“This is so awesome!” Teri exclaimed from the next room over. I was in the guest bedroom, right next to her room, so had no problem hearing her.

I was sitting on the edge of the bed, with a brush in my hand, and was feeling an odd mixture of self-conscious and satisfied. I’d just finished drying and brushing my hair, which had taken about half an hour. Now, my hair felt nice and smooth between my fingers.

It felt strange to have long hair, especially since I’d always had it short before. And even though I’d only had long hair for a couple of days now, I’d already decided that it was a real pain in the butt. It was heavy when wet, kept falling into my face, getting into my food when I was trying to eat, and it took way too much time and effort to maintain. As it was, I kept thinking about how much easier things would be if I simply cut it off.

“Definitely a pain,” I muttered as I ran the brush though my hair again, even though it didn’t need it.

Though I’d never admit it to anyone else, and barely even acknowledged it myself, there was one good reason why I hadn’t cut my hair short yet, and why I probably wouldn’t. Vanity. Even though I’d never really thought about it in those terms, I’d always been a little vain. You don’t spend as much time in the gym as I do, building muscles, unless you wanted to look good. Whether I liked it or not, I was a girl now, and probably would be for the rest of my life. Since I was going to be a girl from now on, I figured that I should at least try to look good as one, and I’d always thought that long hair looked better on girls than short hair.

“Looks like I’ll have to get used to this,” I grumbled with a note of disgust in my voice, which might have been just a little exaggerated for the sake of my pride.

As I’d learned yesterday, when Teri had been helping me with my hair, there was something oddly soothing about running a brush through it. I didn’t really understand what it was, but once the knots had been worked out, the act of brushing long hair had been almost relaxing.

Once I was finished, I set the brush down and muttered, “The next thing you know, I’ll be trying makeup…” I snorted in contempt, deciding that this was a line I’d never cross.

I stood up and was about to leave the room, when the door was suddenly flung open and Teri burst inside, exclaiming, “Hey, Jeri… She stood in front of me, wearing nothing but a pair of shorts and a too small t-shirt. “Look… None of my clothes fit me…” She sounded absolutely delighted by that.

“Yeah, I see,” I responded, caught between the desire to stare at her, and the feeling that it was completely inappropriate.

Teri had been a bit of a late bloomer, but now, it was all hitting her at once. She’d filled out noticeably during the night, and was now showing some of the curves that she’d previously been lacking in. She was probably even a B cup now, though I also noticed her muscle tone, which was firm and pronounced. Teri now looked like an aerobics instructor, or at least, someone who spent a lot of time in the gym. It turned out that being my companion had certain benefits.

Last night, we noticed that Teri had grown larger. All of her clothes had become tight, and she was two inches taller than normal. Obviously, she’d grown even more during the night. Yesterday morning, she’d been five foot four, and now, she looked to be about five foot eight. Not only had she grown taller than me, but she was now also taller than Matt.

I stared at Teri for a moment, then brought up my screen. When Teri became my companion, a new tab had appeared for her, so I clicked on that and brought it up again.

COMPANION 1

NAME: TERI LOUISE CORSKEY
GENDER: FEMALE
AGE: 15
HEALTH: 100%
MANA: NA
STATUS: NO INJURIES, ILLNESSES, OR NEGATIVE STATUS EFFECTS.
SPECIAL ABILITY: INCREASED HEALTH AND REGENERATION

STRENGTH: 11
STAMINA: 14
ENDURANCE: 12
-
AGILITY: 10
REFLEXES: 8
DEXTERITY: 8
-
INTELLIGENCE: 9
CHARISMA: 10
AWARENESS: 7
-
MANA POOL: NA
MANA RECOVERY: NA
HEALTH: 150
REGENERATION: 150

Yesterday, before we’d gone to the Heap, I’d told Matt and Teri about my various abilities, including the description on my companion abilities, which said that my companions would each gain a permanent stat increase. Teri had accepted my accidental companion invitation, because she wanted the stat bonuses for herself. Now, Teri was my ‘companion 1’, which came with +5 strength, +5 stamina, and +5 endurance, and her body seemed to be changing in order to handle those new physical abilities.

I had to admit, that was jealous of Teri. I had a strength of 7, while hers was now an 11. Not only was she taller than me now, she was also stronger…by a good amount. I seemed to have the normal strength of a girl my age and build, who only engaged in moderate exercise. I suspected that Teri was going to end up near my old strength level.

Teri’s strength, stamina, and endurance had all been on the lower side to start with, so the bonus wasn’t quite as impressive as it could have been for someone else. If someone like the old me had been given those bonuses, then he would have ended up as a physical powerhouse. This would have turned an already athletic guy, into a real tank.

This line of thought made me think of Hammer, and realize that he and the ninja were Heather’s companions. Maelyne had said something about that, but I’d been so distracted by my own problems, that I’d barely given any thought to them. Now, I felt a little guilty for that.

“I wonder if I’m gonna get even bigger,” Teri said, looking down at herself with an expression of satisfaction.

“I don’t know,” I answered, biting down the jealousy. “It’s not like I’ve done this to anyone before…”

“Well, thank you,” Teri exclaimed, grabbing me in a very firm hug.

She was definitely a lot stronger than before, which made the envy burn even stronger, though I tried to push it down. It wasn’t like I could have used that ability on myself anyway. I’d already tried that with the second companion ability, just to see if I could get those stats.

“Now, if Matt was as happy about this as you are,” I said with a wry smile. Matt was still mad at me, and the fact that his little sister had grown taller and stronger than him, would only make this worse.

“I’m gonna need a whole new wardrobe,” Teri announced, her eyes seeming to gleam with excitement. “We can go shopping together…” She practically squealed with delight while I groaned.

A minute later, Teri and I went into the living room, where Matt was already up and playing around on his laptop. He stared at Teri with a scowl, obviously frustrated to see that she’d changed even more since last night. I could see the same jealousy in his eyes which had probably been visible in my own. It was hard not to be jealous of Teri.

“Did you find any way to release Teri?” Matt asked.

“No,” I answered. Teri just smirked. “I tried, but there doesn’t seem to be any options to release a companion once they’re bound. And it says in the description that it’s permanent…”

“Which means, you’re stuck with me,” Teri announced before grabbing me in a hug. This time, I was pretty sure she squeezed a little harder than necessary on purpose. Then, she smirked at Matt, adding, “And it looks like you’re gonna have to get used to being my little brother.”

“Sorry,” I told Matt, knowing that this would definitely change the dynamics of their sibling rivalry, and not in Matt’s favor. I felt bad for doing this to my best friend. Then again, it would also give me something new to tease him about.

While we were talking, I noticed the duffel bag on the floor near Matt. The stock of a paintball gun was sticking out, and that immediately reminded me of what day it was. Saturday. The day of our scheduled match.

“Aw, crap,” I blurted out, gesturing towards the duffel. “I forgot all about the game…”

Matt gave me a wry smile. “I probably would have too, if that happened to me…”

“I’m just sorry I can’t go,” I said with a sigh, feeling bad for leaving him and our other teammates in the lurch.

“Why don’t you?” Teri asked with a grin. “You can just tell everyone that you’re Matt’s girlfriend. Of course, nobody will believe he could get a girl as cute as you, but…”

“Bite me,” Matt told his sister.

Teri just grinned. “You wanna arm wrestle, little bro?”

Matt glared at her, then at me. I had a feeling that I’d be paying for this for a long time. Then again, because of all the teasing material it gave me, it might actually even be worth it.

Before Matt could come up with a good comeback against Teri, their mother came into the room. Gail Corskey was a middle-aged woman, with shoulder length brown hair that was starting to turn grey, and she radiated the whole ‘mom’ vibe. She took one step into the room, then froze and stared at Teri.

“Teri,” she gasped in surprise and a bit of confusion. “What happened to you…?”

“Um,” Teri responded self-consciously. “I…um…grew…”

“Where have you been, Mom?” Matt asked, as though confused. “You know Teri has been going through a growth spurt…”

“Yes,” Gail responded, still looking a bit shaken and confused. “But…”

“I mean, a whole inch in one month,” Matt continued.

Not to be left out, I added, “I think she’s grown at least two inches since the first time I met her.”

Gail shook her head at that. “I guess I just haven’t been paying attention lately. You kids grow so fast, I just can’t keep track of it…”

“And Teri does tend to slouch down a lot,” I said, even though it wasn’t really true. Still, it was common for a lot of teenagers, so Gail nodded absently, as though that explained everything.

Gail was obviously a bit embarrassed at her own ‘lack of observation’, so quickly hurried back out of the living room saying why she’d come in the first place. As soon as she was gone, and out of hearing distance, the three of us all laughed.

“I kind of feel sorry for Mom,” Teri admitted.

“Me too,” Matt told her. “But how in the world could we possibly explain your sudden growth. I mean, Mom and Dad aren’t exactly open minded about this kind of thing.”

I nodded agreement since my own parents were the same way. They were too caught up in their own lives to really pay much attention to mine, and so certain that they knew how the world worked, that they’d never hear a word anyone said which contradicted that. Well, my parents were probably a little worse about that than Gail would be, but there was a reason I hadn’t called them when this happened.

“You know,” I suggested, looking at Teri. “For the next couple months, you should probably wear loose clothes and slouch a bit, at least, whenever you’re around your parents or anyone who’d really notice…”

“I guess,” Teri reluctantly agreed, almost pouting. She was eager to show off her new body, so probably wouldn’t take my advice.

--------------------

“I’ve got a bad feeling about this,” I said as Matt and I arrived at the park where the paintball match was scheduled to take place.

I hadn’t wanted to come here today, since it would be weird hanging out with my friends when they didn’t even know who I was. However, Matt talked me into it, pointing out that a bit of familiarity might help my mood. As much as I might not like it, he was probably right too.

“Okay, Han Solo,” Matt said, giving me a look of amusement.

I flipped him off, then brushed the air out of my face. “I guess that makes you the Wookie…” Matt fried to make the famous Chewbacca growl, though not very successfully. I just rolled my eyes. “You are such a nerd.”

Matt and I climbed out of his car and grabbed our gear, which included the stuff I was borrowing from him. Unfortunately, my own gear had been left behind at my apartment, and I didn’t want to risk going back there. If Jerry had been reported dead, or at least missing, since my own body seemed to have disappeared, I didn’t want to take the chance that someone might connect that to ‘Jeri’.

The rest of our team was already there, getting geared up and ready at a nearby picnic bench. I was a little nervous about letting them see me like this, and perhaps even afraid that they might realize who I really was and tease me mercilessly. I knew that was stupid, since there was no way anyone could recognize me, but the fear was still there, tickling the back of my brain. So, I did what I usually did when confronted with something I didn’t like. I walked right up to the picnic table while Matt hurried to catch up.

“Hi,” I greeted them, trying to give my best smile. “You must be Lucas, Tyler, and Mac.”

Lucas was a lean black guy, whom I’d known since my sophomore year in high school. We’d played football together for a couple years, though he’d always been more interested in the track and field events.

Standing beside Lucas, in cowboy boots and a Stetson, was Tyler. Tyler liked to think of himself as being a cowboy, though the truth was, he’d probably never seen a live cow or horse in his life.

And then there was Stuart Macenzie, or Mac as everyone called him. He was a bit on the hefty side, leaning a bit more to chub than muscle, but not so much that it got in the way. I’d always told him that I’d be happy to take him to the gym and help him get into better shape, but he’d never taken me up on it.

“Hey,” Matt said as he caught up. He gave me a dirty look, then turned his attention back to the others, seeming a bit unsure of what to say.

“And who’s this fine lady?” Tyler asked, giving me a curious look.

Since Matt seemed to be floundering, I gave them a smile and said, “I’m Jeri. One ‘R’ and an ‘I’.

“Jerry couldn’t make it,” Matt said, finally getting his act together. “Honestly, I haven’t been able to get hold of him at all for the last couple days, and I’m getting a bit worried.”

“So, you brought your girlfriend instead?” Lucas asked, looking more amused than upset.

“Oh, we’re not dating,” I quickly assured him, then realized that this quick correction could be taken the wrong way and give them all some awkward ideas. “We’re just friends…”

Matt was in the groove now, because he added, “I figured that since Jerry couldn’t come, we needed someone to fill in, and I took their similar names as a sign…”

I could see the hesitation and doubt in all three faces, so decided to put on the charm a bit. “I’ve played a bit of paintball before,” I assured them with a friendly smile, that I hoped was confident and outgoing. If I came off as friendly, and confident in my own abilities, that would go a long way towards convincing them to let me play.

“Nice to meet you, Jeri,” Tyler said with a grin. “And welcome to the team.”

“The other guys should be showing up at any time,” Lucas told me.

Mac nodded, then gestured towards the wooded area of the park. “We’ll be playing in there. The whole area from that bench back is game.”

“These guys are pretty good,” Tyler told me. “But ignore anything Cody says. He likes to talk trash and get under your skin…”

“Tell me about it,” Matt grumbled.

We chatted for a few minutes, ‘getting to know each other’, as well as talking a bit about strategy. When the other group arrived, Lucas, Tyler, and Mac all began to move out, leaving me and Matt behind.

Once the others were out of hearing distance, Matt abruptly demanded, “What were you just doing?”

“What?” I asked in confusion.

He gave me a suspicious look. “You were flirting with them.”

“WHAT?” I repeated in surprise. “No way…”

“I’ve seen girls flirt before,” Matt told me, “and you were definitely flirting with all three…”

“No,” I started, only to consider my actions over the last ten minutes.

I was just trying to be friendly to the guys, and maybe even charm them a bit in order to get in their good graces for the game. I hadn’t been trying to flirt at all, but now that I thought about it, I realized that some of my body language may have suggested otherwise. It hadn’t been anything intentional, but…

“Crap,” I gasped, suddenly remembering that one of my skills was ‘flirt’. “That’s a real thing?” And somehow, I’d actually tapped into that skill and used it, without even consciously trying.

“You have those guys wrapped around your finger,” Matt said, giving me a disturbed look. “I mean… Wow… If I didn’t know who you really were, I’d swear you were working them for all you had…”

“I have a charisma of thirteen,” I said self-consciously. In the current setup, charisma was defined as the ability to charm and influence other people.

Until now, I’d only thought about that as a number on a page, no different than the stats on any of my other characters. I’d considered how my strength and stamina stats related to my new body, but for some reason, I hadn’t thought that ones like intelligence or charisma would translate too, probably because I didn’t want to consider the idea that my mind could have been altered along with my body.

“Just…don’t try any of that on me,” Matt said.

I nodded agreement. “I wasn’t planning to,” I told him.

After this, Matt and I went to join the others, who were holding their paintball guns and posing a bit, trying to look tough for our opponents. It was a bit of an intimidation game, where we all tried to psyche each other out.

“Hey, runt,” someone from the other team called out. I didn’t even need to look to recognize Cody. “Did your mom sign your permission slip?”

“Come up with something new,” Matt responded, the annoyance visible on his face.

“You’re kind of grumpy,” Cody joked with a broad grin. “Or is that Dopey? Do you need your diaper changed or something?”

Matt was turning red, so I decided to step in. Since I’d been so successful with getting my team’s attention, I thought I’d try it again on Cody.

“So, do you do this often?” I asked Cody, trying to come off as sexy and flirty. I immediately had his full attention.

“Oh yeah, I play all the time,” Cody said, holding up his paintball gun.

I gave a look of mock surprise, pushing a hip out, rolling a shoulder, and then just staring at him. I barely thought about what I was doing, as it all came by instinct. Regardless, it seemed to be working.

“Can I see your…gun?” I asked suggestively.

Cody handed it over without any hesitation. It was all I could do not to burst out laughing. It wasn’t like I was some kind of supermodel. On a scale of one to ten, I was probably a seven, maybe even an eight if I was being really generous.

“This looks so impressive,” I said, trying to look innocent and sexy. Matt snickered from behind me while the rest of my team just stared. “What does this do?” I pulled the trigger. “Ooops.”

Cody grunted and touched his chest, where I’d shot him with his own gun. Still trying to look sexy and innocent, I handed his gun back. He was so surprised by this turn of events, that he never even seemed to think about retaliating. Then again, maybe he just didn’t like the idea of shooting a chick at point blank range.

As I walked away, Matt snickered. “I can’t believe you did that. You shot him with his own gun…”

“If I’m gonna be stuck like this,” I said with an evil grin, “I might as well take advantage of the benefits.” Then, I held up my own gun, loaded in the paint balls and made sure it was ready to go. “Now, let’s go kick their butts…”