Transhorties: TG Cola And Blackjack
By ThatGuy

"Don't think you've got us believing this story for one second," said the young man in front of our.... er… protagonist. "That stuff's fake." There was a very irritating smirk on his face as he brushed his shaggy red hair out of his face.

"Nope!" Said his still rather smug looking friend… though his hair was too short for him to do his own smarmy hair flip. "It's 100% real, Brennan. I guarantee."

That someone wouldn't believe the issue at hand isn't actually very surprising – it was rather incredible. In fact, in normal situations Jonny would've been totally understanding. But everyone who knew Brennan knew he had a tendency to be obnoxiously combative on purpose, and Jonny really didn't have the patience for it at the moment. Who could blame him, with the windfall that had fallen into his lap?

"Yeah, right."  Brennan shot nastily. "You've played stupid jokes on us before, Jonny. What makes you think we're going to fall for this crap?"

"I dunno, you're pigheaded enough…"

"Hey!"

You, the reader, aren't the only one who was watching this short debate. Standing right next to them taking in the whole thing as it were nothing were amiss were their two friends: Orville – tall, dark skinned, and as usual very relaxed – and the always immaculately dressed Jose. Standing next to the others the Hispanic teenager's trouser and blazer combo looked out of place… but they were all used to that by now, so no bother.

Instead, the two were focused on the object of their friends' argument: a large case in Jonny's living room packed with what might've been simple canned soda... if it wasn't for the snazzy blue and pink logo reading "TG-Cola." Jose was gawking it at with a mix of nervousness and curiosity, while Orville also looked skeptical – though not in the obnoxious way Brennan was being.

"I've seen commercials with this before," Jose mused, gawking at the logo like it was made of gold. "But I always thought it was just some weird ad campaign for regular soda."

"Nope! My Uncle is an inspector for soda and drink companies," explained Jonny, the same smirk never leaving his face. "When he ran into the company who makes this stuff he couldn't resist snagging me a case."

Now even Jose looked a bit skeptical. "Just you? Why not send it to your older brother... or your dad? Someone a bit more… responsible?" He and Orville shared a knowing look, while Brennan guffawed.

Jonny sighed and shook his head – he supposed he knew they had reason to doubt him. The four of them had known each other almost their whole lives: Jose and Jonny met each other as kids – Jose's mother, filthy rich heiress to a tissue paper fortune, was Jonny's father's ex-girlfriend from decades ago, and the two were still close friends in a "Jerry and Elaine" sort of way. They added Orville to their own three musketeers in grade school: Jonny the devious, Jose the cautious, and Orville the wise. And then they met Brennan – the obnoxious – as freshmen in high school where he became close to them, likely because they were the only ones with the patience to stick with him for any decent period of time.

And now here they were, seniors, all knowing perfectly through experience how untrustworthy Jonny could be. Not because he was flaky or deceitful, or because he was selfish like Brennan could be, but because he was a determinedly irresponsible prankster. A case full of magical soda was not the first thing any sane person would give him.

And yet… "you know, he mentioned that in his letter. He thought about sending the case to my folks, but he said I was the only one with the right mind to use this stuff. Did I mention my Uncle was a big influence on me?" Jonny smiled, a catlike glint sparkling in his eye."

"Nope. Still don't buy it." Brennan sneered. "And if you do, then you're an idiot for buying into it."

"Hate to agree with Brennan," Orville said, "but yeah. A can of soda that can change people's genders? It's a little farfetched."

"Sorry, man," Jose brought up the rear. "But I'm gonna have to go with the guys on this one."

"Et tu, Jose?" Jonny gave a mock frown. "I see you unworldly unbelievers need some proof… which should be coming around any minute now, I think. In fact…"

As if on cue, at that exact moment a door behind them shot open and out walked the very picture of proof: an pretty, long legged brunette sauntered out in a tank top, jean shorts and track shoes. She swept past the stunned crowd and over to an endtable to pick up a purse.

"Hey guys," she said cheerfully, oblivious to the fact that all of them besides Jonny were gaping at her. Once she had checked her purse to see if everything was in its right place, she turned back to Jonny. "Alright, kiddo. I'm going to meet Karen at the carnival – don't do anything I wouldn't alright?" She winked at him, inciting more than little jealousy from the others.

Jonny smirked – more at his friends' reactions than the look she gave him. "No problem. And stop calling me kiddo."

She chuckled out a tinkling laugh in response and walked to the door, accidentally bumping her hips on the frame as she went. They last saw her rubbing her side in equal parts confusion and embarrassment before she shut the door behind her and was gone.

There was a moment of silence as the boys processed the scene that had just unfolded before them.

"Who. Was. That?" Brennan stammered.

Jose's response was more direct but no less baffled. "You're too old to have a babysitter, who the heck was that?"

Brennan laughed goofily – in fact he looked a little punch drunk. "Dude, you're never too old to have a babysitter like that! That girl was hot! I'd love to-"

"That girl," Jonny spoke up sternly, getting everyone's attention. He suddenly looked slightly cross, "was my older brother. So don't be getting any ideas, moron."

"What?"

"No way!"

Orville raised an eyebrow. "Even I'm having a hard time believing that."

"I swear, it's all true." The smirk had returned to Jonny's face. "I slipped him a can of the soda this morning, just to test it out. As you can see, it worked like a charm."

"No kidding…" Jose whispered. As if to echo him, Brennan gave a low whisper.

Orville, on the other hand, looked no less critical. "You did that to your own brother? That's low, man. Even for you."

Jonny waved his hand dismissively. "Aw, don't be like that. It's all temporary. Lasts a day at most, unless you drink too much. I just wish I'd known he had a date planned with his girlfriend today, though she said they were going to have a girls' day instead so I guess it all worked out."

Orville rolled his eyes. "Yeah, I guess. So, supposing we believe you now-" the other two nodded vigorously in agreement – "what is it that you have planned with this stuff."

The familiar mischievous gleam twinkled back into Jonny's eye. "Oh, so you know how we're always having problems getting dates?"

Orville caught on immediately. "Oh, for Pete's sake…"

Jonny waved his hands in a "give me a chance" gesture. "Now, hear me out! Let's just try it, y'know? Just to see if it works out! Just think of what else we could to with it if it works – none of us would ever be dateless at a party again! We could use it to get in with the girls we do know! Come on, it's a goldmine!"

Jose still looked confused. "Wait, what are you guys talking about?"

Orville sighed. "He wants half of us to drink the soda, turn into girls, and be dates for the other half."

"What?"

"Well, not entirely!" Jonny protested. "That's not my only plan for it – I just figured we try it today, just to see if it works. If it does, we've got a whole case of the stuff, and the sky's the limit! We could use it on other people, we could totally pull off some awesome pranks with it, we could even start a dating service or something  - that would be a total money-maker, there. But first, I want to run a… field test."

Orville's eyebrow remained raised as a form of response. "Field test. Hoo boy, I knew I should've stayed in bed today."

Brennan, on the other hand, had an unnervingly lecherous look on his face. "I dunno, I personally think the view would be a lot better if I had hot girls for friends instead of you jokers."

"And there's another big problem," Orville gestured to Brennan, "one of us is going to have to go out with him."

"I'm sure whoever ends up with Brennan can handle him," Jonny smirked, "and plus we're all friends here. I'm sure he won't do anything messed up, right?" Jonny shot Brennan a look which implied he was going to force feed him the soda while still in the can if he didn't. Brennan responded with a thoroughly unconvincing apologetic grin.

"I dunno," Jose said, eyeing the case of soda warily. "It's not like I'd say no to getting a date easy, but I'm not so sure about being the date."

"Don't think so hard about it! Guys date girls and vice versa, right? So if we were girls… well, we're just helping along our romantic prospects, is all!" Jose looked only marginally more convinced. "If it makes you feel any better, it'll only be for this afternoon. Whoever drinks the stuff will only have maybe half a can, so they'll turn back sooner. If it all goes nuts, I'll never suggest it again, promise." Jonny turned to Orville. "I'm doing this, just so you know. If you guys don't help me out who knows what could happen to me… alone…" He gave a fake pout, for the sake of drama.

Orvile rolled his eyes and sighed again. "Enough with the guilt. I'm in. But if this turns out like any of your other schemes…"

Jose nodded in agreement. "Alright, Jonny. You're my pal and I trust you. For now."

Brennan clapped his hands in excitement. "Alrighty! So how do we pick which of you three gets turned into chicks? Or are you all going to drink?" He smirked.

Three pairs of eyes glared flatly at him. After a moment, Jonny spoke up: "well, I was thinking we play blackjack for it. Whoever gets the lowest hand drinks. If you bust…"

"You get 'busted.' Nice!" Brennan guffawed. Orville rolled his eyes again.

"Fine. Set up the cards, then."

Ten minutes later they had set up a card table, gotten together a few chairs, rolled out the potato chips (no soda, naturally) and had already dealt out the initial cards for what would prove to be the highest staked game of blackjack any of them had played so far. Jonny glanced down at his cards – a Five and a Deuce. An interesting start.

Satisfied, he glanced around the table to for the others' varied reactions. Jose – who had been dealer – was sitting to Jonny's left and wore a look of nervous focus. Orville, to Jose's left - which meant he would be drawing first – looked impassive as usual, but at least looked mildly unsure (Jonny wasn't sure what he was worried about, Orville never lost at cards. Ever).

Meanwhile, Brennan was grinning at them with an unsettlingly anticipatory look. With a laugh, he turned over his two cards: the Jack and Ace of Spades. Or in other words, a textbook blackjack – meaning he was safe for this round.

Orville snorted. "Typical."

It was his turn, so he took another look at his cards. "Hit me," he murmured. Jose gave him another card – Eight. Orville stared at this for a short while, his brain wheeling through some quick deliberations while the others stared in avid suspence. After a long moment, he said "hit me" again. Jose gave him another card: Five. With that he smirked and turned his cards over: Six, Ace, Eight, Five – 20 in total. It wasn't perfect, but it was going to be a touch hand to beat.

Since Brennan was already safe, the game and the others' attention turned to Jonny. He didn't hesitate: he shouted with every ounce of cockiness he had. "Hit me, bro!" Jose grinned and flipped a card over to him – Ten. And just like that Jonny froze, all confidence seeping out of him. 17. Not good. It was high enough that he was more likely to bust – literally – than get a better hand, but just below a position where he could be definitively safe. If he stayed like that, Jose could very well outdo him. But if he went ahead he might clinch his loss, and despite all he said he had never actually really though about taking the soda himself…

With a very obvious gulp, he indicated that he would stay and turned over his cards. The others, especially Brennan (who still hadn't wiped that look off his face), scoffed.

"Seventeen, huh?" Jose said amusedly, "I can beat that, I think. Let me just hit myself…" He turned over the next card – the Queen of Hearts – and suddenly it was his turn to freeze. "Oh… oh crap. Man…"

Brennan's grin got even wider. "Don't leave us all in suspense!"

With a long, aggravated sigh Jose turned over his cards and clutched the bridge of his nose in resignation: Three, Nine and Queen. Or in other words, 22. He had busted out.

Brennan laughed out loud. "Maybe 'man' wasn't an appropriate response, huh?"

Jonny breathed a sigh of relief. "Sorry, Jose. A deal's a deal." He reached into the case for a can of soda and poured half of it into a cup. "Bottom's up," he said, passing the cup to his friend.

Jose looked blankly (if uneasily) at the cup for a long moment, then took a deep breach and downed the whole thing in one swig. A moment passed as they all waited to see what would happen.

"Well?" Orville said in concern. "How do you feel."

Jose opened his mouth to talk, but immediately closed it. A look of surprise came over his face, and the others were starting to see why. Though the changes were slow at first, they were still immediately obvious: it looked like he was sitting slightly lower in the chair, and his short, combed hair was starting to lengthen down his neck. Plus, his face was starting to look slightly different: rounder, softer… especially his lips.

Before things could progress any further, Jose hurtled out of his chair looked slightly queasy. "I'll be right back!" He shouted – with a noticeably lighter sounding voice – and he rushed off towards the bathroom, obviously not wanting the others to see his transformation. After a few steps he tripped, from what the others guessed was a sudden change in balance due to changing proportions – though it looked kind of like his trousers were fusing together.

His eyes widened further as he landed on his backside and felt himself land on something a lot more padded than usual (which, as Brennan was happy to point out later, was readily obvious as he stood up). As he got to his feet the others thought they noticed other parts of his clothing shifting slightly, but before they could see anything other than his gait swaying slightly he rushed out into the hallway.

There was a long, stunned silence as the others once again processed what they just saw, which was thankfully eventually broken by Orville.

"So…" He mused, no longer feeling the need for proof. "That stuff changes clothes too, does it?"

It was the kind of statement that only served to point out that an awkward silence was going on, but Jonny was happy for it anyway. "Yeah. Convenient, huh…?"

"Yeah…"

The silence returned for a long while, until the soft sound of a throat clearing came from the door to the hallway and turned the others to attention.

From around the corner walked a young woman that, if they didn't already know better, none of them would ever have thought had been a man a few minutes before: she was a shapely brunette with long, curly hair and the face of an angel – the change had even lengthened her eyelashes. She had been put into a long, elegant dress – clearly the remains of Jose's formal clothing – and around her neck she a gold necklace: Jose must have been wearing some kind of chain under his shirt.

The others were once again stunned, even Jonny. Before she thought they would react she shouted in a soft but curt voice. "Don't-"

Brennan cut her off with a wolf whistle and subsequent chortling laughter. The others rolled their eyes.

"- laugh…" she groaned.

With a sigh, she walked uneasily back over to the table, in a very strange way. It was as though she was used to walking in the short heels she now wore, but wasn't used to being used to walking in them. She looked quite relieved when she made it back to her seat next to Orville and

"How do you feel?" Orville ventured, as she still looked somewhat shocked. She dazedly put a small hand to her face, as though still surprised at what she felt. After a moment, she noticed the others were watching her for a reaction… except Brennan who was busy staring at chest, which while not too big was still noticeable, especially in the dress she was wearing.

She reached up and instinctively swept her hair out of her face. "I… uh… it's weird. That's all."

Brennan smirked, "well I gotta say Jose-"

"Jade," she corrected… then put her hand back up to her mouth in surprise at what she just said.

"Man," Orville gawked. "This stuff is thorough. You sure we should be-"

"As I was saying!" Brennan cut him off. "You came out even hotter than Jonny's brother, 'Jade.'" He laughed treacherously. "I think I-"

Seeing what was coming and not liking it one bit, Jade jumped up and threw her arms around Jonny's neck in a panic. "I-call-dibs-on-Jonny!" she said in one breath. Jonny, meanwhile, was at a loss for words – in part because her chest was pushing directly into his side.

Orville smacked his forehead, knowing what this left him with. Meanwhile Brennan looked furious. "Only if he doesn't lose the next round, isn't that right Janey?" He sneered the last words out, but Jonny only rose to the challenge – to heck with Brennan, now he had incentive.

"You're on, Bridget. Personally I think being a woman for a while would be a good character building experience for you."

Orville sighed. Brennan scowled. Jade laughed. Jonny smirked. And they set up the cards again for the next round...