The next few cheerleading practices went better. Determined not to get in another fight with Ramona, Genesis tried her best to perform the cheer stunts and routines as Mrs. Wilson instructed. By the end of the first week, Genesis had gotten the hang of the basic routines. It helped that the other cheerleaders, especially Charlotte, were very supportive of her. Which made sense, considering that the whole point of cheerleaders was to be supportive.

Aside from cheerleading, Genesis tried to stay under the radar at school. She knew Wallace had the hots for her, and she was determined not to let him get at her. During her First Period Calculus class, she avoided making eye contact with Wallace. Once or twice, she thought she heard him calling her name, but she pretended not to hear him. All the same, she had a nasty feeling he was staring at her boobs and butt behind her back.

Before Genesis knew it, several weeks had passed, and they were nearing the end of September. And it seemed like all anyone could talk about was the Homecoming Dance taking place on October 7, 2023. Everywhere Genesis looked, people were distributing proposal mini-posters to people who they wanted to go to the Homecoming Dance with. This gave Genesis even more reason to avoid Wallace Mendoza-she didn't even want to think what his proposal might look like. But, to her surprise, he made no such advances.

Genesis couldn't stop to worry about getting asked out, though. The first real sports game the cheer squad would be cheering at was the Homecoming football game, which would take place on October 6. Determined to make a good first impression, Ramona worked her team harder than ever before. She ordered them about like a drill sergeant and extended the cheer practices for as long as Mrs. Wilson would let her. Genesis and her fellow cheerleaders felt exhausted after every practice.

"Ugh," Charlotte said when she entered the locker room to get changed on Thursday, September 28, 2023. "Another day of cheer boot camp."

"I know," Genesis grumbled. She'd already taken off her shirt and pants, and now she was sliding on her cheerleader uniform. "Ramona's pushing us way too hard."

"I think becoming captain has changed her," said Talia. "She's never been this extreme with cheerleading."

"It's because this is her last year of high school," Genesis said, remembering her conversation with Ramona on the first day of school. "She wants to make sure we win the regional championships."

"I know," said Janell Beck, one of the other cheerleaders. "We made it to the regionals last year, and we lost. Ramona was really sad about that."

"Imagine what Aubrey Murdock would think if she saw us," said Talia.

"She was our captain last year," Charlotte explained to Genesis.

Right then, Ramona stormed into the locker room-already in her cheer uniform, no less. "What are you all doing in here?" she asked. "We've gotta start practicing now!"

"We're coming," Amanda grumbled. She and the other cheerleaders that had gotten changed started out of the locker room after Ramona.

Genesis was going with them, but Charlotte stopped her. "Hey Genesis," she said. "You know the Homecoming Dance?"

"Of course," said Genesis. "Everyone's been talking about it."

"Are you going with anyone?"

"No. I wasn't really planning on going, so..."

"Oh. I was going to ask if you'd want to go with me."

"With you?"

"Yeah. Just as a friend."

For the first time in weeks, Genesis' heart lifted. She'd been meaning to ask Charlotte if she'd want to get together outside of school, but she never really got a chance. Admittedly, the Homecoming Dance was a school-related thing, but still. "Of course!" said Genesis. "I'd be happy to!"

"Great," said Charlotte.

Ramona stuck her head back in. "Did I say stand around and talk?" she asked. "No! I said get out and start practicing now!"

"We have got to get a better captain," Charlotte said to herself.

***

To Ramona's disappointment, the Homecoming football game ended up getting delayed to Sunday because of rain. But the Homecoming Dance was still on. Since Ramona was planning on driving there with her sketchy friends, Genesis had to coordinate with Charlotte. As it turned out, Charlotte had her own driver's license, so she could drive herself and Genesis to the Homecoming Dance.

The dance was held in the school's gym, which had been decked out with an "outer space" theme. There were shiny silver stars plastered all over the walls, with a couple spaceships and planets mixed in. Near the entrance was a photo spot where people could take pictures in front of a backdrop that depicted the moon's landscape. Genesis and Charlotte both got their picture taken at the picture spot.

"Wow," Genesis said when she and Charlotte were handed their printed pictures. "We look like we landed on the moon!"

"I know," said Charlotte. "And in our Homecoming dresses!"

Genesis smiled. Looking at her picture, she realized how much she really liked how her Homecoming dress looked. Reginald and Paulette had helped her choose a sky-blue dress that looked pretty, but not too over-the-top. Genesis ultimately hadn't cared that much, since she knew she'd have Mirna turn her back into a boy sooner or later, and then her time as a girl would become obsolete. But now she was glad she'd gone with the dress she'd chosen.

As more people trickled in, the DJ turned up the music, and the dance got started for real. Genesis and Charlotte made their way through the dance floor, occasionally joining in the dancing and getting food from the food table. But after a while, the DJ put on a slow song.

Genesis felt her stomach jump. "Oh boy," she said. "Is this where we..." She turned to Charlotte, but she'd already started slow-dancing with Edward Brooks.

Great, Genesis thought. She'd have to slow-dance with a boy! As Gene, he'd only slow-danced with a girl once or twice, so the idea of being on the other end felt rather absurd. But before she could give it any more thought, a boy about her age came up to her. "Hey," the boy said. "Want to dance?"

Genesis swallowed nervously. She hated the idea of dancing with a boy, but she didn't want to be rude and turn this one down. "I guess," she said. She tried to not panic as the boy put his right hand on her waist, and she put her left hand on his shoulder. This just felt wrong. Everyone might've seen her as such, but Genesis was not a woman. She was a man forced into a different body as punishment for sexually harassing girls. By this point, Genesis was ready to admit that her behavior had been wrong, but she also wanted more than anything to be changed back. Things were going WAY too far.

"So what's your name?" the boy asked.

"Oh...I'm Genesis," Genesis answered.

"Nice," said the boy. "My name's Marvin Locke."

"Marvin Locke," Genesis repeated.

"Yeah. My mom wanted to name me Mario, but my dad didn't want to."

"What? Why not?"

"Well, my dad's a big fan of the Super Mario games," said Marvin, "And I guess he thought it would be sacrilegious to name his son after Mario."

"That's stupid," said Genesis. "Just because Nintendo has a character named Mario, doesn't mean other people can't be named Mario."

"I know," said Marvin. "They can't own a monopoly on a person's name. But to be honest with you, I don't really mind my name. When you grow up being called by a name, you kind of get used to it."

"Yeah," said Genesis. She could kind of relate to what Marvin was saying. For his whole life, he'd been known as Gene, so having everyone call him by another name that was only vaguely similar to her old one felt weird.

"You're on the cheerleading squad, right?" Marvin asked.

"Yes, but I hate it," said Genesis.

"That sucks," said Marvin.

A moment later, the son ended. "Well, thanks for the dance," said Marvin.

"Thank you too," said Genesis. But she felt more relieved than grateful when Marvin took his hand off her waist.

***

The rest of the night was pretty standard for a school dance. Genesis got to hang out with Charlotte more and get some more food, and even participate in a dance circle. In spite of the awkward slow-dance, she still enjoyed herself. Which naturally meant something was bound to go wrong.

Towards the end of the night, Genesis decided she was going to take a bathroom break as an excuse to avoid another slow song. She left the gym and made for the small building that housed the bathrooms nearby. But on the way, she saw a twenty-dollar bill lying on the ground. When she saw it, she smiled. "Finders keepers," Genesis said to herself. She bent over to pick up the twenty dollars. But as she was doing so, she felt something lift up her dress' skirt from behind.

"Ha, gotcha!" said the voice of Wallace Mendoza. Genesis looked behind her and almost threw up. Wallace had come out of nowhere and lifted up her skirt, exposing her thin white panties.

"Wallace!" Genesis growled. She yanked her dress' skirt out of his hand and slapped him across the face. "What the fuck do you think you're doing?"

"What any man wants," said Wallace. "Trying to get himself a hot girl."

"Are you kidding?" Genesis screamed. "You set up a trap just so you can pull up my skirt? That is not how you make a girl like you!" It felt crazy, hearing herself say that, considering she'd done similar things to girls in the past. But right now, she didn't care. All she cared about was letting out her feelings toward the creeped-out whackjob taht was Wallace Mendoza.

"Come on, girly girl," Wallace said, grabbing Genesis' hand. "You know you want me." He ran his other hand over Genesis' boob-which, strangely, felt kind of good, but it still set Genesis off.

"NO!" Genesis balled her free hand and punched Wallace square in the face. She hit him with even more force than she'd hit Ramona with. Wallace let go of her hand and fell on his butt. When he looked back up, Genesis saw that she'd bloodied his nose.

"You little bitch," Wallace said through a mouthful of blood.

"WHAT IS GOING ON BACK HERE?" another voice asked. Genesis turned and saw one of the dance chaperones, Mrs. Rose, approaching. Not far behind was Mr. Aaron.

"She punched me!" said Wallace.

"He pulled up my skirt!" Genesis defended. "And then tried to grope my boobs!"

"Is this true?" Mrs. Rose asked Wallace.

"It is, I saw it," said Mr. Aaron. "Wallace, we've given you lots of warnings about sexually harassing girls, and yet you come out here and try to perv out on Genesis Rookwood!"

"Mr. Aaron, I swear, I didn't-"

"Oh, yes you did," said Mr. Aaron. "And we cannot tolerate this anymore. I'm going to directly report you to the principal, and I'm very wrong if I don't think he'll expel you."

Underneath his bloodied nose, Wallace nodded. "Y-yes, sir." He got up, then furtively ran off.

Mr. Aaron turned to Genesis. "Are you okay?" he asked.

"I-I'm fine," Genesis lied. Only now was she realizing what she'd really done. She'd assaulted her classmate and former friend. "I just punched Wallace. I'm gonna get in trouble, aren't I?"

"No, you're not," said Mr. Aaron. "He was sexually assaulting you, and you were acting in self-defense."

Genesis started to cry. "He-he tried to grab my boobs. He..."

"It's okay," Mr. Aaron said, giving Genesis a hug. "You'll be okay. Wallace is gonna get what he deserves now."

Genesis' expression hardened. "Yes," she said. "Wallace does deserve to get kicked out of school."

To be continued...