"Any volunteers?" asks Ms. Tomlin.
You look around the room and see everyone avoiding her gaze, staring at the ground or looking awkwardly at each other. It seems that no one wants to join you - except for one girl eagerly waving her hand in the back. The girl is dressed strangely, wearing all black and heavy dark makeup. Her short black hair is shaved on the sides of her head, creating a sort of Mohawk. Piercings are lined up down the auricle of her ear, as well as in her nose. She looks like a cross between a goth and a punk rocker.
"Okay, young lady," says Ms. Tomlin. "Step forward. But I am afraid you will need to remove your piercings."
"No problem, " says the young lady as she walks out of the crowd of students up to Ms. Tomlin. As she passes by you she gives you a sly wink, just out of everyone's view. You recognize this girl as Sheryl. You have had some other classes with her, but you don't know her very well. She seemed nice enough when you talked to her. A bit of a loner, a little weird, but also pretty smart.
Sheryl removes her facial piercings and drops them into Ms. Tomlin's hands.
"I said all of them. It will be quite painful if you don't comply, " says Ms. Tomlin ominously.
Sheryl curses under her breath and turns away from the class. She reaches down into her pants and begins to fiddle around in her groin, wincing as she tugs at something. The class chuckles nervously, but a stern glance from Ms. Tomlin quickly quiets the class. After a short struggle, Sheryl turns around and drops something into Ms. Tomlin's hand. Ms. Tomlin hides it from view but gives Sheryl a quizzical look, raising one eyebrow. Sheryl just shrugs her shoulders, as if to say 'Hey - that's just the way I roll'.
Ms. Tomlin drops the items into a plastic bag and wipes her hands after placing the bag on a small wooden table. She then places a gold bracelet with a red jewel on Sheryl's wrist. It is similar to yours, but oddly seems a little bigger.
"Okay, hit me!" says Sheryl with excitement.
Knowing just what is going to happen gets you partially aroused. In response you lay down on your stomach to avoid embarrassment. You watch as Ms. Tomlin points a long thin metal device at Sheryl and a light envelopes her. When Sheryl emerges she is a female dragon with blood red scales and a dark yellow coloring under her belly. Sheryl walks over to you and Ms. Tomlin. Examining her new body, you begin to feel even more excited.
Oh god.... why does she look so attractive now? you think to yourself.
Sheryl turns her long neck to look at you and smiles, as if she knew that you were checking her out. You blush a little, or as much as dragon can blush, and look away.
Ms. Tomlin then gets the attention of the murmuring class with several loud snaps of her fingers. She directs Sheryl to stand beside her and begins to give the class an overview of Sheryl's body.
"Now class as I sure you have noticed, the female dragon is larger than the male. This an example of sexual size dimorphism, a phenomenon common among many animal species, including reptiles. Larger females offer an advantage in fertility, since the physiological demands of reproduction are limiting in females. But even at here current size, our volunteers still have a lot of growing to do. Like other reptiles such as snakes and alligators, dragons continue to slowly grow larger as long as they live. The growth is very slow, but dragons have been reported to live for thousands of years. These volunteers are just juveniles. You can imagine how much bigger they would get if they lived that long!"
The class chuckles nervously.
"Now, much like insect colonies, there is usually only one breeding female in a dragon brood. The female dragon will lay several eggs, but the majority of her offspring will be male. The female dragon can mate with many males, but they will eventually bond with one male and form a monogamous relationship with them, excluding all others and devoting themselves to just one. How they choose their mate and the physiology behind this bonding process is still under study. The libido of dragons are incredibly high. If our kind volunteers didn't have human intellect and instincts, they would probably be mating here nonstop!"
The class laughs again. Ms. Tomlin raises her hands to quiet them.
"Now, now. Let's be mature and act like adults. Onto the female role in reproduction. The female dragon can lay as many as 2 -3 clutches of eggs per year, but typically only lays once per year, usually in the summer. The number of eggs can vary from as few as 2 - 3 to as many as a hundred! The result depends on the number of fertilized eggs. Each time a female dragon mates, a small percentage of her eggs are fertilized. Obviously a female dragon is capable of multiple gestations. Thus, the more often a female copulates, the larger her clutch of eggs will be when she lays them."
You continue to listen, intrigued by the discussion. Before this class you didn't even know that dragons existed. It was fascinating to learn about their biology. And also a little arousing for some reason. It was getting harder to keep your excitement under control. You can't help but steal a glance toward Sheryl again. She looks even more enticing.
But strangely Sheryl doesn't seem as interested. For someone who was so eager to volunteer you expect her to hang on Ms. Tomlin's every word. But instead she is edging away from Ms. Tomlin, and slowly moving towards the table that held her piercings.
What is she doing? you think. Surely she doesn't want to put them back on now?
Ms. Tomlin doesn't notice Sheryl straying from her side. She is in full swing now, happily sharing all she knows about dragons with gusto, ignoring all other distractions.
"It is interesting that in the animal kingdom, there seems to be some pattern regarding the size of the female in all species. Some studies suggest that the larger the female in any species, the more likely they are to be monogamous. There are some exceptions, of course...."
You drone her out as you continue to watch as Sheryl nestles against the wooden table. She notices you watching her and gives another sly wink. Her long tail brushes against the table, knocking something off it and onto the ground. She smiles and gives you an innocent look, as if to say 'whoops, did I do that', as the slender pen-shaped objects rolls around to just below her clawed foot. You look closely and see that it is the metal device that Ms. Tomlin used to change you both into dragons!
Sheryl looks at you and smiles evilly, lifting her large claw over the fragile device. She looks between you and the device, as if seeking your approval. You nervously shake your head no, looking to Ms. Tomlin or the class for help. But no one seems to be paying attention. Like a mischievous cartoon character, Sheryl nods her head yes and raises her claw higher.
"No! Stop!" you yell loudly.
Sheryl briefly scowls angrily at you, then assumes her innocent look again just as Ms. Tomlin and the class turn to look at you as one. Ms. Tomlin then follows your gaze and sees the device on the floor.
"Oh my, that's not good. That is incredibly expensive. I really should be more careful, " said Ms. Tomlin, as she walks forward to retrieve it.
"Oh, don't worry. I'll get it Ms. Tomlin, " says Sheryl, as she reaches down with her heavy clawed paw and steps on it. The sound of crinkling metal reverberates in your ears. The device makes a high pitched whining noise, then falls silent. "Oops, sorry. I am so clumsy. I am just not used to these things."
Sheryl lifts her paw and wiggles her webbed clawed digits. Ms. Tomlin pulls out the crumpled device and examines it. A dim red light slowly fades to black, then the device appears to dead.
"Oh my, this is not good, " says Ms. Tomlin, as she tinkers with the device.
"Not good? Okay, I have had enough. Change me back! Right now!" you hiss angrily.
"I am afraid I can't," says Ms. Tomlin distractedly, still fiddling with the inactive device.
Sheryl smiles triumphantly and you turn incredibly pale.
"What?" you say with a mixture of shock and fear.
Ms. Tomlin senses your apprehension and looks up.
"Oh, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to scare you. What I meant to say is that I can't do it right now. I need to get another device. Unfortunately I don't have one on hand. But I should be able to get a new one tomorrow. I am afraid that you will have to spend the night like that. But don't worry. As long as you keep the bracelet on, we can return you back to normal in the morning."
Sheryl slides up next to you. "Yeah, don't worry. It'll be great. Just like a sleepover. And think of all the things we can learn about dragons."
Ms. Tomlin's eyes light up. "Oh yes, it will be wonderful learning opportunity. You can even write a report about it. That's a great idea, young lady. It's always nice to have such enthusiastic students."
Sheryl beams with pride. You suspect that she did this on purposes, but you are not sure why. You consider telling Ms. Tomlin, but standing beside Sheryl you are acutely aware of how much bigger she is than you. It is more than a little intimidating, especially considered the look she is giving you.
"Okay students. Class dismissed for today. Read chapters 4 and 5 on dragon habitats for the next class, " said Ms. Tomlin as the class began to quietly disperse. She turns to address you and Sheryl. "Now if you will kindly follow me I will show you two where you will be staying tonight."
Sheryl energetically follows Ms. Tomlin as she leads you across the open field. You hang back nervously, still unsure of what you should do.