You rushed to the couch to pull the stockings off. Like your other clothes they didn't seem to revert back.
You wondered why.
Hopefully it didn't get more femme the next time you put them on.
"Sorry I didn't even notice..." You explained, face still hot. Geez, you barely knew your Uncle and already he probably had weird ideas about you.
Your Uncle put up his hands and closed his eyes.
"Hey man I don't judge. You've seen the freaky stuff in the shop. I wouldn't run a costume shop where I could transform into a Hot Nurse or something if I was a square."
You put on a new pair of crew socks from your suitcase and slipped on some tennis shoes. Trying desperately not to imagine your own Uncle in a "Hot Nurse" costume.
Your footwear didn't change much. Just a frilled cuff on the socks, and absolutely nothing you could tell on the shoes. Huh. Maybe the enchantment didn't know what to do with them. Felt kind of wrong though.
You checked your outfit in the mirror.
The shoes didn't really go with the look...
"Alright let's go." Your Uncle chided you, leading you back to the sales floor.
You followed obediently, but you would have gone anyway.
"So um. Speaking of freaky costumes." You squint as you walk down the stairs. "If you don't mind me asking. How do you stay in business if your costumes just transform people?"
"Oh they don't ALL transform people. Just the nice stuff in the back." he motioned to the separation of the shop "The stuff in the front is all prepackaged stuff. That's most of what we sell. Standard Halloween costumes and all that. The stuff in the back, now THAT'S quality. There's a very subtle charm on the sections too. The back will deter most people, especially children. Unless you're uh..." he wasn't sure how to put it. Unlocking the front door and switching the sign back to open, now that they had someone to man the floor.
"Chosen? I'm not sure how to explain it, but some of the costumes seem to draw specific people in. Guess the Maid outfit liked you... or vice versa."
There was a pause as if he was going to ask you WHY you choose that particular outfit, but he didn't say anything. You seemed like you'd been through enough as it was.
"Anyway, you're not supposed to let people try on the stuff from the back. It will always fit, so there's no need. And we don't need people transforming in the store anyway."
He picked up a cheerleader costume from the front and brought it to the back. Showing you the difference in price and quality.
"See this is the cheap stuff we get from overseas at wholesale. It's like $30 for the customer. That's pretty reasonable. The one in the back is $300, that's another deterrent for the average shopper. Why would they choose the expensive one over the cheap." he held up a cheerleader costume that was loose on the rack. You could see what he meant. The fabric was better. And... there was some sort of magnetism on it. As if when you stared at it the lights almost dimmed around the edges of your vision. Your eyes sparkled as you took hold of it.
Your Uncle noticed you were staring at it weird. Then snatched it away putting it back on the rack.
You blinked as if it had hypnotized you momentarily.
"No offense John, but you might be a little prone to the back section. I'm not sure why it chooses who it chooses. I just know it doesn't pick everybody"
You didn't know if that made you feel special in a good way or a bad way.
Instead you scoffed.
"It's not like I was going to put it on"
"Right."
You looked around at the variety, noticing a beaded corner in the back like a movie store's "adult" section.
"I still don't get it though Uncle Jack. What do you get out of people transforming?"
"Oh. The zippers."
He led you back to the front of the store to put the cheap cheerleader costume away. Then over to the counter. Behind the register on the back wall was a jar of clear zippers.
"This is what actually enchants the costumes." he shook it around for you "When a costume is chosen, it eventually takes the energy from that person and converts it into energy that magic users can use."
He pointed to a clear acrylic box on a higher shelf, then eased it down. Inside were 3 of the same zippers, but these were blue and glowing.
"When they're ready they come back to us" he plucked one out and squished it, then reopened his fingers. Between his index and thumb was a glowing blue marble like the one you had seen at the breakfast table that morning. "Then we turn them into these orbs. They're great for higher level spells, or you can eat them. They taste like sugar..."
You made a face thinking this over.
"So your costume's suck the life out of people so you can... eat their souls?" you thought about someone throwing their life away because they had happened to come to your evil Uncle's lair.
Your Uncle laughed loudly, placing the marble bank back on the top shelf.
"No, no. The subject lives. The energy comes from the life they were supposed to lead. It's like the potential energy from the diverting point of living their mundane existence to becoming a mermaid or something."
This still didn't feel very ethical to you.
"I don't know if I can support this." You grimaced "I mean speaking as a victim."
"Well for one, you don't have a choice right now. Two, don't worry. Some of the people actually come here specifically for that. If they know what they're doing. They might just want to try on a different life for a night. In the end it's up to them if they decide to stay like that."
This still troubled you, it's not like potential victims were explained the rules. But something he mentioned...
"Wait. People come here knowing they can transform?"
"Oh, not everyone. Occult people mostly. Other people who know about magic. Or had a very strong recommendation. Think of it like a prescription from a ... witch doctor. Besides they don't all get stuck. You're only wearing the temporary fix because we didn't want to leave you walking around as an actual little girl."
You were confused by this statement. Until your Uncle reached behind you and pulled.
It felt like someone had run an ice cube down his back, and you whipped around to see yourself on a mirrored column. Your uncle was pulling down ... your zipper? You didn't even realize it was back there. Underneath you could see a faint glow and more skin.
Right! You totally forgot. You were wearing more than one costume. Maid, cat and boy.
Then why didn't they just unzip everything?
You smacked his hand away and rezipped it. Somehow the partial unzipping had made you extremely nervous.
"Please warn me before you do that." You scolded your uncle, holding your neck still. Feeling the glass of the zipper in your hand. Making sure it was tight and closed
"I should probably sew yours on so it doesn't fall off." Your Uncle continued. He waved it off like it was on the to-do list. "Anyway, Jess will be down in a minute to train you on register. I'll be back later."
He left to go back up the stairs while you strained to see the back of your own neck.
But as he was leaving something occurred to you. Not everything HAD a zipper. Your cat ears for one.
"Wait! What about accessories!" You called up, but he was already gone.
You were alone in the store.
Your tail swished involuntarily.