Chapter 2

Phase one was a makeover. Prior to his becoming interested in the opposite sex, Phillipe had simply worn what his mother bought for him. Clothes had been of no concern, so the conventional childhood attire had been good enough. But he was now very aware of the importance of image and the impressions it could make. So gone were the jeans, tee shirts and tennis shoes and in their place casual slacks, Polo pullovers or open collared collegiate style shirts and suede loafers. Gone also was the boyish close cropped haircut. In its place he had his hair styled longer, swept back and layered to promote the impression of his being older. Gone also were the heavy rimmed glasses, replaced by tinted contacts which gave his already intense blue eyes a captivating almost luminescent quality. It would be another couple of years before he would begin shaving and his face retained the features of a rather handsome fourteen year old, but when he began to visit some local adolescent hangouts, he had no trouble being noticed, especially by the girls, the same girls who had either laughed at or ignored him at school before he had quickly been promoted and left them in his academic dust.

His father had some Saturday shopping to do at the mall and was glad to have Phillipe's company. The boy suffered a trek through the tobacco shop as his father whiffed the various offerings before deciding on a black aromatic. As they left the shop Phillipe suggested he get them some drinks from the mall plaza. His father, although still a bit wary because of the boy's age, also recognized the youngster's need for independence, so he agreed to allow the boy some freedom and told him they would meet at the audio store in fifteen minutes.

Phillipe strolled into the food plaza where he saw two of the girls who had given him an especially hard time in school, sitting at one of the tables. He decided to test his new knowledge and skills with the opposite sex.

He strolled by their table as if preoccupied and not noticing them. But they noticed him, their admiring looks and remarks, which he overheard, a dead giveaway.

"Is that... ? No, it can't be," whispered one.

"Phillipe? Phillipe Spangler? The nerd? My God it is! What has he done to himself?"

"Well, whatever it is, it's all for the better. He's actually cute!"

Phillipe looked around as if searching for something or someone.

"Hi, Phillipe," said Taylor, the cute brunette.

"Oh, hi, Taylor. Sorry, I didn't see you there," he replied, leaning over so the subtle aroma of the pheromone could do its stealthy work. His interest and experimentation in organic chemistry had resulted in a secret, personal concoction which, when added to his choice of cologne, created a subtle, yet powerful aphrodisiac.

"Shopping or checking out the guys?" he asked smiling.

The girl's eyes widened as she caught the lustful scent. "A... bit of... both. You... you remember Amber..." she stammered, already caught off guard by his appearance and now by the pheromone.

He turned his attention to the other girl, blonde, pleasant faced and all-in-all attractive, though not possessed of the unique combination of facial features, as was Taylor, which would mark her as unusually attractive.

"Hi Phillipe," she managed, obviously as struck with the boy as her friend. It also did not hurt that the addition to Phillipe's cologne was now reaching her as well.

"Amber," he said, as if trying to remember, "weren't we all in... what was it? English, together?"