Part 2 - Christie's First Day at School

Christie stopped before starting up the walkway leading to the Dolley Todd Madison High School entrance. Christie realized she'd never really considered that her school's name honored a woman. Most district schools had manly names like George S. Patton Middle School, although several buildings reflected the school's location, like Hidden Lake Elementary School. Charlie had always thought of this place as 'my school' or simply as DHS. Just another tiny discovery that smacked her in the face due to the awareness she'd changed teams.

Discoveries that had seemed to keep coming at her faster and faster lately. So much so that Christie wondered if at least one of her magical 'training wheels' had fallen off somewhere. Every day had more 'girl-stuff' turning up unexpectedly, making her life more 'interesting.' Maybe Confucius had experienced a gender swap when he'd come up with his 'May you be cursed to live in interesting times' quotation. Maybe her new life wasn't quite a curse, but it often seemed darned overwhelming.

Charlie had had it easy!

Oh god, she thought, she was actually jealous of herself . . .himself . . .whatever!

For example, just this morning, she'd gotten up, showered and then gone about getting ready to face her first day at school. Easy peasy, right? Or so she'd thought. Evidently, her selection of comfortable jeans, a pullover and tennie-runners, which she'd carefully laid out on her bed before showering, had received a failing 'girl-grade' from her Mother. Upon returning from the bathroom, she'd found that her perfectly suitable 'Charlie ensemble' was replaced by a knee-length denim skirt, a camisole, a button-down blouse and the new Mary-Janes with the one-inch heel. Oh, and there was a little sticky note on top reminding her she needed to put on her makeup so Mom could make sure it wasn't 'too much' for school.

Yeah, right, Mom. Of course, that was to make sure that Christie actually wore some - which had NOT been her intention. Christie's cosmetic artistry had only required three attempts to pass Mom's inspection. Well, at least she knew how much more HER' unsubtle' application passed for 'subtle enough for school' in Mom's eye. Charlie always heard girls at school complaining that their mothers wouldn't let them wear enough makeup. How had Christie gotten so 'lucky'?

That probably wasn't even one of those trial lessons the magic required her to learn, either. Just a nice 'teachable moment' for Mom. Nor had it been the last one for this morning. Oh, no! Mom had asked if she had tampons and other 'supplies' in her purse and had been very unhappy with her daughter's "What purse?" answer. Evidently, a book bag was insufficient accessorizing for the modern female high school junior, especially on her FIRST school day. Surrendering, Christie had run back upstairs and grabbed a small shoulder bag, one small enough to fit easily in her book bag the first chance she got!

Mom had inspected the purse for necessities, of course. Wallet, makeup, and hairbrush were there; tampons weren't. "But Mom, I just finished my period last Friday," was another losing argument. Evidently, girls sometimes needed supplies from the well-prepared girls, and Amanda insisted that Christie would be one of the prepared girls whether she wanted to be or not.

So, here she was, rigged out in a lovely skirt and Maryjanes, carrying her purse and her bookbag, and staring up at the strangely imposing edifice of Dolley Madison High School. Charlie had not felt this unsettled two years ago when arriving as a ninth-grader. Of course, Charlie liked school and looked forward to high school. Moreover, since almost everyone knew not to mess with him, he hadn't suffered from freshman anxiety - just a different building - same routine, same crowd, same bathrooms.

Now? Only the building was the same. Everything else, including Christie herself, wasn't the same, and while she had Christie's magical memories of attending this school as a girl, she didn't have the experiences.

"Hey, Christie," a cheerful, feminine voice called out. Turning, Christie smiled to see Valerie Stevens hurrying up the walk toward her. "Trying to put off the end of summer vacation just a few more moments?"

Christie laughed and shook her head. "No, not really. It just hit me that our school is the only one in our district named after a woman. I had to stop and think about that for a moment. How are you doing? Haven't seen you since the August belt tests at the dojang.

"Yeah," Valerie replied. "Both sets of grands retired to Florida, so we made the grand tour; Grandparents, beaches, Disney World, grandparents, Universal Studios, oh, and did I mention beaches?"

Giggling over Val's trip description, the pair walked up to the entrance and went inside. Christie took the opportunity to search her memories more closely as they walked. Valerie had been high on Charlie's potential girlfriend list, especially after that deal with the cake at his birthday party. She was darn cute, friendly and very sharp academically. Val was also a pretty good Taekwondo student, having earned her Sixth Geup Green Belt late last spring. The Valerie that Christie knew was evidently still all that, but she and Christie were girlfriends, bordering on BFFs instead of dating.

And wonder of wonders, they had the same homeroom this year! Maybe the magic had arranged for a personal in-school girl guide for her. She'd probably need that at some point in the coming weeks. They took seats in their homeroom, and Christie pulled out her class schedule. Fortunately, none of her core courses had changed; she still had all her Advanced Placement and Honors Courses. There was one significant change, however. Instead of Physical Education, she would be taking a course in Women's Health in the first semester.

Charlie hadn't even known such a course existed, but Christie figured it was fortuitous. She didn't exactly trust her' training wheels' all that much, and knowledge was power. It wasn't as if she needed a PE Class. Charlie had been almost as bored during PE as in economics and government. One of the female PE teachers would teach the course with assistance from the school nurse. Christie was looking forward to 'catching up' with her female peers on all these female health and body mysteries.

The final bell sounded, and the Principal's voice rang out over the school's loudspeakers. "Good Morning, Cavaliers! And welcome to another year of adventure and learning at Dolley Todd Madison High School!"

And so, Christie's first day as a high school coed began.

~-~

Home from School with Mom

Since Monday wasn't a dojang day, Christie had gone home after school, donned one of her running outfits, and went off for a quick five-mile run. Her Mother had vetoed a before-school run this morning, saying that she had to learn how to get ready and how long that took as a girl. It had been a good call, but now, Christie was antsy and needed to feel the burn. She was, after all, a highly trained athlete and her body needed the endorphin release of a good workout.

After her run and a quick shower, Christie put some chicken in to marinate and chopped vegetables for a stir fry before going out back to work on her 'secret project.' It wasn't really a secret, she admitted. The truth was that she was just a little embarrassed and didn't care to share what she was doing with anyone for the time being.

Before THE change, Charlie had been a highly accomplished First Geup Red Belt who was mere days from testing for and, in all likelihood achieving his first Black Belt. Now, Christie was Seventh Geup Green and faced at least two years of required training, as a minimum, before she'd be allowed to test for the same darned belt Charlie had worn barely three months ago. It was galling. She had all Charlie's knowledge - that hadn't gone away - but she lacked the muscle memory and body hardening developed over eight years of intense training. Her brain knew what her body 'had to do,' but her body didn't know how to get there.

Even poomsae! She still knew the steps and could visualize the positions. However, performing one of those intricate standard forms was like trying to follow one of those old 'do-it-yourself Arthur Murray dance courses' with all the steps printed out on the floor in front of her. Christie was an excellent dancer, but she couldn't flow into the transition moves or explode into ones that should have made her dobok snap or pop.

Growling determinedly, Christie started the movements of the Koryo Poomse, the one Charlie had done with Donnie a lifetime ago. She would do it, step by bloody step, repeatedly until SHE could do it as well as CHARLIE had!

An hour later, Amanda arrived home from work expecting dinner. Finding none, she'd set about looking for her erring daughter. Coming to the back patio, she came to an abrupt halt before silently watching her obviously frustrated daughter struggle to perform movements that had been second nature to her son. Christie would repeatedly stop, mumbling to herself, and then repeat the action.

On impulse, Amanda fished her smartphone out of her bag and began recording a video of the scene playing out in her backyard. After about five minutes, she decided she had seen enough and put her phone back in her purse. Then she coughed, startling the intensely focused girl who spun instantly about, coming instinctively into a defensive posture.

"Mom, you're home early," Christie managed to blurt out as she tried to relax her pose casually.

"No, actually, I'm a little late. I thought you were going to fix dinner?"

Surprised, Christie looked at her wristwatch and blushed. "I, umm, didn't hear my watch alarm. I've finished all the prep work, but the chicken might be a little over-marinated."

"I see," Amanda replied with a knowing smile. "Well, why don't I finish putting dinner together while you clean up and set the table? I want to hear all about Christie's First Day at school," and quickly shooed her daughter off to her bedroom.

~-~

The chicken had a bit more bite to it than usual but was still tasty with all the colorful vegetables to spread the spicing out. Amanda let Christie take care of her immediate hunger before beginning her gentle, if thorough, motherly interrogation.

"Well, on the plus side," Christie said with a cheeky grin, "I don't have to write any 'What I did on my summer vacation" essays, although it is only the first day. Check with me after the first week is over on that one because if I don't have it to do, it'll be the first time since third grade. I didn't try to use the boys' restroom, and I didn't punch any of my girlfriends in the arm and call them 'dude.' I'd say I had a pretty successful day by those standards."

"That's setting the bar a little low, don't you think?" Mom asked, going with the light tone Christie had used. "Okay, we'll do this the old-fashioned way and pry things out of you. Please don't make me get out the pliers, girl. Meet any old acquaintances? Meet anybody new?"

Christie considered this and nodded. "Sure. For the most part, I'm in the same gifted and talented grouping as Charlie was last year, so most of the same kids are there. I am having a bit of trouble just yet resolving my Charlie memories of some of them from my Christie memories. Mostly minor stuff revolving around how sex and gender affect relationships. On the plus side, Valerie is in the same homeroom as me, and Christie remembers her as a very good and maybe best girlfriend. That will help, I think."

Amanda looked quizzically at her daughter. "Valerie? Do I know this Valerie?"

"Well, of course you do, oh powerful sorceress of the house. Just look into your Christie memories," Christie snarked at her Mom. "Actually, that may not work because Christie was in ballet, and Valerie was just starting Taekwondo, so we didn't hang too much outside of school. Anyway, do you remember that cute blonde girl who hand-fed Charlie his cake when he was in bondage at his birthday party? We hung out more together this summer after I left Madame. She's a belt senior to me at the dojang, so we'll see quite of bit of each other. Likely have to spar with her regularly, too."

"Well," Amanda huffed. She did, in fact, remember the cake scene along with her motherly recognition that the girl had definitely sparked Charlie's interest with that bit of sass. "If that isn't the strangest foundation for two BFFs I've ever heard." Shaking her head in chagrin, she smiled at her daughter. "You are always a joy and a surprise to me, kiddo. So, meet anyone completely new?"

"New to Charlie, anyway. Coach Wilson is teaching that course in Women's Health Issues that got magically added to my schedule. Female Coach Wilson, who normally teaches girls PE. That women's health class is gonna be strange, though. I skimmed the textbook they handed out? Some of that stuff is just yucky!" Christie gave a mock shudder. "Oh, and Coach Wilson is also the Dance/Competition Cheer Team coach. Since 'one of her girls' told her I wasn't dancing ballet anymore, she wants me to try out for her team. Now that I 'have the time.' Grrr! Like my training at the dojang isn't as much of a time commitment as dancing at the ballet studio."

Amanda didn't reply as she recognized it was just venting. She really wanted to discuss what she'd seen on the patio earlier that evening, but something about Christie's reaction to the Dance Coach's offer gave her pause. That had clearly stressed Christie enough that she had vented about it to her Mother. That was very out of character behavior for her child, for both of them, actually.

Amanda decided she needed to keep an even closer eye on her daughter's progress for now and see where that went. In the meantime, she made a mental note to talk to Grandfather Kim about Christie. Since he was already aware of their situation, he was another set of eyes. In just the few short months since Charlie's transformation, Christie's challenges thus far were definitely more stressful than had Amanda's own, or from what her Mother had told her about her experiences.

"Well, you skipped out on fixing dinner as you promised, so you get to do the dishes. Any homework?"

"Just some reading for the AP History and the Health course."

"Okay, off you go, then. When you finish that, make sure you cleanse and moisturize. I'll be in to check on you as I plan on an early night, too." Along with a bit of scrying, she didn't say out loud. "I'll be in my office finishing up some briefs for the partners."

After sharing a quick hug and kiss, Christie began gathering the tableware for cleaning.

to be continued