It. Was. Divine. I had to have more! More! But, I didn’t take more. I took my hand away with my trick still active. I was in control, at least I was when I was not starving for the stuff. "That's it. Now, you just have to wait it out." I closed my eyes and opened them. The urge subsided a bit.

I walked back inside. "I'm done," I told the others. They went outside to see Douglas.

There were a few interesting art pieces in the foyer where I waited. They returned in a few minutes as I was looking at a lithograph of a Dali painting.

"Do you like Dali?" Betty asked.

"Of course, though my normal tastes are of the classics. Probably because I can't paint nearly as well as I sculpt."

"You sculpt and your trick petrifies people? How ironic."

"Tell me about it. I never really got to work in stone before. I might stick to clay in my artwork."

"Have you made anything noteworthy? "

"Those bookends for my sister had some wonderful cherubs on them," Daddy proclaimed proudly.

"Actually I did something better. I sculpted my current face. There is a bust in the garage with my new face with hair that I made several months before my twist."

"Why didn't you ever show it to us?" Mom asked.

"Because I always thought it wasn't quite finished. Maybe it was because it has hair instead of snakes." I answered. "But enough about me, I'm wondering what the story is behind twisting into a human-cat hybrid, if you don't mind."

"I've told that story many times but I'm guessing you haven't heard it." Betty began. "My twist is unusual because it happened when I was two. I fell into the leopard enclosure at the zoo. The momma leopard protected me from the other leopards and licked my head wound clean. The zookeepers quickly moved the other leopards to another enclosure. But, they had to tranquilize the leopard protecting me. As she fell, I twisted. I spent a lot of time with occupational therapists relearning how to walk."

"Makes me feel a little guilty since I adapted to my snake form instinctively." I said.

"Oh, don't feel guilty, I was only two and crawling had suddenly become very natural and faster, too." Betty paused mischievously. "Has your father ever shared his twist with you?"

Strangely, my mother reacted with outrage, "Why would he share his trick with his child?"

"Calm down, Silvia," Daddy implored.

"Oh, gods, no, Silvia," Betty replied in embarrassment. "I asked about his twist, not his trick."

Mom seemed somewhat confused, "How are they different? "

Daddy was shaking his head. "You do know how to make things interesting, Betty. They are very different. I doubt Medusa would be pleased to find out what my trick is. But, no, Betty, only my parents, you, and I know the secret of my twist."

"There's a secret you never told me from when you were a teenager?" Mom asked sadly.

"I'm sorry, Gregory," Betty explained. "I thought Silvia knew. It's nothing bad. In fact it's extremely ironic."

"I'll tell them," Daddy interrupted. He paused before starting. "There's a reason you've never seen a picture of me as a child. I was born as a girl."

"You weren't always male?" Mom asked, obviously relieved.

"Well, that's debatable," he continued. "I hated everything about being a girl. I hated frilly stuff. I hated dolls. I always wanted the trucks and airplanes. I always ran around with the boys. I played sports all the time with the guys, and beat them often.

"In high school, I never hung out with the girls. My circle of friends treated me as one of the guys. Those friendships became strained when I started dating one of the cheerleaders. To this day I'm not sure if she was gay or just experimenting.

"My twist was the answer to what I thought was an impossible dream. I finally felt how I always thought I was supposed to feel. My twist occurred while I was with my girlfriend and that's all I'm going to say about that.

"We broke up shortly after my twist. My guy friends continued to be my guy friends. That's the story."

"Why wouldn't you tell me that story?" Mom asked.

"Because it wasn't important," he answered. "I've always felt I was male. Twisting only took away the doubt from others. Since you've only known me as I basically appear now, why would I complicate things with something that happened in the past. I suppose it kind of matters now only because of Medusa's twist."

"Does Shawna actually exist?" I asked.

I had been silent throughout the story. They all suddenly looked at me. Betty spoke first, "You told her about Shawna Jelicho?"

"Well, Dad asked me on the day I twisted to help him understand women since my perspective was different. I thought it was because he wanted to understand his friend who also changed from male to female." I turned from looking at Betty to Daddy, "You’re still trying to understand yourself, aren't you?"

He just nodded without looking at us.

I excused myself and went to the bathroom. When I got out, Betty was hovering nearby. She asked, "Do you want to see Duke?"

"I don't think so. I can't decide if I should get to know him before I have to... you know."

"Yes, that makes sense, too."

There was an awkward pause as I debated my next question, "What can you tell me about my father's trick?"

"Are you sure you want to know?"

I nodded.

She sighed. "Without getting explicit, your father can do something probably no one else can do with his, um, you know," she held the end of her tail suggestively.

My eyes rolled. "Tell me. I'd rather know than regret not asking and I can tell he’ll never tell me."

Though we were alone, she whispered, "He can detach it when it's erect."

"That's enough details, I think," I announced.

She had a faint smile, "I was only interested in whether you knew he was a girl. You asked about the rest."

"I did," I admitted. "Duke is a quiet dog. I have no idea where you keep him."

Betty seemed glad for the topic change. "He had his own room on the other side of the house. I don't normally go over there," she admitted. She then saw the question in my face and added. "Cats don't get along with dogs."

"Another compulsion?"

"I suppose. Douglas knows we aren't getting another dog once Duke is gone. I suppose that's why he's interested in having Duke preserved."

So much for changing the subject. Thankfully Mom entered, "Oh, there you are. Douglas returned to normal. He's going to get Duke and bring him to the den."

"I'm going to my room while you deal with Duke." Betty said.

Mom just nodded knowingly as Betty went one way and we went the other. The den was empty. Mom sat down and looked at me with her worried look. "Are you sure you want to do this? No one will be upset if you decide not to do it."

"I'm fine," I laughed. "I thought you were worried about what we found out about Daddy." I looked at her again and asked, "Should I ask if you are okay?"

"I'll be fine. I'm just surprised. I can understand why he never brought it up. It certainly explains his mantra for the Twisted: what you are may not be what you become." I could not tell if she was trying to convince me or herself why he never mentioned it.

After an awkward silence, Daddy entered, "Douglas is taking Duke on one last walk." He sat down on the sofa Mom sat on, though he left an awkward gap between them.

Mom and I nodded then the silence resumed.

"What was your name?" I asked, breaking the silence.

"What?"

"Your birth name. I doubt it was Gregory."

"Oh, right," he replied. "I was born Harriet Harrison. When I was young I always assumed I'd marry my way out of the double Harries. I was apparently named for my mother's mother before she knew my father."

"Why Gregory?"

"It had three syllables, like Harriet, and Harry was not an option."

Douglas entered with Duke. Mom and Daddy slipped out of the room while Douglas spoke calmly to Duke. He turned to me and said, "I'm sure you'll get him in a good pose.”

“I have to ask you. What did it feel like?”

“Oh, you don't know. Yes, it didn't hurt. But, I definitely felt something. I can't really describe it. Being stone is very calming. And I heard you say you were about to do it. It was like a feather stroking my chest. I guess.” He paused. “Do you want his leash?

"No, and remove his collar. We don't want it deforming his fur."

"Right," he agreed. "Stay, Duke." He seemed like he was about to say something else but instead he turned and left.

"Stay," I commanded. I placed myself about ten feet away and commanded, "C'mere, boy. C'mon!"

Duke perked up and, with difficulty, raised up on his legs, then he started toward me. After a few steps his gait looked more natural. About a foot away, I did it. The color drained away in a second. Using my sight, I shifted one of his legs for added stability.

I went to the hallway and found Douglas crying on Daddy's shoulder. I turned and entered the kitchen, finding Mom eating leftovers from dinner while Betty spoke.

Betty stopped as I entered, "Is it done?"

"No, I was going to have Douglas look at the pose before I made it permanent."

"Just finish, he trusts your judgment more than he trusts his resolve."

I nodded and returned to the den. Duke was where I had left him. He did look natural, like he was going somewhere. I was suddenly nervous. I opened my inner eyelids. The colors within Duke were familiar but off in some ways. Were those dark patches disease? His paws and joints had lots of dark spots. I placed my palms on his chest and drew forth the ambrosia like stuff. While still awesome, there was something a little off about draining Duke. I consumed it quickly and soon no colors danced in the stone statue that was all that remained of Duke.

I closed my eyes completely and sobbed. No one interrupted me for what may have been a long time. Finally, all cried out, I got up and entered the hallway. Only Daddy was there. He looked at me expectantly and I just gave him a quick nod as I passed him. I heard him walk into the den as I proceeded to the kitchen.

"It's time to go, Mom," I announced.

She just stood up without question. "I'll call you tomorrow, Betty." She stated. Betty led us out, heading for the hall closet to get our coats.

Daddy met us in the hallway and followed us out without a word.

When I got home I went to my room and locked the door. I got undressed and transformed into my snake-hybrid form. I wrote “Back tomorrow” on a piece of paper and slipped it under my door. I dropped my tail out the window and slithered into the woods as fast as I could. Not being out of my mind, I thought my speed was slightly higher than my old running speed. I couldn’t be sure.

I concentrated on the way my tail pushed me forward. I could feel it gripping and ungripping the ground in a rapid cycle to get me slithering forward, serpentine-style. I had to really study how snakes move. I wondered if I could sidewind, not that I was sure what that entailed.

The woods behind the house were rather deep. I must have traveled about a mile from the house before I picked out a nice clearing to coil up and relax in. My tail was long enough that I could coil myself into a cocoon that wrapped my entire human torso within the coils of my lower half. It was rather comfortable and I eventually fell asleep.

I was still dark when I woke up. I felt better. My head was clear and for the first time since I was alone with Duke, I didn’t feel like I needed to burst into tears. Part of me wondered if I was actually better or was I now just uncaring and cold. I didn’t think I couldn’t care. I figured I was fine because I was wondering if I was not fine. Or something.

My life-sight, I needed a name for my psychedelic sight that did not imply illicit drugs and life-sight seems to fit the bill. My life-sight was active when I woke up. I heard something land with a thud nearby. It was a squirrel. Or what remained of a squirrel. The statue had cracked in half when it landed. I picked up the two halves and looked at them. All the colored lines within the statue looked normal except there the crack was where the color seemed to glow out of the statue. I pressed the two halves together and the glow stopped shining out of the statue. But as soon as I let go, the halves would separate. I tried fusing the two halves together in the same way I had gotten the bird's head to turn. After a few tries, the statue felt whole again.

I closed my inner lid and left the squirrel on a rock. I wished I had brought my sketch book with me. The little grove I was in was very pretty. I lost track of time and I did not notice the squirrel get up and scamper off until it was already clinging to a tree some forty feet away. I had repaired the broken statue. That also made me feel good.

I stood up. Well, I didn’t actually stand as I had no legs at the time. I lifted my torso above my abdomen and attained vertical balance. I think I will call that standing up from now on. I stood up and started to head home. Looking at the sky, it would probably be around noon when I got there.

Halfway there, I saw Eliot walking toward me. He called out my name but we were really too far apart for easy communication. I just waved at him and he jogged toward me.

“Do you mind that I'm here?” He said.

“Why would I mind?” I said continuing toward the house. He fell into step next me. He refrained from trying to look at me as my head was over two feet above his.

“Your Mom and Dad were worried about you.”

“I left a note.”

“'Back tomorrow.' Could you have been any less reassuring?”

“No note? Or maybe if I’d written ‘I have become death.’ in blood.”

He laughed. “You seem in better spirits than how they described you.”

“I am better.”

“Great.”

“No, not great. Just better.”

“Will you do it again?”

“I’ll have to. But, I don't think it will be nearly as traumatic as the first time.”

“Few things are more traumatic than the first time.”

“Yeah, that kind of bothers me. I hope it never feels routine.”

“Medusa, the great thing about you is worry about all the right things.”

“I do?”

“You worry about others. You worry about yourself becoming complacent. You worry about how your literal food feels. You probably worry about letting down your guard against worrying too much.”

“That does cross my mind occasionally.”

“Well, I'm your cheerleader. I'm here to remind that you've already worried enough about all these things and it's time to stop worrying at all.”

“You're a good friend.”

“The best friend. And your best friend.”

I laughed. We traveled in silence for a bit before he started talking about a video game that was due to be release next month.

My parents were low key when I got home. I coiled in a corner of the living room and said, “Have you heard from Betty or Douglas?”

“Betty called,” Mom said. “They’re fine. How are you?”

“I'm okay. No yearning desire to do it again but also no revulsion against doing it again.”

Elliot did not suggest that we do any practice today and I did not bring it up either. After some gaming and dinner, Elliot went home. After some homework and light reading I went to bed.

Thursday morning, Elliot and I were walking to school together. A car pulled up beside us. It was Stacy. “Get in,” she called from driver seat. “Melody, get in back. Her legs are so long she can't fit in the back.”

“What about me?” Elliot said.

Stacy looked at me and then said, “This time, okay.”

Elliot sat behind me. I had to adjust the seat so it was all the way back and still my knees where pressed against the dashboard.

“Thanks. What's the occasion?” I said.

“I wanted to invite you to the mall after school. You really need better clothes.”

“Pardon my interrupting,” Elliot said. “I know you'd rather be dead than be seen with me. But, why are you being so nice to Medusa?”

“That's none of your business,” Stacy said.

“I suppose that's fair,” he said. “But, you should tell her.”

“I will,” she said. She looked at me, “I will. But, not here. So, are you coming to the mall with me after school?”

“Sure, I guess,” I said.

“I'm not inviting you, Elliot,” Stacy said.

“Don't worry. I wouldn't want to be invited on a shopping trip.”

“You could use a makeover,” Melody said.

“No thanks.”

“But, you wear such frumpy clothes. Change out those shapeless tees for some polo shirts and you could look sharp.”

“I could look sharp?”

“You'd still be a loser. But at least it wouldn't be offensive to look at you.” After a moment Melody laughed. “You believed me, didn't you?”

“Which part? Am I actually offensive to look at or a total loser?”

“Neither,” Melody said. “I guess I've never looked at you up close.”

“Please stop flirting with Elliot, Mel,” Stacy said. She parked the car and everyone got out.

People in the parking lot took note that we were getting out of Stacy's car and walking to the entrance with her.

“Meet me back here after last bell and we'll hit the mall.”

“Okay.”

Classes went as well as they had been going this week. No one knew about my drama with Duke and I had already become last week's news when a freshman I didn’t know twisted, she had been flat chested last week. Now she had two, perhaps three, pairs of breasts of sizable girth. This problem was compounded by her near constant lactation. Rumors were going around that she spent most of her time attached to a milking machine.

I understood how she might feel less than human. She didn’t seem to have any down time at school that matched my own as I did try to seek her out to see if she wanted to talk about it.

Shortly after lunch, I was stopped in the hall by Marie. “Hi, G- Medusa,” she said.

“Hi.”

“We were supposed to get together last Friday but you were out that day.”

“Sorry. We never exchanged phone numbers or I would have called you.”

“Are you available tomorrow?” She said as we exchanged phone numbers.

“I suppose so.”

“Good. I'm only available on Fridays.”

“Okay. See you then.”

“Sounds great.” She gave me a friendly hug and walked away in the opposite direction to where I was going.

The rest of the day slipped by and soon I was in the parking lot with Stacy, Melody, and Tess, three of the most popular girls in school.

“Why are we doing this?” Tess said.

“Because it'll be fun.” Melody said.

“Okay.”

We arrived at the mall and they led me to store after store where they tried to find clothes that would look good with my wild proportions and oddly colored skin. They spoke in a cryptic code of colors and styles. They explained to me how sometimes a top was just a top and sometimes it was a blouse.

When they saw my stomach was naturally buff, they traded out some clothes that were keepers for some more mid-riff baring clothing. I spent a lot of time going in and out of the changing rooms and being met with anything from flat nos to mehs to wolf whistles. Melody was disappointed I couldn’t wear pants, pantsuits, or leggings. They had me try on sheer hosiery but the normal colors for hosiery did not go with the coppery tone of my skin. Tess suggested mail ordering silver colored hosiery.

I had to admit I was having fun when we hit the food court several hours later and we had a bunch of bags we were all carrying. They did buy a few things for themselves and each of them paid for some of my things, mostly when I was unaware they were buying something for me.

We went back to Melody's home, she had the largest bedroom with the largest full length mirror. Here, the lessons continued with mixing and matching all the clothes I had bought.

“It's too bad you can't wear a hat,” Tess said.

My snakes, who had be relatively quiet all day, hissed at the comment.

“Did they just wake up?”

“I have no idea what they do or don't understand when I'm not focusing on them.”

“That must be so weird,” Melody said. “Having parts of your body that can just do stuff if you aren't paying attention to them.” She looked at particular snake. “Can I pet you?”

The snake reached toward her and rested its head in her palm. She stroked the back of its head with her other hand.

“This isn't weird is it?” She asked me.

“I'm not sure. But, you don't have to stop.”

“Oo, I want to try,” Tess said and she reached for me too fast.

“Wait, no!” I said, too late. The snake she had been reaching for was cool. But a different one had freaked out and bit her. The snake Melody had been holding whipped back out of her hand.

“Ow,” Tess cried out and shook her hand. Before she could say anything else she stopped moving.

“What just happened?”

I shook my head. “What's the time?” I said. “Tess has become test subject number one for the paralytic poison my snakes' bites.”

“You paralyze and petrify people?”

“Usually not on purpose.”

“Usually?”

“Elliot has be helping me learn the extent of my abilities so, occasionally, I have turned him to stone on purpose.”

“What's that like?” Melody said.

I noticed Stacy seemed very interested in my answer. “Well, I wouldn't know myself. But, from what Elliot, Nurse Rhymes, and others have said, it's very calming. If no one is engaging with the statue, they lose track of time and the hour or so that the petrification lasts might only seem like a couple minutes.”

“Can you do it to me?” Melody said.

“Well, not while we're waiting to see how long Tess is paralyzed for. And I don't know if you want us hanging around while you are indisposed for an hour.”

“You can do me when you are ready to leave. I'll tell my parents not to disturb me and to see you out.”

“If you insist.”

The topic drifted to school work and boys. Stacy did not stop Melody from talking about a few of the cute boys she saw in class today. But neither of them seemed to expect me to join in if I did not want to.

About forty minutes passed before Tess grunted. She still couldn’t really move. But, it was the first sound we had heard from her in a while. As more moments passed, she was able to make small movements and soon able to talk. She had been saying, “What happened?”

I explained to her about the poison and asked her if she had not heard about the poison warning in school.

She had thought it was an exaggeration. It was another half hour because she could move sufficiently to walk but her movements were still obviously stiff. “Isn't your petrification instantaneous? Why did this take so long?”

“Do you want the long answer?” I said. “The venom is just a toxin. It has to get into your system. And then it has to get out of your system. So, you get to feel like you did as the poison gets out of your bloodstream. The petrification is a quantum effect much like twists are quantum effects. One moment you are flesh and blood and the next moment you are stone.”

As it was getting late, Stacy and Tess said goodbye to Melody and said they would meet me downstairs. I turned to watch them leave her room and watched them go downstairs. When I heard them talking to Melody's parents I went back into her bedroom where she was out of her clothes.

“Can you take some pictures, too, before you leave?”

“The camera cannot be active when I do it. I broke a lot cameras at the institute.”

“Okay. Just take them after I'm stoned.” She said with a giggle.

“Like I haven't heard that before.”

“You should get use to it. Stoned is easier to say than petrified.” She set her feet shoulder width apart and cocked her right hip out. She put her right hand on that hip and placed her left hand on her head. “How do I look?”

“Great. Ready?”

She turned her head a little to the left so she could see the mirror and said, “Do it.”

I did. I then picked up her phone and took a few pictures of her. I took another pic with my phone before saying, “Enjoy an hour of stillness.”

“Did you do it?” Melody's mother said.

“Yes, your daughter is a statue at the moment. Should last about an hour.”

“Okay, well, you girls get home safe.” As she closed the front door behind us I could hear her rushing up the stairs.

On the ride to Tess' house, she said, “I kind of want to have you do me, too. But, not tonight. I'm still a bit out of it from being poisoned.”

“Some other time. Sure,” I said.

After Tess was dropped off, Stacy drove me home. “You never did ask me why I'm being nice to you.”

“I figured you would tell me when you needed to.”

“That just makes me feel worse. I tried to get Jenny to talk sense into Tommy about picking on Gordon. She tried but failed to get him to ease up. Eventually he convinced her I was trying to break them up so I could date Tommy.”

“Were you?”

“Date Tommy Radner? He isn't all that,” she said with a sneer. “I invited Jenny to come with us this afternoon. She isn't talking to me, I guess.”

“I hope I didn't...”

“Shut up. You didn't do anything. Why are you so nice?”

I didn’t answer.

We drove in silence for several blocks before she continued, “My cousin was put down after her twist.”

“I--”

She pushed forward over my attempt to give condolences. “She was reading some weird book and she turned into an obscene tentacle monster covered in eyes and mouths. She ripped her brother in half and devoured part of him. My aunt and uncle managed to flee from the house. The authorities put several dozen bullets into her before she stopped moving. The autopsy said she probably was unaware that she killed Eddie because she was probably disoriented by having too many eyes and mouths in random parts of her limbs. She probably could still be alive today except the people who first responded overreacted.

“When I heard they thought you had kill Mrs. Rhymes, I had a panic attack. I thought I was going to witness in school what I heard had happened to my cousin. You even have more eyes and mouths than usual, like she did.”

I didn’t respond immediately. “What was her name?”

“Rebecca.” She said. “We had always wanted to go to the same college when were old enough.”

“Well, I’m sorry you had to worry about me.”

“You didn’t need to say that.”

“I'm just lucky to have people who care about me. Including you.”

She parked the car, as we had arrived at my home. She hit a button to open the trunk of the car. “Do you need help carrying stuff inside?”

“No, I am much stronger now than I once was.”

She pointed at my snakes and said, “Behave!” My snakes, as one, recoiled. She gave me a kiss on the cheek before they could react. “Have a good night,” she said.

“Good night.” I got out of the car and grabbed my bags from the trunk. After I closed the trunk, she drove away.

Mom entered my room as I was unpacking the bags. “Did you have fun with the girls?”

“Elliot told you, didn't he?”

“You didn't tell me.”

“I said I'd be out late with friends.”

“Elliot was more forthcoming.”

“He needs a good talking to.”

“These are lovely clothes. I suppose these popular girls thought the clothes we bought together were too old for you.”

“Your tastes are apparently not those of teens today.”

“Probably true.” She held up a tube top. “Is this even allowed by the school dress code?”

“Not normally. Since I have a registered shoulder compulsion they might have to allow it.”

“Did the girls suggest that?”

“No. They didn't know about the compulsion.”

“Medusa!”

I shrugged.

After school Friday, Marie gave me a ride home. Elliot was nowhere to be found so I assumed he was giving me some space with Marie. Though, I wasn’t sure why.

We talked mostly about school. She complimented me on my outfit, one of the new ones I had bought the day before. When we entered my garage, I pointed out the chair she should sit in so I could start her bust.

“I was wondering,” she said. “It'll probably be boring just sitting here. I heard when you did your trick, time seems to go by faster.”

“Are you asking me to petrify you?”

“Do you mind?”

“Only because I realize you asked Gordon to make a bust of you. So, it's not like you planned for him to be able to petrify you. This is a new idea you've had.”

“Well, yes, since your twist I've wondered what it would feel like. But, no, it's not the first time I've wondered about that. Athena and Perseus were the villains of the myth.”

“Let's talk about that later when the light is less natural. It only lasts an hour.”

“Then, you can keep doing it to me until the bust is complete.”

“Fine. Stand up. I was only having you sit so you would be comfortable. Standing I won't have to lean down to check out the details.”

She stood up. “Should I smile?”

“A slight Mona Lisa smile is good. A big toothy grin would just be scary on a bust.”

This caused her to smile naturally and I flashed her into stone before she even knew what was happening.

“Hope it was everything you hoped it would be.” I said. I snapped a pic of her before getting into the clay. I already had a bust started with the head a bit too big and waiting to reveal Marie within the clay.

The hour passed quickly and I was so in the zone I was startled when she laughed.

“That wasn't fair,” she said. “I had no warning. And it was exactly what I had hoped for. Can I see the pic?”

I unlocked my phone and handed it to her.

“That's so fabulous. It's too bad it only lasts an hour.”

“Why is that bad?”

“I'd love to be in an art gallery standing there as a statue for a weekend. Being seen by people and they have no idea I'm alive watching them look at me.” She looked at the sculpture. “Wow, it already resembles me a bit.”

“Got started with the gross structure, eye placement, cheekbones, etc. Once all those proportions are correct, I'll then spend time getting all the little detail right. Ready for another hour?”

“You didn't say you couldn't make last longer.”

“No, I didn't. But, I'm not going to do anything like that without your parents' permission. My folks would flip if I experimented with making your petrification last longer than usual.”

“Why?”

“I should not tell you this. If you tell anyone I'll deny telling you. Swear you won't tell anyone.”

“I swear.”

“Check out that bird on that shelf.”

“Did you do that?”

“I did that a couple days after my twist.”

“It's been a statue for a couple weeks?”

“And it will remain a statue forever.”

“That's so cool.”

“Until they throw me into a jail cell forever. Then, it's not so cool. I'm fairly certain this wouldn’t happen to you. But, I don't think your parents or a judge will be happy hearing me say, I warned her this might happen and I told her I was fairly certain she'd be fine.”

“I get it. So, just hit me for an hour.”

She settled her face into a nice smirk and I flashed her to stone. I got into a good grove and got a lot more done than I thought I would.

Daddy entered the garage. “Are you and your client coming to dinner?”

“What?” I said distracted. “What time is it?”

“Almost seven o'clock,” he said. “That really does resemble the young woman whom I assume wanted to be a statue.”

“You have to admit, standing still for a bust is much easier when you can't move.”

“I suppose so.”

“Well, when she's normal again, come to dinner.”

“We will.”

After he left I looked at Marie. She should have turned back to normal two hours ago. I had been so in the zone I had no idea I had been sculpting for three hours straight. She was holding the bird statue. I opened my life-sight and she seemed normal, slightly dimmer than I would have expected. The bird also had life lines in it.

---

Thanks for reading. Comments are always welcome.