“Jeff really said that?” bubbled Nova after I finished telling what I’d heard in the boys restroom. She’d come over to pick up my uniform for alterations and to do some quick measurements for those alterations.

I nodded. “Yep. Needless to say, I was shocked.”

Nova grunted. “Don’t be. You’re very pretty. You look exactly like your sister. She never liked me, did she?”

“Well, you are an acquired taste,” I laughed.

Nova scowled at me. “You do want my help, right?”

I put my hands up defensively. “Of course I do. You know what I meant. And do you really think I’m pretty?”

Nova chuckled. “You know… a boy would never ask that. Do you like Jeff?”

I shrugged. “I don’t really know him.”

Nova pressed further. “But do you like him? I think he’s really cute. I’ve heard he’s smart too.”

“As far as that goes, I like him,” I confessed. “But not the way you’re talking about.”

Nova looked at me curiously. “You don’t think he’s cute? He apparently likes you. And I wonder who it was that said they liked me?”

“I don’t know,” I said truthfully. “I made sure I stayed hidden behind the stall door.”

Nova looked thoughtful for a moment. “Honestly girl. I think you need to avoid using the boy’s room. You can’t afford to get caught in one now.” I’ve given up on getting Nova to stop calling me “girl.” Personally I think she’s doing a psyche OP on me.

“I can’t use the girl’s room!” I exclaimed.

Nova shrugged. “We’ll work something out. Seriously though. You really need to ditch that tomboy look.”

I grunted a laugh. “This is my look. I’m not a tomboy.”

Laughing, Nova said, “You’re right. You’re not. You’re too pretty and feminine. You need to update your look. That’s why we’re getting your hair done Thursday.”

“Tomorrow afternoon, I’m getting those things on your list,” I said looking at the list on my phone. “Buying make-up is going to be embarrassing.”

Nova shook her head. “Nobody’s going to look twice at you buying make-up. Oh, that reminds me. You need to add one more thing if you don’t already have it. You need to get a safety razor. It can just be a cheap plastic one. Get a blue one. They’re cheaper than the pink ones. Then shave everything. I mean everything. You need to be totally clean.”

Frowning, I asked, “I don’t really need to shave everything do I? Just my armpits?”

Chuckling, Nova said, “You don’t want any curly hairs sticking out of your panties when you do a cartwheel do you?”

I felt my face redden. “Oh my God. No, I don’t want that. I’ll get the razor.”

Nova said, “Well, I got your measurements and your uniform. I still have homework to do.”

I said, “Me too.” I escorted her to my front door.

I resisted the urge to reach up inside my t-shirt to try to adjust my bra strap. Nova suggested I wear one, not because of my massive boobs that don’t exist, but to get me used to it and help keep my frame of mind. My sister Janet’s dresser had quite a few bras. The reason I picked the one I’m wearing despite it being pink was that it was what she wore before she got her boob growth. I may take it off later as I don’t like wearing it. So no one would see it, I wore my gray Honey Badger Don’t Care t-shirt. Wearing a bra without any boobs to put in them seemed stupid.

After Nova left the house, I rummaged through Janet’s dresser and closet. She must have bought all new clothes for college as there was quite a bit to look through. I was dismayed by just how many clothes I could actually wear. Not only are we virtually the same size, I’m actually a bit smaller than her. That really offended my sense of masculinity.

I decided to wear a pair of Jan’s jeans that didn’t have the feminine stitching on the pockets, not realizing the tighter leg fit, the higher waist and the useless pockets. I was about to be late for school anyway, so I didn’t have time to change. I thought for a second that I’d have to take a purse. Instead, I tossed my keys and wallet into my gym bag. On the plus side, the jeans were so much softer than what I normally wear and actually more comfortable.

I ran into Nova on my way into the school. She grinned at me and gave me a thumbs up. “Nice. You didn’t go completely over to the pink side, but definitely not a tomboy.”

“I feel silly wearing a bra. You know I’m only supposed to dress like a girl when I wear my uniform on Friday.” I readjusted the strap of my book bag across my shoulder. I carried my gym bag in my hand. It wasn’t very heavy.

Nova nodded. “With that loose t-shirt, I didn’t even know you were wearing a bra. I’m just trying to suggest things. You can wear what you want. But I’m warning you right now that things are going to be different after Friday. You won’t be able to put the genie back into the bottle.”

I stopped suddenly causing the kid behind me to bump into me. I looked at Nova with a serious expression and asked, “Is this all a mistake? Are you saying I can’t ever go back?”

Nova touched my elbow and said, “Let’s move out of the way.” We stepped over to the windows in the hall. In a low voice, Nova said, “All I’m saying is that you’re going to be a cheerleader for several weeks. Possibly longer as well next year. Like you said before; you’re the invisible man. Friday that ends. It may have started already. Look how those boys yesterday were already talking about you.” She poked her finger in my chest. “You - the girl. You were one of hundreds of boys at this school that nobody noticed. Not trying to be mean, but it’s true. But now… now you’re one of just six girls who everybody notices. And so far, from what I’m hearing around school, everybody likes you.”

I sighed. “Maybe I should quit. I can’t keep pretending to be a girl.”

Nova gave me a wry smile. “You’re not pretending, Ronnie. Trust me.” She then shrugged. “But maybe you should quit. Being popular is hard. Having people look up and notice when you enter a room can be annoying. Why bother to prove people wrong who don’t care, like you own mother. Much easier to live down to their expectations.”

I slammed the window to vent off anger I suddenly felt towards Nova. People walking by looked over at us. “Shit Nova! How can you say that! That’s a terrible thing to say!”

Nova scowled at me. “Because it’s true! Coach believes in you. The squad loves you. They believe in you. I believe in you. Maybe you should try to believe in yourself! Your choice. Make a difference in your life or be just another picture in the year book.” She stormed off, crying.

I turned and said, “Nova! Hold on.” She didn’t turn around and disappeared into the crowd. How do I always manage to fuck things up? I looked at my phone. Shit. I’m going to be late. I hurried to my locker.

I was late for my first class. I didn’t get into much trouble. Not like I’m habitually late. I used second period – home room, to finish up some homework. My mood was slowly starting to improve from the morning. I wanted to talk to Nova so bad but I’d have to wait until lunch. Hopefully she’s still talking to me. The bell rang and I smiled. I was actually looking forward to going to Home Ec.

Approaching the class, I realized I needed to relieve myself. It went from nothing to five alarm status. I was in a rush. I’m not supposed to enter a girls restroom without a cheerleader escort to make sure I’m alone. As far as I was concerned I’m not really dressed like a girl, so I slammed open the door to the boys room.

Instantly I knew it was a bad idea. The two stalls were in use. Two urinals were open, but I can’t even unzip my pants far enough down to get my wang out. There was no screaming like I’m sure there’d be for a boy to enter a girls restroom, but someone did shout “Hey! There’s a girl in here!” A boy who was about to use one of the urinals spun around and presented to me a full view. I wasn’t shocked to see it. I have seen them before. But I needed to get out. Do my pants make that big of a difference? Or do more people recognize me as a girl now? I was in this same restroom last week and nobody cared.

As I turned to run for the door, I said, “Sorry! Sorry! Wrong door.”

Some boy said, “Hey babe. Stay as long as you like.”

I bumped into a boy going in. He asked, “Do I have the wrong one?”

Pushing past him, I said, “No. You’re right. My mistake.”

I ran the few feet to the girls restroom and darted quickly inside and just stood by the mirror breathing hard. A girl from my Home Ec class was checking her make-up. She looked at me and asked, “Ronnie, are you okay? You’re all red.”

I took a few more breaths. “I’m fine. I accidently went into the boys room.” Why am I confessing this?

With a shocked expression she exclaimed, “Oh my God! Seriously?” A couple girls laughed.

I nodded. I said, “And I really need to get in that stall!”

One girl asked as I closed the stall door, “Did you see anything?”

I lied and said, “I closed my eyes, and ran out.”

Someone laughed and said, “Did you manage to get a date?”

I growled through the closed stall door, “It was an accident!”

Another girl said, “Yeah, right!” They laughed and then everyone left and the door closed.

Sheesh. What an ordeal. I don’t get it. I didn’t think I looked that much like a girl.

I wiped with a piece of toilet paper and was just about to stand up when the door opened and a girl walked in. I was about to be late for class, so I just exited the stall. The tall girl was checking her make-up and she was totally gorgeous. I’d seen her around, but I had no idea who she was.

As I was washing my hands a second girl walked in just to check herself in the mirror. She ignored me and said, “How’s it going, Olivia?”

Olivia grinned as she leaned in towards the mirror. “Going good.”

The second girl asked, “So, are you still planning on entering the Homecoming Queen contest?”

Olivia grinned at the other girl. “Yeah. And I’m going to win it.”

The second girl closed her purse and seemed about to leave. “I’d say you’re a shoe-in. Has Jeff asked you to the dance yet?”

Olivia frowned. “Not yet. He’d better.”

The other girl laughed. “You sure he will? I hear he’s dating one of the cheerleaders.”

Olivia laughed. “Football players always date cheerleaders. He’ll come around.”

I followed them out the restroom door.

I wonder who Jeff is dating?

I was nervous about approaching the cheerleader table in the lunch room. I’m sure Nova saw me come in, but she didn’t look over at me. I hope I didn’t manage to destroy our friendship.

I started to set my lunch tray down on the table and Nova glanced up at me. She said, “This table is for girls only.”

I set the tray down and smiled at the group. “I guess I’m at the right place then.”

Nova laughed. “Yep! You are! Hey, I’m really sorry about yelling at you earlier.”

I frowned as I sat down. “I was being an idiot. I needed it.”

Nova said, “I heard there was some ruckus around third period when some blonde chick tried to force herself into the boys room.”

I chuckled and said, “That was me. That’s when I finally knew I was a girl. I was definitely in the wrong place.”

Nova took a bite of her salad and looked over at me. “You should wear a skirt tomorrow just to see if you get a reaction.”

I screwed up my face as if I’d just tasted something disgusting. “No way. It’s bad enough I have to wear a skirt on Friday. I really think that’s a bridge too far.”

Nova shook her head. “I don’t understand you. You caused a riot entering the boys room just dressed like that. You’re so much like a girl that everyone automatically accepts it. They just needed a nudge.”

“It wasn’t a riot and I’m not wearing a skirt.” I said as I finished off my salad.

Nova shrugged. "Wear what you want. I’m just saying nobody’s going to throw up their arms and scream ‘Oh the humanity! Ronnie’s in a skirt!’”

Before I could make a lame reply, the first bell signaling the end of lunch period rang. We all started to stand up.

Nova looked at all of us and said, “I guess I’ll see you guys at practice.” Several of the football players, including Jeff got up and started walking towards us to exit the cafeteria. Some movement caught my eye and I turned to see Olivia on an intercept course with Jeff. I’m sure the dress she was wearing violated the dress code. She had the undivided attention of every boy in the room. I noticed Nova frowned at her.

Jeff and his friends stood next to us as we got ready to leave. One of them said, “Greetings ladies. Do you mind if we come watch again?”

Susan giggled. “You guys are always welcome!”

Then Jeff shocked the hell out of me. He slid his arm around my waist and pulled me towards him. What do I do? A boy was holding me. That’s insane. Nova grinned at me.

Jeff said, “Hey guys, don’t get the girls hopes up. I doubt we’ll get out of practice early again today.” Jeff held me close with his hand on my hip.

Olivia walked up to us and she looked at me with daggers in her eyes. She said, “Hey guys. You know that voting starts next week for homecoming queen. Can I count on your votes?” The girls just mumbled something. All the boys except Jeff said they would. Looking right at Jeff, she added, “And don’t forget the dance on Saturday night.” She winked at Jeff. He pulled me closer to him.

As Olivia turned and walked away, Jeff stuck a couple fingers into my hip pocket. To no one in particular, he said, “God I can’t stand that girl.”

Well shit.

To be continued…