Austin to Audry

Jackie and I were walking past houses in the neighborhood on a Sunday two weeks after this change of gender happened. The temperature had cooled considerably making it feel more like autumn. I was wearing an Apricot crew neck with long sleeves and she was wearing a Khaki faux-layered crew neck with a decorative button front and long sleeves. We both were wearing jeans and ankle booties.

Austin Richards came to mind. In high school we (then Steve and Jack) had chatted him up a couple of times, albeit briefly. We can recall the kid with a bizarre sense of humor who could make everyone laugh. At the same time, he seemed shy when not performing. No one ever saw the 5' 9" tall blue-eyed blond hanging out regularly with anyone.

Realizing that we had been given the power to change someone's gender, I suggested a plan of action to Jackie.

Austin might take on a whole different personality if he is turned into a woman. I want to prove my theory.

"Austin would be better off as Audry."

"True that, but how do we get him to drink?" she challenged.

"We don't try to make him drink. We inject him."

Jackie nodded.

First we had to arrange a hookup. We had both seen him by himself in his yard, so we knew where he lived.

A few days had passed. We had not changed our minds about Austin. A resourceful person, Jackie acquired a box of 50 5ml syringes, which she opened on the picnic table in her yard.

"These will do the trick very nicely."

I gave her a smiling nod.

She put a few of them into her fanny pack and we set out to find Austin.

We need to get his cell phone number so we can text him.

As luck would have it, Austin was home, so we paid him a call.

He answered the door. Knowing just what to say, I did the talking for me and Jackie.

"Do you remember us? We went to Patchogue High with you."


"Vaguely," he replied.

"You cracked us up back in the day. We loved your jokes."

A stranger would not know that Austin is given to making jokes.

"Come inside."

Perfect. We made ourselves comfortable in the living room.

We caught another break. His parents were away from home, most likely shopping.

The 3 of us chatted about high school days and present times. I put the question to him.

"Have you ever wondered what your life would be like if you were a girl?"

He shook his head.

"It can never happen, so there's no point in thinking about it."

"Stranger things have happened," I replied.

"You girls are weird."

I managed to distract him giving Jackie the chance to inject him in the neck.

We watched the powerful serum take effect immediately. Austin grunted as he bent over and clutched his belly. His hair grew and his face changed.

He straightened up and tilted his head letting his eyes take in the changes.

"We suggest you go to the mirror."

He dashed to the bathroom.

WHAT HAPPENED TO ME?"

"You're a girl now."

The person staring at the reflection in the mirror had shortened by a few inches to my height, 5' 6. She put her hands against the glass.

"THIS IS A DREAM. PLEASE TELL ME IT'S A DREAM."

"It's not a dream. Austin is gone forever. You're Audry now."

We had to admit Audry's figure is spectacular.

"Nothing will fit me."

"We can fix that," I assured her.

"HOW?"

"Calm down, and we will show you how."

"You did this."

She did not look away from her reflection.

"Come with us," said Jackie.

A short walk brought him to Jackie's bedroom closet. She opened it inviting Audry to choose whatever she liked.

She looked at us.

"Everything here is cute but I need to change back."

"You can never change back. Austin is gone forever."

Audry resigned herself to her fate. She climbed into high-rise denim leggings, put on a Maidenform C-cup bra and a cropped V-neck T-shirt.

"I like how soft the clothes feel."

Her comment could not go without a comeback.

"There's a lot to like about being a girl."

Over the next few days Jackie and I hung out together after work. Sometimes we would join Cheryl and her friends for a meal or an evening at a comedy club.

Four of us took seats at side-by-side round tables. The comic was a youthful-looking, dark-haired guy whose jokes we didn't find funny. He got few laughs. Audry is a lot funnier than this guy. She should be on that stage.

Neither Jackie nor I had seen Audry since she first appeared. As we left the club, I voiced the question that had been on my mind since we came into the club. We had expected her to show.

"How's Audry doing? Do you know?"

Jackie simply shrugged her shoulders.

"Let's pay her a visit."

"Good idea," Jackie replied.

A text came quite unexpectedly minutes after I got home that night. Before retiring for the night, I read it.

"Meet me for coffee at Starbucks tomorrow when you get off work."

I sent a reply. "Yes"

Shortly after 4 in the afternoon, I brought a regular coffee and a pastry to a table in the corner. Audry joined me at the table barely five minutes afterward. She wore a red plaid button-down belted long-sleeved shirt dress.

"This dress is new."

"It's pretty."

The compliment flattered her.

She made a surprising remark.

"I want to stay like this forever."
You came to your senses.

A smile tugged at the corners of my mouth. I gave her a nod of approval.

For the next few minutes, we sipped our coffee and ate our pastry in silence.

Having finished, we remained at the table for a few minutes. She opened up.

"I thought I never wanted to be a girl."

"You've embraced it, and that's good."

"It truly is."

"Jackie and I didn't like it at first but the brain changes."

"How did it happen to you?"

"We played basketball in the driveway, then drank pink Gatorade. That's what we injected into you."

"I'm glad you injected me."