A Whateley Academy Tale

Fey: PMS and Other Problems

by Maggie Finson

Whateley: September 7, 2006
Burnout (of a kind)

Nikki let out a long, exasperated sigh as yet another group of guys checked her out in the dining communal dining room of Crystal Hall.

“What’s wrong with you?” Toni questioned over her cup of unsweetened tea.

“Just tired.” The redhead shrugged, then added.  “And feeling kind of funny right now.  I’ve haven’t felt too well all day long.”

“Maybe you should go to the clinic, then.” Tennyo put in between stuffing unbelievable amounts of food into her mouth.  Privately, Nikki wondered with some amusement how the girl managed to even carry all the platters she had chosen for her lunch without actually juggling them.

“I don’t know, I just, you know, ache all over.  Especially through my hips, my scalp feels like it’s trying to crawl off my head, and my -- umm -- breasts feel like they’ve been doused with itching powder.” Nikki answered with a funny look on her face as she realized what all that might imply. “Uh oh.”

“Did she just say uh oh?” Hank nervously questioned from behind the mound of food he was consuming while scanning the dining area for any sign of wayward magical beasties bent on mayhem.

---

“Yeah, but don’t worry about it Hunk.” Toni chuckled.  “I get the feeling that this doesn’t have anything to do with hobgoblins, does it Nikki?”

“Uh, no.” The redhead grimaced then winced as an obvious pain hit her from somewhere below the beltline.  “I think I’m going to go lie down for an hour before I have to go to Powers Theory.  I really don’t feel good at all.”

“Need someone to walk back with you?” Tennyo asked with concern on her face and in her female drill sergeant’s voice.

“No, but thanks.” Nikki actually let out a giggle as she looked at the separate mounds of food still waiting for the other girl’s attention.  “You go ahead and finish your lunch.  I’ll be okay.  Just need to rest a little after last night.”

“We all did kind of stretch ourselves powers wise against those ninjas didn’t we?” Toni put in.

“Yeah.” giving the bouncy black girl a weak smile, Nikki winced again.  “I never opened up to mine the way I did last night.  Or used them so much.”

“Go get some rest, then.” Jade put in with a little frown as she put the descriptions of how the redhead was feeling into the context of a girl who was maturing.  “I’ll come back and get you to walk to Powers Theory in about an hour, ok?”

“Uh huh.” Nikki swallowed nausea and forced the bile threatening to creep up her throat and past her tightly closed lips back down.  “See you then.”

As she made her way out of the common dining area, Nikki heard comments from groups of admiring guys having to do with her looking much better in a thin nightie so much that she wanted to stop and scream at them, then wondered why it bothered her so much.  Guys were going to be guys, after all, and having been one herself not all that long ago -- fully, at least -- she could understand the talk and admiring glances sent her way.

But she just felt so Horrible that hearing the comments grated on her.  Worse, they made her want to actually turn her powers loose on some of the more obnoxious ones.  But she gritted her teeth and put up with both the comments and the strange emotions churning in her mind.

Until one guy, a fairly good looking one with longish golden hair told his friends loudly enough for everyone in the area to hear.  “So she was really hot in that nightgown.  I’d rather see her without it, if you know what I mean.  Now that would be Hot.

It was just too much by about an inch.  Closing her eyes for a moment, she gathered in the lines she could easily reach, holding the obvious show of power down to a subtle enough level that parents and other non-clued in visitors would have a hard time noticing, and with a calm she didn’t feel, sauntered over to the offending young man’s table.

“Would you mind repeating what you just said?” She asked with a little smile while looking right into the guy’s face.

“Well.” Typically, he wasn’t looking at her face in response as the guy shrugged.  “I guess you heard it right the first time, didn’t you, sweet cheeks?”

“I guess I did.” With a sweet smile on her face, Nikki found the precise lines she had been looking for and worked a minor transformation in them.  The material of the boy’s cotton jeans suddenly shifted density and texture while other parts of the garment moved around.  He let out a small, shocked gasp as his pants tightened uncomfortably around his male pride and joy then again as they completely unraveled and vanished.

“I’d sit there really carefully for a while.” Nikki informed him with another much cheerier smile and little wink. “Unless you’d really like to show off your sweet cheeks to everyone here.”

The boy just stared at his naked lap, then glared up at the petite redhead standing so nonchalantly in front of his table.

“Of course, if you really want to get nasty with me.” Nikki shrugged and gave him her sunniest smile. “I could make sure the rest of you gets shown off, too, sweetie.”

“Gah!” Was the only thing that came from his mouth.

Nikki giggled as she heard one of his friends whisper.  “I told you she was a magic user, dumbass!  But would you listen?  Nooo!  You had to go and piss her off anyway.”

With a little wave of one hand, she let go of the lines and allowed his pants to return, then raised the same hand in a friendly wave.  “Well, see you guys around.  Try and be a little more considerate of other’s feelings in the future, could you please?”

Nikki actually felt just a bit better after that bit of mischief.  At least for a few minutes.  She was able to pretty well ignore any other comments about Bedtime Babes and the like on her way out of the dining room.

Powers Theory should have been interesting, but with the droning monotone of the instructor, her sleepiness from the interrupted nap, and the near constant churnings in her tummy, Nikki could barely keep from bolting for the nearest bathroom, or falling back to sleep.

Jade, seated next to her, saved that indignity from happening when she leaned slightly and questioned.  “You’re a level three Esper, aren’t you?”

“Uh, huh, empath.” Nikki answered quietly, finally focusing on the lecture enough to understand the relevance of the other’s question.  “But that’s still unofficial.  I haven’t been tested for it here yet.”

She managed to get through the class, but for the life of her, couldn’t recall the instructor’s name.  Waving bye to Jade she headed for the next class on her truncated schedule, Home Economics with a slight grimace. 

She was able to get through that one without much thought or effort.  Doing things like her own laundry, cooking, and keeping things straight around the house had become almost second nature to Nick once his parent’s had separated.  Especially with his mother working even harder at her own job.

She even managed to share a giggle with some other girls at the sick look on some of the boy’s faces upon hearing that they would have to learn to do all those normal housekeeping chores and more.  Still, that class too, went past in a haze that had her working to even recall who the teacher was or even the name of the girl she had been sitting beside.

Principles of Magic did, however, catch her immediate attention.  Beltane was there, and winked in greeting before giving her a concerned look.  “Are you feeling ok, Nikki?”

“No.” The redhead shook her head and regretted that as sharp pains shot from her forehead all the way over the top of her head and down to her neck.  “I feel weird all over, and like I want to throw up all the time.”

“Weird how?” The older girl questioned while looking over the younger one.  “Bad enough to go to see a doctor?”

“I don’t know.” Nikki miserably shrugged, then grimaced.  “I mean, I feel awful, but not so bad that I can’t get around.”

“So what classes have you been to this afternoon?” Belle asked abruptly.

“Umm, Home Ec, and Powers Theory.” Nikki replied after a little thought.

“Uh huh, and who were the teachers you had?”

“I don’t remember.” The redhead shrugged then winced. “I wasn’t paying real close attention in either one of them, to be honest.”

“That’s it then.” Belle nodded in decision. “Come with me.”

Nikki allowed herself to be pulled to the front of the class and presented to a tall, slim woman with honey blonde hair flowing down her back in a exuberant flood of shining tresses that almost seemed to have a life of their own.

“Ms. Tenent, this is the girl I was telling you about.” Belle introduced her.  “Nikki Reilly, this is Ophelia Tenent, she’s a practicing witch and is the instructor for this course.”

“Glad to meet you, Miss Reilly.” Ophelia smiled as she answered in a soft, musical voice that soothed as it demanded attention.  “Is there something wrong here?”

“I think using her magic last night caused some kind of reaction, she isn’t well just now.” Belle responded as Nikki mumbled some response to the introduction.

“Then let’s have a look.” Ophelia nodded, then waved to the students gathered and watching the events.  “Go ahead and make the class intro, dear, and get them going with the texts and supplies list while I give this poor girl a quick looking over.”

“You got it.” Belle grinned, then gave Nikki an encouraging smile.  “You’re in good hands, hon.  Caduceus, or Ms. Tenent is one of the best magical healers in the business.  She’ll get you fixed up.”

“First, I need to find out what’s wrong with you, dear.” The woman led Nikki into a small office adjoining the class room and gently shut the door, with one strand of her long hair.

Other strands reached out to retrieve various instruments and even in her hazy condition, Nikki was a bit taken aback at seeing mundane things like a thermometer and tongue depressor gripped in the shining hair and moving her direction.

“Oh, I’m sorry.” Ophelia grinned as she took the thermometer in her hand while the thick strand of golden hair moved away in quest of something else.  “I sometimes forget that new students don’t know about me and how I do things.  My hair acts like other hands, fingers, or just about anything else I need it to do.  Don’t worry, I keep it very clean.”

Nikki couldn’t answer because of the thermometer in her mouth, just nodded and indicated that it was ok with a small wave.

“Hmmm, One Hundred and Two.” The woman read the digital readout and took the thermometer probe from Nikki’s mouth with raised eyebrows.  “High, but not all that bad.  We can rule out a catastrophic burnout here.  So explain to me how exactly you feel just now.”

Nikki did a little better than that, sending her feelings, carefully, to the other.  Ophelia widened her eyes at that but nodded acceptance, then winced as she received the information.  “I can see now why you seem so dazed here, poor girl, you’re too ill to be trying to cope with classes just now.”

“What’s wrong with me?” Nikki plaintively questioned as the woman ran gentle hands up and down her aching body.  “This feels like the worst case of flu I ever heard of.”

“Well it isn’t flu.” Ophelia absently replied as she continued her examination.  “You’re from Poe Cottage, right?”

“Uh huh.”

“Are you one of the special ones like Beltane?”

“Uh huh, if you mean was I a boy before my powers came on.”  Nikki responded without worrying about telling her that kind of information.  If you keep going with the exam, you’re going to really find that out in a sec...”

“Ah, so I see.” Ophelia nodded again with a little smile.  “Well don’t worry about that.  Happened to me, too, you know.  And I think I know what’s happening to you here.”

“What, am I trying to die?” The redhead asked as if that possibility wasn’t such a terrible thing at the moment.

“No.” Ophelia laughed softly, then stroked Nikki’s hair to show it wasn’t meant to be cruel.  “Though as I recall from my own change, and the way it felt, you probably wouldn’t complain too much if the old reaper showed up with your name on his list just now.”

“You have that right.” Nikki swallowed as another twitch in her middle almost caused her to loose what little lunch she had managed to get down. 

“Well, it will get better.” Ophelia soothed.  “Probably by tomorrow morning or early afternoon.”

“That’s good news.” The redhead grumped, daunted by the idea of feeling so miserable all night and possibly part of the next day, too.  “I think.”

“Oh it is.” The blonde woman assured with a twinkle in her deep blue eyes.  “At least you won’t have to worry about when the changes are going to finish up after that.”

“Changes?  Finish up?” Nikki squeaked.

“Yes, dear.” Ophelia nodded.  “Your sudden use of so much magic last night has accelerated your change into a female.  You’re going through all the internal and external alterations to fit the template your power imposed on you right now.”

“Oh great.” Nikki mumbled.  “Then I can worry about being a real girl instead of when that’s going to happen.  But my doctors at home said this wouldn’t happen till I was about seventeen.”

“They hadn’t taken the massive use of your powers you worked last night into account when they told you that, dear.” The woman answered with a shrug. “They couldn’t have, after all.  The kind of surge you’re going through is similar to a catastrophic burnout in some respects.  You’re feverish, almost delirious, hurt all over, and can barely keep track of what you’re doing moment by moment.  The changes in your body are causing that, I’m afraid and you’ll just have to weather them until they’re finished with you.”

“Am I burning out?” The beginnings of panic were showing in Nikki’s eyes.

“Not at all.” Ophelia hugged the trembling girl.  “All that’s happening here is your body is burning out all the extraneous stuff in it.  Namely, the male DNA, organs, and body shape that was left so you fit the template of your power. That’s why you’re running a fever now and ache so much.  Your insides are literally moving around and changing even while we sit here talking about it.”

“I kind of noticed that.” Her stomach clenched again and Nikki did throw up that time.  Fortunately a strand of Ophelia’s animated hair was holding a small washtub close in case of that eventuality.

A cool washcloth softly moving across her face brought the girl back to her surroundings and she groaned as another spasm shook her small frame.  “I’m going to hurl again.”

“Go ahead.” the basin was under her chin and looking at what was in it only made her stomach churn more violently as she added to the mess.

Following several other abortive attempts at coherent speech, the current spate of illness passed.  Mostly.  Nikki closed her eyes and shuddered.  “I need to lie down now, I think.”

“I think so, too.” Ophelia agreed while still sopping her patient’s face with cool water.  “I’ll have Belle take you back to your room so you can do that without too many distractions.”

“Ok.” Nikki weakly nodded as she tried getting to her feet.

“No, just stay in the chair for now, sweetie.” The woman’s voice compelled as well as soothed and the redhead didn’t struggle too much against that.

“I know you probably won’t keep it down.” Ophelia told her as she held out a glass filled with a murky whitish fluid.  “But drink it down.  It will help.”

“If you say so.” Nikki swallowed the lump in her throat to make room for the stuff and hesitantly took the offered glass.

“Drink it down.” The woman urged in her soft, compelling voice.

Nikki grimaced as her throat and stomach rebelled at the simple thought of putting anything down either one of them, then forced herself to gulp the stuff down. Her throat contracted and her stomach lurched once she had, but the fluid stayed down.

“Good!” Ophelia encouraged.  “Now hold it down for as long as you can, even if you have to fight to do it.”

Nikki did both, for a while.  At about the tenth spasm in her abused stomach she gave up and leaned over the clean basin that was offered to spew the contents of her digestive system into it.

But even after that, she did begin feeling a little better.

“Think you can walk without colliding with walls, floors and other people now?” The woman questioned solicitously.

“Dunno.” Nikki managed to get out, then did get to her feet, even if she did wobble a little once there.  “I guess so.  Haven’t fallen over since I stood up.”

“Well, that’s as good as it gets until this passes, dear.” Ophelia shrugged.  “What you need now is rest, fluids, and rest.  In that order.  You wait here and I’ll go get Belle to help you back to Poe.  I’ll arrange to have you excused from classes for the next couple of days because even after it finished, you’re going to be worn out for a while.”

“Hey Nikki!” Toni charged into their room with her usual aplomb and lightly prodded the lump of blankets in her roommate’s bed.

That lump stirred, a little, groaned, then a pair of watery, bleary violet eyes glared from their refuge.  “Unless you’re here to put me out of my misery, just go away.  I’m sick.”

“I know, Beltane told me.” Toni nodded briskly, then pulled the blankets away from her roommate.  “She also told me that you need fluids and a shower.  So come on and get with the program here.”

“If I felt just a little better.” Nikki glowered as her roommate pulled her off the bed with surprising gentleness.  “I’d turn you into a toad or something for this.  If I knew how to do that.  Can’t you please leave me alone to die in peace?”

“You aren’t going to die, chickie.” The black girl grinned at her disheveled, miserable looking roomie.  “Even if you do look more like a zombie from some horror movie than your normal beautiful self right now.  But a shower will fix that, and make you feel better.  Trust me.”

“Do I have to?” Nikki grumbled, then looked up at her roommate with a scowl.  “Trust you I mean?  I already know you well enough to have given up hope that you’ll forget this and let me go back to bed.”

“Nope.” Toni wrapped a robe around Nikki and guided her towards the door.  “So don’t fight it.”

“Uhhnn.” was the only response the redhead managed to that.

Nikki looked better, marginally, after the shower.  Glancing at her reflection in the mirror, steamed up as it was, showed her that, and she only had to interrupt the proceedings to throw up once, which she sourly thought was some improvement.

“Got her bed changed.” Jade’s voice penetrated the fuzziness in Nikki’s head. “Ugh, those sheets and blankets were a mess.”

“Thanks, hon.” Toni answered while guiding the still nearly comatose Nikki back to her room.

“Here’s those ice chips.” Tennyo entered the scene carrying a small bucket filled with shaved ice.  “But will she take any of them?”

“Belle said we had to get some of it down her or she’ll dehydrate.” Toni answered while helping Nikki back to bed.  “The shower helped with some hydration, but she needs to get some internally, too.”

Hank peered into the door with a concerned expression.  “How’s she doing?”

Ayla joined the group as Toni began forcing ice chips between her roommate’s resisting lips.  “Better.  At least now she’s moving and muttering instead of curling up and moaning.”

“Peace and quiet, that’s what Ophelia said I needed.” Nikki mumbled then gasped as Toni took that opportunity and shoved another sliver of ice into her mouth.

“We’ll see that you get that.” Toni assured her.

“That’s what worries me.” Nikki grumbled as her eyes closed again.

Nikki awakened to see sunlight flooding the room she shared with Toni, but no sign of her roommate or anyone else.  A look at her clock showed that everyone would be in class, and with a start, she jumped out of bed.  “Sheesh!  How could I have slept through half the day? Oh.”

She recalled bits and pieces of the day before, and shuddered at the memories those brought up, then wrinkled her nose as she smelled something rank.  The smell was coming from her.  “Eww! Time for a shower here.”

“Ack!” that was pulled from her as she lost her balance and fell back to her rumpled bed.  Her breasts bounced and jiggled uncomfortably in reaction to that and she grabbed at them to hold the masses of flesh still.  And her eyes widened at what she felt.  “I did not have this much up there yesterday, I know it!”

Sure enough, her breasts had grown, overnight it seemed to her.  Instead of the smallish, developing little things she had almost grown used to the mounds of flesh proudly jutting from her chest were full, rounded, firm and anything but small.  At least in her opinion.

“These are not little girl breasts.” Nikki swallowed as her hands continued to hold the objects of her present attention until the brownish nipples went erect.  Pleasant tingles surged from those little (ok not so little any longer) points to her belly, crotch, and toes as she massaged them.

“Oh!” A gasp of indrawn air came as the feelings played tag all through her body with results that had her quivering and pulling in even more ragged breaths.  “I have got to stop doing this or I’ll never get that shower taken.”

A wetness at her crotch had her grimacing.  “Oh wonderful, I peed myself on top of everything else.”

But the smell from that area told her it wasn’t urine that was causing the feeling.  “Uh oh.”

Spreading her legs and staring past her expanded chest, Nikki realized that now she really was a girl.  “Urk!”

She battled with an urge to explore that still unknown territory for several seconds before giving up and reaching down to gently spread the fleshy lips that now nestled within the inverted triangle of flame red hair where her penis and testicles had held court for all of her previous life.

“Yup, I was right.”  Nikki closed her eyes and fought to stay calm as all that penetrated her battered psyche.  Larger breasts, obviously wider hips and bigger, rounder bottom, that she could feel without really looking, and a warm, dark little tunnel where her former genitals had swung so arrogantly.

Tendrils of soft, thick flame red hair tickled her shoulders and newly expanded breasts as she noted in almost passing that her hair was also a lot longer that it had been.  And was kind of wavy instead of perfectly straight like it had been.

“Ok, I knew this was going to happen.” She told herself while getting a very tight grip on emotions that galloped through her mind like a whole herd of wild horses engaged in a race.  “So I won’t scream here.”

After some sober thought, she grinned, shrugged, and told herself.  “Hell with it.  I need to scream.”

So she did.  A high, piercing one that actually shook the windows.  Then stood up with a small smile playing around her lips.  “Nothing changed but it feels better anyway.  Now for that shower.”

Following the shower, another illuminating experience with all the extra flesh her body now carried, Nikki padded back to her room, sniffed her bedding, and immediately changed her sheets.  ‘”Bleh!, whatever it was my body was getting rid of, it sure smells bad now.”

She almost threw the messy, stinky sheets away, but hauled them to the bathroom, put them in a shower stall, and ran the water very hot and hard until they were soaked.  Then she soaped them up, scrubbed industriously then rinsed them with cold water.  After wringing them, and her longer hair, out she put the wet but better smelling sheets into the hamper in her room. 

“Oh, yeah, great.” She groused to herself while hunting for clean sheets.  “Now I don’t have any clean sheets.  Laundry room, here I come.”

Tugging on a pair of lavender panties that were noticeably tighter than they had been the last time she'd worn them, and wrapping her robe carefully around her more abundant anatomy, she fished the dirty clothes out of the hamper and dumped them in a basket.  Thinking, rightly, that using magic at that point would really make little difference, she sought out the lines of gravity holding the basket down, then loosened them so the thing floated several feet off the ground.

With a grin, she headed for the door and glanced back at the basket.  “Well what are you waiting for?  Come on!” 

Responding to the gentle pull on the lines connecting it to her, rather than the command, the basket of dirty laundry obediently followed her down the hall, stairs, and into the laundry room.

Several upper classmen, between classes, gaped at her robe and panty clad form with more interest than gay guys were supposed to show in a girl.  One whistled and called out.  “Woo Hoo!  Looking GOOD Red!”

Nikki glowered at them for a second, then surprised herself and them by giggling.  “Thanks, but I’m really not in the mood for this just now.  C’mon laundry.”

The basket of soiled clothing and sheets obediently followed her into the laundry room and the door slammed shut behind it. 

There was no sign of the boys, or anyone else when a very tired Nikki directed a basket of clean and neatly folded laundry back to her room.  Once there, she placed Toni’s things on the other girl’s bed, her own in the proper drawers or the closet, made her bed, then gratefully slid back between the clean, soft sheets and was asleep almost instantly.

PMS and Other Things

Nikki awakened very slowly.  This was not the gradual, easy thing that was her usual sleepy self when trying to get up in the morning, though.  Something had been interrupting her sleep for the past several nights, dreams of chanting and shadowy figures brandishing varicolored pieces of carved crystal in her direction kept waking her up at odd times in the night.  Having been so ill with the magic accelerated changes in her body hadn’t helped any in that respect either.

Toni, as usual bounced out of bed as if there were springs in the thing specially designed to literally throw the black girl out to the floor.  “Morning Sunshine!  Time to get ourselves moving if we don’t want to fight for a shower and mirror!”

“Ohhh.” Nikki groaned while covering her head with her pillow to shut out both the light and sight of her terminally cheerful roomie.  “Go away.”

“Grumpy this morning?”  the black martial arts whiz chirped as she pulled the pillow away from Nikki’s head them yanked the blankets off her red headed roomie. “Come on!  You have that meeting with Mrs. Hawkins this morning about those special training classes and you want to look good for that, don’t you?”

“Arrgh!”  Nikki, also known as Fey for her own mutant powers almost screamed as her shield from the world was torn away.  “I don’t care!  Just let me sleep another twenty minutes.  I’ll get up then, I swear!”

“Sure, like yesterday?”  Toni grinned while literally pulling the petite beauty into a sitting position.  “You missed the orientation meeting for our Team and Mr. Shane was really pissed about that until we found out you were so sick.  Now get yourself up and going... Whoa!”

The last was when the other girl took a second to really look at Nikki.  Huge dark circles beneath her large almond shaped violet eyes marred her otherwise flawless complexion, but that isn’t what drew out the gasp of surprise.

Nikki glanced down at her well filled nightie and let out a long sigh.  Her breasts had grown again.  Along with her hips and bottom.  “Oh great.  Now none of my bras or panties are going to fit.”

“The doctor was right.”  Toni nodded while giving her roommate’s newly burgeoning figure a halfway envious look.  “Using your magic really is accelerating your change into a girl.  I bet you’re up to a full C cup already.”

“Wonderful.”  Nikki groused, then let out a little “Eep!”

“What?”  Toni glanced suspiciously around the room to make sure no hobgoblins were lurking in the corners.  One of Nikki’s biggest problems with her new found powers was fine control of them.  If she lost her grip on the use of her magic, little things like mischievous bits of excess energy manifested in her general area and caused no end of problems for the people and things around her.

“Look!”  Nikki pulled down her panties to show a completely feminine, and more importantly female, crotch to Toni.  “I noticed this yesterday, but it’s still a shock for me to have a... a...”

“It’s called a vagina.”  The other helpfully finished for her.  “And those are the Labia Majoris, with your Labia Minoris inside those, and...”

“I Know what they are, thank you!”  Nikki shot back.  “I just didn’t think I’d end up with them on me so soon!.  My doctor back home didn’t think this would happen until I was about seventeen!”

“Well, the best doctor here told you that using your powers so much, like against those raiding Ninjas, were bringing you along a whole lot faster than if you were just sitting around doing nothing.”  Toni soothed her roommate.

“Oh, I know.”  Nikki let out a long sigh while checking out her filled out bosom, hips and cutely rounded bottom.  Along with the obviously female equipment nestled between her silky thighs.  “It’s just that I’ve still been having those stupid dreams all night long, am getting hit on everywhere I go, and was a boy three months ago.  Now I’m this guy magnet, with a glamour I can’t turn off that makes me even sexier, and now I’m a girl all the way.  I don’t know if I can deal with all this stuff in a single, mixed up package at once, Toni.  It’s making me crazy!”

“Uh oh!”  Toni grimaced.  She already knew that when Nikki lost it, things tended to get more than a little exciting.  “Well let’s get you into the shower, and ask Ayla if she has some things you can use until you can get some that fit.  Ok?”

“Sure.”  Nikki glumly agreed.  “I’ll just shake and jiggle all the way down the hall with you and see if anyone notices.”

“That’s the spirit!”  The black girl literally pulled Nikki to her feet and propelled the other girl towards the door of the room they shared.  “You get into the shower, take care of all the other stuff you do in the morning and I’ll go beg some stuff from Ayla for you.”

“Right.”  reaching for her cosmetics bag, and the one filled with skin creams and hair care products, Nikki stumbled towards the door.  “Just make sure the stuff isn’t synthetic, ok?”

“Yeah, I remember.  No sense in you dealing with a rash on top of the other stuff.”  Toni muttered while making sure her roomie actually was headed for the girls shower and bathroom.  “You just get yourself presentable and I’ll get some underwear for you.  And don’t go off on some weird tangent on me or anyone else, please?”

“I’ll try and be good.”  Nikki grumbled as the bathroom door closed behind her.

Ayla was up, and getting dressed, when Toni knocked on her door.  “Hello?  Is it safe to come in?”

“Sure, Toni.”  The slender shemale responded just a bit more cheerfully than Nikki had managed.  “What can I do for you this early in the morning?”

“I got the hint, Ayla.”  Toni grinned as she entered the other’s room and winced at the sounds of Real Nasty Heavy Metal Music erupting from the other’s small but loud stereo.  “But umm, Nikki has kind of a problem that I think you might be able to help out with.”

“Nikki?” Ayla looked puzzled then questioned.  “What kind of problem and why couldn’t she come and ask me?”

“You don’t know how Nikki gets when things go kind of funky on her. But I think there‘s a really good chance that everyone in Poe is going to learn about that pretty soon.” The black girl shrugged.  “I got her into the bathroom and hopefully into the shower.  The problem is that she developed some more overnight and none of her undies will fit her any longer.  I was wondering if she could borrow some stuff until she can get some more of her own?”

“Developed how?”  Alya asked, thinking of the already hot little Nikki with even more attractive attributes and doing her best to keep her still male parts under control.

“Well, she’s at least a C-Cup now, and her hips and bottom are definitely looking more like those on an adult female.  Her own bras and panties are way too small now.  Would you have something that might get her through the day, at least?”

“Oh, yeah.”  Ayla nodded with an internal grin.  This she just had to see for herself.  She began rummaging through her drawers and  closets.  “Non synthetics, right?  And does she need outer wear too?”

“Oh probably.”  Toni grimaced.  She hadn’t thought of that, then giggled.

“What’s so funny?  The spiky haired girl questioned, her voice muffled because she was almost buried in her closet.

“I was just picturing poor Nikki wandering around campus in bra and panties...” Toni giggled again.

“That would sure cause some heart attacks.” Ayla agreed with a giggle of her own.  “We sure can’t have that now, can we?”

“Nope.”

“Ok, I’ll find some stuff and bring it to the bathroom.” Ayla replied.

“Thanks, and Nikki will thank you, too.”  Toni grinned at the very attractive bottom the other was still displaying.

“Uh, what was that?”  Ayla asked as a distant sounding rumble grew closer.

“Kind of sounds like thunder.  But in the Hallway? ”  Toni answered, then smacked herself in the forehead.  “I’ve gotta go!  Nikki is going crazy about something, I just know it!”

Nikki stripped out of her night gown and carefully looked herself over in the full length mirror in front of her.  Her breast had gone beyond merely pert.  Now they were full, with large nipples and quarter sized aureoles.  Her waist looked slimmer, but that had to be from the wider and well rounded hips she was now blessed (cursed) with.  And her bottom!  Well, that was something that would have had her drooling as Nick, and thinking of ways to get to know the girl who had it.  Problem was, now Nikki was the girl, and had legs that perfectly complemented the newly emerged feminine charms she had.

“Oh, maaan.” She moaned to the air in general.  “I have got to get a handle on all this stuff before I go completely bonkers.”

Then she realized something else.  Those dreams that had been haunting her sleep, or lack of it recently.  Were they connected to her physical changes?  Or were they really something from outside intruding on her during sleep?  With all the changes she had gone through over the past few months, she couldn’t discount the latter at all.  Too many people had developed an interest in her recently, many of those she still hadn’t seen or met.  “Damn it!  Why can’t people just leave me alone?”

Something she had never felt before filled her to the point that she was completely overwhelmed.  A red haze filled her vision as she thought of someone Daring to disturb her sleep.  Anger like she had never believed possible threatened to submerge her in a tide of emotion that was entirely alien to anything in her experience.

Distant sounds of thunder and the crackle of lightning, accompanied by more than a few surprised squeals in the hallway filtered through the unaccustomed rage she felt.

“Ack!”  Ayla straightened up in shock as a mini lightning bolt hit so close to her head that it caused her already spiky hair to stand even straighter.  “What the Hell was that?”

“A thunder storm.”  Toni almost had to shout over the noise.  “In the hallway!  I’ve gotta get to Nikki now!”

“Nikki?”  Ayla questioned while warily watching a small, ugly cloud wreathed in an aurora of flickering lightning advancing on her from the open door to the hall.

“She also turned into a real girl down there last night.” The black girl shouted back with a worried expression.  “Do you know anyone who might have something to help with PMS?”

“Oh shit.”  Ayla closed her eyes.  Someone with Nikki‘s, or Fey’s as she was called, powers with PMS?  That didn’t bear thinking about.  “I’ll go find Tennyo!”

Tennyo was already in the hall, clutching her own bath stuff while dodging lightning bolts and gusts of wind.  “What’s going on?”

“Nikki is all girl now!”  Toni hollered, then added as she slipped in a puddle of water.  “Yikes! You got any Midol or something like that?”

“Nikki is PMSing?”  Tennyo gave them an incredulous look.  “Oh my God!  I have Pampronal.  I’ll go get it!”

“Ativan is a good idea!”  floated from the third floor and those freshmen not currently dodging small lightning bolts or sliding in puddles on the floor noted a cluster of faces peering down to the chaotic second floor.

“I’ll take anything you got!”  Toni shouted up the stairs, then had to resort to some pretty good moves to dodge a series of tiny, but forceful bolts of lightning intent on frying parts of her anatomy she preferred remained uncooked.

“You come and get it, then!” The still unknown person shouted back.  “No way am I coming down there just now!”

“I’m coming!”  Jinn shouted and nearly flew towards the stairs, adroitly dodging both lightning bolts and puddles in her progress.  “Have it ready when I get up there, ‘cause we really need it bad down here!”

Jade watched the chaos from under the relative safety of a heavy table for a few more seconds before scrambling out and running in a zig zag pattern that would have made a military drill sergeant proud.  “Where is she?”

“Who?” Another student shouted back, then yelped as a small bolt of lightning hit her in the bottom.

“Nikki!” Jade made an acrobatic leap over the stumbling girl, while still headed for the room Nikki and Toni shared.

“In the bathroom!” Toni hollered down the hall, performing a stylish skid and turn at the door leading into the girls shower room.  “Come on!  Maybe we can calm her down a little!”

The mini thunderstorms winked out, to be replaced with a steady rain.  In the hallway.

“Now she’s gone all teary.”  Toni let out a sigh of relief as the lightning chasing her subsided into the more gentle rainstorm.  Even if it was in the hallway of their dorm.

“Sheesh, are we gonna have to put up with this every month?”  Hank questioned from behind his own door, which was opened just enough for the others to see one eye very carefully checking out the situation.

“It kinda snuck up on her this time.”  Toni defended her roommate. 

“Well if this is sneaking...” The voice from upstairs contributed.  “I don’t want to see her in a full blown hormonal rage.  You guys need to do something about this!”

Toni found Nikki curled up in the shower crying so hard her whole body shook.  “Hey, hon, calm down.  It’s going to be ok.”

“Cuh -- cuh -- CALM  DOWN?!!” A tearful Nikki screamed with the accompaniment of thunder in the background.  “I can’t!  I don’t even know what’s happening here!”

“It’s called PMS, I think.”  Toni soothed the still shaking girl and was gratified to notice that the thunder faded away as she stroked Nikki’s back.  “It looks like you got the whole package there, all at once.  So just take some deep breaths and try to get yourself under control, ok?”

“PMS?  ME?”  Nikki sobbed with the soft sound of rainfall coming from the hallway.

“Oh yeah.” Toni assured her roommate.  “But don’t worry.  Billie has something that will help with that.  She’s bringing it to you right now.”

“Buh -- buh -- but if I’m having PMS...” Nikki sobbed again.  “Then that means I’m also going to have a....”

“Period, yes, that’s part of the deal.”  Tennyo’s voice entered the conversation, in carefully soothing tones.  “I can help you with that, though, so don’t get all up in the air over it, ok?  It’s something all us girls have to deal with.  Our monthly visitor is just a part of life we deal with and get on with life once we do.  Not to worry, I can get you through this.  Trust me, I know all about that kind of stuff.”

“NONE of my Clothes FIT anymore, either!” Nikki almost screamed, but was swarmed by Tennyo, Toni, Ayla, Jinn and Jade, who all began stroking and hugging her to avoid more thunderstorms.

“I’ve got that covered, girl friend.”  Ayla answered in carefully soft tones.  “Until you can get some of your own that do.  Ok?”

“And, and -- some jerks are interrupting my SLEEP at night!”  Nikki sobbed like all the world had just turned on her.  “That’s the worst part.  How can I show my face in public with these big dark circles under my eyes?  And bags!”

“Yup, she’s all girl now.”  Tennyo needlessly told the others.

“Makeup can hide the worst of it, hon.”  Ayla answered with a glare towards Tennyo.  “I’ll show you how to do that.  And we’ll all help you find what it is that’s disturbing your sleep.  Right?”

“Sure!”  chorused everyone else in the bathroom, and more than a few people who had cautiously come back out into the hallway once all the storms had passed.

“You will?” The redhead questioned with wide eyes as she slowly looked around the circle of friends still holding on to her like she was the ball in the middle of a rugby match‘s scrum. 

“Damn right!” a chorus of voices answered loudly from the shower room, the hallway, and even filtering down from the third floor.  That voice added with a note of wry humor.  “Hell, if it’ll keep you from doing that kind of thing again, the whole cottage would be willing to help you out with that.  And do you think somebody could please mop the floor down there?”

“I think I feel better now.” Nikki announced tentatively.  “You can all let go of me now.”

“Not until you take these.” Tennyo held out what looked like a handful of pills with a glass of orange juice.

“What are they? The redhead eyed the innocent looking white pills suspiciously.

“Propanol, Pamprin, Midol, and Ativan.” The Asian girl answered.  “They’ll make you feel better and hold down the thunderstorms and stuff in here while they do.”

“I have to take All of them?”

“Ok, we’ll save the Ativan for real emergencies.” Tennyo allowed as she removed two of the pills from the pile.  “But the rest of ‘em are definite takers or we tie you down and knock you unconscious until this passes.”

“Oh, all right.” Nikki took the pills, grimaced, and shoved them in her mouth, then drained the orange juice.  “There.  Happy now?”

“Ecstatic.” Ayla answered while rubbing her bottom.  “Now I can stop dodging lightning bolts in the hallway, right?”

A distant rumble of thunder caused all of them to wince, but it soon faded as the frown on Nikki’s face relaxed.  Toni tilted her head and grinned.  “Hey, for a while there, we had our very own danger room on the second floor!  That’s something special, isn’t it?”

“Oh my God.” Tennyo grumbled while glaring at Toni.  “We have a natural disaster, and a terminally UP and OUT THERE case rooming together.  We’re all doomed.”

Toni and Nikki exchanged puzzled glances, then giggled while hugging each other as if to seal the unholy alliance.  Once finished with that, both turned innocent expressions on the others and sang out in Unison.  “Who? Us?”

“Hey in there!  The rest of us would like to take a shower today too, you know.”

“Just a minute!” Toni yelled back.  “We’re having a moment here!”

"Aww, that’s sweet.” The girl yelled back in.  “But if the weather has cleared up, could you go have it in your rooms?  Or the sun room, or even the common room?  I really need to pee and take a shower!”

“Are you feeling better now?” Toni questioned as the group almost herded Nikki back to their room and the other girl started getting dressed.

“Compared to what?” The redhead asked without real heat, as she got into the larger bra that Ayla had lent her, then the panties.  “But yeah, I’m not going to go off and get the floors wet or short out the wiring or anything.  Thanks by the way, to all of you.”

“I guess that’s an improvement.” Tennyo grinned as she watched the newly blossomed Nikki getting into the green silk top and white cotton shorts.  “Now I know what some people went through when I was throwing my power around.  I didn’t think I’d be able to dodge all those lightning bolts much longer.  I was starting to get tired.  And you’re welcome.  We’re friends, right?  Friends help each other even when it isn’t the easiest thing to do, you know?”

“I mean for all of it.” Nikki gave the group a weak smile.  “You know, taking care of me when I was so sick, getting me under control with that PMS, loaning me clothes...”

“Hey, it’s ok.” Ayla had also been watching Nikki get dressed with a little more appreciation than she thought was a good idea just then, but she couldn’t help it, the girl was just so gorgeous.  “We all need help off and on.  I’m just glad I had some things you’re able to use for a while.”

“Oh, yeah.” Giving her somewhat exposed, and very non-teen aged appearing cleavage a rueful glance, Nikki then turned to see her shapely bottom encased in the snug, short shorts.  “How do I look?”

“Great!”  “Wonderful!” Absolutely gorgeous, girl!” The answers chorused back as the girl carefully watched her bottom and hips sway while she walked.

“Wow, and I thought I had problems keeping the guys at arms length before.” She giggled and gave her bottom one more shake just to make sure.  “Well, if I had to be a girl, I’m glad I’m a good looking one.  I guess.”

“Just good looking, she says.” Toni grumbled, then gave a brilliant smile.  “Nikki, honey, you are so far beyond merely good looking it’s almost terrifying to see.  You won’t have to worry about all the boys, about half of them are going to have heart attacks the second they lay eyes on you, babe.”

“Oh joy!” The redhead muttered just loudly enough for everyone to hear.  “Like I’m looking forward to that!”

“Better get used to it, fast.” Tennyo  pointed towards the door Jade had just opened once the other girl was fully dressed.  Word had gone around the dorm and a steady parade of boys walked past on one pretence or another.  Every one of those made sure to glance into the room as they strolled past.  Of course that not so carefully maintained nonchalance was marred on several occasions as the boys stumbled into each other, walls, or in one case, actually fell down the stairs.

“Watch out for that wall, there!” Nikki called out as she in turn gaped at the steady parade, then slammed the door with a nervous giggle and stood with her back against it.  “I did not enjoy that.  Tell me I didn’t, please.”

“Can’t do it.” Toni shrugged.  “From the expression on you face there, I’d say you were having a great time a second ago.”

“Gee, thanks for the support.”

“Hey!” The black girl chirped as the others laughed at Nikki’s expression.  “I mean that’s what friends and roomies are for, right?”

“Sometimes I wonder.” A glint of amusement in her large violet eyes took the bite out of her retort.  “But I’m stuck with you now.  I might get used to you in about four years.  Until then things are going to be real interesting.”

“Look who’s talking.” Jade muttered to no one in particular.

“Hey, any of us could rightfully lay claim to being that.” Tennyo pointed out with a shrug and grin.  “And as it stands, I think we make a pretty decent team, don’t you guys?  At least if we stick together none of us will be too worried about what the others are up to, right?”

“Makes sense to me.”  Ayla nodded, then waved a diffident Hank into the room to join the rest of them.  “Come on in, Hank.  Nikki’s decent now, and she even got dressed.”

“I’m gonna get you for that one.” Nikki whispered to the other girl before letting out a girlish giggle that seemed to embarrass her since her face went through several shades of pink then red in rapid succession.  “But only I know when it will happen.”

“We have some work to do.” Hank grimaced as he gestured at a mop bucket, wringer, several squeegees, and other floor cleaning equipment.  “I guess everyone kind of expects us all to clean up the mess.”

“See!” Toni crowed in agreement to what Ayla had said earlier.  “We are a team!”

“Sheesh.” The boy shook his head, then grinned.  “Now I know why I wasn’t looking forward to having a period.  I thought my mom had a bad case of PMS until this morning.  You had to set some kind of record with yours, Nikki.”

“Yup.” Ayla agreed with an impish smile.  “Guinness grade stuff there, all right.  The most lightning strikes INSIDE a building in recorded history. “

Nikki just rolled her eyes and stuck out a pink tongue in response while the others laughed at the comment.

Once the hallway was dry again and the cleaning equipment put away the group split up to pursue their own Saturday activities.  As Nikki walked back into her room with Toni an insistent chirping came from her closet.

“Oh, man.”  Nikki grimaced.  “NOW someone is calling me.”

“So answer it.” Toni told her with a shrug.  “Otherwise whoever it is will just keep calling.  It could be someone trying to sell you something, too, you know.”

“Oh that would be fun.” Nikki picked up the still chirping phone.  “Unless they’re trying to sell hormone suppressants, I don’t think I’d be interested just now.  Hello?”

“I’m trying to reach Nicolas Reilly.” Her father’s voice came over the phone.  “Can you put him on please?”

“Umm, hi Dad.” Nikki answered carefully.  “I am Nick, or was.  I guess it’s Nichole or Nikki now, though.”

“WHAT?”

“Didn’t Mom tell you what was happening to me?” Nikki winced at the volume coming from the other end of the connection.

“She told me that you were slowly changing into a girl.” Her father’s voice answered very slowly.  “She didn’t tell me that you’d already changed.”

“Well...” Nikki blushed as she answered.  “I hadn’t been so far along with the change until I started really using my new powers.  But Mom was basically right.  Only I’ve changed over completely now.”

“Completely?” The man questioned, then grew very silent.

“Umm, yeah, Dad, I’m all girl now, I’m afraid.” Nikki grimaced at the response from the other end of the line.  “Hey!  It isn’t like I’d planned this you know.  Trust me, I didn’t just get out of bed one morning and think to myself, gee I think I’ll ruin my whole life and turn into a girl.  I am not enjoying PMS, or any of the other stuff that goes along with that.  I couldn’t help it!  It just kind of happened, you know?”

“I know you couldn’t help it, honey.” Her father soothed as he heard how upset she was over the phone.  “I just wonder if it could have gone in a different direction, is all.  Maybe if I’d been around you wouldn’t have, you know, changed like you did.”

“It wasn’t that, Dad, it wasn’t that at all.” Nikki answered, soothing in her turn.  “I would have turned out this way whether you were around or not.  It’s something to do with a Template thing involved with my mutation.  I couldn’t change any of it!  I really wanted to, you know!”

“Still, I think your Mother could have done something besides encouraging it in you.”

“Daaaad.” Nikki used the time honored whine girls always sent against their fathers without realizing it.  “She didn’t have anything to do with it other than help me adjust, really!”

“Still, I think she could have tried to discourage it.”

“Dad, that was kind of hard to do after some boys at school ripped my shirt off to look at my titties!” Nikki was beginning to sound exasperated at the direction the conversation seemed to be heading regardless of what she tried doing to shift its course.  “I mean, really!  Everybody at school saw what I had on my chest, and then there were the squirrels...”

“Squirrels?”

“Long story.  I kind of accidentally shut down the whole school, then got kicked out.  I was so mortified!  It was awful!”

“Your Mother did mention something about a bill for damages.” Her father let out a long sigh.  “So you really are a mutant, and a girl?”

“Yes, Dad!” Nikki almost screamed into the phone.  “I am a mutant, and a -- a -- guh -- girl!  And I got sent to a special school for people like me, so I can learn how to handle what I am and what I can do now!  I couldn’t help it!  I’m sooorrry!  I’m sooo Sooorrry Dad!”

“I know you are, pumpkin.” Her father answered quietly.  “It isn’t something that anyone could do anything about.  I just wish you or your Mom had let me know you were going to Whateley, is all.”

“You, you know where I am?” Nikki questioned with a small sob, and immediately apologized.  “I’m really sorry, I just seem to be so emotional just now.”

“That’s ok, sweetie.” He responded after a moment of silence.  “I know how your Mom is when she is going through her time of the month.  If you’re doing that for a first time, I’m surprised you can talk to me at all.  And did you say PMS?”

“Uh, yeah.” Nikki winced at that.  “You could say that.”

“You don’t want to be in the way when Nikki is going through PMS!” Toni shouted loudly enough for him to hear.  The redhead glowered at her roomie, then giggled.

“More Squirrels?” Her dad asked.

“Ummm, not exactly.” Nikki hedged.  “But people tell me it was kind of exciting.”

“Kind of exciting?” Toni yelled.  “Thunderstorms with lightning, and downpours in the Hallway?  I’d call that more than kind of exciting.”

Nikki made violent shushing motions at her roommate while speaking into the phone.  “Well, ok.  I had a lot of people worried there for a while, but I’m ok now.  Really!”

“I’m coming up there next week.” Her father firmly told her, then let out a long sigh.

“I need to know what you’re going through and need to be sure that you’re getting the kind of education and training that you need.  After all, I’m paying for half of it.”

“Dad!” Nikki gasped in horror.  “You can’t!  I’ll die if you do that!  Please just let me go to school here and trust the people here to teach me what I need to know.”

“It isn’t that easy, honey.” The man replied slowly.  “I had a son, now I have a daughter I’ve never seen and I at least need to see how you‘ve turned out, and by God, my child gets the best anyone, anywhere, has to offer!  I’m coming up there and you won’t argue me out of it.”

“This is going to take some getting used to.” Nikki grumbled.

“Tell me about it!” Her father grumbled back.  “I don’t even know if I should be worried about you and boys.  Are you an ugly girl or a pretty one?”

“Oh she isn’t close to Ugly!” Toni sang out cheerfully.  “In fact, Nikki leaves merely pretty so far back in the dust it looks ugly!”

“Thanks.” Nikki grimaced at her roomie then went back to her conversation.  “I’m not an ugly girl, Dad.  People tell me I’m actually beautiful, as embarrassing as that is for me just now.”

“All the more reason for me to come up and visit you and your new school.” He firmly answered.  “I need to know how much more I have to worry, you know.”

“Daaaadd!” Nikki shouted in outrage.  “I’m not interested in boys that way!  Honest!”

“Do you need new clothes?”  He changed the subject rather suddenly following a long pause filled with muttering and soft swear words on his end of the line.

“Well, now that you mention it...”

“Give me your new measurements and I’ll have my tailor make you a new wardrobe.  All natural things, right?”

“Umm, yeah.” Nikki winced at the thought of giving her new, robust measurements to her father.  “Synthetics make me break out in an awful rash.”

“Well?”

“Ummm, hold on, I’m getting them.” The little redhead closed her eyes while telling him what she had been measured at only an hour ago.  “Uhh, 34C, 22, 35 now.  With a twenty eight inch leg length and I’m five foot four.”

“Ummph!”

“Dad?”

“I’m here.” He answered sounding a bit shaken.  “Are you sure of those?”

“Uh, yeah.  I just got measured about an hour ago.”

“I’m bringing you a stun gun when I come.”

“I don’t think I really need that, Dad.” Nikki protested.  “I mean, half the guys here seem to be afraid of me already.”

“Why is that?”

“Welllll...” She swallowed, then told him.  “I’ve already kind of used my powers in public and a lot of people have seen me use them.”

“In her nightgown!” Toni Crowed, then ducked as Nikki threw a pillow at her head.

“IN YOUR WHAT?”

“Long story, again, Dad.” Nikki answered quickly.  “There just wasn’t time to stop and get dressed in the middle of the night.”

“You have some explaining to do, young lady.”

“I kind of thought so.” She responded with a blush.

“I’ll get this order in to my tailor, and I’ll be seeing you next week.”

“Ok, Dad.”

“Try to stay out of trouble until I get there, will you?”

“Ok.”

“Good Bye, Nick... ki.”

“Bye, Dad.”

Click.

“He is not happy about this.” Nikki put the phone down and frowned. “Worse, he’s coming here next week to see me and how the school is handling my education.  I’m going to die right here and now!”

“I doubt that.” Toni grinned.  “If you survived the sudden change after the Ninja raid, and we survived your first bout with PMS, I don’t think a little thing like your father visiting is going to kill you.”

“You don‘t know my dad.  He‘s kind of forceful if you know what I mean, and is probably going to make life really miserable for me now that I‘m not his son any longer.  I was originally named after him, you know.” Nikki let out a long sigh as she said that.

“Hey, at least he’s accepted that you’re his daughter now.  It could be worse, you know.”

“Yeah, how?”

“Well, he could drag your kid brother along with him...”

“My roomie, the terminally cheerful doom prophet.” Nikki growled, then threw herself on her bed with a squeak of springs.  “You meet him and talk to him when he comes, then.  I’m going to make myself real scarce.”

“Suuurrrrrrrre.” Toni nodded agreeably.  “I’ll just point him towards where all the guys are gaping at someone trying to hide, and that’ll be a moot point.”

“You know.” The redhead scowled.  “There are times I would really like to use some of my magic on you.”

“But you won’t.”

“Why wouldn’t I?”

“Because we’re friends and roomies.”

“I need a better reason than that.”

“Okay, how about this one.” Toni laughed.  “If you kill me, who is going to run interference for you when your loving Daddy shows up?”

“Good point.” Nikki grumbled.  “Ok, you win, I won’t try and kill you, or do anything else nasty.  Promise me you’ll help me hide?”

“No Problemo, roomie.” Toni grinned.  “I can’t promise that I won’t tell a concerned Daddy where to look for his gorgeous little girl, though.”

“Never mind.” The little redhead shook her head and grimaced.  “I’ll kill you, then die of sheer embarrassment before he shows up.  That’ll solve the problem.”

“Whatever works.” The black girl chuckled.

---

"We need to talk, hon."  Tennyo approached Nikki after the PMS incident that had the students mopping up the wet spots on the floor from all the rain in the hallways for hours.

"Yeah, I know." The petite, and even more gorgeous redhead, who's hair now reached down to the small of her back in addition to the other physical changes she had gone through over the past few days answered with a sigh.  "What do I do now?  I don't know the first thing about a period, or the care and feeding of my new sexual parts."

"Well, to begin with."  Billie handed the other a small bottle of pills.  "These will help control all the ups and downs your hormones are going to throw at you.  Including the PMS.  I hope."

The last was muttered, but Nikki heard it anyway, and grimaced, then giggled.  "Did I really cause thunderstorms and rain inside the building?"

"No."  Tennyo grinned back.  "Everyone is tiptoeing around you because they know you're just a natural grump in the morning."

"Ok, ok."  holding out her hands in a mock defensive gesture, Nikki shrugged.  "I was just thinking that those weird dreams I was having at night had to be from an outside source and got so mad things just kind of went on downstream without me.  If you know what I mean."

"Oh yeah."  Billie nodded.  "PMS tends to do that to some of us.  Just use the pills I gave you next month and get some of your own.  They should help.  At least to take the real edge off so you can think without that red haze filling up everything you do."

"Ok." Nikki gave the small bottle a skeptical but hopeful look.  "Umm do these help with cramps, too?"

"Lots."  Billie assured the other, then glanced down at Nikki's crotch.  "You haven't started yet have you?"

"No but I feel all bloated, and like my insides are twisting into shapes that no human being should ever have to endure, let alone expect every month." The redhead grimaced.  "Is this part of having a period, all the time?"

"'Fraid so, hon."  Billie gently answered.  "Some girls have it fairly easy, others have it really tough and actually get sick with theirs.  You seem to have the cramps, though they aren't incapacitating, you definitely have PMS like an avalanche running over you -- and everyone else around you -- so I'd say you're pretty close to starting."

"Oh yippee!" Nikki scowled, then put on a forced, but genuine grin after she winced from another cramp.  "Now I know why my mom was always so touchy and cranky once a month.  I know I'd cheerfully strangle anyone who upsets me just now."

"Trust me, I know what you mean."  Tennyo replied with a wan grin.  "When mine first hit me, at least I had some real bad guys to take it out on.  Now I just growl to myself and try to keep smiling.  I have to tell myself all the way through it that other girls deal with it, so I had better do it to.  It sure isn't going away any time soon for either one of us."

"Oh that's soo encouraging." Nikki actually managed a small giggle.  "Now not only do I have to deal with having turned into a girl, powers that I'm still working to get a complete handle on, and every boy I meet hitting on me, unless he's gay and even some of those act interested -- And now, NOW I have to deal with not only a period, but a really nasty case of PMS!"

Tennyo winced as that last was almost shouted into her sensitive ear.  "Ok, ok.  Now take a couple of those pills, a few deep breaths, and calm down, Nikki."

"Yeah, I've been hearing that a lot over the past couple of days."  Nikki swallowed two of the Pampronols, supposedly guaranteed to help with cramps, and bitchiness associated with menstruation -- especially the bitchiness, everyone around her hoped and she knew it.  Then slowed her breathing back to more normal levels and began to feel almost human again, though there was no telling how long that would last.

"Better now?" That was asked cautiously.  Tennyo was very wary of inciting yet another outburst from the little redhead.

"I think so." Nikki admitted, then grimaced.  "I don't know what's happening with me lately.  I'm up, I'm down.  I'm angry, then I'm so sad I can't do anything but cry.  Sheesh, being a boy was so much easier."

"Hormones." Tennyo nodded sagely.  "You've just gotten a really heavy dose of those, what with your newly developed equipment down there.  I'd get myself checked out by a doctor to see if it was just a one time thing, from the sudden burst of extra hormones, or if you can, umm -- look forward -- to this kind of thing every month.  If that's the case, I'm pretty sure you can get something prescribed to help with the rages and crying jags."

"Go to a doctor?" Nikki squeaked.  "You mean one with the stirrups and me with my legs spread and cold things being shoved up..."

"Yup."  Tennyo gave the other a friendly, commiserating pat on the shoulder. "You know, green would be a pretty good color for you if it wasn't on your face."

Still appearing a little sick, and very apprehensive, Nikki nodded, wiping her forehead with a delicate hand and closing her violet eyes in an attempt to regain her composure.  "Wow, a physical examination is really going to be an experience now, isn't it?"

"Oh yeah." Tennyo agreed with a roll of her eyes.  "A really interesting one, too.  At least for the first few times."

"Gee, I can hardly wait."

"I see you're starting to feel a little better now, aren't you?" The Asian girl gave her companion a critical looking over.  "You aren't hyperventilating any more, and the green tinge to your complexion is fading.  The pills starting to help?"

"They must be." Nikki responded with a small grin.  "The cramps aren't nearly so bad, and they're still fading, and I don't feel like I’m riding a big roller coaster when I think about things now either."

"They're working." Tennyo nodded while thinking, Thank the gods. "Are you ready for the next part of this now?"

"Next part?" Nikki's expression showed that she knew very well what that next part involved, and she simply gave a slight nod for agreement.

"Ok, now depending on how heavy your flow is...  Don't go turning all green on me again, Nikki, this is something you have to learn to handle and keep on with life in general.  At least half the world's population deals with it, so you can too."

"Yeah, right.  I think." The redhead agreed a little numbly as she watched the Asian girl spreading out some items on the bed beside her.  "This is not going to be easy."

"You'll get used to it, eventually."  Tennyo bluntly told her.  "It isn't like you have a lot of choice, given the way you've turned out physically, now is it?"

"Guess you're right on that one." Nikki grumbled.  "I just wasn't quite prepared for it all to start so soon."

"Neither was I, and when mine started I didn't have clue one about what it was.  I thought I was going to bleed to death or something." Tennyo actually chuckled at that. "Hey, at least you have someone to help you through the first time.  That's gotta be something positive."

"Yeah, thanks.  I do appreciate all this, really." The elfin redhead actually offered a genuine smile that time.  Forcing her eyes to look at the items spread out on the bed, she let out a little sigh.  "So let's get on with it.  I have a few other things I'd like to talk with you about too, once this nasty stuff is out of the way."

"Cool." Tennyo returned, then picked up the first of the items and opened the package.  "This is a panty shield..."

Things went well with the demonstrations and practice until Nikki encountered her first tampon.

"You're turning green again." Tennyo noted with a touch of amusement in her voice.

"I have to put that, that -- thing -- inside of me?  Like push it up and in?" She was beginning to show that now familiar greenish tinge in her face again as she contemplated the mechanics of the act, and just where the thing was going to end up. "But it's all hard and..."

"That's only the applicator tube you use to -- umm -- insert it, hon." Tennyo soothed.  "It doesn't stay in with the tampon."

"Oh, ok then." Still appearing more than a bit suspicious, she questioned almost plaintively.  "Once it's in, how do I get the stupid thing out?"

"You leave this part dangling out, and just give it a yank." Tennyo showed her the string at one end of the tampon.  "Just remember to have this part at the bottom when you put it in or..."

"I get the idea." Nikki replied faintly.

"You can actually get it out by gently pulling on the string." The Asian girl put in with a blush.  "I was just seeing if you were going to turn that pretty shade of green again."

"You!" Nikki couldn't help herself.  Picturing her pretty face in a glowing acid green she started giggling, then burst into real laughter.  "You are so bad!"

"Yeah, I know.  I practice." Tennyo grinned back and started giggling, too.  "But you have to admit it did lighten things up in here."

"Sure did.  Thanks." Nikki held the tampon up carefully with two fingers and grimaced, but finished that with a giggle.  "I suppose this will just kind of be practice for having other things up there, huh?"

"You mean like, maybe, boys?" Tennyo raised her eyebrows.

"Well, yeah.  I guess." The redhead shrugged.  "I mean boys are starting to look really good to me all of a sudden.  At least some of them are."

"Umm hmm.  Add birth control pills to your list." the other grinned almost nastily.

"I'm not that far gone into it!" Nikki hit Tennyo with a pillow.

"Oh yeah, you boy magnet?" Tennyo grinned as she reached for another pillow. "Take that!"

The screaming, giggling, pillow fight turned out to be fun, and eased the tensions even more.

The pair of gasping, giggling girls finally caught their breaths as Nikki held out an imploring hand.   "Ok, you win.  I surrender!"

"Oh good!" Tennyo dropped her own weapon and promptly plopped herself down on it with a grin.  "I was just about to use the dreaded pillow tuck and throw on you.  You would have been overwhelmed, overawed, and laughing so hard I could have knocked you down with a feather."

"Next time." Nikki begged.  "If I laugh any more right now I'll need medical attention for my poor, abused tummy."

"You and me both." the Asian girl chortled. "Ouch!  That does kind of hurt just now, doesn't it?"

"Oh yeah." the redhead gasped while holding her own belly.  "Ok, we've done the obligatory big and little sister talk about nasty stuff, had a rousing battle and didn't even rip one of our weapons, so I have something else I'd like to ask you about, if you don't mind?"

"Sure.  I can't promise an answer given my peculiar circumstances, but I'll give you what I can."

"Well, I noticed that you mentioned a Japanese family with the name of Tanaka in your introduction to the rest of us?"

"Yes, why are you asking me about that?" Tennyo gave her friend a halfway puzzled look.

"Because my best friend, ok, about my only friend back home is named Jessica Tanaka." Nikki replied with a shrug.  "The whole family is into martial arts big time, and I was just wondering if there was a connection between the two families.  Oh, there is a Tanaka here at Whateley. too. Katrina, Jessica's older sister, and I'm supposed to look her up.  I've met her briefly and she seems pretty nice, but wouldn't be someone I'd like having mad at me."

"Really?" Tennyo appeared interested. "I'll have to ask next time I get in touch with them back home."

"Me too, and I'll try and ask Katrina once I see her here, too."

"Hmm, same family name, martial arts, mutants in both families..." Tennyo was almost sure there had to be some connection between the two families.  "Well, sometimes it's a smaller world than we think, isn't it?"

"It is that."

Uh, Nikki?" Tennyo was almost hesitant.  "Can I ask you for a favor now?"

"Sure, ask away." the redhead smiled as she settled back against the bed frame.

"Well, this is kind of hard..."

"Could it be any tougher than what I just asked you for help with?" Nikki tilted her head and grinned.

"I guess not, but it's just about as embarrassing.  For me anyway." The cute Asian gave a small shrug.  "I learned about periods and stuff, because I needed to know that kind of thing, but while I was hiding out, about all I got was more training in the arts for my new body shape, and tested for one thing or another.  Mrs. Tanaka kind of neglected to help me with things like, you know, clothes, makeup, and general girl stuff."

"Oh,"  Looking at her jeans and tee shirt clad companion, Nikki chewed on her lower lip for a second then nodded.  "I get it.  You need some help with dressing like a girl and all that?"

"Well, yeah." Tennyo blushed.  "It's kind of embarrassing, you know.  Toni has this cool wardrobe, Even Ayla -- when she wears it -- has a lot of great girl stuff, but..."

"Go on..." Nikki urged quietly.

"Well, it's just that you wear clothes so well, and always look so great in whatever you have on..." the other girl drew in a breath.  "And you have such cool clothes on top of that. Everything you wear goes together really well, you know, and..."

"You would like for me to help you with clothes and stuff like makeup and jewelry?" Nikki finished.

"Well, yeah, I mean if you wouldn't mind?" Tennyo was giving her a puppy dog look that Nikki couldn't have resisted even if she had intended to turn the other down, which she hadn't.

"I'd be happy to help you." Nikki smiled, then went on.  "Man, my mom and Jessica put me through a real ringer and hoops, to get me used to dressing properly in their words.  I never once thought I'd be doing it to, make that for, someone else.  At least not this soon."

"You will?!!" Tennyo literally bounced into the air and gave Nikki a tight hug. "Oh thank you, thank you, thank you!"

"Oh, don't thank me yet." Nikki gave her victim an evil little grin.  "You'll probably wish you'd never asked me to do this before we're finished.  Trust me on that one.  I know from real personal experience."

“It can’t be that bad, can it?” Tennyo lifted an eyebrow as she asked.

“Actually, it’s kind of fun.  No, make that lots of fun.  Now.  When Mom and Jessie decided I needed to learn all this stuff I was still almost a guy and it was really embarrassing for me at first.” Nikki giggled at the memory.  “I remember praying that I wouldn’t get caught up in too many female shopping frenzies after the first trip to the mall we made.”

“And now?”

“Now, I’m one of the biggest sharks in the water.” Nikki smiled with a slightly predatory glint in her violet eyes.  “I absolutely adore shopping these days.”

“There isn’t a mall in Dunwich.” Tennyo pointed out.

“Nope, but there’s lots of really cool little shops!” The redhead enthusiastically answered.

“What did I just get myself into?”

“Hey!  You did ask for my help, after all.” Nikki grinned evilly.  “I’m already working on what colors and fabrics would look best on you.  We’ll go do some real shopping once things get settled in here at school, ok?”

“Looking forward to it.” Tennyo nodded while wondering if she could afford a shopping spree with Nikki.  Even if money didn’t seem to be a problem for her, the cash was coming from somewhere and she worried about that.  But not much just then.

To Be Continued