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Flu Season - TG
By ThatGuy

Donny woke with a big yawn and a very satisfying stretch. That had been a really good night’s sleep. No dreams, at least none that he could remember, but he could hardly remember feeling so rested. Already, this felt like maybe it was going to be a pretty cool day. He rose up out of the covers with a huge grin… that slowly slid off his face as he pulled himself up.

Something felt off. He was off balance, and his chest felt… heavy. With a pained grimace, he glanced down and groaned. Just as he feared: boobs. “Oh, perfect,” he grumbled, not even needing to hear the alien softness of his voice to know what was going on. No wonder he had slept so well.

Flu season. So much for this being a “pretty cool day.”

Sounding much like a beaten-down tractor, he threw himself back down into the covers, and decided on a do over. After a few moments, “Donnie” rose with an annoyed grunt. The restful feeling had obviously been a lie. Today was going to suck.

She pulled herself out of bed with a scowl and plodded towards her closet, to the small corner drawer that went mostly unused for the last year. It might as well have been filled with torture devices, as far as she was concerned, and she was not at all happy to be opening it up again.

On most days she liked to sleep without a shirt, that is when she was blissfully flat chested, but unfortunately this was flu season. She would have to cover up for the next few days at least, plus to keep her chest from driving her crazy at night. Even though would inevitably get more… comfortable, for lack of a better word… as the days went by and her brain acclimated to the drastic change she had experienced, right now she really hated bras.

At least she had been prepared this time. Just for the sake of it, she tried on one of her bras from last year. Too tight, of course, though more due to natural growth than… other factors, or at least she hoped. It had been a long time, after all.

Somehow the ones her family had bought after last year’s fiasco, which she didn't want to think about at all, were satisfactory as a replacement. She could at least go to school with them without any awkward incidents that made her want to crawl under the bleachers and die. Not bad for someone who at the time was a boy guessing a girl’s size almost a year in advance. She almost felt proud.

The rest of the morning routine went by quick. Someone kept slipping low cut tops and lacy slips and tight dress skirts into her room, but it made Donnie oddly happy to say she easily tossed all that aside. And if that certain someone was rude enough to ask whether she did or didn’t have any urge to try them on, they wouldn’t be getting an answer. On autopilot, she instead went for the simple tee, jeans and sneaker combo. There. Ready.

She looked at herself in the mirror to see how different she was now. The girls thankfully didn’t seem too big this year, she thought. More buxom than she was completely comfortable with, naturally, but not over the top. She was glad to know some things weren't genetic yet.

There were regular, non-flu ridden girls in her school curvier than her, though she had did have reason to expect that could change by next year. The thought used to make her nervous. Deep down, she supposed it still did. At the moment, though, it just annoyed her. But it was a relief to know that in the present, she was who and where she was. She looked like a normal girl, or at least a normal guy who had a normal run in with a normal, magical gender changing flu strain, and that’s the way she liked it. She refused to let this condition mess with her life just yet.

There were a lot of big things she would need to get used to down the line, and not just when it came to possible measurements. But she did not want to be dragged down by those thoughts today. Instead she threw open her bedroom door and marched out to face the cruel world, and take the metaphorical bull by the horns…

BOOMPH!

“Mornin’ sis!”

… but she hit the metaphorical cow in the udder instead.

Okay, that was a mean thought and she knew it. But who could blame her for being annoyed? It wasn’t hard to think about exactly the stuff she didn’t want to, not with her “sister” and her “funbags of destiny” there to keep her worries fresh.

Elaine had also caught the TG-Flu this year, big surprise. Usually, she went by Elias. Since Donny had lived with his big brother for years, you would think he would be used to this sort of thing by now, but the dramatic change that his beloved sibling showed was to this day both astounding and kind of terrifying. The walking makeup commercial who swept through their home at least once a year was nothing like the reserved, smart-alecky guardian that lived there the rest of the time, and a constant reminder that there was more than just the Flu to worry about where this family was concerned.

The truth was, Donnie - or Donovan - didn’t actually have the normal TG-Flu. He never did. At least not in the same way whatever other unlucky students in her class surely would. It manifested as the TG Flu, at least for now, but she didn’t have to go to the doctor to know that what was really stewing in her veins was pure, 100% Bimbo Virus.

It was some genetic thing. Her family was not only especially susceptible to the gender changing bug, but once in their system the Flu instantly mutated into its far less… modest… form. Everyone else got to enjoy a less than a thousand in one chance of catching the Bimbo Virus. Donny should be so lucky.

His brother had caught it every year without exception since he was fifteen. He was out of grad-school and in the world now, but thoughts like that never deterred Elaine. Donny never could understand it, but they never even bothered Elias either. Donny wasn’t so careless

Just as usual, Elaine was irrepressibly bright and perky this morning. She looked down at her little sister, who was still mashed indignantly between her tits, and pouted childishly. “Aww, you’re still so… blah!” She sighed. “I was hoping you’d be a little looser this year, like me!”

Donnie grumbled something sarcastic, but the word was muffled under all that padding. Internally, she cursed the fact that her current form left her unable to fully “appreciate” it. Not that she would have, this was still her sister after all, but the only twinge she could feel at all right now was annoyance. And maybe a bit of envy in between all the dread, which was something she really didn’t want to think about.

The full effects of the enhanced Virus only manifests in people over a certain age bracket, which Donnie had been skirting, no pun intended, for the last couple of years. There had been a very real chance for her to take the full bimbo hammer this year. Donny was almost expecting it. Luckily, she caught another break. Or mostly, at least.

Elaine didn’t hear or care about her sarcasm, of course, but her mood hopped from disappointed to excited instantly. “But it’s still so great that you finally caught it! Best bug in the world, right?” She threw her arms around Donnie and hopped up and down, squealing, which only pushed the pissed off teenager even deeper into her chest. “We should totally go out this weekend! We can finally match, right?”

Match? Donnie didn’t want to know what she had in mind. Elaine was currently wearing half of a very conservative business suit, a little tight on her figure but not anything too dramatic, but Donnie knew all about the horror show of lacy dresses, sexy swimsuits and risqué underwear that her sister had hidden away on standby, ready to stuff her into one of these years.

Nothing made Donnie happier than the fact that she neither needed nor wanted her sister’s advice on what to wear. There was no way they were going to “match” for any amount of time, let alone a whole weekend.

“Sorry, bro. I think I’m busy!” She said, too fast for Elaine to respond while trying to push her way around the older woman. She always called her older sibling “bro” no matter what to keep her own mind straight, even though it felt increasingly weird to say while they were both changed. “Maybe some other day, like a week from now. Or a month!” One or both of them would probably have had the Virus pass by then.

Elaine shrugged. “It’s guess, but I could’ve used the pick me up. I was planning this big meeting way before I caught the Flu this year, and now I’m sooo worried I’m gonna mess it up!” She pretended to faint against the doorframe, sighing dramatically. “Like, can you imagine how many papers I had to look at yesterday? Ugh… all the guys are being such jerks about it, too!”

Donnie rolled her eyes. She seriously doubted that was going to be a problem. Elaine was probably going to nail that presentation with flying colors, even if she was liable to act like a flighty little space case all day.

People always thought people with Bimbo Virus were complete morons, but Donnie knew better from experience. Contrary to popular belief, the Bimbo Virus didn’t usually make people who had it stupider, just for lack of a better word… ditzier. And Elaine was a perfect example. She was a dynamo when she got going, no less capable than Elias was. And while her coworkers were being “jerks” Donnie was sharp enough to know they weren’t stopping her for a reason.

In fact, she would probably do even better Elias, actually, given the slimy brand of men her sibling would usually pitch these presentations to. Donnie was more worried about her making it through the inevitable afterparty without one of her rat coworkers making a move than she was about screwing up her job. Though given her sister’s lack of concern for chastity even in even her more lucid moments - her brother, again, was long used to this to the point where even he didn’t care - Donnie was probably the only one who would be worried.

Donnie made a mental note to see if any of her trustworthy friends were willing to let her sleep over, just in case Elaine came back with a “guest.” She really didn’t want to bump into that shitshow again. Or the part after when Elaine would try to give her tips… ugh. The regular TG-Flu wasn’t without its mental affects - sometimes very dramatic, at that - but she was not looking forward to acting like something out of a men’s deodorant commercial 24/7.

“I’m sure it’ll all work out…” she said evasively. “Anywho, gotta go to school now. Gonna be late. Bye, bro. Have fun with the whole walking stereotype thing.”

She finally squeezed around Elaine and ran for the front door. It wasn’t that she wanted to be rude, but she really had to get out of that conversation. She quickly grabbed her sneakers and the largest hoodie she owned as Donny from the coat rack and rushed outside, before any other awkward topics could come up. She heard Elaine calling out from the hallway as she left. “Don’t knock it ’til you’ve tried it, sis!”

That and a giggle. What an airhead…

——

The ride to school was pretty uneventful, thankfully. She knew what was coming, and she had no interest in getting it started early. So she drew her hoodie up and hoped its large size would keep anyone from recognizing her. It being a boys hoodie and way too big for her would have them peg her for a TG-Flu case right away, but everyone was used to that. She got a few curious looks heading to her seat, but nothing too major yet.

Still, she wanted to get to her seat as fast as possible. She scanned the bus and quickly found a seat next to a casual looking brown-skinned student who was busy listening to music - her seat, she thought with a sigh of relief. She strode over quick and plopped down, but as soon as she did the boy whirled on her. “Hey, that seat’s taken!”

Donnie didn’t respond. She turned turned and stared the boy straight in the eye with one brow raised, waiting. He searched her face for a second, and then his eyes widened in recognition, and his scowl fell. “O-oh! Donny! I mean… Donnie, I guess.”

The boy, whose name was Hasan, popped the headphones out of his ears and banged the seat behind them. “Hey guys, Donnie’s here!” He said. “And she looks… uh…” Donnie could help but notice with a bit of irritation the way his eyes very quickly popped down to her chest, then awkwardly back up to her eyes. But at least he didn’t do it again. The annoying part was more that he didn’t look surprised. “… bigger.”

Evelyn, another one of their friends, popped her head out of the seat behind them, along with her boyfriend Eric. As soon as she saw Donnie, she nodded appreciatively. “All right, girl! You look even cuter than last year! And hey!” She rolled up a piece of paper and threw it at Hasan’s head. “Don’t you know it’s rude to talk about the size of a girl’s breasts? Even one who’s only a girl for, like, a week or two.”

“I’m pretty sure she doesn’t count,” Hasan grumbled.

Donnie scowled, though she knew it was just jokes. Hasan was her closest friend in the world, and the other two weren’t far behind. “Ha. Ha.” She groaned. “I see you guys have gone unscathed.”

“And I see you still haven’t gotten the complete bimbo package,” Evelyn grinned. “if you’re going around using words like ‘unscathed.’”

“Can you blame us for having decent immune systems?” Hasan said smugly. Donnie shoved him, and Evelyn tossed another paper ball at him, but Eric nodded in agreement. “Take more multivitamins, dude.”

“I’m sure she prefers to go by ‘dudette’ now,” Evelyn snickered, nudging Donnie hard in the ribs.

Donnie sighed. “Please don’t. I just want to get through this day are painlessly as possible.”

“Then you should’ve stayed home,” Hasan joked. “You could always have come over to my house to watch my sisters. They’re sick today too, with a regular old cold. And they’re going through a serious pink phase.” He nudged her in the ribs. “You’d love it.”

She punched him in the shoulder. “Just because I’ve got the Bimbo Virus doesn’t mean I like pink, idiot.”

“Really?” Hasan and Evelyn said at the same time, while Eric laughed. “I thought it was your favorite color!”

Donnie snorted, and after a moment she joined in the laughter. “Thanks, I needed that. Hopefully, the rest of the school day will be as fun as the ride over there.”

The others looked skeptical, and frankly Donnie knew better than to actually believe she’d have anything like an actual painless day, but she appreciated the way they didn’t try to burst her tiny bubble. “Hey,” Hasan said lightly. “It’s Flu season. Anything’s possible…”

They arrived at school soon after, and Donnie was happy to see that she wasn’t the only one walking up the steps in a very different body from the one they last left with. Was that Neville Timonson coming up the street with hair down to her waist? Or Stacey Cotton rubbing a scraggly looking beard? It was a good thing Hasan or Donny hadn’t gone through with asking her out last week, though in another weird thought Donnie supposed she technically could have kept the date.

Percy Rayburn from the football team, who caught the bug last week, was standing at the door in a girls’ spirit sweater handing out flu season awareness packets. It almost felt normal.

But then, those were all regular TG-Flu cases. None of them had to deal with what she had, or the fact that everyone knew she had it. Sicily Frasier, who had missed the flu bug this year, gave her a very ugly look as she passed by. A preview of things to come, most likely.

She felt a pat on her back, and gave Hasan and the others a quick smile. She wouldn’t get this over with by standing out here. And though she didn’t need it, she even got one of those packets from Percy. And complimented her on the way her skirt matched, just to be friendly.

Inside, things were a lot less friendly. There were posters everywhere from the faculty. A “IT’S FLU SEASON, TREAT IT LIKE AN EXPERIENCE!” poster here. Or a “STUCK IN AN UNFAMILIAR BODY? SEE THE NURSE IMMEDIATELY!” poster there. She even spotted one that said “UNEXPECTED FEELINGS FOR SOMEONE YOU KNOW? NOT UNCOMMON IN FLU SEASON! VISIT YOUR COUNSELOR!” It was mostly tripe.

Everyone who knew Donny well enough as a guy either snickered upon seeing her, stared at her chest, or hooted and hollered as she passed by. And it got worse once she hit homeroom, thanks to the most obnoxious person in the whole school. Carter St. Carter, whose parents deserved to be kicked in the teeth for a number of reasons, practically exploded when she walked in the door. He mimed groping in front of him, and he was actually drooling from the mouth. “Ohoho, please tell me I’m lookin’ at a grade A bimbo this year!”

“I’m not, thanks for asking,” she said coldly.

He laughed and turned to his friends, who gave him a thumbs up. “Psh, yeah right.” He said, and went back to “whispering” immature jokes loud enough for the class to hear. He stared directly at her ass as she went to her seat, which was way too close to that slime ball for comfort. But thankfully, Hasan was right beside her and Evelyn and Eric right behind.

They knew it would bother Donnie more if they jumped to her defense, so instead they gave him a few serious glares to shut him up. But she just kept her eyes straight. She didn’t want to be this way, and she wasn’t going to let him make it worse.

The teacher, Mrs. Alvers, entered not long after, and Carter shut up for now. Unfortunately, since it was flu season and several of her students were under the disease’s effects, Donnie knew she would be obligated to say something about it. It was always one of Donnie’s least favorite parts of the season.

“As you should know by now class,” she started, softly and carefully, “the school is currently undergoing an outbreak of influenza di sexus mutatio, or as it’s more commonly known genderfluenza, or the TG Flu. This is a viral infection just the influenza virus, but instead of normal flu-like symptoms, this disease will cause tiredness and aching, followed by a complete and sometimes quite rapid restructuring of the body into a fully functioning member of the opposite sex.”

Those six students all sighed. Some of the others looked uncomfortable. Donnie knew the feeling.

“It is important to know that this transformation, though dramatic and strange, is something we are well equipped to help you through, and most importantly is temporary in all but the most rare of cases. The virus is highly contagious, but only within the twenty four hours of infection. That said, it is considered an acceptable risk for students to be around those carrying the disease, so there will be no break in classes. You’ll all be fine in a few weeks.”

“So, what?” Said Neville Timonson in the first row, as she miserably stared down at her own boobs. “You guys think this isn’t going to affect our schoolwork? Really?”

“Yes really, Miss Timonson,” Mrs. Alvers said sharply, as Neville winced at being called “miss.” “The TG-Flu can have a wide range of mental affects, but you should have the basic level of comfort and mannerisms to live naturally as your current sex, or at least will settle into it in the next few days. Some of you might find yourself naturally acting more like the boys and girls you know or have seen on television than you expected to. These come from your own subconscious, as the virus influences your behavior and personality based on how you perceive the opposite sex.”

“Wait,” Neville cried. “So I’m gonna start playing with dolls?”

The class laughed, including Mrs. Alvers. “If that’s really how you deep down believe young women your age behave, which you shouldn’t, then it’s possible. I doubt it, but it can happen. But the most important thing to remember is the way the shift in hormones will affect your sexual desires. Put simply, you should expect to ‘flip,’ with your sexual orientation staying the same. Whatever you were, you still will be. Just with... an opposite target.” She stared seriously at them. “And I must remind you that due to those of you with the virus being fully functioning members of your current sex, that can and does result in very serious consequences if you’re not careful.”

Everyone who had the bug for the first time, at least those who hadn’t realized this already, froze in their seats. Most of them turned nervously to members of the sex they previously were, or the same sex they now were, to prove whether Mrs. Alvers was right. Most then quickly turned away with red faces. The ones who were currently dating someone who hadn’t also caught the flu looked guilty, and their boyfriends and girlfriends tried to hide their offense. Carter St. Carter laughed.

Donnie shrugged. She had to learn to deal with that a long time ago, especially since what she felt was undoubtedly a hell of a lot stronger than what anyone else was. She didn’t like the excuse to let her mind wander about her former sex. Especially not the way any of the boys looked in their…

Nope! Just as she thought, a bad idea. So instead she threw those thoughts in the incinerator and patiently waited for Mrs. Alvers to continue.

“Over the next few weeks you may experience this change, but know what we’re here to help you,” she said. “That includes those who deal with some of its variant changes, most appropriately for us the BV strain, otherwise known as the Bimbo Virus. I hope some of you have done some study in your free time.”

Everyone looked at her. Even the teacher. And Carter looked like he was about to fall on the floor. This always happened. Whenever the topic of the virus came up, she was the one everyone wanted to talk to. It was infuriating. She did know all about it, for obvious reasons. But that didn’t mean it was fair to make her go through this every single time.

But she sighed and got on with it. She raised her hand, but she knew it was pointless. “The Bimbo Virus is believed to be the result of a failed attempt to cure or otherwise manipulate the TG-Flu,” she said dully. She could recite this information in her sleep. “But instead, it only ended up mixing it with various additional affects. It’s more contagious, but over a shorter period, and is generally assumed to be a far more magical disease rather than a biological one due to its many specific personality effects. These exaggerate stereotypical ‘feminine’ or ‘masculine’ traits in victims regardless of their subconscious, and in addition victims exhibit dulled inhibitions, impulsive behavior, and most famously an exaggerated l-libido.” She winced, already hearing the jokes coming. “This makes victims more adventurous, and regarded as… er…”

“Randy?” Carter stage-whispered.

The students around him all laughed. Donnie threw one of her pencils at him. The teacher didn’t react to his outburst, but she also pretended not to notice her counterattack, so Donnie supposed it balanced out.

Trying to look like she wasn’t too pissed off, she kept on going. “However,” she said sharply, with a sneer in Carter’s direction, “despite the perception of the ignorant, the lack of inhibition that comes with the disease is universal, and doesn’t specifically make victims fixated on s-sex. In addition, they gain an almost… er…” she winced as she thought about her the next few words. More things that made her really nervous about the future. “… an almost childlike exuberance and naivete. Victims of the Bimbo Virus can and do typically lead lives similar to their normal routine, but will often pursue passing desires or whims with great distraction, little reservation or self-consciousness, and with a reduced care for the consequences of their actions.”

“Well memorized and rehearsed, Ms. Miller, but true enough,” Mrs. Alvers said curtly. “Your, shall we say, ‘experience’ in this matter is well appreciated. And we should all try to be sensitive to that experience, shouldn’t we?” She added with a sharp look at the rest of the class, particularly Carter.

Donnie didn’t care for the attempt at sympathy. “I’d appreciate it more if you just left me alone and didn’t put me on the spot every single time…” She grumbled under her breath.

“But I don’t get it.” One of Carter’s friends said, scratching his head. Donnie frowned, knowing he was probably only setting up for another joke. “‘Little reservation or self-consciousness?’ What does that mean?”

Sure enough… “It means Donnie’ll probably hit the bleachers the moment you start eyeing up those tits!” Carter shouted.

The entire class erupted this time, twice as loud as before, and Donnie gripped the desk tightly to keep herself from exploding. Her breasts weren’t even that big, damn it! Sicily Frasier still beat her out, for heaven’s sake! But she couldn’t say that out loud. It got more like this every year, and she knew that would just encourage them. She half wished those damn effects she had just explained would kick in just so she wouldn’t get so upset about these things. She could just giggle all this crap away like Elaine does.

Envying her sister, wasn’t that a terrifying thought?

Luckily, this time the teacher actually said something. “That’s enough, Mr. St. Carter! That kind of talk is absolutely unacceptable! To the counselor’s office!”

Carter shrugged. He swaggered out the classroom without a care, and blew Donnie a kiss as he passed her desk. To keep from punching him in the face, she gripped her desk so hard she actually left scratch marks. She had to drown out the next few minutes of Mrs. Alvers explaining more about her virus as she got herself under control: yes, it was highly contagious, but only during the first couple of days. Yes, girls could catch it too, and they might stay female or change into boys just like the regular flu. No, the Bimbo Virus is not an excuse to get out of the next week of classes, with the sole exception of the contagious period in extreme cases.

Etcetera, etcetera. The same old stuff.

The rest of the lesson was uneventful, except for when Jun Ushima started feeling the affects of the TG-Flu in the middle of class. Nothing much. He sneezed, and suddenly the front of his shirt popped right open. He ran for the nurse covering his chest, and that was that. Though a few people in class turned to look at Donnie with accusing eyes. As if she could have had anything do with it!

But she let it go. She was used to it. In fact, nothing really got to her until after class dismissed for lunch, when Sicily Frasier tried to corner her in the hallway. The dolled up alpha and her posse suddenly surrounded Donnie and crowded her against a locker. Sicily jabbed a finger trying to seem intimidating, and hissed at her. “I’ll say it in slow words so you’ll get it, you air headed little tramp.” She scoffed. “I’ll admit you’re kinda cute as a guy, but I don’t want you nosing around my boyfriend now. Bad enough we have to look at all that for the next week.”

"You and me both, bitch." Donnie bit back the response, as well as the urge to insist - again - that she hadn’t actually turned into a bimbo and certainly wasn’t interested in “nosing around” with anyone. Sicily’s boyfriend was one of Donny’s mates on the basketball team, and a very good friend. They hadn’t met up yet that day, but she wasn’t about to not chat with someone she talked to all the time just because this idiot was being insecure and judgmental. But she also wasn’t about to prove that the insults were getting to her.

They were getting to her, just a little bit. She just didn’t want to prove it. The nerve of this top heavy bitch, calling her a tramp and trying to tell her who to talk to! “Trust me, Sicily,” she sneered. “I have no intention of making out with anyone who’d pick you to step out with.”

A wave of oohs and laughter came from those who were listening in, while the other girls with Sicily gasped as though someone had announced the end of the world. Sicily herself seemed too offended for words, and just stared at her like a fish as Donnie pushed away. She didn’t care beyond that. Idiots like that didn’t really deserve her attention. Though she did accept a hi-five from Hasan on the way to the lunchroom. She could hardly believe thay she, as Donny, had actually had a thing for Sicily before flu season. Half the boys in class did, but that was no excuse…

However, while she didn’t claim to care, she did get some cruel happiness overhearing that her friend had broken up with Sicily over the whole incident. Maybe she was the better catch after all.

Lunch was boring. She talked with Hasan, Evelyn and Eric like she did every day, but she could tell everyone else was talking about her. Some guys walked up to her, asking if she’d give them a kiss so they could get the next couple of days off. They were wearing their lunches now. She knew how crazy the Virus could be, but the TG-Flu had a ton of its own wacko mental effects too. Why was she the only one people thought was going to go into a boy crazy stupor, and not any of the other ex-guys who came in claiming to be their old selves while sporting daisy dukes and hanging all on the arms of their old friends? Typical.

Jun was back when they returned to class, sporting a poorly fitting blouse from the lost and found and looking embarrassed. But that was the only highlight until school was dismissed for real at the end of the day. Donnie felt nothing but relief as they left the building. One day down, only seven-to-eight days minimum left to go.

She needed a pick me up, badly. “Want to come by my place?” She asked the others. “My sister will be out all day, and it’d be nice to have something to help pass the time.”

Something suddenly smacked her on the behind, and she saw Carter St. Carter run past. “You can always have me, hot stuff!” He shouted. He was gone before she or Evelyn could throttle him, lucky for him. Hasan and Eric didn’t like to get their hands dirty, but even they were willing to make an exception. It was really too bad, giving him his just desserts would have really killed her bad mood.

——

At least getting everyone together made her feel better. Even just chilling in her living room with her friends was enough to put a smile on Donnie’s face. So she, Hasan, Evelyn and Eric all kicked back, popped in a few video games and relaxed, letting the stress of the day melt off.

After a little while, Donnie offered to liven things up with a new game that her brother bought a few weeks earlier, before the season. It was like combination rhythm game and karaoke. One player had a guitar and did the vocals, the other did the drums and hit the rhythm. The two brothers played it all the time, and it was already one of Donny’s favorites. Granted, she hadn’t played it as Donnie, but that just meant she could take the womens’ vocals as well as the mens.

The others were all for it, and they quickly split up: she and Hasan vs the couple, since no one was splitting up Evelyn and Eric. She got the guitar and the mike, and Hasan took the drums.

It was as much a blast as a girl as it had been as a guy. Finally, something fun! No idiot chauvinist boys to worry about. No idiot insecure girls to worry about. No brain-addled sisters to watch out for. No terrifying future looming over the horizon to shudder over. Just some good, actual fun.

At first, she just sang along. She thought maybe she would dance, just a bit. And soon she was going wild and crazy, swaying back and forth and she pranced across the room, hitting the high notes and nailing all those husky tones. At some point, she stopped playing and started performing. She spun. She jerked. She whopped and hollered and rode her guitar like a horse, and pulled the others into it whenever she could. Those two would feel it when she took a round from them! And so would Hasan, because he was the best! Everything else faded away but the game, the music and winning again and again and again.

In other words, she was having the time of her life! She already loved this game, but she couldn’t remember ever enjoying it this much! And finally, when the dust cleared, the points were tallied up. Donnie and Hasan took it by a landslide. Six games to two!

“Woo! We won!” She squealed, jumping a foot in the air. She slid around the room with an elaborate victory dance - shaking her behind, hopping up and down, and then capping it off with something very sudden. On a whim, she rushed to Hasan, grabbed him roughly by the collar and kissed him full on the lips. For several seconds. Then, without a care, she tossed him back onto the couch and kept on cheering. “Good boy, my dude! Yeah!”

She kept dancing like that for a few more seconds, before slowly noticing that nobody else was joining in.

“What? What are you all staring at?” She looked down at Hasan, who looked like he’d been hit in the head with a brick, and suddenly it sunk it. “Oh. Oh, crap…”

What did she just do? How did she get that caught up in the moment? Damn this stupid virus. Now she’d made this whole thing awkward, this was another thing she wouldn’t be able to do until it wore off, and Hasan would be uncomfortable around her even when she was Donny again - no, especially when she was Donny again - and…

… wait, they were laughing?

Thank the lord, they were laughing! She nervously chuckled along just to move things along, red as a tomato. But then she shrugged and joined in completely, waving off her total lapse in self control like it was just a stupid mistake,

“I guess ‘gamer bimbo’ is a step up from those walking sex-dolls you hear about on the internet,” Evelyn said, once she stopped holding her sides.

Donnie winced at the thought, but kept laughing all the same. But she couldn’t totally stop feeling nervous just talking about it. “I don’t think those actually exist,” she corrected. “it’s just horror stories and exaggerations.”

“Wishful thinking?”

Donnie threw a pillow at Evelyn for that. Missed, though. “Nah. Trust me, I’ve done my research. Even Elaine doesn’t act that boy crazy.”

Her laughter died, and she turned to Hasan. She tried very hard to meet his eyes, and not look as mortified as she felt. “I’m sorry, by the way. I’m not really into you or anything.” This was partially a lie, but only in the simple sense that her friend looked a lot better to her through a girl’s eyes than he did normally. But that was normal TG-Flu stuff. She really didn’t want Hasan thinking she was thirsty for him or anything. “I was just… excited.”

By sheer miracle, Hasan shrugged it away. “We could tell. I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but you’ve been getting hella wild this whole time.”

Donnie blinked. She hadn’t noticed. But the other two certainly had, because they both shouted “yes!”es and hoots and hollers at her.

“Did you see the way she winked at us when she won the first round?” Evelyn said, nudging her boyfriend. “I thought Eric was going to have to leave the room.”

Eric looked away and adjusted his pants, making the blushing start anew. He probably wasn’t serious, at least she hoped, but… “S-shut up.” She stammered, wanting nothing more in that moment than to go to her room and hide under the covers.

“It’s alright, we’re just having fun. New game?” Hasan handed her the controller. “Just keep your lips where I can see them.” He said, smiling… until he realized what he had just implied, and his face fell. “Wait! That… didn’t come out the way I wanted it to!”

“Oh, I know what you want!” Donnie shot back. She pumped her hips in his direction, this time on purpose, and entirely - well, mostly - as a joke. “I’ll let you have a nice long look at ‘em, pal!”

They all laughed again, and the moment was forgotten as the next song began.

But later that night, after all of her friends had gone home, she studied herself again in the mirror. She had changed a lot more than she thought she had, now that she was looking at it. Really looked at it. She walked back and forth, and noted the sway of her hips. Not just normally twist of the pelvis from a natural female frame, but something… alluring. She did it by herself, even sometimes when she was trying not to. For science, she let her mind wander about boys. Just in general. Not at all thinking about Hasan, she tried that friend from the basketball team and immediately had to start thinking of something less problematic. Had she really thought about how better she was for him than Sicily? She clearly remembered it now, but before it just… happened.

It wasn’t much, just a few traces, but it was noticeable. She had finally gotten the start of it this time. Which meant she was definitely going to change all the way next time she caught the virus. This was her last halfway normal flu season, probably for the rest of her life.

Her sister, who had come in way past dark after all, bounded up the stairs and found her sitting on her bed with the lights dimmed, staring off into space

At first, she didn’t notice Donnie’s obvious low spirits and barged in bright and sunny. “The presentation was a total success! We got the contract!” Donnie could imagine. She had obviously been partying. She was very disheveled, and her lipstick was smeared. “The celebration must’ve gone on for hours! Woo!”

“Congrats,” Donnie said coldly.

Elaine stared at her, and finally noticed the obvious. “Bad day?”

“No, the best!” Donnie said with fake cheer, that sounded more harsh than happy. “Soon I’ll be just as cheerful as you, and then I can have celebrations too!”

Elaine’s eyes shot wide, and her jaw dropped. Realizing she’d just made a scene, Donnie grunted and turned away. But to her surprise, her sister didn’t blissfully traipse off elsewhere to forget the conversation ever happened, like usual. Instead, she calmly walked into the room and sat down next to her.

She didn’t talk for a while, but just rested there. Finally, she spoke. “You gotta learn to enjoy life, sis.”

“I do enjoy life, bro!” Donnie hissed. “I happen to be a very exciting person. I just don’t enjoy being a… a…”

“Bimbo?” She said, smiling. Donnie looked away, but that didn’t stop her. “Look, I know you think I’m just silly.” She said. “A ditzy old airhead who says stuff you hate to hear. But… when I’m me, like, regular old Elias, how do you think I deal with this? It’s not by just, like, letting myself go once or twice a year and hating it the rest.” She laughed. “I’m not, like, a werewoof.”

“Werewolf.”

“So not the point.” She sighed. “I deal by trying to enjoying the experience. You can’t stop it, so you might as well let not let it stop you, y’know? Make it into an adventure!”

“You sound like my teachers. Or my textbooks.”

“They sound nice!” Elaine grinned. “When’s the last time I went to a parent teacher conference?”

Donnie imagined how any conference would go with Elaine still in her current state of mind, and cringed. “So I suppose I should be like you, and start making out with a roomful of slimy old businessmen.” She shot. “Carpe diem?”

Elaine rolled her eyes. “Please. I totally kept those boys in their place.” She breathed dreamily, and wiped her smeared lipstick away. “This was just some fun with one of the interns. He was so sweet, and a total hunk! We danced for so long. He even drove me home. He asked me out, of course, but who knows when I’m gonna turn back so I had to say no.”

This only proved Donnie’s point, so she didn’t say anything else. Sighing, Elaine got up and clapped her on the shoulder. “Just think about it,” she said as she left. “It does kinda suck sometimes, and we’re stuck with it, but you’re gonna do yourself no good kicking yourself over it.”

As she went to bed, Donnie did think about it.

And though it was mostly awful advice, she realized there was at least a bit of truth to it. She thought about her day. About how annoying and even sometimes infuriating it was. She thought about how unfair it was she had to be saddled with this virus in the first place. And then she thought about how every horrible moment was made better, because she still had something to enjoy. Her friends were there every moment of the day, at her side whenever something got her down. And maybe that would feel good, even when she was 100% bimbo some day.

She still was not okay with being like this, or with her future, she felt like maybe she could take it as long as she had someone by her side to keep her on track. Loads of people with the bimbo virus kept around someone to keep an eye on them, so why shouldn’t she? Not Elaine, though. That would just make things worse. Her friends would do.

——

The next morning, she felt a lot better than she had the day before. She knew part of it was simply her mind getting more comfortable with the transformation with time, but she hoped her thoughts the night before were a part of it. She did not, to her sister’s disappointment, wear the form fitting sweater that had mysteriously been laid out for her. Another simple shirt and jeans for her today. But she did leave the house with a spring in her step.

She was even almost looking forward to getting on the bus. She hopped on and right away looked around for her friends. She would need every bit of friendship she could get if today was anything like the day before, and she was kind of happy about it.

But that was odd. She couldn’t see them just from looking around, and usually they’d be someplace obvious. But she thought maybe they were way in the back.

There was one thing that was super visible, however, even if it made her nauseous. Carter St. Carter was there as usual, but he wasn’t quick with his usual perverted “joke” this morning. Instead he had himself wrapped around some new girl she didn’t recognize, pulling her down into the seat and sucking her mouth right off her face by the looks of it. The two of them were making no attempt to be discreet or keep a sight that disgusting out of the eyes of impressionable youngsters.

How any female would ever choose to make any contact with Carter was anyone’s guess, let alone lip contact, but Donnie wasn’t interested in socializing with anyone who would. She planned to step right on past them without engaging, but when she passed the girl’s head suddenly snapped away from Carter’s, with an audible pop, and she starting talking to her.

“Oh, hey girl! I was waiting for you!” She squealed. She instantly disentangled Carter’s roaming hands from the inside of her blouse and leapt up to give Donnie a very surprising hug. Donnie was very confused, because she was sure she had never met this girl before.

She was tan skinned, with a fashion sense that was very… pink. So pink that Donnie was pretty sure she would have remembered her just from that. Pink blouse. Pink skirt. Pink heels. It reminded her of the last time she babysat Hasan’s little sisters. She was kinda curvy, not quite on Donnie’s level in the chest department (a shame, she would have liked some competition to take the attention off), but with a defined hourglass nonetheless. If she was still Donovan, she might have thought she was pretty.

But let’s not forget this girl was also attracted to guys like Carter. Time to skip this conversation.

“Um… sure,” Donnie muttered. Then she awkwardly stepped away and tried to find a seat. Forget about finding the others for now, she just needed to sit down. But the girl just followed her!

Donnie slipped into a double seat and put her hand down next to her, hoping the girl would take the hint, but she just sat right down as happy as could be. This was just too far. “Um… this seat’s taken!” Donnie said, harshly.

The girl seemed to find this hilarious. But instead of responding, she just laughed and stared into Donnie’s eyes for a long moment.

Finally, Donnie caught on. “Oh, no… H-Hasan?”

It couldn’t be. The regular Flu she could take, but this? This clearly wasn’t just a normal case. She could have kicked herself. It was so obvious! She only changed a day and a half ago, she had to still be contagious when she kissed Hasan on the lips! How could she not have realized he would change? Thanks to her carelessness, she had infected her best friend with the Bimbo Virus!

The girl-Hasan laughed, in a way that sounded just like a cheerleader in one of those high school comedies. “Oh, call me Hasna! That’s what my mom said I should go by for now! It’s kinda pretty, right?” She flipped her hair behind her head and posed, with her fingers in a V shape. “I think it suits me!”

Fantastic. She’d turned her friend into a walking cliche. The Virus hit everyone differently, and while it hadn’t decided to give Donnie the full serving of mental effects this year, it clearly had no problems changing Hasan to the core. Donnie felt terrible. So much for sticking it out with her friends. She hadn’t even been able to keep them safe from herself.

“I’m sorry, Hasan… Hasna,” she corrected, when the other girl started to pout. “I didn’t mean to do this to you.”

“Nah, I think my sisters did this to me, really,” She laughed, looking down at her aggressively pink ensemble with fake disgust. “They love pink, like, waaay too much. Like, break the stereotype girls! I really need to go shopping, pronto.”

It was kind of a relief that she hadn’t dressed herself that way on purpose. “Focus, buddy,” Donnie said. “This is serious!”

“Really?” Hasan blinked. “I feel fine.”

Donnie groaned. She was used to this sort of thing thanks to her sister, but it was still super frustrating. “I just caught you with your tongue in Carter St. Carter’s mouth!”

“Oh, right. That.” She said, putting a finger to her lips as if it had actually slipped her mind. “I may have played that up a teensy little bit.” She said sheepishly. “I mean, it was a halfway decent kiss, I guess. Too handsy, though. And he’s kinda handsome, in an idiot jock sorta way. But he’s still a butt.” She rolled her eyes and mimed like she was vomiting.

“But then…” Now Donnie was confused. “Why did you..?”

Laughing lightly, Hasna suddenly put her arm around Donnie’s shoulder. “That’s simple! You didn’t do it, so I had to.” That was even more confusing, until Hasna’s giddy smile suddenly twisted into something a lot more sly. “Y’know, since you’re not super-contagious any more.” She giggled again. “Maybe after tomorrow he’ll finally get a taste of his own medicine!”

She looked over to Carter, who was finally starting to realize that locking lips with this particular beauty may not have been a good idea. She blew him a kiss, and he turned very green. Donnie gulped. She was strongly reminded of what she’d so often thought about her sister - about how the Virus made one ditzier, but not at all stupider. That was so evil and clever it actually made her nervous. It was a good thing her friend really didn’t have any hard feelings about being infected.

“You do realize the school isn’t going to be happy that you’ve got the Virus this bad.” She said. “Especially once they realize you infected another student. The only reason they’re okay with me is because I only changed halfway and can keep a lid on it.” Mostly, she thought to herself, remembering uncomfortably how the girl beside her came to be this way in the first place.

“Yeah, the principal’s probably gonna send me home, like, as soon I walk though the door,” the other girl shrugged. “But it’s cool. I can do all sorts of stuff while you’re totally stuck in class. And I won’t be alone. Evelyn’s mom called mine and told her she’s staying home too. My ma wanted to give it a shot with me, just in case.” She sent another wink at Carter, who was intently staring forward trying not to look at anyone. “So much for that! Hehehe!”

But Donnie gasped and looked around the bus again, forgetting about Carter. She hadn’t even realized that Evelyn wasn’t with them today. When had that even happened? How many of her friends had she infected yesterday? It was lucky she contagious period had passed, or the principal might have sent her home today no matter how much of a “lid” she kept on herself. In fact, maybe even so…

“So she’s…”

“Yep!” Hasna chirped. “Dunno if she got the Himbo version or if she’s still an even more extra-sexy super-awesome gal like me, but it should be fun either way. Although…” More giggling. Donnie fought the urge to sigh. “If she’s a hot guy now I’m gonna have to remember to save her for Erica.”

“Aw, man.” Forget feeling terrible. Donnie felt like dying. “Not Eric too!”

“No idea. But if he hasn’t got the bug yet, we can always just make sure of it.” Hasna said, with a wink.

Donnie drove her head into the windowsill. “Great, I’ve caused an outbreak.”

“Oh, calm down, I’m joking. Mostly.”

But Donnie didn’t say anything else until they arrived at school. When they got there, Carter ran up the steps three at a time, no doubt rushing to the nurse who would probably tell him it was too late. Percy Rayburn was there again, handing out pamphlets, and Carter nearly shoved her to the ground in his haste to get inside. Donnie just stood there and watched.

She felt “Hasna’s” hand on her shoulder.

“You should come with me, y’know.” Donnie stared at her. “We’ll be off for the next day or so, while the bug calms down. After that, we can all come back here together and paint this place…” She stopped to think. “Eh, any color that’s not pink, anyway.”

Donnie snorted. Hasan always could make Donny laugh. It only made sense that Hasna could do the same for Donnie. And she had a point. If she went to the principal and told her everything that had happened, she would probably be sent home before the story was halfway done just as a precaution. She probably wasn’t contagious any more, but not even she would have believed her own story after this. She had gone every flu season without making anyone who mattered doubt in her ability to keep control, but there was a first time for everything. It was a hit to her reputation, but everyone was probably going to know she infected Hasan and Evelyn anyway. And if it was a choice of dealing with that without her friends for a day, or embellishing the truth a bit…

“You’ve got a deal, pal,” she said, smirking back at her friend. “What’s flu season without a real sick day?”

“And what’s a stint in skirts without a real girl posse by your side? We could run this every year!”

Donnie didn’t mention that they didn’t know whether Evelyn was still a girl or not. And while she would probably catch the virus next year like always, it didn’t necessarily mean Hasan would. She decided to ignore it. Maybe it was the virus sashaying through her veins, but right now the mood was infectious. She had a posse to reunite, and maybe the first season of the rest of her life to make the best of.

Description
Flu Season - TG
By ThatGuy

Donny woke with a big yawn and a very satisfying stretch. That had been a really good night’s sleep. No dreams, at least none that he could remember, but he could hardly remember feeling so rested. Already, this felt like maybe it was going to be a pretty cool day. He rose up out of the covers with a huge grin… that slowly slid off his face as he pulled himself up.

Something felt off. He was off balance, and his chest felt… heavy. With a pained grimace, he glanced down and groaned. Just as he feared: boobs. “Oh, perfect,” he grumbled, not even needing to hear the alien softness of his voice to know what was going on. No wonder he had slept so well.

Flu season. So much for this being a “pretty cool day.”

Sounding much like a beaten-down tractor, he threw himself back down into the covers, and decided on a do over. After a few moments, “Donnie” rose with an annoyed grunt. The restful feeling had obviously been a lie. Today was going to suck.

She pulled herself out of bed with a scowl and plodded towards her closet, to the small corner drawer that went mostly unused for the last year. It might as well have been filled with torture devices, as far as she was concerned, and she was not at all happy to be opening it up again.

On most days she liked to sleep without a shirt, that is when she was blissfully flat chested, but unfortunately this was flu season. She would have to cover up for the next few days at least, plus to keep her chest from driving her crazy at night. Even though would inevitably get more… comfortable, for lack of a better word… as the days went by and her brain acclimated to the drastic change she had experienced, right now she really hated bras.

At least she had been prepared this time. Just for the sake of it, she tried on one of her bras from last year. Too tight, of course, though more due to natural growth than… other factors, or at least she hoped. It had been a long time, after all.

Somehow the ones her family had bought after last year’s fiasco, which she didn't want to think about at all, were satisfactory as a replacement. She could at least go to school with them without any awkward incidents that made her want to crawl under the bleachers and die. Not bad for someone who at the time was a boy guessing a girl’s size almost a year in advance. She almost felt proud.

The rest of the morning routine went by quick. Someone kept slipping low cut tops and lacy slips and tight dress skirts into her room, but it made Donnie oddly happy to say she easily tossed all that aside. And if that certain someone was rude enough to ask whether she did or didn’t have any urge to try them on, they wouldn’t be getting an answer. On autopilot, she instead went for the simple tee, jeans and sneaker combo. There. Ready.

She looked at herself in the mirror to see how different she was now. The girls thankfully didn’t seem too big this year, she thought. More buxom than she was completely comfortable with, naturally, but not over the top. She was glad to know some things weren't genetic yet.

There were regular, non-flu ridden girls in her school curvier than her, though she had did have reason to expect that could change by next year. The thought used to make her nervous. Deep down, she supposed it still did. At the moment, though, it just annoyed her. But it was a relief to know that in the present, she was who and where she was. She looked like a normal girl, or at least a normal guy who had a normal run in with a normal, magical gender changing flu strain, and that’s the way she liked it. She refused to let this condition mess with her life just yet.

There were a lot of big things she would need to get used to down the line, and not just when it came to possible measurements. But she did not want to be dragged down by those thoughts today. Instead she threw open her bedroom door and marched out to face the cruel world, and take the metaphorical bull by the horns…

BOOMPH!

“Mornin’ sis!”

… but she hit the metaphorical cow in the udder instead.

Okay, that was a mean thought and she knew it. But who could blame her for being annoyed? It wasn’t hard to think about exactly the stuff she didn’t want to, not with her “sister” and her “funbags of destiny” there to keep her worries fresh.

Elaine had also caught the TG-Flu this year, big surprise. Usually, she went by Elias. Since Donny had lived with his big brother for years, you would think he would be used to this sort of thing by now, but the dramatic change that his beloved sibling showed was to this day both astounding and kind of terrifying. The walking makeup commercial who swept through their home at least once a year was nothing like the reserved, smart-alecky guardian that lived there the rest of the time, and a constant reminder that there was more than just the Flu to worry about where this family was concerned.

The truth was, Donnie - or Donovan - didn’t actually have the normal TG-Flu. He never did. At least not in the same way whatever other unlucky students in her class surely would. It manifested as the TG Flu, at least for now, but she didn’t have to go to the doctor to know that what was really stewing in her veins was pure, 100% Bimbo Virus.

It was some genetic thing. Her family was not only especially susceptible to the gender changing bug, but once in their system the Flu instantly mutated into its far less… modest… form. Everyone else got to enjoy a less than a thousand in one chance of catching the Bimbo Virus. Donny should be so lucky.

His brother had caught it every year without exception since he was fifteen. He was out of grad-school and in the world now, but thoughts like that never deterred Elaine. Donny never could understand it, but they never even bothered Elias either. Donny wasn’t so careless

Just as usual, Elaine was irrepressibly bright and perky this morning. She looked down at her little sister, who was still mashed indignantly between her tits, and pouted childishly. “Aww, you’re still so… blah!” She sighed. “I was hoping you’d be a little looser this year, like me!”

Donnie grumbled something sarcastic, but the word was muffled under all that padding. Internally, she cursed the fact that her current form left her unable to fully “appreciate” it. Not that she would have, this was still her sister after all, but the only twinge she could feel at all right now was annoyance. And maybe a bit of envy in between all the dread, which was something she really didn’t want to think about.

The full effects of the enhanced Virus only manifests in people over a certain age bracket, which Donnie had been skirting, no pun intended, for the last couple of years. There had been a very real chance for her to take the full bimbo hammer this year. Donny was almost expecting it. Luckily, she caught another break. Or mostly, at least.

Elaine didn’t hear or care about her sarcasm, of course, but her mood hopped from disappointed to excited instantly. “But it’s still so great that you finally caught it! Best bug in the world, right?” She threw her arms around Donnie and hopped up and down, squealing, which only pushed the pissed off teenager even deeper into her chest. “We should totally go out this weekend! We can finally match, right?”

Match? Donnie didn’t want to know what she had in mind. Elaine was currently wearing half of a very conservative business suit, a little tight on her figure but not anything too dramatic, but Donnie knew all about the horror show of lacy dresses, sexy swimsuits and risqué underwear that her sister had hidden away on standby, ready to stuff her into one of these years.

Nothing made Donnie happier than the fact that she neither needed nor wanted her sister’s advice on what to wear. There was no way they were going to “match” for any amount of time, let alone a whole weekend.

“Sorry, bro. I think I’m busy!” She said, too fast for Elaine to respond while trying to push her way around the older woman. She always called her older sibling “bro” no matter what to keep her own mind straight, even though it felt increasingly weird to say while they were both changed. “Maybe some other day, like a week from now. Or a month!” One or both of them would probably have had the Virus pass by then.

Elaine shrugged. “It’s guess, but I could’ve used the pick me up. I was planning this big meeting way before I caught the Flu this year, and now I’m sooo worried I’m gonna mess it up!” She pretended to faint against the doorframe, sighing dramatically. “Like, can you imagine how many papers I had to look at yesterday? Ugh… all the guys are being such jerks about it, too!”

Donnie rolled her eyes. She seriously doubted that was going to be a problem. Elaine was probably going to nail that presentation with flying colors, even if she was liable to act like a flighty little space case all day.

People always thought people with Bimbo Virus were complete morons, but Donnie knew better from experience. Contrary to popular belief, the Bimbo Virus didn’t usually make people who had it stupider, just for lack of a better word… ditzier. And Elaine was a perfect example. She was a dynamo when she got going, no less capable than Elias was. And while her coworkers were being “jerks” Donnie was sharp enough to know they weren’t stopping her for a reason.

In fact, she would probably do even better Elias, actually, given the slimy brand of men her sibling would usually pitch these presentations to. Donnie was more worried about her making it through the inevitable afterparty without one of her rat coworkers making a move than she was about screwing up her job. Though given her sister’s lack of concern for chastity even in even her more lucid moments - her brother, again, was long used to this to the point where even he didn’t care - Donnie was probably the only one who would be worried.

Donnie made a mental note to see if any of her trustworthy friends were willing to let her sleep over, just in case Elaine came back with a “guest.” She really didn’t want to bump into that shitshow again. Or the part after when Elaine would try to give her tips… ugh. The regular TG-Flu wasn’t without its mental affects - sometimes very dramatic, at that - but she was not looking forward to acting like something out of a men’s deodorant commercial 24/7.

“I’m sure it’ll all work out…” she said evasively. “Anywho, gotta go to school now. Gonna be late. Bye, bro. Have fun with the whole walking stereotype thing.”

She finally squeezed around Elaine and ran for the front door. It wasn’t that she wanted to be rude, but she really had to get out of that conversation. She quickly grabbed her sneakers and the largest hoodie she owned as Donny from the coat rack and rushed outside, before any other awkward topics could come up. She heard Elaine calling out from the hallway as she left. “Don’t knock it ’til you’ve tried it, sis!”

That and a giggle. What an airhead…

——

The ride to school was pretty uneventful, thankfully. She knew what was coming, and she had no interest in getting it started early. So she drew her hoodie up and hoped its large size would keep anyone from recognizing her. It being a boys hoodie and way too big for her would have them peg her for a TG-Flu case right away, but everyone was used to that. She got a few curious looks heading to her seat, but nothing too major yet.

Still, she wanted to get to her seat as fast as possible. She scanned the bus and quickly found a seat next to a casual looking brown-skinned student who was busy listening to music - her seat, she thought with a sigh of relief. She strode over quick and plopped down, but as soon as she did the boy whirled on her. “Hey, that seat’s taken!”

Donnie didn’t respond. She turned turned and stared the boy straight in the eye with one brow raised, waiting. He searched her face for a second, and then his eyes widened in recognition, and his scowl fell. “O-oh! Donny! I mean… Donnie, I guess.”

The boy, whose name was Hasan, popped the headphones out of his ears and banged the seat behind them. “Hey guys, Donnie’s here!” He said. “And she looks… uh…” Donnie could help but notice with a bit of irritation the way his eyes very quickly popped down to her chest, then awkwardly back up to her eyes. But at least he didn’t do it again. The annoying part was more that he didn’t look surprised. “… bigger.”

Evelyn, another one of their friends, popped her head out of the seat behind them, along with her boyfriend Eric. As soon as she saw Donnie, she nodded appreciatively. “All right, girl! You look even cuter than last year! And hey!” She rolled up a piece of paper and threw it at Hasan’s head. “Don’t you know it’s rude to talk about the size of a girl’s breasts? Even one who’s only a girl for, like, a week or two.”

“I’m pretty sure she doesn’t count,” Hasan grumbled.

Donnie scowled, though she knew it was just jokes. Hasan was her closest friend in the world, and the other two weren’t far behind. “Ha. Ha.” She groaned. “I see you guys have gone unscathed.”

“And I see you still haven’t gotten the complete bimbo package,” Evelyn grinned. “if you’re going around using words like ‘unscathed.’”

“Can you blame us for having decent immune systems?” Hasan said smugly. Donnie shoved him, and Evelyn tossed another paper ball at him, but Eric nodded in agreement. “Take more multivitamins, dude.”

“I’m sure she prefers to go by ‘dudette’ now,” Evelyn snickered, nudging Donnie hard in the ribs.

Donnie sighed. “Please don’t. I just want to get through this day are painlessly as possible.”

“Then you should’ve stayed home,” Hasan joked. “You could always have come over to my house to watch my sisters. They’re sick today too, with a regular old cold. And they’re going through a serious pink phase.” He nudged her in the ribs. “You’d love it.”

She punched him in the shoulder. “Just because I’ve got the Bimbo Virus doesn’t mean I like pink, idiot.”

“Really?” Hasan and Evelyn said at the same time, while Eric laughed. “I thought it was your favorite color!”

Donnie snorted, and after a moment she joined in the laughter. “Thanks, I needed that. Hopefully, the rest of the school day will be as fun as the ride over there.”

The others looked skeptical, and frankly Donnie knew better than to actually believe she’d have anything like an actual painless day, but she appreciated the way they didn’t try to burst her tiny bubble. “Hey,” Hasan said lightly. “It’s Flu season. Anything’s possible…”

They arrived at school soon after, and Donnie was happy to see that she wasn’t the only one walking up the steps in a very different body from the one they last left with. Was that Neville Timonson coming up the street with hair down to her waist? Or Stacey Cotton rubbing a scraggly looking beard? It was a good thing Hasan or Donny hadn’t gone through with asking her out last week, though in another weird thought Donnie supposed she technically could have kept the date.

Percy Rayburn from the football team, who caught the bug last week, was standing at the door in a girls’ spirit sweater handing out flu season awareness packets. It almost felt normal.

But then, those were all regular TG-Flu cases. None of them had to deal with what she had, or the fact that everyone knew she had it. Sicily Frasier, who had missed the flu bug this year, gave her a very ugly look as she passed by. A preview of things to come, most likely.

She felt a pat on her back, and gave Hasan and the others a quick smile. She wouldn’t get this over with by standing out here. And though she didn’t need it, she even got one of those packets from Percy. And complimented her on the way her skirt matched, just to be friendly.

Inside, things were a lot less friendly. There were posters everywhere from the faculty. A “IT’S FLU SEASON, TREAT IT LIKE AN EXPERIENCE!” poster here. Or a “STUCK IN AN UNFAMILIAR BODY? SEE THE NURSE IMMEDIATELY!” poster there. She even spotted one that said “UNEXPECTED FEELINGS FOR SOMEONE YOU KNOW? NOT UNCOMMON IN FLU SEASON! VISIT YOUR COUNSELOR!” It was mostly tripe.

Everyone who knew Donny well enough as a guy either snickered upon seeing her, stared at her chest, or hooted and hollered as she passed by. And it got worse once she hit homeroom, thanks to the most obnoxious person in the whole school. Carter St. Carter, whose parents deserved to be kicked in the teeth for a number of reasons, practically exploded when she walked in the door. He mimed groping in front of him, and he was actually drooling from the mouth. “Ohoho, please tell me I’m lookin’ at a grade A bimbo this year!”

“I’m not, thanks for asking,” she said coldly.

He laughed and turned to his friends, who gave him a thumbs up. “Psh, yeah right.” He said, and went back to “whispering” immature jokes loud enough for the class to hear. He stared directly at her ass as she went to her seat, which was way too close to that slime ball for comfort. But thankfully, Hasan was right beside her and Evelyn and Eric right behind.

They knew it would bother Donnie more if they jumped to her defense, so instead they gave him a few serious glares to shut him up. But she just kept her eyes straight. She didn’t want to be this way, and she wasn’t going to let him make it worse.

The teacher, Mrs. Alvers, entered not long after, and Carter shut up for now. Unfortunately, since it was flu season and several of her students were under the disease’s effects, Donnie knew she would be obligated to say something about it. It was always one of Donnie’s least favorite parts of the season.

“As you should know by now class,” she started, softly and carefully, “the school is currently undergoing an outbreak of influenza di sexus mutatio, or as it’s more commonly known genderfluenza, or the TG Flu. This is a viral infection just the influenza virus, but instead of normal flu-like symptoms, this disease will cause tiredness and aching, followed by a complete and sometimes quite rapid restructuring of the body into a fully functioning member of the opposite sex.”

Those six students all sighed. Some of the others looked uncomfortable. Donnie knew the feeling.

“It is important to know that this transformation, though dramatic and strange, is something we are well equipped to help you through, and most importantly is temporary in all but the most rare of cases. The virus is highly contagious, but only within the twenty four hours of infection. That said, it is considered an acceptable risk for students to be around those carrying the disease, so there will be no break in classes. You’ll all be fine in a few weeks.”

“So, what?” Said Neville Timonson in the first row, as she miserably stared down at her own boobs. “You guys think this isn’t going to affect our schoolwork? Really?”

“Yes really, Miss Timonson,” Mrs. Alvers said sharply, as Neville winced at being called “miss.” “The TG-Flu can have a wide range of mental affects, but you should have the basic level of comfort and mannerisms to live naturally as your current sex, or at least will settle into it in the next few days. Some of you might find yourself naturally acting more like the boys and girls you know or have seen on television than you expected to. These come from your own subconscious, as the virus influences your behavior and personality based on how you perceive the opposite sex.”

“Wait,” Neville cried. “So I’m gonna start playing with dolls?”

The class laughed, including Mrs. Alvers. “If that’s really how you deep down believe young women your age behave, which you shouldn’t, then it’s possible. I doubt it, but it can happen. But the most important thing to remember is the way the shift in hormones will affect your sexual desires. Put simply, you should expect to ‘flip,’ with your sexual orientation staying the same. Whatever you were, you still will be. Just with... an opposite target.” She stared seriously at them. “And I must remind you that due to those of you with the virus being fully functioning members of your current sex, that can and does result in very serious consequences if you’re not careful.”

Everyone who had the bug for the first time, at least those who hadn’t realized this already, froze in their seats. Most of them turned nervously to members of the sex they previously were, or the same sex they now were, to prove whether Mrs. Alvers was right. Most then quickly turned away with red faces. The ones who were currently dating someone who hadn’t also caught the flu looked guilty, and their boyfriends and girlfriends tried to hide their offense. Carter St. Carter laughed.

Donnie shrugged. She had to learn to deal with that a long time ago, especially since what she felt was undoubtedly a hell of a lot stronger than what anyone else was. She didn’t like the excuse to let her mind wander about her former sex. Especially not the way any of the boys looked in their…

Nope! Just as she thought, a bad idea. So instead she threw those thoughts in the incinerator and patiently waited for Mrs. Alvers to continue.

“Over the next few weeks you may experience this change, but know what we’re here to help you,” she said. “That includes those who deal with some of its variant changes, most appropriately for us the BV strain, otherwise known as the Bimbo Virus. I hope some of you have done some study in your free time.”

Everyone looked at her. Even the teacher. And Carter looked like he was about to fall on the floor. This always happened. Whenever the topic of the virus came up, she was the one everyone wanted to talk to. It was infuriating. She did know all about it, for obvious reasons. But that didn’t mean it was fair to make her go through this every single time.

But she sighed and got on with it. She raised her hand, but she knew it was pointless. “The Bimbo Virus is believed to be the result of a failed attempt to cure or otherwise manipulate the TG-Flu,” she said dully. She could recite this information in her sleep. “But instead, it only ended up mixing it with various additional affects. It’s more contagious, but over a shorter period, and is generally assumed to be a far more magical disease rather than a biological one due to its many specific personality effects. These exaggerate stereotypical ‘feminine’ or ‘masculine’ traits in victims regardless of their subconscious, and in addition victims exhibit dulled inhibitions, impulsive behavior, and most famously an exaggerated l-libido.” She winced, already hearing the jokes coming. “This makes victims more adventurous, and regarded as… er…”

“Randy?” Carter stage-whispered.

The students around him all laughed. Donnie threw one of her pencils at him. The teacher didn’t react to his outburst, but she also pretended not to notice her counterattack, so Donnie supposed it balanced out.

Trying to look like she wasn’t too pissed off, she kept on going. “However,” she said sharply, with a sneer in Carter’s direction, “despite the perception of the ignorant, the lack of inhibition that comes with the disease is universal, and doesn’t specifically make victims fixated on s-sex. In addition, they gain an almost… er…” she winced as she thought about her the next few words. More things that made her really nervous about the future. “… an almost childlike exuberance and naivete. Victims of the Bimbo Virus can and do typically lead lives similar to their normal routine, but will often pursue passing desires or whims with great distraction, little reservation or self-consciousness, and with a reduced care for the consequences of their actions.”

“Well memorized and rehearsed, Ms. Miller, but true enough,” Mrs. Alvers said curtly. “Your, shall we say, ‘experience’ in this matter is well appreciated. And we should all try to be sensitive to that experience, shouldn’t we?” She added with a sharp look at the rest of the class, particularly Carter.

Donnie didn’t care for the attempt at sympathy. “I’d appreciate it more if you just left me alone and didn’t put me on the spot every single time…” She grumbled under her breath.

“But I don’t get it.” One of Carter’s friends said, scratching his head. Donnie frowned, knowing he was probably only setting up for another joke. “‘Little reservation or self-consciousness?’ What does that mean?”

Sure enough… “It means Donnie’ll probably hit the bleachers the moment you start eyeing up those tits!” Carter shouted.

The entire class erupted this time, twice as loud as before, and Donnie gripped the desk tightly to keep herself from exploding. Her breasts weren’t even that big, damn it! Sicily Frasier still beat her out, for heaven’s sake! But she couldn’t say that out loud. It got more like this every year, and she knew that would just encourage them. She half wished those damn effects she had just explained would kick in just so she wouldn’t get so upset about these things. She could just giggle all this crap away like Elaine does.

Envying her sister, wasn’t that a terrifying thought?

Luckily, this time the teacher actually said something. “That’s enough, Mr. St. Carter! That kind of talk is absolutely unacceptable! To the counselor’s office!”

Carter shrugged. He swaggered out the classroom without a care, and blew Donnie a kiss as he passed her desk. To keep from punching him in the face, she gripped her desk so hard she actually left scratch marks. She had to drown out the next few minutes of Mrs. Alvers explaining more about her virus as she got herself under control: yes, it was highly contagious, but only during the first couple of days. Yes, girls could catch it too, and they might stay female or change into boys just like the regular flu. No, the Bimbo Virus is not an excuse to get out of the next week of classes, with the sole exception of the contagious period in extreme cases.

Etcetera, etcetera. The same old stuff.

The rest of the lesson was uneventful, except for when Jun Ushima started feeling the affects of the TG-Flu in the middle of class. Nothing much. He sneezed, and suddenly the front of his shirt popped right open. He ran for the nurse covering his chest, and that was that. Though a few people in class turned to look at Donnie with accusing eyes. As if she could have had anything do with it!

But she let it go. She was used to it. In fact, nothing really got to her until after class dismissed for lunch, when Sicily Frasier tried to corner her in the hallway. The dolled up alpha and her posse suddenly surrounded Donnie and crowded her against a locker. Sicily jabbed a finger trying to seem intimidating, and hissed at her. “I’ll say it in slow words so you’ll get it, you air headed little tramp.” She scoffed. “I’ll admit you’re kinda cute as a guy, but I don’t want you nosing around my boyfriend now. Bad enough we have to look at all that for the next week.”

"You and me both, bitch." Donnie bit back the response, as well as the urge to insist - again - that she hadn’t actually turned into a bimbo and certainly wasn’t interested in “nosing around” with anyone. Sicily’s boyfriend was one of Donny’s mates on the basketball team, and a very good friend. They hadn’t met up yet that day, but she wasn’t about to not chat with someone she talked to all the time just because this idiot was being insecure and judgmental. But she also wasn’t about to prove that the insults were getting to her.

They were getting to her, just a little bit. She just didn’t want to prove it. The nerve of this top heavy bitch, calling her a tramp and trying to tell her who to talk to! “Trust me, Sicily,” she sneered. “I have no intention of making out with anyone who’d pick you to step out with.”

A wave of oohs and laughter came from those who were listening in, while the other girls with Sicily gasped as though someone had announced the end of the world. Sicily herself seemed too offended for words, and just stared at her like a fish as Donnie pushed away. She didn’t care beyond that. Idiots like that didn’t really deserve her attention. Though she did accept a hi-five from Hasan on the way to the lunchroom. She could hardly believe thay she, as Donny, had actually had a thing for Sicily before flu season. Half the boys in class did, but that was no excuse…

However, while she didn’t claim to care, she did get some cruel happiness overhearing that her friend had broken up with Sicily over the whole incident. Maybe she was the better catch after all.

Lunch was boring. She talked with Hasan, Evelyn and Eric like she did every day, but she could tell everyone else was talking about her. Some guys walked up to her, asking if she’d give them a kiss so they could get the next couple of days off. They were wearing their lunches now. She knew how crazy the Virus could be, but the TG-Flu had a ton of its own wacko mental effects too. Why was she the only one people thought was going to go into a boy crazy stupor, and not any of the other ex-guys who came in claiming to be their old selves while sporting daisy dukes and hanging all on the arms of their old friends? Typical.

Jun was back when they returned to class, sporting a poorly fitting blouse from the lost and found and looking embarrassed. But that was the only highlight until school was dismissed for real at the end of the day. Donnie felt nothing but relief as they left the building. One day down, only seven-to-eight days minimum left to go.

She needed a pick me up, badly. “Want to come by my place?” She asked the others. “My sister will be out all day, and it’d be nice to have something to help pass the time.”

Something suddenly smacked her on the behind, and she saw Carter St. Carter run past. “You can always have me, hot stuff!” He shouted. He was gone before she or Evelyn could throttle him, lucky for him. Hasan and Eric didn’t like to get their hands dirty, but even they were willing to make an exception. It was really too bad, giving him his just desserts would have really killed her bad mood.

——

At least getting everyone together made her feel better. Even just chilling in her living room with her friends was enough to put a smile on Donnie’s face. So she, Hasan, Evelyn and Eric all kicked back, popped in a few video games and relaxed, letting the stress of the day melt off.

After a little while, Donnie offered to liven things up with a new game that her brother bought a few weeks earlier, before the season. It was like combination rhythm game and karaoke. One player had a guitar and did the vocals, the other did the drums and hit the rhythm. The two brothers played it all the time, and it was already one of Donny’s favorites. Granted, she hadn’t played it as Donnie, but that just meant she could take the womens’ vocals as well as the mens.

The others were all for it, and they quickly split up: she and Hasan vs the couple, since no one was splitting up Evelyn and Eric. She got the guitar and the mike, and Hasan took the drums.

It was as much a blast as a girl as it had been as a guy. Finally, something fun! No idiot chauvinist boys to worry about. No idiot insecure girls to worry about. No brain-addled sisters to watch out for. No terrifying future looming over the horizon to shudder over. Just some good, actual fun.

At first, she just sang along. She thought maybe she would dance, just a bit. And soon she was going wild and crazy, swaying back and forth and she pranced across the room, hitting the high notes and nailing all those husky tones. At some point, she stopped playing and started performing. She spun. She jerked. She whopped and hollered and rode her guitar like a horse, and pulled the others into it whenever she could. Those two would feel it when she took a round from them! And so would Hasan, because he was the best! Everything else faded away but the game, the music and winning again and again and again.

In other words, she was having the time of her life! She already loved this game, but she couldn’t remember ever enjoying it this much! And finally, when the dust cleared, the points were tallied up. Donnie and Hasan took it by a landslide. Six games to two!

“Woo! We won!” She squealed, jumping a foot in the air. She slid around the room with an elaborate victory dance - shaking her behind, hopping up and down, and then capping it off with something very sudden. On a whim, she rushed to Hasan, grabbed him roughly by the collar and kissed him full on the lips. For several seconds. Then, without a care, she tossed him back onto the couch and kept on cheering. “Good boy, my dude! Yeah!”

She kept dancing like that for a few more seconds, before slowly noticing that nobody else was joining in.

“What? What are you all staring at?” She looked down at Hasan, who looked like he’d been hit in the head with a brick, and suddenly it sunk it. “Oh. Oh, crap…”

What did she just do? How did she get that caught up in the moment? Damn this stupid virus. Now she’d made this whole thing awkward, this was another thing she wouldn’t be able to do until it wore off, and Hasan would be uncomfortable around her even when she was Donny again - no, especially when she was Donny again - and…

… wait, they were laughing?

Thank the lord, they were laughing! She nervously chuckled along just to move things along, red as a tomato. But then she shrugged and joined in completely, waving off her total lapse in self control like it was just a stupid mistake,

“I guess ‘gamer bimbo’ is a step up from those walking sex-dolls you hear about on the internet,” Evelyn said, once she stopped holding her sides.

Donnie winced at the thought, but kept laughing all the same. But she couldn’t totally stop feeling nervous just talking about it. “I don’t think those actually exist,” she corrected. “it’s just horror stories and exaggerations.”

“Wishful thinking?”

Donnie threw a pillow at Evelyn for that. Missed, though. “Nah. Trust me, I’ve done my research. Even Elaine doesn’t act that boy crazy.”

Her laughter died, and she turned to Hasan. She tried very hard to meet his eyes, and not look as mortified as she felt. “I’m sorry, by the way. I’m not really into you or anything.” This was partially a lie, but only in the simple sense that her friend looked a lot better to her through a girl’s eyes than he did normally. But that was normal TG-Flu stuff. She really didn’t want Hasan thinking she was thirsty for him or anything. “I was just… excited.”

By sheer miracle, Hasan shrugged it away. “We could tell. I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but you’ve been getting hella wild this whole time.”

Donnie blinked. She hadn’t noticed. But the other two certainly had, because they both shouted “yes!”es and hoots and hollers at her.

“Did you see the way she winked at us when she won the first round?” Evelyn said, nudging her boyfriend. “I thought Eric was going to have to leave the room.”

Eric looked away and adjusted his pants, making the blushing start anew. He probably wasn’t serious, at least she hoped, but… “S-shut up.” She stammered, wanting nothing more in that moment than to go to her room and hide under the covers.

“It’s alright, we’re just having fun. New game?” Hasan handed her the controller. “Just keep your lips where I can see them.” He said, smiling… until he realized what he had just implied, and his face fell. “Wait! That… didn’t come out the way I wanted it to!”

“Oh, I know what you want!” Donnie shot back. She pumped her hips in his direction, this time on purpose, and entirely - well, mostly - as a joke. “I’ll let you have a nice long look at ‘em, pal!”

They all laughed again, and the moment was forgotten as the next song began.

But later that night, after all of her friends had gone home, she studied herself again in the mirror. She had changed a lot more than she thought she had, now that she was looking at it. Really looked at it. She walked back and forth, and noted the sway of her hips. Not just normally twist of the pelvis from a natural female frame, but something… alluring. She did it by herself, even sometimes when she was trying not to. For science, she let her mind wander about boys. Just in general. Not at all thinking about Hasan, she tried that friend from the basketball team and immediately had to start thinking of something less problematic. Had she really thought about how better she was for him than Sicily? She clearly remembered it now, but before it just… happened.

It wasn’t much, just a few traces, but it was noticeable. She had finally gotten the start of it this time. Which meant she was definitely going to change all the way next time she caught the virus. This was her last halfway normal flu season, probably for the rest of her life.

Her sister, who had come in way past dark after all, bounded up the stairs and found her sitting on her bed with the lights dimmed, staring off into space

At first, she didn’t notice Donnie’s obvious low spirits and barged in bright and sunny. “The presentation was a total success! We got the contract!” Donnie could imagine. She had obviously been partying. She was very disheveled, and her lipstick was smeared. “The celebration must’ve gone on for hours! Woo!”

“Congrats,” Donnie said coldly.

Elaine stared at her, and finally noticed the obvious. “Bad day?”

“No, the best!” Donnie said with fake cheer, that sounded more harsh than happy. “Soon I’ll be just as cheerful as you, and then I can have celebrations too!”

Elaine’s eyes shot wide, and her jaw dropped. Realizing she’d just made a scene, Donnie grunted and turned away. But to her surprise, her sister didn’t blissfully traipse off elsewhere to forget the conversation ever happened, like usual. Instead, she calmly walked into the room and sat down next to her.

She didn’t talk for a while, but just rested there. Finally, she spoke. “You gotta learn to enjoy life, sis.”

“I do enjoy life, bro!” Donnie hissed. “I happen to be a very exciting person. I just don’t enjoy being a… a…”

“Bimbo?” She said, smiling. Donnie looked away, but that didn’t stop her. “Look, I know you think I’m just silly.” She said. “A ditzy old airhead who says stuff you hate to hear. But… when I’m me, like, regular old Elias, how do you think I deal with this? It’s not by just, like, letting myself go once or twice a year and hating it the rest.” She laughed. “I’m not, like, a werewoof.”

“Werewolf.”

“So not the point.” She sighed. “I deal by trying to enjoying the experience. You can’t stop it, so you might as well let not let it stop you, y’know? Make it into an adventure!”

“You sound like my teachers. Or my textbooks.”

“They sound nice!” Elaine grinned. “When’s the last time I went to a parent teacher conference?”

Donnie imagined how any conference would go with Elaine still in her current state of mind, and cringed. “So I suppose I should be like you, and start making out with a roomful of slimy old businessmen.” She shot. “Carpe diem?”

Elaine rolled her eyes. “Please. I totally kept those boys in their place.” She breathed dreamily, and wiped her smeared lipstick away. “This was just some fun with one of the interns. He was so sweet, and a total hunk! We danced for so long. He even drove me home. He asked me out, of course, but who knows when I’m gonna turn back so I had to say no.”

This only proved Donnie’s point, so she didn’t say anything else. Sighing, Elaine got up and clapped her on the shoulder. “Just think about it,” she said as she left. “It does kinda suck sometimes, and we’re stuck with it, but you’re gonna do yourself no good kicking yourself over it.”

As she went to bed, Donnie did think about it.

And though it was mostly awful advice, she realized there was at least a bit of truth to it. She thought about her day. About how annoying and even sometimes infuriating it was. She thought about how unfair it was she had to be saddled with this virus in the first place. And then she thought about how every horrible moment was made better, because she still had something to enjoy. Her friends were there every moment of the day, at her side whenever something got her down. And maybe that would feel good, even when she was 100% bimbo some day.

She still was not okay with being like this, or with her future, she felt like maybe she could take it as long as she had someone by her side to keep her on track. Loads of people with the bimbo virus kept around someone to keep an eye on them, so why shouldn’t she? Not Elaine, though. That would just make things worse. Her friends would do.

——

The next morning, she felt a lot better than she had the day before. She knew part of it was simply her mind getting more comfortable with the transformation with time, but she hoped her thoughts the night before were a part of it. She did not, to her sister’s disappointment, wear the form fitting sweater that had mysteriously been laid out for her. Another simple shirt and jeans for her today. But she did leave the house with a spring in her step.

She was even almost looking forward to getting on the bus. She hopped on and right away looked around for her friends. She would need every bit of friendship she could get if today was anything like the day before, and she was kind of happy about it.

But that was odd. She couldn’t see them just from looking around, and usually they’d be someplace obvious. But she thought maybe they were way in the back.

There was one thing that was super visible, however, even if it made her nauseous. Carter St. Carter was there as usual, but he wasn’t quick with his usual perverted “joke” this morning. Instead he had himself wrapped around some new girl she didn’t recognize, pulling her down into the seat and sucking her mouth right off her face by the looks of it. The two of them were making no attempt to be discreet or keep a sight that disgusting out of the eyes of impressionable youngsters.

How any female would ever choose to make any contact with Carter was anyone’s guess, let alone lip contact, but Donnie wasn’t interested in socializing with anyone who would. She planned to step right on past them without engaging, but when she passed the girl’s head suddenly snapped away from Carter’s, with an audible pop, and she starting talking to her.

“Oh, hey girl! I was waiting for you!” She squealed. She instantly disentangled Carter’s roaming hands from the inside of her blouse and leapt up to give Donnie a very surprising hug. Donnie was very confused, because she was sure she had never met this girl before.

She was tan skinned, with a fashion sense that was very… pink. So pink that Donnie was pretty sure she would have remembered her just from that. Pink blouse. Pink skirt. Pink heels. It reminded her of the last time she babysat Hasan’s little sisters. She was kinda curvy, not quite on Donnie’s level in the chest department (a shame, she would have liked some competition to take the attention off), but with a defined hourglass nonetheless. If she was still Donovan, she might have thought she was pretty.

But let’s not forget this girl was also attracted to guys like Carter. Time to skip this conversation.

“Um… sure,” Donnie muttered. Then she awkwardly stepped away and tried to find a seat. Forget about finding the others for now, she just needed to sit down. But the girl just followed her!

Donnie slipped into a double seat and put her hand down next to her, hoping the girl would take the hint, but she just sat right down as happy as could be. This was just too far. “Um… this seat’s taken!” Donnie said, harshly.

The girl seemed to find this hilarious. But instead of responding, she just laughed and stared into Donnie’s eyes for a long moment.

Finally, Donnie caught on. “Oh, no… H-Hasan?”

It couldn’t be. The regular Flu she could take, but this? This clearly wasn’t just a normal case. She could have kicked herself. It was so obvious! She only changed a day and a half ago, she had to still be contagious when she kissed Hasan on the lips! How could she not have realized he would change? Thanks to her carelessness, she had infected her best friend with the Bimbo Virus!

The girl-Hasan laughed, in a way that sounded just like a cheerleader in one of those high school comedies. “Oh, call me Hasna! That’s what my mom said I should go by for now! It’s kinda pretty, right?” She flipped her hair behind her head and posed, with her fingers in a V shape. “I think it suits me!”

Fantastic. She’d turned her friend into a walking cliche. The Virus hit everyone differently, and while it hadn’t decided to give Donnie the full serving of mental effects this year, it clearly had no problems changing Hasan to the core. Donnie felt terrible. So much for sticking it out with her friends. She hadn’t even been able to keep them safe from herself.

“I’m sorry, Hasan… Hasna,” she corrected, when the other girl started to pout. “I didn’t mean to do this to you.”

“Nah, I think my sisters did this to me, really,” She laughed, looking down at her aggressively pink ensemble with fake disgust. “They love pink, like, waaay too much. Like, break the stereotype girls! I really need to go shopping, pronto.”

It was kind of a relief that she hadn’t dressed herself that way on purpose. “Focus, buddy,” Donnie said. “This is serious!”

“Really?” Hasan blinked. “I feel fine.”

Donnie groaned. She was used to this sort of thing thanks to her sister, but it was still super frustrating. “I just caught you with your tongue in Carter St. Carter’s mouth!”

“Oh, right. That.” She said, putting a finger to her lips as if it had actually slipped her mind. “I may have played that up a teensy little bit.” She said sheepishly. “I mean, it was a halfway decent kiss, I guess. Too handsy, though. And he’s kinda handsome, in an idiot jock sorta way. But he’s still a butt.” She rolled her eyes and mimed like she was vomiting.

“But then…” Now Donnie was confused. “Why did you..?”

Laughing lightly, Hasna suddenly put her arm around Donnie’s shoulder. “That’s simple! You didn’t do it, so I had to.” That was even more confusing, until Hasna’s giddy smile suddenly twisted into something a lot more sly. “Y’know, since you’re not super-contagious any more.” She giggled again. “Maybe after tomorrow he’ll finally get a taste of his own medicine!”

She looked over to Carter, who was finally starting to realize that locking lips with this particular beauty may not have been a good idea. She blew him a kiss, and he turned very green. Donnie gulped. She was strongly reminded of what she’d so often thought about her sister - about how the Virus made one ditzier, but not at all stupider. That was so evil and clever it actually made her nervous. It was a good thing her friend really didn’t have any hard feelings about being infected.

“You do realize the school isn’t going to be happy that you’ve got the Virus this bad.” She said. “Especially once they realize you infected another student. The only reason they’re okay with me is because I only changed halfway and can keep a lid on it.” Mostly, she thought to herself, remembering uncomfortably how the girl beside her came to be this way in the first place.

“Yeah, the principal’s probably gonna send me home, like, as soon I walk though the door,” the other girl shrugged. “But it’s cool. I can do all sorts of stuff while you’re totally stuck in class. And I won’t be alone. Evelyn’s mom called mine and told her she’s staying home too. My ma wanted to give it a shot with me, just in case.” She sent another wink at Carter, who was intently staring forward trying not to look at anyone. “So much for that! Hehehe!”

But Donnie gasped and looked around the bus again, forgetting about Carter. She hadn’t even realized that Evelyn wasn’t with them today. When had that even happened? How many of her friends had she infected yesterday? It was lucky she contagious period had passed, or the principal might have sent her home today no matter how much of a “lid” she kept on herself. In fact, maybe even so…

“So she’s…”

“Yep!” Hasna chirped. “Dunno if she got the Himbo version or if she’s still an even more extra-sexy super-awesome gal like me, but it should be fun either way. Although…” More giggling. Donnie fought the urge to sigh. “If she’s a hot guy now I’m gonna have to remember to save her for Erica.”

“Aw, man.” Forget feeling terrible. Donnie felt like dying. “Not Eric too!”

“No idea. But if he hasn’t got the bug yet, we can always just make sure of it.” Hasna said, with a wink.

Donnie drove her head into the windowsill. “Great, I’ve caused an outbreak.”

“Oh, calm down, I’m joking. Mostly.”

But Donnie didn’t say anything else until they arrived at school. When they got there, Carter ran up the steps three at a time, no doubt rushing to the nurse who would probably tell him it was too late. Percy Rayburn was there again, handing out pamphlets, and Carter nearly shoved her to the ground in his haste to get inside. Donnie just stood there and watched.

She felt “Hasna’s” hand on her shoulder.

“You should come with me, y’know.” Donnie stared at her. “We’ll be off for the next day or so, while the bug calms down. After that, we can all come back here together and paint this place…” She stopped to think. “Eh, any color that’s not pink, anyway.”

Donnie snorted. Hasan always could make Donny laugh. It only made sense that Hasna could do the same for Donnie. And she had a point. If she went to the principal and told her everything that had happened, she would probably be sent home before the story was halfway done just as a precaution. She probably wasn’t contagious any more, but not even she would have believed her own story after this. She had gone every flu season without making anyone who mattered doubt in her ability to keep control, but there was a first time for everything. It was a hit to her reputation, but everyone was probably going to know she infected Hasan and Evelyn anyway. And if it was a choice of dealing with that without her friends for a day, or embellishing the truth a bit…

“You’ve got a deal, pal,” she said, smirking back at her friend. “What’s flu season without a real sick day?”

“And what’s a stint in skirts without a real girl posse by your side? We could run this every year!”

Donnie didn’t mention that they didn’t know whether Evelyn was still a girl or not. And while she would probably catch the virus next year like always, it didn’t necessarily mean Hasan would. She decided to ignore it. Maybe it was the virus sashaying through her veins, but right now the mood was infectious. She had a posse to reunite, and maybe the first season of the rest of her life to make the best of.