Another nap another story... darn muses.

Squeak squeak squeak.

Ever notice that almost every single shopping cart you grab squeaks as you roll it around. I was currently in the produce section of Safeway looking at the bundles of leaf lettuce trying to identify which if any were different from the others. My mother and older sister could identify which was which in like 2 secs. To me they all looked the same but hey I was trying to follow the list.

Yes the dreaded grocery list that was detailed as to what I was supposed to buy from the store. My sister, in her infinite wisdom Not, said that since I couldn't vacuum or do laundry that I should go to the store and get the groceries.

Ok ok I admit, I didn't know that not emptying the vacuum first would cause it to shoot dust all over. And its not my fault her blouse turned pink, shouldn't have been in there with all those dark jeans. Don't get me started on the dishwasher, im just not gonna go there.

So here I am looking at this green leaf lettuce trying to figure out what *fresh clean whole leaf lettuce* was on list. Who am I? Oh sorry the names Chris Watzen Just Chris. Male of 12 years trying to do my best to help mom and my older sister Kate aged 16 who btw excels at bossiness. Mom lost her previously good job due to cutbacks and has to work long hours to make ends meet. My sister and I do what we can to help. Im not totally terrible when it comes to making food, well its edible anyways, but when it comes to the dreaded "cleaning" I just am not uhm gifted.

To help save money I had decided to not cut my hair in awhile. Well thats my excuse that I say to mon when she asks. Im trying for that cool ponytail look which i have at moment at bottom of neck. The rest of my strawberry blonde hair is a mess Mom cuts my bangs to get it out of my eyes since I can't seem to keep it looking nice as she puts it. I don't know what my sister does honestly she just comes up and brush brush poof its like perfect. When i try its like fuzz. This morning she did it again so at least I look presentable. However im not crazy about wearing her jeans and tshirt. My laundry is currently being done so I had to borrow some of her old clothes. The waist is a tad tight. Ok lets just say if i cough or sneeze ill probably pop the button. The Tshirt is a little more clingy that I would prefer. all around it fits not bad i suppose considering the amount of weight i lost in last year.

You see last year I was obese. My old pants I could wrap the waist twice around myself. I have been working out by running with my sister and have been on a healthy diet. The unfortante part is im left with man boobies as my sister calls them and a slightly thicker hip and butt. So i actually fill her jeans rather well. Oh lets face it at the moment because of the tight waist I know i look like a girl just budding into her youth. So far in the grocers i have been missed 5 times. Its embarrasing.

Yes im here by myself (first time btw) we live like a block away. I have my sister's debit card in the back pocket. Im not quite in puberty yet, I have some hair in private places and fine blonde hair on arms and legs. I hope it will get darker then people wont assume im a girl. I did have a growth spurt in last year though so although im 12 im as tall as some 15 year olds. Ok mostly girls but still make me feel better. No facial hair yet, i check every morning, but since my scum of a father didn't have much facial hair even in his 20s im not holding out.

Yes he is scum he ran off with a younger woman years ago. Mom cant even find him for any child support so the money situation is tight. Ill just grab one of these packages and go to next item on list. Enough of the dark thoughts.

Squeak squeak squeak

"There she is!" I hear behind me. Cant be me nobody even wants to sit next to me in class. Besides im a boy not a she. And those were definitely girls voices.

"Hold up Crystal!" Not me that for sure.

Squeak squeak squeak. Lets see 1% partly skimmed milk check date must be in last 2 days.

"Hey space cadet" At this point I get ambushed from behind and my eyes get covered over.

"Hey" I protest and turn around after removing the hands, and dropping my list but i didn't notice that.

Infront of me are like 6 very pretty girls. This is where I being the male of the species should say something uber cool.. yeah right my tongue is in so many knots a professional sailor would have a hard time undoing it.

"Hiya" case in point anything would have been better.

"Gods girl I know I had your purse but gees I cant believe you are out in public like this. Common girls emergency touch up"

In like 2 mins I have been ambushed by the gaggle of girls my hair has been restyled into a high pony tail, Im wearing something on my eyes cheeks and lips.

"There all fixed!" "Yeah there is our pretty girlfriend Crystal." "Is that all you bought for the party so far?" "Here you can haul your own purse around" "Lets get the party supplies and then go shoppin!"

I cant even follow who is speaking let alone what is going on. My cart is removed from my hands a strap is placed onto my shoulder and my arms are encircled by the girls in a kinda group hug thing.

For the next 30 mins or so I am rushed through Safeway and the cart is piled with odds and ends at a fairly rapid pace. The girls all keep up a never ending commentary about anything the whole time. I try to interrupted a few times and try to break away but am immediately "rescued" time and again. Apparently also having "excellent" tastes in junk food by simply being near whatever suits their idea of good when i try to leave. My shopping list is probably lying in amongst other hopelessly lost shopping lists that seem to disappear when one enters a store.

Strangely enough the thing I am most worried about is how im gonna explain what happened to my sister. This kinda of thing just doesn't happen. So deep am I in thought that I fail to notice that the girls are looking at me.

"Crystal!" Who me? Thats not my name."You have the money" I do?? I dazily reach into "My" purse and find an envelope. Pulling it out one of the other girls grabs it and hands the money from it to the cashier. I didn't even know we were at the checkout. After getting the change from the cashier which is put back into the envelope and some long piece of paper which i think is the receipt. The girls drag me out of the store. I look around for the cart but it has mysteriously vanished.

The Safeway is at one corner of a mall it has two entrances one on the mall side and one to the street. I came in the street entrance since i almost never go in the mall. Of course we exit into the mall. I try to put my foot down and stop but get dragged along anyways six determined 14 year old girls vs one boy. Boy loses. Fatality. To say i fail at "test your might" would be an understatement. Im a game buff or was till my xbox was removed. How do you think I became obese.

The girls drag me into another store at a rapid pace so that I do not even know what the name of the store is. Oh oh looks like im getting that haircut after all. One of the girls is chatting with the, uh actually i don't know what you would call her, booking agent, receptionist, owner, who knows. I overhear something about the works, not sure what that means as im dragged deeper into the hair place. Ive been here once or twice for my 5 minute buzz cut at moms insistence but never really paid any attention.

I am dragged along with the girls who think im being shy or something. And pushed into a booth with the orders to strip and put on robe or they will. Which I do out of simple fear. Although I keep trying to explain I am not who they think I am and shouldn't be doing this I am overruled. The lady takes me into a room with some nice incense and am told to lay down on the table. She chats as she does some things while im laying flat out on my stomach. Its soothing in here and since she removed my robe and has been patting me down and stuff i soon fall asleep. I sort of wake from time to time to move this way or flip that way but go back to sleep. My dreams are filled with nasty girls who torture me with boiling oil and then peeling off chunks of skin while laughing the whole while. The dream then changes to being dipped into some new liquid that make my skin feel extra nice. I wake up again as the lady puts the robe back on me and brings me to a chair to relax again as my hair is shampooed and stuff i fall back asleep to my wierd dreams this time im tied to a chair and some evil looking cat with a grin is trying to scratch my eyes but its claws keeps missing and shredding my forehead. It even slaps me and one claw hooks into my ear then it slaps me on the other size ripping that ear as well.

Thankfully thats the end of those dreams as im woken up and told to go back to the change room and get dressed. I enter the change room and find my sisters clothes and my underwear have disappeared. In there place is a bra panty red top and black skirt. I step out and look to around to find my change room as this one wasn't mine.

"What are you doing Crystal?"

"My clothes they.."

"Well grrr you cant have a makeover with those old things we put your new ones in there while you were getting done. Now hurry up and get dressed we are getting hungry."

"But but "

"No buts now shoo" and im pushed back into change room. With little choice on put on the decidedly feminine garments. I took me a bit to figure out how to put this stuff on truthfully. Its not as easy as my sister makes it look. Im 12 of course i spied on my older sister through her door. The bra does something and make my man boobies look bigger somehow and more like a girls would. As i pull the top over my head I can feel that my hair is curled and styled yet even more. Im am so in trouble when i get home. I put my hand up to feel and at this point notice two things, One my fingernails have been shaped and painted, two my ears have acquired earring. Forget trouble im dead. I look down ...yep my blonde fuss is gone from legs and the toes are done too. Ok my shoes... "Oh you have got to be kidding!"

"Oh just wear them Crystal stop being such a baby they are only 1 in" Apparently i spoke out loud. Reluctantly i don the shoes. Grab "my purse" and exit the change room.

"Give us a twirl." that i can do.

"OH yes very chick." Huh what does that mean. The girls surround me and point at the mirror. Ok I see them and..

"OH MY GOD!" I am gonna be the first boy grounded while dead for the next 50 years.

"Yes yes yes" they chorus. The lady come overs gives me a hug and says im a very brave girl. Really? Honestly I am scared shitless. Well at least they had fun. I just dont know what I am gonna do. Mom is so gonna freak out I mean i sorta looked a bit like a girl before. But now gees Im well hot i guess. I cant even begin to tell you how the girl in the mirror looked. I am quite simply beyond shocked. I start to cry and the girls surround me thinking its tears of joy but comfort me anyways with things like "thats what friends are for" and whatnot. Before i can wipe my tears one or the girls pats me dry with a tissue so as to not ruin my makeup. Makeup! I look again ...yep im wearing makeup oh god.

Lets see how does that go This is my last will and test..uhm dont know that word.

"COMMON CRYSTAL! Stop admiring yourself and lets go show the boys how sexy you are bet you pull a few."One of the girls says. I really should pay attention and get their names. Wait what, pull , sexy boys.. me?

"No I dont think that is a good idea.." I start to protest. Again its useless im overridden and dragged to the food court to the one restaurant in it that you can sit down in a booth.

"Well its about time you showed up" Mutters a new voice. The girls all stop without warning sending me to the front to come almost nose to well nose with a mirror before i stop.

"Hey whats the big idea" I mutter. After all i have been put through they send me into a mirror to make a even bigger fool of myself in a public place.

"WHO THE HELL ARE YOU" screams the mirror.. Oh oh its not a mirror.

"THATS MY PURSE" Grab. Ok take it i never wanted it to begin with.

"Are those my new clothes?"

"Uh i guess"

"Who are you? Whats your name girl!"

"Uh Chris ah.."

"Well Krisa, I dont know why you look like me and are wearing my new clothes. Although," she ponders" I must say if i look have as good as you do right now John is gonna freak."

The girls and Crystal all start arguing or chatting explaining what happened. They all apparently think im a girl still. SO with many an apology to me they explain that they are all friends from school and are celebrating Crystals 15th birthday with a party at her house,to which im now invited, with a bbq and a sleepover. Today was makeover in mall after some shopping to surprise her father. Apparently Crystal had her makeover earlier and aside from wearing different outfits we pretty much look identical. The girls all conspire to get yet another outfit for Crystal to match mine, apparently i get to keep this one as compensation. Not that it will in any way save me but the thought is nice. So I thank them.

What Mom taught me manners so i use them.. Oh no you dont think i actually like this do you.. no no no! It just happened really its all a mistake. And you probably dont believe me any more than the girls did when i tried to protest. The closest i got to explaining who I am got me branded a hopeless tomboy who need the experience anyways. I even tried borrowing one of their cell phones to try to get my sister to come save me. This failed when Crystal took the phone from me and explained how Krisa got mistaken for her and to make ammends for the trouble they were gonna treat me to a party at her house she also explained, in rapid fire, her address, moms name phone number and about sleepover something about maybe her mother could bring her a nighty. Oh wait Krisa is supposed to be me! I tried grabbing for the phone again and Crystal clicked it off saying that my sister would let my Mom know about the party and that she said mom would pick me up from her house.

I tried to get the phone to call my sister and explain but she said that its not a good idea to interrupt my sister with her boyfriend over. So thats why I was kicked out so rapidly this morning.

So now i was stuck with little choice but the pretend to be a girl till my mom could save me. I was of course , dragged around the mall to a number of stores to look at more outfits while Crystal got a matching one to me. I did my best to act as close to girls as i could when it came to all the clothes but my heart really wasn't in it. This got me sympathetic comments and yet another phone call to one of their moms to pick us up in the van.

Next chapter the party panic