Putting his tray into the bin, Jim took a deep breath and scanned the various cliques talking away. There was an allure to all of them, since he so dearly wanted to fit anywhere he could. But, from what he understood, there were only a few cliques that could intertwine with the others as well. If he was going to make the choice, he’d make it right – He wanted to be invited to parties, looked at as cool by more than one group. He could mingle and befriend the rest of his class without worrying about losing touch. Only one clique had that power, in his eyes: The Hipsters.
His mind set, he stepped past a few freshmen and stood behind a boy he recognized as Keaton from an earlier class. The girl talking to him, a brunette with a green streak in her hair, gave him nothing more than a glance and a grimace before she kept going on about her Photography class. However, the boy he’d been towering over turned around and smiled, offering a hand and the seat next to him.
“Hey, aren't you that kid from my Statistics class?”
Now that he’d made it here, Jim took a moment to breathe before giving his classmate a nod and a handshake. He took the seat gladly, surprised by his nicer attitude, and natural charisma. His face was just at the precipice of teen and adult, much like many awkward seniors. But, unlike them, he pulled it off with grace, his dirty blond, and shoulder length hair framing his face well. He also pulled off the slightly grizzled look with a couple days' worth of facial hair and a few earrings in each ear. Realizing how long he’d been silent, Jim coughed and spoke up.
“Yeah, I’m new here, actually. The name’s Jim.”
And, with that, the transformation begun, the ring sending hot waves up Jim’s arm. Almost as if the world had frozen, everything moved very slowly, except for what was happening to his body. The heat spread from his hand and traveled upward, his arm thickening slightly and the hairs going from a light brown to a deep black. His other arm followed and he could feel himself growing slightly lighter, losing the extra weight he’d picked up from late night gaming sessions. His body shape mostly stayed the same, mostly average but with a bit more of an eye-catching broadness. A pair of smaller gauges materialized in his ears, around 2 inches. Next were his eyes, which lightened from a deep brown to a lighter hazel while the hair on his head picked up a natural quiff and shortened more on the sides. It too turned to a deep black, making his eyes pop out more.
His feet felt odd as they popped and cracked quietly, lengthening just one size up to 12 and a pair of nicer, grey boat shoes appearing where his ratty Chucks were. His worn jeans lightened and changed to a pair of tight khakis, showing off his thighs. A loose grey belt formed as well, tucking his solid colored tee into his pants as it changed. Small, white metal buttons formed onto the shirt and it darkened from the drab beige it was to a deep blue, with small white spots forming into stars. Over it, a black cardigan appeared, along with a thick rimmed pair of black glasses on his face, giving a more sophisticated look to him.
Realizing that his whole change had occurred so fast, Jim started recalling memories of meeting Keaton and the girl, who he now knew as Courtney, when he’d started high school. They’d been tight ever since, picking up a few new people to join the clique every year until now, during their senior year. He remembered talking to Courtney during his sophomore year about asking Keaton out and how stoked he was when he got a yes. There were the parties, the concerts and even his job at a vinyl store down the road. It was all so fresh and new; he loved it. And now, as everything around him started going back to its normal motions, the ring on his finger remained, draining him of the memories of his old life. It was just a part of his style now.
“Hey, James, you good?”
Blinking a few times, Jim – now James – adjusted his glasses and gave his boyfriend a smile.
“Yeah, great, man. “