Stella gently opened the door to her dorm. As she expected, the lights were off, which made sense given it was nearly 4 am. Stella had messaged her younger sibling on the train ride home but received no response. She assumed they had just gone to bed.

The college dorm that Stella and her younger sibling Alex shared was about the size of a small studio apartment. The only additional room was a cramped bathroom that could barely fit the toilet, sink, and shower. There was also a small kitchenette in the main room with an oven and a mini fridge. It was admittedly much more than most of the dorms on the campus had, but it was still fairly small by general living standards.

Stella entered the dorm without turning on the lights, not wanting to disturb her sibling. However, as she looked to their shared bunk bed, Stella didn’t see Alex in bed. “Hmm, that’s odd. I suppose maybe they stayed with a friend? I wish they’d have told me.”

Before Stella could ponder that thought, someone jumped her from behind and wrapped their arms around her neck in a chokehold. They were clearly smaller than Stella, since their feet didn’t quite seem to reach the ground.

“Who the hell are you, huh!? Some kind of stalker after my bro!?” The assailant shouted at Stella with an angry, androgynous voice.

The force of their assault caused Stella to lose her balance and fall forward onto her chest. The attacker sat on Stella’s back and kept their hands at her neck.

“A-Alex… its… me…. Stanly.” Stella gasped as she struggled for her.

“Yeah right, nice try! As if I’d fall for such an obvious lie. Stanly hasn’t cross-dressed in years!”

“Geez, thanks for outing that, Alex.” Stella sighed. Or she would have if her sibling’s hands weren’t around her throat.

“Remember… when we were kids… we broke into mom’s room and… you took her lipstick… but… you thought it was face paint and…”

Alex immediately released their grip and recoiled in shock. “Wait, wait, wait, oh my gosh, please don’t say anymore!”

Stella coughed and gasped for breath. “Do… do you believe me now?”

“I… I guess so.”

“…then could you get off me?”

“Ah, of course! I’m super sorry!” Alex slid off Stella’s back and stood up, stepping away to turn on the lights before helping Stella up.

Alex was very small, even smaller than Stella’s new body, despite only being two years younger. Although what was once a difference of over a foot was now only a few inches. Their mostly straight, dirty blonde hair was down, reaching to the bottom of their shoulder-blades.

They were wearing a pink women’s pajama set with green and blue polka dots. They weren’t wearing their usual layer of makeup, so you could see the freckles around their nose. Freckles that Stella used to share.

Stella sat up cross-legged on the floor as Alex sat down opposite her. Alex was the first to speak. “Are you like, really Stanly? You totally don’t look anything like him.”

“Y-Yes, its me! I sent you a text with a picture and explained things there! Didn’t you see it?”

Alex walked over to their desk and checked their phone. “Ah…”

“You let it die again, didn’t you?” Stella looked at her sibling with a disappointed glare.

“Sorry! I just got super into this cute new design I was working on.” Alex pouted a little as they plugged their phone in.

“You shouldn’t be staying up this late anyway! Even if it is Friday, it’s still not good for you!”

“Says the one who was out all night! And why are we talking about me? You’re the one who looks like some mega hot model!”

“R-Right…” Stella blushed a little as she realized her protectiveness may have made her forget about her situation. “Well… I seem to have turned into a girl.”

“Yeah, I could tell that much. But like, are you okay? How did it happen?” Alex got Stella a glass of water and sat back down as Stella explained waking up, being attacked, and meeting Elma.

“I suppose I’m some sort of magical girl called a Bonder or something now. I guess whatever gave me those powers turned me into a girl for some reason.” Stella looked away uncomfortably. “I’m… sure it’s not an easy story to believe.”

“Huh? No, I totally believe you. I’m like, best friends with a magical girl.” Alex said completely casually, as if it was something obvious.

“A… what?”

“Yeah! I don’t think you’ve met her, but she goes to school with me! Her name’s Rose. She can turn into like, some sort of cowboy and make fire and stuff.”

“H-How long have you known about this!?”

“I dunno, a few months I guess.” Stella was shocked and wondered if perhaps this was all more common than she thought. Alex seemed to catch on and decided to change topics. “But like… are you really alright? Like, with the whole new body thing? You can’t change back?”

Stella shook her head. “It doesn’t seem that way, no. But don’t worry, I’ll be fine! I’m determined to make the best of this situation!”

Alex narrowed their eyes as if they didn’t quite believe Stella. “Really?”

“Yes! As an actor… er, actress, I think this will be a great chance to experience new things and broaden my horizons! In fact, I would be very happy if you could think of me as your big sister! I’ll be going by Stella for now until I turn back!”

Alex took a moment to think and assess Stella. They knew their brother well enough to know that there was more going on than Stella was admitting. Ultimately though, Alex shrugged. “Alright, if you say so sis. But uh… first lesson about being a girl: don’t sit cross-legged in a skirt that short. You’ve totally been flashing me since you sat up.”

Stella’s face lit up red as she immediately unfolded her legs and snapped them shut. “S-Sorry…”

Alex just sighed. “You’re really clueless, huh?”

“I’d… really appreciate your help, Alex.” Stella bowed her head in shame.

“Yeah, yeah, just leave it to the master! I’ll get my new big sis up to speed in no time!” Alex grinned happily. Stella smiled, feeling a bit more reassured to have her sibling’s support.

With that, the two finally got ready for bed, after their long night.