It took a lot of self-restraint for Debra to wait out the hour until Rashid's arrival without using the Chronivac, but she wanted her best friend to share the moment.
"Honey" said Debra's mom. "There's a colored" Debra shot her a dirty look "an African-American boy at the door for you. Says your working together on a school project."
Debra got up. "Yeah Mom, that's Rashid." But it won't be for much longer, she silently added.
Even though it was only three blocks from the bus stop to Debra's house, Rashid was huffing and puffing, although the exertion was only part of the reason his heart was beating so quickly. His obesity actually made it easier for Debra's mother to accept his presence--unlike a cute or athletic boy, he wasn't a menace to her daughter.
It was strange to meet in the flesh--Rashid expected Debra to be more butch, and Debra had known Rashid was fat, but hadn't pictured him as obese. These feelings were subsumed in an overwhelming feeling of wrongness, as both knew their physical appearance belied their true identities.
"So" said Rashid in Debra's room, sipping a glass of lemonade and looking at the computer screen. "That's the Chronivac. How do you know it works?"
"I used it to change my hair color, and then change it back. Look, I've got my changes all set up. Why don't you do yours? It's pretty simple to operate."
Debra had simply set the Chronivac to give her the body she would have had if she had been born male, then made a few tweaks. Rashid, by contrast, took forty five minutes, making and unmaking changes, trying different set ups. It reminded Debra of shopping with her friends from school, who always wanted to try on everything in the store and take ten times the amount of time she did. "Girls" she muttered under her breath.
Finally Rashid was ready. The Chronivac was set to make both changes. They gave each other a quick hug, and pressed the enter button together.