I was in shock, remembering the feeling of hurting that little boy, of enjoying the feeling of hurting that little boy. I stared down at my open palm, quivering, and thought about immediately making the trip to the apothecary to discuss what the fuck just happened with Silaqui, but I thought again, and realized if I told her this, she might take away my new form. Unsure of what to do, I simply attended my classes for the day, taking my notes in autopilot mode, completely zoning out. It wasn’t long before someone stopped me in the middle of campus; Zachary, an acquaintance from a few of my classes, had seen this weird kid sitting in all of Avery’s spots and wondered what was up. I stumbled on words for a while, before explaining that I was Avery, and that I had been transmogrified.

  “No fuckin’ way,” he answered, looking at me from top to toe. “You look like a total babe now! That’s crazy! What happened? I didn’t know you were rich!”

  “I’m not. I just happened to be in the… right place at the wrong time?”

  “... That's not really an answer,” he responded, his hands behind his head. “So, did you wanna look like you just stepped out of a horror movie?”

  “No, that part was an accident.”

  “Right on. Well, hey, as long as you’re alright, then I guess it’s fine,” he replied. I smiled a little at this response; it seems the kindness of strangers can still surprise me. We chatted for the rest of the walk like we normally do, and when we got to the next class, he introduced me again to everyone, who seemed to take a keen interest in me. I listened to their heartbeats as I talked to them, and could tell which of them was still afraid of me, and which was more curious or cool with me. I gravitate more towards those folks, and soon, I started just talking with them about things. About the new look, and how though some of it was regrettably edgy and dark, a lot of it was more in line with what I wanted. I listened again for heartbeats, and to my surprise, the people around me were calm. I laughed, probably the first genuine laugh they’d ever heard me make; when they asked me why, I simply responded that, “I spent my whole life afraid of changing, and now that I have, even though it's only been a day, it’s already been the most freeing thing I’ve ever done. I’m glad I was able to.”

  Though the darkness of that moment with the registrar remained in my stomach with me the rest of the day, the light of these moments with people who I thought might be good enough to be friends remained in my heart. I decided that I wouldn’t let that moment get to me, though I avoided touching anyone else for the rest of the day. When classes ended, I hurried to my shift at the coffee shop, and cheerily got to work, though I had been delegated to clean-up duty from being on the front lines. Perhaps this was for the better, as it helped me avoid contacting anybody physically. I chatted with my coworkers about the change with the same attitude and attention I did in class, and sussed out those whom I believed I could depend upon and confidants. There weren’t as many here, but I was glad there were a few still; we made small talk throughout the day about their own classes, as they were students too, as well as my changes. By the end of the day I felt emotionally exhausted from all of the conversation, and so I made my way home.

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  I decided that I should call Silaqui and tell her what happened, because I promised I would, and to not do so would be dishonest to my original intent. So I dialed her up, and the phone rang three times before her soothing voice hummed through my receiver:

  “Good, you kept your word. So, what’s the situation? Any side effects? How did all the paperwork go?”

  “Everything is going great so far. I haven’t needed to sleep, though I’ve still been hungry. I tested my strength, and I am far stronger now than I used to be. Paperwork went okay, shit took forever, but it all worked out, and I still have a job and am enrolled in school.”

  “You haven’t slept? Are you tired now?”

  “No, I’m not. I am exhausted emotionally, but that’s from all the talking I’ve had to do today.”

  “Interesting. Well, then I won’t keep you any more. Unless there is anything else that happened?”

  I thought hard about lying and saying nothing, but I am a sucker for honesty,

  “Well, when I shook the registrar’s hand in his office, I had a… vision.”

  “You had a vision? Of what?”

  “Well, I had a vision of… Myself, beating a child. Except I was him. And ever since then, I’ve had this dark pit in my stomach, like I ate a black hole. I think I… I know it sounds weird, but I think I took some of the darkness in him.”

  There was silence on the other side of the phone for a little while.

  “Hello?” I asked, afraid that she might be upset with me, or thinking of revoking her gift.

  “I need you to come see me,” she said, with a seriousness to her voice.