Shelly decided discretion was the best option, and pretended to be just another lab mouse. She scampered over to the mouse, and followed it into the hole in the wall. It was a tight squeeze through the small hole, but her body seemed strangely more pliable. Once she made it through, she found quite a bit of space in the walls between the adjacent labs. She guessed the walls were thicker for safety reasons, or maybe to block out sound. Whatever the case, she was grateful that her hiding spot wasn't cramped.
Shelly cast a glance back out the hole and watched as the janitor entered the room. He looked at her clothes piled on the floor and picked them up. He looked around, apparently confused why someone had left their clothes lying around. He shrugged his shoulders, and tossed them in the large trash bin he had pushed into the room. It wasn't any of his business.
Shelly sighed sadly. He had taken away the last proof of her human existence. She should have been happy. Now no one would ever find out what had happened to her. She could reverse her mistake without anyone being the wiser. But somehow it just disturbed her a little, like she was losing something.
Shelly turned around, and saw the small mouse tidying up their new living space.
"Sorry about the mess. I was just making this place livable, when this happened to me, " said the mouse, indicating the antrho-morphic changes to its body.
Shelly looked more closely at the mouse. It had a womanly figure, and bulges on its chest that appeared to be breasts under its white fur. Its voice sounded high and feminine, like hers. The other mouse was female, or at least it appeared to be to Shelly. That was a blessing. She didn't want to spend her time warding off the advances of randy male.
"That scientist must have got you, too. I don't remember seeing you around. How long have you been like that?" asked the mouse.
"Not long. Need some help? " asked Shelly, trying to change the subject.
Together they tidied up the space that was their new home. They even chewed on the hole together, trying to enlarge the entrance to their home. Shelly found it strangely rewarding and relaxing. She had spent so many long hours in the lab she had almost forgotten the simple pleasures of manual labor.
"My name is Shelly, by the way. What's yours?" asked Shelly.
"Name? What is that?" asked the mouse.
"You know .... a name? What the other mice call you. How you identify yourself to other mice," said Shelly.
The other mouse giggled. "I do it like all the other mice do. By smell. Don't you? Why do you use a name?" asked the mouse suspiciously.
Shelly realized her mistake immediately. She had a lot to learn about mice. She had simply used them as lab animals, and knew nothing about their behaviors. But she was smart, and a very quick learner.
"The humans called me that, and I like it. I think it's pretty. Don't you want a pretty name, too? What did the humans call you?" asked Shelly.
The mouse looked deep in thought. "Well, that horrible scientist lady called me 'bastard' and 'little shit'. Is that pretty?"
Shelly shook her head. "No, no, no. That won't do. Here, let me have a look at you, " said Shelly, as she stood the small mouse up before her. She noticed a moptop crop of messy black hair perched on top the mouse's head. Shelly reached up to her own head, and pulled down some strands of her bright red hair. At least she still had that. The hair on the mouse reminded Shelly of her old crazy college roommate, Trixie.
"How about Trixie? You look like a Trixie to me, " said Shelly.
"Trixie ....." said the mouse, working the word around in her mouth and brain. "I like it. Call me Trixie."
"Okay, Trixie. I don't know about you, but I'm beat. Is there anyplace I can sleep?" asked Shelly. She planned on sleeping during the day, and working on a solution in her lab at night. Everyone should be gone, and she could try to fix herself without being discovered or disturbed.
"Sure. Right here, " said Trixie, pointing to a pile of insulation, cotton, and other soft debris she had piled into a nest.
Shelly sighed. It was better than nothing, and it was only one night. She crawled into the nest and made herself comfortable. She was a little shocked when Trixie lay behind her and snuggled up against her. Shelly guessed that mice slept close together for warmth or protection. Whatever the case, it actually felt pretty nice and comforting, and Shelly soon fell asleep with Trixie beside her.