Status: Due to logical paradoxes, the story now takes place in 2042, not 2032. Enjoy the story everyone :D please dont be afraid to share it with others!
The Workshop
Chapter V: Man in the Paper Mask
Sammy looked at Ashley with a raised eyebrow as she chewed nonchalantly on her food.
"Excuse me?" Sammy asked.
"Do you," Ashley repeated, "want a girlfriend?"
"Uhh," Sammy swallowed her food. "It's pretty soon to ask, don't you think?"
"Not really, no."
"But I barely know you!" Sammy argued.
"So?"
"So," she fumbled through her thoughts for a legitimate reason to reject her. "I'm brand new to being a girl, and I kinda wanna know what it feels like to actually be one before I try to get with one, ya know?"
"Oh," Ashley looked down, disappointed. "I understand."
_______________________________________________________________________
After finishing their food in silence, Sammy went back up to her room, alone. She locked the door behind her, but knew it wouldn't do much with Ashley having a key. She sighed, picked up the piece of paper on her desk, and sat down at her bed. She began flipping through it. First page, welcome to your new body, blah blah blah, nothing she hadn't already heard before. The second page caught her attention, though.
Candidate Name: Marval, Samantha
City: Dallas, TX, USA
Workshop No. 042194
Candidate No. 022796
Classes:
1) (07:00 AM - 07:49 AM) Make-Up & Accessories 101 - Ms. J. Taylor (Room 812)
2) (08:01 AM - 08:50 AM) Clothes & General Fashion - Ms. P. Evans (Room 914)
Breakfast (35 Minutes)
3) (09:30 AM - 10:19 AM) Menstrual Cycles & Motherhood - Ms. S. Duran (Room T-109)
4) (10:31 AM - 11:20 AM) Shoes, Hair & Nails - Ms. A. Rhodes (Room 213)
5) (11:32 AM - 12:21 PM) Shopping & Bargaining I - Ms. M. Young (Room 920)
Lunch (35 Minutes)
6) (01:08 PM - 01:56 PM) Guitar/Choir (parent chosen) - Ms. C. Scabbia (Room 302-B)
She looked at the last class listed with surprise and excitement. Christina Scabbia from Lacuna Coil is really going to be my teacher? she thought. Flipping through the rest of the pages, she found a layout of the campus where she would go to her classes across the street every Monday through Thursday until some time in August, a list of tutors and their phone numbers and e-mail addresses should her big sister not be sufficient enough to answer her questions, as well as several event listings and shopping centers in the area. Laying down on her bed once more, she felt like she was really going to enjoy her time here.
You don't belong here...
Her eyes darted around the room, looking for whoever said that. Figuring it was just her imagination, she turned over on her bed and looked for something to do. She looked up as she heard noises coming from her door. The locks turned over and the door opened slowly.
"You here, Samantha?" she heard Ashley's voice coming through the door.
"Sammy," she said. "It's Sammy." Ashley smiled as she stepped in through the door and watched her sit up on the bed.
"Sammy."
"Right," she said. "Whacha need?"
"Well, you didn't give me a tour of your room!" Ashley exclaimed. "I wanna see some of your awesome stuff."
"Okay," Sammy said, raising an eyebrow. "Well this is my bed, used for, um, sleeping." Now Ashley raised an eyebrow.
They toured the rest of the room, finding several things that Sammy had failed to find earlier, including about ten purses, a make-up kit, a hair drier and combined straightener and curler, all tucked away neatly in the dresser. One of the things Ashley found more interesting, however, was the bumpy, vibrating, two-sided 'toy' that Sammy had pulled from the top drawer, thinking at first it was another hair product. Sammy's face turned red with embarrassment as she put the toy back and continued searching through the room with her new friend and mentor.
_______________________________________________________________________
After lunch a few hours later, the girls went back to Sammy's room, grabbed the sheet of paper listing her classes, and headed outside so Ashley could show her around before she got lost tomorrow. As nice of a gesture as the maps are, they never really help you navigate through the halls and into the classrooms.
"I wish I had a lower floor," Sammy complained as they walked down the stairs for the third time that day. "My boobs keep jiggling and flying all over too, it's getting annoying really fast."
"They always put the rooms up high, so we can stay in shape. That's why the elevators are only for immediate post-change girls, like you were yesterday. And well, as for your boobs, I don't really know what to say except get used to it," she said with a soft chuckle. "You're gonna have to for a while."
"A while being until death?"
"Right," she said with a smirk. "Smartass."
"I'd rather be a smartass than a dumbass," Sammy shot back facetiously.
They got to the bottom floor, walked around the cafeteria and out two large, wooden doors to the outside area. Several girls were outside, exercising, socializing, flirting, and a few of them were doing all of the above. The sun dangled above their heads with no cloud cover, so it was instantly warmer outside than in, which Sammy didn't mind at all. Ashley led her to the sidewalk, which they followed until they reached the second building across the street, obviously the campus where they would go to class, starting tomorrow for Sammy. The outside of the school was a dull, light shade of pink, much like the inside of the reception area she had seen yesterday before the transformation took place. The inside looked exactly like a normal high school, save for the much greater feminine essence radiating from the pink, red and white scheme of the inside.
"Where to first?" Ashley asked her.
"Uhh," she flipped back to the right page. "Ms. J. Taylor, Room 812."
"No way," Ashley said, sounding surprised. "She's my teacher first too!" They both smiled at each other as Ashley led Sammy down a winding set of halls to a door. Already the map was useless to her. "Next?"
"Ms. P. Evans, Room 914." They continued their walking and mildly entertaining discussion as they walked from room to room. At the end of it all, they discovered they had a total of three classes together, and Ashley was ecstatic that she would get to see Sammy so much in the day. Ashley's big sister had only shared one class with her when she was new there, which she regretted but did not linger over. As they began to walk out of the vacant building, they decided to pass through the library to waste a little more time. Exiting the library, Sammy stopped.
"What is it?" Ashley asked.
"Sshh," she said, stepping quietly down the hall. Curious, Ashley silently followed her, wondering if this was some sort of game. After a few steps, Ashley heard what had Sammy intrigued. Straining to hear the sound of paint being sprayed and the slight rattle of a spray paint can, they both began to walk toward the noise a little faster. As they reached the end of the hall, they could smell the excessive amount of paint in the air, and when they turned the corner, they saw a tall, dark figure with a surgical mask spraying the walls with blue paint.
"Who are you?" Sammy asked. The figure jumped and dropped the can of paint, staying frozen in place like a statue. The girls could tell that whoever it was wanted to run, but couldn't because of the heavy backpack that was weighing that person down. The head of the figure turned towards them as the backpack slid off the shoulders.
"You girls are gorgeous," a male voice said from behind the mask. "Don't you miss being a man? Don't you miss not being so sensitive, so hormonal and emotional, so physically weak?"
"What are you talking about?" Ashley asked, stepping forward.
"It wasn't even your choice, was it? The transformation, the Workshop... Was it? It's all a cruel, horrible place. You young men, along with millions, billions of others, have been stripped of everything that made you independent and strong. I pity you, I really do." Both of the girls stopped. "But not me. I escaped before they had the chance to take my dignity, before they had the chance to change me into, well, you two. Society doesn't like me because I'm a free thinker, because I'm different. Because I want to keep the traditional values this world once had. One day, you'll see that this, this perfect girly world of yours isn't so perfect. It'll all go to shit, all of it, but it'll be too late. Men will be nowhere to be found, and you'll have no one to blame but yourselves when the population dies out because we can't reproduce any more. I hope you're happy with your new lives ladies, you might not be living them as long as you thought. You'll see..."
The man ripped off his surgical mask and took a few quick strides toward Sammy, then grabbed her. Motionless and scared, she watched as the bearded figure kissed her passionately, and pushed the hair out of her eyes so he could see her face. Ashley stepped toward him, willing to kill this person if he harmed Sammy. The man stared at her though his dark, mirrored sunglasses, and she tried to look back but all she could see was her own reflection.
"So beautiful..." he whispered. "You'll see me again. I guarantee it."
"Excuse me?" Sammy asked.
"Do you," Ashley repeated, "want a girlfriend?"
"Uhh," Sammy swallowed her food. "It's pretty soon to ask, don't you think?"
"Not really, no."
"But I barely know you!" Sammy argued.
"So?"
"So," she fumbled through her thoughts for a legitimate reason to reject her. "I'm brand new to being a girl, and I kinda wanna know what it feels like to actually be one before I try to get with one, ya know?"
"Oh," Ashley looked down, disappointed. "I understand."
_______________________________________________________________________
After finishing their food in silence, Sammy went back up to her room, alone. She locked the door behind her, but knew it wouldn't do much with Ashley having a key. She sighed, picked up the piece of paper on her desk, and sat down at her bed. She began flipping through it. First page, welcome to your new body, blah blah blah, nothing she hadn't already heard before. The second page caught her attention, though.
Candidate Name: Marval, Samantha
City: Dallas, TX, USA
Workshop No. 042194
Candidate No. 022796
Classes:
1) (07:00 AM - 07:49 AM) Make-Up & Accessories 101 - Ms. J. Taylor (Room 812)
2) (08:01 AM - 08:50 AM) Clothes & General Fashion - Ms. P. Evans (Room 914)
Breakfast (35 Minutes)
3) (09:30 AM - 10:19 AM) Menstrual Cycles & Motherhood - Ms. S. Duran (Room T-109)
4) (10:31 AM - 11:20 AM) Shoes, Hair & Nails - Ms. A. Rhodes (Room 213)
5) (11:32 AM - 12:21 PM) Shopping & Bargaining I - Ms. M. Young (Room 920)
Lunch (35 Minutes)
6) (01:08 PM - 01:56 PM) Guitar/Choir (parent chosen) - Ms. C. Scabbia (Room 302-B)
She looked at the last class listed with surprise and excitement. Christina Scabbia from Lacuna Coil is really going to be my teacher? she thought. Flipping through the rest of the pages, she found a layout of the campus where she would go to her classes across the street every Monday through Thursday until some time in August, a list of tutors and their phone numbers and e-mail addresses should her big sister not be sufficient enough to answer her questions, as well as several event listings and shopping centers in the area. Laying down on her bed once more, she felt like she was really going to enjoy her time here.
You don't belong here...
Her eyes darted around the room, looking for whoever said that. Figuring it was just her imagination, she turned over on her bed and looked for something to do. She looked up as she heard noises coming from her door. The locks turned over and the door opened slowly.
"You here, Samantha?" she heard Ashley's voice coming through the door.
"Sammy," she said. "It's Sammy." Ashley smiled as she stepped in through the door and watched her sit up on the bed.
"Sammy."
"Right," she said. "Whacha need?"
"Well, you didn't give me a tour of your room!" Ashley exclaimed. "I wanna see some of your awesome stuff."
"Okay," Sammy said, raising an eyebrow. "Well this is my bed, used for, um, sleeping." Now Ashley raised an eyebrow.
They toured the rest of the room, finding several things that Sammy had failed to find earlier, including about ten purses, a make-up kit, a hair drier and combined straightener and curler, all tucked away neatly in the dresser. One of the things Ashley found more interesting, however, was the bumpy, vibrating, two-sided 'toy' that Sammy had pulled from the top drawer, thinking at first it was another hair product. Sammy's face turned red with embarrassment as she put the toy back and continued searching through the room with her new friend and mentor.
_______________________________________________________________________
After lunch a few hours later, the girls went back to Sammy's room, grabbed the sheet of paper listing her classes, and headed outside so Ashley could show her around before she got lost tomorrow. As nice of a gesture as the maps are, they never really help you navigate through the halls and into the classrooms.
"I wish I had a lower floor," Sammy complained as they walked down the stairs for the third time that day. "My boobs keep jiggling and flying all over too, it's getting annoying really fast."
"They always put the rooms up high, so we can stay in shape. That's why the elevators are only for immediate post-change girls, like you were yesterday. And well, as for your boobs, I don't really know what to say except get used to it," she said with a soft chuckle. "You're gonna have to for a while."
"A while being until death?"
"Right," she said with a smirk. "Smartass."
"I'd rather be a smartass than a dumbass," Sammy shot back facetiously.
They got to the bottom floor, walked around the cafeteria and out two large, wooden doors to the outside area. Several girls were outside, exercising, socializing, flirting, and a few of them were doing all of the above. The sun dangled above their heads with no cloud cover, so it was instantly warmer outside than in, which Sammy didn't mind at all. Ashley led her to the sidewalk, which they followed until they reached the second building across the street, obviously the campus where they would go to class, starting tomorrow for Sammy. The outside of the school was a dull, light shade of pink, much like the inside of the reception area she had seen yesterday before the transformation took place. The inside looked exactly like a normal high school, save for the much greater feminine essence radiating from the pink, red and white scheme of the inside.
"Where to first?" Ashley asked her.
"Uhh," she flipped back to the right page. "Ms. J. Taylor, Room 812."
"No way," Ashley said, sounding surprised. "She's my teacher first too!" They both smiled at each other as Ashley led Sammy down a winding set of halls to a door. Already the map was useless to her. "Next?"
"Ms. P. Evans, Room 914." They continued their walking and mildly entertaining discussion as they walked from room to room. At the end of it all, they discovered they had a total of three classes together, and Ashley was ecstatic that she would get to see Sammy so much in the day. Ashley's big sister had only shared one class with her when she was new there, which she regretted but did not linger over. As they began to walk out of the vacant building, they decided to pass through the library to waste a little more time. Exiting the library, Sammy stopped.
"What is it?" Ashley asked.
"Sshh," she said, stepping quietly down the hall. Curious, Ashley silently followed her, wondering if this was some sort of game. After a few steps, Ashley heard what had Sammy intrigued. Straining to hear the sound of paint being sprayed and the slight rattle of a spray paint can, they both began to walk toward the noise a little faster. As they reached the end of the hall, they could smell the excessive amount of paint in the air, and when they turned the corner, they saw a tall, dark figure with a surgical mask spraying the walls with blue paint.
"Who are you?" Sammy asked. The figure jumped and dropped the can of paint, staying frozen in place like a statue. The girls could tell that whoever it was wanted to run, but couldn't because of the heavy backpack that was weighing that person down. The head of the figure turned towards them as the backpack slid off the shoulders.
"You girls are gorgeous," a male voice said from behind the mask. "Don't you miss being a man? Don't you miss not being so sensitive, so hormonal and emotional, so physically weak?"
"What are you talking about?" Ashley asked, stepping forward.
"It wasn't even your choice, was it? The transformation, the Workshop... Was it? It's all a cruel, horrible place. You young men, along with millions, billions of others, have been stripped of everything that made you independent and strong. I pity you, I really do." Both of the girls stopped. "But not me. I escaped before they had the chance to take my dignity, before they had the chance to change me into, well, you two. Society doesn't like me because I'm a free thinker, because I'm different. Because I want to keep the traditional values this world once had. One day, you'll see that this, this perfect girly world of yours isn't so perfect. It'll all go to shit, all of it, but it'll be too late. Men will be nowhere to be found, and you'll have no one to blame but yourselves when the population dies out because we can't reproduce any more. I hope you're happy with your new lives ladies, you might not be living them as long as you thought. You'll see..."
The man ripped off his surgical mask and took a few quick strides toward Sammy, then grabbed her. Motionless and scared, she watched as the bearded figure kissed her passionately, and pushed the hair out of her eyes so he could see her face. Ashley stepped toward him, willing to kill this person if he harmed Sammy. The man stared at her though his dark, mirrored sunglasses, and she tried to look back but all she could see was her own reflection.
"So beautiful..." he whispered. "You'll see me again. I guarantee it."
♠ ♠ ♠
I'm sorry this update took longer than usual, I've had a pretty busy week getting ready for finals, a school guitar concert, and trying to find the time to actually stay up and write this chapter for you guys :PAlso, the little section of her class list and teachers and what not is supposed to be centered and look all nice and pretty and even... See how well THAT turned out?
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Comment, rate, subscribe, and make wild accusations and predictions about the next chapter!
~DMAN4219