I didn’t sleep that much that night, I couldn’t. I spent a few hours, awake, just thinking about all the ways my day could go wrong. Those hours honestly felt like months, but eventually morning came and Mackie and the rest of my extremely weird yet somewhat lovable family came to wake me up.

Alexandrine and Allison shared a room, so the plan was for me to change in their room while their roommate was out. Mackie lent me a navy blue sundress with some flowers on it and I just put in on without complaining that much, I mean, the other day I had worn a girl’s swimsuit after all, I couldn’t do worse… Ok, maybe you could argue that wearing a bra (regularly from now on moreover) was worse than wearing a one piece swimsuit once, but the swimsuit just felt worse! At least, after today there was no way for me to fall deeper in the hellish pit of feminity.
Anyway, I put the gaff on and I became unsure about what to do with the breast forms. I thought about it for a few minutes and just decided to not wear them today, as they would really embarrassing through my dress (no more embarrassment this week please!). After making my decision, I put the dress on and exited the room.

“Brooke, get back inside,” Said my sister quite seriously with her hands behind her back.

“Why?” I said looking at her, quite confused.

“Makeup!” She said smiling and showing me a plastic bag containing her new torture devices.

Yep, definitely after today, I wouldn’t be able to do more feminine.

I sighed, entered the room and sat down while Allison started playing with my face.

“We are going to keep it light, just lip gloss, some mascara and a little bit of blush. I also need to fix your hair a little, you really haven’t been taking care of it.”

I nodded while Allison went to work. She was in front of me so I couldn’t exactly see what she was doing, but Allie tried to explain to me everything she was trying to do. I didn’t care that much, but I still tried to remember her instructions. Three months is a long time and you never know what could happen in them.

After a few minutes, Allie moved out of the way and … WOW! A very pretty girl appeared in the mirror in front of me, I mean I looked like myself, but not lame old me, no, awesome (girl) me. To be honest, I was quite impressed and quite pleased at the way I looked. If I hadn’t been a boy I would have loved to be the girl that was staring at me.

I think I stared at the mirror for at least three minutes before making any kind of noise.

Allison didn’t say anything while I stared at the girl in the mirror who looked quite at flabbergasted by her own beauty. After a while, I hugged Allie and simply to exited the room with her.

We exited the room and our sisters who were waiting outside assaulted me with hugs me and then proceeded to insult me by using the cute word. Feeling like I was going to drown in estrogen I gently pushed them away and, frowning, I started making my way to the dining hall.

Mackie suddenly approached me and whispered into my ear. “Brooke, are you sure that you are a boy?”

I looked at her puzzled and she simply rushed to the dining hall.

I made a mental note to ask her later what she meant by that.

After breakfast, the Falconer clan and friends split in two cars and started driving towards the mall. In the luxurious car I was in, Chanel was at wheel and me and the twins where at the back.

The twins were discussing whatever, while I couldn’t help but think about what Mackie had said earlier. I didn’t have really have the chance at breakfast to ask her what she meant by being sure I was a boy. She simply was surrounded by way too many people. Anyway, I didn’t understand what she was asking me. I mean, I had the correct parts to be a boy, no? Wasn’t that everything I needed? I honestly didn’t have any clue what she was trying found out by her question.

As my thoughts kept getting deeper and deeper they were suddenly when the twins started singing. Their voice wasn’t that bad but, the song they started singing simply was … annoying… very annoying in fact. After a few minutes of it Chanel simply ordered them to shut it if they didn’t want to walk to the mall and then back to the dorms.

They stopped singing and the Chanel started talking to me. “Sorry Brooke, they aren’t that bad usually. I don’t know what’s happening to them today. ”

The twins pouted at Chanel’s comment.

“We aren’t kids you know!” Colette and Alexandrine said simultaneously.

“Yeah, right!” Chanel said before starting to laugh.

The twins crossed their arms and pouted even more, before starting giggle. I couldn’t stop me from giggling myself.

The twins looked at me and then smiled. “It worked! We managed to put a smile in our lil sibling’s face.”

I looked at them quite confused.
Colette started talking. “You were looking quite worried about something, so we the extraordinary big sisters we are designed a plan to distract you.”

Alexandrine continued. “Today is for having fun, don’t worry! You….no…We will figure out how the deal with your problems later.”

Chanel nodded. “The brats are right, Brooke, just have fun today Brooke! We know it hasn’t been the easiest of weeks for you but, we want you to forget about it. We might not be offering you the kind of fun you are used to, but I can assure you that we are going to do our absolute best for you to have a blast shopping with us today. Just help us by forgetting about being a boy for a few hours. Today simply be Brooke Falconer a girl shopping with her sisters and her friends. ”

Forgetting about being a boy! Impossible! That’s what I felt like saying, but you know me… I simply resigned. I mean they were right after all, there was no way today could be boring with the amount of weirdos that would be there with me.

As soon as we arrived at the mall we joined with the others. Allison son came right beside me, pulled me aside and the whispered in my ear.

“I have your breast forms with me right now, you almost forgot them in my room. We are going buy your bras right now, so follow me. We will have you put a bra in the bathroom later. ”

I nodded and then she talked addressing the others.

“Brooke and I, have things a few things to take care off see you, in a while.”

The others nodded and we separated from the others. A few minutes later, I probably became redder that I had ever been before, following my half-sister in the kind of shop that no guy ever wanted to be in.

Allie bought a few sets of underwear and then she shoved me into a bathroom stall were I installed my breasts forms and then probably lost my masculinity probably forever by wearing a bra. I exited the stall. Allie looked at me.

“Does it seem OK?”

My sister just asked me if my bra is OK, I don’t know if to laugh or cry… I’m honestly more confused than anything because I am not sure if I’m hating this… I mean the first time I had to wear girl clothes, I didn’t really have a choice and I was more embarrassed than anything else, but throughout this week I have been getting more and more used to it and now… Well I am not too sure if being a girl is as bad as I thought it was. I…I… am not Ok am I?

Thinking about that last thing I simply started crying.

“Brook? Brook! What’s happening? Are you alright? Are you hurt? Is it too tight or something?”

I shook my head.

Allie looked at me and then simply hugged me.

“Is it about your secret?”

I nodded.

“Do you want us to try to stop everything and go back to the way everything was before?”

I really thought about it for a few seconds. I mean, really thinking about it, I probably was exaggerating when thinking about what would happen if I said I was a boy. I mean it had only been a week and I hadn’t done anything that might warrant me getting sued by anyone or finishing in jail. I had kept to myself and I made sure to never see things that could be considered private. Also my family was rich and my sisters who for an unknown reason seemed to love me could probably force my father to bail me out if I got in trouble. The principal should have a way to contact my dad if there is an emergency, no? ... I mean from what Allie told dad was uncontactable by us, but the school has to have a way to contact him…

Allie looked at me more and more worried.

“Could we stop it?” I asked still sobbing.

Allie looked unsure. “We could try?”

“Well, I don’t want to… I… I want to be with you and Mackenzie and Chanel and the twins… I don’t won’t to end up alone in another place. I don’t want things to go back the way they were before…”

As I said those words, someone entered the restroom to get out immediately after.

Allie and I looked at each other and we both chuckled.

Allie hugged me.

“Even, if you don’t want to be alone you shouldn’t be doing this if it making you suffer.”

“I… I … I don’t hate being a girl…”I said honestly.

“And being a boy?”

“I don’t know.”

“Well we have time to figure it out, just know that either way we will be there to protect you. You might not have been part of the family for long, but we consider you a fully member of it. We will protect you don’t worry.”

On those words she hugged me again.

“Let’s clean your face, reapply your make up and continue our solo shopping for a while.”

“We weren’t done?”

“Almost, you need a cellphone and a laptop, one is pretty much a required accessory nowadays and the other is almost necessary for school. Oh, and don’t bother looking at the price. Dad has to make himself useful in some places! ” She said while winking at me.

I smiled and Allie started fixing my makeup. As soon as she finished, she texted the other girls to tell them we were going to take a little bit more time and we starting our way to a tech shop.

As we were walking around my eyes met with a young man with black shaggy hair and full beard. I was confused about him being here, but I knew his identity for a fact it was …Leon … My cousin Leon…

He looked confused for a few seconds and then he opened his mouth. “Brook?”

As soon as those words exited his mouth, I ran back to the restroom stall and started crying my eyes out. I am pretty sure I heard Allie drop several f-bombs as I ran out of there.

What the hell! Can’t I have a good day for once! Leon was going to hate me now! He will now think that there is something that he isn’t right in my head and probably beat me or denounce me! He will not want to do anything with me! I… I… I just couldn’t take this anymore… I cried myself to sleep in the stall.

“Is she there?”

“She has too, it’s the only stall we haven’t checked in the mall and, well, those are her shoes.”

Two voices I recognized were standing in front of my stall.

“Brooke?” One of the voices, Colette’s, asked.

“Brooke come out, please.” The other, Alexandrine’s asked.

I didn’t answer.

“Brooke, open this door immediately! We all are really worried about you.” Chanel said.

All of them, did she mean the other girl’s too? If they were there … Wouldn’t that mean that they know about the situation.

I opened the door to the stall and all the girls, even Beatricia, Adele and Maud, were standing in front of it. At the sight of my friends I wanted to cry again. They knew! If they didn’t know my secret at least they knew I wasn’t right in the head!

Adele started talking.

“Brooke, we guessed your secret, your sisters didn’t tell us. I mean the sudden breasts, your night expeditions, Maud’s incident, your complete lack of knowledge in most of our conversation topics and our incident the first day. I mean we had our suspicions with all of this, but hearing that you disappeared after meeting someone from your past kind of confirmed that you were a little bit more than just and underdeveloped girl. But you know what Brook we don’t care. Even if you have your shortcomings as a girl and even if you are unsure about yourself we still consider part of the gang because, no boy would panic to the point of causing a 2 hour search for him.”

I blushed and probably became as red as when I was in the lingerie shop.

Beatricia took it from there.

“Brooke, I am going to be there for you. Nothing you have done until now indicates you are bad person and honestly your lack of luck seems to cause quite interesting situations!”

As she said that I rolled my eyes and most of us started giggling.

I went out of the stall and I got a collective hug. Maud that hadn’t said g or done anything until now approached me and simply said. “Your sister is cool, so you can’t be that bad of a person. I won’t say anything...”

I nodded and then noticed that both Mackie and Allison had been missing from this whole scene.

I asked Chanel about it.

“Allie and Mackie are talking with Leon right now.”

I gulped.

“Is he angry?”

“No Brooke, he told us that at one point in time he expected you to do this.”

And so once again, I was confused.