Splitting the Dorm - with Dr. Charleston

[Eidio]

Hello everyone! While going through some random searches I stumbled onto this authors work. This is not mine and I take no credit for it. Below is the story and a link to their webpage.
https://www.deviantart.com/thatguyinthatcorner

Splitting the Dorm - with Dr. Charleston
by ThatGuyInThatCorner, Mar 4, 2018, 7:16:41 PM
31-39 minutes
By: ThatGuy

Dr. Delia Charleston did not recognize the young woman who entered her office next, which was very strange. As the designated counselor for the entire freshman population of Mim Hall, it was her job to know each and every student under her care and - as far as she was concerned - her duty to keep tabs on them throughout their entire academic experience at Copperfield University to an extent most of her colleagues might consider ridiculous.

The students saw her as obsessive and nosy at best, harsh and intimidating at worst, but with the literally changing times and the kind of things she and the students had to deal with on an almost daily basis she could never be convinced that her methods weren’t necessary.

As a result, when her information left her at a loss that sent up all of her red flags. “Hello, Dr. Charleston,” the coed muttered, being polite but sounding tense. “I’m here for my two o’ clock meeting. I’m glad you could finally make the time to meet me.”

She had a hazy, jittery demeanor, as if she were suffering from a migraine. She bumped into the doorframe while entering the office and nearly fell over. Dr. Charleston’s student assistant, Devon, made to help her inside - though from his awed look and the fact that he never once looked at her face, assistance that probably wasn’t his only intention. The doctor waved him off and shut the door, before turning to handle this mystery student herself. She would berate Devon later.

“Excuse me, but… what is your name?”

“Um… D-Desiree. Desiree Greene,” the pretty coed said awkwardly, sounding somewhat confused. “But... we’ve met before, miss. More than once. Don’t you remember?”

Dr. Charleston made a point of meeting each and every student under her care within their first week and she knew for a fact she and this “Desiree” had done no such thing, but she made a note of it anyway. A mental checklist of all the student lists in the university didn’t find the name at all. This student did not exist as far as her knowledge told her, so the girl remembering meeting her was curious.

She decided to roll with it for now. “Of course. My mistake, Ms. Greene.” She said. “Why don’t you sit down and tell me what’s going on?”

The girl did so. She breathed in and out for a moment, to collect herself before starting. “Well, doctor… I’ve… been feeling strange, recently. It only just started a few days ago, but suddenly I feel odd all over.” She unconsciously hugged herself, as if literally pulling herself together. “I’ve been having trouble remembering things, like things I know happened went another way, but I remember that other way too. And other people have been treating me strangely, like I’m not acting right.” She pulled herself tighter. Dr. Charleston frowned at how spooked she looked. “When I try to talk to people I know I usually don’t have a hard time, but sometimes they look at me funny. You weren’t the first person who needed to be reminded that I knew them.”

“I see…” Dr. Charleston said. This was sounding complicated, but it was worth a shot… “And have you been suffering from lost time? Like you wake up, and have been doing something you don’t remember.

Desiree looked confused again. “What? Like all those students on the news? No…” she said, unsure at first, and then more certain. “No, no blackouts or weird dreams or anything like that. But I guess it does sometimes feel like someone else as been in my life, or maybe I’m in someone else’s life, and I don’t remember them having been there. I don’t want to think I’m going nuts, but nothing makes sense any more!”

Dr. Charleston ticked under her breath and jotted down several note. That ruled out the obvious. Though how is it that “seemingly random magical split personalities” was becoming the easy solution?

Luckily, this was still sounding familiar. Dr. Charleston looked at her arm: the bracelet on her wrist was twinkling, slightly too much for the amount of light in her office. The good news was, this was sounding less and less like the other transformations going around campus these days. The bad news was, that meant it was something else. It was a toss up which options meant more paperwork, but she at least had some ideas to go on now.

“Are these problems perhaps being triggered by a young man in your life?” She asked bluntly. “Or a young woman? I don’t judge.”

“W-what? No!” Desiree gasped. “I can’t believe you. I come here looking for help with a very real issue I’m having, and you accuse me of… what, making it up because of some boy?

“No no, I’m sorry!” Charleston said quickly. “I just needed to be clear about it. With kids your age, these things are often caused by… romantic problems.”

Desiree scowled. “We’re not kids. But…” She sighed, looking down at her lap. I’m sorry too, then. The truth is, I couldn’t hook up with a guy even if I wanted to. Every time I so much as go out, my brain goes crazy. It tells me I’m too good for the people I spend my time with or the things we do, but that I should be ashamed for feeling like I’m too good for them even though I don’t want to think that in the first place! If I stay in it happens if I study too much, or if I don’t study enough. Every decision I make, my own head is against me!”

She looked into Dr. Charleston’s face. Tears were coming to her eyes now. “I… I feel like I hate myself all the time, but I don’t know why!”

Dr. Charleston paused. These could very well be the result of a real disorder, but to abruptly start just this week and instantly become so strong without any warning or apparent cause? No, this was likely something else.

She traced her eyes across the girl’s voluptuous figure. Her skin was a solid tan, her hair straight but wavy at the ends. Her hips were striking, and likewise she was noticeably busty, though neither in a way that looked particularly unnatural. To the untrained eye it may have seemed simply that her teen years had been kind to her, but the doctor knew better. Desiree’s figure wasn’t impossible, or even truly exaggerated (and Dr. Charleston had seen plenty of both, including from her previous patient), but those undeniable curves painted a picture, when taken along with everything she had said about herself plus the suspicious glint in the doctor’s bracelet.

It was a guess, but she had seen it too many times to dismiss. Someone had made her this way.

Desiree seemed quite smart, and she didn’t have the telltale obsession with boys or sex in general, which probably ruled out the usual reason: the wild libidos of other, usually male, students. As far as the doctor could tell, Desiree wasn’t even being pursued by another student. At least, not yet. But by the minute, this was still looking more and more like a case of poorly handled personality and memory alterations.

Yet again someone had altered one of the girls under her supervision - or perhaps even one of the boys. Desiree could be anybody, if her hunch was right. The mental war and headaches she was experiencing were no doubt the result of her original personality fighting the changes that created her current persona, and it was getting worse. If someone wasn’t trying to take advantage of it - and her - yet, it would happen soon.

Dr. Charleston sighed deeply. She hadn’t expected to be dealing with magical disorders of all things when she got her own degree, let alone people outright altering the minds of others, yet it seemed like these days she was less of a counselor and more of a reversal service for magical mishaps.

Magic wasn’t very well known yet. Even the journals Charleston memorized over the years only catalogued some effects. The majority never even experienced it up close, but as luck would have it Copperfield University happened to be atop a natural wellspring of magical energy… or something like that. The specifics weren’t provided to the faculty. Either way, it was a pain in the ass.

Most students left well enough alone, but these were still college-aged teenagers who liked to experiment and were only encouraged by the school’s rules against it. And most who tried to dabble were awful at it. The amount of ways the students could be exposed accidentally didn’t help, not to mention all the people willing to provide their own prohibited magical items for fun or profit. They’re still trying to catch that old man who keeps setting up shop in the local mall.

This “Desiree” could be anybody. Students messing with magic loved putting curses on others. And today, the girl in front of her had to suffer for it. To think, a few years ago the popular trick was turning people into animals. Dr. Charleston almost missed it. At least then she got to indulge her childhood love of small, fluffy critters.

The doctor leaned forward, pulling her bracelet up “Sit right there, my dear. I’m going to try something.”

“You mean, like, you’re going to hypnotize me?” Desiree looked skeptical, which seemed a bit unfair. Everyone in town knew weirder things were capable of taking place by now. It wasn't hypnosis, but still.

“Something like that…” the doctor said vaguely. She didn’t want to scare the girl any more than she already had been. If the doctor was right, she was about to cease to exist.

Dr. Charleston’s charm bracelet was given to her by the faculty once they realized just how much magic her job would force her to deal with. Or so they said. The truth was that a student once accidentally de-aged her years ago, resulting in an embarrassing debacle where they couldn’t track her down until after the newly freshman-aged Charleston had already pledged to a local sorority. The rest of the staff thinks she has no memory of it, but the truth is she would just rather not mention it. Although she thinks it’s kind that the Gammas still send her gifts.

The bracelet mainly held a strong defensive spell that would reflect offensive spells back to the caster, mostly to keep disgruntled students from seeing her as a target. But she could also use it to detect magic, and undo a few weaker spells. It was useless against anything actually serious, but ramshackle and disorganized changes like this were no problem.

“Just relax…” she said reassuringly, as she held the bracelet up to Desiree’s face. “It will all over in a moment.”

Desiree’s eyes fluttered, and then her head drooped. The charms on the bracelet sparkled, signifying the spell would be reversed in a moment. Dr. Charleston was sure that whoever this poor girl really was could probably clear this whole mess up easily.

To be fair, she had been wrong before.

Desiree shuddered, the usual first sign of a transformation. But then instead of shrinking or growing into a new body type, she widened. But not by gaining weight - by pulling in opposite directions. It was like she was a rubber mold of herself, being stretched sideways. And as she pulled farther, things multiplied: she had three eyes, then four. Her skin was changing color, but in blotches on either side. Her hair was the same: one half of her hair was still jet black and straight, the other lightening to auburn and frizzing up.

Desiree’s clothes were not part of the deal, and naturally couldn’t take the strain as an additional body filling the same space. There was a lot of ripping involved, and only Desiree’s top and underwear miraculously survived the process. They stretched thin and getting thinner, but were still holding. Shredded jeans and blouse were everywhere, now. Dr. Charleston’s sighed. The school wood likely have to foot the bill for that.

The girl’s - or rather girls’ - head was the first to split completely. For a second there was a sleeping two headed woman in front of her, then immediately the rest of it followed with a soft pop. The two halves were human, clearly feminine, probably teenage and very confused. Or in other words, one coed had suddenly become two. And Dr. Charleston knew both of them quite well.

On the left was Odessa Lemmon, one of the brighter students in the honor’s class. The doctor knew her to be impressively strict and ambitious in her studies, but also a bit abrasive. She had been in this office several times before, incessantly asking for academic or career advice. On the right side was Renee Bluestone, also in the honors class but more of a whimsical free spirit. The girl defined collegiate experimentation, always getting into semi-legal pursuits to her RA’s chagrin. She had also met Dr. Charleston a few times, mostly to be told off whenever her latest hobby went sideways.

More curiously, the two knew each other. They were roommates. And as far as Dr. Charleston had observed, they absolutely loathed each other. Which explained Desiree’s spotty memory and uncontrollable self-hatred. But not why she existed in the first place.

Hopefully all would come out in time. Desiree may be gone for now, but Odessa and Renee were now awake… and fighting already. They tumbled around, trying to free themselves stretched out shirt.

“Get me out of this thing!”

“What’s going on? Where am I?”

A pair of loud pops heralded the end of Desiree’s underwear in the scuffle, but the top somehow stayed intact. Luckily, before they could completely expose themselves the two finally noticed each other. Once they recognized each other’s faces, they both pulled back and nearly fell off the couch. At the exact same time, they glared at each other and shouted “YOU!”

“I should’ve known this was your doing,” Odessa scoffed. “Get away from me!”

Renee growled, and pulled extra hard on their constricting clothing. “Can’t you see I’m trying? Give me a break!”

“Ahem.” The doctor coughed lightly, just enough to get the two squabbling girls’ attention.

“D-Dr. Charleston!” Renee gasped. “W-what are you doing here?”

Odessa looked around, as if only noticing their surroundings just now. “What are we…”

Dr. Charleston decided to help this along. “The question is: what you are doing here? I was treating a very confused, very conflicted student who was suffering from a magical disorder. After undoing the disorder, she disappeared and I was left with you two instead.”

The two girls stared at her, then at each other, then back at her. It seemed the doctor wasn’t the only one shocked by all of this.

“I’d like you to explain. If you can.”

Odessa realized she was in a situation and rapidly composed herself. “I’m afraid I have no idea, doctor!” She said, very politely. “If anything happened it must’ve been her fault!” The prim and proper look fell as she threw a snarl in Renee’s direction.

Renee snarled. “Don’t look at me! I certainly didn’t try to mash the two of us into one person!” She gave another jerk on Desiree’s top, and smirked as it made Odessa topple over with a squeak. Odessa yanked back, and the shirt finally went flying off of them.

At once, the two realized that they were now stark naked. And then Dr. Charleston had the migraine.

It wouldn’t do to have her patients shrieking like chickens when she had questions, let alone naked and shrieking like chickens, so Dr. Charleston hurried to her closets and pulled out two pairs of standard shirts and pants before things got too out of hand. They were drab, and the two would have to go commando for now, but it would accommodate them. It helped to be prepared.

She also gave the two girls each a cup of water to help them calm down. They took it, each blushing deeply in embarrassment, and scooted to the opposite ends of the couch.

It was almost funny. She had assumed Desiree’s impressive figure was the result of some immature student shaping her into their fantasy woman, but now that she looked at them it was obvious now where her assets really came from. Whatever happened to these two had effectively “added” them together. Neither of them was particularly plain to start, but it was hard not to see Desiree’s features in them now. The reserved way Odessa curved her legs together as she sat, the coquettish but involuntary jutting out of Renee’s chest. Dr. Charleston wouldn’t have been surprised if Desiree’s skin tone was even an exact mix between of their lighter and darker shades.

A curse that could combine the figures of two coeds (albeit rounding down some)… if the male student body ever caught wind of this, there would be half as many female students within days.

But those grim thoughts would have to wait. “As I was saying…” she said, once they seemed composed enough. “I need an explanation.”

The two looked defiantly at each other, daring the other to confess. Then, slowly, guilty looks crossed their own faces instead. The doctor, glad that they were finally getting someplace, picked Renee to focus on first. She put her most disapproving glare towards the free spirited girl. She cracked instantly.

“Okay, I’ll talk!” Renee sighed. “Midterms are coming up and I was out with some friends to relax, see, and we got our hands on a device that the guy said could shuffle traits around. We thought it was a lot of fun, so we took it and played around with it a little, making us act like each other.” Dr. Charleston bit down a groan in frustration. Yet another student enticed by some crook selling magical trinkets out the back of a truck! The campus needed better security. “But later, I had an even better idea. My snobby roommate was getting on my nerves.“ she spit the words out, earning her a glare. But she also looked especially guilty here, “So I thought, why not take some of the prissy bitch- I mean, witch’s so called ‘smarts’ to help with my tests?”

Odessa leapt across the couch, reaching for Renee’s collar. Renee had to shove her away. “YOU LITTLE HEATHEN! YOU TRIED TO STEAL MY-“

Dr. Charleston raised a hand to silence her. Odessa reluctantly went back to her side of the couch. “You’re a perfectly capable student, Ms. Bluestone. Why would you need Ms. Lemmon’s intelligence to pass a test?”

“I didn’t do it to cheat, I swear,” Renee gasped. “I know it looks that way, but I didn’t! I did it because I’m tired of her always hanging how much ‘better’ she is over everyone else’s head, just because of her rich family and private schools! I thought spending a little time as an idiot would teach her a lesson! I was going to give it back, honest.”

Dr. Charleston sighed, and jotted down another note. “I see…”

“So it is her fault!” Odessa said, seething. “Expel her!”

“No,” the doctor replied coldly. “The spell she used was dangerous, to be sure.” She glared at Renee, who gulped. “But it could not have merged you two together.”

“Oh…” Realizing that this meant she was now on the spot, Odessa shrunk into herself and looked away. Both the doctor and her roommate turned to glare at her, waiting for her to say something, but she avoided their eyes as if that alone would keep them from asking.

“Well?” Renee finally snapped.

“Okay!” Odessa cried, ignoring Renee and looking innocently at the doctor. “I-I’ve been boning up on magic. It’s such a fascinating subject, after all, and I wanted to see if I could master it on my own.”

The doctor frowned. “Despite the school strictly prohibiting such things?”

“I felt I could handle it.” Odessa said matter of factly. “I’ve been doing fairly well, trying some basic spells out. And eventually I came across one that could… er… enhance the user’s physical features.”

“You mean you actually tried to make yourself sexier?” Renee snickered. Odessa looked scandalized.

Dr. Charleston groaned. Teenagers would always teenagers, whether honor students or not.

“It was supposed to be temporary! I just wanted to see if I could do it! I’m very proud of my body, thank you very much!” Odessa crossed her arms. “But anyway, I found out that the spell only works if you take the attributes from someone else. So I tested it out on her.” She jerked her thumb at Renee, who looked furious. “A perfectly good body like that is wasted on a layabout like her anyway.”

Again, neither Renee nor Odessa were much plainer than the other. Both had fair complexion, full hair and healthy figures. They had different body shapes - different heights, one maybe a bit leggier, the other perhaps a bit thicker. As she noted before, Desiree’s striking figure came from mashing the two together, but both were very much attractive on their own. And as she told Renee, they were both very intelligent.

Dr. Charleston remembered being a teenager, but she could never understand the jealousy many of her students expressed over such minor things. It always ended in disaster.

Renee made to strike her in the face, but a look from Dr. Charleston put an end to it. “Honestly.” She pinched the bridge of her nose. “I know the two of you to be decent and moral students on your own, yet putting you two together in the same room has turned you into children!”

“Wait,” Renee said. “Are you watching us or something?”

“Yes.”

“Oh…”

“So let’s put this together. You tried to steal her intelligence.” Dr. Charleston pointed at Renee, who nodded. “And you tried to steal her… assets.” She pointed at Odessa, who turned away with a huff but didn’t disagree. “You two must have cast both spells at exactly the same time!” She realized. This was potentially even worse than she thought. “The two spells corrupted each other, and instead you became one person!”

“We did?” The two looked at each other. “I forgot about that.”

“That’s so strange." Odessa agreed. "Even I don't remember a thing. For how long were we like that?”

Dr. Charleston flinched. Those two responses confirmed it. Both Renee and Odessa were looking at her in confusion, but none of them were going to like what she had to tell them. “Last week you two became a delightful, if stressed, young woman named Desiree. She is much like the two of you, yet has little of your animosity. Odd…”

“Not the word I would use…” Renee grumbled, shuddering at the thought of being one with her mortal enemy.

The doctor’s eyes flashed. “I could also use ‘illegal,’ if you’d prefer.”

She gasped. “It was an accident! Please don’t let the dean expel me!”

“Or me, more importantly! It won’t happen again!” Odessa added. She turned to the girl with whom she had just shared a body with a look of pure disgust. “Trust me.”

Dr. Charleston sighed. The two were talking about expulsion and disciplinary action, as if it were so tame. They had no idea. This was not the kind of decision she wanted to make today, but she had no choice. What had to happen next was only what that they brought upon themselves. “Sadly, I doubt anyone will be getting expelled as a result of this.”

Both faces lit up. “So… we’re off the hook?” Renee squealed. “Wait, ‘sadly?’”

“Don’t jinx it, you fool!” Odessa muttered under her breath, though the doctor could clearly hear her. “What she means is, we won’t be punished?”

“Oh, I wouldn’t say that,” Dr. Charleston’s eyes hardened, and the two girls shrunk back at the sight of it. Their smiles were gone. Suddenly, they felt very afraid. “You two are in far more trouble than you realize.”

The two looked at each other with shock. The doctor closed her eyes in order to compose herself.

“I know magic is strange and exotic for students your age,” she said. “But I hoped you would’ve realized the consequences of what you’ve done to yourselves!”

“C-consequences?” Renee stammered.

Odessa snarled at her roommate. “I’m not a moron. I know all about the rules and laws surrounding magic,” she said to the doctor, crossing her arms as if the question was insulting. “But I don’t see why-“

“In this case,” Dr. Charleston continued as if neither of them had answered. Odessa gasped - perhaps she had never been dismissed so harshly. Renee laughed at her behind her hand. “The current view is that an ‘innocent’ created in the course of a hostile magical act - unless its original form is a victim - cannot be discarded so easily.”

“So?” Odessa sneered. “I’m the victim here!”

Renee shoved the other girl, hard. “You?” She turned to Dr. Charleston. “She started it! She’s the one who tried to steal my body just to ‘test out’ ways to be less ugly!”

“Why, you selfish little bi-“

“Neither of you are ‘the victim!’” The doctor shouted. They both fell silent. Their eyes were wide and fearful. “Short sighted and unintentional though your actions may have been, you two did create Desiree while trying to harm one another. I can’t in good conscience let her cease to exist to undo your mistakes. Nor is it fair to expel her for it.”

The two stared. They didn’t understand yet. “Expel… her...?” Odessa stammered. “But… but we-“

“Though it pains me,” Dr. Charleston said, matter of factly. “I’m afraid I will have to redo what you did to yourselves, possibly indefinitely. Or at least until a proper hearing over your unique situation.”

“NO!” They shouted at the same time. In other circumstances, Dr. Charleston might have been proud of them for finally agreeing.

“We didn’t mean it! Really!”

“We’ll make up. We won’t fight any more! Just don’t make me become part of… her!”

“Please, I’ve still got my whole life ahead of me!”

“So do I!”

“Judging by the lack of clear memory either of you two have of being her, I’d say it’s not your lives any more. It’s Desiree’s. Not two independent minds failing to act as one, but her own person with her own identity.” She sighed again. “And for the moment, she can do with it what she sees fit.” The feuding coeds turned very pale. Renee started breathing heavily, while Odessa was frozen in her seat. “I’ll send your case to the review board, but I expect that - at best - they might arrange for the two of you to spend an equal amount of time as Desiree as you do yourselves.”

“That’s not fair!” Renee cried. “Why do I have to disappear because she screwed up?”

Odessa seized her by the arm. “Shut up! You’re making it worse! And I’m not going to lose my future because of you!”

“That’s what got you into this mess.” Dr. Charleston chided. “And because neither of your spells were meant to combine two human beings, what was left of your minds nearly drove the poor girl insane. Which means that, unfortunately, I’ll have to personally ensure that your individual selves are more completely subsumed this time.”

This time, they went sheet white.

“Screw that, I’m out of here!”

“Me first! Get out of my way, you idiot!”

Not caring any more about being polite, Odessa ripped Desiree’s shirt apart, kicked off her half of the tattered skirt and made for the exit - Renee hot at her heels. But Dr. Charleston was ready. She tapped her bracelet, which of course had many uses. Both girls froze. Slowly and mechanically, they walked back to the couch and sat back down - arm to arm, next to each other.

“I c-can’t move!” Odessa said stiffly.

Renee’s eyes watered. “No… please, don’t-“

Dr. Charleston would not be moved. “I’m sorry, but you brought this on yourselves.”

With a single jerk, the arms that were touching sank into each other like clay.

“Oh no, it’s happening!” Odessa gasped. She tried to pull away, but Dr. Charleston’s spell still rooted her in place.

“We’re sorry!” Renee shouted. “Just stop this!”

The doctor shook her head. “I’m afraid I can’t, girls.”

Their fused arm squished into their torsos, which melded together. As they were wearing the same clothes, only their bodies had to change. The process was a bit slower than splitting them apart, as Dr. Charleston was less used to actually causing these things. First they were too wide, with twice as many legs as needed. Then their legs too began to overlap and sink into one another. Wherever they touched, their skin evened out into Desiree’s tan color as two slowly disappeared into one.

Unable to convince the doctor, the soon to be former coeds turned on each other. “This is all your fault, you mean spirited bitch!” Odessa sobbed. She spit in her roommate’s direction. Renee, only able to move her head, only barely dodged. “You could have just left me alone, but you had to try and humiliate me!”

“My fault?” Renee hissed, though there were tears running down her face as well. “You’re the one always looking down on me, flaunting your advanced lessons and self-taught magic around as if you actually know what you’re doing! You doomed us both!”

There were now just two heads on top of what was very much Desiree’s body. Slowly, the remains of the two girls were pulled towards each other.

“I swear, I got the worst roommate in the world.” Renee said. “And now I’m stuck with her forever.”

“Forever?” Odessa echoed, hyperventilating. “Oh god…”

Their cheeks fused, and their heads mashed together. For a second, Dr. Charleston was treated to an odd sight of a girl with a literally two-faced head: one side Renee, the other side Odessa. They were both crying as they squeaked out last minute pleas.

“N-no…”

“Don’t… please…”

And then the two faces stretched and reshaped themselves, and Desiree’s face returned. She stared in terror for a moment, as the two coeds still inside her mind realized what was about to happen. Then, she drifted back to sleep. Her tears dried instantly.

The doctor checked her for any irregularities. She seemed almost exactly the same as when this all started, with the exception of her outfit. Since the clothes she came in with were now in pieces all over the good doctor’s floor, she was now stuck with the same outfit Renee and Odessa had been. As they fused, it resized to fit her, so that was no problem. Though there was no way Desiree wouldn’t notice the difference, that would be the least of her worries.

Dr. Charleston put her bracelet closer to the sleeping girl’s head, and it glowed brighter. This part really was like hypnosis. The charm was helping Desiree take possession of her own mind, so that instead of being a confused third persona created by the collision of two others she would be a single, complete person. Her face twitched into a variety of strange expressions as her mental pathways paved over the inconsistencies inside of her, and inside the two original minds vanished bit by bit.

Finally, Desiree smiled peacefully. All contradictions were erased. Renee and Odessa were completely gone, or more accurately rewritten. The two young women’s thoughts and desires, even their memories, were now just aspects of Desiree’s identity. Her patient was cured, though the doctor wasn’t entirely happy about the way it had to happen.

As soon as the process completed, Desiree stirred. “Ohhh…” she blinked rapidly and yawned, like she was waking up from a long nap. “M-my headache is gone!” She gasped. She seemed happy enough, at least. The two who created her would likely disagree.

“Thanks doc!” she said shyly. “I’m… uh… sorry if I was a bit harsh earlier.”

“No harm done, my dear. It was a rather unique situation.”

Desiree tilted her head. “Unique situation? But what happened? I don’t remember a thing. And…” She looked down and saw the standard shirt and pants she now on, very different from the trendy ensemble she walked in which. She felt herself over, and realized she wasn’t wearing any underwear. “What the hell? What did you do to my clothes! Those were designer! Wait, did you-”

Dr. Charleston quickly silenced her. “The short answer is that you were the victim - or better put the result - of an unfortunate magical mishap. Much about your life, or should I say ‘lives,’ is not how you remember it.”

She stared. She looked much Renee and Odessa had when she told them they would cease to exist. “But I… I don’t understand.”

“I know.” The doctor nodded. She stood, and gestured for Desiree to follow to the door. While the coed didn’t seem to want to leave, she complied. “But it is a lot to take in, and I do have a line forming in the waiting room. For now, finish your day as normal. You should be getting a visit from myself and a few people from the colleges Board of Magical Affairs soon.”

“Huh?”

“All will, hopefully, be made clear soon.” She said simply. It felt like she said something similar at least a dozen times a week. But she rarely lied. “For now, just go out and have some fun.

She opened the door. The waiting room as still packed. Devon was there immediately, offering to hold it open for her patient and still not bothering to look at her face. This time at least, Desiree was together enough to realize what he was doing and shove him away. She walked out uncertainly, to - the doctor assumed - go home and find some underwear. But Dr. Charleston hoped she would also take her advice and enjoy herself.

This would probably be the last “normal” day that girl had in her entire life. It wasn’t fair that she only gotten a weeks worth of them.

She sighed. Yet another mountain of paperwork created by student incompetence. Youth truly was wasted on the young. For now, she flipped to the back of her notepad and put “Odessa Lemmon,” “Renee Bluestone” and “Desiree Greene” on her rapidly growing list of students who had, for some reason or another, become different students.

“This is getting out of hand,” the doctor said to herself. It was getting hard to believe the official line that this sort of thing only happened to less than 10% of students.

She decided she would wait a while before letting in her next patient. That one had taken a lot out of her. In the meantime, after putting down a reminder to call the Board of Magical Affairs and schedule an appointment for Desiree - plus an appeal for the two unfortunate students who had created her - she reviewed some of her case files. At least she perhaps might get a clue about what was causing the other wave of transformations sweeping through the school. One less crisis meant far less paperwork and one less monkey on her back.

And again, she realized how much she missed the days when “monkey on her back” could be literal. At least animals could be turned back into students without so much fuss…