Stereotypes
By Morpheus

        There was rumbling noise all around, not surprising 
since it was a nice day and it seemed as though everyone 
had the same idea of coming to the park. There were people 
talking, vendors selling their things and children running 
around playing. And at the same time, there was a steady 
murmur just under it all from the nearby fountain.

        At the moment, I was taking advantage of the weather 
myself to goof around in the park with my best friend James 
and his girlfriend Carol. We had just finished eating a 
couple quick dogs and were joking around as we walked off 
lunch.

        James and I had been good friends since we'd been in 
junior high, and we still tended to hang out together. He 
was a couple inches taller than me at 6 foot 1, had a 
fairly fit build and dark hair. He was a bit of a joker, 
but I think that was what might have drawn Carol to him.

        Carol was a very cute brunette, standing 5 foot 5. 
She was something of an artist, or at least thought of 
herself as such, though I had seen better paintings by 6 
year olds with finger paint. Not that I'd tell her that 
though. Then again, I had told her that... and had even 
lived to tell the tale.

        As for me, I was Tyler Grange, a normal 22 year old 
who assembled computers for a living. I was about average 
height, though a little thinner than normal. And for the 
most part, I was a fairly quiet guy, though James did tend 
to draw me out of my shell. That was one of the reasons I 
liked hanging out with him.

        I glanced over at the fountain while laughing at a 
joke that James had just finished telling. I wasn't 
completely sure how we had gotten into the string of jokes, 
but we were all laughing and taking turns.

        "How can you tell that a blonde has been using a 
computer?" James went on with his next joke. "It has white 
out on the screen..."

        We laughed at that, then deciding to get in on the 
fun, I asked, "And do you know how to tell if a redhead has 
been using a computer? It has a hammer through the 
screen..." I didn't get nearly as hard a laugh from that 
one, but I don't really know as many jokes as James.

        "Well how many men does it take to do the dishes?" 
Carol asked with a grin. Then she told us, "No one knows. 
It's never happened yet."

        "What do you call it when a blonde dyes her hair 
brunette?" James asked while trying to keep a straight 
face.

        "Artificial intelligence," Carol finished his punch 
line with a grin. I think that she got a kick out of all 
the blonde jokes James was telling.

        James just gave a mock look of hurt feelings. "Well 
then," he quickly went on to the next joke, "Do you know 
what the mating call of the blonde is? Next..."

        Then just as we were all laughing, a voice from 
behind us snarled, "Enough!"

        I snapped around, startled to see a fairly attractive 
looking blonde woman, wearing odd clothes and jewelry. Sort 
of like a cross between new age stuff and Goth. And she was 
looking pretty pissed.

        "What?" James blinked, seeing that she was glaring at 
all three of us. "What's your problem?"

        "I am sick and tired of these jokes," the blonde 
snapped back with an even stronger glare, "And I hate that 
stupid stereotype..."

        "Jeez," James exclaimed, "There's no need to get so 
excited."

        "It was just a joke," Carol continued.

        However, that didn't seem to pacify the strange 
woman. "People like you disgust me. You spread those horrid 
stereotypes..."

        "They're JUST a jokes," Carol snapped back, obviously 
beginning to get annoyed.

        It was obvious that she was losing patience with the 
blonde. I was slightly nervous, not sure if she might be a 
complete psycho or something. James on the other hand 
almost seemed amused by the situation.

        Then, being himself, James decided to escalate the 
situation. "I don't think she understands the concept. I 
mean, she is a blonde..."

        If the blonde was pissed before... Her eyes flashed, 
almost seeming to actually glow. She scowled deeply, then 
snarled, "Let's see how you like to be stereotyped... how 
you like to be the target of these tasteless jokes..."

        She spat out something in some language that I'd 
never heard before. In fact, I couldn't even make out a 
single syllable of what she babbling. And the instant that 
she finished, she turned around and hurried away.

        For a moment, the three of just stood there in 
confusion. "Weird," Carol muttered.

        "Definitely," I added.

        James just laughed, "Definitely a grade A loon..."

        We all burst out laughing at that, then slowly 
continued on our way. The crazy woman had gotten what she 
wanted in that we had stopped telling jokes, at least for 
the moment. However, I didn't think that she would much 
prefer the fact that we were making fun of her instead.

        The next several hours passed pretty quickly, and 
just after I had finished eating dinner with James and 
Carol, we were about to go our separate ways. I suspected 
that James and Carol might have a little romantic something 
planned, and I certainly wasn't invited.

        "I'll see ya later," I told them as we said our quick 
good-byes.

        "Later man," James waved absently, obviously more 
interested in Carol, not that I blamed him.

        But just before I started to walk away, something 
caught my attention and I had to do a double take. I wasn't 
sure if it was my imagination, but I could almost have 
sworn that his hair was a little different. That it was a 
little longer than normal... and maybe even just a little 
lighter. However, it certainly wasn't worth thinking about, 
so I shook it off and continued on my way home.

        Home was a pretty nice little houseboat that had been 
sitting in the marina for probably about 20 years. Though 
it was a little old, and a bit smaller than I could have 
found in an apartment, I rather liked it. It gave me a 
feeling of privacy.

        Once I was safely inside, I kicked off my shoes and 
slipped into my favorite pair of sweat pants. They were a 
lot more comfortable for just lounging around the house in. 
Then I hopped online to check my e-mail before finally 
settling down in front of my TV for a little entertainment.

        After some time, I absently began scratching at my 
arms and head. Though I didn't notice it immediately, I was 
beginning to feel a little itchy. And then a little 
strange. I couldn't quite place what it was, though I 
started to wonder if perhaps I might be having an allergic 
reaction to something.

        "Damn," I complained as I scratched at my head, 
wondering what the hell had brought this on. Was it the 
shampoo? It hadn't ever made me itchy before so I rather 
doubted it.

        Then letting out a sigh, I pushed my hair out of my 
eyes where it was beginning to get in the way, then paused. 
My hair NEVER got in my eyes. It wasn't long enough for 
that and hadn't been since a few years back when I tried 
going through a long haired phase in high school.

        "What the hell?" I gasped, tugging at my hair, 
surprised to realize that it definitely felt longer in my 
hands.

        With that, I hurried to the bathroom, stopping in 
front of the mirror to stare in disbelief at my reflection. 
My hair was definitely longer than normal, and not quite 
the right color. It had a slightly more reddish tinge than 
normal. I tugged at it again, verifying that it was indeed 
real, though that didn't explain what was going on.

        For a long moment, I just stood there, thinking that 
maybe I was asleep... or someone had slipped me a mickey. I 
was certainly feeling a little groggy, though that was 
nothing unusual for that time of night. Then I slowly 
turned away from the mirror and returned to my seat in 
front of the TV. If I didn't have any answers to what was 
going on, I still had denial.

        As I sat there, the strange sensations continued, 
though I did my best to ignore them. It wasn't easy, 
especially with the feeling that my skin was crawling. The 
hair on my head continued to grow a little longer as well, 
making me have to brush it out of my eyes a number of more 
times, while simultaneously, the hair on my arms seemed to 
be getting thinner. But, I steadfastly refused to look at 
this any more then absolutely necessary, pretending that 
everything was perfectly normal.

        "Someone must have slipped me some acid," I muttered, 
suddenly wondering if this was a joke, courtesy of James. 
It wouldn't have been too surprising, though he'd never 
done anything quite that extreme before.

        When it was time for bed, I undressed and stood 
there, taking a quick glance down at my body but still 
refusing to give it too careful a look. At least at first. 
I couldn't resist a second, more careful look. It was 
immediately obvious that all of my body hair... except my 
pubic hair, seemed to be... gone. And my skin all felt 
smooth.

        "Oh man," I muttered, staggering slightly under a 
wave of weariness, which just washed over me. "Must have 
been some acid..."

        I caught my balance and then set down on the bed, 
aware that there was more wrong with me than just my hair. 
However, I couldn't quite put my finger on just what it 
was. Perhaps it was just because I was feeling so tired at 
the moment.

        "Feel..." I let out a loud yawn, "weird..."

        After several more yawns, I climbed under the covers, 
fully aware that I would be asleep before long. And I 
proved to be right as I was out almost before my head even 
touched the pillow.

---

        I awoke to the bright sunlight pouring through the 
window, seeming as if it purposely intended to assault my 
eyes. With a groan, I yanked the covers over my head for 
protection, but the damage had already been done. Like it 
or not, I was awake.

        Though I tried to go back to sleep for several 
minutes, I wasn't having any success so decided that I 
might as well get up. As I sat up in bed, I smiled faintly 
at the strange dream that I'd had about being drugged the 
night before. At least until I realized that I felt wrong. 
Very wrong.

        "What..." I started as I swung out of bed, then froze 
in shock as I saw myself. "What the hell?"

        For a long moment, my eyes remained locked on my 
body... or at least on a body. A body where mine SHOULD 
have been. But it sure as hell didn't look like mine. Not 
in the least.

        With a single glance, it was immediately obvious that 
it was a woman's body, and a pretty shapely one at that. I 
had what seemed to be a pretty nice pair of tits, or at 
least they would have been nice if they'd been on a real 
girl instead of me. But they weren't the only thing, and 
were in fact only the most noticeable part, and then only 
because they stuck out so much and I could feel their 
weight. The rest of my body looked like a woman's too, with 
long sexy legs, a slender waist and some nice smooth skin.

        "No fucking way," I exclaimed in shock as I glanced 
down between my legs and saw a woman's equipment instead of 
my own, surrounded by a tiny bit of well-trimmed red hair.

        Tearing my eyes away from that, as hard as it was, I 
held my hands up in front of my face. Even they didn't look 
like mine. They were... a woman's hands. They were slender, 
slightly delicate looking, with long, almost sharp 
fingernails.

        Thoughts about the hair thing from the night before 
suddenly filled my head, along with the realization that it 
hadn't been a dream... or drugs. At least no drug that I'd 
ever heard of.

        With that, I immediately jumped to my feet and ran to 
the bathroom where I stopped in front of the mirror and 
nearly filled my pants... if I'd been wearing anything at 
all that was. The reflection was obviously that of a woman, 
as I'd already expected after having seen my body. Even the 
face belonged to a woman, a rather beautiful woman at that. 
A woman with full lips, brilliant green eyes and long red 
hair.

        I had no idea how long I remained frozen there before 
I tore myself away, too stunned for words. Too stunned to 
even think clearly. There was absolutely no way in hell 
that I could have somehow turned into a woman over night. 
None. So then, I had to remind myself, what the hell were 
the tits doing on my chest?

        Once again, I resorted to an old method of dealing 
with my problem. Denial. I ate breakfast, pretending for 
all I was worth that everything was perfectly normal. I 
refused to look at my body, to give it any more attention 
than absolutely normal, as if that would somehow make the 
whole thing go away. Of course I knew that it wouldn't, but 
it certainly didn't hurt to at least try.

        Finally though, I had to admit that what was 
happening to me was indeed real, whatever it was. I 
couldn't deny that any more than I could deny the fact that 
my outie had become an innie. The only questions were how 
and why. But even those were answered as I finally 
remembered the crazy blonde woman from the day before and 
her weird ramblings.

        "The bitch," I snarled furiously as I stood up, 
kicking at my coffee table and sending it flying over. 
"AAAAGH!!!" I howled in pain, suddenly reminded that I was 
completely bare foot, "SHIT! SHIT, SHIT, SHIT!!"

        After this, I spent the next several minutes sitting 
on the couch and clutching my foot as the pain slowly faded 
away. That did nothing to help the foul mood that I was 
already in, though it did give me a little time to calm 
down.

        If it really was that crazy blonde who had done this 
to me, I suddenly realized that I might not be alone. James 
and Carol had been there as well, and she'd seemed pretty 
pissed at all of us, not just me. I gulped at that, knowing 
that I had to check on them too.

        Though I was tempted to just give James a call, I 
wasn't sure how things would go if nothing had happened to 
him. What was I going to do, say, "Hi... I know that I 
sound like a chick, but I'm really Tyler. Honest..." Or 
better yet, "You wouldn't happened to have turned into a 
chick overnight would you?" Yeah, that would go over real 
well.

        Deciding to put that problem off for the moment, I 
thought that it might be better to look for something I 
could wear instead. It was pretty obvious that my own 
clothes wouldn't exactly fit me at the moment. At least not 
comfortably. Fortunately though, I did have a small stash 
of girl's clothes lying around, partially 'donated' by 
Carol after she'd had too much to drink at a party some 
months back and had to leave in some of my borrowed 
clothes, and some of it from an old girlfriend.

        It didn't really take me too long to find what I 
needed and get dressed. Though the clothes wouldn't pass 
for being very stylish, nor were they extremely 
comfortable, they would definitely do the job. There were 
even a pair of ratty old tennis shoes, which fit me, which 
was fortunate since my own shoes were just a bit too large.

        Once I was fully dressed, I stood by the phone for a 
minute, thinking once gain about calling James to see if he 
was okay. However, I still had the same problems as before. 
What could I possibly say if he was all right? And even 
more importantly, how would I be able to convince him that 
I was... me? After some consideration, I decided to the 
easiest thing. Procrastinate. Or at least put the problem 
off until I could get to his place.

        "Shit," I complained as I got into my car, glancing 
into the redhead in the rear view mirror, "I hope I don't 
get pulled over."

        Driver's license pictures were notoriously 
inaccurate, but somehow I doubted that any cop would buy me 
being who my license said I was. Not looking as different 
as I now did. And keeping that in mind, I was careful to 
stay under the speed limit and do nothing that would draw 
unwanted attention.

        Still, when guy cut me off, I instinctively slammed 
on my horn and screamed out, "Fucking moron!"

Of course he didn't hear me yelling, and he showed no sign 
of hearing my horn... or at least not of caring any. That 
just pissed me off more and I let out a stead stream of 
profanity.

        When I'd calmed down a few minutes later, I shook my 
head in embarrassment, wondering why I'd gotten so angry at 
such a small thing. Sure he'd cut me off, but I dealt with 
bad drivers every day and never shot off like that. It just 
wasn't like me.

        "Must be the stress," I muttered, realizing that I 
had better not do anything like that again. At the moment, 
I was trying to avoid attention, not attract it.

        After I'd parked at James' apartment, I hurried up 
the stairs, pausing after a short distance to grab at my 
new boobs and wince. They had been bouncing uncomfortably 
as I moved, making me realize just why it was that women 
actually wore bras. Until that moment, I'd never really 
thought about them as anything other than just women's 
underwear, though now I knew that they served a more 
practical purpose.

        "Damn," I spat out, hating the idea of actually 
having to wear something so feminine myself, but if I was 
stuck like I currently was for very long, I'd probably have 
to. Either that or deal with the uncomfortable jiggling. It 
was a case of the lesser of two evils.

        I grimaced the rest of the way up the stairs, and 
took it just a little slower. As soon as I reached the 
door, I hesitated, my finger just above the doorbell. Then 
taking a deep breath and a nervous gulp, I finally pushed 
the button, waiting impatiently. It seemed to take forever 
before the door finally opened.

        "Hello?" a woman's voice came from the opening door.

        A second later, the woman who owned the voice was 
revealed. I nearly gasped at the sight of a totally stacked 
blonde. She was a few inches shorter than me, and extremely 
hot looking, made even more so by the bathrobe she was 
wearing. Her beautiful, wide-eyed face and pouty lips 
almost screamed, 'fuck me'.

        "Um..." I started nervously as I stared at the 
blonde, "James..."

        Her eyes shot wide in surprise and she looked down at 
herself quickly before staring at me, "How did you..."

        I took a deep breath, shaking slightly with the 
realization that my fears had just been proven real. "It's 
me," I finally managed to get out, "Tyler..." Her eyes went 
even wider at that.

        After was inside, James gasped, "Tyler? Oh my God. It 
can't be..."

        "Yeah," I grimaced in embarrassment, gesturing down 
at myself, "I woke up like this..."

        "Then we're not the only ones..." James exclaimed, 
not tearing his eyes away from me.

        "We?" I repeated, not having a good feeling about 
that but having suspected it was going to come to that.

        A moment later, a man stepped into the room. He was 
tall... at least 6 inches taller than me, which didn't say 
much since I'd obviously shrunk a little during my... 
transformation. He was dark haired, with a slightly bulky 
build. And... he was obviously Carol.

        "Carol?" I asked, receiving an embarrassed nod in 
response.

        "Oh joy," I sighed as I plopped down on the couch, 
"It looks like that crazy bitch got us all."

        "Yeah," Carol grumbled, not looking too pleased with 
the situation either.

        James frowned, looking almost like he was pouting 
with his new face. "What are we going to do?" He looked at 
both of us, then gestured down at himself, "It's not like 
we can just stay like this. I mean... my job..."

        "And what the hell do I tell my family?" Carol added.

        I just nodded grimly, definitely seeing the problem. 
Hell, I'd thought about it myself once or twice, though I'd 
made a bit of an effort not to. I'd been having enough 
troubles just dealing with things as they were, one at a 
time. Worrying about the future was a little bit more than 
I could handle at the moment.

        For some time, we all just sat there, staring at each 
other in amazement. Actually, James and Carol stared at me 
more than each other, having had all morning to get a look 
at each other. It was hard to believe that this strange man 
and woman were actually my friends. Hard to believe, but 
true.

        We all chattered about what we thought of the 
situation, about how weird the whole thing is. However, 
were kept talking at the same time so I didn't think that 
any of us was really listening to the others. However, that 
didn't really seem to matter since we were pretty much 
saying the same things anyway.

        "Look," Carol started firmly, then snapped, "Shut 
up!" James and I both froze at that surprising outburst. 
Then Carol muttered, "I can't hear myself thinking with you 
two chattering."

        "Shut up?" I snapped as I stood up, pissed off by her 
snotty attitude, "Chattering? Why you fucking bitch!" My 
hands were clenched in fists and I was tempted to punch 
her... even if she was a lot bigger than me now.

        "Please," James cried out, standing up between us and 
looking a little scared. "We've gotta do something. 
Fighting's not gonna help..."

        Carol just snored, rolling her eyes slightly. I was 
still kind of mad, but bit my lip and sat down. It wasn't 
easy though.

"All right," I growled, "what is it?"

        After a moment, Carol just gave a smug look. "We can 
go to the park and find that girl."

        It was a pretty obvious idea. Still, I snapped, "And 
do what? Threaten to beat her up unless she changes us 
back?"

Carol just shrugged, giving the impression that she 
wouldn't mind doing just that. And though I didn't say 
anything aloud, I was beginning to think that it might not 
be that bad an idea either.

        We were all silent for a short while, staring at each 
other thoughtfully. Finally, we agreed that at the moment, 
there wasn't anything else we could do. Our only chance 
seemed to be finding that blonde woman, who seemed to be 
the cause of our changes.

        However, there was one problem to deal with before we 
went. James. Specifically, getting him dressed since he was 
only wearing a bathrobe. Carol was wearing some of his 
oversized clothes, but he hadn't dressed at all. It didn't 
take too long though to get a mix of Carol's clothes and 
his own which covered him up, though he was far larger in 
the chest and hips than Carol had been, and thinner in the 
waist.

        Eventually though, we were on our way to the park, 
though James kept complaining about his clothes. I just 
grunted, knowing how he felt but not feeling the need to 
broadcast it. After all, it was only temporary. Or at least 
I hoped that it was. At the moment, I wasn't really 
thinking about the alternative.

        The park was fairly quiet compared to the day before, 
though it was still a far cry from being empty. After 
walking around it a little, looking for the strange blonde 
woman who was responsible for our conditions, we broke up 
for awhile to search more ground. But had no success 
either. Finally, we returned to our meeting spot, admitting 
defeat... for the moment. The woman wasn't there.

        "It was too much to hope for," I growled in 
frustration, kicking at a nearby bench.

        "I'm hungry," James abruptly announced.

        "Me too," Carol added, then gestured to a hot dog 
vendor, "Let's get something to eat."

        I nodded agreement and we went over to get our 
lunches. The guy at the stand was giving me a pretty 
interested look, though not quite as interested as what he 
was giving James. For some reason, I had mixed feelings 
about this. Of course, really being a guy, I was a bit 
offended. But at the same time, there seemed a part of me 
that was jealous of James getting more attention. Hell, my 
fists were beginning to clench slightly before I'd even 
realized it.

        "Thanks," I took the hot dog, glaring at him as 
though it was all his fault, which obviously confused him.

        James just grinned, "Oh boy," as he took the hot dog.

For a moment, his expression almost seemed like that of a 
kid who'd just gotten a treat. And then I noticed a 
slightly different expression, though I wasn't sure if I 
was imagining it. He was giving the hot dog guy a very 
appreciative look.

        A moment later, James started to hand over the money 
for the dog... pausing to look at the change in his hand. 
He had a look of concentration before handing the money 
over, though the hot dog guy just looked surprised.

        "Um... you're a little short," the vendor said 
nervously, which surprised me because I knew James had 
enough change to cover the rest.

        "What?" James gasped, pulling out more money, looking 
confused and uncertain as he handed over more. "I don't 
know why I missed that," he apologized in embarrassment, 
glancing at Carol and then me.

        Carol just chuckled faintly then muttered, 
"Blondes..." That earned her a glare... though an 
embarrassed one from James.

        With a grunt, we moved to a park bench to eat our 
lunches, though I was sure that I wasn't the only one 
keeping an eye out for a certain blonde at the same time. 
And as I sat there, I couldn't help noticing James watching 
a man walking past, with a look of obvious interest. That 
was an observation that sent faint chills down my spine, 
though I immediately pushed it out of my mind.

        Before much longer, we had finished with our business 
at the park, though unfortunately without finding what we 
had gone there for. We started back to James' apartment in 
near silence, at least until we realized that if we were 
going to be stuck like this for much longer, we would 
definitely need some new clothes. And that led to a detour 
to the mall.

        "I hate shopping," I complained as I moved through a 
clothing store with the others. I scowled as I looked 
around, vaguely noticing that Carol didn't seem 
particularly thrilled to be there either.

        However, to my surprise, James was nearly tearing 
through the clothes racks, seeming almost... excited. He 
pulled out one outfit after another, holding them up to 
himself in front of the mirror. The sight of James going at 
it like that was completely stunning.

        "Come on," James almost gushed out at me, "Try 
something on. This is really kinda fun..."

        "Oh yeah," I sighed as I reluctantly reached for a 
shirt that caught my attention, "Real fun..."

        Carol shook her head slightly, saying, "It just 
doesn't seem quite the same..." Then she looked at me and 
my obvious lack of excitement, "Here... I'll help you find 
what you need."

        Though I just grunted faintly, I was actually rather 
thankful for her offer. After all, I didn't know the least 
bit about women's clothes... other than admiring what they 
hid that was, and of course helping to take them off. And 
by the time I was done getting everything that I needed, 
with a minimum of fuss, James was only halfway finished.

        "Hurry up," Carol told him, obviously getting annoyed 
as well. I fought back a chuckle at that since usually it 
was James having to tell her to hurry up.

        "I've spent more on clothes today than I've ever 
spent on them," I complained when we left the store, not 
impressed by how much I'd gotten for my money... or more 
accurately, how little.

        "Welcome to the world of women's shopping," Carol 
told me absently, her eyes going to my chest and lingering 
there just a little too long.

        A short while later, we were back at the apartment, 
where James quickly took his new collection of clothes to 
the bedroom and disappeared. I just rolled my eyes 
slightly, then went to the bathroom to relieve myself. Even 
after most of the day in a woman's body, the experience was 
somewhat peculiar.

        When I was finished, I found Carol sitting on the 
couch and flipping through channels on the TV. After a few 
more seconds, she paused, watching something for a little 
longer before finally setting the remote down. As I sat 
down myself, I was startled to see that what she was 
watching was a basketball game. As far as I knew, she'd 
never been interested in the game before.

        "You know..." Carol commented after awhile, "I never 
realized how interesting this stuff is..." Her eyes 
remained glued on the screen, as if afraid to miss even a 
moment of the game. Suddenly, Carol jumped to her feet and 
yelled, "SCORE!"

        "Yeah," I muttered, "great." I felt like I was in the 
damn Twilight Zone or something.

        Then James came back into the room, wearing another 
one of the outfits that he'd bought at the store. My eyes 
widened at that. Sure, he looked absolutely hot... but it 
was James. Why the hell was he playing dress up? And for 
that matter, why the hell was Carol watching sports?

        "Hey," Carol glanced quickly at James, "Can you get 
me a beer..."

        James hesitated, then nodded before hurrying into the 
kitchen, coming back just a minute later and offering it to 
Carol. Carol just grunted a quick 'thanks', then popped 
open the can, her eyes never leaving the game.

        For some reason, the exchange started to make me 
angry. I glared at Carol, pissed that she would treat James 
like that. And then I glared at James, just as furious that 
he was just taking it. My hands were clenched so tightly 
that I could feel my nails digging deeply into my palms, 
though it didn't matter.

        However, James didn't seem all that bothered by being 
asked to get Carol a beer and then being ignored. In fact, 
he sat down right next to her, sort of cuddling up, though 
Carol still didn't seem to really notice. There was a look 
in James' eyes as he looked at Carol, and one that I'd seen 
quite often. He was sizing her up... looking rather horny. 
I could barely believe it since Carol looked like a guy, 
but it was unmistakable.

        After a minute though, the irrational anger that I 
was feeling faded, leaving me to feel a bit guilty. James 
obviously didn't mind, so why should I? The whole thing was 
rather confusing, so I did what I usually did when faced 
with that problem. I tried not to think about it.

        We continued watching the game, though I couldn't 
help noticing that James and Carol were cuddling up even 
closer... at least during the commercials. If I didn't know 
who they really were, I might have sworn that they were a 
real man and a real woman.

        I turned my attention away from my friends and to the 
commercial on TV. I wasn't quite sure what they were 
advertising, but that cute guy on it was delicious looking. 
Such a sexy body and tight ass. The very sight of him made 
me wonder what it would be like to hold him tight, to be 
held by him. And those thoughts were making me feel all 
warm and gooey inside, not to mention between my legs.

        Suddenly, James asked, "Why is that guy in the 
striped shirt jumping around?"

        "That's the referee," Carol reminded him in a 
patronizing tone, glancing at James quickly.

        James just looked embarrassed, "Oh yeah." He shook 
his head, looking a little uncertain.

        I stood up, at that, a little startled at what I had 
been thinking just before James had interrupted my 
thoughts. It had seemed so natural to slip into that line 
of thinking... and that scared me. Was that what was 
happening to James and Carol? Obviously we were all being 
hit with some heavy new hormones.

        "Just great," I muttered as I went to the bathroom to 
relieve myself.

        When I came back out, Carol called out, "Hey babe... 
get me a beer while you're up?"

        An instant later, it was almost as though a switch 
went off in my head. In just a fraction of a second, I went 
from perfectly calm, to extremely pissed.

        "WHAT?" I screamed out furiously.

        How dare that asshole try treating me like that? What 
the hell did he think I was... his slave?

        "You heard me," Carol rolled her eyes and gave me a 
patronizing look, "I said get me a beer while you're up..."

        With a deep grimace, I snapped around and marched 
straight into the kitchen, grabbing the whole six pack from 
the fridge and going straight back to the living room.

        "Here's your fucking beer," I snarled, throwing one 
of the cans straight at Carol.

        "What the hell?" she screamed as she jumped to her 
feet, seeming to forget the game for the first time.

        "Tyler?" James gasped, looking almost afraid.

        However, I barely noticed. All I knew was that I was 
pissed off... more than I'd ever been before in my life. 
And Carol was going to pay for being such a chauvinistic 
asshole... for insulting me like that. I didn't even think 
through my actions before carrying them, not even sure that 
I was able to.

        "And here's another," I threw a second can at him, 
"And another..."

        Carol howled as several cans hit her, though the only 
one that really bothered her was the one that bounced off 
her chin. She ducked behind the chair until I was out of 
cans. However, that didn't keep me from going off on her, 
screaming viscously.

        Then, just as quickly as I had gone off... I stopped, 
taking several deep breaths and calming down. I could 
barely believe what I'd just done... at how I'd just gone 
off on Carol.

        "What's wrong with you?" James asked, his voice 
sounding kind of whiny. "You're actin' kinda weird?"

        For a moment, I thought that was like the pot calling 
the kettle black. But she did have a point. I never lost my 
temper like that. Never. But I'd been... touchy all day 
long, and I had no idea why.

        "Fucking bitch," Carol snarled as she got up and 
glared at me. "Just like a redhead..."

        Those words were almost enough to make me go off 
again. I felt the anger suddenly building, though this time 
I managed to stay in control. Maybe because I'd just let it 
out a minute earlier. But then I thought about what Carol 
had just said. I was acting just like a redhead.

        "That's just a stereotype," I started, not sure if I 
was talking to Carol or myself.

        Then I looked at my friend's a cold chill going down 
my spine. That crazy blonde woman. The one who'd done that 
weird voodoo stuff and changed us. She'd said something 
about us knowing what it was like to be the victims of 
jokes... to be stereotypes. And suddenly, I knew exactly 
what she meant.

        "SHIT!" I snarled furiously, lashing out with my foot 
and kicking the back of the couch. I gave it another couple 
kicks for good measure, then stood back, feeling a little 
better. "That fucking bitch..."

        "What are you talking about?" Carol demanded.

        I ignored Carol and stared at James. All day, he'd 
been acting more and more... ditzy. He'd been forgetting 
obvious things, getting confused a lot...and flirting quite 
a bit. In fact, he was beginning to act more and more 
like... like a bimbo. Like a stereotypical dumb blonde.

        My eyes quickly went to Carol, and I knew that she 
was becoming some stereotype of a man. A chauvinistic slob 
who only thought about sports and sex. Well... maybe about 
power tools and cars too. I didn't know about that yet. But 
the changes her behavior where quite obvious as well.

        And then of course there was me. The redhead. And it 
appeared that I was developing the famous temper that went 
along with my new hair color. Somehow, I doubted that it 
was genetic... though it sure as hell might as well have 
been.

        "She's turning us into stereotypes," I finally told 
the others, still angry but well in control of myself. My 
little outburst had let off some of the pressure I guessed.

        "I don't understand," James whined, giving me a wide-
eyed look of confusion that filled me with pity.

        "A dumb blonde," I gestured at James, "A fiery 
redhead," another gesture down at myself. "And you... a 
stereotypical guy."

        Carol looked as if she was about to argue, but she 
didn't. From the look on her face, she obviously realized 
that I was right. Like it or not... we were becoming 
stereotypes.

        After a long minute, I finally looked at the beer 
cans scattered around... and a dent I'd but in the wall 
with one of the, then said, "I think I'd better go now."

        It didn't take me too long to get home, and I was 
thankful for the quiet time that it gave me to think and 
calm down. Especially to calm down. I still couldn't 
believe how easily I'd been getting angry all day. It was 
like I was becoming a stranger to myself.

        "But at least I'm not as bad as James," I told 
myself, wondering what it had to be like to become a 
'bimbo'. Or Carol, who turning into a bit of a jerk.

        Eventually, it was time for bed and I slowly 
undressed, taking a careful look at my body as I did so. 
How long would I look like that? Maybe it was just a lesson 
and I'd be back to normal in the morning. It was certainly 
a hope.

        "At least I've got a nice body," I told myself for 
reassurance. It wasn't much, but it was what I had.

        And as I sat there on my bed, admiring my fine new 
figure, I couldn't help getting a bit turned on. The whole 
situation, as strange as it was, also happened to be just a 
little bit erotic. Without consciously thinking about it, I 
started playing with my tits, then rubbing my crotch. God, 
it felt good.

        "Oh yes," I gasped at the incredible sensations.

        It was like a switch had been flipped, and I was 
boiling way with raw, untamed emotion. Lust ran through me, 
just as the rage had earlier. I continued masturbating, 
fingering myself to orgasm and letting out a long, loud 
scream. But that wasn't enough. Not nearly. I wanted 
more... lots more.

        "Oh God," I screamed out, "Oh yes..."

        I had no idea how long I remained on my bed, 
fingering myself to one orgasm after another. Thoughts of 
that hot actor on the TV commercial ran through mind, 
without my even caring that I was fantasizing and 
masturbating over a guy. And somewhere in the middle of it, 
before I eventually tired and fell asleep, I remembered 
that redheads were known not only for having a fiery 
temper... but for being very wild and passionate as well.

---

        When I awoke in the morning, I sat up in my bed, 
almost instantly blushing red as I remembered the night 
before. It was a bit embarrassing, though whether from my 
long masturbation session or because I had lost such 
complete control of myself, I didn't know. All I knew was 
that it had felt good. Real damn good.

        As impossible as it seemed, I tried not to think 
about it. Instead, I focused my attentions on going through 
my normal morning routines, at least as normal as I could 
get considering the circumstances. I washed up... taking a 
bit longer than normal as I examined my altered body, then 
had a quick breakfast. Other than a quick burst of temper 
and a few broken dishes, the morning was pretty uneventful.

        "I obviously didn't change back during the night," I 
sighed as I left my place, realizing that this meant it was 
a lot more likely that I would be stuck like I was for a 
long time. Possibly for the rest of my life.

        The idea was frightening, especially since I knew my 
driver's license wouldn't do me any good. And I sure as 
hell couldn't go back to my job looking like I did. In 
fact, legally, I probably didn't exist at all. This set me 
off into another outburst and a long stream of loud 
profanity.

        When I finally finished, I spat out, "I'll kill that 
blonde bitch." And at that very moment, I think that I 
honestly meant it.

        Once I calmed down though and became a little more 
reasonable, I felt a little bad about my sudden fits of 
anger. I was worried about them actually. It seemed as 
though I was losing control over my emotions. They were 
stronger than ever before... at least my passionate 
emotions. I had no idea how my other ones like fear and 
sadness would be handled, though I suspected that they 
wouldn't be a problem. After all, redheads weren't known 
for those. Just being passionate, quick tempered and 
volatile. And who knew what trouble I would get myself 
into... or who I might hurt if I couldn't control myself.

        Since I obviously couldn't go to work like I was, I 
decided to make some productive use of my time. Or at least 
try to. So with that, I drove back to the park and once 
again walked around, looking for the blonde woman. However, 
there were no signs of her. I hadn't really expected any, 
but I had been hoping.

        "Shit," I muttered as I left the park, feeling more 
disappointed than anything else this time. I frowned, 
trying not to think about what it would mean if I never got 
back to normal. "Damn her... So many blondes in the world," 
I muttered to myself bitterly after another minute, "So how 
am I supposed to find just one?" It certainly didn't seem 
likely.

        Not sure what else to do, I thought about James and 
Carol. The memory of how they had been acting the night 
before made me frown. But it wasn't just them who were 
acting weird, it was me too. And none of us had any choice 
in the matter. In a way, I think that bothered me even more 
than the physical changes.

        "I'm turning into someone else," I sighed, and I 
didn't mean just my body.

        It hardly seemed believably that someone could have 
done that to me and my friends. Not to our bodies and our 
minds. Nor did it seem possible that anyone would do 
something so drastic to us just because of a lousy joke. 
What kind of a person would do that to another?

        Then I started thinking more about James and Carol, 
wondering how they were doing. They seemed to be doing all 
right the night before, though that didn't really mean 
anything. With that, I decided to go check on them again. I 
could apologize for my tantrum the night before, and see if 
they had any new ideas if nothing else.

        When I got to the apartment building, I slowly walked 
across the parking lot, not in any particular hurry. As it 
was, I was a little distracted by the sensations from my 
body as I walked. Even after a day, I hadn't gotten used to 
the jiggling, though the bra certainly helped with it... as 
uncomfortable as that was.

        As I was crossing the parking lot, I noticed a man 
standing beside what I assumed was his car and watching me. 
From the look on his face, it was obvious what he was 
thinking, and I couldn't honestly blame him since I knew 
that I looked pretty hot. However, it did make me feel just 
a little odd having a man look at me like that.

        "Hey babe," the man greeted me as I started to walk 
past, then stepped into my way. "I don't think I've seen 
you around here before." He had a cocky grin on his face, 
though his eyes never left my chest. For some reason, that 
annoyed me.

        "Because I don't live around here," I snapped rather 
abruptly and started to step around him.

        However, the man immediately changed position so that 
he was blocking my path again. "Don't be like that," he 
told me with a smirk, "Why don't you let me show you a good 
time?"

        I scowled and tried moving around him again, but the 
man continued to try blocking my path. "Get out of my way," 
I demanded in a cold voice, beginning to get really angry.

        "Only if you give me a kiss first," he told me with a 
smirk.

        It seemed like the idiot in front of me knew exactly 
the wrong things to say because I nearly exploded at that. 
Without even thinking about what I was doing, I lashed out, 
leaving a trail of scratches on his face. The man howled 
and grabbed at his face while I quickly walked past him.

        "You fucking bitch," he yelled after me, glaring but 
not bothering to follow.

        At the moment, I didn't mind being called a bitch in 
the least. In fact, I actually felt kind of smug... 
deriving some satisfaction for what I'd done to that idiot. 
He'd deserved every mark that I'd put on his face... and a 
whole lot more. By the time I actually got up to the 
apartment door, I was in a pretty good mood.

        "Hey guys," I greeted them as I went inside, having 
to pause and take a second look. I still had a hard time 
believing that they were James and Carol since they looked 
so different.

        "Hey babe," Carol commented, barely taking her eyes 
from the TV. A quick glance revealed that it was on ESPN.

        "Hiya," James giggled with a slightly vapid look on 
his beautiful face.

        After a moment, I sat down and carefully asked, "Are 
you guys all right? I mean, how are you with this..."

        Carol just nodded, taking a drink from a beer before 
responding, "I'm fine..."

        A second later, James giggled, "This is kinda fun..."

        Then James leaned up close to Carol, his hand going 
onto her knee as she looked at him with an expression that 
startled me. It was an expression that I had always dreamed 
of seeing on the face of a beautiful woman who was looking 
at me. It was a very sexual look.

        Suddenly, I was certain that they had actually had 
sex in their new forms. It shouldn't have surprised me 
since I'd been getting turned on by men since waking up 
like that, and they were affected just as much as I was if 
not more, but it did startle me a little anyway. Then I 
remembered that according to the stereotype, blondes were 
supposed to be oversexed... and after taking a long look at 
James and his body language, I had a strong suspicion that 
he now was as well. My best friend... the blond bombshell 
nymphomaniac bimbo.

        "Oh man," I muttered in disbelief, wondering just how 
far this would go. "Did you guys sleep together?" I blurted 
out a few seconds later, not sure whether this bluntness 
was from me... the normally shy guy, or influenced by my 
changes. Truthfully, at the moment I didn't think that it 
really mattered.

        "Uh huh," James giggled, not seeming embarrassed in 
the least. Not until I noticed a faint glimmer of it flash 
through his eyes, though it was quickly gone. Something of 
the old James remained, though I didn't know how much... or 
how far it was buried. "Three times..."

        Carol turned and smirked at that, putting her hand 
almost possessively around James. "You wanna give it a try? 
I mean, I'd be happy to teach you what it's like for a 
woman..."

        I just stared at Carol for a moment in stunned 
silence, hardly able to believe I'd heard her. And as soon 
as it began to sink in, my temper started to flare. 
Fortunately though, it wasn't quite enough to make me lose 
control. At least not yet.

        "No thank you Carol," I told her, barely managing to 
keep from snarling at her. As it was, my hands were 
clenched tightly and she flinched back slightly.

        "Don't call me that," Carol grumbled after a few 
seconds, glancing at James, "I mean, I don't really look 
like a Carol right now." Then she looked at James and 
grinned, "Call me Carl and her Jamie."

        I had to admit that she did have a point. The names 
Carl and Jamie certainly fit their new bodies a whole lot 
better than their real ones. However, I couldn't help 
noticing how Carol... Carl had refereed to James... Jamie 
as a 'her'.

        "Okay... Carl," I responded cautiously, looking to 
James... Jamie to see what he... she thought about it.

        Jamie was just sitting there with a look of 
concentration, muttering, "How do you spell Jamie? G... 
Y..."

        "Now what should I call you?" Carl continued as he 
looked at me. "I mean, you don't really look like a Tyler 
anymore either."

        "Don't worry about my name," I told him sharply, 
suddenly feeling offended that he would even consider 
something like changing my name.

        Who the hell did he think he was? My temper was 
beginning to surge again, though it didn't come up all the 
way. Just enough to make me feel really annoyed.

        Carl just shrugged, then started, "Hey babe..." Then 
as he saw the look on my face, he obviously changed his 
mind and asked Jamie instead, "Can you get me a beer..."

        "Okay," Jamie responded, getting up to do as she was 
asked. Carl pinched her butt as she walked past.

        I remained at the apartment and talked with my 
friends for about an hour, watching them the whole time and 
feeling completely stunned. It was almost like they were 
two completely different people. People that I barely even 
recognized as my friends anymore. It was definitely weird.

        Though I had been thinking about our next step in 
trying to find that crazy blonde woman so we could get back 
to normal, I began to realize that Carol... Carl and Jamie 
weren't quite as interested in getting back to normal as I 
was. In a way, it made sense. Carl was becoming the 
stereotype of a man... and probably too macho and 
chauvinistic to ever want to go back to being a woman. And 
Jamie... Jamie was not only apparently enjoying what she 
had become... but was probably too dumb to really care.

        In spite of all of our changes, and the fact that we 
had a lot less in common than we did before, they were 
still my friends. I knew that it wouldn't be easy dealing 
with their changes as well as my own, but I had to try for 
the sake of our old friendship.

        Finally, I said goodbye to my friends and left, not 
exactly sure what I was going to do next. Looking for that 
blonde seemed like a good idea, though not very likely. 
Still, I didn't know what else I could do. So instead, I 
decided to start back home to think about it some more.

        However, just around the time I got home, I was 
struck with the sudden thought about going out and having a 
little fun. That would have to be a hell of a lot better 
than just sitting around my houseboat and being bored. And 
if nothing else, I told myself, it would be a great way to 
take my mind off of what was happening to me.

        It didn't take me long to find a nice quiet... or at 
least nice club where I could grab a quick bite to eat, and 
then cut loose and have a little fun. I drank a little, 
thankful that no one bothered asking for my ID, then went 
out onto the dance floor to cut loose.

        I didn't even think about the fact that I normally 
wasn't into dancing or partying, but at the moment that 
didn't seem to matter. I was cutting loose. I was wild. 
Every impulse seemed to translate immediately into action. 
And though I wasn't consciously aware of it... this gave me 
a strange sense of freedom.

        My body moved almost of it's own accord, driving by 
the raw energy of the loud music rather than of my own 
conscious will. The music filled me, driving me to dance 
with one person and then another, male or female not being 
important. At the moment, I was alive. More alive than I'd 
ever felt before in my life.

        After I'd been dancing with one man for awhile and 
having a total blast, I stepped off the dance floor for 
another drink and was slightly surprised when he came with 
me. However, I didn't really question it. I was just going 
with the flow. Or at least going where the music and my 
emotions led me.

        "I'm Bryce," my dance partner introduced himself, 
"Can I buy you a drink?"

        "Sure," I grinned back at him, my heart racing with 
excitement. "I'm Theresa," I came up with the name on the 
spot, grinning at him. Thoughts of how hot he was flittered 
through my mind and I licked my lips absently.

        "God you're beautiful," he grinned at me, giving me a 
very interested look. For some reason, that really pleased 
me.

        We talked for a short while more, though it was 
obvious that neither of us was paying as much attention to 
the conversation as to other things. My heart was still 
racing, as were my hormones. Finally, I grabbed Bryce and 
gave him a passionate kiss.

        "Wow," he gasped a moment later, looking slightly 
dazed but quickly recovering. "You've got some lips..."

        "And you've got some bulge," I put my hand onto the 
prominent lump on the front of his pants, making him gasp 
again. "Your place or mine?"

        If I had been thinking clearly, I never would have 
made such a suggestion and would have been horrified at 
myself for even considering it since I had been a man. 
However, I wasn't being driven by thought and 
consideration... but by emotion. By the raging fire of 
passion that now burned within me.

        Almost before I realized it, I was inside of Bryce's 
apartment and moving into his bedroom. There was no 
hesitation in me, no doubts. Only passion. Only desire. I 
knew what I wanted and I was damn well going to get it. And 
fortunately, Bryce was more than willing to help me do just 
that.

        Neither of us said a word as we nearly tore the 
clothes from each other, pausing only for more kisses. And 
soon we had moved to the bed, with Bryce climbing on top of 
me, playing with my nipples and kissing me before finally 
moving on. The whole experience was incredibly intense, 
filling my body with sensations that I had never even 
imagined possible before then. And when I came, I screamed 
out so loud that I was sure that every neighbor within a 
mile must have heard me, though I honestly didn't care.

        "Oh God," I screamed out, "Oh yes..."

        My legs were wrapped so tightly around him that I was 
sure that he would never get away. It had been awesome, but 
not nearly enough. I wanted more.

        "Move over," I told Bryce as I shifted positions and 
climbed on top of him.

        The rest of the night was a blur of passion and 
pleasure. It seemed to take forever, yet at the same time, 
to be over in an instant. Eventually though, Bryce was 
finished and we both collapsed in exhaustion before finally 
drifting off to sleep.

---

        When I woke up in the morning, it was with a deep 
smile of contentment on my lips as I remembered the 
pleasure of the night before. A tiny part of me felt 
embarrassed for how much I had lost control to my passions, 
but only a very small part. I stretched out in the bed, 
feeling as though I ought to be purring.

        After another minute of just lying there contentedly, 
I sat up in bed and saw that Bryce wasn't lying next to me. 
Then I noticed him through the open doorway of the small 
bathroom that was attached. He was apparently brushing his 
teeth or something, so I just remained where I was and 
continued watching, wondering if he might be up for 
something of a repeat from the night before.

        "You're awake," Bryce stated the obvious as he came 
out of the bathroom, wearing only a pair of boxer shorts. I 
just nodded at that and he stretched out, then winced 
slightly, "You were a real wild woman last night."

        With that, he turned around to give me a look at his 
back. It was covered with a number of deep scratches, some 
of them almost gouges. And they looked rather painful.

        "Did I do that?" I gasped out in surprise, not having 
realized that I'd gotten so carried away.

        "You were a wildcat," he told me with a grin, not 
seeming angry about it, though he did wince slightly.

        "I'm so sorry," I told him, then making a few more 
sympathetic noises.

        However, the truth was that I didn't feel the least 
bit guilty about it. We'd been having fun and he certainly 
hadn't been complaining at the time. In fact, I actually 
felt a little pleased at the sight. It was almost like I'd 
just got done marking my territory or something. Those 
scratches clearly said 'mine'.

        Though I tried getting Bryce to go for another round, 
he unfortunately had to go to work in a little while. As it 
was, I ate breakfast with him and we made out just a little 
bit more before we left and went our separate ways. But he 
had given me his number so we could get together again some 
time.

        On my way back home, I couldn't help thinking about 
what had happened, still feeling rather pleased with myself 
at the same time. However, I just couldn't ignore the fact 
that what I had done... as enjoyable as it was, just wasn't 
like me. At least not like the old me since the new 
redheaded me was obviously a bit different.

        I thought about James... Jamie and the way she had 
been turned into a bit of a bimbo, and from what I'd 
learned while talking with her, was almost always a bit 
horny. Was that what was happening to me? Then I realized 
that it couldn't be. Jamie was always horny... always 
turned on, while I wasn't. It was just that when I did get 
turned on, I REALLY got turned on.

        "I guess redheads don't do anything halfway," I 
exclaimed, not sure whether to laugh or cry.

        Once I got home, I took my time cleaning up, enjoying 
the warm water against my sensitive new skin. There were 
some definite advantages to my new body, such as just how 
nice it looked once I put on some fresh clothes. And of 
course, the night before.

        A little later, I got on=line to check my e-mail, 
scowling the whole time in frustration at how slow the damn 
machine was working. And just when I thought I was getting 
somewhere, I got knocked off-line. I let out a stream of 
curses while logging back on, tapping my long nails 
impatiently on my desktop while I waited.

        "'Finally," I growled out as I got back on. But 
almost immediately, I was knocked off again. "GOD DAMN!" I 
screamed out furiously.

        Before I even thought about it, I'd torn the keyboard 
out and was bashing it furiously against the edge of the 
desk and then the monitor. However, that wasn't quite 
enough and a few seconds later, the monitor was lying on 
the floor and cracked open.

        "Damn," I screamed out, now angry that I'd just lost 
an expensive computer. I took that out by giving the case a 
few swift kicks, though I didn't do anywhere near the 
damage that had been done to the monitor.

        It took me several minutes to calm down again, and 
once I did I felt pretty bad about what I'd done to my 
computer. However, I hadn't really been able to help it. 
Like with the night before, impulse was immediately 
translated into action. Even if it wasn't a very good 
impulse.

        Suddenly, I understood. Whatever that blonde bitch 
had done to me, I now had a raging fire of emotion burning 
inside of me. It flared up with the slightest of excuses, 
erupting either as passion... or rage, depending on the 
circumstances. And I no longer seemed to have the self-
control to keep it contained.

        "I'm in deep shit," I muttered, knowing just how 
badly this could get me in trouble. Either the uncontrolled 
passion or the fiery temper could land me in a whole lot of 
it. "I've got to find that bitch..."

        With that thought, I immediately hurried out to go 
check out the park again. I didn't even pause to think 
about how I'd failed two times already, just knowing that 
this was what I wanted and this was what I was going to do. 
Once again, it was impulse leading directly to action 
without much conscious thought being involved.

        "Where are you?" I kept muttering as I walked around 
the park, feeling the pressure beginning to build again. 
The lack of results was really beginning to frustrate me, 
which couldn't lead to any good.

        Suddenly, a young man who couldn't be more than 17 or 
18 stepped in front of me, exclaiming, "Whoah hot stuff... 
you're setting my pants on fire. How about a date?"

        A single glance revealed a small group of his friends 
in the background, all watching intently. He was obviously 
trying to impress his friends, who may or may not have 
egged him on to hitting on me in the first place. However, 
I was in absolutely no mood to play along with their little 
game and continued walking right past.

        The boy didn't seem content with that though and 
suddenly grabbed my arm as I walked past, "Hey babe..."

        There was absolutely no thought... no hesitation 
before my fist swung around and caught him straight in the 
face. An instant later, there was a satisfying crunching 
sound and he fell back, clutching at his face and howling 
in pain. Streams of red were oozing from between his 
fingers and splattering on the ground.

        "Holy shit," one of the boy's friends exclaimed, 
while another spat out, "Crazy bitch."

        There were more exclamations and insults as they 
rushed to aid him, though I didn't really pay any attention 
to them. Two of his friends glared at me, obviously about 
to jump me. But after a few seconds, they seemed to think 
better of it. Probably a smart move on their part 
considering my mood at the moment.

        After a moment, and once I was fairly sure that they 
weren't going to attack me, I turned and hurried away, only 
glancing back to make sure no one was following. But as for 
the boy who's nose I had just broken, I didn't feel the 
least bit of regret or guilt. Instead, I felt satisfied, 
completely confident that he had it coming to him.

        It was only later, once I had calmed down a bit, that 
I realized something else about my changes. I hadn't been 
feeling nearly as much regret or guilt about my outbursts 
as I had at first, and seemed to be feeling less with each 
one. Except perhaps for how they affected me. It was as 
though I was losing the ability to. It was a frightening 
thought, and even more frightening in how little that 
bothered me.

        "No hesitation," I mused thoughtfully, "No second 
thoughts." That seemed to sum up the stereotypes about 
redheads to a tee. In other words, it summed up what I was 
becoming.

        In spite of those thoughts, or perhaps because of 
them, I finished looking around the park rather quickly. I 
didn't have any success in finding that weird blonde, but 
then again, I hadn't really expected to either. But still, 
I'd had to look. And with my search of the park done and 
over with, I decided that maybe I should check on James... 
Jamie and Carl again.

        Before very long, I was back at their apartment, 
talking to my friends. The whole situation was strange, and 
not just for me. All of us had gone through drastic changes 
so we were hardly recognizable as the same people we had 
been.

        "Talk, talk, talk," Carl muttered, not taking his 
eyes from the TV, "Is that all you girls can do?"

        Though Carl was still my friend Carol somewhere 
inside, her new chauvinistic attitude was really getting on 
my nerves. But to be fair, Jamie's mindless chatter and 
incessant giggling were pretty annoying too. Hard to 
believe that my old buddy was in there.

        As I sat there, frowning deeply, I worried that our 
friendship was done for. We were all becoming too 
extreme... and two dimensional. There wasn't much in common 
between us...not much to talk over or that we wanted to do 
together. Though there were still a few things, I wasn't 
sure if even those would last.

        Just then, the doorbell started to ring. "I'll get 
it," Jamie exclaimed excitedly, grabbing for the phone. 
"Hello?"

        "The doorbell, you dumb blonde," Carl spat, gesturing 
to the door. "Go answer it why don'tcha?"

        "I don't know," Jamie responded with a confused look. 
"Why don't I?"

        I just groaned at that, feeling as though I was in 
the middle of a bad joke. Then again, that had been the 
point, hadn't it. To turn us into living stereotypes. Into 
the butts of jokes.

        Finally, I snapped out, "I'll get it." There was 
probably a lot more edge to my voice than I intended 
because Jamie gave me a hurt look while Carl muttered 
something about my being a bitch.

        When I opened the door, I saw a man whom I didn't 
recognize standing there. He looked to be in his late 
twenties or early thirties, with long blonde hair and was 
wearing a gray overcoat and wide brimmed hat. There was a 
strange expression on his face that seemed to be a mixture 
of sadness and anger.

        "Yeah?" I greeted him, less than politely.

        The man in gray bowed his head slightly and removed 
his hat. Then he took a long look at me, frowning deeply 
while doing so.

        Finally, he said, "Mr. Grange... my name is Joshua. 
May I come in?"

        For a moment, I just stared at him with my mouth 
dropped open, completely stunned that he had actually used 
my name. My real name. And I didn't look ANYTHING like 
myself at the moment either. Finally, all I could do was 
nod weakly and let him inside.

        "Who the fuck are you?" Carl demanded as he stood up, 
clenching his fists and looking as though he was about to 
fight.

        I quickly understood that it was a macho thing, with 
another guy invading his territory. I'd never been like 
that myself, but I wasn't being turned into some sort macho 
bullshit stereotype.

        "Hi," Jamie purred, batting her eyelashes and moving 
closer to him.

        Joshua just looked around the room, his eyes pausing 
only briefly on each of us. Then he finally announced, "As 
I said, my name is Joshua. And I'm here to help."

        "Help how?" I asked him suspiciously, "And how do you 
know who I am?"

        "Look," Carol glared at me, "I'll ask the 
questions..." That was enough to set me off, though a 
single look from Joshua somehow kept that from happening.

        "I know what happened to you," Joshua quietly told 
us, "The sorceress who did this to you isn't usually one of 
the more troublesome magic users... but she is vindictive. 
Most are." There was a hint of bitterness to his voice as 
he added that last.

        After several seconds of silence, with us all staring 
at Joshua, he announced, "I am a magician." He looked 
somewhat uncomfortable as he said it, then he quickly 
rushed on, "And I came to try fixing this mess... or at 
least do what I can." At our looks, he sighed, "You can 
think of me as a janitor. It's my job to clean up the 
messes that other magic users make."

        "Wow," Jamie gasped out, "A magician... Are you gonna 
pull a rabbit out of your hat?" Then she giggled, "Rabbits 
are SO cute..."

        "Shut up," Carl snapped at her.

        I glared at Joshua and demanded, "And just who the 
hell gave you that job?"

        There was another moment of silence before Joshua 
quietly answered, "Myself." Then his eyes seemed to burn 
with an inborn fire, "Someone has to do it. Most magic 
users are arrogant, petty and cruel. They think that 
because they have the power to do something, that gives 
them the right to do it. No matter who it hurts or how many 
lives it ruins." Joshua looked positively angry now, and I 
couldn't say I blamed him. I was pissed off enough about 
what that bitch had done to us. Then he finished, "I merely 
attempt to fix what little I can..."

        "Oh shit," I whispered, realizing just how deep this 
was.

        Then Carl started to act macho again and tried 
bossing Joshua around, but I glared at him and snapped, 
"Shut up," repeating what he'd told Jamie such a short time 
earlier.

        I wanted to know what the hell was going on...and 
more importantly... if this stranger in gray could really 
help us like he claimed.

        "Well," I demanded of him, "Can you change us back to 
normal?"

        Carl started to protest, "Hey..."

        However, Joshua didn't wait to hear him out. "I fear 
not," he told us apologetically. He frowned deeply, "I am 
not powerful enough to overcome the spell. The most I can 
do is work around it..."

        "Then what good are you?" Carl demanded smugly. "A 
damn wimp..."

        "If you don't shut up," I hissed at Carl, really 
getting tired of his new attitude, "I'm going to tear off 
that new penis you're so damn proud of." I held up my sharp 
fingernails to prove my point. It seemed to work... for the 
moment, not to mention being quite satisfying for me.

        "I can't change you back to normal," Joshua explained 
gently, "but I can help. Your personalities have become 
extremes... and are becoming even more so. The most I can 
do is to reduce the effects of the spell on your minds. I 
can keep you from being completely overwhelmed by the 
stereotypes you have been reduced to."

        I stared at him for a moment, feeling hopeful. "You 
mean I won't become a psychotic bitch?"

        That had been one of my worst fears since the change. 
That I would lose complete control over myself, that I 
might even kill people. Heaven knew, I'd been close to the 
point of doing that several times already and it had only 
been getting stronger.

        Joshua just nodded, "Yes." Then he looked at the 
others before starting to mutter something under his 
breath. I couldn't make out much of what he was saying, 
though I knew that it wasn't in English, or any other 
language that I recognized.

        After a few seconds, I felt an odd tingle run through 
my body, though an even stranger sensation pass through my 
mind. It was hard to understand, but I could feel something 
inside of me regaining strength. And at the same time, the 
raw fire of emotion that raged inside of me started to fade 
back... though not go away completely.

        "Wow," I whispered, looking around at my friends and 
seeing from their faces that something very similar had 
happened to them as well.

        For the first time in several days, I saw a gleam of 
intelligence inside of Jamie's eyes, and a look of concern 
in Carl's. There was no doubt that James and Carol had 
returned, at least in part.

        "I feel a little different," I told Joshua nervously, 
looking down at myself and still seeing the same female 
body that I'd been wearing. It certainly wasn't my body 
that was altered again, which left me a little 
disappointed, even though Joshua had already said that he 
couldn't.

        "Me too," Jamie said slowly, looking somewhat 
thoughtful. "Like my head isn't filled with cotton 
anymore." Then she giggled, sounding just like the bimbo 
she had been a few minutes earlier. And from the 
speculative look she was giving Joshua, I suspected that 
there was still more than just a little bit of the bimbo 
left.

        "I am not very powerful," Joshua apologized, "but I 
did what I could. I restored most of your true 
personalities, though I fear you shall each retain some of 
the altered personality as well. But at least," he smiled 
faintly, "they will no longer be... overwhelming."

        Taking a deep breath, I stared at Joshua, feeling 
mixed emotions at that statement. Of course, I was thankful 
that he'd been able to give me back some self-control, but 
less than pleased that my mind still wasn't completely my 
own. In fact, I was beginning to get angry again just by 
thinking about it. My fingernails dug painfully into my 
palms before I took a deep breath and forced myself to 
relax a little.

        "Damn," I muttered, wishing that he could have done 
more. "Thanks," I told Joshua.

        "Yeah," Carl said, turning to stare at Jamie and then 
looking embarrassed. "I can't believe what a jerk I've 
been..."

        "At least you weren't about to kill someone," I 
muttered.

        "Or masturbating over the thought of screwing the 
whole football team," Jamie added with some embarrassment.

        Carl nodded, then said, "Either way... I'm sorry."

        For a brief moment, my friends and I stared at each 
other in silence then move into a sort of group hug. It was 
strange... but rather familiar at the same time. It was 
definitely good to have my friends back... even if none of 
us looked like we did.

        Then something dawned on me and I turned to Joshua, 
who was slowly stepping back towards the door and asked, 
"But what are we going to do now?"

        "What do you mean?" Jamie asked, looking rather 
blank. Definitely a hint of the bimbo left, I thought to 
myself.

        "I mean," I pointed out, gesturing down at myself and 
then them with a frown, "About this. About the fact that we 
can't exactly go back to our jobs like this. And what the 
hell are we doing to tell our friends and families?"

        All that Jamie said to that was, "Oh," while Carl 
just nodded.

        A moment later, Carl looked at Joshua and asked, 
"Could you like... change things for us? I mean, like make 
everyone think this is normal?"

        Joshua just stared at him with a scowl before 
responding with a cold, "No." After a few seconds more, he 
continued, "I do have the ability to make your friends and 
family accept you, but I can not go to every person you 
know and change their perceptions. Nor will I." He was 
scowling deeply at this point, looking a little angry, 
"Altering people's minds just for your convenience is 
wrong. It would be a horrible offense, little different 
from what was done to you."

        Carl gulped, "I'm sorry... I didn't think..."

        Giving a faint nod, Joshua relaxed a little, though 
he was still frowning. "I do understand your problem," he 
said a little more gently, "though I can't help you with 
your friends or family. If you wish them to know who you 
are... you will have to tell them yourselves."

        "Oh joy," I muttered, thinking about how my folks 
would react when I told them. Mom might possibly faint 
while dad would probably think it was just some big joke. 
My sister on the other hand might find it hilarious, if she 
believed me that was.

        "There is one more thing that I can do for you," 
Joshua announced thoughtfully, immediately getting my full 
attention. "I know some people who can help get you the 
documents you will need for your new identities. Birth 
certificates, social security cards, high school diplomas 
and the like..."

        "Really?" Jamie exclaimed in delight, "That's great."

        Joshua just nodded at that, "I'll have them mailed to 
you when they are ready. It will probably take a week or 
two though."

        That was all right with me. I certainly wouldn't mind 
waiting a little while if I could get all that stuff. It 
would sure help me get a new job since I obviously couldn't 
go back to my old one, nor did I want to answer any 
questions that would come up if some cop pulled me over and 
saw my no longer accurate drivers license. This particular 
bit of help that Joshua was going to give might not be 
magical, but it was sure as hell going to be invaluable.

        Finally, Joshua said, "I have to go." He was already 
moving towards the door, though he paused long enough to 
say, "Good luck. I only wish I could have done more." And 
though I wasn't quite sure, I thought I heard him mutter, 
"I hate magic," just before he left.

        "That was definitely strange," Jamie said after a 
minute. Carl and I both agreed with her.

        I remained at the apartment for a little longer, 
talking with Carl and Jamie, feeling enough of the old 
friendship there to feel much better. We talked about our 
experiences, our thoughts about what had happened to us, 
and about what we might do with our futures since it was 
now obvious that we would never get the rest of the way 
back to normal.

        When I left the apartment an hour or so later, it was 
with a calm acceptance that came with the knowledge that I 
wasn't alone. That my friends were going through this as 
well and would be there for me. It made the whole situation 
much easier to deal with.

        And as I got to the parking lot, I paused at the door 
of my car and closed my eyes, thinking about what I was. 
About what I had been just several hours earlier and what I 
would become in the future. I could still feel it... the 
burning fire of passion inside of me. It wasn't as powerful 
as it had been before, but it was definitely still there.

        "Oh man," I sighed as I pulled some of my long red 
hair into view and stared at it for a moment. "I guess I'll 
have to get used to being a redhead." I didn't just mean 
the hair color though. I meant everything that came with 
it, thanks to the magic, which had changed me.

        From that point on, for the rest of my life, I knew 
that I would have a fiery temper and a passionate nature. I 
would lose many of my inhibitions, becoming somewhat 
impulsive and wild. However, that didn't really bother me. 
My new redhead nature would no longer dominate and 
overwhelm me, but it would definitely still be there. And 
in a way, I even felt strange pleased by this knowledge.

        "I always wanted to be more outgoing," I mused to 
myself with a bit of a smile.

        Then I suddenly thought about Bryce and the night we 
had shared, making my smile deepen. There were definite 
advantages to my new body and personality after all, and I 
was determined to make the best of them that I could. It 
was either that or spend the rest of my life feeling sorry 
for myself, and I wasn't about to do that. Though I wasn't 
quite sure what my future was going to hold, I knew that I 
was ready to meet it with all of the passion I now had to 
offer.

THE END