Chapter 1

I wish I could say when everything started to go wrong. I suppose it would go back to when my parents divorced, but really I think it was when my mom remarried. I’d been fine without dad, he was really a creep, one of those guys that girls get all doe eyed and stupid over in high school although they know how bad he is. Of course, my mom made the mistake of marrying him and in the end the only good thing that came out of it all was me, or at least that’s what she says now.

My name is Terri, I don’t really have a last name, not anymore. I didn’t want to keep my dad’s last name, or my step Dad’s name and Harlesenterburges is just such a terrible name I would never want it, even if it was my Mom’s. Of course it really doesn’t matter anymore, but that’s where I’m at, having a last name isn’t really important after all.

I was pretty much a typical senior before all of this, going to school, giggling about boys and generally trying to get away with anything I could under my Mom’s nose. All my friends told me I was pretty, and I know I had a pretty good body, though my breasts were a bit on the small side. I wasn’t anything out of the ordinary, I suppose, but I was happy with who I was.

When my mom remarried, I didn’t just get a new dad. I also got a brother, a 18-year-old geeky brother. Not that all brothers aren’t geeky at that age. This was Brandon, he was a bit shorter than I was and gangly, clearly he hadn’t hit that mid teen growth spurt yet. He wasn’t too weird, but I really didn’t have any need for him either. Pretty much we just ignored each other, and it was an arrangement that worked.

It did take some getting used to sharing a house with men again. It’d been years since my Dad had been in the house, and it took some getting used to in the morning. Sharing a bathroom wasn’t much fun and I had to be a lot more careful when wrapping up in a towel than I was used to. Like everything else in life, I dealt with it, not that I didn’t complain, but what’s the fun in being a teenager if you don’t complain?

After the initial adjustment life pretty much fell into a normal routine. It wasn’t until several months later that things really started to go wrong. It was a pretty normal morning, I was rushing through my stuff and mom was trying to stick her nose in.

“Now, honey why don’t you sit down and eat? It’s not good for you to just have a piece of toast and run.” Mom prodded. This wasn’t unusual, I rarely sat down for breakfast anymore, and whenever she could, she tried to get me sitting at the table.

“I’ve got to meet up with Susan, Mom.” I replied as I munched on my toast and guzzled my glass of juice. I’d tried skipping the juice before, but Mom put up a big fight, so I didn’t even try anymore. I still had a little time, so I didn’t push more than I had to, at least today.

“Good morning, Brandon.” Mom smiled. I looked over and saw my stepbrother walking in and my jaw just dropped. The gangly little geek he’d been the night before was now a hunk, or at least not bad looking. He looked almost buffed dressed in just a T-shirt and jeans, his standard flair.

“What happened to you?” I asked in awe. I’d seen some changes in people before, hitting puberty does that to people, but this was just unreal. Brandon had just changed from geek to guy in one night.

“I don’t know, I just woke up like this.” Brandon answered. His befuddled look said it all. He had no clue, but I could tell he wasn’t objecting. I wasn’t either, if you had to have a guy in your house, it was much better when he looked good.

“Well, you look great, Brandon,” Mom said as she dropped a plate of bacon and eggs down for him. Brandon had started out like me, trying to skip breakfast, but she’d won him over with her cooking. I knew it was good food, but I had to keep my figure.

“Gotta go! See ya tonight.” I yelled and raced out while mom was distracted by Brandon. I had to take my chances where I could, and set off for Susan’s house. Susan was one of my best friends. She was a short little Asian girl that had moved in down the street when I was six. We struck it off right away, being the only two girls our age in the neighborhood and we’ve been friends ever since.

As I strolled down the sidewalk I wondered just what had happened to Brandon. That kind of change just wasn’t normal, not that I really minded. It was just weird enough for me to take really notice it though. Still there were plenty of other things to concern myself with, and by the time I’d met up with Susan, I was off on other issues. This may have been the beginning, but it was just another day at the time.