How I spent my Summer Vacation: I became a Girl!
By
Rebecca Coleman

Note to Readers: The “How I spent my Summer Vacation: I became a Girl” is an ongoing in-universe serial that appears each Saturday Evening in the “Benton Evening Post” the story focuses on the ongoing struggle of Emil “Emily” Anderson as she strides to adopt to her new life in a small southern town that straddles the hills and the delta. The Story chronicles her life as she tries to figure out what direction she wants to take her life. Some chapters focus solo on Emily, others might focus on her aunt Flora and a few might focus on her new, possible boyfriend Jack.

Note from Sunflower: From what my muse is telling me, we are at the halfway point. I think the events that transpire over the next few days in-universe will pretty much get me too a good stopping point, a good place to catch my breath, get my focus back on track and plot out a sequel.

-16-
Of course you can use my head as a Pillow

The movie was amazing. I laughed, I cried, and I cheered for my girls. And Jack, despite it being kind of a girl's anime, just sat back and enjoyed it. The movie was also an epic, as most anime movies are, two and a half hours of non stop romantic action. When the end credits finally scrolled across the silver screen, it was pushing two in the afternoon and I was getting ready for my afternoon nap. I had a long night of anime in front of me and I needed some much needed beauty sleep.

And so after the movie, Jack and I decided to head home. The bus ride home was spent in silent reflection. My own mind was swirling with thoughts. First off, I'd not checked off a thing off my shopping list, but on the other hand I'd spent an amazing day with an adorable boy, had talked him into volunteering for a womanless beauty pageant and at the same time volunteered myself for the dunking booth. If this was a date it had been a weird date.

“Hey thank you.” I said blushing a little as I turned toward Jack. Who seemed half asleep, in fact he was dozing off right now.

“I should be thanking you. I enjoyed that.” He said as he stifled a yawn. “Man, I need to get another job. This paper route is killing me. This two o' clock stuff is for the bird man.” He said as he settled back down in his seat.

“If you want. You could put your head on my lap.” I decided to offer. “Maybe catch forty winks between Pecan Road and our stop at Shadow Lane.” I said blushing as the words I'd just spoken reached my own ears.

Jack smiled and before I could stop him or protest he leaned over and placed his head upon my lap. And before I could mutter anything to stop him, he fell fast asleep. I looked down and blinked and blinked this, this was the most anime inspired bullshit I've ever seen in my life. Now, if you guys don't know, in anime and manga, when a guy falls asleep on a girl's lap that kind of means their dating. And are kind of going steady you know. 

And at that moment, I felt myself being knocked for a loop. I'd been Emily for only a handful of days, maybe four or five at most. I'd never gone outside as a girl, and yet on my first adventure outdoors, I'd seen a movie with a guy, who happened to be my next door neighbor, volunteered for a dunking booth, and now the guy had fallen asleep and was using my lap as a pillow.

“Maybe.” I said, musing to myself. “Maybe I could get used to this?” I said as I looked down at the sleeping Jack. There was something almost romantic about this, it seemed stranger than reality. Slowly I lifted my hand and slowly I started to stroke his hair. Jack only muttered something under his breath as he moved his cheeks, I could feel his unshaven cheeks rubbing my thighs through the soft fabric of my skirt.

“This is so Starlight Valley!” I said blushing a little as I looked out the window. For those who don't know, Starlight Valley was a farming simulator series of games for the Famicom Entertainment System. The first one appeared on the Super Famicom Entertainment System, a system I still had tucked into the corner of my bedroom, it had belonged to my mom and Aunt Flora. Back when they were younger.. Mom, before she had gotten sick, used to play it and her favorite game was well you guessed it. Starlight Valley, more properly it was Starlight Valley: Girl's Life Edition.

Now, before I keep rambling, allow me to tell you guys a little about the Starlight Valley game series, going to kind of touch on the key features of the game and key elements of game play here. Okay Like I mentioned before the game centers on farming. Pretty much you play as a character whose grandfather just passed away and has left you with the old family farm. The farm is located in the picturesque valley of Starlight. Your farm is located by a town that is kind of sandwiched between the steep, snow covered Boulder Mountains to the north and the vast uncharted Sea of Stars to the south and to the west you have the vast forest of Hemlock. The only way in or out of town is  a bandit infested mountain pass to the east connects this tiny outpost of civilization with the rest of the world.

Follow me? Good! Because while the main goal is to turn the farm, which is run down, like when you start the game it the farm is in really bad shape, like your first field is choked with weeds, your second field is covered in small trees that you need to clear away with a rusty ax, and your third field is buried under a mountain of trash that you can either burn or sale. I’d always sold the stuff to the traveling peddler that appears every few in game days. Trust me if you ever play the game, you will need the extra gold! Anyway, the main goal is to turn your run down farm into a money making machine, the second goal is to bring life and trade back into this small village which is named “Forget-Me-Not”.

And while the main focus of the game is farming, there is so much more to the game than that. You can mine for copper, silver and gold ore in one of the  underground old abandoned mines located at the foot of Boulder Mountain. Once you ship enough ore, you will attract a blacksmith to your town. You can then forge for herbs that will attract a young doctor to your town, the doctor will sell you potions to recover your health and treat your characters when you get sick. Likewise shipping clay found in the hills will attract a potter, shipping jewels will cause a jeweler to open up and so on and so on.

There are also village celebrations to attend. Attending village celebrations will boost your social link with the colorful characters that call Forget-Me-Not home, and the higher your social link with certain characters the more special cutscenes you unlock. All of this made for some enriching and rewarding game play.

As I sat there Jack head resting upon my lap, my nimble fingers running the fine, almost angelic hair that was Jack's hair as I watched the world zoom by.

“It's so much like it.” I said, smiling a little. See beside attending town celebrations, you had the chance to get married and start a family. I then paused and shuttered a little. It was like at that moment either God or the Devil decided to enlighten me a little. See, my favorite game in the series was Starlight Valley: Girl's Life Edition.. that because well beside playing as a girl, a girl I'd named Emily by some one in a million chance not only could you get married, married as in your character would appear in a stunning white wedding gown complete with three bridesmaids and the token little girl of the village being your flower girl. 
But in order to get married, you first had to reach a social link of eight hearts or higher with one of the many adorable, no handsome guys that called the village home. And your three bridesmaids would the three girls who you had the highest social link with. I don’t know about the flower girl, I never spent any time with the token little girl running around the village. In fact my only interaction with her had been when I’d found her lost in the mountains. Anyway I ramble again. 

But you could also get pregnant and in a season or two you would give birth. You could either give birth to a healthy boy or a healthy girl. And as you progressed in the game your child would grow up and well in the end move off to attend college in that mystical world beyond the mountains.

“I..” I felt my eyes start to get moist. Shit, today had been one of my happiest days since my mom had passed and now I was getting hung up on something that I could not control. Like the fact I'd been born a boy instead of a girl! And that every time I'd played as a girl in either Pocket Monsters, Magical Animal Village or Starlight Valley it felt right!

I blinked to clear my eyes. And of course a few stray tears had to fall from my eyelashes and land upon Jack's neck, which caused him to stir a little and roll his head around. I felt him rolling his head around my lap and that caused a sudden jolt to run through my body. A few seconds later the bus came to a rolling stop and I could tell by looking out the window we were there. We were back home. Jack's house sat right across from mine.

“Hey Jack.” I said reaching down to rock his head back and forth a little. “We're here.” I whispered into his ear.

Jack muttered something. Something I could not understand.

“Jack!” I said, taking a deep breath. “Gotta get up now!” The whole bus was gazing at us now.

“Five more minutes mommy.” I blinked and blinked again as I looked around. A few of the older women who appeared to be in their mid thirties seemed amused, or confused, or just looked on with disappointment. It was like they were silently judging me, some of them even started to whisper into the ears of their friend who they happen to be sharing a seat with. Their friends just seemed to fold their arms across their chest, nod their heads in agreement and then shift their icy gaze toward me.

“COME ON BAKA!” I said loudly

A mummer filled the bus. And slowly Jack lifted his head from my lap and looked around. His eyes seemed glazed over and he seemed like I'd just awoken from the shortest nap in the world. His jet black hair was sticking out in all directions and his eyelids seemed to droop down and I could see the start of a five o' clock shadow on his chin. Slowly his eyes started to open and he looked up at me.

“What time is it?” He said as he pushed his arms up into the air and let out a big yawn.

“Time for you to get a watch.” I muttered. Why do boys always tend to dash to pieces any romantic notions you have of them. One minute I was sitting there, playing with Jack's hair, smiling, thinking about maybe one day he and I could get married, and maybe settle down and have two point five kids, a dog and a modest house surrounded by a white fence. Now, I was wondering how in the world I could have ever fallen head over heels in love with somebody like this! Wait, was that even possible?! Could I fall in love with somebody I'd just spent one morning with.

“I have a phone for that, but my phone is in my pocket.” He said, shrugging his shoulders. He then turned and smiled at me. “Your lap felt nice though. It was the softest pillow I'd ever used.” He said grinning.

I muttered something under my breath and turned my head toward the window. I then flipped my nose into the air and leered at Jack. And then before I could catch myself I found myself saying. “Maybe next time, I should use your lap for a pillow.”

“Sure.” He said and with that being said we were booted off the bus.

It was late in the afternoon. And the sun was shining brightly, the concrete under our feet was so hot one could fry an egg on it. And I was ready for an afternoon nap. As we walked, Jack and I side by side, something happened. I felt his hand being slipped into my hand and I felt our fingers starting to twist together. I looked over at Jack and smiled and he returned my smile with one of his own.

“Hey.” He said as he turned to me. “I had fun. And I wanted to thank you for sharing the morning with me.” He said blushing a little. “We should do it again, if you want to.”

I smiled a little as I stood up on my tippy toes and kissed him on the cheeks. It seemed like a perfect way to end our first 'date'. And now it was time to order some pizza, after that I would brush my teeth and change into a light cotton nightgown and then curl up in bed and take a nap before settling in for a long night of watching anime on Adult Swim.