Driving to school, Jim Hamming threw his cigarette out the window. A rather average high-school senior, he was completely unremarkable. He had studied hard for an upcoming Economics test and was running pretty much on just coffee and energy drinks.
Stepping out of his shabby car, his pal Rick came up to him, worry in his face.
"Hey Jim, didja study fer that test? I'm so fucked..."
Jim nodded, sunglasses covering dark circles under his eyes. "It's a bummer, but hopefully Katie will let me swipe a few answers from her."
Rick gave a sigh of relief and they began walking to the school. As they were walking through the parking lot Rick noticed something.
"Hey Jim, class starts in five minutes, but where are all the cars?"
Jim took a look. It was true, maybe a fifth or sixth of the cars that would normally be there were missing. And as they entered through the auditorium entrance they saw a large amount of stylish skateboards on a rack, locks bracing them.
"Since when did skateboarding get so popular?"
"Maybe it's a freshman thing."
And with that, the bell rung, prompting them to rush to class.
Their economics test was oppressive, but Jim did better than he expected. He didn't even need to ask Katie for help. When it was all over, Katie giggled at Jim and handed him something. It looked like a Valentine! Pink and garish with cute hearts on it.
"Uhh, is there candy inside?" asked Jim, pushing against it and flipping it over.
"Open it and find out", said Katie turning around in a twirl, pigtails bobbing behind.
Jim decided he would, but not right now. He was so fucking tired. Good thing he had nothing to do for the next two periods. And fourth would be lunch. He could be mocha drink from the vending machine. Jim proceeded to do just that. And lucky for him, it was a Friday, so the teachers didn't have anything intensive to do. And when it came down for lunch, he met up with Rick. And for some reason, he looked more worried than usual.
"Listen Jim, have you noticed something? Like, anything weird going on at all in this school?"
"No man, I'm too fucking tired. Can we go grab a bite?"
"No Jim," gestured Rick. "Look. Take a good look"
Taking off his sunglasses, Jim took a hard look around the cafeteria.
Things did seem different. For starters, it looked like there were a lot more couples in the school now. He saw them kissing and holding hands, practically glued to each other. And for some reason, the guys in the relationship seemed overwhelmingly blonde, usually with blue eyes and long hair. And they seemed young and boyish too!
"So, this Freshman class is full of early bloomers? Get it together Rick, I'm getting lunch."
Standing in line, Jim was frustrated at the slowness of it. A bunch of young skaters were taking forever to do anything at all. Gritting his teeth, Jim hurried back to Rick, who was munching on a homemade sandwich.
"Fucking Freshman, I hope my food isn't cold." Jim took an angry bite of spaghetti. And for the next couple of minutes, they focused on just on eating.
"Hey Rick, look what Katie got me". Jim dug around in his backpack and pulled out his valentine, traces of perfume wafting from it.
"Aw shit man, looks like she wants you to give her the dick. Lemme see what's inside that, chum, yer still eating anyway."
Rick picks up the note to Jim's feeble protest and tears it open, eyes widening surprise for a moment. A dreamy smile settled on his face and he began talking about Katie.
"Hey, have you ever noticed how-" Rick's voice cracked for a second, settling into a higher octave."You ever notice how amazing Katie is?"
"Yeah, she's pretty nice I guess, but she looks like the clingy type."
Rick smiled, teeth looking whiter then usual. "Your loss bro." Rick began droning about how amazing Katie was, but Jim was feeling tired. So he put his head down and napped, oblivious to everything except the bell.
When he looked up, Rick looked radically different. His features didn't look right,they looked boyishly cute his clothes looking looser on him. Getting up, he even noticed that Rick was several inches shorter. Jim was worried, but Rick didn't look any worse for wear. And so the pair walked to math, but Rick took a while at his locker, having to go on his tip-toes to reach it. They got in just when the bell was ringing.
Math was a bore for Jim, and it didn't help that the two of them sat in the back. It was a struggle to stay awake, not helped at all by the food in his stomach.
Some time into the class, Jim noticed that Rick was rubbing his crotch, playfully oblivious to everyone else. And as he rubbed, the bulge seemed to get smaller and smaller. Only a hard poke with a sharpened pencil got Rick back to his senses, giving Jim a sheepish look.
When their teacher started handing out worksheets Rick began rubbing his head in confusion. Jim could only stare mouth agape as Rick's normally rust red hair began to grow in length, longer and longer, responding to his touch. It began to curl and gain body, deciding to settle a few inches past shoulders. Shaking his head, Rick smiled as his curls touched and tickled his face, hair lightening from red to orange to a very bright blonde. A few streaks of red remained, giving him a very cute skater look.
"What the fuck Rick! Your hair!"
"Yeah", giggled Rick, I hope Katie likes it. Girls love guys with hair like this." His blue eyes twinkling with mischief as he tickled his own nose with his ringlets.
Jim kept his distance from Rick for the rest of the day, but that wasn't too hard. Rick seemed more interested in writing sappy poems and rubbing his crotch now. At the end of school, Jim stormed off to the parking lot and confronted Katie, who leaped in surprise at the sight of Jim.
"Katie, what did you do to Rick?" He produced the Valentine from his pocket, wrinkled and inert, it's pink dull and nearly lifeless.
"Jim, I-I've been thinking about you so much lately, a-and I t-though maybe I could get your attention..." Katie blushed and looked away.
"Have you seen how Rick looks like? He looks like a damn freshman skater now! And his brains are like fucking scrambled! I don't even think he can drive anymore! Now where did you get this, bitch!"
He threw the note on the ground, which crumbled to ash.
"I-It's a magic note. My friends said that you could get the b-boy of your dreams, as long as you could get him to read the note. I just w-wanted to be with you Jim! Where's the harm in that!"
Jim turned around in disgust and went back to his car. Magic note? What kind of bullshit was that? Maybe some time during the weekend would let him focus and get to the bottom of this. Reaching for some cigarettes, he was about to drive home when he saw someone knock on his window. It was Rick!
"Hey Jim! Can you drive me home, please? The Vice Principal wouldn't let me drive home..".
Jim regarded his friend closely. He was struggling to keep his clothes on, and he had a sappy smile on his face, which he noticed had a few freckles on it.
"Sure."
"Yay!" Rick took shotgun and Jim drove him home. He wanted to talk to him, but all he got were non-committal responses. All Rick wanted to do was talk about Katie and listen to the radio, shaking his head back and forth to the rhythm, curls bouncing and bobbing.
Reaching his house, Rick thanked Jim and told him that he was going to ask Katie out this weekend.
Finally alone, Jim drove home and threw himself on his bed. He was so tired....