A Charm-ing Gift

Author's note: This is the story I hoped to expand into something capable of meeting the requirements of the romance contest. But, since I couldn't manage that, I am setting it free . . .

Things changed for a boy named Tommy when he found himself “adopted” by a group of girls from the drama club during his freshman year in high school.

At the time, he didn’t understand why, but one day he was a loner, the next, he had 4 pretty girls around him, and soon he was joining them whenever he could.

The prettiest girl, at least as far as Tommy was concerned, was named Linda. She could have been a cheerleader, but instead gave her time to the theater. which is where she had spotted Tommy and dragged him across the street, where her other friends were waiting to go to a convenience store.

Besides Linda, the group included Emma, who wrote poetry and stories, and was interested in adding playwright to the list of her titles.

Then there Andrea, who played the piano, often adding music to whatever show the drama club was making, and wanted to create a jazz improv that would be added to Emma’s poetry, to create a performance that would never be quite the same twice.

Then there was Jackie, who was also into improv, but preferred to use that skill to make machines and devices that would add to the atmosphere of their performances.

At first, Tommy was so intimidated, afraid of saying or doing the wrong thing and losing this group, he chose to say or do as little as he could.

But, slowly, he began to open up, and even made suggestions to the girls on many subjects, and even got talked into being part of the productions of the drama group. Besides drama, Tommy loved history, and sometimes did research for the group about plays.

Then one day, while in a mall near their school, the girls found a new jewellery store that catered mostly to teens like themselves, and Linda, the unofficial leader of the group, suggested they each get a charm bracelet, symbolizing their friendship.

Eventually, they decided on each getting a bracelet that had the first letter of each of the girl’s names, set in a different color.

Linda insisted Tommy get one too, and added the letter T to the bracelets, set in a bright pink gem.

Tommy asked her why that color, and she said it was because when he blushed, which was often, he turned exactly that shade of pink.

He then proved her right by doing precisely that.

Somewhat worried about how this would go over at school, he asked if the girls were sure they wanted to include him in this, and they all said, “of course, you’re one of us”

And for Tommy, being “one of us” made every time he’d felt like a square peg in a round hole worthwhile.

And deep within Tommy, a kernel of something, a piece of truth he had buried to survive as a boy, began to grow.

It grew as the girls convinced him to add feminine touches to his outfits - not skirts or dresses, but earrings and even girl’s tops and jeans. For they had begin to see the kernel within him even as he continued to live in denial;

His mother also noticed the changes, but seeing her child come alive when in the company of the girls, made the decision to let things work themselves out unless Tommy asked for help.

As for his schoolmates, the popularity of Linda and the others kept the worst of encounters to a minimum, and within the drama group he didn’t seem all that different from many of the other students, who sometimes dressed and behaved . . . well ... theatrically.

There was one other change happening at the same time that only those on the outside seemed to be aware of at first. Linda and Tommy were getting closer.

Then the drama group announced that instead of putting on one big play, they would put on a series of one act plays.

Tommy actually found an obscure play about a group of girls stuck in a dormitory during a storm with nothing to do but get to know each other better.

Linda and the girls loved it, especially because each of the girls would have a chance to shine, and the play ended in a pillow fight.

Linda told Tommy it was probably the pillow fight that really convinced the others to do the play.

Tommy originally volunteered to be the technical director, but Linda pointed out the play had five parts, and each was too important to simply skip.

So Tommy looked over the characters, and realized that one of the girls in the play, whose name was Sara, was a late bloomer, and her part was about expressing the envy she had of the others, but also her uncertainty about puberty and the changes that would happen. And that spoke to the part of Tommy that he had still not acknowledged, but was getting stronger by the day.

The dam broke during a rehearsal. Tommy was saying lines about being envious of the others, and broke down crying realizing it was true for him as well.

Each of the girls hugged Tommy, but when it was Linda’s turn, Emma, Andrea, and Jackie nodded to each other, and stepped away to give Linda and Tommy some privacy.

“You need a girl name,” Linda said, “you want one with the same first initial?”

“I ... would like to keep the initial”

Linda thought for a moment, and then said, “Tori. it means Victory”

And then something remarkable happened. Without actually changing, the last bits of a boy named Tommy faded, and Linda could only see Tori.

A girl, and a girl she loved, and who loved her.

Both girls knew the journey had just started for Tori. She would have to navigate telling her parents, dealing with her school, and many other steps she would have to make.

But at that moment, they both knew one day, “Victory” would be theirs.

End.