Jack struggled to open his eyes. He recognized he had transformed during the night like he had every morning since he put on the ring, but he was too tired to get up. He groaned; he couldn’t help but think his voice sounded a bit sexy. Jack wondered if he was getting used to the transformation.
After laying there a few moments, he managed to sit up and put his hands on his thighs. Surprisingly, he felt smooth silky skin. He looked down; he wasn’t wearing any pants. He usually wore gym shorts, or at least boxers. The only article of clothing he was wearing was a shirt. It felt quite large on his small frame.
Jack looked around to try to jog his memory; the previous night seemed a little hazy. He checked his bed to make sure nobody else was there. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw a flashing red light. The camera. He used it for the first time the previous night.
He felt a slight shiver that signified the end of the transformation. As he started to grow in height, Jack realized that the shirt would no longer cover everything, and the camera was still on.
Blushing, he hurried to the camera and turned it off. Even though he wasn’t planning on showing it to anybody else, he didn’t want to get recorded like that. After putting on some pants, Jack started to download the recording onto his computer.
Grabbing a bowl of cereal for breakfast, Jack noticed the yellow ring on his hand was glowing. “Oh yeah,” Jack muttered to himself, “the ring activated last night.” The yellow ring activated about six hours after transforming Kim. He still didn’t know too much about it, except it could change the age of another person. He’d have to be careful around others.
Sitting down in front of the computer screen with his bowl of cereal, Jack started to watch the recording.
“So, yeah, I don’t know what to say,” the recording of Jack said. “I’m a little tired, so I’m just going to start. This is my first time doing this on camera, so I’ll try to hold as still as possible. Here we go.”
Jack in the recording closed his eyes and breathed heavily. A couple of seconds later, his chest started to swell like two balloons inflating under his shirt. His hair lengthened until it reached a little past his shoulders, shifting from his regular messy hair to straight and smooth. His facial features altered to become more feminine; it was gradual, and it was difficult to see the changes happening unless he looked for them or remembered what his previous face looked like. His clothes become baggier as his whole frame shrunk.
A very pretty woman with long black hair and semi-large breasts stood in the place of Jack.
The recording captivated Jack; it was one thing to have it happen to himself, but it was another thing to see it happen from a third-person view. It was like watching a movie with surreal special effects. He even rewatched the transformation sequence in slow motion a few times to get the full effect.
Satisfied, Jack continued the recording. “This is the new me,” the female Jack said with a higher voice. “I feel like a kid in clothes that don’t fit. I might as well change; I’ve got about forty minutes till I change back. Might as well have some fun.”
The female Jack returned wearing a formal dress. It was green, low-cut to show ample cleavage, and tight around the hips. She waltzed in front of the camera like a model in a fashion show, having a serious face and swaying her hips. However, it was ruined as her mouth kept on twitching into a smile, and her sway was far too exaggerated. Also, her dress wasn’t put on properly, which gave her a bit of a sloppy appearance.
Jack smiled at how ridiculous she looked. And yet, she somehow still pulled it off. Beautiful people can get away with anything.
As she finished her show, she burst into a fit of giggles. “That was more fun than it should have been.” She raised her arm with a combination of enthusiasm and exhaustion. “On to the next one.”
The next outfit was a white blouse with a frilly pink skirt. The skirt rested about halfway up her thighs, exposing a lot of leg.
“Woah, this skirt feels so strange,” the female Jack said. “I can feel every breeze flow past my legs. Oh, watch this!” She started to spin around in a circle, causing the skirt to lift, revealing her panties.
She stopped spinning, almost falling over in the process, and pointed at the camera with a stern expression. “You weren’t supposed to see that.” She then burst into another fit of giggles.
She had to sit down on the bed to calm herself down and recover from the spinning. She then looked directly at the camera with a sly smile. “Guess what? I’ve got boobies!” She jumped back up and hugged herself. She danced around, singing, “I’ve got boobies. I’ve got boobies.”
Jack’s mouth hung open and his face turned beat red. Watching the recording was like watching a car crash; something terrible was happening, but it was impossible to look away. A memory returned to him about a time he got drunk in college; he couldn’t remember anything that night, but his friends took a video of him and showed it to him the next day. Jack promised himself he’d never get drunk again. However, it appeared getting really tired had the same effect.
Finally, female Jack slumped down out of energy. “I’m so tired,” she pouted. “Time for bed.” She left the screen and came back wearing a t-shirt and boxers. As she climbed into bed, the boxers fell off, and she didn’t seem to notice.
Jack sat back in his chair as the recording showed female Jack fall asleep and transform back into a guy. He glanced at the floor and saw the boxers. He figured he should be grateful that she didn’t do anything else, like call somebody on the phone. He had noticed he the transformations used up a bit of energy; the exhaustion finally started to take its toll.
After fast-forwarding the video to the end, he watched himself transform again in his sleep. It was still amazing to see the changes, but there was nothing out of the ordinary or a clue why he always transformed right before he woke up.
Jack saved the video in a deep dark place on his computer. He didn’t want to delete it, but he never wanted to see it again.
After finishing getting ready, he began to organize the shop. He had been neglecting it ever since he received the rings. He was getting used to the transformations, so he could finally get back to his routine of taking care of his shop effectively.
At about ten o’clock, the door chimed, signaling a customer entering the store. He would sometimes get oddball customers at this time.
“Welcome, how can I . . .” Jack greeted the customer but paused as he saw an attractive girl with long dark hair pulled back into a ponytail. “Oh, good to see you, Desiree.” His heart beat faster; he hadn’t forgotten she was coming, but he assumed she would come at the same time as before. Jack quickly checked the red ring to make sure it wasn’t glowing. He hoped the yellow ring wouldn’t activate.
“Thanks,” she said, smiling politely. “Good to see you too. I decided to drop by before work; it always seems so busy in the afternoon. What was it, two days ago? There were like fifty people in here.”
Jack scratched his head sheepishly. “Um, every Wednesday, I set up a gaming tournament just for fun. It got way bigger than I originally planned, but I like doing it.” He paused for a moment, trying to think of the next conversation. “Oh yeah, I heard you met Kim, the short red-haired girl.” Jack moved his hand to display Kim’s height.
She smiled. “Yep. I believe she was with her brother; the boy who works here. She seemed very . . . keen on me coming back here.”
Jack laughed. “She can be a little overly eager at times.”
Desiree laughed as well. “It seems like you’ve got yourself a fan.” She then cringed and put her hand on her head.
“Are you feeling all right?” Jack asked. He took a quick look at the yellow ring; it was dull. “Great,” Jack mumbled under his breath.
“I just got a little lightheaded,” she replied. She leaned against the counter for support. “Is there a place I can sit down?”
“Yes, yes, of course,” Jack said, taking her gently by the arm. “Looks like I can finally show you the back room.”
“Ah, the infamous back room,” she said teasingly, while still cringing in pain. “Still sounds kind of dirty.”
“I’m hurt,” Jack teased back, trying to keep her mind off the transformation. “I keep the room very clean.” He let out a genuine laugh. “Here, you can sit on the big comfy couch. I’ll go grab a glass of water.”
Desiree nodded gratefully as she winced once again. Jack left the back room for the kitchen. He immediately checked the time; when Kim had changed, it lasted about fifteen minutes. If the yellow ring acted anything like the red ring, the time would increase.
Jack paused in front of the room with the cup of water. What if the transformation was something different? Kim became older, but there was no guarantee Desiree would be the same. Or, she could have gotten a lot older, or even younger. She could be freaking out, and Jack didn’t know how he would respond.
He let out a sigh of relief; she was browsing the bookshelf. She looked basically the same, at least from behind.
“Feeling better?” Jack asked.
Desiree turned. “Yes, it just went away. I was worried I might have had to miss work.” Something was different about her, but Jack couldn’t quite put his finger on it. He didn’t think it was age. “I decided to check out your collection.” He held up a book titled Emperors of Men’s Legacy; the cover had a man’s giant sword fighting a gruesome alien. “I have a feeling this is a very deep book.”
“Don’t judge me,” Jack said defensively. “I bought that in a moment of weakness.” They laughed for a moment, and then Jack asked, “So, where do you work? I don’t think I ever asked.”
“Oh, at the hospital down the road. I’m a nurse there.”
“Seems like a nice fit,” Jack said. “Do you like it there?”
“Yeah,” Desiree said. “The hours can be a little odd, but it’s nice to help and meet different people.” She fidgeted a little bit. She rubbed her shoulders and adjusted her shirt a bit. She appeared uncomfortable.
“What time do you have to get to work?” Jack asked. He suspected the transformation had something to do with her uneasiness. He tried to look over her without staring; he didn’t want to creep her out.
“At eleven o’clock. It’s about a ten-minute walk from here.” Jack checked the time; it had been about five minutes since her transformation. It was also about forty-five minutes till she had to go. “Oh, you have a deck of cards here? You know how to play Speed?” Desiree started to get excited. “I haven’t played that since high school.”
Jack smiled. “Of course. I’m a beast at the game.”
“A beast, eh? Well, I’m a . . .” She paused, putting her finger on her chin. “Yeah, I don’t know what I am, but I’m good.”
Desire shuffled the cards and dealt them out. It gave Jack a chance to observe the differences from the transformation. He noticed three things. First, her breasts were slightly bigger; it was hard to see under to clothes and without staring, but there was a small difference. Second, her hair had a gentle curl to it; it looked a little odd since it was in a ponytail, but it was no longer as straight as it was before. Finally, her face looked like it had natural makeup on; her lips were fuller and her eyes somewhat more prominent.
“Is something wrong?” Desiree asked as she finished dealing out the cards.
“Just making sure you’re not cheating,” Jack said, snapping back into the game. “Let’s do this.”
Jack and Desiree laughed as the game ended.
“I think that’s five wins in a row for me,” Desiree said smugly. “So much for the beast.”
“I still think you cheated.”
“How do you even cheat at this game? Face it, I’m just better than you.”
Jack pointed at her dramatically. “I demand a rematch.”
Desiree checked the time. “As much as I’d love that, I’ve got to get going.”
“Ha, I win by default,” Jack declared.
“Hey, not fair,” Desiree said smiling. “It’s only postponed.”
Jack’s heart started to beat faster. He decided to take a chance. “Say, are you free tomorrow?”
“Wha? Tomorrow?” Desiree said, slightly taken aback. She thought for a moment, and said, “Sure, I’m free in the morning.”
“Would you like to do something? Something more than just a card game? Maybe like a movie or something?”
Another pause; the silence was torture for Jack, even if it was only half a second.
“Yeah, that sounds like fun. We can meet at ten in the morning. Is that all right? Will your shop be fine?”
Jack laughed. “Don’t worry about the shop. Saturday mornings are usually pretty slow; I can afford to close for a few hours.”
She smiled warmly. “Sounds great. I should get going. I’ll see you tomorrow.”
They waved their goodbyes and Desiree left for work. Jack collapsed on the couch. A date. It had been a while since he had been on one. He looked at his hands; the rings might cause some complications.
Desiree had stayed transformed for about fifteen minutes, five minutes longer than Kim. He jotted down some notes. While the changes were minor, they were different than Kim’s. He didn’t know why. He needed to test it out, to find out exactly what the yellow ring did. In order to do that, he would need to tell someone else about the ring. It was too risky not to.
TheXtra Path 
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