Shortcuts

A paranormal superhero story with a supernatural twist

The mysterious lives of girls

Comments have been blocked for this story but kudos and private messages are always welcome. Even highly critical private messages are welcome. I don't mind criticism when it's private.

Shortcuts
by Terry Volkirch

Chapter 8

The rest of the walk to Lester's house turned unpleasant for the boy. He felt himself descend into a pit of anxiety and dread at the prospect of becoming a girl for any length of time. What made it even worse was how his friend seemed oblivious to his discomfort. Erin's mood lightened after getting him to help her and crying herself out, and she returned to her shopping monolog as if nothing had happened.

'Here I am, a superhero, and I'm still cursed,' he thought.

When Lester finally opened the front door of his house, he bravely plastered a moderately happy look on his face. "Mom! We're here!" he called.

No answer.

He turned to his friend as they hung their coats on the coat rack in the entry way. "Just checking. She said something about working a little late so I didn't expect her yet."

"Good!" Erin said. "That means we have a little time for you to try out a new look."

Lester groaned, and as she stood there, bouncing on her toes and looking at him expectantly, he wondered if he'd end up acting the same way. 'Girls!'

"Okay. Fine. I really have no excuse, do I."

"Nope! None," she said gleefully.

"You needn't be so happy about it," he grumbled.

"Oh, but I do," she said, turning serious. "I have a friend who's sacrificing a lot to help me when I really need it. How can I be anything but happy?"

Lester sighed. He felt so inconsiderate after hearing that.

The girl-to-be threw himself into his new role after that. After moving to his bedroom to shed all of his clothes except a tee shirt and loose boxers, he waited for Erin to get him some clothes to try on. He barely left room for her arm to snake through the slightly open door, grabbed an armful of clothes and shut the door, shouting out, "Where did you get all these clothes?!"

She answered in a singsong voice, "You don't want to know!"

"Whatever!" he called back through the closed door.

He dumped the feminine clothes on his bed and slipped out of his tee shirt and boxers. Then he plucked a pair of black, high-waisted panties off the bed and scowled at them for a few seconds before stepping into them and pulling them up all of the way.

"That wasn't so bad," he said to himself. "I'm still alive. Right?"

He gave himself a nervous laugh and changed the lower half of his body enough that the panties fit more comfortably. The waistline no longer bit into his skin but his genitals still bulged out. He took care of that part too, reaching deep into himself to change his reproductive organs. It felt a little odd and uncomfortable but it didn't hurt at least.

"Except now I can menstruate," the new girl muttered.

"Are you finished yet?" Erin shouted through the door.

"No! Hang on. I'm nearly halfway done," Lester shouted back as she pulled on a pair of tight black jeans. It took a little squirming to get them part way up her thighs so she slimmed her legs down to make it easier. Once the jeans were on, she filled out her thighs again to make them tight like she knew they were meant to be.

"I bet a lot of girls wished they could do that."

The jeans seemed too short and she suddenly realized that she was a little too tall for them. That bothered her until she remembered how she was making Erin happy and continued. She shortened her legs until the bottom of the jeans reached her ankles, and she made her feet smaller while she was at it.

The topless girl then went to work on her chest, shoulders and arms, making them slimmer, and while she did that, she picked up a beige seamless bra and estimated what her breast size should be to fill the cups. She held the bra in her delicate looking hands and shook her head.

"This is so weird."

Without looking at the tags since she didn't want to know the actual bra size, she wrapped it around herself backwards, attached the clasp in front of her and twisted it around with the cups in front. She pulled it up, slipped her arms through the straps and took a deep breath.

"Here goes nothing."

She slowly inflated her breasts until they filled the bra cups. Then she stopped, tugged at the bra here and there, adjusted the straps a little and called it done.

She looked down at the tops of her breasts and sighed. "More than a handful is supposed to be a waste," she complained.

A royal blue, long-sleeved top was next. It had vertical ribbing that nicely emphasized her new curves but the sleeves were too short and the bottom rode too high above her waist. The top was too small so once again, she changed her body, making her arms and torso shorter until everything fit as it should. That also meant pulling up her shirt and shortening her bra straps.

"I wonder where all my extra mass is going," she said and shrugged her petite shoulders.

From the base of her neck down, she was all girl. That only left her neck and head.

"Goodbye old voice," she said, making her neck more slender and a little shorter. She also made her Adam's apple disappear and moved on to her hair, lengthening it to just shy of her shoulders and making it wavy with a light blonde color. Lastly, she shut her eyes, imagining them to be a bright blue color like her mother's, and she made her chin, nose and whole head smaller along with making her face a little shorter and more oval. After flattening her brow and removing all traces of facial hair, she called herself done.

"Okay," she called out and stopped from the sound of her new voice. 'So weird,' she thought and continued speaking. "I'm coming out." She opened the door and faced her friend, who immediately hugged her and squealed in her ear.

"Thank you so much!"

"Yeah. Yeah. Come on. Let go. You're squeezing too hard. I can barely breathe."

"Oh! Sorry." Erin backed off and gave her friend a good look. "Let's see. You're a couple of inches shorter than me, blonde, and you're beautiful!" she gushed. "Quick! Go look in the mirror." The enthusiastic girl grabbed one of her friend's hands and half pulled her into the bathroom.

Lester looked into the mirror and gasped. There was a slight family resemblance to her mother but she saw nothing of her former, male self. "Wow. I really did a good job on myself."

The new girl turned left, then right, giving herself a good look. "I wish I could date myself!" she joked.

Erin playfully slapped her in the arm. "Silly girl." Then she paused and thought a moment.

"What's wrong?" Lester asked.

"Nothing much. Just your name. I think you need a new name."

Both girls were suddenly interrupted and their blood ran cold. Their faces paled and their breath came in short gasping huffs.

"Sarah," Lester's mother said, standing behind them. "That's the name I picked out in case I had a daughter. And I can't wait to hear all about what's been going on."

"Uh," Lester tried and was interrupted.

"Yes, I know who you are. I've been home the whole time. You should've checked for my car in the garage. I felt a little tired so I left work early. I was sleeping in my bed and slowly woke up hearing you two noisy kids. I can hardly believe it but I know you're my son, Lester, and yet, at the same time, I suddenly have a daughter. So, Sarah. Care to tell me all about it?"

The three of them moved to the living room, with Sarah and Erin on the couch and Sarah's mother, Susan, sitting in the matching chair, facing them. After a fairly long discussion about the Akashic records and several follow-up questions, Susan still couldn't bring herself to believe it. Sarah had to briefly change her face back to her male self and use telekinesis to raise her mother to the ceiling before the three of them all cried and joined in a group hug.

Sarah snorted. "You know what I can't believe? I've only been a girl for about an hour and I'm already crying."

That got a few laughs, instantly lightening the mood until Susan asked the one unanswered question that Sarah hoped could be avoided.

"Sarah? Why did you change into a girl? Are you transgender?"

Sarah sighed. She didn't lie but she never said anything about Erin not being human, and nothing was said about Lester becoming a girl to help Erin get through her first period. Up to that point, Susan only thought of the girl as being a good friend to her son.

"Well," she started, looking at Erin, who nodded her approval. "I can't say exactly who or what Erin is, because I don't know, but she hasn't always been human."

Susan snapped her head around to stare at the redhead, who again nodded.

Sarah continued, "She's fully human now though, and she's upset because we believe she's about to have her first period."

That started a long talk about menstruation that the new girl never thought she'd hear and wished she could forget, though she had to admit to herself that she might need the knowledge herself someday. In spite of Erin getting help from Susan and feeling much better about the whole monthly cycle thing, Sarah still felt obligated to stay a girl. She actually looked forward to the experience, hoping it would help her to better understand girls.

After finishing her feminine hygiene talk, Susan sighed, still not fully understanding the situation. "I guess this means you won't have to be a girl any longer," she told Sarah. "Too bad. It would've been great."

Sarah gave her a nervous little laugh. "No, Mom. I said I would do it so I'll still do it. It was basically a promise and you know I don't break my promises. Besides, Erin could still use a girlfriend to relate to and I think the experience would do me good."

That surprised the woman for a brief moment. Then she smiled and shook her head. "I'm so proud of you, honey."

Erin smiled and added, "She really is very special, Mrs. McHenry."

More crying and another group hug followed until Sarah broke away, needing a little reassurance about something. "Mom?"

"Yes, dear?"

"Please don't tell me you've always wanted a daughter."

"Oh, Sarah. Son or daughter, I love you just the same."

"Good answer," the new girl said, giving her mother a quick hug. "Now then. I'll change back for aikido and…." She didn't get to finish.

"No way," Susan said. "We're all going out to eat and then do a bit of shopping. I'm not passing up this opportunity." Then she looked down at her daughter's bare feet. "But aren't you missing something?"

"You mean besides my penis?" the new girl said with a smirk.

Erin politely coughed to get Sarah's attention and pointed to her friend's feet.

"Oh!" Sarah said. "Yes, I could use some shoes and socks."

"How about boots?" the redhead asked.

"Boots?"

The couch stood flush against the far wall of the room but somehow, Erin grabbed soft, black leather boots from behind the couch and reached inside each boot to pull out a black sock. "Here," she said, handing the footwear to her friend. "I had them ready."

"How in the world?" Susan blurted out.

"Don't ask, Mom. Just don't ask."

The boots had two inch heels but Sarah put them on, changed her feet a little for a good fit and got used to walking in them easily enough. Wearing heels bothered her until she realized how much shorter she was. Then she insisted on wearing them. Even with the boots on, she still stood a couple of inches shorter than she was as a boy and she missed the extra height.

Susan noticed how much shorter her new daughter stood and purposely grabbed shoes with a three inch heel to even out their heights. It amused her to think that they were very close to the same height and same size.

"There," she told the two girls. "I'm ready to go out. We just need coats. It's a little cold outside."

"Oh, no," Erin said. "We weren't planning on going out. I don't have a coat ready for Sarah."

Susan smiled. "I hoped that was the case. But don't worry. Sarah can borrow one of mine." She looked her daughter up and down. "We look to be the same size."

Sarah's eyes widened at first, and then quickly narrowed. "Fine. I'll borrow one of your coats. But I'm not making it a habit to share clothes with you. Don't even go there."

Susan laughed. "Oh, daughter. I've already got plans to borrow that blue top you're wearing, and I have some younger styles in the back of my closet that I think would look adorable on you."

"Mother!"

"Resistance is futile, dear."

Erin had been watching the exchange between mother and daughter with interest. The two seemed so natural together. It warmed her heart.

* * *

As Susan drove them all to the mall, she sighed with happiness. She looked forward to some mother-daughter time. It was almost like having two children, something she'd often fantasized about. The only thing that concerned her was the idea of her child having what basically amounted to superpowers. That could only invite trouble.

Sarah never said anything about going out and actively fighting crime but the worried mother knew it was a possibility. She knew her child well. Fighting crime would be too tempting for someone with so much good in them.

'My daughter, the superhero,' she thought and sighed again.

She turned her attention to the two girls in the back and had to suppress a laugh at how Erin talked circles around Sarah. The poor new girl didn't have the social skills to keep up.

It amazed the woman how some non-human being could become a human girl for only a few weeks and be so good at it. She realized that Erin had to be just as special in her own way as Sarah and decided that the redhead could only be a good influence and good friend for her child.

When the conversation turned back to shopping for the umpteenth time, Susan had to ask about something. "Erin? How much money do you have?"

"Money?"

Sarah groaned. "Here we go again," she said. After all the talk about shopping, she wrongly assumed that her friend would have money.

Erin knew what money was but in her haste to experience shopping, she completely forgot that she needed some, and she couldn't simply pull bills out of nowhere like she did clothes. Counterfeiting money would violate her principles. That only left getting a job and she was woefully unprepared for that. After realizing her mistake, she got a little moody until Sarah decided that she'd get a job as her boy self and help her friend out with finances.

Erin protested to no avail. "I'll just keep getting my own clothes the same way," she insisted.

"What about things other than clothes?" Susan asked.

Erin pouted but didn't answer and the woman continued.

"You can't truly experience the joy of shopping unless you go out the stores and buy things. There's no substitute for experience."

"Besides," Sarah told her friend. "Helping you out is the right thing to do." That effectively ended the conversation.

In the meantime, Susan would be paying for most everything, including a gi for Erin and the aikido classes for both Erin and Lester. Sarah only had a little money that she'd saved from her allowance. About the only thing she could afford was a gi for aikido. Her father and mother made a fairly good amount of money, enough to keep them on the upper side of middle-class, but she realized that she was long overdue for a job.

* * *

Before reaching the mall, they first stopped at a drug store to pick up some feminine hygiene supplies including over-the-counter medication for menstrual symptoms. Susan bought enough for both girls much to Sarah's embarrassment. The new girl thought she'd never stop blushing, but she accepted everything graciously.

They soon entered the mall after that, and Susan dropped them in the deep end of the pool by starting with lingerie. The blushing continued and in spite of Susan's earlier warning about it being futile, Sarah started resisting.

"You need some basics, Sarah. Stop fussing. Lingerie isn't something that's shared. You need your own."

"But, Mom!"

"Don't sass me, daughter. We're doing this. Just a single package of panties and a few bras should do it."

Erin piped up, "Don't forget a sports bra!"

Susan turned to the redhead, "Good idea, Erin. Thanks. I was also thinking about getting her a leisure bra for school."

"What?!"

"You can wear it under your regular clothes for when you change at school."

"Change at school?!"

"Yes, but don't worry. We'll get your some androgynous tops too."

"Are you forgetting that I have PE?" Sarah said in a loud whisper. "Do you have any idea what would happen if I undressed in the boys locker room wearing a you-know-what?!"

"Oh, dear! No. That won't do. Sorry. I guess I'm getting a little carried away."

"Yeah," Sarah huffed. She tried folding her arms but rubbing her breasts felt awkward and she quickly stopped. "Anyway, I'm not sure changing at school is a good idea anyway. Where would I do it? What if someone saw me?"

Erin sniffled, suddenly getting the new girl's attention.

"Aw, man. Seriously, Erin? You want me to change at school?"

The redhead slowly nodded. "I'll likely need some support in the rest room at school. Your mother won't be around to help me there."

Sarah sighed. "True. Okay. I guess we'll work something out then."

Erin smiled. "Thanks, Sarah."

"You're welcome. Now let's finish up shopping. I'm getting hungry."

* * *

The shopping continued far longer than Sarah was comfortable with, but she endured it without any more fussing. Her mother got her a large black purse right after the lingerie and the new girl had to admit that a purse made certain things easier to hide as well as carry. When she got her girl starter kit, consisting of a hair brush, bracelet, lip gloss and mascara, she stuffed it all into the deepest, darkest part of her purse along with her tampons. After the accessories, came the clothes, and time lost all meaning. She vaguely noticed Erin's happiness whenever the redhead received a gift from her mother. Her friend ended up with a large, black and white hobo bag, some makeup and a couple articles of clothing. Other than that, she felt numb and distant. It actually surprised Sarah when her mother decided that her daughter had enough shoes and casual clothes for a couple of weeks and declared that it was time to eat.

Sarah wore one of her two new coats - short, purple and nicely warm - as she and her group left the mall, and the three of them soon ended up at a Thai restaurant across the street with some interesting results. Susan and Sarah ordered their favorite dishes and they decided to order several more things after Sarah warned about Erin's lack of experience with food. It was a good thing they ordered so much because Sarah's tastes had changed. Her favorite Thai dish tasted horrible to her and she nearly cried over it. Her mother had to urge her to try a little of everything, just as Erin had been doing, and everything tasted different. The new girl still liked a couple things that she'd liked before, like fried rice, but everything else turned upside down.

"I can already relate to Erin," Sarah remarked. "It's like I'm tasting everything for the first time. My taste buds are all wonky."

Erin gave her a sympathetic smile and touched her friend's arm.

The new girl found the gesture strangely comforting and forged ahead with her unplanned meal, eating more of the things she liked. She didn't eat quickly but with her smaller body, it wasn't long until she was full. All three of them finished at about the same time and they soon got a waiter's attention to box up the leftovers.

"Okay," Susan said, putting her phone in her purse. "Just so you know. I've been texting Matthew and let him know we're eating out. He can fend for himself. He's a big boy."

Erin suddenly blushed but hid it well, keeping her face over her plate with her hair hanging down as she nibbled a few remaining bean sprouts.

"Speaking of Dad," Sarah started, facing her mother. "Should we tell him about me? Do you think he'll take it well?"

"I'm not sure that's a good idea."

"Why not? I didn't mean telling him about my new look… or…." She pointed at Erin. "Just my abilities."

"Oh." Susan thought about it a moment and smiled. "You're right. I think maybe we should tell him that much. Maybe this weekend. But for now, I've got to take you two girls over to the martial arts shop. Your aikido class starts in a little over an hour so we need to get going."

"Um, Mom? Don't forget that it's Lester who's taking the class. It's Lester who needs the gi."

"Oh! Right. You can change in the car on the way. Okay?"

Sarah shook her head. "Not okay. Lester doesn't have any clothes. He didn't think to bring any."

"Oh, dear. Well, we'll just have to estimate Lester's size and he can change in the car after getting the gi. And he can wear the gi home. Problem solved."

"I guess that'll work."

* * *

The Thai restaurant stood directly across from the large east parking lot of the mall with a busy four lane road separating them. The sun hung low to the west, nearly about to set, and the mall cast a long shadow that stretched halfway across the busy road.

In the gloom of the shadowed mall parking lot, something caught Sarah's eye as she left the restaurant. Someone was in big trouble. A gang of several young men seemed hell-bent on harassing and most likely robbing and injuring a lone, young innocent. The light might not have been good enough to see exactly what was going on but the victim's pleas for help were unmistakeable. Without thinking, Sarah launched herself over the road, flying over the cars to reach the scene as quickly as possible.

Erin held Susan back with her hand as the worried mother started to follow. "Let her go," she told the woman. "She needs to do this. It's in her nature."

"But she's just a girl!"

"She's a very powerful girl. She can take care of herself. Believe me. She won't be harmed. If anything, feel sorry for the victim of that gang."

"I still want to go over there."

Erin shook her head. "That's exactly what we shouldn't do. We can't be seen with her now. That would make us targets. If the bad guys couldn't get to her directly, they'd get her indirectly through us. She's on her own now. All we can do is wait."

"There's a lot you don't know about being human but you sure know a lot about how to handle bad guys," Susan said somewhat accusingly.

"I've had a lot of practice fighting bad guys. It's in my nature."

"Why don't you go help my daughter then?"

"She really doesn't need what little help I could give now. I gave up a lot to be human. That's why I'm taking aikido classes. My little incident with Big Jim really frightened me."

That made Susan pause to think. "I can imagine," she said after a moment. "Okay. I guess we'll just have to wait then. But it's not going to be easy."

"Can we wait in the car with the heater on, please? I'm getting cold."

Susan smiled and led the girl to her car to wait, though she did move the car and park as closely as possible to the scene across the street so she could try to keep an eye on her daughter's progress.

* * *

© 2015 by Terry Volkirch. This work may not be replicated in whole or in part by any means electronic or otherwise without the express consent of the Author (copyright holder). All Rights Reserved. This is a work of Fiction. All the characters and events portrayed in this book are fictional and any resemblance to real people or incidents past, present or future is purely coincidental.