A New Look at Life

By Lauren Bliss

To say Leighton Johnson had it rough would be an understatement. He was small, but pear shaped, which wasn’t the standard figure typically gifted to a growing boy. You could almost call him skinny, if not for what his bullies called his bubble butt. At only five foot, two inches tall, he was much shorter than the average ninth grader. His mother, being what one might describe as a holdover hippy, never took him to get a haircut. It was too dark and beautiful, she'd say. His androgynous features often bewildered strangers, with only his bushy eyebrows to steer people towards the assumption that he was male. Leighton spent as much time as he could in a fantasy world; reading comic books, and playing video games with little regard for the world outside of his bedroom. He understood very little about current trends preferring comfort over anything else. To top it all off his eyesight was about as terrible as it could be, and his mom could only afford coke bottle glasses that screamed "Please fuck with me."

He didn't know who his father was, and his mother didn't either for that matter. For her, free love stayed in fashion all the way into the nineteen-nineties. He and his sister Cameron were never that close, due to the fact she was eight years older. Her father was a traveling salesman. He used to pop in and out of town occasionally to see her, but six years prior stopped showing. Leighton and Cameron shared little common ground, her being quite popular and stylish in high school, and him being invisible, except to be the occasional punching bag. The only things they shared were their mother's hair and bone structure, as well as their gender ambiguous names. They got along okay most of the time, but they had few experiences they could truly connect on, and this led to a lot of arguments. It's not that they didn't love each other. They just couldn’t relate. With Cameron’s friends all having left for college, and Leighton not having any friends in the first place, their frustrations with their lives often wound up directed at one another.

The last day of school arrived and Leighton was thanking the stars that he could finally go home and do nothing all summer. No one around to beat him up anymore. No more homework. Just the new Zelda game, and time to play it.

As he was walking home, a car with “Seniors 2011” written all over it stopped in front of him. Out jumped Steve Billings, and three of his meat head friends. The walking embodiment of toxic masculinity, Steve had made it a personal mission to screw with Leighton the entire year. The smallest freshman he could find would provide enough entertainment to appease his need for dominance until he was off to his father’s alma mater.

"’Sup faggot?" he said, approaching Leighton, with a sadistic grin. "I just wanted to thank you for never tattling on me. I'm impressed you lasted this long and never once made the foolish decision to tell. It's impressive. No hard feelings?" said the brute extending his hand.

Leighton slowly reached out to shake Steve's hand, only to have it slapped away. Before he knew what happened, he had received the full force of Steve's balled up fist to his left eye. As he lay on the ground the last thing he heard was Steve say, "See you never, loser." and then the sound of the car speeding away. He felt his eye swell and tasted blood on his upper lip. After regaining his composure he felt around for his glasses , but only found a mess of bent wire and broken glass.

Carrying the destroyed mess home with him, he gave up on fighting back the tears. Upon entering the house Cameron heard her little brother bawling. She could tell whatever happened was far worse than usual, so she ran upstairs to his room worried sick.

"Oh my god! Are you okay?!" she asked, throwing her arms around him. "What happened?"

"What the hell do you think happened?!" Leighton yelled, taking out his frustrations on his sister. "I got my ass kicked!"

"By who?"

"Just some asshole jock. Totally your type. Why do you want to know? Did you want his number?"

"Leighton, please. I'm just trying to help."

"If you want to help, you can just leave me the fuck alone! Fuck you, Cameron! Just stop making my life more miserable!"

Cameron backed slowly out of the room and shut the door behind her. She understood why he was upset, but thought he didn't need to take it out on her. She went downstairs and called their mother to let her know what happened. Sitting at the kitchen table, her own temper started to boil over. She thought to herself, "I know he didn't mean it, but he'll pay for it later."

Around six o'clock his mother returned home from work. She found Leighton lying quietly with his comforter pulled over his head, so she sat on the bed next to the depressed boy.

"Are you okay, sweetie?"

"I'm fine. It’s not like I’m not used to it. My glasses are ruined though."

"It's going to be alright. Come downstairs and I'll get your face fixed up. I have some good news. I know for a fact you’ll want to hear it."

The two sat at the kitchen table, Leighton, with a bag of peas on his eye, and a tissue shoved up his nose.

"Times are hard right now," she started, "but I got a two hundred dollar bonus at work today. Perfect timing, right? I think we should use the money to get that new pair of glasses you wanted."

The boy's face lit up so fast that he couldn't help but wince at the pain in his cheek.

"Oh you poor thing," his mother said, stifling a giggle. " I can't afford to get them from that place in the mall though. We'll have to order them from that catalog you’ve got stashed in your room.Let me go get it and you can fill it out and get it ready to mail tomorrow morning."

After she returned to the kitchen he set to work, diligently filling out his name, address, product number, and the like. Once finished, he left it in an unsealed envelope for his mother to put the check in. It wasn’t instant gratification, but pretty soon, he would finally get the frames that Rivers Cuomo from Weezer wore. Returning upstairs for the night, he thought, “At least some good came from this.”

In the morning, as Ms. Johnson was about to leave for work, Cameron came groggily stomping down the stairs, almost blindly following the smell of coffee. Good mornings were said as Ms. Johnson was running out the door. Suddenly, she poked her head back in.

"Dear, could you do me a favor? Would you mail that order for your brother's new glasses? I probably won't be off work until after the post office closes."

"No problem mom. I got it," she said, brushing her long black hair out of her eyes.

While Cameron sat at the table sipping her coffee, she thumbed her way through the catalog. Remembering her altercation with her brother from the day before, an idea struck her. She took the order form, and made a slight alteration. After returning it to the envelope with the check, she sealed it and went upstairs to start her day with a smile on her face. Leaving her room in a peach sundress and cork wedges, she ran into Leighton, leaving the comforts of his cave."

"I'm sorry about yesterday sis," he muttered.

"No problem bro. I've already taken the steps to move past it."

Surprised by his sister's generosity, he said, "Great. I guess I'll go downstairs and listen to some TV."

That quip got a chuckle from Cameron. Leighton could be funny when he was relaxed and comfortable. Unfortunately for him, he was only that way at home. The rest of the time he was a church mouse, barely letting out an audible squeak. She knew he was sorry, but from her perspective he still needed to be punished. So out she went, stopping by the post office before continuing on to her part time job at the mall.

So the week passed with Leighton's nose literally stuck in a comic book, while he waited for his package. The swelling in his face had finally gone down, and he was generally in better spirits. It was Saturday morning when the delivery truck pulled up. After hearing the doorbell Cameron answered with a smile and signed.

"Leighton, there's a package for you!" she yelled up the stairs.

"Holy shit, I'm coming," he yelled back, jumping out of bed desperately trying to find a pair of halfway clean sweatpants in the mess on his floor. "I'm so excited. I finally get to play my new game."

Taking the box from his sister he set about finding the tools required to get past the adult proof packaging. After he cut through the tape, he opened the box, dug through the packing peanuts and found another box with two pieces of Styrofoam taped to the side. Cutting off layer after layer he finally ended up holding a small pink glasses case in his hands. He thought it was weird but wasn’t bothered enough to worry about it, as his summer was about to get a whole lot better. Opening the case, his eyes first noticed the black plastic he so looked forward to wearing, but something wasn’t quite right. Placing the arms of the frames on his ears and the bridge on his nose, he experienced a wave of relief, as the strain on his eyes was gone, and he could clearly see his sister, not six feet in front of him, covering her mouth, trying her best not to laugh.

He asked, "What's so funny?"

"It's not the style I would have thought you’d pick, but whatever floats your boat," she replied, bursting into a fit of uncontrolled hysterics.

Running into the bathroom to check the mirror, he noticed what Cameron found so funny. These glasses had black plastic frames alright, but they were ovular instead of square, with the outer rims turning upward for a slight cat eye effect. The trim had a thin line of pink all around the edges. These were girls' glasses. He took them off and ran out into their backyard to find his mother practicing yoga.

He looked at her, eyes already pleading, and squeaked, "Mom my glasses are here."

"Well, let me see them on you then," she said, taking them from his hands and returning them to his face. "They look very nice." she said genuinely. "They’re nowhere near as foggy as your old pair. It’s wonderful to be able to see those beautiful eyes I made. Excellent choice. I like them."

"Mom, these are girls' frames. I didn't order these. I don't want them. I look like an idiot," he said, almost crying.

"Don't worry honey. I'll call customer service and tell them there's been a mistake."

So she made the call, and after spending an hour on the phone came back with bad news.

"They said that the order number on the form matches the frames you got. They can't do a refund or exchange since the package was opened."

"How was I supposed to know they were wrong, if I didn't open the package?"

"That's what I said, but the catalog clearly states their return policy. I’m sorry love, but I just don't have any more money to spare right now so you'll have to make due with what you’ve got."

"I can't go back to school with these. I'll get beat up even more than last year. What am I supposed to do then?

"Well you could get a part time job, instead of lying around and wasting your summer," Cameron chimed in, walking outside to join the conversation. "You can ride into work with me on Monday, and walk around the mall looking for something."

They’re mother said, "Your sister's right honey. Times are tough right now, so if you want something else, you're going to have to work for it yourself."

"Well if I have to. I guess it's not fair for you guys to do everything for me," he said, displaying a little maturity. "I may even make enough money to get that new Kirby game too."

"Sure dear. If it's your money, you can buy whatever you want with it."

So the weekend passed with Leighton wearing his new glasses and he was finally able to finish his video game. He was grateful for being able to see, but couldn't wait for the whole glasses situation to be resolved. Monday morning came and he was woken by his sister. Poking the youth through his blanket, she said, "Time to get up. You need to take a shower and actually look presentable if you plan on finding a job today."

So Leighton showered and shampooed his hair. It had turned into quite the ordeal with its length, and he was tossing around the idea of getting a haircut whenever he received his first paycheck. Dressed in a pair of blue jeans and an oversized Naruto t-shirt, he went downstairs to meet his sister with his damp hair hanging limply in his face.

"I thought I told you to look your best," Cameron said, wearing a nice pink sweater set, white knee length skirt, pink slingback pumps, and pearl earrings.

"This is my best." he said, honestly.

She couldn't think of a reply. What he said was true. Right there, she came to the conclusion that if he was going to become less of an annoying hindrance and more of a contributing member of society, then she was going to have to teach him how.

As they pulled into the mall Cameron quickly gave Leighton the rundown of the place.
"The lower floor is predominantly women's clothing stores. That's where Express is. I'll be there if you need me. You should check out the middle and top floors. The middle has men's clothing stores and shoe stores. The upper floor has mostly specialty shops in the food court. I suggest starting in the middle and working your way up. Here's five dollars for lunch. I get off at one so meet me outside around then, and we'll head home."

Before going in he removed his glasses and placed them in the case. He didn't know what he'd do if he saw someone from school. Leighton felt that his social status was already as low as anyone could go in high school, but he didn't want to see if he was wrong.

He started down the middle floor, but before he could summon up the courage to walk into any store, he’d chicken out, citing he didn't know anything about men's clothing. That was true, but it had more to do with the fact that the male model types working the sales floor didn’t look like the types to give him the time of day, let alone hire him. Not quite sure what Cameron meant by specialty stores he figured he'd go ahead and check upstairs. After a quick ride up the escalator he tried to sort out a destination, but realized he couldn’t read any of the signs, so he wandered aimlessly. Coming upon the food court he already felt defeated before he even really got started. Leighton reached the supposed end of his route and had not filled out a single application. Resigned to his fate he put the glasses back on to at least figure out where he was going.

Specialty shops apparently included a few video game stores, a vaguely Asian themed gift shop owned by white guys with a hardon for swords, a comic shop, and even a mini golf course. There were plenty of places Leighton felt like he might enjoy working. Unfortunately every place he went said they weren't hiring until school let back in. On top of that he could have sworn that some people called him miss. On his last stop at the miniature golf course he’d stomached his last rejection. Feeling dejected, and a little annoyed, he resigned himself to a summer working in food service.

Meanwhile, gazing out the door of her shop, Lilly Glenn saw an awkward young girl with a withered expression. She knew the type. When she was younger she was the type; a flat chested girl with little confidence in her figure, and little confidence in herself. She wore baggy clothes to hide her shape, and kept her hair in her face so people couldn't see. She probably grew up with few friends, and the only boys she had any contact with were in her D&D group, but she wasn't ugly. Dry the hair, pull it back, and put her in a dress and she'd be a knockout. It seemed like something she’d thought about, but the only step she had taken was getting a more stylish pair of glasses. This girl needed a friend. Not being the type to sit by and allow anyone to feel lonely, Lilly approached the girl. "Hey there, how are you? I love your glasses."

Leighton looked up to see a real live girl heading his direction. This girl was cute. She looked older, but not old. Mid twenties perhaps. She was wearing tight black jeans, a white tank top, and a gray short sleeved sweater hanging off her right shoulder. He could hear the “click clack” of her black patent kitten heels with every step she took. Her right arm was covered in a tattoo sleeve, filled with detailed pictures, telling stories someone wouldn't understand unless they knew here. Her curly red hair was piled high on her head with side swept bangs almost covering her left eye, and a blue bandana tied at the top just behind her bangs. Her make up was impeccable, with meticulously done eyes in shades of blue, topped by impossibly long lashes. Her lips were the first thing he'd ever thought to describe as ruby red. She was gorgeous, and she was talking to him.

"My glasses?" he whispered.

"Yeah. Where'd you get them?"

"I ordered them from a catalog." he stuttered.

"Well they're awesome!" she said, trying to keep the conversation going. "What's your name?"

"Leighton."

"Oh, like Leighton Meester."

"Yeah, sure," he replied, having no idea who she was talking about."

"Would you like to come into my shop and hang out, or whatever?"

"Your shop?" he asked, puzzled.

"Yeah, that's my shop over there. One Person's Trash... I sell vintage, and vintage inspired clothes and accessories...as well as…other things…"

"Things like what?"

"Well, like wigs, or purses, or shoes, or bongs."

"Wait. Bongs?"

"Unsurprisingly, vintage stores don't do so well, so I make most of the money off the bongs and bowls I sell in the back. It's not what I dreamed of doing but the 'tobacco pipes' supplement what I don't make in clothing sales. It's really just kind of a hipster store. So, you
coming in?"

"Yeah, sure, I guess."

So the two went in and sat down behind the counter. They wound up conversing for the remaining three and a half hours that he had left. She made a few sales, and he learned that he shared a love of many of the same comic books. He told her of his hunt for employment and how he’d faced rejection at every turn. Then the clock struck one, and he told her he had to go meet his sister. Goodbyes were said and Leighton headed for the door.

"Wait!" Lilly shouted, before he could leave. She’d been thinking that the shop had been doing well so maybe it was time to take on an associate. "If you would like a job then be here at nine thirty when we open tomorrow. Also you need to dress a bit more stylish if you're going to work here, and please, make sure your hair is out of your face. I have to project an image for the store, lest I lose the hipster crowd. If you're okay with all that, the job is yours."

Amazed at his good fortune, Leighton replied, "Thank you so much. Unfortunately these are the nicest clothes I have. Everything I own is just more of the same."

"You poor baby.” She really thought that the girl needed a lot of help. “That's not a problem. Just come in tomorrow nice and clean, and I'll find you something to wear."

"Oh my god, I can't thank you enough," he said as he ran up and hugged her neck.

"No problem. Just don't let me down, and work hard." With that, he made his way back down the escalator to give his sister the good news.

"Where have you been? I've been waiting for ten minutes," she huffed, pointing to the time on her phone.

"Sorry, but the reason I was late was because I was talking to a woman about a job. I got it, by the way."

Cameron was thrilled. She knew if Leighton applied himself it would all work out. "No way! That's awesome! Where at?”

"One of the specialty stores upstairs. One Person’s Trash… She said I needed to be in at nine-thirty tomorrow…and that my hair needed to be out of my face."

"Well she's right about that. I'll help you in the morning. I'm really proud of you." For a brief moment, she considered giving him a hug, but decided he might very well die of embarrassment right there on the mall floor.

So they headed home, actually talking and laughing together for once. Cameron even agreed to play one of Leighton’s games with him when they got home. She even beat him once in Wii Bowling. Tired from getting up so early, Leighton actually went to bed before midnight for once. As he fell asleep his thoughts were on Lilly, and how he couldn't wait to see her the next day.

The following morning when Cameron went to wake Leighton, she found he was already in the shower. "Well that's a welcome change," she thought, as she went downstairs to fix her coffee. "I wonder what else is going to change around here."

She finished her breakfast and fixed a plate for Leighton. As she was heading back upstairs she heard him rustling about in his room. She shouted, "Go downstairs and eat your breakfast. When you finish, put the plate in the dishwasher and meet me in my room, and I'll sort out your hair."

For the first time in months Leighton had time to eat breakfast. He felt quite proud of himself for once. He was becoming less self conscious about his glasses. Like every pair before them, they became those things on his face that were just sort of always there. He cleaned up a bit in the kitchen before heading to his sister's room. She told him to have a seat at her vanity, while she plugged in her hair dryer, and selected her round brush. She twirled the brush around sections of his hair, as she dried it, the end result being a straight but voluminous style that reached part of the way down his back. Cameron thought to herself that she would need to take care of his split ends sometime in the near future. She finished by pulling it back neatly into a low ponytail. With that they were both ready, so they left for work.

Lilly welcomed Leighton, wearing a white strapless sundress that fell to mid thigh, with little black polka dots all over it. The skirt had a built-in petticoat, and at the waist, a black ribbon tied into a bow in the front. She was taller than him today, perched atop a pair of four inch black strappy sandals. Lilly decided it was important that especially on the first day, she needed to show Leighton how pretty she could be by setting an example. She didn't want to push her too far too fast and have her freak out. After hugs were exchanged, she showed him to the dressing room. "There's your outfit for the day. Once you're ready, meet me up front for a crash course on the inventory."

First, Leighton found a pair of jeans. These were probably the tightest pair he'd ever seen though. As he forced them on over his hips he thought it was strange, but what did he know about fashion? Lilly was the expert and it was her store. He pictured himself in a Dairy Queen uniform, and realized he was probably getting off easy.

"Do you need any help, hun?" he heard her ask through the curtain.

"Sort of. The pants you gave me won't quite fit right over my boxers."

"You actually wear boxers?! Hold on a sec. Let me find you something better." A few moments later, Lilly poked her arm through the curtain and handed Leighton a small piece of white cotton. He examined the offering and realized that it was some kind of underwear. Stepping through the holes he pulled them up slowly only to find another problem. His privates were creating a very obvious bulge in the front. There was nothing more embarrassing to a teenage boy than the idea of the rest of the world scrutinizing his genitals. The best way he could think of to combat this was to tuck it between his legs and then pull the undergarments tight. The jeans slid on with no problem after that.

Next, he placed his arms through the button down plaid shirt. It was a green and blue pattern, and seemed to fit his delicate frame perfectly. Apparently Lilly had a knack for sizing people. The only things that seemed strange about it was that the buttons appeared to be on the wrong side, and that it tapered in tightly around his waist only to flare out a little at the bottom.

The last article of clothing looked to be a simple black jacket with small lapels. As Leighton placed his arms through the sleeves he felt it odd how tight it was in the shoulders. It also only fell to the small of his back. "Not very functional." he thought, turning his attention to his boots on the floor. He learned later on that they were called sweater boots. They were black with 3 plastic buttons running up the side. Getting them over his feet he tried pulling his jeans down over the top. After many failed attempts he realized that the ankle was too small, and that he’d have to button them over the outside of the pant leg.

After dressing, he met Lilly up front. She took one look at her new project and smiled, saying, "Look at you. Looking hot! Alright, follow me and I'll show you where everything goes."

Leighton spent the first part of the day learning which section was which, and how to operate the register. Lilly taught him the laws of selling tobacco products, and when to ask someone to leave, if they implied any usage other than tobacco and legal herbs. He learned that if someone came in and asked for ear piercing, they'd need identification. He was never to use the piercing gun, until he went through the proper training, and that until such time, he should refer them to her.

The rest of the day went by pretty smoothly. Leighton had made a few sales, and was already top notch at keeping everything neat and presentable. When business slowed down toward the end of the day, the two just sat around and talked for a bit. Leighton complained to a sympathetic ear of how people always made fun of him and called him weird looking. Lilly sat down next to who she thought was an insecure young girl and said, "No, you're really quite attractive. I used to be a little rough around the edges when I was your age too, but I learned how to present myself a little better, and now I'm hot shit," she said, chuckling a little at her boast. "I could teach you a thing or two if you're interested."

The boy was flattered. Blushing, he quietly asked, "Well, what do you think I should change?"

"Not too much at once, Leighton. Give it some time to feel a little more comfortable with yourself and then take another step. For instance, I could clean up your eyebrows a little bit. You have great eyes. Maybe it would help people notice their cuteness if you weren’t stealing Wooly Willy’s look anymore.

He laughed, and replied, "If you really think so, I guess I could let you try. Just don't do anything too drastic."

Lilly rummaged through her purse, found her portable trimmer, and set to work. She didn't do anything extreme. All she did was shorten the hairs down to a normal length and gave them a slight but barely noticeable arch. Leighton had to admit after seeing himself in the mirror that he did look better. Maybe he could learn a thing or two with Lilly, and possibly even try have a real life conversation with a girl his own age.

"Thanks." he said. "I guess you were right."

"See? What did I tell you? Little things can go a long way. Anywho, that's about it for today. I’ll see you tomorrow morning at the same time."

"No problem, Lilly. I had fun today, and I can't wait to do it again. It feels really good to be productive actually. Like I actually did something with my day for once."

"Awesome! Just keep the outfit. Call it a training bonus. Come in tomorrow and I'll have something new for you. While I’m thinking about it, the thing about jeans like those is that it's not really feasible to keep things in the pockets. Take this too. Everyone needs a bag. Hell, I have like twenty."

"Thank you so much." Leighton said genuinely, taking the offered small, brown canvas shoulder bag.

"If you might allow me to make one more suggestion?" she asked hopefully. Leighton nodded. "Your lips are a little chapped. All you need to do to fix it is to put on a little lip balm every now and again.". She then took a little container of strawberry lip balm and dabbed a little on her finger. After spreading it across his lips, he blotted them together as he was told. They did feel much better almost instantly. He wasn't aware however, that his lips were now stained a light pink color. Thanking her and taking the gift Leighton placed it in his new bag. He left the store, happy that his first day had been such a success.

As he made his way downstairs he was stopped by a group of girls. Still being quite shy he didn't know what to make of the situation. "I love your boots!" said the tall blonde. "Where did you get them?"

"One Person's Trash…" he replied. "I actually work there."

"Awesome! Maybe I'll come in and see you sometime." the girl said smiling and walking off. That had never happened before. A girl stopped him and complimented him. Maybe there was something to changing up his look after all.

When he reached express he went in to find his sister. Approaching her counter he tapped her on the shoulder. "Can I help you, mi...," came the reply, as Cameron caught sight of her brother standing in front of her wearing girls’ clothes from head to toe. He was even carrying a purse, leaving her speechless.

"Hey sis. Are you okay?" he asked.

"Yeah, I'm just taking in your new look," she said, maintaining her befuddled expression.

"Yeah, isn't it great? Lilly is trying to help me put myself together a little better. It's working. People are actually smiling and saying hello. I even got a compliment on the way down here."

Cameron wondered to herself if he was really that clueless. He really did need to get out more. However, he looked like he actually tried when he got up this morning. Would it be so bad? Her mischievous streak took over and she decided to see how far she could push this along. "Well I'm off in ten minutes. Go grab a seat out in the lobby and I'll meet you soon. Before leaving she made sure to grab a few pairs of panties, and a couple of bras. Then she met him at the door, and the two headed home.

That evening, when they arrived at home, Cameron began to put her plan into action. Leighton had told her about the new underwear, and asked if everybody wore them. She reassured him that they were pretty normal, and that she figured he'd need them, so she brought some home from work. Things were going swimmingly until there was a disagreement on whether Leighton should play his games, or if they should watch New Girl.

"I’ll tell you what…" she started, knowing she had him right where she wanted him, "we'll bowl for it. If you win you can keep playing video games all night, and you won't hear a peep from me. If I win...we watch New Girl and give each other mani-pedis."

"No way." he stated. "Shouldn't you just go to one of your girlfriend's houses and do that?"

"Well, I wanted to spend some time together with my little brother, but I figured we'd never be able to agree on what to do. It's just a little harmless fun. If I win, I promise not to tell. Besides, are you afraid you're going to lose?"

Leighton’s ego got the better of him. "Of course not. Last night was fluke. I definitely won’t lose to you again." he countered, falling right into her trap.

"Well then you should have no problem agreeing to the bet," Cameron said, extending her hand. They shook and Cameron gleefully skipped off to find the controllers. The “Battle of the Century” as she kept calling it was underway. They both played well, teasing, and enjoying each other's jabs and jokes. It turned out to be a lot more fun than their usual competition. It was Leighton's last turn and all he needed to do was not get a gutter ball to win the game. He swung his arm backwards...and dropped the remote. The mii on the screen, threw the ball as awkwardly as possible. It rolled down the alley at the breakneck speed of half a mile an hour. It seemed like it was going to hit the pin on the far left, but at the last second rolled into the gutter, destroying all of Leighton's hopes, and possession of the TV tonight.

"Time to go get our pjs on. Looks like it's a night in, watching Zooey," Cameron gloated. "I'll go get my nail kit." Meet me down here in five minutes and we'll get started."

"It was a good game," Leighton conceded. "I guess I screwed the pooch pretty bad at the end, there."

The siblings ran off up the stairs to get ready. They soon returned, Cameron in her pink shorts and tank top combo, and Leighton in his Mario pajamas. "I'm going to teach you to do this on me first," Cameron said, taking Leighton by the hand, and sitting down on the floor with him. "The first thing we need to do is remove the old polish."

She handed him a bag of cotton balls, and a bottle of nail polish remover, then directed him, step by step, in removing the polish. Once the nails were clean she had him file down the length just a fraction of an inch, and round the sides to form a smooth ovular shape. Then, she showed him how to carefully brush the polish on to avoid streaking, and getting it on the skin. Afterward, he repeated the process on the other hand with astounding proficiency. Next, Cameron showed Leighton how to separate the toes with extra cotton balls, and he finished both feet as well. When he’d finished, she was left with ten peach fingers and ten peach toes.

While they waited for Cameron’s nails to dry, they switched on the show and watchedm eyes glued to the screen until the first commercial break. Once she pronounced herself done, Cameron turned her attention to Leighton’s nails. They were sort of a mess, but nothing a little elbow grease couldn't fix. She performed a whole myriad of tasks that he couldn't even understand the point of. He tried to do a good job on hers but Cameron was going to make sure his hands were absolutely perfect. When she finished, his nails were now the same ovular shape as his sisters. They were a little shorter, but now they appeared to be as clean and smooth as hers were all of the time. His cuticles were missing the snags and dead skin that he was so used to being there. Realizing she was now digging through her nail polish box, he yelled, "No way! You said you wouldn't tell anyone! I think people are going to notice if I walk around with nail polish on."

"I'm looking for the clear one," she said. "I just want to protect them so they don’t look all ragged again. No one's going to notice. Quit being such a baby."

Resigned, he acquiesced, "If you're sure, I guess it's ok."

When she finished Leighton’s nails did sort of shine a little more, but he felt that it wasn't that big of a deal. After she started on his feet they heard the front door open. Their mother had just finished a double shift at work and was heading straight to the sofa to relax for the rest of the evening. In the floor she saw Leighton sitting still, allowing his big sister to paint his toenails. "It was a bet," he said, the words flying out of his mouth like a hummingbird to nectar.

"Cool." she said, as though nothing was out of the ordinary. Being a single parent with leftist values, she let her children do whatever they wanted, and did not ask questions, so long as they weren't hurting anyone. So, Leighton just sat there staring at the tv wondering if the night could get any weirder. Roused from his daze, he noticed the sound of clinking glass. Cameron was returning a bottle to the box. He looked down and noticed his ten baby blue toes at the end of his feet. "Cameron, c'mon!" he shouted.

"It's not like anyone is going to see your feet." she said, laughing. "They look pretty. I put a lot of work into them. At least leave it on till tomorrow. I'd hate to see my hard work go to waste." she pouted. He was powerless to resist her lately. Cameron had been very nice recently and it was just a little fun.

While they waited for Leighton’s nails to dry, Cameron got her hair brush and sat down next to their sleeping mother on the sofa. Life was hard on their mom, but she always kept in good spirits. Still, she only had so much gas in the tank, so at the end of long days, where she fell is where she slept.

Cameron started brushing through her long black hair, one hundred strokes, just like she did every night. If there was one thing all her friends were jealous of, it was her hair. Much the same as her brother's, it was as dark as it comes, thick, and easy to work with. As she was brushing Leighton scooched in front of her, and rested his back on the bottom of the sofa. When she was finished, she figured she'd try and push her scheme a little further ahead.

She reached down and pulled the hair tie out of her brother’s hair. Then, she took her brush and started working it through. At first he whined when Cameron met with tangles, but he continued to let her once the brush started going through smoothly. It felt so relaxing. She was amazed this was going so well so she started playing with it. She brushed it left and right, creating parts in different places. She pulled it up and down and even separated it into pigtails in her hands. After deciding on an end result, she made a ponytail at the top of his head, and tied it off with Leighton’s elastic band. She twisted the ponytail around, and circled it around the base tucking the end under the roll. After reaching for a few bobby pins, Cameron secured the bottom of the rolled hair to the very top of the head, leaving the boy with a large bun. She sat down in front of him to put a few finishing touches on the new hairstyle.

"What did you do?" Leighton asked, with an embraced look on his face.

"I just put your hair up so it won't tangle tonight while you sleep."

"Well then, what are you doing now?"

She just smirked and said, "Artistic license."

When Cameron finished, she handed him a mirror so he could see her handy work. His hair was arranged at the top of his head, the front having been sectioned off and combed so that it fell just over his left eye with a slight wave toward the end.

"Wow." was the only word that came to his mind..

"Yeah, it's a little overdone, but I'm glad you let me do it. I've been sorta bored lately."

"It's okay," Leighton replied "I did have fun tonight. We should hang out more often."

"I'd like that very much," she said happily. "We should make this a weekly thing."

"Sounds great."

So, the two spent the rest of the night talking, laughing and altogether ignoring the television. When it got a little bit later, they both decided it was time for bed, because there was work to be done in the morning. Grabbing a blanket from the back of the couch, they tucked in their mother, and kissed her on the cheek, leaving her to sleep as late as she wanted on her day off the next day. They hugged, and the siblings were off to bed.

The next morning Leighton was out of bed and ready to go in record time. This time, it was he who was waiting for his sister to finish getting ready, so she could take care of his hair. Cameron, still feeling rather playful, tied his ponytail a little higher on his head, around the middle. She even snuck in a cute little ponytail holder with a tiny pink polka dotted bow at the top, where he couldn't see it. With his hair accessory, and glasses, he was pretty cute, if only from the neck up.

Upon arriving at work, Leighton found Lilly sifting through the racks, trying to find his outfit for the day. He thought it was weird that she was looking through the girl's section, but she did say that a lot of that stuff was unisex. "Hey!" Lilly said, smiling after catching Leighton in the corner of her eye. "I think I have the perfect outfit for you today. And I see we're getting a little more adventurous with our hair. It looks great. Hurry up and change so we can get started. Today I'm going to teach you how to use the piercing gun.

He took the offered bundle of clothes and made his was back to the dressing room. Leighton was glad that Cameron bought him some proper underwear. He did find it strange that there was such a conflict between his boxers, and the vintage fashions that were coming back in style. The first item Leighton came across was a pair of stretchy black pants, which he later learned were called leggings. Tucking away his problem again, his front looked as smooth as it did the day before. The top Lilly had chosen was an oversized cable knit sweater in a nice shade of dark gray. It came down to a little below his backside. He was relieved that it would prevent anyone from seeing his butt crack if he bent over too far. To complete his outfit he placed the black open toed flats that were sitting next to the pile of clothes onto his feet. Leighton stepped out, and found Lilly, only to be greeted with the kind of chuckle usually reserved for a cat stuck in a potato chip bag.

"You're not supposed to wear socks with those shoes." she snickered.

"Oops. I guess I'm still pretty clueless about fashion." he sighed.

"It's not a problem. That's what I'm here for. To help."

"Thank." he said, sitting down and removing his shoes and socks, only to be surprised by the baby blue toenails he had forgotten. Seeing Lilly checking out his toes, he explained, "My sister did it to me last night. I'll get rid of it by tomorrow, I swear."

Lilly just smiled and said, "It's no problem. You should try some color on your fingernails too. Your toes look nice."

Amazed by what he just heard, Leighton was starting to think something was off. Who was this girl, his new boss, and what exactly did she want from him?

Lilly pulled Leighton over to the piercing station and had him sit on the stool. She giggled to herself while Leighton slouched so deeply that his chin seemed to be aiming for his lap. She said, "You know, good posture can take you a long way, and it will probably be a lot better for your back when you get older."

"You think so?" ask the girlish boy.

"Yup! Just try holding your back straight, and holding your head up high for the world to see," she said, guiding his chin, and spine where she wanted them. "You can even try crossing your legs at the knees, to form a kind of sturdy base, to help support your back while you’re sitting up straight."

When she was done coaching, Leighton was sitting as proudly, and as femininely as any other pretty young girl his age. He thought it did feel more comfortable, and that he should probably try and sit like that all the time. His attention was then turned to the mirror, where he could see Lilly getting close to his earlobe with a marker.

"The first thing you want to do is to mark the spot where the jewelry is going to go. This way there are no surprises, or crooked piercings that you can't undo," Leighton said, placing dots in the center of both his ear lobes. She then picked up the piercing gun, and loading a cartridge in said, "This is where you load the style of starters you want to use. We have a huge variety, but some are nicer than others. I've chosen the nicest that we have for you. Surgical steel is the best thing to use if you want to make sure the body doesn’t try to reject the jewelry. You want to place the targeting line over the dot and firmly pull the trigger," she said, doing just that.

A loud pop rang out next to his ear. A little disoriented by the experience, Leighton didn't even realize she'd already made her way to the other side. Another loud pop, and she was done. Waiting for an overwhelming pain that never came, Leighton finally opened his eyes to look in the mirror. Gracing his earlobes were two beautiful pearl studs. He thought they looked nice, but a little out of place on him. Jewelry had never really been his style, and if it was he didn't think he would have chosen something so girly. They did look surprisingly nice, however, and they added a touch of class to his youthful face. He knew that these were not normal earrings for a 15 year old boy, but Leighton couldn’t help but like the way they looked. He decided he'd ask his sister later for advice on what to do. Should he talk to Lilly about the increasing femininity of his work clothes, or is this all totally normal?

The rest of the day went by with little event. Leighton noticed people calling him miss more often than usual, but he also made even more sales than the day before. As he was about to leave for the day Lilly handed him a crisp twenty dollar bill, and said, "Here's a little bonus for all the hard work. Get your family dinner tonight, and it'll show your sister you're grateful for all the help they give you. It’s easier to bury a hatchet with a simple meal than a shovel."

Thinking hard about what Lilly said, Leighton made his way to the food court, where he called his sister. "You off yet?" he asked, as she answered.

"Yeah, I got off early today.” Cameron replied, merrily. “Need me to come pick you up?"

"Sure do. I'm bringing home dinner tonight, so tell mom not to worry about it."

"Really?" Cameron was incredulous.

"Yeah, I got a small bonus at work today. I figured I'd share with the people who share with me." he said, trying not to make the line sound too rehearsed.

"Okay well…meet me at our usual spot. Be there in ten."

"Thanks sis. See you soon," he said, hanging up.

Leighton grabbed a few pizzas from the food court before he made his way to the bench out front. He sat and applied his lip balm, and could help noticing that some guys were looking him over as they walked by. He wondered if there was something wrong with him, or if he maybe had something on his face. As Cameron was pulling up, she noticed a young girl, sitting on the bench, legs crossed, head held proudly, fixing her lips, but it wasn't until she reached the curb that she realized that said girl was, in fact, her little brother. Seeing her car he stood and made his way to meet her. That's when he noticed the click clack of his shoes for the first time. He'd never had shoes that made noise when he walked before. Stuffing it in the back of his mind, he assumed that that's just what nice shoes did.

When they arrived home the siblings were greeted by their mother. The very first thing she noticed was her son's feminine appearance, but chose not to say anything other than, "You look nice." He was a good boy, and he was bringing home dinner. How bad could this new job be? She figured he'd talk about it when he was ready. In the meantime she'd just continue to love him as she always did.

Cameron on the other hand was all too ready to meddle. She was determined to figure out just how far she could push him. Leighton was finally getting out of the house, and he even brought home dinner. To top it off he looked the most put together that he ever had. It may not have been her style, but it wasn't a complete mess either. Anything was better than the slovenly little boy who’d given up on his life before it had even started. She decided that tonight she would take it one step further.

Over dinner the family sat, and talked. They laughed over fond memories. Before the meal was finished, they resolved to do it more often. After the last piece of pizza was finished their mom started cleaning up.

"Don't worry about it Mom, I'll take care of it.” said Leighton, leaving his family wondering if he'd been replaced by some sort of robot.

"Well, thank you, dear," she replied. "I guess I'll go ahead on to bed then. I have to be at work at five tomorrow morning. It'll be good to actually get enough sleep for once. Love you both. Good night my beautiful babies."

"Goodnight, Mom." the two siblings said in near unison, and then shared a little chuckle. It was becoming more clear to Leighton than ever, that even if he didn't have anyone else, then at least he’d always have his family. Cameron helped him finish the dishes, and the two were left with nothing to do.

Seeing an opportunity, Cameron suggested, "Why don't we go ahead and take our showers tonight. We could take use the extra time in the morning to try to look a little nicer than usual. It'd probably earn you some brownie points at work. Sound good?"

"Yeah, I guess so." the young boy replied, looking down at his outfit. "Lilly has been having me wear some really nice things. I might as well try to keep up."

"She just wants you to present a certain image…for her store, you know? I think that outfit looks great by the way. Imagine how much greater whatever she gives you tomorrow will look when you show up tomorrow already looking like a million bucks. Let me go take a shower first and then you can go after. When you're done, I'll fix your hair up tonight, so we can sleep in just a little bit later tomorrow."

"Ok, I guess."

While in the shower, Cameron poured a little of her depilatory in his body wash. Leighton wasn't too hairy, but she wanted him baby smooth. After she was done, she found Leighton in his room. "I’m finished with the bathroom. Your turn. Just be sure that when you wash off tonight, you leave the shower gel on for five minutes before you rinse. After that, shampoo and condition your hair thoroughly. When you're done, just put on this robe and meet me in my room so I can sort out your hair." Cameron handed him a towel, and a pink terry cloth robe, before quickly taking his hair down. Meanwhile, she snuck her bowed hair tie into the pocket of her own robe as she led him to the bathroom door.

Twenty minutes later, Leighton was back in Cameron’s room, sitting at her vanity, still dripping a little, while wearing the pink robe, with the towel hanging around his neck. Cameron taught him how to tie the towel like a turban around his hair, sneaking a look at his legs to check and make sure all his peach fuzz was gone. Leighton curiously watched his sister finish her routine in the vanity mirror. Her deft hands expertly worked through her damp hair with a round brush, and hair dryer, then finished by pinning her now dry locks up into a French twist.

"I'm thinking, tomorrow you could use some volume." Cameron stated, more to herself than Leighton, while she stroked her chin inquisitively, formulating a plan of attack in her mind. "You're going to have to trust me, but I think I know what the best look for you would be."

"I guess I'll have too," he replied. "You know how clueless I am when it comes to hair and stuff."

Cameron removed the towel from his hair, and let it fall limply over his shoulders. She then proceeded to coat his hair in some sort of sticky substance. Next, Leighton felt her tugging and sectioning off small sections of hair. Little by little he could feel more weight tugging on his scalp, and less hair touching the back of his neck. After about twenty minutes, she proclaimed her work done, and began putting her hair accouterments away. Getting up to look in the mirror, Leighton was shocked to find his hair had been done up in curlers, all perfectly lined up like little soldiers.

"What the fuck, Cameron?!" he shrieked.

"I needed to roll up your hair, so I can get the volume I need tomorrow. You said you would trust me."

"Yeah, I guess I did…” Leighton said, still irritated. “...but how am I supposed to sleep in these?"

"You'll get used to it. If it gets to be too much of a pain in the ass there's always pin curls."

"I don't think my pajamas will go over my head right now though."

"I got you covered." Cameron said, throwing him one of her own sleep shirts. It was a pastel pink tank top. "The neck opening should be big enough to get it over the rollers. It's just for tonight, and if you like the results enough to keep at this routine then we'll get you something of your own, more appropriate. For now just bear with this. Then, grinning gleefully, she held up another bundle of pink cloth, and said, “Look! It's even got matching bottoms!"

"Okay okay." Leighton said, feeling utterly defeated. He slid the top over his head carefully, and worked his arms through the holes, then snatched the pajama pants from his sister,and slid them up his legs, struggling just a little getting them over his round butt. They were decorated with little red hearts all over the flimsy material.

"You know…" Cameron said, wondering if she could push her luck any further, "I could probably clean up your eyebrows a little more; make it so they look even nicer than they have the last few days. Wouldn't take long, either."

"Do you think I need to already?" he asked.

"I'll just clean up a few strays and give them a little more shape. It won't take long at all, I promise."

"If you think so."

Cameron grabbed her tweezers, and unleashed her fury on the poor boy's eyebrows. By the time she was done Leighton’s brow ridge was red and puffy. She had given them some shape alright. The shape of a nice clean arch, somewhat higher above his eyes than he was used to.

"Just a few strays huh?" he asked sarcastically.

"Yeah, I guess I got a little carried away. Don't worry. It totally looks good though. I'm positive Lilly will compliment them when she sees them tomorrow. Now, off to bed with you. We still have to finish the job in the morning. Good night, my sweet brother." Cameron wrapped her arms around Leighton’s neck while the two looked at each other in the mirror.

"Good night, Sis." Leighton said, rubbing what was left of his eyebrows. As he lay in bed, he realized that he had just allowed his sister to curl his hair and tweeze his eyebrows. He was wearing her pink pajama set, and he had pearl studs in his ears. He was now positive that all this wasn’t normal. He just wasn't sure he cared.

Dressed and ready the next morning, Leighton sat at his sister's vanity while she removed the rollers from his hair. After brushing it out, she parted it on the side so that it swooped down just over his forehead. When she was finished he sported a long wavy voluminous hairstyle similar to Selena Gomez. As Leighton examined his coiffure in the mirror, Cameron waited anxiously for him to blow up on her, but all he said was, "I like it." so without any other comment, the siblings collected their things and were out the door.

Once Leighton arrived at the shop, the usual routine followed. Lilly complimented him on his hair, and gave him the chosen outfit. From the dressing room he emerged, wearing a pair of black Capri pants, a white sleeveless top, and a gray sweater, with a peter pan collar, and a single button done up at the neck. Once wearing the sweater, he noticed that the sleeves only covered about three quarters of his arms, and that it only fell to just below his shoulder blades, barely longer than his hair. In his hands, he was carrying a pair of black ballet flats, with little white bows on the toes.

"This outfit is kind of girly, don't you think?" Leighton asked as he approached Lilly. "I mean, look at the bows on these shoes."

Making a somewhat serious face, Lilly placed her hand on Leighton's shoulder, and said, "I know girly hasn't been your thing, but I think it suits you. I believe you would be happier if you allowed yourself to show off the pretty girl inside you. I've been slowly gearing you up and every day you've seemed more confident. I'm just trying to help. Us girls have to stick together, don't we?"

Leighton was stunned. You could have knocked him over with a feather. She thought he was a girl. He had been wearing girl's clothes. He realized his family had seen him wearing girl's clothes. He thought, “No wonder my sister’s been having me do all that weird stuff. Hair curlers, pajamas, and nail polish. God, I’m so stupid” He tried to find the words to explain it all away, but he couldn't. He didn't know what to do.

"Girls stick together?" was the only response he could muster.

"Of course," Lilly said, taking his hand. "I was an awkward teenager too, but now I'm hot shit." she said, giggling. "Why don't we just take it a little further today? Let’s see how pretty you really are."

Lilly led the dumbfounded youth to a nearby stool where she took the shoes from his hand, and placed them on his feet. Afterwards, she dug out her makeup bag from behind the counter, removed his glasses, and studied every contour of Leighton’s face. Settling on a look, she decided on the girl next door. Nothing too dramatic, just cute and lovable. After twenty minutes of powders, shadows, mascara, and a little lip coloring she was finished. To top off her creation she placed a thick white alice band with a large, off-center bow into his hairdo. Astounding Leighton with her overwhelming confidence, she slipped a small strapless gel bra under his shirt.. Finally, Lilly replaced his glasses, and pushed them up his nose into place. She took him by the hand and led him to the mirror. She smiled and said, "Tell me that's not a pretty girl."

The image Leighton saw was not what he had expected; the picture of a young girl, breast budding, cute face, button nose, beautiful eyes, and soft lips. She was not what you would call supremely sexy, just adorable. The kind of girl he used to imagine himself falling in love with. He searched for the words to tell Lilly that he was not what he saw in the mirror, but was most definitely a boy; almost a man. He opened his mouth desperate to shout it, but instead, only managed to say, "I don't feel well. I need to go home." Without giving Lilly a chance to respond, Leighton grabbed his purse and ran out the door.

As he made his way down to express, Leighton couldn't help but take in his appearance, as he caught glimpse after glimpse of his image on every reflective surface. When he burst into the store almost crying, his sister quickly sat him down. Cameron told her boss she had a family emergency. It was in the car when Leighton finally exploded.

"Why did you do this to me?!" he wailed. "I'm not supposed to wear stuff like this! I’m not supposed to look like this! I'm not supposed to be cute! This is all your fault!"

Cameron shouted back, "I hate to break it to you sweetie, but you did most of this on your own! You never even really objected! At all! You can't tell me you don't like the way you look! You just don't like the fact that you like it!" Those last words hit home. Leighton broke down sobbing. It took a moment, but Cameron found her compassion, and stroked siblings back with a comforting touch. After a few minutes Leighton managed to halfway pull himself together.

Through whimpers, Leighton admitted, "I do like it. I’ve never even thought about how I presented myself before, but now that I am, this is what I like apparently. I’d still be blissfully ignorant if it wasn’t for you and that woman."

"From what you've told me, she was just trying to help, and you know what? So was I. I think it's great that you are working. I think it's great that you've had a reason to leave the house every day. I think it's great that you don't look like complete shit right now. In fact, I think it's wonderful that you like the way you look. I think you're great, and you're finally showing it. There's nothing wrong with being yourself, and I'd be lucky to have a pretty little sister like you." Cameron pulled Leighton as close to her as she could over the center console, and held on tight, regardless of how uncomfortable that was for the two of them.

The silence held for a few minutes until Leighton was the one to break it. "You really think I'm pretty?"

With a kind expression, Cameron replied, "Of course I do. You're starting to give me a run for my money. At least before the raccoon eyes." That was just enough to diffuse the situation. Leighton couldn’t help but break out into laughter. Cameron's face suddenly lit up. She had an idea brewing. "Screw going home. Let's have a fun day out as sisters. That way you can see if this is what you really want. We could get our hair done, go shopping, talk about boys, whatever…"

"I'm not sure if I like boys. Am I supposed to?"

"You're supposed to do whatever makes you happy. You’ll figure it out on the way. You've got all the time in the world."

"Okay. Let's do it."

So, they began their adventure. The first stop was Cameron's favorite salon. After being pampered for a few hours, Leighton left with freshly repaired makeup, longer red nails, and also sporting freshly trimmed layered hair, with eyebrow length bangs, like Zooey Deschannel.
After that, the two hopped from store to store, demolishing most of Cameron's most recent paycheck. With the car full of shopping bags, they finished the day with dinner. Leighton found it weird how the waiter kept calling him miss, but as the meal went on it felt right. He was she. She was happy. She felt like herself.

That night, when the sisters opened the door to their house, their mom called for them to come to the living room. She stood from the couch to greet her children, her eyes drawn straight to her new daughter, Leighton, all the way from the bow in her hair to the bows on her feet. "Mom, we need to talk."

"I guess we do. Sit down, baby."

The family wound up talking for hours about the future. Leighton wanted to continue living as a girl. Cameron suggested the look into hormone therapy, so that when puberty finally did take hold it would follow a different path than the one it was currently plodding down. Ms. Johnson had good news as well. She’d just received a promotion so they'd be moving to a nicer part of town. It was especially serendipitous, since Leighton could now have a fresh start at a different school. It looked like a lot of change was in the air for the Johnson family, and they were more supportive of each other, and happier than ever. They cried, and hugged, and talked, and laughed until they couldn't stay awake any longer. Leighton retired to bed in her new nightgown, head full of curlers, and looked forward to what she hoped would be a better future.

The next morning, Lilly looked out from her shop into the mall concourse as a confident young girl approached. She was wearing a white lace, thy length dress, gathered at the bust.
Under that, she wore black thigh high stockings, leaving the smallest strip of skin exposed beneath the skirt. She was wearing a short denim jacket, over the top, and her feet were in a pair of black flats with bows at the toes, and her face had the cutest pink and black glasses. Lilly knew those shoes. Lilly definitely knew those glasses. It was Leighton.

"Hi!" said the chipper young girl.. "I'm sorry about yesterday. I just haven't been feeling myself lately, but I think I'm starting to. I hope I didn't ruin my chances to keep working here."

"Not a problem, hun.” Lilly replied, offering a reassuring hug. “I've been there. I'm glad you took my advice and let the pretty girl out. I bet the boys have been all over you today."

"I've noticed a few looking, but they're not really what I'm looking for. It is flattering though. That said, I don’t look this good for them…I look this good for me. Thank you for pushing me." Leighton said, eyes welling up.

Lilly brushed away a single tear with her thumb. "Careful not to muss that makeup. It looks so good. Anyway, glad I could help.” The two shared a pure moment of human connection, Lilly, beaming with pride at her protege spreading her wings, and Leighton, grateful for the overwhelming support from someone who a week prior was a complete stranger, before Lilly reluctantly pulled them back to reality. “We've got inventory today, and there's a whole lot of work I need to get done in the office. I'm glad you're here. Let's get to it."

That summer, the Johnsons moved to the other side of town where Leighton would start at her new high school. She wasn't the most popular girl. She was still a giant dork after all, who loved her video games and anime, but she actually made a few close friends, having found a group of goofballs with similar geeky interests. Leighton even tried going on a date with a boy, but after the goodnight kiss, she knew it wasn't for her. A few years later at an anime convention, while cosplaying as Haru Hara Haruko, she met another cosplayer dressed as Samajima Mamimi from the same anime, FLCL. Her name was Darla. Fast friends, the two found a quiet corner, laughing and talking for hours. The time got away from them, so they agreed to meet for lunch later on in the week. The two have been together ever since.

After high school, Leighton continued to work for Lilly, and as the little shop opened a sister location, she was offered the job as its new general manager. When all was said and done, she felt grateful that Lilly saw potential in a scared teenager. Sure, she had troubles and struggles, but with the love and support from her family and friends Leighton wound up with a whole new look at life.

The End