Kathy entered the mysterious store that she swore wasn’t there. The bell rang above her head as she looked around the dusty shop. “What is this place?” Kathy asked herself while holding up a figurine with a ridiculous size of her bust. Feeling a little self-conscious about her meager breast size, Kathy put it back on the shelf before looking around some more.
"It's a good thing you didn't drop it Kathy, or else it will cost you a lot to replace it." The sudden voice startled the young adult, almost causing her to jump onto the shelf with all sorts of goods on it. It was an Old Man, probably the owner of the store, who had quietly snuck up on Kathy. "God damn it!" Kathy moved away from the owner to get her breath back. "Who are you and why the sneak attack?" "I'm the owner of Spells R Us and I didn't mean to frighten you. To make it up to you, how about a 10% discount on your next purchase?" He gestured around him to show off his trinkets and odds and ends.
After calming herself down and straightening out her clothes, Kathy began to look around some more. A couple of minutes later, the 16-year-old found nothing for her or for anyone else in her social group. Sure there was some jewelry here and there that her friends would love to have and some outfits that the boys would go head over heels for if she wore them. But either they cost too much for her or Kathy couldn't see anyone being caught dead with it. Kathy approaches the Old Man and lets him know about her limitations.
"I'm sorry to bother you sir, but I have found nothing for me to buy right now." "Well hold on there Kathy. I have just the thing for you." The owner turned around and grabbed a box. "I know that the kids love to play board games. Are you interested in buying this one?" He places the box on the counter for Kathy to inspect. "A Game of Change. Where players develop into something different," was on the lid with colorful letterings over its woodsy lid.
"How much for it?" "With the 10% discount, it is a little over $12." Kathy didn't think twice about buying the game and making her way to the store exit with it in hand. "Say, before I forget. How did you know my name?" Kathy asked before stepping out of the shop. "I'm a wizard Kathy. I used magic to know all about my customers, including names." Another glance around the shop showed Kathy that some of the wackier items did have a sense of magic within them. But Kathy doesn't believe in magic, so she shrugs her head and leaves Spells R Us with her game board.
Kathy made it to her house and started to call over her friends to play "A Game of Change". A couple of hours later, all four of her friends arrived. The first to arrive was Perry, Kathy's boyfriend of 7 years. Wearing his classic hoodie and cut-off jeans shorts, he was ready to party on the coast. When Kathy opens the door for him, Perry has to bend down his 6'1" height a little to allow his short queen to kiss him. "So, where is everyone?" Perry asked while he took his baseball cap off of his sandy, blond hair. "They will be here in a few minutes sweetie. I have left some snacks on the table if you are hungry." Perry, who would never turn down free food, made his way into the house to help himself while everyone else arrived shortly.
The next two were Kathy's besties, Gabby and Morgana. Ever since they were kids, the three of them have been thick as thieves. Well, Morgana has been known to be a thief a couple of times in the past, but only shoplifting small candies and other minor goods that she could stuff in her massive bra. While Morgana might have been blessed with a killer rack in the L cups range, she prefers to wear dark, gothic clothes instead of skimpy outfits. This time, Morgana was wearing a halter top with a pentagram on the front and a plaid skirt, all black with a little white sprinkle about.
Gabby on the other hand was much brighter than Morgana, in both fashion and personality. While Morgana is restrained and doesn't wear her emotion on her sleeves, Gabby on the other hand would talk the night away with glee and enthusiasm. Deck out in her pastel sweater and corduroy jeans, she appears to jump straight out of an 80s photo album. Granted that the girls from the 80s were also 5'11" as well. But Gabby is proud of her taller stature, even if she is taller than all the girls and half the guys in school.
"Sorry for being a little late Kat. Little Miss Black was too busy gussying up that we lost track of time." Gabby quickly gab while the two of them enter the household. "That's okay Gabby. You are not too late. Perry is already inside, helping himself to the snacks I set up. And yes Morgana, I got your favorite snack out there too." Morgana smiled a little and went inside with the giantess behind her.
Nearly 30 minutes after Kathy asked everyone to come to play the new game, Chris finally arrived. He was best friends with Perry before he got together with Kathy. The reason why Chris was late was that he was trying (and failing) to bring someone with him to the game party. Chris blames his inability to get a girl on his chubbiness while Perry says that it was his meek personality. The three girls all silently agree that Chris is in fact a closeted gay guy who tried too hard to be straight.
When Kathy opened the door for Chris, he was wearing one of his nicer blazers and button-down shirts over his khakis, all of it being stretched over his fatty frame. "I apologize for being later than what we agreed on. Did everyone start to play without me?" Chris asked while brushing his long, dark brown hair out of his face. "No Chris, we were waiting for you. Come inside, please," and Kathy let Chris in.
After Chris settled in with snacks in hands, Kathy brought out the board game that she got from the store. "'A Game of Change. Where players develop into something different.' Where did you find this babe?" asked Perry, motioning for Kathy to sit next to him on the couch. "I got it from a strange little store for about 12 bucks. I figured that we could play it together." Kathy sat on her side of the couch next to Perry, opening the game board to play. Gabby and Morgana sat on another couch that faced Perry and Kathy while Chris got the leather chair that faced the table.
"It looks like the board game from Jumanji, but slightly different," Gabby pointed out the glass marble in the center of the board and the winding pathways for the players to play on. "Yeah, but doesn't the original board game from the movie have four pathways, not five," Morgana also pointed out. Sure enough, the board has five winding pathways, styled in the shape of a wobbling, five-pointed star with the glass ball in the center of the star.
"Well, since Kathy was the one who got the game, I think she should be first to play," Chris said while he was finishing with the placements of the wooden game pieces and handed the pair of wooden dice to his host. "Thank you, Chris. Now let's see what I get for my first roll." Kathy tosses the dice on the board and the numbers of three and four appear. "A seven. That's not too bad," Kathy said while she reached for her piece. But before she could grab it, the piece moved by itself. It slid down seven tiles and then stopped.
"Kathy. Where did you get this game?" Morgana asked Kathy with a serious look in her eyes. "A strange little shop called Spells R Us or something like that." Morgana's eyes grew wide with fright, which was a first for everyone. "Hey, the crystal ball is changing colors," Chris drew attention away from the goth and focused on the ball.
"By playing first you may succeed,
But I wonder how much room you need"