The two girls were interrupted by a boy that had just entered the aisle. He stopped dead when he saw Amy, then quickly turned his head. He was blushing furiously.
Amy stuttered for a moment. The boy quickly said "Sorry." He began to walk away.
"It's the tail, isn't it?" Amy called after him.
The boy stopped, then chanced another look at Amy as if he missed something. "It's your pants," he corrected.
This time it was Amy's turn to blush. She had totally forgotten her pants were still down around her knees. Her pink panties were in view for all to see...as well as her tail of course. She quickly hoisted the pants back up, stuffing her new tail down one of the legs. It hurt a little bit, but she could stand it. "So you're more concerned that my pants are down than the fact that I've got a tail?"
"No," the boy answered. "What's wrong about having a tail?"
Lina scoffed. "What are you, some kind of weirdo?"
The boy scratched his light brown hair. "Well, I like weird things. That's why I'm in here. But even if we were just passing by in school, I still wouldn't think twice about it."
"But Amy's the only person in the world that's got a tail!"
"I really don't see the big deal," the boy said. "Look, I came here for something and I've got to get back to it..."
"Wait," Amy called. "I'm Amy.
"I'm Geoffrey. See you around." He walked past the girls and turned a corner down the aisle.
Lina turned to Amy. "How creepy was that? Come on, maybe we can find someone who works here to fix you."
"I don't want anyone to fix me," Amy argued as they walked toward the front of the store. "I just want everyone else to act like Geoffrey and think this is normal."
They reached the front counter, but the old man who had been snoozing there was gone. Amy didn't feel like taking the time to find him, wanting instead to go home and get started on the mountain of homework she had to do. After a bit of convincing, she managed to drag Lina out of the store. At sunset they bid goodbye as they reached Amy's house.
The night went normally enough, though her tail hurt a lot as she sat for dinner. She knew she'd have to come up with a different way to hide it or she'd never be able to withstand school tomorrow. When she sat down at her desk to finish her homework, it hurt so much she decided to take off her pants.
Having the tail felt amazing. She could sense the feelings in its flesh and flex the muscles that wagged it back and forth. Its tuft of fur was soft and silky. She found herself playing with it in one hand while writing an algebra solution with the other.
"Amy?" she heard her mother call through the door. "I've got some strawberries with sugar like you like..."
Amy gasped. She dropped her tail and was about to reach for her pants when her door flung open. Her mother walked in with a bowl of strawberries. Amy watched her with fearful eyes as she crossed the room, calmly putting the bowl down on her desk with a napkin under it.
"What?" she asked as Amy's staring continued. "You're hiding something from me. That's not the best poker face you've ever had." She crossed her arms, looking down at her daughter.
Amy shrank in her chair. "I'm not exactly hiding it," she said guiltily. Her mother looked her over and scanned the room. "Well whatever it is, I can't see it. What is it?"
Now it dawned on Amy that Geoffrey hadn't just said it to be nice...there was something that was making everyone think it was normal to have a tail! She had to be positive about it, though, so she held up the white and black tail in one hand. "This," she said warily.
Her mother looked at her with narrow eyes for a second, then laughed. "Is that all? Honey, I don't think it's wrong to have a tail. Unusual, yes, but I think most people would just accept it. To tell you the truth, I'd like one myself!" She gave Amy a kiss on the cheek. "Now finish your homework and enjoy those strawberries." She left Amy's room, closing the door behind her.
* * *
"No way!" Lina said in disbelief. "Your mother...liked it?!"
Amy had dialed Lina up on the phone just after finishing her homework. "She said a lot of people would accept it. That magic circle must have done more than change me, it's making people think it's okay!"
"But then why don't I think that?"
"Well," Amy pondered. "You were there when my tail grew. Maybe the fact that you saw it cancels the spell. Like, it can't take your memory of it away."
"I guess," Lina conceded. "But you're still taking a huge risk going to school with that thing."
"I've gotta hand in my book report; it's already late," Amy countered. "Don't worry about me. But in case there really is a problem, you're gonna back me up, right?"
"Of course," Lina answered. "I can't believe your mom liked it...and she wants her own? This is definitely magic all right."
After their phone call, Amy got to work preparing her wardrobe. She picked a pair of black bell-bottom pants and poked the seat of them with scissors. She carefully cut a small hole in them. Then she tried them on to make sure they worked. Threading her tail through the hole was difficult with its thick cuff, but when she finally did the rest slipped through easily. The pants fit just as well as ever, and her tail had no complaints. She looked herself over in the mirror. Something about this made her really giddy. She was now clearly unique, and she even had a unique pair of pants for her special new feature. Her tail swished anxiously behind her, making her even more excited. Tomorrow was going to be interesting.