[Mark Newman]

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 abou

[Mark Newman]

Just a little bit too long again for Lingster’s software. Here’s the last scene.

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. And compared to Joe, she was!

And then she went to bed.

[alex]

Nice installment Mark! The Cindy/Joe/Pendant thing was hilarious! They form a cute couple. I guess Michelle deserved to loose the pendant powers by being so stupid and careless, but I’m anxious to know what will happen now that Cindy has unlimited wishing cabability. Kinda creepy, being her and all.

[Mark Newman]

I agree. Of course, she doesn’t know yet what she has.

[Author]

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