My name is Jenny O'Brien. It didn't used to be I was named John O'Brien. So let me tell you how this happened.
My folks are at least part Irish along with a mixed bag of many other nationalities. Any towering mountain of a man Irish genes that may have existed are long gone, replaced by what could almost be described as elfin genes. Both of my parents are small.
Not just the height though as both of them are under 5foot 5. My Mom is only 5'2 while my Dad is 5'4 or 5'6 with shoes on.
When I say small I mean height but also small bones, small frame, small features, just small. Cute huh? no I didn't think so either. I was determined to make something of my self and be successful despite my small stature.

Fate it seems can be very cruel. I was not particularly good at sports, not because I lacked ability but more because I was always at a disadvantage since the other boys were always bigger than me. One thing I could do well was swim.
Now again my size was a handicap and I couldn't compete in speed but I was a strong swimmer and always did well. My 'biggest' problem was the size of my equipment. Yes you guessed it I'm really small in that department too.
It doesn't really bother me but when I'm swimming and my suit gets wet it seems like the whole world can see my shortcomings. As if to make matters worse I seemed to have developed some kind of infection down there too. I tried to ignore it and treat it with whatever I could find but it seemed to be getting worse.
Finally I had to get some help. It was really embarrassing asking my Mom to set up a doctors appointment and I really didn't want to talk about it with Dad.
When I finally got to see the doctor I wasn't sure if I'd been cursed again or blessed. On the one hand I was glad because the doctor was a woman and I wouldn't have to display my inadequacies to another man. Well I was only eleven but I considered myself to be a man. I'd gone through a growth spurt recently and I was now a little taller than my Mom. On the other hand I was going to have to expose myself to a woman doctor!?
After patiently listening to me tell her about 'my problem' Doctor Jeffers decided it was time to examine me. I blushed profusely as I lay on the examining table. I may have audibly groaned or whimpered when she asked me to spread my legs a little.
My problem by now was also quite painful and especially so when I had to pee. After a very long, painful and intensive examination Doctor Jeffers asked me some more questions. She left me on the examining table and then to my shock and horror she also examined my anus.
She said she was checking to make sure that the infection hadn't spread and that alternative passage was available. 'Whatever that meant'
Now I was starting to get a little more worried. I'd assumed that she'd just give me some ointment or some pills or something and everything would be ok again.
Doctor Jeffers spent some time discussing the situation with me and (blush) my Mom. She said that the treatment would be effective but would take some time due to the fact that I'd tried to hide it and not asked for help earlier. Then she said that the painful peeing would continue and may even get worse.
OUCH! that sounded really bad. I guess that must've shown on my face because she looked at me and said.
' I'd like to suggest a temporary shunt for the duration?'

I looked at Mom and she at me, then we both looked blankly at Doctor Jeffers?!?

'Let me explain what I'm proposing', continued Doctor Jeffers.
'A shunt in this case is a small flexible tube that will allow you to pee without pain'

Now that sounded like a great solution, and yet the questioning look on her face told me that what Doctor Jeffers was proposing may not be that simple.

'So what does that mean?', I asked.
'Well, we'd take a small piece of flexible tubing and graft it to your urethra below the infection site.'
'This would allow you to pee and bypass the infection, and the pain'
'You mean surgery!?'
'Oh nothing major just an outpatient procedure. It's quite common'
'So would this be covered under our insurance?' , asked Mom
'Oh yes I'm sure it would after all it's a common procedure, as I've said' , explained Doctor Jeffers
Mom looked at me ...
'If it'll bypass the pain while we fix this then I'm all for it', I surprised myself by announcing.

Doctor Jeffers looked at Mom who nodded approval.

'Then I just need you both to sign some standard paperwork', asked Doctor Jeffers as she handed a clip board to first Mom and then me.
'great now if you'll return to the waiting room this should only take a few minutes', instructed Doctor Jeffers to Mom

I gulped a little at that. She was going to do this thing now.
As it turned out I was worrying needlessly. The procedure was every bit as quick and relatively painless as Doctor Jeffers had said.
I left the surgery with a sample ointment covered by a gauze pad and a second gauze pad a little lower down to cover the surgery site.
Doctor Jeffers instructions were to take it easy for the rest of the day and come back in about a week to have the shunt examined.
So there I was a week later with a course of ointments to apply daily and cover with a sanitary pad.
Peeing took a little getting used to as I now had to sit to pee. (She forgot to mention that little detail)
It was as painless as she had promised and after I got over the embarrassment of using a stall to pee it got to be habit and actually was a lot easier than standing. I got so's I could drop my pants and just pull my underwear to the side, a quick pee and wipe then snap back to attention.
The whole process was really very efficient and quick. What I was having problems with was the pad kept on slipping out of place and once it even fell out altogether and made it's escape through my pants leg. Thankfully no one saw it exit as that could have been very embarrassing.
Mom to the rescue! she presented me with a solution that would prevent any further escapes and was also cheaper than the medical gauze pads.

'??' I stared blankly at the pink and blue box that read "womens disposable sanitary napkins"
'Here let me show you how it works', suggested Mom as she effected the downing of both my pants and underwear.
'yes your underwear is not much wider than a pair of panties so this should work perfectly', mused Mom as she peeled the backing paper off of
a napkin and "stuck" it to the inside of my underwear. When she allowed me to pull myself together I noticed that she was right.

The pad was a little longer than the ones that I'd been using but it covered the spot nicely and certainly wasn't going to slip out of place.

'Now you'll need to carry a spare with you in case of emergencies but this should do nicely' completed Mom.

Oh the humiliation of it! I could see that she was right I just worried about anyone finding my 'spare' and how I might try to explain it away.
Well as time progressed and I settled into a rhythm things seemed to go well. I even found myself returning focus to my previous objectives.
I'd never been able to get a job over the summer again in large part because of my small size. This year I had a plan. I'd completed the lifeguard training program and was now a certified lifeguard. The local water park was advertising for help and they had enough kiddie rides etc where my size wouldn't be a problem. My luck was improving. instead of the usual thank you letter I received an invitation to a 'try out'.
Apparently it was to be an evaluation / interview. This must surely be a good thing for me. I knew I could pass any physical evaluation they might come up with. Unless it involved carry a heavy bather out of the water! The letter stated that I was to arrive early and dress in old clothes.
Jumping into a pool fully clothed was a standard part of the lifesaving test. I did worry about one thing though.
Now not only was my wet suit going to show a 'small' package but also potentially my napkin too!
After initially sounding up beat about the prospect this put a crinkle in my face that Mom noticed. After what I'd already been through it somehow seemed easier to tell mom about my problem. I didn't come right out and say it but I hinted about it until the light went on in Moms face.

'oh?!', she murmured. ' I'll be right back. I may have a solution for you' and then she disappeared.

A few minutes later she reappeared with a small package. this one she handed to me and said
'Try this. It's a little old but style wise it's similar to your suit and the color's gender neutral'

I peeked into the bag and fished around a little, then retrieved

'a BIKINI! you want me to wear a bikini?!'
'just the bottoms dear. Like I said there's not much difference between what you're wearing now. Just give it a try?'

I shook my head a little. this is getting weird, really weird. Up in my room I stared at the suit for a couple minutes before deciding
I had to at least show Mom why this wouldn't work. I stripped off my clothes, attached a pad to the bikini and stepped into it.
The material was similar to my own suit, if only a little thicker but they seemed to fit.
When I checked the mirror I was pleasantly surprised. It didn't scream 'bikini' it just looked like a bathing suit, and it did flatten down the 'little' thing.
OK so they fit and look right but dry is one thing and wet is another. I turned on the water and stepped into the shower concentrating the flow to soak my lower half. When I was sure that everything was soaked I stepped out again and went straight to the mirror without adjusting anything.
Just as if I'd stepped out of the pool. I looked. I turned, I looked again. A smile came to my face. No embarrassing 'little' thing showing through.
It seemed that the slightly thicker material was able to hold everything in place.
I don't know why but I then thought about the bikini top laying on my bed. It's not like I have breasts or anything but I do have a little loose skin up there that can also be quite embarrassing especially when I run. If the bikini bottoms can solve my little problem down there then maybe the top could solve my other problem?
This was silly there was no way I was going to let anyone see me wearing a full bikini!
''but I could just try it on here in my room, just to see if it works ? ''
as I was thinking this through my hands were moving and I soon figured out how to fasten it and slip it into place.
'what a dramatic affect'
my loose skin that tended to point out at all the wrong times now was safely held in place by the bikini top and shaped ...
' woah ' that was just too far. The bikini made my loose skin look almost like small breasts, and with my little problem safely tucked away my small elfin like body took on a very different look. Almost shockingly different. My eyes moved over the mirror reflection of my body and when it started to freak me out too much I'd stare up at my head for a dose of reality.
It was hard to adjust, but what I saw in the mirror could have passed for any of the girls at school. Only looking up at my head convinced me this was really my body.

After drying off a little I heard Mom through the closed door.

'Well how does it look?'
'OK Mom you win. It looks great'

At that the door opened and in stepped Mom smiling triumphantly.
' You know, I was saving that suit in case I felt brave enough to wear it. At my age I think I'll just stick to a one piece '
' I see you tried on the top too. It suits you '
'MOM !'
' well it does. Although you'll probably want to wear a t shirt over top in public '
'Mom ! I am not wearing a bikini in public'

After shooing Mom out of my room I decided to get my stuff together for the lifeguard interview tomorrow.
The weather forecast was for a warm sunny day so I decide not to take an extra set of clothes. Even if I got soaked I could still wring them out and wear the same stuff home. Yeah I'm basically lazy like that so that was my plan and next day I set of for the interview.
I'm wearing flip flops a baggy pair of pants and a slightly tight T shirt with my bikini bottoms under it all.
The idea is that the tighter T shirt doesn't come off and since it's tighter it won't drag me back so much. The pants are baggy for easy removal.
I guessed right it was a jump in the pool test against the clock. I left my flip flops at the edge and jumped in. Removing my pants in the water was easy.
Now all I had to do was drag their volunteer (dummy) over to the shallow end, a little CPR and I'm done. Nice time too.
The second part was a dive into the pool and retrieve my pants which had sunk to the bottom. Also no sweat, except I wasn't prepared for the difference between my speedo and the bikini - No DrawString ! When I dove in I almost lost my bottoms.
A fact I didn't discover until I was just about to get out of the pool. Talk about a major embarrassment.
luckily I did notice in time and yanked them back into place. Luck was with me in more than that as I was offered a position on the spot.
I gleefully accepted and made my way over to the office for the paper work and uniform assignments.
The same woman that had administered the test was also with me in the office, at least for the uniform assignments.

'I noticed you almost had an accident retrieving your pants from the pool' she commented with a smile
'yea I just got this suit and it took me a little by surprise there' I admitted.
'well luckily for you we use one piece suits for our uniforms. here you go' and she handed me a small pile. I must've looked puzzled
'there's enough there for week if you alternate every other day' she explained.

I didn't want to appear more confused than I was by asking for more explanation and I certainly didn't want to jeopardize my first job.
So I took the package and thanked her. No sooner had I left the building than Mom pulled up in the car to drive me home.
It wasn't until I got home and up to my room that I opened up the package to discover the contents.

'wa-fu... wahh... No this can't be happening to me' I screamed a little too loudly
'Is everything all right dear ?' asked Mom as she came in to see what the commotion was about.
'Look what they gave me for my uniform Mom!?!' I shrieked as I held up the one piece bathing suit. One piece womens bathing suit that is.
' Now dear calm down let's figure this out. maybe it says something about it in the paper work?'
I handed Mom all the paper work I had and she began to scan it.
'Oh! Oh dear! hmm' and then she began to chuckle
'what is it mom? tell me' I asked as I moved towards her.
her response was to show me the paper work that I'd up to now completely ignored. Especially she highlighted my name at the top [ Jenny O'Brien ]
'but.. but.. I told them my name was John' I stammered
'Well Johnny' I admitted
'But that's still not Jenny. How could they make such a mistake?' I despaired
'Well you do mumble sometimes, you know you do!' advised Mom.
'Still it's not the end of the world. We'll just let them know that they made a mistake and get you the boys uniform. That's all'

Well I wish it had been that simple. I still didn't want to embaras myself so I had Mom call.
When she got off the phone I could tell that it had not gone according to plan.

' Now Johnny it's not that bad' she started. With that I knew I should just abandon all hope.
It turned out that they had a strict rule on the uniforms and they also had a waiting list of 'other' girls if I didn't want to wear the uniform.

' So lets see what we can make of this ' Mom comforted.
' you know with a pair of shorts and a T shirt over top no one will even know' she suggested
' Yes that's fine for getting to and from work but on the job I can't wear the shorts and every one will see' I moaned
' Well theres only one thing for it. We're going to have to try everything on and see what we can do' she confirmed
As I slowly made my way to the bathroom to change I knew that my dream of financial freedom was coming to an end.
The T shirt was also a part of the uniform and had the parks logo on it so the only choice I had was what shorts to wear.
The one-piece suit was cut slightly wider in the butt that the bikini so I had more coverage. Maybe it was just my imagination,
but the front seemed to have even less coverage. My pad would not fit but I found that if I carefully folded the skin in from the sides I could solve both the coverage problem and the 'no show' or rather too much show problem. When I folded like this and slid the suit over top to hold everything in place it looked almost as good as with the pad and everything fit OK. I looked in the mirror and checked my reflection. Everything looked flat and I was pretty confident that the one piece was tight enough to hold everything in place even when wet.
There was another unexpected benefit in that it held my loose flesh up top nice and flat. Unless I bent over and then gravity took over and reset things
so that I looked even fatter up there. {I do NOT have breasts}
I'd just have to remember to fix it after bending. Besides I'd have the T shirt on for cover.
I pulled on my baggy shorts and went down to show Mom.
'Well that doesn't look to different than your usual outfits' was the first comment from Mom.
I had to agree it wasn't so bad like this but most of my day would be spend without the shorts.
'so let's see what it looks like without the shorts' added Mom.
I turned slightly away and dropped my shorts then pulled down the T shirt and turned back to face Mom.

Mom paused and studied me for a moment then made me turn several times slowly. Finally she gave me her verdict.

'You know I think you just might be able to pull this off honey'
' You really think so. I don't look to girly like this?' I asked
'well with our family genes you're never going to look anything other than cute but you look boyish cute. so yes, yes I do' confirmed Mom

I wanted this job so badly I was willing for it to be true and Mom's confirmation was all I needed.
When I showed up for work I was confident and happy as I clocked in for my first days work. Even if the time card did have 'Jenny' on it instead of John. I was paired off with one of the girls who'd worked there before and was to be my 'big sister' and help me get started. She was a very attractive girl with blonde hair and a figure I knew was going to feature prominently in my dreams both at night and during the day. her name was April, April Louise and to say that I was smitten was a definite understatement.
Luckily for me she took my admiring looks completely the wrong way. That is, she didn't see me as a boy drooling over her but as a young girl who was eager attentive and thankfull for all her help.
How can something SO wrong be SO right?