Home, sweet home.

After spending hours in a loud and crowded shopping mall, it was nice to finally be somewhere more private and quiet. With the thrill of her few accomplishments mostly gone, Sierra was able to relish in the calmness.

Once Sierra came in through the front door, she collapsed onto her living room couch almost immediately, just like she did every day after work. Elise, not wanting to pester her in any way, simply let her lay there as she left for the bathroom.

And lay there Sierra did, until, eventually, she had to get up to put her clothes away.

***

Sierra shut the door of her safe with a look of uncertainty. The good news? All the clothes managed to fit inside the small space. The bad news? She wasn’t sure if she was doing the right thing.

“You can’t keep this going forever.”

Those words, Elise’s words, were repeated in Sierra’s mind like a broken record. And as much as she hated to admit it, Elise was right. She couldn’t hide this forever. At some point, sooner or later, she would have to come out.

It was just a matter of when that would happen.

Sierra sighed. She was only three days away from her parents coming home. When she came out, they would be the first people to know. How would they react? She’d ask that question so many times and yet could never find a definitive answer to it. Would they be happy? Mad? Confused? Skeptical even? It was hard to tell.

There was a part of Sierra, though, that always feared the worst. What if her parents didn’t believe her? Or thought she was insane? What if they got angry about her taking female hormones behind their backs?

If they got angry about that… then what would they do? Force Sierra to get rid of the hormones? Force her to quit her job? Commit her to a mental hospital, even?

In all fairness, that last one was definitely a stretch, but it still remained that Sierra wasn’t prepared to face any of her parents’ possible reactions.

But someday, she’d have to be. And that day was coming closer and closer.

And what of her classmates at school? How would they react? Probably pretty badly, Sierra had figured that one out a long time ago. But exactly how badly? Would she just be avoided and looked upon as “weird”, or would she have to face daily, non-stop bullying and harassment?

Whatever it was, she was deathly afraid to find out. And it was very tempting for her to make it so that she never had to.

She could return to hiding her body in sweatshirts. She could even buy a binder and wear it during gym class so her breasts wouldn’t be visible. She could continue to use all the male facilities. So many steps could be taken to ensure no one would find out who she was.

But is that what she wanted?

Sierra had a once in a lifetime opportunity here. One that she didn’t want to waste.

The ability to live as a girl in high school.

Even if it was only for one year, this was a chance she'd never have again. She couldn’t just let it pass her by.

Living as a girl in high school. What would that be like? Sierra was begging to find out, but she also knew not to get her hopes too high up. She wasn’t gullible enough to believe that depictions of high school female life in movies or TV shows were realistic. Obviously the media does a lot of exaggerating for effect. And that applies to TG stories taking place in high school as well, “For a Girl” definitely included. But even the thought of living a normal, non-romanticized female life in high school was simply too exhilarating for her to bear.

Sierra soon became entranced by her own thoughts and smiled in pure bliss. She imagined herself wearing a prom dress, dancing with Elise and holding her close. She was always jealous of girls at prom and homecoming, seeing them wear those beautiful and extravagant dresses. Now, Sierra had the chance to make that her reality.

What color would her dress be? Blue, to match her eyes? Or a brownish yellow, to match her hair? She was having so much fun just imagining all the possibilities in her head. Finding the right dress to bring out her full beauty. Sierra had always wondered if girls truly liked being beautiful, and wearing dresses for special events, but for a brief moment she didn’t care. If she wanted it, then it was okay.

Sierra’s trance was broken shortly after starting. That same part of her was coming out again, yelling at her for being a pervert. And maybe she was a pervert, fantasizing about something she could never have. Something that, for all she knew, girls could hate.

Sierra walked out of her room without making a sound. She had a lot on her mind. Hopefully one day, she’d have it all figured out.

***

“There you are!” Elise declared as she saw Sierra descend the staircase. “You were up there forever. How long does it take to put a few clothes away?”

Apparently her mental contemplations lasted longer than she initially thought. “Uh, sorry.” Sierra said. “I didn’t mean to be up there that long.”

“I’ll say.”

Sierra gave an awkward chuckle. “Uhh… what time is it?” She asked.

Elise checked her phone. “3:28.”

“Wow, that late?”

“Yeah.” Elise answered. “We did a lot today.”

“I guess you’re right.” Sierra said. “So, uh, do you have to leave soon?”

“I don’t know. I think today I could probably push my luck.”

Sierra nodded. “Okay.”

“So… what do you want to do now?” Elise asked.

“Uh… oh! I almost forgot!” Sierra exclaimed. “We only have three more chapters left of ‘For a Girl’, I think we could finish it today!”

“Three?” Elise asked. “No, I don’t think I could do that.”

“Well… one of them is an epilogue that’s only like a thousand words.” Sierra explained. “Does that work for you?”

Elise paused for a brief moment. “Hmm… okay, I can do that.”

“Great!” Sierra got her phone out. “Before we start, though, I just want you to know. This next chapter does have a scene with attempted rape, are you still okay with reading it?”

“Oh please, I can take anything.”