Chapter 4

I woke up with a fairly bad hangover. My head was pounding, I remembered the events of the previous day with shock and confusion. I had been sitting in the student bar openly kissing a guy and girl and enjoying it. Then Nat had gone and arranged for the four of us to meet for coffee on Sunday. As a result of this strange incident my dreams had been interesting, to say the least. Strangely, most had involved little Caitlyn, rather than as I might have thought, the muscular Shaun. Maybe my subconscious was trying to tell me something.

I tried to get up, and groaned as my head felt like it was going to split open. "Take two of the pills on your bedside table Em," Nat said from her desk.

I rolled over and tried to sort out my random arrangement of limbs that were getting in the way. I picked up the pack of anti hangover meds, checked the dosage, and knocked them back with water, then lay there for a bit waiting for the meds to kick in. Eventually I began to feel a bit better and levered myself up in bed.

"Hey there, how do you feel?" asked an altogether too perky Nat.

"I'm OK, I guess," I grumbled. Apart from the headache I wasn't too bad. I didn't feel ill or anything, a little thirsty, but otherwise alright. I paused, checking over the events of yesterday in my head, "Was I in the union bar kissing a girl and a guy yesterday?"

"Were you ever! I practically had to pry you off those two." Nat grinned at me.

"Oh ... part of me was hoping that was a dream," I said thoughtfully. "I'm going to get some tea, want any?"

"I'm good."

I grabbed my mug and slipped on enough that I was decent, then padded out of the room and down to the kitchen to make some tea. As I got nearer I heard voices in the kitchen.

"No way!" said Laura.

"I swear! Sandy told me she was in the union bar with her friend and saw a six armed silver haired girl kissing the faces off both a girl and a guy!" said Jenny.

"What, and you think that was shy little Emily?" Laura said unbelievingly.

"Hello, earth to Laura, how many other six armed girls with silver hair do you know? Besides, apparently Nat came along and took the girl away," Jenny replied.

"Wow! Our Emily doing that, it's hard to believe. I wonder if MORFS super charged her sex drive or something?" said Laura.

"Well it made her look very pretty, maybe that was more than enough. She always struck me as someone who deserved better luck in love. I guess she got it."

"But Emily, after both guys and girls," said Laura, "I mean ... Wow!"

'Great! Now I'm was going to get a reputation.I guess it's better than being known as a dull boring nerd girl.' I padded on into the kitchen.

"Morning," I said.

"EMILY!" shrieked Laura, practically leaping out of her seat.

"Er ... yes?", I said.

"Ah ... we heard that ... well um," said Laura.

"That I was kissing a guy and a girl in the union bar? I was," I confirmed.

"I didn't know you liked girls Em," said Jenny.

"I wasn't sure I did, that's how it got started. The guy Shaun suggested I try kissing him, then Caitlyn to see which I preferred, and well, it sort of progressed from there. They'd just rescued me from Mark, I was a little drunk and ... well it was an interesting evening," I said.

"Did you figure it out then, whether you like girls that is?" Laura asked.

"Still working it out." I went back to making tea, putting the kettle on.

"What happened with Mark?" asked Jenny.

"He grabbed me in the library started ranting about how Nat was brain-washing me. I pushed him off and then a load of people saw him off. Shaun and Caitlyn were two of them and came with me as witnesses to make a complaint, then they bought me drinks." I put a tea bag in my mug and covered it in boiling water, giving it a while to brew.

"I hope they lock that bastard up," said Jenny.

"Yeah, I'm glad you complained against him," Laura said. "That Caitlyn, wouldn't be Caitlyn Summers would it?"

I dumped out the tea bag and poured in a little milk and sipped my tea.

"Dunno, didn't catch her last name," I said.

To which Laura burst into a smile, "You are awful. Smallish red head, partial cat hybrid with tail and ears," said a scandalised Laura.

"Yeah that sounds like her.,"

"Wow! You get rid of that creepy stalker and then move right along to snogging super hot little Caitlyn Summers, and some guy at the same time. You are my hero!" said Laura.

I blushed, not sure what to say to that.

"Oh quit embarrassing her Laura!" said Jenny smiling at me.

I gave her a shy smile back took another sip of tea then made my excuses, "Well I gotta get going. My Mum's coming to take me out to get new clothes, see you later."

I wandered back up to my room drinking my tea and got out my clothes for the day, going for one of my new outfits jeans with my sparkly t shirt. I downed the rest of my tea, grabbed my wash kit, and went to clean up.

After that I put on my clothes and brushed my hair, making me look vaguely presentable. While I waited for Mum, I decided to work on my coordination of my new arms. I tried simple things first, basic control of my new limbs. I got them to copy my original arms at first, as this seemed easiest. After some concentration, I managed to move them independently. I still lacked any fine control, but my brain seemed to be gradually working out how to move my new limbs. After an hour of practising I could move my new arms more consciously and the amount of involuntary movement was much reduced. I was just trying to pick things up with my new hands when there was a knock on the door.

"I'll get it." Nat raced over and opened the door, "Hello," she said.

"Hello dear, I'm here to see Emily. Is she in?" said my mothers voice from the door.

"Sure, I'm her roommate, Natalie, come in," said Nat.

I turned towards the door, fairly nervous and saw my mother walk in dressed in a running suit and light t shirt. She looked over at me, gasped, and stood stock, still covering her mouth with her hand. This caused my sister, wearing a nearly identical outfit who was following Mum, to nearly walk into her. Both stood looking at me a little shocked.

"Wow, Emily, you look really different," said my sister Alice.

"Indeed, stand up sweetie! Let's take a look at the rest of you," said Mum.

I stood up and fidgeted fiddled with my hair. My mum and sister came over and began examining me. They turned me this way and that looking at me from various angles, prodded me and touched me, and made me a little uncomfortable.

"Where are your glasses dear? Did you get contacts?" asked Mum.

"No, I don't need them any more."

"I love your new irises the way they go with your wonderful new hair." Mum moved my hair out of the way of my eyes for a better look.

"You're taller than me now!" said Alice, then she began pulling on my arms, "Do these work?"

"Sort of, they still don't always do what I say yet, but they are starting to."

"This is a lovely t shirt dear. How on earth did you manage to get it with six sleeves?" Mum asked.

"I had it made at a little shop called Wings and Tails. They have a machine that will custom make clothes so it's fairly cheap. I had this and this shirt made," I said picking my crumpled shirt from yesterday out of my to wash box and showing it to them.

"Is that lipstick on your collar there?" asked Alice with a frown, pointing at the shirt.

"Er ... No," I said, tossing the shirt under my bed, maybe a little too fast.

They stood looking at me for a bit, then mum said, "Well then, we better get on. We have a lot to do."

"See you later Em," Nat called out.

I waved as I was led out the door by my sister and mother, each taking one of my arms. They Interestingly, they each picked arms from different sets, my smaller mother grabbed my bottom left arm, my taller sister the middle right. It felt very odd being pulled along by two different sets of arms. We went down the stairs and out the door and were soon walking down the street into town.

"So what do we need to get you, Emily?" asked Mum.

"Quite a bit, none of my old clothes fit. I'm taller, and well, bigger in parts, and that's without the issues of extra arms," I said.

"Cool we get to dress you up loads, like a six armed doll!" squealed my sister.

"Calm down dear. now the arms will be an issue. You say this place that made the t shirt can make stuff on demand and fairly cheaply?" Mum asked.

"Yeah, they don't do much in the way of range, but they can do tops that will fit me OK

"Well we'll have to head over there and get a bulk order in. I doubt conventional shops will cope with your new limbs. Once we have that done we'll be able to get the rest of your wardrobe at the normal shops I should think. Right then, lead the way to this specialist shop," Mum directed.

I headed straight over to Wings and Tails. On the way I noticed we were turning a few heads as we walked by. Being out with my Mum and Sister had always been a depressing experience, their attractive toned bodies drawing all the stares, while I was either ignored, or in some cases, laughed at. Now I was drawing as many looks as they were. I was sure that was partly down to my extra arms, but even then there were some looks that couldn't be mistake for anything but lust. This was a totally new sensation for me. No one had ever looked at me with lust before my change, not even creepy stalker guy.

We wandered into the store, which was busy with the weekend trade. My multiple limbs drew stares among the other customers most of whom also sported something extra. They didn't stare for too long, probably knowing how much it annoyed them to be stared at. I found the salesgirl, from the day before, and attracted her attention.

"Hello, there good to see you back, the top looks good on you. Are you here for some more?" she asked.

"Yes, is Charlie in?" I asked.

"I will see if she's free," she said and dived off into the back, returning a moment later and gesturing for me to come over, "Go on through, you know the way."

I wandered into the back, followed by my mother and sister, making my way into Charlie's workshop. She was sitting at a workbench, tinkering with some object or other.

On seeing me coming she broke into a broad grin, stood up, and walked over. She surprised me with a hug, "Welcome back, Emily, come for some more stuff?"

"Yes. Charlie, this is my mother and my sister, Alice. Mum, Alice, this is Charlie, the genius behind making custom stuff for people like ... like me, " I finished

"Pleased to meet you," said Mum.

"Hi," said my sister, who was looking around at all the machinery with a fairly disinterested look on her face. Technology was not really her thing. If she couldn't run on it, or climb it, or throw it, she wasn't interested.

"We are here to get my daughter sorted out with a new wardrobe, and after seeing the splendid work you did with this t shirt. I thought it was best to start here," said Mum.

"Great stuff! A full wardrobe you say, could cost a fair amount," said Charlie.

"She's unlikely to find good clothes that fit her unique shape elsewhere. So I'm willing to pay more for the more tailored fit you are able to provide," said Mum.

"Well jolly good. Let's get started. I have Emily's measurements already keyed in. What sort of designs are we talking about?" asked Charlie, indicating we should take a seat around her terminal.

"A range would be good, she needs all new things. So a selection of styles so she can have some choice would be ideal," said Mum.

"And she needs some sexy tops to show of her new boobs!" blurted Alice.

"Alice!" After a hard look at my sister, Mum went on, "While I wouldn't quite put it in those words, something along those lines would be useful so she can look her best when out."

"Right ho," said Charlie, tapping away with a grin, bringing up my measurements.

She soon had the default six armed shirt, as well as the six armed t shirt she had done for me before, up on screen. Mum ordered a few of the shirts and then she and Alice chose a few variants on the t shirts, with different neck lines and fits. Then Charlie cooked up some more fancy wear, some sleeveless shirts with a fairly scandalous neckline which my sister chose, and some less racy things that still showed off my assets a bit. Once the styles were picked, Mum and Alice began picking out materials, I was made to stand up while they compared various fabric swatches, and debated what colours went best with my eyes. tried to give some feedback, though most of it was ignored. I did managed to prevent Alice having all my more clubbing tops made in skin tight gold and silver lamé. I think she still sneaked one in there, it did kind of go with my eyes and hair, but it was a bit odd to think of myself wearing it.

After a few hours of this, Charlie had a huge order to fill and my mother hit her credit card for the first time of the day. She seemed pleasantly surprised by the cost, I was aghast.

"This is nothing compared to prices for up market fashion brands, dear. You are getting a pretty good bargain for essentially custom tailored clothes," Mum said. I took her word for it.

In the end I was getting a week or two worth of every day clothing (shirts, t shirts, and normal looking tops), as well as a few items of more fancy wear I could go out in.

We left Charlie franticly fabricating away. She said that we had basically bought up her time for most of the day, just running the machines to take care of our order. I don't think she was unhappy about that, I would guess very few people came in and ordered a whole new set of clothing. Usually they could make do with what they had, or get most items off the shelves and modify them.

As we headed into town proper, I was a little more nervous, as I didn't have my coat, so my arms were uncovered. Earlier my brain had still been fuzzy from the hangover, so I hadn't really been aware enough to feel self-conscious. Then in the shop, most people had at least some differences, so I hadn't felt too exposed. Now we were out in the main thoroughfare, it was a lot busier, and I was feeling just a tad anxious.

I tried to conceal my new arms somehow, make them appear as just one set by careful arrangement and standing close to my mother and sister.

Alice, eyeing my attempts to make my arms look more normal, asked, "What are you doing, Emily?"

"Trying not to look so different," I said quietly.

"Why? You look cool with load of arms. You stand out, not like you were before, all plain and stuff," Alice said poking me.

"Oh leave her alone. I'm sure she is just a little nervous," Mum told her, putting her arm around me and rubbing my back reassuringly. "It's tough being different, but you'll manage it, sweetie."

Alice regarded me speculatively, "So besides growing extra limbs, what have you been up to, Sis?"

"Well I..." I started.

"I've been doing loads," my sister jumped in before I could even really answer, "We had the school netball finals, which we won. I got a trophy. I was in the girls football and the hockey also, but we didn't do as well."

"I did a..."

"My friend Sally competed in the local 400 meters, I was in the relay with her. She reckoned our team wasn't strong enough this year. Hopefully next year we'll get a stronger line-up. I'm hoping to get higher up in the teams, maybe captain some of them."

"That sounds..."

"I was looking at doing some work over the summer, maybe some sort of voluntary work. They say that sort of experience looks good on your application to university. My friend Heather did a load of working with some kids or something. It looked like a lot of hard work, so I might just work at Mum's or something, but she said it's worth some extra credit's or some such."

"I heard it can help but mostly, grades are what they..."

"I might just go on a holiday. I know you just worked, but that's just boring. Might as well enjoy the time while you can. My friend Erika's family own a canal boat. We thought we might take that out. Or maybe go to France. Becky's family rent a French holiday home, a gîte, from an old friend of theirs and we might go down with them."

"It would be..."

"Although Mum said we might go to the states this year, isn't that right Mum."

"We'll see dear, nothing's decided yet and it depends how busy your father is," Mum said.

"Daddy's been really busy recently, lots of big meetings, always rushing off. He took me up to London with him when he was up there. We saw a show in the day and then Mum joined us for dinner it was great fun."

"I...", I managed a single letter before she cut me of again.

"For my birthday this year I quite fancy a trip to London, not sure if I invite my friends, or if I just have it with the family. You'd come along if we had a day out wouldn't you? I like going up to the city there's always loads to do and see, you always liked the museums but they're boring. There are loads of great shops up there. I got these shoes in London, I would have had to order them at home. The shops at home are fairly rubbish, here is better but not as good as the city. Still I guess you don't do a lot of shopping normally, it's not your thing."

"Not..."

"So what have you been up to, you're very quiet are you alright," she said, her machine gun monologue of the life and times of Alice Owen finally seeming to come to an end.

I paused and waited to see if she was truly done. When she didn't launch into her plans for a party or her latest sporting achievements or something else I said, "I'm doing OK."

I was about to talk about what I had been up to, but by that point she had turned away, seeming to loose interest. We were approaching the clothing bit of the shopping centre, so I guess she was distracted by the shiny outfits.

I was taken into various shops and treated like their very own dress up doll. They picked stuff out for me to wear. Almost all of my choices were thrown back by my sister, who said that they were granny clothing. This, from the girl who wore a track suit almost all the time. She wanted me to wear a load of incredibly revealing clothing, from skimpy thongs, to tiny bikinis, to skirts so short they were practically belts.

Luckily my mother was more reserved in her selections and reined my sister in, making sure I would at least have some skin covered. She also tended to go for things that showed my new body off, but not so much that I would freeze to death at the first breeze, or that made me feel like I was some sort of cheap tart.

We had a brief break for lunch. My appetite was still a little touchy from the booze. Alice interpreted this in her own special way, "I see now you've got a figure to watch you're already watching it by taking it easy on the food. You got the hang of that quickly, Sis," she said, grinning brightly.

After lunch we did some more shopping. We couldn't do much in the way of jumpers. Charlie was producing a couple more, thick materialed tops to serve the job some of the time, but anything else would have to go over my new limbs. I got a couple of extra baggy jumpers and cardigans so I would have something warm to wear. I looked through jackets but any that would fit me well would not accommodate my new limbs. I even gazed longingly at this swish long leather coat, but I guess such speciality items are beyond me now.

In the end I had loads of bags of clothing, which was one of the few times my new arms came in useful. After some persuasion I managed to get my additional hands to grip the shopping bags and leave my normal hands free.

I told Mum about Nat wanting to take me to the gym to test myself and she thought it was a great idea. Since she was an exercise fanatic and ran a gym, I wasn't that surprised at that. We went to a sporting shop and my sister was off like a shot to look at all the new trainers and sporting equipment.

Mum took me over to the rows of various workout outfits and went through them. She whipped out a measuring tape and began sizing me up to work out what sort of clothes to go for, looking for ones that would fit me and accommodate my extra limbs. She got me a few sports bras, something I had never imagined myself needing before. Then we went in search of tops to wear over them, Mum found some little tops that would cover just my chest and leave my tummy uncovered. They made me a little uncomfortable, since my lower two sets of arms would be completely uncovered, which bothered me a bit. She also got some vest like arrangements that I could cut some holes in for my new arms. Once we had that, some shorts, and one track suit, I was more or less done.

I was weighed down by shopping, even with my new limbs, and feeling a little worn down. Mum guided me to a coffee shop for a break. Alice followed with a look of distaste on her face, she hated coffee. Even the smell drove her mad. Mum took her aside, handed her something, and she ran off.

"What was that about?" I asked.

"Oh I just gave her some money so she can go and get herself some new makeup while we have a nice coffee. Knowing her and choosing colours, we will be finished long before she has even chosen one lipstick," Mum said with a smile.

We each got a coffee then sat down. After a little convincing, my hands let go and I was able to put the bags down and relax.

Once we were both settled, Mum leaned across the table and looked deep into my eyes using her serious expression, "The other reason I wanted to get rid of Alice, was so we could have a little time alone to talk. I wanted to see that you were really alright."

I sipped my coffee a little and tried to work out what to say. "I don't know yet," I said quietly.

"Well, how have people treated you? Have you had many problems with how you look now?" Mum asked.

"Some better, some worse. There were some jerks who had a go at me, and some people who have been really, really nice." Images of Caitlyn and Shaun sprang unbidden to my mind's eye, making me shiver thinking about just how nice they'd been to me. "Plus, Nat's been great. A wonderful friend and roommate."

"People have been unkind to you though."

"Yeah, these two guys in hall right after I got back from the hospital, made a big thing about my arms. Called me a freak."

"What happened?"

"Nat kicked their arses. I guess I helped a bit. They tried to accuse us of attacking them, but we had loads of witnesses."

"Well I'm glad you didn't take it lying down. I know you have never been one to be out there and announce yourself. You are more into sitting quietly in the background."

"I was boring and dull."

"No, I wouldn't say that. You were you're own person, regardless of what others might want. Now ... well it must be hard for you to find your new place."

"Yeah, I've always just blended in with the wall paper. I was the ugly plain girl who hid away."

"You were never ugly, sweetie."

"Well, maybe ... I always felt it, at least a little. I hid in the background. No one looked at me, and for the most part that was fine with me. Now I stand out. Even without my extra arms, I stand out. It's tough to adjust. I went from someone the only person showing an interest in was some creepy stalker guy, to getting looks all the time."

"There was someone stalking you?"

"Yeah, he was weird. We went on one date, I decided I didn't like him, and told him so in a friendly way. I didn't hate him, I just didn't feel he was someone I could get along with, but he wouldn't leave me alone and started following me around. He would hang around outside the house. It was nasty. I reported him, so hopefully he's not going to bother me any more."

"Hmm," Mum said sipping her coffee.

"Now, I'm pretty, people have been noticing me more. I still look a little plain next to Nat, but I guess being a bit freakish makes me more noticeable."

"Well, don't sell yourself short. You are a beautiful young woman. You always were, just lacking in a little confidence," Mum said.

I shrugged noncommittally and drank my coffee.

"I know we were never really that close when you were growing up. I guess I tended to spend more time with your sister. As you two got older, she started to have similar interests and you went your own way. I sometimes wish I'd made more of an effort so we were close. I still love you very much and want to be your friend. I really want you to be happy, so if you need anything, please call me," she said.

We sat talking about nothing much after that, just chit chat. It was nice to just sit there with my Mum and just talk, like I was still the same Emily as before. Eventually we finished our coffee and then went to find Alice. We had taken quite a while and I was a little surprised that Alice hadn't returned already.

She was still trying to work out what shade of eye shadow went with the lipstick she had chosen. At Mum's insistence, I got a few new bits of make-up too. I decided if I was going to go out and look nice, I might as well go the whole hog. I got a few colours of lipstick and eye shadow that went nicely with my new eye and hair colour. I also got some nail polish and it occurred to me that I would need to buy the stuff in bulk now, seeing as I had 30 nails to colour.

We wandered back over to the Wings and Tails shop to see if my tops were finished yet. We were met by a fairly frazzled looking Charlie, who cheerfully informed us that my stuff was all ready. Cue yet another session of dress up for Mum and Alice.

I had to admit though, Charlie had certainly delivered. I now had a stack of new tops that would fit me, and they all looked pretty good. I had enough clothes that I could get by again. When I had done enough trying on of things to satisfy Mum and Alice, we bid Charlie a fond farewell. Then, weighed down by packages, we headed back to the hall so I could put away some of these new purchases.

It had been a funny sort of day. I had waked up confused and in no small amount of pain from my hangover, but now I felt pretty good and had gotten comfort from talking with Mum. We hung up my new clothes and bagged up the old ones that no longer fitted. Mum knew a charity shop that we could donate them to so they wouldn't go to waste. I kept a few items that were special, the odd souvenir from trips and the like or present from a loved relative. Even if I couldn't wear them any more, I didn't want to get rid of them, as they were a small link to the old me. Besides, I might be able to modify them.

After that Mum invited me and Nat out to dinner with her and Alice. Naturally we accepted. Mum drove us to a reasonably swanky restaurant. We got there and as we waited to be seated, I noticed that Alice was now wearing a coat and acting a little odd, holding her hands behind her. Maybe it was some random exercise she decided she needed to do all the time, but it was strange even for her.

Eventually the head waiter turned up, he was a fairly smartly dressed man with slicked back hair who seemed to regard everyone as inferior to himself just by his bearing, "You have reservations?" he asked.

"Yes, Mrs Owen, table for four," Mum said.

"Yes I see you, I will just see if your table is ... ready," he had suddenly paused his eyes locking on my extra limbs, "Oh, this will not do!"

"What will not do," asked my Mum a touch confused.

"You are not in the er ... er ... proper dress code!" he said, reaching for a reason all the while staring at my limbs.

My mother followed his gaze and then stiffened, "As of when? Just a moment ago we were fine. Now suddenly we are not in the proper dress code?" Mum said icily.

"I do not make the rules, madam, these are the rules of the establishment. You will have to take your business else where," he said, sneering.

Nat began looking daggers at him, and crossed her arms in front of her. She looked pretty pissed off. The body language seemed to ruffle his feathers a bit, so I decided to give it a go. I decided to make the most of my multiple limbs and with a lot of concentration, I managed to cross my top set of arms and then cradle my fists with the middle set and then stand hands on hips with the lower set. All manner of eyebrow raising went on from the waiter, and several tables near the door began taking an interest in our little party.

"I wish to speak to your manager!" said Mum.

"That is not possible. Please vacate the premises immediately, or I will have to have you ejected," said the head waiter.

By now, even Alice looked pissed off at this guy. That might just have been because he was holding up her eating though.

The raised voices must have attracted attention as a well dressed woman came walking briskly over from somewhere deeper in the restaurant.

"I'm the manager here, what seems to be the problem?" she said looking a little concerned.

"These th ... customers lack the proper dress code so I was asking them to leave. They refused!" the waiter said.

The woman frowned and looked at the waiter seemingly confused, "What dress code? We don't have one," she said.