The Graduation

A forty-six pages long text.

The same number of good quality pictures.

Over thirty transformed characters.

About… two comments from my readers, if I’m lucky.

Anyway, here’s my new full-length tale. I had this idea at the same time I developed An Offer, but decided to go with that story about illegal transformation and loss of dreams. Here’s a more utopic vision, which hopefully you can enjoy too. There are a few similarities between the two universes, but they are not the same.

PS: I know I promised to end my open stories before retiring, and here am I publishing this first, but I suddenly needed to write this. Anyway, Special Vitamins will continue next week and Marvel Girls is about to conclude.

PS nº 2: No, seriously. It would be awesome if I could get more than two comments this time (you can see I worked hard to do this one). Please say something. Whatever. For instance, who are your favorite girls in the story?

The Graduation

“I’m not kidding, you really got 34 credits on elementary school,” said the principal gently, then she smiled and sat back on her stability ball. “Why so surprised? You always were the top student in your class.”

Ruby was speechless. Yeah, she had always tried to be the best, but she was amazed she had achieved so many credits. This was the best news you could get on the last day of school. Now she could be anything she wanted. And yet, she didn’t smile. The 12-years-old girl was still too shocked

“It’s the new school record,” continued Principal Hunt. “And you even got 7 more credits than I did. The whole town will be very proud of you.”

“You got 27 credits? That’s… that’s not bad,” said Ruby speaking at last.

“No, no bad. How did you think I’ve held this job for so long? Forty years ago, I was in your place.”

Ruby had always guessed the woman had been a stellar student herself. After all, only the best could become school principals. It was one of the most important jobs ever since education had become the keystone of society.

Ever since the machine had been invented.

Genetics had advanced to a point where scientists could do anything with the human body. Disease wasn’t a problem anymore, but of course the use of the technology had to be strictly controlled, and could only be used for reasons approved by the World State.

One such uses was at schools. Psychologists had determined the traumas created by both physical and mental development during puberty could now be altogether avoided. Children could go through a genetic machine and be instantly turned into well-adjusted adults who would be assets to society.

And that was when Senator Almendros passed the motion for the “No More Growing Pains Program”. After some months of study, it was approved by the State for mandatory use all over the world.

The decree said that every student would finish elementary school by age 12, and then go through the machine to get the body and professional knowledge of a young adult, ready to serve their community.

Of course, a meritocracy had to be stablished. A system was developed which allowed students to get credits during their short school life, based on their achievements. The more credits a child would get, the better prospects they could have as adults. They could chose better jobs, improved looks, all based on the quantity of school triumphs, which prompted students to try and be as good as possible.

There was some resistance at first, mostly over the fact that people would lose over a decade of their lives, but it was soon dismissed as a non-issue. Nobody’s life was shortened. People nowadays could live up to an average of 120 years after their initial genetic improvement. Principal Hunt, for instance, was over 50, Ruby knew, but she hadn’t visibly aged much since her progression at 12.

Only reproductive conscience could solve the main problem caused by longevity: overpopulation. But even that was achieved eventually, so the struggle was short lived. By now, mostly everyone accepted this as the natural order of things.

“You can go now, Ruby. I still have to inform a few of your classmates about their own achievements,” said the Principal. “Here’s your form. You have a week to think about it, then you have to submit it back here a day before Graduation.”

“Ruby, we’re so proud of you!” said her mother.

“We knew you’d make it,” beamed her father.

Ruby had arrived with the good news to her parents, who had been waiting for her in front of the house, dressed sharply. Clearly, they were confident of her success.

“Now you can be anything you want. Have you decided yet?”

Ruby shook her head, feeling suddenly pressured.

“Let her think, you know it’s not easy,” said her mother. “It was hard for me, and I hadn’t nearly as many options as she does. God, it feels as if I did it just a few days ago.”

“Well, it really wasn’t that long ago we were her age, actually.”

Ruby spent most of the day thinking in her room, which wasn’t at its best at the moment. Last week, and due to her looming Graduation, her parents had advised her to start packing her things. Some of her possessions, mainly her clothes, wouldn’t be useful any more, and chances were she was going to move out of the house anyway. So, right now, most of her things were in boxes, which was a common ritual of passage.

Her brother Steve came around visiting later on the afternoon. She smiled up at him when his large frame entered her room.

“So, sis they tell me you got 34!”

Steve was only a year older than Ruby, and so they had always been really close. It had been weird when a year earlier, her brother, who had been barely taller than her, had returned home turned into a grown man. He had gotten 23 credits, a very respectable number on itself, chiefly due to his involvement in sports, and he had used them mainly to become much taller and beefier than he would ever have been.

Suddenly, Ruby’s relationship with her brother was changed. She was just a child to him now, he left home, and in no time, the girl was attending his wedding. She knew the bride too, for she had been a classmate of Steve. This was a common occurrence. Their own parents had Graduated into adulthood together. Ruby, on the other hand, was in an all-girls school, but she knew a lot of her friends were eager to become eligible bachelorettes.

Steve seemed to understand his sister missed their former relationship, since he hugged her in his wide arms.

“This is great. I can’t wait for you to become into a woman so that we can hang out together just like before.”

The week passed much quickly than any other Ruby had ever lived. There were so many things to consider before filling the form that would define her future. Luckily, she had the means to choose a few options at once. She could opt for better looks, for a great profession and many secondary abilities.

But what could she pick? She could even go for high business or politics. Her grades allowed her to do so. But somehow that didn’t appeal her. Maybe…

Days passed and finally, just before having to return the papers, she had it. It has very high profile, but if someone could achieve that goal, it was her, with her high amount of credits.

The physical decisions were easier, though she also considered them carefully, since they could go to define her life, and even her future descendants. For instance, her mother had become a natural redhead after her own Graduation, a trait that had skipped Ruby, but had been inherited by her little sister Eve. But her mother had not enough credits to make other major bodily changes, so she had focused on her profession instead.

But Ruby did have the opportunity to improve herself beyond what most did. So she turned to write into the official form and spent a few credits in doing just that.

Graduation was a much more intimate ceremony than it had been before the Program. It hadn’t required much preparation either, other than a special breakfast for each of them, composed from a special protein bar which would help their bodies expand during the process.

The fifteen girls in the Graduating class accompanied Principal Hunt downstairs to the basement, where they had never been before.

There, like in the heart of every other school, was a genetic machine. It deactivated itself every year, and only could be turned on during Graduation day, using a special code which was sent by the State.

There were a few seats in front of the machine doors, and the girls sat there nervously, while they saw their principal dialing the secret password. All of them gasped when the doorway opened. It was time.

“As is tradition, the Top Student of the class will close Graduation. This year, that honor goes to Ruby Greenaway, who scored an all-time record on this school with 34 credits.”

All girls exclaimed in awe and Ruby turned red when they all looked at her. Some had heard the rumors, but they were still surprised. Anything over twenty credits was extremely unusual, not to say over thirty.

“You didn’t tell us!” said Ruby’s best friend Valentina, and Scarlett, her other best friend, nodded fiercely.

“I was still too shocked myself.”

“Nah, you’re simply too modest and you thought it would be bragging. I know you,” said Scarlett.

The Principal waited for the chatter to die out and she continued.

“As for the rest, I randomly selected the order this morning, and I’ll be calling each of you now. The process has been sufficiently explained to you. You can enter the machine and you’ll have two minutes to change into whatever clothes you brought with you today. The transformation itself will be over in a minute. Then you’ll have two more minutes to try to adapt before coming out. Please don’t take more time than what you have, since all of you have to go through the change before the morning is over.”

She opened a small briefcase, which contained 15 small capsules. Ruby knew those were chips which contained the genetic information solicited by each of them in their forms.

All the girls held their breath as the Principal took the first one of the capsules.

“Angie, you go first,” she finally said.

A scared girl on the back row stood up slowly. Ruby liked Angie, though she admittedly didn’t know her too much. But right now, she felt only sympathy for her fear.

She held up the bag she had brought, just like every other student, and headed in direction to the machine, not parting her eyes from its menacing interior.

“Ok, Angie. By pure chance, it’s you who will go first,” said Principal Hunt placing the capsule on a socket next to the machine. “You’re not a student any more. From now on, you’ll be a useful member of society, with all legal rights and obligations of an adult.”

Angie gulped as she put her glasses on the table and took another long look at the machine. Then she walked towards it and the doors closed. Everyone waited, frozen on their seats.

The Principal seemed unconcerned. She just looked at her stopwatch to give her time to change. Then, when it was up, she activated the mechanism.

Ruby could hear Angie’s shrieks, muffled as they were by the doors. She knew the process wasn’t painful, but the potent energy discharge caused, among other things, an involuntary yelling.

Angie’s voice was deepening noticeably, and her classmates reacted visibly at that realization. Then the moaning stopped.

It was only two minutes, but to the students, they felt like eternity. Then the doors finally opened.

A grown young woman stood inside the machine now and all her former classmates gasped as one yet again.

She was barefoot, wearing nothing but simple jeans and a lacy undershirt. Angie had been a pretty enough girl, but Ruby strongly suspected she had improved her looks at least a little. Nothing unusual, since mostly everyone used at least a few credits to do so.

She hadn’t gone for a curvy body (Ruby suspected she hadn’t enough credits to pay for the more costly voluptuousness), so she had become a slender girl instead. She was still shivering as they looked at her, touching her new face and playing nervously with her hair.

She stumbled out of the doors and took her glasses from the table, placing them over her eyes again. They still fitted her, and she bent down to produce a long coat from the bad, with which she then proceeded to cover her quivering form.

“Angie here has now the knowledge of a legal secretary,” it was part of the ceremony for the Principal to announce each student’s professional decisions. “As you know, your career certificates will be handled to you along with your adult IDs at the end of the ceremony.”

There was a round of moderate applause for Angie, the legal secretary. Ruby was pretty sure Angie’s credits weren’t enough to become a full lawyer, even if she hadn’t spent some of them on cosmetic alterations, which in any case was always the accepted thing to do.

Adult Angie, who now towered over all of her classmates, sat again in her chair. Everyone was glancing curiously in her direction, while at the same time wondering if they would go next. Ruby thought that was the better thing about being the last one. She knew exactly when her turn would be.

“Christine”, read the Principal from the next capsule.

The girl sitting right in front of Ruby and Valentina stood up loudly. Christine was an overweight girl who was very self-conscious about her weight. Ruby could bet she was going to do something about that. After all, her grades weren’t too bad.

Indeed, when she approached the machine with her bag, she entered with nothing but a very skimpy lacy garment in her arms, almost as if she wanted to prove something. Then she smirked in direction of her classmates as the doors closed, something Ruby interpreted as a mock to all who had ever bullied her.

As Christine’s yells matured, Ruby thought about the futility of harassing someone at school, when things could change as much for everyone after a simple punch of a button.

As prepared as they were for the outcome, the shock was still apparent on everyone’s faces when Christine emerged a few minutes later as a very slim adult. At first, she looked a bit hassled, and she was grabbing her head beneath her thick hair. Ruby guessed it was because of the knowledge that had been injected so suddenly in her brain, and which she had heard could cause a few headaches for a while.

But then she let go of her hair and looked down with a smile, making a twist and giggling at her more agile physique.

“Christine is on her way to become a flight attendant,” said the Principal, followed by more applause.

Ruby had heard Christine say she wanted to know the world, so she was happy for her. She probably could have scored a better job had she no spent so many credits in becoming fitter, but it wasn’t probable that she was ever going to regret that choice.

Like Angie before her, Christine also covered her grown shape with a coat and sat again.

“Hey, I can’t see now!”, complained Valentina.

Christina had become much taller, so she was blocking their view, but Ruby shifted her position and was able to see just fine. Valentina was still complaining, though.

“Scarlett. It’s your turn now.”

Valentina stopped her protests as she and Ruby looked at their best friend, who suddenly went as white as paper.

“Go. I’m pretty sure you have something amazing waiting for you in that capsule,” said Ruby.

Her blonde, slight friend nodded and got up. Scarlett looked weird being so nervous. She was usually lively and outgoing.

She entered the machine with her bag, and Ruby started to become very tense too. This was someone she knew closely, after all.

So her screams carried much more of significance to her. Her friend’s cheery, high voice was becoming husky, and when the doors opened, Ruby saw a lofty woman towering there, wearing a loose gray blouse and thighs covered by short pants.

She was grinning vastly, back to her usual self. Her breasts and hips seemed a bit on the bulky side under her clothes, and her steps were heavy as she stumbled out.

“Scarlett has decided to become an orthodontist.”

As they applauded her, Scarlett did a curtsy and went back to the seats.

“Wanna change seats?,” she said to Valentina with her low voice. “I don’t think Christine can block my view.”

“Thanks…” said Valentina, a bit scared of her large friend.

“Way to go, Scarlett, an orthodontist! Those extracurricular activities paid off!” Ruby congratulated her.

“Yeah, well, and I also didn’t spent much on my looks. The only thing I did was make myself a bit more… big-boned. I was tired of being so tiny.”

Ruby nodded. Other than being so much bigger, Scarlett didn’t seem much changed. This was obviously how she was going to look as an adult, without any alterations besides her size.

“How did it feel?”

“It’s kind of indescribable, but I think you’re going to like it. Ouch, these seats are quite small!”

Scarlett tried to accommodate her large frame there, but she was still beaming.

“My dear, I need you to cut out the chatter,” the Principal called her out. “And please put away that phone. You can text your family once we’re done.”

“Sorry miss,” she apologized.

“Anyway, it’s Zoe’s turn.”

The Asian girl looked scared as a mouse, which actually was somewhat of her natural state.

Again, the minutes passed slowly, and Zoe emerged as an adult. Other than the natural maturation, she didn’t seem to change anything about her appearance, but then Ruby noticed the young woman had very bright green eyes now, which actually looked very appealing on her.

Zoe didn’t wait for the Principal’s announcement, but instead took her seat again and started glancing around her, still looking very scared.

Principal Hunt even smiled a bit before proclaiming Zoe was now a doctor.

Ruby clapped as hard as she could. She wasn’t expecting it. Not because of the credits you needed to be a medical Graduate, because she knew Zoe was one of the best students on the class, but because she never suspected she was brave enough to be an actual surgeon. That proved you couldn’t just rely on appearances. Maybe the scared mouse had a lion’s heart after all.

“Tracy, it’s your turn.”

If there was someone in her class who Ruby actually disliked, it was Tracy. Even the other girls in her little clique could be pleasant, but Tracy enjoyed acting like a bully around everyone. Ruby never knew why, but she suspected it was because she came from money and thought she was above other people. Something that had no meaning in the current state of society. Now, only achievements really mattered.

When Tracy got up from her chair, Ruby noticed she hadn’t her usual petulant smile on. She seemed a bit down as she walked slowly with her bag towards the machine. Ruby suspected the reason: clearly Tracy hadn’t been able to score enough credits at school to attain a good job or even meaningful body improvements. She was probably just realizing her mistakes.

Indeed, the professionally dressed woman who came out of the chamber was attractive enough, but Ruby could see it was simply an older natural version of Tracy, with no noticeable modifications, as she would have surely done if she had had the means.

“Tracy is now a travel agency clerk.”

For someone so used to riches, that was probably a big blow. The applause that followed was charged with pity, even from those who had been wronged by Tracy, who silently took seat again.

“Audrey, it’s you now.”

Audrey and Cortney were identical twin sisters who were among Ruby’s extended group of friends. She wasn’t as close to them as she was to Valentina or Scarlett, but she liked them a lot. When Audrey got up, she caught sight of Ruby, who waved encouragingly at her.

Courtney widened her eyes as she heard her sister’s screams inside the booth, knowing that, for the first time, they weren’t the same age any more.

I got even stranger for her when her former twin stepped out of the machine made into a woman. She was wearing a modest business attire that didn’t hide the fact that she had grown to be very lovely. The twins had always being among the prettiest girls on the class, so Audrey hadn’t needed much help. She was maybe taller than she would have been otherwise, and her hair looked softer, but in general this was just an adult version of the sisters.

“Audrey will get her credentials today as a real state attorney.”

As she was applauded, Courtney hugged her, marveled at the fact that her three minutes younger sister was so much bigger than her now.

“Ouch! Your head pinched my boobs!” said Audrey, and the audience laughed.

“Courtney, let’s make you two the same age again,” said the Principal.

They did everything together at school, so Ruby knew both sisters had around the same number of credits. She was waiting for Courtney to step out transformed into a similar way to adult Audrey, but that definitely wasn’t the case.

 

The woman who came out was also a brunette, but that was where her likenesses to Audrey ended. Courtney was much shorter but also much bustier. Her hair was wavier and darker and her green eyes had a different shape to her twin’s. Her noses had some resemblances, but her red lips were fuller. Ruby wouldn’t have said any of the girls was prettier than the other one, since both looked really beautiful, but maybe Courtney was more overtly sexy. She was even wearing a tighter and skimpier dress.

That surprised Ruby, since she was usually the shyest of the sisters, but she supposed Courtney had decided to change that. That went to prove you could do very different things with the same amount of credits.

“Courtney is now trained as a chief nurse.”

More applause and the twins hugged again, emphasizing their differences.

“Be careful not to pinch my boobs now,” whispered Courtney audibly.

It would probably be very strange for them not to be identical or do the same any more, but Ruby guessed they had decided together to explore their individuality as adults.

“Eloise, come forth.”

A beautiful dark skinned girl walked confidently into the machine.Eloise was one who usually kept to herself, but she was also friendly with everyone when she had to be, and was well liked by most of the class.

Despite her self-assurance, she still yelled like everyone else and emerged shaking as all before her, but she did look very composed besides that. She made for a very attractive woman, and it seemed she had gone with mostly her natural appearance. Like Tracy and Audrey before her, she had also gone for a business outfit to showcase her new maturity, and had slackers and a purple blouse.

“I’m happy to announce Eloise will remain with our school in a teaching post!” said Principal Hunt enthusiastically.

As Ruby clapped, she thought Eloise had gotten a lot more of credits than she had suspected, because becoming a school teacher wasn’t easy. They didn’t hand that job to just anyone any more.

Eloise sat back with apparent comfort and all girls waited nervously until they called the next name.

“Teresa.”

This time the applause came much earlier. Everyone had been waiting for Teresa to have her turn.

Angie got up and helped push her best friend’s wheelchair towards the machine. Ruby caught a glimpse of Teresa’s tears of happiness and she felt like crying a bit herself.

Three years earlier, Teresa had been hit by a car. She was almost killed, but instead survived without her legs, and her left arm was badly damaged too. Doctors had deemed it unwise to submit her to a reconstructive genetic therapy back then, so she had been eagerly waiting for Graduation.

Angie helped carry her from the chair towards the interior of the machine and put her there with a friendly wink. She couldn’t get changed on her own, so Angie also helped her remove the long sweater she was wearing, revealing very a small sports top and shorts which would be unobtrusive as her limbs healed.

The doors were closed and the device activated.

The shrieks of the transformation had never sounded more welcome to the audience, for this was someone who was going through a more literal rebirth than most. And certainly, when the chamber opened, Ruby’s first thought was that she was watching something out of a superhero movie. Teresa was still there, looking down at herself in amazement, standing on two strong and muscular legs.

Her tears were gone. She smiled as she turned to the spectators, flexing her newly functioning arm over her head. If the other girls had stumbled in their walk out of the machine, Teresa positively swayed drunkenly. After all, she hadn’t used her legs in over three years. But they were there now, and they were legs to behold.

The rest of her body had suffered a similar metamorphosis. She was very toned everywhere, to the point of being the most powerfully-built woman who had emerged from the machine so far. She was very fit without being exceedingly bulky, but she looked like she could take on you with a single punch.

“I think we’re very happy about Teresa”, said the Principal, who was getting misty eyed herself. “She’s now a professional dancer and kickboxer, so I’m sure you’ll regain perfect control of your limbs in no time.”

The ovation was stronger than ever. Angie, who was now much smaller than her once handicapped friend, helped her again to her seat, after assisting her in covering herself with a less revealing jogging outfit.

“Your parents are going to be so happy,” said Angie, and Teresa wept again.

Principal Hunt waited a bit until the emotional atmosphere subdued, then she called Valentina.

Ruby’s other best friend took a leap over her chair when her name was pronounced. She waked around the seats in direction of the machine, and she forgot to take her bag until Scarlett told her so, amidst a few chuckles from the others.

Scarlett laughed a bit as her friend entered the machine, and Ruby was tempted to remind her she had been very nervous before her own transformation, and she had always been the more confident one, while Valentina was the more anxious out of the three of them.

But their friend had nothing to fear either. She emerged from her experience looking absolutely gorgeous as a slender and elegant woman dressed in a stylish black coat and yellow blouse. Her page haircut had become longer and her blue eyes shone brighter, but in general she was also the same Valentina of always, just progressed into an adult.

“Valentina is a hotel manager,” said the Principal and Ruby clapped along everyone else, though she already knew that was what Valentina had been aiming for in the last couple of years.

He friend returned to her seat, again stumbling, this time not only because of her nervousness, but because she had longer legs and had committed the naivety of bringing heels, and Ruby suddenly remembered she had done the same thing.

“I thought they’d look fashionable on me. But I guess I should have waited until I’m in control of this body.”

Her voice hadn’t become as husky as Scarlett’s, but it still sounded womanly and mature to Ruby, who felt a bit self-conscious now being flanked by two tall adults who had been her best friends. But her turn would come soon. Right now, though, the Principal called on Bella to go next.

The thin girl almost ran towards the teacher and entered the device without much ceremony, though she looked equally nervous.

When the transformation ensued, it seemed like her moans were louder than most, and for a while Ruby was afraid something was wrong. But she quickly dismissed the idea. There had never been an accident at a Graduation. Far gone were the days of crude genetic experimentation. This was a guaranteed process.

Yet, Ruby almost shouted when the doors opened and she couldn’t see anyone standing there. Then she understood Bella was laying on the ground, and that she couldn’t see her without raising a bit from her seat. Christine on the front row was still much taller than she was.

Ruby guessed the sheer energy of the transformation had knocked Bella into the floor and she was still recovering. Her once pretty but somewhat coarse features had improved into ones of incredibly angelical beauty, and she was gasping for air, grabbing what seemed to be an impressively large bust.

The surprised way in which Bella clutched them, and the fact that a useless small bra laid beside her, made Ruby realize that the young woman hadn’t asked for those particular additions in her formulary, but that they were rather what nature had in store for her, something she clearly wasn’t expecting.

Principal Hunt waited for her to recovery a bit longer than usual. She was obviously familiar with that kind of situation in her decades of experience progressing girls.

Bella finally stood up, creating an obvious amount of bounce beneath her simple undershirt.

“Oooh, it tickles!,” she said with her musical voice. Then she looked a bit guiltily around her and pointed at a discarded silk blouse that laid on the floor “I wanted to wear that, but it wouldn’t close over my…”

She blushed intensely and the Principal smiled kindly.

“Don’t worry, Bella.  I’m sure you’re going to get used to being a busty woman in no time.”

“I don’t know why this happened, I just asked to change my face. Though my mom… Oh, that’s it.”

“Your mom had hers enlarged when she Graduated? Well, that’s part of her genetic makeup now. And it seems it passed on to you.”

Bella still couldn’t take her eyes from her chest, and her classmates were equally awestruck.

“Well, anyway, you’re now a psychologist too. Congratulations.”

Everyone applauded her, though a few seemed to find her looks more impressive than her career.

“Helga, your turn.”

There was a bit of tension when the short-haired girl was called. Scarlett bent down on her seat and whispered conspiratorially so that only Ruby and Valentina could hear her.

“I heard she’s really going to do it.”

Ruby didn’t have to ask what she meant. It was a well-known fact that the tomboy Helga didn’t identify herself as a girl, and the way she dressed and acted revealed that. Unfortunately for her, nature had made her a female, and an early bloomer at that. She was one of the few girls in the class that had started developing her own mature curves, much to her chagrin, presumably. She had even recently confessed she had discovered she was a lesbian.

Luckily, there was a way out for people like her. If a psychiatric evaluation determined you had been born in the wrong side of the gender fence, you could be able to correct the mistake during Graduation, even free of credits charges. It was a relatively common and very accepted occurrence. Ruby had a cousin who had become a delightful young woman three years earlier, and nobody treated her any different.

But still, when Helga’s soft yells started to change into manly shouts, there was some apprehension in the all-girls class.

Helga emerged as an adult male, shivering and glistening in sweat as some of her, or rather his, female classmates, but looking much bigger than any of them. Helga’s jaw was square and his muscles powerfully built, which was the most common physical choice among male subjects.

He had pretty much the same short haircut he had as a 12-years-old girl, but there was also a significant amount of facial hair. He seemed very pleased with himself and he grinned and flexed his arms to demonstrate their size. There was also a noticeable bulge on his pants, which many of the new women were looking at with uneasiness. In truth, he was also looking at them with more interest than ever, and seemed particularly infatuated with Bella’s generous bosom.

“Helga has decided to call himself Roger, after his grandfather, and he is now a stunt man.”

All people who came from the machine after their growing process usually had a hard time walking, but Roger, who had become so much bulkier than she used to be, looked more like a small person driving a gigantic robot body. He made his way towards his seat at the end of the second row, where he sat beside Tracy, who kept looking at him with obvious desire, though he kept glancing over her in other directions. Ruby thought the situation was at least a bit funny, because Tracy had always bullied him when he was Helga, calling him “lesbo” and other offensive names.

 “Jade.”

Ruby stood straighter in attention along with everyone else. They were all very curious to see what Jade was going to do.

The fact was that Jade was… not a very pretty girl. She was glaringly plain, and though mostly everyone liked her anyway, all were sure she was going to try and revise that at Graduation.

Jade took off her jacket, revealing a long and loose but very simple green t-shirt already hanging on her. It completely covered the spandex knee-length short pants she also had on.

“I won’t be changing in there, Principal Hunt. You can activate the machine whenever you want.”

She was obviously very eager to leave her current visage behind. She quickly stepped inside and the doors closed. The Principal obliged and activated it almost immediately.

Jade’s nasal yells changed noticeably into soft moans that sounded way too sensual. Evidently, the girl had even improved her voice so that it would sound more appealing.

The doors opened, and thought nobody knew exactly what to expect, the vision before them was even more different to the original subject than any of them had anticipated.

Jade’s dry, lifeless hair, had become manageable and covered one side of her face, which was also a far cry from her former crooked one. Her features weren’t as cute as Bella’s had become, but they were plenty sexy, and her deeply-set eyes of pure blue, and her parted plump lips screamed allure. Her complexion had also become perfect, her neck was long, and she was tall, about as much as Scarlett was now.

Then there was the body, which had changed so much it didn’t even look real. Her breasts had blown up to amazing proportions, being way larger than even Bella’s, but while hers looked huge but natural, Jade’s appeared inflated and gravity defying, since it was obvious that she wasn’t wearing a bra, yet they stood very round and firm above her chest. And somehow, that awe-inspiring torso was completed by a very waspish waist, which in turn led to reasonably wide hips and long and shapely legs. Jade had turned into the epitome of voluptuousness, and her clothes, which seemed about to burst, were paying for it.

She cracked her newly enlarged back and her chest seemed to pop even larger. Everyone was in silence, even Principal Hunt, until she came back to reality and announced.

“Jade is now a model.”

Ruby though that was just another way to say Jade had spent all her credits in physical changes instead of particular professional talents, but then she realized there had been some ability transfer nevertheless. For one, Jade was walking with extreme grace for someone who had just gone into a genetic machine to become about twice as big as they had been. Everyone had stumbled a bit, but Jade seemed in perfect control of her balance. And there was something about her posture that was obviously just acquired, so she had indeed gained traits beyond looks.

Everyone was probably pondering that, because the applause was delayed for a few seconds after the Principal’s announcement, then started out timidly.

“I don’t know if she can model much with that kind of body,” said Scarlett over the claps. “Unless she’s going for Playboy… or porn.”

“Scarlett!” laughed Ruby scandalized.

Jade smiled widely. She felt admired for the first time in her life.

“Go and enjoy it,” said Principal Hunt. “But remember outside attractiveness is not enough if you don’t keep your inner beauty.”

“I’ll remember it, miss.” Jade purred unintentionally with her new voice, which indeed sounded blatantly seductive.

Other than Ruby, who would go last, there was only one girl left that hadn’t been transformed yet. It was obvious it was her turn, so she got up even before the Principal called her.

“Jocelyn.”

Once Jocelyn entered the machine, Ruby really started to feel anxious. So far, she had been calm in the knowledge she would be the last one, but now the time had come. She would go next.

She was so absorbed in her angst, she felt as if Jocelyn’s transformation was done in just a second. Next thing she knew, the doors were opening, and yet another young woman was coming out.

She was also dressed in jogging pants and top, and though her hair had become considerably longer and straighter, she didn’t seem that much changed from her original self. The few years of age she had gained, though, had helped her come into her own as a pretty young woman, though after Jade’s change, Jocelyn’s felt positively minor.

“My shoes weren’t the right size,” she told her Principal.

“Don’t worry, I’m sure we can help you with that in a while.”

“Thanks.”

“In any case, congratulations, Jocelyn. You’re a marine biologist now.”

The new woman smiled and went to sit beside her best friend, Zoe.

“You look beautiful, Josie,” she complimented her.

“Thanks, I like it. I think I can work with this. And I believe Liam will like it too.”

Ruby knew that Liam was the youngest son of Jocelyn’s neighbors, who was due to go through his own Graduation in just a week. They had both grown close and had become a young couple. They had decided they would see how things worked once they were both adults together, but they were quite set on getting engaged if the relationship continued to run smoothly as grownups.

Thinking about that, Ruby got distracted for a second, and when she came back to reality, she was aware that everyone else was looking at her. There they were, fifteen adults eyeing the only minor left.

Ruby gulped and got up slowly. She tried to ignore the others as she took her bag and walked slowly towards the Principal, who was grinning invitingly.

“Let’s congratulate our dear Ruby once again, for achieving more credits than any other student in the history of this school.”

There was a polite round of applause, thought Ruby could also hear Scarlett’s loud cheers. Then she walked into the large device, not feeling as self-assured as she usually was. The doors closed with a louder thump than Ruby expected, and the interior of the chamber remained much better lit than she had imagined.

She looked around, wondering about the inner workings of the machine. Of course, she couldn’t see the actual mechanism, because it was completely covered, mostly by white cushions, including a section of the floor. The front doors, though, were mirrored, and Ruby found herself looking at her underage reflection, knowing she had to bid it farewell for the last time.

Distracted as she was, her two minutes were over before she knew it, and she suddenly had a terrifying thought: she had completely forgotten to change her clothes! Now the machine was being activated and she would grow inside her too small attire.

The changes were too fast to even try and take them out on time. When she realized it, the fabric already felt too tight, and it would be very difficult to remove them. She was becoming taller by the second, and the sensation was overwhelming. She couldn’t help it, she had to yell as loud as her lungs allowed her.

It really wasn’t painful, but her screams actually helped he release the insane amounts of energy that she felt surging through her body.

So far, her reflection looked just like herself, if overall bigger, but soon her proportions started to shift. Ruby suddenly felt a powerful pull from behind that actually threw her back a couple of steps. A quick survey confirmed the pull had been caused by the abrupt growth of her glutes, now womanly, and her hips followed suit to match them.

The front button of her jeans popped mercifully open, allowing for further widening, but her shoes were straining way too much, so when the canvas finally ripped and her toes wiggled out, she managed to kick them off, freeing her larger but still dainty looking feet. As for her shirt, her buttons were also fighting as her back and shoulders broadened, so Ruby undid them all. The sleeves were ridding up, as was the lower hem, which revealed more and more of her ever tauter midsection.

Two large rips opened in the jeans over her shapely thighs, and her kneecaps were getting constricted as they swelled. Her pants were on their way to becoming capris as they revealed more and more from her stiff calves. There was even movement down front, as her privates matured fully, making Ruby into an actual woman.

Her moans got then more intense than ever, and she started to notice the obvious changing on their pitch. Her reflection was also much changed. Her lower body was completely developed, as were parts of her torso, but now her until then missing breasts erupted large over her chest. It was a very gratifying sensation, and the utter force of the emergence pushed out her shirt, so she tied it on a knot bellow them, which served as support for their still increasing weight.

Ruby was modest, but she never had trouble admitting to herself she was a cute girl. But as a budding woman, that beauty kept growing exponentially, partly due to age, partly because of a few improvements she had asked for. Her skin was unblemished now and her nose was lovelier, her cheekbones sucked in to give her a more regal look and her lips and eye sockets shifted a bit, as a dozen other small changes took over her features, changing them forever. She was gorgeous. Bella and Jade had nothing on her.

She had kept her green eyes, but they looked much different from her adult face. As for her brown hair, which only had a tiny tint of the reddish tone her mother had brought into the family, it started to get darker yet until it was coal black. It was also growing longer, spilling out of her pigtails over her shoulders and her back.

There were a few other changes occurring at a slower pace, like her arms getting toned and her fingers and nails longer, or her neck bones poking out. And then there was something else, something going inside her mind which gave her a brief headache. Knowledge and new abilities being written into her brain.

She was getting exponentially smarter, which was a big deal for a girl who had already been so smart, but now she had almost a genius level intellect. Suddenly, the workings of the machine weren’t very mysterious to her any more.

But not all new thoughts would only serve her professionally. There were countless new talents that would serve her as hobbies, from a musically-adept mind to languages or self-defense. And there was also a big deal of self-assurance growing in there that would give her confidence enough to deal with being a stunning, successful woman.

The machine had deactivated and her aging screams suddenly stopped too, though she was still shivering. She knew it would be hours before the afterglow would wear off. She put on an assertive smile, loving the new person she had transformed into. She felt perfect, and also satisfied. After all, she had worked hard all her childhood for this day, the time she would become the best possible version of herself.

Ruby knew she only had a couple of minutes to get ready. She quickly undid her pigtails, letting her long hair cascade freely over her back, an experience she never had before. She ripped her jeans, already damaged over her thighs and bubble-butt and threw it aside. She had been wearing her adult panties since that morning, so it fitted her perfectly, and she bent down to look for the matching bra on her bag.

She untied her plaid shirt and for a few seconds was transfixed by her new bust, but then she realized the doors could open any second and she didn’t want for her classmates to see her topless, so she quickly put on the brassiere, using her new adult knowledge effortlessly. It fitted perfectly, since she had asked specifically for her cup size in her form. They were large but not too obtrusive, as surely Jade’s would be, but they were equally pert.

She was feeling more self-satisfied about her reflection each second, and for a while she considered going out of the machine in her lingerie, as Christine had done, but she decided against it, so she took her bag again and took the rest of the clothes she had brought with her.

She put on a sleeveless aquamarine top, and a white pair of micro pants that was barely bigger than her panties. She didn’t feel indecent at all, since these kind of clothes were very usual. Nowadays, society wasn’t scandalized by a young woman showing her skin.

When the moment came to put on her shoes, she remembered how much Valentina had struggled to walk in her heels, and Ruby’s red ones were even higher. Other girls had come out barefooted, but she preferred not to do so, so she took a risk and put on the heels. After all, she had used a whole credit in improving her balance, though she wasn’t sure it would work right away. After all, she was still trembling because of her changes.

She grabbed the wall for support as the doors of the machine opened. She felt the eyes of all her classmates studying her new appearance, just as had occurred with each of them previously. She had been the last child in the class. Now the group was composed entirely of adults.

Ruby walked out and indeed her long legs felt like jelly. The heels weren’t bothering her all that much, but they added to her height and she felt some vertigo as she moved. But, as she had suspected, the shuddering was the worst part of it, but she knew it would subdue by the next day.

“Ruby, our top student, has chosen to be a geneticist.”

The applause was deafening. Only the very best could ever chose that which had become the most important of professions. In fact, nobody in the whole town had ever done it before.

When the ovation was over, Ruby pushed herself away from the wall where she had been lying and stumbled back to her seat. It felt different, both because of the newfound softness on her backside and because of her greater height. She looked to one side to see Valentina, now shorter than her, and to the other to look at the grinning Scarlett, who was still a bit taller, but nowhere near as intimidating as she had looked just minutes earlier.

“Whoa, Ruby, way to go! A geneticist! And you still got enough credits to become that hot!” said Scarlett.

“You’re gorgeous,” agreed Valentina heartily. “You’re more beautiful than any of us here.”

“Don’t be silly,” answered Ruby, and she realized it was the first time she had used her mature voice, other than to scream. It was agreeable, neither too deep nor too high, and it contributed to the blushing caused by the compliment. She coughed a little, unused to the new sensations from her throat “You look very beautiful too.”

As usual, Principal Hunt waited a bit for the chatter caused by each transformation to subdue. Then she looked at them all with a smile and bright eyes.

“It’s always sad to see yet another class about to leave us forever, but it’s also our very function in society. To turn students into well-adjusted adults who can serve the world properly. I can’t wait to hear more about each of you as professionals and soon, even as parents of a new generation of students.”

The Principal’s farewell didn’t linger any more than it was necessary. They all felt moved by her words, and in just a few more minutes, her speech was over, and so was Graduation.

“You’re free to leave school now. Of course you’re welcome whenever you want. Now go. Your families are waiting to know the new you.”

All graduates stood up at once, and by then, they had gained a slightly better control of their bodies. Even Teresa was able to stand up on her own, and she exited the place happily, pushing her now useless wheelchair.

There were no parents waiting for their adultified offspring in front of the school. It was part of the tradition that they would return home on their own, as a reaffirmation of their complete independence. But they didn’t leave at once either. They wanted to say a last goodbye to the school and to each other, so they hung out together for a while. They could remain friends as adults, but they knew their different lifestyles would make it difficult to see each other all time.

“Do you girls mind if we sit down in the floor for a while?” asked Scarlett, whose tall body was giving her dizziness again.

There was a general murmur of approbation, since most of the women were experiencing the same thing too. They all sat comfortably in the curb beside the school, including Ruby, who was silently grateful to rest her soles. Those heels had been a bad idea indeed, but what the heck, they looked really fetching on her long legs.

They had been sitting there and talking for just about a couple of minutes when a truck passed on the street and stopped in front of them. It was carrying seven men, who were laughing loudly. Because they were all shivering and flexing their muscles excitedly, Ruby guessed who they were. These had to be some of the boys from a nearby school which also was hosting Graduation that day. She was even sure she recognized a sandy haired boy who lived on her street in the square feature of one of the burliest men.

They hollered at the sight of the large group of young women and some wolf whistles ensued. Some of the girls giggled back, enjoying the attention. Jade in particular was giddy at the flirtation. She was attracting interest for the first time, and she knew that would happen to her for the rest of her life. After all, her gigantic rack was the main center of attention, but all the other women were being eyed ravenously, including Ruby, who looked away from them.

But Graduation day wasn’t the time to make hasty decisions, so none of the girls followed the men, who parted after a while. Ruby knew, in any case, a few of her classmates would make use of their eligible status in just a few days. And about a fifth of the class would get married before the year was over.

After the long, bittersweet farewell, each of them parted home to face their new lives. Ruby lived relatively close, and despite her unsteadiness, she arrived without delay.

She was glad her parents weren’t the sort who made a fuss when their children Graduated. After all, they already had one such experience before, and when Ruby came home, they congratulated her and complimented her looks and career choice, as expected, and then gave her quite a lot of space.

She also had a present waiting for her on her mostly deserted room. Some new clothes which her parents had bought considering the measurements she had entered on her official form. She knew she would need to buy more on her own, but these would suffice for a while. She thanked them and then went to the bathroom to take a shower, which she knew would help her lower her trembling.

The water falling over her mature skin, at the moment tender because it was mostly composed of recently generated cells, felt different than usual, as did her own full nakedness, awkward and exciting at the same time. She knew she was still herself, and yet everything felt new. Her developed privates were out for her assessment for the first time, still quivering and sending her waves of pleasure as the shower hit her. The fleshy growths on her chest also responded to the water, pooling a bit between them and making her pinkie-sized nipples to shoot out before her eyes.

So when she came out of the bathroom, the shivering induced by the transformation had indeed subdued a bit, but she was still shaking out of excitement. She put on one of her new lingerie sets and decided to stay that way for a while, which would help her get more familiar with her new form. She planted herself in front of the mirror, and dedicated the next few minutes to caress and get to know every shape on her face. She had to say her features had turned out better than she had expected when she had requested a few changes. It was a visage worthy of the important woman she had become.

Ruby’s nubile body was sensitive to more than just water. Even the slight breeze that entered her room caused ripples on her skin. It was uncomfortable but thrilling, and she found herself thinking she would miss her enhanced sensitiveness once her cells settled in.

So she made the most of it while it lasted. She opened the window to let the draught in, and turned and stretched on her sheets, feeling the every contour of her figure.

Ruby had never known such bliss and satisfaction. She was unquestionably loving her first hours as an adult.

When she finally decided to terminate her self-recognizance for the time being, and she came out to face her parents over dinner, the mental changes also started to become more evident. It was like an instinct, and she was barely conscious, but there was a new awareness of the world, and her thought process was definitely more complex. She was after all, not only an adult, but one with a considerable intellect.

The way she spoke to her parents had changed, and she could tell they were still unused to this smart young woman who had replaced their kid, even if they tried not to show it. They were pretty much equals now, and eventually they would adapt to see her that way, just as had happened with her brother.

Ruby had never slept on her underwear before, and though this was a great time to try it for the first time, she thought being so sensitive to cold would make it very hard to sleep, not that the alien sensations from her body wouldn’t take care of that anyway. So she had put on a particularly cute piece of nightwear she found among her new things and hoped for the best, though the breeze still massaged her bare legs, arms and chest gently.

As anticipated, she didn’t sleep too much. During the night, she wondered about a hundred times if Jade was managing to sleep with boobs larger than her head, because even her own smaller ones were getting on the way. The whirlwind of new knowledge also caused a returning headache, and in all, she only could sleep about three hours, when tiredness finally defeated her.

Despite the bad night, she was up next morning feeling much better. Her shuddering was gone, but her skin still felt unusually alive. She had much better balance than the previous day, though she was still far from totally in control of her movements.

Now that the general numbness of the transformation was beginning to wear off, most new adults, including Ruby, would be hosting their Graduation Event today. It was a simple get together of the family, where they met their transformed relative and celebrated their literal coming of age.

Ruby’s Event would be held at her brother Steve’s house, since it was bigger. The family would be celebrating on the double, too, since another of Ruby’s cousins, Felicity, had also Graduated the day before.

She put on the simple but alluring white dress she had picked for the occasion. Holding her hands on her slender waist, she studied the way her cleavage reacted to her movements. With her deep red lips and elegant hairdo, she looked sexy but classy, perfect to show her family she had turned into an adult in and out.

Her mother was putting on her own dress beside her, and Ruby caught her glancing her way on many occasions. Bigger and curvier than her now, the daughter thought she actually looked older than her own progenitor now. While her mother had always been youthful, Ruby had an air of mature sophistication about her.

“You look gorgeous, baby,” said the proud parent.

They arrived to Steve’s earlier than anyone else. Her brother came out to receive her and hugged her, and the first thing Ruby realized was that he only had a few inches on her now. She smiled. They would be equals again.

“They told me you were stunning, but damn! Those studies really did you good, sis.”

His blonde wife also came out to receive them and she kissed her sister in law on her cheek.

“I’m sure we’ll become great friends now that we’re the same age,” she commented.

The rest of the family started to arrive soon, including Felicity, who was looking very dapper on her blue dress.

“Ruby!” said her cousin when the two new women saw each other.

As they were the same age, Felicity was the closest one to Ruby out of all her cousins. She hoped they could continue that friendship as adults.

“Hello, Felicity, you’re looking really nice.”

Felicity had always been a pretty girl, and she hadn’t needed to use her credits in changing her appearance, instead investing them in becoming a reporter and TV anchor.

After they complimented each other on their looks and career choice, they stood together receiving the many members of the family who had come to honor them.

Some of these encounters were awkward. Ruby was especially mortified when one of her great aunts came to greet her. She had the horrible habit of pinching her cheeks, and she had hoped that she wouldn’t do it now that she was an adult, but there was no such luck.

“Oh, such soft skin. And your cheekbones are so sharp now.”

Ruby smiled with hypocrisy, though she really wanted to tell her to piss off.

Other than that, the event went smoothly. People were used to the frequent transformation of the family’s children, so mostly everyone started to treat them as regular adults, speaking to them as equals instead of talking down to them as happened when they were kids.

The dinner ended with a toast to the two Graduates, and they had their first symbolic glass of champagne. Felicity seemed to enjoy it, but Ruby gagged and almost spitted it, though she finally managed to swallow it. She decided never to try the thing again.

After that, people started to leave, and Felicity approached her cousin.

“Hey, Ruby, what if we go clubbing tonight? What do you say?”

It was late, Ruby thought, but suddenly she grasped that, as an adult, the night was actually young. She agreed to go with Felicity, and went to told her parents, who laughed. She then realized that she hadn’t to ask for permission any more.

“These dresses are too much for clubbing,” pointed Ruby when she was back with her cousin.

“I agree,” said Felicity. “Let’s go to my house to change. It’s much closer. I can lend you something to wear.”

Her cousin’s house was just a few blocks away, but Felicity had a car, so she drove them there.

“You already got your license?”

“Been working on it before Graduation so I could have it today. What about you?”

“I still haven’t tried on the wheel myself,” admitted Ruby.

“What about a house? I’m not leaving my parents’ yet.”

“We’ve been looking for a few apartments. I’ll settle into one by weekend. I need to move closer to the city because of my job.”

“And can you afford it right away?”

“With that job, I think I can. I’ll be able to pay back what my parents loaned me in just a few months.”

Since Felicity had no intention of moving right away, her room wasn’t completely packed, though it was still as messy as Ruby’s. There was a mix of boxed childish belongings, and the new adult ones.

“Make your pick. I still haven’t tried on most of these.”

Felicity got out of her dress without a hint of embarrassment, and though a bit more timid, Ruby decided to imitate her. The two grown up cousins stood there in their underwear looking through the clothes for something appropriate to put on.

“Oh, look Ruby, this one would look really good on you.”

She took the cropped turtleneck top that her cousin was offering her and put it on, liking the way it displayed her taut stomach. She decided for a playful hat too and, after careful consideration, also put on a mini skirt over her black panties.

Clubbing was fun, if the atmosphere was a bit loud for her tastes and didn’t help at all with her budding headache. Felicity seemed to be enjoying herself much more, maybe because of the high doses of alcohol she was consuming. Ruby was worried because her cousin had to drive, but then remembered all clubs had detox devices for the assigned drivers.

But right now, the blonde was putting her best moves on the dancefloor.

“Come!” she tried to convince Ruby when she was back to their table to drink some more.

“Maybe later. Don’t you have a terrible headache?”

“Mine was gone this morning. Then again, I didn’t gain half as much knowledge as you did. I guess it will bother your brain for a while.”

“Excuse us, ladies, do you mind if we sit down for a while?”

It was two guys, both hunky and handsome.

“Not at all,” answered Felicity with a flirty smile.

“Sorry, but we’ve been meaning to ask you since we saw you. Have you recently Graduated?”

“Yeah, yesterday!” Felicity’s laugh was already drunk.

“I knew it. You’re still walking funny.”

“Well, that’s not a great thing to say to a lady!”

“I don’t mean offense,” said the man who did all the talking. “It’s just that you’re still unused to your dimensions. I know about it. We just Graduated last week.”

“Really?”

“Yeah. We’ve been coming here a lot to try our luck.”

“And have you gotten lucky?”

Ruby was rolling her eyes at her cousin’s flirting.

“I think we got lucky tonight,” he winked.

“Felicity…” said Ruby lowly.

“Come on, Rub, this is not a bad idea. We’re supposed to start meeting people if we want to tie the knot soon.”

“Yeah,” agreed the guy.

“Don’t you want to get married, Ruby?”

“I think there’s better things to do right now. I don’t see the need to hurry.”

“Oh, don’t be a bore. Come on, big guy, let’s dance.”

And dance they did. In no time, they were wrestling a kiss on each other. Ruby was left in the uncomfortable position of having to share the table with the other guy.

“Wanna dance too?” he asked, finally breaking his silence.

“Not really.”

“Yeah, not my thing either. But we can do other things. I have a car outside. They won’t notice we’re gone.”

“What?”

“We can go to my place. It’s very nice, and I’ve got a really big bed which still hasn’t been used.”

“Uhm. Sorry, I’m not going with you.”

He was obviously disappointed, but he tried to cover it with a petulant smile and insisted.

“There’s always the club’s bathroom, if you don’t want to go. Come on, don’t tell me you don’t want some of this,” his impressive pectorals seemed to swell even more. “You should have seen me last week. I was a skinny little thing, but I worked really hard at school for this. And now I think I deserve a babe like you. You’ve obviously worked hard for that bod too, so maybe you deserve me too.”

“Are you for real?” asked Ruby, as amused as she was disgusted.

“All you see is real. And wait until you see more. I got huge. Costed me a few credits, but it’s worth it all. I can hardly walk straight with that thing, but that’s awesome. Want to see it?”

Now the amusement was all gone, and just the disgust remained.

“Please leave me alone.”

“Come on hottie, don’t get all worked…”

He tried to grab her, but he didn’t count on her new karate skills. Despite being much larger than her, he ended up in the floor before he realized what happened. Suddenly, Ruby was very pleased. She had been anxious to try some of her new talents.

She turned to the dancefloor to witness her cousin having a fight of her own. Apparently, Felicity was completely fine with snogging, but she set her limits at that, because when the guy grabbed her ass, she slapped hard across the face and stormed away from him.

“Really, Ruby, I think those guys were trying to take advantage of us!” she said offended.

“Don’t say…” Ruby rolled her eyes once again.

“What happened with yours?” asked Felicity, noticing the man who was clumsily trying to get up.

“He was a bit too drunk. I guess he tripped.”

“Let’s go home, I think I had enough for today,” said Felicity, putting her arm on the small apparatus on the door. The change in her expression was immediate. She was suddenly sober.

“Oh, my God, being drunk was totally weird”, she said trying to straighten her hair.

Ruby stretched herself after waking up next morning.

She had arrived late in the night, so she had wanted to sleep until late morning. She had also gone to bed on just her underwear this time. It stretched over her still unfamiliar curves but felt comfortable enough.

Today was an important day. She was going to personally check three possible apartments to purchase and properly start her mature life.

Ever since she got the results of her credits and decided to become a geneticist, she had applied and been accepted in the best Genetic Centre on the city. She was due to start there in less than a week, so she needed the new flat as soon as possible. And these three were the ones she had liked the most online.

As soon as she saw the second one, she knew it was the one. Somehow, it fitted the mental image of the kind of woman she had turned herself into.

She sat on the floor, already feeling comfortable and at home despite the lack of furniture.

“I love it,” she told the sales agent. “I’m taking it.”

Leaving her parents has hard, but a natural part of life.

She wandered through the house nostalgically, knowing she would be there many more times, but that it wouldn’t be her actual home any more.

Her room was bare now, just as Steve’s was. Now her parents were alone with her little sister Eve, who probably felt left behind as she had felt when her brother had turned into a man. But her turn would come in just a couple of years.

Since Eve never used it, and both Steve and Ruby were gone now, their father had brought down the tire swings on the backyard. She sat there to say her goodbyes to the fun of childhood, and wondered why it was so short.

Ruby hadn’t a lot of things to bring to her new home. A few personal mementos and her new adult clothes, all packed in a couple of bags.

As for the rest, she would slowly start buying what she needed, furniture and home devices. Right now, there was only a mattress, a fridge and a stove waiting for her there, but filling her house was among the things that excited her the most.

She still hadn’t looked for a car of her own, so she waited on the curb for a taxi to take her home, and away from her old life.

Her mental maturation had prepared her for the experience, but spending her first two nights sleeping on a house alone was still uncomfortable on Ruby.

But the mornings after were much better. The first one, she went to the city to purchase a few things, including a large TV and a microwave.

Then on, the second morning, Monday already, she had to go to her workplace for the first time.

She wanted to make as good impression, so she picked a dress that made her look beautiful but which was still modest. Over it, she put on the white jacket that signaled her as a scientist from the Genetic Centre.

She felt professional despite still not having started with her job. But she was ready.

The city was at a comfortable distance from her home. She only had to take a short bus right to arrive there, and the Centre’s building stood imposing across the skyline. She had landed the best workplace on the state.

“No, I didn’t “land” anything,” she thought. “I worked hard for this. I deserve it.”

Ruby immediately realized she was sounding a lot like the guy with the alleged big dick on the club, and resolved to always remain humble and never brag about her blessings ever again.

In any case, the interior of the building inspired humility. She didn’t understand why she had been feeling so proud a few minutes earlier: in this place everyone was probably as intelligent as she was, if not more. In fact, she doubted she would last a couple of days before getting fired. Suddenly, she was panicking. Why hadn’t she chosen an easier profession? She was just a child. What was she doing there?

But as she was introduced to her new colleagues, she realized they weren’t any different from her. Even her own immediate superior was just 16-years-old, barely older than her. She was from Germany, but Ruby had learned German from her mental maturation, so she impressed her boss favorably by answering in that language.

“And don’t worry if you don’t know how to do something at first. Your implanted knowledge will take care of everything in no time.”

That was the most comforting thing she had heard all day. Now she was sure she could do it. Plus, she was put in charge of one of the biggest labs, and she had her own office in the highest levels with a magnificent view of the city. Of course she wouldn’t regret not choosing an easier profession.

Despite having felt like a nerd for most of her school life, Ruby found she could fit easily at office, and soon she had a great new group of friends. Maybe it was because she was finally among people who were very much like her, who valued brains and hard work. It didn’t hurt either that she was now a gorgeous young woman. That had to boost anyone’s popularity.

Ruby had a penchant to dressing much sexier outside office hours. Today at the restaurant with a few of her coworkers, she was wearing leather pants and jacket. Hardly anyone else in her section could match her looks.

“So, what do you guys say if we hit the beach this Saturday?” said one of her employees. “We could celebrate doubly. Our boss Ruby has been two months with us already, and I’m also turning 15 that day.”

The people around the table cheered for her.

“Yeah, I can’t believe I’ve already been an adult for three years. So, what do you say?”

“The boss approves,” said Ruby with a categorical nod, prompting new cheers from her colleagues. She was blending in all right.

Ruby was ready for her first time to the beach as an adult. She was wearing a simple white bikini and short pants.

It was an important day for her for another reason too. Just the day before, she had finally gotten her license and her own car, and she was going to drive a couple of her coworkers to the beach herself, something that excited her quite a bit, since it was one of the few symbols of adulthood she hadn’t tried on yet, despite getting the knowledge during her Graduation.

The drive was short in any case, and cars these days did a lot of things by themselves, so it wasn’t that big of an accomplishment, but she was still enthusiastic when she parked successfully on the beachside.

She had used this opportunity to blend a bit of the old and the new. She had invited both Valentina and Scarlett to come along too, since she had hardly seen any of them since Graduation.

They sat down together for a while in front of the sea, talking about the old days, and how much they had changed.

 “So, have you heard about Zoe? She’s getting married next week,” said Valentina.

“Yeah, I got the invitation. It’s incredible, isn’t it? Who would think shy Zoe would be the first one in class?”

“Second one,” clarified Scarlett. “Christine did it a month ago. But she’s been living abroad and most of us didn’t hear about it.”

“Yeah, I didn’t know about it,” said Ruby. “But same difference, that’s even more surprising!”

“Well, considering how desperate she was to shed of all that fat, we should have guessed she had big plans,” laughed Scarlett.

“And what about Jocelyn? She was so hung about that neighbor of hers.”

“It didn’t work out, it seems,” explained Valentina, who knew Jocelyn well. “Once they started dating as adults, they realized they weren’t a good fit. I guess that can happens if you plan too early.”

“Ha! You’re one to talk,” mocked Scarlett. “You’re engaged already!”

Valentina didn’t laugh along, and just touched her ring.

“That’s different. We met after our transformations. We work perfectly as adults.”

“I must admit, when I thought about any of you getting married, I always though Scarlett would be first.”

This time it was Valentina who laughed and Scarlett who turned serious.

“You, know, Ruby, with all your genius, you didn’t figure me out at all. I might be a flirt, but I’m also a free spirit!”

All three laughed simultaneously for the first time, and Ruby realized how much she missed it. But adulthood was the privilege of a well spent childhood, and she wouldn’t exchange what she had gained for anything in the world.

2 YEARS LATER

Today was her free day, and since the previous night had been rough at the lab, she slept until late.

She finally woke up groggily, she adjusted her tank top and looked at the clock.

“Damn, it’s 11:30 already,” she thought. “Eve must be about to go into the machine.”

It was her little sister’s Graduation today and, unusually, they were going to host her Graduation Event that same evening.

She had called Eve last night to wish her luck and give her a few advices.

“Remember, don’t take high heels. And don’t be too nervous. The machines are quite safe, actually. I should know since I work on them.”

Eve promised not to be scared, but her voice said otherwise.

“So what did you chose in the end?”

“I’m becoming a secret agent.”

“What?!!”

“Okay, I’m kidding, but I really considered it. I had enough credits to do it. But I’m still joining an intelligence service as an analyst. Way more boring. And I’m not changing my looks too much. I’m getting a bit taller, a bit slimmer and…”

“Bustier?”

“Uhm, yeah,” said the girl shyly. “Just a bit, but still not big. And I’m not changing my face, just letting it age naturally.”

“No wonder. You were always a looker.”

By now, she probably was an adult looker, assumed Ruby checking the clock again after a quick lunch.

Eve’s Event would also be held at Steve’s, just as Ruby’s had been. And she had offered her brother and his wife to help them with the arrangements, so she better had to start getting ready as soon as possible.

She arrived in time to assist them with the cleaning and preparation of snacks. She was wearing a crimson dress in which she looked really beautiful, but which wasn’t the catchier option either. She didn’t want to rob Eve of her spotlight.

“Can you believe it, sis?” asked Steve as the two of them moved the dining table to a better spot. “It’s Eve’s turn now. All three of us are done.”

“Yeah, I can’t believe it either. I can’t hardly realize it’s been two years since I did it myself. I’m turning 14 in a month.”

“Yeah, I feel you. I’ve just turned the big 15,” he said. “We’re starting to think seriously about having children of our own.”

“Come on, Steve. Mom is too young to be a granny. I don’t understand why everyone is so eager to go through life so fast. Hey, live a bit first. You still have about a century to go before really becoming old.”

“I guess you’re right, but then you’re stone cold,” he mocked her. “Don’t you want to have a baby?”

“Maybe, but not any time soon. Probably when I turn 60 or so I might start thinking about it.”

Before long, it was already dark, and their parent’s car pulled up outside the house. They waited eagerly for them to get out, and then a redhead beauty emerged behind them, shivering and stumbling.

She was a bit taller than Ruby, and her usually shoulder length hair had grown very long and wild, but it was still the same color, and she could immediately recognize Eve. Her smiling face was now that of a stunning woman in her twenties, but Ruby could see a lot of her 12-years-old sister there.

All three siblings smiled and hugged together, and for a moment Ruby had a vision of a past world where they would still be helpless minors at this late age. Considering how happy they were feeling, and despite her earlier doubts about living fast, she was glad they had been born on this enlightened century.