The next morning, Ruth came to Rachel's dorm to oversee Maddie and Hattie pack their things. The twins would be sent to Pretty And Pink's Virginia building, which happened to be the company's first establishment. The whole time Maddie and Hattie were packing, they cast dirty looks in Rachel's direction.

"I hope you're happy, bitch," Maddie said to Rachel. "Now we're getting yanked out of our lives here."

"Yeah, well, I didn't want to get yanked out of my old life, either," Rachel said coldly.

"Where did you live, in another orphanage?" Hattie asked.

"That's enough!" Ruth snapped. "Maddie, Hattie, if I hear you keep up this behavior at the Virginia location..." She let the threat hang in the air.

Half an hour later, Maddie and Hattie left the dorm for the last time. When they were gone, Rachel and Vanessa both breathed a sigh of relief. "Finally," said Vanessa. "They're gone!"

"Yep," said Rachel. But what she thought was "Now it'll be easier for me to get closer to Jesse."

***

For a week after that, Rachel contemplated how she might approach Jesse and tell him the truth. They were still lab partners, and Jesse seemed to like hanging out with her, but Rachel wanted him to know she was Randy. Only thing was, Jesse didn't believe in magic, as far as Rachel knew. So how could she convince him?

Eventually, Rachel decided she would just be up front and tell Jesse point-blank. So one morning, while she was taking a shower, she rehearsed the conversation in her head. For the rest of the day, she mustered up all her courage to go up to Jesse and ask to meet with him in private. And at the end of their Science class, she asked him the big question. "Jesse," she said, "Could we meet up after school? There's something I have to tell you."

Jesse's face lit up with excitement. "Sure," he said. From the way he said it, he seemed to think Rachel wanted to tell him she had a crush on him. Which...wasn't exactly true, but Rachel wasn't gonna let that dampen her motivation.

After school, Rachel met Jesse at the school's front gate after everyone else had left. "Okay, Rachel," said Jesse. "What is it you want to tell me?"

"Well, there's something I've been meaning to tell you ever since I came to this school," said Rachel. "I know it's gonna be a bit of a shock, but you have a right to know."

"What is it?"

"I'm Randy."

For a few seconds, Jesse just stood there, not sure what to make of what Rachel said. "What?"

"Your friend, Randy Miller. I'm him. Except I'm Rachel now."

Jesse shook his head in disbelief. "No you're not," he said. "Randy died in that fire."

"That's what the fire department thought," said Rachel, "But they were wrong."

"Well, I guess they didn't find a body," said Jesse, "But even I believed that, why are you a girl?"

"There was a witch. She turned me into a girl. I still don't know why, but-"

"No," Jesse said, shaking his head. "This is a bad joke."

"No it's not! Remember when you and I went hiking the Old Willow Trail? When you tripped and fell and broke your wrist, and I had to go back and get your mom?"

Jesse stared at Rachel. "Yeah, that did happen," he said.

"Or when we snuck onto the school roof that one time?"

That got Jesse. He and Randy had sworn on everything that was holy not to tell anyone that they'd been on the school roof, and they'd kept their promises. "You..."

"Or that old handshake we used to do in elementary school," said Rachel. She reached out her hand, gave Jesse a shake, then bumped her fist on the top and bottom of Jesse's before doing a normal fist-bump. It was a handshake Randy and Jesse had patented when they were in Fourth Grade, and though they used it less often in middle school, they'd still done it sometimes.

Jesse gaped at Rachel. "Oh my...it really is you!" he exclaimed.

"Yes!" Rachel exclaimed. She was so elated that Jesse finally knew it was her, she threw her arms around him and hugged him.

Unfortunately, her euphoria was short-lived. For Jesse quickly broke free of her grasp and glared at her. "How could you do this to me?"

"What?"

"You faked your own death, then came back as a girl? For what? Was this all just some big joke?"

"Jesse, I didn't ask to be turned into a girl! The witch who took me in-she insisted-"

"I believed you were dead!" Jesse shouted. "I gave that speech at your memorial! I cried all night when I found out you had died! And now you're telling me it was all a lie!"

"I didn't want it to be this way! Really, I didn't!"

"You stay away from me!" Jesse shouted. "Don't call me, don't talk to me-don't even sit with me at lunch!" And with that, he turned and stormed away. Rachel watched in horror as her only friend, the last connection she thought she had to her old life, left her behind.

***

Rachel didn't even remember walking back to Pretty And Pink. All she remembered was that when she got to her dorm, she flopped facefirst onto her bed and started crying. She cried so hard, it soaked her pillow. It was gone, all gone. Her family, her best friend...there was nobody else there for her now. Rachel was destined to grow up, get old, and die alone, and nobody would even know when she'd passed on.

Well, except one person.

"Rachel?" Vanessa asked.

Rachel did not respond.

"Rachel, are you okay?"

"No," Rachel admitted.

"What happened?" Vanessa asked. "Did someone bully you at school?"

"No. Well...kind of?"

"Who?"

"My best friend Jesse."

"Jesse Pindle?"

Rachel sat up and looked around to make sure they really were alone in the room. "Vanessa, can I tell you a secret?" she asked.

"Sure."

"I wasn't always female. I used to be a boy."

Vanessa's jaw dropped. "What?"

"Yeah. Before I came her, I somehow got turned into a girl," said Rachel. She deliberately left out the part where Ruth was a witch, and that she'd changed her. She didn't want to risk tarnishing her bunkmate's view of their kindly foster mom.

"Oh my..."

"I know, it's crazy," said Rachel. "Before it happened, Jesse was my best friend. But he didn't know I turned into a girl, so when I came back to school, he thought I was a new person. I wanted to tell him it was me, but I did just now, and he...he didn't take it very well."

"Rachel, I'm so sorry," said Vanessa.

"He was the last connection I had," said Rachel. "I'd already lost my family, and now I've lost my only friend-the only one who can help me adjust to this new girly life."

"Well, I can help you adjust," said Vanessa.

"I know. It's just..."

Vanessa sat down next to Rachel and put her arm around Rachel's shoulder. "I'm sorry that you lost your old life. But if everything you had is really gone, then maybe...maybe you should just move on."

"Move on?"

"Yes. You're not a boy anymore. You're a girl. And you're living at a new foster home, so this is your new life. It looks like this is what your future is, so you might as well embrace it."

"Really?"

"Yes," said Vanessa. "A wise person told me that, when I got transferred to Pretty And Pink."

"What-transferred?"

"Yes. I was in several different foster homes before this one. It was hard to move in with a bunch of new people, but Ruth advised me that if I just let go of my past, then it'll be easier to embrace my future."

Maybe Vanessa was right, Rachel realized. Maybe she really wasn't meant to have Jesse Pindle in her life anymore. Maybe, now that she was a girl, there were more connections to be had. "I guess so," she said. "I guess so."

A minute later, there was a knock at the door. "Come in!" said Vanessa.

The door opened, and Ruth walked into the room. "Hello, girls," she said. "How's it without Maddie and Hattie?"

"Much better," said Rachel.

"Except now we're the only girls here," said Vanessa.

"About that," said Ruth, "I was thinking, these dorms were all built for four to six people to share. Having only two in a room is a bit too little, wouldn't you think?"

"I guess so," said Rachel.

"So what would you think of me transferring you to another dorm?"

Rachel and Vanessa exchanged glances. "Another dorm?" Rachel asked.

"Who's in there?" Vanessa asked.

"I don't know if you know them," said Ruth, "But their names are Melody, Taylor, and Alexis."

"Oh, I know Melody!" said Vanessa. "She's really nice!"

"Would you like to be transferred to their dorm?" Ruth asked.

Rachel and Vanessa exchanged glances. "Sure!" they said in unison.

"Very well then," said Ruth. "Just pack up your things, then come with me to their room!"

"Oh, we will," said Rachel. After all, this was her new life. And she was going to make the most of it.

***

--The Present Day--

"So that's how you got to be with Melody," said Lanie. "And Taylor and Alexis, too."

"Yep," said Rachel. She hadn't recounted the story of how she'd adjusted to Pretty And Pink to anyone else, but it felt good to finally get it off her chest. "Me and Vanessa lived with them for a few years, until Vanessa got adopted and moved away. Then you got admitted to Pretty And Pink, and..."

Lanie nodded. She remembered her own experience all too well. It was her coming that had led to Ruth and the other witches exposed, and Pretty And Pink being shut down. "I can't believe Vanessa didn't suspect anything," she said. "You said you told her you were a changed boy, and we know all the other girls at Pretty And Pink were changed boys too, so..."

"Well, I didn't actually say Ruth had changed me," said Rachel. "Maybe that's why Vanessa didn't get suspicious."

"Have you heard from her at all since then?"

"A couple times."

"Did you tell her about...you know..."

"She's the one who asked me," said Rachel. "After we destroyed Genetics Engineering, and our story went public, Vanessa put two and two together about Pretty And Pink. She texted me about it, and I told her yes, I was one of the kids who'd exposed the witches from Genetics Engineering. And Pretty And Pink, and the Y. F. F. H."

"Uh, that was Olivia and Saige," said Lanie. "The whole Y. F. F. H. thing had nothing to do with us."

"You're right," Rachel admitted. "But you know what I mean."

Lanie nodded. "What about Jesse?" she asked. "Did you ever talk to him again after you spilled the beans to him?"

"No," Rachel answered. "He talked our Science teacher into giving him a different lab partner after our falling-out. I might've said hi to him once or twice after that, but nothing more than that. And we ended up going to different high schools, so..."

"Do you still miss him?"

"Sometimes, yeah," Rachel admitted. "Sometimes I regret not telling him from the start. Maybe if I did, then he would've been more accepting."

"What if Ruth or Angelina had taken him into Pretty And Pink? Maybe he would've become Jessie."

Rachel cracked a smile. "Maybe," she said. "But at least everything worked out with me and Vanessa. And Melody, and Taylor, and Alexis. And you, of course."

Lanie hugged her roommate and surrogate sister. "Yes," she said. "And I'm very grateful for that."

***

And...that's the end. This series has proven to be shorter than the last few serials I've written/posted on here, but it was still fun to write. And to those of you who've made it this far...please feel free to share your thoughts. Like I say every time, feedback is appreciated.