It was lunch time, and Becky was seated with Andrew, Laura, and Ellen. They had chosen a table off in the far corner of the cafeteria, in case the conversation took a turn for the weird. Becky knew it was a bit of a liability having more people know the true nature of her change, but it was kind of a relief having more people to share it with, as well. Besides, she felt like she could trust Laura and Ellen; they didn't seem like the type to go around sharing everybody's secrets.
"I just can't believe that it was really magic," Laura said. "I mean, it makes more sense than the disease story, but still..."
Becky nodded. "If you think just knowing about it second-hand is weird, you should try discovering for yourself that magic is real. That was almost as much of a brain-breaker as the change itself."
Andrew chuckled. "I bet it was," he said. "Weirder than watching the start and end of the after-effects and then having the explanation click it all into place later, even. Me, though, I just can't picture Jason of all people winding up in the same situation."
Ellen nodded. "Really. I can't begin to picture him as a girl, not even a tiny bit. And having to watch things change so slow...what was that even like, Becky? If you don't mind my asking."
Becky thought for a minute, then shrugged. "I dunno," she said. "I know that for me, it was pretty awful, but a lot of that was because I didn't know what to expect; I mean, I wasn't even sure if I'd still be me when it was done, or if I'd get, y'know, erased by some girly-girl taking over. Maybe it'll be easier for Jason if he knows that kind of thing won't happen."
"Or maybe not," said Laura. "He seemed really committed to finding a way to change back, so wouldn't he be upset about it no matter what?"
Becky laughed. "You never know," she said, a twinkle in her eye. "I was the same way, after all, and look at where I was and who I was with this weekend! Who can say how Jason'll wind up?" She leaned her chair back, catching her knees against the underside of the table to hold herself in place. Still, she thought, Jason could probably benefit from knowing more about what would and wouldn't happen to him.
Jason had had a very frustrating and very...enlightening morning. For as much information as there was on the Internet, somehow none of it ever seemed to be of any use to him. There were all kinds of results for transformation spells or magical sex changes, but there never managed to be any useful information in among all the weird stories, Wikipedia clones summarizing mythological accounts, and supposed how-tos written by people who were very obviously just making it up.
Of course, the very question of discerning useful information on a subject held to have no factual basis in the first place was pretty silly. For all Jason knew, any given worldview could be the correct one, and any of the countless different purported "magic spells" Google found could theoretically work. There was no way to know for sure short of testing all of them, a daunting probably partially illegal prospect. He was just about to close the browser and go veg out on the Playstation when there was a knock at the door.
Jason opened the door to see Becky. "Uh, hi," he said, surprised. "What are you doing here?"
"I came to check on you," she replied. "How're you doing?"
Jason thought for quite a while before figuring out what to say. "A...bout as well as can be expected, I guess."
Becky nodded. "That's good. I assume you're looking for ways to change back?"
Jason nodded. Becky smiled. "Well, I'll help you look, then."
"Uh, thanks, I guess." Jason sat back down at the computer, joined by Becky. They continued looking in silence for a while before Jason spoke.
"Um, sorry about...well, everything," he said. "Thanks for not hating me. I wouldn't blame you if you did."
Becky nodded. "It's all right," she said. "You've got enough problems of your own right now. ...look, if it turns out that we can't find anything, if you ever want to know anything about what would happen, feel free to ask, okay?"
Jason hesitated, then smiled. "Thanks."
