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The streaming rays of the morning sun heated a square portion of the dark green carpet by Nadia's bed, she felt the warmth on her feet as she set them down in that very spot. According to the digital clock on the dresser it was eight o'clock in the morning, so Nadia was surprised at how late she had slept. Her father had trained her to bed late and rise early, maximizing her waking hours and diminishing sleep dependence.

The room was kept neatly, nothing was on the floor, the tops of the drawers were kept neat, her desk kept only a note pad and a strict word processing machine for school work. Everything was scrubbed to perfection, and the carpet was vacuumed; exactly the way it had been left before her trip to Pozalm. She stretched, yawning before making her bed, then opening the window.

A cool summer breeze floated through the room as she threw off her wrinkled shorts and replaced them with a pair of jeans. They overwhelmed her petite frame, but she was determined not to let them defeat her. She made them workable by using a brown belt and by rolling up the legs at the bottom to keep them from dragging around her feet.

A heavy sweat shirt in the drawer rolled easily over her torso. The sleeves were long, so she had to roll them up to keep them from becoming a nuisance. She tucked her long black hair inside the shirt so she wouldn't have to bother about combing through it. The socks in the drawer were big men's socks which absolutely refused to get snug with her small feet. They were like cloth sacks constantly slipping below her ankles. She made the mistake of inserting the pair, stockings and feet together, into her old size twelve sneakers. Bothering to tie them tightly was no use, they slipped off after her first step. It was enough to have her level curses at herself, throw the footwear against the wall, and run downstairs barefoot.

Her father had pulled the kitchen table from the wall because some new guests had arrived earlier. Dew and three girls had found their way to the house, and Norman was serving them breakfast. One person was seated at each side of the table, except for Luthial, who sat with Natalie on her lap. The scent of maple syrup, sausage, toast, and scrambled eggs escaped from the kitchen with the sound of silverware tapping against plates. Nadia heard Dew speaking from the top of the steps.

"This four-pronged device is such a strange dining implement, almost as absurd as the way you people dress."

When Nadia appeared at the border of the living room carpet and the kitchen tile in her oversized clothing Dew stood, said, "This man tells me he is your father, that this your home, and that the groeble was a friend of his, but I made sure you were safe before I took his word for it."

"Can't we send him back before the next full moon?" Nadia said, pointing.

"I don't mind," Dew said, "though I worry about the village, it should be fine, it has gone well enough without me before; besides, this gives us a whole month to get to know one another."

"You're making breakfast for them?" Nadia asked. "What about our routine morning training? It's been four days almost."

"This situation is anything but routine," Norman said.

Dew sat down, poking the plate with his fork and speaking intently between two mouthfuls of sausage. "You train with your father? From the way you fought the worm mistress, he must be a great master of the sword."

"Yes; he's been killing me slowly since I was two; I don't see any reason for him to stop now."

"Is that any way to speak of your training?" Norman asked.

"Hmph," she half-whistled, "I'll be outside. Call me when it's my turn to eat."

"Don't you think it would be wise to stay inside a little bit, eat, talk, figure out what happened? Dew asked for my permission to marry you."

The doorbell rang before Nadia could respond, and Norman went to answer it.

"What!" she exclaimed, following him, "You said no, of course!"

Then she broke from her father as he was reaching for the doorknob and concentrated her fury on Dew.

"How dare you ask my dad something like that! I told you what I thought of you and it's not going to change. Besides, I've only been a girl for--"

"Hi, Mr. Mavenslick, is Nathan Home?" came a voice from outside.

The words from outside stopped her scolding, suddenly Nadia was up the steps, retreating to the solitude of the second floor without explanation.

Jody Fischer stood outside in rough jeans and a sports jersey. Norman stepped outside to meet her before slamming the door. Upstairs, Nadia went to her father's bedroom and peeked out the front window, careful not to be too obvious. Her father turned pale and solemnly watched the trees.

"You're one of Nathan's friends," Norman said to the trees.

Upstairs, Nadia slapped her forehead.

Jody looked puzzled, said, "You already know that, don't you? I come here like all the time. I babysit for you."

"Yes- how stupid of me. I knew that."

"Is he here? I won't be long. I just want to tell him something."

"I'll get her," Norman gasped after realizing his mistake. "I mean she's- he's not available right now. He's not here- not home. I'll let him know though."

"No, it's nothing. If he wants to be angry about it, I guess it wasn't worth coming here in the first place."

Jody trudged up the driveway slowly, looking back on the house for a good ten seconds once she was at the opening to the road. Nathan doesn't even have the guts to come out and humiliate me himself, she thought as she continued on, her feet shuffling. She was down the road from the house when she heard another girl call her name with all the familiarity of long friendship, even though her voice was somewhat unfamiliar. It was a girl in an oversized sweater and boy's jeans that Jody recognized as belonging to Nathan, and she was running barefoot over the sunbaked asphalt. When Nadia reached Jody, she had to jog in place to keep from burning her feet.

"Who are you?"

"I'm- that's right, you wouldn't know me, heh," Nadia said.

"Are you a friend of Nathan's?"

"Can we sit on the side rail? I don't have any shoes on right now, and Nathan wanted me to tell you something."

"He wanted you to?"

Nadia leaned against the rail and tucked her feet in the grass, letting the dust and grime stain the back of her jeans. Jody stood, she didn't feel like sitting, and she didn't feel the burning asphalt because she wore sneakers, like most normal people who leave home for a walk.

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"You see- Nathan and I are cousins. It's that simple. Plain and-"

"Why would he send you to talk to me?"

"Gee, ahh- Hot today, isn't it?"

"You're not answering my question."

"Didn't he tell you he was going to Montana to stay with my parents? Kind of an exchange."

Jody frowned.

"No, of course he didn't. This was all arranged at the last minute. One of those training trips. It shouldn't be that long though. Maybe."

"So, it was last minute?"

"They didn't tell me- him- me or him- until it happened."

A squirrel darted down an old tree, Jody gave it her attention while she shifted a section of broken gravel with the toe of her sneaker.

"Well, you sort of look alike. Funny he rarely mentioned other relatives. So... do you like wearing Nathan's clothes?"

Nadia looked at her shirt, her jeans, and muttered a curse under her breath.

"Ha! Funny thing, my luggage was sent to Afghanistan by mistake and I'll never get it back. The airport isn't responsible of course, you know how those things are. Then the only clothes I had shrunk in the wash, and my shoes- you don't even want to know what happened to my shoes. I had to throw them out."

"That's strange, so here you are with practically nothing. You're not very responsible, are you?"

"I suppose not. I can make due with Nathan's stuff though. Anyway, I just wanted to tell you that- that- I'm sure Nathan regrets leaving without being able to tell you. And that's he's very sorry for being a jerk at the pizza parlor. I have to go now; I'm sure my dad wants me to train later this morning."

Nadia leapt from the side rail and began to jog home.

"Your dad?"

"Well, what else would I- I mean hey! How about that? I'm so fond of my good old Uncle Norman that I'm already calling him dad. He's sort of like a second father to me. Nice chat. Gotta go!"

"Wait, I'm sure you don't want to be stuck wearing your cousin's clothes."

"I don't want to impose; besides, your stuff wouldn't fit me."

"Hey, was that an insult?"

Nadia stopped and turned back, "There you go again. Why do you always have to be so touchy!?"

Jody and Nadia stared at each other for a moment.

"Well, what are you looking at me stupid for? Do I have something on my face?"

"I just thought- no it's too weird."

"What!?"

Jody had a way of leaning slightly toward whom she was speaking when she thought she had an insight. She smiled, said, "You act just like your cousin. It's like you're his twin. He never told me your name, or how you knew mine. Funny, he never talked about you at all. Ever."

"Not very popular I guess," Nadia sighed to try and sell it, "I'm... Nadia. My uncle told me your name was Jody."

"Nadia, sounds cute and rare."

"My parents were creative."

"Anyway, would you like to ride down to the Reading outlets with me tomorrow? There's a huge sale on clothes so it's worth the drive. I'm going down with my mom, and she said I could invite a few friends to shop with. I was going to invite Nathan as an apology because I knew he wouldn't want to come, but since you're new here and you really need to shop, I may as well ask you."

"Fine with me if I can get permission," Nadia said; it was an easy out, all she had to do was instruct her father to refuse.

"We'll stop by at nine tomorrow."

"If I can come, I'll walk to your house."

"How would you know where I live?"

"I know-" Nadia blurted, then cut herself off, "I know that I don't know where you live, but I'll get directions from my d- uncle."

"Great, but if you get lost, we'll have to go without you."

Jody skipped off with a slight smile.

Nadia didn't realize how hot it was until she began the journey back; she resorted to balance walking on the guard rails to avoid having her bare feet on the burning asphalt. It was hot, and her black hair harvested the sun's heat efficiently; that, combined with the force of her anxiety, produced beads of sweat across her brow.

Annoying swarms of gnats from the forest added to her frustration, especially as they flew in her mouth. The sweater kept her overheated, and she began to moisten her undershirt with sweat. The humidity didn't help, nor the fact that it was hot even for a summer morning in late June.

The trees were still, not a breath of air circulated to stir them. The sun continued to beat the road relentlessly, for the road east of her home curved at the edge of hill and the trees on the sunny side were too far down the slope to block the light. There was a lone cloud of fluff, but it wasn't in position to provide its speck of shade for Nadia. She pulled off her sweater and slung it over her back, not caring that her unsupported breasts pushed against the thin fabric of an otherwise oversized undershirt until a small, gray, Ford pick-up truck with male occupants about her age passed while honking their horn and whistling.

Nadia looked to see if it was anyone she knew, one of them looked familiar but the vehicle didn't register. The fact that she almost fell in the ditch behind the guard rail combined with her embarrassment to convince her to put the sweater back on despite the heat, though she endured it well.

At the edge of her drive way her father ambushed her, jumping from his perch on a nearby oak with a dive kick aimed for her chest. As she was unprepared, it threw her back against a tree.

"That hurt! What's the big deal attacking a gi- when I'm not ready?"

"You're supposed to be ready for anything. Why were you so easily surprised?"

"I have a lot things on my mind. I was thinking."

Norman launched himself again, this time more fiercely, for he knew Nadia was not prepared the first time. She blocked the attack with her forearm and turned herself around to kick her father in the rear. Norman absorbed the blow and jumped backward.

"You lost some strength. It's easier for me to recover my balance after you attack; you had more force when you were a boy."

"I'll bust you open anyway!"

"I'd like to see you try."

Nadia jumped at her father with her fist coiled, but he slid far to the side before she could hit him. She realized her arms were a bit shorter and compensated for the distance before launching her fist with the full force of her body behind it.

The punch landed in thin air as her father dodged. The force of her weight pushed her forward and she stumbled, almost landing on her face before she regained her balance and retreated a bit awkwardly.

"Nathan, what have I told you about letting anger fuel your fight? It makes you unable to plan any decent strategy and gives the intelligent opponent the advantage. You have diminished reach and upper body strength but greater agility, you'll have to adjust your combat style accordingly or you'll make mistakes."

Nadia put herself in a fighting stance while her father disappeared into the cover of the trees. He moved with such speed and stealth that she had to listen intently to keep track of his position. She growled like a wounded animal.

"That's not very ladylike Nathan," he called, intentionally revealing his position.

"I'm not a lady."

"Or should I call you by your more creative name, Nadia?"

"I can't help it. Nadia is always the first thing that comes to my mind. And what else was I supposed to say to her? Hey! You were listening the whole time I talked with Jody. That was a private conversation!"

"It seems everyone except for myself is calling you Nadia now. It's what you told me your name was when you returned. Dew also told me that was your name as well. I couldn't persuade him otherwise. Now, what about your private conversation with Jody?"

Nadia looked up and blocked with her forearms as Norman jumped from a high tree branch to land before her on his feet, he threw a punch against her guard.

"I told her I came from Montana," Nadia backed away and counter punched only to be dodged, "on a relative exchange program something or other. If you see her and I'm still like this, I'm Nadia, and you're my uncle, and I'm here training with you, got that?"

"Are you going to go shopping with her tomorrow?" Norman asked slyly, "You have my permission."

"You old sneak!" Nadia jabbed to the right; Norman moved to the left. The pattern reversed itself, then continued back and forth irregularly.

"Two hundred dollars," Norman dodged all her attacks, "You can have that much money if you can give me a good workout. Use it to buy some clothes that fit, and keep them modest."

"What?! You think I want to show myself off!" Nadia stopped attacking. "What if I change back to a guy all of the sudden?"

"You won't," Norman held his guard, "You'll need some clothes that are fit for your new dimensions, as you aren't able to return to Pozalm for almost a month and there's no chance of you finding a true cure anywhere on Earth."

"What about the old guy who did this to me?"

"I'm certain he doesn't have the reversal, or even know of a way to accomplish it. This is Ambrosia's handiwork."

"I don't want to wait! If there is even the slightest chance, I can reverse this."

Nadia attempted to kick her father's chest, but Norman jumped above it. They resumed combat at aggressive speeds until Nadia finally gained an advantage and pulled at her father by the collar of his shirt. They both landed on the grass but she had him pinned.

"Are you saying I'll be like this forever! You know more about that book and this Ambrosia than you're letting me know. Is there a way to reverse its effects or am I a girl for the rest of my life? Tell me the truth!"

Norman looked away and thought for a moment, "If you completely changed into a woman in the first place, then there must be at least one way to reverse the change completely."

"That doesn't help. I need specifics."

"I don't have them. I can't say anything for sure. Do you want me to make stuff up and tell you it'll be okay?"

She let him go, stood, looked away, "Don't talk down to me. Then this really is permanent?"

"I didn't say that."

"That's okay," she said before taking a big breath to suppress her sniffles and starting back toward the house rapidly. "It's not that bad really. I'm still alive. I'm still a human being. At least I'm not an animal, right?"

Norman pressed his hand against the nearest tree, yelled, "It's too early to lose hope. If you accept yourself, fine, I'm okay with having two beautiful daughters. I know I can't help you much, but I'm sorry you're in such an awkward predicament."

"I don't want your pity, and I'm not beautiful!" she yelled, slamming the door as she ran inside.

"Nathan!?"