Mystery Lake
[21] Jess For Success
I was a very quiet baby when I was born. Not a preemie or a C-section. I came out without a single grudge against the world. I was just happy to be here.
And I left almost as soon as I arrived. I swelled up with a dangerous rash referred to by some long medical name that I can never remember. Mom practically became a nurse, studying everything about my condition and trying to recommend treatments. Dad, on the other hand, didn't even see me until a month later, after the danger had passed. My first introduction to what my family would be like.
When school asked me to draw my parents, I just put Mom in several outfits to show what a quick-change superhero she was, and Dad was a charitable dash outline of a person. The Invisible Man.
Despite having plenty to complain about, I still maintained this cordial spirit toward the world. Stuff sucked, but my complaints wouldn't change anything. Just work hard. At least Dad never complained about money.
Whatever I asked for was deposited. As I approached my teen years, I mounted a tenacious rebellion, offering to pay him to spend at least one nice day around me that didn't have conditions, terms, or limitations. My piddling, recirculated allowance couldn't possibly compare to even an hour of what the Muller Corporation matched. I just had a glimmer of hope that being family might make up the difference.
In one of my favorite games, Earthbound, the main character's father is the telephone. If only mine could be that much. But I should be grateful that he provides for me and loves me in the fiduciary language he understands.
Alaska was an amazing place to grow up. I helped out in a local store owned by a friendly family. The oldest brother taught me Yup'ik and treated me like the little sister he never had. I spent hours every day just walking in the wilderness. At that age, I had idyllic daydreams of finding a wolf and befriending it like something out of a storybook. I also wanted to track down an Adlet. I was going to outdo the storybook princesses. I just sprained my ankle and gave my mom a whole new set of fears.
It was devastating when we moved, but Dad promised we would see more of him since he was going to work at the central Michigan offices of the Muller Corporation. That didn't happen, but our new house was nice. Mom liked to joke that we wanted to move somewhere warmer than Alaska, so we went to the Midwest.
As part of the whole teenage rebellion package, I got a tattoo on my left arm when I was way too young for it. The guy who did it was originally from the same area as me, so I just let him draw the most beautiful landscape with more critters than I had ever seen in person back there. Mom and Dad were both understanding about my choice, which soured some of it. School made me wear long sleeves, even on the hottest days, because I might over-'stimulate' my classmates with such imagery. Ironically, I was more afraid of getting in trouble with my school than I was of getting in trouble with my parents.
But I kept running into trouble, despite my desires. One particular teacher got especially mad because she noticed me squinting at the board whenever her back was turned. She shamed and pressured me into getting glasses, which I absolutely needed. Mom threw a few nervous fits about all that, especially because of macular degeneration and other retinal conditions throughout her side of the family. It stressed me out. I felt like the gift of being able to see this beautiful world wasn't something I was guaranteed forever. I was just grateful for every day I had.
Glasses helped, although I still often got headaches and eye strain. They were uncool for quite a few years, with me wrapping up my stomach in a tight bow of arms to hold it all together. One day though, it suddenly shifted, and I guess I was part of the cool things once more, not that I trusted to rely on that state of things. Trust was hard. I didn't give it up easily.
And that's how I faced college. Anticipate that things are going to be messed up, and you can't rely on expectations. Sometimes, it works out for the best.
For several weeks, my schedule was completely scrambled, and I nervously avoided talking to the people who could fix it. But because I was in an English class way below where I should've been, I happened to meet Joel Griffin.
"You're beautiful" was almost the very first thing he said to me. His pervasive, subtle, deep tan reminded me of The Rock and that older boy back in Alaska. But it was such a silly thing to say. Who just tells someone they're beautiful out of the blue?
I strongly suspected that he was just pulling one over on me. He'd already made light of a few things in the class that really deserved it, with insightful but annoying criticism. So, I figured I was his next target. But there was something special about his bright blue eyes. He later described meeting me as if he were looking at the Northern Lights, something rare and beautiful that only he could see.
I didn't know what to say. I was so flustered and grinning ear to ear that I went through the whole class without even thinking about my schedule. I made sure to get his number and dorm room before he might have slipped away and out of my life.
It's funny how so many of the other girls I introduced him to acted like he was this big, scary, intimidating wolf that I finally managed to befriend. He was actually the gentlest puppy, all the way down.
He got me into good, regular exercise, ranging from proper weight training to long-distance walking and even a smattering of swimming, both in the pool and in wilder forms of water. I could barely breathe in front of the intimidating expanse of a relatively modest lake. Joel placed his arms on my shoulders with the lightest of feather touches and assured me, "I will always pull you to shore."
I teased him with the image of dragging a dead weight through the seaweed. Sheepishly, he fumbled for a sweeter way to phrase that. I will bring you back to shore; I will guide you back on land; I will take you from the waters; I ain't gonna let you drown! They were all better ways to put it, but I treasured his initial sentiment the most because it was the truest expression of what he felt.
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I love the way he smiles. If everyone else in the room isn't smiling half as much as he is, he's trying to figure out a way to fix it, whether it's with a home-cooked meal, silly ideas he can't keep in his head, or questions that make you wonder in the very best ways. He always likes to laud me with celebrations about how I remember all the stuff that won't stay inside his head, like appointments, tests, and precious memories. But he always remembers the most important things, without fail.
When spring break arrived, I had a small list of shows I wanted to watch that I thought would appeal to both of us, with some geared towards Joel and others that were more my style. With all that in mind, along with heavy studying and assignments to complete during this free time, I almost declined Duncan Rogers's proposal that we go chasing after some strange, unnamed lake that Miss "Cliffs Ton", as the student body alluded to her body, randomly teased.
But Joel could see the connection between Duncan wanting Alyssa to go with him and hoping to grab Barry and Layla. He had an idea that this would be a big camping adventure where Barry would toughen up his skin, open his heart to Layla, whom he obviously had a painful crush on, and come back a better man. Joel went so far as to lay out a rough plan where he would mess around with Barry, who would either stand up to Joel and become more resilient, or Layla would comfort him after Joel played the heel to Barry's baby face.
It was not a great or well-thought-out plan. Joel admitted that while I was packing everything we would need. Eventually, he said he would try to improvise something to get the same effect. Again, not the best idea. But he tried.
Messing with him wasn't the same as dunking him, though, and I tried to get him not to do it. At least Joel knew how to do it right, but I was still frustrated with him. And then I was shocked when Barry started to change.
The poor guy ended up as a girl with backbreaker boobs. He/she looked so dazed. I was immediately worried about trauma and shock, even though we were clearly dealing with something beyond explanation.
Barry actually went for a surprisingly girly outfit, even though he never really seemed the sort. Duncan was far more of the sort.
As if all that wasn't a bad enough cluster bomb of mess-ups, Joel got horny. I know it wasn't his fault; the situation was crazy and unique. But he started it when he could've found a more subtle, gentle way to bring them together. I cursed, even though I don't often do that, but it was early, and I was already freaking tired.
Alyssa's sentiment was uncalled for, though. I knew her from a couple classes last semester, and she was happy to do the lion's share of the work on any annoying group assignment. She had a bad home-life situation and often closed her eyes in exhaustion as she blindly tried to take the best notes. But making more of a mess out of that situation was not helping. Not that she would listen to me. The bitch...
I was ready to forgive and forget the mistakes after Joel's awkward but earnest apology. I was not ready for the horror and shock of seeing my big guy literally melt before my eyes and sprout boobs.
The only thing I could do was concentrate on solving the problem in front of me, get Joel some clothes, and prevent further chaos. The pants were a bad idea, but I didn't think throwing the poor guy into a skirt was a good one. I didn't want to insult an already mortally wounded masculinity.
It was difficult to know what to do that would help. Everything you know and are is suddenly ripped away and turned upside down in one shocking moment. Giving them a mirror to look upon this devastation felt like the worst thing, but at least it was better than one of them using the lake as a reflective surface, and who knows what chaos might result from a second dip.
Plenty of chaos arrived anyway, as Joel did more self-searching than I expected so soon after by giving Duncan an experimental smooch. I should have been as pissed off as Alyssa, in yowling, flailing cat mode. But I understood that Joel didn't mean it. I wanted to think as kindly of Alyssa, too, even as she crashed into me, and I went in the water. My first thought as I sailed through the air was fear of losing my glasses. My second was to make absolutely sure I didn't have my phone with me. And after that, it was probably, oh shit, am I going to be a guy now?
Yeah, and what a guy. Joel launched herself through the air as soon as she saw me start to fall. Even though she was so much smaller than me and I was becoming so much bigger, she kept that promise, and I was swiftly on the shore.
Being a guy, both met and was so far away from any of my rare notions about the idea. My long hair, which I enjoyed at that length, had been snipped. My hips felt smooshed with everything else, kind of squeezed in and out. The biggest distention was also the most obvious. Aspects felt like a weird hernia down there, but that was not even close to a good description. Turned inside out, but not painfully. Still not accurate. I apologized to her because we were all messed up now. She wouldn't accept it, repeating her promise while emotions she usually kept under control got away from her.
Soon, it felt like she was apologizing for letting me fall in. People I know who've seen the two of us together often comment on how I pour my heart out to Joel, and he gives this reserved nod, a smile, and a kiss. But that is him saying, I love you in the most heartfelt way. It doesn't have to be said, spewed, and erupted like one of those overwrought romances I know I've read too much of. We just get it.
I was having way too much fun teasing my poor, melted cutie about the new equipment between my legs. She wanted me so badly, and I figured that was some supernatural dealie about the lake, especially from what Duncan alluded to.
Things got wilder and wilder as Joel did much more than just flirt as a girl in front of me. I wanted to do things to her, but I was able to restrain myself and hold back the full wave of craziness. Although craziness was just getting started on us.