Jen and Carol found a note on the kitchen counter as they walked in.
"Dear Mom and Jen,
I did go to school about an hour after you left, and I'm going to be stopping over at Kelly's house. I'm afraid we weren't fast enough, Lindsey is beginning to show signs. Beyond that, Sarah is pregnant (or maybe Connie, I don't think Sarah has been dating anyone recently, and she had warned everyone against it), but I have to wonder what will happen to the guy.
I'll be back home around seven-thiry...maybe eight.
Love you both,
Lisa"
No, it was Connie who had gotten pregnant, just Kelly being her ditzy self again as Lisa found out when she presented herself to Kelly and Lindsey.
"It's not really a sign, Lindsey, you know it could just be the natural change you go through at your age," she had reassured the young girl.
"Yeah, well we'll know for sure in about a month," said Kelly. "Where's Jen, I thought she'd be here with you too?"
Lisa spoke slowly, not wanting to panic Kelly or Lindsey. "You know, Jen's mom was in a plane crash over Russia. We think she'll be OK, but when Jen heard about it...she panicked. That was all it took to push her body over. This morning, her face was all fuzzy...I mean...I couldn't see her skin at all, just soft fuzz. Mom took her to the dermatologist to find out what's going on."
Kelly sighed. "I guess that's going to happen to all of...to you and me, won't it?"
"Yeah, Kelly, sooner or later. So how did you find out about Connie?"
"Oh Sarah called me last night after Connie called her. She'll be due in about eight and a half months."
"Does Jim know?"
"He was the first one she called of course. He says that he'll do whatever she wants."
"No, I mean does Jim know what's going to happen to him. If he got her pregnant within the past two weeks, he must have absorbed the hormone through his...he'll change too."
"My God! And what about the child?"
"Same thing, I suppose...I just wonder if the child will show the effects at birth or later in life."
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When Connie had called him yesterday morning, Jim felt like he'd just dropped through a trap door. But Jim had been brought up to be a responsible young man, if his actions had made him a father, then by God he was going to be a father.
He hoped that he would make an impression on some major league baseball scouts in the last months of his senior year, though if he was going to support a family, he'd have to be drafted to play at least double-A ball. Single A was fine for singles, but even at AA he and Connie would just be getting by.
Not that he really regretted it. The months that he'd spent with Connie had been incredible, and the fact that she'd been affected by some weird hormone seemed only to make her more attractive...though in a lot of ways, with her powerful muscles she sported...she was
becoming the dominant one, yet no less feminine.
Jim mused on this as he got undressed to go to bed. He really should take a shower, he thought, there had been an odd tickling sensation on his back and between his legs since he'd gotten home this afternoon.
He went to his bathroom and stripped down.
"What the fu..."
Staring intently at his penis, he could see that it had developed a thick blond fuzz all over, from his honey-blonde pubic hair to uncircumcised tip.
He turned his back to the mirror and saw that the same fuzz had appeared on his back and upper shoulders.
Jim remembered Connie's words to him when he first picked her up last Friday.
"These hormones are gonna change me pretty drastically, Jim. I understand if you don't want to see me anymore."
Jim had hesitated, but she was so wonderful to be with. No, he had told her, if anyone is gonna make the first move in that direction, it's not going to be him.
But he had no idea that it could be transmitted. Had Connie known? Did he really want to know if she did? He sighed, thinking of what may be in store for him.
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Lisa walked in the door of her home shortly before 8 that evening. Questions were immediately asked from each side and a lie was told.
"It just got thicker, huh?"
Jen nodded quickly, "yep and it's growing a lot faster, except on my eyelids...and my upper lip shouldn't be too bad, so we should be able to see and eat. How was school?"
Lisa shrugged, "It was good enough. I told everyone what happened, so they won't be shocked seeing you." She looked at her friend questioningly. Have you seen your face yet?"
"I don't wanna," she mumbled sadly.
"Jen," Lisa said sympathetically, "you're gonna have to live with yourself. It's only been a few hours, and I can tell that it's gotten longer. Come on." Lisa took her friend firmly by the hand, taking her upstairs.
"Am I...still...recognizable?"
Lisa nodded. "For the time being, anyway." The teens reached the bathroom mirror and
Jen took a deep breath and turned her eyes towards the glass.
"oh"
It didn't look like a beard at all, just that the thick hair had grown evenlly over her face.
Wait a minute, she remembered Kyle's words.
"You're going to grow a beard Jennifer. You're going to grow a thick bushy brown beard that will be impossible to remove-"
It wasn't a beard, and it was sandy blonde, not brown.
It wasn't the town curse at all.
Which meant there was no way out.