I returned her intense look and felt a wave of relief washing over me. I noticed a tiny smile on her face that was getting bigger by the second.

I tried to pull her up slowly. A few seconds later, Mary was up and let herself fall into my arms. We hugged intently for a while. Two sisters against the world. Nobody and nothing could shake us.

During this intense hug we were both crying. We held each other close a little bit longer and then finally let go.

“I am so sorry, Riley. I think that I was way too harsh.”

“No, I must admit that my flirting with cute girls has gotten way out of control.”

“I think we are both right.” Mary finally said.

I agreed with that statement. I looked around and only just now noticed Alice and Lilliana standing near us, watching the whole thing. Both had beautiful smiles on their faces.

“I am so glad you two made up.” Alice said.

“Me too. Even though I didn’t know you two were fighting in the first place.” Lilliana added.

Mary was holding her arm around me. We were both smiling.

“I could not agree more. Now, I need to get my shower. See you in about 45 minutes, Lilliana?” I asked my philosophy partner.

“Sounds great. I will be at the bookstore waiting for you.” Lilliana said excitedly while scampering away from us, moving those beautiful hips that were wrapped up in a tight skirt.

Mary and I hit the showers near our dorm. I preferred one of the private showers and so did Mary. We both met in my dorm briefly to discuss the rest of the evening and tomorrow. Thinking about Mary leaving me made my stomach sick. However, I knew it was necessary. I need to be my own person and solve my own problems. It is great to have my sisters advice and opinion any time I want to, but I can’t just rely on her all the time. I think I have grown in that regard. I don’t feel as depended on her which was a good thing.

Mary and I agreed to make the goodbye quick. I will see her soon again for spring break and we could always text, call or video chat.

“I am sad to see you go big sis. I will miss you like crazy.” I told her while snuggling up next to her on my bed.

“I know. I will miss you too, babe. You have grown so much in these last few months and even during your first few days here at CBH. I could not be more impressed.” she told me while playing with my hair a bit.

“You are the best, big sis. I know we need to go our own ways. I can’t wait to dive into the musical stuff. I wonder how it will be to work with Madison.” I pointed out.

“Don’t worry about that. You showed that primmadonna that you are not someone she can mess with. It seems like she respected you for calling her out on the way she treated you.” Mary remarked.

“That’s right. She did. I actually thought she was kind of sweet at the end.”

“Just sweet? Or cute also?” Mary asked me with one eyebrow raised.

“I don’t know.” I said with a mischievous smile on my face.

“Your little smile says everything.” Mary said while looking at me in disbelief.

About two seconds later, she jumped right on top of me and started tickling the hell out of me.

“Ahhhhh….stop! Stop!” was all I was able to mutter.

We were both laughing our behinds off. I tried to fight back but Mary was too strong. After another thirty seconds or so of heavy tickling, she finally let go of me.

“You are nuts!”

“Hey, if I can’t even win a basketball game against my non athletic, nerdy little sis then at least I want to win a tickle battle.”

“Ha! I have to say, my last pass to Sidney was brilliant.” I said feeling super proud of myself.

“Well, I was almost able to steal the ball from you at the end.” Mary said in her defense.

“The emphasis is on almost.” I pointed out trying to sound cool.

“That’s it!” Mary yelled while trying to jump on me again.

This time I was on guard. I anticipated her move and was able to evade this maneuver. Mary was standing on the side of the bed, a little bit perplexed that I was able to avoid her second assault. While she was a little confused, I jumped on her back which surprised her.

Mary threw me on the bed and tried her next tickle assault. All of the sudden, Alice walked into the dorm and seemed surprised and confused with what was going on.

“What do you two think you are doing?” she demanded to know.

Mary and I both said “nothing” at the same time. The next second we broke out in loud laughter.

“Weirdos!” Alice said while giving us a look like we just lost our marbles.

Mary and I looked at each other and the next second we both jumped on her and started a sisterly tickle assault.

All three of us ended up on my bed. A huge and crazy pile of silly girls laughing their butts off. We had to stop eventually due to exhaustion. All three of us snuggled a while in silence. It felt so nice. Alice was the first one who talked again.

“Riley, you better get ready for your date with the cute red head.” Alice told me.

“Yes, you are right. I got to pick a nice outfit and make my way down to the bookstore soon.

“I can help you my darling!” Alice said enthusiastically.

“Great. That would be wonderful.” I responded, starting to feel excited.

“I thought this wasn’t a date.” Mary said, trying to sound non judgmental.

“Well, technically it isn’t.” I answered.

“What does that mean?” Mary wanted to know.

“I hope it doesn’t mean anything.” Alice added while walking up to me and giving me a kiss on the lips.

This move took me by surprise. I returned the kiss and we both looked each other in the eyes.

“Let’s get you dressed and ready to go.” Alice urged me while smiling the entire time.

I also couldn’t stop smiling. My knees felt weak while Alice was helping me get dressed. She picked a grey woolen sweater, a dark greyish skirt and black tights. I looked at myself in the mirror and I thought I looked cute.

“What are you two going to do?” I inquired.

“Probably make out.” Alice said, trying to sound casual.

“Very funny.” I responded.

Mary walked over to Alice and put an arm around her shoulder.

“Don’t worry about us, babe. You go have fun with your red headed hottie.”

“Alright, alright. I’m leaving. I will see you later.” I said and left.

I could feel pain in my legs while walking towards the main campus where the bookstore was located. Looks like I am not used to this much exercise at a time. Considering I had a practice game and a “real” game two days in a row.

While walking toward the book store, a lot of thoughts were going through my head. I replayed the basketball game one more time. All these intense moments and of course the final play for the win.

My favorite memory though was Mary and me hugging and making up. I was so glad that we were talking again.

I finally made it to the bookstore. I looked for Liliana but she apparently wasn’t there yet. I found myself a book, a place to sit and started reading. After a short while, I was taken back to the real world by a soft: “Well, hello there Miss Riley.”

That could only have been my favorite red head.

“Hey Liliana. I hope that you don’t mind that I got myself comfortable with a nice book.”

“Oh, not at all. Why don’t we find a table in the Café and get ourselves a tea or hot chocolate.” Lilly suggested.

“That sounds good to me.” I responded and I gladly followed her.

I loved spending time with her. While walking, I noticed her stylish outfit. She was wearing a cute crème colored skirt, similar colored tights and a gorgeous brownish sweater. I also noticed that she put on some nice perfume. She smelled lovely.

We found ourselves a cozy corner table, got ourselves some hot chocolate and a pastry and started chatting away. She told me a lot about her family and where she grew up and what she liked to do for fun. Turned out that she has two sisters and a brother, that she grew up in Maine and that besides reading ancient philosophy, she liked to play chess, go shopping, learn about and create her own fashion and she especially loved to travel.

“I want to travel to so many countries. I can’t wait to see Australia, Japan or South Africa. How about you, Riley? Tell me more about you? Besides being in class together, we didn’t really have a chance to talk about personal things yet.” Liliana asked me while seeming so thrilled to learn more about me.

“Well, before I tell you anything else about me, I have to tell you something important.” I said, not sure how to begin.

“Okay.” Lily said looking at me intently.

“I used to be a boy.” I said softly.

Liliana seemed confused.

“What do you mean?” she asked, not sure if she heard me right.

“Well, my name used to be Randy. Now it is Riley.” I told her, carefully watching the expression on her face.

“Oh, okay. I cannot believe that. You are such a pretty girl.” Lilly replied still seeming unsure about what to make of this.

“You think I am pretty?” I asked her feeling excited.

“Of course. I never would have guessed. The way you look, talk and move is just like any girl. You are a fast learner.”

“Thanks so much. I am glad you are not mad at me because I didn’t tell you sooner.”

“Oh no, I am not mad at all. Just surprised. Tell me all about how that happened.” Lilly insisted.

Of course, I told her about as many things as my mind was able to process. Lilly was amazed that it all started with a pair of pantyhose and lead to this moment in the Café at this wonderful private school.

“Wow, that is unbelievable!” Lilly said seeming excited to have learned about my short life story so far.

“You really kicked a football player in the, you know, nuts?” she inquired.

“Yep.”

“I think you just became my personal hero.” Lilly declared.

“Awww, you are so sweet. By the way, what time is it? My legs are feeling more sore after this intense basketball game.” I told her.

“It is almost 8:30. We have been sitting here for over three hours.” Lilly told me seeming shocked.

“Darn it. I need to spend a bit more time with my big sis. She won’t be leaving until around noon. I’m sad but on the other hand I know that I have to go my own way.”

“I can understand that. I can definitely tell that you two are close but like you mentioned, a girl has got to go her way.”

“Isn’t that the truth. Well, thank you for a wonderful date. I enjoyed it a lot.” I told this cute redhead, feeling a bit shy.

Lilly looked at me with big eyes, leaned over toward me and gave me a short kiss on the lips. I did not expect that and therefore felt perplexed. Lilly was still smiling, said her “Good night” and turned around slowly. She nonchalantly left the library.

What a feeling this was. Lilly was a wonderful person and so cute. I leisurely made my way back up to my dorm. Oh, wait a minute. Alice and Mary will be there and they will bombard me with questions. Should I tell them what happened? Should I make something up? I was not sure. I didn’t want to lie but I also didn’t feel like being lectured again.

When I reached my dorm, I knocked on the door and let myself in.

“Hi there.” Alice and Mary said at the same time.

They were both sitting on the couch watching a show or a movie.

“Hi girls! How was your evening?” I wanted to know.

“Pretty boring. We just watched a show on Netflix. More importantly, how was your evening?” Mary inquired.

“Well, Lilly and I had a good time.” I said trying to act causally.

Both of them gave me intense looks.

“Hold on there. She kissed you, right?” Mary blurted out without prior warning.

I just stood there dumbfounded.

“How do you know?” I demanded to know.

“Oh sweet girl, that’s an easy one. It is written all over your face.” Mary claimed.

Alice nodded. Fortunately, she still had a smile on her face.

“Really. Oh well, it was delightful. The kiss was short and sweet. I have made a decision though.” I told them both.

Alice and Mary seemed confused.

“I loved the date with Lilly but I am not going on any more dates with her. I might meet her just to hang out as friends. Nothing more. Alice, do you want to be my girlfriend?” I asked her, feeling bold.

Alice and Mary both looked shocked. After a minute or so they both seemed to have recovered.

“Are you sure about that?” Alice asked me while trying to hide a big smile.

“Totally. I have been flirting way too much and I need to calm down. When you helped me pick the right outfit my knees felt shaky and all I wanted is to be close to you.”

“Okay. So you won’t leave me for the next cute girl that will show up on your radar?” Alice wanted to know.

“No. I am done.”

“Not even for a cute little red headed hottie like Lilly?”

“Promise.”

Alice came running to me and gave me a big hug and a kiss. This was so sweet.

“I think that I have learned a lot in these last few days. I need to calm down. I have been way to hyper. I am especially thankful, to you Mary for calling me out. Even though it didn’t feel nice. I simply need to get more comfortable with being uncomfortable.”

Alice and I were still hugging while Mary came up to us and joined our snuggle session. We all decided to sit in my bed and take a little break. It was getting late and I started feeling really tired. I could feel the basketball game and the excitement of my “date” with Lilly and becoming Alice’s girlfriend. I think this was almost way too much excitement for one day. All three of us were silent for a while. Mary was the first one who talked again.

“Babe, I thought this through. I think we should say good-bye tonight before I go back to the airport. You won’t see me much in the morning anyways since you will have to go to class. What do you think?” Mary said while tears were streaming down her face.

Of course, I already started crying when she started talking. We both hugged intently for a while. When I looked at Alice she was crying too. I needed a minute to regain my composure.

“Sadly, I think you are right. I have to be strong. I don’t like it but it has to be done. I will be brave. Keep going at it in Oregon. They don’t know how lucky they are having you.”

“Awww, you are so sweet. I think this applies to CBH as well. Once you become even more confident, you will dominate this place. I am actually a bit worried about that. I know I said it before but I think I created a monster.” Mary said, while laughing a bit.

Alice and I were laughing as well.

“You might be right. This monster is very loving but it has teeth too.” I pointed out while making a growling noise.

“I can attest to that. You were so determined on the basketball court and you simply had fun with it. It was so amazing to see that. Wait until I’ll tell dad. He will think I am making this up.”

“Ha, I had a similar thought during the game. He is never going to believe that.”

Mary, Alice and I laughed out loud.

“Okay, babe. I think I should go back to the princess suite and go to bed soon. Tomorrow will be a long day for me even though I don’t have to leave until noon. Take good care of Alice and yourself. I will be back home during spring break when we can reunite and maybe have another fashion show or two.” Mary suggested.

“Definitely, we got to hang out with Alyssa and Sammy some more. I will tell you all about my adventures at this beautiful school and with this cutie here.” while looking at Alice.

Alice still had tears running down her face.

“You two are the cutest and most loving sisters I have ever known. I can’t wait for more adventures with both of you. I hope to see you again soon too, Mary.” Alice said while seeming overwhelmed.

“Come hell or high water, maybe you could come to our house during spring break for a little while?” Mary suggested.

“That sounds wonderful” Alice responded.

The three of us hugged again. Mary held my hand for a while when she slowly walked to the door.

“See you soon my love!” Mary whispered in my ear while opening the door and slowly slipping away.

Alice came up to me and hugged me. We did our night routine and I fell into a deep sleep once my head hit the pillow. What adventures are going to wait for me here? I couldn’t wait to find out. Deep inside I felt ready.