Jo munched idly on a French fry and glanced down at the pile that still remained. It was almost shocking how comparatively small her appetite was in this new body; normally she'dve been able to tear through a double cheeseburger at In-N-Out without a second thought and be ready for more, but she was already feeling a little full. Well, the milkshake probably contributed to that, she thought.
She glanced over at Mike (no, Michelle, she reminded herself,) who was in about the same position and hadn't even had a double. Jo wondered how she was doing; she'd been obviously nervous going into this, and ever since the change she'd seemed somewhat uncomfortable. Or...she wasn't sure how to put it? Uncomfortable letting herself be comfortable, maybe...? They'd known each other for three years, now, but there were still things about Mike she didn't totally understand; he could be hard to nail down, sometimes, and there were times where he'd suddenly express strong feelings on something he'd never apparently had an opinion on 'til he was pressed with a question or a choice, like there was a raw nerve buried just under the surface. She hadn't felt like she ought to pry, but Jo definitely got the feeling there was a lot more going on inside of him than he let on...
Well, she didn't mind it too much; he was a good guy, and he'd become a good friend over the last few years. But this tracked with that, she thought; she'd never have pegged him for a conspicuously macho type, herself, but turn him into a girl for some wild and crazy science experiment and she got all prickly and self-conscious about it. Jo hoped she'd get a little more comfortable in her new skin, given some time to adjust; they were gonna be like this for a whole year.
Granted, she was surprised that she was as comfortable with it as she was. She'd never had any issues with being a dude, but it seemed like she didn't really mind being a chick, either, which she was pretty sure she wouldn'tve guessed. She'd been just as nervous as Mike, after all, but the change wasn't so bad, and aside from the basic strangeness of suddenly being all different, she felt pretty at-home in this new body. It probably didn't hurt that she was a stunner, but to be honest she still hadn't quite internalized that; not that she wasn't getting looks from people - the clerk, a boy whose freckles did nothing to disguise the fact that he'd yet to graduate from the gangly-and-pimply phase of adolescence, had spent the entire ordering process talking to her chest - but it was hard to think of herself as a Hot Babe when she was still new to even being a woman.
She glanced down at herself, still marveling. This figure was the kind of thing you saw on the cover of old pulp magazines, but somehow it was her new reality; even knowing what she did about her genetics, it was still kinda staggering. She hadn't been ugly as a guy, but she'd never been hot, and she wasn't sure how she was supposed to feel about all this. If you were a bombshell, shouldn't you feel like a bombshell? But more than anything, she felt...sturdy. 36DD was the stuff of teenage fantasy, but on her it was the weight, the solidity that felt...oddly comforting. She liked the way they felt on her, the way they moved with her; the fact that they caught the eye of everyone around her was almost superfluous, really.
Well, she might feel differently at the end of the day, even with the support of her bra (she hadn't told Michelle, but it was the lacey red one; she liked the look of it on her, and it was comfortable,) and it was very possible that the stares would get old quick, but she supposed that was just life, as a woman. Besides, it wasn't going to be the weirdest thing she dealt with in the coming year. She was still trying to wrap her head around the idea that she was gonna lay eggs once a month; even having the nurse's assurance that it was preferable to the normal process, it still seemed kinda freaky. But then, so did the idea of having a period, and that was apparently "just life" for most women...
Jo was still mulling that over when her phone pinged. She didn't recognize the number, but unlocked it and glanced over the text message she'd gotten:
Hi, Lindsay from the lab here.
Dr. K said to let you know we've handled things; the R.A. at the women's dorm has a room prepped for you.
Call the lab if you need anything, and drop me a line if you have any questions about "hen things."
Welcome to the flock, both of you ;)
She'd signed off with a chicken emoji; Jo wasn't sure whether to find the pride she apparently took in this any weirder than the rest of the situation, but went ahead and added her as a contact. "That was the lab," she told Michelle, "saying our dorm room's ready. Anything else you need before we head back?"
The other girl sighed and shook her head slowly. "I'd say 'a stiff drink,'" she said, "but that'd probably be a bad idea even if I knew what my limit was like now."
Jo laughed. "I get you," she said, "but relax, it'll be fine. Remember, as far as anyone knows we're just two totally normal college girls transferring in from somewhere else for senior year."
Michelle got a funny look at that, but nodded thoughtfully to herself as they took their trays over to the trash cans and headed back out to the car.
- - - - -
They arrived back at the campus in short order, but Michelle pulled into the parking lot of the men's dorm out of habit and didn't realize 'til she was just about to shut the engine off. When they'd parked at their new dorm they found the R.A., a tall African-American woman who gave off serious no-nonsense den-mother vibes, waiting for them, a couple of manila folders in hand. "We got word from Kelly Labs that a couple of 'transfer students' were coming in today," she said. "By the descriptions, that's you girls?"
"Uh, yeah, that's us," Jo said, a little surprised that she was obviously clued-in; she'd expected the lab's contacts to be more with the administration. Well, that was fine, she guessed; this woman didn't seem like the type to blab to anyone and everyone. "Um, did our stuff get 'transferred' already, or...?"
The woman nodded. "We took the liberty of stashing the clothes in the drawers under the beds, but the rest of your things should be about where you'd expect them. You're in 313-A; I'll get you your keycards and the IDs the lab provided when we're done here." She started counting off on her fingers, dropping into what was obviously a common spiel. "There's laundry facilities in the basement and a shared kitchen on the first floor; the stuff in the pantry and fridge is communal, but it can get used up pretty quick, so you'll want to pick up a mini-fridge for any perishables you want to keep stocked privately. We do expect you to clean up after yourselves if you do any cooking; I try not to be a hard-ass about it, but if I hear you're making a habit of leaving your dishes for other people to wash, we'll have words."
Jo wondered a little at the fact that the women's dorm was better-equipped than the men's; they didn't have a kitchen, did they? ...No, wait, there was that room with a refrigerator and a sink and an oven, but the fridge had stuff living in it, or possibly had evolved into some kind of lifeform itself, and the oven was used strictly for frozen-pizza purposes; the sink was, as far as she knew, not used at all, apart from the occasional fratboy looking for somewhere to vomit. There definitely weren't any dishes.
"This is not a co-ed dorm," the R.A. continued. "Male visitors are allowed, and we won't ask questions about what you get up to provided you're discreet, but we do expect you to show some consideration for the other girls on your floor. Capisce?"
It took a moment for them to process the implications. "That, uh, shouldn't be an issue," Michelle said, blushing furiously; Jo couldn't help cringing a little as well, though she wondered if the sex-change treatment would alter anything in that regard, or if the staff at the lab even knew that, as yet.
"There's first-aid kits in the common room on each floor. Shared computers, as well, but I'll be honest, they're not terribly secure, so for the love of God don't log into your bank website or anything. And...that should about cover it," she concluded, opening the folder and pulling out a sheaf of paper and several cards.
"These are the official dorm policies," she said, "which I'm sure you'll read as thoroughly as you did at your last residence, but which I'm obligated to give you anyway. There's a keycard for each of you, and a photo ID provided by the lab that I won't ask any further questions about. If you need anything, or need to report anything, I'm in suite 101 - ground floor, left-hand wing as you're coming in the main entrance. I'm Leah, by the way."
They took their cards from her; Michelle got saddled with the paper. Jo took a look at her ID; sure enough, it had her name as JOSEPHINE M JONES, her sex as F, and the photo they'd taken of her back at the lab, and looked exactly like a regular California driver's license. She wondered what kind of strings they were able to pull with whom to get something like this on the spot, but decided that she was better off not knowing.
Leah led them up to the third floor and down the hall, and knocked on the door of 313-B. After a moment, it was opened by a lanky, bespectacled blonde. "Oh hey, Leah!" she said, and glanced over to Jo and Michelle; her eyes immediately lit up. "New people!"
Leah chuckled. "Girls, this is Charity," she said. "Charity, as you've already guessed, these are your new neighbors, ah...?"
"Jo," said Jo, offering a handshake, which the other girl received and returned vigorously before pulling her into a hug.
"Um...Michelle," said Michelle, a little awkwardly; she didn't offer a handshake, which she assumed would be a cue to not bother, but which actually led Charity to skip straight to the hugging.
"They're transferring in for their final year," Leah said. "I'd say 'if it's not too much of a burden,' but I don't think I could stop you from helping them out while they're getting settled in." She turned to Jo and Michelle. "I'll leave you to it, then, but as I said, don't hesitate to drop by if something comes up."
"I'm sure we'll get along fine," Charity said, beaming. "Come in, won't you?"
She led them inside. The room looked pretty much like the ones in the men's dorm - old Cold War-era construction with basic furnishings and a forced-air vent under a window that they knew from experience was draftier than it had any right to be, connected to 313-A through a shared bathroom - but cleaner and better-kept. Another girl was seated at a portable digital piano which was set up in front of the window, and it took a moment before she noticed them in the glass.
"Oh, uh, hi," she said, doffing her headphones and rising to greet them. She was a petite Asian beauty, slightly shorter than Michelle but a little fuller-figured, with lush black hair in a bob cut. She seemed friendly, but a little shy and unsure of herself, and kept glancing around the room as if she wasn't quite comfortable looking at them directly.
"Jae, this is Jo and Michelle," Charity said. "Jo, Michelle, this is Jae; she's a freshman in the music program. Believe it or not, she was a guy originally, but she's participating in some kind of scientific study or something, and now she's a girl."
Neither of them quite knew how to respond to that. "O-oh, uh...um," Jo said, after a minute. "You're not, uh, trying to keep that a secret, are you...?"
Jae scuffed her foot on the carpet, looking a bit sheepish. "Well, I'm, ah, not really advertising it," she said, "but it's a pretty open secret. It's just...well, I didn't manage to land a music scholarship, and my parents...kinda really wanted me to major in something else. This was the only way I could find to cover tuition, so...here I am, I guess."
Charity smiled warmly. "Well, you make for a very pretty girl, I hope you know."
Jae flushed slightly. "I mean, I've only been one for three days," she said, "but...thanks, I guess...?" She turned to her new neighbors, clearly hoping to change the subject. "A-anyway, how about you guy-uh, girls? You're transferring in, right? Where from? What're you majoring in?"
Jo and Michelle glanced at each other, only just now realizing that they hadn't bothered to come up with a cover story...