[Lingster]

This is a very funny and creative device, Mark. I like it.

[Mark Newman]

To: Marilyn Knewsome

From: Anthony

Dear Ms. Knewsome,

My name is Tony. I’m writing because I’m really scared about what has happened because of the change. Actually, that is not totally right…I am scared about how my ex-girlfriend has changed. Let me explain.

Jill and I dated for a few months at the start of the year. We were really into each other, ya know? Way more than that high-school-sweethearts holding-hands stuff. We were really hitting it off well.

I guess I should tell you a little more about us before I go on. Jill and I are both Juniors in high school. I’m no brain at school, but I get by in my classes. I live in a small house with my Dad since my folks divorced three years ago. Dad’s off on business trips every week or so, which means Jill and I usually had the house to ourselves. All last year I was sort of a gym rat – you know, hung out at the gym after school. Not cause I’m on a sports team or anything, but just like hitting the weights. My Dad even got me a weight set at the start of the year so I’d be at home more when he was there. I convinced Jill to try the weights out a few times earlier this year, but she didn’t seem to like it as much as I did.

I guess that’s where the trouble with us started. Earlier this year I really started to make progress with the weights, and I wanted Jill to workout with me too. She didn’t want to workout, but she was real supportive. She would come over all the time and watch me hit the weights, spot me on some sets, always have food or water ready…and of course always be up for an after exercise make-out session. It was cool at first, but started to seem weird that she was around all the time, just watching me train (with a kind of dreamy look on her face).

About this time, I noticed she was always nearby…not just when I was working out after school, but she showed up to walk to school with me; she was always waiting for me between classes or go to lunch; and wanted to spend every minute of the weekend with me. I couldn’t get a minute to myself. She would even call my cell phone four times a night to say she missed me (even after spending all day together).

Hey, I may not be some fancy doctor like you, but it definitely looked like Jill was starting to get all Fatal Attraction on me. So, three weeks ago, I decided to break it off with her (great timing, huh?). When I told her, she started crying at first, then started arguing with me, telling me I couldn’t break up with her. She kept demanding I give her one good reason why we should break up. Well, I couldn’t tell her “It’s cause you’re crazy!” I wasn’t sure what to tell her, so I just told her it was because she wasn’t buff enough, ya know, like Serena Williams or something. I don’t know why I said it…I guess because I’ve got working out on my mind all the time. Actually, I felt she was gorgeous just the way it was – nice and curvy; lush, kissable lips; a flat tummy; sandy blond hair; lean, long legs; and big, beautiful…eyes.

OK, so as soon as I said this, I figured she would say that’s a dumb reason or something. But instead, she got this real intense look on her face, and I could see her jaw muscle kind of twitch. In a quivering voice, she just said “fine,” and walked away.

I tried to put Jill out of my mind after that. What’s weird is that after that, I never saw her at school. I asked around a little, and she was still going to class, but it was weird that I never ran into her. My friends told me she had started hanging out with a new group of girls – Beth, Mel, and a couple of other girls who have a reputation for getting into trouble. I wasn’t too concerned about it…until about a week ago, that is.

I guess the first time I noticed the Change was when I started using the weighs less often than usual. I just didn’t feel like working out, which was weird. Now, I’m not some sports star all into his body, but working out was fun for me. I liked seeing the results of exercise, too, but seeing my body shrink away soon became the least of my troubles.

In the last week, I started getting messages from Jill on my cell phone. They always are left about an hour after I go to sleep, so I don’t get a chance to pick up. I have listened to them over and over, so now I have them memorized. In her messages, Jill says she has been working out non stop since I broke up with her. She talks about how much she has grown since then…how she is way bigger than Serena now, way bigger than I ever was. Each time she’s called, her voice has been deeper, and sounding more and more aggressive.

Needless to say, now that the Change is in full swing, I am really getting scared. This morning (Wednesday) was the worst yet. I had another message from Jill this morning, but it just sounded like someone grunting and straining, along with a weird, low groaning sound. I could also make out the voices of a few other girls saying things like “Come on Jill-girl”, “You can do it”, “Damn, look at her arms”, and “She gets bigger every hour.”

I wasn’t sure what this message meant until I went down to clean the weight setup in the garage before school (yeah, I said clean the weights…it helps me unwind). When I got down there, I discovered one of the barbells was right in front of the door – or at least it used to be a barbell. Sometime during the night, it had been bent. Bent into a heart-shape. My own heart was pounding inside my chest now. It had to be Jill. How strong was she now? I also found a small, yellow post-it note stuck to the mirror I had mounted on one wall the garage. On it, in Jill’s handwriting, it said “See you soon, loverboy.”

I had forgotten Jill saw me get the emergency house key out of the planter in front of the house one day. It’s missing now, so she must have it. I’m not sure what to do! I don’t want to call my Dad, or the police, because I feel dumb being frightened of my ex. I also have the feeling she is watching me somehow. All day at school today I felt like I was being followed. I’m just really scared what

[Mark Newman]

NEVER MIND EVERYTHIN FINE

Anthony

[Mark Newman]

To:Everyone

From: Marilyn

For obvious reasons, there is nothing for me to say to Anthony about this. I had a bad feeling as I read through Anthony’s letter and I immediately tried to trace it. There were only 7 Anthonys in the junior class and 4 Jills. I did find the right one and alerted the police, but as many of you know they found Anthony murdered in his garage, battered and crushed under weights far too heavy for him, and even most girls, to lift.

Boys, girls, I’m struggling here to maintain my professional composure. We have all gone through Changes in our bodies. But that does not mean our fundamental obligations to each other have changed. They haven’t. Not one bit. And sadly, our instincts have not yet changed yet either. Anthony knew he was in danger, but he still thought, as a male, that it was wrong of him to ask for help. Boys, there ARE girls out there who, for whatever reason, may use their strength violently. They are far, far stronger than you. They can run faster and longer than you. You can hit them as hard as you can and they’ll just laugh and then hit you back four times as hard. Sure they’re vulnerable to guns and knives, but how many of you want to use them, or even know how to do so. Boys, you must get help if you need it. You must avoid situations where a girl can threaten or take advantage of you. I cannot stress this strongly enough.

It’s frightening to think how strong this Jill became in such a short time. It would seem that the Changes have not meant only that males and females have changed relative positions, but that females now build muscle at a much faster rate than males used to. I don’t have the answers here. I’m not even sure I know what questions to ask. But it is vital that all of us keep asking questions and keep trying to answer them. The world we live in now is very different from what it was just a week ago. We don’t know why. We just know that it is.

Please, boys and girls, treat the Changes seriously. We have a lot of adjustments to make. Be careful.

[Mark Newman]

To: Marilyn Knewsome (marknew742@gmail.com)

From: Arielle Sharper

Dear Ms. Knewsome,

First off, I am, and always will be, a girly girl. Love it, got the pink lace bedroom and dresser top full of plushies to prove it. ^_^y

And I don’t like the change in strength much at all. First off, I hate the way I look. Sure, my face still looks okay, but I can’t stand looking at myself below the neck. -_-;;

Yes, I know it’s not all bad. It came in handy moving the church piano, I feel great, and all that. And I love being able to say no to some horndog boy more easily. As my great-uncle Max would say, the best sex protection is keeping your legs shut in the first place.

I thought that seeing my girlfriends stronger would be okay. I thought that with more muscle, we’d see a bit more sexual responsibility on both sides.

But from what I see, it’s worse than ever! Many of my girlfriends think they’re bulletproof. They haven’t stopped to think that their muscle won’t protect them from getting pregnant or getting AIDS. ;_;

And they’re parading around and acting so cocky about it. They’re acting like… boys. >.<;;

And this is a little thing, but last Sunday, I was singing a solo for our church’s anthem before the sermon. I used to be a soprano. But all through the piece, I cracked and sounded like Peter Brady on The Brady Bunch! o.O;;;

I tried testing my vocal range at choir practice last night. I’m now a very low alto, if that high! And when we all practiced the hymns, there was very little soprano or bass. It’s all one big mass in one tone! No variety at all!

What are we going to do? Will we have to recruit kids for the high parts? And what if I get bigger?! I don’t want to end up sounding like Barry White! T_T

Crying for help,

Arielle

[Mark Newman]

Dear Arielle:

I don’t think you’ll ever sound like Barry White. The physical changes we’ve all undergone seem to be limited to body size and muscle, and other organs seemed to have changed much less — only as needed to support our greater size, and conversely for males. It is possible that some sopranos will have to sing in a lower range, but interestingly, I’ve read that many tenors are larger, and have larger vocal cords than some with bass voices. Vocal range is not only related to size but also muscular control, so I would expect that some sopranos will find they have an increased range and power in their voices, without losing the ability to hit the high notes. I guess that’s one thing we will learn more about only as things progress.

I hope you do get used to the way you look from the neck down. Body image is always difficult for girls, and the Changes make it a lot harder for some. You WILL have to change your idea about what is feminine. MUSCLE is what’s feminine now and nothing will change that. Please don’t try to diet to avoid building muscle. Your body needs protein. It will grow very naturally, and there is nothing you can do to frustrate that growth unless you want to seriously endanger your health. We all know the dangers teenage girls face with eating disorders. Don’t let yourself be one of those statistics! I’m sure your priest or minister would agree with me.

Of course you’ve touched on some of the other dangers of being female too, and you’re right to warn your friends about pregnancy and AIDS, but I don’t think I would agree that things are "worse than ever". To be honest, I don’t share your religious perspective. I’ve noticed that there is a type of preacher who constantly warns that things have never been so bad and that our morals keep getting worse and worse. If that’s true than we should have fallen into complete barbarism many years ago. Still, I won’t quarrel with your point that all of us need to be responsible sexually. Whether or not the Changes have made our morals worse, I doubt that they’ve made them any better!

Finally, I’m not sure I would agree with you that parading around and acting "cocky" was ever the exclusive province of boys. Girls do it too, but in different ways. And from the perspective of most boys I’ve known, I would say that they don’t find that "parading girls" are acting like boys at all! At least, that’s what I would guess from the way the boys look at the girls. You may find that morally objectionable, but it’s not unfeminine.

Marilyn

[Mark Newman]

To Whom It May Concern,

I am an armor instructor at Camp Mabry, TX. As of yet, we haven’t recieved any new female instructors, but we have been assured they are on the way. I’m not sure if the new changes have anything to do with it, but the Texas National Guard has decided to mve to lighter units. That is to say, armor will no longer exist in Texas. I can’t say if the same is true for the rest of the country. Losing the armor isn’t as much of an issue, but the possible influx of women in a combat arms role is concerning.

Some of the women who work at the camp have shown incredible growth and have also made it clear to us how much stronger and faster than us male soldiers they have become. A particularly embarrasing moment was just today during our Physical Fitness test. All four of the women, two supply sergeants, a medic, and a cook, basically made fun of their superior officers as we struggled with the push-up event. They did their’s one-handed, for three minutes passed the required time. Impressive, but the manual states both hands must be on the ground. Sit-ups were equally embarrasing. During the run event some of our best runners, who usually complete the two miles at an average of 11:35, had to be carried off the course. Once again, another violation of regs. When confronted, they were biligerent and unresponsive to the point of bullying. They refused to move, and the efforts of even pairs of military police couldn’t physically move them. Not even the threat of UCMJ action seemed to worry them.

I understand the inevitability of women taking the lead role in combat. With these women, we are curious to limit of their ability and would love to use that to our advantage. However, there is still a need for discipline. My concern is that this is the caliber of soldier we will be recieving. I surely hope not. Please, tell me that these women aren’t representative of the future our country has coming.

SGT Jason N. White

Armor Battalion, 136th RTI

U.S. Cavalry

[Mark Newman]

Dear SGT White:

I don’t think there is anything inherent in the female personality that would make them less subject to discipline than the male. (In fact, although my area of expertise is adolescent behavior, certainly in that age group the opposite has always been the case.)

I am certainly not an expert on army procedures, but the conduct you describe seems far outside the bounds of military discipline and I hope it is an aberration. We need a strong army to defend ourselves, but an army of soldiers that mocks the established chain of command is an army that is both dangerous to its own country and unlikely to prove an effective deterrent to attack. I do hope for all our sakes that it is not representative of a future army of women in arms.

Because I am sure, notwithstanding the cultural objections of some of my countrymen and countrywomen, that the days of the male soldier are numbered. Sure, equipment can be made lighter, but as we’ve seen from our experience in Iraq, a strong, well-trained ground force is essential to hold territory and it would seem to me that the greater strength and conditioning of today’s females must give them an advantage over male soldiers. I think all of us would like to know what your views, as an instructor in armor, would be.

Best regards,

Marilyn

[Mark Newman]

Marilyn has posted a reply to Alex on his forum "Alex’s Lament"

She asked that everyone disregard the Postscript. She really meant to delete it.

[Mark Newman]

To: Everyone

From: Marilyn

As many of you know, in my reaction to Anthony’s note and the grisly murder in his garage I wrote too quickly. It turns out that was NOT Anthony’s body in the garage, but that of another young man from a neighboring town. Anthony’s friends and family are relieved that he is still alive, but no one knows where Jill is keeping him.

Anyone with information is requested to contact the police. You may also contact me. Your name will be kept in complete confidence.

Marilyn

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