Complaints - Part 1

Dee Wright sighed as he finished tidying up the desk. He’d dusted, mopped, and organized, and not a single customer had stopped by. He cracked his neck gently and settled into his chair. The industrial fan in the corner oscillated a few times. He rapped his fingers on the wood of the table. Just three hours left in his shift.

Despite the occasional boredom, he enjoyed working in the back. It was like his own little world. It was much better than being out there somewhere in the rest of the store. He liked the owner but he knew she definitely had some quirks. Like the fact she opened a store that sold gender-bending products.

It was a dangerous place if one wished to remain unaltered. Despite those pitfalls, Dee had managed, in sixteen months, never to be accidentally affected by a single one of the store products; a record he held alone among the staff. Most employees were turned within a month, at most. 

The air from the fan brushed at his cap with the store logo. He scratched at his uniform of khaki and blue. It was now a little less than three hours. He plopped his head down but kept his eyes open. He blinked a few times. From down the hall, he could hear the even smack of heels on tile. He gave a quick glance.

Out strutted a tall, blond woman. Her hair fell past her shoulders and ended in tight curls. She was wedged into a pair of form-fitting leather pants. Her top was soft Lycra and showed off her vast cleavage. She turned as she walked, swiveling her tiny waist, and tossed her head back. Her eyes were bright blue. She leaned against the table as he leaned back. She made sure he had a good view of her. 

She moistened her lips and folded her arms. With a faint smile, she said breathlessly, “Hello, stud.” She locked her eyes on him.

He hid a smirk behind his hand, cleared his throat, and responded, “Good afternoon, ma’am. What can I help you with?” 

She gave a pleased noise, pushed her cleavage further, and giggled as she continued, “Oooh, there’s so much you can help me with…” Pouting, she added, “I have some great…big problems that only a strong man like you can help me with.”

Dee snorted and couldn’t hide his amusement anymore. He shook his head and said, “Hi, Jeff.”

The woman blanched for a second but steadied herself. “W-whatever do you mean? My name is Cindi.”

Dee kept his smile. “Last name?" 

Her eyes searched. She blurted out, stammering, “C-c-craw…crob…Crawfeld. Cindi Craw…Cindi Crooper!” She flashed a small look of satisfaction.

Dee responded, “So, what are you returning?”

She seemed to relax. “Nothing really… I’m just here to see you.”

Dee rubbed his chin. He wasn’t sure what Jeff was up to. Blackmail seemed out of the question. Maybe he was just bored? Dee opted to play along.

‘Cindi’ leaned and smiled as she said, “I like what I see and I’d like to see more.”

With a smirk, Dee slipped his hat off and nothing else. After waiting, she gave another pout and pressed, “Aww…Don’t you like me?”

He gave her another glance. “I’d say you like you, Jeff. But there’s one thing you may not like…” He held up a slip of paper.

‘Cindi’ swallowed a quick question and said a saucy-toned, “Whatever do you mean?”

Dee set the paper on the counter. “...If the owner found out about your illusion-appliance use…especially considering how much it costs to rent them...” He gestured to the red line.

‘Cindi’ grit her teeth and grumbled. “…How the heck did you know?!”

Dee savored her shower of displeasure. “It’s pretty simple. The moment you stepped out; you were like a spoof of a girl. Seriously. I mean, come on, you’ve been a girl several times already.”

‘Cindi’ leaned forward, folded her hands, and set her nose on the counter. “Ten times. And you…Never!”

Dee shook his head. “So that’s what this is about…Come on. Show it to me.”

With a contorted, sour expression, Cindi fished an illusion-appliance from deep in her bust. Dee raised an eyebrow and mulled, “Where were you actually keeping it?”

‘Cindi’ held out the appliance, which looked like a flat, soft bottle top. It shimmered and grew a bit of double-sided sticky tape. She set it down and Dee picked it up with a pair of plastic tongs. He dropped it into a drawer marked “to restock.”

‘Cindi’ flattened her face, along with her bust, against the counter. She expelled a wordless sound of disgust and said, “I so would’ve had you. It’s not fair you still haven’t been gotten after all this time. I’m surprised the owner hasn’t done something. Stinks…”

Dee folded his hands and retorted, “And you smell nice…”

‘Cindi’ gave as gruff a growl as she could manage with her voice. She pulled back from the table quickly and her chest gave a quake. Folding her arms over her front, she sighed and noted, “At least I have sensory feedback turned off.”

She fished a car-alarm sized remote out of a back pocket on her leather pants and clicked a button. A few seconds later, she mashed the side of her hip with her thumb.

Frowning, she muttered, “Come ooon…” She pressed her thumb into her side over and over, tracing a circle. With increasing alarm, she said, “No no nonono…Dammit…”

Dee leaned over the counter. “Something wrong…?”

‘Cindi’ kept pressing her hip until it hurt. Finally, she asked, “Could you help?”

Dee took the remote and looked it over. He aimed it at her and pressed the same button. Nothing. ‘Cindi’ turned in place and offered, “Maybe you have to aim at it?”

Dee pointed at her hip but also asked, “Are you sure it was on your hip?”

‘Cindi’ nodded vigorously. He clicked the button again. Nothing. He checked the tiny text on the remote. He was clicking the “Activate/Deactivate Illusion” button. There were two other, smaller buttons: a red “Engage/Disengage/Set Sensory Feedback” one and a green “Select/Modify Illusion” one.

At a glance, Dee found the interface poorly-designed. But he had a different thought. “Are you sure this is the one you used?”

‘Cindi’ frowned. “Yeah…why? Does it matter?”

Dee leaned to his right. He clicked the button again and heard a faint 'beep'. Using his tongs, he picked up the other illusion-appliance and showed it to ‘Cindi’. The middle was glowing a bright purple. 

‘Cindi’ still appeared confused. Dee explained, “You do recall these are keyed into a particular device each, right? Just like how your car alarm remote only affects your own car.”

She blanched again. “Oh…crap.” ‘Cindi’ felt around everywhere on her body. After some frantic searching, she slumped and resolved, “I must’ve lost it somewhere…” She touched her hip and suddenly gasped, “What if someone picked it up?” She stepped towards the door and bit her lip. “Uh…Be right back.”

Dee smiled and waved. “Have fun, cutie.”

He set the remote in the slot and leaned back in his chair. The return of silence was greatly-satisfying. 

But the calm wouldn’t last long. Mere moments after ‘Cindi’ departed, the doors swung open again. A woman with short, red hair, which clung to the sides of her cheeks, approached. She was dressed in a pleasant, white swimsuit with an opening near her stomach. She had on lacy-pink sandals. None of this compared to the sight of a flat-rimmed plunger stuck to her right breast.

She gripped the stick end and shuffled her way to the counter. With a soft, nervous voice, she said, “I seem to be having a problem…”