She didn't have to wait long.
About 5 minutes had passed and Kim was half-watching some conspiracy show about wizards living among us.
"As if they have any clue." Kim chortled to herself.
The sound of a door opening pulled her attention towards the front of the apartment. Turning the TV off, Kim got up and walked towards the sound of something scraping on the floor.
The sound stopped as she rounded the corner and Kimberly caught sight of her roommate standing next to a large box of various board games as well as her other bags. Sarah looked quite out of breath and reached up to wipe some sweat from her brow.
"Whew," the tiny girl said, "I really need to hit the gym more."
"You could have just asked for my help," said Kimberly.
"I figured you might not be feeling too good, since you said your allergies were really bad last night." Sarah replied, "You sound a lot better too!"
"Wha..? Oh right!" Kimberly said hastily, remembering her excuse from last night, "Yeah you'd be amazed at what a good night's sleep can do."
"Well perfect! Let's start moving this stuff!", Sarah beamed at her, "I'm so pumped for this trip Kimmy! I put together a whole list of the games we can play! We can start with some Temple Escape then move onto..."
Kimberly let Sarah go on talking even as she tuned out of the conversation. She took a moment to look over her roommate.
Sarah Palmer was short, about 5'1", though she still liked to brag that she was taller than her mother. Kimberly imagined that stools were a required piece of furniture in the Palmer house. She had short copper hair that reached down to her chin and a very kind if plain face. What stood out were the ice blue eyes that were behind her big 'hipstery' glasses. She had a compact figure that was not extremely well endowed in any particular area but was well proportioned. Her generally perky attitude complemented her features well and she was quite smart, if a little naive at times. Kimberly figured she would be the first to believe that the Box and its magic were real. She was wearing a white button up top with the sleeves rolled up, a tight pair of blue jeans as well as a black pair of flats and a clip in her hair to keep it out of her face.
Kimberly had roommates with Sarah since freshman year. The two of them got along really well and had become best friends in a matter of days. If Kimberly hadn't known that Sarah would talk non-stop about magic on the car ride before she had a chance to explain it to the other two girls, she would have revealed her altered self and the Box to Sarah last night.
Kim turned her attention back to the conversation.
"...maybe in the second week we can start with the strategy games, Risk is pretty easy once we go over the rules..." Sarah was still going on about the games.
"I'm sure we'll have time to play most of them." Kimberly said, trying to placate Sarah, "But let's get this stuff out of here and over to the other girl's place before we're late."
"Oh yeah!" said Sarah excitedly, "I should wait until we're all together to set up a game list."
"Right." Kimberly rolled her eyes. "Let's go."
The girl's moved all their boxes and bags into the elevator and went down to the garage to begin packing everything in Sarah's minivan (she had swapped cars last time she was back home). Once all the board games, food and clothes were loaded Kimberly brought Pandora's Box downstairs and put it in the back.
"What's that?" said Sarah with interest, her eyes roving over the box's fine details.
"Just my contribution to the group's activities." Kimberly said smugly. She help up a hand, preemptively cutting off the endless questions Sarah was cooking up. "I'll explain it all when we get there."
After loading everything else they had into the van the girls drove off to grab their friends. About 15 minutes later, Kimberly and Sarah pulled up to their friend's apartment complex and found Jessica and Skye waiting for them.
"Good to see you guys," Jessica said happily, "I'm ready for some fun."
"You're ready? I'm fucking pumped!!" said Skye, "Don't think that just because it's only the four of us that we aren't going crazy at all this trip, you're partying with Skye!"
Jessica Martinez was an pretty girl, a year younger than the others at 21. She had shoulder length wavy black hair and smokey grey eyes along with russet skin. She was about 5'5" and had a curvy if slightly full figure with a big ass and D-Cup breasts. Her slight thickness did little to mar the attractive features of her face and probably resulted from her love of staying in to snack and listen to records all day. True to that love Kimberly could see she had packed her record player and had a couple crates of vinyls stacked next to her personal items. Kimberly had known Jessica in high school but hadn't really connected with her until they came to college together. It was through Jessica that the others had met Skye.
Skye Weintraub definitely stood out the most compared to the other girls. While Kimberly, Sarah and Jessica generally fell into the more hipster/nerd side of the interest spectrum, Skye was a party girl. She loved pop and dance music and could always be expected to be out at some bar or event on the weekends. She had been Jessica's roommate for the past year and the two had traded interests between each other quite well, with Jessica becoming more outgoing and Skye getting a small interest in nerdy stuff and quiet nights, though it was never long before her extroverted side pulled her back to the local clubs. Skye was about 5'7", the closest to Kimberly in height. She had mid-back length blonde hair that had some wild pink highlights in it. She had hazel eyes and a very attractive face. The girls usually kept Skye at the front of the group when going out so that the bouncers would let them in more quickly. Skye exercised regularly to keep her body party ready and it showed, she was quite toned and had a gorgeous ass that made Kimberly envious. She was wearing a pink tank-top that was tight around her C-Cup breasts and a pair of white leggings that hugged her long, toned legs with a pair of pink high-top sneakers finishing off the look. Next to her personal gear was a large and oddly shaped bag the clinked when Skye began loading it into the van.
Endless alcohol no doubt, Kimberly thought to herself, I wonder if drunk transformations are more pleasurable.
Once the girls had gotten all their gear in the van, Kimberly started driving towards her family's lodge. Over the next 10 hours the other girls chatted, sang along to their favorite songs and napped. Skye even passed a flask between the other girls, resulting in singing that was more enthusiastic but less in tune with the music.
Kimberly barely payed attention to the singing or gossip about boys and girls. Her mind was on the road and on the magic box tucked neatly away in the back of the car. Tonight she decided, after they made dinner, she would reveal the box to them and get this adventure started. She doubted any but Sarah would believe her at first, but she knew that would quickly pass once they started changing.
By the time they had reached their destination the sun had already began setting. The lodge was high up in the mountain forests and was remote. Kimberly's father was quite wealthy and loved to ski, but didn't find much time in the summer to use the house and so had allowed her and her friends to stay by themselves. It was quite cozy, with modern appliances and furniture and had more bedrooms and bathrooms than any of them would need. The grand structure loomed impressively in the windshield as they approached.
"Wow" the other girls said in unison as Kimberly pulled the van up.
"I didn't know your family was this rich." said Jessica.
"Yeah from now on you're buying the drinks when we go out." said Skye
The girls began to unpack all their gear and bring it inside. Kimberly managed to sneak the Box to her room without the others noticing. Once they were done, they set to making dinner. The chicken tenders and mac and cheese were perfect for people tired after a long trip. Eventually the fatigued and stuffed girls found their way to the main living area, where they flopped on the couches, gossiping and sipping some wine from Skye's stash.
Deciding now was the time, Kimberly got up and started heading to her room. Skye eyed her as she did she, her eyes lingering for a second on the swell of Kimberly's rear before saying sarcastically, "Off to bed already? And without even a goodnight kiss?" The other two turned from their conversation and looked at Kimberly.
"Not yet", Kim replied over her shoulder as she walked away, " just going to grab the activity I brought for the trip."
"Ha!" Skye exclaimed as Kimberly left, "You owe me five bucks Jess, I told you she'd find something."
"I wonder what it is?" Jessica thought aloud.
"Some kind of fancy box", said Sarah softly, "She was really secretive about it when I saw it this morning, wouldn't tell me a thing about it."
"Well!" said Kimberly, making her grand return, ornate box in her hands, "You guys are about to find out."