Sophie: A Story of Change

New eyes, finally seen

When the bright light engulfing Thomas faded, Heather McGill could see that the results weren't quite what she had expected. She had assumed that Thomas wanted to be bigger, more athletic, but instead he had lost a few inches and had grown quite the head of long, curly hair. As Heather realized that he had also lost significant amounts of weight, she noticed that he was beginning to wobble where he stood. Her stomach dropped as he fell to the ground without a noise. She took off in a sprint, Heathers S. and K. in tow, to where he lay at the edge of the pool.

They all crouched around him and turned him onto his side. Heather M. started speaking to him while Heather K. began to gently rub his back. Heather S. stood by, wringing her hands uncertainly.

"Thomas, can you hear me? You're going to be okay," she said sternly, looking at his face through the tangle of hair. Something about his appearance seemed off, like she was looking at him through a funhouse mirror. "Huh, I had no idea you liked the pretty boy look."

Thomas faintly groaned back in a lighter tone, and the trio smiled.

Heather M. continued, "Good, glad you're with us. Now what you're feeling is essentially your body rebooting, and it's not going to feel good as I'm sure you can tell." Thomas whimpered again, this time louder and more drawn out. His whole body tensed several times in rapid succession, each holding for longer than the last. Heather M. reached to brush the hair out of his face, and was startled by what she found underneath- a face that, while similar to Thomas', wouldn't have been out out of place on the cover of Vogue or Cosmopolitan. She looked over to her friends and mouthed you're seeing this too, right? She was met with identical surprised looks.

Thomas let out a much louder groan that hit a surprisingly high note for a boy. He tensed once more and turned suddenly, his face falling to the gravel-coated rock. Heather K. yelped and grabbed at his chest to pull him back over. However, as soon as she laid her hands on him, she gasped in surprise, letting go.

"What is wrong with you?" Heather M. chided in frustration.

"He has breasts!" She shouted, pointing at Thomas' chest and looking between Heather M. and Heather S.'s faces.

"What are you going on about?" Heather S. retorted, not having seen what the others had from her distance and clearly too nervous for niceties. Heather M. looked closer.

"Help me turn him over, you two." She commanded, grabbing one of his arms as they grabbed him from the side. Carefully they rolled the still groaning and tensing Thomas over. Resting him on his back, they collectively took in the sight. Long curly hair, a significantly more feminine face complete with a button nose and Cupid's bow lips, and two conspicuous mounds rested on his chest, visible even through the baggy sweatshirt. Speechless, the three stared, interrupted only by another loud moan from Thomas.

"Aghhh!" he cried out, much more presently than his previous groans. He began squirming, as if he was suddenly feeling antsy. His lips moved, silently.

"What's that, Thomas? Do you need something?" Heather S. asked. She leaned in close, trying to hear what he was saying. "Do you need some water? I think I have a little bottle in my purs-" She froze mid-sentence when Thomas' squirming became more severe. Heather M. motioned for Heather S. to step back.

"Watch out for the-" Heather M. began, but was cut off by a cough from Thomas before she could finish. He coughed roughly and loudly, each escaping breath containing a gasp of glittery essence which flew right into the face of Heather S., who stumbled backward in surprise. "That. Okay, the worst is over now. You should feel better soon."

"What happened?" murmured Thomas, his voice now a low soprano.

"We're in the well, remember?" Heather M. explained.