Kate Draffen (Chapters 22 + 23)

By Swishy

Michael Taylor was a 17-year-old boy living in a town in Australia. Something happened and he found himself on a path to becoming a 17-year-old girl. This is a story about an ordinary teenager that had something extraordinary happen to him and how he tried to cope.

Gemma puts on that dress and gets a job offer in these chapters.

Hi there, the author here. Thank you so so much for sticking with this story. As always comments, questions and critisms are very welcome. Either post a comment or email me at [email protected]. Just to clear up, I was unaware how rare Gemma was as a name in the US. It is a common name here in Australia and is pronounced 'Jem-muh'.

CHAPTER 22

Fucking journalists! That's how they knew. Some journos called my Mum first thing in the morning to get her reaction on me doing my Deb, which they overheard about at the party. Mum's reaction was obviously along the lines of, "First I bloody heard of it!" or "Really?!? That's fantastic news!" All I knew was that this was an ambush. I was surrounded. Nicole was closing-in in front of me and Mum was blocking off the only escape. "I'm so happy, Gem!" Mum said, "You're going to make me so proud up there."

"Huh?" I queried, my head spinning.

"It's OK, a journalist called me on my mobile this morning to ask for some comments about you deciding to do the Deb. Let's just say it was a wonderful surprise!" Mum said as she edged closer to me. I checked the windows — they were all closed, the only way to escape was to knock down one of them. But Mum taught from an early age that you never knock over a family member to create an escape route. So because of her good if slightly niche parenting, I was trapped.

"You're going to look so fucking hot!" Nicole gushed as she clutched the dress. It all seemed very real now. Before it was like a fairytale, a gown, a ball, a handsome prince. But now Nicole was holding the dress; a dress that needed to be fitted and refitted and accessorised with. This wasn't going to be just one magical night, it was going to be a long arduous journey with rehearsals and fittings and girly chitchat and in the end, the night may not even be that magical. When I agreed to do it, I totally forgot that it was a massive undertaking. When I was Michael it was easy, learn the dances, get measured for my suit, pick up my suit and go to the ball. Now, things were trickier.

"C'mon love, try it on!" Mum said, not so gently ushering me towards the most feminine garment I had ever seen. I would have never thought that a piece of clothing could look so threatening but the way it was slowly coming towards me, it was terrifying. The white, shimmering gown was gliding towards like a headless spectre.

"I haven't even told you if the rumour is even true or not," I said, trying to reign in the insanity.

Nicole continued to advance on me, showing no signs of yielding, "I don't care whether it is or not, you're getting into this dress, you sook!" My escape options were sliding away from me fast. I knew this time would have to come eventually but I didn't want or expect it as soon as I entered the front door.

"There's no possible way out of this, is there?" I asked, sounding resigned.

"Not unless you turn back into a guy," joked Nicole as she handed me my dress.

"Believe me, I'm trying."

But through not fault of my own I couldn't conjure up any gender changing nanobots on command. I was still very much a girl, a girl who was being forced to put on a dress. "I'm going to need some help," I said.

"Don't be such a wuss, just strip off and climb in, we'll do up the zip for you!" Nicole was not able to wipe the stupid smile off her face.

"Strip off? Here?" I asked, feeling shy all of a sudden.

"It's not like you have anything we don't have… anymore!" I was starting to get annoyed by Nicole relentless teasing and did what all little sisters would do if they found themselves in my situation: complain to their Mummies.

"Mum!"

"Niccy, leave your sister alone!" Mum scolded her, as if we had been fighting sisters all our lives. "And Gem, quit your whinging and put on the bloody dress already!" I had been told. I gently placed the dress on the kitchen counter. Turning my back to my family, I removed my top and wriggled out of my shorts. With my back to them at least I wouldn't have to deal with Nicole's endless boob chatter.

It seems God never closes a Boob door without opening a Bum window. "Wooo! Cute bum!" laughed Nicole. I had forgotten I was still wearing that tiny little white thong which was so obviously prime teasing material for Nicole. I had been teased a lot by Nicole growing up, being the younger sibling to someone as extroverted as Nciole was bound to be teased a fair bit. The best way to deal with it was to not react at all, or even better act as if the 'teasing' is actually a compliment.

"Thanks," I smiled, pushing out my curvy, small butt a little, trying not to show any signs of weakness, "It is looking pretty good." I looked at the glistening white pile of material in front of me. This was weird situation: it was Michael's worst nightmare and yet the culmination of a lot of things Gemma has been working toward. I wont lie, a part of me was very excited to put this on, a part of me that was slowing getting more dominant everyday but still there was enough 'Michael' in me to realise that this was a big step. This wasn't just the next step up from wearing the girls' school uniform; this was tantamount to turning in my testicles forever. But considering I had already involuntarily did that, I might as well put on the damn dress.

I tentatively placed my hands on the satiny material. I just couldn't fathom wearing such a feminine garment but if I wanted to do the Deb I would have to wear a Deb dress. My dainty fingers gently gripped the material. "No, you have to put on the petticoat first, hon," Mum said, startling me out of my trance.

Petticoat? That sounded worse than a Debutante dress!

"What?" I asked.

"Here," Mum thrust a huge pile of ruffles at me, "It gives the skirt part its shape."

I fiddled helplessly with the indescribable mess that I was now supposed to wear. Frustrated, I asked, "How am I supposed to get this stupid thing on?"

"Give it here!" Mum said, equally as frustrated. She grabbed it, tussled with it madly until it looked more like a real piece of clothing and not just a heap of fluffy rags. "Now you just step into it and pull it up."

"OK," I said hesitantly as I complied with her orders. The petticoat sat snugly at the top of my hips. "Like this?" I asked and Mum gave me the thumbs up. "Now for the dress," I sighed. Nicole and Mum were weirdly silent. Normally they were both unable to shut up, so it seemed incredible that they were both in a room at the same time and neither of them were saying a thing. I went to step into it and pull it up just like the petticoat I was wearing, until I realised the petticoat was too poofy and I would have to pull it over my head. 'Petticoat I was wearing' was not something I thought I would ever say, even since I was ravaged by P.E.

I think that Mum and Nicole were too gripped with sentimentality, that the idea of helping me never even entered their heads. And so, I floundered about, inelegantly trying to pull the dress on. I felt trapped in an unending tunnel of glistening tulle and satin, the more I pulled the more there was to the dress. I wondered if it was possible that this dress was made for someone 24 feet tall. That would certainly explain why there didn't seem to be an end in sight. Finally, after climbing up the dress for what seemed like eons, I reached proof that I was getting somewhere, I hit a snag. My boobs had hit the part where the skirt bit ends and the fitted bodice bit begins. Since the dress was unzipped the snag wasn't too bad, it didn't take more than a simple tug to allow the dress to continue along its path. My head soon popped out into the world once more and I took a deep breath.

The dress, that was the product of many loving hours of work by my sister and mother, was now on. Wordlessly, Nicole zipped me up at the back and stood back. To be honest it wasn't to most comfortable thing I ever wore, in fact it was probably one of the least comfortable things. The least comfortable and easily the girliest. The only way it could be any girlier would be if it was bright pink. Despite all this, I was so happy that I finally had it on.

I was happy because my Mum was so happy.

Mum was crying with happiness.

I had seen my Mum cry only a few times and never in happiness. It's weird, the stories around the few times that I saw my Mum cry aren't huge travesty stories, more of stories of mild annoyances. If my Mum did cry after huge travesties, she didn't do it in front of me. The first time I remember her tearing up was one day when Nicole was just 7 and I was around 4, maybe 5. Nicole had decided she didn't like the length of her hair and decided to cut it herself. And once Nicole gets something in her head, she cannot rest until it is done. So, she crept into the bathroom and 'fixed' her hair with some craft scissors. When Mum came across Nicole and her new haircut; she didn't scream or yell as she usually did, she just sat on the couch and cried. I remember even as a kid thinking that was strange. The only other time was once when she went away for the weekend and came home to find the house a mess, no messier than usual, just messy. Usually she would yell but that time she cried. And the last and final time I saw her cry was watching an episode of 'Touched By An Angel' one Sunday afternoon last year. She didn't even particularly like that show.

This was the fourth time I had seen her cry and finally it was in happiness. "Oh Mum," I said, "Don't cry."

She blinked, hard, trying to banish all the tears from her eyes. She opened her mouth to say something but all that came out was the sound of her choking back more tears. She tried again, "Thank you," was all she could say.

It's a very weird feeling to feel both utterly proud and totally humiliated at the sane time but it was right then and there that I felt it, standing there in a pretty, white dress in front of my tearful Mum. With the complete absence of a mirror all I could do to see what Mum saw was crane my neck down. It didn't give me much of a view, aside from the plunging cleavage that the dress created. "You look really good, Gem," my sister told me with a smile.

"Thanks," I said, taking a few steps to find a mirror. The billowy petticoat and full skirt made it feel like I was wading through long grass but I finally made it to the bathroom. "Geez!" I said when I saw my reflection. I looked like a princess, I never thought I ever would but a truly did. A princess who was wearing a bra with a strapless dress, but a princess just the same. I guess I never truly took notice of the dress during the many hours that Nicole and Mum spent putting it all together. It wasn't a dress then, it was an annoyance, an excuse to kick me out of the lounge room for 5 hours on the weekend.

I was actually proud of my reflection. In this dress I didn't look like a little sexpot, like most of my clothes but I looked radiant. For a split second, I was glad I was a girl getting to wear a gorgeous dress and not some boy who had to wear whatever suit the school picked out. A smile took hold, it was a massive chore getting me into the dress and it might end up a chore getting me out of it. "It looks really good on you. Obviously you're skinnier than me, so we are going to have to take it in a bit and you have bigger boobs than I did when I was 16 so we're going let it out a little bit. But fix that, add the gloves and shoes and jewellery and the make-up and you'll be looking grouse!"

I thought looked 'majestic' and 'stunning', 'grouse' was not a word that came to mind but I was glad that Nicole was happy for me to wear her dress. I walked back to the kitchen to where Mum was waiting. I suddenly wished my gait was more elegant, more feminine. I didn't like my walk in this dress, the fact I wasn't breath-takingly elegant made me feel as if I was doing a disservice to it. In my last few steps towards Mum I tried to be as graceful as humanly possible but failed. Something in my mind told me that I would have to work hard so that I could move as beautifully as I looked by the time the Debutante Ball came around.

"So, you're not lying to me? You're really going to do this?" Mum asked with an earnest look. There was no way I could say no to her. It was impossible.

"Yep, Mum. I guess you're going to have your Deb Ball after all!" She hugged me tighter than she had ever hugged me, I guess she was proud of me.

And so there I was, standing on the coffee table in the TV room, pins from the old toffee tin stuck in various places on the bodice of the dress. Standing so high on the table in a pretty, white dress I felt like the little bride on top of a wedding cake. I told that to Mum, but I guess she was too deep in 'sewing mode' to find it funny. The dress, which at the start of the day felt so special to wear, now itched and felt exceeding hot on this blustery, hot summer's day. The novelty of being a princess was fading, fast.

"Does my dress have to be so… big?" I asked the little elfin dressmaker who ran around me, jabbing pins into me whenever the mood took hold.

"That's what I'm just fixing, Gemma," Mum told me.

"No, I know you're fixing the….," I struggled to remember the term, "bodice, right? It's just that the skirt bit is just so big, I feel like the toilet roll holder at Nanna's house." In the toilet at my Nan's house was a doll, with a huge knitted dress. It was huge because its main function was to cover spare rolls of toilet paper, Nan had a lot of strangely decorative things like that around her house. I felt I was also hiding a massive spare roll of toilet paper underneath my gown.

"It's just how it's supposed to look, love. You could lose the petticoat," I liked the sound of that, "But that would mean you would need to wear taller high heels." High heels? It wasn't bad enough that I was wearing the most feminine thing on the planet but underneath I would have to wear high heels!?! This was getting ridiculous.

"How high?"

"Huh? Oh, well, you're like an inch taller than Nicole and she was supposed to wear 3 inch heels, I'm sure you could get away with two inches." Get away with two inches? She said it as if she was doing me a favour!
"But if you don't wear the petticoat and just have the multi-layered tulle," Mum warbled on as if any of this made sense to me, I just wanted to know the height, "you would probably have to wear like a 4 inch heel." Well, there goes my dream of losing the petticoat!

My phone began to ring. "Nicole!" I hollered, "Can you get my phone? It's in my jean shorts in the kitchen!"

"In a second!" she hollered back in response, from somewhere in the house.

"Quickly!" I demanded, "I'm stuck in the dress and can't move! Nicole! It's going to stop ringing! God!" I swung my petulant fists up and down. By the time the phone was brought to me, it had stopped singing its merry tune. "Thanks," I said bitterly to my sister.

"Oh, just get along, you two! Anyone would think you've been a girl all your life, the way you fight with your big sister," Mum said as she wrestled with the tape measure.

"But she made me miss my call!" I complained in my high and (I'll admit it) somewhat annoying voice, "And it's from… Tyler. Nicole! He's my publicist! I really should have taken that call!"

"Just call you precious little publicist back, Gem-muh!" she told me, frustrated.

"Enough!" Mum demanded like some Greek God atop Mt. Olympus, "I am sick and tired of you two fighting like a pair of feral bush pigs! Nicole, go somewhere!"

"Where?"

"I don't care, just out of my hair."

"I would watch that movie I rented but you're hogging up the TV room." Now Nicole knew how I felt like, two years ago when the shoe was on the other foot.

"Go to Ben's."

"He's at footy practice."

"Well, surprise him there!" Mum said, as Nicole grumbled all the way out the door.

Finally they had stopped fighting and I could use my phone without fear of a domestic disturbance happening in the background. It wasn't that my family embarrassed me but I did like to try and have people forget that they exist if at all possible.

"You going to call Tyler now?" Mum asked.

"Yep."

"Say 'hi' from me," Mum told me, "He's just so damn cute, don't you think?" Groan! Mum was asking me about boys again. And the truth was I hadn't seen Tyler since I had gotten my sexuality back and while his gorgeous face had popped into my mind now and again during my masturbatory sessions, it was never for very long.

"Gross, Mum! He's my publicist! And he's like, 24!" I hit dial and tried my best to ignore Mum.

Tyler answered his phone with a, "Gemma, great to hear from you! Long time, no talk"

"Hi Tyler," I responded, sounding every bit like the shy schoolgirl I had become.

"How are you doing? Is everything going well?"

"Can't complain. Wish the paps would stop following me around but that's about all."

"I'm doing my best to keep them at bay but some people just don't play by the rules. But good to hear that life is going well. See, I told you life wouldn't change much just because you're a girl." Tyler was unable to see that I was standing on a coffee table wearing a dress.

"You were right," I lied.

"So, what's next for Gemma Taylor?"

I told him, "You tell me."

"The offers have been pouring in, Gemma. I should have called you earlier but Dr. Fischer told me to give you some time to adjust." Dr. Fischer? Who was Dr. Fischer? Oh, Annette! "But I saw you in the paper today in your party clothes and thought that she's ready to party she's ready for some of these offers."

"Hit me, Tyler." I liked playing the role of the big time celebrity with Tyler.

"Well, you've probably read that Dancing with the Stars are desperate to get you and that is true. They're offering you just under a million for that, which is nothing to sneeze at. But the problem with that is that it's going to be during your mid-year exams and I know how important your schooling is to you."

That and I am fairly certain I'm too big a celebrity to go on that tacky program! Tyler had sent me regular e-mails just dropping hints about various offers but this was the first time we had spoken to each other for a while.

"What else do you have?"

He continued, "Well since you have emerged looking so beautiful anyone who is anyone wants to photograph you, kiddo. You got that e-mail I sent, yeah? Vogue, Elle, New Weekly, Woman's Day even FHM want to be the first with an exclusive photo shoot." I wandered if I would ever be attention-deprived enough to do a Lad's mag like FHM.

"I don't really know if I'm a model, Tyler."

"Here's one I haven't told you about but I think it's a sweet fit. You've heard of Dolly, yes?"

Dolly Magazine is a magazine for girls around 13-16. Probably every girl I know, except Dot of course, has bought at least one issue. It's a part of growing up. It's about fashions and boys and self-esteem and girl power and things like that. As adolescent boys, Glen and I would laugh at the reader's poetry they would print, the ramblings of an angst-ridden teenage girl was always so melodramatic. I had flick through a couple of old issues at Alana's house to channel my inner girl, Alana had moved onto Cosmo but she told me there is no better instruction manual on how to be a teenage girl than Dolly.

So yes, I had heard of Dolly.

"Well, they want you to do a monthly column in their magazine, maybe answer reader's questions and the like. You know, you could make a difference in a lot of girls' lives."

Something about that offer really spoke to me. The idea of using my fame to help other people had never come into my mind before. I'm not sure how helpful my advice to girls would be but I'm sure my opinions would be of some value. I always considered myself a good writer, my marks for English were always higher than my Math and Science ones.

"That sounds really good, Tyler. I like the sound of that."

"Thought you might. I'll give the editor a call back and pass on your information, kiddo." I kinda liked it when he called me 'kiddo' although not many other people could get away with it.

"The editor said she would be interested in making you the cover story if you joined. Would you do a cover shoot?"

"I'm not a model, Tyler but I could give it my best shot. Where would the shoot be?"

"Dunno, probably here in Sydney."

"I'd love to come go Sydney, I've never been. If I came up for the shoot would you show me around?"

"Of course, kiddo. Pick any weekend you want and I can easily get you invited to all the hottest parties or movie premiers or something cool like that."

I was getting excited. "Really? Cool. Do you think I could meet Kate.., I mean John Draffen? I mean, he lives up there, right?"

"I'm sure if anyone could organize a meeting, Dr. Chisholm could." What just seemed like a fun weekend away just became more important.

"Because it would be really great just to meet Mr. Draffen. I'm feeling so good about myself lately and I think meeting him would help the last puzzle piece fall into place, you know? Make me feel real."

"I'm sure he is dying to meet you too."

"Tyler, I've got one more question for you?"

"Whatever you want, kiddo."

I held my breath for a second, letting the courage pool in the roof of my mouth. I spoke quickly, just slow enough that he could understand, "I'm doing my Deb and I was wondering if you would like to come and sit at my table? It's in a few weeks time."

"You're doing your Debutante Ball? Wow, you grew up fast! You know what? I'd love to come. Talk to you later, OK?"

"OK."

"Bye."

"Bye."

And just like that I went from being a hotshot celebrity talking to her people to a girl standing on a coffee table in a dress with pins sticking into me. "You didn't say 'Hi' from me," complained Mum.

"You're too old for him, Mum!"

"Well, you're too young!" Mum replied back.

"I'm not lusting after him, like some people. Can I take this damn thing off already?"

And so very gently I took off my Deb dress. My Deb dress! And handed to Mum so that she could begin slaving over it. While dressing like a normal person wasn't as exciting it was a whole lot more comfortable.

"So, what did Tyler want?" Mum asked as I rejoined her in the TV room.

"He's got me a job writing for Dolly Magazine that I'm really interested in," I said, looking up at Mum. I guess I felt short because I had been standing on the coffee table for so long. I had been taller than her for a few years and it seemed so weird to come crashing down below her again. Because of it, I felt younger and she looked more commanding. At least I was still taller than Nicole, not by much but still it was something.

"My baby is going to be a writer? That's great. You'd be really good at that! As long as it doesn't interfere with your school work, I'm fine with it." Along with being the family's last chance at being involved with a Debutante Ball, I was also our last chance at graduating High School — Mum had left because she was pregnant and Nicole had left to become a hairdresser, so it was all up to me.

I looked around our modest surroundings, Mum had worked very long and very hard for every single thing we owned. You could almost see the sweat and tears in everything from our old fridge to the peeling paint. Everything in this house Mum had worked so hard for, except the big screen TV, we got that because I talked to a camera for an hour. I could see why Mum wanted me to finish High School, even though I was currently worth my puny weight in gold.

Two ice cubes 'plinked' into my glass of Pineapple juice. "Don't worry, Mum," I promised between mouthfuls of juice, "School is my first priority."

CHAPTER 23

"Mum, can I take 3 days off school?" I asked in my best 'I'll whinge all day if you don't let me' voice. I hoped that she forgot the promise I made to her just last week.

"What? … Why? When?" Mum was all questions, although they were very short questions.

"It's for Dolly magazine. They really loved my test column that I e-mailed them and they want to revolve their whole next issue around me. Cover shoot, photo spread, feature story and my column! They might as well rename the mag: Gemma." Sure, I was a little big-headed but you try and keep your ego in check when a magazine thinks you’re the best thing since glossy paper.

"That's really nice, Gem, but 3 days is a lot."

"Normally, I'd agree with you but this time of the year no one is doing anything. All my classes are just 'continue with your work' at the moment. And it's not until next week and half of the year level will be away doing work experience so the teachers will be even less likely do be doing anything important," I could have kept rambling with good reasons but I felt it was enough.

"Why do you need 3 days?" Mum asked as she prepared tonight's dinner. She was putting out 4 plates, so I assumed Nicole would be bringing home Ben soon.

"I'll fly up to Sydney on Wednesday, get settled and see the sights," I had never been to Sydney before, "Thursday is spent all day doing the photo shoot. Friday during the day, I thought I might go and see John Draffen and Friday night they are holding a party in my honour and then I'll fly home Saturday."

"Why don't you fly up Wednesday night after school and see the sights on Saturday and fly home on Sunday? That way you don't miss out on school on Wednesday." It seemed that Mum had already yielded to my request and was seeking for a little bit of a compromise to make herself feel a little better. However, I wasn't ready to compromise.

"But I've got another engagement down here Saturday night," I said trying to make my life sound as important as possible.

"Engagement?" Mum saw right through it, "What engagement?"

"Becca's 17th birthday party," I revealed, there was a look on my face that showed that I knew I had lost all power in the negotiations.

Mum opened the oven and pulled out some oven-ready lasagne, it was Monday after all and why break with tradition. "Well, I think Becca will understand if you miss her party. So, I, you mother, am approving that you can miss Thursday and Friday next week but not Wednesday, OK?"

"OK," I said defeated.

"How are you going to get to the airport? I work all Wednesday," Mum asked as she quickly rinsed a dirty knife to cut our delicious feast into portions. The nearest airport was just out of Geelong about 2 hours drive, and it was only where the budget airlines fly out from. The nice Airport was in Melbourne, a good 3 and a half hour drive away.

"They said they would fly me Qantas but that would only fly out from Melbourne Airport, yeah?" Mum nodded, "I'll guess I'll have to take the late train to Melbourne, but that wont get me there until 7pm and then I'll have to take the bus to the airport which wont get there until 8pm, which means I wont be able to take a flight until 9pm, which means I wont get to Sydney Airport until 10pm and I wont get to Sydney until 11pm and my photo shoot starts first thing in the morning!" I was truly in full whinge mood.

"Well, then you should get them to book you into flight that leaves from Geelong," Mum said, being perfectly reasonable. But I didn't want to listen to reasonable.

"My first flight on a plane and you want me to fly budget?" I asked, truly mortified. I couldn't believe she would want her celebrity fruit of her loins to fly budget, "If you let me take Wednesday off I could get to Melbourne at a reasonable hour."

The security door (that was never ever locked) swung open and Nicole entered, like a sheriff walking into a saloon, "What's my little sister complaining about now?"

"She doesn't want to fly a budget airline but she wants enough beauty rest for her silly magazine photo shoot!" Mum said, exacerbated.

"Photo shoot? Who for? Where?" Nicole too suffered from asking a lot of very short questions.

"Dolly magazine. In Sydney. For the cover." I smiled, clearly happy that no one had asked her to grace the pages of a magazine.

"Wow!" Nicole clearly didn't notice or care that I was teasing her, "That's fan-fucking-tastic! You're going to be on the cover of Dolly? That's like my 15 year old dream come true!" Nicole was much more excited about it than Mum obviously was. Ben, who had come in behind Nicole, remained quiet.

"Hey Nicole," I said, trying to play to my sister, "You have Wednesdays off. Could you drive me to the airport?"

"Sure! Which one?"

"That's up to Mum," I said, practically begging.

"What classes do you have after lunch?" Mum asked. Yes! I was making progress.

"Just a double period of P.E," I lied, it was really a double of Maths, but what she didn't know, wouldn't hurt her.

"I guess you could leave at lunch and go to Melbourne," Mum relented, like I always knew she would. I smiled and bit my lip to keep from a rather public celebration.

"Thank you," I demurely said.

We ate dinner together as a family. Ben was quieter than usual, I think he missed me being male and evening out the numbers. As it currently stood he was the only male amongst three women. He almost drowned in the sea of dyed blonde hair and big boobs that made up the Taylor family. As a former male I tired to reach out to him. "How did you go in the footy on the weekend?" I asked him. Truth was, even when the space between my thighs was home to a penis I wasn't interested in footy, least of all the amateur league Ben played for.

"Yeah, alright," was his simple response as he shovelled some carrots into his mouth.

Well, I tried.

"So are you going to meet up with Draffen when you go up to Sydney?" Nicole asked me with a mouthful of food.

I chewed and swallowed before answering. "I hope so, Dr. Chisholm said that John had shown some interest in meeting me."

"That'd be so exciting for you. It would be like meeting your mirror image." It appeared that Nicole refused to say anything unless there was a risk of spitting large chunks of some food at me.

Mum glanced up at the clock situated behind me. "You better be running along if you don't want to be late," she told me.

"Oh yeah!" Nicole seemed to be getting more excited and more likely to spit food at me as each second passed, "It's your big night tonight! Hey? Your first practice session!"

"Not my first. I had some sessions before I changed," I told her as I scraped the left over food off my plate and into the bin, ignoring the compost bag on the other side of the kitchen because I am inherently lazy.

"But this is your first Deb practise as a girl! Dancing with Aaron! That's pretty big!" Nicole seemed much more excited than I was. Maybe she should see if she could do it in place of me.

I walked the short distance to the school hall where practices were held. The last time I walked to Deb practice I was worried about how I was going to tell my friends that I had SGR and now I had other things problems on my mind — mainly, most of the friends who said they would support me through my difficult time weren't talking to me anymore. While things were fine with Mads and Kev, things were considerably worse with everyone else. Holly was far too busy getting busy with my archenemy to care about me, Dot and I would only exchange the briefest of greetings in the morning and Glen was forced to side with Dot. Sure, I had new great friends but I couldn't shake the feeling that I could do something to make this all better.

It had been just over a week since Dot and I had our 'I miss the old Michael' fight at BTB. I think the main reason we hadn't made up was because we were both too proud to admit that we missed each other. It was easy for me to make her think I didn't need her, I had Alana and Lilly to chat, giggle and act like a major girl around. Dot had it a bit harder, she would have to pretend that she was happy doing things by herself or when Glen was around, with Glen. Although she always acted totally misanthropic, I knew she was only happy when she had someone to act all misanthropic around.

At school we wouldn't say much too each other. It wasn't as if our friendship was destroyed, just deflated. One of us would have to do some patchwork soon or have our friendship run completely out of air. But since I had plenty of friends and a whole new life opening up for me, I didn't feel the need to run out and get a puncture repair kit, although if Dot went and got one, I would certainly help her restore our friendship to its former, inflated glory.

Each step I made brought me a little closer to school and to Deb practice. I never thought I would be coming back to do my Deb but the perfect storm of alcohol, a cute guy and a demanding Mum exploded in my face so I found myself right in the middle of it. I was kinda looking forward to it actually, I had enjoyed rehearsal when I was male and I was a good dancer so there was no reason not to enjoy it. At first I thought Lilly would be mad when I snagged Aaron as my partner. I mean, she was after him and now I would spend a few hours each week holding my body close to his. But I guess I don't know the rules of Girl World as much as I thought I did. Lilly was so excited when she found out, she said she would be able to chat him up at rehearsals and flirt with him because she didn't have many classes with him. Little did she know, but I too had Aaron set in my eyes, not that I was ready to start dating any time in the near future but I wanted him ready if I ever did.

For the most part Deb partners were rarely romantic couples. Oh, there were a few long time couples that were doing their Debuts together but there wasn't an overtly romantic or sexual vibe to the whole thing. OK, some guys secretly might do it for a chance to caress a girl for a few hours a week (that's why I did it with Holly) but the girls were more interested in finding a guy who would match their dress. Their partners were just another accessory, along the same lines as shoes and jewellery.

There were no photographers around tonight on my walk to school. In their defence it was a Monday night and I had been Gemma for over three weeks. And the more I became Gemma and the less I became Michael and the less newsworthy I became. A boy trapped inside a girl's body is exciting, a girl trapped inside a girl's body isn't going to sell many papers. In saying that, they did show up out front of my house on the weekend though and caught me going to the beach with Alana and Lilly. Pictures of three pretty teenage girls in their skimpy bathers one of who is a major news story, were not buried in the back of the Sunday newspapers, let me tell you that. We made page 3 in both The Australian and the Herald Sun.

And the news of me doing my Deb was big. A lot of people wrote letters into the editor proclaiming me to be a 'sexually confused freak' or a 'beautiful young woman'. I denied to comment most of the time, usually just repeating, "I am happy with the choices I have made." The school was very supportive - they knew that letting me do the Deb would create a massive media frenzy but probably less than not letting me do it. Not all the girls were happy though; some of them thought that I would be taking the focus away from their special day and in a way that's true. If there are one thousand cameras in a room and only two are pointed at you, you might not feel as special as the girl with the 998 cameras pointed at her. But I couldn't help it.

The photographers weren't following me to school because they were already there waiting for me. From the looks of it, the TV show A Current Affair had their cameras out, trying to question people as they came to practice, probably asking whether it was fair that I was allowed to do my Deb. A Current Affair had already run some stories that had an anti-me vibe to it. I didn't hold it against them, there are only so many stories you can do about me and once you run out of the happy ones there's only one place you can go. Plus I did my exclusive interview with their rival channel.

But coming to school and annoying all the other students was going a bit too far. One of the producers spotted me and before I could move an entire camera crew was chasing me down. "Gemma! Gemma! How do you respond to the allegations that you are ruining other girls' special nights?"

Despite being advised against it, I responded. "Look," I squeaked as authoritarian as I could, "As a student of Marrang College I am given the same opportunities as every other student here. No more, no less."

"But surely the media frenzy you create will overshadow everyone else's night."

"I'm not creating anything. I mean, I am thankful for all the people out there wishing me well but I didn't ask for any of this public attention. I can understand why people find me interesting but I really did spell it all out in the interview I gave."

"But Gemma, don't you think being a Debutante should be restricted to actual girls?"

I think if you watched the footage back you could actually see the camel's back breaking with the weight of that last comment. "ACTUAL girls? What about me isn't actual, man? I have boobs, isn't that actual enough? I think my jeans are tight enough to see that I am an ACTUAL girl! Get a close-up, you perverts! Just because I'm a freak of nature doesn't mean I don't have feelings!" I clutched my face in my hands, trying to hide my actual tears. "Way to ruin my night, you dickheads!" I sobbed as I hurried away.

I wasn't lying, my night felt effectively ruined. I knew I hadn't always been a girl but I was one now. I was as much a girl as anyone else donning a dress for the ball, the only thing different between me and the rest of the girls was I was new at it. I was sure there was some girl who complained to A Current Affair about how unfair it was that I was allowed to do the Deb. I knew if I found out who complained they would be getting a piece of my mind. It would be quite easy to give a piece of mind because it felt like it was shattering.

I wasn't going home though, I wasn't letting people know that the pressure was getting to me. I wanted to do this silly dance thing for my Mum and maybe a little to hang out with Aaron. Although I wasn't about to put my tail between my legs and run home, I wasn't quite ready to face the judging eyes of my classmates either. There was a third option: power cry. After being thrust into this weird situation in this weird body, a lot of things got to me. At first I didn't know what to do, I spent a lot of my time moping around and crying. I still cried, but now it was only once every few days and it was all done in five minutes. Instead of going inside the hall, I skulked around to the back and turned the tears tap all the way on.

They were hot, angry tears that burned their way down my cheeks, like lava oozing down a mountainside. How dare someone insinuate that I wasn't an actual girl! That was my whole problem; I had turned into a real girl. There wouldn't be the problem if I only ended up looking like a girl. But the truth was each cell in my body was more womanly than the last. I slid down the wall and clutched my knees. I knew I looked pathetic but no one could see me so I didn't care. A real heavy cry can be good for you. Luckily I don't wear any make up otherwise people would be able to tell. I gave it a few more deep sobs and stood up as if nothing had happened.

I was looking forward to this Deb practice. I took a deep breath before I walked in and straightened up my clothes, I wanted to look as good as I could for Aaron. My entrance to rehearsal didn't go unnoticed but it didn't stop the whole thing. They were already in the middle of one of the dances. The couples all promenaded around in a circle, although because of the dimensions of the room it was more of an oval. The couples, some clumsy and others carefree, twirled, stumbled and waltzed around and around. I looked for Aaron, perhaps standing to one wait waiting for me or even sadder, dancing holding an imaginary me. But I couldn't find him.

In the corner, I could see Holly dancing with Sobey. She was obviously leading him and he was standing on her toes, I hoped she was disappointed with her choice. Alana danced with Tall Jason and Alison with Cameron, two Group A girls with equally attractive Group A boys. Alana gave me a huge smile and waved, I waved back. I liked being a Group A girl. Amongst the other couples was a mix of everyone else. There were some geeky band girls dancing with their trumpet or clarinet playing male counterparts. There was the slightly mannish girl, Marissa dancing with comparatively tiny Hudson. I loved the mix of the truly beautiful and downright awkward and everyone in between. Being 16 to 17 was such a weird time in everyone's lives and seeing everyone in this room really solidified how people mature at different rates.

It was then I saw him, my partner. Aaron was dancing cautiously because this was his very first lesson. He made the wrong step, going back instead of forward and the couples behind crashed into him. That made his dancing partner squeal in delight, her dark brown eyes glistening. It was Lilly! Lilly had somehow stolen him back! I looked around for her partner, Louis Mecchi and couldn't find him anywhere. Had I dreamed the whole thing? Did Aaron ask Lilly and in my crazy mind I thought it was me?

The old tape whirred to a stop and the dancers all fell into loud chatter about how badly they had done. There was laughs, squeals and punches in the arm. It was all good-natured. Most of the girls seemed taller, for a second there I was scared that I was getting even shorter until I realized they were all wearing heels. Mrs. Coleman must have suggested that they try the dances with their heels on. Of course I hadn't brought mine, I never had even taken a step in heels before, let alone dance dances that I've never danced before.

Mr. Coleman came up to me, his bald head gleaming with sweat. It was still warm weather but it was just beginning to cool down. "Welcome back, Gemma," he said quietly to me, "We're so glad you're are back here to make your Debut. Mrs. Coleman and I think it's a very important thing for you to do."

"Thanks," I said quietly, not quite meeting his creepy gaze, "I know we have some work to catch up on but I promise you we'll be quick about it. I remember the dances fairly well, I'll just have to learn the girls' half."

Aaron and Lilly came over to me, laughing all the way. "G'day Gem!" Lilly smiled as she was purposefully ignoring something Aaron had just said. "Shut up!" she told him and laughed as she poked him in the ribs, "No, shut up!" There was something deeply annoying about them getting along, I just wanted to punch one of them, preferably one I could take and I would have a better chance against a skinny Eurasian girl than the muscle-bound body Aaron had.

"Mecchi is at a debating comp tonight so I was borrowing your partner until you got here," Lilly explained.

"So, he's mine now?" I blurted out.

"Take him, he's fucking useless!" she teased, "Can't figure out if he's supposed to be going back or forward!"

"Only because you told me to go backwards!"

"Don't listen to me! I'm not the one leading!" They both laughed at each other like I didn't exist.

"Ummm…ok…" I said, seemingly to myself. Whenever people ignore me I feel so short, I know that's a common feeling but considering I had recently lost more than a couple of inches, it's really amplified. I feel like everyone's heads are way above me, like the tops of trees, and I'm creeping through a rainforest. Maybe I should wear high heels. And platforms!

Lilly handed Aaron back to me and returned to rehearsing partnerless. "Hi," Aaron said, while Mr. and Mrs. Coleman began the next dance without us.

"Hi." My voice could sound so quiet without me trying.

"Are you OK?" he asked me, "You look like you've been crying." I liked how perceptive Aaron could be, most boys would have only noticed how snug my top and jeans were. I certainly hope he'd notice that too, as I squeezed into them mainly for his enjoyment.

"This is a big night for me," I explained, "And some people think I don't deserve it." I blinked back some tears back, I had already had my cry for the next couple of days so there was no need for more tears.

"Yeah," Aaron agreed, "I saw the TV crew. Don't fucking give it another thought! We're here to have fun, right?"

"Yeah," I stuttered out meekly, not looking him in the eye.

"Wow. You sound convincing," he joked, giving me a little 'buck-up' hug.

I looked at all the couples, my classmates, dancing and wondered which ones thought I shouldn't be allowed to do the Deb. Which one of these people I have known for at least 5 years would deny me this simple thing? Who would class me as still a boy after they had seen me up close, inside a body as feminine as any other girl in my Year level? It was devastating to think that some of my classmates think of me as a freak. "I just wish people would understand that I'm acting like a girl because I am a girl. It wouldn't be healthy to act like a boy because I'm not a boy."

"If you're a boy then I am so gay!" Aaron joked. He sat down on a plastic school chair and looked me in the eye, "Look, don't let anyone stop you from whatever your heart tells you what to do, OK? There's nobody in this world that could possibly know what you are going through. I knew we weren't best friends before you went through your metamorphosis but I always thought you were a great person. Now that you've become a truly stunning looking woman I am sure that's not going to change how good you are as a person." He reached out and put his hands on my shoulder. There was nothing I could do but look him in his deep brown eyes. "As long as you are happy with yourself, I am proud of you. You have done so well to get this far, don't let anyone make you doubt yourself for a second." He cleared his throat as the dance wound down, "That's enough of a speech from me. Wanna dance? We've got like 6 weeks of lessons to catch up on."

I clutched him so tight as we danced. His big, strong, burly arms were the perfect security blanket for me. Wrapped up in them I felt like I could never be harmed. I was shielded from the accusing stares and the whispers. We weren't the best dancers there, in fact due to our inexperience we were probably the worst. We'd crash into each other and other couples but try and do our best to not to ruin the whole dance. We didn't get too worked up over it, Mr and Mrs. Coleman said they would give us some private lessons to catch us up.

My sexuality was going a little crazy. When I was male, arms never drove me crazy. But as a girl, seeing Aaron and his well formed muscles all over his arms I wondered why I never considered arms sexy. He was also hairy, not super hairy, but hairy enough to know that I was definitely sexually attracted to masculine features. For some of the dances the girl has to be held close and I loved the way he would take charge and hold me against him, his hard body held tight against my soft one. A shiver would run down my spine and tickle me in special spots.

We had to practise walking. At the beginning of the big night, you are officially introduced to society. The girl walks out on to the stage while the announcer reads information about her: her parents' names, her ambition in life, her hobbies and details about her dress. Then the girl walks down the stairs and is greeted at the bottom by her partner. The announcer then reads the same details (minus the description of the dress, of course) about the boy and they walk down the red carpet together, with one thousand sets of eyes on them. The couple stops at the middle of it all and the girl walks around the boy, showing of the dress. At the end of the carpet local dignitaries sit in some chairs, Mrs. Higgins our principal, the mayor and his wife, the President of the school board and his wife and the local Member of Parliament and her husband, meet the couple. Repeat that 24 times, with the 25 couples and that is the first 40 minutes of the Deb Ball. Exciting, I know.

The seemingly still not popular Mars Bar Challenge revolved around walking tonight, Mr. Coleman revealed that tonight's best walkers would each receive the prestigious Mars Bar. The girls, most of which were starving themselves too look their best in their dresses, all rolled their eyes. I looked over at Holly, whose eyes only glowed with the chance for competition. She really was so different from how I remembered her back when I was male.

"We can win this!" whispered Aaron, tantalisingly close to my ear.

"I'll do my best for you, my liege," I answered back.

The order on which the Debutantes come out is based on the Debutantes' height. Shortest girl goes first all the way to Marissa, the tallest girl. That's why it was so important to bring the shoes tonight, so that they could see how tall the girls were in their shoes. It annoyed me, it looked like I would be down the shorter end, even with heels on. "Do you know what type of shoes you are wearing, Gemma?" Mrs. Coleman asked me with her hands on her thighs, a sure sign she was talking down to me. I decided to have some fun with her.

"Sneakers," I told her, straight faced.

"No, not what you are wearing now, I mean with your dress."

"Sneakers," I repeated, "The skirt is so big no one will notice." The shocked look on her face was worth it completely.

"Just double check with your Mum if you are allowed to wear sneakers, I would recommend something a little more… appropriate," she told me, slowly as if talking to an alien.

"They'll be white," I said, smiling.

"We'll put you as number 6 at the moment." I was placed between Alison Sorokin and Caitlin Bertalli. Man, I really was a short arse! I comforted myself with the fact that I wasn't in the top 5 shortest girls, but there were 19 girls taller than me. I looked down the line as the heads got higher and higher than mine. Lilly was the friend nearest to me, she was around 10, Alana would have been around 14 and statuesque Holly was around the 21 mark.

Once we were assigned our number, we were told to sit along the wall so that we could be shown the proper way to walk. "Sorry, because I'm so short, we're one of the first cabs off the rank," I apologised to Aaron who was already sitting down.

"That's OK, I'm no giant myself." I went to sit beside him but his friend, Nathan had already taken the chair to the left and Lilly quickly stole the other seat.

"How's it all going, Gem?" Lilly asked, apparently unaware that taking the seat next to my partner would annoy me.

"Not too bad," I said, "I feel like such a shorty, Lil!" Honestly, while Lilly could be a little annoying when it came to Aaron, she was actually one of my closest friends.

"Yeah, you have lost a fair bit of height since…" People always had trouble when referring to my transformation. "That's OK, you'll be fine-tastic in a pair of heels. You just need practice. It's really not that hard but it does kill your calves." Oh, she had sore calves, which made it impossible to ask her to move so that I could sit next to Aaron. I looked down the wall, it looked like everyone had a seat except me.

"Shit… There's no seats left." I said.

I heard a patting noise and looked up. Aaron was patting his lap, inviting me to sit there. "C'mon up. Good thing about being so tiny is you wont be that heavy." Well, it would be much closer than Lilly. Mr. and Mrs. Coleman began their walking lesson so with no other chairs, I climbed up on Aaron's lap, sitting there as if he was right about to ask me if I had been a good girl all year. It was actually a very nice place to sit, although I felt dirty and girly and really small, at the same time. There were only a few pieces of cloth between my delicate 'holes' and his cock. Subconsciously, I squirmed a little just to get comfortable, not realizing this was the type of chair that noticed and might even enjoy every little rearrangement. I tried to sit real still after that realization.

Because my mind being firmly between my legs, I didn't hear a word of what Mr. and Mrs. Coleman were saying about walking. Everyone else had a look of deep concentration. Even Aaron, whose reflection I could see in the darkened window across from us, had a look of absolute focus. And more I was annoyed by how little I was paying attention, the less able I was to pay any attention to what was being said.

Suddenly and without warning, couple number one began to practice the walk with Mr. and Mrs. Coleman commenting. "Slower, chin up, don't forget what we said about your eyes!" Don't forget? I didn't even hear! My little bum wriggled all over Aaron's lap in worry.

"Couple number two!" they called out. We were 6, I had to figure out exactly what to do and exactly how to do it in just a few couples. I didn't want to let Aaron down. I didn't want him to think I was a stupid ladyboy who couldn't even remember how to walk properly. I leaned forward in order to study them very closely. It was Halley and Magesh, despite the height difference (Halley was quite short) they were excellent dancers. They would be the people to watch if I was to get it right.

"Good job. Just a little slower. Bow/curtsey. Excellent. This is the couple to beat, people!" announced Mr. Coleman as if everyone was dying to get a hold the elusive Mars Bar. "Maddi, Greg, you're up!"

I guess I got lost somewhere inside my head. I must have made a wrong turn on my way to concentration and ended up in autopilot. Because of that small mistake, I had misplaced a large amount of time. When I awoke Alison and Cameron were halfway done their walking. We were up next! I was so not ready! And it's not the kinda of thing to could sit out because we were new. It was walking and bowing and something else, I wasn't sure because apparently my attention span was shorter than this tiny body that was perched on Aaron's lap.

But my lack of concentration wasn't our biggest problem. As I hurried tried to cram, watching Alison and Cameron I noticed something. It was small at first, a twitch beneath me but the more I focussed on it the bigger it got. All my wriggling and squirming around on Aaron's lap had awoken his little friend. I had given Aaron an erection!

"OK, couple six!"

Shit! That was us. Now, not only was I unprepared but I had given my partner a tricky obstacle to overcome. There was nothing we could do, we had to walk. I slid down off Aaron's lap onto the floor, regretting my actions immediately. Sliding down him wasn't going to help things, it would only cause more friction and thus arouse the beast even more.

"We're so not going to win a Mars Bar," he told me as we walked to the centre of the room. Well, I walked and he hobbled.

"No, we are not," I agreed with a smile. Suddenly, with that little shared joke, the seriousness of the situation melted away. I couldn't pay attention long enough to figure out how to walk and had accidentally given my partner a boner. That's pretty funny. We assumed the position, I placed my in his and we started to walk.

"Stand up straighter, Aaron! No, more straighter! Slow down! Don't look at your feet, Gemma. Now walk around him. Don't move your hips so much, Gemma. Look us in the eyes! Now bow. No, Gemma you don't bow. You curtsey. And back. OK, you guys need to work on that. Couple seven, Caitlin and young Master McKeown!"

We walked to our seat, laughing at each other. Aaron sat down and I climbed up upon him. Even though his erection was gone I couldn't help but whisper, "Is that a Mars Bar in your pocket or are you just so happy that we suck at walking?" That made Aaron laugh out loud. Caitlin didn't look happy that we were putting her off.

After the walking debacle we went over the dances one more time and called it a night. "I don't know what Lilly was complaining about. You're a …good dancer," I told Aaron.

"I do not like the way you hesitated before saying 'good dancer,' Taylor! I'm a good dancer, aren't I?"

"Ummm… Yes. Yes, you are." We laughed at each other like no one else existed. "You're not even a good walker!" I teased him under my breath.

"OK, shut up everyone!" Mr. Coleman tried to get people's attention, "Quieten down! A few announcements before we go. You did really well tonight. Girls, well done on dancing in your heels, it really makes a difference, doesn't it?" In response, 25 different conversations between the girls erupted. "Shhh… Not finished up here. It would probably be wise that you practise dancing in them from now on. If you had trouble dancing in them today, I recommend walking around in them around your house until you get used to it. Just don't go and feed the chooks in them, Karen!" Mr. Coleman and Karen live next door to each other on farms, I know this because Mr. Coleman makes a joke about it every rehearsal, without fail.

"Also, girls," Mrs. Coleman spoke up, "If your dress has a petticoat, you might want to start wearing that to rehearsals too just so you can get a feel for it." I looked around, I seriously hoped I wasn't the only one forced to endure the ridiculousness of a petticoat.

Mr. Coleman leapt back in to his announcements. "OK, we'll be rehearsing in the auditorium next week so you can get a proper feel for the actual space. So remember that. Also in two weeks time we need your parents for the last half hour to teach them the Pride of Erin." It was a tradition that the final formal dance was done with your parents. Mums dance with their sons and the Dads dance with their Debutantes. I had completely forgot about that. When my gender was changed I ran into a problem — I hadn't seen my Dad in years, even the lure of my recent millions hadn't brought him out of the woodwork. I would be parentless for the Parent dance. I looked around the room and for once I didn't feel special. If there was one thing I had in common with a lot of kids my age it was divorced parents. I'm sure the problem of being parentless for the dance wasn't held by me alone.

"I'll dance with your Mum, if you dance with my Dad," whispered Aaron, his Mum had died only a few years ago. I had forgotten about that.

"If you think you can handle my Mum, then go right ahead, Lekakis." I guess that was that problem sorted. Aaron, however, didn't know the trouble he was in for.

"One last thing before we go," Mr. Coleman said in his booming voice, "I'm sure most of you are aware of the camera crew currently parked out on the front of the school lawn. I know none of you need to be reminded that talking to the press about any school matter is highly frowned upon, so we urge you to ignore any questions thrown at you on your way home tonight. In saying that, we all know why they are out there," I suddenly felt every single eye in the room focus right in on me, "Both me and Mrs. Coleman are extremely proud of Ms. Taylor's choice to rejoin the Debutante ball, we think it was a brave and mature decision. Anyone who thinks that her inclusion in the night's events will ruin the night should have a long, hard look at himself or herself. Goodnight, go home!"

There was the kind of silence in the room that hung high in the air above everyone's head. Most of the staring eyes had moved on, looking at the door or their friends or their mobile phone display but some were still stuck on me. I quickly said goodbye to my friends; Aaron, Lilly, Alana, Alison and even Holly and scampered off into the night. I went the back way, even though it was longer, to avoid the Current Affair Crew.

I was on the block where my house was when I heard it.

It was a voice.

"You wanna go for a walk on the beach?" they asked me and I knew I couldn't say no.

It was Dot.

********

Hello, the author here. The next 2 chapters should be up in a fortnight.

As always, feel free to email me any comments, questions or criticisms to [email protected] The response I get to this story has been absolutely amazing. Thank you so much. There are only a few more chapters left. what do you see happening?