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Editor Note: The images used for this story were purchased and used under royalty-free license* from Istockphoto.com . ~Sephrena

Author Note: Please email me at AngelJediGirl (at) gmail (dot) com before posting this story to any other site. Posting to a pay site is prohibited.

Comments and suggestions are also welcome at the above email address.

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Chapter 11 - Boy or Girl? That is the Question

My mom wouldn’t let me wear gloves to school Thursday morning. Even though it was late May and the temperature was high, I needed to hide those French tips! If I couldn’t cut them (she wouldn’t let me do that either), gloves would have been the next best option. People would think I was weird, but that wasn’t anything new. It would be better to be weird than to be beaten up for looking like a girl!

Emily and Ethan both laughed when I told them my dilemma while we walked to school.

“Forget about it, Megan,” she said, even though I had been dressed as Brett. I glared at her. “Sorry, Brett. If they think you’re a girl and haven’t beaten you up yet, just go with it. Let them think that you’re a girl. It’ll help next year anyway.”

I guess there was some logic behind her statement, but I didn’t think it could possibly be that easy.

*  *  *

It started during first period. I was sitting there, minding my own business, when this guy I hardly knew leaned over to me.

“Are you really a girl?” he asked. I just sighed and put my head on my desk.

*  *  *

“I knew you were a girl, dude!”

*  *  *

“Hey, you are a girl! I knew it.”

*  *  *

“You go, girl!”

*  *  *

“The tomboy’s finally coming out of her shell, huh?”

*  *  *

“This is ridiculous!” We were eating lunch at our normal table. Ethan, Emily, Kathy, Jane, and Ashley were all laughing at what had happened to me all morning. “Don’t laugh, it’s not funny!”

“It is!” was their reply when they had calmed down.

“But how can they think that I’m a girl? I spent last semester in PE with some of them!” That statement just started them laughing again.

If passing was this hard on my fourth day of school, how was I going to finish the rest of the year?

“I hate to be the one to ask,” Kathy said. “But are you sure you’re not a girl?”

I grimaced. I honestly did not know the answer to her question anymore.

“It’s okay,” Emily said, and she wrapped me in a comforting hug. “Just two and a half more weeks; it’ll be over soon.”

“Not soon enough,” was all I could say.

*  *  *

I was retrieving my books from my locker before the lunch period ended. Emily was with me because we shared our next class together. The others had left to make it to their own classes.

“Campbell!” I heard someone say behind me. I was then spun around out of my control. I ended up face to face with Johnny Crawford.

Emily gasped and my heart skipped a beat! He was staring at me like he couldn’t believe what he was seeing! He’d made the connection! He knew I was Sarah Carerra!

He started to say something. I knew my life was over! But he stopped short, and his expression changed. Oh no, I thought! He didn’t know, but now he’s figured it out! How unlucky could I be?

“Why the hell are you dressed like a girl?” he asked. Oddly, relief washed over me at his question. He didn’t know! He hadn’t made the connection! I needed to get out of there before he did.

“It’s, uh,” I faltered. “A long story?” It had come out as a question, not an answer.

I stood there, scared to death for six long seconds, wondering if I would be able to run faster than he could. I wondered if I should knee him in the groin before running. I wondered what I could possibly do to live through the day.

He waved off whatever he had been thinking, perhaps buying my lame excuse.

“Anyway,” he said, unsure of himself. “What were your parents doing at my house last night?”

“Having dinner?” I replied meekly. If I was truthful, maybe he’d let me go.

“I know that, you idiot,” he said. “But why? What were they doing there with Sarah?”

At least I knew for sure that he didn’t think I was Sarah. That had helped me relax more than I thought it would.

“Um,” I started, still unsure of myself. “My dad is Sarah’s agent. Your dad asked him to come along too.”

Johnny stepped back. I relaxed a bit more. “Do you know Sarah? Can you get me her number?”

Oh crap! Once again this was even worse than getting pounded to death. There was no way I was going to give him Sarah’s number! My number! It just wasn’t going to happen!

“I...I’ve met her,” I told him. “But I don’t know her number or anything.”

“Look, dude,” he said, looking desperate. “You gotta get it for me. Check your dad’s cell phone or something.”

I was shaking my head before I even realized it. “No way. I enjoy my freedom. He’d ground me for a year if I did that. He’s very protective of his clients.”

Emily nodded her head in agreement with me. Austin had learned that lesson very clearly when he’d tried getting a number before, and I wasn’t in any rush to repeat his mistake.

“Can’t you get her number from your dad?” I asked him, hoping the answer was no.

“I tried, man,” he said, this time with a pained expression. He really seemed to be smitten with her. Too bad he didn’t stand a chance! “He said I wasn’t to go anywhere near her.”

“Maybe you should drop it then,” Emily said. “I mean, there must be a reason your dad doesn’t want you near her.”

I thought Johnny was going to smack her for a second. His glare was pretty intense. “I can’t, she’s the most beautiful girl I’ve ever met. I have to have her.”

“Have her?” Emily asked. She looked really pissed now. “Girls aren’t “property” for you boys to have, Johnny! If your dad doesn’t want you around her, then stay away! We won’t be helping you to contact her either! Why don’t you grow up?!”

She grabbed me by the arm and pulled me toward class. Johnny was left standing next to my locker with a stunned expression on his face.

*  *  *

“Sarah was there last night?” Emily asked me after we had taken our seats in class. We had a few minutes before the bell rang, giving us time to talk.

“Yeah,” I replied. “I guess Scott is her contact with the label too. He wanted to have dinner with his up and coming female contracts.”

I hated lying to her. She was going to be pissed when she learned the truth.

“I’m glad she was there, though,” I continued. At least this part wasn’t a complete lie. “If she hadn’t been there, Johnny might have noticed me.”

“He didn’t even know you were there?”

“No,” I replied truthfully. Then I had to continue with the half truths. “He never took his eyes off Sarah. He had a fight with Debbie or something, and came home early. We were leaving when he showed up and I slipped out as quickly as I could.”

“Thank goodness for that,” she said as the bell rang. We turned back to our desks and began preparing for class.

*  *  *

“Miss Campbell?” our English teacher asked while looking at me. She was taking roll, and she looked confused. I mean, she had my real name right in front of her, for crying out loud!

*  *  *

“Hey, new girl, what’s your name?”

*  *  *

“Wow, you’re kinda cute!”

*  *  *

School had started to turn into my worst nightmare. I was more than happy for classes to end that day. Someone had even whistled at me while I was walking out!

“It’s over. Forget about them,” Emily had said while we walked home.

“It’s just going to happen again tomorrow,” I argued. She shrugged at that, not really sure how to answer.

We walked in silence most of the way home. Ethan left us at his house and Emily and I continued on to my house.

When we arrived, there was a nice car parked in the driveway. It was a Lexus or something.

It was Julia’s car, I found out moments later. She was talking to my parents in the living room when Emily and I entered the house.

“Oh good,” my mom said. “She’s home.”

Julia looked up at me. She looked confused for a moment, and I realized that I was in boy mode. How would I explain this to her? Mom should have warned me!

“Wow!” she finally said, replacing the confused look with a smile. “You weren’t kidding when you said you were new to the girly thing!”

I blushed and nodded. At least she was still under the impression that I was a girl.

“You don’t even wear makeup to school, huh?” she asked. Her smile was quite large by that point. I got the impression she really liked dressing up tomboys.

Emily looked completely confused. But she was wise enough not to say anything about my true gender. I’d thank her for that later.

“Em, this is my image consultant, Julia,” I told her. A light seemed to go on in her head.

“It’s nice to meet you,” Julia said to her. “But I’m going to have to borrow Megan for the evening. We’re going shopping!”

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