The Witch's Ichor

Back To School [10]

Ryker's last few mornings felt like roller coaster rides. This one feels depressingly ordinary. No strange new body parts. No weird feminizing shenanigans. No magic.

He woke up from a nightmare he can't recall, and now he's sitting up in bed with a blank look on his somewhat squarish features. His phone dings. He checks it, and sees its a message in the group chat.

Jamison: Hey Ryker, are you staying home today?

Ryker: Oh shoot. I totally forgot to tell you guys last night!

Theo: Tell us what

Ryker: My mom and I visited the witch and she fixed me.

Derek's taking his time typing out a message. Ryker shrugs, getting up to get dressed. He absentmindedly puts on a dirty shirt adorned with a video game logo, and some baggy jeans. He grabs a hoodie off his closet floor.

The sight of his old self in the mirror is conflicting. Ryker pushes down the bad feelings, and gives himself a thumbs up in the mirror. His phone buzzes. He quickly checks it.

Derek: What do you mean she "fixed" you???

Ryker: I'm back to normal now. No tits or whatever lol

Ryker: Good as new

Ryker grabs his backpack off the floor and makes his way downstairs. The smell of french toast has him drooling by the time he takes a seat at the dining table. Ryker's mother is grabbing her coffee when she turns to see him.

"Morning, honey! How'd you sleep?" She asks.

"Fine." Ryker lies.

The soft peck of his mother's lips on his forehead barely registers as he looks down at the plate of french toast she's just served him. She walks to the door while Ryker starts pushing forkfuls of french toast into his mouth.

"Oh, your father and I are having a date tonight! You'll have the house to yourself." Ryker's mother announces.

Ryker gives her a nod of understanding while chewing his food. She waves goodbye and shuts the door behind her. The faint sound of the car's ignition mixes with the sound of Ryker's fork scraping his plate. Ryker mechanically shoves the food on his plate into his mouth. Another notification interrupts his robotic motions.

Jamison: Ryker could you meet us in the courtyard?

Ryker: Sure

Ryker puts his dirtied dishes into the sink, and picks up his backpack. He walks stiffly out the door, heading to school.

~

Jamison's height always makes him stick out in a crowd. The tall boy could do without the attention, but the view is nice. His dark eyes scan the courtyard for any sign of Ryker.

"Do you think he really did it?" Derek mumbles.

Derek is seated on the concrete wall beside Jamison. Derek is wearing his usual tank top and shorts combo, but he's not his usual self. The boy is feeling guilty about Sunday, but wonders if Ryker will even want an apology if he's back to his old self.

"He must have. There's no way he'd lie about it." Jamison replies.

"I think Derek is worried Ryker is... deluding himself." Theo says clinically.

Theo is sitting on the wall beside Derek. The bespectacled boy is busy filling out a supplementary worksheet for his chemistry class.

Jamison finally spots a familiar face. Ryker's appearance almost feels nostalgic as Jamison watches him approach them. Ryker's wearing some of his old ratty clothes, and is back to being square and tall.