I stifled a yawn, hoping that my English teacher didn't see how bored I was with his lecture. I couldn't help it though because he had one of those monotone voices that just burrowed into your skull and forced you to fall asleep. Unfortunately, I couldn't afford to antagonize him since I'd gotten a D in this class on my last report card and my parents would skin me alive if I got another one.

Even though I tried to pay attention, my mind continued to wander. I looked around and found myself staring at a girl several seats away. Shiv Martin was sixteen, the same age as me, but she had electric blue hair that was cut short and tattoos over most of her body, including one of her cheeks. It was hard to believe that just two months ago, she had still been calling herself Cindy and had been one of the most shy and quiet students in the entire school. Now Shiv was loud, obnoxious and always looking for a fight, almost the exact opposite of what she had been as Cindy.

"She's twisted all right," I sighed to myself, thinking about just how drastically Cindy had changed. Of course, it wasn't the first time that I'd seen that kind of thing happen to people, but it was still pretty unnerving.

Cindy's drastic transformation into Shiv could be attributed to a disease that hasn't even been around for decades. The Kinkaide Virus, also known as the Antarctic Flu was named after John Kinkaide, a Canadian explorer who is the first known person to contract it. About fifty years ago, he was on a trip across Antarctica when he caught it and accidentally brought it home with him. Before anyone had realized it, the disease had spread like wildfire over most of North America, killing more than sixty percent of those infected. Over two million people died before a vaccine was found and the disease was finally stopped. However, that wasn't the end of the matter.

Some years later, scientists discovered that the people who survived the Kinkaide Virus had somehow been subtly changed by it. The survivors didn't show any symptom's from this change, but their children most certainly did. Their bodies somehow became like antenna that could tap into some previously unknown quantum field. The first time this happened to them, usually during their adolescence, these strange quantum energies would change them in surprising and unpredictable ways. They could be completely transformed...body, mind, and soul in someone or something else. Their very lives were twisted into a new shape, so that's what they became known as...twisted. Eventually, it was discovered that their children inherited the ability to become twisted as well.

My name is Blake Tyson, and I am twisted...or at least very likely to become one. So far my own twist hasn't triggered, but I know that it's only a matter of time since both my parents and my older sister were all twisted. Eventually, it would be my turn...and that scared the shit out of me.

Being twisted wasn't exactly a good thing, especially among the normal population. A lot of people hated us for religious reasons or just on general principal. Things were very hard on the early twisted who had to deal with violence and discrimination on a normal basis, even after laws were passed to ensure their civil rights. Even now, twisted were often treated with suspicion and regarded as second-class citizens.

Fortunately, my family and I live in the town of Spiral where we don't have to deal with those problems very much. Spiral had been founded by twisted, their families and people who were sympathetic to us as a place where we could be ourselves and be with others who understood our problems. Only a third of the people here were actually twisted or the children of twisted, but it wasn't uncommon for me to see my classmates going through drastic changes like Cindy did when she became Shiv.

I frowned and turned my attention back to the teacher, thankful that class was almost over. I glanced at the clock and watched the hand move painfully slow. It seemed as though the class would never end so I could get to lunch.

The moment the bell rang, I nearly yelled out, "Finally," as I launched myself towards the door.

Just a few minutes later, I was sitting at my normal table in the lunch room with a plate full of mystery meat sandwich. Actually, I doubted that it had any real meat in it, but I was too hungry to care. I gobbled it down, not even stopping to say hi when my best friend Jeke sat down next to me.

"How's it going?" Jeke asked me as he helped himself to one of my tater tots.

"Same as always," I shrugged. "You?"

"The same," he sighed, looking a little tired.

"Ian?" I asked, referring to Jeke's stepbrother. Jeke wasn't twisted, but his step mom and stepbrother both were. In fact, Ian had only gone through his twist last week and Jeke was having a hard time dealing with it.

"It's not fair," Jeke sighed again. "He's only twelve, but now he's taller than me. I'm sick and tired of him calling me shorty all the time. It gets old fast."

"I know how you feel," I sighed, thinking of my sister Kim and how she'd changed with her twist last year.

Jeke stared at me for a moment before nodding, "Yeah, it's too bad. Kim used to be pretty cool."

I just nodded at that, then bent over and grinned, "So...did you bring it?"

"Of course," Jeke grinned back, then reached into his book bag and pulled out a computer disk. He handed it to me and said, "Just don't let your folks catch you looking at it."

"Don't worry about that," I told him. "Thanks."

After I put the disk away, Jeke and I continued talking, sharing school gossip and complaining about nearly every aspect of our lives. We shared complains about parents, siblings, teachers, and just about everything else as we always did. I don't think that either of us had it too bad, but it was sort of an unwritten rule that we could never admit it.

"Hey, did you see Sue Barton?" Jeke abruptly asked after awhile. "Damn, she's looking good now. I mean, her twist made her look hot as hell."

"Sue's not twisted," I chuckled, having seen Sue just yesterday so knowing exactly what Jeke meant about her looking good. "For her it's just puberty and a makeover."

"Really?" Jeke blinked in surprise.

"There might be a little plastic surgery involved too," I admitted with a shrug.

Jeke shook his head, having a hard time believing that Sue's drastic change from last year wasn't the result of being twisted. "Whatever it is," he said, "I like it."

When lunch was over, I made my way to my next class which was history. I wasn't too excited about history, but it was certainly a lot better than English. Lately, we'd been learning about the Great Middle East War that was going on around the same time the Kinkaide Virus appeared. Of course, we already knew how that all ended, but it was kind of interesting to learn a little more about how it started in the first place.

The rest of the day passed in a blur, partly because I napped through one of my classes, and almost before I knew it I was on my way home. I said a quick good-bye to Jeke then ran for home, eager to get away from the mind numbing boredom of school. About the only reason I bothered going there in the first place was that I could hang around with Jeke for part of the day. Well, that and the fact my folks would kick my ass if they caught me skipping again.

While I was walking home, I found myself thinking about Shiv again. It wasn't that I was attracted to her or anything like that, but I couldn't help thinking about just how much her twist had changed her. It was like she was an entirely different person now. Of course, that was pretty common with the twisted. It was also why I was terrified of going through my own twist. I had absolutely no idea of who I would become or any control over it.

"I hope my turn never comes," I spat vehemently.

The degree and ways in which you changed varied from person to person, but sometimes they could get extremely drastic...and nasty. I knew a guy who'd been a straight A student and a great athlete until his twist when he suddenly turned into an overweight couch potato without the motivation to do anything. There used to be a girl in school who was real religious and something of a prude, until she twisted and turned into a completely uninhibited slut. The last thing I'd heard about her was that she'd been arrested for prostitution. And there was even a guy who'd lost all his conscience and inhibitions during his twist, becoming a serial killer afterwards. There were many stories like that, things that critics of the twisted loved to remind everyone of in order to point out how dangerous we were.

"Please not like that," I prayed, shuddering as I imagined the worst possible results of a twist.

The worst thing about being twisted was that not only could your body be completely transformed, but so could your very personality. I didn't like the idea of either happening to me. I didn't want to become someone else. Of course, I couldn't exactly explain that to my family since they'd already gone through it themselves and ended up fine. In fact, for most twisted, going through your twist was considered a right of passage. Until then, you were considered almost...incomplete. Everyone knew that you would be changing, so who you were until that point didn't matter as much.

In spite of how it might appear, the changes weren't entirely random. Sure, the twists often come without any warning or cause, but they are frequently triggered by a specific event, usually something emotional or experienced for the first time. Scientists think that this is because the part of the brain that takes in new experiences might be linked to the part that influences the quantum field. I don't know much about that, only that a lot of times the specific twist a person goes through is related to what they were doing or what was going on around them at the time. Unfortunately, this can't really be controlled, though a lot of would be twisted like to try doing things that might intentionally trigger their twist in a way they want. As embarrassed as I am to admit it, I went though a period of time where I tried a lot of new sports in case that might trigger me to become more athletic. That kind of thing sometimes works, but not very often.

Of course, there was a reason I was getting so worked up about going through my twist now when I knew it would eventually happen for most of my life. My sister Kim had gone through hers a year ago when she was sixteen. My dad had gone through his twist at the age of sixteen as well, while my mom had hers at fifteen. According to my family history, I was due for my twist. It could come at any time.

"Well, I could come out of it as a total stud," I said, trying to think on the bright side. "And I might even get a really cool trick."

I had to admit that there was one major perk to being twisted, and that was the tricks. A lot of twisted, in fact most, had at least one special trick they could perform. I didn't understand the physics behind it all, but they could tap into the quantum field that had twisted them and use it to do things outside of normal physics. It was like having magic or super powers, though we were discouraged from actually referring to them as 'powers' since that makes them sound dangerous and makes normals nervous. Instead, we were told to refer to these abilities as 'tricks', since that makes them seem more harmless and entertaining.

"I hope I get a really good one," I muttered.

When I finally got home, I went inside and found Kim hanging around the living room, glaring at me when she saw me come in. My sister looked the same as normal, with long black hair, a nose ring with a fine chain that went to one of the half dozen piercings in that one ear, a silver ring through her lip and another through her eyebrow. Kim had a stud through her tongue, and I was sure she had other piercings in places I didn't even want to know about. All in all, she was dressed in an old goth punk style that had recently started coming back into fashion for the antisocial.

Kim and I used to be pretty close, but that was before her twist. Now I usually avoided her. From what I understood, she'd been getting her navel pierced when her twist triggered, giving her a fondness for piercings as well as a more antisocial personality. And I didn't know if it counted as a trick or not, but she didn't even feel any pain from getting new piercings.

"Hey loser," Kim greeted me in the same way she had since her twist.

I ignored Kim, as I usually did and hurried past her, almost running into my mom as I left the room. My mom was about 7 feet tall and bulging with more muscle than Mr. Universe at the moment, so I knew she'd just gotten back from the gym. Normally, she's 5 foot 11 and very athletic, but she had a trick that makes her grow to massive size whenever she really exerts herself by living weights. Within an hour, she'd be back to her normal size.

"Do you have any homework for tonight?" my mom immediately asked, looking down at me with a scowl.

I gulped, then shook my head, "Not tonight."

Mom gave me a suspicious look, then said, "I can always have your dad ask you..."

"Oh," I gulped again, "I guess I have a little..."

"Then you'd better take care of that before you do anything else," she told me with a scowl. "I don't want you getting another report card like the last one."

I nodded and promised to take care of it right away before I rushed to the safety of my room. I hated the fact that I could be intimidated by my mom like that, and it certainly didn't help when she threatened to throw me over her knee and give me a spanking, just like I was a little kid if I got such a bad report card again. The worst part was that she meant it too. It was hard to believe that she used to be short and scrawny when she was a kid, but that all changed with her twist. Now she was nearly obsessed with athletics and staying in shape.

Then there was my dad, who was almost nothing like my mom. He used to play high school football, but other than that, he'd never been overly athletic. The only real odd thing about my dad that made him different from other dad's was that he didn't lie. To be more accurate, he couldn't lie. And the more he wanted to keep something a secret, the more he felt compelled to talk about it. Kim and I used to take advantage of that fact when we were kids, so my mom ended up buying all our Christmas and birthday presents herself and not telling him what they were giving us.

Of course, my dad's inability to ever tell a lie could sometimes be pretty embarrassing for him, but he had a trick that made up for it. If he wanted, he could make other people around him tell only the truth as well. Because of this, the police used to hire him to hang around while they did interrogations or show up in court while witnesses were on the stand. However, that all ended about ten years ago when some judge ruled that any confessions gained this way were inadmissible in court. Now he usually uses that trick to make sure Kim and I couldn't get away with anything. That especially sucked when we were kids.

Once I was alone in my room, I immediately went to work on my homework. I would have preferred to avoid it, or to at least put it off until later. However, there was a good chance my dad would ask if I'd done it and I wouldn't have a choice but to tell him the truth. I'd learned a long time ago that I couldn't fool my dad if he really wanted to know something. The trick was to keep him from suspecting anything so he wouldn't think to ask.

I rushed through my homework as fast as I could, doing what my dad would call a 'half-assed' job of it. My goal wasn't to get everything perfect, but to just get it done and out of the way so I could move onto more interesting things, like that disk Jeke had given me during lunch.

When I finished with my homework, I decided to hold off on the disk for a little longer. That way I'd have deniability and could honestly answer 'nothing' if my dad happened to ask me about what I'd been up to since getting home. Instead, I waited until dinner was over, then returned to my room and locked the door. Now I was clear to check it out.

"Let's see," I mused, inserting the disk and waiting for it to load.

A few seconds later, my entire computer screen was filled with images of very sexy and mostly very naked women in a variety of poses. The disk contained a large amount of such pictures, in fact, nearly the entire porn collection of Jeke's cousin Lewis. There was absolutely no doubt that my folks would be seriously pissed if they caught me with something like this in the house.

I felt a little nervous as I looked at the pictures and I couldn't help glancing back at my bedroom to door to verify that it was indeed locked. I kept expecting someone to come in and catch me. However, I had to admit that there was a definite thrill to doing the forbidden.

I took my time looking through the pictures, most of which were fairly soft-core so far. I was just a little disappointed at that, though I had noticed several folders that were given names like 'nasty' and 'extreme'. I figured that I'd probably work my way up to those ones eventually...if I had the nerve. I'd probably look eventually, just to satisfy my curiosity if nothing else.

After I had looked through pictures of maybe two dozen incredibly hot looking girls, I suddenly felt the hairs on the back of my neck and arms stand on end, as though charged with a lot of static electricity. I immediately froze, feeling a, for lack of a better word, pressure building up around me.

"Oh shit," I gasped, jumping to my feet in terror as I realized what was happening. Other people had described the exact same thing often enough that I immediately recognized the symptoms of going through my twist.

I wasn't sure if I screamed or not because I suddenly felt as though I'd been struck by lightning. A massive surge of indescribable force ripped through me, burning into my body, mind, and soul...tearing and twisting at my very being. For an instant, reality itself felt as though it was bent to the breaking point and my entire existence was about to be erased. I was so overwhelmed that I couldn't think, nor was I aware of anything beyond the moment, except a vague sense of bright light and loud noise just before I collapsed to the floor.

For several minutes, I lay motionless on the floor, unable to move or even think. It was as though someone had pushed a reset button inside of me, or as though I were a computer that had just been rebooted and was in the process of coming back online. Awareness of my surroundings returned first with self-awareness slowly following.

"Blake," my dad's voice shouted from the other side of the door, "we heard a loud noise... What's going on?"

When I didn't answer, he called for me again, this time more urgently.

"Blake?" mom's voice appeared next, along with a loud pounding on the door.

A minute later, they kicked the door in and rushed inside, stopping to stare at me in surprise. "He's had his twist," dad exclaimed, sounding both worried and excited at the same time.

"Are you all right Blake?" mom asked, shaking my body. By this time I could wiggle my fingers a little but not much else. Fortunately they noticed this and took it as a good sign. "Let's move him to the bed."

Once I'd been moved to my bed, mom and dad stood by and said a few comforting things. However, I could tell that they were both nervous and a bit uncomfortable. They were treating me almost like I was a stranger rather than their own son, but I supposed I was for the moment. They didn't know how much the twist might have changed my personality. Of course, I had absolutely no idea how I'd been changed either, and at the moment, I was feeling a little too emotionally numb to care much.

"It's hard to believe this is Blake," dad said, then quickly left the room, perhaps worried that he might say some things that he shouldn't. Due to the nature of his twist, he didn't always have a lot a lot of tact or the ability to keep things to himself when he should. It had hurt my feelings a few times growing up, but I'd learned not to take his comments too personally. After all, he only said what everyone else just thought.

"Everything will be all right," mom said, sounding as though she didn't quite believe it herself. "The worst of it is over. You've just got a new body that you need to adjust to is all."

I just grunted at that, feeling a little pleased that I was able to do so. I didn't want to think about how I'd changed so focused instead on moving my hand. I was able to do it now, but it wasn't very easy. My ability to move was coming back at a frustratingly slow pace. It almost felt like I was having to learn how to move my body all over again, and perhaps I was.

"So this is what the loser looks like now," Kim said as she strolled in and gave me a steady look. "Maybe he'll be more interesting now..."

"Enough of that," mom glared at her and ushered her from the room.

I couldn't see Kim anymore, but I could hear her telling mom, "I wasn't down anywhere near this long after my twist..."

"But your twist wasn't physical like Blake's," mom pointed out in a cold voice. After Kim was gone, mom muttered, "Sometimes I really miss the old Kim..."

It took more than half an hour before I had enough control over my body where I could sit up in bed and speak again. "A mirror," I said, my voice weak and sounding strange to my ears. I might be able to talk again, but it felt a little strange and clumsy.

Mom only nodded and reached for a large hand mirror that she had apparently brought into my room when I wasn't paying attention, having known I would want to see myself. Before handing it to me, she hesitated and then cautioned, "You've changed a lot."

When mom held the mirror in front of me so I could get a good look at myself, I stared into it silently. I was still too emotionally exhausted to get very excited, but I was still stunned to see a girl's face staring back at me. Specifically, it was the face of a very beautiful, even sexy looking sixteen year old girl. Further use of the mirror and mom's confirmation told me that the rest of my body matched my new face. I had become a girl.

"I know it's quite a change," mom said cautiously. "It can take awhile to get used to yourself again after you get twisted so drastically."

I didn't say anything to that at first, and when I finally did speak it was to ask mom, "Can you leave me alone for awhile..." I paused, licking my now full and kissable looking lips as I concentrated on forming the words clearly, "I think I want some privacy."

"Of course," mom responded with a forced smile, leaving the mirror with me as she left my room and closed the door behind herself.

I held the mirror up again, finding that I had to use both hands to keep it steady. My motor control and ability to move right still hadn't returned all the way. I stared at my reflection for several minutes, absorbing nearly every detail and nuance of my face. It was beautiful, somehow looking seductive. I noticed that my eyes were a little odd, with one of them being green while the other was an almost silvery gray. This was strange since I had brown eyes before this. And then there was my hair, which was now long and crimson colored with streets of a bright golden blond.

"Distinctive," I said after a minute.

I sat up a little more, which took a little effort, then looked down at my body straight on. I immediately noticed the breasts on my chest, clearly visible since my clothes seemed to have vanished during my twist. They were high on my chest, round and perfectly shaped. If I'd seen them on some girl, I would have said that she had the perfect rack.

"I look like I could be one of the models on the disk," I said in slow realization, glancing over at my computer which now looked blackened and melted. It seems that having my twist right next to the computer wasn't very good for it. That wasn't exactly normal, but strange things were known to happen around people who were being twisted.

But as I thought about exactly the kind of pictures I'd been looking at before this happened, I felt a sinking in my gut. My staring at those pictures was what had triggered my twist and probably caused my specific transformation. There was a saying among the twisted, though it was actually a warning that parents gave to their kids who would one day undergo their own twist. It was be careful what you do because it might become much more than just a habit. Like most kids, I'd just shrugged that off as another tool that parents tried using to control their kids. It was just too bad that I had to learn better after it was already too late.

I put the mirror down and avoided looking at it for some time, until I felt strong enough to get up. I carefully dropped my feet over the edge of my bed and cautiously shifted my weight onto them. I felt wobbly and unbalanced, but I could stand again. It didn't take too much longer before I was able to slowly make my way around my room, as long as I had something to grab for balance.

Once I was up and walking around, the rest of my mobility and control came back pretty fast. Within just a few minutes I was able to walk around without using anything to support me, as long as I took it slow and careful. Unfortunately, my balance was still off but that was due more to the fact that my entire body had been transformed and I wasn't used to my new balance yet.

While I was walking around my room, I couldn't help noticing the charred spot on the carpet where I'd collapsed. There was even ash and tiny pieces of badly singed remnants of my clothing scattered about there as well, making me wonder what would have happened if I'd been touching someone else when it happened. I shuddered to think about it. Then again, I shuddered to think about a lot of things at the moment.

It was more than obvious that the twist had drastically altered my body, but I was well aware that it could have changed more than that. I closed my eyes and tried taking a mental inventory, deciding that there weren't any obvious gaps in my memory and I didn't feel any sudden compulsions. As far as I could tell, my mind hadn't really been changed, but I couldn't really be certain just yet.

"I guess it could have been worse," I said, trying to be positive which wasn't easy.

Then I looked down at my transformed body and let out a long sigh, feeling a strange sense of relief. I wasn't very happy with how I had changed, but I couldn't help but feeling relieved that it was finally done and over with. I'd had my twist so now I wouldn't have to dread it coming anymore. I wouldn't have to stay awake at night, thinking about all the horrible things it could do to me. For good or bad, all those fears could finally be put to rest.

"Now I just have to get used to this," I muttered, knowing that it would probably be much easier said than done.

To say that I had strange dreams while I slept would be a vast understatement. They were filled with wild images and swirling masses of emotion which left me dizzy and confused, unsure if they were nightmares or something else entirely. And to make them even worse, I couldn't remember a thing about them when I woke up. The details slipped from my memory like fine grains of sand through my fingers.

"What a night," I grumbled as I sat up in bed, shaking the remnants of my dreams from my mind since I was unable to recall anything about them beyond vague impressions.

Once most of the cobwebs had been cleared from my head, I was immediately struck by the overwhelming feeling that something was seriously wrong. It took me several seconds before I remembered the events of last night and several more before I convinced myself that it hadn't just been some dream. I really had been twisted.

"Just great," I grumbled, climbing out of bed and looking around for something to wear. As I'd discovered last night, none of my clothes really fit me anymore, nor was I conveniently the same size as Kim or mom. For one thing, I was bigger in the chest than either of them, which was a source of embarrassment for all three of us.

Fortunately, the problem of clothes wasn't quite the problem I was making it out to be, at least not at the moment. I just grabbed the things I'd found to wear last night after my transformation, one of my old sweaters and a pair of mom's jogging suit pants. Add the fuzzy pink slippers Kim gave me, not having worn them in over a year, and I was ready to wander around the house.

After I was dressed and presentable, I left my room and went down the hall to the bathroom. I grimaced as I reminded myself to sit down, knowing that it was going to take a while to get used to doing it this way. It felt like I was taking something simple and making it needlessly complicated, but that was a side effect of my new biology I would have to accept.

"Yeah right," I muttered.

I finished my business without making a big deal of it, trying to act as though I was just doing things like normal. Of course, from now on this probably would be normal for me, though I tried not to think about that too much.

A few seconds later, I stood in front of the bathroom mirror as I washed my hands. I stared at my reflection, feeling strangely detached as I did so. I had a hard time associating the hot looking girl there with ME, at least emotionally. I suppose that might come in time.

"If I had to turn into a girl," I mused, trying to remain positive, "at least I turned into a good looking one."

As I stared at the girl in the mirror, I couldn't help but thinking how hot she'd look dressed up and posed like one of those girls on the disk. I knew that she'd look absolutely incredible in some skimpy bikini or something a little kinkier. Then I paused, remembering that those pictures were probably why I'd turned into this hot babe in the first place.

On a sudden impulse, I stuck my tongue out at my reflection and then laughed. It was strange seeing this stranger mimic my actions so perfectly. I couldn't resist making a few more faces at the girl in the mirror, finding that it somehow made her seem less distant and a little more relatable.

"Look at me," I shook my head with a sigh, "The next thing you know I'll be flirting with myself too."

I stared in the mirror for just a few more seconds, then turned and left the bathroom, heading to the living room where the rest of my family was already up and gathered. Even Kim, who normally avoided spending too much time with the rest of us anymore sat there, waiting for my arrival with undisguised curiosity.

"What do you feel like for breakfast?" my mom asked with a nervous smile.

For a brief moment, I wondered what she was up to. After all, asking me what I wanted for breakfast was definitely not normal and her behavior was a little suspicious. Then I realized that this was a test. She was trying to see if I wanted the same thing as always or if my tastes might have changed. None of them were really sure how much my personality might have changed during my twist and they were carefully probing me to find out.

"I'll just have a beer," I responded, earning a look of surprise from mom and one of interest from Kim. Then I grinned, "Just kidding... I'll just have my usual cereal."

"At least your sense of humor hasn't changed," dad said, "I really don't know what to think of you looking like this... You look like some kind of..."

"Well," mom interrupted, giving dad a bit of a glare, "I'll get your breakfast ready."

"I'd better leave before I say something I really shouldn't," dad announced with a sigh.

"It's okay," I told dad with a sigh. "I know what I look like."

"Wicked hair," Kim nodded to me with a bit of a smirk.

I instinctively raised my hand to touch my hair, realizing that it certainly did stand out. There weren't many people who had bright crimson hair, and then there were the golden blond streaks to make it standing out even more.

"It's very distinctive," mom told me carefully, suddenly clamping a hand over dad's mouth at the same time and making me laugh.

"Distinctive," I sighed. "Yeah..."

We continued talking while I ate my breakfast, though the conversation was still a little careful as they continued to probe me for personality changes. By the time I finished eating, I was feeling a bit like a lab rat and wondered if every twisted had to go through the third degree like this.

Since I was getting tired of this treatment, I decided to change the subject and announced, "I guess I've got a lot to do today."

"What's that?" mom asked.

"For one," I gestured down at the clothes I was wearing, "I think I'll need to get some clothes that will fit me."

"Damn," dad winced as though realizing that for the first time. "That's going to get expensive. We'll probably have to skip our vacations this year..."

"We'll manage dear," mom assured him, then said, "She is right you know. She'll need a whole new wardrobe, as well as other things."

Just a minute later, mom was coming up with a list of everything she thought I would need now while dad complained about how much it would cost or how he didn't think I really needed it. Kim just sat there, looking half amused and half annoyed. I think she was a bit jealous over the fact that I was getting all this attention and she was virtually ignored at the moment, but she only made a few bitter and cynical comments, not nearly as much she might normally.

"All right, it's settled then," mom announced, standing up and looking at the clock. "I'll take you shopping just as soon as I get back from my workout."

"You think she'd be able to skip the gym for one day," Kim snorted.

"You know she's nearly as likely to do that as dad is to tell a lie," I grinned at her.

"I'm just glad she gave up on trying to drag us the fuck along." Kim grimaced while I nodded my agreement.

Mom left the house a few minutes after this, nearly running out the door as she rushed to do her favorite activity...exercising. I sometimes wondered what she would have been like if she'd never been changed by the twist. Would she still be short and scrawny, or would she have started exercising on her own eventually? Of course, I wondered if it bothered her that she liked exercising only because she was twisted. Then again, I might as well ask Kim how she thought about being into piercings because of it too.

"Thank God, Goddess or whoever that I didn't get an obsession like that," I muttered to myself. That kind of thing had been one of the big reasons I'd always been so terrified of going through my twist. "And this is another," I sighed, staring down at my changed body and shaking my head.

I went to my room and began to undress, deciding to take another long look at my body, partly out of curiosity and partly because I thought it might help me get used to it faster. However, as I was beginning to do this I couldn't help but thinking that I might as well take care of some practical business while I was at it. Specifically, I really needed a shower and it would be a good idea to take care of it before my mom got back.

A minute later, I was standing naked in the bathroom with the door locked behind me. I stood in front of the bathroom mirror again, this time taking in all the details of my body without clothing on. I had to admit that I felt a strange mixture of frustration and pride. Even though I didn't want to be a girl, I couldn't help but being pleased that at least I was a good looking one.

"Hell," I muttered with a faint smirk, "I'm probably the hottest girl in my school now." But after a moment of consideration, I decided that there was no 'probably' about it. I was the hottest girl, or would be as soon as I went back. "Then again," I reminded myself of my odd colored hair and mixed eyes, "I'm also a little weird looking."

I cupped my large breasts, thinking that they were heavy and felt massive. Of course, I knew that they weren't quite as large as they felt to me, but I wasn't used to having any weight on my chest like this. I also knew that I'd eventually get used to it because I wouldn't have much other choice.

"Damn nice body," I sighed. "Tight, sexy and curvy. A totally killer babe." It was just too bad that this was all me.

After several minutes of just continuing to stare at myself and examine my body, I decided to get on with it. I turned on the shower and climbed inside, gasping slightly as the water hit my breasts and revealed just how sensitive they now were. My whole body felt more sensitive than before, a fact that I hadn't really noticed until I started washing it. I wasn't sure whether to consider that a good thing or bad.

While I was washing up, I couldn't help noticing some of the details of my new body, such as the fact that the top of my head wasn't the only place I had crimson colored hair. I didn't dwell on that though as I continued on and slowly examined the rest of my body to see what else I might find. I didn't really find anything though, not even a single scar, mole or major blemish. It was as though my skin was smooth, soft and perfect.

I have to admit that I kind of enjoyed washing my body and getting a better feel for it, but washing my hair proved to be a pain in the ass. I have so much hair now that I had to use a lot of shampoo to lather it all, nearly half the bottle it seemed. And then since I had so much hair, that meant more time and effort scrubbing it. But as annoying as that was, it was nothing compared to drying my hair. I had so much hair that I tried drying it for five minutes with a towel and it still stayed a wet mess. It was only then that I remembered mom used a blow dryer to take care of hers and went in search of it.

Once I was all clean and dried, I put my clothes back on again, wishing that I had some clean ones instead. However, I wasn't in any position to be picky at the moment. And since I couldn't very well go out in public with a pair of fluffy pink slippers, I put on several pairs of socks and then my old shoes which were now a little too large for me, though the extra socks did help with that.

"No wonder it takes so long for girls to get ready in the morning," I muttered as I tugged my hair and sighed. I could only imagine how much worse it would have been if I was putting on makeup and the like.

I didn't have to wait much longer before mom came home, having cut her workout short. She came through the door, six and a half feet tall with muscles like a body builder. This was actually fairly small compared to how she normally looked after a workout.

"It felt pretty good," mom grinned, flexing one of her arms and smirking. "But I'll probably go ten miles tonight and hit the weights in the basement to make up for cutting my workout short."

I stared up at mom, always feeling a little intimidated when she bulked up like this. That was why I was thankful she usually did her thing during the day while I was at school. Normally, by the time I got home she had already shrunk back to her normal size.

"You might want to wait until you shrink back a bit before we go out," I told her.

Mom looked down at herself and the workout clothes she normally wore when she went to the gym. They were not only oversized, but stretched pretty well for when she grew larger. Unfortunately, they weren't very stylish and she would want to wear something a little more normal while shopping. She nodded agreement at my suggestion then went back to her bedroom to get cleaned up while she waited.

By the time mom was cleaned up, dressed and ready, she was back to her normal height of 5 foot 11. She gave me a careful looking over, then called out to dad and Kim that we were leaving. Dad just wished us luck and told us not to waste too much money on things we didn't need, while Kim had vanished to her room so may not even have heard.

"So where to?" I asked mom as we got into the car. "The mall?"

"No," she responded with a thoughtful look. "It's convenient having everything in one place, but to be honest, the prices there are a little higher than we need, especially when we're going to be buying a lot. Besides," she winked at me, "your dad would throw a fit if we spent a lot more than we needed to."

"And he's not exactly good at hiding it when he's mad," I grinned.

We arrived at a large department store a short while later and mom immediately went straight for the lingerie department. I felt more than a little awkward walking around the ladies underwear, especially when people kept staring at me. I wasn't even sure if they were staring at me because they thought I looked sexy or because of my odd clothes. I couldn't help but feeling even more self-conscious and embarrassed at that.

"It's bad enough going out in public like this," I muttered, wishing that I could just turn invisible for awhile.

"It's not that bad," mom told me. "Now we need to find your cup size..." A short time later I learned that I was a D cup bra size, but as mom warned me, "At your age you might still grow a little larger."

"Just great," I muttered under my breath.

Mom grabbed a few panties and bras that were in my size, but I was less than interested. They were plain white things, practical without being fancy. I had to keep from yawning and asking if we could go check out the sporting goods department, which would at least be more fun than this, not to mention less embarrassing.

But as mom was looking at another pair for me, the saleswoman said, "How about these ones?" She gestured to a matching set of bra and panties that were all black and sort of lacy, making them look very sexy. "If I had your figure," she told me, "I'd definitely wear something like that. It would look so sexy on you."

I stared at the pair of bra an panties she had shown me, not sure why but suddenly knowing that I wanted them. If I was going to be wearing girl's underwear, this was the kind I wanted to wear. I could just imagine how sexy it would look on my body. The thought was nearly enough to make me drool.

"I want these ones," I told mom, who stared at me in surprise.

"Are you sure?" mom asked skeptically, "They're a little more feminine than I thought you'd be willing to wear."

I nodded, confused by what I was feeling but knowing that I had to have them. I wanted to wear those sexy things and see how they felt against my skin. I was almost getting a little turned on by the thought. "Yeah," I told her, then pointed to a similar pair in red just a short distance away. "And these ones too."

Mom just continued to stare at me for several more seconds before picking up the black pair and saying, "Let's just get these ones for now, and if you like them we can see about getting more like this later."

I felt a little disappointed but nodded my agreement. As the black bra and panties went into the cart, I felt a tiny surge of triumph, followed by one of confusion. I shook my head, still not sure why those things had caught my eye so much but feeling glad that we were going to get them.

Next we went over to the shirts section where I began trying on various T shits and blouses, most of which bored me. However, shirts that caught my attention were the ones that showed my navel or revealed a bit of cleavage...the sexy ones that showed off my assets...the ones that I would have expected to avoid at all costs. I couldn't explain why, but these were the shirts that I wanted to wear, not the plain and boring ones that tried to hide my figure. Mom gave me an odd look the entire time, especially when I told her which ones I'd decided on, but she didn't say a word about my choice.

After this we went to look at pants where I tried on some slacks and jeans, deciding that I really liked one tight pair that really showed off my ass. Then I saw a black mini-skirt that I knew would look awesome on me and grabbed it, "How about this?"

For a moment, mom just stared at me again, then she cautiously said, "You know, no one would blame you if you dressed as a tomboy for awhile. There's no need to rush into wearing extremely feminine clothes..."

"I know," I responded defensively, "but I like it..."

I looked at the skirt and frowned slightly, knowing that I had a very attractive and sexy body, so it only made sense to wear sexy clothes and show it off a little. But even as I thought this, I couldn't help but realizing that I shouldn't be thinking like that at all. Knowing myself the way I did, I knew that I should be extremely uncomfortable with the idea of people staring at me and seeing my new body. I should be trying to wear boy clothes and cover up my new body out of shame, but that wasn't the way I felt at all. I was a little startled to realize that I actually wanted to look sexy and attractive.

"Oh," I gulped in realization, "I guess I got twisted more than I realized..."

This was one of the things that I'd feared most about being twisted, having my mind altered, my very likes and dislikes changed so that I was a stranger to myself. So far, I knew that my sense of fashion had been turned completely upside down from what it had been, but I had no idea what other changes awaited me. Would my favorite food now disgust me? Would I find my favorite movie completely boring and chick flicks exciting? I didn't know. I didn't even know who I was anymore.

"It's okay," mom told me, putting a gentle hand on my shoulder. "I know it's confusing, but it will get better in time. You just have stop thinking about how things used to be and accept them as they are now. You can't take your old opinions for granted anymore."

"Just great," I groaned with more than just a little bitterness.

"Just think of it as a chance to try things over again for the first time and find new things that you may like." Mom gave me a sympathetic smile. "Before my twist, I never understood how anyone could enjoy exercising, but now I can't imagine not doing it every day. Trust me, before long it will be perfectly normal."

All I could do was nod my head at that, knowing that she was right. After all, not only had she adjusted to a whole new perspective, but so had Kim. I might not like it, but it wasn't like I had much of a choice.

We continued our search through the store for things I would need now, but I found myself second guessing my every thought and opinion. Whenever I saw something, I tried to think about what I thought and felt about it now compared to how I used to. For the most part though, I didn't really notice much difference other than in my taste of clothing.

A few minutes later we hit the shoe department and I came away with a pair of tennis shoes, a pair of nice shoes with a slight heel, and a pair of high heels that I clutched possessively and had mixed feelings about. On one hand, I felt self-conscious and a little embarrassed to be buying them, but at the same time, I was eager to get home and learn to really walk in them. These strange new emotions of mine were enough to give me a migraine.

Once we'd picked out most of the clothes I'd need, I went into one of the dressing rooms and changed into them. I felt much better now that I was dressed up in real clothes rather than the leftovers that happened to fit me. I also suddenly felt a lot more confident and less worried about people staring at me. In fact, I kind of hoped that they did stare.

Mom examined me once I was through, nodding with an look of satisfaction. "Your hair could use a little work though," she said. "I suppose I can teach you about proper hair care when we get home and schedule you for an appointment at the salon..."

Our next stop was to the jewelry department, where mom announced, "Every young lady should have at least one nice piece of jewelry, so consider this my present to celebrate your twist..."

"Okay," I said less than enthusiastically, until I looked into the jewelry case and gasped. My normal reaction to jewelry was boredom and disinterest, but this time I suddenly found it more...interesting. I felt a tiny surge of excitement, especially as I thought of how much nicer I would look with some of that... "I can have one?" I looked up to mom, "Really?"

Mom nodded while I just stood there, dazed and confused by my own emotions. What I was feeling was completely different from what I was expecting, from what I normally felt and largely thought that I should still feel.

"It's okay," mom told me quietly, giving me an understanding look. "Let's get you a nice necklace. How about this beautiful pendant...? It's gold and has this little ruby in it so really goes with your hair."

"Thanks mom," I told her as we walked away with the pendant just a few minutes later. I stared at it, admiring it's beauty though still being shaken by my own emotions. "This is pretty weird," I said, my voice quivering just a little. "I don't even know who I am anymore..."

"You'll learn," mom assured me with a gentle smile. "Besides, I think that most of the old Blake is still there."

"I hope so," I said, not at all convinced.

"Let's go take a look at the makeup counter," mom suggested, watching me for my reaction and probing me like she had been at breakfast. "I need to pick up a few things."

I just sighed and went with her, knowing from the way I'd reacted to the clothes and jewelry that I could probably expect to find myself interested in makeup from now on too. I was a little surprised to find myself still bored by the sight of all the various tubes and containers, though that changed a little when the sales woman started going about how she could 'enhance' my appearance.

Once I started thinking about how makeup might be able to make me look even sexier, I found that my interest had been caught.

Before I realized it, I was sitting in a chair while the sales woman gave me a free makeover, paying careful attention as she described everything she was doing and why. I was a little amazed at myself for being so curious and paying such close attention, but I was quickly learning that my interests were changing...whether I liked it or not.

After the sales woman had applied foundation, mascara and light blush, she reached for the lipstick and mom gasped, "Crimson? Isn't that a little...?"

"Daring?" the saleswoman responded with a grin. "Normally, but it goes perfect with this hair..."

Mom looked a little skeptical, "Well, I guess it's better than that glow in the dark, neon stuff that I see so many girl's her age wearing these days..."

"Or I could wear black lipstick like Kim?" I teased mom, looking into the mirror and deciding that I liked the look of the crimson lipstick, though it felt odd to wear and tasted strange. "But what about my nails?" I held my hands up and wiggled my fingernails.

The sales woman giggled and reached for a bottle of crimson polish, "I'd better take care of that then..."

By the time we left the department store, I looked and felt fantastic. I knew that I should feel ashamed at looking so feminine and sexy, that I should try to avoid any attention, but that wasn't at all how I felt. Being all dressed up and everything like this somehow filled me with a strange confidence. And when guys stared at me with looks of admiration and lust, I actually felt pleased by it. I was filled with conflict at this, knowing that it was completely against everything I should be feeling as a former boy, but I enjoyed the attention nonetheless.

Mom watched me with a nervous expression, especially looking tense after a man about her own age walked past and gave me an appreciative look. For a brief moment, I could almost hear her thoughts as she wondered if she'd just created a monster. I was tempted to tease her a little, but after the amount of money she'd just spent on me, I thought she deserved a break.

As we loaded all the bags into the car, mom told me, "Your dad is NOT going to be pleased by how much we spent." She shook her head and sighed, "Sometimes I really regret that he can't just lie and tell me that he doesn't mind."

"That would be convenient," I grinned at her.

"Well, I wasn't expecting to buy multiple pairs of shoes, makeup or the necklace when we came," mom chuckled. "So I have to admit that I spent a bit more than I was expecting to as well..."

I felt a little guilty at that since all that money went to buying me things, so I told her, "I can get a job and help pay for some of this..."

"Well, it wouldn't hurt for you to get a job," mom laughed. "But don't worry about this."

When we got home a short time later, dad and Kim met us at the door, both of them staring at me with looks of stunned disbelief. But as fun as that was to watch, it was nothing compared to the strange colors dad turned when he saw just how many bags we had. Kim looked jealous, not having been given the same kind of treatment after her twist, but for her it was only her fashion sense that had changed, not her body.

Before dad could make a big deal about how much we'd spent, mom went on the offensive. "I've decided that I'm going to start taking clients and be a personal trainer again," she stated, then quickly went on, "They've been asking me about it for awhile at the gym, and there are a lot of people who've come up to me and asked for my services..."

It didn't take mom long to convince dad that once she went back to work it would really help cover the extra expenses of my twist, as well as a few other things. And by the time she was done talking, he may even have forgotten that he was going to get mad about the bill in the first place.

While mom and dad were busy talking, Kim came up to me and looked me over, staring for nearly a minute before finally saying, "I didn't expect you to go all out like this."

I blushed at that, then told her, "It seems that weird compulsions and stuff run in the family."

"Fucking great," Kim snickered. "My loser brother's turned into my bimbo slut sister." Then she turned around and walked away snorting, "If nothing else, this'll be interesting."

I just stared at Kim with a grimace, realizing that at least one thing hadn't changed. I was still annoyed as hell by Kim and her obnoxious attitude. If that had somehow changed in my twist, then I'd really know I was in big trouble.

I looked over the outfit I was wearing, carefully making sure that everything was perfect. I was currently wearing a sexy red halter top that showed off my firm and flat stomach as well as a little cleavage, and a pair of tight jeans that really made my ass stand out. I would have preferred to wear the mini-skirt, but that was against the school dress code. I also would have preferred to wear my high heels, but even after practicing in them last night, I wasn't confident enough in my ability to keep my balance while wearing them for a full day in school, not when the price of falling on my face could be eternal ridicule.

"You know that you don't have to go back to school today," mom told me with a nervous expression. "It's only been two days since you changed. You might want to get a little more used to your new self first..."

"I'll be fine," I tried to assure her as I got ready for school.

Dad took one look at me and scowled, "I don't think I like you going to school like that. You look far too sexy and boys are likely to get the wrong idea."

"I'll be fine," I repeated with a roll of my eyes. "Most girls wear clothes like this if they have the body for it, and I certainly do. I can't wait to show off how hot I look now."

I suddenly paused and bit my lip, glaring at my dad. I hadn't intended to say that but it had just come out on it's own, so it was obvious that dad was using his little trick on me. The thing that frustrated me the most about my dad was that since he was forced to tell everyone the truth all the time, he felt absolutely no guilt in making everyone else do the same for him.

Mom and dad were both staring at me with looks of disapproval, but I continued, "Besides, I have to get back to school. We're having that big English test next week and I don't dare miss anymore class or I'll completely fail it."

That last argument pacified my folks a bit, but my dad pushed a little more, "Have you thought about what your friends will think of you when they see you like that?"

"Either that I'm a slut or a babe," I answered, still under the effects of dad's trick. "Depending on whether it's a girl or boy of course." That answer didn't make dad very happy but he could see that I was going to school whether he wanted me to or not, and I don't think that any parent could force their kid to stay home when they actually want to go. I think it's genetic or something.

Once dad had given up and walked away in disgust, I turned to mom and hesitantly asked her, "Can you help me with makeup?"

Mom stared at me in surprise, "Are you sure that you want to wear makeup on your first day back? What will your friends say?"

I just blushed, feeling extremely awkward about making this kind of a request. It was difficult dealing with things that I felt and wanted, yet knowing at the same time that they were the exact opposite of how I felt before. It was even worse since a large part of me was sure that I should still feel that way and felt guilty when I didn't. "I know, but I want to look good."

Mom sighed, "Okay, but we'll keep it light."

We went to my room and pulled out all the makeup that we'd bought yesterday, then mom went to work on me, making sure I could see what she was doing in the mirror and describing each step. I paid close attention, still a bit shaken at the fact that I was taking makeup lessons from my mom. That was something that I would have NEVER expected in a million years. The makeup was a little lighter than what the sales woman had put on yesterday, but still enough for me to tell it was there.

"What about the lipstick?" I asked when mom seemed to be done, having missed that obvious bit.

"I don't think you need crimson lipstick to go to school," she said, looking a little uncomfortable. But as she stared at me, she sighed, "I guess it does go with your hair, nails and outfit." She frowned, then reluctantly put it on. "You'll have to learn how to do this yourself soon."

"Thanks," I told her once we were done. "But I think I should get going before dad sees me like this."

"I think you're right." She shook her head. After I'd picked up my bag, she said, "Hold on, I'll drive you today. I don't like the idea of you walking by yourself when you look like that."

I wasn't sure that I liked the idea of having my mom drive me to school, but it was better than walking. And even though I didn't really want to admit it, I was nervous as hell and her presence was a bit comforting.

Once we were in the car and pulling out of the driveway, mom hesitantly said, "I think you should start taking a self-defense class."

"What?" I blinked in surprise.

"The gym offers a good one," she quickly added. "And with the way you look now, I think it would be a good idea for you." Then she sighed, "Some boys could get the wrong idea..."

"I know how boys think," I reminded her with a grimace, and because I knew how some guys at school could get, I sighed, "I'll think about it."

That seemed good enough for mom, at least for the moment because she let the subject drop. When we arrived at my school a few minutes later, she pulled into the parking lot, gave me some worried advice for my first day back and wished me luck. Then as she left, I turned and made my way into the front entrance, well aware of all the eyes that were watching me. I couldn't help feeling a faint tingle of excitement and pleasure in response.

"Jeez," I muttered to myself, feeling a bit embarrassed at my own emotions. "It's like I'm turning into some kind of attention whore."

As I walked through the school hallway, I noticed most of the boys who saw me were staring with looks of interest and attraction, while a number of girls glared or were too obvious in pretending that they didn't see me. There were also more than a few looks of curiosity as no one at the school would remember seeing me there before. A large part of my new self absolutely loved all this attention and I found myself instinctively sticking out my chest and strutting a bit more in response, while the old me sort of cringed in embarrassment and confusion, wondering what everyone would say if they knew who I really was.

Several boys and one girl called out as I passed, asking me for a date or if I was taken. As much as a large part of me was enjoying all this attention, I didn't really know what to do with it all. Then one of the guys had the courage to actually approach me, standing in my way so I would have to stop for him.

"Hey, you're gorgeous," the tall and athletic jock grinned at me. "I'm Devon. Let me welcome you to our school."

I just stared at Devon, knowing very well who he was. After all, he's the same guy who'd punched me in the gut last year just because I said something he didn't like. He hadn't hit me since then, though he'd made more than a few rude comments whenever he saw me.

"No thanks," I told him with a scowl. "I'm not new here and I'm already more than aware you're an asshole."

There were a lot of laughs and joking comments at that from the people around us while Devon just stared at me with a look of annoyance and embarrassment. Then I walked around him and hurried to my first period class, wondering just how much more of this I could expect during the day.

Once I reached my first period class, I took a deep breath and went inside, noticing that nearly all conversation stopped at my entrance. I pretended not to notice or care as I made my way to my own seat, earning even more curious looks as a result. Finally, the teacher Mr. Byron said, "Excuse me young lady, but I believe you have the wrong class."

"No, I'm in the right class," I told him with a self-conscious sigh. "I'm Blake... I just went through my twist."

Everyone in the class gasped at once and several of the boys who'd been giving me such admiring looks now appeared disgusted or horrified. A few girls sat there with smug looks on their faces, smirking at me and the boys who had been so openly lusting at me. And then there was Jeke, who was sitting in the seat beside me, staring at me in stunned disbelief, looking as though he wasn't sure to be horrified or not.

"Blake?" he gasped, his eyes wide as he stared at me with an intensity that almost made me think his eyes would pop out of their sockets.

"That's what I said," I told him, trying to smile and act like everything was fine. "By the way...my eyes are still up here."

"Class," Mr. Byron called out, trying to get everyone under control again. "Everyone sit down and pay attention. I'm sure that you'll have time to talk to Mr...Ms. Tyler about her twist after class."

It took Mr. Byron a few more minutes to get everyone settled so he could start the class. By then, everyone had gotten over their initial shock of me, though I still kept getting odd and curious looks. Still, it would have been much worse if I'd gone through a twist somewhere else. As it was, there were already three other people in that class who'd been twisted, and at least one more who was still waiting for hers.

I felt a little awkward sitting in class as I was, especially because Mr. Byron and the other students all kept sneaking looks at me. One boy even waved at me as he tried to catch my attention and I had to fight back the sudden impulse to wave back. As much as I might like and even crave attention now, I had to remind myself that class was not the time for it. In fact, class was the best time to avoid attention.

I tried to ignore the strange looks, deciding that I MUCH preferred the looks of admiration and attraction. To distract myself from them, I focused instead on Mr. Byron's lecture, something which I usually didn't pay too much attention to due to the high boredom factor. After a while, I was a little surprised to realize that he must be doing something different to spice it up today because he was actually fairly interesting.

When class ended, I was suddenly bombarded with questions and comments from half the students in the class. Some where asking me just how much I'd changed, if I'd developed any cool tricks, or if I was interested in guys now. Another twisted wanted to congratulate me for finally joining the club. I just shrugged them all of since there was only one person that I really wanted to talk to at the moment.

"My God," Jeke exclaimed, staring at me with a stricken expression. "How did this happen?"

"You remember that disk you lent me?" I asked him quietly. When Jeke gasped and nodded weakly, I continued, "Well I was looking through it when my twist happened."

"Oh shit," Jeke gulped, "I'm so sorry... I didn't mean for..."

"It's not your fault," I shrugged. "I was the one who was looking at it. Besides, if it wasn't that it would have kicked in on something."

Jeke just stared at me, still looking extremely nervous and uncertain. Of course, the reasons were obvious. For one, I now looked like a hot and sexy chick, which would have made him extremely nervous about talking to me by itself, but then there was also the fact that he didn't know how much I might have changed. He didn't know if I might have twisted into some sort of psycho, or maybe a manipulative bitch. For all he knew, I might be a virtual stranger to him now.

"So..." Jeke started, uncomfortably. "Just how much did you change?"

He looked me over, his eyes lingering a little on my breasts. I had mixed feelings about that, sort of enjoying the appreciation but feeling annoyed at the same time because he was my best friend. Or at least I hoped he still was. My transforming like this could very well mean we weren't friends anymore. That was a depressing thought.

"Well, my body obviously," I sighed, looking down at myself and frowning slightly. I frowned, deciding to be honest, then tapped my forehead and said, "And I got a little messed up in here too."

"How much?" Jeke asked nervously, taking an instinctive step back.

I hesitated a moment before answering, "Mostly my fashion sense." I gestured down at my clothes, "I kind of like wearing this kind of stuff now." I felt a little odd realizing that I was much more embarrassed about admitting this out loud than I was about wearing the clothes.

"You're kidding?" Jeke gasped in surprise.

I just shrugged, "Do you honestly think anyone could have made me wear this stuff if I didn't want to? Trust me, my whole fashion sense is totally screwed up. You wouldn't believe what it was like shopping yesterday and buying clothes that I never would have been caught dead in before. I look at something and the old part of me screams no way, while this new part just loves it. It's enough to drive me nuts."

"I can't imagine it," Jeke shuddered with a look of horror on his face.

"Remember," I told him with a sigh, "I grew up knowing that I was going to get twisted some day. And trust me, as weird as this is, it's a lot better than some of the things that could have happened to me." After all, I should know since I spent more than enough time imagining those things in great detail. Somehow though, I'd never imagined I would be turned into a girl.

"I guess," Jeke admitted, though he didn't look too sure about it. "But you turned into...into that."

"Well most of the old me is still in here," I snapped, beginning to get annoyed at this feeling of having to defend my friendship. "I've got to get to second period. I'll see you later."

With that, I hurried down the hallway, feeling a little hurt and disappointed at the reaction I'd gotten from Jeke. I knew that I should have expected it, that as far as he was concerned I might be a complete and total stranger. Still, I guess I had sort of expected that my best friend would immediately accept me in spite of my changes. I guess that wasn't very realistic of me.

When I went into my second period class, the reaction was a much toned down version of what had happened in first period. Since a third of the students had been in my first period, it wasn't too surprising that I didn't get quite the same shock, though the look on my teacher's face was hilarious. I thought she was going to faint right there on the spot.

"Nice hair," Shiv smirked when she saw me. "For a moment, I almost thought you had a head wound and were bleeding all over the place."

I looked back at Shiv, knowing that this was just her way of testing me to see how I'd react. "Look who's talking," I responded with a snort. "Your hair nearly blinded me. You might want to unplug it when we're in class."

"Enough of that ladies," the teacher said, looking a bit uncomfortable to be using that term on me. "I won't tolerate any fighting in my class."

I stuck my tongue out at Shiv and she responded by flipping me the bird. However, from the grin on her face I could tell she wasn't upset. Instead, she seemed to have decided that I was alright.

The rest of the class was pretty uneventful, except for Dan Lawrence trying to cop a feel and Shiv calling me a 'skanky looking slut bitch' as we were leaving. I called her a 'tattooed whore freak' back and that was the end of it as we went our separate ways on almost friendly terms.

Before I realized it, I was sitting in English class, my least favorite class of the day. I'd shared a friendly insult with Shiv as we were coming in, but since we didn't sit together there was no chance to talk. And since Jeke wasn't in this class with me, I wasn't able to talk with him...even if he was still willing to talk with me. I was no longer sure about that.

At first, I did what I normally do in English, which is just sit back and zone out while the teacher lectures monotonously. But after a while, I slowly found myself listening and then even paying attention. It wasn't that the teacher was less monotonous than normal or any less boring in his delivery, but for some reason the material itself just seemed a little more interesting. It wasn't until class was over and I felt a faint disappointment because of it that the alarm bells began to go off in my head. However, I quickly pushed those aside and hurried out of the class with everyone else, eager to get to lunch since I was beginning to get pretty hungry.

When I got to the lunch room and sat down at my usual table to eat, I expected Jeke to come by and join me just as he always did. But when finally saw him, he wasn't coming to our table. Instead, he gave me a nervous look, as well as one of admiration before rushing over to some other table. I remained where I was, feeling hurt and abandoned.

"Just great," I grimaced, realizing that my twist might very well mean that I'd have to get new friends. It was hard to imagine getting a new best friend though, especially since Jeke and I had been buddies for years.

I didn't have much time to dwell on Jeke's abandonment of me because one boy asked, "Is anyone sitting here?" Then he dropped down into the seat beside me before I could answer, regardless of the fact that there were a number of other open seats. However, those quickly filled up as well, all by boys who seemed to enjoy sitting close to me and watching me eat.

"Just great," I sighed to myself again. Sure, I enjoyed the attention they were giving me but it was pretty damn weird having a bunch of boys watching me while I ate my lunch. It felt downright creepy.

Once I was done eating, I was surprised to realize that I still felt hungry. I frowned at that, thinking that girls were supposed to eat less than guys, not more. I couldn't help looking around at the guys surrounding me, or specifically, looking at their lunches. One of them noticed my attention and offered me his brownie. And since the other's didn't want to be outdone, they started offering me things too. Before I realized it, I had enough extras for a second lunch.

"Much better," I licked my lips once I was finished eating for the second time. One boy was staring at me so hard that he looked as though he were about to pass out from lack of blood to the brain. I felt mixed emotions about that, as I did about nearly everything now.

Since I was done, I took my time standing up, making sure to lean forward and give the guys a bit of a show. I felt a tingle of excitement as they all stared at me even harder. I still found it hard to believe that I got such a kick from people staring at me and admiring the way I looked, but I couldn't deny that I did. It seems that I not only like that kind of attention now but actually crave it as well. I wanted more of it which was why I started walking out of the lunch room with as sexy a strut as I could manage.

I was well aware of the fact that a large number of boys in the cafeteria were staring at me as I walked past, including some of the teacher. I was eating it up, loving every bit of the attention yet feeling a little guilty for doing so. One girl even muttered, "What a slut," as I walked past, probably due to the fact that the boy sitting beside her was nearly drooling as he stared at me.

After I left the cafeteria, I was a little uncertain about what to do with the rest of my lunch time since I normally spent it bullshitting with Jeke and that wasn't possible now. I frowned, then decided that I might as well walk around a little and see if I could get some more guys to lust over me. Again, I felt guilty for having those thoughts since I knew they would be complete anathema for the old me, but at the same time I got a thrill from imagining the looks on people's faces and knowing the kinds of fantasies that would run through their minds.

"I am an attention whore," I grimaced, not sure what that said about me now.

Just then, I noticed Devon walking straight towards me with one of his friends at his side. I saw the intense scowl on his face as he glared at me and suddenly had a very bad feeling about this. I quickly glanced around for a quick way out of here but it was too late because he was already there.

"I bet you thought it was funny making me look like an idiot this morning," Devon spat at me.

"It didn't take much effort," I responded with a forced grin.

"Why you little bitch," Devon's friend Kase snarled from beside him.

"I heard about you and your little twist," Devon sneered, positioning himself to look even bigger and more menacing. "So you think it's funny to flirt with me in front of a bunch of people just so you can laugh at me, do you?"

"That's not the way I remember it happening this morning," I said defensively, taking a nervous step back. Devon was really getting worked up and Kase was only making things worse.

"She made you look like some kind of punk," Kase told Devon. "I mean, he tricked you into thinking he was a girl."

"I am a girl now," I argued, hoping desperately that this fact might save me from a beating. "It's not my fault, but that's what I am now..."

Devon snorted, "And you really think I'm not gonna kick your ass just because you look like a girl?"

"Yeah," Kase added, "show her that no one makes fun of you..."

"I aim to," Devon suddenly grabbed my arm, squeezing it painfully and slamming me up against the lockers on the wall. "I shouldn't have let you off so easily last time you little punk."

"Hey, leave her alone," another voice suddenly yelled out from down the hall. I looked over and was surprised to see Jeke running our way.

Devon glared at Jeke, "Keep out of my way and you won't get hurt too. I've got to teach this prick not to make fun of me."

"But it's so easy," I said, the words just slipping out of my mouth before I'd realized it. That didn't do anything to improve Devon's mood.

"But she's a girl," Jeke said, trying to change tactics. "I mean, what are people going to say about you if you go around hitting girls?"

"I don't care what this fucking prick looks like," Devon snorted, "he's still the same moron he's always been."

"Don't worry," Kase grinned, walking towards Jeke. "I'll have fun with this guy while you're teaching her a lesson."

I just glared at Devon and Kase, feeling angry and frustrated. There never seemed to be a teacher around when you really needed one. It was like they knew trouble was going to happen so they vanished to stay out of it themselves. That way, they'd be able to come in after the fact and act all smug and superior, pretending that they actually had the answers when the truth was they couldn't be bothered to help you when you really needed it.

As I stood there, pinned up against the lockers, I felt a strange tingly pressure building up inside of my body. I'd never felt anything quite like it before so had no idea what it could be. However, I was too focused on Devon and his painful grip on my arm to really worry about it at the moment.

"You're in trouble now smart-ass," Devon told me as he pulled back his other arm, making a show of the fact that he was about to hit me.

"Better than being a dumb-ass," I told him, bracing myself for the punch.

"WHY YOU...!" Devon yelled and began to throw his punch.

Suddenly, the pressure inside of me exploded outward. At the same time, there was a flash of blue light and Devon went flying backwards, hitting the ground and shaking for just a few seconds before clutching his hand and yelling in pain.

"What the fuck?" Kase yelled, staring at me in horror. Other students who were all gathered in the hall all stepped back as well.

"Blake?" Jeke asked, looking at me nervously. "Are you all right?"

I stared at Devon for a moment then looked down at myself and hesitantly answered, "I think so..." I didn't seem to be hurt at all. In fact, I felt pretty good, and looking at Devon on the floor only made me feel better.

"What the hell just happened?" Jeke gasped. "What did you do to him?"

"What the fuck did you do?" Kase demanded, but he kept his distance as he helped Devon back to his feet.

"I have no idea," I whispered, my mind racing. Then again, I did have a good idea. It looks like I might have gained some sort of trick during my twist. Being able to do that to Devon was certainly one hell of a trick all right.

"Look what you fucking did to me," Devon snarled, holding up his hand. "I can't feel it... It's fucking numb."

"Just like your brain," I couldn't resist snapping back, pleased to notice that he didn't come towards me again. He glared at me, then hurried away, muttering something about, "Fucking twisted bitch."

"Damn," Jeke said, "You might want to watch your back around him from now on.

"Like I didn't already," I muttered, staring down at my own hand and trying to figure out exactly what I did.

But just then, one of the teachers finally showed up. He came storming down the hall with an imperious expression that teachers tend to have when they're about to exert their authority. I scowled, annoyed that he was nowhere in sight while Devon was about to beat the hell out of me, but now he showed up ready to declare judgment.

For a moment, I considered making a run for it before he could grab me and decide I was the guilty party and in need of detention, then I grinned as I had a different idea. Instead, I gave my best 'poor little girl' look, something which I hadn't ever practiced before and hoped I got right. I'd seen enough pretty girls slip out of trouble by playing this card and I wanted to see if I could do it too.

"Did you see that," I gasped, trying to look scared and helpless but sexy at the same time. I had no idea how well I succeeded, but the teacher froze with a dazed expression on his face. "I've only been a girl for a couple days and some jerk already attacks me. Where were you guys? I mean, I got assaulted right here in the school hallway and no one did anything..."

"That sounds like a lawsuit," Jeke offered helpfully, making the teacher go even more pale.

"I'm sure there's no need for that," the teacher stammered nervously, obviously afraid of being connected to a lawsuit against the school.

It didn't take much effort on my part to not only talk my way out of trouble but to convince him that I was the victim of a horrible assault. When the teacher left, he swore that Devon would be spending a lot of time in detention for what he'd tried doing to me, and I had little doubt that if I'd wanted I could even have gotten Devon expelled. I was amazed at just how easy it had been.

Once the teacher and most of the audience were gone, Jeke stared at me and licked his lips nervously, "I'm sorry about earlier." He looked a little uncomfortable. "It's just that you're so different now and I don't know how much of you is the same."

"I know," I sighed. "I'm sorry too. I shouldn't have gotten all mad like that. It's just frustrating because everything else is different and I guess I'd just assumed that you and I would still be the same."

"Well," Jeke said hopefully, "I'd like to at least try to still be friends."

"Me too," I held out my hand.

Jeke stared at my hand for a moment, "You're not gonna do to me what you did to Devon, are you?"

"I don't think so," I frowned. "I mean, I've touched other people like this and nothing happened. I think that was only because I was really mad."

The two of us shook hands and I let out a sigh of relief, feeling some of the tension leaving me. I felt a lot better now that I knew Jeke was back in my corner again. He was my best friend and it would really suck to lose him just because I'd gone through my twist.

I let out a long sigh of relief when I finally got home from school. It had been such a weird day, and not just because of what happened with Devon or the way everyone now treated me different. There were other things too, such as the fact that every one of my classes now seemed more interesting. I know that the teacher's couldn't have all changed the way they were doing things, but I don't think I wanted to admit the only other thing it could be.

When I went inside and saw my mom, standing 6 foot 2 and wearing loose clothes, I knew that she'd gotten back from the gym just a short while ago. It was always kind of interesting to watch her swell into a massive amazon while working out or slowly shrink back down afterwards.

"So how was school?" mom asked me with a broad smile that didn't quite hide her worry.

"It was...interesting," I said, not sure exactly how much to tell her.

"Oh?" dad asked as he came over, making me nervous. I hoped that he didn't use his trick on me because there were some things I didn't feel like telling my parents.

"Well," I said slowly. "I found out I have a trick."

"Really?" mom asked with a look of interest. I knew that she and dad would be interested in that, and so would Kim if she'd bother to come out and show herself. After all, everyone is interested in what tricks a twisted might have and it's frequently one of the first questions people ask about us.

I took a deep breath and concentrated on that strange tingly pressure that I'd felt while being threatened by Devon. I'd practiced this several times during the day, between classes and the like as I tried making sense of what I'd done to him. And after a few attempts, I'd finally figured it out. The pressure built again, though not nearly as strong as then. It channeled into my hand and suddenly blue sparks shot between my fingers, making both my parents jump back in surprise.

"I think it's like some kind of taser or something," I said with a grin, feeling rather pleased with myself. After all, it was a pretty cool trick and it had already proven useful against Devon.

"You haven't used it on someone, have you?" my dad asked with a worried look.

"Only on some guy who jumped me in the hallway," I responded, then bit my tongue, silently cursing dad and his trick.

"You used it on someone?" mom gasped in horror.

"Not on purpose," I answered truthfully, still under the effects of dad's trick. "I didn't know I could do it until it happened and he ended up on the floor..."

"Did you hurt him?" dad demanded, looking upset.

"He's twice my size and tried beating the crap out of me," I snapped in annoyance, "and you're more worried about him? Thanks a lot for your concern." The sarcasm was thick and I spat out, "No, the jerk's fine. He just got a bit of a shock is all."

"Well enough about that," mom announced, trying to diffuse the situation. She smiled at me, "We have a hair appointment at the salon for you in an hour."

"Hair appointment?" dad gasped. "He needs to go see a doctor for a checkup, a specialist for his trick, and there's a lot of paperwork that needs to be done. I hardly think that a hair appointment is the top priority."

"That's she now, not he," mom corrected dad patiently. "And as for priorities, a lovely young lady like her needs to look her best at all times. Besides, we've already got an appointment with the doctor this weekend, and it won't be a problem to schedule one with the trick specialist right afterwards."

Dad wasn't exactly happy but he couldn't argue much with that. When he tried to, his real feelings came out and he spouted, "I don't want my son...daughter looking any more feminine and sexy than she already does." Mom just smiled and reminded him that since I had my own built in taser, there was hardly a need to worry about me not being able to take care of myself. Dad still wasn't happy about that but it was the end of the conversation.

A short while later mom and I were on our way to the salon and I was filled with mixed feelings. I'd never been in one of those places before, which had always seemed a haven for all things feminine. It was the kind of place that I normally would have avoided at all costs, or at least the old me would have. The new me was a bit different and that would take a bit to get used to. I was nervous, but at the same time, I knew that it would make me look even better and I absolutely loved the idea.

When we arrived, mom talked with an employee named Sarah for a minute then ushered me to a chair where the Sarah looked me over. "Not bad, but a little trimming and styling could certainly help," she mused. She looked at my mom, "Should we dye her hair as well?"

"I don't think so," mom responded. "It's very distinctive this way, but it's your choice." She looked at me as she said the last.

I thought about it for a moment, then decided, "Leave it this color...or colors. I kind of like it."

Sarah picked up my hand and looked at my fingers for a moment, "Very nice. It looks like you've had a manicure recently."

"No," I blinked. "We only put some polish on them."

"They come that way naturally from her twist," mom told Sarah with a look of amusement. "We should probably take care to keep them that way though since they're very nice."

Once everything was decided, Sarah went to work. She leaned my chair back over a sink and washed my hair with some nice smelling shampoo that would have made me immediately run away had I still been a guy. I still felt the urge to do that, though I held that impulse in check with the reminder that I was a girl now and could get away with perfumed shampoo and the like. Still, it was hard to forget the old instincts.

While Sarah was washing my hair and then cutting it, she cheerfully chatted on, "So, you've just had your twist? That's great. I remember when I had my twist. I lost over fifty pounds overnight, gained a cup size and this trick where I can change the TV channel without a remote."

Sarah continued talking the entire time and I learned a lot more about her and her life than I really wanted to. Perhaps it was just her way of easing the tension and making me feel more comfortable with her, but I found it just a little odd that she'd just open up and talk like that to a complete stranger. Then again, she and my mom seemed to know each other.

When Sarah was finally finished with me, I was allowed to see the results in a mirror. All I could do was stare, feeling impressed at just how good I looked. My hair was about an inch shorter than it had been, but it was styled a bit and more luxurious, making me look wild and sexy.

"Oh dear," mom said, looking amazed. "You look gorgeous."

"Normally I would have seen about a manicure as well," Sarah said cheerfully, "but you obviously don't need one."

"I think we're fine with this for now," mom told her with a smile.

"That was a little different than I expected," I admitted to mom after we'd left.

"What were you expecting?" she asked me with an amused look.

I shrugged, "I guess I'm not really sure."

"Well, let's get home so we can have dinner," mom told me. "Your father isn't bad in the kitchen when he puts his mind to it."

We arrived home a short while later and I saw our neighbor standing out in the yard and watching me with a look of curiosity. Belinda Bounce would definitely have been considered an odd neighbor anywhere other than Spiral. She was a stripper with a pair of breasts that were literally the size of beach balls. But since she never had any problem moving with her back or moving around with them, I was pretty sure that having them be immune from gravity was one of her tricks.

Belinda might have been our neighbor, but I normally only saw her once a month or so, due largely to the fact that she was up till the early hours of the morning working and then spent most of the day sleeping. Because of this, I didn't know her very well but I had heard that before her twist made her into a big breasted exhibitionist, she had been a very conservative religious girl.

"So that's what you look like now," Belinda said as she looked me over with an appraising expression. "Very nice shape..."

"Um...thanks," I responded, a little uncertain about how to take being complimented by her. Sure, I loved attention from guys, but this was from a professional stripper. Then again, she wasn't giving me quite the same look of interest. Belinda was looking at me with more of a professional eye, as if wondering how well I might do in her business.

"You've got a great figure," Belinda said with a grin, then she added, "But if you ever want a little more up top, just let me know."

I gulped at that, knowing that Belinda was referring to her trick. She could cause girls and women to have a growth spurt that could make their breast size anywhere from one to four cup sizes larger, though she apparently didn't have control over how much anyone grew or didn't. This made her very popular among some of the girls in Spiral who were looking for a natural and cheaper alternative to implants.

"Anyway," Belinda said, "I've got to get going. I have to be at the club in half an hour and I'm already running late."

After I waved good-bye to Belinda and went inside the house, I couldn't help but thinking about her and her twist. I felt a faint chill as I realized how similar the two of us were in the way we'd been twisted. We'd both been turned into sexy babes who loved attention, though from what I understood, her exhibitionist streak was quite a bit stronger than mine. I was just a little afraid that when I looked at her, I might very well be looking at my own future.

"I bet she gets a lot of attention though," I mused to myself, thinking about how many men she must have staring at her while she danced. "And she actually gets paid to have people watch her." Then I realized where my thoughts were heading and shook them off.

When we sat down to dinner a short time later, Kim stared at me with a sneer for nearly two minutes before finally saying, "I hear you picked up a trick."

"Yeah," I nodded, having wondered how long it would take her to get to the point. I closed my eyes and concentrated on letting that strange pressure build inside of me, at least a little bit, then releasing it into my hand so that sparks shot out between my fingers.

"Not bad for a loser," Kim said, though she was obviously more impressed than she was acting.

"No showing off your taser touch at the table," mom said with a roll of her eyes.

"Then I guess I'll just have to show it to Kim in private," I teased her with the veiled threat I never actually ended to carry out. It was just fun watching her get a little nervous of me for once. This was payback for all the times she'd insulted and threatened me since her twist.

As soon as dinner was over, I rushed to my room, took off my shoes and put on the stiletto heeled ones so I could get more practice walking around in those. I couldn't wait until my balance was good enough for me to wear those out in public without fear of falling down. I got excited just thinking about how hot and sexy they made me look and feel.

I practiced walking in the stiletto heels for a short while before sitting down to do my homework, keeping the shoes on. In history class we had been talking about Nia Clarence and how she fought for the civil rights of the twisted just after we first started appearing. It had actually been really interesting to hear her story today in class so I was actually eager to learn even more. I pulled open my history book and went to work reading, getting so caught up that I read twice the amount we were assigned to before I finally stopped.

"I guess I should get the rest of my homework out of the way," I sighed, putting my history book to the side with a vague feeling of regret and reaching for my math book.

It took a little longer than normal to do my math homework than normal, but that was because I actually did the problems myself rather than looking to the back of the book or the calculator for an answer. Since I'd actually been paying attention in class today, I understood how to work these problems for a change. Since that was such a rare occurrence, I decided that I might as well take advantage of it while I could.

My homework took a little longer than normal to finish, but that was only because I wasn't rushing through it and putting down answers I knew were wrong. I took my time and did it right, finding that it wasn't too hard since I'd been paying attention in class all day. It was amazing what a difference that little thing made.

Once I was done with my homework, I decided that I was on a roll so turned my attention to an English assignment that I'd been putting off for some time. I picked up a copy of the book Moby Dick, which I was supposed to read by next week and do a book report on in class. I hadn't even started the book yet, nor did I have any real intention of doing so. After all, why waste all that time reading through a huge book like this when you could just go and get the Cliff notes?

"Let's see," I mused as I opened the thick book and began flipping through the pages. I didn't intend to read it, just to glance through it a little. Then I found myself looking at the first page and the famous opening line that even I'd heard of before. I started reading the first line, curious to see how the full line actually went. Then I found myself reading the whole first paragraph, then the first page, getting more and more engrossed in the book. Before I realized it, I was completely caught up in the story and unwilling to put it down.

About an hour after I started reading, mom called out for me, annoying me at the interruption. I stuck my finger between the pages I was on, then went to go see what mom wanted, nearly tripping since I'd forgotten I was wearing the high heels. I scowled in annoyance, then left my room a little more carefully.

"I wanted to see if you could," mom started, then paused as she saw the book in my hand. "What's that?"

"That English project," I sighed, "You know, Moby Dick. I started it after finishing my regular homework."

Mom stared at me for a moment, then at the book with a look of surprise. "And you started that today?"

"Yeah," I responded impatiently.

"Is that where you're at?" she asked, pointing to where my finger was between the pages. "Is that how far you've gotten?"

"Yeah," I eyed her suspiciously, wondering why she was making such a big deal of this. After all, she'd been nagging me to start reading the book for the last two weeks so I thought she'd be happy I finally started it.

Mom just stood there for a moment with a strange expression on her face. Then she cautiously said, "You just started reading Moby Dick a couple hours ago and you're already halfway through it?"

I blinked in surprise, then looked at where my finger was placed. It was indeed halfway through the book, perhaps even a little more than halfway. I went pale at the sight and quietly said, "I started it an hour ago..."

"I've never seen you read a book that fast," mom was commenting, "In fact, you usually avoiding reading anything at all..."

"I know," I responded quietly, suddenly remembering some of my own strange behavior during the day. I'd been paying attention in every class and I'd even gotten caught up in reading a novel I would normally have avoided at all costs. When I had started craving attention and sexy clothes, that had been obvious and something I couldn't ignore. But this...this had been much more subtle and had completely snug up on me. "Oh shit..."

"Are you okay?" mom asked with a look of concern.

"Yeah," I forced a smile, "I just keep surprising myself is all."

Mom just nodded, then told me, "Well, if you picked up the ability to speed read in your twist, I'd call that pretty lucky."

"Yeah," I sighed, turning around and going back to my room, both of us forgetting about why she'd called me out in the first place.

"Just great," I sighed, dropping the book onto my desk with a scowl of annoyance. Finding out that the only reason I enjoyed reading it was that my personality had been changed took the pleasure out of it. "First my twist turns me into some kind of attention whore, now it's turning me into a nerd too."

I plopped down on my bed, shaking my head and trying to make sense of who I was now and who I was becoming. It was all so confusing, especially since none of my previous experience and opinions seemed to count anymore. I no longer had any idea of who I was, and just when I thought I was getting a clue more just got thrown into the mix.

After just sitting there and brooding for awhile, I found my thoughts turning back to the book. I couldn't help but thinking about what I'd already read and wondering what was going to happen next. I told myself no, that I refused to give in to that entirely out of stubborn pride of nothing else, but eventually found myself picking the book back up. I just had to know what happened next...

It was strange going back to school in the morning, especially since all my homework was done right, I was caught up for all of my classes and even ahead in several assignments. This was probably the first time I was actually prepared for all of my classes in as long as I could remember, and I felt somewhat uncomfortable about that. It just wasn't normal, at least not for me.

I was well aware of the irony, that I felt more shame and embarrassment about actually being ready for school and prepared than I did about wearing sexy clothes and trying to attract men. I was able to tell Jeke about my love of dressing provocatively, but not about wanting to pay attention in class. The whole thing was so odd that even I almost found it funny.

There was one thing I knew though and had been reminded of countless times while growing up, and that was that it was easier to go with the flow. Over half of all twisted had been altered mentally to one degree or another, many of whom had been given compulsions or new interests of one form or another. Both of my parents fell into that category and they warned me that it could very well be my fate as well. Because of that, they had always told me that it was easier to just accept your changes and adjust to them than to try fighting them and yourself all the time, unless of course those compulsions were either illegal or immoral. It might be easier to just go with the flow, but it was still a bit uncomfortable when you were flowing in the opposite direction you were used to flowing.

When I stepped into my first period class, I was well aware of my new tendency to pay more attention and I decided to actively fight it. I actually tried to zone out and not pay attention, but I quickly discovered that it's more difficult than it sounds. It isn't easy to completely ignore someone when they're saying something that you actually find interesting. I tried fighting myself for most of first period before I finally just gave up and went with the flow.

Since I couldn't really fight my own compulsions and interests, I decided that it would be smart to at least learn exactly what they were. Because of this, I spent the next several classes carefully scrutinizing my own emotions and reactions to just about everything, trying to figure out what sparked my interest and curiosity and what bored me to death.

It didn't take me long before I began to notice a pattern in my new interests and desires. So far I hadn't found anything that actually bored me, but other than looking sexy and attracting attention, it seemed that I had a fascination for learning new things and reading just about anything I got my hands on. In English, I finished the reading assignment in two minutes, even though everyone else spent half the period on it, then I found myself reading through the rest of the book as well. If this continued, I knew that I might very well end up getting straight A's in all my classes, which would give Jeke license to tease me forever. That was why I decided not to tell him about this.

Eventually lunch arrived and I went to the cafeteria, making sure to reserve a seat beside me for Jeke. Since my twist, there were a lot of boys who wanted sit next to me, or even just close to me. A lot of them didn't have the nerve to come up and talk to me directly but still liked to be near me. I was delighted by the attention, yet found it a little annoying as well since it meant I didn't get much privacy.

"Is it too much of a good thing?" I couldn't resist asking myself, even as I smiled and posed to look even sexier.

Then I pulled out my lunch and earned a few looks of surprise and amazement. Not only had I bought a school lunch, but I'd brought one from home as well. Ever since my twist, my appetite had increased when I would have thought the opposite would happen. I couldn't help but being a little worried that eating more food might make me gain weight and ruin my perfect figure. And the idea of dieting wasn't a pleasant one either.

"I never thought I'd have to worry about that," I muttered as I bit into an apple.

I had barely even started on my lunch when I suddenly noticed Devon walking in my direction along with his friend Kase and Tom McGuire. I felt a faint chill run down my spine as I saw them, especially as I stared at Tom and saw the nasty way Devon was grinning.

Tom was 6 foot 4, heavily muscled and the star player of the school wrestling and football teams. He was one of the biggest and probably the strongest guy in the entire school, which still amazed me a bit. Back when he was Tommy McGuire, he'd been a scrawny nerd, but that was before he'd been twisted into some sort of super jock. He could have had a bright future in athletics if it wasn't for the fact that just about every professional sport banned the twisted from competition.

"There she is," Devon sneered, gesturing at me. "The bitch that zapped me yesterday."

I just remained where I was and gave a charming smile and an innocent 'who me?' look. I'd practiced it in front of the mirror, having noticed just how well such a look usually worked for getting girls out of trouble.

"Hey," Tom nodded at me with a pleasant smile, not at all threatening like I would have expected. He stared at me for a moment before nodding appreciatively, "I guess you twisted pretty good."

"It happens," I shrugged, letting my guard down a little.

"Maybe we'll see each other again sometime," Tom winked at me as he continued on his way.

An annoyed Devon quickly followed after Tom, grumbling, "You were supposed to scare her, not flirt with her."

But Tom just chuckled, "Why would I want to do that?"

"There are definitely advantages to being a pretty girl," I grinned as I watched Tom walk off, thinking about just how bad it could have been for me if he'd decided to beat me up or something. Fortunately, Tom didn't seem to have anything against me, even if I had zapped his friend.

Just then, Jeke sat down beside me, asking, "Did I just see Tom McGuire hitting on you?"

"Something like that," I admitted, feeling a little embarrassed at that.

Jeke stared at me for a moment with an odd expression, then he blurted out, "Do you like guys now?"

"What?" I blinked, not having expected that question from my best friend.

"I mean," Jeke quickly went on, "if you like guys now instead of girls, I guess that's cool..."

"I...I don't know," I admitted after a moment of surprise. "I guess I've been too busy to think about it..."

Jeke continued to stare at me with that odd look for a moment, then realized that I wasn't very comfortable with this topic and changed the subject. "Did you hear about that new movie coming out? They're making a big one about some twisted girl who becomes a super hero."

"Really?" I asked in surprise, then snorted. "I bet that will go over well with the religious crowd."

"Yeah," Jeke nodded. "There's already a bit of controversy and all, and they haven't even started filming yet. It should be fun to watch though, especially if they get some real twisted chick to star in it. I mean, think how easier it will be to do the special effects if they've actually got a real twisted using her trick..."

"That could be pretty wicked," I agreed. "I just hope it's better than that disaster movie about the Antarctic Flu coming back that came out last year. I mean, it breaks out and suddenly there's a bunch more twisted around trying to take over the world... Get real..."

"I know," Jeke laughed. "But it was kind of funny. I mean, they had that once character whose trick was to make other people do the chicken dance..."

I groaned at that, "It's things like that which keep giving us twisted a bad name."

"And here I thought it was the nut cases who kept trying to say you weren't human anymore," Jeke grinned. "And you remember that senator that kept saying the twisted are really being possessed by some aliens from another dimension..."

"How could I forget." I rolled my eyes. "My dad got so mad at that he threw a lamp at our TV and broke it."

Jeke and I continued talking through the rest of lunch, but I couldn't help thinking about the question he had asked me. Did I like guys now? Sure, I loved getting their attention and having them look at me, but I liked having girls admire me too so that didn't necessarily mean a thing. The scary part was...I honestly didn't know anymore. It's a frightening thing when you don't know yourself and probably the worst thing about being twisted.

When Jeke and I went our separate ways, I walked down the hall to my next class enjoying the attention I received but constantly asking myself, "Is he cute? Is she?" This question of my sexuality was one that I wanted answered as soon as possible, though it was a little more difficult to figure out than I would have guessed.

I was relieved once I got to history class and the teacher started the lecture. We were still learning about the early days of the twisted and what it meant for the world at large, which I found completely fascinating. I was so caught up in the class that I even forgot about my earlier concerns, breaking my concentration from the lecture only long enough to pose a little and enjoy the admiring looks that a few boys were giving me.

After class was over, I wandered into the hallway, still thinking about the lecture and the early twisted. I couldn't help but shuddering as I thought about how hard things were for the first ones, about the persecution, the outright attacks and violence. Mom and dad had both talked about it a little, but neither of them really liked to think back on those old days. It just made me more thankful than ever that I lived in Spiral where that kind of thing wasn't really a problem, even if it still was to some degree in the outside world.

I was so caught up in my thoughts that I almost didn't notice someone standing by my side. When I did, I was surprised to see Janine Taylor standing there, trying to get my attention. Janine was a pretty hot looking brunette, but she was also a notorious lesbian who hit on just about every attractive girl in school. I'd never really talked to her before since she avoided guys whenever possible, but I was obviously no longer a guy.

"Um...Janine," I blinked, realizing that I should have been expecting this. Since I had turned into a hot looking girl, Janine was bound to come and try hitting on me sooner or later.

"Hey," Janine nearly purred as she came up close to me, looking me over with a very admiring expression. "Damn, you look good..."

"Thanks," I responded, not sure how to react to Janine but still feeling pleased by the compliment. I felt a little more confident as I asked, "What's up?"

"I heard about your twist," she told me, backing up a little and looking just a little embarrassed. "I've seen you around a few times and thought that you look completely hot and sexy."

I just smiled at that, feeling pleased in spite of myself. I knew that I shouldn't let myself get flattered so easily, but I just couldn't help it. The new attention seeker part of me just loved the compliments and hungered for more.

"I was wondering," Janine said hesitantly, "if your twist changed your perspective." She paused to look me over and sighed, "With the way you're dressed, I'd kind of guess so."

"Yeah," I admitted. "My perspective got twisted a bit." It wasn't like I could deny it with the way I was dressing and showing off every chance I got.

Janine nodded, then gave a weak smile before hesitantly asking, "I was wondering if you still liked girls." There was a hopeful look on her face that surprised me a little. She was acting a bit shy and nervous about this, not as forceful or aggressive about her flirting as she normally was when I saw her.

"I...I don't know," I admitted, feeling extremely embarrassed about the question when it came from her. It was one thing when my best friend asked me, but I barely even knew Janine and I knew that she had a very personal reason for asking. Of course I could have lied, but after growing up with my dad around I wasn't very good at it.

"You don't know?" Janine blinked in surprise. "How could you not know something like that?"

"Because I just changed," I answered defensively, "and I've been too busy dealing with everything else to even think about it."

"Sorry," Janine apologized. "It's just surprising..." Then she paused for a moment, biting her lip before suddenly grinning, "Maybe this will help you figure it out..."

Before I realized it, Janine threw herself against me and planted her lips right into mine in a kiss. I was stunned as she kissed me, and also delighted. It felt good... It felt really good. I'd only kissed a girl once before, and I hadn't gotten this kind of spark shooting through my body. My nipples began to harden and I thought that I might even be getting a little wet further down.

"Wow," Janine giggled when she pulled away. "From the look on your face, I guess you have your answer." She looked quite pleased with herself, even smug as she stepped away from me. Then with a wink, she turned and started off down the hall, cheerfully calling back, "I'll see you later..."

I just remained where I was for a few more seconds before finally whispering, "Wow..." I could hardly believe that I'd just had a hot looking girl come up to me in the hallway and give me a kiss like that. That kind of thing had NEVER happened to me back when I'd still been a guy. And I was even feeling all turned on by it. "Wow..."

Then I grinned, still feeling a bit stunned by my encounter with Janine, but relieved as well. This meant that I finally had my answer. I did still like girls. I was especially relieved since I didn't know if I could handle any more changes to my mind and behavior, especially not with something as fundamental to my self-identity as that.

"It looks like there's going to be a lot of disappointed guys around here," I giggled, looking around at several boys who'd actually seen the kiss and were still staring at me. "I just hope this doesn't chase them away..."

After a moment I gathered my wits and continued on to my next class with a broad grin on my face and a sexy strut in my step. Somehow, I felt even sexier and more attractive than before as I walked down the hall, thinking about Janine and looking forward to seeing her again.

After school was over and I made my way home, I couldn't help feeling both giddy and tired at the same time. It was a strange combination of emotions, but that seemed to have become my trademark since my twist.

My mind was still wandering over Janine's kiss, but at the same time, I was a little drained from a talk I'd just had with Jeke. He'd heard about me and Janine kissing and had confronted me with that, demanding to know if the rumors were true and we were dating now. I didn't really know how to respond to that, especially when I saw the look of jealousy in my friend's eyes. I hadn't realized until just then that Jeke had been secretly hoping that the two of us might start dating.

"What am I gonna do about Jeke?" I asked myself with a sigh.

He was my best friend but things had just gotten so complicated. Of course, I should have realized that Jeke thought I was totally hot, especially since every other guy did. I just hadn't thought that he'd ever think of me as possible girlfriend material. I mean, we were best friends...almost like brothers at times. Then I sighed, remembering the look of disappointment in his eyes once I'd confirmed that I did indeed still like girls.

"I hope he gets over it," I muttered.

When I reached home a few minutes later, I immediately started for my room but my mom stopped me with a suspicious look, "What are you up to?"

I was about to tell her that I was just going to play some video games, but instead I found myself saying, "I'm just going to do my homework then read a book I checked out from the school library." I winced at the effect of my dad's trick.

My mom just stood there with her mouth open, giving me a look of stunned confusion. Dad stood there with a similar look, obviously wondering if his trick was still working on me. I took advantage of their surprise to hurry past them to my room.

"Dad and his stupid trick," I grimaced, knowing that I'd been embarrassed or in trouble because of it more times than I could count.

I sighed as I began taking out my homework and setting it down on my bed, along with the book that I'd told mom about. It was all about the twisted, specifically, about the various physical and mental changes we can go through during our twist and the kinds of tricks that we can develop as well. Considering what I was going through, my interest in the subject had greatly increased as of late.

"Maybe I can learn a thing or two," I mused, though I suspected that I was already very familiar with most of the things in the book. However, it had been written by some guy who was twisted himself so it probably wouldn't have the 'twisted are sick individuals' tone that a lot of books written by normals did, and he'd been through it himself so knew what he was talking about.

I got comfortable on my bed and began to scan through the first pages of the book, finding it fairly dry but still interesting anyway. I was just starting on the second chapter when I heard Kim talking outside my room. Out of curiosity, I put the book down and went to go check it out.

"I'm going to the mall," Kim was telling mom as she walked to the door.

"Can I go with you?" I asked hopefully.

Kim gave me a look of annoyance and asked, "Why?"

I knew that she meant, 'why should I take you?' but instead I told her, "I was thinking of going to get my ears pierced." I figured that this would go over with her a little better than saying I just wanted to show off and get a little attention. Of course, as soon as I said it I realized that getting my ears pierced was a good idea. I'd be able to wear earrings and look even better.

"Whatever," Kim rolled her eyes, looking a little interested in spite of herself. "Come on..."

As soon as we arrived at the mall, Kim immediately rushed off, completely ignoring me and leaving me to my own devices. She hadn't even said anything about what time we were to meet up again in order to go home, leaving me with the fear that if I didn't get back to her in time I might be left to walk home. Then again, I could only imagine how much trouble she'd be in if dad used his trick when asking her why she didn't bring me back. Still, I didn't want to push it and made a mental note to find her in time.

"Let's see," I mused as I looked around, noticing several guys already looking at me with appreciative expressions. I smiled at that and walked past them, savoring every bit of that attention.

I didn't have any specific plans for in the mall so just walked until I noticed a lingerie store. I felt a surge of excitement and went inside, thinking of those sexy lace things I'd talked mom into getting me a couple days ago and knowing that I wanted more. However, after a little window shopping I was disappointed to note that a lot of the things I really wanted were a little out of my price range.

"Damn," I cursed to myself, knowing that I was going to have to get a job if I wanted to buy the things that I liked now. It was a hell of a lot cheaper being a guy.

After careful consideration though, I decided that I could afford several pairs of lacy black panties, even if the matching bras would be a little much at the moment. I felt an odd mixture of pride and nervousness as I went up to the counter with them, more than half sure they would call me some kind of pervert or something. However, the lady at the counter only complimented my hair and 'exotic' eyes, not saying any of the things I'd feared.

"I just hope I don't feel that nervous every time I have to buy girl things now," I muttered as I left, trying to reassure myself that I was a girl now and had every right to go into that kind of place. However, a large part of me was still the same boy I'd always been and felt out of place.

A few minutes later I wandered towards the shoe store, not planning to buy anything even if I could afford it, but just wanting to look. Since I was a girl and doing the whole shopping thing, it seemed like the logical next step. Besides, I wanted to try out a pair of those stiletto heeled boots that I hadn't been able to try on in front of my mom.

Just as I was about to go into the shoe store, I suddenly noticed Janine coming out of the store beside it at the same time. I was a little startled to see her in the mall after what had happened at school today and didn't know what to do. I didn't know if I should go over and say hi or pretend that I hadn't seen her. The choice was taken away from me as Janine saw me just a few seconds after I'd spotted her.

"Blake," Janine said as she walked over to me, looking a bit nervous. "I'm sorry if I came on too strong earlier..." She looked down at the ground, blushing brightly, "Sometimes I just can't help myself."

"Um...it's okay," I responded just as nervously, not sure what to say now.

"I didn't mean to embers you or anything," she quickly added. "It's just that I sometimes act before I think when it comes to girls I like."

"Oh," I blushed, feeling excited that she liked me. I'd never really had a girl say she liked me like that before, especially not one as pretty as she was. "But you don't really know me," I protested weakly.

Janine frowned, "But we've gone to school together for years..."

"You never even talked to me before this," I said, gesturing down at myself, wondering why I was making such a big deal of this.

"I'm a little uncomfortable around guys," Janine admitted with a sigh, then quietly added, "It's part of my twist."

"Twist?" I blinked in surprise. "I didn't know you were twisted..."

Janine gave me a self-conscious smile, then hesitantly told me, "I didn't always like girls. I used to be straight."

"Really?" I asked.

"Yeah," Janine sighed, looking as though she was unsure of whether to tell me more or not. She finally continued, "About two years ago, my best friend and I were talking about guys we liked and what it would be like to kiss them. One thing lead to another and we decided to practice our kissing skills on each other so we'd be ready when we finally had a chance to do it for real. That was when my twist kicked in and the next thing I know I'm trying to tear her clothes off..." Then Janine sighed with a sad look, "She never even talked to me again after that."

I winced, "Harsh."

"Just part of being twisted," Janine sighed, then gave me an odd look, "You know how it is."

"Yeah," I admitted, looking down at myself and sighing as well. "It's taking a bit to get used to."

Janine nodded knowingly, "I'm sorry for coming at you so fast... I know you just changed so you don't need me throwing myself at you like that..."

We both just stood there feeling embarrassed for a minute before I hesitantly asked, "What else did your twist do to you?"

"Just a few mental changes," she shrugged. "I like girls now instead of guys, I'm impulsive when I'm attracted to someone, and I'm uncomfortable around guys. That's pretty much it. In fact, I've been like this for so long now that I can't really remember what I was like before my twist. This is just...me."

"So your twist didn't make you that beautiful," I said, then immediately bit my tongue in embarrassment. I hadn't really meant to say that aloud, but this time I couldn't blame my dad for it.

Janine's eyes widened in delight, "You think I'm beautiful."

"Of course," I mumbled, "just about every guy in school does..."

"But I don't want every guy in school," Janine exclaimed, suddenly throwing her arms around me and giving me another kiss, "I want you."

"Wow," I gulped, definitely liking that kiss even it wasn't as strong as the one at school.

"I'm so sorry," she gasped as she stepped back, "I did it again..."

"I didn't exactly mind," I gave her a weak smile.

Janine nodded but looked embarrassed, "But I'm coming at you too fast, aren't I?" She took a deep breath, then asked, "Do you think that maybe we could try... I mean, do you think that maybe we could try to be friends, get to know each other better and see if it goes anywhere?" She gave me a hopeful look.

I just stared at Janine for a moment, thinking about how beautiful she was and how great that kiss had felt. I didn't really know her very well, but from what I'd seen at school she'd always seemed like a nice person. She just had a few personality quirks, and Heaven knows my twist had given me some as well.

"That sounds good," I said after a moment, giving her a nervous smile.

Janine grinned and quickly gave me a kiss on my cheek this time. I was a little disappointed that it hadn't been a bit more, and I think she realized that because she grinned wider. It looked like her plan to take things a lot slower might not be all that easy on me, which just might be her plan.

"So what are you doing here at the mall?" Janine abruptly asked.

"Just picking up a few things," I said as I held up my bag, hoping she didn't ask what I'd bought. Then I realized that it had the store name right on the front so she probably didn't have to ask. I quickly added, "And I was going to go get my ears pierced."

"Really?" Her eyes lit up. "I think some earrings would go great with that necklace you're wearing."

"You think so?" I asked a little hesitantly.

Janine nodded, "Oh yeah... A few extra sparklies can always make a girl look a little more attractive."

It was as though Janine really knew me well because she had just pushed my magic button. In an instant, I was even more interested in getting my ears pierced and finding some nice earrings. It was beginning to seem like more and more of a good idea with every minute.

"I'll come with you," she told me with a grin.

With that we turned away from the shoe store and went for a new destination, a body modification shop on the other side of the mall that did tattoos and piercings as well as sold the jewelry for the latter. When I stepped inside, I wasn't surprised to see Kim standing there, though I was a little startled to notice that she was talking to Shiv Martin.

"Hey," Shiv called out when she noticed me come in. Then she noticed Janine beside me and looked a little startled, perhaps guessing from Janine's presence that we were an item or something. Then again, that might not have been too far off the mark.

"Hey," I called back, glancing at Kim who was silent but giving me a curious look.

"You in here for a tat or something?" Shiv asked with an almost eager expression.

"Just to get my ears pierced." I glanced at Kim again, then to the woman who seemed to be the person who took care of that.

"Cool," Shiv nodded. "I'm here learning how to do tattoos." Then she gestured to my sister, "This is Kim..."

"I know," I responded as deadpan as I could, "she's my sister."

"What?" Shiv gasped in surprise while Kim snorted, "Not by choice."

"She's your sister?" Janine asked beside me. "I think I've seen her around school."

"Yeah," I told Janine, "She used to be pretty decent until she twisted into a bitch."

"Whatever," Kim rolled her eyes, "You gonna get your ears pierced or what?"

I looked at the woman who ran the shop and she grinned, "Don't worry... Kim is the best employee I've ever had for this kind of thing."

"Employee?" I blinked in surprise, looking at Kim who actually seemed a bit embarrassed.

"It's part time," she snapped defensively. "And if you tell mom and dad I'll kill you."

I just nodded at that, grinning slightly as I realized that this could be great blackmail material later. "How did you keep something like this from dad?"

"He never asked," Kim responded with a shrug, gesturing for me to sit down in a chair. "This will only take a moment."

I sat down and braced myself for the pain as Kim pinched my ear between her fingers and then brought a little piercing gun to it. I felt the punch as the little gun punched a small hole through my ear lobe, but to my surprise, it didn't hurt in the least. I didn't even feel the a slight sting.

"I thought that was supposed to hurt," I blinked in surprise.

"That's my trick," Kim smirked at me, looking quite pleased with herself. "I can get rid of pain when I want to."

"Wow," I responded. "I didn't know you could do that."

Kim just continued smirking, looking as though she were actually in a good mood. "I can always not do it for your other ear so you can see the difference..."

"No thanks," I quickly told her, "I think I prefer the no pain thing."

"I thought you might," Kim grinned. "Little wimp."

I thought that she might very go ahead and make me feel the pain just to spite me, so I held my fingers up and let sparks shoot between them. "I feel pain," I grinned at her, "you feel pain..."

Kim didn't seem bothered by the threat as she finished piercing my other ear as well. Once she was done with that, she said, "While you're here, you might as well go for a little more than just this... I mean, one hole in each ear is so...boring."

"How about a navel ring," Janine suggested, winking at me as she added, "They're so sexy."

My eyes lit up at that and I had to admit that navel rings did look pretty sexy, though I'd never thought of getting one until right then. Of course I loved the idea of looking even sexier, and with Kim's trick I wouldn't even have to worry about the pain.

Kim suddenly burst out laughing and told Janine, "I think you just pushed her buttons..."

"What do you mean?" Janine asked blankly.

"My dear little sis here," Kim put a hand on my shoulder, "got some kind of compulsion or something in her twist to always look as sexy as she could."

"Really?" Janine asked, looking even more interested.

Shiv just grinned, looking down at the tattoos on her arms and saying, "I can understand that."

"And to think," Kim teased, "she used to be a boy..."

"Just shut up and give me the navel piercing," I snapped in annoyance, bringing an even bigger grin to Kim's face.

Kim went to work on my navel, neutralizing the pain and then punching my skin with that little gun before inserting a gold ring. I looked down, thankful that I didn't have to feel the pain from that and admiring just how good it looked. I couldn't resist smiling at the sight before I lowered my shirt, regretting that I wasn't wearing a halter top or something that would show it off.

"Very sexy," Janine told me with a grin, obviously pleased to know about my craving for attention and just how easily it was to use it.

"How about a few more?" Kim asked, looking as though she was really getting into this. She gestured to my chest, "A couple rings there..."

"No," I told her, "I think I've got enough for now..."

"But it'll look really sexy," Kim teased me, trying to urge me into it.

"No," I told her, thankful that my little quirk wasn't so overwhelming that I'd agree to anything someone suggested as long as they said it would be sexy. That would really suck. "I'm done for now."

"Okay," Kim said, suddenly turning almost professional. "I put fairly plain studs in your ears for now. Once the holes heal up enough you'll be able to take them out or replace them with something a little fancier. The same thing goes for your navel piercing, though you'll want to use this cream to keep it from getting infected at first." Then she grinned and added, "Oh yeah, my trick wears off after a couple hours so you can expect to feel it tonight..."

"Great." I gave her a forced smile. "It would have been nice if you'd told me that before I got this last piercing..."

"But where's the fun in that?" Kim asked me.

"How about a tattoo while you're here?" Shiv asked almost hopefully.

"Let me guess," I asked her. "You have some trick where you can give people tattoos just by touching them."

"I wish," Shiv sighed. "As far as I know, I don't even have a trick. And since I'm under eighteen, I'm not even legally allowed to give regular tattoos to people yet."

I just nodded at that, then told her, "No thanks. I don't think I want a tattoo right now." Kim glanced to the clock on the wall then told me, "I'll only be here for another half hour or so before going home."

"Okay," I told her, "I'll be back here before then."

I turned around to leave, but Kim said, "Forgetting something?" She gestured to the cash register, reminding me that I still had to pay.

"I almost forgot," I blushed, taking out my money to pay.

The piercings and rings cost me just about all of the allowance money I had left, but I left the shop thinking that it was probably well worth it. I hadn't had any compliments on my new adornments yet, but I did feel a bit sexier.

"So that was your sister," Janine said after we'd left, "It was kind of funny that she and Shiv are friends, and Shiv didn't even know."

I just nodded at that, a little startled by the fact that Shiv and Kim were hanging out together, though I knew I shouldn't be. After all, they both went to the same school and had been twisted in very similar ways. Kim came out of her twist with a love of piercings while Shiv had one for tattoos. Since they were both into body modification like that, it only made sense that they'd hang out in some of the same places.

"Well," Janine told me, "you've got half an hour left here and I don't have any time limits, so what do you want to do?"

I knew what I really wanted to do, but it wasn't as though the two of us could do it in such a public place. The really scary thing was that I knew Janine would be more than eager to have a little hanky panky, so I was the one who thought that would be going a bit far at the moment.

"How about we just look around," I suggested, knowing that there were a number of stores I could go into now but that I never would have dared to before.

Janine and I spent the next half hour wandering from store to store and talking with each other. I got to know her quite a bit better in that short time and was really enjoying her company. I was quickly becoming convinced that as well as being a hot looking girl, she was really a nice person to be around as well.

When it was time for me to go, Janine and I said good-bye with a quick kiss. It wasn't long and passionate or anything since we were trying to take things slowly, but it spend sparks to all the right parts of my body. There was no longer any doubt in my mind that it was going to be difficult to keep taking this relationship slow and easy.

Kim watched our good-bye with a bit of a smirk, so I glared at her, "If you tell mom and dad about Janine, I'll tell them about your part time job."

"Deal," Kim grinned, pleased that she now had a little leverage on me as well.

I woke up feeling sore in all the places I'd been pierced yesterday, especially my navel. I could easily have gone to Kim and asked her to do that pain removal trick again, but I didn't want to give her the satisfaction. I grimaced, deciding that I'd just deal with it normally, the same way everyone who didn't have a sister who could remove pain had to do.

With a sigh, I made my way to the bathroom and used the spray anesthetic on my stomach. There was a cool sensation just before the pain faded away. It didn't go away entirely, not the way that Kim's trick would make it do, but it served it's purpose for the moment and I knew that it wouldn't take long before it wouldn't feel sore or tender at all.

After I was done with my morning shower, I just stood and stared at my reflection in the mirror for some time. I was definitely becoming quite a narcissist, though I told myself that it wasn't my fault. It was part of my twist. I eventually shook myself away from this to get dressed and practice putting on makeup, which involved a lot more sitting in front of the mirror.

Eventually, I moved onto other things, such as sitting on my bed and reading through my book on the twisted. I'd barely had a chance to start in it though when mom came into my room and gave me an odd look, especially staring hard at the book in my hands. However, she quickly smiled and said, "I think it's time you and I had a talk honey."

"About what?" I asked, setting the book down and looking more closely at mom.

Mom hesitated a moment before responding, "About the birds and the bees..."

I nearly choked at that, then quickly told her, "We already had sex ed class in school. I know about my new body..."

"But not from your new perspective," she pointed out with a raised eyebrow. "And perhaps even more importantly for the moment, I think there are some things you really need to learn about hygiene."

"Hygiene?" I blinked in surprise, then paled when I suddenly realized what she meant.

"I never expected to be having this talk with you," mom admitted, looking a little uncomfortable as well. "I thought that once I'd had it with Kim that was all I had to worry about. But things change." She shrugged, then sat down beside me, "I don't know when you'll start your period...or if you'll even have one for sure, but there are some things you'll really need to know ahead of time..."

The next hour was one of the longest in my entire life, worse even than the time dad had given me the birds and bees talk. I couldn't wait for it to be over, yet at the same time, I was well aware that this was important information I would probably need so I couldn't help but pay very close attention to every word mom said. But once she was finally done and left, I let out a sigh of relief.

I shook my head and picked up my book again, muttering, "Maybe next time I should pick up one on human biology." It wouldn't hurt to have some kind of owners manual for my new body.

Just as I was beginning to get back into the book, mom stuck her head back into my room and reminded me, "Don't forget you have your doctor appointments today. And dress nicely..." She paused then, realizing just how silly it was telling me to dress nice.

I read through a few chapters of the book before deciding that I might as well get ready for my appointment. Then I grinned, suddenly deciding that it might be fun to follow mom's suggestion about dressing nice, or at least nicer than I had been for school. I nearly drooled at the prospect of going all out and making dad's jaw drop in horror.

With that goal in mind I went to work. I brushed my hair out until it was silky smooth and got dressed in my sexiest clothes, which consisted of a short skirt, pantyhose and a halter top shirt that would show off my new navel jewelry and a glimpse of cleavage. To top it off, I put on my stiletto heeled shoes, having practiced walking in them enough that I now felt confident in going out in public. In fact, I was pretty excited about the idea of finally being able to wear them in front of other people.

I admired myself in the mirror, something I was doing quite frequently of late, especially just how great the stiletto heels made my legs look. They did wonders for my legs and ass, neither of which really needed it. I was feeling extremely confident of my ability to draw male attention at the moment. After all, I used to be a guy just a few days ago and knew very well that I'd be drooling at the babe in the mirror.

Of course, I realized that there were a few more touches that I had to take care of. I had been practicing quite a bit with my makeup but I considered this my first test of the real thing. I was very careful about putting it on, feeling a tingle of excitement as I finished it off with the crimson lipstick and a fresh coat of crimson nail polish.

"Very sexy," I smirked as I looked at my nails and admired my reflection yet again. "Now there's only one thing missing." And with that, I added the gold pendant necklace that mom had bought for me. It was the perfect final touch.

Once I was finished, I braced myself for a confrontation with my parents, then went out to see them. The reactions I got were close to what I expected, with dad staring at me in shock, on the verge of forbidding me to even leave the house. At the same time mom beamed with a look of pride. Since I hadn't told mom and dad about my navel piercing, they got to see that for the first time as well. I knew that they couldn't really say anything about it since Kim had something like a dozen more piercings than I did, but I wasn't quite expecting the reaction I did get.

"That's great," mom exclaimed in delight. "It looks fantastic on you. I remember that navel rings were real popular when I was growing up too. I guess it's one of those fads that comes back every decade or two."

"Fads do that," dad said, still eyeing me warily and saying, "I'm not sure I like the idea of my son going out in public like that."

"Daughter," mom corrected him absently, then continued, "You remember those Rubik's Mobius Rings that used to be huge? I spent hours on mine and could never solve it."

"Me too," dad admitted. "I finally got so frustrated that I tore mine apart then reassembled it with all the pieces in the right places. None of my friends had been able to solve theirs so they were all jealous when they thought I had."

"Isn't that cheating?" mom asked in surprise.

"Yeah," dad agreed with a grin. "But it was also before my twist so I didn't have to tell them that."

I let out a sigh of relief, thankful that dad had been distracted from the subject of my clothes. Of course, I had a feeling that mom had done that intentionally since she knew how dad could get.

"Well, let's get going," dad said after a few minutes, finally remembering that we needed to get to my appointment.

"I'll go ahead and take her," mom told him with a smile, pulling out her car keys.

"I thought you were going to the gym," dad responded.

"I already went for an eight mile run first things this morning," mom mused thoughtfully. "I can hold off on hitting the gym until later this afternoon."

"Okay," dad threw up his hands in defeat, "I understand. You want some mother daughter bonding time..."

Mom rolled her eyes but didn't say anything since she was well used to dad's quirks. He couldn't exactly help the fact that he'd blurt out whatever he was thinking most of the time, though it could get a little annoying and offend people who didn't know him.

A short time later mom and I arrived at the Spiral Clinic, a special medical center dedicated exclusively to the twisted and the unique problems we dealt with. I had an appointment for the clinic itself, but knew that in practical terms I would be seeing several different specialists.

First I was taken into an examination room with Dr. Franklin, a middle aged woman with green eyes...solid green and glowing. She looked me over, then pulled a folder that contained pictures and medical information on the old me. I'd come into the clinic for an examination once a year since I'd turned twelve, just like a lot of other kids who had twisted parents. The reason was so that they would have something to compare us to after we'd twisted ourselves.

"I see that you were a boy before," Dr. Franklin said as she looked through my record, not seeming surprised or bothered by this in the least.

"Yeah," I responded just a little self-consciously.

Dr. Franklin looked at me again and smiled faintly, "From the way you're dressed, I'm assuming that you've had a few personality alterations."

I just nodded at that, "Yeah..."

Dr. Franklin nodded slightly. "I'll be focusing more on your physical changes than your mental ones."

Then she began to ask me a few questions, simple at first and then more personal. She even asked me if I'd had sex with a boy since my transformation, a question which really surprised me. After this she started the actual physical, testing my blood pressure, heart rate and a number of other things. Finally, she asked me to undress.

I hesitated, feeling a little embarrassed about getting naked in front of a stranger, then I reminded myself that she was a doctor, took a deep breath and removed my clothes. Once I was standing there naked, I expected to feel completely embarrassed and self-conscious, but to my surprise...I didn't. I knew that I SHOULD feel that way, but I didn't...not really. I didn't feel any shame or embarrassment about being naked at all. Surprisingly, all my discomfort came more from the knowledge that I should feel these things, that I was expecting to and didn't.

"Are you all right? Dr. Franklin asked me with a look of concern.

"Yeah," I told her. "What now?"

Dr. Franklin had me climb onto an examination table which looked a lot like a tanning bed. Once I was laying down, she lowered the top over me and asked me to remain still while it hummed and bathed me in purple light. About five minutes later, she said that it was fine for me to get out and get dressed again.

"Trust me," Dr. Franklin told me, "this is much preferable to the old gynecological exams that we used to perform."

"I'll take your word for that," I sighed as I began to put my clothes back on, wishing for the first time that I'd just dressed in something simple like a jogging suit.

While I was getting dressed, Dr. Franklin sat behind a computer monitor, staring at it intently, pushing buttons and making thoughtful noises. Then she did something and a holographic image of me naked appeared in the air in front of us.

"You appear to be in great health. And physically, you are indeed fully female now," Dr. Franklin said professionally, "This goes all the way down to your DNA and a pair of X chromosomes. You have a uterus and ovaries, which appear to be fully functionally and in good health."

"Oh," I responded numbly as Dr. Franklin did something to the hologram so that everything vanished except the organs she was talking about and they increased in size.

"I believe that you can expect your first period within a month," Dr. Franklin told me thoughtful, "and that you are fully capable of becoming pregnant and having a child."

"Oh," I gulped, not really having thought much about that aspect of my new biology, or at least not thinking about it seriously. Suddenly, mom's little lecture this morning seemed a whole lot more relevant.

Dr. Franklin continued changing the holographic image as she talked about my body and how I seemed to be a perfect normal human female, with only a few exceptions. These, she pointed out, were probably tied to my trick.

"You have a much higher than normal metabolic rate," Dr. Franklin told me, "which should explain your increased appetite. It doesn't seem to be at all harmful to your physiology and is probably beneficial, perhaps providing the energy to this trick you told me about. I'm not an expert on tricks however, so I can't be certain. One positive about your metabolism," she chuckled, "it should also make it very easy for you stay thin, no matter how much you eat."

"Thank God," I sighed in relief, having been a bit afraid that my bigger appetite would lead to me ruining this sexy body. I was glad that I wouldn't have to worry about that.

After I'd been given a clean bill of physical health by Dr. Franklin, I was sent to another room with Dr. Pierce, a fairly attractive black woman in her mid to late thirties. She looked pretty normal so unlike Dr. Franklin, I couldn't tell if she was twisted or not. About the only thing I knew about her was that she was a specialist in psychology or something, specifically on the kinds of mental changes that a lot of twisted go through.

"I have some questions I'd like you to answer to start with," Dr. Pierce told me, having me sit down at a computer monitor. "It will ask you a number of questions and I want you to answer them honestly."

"Oh joy," I sighed, knowing that this was basically a personality test. I'd taken the same test every year when I took my physical. This way, she'd be able to take the results of my last test and compare them with this one to see how much I might have changed.

There were two hundred questions in the test, some of which seemed pretty redundant while others were just downright weird. However, I knew that there was probably a specific reason for every question, so I did my best to just get through them. I finished up a bit faster than Dr. Pierce had expected, then sat back while she looked through the results.

"So," Dr. Pierce asked me, her eyes scanning my clothes, "have you noticed any changes to your mental state or behavior since your twist?"

I had to keep from rolling my eyes at her question since the answer was pretty obvious. Instead, I took a deep breath and told her, "Definitely. I've become extremely interested in looking good and getting attention. I pay attention more in class now and I like reading when I didn't before. I even read really fast now and remember things a lot better. I think I might have gotten smarter or something." Then almost as an afterthought, I added, "Oh...and I don't think I get embarrassed about other people seeing me naked now. I'm not really sure though."

Dr. Pierce nodded, looking pleased that I'd been so honest with her to start with. Apparently a lot of people denied that they'd changed mentally or gained compulsions out of embarrassment. And some people didn't even notice that they've changed. Still, she asked me a lot of questions, being polite and interested, acting almost like a good friend to make me more comfortable talking to her. A lot of her questions dealt with how I felt about my changes and how other people were treating me because of them. A lot of her questions were also a bit personal, but I did my best to answer them honestly.

After about an hour of talking and asking questions, Dr. Pierce finally told me, "You probably haven't gotten any smarter, though I can't be positive without further testing. Much more likely, it's just because you're more interested in learning new things. When you're interested in something, you're much more likely to learn and remember. Your records say that you were bright before but that you just didn't apply yourself much. Now you are. I think that is the difference."

"Oh," I responded, not really sure what to think about that.

A moment later, she continued, "You seem to be adjusting to your situation quite well. In fact, you seem to be adjusting faster than most. A lot of twisted who go through mental changes fight them and suffer a lot of stressful internal conflict."

"My whole family's twisted," I told her self-consciously.

Dr. Pierce nodded, "I see that your mother went through both mental and physical changes during her twist, your father gained a compulsion and your sister underwent mental changes as well. I can see why growing up in that environment might make it easier for you."

I was a little uncomfortable talking about all this mental stuff so was eager to be done with it. Fortunately, Dr. Pierce decided that I wasn't a threat to myself or others and I was able to leave her office and go see the next specialist I was scheduled to talk with. This was the one that I was actually looking forward to.

Dr. Rothschild was an odd little man, standing barely 5 feet tall but projecting a presence as though he were much larger. His features were Asian and he looked like he was in his twenties or maybe early thirties, but his hair and eyebrows were all pure white. Add to this the fact that he had pointed ears and it created a sense that he might have come from Middle Earth or some other mythical place. He was also an expert in the tricks that many twisted could perform.

"I understand that you have a trick to show me," Dr. Rothschild greeted me with a pleasant smile and a gleam in his eye that somehow gave me the feeling he was amused by some joke that only he understood.

"Yeah," I responded a little nervously. I took a deep breath and forced the pressure to build within me, then held up my hand so he could see a few sparks fly between my fingers. "I think it's like some taser, but I've only used it on one person." Then I quickly rushed to add, "I didn't even know I could do it."

"Interesting," Dr. Rothschild said. "Tell me a little more about the effects of what happened, and how it feels when you use that ability."

I told him about the incident with Devon, though I left out the details of the conflict and what led up to it. Then I told him about the pressure I felt when I used my trick and answered his next dozen or so questions as well. He listened carefully, nodding occasionally and seeming extremely interested in every detail about my trick.

"Now," Dr. Rothschild told me after a while, "I think we need to take a closer look at this. I need to examine you a little, then I'll need you to perform a few exercises..."

With that, he had me lay down on a table that was very much like the examination table Dr. Franklin had used on me, though this time I didn't need to get undressed. He scanned me with that, then attached several small scanners to my skin and had me perform a variety of exercises with my trick, such as just building the pressure, letting the sparks fly between my fingers and even touching and zapping a dummy. He seemed quite interested and even a little excited, which left me wondering if that was a good sign of bad.

"Let's see," I said, taking a deep breath and pouching the dummy again, releasing my taser zap into it for the fifth time. Dr. Rothschild kept having me repeat that particular exercise with my trick, then examining the results on his computer.

"Are you feeling at all tired?" he asked me, scratching at his white hair.

I shook my head, "Not really. No."

Once Dr. Rothschild finished having me go through all his tests, he sat back and looked at the results, looking rather pleased. He grinned and told me a few jokes while he worked, then he paused to stare at them in silence for a minute.

Finally, he told me, "Your trick is indeed very much like a taser, but kept at just the right frequency and power level to stun a person but not actually harm them. It is the perfect self-defense mechanism considering the other aspects of your twist." He looked me over and teased, "Sometimes the extra attention you seek to draw might be a little too...aggressive."

"I've noticed," I responded with a sigh, thinking again of Devon and knowing that there were other guys out there that might not like the fact that I was nothing more than a tease.

Dr. Rothschild nodded, "Your metabolism and increased appetite are more a side effect of your trick than powering it as was previously suggested. If you were to go without using your trick for a week or two, I believe your metabolic rate would slow down to a more normal level, at least until you used it again. However, I don't think that your current metabolism is harmful to your body in the least, so you don't need to worry about that."

"That's good to know," I smiled weakly. "But Dr. Franklin said that said that eating a lot was what powered my taser."

"No," Dr. Rothschild frowned slightly. "Though it is easy to see why she might conclude that since it would make more sense as far as ordinary physics go. However, this isn't quite normal physics. You draw all the energy you need for your trick from the Darrington Field...the quantum energy field that every twisted is linked to. That is why you don't get weak or tired from using it multiple times."

"Okay," I responded, not knowing much about twisted physics or the Darrington Field but feeling quite interested anyway.

I was expecting Dr. Rothschild to continue about the Darrington Field and how the different physics affected me directly, but instead he said, "As you probably know, over eighty percent of twisted have some form of trick, even if it is so subtle that they might not think of it as such. Between twenty and thirty percent have more than one trick. I myself have two..."

"Really?" I asked, "What tricks can you do?"

Dr. Rothschild suddenly grinned, "For one, I can transfer my mass into the Darrington Field." With that, he suddenly began to shrink, even his clothes, until he was only six inches tall. He looked tiny, like some sort of doll. A moment later, he grew back to his normal height, which was still much shorter than average. "It's a small trick," he winked at me.

"That's cool," I exclaimed. "I bet you can get into all sorts of places."

"It does have its uses," he admitted with a sly grin, not going any further. Then he quickly added, "My second trick is merely the ability to sense when someone nearby is tapping into the Darrington Field. That has its uses as well, such as telling me when someone is about to undergo a twist or when they are using a trick."

I knew that Dr. Rothschild's second trick might not sound impressive, but it could certainly be useful. It was like a radar that could tell him if people were twisted, or warn him if someone was going to use a trick on him. I couldn't help wondering if that particular trick might have something to do with why he became a specialist in twisted physics and tricks.

"To get back on subject," Dr. Rothschild told me with a slight chuckle, "the reason I am telling you this is that after these tests, I believe that it is quite likely you possess more than one trick."

"I might have a second trick?" I blinked in surprise and a bit of excitement.

"I can't be certain," he cautioned me, "but it is a possibility I want you to be aware of. I want you to be careful and pay attention so you don't accidentally harm yourself or others if a new trick develops."

"I'll be careful," I promised, thinking about what had happened with Devon and knowing how bad I would have felt if I'd accidentally killed him with my trick. Tricks could definitely be dangerous, especially if you didn't even know what yours could do.

Dr. Rothschild and I talked for a while longer before I left, thankful to not only have a much better understanding of my trick, but also a list of several books he recommended to give me a better understanding of twisted physics and the Darrington Field. He had been quite pleased to realize how interested I was in the subject, though I don't know if he realized that my interest was due to my twist as well. Either way, I couldn't wait to find these books and read them.

When I returned to the front office, I saw mom sitting there and suddenly felt a stab of guilt. She'd been waiting for me for several hours, which must have been extremely boring for her. She also looked a little...uncomfortable. I'd seen that look before, which usually meant she was eager to get some exercise. Mom was like a nicotine addict in that she'd get a bit jittery if she went too long without having some sort of strenuous exercise.

"It looks like I'm done with everything," I told mom. "Dr. Rothschild said I'm good to go too."

"Good," mom said, standing up and letting out a sigh of relief. "I can't wait to get to the gym. I mean..."

"I know," I told her with a chuckle, "Let's go home."

Mom nodded and quickly headed for the door saying, "Good idea."

Almost the moment we got home, mom raced right back out the door for the gym. I just stood there and shook my head, amazed that anyone could be addicted to working out at the gym. Sometimes her cravings for exercise were stronger than others, and it looked like today was going to one of those days.

"There she goes again." Dad shook his head. "I'm just glad that she's given up on dragging me to the gym with her. There's almost nothing more humiliating than having my wife lift a lot more weight than I can in front of a bunch of other people. And when her growth spurt kicks in...wow."

"Good thing we live so close to the gym," I told him.

Dad just nodded, "That's one of the main reasons I bought this house, though your mother almost made us buy the house right next to the gym."

I just nodded, knowing exactly how mom was. She could get a bit insistent when it came to going to the gym or getting exercise. I remember the time she'd refused to go on a nice vacation just because the hotel didn't have good enough gym facilities for her. At the same time, like dad, I was grateful that she'd given up on pushing us all to join her.

Then dad gave me a concerned look and asked, "How was your appointment?"

I hesitated for a moment then told him all about it. I left out a few of the more embarrassing details, thankful that he wasn't using his trick on me at the moment. I really didn't think he needed to know that I seemed to have lost my sense of modesty about getting undressed in front of complete strangers, but he was interested when I told him that I might possibly have a second trick. A second trick wasn't uncommon, but it was pretty cool.

After this, I grabbed a late lunch and was heading to my room to do a little reading when I suddenly thought better of it. Since I was dressed so hot and sexy, it would be a real shame to hide away where no one could appreciate it. What I really wanted to do was go out and show off a bit more.

"I'm going to see Jeke," I told dad as I left, not lying since that was exactly where I planned on going. I couldn't wait to see the look on his face when he saw me wearing this outfit.

I took my time as I strolled down the sidewalk, knowing better than to go too fast in a pair if stiletto heeled shoes. I was well aware of the various people who paused in their yards or in their cars to stare at me. One man who was out doing his gardening stood there with his mouth open and a noticeable bulge in his pants. I just giggled in delight, loving the fact that I could cause such a reaction from guys without even trying. The thought of giving guys fantasies about me just made me all warm and gooey inside. I guess it said something about how well I was adapting since I didn't freak out at feeling this way.

"It's not like I'm hurting anyone," I told myself, "I'm just giving them something to look at. Besides, I'm making them happy as well as myself. And it's not like I can't take care of myself now with my trick."

When I arrived at Jeke's house, his dad opened the door then froze, starting at me in surprise and more than a little appreciation. His eyes immediately went down to my chest, taking in the full view but I noticed the way he was looking over the rest of my body as well.

I couldn't resist messing with him a little and purred as seductively as I could, "Is Jeke home...?" Then as he started to choke, I decided to ease up on him and said, "It's me...Blake."

"Blake?" he blinked his eyes, looking extremely embarrassed as he stammered, "Jeke told me about your twist..."

As I stepped inside, I saw Jeke's step-brother Ian sitting on the couch. He was only 12 years old but he was well over 6 feet tall. Ian was also skinny enough that I knew kids at his school had to call him Stork, Beanpole or some similar nickname.

"Hey Ian." I waved to him, amused as his eyes went wide at the sight of me.

"You remember Blake," Jeke's dad told him with a forced smile. "He's...she's just been through her twist."

"Wow." Ian blinked. "I'm sorry for you..."

"Don't be," I shrugged, walking past and heading to Jeke's room.

Jeke just stared at me when I came through, his eyes going wide as he took in every detail of not only my sexy body but just how sexily I was dressed. Then he shook it off a bit and nervously told me, "Damn you look hot."

"Thanks," I grinned, pleased by the compliment.

"I thought I'd come over so we could play some video games," I said as I sat down on the edge of Jeke's bed, in the same place I usually did. He gave me a nervous look.

"Do you still like video games?" he asked me hesitantly.

"I...I don't know," I admitted with a frown. "I mean, I haven't played any since my twist, and my own computer is fried. Dad promised to buy me a new one next week, but until then..." I shrugged and picked up the video game controller. "It feels kind of weird using this with my nails."

"Well let's see then," Jeke grinned, grabbing the other controller. "I'll kick your ass in Deathmonger Four."

"You're on," I grinned and turned my attention to the screen.

It didn't take long to discover that neither my interest in video games or my skills in playing them had been lost in my twist, though my longer fingernails made playing just a little more awkward. Still, I managed to hold my own against Jeke for the next hour or so, enjoying myself the entire time. Eventually, Jeke looked at me and hesitantly asked, "What's it like...being twisted I mean?" Then he added, "Being a girl too I guess."

I thought about it for a moment, frowning as I did so. I wasn't sure how I could really explain this to someone who didn't have quite the same frame of reference, but Jeke had been my best friend for a long time so I was going to try.

"Before my twist," I said slowly, "it felt like I had this big weight over my head, waiting to come down smashing me. I mean, it's scary knowing that something big is going to happen to you but not having any idea what it is. So when it finally happened, it was actually kind of a relief."

"You're relieved to turn into a girl?" Jeke blinked in confusion.

"Not specifically," I sighed. "It's just that at least now it's over and I don't have to be afraid of it anymore. It is pretty weird though turning into someone else and having everyone look at me differently. The hardest part isn't being a girl, and it's not looking into the mirror and seeing someone else's face. It's looking into my own mind and seeing someone else's thoughts and feelings. It's hard, not even knowing what I like and don't like anymore. It's like suddenly being a stranger to myself, not knowing all the things I used to take for granted. It's kind of scary knowing that I don't think or feel the way I used to, but at the same time, it's making it easier for me to adjust to the rest of it."

"Weird." Jeke shook his head. "I'm glad that I'm not twisted." Then he quickly added, "No offense."

"None taken," I sighed. "I used to wish I wasn't twisted either, but at least now it's over with so it's not so bad. I've figured out most of the things that are different and the same." I tapped my head. "Now I just have to get used to it."

"You seem to be doing fine with that," he told me with a shrug.

I just smiled, "Thanks. I've been trying."

After another minute, Jeke cautiously started, "About you and Janine..."

"I ran into her again last night at the mall," I admitted, blushing a bit. "We kind of hit it off and might start dating." I hesitated for a moment while Jeke stared at me, then I gave him a nervous smile, "I guess I still like girls."

"Janine," he said, shaking his head then smiling at me. "She sure is hot. I guess you're kind of lucky then because half the guys at school would jump on her if she wasn't gay."

"I know," I reminded him with a chuckle. "I was in on that locker room conversation if you remember..."

"Oh yeah," he blushed. "I guess you can't go in there anymore though."

"No," I winked at him. "But I get to go into the girl's locker room now and no one thinks twice." Then while Jeke was staring at me in shock and perhaps a little jealousy, I teased him, "I'll bet that I'm the topic of a few conversations in the old locker room now." Jeke's guilty expression was enough to tell me that I was right. "Don't worry," I laughed, "I kind of like the idea of guys talking about how hot I am in the locker room."

"You like that?" Jeke gasped, his eyes darting to my chest and making me giggle.

"I know it makes me sound like a slut or something," I told him with a shrug, "but it's one of the things I got from my twist. I love being the center of attention. I know that I shouldn't feel this way, that the old me would be humiliated...but I can't help it. That's just the way I feel now."

Jeke shook his head yet again, something which was almost becoming a habit for him, "Better you than me."

"I told you some of my thoughts had been twisted," I shrugged again.

Jeke and I continued talking for awhile longer, about what it was like to suddenly be a hot babe as well as other things. The whole time I was well aware of the way he kept looking at me and I even felt pleased by it. Of course it was a little odd since he was my best friend, but that didn't seem to matter so much since I enjoyed the attention anyway. However, I didn't really notice the way he kept sliding closer to me, not until he suddenly bent forward and kissed me on my lips.

"What the hell was that?" I demanded as I jerked away from him.

"I'm sorry," Jeke stammered. "I...I thought..." He gulped in embarrassment, "You're so beautiful..."

I just glared at him for a moment before snapping, "I've got to go." With that, I turned and stormed out of his room.

"Blake..." Jeke called out from behind me, but I was in no mood to listen.

"How could he do that?" I demanded as I hurried home, "How could Jeke kiss me like that?" I grimaced, nearly shaking as I thought about what had just happened. I was more than a little upset at both Jeke and myself, and not just because he had suddenly kissed me like that. What upset me the most was the fact that I'd actually enjoyed it, that my body had begun responding and getting excited. And this was just after I'd concluded that my sexuality hadn't changed and that I still like girls. Now I was feeling confused again and didn't know what to do.

"Do I like guys?" I demanded of myself. "Or is it just my body reacting to Jeke?" I shook my head. "I don't know..."

Then I couldn't help wondering if Dr. Pierce had learned that I liked guys now during her tests. If she had, she sure as Hell hadn't told me. Of course, she might not have known, but with all those tests I kind of doubted it. More likely she either thought I already knew or that I'd be better off learning on my own.

"Just great," I grimaced. "Another mental twist that I didn't know about. How many of these damn things am I going to trip over?"

When I got back home, dad gasped, "What's wrong?"

"Jeke just kissed me and I think I like boys," I answered in spite of myself.

"What?" dad gasped in surprise.

Kim just smirked and said, "I bet your girlfriend will be happy about that..."

"Girlfriend?" dad repeated, looking at me for an explanation.

I glared at Kim, "How's your job doing? Are they going to give you a raise?"

Kim gasped at that and glared at me angrily, but before she could say anything dad turned his attention to her and demanded, "What's this about a job...?"

Since dad was momentarily distracted, I quickly made my escape, leaving Kim to be interrogated by dad and his trick. I hurried to my room and slammed the door behind me, making sure to lock it before throwing myself on the bed. I cursed as I hit chest first, reminding me yet again that my new anatomy was quite different from my old.

"Damn it," I grimaced in frustration.

Just when I thought I'd figured my twist out, when I thought I was finally understanding who and what I had become, I suddenly have something else like this pop up on me. It wasn't that I now seemed to like guys since I'd considered that possibility earlier, it was that I thought I'd understood my sexuality and what I liked and didn't...only to find out that I didn't know anything. It was incredibly frustrating to not even know myself anymore.

It was strange going back to school on Monday, especially considering everything that had happened over the weekend. I was still reeling a bit from what had happened with Jeke, and it hadn't been made any better by the fact that my folks had interrogated me about both that and Janine. Add the fact that Kim was still pissed at me for ratting her out about her job and my home life wasn't exactly the most comfortable at the moment.

Of course, my weekend hadn't all been bad. Janine had come over yesterday, which led to me having the awkward experience of introducing her to my mom and dad. Fortunately, Janine wasn't overly pushy and we just spend the day hanging out together and getting to know each other. I wasn't sure what to tell her about Jeke so settled on not saying a thing.

I smiled as I thought about seeing Janine again here at school, but that just reminded me that Jeke would be here too. I gulped at the thought of him, not sure what to think, say or do. He was my best friend...or at least he had been. I wasn't really sure about that anymore. After he kissed me and the way I freaked out, I wasn't sure that our friendship could survive.

As I walked down the hall to my first period, I looked around the hallway, staring first at a cute girl that I'd always had a bit of a crush on, then at a boy I now found equally attractive. I didn't know if I'd ever get used to finding boys cute like that. Ever since Jeke had made me aware of my new attraction to boys, I couldn't help but noticing them. I might very well have been looking at boys and considering whether they were cute or not before Jeke's kiss, but at least then I hadn't thought about it.

"It's thinking about things that makes them awkward," I told myself, remembering something that Janine had told me just yesterday. This had to be a lot like what she went through after her twist. The big difference was that I still liked girls and didn't feel compelled to act on my attraction to boys, other than to show off that is. "But I like to show off to everyone," I muttered defensively.

Of course, my new attraction to boys wasn't any different than my other personality changes. Eventually, it would be so natural and normal to me that I doubt I'd think twice about it. I'd probably even wonder how I ever could have NOT liked boys. In fact, it wasn't even that which bothered me so much as it was what it meant for my relationship with Jeke and my other guy friends. Most of them had been kind of avoiding me and vice versa since my twist. I guess they just didn't know what to make of the new me, which wasn't a surprise. Twisted often find themselves with a whole new circle of friends after they go through their twist.

"I'd just hoped that I could keep Jeke," I sighed, knowing that it couldn't have been that easy. When I reached my first period, I tried to stop thinking about these things and focus on the class, which was much easier to do than I would have expected. Soon everything was almost normal, or at least the new normal with me paying attention, trading insults with Shiv and even briefly talking with her about how she'd met Kim at the body mod shop Kim worked at.

I saw Jeke several times during the morning, though we did our best to avoid each other. Whenever I glanced at Jeke, I'd quickly look away and pretend that I didn't see him there, blushing a bit as I remembered the way he'd kissed me. It was pretty awkward but I didn't know what I could say to him now. He obviously felt the same way.

During lunch, I didn't see Jeke at all, which wasn't real surprising. Since he was avoiding me, he would know exactly where to avoid going. I could have gone out of my way to avoid him during lunch, but instead I went about my normal lunch routine, or at least as normal as I could without him there. Perhaps a part of me wanted to run into him so we could talk.

Since Jeke wasn't there to talk with, I spent my lunch gulping down my double lunch and silently looking around at the various boys who were sitting nearby and trying to attract my attention. I didn't fight the urge to look at them and think about whether they were cute or not. There was one that was especially cute, and it amazed me that I hadn't noticed it before. However, I didn't flirt with him anymore than I did anyone else.

Eventually, Janine came over and sat down beside me, giving me a quick kiss on the cheek as she did so. From the look in her eyes, she wanted to do more but held herself back. The fact that she didn't do anything besides kiss me probably wouldn't matter to the boys around me and I suspected it wouldn't be long before they were spreading stories about Janine and I making out on the lunch room table.

"How's it going?" Janine asked me with a grin.

"Not bad," I told her with a shrug.

Janine stared at me for a moment then asked, "C'mon...what's wrong?"

I let out a sigh, "It's just..." I glanced around the table at the audience, at the half dozen people or so who were listening to us intently while pretending that they weren't. "I'll tell you a little later."

Janine nodded, "Okay..." Then she grabbed a cookie off my tray and popped it into her mouth, "By the way, I was thinking of heading to Morgan Beach this weekend and wanted to know if you were interested in coming."

"Morgan Beach?" I blinked in surprise. I'd never been there, but I'd heard that it was a really nice beach. However, it was an hour drive out of Spiral and I wasn't sure my folks would be up for me going that far away from Spiral without their presence. "I don't know," I told Janine with a sigh, "I'll ask my folks and see."

"Okay," she responded, sounding just a little disappointed.

I quickly added, "I'm pretty sure they'll let me. I mean, I've got a cool trick to defend myself with if anything happens." Of course, I wasn't as sure about my folks saying yes as I indicated, but I was confident in my ability to take care of myself. Besides, the idea of parading around the beach in a sexy bikini was just irresistible.

Janine brightened up and talked excitedly about Morgan Beach and how cool it was, though I suspected a large part of her interest was the fact that there were always a lot of scantily dressed women there. She undoubtedly went for the same reason a lot of guys did, to watch those women.

Once Janine and I were finished eating, we made our way out to the hall where she once again asked, "So what's up...besides the obvious? I mean, you look kind of bummed."

I hesitated for a moment, not sure how she'd take this. "I found out," I said slowly, trying to keep my voice down, "that I like guys." Janine stared at me with a stricken expression, looking horribly worried. I quickly added, "I still like girls...but I guess I like boys now too."

"Oh," Janine said, looking a little relieved but still uncertain.

"It's weird," I told her, then bit my tongue as I remembered she knew this even better than me. "It's just hard getting used to the idea."

"I know what you mean," Janine chuckled. "It took awhile before I accepted that what I used to like and what I like now are two completely different things."

"And then there's Jeke," I told her, feeling a bit guilty.

"Jeke?" Janine blinked. "Your best friend? I remember him from a few of my classes, though we've never really talked or anything."

I nodded, "Yeah..." I sighed, "Well...I found out I like boys now when he kissed me."

"What?" Janine gasped, suddenly looking jealous.

"He did it the way you did the first time," I quickly explained. "He kissed me before either of us realized it. I was kind of shocked to realize that I liked it." Then I let out a long sigh. "But I kind of freaked out and now Jeke and I aren't exactly talking..."

"That sucks," Janine told me sympathetically. "It sounds a bit like what happened to me and my best friend after my twist. But at least Jeke likes you..."

"Just a little too much," I shook my head. "I mean, we've been best friends for years and now I think I really like him...in a different way."

"Oh," Janine responded quietly.

"I just don't know," I told her with a grimace. "I don't really know what to do, but I thought it was only fair to tell you."

Janine looked at me thoughtfully before hesitantly asking, "Do you still like me?"

I didn't even need to think about that before answering, "Yeah... Definitely. I just think I like Jeke too..."

Janine responded with another, "Oh..." She frowned, "And you two aren't talking? Bummer."

"I'm so sorry," I told her. "I know we're trying and then I do this..."

"It's not your fault," Janine sighed. "I know what it's like getting twisted like that. And if you still like me..."

She grinned, then bent forward and kissed me. I immediately started kissing her back though we had to break apart because we were still standing in the middle of the school hallway and drawing attention.

"I'll take what I can get," she winked at me and then ran off for her next class.

I stood there for a minute, shaking my head and trying to make sense of it all. At the moment, it was hard keeping track of myself and what I was thinking or feeling from day to day. I couldn't wait until I got used to the new me enough that I wouldn't keep surprising or confusing myself. Things were so much easier when you at least knew what you wanted.

"Jeke or Janine," I sighed. "What in the world am I going to do?"

Fortunately, my next class started in just a few minutes so I was soon able to distract myself and forget about my problems. I was able to completely absorb myself in the class and all of the great history that was being taught. Everything was just so...interesting. I knew that this was just my twist talking, but I couldn't help how I felt.

However, there was one major downside to class today, which I'd forgotten all about until I went inside. Unfortunately, it was the day of the big test. So instead of a nice lecture or being able to read the class book, I had to sit back and take a test instead. I'd always hated taking tests and that hadn't changed too much.

Once the test was over and all the papers were graded, I sat back and impatiently waited for the ax to fall. I hated tests and this was one of the reasons why, waiting to see just how bad I did. But to my complete surprise, the teacher announced to the whole class that I was the only person there to receive a perfect grade.

"Just great," I winced, imagining the other kids calling me 'teachers pet' and the like. If this kept up, I was going to lose my hard earned reputation as a slacker. "Maybe I should just drop my shirt and distract them all..." And to my amusement, I was actually half serious about that.

I was relieved when history was finally over and eager to get to my next class. Since we'd only had a test and reviewed it without learning anything new, the whole thing had felt almost like a waste of time. The only thing that had made the class bearable was leaning forward to let some of the boys get a glimpse of my cleavage or posing a bit in my chair so that my chest stuck and drew even more attention.

Just as I was going down the hall to my next class, I was surprised to suddenly find myself standing nearly face to face with Devon. He stood in front of me blocking my path, though he quickly stepped back just out of my reach. Still, he continued to glare at me with a hostile look. A quick glance around me revealed his sidekick Kase standing just a short distance away with a bit of a smirk on his face.

"Get out of my way," I snapped in annoyance.

"I don't think so you little freak," Devon told me. "No one messes with me and gets away with it. I'm going to make sure everyone knows what kind of a fucking tease you really are."

"Just leave me alone," I scowled. "And if you remember right, you're the one who keeps messing with me."

"C'mon," Kase laughed. "Everyone knows you're a complete slut. Why don't you just suck us both off and we'll forget all about what you've done."

I stared at them both in shock, then spat out, "Fuck you..."

"If you insist," Devon grinned, looking quite pleased with himself.

"Get the hell out of my way," I hissed, holding my hand up to let a few sparks fly between my fingers. But instead of getting afraid and backing away, Devon just smirked. "Don't make me zap you again."

"Like you really have the guts to do it again," Devon laughed. "You're not just a cock-tease slut...you're an ugly one too."

I froze, suddenly feeling pissed off. How dare he call me ugly? I couldn't believe how pissed off that made me. It was as though he knew exactly which buttons to push, which surprised me since I didn't even know I had that button to push until that very moment. I grimaced, clenching my fists so tightly my nails drew blood.

Devon's eyes suddenly lit up, "I don't know why everyone looks at you anyway," he taunted me. "You're just a butt ugly freak..."

I snarled and was about to jump at Devon, intending to give him a zap he'd never forget. But just as I was about to charge, a hand grabbed my shoulder and said, "No!" I turned around, more than a little startled to see Kim standing there with an angry grimace. Sure, the two of us go to the same school, but we have completely different classes and different lunch periods so we almost never see each other.

"What the hell?" I demanded, wondering what Kim wanted.

Kim glanced at me for a moment before glaring at Devon again. "Don't go after him," Kim told me with a grimace. "This fucking prick wants you to use your trick on him again."

"Why?" I asked in surprise, looking at Devon and realizing that he really had been taunting me on, as though Kim were right. It was like he was trying to get me to give him a taser shock.

"Because," her eyes narrowed, "if you use your trick on him now, he can get your ass expelled."

I stared at Kim, realizing that she was right. The look of annoyance that Kase and Devon shared just confirmed what she'd said. The first time I'd used my trick on him, it had been both an accident and a matter of self-defense, at a time when I didn't even know I had a trick. But if I used my trick on him this time, both knowing what it did and without him attacking me first, I was bound to get kicked out of school for certain. He might even be able to have me charged with assault and sent to jail.

"A friend of mine overheard them planning it," Kim told me, "and I'm not about to let these fucking losers mess with my little sister."

"This is none of your business," Devon snarled. "Don't make us teach you a lesson too."

Kim glared at him as though she wanted to hit him herself, but then she suddenly smirked and told me, "Why don't you use your other trick on him. That one's harder to prove."

"Other trick?" Devon asked, suddenly looking a little nervous.

I had no idea what Kim was talking about, but she quickly went on, "Yeah, Blake can make guys go completely impotent. She discovered it when she accidentally zapped my lousy boyfriend. That fucker hasn't been able to get it up since."

"Oh shit," Kase exclaimed, looking almost afraid.

I grinned evilly, deciding to play along with Kim's bluff. "That's a great idea," I told her. "I'll zap them so hard they'll never get it up again, and no one will be able to prove a thing..."

"You're lying," Devon responded, but he didn't sound very certain of that. He and Kase both stared at me for a moment longer before turning and leaving as fast as they could.

"Thanks," I told Kim, a little surprised that she'd come to my rescue like this. I would have expected it from the old Kim, but not from the person she'd become since her twist.

"You might be a loser bitch," she told me with a smirk, "but you're still my little sister."

"Actually," I pointed out, "you're the bitch."

She thought about it for a moment before grinning, "I guess you're right." Then she added almost as an afterthought, "I'm still pissed about you blabbing to dad about my job. He went and asked me if there was anything else I didn't want him knowing about."

"Ouch," I winced, knowing just how brutal dad's interrogations could be. "But you did tell them about Janine."

"I guess," Kim shrugged, giving me the feeling that she now considered us even for that. However, as she turned to leave, she called back, "Don't forget you owe me one..."

"Just great," I sighed, having a feeling that Kim was going to use this against me somehow. But at least I didn't get expelled like I would have been if she hadn't shown up.

The rest of my school day was pretty uneventful, except for the fact that stories about my encounter with Devon had made it around. Apparently, so did the rumor that I could make any guy I was upset with go completely impotent. Fortunately for me, it didn't stop the guys from staring and admiring me, though they did seem to keep their distance just a little more.

When the final bell rang, I let out a sigh of relief, eager to get home and relax. Of course, I couldn't resist loitering around the entrance for awhile first so the other students could see me as they left. The attention I received from the departing male students did a lot to improve my mood. I was finally getting ready to leave myself when I heard someone cough behind me. I slowly turned around, bracing myself to deal with Devon and Kase again, but instead I found myself staring at Jeke. He looked uncertain as he stood there.

"Um..." he stammered, unwilling to look me in the eyes. "Janine said you wanted to talk to me."

"She did?" I blinked in surprise. It looked like Janine wanted me to deal with my relationship to Jeke, even if she had to give it a little push. That sounded just like her.

"I'm sorry about the other day," Jeke quickly told me. "You're so beautiful now that I just got caught up in the moment... I'm sorry. I know you don't like guys or anything..."

I giggled, then quickly told him, "I guess I just overreacted..."

"What's so funny?" he demanded, looking a little insulted.

"It's just that," I said slowly, unsure how to proceed. "I do like guys."

"What?" Jeke gasped, staring at me surprise.

I blushed deeply, unable to look him in the eyes as I admitted, "Just didn't realize it until then. It was kind of...shocking."

"You're kidding," Jeke responded, looking as though he thought this was some big joke with him as the victim.

I took a deep breath, then stepped forward and surprised Jeke by kissing him on his lips. Sparks seemed to jump through me and I could feel my body beginning to respond. Jeke was frozen for a moment, obviously shocked by this, but he responded and began to kiss back.

When I stepped back, I gasped, "Do I look like I'm kidding?"

Jeke could only stare at me, looking dazed and confused. He even had a sort of giddy expression on his face that made him seem even more cute. Obviously my kiss had an even better effect on him than I'd hoped.

"But...but...," he stammered, unable to speak clearly.

"I like you," I told him quietly, "and not just as a friend. God help me, you're my best friend and I've been thinking about jumping your bones."

Jeke nearly choked at that, looking even more dazed than before. He was obviously having a hard time absorbing all this, which was fine by me since I kind of liked that reaction. It also had the side benefit of keeping him quiet so I could say what I wanted.

"My twist turned me bisexual," I explained with a sigh. "I like boys now just as much as I like girls, but I didn't realize it until you kissed me. You have no idea how much it freaked me out to realize that I liked it...to realize that I like you like that."

"Wow," Jeke finally said, "I can't believe this...""

"Me either," I sighed, "but I'm getting used to it."

"I always liked you as a friend," Jeke told me, "but now you're so hot and sexy..." He blushed deeply, unable to meet my eyes again. "I've kind of been having fantasies about you."

I actually felt pleased by that, sort of excited that I could get that kind of interest from him. However, it wasn't as simple as having us both be attracted to each other, even if we've known each other for years. "The thing is," I said carefully, "I'm attracted to boys and I like you...but I really like Janine too. I just don't know what to do."

"I understand," Jeke responded quietly.

"I've got to think about this," I told him, not knowing what I could say or do. I couldn't look him in the eyes at the moment as I quietly added, "I've got to go... I'll talk to you later."

"Yeah," Jeke responded, still looking a bit dazed. "I'll talk to you later..."

As soon as I got home from school, I went to my room and locked the door behind me, trying to focus on my homework in order to distract me from my problems with Jeke and Janine. Unfortunately, it did little good as I couldn't stop thinking about them or how nice it felt kissing them. This eventually led to a long masturbation session where I submerged myself in fantasies of both. I only hoped that dad never asked me what I'd been up to in my room.

Nothing had really changed as I walked through the school hallway on Wednesday, except perhaps for the fact that my new reputation had continued to form and evolve, due in part to my encounters with Devon. It also hadn't gone unnoticed that I was doing good on tests, getting all my homework done on time, and was always prepared for class, regardless of which class it was. The other kids probably would have started calling me a 'teachers pet' if it wasn't for the fact that I was also developing a reputation for being the biggest tease in school. Unfortunately, I was well aware that both of those reputations were being well earned.

I knew that I had been developing a bit of a reputation around school, but I didn't realize just how much until I overheard two of my teachers talked about me. They were standing just inside of an empty classroom and I was walking past on my walk to lunch when I heard my name mentioned and couldn't resist stopping. Fortunately, neither of them realized I was close enough to hear.

"Ever since her twist, Blake pays attention, she turns in all her work on time and she even seems genuinely interested in class," my first teacher was saying. "She's almost become the perfect student, except for the fact that she's an almost constant distraction for the other students..."

"Especially the boys," my math teacher sighed. "She went up to the front board to solve a problem for the class, but it turns out the reason she volunteered was so she could drop the marker, then bend over to pick it up and get all the boys to stare at her behind. It's to stay annoyed at her though when she actually got the problem right."

"I know what you mean," my first teacher responded.

I continued eavesdropping for a few more seconds, then decided that I had better leave before they caught me. It could have been pretty embarrassing if they did, but that didn't mean it was easy to just leave when they were still talking about me behind my back. I couldn't help wondering though, if this was what the teachers were saying when I wasn't around then what were the other students saying? Of course, I could easily guess.

A few minutes later, I was just sitting down to lunch in the cafeteria when Tom McGuire approached my table. I was a little nervous at first, afraid that Devon and Kase might have talked him into messing with me. But after a moment, it became clear that he wasn't looking to start any kind of trouble, though he did look a little nervous.

"I know you used to be a guy," Tom started out, "but I was wondering if you'd be interested in going out with me some time."

I blinked in surprise, "You want a date?"

"Yeah," Tom responded, giving me a self-conscious smile that seemed so different from the confident attitude he'd had since his twist.

I just stared at Tom for a moment, my eyes lingering over his thick muscles. They seemed so appealing now, drawing my attention in the same way that a great pair of breasts would. Tom certainly was cute and I could feel the attraction to him. I could especially imagine running my hands over those muscles, though I quickly cut off that budding fantasy.

"Sorry," I told him, deciding to be a bit nicer than I had been with Devon and several other guys. "You seem like a nice guy, but I've already got a few too many romantic problems to even consider adding to them right now."

Tom looked a bit disappointed, but not angry or insulted. "Thanks anyway," he told me with an apologetic and embarrassed smile before he turned and left.

Once Tom was gone, I let out a sigh, feeling just a little regret that I hadn't been able to take him up on his offer. With those muscles... Then I shook my head, reminding myself that he was a jock and we had absolutely nothing in common other than both being twisted. We wouldn't have a thing to actually talk about. And of course, I had been absolutely honest about having too many romantic problems as it is.

As I thought about Jeke and Janine, I couldn't help but suddenly feeling like Archie from those old comic books. Like him, I was caught trying to decide between my own Betty and Veronica. But at least Archie could turn to his pal Jughead for a sympathetic ear. Part of my problem was that in my case Jughead and Betty were one and the same.

"I'm doomed," I groaned, knowing that I would have to make a decision sooner or later.

Neither Jeke or Janine would wait for much longer, nor should they have to. Unfortunately, it wasn't easy to decide when I liked both of them a great deal and there would be problems either way I chose. No matter which of them I chose, there was a good chance I might end up losing Jeke as a friend in the end and I didn't want that either.

Over the last few days, Jeke and Janine had both been a lot more patient than I had any right to expect. They were both giving me the room to make a decision, but at the same time they both clearly wanted me to choose them. The way it was going, I was going to lose them both.

Just then, I was distracted from my thoughts by the sight of Devon walking past a short distance away. He noticed I was looking at him and paled, especially when I gave him an evil smile and waved. Without a word, Devon sped up and hurried past as fast as he could, making me laugh to myself. It was fun having that kind of power over him.

"I just hope he doesn't figure out I was bluffing about having an impotence trick," I muttered to myself.

This line of thought suddenly reminded me of what Dr. Rothschild had said about possibly having a second trick. If I did have one, I sure wish it would show up soon. But knowing my luck, there was either no second trick or it would turn out to be something completely stupid. I was playing around with the idea of following after Devon and hinting that I'd just used that supposed impotence trick on him when I noticed Janine coming straight towards me. To my surprise, Jeke was with her, following immediately behind. Both of them had serious expressions which made me gulp.

"Not good," I muttered.

"Can we talk to you in private?" Janine asked, looking around the busy cafeteria and all the curious boys sitting close by. I nodded and got up with a sigh, having a bad feeling about this as I followed them both out of the cafeteria and into an empty classroom. Then Janine said, "Jeke and I have been talking and we came to a decision."

"I know you like both of us," Jeke said, sounding almost as if he'd rehearsed this speech, "but I don't like not knowing where we stand. I mean, we've been friends for a long time, but I don't even know if I'm your boyfriend or just your friend now..."

"But..." I started, knowing that this was bound to happen sooner or later. They were giving me the ultimatum to choose between them. I still didn't know if I could choose.

Janine put her finger on my lips and cut me off, "Let us finish first."

"Yeah," Jeke nodded. "We've both been thinking a lot about this."

"I like you," Janine told me with a serious expression, "I really do. And it's not just because I have the hots for you. I think you're nice and fun to be around too. But I thought we were going somewhere and now I feel like we're starting to go backwards."

"So," Jeke glanced at Janine, looking a little nervous, "we came up with a an idea to fix this."

Janine nodded, then smirked, "We agreed to share you."

"What?" I blinked in surprise. This was the LAST thing I expected to hear.

"Sure," Janine continued excitedly. "You can date us both. I know you like guys and girls, so this is perfect...just as long as I'm the only girl you date."

"And I'm the only guy," Jeke added.

"You're kidding," I gasped.

"Nope." Janine shook her head. "I mean, I'm willing to share you and so is Jeke."

"But..." I started again.

Jeke licked his lips and said, "It's not like it's the twentieth century or anything. People date several people all the time these days."

I could only stand there and silently stare at both of them as I absorbed their solution. Janine bit her lips nervously as she waited for my response while Jeke had his fingers crossed. It was actually kind of cute and I had to try to keep myself from giggling.

After a moment, I realized that they were right. I'd been thinking that I could only be with one of them, but that was pretty old fashioned. Things were a lot different than that nowadays, especially here in Spiral where people were more open minded about things. Then I grinned, suddenly thinking that this was like having my cake and eating it too.

"That sounds great," I finally said, grabbing Janine because she was the closest and giving her a long and passionate kiss. My body was tingling with excitement when we broke apart and I made it tingle even more by grabbing Jeke and kissing him just as passionately. "I'm willing to try it."

"Great," Janine grinned excitedly, then she added, "Just don't expect a threesome. I might find you unbelievably hot," she gestured to Jeke, "but he's a total turnoff."

"Fair enough," I agreed, seeing a flash of disappointment cross over Jeke's face.

Then just for the Hell of it, I gave each of them another kiss, longer and more passionate than before. I was sure that my nipples were poking out for the whole world to see while I was going to just soak my panties. But at the same time, I was grinning broadly, deciding that this could definitely work out.

I shifted slightly in my bus seat, clutching Janine's hands in one of mine and Jeke's in the other. We were getting a few odd looks from the other people on the bus, mostly from the older people, but most of the passengers didn't pay us much attention.

"We're almost there," Janine exclaimed with a broad grin.

I nodded and stared out the window at the passing scenery, feeling both nervous and excited at he same time. We were nearly to Morgan Beach where Janine and I had been planning to come a week. To my surprise and delight, she had even asked Jeke to come with us. Since Janine was a bit uncomfortable around guys, asking Jeke to come said quite a bit about how seriously she took our relationship.

It was still just a little odd thinking that I was part of a threesome instead of a couple, but it seemed to be working out pretty well so far. Both Jeke and Janine had been showing they were willing to share me without either of them acting all jealous or anything. All that they asked was that I give them each some alone time with me as well, which worked quite well since I wanted some one on one time with each of them too.

I glanced at both my boyfriend and girlfriend, giggling slightly as I thought about my parents reaction to my dating them both when they found out. Dad had gone on about how relationships used to be only between two people when he was growing up, but mom just shrugged it off without a problem. Of course, I think dad was ranting more for the sake of doing it than anything else because he quickly came around too, giving me a warning to be careful but not much more. Of course, most people in Spiral tend to be pretty open minded, even old folks like my parents.

As we got closer to the beach, I felt myself becoming just a little more tense. I was a bit nervous about being here, away from Spiral, though I didn't want Jeke or Janine to see that. Spiral was safe, full of other twisted and people who understood us, but out here things might very well be different. I'd never spent much time outside Spiral though and wasn't going to turn back from having fun just because of a little nervousness.

As I looked out the bus window, I saw a hover car go past. It was the third one I'd seen in just the last couple minutes, which was pretty odd for me since I normally saw only one or two of them a day in Spiral. Then again, Spiral was a little old fashioned in some ways compared to the outside world, in spite of the more open mindedness, a fact that I was reminded of when I saw a fourth hover car go past.

"Here we are," Jeke exclaimed as the bus pulled up in front of the beach, giving me a broad grin and winking. "I can't wait to see you in your swim suit."

"You won't have to wait much longer," I laughed.

"What about me?" Janine teased him. "Don't you want to see me in my swim suit too?"

"Well..." Jeke stammered, looking a little flustered. "Yeah, but... I know you don't like guys or anything so..."

Janine just laughed, then winked at me, "I have to say that I'm with Jeke though. I can't wait to see you dressed up either."

We arrived just a minute later and I hopped off the bus, immediately pausing to take a deep breath and soak up the atmosphere. Then I pointed to the changing stalls and exclaimed, "Last one there pays for ice cream." I immediately took off running as fast as I could, with Jeke catching up and even passing me while Janine came in last.

"I guess I'm paying for ice cream," Janine told me after we went into the women's changing room. "Don't I at least get a consolation prize?" She gave me a pouty look that sent me laughing.

"I guess," I winked at her, taking off my top and bra, letting her get a good look at my chest. She stared with a hungry expression that made me think she was about to pounce on me. Somehow, she managed to hold herself back, which disappointed me a little.

"You don't know what that does to me," Janine told me a moment later, "even if I have my own."

"Of course I do," I smirked as I reached into my bag to pull out my bikini. "I used to be a guy and I still like girls."

"And you still flashed me like that?" she asked in disbelief.

I just grinned at her mischieviously, "Of course. I love getting that reaction."

Janine chuckled, "You have no shame."

"Nope," I shrugged, "I lost it during my twist."

I finished undressing, then stood there completely naked for a minute, making sure that Janine got a good look at me. She was trying hard not to stare but not succeeding very well, which made me giggle. I couldn't resist showing off and posing a bit more, just to encourage her reaction. I loved getting this kind of attention, especially from her.

"You know," Janine told me, "you are evil."

"Maybe," I teased her, "but you know you like it."

We kissed passionately for a minute and might have gone a bit further if it wasn't for the fact that two more women walked into the changing room. Both of them gave us odd looks before hurrying to the other side and into stalls where we couldn't see them. I had to keep from giggling.

After this, we both finished changing into our swim suits without playing around. I had a very sexy looking crimson two piece bikini. I thought it did wonders for my figure and I especially liked the way Janine kept looking at me. I stood in the mirror admiring myself for several minutes before she drug me away with the reminder that we didn't want to leave Jeke waiting too long.

We went out and joined Jeke a minute later. He was standing around outside in his swim trunks, looking impatient. However, the moment he saw us he froze, his eyes darting from Janine to me, back and forth. His eyes finally locked on me, especially on my chest.

I giggled, "Like what you see?"

"Um...yeah," Jeke blushed, making me laugh even more.

Since I was feeling particularly mischievious, I decided to have a little fun with Jeke. I pulled up my bikini top to flash him a clear look at my bare chest...as well as several other guys who happened to be looking. Jeke gasped, nearly drooling as he stared. I just smirked as I put my top back on, casually telling Janine, "It's only fair that he gets a look since you did."

"But we're in public," Janine protested weakly, "I mean, everyone can see..."

"I told you," I shrugged, "I don't seem to have sense of modesty anymore. In fact, I get turned on by people staring at me like that. Mentally, I know I should feel uncomfortable...but I don't."

"Lucky me," Jeke grinned. "Want to do it again?"

"Maybe if you're especially nice," I teased him, deciding that maybe it would be a good idea not to draw too much attention, no matter how much I enjoyed it.

We were soon down in the water, splashing around and having fun in spite of how cold it was. And while diving under the water, I even briefly lost my bikini top, though it wasn't quite as accidental as I pretended. Still, once I realized that there were kids present on the beach and in the water, I was much better at behaving myself.

Eventually we ended up back on the beach, laying back on our towels and drying off in the sun. I smiled, well aware that a number of passing guys were giving me a second or even third look. Of course, I knew that some of that was from my brightly colored hair, but I was pretty confident that most of the attention was from my great body. I might be a little vain, but I figured it was well deserved.

"You know," Jeke grinned at Janine after awhile, "I believe you owe us all ice cream."

"And what makes you think that?" Janine asked.

"Because you lost the race to the changing rooms," I reminded her with a grin, earning a tongue stuck out at me in response.

Janine looked back towards the snack bar near the changing rooms and frowned thoughtfully. "Okay," she asked, "what kind do you two want?"

Jeke gave her a triumphant grin as he announced, "Chocolate ripple if they have it...or just plain chocolate if they don't."

"Okay," Janine responded, turning to me and grinning, "we've heard from the peanut gallery, but what do you want?"

"I don't know," I admitted. "I mean, I'm not sure if my taste in ice cream changed or not so I'd better come along so I can sample some just in case."

"I guess I'll go too," Jeke sighed, looking as though he didn't particularly want to get up at the moment but doing so anyway.

A few minutes later we were walking back with ice cream cones in hand. Jeke was happy since he'd gotten his chocolate ripple, Janine was satisfied with some fruity sherbet, while I was licking on a toffee cream chunk that was just as good as I remembered. This was the perfect snack for a great day on the beach.

Just then, Jeke suddenly froze. "What?" I asked.

"Look at that dog," Jeke pointed to a large dog that was standing about twenty yards away, looking straight at us. It was big and black, one of the largest dogs that I'd ever seen. And at the moment, I didn't see any sign of an owner nearby. "He's a monster."

"Careful," Janine teased him, "he might come over and bite your jewels off."

Jeke winced at that and protested, "That's not funny."

"Losing them isn't that bad," I teased him as well. "Besides, he's probably just interested in our ice cream."

"I'm sure it tastes much better," Janine stuck her tongue out at Jeke.

I chuckled at that and we continued on our way, taking only one more glance at the dog before continuing back to our spot. After we settled back down to soak up the sun, I looked around for the dog again, but this time there was no sign of him. I let out a faint sigh of relief, having imagined a few dog attack scenes inspired by Janine's joking comments.

Just minutes after we had settled back into our spot, I noticed a small group of guys standing a way off and staring at us. I smiled faintly, enjoying the attention as always, though these ones did seem to be staring just a little hard. Finally, they noticed me staring back and started to walk in our direction.

"It looks like we're about to have company," I told Jeke and Janine, wishing that they hadn't decided to come over. It was one thing to enjoy attention, but I didn't want to actually have to deal with these guys while I was on a date with my boyfriend and girlfriend.

"Oh great," Janine spat, almost sounding disgusted.

I frowned slightly as the four guys came closer, giving me a better look at them. One of them was tall and thin, with long dark hair and a bit of a goatee. The second one was fairly short, just over 5 and a half feet tall, but he was also heavily muscled and could almost be a body builder. The third was an athletic looking black guy with all sorts of lasek tattoos all over his skin, the kind made with that new tattoo ink that glows in the dark. The last of the four was a tall and athletic looking guy with a pleasant smile and a pair of glasses. The glasses were actually kind of cute since I knew it would have been easy to just go into nearly any doctors office and get most vision problems short of blindness fixed in just an hour or so.

Jeke scowled, "Why do I have the feeling I'm about to get sand kicked in my face?"

"Hey," the guy I'd mentally named Glasses greeted me, giving me and Janine both a pleasant smile while completely ignoring Jeke. "You two ladies are pretty good looking."

"And a little young for you," Janine pointed out quickly. "We're still in high school."

"I only got out two years ago myself," Glasses shrugged, apparently not bothered by this.

"We're also taken," I said, feeling mischievious as I put my hand on Jeke's. I knew that these guys would assume that Jeke was dating both of us and hoped they'd start thinking a bit better of my best friend.

"By him?" Skinny asked in surprise. Muscles snickered while Tattoo burst into laugher. "I think you two ladies can do much better."

"I assure you," Glasses said, "we can show you a good time..." He stared at me for a moment, looking me in the eyes and then going pale. "Your eyes..."

"She's got freaky looking eyes," Tattoo exclaimed in surprise.

"Ah fuck," Skinny sneered in disgust, "she's one of those twisted freaks."

All four of them suddenly backed off at that and started looking at me as though I was a leper or something. I winced at those expressions, enjoying attention but not that kind. Their looks almost made me feel dirty somehow.

"So what if I am?" I snapped back.

"Keep away from me you freak," Glasses said, his expression filled with disgust, "I don't want anything to do with your kind."

"Ditto for me," Skinny said.

Muscles scowled, "Xerox that..."

Tattoo shook his head, "I can't believe they let those freaks walk around with normal people."

"She is NOT a freak!" Jeke exclaimed, jumping to his feet and glaring at the four with a furious expression. I'd never seen him look that pissed off before...NEVER. "She's not!"

"Whatever," Glasses said, turning to walk away. Then he muttered, "They should be sterilized or something..."

Jeke snarled and suddenly jumped at Glasses, grabbing him from behind. Muscles and Tattoo immediately grabbed Jeke and pulled him off while Glasses started screaming profanities. Janine and I both jumped to our feet in horror, but not before they started punching Jeke.

"Leave him alone!" I screamed, rushing to Jeke's side as he rolled around on the ground in pain. He had a bloody nose and looked like he was going to have a black eye as well. "You fucking bastards."

"Fuck off you twisted freak," Muscles exclaimed.

"I'm twisted too," Janine spat at him. "Are you going to hit me too?"

"Get away from us," Glasses snarled, grabbing me by the shoulder and shoving me.

I probably would have hit the ground, but I grabbed his arm to keep my balance out of sheer instinct. That only resulted in him slapping me across the face which did knock me to the ground. Janine screamed and rushed to me, but Skinny grabbed her and shoved her to the ground as well.

"You jerks," Jeke grimaced as he tried to get back to his feet.

"You're the one who jumped me," Glasses pointed out, punching Jeke again.

I glared furiously at Glasses and his friends, filled with fear and rage. I was afraid for myself, but also for my friends. And more than that, I was seriously pissed off that that these guys would suddenly go from hitting on me to absolutely hating me, just because I happened to be twisted. Who the hell did these ass-holes think they were, hating me and my friends because we were different? The growing rage was building inside me, and not just the rage. The pressure was as well...

"You want me to be a freak?" I snarled, "I'll show you what a twisted freak can do..."

With that, I grabbed hold of Glasses and let loose with my taser touch. The pressure shot out of me and into him in a burst of sparks and he went flying backwards, hitting the ground with a loud grunt. He remained there for a moment, shaking as though he was going through having a seizure.

"What the fuck?" Skinny gasped. "What the hell did you do to him?"

Tattoo dropped to his knees to check on Glasses, but the other two were coming towards us, looking more pissed off and determined than ever. Before this, it had all been about them disliking twisted, but I'd just made it personal for them. They were coming straight for me and didn't even seem to care that I might to do them what I'd done to Glasses.

"Oh shit," I gulped, not knowing if I could pull out another taser shock like that much less three more.

Suddenly, there was a loud growling sound and the large black dog we'd seen earlier jumped between me and the guys coming towards me. I immediately stepped backwards in fear while they all stopped and stared nervously at the dog. It took me a moment to realize that the dog was ignoring me and growing only at the guys.

"Blake," Janine called to me with a nervous expression, her eyes darting from the guys to the dog, trying to decide which was the bigger threat to us. Since the dog was ignoring us at the moment, I was more concerned with the boys.

Just then, the dog let out a loud bark and jumped at Muscles. He stopped before he touched the muscular guy, but he and Skinny both jumped back. With a look of terror, they grabbed Glasses, who was sitting up on his own now and hurried away from here as fast as they could carry him.

The dog slowly turned around to face us, making each of us step back nervously. Jeke held his bloody nose in his hand and hesitantly said, "Good doggy... Nice doggy..."

To my complete and utter shock, the dog snarled, "I'm not a nice doggy..."

"Holy shit," Jeke exclaimed, "it can talk..."

I stared at the dog, feeling speechless and confused. Our eyes met and I noticed that his eyes were blue, looking much more like human eyes than those of a dog. Then it suddenly dawned on me, "You're twisted..."

"Yeah," the dog responded, sniffing the air, "as you can see, I got a severe case..."

"Oh my God," Janine whispered.

"Um...thanks," I told the dog. "Thanks for chasing them away."

"Trust me," the dog snorted, which was a very odd sound coming from a dog, "it was my pleasure. I would have bit the hell out of them if it wouldn't have gotten animal control sicked on me."

I just continued staring at him for a moment, feeling extremely relieved that my twist hadn't hit me that hard. He'd not only lost his old self, but his very humanity as well. I couldn't imagine what it had to be like living life as an animal.

"You kids are from Spiral, ain't ya?" the dog asked, looking back and forth between us.

I nodded at that while Janine responded, "Yeah..."

The dog nodded in a very human manner before saying, "I've been heading there myself, but it's been taking awhile. It's not easy traveling across country when you can't even hitch a ride."

"Ugh," I winced, looking at his thumbless paws. I couldn't help but feeling sorry for this guy.

"I'd say you could come with us," Janine shrugged self-consciously, "but we came on the bus."

"And they don't let dogs on the bus," the dog responded bitterly. "I just figured once I got to Spiral I'd be treated a little more like I was human."

"Yeah," I sighed, "but as those jerks proved, this isn't Spiral."

"My name's Jeke," Jeke said, holding out his hand and then looking rather embarrassed.

"I don't do tricks," the dog snickered, then added, "Then again, I've played the well trained dog a few times. You'd be surprised how much nicer people are when they think you're a dog than they do when they know you're not." He hesitated a moment, then said, "You can call me Marcus."

Janine and I introduced ourselves then we just stood there and talked with Marcus for awhile as he told us a bit of his life story. He didn't go into much detail, but it basically came down to the fact that after he'd gone through his twist, he'd been treated as a freak and animal, even by a few other twisted. He'd spent years pretending to be a real dog, then he finally decided to make his way to Spiral where he hoped he'd be more accepted.

After about ten minutes though, Jeke pointed out, "I think we should get going. We're getting some odd looks."

I looked around and realized that Jeke was right. There were a lot of people looking at us nervously, and it wasn't the kind of looks that I liked getting. There were suspicious and hostile looks from people who had either seen or heard about our encounter with those guys. I had little doubt that they were blaming the whole encounter on us twisted, which seemed to be normal in the news.

"Let's get going," I said nervously, deciding that it would be better to avoid further trouble.

Marcus nodded, "I'll watch your backs until you're safely on your bus."

"Thanks," I told him, feeling grateful for the offer. "But how are you going to get to Spiral?"

"The same way I made it this far," he snorted. "I've got four good feet and I'll make it there in no time."

We packed up our towels and went back to the changing rooms while Marcus stood guard outside, just in case Glasses and his friends decided to come back. Fortunately, there was no trouble of that sort, but I did get a glare from a woman who hurried out of the dressing room the moment we entered, even though she obviously wasn't completely ready.

"Damn," I told Janine, "if it's this bad now, I can't imagine what it had to be like for the first twisted."

"We're lucky we live in Spiral," she told me with a knowing look.

Janine and I stood there staring at each other, realizing that the mood had been broken. I didn't feel the least bit romantic at the moment and neither did she. Those guys and the dirty looks we'd gotten on the beach had certainly taken care of that.

"Who would have thought," I sighed. "I guess I don't like getting as much attention as I thought...at least not when it's this kind."

Once we were fully dressed, we left the women's changing room, joining Jeke and Marcus outside. None of us said a word as we made our way to the parking lot to catch the next bus. We were all eager to just get away from this place. Somehow, I thought it would be a long time before I felt like coming back to Morgan beach.

While we were walking across the parking lot to where the bus would pick us up, I noticed Glasses and his friends standing by a car with the trunk open. Unfortunately, they noticed us too and gave us a look that made me extremely grateful that looks couldn't kill.

"Not these guys again," Jeke groaned, looking as though he was about to suggest running. Then one of them grabbed a crowbar from the trunk, which seemed to be all that the others needed to follow his lead. They started grabbing things they could use as weapons from the trunk as well, but Glasses reached through the passenger side door and came out holding a gun.

"Oh shit," I gulped, clutching Janine's hand tightly.

"We have to teach these twisted freaks that they can't go around messing with normal people," Tattoo said to his friends who came towards us with grim looks of determination.

"Oh shit," I repeated, my eyes locking on the gun in Glasses' hand. From the look on his face and the way he was raising it to point at us, I had no doubt that he was willing to use it.

I grimaced, feeling the fear and anger returning, not that they had really gone away completely. At the same time, I could feel the pressure building inside me again as well, though my little taser trick wouldn't do any good from a distance. This time, there wasn't anything I could do against Glasses and his friends, and they seemed to have figured this out by the fact that they were standing back with their weapons ready and angry looks on their faces.

"I can't believe people let these twisted bastards run around," Muscles exclaimed.

"No kidding," Skinny added, "they ought to be quarantined before they cause another Antarctic Flu outbreak."

Glasses didn't waste time talking to his friends. He glared at me with an expression of pure hatred, largely fueled with a thirst for revenge after what I'd done to him. There was no hesitation in him, only a look of satisfaction as he pointed the gun straight at me and pulled the trigger.

As soon as Glasses shot his gun, I felt a sudden explosion, not of the bullet hitting me but of the pressure I had built rushing out all at once. There was a burning sensation through my body and a blue glow that filled my vision. It took me several seconds to clear my head enough to realize what was going on, and when I did, I could only gasp and stare with my mouth open.

There was a wall made of glowing blue light just a few feet in front of me, or at least that was my first impression. I quickly realized that it was closer to a dome or gigantic bubble with Jeke, Janine, Marcus and myself inside of it. Glasses stood on the other side, staring at me with a look of disbelief and firing the gun over and over again, though nothing seemed to get past the wall of light.

"Holy shit," Jeke exclaimed, looking around in a near panic. "What the hell is this?"

Janine looked around with a mixed expression of relief and confusion, then she stared at me with a strange expression before gasping, "I think Blake's doing it..."

"It's my second trick," I whispered in realization, feeling a combination of excitement and nervousness.

I glanced through the glowing wall at Glasses and his friends, seeing that they all looked scared and were backing away...except for Glasses who continued to shoot at the wall in vain. I gulped, glad that I had this strange glowing wall but having no idea how long it would last or if it would keep Glasses and his gang away long enough for us to do something.

"I can't believe it," Jeke gasped, "you've got a fucking force field."

"Interesting trick," Marcus stated calmly, sounding only vaguely interested.

Just then, the glowing bubble around us began to flicker. I could feel it weakening, even as blue sparks shot across it's surface. Finally, even Glasses turned and ran with his friends, perhaps fearing that I was going to do something horrible to them. Fortunately for us, they didn't realize we were actually losing our protection instead. Then in one big flash, the entire force field collapsed and faded, leaving sparks and small bursts of electricity to fly around us for a moment before fading as well.

"Did you see that?" Jeke gasped. "No fucking way..."

"I think," Janine responded nervously, glancing in the direction the guys had run off in, "we should get out of here NOW." I agreed with her completely.

We didn't stay there long enough to catch the bus but instead hurried away from the park until we came to a bus stop just as the bus was arriving. Thankfully, it was a bus from the same route so we wouldn't have to transfer over. The bus driver stared in surprise as Marcus climbed onto the bus after us and snapped, "No dogs allowed."

"I'm not a dog lady," Marcus snapped, causing the bus driver to gasp in complete shock. "I'm just severely deformed. You don't want to discriminate against the handicapped do you?"

The bus driver looked as though she wanted to argue, though she apparently decided that it would be easier and less troublesome to just let us all on the bus. After all, if she let us on and just pretended none of us existed for awhile, then she wouldn't have to deal with the threat of a potential lawsuit.

I let out a sigh as soon as we crossed the city limits back into Spiral and I wasn't the only one. It was as though we were instantly safe again and perhaps we were. This trip had driven home the point about just what a safe haven Spiral really is for us twisted. Most other places, even ones as close as Morgan beach weren't nearly as welcoming or accepting of us. It was a hard fact, but one I would have to accept since I was twisted in a world that was often hostile towards us.

Once the bus finally came to a stop, Marcus immediately leapt out the door. He self-consciously admitted, "I'm not used to riding in vehicles anymore, especially not with a bunch of people who know what I really am."

"Things should be easier for you here in Spiral," I told him.

Marcus nodded, "I hope so kid." Then he looked at all three of us before saying, "I've been trying to come here for some time so I'm gonna go take a look around. I hope I see you kids again." Then he turned and ran off.

After Marcus was gone, I let out a sigh, "I'm glad that's all over with. Those guys scared the shit out of me."

"Me too," Jeke scowled.

I stared at Jeke for a moment, especially at the dried blood around his nose. "Thanks for standing up for my honor," I told him, "it was really brave." Then I bent forward and gave him a kiss. Once I was done with the kiss, I slapped in the back of the head and said, "Just don't be such a dumbass again."

Jeke looked a bit embarrassed while Janine laughed at the look on his face. I smiled faintly, thankful that we were all back home safe and sound but wondering how I was going to tell my dad about my new trick...and how I'd discovered it. Somehow, I had a feeling that it wasn't going to be a fun conversation, especially not after he'd warned me about how dangerous it could be for twisted outside of Spiral. Still, I'd rather face my dad than Glasses and his goons any day.

I awoke in the morning with my guts suddenly feeling like they'd been twisted in knots or as if I had a ferret gnawing on my insides. I grunted in pain, barely able to move my blankets aside, and then only seeing the blood all over my covers. At that sight, I did what anyone would do and screamed.

"What's wrong?" mom demanded as she burst through the door a minute later, huge and heavily muscled as she'd obviously just returned from the gym. She paused to take everything in, then gasped, "You're having your period..."

"Period," I grimaced, suddenly hating the word like never before. I'd been expecting this, or at least expecting that I would have a period soon but I'd never imagined it could be so painful.

"Come on out of bed," mom told me with a sympathetic look, but when I could barely move she sighed, "Quit being a baby. Women go through this every month and you'll have to get used to it too."

I grimaced and sat up, trying to get out of bed in spite of the fact that my insides were hurting like hell. Mom helped me to the bathroom and got a wet rag to help me clean up the mess I'd made of myself, but she frowned as he did so. After I was clean, she said, "Something's not right."

"You think," I spat out bitterly.

"You're flowing more heavily than normal," mom told me, looking a bit worried.

"Well," I grimaced, "I'd hardly call any of this normal."

"It is from now on," Kim snickered as she joined us. She stood there and looked at me for a moment with an expression of smug satisfaction, then she sighed and touched my arm. Suddenly the cramps faded away almost entirely until they were little more than a dull ache and I could let out a sigh of relief. "That should help you for a while."

"Thanks," I told her, suddenly very thankful for Kim's trick.

A short while later, I was dressed and wearing a pad, thankful that it was that rather than a tampon. Unfortunately, it soon became clear that I was still bleeding too much for it to be as effective as mom and Kim thought it should be. In fact, mom was getting more and more worried.

Finally, mom said, "This isn't normal. We're taking you to a doctor."

An hour later, we were at the clinic seeing Dr. Franklin in an emergency appointment. Dr. Franklin immediately rushed me into her office for a private examine, even putting me on that weird scanning table again. Unfortunately, Kim's trick was beginning to wear off so the cramps were returning, though they hadn't gotten back to the level they were when I woke up. Still, it was enough to make this examination even more uncomfortable.

"There doesn't seem to be anything wrong with you," Dr. Franklin finally told me, looking serious as she looked through my scan results. "It is true that you're having a more severe period than is normal for women, however, it looks like this is normal for your body."

"Just great," I grimaced, wincing at the idea of not only having to go through a period every month, but one worse than normal girls go through.

Dr. Franklin gave me a steady and sympathetic look. "I believe this is another side effect of your heightened metabolism. Your periods will be much more severe than normal, but at the same time, they should end much sooner as well. In fact, I expect that this one will end within two days. You should still be on a monthly cycle though so you won't have to deal with this any more frequently."

"Two days?" I gasped, horrified at the idea of feeling like this for two whole days. I was hurting like hell and bleeding in places no one should. I couldn't live like this for two days, especially not every month.

"Look at it this way," Dr. Franklin told me with a faint smile. "Most women have to go through their period for five days every month while you only have to deal with it for two."

"Lucky me," I spat out bitterly.

Dr. Franklin nodded then told me, "I'm going to prescribe you a few things that will help ease your symptoms and your discomfort some. However, I don't think we have anything as effective for removing the discomfort as your own sister's trick."

I just groaned, hating the idea of relying on Kim for the next two days much less several days every month. For that matter, I don't think that she'd be willing to hang around helping me out that much either. I could just imagine Kim making me pay for that kind of service with my whole allowance or something worse. No, I definitely wasn't going to count on Kim for relief.

When we left the clinic a short time later, mom seemed to be partly relieved and partly concerned. I guess she was happy there wasn't something really wrong with me, but at least she was sympathetic for what this would be like. Kim almost seemed amused by the whole thing, though at least she used her trick on me one more time to ease my cramps.

At home, I settled down to watch TV while trying to ignore what was going on with my body. It wasn't easy though and was so distracting that I couldn't even focus on reading the book I'd been meaning too. I just wish I could have seen this coming. Of course, I had known I would get a period eventually, but it almost seemed abstract. I hadn't even given it a second thought when I'd started feeling nauseous during my date with Jeke last night. I'd just shrugged it off as coming down with a cold, not the start of something much worse.

I was still sitting back like this when Janine arrived several hours later. My mom let her into the house and she came to see me with a grin, which only made my bad mood even worse. If I was stuck feeling this miserable, why should anyone else love company? I'd never understood how women could be like that during their period until that very moment.

"What's wrong?" Janine asked, noticing the look on my face.

"I'm having my first period," I snapped at her, "and I'm stuck wearing a stupid diaper."

Janine blinked in surprise, then shrugged, "I don't know whether to say congratulations or offer my sympathies." Then she added, "I know wearing a pad isn't the most comfortable, but you'll get used to it."

I just glared at her, "I'm not wearing a pad. I'm wearing a diaper... literally."

"What?" Janine's eyes went wide as she sat down beside me, "You're kidding me."

I shook my head at that, "I wish. My weird metabolism means I've got a really nasty period. I'm leaking too much for a pad so the doctor said I should wear an adult diaper. It's damn humiliating..."

"Ugh," Janine winced at that, giving me an extremely sympathetic look. "So you've got to wear a diaper for five days or so?"

I shook my head again, "The doctor said it'll probably be over by tomorrow night. Something about my metabolism making the whole thing just run its course a lot faster than normal."

"At least that's something," Janine tried comforting me, though I wasn't really in any mood to be comforted, even by her.

Janine and I sat there and talked for a while before she realized that I wasn't very good company at the moment, especially not with the effects of Kim's trick rapidly wearing off. I was getting grumpier and grumpier, finding it harder to be nice and pleasant due to the heavy cramping.

Finally, Janine said, "I guess I'll go and let you rest then." She looked disappointed, "I guess you won't be up for going out tonight either." She was even more disappointed at that, making me wish I did feel up to going out with her.

"I'm sorry, but I don't think so," I told her with honest regret.

"I'll see you later then," Janine told me as she left. "I'll warn Jeke not to come over for a while, and I really hope you feel better soon."

"Thanks," I told her, feeling simultaneously guilty and relieved that she was leaving. But after a few minutes, I settled back down into my misery and self-pity, wishing that this whole thing would just end. The fact that I would only have to deal with it again next month was more than I could bare at the moment.

I walked through the mall with a smile on my face and a spring in my step, feeling utterly fantastic. It had been two days since my period had ended, about the same time Dr. Franklin had predicted, and I was still in a great mood that it was over. In fact, the only thing that could really ruin my mood was the knowledge that it would all happen again next month, though I was trying hard not to think about that.

Throughout my period, I'd been hurting so much and in such a bad mood that even my mom had commented on it, saying that I was normally friendly and flirty but had been acting like a cast iron bitch, snapping at everyone. All the stress had even caused my trick to kick up a few times, accidentally zapping Kim during one of them. I felt a little bad for that, but it encouraged her to keep using her trick on me so it didn't happen again.

At the same time, I felt guilty for the way I'd treated Janine when she'd come to visit me. I hadn't been outright rude or insulting, but I sure hadn't made her feel like I was glad to see her either. Thankfully she'd warned Jeke to stay away so he didn't have to see me like that. However, I felt that I owed both of them an apology, which was why I was meeting them here at the mall so we could all go see a movie together.

"Where are they?" I glanced at my watch, knowing that I was a bit early for our meeting.

I wandered around the mall for a while, finally ending up at body modification ship where Kim worked. My sister wasn't there at the moment, but Shiv was. She was helping the tattoo artist by providing the inks and such, but she paused long enough to wave at me, then catch herself and give me the finger instead. I gave Shiv the finger back, then left to continue looking at some of the other shops.

"There's some really nice shoes in this one," I mused, feeling a little shiver go through me at the thought of wearing the stiletto heeled, thigh length boots that were shown in the window. Of course, those were far out of my budget and there was no way mom would spring for something like that. "I guess I'll have to get a job."

I frowned slightly as I thought about getting a job, glancing down to my crimson painted nails. This was something I'd thought about quite a bit lately since it wasn't cheap keeping me in makeup, sexy clothes and even books. The problem was in finding a job that wouldn't bore me to tears while I was doing it.

"If I could find something that appeals to my interests like Kim did," I mused thoughtfully.

Of course, the problem was that there weren't a lot of jobs available that could appeal to my interests, at least not for high school girls or twisted. I knew that I'd probably get a huge kick of being a stripper or model of some sort given my love of attention, lack of modesty and exhibitionist streak, but I also liked reading and learning things now so might be able to handle working in a library. Then again, "That wouldn't get me much attention."

I considered the whole job situation for a while longer, eventually realizing that I'd probably have to get a job at a fast food restaurant or something. After all, the goal was to make some extra spending money, but I'd still love to find a job that tickled my interests and quirks while I was at it. Fortunately, there wasn't any real hurry so I'd have time to keep looking, even if I had to take some fast food grunt job in the meantime.

Just then, I noticed Devon coming out of one of the stores, this time without Kase following him around. I stared at him for a moment, briefly wondering if I should turn around and avoid him entirely. However, he saw me before I could make my decision.

"Damn," I muttered, bracing myself to call up my tricks if I needed to.

Devon took a look at me, paled slightly and then hurried away down the hall. I just stared at him for a moment, then burst out laughing. It didn't take much to guess that he still bought Kim's bluff about my being able to make guys impotent as my trick, which could make things rather interesting.

"I wonder if he'd still run away if his friends were with him," I mused. "At least he's easier to deal with than that Glasses jerk at the beach."

Eventually I made my way back to the spot where I was supposed to meet Jeke and Janine, and to my delight, Jeke was already there waiting. I ran up to him with a grin and surprised him with a long and passionate kiss which drew attention from just about everyone nearby. I heard a few people giggling at our display but I didn't care. God this felt good...

"So," I winked at him, "how's my best friend been doing?"

Jeke blinked as he gathered his wits, then gave me a goofy grin. "A lot better now."

"That's good to hear," I smirked, feeling quite pleased with myself and just how easily I'd managed to daze him. I'd never been able to get that kind of reaction from him before, but then again, I certainly hadn't tried or wanted to either.

Jeke gave me an odd look, then cautiously said, "Janine told me you were having your period. What's it like?"

I grimaced, "It's like being sucker punched on the inside, bleeding nonstop and having rats gnaw on me at the same time."

"Ugh," Jeke looked like he was going to be sick.

"Tell me about it," I snorted. "It's the nastiest, most disgusting thing I've ever been through in my entire life. I wished I would just die and get it over with."

"Janine said you've got some kind of super period or something," Jeke commented, looking embarrassed to be talking about this. I knew exactly what he meant since I'd never thought I'd be talking about my period with my best friend. That was the kind of thing girls do. Then again, I definitely fit into that category now.

"Yeah," I sighed, "it's a lot worse than most girls get, but at least I get over it faster too."

It was then that Janine made her appearance and came towards us. I grinned, giving her the same greeting I gave Jeke. Not only did it seem fair, but it was fun as hell, especially since she kissed back even more passionately than Jeke. Hell, if we weren't in the middle of the mall she probably would have torn my clothes off and done a lot more, or at least that was the impression I got.

"Glad to see you're feeling better," Janine grinned at me once we pulled apart. "And while I'm thinking about it, congratulations, you're now officially a woman."

"Gee, thanks," I rolled my eyes. "Do I get a membership pin or something now?"

"No," Janine giggled. "But you do have to pay monthly membership fees." I just groaned at that.

After this we made our way over to the movie theater, though none of us paid much attention to the actual movie. Instead, we spent most of it making out in the dark, which was quite an experience since I had to go back and forth between Jeke and Janine, who sat on each side of me. Of course, that was a whole lot more exciting than the movie ever could have been.

While I was taking turns kissing Jeke and Janine, I couldn't help thinking about just how good this felt and how right. I loved the delicious things that just kissing them did to my body, and I was suddenly struck with a realization. I suddenly knew without a doubt that it wouldn't be long before we moved to the next level, before I gave myself to them fully and we had sex. The idea made me even more excited than I already was.

I knew that Janine would be more than pleased if we moved our relationship to the next level sooner rather than later. She'd been controlling her impulsiveness quite admirably and taking things slowly, even accepting Jeke in our relationship in spite of her normal discomfort around boys. But there was no doubt in my mind that she was ready and willing to go to the next level.

Jeke however, I was a little less certain of. I'd been his best friend for a long time, and in spite of his bragging, I knew that he'd never been with a girl before. I knew that he was still a virgin, just like I was. He'd was more willing to take things slowly, to wait until we were both ready, though I didn't think I'd be willing to wait much longer. I smiled in eager anticipation as I thought about being his first, about us being each other's first... I could hardly wait.

I continued thinking about this all through the movie and on the trip home. I loved the idea of seducing them both, or at least seducing Jeke and letting Janine seduce me. Something of what I was thinking must have shown because Janine asked me what I was thinking about.

I looked around and realized that there were still people nearby that I didn't want hearing this, so I bent forward and licked her ear, whispering, "I'll tell you later." Jeke looked a little jealous, so I licked his ear too, earning a bright blush.

When we arrived at my house a short time later, I hoped that we could continue our little make out session up in my bedroom where we had a little more privacy. I was just thankful my dad wasn't home because I didn't want to explain my motives and intentions under the influence of his trick. I blushed brightly as I thought about how embarrassing that would be.

As soon as we stepped into my bedroom, Jeke stared at the thick book on my bed that I'd been reading just that morning. He picked it up and looked at the bookmark that was a quarter of the way through, his eyes going wide. "You're reading War and Peace?" He stared at me in disbelief, almost as though I were crazy.

"Wow," Janine blinked in surprise, staring at the book and then me. I'd already told her about my speed reading and cravings to read new books, but I don't think she took it seriously until just then. "You're really reading this?"

I shrugged, feeling a bit embarrassed. "Yeah," I admitted, "I started it last night." Then, because they were still looking at me as though I had to be crazy to actually read it, I explained, "Kim gave it to me as a joke when she found out I like reading now. I started reading it just to spite her, but now I'm caught up in it and have to find out what happens."

Jeke shook his head, "And to think...you used to just use Cliff Notes instead of reading the books assigned in literature."

Janine just laughed, "When you're done, you'll probably be one of only five people or so in the entire world who actually read it."

"If you go spreading this around school," I teased Jeke, "I'll hit you over the head with it." That earned a good laugh from everyone.

We all settled down to talk and play some games, the romantic mood broken for the moment. However, I was well aware that it would come back. When the time was right and I was alone with one of them, I'd make my move. I just didn't know which one would be my first time, though that was something to think about later.

Jeke found my deck of cards and asked, "So, what should we play?"

"How about strip poker," I suggested sincerely, earning a gasp of surprise from Jeke and a giggle from Janine.

"I'm in," Janine grinned, giving me an obvious once over with her eyes. However, she glanced a little more hesitantly at Jeke.

"Me too," Jeke nodded, giving me almost the same look that Janine had a moment earlier. He also looked at her a lot more appreciatively than she had him.

"You know," Janine said as she took the cards from Jeke and began shuffling them, "your total lack of modesty is a lot of fun."

"You can say that again," Jeke grinned. "You're a lot more fun to play with than you used to be."

"And better looking too," I boasted.

Just as Janine had dealt the first hand, there was a knock on the door and my mom stepped through, ducking so she didn't hit her head. She was huge and muscular at the moment, towering over all of us and revealing that she'd just returned from the gym. Her hair was still dry so she hadn't even had her shower yet.

Mom looked at us a little suspiciously, though not too much, then she gave me a particularly odd look before hesitantly saying, "There's a...dog at the door asking to talk to you."

"A dog?" I blinked, then gasped, "Marcus." I hadn't seen him in nearly two weeks, not since the day we'd met him on the beach.

I hurried out of my room with Jeke and Janine following close behind me. When I reached the living room, I saw my dad and realized that he must have come home while we were goofing off in my room. At the moment, he was watching Marcus with an expression of curiosity while Marcus just sat in the middle of the living room floor, looking almost like any other dog.

"Hey Marcus," I greeted him, "I'm a little surprised to see you here. I mean, I never told you where I lived..."

Marcus chuckled, which sounded a bit odd coming from a dog, "Yeah, but I caught your scent and followed it here. I thought I'd say hi since you kids are the only ones I know here in Spiral."

"Nice seeing you again," Janine told him.

"Marcus," dad mused. "So this is the dog...person you met at the beach." Dad looked at him for a moment, this time a little more seriously, "It's nice to meet you. Thank you for helping my daughter out."

"Glad to help," Marcus said, looking to me. "So how've you kids been doing?"

"Not bad," Jeke answered. "What about you? I mean, you ran off as soon as we got to Spiral..."

"I guess I got a little ahead of myself with my enthusiasm," Marcus chuckled. "I've been running around, finding a place to stay and looking for work." He shook his head. "It's not easy finding a job when you look like this, even in Spiral." He sounded disappointed at that, as though he had been expecting otherwise.

"That's sad to hear," mom said as she came into the room.

Marcus remained frozen where he was, looking up at mom and seeming a bit intimidated. I doubt he'd ever met anyone as big or muscular as my mom was after one of her full blown workouts. But after seeing that the rest of us weren't bothered by her size, he relaxed a bit.

"I guess it shouldn't be a surprise." Marcus forced a chuckle. "I never finished school and had to drop out after my twist, and since I don't have hands I can't exactly do a lot of manual work either."

"That's terrible," dad exclaimed, giving Marcus a sympathetic look. Then he abruptly asked, "How much like a dog are you?"

Marcus hesitated, as though he didn't know whether to be offended or not. Then he carefully answered, "Pretty much all the way physically."

Dad looked a little more interested, "Do you have the same kind of sense of smell as a dog?"

"Sure," Marcus responded, "I've got great hearing too, though my eyesight isn't the best."

Dad just sat there looking thoughtful for a moment, then he said, "I've got some friends in the police department, and I think they'd be interested in someone like you."

"What?" Marcus asked suspiciously.

"They use trained dogs for a variety of things," dad explained. "They use dogs to find drugs, explosives, and people. But their dogs aren't flexible enough to shift around or smart enough to make judgment calls. If you've got all the abilities of a dog and the intelligence of a man, you'd be absolutely invaluable to them."

Marcus snorted, "Yeah right..."

"He isn't lying," I pointed out. "My dad can't lie. It's part of his twist." This made Marcus look at him with a new interest, even considering what dad said.

"Of course they'd probably do a background check on you and the like," dad continued. "But they're pretty flexible here in Spiral. They used to have me there to help during interrogations. Still, even if the police aren't interested, I can pretty much guarantee that the security office in my company would be interested in someone whose both security guard and guard dog at the same time."

"Police work and security," Marcus mused to himself, giving a strange dog grin. "I'd never thought about doing that kind of thing before, but I think you're right. I'd be a natural."

At this point, dad and Marcus were talking so intently to each other that the rest of us were completely left out. They started off talking about what kind of jobs Marcus could do, something that really excited him and made him happy, then they shifted to other things such as politics and eventually even sports. The rest of us drifted away while their conversation continued for several hours. I had a feeling that I'd just introduced my dad to his new best friend.

That night Jeke, Janine and Marcus were all invited to stay for dinner. Marcus was surprised when we offered him an actual place at the table, along with a real plate to eat off instead of automatically assuming he'd eat off the floor. He didn't say anything about it, but I could tell he was extremely happy to be treated as a person instead of a dog, which was something he couldn't get much in the outside world.

Eventually Jeke, Janine, and I returned to my room where we had some privacy again, but with Marcus and my parents in the other room we didn't dare try anything too serious. Instead, we turned on my small TV and cuddled up together on my bed to watch it and make out a little. It was extremely pleasant since I was in the middle with one arm around Jeke and the other around Janine.

While we cuddled together, I thought about Marcus and was glad that everything was finally working out for him, but I was even more thankful that things were working out so well for the three of us as well. Since I hadn't been able to make up my mind, our relationships could have been shattered and I never would have had this...had both of them and everything that came with that.

I smiled dreamily as my mind drifted back to the thoughts I'd been having earlier. I looked at both Jeke and Janine, feeling a trill of excitement fill me. My body was already responding to my thoughts, making it even more clear that I wasn't going to wait much longer. I licked my lips in eager anticipation, thinking of all the good things I'd gained since my twist and how many more were to come. Of course my tricks were great and I absolutely loved all the attention I now drew, but the best thing my twist had given me were Jeke and Janine. I wouldn't have had either of them without it.

The outside world could be a hostile place for the twisted, a fact that Glasses and his crew proved to me. But things were different here in Spiral. Here, I was surrounded by friends and family, by people who cared for me and accepted me for who and what I was...even when I didn't always know what that was myself. But I knew who I was now, or at least I was quickly learning. I was a sexy young woman with an exhibitionist streak, a bisexual with two soon to be lovers, a girl with some wicked tricks, and I was now even an enthusiast of reading and learning. And in spite of In spite of how much I'd changed body and mind, I was still Blake Tyler. I might not have chosen to become any of these things, but this was who I now was and I was happy with that. After all, that's just life for a twisted.