Jennifer's ride to school remained tense. It was even more tense when she got off the bus, and many students and even the faculty stared at her two heads. She tried to keep a low profile, but her constant incidents and reputation as head of the cheerleader squad ensured that people were always paying attention to her.
Her first class of the day was gym class. Normally an easy class for her, but today she feared it would be more of a challenge. Specifically because today they were going to be playing dodgeball.
Before going into the locker room to change, Jennifer went to the PE Coach's office "Coach Dawkins, may I please be excused? I uh..." "I had a head injury this morning."
Coach Dawkins was a terror of a man, a former marine with medical training and some time as drill sergeant. He made an effort to keep his intensity and discipline appropriately suited for a high school, but was also not a man to take any abuse or lying.
Jennifer's interruption of his filing paperwork on the computer got her only a sideways leer. "No. You, of all people, can handle a head injury just fine. Maybe your depth perception will even be a bit better. Try not to get hit."
Jennifer opened her mouths to try to protest, but the grimace on his face told her that she would have no luck. Defeated, she hung her heads and made her way into the locker room.
In the locker room her friend Amanda came up to her. "Hey, you uh... you look different today."
Jennifer glanced over at Amanda with her left head. Her right head continued to look down as she laced up her sneakers. "Yeah. I uh... Yeah."
"It's that disability, right? Hybazzait something?"
Jennifer nodded her left head. "Yeah. It's been nothing but trouble."
"Really? That seems kinda cool."
"What?" "What?"
Amanda leaned in closer and looked at Jennifer's heads and necks closer. "You can't really be hurt, right? And the extra growths just go away over time right?"
"I guess. Maybe. I hope so." The practice start bell rang and the two girls left the locker room. Amanda and Jennifer were assigned to opposite teams, but they stayed fairly close to each other on the court.
Jennifer dodged a good number of balls, far more than she usually did. Having two fields of view really helped her to see the incoming projectiles. What she didn't see was the ball Amanda chucked at her from nearly point blank range. It missed the intended target: Jennifer's right arm, and instead hit her hand. A sudden jolt of pain told Jennifer that something bad had happened. "OW!" "OW!"
She rushed off the field, Amanda in tow. She sat down on a bleacher and stared down at her right hand, which throbbed sharply. A weird tingling sensation engulfed her hand and entire wrist. The tingling persisted for only a few seconds, after which her hand felt just fine.
"Hey, you okay? I didn't know you would actually feel pain." Amanda knelt next to Jennifer and she gripped her hand.
Jennifer glared up at Amanda. "That was cheap!" She swung a punch with her newly healed hand at Amanda's right shoulder. It connected, and Amanda winced. Jennifer, screamed out in pain again as her entire right arm tingled in pain. "Oh, shit..."
Amanda rubbed her shoulder and glared at Jennifer. She looked down at her right arm with her right face, and over at Amanda with her left head. "I think... I made a mistake."
"Yeah, no shit asshole. Why'd you punch me? That hurt."
"Not as much as it hurt me." Jennifer's right arm had stopped hurting, but she felt a pushing feeling on her ribcage just below it. "I uh... need to hit the showers."
Jennifer got up and rushed back into the locker room. Amanda followed close behind, angry but still concerned about her friend. Jennifer stripped off her top and hid in a shower stall. She could see the beginnings of another arm rapidly growing out beneath her right arm, pressing against her sports bra strap.
Oh, great... Another growth
At least this one might be useful
"Jennifer, talk to me. What's going on?" Amanda's voice echoed in the shower.
Jennifer remained quiet. The sound of her bra strap snapping as her new growth caught and then released it both gave her another short spike of pain, and betrayed her location. Amanda threw open the door, "Ahaaauuuhhhhh??? What's that?" Amanda pointed at the new growth.
Jennifer sighed. "I'm growing another arm, okay?" "Are you happy?!?" "You're really being a bitch today Amanda."
A small spike of pain passed through Jennifer's chest, but after all the other pain she had felt today, it was nothing.
"Jeeze, Jennifer. Calm the hell down. I was just curious." Amanda noticed the appendage growing beneath Jennifer's right arm and moved over for a closer view. Trapped in the shower stall, Jennifer didn't have much choice but let her look.
"Okay, that's somewhere between gross, weird, and amazing. Can you feel that?" Amanda poked the rapidly forming appendage on Jennifer's right side. Jennifer felt the contact, even though the appendage was only barely grown.
"Yes. While you're at it, why don't you just stab my left arm and complete the set? Or maybe slap my tits until I grow another pair of those! Or something even more ludicrous!" Jennifer's sarcasm thinly veiled her anger at the treatment her supposed friend was giving her. She was grateful when her sarcastic comments didn't cause another spike of pain.
Amanda grinned at Jennifer and stepped away from the shower stall. Jennifer breathed out dual sighs of relief, hoping Amanda had gotten the message. She turned her attention to her growing right arm. In less than a minute it finished growing and she could feel and move it like she had always had it.
With yet another dual sigh, Jennifer turned to leave the stall, only to see Amanda blocking her path, grinning maniacally and holding a pocket knife in her hand...