Back at the table with Kira and Dakotah, Edgar felt the dream-like feeling start to come over him once more. Fighting against it, he sat down and took a sip of his drink. The conversation between the other two drawing him in, Edgar found himself talking about first one thing, then another, then birthdays were it was revealed he was the youngest of the three, as Dakotah and Kira were twenty one, whilst he was nineteen, followed by guys worth checking out in the club, and then how long they had been working for the department store, in which it was he was the newbie, having only been working a couple months now.
With every subject easy for him to keep up with, no matter how girly some of them seemed, Edgar was started to find he was being invited with them on another one of their outings when Kira announced, "So, ladies. What should we do this weekend."
Glad he didn't have to work this weekend, he listened as Dakotah commented, "How about camping?" to which Edgar immediately piped up with, "Yeah. I know just the spot. It's even got access to a lake and a small, private beach. In addition, there are a couple trails, some of them go up into the nearby hills."
Making suggestion of what they could bring, Kira began to lay out a list, to which both Dakotah and Edgar added to or explained what they didn't have and would be difficult to get. By the time they were ready to leave, the three had plans to meet at Kira's after work, pack and head out for the weekend together. Leaving the club, they discussed briefly amongst themselves if they wanted to hit another club or bar, but it was quickly decided that it was late and they needed to get home when Dakotah explained, "I have to get up early tomorrow for work, as I am opening for the incompetent twit, Harvey."
Back at his apartment, Edgar flicked on the light over the stove and after unzipping his boots he kicked them off near the door. Shrugging off his jacket, he draped it over a chair then dropped his purse on the table. Tempted to start his search for some of the magazines and books he had found stuff about the Amulet of Zulo in, even as he felt sort of self conscious about what he was wearing, he headed instead for Mark's room. Knocking on the door, wanting to know if his flatmate had experienced anything like what had happened to him, he pushed open the door and clicked on the light. Finding his roommate's bed made and the room empty, he shut off the light, yawned and instead of going to look for the books and magazines he headed for the bathroom.
Inside, he stripped off his clothes and began to run a warm bath. Adding a dollop of bubble bath, he breathed deeply the now heavily scented air as the tub filled. When it reached a certain point Edgar shut off the taps and climbed in. Sliding down until he was resting in a comfortable position, he reclined his head back and inhaled deeply again. Reaching for a nearby washcloth, he soaked it, wrung it out, then placed it over his eyes. Sighing in contentment, he let his mind wander.
To his way of looking at things, the whole day had been a whirl of confusion. He had thought that with the Amulet of Zulo he could take revenge on those who had wronged him and his friend in junior and senior high. But for reasons he didn't understand, it hadn't turned him into a girl. Rather, it seemed to have made his mind more feminine, whilst at the same time made people around him perceive him not as Edgar but as a girl named Roni. Unsure how he could use this to get revenge, he toyed with the idea that maybe he should give up on his plan, use the necklace to change himself back and just move on with his life. Sighing, "Maybe Abby has the right idea. That college is the way to start over," oblivious to the name he had just addressed his flatmate by, Edgar felt like he was slowly drifting. Snapping open his eyes, he removed the washcloth and draping it over the edge of the bathtub, he grabbed a loofah sponge and some body wash and began to use it to first scrub his face, then slowly work his way down.
Halfway through washing his torso he stopped and stared at the water. The bubbles still present, whilst the air smelled heavily of various scents, it suddenly dawned on him what he was using to bathe with and that he had been soaking and relaxing in a bubble bath. Having never done such a thing, he stared at the sponge. Feeling like his mind was teetering on the edge of once more slipping into the dream-like state he had experienced earlier, Edgar began to finish up as quickly as he could.
When he was done with the bath, he kicked the stopper out of the drain and as the tub began to empty, he stood up and stepped out onto the bathmat. Dripping wet, smelling strongly of a woman's body wash and bubble bath, he reached for a smaller towel and proceeded to wrap it around his head. Taking a slightly larger towel, he began to dry his face, then his body off, but stopped when he noticed something in the partially fogged over mirror. Clutching the towel to his chest, he reached out and began to wipe the reflective device clear. When it only seem to make it worse, he reached for another smaller towel and promptly used that clear the mirror off. After he had done that, he stared in the mirror, thinking something was off about his reflection. Swearing, "What the fuck," in a slightly higher and lighter voice, Edgar looked down, shifted the towel so he could see better, then looked back at the mirror.
He still could see himself as male, though in some areas it was now less pronounced. Turning one way, then another, he stared at his torso, then his butt and groin area. Seeing now that he was completely devoid of any hair on his chest, back, crotch, armpits and legs, it hit home what he had seen earlier, but hadn't paid too much attention to. What was even odder was that his butt and hips seemed more rounder, that his dick looked smaller, whilst his arms seemed to have lost some muscle mass.
"Not that I had much to begin with," he muttered as he stared at how his waist seemed more pinched, whilst his overall torso had more of an hourglass look to it.
Running a hand over the smooth, soft skin, Edgar wondered when this had happened and if more changes would follow. Peering at his face and seeing it was still what he normally saw, minus any hint of a beard or mustache, he unfurled the towel he had clenched to his chest and finish drying himself off, before wrapping the towel around his torso. Holding it in place so it wouldn't fall, he exited the bathroom and headed for his room. Flipping on the light, he headed toward his dresser, collected Amulet of Zulo where he had left it and sitting down on his bed, he stared at, thinking, wondering what he should do, whether his best friend had had anything happen to him and whether he should allow the changes to continue, "If there are any more," he thought, or try and change back now.