Pendant Changes -- Wednesday  Evening 
by Marknew



Celia lay back on the couch, holding Mark on top of her. It felt like he
hardly weighed anything at all. She like the way it felt. His hands were nice
too. She enjoyed the almost worshipful way he caressed her muscles, as if she
were some kind of goddess. A muscle goddess. From pest to goddess. Imagine
that!

"I can't believe it's going to be that easy," she said. "Is he really THAT
gullible?!"

"I don't know. He seems like a decent guy. Not too sure of himself. He really
didn't want to take the pendant, but when I told him this could just be the
beginning of what Michelle's friends would do with it, he seemed pretty
convinced that he couldn't leave it with them. I think he feels better about
it having a partner. A partner in crime, I guess."

"I think it's so funny that he agreed to take it to YOUR house. He hardly
KNOWS you."

"Well why shouldn't he?"

"If it were me, I'd want it all to myself"

"I guess you're not the trusting sort."

"That's for sure!" Celia laughed and gave Mark a squeeze. "Oh! This is so
exciting, what we're going to do!" She looked deep into Mark's eyes and
changed the subject. "He'll sure flip when he sees me here."

"Oh? Why?"

"I got him in trouble in 6th grade for peeking in the girls' bathroom. That
and a couple of other things I guess. Silly things."

"I guess he won't be too happy about me either he gets here and we take
control of it. There's certainly no way he would have agreed to meet me at
your house then."

"You're not kidding. You had good instincts, Mark, to do this at your house.
But I like it better here anyway. It's great that you have the house all to
yourself."

"Well, just for awhile. Until everyone gets settled in to the new routine. Not
that my Dad's ever around anyway." Mark sighed. "I'm not going to make many
friends around here when Martin tells everyone what I've done."

"Well, tough. Why should he be the one who gets to decide everything? I think
it'll be more fun the way we'll do it. Besides, who would you rather have for
a friend, him or me?" She pulled Mark's face into her chest. "Hmmmm?"

"No contest," Mark said, his voice well-muffled.

"I thought so. Tell me again about your fantasies. You have such good ideas.
So, you really would like it if my muscles were even bigger? They're already
more than a handful for you." She flexed them and let Mark try to push them
in. "You really liked riding on my back while I was doing push-ups, didn't
you?"

"That was amazing. I can't believe how strong you are already. But it's not
only the size that turns me on. It's also the idea of a female muscle, your
muscles, you know, being different, like it's inherently stronger than a
male's."

"Really? That's a cool idea. But how would that work?"

"I don't know. I'm not that into science. How do male hormones work? How was
it, before the changes, that guys' muscles grew more than girls'?

Celia shrugged. "I must have missed that day in biology, and, anyway, isn't
that, you know, just ancient history now? Since when we have the pendant we
can do anything we like, why don't you just tell me more about what you like."
She turned him around and guided his hands up her arms to her breasts and he
quickly obliged by massaging them, gently as she had instructed him. "Yeah,
that's right. Even more lightly. They feel a lot different than my muscles."

"They sure do," Mark said fervently. "They're so beautiful."

Celia closed her eyes, enjoying it. "Mmmmm! Tell me more!" she repeated, a
touch more insistently.

"Um, well," he started as Celia gently teased his stiffened member. "Some guys
are into the idea of giantesses, but that doesn't appeal to me. Others like
supergirls, with superpowers, like in comics. That's pretty exciting I think,
but, uh, in real life I really don't think I'd like being an ordinary guy if
all the girls could fly and had super-strength. One of the fantasies I really
like are transfers, where a girl can steal a guy's strength and grow her
muscles while his shrink. But that would be pretty pointless now. I mean,
we're already so weak by comparison there wouldn't be much worth stealing. And
then, there are the spinach fantasies, you know, like Popeye, except the
spinach should only work on girls. Or the virus fantasies, where some virus
turns up that weakens boys and strengthens girls, sort of like what's already
happened."

"I think those ALL sound nice," Celia said.

"Yeah, but I guess my point is, with the changes that have happened already,
what more do you need? You're twice as strong as I am as it is."

Celia laughed. "Twice? So, like, you think both of your arms are equal to one
of mine!" She held her arm alongside Mark's. "I don't THINK so! Look. And just
try to move it."

Mark grasped her wrist with both hands and tried to pull her arm upwards. His
arms shook with the effort and he managed to bend Celia's arm a couple of
inches before she exerted herself and pushed it back. "Hmmmp!" She said
triumphantly. Mark was still trying, looking more and more frustrated. Celia
grinned, and with her free hand unzipped Mark's fly and began teasing his
penis, which quickly leapt to its full size. "That's right, baby! Come to
Celia," she giggled. "You're so sweet! Don't worry, Mark. I don't think we
need to make you boys any weaker. You're plenty weak already. But I like those
ideas of yours about supergirl -- but just for myself, not ALL girls. After
all, wouldn't you like to have the one and only SUPER girlfriend? Hmmm? Or the
strength transfer idea. What if I could steal strength from other girls
whenever I wanted, like from Mel and the rest of that girl gang? Then I'd be
even MORE powerful than they are and you wouldn't have to worry about them at
all. Or what if spinach worked on me -- just me -- like it does on Popeye? Or
forget about spinach. Make it something I LIKE eating. Grapes, maybe. Or, even
better, chocolate! Those are great ideas, and we could do any of them -- or
ALL of them -- if we had that pendant." Mark's dick pulsed against her hand
getting very hard as she talked. "So, you like that idea?" she asked Mark's
dick teasingly, running her finger up and down very lightly.

"Um, er, I don't know,," he said, answering for it and bucking his pelvis at
her.

Celia put her hand on Mark's leg and easily held him down. "You're not worried
about my being TOO powerful, are you? Doesn't just THINKING about making me
SUPER give you a thrill?"

Mark groaned. "Please," he mouthed desperately.

She made a ring with her thumb and forefinger and started massaging him more
vigorously. "Well, ok. Just so long as you keep thinking about me with
super-muscles. About how big they would be after absorbing the strength of all
the girls in the gang. And that Sandy too! Or after eating a gallon of spinach
-- I mean chocolate."

Mark's breathing quickened. "Oooh!" he murmured. "Oh god!", he added as he
erupted, spewing his come all over.

"Look at all that! Heh-heh. You like it. I know I can count on you, Mark.
Hmmmm?" Mark nodded, breathing too hard to reply. "You better clean up. It's
nearly five. Remember, I'll stay here until you bring him inside. It's a good
thing your folks are out of town. Hmmmm?"

"Oh yeah!" he agreed, just managing to get out the words.

Frank took a deep breath. He had faced tough opponents before: Pass rushers
nearly twice his size. Pass defenders quicker than his receivers. Angry
coaches. Skeptical teammates. Muddy fields and slippery balls. Injuries. The
flu. Even the loss of most of his team when their bus got lost and he played
-- and won -- with his third stringers. He never backed away from a challenge.
Never. Even if he couldn't beat it the first time, there was always another
chance, and each time the chance came around he would be smarter, stronger and
more determined. But now ... well, now would be no different! He grasped the
door handle and turned and then pushed. In the back of his mind, he remembered
some students -- girls of course -- complaining about the door being stuck or
hard to open. He pushed harder. This was ridiculous! He braced with his feet.
Finally! But he almost tumbled in, and -- damn! -- they were all looking at
him, and all of them were girls!

"Hey, guys, look who's here! Hi Frank! Having a little trouble with that
door?" Sandy teased, making sure everyone noticed. She was doing curls. His
eyes goggled at the size of her biceps as they bunched with each repetition.
Her form was perfect too, he hated to admit. She squeezed out five more and
then stopped. "Do you need to cut in, Frank? Or are you going to make us all
leave because of team priority? Oh, sorry. There is no team anymore. Well
then, come to think of it, maybe YOU should leave -- if you can open the door
again. After all, I think the girls' soccer team should get priority now. We
ARE the senior sports team, aren't we?"

"There's no such rule for the soccer team, Sandy, and you know it!"

"But maybe there should be, Frank. What do you think?"

"There's no reason for it, Sandy. Girls don't ...." He stopped. He was going
to say girls don't get the same benefit from exercise that boys do, but he
couldn't say that now -- at least not without meaning something completely
different than he intended to. "I mean, soccer's not the same kind of physical
game as football. You know that."

"I DON'T know that. And neither do you. You haven't seen us play. You haven't
seen Metro play. You think I don't need muscle to drill the ball the ball
through the defenders, or bend it around them and the goalie?" she said,
flexing for emphasis. "Or do you think, weakling that you are, you can play as
well as I can?"

"Can the bullshit, Sandy! I'm here to work out, not to chat." He turned away
from her and as he looked around for an open station he heard her return to
her exercise, pounding out lift after lift. He tried not to pay attention,
tried even harder not to count but he couldn't help sensing that she had
already done more than twenty and wasn't slowing down. He had to get further
away so he couldn't hear. It was crowded, but the sit-up incline was free.
He'd go there. He settled down on it and took a breath. He hated sit-ups, but
it was as good a place to start as any. He put his arms to his sides and
started to rise ... and stopped, his abdominals unable to raise his shoulders
off the base more than a couple of inches. He strained to lift himself
further, his face turning red, but it was useless and he had to let himself
fall back onto the cushion.

Charlene, one of Sandy's soccer teammates, was working out next to him and
giggled, but didn't say anything. Frank glanced quickly around the room.
Several of the girls had seen and were quietly smiling, remembering his former
arrogant attitude. He couldn't see Sandy, but then he heard her, directly
behind him.

"It's because you're trying to do it from the 'girl's position'. Try it so
that gravity HELPS you instead of holding you back, Frank. Then maybe you'd at
least have a chance. I bet that with a little help, you might be able to
manage one or two." She put her hands under his arms and lifted him and
reversed his position, easily resisting his efforts to push himself out of her
arms. "There. Try it now," she was saying, standing in front of him with her
hands on her hips.

Frank sputtered with anger. "Y-y-you keep your fucking hands OFF me!" he said,
his voice shaking with emotion.

She laughed. "Ooop! Sorry, Frank. It's just that you really looked like you
needed a little help. You know what girls are like, always wanting to see what
they can do to help." She turned around and went to work on her legs.

Frank was NOT going to do sit-ups from THIS position. He climbed down and,
reluctantly, took up the station Sandy had left. He had always loved doing
curls. Now he dreaded it. Had she really just done 160 pounds? He lowered the
weight to thirty. No, twenty. Looking straight ahead he grasped the bar and
pulled. He could lift it just a few inches. No! This was impossible! His face
colored red in embarrassment, but he shut out the whisperings and laughter
around him and went back to lower the weight all the way to ten, the lowest
setting. He settled back in and lifted. At least he could do it. He managed
five good reps, then pushed out two more ragged ones before stopping. Barely
seven! Five, really, if he only counted the good ones the way he always had!
He wanted to cry but he wouldn't let himself. At least Sandy wasn't watching.
She was on the stair-stepper now, going full out. Her t-shirt was nearly
transparent with sweat and he could see right through it to her densely
muscled back. He looked away, searching for a vacant spot, but there were so
many girls working out that he couldn't find anything but one of the
treadmills. All right. Maybe he couldn't lift as much, for now, only he worked
his way back up again, but he could still do his conditioning drills. He set
the pace to his usual warm-up level and started running. After a minute he
considered himself loose enough and inched up the speed, but stopped short of
his next level when his breath started coming too hard. Someone new got on the
machine next to him but he kept his eyes resolutely ahead as he heard the
neighboring machine steadily ramp up its speed. He was at 5.9 miles per hour
now. He pushed it up to 6.0, noticing that the machine next to him was at 7.5.
That's where he should be now, on his way to 9.25 miles per hour, his usual
6.5 minute mile pace. He pushed it to 6.5 but he couldn't maintain it and he
had to cut back to 6.0, then 5.5 until he caught his breath. Meanwhile his
neighbor had boosted it to 8.5. And then 9.0, 10, 11, 12! Who was that? He
could hear her footsteps beating out the fast pace, feel her weight pounding
each step like a drum. He turned. Damn, it was her. She grinned at him.

"Hi Frank," she said, her voice labored but much less so than his would be --
if he could even speak. "It's getting really hot in here!" She reached down
and peeled off her top and threw it to her side, revealing her superbly
muscular chest and her two round breasts, standing erect, bouncing to the beat
of her movements, but not wildly, so well supported they were by her solid
pecs. He couldn't believe what he was seeing, and he stumbled off the
treadmill, too shocked to pay attention to his feet. He got up slowly,
thankful he hadn't twisted anything, and then noticed that all the girls were
now shirtless, their shiny, sweaty breasts openly exposed to him. They turned
to face him while he tried to catch his breath and slowly approached him.

"Wh-what ... do you ... girls think you're ... doing?"

"We're hot, Frank. Didn't you ever take your shirt off when you used to work
out?" Charlene said. "I mean, when you REALLY worked out. Before."

Frank scowled, but he didn't want to argue that this was turning out to be a
REAL workout for him ... the way he was now. No, he definitely didn't want to
'go there'. "Yeah, but it's different for boys. Stripping, I mean. You know.
We don't have breasts," he said, staring at Charlene's, which were much larger
than Sandy's.

"Oh, we know that. But they're really not that dangerous. Are you worried
about getting hit in the eye? They're pretty well supported, don't you think?
You're not scared of a few tits flying around, are you?" Charlene said,
shaking her breasts back and forth. "They don't bite, I promise."

He was so confused. "You can't go around like that in public!" he said. "Not
that I mind, of course," he added quickly. "But ...."

"Oh, you mean you're worried about us? You think we're gonna rev up some guy's
sex drive and then he's going to come and rape us?" She said, bursting into
laughter. "I'd just like to see some guy try. I'd love it!" she laughed.
"Wanna try me, Frank? Wanna see if you can get to first base? Or first down?"

"No, of course not. But ... uh ... school rules, and, uh, I mean, what are you
going to say if -- oh, never mind! Why should I care what you do!"

The other girls had come up close to them, all glistening with sweat. They
stood around Frank, closer than he would have liked. He could smell them, and
while they smelled different from the way the football team smelled, not as
bad for sure, it wasn't really the way girls should smell, was it? And they
were so big, so muscular, with their big chests heaving slightly from their
workouts, their breasts bobbing slightly, all slightly differently shaped. He
felt slightly, inexplicably afraid. Then Sandy pushed through them, more
muscular than the others by far. She put her hands on her hips. "This is the
way it is, Frank. You can be here, and do your little workout, but you're not
really welcome. We're not against boys. Not at all. We love to hold our strong
bodies against boys, love to hold them in our powerful arms, feel and see the
way they respond to us, whether they want to or not. You can't help it, can
you? It's part of the power of being female. Just part of it. As you can
plainly see. You can't do the things you used to do, Frank. Not to us, and not
to these weight machines. And it's 'frankly' very entertaining to us to see
that. But now, we have work to do. Metro's probably working out right now.
Girls build muscle fast, and we have to be on top of them, pound for pound,
muscle for muscle. We have a game to prepare for, and you're in our way. So
you can stay here, if you want. We don't care, but just stay out of our way."
She was nearly on top of him, and each breath pushed her breast into his chin
slightly, so if he spoke it would be on his lips.

"Yeah, I get the message," he said, not backing up, but not challenging her
either. "I'm done, for now. I'll see you later." He turned, brushing her
breast and went to the door. He pulled on it several times but it wouldn't
open. Charlene yanked it open for him. "Must be the heat in here, the
humidity. Makes it stick," he said, and walked out.

Martin paced up and down the street next to Michelle's. Why was she making him
wait so late? He knew she was home, but she wasn't answering the door. What
was the point? He saw someone coming and ducked behind a bush. It was Joe and
that hulking Cindy walking to the house together. Uggghhh! What was WRONG with
Joe! He always WAS annoying, but who would have thought he would have an
interest in THAT behemoth! Well, just as long as they stayed out of his way
and Michelle's. He didn't need any interference. At least with them in the
house Michelle would want to stay in her room with the door closed. Then, the
first time she went out for something Martin would take the pendant. He'd have
to get out of the house then. He'd think of something, like remembering he had
to be home for dinner. That would do. Yes. He was glad Mark had come around to
talk to him. He'd needed some encouragement to do what he had to do. Someday
the pendant would come back to life, and when it did, HE was going to be the
one to use it. He patted his pocket. The replacements were still there.
Michelle wouldn't notice the difference unless she took it out. And why would
she unless it came back to life. Which the replacement would NEVER do. And
since Mark had never seen the original he wouldn't know the difference anyway.
Then Martin would have complete control of everything. That's the way it had
to be. He couldn't trust Mark. He didn't know him at all. Hey! He couldn't
even trust Michelle. Not now. Not until he'd changed everything back to
normal.

Michelle sighed. She had seen Martin hanging around since just past four. He
must be wondering why she didn't answer the door. She'd have to think of
something. She'd say she was on the phone with her Aunt Violet. Good idea.
She'd call her too, just to make it true. She'd never properly thanked her for
the pendant, and maybe her Aunt could tell her more about it. She was always
traveling, always into things the rest of the family didn't want to talk
about. Well, obviously there was more to that than Michelle had known about
before. Oh! There was Martin again, on the street corner. Michelle was sure he
couldn't see her, not with the lights off in her room. This was so silly! She
wished that she never had even HAD the pendant. No that wasn't true. Not
really. She liked her new body. She wasn't really sure what she wanted. She
looked down at the drawer where she kept it. She had to be so careful not to
say anything. Not when she was around the pendant. That was such a pain. Well,
she knew one thing she had to do. Right now she had to replace the pendant
with another one and then hide the real one, like Sandy had said. At least
until she decided what to do. Good. Done! Martin would never know the
difference. He never noticed that sort of thing. She just had to get it out of
her room. The cellar would be best. No one could find anything down there. She
knew just the place too. It was so dusty. Uggh! OK. No she'd get her room
ready for when he came. Now, if Martin stole the copy ... well, she wouldn't
say anything. She'd pretend she didn't notice. She couldn't really blame him.
And when it didn't work, he'd get frustrated, sure, but then it wouldn't be
her fault. He might be mad at her for awhile. But then he'd have to forget
about it, because there would be nothing he could do. There would be nothing
either of them could do. And then they could go back to the way things were
before, just a few days ago. She was glad she took care of it. Just in time
too, with Joe coming home. Who was with him? Not Cindy Barrett! What do you
know! Is THAT what Joe wants in a girl? She never would have guessed. She
could hear them settling into the den and closing the door. Good. She went
downstairs and around the other way, not wanting to talk with them. It was
twenty to five. She'd phone her Aunt later. She barely had time to brush her
hair and put some new make-up. Just a little bit. Then Martin would come
around again and she'd let him in. She hoped they would make up. She would do
anything -- well, almost anything -- if he would just hold her again!

Cindy had her arm around Joe and pulled his head onto her breast. "You have a
nice house, you know?"

"Yeah? Thanks." He put his hand under her shirt. Her tits were huge. He
started playing with them, enjoying the way her nipple got stiff almost right
away. But not as stiff as HE was getting. He wondered if he could get her to
touch him. Or better yet, go down on him. Would she know what to do? Maybe
just touching would be enough for starters, then he could get her to do more
later. She certainly seemed willing enough.

"Who's that?" she said, hearing a knock and pushing him away suddenly.

"I don't know. Michelle will get it, probably. Sssh. Wait. It sounds like it's
her friend Martin. They'll probably go up to Michelle's room." He reached
under her shirt again, but she pushed his hand away.

"What if they come in here?" Cindy asked.

"They won't. Why would she do that? She knows we're in the house. I'm sure she
heard us come in. She doesn't want to see me. Not with Martin over. She'll
want to do stuff with him. You know."

"I DON'T know. I just ... I just don't want them to."

Joe sighed. "C'mon, Cindy. We were just getting into it."

"Yeah, it was really feeling nice. It's just ... I'd be kind of embarrassed if
she walked in on us. And what if your Mom or Dad comes home? Won't they come
in here? What'll they think of me?"

Joe sighed again. He didn't really care what they thought, but if it bothered
her .... And the truth was his Mom WOULD come in. She always checked all the
rooms and looked for him when she came in. And maybe he wasn't really crazy
about her seeing him with Cindy like this. "I know. Come with me. If we're
downstairs we'll have time to ... you know, get ready when Mom comes home."

He got up and pulled Cindy to come along but she stayed put and yanked him
back against him, giggling. "Hee-hee. You're such a little cutie!" Then she
stood up, pulling her shirt down but not bothering to straighten it or her
hair.

"I'll take out an old board game or something. We'd have time to call up if
she's looking for me. And anyway it'll look like we were playing. How about
that?"

"OK. That'll do. I always knew you were really smart, Joe." She stood up and
picked him up to hug him.

He led her down the stairs. "No one else ever comes down here. It's too dusty.
But who cares?" Too late, Joe remembered Cindy was a girl. "Uh, do you?"

Cindy looked around. "Not really. I don't mind getting a little, you know,
dirty. Not with you, Joe." She laughed. "Hey, there's a nice couch."

"Uh huh. And there's a game already out. Probably from a year ago, Fred and me
were playing. I'll just move it over here next to the couch."

Cindy watched him and looked around. "Hey, you have a lot of junk. There are
even dumbbells down here."

"Uh huh. They're mine. But I never really used them much. Maybe a couple of
times."

"Really? Let me see you try." She handed them to Joe, who struggled to lift
them. "Ha ha! Look at you! And they're WAY too light for me," she said, taking
them back and curling them ten times rapidly. "There are more weights in the
corner there. I could make 'em heavier."

"What do you want to do THAT for now? C'mon Cindy." He put his hand on her
waist to get her to come over to the couch, but again it was impossible for
him to move her. She'd go sit on the couch with him when she was good and
ready to. This was so frustrating.

"I don't get why you didn't used them," she said, walking away and adding more
weights. "It feels so good to work out. And I LOVE having big muscles."

"Yeah, sure. But don't you think they're big enough already?" Joe asked,
coming closer.

"No WAY! I LOVE having my muscles and being so strong. They've been growing
every day, and I want them to keep on getting bigger and stronger. I wish you
loved that too and, you know, that they really turned you on." She tightened
the bolts on the extra weights and started lifting. "It still not really
enough weight," she declared, "but it's better."

Buried in a nearby drawer, the pendant glowed.

Joe looked at her. Her big muscles DID look good, actually, much to his
surprise. "Well, I do, you know," he affirmed. He felt a bit embarrassed, but
what he really wanted right now was to touch them, even more than he had
wanted to feel up her tits just a minute ago. "Yeah, I think your muscles are
really great. Let me feel them." He watched them pulse and contract as she
curled the weights again and again. He wanted to touch them so badly, to feel
their awesome size in his hand, to see how hard they really were. He was
getting really hard himself. "Cindy! C'mon."

"Almost done," she said, accelerating her efforts. "I'm already getting the
burn now. Oooooohhh yeah. It's so hard to stop. I can't believe you don't get
the same feeling from working out. Mmmmmmmmmmmm. Just ten more." She pumped
them out and then noticed the look he was giving her. That made her feel even
better and she hurried to finish, but it was so hard not to keep going and
going. "Ok Joe," she said, stopping at twenty. She put the weight down at her
feet. She lifted him up and he started touching her, his hands moving right to
her biceps this time instead of her breasts. "Oh! So you really DO like them
after all! I guess watching me work out made you feel more interested." She
walked over to the couch and lay down across it with Joe on top of her. "Go
ahead. Touch 'em all you want!"

"They're so big," he said reverently. "You must be so strong." He put his
mouth on her biceps and kissed the hard, round muscle all over. "Make it
bigger," he pleaded, rubbing his crotch against her. Obliging him she flexed
it and he kissed it harder, his soft lips mashed by her rock hard biceps. It
hurt, but the pain seemed to turn him on even more.

"Mmmmm. That's nice, Joe. You should be so affectionate all the time, you
know? Cal was saying at lunch that I shouldn't show off my biceps so much in
front of you. She was wrong! I KNEW that I knew better. I always do, you know.
You just didn't want to admit it before. You were just embarrassed in front of
Freddie. Right?" Joe now had one hand inside her shirt and the other on her
biceps while he watched her flex them. "Yeah. You don't mind at all that I'm
the bigger one now, do you?"

Joe was breathing hard. He'd never been so turned on by a girl he was making
out with, and she was letting him do everything. So far. "Well, I love your
muscles. I didn't realize, uh, how much I did before, but I really do! They're
just awesome. And so sexy. You know?" He stared at them. Touched them. Kissed
them. Then, out of the fog of his arousal, something else occurred to him.
"But, I mean, about you being bigger. I was just starting to, you know, mature
and get developed when all this happened. I'd like to be strong too, you know.
To be honest. As strong as you are now. Or stronger even."

Cindy laughed. "I don't THINK THAT's gonna happen. I don't think boys can GET
muscles like mine. Not anymore. Look at you! You're kind of, you know, going
backwards in that department, you know? You're just gonna be smaller than me,
ok?" She put her hand around Joe's arm and squeezed slightly.

"But maybe --

"Oh Joe! You're so cute, really, but you're NEVER going to be as strong as me!
Never, never never. So get used to it! But you can touch MY muscles as much as
you like. I've got big muscles all over. You can give me massages and
everything."

Joe cast a longing eye at Cindy's muscle-packed abs and touched them lightly.
"Oh yeah. That's really great. I just wish --

The pendant listened carefully.

"Ssshhh!" Cindy covered his mouth with her lips and kissed him long and hard
while hugging him tightly. She felt his weak arms tighten his little hold on
her to snuggle even closer as he ground his crotch against her. He could
hardly get his arms around her, she was so big. That was so cute and so sweet!
She released him from the kiss and gushed, "Oh Joe! This is what I've always
wanted!" she said, peppering his cheeks with kisses. "You know, you may've
thought I acted confident and everything, but I always felt like nobody would
ever like me like the way you do. I was so big, even before, you know, and, I
thought you thought I was ... kind of ... ugly. I thought you'd never like
me." She sniffled and held Joe tighter. "It always seemed that everyone else
always got what THEY wanted and I never did. You know?" Joe leaned his head on
her biceps and rubbed his cheek against it, then started licking her big
muscle. She flexed it and he started licking it faster. "Tee-hee! That
tickles! Oh Joe! I feel like, finally, I have what I always wished for. And
... and I want to keep having it. I don't want anyone to take you away from
me, you know?"

"Uh ... huh," Joe said, not keen on the interruption, wondering how he might
get her to touch him, or even ....

"I mean, this may sound funny, but I'm so happy that ... that I'm kind of
afraid of things going back to the way they were before." She loosened her
hold a little. "Especially when I hear you talking like that."

"Like, before what? Before you were so ... strong?" he said, trying to move
her closer again and, after failing, pushing himself against her hard body.

She pushed him away, just slightly. "Wait. Listen to me! Yeah, that, but also,
really, before you and me ... you know. Before you started acting like you
liked me." Joe looked at her. "I mean, it's so weird what's happened -- it's
what I always wished for. It's kind of scary in a way, how wishes can come
true, sometimes. You know?"

"Well, yeah. Sure," he said disinterestedly. Why was she talking about this
stuff? Just when they were finally starting to really get at it!

But Cindy wasn't at all satisfied that he did understand how she felt. And it
was so important that he did! He was her boyfriend now, after all. They had to
be together on this. On everything! And if he didn't get it all by himself,
then she would have to show him what she meant. Overcome by her emotions, her
eyes filled with tears, and she said, "You have to feel what I feel, Joe, you
know, that it's so perfect right now and I never ever want it to change! I
don't want anybody to come between us. I don't want anyone to even WANT to get
between us and steal you away from me!" She closed her eyes, held him closer
and said, almost like a prayer, "Oh Joe! I wish I wish I wish you would always
be my boyfriend and that I can always have just what I wish for and that no
one ELSE'S wishes would EVER count ever again!"

The pendant glowed and then ... went out.

Joe was staring at her like she was a crazy person and now shook his head in
disbelief. She was sniffling and blinking away a few tears but her green eyes
seemed to sparkle now, almost like they were iridescent. "Hey! Earth to Cindy!
Don't get all nuts about this, ok? I mean, who are you talking to?"

She felt funny for a second and blinked her eyes. "I don't know. Well, YOU,
silly! And me! I ... I just had to say it. OK?" She sniffled. "It's IMPORTANT,
OK? I've got what I wanted. I don't want lose it. You understand, don't you?
It's about you too!"

"Yeah, yeah, sure. I understand. Sure. But, you know, we were just, uh,
getting somewhere. You know?"

Cindy nodded. "Yeah. OK. I feel better now. Maybe it was silly. But I MEANT
it! I wanted to make a little wish. There's nothing wrong with wishing, you
know," she added defensively. "You were doing it too."

"Yeah, well, you interrupted me."

She grinned. "Yeah, well I can. I'm bigger."

"Yeah, well jeez. Sure. You're just, like, freaking me out a little. What
about me here, for example? What about what I want? Doesn't that count for
anything?"

Cindy looked down at Joe. "Of course it does! I mean ... well ... you have ME!
Right? And you can have as much of me as ... as much as you want!" She pulled
off her shirt and flexed both arms. "See? There's a whole lot of me!"

Joe stared at her in wonder. He'd had no idea just how big she was! And how
muscular she was everywhere! Except for her breasts there wasn't an ounce of
flab anywhere. It was all muscle. Glorious, fabulous, sexy muscle. Solid balls
of muscle on her shoulders, a dense lattice on her stomach, plates and slabs
from her neck to her breasts, pushing them out right at him so that they
almost begged him to touch them, and round, bulging grapefruits in her upper
arms. He didn't know why, but all of a sudden, this afternoon, since they'd
been together down here, it was turning him on so much that it almost took his
breath away. "Yeah. Wow. Amazing," he said, blinking in disbelief, struggling
to take it all in. Watching his eyes, Cindy burst into a smile that got
broader and broader.

Joe saw her reaction. Damn, she was almost TOO happy. HE had feelings too. He
wanted to get back to what they were doing before, to touch Cindy again, and
get HER to touch him where HE wanted. But what about his own wishes? Was it
worth voicing his own thoughts? He was really struggling with it. What was the
point? They were so close to doing something really good! But could he just
ignore her total disregard of his feelings about shrinking and being so weak
all of a sudden? I mean, this was Cindy Barrett! But still, he didn't want to
break the mood. He could at least get a hand job out of her this afternoon.
Maybe even more. He cleared his throat. "It's just that ... I just was going
to say before, well, I have feelings about what happened to everybody too, you
know." He looked embarrassed. "I mean, you've got to understand that from my
point of view, not EVERYTHING is perfect. I mean, me and other people want
things too. I ... errr ... love your muscles, uh, Cindy. Really I do." He ran
his fingers lovingly around the bulge of her biceps. "I, er ... it's just that
... well, I just wish I had muscles like yours too," he said, enviously,
holding out his thin arm to her. "Look at it! I wish I could be that strong
too. Stronger even." He looked into her eyes, realizing that he never noticed
before just how green they were.

Cindy smiled and sat back down next to him. She wrapped her big hand around
Joe's upper arm and pushed the soft flesh around where his biceps used to be,
playing with it to tease him a bit, and to drive home once again who would be
in charge. "Awwww, poor little Joe. Yeah, I know you feel that way, being so
weak now and everything and especially being so much smaller and weaker than
your girlfriend. Cal was always jealous of me too for being bigger. But hey, I
guess we all can't get all of our wishes. But you like my body, don't you? My
long, strong legs. My big biceps. My breasts too." She pulled him down so that
his head rested on her chest, where he started sucking on one breast, his hand
finding the other to fondle. "Mmmmmm. Mmmmmmmmmmmm. Yeah, that's nice. But
don't worry about it, Joe. We're gonna have lots of fun together. You know, I
think I should come here every day. What do you think?" Joe nodded, still
firmly attached to Cindy's nipple. "Yeah. I'm gonna like that. Me and you,
Joe, in school together all day and then coming down here after.
Mmmmmmmmmmmmmmm."

"It's pointless, Mark. The stupid pendant's dead. We're stuck."

"Are you sure that's really the one, Martin?" Mark asked. "It looks so ...
ordinary. Like it came from a jewellery store at the mall."

"Yeah. I found it in her room, all hidden away. It has to be the one."

"OK. If you say so. It's just hard to believe, that's all."

"Yeah, I know." Martin looked around to change the subject. "Hey, this is some
house. But all these boxes everywhere. Are you moving in or out?"

"In. It always takes awhile for my Mom to decide where she wants things. And
she's been spending so much time at the gym that it's going to take even
longer than usual. I unpacked my stuff, like my computer, and I made sure the
TV was hooked up. But that's about it. You want something to eat? I could
defrost some chilli my Mom made."

"Chilli? Hot chilli?" Mark nodded. "No thanks. I don't like the spicy stuff."

"Yeah. I didn't either 'til we lived in Mexico for a couple of years. Sorry,
that's pretty much all I have to offer."

"Thanks. That's ok. I probably ought to get home anyway. See you in school
tomorrow."

"Yeah. Nice meeting you. Thanks for trying."

Mark walked him to the door. Celia bounded up to him once Martin left. "What a
waste! I think he's lying."

Mark laughed. "Me too. Do you want to go out and beat him up or something?"

"It would be fun, but I don't think I'll bother. I mean, since he obviously
doesn't trust you, if he had it, he would have just used it already by
himself, right, and then he wouldn't have to fool us? And since he didn't use
it -- cause nothing's changed -- it must still be at Michelle's, hidden away
somewhere. But it's just as well that he thinks we think it's dead, so he'll
let his guard down, right?"

"I suppose. But I don't see how that gets us any closer to getting our hands
on it."

"Simple. We have to get into Michelle's house."

Mark shrugged. "Easy as pie, I guess."

"Yeah, well I'll have to think of a way. Why'd you offer him dinner anyway?
Don't you want to be alone with me?"

"What do you think?" he replied, moving closer and putting his hand around her
biceps. "I knew he'd say no. There's no way that someone like Martin, living
here, likes really hot chilli. Besides, I had a feeling he wanted to go."

"Yeah? Well I don't like chilli either."

"That's ok. We don't have any. How about some fried chicken? Or a steak?"

Celia smiled. "You're as bad as I am." She walked closer and pulled Mark close
to her, smothering him in a tight hug. "And I can be very, very bad."

It was almost seven by the time Martin had left. Michelle had felt the pendant
in his pocket, the fake one, of course, while they had been standing and
kissing. It was a good thing her mother was late tonight. It had taken a
couple of hours of talking and not talking, then holding hands and other
things before he made a small move to kiss her, a move Michelle had eagerly
awaited and then quickly moved to complete, to seal, so that they were
together again. That was the important thing. It took five minutes or so
before she felt he was fully into it, and then she knew he was. She held him
close, trying not to dominate, but showing him her feelings, letting him touch
her, explore her body, feel all the changes but feel that it was still her,
Michelle, inside. She hoped her knew that. Really knew that, and that it
wasn't her idea, at least not all her idea, not all her fault that the changes
had happened. They were still boy and girl, after all. Still Martin and
Michelle. Still the same people they had always been. That was the important
thing.

Dinner was funny, with Joe and Cindy Barrett crawling, bashfully, out of the
basement when their mother called them. They were much more disheveled than
Martin and she had been. Gosh, Cindy Barrett was big. Bigger even than Sandy,
though not as muscular. Joe looked like a small child next to her, embarrassed
too, especially with the looks he got from her mother and then from herself.
Cindy had nice eyes at least, a little intense, maybe, but green like the
pendant is when it's full of its power. She could like her eyes at least, a
lot more than her table manners. And she was so awkward, grabbing at food,
answering questions with her mouth full, interrupting Joe and even her mother.
Really spoiled, Michelle guessed, as an only child could be. Although Michelle
didn't think Sandy was spoiled. She was even going to take Joe -- practically
drag him! -- back down to the basement for everyone knew what until her mother
said no, not on a school night. And even then Cindy argued with her before
finally going home! Imagine! But funny too. Joe must have been embarrassed,
but he just looked disappointed and almost started arguing too until he
realized it was a lost cause. It would be fun to see what happened.

But now she could finally talk to Aunt Violet. She called her first at home,
then on her cell phone and then at home again to leave a message. Ten minutes
later, her Aunt called back. Her mother had picked it up first, but very
quickly told Michelle to pick up the phone because her Aunt wanted to talk to
her.

"Hi Aunt Violet! I meant to call you a few days ago, but so much as been
happening, you know --

"Of course I know, dear. You wore the pendant, finally, I see."

"Yes I -- you know?"

"Well, what do you think, Michelle?"

"So, uh, you know what it does? You know what it, I mean, we, did?"

"Yes. Very imaginative. I'm enjoying it myself, you know. Being strong has
many advantages, the way I live."

"You KNEW about the pendant? Its magic!!? And you gave it to ME?"

"Why yes! You've been my favorite niece ever since you were a little baby. I
can't think of anyone I'd want more to have it."

"But why didn't you tell me! What if I had wished something awful, like
wishing Joe was dead or something!"

"Well, you didn't, did you?"

"No."

"And if you had, you would just have wished you hadn't said that, and all
would have been fine. I know you, darling. You have a good heart. I trust you.
And an old woman like me, it was time I'd passed it on. I've had it for so
long and had so much fun."

"You're not so old, Aunt Violet."

"Oh, I'm older than you think, my dear, and I've had the pendant for a very,
very long time." There was a long pause. "I'm not really your mother's sister,
dear. I've been around for a long, long time, and that's a secret I know you
will keep."

"Aunt Violet?" Michelle said tentatively. "What are you saying? Who are you?"

"Violet. Violetta. Vittoria. Volcana. Those a just a few of my names, dear.
That pendant came to me so many years ago. But I've had my fun. I've seen many
things. And now I've seen enough. It's your turn, my dear. You will learn how
to use the pendant, how to train it, and as you do you will grow wise and
powerful, for generations and generations. But that is for you to discover. I
won't take that away from you. Just keep it safe until you have mastered it,
because the power is active now. I can tell that."

"Oh, I've hidden it well Aunt ... I mean ...."

"You can still call me Aunt Violet, dear. I do like that."

"Yes Aunt Violet. But what should I do with it?"

"That is what you'll discover as you use it."

"Oh yes! Oh, well, thanks so much Aunt Violet. I don't know what to say!"

"You've said all you needed to say. Now, finish your homework and begin to
learn. Goodbye darling."

"Bye, Aunt Violet."

Michelle held her breath. This was even more exciting than she'd ever dreamed.
Her Mom was reading a book now. Joe was in his room, listening to HER CD
again. Well, who cared! She had much better things to do! She went down to the
basement, wanting to look at the pendant again. Maybe she'd think of something
else to wish for. After all, it WAS all hers. She didn't have to listen to
Sandy or Theresa if she didn't want to. She dug down into the hiding place and
pulled it out. Why, it was dull again! Why was that? She hadn't been using it.
Maybe she had to wear it again, or hold it for awhile. But no, she hadn't been
doing that earlier in the week, when it suddenly regained its color. Maybe it
didn't like the basement. She'd bring it back upstairs, put it back in her
room, close to her. Maybe that would do it. She couldn't wait until it came
back to life again. But this was ok. She'd have time now think carefully about
what she would do with it next. It couldn't hurt to take her time.

Marilyn sat on the couch in her apartment, drinking a glass of wine. Juliet
sat opposite her, also drinking and working through her second slice of
quiche. "This is very nice," Marilyn said. "I usually don't like California
reds. Very nice."

"It's the Special Reserve. Very hard to get on the East Coast. My father's one
of the investors in the vineyard. We have three cases in the basement. He'd
say it's a little early, but I didn't want to wait."

"Well, it's great that you brought it over." She laughed and took a long
drink, swirling the wine around in her mouth before swallowing it. "I had fun
in your class today. It's so strange to see YOU there. In high school! Juliet
Masters in her natural environment!" she teased.

"Oh really? Well, what about you? Spending your time getting ignorant people
to put all their nonsense on display. I can't think of anything more boring."

"That's just because you're trying to be too serious. You don't really have to
work so hard to distinguish yourself from them, you know. You' can be
different without even trying."

"Stop analyzing me."

"And don't be so touchy." Marilyn sipped her wine. "So, they really DO call
you Jaws?"

Juliet smiled broadly, showing her teeth. "Yes. But they don't know I invented
that nickname myself. I like the fact that they're afraid of me."

"Of course you do!" Marilyn grinned, but stopped there. "But seriously,
Juliet, even apart from the chance to tease you, it was fun today, seeing how
teenagers are trying to cope with the changes. I think they're doing a pretty
good job. The girls have adapted well, even the ones who don't particularly
want to be 'powerful' are changing the way they see things. And the boys are
changing too, even though they're resentful. Ultimately their sex drive will
take over, and everything else will follow. Like with your new little friend,
what's his name?"

Juliet hesitated for a moment. "Jonathan. Yes, you're absolutely right. It's
almost too easy, you know, to make them do what you want."

"Isn't it? Well, enjoy it. It won't always be this easy, I assure you. As your
standards rise, your choices go down, and you can bet that the men will know
it. Once you fall for one, they have a lot of power over you."

"I don't know. I think men are pretty thick. And now they're so weak too. I
don't think they'll have a chance."

Marilyn shook her head. "They're going to change, Juliet. I don't have any
sense that men have lost their desire to dominate, even if they've lost some
of the means. The battle of the sexes will go on. But it will be different,
because we're different. Hey, it's almost time."

Juliet rolled her eyes. "A waste of time. He has nothing to tell me."

"You're missing the point. Think of it from the perspective of a scholar, an
anthropologist, a political scientist. We're studying an endangered species
here. See what you can learn. Not from him. But about him."

"He just makes me so sick, with all his stupid assumptions about America and
religion. I can't stand to listen to him. It's bad enough to think how much
power he has over me for the next four years. Can't we just drink wine and
talk?"

"Drink all you want and we'll have plenty of time to talk. You're staying
over, right? Let's just see how he handles it." Marilyn turned on the set.
"Ha! Look at the new podium! I think they even made the circle with the
Presidential Seal smaller!"

"So that he wouldn't look so small. That IS funny!" Juliet refilled her glass.
"Okay. You know, I can drink a lot more before I start to feel --

"Sshhh!"

"Fellow citizens. I come to speak to you tonight not just as your President,
but as a man. A changed man. A man now living in a changed country and a
changed world."

"But I want to set one thing straight from the start. I may be a weaker man,
but I am not a weaker President. And we are not, and we will not be, a weaker
nation. America stands tall and proud, blessed by God, always ready and firmly
resolute to continue our special mission to the world for Freedom, for Peace,
for Democracy. That has not changed. That will never change."

"I don't pretend to know what has caused these changes that have befallen us.
I can assure you that I have asked America's best scientists, the very best
scientists this world has to offer, to prepare a report for me in thirty days.
And I pledge to you that in thirty days you and I will know what there is for
man, and woman, to know."

"But I say to you now that it may not be our lot to know and to understand. I
have prayed long and hard on this. And I firmly believe that there are
mysteries and trials in life sent to us by God, mysteries whose purpose we may
never know and understand. And this is something that all of our religious
leaders, whether Christian, Hebrew or Muslim agree on."

"My first priority is the continued safety of this great nation. And I want to
assure all of you that our national security continues to be fully guaranteed.
Contrary to the calls from the Democrats for ending restrictions on the combat
roles for women, I can state categorically that with our modernized forces,
our men remain fully capable of defending our borders and projecting our
strength and our values everywhere in the world, wherever our missions take
us. To make sure we maintain our force advantage, Secretary of State Rumsfeld
will engage a review of our weapons requirements, and I have ordered an
accelerated research program in the use of lighter weight materials and
greater support roles for our female soldiers. But there is no truth to the
rumor that this week's report of kidnappings in Iraq by Islamic Women's Jihad
is in any way attributable to the reduced physical strength of men serving in
the coalition forces. Our soldiers, male and female, are all fully capable of
defending us."

"Other than combat roles, my government stands strongly for equal opportunity
in employment and life's choices. I have submitted to Congress for prompt
adoption certain amendments to civil rights laws prohibiting discrimination
against men who, through no fault of their own, no longer meet the height and
weight requirements for their jobs. We cannot allow our nation's police, fire
and other forces to lose the benefit of the years of experience these men
bring, nor can we deprive their deserving families of their wages."

"I will not, however, bow to calls for governmental intervention in our sports
leagues or other private enterprises to mandate female participation on an
equal basis with men, nor will I support the wholesale changes in our laws
suggested by some Democrats to eliminate the protections and special
considerations our society has maintained to reflect the differences between
men and women. Our bodies may have changed, but our values have not, and I
shall defend our precious, hard-won values to the final day of my Presidency.
Let no one doubt my will, or the will of the American people, to defend our
way of life."

"What is he talking about?!" Juliet exploded. "He doesn't make any sense at
all, if you think about --

"Sssshh!"

"Our generation has been blessed -- by the expansion of opportunity, by
advances in medicine, by the security purchased by our parents' sacrifice.
Now, as some of us awake larger and stronger than we were before, and some of
us a bit smaller, we still have the same questions, the same concerns we had
before. We watch our children moving into adulthood, we ask the same questions
our parents asked: What will their lives be like? What inheritance will we
leave them? How will we guide them through this time of change? Fellow
citizens, the choices we make together will answer that question. Over the
next several months, on issue after issue, let us do what Americans have
always done, and build a better world for our children and our grandchildren.
Tonight, I repeat the words I stated after you gave me your mandate for
another four years, that I reach out to every American who shares my goals."

"Thank you, and may God bless America."

"I was right. A TOTAL waste of time!" Juliet said.

"Just give it fifteen minutes more. I want to hear the reactions. Then we can
turn it off." Juliet raised her eyes to the ceiling and took a deep breath but
closed her mouth. She refilled her glass.

"Well Bob, it wasn't exactly what we had expected. Nothing directly responsive
to the accusations from the Saudis and Iranians of American involvement in the
changes, and also, just a brief reference to the Democrats' calls for radical
legislative reform. The President is taking a measured approach for now."

"Yes, Katie. I think it's important that he also did not play hard to his base
here. Other than the preservation of jobs for men already in service, he has
not echoed calls from many on the right to fund research to reverse the
changes. Nor did he use his speech try to reinforce traditional male roles.
Nothing at all like Jerry Falwell's 'Abominable Muscle' sermon."

"Well, perhaps we can thank the President's family for that, Bob. No doubt
Laura, Barbara and Jenna have expressed their opinions too! After all, most
women like their new muscle. I can't imagine that a political party advocating
surgical removal of female muscle would gain many votes, no matter how many
scriptural references may support it."

"We've got Senator Clinton now. Senator Clinton, good evening. What is your
reaction to the President's speech?"

"I think once again, Bob, this President has shown his inability to confront
the real issues facing our nation. Our military analysts are telling us that
67% of our active duty soldiers now do not have the physical strength to
perform their required duties. Eighty-five percent of our firefighters cannot
meet their job requirements. I have complete sympathy for the brave men who
have served their country and their communities for so long, and government
must provide retraining and transitional support for them. But their jobs are
essential. We cannot be left undefended at our borders and in our homes. I
have proposed an immediate pull-back of our troops until we can reorganize our
forces to meet our current capabilities and a crash training program to
promote females to all positions requiring the physical strength that only
they now have. To do less is simply an abdication of responsibility, and I am
shocked and disappointed that the President and the whole Republican
leadership has ignored the real problems we now face."

"What would you say then to the Iraqis who depend on American troops to
maintain order during their transition to democracy? What would this mean for
America's reputation for keeping its commitments to the world?"

"These are extraordinary times, Katie, and they require enormous sacrifices
from all of us to reorient our society so that we can continue our world
leadership and our great traditions."

"Thank you, Senator. I am sure we will hear more from you in the coming days."

"Certainly Bob. Good night to you and Katie."

"Well, there is one Democrat's reaction. Of course, in recent years, the
Republican party has been considered the men's party and the Democrat's the
woman's party. I wonder, Katie, whether that will change, now that women are
the stronger sex."

Katie smiled. "I see you noticed that Senator Clinton's suit doesn't seem at
all big enough for her new physique.

"It certainly gives some new meaning to the term 'power suit'!"

"Really?" Katie smoothed her jacket over her own burgeoning chest. "I wonder
whether men have any idea just how much things have changed, Bob. But that's
not a debate you and I can have now, of course. We have Professor of Political
Science Jon Siegal from Harvard on the line. Professor, do you sense in the
President's speech any realignment of political attitudes?"

"Good evening Katie. Well, it's really too soon to tell. The President's
speech did seem to co-opt some surprising elements of non-discrimination and
attempts to accommodate the lesser physical strength of male soldiers and
uniformed officers to their work, much as the Disabilities Act does. On the
other hand, he was doing so in an effort to maintain existing social
structures. So once again we see the Republican party using the power of
government to maintain the existing societal structures. It is still,
therefore, a conservative approach. And while Senator Clinton is being less
accommodating, she is also proposing steps that will lead to a more rapid
restructuring of society and revamping of sex roles. So you can see the
underlying values of conservatism and liberalism in their differing
approaches."

"One final question, Professor. Harvard's own President, Lawrence Summers, has
been in the news lately for his remarks earlier this year about the lack of
success women have enjoyed in Physics. Has there been any more recent fallout
on this issue?"

The Professor laughed. "Well, I think Larry may have employed new female
bodyguards lately to give him better protection. But seriously, the debate
around campus has continued pretty much as it always does. Physical strength
has little to do with aptitude in mathematics and physics, and I suspect we
will establish, eventually, that gender has just as much effect. Certainly in
my own field --

"I'm afraid that's all we have time for. Thank you very much Professor."

Juliet looked at Marilyn, who grinned and turned off the television. "How can
you STAND listening to them, Marilyn? They're all such bullshitters!"

Marilyn sighed. "And you, my strong, brilliant, beautiful friend, can learn a
lot from them about getting along. Remember, 'Jaws', in the movie the shark
always went for the kill, but it didn't win in the end. The men, smaller and
weaker as they may have been, killed it."

Juliet blinked a few times. "I know that." She took a deep breath, drank some
more wine and settled back into the couch. "So, you think maybe I should think
about another nickname?"

"That would be a start," Marilyn replied with a wink and stretched out her
feet so that her toes reached under Juliet's top and began to tickle and tease
her. "After all, your jaws aren't even your best part."

Juliet colored slightly and took a quick, involuntary breath. "Oh?" She looked
intently at Marilyn. "So, uh, what is?"

Cindy bent down so that she could look at her face again in the mirror. It WAS
strange the way her eyes had changed color tonight. Her mother had gone on and
on about it, asking her so many questions, first about wasting money on tinted
lenses when her hazel eyes were perfectly nice, and even suggesting the she
was on drugs, and when Cindy denied it, she called her a liar too. Her father
tried to intervene but her mother pushed him aside and then just talked over
him, raising her voice even more. Until she stopped all of a sudden when Cindy
said she wished she'd leave her alone. And she did. Just like that, spinning
around and retreating into the kitchen without another word. That was amazing!
She'd never done that before. It was too bad they'd had such a big argument,
because Cindy had really wanted to ask her mother what could have caused the
change in her eyes. But she was being so obnoxious and unfair that she didn't
want to ask. Now who could she talk to about it? Not her Dad. He was being
nice, but he seemed so miserable these days. He barely had anything to say
about anything.

The new eye color was kind of cool, though. She liked the green MUCH more than
the old boring hazel. The whole day had been really cool. Everything had gone
just like a dream. Joe was finally paying attention to her. Ha! That was an
understatement! He seemed completely taken by her, and especially by her
muscles. Imagine that! It was the part of her she loved best too! She
straightened up and flexed a few times, looking at herself. She LOVED her
body, and Joe loved it too. What could be better? He couldn't keep his hands
off her, and he was so cute about it too, pushing his thingee against her to
try to bring himself off, which she thought he did, just before he went kind
of still for awhile. She knew he'd her wanted to do more, to touch him and
stuff, but she didn't want to get all messy. Not yet, at least. Not if she
didn't have to. It was too bad boys got so messy when they came. If only they
were as neat as girls. He seemed so uncomfortable too before that; she almost
felt sorry for him. But it was sort of his own fault too that he couldn't
control it. That's what boys were like. She was so glad she wasn't a boy.
Especially now that boys were the ones who were so small, with such little
muscles. Poor Joe. He was so weak, so much weaker than she used to be and so
jealous of her muscles. It really seemed to drive him crazy. But in a good
way! It was like, all of a sudden he had a total crush on her. Imagine! He was
SO hot for her. She couldn't wait 'til school tomorrow. If he was as turned on
tomorrow as he was tonight, there was no WAY he'd be able to walk around to
his classes. That was kind of funny. And SHE, Cindy, was the reason for it!
She felt so proud. She would have to carry him around a little again. That
would be fun!

Ooooh! She just loved her muscles, the way they were growing, the power they
gave her. She always liked to tell people what to tell people to do, but
before the only one who'd ever really listened to her was Cal. Now she had
Joe, her father was taking her side more and more and now even her mother had
stopped bothering her. Being so big DEFINITELY had its advantages, even if she
had to bend down to see her face in the mirror. Well, she'd just get her
father to put up another mirror!

Mmmmmm. She closed her eyes and wished her muscles would grow even faster. Her
body tingled as she thought about it. It was probably from the two hour
workout she'd given herself after Joe's mom sent her home. She hadn't wanted
to go, but at least she had a chance to exercise more. They were already
bigger than her father's EVER were, already as big as grapefruit, but a whole
lot harder. She pressed her hands together, enjoying the way her arms and pecs
bulged and the way her breasts lifted. It made her feel so beautiful, so sexy.
She wanted to be the biggest and strongest person in the world -- and she
WOULD be! She set her alarm for six, enough time for another heavy workout
before school, another chance to make her adorable muscle babies grow. Her BIG
babies! She flexed them again, admiring the huge bulges, recalling the feeling
of Joe's fingers as they danced across them, trying and failing to dent them,
and then the feeling of his lips pressing against them, as if he could somehow
share in her power, absorb it, consume it for himself. As if!! It was hers!
All hers!! Like she was supergirl. And compared to Joe, she was!

And then she went to bed.