Preview - Widdershins

Summary:
Nick, a teenage geek, finds himself in a world that is not his own. A Matriarchy where women outnumber men... and he's going to make the best of it.

AN: As you can tell, my summary needs work :)

1.

The alarm on my phone was loud enough to wake me up without being too harsh. I trudged into the bathroom and took a shower.

My name is Nick -don't call me Nicholas- Green. I have one older sister, my parents are still married, and I am happily a geek. My parents don't exactly have a bad marriage. They don't get into shouting matches, mainly because they would have to spend time together for that to happen. My sister was home a lot more now that she was out of school. All of those after-school activities that used to take up her time had vanished once she graduated. Thankfully, my sister hadn't woken up yet so there was still hot water. She was still on the internal clock and usually woke up around the same time I did.

I didn't bother trying to style my hair. It was long enough to reach below my ears, which helped it look less messy. My black hair was in a constant state of tussle. The only way to get it to listen was with copious amounts of hair gel that basically turned it into a helmet. Instead, I settled on running my hands through my hair a couple of times to make sure it looked purposely tussled. My deodorant was missing, so I used the generic one we kept under the sink. Today I would smell like baby powder, but it was better than BO.

Now that I was awake, I couldn't shake the feeling that something was wrong. I didn't know what and that annoyed the hell out of me.

I put on a fresh pair of boxers to find they had shrunk in the wash. The waist still fit fine, but the legs were a couple inches shorter than they had been. My jeans and shirt fit weirdly as well. The crotch and butt of my pants were snug, and the pockets were tiny. My shirt was tight around my shoulders and chest. My parents had taken me clothes shopping for the new year. Last night I had put them through the laundry. They must have had some special care instructions that I missed.

It was too late to do anything about it now. Instead, I shifted my attention to breakfast. There wasn't enough time for a full meal. It was a trade-off between breakfast and a shower in the mornings. I settled on a slice of toast and some juice. A honk from outside let me know my ride was here.

I chugged the last of my juice before I headed outside. My friend Mitchel waited in the driveway. His old sedan had seen better days, but it was better than not having a car at all. He had been my ride to school since freshman year.

"Good morning." Mitchel smiled as I opened the door.

"Morning." I said in reply.

I shifted in the seat to get comfortable. The jeans were cupping my equipment snuggly.

"You, ok?" Mitchel asked without taking his eyes off the road.

"Yeah." I adjusted the crotch of my jeans. "Just getting used to these new clothes."

Mitchel nodded. That feeling that something was wrong had started to tickle my brain again. The seats were still the same fabric, the radio was still broken, and the dashboard didn't have anything different about it. Still. The feeling just wouldn't leave me alone.

We arrived at school before I could drive myself crazy. The student parking lot was nearly full even with a good fifteen minutes before the first bell. That would change by next week. The shine of a new year would wear off and people would figure out just how close they could cut it before they were late.

"Ugh." Mitchel grumbled.

I looked over to him. He didn't say anything more. I arced an eyebrow at him in question.

"Oh goodie." Mitchel motioned subtly to a group of students nearby. "The sluts are here."

The words took a moment to process. I didn't think I had ever hear Mitchel say 'slut' ever. He motioned in the same direction again, this time more overt. I turned my attention to who he was talking about. That feeling of wrongness came back in full force as I looked at the group of boys nearby.

I knew them in passing. The town wasn't big enough for two high schools. I had seen them around. They were jocks, not my social circle. Regardless of how little I knew them, their choice in clothing was definitely out of character. Their color coordinated outfits consisted of what could only be described as hot pants and tank-tops that were so tight I could count their ribs. All three had a sparkling shimmer on their lips as well.

That feeling of wrongness slapped against my head like a gong. I turned my attention back to Mitchel. He gave me a conspiratorial nod at the look on my face.

"See." He chuckled.

My friend had changed too. His ears hadn't been pierced when I saw him last. They didn't look like they had been done recently. His clothes were different too. Not as bad as the trio he pointed out. It was the fit that was wrong, like mine.

We started to walk toward the main campus. It felt like my brain was covered in wet wool.

"What's your schedule today?" Mitchel asked.

"Huh?" I looked over at him.

"Your first class." Mitchel chuckled. "You are out of it today."

"Yeah." I nodded. "What did you say?"

"Your schedule." He prompted.

"Oh. Right." I slung my bag around to reach and pulled out the sheet of paper. "English, Gym, Lunch,  Biology, and Computer Science."

"I'll see you at lunch then." Mitchel sighed. "Why are you taking Computer Science? Miss Lourey is a total perv."

The Computer Science teacher was Mister Treble. Well, it had been.

"I wanted to learn C++." I replied with a shrug.

"You can do that online." Mitchel offered. "Without some lady trying to grope you constantly."

"Is she really that bad?" I asked.

"Oh yeah." Mitchel nodded. "At least Coach Swope keeps her hands to herself."

Coach Swope. At least the name sounded familiar. The health teacher was Miss Swope. She also handled the girls in PE classes. It was Mister Jones that everyone called Coach.

"I've got a week to change classes." I replied. "What's your schedule?"

"Domestic Duties, English, Lunch, Gym, and US History." He recited with a smile. "While you're trying to stay awake, I'll be making breakfast."

"Domestic duties?" I looked over at him.

"Yeah." Mitchel laughed. "I got lucky. Learning how to cook and do the laundry is going to be so hard."

He took my confused expression as something else.

"Come on." He rolled his eyes. "I know it's old fashion, but it's an easy grade."

"Yeah." I nodded. "Old fashion."

We split up as we neared the main campus. I tried to keep my face blank as I took in the world around me. It became obvious that it wasn't just the three boys and Mitch that had changed. Most of the guys wore bright colors along with makeup. Eyeliner and lip gloss seemed to be the most popular.

The changes didn't stop at the guys either. Where their clothes had gotten shorter and tighter, the girls were baggier and longer. The colors were more subdued, but still stylish. There were less dresses and skirts and more shorts and pants. On top of that, none of them had any makeup. There were a few more unibrows than usual, but other than that, it didn't make much of a difference.

"See something you like?" One of the girls in the jock group asked me.

My mind tried to connect my memory of my classmates with the person in front of me. I ran through the female athletes I knew before I recognized her. Stephanie Messenger, she played basketball. Her blonde hair was pulled back in a tight ponytail rather than the carefully placed curls I remembered. She wore a collared shirt and jeans. From the way her nipples poked through the fabric it was clear she wasn't wearing a bra. Her tight, athletic body didn't seem to need one.

I turned my attention back to the other girls in the area. It looked like only the bustier among them actually wore a bra. Even then, they were clearly only for utility rather than style.

"Did you hear me cutie?" She asked as she strolled over to me.

My thought process stalled. This had never happened before. She was a jock, popular, and hot. I was on the short side, about five foot six, but had a decent build. My genetics meant that I had broad shoulders, a thick neck, and would never be one of those svelte model types. Over the summer I had slimmed down once I joined the local lightsaber dueling club.

Yes, those lightsabers and it is awesome.

"Uh." I looked around to make sure she was talking to me. "I need to go to class."

"I could walk you." Stephanie stopped in front of me.

"I'm good." I squeaked out as I retreated.

Laughter trailed after me as I hurried to my first class. The door was unlocked. I didn't spare another look around before I rushed in and took a seat.

"What the fuck is happening?" I cradled my head in my hands.

"Mister Green." A stern voice chided from nearby.

I looked up to see an older man at the front of the room and I had no idea who he was. He had streaks of gray mixed in with his dark brown hair. The man was dressed in a pair of slacks and a button-down shirt. He had a small bit of makeup around his eyes, his lips weren't shiny but still had a dash of color to them.

Did I wear makeup? I tried to think back to contents of the bathroom cabinet. Nothing jumped out at me. My sister usually had a large collection of colors, shades, and various tools but they were missing along with my deodorant.

I watched the other students arrive. Out of twenty-five there were only four guys in the class, including me. Either there were more girls than there were last year, or I had just never noticed. At some point class started. The teacher passed around the textbook followed by a syllabus. Thanks to the paper I finally got his name, Mister Greer. After that I blocked out whatever was going on. I had more important things to focus on.

There were two possible answers to whatever was going on.

One, I had some sort of mental episode and was currently a drooling mess on the floor in my room, or possibly in a hospital. That didn't feel right though. I would say I had a healthy imagination, but I didn't think I could come up with all of this.

Two, I was in an alternate universe. That made no sense but was also the only idea I could come up with. Otherwise, the sudden change in all of my classmates was the product of an elaborate prank that I had missed out on.

"Nicholas." The teacher called.

"Here." I replied on instinct.

A few of the other students laughed. I forced myself to pay attention to whatever was going on. Mister Greer glared at me from the front of the class. I hadn't paid enough attention to see if there was anyone around me that I knew well enough.

"Zoned out." I gave a small shrug. "Not used to waking up so early, I guess. What was the question?"

Mister Greer pinched the bridge of his nose. He muttered something under his breath. I really wished that the bell would ring. A quick glance at the clock told me that class still had another twenty minutes before it was done.

"We were discussing the reading list for this semester." Mister Greer stared at me with tired eyes. "As you are my advanced class, you have more input in our selection. Are there any books listed that you disagree with?"

I scanned the list on the sheet in front of me. There wasn't a single name, or title, that I recognized.

"I'm good with whatever." I shrugged.

Mister Greer sighed again. He went on down the row to ask each of the students. From what I could pick up, some of the stories were similar to the ones I knew. Instead of King Arthur and Merlin, it was Morgan Le Fey and Elaine Pendragon. Dread and excitement brewed in my chest. There was an entire world of mythology, folklore, and pop culture that I had not experienced before. It also meant that there was an entire world of pop culture, folklore, and mythology that I had absolutely no experience with.

Did Star Wars still exist? What were videogames like?

I needed answers. It was tempting to take out my phone to start the search, but that was a quick way to get it confiscated for the rest of class. Possibly the entire day if Mister Greer was a hard ass.

On the plus side, it looked like I was going to be watching a lot of movies this week.