Perfectly Reasonable
I was just about to turn in when when I heard a knock on my bedroom door.
I slipped on my robe, and opened it to see my brother Arthur standing there in just a towel.
“What do you think you’re doing?” I demanded.
“I need your help, Gwen” he said.
Yes, I’m Guinevere, or just Gwen. Our parents thought that would be cute.
Like all younger brothers (in his case, just a couple minutes younger, but still), he could be a bit of a pain, but he looked miserable, so I asked, “What’s wrong?”
“We must have had a sewage backup, or something. My clothes, they ... I cant wear them”
He actually looked like he was going to cry, as he added, “I cant miss school tomorrow, and Mom and Dad wont be back until tomorrow night. What can I do?”
“Well ... I suppose you could borrow something of mine.” i suggested.
“Wear girl’s clothes?” He wailed.
“Better than going to school in a towel” I replied.
He sighed, and nodded, so I went to my closet to find something he could wear.
We soon realized that my pants wouldn't fit him, because of the differences in our hips - I have them, he doesn't, So reluctantly, he tried on a skirt, and it fit.
He also conceded that he couldn’t go commando, so I was able to find a pair of panties for him as well.
He looked at himself in the mirror while wearing the skirt, and then said, “The other kids will kill me if I show up in this.”
“Maybe not. Remember our principal talking about transgender rights at the beginning of the year? If the other kids think you’re ... what was it ... transitioning, they’ll leave you alone.”
“That ... makes sense.” He replied.
“But that would require you look as girly as possible. Not just a skirt, but the whole deal. Girl top, makeup, shaved legs, maybe even a bra. Even having a girl name.” I mentioned.
“I guess I have no choice” He responded.
While I prepared to give him a full makeover, he worked out that he would go by ‘Arwen’, and even practiced signing that name.
Soon, I had him dolled up, and we both looked in astonishment at the result.
“I look ...pretty” he said, and I could only agree.
Tomorrow was gonna be ... interesting ...
****
The next morning I got up early, planning on helping Arwen get ready - only to find she had beat me to it, and was ready to face the school.
So off we went.
Our first stop was the principal’s office, and Arwen managed to convince him this wasn't a prank, and he decided the best way to handle it was to call a school assembly.
Once everyone was in the auditorium, he reiterated the anti-bullying policies of the school, and then introduced Arwen to the student body.
And then the day really began.
To my surprise, the principal’s speech must have been taken seriously, because teachers used female pronouns for Arwen, and nobody said anything negative to “her” all morning.
The first hiccup happened at lunch ...
Arwen sat down beside me, and said, “The gym teacher wants me to change with the girls this afternoon, what can I do?”
I thought about it, then asked, “Well, what would you do if you saw me changing?”
“Eww ... you’re my sister!” Arwen replied.
“Exactly. Go in thinking of the girls as your sisters, and ... wel, you could talk about boys a bit too. That would be the clincher.” I suggested.
After lunch I went to my own class, and then caught Arwen after Gym was over, and Arwen told me “It went okay - better than I dared hope.”
The rest of the afternoon went even better - it was like Arwen had passed a test, and was now fully accepted.
Finally, the day ended, and we headed home - only to see that Mom and dad were already home, meaning we would have no chance to decide what to do in regards to Arwen’s clothes and name.
Arwen surprised me by asking, “Do you mind if I talk to mom and dad alone?”
“No, if that’s what you want.” I replied, and then we went inside, and I slipped into my room while Arwen went to talk to our parents.
It felt like hours passed, but it was really less than twenty minutes before my parents asked me to come out of my room, and then announced that Arwen had decided to stay a girl, and begin a transition.
Something clicked in my head, and I asked Arwen, “You didnt have a sewage flood in your room, did you?”
“A flood big enough to damage clothes in my dresser? My whole room would have been flooded first.”
“So why not just tell me you were interested in a transition?”
“I thought it might be easier if you could see the girl me in action, so to speak. So I made up what I hoped would be a perfectly reasonable event that would ‘force’ me into girl clothes.”
“Hmph.” I grumbled. “But maybe you’re right. The more I saw you navigate school today the more I saw you as my sister.”
We hugged, and then it was time for supper - our first as sisters
Sisters, forever from today onward ...
End.
Comments
Hah!
And I thought that he was going to be forced into ever-embarrassing situations. Like Gaby.
-- Daphne Xu (a page of contents)
I cant do Gaby
she's one of a kind!
I'm Sure
I'm sure that if you wrote a story of that type, you'd do it well.
-- Daphne Xu (a page of contents)
Sewage backup
All of her clothes were sitting in a laundry hamper in the basement floor when there was a sewage backup, which would result in a puddle of sewage in the basement. I find that quite believable.
The fact that big sis did NOT go downstairs to at least look at the puddle and assess the damage? Not so believable.
I like the story.
she got distracted, maybe
not that distraction ever happens to me or.... squirrel!
Sisters
One nice thing about girls is they hug. Boys jab.
girls hug?
rats, maybe I AM girly.
Nicely done
Smooth and well written and short. :) Honestly, If I tried to write this idea it would end up 30,000 words or more and still sitting on my hard drive, waiting to be finished. Good short stories are the HARDEST thing to write.
Hugs,
Erin
= Give everyone the benefit of the doubt because certainty is a fragile thing that can be shattered by one overlooked fact.
short stories are my thing, I guess
as long as they're good ones, length shouldn't matter, though.
I once heard a minister say
"If you want me to preach an hour-long sermon, I'm ready to do it right now. If you want an effective ten minute speech, I'll need a couple of hours to prepare." Speaking effectively with an economy of words is tougher than it looks. Great job!
Also this story emphasizes that in many places, transitioning is socially easier than it ever has been. Which could lead to the possibility of a child just questioning - or experimenting with - their gender, and then facing the social pressure to transition "all the way". We've seen stories here describing this (Stacyinlove's "Don't Blink" - damn, I miss her tales) but I bet we may see an occasional real world occurrence.
Hugz! - **Sigh**
Sighs are the natural language of the heart.
-Thomas Shadwell
thanks, Sigh
huggles!
Good story
A test run to see how he'd be accepted as Arwen at school? Or fear of doing something he's wanted to do for some time and decides a bit of subterfuge will get him what he wants?
If it was a test for school then he passed with flying colors. And if it was fear at home then Awren was accepted there too.
This is a real neat story that ends well for Awren.
Others have feelings too.
acceptance is wonderful
all most of us ask for, really. thanks for the comment!
*happy sigh*
Sisters forever ... what a nice way to end a story. Thank you, Dottie! :)