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.
"If they only knew." Kim chortled to herself.
The sound of a door opening pulled her attention towards the front of the apartment. Turning off the TV, Kim got up and walked towards the sound of something scraping on the floor.
The sound stopped as she rounded the corner and caught sight of her roommate standing next to two boxes as well as her other bags. The smaller one had its top off, revealing a large assortment of vinyls. The other larger box presumably held Sarah's prized record player. 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 me to 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!"
"What? 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 theme list of my records! I picked ones for some of Skye's games, other ones for what we're drinking, and..."
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 quite short at about 5'1", though she still liked to brag that she was half an inch taller than her mother. Kimberly imagined that stools and stepladders littered 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 90s Hip Hop, though maybe we could start as early as next Friday..." Sarah was still going on about the games.
"I'm sure we'll have time to listen to 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 playlist."
"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 up 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!"
The other girls rolled their eyes at this as they started loading Skye and Jessica's stuff into the van. As they worked, Kimberly looked over her two friends.
Jessica Martinez was a pretty girl, the youngest of the four girls 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 large rear and D-Cup breasts. Her slight thickness did little to mar the attractive features of her face and probably was a result of her love of staying in to snack and watch movies all day. True to that love Kimberly could see she had packed a large clear bin full to bursting with movies. 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 more of a party girl. She loved pop and dance music and could be expected to be out at some bar or event most weekends. She had been Jessica's roommate for the past year and initially Jessica had feared that they wouldn't get along. However, time spent together revealed that Skye had a bit of a nerdy side to her. Skye had a large collection of board games, from the conventional to the exotic. Apparently her family was really into game nights. Skye had filled out the group perfectly, helping them to become more outgoing while they helped Skye get more in touch with her nerdy side, though it was never long before her extroverted side pulled her back to the local clubs. 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 was about 5'7", the closest to Kimberly in height. She had mid-back length golden blonde hair. She had hazel eyes and a very attractive face. Skye exercised regularly to keep her body party ready and it showed, she was quite toned and had a gorgeous, tight ass that made Kimberly slightly jealous. She was wearing a pink tank-top that was tight around her C-Cup breasts and a pair of gray leggings that hugged her long, toned legs with a pair of pink athletic shoes finishing off the look. Next to her personal gear were two boxes of various drinking games and board games.
Those look fun, Kimberly thought to herself, I wonder if drunk transformations are more pleasurable.
Once the girls had gotten all their gear in the van, Skye started driving them towards her family's lodge. Over the next 10 hours the other girls chatted, sang along to their favorite songs and napped. Skye even procured a flask for the other girls, resulting in singing that was more enthusiastic but much less in tune.
Kimberly barely payed attention to the singing or gossip about their other friends and classmates. Her mind was on the next two weeks, 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 begun to set. The lodge was high up in the mountain forests and was remote. Skye's father was apparently quite wealthy and loved to ski, but didn't find much time in the summer to use the house and so had allowed Skye and her friends to stay by themselves. Skye had told them that it was quite cozy, with modern appliances and furniture and had more bedrooms and bathrooms than any of them would need. On the empty mountain road Skye turned through an open ornate looking gate that was dusted with snow. Kimberly thought it seemed a little ornate for a mountain lodge.
After another few minutes on the road Skye rounded a gentle bend and they arrived at the "lodge".
A stone mansion sat in front of them. It looked grand, with two levels, several chimneys, ornate wooden doors, and large windows. Far from your typical horror movie fare this building looked inviting, even with the lights off. Kimberly guessed a property like this cost millions.
"Wow" the other girls said in unison as Skye pulled the van up the stone drive towards the front doors.
"You said 'lodge'." said Kimberly, "not mansion".
"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 Sarah.
The girls began to unpack all their gear and bring it inside. While the rustic outside made them think the inside would be old and musty, the reality was far different. While the wood floors and stone walls looked older, modern amenities were found in every room, and the kitchen looked as if it could have been on a cooking show. The first floor even had a gym and an indoor pool.
"This old place has been in our family for years," Skye said as she showed them around, "but Dad only finished the renovations last year. Did you know we didn't even have Wifi before?!"
The girls didn't know what to say to that, so they just started moving their things from the foyer into their respective rooms.
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 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 family's stash.
Deciding now was the time, Kimberly got up and started for her room. Skye called to her as she walked away, her eyes lingering for just 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 thing 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, the ornate box in her hands, "You guys are about to find out."