Chapter Three: The Fashion Expo

I had a lot to think about that night. First off, I had apparently become an Instagram user within the last 24 hours, which is not something I would have ever predicted. Probably because I'm not even a huge social media fan anyway.

But just like that, I was on my way to becoming a somewhat known Instagram ‘star’ at school...as a girl.

But now it's the weekend, so hopefully some of the hype will be going down. I woke up Saturday morning and had breakfast as usual. I sat down at the table and Mom walked up to me with a plate of pancakes.

"I felt like being nice this morning," she said, setting the plate down in front of me.

"Thanks!" I replied. It's always nice to start the day off with a good breakfast. I decided I'd go for a run, so I went back upstairs to my room to change. In the hallway, I ran into my sister.

"Hey Jenna, what've you got for today?" I asked.

"Nothing till 3, cuz that's when I'm going to this fashion convention with some friends at McCormick Place downtown."

"That's cool. I haven’t actually been downtown in like 5 years."

"What? No, I'm sure you've been down recently."

"Actually, no. I mean, when does our family ever go to downtown Chicago? There's no reason I would have."

Jenna looked shocked. "No way! Well you should definitely accompany my friends and I today."

It was a nice offer. I mean I've been dying to go into Chicago for the longest time now, and I'm getting sick of the suburbs. But a fashion convention? That doesn't really sound like my cup of tea.

"Ehhh I'm not really sure if that's my thing, Jenna."

"Don't look at it as a fashion convention, Sam. Look at it as an opportunity to go downtown!"

"Hmm...I suppose that's a good point." I said hesitantly.

"So are you gonna come?"

"Uhhhh...sure, why not."

"Awesome!" Jenna said, "The thing starts at 3, but we'll leave an hour before that, so be ready in 4 hours."

I nodded, and went back to my room to change for my run. I went a solid 4 miles. It gave me more time to think. I spent most of the time reassuring myself that there's nothing wrong with a boy going to a fashion expo. I mean, it's an opportunity to escape this quiet western suburb and finally go into the city. Who cares if it's for fashion?

I returned to the house, showered, and then chilled in my room for the next few hours. For some reason, I felt nervous about this. I really hope that Jenna told her friends I was coming. I don't want to feel like I'm inserting myself on their girl time. But she invited me! So it must be fine.

I watched Netflix for the next few hours, and before I knew it, it was 3 o'clock. Jenna knocked on my door.

"Ready Sam? My friends are already here, so we'll be leaving now."

"Yep! I'm good!" I yelled back. I grabbed my wallet and phone and headed downstairs. Jenna was standing at the door with her two friends, Kelly and Sophie. Kelly was a short, busty blonde with really pretty green eyes. From what I understand, she is a really sweet person and a lot of guys want to get with her because she's so nice to be around. And she's easy on the eyes as a bonus. Sophie, on the other hand, is a tall, thin brunette who actually looks a bit like my sister, except taller. Jenna tells me that they used to get mistaken for twins before Jenna cut her hair. She's apparently really chill to be around as well.

"Hey guys," I said to them, catching their attention.

"Hey Sam!" the girls said simultaneously. We'd met before a few times, but never got the chance to really get to know each other.

With everyone set, we got into the car to go downtown, the ride was filled with small talk and talk about school.

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We walked from the parking garage at McCormick Place (the big convention center in Chicago) to the big room where the expo was being held. We purchased our wristbands and entered. The venue was huge! Hundreds of stands were set up with displays of new clothing trends, make-up trends, and hair booths with books and demonstrations on various styles.

And yes, it was the exact gender ratio that I expected. The place was probably 95% girls. And that's being generous. So don't get me wrong, this was strictly a female fashion expo.

"So Sam, I'm really glad you came. But I'll admit I'm a little surprised that you wanted to…" Kelly said.

"Yeah," Sophie added, "Isn't this a bit boring for you?"

Jenna interjected before I could answer, "Well actually, he said he hadn't been in the city in like 5 years, so I said he needed to come."
I nodded in agreement. The girls seemed to accept that answer.

"I'm sure we can make it more fun for you though somehow," Kelly said politely. I'm not really sure what that meant, but I just smiled and thanked her.

And thus we began browsing the booths. The girls checked out tons of things. They browsed the clothing sections for over an hour while I kinda just stood and watched them. It was quite boring. After that they moved on to make-up, testing out a few of the products. A saleslady actually asked me if I wanted to try out anything! I'm not sure if she was kidding, thought I was a girl, or what, but I just told her no thanks and moved on.

Finally, the girls left the make-up area and moved on towards the hair area.

"This should be right up your alley Jenna, speaking of all of your killer presentations," Sophie said.

"Yeah, that demonstration was awesome!" Kelly added.

"Oh, you guys are in Jenna's fashion class?" I asked.

"Yep! I mean it's only been a couple weeks of school, but Jenna is totally standing out in her knowledge of fashion and especially hairstyling. I mean have you seen the pictures of your cousin? There are a lot of girls at our school following her Instagram account, even though we haven't met her." Sophie said.

I hesitated for a second. I finally realized the cousin she was referring to was me. That was Jenna's cover for who's hair was actually in the pictures.

"It probably doesn't interest you though, being a boy though."

I awkwardly laughed, agreeing. "Yeah I don't really know much about hairstyles and stuff."

"You know...we said we could make things more fun for you..." Kelly said, looking at Sophie.

"Ooooh we could totally do your hair if you want Sam! That would be fun, right? I mean you've been bored this whole time..." Sophie said, hinting.

"Do...do my hair?" I said stammering. I looked at Jenna and she kinda shrugged. Her body language was basically saying, "Go for it. Why not?".

This would be crazy! Me, a boy, having my hair done like a girl in front of all these people. I mean, I've had it done before, but nobody knows that. This would be a whole new step.

The girls were looking at me with pleading eyes.

"Hmmm...I guess I have been bored this whole time..."

The girls jumped with joy.

"I say Jenna styles your hair! I don't know if you know, but she's really good at it," Kelly assured.

I looked at Jenna and could tell we were laughing at the irony on the inside.

We walked over to a booth with salon chairs. Jenna sat me down and jokingly spoke in a stereotypical salon-person voice, "So, Samuel, to what shall I style your hair today?"

"Hmm how bout whatever these two lovely ladies decide," I said, referring to Kelly and Sophie. They seemed so into the idea, so I might as well appease them.

They blushed with excitement. Sophie picked up a hairstyle book and flipped through it. Eventually they came across a curled, floral updo that they really liked. Jenna took a look at it and said that she could probably handle that.

With all said and done, Jenna went to work. I kinda lost track of what she was doing, as she was going so quickly. She started off with straightening my hair, and then added in some curls. Throughout the process, some other convention-goers started to come over and watch. I saw a lot of confused looks. Although there are a couple reasons why they could be confused. For one, they could be wondering 'why is a boy getting his hair done in a girly style?', but they could also be wondering, 'why is that girl getting her hair done wearing such boyish clothes? Especially at a convention like this?'. Jenna twisted the newly made curls of my hair into an updo. Right as she was about to be finished, Kelly and Sophie walked up with some small, white and pink flowers they bought at one of the other stands. They handed the flowers to Jenna, and she placed them within the curls and waves of my new updo.

And just like that, Jenna was done. Kelly and Sophie had huge smiles on their faces. "Sammy! You look adorable!" Kelly squealed.
"Really?" I said, a bit uncomfortably, "I still haven't seen myself."

Jenna then helped me up and walked me over to a mirror. And in the mirror, I saw one of the most beautiful hairstyles I've ever seen. I touched it lightly to convince myself it was real. I couldn't believe it!

"Wow Jenna! This actually looks really good!" I said, surprising myself even a bit.

"You look like you're ready for prom!" Sophie added, "All you need is a cute boy to sweep you off your feet!"

That comment made me really embarrassed and a little upset. I gave Sophie a slight glare, and I think she got the point.

"You know, Sam. Your hair is even prettier than your cousin's. It should really be you with the Instagram account!" Kelly joked.

I blushed and looked at Jenna. We had guilty looks on our faces.

"Wait...what's going on? What's up?" Kelly said.

Jenna looked at me and her body language basically said, 'should we tell them?'

I was pretty scared and couldn't make up my mind. That didn't stop Kelly's 'investigation' though.

"Wait a sec...Sam! Is that your hair on the Instagram account??"

I was beet red. They were on to me, "Alright fine! You caught me. It all started when Jenna asked for help with her project, and I guess she got carried away with it."

I expected laughs from the girls, but it was quite the opposite. They flooded me with compliments about my hair. They asked what shampoo, conditioner, and other hair products I was using.

It's amazing how overwhelming it became so quickly. I had been outed as having ultra feminine hair, and nobody seemed to care.

"You know what Sam, now that this has come out, we should add this hairstyle to your Instagram now!" Jenna suggested.

I was hesitant. This was all happening so fast.

"C'mon, nobody else knows that you're a boy. It'll be our secret." Kelly said.

She was right. I didn't like the idea of my hair being paraded as a feminine treasure, but I guess it was nice to know I'm getting some attention, even if it's anonymous.

"Sure, let's do it." I said with confidence.

Jenna then positioned me in a place where the lighting was good.

"Wait," she said, "It still looks weird if you're wearing a t-shirt. Especially with this 'updo look'. Kelly, could you go grab something for Sam to wear on top? Just so his hair looks a bit more feminine."

"I'm on it. You'll look great after this, Sammy." Kelly said in a flirtatious way. She then walked off toward the clothing section to get something for me.

So there I was, at a fashion expo, with a prom updo, awaiting a feminine garment to supplement the girly hairstyle that has graced my head.

Last week, I would have never expected I'd be here. I definitely don't love what's going on, but as a boy, I feel like I should really be hating this.

I just hope the garment she brings back isn't too feminine...

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The first five chapters of this 33 chapter novel are available here, but the remainder has been moved to my Kindle page. Thanks as always for reading and supporting me! :)

Link: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0BPZCV3KT