chapter one – never as tired as when i'm waking up
--- Thanks to my sounding boards/proof readers, SoulBlazer and THM. Very special thanks to Chrystal Wynd, who told me to write the kind of story I wanted to read. ---
Staring back at her reflection in the shop window, Virginia ran her fingers through her hair, her mouth wide open with shock. It hadn't been that long ago that she'd felt like the most desirable woman in the world. And now – Virginia strained forward, trying desperately to see herself in more detail, the day's warm bright sun obscuring her image in the window – she looked just like every other horribly plain looking girl wandering past.
Hadn't her hair been long, curly and blonde, not long ago? She was almost positive it had been. Beautiful, long blonde hair that she'd tie up in tight pigtails, or just leave cascading down past her shoulders. Virginia's fingers brushed through dusty brown shoulder length hair, pulling it out towards her eyes so she could confirm what her reflection was telling her, then looked down at what she was wearing.
She curled her lip in disgust: a homely, droopy gray cardigan, white t-shirt, sensible flat-soled shoes, a dirty old canvas backpack and loose fitting jeans. She could barely believe this was her own image that she was seeing. God, she felt plain. She grimaced and tugged at her cardigan, trying to get it to sit right; to fit a little tighter like she was used to.
"And these jeans!" she thought. "God, they're so loose and, and...plain!" They barely showed off any of her curves, and that just wasn't right at all.
Come to think of it, hadn't her figure been more well-rounded before? She was sure she remembered shopping for clothes just recently, and having to take into account the size of her breasts. She couldn't really remember when or where that was, or what size she was, just that her boobs had been much larger than the ones she had now. How was that possible?
Oh, but there were more pressing things to take care of first, she realized, feeling the heat rising in her body, licking her lips hungrily, her eyes lazily wandering up and down the shopping arcade. She couldn't believe she'd almost let herself get distracted! She had things she needed to do. She rubbed her hands unconsciously against her breasts, squeezing them tightly. Her nipples were hard, insistently rubbing against the soft fabric of her bra. She needed desperately to...to...
Virginia looked around in confusion. "To what?" she wondered, dropping her hands. She couldn't remember. She shook her head, trying to think. Her mind felt like cotton wool. Biting her lip, Virginia again looked around, taking in her surroundings with a little more clarity this time.
She was standing in a small vintage-styled arcade, surrounded by clothing shops, with a tiny café down one end. "Maybe that's what I need," she thought to herself, smiling wryly at her own confusion, "a coffee to clear my head a bit."
She walked slowly down the arcade, trying to piece together what was going on. She knew where she was, more or less, because Treeson Arcade wasn't far from where she lived, though the shops looked different from the last time she was there. "How long ago was that, anyway?" she wondered. The arcade as a whole seemed to have been done up quite significantly.
She knew who she was, or at least she was pretty sure she did: Virginia Wilson, 23 year old law clerk for Topp and Hetmond. And she knew where she lived, just a few blocks away, with her mother, in a small townhouse down the road in Alpine Views.
Virginia smiled to herself as she sat down at a table out front of the café, placing her backpack on the ground next to her. She had that much worked out, at least, she thought proudly. Things were really coming along!
Though, she was having a little trouble working out how she'd managed to get to Treeson Arcade. Or what day it was.
Or why - half-consciously turning her seat to face away from the window - she felt so uncomfortable at the sight of her own reflection. Almost disgusted by how plain she looked, in clothes she was fairly sure were her own. She looked down again, grimacing at the drab cardigan.
"I wonder if it'd look any better without this t-shirt," Virginia mumbled, holding the cardigan tight against her to make sure it wouldn't cover up too much of her breasts. What little she had, anyway. She glanced around, looking around for somewhere to shed the extra layer. Virginia was just about to stand as the waitress walked up. The thin young blonde paused for a second, almost as if she recognized Virginia, then carried on.
"Can I help you?" she asked, brushing a stray hair from her eyes.
"Uh, yeah," Virginia began, fingering the menu, scanning it quickly and suddenly realizing how hungry she was. "Can I get a latte, and a toasted cheese sandwich?"