Yugi's friends stood around him in a half-circle, staring. Yugi sat on the living room couch with his hands in his lap, eyes fixed on the carpet. He could feel their gazes on his back as if they had physical weight."So… you're sayin'…" Joey began, face pale. "You could turn me inta a chick?" Yugi nodded. "Right now?"
"If you want, I could show you," Yugi offered quietly.
Joey leapt back like a flea, raising his hands to shield himself. "No, no, no no no!" he stammered. Atem shot him a disapproving look, and he grimaced. "I mean… I mean, uh… I don't think dat'll be necessary!" He let out a nervous chuckle.
There was silence for a moment. Yugi fidgeted. "So if you can turn guys into girls and back… do you think that means you could turn Téa into a man?" Tristan asked. Téa looked horrified and hit him with her purse. "Easy!" Tristan said, rubbing the site of impact. "It's just a question!"
"Well, I don't plan on finding out the answer any time soon!" Téa snarled.
"I don't think any of us have to worry about being victim to Yugi's powers," Atem told them. "Yugi has taken the last few days and gotten it entirely under control. Isn't that right, Yugi?" he asked.
Yugi nodded. He'd spent most of the weekend locked in his room, practicing, and despite Atem's encouragement to come out for meals, he'd only emerged when he knew his ability better than he knew Duel Monsters. He hadn't wanted a repeat of what had happened in the hallway on Friday night—poor Atem had been stuck as a girl for a half hour, pants affixed so tightly to his butt that it had taken both their strength to pry those darn jeans from his body.
"I just wanted to let you guys know what had happened," Yugi said. "Believe me, I don't plan on using this power again anytime soon." And by anytime soon, he meant ever.
Joey and Tristan seemed devastated by this statement. "Anytime soon?" Joey repeated. He took a seat near Yugi on the couch and leaned forward until Yugi could smell the scent of food on his breath. Doughnuts, Yugi guessed. "But Yug'," Joey whispered, "doncha see this is a golden opportunity? Dis ain't some curse ya gotta keep unda wraps; dis is like winnin' da lottery!" Tristan nodded emphatically. Téa buried her face in her hands.
Yugi glanced between them, perplexed. "What do you mean?" he asked.
Tristan gave a wistful laugh and threw his arm around Yugi's shoulders. "Oh, Yugi," he said.
"So innocent," Joey added.
Atem chuckled as Joey and Tristan spirited Yugi away to a distant corner of the room. "Ugh," was the only comment Téa had to offer, and Atem laughed again.
"So how do you feel about all this?" Atem asked, sitting down on the ottoman next to her. She smiled faintly and shrugged.
"Honestly I don't know," she admitted. "I always thought that if something like this happened I'd be right there, cheering my friend on! … But…" Her smile took on an air of embarrassment. "It's kind of weird, isn't it? Oh God, I'm sorry, it's just…"
She covered her mouth with her hands, groaning. "It's all right," Atem assured her. "I think Yugi feels the same way. You should have seen him when he transformed me by accident; he was on the verge of hysterics trying to change me back."
Téa leaned on her knees and looked over at him for a moment. "Was it strange?" she asked.
"Absolutely," Atem laughed. "Though I do think I would have gotten used to it, in time."
"Really?" Téa raised her eyebrows.
"Back in Egypt there was a great deal of difference between men and women, but nowadays it doesn't seem to matter much—being female rather than male," Atem said thoughtfully. If he had been paying attention, he would have seen Téa's eyes darken.
"You don't think it makes much of a difference?" Téa asked. "Being a woman? You think it's just as easy as being a man?"
"Well, what difference is there?" Atem retorted. "Women can own property, they can marry whomever they like, they can wear whatever they like—as far as personal appearance is concerned, I would even go so far as to say they have far more freedom than men do."
"Oh, women can wear pants—is that supposed to make up for the fact that men get paid higher salaries? The fact that men can look good at work without getting fired for being inappropriate? The fact that men can walk down the street without people looking at you like you're a piece of meat?" Téa asked, counting off her points with her fingers.
"That is a complete exaggeration," Atem said, beginning to feel argumentative.
"You know why you say that?" Téa asked, eyebrows raising higher until they crashed into a sudden scowl. "Because you're a man!"
Yugi, Joey and Tristan looked up from their meeting as Atem and Téa's bickering began to rise in volume. "Uh, guys?" Yugi said. His words fell powerlessly to the ground like a feather shot from a cannon. "Guys!"
Atem and Téa froze, Téa with her mouth still open. Blood rose to Atem's cheeks, and he thought he caught a grin flicker across Yugi's face before his counterpart dropped his head. "Are we gonna have ta put da two o' ya in a time out or somethin'?" Joey asked.
Téa crossed her legs and arms tightly. "Atem here was just saying he doesn't think there's much of a difference between men and women these days," she said. Her eyes flicked toward him. He recoiled as her lips curled up to form a wicked grin. "Well, if you're so sure you're right, why don't we make this debate a little more… official?"
Atem's eyes narrowed. "What do you mean?"
"I mean," Téa said, "a bet. If it's so easy for woman, then you should have no problem being one yourself, right?" Atem said nothing, but a sense of dread began to creep into his stomach. "If you can stay female for a month—one month—I'll…" Téa tapped her finger against her chin. "I'll buy you a pint of ice cream every two days until we graduate."
Tristan scoffed. "Téa, come on," he said. "If you want Atem to switch genders for a whole month, don't you think you need to sweeten the pot a little? Nobody's going to do something like that for ice cream."
"Tristan," Atem said quietly, stopping him. Few people realized that pistachio ice cream was Atem's greatest and most enduring carnal vice. A pint every two days, what did that come out to—something like twenty gallons? Twenty gallons…
"And what's in it for you if I lose?" Atem asked, feeling wary.
Téa smirked. "If you, at any point, have Yugi change you back… you perform a pas de deux with me in the talent show in fall semester."
Joey scrunched his face up. "A pah duh what?" he asked.
"A ballet dance with two people. Am I correct?" Atem said. "If you lose, you want me to dance with you, on stage, in front of the whole school."
"Téa," Yugi said, pushing his fingers together to form a steeple. "You know Atem… doesn't dance, right? At all." He frowned. "I'm not even sure he can…"
"Then I guess he'd better not lose." Téa looked at Atem, her expression smug. "What do you say?"
Atem swallowed. A month was quite the span, a full third of his summer. And the price of failure! Yugi had not been exaggerating to say he didn't dance; he never danced, not even when he was alone. To go out there and disgrace him in front of all those people… was a thousand dollars of ice cream really worth the risk? Of course it wasn't.
On the other hand… He took in the look on Téa's face—confidence almost to the point of arrogance in the validity of her point. Atem had seen the same fire in Joey's eyes at the start of a tournament—in Yugi's eyes, during the ceremonial duel. An opponent with that kind of spirit was difficult bait to resist. Not to mention the fact that he'd be able to squelch this "girls have it harder" complaint once and for all.
"You know what? You're on!" Atem said fiercely, holding out his hand. She grabbed it and gave it a firm shake, sealing the deal.
Tristan and Joey gaped at him; Yugi's eyes grew immense. "You're serious?" Joey exclaimed.
"For heaven's sake, Joey, it's not as if I'm sending myself to prison. It's just… a change in scenery," Atem told them. Téa snorted, and he glowered at her. "If Yugi is feeling up to it, I'll start tomorrow morning. That means July 27th will be my last day."
"Well, if you're really serious about this," Téa said, "I think we should lay down a few ground rules."
"Ground rules."
"Yes. Number one," Téa began, leaning forward, "women's clothes and unisex clothes only! Nothing from the men's department."
Atem laughed. That would be easy! He saw women walking around in jeans and t-shirts all the time. "Number two," Téa continued. "You have to act normal. That means hanging out with the gang, working out, dueling, going to the beach—everything you do on a regular basis. No hiding out in your room the whole time." Atem frowned slightly at that one. That meant if Seto got a wild hair and decided to challenge him to a rematch—or invite him to a tournament—he'd have to accept.
"Number three," Téa said. "You don't have to wear makeup or anything, but you do have to look presentable."
"Hold on. Presentable?" Atem asked. It was an uncomfortably ambiguous word.
Téa waved her hand. "Yugi knows what I mean." Atem looked over at him; he shrugged, blushing, but didn't deny the statement. "And that's all I can think of."
"Good. Then it's settled." Atem smiled. "I'll see you tomorrow morning."