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Editor Note: The images used for this story were purchased and used under royalty-free license* from Istockphoto.com . ~Sephrena
Author Note: Please email me at AngelJediGirl (at) gmail (dot) com before posting this story to any other site. Posting to a pay site is prohibited.

Comments and suggestions are also welcome at the above email address.

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Chapter 23 - Ripples in the Water

I woke up on Tuesday excited to go to school.

Instead of heading for Brett's side of the closet I immediately headed for Megan's side. Somehow I managed to resist wearing a skirt or dress, and ended up in a pair of jeans and a comfortable but feminine top. I pulled my hair back into another high ponytail and set to work on my makeup.

It was going to be a good day.

*  *  *

"You guys want to go to the beach after school?" Emily asked while we walked to school.

That question alone caused my heart rate to increase, and the beating in my chest helped fill me with more dread than I had felt since I had made my decision to become Megan!

"Why?" I asked cautiously.

"Because," she replied. "We haven't been to the beach in over two weeks. Mom said she'd drive us."

It was a bit sad. All of us were sixteen and had our drivers' licenses, but no car to drive ourselves in. Both Emily's parents and my own were reluctant to let us drive alone anyway. At least Ethan's parents sometimes let him borrow the car.

But the beach meant wearing a different kind of swimsuit than I had worn the last time we went. And the only suit I owned was the bikini my mom had insisted on purchasing. I might want to live the rest of my life as Megan, but I wasn't sure I was ready to wear a bikini in public!

"I'm game," Ethan said, breaking my train of thought.

"Come on, Megan," Emily had a mischievous glint in her eye. "It'll be fun."

She did know what she was asking then! I had wondered if she knew.

"You'll look good," she said, trying harder to convince me.

That wasn't what I was worried about.

"You promised you'd hang out with us," she continued in a sweet voice that only served to torment me more. But it was the guilt of not spending time with them that made my decision.

"Fine," I replied. "But that doesn't mean I'll like it."

"Yes!" she exclaimed. "Megan's wearing a bikini!"

"I won't if you keep that up," I told her sternly. It only made her laugh.

*  *  *

I was getting looks again when I walked down the hall at school. I couldn't imagine why. It wasn't like I'd been getting progressively more feminine or anything.

Ethan left us at his locker and Emily and I continued down toward our own. She was still trying to convince me that wearing the bikini would be a good thing while we walked.

"Freak!" I heard someone yell and the next thing I knew I was being slammed into the lockers and then I fell to the ground.

Gasping for breath, I looked up to try and figure out what had happened. I couldn't see anyone other than Emily around me, but there was a group of football players laughing as they walked away.

"Are you okay?" Emily asked me and tried to help me up. It was still hard to breathe and I didn't make it past kneeling while I tried to catch my breath.

"Yeah," I was finally able to wheeze.

When I felt strong enough I stood up, surprised again to find that I was now surrounded by a group of girls who hadn't been there a moment before. They all looked like they were ready to kill someone. Not wanting to take another hit I involuntarily took a step backward.

"I can't believe he did that!" one of them stated. I didn't know her name, but recognized her from one of my classes.

"Yeah," another agreed. "Is that how the football team treats girls?"

Apparently this group was not mad at me! I found myself letting out a breath I hadn't realized I'd been holding.

I knew that not everyone was happy with what I was doing. I'd seen the looks I'd been getting. But I hadn't actually expected violence!

"Come on," Emily said while pulling on my arm. "Let's get you to class."

*  *  *

"Megan Campbell?" My first period teacher asked. She looked confused at the name.

"Here," I said, happy that Principal Hall had come through with his promise.

She looked at me, and seemed to gain some recognition. The name might be new, and it was the first time I'd worn makeup to school, but I was still identifiable as the same person. That was probably part of my problem.

"You're looking good today," the teacher told me with a genuine smile. I was glad that at least one of them was okay with what I was doing.

*  *  *

I'd managed to make it out of the school alive. I was glad to be between Ethan and Emily as we walked home, happy to have some friendly company once again. I really wished I shared more classes with them.

During school I had been knocked down three times in the halls, tripped by a cheerleader when turning in my quiz during fourth period, and been cursed at and called names that I didn't want to repeat.

It was obvious that I had crossed a line somewhere.

I guess most people were still okay with what I was doing. It was only a small number of people who seemed to be tormenting me. But they were a very vocal and physical minority.

"You don't look so good," Emily said, giving me a quick hug.

I really needed the hug. I was starting to regret my decision to come to school as Megan.

"Tough day?" Ethan asked.

"Horrible!" I replied. "Maybe this was a bad idea."

"No!" Emily argued immediately. "It's never a bad idea to be who you are supposed to be!"

"I guess," I agreed with her. "But I've never been pushed down in the halls or tripped before at school."

"They'll get over it," Ethan said. "They'll move on to something else soon enough."

"Soon enough might not be soon enough," I told him. "There's still a week and a half left."

"Well, then it will be over soon." I guess Ethan's logic was sound, but it didn't make me feel any better.

"Forget about school," Emily said to change the subject. "We're going to the beach!"

I didn't share her enthusiasm. I really liked the beach, but I was scared to wear my bikini.

Coupled with the fear of wearing the bikini was the fear that my classmates would also be at the beach. We often ran into people we knew at the local beach, and I wasn't sure that being seen in a bikini would do me any good.

Eventually we reached Ethan's house, and he went inside to get ready, promising to meet us at Emily's home shortly. When we reached my house Emily and I split up to get ourselves ready.

Entering my house I found my mom in the front room watching TV.

"Hi, honey," she greeted me. "How was your day?"

"Horrible," I replied. "I was knocked down three times, tripped at least once, and I've been called all kinds of names."

She looked concerned, but I didn't really have the time to talk now if I was going to make it to Emily's anytime soon.

"We can talk about it later," I said before she could get started. "I have to get ready to go to the beach with Emily and Ethan."

"Oh," she said slightly downcast. "Okay."

I felt bad about not talking to her, but I knew Emily would be upset if I took too long.

I rushed out of the room and down the hall to my own. I pulled the bikini out of the drawer it was in and placed it on the bed. It was black, and thankfully not frilly in any way. It was actually pretty basic, and that simplicity helped me gather the courage to put it on.

I stepped over to my full-length mirror. Once again I was surprised at how good I looked. I didn't understand how a small boy like Brett could become such a sexy vixen as Megan. I wasn't even sure I wanted to be a sexy vixen.

My experiences since becoming Megan had proven that I had some kind of attraction to guys now. Both Daren and Josh could attest to that, but I still wasn't sure how that made me feel. What about all the attractive girls I knew?

It was then that I was hit with an odd feeling. I realized that I hadn't actually looked at a girl in that way for quite a while! Longer than I had been living as Megan, at least. It had been months. I started to wonder if becoming a girl was really my choice, or if it was destiny.

"You look beautiful," I heard my mom say from behind me. I hadn't heard her come in. I turned around and smiled at her. She had been so good to me throughout my life, but this last week and a half we had grown closer than we had ever been in my life.

"Thank you, Mom," I told her and wrapped her in a hug. I started to tear up at the emotions I was feeling.

"Are you sure you're okay?" she asked, returning the hug.

"Yeah," I said as I laid my head on her shoulder. "It was a rough day, but I'm okay. I can make it to the end of school, if nothing else."

"You know I'm always here if you need to talk," she told me. I nodded slightly and gave her another squeeze before breaking the hug.

"I know, Mom. I'm fine," I replied.

She looked at me again, the concern she felt for me apparent in her eyes. "Okay then."

I smiled at her, happy for the love and concern that she had shown me.

"Oh," she said while I pulled the summer dress that I wanted to use as a cover-up from my closet. "Before I forget, I made you an appointment with a gender specialist on Friday."

"Why?" I asked while putting on the dress. "I thought that was what Mary was for."

"She is," Mom replied. "But she can only help with your mind. This doctor can give us a better look at what is going on with your body."

"Is this because of what Tracy said?" I asked her. It seemed likely that Mom would act on the concern that we had felt the night before over what my cousin had told us.

"Yes," my mom said. "If nothing is wrong, she'll at least be able to help us with the hormones if you're ready to take the next step."

I nodded. While I had definitely decided that becoming Megan for the rest of my life was the right decision, having it actually happen still made me a bit nervous.

A honk from outside ended our conversation. Apparently I was the last one to get ready, and Emily and her mom were waiting for me.

"I gotta go, Mom," I said while giving my mother a quick kiss on the cheek in appreciation.

"Ok, honey. Have fun."

I quickly grabbed my beach tote that I had filled with sunscreen and a towel, threw my purse inside and headed for the front door.

*  *  *

"How about here?" I asked, indicating an open area of the beach that should stay outside of the path of the waves.

"Sure," Emily agreed and I pulled my towel out and placed it on the sand before I reached for my sunscreen. Like I knew she would, Anna placed her towel next to mine and Emily was quick to place hers on the other side of Anna. Ethan placed his towel on my other side, but I noticed that there was quite a bit more distance between his and mine than usual. I figured that it had something to do with my new gender.

Once our towels were laid out, Anna immediately grabbed my hand and started pulling me toward the water.

"Come on, Megan," she said urgently. "The waves are just right for body boarding."

I had to agree with her. There seemed to be a breeze coming in from the ocean, and the waves were slightly larger than normal. They would definitely make for some fun body boarding.

"Ok, ok," I told her, but didn't let her drag me too far. "But we need to put sunscreen on first, and I'm still in my dress!"

She paused in her tugging. It was obvious that she didn't want to wait, but she also seemed to want me to go with her.

"Hurry then," she told me impatiently.

"You need sunscreen too," I told her, which elicited a pout from her.

"It takes too long!" she whined.

I just smirked and turned back toward my towel and the tote sitting next to it. I quickly pulled off the flimsy dress and neatly folded it before placing it in my tote. I then reached for the sunscreen I had dropped when Anna started pulling me toward the water.

"Whoa!" I heard Ethan choke out. When I glanced at him I noticed that he was staring at me. I'd avoided taking my clothes off around Emily and Ethan for a while now, hoping to disguise the changes that I had been going through. But those changes were pretty clear now that all I had on was a bikini.

"Geez, Meg," Emily said somewhat stunned. "When did you become such a looker?"

I felt myself blush again. I wished I could stop the reddening response that had become such a recurring part of my life lately.

"I'm sorry guys, I've been trying to hide it somewhat," I told them. "Now it doesn't really matter so much."

"Are you sure you aren't really a girl?" Ethan asked, still staring at me.

"You're staring," I told him and was satisfied to see someone else blush for once. He turned toward his own gym bag and pulled out his own sunscreen to hide the reaction.

I chuckled lightly before answering. "Not anymore; my cousin Tracy thinks that there may be more than just the accident at work."

"Why does she think that?" Emily said while applying her own sunscreen. I squirted some of mine into my hand and started rubbing it across my skin.

"She's a nurse," I said, and Emily and Ethan both nodded. "She said at the party last night that I seemed to have more...curves than someone in my position should have."

"Do you believe her?" Emily asked.

"I don't know," I told her truthfully. "I hadn't thought about it before. My mom made me an appointment with a doctor on Friday to see if we can find anything else out."

"Hurry," Anna half-begged, half-whined. I finished applying my sunscreen and figured it was her turn.

"Come here," I said, turning to her. "Let me put some on you."

She whined again, but stepped closer to where I could start rubbing some of the lotion on her. She was dressed in a nice pink one piece, which meant she had a lot less skin that needed to be covered by the smelly goop.

"Come on!" Anna yelled when I was finished and she picked up her body board again before running toward the water. With a sigh and a look toward Ethan I grabbed my own board and followed her. Ethan was right behind us, and Emily laid back to get some sun.

*  *  *

The waves certainly were doing their job as we spent much of the afternoon body boarding. Anna was definitely feeling a lot better than she had been on Sunday. She seemed to be nearly fully recovered based on the amount of energy she had.

By the time we collapsed on our towels nearly an hour and a half later, I was exhausted.

"That was fun," Anna said, and she looked like she was ready for more. She also looked a bit red, so I grabbed the sunscreen and reapplied it to both of us.

"I hate you, you know," Emily said from her towel. She was sunning her back now while reading a book.

"Why?" I asked, unsure where her comment had come from.

"Because you don't have to tan!"

I had to laugh at her reason. My family heritage was mixed, but the end result was that both Austin and I had skin that looked like we had a slight tan. I wasn't sure where it came from, because both of my parents were pretty white. It hadn't really been an issue when I was Brett, but now that I was a girl, she seemed to envy it.

I looked over at her. I really wasn't that much darker than she was, but apparently a shade or two was all it took.

Anna was apparently more exhausted than she looked, because she had managed to fall asleep on her beach towel. Ethan was lying on his back reading a book, so I reached into my tote and pulled out my own before lying on my stomach to read. Soon, I was engrossed in my novel.

*  *  *

"Hey!" I heard someone yell from down the beach. "It's the freak and his friends!"

I looked up, and walking toward us was a couple of football players and their cheerleader girlfriends.

"Hey freak," Tom, the team's quarterback, yelled as he approached us. "What are you doing out of your cage?"

"Shut up, Tom," Ethan said calmly as he stood up. "Megan is not a freak."

"Oh yeah?" Tom said to him. "Says who?"

"Go away, Tom," Emily said, standing herself.

"What?" Tom said. "Can't the freak speak for himself?"

"Tom," I said. I was still lying on my stomach, where I had been reading my book. "You may not believe this, but I really am a girl."

I stood up and turned toward him. I saw his jaw drop slightly, and one of the girls actually squeaked. I knew that I looked anything but manly in that bikini, and he would be hard-pressed to prove I wasn't female. In fact, without removing my bikini bottoms, something I definitely would not be doing, there was nothing that would indicate I wasn't a girl.

"And can you keep it down, Anna is asleep," I continued, pointing at the sleeping 10-year-old.

We stood in silence for a minute, as I stared at all of them and they stared back at me. It was obvious that the jocks were at a loss for words. I knew that there wasn't any bulge in my bikini bottoms to make them think I had something that a girl shouldn't have. The accident had made sure that it wasn't big enough to show.

Finally Greg, the other football player, found his voice again. "So you've already had the surgery?"

His question left a confused look on both Ethan and Emily's faces, but I knew what he meant.

"No, Greg," I answered him. "I haven't had any surgeries."

"But..." he sputtered. "But how?"

"I'm sure you heard me at school," I replied. "The doctors made a mistake when I was born."

The three of them stared at me for a few moments before Carrie, one of the cheerleaders, spoke. "Come on, Tom, let's just go."

After they were out of sight, I turned back to my friends.

"Maybe we'd better go too," I told them. They nodded, and we packed up to leave.

*  *  *