9 to 5: The Gamer Bro

The buzzing sound of the transformation machine hummed in the background, and Shannon leaned against the counter, arms folded, her expression mildly amused. Across from her, Melanie was pacing, her dark brown hair a little messy from her restless fidgeting. She was wearing her usual lab coat, though it looked a little crinkled today. She kept glancing at her phone, occasionally running a hand through her short brunette curls.

"I blew it, Shannon," Melanie groaned, stopping her pacing to look up at her friend, who stood towering over her. "I blew it with Jim."

Shannon arched an eyebrow, adjusting her ponytail. Her blonde hair was pulled back sharply today, and she was, as always, the picture of confidence—tall, composed, and completely unaffected by Melanie’s anxiety spiral. "You didn’t blow it, Mel. I told you, you just need to stop thinking so much. Jim’s clearly into you."

"No!" Melanie threw her hands in the air dramatically. "You don’t get it. I—I deadnamed him, Shannon. Julie—I called him Julie by accident! What kind of moron does that on a date? He probably thinks I’m some idiot who doesn’t respect him. And then... God, I don’t even know how to be a girlfriend. I’ve only ever been the boyfriend before!"

Melanie plopped down in her chair, covering her face with both hands. "I’m going to die alone. Just me and my embarrassing stories. With Sophie-.."

Shannon’s expression softened for a moment as she walked over and placed a hand on Melanie’s shoulder. "Okay, first of all, breathe. You’re not going to die alone. Second of all, Sophie has nothing to do with this, so stop bringing her up. Jim is not Sophie."

Melanie cringed at the mention of Sophie’s name and shuddered, burying her face deeper into her hands. "I know, I know. I just... I freaked out, Shannon. I called him ‘Julie’ once, and now it’s like every time I think about it, I can’t get it out of my head. He’s going to think I’m some horrible person. I’m the worst."

Meanwhile, the client strapped to the transformation machine—a guy who used to go by the handle ‘GamerBro69’ on Twitch—cleared his throat. "Uh, excuse me? Helloooo? Can we maybe focus on, you know, me? The guy who’s literally strapped down here?"

Shannon shot him a glance, her lips curling into a smirk. "Oh, trust me, you don’t want our full attention right now. Melanie’s having a bit of a crisis, and if we focused on you, you’d probably end up regretting it."

The gamer, who’d been caught bullying female streamers and harassing younger players online, shifted uncomfortably. "Uh, no. Pretty sure I’d like you to focus on the whole ‘getting me out of here’ part."

Melanie sniffled and glanced up, still sulking. "He has a point. We can just turn him into a shy gamer girl with no coordination and call it a day."

Shannon laughed and looked over at the client. "You hear that? That’s the kind of attention you really don’t want, bud. You’d be better off letting Mel work through her crisis first."

The guy on the gurney raised an eyebrow. "What the hell are you talking about? A shy girl? No way. I’m a top-tier gamer! You can’t do that to me!"

Melanie wiped her eyes and sighed. "Oh, yes we can." She flicked the switch on the machine, her voice soft but firm. "Trust me. You're about to find out what it's like to have no coordination, but still love games. And maybe we’ll make you, you know... cute enough to be a cam model or something. But you’ll be terrible at gaming."

The machine began its work, the familiar pink light flickering as it started reshaping the client’s body. His muscles began to shrink, his strong arms slimming down, his frame softening. His facial features began to shift, becoming rounder, and his messy brown hair lengthened, cascading down to his shoulders. He squirmed, his voice rising in pitch as his chest grew fuller, his hips widening into feminine curves.

"Wh-what the hell?" he gasped, his voice now much higher. "Y-you can’t... this isn’t happening! I can’t—"

Before he could finish, the door swung open, and Jim walked in. His timing was, as always, impeccable.

"Hey," Jim said, glancing between Melanie and Shannon, a confused look on his face. "Is everything okay in here?"

Shannon grinned and nodded toward Melanie. "Perfect timing, Jim. Why don’t you tell Mel how terrible your date was?"

Melanie looked mortified. "Shannon!"

But Jim frowned, clearly concerned. "Terrible? What are you talking about? It wasn’t terrible at all. I had a great time."

Melanie blinked, her face turning red. "Wait... you did?"

Jim gave her a warm smile. "Yeah, Mel. I know you were nervous, but I didn’t mind. I thought it was cute, actually. The fact that you were worried about impressing me? That just made it all the more adorable."

Melanie’s eyes widened in shock. "But—but I deadnamed you! And I—I spilled my drink all over myself, and I—I was such a mess."

Jim chuckled, stepping closer. "Mel, it’s fine. I know that you didn’t mean to slip up. We all get nervous sometimes, especially on first dates. I just wish you’d realize that it didn’t bother me as much as it bothered you."

She stared at him, dumbfounded, and Shannon raised an eyebrow, watching the exchange unfold. "Wow, Mel. You’ve been driving yourself crazy for nothing."

Jim blushed slightly. "Actually... I was kind of hoping we could, I don’t know, try again? Maybe go for coffee or something this weekend? No pressure."

Melanie’s face turned a deep shade of pink, and she stammered out a response. "Y-yes! I mean—uh—yeah, sure. I’d love to."

Shannon rolled her eyes but grinned. "There we go. A nice little reset. Think of it like a video game replay."

Jim smiled warmly at Melanie. "Cool. I’ll text you the details."

Melanie nodded, still blushing furiously, and Jim turned to leave, giving them both a little wave as he headed out the door.

As soon as he was gone, Shannon turned to Melanie, her grin wide. "You’ve got it bad, Mel. I can’t believe you thought that date was terrible when the guy’s clearly head over heels for you."

Melanie covered her face with both hands, groaning. "I’m such an idiot."

"Yep," Shannon said, clapping her on the back. "But you’re his idiot, apparently."

Meanwhile, their newly transformed client—now a petite, socially anxious 21-year-old woman—was blinking in confusion as she looked down at herself. She wore the same oversized T-shirt and jeans she’d had on when she walked in, but her new body made them hang awkwardly on her, far too big for her now much smaller frame. Her hair had darkened to a soft black, and her once smug expression had turned into one of nervous bewilderment.

Shannon walked over, admiring their work. "I think we’ve done it again, Mel. Look at her. She’s the perfect shy gamer girl."

Melanie managed a weak smile as she joined Shannon. "What do you think, Daisy?" she asked, motioning to the woman’s reflection in the nearby mirror.

"D-Daisy?" the client asked, her voice soft and uncertain.

Shannon nodded. "Yeah, Daisy. It’s fitting. You you mockws pwoplw doe ppicking Daisy when we mentioned Mario Kart, and now it’s official. You’ll always be Daisy."

The woman—formerly GamerBro69—blinked, her face softening as she took in her new appearance. She stood at barely 5’2”, her delicate hands trembling slightly as she looked back at the two women. "I-I don’t remember what I was going to say," she murmured, her voice barely above a whisper.

Shannon smirked. "That’s part of the charm now, sweetie. But don’t worry, you’ll still love gaming. It’s just going to be a little harder with all that new clumsiness."

Daisy blinked again, her mind still processing everything. But instead of anger or frustration, there was something else in her eyes—acceptance. "C-can I still play Mario Kart?"

Melanie’s smile widened. "Of course. But we’re going to race, and you’re going to see just how hard it is to game now."

They set up a quick match, and it didn’t take long for them to see the results of their transformation. Daisy struggled with the controls, frequently forgetting which buttons to press and often veering her kart off the course entirely. But to their surprise, she didn’t get frustrated.

"Y-you’re doing great!" Daisy exclaimed, even though her kart was dead last. "Y-you’re all so good at this!"

Shannon and Melanie exchanged a glance, both surprised by her enthusiasm. "Wow,"

Shannon said, laughing. "She’s actually adorable."

As they wrapped up the game, Daisy looked up, a hesitant smile on her face. "Th-thank you. Th-this was... fun."

Melanie’s expression softened. "You’re welcome, Daisy. If you want, we could set you up with an online gaming account. You know, help you get started as a streamer."

Daisy’s eyes lit up. "R-really? Th-that’d be amazing."

Shannon grinned, setting up a simple streaming account. They chose a handle for her: DaisyGamer24, after her favorite Mario character.

"There you go, Daisy. The world’s going to love you."

Daisy nodded, her shy smile growing. "Th-thank you. Y-you’re both so k-kind."

As Daisy left, Shannon turned to Melanie, a satisfied grin on her face. "Another successful day. And you’ve got yourself a second date. Not bad, huh?"

Melanie laughed, shaking her head. "Yeah. Not bad at all."

A few hours later, Melanie and Shannon were back in the break room, finishing up some paperwork and checking their phones. Daisy’s new streaming account had blown up instantly her enthusiasm and positivity infectious. She had a small but devoted fanbase already, cheering on her every clumsy attempt to navigate video game worlds.

Shannon chuckled as she scrolled through Daisy’s latest stream highlights.

“You realize we might have created a monster here, right? I mean, she’s too adorable. She’s got fans lining up to watch her lose at Mario Kart.”

Melanie laughed, shaking her head. “I know! She’s like this walking bundle of positivity. Did you see her trying to play Smash Bros ? She congratulated the other players every time she got knocked out.”

Shannon rolled her eyes but smiled. “You’re lucky you dodged a bullet there. She’s more popular than we thought. I think she’s kind of like you, Mel—unintentionally charming.”

Melanie raised an eyebrow, a shy smile creeping onto her face. “I guess I am kind of like her. You know, for a while, I thought maybe… well, you know, we would’ve worked out. Back when we first started working together.”

Shannon set her phone down, looking at Melanie with a warm, understanding smile. “Oh, I knew, Mel. You didn’t hide it very well.” She placed a gentle hand on Melanie’s arm. “But I think you knew, too, that I just don’t feel those things. I don’t think I’ve ever had those feelings for anyone. I’ve thought about it, and I might be… I don’t know, asexual or something like that.”

Melanie’s cheeks flushed, and she let out a soft sigh of relief. “That makes sense. I guess I just never wanted to push, but I was too scared to bring it up.”

Shannon smiled, giving her a playful nudge. “You’ve got nothing to be scared of. You’re amazing, Mel, and Jim’s a lucky guy. Now you can stop worrying about the past and focus on someone who’s into you for all the right reasons.”

Melanie grinned, the tension easing. “Yeah. And, hey, I wouldn’t mind seeing where things go with Jim. Who knew this place would be good for more than just transformations?”

Shannon laughed. “Definitely. Now, come on—let’s get back to work. We’ve got another client at two, and who knows? Maybe we’ll make a superfan for Daisy.”