As the days passed, Jenny started to gather the supplies for her plot. Halloween is just around the corner and she was having all her friends do a group costume party together — and she wanted her brother to be the star and center of it all. So, she ran to the local party supply store and picked up the costumes and accessories that she and her brother needed to make it a special night that nobody would ever forget. After she got home, she grabbed a box and stuffed the costume into it, wrapping it with some festive Christmas wrapping paper to add extra layers to her teasing.

By this time, Danny had almost completely forgotten about the dare. School and friends had served as a good distraction. Heck, he didn’t really fear it much and was waiting for the trees to finally shed their leaves or the lawn to grow taller. He knew it was going to be some dumb chore that would tick him off a little, but he knew he also knew he could handle it. However, one day after he had gotten home and set his bag in his room, he spotted his sister standing in the doorway with a big, shit-eating grin on her face. “I got you something, little bro”, she said through her big, devilish smile. Danny just stood there, confused as to what she could even be planning, Jenny crooked her finger, beckoning Danny to follow her, “C’mere, follow me.” Danny crept out of his room and followed her as she led him to the bedroom next door — her room. Jenny bent down and reached under her bed, pulling out the decorative package. “Here, I got an early Christmas present for you”, she said as she held it in her arms. Danny just gave her a deeply puzzled look as Jenny moved forward and stood in front of him with the package. “Open it”, she said impatiently. Danny looked at the package and then back at her skeptically, but she just shook it, insisting he take it. He grabbed the thin box and could immediately tell it was one of those boxes you use for clothes, with the shape and thin cardboard being unmistakable to the touch under the wrapping paper. He grabbed a corner of the paper and tore it off.

tissue, he could see something bright blue. He pulled back the tissue and his puzzled expression only grew once he saw the contents in the box. He looked up at Jenny and asked confusingly, “What the heck?” Jenny excitedly threw up her arms and exclaimed, “Merry Christmas!” In the box, there is a package with a costume, and on the package’s printed insert was a teen girl wearing an Alice in Wonderland costume. In the package itself, Danny could see a bright blue costume that matched the one on the insert. Also stuffed in the bottom corner, are some white tights still fresh folded in their packaging, too.

Giving no time to process what is in front of him, Jenny reaches up and pats her brother on his head. “You remember our little bet?”, she says with a devilish tone. Danny’s attention snaps to his sister and his eyes go wide as an offended look crosses his face. “Well,” she continues, “Nikkie, Rachel, and I want to do a group costume for Halloween, but we couldn’t figure out who would play the part of Alice. I want to be the Cheshire Cat, Nikkie wants to be the Queen, and Rachael wants to be the Mad Hatter. So, I told them I’d find someone to come join us.” Jenny beamed with malevolent pride over how she had tricked her brother. Danny’s face turned bright red with anger and embarrassment. “What?!”, he screamed, “There’s no way in hell I’m wearing this!”

Jenny tossed her head back and laughed evilly. “Oh, you totally are, little bro”, she declared with malevolent glee.

“The hell I am,” Danny said, growling as his anger rose, dropping the box to the floor, and spilling its contents.

“No, you are. You know the rules in this household. We made a deal and you can’t back out of it.” Jenny had her brother trapped and she knew it.

Danny huffed and screamed, “Bull! I’m not wearing it and you’re not making me!”

“Oh? Are we going to get Mom and Dad involved in this?” Jenny said as she grinned, knowing she had her brother pinned.

“No,” Danny sputtered, “But I’m not wearing that shit!”

“So you want mom and dad, then?” she said, pushing it further.

“No, Jen, I’m not wearing that, and that’s final!” he shouted before storming off to his room and slamming his door.

Jenny just laughed as she gathered up the items her brother tossed to the floor. She then put them aside knowing full well what she had to do to get her brother in line.

As the evening went on Danny just pouted and sulked on his computer, still angry about what his sister just pulled on him. If his friends ever saw him in that ridiculous thing, he’d be the laughingstock for weeks. As he was sitting there watching his favorite streamer play roleplay Grand Theft Auto, he heard his dad call for him from the other end of the house. Immediately, a feeling hit Danny in the gut. He knew that Jenny had waited until Dad got home in order to tattle on him.

Jenny stood there with her arms crossed and a smug look on her face as she watched her brother round the corner of the hallway and into the dining room. Their father stood next to her, unhappy that he was being interrupted by their antics. As soon as Danny stopped in the dining room, his father spoke up: “So, I heard you’re trying to back out of a bet with your sister. Is this correct?” Danny stood there with an angered, sheepish look. He meekly replied with a “yes”, dreading what his father was about to say. With a deep sigh, his dad replied, “Well, you know the rules around here, kiddo. You make a bet, you have to fulfill it.” Danny turned his head to the side momentarily, trying to contain his emotions. He stood there for a moment talking back and saying, “Yeah, I know. But Jen wants me to do something really stupid and embarrassing.” His dad just gives him a dismissive, uncaring wave. “So?”, he says, “It’s not like you two haven’t challenged each other to do stupid things in the past.” Danny stood there for a moment, trying to figure out a way to plead his case without embarrassing himself by spilling the beans before replying, “This is different, Dad.” Their dad gives a deep sigh again, still annoyed that this is what he has to come home to. He asks, “Ok? And how is this different?” Danny is again stuck and unable to fully answer. Even the thought of admitting what Jenny wants him to do is too embarrassing, especially in front of his father. He finally blurts out, “She wants me to wear something stupid and embarrassing.” Their dad lets out a light chuckle and shrugs, “That’s it?” Danny stood there flustered and angry, wishing his dad would figure it out on his own and be on his side, but he wasn’t. Instead, his dad continues with, “What does she want you to wear that’s so embarrassing, hmm?” Danny just stood there, locked in headlights. “Well?”, his dad pressed further.

Jenny, seeing how embarrassed her brother was, jumped in, declaring, “I want him to be Alice for Halloween, Dad.” Their dad snapped his attention to her, giving her a quizzical look. Jenny continued further, stating, “You know, Alice in Wonderland.” Their dad immediately hung his head down and cradled his forehead with his hands, rubbing his forehead gently. He let out another big sigh, exclaiming, “Really, Jen? Are you kidding me?” Jenny shot a look at her brother who was now completely flushed red with embarrassment. “No”, she said, “My friends and I are doing a group costume and we want Danny to be Alice.” Their dad continued to rub his head, mulling things over and hating that he had been put in the middle of this right after a long day of work.

After what seemed like hours to Danny, he finally found his motivation to speak up, stating, “Jenny cheated, Dad.” Jenny immediately laughed at the accusation, “No I didn’t.” Their dad looked from his palms, now a little more curious about what was going on. “Cheated? How’d she cheat?” Danny stammered, trying to find the words to explain it before piping up again saying, “She lied to me and didn’t tell me that she knew how to play Smash.” Their dad looked over at Jenny, giving her a condescending look. “Yeah,” Jenny replied, “I did trick you, but I didn’t cheat.” Danny scoffed and exclaimed, “Same difference.” Jenny laughed at him, responding again with, “You got hustled, bro. That’s not cheating.” Their dad raised an eyebrow toward Jenny, a little surprised and impressed that she was able to pull the wool over Danny’s eyes like that, especially with a video game. He sighed and raised his hand to stop all the yammering, saying, “All right you two, I need to think it over, OK? I had a long day, I’m tired, and I don’t want to deal with any shenanigans tonight. I’ll talk it over with your mother and come to a verdict later.” Jenny nodded and beamed, giving him an “OK”, knowing she still had Dad still partly in her court. She walked by Danny and gave him another one of her signature devilish smirks and Danny just stood there, glaring at her in return.

* * *

A couple of days later, the weekend came around again. Danny sat in his room, playing his Switch again, but avoiding Smash for obvious reasons. He hasn’t touched the game ever since his sister gave him his “Christmas present”. As he was crossing the line for his second lap, he heard a hard knock on his bedroom door. Danny answered with a usual, “Yeah?”, and the door flung open without a care for his privacy — his dad striding in. His dad raised a finger to his eyebrow and gave it a light scratch, and with a heavy sigh, he said, “We need to talk.” Danny looked up at his dad, knowing exactly what they were going to talk about. He grumbled under his breath and just stopped his kart in the middle of the track because he was playing multiplayer and couldn’t stop. Thankfully, it’s not that big of a deal as it’s just random players and he’s not doing well, but still annoying. Danny stood up from the floor and faced his dad, the jazzy, cheery racing music of Mount Warrior playing on. His dad gestured to the TV and asked, “Can you turn that off?” Danny reached for his TV remote on his bed and muted it, tossing the remote back to where it was.

“All right”, his dad stated, “I’ve talked things over with your mother and gotten your sister’s side of the story. Now, it’s your turn to defend yourself. So, what do you have to say?”

“She cheated, Dad”, Danny replied, with a stressed tone, “She lied to me and didn’t tell me that she knew how to play Smash. She also didn’t tell me her boyfriend was some big-shot player who taught her, either.”

“OK”, his dad nodding to show he understands his position, “I understand that you think she cheated, but I don’t think she did. Like Jen said, she hustled you, and there are no rules against that. Unless she manipulated the software to give her an advantage, or something similar, she won based on her skill, with that skill also including her skill to deceive you.”

Danny’s heart sank when he heard this. He had hoped his dad would be on his side with this, but apparently not. He did, however, still have another club in the bag that he had been mulling over the last few days.

“Well, what she wants is unreasonable, Dad.”, Danny exclaimed.

“Unreasonable how?”, his dad asked, “It’s just some clothes.”

“Dad,” Danny stressed, “If people see me wearing that, it’s going to ruin me. I’ll be the laughingstock of the whole town.”

“And?” His dad replied, shrugging.

“And that will cause everyone to laugh at me.” Danny paused a moment, and an idea quickly formed in his head to play toward his dad’s love for his job and reputation popped into his head, “And people will be laughing at you, too, because your boy is wearing a dress.”

His dad sighed and gave him a shrug, “So you’ll possibly be laughed at. Maybe. But I doubt it will happen because it’s Halloween. Everyone is going to be out having fun and making fools of themselves.”

Backed into a corner, Danny stammered out again, exclaiming, “And what if I get beaten up? Everyone is going to kill me if they see me wearing that.”

His dad grumbled and sighed, “You’re not going to get beaten up. That’s just a slippery slope playing out in your head, you’ll be fine.”

“I will”, persisted Danny. “You don’t know what it’s like for us boys anymore. It’s dangerous to do stuff like that.”

“I’m telling you, it’s Halloween,” his dad explains, “Boys run around crossdressing all the time and it’s never a big deal.”

Danny scoffed, “That’s not true.”

“I’m telling you, it’s Halloween,” his dad explains, “Boys run around crossdressing all the time and it’s never a big deal.”

Danny scoffed, “That’s not true.”

“It absolutely is”, his dad stated. “And this argument is not going to work. Your mom and I already discussed this at length and we came to the same conclusion. You’ll live.” He watched Danny’s expression turn to sullen anger as he further explained. “And if something does happen, then you can tell us and we’ll take care of it.” Danny just stood there, further angered by his father’s logic. “Also,” his dad continued, “You’ll be with your sister and her friends, so you’ll be even safer.”

Danny stood there, fuming. Then suddenly, something popped into his head, “That’s two things, Dad”, Danny proclaimed with a bit of glimmer.

“What do you mean?” His dad looked at him, pausing before asking.

“She wants me to wear the costume and go out for Halloween”, Danny could feel a little hope at the end of the tunnel as he continued, saying, “When we made the bet, we agreed on doing one thing, not two or more things.”

“I think it counts as one whole request, Danny”, his dad stated. “She wants you for the whole day. Yes, it’s technically multiple requests, but they’re all for that one specific goal she has in mind. And Halloween isn’t Halloween without a costume and going out with people to party, trick-or-treat, and everything else.”, he states. His dad was actually impressed with this argument. Danny tried to find a loophole, and it was a pretty slick attempt to try and use it despite its flaws. Danny just stood there, angered. He no longer had any ammo left and it seemed like his dad was working against him. He always felt like Jenny was the favorite in the family, and this proved it further.

“Do you have anything else to add?” His dad asked. Danny huffed and grumbled out a “no” in response. “All right,” his dad continued, “it’s decided then. Your sister has control over you this Halloween. Whatever she wants, goes, and I don’t want to hear complaints.” His dad paused for a moment before continuing. “And I think this’ll build some character in you and teach you a good lesson.” Danny could feel his anger rising as his dad delivered his verdict.

“Also, your mom and I talked about if you try to back out of this. You know the donation closet at her church?” his dad asked. Danny looks up at his dad, cocking his head to the side in annoyance and disbelief. “Well,” his dad resumes, “you’ll be cleaning that room from top to bottom and getting everything organized for the church.” Danny tensed up, his anger practically bulging out of his skin. That donation “closet” is huge and an absolute wreck. It would take over a week to get even half of that thing sorted. His dad then reached out and ruffled his hair. “Sorry, kiddo. But this’ll teach you to be careful and not to get hustled again. It’s a good lesson, I promise.” His dad then walked out of the room and it took everything Danny had to not start punching a bed, wall, or something. He couldn’t believe what was happening. He couldn’t believe that his dad, a man, couldn’t understand his plight.

Thursday came, and it was doomsday. Danny awoke, dreading what he would have to face after school. He wants to cry, scream, shout, and rage, but he can’t. And if he could, it wouldn’t change anything anyway. He laid in bed, the alarm on his phone going off repeatedly as he kept swiping snooze. Eventually, his mom knocked on his door commanding him to get up. Danny dragged his butt out of bed and hauled it into the bathroom. After using the toilet and brushing his teeth, he headed back to his bedroom to change. However, he was interrupted by a knock at his bedroom door.

“Yeah?” Danny asked. “It’s me, open up.” Danny just glared at the door as his sister stood behind it, wanting to come in. “C’mon, open up”, her voice rang behind the door. Danny just stood frozen in the middle of his room, fist clenched. “C’mon, bro”, his sister whined, “We’re gonna be late. Mom will get mad if we don’t hurry up.” After some moments of Danny wishing he had laser vision so he could zap his sister out of existence, his sister grabbed the handle and flung the door open. What greeted Danny was a big shock of surprise. His sister was dressed in her costume, the Cheshire Cat. But then Danny looked to what was in her hand and his anger rose.

“What are you doing?” he demanded, “Get out of my room!”

Jenny just strutted in, making herself at home. “No, we need to get you ready and we don’t have a lot of time.”

“What?!”, he screamed, his anger now peaked to the extremes.  “What do you mean get ready?!”

Jenny rolled her eyes, “I told you, we’re going as a group costume today, and you need to get ready.” 

Danny, at the point of nearly screaming, yelled out, “I’m not going to school wearing that thing!”

“Yes you are,” Jenny demands, “and we’re going to get dressed right now.”

“No! Get the hell out of my room!” Danny shrieked, his anger taking over.

Jenny didn’t care he was mad, she just turned around and gave him sass. “Fine,” she said, “You’ll be cleaning the donation closet, then.”

Danny couldn’t take it anymore and he stormed out of his room, barreling his way to the kitchen where his parents stood, getting ready for the morning. His dad was pouring his usual morning travel mug of coffee when Danny appeared behind him. “Dad!” Danny announced in alarm, “Jen wants me to wear that costume to school!” His dad sighed and turned to Danny. He didn’t want to deal with any trouble this morning. He’s never been a morning person, especially when there is drama in the household. “So? What seems to be the problem?” his dad asked. “What do you mean?” Danny shrieked, “That wasn’t part of the deal!” His dad put his hands up, shrugging and declaring, “It’s a group costume, sport. Everyone is already dressed up except you, so get in there and get dressed before you miss the bus.”

Danny watched his dad return to his coffee and his anger rose. He stormed off again and into his room where his sister was waiting.

“So, are we doing this?” his sister prodded, a bit of a devilish tone escaping her lips.

“I hate you Jen, I fucking hate you!” he screamed.

Jenny just let out a hearty chuckle in response. “I know you do. But are you doing this, or are you chickening out?”

Finally, after reaching the breaking point, Danny exploded in anger and kicked his laundry hamper over, spilling out the few clothes inside. His sister just rolled her eyes at his act of manly desperation. “Well, are you a chicken or what, Danny boy?” his sister said, mockingly. Danny found himself in more than just a rock and hard place. He absolutely did not want to go to school wearing a girl’s costume. However, he also did not want to spend the next month, maybe even longer, volunteering at the church and cleaning that hell hole. Danny let out a loud growl and his fists shook in rage. His sister was standing there, enjoying the spectacle before her, wondering why she never tried anything like this before. It was very entertaining for her to see her brother this frustrated and angry.

Danny stood there for a while, his blood boiling over as he shook his head in disbelief, cursing his sister and his parents for making him do this. “I’m waiting, bro”, his sister said, egging him on. Danny just kept staring into space, his frustration over his predicament pushing him further and further. However, he couldn’t escape it, no matter what, and he knew it. Jenny was on the edge of her seat right now, though. She was wondering if he was actually going to go through with this or not.

After what seemed like an eternity between the two, Danny finally meekly spoke up; “Fine.” Jenny moved a little closer, her heart jumping a little. “What did you say?” she asked. Danny looked up at her, his face still twisted and flushed, and he repeated himself. “Fine, I’ll do it,” he said, spitting it out. It took everything Jenny had to not start jumping with a diabolical glee. She walked over to her brother and held out the package with the tights resting on top. “OK, get dressed then,” she exclaimed with a bit of excitement leaking out of her. Danny reached out and grabbed the costume from her hands. “By the way,” his sister remarked, “I know that you wear boxers, so you’re going to need something a little more snug and better fitting for the tights so I got you these, too.” The next thing Danny knew, his sister was pulling out a pair of bright blue panties from out of the pocket of her jacket. Danny looked at them, then back at her, his eyes wide and his fury coming back. “Sorry, bro. If you wore tighty-whiteys, this wouldn’t be an issue, but your boxers won’t fit well and they’ll poke out through the bottom,” she said, dangling the panties out for him to take. Danny just glared at her before reaching out and snatching the underwear from her. “By the way,” she mentioned, “I got you some extra thick tights so that they’d be a little easier for you to put on. Just pull them up like you would a sock, a bit at a time for each leg, and you should be fine.” She then walked past Danny and out his door, shutting it behind him.

After a couple of minutes more of sulking, Danny then proceeded to get dressed. He got the panties on with no problem, pushing his anger and humiliation deep down. Next, he sat on his bed and unpackaged the tights. He did as his sister said and pulled them up like a sock, a bit at a time. The stretchy, elastic nylon fabric felt so foreign and weird to him as it clung to his legs. As he stood to pull them up all the way, he fought with the last rolled-up bits, but he managed to get it straightened out and on his waist. He looked down and saw how ridiculous he looked at this point, but he couldn’t back out now, even if he wanted to. So he grabbed the package with the costume in it, opened it up, and pulled everything out. He then unfolded the costume, saw how short the skirt was on the dress, and sighed. He also saw the stitched-on apron with bits of lace as well along with the sewn-in petticoat underneath. Then, the Peter Pan collar and puffed sleeves only made things worse. He turned the dress in his hands for a bit, trying to figure out how to put it on. He couldn’t find anything special, so he just slipped it on like a shirt. Immediately, the short armbands felt incredibly off, and worse, he felt like he was wearing nothing under himself. Danny stood there for a bit, not believing what he was wearing before he heard a knock at the door again. “You almost done in there?” his sister called out. Danny turned to the door, not wanting to face his fate.

Danny walked over and reached his bedroom door and opened it, revealing himself to his sister. His heart pounded in his ears as he watched the grin spread across his sister’s face. “Yes! You look adorable, little bro!”, his sister exclaimed with joy. Danny’s heart sank with his sister’s words. “OK,” she continued, “we need to hurry up and get you finished because the bus will be here very soon.” The next thing Danny knew, Jenny grabbed his arm and started hauling him to the bathroom, his stockinged feet pattering on the floor on the way there. As they reached the other end of the hall and into the bathroom, Danny saw what awaited him. On the counter was some of his sister’s makeup.

“Alright, we gotta be quick,” his sister said, grabbing a brush off the counter. Danny glared at her, but he knew he had no choice. First, came the eye shadow. She had him close his eyes as she patted on the powder, layering the colors on and blending them out real quick. Next, came the mascara. Danny’s eyes fluttered with each stroke of the wand as it tickled his lids. Then, his sister popped open a tube of lipstick. Danny looked at her with a disgusted look and pulled back. Jenny rolled her eyes and held up the tube, stating, “Don’t worry, it’s brand new. I bought it just for you.” Danny sighed and relaxed and she started smearing the greasy paint onto his lips. She then had him press his lips, the slick feel giving him an odd sensation. Finally, she pulled out a large brush and a container of blush. She wiped the blush onto his cheeks. There, all done, she said. She then flipped the mirror on the blush toward him and he got a look at himself.

“It was so over,” he thought to himself. He knew that he wasn’t going to last til the end of the day. Some kid was going to pick a fight with him and he knew it. “Alright, we got one more thing left and then you’re all set and we can leave. Jenny closed up the compact and then rapidly put away all of the makeup. She then grabbed Danny’s arm again and led him directly across the hall to her room where she walked over to her closet and opened it up. “I got one last big present for you,” she said, “This one cost me a bit of money, but it’ll be worth it.” The next thing he knew, his sister pulled out a shoe box. She lifted the lid and a pair of shiny shoes greeted him. She pulled out the shoes and held them up. They were shiny patent black flats with a bow on each of the toes. “Here you go, put these on,” his sister said as she dropped the shoes to the floor. Danny looked at them and his heart dropped to the floor even more. He stared at the shoes, getting lost in his ruminating thoughts before Jenny gave his leg a slap. “Hey, hurry up, we need to go,” she persisted. Danny sighed heavily and slipped the shoes on as his sister stood up. “Alright,” said Jenny, “let’s go. Get your bag, and we’ll get out of here.” Jenny walked over and grabbed her book bag while Danny went into his room and grabbed his, hustling without a thought to anything else as he was distracted.

When they got to the doorway, their mom came out to see them off. “Aww!” she gushed, “Don’t you two look absolutely adorable!” Danny’s face flushed bright red, hidden by the blush. “Thanks, Mom”, Jenny replied. “Can I get some quick pictures before you go?” his mom asked, still gushing. Danny’s eyes went wide as he looked at his sister. There’s no way he wants pictures of this day. “Sure, Mom, just gotta make it quick since the bus is almost here”, said Jenny. “Alright, come into the kitchen, you two,” as their mom made her way through the living room. Jenny dropped her bag at the door and motioned for her brother to follow her. Danny sighed and obliged, knowing he had no choice.

All three shuffled their way into the kitchen and their mom started with Jenny. She, of course, ate up the camera. She did cutesy poses, sexy poses, and goofy poses for their mom as she snapped away. However, it was now Danny’s turn. His sister practically walked over and shoved him into the spotlight in the middle of the kitchen. There, Danny stood sheepishly, his hands folded in front of him and his knees pointed in as he stood there with an embarrassed look on his face. He didn’t realize it, but he had a very feminine look to himself and his mom had just caught it on camera.

His mom knew that Danny wouldn’t want to play around much, so she only got a few shots. However, Jenny jumped in and they took photos together, each with Danny looking miserable while his sister was victoriously beaming over her Halloween prize. After their mom snapped some more with her phone, she piped up, declaring, “OK you two, it’s quarter after. You’ll be running for the bus if you stay any longer.” Jenny nodded, snatched her brother by the arm again, and hauled him to the door. They both grabbed their bags by the door and headed out into the open.

The moment they stepped out into the cool morning air, Danny felt incredibly exposed. He felt like he was wearing nothing underneath and the stretchy fabric of the tights felt even more strange as the cold air seeped through every little pinhole. Moreover, the shoes he was wearing were also a completely new experience for him. Missing the whole top part of the shoe except for a strap made it feel very strange. Even worse, he just realized he had nothing on to keep himself warm. Somehow, the tights are making the cold air much worse than it is, and the short, puffed sleeves of the dress keep his arms fully exposed. Also, every single tiny breeze found its way under the skirt, chilling him more.

As they started getting closer to the bus stop, Danny could hear the voices of all the other kids waiting for the bus. His heart started to pound and he began to sweat. As they got closer, he could make out the outlines of everybody through the small hint of dawn light and the streetlights. In his mind, intrusive thoughts about people making fun of him or beating him up repeatedly played in his head, sending him into a tornado of panic that almost made him freeze in place, or run away. As they reached the cross-section in the road for the bus stop, a flash of bright lights caught the corner of his eye and startled him. He looked over and noticed it was just the bus at the stop before his. As he and his sister made it to the stop, Danny started to shrivel up. He felt like a billion eyes were on him. One of the boys laughed and he flinched, but he quickly realized it wasn’t at him. That is, until another kid, Austin, spotted him. Austin looked Danny up and down, eyeing him up, before snorting and shaking his head and returning to watching the bus come down the road.

The bus drove up and a gust of wind followed. It sent a cold chill across Danny’s exposed skin that was already covered in goosebumps. As the bus came to a halt and opened the door, more dread filled him. He knew that once he got on that bus, there was no return, not unless he were to walk all the way home. Begrudgingly, he filed in line and started to walk on the bus. As his sister got on, Ms. Fowler, the driver, gushed over her costume, prompting a cute little curtsy out of Jenny. However, with Danny in tow, Ms. Fowler just gasped and in a quiet, but still fairly audible tone blurted, “Oh! Isn’t that just precious!” Danny could feel his face flush up all over again as he kept walking up the bus’s steps. As he got to the top of the steps, eyes started to turn his way. More and more of the other students started looking at him and he felt completely exposed as he slowly crept up the aisle way.

Danny realized he had a serious problem. He had nowhere to sit. He didn’t really know anyone on the bus, and all the seats had at least one person in them. As his anxiety started to climb, his sister sat down in front of him and she immediately pointed to the empty spot across the aisle. “Here, sit, I need to tell you what’s up”, Jenny said as she dropped her bag between her legs. So, Danny slinked into the seat across from her. It was then that he realized he was sitting next to Trevor. He didn’t know Trevor much, but they talked on the bus sometimes. Looking at Trevor, Danny could tell he was judging him and trying to process what he was seeing.

The other students started shuffling by and soon enough everyone was seated. Ms. Fowler shut the doors and the bus started taking off as Danny put his pack on his lap. One thing that was nice about Ms. Fowler was that she blasted the heat in the mornings and it was feeling nice against Danny’s exposed skin, making things a little less insufferable as the chill faded and his goosebumps disappeared. Jenny then leaned toward Danny saying, “Alright, I need to you follow me once we get off the bus. I still have one more thing for you that I wasn’t able to buy.” Danny’s heart sank a little more, hating there were going to be more additions to his already ridiculous look. “I had to get Rachel to buy it for me last minute because I forgot”, Jenny continued. Danny sighed, annoyed that his torture wouldn’t be over.

As Danny sat there, fiddling with his bag and wishing this was all over, Trevor piped up, “So, what’s with the getup.” Danny could feel his face flush again, causing him to freeze for a few moments before answering, “I don’t want to talk about it.” Trevor gave a small chuckle and replied, “Lost a bet, eh?” Danny just nodded. “Sucks to be you,” Trevor responded before laughing again and turning to the window. Danny sighed a bit, thankful that the interaction didn’t go any worse.

The bus drove on, hitting stop after stop, filling the bus with more and more kids. It wasn’t until the fourth stop and overhearing Ms. Fowler, that Danny realized something — nobody was wearing costumes. On the whole bus, it was just him, his sister, and now this one other person who just walked on dressed as the devil. This only drove Danny’s anxiety further and made him realize that if hardly anyone was wearing costumes at school, he was definitely going to stick out like a sore thumb. This, of course, only fueled his anxiety even more as the bus got closer and closer to the school, each stop just another checkpoint with the final stop now happening.

As they rounded the school, Jenny tapped Danny on the shoulder, “Hey, don’t forget to follow me”, she said, trying to remind him about what she said after getting on the bus. The bus pulled around and parked in the usual spot in front of the courtyard. Danny just looked out the window past Trevor and he could feel his heart pound. He was not looking forward to getting off the bus and facing everyone. He could only imagine what was going to happen once he was off the bus and out in the open, exposed to every prying eye waiting to mock him, or worse. However, Trevor snapped him out of his doomsday fantasy as he got up. That prompted Danny to collect his bag off his lap and stand up as well, ready to shuffle off with everyone else.

(Disclaimer: This chapter contains offensive and objectionable words. The intent of the use of these words is not to glorify or endorse these words. Rather, it serves to highlight the negative impact and implications of their use on men who do not fit strict gender rules and sheds light on the attitude of those who enforce strict gender rules. The character employing these terms does not embody positive values and their choice of language reflects harmful attitudes. My aim is to foster understanding and awareness about the consequences of such language, not to promote it.)

Like usual, the morning zombies shambled off the bus with Ms. Fowler repeating her usual “Have a good morning” to everyone as they passed. Danny reached the stairs and started to make his way down. However, his foot gave out in the unfamiliar shoes and he suddenly went tumbling down. His bottom hit all three steps on his way down, resting on the final step as he death-gripped the handrail. Behind him, a chorus of laughter sounded and he could hear Ms. Fowler shout, “Oh sweetie, are you OK?” Danny righted himself, put his feet on the concrete, and stood himself up. Ms. Fowler again repeated through the laughter if he was OK and Danny just nodded, his embarrassment spiking even further. If people weren’t paying attention to him, they sure were now. In fact, as he turned around, eyes were focused on him all around the bus.

“Smooth move, bro”, his sister shouted from the curb. Danny just hung his head and walked to her, feeling all the eyes that were now watching his every move. He could hear every chuckle and every whisper as everyone talked. Out of the corner of his eye, he could see two guys standing on the curb, with one pointing toward him. Nobody else, of course, wearing costumes. Danny approached Jenny and she lightly grabbed him by the arm. “Are you OK? Did you rip your tights?”, she asked. Danny just stood there and gave her an embarrassed and confused look. “Well,” she pressed, “did you rip the tights?” Danny reached behind his legs and brushed the back of his skirt, then shook his head. “Everything good?”, she prodded. Danny gave a weak nod in response, his eyes and ears still scanning the crowd that was now breaking up as everyone shuffled to their morning routines. “All right,” she said, “We need to go find Nik and Rachael.” Jenny started to walk off and Danny followed in tow, scanning each and every person in the crowd, looking for who was trying to humiliate him further, and who would be the first to pounce.

Walking through the main courtyard, a familiar problem started to arise. It was still a chilly October morning and the sun was barely up. Worse yet, the school had a thin low fog that only made it colder. Goosebumps started to form on his skin as they walked on, distracting him from his hypervigilance. They passed the courtyard, rounded the library, and made their way to the cafeteria. There, Jenny guided them to the door and she opened it for Danny. The two shuffled inside and Jenny started to scan for her friends. However, it didn’t take long to hear a familiar squeal from across the room. Two girls leapt up from the tables and started hauling their way toward them as Jenny and Danny continued further in.

“Oh my God, he looks so freakin’ adorable, Jen!” squealed Nikkie.

“I can’t believe you weren’t lying to us, Jen. You really got your brother to go along!” said Rachel, giggling hard.

“Yeah, I told you so. I told you I’d find us an Alice. I wouldn’t ditch on you two.” Jenny replied.

Danny just stood there, his face flushed while in front of his sister’s friends. He looked over Rachel and Nikkie, both of them in their respective costumes. Nikkie in a short Queen of Hearts costume while Rachel went for a crossplay version of the Mad Hatter. This now makes the whole group costume complete.

“God, I can’t believe how much of a cutie Danny is, Jen!” Nikkie gushed even more.

Rachel kept laughing. “Yeah, with a bit more work, he’d pass as a real girl.”

“You think?” Jen replied. She reached over and pulled Danny’s face her direction, with Danny shooting her a dirty look. “I dunno, he’s still pretty boyish.”

“No, he could totally pass! He’s adorable! I love it!” Nikkie poured again.

All the girls just giggled and laughed at Danny's misfortune as he stood there. He could feel the heat filling his body from embarrassment.

“So,” Jenny interrupted, “Do you have the final piece?”

“Oh!”, Rachel exclaimed, “Yeah! It’s over in my bag.”

Rachel took off and the rest of the girls followed with Danny in tow. They reached the table and Rachel grabbed her backpack and started going through it. She then pulled out a plastic package with a bright yellow object in it. “Awesome,” Jenny rejoiced as she took it. When Danny got a better look, he realized it was a bright blonde wig and his mind reeled once more. Rachel then whipped something else out of the bag and held it out, a black headband with a big bow. “I also got this as well,” she said. Jenny snatched that up as well and shouted in delight, “Thank you! This’ll be perfect!” Jenny then ripped into the bag and pulled out the wig. She set the headband on the table and then started combing her free hand through the strands, getting it all straightened out and presentable. “So, how much do I owe you?”, Jenny asked. “Thirty-five”, Rachel said, padding the bill a little with a lie. “All right”, Jenny said, “I’ll pay you this weekend.” Jenny then gave the wig a quick once-over and then moved toward Danny.

Before it was even on him, Nikkie was already squealing in delight. Danny just stood there, accepting his torment as his sister put the wig on him and fastened it to his head. All the girls were now overflowing with joy at Danny’s adorableness, having completed the costume. Jenny then reached for the headband and put the final crowning touch on Danny’s head.

“Oh my God, he’s freakin’ cute!” spouted Nikkie.

“Ok, now I totally see it,” stated Jenny, “He totally could pass for a girl.”

The girls just laughed and giggled at Danny and he faded off into a thousand-mile stare, wishing all of this would be over. Never had he ever been this embarrassed and put on the spot before. It is quickly becoming the worst day of his life. That is until he heard the worst words ever to come out of someone’s mouth, specifically Nikkie’s. “Oh my God, we should take pictures!”, she shouted gleefully. A collective “yeah” came from both Jenny and Rachael. Nikkie looked around the room and then ran to some guy at the table, holding out her phone. “Mike, come take our pictures!” she screeched, shoving the phone into the guy’s hand.

Mike walked over and the girls all huddled up behind Danny, making him the center star. Mike got the camera app ready and held it up to the girls, but then noticed something a little strange and paused, giving Danny a curious look. “Okay...” Mike said quietly, with a concerned tone before returning to the phone. He gave a short countdown and started snapping the pics. All the girls started doing different poses but Danny just stood there, face flushed and feeling exposed all over again. When they finished, Mike handed the phone back to Nikkie and, as he did, the first period bell rang. “Thanks, Mike”, chimed Nikkie before turning to the other girls, “I’ll send the pics to you all while I’m in class, OK?” The two girls headed back to their table and grabbed their bags. As they did, Jenny turned to Danny and said, “Well little bro, you’re on your own until school ends. Have fun!” With that, Jenny turned and started to head off to her class, leaving Danny all alone to fend for himself.

Danny stayed frozen for a while, wishing that he could just run away from all of this, wishing that he could just wipe it away from everyone’s memories forever. But, as the cafeteria emptied, he felt the obligation to go to class. Especially as he realized that if he skipped, his parents would be notified and there’d be no doubt that he’d have to clean the donation closet.

Danny made it through the halls and to his class, entering his double-period class that all the Freshman students had, which was two subjects with the same teacher. As he did, his close friend Thom dropped his jaw. Danny passed all the other tables and sat across from him. But as he sat down, a sudden cold feeling came across his bottom as the skirt lifted and he touched the bottom of the seat through just his tights and daintier undies. Danny quickly rose and adjusted the skirt before burying himself in his hands in further embarrassment. “Dude, what the hell?”, Thom quietly exclaimed, “Why the hell are you wearing that?” All around Danny, kids were filtering into his class, most he had known since middle school when his family moved into town. He tried to listen in for anyone making fun of him, but everyone was going about their usual conversations. “Seriously, bro, what the hell are you wearing”, Thom persisted. Danny just put a hand up, trying to get him to stop, and he thankfully got the clue and did.

Shortly, the bell rang and everyone settled in. “All right class, pull out your books. We’re going to continue The Great Gatsby today”, said Mrs. Edwin. Bookbags shuffled around the class, including Danny, pulled out their materials. “Turn to page fifty-one and we’ll pick up where we left off yesterday.” Danny flipped to the page and sunk in. As the class read out loud, he could barely keep focused. He felt so strange and awkward and, due to the silence of the class, this was the first time he actually had time to really focus on what he was wearing. There wasn’t a single thing he was wearing that felt familiar, it all felt so incredibly foreign, especially the tights and wig that stuck out like a sore thumb to him.

“Danny.” A voice broke through the noise and crept into his head. “Danny, can you please read to the class?” Danny’s attention snapped to the front of the class where his teacher was standing, obviously waiting on him. Danny started to panic as he became embarrassed once again. “Danny? Are you going to read?”, asked Mrs. Edwin again. “Ye-yeah”, Danny stammered out, his heart pounding. Danny scanned the book, trying to figure out where the class was but he had no clue. He quickly glanced at his teacher who had an impatient look on her face. “Wh-where were we again?” Danny sheepishly asked. “Page fifty-seven. ‘There is no confusion like the confusion of a simple mind’.” said Mrs. Edwin as she read the first line of the paragraph. “Oh, yeah,” replied Danny. He then started to read but was then interrupted. “Danny, stand so that the whole class can hear you,” commanded Mrs. Edwin. Danny’s heart went right into his throat. If he stands, everyone is going to see him, but if he doesn’t, Mrs. Edwin will make a big deal anyway. Danny took a big, deep breath and slowly rose out of his seat. “There is no confusion like the confusion of a simple mind,” Danny read, his voice quivering. He kept reading until Mrs. Edwin told him to stop and he sighed a breath of relief as he slid back into the seat.

However, as Danny sat down, Mrs. Edwin piped up, stating, “Oh! So Danny is dressed as Alice in Wonderland today.” The class began to giggle, but Mrs. Edwin shushed and shot it down. “Be nice, everyone, it’s just a costume,” she said. “Now, how about a little English literature pop quiz?”, she exclaimed. “Can anyone tell me who wrote Alice in Wonderland?”, quizzed Mrs. Edwin to the class. A freezing chill ran through Danny. It was as if a huge icicle had fallen off a cave and impaled him straight through. “Anyone at all?”, Mrs. Edwin continued. Danny saw his classmate, Sarah, raise her hand. Mrs. Edwin pointed to her and she chimed, “Lewis Carroll”. Mrs. Edwin beamed with pride as she replied, “Correct!” She continued, “And who can tell me where the story was written?” Natalie, who always competes with Sarah, raised her hand and Mrs. Edwin pointed to her. “England.” Mrs. Edwin beamed again, “Also correct.” She paced a bit before smiling and asking, “And what year was it published?” She paused for a while, scanning the room. “I’ll take a rough estimate if someone wants to take a stab at it,” she said as her eyes continued to graze across everyone. “No?”, she confirmed. “It was in 1865,” she said, answering her own question. “Ok, let’s get back to it. Prisha, you’re next to read,” she said as the class got back into rhythm.

Once again, Danny just sat there and sulked, losing himself in his anxieties as the class read. Eventually, the bell rang, signaling second period. Instead of opting to walk around the halls with Thom like he usually does until he had to return for their second class, Danny decided to stay. However, as everyone was filtering out, he noticed that Thom wasn’t budging either and he was instead looking right at Danny. When their eyes met, Thom leaned over and pounced again. “Dude, seriously,” he exclaimed, “What is with the outfit? Why are you wearing that?” Danny pursed his lips in annoyance over Thom’s nagging and shook his head. He knew that there was no way that Thom was going to let it slide, and that caused Danny to let out a heavy sigh. “It was my stupid sister,” Danny replied. Thom’s face scrunched up in confusion. “What?” he asked, puzzled by what that could mean. Danny just shook his head, his frustration growing. “My stupid sister tricked me and now I’m stuck wearing this stupid thing,” he barked, his tone starting to get snappy as the day’s stress weighed on him. “How the hell did she trick you?”, he asked. Danny just sighed and shook his head saying, “I lost a stupid bet with her and I don’t want to talk about it.” Thom leaned back in his chair finally satisfied he got an answer, and replied, “Damn, that sucks.”

As Danny was sitting there, brooding in his mood, he reached down to grab his phone. However, all he did was rub against the skirt on his thigh. Danny’s eyes went wide as his mind flashed to this morning and how rushed and stressed everything was after he had gotten up. Not only had he forgotten a jacket, which has left him quite cold — even in class, he had left his cell phone lying next to his bed on his nightstand. He had also forgotten his house keys and wallet as well. Danny put a hand up to his forehead and groaned to himself. “Seriously can’t believe this is happening”, he thought to himself.

After the seven-minute break was over, the bell rang and everyone started to filter back in. Danny was sitting quietly when someone suddenly came up to him and leaned into his ear. “Nice dress, faggot.” Danny turned his head and it was Nathan. Danny then heard Thom from across the way saying, “Dude, get a new personality already.” Nathan just stood up and laughed as he walked away. Thom just shook his head and whispered, “jackass”, under his breath while Danny sunk into his desk even more, feeling even more embarrassed that Nathan is now singling him out and Thom just defended him.

The minutes ticked by and soon the bell rang again. Mrs. Edwin stood from her computer desk and then told everyone to pull out their textbooks. Danny put away his English materials and pulled out his social studies book. Mrs. Edwin then gave everyone the page number and they all started on their work. This time, it was silent reading the chapter on Aztec history and then filling out the “critical thinking” questions 2, 3, 5, and 7 at the end. Somehow, Danny fell into a routine and was able to start working without much distraction, save for when he’d move and be reminded of what he was wearing. Danny was almost finished with his work when the bell rang. As everyone was packing to leave, Mrs. Edwin reminded the class that the work needed to be turned in first thing before second period tomorrow. Danny stood from his desk, bag packed, slung it over his shoulder, and made his way out of the classroom to his next class.

Danny barely made it a few feet away from the door before he was immediately yanked to the floor by his backpack. He landed hard on his back to a chorus of laughter. Standing above him was Nathan, who then gave Danny a weak kick to his right side. “You’re such a fucking freakshow,” Nathan said as Danny scrambled to his feet and face him, fists raised. “Oh, you want to go, little beta boy? I’ll kick your pussy soyboy ass”, taunted Nathan. Nathan was always such an asshole to everyone. He always thought he was better than everyone and tried to pick a fight with every boy in school to look tougher — well, at least not the ones with muscles, that is. “I’m not in the fucking mood, Nate”, Danny stated, his anger rising. Nathan let out a sadistic chuckle, replying, “Not in the mood? You’re such a little cuck.” Danny just rolled his eyes and shook his head at the constant use of terminally online language. Nathan just started to circle Danny, the crowd around them waiting for something to happen. Nathan faked a few punches at Danny in order to get him to flinch, but they were not intimidating at all. It was then that Danny spotted Thom, who was much larger, right behind Nathan.

Thom reached through Nathan and immediately put him into a headlock. “Hey, bitch,” Thom said, “Why don’t you leave people the hell alone, huh?” Nathan wiggled under Thom’s headlock. “Get the fuck off me,” shouted Nathan, but Thom held strong as the surrounding students watched and giggled at the situation, seeing Nathan comically trying to twist his way out. “I knew you two were homo for each other,” Nathan continued, thinking his words made him a stronger person than his predicament. Thom just laughed, replying, “I already told you to get a new personality. You should work on that.” Nathan tried to throw himself and get out of the headlock but Thom still held strong, being much stronger than him. Nathan roared, “Let me go, faggot!”, but Thom just let Nathan wiggle around some more for a while before he pushed him forward a little and kicked him in the back. Nathan flew forward several feet and fell right to the ground face-first. He scrambled to his feet in a rage before starting to walk away. “Fucking faggots!”, he shouted, in one last-ditch effort to look tough, which just made Thom and the crowd laugh even more. From there, Nathan just started walking away, adjusting his shirt and trying to look as cool and tough as he possibly could.

“Dude, you all right?”, Thom asked Danny. “Yeah, I’m fine,” Danny replied. “All right,” Thom acknowledged as he held out his hand for a dap. “Let me know if that jackass fucks with you again,” Thom said as Danny gratefully embraced Thom’s hand, accepting the gesture as a big thanks for getting his back. “OK,” he replied. “And let me know if I need to kick your sister’s ass, too”, Thom suggested, with a smile across his face. This got Danny to smile back in return, the first smile he’s had all day. “Thanks,” Danny replied. “All right, I’ll see you in PE,” Thom said, “And make sure nobody fucks with you again, all right dude?” Danny smiled a little wider saying, “Yeah, see you.”