Marcella Walker was beyond furious.
Christina Moore had everything. She was gorgeous, everyone at school seemed to love her, her family was wealthy, she got straight A’s on every exam. She was funny, she was smart, and she knew it too. Yet despite having everything a high school girl could ever want, she had the gall to ask out Marcella’s longtime crush, a boy from her math class named Steve Herrons. And the bastard had said yes.
Marcy had cried in her room night after night. She hadn’t asked for much. She just wanted to get to her senior year, and finally go to prom with her childhood friend, the boy she had been crushing on since middle school. And of course, Chrissy had to ruin it.
The worst part is that a long time ago, she and Christina had actually been friends. But that was back in the sixth grade, and of course, the moment Chrissy found herself in the spotlight as the most popular girl in the school, she didn’t have any time for stupid, freckled Marcy anymore. She had ditched her faster than her old bras, and in the few times they had interacted, she had made sure Marcy knew it.
Tonight, however, was payback time.
Marcella’s mother was a volunteer at the local Animalian Community Center. Several times, Marcy had gone with her to help distribute shipments imported from the laboratories, including vaccinations and samples of the Animalian Virus. The opportunity had come less than a week ago, when an unregistered crate containing multiple double dose vials, already infused with specific kinds of animal DNA, had arrived at the Community Center by mistake. Marcy had helped her mother repackage the samples, and in the process she had managed to snag one for herself without anyone noticing.
Now Marcy stood in the corner of a fancy restaurant bar. Festive music filled the air, groups of people laughed and celebrated, and lights flashed gently on a dance floor in the center of the venue. Marcella was wearing a simple outfit, a t- shirt and pants with a dark hoodie. Her frizzy hair was tied back under the hood of her sweater, and she carefully watched a table of girls near the edge of the dance floor.
Chrissy looked incredible, wearing a long, flowing dress of dark purple, her long blonde hair in perfect curls. She wore a sparkling pair of high heeled sandals, and she was with three other girls, all of them laughing and talking loudly. Eventually, the girls left their table, mingling with the crowd and joining and gleefully joining the dance floor.
Marcy made her move. She weaved her way through the crowd around the main floor, staying as quiet as she could until she reached Chrissy’s seat at the table. The waiter had already refilled the drinks with golden hued sparkling juice. She reached into her front pocket and pulled out the small vial, going over it one more time.
African Elephant, she read under her breath. It was a double dose.
For a brief moment, she hesitated. Was this a crime? She wasn’t sure. As far as she understood people had accidental conversions all the time, and nobody seemed to get into trouble. Besides, she wasn’t technically hurting her nemesis, unless you counted the impending embarrassment. Making up her mind, she uncorked the sample and poured it into Christina’s half full glass. The drink sparkled as the substances mixed, but it quickly returned to its normal color. Her heart pounding with anticipation, Marcy headed back to a corner of the bar near an exit. Grinning, she pulled out her phone and waited.
“Happy New Year Girls!” Chrissy called out, returning to the table for a brief moment. Barely even looking, she picked up her drink and drank it all in a few quick swigs. It tingled as it went down her throat, but the eighteen year old girl barely noticed. “Awsome, I was parched!” she said to herself. Marcy looked on with anticipation as Christina returned to the dance floor.
The girl went back to her friends, and then started jiving to an off rock tune that filled the restaurant. Chrissy locked arms with her friend Amanda, and the two girls started dancing together. Chrissy continued to feel waves of energy wash over her, encouraging her to dance even harder. Her body was beginning to gradually inch upwards, her willowy frame filling in with elegant muscle as the girl started to grow. Eventually, Christina grabbed her friend and lifted her off the ground in a tight embrace, planting a kiss on Amanda’s cheek before letting go of her. Amanda started to snap out of the party mood as she looked up to meet her friend’s eyes. Chrissy was 5’4 when she stepped on the dance floor, but already she had grown to 5’9, grinning down at Amanda. The other girl gaped at her taller friend. Christina looked amused at her friend’s expression, still oblivious to her changes. The young woman opened her mouth to speak but suddenly gasped as a wave a tingling heat washed over her entire body. Suddenly her shoes felt tight, and she looked down to see her toes cresting the edge of her sandals. A wave of dizziness hit her. “Wha…what’s happening to me?!” There was an edge of fear and panic in her voice as she suddenly sneezed, shooting up several more inches. Her dress began to tear as muscles ripple across her back. Her body kept growing.
Marcy stood at the corner, her camera focused on the woman changing, a wild grin on her face. “Who’s the Circus Freak now, Chrissy.” she whispered under her breath.