The next morning, he stretches. He feels fantastic. Then our lead gasps at wraps his arm around a bobbling chest. He turns to the mirror and spots a confused woman, her silk robe opened to reveal the cleavage pushed up by her matching bodice. Her hair, just above her shoulders, perfectly in place despite just waking up. He gawks at the mirror again, and screams, it come out like a girly shriek. Suddenly, the door bursts open and a panicked young woman rushes in. She heard a scream, what’s wrong?! Our lead clutches his robe closed and scuttles to the corner of the room, who is she!? The woman waves slightly and adopts a less frightened pose. She’s the understudy. She just arrived to the theater the night before. Or lead cocks his head, his new longer hair swooping over his eyes. “Last night”? He’s been here for several nights and never saw her. The woman bops and smiles. They must have just missed each other! She thought she’d get here early to practice, but leave it to a starlet like her to show up first and beat the whole cast and crew!
Our lead grips his head. No, no! He’s not who she thinks he is. He’s trapped in the town. Can’t leave! Warped back at night. He’s not a woman! The town, it’s-
The understudy is confused and backs up. She flips through the small booklet in her hands. She doesn’t know this part of the script at all! Is the star working on two plays at the same time!? The understudy dashes out of the room muttering something about needing to practice more. Leaving our lead just as confused. He slumps, looks at himself in the mirror once more, and sighs before heading to the closet. Gone are the simple blouse and skirt he worse last time, now just left with frilly ones and dresses. He tosses a dress onto the bed and grips the edge of the table with an angry grunt. He looks back at the new reflection and pats his bodice, both thankful and worried that it feels like it fits naturally now and is no longer squeezing the breath out of him. He glances down and sees a booklet similar to the understudy’s. Is that a script? And was it there the night before? He gets ready for the day, grabs the booklet, and sets off to examine the town.
Making slow progress in heels not meant for a dusty road, our lead surveys the town. It looks different but he can’t put his finger on why at first. The paint looks a little brighter. The windows no longer have a layer of dust on them. He peers through a window and sees that the once empty store is still closed up, but there are now shelves and racks set up, like it’s a small town grocery shop. Sauntering up to the next shop, he squints and sees this shop have mannequins up and a few are even decorated with outfits. “A real star can always find the cutest outfits!”. He gasps and jumps back at the sudden voice. The understudy bows and blushes, apologizing for startling him. He waves it off, he just... didn’t hear her walk over. Desperate to change the subject, he glances around and spies the diner. Does she want a bite to eat? The understudy grins ear to ear and absolutely would.
At the diner, the board over the door now pops off like it was barely held on at all. The understudy scuttles in and he cautiously follows. The place is definitely cleaner and his heels clack on a freshly scrubbed floor. Slipping off to the back, the storeroom shelves are now fully stocked with canned goods. He returns with a pan and some canned meat and vegetables. Nothing fresh but he can probably make something with these. The understudy acts thrilled just to spend time with him and agrees to the meal. They engage in small talk and he now knows to not bring up his bizarre situation and prior maleness. The understudy doesn’t seem to suffer from the same affliction or is just hiding it better. She talks of dreams of the stage and to really understand acting. That’s why she likes small towns. They talk a bit and finish their meal before she offers to clean up since he cooked. After that, its back to studying her script!
Exploring the theater, our lead finds nothing out of the ordinary. Almost disappointed to not find vats of bubbling ooze, toxic waste, or leaking canisters of hallucinogenic gas, he mopes around, before returning to his room and thumbing through the script until he falls asleep.
The next morning, he stretches. He feels fantastic. He spins to the mirror but when he’s slapped in the face by long hair, he already knows what to expect when he brushes it away. His features look more feminine and soft and he’s wearing... did he sleep in lipstick and eye shadow? Looking down, he’s shocked by his own cleavage now rising up from the bodice and he reels back, stumbling back onto the bed. Lifting his feet his sees he’s already wearing high heels, adorned with little puffs that match the fur on his robe. He grabs a shoe off and throws it against the wall, cursing in anger. He didn’t try to ruin or disrupt the town or theater! He played along so why is he even worse this morning!? Suddenly, the door bursts open and a panicked your woman rushes in. She heard a loud thud, what’s wrong?! He looks over at the understudy and shrugs. Wardrobe problem, everything is fine. The woman approaches closer and holds out her hand. She introduces herself and he looks at her in confusion. Yeah, she’s the understudy, he knows. He pulls her arm back, gasps and looks ready to swoon. A big star like him knows a nobody like her?! She dashes off fanning herself and muttering unintelligible oohs and ahhs.
Our lead sits and thinks for a moment. Is the understudy immune or unaware of the loops? Do they only apply to him? She’s acting like the previous day never happened, so this event must revolve around him. He quickly gets ready for the day, tossing on a new dress from the closet and resigning himself that it’s heels from now on. He scurries out of his room, smack into another person. The woman rubs her shoulder and groans. He’s shocked, staring at the woman in a business suit, his mouth agape. She apologizes and picks up a folder from the ground, before he snaps to and profusely apologizes. He didn’t expect anybody to be in the theater, uh, this early. Now that she’d been apologized to, the woman’s attitude shifts and she seems more friendly. She nods that they all got to work early to get the theater ready for the show. Break a leg and all that but she has to handle the business side of things. He gawks and watches her hurry off, before cautiously moving down to the hall. A large woman in a work shirt effortlessly carries a piece of the set by while a small one struggles to wheel a light towards the stage. He stands for a while and watches the scenes playing out before it dawns on him that there isn’t a man in the building. He surveys the space, zipping from woman to woman before hurriedly leaving.
Making his way through the town, our lead watches a woman wheel a cart into the grocery store, before he turns to the diner and preps to pry off the boards. He reaches out and realizes that the boards are gone already. He cautiously opens the door and steps inside to now familiar cheery jingle of the bell. A woman smooths the skirt of her uniform and gestures to an open booth. He looks up at the pretty woman and comments that he wasn’t expecting a waitress. She seems flustered and says she waitresses... no, owns the diner, so she’s here all the time.