Experiment # 1

John stopped at the mirror by the front door, and checked his outfit one more time

“Hair - check. Makeup - check. Blouse - check. Skirt - check. Hose - check. Heels - check.. I guess I’m ready.”

He sighed, and walked out the door, and headed toward school.

As he walked he thought about what made him want to try this experiment. It had started because he had read a story in English class about a man who felt like he had been fading from view to the point he was effectively invisible, and then did something radical to make people see him again.

And as far as John was concerned, dressing as a girl was as radical as he could get.

At the door to the school, John suddenly wondered if this was a good idea. Being invisible wasn’t nice, but doing this could get him laughed at, or even hurt.

“I have to try.” He thought, and went into the school.

Over the next couple of hours, John became more and more confused by the reaction he received. Which was no reaction at all - no one, not the students, not even the teachers said a word about his choice of outfit.

Then came lunch, and as he always did, John sat at a table in the corner.

Then Alison sat down beside him.

She was one of the popular girls, known for her preference for being a girly girl as well as being one of the nicest girls in the school, but John was still surprised she had sat beside him.

Taking a risk, he said, “So what do you think of my outfit?”

“Honestly?”

“Yes, please.”

“That blouse isnt a really good color for your skin tone, and most girls wear closed toed shoes when they wear hose. If you want, you could join me and some friends when we go shopping after school, and we could find stuff that suits you better.”

“But ...”

“And you did okay on the makeup for a first-timer, but my friend Mary knows some tricks that could really bring out the best in your features. If you’re interested, I’m sure she’d help you.”

“But ...”

“The skirt’s nice, though, if that makes you feel better..”

“But ...”

“Listen, I have to go, but I mean it when I said you’re welcome to join us. We meet at the food court at the mall at about four.”

With that, she left, and John was even more confused than ever.

He managed to get through the afternoon, and then wondered about joining Alison and her friends.

“Well, in for a penny ...” he thought, and went to the mall.

By suppertime, he was standing outside the door to his house with bags filled with blouses, skirts, makeup, and more, wondering what his parents were going to say about all this.

John’s dad was sitting in the living room, and he said, “Hey, kid. How was your day?’

“Some girls bought me skirts and stuff, dad.”

“Well, I hope you said ‘Thank you’.”

John shook his head, and took the bags to his room.

That night, John slipped into a nightgown one of the girls had bought him, and sat on his bed.

“The experiment certainly worked. I’m not invisible anymore. But who am I now? A boy in girl’s clothes, or a girl who just woke up for the first time, and found everyone else seems okay with that?”

“I guess there’s no other way to find out but to keep going.”

With that thought, he (or maybe it was she) laid down and went to sleep.

End.