me. You could cut the tension between us with a butter knife.

“Shelby Whitmore, this is Michael MacAllister. Mike, this is Shelby.” Jessica introduced.

Without glancing over, I nodded. “Hi.”

“Hi.” She stated meekly.

— Chapter Two —

Monday June 2, 2008 — 10:15 am MDT

After unzipping the door, I climbed out of the tent I shared with Kai and stretched as far and wide as my body would allow. The morning air was crisp and clean with a slight chill to it that was quickly fading since the sun came up. I had slipped on a hoodie over my white T-shirt with some design I forgot about and khaki-colored cargo shorts. Today, we’d be picking up camp and heading back to our families back in Pocatello. But first, the girls had prepared breakfast. I grabbed a plate, piled on an assortment of eggs, hashbrowns, and bacon, and sat on my trusty log once more to enjoy their culinary prowess… or lack thereof. I would soon find out which it was.

“Thanks, girls.” I stated through half a mouthful of hashbrowns.

They all giggled. “You’re welcome, Mike.” Danika smiled.

At that very moment, it struck me as a little odd that the girls were doing most of the cooking during the whole trip. None of them ever struck me as the type and I’d never seen any of them perform any semblance of domestic duties. Yet, here they were making sure all of us were fed and nourished the whole time. I began to wonder if such a thing was hard-wired into the female psyche. Was it natural for a woman to perform such duties or was it something that society had always told them that these things were precisely what was expected of them? In the proceeding years, I would find the answer to that question sooner or later.

It bothers me, now, as I think back on that day about how much of blur that morning was. Minutes after everyone was fed, we began cleaning up the campsite and packing our vehicles for the trip back home. The previous night, everyone stayed awake much longer than our parents would have allowed were we still at home. The conversations carried on into the wee hours of the morning, including the one Shelby and I had once we actually got going. She seemed like a smart girl and I was actually willing to give her a chance. It surprised me that she wished she’d had the chance to attend E3 (Electronic Entertainment Expo) before they became a press only event. I had similar feelings, though I’d been to [San Diego] Comic Con and PAX (Penny Arcade Expo) more than once each, already.

There was just never enough time, though. It’s funny how life hands people these situations more than we’d like to realize. I’m sure that in the face of tragedy or other significant event that many people wished for the same thing I did on that morning: more time. At least, it would have been nice to get a warning.

- 11:55 am MDT —

We had finished packing everything in the vehicles we’d brought with us. Now, the campsite appeared pretty desolate with only some camping chairs around that still belonged to us. We’d left the fire going while we packed everything away. The sun was now blazing high in the sky and we were all warmed by the physical exertion as well. I’d taken off my hoodie and set it in the front seat of my car. Now, I was back on the log where I’d been sitting last night. Most of the guys were wearing the same ensemble of T-shirt and shorts. The only real variety was which guy was wearing the khaki, cotton, or denim shorts. I didn’t care to make a head count. The girls, however, were another story. Shelby wore denim “short-shorts” and a tanktop with her bra underneath. Jessica and Jakobi wore large T-shirts and cotton shorts with their bikinis underneath. I think they hoped to go for a swim before heading back home. Danika, however, was the odd one out. She had on some sort of summer dress with a box neckline and a sports bra underneath. At least they looked relaxed.

Exhausted, we had resolved to lounge around for a bit while cooling down, catching our breath, and enjoying a cold soda. Everybody talked amongst their perspective cliques, unfortunately. Kai, Kaleb, and I were chatting about the possibility of taking a boat and some jet skis out to the American Falls Reservoir in the next week or two, after we recovered from this weekend. Marcus and Silus also expressed an interest and hoped we could invite the girls along to, as they put it, “enjoy the sights, too”. I’d imagine the girls would have been less than impressed with the wording of that particular idea.

There had been some sporadic clouds that had rolled in throughout the morning. During an Idaho summer, they never really got much bigger than a few square miles unless it was some sort of major storm that would be gone in a few minutes anyway. Some of them had a black-ish gray bottom which meant they probably bore rain, but nothing too overly concerning.

- 12:00pm MDT -

There are a million different theories about what happened the moment the clocks around the world hit a specific time. Every human being on the planet experienced something at that exact moment. The strangest thing of all, it happened at the exact same time for everybody. For us, it was just as the clock reached the noon hour. Scientists, religious leaders, politicians, conspiracy theorists, and paranormal investigators all have their own theories. Many times, it’s conflicting. Most of the time, all the stories are different. Even now, there is no clear explanation of what exactly happened. All we know is what happened next.

On my grandmother’s grave, I could swear that I saw a bright flash at that exact moment. I’m not sure everyone had that experience, but I know for a certain fact that I did. To me, it seemed as though someone had taken my picture with an old-fashioned film camera with some sort of flashbulb. It wasn’t too intense, but it was enough to have my attention. Less than a nanosecond later, my entire body began to tingle as I looked around for the source of the flash. The tingling feeling was very faint at first but became very apparent in the next second.

“Whoa, dude… I feel really weird.” I stated.

A chorus of “me too” and “yea, I know, same here” came from my compatriots. Some of them were shaking their hands or their feet as though they’d fallen asleep. The sensation was like nothing I’d ever felt before and everybody I’ve ever talked to about it has said the same thing. Like watching Neo dodge bullets in "The Matrix", time seemed to slow to an incredibly crawling pace. Something was really off.

For a few minutes, I had this sense of vertigo like the ground was coming at me. At the same time, I felt as though something had begun to tickle the back of my neck and my shoes felt a little loose. I held my knees together and rested my elbows upon them as I placed my palms on my forehead. I closed my eyes and tried to breathe carefully. Even that young, I’d been drunk before and that’s something akin to what I was feeling. The tingling feeling remained and I could almost feel like something was tugging on my clothes or someone had lathered my whole body in Vaseline. It was just an all-around strangeness that I couldn’t wrap my head around. A moment later, something was tickling both the side of my face and the back of my neck.

I didn’t open my eyes until I heard some sort of hysterical whimpering and the sounds of clothing beginning to tear and buttons popping. My eyes shot up and darted about my surroundings. Nothing could have prepared me for the sight before my eyes. Everyone, save for me, was actually standing and their eyes darted from themselves to others with bewildered and frightened looks on their faces. I had a very strange perspective. To my right, the girls all looked like they were getting much taller and their hair seemed to be receding into their scalps. To my left, the guy looked like they were getting much shorter and their hair seemed to be growing at a rapid pace. The whimpering was coming from the girls, though mostly from Shelby. She seemed about six or so inches taller than she had last night and her body was straining against the confines of her clothing. All the girls seemed as though their clothing were ill fitted and odd looking on them, while the guys appeared to be swimming in their clothes.

I couldn’t stop staring until the waistband of my shorts started to pinch me. My eyes lowered and I panicked at what lay before them. My legs and arms, which had been toned and athletic before, seemed very much a diminutive representation of themselves. I looked pale. Even though I hadn’t had much body hair at all, it seemed to have completely disappeared. My muscle tone was much more sleek and lean. I could feel and see something budding on my chest and rubbing against my shirt. Now, I stood up to grab the waistband of my shorts and alleviate the pinching feeling. The vertigo was back. The world seemed bigger than it had a few minutes ago and so did all my clothing.

Horror rocked my senses in the next moment. Once standing and looking down at myself, whatever sensation my chest was giving me was right before my eyes. Two small mounds were visibly growing larger and pushing against my T-shirt. I pulled out the neck and found my fears to be true. I, Michael MacAllister, was apparently growing breasts. I released the neck and it snapped back into place, albeit loosely. Some strands of hair fell before my eyes and caught my attention. I grabbed a lock and pulled it taught in front of me. Earlier that morning, my hair had been the color of rust. It was bland, light, unassuming, and on the threshold of blond. However, now whatever was growing from my head appeared to be a shade somewhere between fire and blood. My vote went to “cherry”, but others had different opinions. Now, I was really freaking out.

Not paying any attention to the others, my eyes frantically darted over my own form. Breasts were still growing at an alarming rate on my chest. I ran my hands down my sides, starting at the ribs, and noticed that I now possessed a natural waistline. My hips were flaring outward right before my eyes, which is what had been tugging at the waistline of my shorts. Suddenly, a wave of shock washed over me. I pulled out the waistline of my shorts and underwear and flew into a panic. My penis, which I’d actually been rather proud of, was a size I hadn’t seen it as since I was six years old. It was so small and flaccid, yet appeared to be getting smaller and retreating into my groin. Just above it, though, was a strange mound of flesh I’d never seen before. Unlike most other guys, I’d never seen a pornographic magazine, movie, and any visual whatsoever. I had no idea what that little mound was. My pubic hair, though more straight than curly now, was the same color as the hair on my head. At least I was still a “real redhead”.

A rational person would equate that all of this should actually hurt. You “reinvent the wheel” with the human skeleton and it isn’t pretty. All of our skeletal structures were completely changing, along with a few choice internal organs. We should have been writhing in agony over this. However, no one I’ve ever talked to about this had any other physical sensation than the background tingling sensation all over their bodies. Mental sensations, however, were varied depending on who you talked to. For example, I was panicked, frightened, and just freaking out in general (as were most that first day). Physically, though, I was completely healthy… about as healthy as one can be when they transition from one sex to another in the span of about fifteen minutes.

A few moments later, about fifteen minutes from the time it all started, the tingling sensation became a decrescendo and faded away. We were still ten teenagers on a camping trip, but our demographic had completely changed. Six boys and four girls had made the trip. Now, there were six girls and four boys. Even though I’d watched many of the changes happen, I didn’t really recognize anyone. In shock, everyone was slowly examining themselves with their eyes and could scarcely believe what had really happened. Though, we should have taken pictures of that. I think back on it now and can joke with my friends about how we looked that first day. There were six girls who looked like they had raided their brothers’ closets and joined some nature cult that burned their bras. Adversely, there were four boys who looked like they had raided their sisters’ closets and had terrible “drag moms” that didn’t tell them how to properly fit their sizes. Their clothes strained against them and their empty bras lay flat on their chests.

“H-holy… fuck… dude!” I heard someone shriek to my left. I looked over in time to see an impressively beautiful and lithe Native American girl cup her hands over her mouth. “Shit! Is that my voice?! Fuck! It is!” From what she was wearing and her ethnicity, I knew that had to be Kai. The girl looked like she was wearing a nightshirt and her legs were exposed because her pants had long since surrendered to gravity and fallen to her ankles.

“This is some whack shit, yo!” Another girl shrieked. At least, she looked like a girl. For all the world, I swear she looked just like she could be J-Lo’s daughter. My mind told me that had to be Marcus.

“Tell me this isn’t fucking happening… somebody tell me this isn’t happening! I can’t be a fucking chick!” A rather anorexic-looking blond screeched with tears building up in her eyes. Her long, straight platinum blond hair hung loosely at her shoulders. She had somewhat small breasts, but looked like she could be captain of the cheerleading squad to me. I conjectured that must be Silus. He would be the one thinking it was a curse to become a woman, as much as he lusted after them almost constantly.

“You can’t be a chick?! Look at me, fucker!” A deep, billowing voice came from the other side of the camp. I’d almost completely forgotten about those that now looked like guys. My eyes darted back to them, now, to find the source of that voice. “I mean, my fucking God! My clothes are ruined and I’m hanging out at all angles and you’re crying about being a chick?!” My eyes met the voice. From the outfit, it was Shelby. She… um, he?… looked like the worst off, in the manner of wardrobe malfunctions. The tanktop had almost completely torn off, the bra was useless, the button and fly of the shorts had flown off, and the socks were in tatters. During the transformation, she’d grown almost ten inches of height and had the physique of a very lean wrestler in a “heavy weight” class. Unfortunately, with the fly open, the pink cotton panties could scarcely contain the bulge that now resided in the nether regions. It was very apparent that they didn’t just look like guys. Everyone, including me, was very shocked and stood in awe at the “Greek God” that stood before them.

However, now was not the time to gawk. He looked incredibly uncomfortable and vulnerable. I don’t know what came over me, but I marched right over to the… guy? “Um… Shelby?” Lord, had I gone through puberty in reverse? My voice was about the border of alto and soprano — low enough to almost sound sexy but high enough to break glass if I screamed. “I’ve got some things that you can borrow, if you want.”

This big guy’s eyes dropped on me. He looked positively huge compared to my perspective. He squinted a little, taking off Shelby’s glasses. “Wait… Michael?” I nodded quietly. His eyes grew huge. “Holy shit, you should look at yourself! You’re a fucking knockout!” He squinted again. “Hey, weren’t your eyes green last night?”

“Wait a second…” Another deep voice stated. “His eyes have always been the color of the Caribbean Sea.” I heard footsteps and another guy, though not as tall but still towered over me, came up and squinted at my eyes. He was wearing a dress and a sports bra. This was Danika. “Holy shit, you’re right! Those are the most stunning dark blue eyes I have ever seen in my entire life!” I could see his eyes move toward my head. “And your hair’s darker, too. Man, that’s weird.”

The other two guys came over and were saying the same things. I was hot. I had deep red hair. And, my eyes were blue. With all the gawking, I could feel my cheeks warm up. I was completely embarrassed and did not want to be standing here being fawned over, right now. The warmth in my cheeks intensified and I could feel it in other places, too. This had to stop.

“Will you stop that!” I shrieked. It sounded so very strange coming out of my mouth. “This is not the time for this! There is someone here who could really use a change of clothes. You want weird? How about I’ve got tits and no dick?! How’s that for weird?!” I growled, though it was a much less imposing growl belonging to the fairer sex.

The three fawning over me looked very apologetic. “Sorry, Mike. That was kinda fucked up.” Danika stated. “We should really be worrying about other things… like calling our parents?”

“Oh, yea, that’ll really work! What are we gonna say?” Kai chirped. In the next moment, the girl brought her hand to her ear and mocked a phone call. “Oh, hi, sorry Dad. I know you don’t recognize my voice. I’m a chick, now.” She brought the “phone” away from her ear. “Yea, I can already tell you that’s not gonna go over well.”

“So, what? You suggest we stay up here for the rest of our lives?” Another billowing male voice that I didn’t recognize came from behind me. I could see Kai’s point. If we couldn’t recognize our own voices, how would our parents?

A girl I didn’t recognize who’d likely been one of the guys I didn’t know strutted towards the fire. “Um, bad news everybody: There’s a problem with that idea. I got no signal at all up here.”

Suddenly, there was a mad dash around the camp. Everyone was digging through their pockets and purses to grab their cell phones. As soon as they were retrieved, they were switched on and everyone was playing the game of “Can you hear me, now?” by holding the phone at arm’s length and slowly walking around the campsite to try and achieve some sort of reception level. I didn’t bother. We were in the mountains in the middle of nowhere in Idaho. There would be no chance of getting any signal from where we were. Now, if we drove down the mountain and crossed over the Galena Summit to Sun Valley or Ketchum, then we might get a signal. Scratch that, all the rich Californians lived there. There’d be signal. After the futile search, everyone looked a bit more deflated.

“We’re not going to get a signal until we get off the mountain and into Ketchum or Sun Valley, guys.” I stated plainly.

“Okay, so let’s pack up and get out of here.” Danika stated plainly.

“First…” I stated, grabbing the incredibly muscular forearm that now belonged to Shelby. “…I think somebody would really appreciate a new set of clothes to wear.”

“Got that right.” ‘He’ stated plainly. The deep voice was really playing with my head–about as much as my own lark voice was.

“Wait… we’re actually gonna go out among other people like this?” Girl-Silus looked frightened.

“You got a better idea, Miss Pretty Little Thing?” Another deep voice I didn’t recognize retorted. It had to be either Jessica or Jakobi. I hadn’t heard either of them speak much.

As Boy-Shelby and I trudged out of the camp, a verbal battle drew to crescendo and I’d wager anyone in the mountains could probably hear it. A couple of things I couldn’t help noticing were the natural sway my hips took on as I walked and just how scratchy my clothes felt as I moved along and my skin came in contact with the fabric. I ignored that and the incessant jiggling on my chest as I guided the poor “lad” to my car where my pack was. Once beside my little 1996 Toyota Camry, I swung open the back door… right into my chest. A twinge of utter pain erupted through my whole body and I visibly recoiled.

“Fuckin’… OW!” I screamed.

Boy-Shelby chortled. “Found the door, did ya? With… your boobs?”

“I guess so.” I whimpered. “Fuck, that hurts!” I rubbed my chest, which wasn’t a bright idea. It didn’t alleviate the pain, but as the fabric ran over my nipples they grew stiff and I could feel some sort of electric pulse through my body that ended in my groin. Besides that, my breasts felt huge and really squishy.

I saw his lips crease into a grin. “Welcome to the joys of womanhood… and all the ‘OW’ that goes with it.”

My eyes seeing a guy, doubled up my hand into a fist and threw a punch which met with abdominal muscles (damn, I’m short!) and I quickly learned that wasn’t brilliant. I cracked a couple of knuckles and it hurt, but it didn’t break anything. All that happened was boy-Shelby winced a little. It didn’t even phase ‘him’.

“I guess that rumor that redheads are feisty is as true as they say.” ‘He’ laughed.

I glared. “Look, do you want clothes or would you rather stay in those rags?”

I’d never seen anyone stop so quickly. “You’re right, sorry.”

I slowly turned and carefully opened the door, this time. Lowering myself into the car, I could feel the full weight of the mounds on my chest. It was a very strange and awkward feeling. As I rooted through my pack to grab appropriate clothing, the fact my pants kept wanting to slide down my ass annoyed me to no end. The Vaseline feeling was ever present as well. Not that I was all oiled up or anything, but my skin just felt so much softer and everything just slid over it with relative ease. However, my clothes still felt really scratchy and that was annoying, too. In moments, I had a T-shirt, shorts, a pair of socks, and a pair of boxers. Though, all the girls had taken off their shoes when we underwent the transformation and they no longer fit. Thus, grabbing the socks was likely not such a good idea.

I turned around to boy-Shelby and handed him the clothes. “Here ya go. I grabbed a pair of socks, but I don’t know how much good they’re going to do you out here without shoes.”

“You don’t have another pair of shoes?” ‘He’ almost looked pathetic when he asked.

“What do I look like, a Payless? No, I had one pair of shoes and that’s all I need.” I shrugged.

He nodded as he took the clothes, set them on the trunk, and began to undress. I folded my arms, suddenly feeling a little chilled as the sun was blocked by a cloud. Trying to ignore the odd sensation of my nipples becoming erect and rubbing against my shirt, I watched boy-Shelby try to make sense of the tattered clothing. He hadn’t succeeded in pulling the tanktop over his shoulders, so he simply tore it off. It was on its last leg anyway. Now, he stood there bare-chested with the exception of a pink bra that hung on his shoulders. He pulled at it and it slipped right off. He was better formed than I could have ever hoped for. His muscles were so well formed and toned that I found myself very jealous. I smirked at the little chest hairs he had and the little “happy trail” from his belly button to his…

“Whoa! Dude!” I quickly turned my head. I’d seen something I didn’t want to.

“What?” I assumed he looked at me with my head turned and one hand shielding my field of vision from him. I could almost sense him look down. “Holy shit! A boner! So, that’s what that feeling was?!”

“Oh, come on! How could you not know you popped wood?” I protested.

“Gimme a break, Mike! I’ve been like this for how long?” He growled. Wow. Did I sound like that when I growled? It sounded almost menacing and imposing, something primal.

At least, I could hear him getting dressed. I heard another couple of tearing sounds.

“You’re safe, now. I’ve got the boxers on.” He seemed to grimace.

I turned around to see him slipping the shorts up to his hips. His legs were really hairy. “Everything fit okay?”

He nodded as he buttoned the fly. “Yea, surprisingly.” He looked over at the pile of tatters that used to be her clothes. He picked up the bra, of all things, and looked a little somber. “Damn. The clasps are all ruined. This was one of my favorite bras, too.” He sighed.

Sighing in reciprocation, I patted his shoulder. “It’ll be all right. We’ll figure this out, right? Maybe there’s some fluke and somebody can change us back?”

He balled up the rags in his hand. Jeez, it was huge. “At least you’re optimistic.”

“Yea.” I shrugged. Then, a thought hit me. “Hey, why’d you pop wood, anyway?”

He chortled. “Hey, if you could get a good look at your ass, you would too. You’ve got a pretty nice ham, there, Missy.”

I furrowed my brow. “Please, don’t call me that.”

Oddly, it was that moment that I noticed just how quiet it was back at camp. There wasn’t so much as a peep from anyone and I didn’t even hear the fire crackling. However, people were filing out of the campsite with whatever trash we’d left, the camping chairs, and several pairs of women’s shoes. The guy in a dress, Danika, and the girl in the nightshirt, Kai, seemed to be leading the group and walked toward boy-Shelby and I. Girl-Kai had a pair of denim shorts draped over one shoulder.

“There’s the two love birds.” The Native girl grinned. “How’d it go down here, you guys?”

Boy-Shelby shrugged. “It went okay, I guess.” He looked at me with a knowing smirk. “Found out that I really am a guy, though.”

Boy-Danika looked at him quizzically. “Oh, yea, how so?”

I was flushed before he said anything. “Well, Mike here was bending over into the car to grab clothes. I had a really good view of her ass, especially with her shorts falling down every few seconds. Let’s just say that nature is a sick, twisted bitch.” He stuffed his hands in the pockets and lowered his head.

“Honey, we knew Mother Nature was twisted. We’ve had periods, remember?” Boy-Danika stated plainly.

Kai’s eyes lit up. “No way! You seriously got a case of the ‘stiff rod’? Damn!” Shelby almost shamefully nodded.

Boy-Danika shook his head. “Okay, look, guys. I think it’s pretty safe to assume that we all look like a bunch of idiots, right now. Especially those of us who were actually girls until not too long ago. We’ve formulated a plan, based on Mike’s offer to Shelby for clothes. We’re gonna go down into Ketchum and grab something to eat. We’re hungry. Now, to do that, we’re going to need a change of clothes. Many of us have agreed to exchange clothes, provided the sizes fit. Are you guys on board for that?”

Boy-Shelby pointed at the new T-shirt and shorts. “I think what I’m wearing solves that problem.”

“Mike, what’s your take?” Girl-Kai asked.

I blinked. “What, Kai? Are you nuts? Put on girls’ clothes?! Um, no, you can count me out!”

“Mike, you should really look in a fucking mirror. Wake up, Geronimo! You are a girl!” Kai screeched. In hindsight, there wasn’t any arguing with his logic. However, I still wasn’t thinking like that.

“No fucking way, dude! There’s no way I’m a chick!” Classic case of denial, I was.

Girl-Kai dropped everything she was carrying and glared at me in a manner that was difficult to decipher. “Mike, stick your hand down your pants.”

I furrowed my brow. “What?!”

“Stick… your… motha-fuckin’ hand… down your motha-fuckin’ pants!” She paused for a moment. “Did I stutter that time?”

My response was an expression of apprehension. Boy-Danika scoffed and rolled his eyes, moved over to me, grabbed my arm at the wrist, pulled open my shorts, and firmly stuck my hand in my pants. As an added measure, he held it there. I could feel just how very soft my skin had become and just the top of my pubic hair. I looked up.

“Keep going.” He stated firmly.

I moved my hand down further, feeling the mound, now. Continuing, I could feel the space where my penis and scrotum used to be. Most of it, now, was dead space. I bent my wrist, maneuvering my hand toward my crotch. In the next moment, my fingers felt an alien presence. “What the fuck? Is that what it feels like?”

“Soft skin, slimy, warm, and the sides grip your finger like your crotch is kissing it?” He asked.

I thought for a moment and all the descriptions were accurate. “Yea, I guess.”

“Congratulations, Mike. You’re the proud owner of a new pussy. How do you feel?” Girl-Kai imitated a game show host, though sarcastically.

I slid my hand out from my pants, now that boy-Danika had let go. I slid across a surface that sent a powerful shiver through my whole system, knocking me off balance. “The fuck was that?”

Boy-Danika and Boy-Shelby laughed. Boy-Danika spoke up. “Careful with that little rosebud until you’re on private time. It’s a doozy.” He winked.

“That was the clit? Damn…” I stood astonished.

Boy-Shelby shook his head. “You have a lot to learn.”

— Chapter Three —

Coming down the mountain took a lot longer than any of us ever expected. First, we all exchanged clothes that we thought would fit each other. Danika, Shelby, Jessica, and Jakobi were the lucky ones. They had the pick of six wardrobes to choose from. The rest of us were stuck with things that were either too loose, too tight, or fit so well it was frightening. As one would imagine, many of the former guys were very apprehensive about the wardrobe choices. All the former girls were fairly girly. Since many of us had our own vehicles, we decided who would ride with who, who was sticking around in Ketchum to figure everything out, and who was just going to make a beeline for Pocatello and put the whole nightmare behind them.

Some of us were fairly hungry. Girl-Kai, Girl-Kaleb, Boy-Shelby, and Girl-Me (yes, I’d finally admitted it) had all piled into my car. Boy-Danika, Boy-Jessica, and Boy-Jakobi had all piled into Danika’s neat little Volkswagen GTI. Everyone else just simply decided they would head straight through to Pocatello. They hadn’t changed clothes and wanted to reveal the bad news to their parents. Meanwhile, the rest of us were prepared to go among the public… in a manner of speaking. Boy-Shelby had put some of my clothes on. Boy-Danika and Boy-Jessica had borrowed clothes from Kaleb. Boy-Jakobi and Girl-Kai had simply switched wardrobes. Girl-Kaleb had borrowed clothes from Boy-Jessica. As for me, I was wearing Danika’s clothes. It felt so weird. Though, the ‘girls’ had one rule: nobody wore their panties. It was explained that for one girl to share another girl’s underwear was not only an invasion of privacy, but also had hygienic concerns that they weren’t going to go into. It would take all day to explain, they said.

I had opted for something so strange that I wouldn’t have thought about it before that morning. Danika handed me a sports bra which, amazingly, kept my new “assets” in check and was quite comfortable. It also kept my nipples from rubbing against any fabrics and annoying the hell out of me. Next, I opted not to wear any underwear. My own was chaffing me so badly that I just threw them in my bag and didn’t think about it. Doing so had confirmed the existence of my new feminine crotch. Danika handed me a pair of leggings which were about three-quarter length (they fell just below my knees, which she explained was “Capri length”) that she didn’t mind whether I wore underwear or not with. On top of it all, she had this interesting tie-dyed short dress that she usually wore with her bathing suit. It pretty much looked like just and over-sized tank top, but it served its purpose. Top it all off with a pair of Jessica’s purple sandals and I was good to go. Except, Danika thought of pulling my hair back into a ponytail and holding it down with a scrunchie. I was thankful for that.

Girl-Kai, however, was pretty “plain Jane” about everything. She slipped on a pair of jeans, borrowed a pair of tennis shoes, wore a sports bra, tied her hair back into a braid, slipped on a T-shirt and was ready without complaint. Kaleb, on the other hand, had the worst time of it. He didn’t like the idea of a bra at all. Though, once he moved around in a T-shirt long enough, he was begging for one. He hated how tight the jeans were and I could almost swear I heard him say something like “jeez, they make my butt look big”. Neither of them could wrap their mind around the idea I was actually willing to wear leggings and a dress. It was a day full of strangeness.

As we drove into town, things began to take on a whole new light. There was evidence of some sort of chaos. There were car accidents that the workers were just cleaning up. Hundreds of businesses were closed. There was hardly anyone on the sidewalks. I had been to this town before and it was usually teeming with life. Now, it felt like some kind of glorified ghost town. It made us all a little uneasy. At least Denny’s was still open.

Finally back to civilization, everyone grabbed out their cell phones and immediately called home. It was really strange, but those seven conversations filled the dead air of the town. Some people passing (the ONLY pedestrians since we arrived) would look over, eavesdrop for a moment on the conversations, knowingly nod, and walk on stating “teenagers” or something similar. Dreading talking to my own parents, I found a quiet corner to sit down as I pressed “send”. Try as I might, I had no idea how to explain to my parents that they now had three daughters instead of just two, reducing the amount of sons to only two. My nerves were on edge by the third ring and I heard the line being picked up.

“Hello?” An unfamiliar man’s voice greeted.

I blinked. “Uh… yea, hello? Who is this?”

“This is the MacAllister residence. Whom am I speaking to?” That tone sounded familiar.

I let out a long sigh. “Well, I don’t know how to explain this, but it’s Michael. Who are you, anyway?”

“Oh, thank the Creator!” The man let out an exasperated and relieved sigh. “Michael, this is your mother speaking.”

I could have sworn I heard a record scratch. “Last I checked, you had to be a woman to be a mother.”

“And yet, when you left here you didn’t sound like a sixteen year old girl, either. I fear the situation is much more complicated than you’re aware of, sweetheart. Where are you?”

Had to admit, the guy had a point. “You’re my mom? Prove it.”

I could hear a growl. This wasn’t going to be pretty. “Michael Anthony MacAllister! I did not spend thirteen AND A HALF hours in labor with you for you to give me this much grief at a time like this! Now, where THE HELL are you?!”

Yep, this was definitely my mother. Only she ever emphasized “and a half” when talking about how long she dealt with the pain of my birth. I facepalmed. “Sorry, Mom. It’s been a really confusing morning. I’m at the Denny’s in Ketchum. We’re going to get something to eat and then we’re hitting the road for home.”

“Just in Ketchum? It’s nearly two o’ clock. What’s taken you so long to get there?”

“Uh… gee… I dunno. Until two hours ago, it was six guys and four girls on a camping trip. At about noon, the dudes turned into chicks and the chicks turned into dudes. It’s been a rough morning and really confusing.”

“I knew that camping trip wasn’t a good idea. Is Mekaisto with you?”

I glanced over at girl-Kai. “In a manner of speaking.”

“Good, his mother is worried sick. Why don’t the two of you come over here when you get back?”

“I thought that was the idea? I’ve got to drop off Kaleb, first, though.”

“Okay, that’s fine. You be safe out there, sweetheart. It’s been a very bad day on the roads and really confusing for everybody. We’ll fill you in when you get home. I love you, sweetheart.”

I felt weird saying it this way. “I love you, too… Mom.”

With that, I hung up and ventured inside. Girl-Kaleb and Girl-Kai were inside, joined by Boy-Jakobi. They all looked pretty shaken up. For a second, I thought I saw that Kaleb had been crying. I slipped into the booth with them, letting out another sigh.

“That was quite possibly the most confusing phone call I’ve ever made.” I stated softly.

“Yea, I think everybody’s got the same idea on that one.” Boy-Jakobi agreed.

Girl-Kai’s eyes were wide and she was shaking her head. “My grandmother was way too confusing. At least, I think it was my grandmother. Sounded like a guy to me.”

“Same here… with my Dad, though. Sounded like a woman.” Girl-Kaleb whimpered.

“Apparently, I got ahold of my mom, but sounded like a dude for me.” I announced.

“Oh, yea? How’d that go over?” Girl-Kai’s eyebrow raised.

“I didn’t think it was my mom. Then, she used that line and that tone she always uses when I piss her off. You know, the one about how long she was in labor with me?”

Girl-Kai nodded, knowing all too well. “Yep, that’s definitely your mom. She really likes to drive the point home…” She used a similar tone to my mom and accented the words. “…and a half!”

I giggled. “Yes! Exactly!” I’d never “giggled” before, really, so I added that to the list of weird things going on that day.

Boy-Jakobi leaned in to study our faces. “Did any of your parents tell you what the heck is going on or did they just say ‘we’ll tell you when you get home’?”

“Dad didn’t say anything.” Girl-Kaleb whimpered again. “…I hope it was my dad…”

“Grandma told it to me straight. She’s like that, though. She doesn’t pull the punches.” Girl-Kai announced, proudly.

“Yea? So, what the fuck is goin’ on?” I implored.

She leaned in. “It’s like this, dude: There have been news reports all over the airwaves for the last two hours. You know, while we were arguing up in the frickin’ mountains? Anyway, they’re saying this is a worldwide thing. It didn’t just happen to us, guys. It happened to everybody!”

Everybody perked up and looked at girl-Kai with astonishment. We were all stunned by the news and, naturally, unimpressed without proof.

“Pics or it didn’t happen, dude!” I interjected.

“Seriously? The whole world? That’s impossible!” Boy-Jakobi yelled.

“No, what’s impossible is you woke up a pretty hot chick this morning only to end up as a buff, tall dude at lunch time.” Girl-Kai pointed out.

He visibly recoiled. “Okay… so you have a point.”

Girl-Kaleb shook her head. “This can’t be happening… it’s just too fucked up.”

Suddenly, Boy-Danika and Boy-Jessica entered the room and sat down next to me. Boy-Danika shook his head, anticipating any questions. “Okay, pretty sure what you’re talking about. Let’s can it until we eat something. Suddenly, I feel like I have a hollow leg and could eat my family out of house and home.”

* * * * * * *

We tried to distract ourselves with other things while we ate, but the whole event was at the forefront of our minds. Oddly, Boy-Danika, Boy-Jessica, and Boy-Jakobi ate like they hadn’t had a meal all weekend. It was a little disturbing to see them shoveling food in their mouths and apparently not tasting it. Girl-Kai and I were astonished at how little we could actually eat. We’d both been pretty big eaters, Kai being the bigger of the two. Girl-Kaleb, however, barely touched her food. Having been the guy whose hair had reminded me of Christian Slater as “Will Scarlet” now appeared more like a mixture of Anne Hathaway and Rachel Leigh Cook. She looked so depressed and distraught. I guessed that Kaleb was really battling some demons.

Soon after eating, we were on the road again. It was really eerie how barren the roadways were. Naturally, we were still seeing scenes of accidents that had occurred earlier being cleaned up by the Department of Transportation and the State Police. It took us a little more than an hour to actually get back into Pocatello, which was shorter than a usual trip might have been. Even our hometown looked like a ghost town. Early in the evening, when the roads really should have been crowded with people heading home from work, there were almost no vehicles. Boy-Danika and I had decided to meet at a parking lot on Center Street, right across from the only gay bar in town, Charlie’s. There, we discussed who was taking whom home and how we were going to exchange the clothes we’d borrowed. It was decided that all the former girls would ride with Boy-Danika, as they had when they’d come on the camping trip in the first place. So, Boy-Shelby jumped from my car to the GTI, we said our “good-byes” and I was on the road again with Girl-Kai and Girl-Kaleb.

With very little deliberation, it was decided that we’d all go to my place. My parents were pretty used to Kai and Kaleb, anyway, and I feared that Kaleb needed the company. We lived in the middle class area known as “Indian Hills” in the southern part of town, which is why we attended Century High. Before long, we were pulling up out in front of my family’s modest five-bedroom house. None of us felt like bringing all the camping gear inside, just yet. Besides, the hiking bags we’d all packed now seemed to weigh a ton, anyway. Girl-Kai and I had equated it to the lack of muscle we’d both worked fairly hard to achieve for the sports we played. That was all gone, now, and it didn’t look like I’d be playing football in the fall like I wanted to.

The walk up to my house seemed, to me, like that scene from “Green Mile” where they were escorting the man on Death Row to the electric chair. There was this eerie sense that lingered since the phone call I’d made from Denny’s.

My family was pretty affluent in the area. My father, Liam MacAllister, was the head of the History Department at Idaho State University, as I mentioned before, and 41 years old. My mother, Margaret (called “Maggie”) MacAllister, was the administrative trauma nurse at Portneuf Medical Center in town, and only just turned 40 this year. As a Registered Nurse (RN), she was highly regarded among her peers and the community as a whole. My older brother, Liam Jr., was in Southern California attending USC with his sophomore year coming up–he just turned 19. My older sister, Catherine (call her “Katie” or she’ll tear you a new rectum), was nearly 18 and had only just graduated high school, still living at home. There was me, the 16-year-old high school sophomore, who was poised to become the first Valedictorian in our family. Then, there was my younger brother, Seamus (he hated his “old country” name), and my younger sister, Meghan, who were 15 and 14, respectively, but weren’t anything really special just yet. Though, Meghan was on the cheerleading squad at the middle school nearby.

Liam had actually gotten into USC Film School on a theater scholarship, which had been the talk of the town when he’d graduated. I knew my parents were incredibly proud of him, so was I. Though, he was hardly ever home. Most of the time, he just stayed with a friend off-campus until the school year started up again and he had, at least, come home for Christmas the previous year. Katie, though, was the “jock girl” of our family. She’d gotten into the University of Washington up in Seattle on a volleyball scholarship but would also be playing on their softball team. My parents were incredibly proud of me, too. I was actually looking at some Ivy League schools back east (Harvard, Princeton, and MIT to be precise). I had a shot, as long as I kept on the Valedictorian road and aced my SATs.

There was conversation at about a dull roar that I could hear as I approached the door. Not knowing whether the door was locked or not, I slowly turned the handle. It clicked and opened a crack. In that instant, the house fell silent. I slowly opened the door to reveal a family inside that I did not recognize. As I felt the eyes on me, there was the sensation of butterflies in my stomach. In the kitchen was a tall, Native American man wearing a cooking apron, sweatpants, and a long T-shirt. With him, was a young man with short red hair in similar attire frozen in place as he held plates, apparently setting the table for dinner. On the couch, there was a boy and a girl who looked younger than me, but had no resemblance my little brother and sister. The girl appeared to be half-Native with long black hair and fair skin. The boy looked like a standard member of our family with his red hair, but still looked very different than my little brother. I opened the door a little further and stepped across the threshold, my eyes darting from one of them to the next. Then, a short, slightly plump woman came out from the hallway. Her hair was about the same rust color as mine had been that morning, but she didn’t look anything like my mother. I was so nervous that my hands were shaking.

“Who the hell are you?” The half-Native girl inquired forcefully.

“Language, young man!” The woman in the hallway scolded.

I blinked. ‘Young man?’, I thought. “Um… hi?”

The big Native man dropped what he was doing instantly, shoved past the guy with the plates, and crossed over to me. “Oh, thank heavens! Michael? Mekaisto? Kaleb?”

I simply nodded, but girl-Kai spoke up. “Yea, it’s us… I guess. Mrs. Mack?”

The big man nodded. The closer he got, the shorter I felt. He had to be about 6’1”, or something about there. He bent over and pulled me into a squeezing hug. “Thank the Creator you’re safe!” He had come so fast that I didn’t have time to attempt reciprocation, so my arms were effectively pinned to my sides.

“Wait… THAT is Michael?” The younger boy on the couch asked. “Impossible! He’s supposed to be ugly!”

“Meghan, shut up!” The guy with the plates chided while he finished setting the table. “That’s just incredibly rude. They just got back, after all. I’m pretty sure they’re all confused.”

“Yea, I can see that.” The half-Native girl agreed. “He’s wearing a dress. He’s got to be confused.”

“Seamus Devon!” The woman from the hallway yelled. The half-Native girl recoiled. “It’s been a very trying day for everyone. The least you could do is give a little support.” The big guy released me and moved to embrace girl-Kai and girl-Kaleb, bringing me into full view of the woman. “Well, so you are wearing a dress… and tights, I see.”

I could feel my cheeks warm up. “Hey, we all figured we had to be incognito. We still have no idea what’s going on, so we pulled a little smoke and mirrors thing. This is really all Danika had that I was willing to borrow.”

She nodded. “Makes perfect sense to me. We were about to turn on BBC World News. Perhaps, we can all gain a little more perspective on what is really going on.” In that moment, I knew this little frumpy woman had to be my father. His parents had emigrated from Ireland when the civil unrest began to erupt in Northern Ireland, thanks to the Irish Republican Army. His parents were Protestants and prime targets for the violence. They had always watched the BBC and it was no different when they came to the United States. He’d grown up on it and we all came to believe that they were more thorough and worldly-minded than most American network news stations.

Having released my friends, my “mother” began moving back to the kitchen. “Mekaisto, Kaleb? Are the two of you staying for dinner? We’d love to have you.”

Girl-Kaleb shrugged. Girl-Kai delegated herself to speaking for them both. “I guess, Mrs. Mack. I think Kaleb’s still pretty shaken up.” I nodded in agreement; girl-Kaleb remained silent.

“Well, okay then.” The male voice boomed from the kitchen. “I’ll call your parents and let them know. I’m sure they’ll be happy to know you’re safe with us, at least.”

“Maggie, dear, do you think it would be better if I gave them a call? It might smooth things over a bit better if it comes from a woman’s voice.” My “dad” suggested.

“I don’t think it matters too much, Liam. As long as they hear their kids are safe, I don’t think it matters whose voice it is.” My “mother” quipped.

The woman looked back at us. “Well, all right, kids. Pile onto the sofa. I’ll call your parents and let them know everything’s okay. Whence dinner is served, we’ll catch the BBC.” And, with that, she moved toward the kitchen to grab the cordless phone and stepped out onto the porch to make the necessary phone calls.

We were all pretty silent and our eyes kept darting quizzically about the room. The air was so surreal. This was supposed to be my family, but I just didn’t recognize any of them. It made me feel like a real stranger. Girl-Kai, girl-Kaleb, and I moved to sit down on the sofa near my family’s 60” plasma TV. Absent-mindedly, my legs fell into a “V” shape that they usually fell into when I sat down. I would learn later that it was sort of a male cultural thing to take up as much space as possible. The guy who had been setting the table quickly crossed the room, slammed my knees together, and leaned to whisper in my ear.

“Keep these together! I can tell from across the room that you’re not wearing underwear and I don’t really care, but there are children in the house and you’re wearing a dress. Get the picture?” He growled through his whisper.

My eyes were wide from shock. “O… kaaay…?” He’d scared me more than a little.

My first lesson in female etiquette was a hard one; it hurt my knees, too. A few minutes later, I actually crossed my legs, which was an entirely new sensation with the leggings on. No one spoke too much, other than simple small talk, all through dinner. We were asked how the camping trip went and elaborated everything that had happened before noon that day. Boy-Katie whined that he probably wouldn’t be eligible for the scholarship, now, after the change. My heart sank. This whole situation had more consequences than many of us were willing to admit. We were lucky to make it through dinner without asking any awkward questions.

My “father” finished first and began to prepare the television for viewing the news broadcast as my “mother” and boy-Katie cleaned up the dinner setting. Again, girl-Kai, girl-Kaleb, and myself settled ourselves onto the couch, where I again crossed my legs not wanting to have bruises on my knees from boy-Katie’s wrath. My “brother” and “sister” situated themselves on the love seat while my parents took their usual seating on their recliners. Boy-Katie simply leaned against the love seat to monitor my younger siblings, should they fall out of line.

In moments, the title graphic played on the screen and a woman in her forties appeared wearing a man’s suit and tie. Any other day, this might appear odd. However, today was not what any of us would call “normal”. The graphic that appeared identified her as Matt Frei, though she looked nothing like him. Another square graphic appeared over her right shoulder that read “Lead Story”. Clearing her throat, she began the newscast.

“Welcome to BBC World News America. If it can be believed, I am your host, Matt Frei.” She seemed to pause for effect. “In our top story tonight, the world has been thrown into a mass of chaos and confusion. The whole of Britain and the United States has ground to a halt. Global markets are not trading and businesses have closed their doors, sending all of their employees home for the day.” As she spoke, video clips from major cities around the world (including London, New York, Washington DC, Berlin, Paris, Rome, Tokyo and many others). “At seven P-M, local time in London, something very peculiar began to happen. In the span of, perhaps, fifteen minutes, everyone began to transform from one sex to the opposite sex they were born as. Hysteria set in, en masse, and many fled to their homes. We here at the BBC soon learned that this was not an isolated incident. It occurred at the very same time, calculating for local times, around the world. In America, if you live in Washington or New York, for example, it occurred at two P-M local time. The same for Los Angeles, occurring at eleven A-M local time. If you live in Tokyo, it happened at three A-M, local time, and you will likely awaken quite bewildered, indeed.

“Scientists, scholars, politicians and religious leaders are totally baffled by this turn of events. None of them has sufficiently supplied an explanation for what precisely occurred at that hour all around the world. There has been no word at all from Prime Minister Tony Blair on this issue and 10 Downing Street remains very quiet, indeed. Her Majesty, the Queen, has not made a public appearance, either. At last report, the Royal Family were in at the castle in Windsor. However, if one were to visit Buckingham Palace at this hour, I suspect they would find a rather interesting situation. The Changing of the Guard Ceremony has continued on schedule throughout the day, though the guards appear a bit shorter and their uniforms appear loose and rather silly, as well. I dare say that the ride into BBC Headquarters was the fastest drive I’ve ever experienced. The streets of London are eerily quiet. On the motorways…” A segment of several live camera feeds flashed on the screen before returning to the anchor. “…there is no travel besides the occasional lorry keeping the freight moving about the country.

“Likewise, in America, there has been no official word from the White House, either. To shed light on this situation, we go to our BBC White House Correspondent, Katty Kay, in Washington DC, now.” The graphic moved to show a split screen between the woman and the man who now appeared in the second window. He appeared to also be in his forties and almost had something of a familial resemblance to Katty Kay, though looked more like a brother. Below their picture, the graphics identified them as being in London and Washington, respectively. “Folks, do not adjust your television screens. This is no trick of the camera. The man onscreen now, I assure you, is in fact Katty Kay. How was your day, Katty?”

The man sighed. “I regret to inform you, Matt, that it has been a very confusing day, indeed. At two P-M, local time, I was in conference with Senator John McCain speaking about his plans for the campaign. I left the office with many more questions than he and I were prepared to go into detail about.”

The woman smiled. “I would imagine so. What is the official reaction in the part of the United States on this matter?”

“The official response is that there is no official response, as of yet.” Now, the graphic changed, showing only the man with “Katty Kay” and “Washington DC” written in graphic below him. “The White House is locked up tighter than the fabled Fort Knox. The United States Congress is not in session at all. The halls of Capital Hill are very quiet. Even the Pentagon, headquarters of the United States military branches, is shut down.” Pictures flashed of the various locations being mentioned. “As you stated previously, Matt, there is no trading on Wall Street, right now, and there has not been since approximately 2:30pm, local time. Police reports across the country have reported auto accidents at their highest rate on any given day since the automobile was invented and mass-produced. No one is at work, save for a select few government offices for national security reasons. One would suspect panic, but the streets are eerily quiet. It seems that everyone has gone home to be with their families.” Scene changed to show a video of a limousine outside the White House with police escort and two young men, wearing women’s clothing, rushed from the car to the door. “One piece of news, however, is that President and Laura Bush’s two children have returned to the White House. Seen here in this video, two young men–one wearing a dress and stockings, the other in a skirt and pumps–were escorted by police motorcade to the White House earlier today. It can logically be determined that these two must be the President and First Lady’s fraternal twins, Jenna and Barbara.”

The graphic switched to the split screen once more. Woman-Matt spoke first. “That is quite interesting. Is there any official word from the White House whether or not there is to be a press conference later in the week?”

Man-Katty shook his head. “To my knowledge, there has not been any word on that at all. None of the White House aids or the White House Press Secretary have given any indication that there is a statement to be made on the matter. They have not answered our phone calls, either.”

“Thank you, Katty.” The graphic changed back to just woman-Matt, again. “Though commerce has all but frozen, we must still go to commercial. BBC World News America will be right back.”

The screen faded and my “father” hit the mute button. There was a stunned silence in the room. We were all likely considering and processing what we had just heard. Unlike the rest of my family, this was the first that Kai, Kaleb, and I had heard that what happened to us at the campsite was actually a worldwide phenomenon. We had seen many of the accidents first hand, but had no idea what was going on anywhere but our own little world. To imagine such a thing had happened everywhere was simply unfathomable. I, personally, don’t think it was very comforting for political leaders of the various countries to basically turn into shut-ins rather than reassuring the public that all would be well, in time. The majority of people were likely as freaked out as it was. They didn’t need their President or Prime Minister remaining so recluse. With not a word exchanged among the family and friends, the broadcast was back on after the four-minute commercial break.

“Welcome back to BBC World News America. Do not adjust your television sets. I am, in point of fact, Matt Frei. We continue our coverage of our lead story for this evening. If you’ve only just joined us, there has been a phenomenon that has effected the whole world. For those of you in the UK, you know that at 7pm local time men suddenly began turning into women and women into men. For those in America, it occurred at 2pm Eastern Time and 11am Pacific Time. We are getting reports from all over the world with local times that correspond with these times. However, there has yet to be any news from a particular region of the world that has some world leaders somewhat wary.

“The television network in the Middle East, the Arabic-speaking Al-Jazeera, has not been broadcasting anything and their signal has not been detected since a corresponding local time that coordinates with the 7pm London Time. We have reason to believe that the leaders of Iran, Saudi Arabia, Burma/Myanmar, and other Arabic nations with Muslim leaders have ordered a media blackout. The BBC’s own Middle East correspondent was reportedly phoning headquarters when her cellular phone was confiscated by armed guard and all other communications have been shut down. We are hearing similar reports from American network news anchors that also have correspondents in the Middle East. No one knows what to make of this. The UN has not responded and with the President of the United States and the Prime Minister of the UK apparently on holiday, there is no official word on the subject. I say again, the Middle East has allegedly instituted a media blackout and we are attempting to ascertain what that could mean for the Western world. Stay tuned for more information, hopefully at a later time.

“We are now joined by Katie Couric of the CBS Evening News and the program 60 Minutes.” The graphic changed back to the split screen with one identifier as London and the other underneath a rather chubby man in his fifties that read “New York”. “Miss Couric, thank you for joining us this evening.”

The man nodded. “Thank you, Matt. It’s a pleasure to be here.”

Woman-Matt rearranged a few papers on his desk before asking his question. “Now, I am to understand that you have done a great deal of correspondence for CBS and 60 Minutes in the Middle East. Could you, perhaps, educate the viewers as to how we should take the idea that countries like Iran, Saudi Arabia, and Burma/Myanmar have instituted a media blackout?”

As the man spoke, several different pictures of what we all knew Katie Couric looked like flashed across the screen showing scenes of when she’d done reporting in the Middle East. “Well, Matt, I have been to the Middle East several times, as you know. The governments ruled by Imam’s, Mullah’s, and Ayatollah’s could institute a media blackout on a whim, if they so chose. It’s not like here in the United States where we have ‘Freedom of the Press’ in our Constitution. The governments run their press. Given the events of today, it didn’t surprise me that they called for the blackout. What happened today undermines just about everything that Islam and the Qur’an have taught them over the past couple thousand years. All of those countries that were once led by men are now, for all intents and purposes, led by women. That alone would cause chaos in the streets.”

Woman-Matt nodded. “I see. So, it is your professional opinion that there is really nothing to fear from this media blackout, correct?”

Man-Katie nodded again. “I am not an expert on Islam or its teachings, but having experienced the culture first hand, I don’t think we have anything to worry about here. Like us, they are likely attempting to make sense of a very confusing experience. Look at your own Prime Minister, Matt. He has essentially instituted his own media blackout by not addressing the public from a podium at 10 Downing Street. Even my own President Bush is remaining tight-lipped and reclusive.”

“Yes, it’s very troublesome from all accounts, isn’t it?”

“It very much is. We have a scared and confused public and our leaders aren’t showing their faces. It’s a testament to how human they truly are. If you hadn’t asked me to this interview, I would be at home with my children.”

Woman-Matt smiled. “Well, thank you very much for your sacrifice, Miss Couric. I wish you well this evening. Do be careful on your way home.”

Man-Katie smiled back. “Thank you, Matt.”

The graphic once again morphed to show only the woman claiming to be Matt Frei with a still photograph over her right shoulder of a woman I couldn’t recognize. “There is one politician brave enough to show their face for the sake of their people, tonight. That politician would be the Prime Minister of Australia, Kevin Michael Rudd. Dressed accordingly in a women’s pant suit, the Prime Minister addressed the country of Australia this morning, at an early 7am local time, in the garden at The Lodge in Deakin, Canberra. In the address, the Prime Minister assured the Australian citizens that the government would make a full inquiry as to what has occurred. Though many were tempted to stay at home, all citizens were implored to return to work that day, as per normal. Joking that the changes would take some getting used to, the Prime Minister seemed in high spirits that the Australian people would persevere through this troubling time.” Woman-Matt smirked and chortled. “Is there nothing that troubles an Australian? You decide. We’ll be right back.”

All of us laughed as my father again hit the “mute” button, anticipating the commercial break.

“I have to say, she looked pretty good in that purple top and pant suit ensemble. I don’t think the pearls fit her character, though.” My “mother” commented. All the former girls chuckled with their deep voices. Most of the former guys didn’t know what they were talking about.

“If you’ll pardon the expression, she’s the only politician with enough balls to actually get in front of a camera, so I’d say she’s doing pretty well.” My “father” added.

“Yea, it does seem a little cowardly that President Bush and Prime Minister Blair are hiding away in their state-funded homes while we’re all a bit confused.” Boy-Katie added.

“Suddenly, I don’t feel so bad about being upset by being turned into a chick. I had the courage to go out in public and those guys are hiding behind closed curtains with their tails between their legs.” Girl-Kaleb finally spoke. “What a bunch of pussies.”

“And, now, quite literally.” My “father” quipped.

Another roaring laughter erupted in the room.

— Chapter Four —

The next few days were nothing more than a blur, really. The chaos was beginning to settle and people were slowly returning to work. The markets were trading again. Congress was in session. The Pentagon was fully operational. Though, it was anyone’s guess how the United States was going to deal with a fighting force that was now primarily female. After a few days, the President finally held a press conference. My family caught the highlights either through secondary sources online or from the BBC. None of us could stomach listening to “Dubya” for very long at all. Though, having a President named Gloria Bush was a little odd. The overall consensus was to adapt to the change and the government would pay for new names for all citizens, as a legal alias. That was something we would never have expected from a Republican president, free handouts to the “average Joe”. Thankfully, there was no “mad dash” to the County Recorder’s office. Everyone took their time adapting to the reality.

Kaleb and Kai stayed in my room for three more days, practically extending our camping trip by simply moving it to my room. After that, however, their parents came and escorted them home. I was now by myself with a family I didn’t visually recognize. After a few days, we became accustomed to each other’s new faces and everything was taking on a renewed sense of “normal”. Though, all of us were messing up pronouns left and right. For instance, Katie kept calling me “she” and I kept calling her “he”. Once, Meghan even made a little mistake in calling our father “Mom”. That was comical. Though, we’d have to get used to such designations.

Two days after “the event”–we had termed as the euphemism–Liam Jr. had come back home from Los Angeles after all the other roommates had gone home. She was now a fully Native American young woman, looking a lot like my mother did now, except completely female. It was just as confusing for my eldest sibling as it had been for me when I came home from camping.

After watching several news broadcasts, my parents decided that it was time to get to business. The government had suggested that everyone acquire a legal alias, fully federally funded. Their recommendation was to continue using one’s first initial as the letter for the new name. That way, everyone could abbreviate to just their first initial and not be mistaken as someone other than themselves on legal documentation. My parents had spent four days considering this and had brought it to all of us at the table after dinner on the sixth night after the change. We, the kids, were not allowed to give much input on our names, save for Liam Jr. and Katie because they were legally adults… almost. After a little arguing and discussion, we all had new names.

My “dad”, we now had to call “Mom”, was now Loraine (or “Lori”) MacAllister. My “mom”, we now had to call “Dad”, was now Maxwell (some people might get away with “Max”) MacAllister. My older brother would now be Leanne (or “Annie”) and my older sister would now be Chester (or “Chaz”, which made me laugh). My younger brother was now Sadie and my younger sister, the youngest of the family, was now to be called Mark. They actually didn’t change my name much. The original idea was “Michelle”, being the feminine equivalent of “Michael”, but I hated that. So, my name became something of a tongue twister. I would now be known as Mekayla MacAllister; though, technically, I could still be called “Mike” with that name (it worked for Dr. Quinn!). It would take us a long time to get used to all of this.

The one problem I had with the whole thing, though, was knowing when I had to pee. I’d gone through almost 17 years of my life with a penis. The sensation that occurred when I had the urge to urinate was uniform the whole time. However, now that I had a female vulva, it was a whole lot harder. In the first couple of weeks, I had to learn what the signal was that my body used to tell me I had to run to the bathroom. I also had to learn that standing to urinate just wasn’t going to work anymore. Embarrassingly, I had my unfair share of accidents, but mine wasn’t the only laundry being done on a daily basis. Mom, Sadie, and Leanne were having similar experiences. After a day or three, Dad actually described to us (individually) what the sensation was that a woman’s body used to tell her it was time to go pee. It had one hell of a learning curve. After about three and a half weeks, I think I got the hang of it. Though, I felt I was probably running to the bathroom more often now than I ever did when I had a penis. Not only that, but laughing, coughing, sneezing, and many other functions taken for granted would actually trigger the “I GOTTA PEE!” signal. On top of that, Dad decided to elaborate that once a woman starts having babies, it gets worse. That was not something I wanted to contemplate, ever. “Frustrating” is just not a strong enough word to use for such a thing.

The next order of business: clothes shopping. I hated the very suggestion. I had never in my entire life enjoyed the activity of shopping. If I were going to be a girl for the rest of my life, I’d be a terrible one. However, the whole family was going, so I could share my woes with Leanne. My older brother and I had always gotten along really well and I don’t think that changed once we suddenly grew breasts. Our parents piled us all into the family SUV and it was off to the mall in Idaho Falls. Though, none of us really looked all that presentable with the ill-fitting attire we had to wear until that trip. Most of the time, we just lounged around in T-shirts and sweatpants. Thankfully, we’d left really early in the morning and there was still very few people out and about town. A crowd would be our worst nightmare.

Once we parked the car, our first stop was JC Penny. Interestingly enough, my “Mom” took the “boys” off to the young men’s section and my “Dad” took us “girls” to the junior’s department. I felt as though I was in alien territory just glancing at all the outfits that were on the mannequins. One should get a degree of some kind for just being able to decipher and precisely coordinate women’s clothing. It baffled me. Before we could begin getting any clothes, though, we had to take a trip to the fitting rooms. “Dad” decided we all had to be measured so that we could possibly begin to find out what our sizes were. If outfit coordination was bad, deciphering women’s sizes was worse.

A few days prior, “Dad” had taken us down to the clinic of a doctor he was on good terms with. We were weighed, measured for height, and given a general check-up to ascertain our current health. We were all fine, but it’s all the measuring that had me baffled. Liam Jr. had been 6’2” tall and probably weighed somewhere between 160 to 175 pounds. On the scales, Leanne was only 5’8” tall and came in at 128 pounds. Seamus had been about 5’4” tall and weighed, I’d say, about 110 pounds (he was really skinny). Sadie, however, was the same height and weighed just two pounds more, at 112 (I think it was because of her new boobs.). I had been a little more than 5’10” tall and, last time I weighed in, was about 140 pounds (mostly muscle weight). Now, I was only about 5’5” tall and weighed a whopping 118 pounds. All three of us were a little frightened by these numbers.

Once at the fitting rooms, a young guy that was probably closer to Annie’s age than my own greeted us. “Dad” explained the situation and what the plan was. The guy agreed to take us, one-by-one, into the changing rooms and measure us for size. I didn’t fully understand what that was all about until it was my turn to be measured. Leanne went first, then me, then Sadie.

“I’m a seven,” Leanne announced when she emerged.

Dad nodded. “Okay, Mekayla, it’s your turn, now.”

Hearing that name still sent a twinge down my spine. I slowly stood and followed the guy into a back fitting room. Once there I turned around to face him. He smiled.

“Don’t worry, okay? Eight days ago, I was a girl. I’m not going to try anything funny.” He stated. “Now, if you could lift your arms and hold them straight out, we can start.” I did as requested and held my arms straight out as he wrapped a tape measure around my chest, just below my new breasts. Then, he made a note before moving a little higher and measuring right over top of them. I blushed, naturally. Next, he moved down to my new natural waist and made his note. “Okay, those pants aren’t really going to work for this. Are you wearing anything under them?”

I gave a bewildered expression. “What do you mean?”

He sighed. “Those sweatpants are pretty thick. I don’t think I’m going to get an accurate hip measurement with them on. Are you wearing underwear?”

Again, I blushed. “Um… boxers?”

He nodded. “Those should be fine. Like I said, I’m not going to try anything funny, but could you slide your sweatpants down your legs?” I didn’t quite understand the insinuation, but I did as requested and somehow felt weird doing it. “There’s a good girl. Thanks.”

“I’m not a girl!” I protested.

He scoffed. “You keep telling yourself that, honey.” He wrapped the tape measure around my butt and came uncomfortably close to my crotch. He took his note and then looked up at me. “Okay, pull your pants up and turn around for me?” I obliged, not really getting what he was going for. However, he measured from the base of my neck to the small of my back. “Okay, well, I’d say you’re a pretty healthy girl who’s a size 5. You should look for a 36 C bra, though.”

My eyes widened. I hadn’t anticipated bra shopping to be included in this excursion. Now, a little frightened, I exited the fitting room. Once outside, I whispered to my Dad what my size was and he nodded before sending Sadie in. I moved over and sat next to Leanne on a bench outside.

“That was a little embarrassing, eh?” She asked.

“Just a little.” I sighed. “So, what’s the damage?”

“Well, apparently I’m a size 7, but I don’t know what that means.”

“Me either. I’m a 5, though.”

“Yea? How’s the boobs?”

“A 36 C. You?”

“Same, actually. Though, from what I hear, that’s the average among American women.”

“Is that what we are, now? American women?”

She laughed. “Yep, I guess so.”

A few minutes later, Sadie emerged with a ripe blush on her face. All of our pairs of sweatpants were designed for men. Therefore, they ran a little bigger and had thicker fabric. I learned later that he really could not have gotten an accurate measurement with them on. Women’s and Girls’ sizes are fairly exact, down to half inches in some styles. Like I said, you almost have to be a scientist to really figure it all out. Once having relayed her size to Dad, Sadie came and sat with Leanne and I. Then, Dad came over to address us all.

“Okay, you three. I’m pretty sure you are not going to like what I’m about to tell you, but I do not want to hear any complaints at all. Am I understood?” Dad was laying down the law. The three of us exchanged glances before looking back up and answering something like “yea, sure” or “okay, whatever”. We really shouldn’t have agreed to anything we didn’t know we were agreeing to. “Okay, then. I’m taking you to the intimates department to get you all some fitting underwear. I’m pretty sure you’ve found out by now that men’s under things are uncomfortable and scratchy on those new bodies of yours. Not only that, I’m really tired of seeing all your boobs flopping around for all the world to see. So, you’re all getting bras.” Sadie almost interjected. “No buts! Now, let’s go.” The three of us stood and let out our selected whimper or whine. “What did I say about complaints, girls?! Move it!” That shut us up.

If I thought I was in alien territory when entering the junior’s department, I was in another galaxy when we came to the intimates department. Yet again, you’d need a degree to try and make sense of everything. They had bras and panties of every shape, size, color, and design. There was even one section for socks and hosiery while another area for “sleepwear”. It was insanity. While Dad moved through and began picking several different things off the racks, my new sisters and I were slowly trudging around with our eyes as big as dinner plates. We were pretty overwhelmed. We couldn’t really make heads or tails of anything.

“If I’d have told you a month ago that this is what we’d be doing during our summer vacation, what would you have told me?” Leanne asked while whispering in my ear.

“That you’re fucking crazy!” I whispered back.

“Yea, same here. What the hell are they thinking? Do they really believe we’re actually going to wear any of this frilly, sissy crap?”

“I don’t know. I — ”

“Wow, this is actually kinda cute.” Sadie loudly stated within earshot of Dad. Leanne and I exchanged a glance and then looked back at Sadie quizzically. She looked pretty self-conscious, now. “What?”

She was holding a pajama set that was still tethered to the rack by its hanger. It was a lavender-colored tank top with a moon wearing a sleeping cap and matching pants that had little blue “Z” shapes all over it. The bottoms looked like they were made of satin. Dad came over with the cart, gave the outfit a glance and then looked down at Sadie.

“You really think that, Sadie? Do you want me to get this for you?” He asked, patiently.

Sadie shrugged. “I dunno. It kinda looked nice.”

Dad glared at Leanne and I. “Don’t base your choice on what those two say. If you like it, we’ll get it for you. You have to try it on, first, okay?”

Sadie nodded. Annie and I would have like to hide somewhere. Even with a man’s visage, our mother had some certain looks that we would never dare challenge. We felt like idiots and wondered what we’d done wrong, all at the same time. Dad grabbed the outfit, put a few more things in the cart, and then moved straight to the fitting rooms. He handed Sadie the outfit, who gladly bounded off to try it on.

Dad spun around to face us, bearing another one of those looks. “What the HELL was that all about?”

“What? Just thought that was weird coming from Seamus, that’s all.” Leanne pleaded.

“It’s Sadie, now, and perfectly healthy for a 15-year-old girl to say. So, what is the problem?” This was the proverbial foot being put down.

“Look, it’s just all too weird and overwhelming, okay? Give us a break. It’s nothing against ‘Sadie’, per say. It’s just the whole situation.”

Dad took a deep breath. As Mom, that was not a good sign. It meant she was angry and trying not to kill her children. “Leanne, do you really think that I like the idea of using your father’s clothes because none of mine fit? Or, how about knowing, for sure and certain fact, that I gave birth to, nursed, changed diapers, and raised every single one of you kids the best way I knew how, but not being able to proclaim I’m your mother?” Under normal circumstances, this is when Mom might have started to cry. However, there were no tears. “We’re all dealing with this thing and we might as well try and support each other. Can you do that for me?”

“Yea, but what does frilly bras and panties have to do with that, huh?” I knew the moment I said it that I probably stepped over the line.

Dad advanced and got a little in my face. “I did NOT get you anything super ‘girly’, okay? We got things that are practical and would be more comfortable for you. Coming from someone who was born a woman and knows those bodies better than you two do, I think I know something about what you’re going to need, okay? Now, you are going to be proper young ladies for the rest of the day or I will buy you nothing but pink frilly panties, bras that show the most amount of cleavage, and the most ‘girly’ dresses I can find. Is that clear?”

Cooperation or forced-feminization were the options? Oh, we were nodding our heads as fast as our muscles would allow us to. We did not want to incur any of that wrath. We stayed pretty silent for the next hour, or so. Sadie came out of the fitting room, showing off her pajamas and how well they fit. Dad paid for them and all the other things bought in the intimates department at the closest customer service counter. Then, we marched right back to the fitting rooms. Dad handed Sadie, Leanne, and I each a bra and pair of panties. We were told to put them on, tear off the tags, and give back the boxer shorts we were wearing. Reluctantly, we obliged.

Once in the dressing room, I stared at the bra and panties I’d been handed. Both of them were a pale purple color that I grumbled at the sight of. They were both a cotton and Lycra fabric blend. The bra was pretty plain and almost looked to be built like a cross between a bikini top and a sports bra. However, there was a little bit of padding in the “cups”. I let out a sigh before stripping down to my “birthday suit”.

There was one big mirror that caught my attention at the back of the dressing room. This was the first time since the change that I’d seen myself completely naked. My eyes bulged out of their sockets. My deep red hair fell just below my shoulders. My eyes really were now a deep blue color. My skin was fair and flawless, from what I could tell. I twisted and turned, to check out every angle. My shoulders were narrow. My arms were long and lean. My ribs were far less broad than they had been. My hips flared out from the waist and followed a cascading, tapering line down my thighs to my knees. My butt was round, firm and smooth. My feet and hands were small and pretty dainty. I didn’t notice my crotch so much as I noticed my full, plump breasts and cute pink nipples at the crest. If I had met the girl in the mirror before the change, I’d have made her pregnant several times over. I had been embarrassed back at the camp when boy-Shelby had called me a knockout. Now, my eyes beheld what he may have seen and I was inclined to agree with him. However, then reality set in and the realization that I WAS the girl in the mirror hit home.

Avoiding the reflection, I grabbed the panties and slipped them on. Surprisingly, it wasn’t hard to tell where to stop pulling them up. The shape of my hips stopped any further advance. They set firm, yet comfortable, against my butt, my legs, and my crotch. It was still a strange feeling to have something right against the skin of my crotch and my lower abdomen at the same time. For a moment, I glanced in the mirror. They looked really nice, once they were on. The “boy shorts” design gripped against my thigh. The waistband stayed about two inches from my belly button. I spun around and they looked really good on my ass, too. I started to ask myself, “from what angle do these look bad?” before a knock came to the dressing room door and frightened me a little.

“Y-yes?” I inquired of the interloper.

“Mekayla, honey, are you okay in there? It’s been 20 minutes, now. We’ve got a lot of shopping to do.” Dad’s voice inquired.

“Y-yea, I-I’m fine.” To me, that last word had a double meaning.

“Do you mind if I come in?”

“Um… why?”

“Well, you may be staring at the bra wondering just how exactly to put it on. I’m here to help you. I’ve already gotten Sadie and Leanne taken care of. They’re waiting for us.”

I was blushing pretty badly and wasn’t entirely sure why. “Okay, I guess so.”

Instinctively, I wrapped my arms over my chest as the door began to swing open. Under different circumstances, this would be a very strange thing indeed and the cops would probably have been called. I mean, a father helping his daughter put on a bra? Tell me you wouldn’t call them! These were not considered “normal” circumstances, though. A little more than a week ago, that man had been my mother and had been a woman all her life.

Dad stepped in and immediately closed the door. Then, he glanced at me with a reassuring smile. “Okay, let’s get this over with so I don’t embarrass you too much.” He crossed the room and picked up the bra, snapping off the price tag. “The secret is really simple, actually. I’ll show you the best way women know how to do this.” He wrapped it around my natural waist with the clasps in front. “First, you wrap it around like this. But, you want the cups facing outward, kinda like they’re upside down. That way, when you pull the straps over your shoulder, they face your body. Can you feel them against your butt, right now?” Amazingly, I did, so I nodded. Then, he clasped them together. “Start at the clasps on the outside. Bras usually have two or three. For girls your age, there’s almost always just two.” He had me look down and examine them, so I committed all this to memory. Then, clasped the bra closed. “Now, it’s pretty simple. Just twist it around so that now the clasps are in back and just pull the whole thing up to your chest and over your shoulders.” I did as requested and had straps over my shoulders and the cups against my breasts with relative ease.

Oddly, it didn’t feel right. “Well, that was easy enough, but it still isn’t quite comfortable.”

Again, Dad smiled reassuringly. “Now, you get your hand in the cup and adjust them puppies until it is comfortable. You want me to show you?” I meekly nodded, not comprehending the explanation. He moved over behind me, pulled out the shoulder strap just a little, reached into the bra to the outside of each breast, and pulled them up and inward. I really couldn’t decipher the tactile sensations I was getting from having someone else touch my breasts. I just felt embarrassed that it was my own parent touching them. I watched attentively and tried to learn the lesson. When he was done, everything was comfortable enough that it was hard to tell whether I was wearing a bra or not. Were it not for the shoulder straps feeling taught, I probably wouldn’t have noticed. “There, how’s that feel?”

“Almost like I’m not even wearing one, actually.”

He smiled. “Good. That’s the point. See? It’s not so hard.”

I don’t know what came over me. Instinctively, I reached over and embraced him, lovingly and appreciatively. “Thanks, Mom. What would we do without you?”

I felt some big arms return the embrace. The sensation of comfort and security that I felt in that moment cannot be explained, really. Psychologists would call this a “bonding moment”, I guess.

“You really are gorgeous, Mekayla.” He stated, kissing the top of my head. “Yes, as Michael, you were a handsome, strapping young man and I think all my children are beautiful, but I thought you should know that.”

“Thanks… Dad.” I chortled.

“Now, hand me those boxer shorts and get that cute little rump of yours dressed so we can get this shopping trip over with, will you?” He requested, playfully swatting my rump. I actually screeched just like a girl and we had a good laugh at that.

The rest of the day’s shopping actually turned into a blur, after that. Our preferences were for the least “girly” ensembles in the whole department and Dad was willing to accommodate. The majority of the purchases were for jeans and T-shirts. I did find one tank top that caught my attention enough to make me want to buy it, but that was it. Dad did insist on at least one pair of “capris” for each of us. He stated that if we weren’t going anywhere near the shorts, skirts, or summer dresses, then we’d at least need something that would cool us off some when the weather started getting really hot. We grabbed three pairs of jeans, five T-shirts, a pair of capris each, and one tank top for me. We wouldn’t know until we got home that Dad had actually bought us all a set of pajamas and two pairs of sweatpants, each. After stopping at the fitting rooms to check the fit, we were back out and moved on to the shoe department. Dad insisted on at least three pairs that coordinated with different outfits, but finding the least “girly” shoes was pretty difficult. However, I did learn that I had gone from a Men’s size 11 to a Women’s size 7  ½. Sadie, Leanne, and I pretty much agreed that two pairs of tennis shoes and a pair of flip-flips was the least girlish option that Dad would agree with.

Long before we reached the shoe department, Mom and “the boys” met up with us, having finished all their shopping for the day. It was good not having ‘Chaz’ and Mark with us at the beginning and the elder of the two was actually giving us pointers on which shoes to go for. Once the purchases were made, we all had to carry our own bags so that nothing got mixed up. I think Mom and Dad were really worried about the money we’d spent and how that would affect future finances, but they had already decided that such was a necessary evil. Once we got home, everybody set their shopping bags in their rooms and we all met back down in the living room… plopping down on the couches, exhausted from the day. For a few minutes, we all sat in silence.

“I vote we order pizza,” Dad stated, breaking the silence.

“I second that,” Mom agreed.

“I’m too tired to care,” Chaz chuckled. We all joined in.

* * * * * * *

In that first month, nobody really felt like going outside. In my own household, Mom and Dad had no choice but to go back to work. My siblings and I, on the other hand, didn’t really have anywhere that we really needed to be. Most of the time, we merely lounged around the house. Friends didn’t come over and most of our family stayed in contact by phone. I spent most of my time in my room. I would wear a sports bra, a pair of panties, and the usual T-shirt/sweatpants configuration. Though, I did find the girls’ sweatpants Dad had purchased to be a bit more comfortable than my other ones.

Still, much of my time was spent online, playing games on my Xbox. It was pretty weird, though, to have the Xbox LIVE community turn 180 degrees and become a female-dominated arena. I guess we all had the same idea: escape from the reality that had befallen us all. Thankfully, trash talking became a thing of the past except in extreme circumstances. There was always a troll in the room, no matter what we did.

Often, the only chance I had to hang out with and talk to Kai and Kaleb was when we played on the Xbox LIVE together. However, their names had changed, too. Mekaisto (which meant “Red Hawk”) had changed to become Magaska (which meant “White Swan”). Calling her “Kai” no longer worked too well. So, we resolved to just calling her “Magz”, which sounded good if we were playing “Call of Duty”. Kaleb, however, had not been so fortunate. Her name became Kaylee and there wasn’t much of a nickname we could devise to, perhaps, masculinize it a little. Fortunately, the name had grown on her in about two weeks. We became Mekayla, Magaska, and Kaylee, the terrifying triumvirate on the battlefield. Many who were actually professional gamers told us that we should form a team and start to compete professionally, but not wanting to be seen in public really put a damper on that idea. We were content to just have the gaming world as our escape from reality for a little while.

For at least the first two weeks, the whole world seemed to be uprooted. In certain parts of the USA, there were gang wars and riots in response to what was now being called “Change Day”. Having all the men turned into women had actually usurped the power structure in many different ways. After a few days, the President of the United States had actually held a press conference and gave a speech. The next day, the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom followed. All around the world, leaders were finally showing their faces to the public. After five days, the media blackout in the Middle East finally lifted and Al-Jazeera began broadcasting again. The Muslim leaders had decided that they were born to privilege as men and would retain that, regardless of the changes. Of course, that did apparently go against their own teachings, but they were not about to give up their power. Even the Pope became the “Holy Mother” and the cardinals and bishops underneath her were allowed to retain their positions, regardless of the change. I thought it was all incredibly self-serving and hypocritical. They would go against their own teachings that they’d preached about all that time simply to retain their power. I think that’s about the time that I swore off religious doctrine of any kind.

Nobody knew what we were all in for. After four weeks, everything would change… again.

— Chapter Five —

Monday June 30, 2008 — 11:55 am MDT

Lately, I had been feeling a little more than lazy. Here I was, 16 years old and on my summer vacation. What was I doing with it? Sitting around the house, either on the couch watching television or on my bed playing my Xbox, and wearing T-shirts with my sweatpants. I hadn't left the house since the family shopping trip and really couldn't remember where my car keys were. Adding to this complication, neither had any of my siblings. We had since separated from each other. I think "cabin fever" and close proximity was starting to drive us all crazy. Ever since my boobs grew in, I shrank five inches, and lost my penis, I didn't have any drive to go out in public. To a certain extent, I was fine with that. However, I had a bit of "wander lust" and was wondering what was going on in my own world. This still did not give me any incentive to venture around town, though. It helped that it was hot outside and the air conditioning made things bearable.

Today, though, there was a good reason why I was slumped on the couch trying my best to find something entertaining on daytime TV. For the past couple of days, my lower back ached. I had no idea why. I just knew everything felt more than a little off. I propped my legs up on the arm of the loveseat, set a pillow under my lumbar region, and padded my head with another couple of pillows. Not only that, but my whole abdominal region just didn't feel right. I passed it off as something I had eaten that didn't agree with me and, perhaps, that my body was still trying to adapt to the fact there was a pair of breasts on the front of it. Either that, or I'd spent too much time sitting "Indian style" on my bed. I let out a sigh and continued watching a Mythbusters rerun on Discovery Channel.

Moments later, Annie entered looking about as disheveled as I felt. She blinked at what was on TV. "Oh, this is still one of those episodes where Adam and Jamie were still guys, huh?"

"Yes, and Kari Byron was the only hottie on the show." I meekly nodded.

As she rounded the loveseat to sit on the couch, I noted that her wardrobe was similar to mine. She wore the boring T-shirt and sweatpants combination. Though, she, too, was wearing the ones that Dad had bought on our shopping trip. I had to admit, they were incredibly comfortable and gripped my lower curves in an unnoticeable yet flattering manner.

She glanced over at me, quizzically. "You know something funny? Your hair looks about the same color hers was when she first started on the show. It's kinda freaky, actually."

I rolled my eyes. "Duly noted."

"For the record: I still don't think he looks like a Kevin and it's really creepy how much he looks like I did before..." She glanced down at herself. "...well, you know."

"Yeah, that is kinda weird. Is it like looking in a mirror for you?" I glanced up to get a better vantage point.

She shrugged. "Not so much, anymore. Now, I look like a sure shot for a role as Pocahontas or Sacagawea. Unfortunately, that kinda kills my career as an actor. It's down to niche parts that don't get filled often in this country."

My heart sank. There was yet another reason to have a bout of depression in the family. "Had your heart set on some Golden Globes and Oscars, huh?"

She slowly nodded. "Yes, I did. Maybe even a couple SAG awards. I mean, I'm not tooting my own horn, but something came out right when Mom and Dad brought me into the world. I have a gift and it's pretty much going to go to waste, now."

I nodded. I'd seen my brother on stage. He was a genius, there was no other way to describe it. I let out a heavy sigh. "And here I was just kinda sulking because I might not be able to play football in the fall. Other than my grades, it's about the only thing I've got going for me. I don't really have any hopes or dreams like you and Catherine did. Now, Chaz is looking at not being able to fulfill his scholarship requirements. That's pretty messed up."

Annie cocked her head to the side. "Mike, don't sell yourself short. You're freaking brilliant, okay? I mean, you've got how many Ivy League schools salivating over you possibly applying to their school? You could go to law school and then, maybe, run for Congress one day. That would be pretty awesome, if you ask me."

"Yeah, I think I know what you're saying. However, I could do that as a girl or a boy. Catherine got approved to womens' teams for her scholarship. Also, last time I checked, isn't Hollywood pretty vicious on the ladies?"

She giggled. "Yes. The competition's pretty stiff and there are some real bitches out there."

Suddenly, both of us fell silent. I can't speak for Annie, but I began to feel all tingly all over my body. As soon as that sensation came on, my back and stomach problems faded quite quickly. Both she and I stood, glaring at each other.

"Oh, shit! Not again!" We squealed in unison. I still was not used to how high my voice was and, I gather, neither was she.

Suddenly nervous, we began to hyperventilate and gave our bodies a glance. Thus far, nothing was different, but I could almost feel my clothes sliding across certain parts of my body. I felt a sense of vertigo again, but this time in reverse. Instinctively, I knew I was steadily growing taller. Glancing at my arms, I could see little hairs growing on them. My head itched as did my legs. Once sitting comfortably on my upper body, the T-shirt started to feel tight all over, rather than just in the chest region. Again, Annie and I exchanged glances.

We seemed be growing at about the same rate. She looked about the same height, but the couch behind her seemed to be shrinking. Her skin seemed to be getting lighter and her hair was receding into her scalp. I could almost watch as the hem of her sweatpants climbed higher on her legs, crawling away from her ankles. Her top also seemed like it was getting tight all over and I could swear I could see muscles grow on her shoulders and arms. It was really surreal.

As if on cue, we both looked back down at ourselves. The breasts that seemed to sit happily on my chest moments ago looked like they were deflating. I could feel a sensation almost like there was an intruder in my panties, but once my breasts had deflated enough, I could watch as the bulge in my crotch was growing bigger. My eyes shot as big as dinner plates and I could feel a sense of excitement building in me.

"Holy shit, I'm back! I'm a man again!" My voice cracked as its register lowered into something that I knew very well. The unfamiliar feminine voice was fading back into my very familiar masculine one. I tore off my T-shirt before my upper body was too large to accomplish the task and watched as my cleavage slowly receded. In a minute or two, I wouldn't have to wear a bra anymore.

"Dude, me too! Fuck yea!" Came an increasingly familiar tenor voice of my older brother. He, too, followed suit and tore off his T-shirt.

Though, I looked at him quizzically because he seemed to be wearing a pink bra with lace. "Um, Annie... I mean, Liam? What the fuck?"

He looked a little embarrassed. "I thought it looked pretty good. What?" He looked down at his deflating breasts. They no longer filled the cups and were dwindling fast. "Well... it did."

Both of our hips were narrowing and, now, the sweatpants were growing tight in other parts of our legs. Also, our waists and rib cages were flaring out at an alarming rate and returning to what we'd always been used to. My washboard abs returned as did my biceps and thigh muscles. Though, admittedly, I felt a sense of loss as I continued to watch my breasts recede into my chest. As awkward as they were, they hadn't been too bad to deal with. Though, that faded quickly as my penis continued to swell in my crotch. It was nice to have my old friend back.

Soon, almost as suddenly as it had come on, the tingling feeling faded and both Liam and I could see that we were back to our old selves; albeit, wearing some very feminine attire that appeared very much out of place, now. In fifteen minutes, we had reverted back to things we knew how to handle. Glancing at each other, my brother and I had the same thought. We both ran off to our respective rooms to change our clothes. The bras, panties, and feminine sweat pants just weren't appropriate anymore.

Before I really had a chance to get changed, my cell phone started chirping at me. I had ignored it most of the time, but I was suddenly in a good mood. So, I picked it up and glanced at who was calling. Elated, I answered the call.

"Hey, what's up? Mike MacAllister is BACK!" I greeted cheerfully.

"No shit! Same here, man! God, it's good to have my dick back!" Kai mirrored my sentiment. "We should really celebrate this momentous occasion, bro. I'm getting really tired of staring at the walls in the house. How about we do that trip to the reservoir we talked about at the camping trip? It'll be nice to get out and don some trunks!"

"Dude, get out of my head! I was kinda thinking the same thing. I gotta get outta here or the family is going to tear itself apart." I chuckled. It was nice to chuckle, rather than giggle.

"I know what you're going through. It's been pretty crazy around here, too. So, you dropping by in a bit?"

"Yea, just give me a few minutes. Why don't you give Kaleb a call and see if he's up to it. I'll go ahead and ring Danika to see if she and the girls would be interested." I suggested, voicing my thoughts as they came to mind.

"You think that Kaleb has calmed down and can handle a social situation with her, yet?" I could hear the suggestion in his voice.

I shrugged, as if he could see me. "I don't know. This last month has had some effects on us, dude. Maybe his time on the other side of the fence has calmed him a little?"

"You do know this is Kaleb we're talking about, right?"

I laughed. "Yea, that's true. Still, after this month of seclusion, the more the merrier, right?"

"You've got a point, there. Okay. I'll call Kaleb and see you in a bit?"

"Consider it done." I hung up the phone and prepared to shred my month of femininity so I could get on with my life.

* * * * * * *

In about two and a half hours, the world felt as if the majority of the month of June hadn't happened. We were back to ourselves and were celebrating pretty heavily. I had just grabbed my swim trunks, a plain T-shirt, and my sandals. I had no idea where Kai had gotten his connections, but he had procured four jet skis for us to frolic on the American Falls Reservoir with. Near as I could tell, everyone was enjoying themselves. I had picked up Kaleb, then moved on to the reservation to grab Kai and the four jet skis. Rather than overburden my dinky little car with such a load, Kai's uncle allowed us to use his pickup truck. We arrived shortly after Danika who had brought Jessica, Jakobi, and Shelby with her. And, already, the girls were apparently very happy to have their femininity returned to them, which was made apparent by them stripping down to their bikinis and dashing for the water before we had a chance to unload the jet skis.

Once we had the jet skis in the water, I did take a few turns to zip across the water at almost 50 miles per hour and feel the air rush through my, now, much shorter hair. I cannot accurately explain how great it felt to finally have no secrets when it came to my body, or inhibitions. For the first time since the whole ordeal began, I knew how everything felt and it was comfortable again. I'm fairly sure that there are people out there who may know what I'm talking about, but most didn't really get it until that day. I was very happy to be a teenage boy, once more.

Soon, though, the sun began to drop towards the horizon and several people's stomachs began to complain to them. To solve the issue, Danika and Kai jumped in her car to run into town for supplies. When they came back, we would have another feast by campfire. Coming down from the excitement, I noticed Shelby sitting by herself with her eyes transfixed in her laptop computer. I had no idea how long she'd been there, but her top was damp where the dry fabric came in contact with her wet bikini top and hair. So, at least she'd been enjoying herself before being something of an anti-social geek chick. Something compelled me to approach her, though.

Breathing labouredly and carrying a towel wrapped around my neck, I plopped onto the bench of the picnic table across from her. "Hey, there, Shelby."

"Hey, Mike." She stated blankly, not looking away from the screen.

I arched an eyebrow. "Um... what's up? School's out, y'know, and we don't have to study so hard."

Now, she moved to face me, giving me a 'Whatever!' smirk. "No, we should actually be studying. Something caught my attention. I don't think we're out of the woods, Mike."

Again, a perplexed expression found its way onto my face. "What do you mean?"

She lightly tapped the table next to her. I understood the gesture and moved to sit next to her. I assumed she was about to show me what she was talking about. "Well, I've been looking for some answers to what happened for most of the month. I'm pretty sure you're wondering just as much as I was. I mean, you saw! I went from a five-foot-two, C-note-and-change little mouse to a whopping six-foot, hundred-and-sixty-pound Greek god... or gorilla, I don't know which analogy is more accurate." She stopped only momentarily to think, then shook her head. "I dunno about you, but that really messed me up for a long time. I had to go shopping with my dad, who'd become my mom, and that was really embarrassing."

I nodded very knowingly. "Yea, I hear ya. I went with my mom-turned-dad. Really messed with my head, too." I scoffed. "I mean, until this month, Victoria's Secret was 'forbidden territory' and here I was smack dab in the middle of it!" Yes, I actually used 'air quotes'.

She smirked. "Suddenly, I'm actually tempted to ask what color your panties are."

My eyes shot wide open. "I took those off and put on my trunks!"

Then, she was like Kryptonite. Her eyes became half-open, bedroom eyes and she let out a playful giggle while she grinned. "Methinks the gentleman doth protest too much."

My face fell into my palm. The infamous 'facepalm' reared its ugly head again. "I'm not going to get out of that line of questioning, am I?"

She giggled again. "Afraid not." She shook her head. "Seriously, though? You will want to hang onto those. You're going to need them again."

My eyes again widened to the size of dinner plates. "Wait... What?!"

She nodded rather solidly. "Yes, I'm afraid so. If my suspicions are correct, just before the next New Moon."

"You have GOT to be kidding me!" I was almost disgusted with the whine that came from my lips.

She turned to me, straddling the bench. Okay, I couldn't help it, I looked. I was, after all, a healthy teenage boy again. Quickly, though, my eyes darted back up to hers. Suddenly, I found myself swimming in her gorgeous hazel eyes.

"Don't you think it's convenient that suddenly -- and spontaneously -- everybody in the world suddenly began to transform in to the opposite sex representation of themselves at exactly the same time? Then, try and quantify that exactly twenty-eight days later, we all changed back into our original selves?" Her expression was serious and scientific. It was a little intimidating.

I stumbled over my own words for a moment, then managed to crank out something coherent. "Actually, no, I hadn't given it much thought. I was just happy to have my..." I looked down at my own lap. "...little friend back."

She smiled, closed her eyes, and slowly ran her hands from her stomach up to her breasts; then, ran her hands up, over, and on top of them before stopping at her shoulders. I had no way of knowing whether she was aware of just how sexy that appeared to me. So much so that I could feel my little friend in my crotch respond. She spoke with breathy happiness, which only made it worse. "Yes, I'm very aware of happy you must be to have some old friends back in your possession."

I cleared my through and pulled my towel down from around my neck and covered my little problem with it. "Uh... yea... something like that." I swear I could feel my cheeks flush.

As suddenly as it had come, the sensuous nature melted and the cold, scientific demeanor returned to her face. "Still, I've been doing a little research. Did you know that women who were even just slightly pregnant didn't change with everybody else?"

I blinked. Now, that, I hadn't heard. The only way to cope with my new problem was to be as analytical and scientific as she was being. "Wait... no pregnant women changed? Logically, that kinda makes sense. I mean, that is the future of the human race they're gestating, right?"

She nodded. "Right. Know how I know?" I merely shook my head. Then, she turned to her laptop. "Well, you know the whole presidential campaign that's going on right now between Senator McCain and Senator Obama?"

I shrugged. "I don't really follow politics. I know they're screwed up and they're going to screw up the country with their greed, but I'm still a couple years away from voting, myself."

"No reason not to start now." She shook her head as she brought up a webpage. "Still, not important. The shining star of this whole thing is actually who McCain picked to be his Vice President candidate."

"Who'd he go with?"

"An unknown, sadly. Obama didn't take Senator Hilary Clinton, like most thought he would. But the kicker is that McCain wanted to ride the wave of women voters and went with some chick who's the Governor of Alaska, of all places."

I scrunched my face. "You're serious?"

She nodded. "As a heart attack. This lady's a piece of work, too. Still, that's not the important part." She pointed at a photo of a middle-aged woman holding a baby and some other young people surrounding her. "You see that girl standing there?"

I leaned in to get a better look. The close proximity made my little friend respond again. The towel was sufficient for now as I glanced at the photo. "Yea? What's so important about her?"

"Well, that's Bristol Palin, Governor Sarah Palin's teenage daughter. She's about our age."

I shrugged as I sat back down. "What's so special about her?"

"Well, it's kinda funny, actually." Shelby smiled and giggled slightly. "In a state where her mom says that Sex Ed. should teach 'abstinence only' and doesn't do the condom thing, that little brunette girl right there is pregnant."

I tried to work out several things in my head before I responded. "So, instead of being just another campaign about 'issues', the social war is going to start again?"

She shook her head. "The only reason they know that she's pregnant is that when everyone around her changed sex, she didn't. Then, pregnant women all over the place were saying they never changed, either. Don't you see?"

"So, what happened to us didn't happen to any pregnant women? Well, at least someone was spared that experience. Still, how does this equate into your little conjecture?"

"Well, I'm not going to sit here and claim to be an expert. Even the experts don't have an explanation for this. Yet, when I learned about the pregnancies, something just clicked. So, I did some checking. Already, there's stories popping up all over the internet." She closed the window with the Palin family and brought up another window with a story from the Associated Press. "This story was posted today. Here it is about 6 o'clock, our time, and there are already revelations happening. Gotta love the twenty-four-hour news cycle."

I glanced aside to her. "Why don't you tell me what's in the article. I'm not up for reading, much."

She sighed. "Well, this one's about a woman in Tacoma, Washington, that just gave birth to her baby last week. There were a few complications, so they kept her on observation in the hospital. They were going to release her about 3pm, or so. Well, then, everyone changed again. There's a hitch: If this was all over, that woman would take her baby home and get on with her life, right?" I nodded. "Well, nope. It's not a happy story. At 11am, Pacific Time, she turned into a man."

My jaw dislodged and fell on the ground. "What? No way!"

She nodded. "Also, there's another story." She opened another window with a photo of what seemed to be two happy women in their living room. "You see these two?" Again, I nodded. "Okay, well, the one on the left was born male. She's a transsexual. Fortunately for her, she lives in the United Kingdom that's a little more understanding of such things -- much more than us here in the States. When you became a fully-functioning female, so did she."

I visibly shivered. "No offense, but I don't really want to relive that, thanks."

"What do you mean?" She looked quizzical.

"Okay, so there isn't really anything wrong with being a woman. I just want that out there." I was playing defense. It was safer. She nodded. "Okay, just so we're clear. However, to me, it's pretty gross, okay? I was not really enjoying myself."

"Hey, being a guy wasn't a picnic, either." Good, she understood my apprehensions. "I mean, all that hair really itches. And, I've been meaning to ask: how the fuck do you deal with your 'morning surprise'?" I laughed. She waved me off. "Anyway, that's not the point, is it? Getting back to the story: this transsexual was finally a fully-functioning woman, right?"

I nodded. "Okay, I get what you're saying. Moving on."

"Yes, well, her partner there in the picture? She became a man. Well, they did a little fooling around and now the transsexual-turned-functional woman is pregnant..."

"...and, lemme guess, didn't change back today?" I finished her sentence, given the previous context.

"Exactly. So, you have Bristol Palin who hasn't changed at all. Then, you have the mother in Tacoma that can't feed her baby, now, because she turned into a man. And, finally, you have the transsexual-turned-functional woman in the UK that is now pregnant and hasn't changed. Beyond that, you have everybody else -- including us -- that had no extenuating circumstances that spontaneously changed sex earlier this month only to return to our original sex today. You see why that would start my wheels turning a little?"

A sense of utter dread began to crawl over me. "Unfortunately, I kinda get what you're saying. All the signs are kinda pointing to us changing again. You figured that out pretty fast. Why haven't you gone to the press with this?"

She scoffed. "Already ahead of you. I've emailed CNN, MSNBC, ABC, CBS, and even Fox News about this. We'll see what happens. The thing that gets me, though, is that I've already predicted that it's going to happen again. The thing that got me was when."

I furrowed my brow. "Yea... so, when's the dreaded day?"

She opened another browser window. "Well, the first time this happened was during our camping trip, just as we were going home. Well, that was the 2nd. Today is the 30th, the final day of June. For some odd, yet interesting, reason, the two dates are precisely twenty-eight days apart. You know what else happens every 28 days?" The puzzled look on my face gave her the answer. "Full moons and menstrual cycles. It's so simple, it's scary."

I recoiled. "Menstrual cycles? Really?"

She looked down her nose at me. "Well, you'll probably come face-to-face with that reality some day, so you'd better get used to the idea."

I shivered. "Sorry... that's just really gross. No offense."

She smirked. "Men have been saying that for thousands of years. Paybacks really are a bitch. If this transformation cycle continues and a transsexual-turned-functional woman can get pregnant, you'd better believe the bleeding is a reality, too." I think she could tell I wanted to throw up. "Beyond that, you didn't hear my other point, did you?" I meekly shook my head. "Full moons. The lunar cycle lasts for 28 days. This month, we had a New Moon on the 3rd. In two days, we'll have another one. So, both times, we've been between the Last Quarter and New Moon end of the cycle. So, counting out 28 days from today... on July 28th, you're going to have breasts again and I'm going to have a penis."

The dreaded facepalm made its return.

Out of nowhere, Kaleb came trudging up to the picnic table, panting. "Hey, guys? What are you two love birds chattin' about?"

I looked up at him with a serious expression. "Kaleb, don't get rid of your panties. Kaylee's going to be back soon." I stood and trudged away from them. The weight of the news coming down on me.

Shelby glanced over at Kaleb. "That's your girl name? Kaylee? Boy, your parents aren't very creative, are they?"

[- To Be Concluded -]