Monday morning Lisa gave me the ace bandage on the way to school. I went into the restroom and put it on as soon as we got to school then came back into the hall to get her approval.

“Looks good. No sign of boobs.”

“How was your shopping trip?”

“Good! I saw a dress that would look soooo good on you! Who knows? Maybe I bought it for you! Are you feeling better today?”

“You know, my head and my stomach feel fine. Would you go for a body swap, you and me?”

“Babe, to make you happy, I’d do it. Of course, that’s easy to say, since it’s impossible.”

“Actually, if it was possible, I wouldn’t do it! I like you too much to condemn you to a body that’s going to morph in the most repulsive way I can imagine. You would hate me forever.”

“Look at it this way … there are a lot of girls … a majority of girls who wouldn’t find that body repulsive. They’ll probably be fighting to see who can be the first to get to do the ‘horizontal bop’ with you.”

“Very picturesque, but I’m afraid they’d be disappointed. They’d expect ‘sock it to me’, but all they’d get is ‘lay it on me’!”

“No way! Once that testosterone kicks in, things ‘down there’ will change in a way that they will appreciate.”

“You know … I’m starting to feel nauseous again. Could you not threaten me with my fate?”

“You can abort that process, but you better quit wasting time. Tell your parents how you feel. How about I talk to them?”

“No!”

“Tell you what … I won’t say a word if you promise to tell them. I’ll be there with you for support.”

“Lisa, I just can’t do it!”

“OK, I’ve been holding this card for a while. I can get you some hormones on the web without a script. I’ll get you a testosterone blocker and some Estradiol ….”

“… and you’ll get yourself some time in jail for buying them without a prescription!”

“No way! I’ll order them in your name!”

“So I go to jail? No you won’t. Didn’t we promise to ‘do no harm’ to each other?”

“OK, nothing illegal, but I need to talk to your mom after school. I’m really ….” The bell rang and Lisa hurried down the hall. She turned back slightly as she walked and wagged her fingers on one hand. “Bye-bye.”

It was incredible that she hadn’t already convinced me to tell my parents. I didn’t think she would talk to my parents but, if she did I couldn’t stop it, so there was no need to worry. Deep down, I wished she would, but dreaded what the result might be. I trudged through the school day, then went home, fell across the bed, and broke the law. I cried.

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The miserable days passed slowly. Two weeks later, a gloomy Saturday dawned on my pathetic existence. I got out of bed, took off my shirt, unwrapped the bandage, and went to the mirror. There was no doubt about it; my (not so) tiny boobs were thriving. Fat was forming behind my perky nipples.

Without warning, my mom opened the door. “Tracy would you….” She stopped. She looked as if she were frozen there with a pile of clothes in her hand and her mouth open.

“Not nice to stare, mom.”

My voice seemed to wake her out of her bewilderment. “Tracy! What’s…?. Why do…?. What’s going on?”

“Not much … just a little gynecomastia. It’s normal for boys my age.”

“Tracy, I know what gynecomastia is. This looks like it’s beyond gynecomastia. Are you taking hormones?”

“No, mom! I wouldn’t even know where to get something like that. It’s supposed to go away in a few weeks, so no big deal.”

“Right. No big deal. I’ll make you an appointment with Dr. Canton to make sure everything’s all right. I can just about guarantee you that this is more than gynecomastia.”

“You mean it could be something like cancer?”

“No. I’m thinking a hormone imbalance. We’ll let the doctor figure it out. In the meantime, keep your shirt on.” She smiled at her little attempt at humor.

It was pointless to argue with her. The next week, I would have to be checked out by Dr. Canton. He was old as the moon and almost blind. At least I figured that, at his age, he had seen everything.
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A day off from school was nice. The waiting room was not very crowded, thankfully. We only had to wait a half hour.

“Gynecomastia”, announced Dr. Canton in his frail voice.

“That’s all? He has fat behind his nipples.” My mom was incredulous.

“I’ve seen ‘em bigger, and it goes away. I could give him medication, but I don’t like to do that unless it’s necessary. I’ll write him a note so he doesn’t have to go to PE. That might spare him some embarrassment.”

On the ride home, I said, “Told you, Mom.”

“Well, at least you have that note. I know how much you hate PE.”

“Yeah, guess it was worth it.”

When I got home, I called Lisa.

“It’s official, Dr. Canton says it’s gynecomastia. He gave me a note. I’m excused from PE.”

“Wow, that’s good.”

“I guess I’ll be wearing the bandage for a while.”

“OK, you can keep it. Nobody at my house wants to hide their boobs.”

“That’s not what it’s supposed to be for.”

“I know, but just keep it. Let’s go shopping.”

“Does anything happen that doesn’t trigger you to want to go shopping?”

“No, I celebrate anything that happens by going shopping. If nothing happens, I celebrate nothing happening by going shopping.”

“Bye, Lisa.”

“Bye-bye, Sweetie.’