The Fantasy

Her name is Cherry. Well, was. She was the lead cheerleader for our high school, lead singer of the school's choir and a contender for the top five percent of our academic population. She was on track for quite a bright future, with honors and accolades raining her way really fast. She deserved it all.

It was our school's homecoming football game, and I had been flirting with her all that week. Just before the big day, I had succeeded in seducing her into making out with me under the bleachers. She wished me a little "extra" luck and took off for the parking lot, driving home. I stood there alone for half an hour, wondering whether or not I should do it. I decided I would.

The next morning, I asked her to meet me near the locker rooms in her uniform if we won the game. You bet I tried my hardest to win that game. Down by 14 points at half-time, I saw her on the sidelines, cheering for us. Looking into her eyes, I saw she was cheering for me. She had no idea that she was sealing her fate by hoping for our victory, but I would have probably done it anyway. So, over the next two quarters, I worked my ass off to score as many touchdowns as I could make in the time we had. I played harder than I'd ever played before, and it payed off. We won. The school celebrated. We dumped the Gatorade on our coach. We were kings of the world that night, but I didn't care. I couldn't wait for everyone to leave so that I'd be able to claim my prize.

We went out and partied hard that night, but I didn't drink. I didn't want to. I wanted to be as sober as I could be. I looked at Cherry, who was at the party with us. She looked at me. She knew what I wanted. So we got in the truck and drove back to the school at three in the morning. The campus was dark. The gates were locked. Luckily for me, the coach had left me keys to the school for whenever I wanted to access our gym. We drove onto the property, the only two souls around.

I opened the door to the locker room, and Cherry went to get changed into a clean uniform for me. After a few minutes, she came out with her shoes, skirt and tank top, arms behind her back in a cute pose of innocence. I wanted her to stay this way forever, never to age or earn anything to taint this appearance.

She walked up to me, placing her arms around my shoulders and proceeded to plant a kiss on my lips. It lasted for what seemed like eons; I didn't want it to end. But it had to. Besides, I'd get my turn later.

Now was my chance.

I placed my hands on her shoulders and gently pushed her back away from me. It was so tough to do so, but I forced myself to. As I poured energy into my arms to push her away, I poured energy into my arms to work my magic. As Cherry backed away, her movement slowed. Her face contorted in fear as she came to realize her ability to move was being impaired until it was finally halted entirely.

Cherry was paralyzed, standing in place while looking at her hands. Her face was frozen in fear at what was happening to her. Only her eyes could dart back and forth, and she gazed over at me pleading for help. It broke my heart, but that would be mended in just a bit. Holding out my hands, I mentally directed her body to move at my will. Her right leg rose up on my command, her knee bending to bring her foot towards the ground. She placed her right arm on her hip as her left arm drifted up as if she was presenting something just over her shoulder. That face didn't go with that pose, so I altered it to something a bit happier. A smile creeped along her cheeks, her eyes shooting around in horror as she was powerless to resist what her body was doing.

There, that's what I wanted. But I wasn't done. Not yet.

I reached into my open locker to pull out the final ingredient: my special cement. A concoction I made specifically for this occasion, I dipped my paintbrush in and began to run the stuff over her body. I applied the first layer over every square inch of her skin and clothing, coating her in a very fine transparent film. I ran another layer over her, this time creating magic. With the addition of the new layer, the two began to react with each other chemically, hardening quickly and stiffening to become tougher than cement. Taking on the texture of marble, Cherry became encased. She was a statue...a monument to herself and her beauty. I stood back. I forgot to paint her eyes. I ran the brush over them gently since she couldn't blink anymore, sealing them away forever.

Now I was done. Now I was satisfied. She was perfect. She IS perfect. She's great just the way she is and always will be. She's the perfect statue. I've kept her here in my storage closet for the past three years, and only one accident has happened in all that time. Last month, I knocked her over into the wall, breaking her pinky. That's when I realized something miraculous: her entire finger was made of stone. Expecting some sort of flesh or tissue to be held in a tube of cement, you could imagine my amazement. As it turns out, the solution I made apparently seeps into the skin over time, creeping in little by little until it penetrates the body as deep as it will go. From there, the body begins to petrify, literally converting to stone itself, matching its outer shell. I had created a true statue of her, turning her into the one thing I so truly desired.

I was able to repair her with ease, and am now studying how long the reaction will take. That's where you come in. I brought you here as my test subject. That's why I paralyzed you earlier. I didn't want you to run away when I explained how I got my statue right here. I didn't want you to run away when I explained what was in that bucket. I need you for this project. I'm not even going to change your pose. You're fine the way you are right now.

All right, let's begin...