Color - Job Interview

Thanks to MyLifeisaRPG for the Edition.

"You really don't feel hot?" I asked Janet while wiping the sweat from my forehead.

“Girl… seriously, today was the coldest day of the year," Janet was clearly annoyed. “You must be nervous about the job interview. Don’t worry though, everything is going to be okay.”

"Yeah, you’re right. I have been feeling a little weird all morning. It must be the nerves,” I replied.

I had a good reason to be nervous though. This job was everything I had ever dreamed of. It came with good insurance, good pay, and focused on technology. I'd been rehearsing and preparing for this interview for nearly a week now.

Janet, my cousin and best friend, accompanied me while I waited my turn in the waiting room with all the other applicants. I was still sweating and I hoped it didn't show too much. Something had to be wrong with me though because everyone else seemed perfectly comfortable. Some people even had jackets with them.

"There's still another hour until it's my turn. They'll call me when I'm up so, let’s go get some coffee," I said. "My feet are killing me and maybe it would help me relax."

"You must not be used to wearing heels," she said with a chuckle. "But alright, there's a cafe on the ground floor. Let's just go there."

The cafe was packed with office workers and students. We found a table in the corner and ordered our drinks. I got an iced coffee, while Janet ordered a cappuccino. No way could I drink anything hot right now. I was still sweating heavily and desperately needing to cool off.

"Still can't cool down?" Janet asked.

“I've felt weird all day. My entire body is tingling and my feet are killing me. Regardless of how off I'm feeling though, I will get this job no matter what,” I said more determined than ever. “I have prepared myself in every way, perfected my knowledge, and practiced my presentation.”

"Well… speaking of that, you forgot to paint one of your nails," Janet said and pointed to my right hand.

When I saw what she was talking about I panicked.

"SHIT!" I nearly shouted. "How did I not notice that? They'll never believe I'm detail oriented now!" I dropped my head into my hands, but something felt strange. My hands didn't feel quite right.

"Wait. I don't think you forgot to paint your nail. Not unless you had six fingers when you did them."

"W-what are you talking about?" Even as I asked I looked over my hands. "Oh my God, oh my God!" I could barely contain my panic. "Oh my God, I mutated?!"

"Did you ever get tested for the mutant gene?" Janet asked.

“N-no, of course not,” I stammered. “Why would I have? There aren't any mutants in my family!” A chill ran down my spine and settled in my lower back. I'd been tapping my feet nervously, but I swear they cracked or something. "Oh god no."

"Oh no what?" Janet asked.

"Oh shit. To the bathroom, quick." I said and sprinted down the hall. I didn't care how much it was hurting my feet to put any kind of weight on them, or how much the pain in them caused me to stumble. I needed to get to the bathroom. I needed to be away from people and somewhere private for a moment.

As soon as we were in the bathroom Janet shut the door and I kicked off my shoes. My eyes widened with horror and I just barely managed to stifle a scream. My hooves - that's right. HOOVES - had ripped completely through my pantyhose, shredding them. That explained why my feet had been hurting so much and why I could barely walk on them. They'd gone from a normal human foot to hooves. I couldn't even put my heel on the ground anymore! God how was going to get through the interview like this?

“WOW,” Janet said staring at my feet, her eyes wide. “That is so weird. Can you even put your heels on with those…well, whatever those are?"

“Yeah, I think so, although my pantyhose are completely ruined. I don’t think it looks very professional to go without them unfortunately but there's not much I can do.” I frowned.

"I think it'll be ok."

I turned away and pulled up my skirt so I could take off my shredded pantyhose. A twinge shot up my back when I bent over to remove them, but it wasn't my gasp that eachoed in the bathroom. "What? What now?!” I said. My heart was already thundering in my chest. My body couldn't have picked a worse time to mutate. If I could just get through this interview before anything else happened. Something told me that wasn't going to be the case though.

"You're...I think you're growing a tail," Janet said with a nervous laugh. "It's still small, but there's definitely something there."

"Oh my god, a tail too?" I exclaimed angrily as I tried to reach my hand around to feel over my lower back. Sure enough there was a small thin tail there that couldn't have been longer than the length of my hand. "Anything else?!" I shouted to no one in particular.

"Leah, are you really not feeling these changes?" Janet asked me. "New parts are developing and others are disappearing, you have to feel something strange at least!"

"I told you that my body has been tingling and feeling hot all day. Not to mention the fact that I've barely been able to walk on my feet at all, or all the pressure I've been feeling." I said.

"That could just be an allergy, and you could have twisted your ankle or something!" Janet nearly yelled. "But now you have six fingers on each hand, your feet are hooves, and now a tail is growing!"

She was right, I was mutating in a strange way that wasn't overly painful. At least not as much pain as you'd expect mutations to come with. My phone rang, making both of us jump. When I answered the secretary told I'd be up in 10 minutes.

"Shit, I am done for," I said as I ran my hand through my hair nervously. Something stopped it partway through though. Something hard and bony. Something that hadn't been there before. I was suddenly paralyzed. Janet noticed the panic on my face.

"Leah?" she said, "Is something else wrong?"

"O-on my head," I said. "I think I am getting horns!" I went over to the mirror, my hooves clomping on the tile floor, and parted my hair. Yep, sure enough, there were two small horns. They were barely visible now, but even as I watched they pushed up further, getting long enough to stick up just a little above my hair.

"Leah, you better get into that interview before anything else happens," Janet cautioned.

"I-I don’t know if I can do it," I said nearly in tears. "I'm a mons..."

"Woah woah woah," said Janet firmly, "First, you and I both know that mutants are not monsters. Second, this is your dream job. And third, you have prepared yourself and practiced for this interview over and over. Nothing can change that. You can do this"

Janet gently wiped my tears away before they could ruin my makeup. I stood up, took a deep breath to calm myself, and slid my hooves into my heels. Then as confidently as I could I headed up to the interview room.

"Miss McKenzie, it is your turn," the secretary said as she ushered me in. I straightened my spine and smoothed my shirt and entered.

After half an hour, I left the office and went back to the cafe where Janet was waiting for me. By that point, she was drinking her third cappuccino. When she saw me arrive she nearly dropped the cup.

There I was standing with a long, thin tail swinging behind me, four eight-inch horns crowning my head and of course, a third eye right in the middle of my forehead. Not to mention my six fingers on each hand and hooved feet well hidden in my heels.

"Oh…. Wow… that was a bit quick,” Janet said as she stared at me.

"I kept mutating in the middle of my interview, right in front of the interviewer," I replied.

"Oh geez. I'm so sorry," Janet said. "That must have been awful…"

“On the contrary, it actually went very well for me. I got the job!” I exclaimed happily.

"SERIOUSLY!? I can’t believe you!” Janet said “But… what happened?”

“Even though I was mutating, I kept calm the whole time and I really surprised my interviewer. She said that I showed tremendous ability to stay calm and handle stressful situations," I recounted. "And besides, her mother is a mutant, so she completely understood and wasn't scared or anything.” I finished with a big smile. “I start next Monday!”

"Now this deserves a celebration," Janet said, "Anywhere in particular you wanna go?"

"Honestly, right now I think I need to get some new clothes, especially a new bra."

"You mean...?" Janet asked.

"Yup, I have a row of three breasts now and my bra is killing me." Janet looked at me puzzled but noted how my shirt was barely staying buttoned together. After all was said and done, it was not a bad day.