Zoe stood by the open passenger door of the little black Rio, staring at the seat with a frown. She couldn't see any way to make this work.

In addition to Cindy's little car, there were two large black Land Rover SUVs parked in a small lot on the side of the house.

"Cars just weren't designed for people with tails, were they..."

Cindy suppressed a giggle, "Yeah, I guess not..."

This morning had been one awkward moment after another, and it looked like that trend was going to continue for a while yet.

She'd put the bathrobe back on after getting up in the morning, and Cindy had put on some leggings and a knee-length dress. Then they'd gone downstairs and Zoe had met the other two people who lived here.

Jessica was a short attractive redhead, and was Samantha's sister. Kara was a tall slim blonde enby. Jess seemed nice, really friendly and likeable. Kara had been a little scary actually. Zoe got the feeling they didn't trust her or something, the way they kept watching her.

Nicole had made breakfast for everyone, french toast, bacon, and home-fries.

Zoe felt awkward, like she was intruding on a family meal. They treated her like a guest, but it still felt a bit weird to her. The food was good though.

She'd offered to do the dishes, and her hosts accepted the offer. Cindy had helped with the dishes as well.

After they'd finished that, the small blonde had asked Jessica if she could spare some clothes for Zoe.

The redhead provided a pair of 'sacrificial track-pants', along with a t-shirt, and a pair of socks and running-shoes. Everything would be returned by the end of the day, except the track-pants, which soon had a hole in the back of them. Jess didn't share underwear though, so Zoe would be going commando until she bought some of her own.

Back in Cindy's bedroom, before Zoe got dressed, the little blonde found a measuring-tape and the two of them took all of Zoe's measurements. Zoe noted them all down on her phone, so she'd have a good idea of what sizes to get when they were shopping.

Then while Zoe got dressed, Cindy had done her make-up. It was actually kind of impressive, Zoe thought. The girl's make-up was subtle, but it helped make her look older. Closer to the age on her drivers licence, anyways.

And now they were ready to head out. Zoe was in the borrowed shoes and socks, black track-pants, and a t-shirt with some indie music group's logo across the front of it. A large dark grey hoodie was overtop of that. Her tail was sticking out the back of the track-pants, and at the moment it was twitching back and forth a little as she stared at the passenger seat, trying to figure out how to do this.

Finally Zoe sort of backed into the car, pulling her tail straight down between her legs, and then gently settled down onto the seat. She made a bit of a face. It wasn't painful, but it was uncomfortable. Sort of like giving herself a wedgie with her own tail.

Cindy bit her lip, trying not to giggle. "Is that gonna be ok, Zoe?"

"Yes..." she replied, blushing. She closed the car door then pulled on the seatbelt, adjusting the shoulder strap between her boobs.

Cindy sat down next to her and started the car. "I can't help with the tail, but those will feel better once we get you some bras." She nodded towards Zoe's chest.

The catgirl felt her cheeks going a bit pink. "There's a lot of stuff I didn't really think of ahead of time..."

Cindy grinned as they pulled out onto the road, "Don't feel bad. Pretty much nobody starts their day knowing they're gonna get magically turned into a girl, so nobody really plans ahead for that to happen, right?"

Zoe giggled a little, "Ok, yeah when you put it like that, I don't feel as bad."

The drive was ok, it took about a half hour, most of it along rural roads, before they started getting into the suburbs, then finally into the town itself.

As she drove, Cindy asked "Do you have an idea of what kind of style you want or anything? Like, are you feeling more into dresses and skirts, or more like, pants and stuff? Fancy, or casual?"

Zoe thought a bit. "I guess to start with, whatever's practical and straightforward? You and Samantha seem to have a good idea going, with the leggings and oversized tops? Though I'd like to get a skirt too... And I think I'd prefer casual, though I guess I should have something nice for this job interview? What sort of clothes will I need for that, assuming I get a job?"

Cindy grinned, "I'm not gonna spoil the surprise. But definitely a skirt would be good for the interview, but it doesn't hafta be like a formal business thing. A fun skirt will work fine."

As they pulled into the parking lot, Zoe started feeling nervous and self-conscious. It was just after eleven o'clock on a sunny Saturday morning in June, and the mall looked busy. Not packed, but there was going to be a lot of people here.

She shrank a little into her seat, "Uh, maybe this wasn't such a good idea... What if people freak out when they see me?"

Cindy found a spot and parked the car, then shrugged. "You can't hide forever, Zoe. You're gonna hafta get used to people staring at you, now that you look like that. May as well start now."

She added, "If you're worried about like, someone grabbing you or trying to mess with you or whatever? Don't be. If anyone tries, I can put them in their place. Not to brag or whatever, but I'm a pretty powerful witch. Even if I look like a harmless shrimp."

Zoe nodded, thinking about last night again, and all the magic the tiny blonde had done. "Yeah... I'd hate to see what you could do if you were angry with someone..."

Cindy just grinned, then asked, "Ready?"

Zoe took a deep breath, then nodded.

The two emerged from the car, and started walking together toward the entrance.

As they entered the mall, Zoe could immediately feel the eyes on her. Her lilac-coloured hair made her stand out at a distance, so people were already looking. And then closer up, they could see the ears, which got some quizzical stares and looks. And then people would notice her tail, and that got them openly staring. Sometimes with their mouths hanging open.

At the same time, her ears were twitching this way and that, picking up comments and whispers that normally would have been too faint or distant for her to hear.

Cindy was ignoring all the looks as she walked alongside the nervous catgirl. She was just acting like there was absolutely nothing out of the ordinary at all.

Zoe soon realized that was the idea. If she was reacting to all the stares, that would just make people more curious. But if she could just keep calm and act like it was perfectly normal...

With that in mind, she pushed away the anxiety and the self-conscious feelings. How she looked might be unusual for other people, but it was perfectly normal for her. She was Zoe Zaitsev, and she was happy and proud of who and what she was.

Once she had the right mindset, she quickly stopped noticing the stares, and she was able to ignore the comments and whispers. Her attention focused on the business of shopping.

The two visited about a dozen different stores. At first they were just browsing, so Zoe could get a feel for her options and to see if anything caught her eye.

Then they went back and started buying clothes. They started at a lingerie shop, where she got some low-cut cotton panties, and a few thongs. She avoided anything that went up too high towards her waist, since that wouldn't work with her tail. Then she picked out some bras. Cindy suggested she get a couple sports bras since they're comfortable and simple, but she also got a couple fancier ones too. Trying them on had been a bit of an adventure. Cindy wound up in the change room with her to help, as Zoe was clueless about putting them on.

From there, they moved on and got her a few pairs of leggings and an assortment of socks. Some short, some that went up to her thighs, and a few in between. Then they visited some shoe stores.

Through it all, Zoe had mostly been able to ignore the stares. A few times she'd got some startled looks from the staff in the stores. They'd do a double-take, or just stare at her as she was browsing the clothes. But so far, nobody had made any comments directly to her, or asked her about the tail or ears.

Soon she had a couple pairs of sneakers, a pair of walking / hiking shoes, and a pair of low-heeled dress shoes, along with all the earlier purchases. The two of them made a trip out to the car, as they were getting weighed down with all the purchases.

"Do you want to dive back in for round two?" Cindy asked with a smile, "Or do you wanna take a break and get some lunch first?"

Zoe thought for a bit, then replied, "I'm still doing ok after that big breakfast. If it's ok with you, let's get the shopping all out of the way, then we can get lunch before we go back to your place?"

Cindy nodded, "Works for me."

Round two got her an assortment of tops, a couple blouses, and a nice skirt and a pair of knee-length dresses. Finally she got a couple hoodies and a jacket. That all went into the car, and then they made one more trip, going first to a cosmetics shop.

Zoe hesitated as she followed Cindy into the boutique. "Why are we in here?"

"You need some make-up, duh." Cindy smiled. "Nikki used to work here a few years ago. She brought me here last year to help me figure this stuff out."

The small blonde then approached one of the staff, a young woman in her early twenties. She looked at the woman's name-tag then said, "Hi Gloria. My name's Cindy, this is my friend Zoe. She's kind of new to doing make-up and stuff, and she needs some help."

Gloria looked at Zoe, did a little double-take, but then just nodded, "Ok." She smiled, "Your hair is beautiful, Zoe. I love that colour! And your eyes look amazing! We could work off that, to come up with a nice coordinated look for you, if you like?"

Zoe was a little hesitant at first, but quickly started to feel at ease. The woman showed her different options, made suggestions, and Zoe even tried a few samples out. Cindy gave her some encouragement, or a few times steered her away from things. Zoe mostly trusted her friend, while listening to Gloria's suggestions and advice.

In the end, she didn't get too much make-up. She got two lipsticks, one in purple that matched her eyes, and a more subtle one in pink that worked well with her overall complexion and look. She got nail polish in the same two basic colours, and then some eyeshadow and eye liner.

After the cosmetics, they went to a sewing store and gathered up everything Zoe would need to do some alterations to make her clothes more tail-compatible. Then their last stop was to stock up on some basic toiletries. When they returned to the car with the third load of purchases, Zoe was starting to feel worn out.

"Ok... I think I'm ready for a break now. Not sure if I want to eat, or just nap though." She smiled.

Cindy grinned, "Well I'm a bit hungry again. Let's go for lunch. If you're not hungry, just get a drink, or something light."

They went to one of the restaurants next to the mall. At first the waitress was going to seat them at a booth, but Zoe took one look and asked, "Could we get a table instead please?" The booth would be as uncomfortable as the seat in the car, but a normal chair she could deal with better.

The waitress nodded and took them to a nearby table instead. Zoe turned her chair sideways and sat down, and curled her tail around onto her lap. There were a few stares but she ignored them. Then as the two of them looked at the menu, Cindy grinned and whispered, "You're already an expert at that."

"At what?" Zoe frowned a little, confused.

"Your tail." Cindy smiled. "Just like... Casually having it? I dunno how to say it."

Zoe smiled a little. Looking at the menu made her realize she was hungry after all. When the waitress came back, she ordered a cheeseburger and fries, and a glass of water. Cindy got a chicken sandwich and fries, and some cola.

As they ate, Cindy said, "After lunch we'll go home, maybe rest for an hour or something, then we'll get you dressed up and ready for the interview. We won't have time to do alterations on your clothes so I think you should wear a skirt or a dress, and the shoes with the heels. Maybe do your nails while we're resting, so they have time to dry, cos we'll want to do your make-up before we go out."

Zoe was starting to feel a bit overwhelmed again. "Ok... You still won't tell me what job I'm interviewing for, huh?"

The blonde grinned and shook her head. "Not yet."

She continued to feel more and more overwhelmed, as the events of the past day started to catch up with her. Her appetite suddenly faded and she was starting to feel a bit shaky.

"Why did you buy me so many clothes? You spent way too much money... And I have nowhere to put them... We should have just got like one outfit... I'm going to have to start trying to find a place to stay... Maybe I shouldn't have turned my back on the basement apartment so fast... Maybe I dove into all of this too fast..."

Her hands were starting to shake a little, and she was hyperventilating now, as everything started weighing on her all at once.

Cindy looked concerned as she said quietly, "Hey Zoe? It's ok. Just relax and take a few deep breaths. You're fine."

"But what am I going to do? Where am I going to go?"

Cindy continued speak softly, "You can stay with me till you get on your feet. There's loads of space in my room. And loads of space in our home. I still have to go to school for the next two weeks, but Nikki's usually home during the day, you can keep her company. Or better still, if you get the job today, you'll be working soon enough, and then we can figure out where you're gonna live." She took a breath, then said, "Trust me. It's gonna be ok. You're gonna be ok."

Zoe nodded slowly, taking a few slow deep breaths, then drank some water. After a few minutes she was starting to feel better again.

"Thanks Cindy..." she smiled at her friend. "I don't know what came over me there."

"It's ok Zoe." the small witch smiled back. "Maybe just a little anxiety attack or something? I'm glad you're feeling better now."

In the end, neither of them could finish their meals. Cindy left a fifty-dollar bill to cover lunch, and Zoe gave her a look, whispering, "That's a bit too much, don't you think?"

Cindy shrugged, whispering back, "I can never work out the 'proper' tip amount. Too much is fine."

Zoe found that odd, it was pretty simple math after all. She didn't argue though, and the two made their way back to the car. She sighed as she tucked her tail between her legs again then gently sat down on it as she settled into the passenger seat.

Cindy smiled as they pulled out of the parking lot and started for home, "I wonder if you could get a custom seat made, when you get your own car..."

"Maybe I could just ride a bicycle. Or a motorcycle..." Zoe wondered. "Though I'd absolutely need to keep my tail away from the chain and spokes!"

A moment later she frowned again, "Oh, but then the helmet wouldn't work, with my ears..."

The blonde giggled a little, then apologized. "Sorry Zoe. So much stuff we all take for granted I guess, that suddenly doesn't work or doesn't fit, when you're just a little bit outside what's considered 'normal'."

After a pause she added, "I sometimes get a bit of it too, like cos I look so young? Before I learned some tricks with make-up and stuff, people would always treat me like a little kid. I know that's not as bad as what you're dealing with, like physical discomfort and stuff. But it really sucked being like, twenty-two or whatever, but treated like I was twelve."

• • • • •

When they got back to the house, the two of them carried all Zoe's new things up to Cindy's bedroom. Then they sat on the bed and Cindy had helped her do her nails. She was going to go with the more-subtle pink, but Cindy suggested the purple. In the end they went with mostly pink, but her index- and ring-fingers were in purple.

Now they were just relaxing. Zoe was a little frustrated, it was hard to use her phone or laptop while waiting for the nails to dry, so the two just ended up talking a bit more.

Cindy had admitted she didn't have a lot of friends, or hobbies. She spent most of her spare time working with magic. Either practicing / training with it, or trying to develop new spells, or just trying to understand it more. She bragged a bit that she'd developed a lot of spells herself, and that she was one of the stronger witches in the coven, because she spent so much time working at it. And she'd explained that had been a conscious decision she'd made, to make up for being so physically small and weak.

Zoe had asked her about that, like if Cindy was so powerful, how'd she managed to get cursed. The girl had gone a bit glum about that, but she explained she was cursed before she'd become a witch. And she couldn't just break the curse, because it had come from a Goddess.

That had been a shock, to learn that there were gods and goddesses out there, and that they could and would get involved with people's lives.

Zoe had told Cindy a little of her own past, not that there was much to tell. Boring quiet life, average student in school, then working in a factory. She'd also confessed that her only hobby had been trying to find real magic. Now that she'd found it, she had no idea what to do next.

They talked a little of the future too. Cindy had no plans for after high-school. She wasn't going to college in September, she'd decided to take a year off from school. But she didn't actually know what she was going to do with herself during that year. Probably just keep messing around with magic.

And Zoe had no plans at all now, apart from getting a job and finding a place to live.

After an hour or so, they decided it was time to get moving again.

Zoe followed her friend's suggestions and advice as she got dressed. She was soon wearing a pair of panties, one of the nicer bras, some thigh-high socks, the skirt, a nice top, and the nice shoes with the low heels. Cindy helped a little as Zoe did her make-up. Zoe wanted to keep it subtle, so they went with the more subdued lipstick and a bit of eyeliner and shadow.

When it was done, she stared at herself in the mirror. "Wow..."

She thought she looked perfect before, but now she looked just a little bit better.

The skirt was pleated, it was black with a few light-grey stripes on it to liven it up a bit. Not too flashy, but not boring either. Her top was a heather-grey scoop-neck, just tight enough to show off her curves. The bra helped make sure some of those curves were front-and-centre, and with the scoop-neck it drew some attention to her cleavage.

Her make-up was subtle but brought out the colour in her face, and worked with the colour of her hair and fur.

The heels were just enough to give a little more shape to her legs, hips, and behind, without being too high that she'd have trouble walking in them. She decided that once she was used to them, she'd get some higher ones.

The only thing she wasn't sure about was her tail. The skirt went down just past her knees, and it meant her tail was sort of trapped hanging straight down behind her. It felt constricting especially around her behind.

"It'll work for now..." she sighed. "I'm going to have to learn how to do the alterations really fast though. Everything's going to need a hole for my tail, I think."

Cindy nodded, "If you can cope with it for an hour, that'll get you through the interview. Then we can spend the rest of the afternoon and evening figuring out how to fix your clothes."

Zoe nodded, then smiled. "We?"

Cindy shrugged, "Sure. I've been taking home-ec at school, I know how to sew and do some minor stuff."

Zoe smiled, "Thanks, Cindy." Then she sighed, "Now I have to figure out how to manage the car with both a tail and a skirt..."

The blonde grinned, "Nope! The interview is close enough that we can just walk there."

Zoe glanced down at her shoes with the little heels. "Uh... Is this a plot to give me more experience walking with heels?"

Cindy giggled, "No, but that's a good idea! C'mon, let's go."

Zoe followed as they left the bedroom. She was careful heading down the stairs, then the two went out the front door. Cindy was staring a bit as the two walked past the cars and started down the long drive towards the road.

Zoe was quickly feeling self-conscious again as the small witch was staring at her lower half while they walked.

"Uh, am I doing something wrong? Tell how to do this please?" Zoe asked, blushing slightly.

"Actually you're doing perfect." Cindy smiled. "Were you always that graceful, or did it come with becoming part cat?"

Zoe blushed a little more, "I don't know... I don't really have a lot of experience walking in heels, if that's what you mean..."

"Well you're a natural." Cindy smiled. "I mean, you haven't even had that body for twenty-four hours yet and you're rocking it. I've been like this almost two years and I'm still hopeless with heels. Kinda sucks cos I'd love being an extra inch or two taller now and then. I'm just too clumsy though."

Zoe smiled a little, accepting the compliment. Then she frowned, "When you say you've been like that almost two years, you mean smaller and younger? Or was there more to it than that?"

Cindy blushed a little, "Uh. Never-mind that for now." She then added, "Anyways, no time to talk, we're here!"