Zoran’s Story
A Short Story
By Maryanne Peters

It was some years ago. Zoran’s father called a family meeting. A series of shocks were to be delivered. The first shock was that his father had a secret. It went back to the old country – to their life in Yugoslavia (Serbia to be exact). His father had a shameful past. More than shameful – criminal. A secret that would see the head of the family imprisoned and the life they had built for themselves in America, lost forever.

The second shock was that the secret was to be used as blackmail. A man who shared the secret had died but hand handed over papers proving their common involvement in crimes to his son. His father turned to Zoran – the young man with the key to their fate was Anton Talevic.

Zoran had never been friends with Anton despite the fact that their fathers had travelled to America together and remained in contact, albeit not regular. They moved in different circles. Anton was brooding and a little weird. Zoran was a star. He was good looking and popular. He played soccer for the school and swam on the school team at regional championship level. He had taken up baseball and had proved a natural. His girlfriend was Amy Marshall – reputed to be the best looking girl at school. Anton was a loner. The differences between the boys were clear.

So what did he want? This is where things started to get very weird.

“Zoran, it is clear to me that this boy is very sick in the head”, his father said. “He does not want money. He has said to me that he wants what you have, and he has a plan to take it. He is obviously jealous of you. I do not know what he wants you to do but he wants you to follow his instructions, or he will release the documents. How can I ask you if I do not know what it is? We are all affected. Will you do this?”

Zoran looked around. His father, his mother, his grandmother, his sister, and his little brother. Everybody was confused and a little scared of the situation.

Zoran agreed to meet Anton the following evening to discover what would be involved.

***

“It’s not enough for you to give up what you have Zoran”, said Anton. “You must lose it. Otherwise it means nothing to me.”

“But what have I done to you”, said Zoran. “What have my family done to you”.

“Don’t try to reason with me. You will never understand me. Nobody does. If you do what I ask your family will be spared your father’s shame. The cost is your shame.”

Zoran was prepared to pay this price. He was a loyal son and brother. He was a good young man. Even when he learned what was involved he was ready to make the sacrifice. His thoughts were that whatever the shame he could just move away when it was over as his father had.

Anton’s twisted plan required Zoran to surrender what was dear to him. His masculinity. Anton was well prepared. He had obtained the drugs – some injections and some pills. The changes would be gradual and Anton did not want immediate role reversal. He had a timetable that he would not disclose. He would make one demand every week.

Zoran’s family were horrified but in the end, a little relieved. Every change that Anton had spoken of was reversible. They would support Zoran totally no matter what. His sacrifice made him the most important person in the family (he may have been already) and it was agreed that they would all bow to Anton’s will, for the time being anyway. The alternative was unthinkable. Humiliation for the whole family and possibly deportation and (for his father back there) imprisonment or death.

Zoran was a masculine young man. He was proud of his manly appearance, his physical strength and his sexual ability. At 17 he was sexually experienced with Amy and before her with at least a dozen others. He would not brag but it was well known. It would take some time before the effect of the drugs would change all of that.

The first thing that Anton demanded was that Zoran not cut his hair. His hair was not long but not that short either. His colouring was light – much lighter than Anton and the other Yugoslavians at school. He had light brown hair and green eyes. His nose was small but his face was strong. Long hair would not be enough to take that away.

Next Anton required that Zoran should shave his entire body from the eyebrows down. The effect was obvious when Zoran wore sports gear but he explained it as shaving down for swim training. Nobody doubted that. Zoran remained fit and strong.

On the third week Zoran was told to wear girls’ underwear from then on. He said nothing to his classmates and he was able to conceal things, even when changing for soccer.

By the fourth week it was clear that the cocktail of hormones that Anton had arranged were producing some results. Zorans muscles were losing some condition and he was developing a layer of fat that had a softening effect, in particular on his face. The appearance of his skin was changing and his hair had grown markedly and appeared thicker and more lustrous. Anton demanded that he have it coloured and styled. He himself arranged for a trip to the local salon.

When Zoran appeared at school the next day tongues were wagging. His hair was now honey blonde and while still quite short, the cut was girlish. As much as he tried to make light of it with remarks like “hey, it’s just a haircut”, for the first time questions were being asked. Even Amy felt awkward. Zoran felt obliged to say something to her.

“I know the hairdo is a little crazy, but the truth is I will be doing a lot more crazy things over the next few months”, he explained. “If you care for me you’ll stand by me. If you don’t, well I’ll understand”. How could she turn away?

If his soccer coach was not concerned, he was when he appeared the following week with pierced ears and small gold studs in both ear lobes. He felt strongly enough to call Zoran into his office for a discussion about the differences between the sexes, something that would have been funny to Zoran in any other circumstance. Zoran affirmed his desire to stay in the team – which was genuine.

Clearly Zoran would be faced with more embarrassing changes so he decided to confront things head on. At class discussion time he advised everybody that while he was confident with his own sexuality he intended to explore more of his feminine side. He challenged the other boys to do likewise. He challenged the girls to accept him as one of them should he choose to join with them. It was a clever manoeuvre, and he was able to be a little smug when he met with Anton that Friday afternoon.

“So you want to explore you feminine side?” Anton crowed.

“You know that this is your doing”, said Zoran, “I am simply trying to explain my behaviour. Why don’t you simply ask me to quit the team and drop Amy? Why this?”

“I don’t want you to give anything up”, sneered Anton, “I want you to lose it”.

Anton produced a box, and inside the box was a pink sun dress and a pair of wedge heeled sandals. “This will get you started”, he said, “You will wear nothing but dresses until I say otherwise.

The truth is that the story that he had told his class may have explained past behaviour, but nobody was ready for Zoran’s appearance on the following Monday.

***

Zoran was a determined young man and had dealt with the problem strongly until now, but that day he felt helpless. Though he had not cried in many years he cried that day. Zoran’s mother told him that it was as much the hormones as it was his situation. She called the family together.

Zoran’s father was furious. He had seen his strong and masculine son already reduced to appear as a sissy. He felt responsible. He spoke of killing Anton. And then of killing Anton and all his family. And then of killing himself to save further shame.

Zoran’s grandmother spoke: “Zoran has agreed to take the family’s burden upon his shoulders. We now understand the form of this burden. It only weighs heavy because we think of it that way. The truth is that there is no shame in being a woman – so be a woman.”

It was agreed that Zoran would pre-empt Anton’s next embarrassment. He would throw himself into a new role – the role of a girl. Rather than be a boy dressing as a girl in shame, he would be a girl and proud.

Zoran’s mother said that if he had been a girl he would have been named Zofia, although Zoran preferred the more American Sophie. His grandmother re-introduced him to his family and he hugged all his relations.

His mother and sister decided to prepare him for his new role. When they took off his shirt they were surprised to see that the hormones he had been forced to take had already produced swelling in his breasts. They took the measurements to fit him with a bra and some modest gel inserts.

With a colored barrette in his hair and a little makeup, he began to look less like the boy he was and more like the girl he was becoming. But his body was still fairly tall and athletic.

He was instructed on how to walk and move his arms. His grandmother, who had been an accomplished singer in her youth, coached him in the use of his voice, to lift the tone to a feminine lilt.

When Sophie appeared at school on Monday “she” walked in with pride and purpose. Everybody was shocked. For many of the boys the first reaction was to try to make fun of the boy in a dress, but Sophie ignored them. He said: “None of you are secure enough to turn up to school in a dress. Maybe try it first.”

His team mates from soccer, swimming and baseball were floored by his appearance, but his popularity was such that they were less likely to ridicule him. Even the coach was prepared to ignore his appearance, although he smirked: “There’s only one locker room, so I hope you are OK with that.”

For the game that weekend he was able to change, but he had a bandage around his chest to conceal what was developing there. For the first time he was conscious of the others looking at his genitals. He knew that they were losing size, but they were still larger than most. At least at that point they were.

But on the Monday, the first person he knew he had to talk to was Amy.

“I want to be with you,” she said, “but I’m not a lesbian. Maybe when you are finished with all of this we can get back together, but I can’t go out with you like this.”

Zoran said that he understood, and he did. That was it between Zoran and Amy. Some of the other girls made a point of approaching him to offer friendship and support, but he and Amy barely spoke to one another again.

Anton was there, but Zoran ignored him. He was preparing to gloat but Zoran gave him no opportunity. He never met his gaze. He knew that this was frustrating Anton. Still, he was no longer an item an item with the prettiest girl in school, so he was at least one point down.

***

Sophie was every bit as good as Zoran on the soccer field, but the hormones were acting to reduce muscle mass. Sophie was concentrating on lifting skill level to compensate. She also discovered that she had another weapon at her disposal. The first game of the competition saw her tackled hard and go down in a heap, but the boy who had done it helped him up and apologised. He apologised and remarked that he admired a girl playing in the boys’ competition. Sophie had an edge over him the rest of the game.

After that she made a point of wearing a pink headband and a little makeup during the game, and giving the opposition players a little smile. It was obvious that this was giving her a slight edge. The coach could see what she was doing and quietly approved. It became a real joke among the team. “Sophie, the girl on the team” became almost a mascot.

Baseball also presented a problem. The baseball coach was less accepting of Sophie’s current status, whatever that might be. There was no girls team, so she had to choose whether or not she wanted to play softball, and whether she would be accepted.

When swimming season started it was a little harder. The loss of muscle made a lot more difference. And the real problem for Sophie was the swimsuit. By now the breasts were more obvious and needed to be cupped in a one-piece suit, but the groin area was well out of shape. She was faster times than any girl, but she was not eligible for that competition.

While she had no experience in either, she decided to take up diving and synchronized swimming. Both of these sports were available without concern as to the sex of a competitor. But the look was important, particularly for synchronized swimming. That meant tucking with the assistance of duct tape before slipping on a bathing suit.

Sophie looked good in a suit, and she was looking better every day. Her hair had grown and she kept the color regularly touched up. Before competition she had learned to tie it up into a tight bun, covered with a cap for all for diving and all practice, but for SS competition worn with an ornate style.

There is something about this sport that binds the team closely. The SS team was only 6 girls who could do a six girl display, or trios, or pairs. They were all committed and competitive, much as Sophie was. They trained hard and in the main hung out together around school, and afterwards. Despite her obvious difference Sophie was fully included as a complete girl, including sleepovers.

Sophie had never been interested in boys, but somehow being one of the girls made it wrong for her to think about her friends in a sexual way. Instead she joined in on discussions about which of the boys at school was the coolest.

“You need to hook up with Jason Bigelow,” said her friend Denise. “He totally digs you.” Everybody seemed to agree. One of the stars of the football team, and one of the biggest guys in the school had the hots for Sophie.

“Hey guys,” said Sophie, “I am not so sure. There is one major obstruction to me hooking up with Jason, and you know what it is.” She pointed to crotch.

“I really think that he doesn’t care,” said Rosie. “Love is blind.”

“He has seen you on the diving board so I guess he thinks whatever was there is long gone.” Harriett was putting the last of the curlers into Sophie’s hair.

“I know his number,” said Rosie. “He is best friends with my Guy Zack. Let’s call him.” She fumbled for her phone then made the call.

“Hi Jason, Rosie here. Yea, just sitting with Sophie,… She can’t stop talking about you, … yeah, … Really? … But I have to say, she is worried that, well, she is worried that with her past and everything, you may not want to hook up with her. Really, … that’s great, … she’ll be so happy, … I’ll tell her. Bye now.”

“No?,” said Sophie. “You are not going to tell me that he wants to hook up?”

Get yourself ready, girl,” said Rosie. “You and me are double dating Zack and Jason Friday night!”

..***

It was the Serbian Community get-together. Sophie and her mother had gone to get their hair done together and were outfitted in new dresses for the occasion. Sophie was wearing something way to tight and cut to reveal the shape that had been developing all these months. Her breasts now filled a C-cup bra and were pushed up. Her legs were a mile long from her 4” heels to her perfectly shaped butt. She had had hair extensions for a few months now, so that her soft curls fell half way down her back.

Not everybody understood what had happened and why, but there were enough of her father’s friends who did know, and honoured her for it. Their total acceptance of the boy turned girl silenced any other whispers. That, and the fact that she was undoubtedly the best looking woman in the room.

She smiled and laughed, and did not deliberately ignore Anton as she had done in the past. She simply did not see him.

But he was waiting for her when she went to the restroom. He put a hand over her mouth and dragged her into the equipment room. It was hardly surprising that she could not escape his clutches. Less than a year ago he would have been strong enough to pull free and beat him up, but now those muscles were gone. She was a weak girl in his grasp.

He pushed her up against the door to close them off.

“You are driving me crazy!” he whispered through gritted teeth.

“I think that you have always been crazy,” she replied calmly, relaxing her struggles to hear what this was all about. And then, after a paused to look into his wild eyes she added: “You have what you want don’t you? Zoran has lost everything.”

“How can you let that brute Jason touch you?” he asked.

“I thought you wanted Amy,” said Sophie. “Why didn’t you move on her after she left me. That’s what you wanted isn’t it.”

“It’s you I want. It’s you I have always wanted.” Now he appeared almost pathetic.

“You tried to ruin my family. You tried to ruin me. How could I ever have anything to do with you?”

“I control you,” sneered Anton. “I tell you what to do.”

“Nobody tells me what to do,” said Sophie, her voice still feminine but fierce and determined. “Take your hands off me, or I’ll ask Jason to tear them both off and stuff them down your throat.”

She could see in his eyes that the threat had rammed home. He was shaking, but It was still not clear that it was fear or rage.

“He’s not here. He’s not here so that you can prance around showing everybody your new body. A weak little boy with the body of a girl. Or part of it anyway.”

“He’s picking me up in about 10 minutes,” said Sophie. “We’re going around to his place. We are going to fuck like rabbits. While you sit at home in front of your PC jerking off.”

“He’s using you,” said Anton plaintively. He released his grip on her.

“I’m happy to be used by him,” said Sophie, straightening her dress and pushing the tendrils of her hair away from her beautiful face. “We’re getting married next year, you know, right after my surgery.”

“Now the whole world is going to know about your father,” sneered Anton, viciously. “Everybody will know what he did, what he and my father did in the old country. I have no reason to keep the secret. You have ruined my life.”

“I am happy to hear that,” she said. “You did your best to ruin mine. As for my father, well it has taken him some time but he is now happy that there are no witnesses except dead ones, or those who will stay silent. So, it will be your word of what your father said, against twenty with something to hide. You can do your worst. Your threat is now empty.”

“But I love you Sophie,” said Anton, with the hint of a tear taking shape. “Can’t you see that. I saw the woman in you and I wanted her.”

“Well if that’s true, then I have something to thank you for. Nobody else saw a woman in Zoran. I never saw it in myself. I never knew it, until that first night with Jason. So if what you say is true, then thank you. I am now happy to be who I am.”

She opened the door and walked away, breasts and perfect bottom jiggling, and her fashionable high heels clicking on the polished floor.

The End

© Maryanne Peters 2020