Stuck in a Rut.
By Rosalie Redd

Casey Church is a normal 13 year old girl, But in a world where there hasn’t been a girl born in over 100 years, Casey adjusts to her new life as a girl. Can Casey cope with everything that comes with being a girl, or will others conspire to ruin her life?

Chapter 36

I arrived at school in a huff. Having fallen asleep last night fully dressed, I was in a bad mood. And I knew who to take it out on. I walked into first period. Luna smiled at me and waved. I nodded back to her, and walked past, going right up to the offenders.

I got up in May’s face. “Listen, whatever popularity grab you think you need to make, do it. I don’t care. But following me home? Stalking me? That’s some Marcia-level shit. Don’t you fuck with me that way. You know what happened to her. You think I’m a threat to your grab for popularity? Puh-leez… I have my boyfriend, my best friend, and my new friend. that’s it! I’m not some popularity magnet.”, I yelled in her face and then walked to my seat next to Luna.

Luna looked at me. “They followed you home?”, She asked.

I nodded to her. “May did, at least.”

“I would be careful, if I were you. They might not be the sharpest tools in the shed, but they do have brute strength.”, she warned.

I did have to admit, this was true. In my transition to being a girl, I had lost what little upper body strength I had before. I had gained a lot of flexibility and agility though, which got me to thinking. I would have to stop and talk to Mom later. I had an idea.

As class went on, I noticed more eyes on me. Not just the trouble twins, but several boys looked at me, at least they still looked like boys. I knew at least one was early in her transition. It made me wonder. The game was tomorrow, and the Homecoming dance was scheduled for Saturday. They would likely make some sort of move then.

I would need to talk to DeShaun too. Why can’t life be easy?

First period ended and I headed off to English class. I sat down in my usual spot, and looked around. All the girls in class were pointedly NOT looking at me. Something was definitely suspicious. I would have to ask Janie about it at lunch. The teacher had not arrived yet, so I pulled out my phone and texted a quick message to Luna.

>>in class all grls ignore me. Suspct plot cnfrm?<<

I sent the message, and waited.

A few seconds later, Luna sent back a reply.

>MEW MEW will do.<<

After the bell rang, the class returned to normal, though I still felt uneasy. I waited through class, and departed as soon as the bell had rung.

After the same thing had happened during Math class, I was ready for the day to me over. I headed to lunch, and rendezvoused with Janie and DeShaun at our normal spots.

“Janie, have you noticed anything strange going on? I caught May Wilder following me home yesterday, and all the girls today are making a point of ignoring me extra hard. I think something is up. Have you seen anything strange?”, I asked between bites of my turkey sandwich.

“Now that you mention it, I have noticed some stink-eye cast in my direction, but I assumed that was more about my outfit.”, she responded.

I looked at her, with her hoodie unzipped and the low-cut of her tee, her lovely cleavage was certainly on display. Janie was certainly in a growth spurt. Having recently gone from a B-Cup to a C, she looked hot.

I laughed and went back to my food, glancing around the cafeteria. Normally, we would get a glance or two on occasion from some girl or another, but today it was clear that all the freshmen girl, and even a few of the newer sophomores, were trying not to. That raised my suspicions all the further.

After lunch, I swung by the gym, looking for Mom. She wasn’t there, so I headed for my next class. I hooked up with Janie on the way, and we casually observed things. In the halls all the girls gave us both wide berths, and seemingly ignored us. I glanced over as we entered class. Out of the corner of my eye, I noticed George. He was looking around uneasily and appeared quite jumpy. I tugged on Janie’s sleeve, and then when she looked at me, I gave the head-nod gesture towards George.

Janie nodded back to me, and we entered the classroom. We went in, and the big chill was still in effect. Sitting at a table in the back, the two of us did our homework, and talked about George. It was agreed that Janie would meet me after class, and I would introduce him to her.

The rest of the day went pretty much as it had gone thus far, as girls pretended not to notice me, and ignored me when I tried to talk to them. Art class came at last. I sat next to George, and talked to him.

“How are you doing George?”, I asked in a gentle tone.

He looked at me and mumbled. “I’m fine. Thank you for helping me.”

I smiled. “It was no problem. I just happened to be there.” For the rest of the class George and I sat away from the others, the ignore was in full effect still, even in Art. We helped each other with our drawings. Well, he helped me. His talent was vastly superior. Still, I could see that he was shaking. He was putting on a brave face, but I could see the signs. I had lived with them, after the confusion with DeShaun. His must be ever so much worse, his torment had been intentional harm, not just a mistake.

Class ended and George got up to leave, but I asked him very politely to stay for a moment. He agreed reluctantly. That was when Janie arrived. I slipped behind her as she approached.

“George, this is my friend Janie.”, I said in a warm tone. George looked Janie over and then looked back at me.

“What’s this all about?”, he asked suspiciously.

I looked down and then looked at Janie. She nodded.

“Janie went through something very similar to what you did, and I thought it might be a good idea for you two to meet.”, I said cautiously.

George looked Janie up and down. I saw him swallow hard. “Maybe I should talk to someone about things.”, he said tentatively.

“Are you free right now?”, Janie asked. “If not, I can give you my number, and we can arrange to meet at a time and place of your choosing.”

“I… I have no plans.”, George said. “Would it be okay if you came over today? On the bus, I mean...” George asked in a quiet voice. “I… I haven't spoken to anyone about it, Mom is worried, I can tell.”

Janie smiled. “Sure, let me call home and let my Mom know what’s going on.”, she said as she pulled out her phone. “Casey, can you give the two of us some privacy? I’ll see you tomorrow.”

I took the hint and walked over to the gym. Mom was watching the volleyball team working on their communication drills.

She saw me and walked over. “Hey Kiddo!’, she said. “If you are thinking of joining the team, you are a little late.”, she joked.

I looked up at her and smiled. “And a little short, too.”, I commented. “Actually Mom, with all the craziness and considering my new body and new looks… and all the danger I could get in, I’ve been thinking I might want to take some form of martial arts classes.”

Mom looked at me, then out at the team as they practiced. She called out to a girl, and walked over to help her with her form on her digs. After she finished that, she came back over to me, and spoke. “I think that might be a good idea, you taking a class, that is. As pretty as you are becoming, I know there might be some boy out there that might not want to hear ‘no’, and you also certainly have attracted your share of crazies.”

With DeShaun at Walk-through for the game tomorrow, I headed home. I kept my eyes open, but nobody was following me this time. I entered the house, and locked the door behind me. After grabbing an orange from the kitchen, I headed upstairs.

Laying down on the bed, I peeled the orange, and booted up my laptop. I began searching various forms of martial arts and self defense styles. After a while, I think I hit on one that would work for me.
I googled to see if there were any schools nearby that taught what I was thinking of. I got a half-dozen hits. Looking up each one, I did some research, and printed out their info.

I was finishing up my homework when I heard someone arrive home. I came down and Dad was putting his briefcase down by the door.

“Daddy!”, I squealed and wrapped him in a hug. I can’t help it. Ever since the change, I’ve been more and more a Daddy’s girl. I know that at first he was sad that he thought he had lost his son, and that I would spend more and more time with Mom, and less and less with him. While I was spending a lot of time with Mom, I made sure he knew I loved him equally.

“Daddy, Can I take kick-boxing class?”, I asked him as I hugged him. He hugged me back, then stepped back.

“What brought that up?”, He asked.

“I was thinking, is all. After all the issues with Marcia, and with Janie’s getting attacked and what happened to George Whitley, that I should learn some way to defend myself. I did some studying. With my flexibility, and my um… new proportions… that kick-boxing would suit me. And to demonstrate, I sat down on the floor and then proceeded to do a split.

After finishing, I stood back up and looked at him. Dad nodded and spoke. “Have you talked to your mother at all about this?”

I nodded. “I spoke briefly with her before I came home, but I hadn’t decided what sort of martial art I would take yet.”, I informed him.

Dad looked at me. “I will discuss this with your mother, but in my opinion, it’s a good idea.”

With that, Dad hugged me again, and gave me a peck on the cheek. “Thanks Daddy!”, I replied happily.

Mom and DeShaun were expected home late. I went up to my room, got changed into a pair of yoga pants and a tank top and did some stretching and testing of my body’s limits and flexibility.

I came down a few hours later. DeShaun had made himself a sandwich and was sitting on the couch. I slinked up to him, purring as he watched me move in my tight pants. “You are a sight for sore eyes, Sweetie.”, following that statement up with a kiss.

“Ick, your breath tastes like horseradish”, I joked, and then I lay down, my head in his lap. DeShaun smiled, and ran his fingers through my hair. He knew how much I loved that. “Where are Mom and Dad?”, I asked.

DeShaun nodded his head towards the office. “They went in and are looking at that list of martial arts schools that you gave him. Something going on that I should be aware of?”, he asked with noticeable concern in his voice.

I sighed. “Nothing you don’t already know.”, I stated. “Just thought it would be prudent to learn to stand up for myself if Thing One and Thing Two try anything.”

DeShaun nodded and continued stroking my hair, which quickly made me doze off.

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