"I'm busy." I say to Naomi.
She just eyes me suspiciously. "Busy doing what?"
"Uh, stuff."
She sighs exasperatedly and looks away, "I suppose if you have something better to do, you can do that as well."
I pout, "That's not fair. You'll make me feel bad."
She turns her head to give me a one eyed stare.
I finally cave, "Fine, but I get to decide how we are going to do this."
Naomi excitedly grabs my arms and jumps up and down. "We are going to have so much fun."
"You do realize my memories tell me that I'm a guy more than I'm a girl, right?"
"Oh hush, it's no fun if you're not into it."
"Well, I am a little bit excited about discovering new forms, if I'm honest."
She grins at me, "That's the spirit." She pulls my arm, "Let's go."
"Wait," I stop her. "Let me go in my own car as myself."
"You won't run away from me will you?" Naomi asks as we start to walk to our cars.
I shake my head, "I won't. I promise."
"Good, but you have to stay in that form while you're driving."
"What, why?"
"I just don't want people to get the wrong idea about me having a guy over in my dorm room."
"Oh, right. You're in college."
"You say that as if you weren't ever in one."
I shake my hands dismissively, "Alright I get it, I won't give your dorm mates the wrong idea." A realization crashes over me. "You don't have roommates do you?"
She laughs, "I don't know if it's a curse or a blessing, but no one's been assigned to my dorm room yet. I might get one before the semester starts, but it's been kind of nice having a room to myself, though a bit lonely." She then smirks, "Maybe you'll be that roommate?"
That brought a chuckle out of me, "I don't plan on enrolling as a girl to your school."
All that talking made me fail to realize that we were already in front of my car. I had to blink to even recognize that I didn't feel that same shyness creep in like when I rushed into the bathroom. There must be something really comforting about talking to a girl as Senna. I begin to get into my car, when Naomi stops me. I turn to her and realize that she is already halfway into her own car which just so happens to be right next to mine.
"Is it just me or is this really weird?" Naomi asks. "First my brother can't make it to meet today, then the bathroom is deserted, then you reveal to me this crazy power and then to top it off our cars are right next to each other. This seems more than just a coincidence, right?"
I shrug, "For all I know, this is just some elaborate dream, that feels awfully real. Anything is possible at this point."
She shakes her head, unconvinced. "Then let's just go, I'll lead."
We both get into our cars and start the engines. I wait for her to fully back out before I follow her out of the parking lot. The ride is eerily fast as most, if not all of the traffic lights seem to turn green the moment we slow down, convincing me more and more that Naomi may have been onto something. I was never that smart, but even I'm wondering why everything seems to be moving so smoothly without a kink in our plans. Much to my chagrin, the surprise doesn't stop there as we come upon the most prestigious school in the area, maybe of whole east side of the country. I immediately recognize it as the place where my dad works as a professor, which I've visited many times before. I expected we were going to pass by it, but Naomi actually turns into the lot making me gape at the back of her car with newfound respect. If she can make it into here, she must be smart beyond my wildest dreams. How did this gene pass over her brother? Ah, who am I kidding, he's a great guy regardless, I shouldn't judge someone based on their academics. After all, look at me, no one would expect that I'm just some ordinary man. I shake my head of unnecessary thoughts as she pulls in front of what I expect is the dorm buildings. She motions for me to park next to her and I comply.
Once we get out of the car, Naomi gestures to my open jaw, "What's with the goofy expression?"
"I didn't know you went here of all places."
She shrugs. "I decided to try to apply and was accepted."
I shake my head, "Not that, it's just..." I lean in closer, "My dad works here."
Her eyes go even wider than when I saw them earlier today. "What?!"
"Shhhh. Not so loud. I don't want people to overhear us."
She lowers her voice. "Your dad works here?"
"Let's go inside. I'll explain there."
We walk into the overly fanciful dorms and make our way to Naomi's room. A few of the girls wandering the halls give me furtive stares, but when they see Naomi beside me they roll their eyes and no longer take any interest in me. I glance at the girl besides me. Sure she's not that pretty in terms of looks, but she still would give half of any normal girls a good run for their money. It's not like she's the super popular girl who wants to have all the friends in the world. I mean who would want to be like that? It's not like I would be fine with having everyone at my beck and call, catering to my every whim. Sure, it would be nice every once in a while, but forcing people to do that is downright selfish. I'd rather they want to serve me out of respect and honor, for I would be willing to respond to any loyalty anyone would show to me. The stares around me seem to grow as I get a strong kingly (queenly?) feeling surge within me and I notice a few people start to bow as I walk by them. I look at Naomi, who had stopped in her tracks a few paces behind me, pale as a ghost.
"What's wrong, miss? Weren't we going to visit your humble abode?" My voice sounding now regal and full of nobility as I fail to notice the automatic change in my speech pattern.
Naomi merely curtsies, clearly not of her own volition, and leads me into the room she stood in front of. I follow slowly after her, a little confused by her behavior. I find her pacing back and forth in her room, waiting for me to enter.
I finally break the silence. "What's wrong?"
She pointedly looks at me and tries to look scornful, but fails miserably. "What exactly did you change into?"
I give her a puzzling look, "What did I change into?"
She pulls out a hand mirror and shows me my face. "That's what you look like."
I glance down at the mirror and gasp. Staring back at me is a woman who could be mistaken for a princess, if not a queen. No royal garments adorn her body, but she clearly has an air of superiority about her and her clothes speak of her wealthy heritage. "Who am I?" I ask myself quizzically as if demanding an answer from the mirror. To my surprise, my lips move on their own, "I am royalty."
"Why did you just answer your own question?" Naomi asks, clearly struggling with her speech.
"You can address me normally." I say to her and she immediately relaxes a little, finding it easier to talk.
"Thank you, your-- " She stops herself.
Realization dawns on me and I decide to experiment. "Who am I to you?"
"Your highness." She says immediately and bows.
"And who are you to me?"
"Just a commoner."
I step it up a notch, "You are my handmaiden."
Naomi pauses for a moment, "I'm sorry, milady, I cannot comply with that request."
I try another approach, "You like to wear maid clothes."
She raises her head, her eyes clearly enrage. "With all do respect, I do not."
"You can treat me like a friend, Naomi." I say hoping this last attempt works.
Her scowl becomes apparent as she begins to stomp her way over to me.
"Wait, I didn't know what I was doing." I say trying not to make any commands. "Give me some slack here."
Her finger gets right in my face, "Clearly, you still have a male mind. Why else would you try to make me your maid?"
"Because it was the first thing that popped into my head to try?"
"And why was that, huh?"
"Well because I'm royalty, I thought that maybe I could get a servant of my own."
"No other motives?"
"None, I promise." I say as I cross my heart, "But say, what did it feel like?"
Naomi puts her finger to her chin, "I felt like I had to treat all your commands with respect in fear that you might execute me."
I sigh a bit disappointed, "So it's not as powerful as I thought, though that execute part is a bit frightening."
"What? Did you expect something to happen with those commands?"
"Well, if I'm honest, I thought that I could command you to become someone else since I can change my entire appearance in one go. Sadly it seems I'm the only unique one who can transform."
Naomi laughs, "Well, if I'm totally honest, I didn't think the idea was bad. But when I thought about how you were actually a guy, I just had to refuse even though I felt such a respect and honor that you would choose me."
"So you're saying that it might have been possible if you didn't know I was Chris?"
She shrugs. "Enough of that now, let's see what else you can do."
I groan as she takes me further into her room to where a living room set had been placed. "If I didn't know any better, I'd think this was a penthouse suite."
"What do you expect from a prestigious school as this?"
"Good point."
Naomi and I pass by countless hours thinking up all the possible powers and experimenting with all the forms. I honestly lost count after a while, so the only thing I really remembered of that whole thing where the more memorable ones that caused a lot of problems. One of them was some sort of boxer whose strength was hard to control, I ended breaking a few of her nick-knacks she got as graduation gifts. She told me not to worry, but was having a hard time feeling okay about breaking someone else's gifts. Another one had to do with heat who almost burned everything it touched. It made it hard to move around without fearing that something would accidentally catch fire, it also didn't help that I seemed prone to making mistakes as I moved around in that form. No matter what mistake I made though, I seemed to have perfect control over my ability to control fire. The final one I remember vividly was some sort of belly dancer, one that made Naomi red as the flame I could produce in that other form. She immediately voiced her distaste, but I stated that it felt more like a profession than something used to be alluring. She still refused to let me stay in that form long, so we never really figured out what it did. At the end of all the shenanigans, I reluctantly agreed to go back to being Senna for a little bit, just to show her the powers I didn't at the restaurant. She voiced her surprise at the idea that I had an ability in that form.
"I never did think about it like that, I just thought that form was just something simple."
I shook my head. "Every girl I turn into has some sort of power, otherwise I wouldn't know the trigger to turn into them."
"Oh yea, that reminds me, weren't you going to tell me something about your dad?"
I check the time, "Can't I just go home, it's been at least four hours since we started."
"Not until we have this girl talk."
"What about this discussion is girl talk?"
Naomi shrugs, "I don't know, we are girls talking, right?"
I swallow the rebuttal wanting to come up my throat. "Fine, I get it." I pause to gather my thoughts, "Well, you see, my dad is..." A knock on the door interrupts my train of thought.
"Coming!" Naomi yells as she quickly makes her way to the front door.
A familiar voice resounds through the dorm room as she opens the door, "Oh, I'm sorry Naomi, were you busy with something?"
"Not at all professor. I was just hanging out with my friend."
"That's wonderful, I was always concerned that you would never fit in here having the less than stellar background you have."
I sneak a glance down the hallway to the door, as Naomi sadly looks down, "Please, not now."
My fa-the professor sees me, "Oh, is this your friend here?"
"Yea, she's--"
"I'm Senna." I but in.
"Glad to meet you Senna, I hope you take care of Naomi." The professor nods her way and then suddenly stops. "Hang on a second." He squints, "You seem familiar. I can't put my finger on it, but I feel like we've met somewhere before. I know I would remember a face like yours, but I just can't seem to think of why I know you."
"Well I--"
"Oh, I know." He cuts me off, "You remind me of my oldest son! Those eyes of yours seem to reflect like his." Something seems to click in his head and he immediately flip through his notes. "That reminds me, Naomi, I know you were interested in my research and I must say today seems to have been my lucky day." He continues his speech as if he was teaching a class, "As you know, I've been looking into quantum theory and how it applies to the human body, specifically how it relates to dormant cells or genes that may have been overlooked and hypothesizing if they could be reactivated and if that would grant an unknown quantity of power to any of the major organs, allowing them to perform at immense speeds. Today however, there was this curious discovery that I made. It almost seemed as if the two cells I had been monitoring mirrored each other inexplicably. I looked further into it and realized..." His speech gets slower as he glances over at me. "it strangely looked like it could change of it's own free will."
I had a feeling I knew where this was going, but trying to conceal my nerves, I asked the important question. "And what cells were you studying professor? If I may ask."
"They were ones from just after my eldest son was born. I got permission to use them in my study."
Swallowing hard, I carefully pondered my next words. Do I tell the truth? Lie? Distract him somehow? Use one of my powers? Deciding to act quickly, I convinced myself to...
