SRU: A Slight Switch
By Ellie Dauber © 1999

An early tale of the Spells 'R' Us universe, when the Wizard was first setting up the business. It's 1929, when he helps a young man who wants to be in the movies. This is the first of two of my stories that involve 20th century icons. The biographical facts are correct, so you can tell who it is in each story.

SRU: A Slight Switch
By Ellie Dauber © 1999

It was a very unhappy young man who walked into the Wizard’s store. The Wizard had only been running the store a few days. He hadn’t even come up with a good name. “I Have Spells”, “Spells 4 You”, there were a lot of possibilities. Probably more than there were customers. ‘And it was going to get a lot worse in a few months when the Great Depression hit.’ He decided to wait on this customer and then head for the 1970s. Those new malls they were building, that was the ticket.

“Can I help you, son?” He looked up at the tall, lanky young man.

“I don’t think anybody can,” the man drawled. Barely out of high school, he was over 6 foot tall and looked like one of the USC football players that he rooted for on weekends. “I want to be in show business, but I doubt that I’m going to make it.”

“Why, you seem as handsome as any of the stars I see in the movies these days.”

“A lot of things. I talk funny; just listen to the way I chop words up into short spurts. I got a funny kind of walk, too. Worst of all is my name."

“What’s the matter with it?” The Wizard had known the young man’s name as soon as he walked into the store. He’d thought about calling his customers by name as soon as they came in. Maybe it would impress them with his powers. Maybe it would just confuse them. He’d try it out when he got to 1974.

“It sounds like a girl’s name, but I’m proud of it, and I don’t want to change it.”

The Wizard smiled at the opportunity. He reached into a drawer and pulled out a small medallion on a chain. There was a sculpted figure of a man on the side, an athlete that looked a good bit like the young man. “I think you just need some confidence. This medallion is supposed to bring the wearer the success that he truly wishes.”

“Sounds silly.” He paused a moment in thought. “How much?”

“Well, I’m just starting out at this location, so how about $1.75?”

“I guess I can afford that.” He reached into his pocket and pulled out a handful of change and a few small bills. He handed the Wizard a dollar, then counted out three quarters. The coins looked like dimes in his large hand. He handed the money to the Wizard, taking the medallion in exchange.

“Might as well put it on,” he said. He lifted the chain up over his head, letting it settle down around his neck. “Now what happens?”

Before the Wizard could answer, the changes began. The young man froze and began to shrink, his body becoming slimmer as it grew smaller. Somehow, his clothes continued to fit even through the changes. In a moment, he was no more than 5 foot 6. His arms, visible in a short sleeve shirt were slender as a 12-year old and completely hairless. Beneath his clothing, so was the rest of his body. His square jaw rounded as his nose grew smaller, becoming slightly upturned. There was no trace of beard, and his bushy eyebrows had become two thin lines. Making up for the loss of the rest of his hair, his sandy brown mop grew incredibly fast, covering his ears and flowing past his neck to the middle of his back. At the same time, it darkened to a rich dark brown with red highlights.

His lips darkened with a bright red gloss. There was now blusher on his cheeks and highlighter on his eyelids. Mascara made his lashes look longer and thicker. There was a matching polish on his long fingernails. Even his toenails were rounded now and covered with polish.

At the same time, two small mounds began to push out from his chest. They swelled out and didn’t stop until they had reached 34-C. At the same time, his stomach grew flat, and his hips and butt swelled and rounded. His pants stretched to fit the new curves. At the same time, his legs grew slim and shapely.

If the man had been aware of what was happening, he would have felt his penis begin to shrink. His testicles receded into his body to become their female counterparts. The sac shrank back against his body as the penis, now less than an inch long settled down between them at the entrance to the cleft that had opened in his groin. Only now it was hergroin.

The final transformation was the clothing. The shirt transformed into a sheer cotton blouse as the T-shirt beneath it twisted and split in two. One part grew into a pale pink camisole, while the other shrank around the new breasts to become a silken bra. Pants grew together into a single tube of fabric that moved up her leg to three inches above the knees before it blossomed out into a flowing skirt. Boxer shorts became a pair of frilly panties. What had been his socks moved up her legs transforming into a pair of stocking, were held in place by a pair of frilly garters at the tops, well up on her shapely thighs. Her male shoes lost their laces as they grew heels, changing into a pair of two-inch high heels with a thin ankle strap.

Now, time began again. The young woman blinked as her memories changed to match her body. She reached down to admire the medallion around her neck. “It’s amazing,” she said, “how much the girl on it looks like me.” She tucked it under her blouse where it settled between her new breasts. She giggled at the feel of cold metal against her delicate skin. “I have an interview at Metro this afternoon for a part in a new movie.”

“I’m sure you’ll get the part,” said the Wizard. “You’re a very pretty girl.”

The young woman giggled again. She leaned over and kissed the Wizard lightly on the cheek. “You’re cute,” she said. In her new soprano voice, the drawl sounded rather sexy. ‘So was her walk -- now,’ the Wizard thought as he watched her leave the store.

The Wizard was right. (Surprise!) She did get the part. She did very well, and the parts got bigger. In a few years, the young actress was a major star, specializing in light comedies and romances, often playing the helpless, confused female who was rescued by the handsome hero. They would fight through the movie, the man chasing her until, in the last reel, she caught him.

After World War II, she was smart enough to move into character roles, although she was still an attractive woman. It turned out that she had considerable talent, and she was nominated three times for Oscars, eventually winning for Best Supporting Actress in 1975.

And when she died of cancer in 1988, Marian Morrison had left behind a body of work that any actress could be proud of. Even if she never did make a Western.