Prologue.

I don’t know which was harder.

Facing that mechanical monstrosity, the Gun Queen of Ar Telica, in a shootout that took place over half Telos Academy.

Or standing outside room One-Cee during homeroom, waiting to be introduced to my former classmates…as a girl.

Anri Shirohime, the class rep, who had accompanied me for much of the morning, had entered the classroom before me, and left me outside to wait to be called in.

I reached into my dress’s right pocket and fished out the strip of Cherry Princess gum.

Unwrapping it in a hurry, I tossed the pink gum into my mouth and chewed on it.

The sexual deviant, the School Council President, was right. The gum was good.

I chewed on it, and tried to regulate my breathing since I could do nothing about my racing heart.

I looked down at my hands. They were trembling faintly but at least they weren't sweating.

I frowned, wondering if this body could even sweat. Then I reached up and cupped my Dee-cups under my blouse and blazer, remembering how they felt in the President’s hands.

That was an amazing experience only soured by the fact that at the time I was being molested!

I frowned inwardly this time, and wondered what else this body could do.

I realized what I was doing and dropped my hands while my shoulders sagged.

What was wrong with me? How could I think of molesting myself? Seriously, I have issues.

Of course, they were understandable issues since I was guy whose mind was now occupying the brain space of this female body – Mercedes, the Gun Princess.

I straightened my back, continued chewing my gum while straightening my dress, my short white tie, and my white blazer. I tugged the skirt down to no avail, unhappy with the manner in which it constrained my breasts.

Then I heard my name – my new name – called out through the small speaker above the doorway.

I slid the classroom door open, stepped inside, and walked as casually as I could manage over to our homeroom teacher, Miss Serene Marisol, was standing at her teaching lectern. I watched her frown at the lectern’s smart screen a few times, tapping away at the menus, before sighing visibly in relief when she got what she wanted.

I wondered if I should help her with it. I bit my lower lip and decided that I would.

“…she’s munching gum….”

“…yeah…on her first day….”

“…I wonder what flavor….”

“…I wanna be that piece of gum….”

I stopped munching on my strip of Cherry Princess as I realized I was already making an impression, and probably not a good one.

“Miss Reynier.” My homeroom teacher pointed at her mouth. “No chewing allowed during class.”

I gave her an apologetic look. “Sorry.”

I took the gum out of my mouth, then wrapped it into a tissue Miss Marisol handed to me. I half turned and tossed the bundle into the refuse bin near the classroom’s entrance. A three pointer on my first attempt.

Hmm, not bad if I say so myself. I guess Mercedes has better hand-to-eye coordination than Ronin ever did.

I should add that to my wishlist of improvements.

Dusting my hands, I turned back to the classroom and noticed the mixed looks from the girls, and the grins from the guys. Then my gaze fell on my empty smart desk, and on the boy sitting at his desk in front of it.

Tobias wasn’t looking at me but at his smart desk screen, and with a faintly distant expression.

I frowned at him inwardly.

What’s got your jammers in a bunch, ‘Mat’? Aw, are you missing Ronin already? Hmm?

I cleared my throat before taking a long deep breath while shoving my hands into my blazer pockets.

“My name’s Cassidy…Cassidy Reynier.”

More mixed looks from the girls, and some whispers from the guys.

But half my attention was on Tobias, who blinked slowly, and began looking my way.

I waited for him to look at me properly, before casually adding, “That’s Cassidy with a Cee.”

Tobias was definitely staring at me now as though seeing me for the first time. A look of confusion began to spread across his face.

I grinned at him, faced the class, and finished off my self-introduction. “And my favorite gum is…Cherry Princess.”

That brought some snickers from the guys, and a few frowns from the girls.

“…isn’t that what the President chews…?”

“…I heard the President likes to chew on other things….”

“…and that she groped one of the girls in Class One Eff….”

My eyes widened and I pointed at the girl who made that last comment. “Hey, you. Twin Tails. Is that true? Did that pervert really grope a girl?”

The girl looked stunned. “Who are you calling Twin Tails?”

I knew her name was Talia Trivette, but I couldn’t exactly call her by her real name. “You.”

The girl stood up. “My name is Talia. Okay, remember it.”

“Yeah, it’s Twin Tails. Now answer the question. Did the President grope another girl?”

Talia started to seethe. “Yes. She groped another girl. What of it?”

My mouth fell open. “So she really is a sexual deviant. I thought she was picking on me because I kicked her ass.”

“…huh…?”

“…what did she say…?”

“…she kicked the President’s ass…?”

The girls continued muttering between themselves, while the class rep found something interesting in her smart desk to look at.

But I was clouded by my anger and clenched a fist while growling, “I am going to pay her back! I am so going to thump that metal whore!”

A loud gasp sounded from my homeroom teacher. “Miss Reynier—such language will not be tolerated!”

“Huh?” I blinked quickly and looked around at the classroom.

The guys were grinning again, but the girls were frowning at me in united criticism.

Ah, Hell. I was really making an impression on Class One-Cee.

I noticed the look Tobias was giving me – one of dismay and disbelief.

I sighed heavily, turned to Miss Marisol, and bowed politely. “I’m sorry. I got carried away.”

“Miss Reynier, I don’t know what disagreement you have with the Student Council President, but—”

“She groped me.”

“—ah…she what?”

I raised my hands and made kneading motions. “She groped me. She molested me. She wanted to know if my Dee-cups were real or not.”

“Eh…did she now…?”

“Yeah, so the next time I face her, I’m going to blow her away.” I made shooting actions with my hands, realized what I was doing, and stopped quickly.

What the Hell is wrong with me?

Why the Hell am I behaving this way?

I pressed a hand to my temple, and tried calming down.

This isn’t like me at all. Is this me or is this…Mercedes?

I stood still and breathed in slow and steadily for a short while. When I felt I was in control again, I hefted the straps of my carry-bag and quietly asked, “May I sit down now? I’m still traumatized from this morning’s experience. I’ve never been sexually molested before. I’ve been slapped a few times but never molested.”

Without waiting for a reply, I turned and walked across the classroom, then over to my old smart desk. I sat down and booted up the desk, entering my old password automatically, surprised to see the smart desk hadn’t been reformatted and that my old account was active.

What was the info tech department doing these days?

I was already logged into the system when I felt the gaze of my thirty odd classmates affixed upon me.

They were looking at me curiously, but one boy was giving me a hard glare, and that boy was Tobias Matheus Praetor.

“What are you doing?” he asked, keeping his annoyance in check.

I regarded him flatly. “I’m sitting down and logging in. What does it look like I’m doing?”

“That isn’t your smart desk.”

“Ah…well it is now.”

He leaned toward me. “There are other spare desks. Find another one.”

“What’s wrong with using this one?”

“It belongs to someone else.”

“No, it belongs to me.”

He was starting to rise from his chair. “That belongs to my friend.”

I started to rise too. “Well your friend isn’t here, is he?”

“He’ll be back.”

“Yeah, but it’s going to be a while.”

Oops. I slapped my hands over my mouth, but it was already too late.

Tobias’s expression hardened while he narrowed his eyes. He was on his feet properly a moment later. “What do you know about Cas?”

Carefully, I lowered my hands. The damage was done. Time to move on. “It’s none of your business.”

“He’s my friend, so it is my business. I want to know what you know. I want to know why he transferred away without telling me.”

If you come across this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.

I arched an eyebrow at him. “Feeling guilty about something?”

He planted his hands on my smart desk. “I’m not going to ask you again.”

“Then don’t because my lips are sealed.” I quickly made a zipping motion across my mouth, then leisurely folded my arms under my large breasts. I made sure to add a smile to my face as I pushed them up.

To my surprise, he kept his attention on my face the whole time.

I felt a little disappointed at that, then felt annoyed for feeling disappointed.

Okay, something was definitely wrong with me. Maybe I should call Erina later and ask her if all my ‘systems’ check out.

Also, I was concerned that Jive was keeping quiet inside the confines of my head. I wondered if he was up to something in there.

“Mister Praetor. Miss Reynier. Please stand outside in the corridor.”

I turned to look at a quietly steaming Miss Marisol standing behind her lectern at the front of the classroom.

Her shoulders trembled. “Both of you. Now!”

I swayed in a circle for a moment before stepping out from behind my smart desk, and then walked across the classroom with my arms rigid at my sides.

Behind me, Tobias stomped angrily in my wake.

I stopped at the door and slid it open, then turned smoothly to graciously wave him through. “After you.”

He came to a halt a couple of feet away with a dark glare on his face. “No, after you.”

I clenched my teeth and hissed, “I insist.”

“So do I,” he retorted.

“Ladies first.”

“Who are you calling a lady?”

“You, dumbass.”

He stepped closer. “Why do you want me going through first?”

I stepped closer. “So I can kick you on the way out.”

He cracked his knuckles. “Wanna give it a try?”

I cracked my knuckles too. “That’s what I wanted to hear.”

I was almost as tall as he was, so we glared at each other nearly at eye level, our noses only inches apart.

Tobias narrowed his eyes. “One way or another I’m going to find out what happened to Cas.”

“What do you care? You treated him like a little sidekick and he got fed up with you and left.”

I watched him jerk back aghast, and swallow hard before shaking his head. “No, that isn’t true.”

I flipped him the bird. “Sit and spin, and wonder all you like.”

“Miss Reynier—that’s enough!”

I ignored Miss Marisol and walked out of the classroom, rounded the corner, then quickly slammed the door shut in his face before he could follow me out. After that I angrily planted my back against the wall, and stared at Academy interior grounds through the corridor's floor-to-ceiling glass windows.

A long moment went by before Tobias opened the door, and stepped out into the corridor. He closed the door behind him less forcefully than I did, then picked a spot on the opposite side of the entrance to Class One-Cee.

I shoved my hands into my blazer pockets and tossed my head back, while he chose to wait with arms folded and head bowed.

And that’s how we remained for a long, long while, with a heavy silence between us.

I bit the corner of my lower lip, and listened to the sounds of the school around me. Mercedes had far better hearing than humanly possible so I could hear quite a bit of the on-goings along the second level.

Inwardly, I kept wondering if I was experiencing another form of mental instability within my neural matrix.

I wanted to talk to Jive, but with Tobias standing nearby I couldn’t speak to him. Furthermore, Jive wasn’t offering his usual pearls of wisdom. Not even a wisecrack at my expense. What the Hell was that Maestro up to?

I heard Tobias clear his throat.

“Hey…just tell me one thing,” Tobias muttered, sounding a great deal calmer than minutes ago.

I exhaled loudly and dramatically. “What?”

“I won’t ask how you know him. I just want to know if he’s okay.”

In the corner of my eye I could see him watching me, and he was looking at me properly now…from head to toes.

I folded my arms under breasts, again pushing them up. Then I shook my head. “No, I’m not telling you anything.”

He turned toward me. “Why not?”

I turned only my head, and faced him. “Because I don’t have to.”

Then I turned away and resumed regarding the Academy inner grounds, my gaze settling on the penthouse level of the administration building that jutted into the horseshoe shaped school building.

I heard Tobias exhale loudly, and thump the wall with his back.

“You’re a real piece of work,” he muttered.

I snorted.

No, I’m a state-of-the-art Gun Princess, and a prized piece of fine engineering that I’m being forced to inhabit while my real body is being held to ransom.

That’s what I am.

The door slid open between us, and Miss Marisol stepped out.

She sounded calmer as well. “Both of you inside. But before you do so, let me warn you. I will not tolerate that behavior again. The next time you square off in my class, you get detention. Is that clear?”

I faced her and bowed politely. “Yes, ma’am.”

Tobias did the same. “I’m deeply sorry for my behavior.”

Miss Marisol regarded me for a moment, but gave Tobias a long, studious look. “Mat, I know he was your friend. But truthfully, you are behaving inappropriately.”

I tried not to look at his face, so I watched him in my peripheral vision.

He shrugged a shoulder. “I said things to him I regret. I just wanted the chance to say I was sorry.”

I realized I was clenching my jaw so I relaxed it and quietly stepped around Miss Marisol and back into the classroom.

Ronin might have forgiven him, but there was no mercy in Mercedes, at least not while I was acting the way I was.

Ignoring the looks I garnered from my classmates, I sat down at my smart desk, and began sorting through the accumulated mail in Ronin’s account. Then I logged out of the system and logged back in as Cassidy. I had to wait for the system to acknowledge me, then install a new profile on the smart desk.

I sat back in my chair, and watched the screen run through its menus.

For now, I needed to close the lid on Ronin Kassius, and focus on being Cassidy Reynier.

And somehow, I needed to figure out why I was behaving like a total bitch.

If Jive was going ignore my situation, then I was going to have to take matters into my own hands.

I pulled out my phone and sent my sister – I mean cousin – Erina a message.

I quickly pressed send before I could change my mind.

#

(Erina)

I listened to the members of my division arguing across the table.

This was turning out to be a long morning, and it wasn’t even nine am yet.

On the table before me, my phone’s screen flashed and went dark. I picked it up and read the message that landed in my inbox. To my surprise, and sudden concern, it was from Mercedes…I mean, Cassidy.

The subject was alarmingly straightforward.

HELP! THERE’S SOMETHING WRONG WITH ME.

I stopped chewing on the lollipop in my mouth as a chill ran through me.

I was reluctant to read further.

In front of me, the arguing was reaching fever pitch. I knew that I needed to read Mercedes’ message, but I couldn’t do so with the ruckus in progress around the table.

Leaning forward sharply in my chair, I yelled, “Everyone, shut up!”

The arguing came to an abrupt end.

A dozen shocked faces stared at me.

One young male biomech engineer blurted out, “Chief, what’s wrong?”

I swallowed hard and stared at their faces. “It’s Mercedes. She’s reporting a problem.”

Another young man, a senior technician and an Alpha, leaned over the table. “What? Already? What’s happened to her?”

Mia, a young female bioengineer sitting to my left, asked with concern, “Is she in pain? Is she feeling any discomfort?”

“I don’t know.”

I tapped the message with my thumb and read it aloud…much to my immediate regret.

“Big cousin. Help. There’s something wrong with me. I need to know why I’m acting like a total bitch!”

I heard styluses fall from limp fingers.

Someone snorted and was smacked for it.

Mia swallowed loudly and hesitantly asked. “Is…is there anything else?”

I looked at the nonplussed faces around me, took a deep breath, and read out the final line.

“Am I having my period?”

Someone laughed and was punched for it.