"Jamie?" Jessica’s voice was hesitant, tinged with disbelief. Her hand froze mid-air as she stared at me, her face pale as if she’d seen a ghost. "Is… is that you?"
I tried to speak, but my voice caught in my throat. Instead, I turned away, my hands trembling as I covered my face. How could she even recognize me? I wasn’t me anymore. Not on the outside.
“Jamie, what are you wearing?” Jessica’s voice sharpened, suspicious. Her eyes darted to my trembling hands, to the dress, to the way my hair fell over my shoulders like it belonged there. “Wait… this can’t be real. Is this some kind of prank? Are you messing with me?”
Tears stung my eyes, but I clenched my fists and shook my head. “It’s not a prank,” I whispered, my voice cracking with shame. “Something… something happened to me.”
Jessica moved closer, her eyes narrowing as if she was trying to see through a fog. Her fingers reached toward my hair, hesitant, then gave it a tug. She gasped, her hand recoiling like she’d touched a live wire.
“It’s not fake,” I muttered, pulling away. “It’s not a wig. It’s—it’s my hair. All of this is real.”
Her eyes widened, and for the first time, Jessica looked afraid. “Jamie, what… what are you saying? How is this even possible?”
I didn’t answer. Instead, I took a shaky breath and reached for the waistband of my pants. My face burned with humiliation, but there was no other way to convince her. Slowly, I pulled them down, just enough for her to see the truth.
Her gasp was loud and sharp, slicing through the tense silence. She stumbled back, her hand flying to her mouth. “Oh my god. Jamie… you… you’re a girl.”
“I know!” I snapped, my voice breaking. “I don’t know how or why, but it happened. I woke up like this. Or… no, wait…” My memories blurred together like a half-forgotten dream, but one moment stood out—the box. The glowing lights. The way they burned into my skin, my mind, my soul. “It was that machine,” I murmured, more to myself than to Jessica. “That stupid machine… it changed me.”
Jessica shook her head, her disbelief plain on her face. “What machine? Jamie, you’re not making any sense. Machines don’t just turn people into girls. That’s… that’s impossible.”
“I know it sounds crazy!” My voice cracked again, higher this time, and it sent a shiver down my spine. I sounded so foreign, so wrong. “But I’m telling the truth. I was running from the sixth graders, and they shoved me into this weird… box. It lit up—blue, then purple, then pink. And then… I don’t know. I passed out. When I woke up, this—” I gestured at my body, my face, my hair— “was what I saw.”
Jessica’s face twisted into a mixture of fear and concern. “Jamie… this is insane. Are you sure you didn’t hit your head? Maybe you—”
A loud crash from downstairs made us both jump. Our mother’s voice echoed up the stairs, sharp and commanding. “Kids! Get down here, now!”
Jessica shot me a look, her fear deepening. “What are we going to tell her?” she whispered. “You can’t… you can’t just walk down there like this.”
“I don’t have a choice,” I said, my stomach twisting into knots. “She’s going to find out eventually. I can’t hide forever.”
Jessica hesitated but nodded. Together, we crept downstairs, the floorboards creaking beneath our feet. Mom was standing in the foyer, her arms crossed and her eyes narrowed. The moment she saw me, her expression froze.
“Who… who is this?” she asked, her voice low and dangerous. Her eyes flicked to Jessica, then back to me. “Jessica, who is this girl? And why is she wearing Jamie’s clothes?”
Jessica opened her mouth to speak, but no words came out. My heart pounded so loudly I thought it might burst. Finally, I stepped forward, my hands trembling at my sides.
“It’s me, Mom,” I said, my voice barely above a whisper. “It’s Jamie.”
Mom’s brow furrowed. “Jamie? Don’t be ridiculous. Jamie’s a boy.”
“I was a boy,” I said, tears welling in my eyes. “But now… now I’m not. Something happened. Something… I don’t even understand.”
Mom stared at me, her mouth opening and closing as if she wanted to say something but couldn’t find the words. Slowly, she stepped closer, her eyes scanning my face, my hair, my body. “This… this can’t be real,” she murmured. “This has to be some kind of… trick.”
“It’s not a trick!” I shouted, my voice high and shrill. “It’s real! I don’t know how, but it’s real!”
Jessica, still frozen in place, finally spoke up. “Mom, she’s telling the truth. I didn’t believe her at first, either, but… look at her. This isn’t something you can fake.”
Mom’s face paled, and she took a shaky step back. “This… this isn’t possible. People don’t just change like this. It’s—it’s not natural.”
“I don’t think it was natural,” I said, my voice trembling. “It was that machine. The one I told you about, Jessica. The box with the lights. I think… I think it did this to me.”
Mom’s eyes darted between us, her breath coming in short, uneven gasps. “A machine? What kind of machine? Where is it?”
“I don’t know,” I admitted. “I fainted after it happened. By the time I woke up, the sixth graders were gone, and so was the machine.”
Jessica looked at me, her expression grim. “Jamie… if what you’re saying is true, then whoever built that machine—whoever used it on you—they might still be out there. They might… they might not be finished.”
A chill ran down my spine at her words. She was right. Whoever—or whatever—had done this to me, it wasn’t an accident. It couldn’t be.
“We need to find it,” I said, my voice steadier now. “The machine. The box. Whatever it is, we need to find it and figure out how to undo this.”
Mom nodded, her fear giving way to determination. “We’ll figure this out, Jamie. I promise. But until we do, you need to stay safe. Whoever did this… they might come back.”
As the three of us stood there, the house suddenly felt colder, quieter, as if the shadows were listening. For the first time, I realized this wasn’t just about me anymore.
Something bigger was happening. Something dangerous. And I wasn’t sure if I wanted to know the truth.