Theresa Simmons is the name. I'm a six-foot-tall, voluptuous and big-bottomed, dark-skinned young Black woman living in the city of Atlanta, down in Georgia. Although I look like an ordinary gal, if a bit Amazonian in stature, in most respects, I'm something else entirely. You see, I'm a shape-shifter. I can assume the form of any person or animal I touch. There are lots of others like me out there. Men and women born with the ability to change form at will. We're the Trickster-gods of many mythologies, folklores and legends. We've always been among you.
For as long as humanity has existed, the ability to shape-shift has existed. In ancient times, we were worshiped as gods and goddesses from Central Europe to Continental Africa. In places like Ancient America, Eurasia and Australia, the native people knew of my brothers and sisters. Many admired us. Some hate us to this day. In the twenty-first century, there aren't that many of us left. Worldwide, perhaps fifteen to twenty thousand. And we look just like you. We're male and female, Black and White, Straight and Gay. The only thing we all have in common, other than our powers, is the fact that we're a people on the move. Most of us don't like to stay in one place for long. It seems that some particularly sensitive people can sense that we're different. For this and many other reasons, Shape-shifters are a nomadic species. We live in close-knit clans made up mostly of families. And that's how we like it.
My parents, Theodore and Amelia Simmons, are both shape-shifters. Dad is a police officer in Boston. Mom teaches African-American Literature and Sociology at Saint Paul Academy in the town of Milton. My brother Jason attends Boston College Law School on an academic scholarship. On the surface, they led perfectly normal lives. But we can't escape what we are. Having the ability to shape-shift makes us unique. We can do things ordinary human beings can only dream of. However, this also causes us to be hated by the few people out there who know about us. There is an ancient cult known as the Destroyers. And they absolutely live up to their name. Their sole mission is to hunt down and destroy all shape-shifters. They track us down all over the planet. They find us and they kill us. That's what they're all about. My parents warned me about using my powers too much. That's a surefire way to attract the attention of the Destroyers.
I heeded my parents warning, but I didn't let it make me paranoid. A lot of shape-shifters are paranoid. My uncle Leander changes form more often than I change outfits. I've seen him become an Asian car saleswoman, an African-American professional basketball player, a middle-aged WASP and a Mexican restaurateur all in one day. Shape-shifting takes a lot out of us. We can't simply snap our fingers and make it happen. It takes a lot of concentration. The first time I shape-shifted, I turned into a squirrel and went roaming all over my backyard. My mother, disguised as an owl, watched over me while I experimented with my powers for the first time. It's easy to assume animal form. Assuming the form of another human being takes a lot of time. And focus. And afterwards, you feel drained. I've only assumed the form of one other person. This white chick named Abby who was my nemesis at Brockton Community High School. She's the Queen Bee type you've seen in movies like Mean Girls. I hated her guts with a fiery passion. So one day, I made myself look like her and went around destroying her reputation. It was fun. My parents didn't find it funny and grounded me for a month.
These days, I can't afford to use my powers so casually or recklessly anymore. I'm on my own, for one thing. My folks are pretty far away and can't be expected to step in every time to fix every mistake I make. I'm an adult now. A civil engineering major at the Georgia Institute of Technology. I moved to Atlanta after winning myself an academic scholarship to one of Atlanta's top schools. So far, I like Georgia Tech. There are lots of cute guys there. So many of the best-looking men on campus are these awesome Black studs. They are all over the place in the state of Georgia. Especially the city of Atlanta. This Boston-born sister has no complaints. At all.
Right now, I'm having some fun with my boyfriend Eric Dwight in his dorm. We're getting buck-wild on his king-sized bed. He's a big and tall ( six-foot-three by 250 pounds ) Black stud I ran into in my Business Ethics class last semester. He was mad cute and friendly, and single. I moved right in for the kill. Tall, good-looking Black men at America's top colleges and universities don't stay single for long. I wanted Eric the first time I laid eyes on him. He was all that and then some. I kind of wondered if we'd get along, though. He seemed like a nice, quiet church-going guy while I'm the wildest and kinkiest chick on a campus full of horny femmes. I took great pleasure in corrupting Eric Dwight.
