---

Editor Note: The images used for this story were purchased and used under royalty-free license* from Istockphoto.com . ~Sephrena

Author Note: Please email me at AngelJediGirl (at) gmail (dot) com before posting this story to any other site. Posting to a pay site is prohibited.

Comments and suggestions are also welcome at the above email address.

*  *  *
Foreword:
 
I've been trying to get a sequel to A Flower's Bloom finished. I started writing it in earnest in April, and I have it about halfway completed. I think I will release it in two parts.

However, some of the autobiographical pieces have become harder to write because of some things that have happened this summer. They don't affect the story at all, but it is more difficult to try to get my thoughts down. I want to apologize to everyone that has been waiting for a sequel, and I promise it's still coming.

In the meantime, I had an idea that really intrigued me for a story. Since I needed a break from AFB2, I started writing it one Friday. A week later it was already half as long as the sequel to A Flower's Bloom.

I didn't expect to be writing a serial story, but I don't yet know where or when I wanted the story to end. I have many ideas and things that I want to incorporate before then, and we'll have to see where the story takes us. If you have any suggestions or ideas for things you would like to see happen in the story, please send them to the email address above.

I also want to thank JP for all the help he's provided me.

I hope you enjoy the story.

*  *  *
Sarah Carerra
Chapter 1 - The Beginning

It all started at a party. Well, I guess it actually started years earlier, but we'll get to that later.

Anyway, there I was, at Johnny Crawford's party. It was a good party. He always had good parties, or so I had heard. Johnny's dad was a scout for a record label, and he always threw these parties for his son. He benefitted from the parties by having a karaoke machine that the kids would use, and he had found a few new talents this way.

I'd never been to one of Johnny's parties before, but my best friends Emily and Ethan had made sure to drag me along to this one. I really didn't have a desire to be there. I'd much rather be at home, playing on my computer or reading a book.

I was surprised at how many people were there. It was widely known that anyone who wanted to attend one of these parties was welcome. Johnny's dad would not let him exclude anyone. But it was also widely known that the parties were chaperoned. Johnny's dad was always there, listening for new talent. His presence usually kept the parties decent, and the undesirables almost never showed up.

I was amazed at the size of the place too. We lived in a nice section of L.A., but I think Johnny's family must have had the nicest home in the area. They had set up food and non-alcoholic drinks in one giant dining room, a large hall contained a DJ with a dance floor, and a small concert hall held the karaoke. They'd even opened both the indoor and outdoor pools.

My friends and I managed to get some food and something to drink, and decided to listen to the karaoke while we ate. Sitting down in one of the seats in the hall, we ate while we watched those willing to make fools of themselves while trying to sing along to the song. We laughed at those who weren't any good, and marveled at a couple who seemed to do very well. We were having a great time together.

"I bet you could sing as well as that girl, Brett," Emily told me after one of the better performers.

I smirked at the thought. I enjoyed singing, but I didn't think I was very good at it. "I don't know," I told her. I really didn't want to sing in front of Johnny's dad, let alone half the school.

"You can't be any worse than this guy," Ethan told me while we listened to a large guy who was way off tune. He looked to be in his late twenties, and I guessed the only reason he was at this mostly teen party was to be seen by Johnny's dad. Emily and I both laughed at his comment. The guy really wasn't doing well at all.

"I don't know, guys," I told them again.

"Come on," Emily said. "I dare you to do it."

She seemed pretty insistent for some reason, and I was overwhelmed at the pressure she seemed to be putting on me. She was giving me that puppy dog look that always got her dad to give her what she wanted. It usually worked on me too, unfortunately.

"I don't think so," I said, barely resisting her super powers. "I really don't want to make a fool of myself."

They both chuckled at my statement, but they didn't seem to buy into my reasoning.

"You're a very good singer," Emily started to say. Ethan was nodding his head in agreement. "Just give it a try; it won't be that bad."

I grimaced at their insistence. This was the last thing I wanted to do at the party. "Is this why you dragged me to the party?" I asked them. Their guilty looks were enough of an answer for me. I knew that something had to be going on. They'd never shown any interest in these parties before.

"Look," Emily took the lead in continuing their fight. "You're an excellent singer. You know you love it. We just thought you might have a chance to try it professionally. Give it a shot. If Johnny's dad is interested in you then great; otherwise you can go back to singing when we're alone."

I grimaced at her explanation. I certainly didn't think I was good enough to get a recording contract, so what made them think differently?

"I can't. I'm just not good enough for that."

The looks they were giving me told me that they thought otherwise. Other than my family, they were really the only ones that I had ever allowed to hear me sing. I just felt too self conscious to let anyone else hear me.

"Come on," Ethan said with some irritation. "You're better than you think you are. Just give it a shot."

"Yeah," Emily agreed. "In fact, if you get up there and sing, I will too."

I had to laugh at this new tactic. While Ethan was a fairly good singer, Emily was horrible, and she knew it. To be willing to stand up there and make a fool of herself, she really must have wanted me to sing.

"All right," I said, finally convinced to give it a try. "But I won't let you do that to yourself."

She laughed back at me, knowing her own limits, and started pulling me down towards the bottom of the hall. There was a DJ at the bottom who was running the Karaoke system. Emily walked up to him and whispered something into his ear.

"Are you sure?" he asked the two of us. Not knowing what she said, I could only look at Emily in askance. What was she planning now?

"Yeah, I'm sure," Emily said and then turned back towards me. "Just remember, do your best and don't worry about what everyone else thinks."

Uh oh, I was really worried now! She would only say something like that if there was the potential for embarrassment, more than my singing would cause anyway. Warily I asked, "What am I singing?"

"Don't worry", she said with a sly grin that I did not trust in the slightest. "You know the song."

With a final push from her I was climbing the stairs up to the stage. I stepped up to the microphone and waited for the music to start, worried more than ever about what song she picked for me.

Once the music started, I nearly freaked out and jumped right off the stage! I knew what Emily was doing, but I didn't want the embarrassment that this was going to cause me at school on Monday morning! I knew there were many other students from my school in the audience!

Let me just preface what happened next with an explanation. Remember when I said this all started years before? Well, it did. And because of that, my voice has not changed much as I've gotten older. At 16 years of age, I was sorry to admit that I was an alto. I would probably always be an alto. It was another reason I was hesitant to let people hear me sing. I was hoping to get up here and sing a song that wouldn't show the audience how high my pitch was, but Emily made sure to keep that possibility from happening. I would have to kill her for this.

A prelude to a Hannah Montana song started playing. While I must admit that she has some very good songs, they don't often get sung by guys! I could already hear a number of chuckles and giggles coming from those sitting in the first few rows. I felt myself turning beet red, and I tried to find Emily to glare at her, but could not see much in the slightly subdued lighting of the hall. The glare of the lights on the stage meant I'd have to suffer through this alone. I was terrified!

Moments later I realized that I had already missed my cue into the song. The words were leaping across the karaoke screen, but they weren't coming out of my mouth. With a nervous feeling in my gut, I jumped in at the first opportunity.

Emily had caught me singing along to the title song for Hannah Montana a couple of months ago when she had the Disney channel on one day. We were sitting on her couch trying to do some homework, but we were both really watching the show. I hadn't even realized that I was singing.

After the show was over she made me sing more. Her little sister had a soundtrack to the show, and Emily wouldn't let me go back to my homework until I had sung a few of the ones I knew the words to. She said I sang them really well. I thought there was no way I could compete with Miley, and she agreed, but she said that was more because my tone was different and not because she had a better voice. I didn't agree with that statement.

But she may have been right. While I continued to sing the song I noticed that the few people whom I could see off the stage were no longer laughing or pointing at me. Instead, they seemed to be sitting back and listening like my friends and I had done, when one of the better singers had taken the stage.

As embarrassed as I was to be singing a Hannah Montana song in front of people who would probably make fun of me for it later, I started to enjoy the experience. Like I said before, I did enjoy singing, and being able to share it with others was always one thing I enjoyed doing. I just wished my voice sounded manlier.

When the song ended, I found myself standing there smiling like a lunatic. That was the most fun I'd had in a long time! I didn't realize that I would enjoy singing to an audience so much!

Then I noticed the audience for the first time. They were all clapping, and now that the lights had come up a bit, I noticed that there were a few people standing at the same time!

Turning bright red again, I quickly ran off the stage and headed for my seat next to Emily and Ethan. Even though I had fun, I still wanted to make sure Emily paid for her antics.

I quickly ducked into my seat while the next person got up to sing the next song. I was happy when the lights dimmed, and it was harder to see the other people in the concert hall. I was still embarrassed at what I had done.

"That was so awesome!" Ethan told me with a large grin on his face. I'd never seen him look so excited about my singing before.

"You are an excellent singer, Brett," Emily agreed with him. "But I've never heard you sing that well before. It's like you had confidence in what you were singing. Before, you seemed to be self-conscious of your voice. Tonight you let it shine through."

Their comments had deepened the blush that was still covering my face. I turned to Emily, and tried to scowl at her, but I don't think it came out that way. "How could you do that to me?" I asked her.

"Do what? Make you sing to the best of your ability? That doesn't sound like something you should be mad about."

She was only making it worse. How could I be mad at her when she used that kind of logic? "But...the song!"

She rolled her eyes at me. "Don't give me that," she said. "You know that you've got a higher pitched voice, you should be proud of it. I wanted you to understand that."

I wanted to yell back at her that I didn't want a high voice, but before I got a chance there was someone behind us.

"Excuse me, young lady," he said. We all looked up at him.

"Yes?" Emily replied.

"Sorry," the man said with a wave of his hand. "I meant her."

He was pointing at me, which made me want to sink even further into my seat! Alright, alright, I didn't look like the average teenage guy at the age of 16 either. In fact, I looked a lot more like Emily than I did Ethan. Suffice it to say that my testosterone production was not the best, and my slight build and unnervingly feminine features often led people to mistake me for a girl. My long dark brown hair probably had something to do with it too. Maybe it was time to get it cut. I had let it grow a couple feet long, nearly to the bottom of my back. It definitely was not the kind of hair that most guys had.

I swallowed as he turned back to me. "Can I have a word with you for a moment?"

I was freaked out now, and I heard Emily answer "Of course" for me. With more trepidation than I would have liked, I stood up and followed Johnny's dad, for that's who it was, out of the concert hall and down the adjacent hallway to a plush office. Why did he want to talk to me?

"Have a seat," he told me, indicating a plush chair in front of his desk. He walked around and took his own chair while I complied.

"That was amazing," he told me, and then smiled at the shock I was sure was evident on my face. "You truly have a gifted voice. How long have you been singing?"

"I uh," I started, but found the words hard to come by. "I, well, I don't really. Not with others around."

"You should," was his only response. "You're very talented."

I was blushing again. I hadn't had this type of reaction in years. My face was going to explode if I kept rushing blood to it.

"In fact," he continued, pulling something out of his top drawer. "I'd like to offer you the chance to make a demo CD. You've got the type of voice that we're looking for."

I was completely shocked now! I wasn't good enough for a recording contract! Why would he be offering me one? And, and, he thought I was a girl! That could definitely be a problem!

"What's your name?" he asked me. I hesitated. I could have come clean now, but it might have risked my chance to sing more, and I was pleasantly surprised to learn that I wanted to sing more. I wanted a contract, even if I didn't know that I did just five minutes earlier. I'd have to play along for now. I could always tell him the truth about my true gender later, right?

"Megan," I told him. The name leaped out of my mouth without conscious thought. I had used it enough times in the past.

"Megan...?" I looked at him blankly for a minute before realizing that he wanted more.

"Oh, sorry, Megan Campbell."

"Well Megan, are you busy tomorrow afternoon?" he asked.

I shook my head slightly. I couldn't think of anything that I had planned for that time tomorrow.

"Good," he said with a comforting smile. "How about you meet me at my studio at 3 o'clock and we can record a demo CD. I can then get it over to my company and hear what they have to say."

"O...okay." I replied. This was happening so fast, I couldn't believe he was offering me this chance! I couldn't believe that I actually wanted it for that matter!

"Great!" he said while standing back up. He extended his hand, holding a business card. "Here's my card. The address for the studio is there on the front. Make sure you bring a parent, because you'll need them to sign some papers."

I took the card and looked at it briefly. In shock he led me back to the concert hall and told me to enjoy the party.

Moments later I slumped into my seat next to Emily.

"What did he want?" she asked me almost immediately. I handed the card to her.

"He wants me to come down to his studio tomorrow and record a demo CD."

"Oh my gosh Brett, that's great!" she exclaimed while wrapping me in a hug. "Now do you believe that you’re as good as we said?"

I had to admit that I must be better than I thought I was. I didn't think there was anything particularly great about my singing, but maybe I was wrong.

"Come on," she said while grabbing my arm and turning towards the door. "Let's go tell your parents."

We left the party and were soon in Ethan's car, driving towards my house.

"There's only one problem," I told them, not sure how to broach the subject.

"What?" Emily asked cautiously.

"Well," I responded, reluctant to open this topic with my friends. "He thinks I'm a girl."

*  *  *

 

---

Editor Note: The images used for this story were purchased and used under royalty-free license* from Istockphoto.com . ~Sephrena

Author Note: Please email me at AngelJediGirl (at) gmail (dot) com before posting this story to any other site. Posting to a pay site is prohibited.

Comments and suggestions are also welcome at the above email address.

*  *  *

Chapter 2 - The Beginning of the End (Of My Current Life)

"What do you mean he thinks you’re a girl?" Emily asked incredulously.

"Well, he did call me a 'young lady' in the hall, remember."

"Yeah," she said dismissing the observation. "But he surely asked for your name, right? Didn't that set him straight?"

"Well..." I started. Emily just stared at me, waiting for my answer. "Not exactly."

Emily looked aghast at my revelation, and Ethan let out a laugh from the driver's seat.

"Why?" he asked before Emily had the chance. Her stare bore down on me harder now.

"I was in shock," I told her, but it definitely didn't satisfy her. "I thought it would be better to play along."

"Megan Campbell," Emily said sternly. She'd heard the name enough to guess which one I had given him. "How could you do such a thing? This could be your one chance and you might have just blown it. He'll find out eventually."

"I know," I told her weakly. "But it seemed like the right thing to do at the time. I'll have to tell him the truth tomorrow anyway, when my parents sign papers and stuff."

She just shook her head at me.

*  *  *

Eventually Ethan pulled his car into my driveway. In excitement, despite any downer I may have brought to the news, we jumped out of the car and ran inside.

"Mom!" I said, finding her in the kitchen. "You'll never believe what happened!"

Exasperated at our energy levels, she stopped working on the cake she was making and turned toward us. "What is it, honey?"

"WellwewenttothepartyandEmilyandEthanmademesingandthen..."

"Whoa," she said while placing her arm on my shoulder. "Slow down a bit."

I nodded, and took a deep breath. "We went to the party, right?" she nodded.

"Emily and Ethan, the meanies that they are, made me sing!" I looked at them smartly, but I couldn't really be mad at them after the results it had produced.

"Go on," my mom said. Her excitement level had also risen a bit.

"Johnny's dad wants me to make a demo CD tomorrow!" I practically yelled the news.

"Oh honey," she said while stepping forward and wrapping me in a hug. "That's great news! I always told you that you had a nice voice."

She had said that, like everyone else who had heard me sing. But I hadn't believed her either. I mean, I'm an alto!

"Tell her the bad part," Emily said behind me, ruining the awesome buzz I was sharing with my mom.

"Right," I said when Mom released the hug and looked back at me, worry in her eyes. "Well, he thinks I'm a girl."

Mom rolled her eyes at that statement. It wasn't any shock to her. Half the time I felt like she thought I was a girl.

"Is that what you want?" she asked me. Frustrated, I sighed. My mom had asked me that question way too often. Moms weren't supposed to ask their sons if they wanted to be girls, right?

Sighing, I tried to put my thoughts together. "I don't know," I told her truthfully. This had been on my mind for years now, ever since the accident. Lately, the issue seemed to be coming up more and more often. I knew that growing out my hair and wearing androgynous clothes would lead me to this point repeatedly, but it was still a big decision. I had been seeing a therapist for a few years, and I was not sure if I would have done it if she didn't think it was such a good idea.

"I promised Mary that I would try it. Maybe this is a good time," I explained. Mary was my therapist. She often said that if I was truly going to make an informed decision, I needed to know how both sides lived.

"Honey," my mom said with deep concern. "I don't know if this is exactly normal. She wanted you to try living a normal life as a girl, not as a pop star."

"Maybe," I told her. "But now is as good a time as any."

Mom nodded at me and then wrapped me in another hug. "You know we'll be happy with whatever you decide, but I'd bring this up with Mary at your appointment in the morning. See what she thinks."

"Okay," I told her. "I will."

*  *  *

The following morning found me in Mary's waiting room, thinking about the turn of events that my life had taken.

My dad had also been excited to learn about my singing opportunity, until he had heard my plan. He agreed with my therapist about needing to make an informed decision in theory, but he didn't seem to be ready for it to happen in practice. I think he still felt guilty about the accident.

My brother seemed irritated about my decision. I guess that's understandable. I don't think he wanted to have a sister.

I stood up and entered Mary's office when her receptionist said she was ready to see me.

"How are you doing?" she asked when I had taken a seat on her soft sofa. She liked to sit in a harder chair for some reason.

"Good," I said noncommittally.

"Anything exciting happen since our last visit?" she asked. I saw her every other week now. I was getting to the age where I needed to make the decision, and she increased our visits hoping to help.

"Yeah," I answered. "I got offered the opportunity to make a demo CD for a record label last night."

She obviously wasn't expecting anything quite that exciting. She looked stunned for a second before continuing. "That's great! Are you going to take it?"

"Yeah, but there's a slight issue."

She raised her eyebrows but didn't say anything, waiting for me to continue.

"The guy I talked to, he kinda thinks that I'm a girl."

Mary was good, but she couldn't hide everything. I saw the corners of her mouth curl ever so slightly at this news. "What are you going to do about it?" she asked.

"I thought this might be a good time to try the other side," I told her truthfully.

She looked at me for a second. She always made sure that she knew what she was going to say before she actually did. It made her good at her job.

"I'm not so sure that's what I had in mind," she eventually said. "I was thinking about something more normal."

"I know," I replied. "But after thinking about it last night, I think Mr. Crawford may not want me to do the CD if he knew I was a boy."

"You'll have to tell him eventually," she interjected some logic.

I nodded before replying. "Yes, but if I'm willing to stay a girl he might not care so much."

She looked wary of my logic, but didn't seem to disagree. "And if he doesn't?"

"If he doesn't," I said, and then sighed. "If he doesn't, then I could lose this awesome opportunity. But who is really going to want to listen to a boy who sings with an alto voice?"

"Your gender shouldn't matter," she said.

"I know, but I think I'd be more popular as Megan, and it is something we agreed I would try."

Mary was quiet for a few minutes, and I knew she was formulating an action plan. These periods of silence had been unnerving when I first started seeing her, but now they seemed to be the calm before the storm. Usually just a small storm though, with the type of rain that you love.

"How about this," she said eventually. I was listening carefully. "You're a Hannah Montana fan, correct?"

I nodded. It was embarrassing to admit that as a 16 year old boy, but I couldn't deny it.

"What if we took a page from the show's book?" I gave her a confused look before she continued. "What if we create you a stage persona, but leave Megan to live your normal life. That way you can get, as the show says, the best of both worlds. I'll feel happy that you'll get to experience the normal side of living as a girl, but you'll still get to have a chance at a music career too."

It was an intriguing idea. This was why I liked Mary. She was always thinking about my best interests. "That sounds like a good idea, if Mr. Crawford will go for it."

"You're just making a demo CD, right?" she asked. At my nod she continued. "We can worry about the logistics if you get a contract, but I think it's a good idea."

All I could do is continue to nod.

*  *  *
 

 

---

Editor Note: The images used for this story were purchased and used under royalty-free license* from Istockphoto.com . ~Sephrena

Author Note: Please email me at AngelJediGirl (at) gmail (dot) com before posting this story to any other site. Posting to a pay site is prohibited.

Comments and suggestions are also welcome at the above email address.

*  *  *

Chapter 3 - The Real Deal

"Sarah Carerra?"

Mr. Crawford, or Scott as he told me to call him, was thinking the name over.

"I like it," he said. "But are you sure it's what you want? The logistics of this type of decision could get expensive if you get a contract."

"It is," I said, looking towards my dad for support. He had come around after talking to my mom, and he seemed to accept the decision that I had made. He had also decided he was going to be my manager. At least he had the background to do the job, since that's what he actually did for a living.

"Okay, I'll submit the demo under that name then. I can understand why you might want to keep the two separate, a pretty girl like you would be mobbed at school if you became a star. What's the other thing?"

I hesitated now. We'd told him that there were two things he needed to know before I made the demo CD. The first was about my stage persona. The second, well, that wasn't so easy to say.

"I'm not really a girl," I eventually said. I was surprised when I heard Dad exhale his held breath along with my own.

"Say what?" Scott asked. "Is this a joke?"

"I'm afraid not," my dad said before I could continue. It might be better if this part came from him.

"Brett," he paused. "Megan is not female. It's a long story, but let's just say she is in a unique position in her life, and needs to decide if she wants to be male or female."

Scott looked shocked at this revelation. I certainly understood why.

"I don't know about this then," he said while grimacing at us. "I was expecting to promote a female talent. I don't think the record company is going to be interested in a male with, well, her voice."

"I'm willing to live as a female," I told him quickly. "That's why we came up with Sarah Carerra."

He nodded at my explanation. "That's good, but it would be a lot more difficult to show up for shows as a boy and go on stage as a girl."

"I know," I told him. "Like I said, I'm willing to live as a girl. My therapist told me that she wanted me to live as a girl for a while, and I'm going to do that now. She's also the one who came up with the Sarah idea. She wants me to have a normal life too."

He sat back in his chair to digest this information. This was it, I thought, the beginning of my new career, or the end. I hoped it was the beginning.

"Tell me the story," he said, surprising both Dad and me. I hadn't told anyone my story other than Emily and Ethan. I wasn't even sure how they were going to take it when I started living as Megan full time.

Without any other choice, I decided to tell him the story.

*  *  *

It was a nice, warm sunny day. We were going to the beach!

School had just let out for the summer the week before, and the temperatures were somewhat lower than normal, making for a pleasant day. The forecast was for clear skies and the weatherman said there shouldn't be any big undertows.

I was 10, and I couldn't think of anything else I would rather be doing that day. Dad said we could even rent body boards and ride the waves.

We were traveling up the Pacific Coast Highway. My dad wanted to try a new beach that someone at work had told him about. My parents were sitting in the front seats of Dad's sedan. My eight-year-old brother Austin and I were sitting in the back, looking out the windows and enjoying the beautiful scenery. I was jealous because my brother was sitting behind the driver's seat, and he had the view of the ocean, while I got a cliff face.

It came out of the blue. No, not out of the water, out of the sky! A falling rock! I'd seen the "Falling Rock" signs before, but I'd never actually seen one. A falling one that is. Until now.

It landed right in the middle of our lane! It was so heavy that it didn't even bounce; it just embedded itself into the asphalt!

There was nothing my dad could have done, because it happened so suddenly. He slammed on the brakes and he tried to swerve, but it didn't help. We still slammed into the rock at 30 mph.

Dad had tried to swerve into the oncoming lane to avoid the rock. Luckily, there weren't any cars coming. Unluckily, it only changed where the car hit the rock, and we collided with it on the front passenger side.

I don't remember much after that, until I woke up in the hospital. My dad and my brother had minor cuts and bruises. My mom and I suffered the worst. She had a broken leg and some minor lacerations. I was the only who had a major injury.

Somehow a piece of metal from the car had pierced the area between my legs, severing both my penis and my scrotum from my body. The doctors said that I was lucky that was all that had been cut, because the wound came close to reaching the femoral artery of my right leg.

While I was unconscious, my parents were given a choice. They could attach what was left of my penis back on, or they could give me a sex change operation and raise me as a girl, or they could leave the area pretty much sexless until I made a decision later.

Option #1 sounded like the best, but only about 1/4 of my penis would be able to be saved. I'd be able to stand up to pee, but wouldn't ever be able to perform sexually when I was older, at least not well.

Option #2 had the best outcome, assuming I could live with the decision to be a girl. I could live the most normal life of the options this way.

Option #3 was a stop gap. I'd lose the extra length of penis, but they could recreate much of it later using the same methods they did for female-to-male transsexuals.

My parents chose option #1.

Their reasoning was sound. They felt that it gave me the best options. They wanted me to make the decision, not them. By choosing option #1 I could choose to live as a boy and have a piece of my real self. If I chose to be a girl, then I could still have that surgery later.

Naturally, upon waking up, I wanted to remain a boy. I didn't fully understand why they would think otherwise.

Two days after being discharged from the hospital I met Mary for the first time. She helped me to cope with what had happened. But more importantly, she started to help me understand the decision that my parents had been given, and that I was now presented with.

Over the next couple of years I tried to live as a boy. I watched as my friends and my schoolmates started to grow and begin puberty. I listened as their voices broke and took on a masculine tone. I knew that it was an option for me with hormone replacement therapy, but I realized I wasn't ready to make the decision.

Mary also encouraged me to explore my feminine side. My mom was quick to agree with her. I think Mom just really wanted a girl though. At the age of 12 I dressed up for the first time, and my mom named me Megan. She said it was the name she would have given me if I had been born a girl.

For the next few years I would live little bits of my life as a girl. One night at home, a week while we went on vacation, small amounts of time. But never where someone I knew would find out, except for Emily and Ethan, and they seemed okay with it.

At first it was embarrassing, because I didn't want to do it. I wouldn't have done it if Mary and my mom hadn't insisted that I give it a chance to see if I would be happier that way. Over time I started to feel differently about it.

The feelings scared me. I was supposed to be a boy, right?

I tried to suppress the feelings. I kept telling people that I didn't want to be a girl. But the truth was, I wasn't sure anymore. I honestly started to believe that it might be the better choice.

Mary made sure that I understood the ramifications of this decision. She said she could help me through the process no matter what decision I made, but she wanted me to make the decision sooner rather than later. She believed that the older I got, the more complicated the decision would become.

But that wasn't the only thing driving me to make a decision. Without any testicles to produce testosterone, estrogen had become the primary sex hormone in my body. Because both sexes make some of both hormones, and my major testosterone production was now removed, my body started to develop in a way that could make my decision complicated if I wanted to stay male.

Emily and Ethan didn't know it at the time, but I truly was more female than I was male, physically at least. My breasts started budding when I was 15, nearly a year ago. They weren't big, and a training bra sufficed, but they were growing slowly. It was obvious that my skeletal structure was also following a female pattern. My hips were widening and I was now developing an hourglass figure. Without the introduction of a testosterone replacement plan, I was destined to develop as a girl.

This brought me back to the decision that I now faced. But the decision had changed since I was 10. Instead of deciding if I wanted to be a girl, I now needed to decide if I wanted to be a boy. If I didn't alter nature soon, it might be too late.

*  *  *

Scott got the condensed version. He didn't need the specifics.

Scott sat there at his desk, thinking. I was hesitant to say more, and it wasn't something that I wanted to rush. He looked slightly pained. I was sure that this wasn't a standard discussion when meeting with new talent.

"Alright," he finally said. "I guess I can work with that."

I smiled a big grin, and I could feel the tension in the room noticeably lift. I looked over at Dad quickly, and he was grinning back at me with a smile I had never seen him use before.

Whenever we discussed the possibility of me becoming a girl, he always looked sad. But this was a happy smile. Maybe he really did want a daughter!

"Are you ready to make that CD?" Scott asked me. I grinned while taking his hand to seal the deal.

*  *  *
 

 

---

Editor Note: The images used for this story were purchased and used under royalty-free license* from Istockphoto.com . ~Sephrena

Author Note: Please email me at AngelJediGirl (at) gmail (dot) com before posting this story to any other site. Posting to a pay site is prohibited.

Comments and suggestions are also welcome at the above email address.

*  *  *

Chapter 4 - Meet Megan Campbell, Teenage Girl (In Training)

The rest of the afternoon was amazing! I'd never been in a sound studio before, but Scott seemed to have a way of putting me at ease. I don't know if I could have finished the CD without him there to help me get through it.

He had me sing a couple more Hannah Montana songs, claiming that we would probably be after the same target market. But he also gave me some sheet music to read through and try to learn the words for. After 15-20 minutes, he had me start singing the song, entitled 'Intuition'. I could see Scott and my dad in the control booth, and the look on their faces as I sang was one of awe.

The new song was apparently one the studio was floating around to some of their top scouts. They were looking for a young girl who could make the song skyrocket up the hit charts. According to Scott, I was exactly what they were looking for. He was acting like a kid on Christmas morning as he burned a copy of the CD, and placed it into his briefcase, muttering something about how long he would have to wait to play it for the record company because of the weekend.

Dad and I left shortly after signing some paperwork. He felt certain that we were going to hear from the record company quickly.

Mom hugged and kissed me when I got home, clearly happy that Scott hadn't backed out of giving me the opportunity to sing. I think she was afraid that if he did, I wouldn't try living as Megan. Truth was I probably would have started living as Megan either way.

In celebration, she decided we needed to go shopping. Apparently I needed all kinds of new clothes if I was going to make this change a reality.

*  *  *

I had a couple of outfits for Megan in my closet from previous outings, and mom made me change into a pair of jeans and a pink top after forcing me to take a shower and shave my legs and underarms. She then tied my hair back into a ponytail with a lacy ribbon. A dab of makeup and I looked like any other 16-year-old girl!

Instead of cringing at how quickly I could be turned into a girl, like I usually did, I liked the idea this time! If I was embracing this new life, then I was glad this part would be easy. I even thought I was fairly attractive.

The boys seemed to agree. They would stare at my mom and me while we shopped, but I was pretty sure they weren't looking at Mom...much. It was a strange feeling, but one I no longer seemed to find disgusting, like I had on my previous outings as Megan.

Shopping is definitely a different experience when you're a girl. Mom insisted that we start at the beauty parlor. They didn't have any openings available, but I did get an appointment for Monday evening.

They did pierce my ears for free though, something I wasn't expecting to do. Mary had suggested earlier that morning that I should try to live full time while not at school. In three weeks when the school year ended I could then live full time, and we would register me as Megan when school started up again. Having pierced ears was going to make these last three weeks difficult. At least the studs weren't too flashy, but they were quite feminine.

Next my mom dragged me into a department store and over to the junior’s section. She then proceeded to get me fitted for a bra.

"She doesn't have much," my mom was telling the sales lady. "We were wondering if you had anything that could maybe...emphasize a bit."

The lady chuckled, which didn't make me feel any better about my small chest. Why couldn't it grow faster?

Wow! Where did that thought come from? It was the first time that I was unhappy about the small growth. Before, I was wishing that it wasn't growing at all!

I was ushered into one of the dressing rooms, where the lady asked me to take off my top. A little embarrassed, I complied. Nobody other than my mom had seen them before. She then took a measuring tape and took a few measurements. AA, possibly an A was her pronouncement.

"Wait here, I'll see what we can do," she said before leaving me alone in the dressing room.

I turned back to the mirror, and took a good look at myself. Wearing a pair of girl’s jeans, and with my upper torso nude, I looked like a girl! There was no way to deny it. The small waist, the girly nipples, and the budding breasts were enough to convince anyone who would have seen me!

I was mesmerized with myself until she returned; handing me a bra that she claimed "has some padding."

It did. Putting it on really made a big difference, even Mom was excited when I showed her. She gave me a huge hug and said her little girl was growing up too fast.

We proceeded to purchase a number of these bras, and some panties to go with them. My mom then started in on the rest. Pantyhose, jeans, pants, skirts, tops, even a couple of dresses were soon being rung up and placed in bags as we moved along the mall.

I think my mom got carried away with the bikini though. I knew from wearing panties that I could pass convincingly in the crotch area with a tuck, and would be able to do so in the bikini, but I certainly wasn't ready to wear it. Mom just said I would need something to wear this summer.

We then proceeded to the food court, where we ordered a couple of salads and found a seat.

"Megan?" I heard someone ask while we were eating. I turned to look, and Emily was standing there, looking at me while trying to decide if what she was seeing was real.

"Hi, Em," I started, not quite sure how to explain my presence.

"It IS you!" she said, sitting down at one of the empty seats at our table. "What are you doing here?"

"Um," I said, still struggling with how to respond. "Shopping?"

"Obviously," she retorted, looking at the bags on the floor. "But what are YOU doing here?"

My mom was staying out of this conversation, unfortunately. I saw the amusement in her eyes when I glanced at her briefly before turning back to Emily.

"The demo CD went really well," I explained. "I'm going to be living as a girl for a while."

The shock on Emily's face was apparent. I'd talked to her and to Ethan about the possibility of living as Megan, but it always seemed like something in the future.

"All the time?" she asked. She seemed happier with the prospect than I thought she would.

"Except for school, at least until the end of the year."

"That's so great!" she said, wrapping me in a hug. "I'm so excited! We're going to be even better friends!"

"So you're okay with it?" I asked her, still not completely sure.

"You bet! I've been waiting for this moment for years!"

I shook my head, not really believing what she was saying.

"Oh my gosh!" she nearly screamed. "You got your ears pierced!"

She went on and on about my upcoming life changes while my mom and I continued eating. I think she was more excited than I was at that point.

"We still need to get shoes," my mom interrupted when we had finished eating.

"I'm coming with you guys," Emily told us. I think Mom was slightly peeved at her, interrupting our first true mother/daughter outing, but she seemed to realize that Emily was my best friend, and I was going to need all the support that I could get in the months ahead.

We ended up buying way more shoes than I thought I needed. I struggled slightly when trying on heels, but I'd worn them before and got better as we continued shopping.

"Do you need a ride home?" Mom asked Emily when we were finished.

Emily nodded. "If it's alright, it would save my mom the trip out to get me."

Mom nodded back to her, and Emily pulled out her cell phone to let her mom know she no longer needed a ride.

The Prescotts, Emily's family, live next door to us, so it was easy enough to give her a ride home. I figured she'd be over at my home anyway to see what I had purchased. I was right.

We pulled into the garage, and Emily helped my mom and I lug the numerous bags into my room.

"At least you don't have to redecorate," Emily told me when we had entered my room. I merely nodded. The furniture was actually pretty unisex, but I had a vanity against one wall and the dominant color was a pastel yellow. I couldn't recall when my room had become so girly, it seemed like it happened gradually over the last couple of years.

It took us a while to unpack the bags. My mom made us bag up most of my boy clothes, leaving only enough to get me through the last three weeks of school. When we started putting away my new clothes, Emily made me try on nearly every outfit. She burst into a fit of giggles when she saw the bikini, but at least she didn't make me try it on.

Later that night while laying in bed, wearing a soft nightgown we had purchased earlier, I marveled at how quickly the transformation had occurred. It was only this morning that I had talked to Mary about it, and now I was dreading Monday morning, when I would have to dress as a boy again.

With a sigh, I drifted off to sleep.

*  *  *

 

---

Editor Note: The images used for this story were purchased and used under royalty-free license* from Istockphoto.com . ~Sephrena

Author Note: Please email me at AngelJediGirl (at) gmail (dot) com before posting this story to any other site. Posting to a pay site is prohibited.

Comments and suggestions are also welcome at the above email address.

*  *  *

Chapter 5 - When Did He Become A Girl?

The rest of the weekend was pretty much uneventful. My brother was weirded out by my cross over, but he'd seen me dressed often enough that he seemed fine with it by Sunday night.

Monday morning was about as bad as I thought it would be. I didn't realize that I had committed myself to this girl thing so much until then. Putting on my boys clothes Monday morning actually felt odd, and I wasn't sure that I liked wearing them anymore. If nothing else, it seemed out of character. I did wear a pair of panties instead of boy’s briefs, making it slightly more bearable.

I usually wore my hair in a ponytail to school, but I was afraid to do so today. If I pulled my hair back, I was worried that it would bring to much attention to the studs in my ears. Why didn't I wait until the end of the school year before getting them pierced? I blamed my mom.

Worse yet, I wouldn't even be able to remove the studs until after the school year ended!

Instead, I wore my hair down, trying to keep it covering my ears to prevent any tormenters from finding out. Hopefully it would work.

Anyway, I felt oddly out of place walking to school with Emily that morning. We'd spent enough time together on Sunday that she seemed slightly down when I wasn't dressed up as Megan. When Ethan joined us at his house further down the street, he didn't seem to notice anything different.

When we reached the school, it became apparent that Ethan was either in the minority for noticing differences, or he was just too nice to say anything. There were quite a few people staring at me while I walked down the halls, and I heard at least one person ask who the new girl was. Could wearing my hair down instead of in a ponytail be enough to cause confusion about my gender? If they did see the earrings, it would help tip the balance the wrong way.

I even had a couple of teachers look at me curiously when they were taking roll, wondering if I really was the same boy that had been sitting in the same seat the week before. I honestly didn't think I looked that different.

"Maybe it's your attitude," Emily said at lunch after I had explained the looks I'd been receiving all morning. "I mean, ever since Saturday night you've been acting differently. Perhaps they can see the difference."

Ethan had a confused look on his face during this discussion, and I realized that I hadn't seen him all weekend. He didn't know about my decision to live as Megan.

"What happened Saturday?" he asked obliviously. Before I had a chance to respond, a look of understanding crossed his face. "Oh, that's right, how did the demo CD thing go?"

"Fine," I replied. I was nervous about discussing my new life in such a public setting and I was hoping it could wait until after school.

"Tell him," Emily said, destroying that idea.

"Fine," I whined, knowing that I needed to tell him sooner or later. I leaned into the table and the two of them leaned in closer to hear my whisper. "I'm going to start living as Megan."

The shock on his face didn't quite mirror the shock Emily had shown upon learning the news. I got the feeling he didn't want me to do this about as much as Emily had been waiting for it.

"Why?" he asked, louder than I would have liked him to. "I mean, why now?"

"Well, they want a female singer," I explained. "Not a boy with an alto voice."

He grimaced at this news, indicating my earlier assumption had been right. He didn't want to lose his best male friend. How could I tell him that the male friend he knew seemed to be slipping farther and farther away with each passing day?

"You know Mary wants me to," I continued to explain. "Now's as good a time as any to do it."

He continued to look downtrodden for the rest of lunch. I knew that he would come around, but things were going to be slightly different between us. Perhaps he could see it after that point, but he seemed to treat me differently. He was treating me like he did when I was dressed up as Megan, even though I wasn't.

The rest of the school day passed in much the same manner. People seemed to be questioning my gender more than I thought they should, but at least nobody seemed to notice my earrings. If they had, at least they didn't mention it.

Eventually the three of us were walking home, one day closer to the end of the school year.

"Are you okay?" I asked Ethan. He still seemed slightly down.

"Yeah," he replied regretfully. He had his hands in his pockets and had been staring at the ground for nearly the entire walk. "When are you going to start?"

"Last Saturday," was my answer. He stopped walking, and stared at me. Turning to face him, I noticed that he seemed even more depressed. "Come on, Ethan. Megan never seemed to bother you this much before."

"Yeah," he said. "But before there was always an end in sight. Brett was always coming back. I'm not so sure that will happen now."

I was confused at his rationale. I could always decide that living as a boy was the right way to go. His face seemed to say otherwise.

"You're too comfortable as Megan," he eventually said. "You always have been. It's only a matter of time until you realize it and decide to stay a girl."

I laughed lightly. Was he serious?

He saw my dubious expression, and laughed lightly himself. "I know, I know, you don't believe me. But it's true." Emily was nodding her head in agreement.

"What makes you say that?"

Ethan looked like he didn't quite know how to put the explanation into words. It was Emily who was able to respond. "Megan is happier. You're always so depressed when you go back to being Brett."

"I am not!" I countered.

"Yes you are." Ethan said. "Now I know why you were so down this morning while walking to school."

"I wasn't down."

"Yes you were," Emily stated. I really didn't know what to say. I'd never noticed this before. It couldn't possibly be true, right?

My life was changing too fast.

*  *  *

An hour later my mom was driving me to my hair appointment. I was beginning to think that this was a bad idea. The hair appointment, not the Megan thing.

My ears were hard enough to hide, but getting a female haircut would be downright impossible to hide! Mom didn't seem to think it would be a problem, but she didn't have to live with it for three weeks!

Emily had wanted to come with us, but her family was going out to dinner together for a cousin's birthday. Ethan didn't want to set foot anywhere near a salon. I was cool with that. It gave me time to talk to my mom about the things that had been pestering my mind since our walk home from school.

"Mom, am I happier as Megan?"

She looked startled at the question. I know I felt relief when I changed into a pair of girl’s jeans and a pretty red top after school. I was beginning to wonder if there was truth to what Emily and Ethan had said.

"What makes you ask that, honey?" she asked me, avoiding my question entirely.

"Em and Ethan said I was," I replied. "They say I get depressed when I go back to being Brett. Do I?"

She looked uncomfortable at the question. I realized that even though she really wanted a daughter, she wanted to make sure that it was my decision, not hers.

"Don't take this the wrong way, honey, but they're right," she said. "I remember the very first time you dressed up. Remember when your cousin Chloe was visiting? She somehow talked you into that pretty dress of hers. You never wanted to take that thing off."

"That's not true!"

She looked regretful now, but she kept going. "It is, Megan. Every time you've dressed up, it's been difficult to get you to stop. I thought for sure you would have gone full time as Megan before now. It's who you are."

I stared at her in shock at that statement, my mouth agape! Mom thought I was a girl! She'd thought that for years now, apparently! Had the decision already been made?

"Don't look at me like that, young lady! I'm only telling you the truth!" She seemed to be upset at my reaction. "I don't want to tell you what you should do with your life, but you need to take this decision seriously."

"I am," was the only response I could give.

*  *  *

 

---

Editor Note: The images used for this story were purchased and used under royalty-free license* from Istockphoto.com . ~Sephrena

Author Note: Please email me at AngelJediGirl (at) gmail (dot) com before posting this story to any other site. Posting to a pay site is prohibited.

Comments and suggestions are also welcome at the above email address.

*  *  *

Chapter 6 - Girlification, Times Two

Instead of walking into the salon, my mom dragged me into the store next to it. I wasn't sure what she had planned. Part of the same company, this store sold wigs.

"What are we doing here?" I asked her.

"Your dad is pretty sure that the record company is going to call with good news," she explained. "If we're going to do this Hannah Montana thing, you need a wig like her."

"Oh," I replied, and started looking around the store.

"What about something like this?" my mom asked a few minutes later. I hadn't really found anything that seemed right.

"Are you serious?" I asked her incredulously. She was holding up a long, blonde wig. It was straight and had some darker highlights. It was pretty much a Hannah Montana wig! "Have you ever seen the show?"

Mom grinned, letting me know that she knew what she was doing. "Yes, I've seen the show. Come over here."

She led me over to where she had found the wig. It had been nestled between a number of other wigs that had the same length and appearance, but were styled differently.

"If we take the set, then you'll be able to change the style around," she said. "And yes, one would look like Hannah, but the others are quite different."

"I guess," I agreed timidly. "But are you sure the studio would want a Hannah look alike?"

"Honey, I don't think we have another option. Going with another shade of brown would not be enough of a difference to disguise you, and I don't think you could pull off a shade of red," she explained. "Blonde is your best bet."

I guess I couldn't argue with her logic. A quick check with a dark red proved her point. Trying on the blonde wigs proved that Sarah Carerra would be a hottie. I wasn’t sure I was ready for that!

With some insecurity, we purchased the set of wigs. I really hoped there was a contract heading my way, because the total was over $1,000!

The store said they would hold onto the boxes while I got my hair done. Mom led me through the connecting door into the salon.

The salon wasn't as busy that evening. The receptionist handed me a book of styles and told me that someone would be with me shortly. My mom and I took a seat in the waiting area.

Even though my hair was quite long, I'd never really had it styled before. It just hung there limply, not really having any body to it, like most boys with long hair.

"I need something that I can make look masculine for school," I told Mom while we were looking through the book.

She sighed before turning to me. "You can always pull whatever style we decide on into a low ponytail like usual. It should still work."

"I can't do that, Mom," I whined. "Then everyone will see my pierced ears!"

She smiled at me, but I don't think she understood the ramifications of being different in high school. I didn't want to get beaten up over this.

"It'll be okay, Megan." she said, giving me a comforting hug. "They'll be more forgiving than you think, and you'll really enjoy life away from school with these changes."

I knew she was right, about enjoying the changes at least, but I still didn't share her optimism about how the other kids would treat me. I'd seen what some of them could do.

I didn't think I was going to be able to talk my mom out of this decision though. In the end we found a style we liked that was very pretty, and feminine. My anxiety increased when I realized that a ponytail would still show the soft curls and waves that the style promised to give me.

But it was too late. The stylist led me back and started washing my hair. It would only be a matter of time until I doomed Brett to a miserable school existence!

After the washing, she led me to a chair and started working. She did trim a little to take care of any split ends, but the one thing my mom and I had agreed on was that we didn't want to lose any length. I'd started to get comfortable with long hair.

Sometime later, the stylist pronounced me done. My hair looked beautiful, and my mom was beaming with joy. The soft waves and curls tumbled down my back, and I felt a contentment I'd never felt before.

I was then led to a nail station, where a worker helped shape my nails and even taught me how to do it myself. I'd never really worried about it before, so the instruction was helpful. In the end they were painted in a dark red that was very striking. Not long after my toenails were the same color.

The third area I was led to had a lot of makeup sitting on the counters, and I knew that my fate led to a total conversion. The makeup artist was a really friendly girl who took the time to show me everything she was doing; helping to reinforce the minimal knowledge I had on how to do Megan's makeup. She even created a list of everything she used, and Mom agreed to purchase it.

I looked amazing! Staring at myself in the mirror when all was said and done, I couldn't see Brett anymore and Megan had never looked prettier! My eyes were dark and smoky, and I looked...exotic. I never realized how good I could look, and I was speechless with the results!

"You look amazing!" my mom voiced my thoughts. She was standing behind me at the mirror, and she looked happier than I had seen her in a long time.

It was getting hard to think of a reason to go back to being a boy.

*  *  *

 

---

Editor Note: The images used for this story were purchased and used under royalty-free license* from Istockphoto.com . ~Sephrena

Author Note: Please email me at AngelJediGirl (at) gmail (dot) com before posting this story to any other site. Posting to a pay site is prohibited.

Comments and suggestions are also welcome at the above email address.

*  *  *

Chapter 7 - Like a Record, Baby Right Round Round Round

Tuesday morning presented the conundrum I didn't want to face. Leaving my hair down made it pretty obvious that I had gotten a girl's haircut. But putting it up showed off the very feminine studs that were in my newly pierced ears. It was a lose-lose scenario. At least I was able to remove the nail polish, preventing even more embarrassment.

"I don't think it matters," Emily told me when I stepped outside to walk with her to school. "Both are going to be noticed eventually."

I frowned, but left my hair hiding my ears. I figured it was the lesser of two evils. "I should have waited until the end of the school year."

"No," Emily disagreed. "You'll get through this, and you look much better. I can't wait to see you with makeup on now."

"Like this?" I said, pulling a photo out of my backpack and showing it to her. My mom had taken the photo last night after we got home from the salon. She wanted to remember my first salon experience, apparently.

"Wow!" Emily squealed in delight while taking the photo from me to get a better look. "You're beautiful!"

"It was kind of surprising," I said shyly.

"What was?" Ethan said, making me jump and shriek like a little girl. I hadn't realized we had already walked all the way down to his house.

"Sorry," he apologized, but didn't say anything about my reaction. "What was surprising?"

"This..." Emily answered, handing him the photo.

"Wow!" he agreed with Emily. "You're hot."

That comment proceeded to turn my face really red. The last thing I needed was Ethan, my best guy pal, thinking I made a hot girl. I noticed Emily wasn't doing anything but laughing at my torment.

"You're going to have to get used to it, Megan," she said, before chuckling again.

"It's Brett during school hours, remember." I scolded her. "I don't need to get into any more trouble than I'm already in.

"I don't know about that," Ethan said, returning my photo to me. "You look more like Megan than you do Brett, even wearing boy clothes."

Now I was embarrassed and worried. What were the other kids going to think?

*  *  *

With great relief I took a seat at the table next to Emily and Ethan at lunch.

"Tough morning?" Emily asked.

I nodded. "You don't know the half of it. Everyone thinks I'm a girl now."

Someone started giggling. I noticed it was Kathy on the other side of the table. Kathy was a friend, but we weren't close like Ethan, Emily, and I. With her were Jane and Ashley, two other girls that hung out with us sometimes. I'm not quite sure why Ethan and I spent so much time around girls we weren't dating. It’s not like I'd ever really been on a date because of my accident six years earlier.

"It's probably because..." she said when she noticed my look. ”You do look like one."

"I know, I know," I said in a disgruntled voice. "But do people really have to rub it in?"

"They'll get over it," Emily said, trying to bring my spirits up. "Once the novelty fades."

I sighed. I was afraid that the novelty would last longer than the school year.

"Why do you?" Kathy asked. I stared at her for a minute, not understanding her half question. "I mean, why do you look like a girl all of a sudden? At least more of a girl."

"What does that mean?" I asked angrily.

"Nothing," she said defensively, realizing her mistake. "It's just...don't get mad, but you've always been a bit girly, you know."

I sighed. That seemed to be the story of my life lately. Maybe I really am a girl, and I never was a boy. Unfortunately, I had too many memories before the accident to believe that.

Kathy was still looking at me, I realized moments later. She was waiting for an answer. I couldn't really give her one. Unlike Emily and Ethan, she didn't know the story. That was privileged information. Only those who could be trusted knew.

"So that I can sing," I eventually said. I figured sticking with a partial truth would be better than an outright lie. At least this way I might have an excuse that she would buy. Perhaps not.

"So you can sing?" she repeated, obviously not understanding my explanation. I just nodded.

"We went to Johnny's party Friday night," Ethan elaborated. "She sang there, and Johnny's dad was interested in her voice."

"She?" Ashley asked. This just kept getting better and better. I managed to kick Ethan under the table, and delighted in the squeal he emitted.

"Sorry," he said, rubbing his leg.

"What he means," Emily continued the explanation. "Is that Johnny's dad thought he was a girl, and asked him to make a demo CD."

"Oh that's cool!" Kathy exclaimed. "I didn't know you could sing!"

"She has a beautiful voice," Ethan said, way too dreamily in my opinion. A second kick to the same spot got that look off his face.

"Brett has an excellent voice," Emily said, glaring at Ethan along with me. "But it's higher than most guys."

"I don't sing in public," I explained. I was just glad that nobody had mocked me for my singing at the party yet, and I hoped everyone had forgotten about it.

"Okay," Kathy said. "But that still doesn't explain why you have to look like a girl."

"I probably don't anymore," I said. "I told Johnny's dad the truth when we made the demo. He said he'd submit the demo, but the likelihood of the record company wanting my voice in a male talent was small, and he didn't want to worry about pretending to have me be a girl."

She nodded, along with Jane and Ashley. They seemed to have bought the lie. Now I just needed to think up a plausible excuse about why I was going to keep doing it.

*  *  *

We were walking home after school when my cell rang.

"Megan!" my dad was practically screaming into the phone. "Hurry home, I've got exciting news!"

"What is it?" I screamed back.

"You've got a meeting with the record company. They're interested in your voice!"

"Yes!" I screamed, not into the phone this time. I also did a little jig. Ethan and Emily were just staring at me like I had lost my mind. I yelled back at them, "The record company is interested!"

They joined my jig.

*  *  *

"The meeting is tomorrow morning at 11 o'clock," my dad said.

"Yes!" I voiced my inner excitement. "I get to miss school too!"

He didn't seem to be as enthusiastic about that prospect as I was. Dad, Mom, Ethan, Emily, and I were sitting around our dining table. We'd run the rest of the way to my house, and they wanted to hear the news nearly as much as I did.

"They said you have a great voice, they loved your vocals on that song they were pitching, and," he paused, looking at Emily and Ethan for a moment. "They like your image."

"My image?" I needed clarification on that one. They hadn't ever seen me. I mean, I'd just gotten the wigs last night.

My dad nodded. "I talked to Scott this morning. He seemed interested in our ideas and passed them on to the label. They seemed to agree with them."

Emily and Ethan looked lost at where the discussion had gone, but Dad seemed to be avoiding the Sarah Carerra bit for some reason, so I followed his lead.

"You've also got an appointment with an image consultant at nine," he stated, bringing a large smile to my face. I'm glad he was well connected at work. "She's very good and she'll help us get you jazzed up for the meeting."

"That's so cool," Emily blurted out, and I couldn't agree more. Turning to me she asked, "Do you need any company?"

I wasn't quite sure how to respond. My dad didn't seem to want to tell them about Sarah for some reason, and I couldn't agree without letting her in on the secret. It was Dad who was able to answer.

"Not this time," he told her, causing her shoulders to drop. "Maybe next time."

"If there is a next time," my brother said from the couch where he was watching TV. He apparently didn't think I had a chance. Then again, I'd made sure not to let him hear me sing too much. Maybe he didn't know how good I was. I was still starting to realize how good I was.

"Anyway," my dad continued. "We can talk more about the details later. You go have fun with your friends for now."

He winked at me, confirming my suspicions that he didn't want them to know about Sarah Carerra, and I wondered how I was going to keep such a big secret from them.

*  *  *

Later that night, while I was getting ready for bed, Dad knocked on my bedroom door. Quickly pulling my nightgown over my head, I let him in.

"Hey," he said, smiling at me. He really seemed to be taking this change well. "I'm so proud of you."

He wrapped me in a hug, and then kissed my forehead before letting me go. It was definitely something he never would have done if I was still Brett.

Geez, I certainly took to being Megan a bit too quickly. I realized that Brett now seemed to be the alter ego, even though that was who I was every day, all day, less than a week ago.

I smiled at him. "Why don't you want them to know about Sarah?"

"I don't want to make you keep secrets from them," he said with a frown. "I know how much they mean to you. But for now, at least until Sarah's career has been established, I think it would be best if fewer people know her real identity."

"That could be hard, Daddy," I said. Daddy? That was new. "They know about the meeting, they'll want to come to sound recordings and things."

"I know, Princess," he told me. Princess? This was starting to get weird. "We'll figure something out. We can let them in on it soon, I promise."

I just nodded, wondering again how I was going to be able to keep it from them.

"Good night," he said with a smile.

"Good night."

*  *  *

 

---

Editor Note: The images used for this story were purchased and used under royalty-free license* from Istockphoto.com . ~Sephrena

Author Note: Please email me at AngelJediGirl (at) gmail (dot) com before posting this story to any other site. Posting to a pay site is prohibited.

Comments and suggestions are also welcome at the above email address.

*  *  *

Chapter 8 - Meet Sarah Carerra, Teen Superstar (In Training)

"Good morning, Princess," Dad said to me the next morning when I entered the kitchen for breakfast.

"Morning, Daddy," I said, playing along with this new game we had going. I think he was trying to show me that he was okay with my decision, but it was still weird.

Austin, my brother, nearly choked on his cereal at this display. I could understand why, because we'd never quite acted this way when I was dressed as Megan before.

"Eat up, and we'll get going," my dad told me, ignoring Austin's reaction.

I nodded and grabbed a bowl for myself. I might be embarking on a new life as a popular singer (hopefully), but I wasn't getting anything special for breakfast that morning.

*  *  *

"Are you ready, Megan?" Mom asked me while I was washing my breakfast dishes.

I turned to look at her, flipping my hair out of my eyes at the same time. This new haircut looked beautiful, but the bangs had a tendency to fall over my eyes. It was just one more thing to get used to, I guess. "Yeah, I'll be right there."

After placing my dishes in the dishwasher, I walked down the hall to the spare room. My dad had decided this was going to be Sarah's room, and while it was pretty vacant right now, he hoped to make it feel like a green room and dressing room combined into one. Right now, it only held the wigs.

Walking into the room I found my mom holding one of the wigs. It was the same long blonde with dark highlights, but this one had soft waves and curls in it. In fact, it looked a lot like my current hair, just a different color.

"How about this one?" she asked me. I smiled and nodded at her and then took a seat in the chair she indicated.

My mom set the wig down carefully, and then started gathering my hair with her hands. She twisted it, or did something to it that I couldn't see without a mirror, and pinned it to my head. She then picked the wig back up and placed it on my head, pinning it to my own hair to prevent the wig from accidentally falling off.

"Take a look," she said, allowing me to stand up.

I walked over to the full length mirror my dad had put on the wall yesterday, and peered at myself. I'd tried on each of the wigs before now, but this time was different. It was for real.

I was amazed at the difference! I enjoyed the way I looked as Megan. I thought I was pretty. But Sarah seemed to be in another league. Even with light makeup and wearing simple jeans and a pink tee, I could tell that she was going to be something sensational.

"Wow," I voiced when I saw my mom step behind me in the mirror. Her smile matched my own. "I can't believe how different I look!"

"You're gorgeous, honey," she said. "With or without the wigs."

"I'm scared," I told her, turning around and returning her hug. "What if something goes wrong?"

"Don't worry," she said soothingly. "Your dad will be there at every step, and I'm just a phone call away."

"I know," I told her, trying to keep the tears out of my eyes. The last thing I needed to do was mess up my makeup. "But I wish you were going to be there too."

"In time, honey," she said, stroking my back in a comforting gesture. "You know why your dad wants to keep your identity secret."

I nodded, but it didn't provide any comfort.

*  *  *

"How are you doing?" Dad asked me while we walked into an upscale downtown office building 40 minutes later.

"I'm nervous," I replied. In all honesty, I was stressed out.

"You'll be fine," he said with a large grin. "You're handling this better than most of my new clients."

I didn't know if that was true or not, but it did make me feel better. I was just happy he was there to support me.

"Julia is a nice girl," he continued when we were in the elevator. She gets paid well to make sure you look your best. If you don't like her ideas please say something. She'll work with you to make an image both of you will be happy with."

"Ok," I said.

Two older men in the elevator were staring at me more than I thought was appropriate, but I didn't know what to do about it.

"Don't worry, Sarah," my dad said, still trying to calm me down. "She's worked with a lot of young girls like you, and she's one of my best contractors."

I loved my dad! I didn't know if he was aware of the stares I was getting, but his comment about me being young certainly had the desired effect on the two guys.

We got out on the 20th floor and stepped into a luxurious lobby. The decor was expensive looking, and quite feminine in white and pink. I don't think I'd ever been in an office decorated this way before.

Dad led me over to the receptionist's desk, behind which two halls led further into the building. A sign on the wall behind her desk told me I was in the offices of Aphrodite Image Consulting.

"Hi, Janet," my dad said when the receptionist looked up. "Is Julia around?"

"Hi, Don," she replied with a smile that I felt was too large to be given to a happily married man. "If you want to take a seat I'll let her know you're here."

She smiled at me too after appraising my look, but this smile seemed more like she felt I didn't have a chance in the industry. I'm not quite sure how she pulled off that look.

Before we had a chance to take a seat, a pretty woman approached us from one of the halls. She appeared to be in her mid-20s, blonde, with blue eyes. She could have been a model herself.

"Don!" she said in greeting, finishing it with a quick hug. Was I the only one weirded out by all the flirting these girls were doing with my dad?

"It's so good to see you again!" she said, stepping back. Then she turned her attention to me. "And you must be Sarah. It's so nice to meet you."

She offered me her hand, and I took it. With a grin I said, "Pleased to meet you, ma'am."

"Oh don't you dare ‘ma'am’ me again, young lady," she said with mock disgust. "Julia will do."

I liked her already. She seemed nice enough, except that whole flirting with my dad thing. If she could stop flirting with him, I think we could have a good relationship together.

"Come on back to my office," she said, motioning down the hall. Dad and I followed her into a large office. The decor was slightly different, more personalized in here, but still very feminine. It had an odd effect of putting me at ease. My dad looked uncomfortable.

"So," she said after directing us to sit down on a small couch. She took a seat across from us in a soft looking chair. "You're the next teen sensation?"

"I guess," I said shyly. It sounded like it could become an accurate description. I kind of hoped it did.

"How old are you?" she asked, pulling out a notepad and writing a few things down.

"Sixteen," I replied. She wrote some more.

"No parents with you today, huh?" she said. I think she was trying to help build me up by reminding me of this new found independence.

"Um, I…" I started, but wasn't quite sure how to continue. I looked to my dad for the answer.

"Oh, Don!" she gasped, reading something in my expression. "When you said ‘one of mine’, you really meant ‘one of mine’!”

Dad grimaced slightly at how easily she was able to read our relationship. I guess that was something I was going to need to work on if I didn't want my secret getting out.

Eventually my dad nodded at her, and reached down to retrieve his briefcase. While he was rooting around inside, Julia continued.

"I'm guessing Sarah Carerra is a stage name then?"

Pulling a stack of papers from his briefcase, my dad nodded. "Before we continue this discussion, I'm going to need you to sign this."

Julia took the papers from my dad and started looking them over.

"It's a standard non-disclosure agreement," he told her. "It states that you and your company will not reveal Sarah's true identity.”

Julia frowned, but kept skimming the documents. "I'm going to need to have our lawyer look at this before I can sign it."

My dad smiled back at her, "I know. This is just a formality. We've known each other too long for me not to trust you."

Her frown left and she smiled again at the reassurance that Dad gave her. She stood up and placed the papers on her desk before returning to her seat.

"Ok," she said looking at me. "Can I ask your real name?"

I looked at my dad. I wasn't sure if I should tell her. At his nod I said, "Megan."

"Megan Campbell?" she asked. I nodded.

"Well Megan," she said while extending her hand. "I'm glad I was able to meet you. Your dad and I have worked together for years, but he never mentioned he had such a beautiful daughter."

I smiled and took her hand. We shook softly and then she let it go. Everyone kept saying I'm so beautiful, but I still wasn't used to compliments like that, and I could feel myself blushing again.

"To business then," she said while checking the time on her watch. "We've only got about an hour to get you ready. Instead of taking you shopping, we'll take a look at the stash. Does that sound okay?"

The last question was directed at my dad. He nodded agreement before she continued. "Great, once you're dressed we'll get our stylist to glam you up."

She wrote something else on her notepad and then stood up. "This way please. Don, you can wait here if you would like."

My dad nodded at her, and I stood up and followed her out of her office.

*  *  *

"Welcome to the stash," Julia said while pushing open a set of double doors. She waved her arms in a motion designed to make me look around the room.

I did, and I was impressed! The room was quite large; perhaps double the size of our living room at home. It was decorated much like the rest of the building, very femininely.

But it was the contents of the room that were the center piece. There were racks and racks of clothes. All shapes, all sizes. Dresses, skirts, pants, jeans, tops, jackets, you name it, it was probably in here somewhere. There was even a lingerie section!

"This area is for our clients when they are in need of a quick outfit change without the luxury of shopping time, like you," Julia explained. "The outfits are rotated frequently, and anything you take will be charged to your account. We'd prefer to take you shopping though."

I stood there, completely overwhelmed. Despite the past, I was still pretty new to this girl stuff, and this was an overwhelming amount of luxury clothes. I didn't even know where to start.

Julia smiled at my expression, and let me soak it in for a minute. "Follow me," she eventually said, and led me towards one of the racks.

"Don said he wanted to go for simple glam, as if that's not an oxymoron," she waited for my laugh, but settled for my quirky smile.

"Measurements," she continued a second later, as if the thought had just occurred to her. She picked up a measuring tape from the top of one of the racks and approached me. "Arms up, spread them like this."

I did what she said, raising my arms until my body was shaped like a T. She then took the tape and started measuring me across my bust and below my bra.

"Not much up top yet huh?" She asked me with a wicked smile.

Embarrassed once again, I nodded before saying "Most of it's the bra."

"It's okay, Sarah," she said reassuringly. "Everyone ages differently. They'll come along soon enough."

She continued to take my measurements, writing them down on a small pad designed for the purpose. Then she started searching through the racks for specific items.

"Jeans," she said, dropping a pair of dark jeans on a table. "Top," and a red top was added to the pile. "And shoes," a pair of white tennis shoes joined them.

"Try these on," Julia said while handing me the pile she had created. "I'll get the glam ready."

I took the clothes, and looked around for a place to change.

"Dressing rooms are over there," Julia was pointing to a couple of doors along one of the walls. I thanked her and headed for the doors.

The jeans were a dark blue, but weren't unlike any of the other jeans my mom had bought me. They were tighter than my male jeans of course, but not uncomfortable. The red top was gorgeous. I was starting to get an appreciation for female clothing, and I knew I wanted to keep this top. It was fitted tight to my body, showing off the small breasts I had boosted by the bras my mom had purchased. The capped sleeves had a small ruffle to them that didn't change the shape too much, but added a nice definition to them. The shoes were...normal. I don't know what else to say, because there wasn't anything really spectacular about the white sneakers.

Once I had everything on I looked into the mirror in the dressing room. Once again I was gorgeous. Sarah Carerra could be a sensation even if her singing was horrible, I thought.

I stepped out of the dressing room where I found Julia waiting with more things to put on. She stepped up to me and looked me over, checking the fit before motioning for me to twirl around slowly.

"Perfect," she said and handed me a black belt with a silver highlight running the length. "Put this on."

I took the belt from her and looped it around my waist. Once I had it on she handed me a white vest. She had a pair of silver hoop earrings in her hands, looking at me expectantly while I finished putting on the vest.

"I can't wear the earrings," I told her in a downcast tone. They looked really cool.

"Oh," she said, surprised. "How come?"

"I got my ears pierced on Saturday."

She looked surprised at this information, and raised her eyebrows in question.

I sighed at her. "I didn't really get into the whole girly thing until recently." Oddly enough, it was the truth.

Her smile widened at this news. "Oho! A tomboy turned glam queen. You're going to be a fun client!"

*  *  *

Julia had taken me to get my makeup and nails done. Somehow Julia had even convinced me to allow a French tip to be applied. It was pretty short, but now I was freaking out about how to hide THAT at school along with my hair and pierced ears.

We then joined Dad back in Julia's office, where he seemed to be awestruck at my new look.

"You look amazing," he told me. "I'm so proud of you."

I was blushing again. I really need to get that under control.

"You've outdone yourself again, Julia!" Dad said to her, but it took him a couple seconds longer to take his eyes off me and meet her gaze. His smile was a mile wide.

After a few minor things he worked out with Julia, we were on our way back to the car.

"Don't take this the wrong way, Megan," Dad said when we were going down in the elevator, alone this time. "But I really like having a beautiful daughter."

I gave him a daughterly hug, realizing the feeling was mutual.

*  *  *

---

Editor Note: The images used for this story were purchased and used under royalty-free license* from Istockphoto.com . ~Sephrena

Author Note: Please email me at AngelJediGirl (at) gmail (dot) com before posting this story to any other site. Posting to a pay site is prohibited.

Comments and suggestions are also welcome at the above email address.

*  *  *

Chapter 9 - The Debut Album

We were standing in the lobby of Olympic Records, having a good laugh at the name, when Scott came up to us.

"Mr. Campbell," he said while extending his hand towards my dad. "It's good to see you again."

"Good morning, Scott," my dad said while taking his hand in a firm grip. After he had released the handshake he gestured to me. "You remember Sarah?"

Scott looked down at me (he's quite tall) and smiled, extending his arm again. "Ms. Carerra, it's nice to see you again. You look exceptionally good this morning."

I felt myself blushing again while I limply took his hand. ‘If I keep blushing every time someone compliments me, I'm never going to make it in this industry’ I thought. Then again, this blush may have something to do with the fact that he knew my secret, and not the Sarah Carerra one.

"If you'll follow me, I'll lead you to the conference room where the meeting will take place," he said, looking back at my dad. He nodded and we followed him through the halls of the record company and into a small conference room.

There were two guys sitting at the table, joking with each other when we walked in. They stood up when they saw me, and walked around the table towards where we had entered.

"Ms. Carerra," the older one said. He looked to be in his 50's with graying hair and wearing a well-tailored suit. "My name is Matt Thompson. I'm the Director of Talent." He gestured to the other man, in his late twenties. "This is my son, Max, our lead Marketing agent."

"Pleased to meet you," Max said while extending his hand. I shook it and then his father's.

"Thank you for this opportunity," I said to them, and their nods seemed to indicate that it was their privilege to have me here instead of the other way around.

"The honor is ours," Matt voiced my thoughts before gesturing to the table. "Please have a seat, this shouldn't take too long."

That statement worried me a bit, but Dad still seemed to be enthusiastic, so I guess it wasn't surprising to him. We took our seats, with Matt, Max, and Scott on one side of the table, and my dad and I on the other side.

"Now," Matt said. "We are extremely honored to have you here with us today, Ms. Carerra. Can I call you Sarah?" I nodded.

"Thank you, Sarah," he continued. "We enjoyed your demo CD immensely. We've been looking for a fresh new face like yours for a while, and we believe that you've got a long career ahead of you. You received the contract details, Mr. Campbell?"

"Yes," my dad replied. "We agree with all of the terms listed in revision 2 of the contract, like we discussed on the phone."

"Excellent," Matt said and removed a stack of papers from a briefcase on the table. "We'll just need you to sign these contracts and then we can get started on your new career."

It took us about twenty minutes to sign all of the papers we needed to sign. I still didn't know the terms of the contract, and was slightly upset that Dad knew without telling me, but I trusted his judgment.

"Now for the fun stuff," Matt said after he had replaced his copies of the contract back into his briefcase. "We'll break for lunch, but this afternoon we'd like you to re-record Intuition. We want to get your name and voice out quickly, and we'll make this your first single and hopefully have it on the radio by next week."

That stunned me! I didn't think I would be singing quite so quickly, let alone getting on the radio!

"You've also got a photo shoot at four this afternoon," Max interjected when his father had finished. "We need to get some publicity photos and a picture to use as the album art for your single."

"Is that okay with you two?" Matt asked, but it didn't really seem like a question we could say no to.

My dad nodded while I sat there, stunned! After getting my dad's approval they all turned to me. "Yes," I told them. "I'm just surprised it's happening so fast."

"Don't worry, kid," Matt said. It felt demeaning to be called a kid. "You'll do fine."

*  *  *

Scott led us to the building’s cafeteria, but told us he wouldn't be able to join us. We said our goodbyes and walked in to get some food.

There were quite a few people sitting at the many tables, most wearing business attire. But there were two other people dressed more like me, and one of them was Daren Stockard! I felt shocked to see a famous singer in here! He wasn't much older than me, 19 I think, but he already had a couple of platinum albums.

He looked up at us as we entered, and seemed intrigued at the sight, which only worried me more.

We got some food, not bad really, and were talking while we ate at an empty table. My dad was telling me about the contract details, but I didn't understand everything he was saying. All I knew was that there were way more zeros involved than I thought there would be! Unfortunately, Dad felt that I needed to be fiscally responsible before I would be able to use my share of the money (even though he's my dad, he was still getting a percentage for himself). He wasn't going to let me touch most of it for a while.

When we were nearly finished a shadow fell over the table. Turning around I saw Daren standing there! I hate to admit I acted like a giggly fan girl, but I did. I mean, he does have some very good songs.

"Hi," he said to me, and somehow managed to acknowledge my dad at the same time. "My name's Daren."

When I was able to catch my breath, I responded, "Sarah Carerra."

"Sarah Carerra," he said, musing the name over in his mind. "That's a very lovely name for a very lovely girl."

Dangit! I was blushing again! And in front of Daren Stockard too!

"I haven't seen you around before," he said with a smile. "Where are you from?"

I looked over at Dad for a second. We'd talked about Sarah's background story, and it didn't differ much from my own. He looked slightly amused at this exchange though. I was worried he would be one of those dads who are too overprotective about his daughters, but he seemed to be calm and rational. Then again, it could just be for show.

"I'm from L.A." I told him. Before he had a chance to ask where in L.A., I continued. "I just signed with Olympic this morning."

"Well it's nice to have you here," he said like he owned the place. "I'm sorry I can't talk longer. I have to get back to the studio. I just wanted to introduce myself."

He smiled at me, causing me to smile back.

"It was nice to meet you, Sarah," he said. "I look forward to hearing some of your work."

"It was nice to meet you too, Daren," I replied, and with a grin he turned and headed out of the cafeteria.

"He's too old for you," Dad said moments later.

*  *  *

Dad was leading me down the hall toward the studios. He'd been here with clients enough times to know where to go, but we weren't certain which studio we were supposed to be in.

Fortunately the receptionist in the studio lobby was able to point us to the correct one, mentioning that Mr. Thompson and his son were already in there.

"Sorry," Dad said when we entered the studio. "We weren't sure which studio we were meeting you in."

"That's okay," Matt replied while looking at his watch. "You're earlier than we expected you anyway." For some reason, I didn't quite believe him.

Scott was also in the studio. From what my dad was saying he was going to be our contact with the label. I just hoped working with someone who knew both of my secrets wouldn't turn out badly.

"Alright, Sarah," Scott said, taking charge. "We've recorded some new background for Intuition, and we'd like to update the vocals you gave us for the demo. We were hoping to get some more emotion out of it. Come listen to this."

He motioned me over to the mixing board and handed me a pair of headphones. I put them on and waited for the song to start.

I liked what they did to it. They added some remix to the song that I thought would make it sound better, and I could clearly hear the new background vocals. I just hoped I would be able to deliver my part.

"I like it," I voiced my thoughts to Scott when the song had ended.

"Good," he said, but I felt that he was patronizing me, and that my opinion didn't really matter on how the song was going to sound. That didn't bode well for the future if I had no say in my own songs. I hoped it was just because they had already put so much work into this one.

"Matt and Max are here to see how it turns out." Scott said while showing me into the sound studio proper. "But don't worry. You've already got the contract."

That made me laugh and worry at the same time. I didn't know if there were any ‘outs’ built into the contract. Dad gave me thumbs up from the control room after I had placed the new set of headphones that Scott had handed me over my ears. It helped to slow down my speeding heart.

It took me a few tries to get into the groove. I'd only read through the song for a short period of time last Saturday, and I wasn't remembering all of the words right away. They were coming back quickly, but I still felt like I was letting everybody down.

"Sorry," I said after the fourth attempt. "I didn't get to learn the words very well before the demo Saturday."

"You're doing great," Scott told me. He was manning the mixing board today, even though it wasn't his regular job. "It's always rough with a new song, but you're getting better every time."

I smiled at his words of encouragement, and went on to deliver a nearly perfect rendition.

It took us nearly 45 minutes to get it the way Scott, Matt, and Max wanted it. I'd get one part of the song down and then they would have me work on another part until they were happy with it and then move on again. It was more tiring than I thought it would be.

"Great job, Sarah," Scott finally said. "That's a wrap."

I smiled, took off my headphones and headed for the control booth.

"Great job, Sarah," Dad echoed, wrapping me in a hug before the door had even closed. But it wasn't a regular father/daughter one that I was starting to get used to. Instead it was a quick chaste congratulatory hug. I immediately felt sad that I couldn't express my true feelings with him right then. I was starting to see the downside of the Sarah Carerra secret.

I got congratulations from Scott and Matt also, and Max managed to follow in my father's footsteps with a hug. It felt really weird giving another guy a hug, at least one I wasn't related to.

"Don't forget," he said when he let me go. "You've got a photo shoot at four. Don has the address and I'll see you there."

I nodded, and the three guys left the control room, leaving me alone with my dad.

I did get that wonderful father/daughter hug before we left.

*  *  *

---

Editor Note: The images used for this story were purchased and used under royalty-free license* from Istockphoto.com . ~Sephrena

Author Note: Please email me at AngelJediGirl (at) gmail (dot) com before posting this story to any other site. Posting to a pay site is prohibited.

Comments and suggestions are also welcome at the above email address.

*  *  *

Chapter 10 - Win a Dinner Date With Sarah Carerra

Scott caught us before we left the building, and he looked anxious.

"Before you go," he addressed me. "I'd like to invite you and your parents over to my house for dinner. Would you be willing to come?"

My heart started to beat really fast then. I couldn't go over to his house dressed like a girl! Johnny would see right through the disguise immediately!

Scott noticed my distress, and he looked guilty at the request. "I'm sorry," he said surprising me. "I told my wife about you, because we don't keep secrets from each other, and she wanted to meet you."

I think I was hyperventilating now too! Didn't my dad make him sign one of those non-disclosure thingies? Why would he tell someone else, even if it was his wife?

"You don't have to come if you don't want to," he said. "I'm sorry I asked."

He looked positively distraught now. I'd never seen him act like that before. He'd always been so calm, collected, and in control of the situation.

"We'd love to come," I heard Dad say, nearly giving me a heart attack. Didn't he know the dangers involved with agreeing? "What time?"

"Is 7:30 too late for you?" Scott said feeling relieved despite my continued distress.

"No, that would work for us," my dad replied, finalizing my doom.

"Is..." I started, and the two grownups immediately looked back at me, surprised I was still in distress apparently. "Is Johnny going to be there?"

A look of understanding seemed to pass between both of them at the same time. Finally they understood the real problem with this situation.

"No," Scott finally said, and my heart finally started to slow. "He's got a date tonight, and probably won't come home until later in the evening."

I sat down on one of the nearby benches, trying to catch my breath. Scott made some excuse to leave and said he would see us later that evening.

*  *  *

"But why would he tell his wife?" I practically yelled the question at my dad. We were driving around town, trying to pass the time we had before the photo shoot.

"Honey," he said in a tone that stated I didn't understand. "When you're older and find a husband, you'll understand why keeping a secret from each other is a bad idea."

I choked at those words. The last thing I expected my father to talk to me about was a future husband! He immediately realized what he had said, and he turned red. I mean, I've never seen my dad that color except for that one time when my brother broke his 9-iron.

"I'm sorry," he said a while later. "It's so hard to remember that you aren't really my little girl."

"Why?" I asked him. I was sincerely interested in his answer.

He struggled to find the words for a few minutes. We sat in silence. I was willing to let him find the right answer, and I didn't want to rush him.

"You're so good at it," he finally said. "I mean, it's almost like you've always been a girl. Every time you dress up it's like this. It's been so hard trying to treat you like my son, even when you were living as a boy."

His statement really floored me! He thought of me as his daughter too? First Mom confessed that thought to me on our way to the salon Monday night, and now Dad was doing the same thing! Was I really a girl already? I was starting to wish that this was one of the weeks I was supposed to see Mary.

Struggling with this new information, I tried to get back to the original discussion. "But this was a business secret. It wouldn't have anything to do with his marriage."

My dad just stared at me again with that face that said I didn't understand.

*  *  *

There was a crowd at the entrance to the building where the photo shoot was set to take place. It looked like they had a lot of cameras and were waiting for somebody.

"Uh, oh," Dad said as he pulled the car into a parking spot. "Paparazzi."

"Paparazzi!?" I freaked. "Why would they be here?"

"It's not likely they're here for you," Dad said, which is exactly what I was hoping to hear. "But that doesn't mean they won't jump at the chance to get your picture."

I was very uncomfortable walking towards the entrance with my dad. I didn't think I was ready for this kind of attention.

Someone eventually noticed us, and then they all turned towards us. A couple of flashes went off, making me even more nervous.

"Don! Who's your new client?" I heard one of them yell. Luckily my dad just smiled and led me through the crowd, flashes going off left and right.

"She's so green!" someone else commented when I flinched at another flash. "She'll never last in this industry." There was a lot of laughter following that statement.

Eventually we made it inside the building without much hassle. I was still nervous while we walked towards the elevator, expecting another one to pop out of some hiding place to get another picture.

The photo shoot went a lot better after that. It was short. The label wanted to use the outfit that Julia had picked out for me this morning, and within a half hour they had all the shots they felt they needed to get my name out. Max told me that we would do a more comprehensive set later this week or early next week to create a full press kit, whatever that was.

Whoever the paparazzi had been waiting for must have left during the shoot, because nobody was outside when we exited the building. Soon we were on our way home, and the only thing left to worry about was dinner at the Crawford's.

*  *  *

I was in my room doing homework when I heard the doorbell ring. I wasn't expecting anyone so I left it for someone else to get. I was still dressed as Sarah, since we would be heading for dinner soon.

"Megan," I heard my mom say from my door a short while later. "Emily and Ethan are here to see you."

‘Of course the freak out part of this day isn't over,’ I thought when I felt my heart start pounding again. Then I realized that they weren't there with Mom. It was odd that she hadn't told my friends to come on back to my room, but my mom is a smart woman.

"Can you help me?" I quickly asked, removing the "glam" so to speak. Mom nodded and as soon as I had the vest and belt off, she helped remove the wig and let my hair down. I'd have to put it all on again soon, but at least the secret would be safe.

Mom took the wig and the clothes to Sarah's room while I nervously approached the living room where they were waiting. When they saw me, both of their eyes widened.

"Wow!" Emily said first, followed quickly by Ethan's nod. "You look even better than your photo!"

"And hotter," Ethan added. Emily hit him before I got the chance.

I smiled at their compliments, and I was happy to note that I wasn't blushing for once. Maybe I was starting to get used to this? I didn’t know for sure.

"Tell us about your day!" Emily said, dragging me to a seat on the couch.

"Well," I started, not sure how much I could tell them. "It's been pretty interesting. I met with that image consultant this morning, she gave me these clothes, and then we went over to the record company. I signed a contract!"

Emily shrieked and wrapped me in a hug. "That's so awesome!" she said. "When are you going to be on the radio?"

I almost said they were trying to get me on the radio next week, but realized I couldn't tell them that. Sarah was getting on the radio next week. Megan would probably never be on the radio.

"I don't know," I explained. "They liked my voice, but they said it could be a couple of months before I was ready." I didn't like lying to my friends. Hopefully this would explain why I wasn’t getting a song anytime soon.

"Bummer," Ethan said. "It would have been cool to hear someone I know."

"Soon enough," I said, trying to give them hope.

"Did you meet anybody famous?" Emily asked, and when I thought of Daren I knew I wouldn't get away with not telling her.

"Yeah," I said, but she already knew the answer from my facial expression. "I met Daren Stockard at lunch! He's so hot."

Emily and Ethan were staring at me in shock. What had I said? I replayed my words in my mind but didn't know what had set them off.

"Hot?" Ethan asked looking sick.

Oops. "Well, uh," I said, but didn't know how to explain my feelings. I hadn't even realized that I thought he was hot until that moment. Why would I even think a guy was hot? I was supposed to be looking at girls. Instead, I was sitting there dressed as a girl. It was starting to get confusing.

I shrugged. I couldn't come up with an explanation that made sense. Ethan didn't seem to like that reaction, making a face that showed his disgust to where my life seemed to be headed.

"Sorry," I told him. I don't think it helped though. But I did have a sudden thought that might help him turn his feelings around.

"I also met Sarah Carerra," I told them. They looked at me blankly though.

"Who?" they said in almost unison.

"She's another up and comer. They signed her a while ago and her first single is supposed to be on the radio next week." I hoped that my lie would help distance myself from Sarah and provide some relief to Ethan. "She was also very hot."

That brightened his face. Nothing like a hot girl to take your mind off your troubles.

"How old is she," Emily asked, and Ethan gave her a look saying 'why should it matter?'

"She's our age," I told her. "She's a beautiful blonde girl who looks kind of like Hannah Montana."

Ethan seemed to be already smitten, even though he hadn't even met or seen her. I hoped this plan didn't backfire.

We talked about my day for a few more minutes. I left out the part about recording a song or the photo shoot, so it wasn't nearly as exciting as what had really happened.

"What are you doing tonight?" Emily eventually asked when I had described everything I could.

"I have to go over to the Crawfords for dinner," I said glumly. I would much rather hang out with them and do something fun.

"Why?" Ethan asked.

"His dad invited us. He told his wife about my secret," I said with a frown. "She wants to meet me."

Emily looked horrified at this announcement, and I certainly agreed with her feelings.

"Scott promised me that Johnny wouldn't be there, at least. I'd hate to think about what would happen if he saw me dressed as Megan."

They both nodded.

*  *  *

Later that evening we were walking up the walk to the Crawfords door. Even though they knew my secret, or maybe because they knew it, I was really, really nervous. At least I had both of my parents with me this time.

Dad rang the doorbell, and moments later Scott answered the door.

"Sarah!" he greeted me. "I'm so glad you could make it!"

He let us in and gave us a brief tour of the first floor, of which I had already seen. Then he led us into the dining room, where his wife was finishing the final touches on the food.

"Honey, are you ready?" he asked her when we entered.

"Almost," she said, but turned around to greet us.

Scott turned back to me. "Sarah, this is my wife Connie. Connie, this is Sarah Carerra, her agent Don Campbell, and his wife Linda."

"Pleased to meet you, ma'am," I said, taking the hand she offered me in greeting.

"The pleasure is mine," she said with a wink. "You look absolutely stunning."

Well, I guess I wasn't completely over my blushing ordeal. I could feel the heat rising once again.

"I'm sorry," she said seeing my embarrassment. "But you aren't anything like I pictured you would be."

I guess she wanted me to wear the blush all night.

*  *  *

The meal was very good. Johnny's little sister Kaitlin joined us, and even though I wasn't a star yet, I think she became my biggest fan. Scott talked me into singing part of Intuition for them, and everybody seemed to be impressed with my singing abilities.

But the scariest part of the night occurred while we were getting ready to leave. I was standing near the front door, waiting for my dad to finish talking to Scott, my mom to finish talking to Connie, and me wishing that Kaitlin had an earlier bedtime.

The front door suddenly flew open, and Johnny stepped inside. We were staring at each other face to face for a few moments. I was scared for my life! He was going to see right through the Sarah disguise and beat me to death!

But instead, he seemed to be looking at me with lust! That was even worse!

"Hi," he finally said, finding his voice first.

"Hi," I was able to return shyly. I was blushing once again, and at the worst possible time! I was sure he was going to misinterpret it as a wrong signal.

"Dad didn't say he was having anyone as beautiful as you over tonight," he said, glaring at his father behind me before returning to my eyes with a sweetness I didn't fully trust. I didn't think Debbie, who was his current girlfriend, would be too happy about what he was doing.

"Johnny," his dad said in a tone that seemed to be both greeting and warning. "We didn't expect you home so soon."

There was anger in his eyes now. No doubt he was feeling left out of the dinner party. "Debbie and I had a fight," he said, which didn't bode well for me.

"I'm sorry to hear that," Scott said. "If you'd step out of the way our guests were just leaving."

The anxiousness in his voice led me to believe that he was worried about Johnny learning my secret also. No doubt it would be bad for my career, but I hoped that there was more to his anxiousness than that.

Johnny, unfortunately, stood his ground. Extending his hand, he introduced himself. "I'm Johnny."

Not knowing what else to do, I took his hand. "Sarah," was all I managed.

He grinned at me lustfully, and I was surprised at how open he was in his gaze with his parents standing right behind me. It really made me feel like a piece of meat, more than any of the other admiring looks I had received throughout the day. I could deal with those, and had when dressing up as Megan before, but this was something else entirely.

"We better get going," Dad said while stepping forward, saving me from whatever Johnny had planned. "Ms. Carerra has had a long day, and I'm sure she's ready to call it a night."

I nodded, hoping it would help his story, and he managed to get between Johnny and me, breaking whatever tractor beam he seemed to have me in. I took a deep breath and stepped around my dad, who was acting as a shield between me and Johnny, and through the front door.

My parents were quick to follow, and the door shut right behind us. The arguing that started immediately on the other side was more than I wanted to worry about and I thought I could hear a young girl singing "Johnny and Sarah, sitting in a tree.”

*  *  *

"He definitely didn't recognize you," Mom told me after we had gotten into the car and were on our way home. I had to give her that point.

"Maybe for now, but I have a feeling this isn't the last I've seen of him."

"That may be true," Mom said. She was sitting in the back with me instead of her usual seat up front, wrapping me in a warm hug. I didn't realize until recently just how comforting a hug could be. "But you look a lot different as Sarah, which is the whole point, you know. He may never make the connection."

I could only hope.

I fell asleep that night worrying about the upcoming day of school. Between my pierced ears, the girly haircut, my new French tips, and now the encounter with Johnny, I didn't know how I was going to survive.

*  *  *

---

Editor Note: The images used for this story were purchased and used under royalty-free license* from Istockphoto.com . ~Sephrena

Author Note: Please email me at AngelJediGirl (at) gmail (dot) com before posting this story to any other site. Posting to a pay site is prohibited.

Comments and suggestions are also welcome at the above email address.

*  *  *

Chapter 11 - Boy or Girl? That is the Question

My mom wouldn’t let me wear gloves to school Thursday morning. Even though it was late May and the temperature was high, I needed to hide those French tips! If I couldn’t cut them (she wouldn’t let me do that either), gloves would have been the next best option. People would think I was weird, but that wasn’t anything new. It would be better to be weird than to be beaten up for looking like a girl!

Emily and Ethan both laughed when I told them my dilemma while we walked to school.

“Forget about it, Megan,” she said, even though I had been dressed as Brett. I glared at her. “Sorry, Brett. If they think you’re a girl and haven’t beaten you up yet, just go with it. Let them think that you’re a girl. It’ll help next year anyway.”

I guess there was some logic behind her statement, but I didn’t think it could possibly be that easy.

*  *  *

It started during first period. I was sitting there, minding my own business, when this guy I hardly knew leaned over to me.

“Are you really a girl?” he asked. I just sighed and put my head on my desk.

*  *  *

“I knew you were a girl, dude!”

*  *  *

“Hey, you are a girl! I knew it.”

*  *  *

“You go, girl!”

*  *  *

“The tomboy’s finally coming out of her shell, huh?”

*  *  *

“This is ridiculous!” We were eating lunch at our normal table. Ethan, Emily, Kathy, Jane, and Ashley were all laughing at what had happened to me all morning. “Don’t laugh, it’s not funny!”

“It is!” was their reply when they had calmed down.

“But how can they think that I’m a girl? I spent last semester in PE with some of them!” That statement just started them laughing again.

If passing was this hard on my fourth day of school, how was I going to finish the rest of the year?

“I hate to be the one to ask,” Kathy said. “But are you sure you’re not a girl?”

I grimaced. I honestly did not know the answer to her question anymore.

“It’s okay,” Emily said, and she wrapped me in a comforting hug. “Just two and a half more weeks; it’ll be over soon.”

“Not soon enough,” was all I could say.

*  *  *

I was retrieving my books from my locker before the lunch period ended. Emily was with me because we shared our next class together. The others had left to make it to their own classes.

“Campbell!” I heard someone say behind me. I was then spun around out of my control. I ended up face to face with Johnny Crawford.

Emily gasped and my heart skipped a beat! He was staring at me like he couldn’t believe what he was seeing! He’d made the connection! He knew I was Sarah Carerra!

He started to say something. I knew my life was over! But he stopped short, and his expression changed. Oh no, I thought! He didn’t know, but now he’s figured it out! How unlucky could I be?

“Why the hell are you dressed like a girl?” he asked. Oddly, relief washed over me at his question. He didn’t know! He hadn’t made the connection! I needed to get out of there before he did.

“It’s, uh,” I faltered. “A long story?” It had come out as a question, not an answer.

I stood there, scared to death for six long seconds, wondering if I would be able to run faster than he could. I wondered if I should knee him in the groin before running. I wondered what I could possibly do to live through the day.

He waved off whatever he had been thinking, perhaps buying my lame excuse.

“Anyway,” he said, unsure of himself. “What were your parents doing at my house last night?”

“Having dinner?” I replied meekly. If I was truthful, maybe he’d let me go.

“I know that, you idiot,” he said. “But why? What were they doing there with Sarah?”

At least I knew for sure that he didn’t think I was Sarah. That had helped me relax more than I thought it would.

“Um,” I started, still unsure of myself. “My dad is Sarah’s agent. Your dad asked him to come along too.”

Johnny stepped back. I relaxed a bit more. “Do you know Sarah? Can you get me her number?”

Oh crap! Once again this was even worse than getting pounded to death. There was no way I was going to give him Sarah’s number! My number! It just wasn’t going to happen!

“I...I’ve met her,” I told him. “But I don’t know her number or anything.”

“Look, dude,” he said, looking desperate. “You gotta get it for me. Check your dad’s cell phone or something.”

I was shaking my head before I even realized it. “No way. I enjoy my freedom. He’d ground me for a year if I did that. He’s very protective of his clients.”

Emily nodded her head in agreement with me. Austin had learned that lesson very clearly when he’d tried getting a number before, and I wasn’t in any rush to repeat his mistake.

“Can’t you get her number from your dad?” I asked him, hoping the answer was no.

“I tried, man,” he said, this time with a pained expression. He really seemed to be smitten with her. Too bad he didn’t stand a chance! “He said I wasn’t to go anywhere near her.”

“Maybe you should drop it then,” Emily said. “I mean, there must be a reason your dad doesn’t want you near her.”

I thought Johnny was going to smack her for a second. His glare was pretty intense. “I can’t, she’s the most beautiful girl I’ve ever met. I have to have her.”

“Have her?” Emily asked. She looked really pissed now. “Girls aren’t “property” for you boys to have, Johnny! If your dad doesn’t want you around her, then stay away! We won’t be helping you to contact her either! Why don’t you grow up?!”

She grabbed me by the arm and pulled me toward class. Johnny was left standing next to my locker with a stunned expression on his face.

*  *  *

“Sarah was there last night?” Emily asked me after we had taken our seats in class. We had a few minutes before the bell rang, giving us time to talk.

“Yeah,” I replied. “I guess Scott is her contact with the label too. He wanted to have dinner with his up and coming female contracts.”

I hated lying to her. She was going to be pissed when she learned the truth.

“I’m glad she was there, though,” I continued. At least this part wasn’t a complete lie. “If she hadn’t been there, Johnny might have noticed me.”

“He didn’t even know you were there?”

“No,” I replied truthfully. Then I had to continue with the half truths. “He never took his eyes off Sarah. He had a fight with Debbie or something, and came home early. We were leaving when he showed up and I slipped out as quickly as I could.”

“Thank goodness for that,” she said as the bell rang. We turned back to our desks and began preparing for class.

*  *  *

“Miss Campbell?” our English teacher asked while looking at me. She was taking roll, and she looked confused. I mean, she had my real name right in front of her, for crying out loud!

*  *  *

“Hey, new girl, what’s your name?”

*  *  *

“Wow, you’re kinda cute!”

*  *  *

School had started to turn into my worst nightmare. I was more than happy for classes to end that day. Someone had even whistled at me while I was walking out!

“It’s over. Forget about them,” Emily had said while we walked home.

“It’s just going to happen again tomorrow,” I argued. She shrugged at that, not really sure how to answer.

We walked in silence most of the way home. Ethan left us at his house and Emily and I continued on to my house.

When we arrived, there was a nice car parked in the driveway. It was a Lexus or something.

It was Julia’s car, I found out moments later. She was talking to my parents in the living room when Emily and I entered the house.

“Oh good,” my mom said. “She’s home.”

Julia looked up at me. She looked confused for a moment, and I realized that I was in boy mode. How would I explain this to her? Mom should have warned me!

“Wow!” she finally said, replacing the confused look with a smile. “You weren’t kidding when you said you were new to the girly thing!”

I blushed and nodded. At least she was still under the impression that I was a girl.

“You don’t even wear makeup to school, huh?” she asked. Her smile was quite large by that point. I got the impression she really liked dressing up tomboys.

Emily looked completely confused. But she was wise enough not to say anything about my true gender. I’d thank her for that later.

“Em, this is my image consultant, Julia,” I told her. A light seemed to go on in her head.

“It’s nice to meet you,” Julia said to her. “But I’m going to have to borrow Megan for the evening. We’re going shopping!”

*  *  *

---

Editor Note: The images used for this story were purchased and used under royalty-free license* from Istockphoto.com . ~Sephrena

Author Note: Please email me at AngelJediGirl (at) gmail (dot) com before posting this story to any other site. Posting to a pay site is prohibited.

Comments and suggestions are also welcome at the above email address.

*  *  *

Chapter 12 - The Pop Star, the Consultant, and the Wardrobe

“Can I come?” I knew that would be Emily’s first question. I also knew that the answer was going to devastate her.

“I’m afraid not,” came the response. Surprisingly, it was Julia who had said it. “I need S...Megan alone.”

Julia had talked to my dad, apparently. She at least knew that I was trying to keep Sarah a secret.

Emily slumped immediately, along with my mood. I hated keeping secrets from her. I nearly broke the big secret then and there. If my dad hadn’t been glaring at me, I would have.

“I’m sorry, Em,” I told her instead. She looked at me, and when she saw how upset I was, her mood brightened. At least she was aware that I wanted her to be there.

“It’s okay,” she said dejectedly. “I’ll see you tomorrow.”

I gave her a comforting hug before she walked back out the front door.

“I can’t do this, Daddy!” I turned on him. “She’s my best friend!”

I was surprised when I noticed I was crying. Dad wrapped me in the same comforting hug I had just given Emily.

“I know, Princess,” he comforted. “But we need to establish your career before telling her.”

“Why?” I moaned into his chest. It wasn’t fair to Emily.

“You’re going to have to trust me on this, Megan.”

He held me for a few minutes, and let me calm my emotions.

“Get dressed,” he finally said when I released him. “We need to get Sarah’s wardrobe taken care of. You’ve got some important events coming up, and she needs something to wear.”

“Like what?” I asked him.

“Well,” he started, but then hesitated.

“Tell her, Don,” Mom said. I started to worry then.

“Tomorrow you have a photo shoot for the press kit Max mentioned yesterday,” my dad said. He hesitated before continuing.

“Tell her, Don,” Mom repeated. “She has a right to know what you did.”

I glanced at my mom. She did not look happy.

“Saturday night is the Tween Awards,” he finally said. “I’ve got another client who has been nominated for Best Male Artist.”

“And?” I asked, when I realized there was something going on I didn’t want to know about.

“He needs a date.”

“What?!” I screamed!

“Honey,” Dad said. His face looked pained. “This is good publicity! For both of you!”

“You could have asked first!” I yelled back. “I don’t know if I’m ready for that yet!”

“I’m sorry,” he apologized. “It came out before I thought about what I was doing. I told him about a new up and coming singer, and he was delighted to have you as his date.”

I didn’t know what to say! I was still learning how to be a girl! I didn’t think I was ready to go on a date! Especially on a date that was going to be so public!

“Who is it?” I finally asked.

“Josh Holliday,” my dad replied. I started to hyperventilate before the blackness encompassed me.

*  *  *

I came to on a couch I’d never sat on before, in a room I had never seen before.

“Oh good, you’re awake,” I heard Julia say. She sounded annoyed. “Come on, get dressed and we’ll get going.”

“Where am I?” I asked. I looked around the room. It looked a lot like the spare bedroom, but it had been decorated.

“Sarah’s room,” my mom replied. “Your dad had it furnished while you were at school today.”

I looked around again. He’d managed to furnish it exactly like he said he would. It was a small sitting room/dressing room combined into one. There was a flat screen TV on one wall, a large vanity on another, and the entire theme seemed to emulate the style that they had thrown at me the day before. The room was simple but glamorous, and definitely feminine. It seemed to scream teenage pop princess.

“Wow!” I exclaimed! I was truly impressed!

“Be nice to him, honey,” Mom said. “He was only trying to do what is best for your career.”

I thought about her words before I responded. “I know, Mom, but it surprised me. I mean, Josh Holliday!”

My mom chuckled. Josh Holliday was currently one of the most desired teen heartthrobs by girls 12-18. He’d topped the charts more than once in the last year. Going out with him on my first date did not seem like the easiest way to start dating.

“You’ll be fine,” Mom said. “It’s only for publicity. Nothing else has to come from it.”

I nodded and she kissed my forehead. “Now get dressed; you’re wasting Julia’s time.”

“Oh my gosh!” I’d almost forgotten about shopping. “I’m so sorry, Julia!”

“It’s alright,” she said with a friendly smile. “I brought you some clothes to wear.”

She handed me a package, and I opened it up to find another set of clothes. I started undressing my boy’s clothes immediately.

It wasn’t until I saw the shocked look on Mom’s face that I realized I was changing in front of two women. But I think she was more shocked to learn that I had been wearing panties to school!

I shrugged at her unasked question, and then turned to the clothes Julia had brought.

I quickly slipped on the snug white jeans. They were tighter than anything I’d worn before, but oddly comfortable at the same time. I then slipped into the bra and the tight yellow tee that was with it.

“You look excellent,” Mom told me and gave me a hug. “I’m glad you’re being more girly, honey.”

I blushed, but smiled back.

“I’m going to teach you how to dress, Sarah,” Julia interrupted our moment. I turned to pay attention. “The idea is to be simple glam.”

She waved her hand up and down my body. “For instance, this jean and tee set is very simple.”

She opened another box. “But with a few extra pieces, we can glam it up.”

She pulled a white vest out of the box. It looked very expensive. “Put this on.”

She handed me the vest, and I slipped it on. It too was quite snug, but it was light-weight. The vest was similar to the one she had given me to wear yesterday. It was cut slightly different, and the material had a different feel to it. It looked more casual than the other one. It had some blue striping to help highlight the vest, and seemed to work well together over the yellow top.

“One or two glam pieces, no more,” Julia said sternly. “That is rule #1.

“For this outfit, we’re using the vest, much like we did yesterday.” She reached back into the box and pulled out a pair of white strappy sandals with a slight heel. “These shoes are your second piece.”

I nodded and slipped them on my feet.

“See how easy it is to go from Megan to Sarah?” Julia asked. I nodded my understanding of the concept. “Take off the vest, and you have Megan again. Remember that if you need to make a quick change for some reason.”

I walked over to the mirror and took a look at myself. Megan looked fantastic. I always thought that Sarah looked much better, but I was beginning to realize that wasn’t the case. The blonde hair made me look more exotic, but my beauty was not diminished in any way without it.

I smiled.

“I’m guessing you wear a wig for the hair?” Julia asked. I nodded again and turned towards the table where we had been keeping the wigs. They weren’t there!

“Mom?” I questioned, looking at her for an explanation.

She smiled while rising from the couch. “The wigs are your most vital piece of the disguise, Megan. Your dad and I felt it would be a good idea to keep them hidden to prevent people from seeing them.”

I guess that made sense. She walked over to an armoire that was standing against one of the walls. I followed her. There was a keypad on the door.

“The code is 4357,” she said, entering the numbers. I heard a click and one of the doors opened slightly. She pulled it open and inside was the collection of wigs we had purchased, safe from the prying eyes of any visitors to the room.

“Wow,” Julia commented when she saw the collection. “You guys are really serious about this Hannah Montana thing.” Mom and I could only nod.

“Which one should I wear?” I asked Julia.

She thought over the options on display, before pointing at the one I had worn yesterday. “I think we better use this one until your image has been established. Once everyone can recognize you, we can start playing with the other styles.”

A few minutes later my hair had been pinned up, the wig was on, and we were on our way to the shops.

*  *  *

“I like this one,” I commented while picking up another “glam” piece. Julia nodded.

“You’re catching on quickly,” Julia replied.

Julia had driven us to a shopping area I had never been to before. It wasn’t Rodeo Drive, but all of the shops were upscale. There were a lot of designer shops and prominent names in every direction.

We’d started with the simple: tops, jeans, some dresses. She’d been adamant that a girl my age didn’t need to be showing off lingerie though. I was grateful to skip that piece of shopping.

Then we had moved on to the glam pieces. They were about as expensive as I thought they would be. I was glad that I didn’t have to front the cash for them, because my dad had done that. I was upset to learn he was going to take the money from my earnings until he was repaid, but as he told me, “That’s business”.

We’d even picked up a beautiful little black dress for the awards show Saturday. Thoughts about going on a date were still upsetting my stomach slightly, but I was excited to wear the dress.

“Thanks, Julia,” I told her when the trip seemed to be coming to an end. “I couldn’t have done this without you.”

“That’s what I get paid for,” she said with a smile. I frowned at the reminder.

“Look,” she said when she saw my disappointment. “You’re a very beautiful girl. If your singing is anywhere near as good as you look, your face is going to be all over the place in the next few weeks. I’m just happy for the opportunity to work with the next big teen sensation.”

I blushed, and noticed that a number of people around us had turned to look at me.

Julia noticed too. She seemed to enjoy marketing me about as much as Dad did.

“Sarah Carerra,” she made sure everyone around us heard my name. “You’re going to be famous.”

*  *  *

---

Editor Note: The images used for this story were purchased and used under royalty-free license* from Istockphoto.com . ~Sephrena

Author Note: Please email me at AngelJediGirl (at) gmail (dot) com before posting this story to any other site. Posting to a pay site is prohibited.

Comments and suggestions are also welcome at the above email address.

*  *  *

Chapter 13 - Problems with Authority

The next morning really had me in a depression. When I dressed in my boy clothes after being glammed up the night before, I immediately felt the disappointment that Emily and Ethan said came upon me every time I left Megan behind.

Megan was still there. The last few days had shown me just how much of Megan there was in my everyday life. Other people could see her too. But it felt different to me, and I didn’t like it.

“Come home right after school,” Dad was telling me over breakfast. “We need to be at the studio by about 3:45.”

I nodded, finished my breakfast, and headed out the door to meet Emily.

“How was last night?” she asked while we walked towards Ethan’s house.

“It was fun,” I told her truthfully. “But I really missed you. I wish you could be a part of this.”

“Me too,” she said forlornly. “I don’t understand why I can’t.”

She looked at me, and I wished I could tell her the truth. Instead I had to settle for another half-truth.

“I don’t either,” I told her. “Dad thinks that we need to establish my career before I start bringing friends along.”

That news really depressed her. I guess she had some idea of how long that could take.

“So it could be months before I get to go?” she asked.

I could only nod. But the tears in my eyes surprised me. “I’m so sorry, Emily. I want you there so badly!”

She stopped walking and turned to me. We hugged each other, which helped release the emotions we both had pent up.

“I don’t know why my dad wants it this way,” I told her. “He won’t even let my mom come.”

“Are you serious?” she asked. I could only nod. “Wow! That makes me feel better at least. I mean, now I know it’s not just me.”

I smiled back at her. At least we had come to an understanding.

*  *  *

Everyone stared at me again while I walked down the hall to my first period class.

I had come to the conclusion that there was nothing short of dropping my pants that I could do to prove that I was male. Even then, some might wonder.

But the more interesting thing was that I didn’t care anymore. I didn’t care if I was seen by others as a girl. With every passing day, I started to feel more accepting of the feminine taunts and jibes that I was getting. Being female seemed like the right thing. Even at school.

But that all had to change, apparently. It would have been too much to ask to live my life in peace.

Halfway through first period I was summoned to the principal’s office. I knew that I hadn’t done anything wrong, so I guessed he was going to talk about my gender.

I was right too.

“MISTER Campbell,” Principal Hall said after I had taken a seat in front of his desk. His emphasis on Mister didn’t bode well for me. “Care to explain what you are doing?”

“I don’t know what you mean, sir,” I told him. I was pretty sure the innocent card wouldn’t work, but I didn’t know what else to tell him.

“Don’t get smart with me, BOY!” he nearly yelled. “I don’t like disruptions in my school, and you are becoming a big disruption!”

His statement confused me. I didn’t think I had been disrupting anything. Sure everybody was treating me more like a girl, but it’s not like I was using the girl’s restroom or anything. I was pretty sure I hadn’t done anything wrong.

“Why is that, sir?” I asked.

“Because you are a boy, but you are dressing in girl’s clothes!” he replied. “That is against the dress code!”

I had to stifle the laugh that had threatened to come out. “But these are boy’s clothes,” I stated instead. He didn’t seem pleased at my response.

He looked at me, perhaps for the first time. I think he was surprised to see that I was telling the truth. I knew I looked feminine, but other than my underwear, I was wearing all boys’ clothes.

“Perhaps,” he relented. “But that doesn’t explain the hair or the pierced ears. You are deliberately trying to make yourself look female, and I won’t stand for it.”

I guess that answered the question of whether anyone had noticed my earrings. But there was nothing I could do about it. I couldn’t get rid of anything I had done to myself recently, except possibly the French tips. Everything else was meant to help me outside of school. Not to mention the whole Sarah Carerra thing.

I was about to argue against his accusation. I certainly hadn’t deliberately been trying to pass as female at school, for the time being, at least. But before I got the chance, he continued.

“I’m giving you a week’s detention, starting after school,” he stated. Horror filled my face! I had the photo shoot this afternoon, and who knew what else the label would want me to do over the next week!

“I also expect you to cut your hair, your nails, and remove those earrings before school starts on Monday,” he continued.

I most certainly was not going to do any of that! He had no right to decide how I was going to live my life! Mary had been very specific over the last six years about who would make this decision! It certainly wasn’t him!

The smug smile he gave me certainly showed that he felt he had the upper hand. But I had something else on my side. I could only hope it was enough.

“I’m sorry, sir,” I told him in a voice that was a lot calmer than I thought I would have been able to manage. “But I can’t do that.”

“You don’t have a choice, Mr. Campbell.” He still had that smug grin on his face. “Failure to comply will lead to your suspension from this school.”

I don’t know why my circumstances bothered him so much. I knew my parents, my dad especially, would fight what he was doing tooth and nail.

“You are dismissed,” he said, and turned towards some papers on his desk. “I’ll see you after school for detention.”

“I won’t be there,” I said. I made no attempt to move or leave his office. This needed to be resolved now or it would cause problems for my new career.

“What did you say?” he asked incredulously. He stared at me. He tried to intimidate me into changing my decision. But there was more at stake for me here than sitting in a class for an extra hour after school.

“I am contractually obligated to be somewhere this afternoon,” I explained. “I will not be able to attend detention because of these legal requirements.”

I wasn’t completely sure that my contract required me to be there. I did know I was supposed to make every attempt possible to make the events the label asked me to attend. I didn’t know the repercussions for not being there.

“I don’t care about your contractual obligations,” he yelled. “You will be at detention this afternoon.”

I sighed. I knew that there wasn’t anything I could have done to change his mind. I would have to use my secret weapon.

“You’re going to have to talk to my agent about this then,” I told him and reached into my backpack to pull out a business card. “Here’s his number.”

“Your agent?” he asked. He didn’t believe me. He looked at the card and smiled an evil little smile before continuing. “Nice try, Mr. Campbell, but your father can’t talk his way out of this.”

“He doesn’t have to,” I told him. “But, he will be very unhappy if I don’t make my appointment this afternoon.”

The principal stared at the business card for a long moment, deciding if I was telling the truth.

“I’ll wait,” I told him. He sneered but picked up the phone.

He dialed Dad’s number and waited for him to answer.

“Mr. Campbell,” he said a moment later. “I have your son in my office. He’s refusing to attend detention this afternoon or follow the school’s dress code.”

My dad said something I couldn’t make out before the principal continued. “He is violating the dress code by wearing earrings and appearing female.”

I heard my dad’s laugh through the phone, it was that loud.

“I assure you this is no laughing matter, Mr. Campbell,” the principal said. “Failure to comply will lead to suspension.”

They continued to yell back and forth at each other. I sat in my seat, and waited for the conclusion.

Mr. Hall was furious when he hung up the phone. I’m sure his mood didn’t bode well for my future at his school.

“Alright, young man,” he said after he took a moment to calm down. “I will let you out of detention, and your father has convinced me that I cannot make you cut your hair or nails.”

Wow, my dad was good! I would have to thank him later.

“But you are not a female in the eyes of this school, do you understand?” he continued.

“Yes, sir,” I replied. What had my dad told him? “That was never my intention.”

“Good,” he said with that smug smile. “Then you are dismissed.”

*  *  *

“He just let you leave without any punishment?” Ethan asked at lunch. “That doesn’t sound like him.”

“I know!” I said. I couldn’t believe that Dad had talked him out of everything!

“I don’t trust him,” Emily said. I could only agree with her.

*  *  *

“MISTER Brett Campbell?” my teacher asked while taking roll in my first class after lunch. It became painfully obvious at that moment that I wasn’t getting away without a punishment.

“Here,” I mumbled. The rest of the class looked astonished. One of them even gasped.

*  *  *

“MISTER Brett Campbell?” the next teacher repeated. The class had the same reaction.

*  *  *

“MISTER Brett Campbell?” I was ready to die.

*  *  *

“That was the worst school day of my life!” I told Emily and Ethan on our way home. “I thought everyone thinking I was a girl was bad, but this could kill me! Literally!”

“It can’t be that bad,” Emily said. “Nobody did anything, right?”

I nodded. “But they sure looked like they wanted to. I’m scared to go to back on Monday.”

“Maybe the weekend will calm them down,” Ethan said. I could only hope.

“What do you guys want to do tonight?” Emily asked. I frowned when I realized I would have to let her down again.

“I have to go to a photo shoot tonight,” I told them. “I’m sorry.”

Emily’s mood dropped again. “Tomorrow?”

I shook my head.

“This sucks!” she told me. “We never should have taken you to that party!”

Ethan didn’t seem to agree with her. “You don’t mean that,” he told her.

Emily frowned before answering. “No, but it sucks being left out.”

“I’m sorry,” I said again.

“It’s okay, Megan,” Emily said. “I know you want us there, and that’s what counts.”

*  *  *

---

Editor Note: The images used for this story were purchased and used under royalty-free license* from Istockphoto.com . ~Sephrena

Author Note: Please email me at AngelJediGirl (at) gmail (dot) com before posting this story to any other site. Posting to a pay site is prohibited.

Comments and suggestions are also welcome at the above email address.

*  *  *

I wanted to show my appreciation to everyone that has provided the wonderful feedback I've received. I was wishing that there was something that I could give you all for Christmas. Then I realized that I could. Exclusively for Top Shelf, I present you with a new chapter of Sarah Carerra.

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays,
Megan

Chapter 14 - Marketing Blitz

"Hurry and get dressed," Dad told me when I walked into the house. "We need to go."

"Ok," I said. I dropped my book bag on the couch and headed for Sarah's room. "What should I wear?"

"It doesn't matter, they'll have your wardrobe there," he replied. "And go light on the makeup."

I nodded and went to get ready.

*  *  *

"How did you get my principal to back down?" I asked my dad while we were driving to the studio.

"I told him that you are under contract with a record company to be at a photo shoot tonight," he told me. "I also told him that they were specific about your look, so you couldn't cut your hair or anything."

I smiled at him. "Thank you."

"You're welcome," he smiled back. "He's not causing you any more trouble then?"

"I wouldn't say that," I replied. "He made sure that nobody would mistake me for a girl. I think school is going to suck until the end of the year."

"What did he do?" Dad asked. His tone seemed to indicate that physical harm could come to my principal depending on my answer.

"He made sure that all of my teachers call me Mr. Brett Campbell during roll call."

"That's it?" Dad asked. I rolled my eyes at him. He obviously didn't understand how detrimental that was.

"For now," I told him. "But people were starting to think the other way, even a couple of teachers. I thought it would be easier for next year until he did that."

Dad nodded. He seemed to understand better now. "Tell me if he does anything else, alright?"

"Okay," I replied.

*  *  *

We pulled into the parking lot of the studio. It was the same place where we'd had the photo shoot on Wednesday. Thankfully there wasn't anyone standing around the door with a camera this time. I wondered how long it would be before the paparazzi were following me around.

We met Max in the lobby. He looked agitated, and I hoped that it wasn't anything I had done.

"Good afternoon, Sarah," he said. He managed to smile, which made me feel that I wasn't the cause of whatever problem he was having, thankfully.

"Everything okay?" my dad asked him.

"Yeah," Max replied. "We have a good photographer today. He does excellent work, but he's also a pain to work with."

"Who is it?" Dad asked.

"Greg Gunthrie," Max answered with a grimace. My dad rolled his eyes. He'd obviously worked with him before.

"Sarah, just…" Dad started. "Just don't take anything he says personally."

"O...Okay," I replied nervously. I didn't like how much they seemed to dislike working with the photographer.

"Follow me," Max said and then turned to walk down the hall.

Dad and I followed, and we eventually entered one of the studios. There were a lot of people there, more than at the last photo shoot. There was also a tall, skinny, bald man who seemed to be yelling at everybody at the same time.

"Finally!" he yelled when he saw us enter. "Where have you been? We don't have all day!"

I looked at my watch. It was 3:50, we were only about five minutes late.

"Why aren't you dressed?" he yelled at me.

"I just got here?" I replied meekly. I didn't know what he expected me to do.

"Oh, great!" he looked even more upset. "Another diva! My day is officially ruined."

I just stood there in shock. Was he serious?

"Go!" he screamed and pointed towards a set of dressing rooms along one wall.

Not wanting to spend any more time with him, I hurried toward the dressing rooms. I wasn't sure what I was supposed to change into, but at least I was away from him.

A lady in her late 30's stood up from a chair as I approached. She smiled at me.

"Sarah?" she asked kindly. I nodded. "It's nice to meet you. My name is Amy and I'll be in charge of your wardrobe today. Your first outfit is inside the dressing room if you want to change."

"Okay," I said with a smile. It was a big improvement talking to her over the photographer. I glanced back and he was yelling at someone else. "Is he always like that?"

"Unfortunately," she replied with a slight frown. "I wasn't too excited when I learned he was the photographer today."

"I hope I do okay," I told her. "This is only my second photo shoot, and the first wasn't more than a couple of quick shots."

She smiled at me. "You'll do fine."

"GET DRESSED!" the photographer yelled from the other side of the studio. I looked and he was glaring at Amy and me.

"Give her a minute, Greg!" Amy yelled back. "She's new to this."

That seemed to be the wrong thing to tell him. I thought I heard him say something like "Great, just great." I really didn't like him.

"You'd better change," Amy said. I nodded and entered the dressing room. Hanging on the wall was a short red dress. It intimidated me. I'd worn dresses before, but this thing looked like it was going to be short, and expose more of my chest than I wanted to.

With some trepidation I removed my clothes and slipped the dress over my head. It was short, shorter than anything I had ever worn before. But the skirt wasn't mini by any means. The hem rested a couple of inches above my knee.

There was a mirror in the dressing room, and when I looked into it, I was once again amazed at how good I looked.

"Are you ready, Sarah?" I heard Amy ask through the door.

"Yeah," I replied and opened the door. I stepped outside to show her the dress. She eyed me, had me twirl around slowly, and fiddled with something on the back.

"Looks good," she eventually proclaimed. "Are you ready for makeup?"

I nodded and Amy motioned to another girl in her early 20's. "This is Cary. She'll be doing your makeup."

"Hi, Sarah," Cary said with a smile. "It's an honor to meet you."

I blushed. I didn't know what else to do. Cary continued to smile.

"Anyway," she said. "Makeup?"

"Uh, yeah," I said and followed her over to a chair. She wrapped something around me, to protect the dress, and got to work.

When she was done, I looked even more amazing! She'd given me a smoky eye, and coupled with the light pink lip, I thought I looked stunning!

"Is she ready yet?" Greg yelled from right behind us. I jumped and let out a yelp. He was really starting to get on my nerves.

"Yes, Greg," Amy said. She sounded upset. I was trying to come down from the adrenaline rush I was on.

"Good," the photographer stated. "Let's get started."

I stood up and followed him over to the area containing the backdrops.

"Now," he said after he had placed me where he wanted me. "Just follow my lead."

*  *  *

"No, no, no!" Greg screamed. "My gosh, girl, haven't you ever done this before?"

"No!" I screamed back at him. I was on the verge of tears. "I haven't!"

He sighed, and sat down in a chair. I was left standing there, not sure what to do.

My dad came over and gave me a hug. "It'll be okay, honey," he whispered, before letting me go. I wanted to continue the hug, but I knew that would lead to questions we didn't want to answer.

"I'm sorry, Sarah," Greg said softly. "I usually get the best reaction from people in this industry when I yell at them. But you're, uh, different."

"Different?" I questioned.

"It's a good thing!" he said quickly. "I'd rather not yell at people. I wish there were more people in this industry like you. Now, let's try this again."

*  *  *

The photo shoot was much better after that. Greg really was a good photographer. With his gentler and soothing attitude we were able to get through the six outfits and multiple shots that Max wanted.

"Much better, huh?" Greg asked after the last shot. I nodded. I found it amazing that I actually liked Greg, once he stopped yelling.

"It's been an honor to shoot you this afternoon," he continued with a smile. Then he turned to Max. "Max, anytime you need a photographer for her, let me know. She's a pleasure to work with."

I was blushing when he turned back to me, but I returned his smile when we shook hands.

It had turned out to be a good day after all.

*  *  *

---

Editor Note: The images used for this story were purchased and used under royalty-free license* from Istockphoto.com . ~Sephrena

Author Note: Please email me at AngelJediGirl (at) gmail (dot) com before posting this story to any other site. Posting to a pay site is prohibited.

Comments and suggestions are also welcome at the above email address.

*  *  *

Chapter 15 - Boy Trouble

The next morning found me dreading my Sarah Carerra life. I knew that going to the Tween Awards with Josh Holliday was a good thing for my career, but it still scared me to death!

I mean, Josh Holliday!

Now I had to spend the whole afternoon getting dolled up and then I had to be escorted down a red carpet. It was exciting, but scary at the same time.

Julia and a make-up artist were supposed to come by the house around three, and Josh was supposed to pick me up at five.

Until then I was stuck trying to find something to do to pass the time. Emily was off with her family somewhere, and I hadn't been able to get a hold of Ethan.

Instead, I had settled on the couch, watching E! They were talking about what to expect at the Tween Awards this evening. I felt it would only be in my best interest to have a better understanding of the evening's event.

When the doorbell rang, I walked over to the door and opened it without a second thought.

Johnny was standing on our front porch! And I was dressed as Megan!

He looked about as shocked as I felt!

"Brett?" he asked.

"No," I explained. "I'm Megan."

He looked confused. I was pretty sure that I was easily identifiable as Megan. There was no way that he would believe I suddenly had an identical twin sister or something. I didn't know what to say.

"Brett?" he asked again. He still looked confused.

I sighed. There wasn't any way I would be able to convince him I wasn't Brett. "What do you want, Johnny?"

"I knew it!" he exclaimed, the confusion leaving his face. "What are you doing dressed as a girl? Who's Megan?"

"It's a long story," I told him. "What do you want?"

"No, wait, I gotta hear this. Tell me!"

I started to close the door on him. I wasn't ready to explain myself to anyone else!
"Okay, okay," he said while sticking his foot in the door to prevent it from closing. "You don't have to tell me."

"What do you want?!" I asked him again. I tried to put some menace in my voice.

"Sorry, sorry," he said, pulling his foot out while I opened the door again. "I uh, I was hoping that you were able to get Sarah's number from your dad."

"I told you I wasn't going to do that!" I said, more than a little irritated.

"Come on," he whined. "I need your help."

"With what?" my dad asked from behind me. I hadn't heard him approach, and his question made me jump.

"Sorry," Dad apologized for scaring me. "What does Johnny need your help with?"

I was suddenly glad that Dad was there.

"Nothing, sir," Johnny said. He looked very anxious now. I could tell that he didn't want to leave without Sarah's number, but he didn't want to stay with my dad standing there.

"He wants me to help him get Sarah's number," I told my dad. Johnny glared at me. I hoped I hadn't just made an enemy, but I really didn't want to deal with this any more.

"Johnny," Dad said while glaring at him. "Megan knows better than to give out my clients' information."

Johnny's shoulders sagged. I think he started to realize that he wasn't going to get Sarah's number from us.

"Frankly," Dad continued. "I think it would be wise if you stayed away from Sarah anyway."

"I wish I could, Mr. Campbell," Johnny said. "But she's so amazing!"

"You don't even know her!" I exclaimed.

Johnny looked at me oddly, and I was scared I had given something away.

"She's right," Dad stated. "You only met her for a moment..."

"A moment was enough!" Johnny interrupted.

"Look," Dad continued. "I know your dad, and I know you're a nice kid. But the last thing Sarah needs right now is a boyfriend."

"Shouldn't she make that decision?" Johnny asked him.

Dad glanced at me quickly. "I'm pretty sure I know her wishes on this subject for now."

For now? Did Dad just imply that he thought I may want a boyfriend in the future? Did I want a boyfriend in the future?

I was so engrossed in that thought that I missed whatever my dad said next. By the time I heard the conversation again, Johnny was leaving.

"See you later, Brett, Megan, whatever," he said with a sly grin that I did not like. We had upset him, and he knew a potentially harmful secret about me.

"Bye, Johnny," I told him kindly. "I'm sorry."

He nodded, whether he believed me or not, and walked toward his car. I closed the front door.

"That boy is trouble, Megan," my dad felt obligated to tell me, as if I didn't already know.

"I know, Dad," I replied. "It's not like I want him hanging around, you know."

"I know, Princess. Just be careful."

"I will," I replied with a grimace.

*  *  *

Julia arrived with another woman just before three.

"Hi, Sarah," she said when I opened our front door and let the two of them in.

She pointed at the other woman with her. She was also gorgeous and in her mid-20s, with her dark hair pulled back into a ponytail, and her makeup was exquisite.

"This is Stephanie," Julia said. "She's going to be your personal makeup artist when you use the services of Aphrodite Image Consulting."

Stephanie smiled. My first impression of her was that she seemed to be just as nice as Julia.

"She knows your secret," Julia continued to explain, causing me some trepidation. "But she's bound by the same non-disclosure agreement your dad had me sign."

That made me feel better, but I was still upset that another person knew my secret.

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Sarah," Stephanie said. Her smile was encouraging, at least.

"Come on, let's get started," Julia said, and I led them down the hall to Sarah's room.

*  *  *

I didn't think that it would take very long to get ready, but I was wrong. I had already put the wig on before Julia and Stephanie had arrived. I figured it wouldn't take too long to put on the little black dress we'd purchased earlier, add some makeup, and head out the door.

Julia and Stephanie argued about nearly every little thing, which made everything take longer. Hose or no hose, what kind of jewelry, it was all up for debate between the two. In the end I ended up with bare legs, a small gold pendant, and a matching set of bangles.

Then came the argument about makeup. Stephanie wanted me to have dark smoky eyes like I had been given for the photo shoot the day before. Julia thought that kind of makeup would make me look too grown up for a tween awards show.

I think the only reason I ended up with the smoky eyes was because I had agreed with Stephanie. It was something about the client's wishes swaying Julia's decision.

It was nearly two hours later by the time I was ready and they had left.

I was sitting in Sarah's room with the TV on, watching more coverage about the Tween Awards when I heard the doorbell ring.

My anxiety went through the roof. Intellectually I knew that this wasn't a real date, but emotionally it felt like the exact opposite!

I nervously sat on the couch, like my dad had told me to do. He wanted to talk to Josh first apparently. After a long moment there was a knock on the door.

"Sarah?" Dad asked while he opened the door. I stood up from the couch and walked toward the door.

"Yes?" I responded. Dad came in, followed by Josh Holliday! I suddenly had the same feelings rush through me that I had felt when I met Daren Stockard!

I hoped I didn't look too awestruck, but the amused look on my dad's face seemed to indicate otherwise.

Dad chuckled lightly before speaking. "Josh Holliday, meet Sarah Carerra. Sarah, this is Josh."

Josh had a slightly goofy smile on his face as he extended his hand. I had the feeling that I must be acting like any other teenage girl whom he had met. "Pleased to meet you, Sarah."

With an embarrassed smile of my own, I took his hand. "It's nice to meet you," I was finally able to say.

"You look stunning," he continued. I blushed again.

"You look really good too," I told him. And he did. He was wearing a really nice dark fitted suit with a dark button up shirt. The top two buttons were left undone, leaving a small glimpse of his tanned chest visible.

The taste of lipstick surprised me, and I was confused until I realized I had been licking my lips! I'd never looked at guys that way before! I'd never had these feelings before! The shocked look on Dad's face didn't help either!

I was silent for a moment. I think everyone in the room knew what had just happened, but I certainly didn't want to talk about it. My dad gave me an expression that seemed to say this was something I should not talk to him about. I would have to talk to Mom later or wait for my next session with Mary.

After a moment of silence, it was Josh who spoke up.

"We'd better get going," he said.

Dad nodded at us, a grim expression on his face. I wished I could comfort him, but I was just as surprised as he was at what had happened.

"You two have a good night, okay?" Dad said while we walked down the hall toward the front door.

"We will," Josh said, but there was something in his tone I didn't like.

Apparently my dad had heard it too. When we reached the stretch limo that was parked out front and I had slipped in, I heard my dad say something else to Josh.

"Josh," he said in a fatherly tone. "Sarah's a good girl. Treat her like she's my own daughter and we won't have any problems, understand?"

I heard myself choke on his words long before I felt it.

"I will, Mr. Campbell," Josh said. "You have my word."

I don't think his promise satisfied either my dad or me.

*  *  *

---

Editor Note: The images used for this story were purchased and used under royalty-free license* from Istockphoto.com . ~Sephrena

Author Note: Please email me at AngelJediGirl (at) gmail (dot) com before posting this story to any other site. Posting to a pay site is prohibited.

Comments and suggestions are also welcome at the above email address.

*  *  *

Chapter 16 - Holliday Dinner

Dad, acting as our agent instead of my dad (I hoped), had made us reservations at an upscale restaurant.

I also found out that pulling a limo up to the door was not exactly the best way to keep from drawing attention. People were already staring before the car door was even opened!

I heard the feminine gasps as Josh exited the car. When he turned around and offered me his hand, all sound stopped. It took a real effort to work up the courage I needed to take his hand. I knew everyone was waiting to see whom he was taking to dinner.

Eventually I was able to swing my legs out of the door and he helped me out of the limo. Before I realized what was happening, I had taken the arm that he had offered me, and he was leading me into the restaurant.

The flash of cameras died down after we entered the door, and I wondered how long it would be before our picture had been distributed on the Internet.

“Reservation for Holliday,” Josh told the hostess. She grinned sexily at Josh, I noticed, just before she glanced my way, sneered slightly, and turned her attention to the screen in front of her.

“Of course,” she said and turned to another young woman. “Table 22.”

“Right this way, please,” the other girl said, but she couldn’t contain her giggle as she turned to lead us to our table.

All of the attention that Josh was getting was making me happy about my decision to live a double life. Triple life, I guess. I didn’t know how Josh could stand this much attention. I was very happy that I would be able to turn that attention off if I ever got as popular as he was. I’d have to thank Mary for her insistence that I have a normal life as a girl too.

We were led to a secluded table that afforded us some privacy from the gazing eyes of Josh’s admirers. Once we had been seated and the giggly girl was finally able to leave (she wanted his autograph), Josh turned to me.

“Sorry,” he said. “I’m afraid I have that effect on people.”

“How can you stand it?” I asked him. He looked at me like I was crazy.

“What do you mean?” he asked instead of answering my question.

“I mean,” I started to explain. “Do you ever get any privacy?”

“We’re alone now, aren’t we?”

He said that like it was the most obvious thing in the world. I don’t think he really understood my question though. “I guess.”

He grinned at me like he had just imparted some type of wisdom before he spoke. “You get used to it. I imagine it won’t be long before you have your own fans mooning all over you.”

He was smiling like that notion was the best thing that could happen to someone, but the thought only made me anxious.

Our waiter showed up at that moment. I wondered how many of the staff, or at least the female members, were mad that this guy was assigned to our table. It was, oddly enough, nice to have someone around who seemed to be paying more attention to me than he was to Josh.

“Hello,” he said. “My name is Tom. I’ll be your waiter this evening. Can I get you two something to drink?”

He looked first at Josh. “I’ll have a root beer.”

The waiter nodded at him and then turned to me. He smiled in a way that made me blush. “And for the lady?”

“I...” I started, still not able to contain the blush. “I’ll have the same.”

“Alright, I’ll be right back with those drinks if you want to take a look at the menu.”

He left and Josh and I turned our attention to the menus. I was so nervous that I wasn’t really hungry. I was thinking of just getting a salad.

“Don’t worry about the price,” Josh said. I hadn’t until he mentioned it. This was a very expensive restaurant, I quickly found out after glancing at the prices. “Don said he would pick up the bill.”

I nodded, but that didn’t make worrying about the price any easier. Learning that it was being paid with my family’s money didn’t make me feel any better about the expense. Now I was sure I was only going to get that salad.

We didn’t talk much before our waiter returned. I’d set my menu down, but Josh seemed to be having a hard time deciding what to eat.

“Ready to order?” Tom asked after placing our drinks in front of us.

“Almost,” Josh answered. “Sarah, if you’re ready you can order first.”

The waiter turned to me expectantly.

“I’ll have the Caesar salad,” I told him.

When it became apparent I wasn’t going to order anything else, Josh looked up at me. “That’s it?” he asked.

“Uh, yeah,” I said, wondering why that was a problem for him. “I’m not really all that hungry.”

He looked astonished at my response. “You can get anything on the menu for free, and all you want is a salad? If Don’s paying for this, it’s worth taking him up on his offer. He doesn’t do this often, you know.”

That answer definitely did not endear me to him. He was taking advantage of my dad’s generous offer. I really hoped that I never got to the point where I didn’t care about other people’s money like he apparently didn’t. Josh Holliday makes a lot of money, a small expense like this meal shouldn’t be that big of a deal to him. While my family was pretty well off and could afford the expense, I was happy to know that I was raised better than that.

I didn’t know how to explain that to him. I wasn’t even sure I wanted to even try. Instead I shrugged my shoulders. The look on our waiter’s face seemed to say that he agreed with me to some extent. Maybe he didn’t have a very good opinion of Josh.

Josh rolled his eyes at me and then turned back to his menu. “I’ll have the garlic sirloin, medium rare.”

“Ah, the most expensive item on our menu,” the waiter pointed out as he glanced my way. He smiled slightly, probably because of the slight frown that appeared on my own lips. “An excellent choice, sir. Would the two of you like any appetizers with your meal?”

I shook my head, but Josh dove back into the menu. After a short wait, he said, “No, I think this will do for now.”

I got the impression that he just couldn’t find anything he wanted to go with his steak.

“I’ll get the kitchen working on your order then,” Tom said with a smile, a fake one for Josh, and a more genuine one for me before he left.

“I don’t like that guy,” Josh said.

“He seems okay to me,” I replied.

Josh didn’t want to talk about our waiter, though. Instead he turned the discussion toward me.

“How long have you been singing?” he asked.

“Oh,” I said, blushing again. “I’ve been singing my whole life, but I’ve never really sung for an audience before.”

“Never?” he questioned with disbelief once again.

“No,” I said while shaking my head.

“How did you get a contract then?” He asked. “Olympic Records, right?”

“Yeah,” I replied to his second question first. “My friends...they dragged me to a party where there was some karaoke. I didn’t want to sing, but they forced me to. The guy throwing the party was a talent scout for Olympic Records.”

“That’s cool,” Josh said, but his tone and demeanor seemed to suggest it wasn’t. “I had to fight to get my demo heard by a record agency. Your way must be a much easier way to get it done.”

He was jealous! I could understand his expressions now. He’d worked hard to get where he was, but I had practically been handed a record contract on a platter. I didn’t think that telling him I was scared to death to become a pop star would make him feel any better.

“We’ll have to do a duet once your career is established,” he said, trying to break the tension that had developed between us. It didn’t.

I may have been enamored with Josh Holliday when he first showed up at my house this evening, but as I got to know him more throughout the evening my opinion had changed.

I didn’t like Josh Holliday! The realization hit me full force, and I heard myself gasp!

“Yeah,” Josh said, mistaking my gasp for what it really was. “I think it will help both of us out. I’ll talk to Don tonight when I drop you off and maybe we can do one in a couple of months or something.”

I wasn’t sure a duet with Josh Holliday was a good idea.

“Why are you staying at Don’s house anyway?” Josh asked. I was glad to change the subject, but this topic wasn’t any better.

“It’s a long story,” I told him, hoping it would be enough of an explanation.

“We’ve got time,” he said, which took that hope away.

“It’s something I’d rather not discuss,” I explained. I had started to become irritated. If he kept that up it was going to be a long night. We hadn’t even made it to the awards show yet!

“Come on,” he said. His tone seemed to indicate that he did not like being told no, and he was going to get the story out of me. Well, he wasn’t. I had no reason to tell Josh about my circumstances and why there was a Sarah Carerra room at our house. He was way outside of the inner circle.

“I’m sorry, Josh, but this is something I can’t discuss with you.”

Now he looked irritated. Good! It was about time that he realized this date wasn’t going to be more than a business opportunity.

He sat there looking uncomfortable for a few moments before he stood up.

“If you’ll excuse me,” he said. “I need to use the restroom.”

He didn’t get too far out of the small room we had been sitting in before I heard the feminine gasps and saw a few girls crowd around him. With a quick glance back at me he walked out of view, signing autographs as he went.

I sighed and closed my eyes.

“Date not going like you hoped?” Tom, our waiter asked. I screamed slightly at the sound. I hadn’t expected anyone to be there and he startled me.

“I’m sorry,” he continued. “I didn’t mean to scare you.”

“It’s okay,” I told him once I had my breath back. “I didn’t hear you walk up.”

He smiled at me and I noticed he had my salad on his tray. “Caesar’s salad?” he asked.

“Uh, yeah,” I said and he placed it in front of me. “That was fast.”

“Celebrities usually get preferred service here,” he said. “Have you known Josh long?”

“No,” I replied. “I just met him tonight.”

“Did you win a contest or something?” He was a very nosy waiter, I decided.

“No,” I explained. He might be nosy, but at least he was more fun to talk to than Josh. He was kind of cute with his dark brown hair and brown eyes.

It had happened again. Why do I keep looking at guys now? Why do they look cute? What is happening to me?

“Are you okay?” he asked. He could probably see the confusion on my face.

“Yeah,” I told him truthfully. “But I’ll be better when this night is over.”

“I would have thought that a girl like you would be happy to be on a date with a guy like Josh Holliday,” he said with a smirk.

“It sounded like a good idea earlier,” I said. “But it was never my idea.”

“Then why are you here?”

I sighed, thinking how I had asked myself the same question.

“We share the same agent,” I explained. “I just signed a contract this week, and our agent thought that this would be good exposure for both of us.”

“Actor?” he asked.

“What?” I asked, confused. Then I realized what he meant. “Oh! No, I’m a singer too.”

“Oh cool,” he said, truly intrigued. “Anything I would have heard?”

“No,” I frowned. “My first single is supposed to be on the radio next week sometime.”

“Must be exciting.”

“More like scary,” I replied.

“Why?” he asked, being even more nosy. If he wasn’t so cute I might have been mad at him.

“Um,” I started. “I never really wanted to do this. I mean, I do want to, but I’m scared to sing in front of people.”

“Isn’t that required in the industry?” he said with a chuckle.

I chuckled too before replying. “Yeah, but that doesn’t mean I can’t be scared to do it.”

He stared at me for a moment, making me uncomfortable. Finally, he gave me a genuine smile and said, “I like you. You aren’t like the other celebrities who come through here. Don’t change that.”

“Believe me,” I agreed with him. “If I ever start acting like Josh and stop caring about other people, I won’t like me either.”

He laughed at that, which caused me to laugh too.

“I’m Sarah, by the way. Sarah Carerra.”

“Catchy,” he said. “Stage name?”

I blushed, which probably gave the answer away. “No, it’s my legal name.”

I’d told him the truth. Dad had made me sign some papers that made Sarah Carerra a legal alias to Megan Campbell. It was the fact that I had also signed papers to change my real legal name to Megan Campbell that was more surprising. I hadn’t made up my mind if I would stay as Megan or not, but going back would mean a court visit to change it back. I still wasn’t sure how he was able to change it without one, but he mentioned something about his legal guardianship over me, or something.

Tom obviously didn’t believe it was my birth name, but I was pretty sure he would react badly if he learned that my birth name was Brett. At least he didn’t push the issue.

“Can I help you?” Josh asked as he approached the table. He looked upset.

“Just bringing the lady her salad,” Tom said with a smile. “If you’ll excuse me, I’ll check on your steak.”

For a second I didn’t think that Josh would let him off that easily. It was pretty obvious that he had been doing more than just dropping off my salad. The waiter had been chatting up his date, and Josh knew it.

“I really don’t like that guy,” Josh said with a scowl as he slid back into the booth. “And you shouldn’t be flirting with other guys while you’re on a date!”

“Oh come on!” I nearly screamed at him. “You’ve had girls drooling over you all night, and I’m sure you didn’t make it to the restroom and back without a little flirting!”

He frowned, confirming my suspicions.

“Besides,” I continued. “We both know that this date isn’t going to be anything more than a business arrangement. You and I, we aren’t compatible.”

His frown deepened, and I knew he agreed.

“I’m sorry,” he eventually said. “But you are one hot girl, and I would have liked a chance.”

“You had one, Josh,” I told him. “I didn’t know what to expect tonight, but I was open for anything. We just didn’t click.”

He nodded, but he looked sad. I found it hard not to feel sorry for him, until I remembered how many girls would willingly slit my throat to be in my place. There were plenty of other girls out there for him to choose from.

Tom reappeared, slowly walking our way. I think he was trying to judge whether he could place Josh’s dinner on the table and get away without being killed. He seemed to think he could when Josh smiled at him.

*  *  *

The rest of dinner was pretty somber. We chatted about small stuff, but it wasn’t the same. Josh was a nice guy, I had decided, and we could possibly be friends, but even that was sketchy. He seemed to feel the same way about me. We just didn’t have the same interests.

“How did everything taste this evening?” Tom asked when we were finishing up.

“Great,” Josh replied and I nodded in agreement.

“Good,” Tom said with a smile. It looked like he was anxious for us to leave. I think he was scared of Josh now. “Your check has been taken care of by Mr. Campbell. Is there anything else I can do for you tonight?”

Josh looked at me for confirmation before replying, “I think we’re okay for tonight. Thank you for your wonderful service.”

I could tell Tom wasn’t sure if he should believe him or not, but he smiled anyway.

“Have a wonderful evening then,” Tom said. “We would be delighted to have you back at any time.”

He smiled and walked away.

“Are you ready to go?” Josh asked me.

“Yeah,” I said while nodding my head. As eventful as dinner was, it was still only the beginning of the night. The scariest part was still ahead.

“Nervous?” Josh asked while we walked through the restaurant toward the exit. How could I not be nervous? I had my arm wrapped around Josh Holliday while everyone within view was looking at us. But I knew that wasn’t what he was talking about.

“Very,” I told him. “I don’t know how to deal with the public yet.”

“You’ll learn,” he told me. “And it does get easier. My first red carpet scared me to death, but the next one was easier to deal with, and eventually you learn how to cope with the anxiety that it brings.”

I smiled at him. That was the first truly heartwarming thing he had said all evening.

Perhaps there really was a good guy inside him somewhere after all.

*  *  *

---

Editor Note: The images used for this story were purchased and used under royalty-free license* from Istockphoto.com . ~Sephrena

Author Note: Please email me at AngelJediGirl (at) gmail (dot) com before posting this story to any other site. Posting to a pay site is prohibited.

Comments and suggestions are also welcome at the above email address.

*  *  *

Chapter 17 - The Red Carpet

When the limo came to a stop outside of the theater hosting the Tween Awards, I thought my heart would jump right out of my chest.

"It'll be okay," Josh told me and squeezed my hand. "I'll be right there with you. I won't let anything bad happen."

While we may not have hit it off back at the restaurant, it was nice to know that Josh Holliday was not my enemy. He truly seemed to care about my well-being this evening, and I was grateful for that. I didn't think we were going to be friends after this, but I did think we both could settle for being good acquaintances.

The door was opened from the outside, and Josh moved to get out.

"Thank you," I told him before he could get very far. He turned to look at me, a smile on his face. He nodded, and I immediately felt safer than I had moments before.

Josh continued to exit the car, and I slid across the seat toward the open door. I was nervous. Heck, I was scared to death! But I knew that this was something I needed to do.

I took Josh's hand when he had finished getting out and turned back toward me. I swung my legs out of the car together to prevent any accidental exposure and let him pull me to my feet. I returned the smile he was giving me, feeling truly happy for the first time that evening.

There were quite a few more camera flashes here than there were at the restaurant. But I guess that was to be expected when the press is ready for you to be somewhere. Josh pulled me close to him and we posed for a few shots before starting down the carpet.

I'd always wondered what it would be like to walk down the red carpet at a big event like this. Now that it was actually happening, I wasn't as eager to find out.

The area where we exited the car was about 100 yards away from the entrance to the theater. Between us and the entrance were more cameras and press than I had ever seen in one place at one time! It was truly intimidating.

The only thing I could do as we walked was to keep a smile on my face and try to enjoy the experience.

We stopped and posed at a few spots along the way that were marked for the media. When we reached the halfway point we met the first red carpet interviewer.

I recognized her from some show, but I couldn't remember which one. She waved at Josh as we approached, and he nodded at her before turning us in her direction. Every step we took closer to her made my heart race that much faster.

"Thank you for speaking with us, Josh," she said when we got closer. I noticed the red light on the camera was on, which didn't help my anxiety.

"Anytime, Michelle," Josh replied. The name helped me recognize her from some MTV show. I still wasn't sure which one, but I could at least place her now. Surprisingly, that information seemed to help me relax.

"You've been nominated for Best Male Artist again this year," she wasted no time in getting to the interview. "Do you think this will finally be the year?"

I thought it was a tacky question, but Josh kept a smile on his face as he answered.

"I'd be lying if I didn't say I hoped so," he said with a small chuckle. "But just being nominated is an honor."

"With four top ten songs during the past year, you've definitely given everyone a reason to look."

He continued to smile. There was no question, and I don't think either of us really knew how to respond. Luckily, she kept going to avoid any awkward silence.

"Who's your date tonight?" Michelle asked, turning her attention to me. Somehow, I managed to keep myself from blushing.

"This is Sarah Carerra," he said, and I tried to smile more for the camera. "Her first single is supposed to be released next week. After hearing it, I think she'll be up for her own award next year."

I smiled at his lie. It was good publicity, but I hoped nobody asked him about the song.

"It's always nice to meet new talent," Michelle said. "What's your new single about?"

It took me a second to realize the question was for me, and I hoped and prayed that I hadn't been standing there silent for too long before answering.

"It's called Intuition," I told her. "It's about feelings, and trying to understand yourself within today's messed up world."

Dad and Max had come up with that answer, which made it a lot easier than having to come up with something on the spot.

"Thank you both for taking the time to speak with us," Michelle said. We both said our goodbyes and we were on our way down the red carpet again.

We stopped five more times before we reached the theater entrance to do the same thing. Each interview was similar, but the interviews definitely got better the closer we got to the door.

By the time we reached the entrance, we had talked to more people and had our pictures taken more times than the rest of my life combined! Josh had my arm in his while we walked up the three steps to the theater entrance and into the lobby.

"That wasn't so bad, was it?" Josh asked me once we were safely inside and away from the cameras.

"No," I replied truthfully. It hadn't been bad at all. Each interview continued to get better, and by the end I was actually enjoying myself. "Thank you for everything you said out there."

"It was my pleasure," he said. His tone indicated that he was wishing more was going to come of this evening than a simple business arrangement again. "I meant it, you know?"

"Meant what?" I asked him, not sure what he was referring to.

"You really are a good singer, and your song is beautiful."

"You've heard my song?" I gasped. I thought he had just been saying that for the publicity!

"Of course," he said as if I should have known his answer. "I wouldn't have said what I did out there without hearing it."

"Where did you hear it?" I asked him, truly amazed at the sincerity he was showing.

"Don had me listen to it before I agreed to bring you this evening," he replied.

"Oh," was all I was able to manage.

Before he could say anything else we reached the other side of the lobby. An usher confirmed our names and handed us off to another who led us down to our seats. We were seated in the middle of the theater, five rows from the front!

The awards show turned out to be much like the ones I had seen on TV. It was still boring in person, but seemed to be slightly more bearable because I was actually there.

Em, Ethan, and I had often watched the awards to make fun of people walking the red carpet. We'd even make fun of the speeches that winners would give. It was the only way we could watch them.

Oh my gosh! What if Emily or Ethan had watched Josh and I walk down the red carpet? They may know my secret!

If they did know, they were going to be very mad at me!

"Are you okay?" Josh asked me out of the blue. I guess my frantic realization had been noticed.

"I'm fine," I told him with a smile and he went back to enjoying the awards show. I didn't think anyone enjoyed these things, but Josh apparently did. Although I think being nominated for an award would make me enjoy the show more too.

---

"And the winner for Best Male Artist is..." The presenter gave a dramatic pause. "Josh Holliday!"

Josh looked shocked when I turned toward him to congratulate him. I don't think he was expecting to win!

He looked over at me, his eyes wide, unable to move. I knew that he needed to get up and walk to the stage to accept his award, but he seemed to be frozen in place.

Conscious of the fact that every camera in the place was probably on us, I leaned into him and whispered in his ear. "Congratulations, you really deserve it!"

I then surprised myself by giving him a chaste kiss on the cheek. Even if we hadn't clicked as a couple, he had been a gentleman since dinner. He truly deserved that award too!

The kiss seemed to break him out of whatever he was feeling. He looked at me, shocked for a moment before he managed to stand up and walk toward the stage. It had to have only been seconds for this interaction to occur, but I got the feeling that it might have been the pivotal moment of the night.

Eventually he made it to the stage, where he was handed his Tweeny (No lie! That's what it was called!). He then stepped up to the podium to give his acceptance speech.

"This is a real honor," he said with the same shocked expression on his face that he'd had before I kissed him. "I honestly didn't expect to win tonight."

There was soft laughter throughout the hall before he continued. "There are so many people I want to thank. First I have to thank my mom and dad; I wouldn't be here without their love and support. Second, I have to thank my agent Don Campbell and the good people at Platinum Records for the opportunity they've given me to share my songs with all of you."

He paused for a second, looking at the Tweeny. "There are so many people that I want to thank, and I know that I don't have the time to name them all. Thank you to everyone that has helped me to get to where I am tonight.

"But there is one person I especially have to thank. Sarah Carerra," he said while he looked right at me. I felt myself start blushing again. "I wouldn't be up here without you."

There was louder laughter after that comment, which only served to deepen my blush. I guess everyone had seen the kiss.

"That kiss might not have been much, but it was like an electric shock that restarted my dead battery," he said with a smile, even if it was a bad metaphor. "I wish you the best in your new career and I'm glad to call you my friend."

Music started playing, and I watched as he was escorted off the stage.

"You're a lucky girl," the lady sitting next to me said, startling me. "He's quite the catch."

---

The red carpet after the show wasn't nearly as bad. Outside, the drop-off area had been expanded and there was limo after limo parked next to the curb, awaiting their occupants' return. Josh said our limo hadn't arrived yet because he couldn't see our driver. I wasn't so sure that I would have been able to pick him out of a crowd.

While we were waiting we did pose for a few more pictures, but thankfully there were no post-win interviewers waiting for Josh to step outside. We waited patiently for about 15 minutes before Josh saw our driver.

"Come on," he said and gently pulled me toward one of the non-descript black limousines. "He's over there."

We were able to quickly move in the direction of the car and within five minutes we were on our way home.

"Did you enjoy tonight?" Josh asked me.

"Yeah," I said and turned to look at him. He had that look again, the one that hoped we could be more than just friends. He was beginning to make me wonder too. "I had a wonderful time."

The smile on his face was bright enough to light up the interior of the limo. I don't think I've ever seen someone get so happy at something I had said before.

"Good," he said, but he couldn't seem to stop staring at me. I must admit, I was having trouble looking away also.

Josh Holliday had his faults. I'd learned plenty about them tonight. But every once in a while I would see a true human being poking around in that big head of his. His shock at winning the Tweeny even when he was favored to win was surprising. His caring tone after dinner and his attention to me, at least most of the time, didn't go unnoticed either.

If this was going to happen, if we were going to be more than just friends, he was going to have to change. And heaven knows how hard it is to get a guy to change. But I was surprised to find that the door that I had slammed shut earlier this evening was now cracked open. Something in the way Josh had acted since dinner had changed my opinion of him.

I was even more surprised to learn that I was considering having a relationship with Josh Holliday. I mean, I'd only been a girl for a week! Even worse, I couldn't even tell him about Megan, let alone Brett. He'd probably try to kill me if he found out the truth about me.

I think he saw the change in my face. His smile turned into a frown, and I did not like seeing him look that way.

"I'm sorry, Sarah," he said a moment later. "I know you don't want to take this beyond a friendship, despite how I feel about you."

Now I truly felt bad. He couldn't possibly understand the feelings and emotions that were washing over me at the time. He could only interpret it in one way.

"Josh," I said to him before sighing. "My life is pretty complicated right now. There is more going on than starting a new career, and I can't talk about it. Just believe me when I say that it isn't completely about you. There are things I need to work out in my life before I'm ready for a relationship like this."

His frown turned slightly upside down. I had given him some hope for the future. I just didn't know if that was the right thing to do. I wasn't even sure if a relationship with Josh is something I would want, even if I was a complete girl.

"What do you want to do then?" he asked me.

I sat there for a few moments, gazing into the deep brown of his eyes. I'd heard people talk about getting lost in someone's eyes before, but I didn't understand it until then. Josh had his faults, but there was still something there. Something I didn't know what to do with.

"I don't know," I told him truthfully. "There are many things about you, Josh, that I despise. Your lack of care for Don's money, and the way you acted at the restaurant, are just two of them. But there's something else there too. The caring manner that you thanked your parents, and the same way you thanked Don…I'm not sure what to believe anymore."

It looked like he was going to object to what I said, but I put my finger to his mouth and he stopped.

"I like you, Josh, that much I know," I told him. "But like I said, this is a difficult time for me to start something. I don't even think I'm ready."

"Okay," he replied. "How about we take it easy and start as friends?"

I smiled at him. He couldn't have said anything better.

"Friends it is."

*  *  *

---

Editor Note: The images used for this story were purchased and used under royalty-free license* from Istockphoto.com . ~Sephrena

Author Note: Please email me at AngelJediGirl (at) gmail (dot) com before posting this story to any other site. Posting to a pay site is prohibited.

Comments and suggestions are also welcome at the above email address.

*  *  *

Chapter 18 - The After Party

"How did it go?" Mom asked when I walked inside. She and Dad were sitting in the living room, waiting for me to come home. The smile on Mom's face made me believe that she had been watching the awards on TV.

"It went okay," I said. I tried not to let any of my conflicting emotions through.

She smiled at me. Obviously she had seen the kiss, and heard the speech Josh gave. Dad looked rattled. I guess the idea of one of your sons kissing a hot boy could be upsetting. Even if Mom seemed to be okay with it, I knew this girl thing was still upsetting my dad a bit.

I couldn't help the smile and blush that came unbidden to my face at Mom's look. She always seemed to know how I was feeling, and that didn't seem to have changed since I became Megan.

"Just remember to be careful, Megan," Mom said. "You've got more than one secret you're keeping from him."

I blushed harder. I couldn't believe that she could read me that well!

"It's not like that, Mom," I told her. "Yes, he's very good looking, but there is a lot about him that I can't stand. He's so aggravating sometimes, but seems to care a great deal at other times."

"Did he treat you right?" My dad asked, speaking for the first time.

"Yes, Daddy, he did," I replied. He looked relieved at my words.

"Good," he said and stood up from the couch. He came over to me and kissed my forehead. "Have a good night, Princess."

He then walked out of the living room and toward my parents' bedroom, leaving my mom and me alone.

"Is he okay?" I asked my mom while walking around the couch and taking a seat next to her.

"He's fine," Mom answered. "He seems to accept you as a girl, but he's still getting used to it. You dating already may be too much for him to process right now."

"But he set it up!" I exclaimed. "If he doesn't want me to date, he shouldn't have set it up!"

"I know, honey," Mom said and took my hand in hers. "But I don't think he realized what it would mean when he did. I don't think it really hit him until you kissed Josh on the cheek. The whole country saw that, you know."

"Yeah," I sighed. "I figured that would be the case."

"Can I ask..." she started before stopping to collect her thoughts. "I mean, why did you kiss him?"

"I don't know," I told her truthfully. "I surprised myself probably as much as I surprised Dad."

Mom chuckled lightly at my joke.

"Dinner didn't go very well," I continued. "He seemed interested in me, but he didn't care about how much of Dad's money he spent, then he was flirting with girls when he went to the restroom, but he got mad at me for talking to the waiter while he was gone. After we were done eating dinner, I was sure that we couldn't even be friends."

"What changed?" Mom asked the one question I was scared to answer.

"I don't know; something happened between the restaurant and the theater." I told her. "When we were walking the red carpet, he really seemed to care about my feelings. He helped me through the scary parts. I don't think I would have made it to the theater if he hadn't been there. It was like he was a completely different guy. And it wasn't even for the cameras, because he was doing it before we got out of the car."

"So you kissed him," she prompted.

"Not consciously!" I exclaimed. "I mean, I didn't even know that I was going to, he just looked frozen in place, and it just happened!"

Mom nodded like it was the explanation she was expecting. Then she asked, "What did you whisper to him?"

"Whisper?" I asked myself, trying to remember what I had said. "Oh! I just told him that he deserved the award."

Mom looked skeptical, but seemed to accept my answer.

"Do you want to see him again?" she eventually asked.

"I don't know," I replied once again. It seemed to be the answer of the evening. "He's nice and all. And he IS very attractive, that much I know. But I can't believe I'm even feeling that way. I've only been a girl for a week, Mom. How could I be having these feelings? I've never felt this way before!"

I was surprised to find that I was crying. My emotions seemed to be so close to the surface these days, and I didn't know why.

"It's okay, Megan," Mom said. She wrapped her arms around me and pulled me into a comforting hug. "This is going to be a tough time for you. I don't know the answer to your question, but it's something you are going to need to think about. Mary can help you with that more than I can, but I'll always be here for you."

"Thanks, Mom," I said while I sobbed into her shoulder. "This has been a crazy week, and I still don't know how to handle some of this stuff!"

"You'll be okay, Megan," she comforted me again. "You're my little girl. You've been my little girl for a long time, even if you didn't know it. I know this is new to you, but you've been acting like a girl for quite a while now. These feelings shouldn't surprise you."

I was surprised though. I knew my mom had thought of me as her daughter for a while. She had said as much in the car on the way to the salon the other night. But I didn't realize I had been acting like a girl for that long. I mean, if that was the case, wouldn't everyone at school be making fun of me or something? Someone would have said something, I thought.

I almost didn't believe Mom's statement, but she seemed so sincere, I had to believe her. I knew that I had been getting close to going full time as a girl. I'd started growing out my hair and started dressing more androgynously a couple of years ago. But I never thought that I had started acting differently!

"I'm not telling you this to upset you," Mom continued. "I just want you to know what I see."

"I feel so lost!" I cried into her shoulder. "I mean, I thought I was a boy, but everything seems to make so much sense when I dress up as Megan."

"Honey," my mom started to say. Before she could finish the front door opened again and we heard Austin and some of his friends laughing. Before I knew what was happening, Mom had pushed me down into the couch before she stood up.

"Austin!" she yelled at him. He and his friends froze immediately, or at least stopped talking. I couldn't see them and I finally realized why I had been pushed into the couch.

"What?" he asked, unsure of what he had done wrong.

"Take your friends back outside for a few minutes," she said in a more comforting tone. "You're sister isn't...decent."

"Oh!" he responded a second later. "Ok."

I heard them shuffling back toward the door. The last thing I heard before the door closed was, "Since when do you have a sister?"

"Come on," Mom said when the coast was clear. "Let's get you out of that wig."

*  *  *

Fifteen minutes later the wig had been stored in the armoire, the dress had been hung up in Sarah's closet, and I was wearing a silky pink pajama set. It was nearly 11 at night, and I was ready for bed.

Apparently Mom had given Austin permission to have a few friends spend the night, and then forgot about it while talking to me. Luckily her quick thinking had preserved my secret, and she was going to talk to Austin about being more careful when Sarah might be around.

"Put on some lighter makeup, and meet me in the kitchen," Mom told me before leaving Sarah's room. "I'll make us some hot chocolate."

I smiled at her and nodded. Hot chocolate was our comfort food, and we often drank it while we talked. Dad and Austin never seemed to get into it, though.

Mom left the room, closing the door behind her. I turned my attention to the vanity and got to work on my makeup. I removed the evening's tear-stained application and applied only enough to make me presentable to the boys until bedtime.

I opened the door, and was immediately overwhelmed with the sound of yelling boys coming from the kitchen.

I started walking down the hall, but before I got to the kitchen Austin came around the corner.

"Megan!" he said, obviously not expecting to see me. He continued in a softer tone. "I'm sorry about earlier. I didn't think that Sarah would be here."

"It's okay," I told him with a smile. "I don't think any of us thought about it. We'll just have to be more careful in the future."

Unexpectedly, he smiled back before walking up to me and wrapping his arms around me in a hug.

"You make a much better sister," he said before he let me go and continued down the hall to his room.

I stood there, shocked at his pronouncement! Even Austin thought I made a better girl! It seemed almost like the decision had been made for me. I really needed to talk to Mary now.

Eventually I made it to the kitchen, where my mom was taking a pizza out of the oven. Obviously, teenage boys are always hungry. I guess that's something else I didn't share with them.

"Hi, Megan," Mom said when she saw me. The noise in the kitchen ceased immediately, and the boys all turned from the dining table to look at me. I'd met many of them before as Brett, and didn't know how they would take the change.

I uncomfortably realized that they were all staring at me in a way that boys didn't use to stare at me.

I smiled at them shyly before taking a seat at the counter, in the kitchen, far away from the table they were at in the dining room.

"Would you like a slice of pizza?" Mom asked me. My salad seemed like a long time ago, but I still didn't feel hungry. I shook my head.

She finished cutting the pizza and carried it over to the dining room table. I was glad to see the boys' attention move to the food instead of me.

Austin came back in and headed for the table. "Ooh," he said when he saw the pizza was on the table and rushed to get some before it was all gone.

"Dude!" I heard one of his friends try to whisper. "Your sister is hot!"

I felt myself blush again, but I didn't want to look over to see who had said it. I was hoping it was one of the two I hadn't met before.

"Ignore them," Mom said, placing a mug of hot chocolate in front of me. "Boys will be boys."

"I guess," I replied, taking a sip of the warm liquid.

She came around the counter and sat down between the boys and me.

"How are you doing?" she asked me quietly when Austin and his friends had returned to their previous noise level.

"I'm doing fine," I told her with a smile. "It's just been an interesting week."

"Can I ask you one thing?" she asked.

"Sure," I replied, taking another sip of the hot chocolate. It was good, and it helped me relax.

"Are you happy?"

I had to think about that. I took another sip of the hot chocolate to buy me the time I needed to think. I really enjoyed the previous week. It was a lot of fun becoming Megan, and I think that I felt more at ease as her. I definitely enjoyed a lot of Sarah's life.

But was I truly happy? I knew what Mom was really asking. She wanted to know if I wanted to stay this way. Honestly, I'd felt more alive during this week than I had at any other time during my life. But I didn't know if it was just the novelty of a new way of life, or if it was something I really wanted to do. I thought about it some more while taking another sip of the hot chocolate.

"Yes," I finally told her. "I am."

*  *  *

---

Editor Note: The images used for this story were purchased and used under royalty-free license* from Istockphoto.com . ~Sephrena

Author Note: Please email me at AngelJediGirl (at) gmail (dot) com before posting this story to any other site. Posting to a pay site is prohibited.

Comments and suggestions are also welcome at the above email address.

*  *  *

Chapter 19 - She Really Is A Girl?

I woke up the next morning feeling refreshed and, well, happy. The realization of the previous night that I did want to stay as Megan was somewhat of a surprise, but it felt so right that I couldn’t deny it was what I wanted.

I walked out of my room and down the hall to the bathroom to take a shower. The hot water seemed to wash any desire I had to be a boy out of my body and down the drain.

When I stepped out of the shower, I was determined to be the best girl I could be. I’d skipped church last week, but that day I was going to wear a nice dress and show everyone there that I truly was a girl. If they didn’t like it, it was their own problem.

I finished drying off and wrapped my towel around me. I’d decided to not wash my hair, which meant I didn’t have to worry about drying it.

I opened the door and stepped out into the hallway. Austin was standing there, and I screamed at his unexpected presence.

Before I had the chance to do anything else, he reached for me, and pulled on my towel! I managed to grab it and prevent it from falling all the way off, but the top half of the towel was pulled away from my chest!

Austin and I stood there, staring at each other in shock! I couldn’t comprehend why he would do that to me! Austin, well, I don’t think he knew that I had budding breasts.

Recovering quickly, I managed to cover my chest with my hand and turn away from him. Seconds later I realized that I was facing the living room, and all of his friends were staring at me! I quickly turned the other way and rushed to my room, slamming the door behind me.

“Austin!” I heard my mom scream through the door. I knew that he would get what he deserved, but that didn’t make me feel any better. The only good thing was that the bottom part of the towel kept my secret intact.

I threw on my robe, which in hindsight I should have taken with me to the bathroom, and stepped back into the hallway.

Mom was really giving it to Austin. His friends at the other end of the hall were cringing at the telling off he was getting.

“Don’t you ever do anything like that ever again!” Mom screamed at him. Dad was there beside Mom, and he looked nearly as upset as she did. When Dad noticed me standing in the hallway he tapped Mom on the shoulder and pointed in my direction.

“Apologize to your sister!” she ordered Austin. Austin turned toward me, but he couldn’t look me in the eyes.

“I’m sorry, Megan,” he nearly cried. “They dared me to do it. I didn’t want... I didn’t... I didn’t know!”

I knew what he was talking about. Dad wasn’t even fully aware of the developments that my body had gone through. Only Mom and I were truly aware of what my body was doing. But that was no excuse!

“That doesn’t make it okay!” I screamed at him! I wasn’t ready to forgive him! He’d embarrassed me in front of his friends in nearly the worst possible way! The only thing that could have been worse was if the entire towel had come off, and that nearly happened too!

Mom threw me a warning look. She was obviously on my side, but that didn’t give me the right to yell back at him.

Not knowing what else to say, and afraid that I’d get in trouble if I insulted him some more, I kept my mouth shut.

“You two get ready for church,” Mom spoke after a moment of silence indicated the excitement was over. “I laid a nice dress on your bed, Megan.”

I nodded at Mom and stepped back into my room to get ready. Despite what Austin had done to me this morning, I still felt that staying as Megan was the right option, and I still had that desire to be the best girl that I could be.

Lying on my bed was a dress I had never seen before. It wasn’t one that Mom and I had purchased when we went shopping together, and it definitely wasn’t one of Sarah’s. But I realized that with a glam piece, it would fit perfectly into her wardrobe.

The dress was a soft yellow. It wasn’t quite pastel, but it wasn’t nearly as bold as a canary yellow either. It looked like a sundress, and was surprisingly light to the touch even though it seemed to be completely opaque.

I left the dress lying on my bed and turned toward my dresser and searched for some accompanying underwear. I ended up wearing a lacy white bra and panty set that not only made me feel feminine, it also emphasized the small breasts I had.

I slipped the dress over my head and took a look in the mirror. I couldn’t believe how good I looked in the dress! It was becoming harder and harder to find the boy I had been. It seemed like every day Brett slipped further and further into the background.

It was supposed to be a warm day, and while I knew Mom would probably want me to wear a pair of hose to church, I didn’t want to be burning up later on. I decided to risk trying the dress without any and looked in my closet for a pair of shoes. I couldn’t find anything that seemed to go really well with the dress, and ended up wearing a pair of white strappy sandals with a small heel. They seemed to work okay.

I then turned my attention to my makeup. I’d definitely improved my ability to apply it during the last week. I’d known the basics from my previous outings as Megan, but I’d learned a lot that week. Now, it was almost second nature, even if I still needed a lot more practice.

Once I was finished getting ready, I opened the door and headed for the kitchen. Mom usually made a small breakfast before church, and I was hungry.

The tapping of my heels on the linoleum in the kitchen alerted my family to my presence. They were all sitting at the dining room eating breakfast. One of Austin’s friends was sitting with them, wearing a shirt and tie. It looked like at least one of them was coming to church with us.

“You look nice, Megan,” Mom said. Dad was nodding in agreement. Austin still looked sullen, and his friend was staring at me like they all had the night before.

“She’s even hotter this morning!” I heard Austin’s friend whisper to him. My luck would mean that he was the one who found me attractive. They probably all did though.

“Thanks, Mom,” I told her, ignoring the other comments. I grabbed a plate and started loading it with the bacon, eggs, and toast that Mom had made for breakfast before taking a seat at the dining table.

“Did you meet Alex last night?” Dad asked, providing a name to the unknown boy I’d rather ignore. If he didn’t stop looking at me, I was going to dump my eggs down his shirt.

“No,” I replied, and glanced over at Alex. I caught him staring at me again and he blushed and dropped his eyes. “Nice to meet you.”

He didn’t say anything back, but I heard my mom chuckle at his reaction. He had turned quite red.

Throughout the rest of breakfast I caught him looking at me more than once, but he never spoke to me.

Eventually, I washed my plate, placed it in the dishwasher, and returned to my room to grab my purse and touch up my lipstick before joining my family for the ride to church.

*  *  *

There weren’t many people in the chapel when we arrived, and I followed my parents to an empty pew. Austin and Alex didn’t join us, instead sitting next to a man and woman I didn’t recognize and whom I assumed were Alex’s parents. That was fine with me; I’d had enough looks from him.

A few of the people whom we knew were looking at me as we took our seats, but they seemed to be more curious than offended at the way I was dressed. I was worried about the reaction of the others who attended our church, but I could only hope that the tolerance that was preached would be displayed in their actions.

“Megan!” Emily exclaimed a few minutes later when she sat down next to me and wrapped her arms around me. “I’m so happy to see you here!”

“I’m just happy to be here,” I told her. After what I had learned about myself last night, I didn’t want to dress up as Brett ever again. I was really not looking forward to school the next day.

“Mom! Dad!” Emily said as her parents sat down on the pew in front of us. “This is Megan!”

“Em,” I whined. “I already know your parents.”

“Yeah,” she agreed. “But they haven’t met YOU, Megan.”

My family had been living next door to the Prescotts since I was two. Emily and I had become friends almost immediately after we had moved into our house. Dan and Sharon Prescott were like second parents to me. It seemed silly to think that I was meeting them for the first time.

Both of Emily’s parents looked shocked to see me. I figured Emily had told them all about me, but I knew from personal experience that seeing the difference between Brett and Megan was pretty surprising.

Emily had met Megan many times before I started living nearly full time last week. But her parents had never met me. They knew my story and what happened in the accident, but I hadn’t ever been over at their house dressed up before.

“Wow!” Emily’s mom exclaimed. “You’re very beautiful!”

Her dad was nodding in agreement and I felt myself blush once again.

“I’m sorry, honey,” Sharon Prescott said. “Emily has told us all about you, but I never realized you were so beautiful.”

“Thank you,” I told her.

I could tell that she wanted to talk more, but it looked like the services were about to start.

“Would you like to come over for a light lunch?” Sharon asked me. “I’d like to get to know you better.”

“Sure,” I said, glancing to my own mother for approval. Her nod indicated it would be okay. “I’d like that.”

*  *  *

---

Editor Note: The images used for this story were purchased and used under royalty-free license* from Istockphoto.com . ~Sephrena

Author Note: Please email me at AngelJediGirl (at) gmail (dot) com before posting this story to any other site. Posting to a pay site is prohibited.

Comments and suggestions are also welcome at the above email address.

*  *  *

Chapter 20 - Lunch with the Prescotts

Emily and I rode home with my parents.

Emily wanted me to wear my Sunday dress to lunch, to help emphasize my new gender, but I was worried it would be too much for her parents to handle.

Somehow we managed to compromise, but it didn’t seem like much. I got to take off the dress, but I was going to replace it with a lighter sundress that wasn’t quite so formal.

Emily joined me in my room, and we eventually selected a white dress that had some pink highlights along with pink flowers on it. It was very feminine, and I was worried about it upsetting the Prescotts, but Emily said it would be fine. At least I got to replace the heels with flats.

“Be back for dinner!” Mom yelled on our way out the front door. I agreed, and let Emily lead me over to her house.

I’d spent a lot of my childhood over at Emily’s house, but I was never so nervous to enter as I was then.

Eventually we reached the front door, and without pause, Emily opened it and pulled me inside.

“Hi, Em,” came a voice from the sitting room to our left. “How was church?”

“Hi, Jules,” Emily responded to her older sister. Julie was 18, and like Emily, she was a beautiful blonde. “How’s Anna doing?”

Anna was Emily’s 10 year-old sister. She was sick in bed, so Julie had stayed home from church to watch her. Anna was the number one fan of both Emily and me. She would do anything to hang around with us. I adored her like she was my own sister. In fact I think I had a better relationship with her than I had with Austin.

“She’s doing well,” Julie said. “She slept all morning and she said she was feeling better not too long ago.”

Julie finally looked at me, and she was shocked at what she saw.

“Brett?” she asked, not believing it could possibly be me.

“No,” Emily replied before I could. “This is Megan.”

“Hi,” I told Julie with a small wave.

“Wow!” was her response. “If I didn’t know...”

“Is that you, girls?” Emily’s mom interrupted from the kitchen. She then appeared in the doorway. “Good. Lunch will be ready in about 15 minutes.”

“Okay,” Emily replied. “We’re going to go say hi to Anna.”

“Alright,” her mom said and walked back into the kitchen.

Emily started up the stairs to the second floor, and I followed behind her. All of the bedrooms in their house were on the second floor, including Anna’s. We walked down the hallway until we reached the door. Emily knocked and then slowly opened Anna’s door.

“Anna?” Emily called out. I heard a groan from inside the room. “I’ve got someone here who wants to meet you.”

“Who?” was Anna’s gruff reply. She certainly sounded sick.

“Megan’s here to see you.”

“Megan?” Anna said excitedly. Emily took that as an invitation and opened the door and stepped into the room. I followed Emily in. Anna was sitting up in her bed, and she looked excited to see me.

“Hi, Anna,” I said when she could see me. She was staring at me with wide-eyed wonder. I stepped over to her bed. “Are you feeling okay?”

“You’re so beautiful!” she finally said. I felt myself start blushing again.

“Not as beautiful as you are,” I argued. Like her sisters, Anna was blonde, and it was obvious now that her beauty would match that of her sisters as she grew older.

She smiled at my compliment. The brightness in her eyes was almost enough to overcome the look of sickness that she displayed. She continued to gaze in wonder at me.

“How are you feeling?” I asked her again and bent down to feel her forehead. She seemed to have a fever.

“I’m feeling good now,” she stated jubilantly. “Are you staying for lunch?”

“Yeah.”

“I want to come!” she said with a lot of enthusiasm. “I’m feeling better, honest!”

“I’m sure you are,” I told her with a slight laugh. She definitely didn’t sound this well when we first arrived in her room.

Emily was standing in the door, watching us. I caught her slight laugh at Anna’s enthusiasm over me. The three of us had spent a lot of time together. We’d often play Barbie’s with Anna when she was younger, and we included her in some of our mall trips and when we went to see a movie. Seeing her sick, even if it was just a cold, was always a painful thing. Her enthusiasm for life was just so great.

Susan Prescott appeared in the door at that moment.

“Feeling better, honey?” she asked Anna.

“Yeah, Mom!” Anna said excitedly. “Can I come down for lunch? I want to spend more time with Megan.”

Mrs. Prescott laughed at her youngest daughter’s reaction. “Sure, honey, if you feel up to it.”

“I do!” Anna insisted and threw off her covers. I noticed that she had bare feet, and since I was right next to her dresser I opened her sock drawer and pulled a pair out. There was also a couple of scrunchies and I thought she might like to have her hair kept out of her face.

“Socks,” I told Anna and handed her the socks. She bent over to put them on and I took the time to pull her hair back into a ponytail.

“There,” I said. “All ready?”

“Yeah,” she replied.

I looked up at Emily and Mrs. Prescott. They both had smirks on their faces.

“What?” I asked them warily. They were thinking something I probably wouldn’t like.

They looked at each other with some kind of understanding, but it was Emily who finally voiced the words: “You’ll make a good mother some day.”

I could feel myself blushing again.

*  *  *

Lunch was pretty basic. Mrs. Prescott had made grilled cheese sandwiches and tomato soup. Even so, it was good food. She was nearly as good a cook as Mom.

Anna insisted on sitting next to me, and I was very happy that she was feeling well enough to sit at the table. She really was a great girl.

The conversation started off light. Mr. Prescott filled Anna and Julie in on what happened at church. But it wasn’t long before the discussion turned toward me.

“So, Megan,” Mrs. Prescott started. “Are you going to be around for a while?”

“Yes,” I said after finishing the bite I had taken of my sandwich. “I was talking with my mom last night after I got home. I truly am happy with the way my life has gone over the past week and a half.”

“You like being a girl?” Julie asked the confirming question.

“Yes,” I confirmed. “Everyone says that I always seem so much happier when I’m Megan. Emily and Ethan, both my mom and my dad, and even Austin said so last night.”

“But you can’t let others decide this for you,” Mrs. Prescott warned.

“I’m not,” I told her. “But everybody telling me I was happier got me thinking about it. It took a bit to realize, but I AM happier this way. Everything seems to fit.”

I took another bite of my sandwich while they digested that information.

“You’re always going to be Megan now, right?” Anna asked, almost afraid of the answer.

“Yes, sweetie,” I told her. “I have to go to school as Brett for the rest of the school year, but I’ll be Megan afterwards all the time.”

“Good!” she said and wrapped me in a hug. I’d always liked Anna, but somehow our relationship seemed even closer now.

“What about next year?” Mr. Prescott asked. “Are you going to attend school as Megan?”

“I hope so,” I told him. “My therapist wants me to live full time as a girl before I make my decision. But frankly, I don’t want to ever go back to being Brett.”

“It sounds like you’ve already made the decision,” Emily said from across the table. The smile on her face told me that she thought it was the right one.

“I’m sure Mary will make me wait before making the decision final, though,” I said dejectedly. “She always seems to find some reason for me to slow down.”

“Who’s Mary?” Anna asked.

“Mary is my therapist.” I told her. “She helps me talk about things and helps me make informed decisions.”

“Oh,” Anna replied. “You can always talk to me, you know?”

She sounded like it was the most obvious thing in the world to do, and I had to laugh lightly at that.

“Of course, Anna,” I replied with a smile.

“Emily said you got a record contract,” Julie said with excitement, changing the topic.

“I did!” I said excitedly. I just wish I could tell them the details of what that meant.

“She’s already got one song and had a couple of photo shoots,” Emily added.

“The record company says that I’ll probably be on the radio in a couple of months.” I explained further. “They’ve started a campaign, but they said it takes a while to get going.”

“It’s still awesome,” Julie said. “I wish I could sing that well.”

“Would you be willing to sing your song for us?” Mrs. Prescott asked.

I really wished I could! But I couldn’t start singing Intuition for them and then have Sarah singing it on the radio. My secret wouldn’t be much of a secret then. As much as I wish I could share this with them, Dad would be furious if I did.

“I can’t,” I replied with a frown. I was trying to think fast about how I was going to explain why.

“Why not?” Anna asked. She seemed upset that I wouldn’t share with her.

“Megan doesn’t like to sing in public,” Emily stated.

Julie choked on her drink before managing to get out a laugh.

“You’ll have to get over that!” she said when she was able to settle down.

“Yeah,” I told her. “But the record company has asked me not to sing it outside the studio until it’s been released. They’re hoping it becomes a hit.”

Mr. Prescott nodded at that information. He was a lawyer, and he seemed to agree on the contractual side of the record company.

“Besides,” I continued. “My dad won’t let me share any of this with anyone until my career has been established.”

I had to choke back the tears that were threatening to come spilling out of my eyes.

“Leaving Emily out of this part of my life is the hardest thing I’ve ever had to do!” I told them.

Emily was nearly crying now too. She really seemed to understand how hard this was for me. Sometimes I really hated my dad. Why couldn’t I just tell them?

“Me too?” Anna asked.

“Of course you too, Anna,” I told her with a smile that I hoped was reassuring. It seemed to be enough for her because she smiled and went back to her lunch.

“It’s okay,” Emily said, smiling despite the sadness I could see in her eyes. “I know it isn’t your decision. The fact that you want me there so badly means the world to me.”

Her parents were smiling at us. We’d been through so much together, and it hurt not to have her there when I could use my best friend the most to talk about the changes in my life.

Emily smiled at me before continuing. “That’s why I know you truly are my sister.”

*  *  *

The rest of the afternoon was more subdued. The Prescotts wanted me to sing for them, but I managed to hold them off. I was worried that they would be able to recognize my voice when Sarah’s first single came out.

Emily and I spent some time with Anna before she crashed from exhaustion. We listened to some music with Julie and even played a board game with her parents before I had to return home for dinner.

After the emotional lunch, dinner at home was quite a different experience. After reassuring my mom that everything was okay, I excused myself from the table and went up to my room to finish the homework I hadn’t had time to do yet.

“Megan,” Mom said when she poked her head into my room later that evening. “It’s time for bed.”

I looked at the clock and was surprised that it read 11:00.

“Oh!” I exclaimed. “Wow!”

Mom smiled back at me. “What have you been doing?”

“I was looking myself up online,” I told her. “Look at this.”

She came over to my desk and looked at my computer screen. I already had an unofficial fan site. The author claimed to have heard Intuition, and was eagerly awaiting the song’s official release. The fact that she knew the name of my song made it seem more likely that she had heard it.

She’d also compiled a number of pictures of me. Many were from the Tween awards, but there were also a few from the restaurant beforehand and I think even a couple from the first photo shoot I went to, where the paparazzi were outside waiting for someone.

“Wow!” Mom said, clearly impressed.

“I know!” I replied. “Look how many pictures of me are already out there!”

We looked through some of them before Mom insisted that I get ready for bed.

“Remember,” she said on her way out of the room. “Tomorrow is Judy’s birthday and we’re going over to her house for the party.”

Oh great! I had forgotten about Aunt Judy’s birthday party! I started to feel nervous. Aunt Judy was really nice, but we hadn’t told any of the family about Megan yet. I would either have to go as Brett, or the family would be meeting Megan.

“Good night, honey,” Mom said, unaware of the torment she had caused.

“Good night, Mom.”

*  *  *

---

Editor Note: The images used for this story were purchased and used under royalty-free license* from Istockphoto.com . ~Sephrena
Author Note: Please email me at AngelJediGirl (at) gmail (dot) com before posting this story to any other site. Posting to a pay site is prohibited.

Comments and suggestions are also welcome at the above email address.

*  *  *

Chapter 21 - An Interesting Day at School

I made a decision Monday morning that had the potential to greatly affect my ability to attend school.

Principal Hall had been very adamant on Friday that I was not a girl, and the school would not treat me like one. He had been very upset that I looked like a girl, and did not want me even presenting as one.

But I decided that morning that I didn't have a choice. I didn't want to be Brett anymore. I COULDN'T be Brett anymore! I HAD to go to school as Megan!

But I realized that if I showed up wearing makeup and female clothes, I was most likely going to be suspended. Instead, I decided to embrace the tomboy nature that Julia believed I showed every day.

Pulling on a pair of panties and a bra, I turned toward my closet to see what I had to work with.

I couldn't find a pair of jeans that I thought would work well, until I looked on Megan's side of the closet. Jeans are jeans, right? I knew that there were differences between the cut in male and female jeans, but was it really enough for people to notice? As long as Principal Hall didn't notice, I thought I would be okay.

Coupled with the jeans I decided on a red t-shirt. While it was technically a guy's shirt, it was very tight on me. It managed to show off the curves that I had developed.

With the jeans and tee on, I pulled my hair back into a high ponytail. Not only was it a very feminine looking ponytail, it showed off my pierced ears, something I hadn't shown off at school yet.

I stepped over to the full-length mirror. Even without makeup I could clearly see Megan looking back at me. I really had to concentrate hard to see Brett. If people wondered before, they would be hard pressed not to think that I was a girl now.

I grabbed my backpack before heading out of my room and down to the kitchen for some breakfast. Mom was happily making waffles and bacon when I arrived.

"Morning, Mom," I told her.

"Morning, Megan," she replied, looking up at me. "You're wearing that to school?"

Her tone suggested that this may be a bad idea. But I was committed to it.

"Yeah," I told her, taking a seat at the counter. "Principal Hall made it clear that I couldn't wear girl's clothes to school, and I'm not. But I can't go back there as Brett. Not anymore."

She nodded, but she still seemed skeptical of my decision. "Am I going to have to come pick you up halfway through the day?"

"I hope not," I told her. "I'm not wearing girls' clothes. I didn't put any makeup on. I haven't done anything that he forbade me to do."

"What about the jeans?" she asked, proving that my plan might be harder to get away with than I thought. She obviously knew what I was attempting to do.

"Nobody but the girls will know!" I complained. "Principal Hall definitely won't notice."

She really looked skeptical at my decision now.

"Besides," I continued. "They fit a lot better."

That was the truth too. The girls' jeans that I had bought over the last couple of weeks fit me much better than Brett's jeans did. They just seemed to fit better on my hips.

Mom sighed before speaking. "I'm not going to stop you, Megan. But I don't know if we'll be able to get you out of trouble if the principal finds out."

"I know, Mom," I told her. "But this is something I have to do."

"Okay then," she said. "Call me if you have any problems."

"Thanks Mom!" I smiled at her before taking a bite of my waffle.

*  *  *

"Megan?" Emily asked incredulously when I stepped out of my house to join her for the walk to school.

"Morning, Em," I replied. We started walking down the street, but she kept looking over at me.

"Are you sure this is a good idea?" she asked a few steps later.

"No," I replied.

"Then why are you doing it?"

I stopped walking, and she came to a halt next to me. I made sure that she was looking at me. I looked straight into her eyes when I said, "Because I have to."

She stared at me for a second before responding, "Okay."

We started walking again. Just like that Emily was okay with my decision. This would probably be a difficult day, but at least I had one person on my side.

"Morning, ladies," Ethan said as we approached where he was waiting for us in front of his house.

"Hi, Ethan," I greeted him.

"Is there any particular reason why Megan is coming to school today?" he asked.

"No," I told him. "It's just time."

He looked at me funny for a minute before his face fell.

"Oh," he said, understanding what I meant. "Brett's not coming back then, is he?"

It hurt to see him saddened over my decision, but I knew that it was something we would get through. He was losing his best male friend, but he was gaining another great female friend.

"I'm sorry, Ethan," I told him. I wanted to give him a hug to help comfort him, but I'm pretty sure that was the last thing he would have wanted me to do.

We stood there in silence for a moment. I didn't know what to tell him to make him feel better.

"Okay," he finally said. "We better get moving if we don't want to be late."

We started walking, but he still seemed slightly sad.

"Are you okay?" I asked him.

"I guess I am," he replied. "I knew this day would come. I'm sad that it's here, but it's not like I completely lost my friend. You're just a little different now."

I smiled at him. Ethan was like that. He was very practical. I knew he was sad that Brett was gone, but his realization that I'm still the same person was more than I could ask for. Obviously many things would be different now, but I hoped the majority of the rest would stay the same.

"Can I ask you a question though?" he asked.

"Sure," I told him. Anything to help him come to terms with my decision.

"Where did you get the curves?"

I couldn't help it - I blushed again! I'd never really told Ethan or Emily about what my body was doing.

"I mean," Ethan continued when he saw I couldn't answer right away. "You didn't have them last week."

Finally I was able to get myself under control, and tried to figure out what to tell them. Eventually I decided that they deserved the truth.

"They're real," I told them. "Without any testosterone in my body because of the accident, I've been developing differently than the other boys."

They both looked shocked. I could definitely understand why.

"Even..." Ethan started, but looked embarrassed to continue. Instead he started waving his hand in front of his own chest. I looked down, and was embarrassed to realize that the shirt did display the small breasts I had developed! They weren't even in the same league as Emily's, but it was pretty obvious that they were there!

"Um, yeah," I replied.

We walked along in silence for a few moments. I didn't know what to say to them, and it seemed like they were at a loss for words too.

"I guess we shouldn't be surprised," Emily eventually said, breaking the silence. "I mean, we all know you're a girl."

That got us laughing and seemed to break the tension that had developed. It felt like old times the rest of the way to school.

*  *  *

I took a seat in my first period class, wishing that Emily or Ethan were in it with me.

Walking through the halls at school, and even now while sitting in my desk, people were staring at me. Some of the students had been in my afternoon classes on Friday and had heard me called “Mister Brett Campbell”. The others had probably heard about it. Either way, they were staring.

I guess I couldn't blame them. Wearing the clothes I had on created an image that didn't exactly match the name.

I was worried about how I would be treated that day, but most people were still looking at me with curiosity instead of disgust. There were a few who looked like they wanted to kill me, but most of the students and teachers still seemed to be unsure of my gender.

"Mister Campbell?" The teacher asked during roll call.

"Here," I replied with a sigh. She looked questioningly at me for a second.

"Are you sure?" Her question was met with laughter from the other students, and from me too. Obviously my gender was still in question.

"No?" I responded as if I was unsure. The laughing continued.

*  *  *

I made it all the way until lunch time without any serious consequences. It wasn't much different compared to Friday morning, when everyone still thought I was a girl. I was generally left alone, even if the staring continued.

I sat down at our regular table with my tray of food, happy to be in friendly company. Everybody else was already eating.

"Tough morning?" Emily asked.

"No, not really," I replied. "Most people still think I'm a girl."

Kathy giggled at my statement, much like she had last week when I complained about the same thing.

"Weren't you complaining about that last week?" she asked me, confirming what she found funny.

"Yeah," I told her, blushing only slightly for once. "But things are...different now."

"Different how?" she asked.

Before I could come up with a response, Johnny approached our table. He had a sly grin on his face, like a fox that had just cornered its prey. I figured he was probably still upset about Saturday, and I wasn't going to like what would come next.

"Good morning, Megan!" he said loud enough for half of the cafeteria to hear. Many people turned and were looking at us.

I scowled at him. The last thing I needed was everyone knowing about my out-of-school identity.

Although...

Perhaps this could be to my advantage.

"Morning, Johnny," I replied with a kind smile. "I told you Saturday I wasn't going to give you Sarah's number."

I think he was expecting me to deny that my name was Megan or something, because he looked confused at my response. He seemed at a loss for words now.

"Are you okay?" Emily asked him after a moment of silence.

"Yeah," Johnny said. "I just wanted to see how my best girl Megan was doing today."

"I am not your girl, Johnny," I told him coldly. I realized a moment later that I was playing into his hands.

"But you admit you're a girl," he said, getting to the point of why he started this conversation. But if he thought that this was going to embarrass me, he had another thing coming.

"Of course!" I replied. His face immediately turned to one of shock. "Why would I admit otherwise?"

"But, you're a boy," he said like it was the most obvious thing in the world.

"Says who?" I asked him. "My doctor doesn't think I'm a boy."

It was a white lie. Looking back on the sessions I've had with Mary, I wouldn't be surprised to find out that she thought I was a girl too.

"What?" he said rather loudly. I was once again aware of how many people were listening in to our conversation. "But you were a boy a month ago!"

"I thought I was," I replied truthfully. "But I was wrong."

"What the heck are you talking about?" he nearly screamed.

It was obvious that Johnny had come over with the intent to embarrass me. When he couldn't, he started to become very angry. I guess I had really upset him on Saturday.

"Look, Johnny," I told him in a calm tone. "The doctors were wrong when I was born. They thought I was a boy, but I wasn't. I only looked like a boy."

Johnny was staring at me, stunned! I'd basically just come out as transgendered to my school, even if I had worded it to seem like more of a medical condition.

I looked around the cafeteria at the people who were watching us. Not many of them even seemed surprised. In fact, there were a couple people nodding their heads, as if they agreed with my doctors.

It wasn't unanimous acceptance, though. There were also plenty of faces that looked like they couldn't stand the idea of me becoming a girl. I'd let the cat out of the bag, so to speak, and I would have to live with the consequences.

"Whatever," Johnny said before walking away. Everyone else seemed to go back to their lunches after he had left.

"I guess that answers my question," Kathy said a few moments later.

*  *  *

I was sitting in my math class, minding my own business, when someone entered and spoke to the teacher. I hadn't even noticed she was there before my teacher spoke.

"Campbell," he said, getting my attention. "You're wanted in the principal's office."

Uh oh. I'd been dreading this all day, and it looked like it was finally happening. I gathered my books and my bag and followed the aide back to the front office.

"Have a seat," she said when we entered, pointing at a row of chairs outside the principal's door. "He'll be with you shortly."

I nodded to her and stepped toward the chairs. There was already someone sitting there. I didn't think I had ever seen him before. He was dressed all in black, and even seemed to be wearing eyeliner. If he could get away with it, why couldn't I? Although he was probably here because he was wearing it.

"Well hello there," he said as I sat down. He was checking me out, and it didn't make me feel comfortable. I'd been getting looks ever since I made my decision to live as Megan, but his looks gave me the creeps. They were almost dirty in nature.

"Hi," I replied, hoping it would be enough for him. But of course it wasn't.

"What's a sweet thing like you doing visiting the principal's office?" he asked.

"I'm not sure," I answered, somewhat truthfully.

"My name's David," he told me while sticking his hand out. His friendly nature seemed to belie the way he was dressed. "I'm new here."

I was at a bit of a dilemma now. He obviously thought that I was a girl, and I didn't really want to contradict that thought. But I couldn't exactly tell him my name was Megan either.

Fortunately, I was saved from answering by the opening of Principal Hall's door. One of the teachers walked out, followed by the principal.

"Mr. Cartwright, please come in," Principal Hall said before glancing at me. I was surprised to see him give me a small smile.

David stood up, and with a smile and a wave to me walked into the office.

I sat there alone for ten minutes, wondering what that smile had meant. I would have thought Principal Hall would have been really upset with me. But that was definitely a friendly smile, even if it looked slightly forced.

Eventually, the principal's door opened again, and the two of them stepped out. I thought for sure David was going to get in trouble for wearing eyeliner, but he didn't seem upset at all after his meeting.

"Thank you, sir," David said. "I'll, uh, do as you asked."

"Thank you, Mr. Cartwright. I'll see you later," Mr. Hall responded.

David then turned toward me, and with a small wave goodbye said, "Bye, Megan. It was nice to meet you."

That was enough to put me in shock! How did he find out my name?! And he had just repeated it in front of Principal Hall! This was not going to bode well for my meeting with him!

Despite my surprise, I was able to mumble a goodbye and a small wave.

"Come on in, Miss Campbell," Principal Hall said, boggling my mind even further.

I somehow managed to stand up, collect my things, and stepped into his office, where I took a seat in front of his desk.

He walked around his desk and took his own seat, before looking at me. He seemed slightly surprised at what he saw.

"The first thing I need to do is apologize for Friday," he eventually said. "I overreacted, and I'm sorry. But I was telling the truth when I said I don't like disruptions, and this is definitely a disruption."

I was about to argue, but he held up a finger.

"Let me finish first, please." He told me, and I nodded in agreement. "I called your mother this morning after seeing you in the hall. I was quite furious at how you were dressed, or at least how you were presenting yourself. I was expecting to inform her of your suspension and have her come to pick you up.

"But instead, your mother told me more about your situation, and why you are doing this." He frowned slightly before continuing. "I can't say that I will be able to support you in any way. Frankly, I don't feel very comfortable about you changing your gender, but I do believe I understand why you are doing it."

I sat there awestruck! I didn't know what my mom had told him, but at least it hadn't made him more upset. If anything, he seemed to be pretty calm about it.

"Look, Megan," he said, and I realized then that Mom must have told him my name and he must have told it to David. "I want to help you because I want to keep this from being disruptive. There are only two weeks left in the school year, and I wish you could have held out until the end. But your mom explained to me that you had been trying, and I respect that. She told me that you feel you can't do that anymore."

I honestly didn't know what to say. I didn't want to come to school as Brett anymore, and it looked like I might be getting my wish.

"Let me be perfectly clear when I say that you are still not seen as a female in the eyes of the school," he said, dropping my excitement a bit. "Until you are legally female, we cannot do that. But I will make an exception and let you present yourself as one. Half the school already thinks you are female anyway."

"So I can wear girl's clothes and makeup?" I asked him, looking for confirmation of what I thought he had just said.

"Yes," Principal Hall confirmed. "But you will be held to the same dress code that the other girls must follow."

"Cool!" I said in my excitement. Mr. Hall smiled at my exuberance, but the smile still looked slightly forced.

"There are other things you will have to do if you want this opportunity," he continued.

"Like what?" I asked nervously.

"You must never enter the girl's bathroom or the girl's locker room," he replied. "Like I said, until you are legally female, we cannot make some exceptions. Conversely, you shouldn't use the boy's bathroom or locker room either. Technically it's still legal, but it will cause more problems than we want to deal with."

"Okay," I agreed. "But where am I supposed to go to the bathroom?"

"You will need to use one of the two unisex bathrooms," he answered. "There is one in each of the main halls, so it shouldn't be too far of a walk."

I nodded my agreement. The unisex bathrooms are actually handicap bathrooms. They weren't quite as well taken care of as the regular bathrooms, but it was a price I was willing to pay to come to school as Megan. I had already been using them anyway. It seemed easier when people started assuming I was a girl.

"Is there anything else?" I asked him, afraid of what I might have to do.

"Not at the moment," he replied. "But we'll handle anything else as it comes up."

I nodded at him. "Okay."

"Your mom said that you had legally changed your name?" he asked and then paused for my answer. I nodded in confirmation and he continued. "I can't do anything about it today, but I'll get your name changed on the rolls by tomorrow. We'll update your school records officially when we receive the change of name form. Your mom said she would get it faxed over this afternoon."

When I had decided this morning that Megan was going to school, I was definitely not expecting any of this to happen!

"If you don't have any questions," Principal Hall said while pulling out a small notepad. "Then here's a pass back to class."

"Okay," I replied, taking the excuse note. I think I was still in shock. I hadn't really been able to say much during the meeting.

I accepted the note from him and he stood up to walk me out of his office. I grabbed my backpack and followed him to the door. Once outside I turned back to him.

"Thank you, sir," I told him with a genuine smile. I truly was happy at that moment.

"You're welcome, Megan," he replied. His smile still looked slightly forced, but I think part of it was genuine too.

With more happiness than I thought I would feel that day, I headed for my last class.

*  *  *

---

Editor Note: The images used for this story were purchased and used under royalty-free license* from Istockphoto.com . ~Sephrena
Author Note: Please email me at AngelJediGirl (at) gmail (dot) com before posting this story to any other site. Posting to a pay site is prohibited.

Comments and suggestions are also welcome at the above email address.

*  *  *

Chapter 22 - Happy Birthday, Aunt Judy

"He's going to let you come to school as Megan?" Emily asked incredulously on our way home.

"Yeah, can you believe it?" I replied.

"No!" she exclaimed. "He was so upset on Friday!"

"I know. I need to thank my mom for whatever she said."

"You guys want to go to a movie tonight?" Ethan asked in an attempt to change the subject. I think he was still uncomfortable with the Megan situation.

"Sure," Emily replied cheerfully.

"I can't. I have to go to my Aunt's house for her birthday party," I said with a frown.

"Aww," Emily moaned. "We never get to hang out with you anymore!"

"I know," I told her. I felt the same way. "Let's do something together tomorrow. I don't have to do anything for the record company."

"How come you are doing so much if you aren't going to be on the radio for months?" Emily asked.

The pang of regret I felt at her question must have been visible on my face. Emily immediately looked concerned.

"I'm sorry, Em," I told her, near tears once again. "But my dad won't let me tell you."

It always came back to the same thing! I still wasn't sure why my dad felt this was the best way. He still hadn't given me a reason that I could believe. 'Trust me' could only go so far.

Emily stopped walking and wrapped her arms around me. "I'm sorry, Megan. I don't know what it is you are keeping from us, but I know it must be hard."

*  *  *

"Megan?" my mom asked when I entered my house. "Is that you?"

"Yeah," I replied while I stepped into the kitchen where she was putting the finishing touches on the food that she had been preparing for the party.

"Good," she said. "Hurry and get dressed. We need to leave in 45 minutes. I put a nice dress on your bed."

"Okay," I replied with a slight worry. "But they don't know about Megan. Do you think a dress will be alright?"

My mom smiled at me like she knew something I didn't before she spoke. "Honey, it isn't about what they think, it's about who you are."

She seemed too calm about this. I mean, I could be ostracized by my extended family, or at least Mom's side. Yes I wanted them to know about Megan, but I was still somewhat scared to tell them.

"I guess," I replied, not nearly as confident as she had sounded.

"Anyway, I talked to Judy after I talked to your principal this morning," Mom continued. "She said that it was about time she got to meet Megan. Katy will probably feel the same way."

I'm not sure what shocked me more, the fact that Aunt Judy already knew about Megan or that she was okay with me showing up that way! Katy was my cousin. We were the same age and hung out a bit, but it was Derek, her older brother, who always seemed to want to hang out with me at family gatherings. He was a year older than me, but I was the closest boy to his age in the family. I figured he probably wouldn't take my change very well.

"Go get dressed!" Mom interrupted my thoughts. "We can talk about it in the car."

"Okay," I said, but I still needed a few answers first. "But what did you tell my principal? He was actually nice to me today!"

Mom sighed. I don't think she wanted to discuss this now or we would be late, but it was something I needed to know.

"I told him the truth," she said. "After you left this morning, I started to worry. I wasn't sure if there was anything we could do if the principal decided to punish you. So I did some research on the internet."

She really must have been worried. Mom isn't exactly the most computer literate person I know. She usually only used the computer for basic things like checking her email and following a couple of our family's blogs.

"What did you find?" I asked her, intrigued.

"What he threatened to do to you is against the law," she replied. "California law prohibits any discrimination or punishment based on gender identity or gender presentation. From what you've told me, he's already broken the law. I just pointed that fact out to him."

I was stunned! I hadn't expected to have the law on my side! Was he only being nice to me because he had to? I wasn't sure. While his smile had seemed forced, it still seemed to be partially genuine.

"Get dressed!" Mom interrupted my thoughts again. I smiled at her and rushed out of the kitchen.

*  *  *

An hour and a half later we were pulling into Aunt Judy and Uncle John's driveway. It looked like the party was already in full swing by the number of cars parked in front of their house. I reluctantly exited the car and followed my parents to the door.

These family get togethers weren't formal by any means, but Mom always insisted that we look nice. Austin looked irritated by the collar of the polo shirt he had been forced into wearing, but I found myself happy to be wearing a nice sundress instead. Okay, so it was pink, but I didn't really mind. Mom thought it would help to reinforce who I now was.

Dad rang the doorbell. Girlhood certainly had its benefits. Dad was holding a crock pot full of something my mom had cooked, and Austin had a cake in his hands. Even Mom was holding a thing of Jello. Me? I was only holding the small clutch purse my mom insisted I bring.

Eventually my nervousness turned to outright anxiety when the door swung open and the inviting smell of a roast wafted out past my cousin Katy. She anxiously started scanning each of our faces until she found mine hiding behind my family and down a step.

"Megan!" She sounded excited to see me, and it looked like she was going to push right past my family to get to me before she realized what they were holding. Stopping only long enough to let my family into her home, she immediately rushed me and gave me a hug.

"I'm so glad you came!" she exclaimed. "Mom said you might not, and I was worried I wouldn't get to meet you."

"Hi, Katy," I said, finally finding my voice. I'd always liked Katy. We seemed to share a lot of the same interests. Maybe that should have been an indicator of where my life was going to lead me, but I never saw it before we met that evening. Something had definitely changed in our relationship, and I felt that we were going to be closer than ever.

"Katy!" I heard Uncle John yell from inside the house. "Come in and close that door, you'll let all the flies in!"

He then appeared behind her at the doorway. His mouth dropped slightly when he saw me, but he managed to motion us inside.

"Come on," Katy said excitedly while grabbing my hand and pulling me through the doorway. Once we were inside she yelled toward the kitchen, "Mom! Megan's here!"

I looked around the front room. Most of my extended family was already there, and they were gathered around the large TV set that Uncle John kept in the room.

It was also apparent that most of them had not been told about me. Some of them looked confused, wondering who I was. Some of them looked shocked at how I was dressed. My cousin Kyle was staring at me in a way I thought one cousin should not stare at another.

"Great, the fag's here," I heard someone say. I glanced around the room again and my eyes settled on the piercing eyes that were glaring at me. Derek had definitely not taking the news about me well.

"Derek!" I heard Aunt Judy yell from the other side of the great room, where she was standing. "I told you none of that! Go to your room!"

"Whatever," Derek said. He was obviously not chastised by his mother's yelling. "Come on, Kyle, let's go."

"But..." Kyle started but couldn't find the words he needed to finish. It was obvious he didn't want to leave the room while I was still there.

"Dude!" Derek yelled at Kyle. "It's Brett! Even if he was a real girl, you can't date your cousin!"

That statement seemed to get through to Kyle. I was saddened by the look of disgust that appeared on his face before he quickly followed Derek down the hall.

"Brett?" I heard Tracy ask. She was Kyle's older sister. She was sitting on the couch holding little Heather, the first grandchild in the family. She was also sitting next to Grandpa Jones, my mom's dad. It looked like he was ready to have a heart attack at my appearance.

"Come here, Megan," I heard Aunt Judy say from where she was still standing in the kitchen. "Let me get a look at you."

I must admit, I thought as I stepped around Katy to meet her mother, I was hoping for a better reaction from my mom's family. They knew about the accident. Most of them knew what it had cost me and the decision that had been placed before my parents. I hoped most of their reactions were only because of the surprise of seeing me before hearing about me.

"Wow!" Aunt Judy said when I had reached the kitchen. "You are beautiful!"

She then proceeded to wrap me in a comforting hug. With her mouth next to my ear, she whispered the words I was more than ready to hear: "You're always welcome here, Megan, no matter what."

"Thank you, Aunt Judy," I whispered back. When we separated I had a smile on my face.

"Everyone," I heard my dad say behind me and I turned to look at him. He was speaking in the tone of voice he used to command attention, but I think everyone was already giving it to him.

"You all know about the accident we were in six years ago," Dad continued. "You all know about the decision we were given about where Brett's life should go. You all know that we decided to leave it up to him."

Dad looked over at me and motioned me toward him. He continued to speak while I walked over and stood next to him. "Both Linda and I, along with a counselor, have been helping Brett find the path that his life should follow."

He looked at me and smiled warmly. The coldness that had taken hold of my heart at the reactions of my family started to thaw. Even if I lost my extended family, I had Mom and Dad to take care of me. Austin wasn't too bad either.

"Megan did not come into existence recently," Dad kept saying. "Our little girl came home from the hospital that fateful day six years ago. She's only learning that now, but it was soon after she came home that it became apparent to us. I know many of you have expressed your concerns about her behavior over the last few years, and about how girlish she was starting to look. What you didn't know is that she was already a girl. She's been developing just like any girl her age would, albeit slowly."

"Dad!" I squeaked at him. I could feel the heat rise in my face again as I started blushing. This was not the type of information that he should be sharing with the family!

My reaction seemed to break the tension that was floating around the room. It seemed like most of the guys seemed uncomfortable at the news my dad had shared, but the soft knowing chuckles from the ladies and older girls seemed to put them at ease. I realized then that my dad was not trying to embarrass me. He was trying to make the family understand how deep this decision was.

"Megan has been happier the past week since she made this decision than she has at any other time of her life," Dad kept talking. I noticed Mom standing on my other side and I felt even more comforted by her presence. She was nodding agreement with what my dad was saying. "I hope that you will accept her for who she is, because she is going to be around for a long time to come."

I had to hold back the tears as he bent down and gave me a hug.

"You're going to make me cry," I said aloud after he had let me go. That got another round of chuckles, and as I looked around the room it seemed like I was generally going to be accepted. Only a couple of the younger boys and Uncle Steven seemed to feel otherwise, judging by their faces.

Alright, everybody," Aunt Judy said, breaking the silence that had fallen after Dad's speech. "This is a party, so start having fun!"

That seemed to break the tension, and everyone seemed to return to what they were doing. At least the guys did. I noticed Tracy get up and a number of my younger female cousins follow Mom and me into the kitchen behind Aunt Judy. I knew the night was just beginning.

The first person to get me once we were safely in the kitchen was Grandma Jones.

"You look lovely, Megan," she told me with the sweetest smile on her face. Her smile was so genuine I could feel its warmth when she wrapped me in one of the hugs only a grandmother can give.

"Thank you, Gran," I replied. "That's so good to hear you say."

I'd managed to keep the tears back when we were in the front room, but Gran's acceptance was more than I could bear. The relief that I felt at her words broke the dam that was holding them back.

"Don't cry, honey," she said when she noticed my tears. "This is a good thing. Your Grandaddy and I have been praying that you'd find your happiness. You deserve this."

"I can't help it, Gran," I told her. "I'm just so happy right now."

She gave me another smile, one of understanding.

"So," Tracy said, breaking the moment I was sharing with Gran. I turned around to face the small crowd of women and girls who were standing around the kitchen. I knew that I was going to have to answer their questions if I wanted to get out of there alive. "You're a girl now?"

I thought my dad had been pretty clear on that statement. I nodded, but a sudden thought had me reaching into my purse. I pulled out the small compact that was inside and opened it to examine my face. Luckily I had gone light on the makeup, and I didn't look any worse for wear after the tears I had shed with Gran.

"I guess so," Kendra, one of the younger girls said. That got most of them laughing, and I blushed slightly as I replaced the compact in my purse.

"And this is real?" Tracy continued. She was waving her hand over my small chest and the slight glimpse of cleavage the dress gave.

"Yeah," I answered with a nod of my head. It seemed weird to be talking about this, but they were family, and I knew they cared about me.

"How long have you been on hormones?" Tracy continued her questioning.

"I haven't been taking hormones," I replied truthfully. She looked skeptical at my answer, so I continued. "Without any testosterone in my body, I've been developing this way for a couple of years."

She still looked skeptical when she said, "That seems like pretty generous development. I know that both men and women have some of the hormones of the opposite sex, but this seems like more development than you should have expected."

I was fairly stunned at her statement. Tracy is a Registered Nurse, and had quite an extensive medical knowledge to back it up. I didn't know what she was implying. I looked over at Mom, and she seemed to be stunned too. Could there be more to my condition than just the accident?

"I'm sorry," Tracy said almost immediately. "I didn't mean anything by that. I was just curious."

It was Mom who was able to voice our shared question. "Do you think there could be more to this than just her accident?"

"I honestly don't know," Tracy said. "I've heard of men who have been castrated developing larger nipples or a little puffiness, but nothing like this."

"Should we get it checked out?" Mom asked. I couldn't help but hear the worry that was in her voice.

"I guess it couldn't hurt," Tracy replied, juggling Heather into a new position on her hip. "I doubt there's anything life threatening involved, but it might help explain some things. I guess the real question is, are you happy?"

This one I could answer with assurance. I'd had plenty of time to think about it.

"Yes," I told her. "I am."

I had a warm feeling spread throughout my chest when I saw the smiles on all the women in the room.

*  *  *

After the novelty of me had faded somewhat, the family managed to settle down to a very delicious family meal together. One thing I could always count on when Mom's family got together was the good food. There were so many good cooks in her family we could open a chain of restaurants. It might be kind of nice to have Mom teach me a thing or two. I've never really cooked before, but I've always wished I knew how.

After dinner the family started to break apart into various groups. Most of the men were back in front of the TV, many of the women were talking around the dining table, most of the kids were running around in the basement playroom, and Katy and I found ourselves in her room.

Katy was showing me everything that she thought I would need to know to be a good girl. I didn't have the heart to tell her that I knew most of what she was trying to teach me.

She felt that I needed to have a good fashion sense. What she didn't know, and what I was reluctant to tell her, was that Julia had done a very good job of drilling into me the "rules" that I would have to live by. Katy was becoming frustrated when she would ask me a question she thought I couldn't answer, but I'd get it right anyway.

"I guess you truly are a girl then," she finally admitted when she couldn't stump me. She flopped down on her bed next to me. We were silent for a bit, the only sound in the room our breathing and the quiet song coming from her radio.

Before either of us could say anything else, the DJ started speaking.

"Stay tuned," he said. "After the break we've got a brand spankin' new song from an up and coming artist that you don't want to miss. After the break I'll introduce you to Sarah Carerra."

I bolted upright on Katy's bed.

They were going to play my song!

"What?" Katy asked.

I would have replied, but I was already off the bed and out her door.

"Mom! Dad! Come quick!" I yelled as I entered the great room. Everyone was staring at me, but I found my dad and motioned for him to follow me back to Katy's room.

"What is it?" he asked with concern.

"They're going to play Sarah's song on the radio!" I exclaimed as I continued to motion for him to follow me.

That was enough for him. I noticed that he was out of his seat quickly, and Mom wasn't far behind.

"Who's Sarah?" Katy asked as I turned to head back down the hall and almost ran over her.

"Come on!" I told her and raced back into her room. Fortunately it was still a commercial when I got there.

"Who's Sarah?" Katy asked again when I had sat myself back on her bed in anticipation.

"She's one of my clients," Dad replied for me. "She and Megan hit it off pretty well when they met the other day."

I knew that he wasn't going to tell the family my secret. If I couldn't tell Emily, why would we tell the family?

I noticed that quite a few people had followed us into Katy's room. Tracy was there along with a couple of the other older girls.

But it was the look on Aunt Judy's face that surprised me. She had a grin on her face that was nearly as long as mine! She knew! Her wink at me proved it!

I felt my jaw drop. I didn't understand how she knew. There's no way that Dad would have told her. But Mom...It HAD to have been Mom! Mom and Aunt Judy were like twins. They were born a year apart, and if Gran was to be believed, they were nearly inseparable while they grew up. Of course Mom would have told her!

Then I was surprised by the jealousy that overcame me. I was furious that Mom could tell her best friend, but I couldn't tell Emily! It was MY career!

I glanced over at my mom. She had seen my reaction. Her warning glance told me that I had better not tell my dad.

"Did I miss it?" Austin yelled at that moment as he came barreling into Katy's room.

"No," Dad said, and the warning glance he gave to Austin made sure that he didn't give anything away.

Before anyone could say anything else, I heard the intro to ‘Intuition' come through the speakers. Katy thankfully reached over and turned it up.

I closed my eyes for a moment, and I could almost see the music. I'd sung this song so many times by this point that it was ingrained in my head. This would hopefully be the song that jump-started my career as a teen pop sensation.

The chorus started, and I found myself quietly singing along...

It's just my...
In-tu-i-tion
I know it's meant to be,
When you are here with me.

In-tu-i-tion
All my dreams come true,
When I feel this love for you.

I realized what I was doing and closed my mouth. The last thing I needed was for someone to realize that my singing matched the actual song!

The song continued to play, and I settled for quietly humming along. When it was over, I was left with a joy that I had never felt before. My song was on the radio!

"That was really good!" Katy exclaimed from next to me on the bed. "How do you know the words?"

I blushed at her question. I shouldn't know the words to a brand new song, right?

"I was in the studio with her when she recorded it," I said and turned to my dad, looking for confirmation. He thankfully nodded. I mean, I WAS there when Sarah recorded it, so it wasn't exactly a lie, right?

"That was ‘Intuition' by Sarah Carerra," the DJ interrupted us. "If you didn't see her during the Tween Awards last Saturday, you better look out. Josh Holliday promised us she has a long career ahead of her."

I was blushing again at the mention of Josh. At least only my parents knew about that. Or so I thought, the confusion on Aunt Judy's face reminded me that she knew the truth. She obviously hadn't seen the Tween Awards or heard about Josh from my mother either.

Everyone started to wander off and I laid back down on Katy's bed, enjoying the afterglow.

*  *  *

Later that evening I was sitting on the couch with some of the family. They were watching TV, but I was mostly watching Heather.

Tracy seemed convinced that I was a girl and had left Heather in my care while she went to help with the birthday cake in the kitchen.

There was something about the infant that gave me a funny feeling. It was a good feeling, but I'd never felt it before.

Heather was only about six months old, but she was the cutest little baby I had ever seen. She seemed to be so full of energy, and her wide eyes wanted to take in everything they could see.

I was playing peek-a-boo with her, and she was really enjoying it. But apparently her squeals of delight were annoying some of the others.

"Would you shut up!" I heard Derek yell at me from the other side of the room.

"Yeah!" I heard Kyle quickly agree.

I looked over at them and they were both glaring at me.

"Cake!" Tracy yelled from the kitchen, interrupting any altercation that would have started.

Derek and Kyle seemed to forget about me immediately and raced toward the kitchen. By the time I was able to get Heather situated on my hip and made my own way there they were already singing to Aunt Judy.

After the song the pandemonium started as everyone tried to get their cake first. I decided I'd better keep Heather out of the melee and leaned against one of the walls to wait my turn.

"You'll make a good mother yourself someday," Aunt Judy said. I turned to find her standing next to me. I also felt myself blush again. "You look like a natural with Heather."

"Thank you," I managed to reply.

"That was a wonderful song," Aunt Judy told me with that knowing smile. "I'm really proud of you."

My blush wasn't going to go away if she kept this up.

"Thank you," I told her again. "Dad won't be happy if he finds out you know."

That got her to chuckle. "I know, dear, but your mom and I share everything with each other. It was eating her inside not to talk about it."

"I know," I said. "But it seems unfair that you know, but I can't tell my best friend."

"I'm sorry, honey," Aunt Judy said. "Your dad is just doing what he thinks is best for you."

"I know, but it still hurts," I replied.

"It'll only be for a little while," she explained. "Before you know it you'll be enjoying the secret together."

I've heard that before, but it didn't make me feel any better.

Luckily, birthday cake could.

*  *  *

---

Editor Note: The images used for this story were purchased and used under royalty-free license* from Istockphoto.com . ~Sephrena
Author Note: Please email me at AngelJediGirl (at) gmail (dot) com before posting this story to any other site. Posting to a pay site is prohibited.

Comments and suggestions are also welcome at the above email address.

*  *  *

Chapter 23 - Ripples in the Water

I woke up on Tuesday excited to go to school.

Instead of heading for Brett's side of the closet I immediately headed for Megan's side. Somehow I managed to resist wearing a skirt or dress, and ended up in a pair of jeans and a comfortable but feminine top. I pulled my hair back into another high ponytail and set to work on my makeup.

It was going to be a good day.

*  *  *

"You guys want to go to the beach after school?" Emily asked while we walked to school.

That question alone caused my heart rate to increase, and the beating in my chest helped fill me with more dread than I had felt since I had made my decision to become Megan!

"Why?" I asked cautiously.

"Because," she replied. "We haven't been to the beach in over two weeks. Mom said she'd drive us."

It was a bit sad. All of us were sixteen and had our drivers' licenses, but no car to drive ourselves in. Both Emily's parents and my own were reluctant to let us drive alone anyway. At least Ethan's parents sometimes let him borrow the car.

But the beach meant wearing a different kind of swimsuit than I had worn the last time we went. And the only suit I owned was the bikini my mom had insisted on purchasing. I might want to live the rest of my life as Megan, but I wasn't sure I was ready to wear a bikini in public!

"I'm game," Ethan said, breaking my train of thought.

"Come on, Megan," Emily had a mischievous glint in her eye. "It'll be fun."

She did know what she was asking then! I had wondered if she knew.

"You'll look good," she said, trying harder to convince me.

That wasn't what I was worried about.

"You promised you'd hang out with us," she continued in a sweet voice that only served to torment me more. But it was the guilt of not spending time with them that made my decision.

"Fine," I replied. "But that doesn't mean I'll like it."

"Yes!" she exclaimed. "Megan's wearing a bikini!"

"I won't if you keep that up," I told her sternly. It only made her laugh.

*  *  *

I was getting looks again when I walked down the hall at school. I couldn't imagine why. It wasn't like I'd been getting progressively more feminine or anything.

Ethan left us at his locker and Emily and I continued down toward our own. She was still trying to convince me that wearing the bikini would be a good thing while we walked.

"Freak!" I heard someone yell and the next thing I knew I was being slammed into the lockers and then I fell to the ground.

Gasping for breath, I looked up to try and figure out what had happened. I couldn't see anyone other than Emily around me, but there was a group of football players laughing as they walked away.

"Are you okay?" Emily asked me and tried to help me up. It was still hard to breathe and I didn't make it past kneeling while I tried to catch my breath.

"Yeah," I was finally able to wheeze.

When I felt strong enough I stood up, surprised again to find that I was now surrounded by a group of girls who hadn't been there a moment before. They all looked like they were ready to kill someone. Not wanting to take another hit I involuntarily took a step backward.

"I can't believe he did that!" one of them stated. I didn't know her name, but recognized her from one of my classes.

"Yeah," another agreed. "Is that how the football team treats girls?"

Apparently this group was not mad at me! I found myself letting out a breath I hadn't realized I'd been holding.

I knew that not everyone was happy with what I was doing. I'd seen the looks I'd been getting. But I hadn't actually expected violence!

"Come on," Emily said while pulling on my arm. "Let's get you to class."

*  *  *

"Megan Campbell?" My first period teacher asked. She looked confused at the name.

"Here," I said, happy that Principal Hall had come through with his promise.

She looked at me, and seemed to gain some recognition. The name might be new, and it was the first time I'd worn makeup to school, but I was still identifiable as the same person. That was probably part of my problem.

"You're looking good today," the teacher told me with a genuine smile. I was glad that at least one of them was okay with what I was doing.

*  *  *

I'd managed to make it out of the school alive. I was glad to be between Ethan and Emily as we walked home, happy to have some friendly company once again. I really wished I shared more classes with them.

During school I had been knocked down three times in the halls, tripped by a cheerleader when turning in my quiz during fourth period, and been cursed at and called names that I didn't want to repeat.

It was obvious that I had crossed a line somewhere.

I guess most people were still okay with what I was doing. It was only a small number of people who seemed to be tormenting me. But they were a very vocal and physical minority.

"You don't look so good," Emily said, giving me a quick hug.

I really needed the hug. I was starting to regret my decision to come to school as Megan.

"Tough day?" Ethan asked.

"Horrible!" I replied. "Maybe this was a bad idea."

"No!" Emily argued immediately. "It's never a bad idea to be who you are supposed to be!"

"I guess," I agreed with her. "But I've never been pushed down in the halls or tripped before at school."

"They'll get over it," Ethan said. "They'll move on to something else soon enough."

"Soon enough might not be soon enough," I told him. "There's still a week and a half left."

"Well, then it will be over soon." I guess Ethan's logic was sound, but it didn't make me feel any better.

"Forget about school," Emily said to change the subject. "We're going to the beach!"

I didn't share her enthusiasm. I really liked the beach, but I was scared to wear my bikini.

Coupled with the fear of wearing the bikini was the fear that my classmates would also be at the beach. We often ran into people we knew at the local beach, and I wasn't sure that being seen in a bikini would do me any good.

Eventually we reached Ethan's house, and he went inside to get ready, promising to meet us at Emily's home shortly. When we reached my house Emily and I split up to get ourselves ready.

Entering my house I found my mom in the front room watching TV.

"Hi, honey," she greeted me. "How was your day?"

"Horrible," I replied. "I was knocked down three times, tripped at least once, and I've been called all kinds of names."

She looked concerned, but I didn't really have the time to talk now if I was going to make it to Emily's anytime soon.

"We can talk about it later," I said before she could get started. "I have to get ready to go to the beach with Emily and Ethan."

"Oh," she said slightly downcast. "Okay."

I felt bad about not talking to her, but I knew Emily would be upset if I took too long.

I rushed out of the room and down the hall to my own. I pulled the bikini out of the drawer it was in and placed it on the bed. It was black, and thankfully not frilly in any way. It was actually pretty basic, and that simplicity helped me gather the courage to put it on.

I stepped over to my full-length mirror. Once again I was surprised at how good I looked. I didn't understand how a small boy like Brett could become such a sexy vixen as Megan. I wasn't even sure I wanted to be a sexy vixen.

My experiences since becoming Megan had proven that I had some kind of attraction to guys now. Both Daren and Josh could attest to that, but I still wasn't sure how that made me feel. What about all the attractive girls I knew?

It was then that I was hit with an odd feeling. I realized that I hadn't actually looked at a girl in that way for quite a while! Longer than I had been living as Megan, at least. It had been months. I started to wonder if becoming a girl was really my choice, or if it was destiny.

"You look beautiful," I heard my mom say from behind me. I hadn't heard her come in. I turned around and smiled at her. She had been so good to me throughout my life, but this last week and a half we had grown closer than we had ever been in my life.

"Thank you, Mom," I told her and wrapped her in a hug. I started to tear up at the emotions I was feeling.

"Are you sure you're okay?" she asked, returning the hug.

"Yeah," I said as I laid my head on her shoulder. "It was a rough day, but I'm okay. I can make it to the end of school, if nothing else."

"You know I'm always here if you need to talk," she told me. I nodded slightly and gave her another squeeze before breaking the hug.

"I know, Mom. I'm fine," I replied.

She looked at me again, the concern she felt for me apparent in her eyes. "Okay then."

I smiled at her, happy for the love and concern that she had shown me.

"Oh," she said while I pulled the summer dress that I wanted to use as a cover-up from my closet. "Before I forget, I made you an appointment with a gender specialist on Friday."

"Why?" I asked while putting on the dress. "I thought that was what Mary was for."

"She is," Mom replied. "But she can only help with your mind. This doctor can give us a better look at what is going on with your body."

"Is this because of what Tracy said?" I asked her. It seemed likely that Mom would act on the concern that we had felt the night before over what my cousin had told us.

"Yes," my mom said. "If nothing is wrong, she'll at least be able to help us with the hormones if you're ready to take the next step."

I nodded. While I had definitely decided that becoming Megan for the rest of my life was the right decision, having it actually happen still made me a bit nervous.

A honk from outside ended our conversation. Apparently I was the last one to get ready, and Emily and her mom were waiting for me.

"I gotta go, Mom," I said while giving my mother a quick kiss on the cheek in appreciation.

"Ok, honey. Have fun."

I quickly grabbed my beach tote that I had filled with sunscreen and a towel, threw my purse inside and headed for the front door.

*  *  *

"How about here?" I asked, indicating an open area of the beach that should stay outside of the path of the waves.

"Sure," Emily agreed and I pulled my towel out and placed it on the sand before I reached for my sunscreen. Like I knew she would, Anna placed her towel next to mine and Emily was quick to place hers on the other side of Anna. Ethan placed his towel on my other side, but I noticed that there was quite a bit more distance between his and mine than usual. I figured that it had something to do with my new gender.

Once our towels were laid out, Anna immediately grabbed my hand and started pulling me toward the water.

"Come on, Megan," she said urgently. "The waves are just right for body boarding."

I had to agree with her. There seemed to be a breeze coming in from the ocean, and the waves were slightly larger than normal. They would definitely make for some fun body boarding.

"Ok, ok," I told her, but didn't let her drag me too far. "But we need to put sunscreen on first, and I'm still in my dress!"

She paused in her tugging. It was obvious that she didn't want to wait, but she also seemed to want me to go with her.

"Hurry then," she told me impatiently.

"You need sunscreen too," I told her, which elicited a pout from her.

"It takes too long!" she whined.

I just smirked and turned back toward my towel and the tote sitting next to it. I quickly pulled off the flimsy dress and neatly folded it before placing it in my tote. I then reached for the sunscreen I had dropped when Anna started pulling me toward the water.

"Whoa!" I heard Ethan choke out. When I glanced at him I noticed that he was staring at me. I'd avoided taking my clothes off around Emily and Ethan for a while now, hoping to disguise the changes that I had been going through. But those changes were pretty clear now that all I had on was a bikini.

"Geez, Meg," Emily said somewhat stunned. "When did you become such a looker?"

I felt myself blush again. I wished I could stop the reddening response that had become such a recurring part of my life lately.

"I'm sorry guys, I've been trying to hide it somewhat," I told them. "Now it doesn't really matter so much."

"Are you sure you aren't really a girl?" Ethan asked, still staring at me.

"You're staring," I told him and was satisfied to see someone else blush for once. He turned toward his own gym bag and pulled out his own sunscreen to hide the reaction.

I chuckled lightly before answering. "Not anymore; my cousin Tracy thinks that there may be more than just the accident at work."

"Why does she think that?" Emily said while applying her own sunscreen. I squirted some of mine into my hand and started rubbing it across my skin.

"She's a nurse," I said, and Emily and Ethan both nodded. "She said at the party last night that I seemed to have more...curves than someone in my position should have."

"Do you believe her?" Emily asked.

"I don't know," I told her truthfully. "I hadn't thought about it before. My mom made me an appointment with a doctor on Friday to see if we can find anything else out."

"Hurry," Anna half-begged, half-whined. I finished applying my sunscreen and figured it was her turn.

"Come here," I said, turning to her. "Let me put some on you."

She whined again, but stepped closer to where I could start rubbing some of the lotion on her. She was dressed in a nice pink one piece, which meant she had a lot less skin that needed to be covered by the smelly goop.

"Come on!" Anna yelled when I was finished and she picked up her body board again before running toward the water. With a sigh and a look toward Ethan I grabbed my own board and followed her. Ethan was right behind us, and Emily laid back to get some sun.

*  *  *

The waves certainly were doing their job as we spent much of the afternoon body boarding. Anna was definitely feeling a lot better than she had been on Sunday. She seemed to be nearly fully recovered based on the amount of energy she had.

By the time we collapsed on our towels nearly an hour and a half later, I was exhausted.

"That was fun," Anna said, and she looked like she was ready for more. She also looked a bit red, so I grabbed the sunscreen and reapplied it to both of us.

"I hate you, you know," Emily said from her towel. She was sunning her back now while reading a book.

"Why?" I asked, unsure where her comment had come from.

"Because you don't have to tan!"

I had to laugh at her reason. My family heritage was mixed, but the end result was that both Austin and I had skin that looked like we had a slight tan. I wasn't sure where it came from, because both of my parents were pretty white. It hadn't really been an issue when I was Brett, but now that I was a girl, she seemed to envy it.

I looked over at her. I really wasn't that much darker than she was, but apparently a shade or two was all it took.

Anna was apparently more exhausted than she looked, because she had managed to fall asleep on her beach towel. Ethan was lying on his back reading a book, so I reached into my tote and pulled out my own before lying on my stomach to read. Soon, I was engrossed in my novel.

*  *  *

"Hey!" I heard someone yell from down the beach. "It's the freak and his friends!"

I looked up, and walking toward us was a couple of football players and their cheerleader girlfriends.

"Hey freak," Tom, the team's quarterback, yelled as he approached us. "What are you doing out of your cage?"

"Shut up, Tom," Ethan said calmly as he stood up. "Megan is not a freak."

"Oh yeah?" Tom said to him. "Says who?"

"Go away, Tom," Emily said, standing herself.

"What?" Tom said. "Can't the freak speak for himself?"

"Tom," I said. I was still lying on my stomach, where I had been reading my book. "You may not believe this, but I really am a girl."

I stood up and turned toward him. I saw his jaw drop slightly, and one of the girls actually squeaked. I knew that I looked anything but manly in that bikini, and he would be hard-pressed to prove I wasn't female. In fact, without removing my bikini bottoms, something I definitely would not be doing, there was nothing that would indicate I wasn't a girl.

"And can you keep it down, Anna is asleep," I continued, pointing at the sleeping 10-year-old.

We stood in silence for a minute, as I stared at all of them and they stared back at me. It was obvious that the jocks were at a loss for words. I knew that there wasn't any bulge in my bikini bottoms to make them think I had something that a girl shouldn't have. The accident had made sure that it wasn't big enough to show.

Finally Greg, the other football player, found his voice again. "So you've already had the surgery?"

His question left a confused look on both Ethan and Emily's faces, but I knew what he meant.

"No, Greg," I answered him. "I haven't had any surgeries."

"But..." he sputtered. "But how?"

"I'm sure you heard me at school," I replied. "The doctors made a mistake when I was born."

The three of them stared at me for a few moments before Carrie, one of the cheerleaders, spoke. "Come on, Tom, let's just go."

After they were out of sight, I turned back to my friends.

"Maybe we'd better go too," I told them. They nodded, and we packed up to leave.

*  *  *

---

Editor Note: The images used for this story were purchased and used under royalty-free license* from Istockphoto.com . ~Sephrena
Author Note: Please email me at AngelJediGirl (at) gmail (dot) com before posting this story to any other site. Posting to a pay site is prohibited.

Comments and suggestions are also welcome at the above email address.

*  *  *

Chapter 24 - Holliday Surprise

Wednesday morning had me dreading school again. I couldn't believe that the day before I had been excited to go to school as Megan. Now, I was considering dressing up as Brett again.

Eventually, I was able to talk myself into jeans and another t-shirt, both out of Megan's side of the closet. This is what I wanted. I would have to take the bad with the good.

The walk to school was fairly somber. I hoped that today would be better than yesterday, but I didn't see any reason why it would be. Most people would leave me alone again, but those few who didn't would probably torment me until the bell rang to go home.

"Don't worry, Megan," Emily said while we walked. "It won't be as bad as yesterday."

I appreciated what she was trying to do, but it wasn't working.

"What makes you think it will be any different?" I asked her.

"Well," she started. "I'm pretty sure that Tom and Carrie and the others thought you were completely female when they left the beach yesterday. They'll tell the others, and people will stop harassing you."

I didn't agree with her. Even if I had somehow convinced Tom and his friends, I doubted it would stop anyone else from harassing me. I wasn't even sure that I had convinced them of anything other than the fact that I could look female in a bikini.

Living my double life, I was more than aware that looks could be deceiving.

My mood improved when I managed to make it to my first class without incident. I'd passed a few people who had called me names yesterday, but all they managed to give me that morning were sneers or dirty looks.

First period was interesting. After the morning announcements the school-wide TV system came on and we all sat through a ten minute video about tolerance. They didn't specifically address anything about gender issues, but I got the feeling that my situation may have been the catalyst for showing the video.

Principal Hall then got on the speaker and talked about the punishments that would be handed out for discrimination-based incidents. His stern, uncompromising talk about possible expulsion and missing finals left me with mixed emotions about whether I would be taunted more or less because of the video.

The rest of the day had been pretty uneventful. We still had our boring lessons to prepare us for next week's finals, and nobody really had a desire to be there.

But nobody really said or did anything to me. I heard comments a few times while walking down the hall, but nobody said anything directly to me. I did get pushed from behind by a girl as we exited one of our classes, but it was so light that I couldn't tell if she meant it as an insult or if she was trying to get out of the door quickly.

By the end of the day I felt that I'd be able to make it to the end of the school year if every day was like that day had been. I was in a lot better mood while we walked home.

"Better day?" Emily asked with a smile on her face. I could tell that she already knew my answer.

I smiled back before answering. "Much better. Nobody said or did anything to me today."

"I bet the tolerance video helped a lot," Ethan said.

"Yeah," I agreed. "Even if they didn't say anything specifically about what I'm going through, it still seemed to have that feel. Either way, it really helped."

We continued walking home and talking about our days. It was nice to be in the company of Emily and Ethan for a second day in a row. I'd spent far too little time with them since Johnny's party the week before.

"Do you guys want to hang out at my house?" I asked them. "We could finish our homework and then watch a movie or something."

"Sure," Emily said.

"Sounds good to me," Ethan agreed.

"Great!" I told them. "I've missed hanging out with you guys.

*  *  *

I was engrossed in a math problem when the doorbell rang. Ethan and Emily were watching TV, having already finished their homework, but it was my house and I had to extricate myself from underneath my textbooks.

I walked over to the door and opened it.

"Josh!" I gasped, not expecting to find Josh Holliday standing on my porch! "What are you doing here?"

"Sarah?" he asked, obviously confused. I realized then that I was not wearing my wig or anything else that would identify me as Sarah Carerra. I would need to be careful if I wanted to keep my secret.

"No, no," I said quickly while shaking my head. "My name is Megan. I'm Don's daughter."

I just hoped the deflection worked! If he made the connection between Sarah and me, he would probably give it away to Emily and Ethan, and anyone else he might tell!

"Oh," Josh said, and the confusion seemed to leave his face. "Is Sarah here?"

"No, why?" I asked as if Sarah being here was an uncommon event.

"Oh," he said again, and his face fell slightly. "You wouldn't happen to know when she'll be back, do you?"

Josh thought that Sarah lived here! I'd forgotten about that! He'd asked me last Saturday why I was staying with Don, and I hadn't given him any reason to believe Sarah wasn't staying here.

"I don't know," I told him truthfully. "She usually only stays here when she's in town."

"Oh," Josh said again, sounding like a broken record. "I thought she was living here."

"Is there anything I can do for you?" I asked him. I felt really bad about how depressed my answers had made him.

"Probably not," he said. He looked frustrated now. "Where does she live, anyway?"

"You'll have to ask my dad," I told him, watching the sullen look increase slightly. "He doesn't really share that kind of information with me."

"Is he here?"

I looked over at the large clock that Mom had hung from our wall. The two hands told me that it was nearly 5:30. Dad usually got home from the office around this time assuming he didn't have to go somewhere with a client.

"Not yet," I said while turning back to where Josh was still standing on the porch. "He should be home any minute if you want to come in and wait."

"Okay, I guess," he said nervously. I got the impression that he didn't really feel like hanging out with a teenager who wasn't famous, even if I was his own age and had managed to keep myself from mooning all over him.

I stepped back and opened the door further to allow him to enter. I noticed at about the same time that both Ethan and Emily were staring at him like they couldn't believe he was standing there.

Dad rarely had any of his clients over to the house. Neither of my friends had been here at those times either. I tried to signal them to act normal, but I was pretty sure they didn't see me.

Josh, on the other hand, noticed them immediately. He seemed to be even more nervous about staying here when he noticed I had friends over.

"Maybe waiting isn't such a good idea," he vocalized. "I can come back."

"If you want to wait in the green room, we'll stay out of your way," I told him, trying to put him at ease. He nodded at the idea.

I started walking down the hall, and a quick glance back showed that he was following me. Ethan and Emily started to get up, but a quick shake of my head had them sitting back down on the couch.

I opened the door to Sarah's room and led him in. He looked around, and I got the feeling he was uncomfortable with the feminine decorations.

"This is Sarah's room," I told him after the door was closed behind him. He'd seen the room on Saturday, but I don't think he'd really seen the room, if his wandering eyes were any indication. "You're welcome to watch TV or something while you wait. There are drinks in the small fridge over there."

He nodded, but continued to stand in front of the door, looking uncomfortable.

"Are you sure this is okay?" he eventually asked. "I mean, I wouldn't want her to get mad at me for being in her room or anything."

I chuckled silently at his discomfort. Even if this was technically 'my' room, it wasn't really 'my' room. My bed and all of my real personal belongings were in the next room.

"It'll be okay," I told him with a smile that seemed to confuse him slightly. I had a sudden concern that my smile looked too much like Sarah's.

"She only uses it when she's in town, and mostly for her clothes. She won't mind. Just don't go snooping through the closet," I said and then winked at him. I really didn't expect him to turn red, but he did. Quite red, in fact. It was cute.

"Anyway," I said, choosing to ignore his embarrassment. "Would you like me to call my dad and see how long he'll be?"

"Yeah," Josh said, his skin lightening to a more normal color. "That would be great."

"Okay," I told him. "I'll be right back."

I left him still standing near the door in Sarah's room and headed back into the front room to get my cell phone.

"What is Josh Holliday doing in your house?" Emily whispered excitedly when I re-entered the room.

"He wants to talk to Sarah or my dad," I told her.

"Why didn't he just call?" Ethan asked. I must admit, I was thinking the same thing. It was obvious that he was really hoping to see Sarah again.

"I think he was hoping Sarah was here," I replied while picking up my purse. I could tell that they wanted more information, such as why she would be at my house, but I wasn't ready to provide it.

I opened my purse and found my phone inside. But before I could call my dad, I heard the garage door opening, and someone entering the house.

"Dad?" I called out, hoping it was him.

"Yes?" he replied and stepped out of the kitchen and into the front room, still holding his briefcase.

"Good, you're home." I told him and got up and gave him a hug. "I was just about to call you."

"Why?" Dad asked, somewhat concerned. "Is everything okay?"

"Yeah," I replied, giving him a reassuring smile. "But Josh Holliday is in the green room."

"Josh Holliday is here?" he asked. I nodded and pointed at Sarah's room to show him what room I was referring to as the 'green' room. His look of understanding and the quick glance over at Ethan and Emily showed that he knew why I was referring to it that way.

If Emily heard that Sarah Carerra had a room in our house, she wouldn't stop bugging me until she got to see it. That was something my dad didn't want, even if I did, and therefore the room had to be kept a secret.

"What does he want?" Dad asked me, and I smiled nervously.

"He was hoping Sarah was here," I explained. "When I told him she wasn't here, he wanted to talk to you and agreed to wait for you to get home."

Dad nodded again, but seemed to be as perplexed as I was at Josh's presence.

"Alright," he said. "I'll see what he wants."

Dad then walked down the hall and entered Sarah's room, leaving me to wonder exactly why Josh Holliday was at my house.

I returned to the couch, but there was no way I would be able to concentrate on my Math homework now. I knew I would have to deal with the stares that Emily and Ethan were giving me.

"What?" I finally asked them.

"Josh Holliday is in your house!" Emily exclaimed.

"Yeah," I agreed. "So..?"

She looked at me like I had grown a second head.

"A celebrity is in your house, and you don't even care?" she asked incredulously.

"It's not the first time," I admitted truthfully. It wasn't even the first time that Josh had been here, but she didn't need to know about that. I shrugged and turned back to the TV.

A minute or two later I heard a door open down the hall.

"Come on down into my office," I heard my dad say as his voice got louder. "We can give Sarah a call and you can tell her the good news yourself."

Uh oh, I was pretty sure that was a warning from my dad! I was going to have to find somewhere to take a call privately away from Emily and Ethan.

I turned around to look down the hall, where Emily and Ethan were still staring. Dad caught my eye and gestured back to Sarah's room, offering me a safe place. I nodded slightly to let him know I got the message. He and Josh then disappeared into my dad's office.

"I'll be right back," I told my friends before I stood up again and grabbed my phone. I slipped it into my pocket so that they wouldn't see me taking it with me.

"Where are you going?" Emily asked, more interested than I would have liked her to be.

"I have to go make sure the green room is cleaned up and stuff," I told her. "Be back in a second."

Before they could say anything else I quickly walked down the hall and locked myself into Sarah's room.

I sat down on the couch and waited for the phone call. After about a minute, my phone started to ring. I checked to make sure it was Dad's number before answering the call.

"Hello?" I said into the receiver.

"Sarah?" Dad said. "Hi, it's Don Campbell."

"Hi, Don," I replied like I wasn't expecting the call. "How are you doing?"

"I'm doing well," he replied. I doubt Josh would be able to, but I could hear the humor in his voice at our faked conversation.

"Listen," my dad said. "I'm here with Josh Holliday. He has something exciting he wants to tell you."

"Hi, Sarah," Josh said, confirming my suspicions that Dad was using the speaker phone.

"Hi, Josh," I replied. I wasn't quite sure what to say to him. We'd left on good terms Friday night, and I thought we could at least be friends. There was also that romantic piece to the evening that I was still slightly unsure of.

But before I had a chance to say anything else, Josh started speaking again, apparently excited about whatever he wanted to tell me.

"I've got great news, Sarah!" he said excitedly. "I want you to open for me a week from Saturday in Salt Lake City!"

I sat there stunned! Josh Holliday was offering me a chance to perform my first concert! This doesn't happen, right? My first song only came out two days earlier! You just don't do a concert two weeks after your first song debuts!

Heck, I only had the one song to sing!

"Wow," I was eventually able to say, but was still pretty much speechless.

"Yeah," Josh continued. "The drummer in the band that was supposed to be opening decided he wanted to quit the band, and they won't be able to get a replacement in time. When the organizer asked me if I knew anyone who could replace them on short notice, I thought of you."

"I think this is an excellent opportunity," my dad interrupted. His comment told me that it was something I should accept.

"That sounds great, Josh," I said. "I would love to open for you, but I've only got one song, I don't know how I'd be able to..."

"I think we can do it, Sarah," Dad said. "I was talking with Scott this morning. He said that the record company was intrigued at how well your song is already doing and they have started to compile some songs for an album. They may be able to provide enough for the concert."

"How many do I need?" I asked. Once again Sarah's career seemed to be moving too fast!

"It's a six song set," Josh answered. "The organizers may not want to shorten it too much, though. I'd think you would need at least five songs."

"I think that's doable, Josh," my dad answered for me. "Can we check with the record company and give you an answer tomorrow?"

"Yes," Josh said, and I could hear the excitement in his voice again. "I told the organizers of the concert I would give them an answer by Friday."

"Is that okay with you, Sarah?" Dad asked me. I was still shocked at the offer, but I was definitely willing to do it. I had already started feeling nervous about standing in front of a crowd and singing, but I knew I would have to do it at some point.

"I'd be honored, Josh," I said, answering him instead of my father.

"Awesome!" Josh nearly yelled into the receiver. "This is going to be great!"

I chuckled at his response. He'd been smitten with Sarah all night last Saturday, and it didn't look like anything had changed.

"Alright then," Dad said. "I'll contact the record company and see what we can do. I'll give you a call in the morning, Sarah."

"Okay," I agreed. "And thank you, Josh, for the opportunity."

"It's my pleasure," he told me.

"Well," Dad interrupted us. I didn't think he wanted any lovey-dovey type stuff to happen while he was there. "I don't want to waste your time, Sarah. I'll talk to you tomorrow."

Even though I wanted to talk to Josh more, I could take a hint. "Alright, goodbye Don, I'll talk to you later, Josh."

"Bye, Sarah," Josh said. I could hear pain in his voice now. It was obvious that he wanted to talk to me longer.

I heard the click of the receiver indicating that the line had gone dead.

I surprised myself by realizing that I too wanted to talk to Josh longer. We'd made a connection Saturday night. What that connection meant was something I still didn't know, but I wanted to find out. If only I could have talked to Josh longer.

Then I remembered he was in the next room.

I quickly opened the door and rushed back to the living room. I needed to be ready when Josh came out of Dad's office.

Emily and Ethan were looking at me oddly when I ran in and grabbed my notebook, but I didn't care. I ripped off a sheet of paper before turning back to my phone.

Dad had set up a second line for me on my cell phone. The new line was an unlisted number for Sarah. It would allow me to receive phone calls for both of my lives without having to carry around a second phone. It also provided the ability to have separate voicemail messages for each identity, keeping those a secret too.

But I'd never used the second line until today. Dad had called me on it from his office, but nobody else knew the number, including me!

Trudging through the long list of contacts on my phone, I finally found the entry for Sarah Carerra that I created to help me remember the number. Quickly jotting down Sarah's name and the number, I folded up the paper. Now I only had to wait for my chance to give it to Josh.

"What are you doing?" I heard Emily ask. It probably wasn't the first time she had asked the question, but I hadn't heard any of her other attempts.

"Uh," was my undignified response. "Writing down Sarah's number to give to Josh. I don't think he's going to get it from my dad, but she wants him to have it."

"You have Sarah's number?" she asked me incredulously.

"Yeah," I replied. "She gave it to me after we went to dinner at the Crawford's last week."

It was a small lie, but it wasn't entirely untrue. Dad had been the one to give me the number that night.

Surprisingly, Emily started laughing. I gave her an odd look, much like Ethan was.

"You're telling me that you had Sarah's number when Johnny confronted you in the hall the next day?" she asked.

Johnny had been so adamant that I needed to get the number from my dad, not knowing that I already had it. When she put it that way, I found myself giggling with her. I probably wouldn't have made it out of that hallway alive if Johnny knew the number was stored in my phone.

"What's so funny?" Ethan had to ask. He hadn't been there at the time, and probably didn't know the story.

"Johnny Crawford was practically begging Megan to get Sarah's number for him last week," Emily explained. "But she refused, saying that there was no way she could get it without getting grounded."

Ethan just shrugged and turned back to the TV. It obviously wasn't as funny to him. I really didn't see why Emily was laughing so much.

She was still chuckling to herself when the door to Dad's office opened a minute or two later.

The sound of Josh's voice echoing from the hallway sent butterflies flying around in my stomach. I was going to give a boy my number! I wasn't even sure if I was ready for that!

I stood up and watched Josh follow my dad into the living room. Josh was still smiling, and I was glad to see that cutting the conversation short hadn't depressed him any more than I had earlier.

"Thanks for coming by, Josh," Dad was saying. "I'll give you a call tomorrow and let you know if she'll be able to do it."

"Thanks, Don," he said with a smile. I was beginning to like that smile.

A scramble on the couch next to me had me look away, where I found Emily scrambling to find a pen after she tore a piece of paper from my notebook. She obviously was hoping for an autograph.

"Josh!" she yelled, finding a pen and holding it in the air. "Can I have your autograph?"

Josh looked over at us, and I saw him chuckle. He seemed so different now than he had Saturday night. Without a lot of fans around to mob him, he actually seemed like a down to earth guy. The smile he gave Emily as he walked over to the couch was not the one he had given the other girls when he went to the bathroom in the restaurant. This one was warm and fuzzy. He genuinely seemed happy to give her his autograph.

"Sure," he said and took the pen from her. "What's your name?"

"Emily," she swooned, which brought another chuckle from Josh.

He scribbled something on the sheet of paper before handing it back to her.

"Here you go," he said, showing her that friendly smile once again. "Anyone else?"

Ethan declined, but he seemed to be in pain when he did. If he wanted an autograph, this was the perfect time to get it.

Then Josh turned to me. "How about you?" he asked.

I shook my head, but I was unable to stop the giggle that escaped my mouth. He definitely wouldn't be asking if he knew who I was.

"I'm fine," I told him. "But it was an honor to meet you."

I extended my hand for a handshake. The move had him looking at me oddly, but he reached out and took my hand anyway.

When we released the grip, the paper with Sarah's number on it was no longer in my hand.

*  *  *

---

Editor Note: The images used for this story were purchased and used under royalty-free license* from Istockphoto.com . ~Sephrena
Author Note: Please email me at AngelJediGirl (at) gmail (dot) com before posting this story to any other site. Posting to a pay site is prohibited.

Comments and suggestions are also welcome at the above email address.

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Chapter 25 - 5 Songs for a Daughter

Later that evening, after Emily and Ethan had gone home, Dad found me in my room trying to finish the math homework that had been interrupted earlier.

"Megan?" he asked after knocking on my door.

"Yeah," I replied to let him know he could come in. He entered my room and took a seat on my bed while I turned my desk chair to face him.

"I talked to Scott," he said. "The record company has three songs ready for you."

"That's great!" I exclaimed. "Does that mean I can do the concert?"

"I don't know," Dad replied. "Josh said we needed at least five songs. We'd need at least one more."

I felt my heart sink. I hadn't realized how excited I was to do the concert until then. I mean, if I was scared to death to sing in front of a crowd, then why would I even want to do the concert?

But despite that fear, I wanted to be up there on stage. I wanted to see Sarah Carerra become a star. I wanted to do this. It hurt to have it yanked away from me before it even started!

"There is one other option," Dad said, providing me with a ray of hope in the gloom that had settled into my heart.

"What is it?" I asked warily. I knew the look that he had on his face. It usually meant I would be doing something that I didn't like doing.

"We could use one of your songs," he replied. "You've got a few songs that would work perfectly for Sarah."

It was a crazy idea! I wasn't a songwriter. I just dabbled. Lately, I hadn't really had the time to even do that.

"Dad," I whined at him like he knew I would. "I can't use those songs. I'm not a songwriter."

"I don't know about that, honey," he said. His lopsided grin only made me feel more frustrated that he wouldn't listen to me. "You've written some good songs."

"Not good enough for Sarah!" I argued. "I'm not that good."

"Yes, you are," Dad said in a soothing voice, trying to keep me calm. "'Enchanted Forest' and 'Ever After' would both be great songs for Sarah. I'm sure the record company would agree."

"But they're so...so...Disney!" I retorted. Why would I want to sing about something like that?

"Yes they are," my dad surprised me by agreeing. "But 'Disney' appeals to much of your target fan base. I think they'll like them."

I guess he was right. After all, Scott had mentioned that I would probably be after the same market as the Hannah Montana franchise.

But that didn't mean the songs were good enough!

"Look," Dad said, slightly frustrated with me. "Why don't you play both of them for me and let me decide. I am your agent after all."

"I can't do that," I felt just as frustrated with him. "Austin broke the neck on my guitar three weeks ago, remember?"

My dad laughed. It wasn't the reaction I expected, and it somehow managed to break through my frustration and had me chuckling too. I didn't know what I was laughing at, but I couldn't stop.

"That's right," Dad was finally able to say. "But if I remember correctly, the two of you were fighting and you dropped it down the stairs, not Austin."

I grumbled. While he might be technically correct, it was still Austin's fault.

"Okay," he continued. "First thing tomorrow morning we'll get you a new one. Then you're going to play them when we go to the record company to learn about the other songs."

That did not sound like a good idea to me, but I knew that I wouldn't be able to get out of it. Especially if he bought me a new guitar for doing it.

"Okay," I finally agreed. He'd have to see the truth when the record company agreed with me that the songs weren't very good.

At least I didn't have to go to school tomorrow.

*  *  *

Joe's Music Shop did not sound like a very upscale music store. But in reality, it was much larger than I would have expected, and had a large selection of instruments.

Dad led me over to where a number of guitars were hanging on the walls or in display cases. Before we could even get there, we'd caught the eye of a salesman. He may not have known who I was, but the grin that spread on his face made me realize that he thought I was expensive. Dressed as Sarah, with glam and all, I could understand why he would think that.

"Hello," the salesman said as we approached. "My name is Brad, how can I help you today?"

"Hi, Brad," Dad said kindly, but I could hear the caution in his voice. He obviously had the same feeling about the guy that I did. "Sarah needs a new guitar."

"Do you have an idea of what you are looking for?" Brad asked.

"Not exactly," my dad replied. "Sarah's been using a cheap starter guitar, but it finally wore itself down and we wanted to replace it with one of a higher quality."

"Okay," Brad said. "Let me see what we have. Acoustic?"

Dad and I nodded and he started to look around at the guitars on display, and my gaze started to follow his.

Neither my dad nor I were really versed in what made a good guitar. I'd only ever used the one that he had bought me for my birthday the year of the accident. I probably would have continued to use it if Austin hadn't broken it.

One guitar immediately caught my eye. I did not know what made a good guitar, but I definitely knew what I thought made a guitar look good. The guitar itself was completely black, had a teal pick guard, and was rimmed with a lighter wood around the body and some kind of rainbow inlay around the soundhole.

If it sounded anywhere near as good as it looked, it was the guitar for me.

"How about this one?" Brad finally said and pulled a guitar off the wall. Unfortunately, it wasn't the one I had been looking at.

"This is a Taylor..." The rest of his description started going over my head. I knew that Taylor made good guitars, but describing them didn't really help me in any way.

Eventually we got to the point where my dad wanted me to try it. The salesman looked skeptical at letting me actually play the instrument he was trying to sell me, which made me think it was either not a very good instrument (unlikely), or it was quite expensive (much more likely).

Nervously, Brad had me sit down on a chair and very gently handed me the guitar, making sure that I wasn't going to drop it.

The guitar seemed slightly too large to me. It felt like I had to stretch my arms and torso a bit to play it, which immediately made me dislike it somewhat. Once I got a feel for it, however, I tried to decide what to play.

Wondering if I'd regret the decision, I started playing 'Ever After'. Emily had talked me into writing two songs with her about 3 months ago. The result was two songs that spoke of fairy tales and magic. I really liked the songs, but they sounded like they were written by a girl. I might be a girl now, but I wasn't back then.

Playing the song seemed to cement a realization that I was starting to have that Megan had been living my life for a lot longer than the last week and a half. I couldn't imagine Brett writing anything so...well, girly!

I strummed through a verse before I stopped. I knew this guitar wasn't for me. It just didn't feel right. Carefully handing it back to Brad, I looked toward my dad.

"Well?" he asked.

"It's not the right guitar," I told him.

"Are you sure?" Brad asked. He had a slight frown on his face. "It's a really good guitar."

"Oh I don't doubt that," I told him. "But it's too big, and I'm not so sure the most expensive guitar is the one I want to buy."

Brad actually looked guilty when I said that. Obviously he had his best interests in mind, not my own.

"How about that one?" I asked while pointing at the black guitar I had seen earlier. Brad frowned slightly again. It seemed that this guitar cost a lot less.

But he nodded and after replacing the Taylor in its place, he pulled the black guitar off the wall.

"This is a Yamaha CPX700. It's an Acoustic Electric..." Once again I tuned out his description. I just wanted to play it.

"I thought Yamaha made motorcycles," I said, interrupting his description. Both my dad and Brad started laughing at that. Whatever.

"Here," Brad said with another chuckle. He seemed to be in a better mood now that I had apparently made a fool of myself. "Give it a try. I promise it sounds much better than a motorcycle."

The guitar felt right in my hands. It was smaller than both the Taylor and my original guitar. It was really comfortable to hold, and a quick strum indicated it was nice and easy to play.

I started playing 'Ever After' again. The sound coming from the guitar seemed like music to my ears. I guess it literally was, but it sounded really good anyway.

After playing through a verse I started singing. I really did like this song, but I still didn't think that it was good enough for Sarah to sing. The music seemed to flow out of me though. Sarah really had a good voice for the song, and I could see the appeal that the target market would have.

I continued to sing through the verses that Emily and I had written. That was another reason I couldn't use the song, I realized. How would I explain it to Emily? She'd recognize it immediately and wonder why Sarah Carerra was singing our song!

When I finished singing the song and stopped playing, I was surprised to see a group of people had gathered around us and were listening. Immediately I felt myself start to blush again.

"I'll take this one," I told Brad.

*  *  *

An hour later we met Scott in his office at Olympic Records. He seemed really excited about the opportunity to perform a concert so soon. After taking our seats in front of his desk, he got straight to business.

"Like I told you on the phone, Don," Scott started. "We have three songs ready for Sarah. We weren't planning on recording them for a few more weeks, but passing up this opportunity would be a mistake.

"I talked to our Director of Talent this morning. You've met Matt, right?" he asked. I nodded as he sat back in his chair. "He felt that we should do what we can to try and make this concert work. We're trying to find you a couple more songs that you'll have time to practice, but I don't know how successful we can be in such a short amount of time."

"We may be able to help with that," Dad told him. Scott looked intrigued by what he had said. "Sarah is an accomplished songwriter, and she has a couple of songs that might work."

"Oh," Scott said, mildly surprised. "Singer/songwriters are the big rage these days. If you can write as well as you can sing, your marketing potential could go up quite a bit."

"I really don't think they're good enough," I told Scott truthfully. "I was just messing around with a friend."

"Sarah's being modest," Dad explained to Scott. "I've heard the songs, and I think they are quite good."

"Well then," Scott said. "I'll see if I can get Matt and we can have you sing them for us. If they are good, we may have enough for the concert and for your first CD."

"First CD?" I asked. Once again, it seemed awfully early to be this far into a music career.

"Yes," Scott replied. "If you do the concert next Saturday, we would like to have a CD available for purchase there. It will give you more exposure with the fans, and we can start selling them in mass soon after. Six or seven songs is a bit short, but not unheard of."

"Will we need to modify the contract at all?" Dad asked. I'm glad he was here with me. All I could think about was the music and how fast my career seemed to be taking off. He had the ability to look at the business side of things.

"I don't think so," Scott answered. "Everything is already covered. The time frame is slightly more advanced than we thought it would be, but it shouldn't change anything."

"Good," my dad agreed. "What happens now?"

"We have a studio reserved for Sarah for most of the day," Scott explained. "We would like to try and get one or two of the songs recorded. The sooner we get the vocals laid down, the sooner we can start producing the CDs. Besides, rushing them like this could be a good way to learn the songs, since you'll only have a little more than a week to get ready to perform them."

The thought of learning four or five new songs in a week was daunting to me, especially since I still had to cram for my finals at school too.

Scott picked up some papers, looked at them briefly, and handed them to me.

"Here are the two songs we want to work on today," he said. "If you two want to get a bite to eat and look over them, I'll talk to Matt and see when he has time to hear your songs."

"Sounds like a plan," my dad said, and they both stood up. I did the same and grabbed my new guitar case.

"How about we meet in Studio 5 in half an hour?" Scott asked us.

"We'll be there," was Dad's reply.

"Scott?" I asked before he could get out the door.

"Yes, Sarah?" he replied. He looked slightly agitated that I had stopped him, but I asked my question anyway.

"Can I get a copy of the sheet music for 'Intuition'? I'd like to learn how to play it." I raised my guitar case for emphasis.

"Sure!" he said. Any irritation he'd had disappeared with my question. "It's always beneficial when you know your own songs. I'll bring a copy to the studio."

"Thank you," I told him. I knew I had a big grin on my face.

"You're welcome," he said before he was quickly out the door.

*  *  *

Dad and I decided to grab a bite to eat in the cafeteria again. I figured it was close enough to lunch now that this was probably the only chance I was going to get.

Once we had our food, we found an empty table and I started reading over the songs while I ate. They looked really good.

The first one was named 'Open Your Eyes (See Me)'. The message reminded me of Taylor Swift's 'You Belong with Me,' even if the sound was completely different. Like Taylor's song, it was about trying to convince a guy that he should be dating me instead of some other girl.

I must admit that it felt weird to be thinking about singing a song like that. Granted, it was exactly what my fan base would want, but I was still new to this girl thing and had only been on one date. And I still wasn't sure how I felt about that date either.

The second song was called 'Pop Princess'. It was about the glamorous and glitzy life that I was about to embark on. Hollywood parties, spotlights, concerts, and awards shows all got a mention in the song. It was a nice upbeat number with what appeared, at least on paper, to be a catchy tune. I couldn't wait to hear what it sounded like.

But then again, I didn't have to wait. I had my guitar right here.

Quickly finishing the sandwich that I had ordered, I turned my attention to the guitar case. There weren't many others sitting near us. I figured I could play the songs quietly without disturbing anyone.

I pulled the guitar out of its new case and sat it on my lap. Dad was giving me an inquisitive look, but he wasn't trying to stop me.

"I'd like to hear the songs," I explained. "But I think they're good."

Much better than mine, I didn't add.

He smiled and nodded before taking another bite of his sandwich. I turned my attention back to the sheet music and strummed the guitar. It took a few tries to begin to see the song in my head, but eventually the tune started flowing from the guitar.

It really was a catchy tune. I had finally gotten to the point where I could play it pretty well and was about to try singing the song when I was interrupted by my dad.

"We better go," he said. "Scott will probably be waiting for us."

I wasn't happy, but I placed the guitar back in its case and followed my dad out of the cafeteria.

*  *  *

I spent most of the next four hours singing the two songs over and over again. Scott was once again really easy to work with. He'd tell me what he wanted me to do for the next take, and I'd try it, and he'd give me another suggestion.

By the time we were done with 'Pop Princess', I felt that I could actually perform the song on stage. I'd sung it enough times that it had been ingrained in my head. The same thing happened with 'Open Your Eyes' after that.

It felt sort of like cramming for a test. I had to learn the songs quickly. But unlike the test, I couldn't forget what I had learned. Fortunately, after singing them so many times, it didn't seem likely that would happen.

Around 4:30 in the afternoon Matt entered the studio. He looked slightly distracted, and I wondered if he was only humoring my dad's request to use my songs. I was sorry he was going to be disappointed.

Scott was satisfied with what we had accomplished for the two songs, and we were discussing them in the control booth at the time.

"Hi, Matt," Scott greeted him. "We just wrapped up the first two songs. She's a keeper. She's really easy to work with."

Matt smiled at Scott's statement, but still didn't look any happier.

"Hello," was his only reply. He then turned toward me. "I hear you wrote some songs you would like to use?"

"Yeah," I replied. "I don't think they're very good, though."

"Nonsense, Sarah," Dad said. "They are excellent songs."

"Can I hear them?" Matt asked. He still looked agitated. He either didn't think they would be worth it, or he was in a hurry to get somewhere.

"Sure," I replied and got up to retrieve my guitar case from where I had placed it. I sat down on the couch that was in the control room and opened the case. I pulled out my new guitar and got ready to play.

"This is 'Ever After'," I told my audience. "I think it's the better of the two."

I started strumming the guitar and the song filled the room. I started singing when it was time, and looked around the room. Scott and Matt both had a look of concentration on their faces; obviously they were listening intently. But it was Dad's face that caught my eye.

He had a beaming smile reaching nearly from ear to ear. It wasn't often that I saw him looking that pleased. His smile infected my own, and I made every effort I could to perform the song to the best of my ability.

As I continued to sing and play the song, I watched Scott start to nod. I was surprised to understand that he liked the song. Matt just sat impassively and listened. He made no outward sign of whether he liked it, and I knew that he agreed with me that it wasn't good enough for Sarah.

I strummed the last note and looked toward him. His face still hadn't changed.

"Let's hear the other one," he said.

I started in on 'Enchanted Forest'. It was a completely different type of song. While 'Ever After' was an upbeat, modern story, this one was slower and had a lilting melody to it that I always thought reminded me of a forest. The story was more of a fantasy too.

Eventually the song came to an end, and I once again turned my attention to Matt to get his feelings about the songs.

"I like them," he said. "Scott, record them and look into adding the rest of the instruments. We're going to be hard-pressed to get everything ready by next Saturday."

He smiled then. It was the first real smile I'd seen him give to me all day. "You're going to take us all for a wild ride, Sarah. I hope you're up to it."

I felt immensely nervous at his statement. Learning the songs would be tough enough. But Scott had talked to me earlier in the day about the sessions we'd schedule with a choreographer next week and at some point I would need to meet the band that would be backing me up on stage. This whole concert thing had gotten really overwhelming very fast!

Matt frowned at my nervousness, I noticed. It was slight, but I saw it. I think he had hoped I would be a little more ready to step onto the stage than I appeared to be.

"Don't worry," he said in reassurance. "You'll do fine. You're an exceptional young lady."

"Thank you," I told him. "I hope you're right."

"I am," he said with more confidence than I think he felt. "I've got a meeting to get to. I'll see you guys later."

With that, he rushed out of the studio. I was left amazed that he thought Sarah should use the songs! I didn't think I was that good at writing them, but they seemed to like them. Dad was still beaming from ear to ear. I was sure I'd hear more about it from him later.

"Come on, Sarah," Scott said. "Plug that new guitar of yours in, and we'll get these songs recorded."

*  *  *

---

Editor Note: The images used for this story were purchased and used under royalty-free license* from Istockphoto.com . ~Sephrena
Author Note: Please email me at AngelJediGirl (at) gmail (dot) com before posting this story to any other site. Posting to a pay site is prohibited.

Comments and suggestions are also welcome at the above email address.

*  *  *

Chapter 26 - What's Wrong With Me, Doctor?

I had just sat down to eat dinner with my family when my phone started to ring. I got up from my seat and quickly walked over to the table where I had set my purse. Digging inside I finally found my phone and looked at the caller ID.

Josh was calling!

I gasped, and everyone at the table turned toward me.

"Everything alright, honey?" Mom asked.

"It's...it's Josh Holliday!" I replied nervously.

"How did he get your number?" Dad asked. I really didn't want to answer that question. I was certain he would be upset that I was giving my number to boys. Ever since the date I had with Josh last Saturday he'd been very protective of me. I was beginning to realize that Dad was treating me as his little girl, not the boy I had been two weeks earlier.

"I don't know," I lied. The phone stopped ringing and I panicked again! I hadn't answered Josh Holliday's call! What would he think about me now?

"Well," Dad said, noticing the silence. "You can call him back after dinner. Right now, eat."

With a lot of excitement at the prospect of talking to Josh later, which surprised me, quite frankly, I sat down to finish dinner.

*  *  *

I nearly hung up after the second ring. I was so nervous that I was almost frantic. I still couldn't believe that I was returning Josh's call! This girl thing was only two weeks old, yet I was falling into it so easily that it scared me.

I wasn't sure why I was so nervous. I'd spent the whole night with him last Saturday, but things had changed since then. Last week I was still trying to figure out if I was Megan or Brett. This week I knew for certain.

But that didn't mean I completely understood what I was going through. I still had no idea what the future would hold for me.

My thoughts were interrupted by a click and a slightly muffled, "Hello?"

"Josh?" I asked the unknown voice. It sounded like him, but there was a lot of loud noise on the other end, possibly music.

"Hello?" He said again. "Who's this?"

"It's Sarah," I said louder.

"Sarah?" he asked for clarification. Before I could respond he continued. "Hold on, let me get somewhere quieter."

I waited patiently for a few moments as the noise started to die down before suddenly cutting off completely.

"Sarah?" Josh asked again. "Are you still there?"

"Yeah," I replied. It was definitely much easier to hear him now.

"Sorry about that," he said. "A friend took me out to this new club, and it's really loud in there. What can I do for you?"

"I saw you called earlier, and I thought I'd return the call," I explained. "I think I was eating dinner at the time."

"Oh, yeah," he remembered. "I got your number from Don's daughter, Maren, I think."

"Megan," I corrected almost immediately and without thought. I didn't know why, but it seemed important that Josh knew my real name, even if he didn't know it was mine.

"Yeah, Megan. Anyway, I hope it was okay that she gave it to me."

"It is," I told him. "I was hoping she could get it to you, because I didn't have your number either."

He thought about that for a second. Had I really just told him that I had wanted his number? I hoped he didn't read too much into something I wasn't quite sure of myself yet.

"Anyway," he said, ignoring my fears if he had even realized them. "I just wanted to congratulate you on your first concert. I talked to Don this afternoon and he said you would be able to do it."

"Yeah," I said excitedly. "I actually have six songs now. It's already been a whirlwind trying to learn them. I just hope that I'll be ready by the time the concert starts."

"You're an amazing girl, Sarah," he told me. "I'm sure you'll be more than ready."

He really didn't know anything about me, much like I didn't really know anything about him. I was pretty sure his statement was based more on his feelings for me than for any real information he had about who I really was. But I took the compliment for what it was.

"Thank you, Josh," I told him. Now that I was actually talking to Josh Holliday, I wasn't really sure what to talk about.

"How's the weather there?" he asked me after a slight silence between the two of us. I was saddened to realize he was asking me about the weather. He must have been almost as nervous as I was.

"It's, uh, pretty much the same as yours, I guess," I told him. "I do live here in the LA area, you know."

Dad and I had come up with a back story before we'd ever signed a contract. I'd even told it to Daren Stockard that first day Sarah made an appearance. I couldn't change it now.

"Oh," he said somewhat surprised, like I knew he would. "I figured you lived somewhere else when you weren't at Don's the other night. Maren..."

"Megan," I corrected again.

He continued, using the correct name this time. "Megan said she didn't know where you lived but only stayed at her house when you were in town."

"I don't think she knows where I live," I explained. It was a true statement. We hadn't actually discussed where Sarah's make-believe home was. I hoped he didn't ask. "I only go over there to get dressed up. The stage outfits are a little more...glittery than what I normally wear. It helps keep the neighbors from being too nosy."

He laughed at my explanation, but he at least seemed to buy it. He was getting closer to the secret than I would like him to.

"So where do you live?" he asked. Of course he would ask. Why did he have to ask!?

"Oh, I live in..." Think, think, where would Sarah live?

"Malibu!" I exclaimed, probably more excitedly than I should have. Granted, Malibu wasn't exactly in Los Angeles, but it was close enough. I'd always thought Malibu would be a perfect place to live. Now I could. Well, sort of.

"Cool," Josh said. "I always liked Malibu."

Before he could say anything else, I heard someone else start talking to him. He seemed to argue with the other person before speaking with me again.

"Look, Sarah," he said. He seemed disappointed now. "It's my friend's birthday tonight and he's upset that I'm spending all my time talking to you instead of him. Can I call you tomorrow?"

"Um," I was slightly relieved that our conversation was ending, but I was also slightly disappointed too. I was starting to like Josh more than I thought I was ready to. "I'm not sure, between school and the studio, I won't have much time. I'm supposed to be recording the last three songs over the next two days."

"You still go to a public school?" he asked incredulously. I remembered then that being able to go to school was one of the reasons we created Sarah Carerra. I really needed to watch what I was saying or I was going to blow my secret!

"My parents figured I'd be able to finish this year," I quickly explained. "I'm not exactly famous yet."

He chuckled, which I hoped meant that he had bought my lie again. "Alright, how about Sunday then?"

"Sure," my mouth responded before I had even thought about it. I REALLY needed to think about what I said when talking to him.

"Great!" He said. "I'll talk to you then."

"Ok, bye, Josh," I said wistfully.

"Bye, Sarah," he said before I heard the click indicating the end of the call.

I sighed. My life was getting even more complicated!

*  *  *

The next morning my mom and I were in the waiting room of one Doctor Holbrook.

I felt uncomfortable sitting there. There were a couple of other kids in the waiting room waiting to see one of the two doctors that the L.A. Gender Clinic employed. Unlike me, they didn't seem to pass quite so well. One of them was wearing a dress. He, or she I guess, looked slightly too large to be a girl. Her face was made up quite expertly and she looked pretty good, despite the giveaways that her size displayed. The other was a scrawny little boy. Dressed in tight jeans and a tight shirt, it was hard to guess which way he was transitioning. I assumed female-to-male only because he had short, cropped hair and didn't wear any makeup. But he could have been a young male to female who hadn't started transitioning too.

Both of them kept staring at me. I knew that I looked completely female. It was two weeks to the day since I had sung at Johnny's party, and I had learned a lot since then that helped me to see just how beautiful I was.

"Are you a boy or a girl?" the small boy finally asked. The large girl leaned forward to hear the answer too.

"I'm a girl," I replied. I really didn't want to have this conversation with them.

"Did you start that way?" the girl asked.

"No," I replied truthfully. This was one of the few places I felt I could truly answer that question.

"Wow," the small boy said. "I hope I can look as good as you someday."

I guess that answered my question about his transition. I was about to answer him and tell him that he probably could with his small size and young age, but was interrupted by a nurse before I could.

"Megan Campbell?" she said.

I stood up and grabbed my purse before smiling and giving the two other kids a small wave and joining my mom near the hallway the nurse was standing in front of.

"Right this way," she said. She then led us down the hallway and into an exam room. She had me sit on the examination table and proceeded to take my blood pressure before telling us that the doctor would be with us shortly.

I was nervous. What if something else was wrong with me? Was there something to be concerned about?

"It'll be okay, honey," my mom said, interrupting the negative thoughts that were starting to crowd my head.

"I hope so," was all I could say.

We sat in silence for a few minutes before there was a knock on the door and an older woman entered. She looked a lot like my Gran, and she immediately seemed to put me at ease.

"Hello..." She consulted her chart. "Megan. How are you today?"

"Good, Doctor," I replied nervously.

She smiled at me. "Don't worry, we'll get you on your way to becoming a young man quickly."

I was immediately filled with horror! That wasn't why I was here!

The doctor looked at my face, and then she looked at her chart again. She then realized her mistake, and said, "Oh, my gosh! I'm so sorry!"

I was speechless! I didn't know what to tell her. She looked upset now too.

"I'm sorry, Megan," she said again. "Your name is listed here as Megan. I don't usually see people for the first time who have already changed their names. That, combined with how natural you look as a girl made me assume that you wanted to go the other way."

"I..." I still didn't know what to say. I was completely surprised at the horror that I felt at the suggestion of going back to being Brett. It was less than a week ago that I was struggling with this decision. Now it seemed so certain that the implication I might be going the other way was a horrible thought.

"It's okay," I was finally able to tell her. "I just...the thought upset me more than I thought it would."

"I understand," she said. "And I truly am sorry. How long have you been transitioning?"

I wasn't quite sure if she meant the time since I decided to live full-time, or if she meant the six years since the accident. I turned to Mom for confirmation.

"About two weeks now," Mom told the doctor. It was our turn to see the shock on the doctor's face this time.

"Wow," she finally said. "And you've already changed your name?"

"There are other concerns in her life," Mom replied. "The name change was necessary, but the feelings are real."

"What kind of concerns?" Dr. Holbrook asked warily.

"Nothing illegal," my mom said immediately. She was apparently on the same wavelength as the doctor because I didn't even realize that was what the doctor was implying. "Just privacy concerns."

The doctor looked down at her chart again. "I see that you were referred by Dr. Casper. How long have you been seeing her?"

Dr. Casper was Mary. I had been calling her Mary since the first session I'd had with her. It was one of the first things she had asked me to do. I didn't really know her as Dr. Casper.

"Six years," I told Dr. Holbrook.

"Six years!" she repeated. She seemed impressed. "What made you decide to transition now?"

That was not an easy answer. Instead of trying to make it sound like one we told her about the accident and everything that had transpired until now, leaving out the Sarah Carerra part, of course. She'd have to sign a non-disclosure agreement before we told her about that.

She continued to ask a number of other questions before eventually discussing how we wanted to proceed.

"So you're worried about there being something else other than the accident involved in your development?" she asked.

"Yeah," I told her. "My cousin seemed to think that it wasn't normal."

"I'll be honest with you," Dr. Holbrook said. "She might be right. This type of development is unusual in a male of your age who has been through what you have. But it also isn't unheard of. This may be normal, or there may be something else involved."

"What do we do?" Mom asked her.

"I'd like to start with some tests," the doctor said. "I think we should start by ruling out any intersex conditions. If we can do that, then the chances of there being something involved will be small. We can take some blood and then go from there."

"Okay," I said. "When will you know?"

"We will have the results of most of the tests later this evening," she explained. "But one of them we will need to send out to another lab. It could take up to a week to get that one back. I think if we made an appointment for next Friday, we'll know what's going on inside your body. Sound okay to you?"

I nodded, and my mom also agreed.

"Great," Dr. Holbrook said while scribbling on a notepad. She then tore off the piece of paper and handed it to me. "Take this down the hall to the lab. They'll take the blood sample and then you can make an appointment for next Friday at the front desk."

"Thank you, doctor," my mom and I said.

"You're welcome, dear," she replied. "We'll get this all sorted out soon."

She left us with a smile.

*  *  *

I was rubbing my arm when Mom dropped me off at school. As if school wasn't bad enough, I was now slightly lightheaded from having my blood taken. I hated needles, but I think the queasiness was partly because they took four vials of blood. Even if that was a small percentage overall, it certainly took an emotional toll watching it pour out of my arm and into the vials!

I'd missed first period, and after getting an excuse note from the front office I started walking to my locker to get my books for second and third period. I turned a corner and found myself face to face with Jared Lumbart. Jared was one of the offensive linesmen for the football team. He was big, and not the brightest of the bunch. He grinned when he saw me.

"Well, well, well, if it isn't the little freak," he said. His grin turned evil. I unconsciously took a step backward. "Where you going?"

I turned to run, but he was too fast for me. He grabbed the loop on the back of my backpack and yanked, pulling me off my feet. He let go once I was on my way down and I landed hard on my pack, something poking me in the back from inside. Before I could respond I felt a kick connect with my thigh. Then I could hear the screaming. It was loud and sounded close.

It was me.

That kick had hurt! I turned toward him and saw another kick heading my way. I cringed and shut my eyes, not able to move fast enough to avoid it.

It never came.

Instead I heard another yell, this one deeper and masculine. It was followed shortly by an 'oof' and then a large thump.

Opening my eyes slightly I saw Jared lying on the floor, clutching his side. David Cartwright, the boy I had met outside the principal's office on Monday, was standing over him, glaring at him.

"You're dead, Cartwright," Jared yelled at him.

"You just beat up a girl!" David yelled right back. "Didn't your mother teach you better manners than that!?"

"This freak is not a girl!" Jared screamed. A few of the classroom doors were now opening and a number of teachers came rushing out.

"What's going on here?" Coach Madsen nearly yelled his question as he ran up to us. He was the first teacher to reach us, and unfortunately he was also the football coach. I figured he wasn't going to side with me on this one.

"This freak attacked me!" Jared yelled, pointing at me. "I was only defending myself."

Coach Madsen's face hardened at Jared's words. It seemed likely to me that he would trust his own player, but it looked like he didn't believe Jared. Before he had a chance to respond, David was screaming back at Jared.

"That's a lie!" David yelled. "I saw the whole thing. She turned the corner, saw you, and started to run. You yanked her back, threw her to the ground and kicked her!"

"Is this true?" The coach asked Jared. Jared didn't need to answer; his coach could see it in his face. "I warned all of you, Jared. I'm afraid we need to go to the principal's office."

"But he hit me!" Jared yelled, this time pointing at David.

"And it sounds like you deserved it!" Coach Madsen yelled back at him. "What were you thinking? You don't treat girls like that, Mr. Lumbart."

"But he..." Jared started, looking at me again.

"She!" Coach Madsen interrupted. After the way the football team had treated me, I wasn't expecting him to be on my side.

It looked like Jared wanted to say more, but he wisely shut his mouth. Coach Madsen then turned to me.

"Are you okay?" he asked. He reached out his hand to help me up.

"Yeah," I said, taking his hand and allowing him to pull me up. I yelped when I tried to put weight on my left leg. With a grimace, I said, "I'm fine."

He didn't believe me.

"Mr. Cartwright, please escort Megan to the nurse's office," he said. "Jared, come with me."

It looked like Jared was going to protest, but instead he got up and followed the football coach toward the principal's office. David reached down and picked up my backpack and slung it over his shoulder.

"Can you walk?" David asked me, ignoring the stares of the other students and teachers crowded around us.

"Yeah," I told him, but winced when I tried to take a step to prove it. My thigh really hurt. The only upside was that I didn't think anything was broken.

"Come on," he said and pointed in the direction of the nurse's office.

I took another step, and the pain was a bit less pronounced. I hoped it was one of those 'walk it off' injuries. I was afraid that David was going to try to help me walk, but he seemed happy enough to walk next to me instead.

I looked over at him. He was grinning at me, much like he had on Monday. He must have learned the truth about me now, but he was staring at me in a way that made me feel uncomfortable.

"You're an enigma, you know," he finally said after we had walked about half the distance in silence.

"Why?" I asked.

"You're so beautiful," he replied. "They say you used to be a boy, but I find that insane. There's no way that could be true."

I was shocked! Even though he seemed to know the truth about me, he didn't believe it. That was both refreshing and scary at the same time. I didn't know how to respond, and we ended up walking the rest of the way in silence.

He seemed reluctant to leave me with the nurse, but eventually he spoke again.

"I'll see you around, Megan," he said. He grinned at me again before walking away.

I sincerely hoped I didn't ever see him again, even if he was my hero of the day. I turned and opened the door to the nurse's office. Mrs. Pratchett, the little old lady who had acted as the school's nurse for many years, looked up at my entrance. She looked somewhat surprised when she recognized me, but the shock left her face quickly and was replaced with concern. I'm sure she'd seen the wince that had crossed my face at her look and assumed that it was from physical pain. It wasn't.

"What can I do for you, dear?" she asked me. She stood up from her desk and approached me.

"Um," I started. I was at the nurse's office like Coach Madsen wanted, but I wasn't really sure what I was supposed to do. I mean, my leg was starting to feel better now. "I'm not sure, I was told to come to your office, but I think I'm probably okay. I'll just go."

"No, no," she said while opening the door further. "Please come in and have a seat."

She pointed at a chair along one wall and I shrugged and walked over to it and sat down. If nothing else, it would keep me out of class longer.

"Why were you sent here?" she asked. The concern was evident in her eyes once again.

"Well," I started. "I kind of got kicked in the hall. It's probably just a bruise, I'll be fine."

"Don't be so modest, Megan," I heard from the doorway. I hadn't heard her approach, but Ms. Carson, my first period teacher, was standing there. She turned toward Mrs. Pratchett before speaking. "According to one of the other students, she was knocked to the ground and then kicked in the left thigh pretty hard."

"In or out then, Dorothy," Mrs. Pratchett said. "We better take a look and we don't need the whole school looking in."

I groaned. The last thing I wanted to do is take off my pants in front of women I hardly knew! But I was sure old Mrs. Pratchett wouldn't let me leave until she was sure I wasn't injured. I heard the bell ring indicating the end of second period, which seemed to be the deciding factor for Ms. Carson. She stepped into the office and closed the door.

"Off with your pants," Mrs. Pratchett said in a matter-of-fact manner. She turned and locked the door to guarantee us some privacy.

"Um," I said, struggling to find a way out of this situation. When I couldn't think of anything I decided the easiest way to get through this would be to comply. "Do I need to take them off or can I just pull them down far enough to see?"

Mrs. Pratchett sighed like I was being inconsiderate of her time. "Pull them down then. Just let me take a look and make sure you're okay, and you can get back to class."

I was embarrassed to do so, but I unlatched the belt to the jeans I was wearing, unbuttoned the button, and then slid them down my legs far enough to see where I had been kicked.

There was an intake of breath at my actions. I could certainly see why. The skin on my thigh was already starting to darken and the unmistakable hue of a large bruise was settling in. I wouldn't be wearing any short skirts for the foreseeable future.

But when I looked up at the two ladies in the room, I noticed that their attention was not directed on the bruise, per se. They were both looking slightly to the left with astonished looks on their faces. Glancing back down I realized they were staring at my panties. Sure, they were light pink with a bit of lace around the waistband and the legs, but they weren't anything out of the ordinary.

"What?" I finally had to ask. I still wasn't even sure that they had seen the bruise they were so adamant about checking on.

"Nothing," Ms. Carson said incredulously. "It's just...well, I thought you were a boy."

I sighed again. Like every other pair of panties I'd worn since the day of the accident, there was nothing to be seen that indicated I was not the girl I appeared to be. The doctors had been able to save some of what defined my old sex, but it was almost a redundant effort. There simply wasn't enough left to do much but break the image when I was naked.

"Well," Ms. Carson finally continued after Mrs. Pratchett had regained her composure and started looking at the bruise. "You certainly fooled everyone into thinking that you were a boy."

*  *  *

---

Editor Note: The images used for this story were purchased and used under royalty-free license* from Istockphoto.com . ~Sephrena
Author Note: Please email me at AngelJediGirl (at) gmail (dot) com before posting this story to any other site. Posting to a pay site is prohibited.

Comments and suggestions are also welcome at the above email address.

*  *  *

Chapter 27 - There's Something about Seeing Mary

"Did you hear what happened to Jared Lumbart?" Ethan asked while we were walking home.

"What happened?" Emily asked back. It was obvious that she hadn't heard the story yet. I hadn't exactly been willing to repeat it to them anytime throughout the day either.

"According to Coach Madsen he got suspended under the new tolerance rules," Ethan continued his explanation. "Apparently he kicked a girl pretty hard. I heard she was limping afterward."

I winced and rubbed my thigh. The pain had finally diminished sometime in the afternoon, but every once in a while it would remind me by shooting a pain through my leg when I took a step. It was only a bruise, thank goodness. The last thing I needed was to have a major injury the week before my first concert.

I didn't think that either of them had seen me wince, but Emily gasped and looked at me in horror.

"Was it you?" she asked. I sighed, which was enough of an answer for her. "Oh my gosh! What happened?"

I once again had to relive the horror of the morning's events as I related them to my best friends. They were understandably shaken that someone would attack me like Jared had, and I was glad that they were there to comfort me. I'd thought it would be better not to say anything to them, but that proved to be a mistake on my part. They'd do anything for me, and I'd do anything for the two of them.

Except tell them my secret, apparently.

When the discussion turned to what we were going to do that evening, I once again had to disappoint them. The studio had every free moment of my time planned through the night of the concert. Scott claimed that there was so much to do in so little time that I had to cram for the concert nearly as much as I would be cramming for my finals over the weekend.

"Every night?" Emily asked me, not believing that I would be that busy. She was starting to look sad again, and it was tearing at my heart. I didn't know how much longer I could keep this secret from them. I had a concert next week, and I had no one to share the experience with!

"I'm afraid so," I replied. "I'm going to be recording songs this week!"

I was hoping that they would share in my enthusiasm a bit, but neither of them seemed very excited.

"That's great," Emily said in a lackluster tone. "I'm very happy for you."

We walked the rest of the way home in silence. Both of my friends managed to say quick goodbyes, but I don't think they were happy with me.

I certainly wasn't happy with myself.

*  *  *

"I'm going to tell my friends, Daddy," I told him as he drove us to the studio for whatever cramming they wanted me to do that night.

"Nooo!" he yelled back immediately. I hadn't expected him to yell, and it scared me! He saw my reaction and seemed to calm himself down a bit before continuing. "Look, you can't tell them yet, okay. Please, for me."

"But why?!" I whined. I didn't want to keep this a secret from them anymore! The three of us had been best friends since kindergarten. I'd known Emily even longer. We told each other everything. Now I was hiding one of the biggest pieces of my life from them. It was tearing us apart, and it was tearing me up inside!

"Look, Princess," he said, trying to calm me down. "You'll just have to trust me a little while longer. It's for your own good."

"No, Dad!" I said forcefully. "Trust can only go so far! They mean too much to me! Keeping this a secret is going to tear our friendship apart! I can't do that without a good reason!"

My dad tightened his lips into a grimace and I saw his grip on the steering wheel tighten too. Whatever reason he had, he seemed to believe in it. We drove in silence for another five minutes before he finally found the words he was looking for.

"Give me a week," he said. "After the concert, we can discuss letting them in on the secret. But please, give me a week."

"Not without a good reason!" I shot back immediately. I'm sure I sounded snippy, but he had it coming. He was still asking me to trust him, and quite frankly I no longer did when it came to keeping the secret from my friends. He'd given me no good reason to keep it from them, and now it was hurting our friendship. My friends were going to win in this argument if "trust me" was the entire reason my dad would give me. Besides, I still felt angry that Aunt Judy knew and my two best friends didn't!

"Look," Dad said before pausing to think about how he would explain himself. He had realized that he wasn't going to win this argument and now he was frustrated. I didn't care. He was putting whatever his own personal reasons were for keeping this a secret over my friendship. I needed Emily and Ethan. I wouldn't be able to do this without them. In fact, I didn't want to do this without them! If Em and Ethan didn't learn my secret soon, Sarah Carerra's career would be over before it ever truly began.

"Your career is riding on this secret," he continued. "I understand why Mary wants you to have a normal life as a girl. I agree with her. But living this double life is complicated, and I have to know that you can keep it a secret. If you tell every single one of your friends about it, the secret will eventually get out and you won't be able to have that normal life anymore. This is for your own good!"

I sat there in complete shock at his words! Had I heard him correctly? Did he really mean what I thought he had just said?

"Are you telling me," I yelled at him. I could no longer hold back my anger! "That the only reason I can't tell my two best friends about Sarah Carerra is because you want to know that I can keep the secret?! Are you seriously saying that?!"

He sighed, but nodded. I think he realized that he had just crossed a line with me. I was livid! That was NOT a good reason to keep the secret from them! I definitely would NOT be keeping it from them any longer! As soon as we got home from the studio, my friends were learning the truth about Sarah Carerra!

Dad's cell phone started to ring. He even started to reach for it. But upon seeing my glare, he withdrew his hand. We weren't stopping this discussion until it was over. One of his clients could be having a mental breakdown for all I cared. The conversation was not being interrupted!

"I know you're mad, Megan," he said. "But as your agent, this is something I need to know. Give me a week. You can tell them after the concert, but give me until then to prove that you can keep this a secret. That's all I'm asking."

"As my agent?" I asked incredulously. "What about as my father? Shouldn't you be my father first? Emily and Ethan are more important to me than Sarah Carerra, Dad! My father should know that! For heaven's sake, there wouldn't even BE a Sarah Carerra if it wasn't for them! They deserve the right to know about her!"

"I know, and I'm sorry," he said. He looked chastised now. At least, he looked like I had hurt him with my accusation that he was being my agent before he was being my father. But he needed to hear it. "Can you give me a week? That's all I'm asking for."

I sighed. He was asking for a lot. A week might be enough to rip our friendship apart completely. Unless...

"On one condition," I told him. He frowned, but let me continue. "I get to tell them that they can be a part of my music career after next Saturday. Until then, I won't say anything about Sarah. I won't say anything about what I'm doing this week. I won't even tell them about the concert. They'd just be upset that they couldn't go anyway. But I get to tell them that they get to be a part of it soon."

He sighed again. I don't think he wanted this to be a negotiation, but he wasn't going to get everything he wanted without me getting something in return. After a nod of his head, he finally spoke. "Okay, but if they learn about Sarah before we get back from the concert, you'll be looking for a new agent and a new manager."

I didn't think he meant it, but I wasn't going to put it to the test. I'd uphold my end of the agreement. As long as Emily and Ethan knew that the end of the secrecy was in sight, I felt that our friendship would be okay. That was all I was asking for.

Dad's phone rang again, and this time I nodded to let him know that he could answer it. I might not be happy about the outcome, but at least I was satisfied.

From what I could gather listening to Dad, the phone call seemed to be from Scott. It also seemed to be about bad news. I was worried when my dad hung up the phone and then made a U-turn and headed back toward home instead of toward the studio.

"Everything okay?" I finally asked. I couldn't take the pressure of not knowing any longer.

"Yes and no," Dad replied. "That was Scott. It appears that we won't be able to have the CD ready before your concert next Saturday. The company that produces the CDs and packaging needs more lead time than a week to start producing everything."

"What does that mean?" I asked him. That wasn't exactly good news, but it didn't explain why we were turning around.

"Nothing in the long run," Dad explained. "But it does mean that you won't be recording anything new tonight. Scott said that since we now have the time he would like to bring in a real producer for the album. He may be an experienced sound technician, but a professional producer would be better for the album. He said he has someone lined up and we can meet him at tomorrow's session. You get the night off tonight."

"Cool!" I exclaimed. "That means I have time to save my friendship."

I saw my dad wince, which was exactly what I was trying to accomplish. He needed to remember that being my father was more important than being my agent or my manager.

"I guess I better get your mom a ticket to Salt Lake too, then," he said.

"You weren't even going to let Mom come to my first concert?!" I screamed at him. I even hit him on the arm as hard as I could. It was probably a good thing we were stopped at a stoplight at the time. I didn't think that I could get any angrier at him than I had already been! I couldn't believe that he would even attempt to keep my mom away from something as big as my first concert!

The rest of the trip home was in complete silence. I was fuming in the passenger seat, and Dad seemed to be wilting next to me. I'd never been this mad at him before.

*  *  *

I was even more disappointed when we got home and I wasn't able to contact either Emily or Ethan. They'd apparently gone out somewhere, but neither of them would answer their phones. I sent Emily a text message to call me when she had a chance, but I never heard from her that evening. I hoped it wasn't too late to save our friendship.

I fell asleep after spending the rest of the evening studying for my finals.

The following morning found me waiting in Mary's office with my mom.

Eventually the girl whom she was seeing ahead of us emerged from her office and Mary followed behind. Once she was out the door, Mary turned to us.

"Megan," she said with a large smile on her face. "It's so nice to see you. You look particularly good this morning, I must say."

I'd only ever been to one other appointment with Mary in my life dressed as Megan. That was a couple of years ago. She wanted to see what I looked like. Back then, I didn't want to be Megan and I only did it to appease her. Today, however, I wanted to make a good impression. Since I had decided this past week that I truly wanted to live my life as Megan, I felt it was only appropriate that Mary meet her for real.

To help show her how serious I was in my decision, I wore the sundress that I had worn to Emily's house last Sunday. It was about the most feminine one I owned, and I was more than willing to show it off.

"Good morning, Mary," I replied with a smile.

"If you're ready, you can come on back," she said with a similar smile. I don't know what I would do without Mary. She's been a big help over the last six years.

"Okay," I said and stood up to follow her into her office. Once inside I took a seat on the sofa she always had me sit on and waited for her to take a seat in her chair.

"I wasn't sure whom I would be seeing this morning," Mary started the conversation. "Brett or Megan."

I smiled at her probe for information. "I don't think you'll see Brett any more, honestly. I've decided that I want to live the rest of my life as Megan."

She looked surprised at my revelation, for once. She quickly collected herself and continued. "I must say, I didn't think it would happen that quickly."

"But you did think it would happen," I probed for information myself. Her smile showed that I knew her too well after all these years.

"Yes, I did," she replied. "I don't know if you are aware of this, but you've been quite feminine since the first time that I met you. I wasn't going to try and steer you in either direction, but I had my suspicions about where you would end up."

"I've heard that a lot lately," I told her. "It seems like everyone knew that I was a girl before I ever realized it."

"Can I ask?" she asked. "I mean, what made you decide that Megan was who you really are?"

I tried to figure out where I should begin. Obviously, I had made the realization while talking to my mom a week ago, after my date with Josh. Then there was Josh, too. He, and the date, were the catalyst that led to Mom and me talking. Without the date, I might not have come to the realization that I wanted to stay as Megan quite so soon.

But Mary didn't even know about Sarah Carerra. We'd discussed the possibility of Sarah at our last session, but she didn't know any of the details. All of that had come after I got home and before I met with Scott. I decided to start there.

"It started with singing," I told her. She nodded at me. Apparently that was another topic she wanted to discuss. "We decided to do the Hannah thing we talked about. It's been a very interesting two weeks."

"Tell me about your music career then," Mary said, realizing that it played a role in my self-discovery.

"I'm Sarah Carerra," I told her bluntly. She had to know the secret anyway if she was going to do her job as my therapist. Besides, she was the one person Dad had given me permission to talk to about this. Apparently he knew better than to keep it from my therapist than he did to keep it from my friends.

"Oh," she said. Then she thought about what I had said for a minute. "Ohhhh!"

I'd wondered if she'd heard the name yet, and her reaction answered it for me. Her look of amazement was quickly replaced with the professional, caring look that she usually maintained.

"You've heard of her then?" I asked Mary. I really wanted to hear her thoughts on Sarah before I continued.

"I have," Mary replied with a short laugh. "My daughter is one of your biggest fans already. She has two of your posters in her room and keeps listening to your song over and over."

"There are posters?" I asked. Mary chuckled at the confused look on my face. I didn't know that there were posters of me already on sale.

"I must say, Megan," Mary said. "It looks like you will have a successful music career. Is this why you want to stay a girl?"

"No," I replied. I stopped to catch my bearings. Posters? I'd have to ask Dad about them. What else is going on that I wasn't aware of?

"Sarah has become a part of my life that I really enjoy," I continued my explanation. "But it isn't where I found the happiness that being female means to me."

"So Josh Holliday isn't a deciding factor then?" Mary asked with a sly grin. She knew more about me than I thought she would. I could feel myself blushing again.

"No," I was finally able to answer her. "How do you know about that?"

"I watched the Tween Awards with my girls last Saturday," she said. "I must admit, you looked really good on the red carpet. And that kiss. What did that mean to you?"

"I honestly don't know," I told her with another blush. "The kiss was unexpected. I mean, it surprised me as much as it did my dad. And believe me, he was quite upset about what happened when I made it home that night."

Mary laughed at my description of the night's events. One thing I've always enjoyed about coming to see Mary is how friendly she is. She often seems more like a friend whom I can talk to about anything instead of my therapist. I really felt that I could open up to her.

"But it was what happened later that night that led to me realizing that Megan is who I really am," I continued. "Mom and I talked a lot that night. She helped me work through my feelings about the night's events, and even about how I felt about being a girl. It was during that discussion that I finally realized the truth."

"And what did you discover?" Mary asked. She was always so good at asking the perfect question during our sessions.

"My mom helped me realize that I had already made the decision," I told her. "I just didn't know it yet. I mean, I've been living as a girl for a while now, apparently. Everyone in my life has said I've been really girlish the last few years. I never saw it, but apparently they did."

"You can't let others make this decision for you," Mary cautioned.

"I know, and I'm not," I replied. "But they got me thinking about it. I am happier this way. Emily and Ethan said that I got really depressed when I went back to being Brett. I'd never seen it before until Monday morning. I was so depressed before school that I didn't even want to go. And Brett didn't go back to school. Megan went to school all week. And I'm glad she did. Being Megan makes me happy. It makes me feel complete in ways that I didn't even know I was lacking before."

We sat in silence for a moment while Mary took that in. Finally she was ready to continue. "How were you accepted at school?"

"Pretty well, for the most part," I told her. "The first week, most people thought that I was already a girl. Mom had gotten my ears pierced the first Saturday, and I got my hair done the following Monday. Most of my fellow classmates thought I was a tomboy finally taking an interest in being a girl."

"They just accepted you?" Mary asked. She didn't seem to believe that.

"At first," I replied. "There might have been some who didn't, but I never knew. Last Friday the principal got really mad at me for presenting as a girl, even though I wasn't doing anything differently. It was only my hair and the earrings. He threatened to suspend me."

"He can't do that," Mary said bitterly. She'd apparently been down this road before. "In the state of California it is illegal to do that because of gender presentation. He would get in a lot of trouble if he does suspend you."

"He won't," I told her. "At least, I doubt he will. When I showed up at school Monday, I guess he was ready to suspend me. He called my mom, and she changed his mind. He talked to me that afternoon, and it was almost like he had completely changed his mind. I don't think he likes what I'm doing, but he doesn't seem to be doing anything to stop it anymore."

"Anymore?" Mary asked for clarification. I hadn't even realized I'd left that opening.

"Friday afternoon he made sure that all of the teachers called me Mister Brett Campbell during roll call," I told her. "He stopped it on Monday after talking to my mom, but the damage was done. When I showed up dressed in girl's clothes on Tuesday, some of the kids were unhappy with me."

"Did they hurt you?" she asked.

"Yes," I replied. "It wasn't anything really bad, but they kept calling me names and I was tripped a few times. Most of the kids were okay with me being Megan. It was mostly the cheerleaders, football players, and their crowd. There were a couple of others, but it was a relatively small number."

"What else?" she asked. I guess she could see something in my face, because I wasn't sure if I should mention yesterday at all. I knew that she would get it out of me eventually, but it still stung to think about."

"I got beat up yesterday," I told her. "Not bad, really. I was knocked down by one of the football players and then he kicked me in the thigh. I've got a pretty nasty bruise."

I lifted the skirt of the sundress up to show her the black and blue region of my left thigh. I heard a large intake of breath from her, but she didn't react in any other way.

"He was suspended for it, though," I told Mary. "The principal issued some new rules on Wednesday to help prevent abuse because of tolerance issues. This was the only thing that's happened since then. He wasn't the brightest of the football players either. His coach was really mad when he found us."

"Are you worried about it happening again?" Mary asked.

"Not really," I told her truthfully. "At least not until after finals on Tuesday. The biggest punishment from the tolerance rules was being suspended without the ability to take the finals. Someone may try something after they are over, but I'm not too worried."

"Why?"

"Well," I replied. "Wednesday is yearbook day. It's basically a do nothing day. I've also got an appointment that afternoon as Sarah, so I'll only be there in the morning. Thursday is only a half day. We mostly get a refund on textbooks we turn in and such. Once you've turned everything in, they usually let you go anyway. I've got another appointment that day as Sarah, and my mom may be turning in my books for me. So no, I'm not too worried because there isn't really much time for something to happen."

"That's a lot of Sarah time," Mary pointed out. "Are you sure that she isn't taking up too much of your time?"

Oh, that's right, she probably didn't know about the concert.

"No, I don't think so. I will be spending a lot of time as Sarah this next week, but it's not normally like that. I have my first concert next Saturday, and my record label is trying to cram as much as they can into this week to make sure that I'm ready for it."

Mary raised her eyebrows at that information. "A concert already?"

"Well," I said with a small blush. "Josh Holliday asked me to open for him when his opening band had to pull out. It wouldn't normally be this quick."

"I see," said Mary. "What are your feelings about Josh?"

"That's a hard question to answer," I said truthfully. I'd had a feeling we would be discussing Josh next. "I realized sometime over the past two weeks that I haven't been looking at girls in that way in quite a while. Longer than the last two weeks, anyway. But I was even more surprised when I started to respond to guys like that. It scared me at first, but it seems natural somehow. I'm not quite sure how to explain it."

"So you're attracted to boys now. That seems normal for a teenage girl to me." Mary smiled to let me know she wasn't repulsed at this information or anything. "But how do you feel about Josh?"

"Like I said, I'm not really sure how to answer that question," I told her. "We went to dinner before the Tween Awards last Saturday. All through dinner he was doing nothing but annoying me. In fact, just before we left the restaurant, I was pretty sure that we couldn't even be friends. But he changed after that. I don't know exactly how it happened, but he seemed to care more about me and he really helped me make it down the red carpet. Then, during the show, the kiss, his speech, it seemed kind of magical."

I paused and tried to collect my thoughts. "I don't know. There are plenty of things that I do not like about Josh Holliday. But I can't deny that I'm attracted to him because of more than his good looks. He made me feel special."

"I'm going to caution you here, but it isn't related to your condition," Mary said. "I know you haven't had many relationships in your life. It's possible that this is nothing more than a crush."

"I know," I told her. "I don't know if I love him or anything. Maybe it is just a crush, I don't know. But it wasn't a factor in deciding to stay a girl."

"Alright," she said. "I just want you to be careful. Being a girl is still new to you. I don't want you to get hurt."

"I'll try," I said. I'm not sure what else she wanted to hear.

"Let's talk about Sarah, then," Mary said, moving on. "How do you feel about her?"

"I'm really glad that we decided to separate my music career from my home life," I told her. "Being out with Josh last Saturday, I can see how annoying being in the spotlight can be. This way, I'll be able to turn off the spotlight if it becomes too much to handle. I hope it can help keep me levelheaded too. Some of the things that annoy me most about Josh are his attitudes that he probably fell into because he's famous."

"Like what?" Mary asked.

"Well, the one that bugged me most was his blatant disregard for other people's money," I told her. "My dad is both his agent and mine. That's how we ended up going to the awards show together. Anyway, Dad paid for dinner as our agent, not as my father. Josh doesn't know he's my father. I only ordered a salad. I wasn't really hungry, but I didn't want to waste Dad's money either. Josh said that I was being stupid by not taking advantage of the offer. He ordered the most expensive thing on the menu. Its stuff like that I hope to avoid."

We talked for quite a while about my feelings on different parts of what I was going through before she asked me the million dollar question.

"What would you like to do now?" she asked. The question caught me off guard. I hadn't thought about it, but I knew what she was referring to. She was talking about hormones. We'd discussed the different options as part of my decision. Now that I had made the decision, she wanted to know what the next step was going to be.

"I don't know," I told her truthfully. "I mean, I want to be a girl, and I'd like to start the hormones. But Tracy, my cousin, thought that there might be more to my development than just the accident. She didn't think that losing my, you know, was enough to cause me to develop breasts and the figure that I have."

I'd talked to Mary about my changing body before, so she was aware of the issues. She had admitted to me that hormones were not her specialty, and she really couldn't do more than provide me with a note to start them. The rest would be between me and a specialist.

"I went to a gender specialist yesterday, an endocrinologist," I told her. "Mom made the appointment after we talked to Tracy. Anyway, they did some tests and everything. I think it's probably best to wait until we hear back about those before making a decision on hormones."

"That's very mature of you," Mary said. "Most of my patients would be so anxious to start the hormones that they wouldn't even consider what you just said."

"Tracy is really smart," I told her. "She's a nurse. The way she was talking, it almost sounded like I might not even need hormones. I guess we'll just have to wait and see."

"Alright," Mary said. "In that case I think we should close the session for today. If you aren't opposed to it, I'd like to increase our visits to every Saturday, at least for the time being. This is going to be a critical time for you, and I think it would help."

Thinking about how often I wished that I could talk to Mary over the last two weeks, I realized that it would probably be a good idea. So much had happened in the last two weeks that I felt overwhelmed at times. Talking to Mary was always a big help.

"That actually sounds really good," I told her. "There were so many times that I wished I could talk to you. I think it would help. Oh! I don't know if I can come next Saturday, though. We're supposed to be flying out to Salt Lake sometime in the morning, but I don't know when. Can I check with my dad and call to make an appointment?"

"Yes, that will be fine," Mary said. "I'll save your normal nine o'clock session for you in either case."

"Okay," I said. "Thank you, Mary. I don't know what I would do without you."

She might be my therapist, but she was also my friend. Her eyes watered slightly when I gave her a hug to show her just how much I appreciated what she did for me.

*  *  *

---

Editor Note: The images used for this story were purchased and used under royalty-free license* from Istockphoto.com . ~Sephrena
Author Note: Please email me at AngelJediGirl (at) gmail (dot) com before posting this story to any other site. Posting to a pay site is prohibited.

Comments and suggestions are also welcome at the above email address.

*  *  *

Chapter 28 - Shh! It's a Secret!

The first thing that I did after getting home from my appointment with Mary was to go over to Emily's house. I had about an hour before I had to be at the studio, and I wasn't going to go without talking to her.

I rang her doorbell, and after a moment the door opened. Emily was standing there.

"Oh, it's you," she said solemnly. "Don't you have to be at the studio, or something?"

"Yes," I unhappily answered. "But I don't want to go if it means our friendship suffers!"

She stood there, looking at me for a few seconds, thinking over what I had said. Without another word she opened the door all the way and stepped aside to let me in. I stepped inside and she closed the door before motioning toward the sitting room. I was a bit surprised to see Ethan sitting there, but it certainly made talking to them easier since I wouldn't have to find him later.

I walked into the room and took a seat on the couch. Emily's family kept a TV in the room, and it looked like they had been watching something. Ethan looked up at my entrance and gave me a sour look. How had I let this rift in our friendship get so wide? I never should have listened to my dad!

"Look," I said after Emily had taken a seat and both of them looked at me. It was obvious that I was the one who needed to do the explaining. "I'm sorry about not letting you guys be involved in my music. I wouldn't even have a career without you two."

I heard Ethan sigh, and Emily looked upset. Obviously they seemed to be regretting their decision to take me to the party at the Crawford's.

"I can't do this without you guys," I told them. I could feel the tears welling up in my eyes and I tried my best to keep them from spilling out. But it was a losing battle. "I don't want to do this without you!"

"It's one thing to say that," Emily stated angrily. "But it's another thing to do something about it!"

"I know," I replied. "I talked to my dad last night. I told him that I wasn't going to sing if you guys weren't involved! Your friendship means more to me than singing!"

"What did he say?" Ethan asked. They both looked intrigued, but wary. It was obvious that they didn't want to lose this friendship either, but something had to change.

"He said some really stupid things," I told them. "He's been thinking about this as my agent, and not as my dad. When I pointed that out, he seemed to back down."

"Does that mean we can come with you to the studio today?" Emily asked with a hint of excitement. Why, oh why, did she have to ask that right then?

"No," I said forlornly. They both scowled and the tension in the room increased. I knew it was the last thing they wanted to hear. "I had to compromise with him. He agreed that you guys can be involved, but not until after next Saturday."

They seemed slightly happier at that announcement, but it was obvious that they didn't want to wait, either.

"Why next Saturday?" Emily asked warily. It sounded like I was offering a peace branch, but the branch might already be halfway in the wood chipper.

I sighed. "This is a big week for me. It's a week that you two should be involved in. But I promised him that I wouldn't tell you guys. I so badly want to, but I can't."

"Then why should we believe you?" Emily asked unhappily. This wasn't going well.

"Because we've been friends for so long," I told her. "You guys mean everything to me. My dad's reasons are stupid, but I have to honor them if I want to do this. I promise that after next week, there will be no more secrets, no more leaving you behind. But I can't do anything about it until then. I'm sorry."

The tears were flowing down my cheeks now. I didn't know what else I could do to convince them of my sincerity.

"Okay," Emily finally said. "I believe you. But you should have let us in earlier. We miss you, Megan. We hardly ever see you anymore."

"I know!" I cried. "I should have questioned my dad's reasons earlier! I should have realized that he wasn't thinking about this as my dad! If I'd done that, we might not be in this position! I'm really sorry!"

Emily leaned over and gave me a hug. I knew then that our friendship was safe. No matter what happened, we would get through this.

"Are you doing anything tonight?" Ethan interrupted our bonding moment. I knew that he was a part of this friendship too, but it was different between Emily and me. We'd known each other longer. Also, I couldn't give him a hug to make it better, not anymore.

"No," I answered. "I'm supposed to be in the studio until 5 or 6, but I'm free after that."

"Good," he said. "We're going to go out tonight. We need to reconnect this friendship, and tonight is a perfect opportunity."

I nodded. I couldn't agree more.

*  *  *

"Sarah Carerra, meet Peter Rheinholdt," Scott said. We'd just arrived at the studio to find a tall, skinny man in his early fifties waiting for us.

"A pleasure to meet you, Miss Carerra," Peter told me before taking my hand and kissing the back of my palm.

I blushed. Nobody had ever done this to me before, let alone someone older than my father. I wasn't sure if hiring Peter to produce my album was a good thing or a bad thing based on his actions.

Peter did seem to sense my discomfort, and let go of my hand with a quirky smile. The only positive was that it looked less lecherous than I would have suspected if he really meant something by that kiss.

"Peter is an accomplished producer, and he'll do good things for the album," Scott continued.

Dad was excited to have Peter on board when he had heard the name of the producer Scott was hoping to have us work with. I really didn't know the first thing about producing an album, so I was following his lead.

"I've got some good ideas for your music," Peter said. "There are a couple of things that I would like to change on the songs you've already recorded, but we will wait until after the concert to do anything more on them. We've also got a seventh song for you, a cover that we'd like you to sing at the concert instead of one of the others. We'll probably drop 'Open Your Eyes'. Today, I'd like to lay down the vocals for the one remaining song and the cover. That sound okay with you?"

I nodded my head before replying, "Okay."

"Good," he said. "I've heard that you're really easy to work with, and I'm looking forward to producing another great album."

If that didn't sound slightly self-promoting, I didn't know what would.

"Here, take a look at these songs for a bit," he said while handing me some papers. "I want to bounce some ideas off your agent."

"Okay," I said while taking the papers from him. What kind of ideas? If it was related to the music I would be singing, shouldn't I be involved? I glanced briefly at the sheets, but I stood there hoping to hear some of what he wanted to talk to Dad about.

Peter looked at me expectantly for a moment before he realized that I wasn't leaving. "Run along," he finally said and gave me a shooing gesture. That just made me start to dislike him. It seemed like his idea of “easy to work with” meant "easy to order around." He'd be in for a surprise if he tried that.

I took my papers and moved over to the couch that was in the control room. I hoped it was still close enough to hear what they were saying, but far enough that he felt willing to speak. Unfortunately, I seemed to be slightly too far away as he started whispering with my dad. I couldn't hear anything they were saying.

Giving up for the moment, I turned toward the songs.

The first song was entitled ‘I Just Wanna Have Fun'. It was a fast moving, pop-sounding number that looked like it would be fun to sing. The lyrics talked about all the pressures that were placed on young girls, and how as a young woman I wanted to throw those pressures away and enjoy my teenage years my own way. I really liked the song, and the chords that I could hear in my head, if correct, led me to believe that it would sound really good too.

The second song was the cover. It was entitled ‘Rock Star'. It was literally a Hannah Montana song. The song was about a girl who is trying to get a guy to notice her, but she can't really mention to him that she is a secret Rock Star. It was one of the many Hannah Montana songs that spoke of a dual identity, but it did seem to fit well into my current situation too. The last few words of "I am a Rock Star" certainly spoke of a new truth in my life.

I was worried about doing a cover of a song from someone whom I was competing against in my target market. I figured that the record studio knew what they were doing, but it did seem somewhat odd to me.

I was about to pull out my guitar and play through the songs to give me a tune to practice against when I realized that Peter and my dad were arguing. It started as a low rumble, but quickly grew until they were yelling at each other.

"I think that is a really bad idea, Peter," Dad yelled. "It's her music, not yours."

"That isn't the point, Don," Peter yelled back. "I've been in this industry a long time, I know what sells. If we just change the message and sound slightly, I think we can pull in a whole new range of fans."

"I don't care," Dad yelled back. "That is not the type of fans that we are trying to appeal to."

Scott opened his mouth to say something, and it looked like he was going to agree with my dad. But before he got the chance, Peter was yelling back.

"More fans mean more sales!" he yelled. "We can all make a hefty profit off this! I believe that we can get her first album to go double platinum!"

"I believe we can too," my dad yelled back. "WITHOUT the changes! You underestimate this fan base."

They stared at each other for a moment. I didn't know what they were fighting about, but it didn't sound like something I would like. I stood up and approached them.

"What's going on?" I asked. My dad sighed, and turned toward me to give me an answer. Before he got the chance, Peter spoke up.

"Nothing you need to worry about, sweetie," he said in a dismissive tone. "The professionals are talking about a few things. Go back to the music."

"Excuse me?" I asked in a raised voice. "This is MY music we're talking about, and I think I have a say in it! Don't you?!"

The look on Peter's face showed me that he disagreed.

"I know you're new to this industry, Sarah," he said patronizingly. "But you need to learn that you aren't in charge of the music. You sing the songs we give you, and we all make money. It's that simple."

I was stunned at his statement! Did he really believe that? I may be new to this industry, but even I knew that I got a say in what I sang.

I turned to my dad and asked, "What does he want to change?"

My dad sighed again, indicating that it was something I wasn't going to want to hear.

"Peter thinks that we can tap into the hard rock crowd if we change the sound of ‘Ever After' a bit," he said. "He thinks we can make it harder sounding and change the message slightly to fit both your current fan base and this new crowd."

"What?!" I screamed incredulously. "No way! That would ruin the song!"

Peter looked at me like I just didn't understand. "It won't ruin the song," he said. "It will open it up to a whole new market."

"It's a nice, peaceful, up-tempo, fairy tale love song!" I yelled at him. "Think Disney, that's what I did. Making it 'hard' WILL ruin it!"

"It's not Disney!" Peter yelled back. "Fairy tales do not have to be Disney! I bet the author didn't have anything like that in mind. They'd probably be happy to have the song appeal to a broader fan base!"

"I wrote the song!" I screamed at him.

That got through to him. He took a slight step backward, and his face changed. It seemed likely that he realized he had just taken his argument a step too far. Changing other people's songs was one thing, but suggesting to an artist that she needed to change her own song was a different situation altogether. The grimace on his face proved that he realized he wasn't going to win this argument easily.

"Then you must see how advantageous it would be to modify it," he finally said, a bit more softly. "Think of the money it could make."

"This isn't about the money!" I yelled at him. "The song has a meaning! I won't change it to make more money!"

Peter immediately turned from me to Scott. "I can't work with her, Scott. She's unreasonable."

When Scott didn't immediately jump to Peter's defense, Peter just shook his head slightly and walked out of the control room. The rest of us stood there, stunned at his reaction.

"Is he for real?" Dad asked Scott.

Scott opened his mouth, but appeared to have no idea what to say. I don't think I'd ever seen him at a loss for words before.

"I..." He finally got out. "I don't know. I heard that he could be a little controlling, but that...I don't know."

The three of us stood there for a moment, unsure of what to do next. Eventually, Scott realized that we were wasting precious studio time.

"Come on, Sarah," he said. "Let's get to work on those songs. If we can get these two tracks laid down, I think you'll know them well enough for next Saturday."

I couldn't agree more.

*  *  *

A few hours later Scott was playing back my latest attempt at ‘Rock Star'. I thought it sounded great. Once again Scott was able to talk me through what he wanted out of the music, and worked with me to get it right.

"It sounds amazing, like always," I told him. "Are you sure that I need a producer? You seem to be doing a good enough job to me."

The smile on Scott's face told me just how much he enjoyed doing this. "I don't know, Sarah, it isn't my job."

"But you want it to be," I said frankly, causing him to laugh.

"Maybe," he said. "But it isn't what they pay me for. I was only filling in because of the tight deadline."

"You could always do it just this once," I told him sweetly. He looked at me, and then started laughing.

"Sorry, Sarah," he said. "I've got a young girl of my own. I'm immune to that puppy dog look."

I continued looking at him, and eventually his expression changed.

"Alright, alright," he said with a soft chuckle. "I give up. I really do enjoy being in the studio. It's been a few years since I worked on an album like this. It'll be a fun experience."

"That's the spirit," I said with a smile of my own.

"Sarah Carerra," Scott said. "You're making this type of work fun again."

I laughed before moving the conversation to another topic I wanted to discuss.

"What's the schedule for next week?" I asked Scott and my dad. I knew it was going to be a crazy week, but it would be nice to be able to plan for it.

"Let's see," Scott said and reached for a folder containing some papers. He leafed through them for a moment before finding what he was looking for. "You have Monday and Tuesday off because of finals. On Wednesday afternoon you have an appointment with a choreographer we hope to use in the future. She'll help teach you what to do for the concert. We don't have time for any complex choreography on this one."

Choreography - I hadn't even thought about what I would be doing while on stage! Singing, obviously, but I'd been to more than one concert. I should have remembered it wasn't that simple. As if I wasn't scared enough to get on that stage, now I had even more to contend with.

"On Thursday," Scott continued, oblivious to the small panic he had caused me. "You'll meet with the band. We're going to use the band that laid down the instrument tracks for your songs for the concert. They're a good session band, and I hope that they can translate their work into a live show. We'll need to start looking for a band that you can work with if they don't work out on stage. Anyway, Thursday and Friday will be filled with practicing your songs with the band. Two days isn't a whole lot of time to develop the kind of relationship we'd hope to have on stage, but we're working with what we've got. At least you all know the songs, so we aren't starting from scratch."

"You also have an appointment with Julia on Friday morning," Dad informed me. "She has some ideas for what you should wear, and we'll pick something out."

"What about Saturday?" I asked. I knew we were flying out Saturday morning and coming back on Sunday, but I didn't know any details. Scott looked at my dad to answer that one. Dad opened the day planner that he always carried around and flipped through a few pages.

"The flight is at 12:30," Dad said. "We'll probably need to be at the airport by 11:00 at the latest."

"Does that mean that I have time to meet with Mary that morning?" I asked hopefully. Dad nodded before continuing.

"We lose an hour in the air," he informed me. "It'll be around 2:30 when we land. We'll be heading straight to the venue for a sound check. After that is completed we'll have most of the afternoon to check into the hotel and relax for a bit before the show, which starts at 7:30."

I laughed. Relax. Right. I was pretty sure that next Saturday was going to be the most stressful day of my life. Relaxing would not be on my schedule.

"Oh," Dad continued in a sly tone. "Did I mention that we'll be traveling with Josh Holliday?"

*  *  *

It had been a long day. Between the session with Mary in the morning, and the drama caused by Peter, followed by hard work in the studio, I was ready to climb into bed. But I only had about an hour before I was supposed to meet Emily and Ethan before going out somewhere.

This was one of the few times that I was glad I wasn't driving myself. I was able to lay my head back and rest for a bit while Dad drove us home. I had a slight scare when we passed Emily's house and I noticed that she was sitting on her porch. I had to duck down in the car to make sure she didn't see me, and stay there until Dad pulled into our garage. Life would be so much easier when she learned the truth!

We walked in the back door and I gave my mom a hug before heading to Sarah's room to change. Perhaps I'd have enough time to lie down for a bit before heading over to Emily's.

I typed in the code for the Armoire and opened it up. I reached up to take off the wig, before remembering that Mom had taken the time to pin it earlier that morning. I really felt too tired to find all the pins.

Stepping back out of Sarah's room, I headed for the front room, where I could hear my mom's voice.

"Mom?" I said as I entered. "Can you help me get this wig off?"

Mom's voice stopped speaking. Somebody gasped. Dad, who had been sitting in one of the soft chairs, bolted to his feet. His face looked frantic, and he glanced toward the front door.

A sudden burst of fear broke through my heart, and my gaze followed his. Mom had been talking to someone at the front door! I hadn't even heard the doorbell ring!

"Megan?" I heard someone ask. The voice sounded very familiar.

I'm sure the shock on Emily's face matched my own as she spoke again.

"You're Sarah Carerra!"

*  *  *

---

Editor Note: The images used for this story were purchased and used under royalty-free license* from Istockphoto.com . ~Sephrena
Author Note: Please email me at AngelJediGirl (at) gmail (dot) com before posting this story to any other site. Posting to a pay site is prohibited.

Comments and suggestions are also welcome at the above email address.

*  *  *

Chapter 29 - It's 'Not' a Secret to Everybody

"Emily!" I screamed hysterically. "What are you doing here?"

This was bad. This was really bad! I had just promised Dad that she wouldn't find out about Sarah until after the concert. I didn't even make it a day before she learned the secret!

Before I could figure anything out, I was wrapped in a hug. That was the LAST thing I expected Emily to do when she found out the truth! I figured she would be mad! This was huge! And I had kept it from her!

"No wonder you couldn't tell me!" she said excitedly. I just stood there, mouth agape as she let go of the hug and stepped back. "Wait until Ethan learns about this! He has a major crush on you, or Sarah."

Oh great. As if this wasn't bad enough already...

"You aren't mad?" The words popped out of my mouth before I even knew they were coming. The one question I seemed to have for her required immediate answering.

"Of course I'm mad!" Emily exclaimed. "But I know you wanted to tell me! I could see it eating you up inside every time we talked about your music career! Now I know why! Wow! You're Sarah Carerra!"

Her excitement level at learning my secret far outweighed my own. I could feel the tears start to spill out of my eyes.

"What's wrong?" Emily asked, the concern in her voice very apparent.

"I just feel so relieved," I confessed. "Keeping this secret from you was the hardest thing I ever had to do. But now you know! I can finally share this with you!"

She wrapped me in a hug again, and the two of us connected at that moment. We'd been friends for a long time, but this was different. We were girl friends now, and that meant something even more. I stood there with my arms around her too. The feeling of peace, comfort, and calm that was washing over me was one of the most amazing things I had ever felt.

Dad cleared his throat, ruining the moment. The great feeling I had been enjoying almost immediately turned to despair. He had threatened that I would be looking for a new agent if Emily or Ethan found out before the concert.

"Megan," he said. I looked over at him, and he looked upset. There was a pained expression on his face that could only mean he was following through with his threat.

"I'm sorry."

I couldn't believe he was doing this! He was my dad! Even if he dropped me as a client, he couldn't get rid of me! I didn't want another agent! I didn't want another manager! How could he dump me like this?

"I never should have made you keep this a secret from your friends," he continued, surprising me! "I won't hold this against you. They deserve to know. Emily, I'm sorry. You mean more to Megan than her music career. I can see that now."

He wasn't dropping me as a client! I expected he would be as mad at me as I thought Emily was going to be. Instead, he was okay with her finding out! The relief I felt at his words was indescribable.

"It's okay, Mr. Campbell," Emily replied. "I'm sure you had your reasons."

She didn't ask for any more details, for which I was grateful. Her rage would probably overcome the happiness she was feeling if she found out why my dad had kept the secret from her.

"Please give my apology to Ethan when you tell him," Dad said to me. Mom, who had moved beside him during the ordeal, gave him a hug. I realized that this was a big moment for my dad too. He was finally starting to realize that I wasn't just another one of his clients. Our business relationship would have to be special, or it wouldn't last. It would tear our family apart.

"I will," I told him. I was unable to keep the smile from my face. The day had finally come when Emily and Ethan would learn the truth about Sarah Carerra.

"We'll leave the two of you to catch up," Mom said before dragging my father down the hall toward their bedroom.

I stood there in silence with Emily for a moment. I didn't want these happy feelings to go away. But then I remembered how to make it even better.

"Want to see the 'Green Room' now?" I asked Emily with a large smile on my face. "You're going to like it."

"Okay," she replied, perhaps a bit warily.

I grabbed her hand and led her down the hall to Sarah's room. I opened the door and stepped inside, turning to see the look of surprise that washed over her face as she saw the room for the first time.

"Welcome to Sarah's room," I said. She looked around, wide-eyed. Dad had spared no expense when he furnished the room, and it showed. She walked around, touching everything as she went. I think she was trying to confirm that the room was real and not a dream or illusion.

When she reached the armoire, which was still open, she glanced inside at the many wigs sitting on their foam heads.

"These are all Sarah's?" she asked. I nodded. "I've never seen her, you, with anything other than the one you have on."

"I've never used any of the others," I explained. "Julia wanted my image to be set in stone before we start playing with it."

"Julia?" Emily asked.

"My image consultant?" I prompted. Emily had met Julia the week before when Julia had come over to take me shopping.

"Oh, yeah," Emily remembered.

I stepped over to the two doors on the wall next to the armoire and pulled them open. Dad had used the large walk-in closet in this room as a storage area before he converted it into Sarah's. Now, it was filled with all kinds of clothes and glam.

"Wow," Emily said when she stepped into the closet behind me. "This is amazing! I am so jealous of you!"

I could definitely understand why. If I thought that Megan's wardrobe was impressive, which I did, Sarah's was divine. High end dresses and name brand labels were hanging next to shiny pieces of glam made up of vests, jackets, shoes, and many other types of accessories. Any girl would die for a closet like this.

The only thing that would make it better would be the knowledge that I didn't have to pay for it. Unfortunately, that was a wish that wasn't going to come true. I knew that the account holding the assets of Sarah Carerra was already into six figures, but it was money that I wasn't going to see much of anytime soon. Dad told me my money would be kept in a trust fund that only gave me access to a certain amount every month, but I still didn't know how much that would be.

We spent most of the next hour in Sarah's closet. We held our own fashion show and I showed her some of my favorite pieces. She even managed to teach me a few things that Julia hadn't.

But most of all, I got to include her in Sarah's life. I told her about everything that I had done up to that point. I told her about the songs. I told her about my date with Josh. I even told her about the concert. The relief that I felt at finally being able to share everything with her was tremendous.

"Can I come?" was her obvious first question.

"I don't know," I told her truthfully. "I think my dad said the show is already sold out. I don't know if I could get tickets for you."

"But you're performing!" she argued.

"I know," I replied. "But I'm filling in for another band. They already gave out their tickets to people before they backed out."

"That sucks," she said. I agreed.

"I'll talk to my dad," I told her. "But we'd still have to work out travel arrangements."

Emily nodded and looked at her watch. She looked really surprised at how late it was.

"Oh!" she exclaimed. "We're supposed to be meeting Ethan in 15 minutes!"

Then she grinned with a sly, evil little smile.

"I have an idea," she said and pulled out her cell phone. Her gleam made me suspicious if I would enjoy this idea of hers, but I could only listen as she convinced Ethan to meet us at my house instead of her own.

When the doorbell rang 10 minutes later, we both started giggling. After she had told me her plan, I was convinced. This was going to be fun.

"Wait here," she said before quickly exiting the room and heading for the front door. Despite myself, I couldn't stay away from the cracked door to Sarah's room, listening to what was happening in the front room.

"Ethan!" Emily squealed excitedly. "You'll never guess who's here!"

"Who?" Ethan asked. He sounded intrigued at her enthusiasm.

"Sarah Carerra!" Emily replied. From the large intake of breath I could hear from all the way down the hall, I realized that Emily had told me the truth. Ethan had a big crush on me, Sarah, whomever. I hoped he didn't hate us after today.

"Come on," Emily said, and I was sure she must have grabbed his hand and started pulling. But the urgent "No, wait!" from Ethan had me laughing right along with the mirth I could hear in Emily's voice. As they turned down the hall I quickly made my way over to the couch and pretended to be watching whatever show was on the TV.

"No!" I heard once again. This time it was quite louder and obviously right outside of the room. When Emily pushed the door open, there was an immediate change in Ethan's stance. He went from trying to pull away from Emily to standing up straight and trying to look normal.

He was nervous. Very nervous. I'd never seen him look as anxious as he did standing there in the doorway.

"Sarah!" Emily practically yelled as she continued to pull him into the room. "Sorry to bug you again, but Ethan, the guy I told you about, is here."

Ethan's eyes opened wide at her words. I stood up from the couch and approached them. I tried to keep a smile on my face. It wasn't hard since I was about to break out in laughter myself.

"Hi, Ethan," I said to him. "It's really nice to meet you. Emily and Megan have told me all about you."

I may have overdone it at that point when I licked my lips, but it was worth it to see the expression on his face. I had a bad feeling that this would come back to bite me later.

"Uh," was his undignified response. He seemed to be at a loss for words. I smiled at him, which didn't help.

"Ethan," I said a moment later. I was supposed to continue the charade, but I couldn't. He looked like he was going to pass out from meeting me. Talking to me might give him a heart attack, and he didn't deserve that. "It's okay. Calm down for a moment. I have something I need to tell you."

He certainly didn't seem any calmer. In fact, it looked almost like he had become even more anxious as I started talking to him.

I did the only thing I could do to help calm the situation. I reached up and grabbed my wig. We'd unpinned it and my own hair before he arrived for this exact reason.

I pulled the wig away from my head, letting my brown locks fall from underneath.

"I'm Sarah Carerra," I told him. He couldn't take it anymore. What happened next was the only time I had ever seen Ethan faint.

*  *  *

"You girls are cruel," Ethan grumbled while we sat around a table in the food court of the local mall half an hour later. Emily and I giggled at his statement.

"You have to admit," Emily said. "It was pretty funny. When are the two of you going on your first date?"

I blushed furiously at her suggestion, but Ethan's response surprised me. He put on the required scowl at the idea of dating me, but for a brief moment beforehand I saw a glimpse of something else. Something that worried me.

I knew that he had a crush on Sarah, but he didn't have one on ME, right? Right? I didn't know what I would do if that was the case. He was my best guy friend! I didn't know if I could handle that! I mean, we grew up together as two boys!

Ethan hadn't said much about my revelation since he regained consciousness, and I didn't know if his silence about my alter ego was good or bad. He seemed to be bottling it all up inside, and that worried me even more. Any attempts to get him to talk about it ended in failure.

There was some ribbing and joking around as we finished our food, but thankfully no more discussion on the subject of crushes or feelings came up. The plan for the evening was to get something to eat and then go to a movie. With the food portion of the evening accomplished, we decided to stroll through the mall until the movie started. We had about 45 minutes to kill.

Unfortunately, Ethan would not let us enter any clothing stores. He said something about not wanting to wait around for us being the driving force behind this decision. Whatever. Instead, we were walking around trying to find some mutually acceptable store to enter. We'd finished walking around the first floor and decided to see what was on the level above.

We stepped onto the escalator with the other shoppers. It was an uneventful ride. But at the top, I came to a distinct and sudden halt. I almost fell when my feet hit the end of the moving stairs, and again when people behind me started pushing me out of the way.

There, right in front of me, was a large poster of myself. Well, Sarah to be exact. It was hanging in the window of a music store that we often frequented. I'd been told on two separate occasions during the day about the posters, but this was the first time I had seen one. And every single person who came up that escalator was going to see it too. It was unnerving to realize just how public my image now was.

"Haven't you seen it before?" Emily asked from behind me.

"No," I replied while shaking my head. "I didn't even know they existed until this morning."

I stepped closer to the poster and out of the flow of traffic that seemed to be upset with where I was standing. The poster showed me wearing the red dress that I had worn at the beginning of the second photo shoot. While the pose wasn't sensual or seductive in any way, the overall poster provided an allure that left me feeling slightly uncomfortable when I looked at it.

"That's the good one," Ethan said. The smile on his face didn't make me feel any better. I scowled, and his smile retreated quickly.

"Of course," he said quickly and sternly. "It's coming down tonight, right after I get home. First thing I do."

I'd known Ethan a long time. I knew him well enough to know when he was lying, and he was lying pretty badly right then. Even after finding out that I was Sarah Carerra, he still seemed to have the hots for her.

"Come see the others," he said in an effort to sidestep my ire. He quickly walked toward the store entrance and walked inside, leaving Emily and me next to the poster.

"Give him time," Emily said. "He's been talking about Sarah since Thursday. He heard your song Wednesday night after we left your house, and we saw the posters when we came to the mall after school on Thursday. He really has a thing for Sarah. Finding out that Sarah is one of his best friends must have been hard for him."

"I know," I told her truthfully. "But I'm scared about his reactions to Sarah. He's been my best guy friend since kindergarten. Emily, I don't know how to handle feelings like this from him."

"We'll figure it out," Emily soothed. "Whatever happens, we can deal with it. Who knows, maybe you'll develop feelings for him. He's probably a lot better boyfriend then Josh Holliday."

I started blushing again. I had told Josh Holliday last Saturday that we should start as friends, but my actions on Wednesday night when I gave him my cell number could certainly be construed as wanting more. I'd certainly acted like I wanted more. I think I did want more.

But Josh didn't know me before I started living as Megan. He didn't even know that I was Megan! Ethan did, and that made a big difference.

"Come on," Emily said and pulled me toward the store entrance. "The last thing we need is to make him feel even worse. Let's just act like everything is normal for now and work it out when he is ready."

Unfortunately, her statement made sense. Despite my desire to immediately understand what it all meant, I would need to wait. I followed her into the store and we made our way over to Ethan who was looking through the different posters the store sold.

"That one, dude!" a masculine voice said as a tall, tanned surfer looking guy stepped out of an aisle and stood next to Ethan. Ethan stopped what he was doing, and the surfer spoke again. "She's so hot."

Ethan raised his eyebrows at the guy, but stepped back to let him get closer to the poster.

"B4," the guy continued and then scanned the small compartments below the poster stand for the appropriate slot. He found what he was looking for, pulled a poster out and started heading for the cashier. "Thanks, dude."

Ethan was left with a perplexed look on his face.

"Hey, dude," Emily joked as we approached. We apparently caught Ethan off-guard, because he jumped slightly before letting out a laugh.

"That guy was nuts," Ethan replied, getting a return laugh from us.

"What poster did he buy?" I asked curiously. He seemed to be pretty excited about his purchase. I stepped over to see what poster was still on display, and I nearly choked! It was another poster of me!

The one still on display was quite different to the one hanging in the window, but still seemed to be too sensuous for my liking. I was wearing a white dress, which meant it was another photo from the second shoot. I remembered the dress well. It was the first dress I'd ever worn that hinted at cleavage. The padded pushup that I had worn did its job well, and I looked much bigger than I really was. Coupled with the dress were silver jewelry and a silver headband that they had put in my hair. The pose had me facing the camera with my head tilted slightly upward. Coupled with the white dress and silver headband, I looked slightly angelic. The poster seemed to scream naughty and nice at the same time.

I loved it and I hated it at the same time.

It was an amazing picture. The stark differences that played out in the poster drew my attention and made it hard to look away. But it was me in the photo, and there was a definite sexuality to the poster that I didn't really feel comfortable sharing with other people. I was still getting used to the idea that I truly was female. I wasn't sure I was ready for this.

"Amazing, isn't it?" Emily said.

"It's beautiful," I replied, running my fingers over the plastic covering the poster. I really didn't know what else to say. I was speechless. I had never seen a picture of myself that I liked that much before. Finally, I decided that I liked the picture, despite any other thoughts that entered my head since I first looked at it.

"Who would have thought that a wig could make you look so much different," Emily mused. I agreed. I knew that I was still attractive as Megan, but Sarah was somehow more exotic looking. Wait, wig...

"You two need disguises!" I told them excitedly.

"Disguises?" Emily asked incredulously. "What do we need disguises for?"

I grinned at her and lowered my voice. "You'll need them if you want to come with me to the studio on Wednesday!"

All thoughts of going to the movie were thrown out the window as we made our way to the same wig store where Sarah's wigs had been purchased. Much like Sarah's, both Emily's and Ethan's disguises would need to be excellent to prevent anyone from recognizing them.

"That's perfect!" I told Emily a short while later. She was wearing a wig that had changed her from a beautiful blonde into a fiery redhead. It actually looked really good on her. Her smile told me that she agreed.

But Emily was the easy one to disguise. Ethan was another matter entirely. He'd tried to put on a fake mustache, but it looked incredibly hokey. It wasn't until he finally agreed to put on a wig that we found something that would work. Following in my own footsteps, we had converted Ethan's short, dark brown hair into a stylish blonde cut that fell to the bottom of his neck. I'd never seen Ethan with long hair (longish for any boy I knew personally, at least), and he really looked different.

With disguises in hand, I made a call home. After the events of the day, Dad was more than willing to pay the bill from Sarah's funds. I had one of his credit cards (for emergencies), and he told me to use it and he would pay off the debt from Sarah’s earnings. Even though I did not have direct access to my own money yet, at least I was able to spend some of it with his approval.

We then started a crawl of the mall. Ethan wasn't able to keep us out of the clothes stores this time. We needed a wardrobe change for the two of them if this was going to work. We had to be just as careful with their disguises as I was with Sarah's, but in the end it would be worth it. They would be there with me whenever they wanted to come.

We went with a more refined, high-fashion look for Emily. She looked almost like she could be a model when we were through with her. Ethan got shoved into a preppy look. He didn't really like wearing the collared shirts and polos we'd purchased, but he definitely didn't look like himself anymore.

By the time we were done and were ready to head for home, it was nearly as hard to recognize my two friends as it was for them to recognize me as Sarah.

"Thank you, guys," I told them as I wrapped them both in a hug. "I was so scared I was going to lose you this morning."

They both returned the hug before we separated. With a smile, Emily said the best thing I had heard all day: "Friends forever."

*  *  *

---

Editor Note: The images used for this story were purchased and used under royalty-free license* from Istockphoto.com . ~Sephrena
Author Note: Please email me at AngelJediGirl (at) gmail (dot) com before posting this story to any other site. Posting to a pay site is prohibited.

Comments and suggestions are also welcome at the above email address.

*  *  *

Chapter 30 - The Finals Countdown

After church the following morning, Ethan, Emily, and I were sitting in Sarah's room waiting for the American Top 40 show to start. This was the first week that my song qualified, and Scott thought there was a good chance it would be listed. I really wasn't sure if it was popular enough.

"Where do you think it will be?" Ethan asked. He looked slightly uncomfortable with our surroundings. Much like Josh, he felt ill at ease with the feminine decor of the room. He'd get over it eventually, I hoped.

"I'm guessing high 30's if it makes it," I told him. "It's only my first song."

"I don't know," Emily said immediately. "They play it all the time on the radio now. It’s more popular than you think."

I smiled at her. It was nice of her to try to play the song up, but it was unlikely to be very high on the list. I was a relative nobody with only a week of exposure. There was no way the song would be very high on the list, if it made the list at all.

"Play us one of your other songs," Emily changed the subject. "You said you had more, and I want to hear them."

I smiled. Nobody outside of the studio had heard my other songs. "Okay."

I stood up from where I had been sitting on the couch and walked over to the table where my guitar case was sitting, retrieved the guitar, and walked back to the couch.

"Nice guitar," Ethan said when he saw it. "When did you get that?"

"Thursday morning," I informed him. "Dad felt I needed a replacement for the one Austin broke."

"I thought that you..." the glare I gave Ethan was enough to stop him from finishing his sentence. "Alright, it was Austin's fault."

"Anyway," I said, trying to get back to the music. "I think you'll like this one."

I smiled at Emily before starting to play. It didn't take her long to realize that I was playing 'Ever After'. Her face lit up immediately when she recognized the song. I continued to sing for the two of them, and I could see their faces watching me in awe. Eventually, the song came to an end.

"You're using 'Ever After' as one of Sarah's songs?" Emily asked excitedly. I knew how much she liked the songs we had written together, and I was worried that she would be upset with me for not asking her first.

I nodded, "'Ever After' and 'Enchanted Forest'. You don't mind?"

"No," she said immediately. "I love those songs! And the way you were singing 'Ever After', it was amazing!"

"Come on," I said. "You've heard the song before. It hasn't changed at all."

"Maybe," she shot back. "But you sing it differently. It's almost like you have a confidence now that you were lacking before."

Had I changed? I knew that I was more at ease singing now. My voice matched my body, which it did not do when I was living as Brett. Did that make a difference in the way I sang?

"I know what it is!" Emily exclaimed. "You aren't scared to sing! Not like Brett was."

"I wasn't scared," I argued back.

"Oh yes you were," she insisted. "I bet you have no problem singing in public now."

I didn't know the answer to her implied question. I hadn't sung in public since becoming Sarah. All of my singing had been in a nice, lonely sound booth at the recording studio. Was I still scared to sing in public? The thought of the concert seemed to tell me the answer was yes. I wasn't sure how I was going to pull that off.

But I wasn't shying away from it, either. I'd tried to avoid singing when I was Brett. Other than the times I had tried to keep from singing to give away Sarah's secret, I had never been placed in that position since I started living as Megan.

I sang at church.

That was something I hadn't really done before. I'd mouth the words or sing softly, but that was it. But the last two weeks I had been singing! No one had said anything to me about it, so I didn't know if they noticed. But I had been singing! For the first time in my life I wasn't ashamed of my singing voice. I actually enjoyed singing now!

And why shouldn't I? I had a great voice. I really did like to sing. It was even making me a lot of money. Singing was my life now, literally. Every single day involved some part of Sarah. That wasn't going to change anytime soon either.

"I think you're right," I finally replied. "I'm not ashamed to sing anymore."

"Megan," Emily said with a look that told me I had just said something stupid. "You never needed to be."

I just sighed. She wouldn't understand how I had felt before I realized who I truly was.

Then I had another thought. This one was about Emily.

"Emily," I said. "You should get credit for helping me write these songs."

That brightened her day a lot, if the smile that spread across her face was any indication.

"I'll talk to my dad," I told her. "But I bet you should even get some of the money the songs make."

She looked surprised at that information.

"You mean it?" she asked. "I mean, we were only writing it for fun."

"You’re right. But you still helped, and you deserve the credit," I told her. "I'm sure my dad would agree. But, did you come up with a name yet?"

"Name?" she asked in confusion. Last night we had discussed the need for them to have a second identity much like Sarah was mine. Without it, the risk of exposure was too great. After a moment of thought, understanding lit her face. "Oh, you mean for the redheaded me."

I nodded.

"What about Chloe?" she asked. "Chloe Carpenter. She's been Sarah's next door neighbor since they were two, and they do everything together."

"Chloe," I pondered the name. "I like it. You really could be a Chloe when you wear that wig."

"Wait," Ethan interrupted. "Her story is the same as yours and Megan's. How is that hiding your identity?"

"Well, I figured the closer the story is to the truth, the easier it will be to remember," Emily explained. I nodded in agreement.

"That's kind of what we did with Sarah," I added. "Her back story is pretty much my own with only a few modifications to help hide my true identity."

"Oh," Ethan said. He looked slightly downcast.

"You don't have to do that if you don't want to," I mentioned, guessing at his true feelings. "What did you come up with?"

"Xander Dailey," he stated with confidence. "You've known him since kindergarten, and he's been the popular guy at school."

"Xander?" I asked. It was definitely a...different name.

"Yeah," he defended his decision. "If I have to dress all preppy like, I'm at least going to have a cool name."

"Okay, okay," I placated him. There wasn't anything wrong with the name. He just didn't seem like a Xander. "It's your identity. I just want to make sure you have thought this through. You could be using the name for a while, I'd hate for you to get sick of it."

He seemed to rethink his decision for a moment before speaking. "No, I like it. It sounds slightly sophisticated, not boring like Ethan."

"You do realize that you modeled your life story on the truth," Emily interrupted us. "After complaining about it."

"No I didn't," he argued back. "I never was very popular, but Xander is."

"Yes," Emily said with a superior smile. "But all of the important pieces, like how long you've known Sarah, are true."

That got him to think again. It was obvious that he hadn't realized he had set up his identity in the same way we had.

We continued to talk about their new identities, fleshing out the details until the show started.

"You really don't think your song is going to be listed?" Emily asked me again after I had expressed my opinion of where the song would sit on the charts.

"Probably not," I confirmed. We sat and listened to the countdown, pulling out our books to study for our impending finals. None of us really wanted to study, but it did give us something to do while we listened.

The first five songs came and went. Mine wasn't among them. I felt it extremely unlikely that I would be higher than 35 and figured that I hadn't made it this week.

"Better luck next week," I told the two of them. I honestly was ready to turn off the radio and go do something other than study. I'd been cramming way too much information into my head over the last few days.

"Come on," Ethan said. "Let's at least finish listening. Besides, I really need to learn some of this Math better."

I sighed. I was sick of studying. At least when I crammed the music into my head it was fun. History and English didn't compare at all.

The show continued. Top 30, Top 20, Top 15. No mention of 'Intuition' came from the sound system along one of the walls in Sarah's room. I was saddened that I hadn't made the countdown. I guess it was to be expected. It was my very first single.

The Top 10 were always the really good songs, of course. I finally closed my books and just laid back and closed my eyes to listen to them. Number 10 was a hip hop song, not exactly what I liked to listen to. Number 9 was a Taylor Swift song slowly making its way down the charts after being at the top for a number of weeks. Number 8 was, well...

"Number 8 this week marks the debut on the American Top 40 for a young woman who has recently started to gain a lot of attention," blared from the radio. Emily, Ethan, and I all perked up at the sound. It couldn't be...

"From the kiss she gave Josh Holliday at the Tween Awards to the posters that are selling like hotcakes, Sarah Carerra's name will soon be a household fixture to young tween girls and even some of the guys. Her sweet yet sexy look has captured the hearts of both the young and the old. The vocals that back her look create an even greater demand for her music, and many are already clamoring for a new song. Here's Sarah's debut hit single 'Intuition'.

I was stunned speechless! I could only listen in amazement as the opening chords I knew all too well filled the silence lingering in the room.

Number 8? It had only been released for a week! How on earth did it rank so high on the countdown?

The song continued to play, and I continued to sit there. I couldn't believe that I had broken the Top 10 with my very first single! On the very first week!

"I told you," Emily said when the song had ended and they had moved on to Number 7. I was still in shock.

*  *  *

"Congratulations, honey," Dad said later that evening while giving me a hug. I had just put on my PJs and we were sitting on the couch in the front room. "A Top 10 debut is not something that happens very often."

"I still can't believe it!" I told him as he let go. "How did it get so popular already?"

"Remember," he replied. "The song was calculated to be a hit by the record company. They just needed the right voice to sing it. You have that voice, Megan. This is only the beginning. Sarah Carerra is going to be a very popular girl."

"Thanks, Dad," I told him with a smile. "But that scares me."

"I know, Princess," he soothed. "But I'll be there for you every step of the way. Your mom and Austin too. And Emily and Ethan. I never should have kept them away from Sarah. I'm really sorry."

"It’s okay, Dad," I told him with another smile. And I was surprised to realize that it was true. Any lingering resentment I might have felt about his decision was gone. I had seen the pained look he'd given me when Emily found out about Sarah. He had learned his lesson just like I had learned mine. We were in this together, and that meant sharing the responsibility for the decisions in Sarah's life.

"Speaking of Emily," I changed the subject. "I think she deserves credit for helping me write 'Ever After' and 'Enchanted Forest'. She should get her name on the credits, at least, but also her share of the money."

My dad nodded his head, but he had a grim expression on his face at the same time. "I agree," he said. "But that opens up a lot of complications. Even if we use her fake identity, we would have to tell her parents. Are you sure you want to bring them in on the secret?"

I hadn't realized that giving Emily her share of the proceeds would mean letting more people in on the secret.

"They're like family, Dad," I answered him. "They won't say anything. Emily's dad is a lawyer, remember. If you're worried, you can make them sign a non-disclosure agreement, but I think we can trust them without it."

"What about Anna?" he asked. That was an unseen problem I had yet to think about. Anna wanted to do everything with Emily and me. My dad was aware of the relationship I had with her. If we started leaving her out all the time when we went to do Sarah things, she would start to get upset. But she was also ten years old. If there was anyone more likely to leak the secret, it would be her.

"I don't know," I replied. "I think she needs to know, and I hope she could keep it a secret, but she is ten. I don't know. Can't we just start with her parents and go from there?"

"Okay," he agreed. "Do you want to tell them, or should I?"

It would definitely be easier if I let him do it, but it was something I needed to do. My parents and Emily's parents had been friends nearly as long as Emily and I had been friends. But my relationship with them was different. I didn't exactly treat them like parents, but we were a lot closer than many people are with their friend's parents.

"I'll tell them," I replied. "They deserve to hear it from me."

"Would you like me to be there?" he asked.

"Yes," I replied with a smile. "I think that would be a good idea."

We sat in silence for a few moments before I brought up the next thing I wanted to talk about.

"Who's coming to the concert?" I asked.

"We don't really have any tickets to give out," Dad said with a grimace. "The band you are replacing managed to give away all of the tickets that would normally have been yours to give away."

"So..." I prompted. "What does that mean?"

"I talked to Josh," he replied. "He has a VIP section reserved for his family and friends. He said that there was space for your family in his box. He even said he could probably fit my family too, if they wanted to come. Oddly, he was curious to see if you, Megan, would be coming."

"He asked about me?" I asked in wonder. He couldn't even get my name right when I talked to him as Sarah after he had met Megan. I didn't even think he knew who I was.

"Well, he called you Maren," Dad replied with a grin. "But he seemed to be interested in you like he was interested in Sarah the other day."

"What did you tell him?" I had to know.

Dad chuckled slightly before replying. "I obviously told him you wouldn't be coming. But I, your mother, and Austin will all be able to watch the concert with his family. He seemed to be upset that Sarah's family wasn't going to be there, however."

"Any way to sneak in Emily and Ethan?" I asked hopefully.

"I don't think so," he replied with a frown. "It sounded like the VIP area was going to be pretty full already. I know how much you want them there, Megan. I'll see what I can do, but I can't make any promises."

"Okay." I accepted his answer for what it was worth. I know they both wanted to come. I wish my first concert could have been closer to home. Maybe it would have been easier then.

"Can you get me a couple of the posters?" I asked, changing the subject again. "Or at least one of the angel ones?"

"Sure!" Dad said excitedly. "I already had Max place an order for me to the company that prints them. I figured we could frame a few and put them in Sarah's room. They should be here in a couple of days. Do you like them?"

"I don't know," I told him honestly. "They look really good, but they almost look too sexy."

Dad laughed, but he seemed to grimace at the same time. I don't think he was comfortable with me discussing my sexuality with him. I really wasn't comfortable discussing it with him either, but this was also an agent/client discussion about my image on top of a father/daughter talk. Our recent fight over telling my best friends had taught both of us that we needed to work together to make this relationship work.

"I'm sorry," he apologized. "Max and I decided on which pictures to use together. We thankfully agreed that we would stay away from the sexier ones."

"There are sexier ones?" I asked with worry.

"There were a couple of photos that were more suggestive," he said. "But we both felt that we should stick to a clean, wholesome image for you."

"That's good," I said, relieved. I couldn't imagine anything worse than what I had already seen. "You could have at least let me see them first. I was really surprised when we got off the elevator at the mall and I was staring at a large poster of myself."

That got Dad really laughing this time. Before long, his infectious laughter had me laughing with him. I guess the situation had been kind of funny.

"I'm sorry, Princess," he said. "Max was in charge of getting them printed up. I honestly didn't know that they were going to be available to the public that quickly. I'll make sure that we let you see them before we make any more, okay?"

"Okay," I told him with a smile. "Thank you."

"You're welcome, Megan," Dad replied with a smile of his own.

The rest of the evening was spent watching TV with my dad. Mom went to Aunt Judy's after dinner, and Austin was at a friend's house. I think the time my dad and I spent together that evening was beneficial to our relationship. We grew closer as father and daughter during that time, and I knew that we would be okay. We would be able to find the balance we needed between family and career. I was sure there would still be rough times ahead, but I was confident we could work through them together.

Eventually, I headed for bed. I probably should have been studying for my finals, but I just couldn't muster the desire. I believed I was ready for the tests. Any more studying would be overkill.

I fell asleep that night with only one thing on my mind: Why hadn't Josh called like he said he would?

*  *  *

The following day was pretty stressful. Taking tests can be like that. Stress before it's handed out, stress while you take it, then a lot of waiting for the next one. I think I did pretty well, at least I didn't feel like I had forgotten anything important.

By the end of the day I was nearly ready for bed. Taking that many important tests in one day must be inhumane somehow.

While walking home with Emily and Ethan, I decided that I should bring up what my dad and I had talked about the previous night.

"I talked to my dad about the concert last night," I said. "He wasn't sure if he could get you two tickets.

"Awww," Emily whined. "Are you saying we don't get to come to your first concert?"

"I don't know," I told her honestly. "He said he would try, but it sounds like there isn't any room. Even if he can get you in, we'd still have to figure out plane tickets and hotel rooms and stuff."

The two of them looked depressed at my words. I really felt bad about that. I wanted them to be there just as much as they wanted to come, but there wasn't anything I could do about it.

"Is your family going?" Emily asked.

"Yeah," I replied. "Josh has offered to let them watch from the VIP section he has for his family. It sounded like it will be crowded in there now."

We walked along in silence for a bit. I think they were disappointed, but not nearly as bad as they would have been if they found out about the concert after it had occurred.

"Oh, Emily," I remembered the other thing I needed to talk to her about. "My dad agreed that you deserve credit for helping with the songs. But we'll have to tell your parents about Sarah."

"Um, okay," she stammered. "How come?"

"I think it has something to do with parental consent or guardianship," I told her. "I'm sure you'll have to sign some papers, and that means having your parents' permission."

"What about the rest of the family?" she asked me. "What about Anna?"

I sighed. "Just your parents for now. I want to tell Anna, but I'm worried that she won't be able to keep the secret."

Emily nodded. Thankfully she didn't take my statement the wrong way. We both knew Anna well enough to know that she was a blabbermouth. It was hard for her to keep secrets, and we learned to be careful about what we said around her while growing up. This was one secret that couldn't get out.

"She's going to be mad, you know," Emily expressed her opinion. "Not just when she finds out, but when we start spending less time with her."

"I know," I replied. "We'll think of something. Hopefully we can trust her and tell her the secret at some point."

"So why is your dad telling everybody now?" Ethan asked. "I mean, he was pretty adamant about nobody knowing before Saturday."

"Yeah," I replied disdainfully. "But he's seen the error of his ways. I think he's realizing that I need support to pull this off. We can't do it alone."

"Who else knows?" he continued.

"My family, you two, Scott, and Aunt Judy," I answered. "I think that's it."

"What about Mary?" Emily asked.

"Oh, and Mary," I replied. "And Julia - I guess there are more people than I thought."

"Who's Julia?" Ethan inquired. I forgot that he hadn't met her yet.

"She's my image consultant," I told him. "She makes sure that Sarah looks good. She actually guessed the secret when I met her the first time. But she's known my dad for a while, so she can be trusted. Oh, and she signed a non-disclosure agreement. That was something I didn't think you two needed to do."

That brightened their mood somewhat.

"My parents are going to some work party tonight for my dad's law firm," Emily brought us back to the topic at hand. "But they should be available tomorrow if you want to tell them then."

"Okay," I said. "I'll tell my dad. He wanted to be there when I told them. And they should hear it from me, Emily. Don't let it slip."

She giggled, but I knew she wouldn't tell.

*  *  *

The rest of the night was pretty boring. Somehow I managed to spend some more time studying for the last of my finals, but I was pretty much studied out by the time I climbed into bed that night. I couldn't wait to get back to the music. At least that was fun to study.

Tuesday morning dawned clear and beautiful. It matched my mood as I dressed and joined Emily and Ethan for the last real day of school for the year. With only a day of yearbook signing tomorrow, the end of the school year was approaching quickly.

I once again managed to make it through the day without incident, and with hopefully good marks on the tests. With finals done, the risk of tormenting me had also passed. Rather than tempt fate, Emily, Ethan and I agreed to leave quickly.

I was pleasantly surprised when I saw Mom's car sitting in the car lot waiting for me.

"Hi, honey," Mom greeted me when I opened the door. "Hop in. We can give Emily and Ethan a ride home on the way to the doctor's office."

"Doctor's?" I asked with some confusion. I didn't know I had an appointment today.

"Yes," she replied while the three of us climbed in. "The doctor called about twenty minutes ago. She wants you to come into her office and get an ultrasound before we meet with her again on Friday."

"Is everything okay?" was my first and obvious question.

"She said it was," my mother tried to calm my rising concern as she pulled out of the school's parking lot.

"She said this was to confirm the results of the tests you took on Friday. It wasn't anything to be concerned about."

That was easy for her to say. Even if she was as calm as she looked, which I doubted, it wasn't enough to stop me from worrying.

*  *  *

---

Editor Note: The images used for this story were purchased and used under royalty-free license* from Istockphoto.com . ~Sephrena
Author Note: Please email me at AngelJediGirl (at) gmail (dot) com before posting this story to any other site. Posting to a pay site is prohibited.

Comments and suggestions are also welcome at the above email address.

*  *  *

Chapter 31 - Revelations

"Megan Campbell?" the nurse called out from where she was standing near the reception desk of the L.A. Gender Clinic.

I gulped, but stood up. I wasn't sure what they were looking for, and it was making me nervous.

"Come on back," the nurse said with a smile as I approached her. I looked over my shoulder to make sure that Mom was following me. There was no way I was doing this alone. I followed the nurse down the hall and into an exam room.

"Mrs. Campbell," the nurse said after we had entered. "You can take a seat on one of those chairs. Megan, I need you to take off your clothes and put on the gown lying on the exam bed. You may leave your underwear on for now."

For now? I didn't like the sound of that. Before I could ask for clarification, the nurse had already left the room.

With a lot of trepidation, I started to undress. There was a small curtain in one corner of the room that I could have used for modesty, but I wasn't really very worried about my mom seeing me in my underwear anymore. Once I had my clothes off and folded on a chair next to where my mom was sitting, I glanced over at her. She smiled a reassuring smile.

"You look beautiful, honey," she finally said. "You truly are my little girl."

I started to blush. I hid it by turning back to the examination bed and picking up the hospital gown. It was one of those lousy ones that tied in the back and did nothing to cover the backside. At least I was still wearing underwear to hide any unsuspecting looks.

We sat in silence for a few minutes before the nurse returned.

"Okay, Megan," she said while motioning for me to lie back on the bed. At the same time she pressed a button on the bed to lift the back up to meet me. Once I was in a semi-inclined position, the bed stopped rising.

"Have you ever had an ultrasound before?" she asked me while grabbing a cart and pulling it over to the bed before taking a seat on a wheeled stool.

"No," I told her honestly.

"Well," she replied with more cheer than I could muster. "Other than a little bit of pressure and the initial temperature of the gel, there really isn't anything uncomfortable to worry about."

She turned the monitor to face her, but in the process she positioned the monitor so that I couldn't see it.

"Do I get to see?" I asked. I was still nervous about what would be on the image, but I still wanted to see it.

"I'm afraid not," the nurse said with a slight frown. "The doctor has asked that I do not show you the results today. She doesn't want to worry you unnecessarily before your appointment on Friday."

That had the unfortunate and opposite effect of making me worried.

"My name is Stephanie, by the way," the nurse said as she lifted the gown up far enough to expose my abdomen. I guess it still provided some modesty, but I was left wondering why I had even put the gown on in the first place.

"We're doing a pelvic ultrasound today," Stephanie said. "I know this might be embarrassing for you, but it will give us a better picture of what's going on inside of that tummy of yours."

She gave me a reassuring smile, but that didn’t help at all.

"This next part might be uncomfortable for you, but remember, we're all girls here." Her smile this time did have me smiling back. It really felt nice when people said that. She then picked up a bottle from the cart, uncapped it, and started squirting a cold liquid onto my abdomen before starting to smear it around. At one point she pulled my panties down slightly, and I was afraid she was going to expose something, but she stopped short. When she was done, she picked up the thing that they always run across the bellies of pregnant women on TV.

"Alright," she said. "I need you to try to hold still. If you can keep your breaths shallow, it will help. If not, I might ask you to hold your breath for a bit. I'm just going to move this transducer around your tummy and stop at a few places."

"Okay," I said. I just wanted this to be over with.

She then started moving the transducer over different sections of my lower stomach. She'd pause every so often and press a key or two on the computer. I was a bit uncomfortable when she moved the transducer lower, but she was able to help control my anxiety through the process. I watched her, hoping to get some indication of what she was seeing, but her face stayed impassive for the next twenty minutes or so that it took to perform the ultrasound. Whatever she was finding, I wouldn't get to hear about it until Friday.

Eventually, she placed the transducer down and grabbed a towel.

"Good job, Megan," she said. "I think we have some really good images that the doctor will be pleased with."

She started to wipe up the goop that she had placed on my tummy earlier. After she had most of it off, she handed me a couple of wet wipes to finish off, leaving the more intimate areas to me, thank goodness.

"You're all set," she said while pushing the cart back and standing up. "The doctor will have your results by Friday. You're welcome to leave once you get dressed."

"Thank you," I said, even though I didn't know why I was thanking her.

She smiled and then left me to get dressed.

*  *  *

We were sitting in our front room with Emily and her parents a few hours later. Dad had invited them over for dessert, but hadn't told them why. Emily had kept her word and hadn't told them my secret either.

I helped Mom pass out the banana splits we had made to everyone while Dad started on the specifics.

"Have you two heard of Sarah Carerra?" he asked Dan and Sharon Prescott. I saw both of them nod before Emily's mom replied.

"Yes," she said. "She's that young new singer. Emily has been going on and on about her all weekend."

I almost dropped the bowl that I was handing to Emily, which led us both into giggles for a few moments. But it wasn't just my mishap that had caused our mirth. I knew how excited Emily was to learn of my alternate identity. I just hadn't expected her to go on and on about it.

"Sarah is one of my clients," Dad said. "Emily helped write a couple of her new songs, and Sarah wants to make sure that she is given both credit and her share of the proceeds."

Both of Emily's parents were startled by the news.

"You helped write some of her songs?" Dan asked his daughter with some skepticism. Emily nodded.

"Megan and Emily wrote the songs," my dad explained. "But Sarah is going to perform them. However, it's a bit more complicated than that."

Dad looked over at me as I grabbed my own bowl and sat down next to Emily. Emily's parents followed his gaze. I had wanted the words to come from me, and now I was being put on the spot.

"I'm Sarah Carerra," I told them bluntly. I didn't want to sugarcoat it at all. The looks I received in return from my revelation were of skepticism instead of understanding, so I explained. "We created Sarah as a way to keep my normal life separate from the fame that Sarah is going to receive. It's why my career was so secretive up until now. It's why I couldn't tell Emily."

"Why are you telling us now?" Dan asked.

"Like I said," Dad took over the speaking. "Sarah...Megan wants Emily to receive her share of the profits for the songs they wrote together. That will require a guardian’s signature to complete the paperwork. We wanted you to be aware of what's going on because we'll be using a pseudonym for Emily."

"Why a pseudonym?" Dan asked.

"We're trying to protect Megan's true identity as much as possible," Dad explained. "To allow Emily and Ethan to go to different events with Megan, we need to disguise them to keep anyone from making the connection between Sarah’s and Megan's friends."

Thankfully, both of Emily's parents nodded at the logic Dad was using. I was half-afraid that they wouldn't let Emily go through with this.

"What name did you choose?" Dan asked, directing his question at Emily.

"Chloe Carpenter," Emily responded. "It sounded somewhat starish, I guess."

Her dad nodded, then we slipped into an uncomfortable silence for a moment or two.

"Can we hear the songs?" Susan, Emily's mother, finally asked me. "Emily always said that you had a good voice, but I've never really heard you sing before. Megan, you sounded really good at church, but it isn't quite the same as hearing you sing alone."

"Yeah!" I said excitedly. I'd wanted to share my singing with them since they had brought it up over lunch the week before. Now I had the chance!

"Let me get my guitar," I said while I stood up and ran down the hall to Sarah's room, where my guitar case was being stored.

I retrieved it and walked back down the hall to the assembled group. I sat back down next to Emily and opened the case and pulled out my new pride and joy. I slung the shoulder strap over my neck and strummed the strings lightly. Before I started I looked up at the many people sitting around the room.

Susan looked very excited, Dan looked intrigued, Dad was smiling a knowing smile, Emily was beaming, and my mom...Mom was almost crying! It was then that I realized she hadn't heard me perform as Sarah. She hadn't come to any of our sessions at the record company, and I hadn't played the songs at all while at home.

She caught my gaze, and smiled widely as tears started to slide down her cheek. I smiled back warmly. I was going to take the time to play all of my songs for her sometime soon, perhaps even tonight. She deserved the chance to hear them.

"These two songs are kind of fairy tale-ish," I told them. "Emily and I wrote them about three months ago."

"Start with 'Ever After'," Emily said before I could start playing. Then she turned to her mom, "It's the good one."

"'Ever After' it is," I said with a smile. I then started strumming the guitar and started singing the song. It felt so good to be singing again. It felt so good to finally let other people hear my voice and not be ashamed by it. The realization that I had come to on Sunday was more than evident in my singing. I didn't have to hide my voice anymore.

About halfway through the song Austin walked into the room. He'd been hanging out in his room, but hearing my singing had caused him to come out and investigate. He sat down on the couch next to Mom with a large smile plastered across his face.

I continued to sing, returning his smile with one of my own. The song seemed to have everyone in the room entranced, myself included.

When the song ended, I could feel the rush flow through me that I had started to recognize as the joy I had in performing. The excitement and the emotion were all so much more tangible than it had ever been when I was Brett.

"That was awesome, Megan!" Austin was the first to speak. He hadn't ever really heard me sing either. His compliment brought another smile to my lips. "When did you get that guitar? It's pretty cool."

"Thanks," I told him. "Dad bought it for me last Thursday."

"Sarah bought it herself," Dad interceded before Austin could complain about not getting anything expensive. That clarification made me frown. I thought it was a present from him, not something that was bought with my earnings.

"The song was lovely, Megan," Susan Prescott said. "You really do have a beautiful voice."

"Thank you," I replied, but I could feel the beginning of another blush.

I continued to sing some of my songs for them for the next half hour or so. It was great to be able to share this part of my life with the people I cared most about. If only Ethan had been there, it would have been perfect.

By the end of the night, I had sung all of the songs for them, except for the cover of Rock Star. They had nothing but praise for me, but perhaps that was to be expected from family. I was sure there was still plenty I could improve on.

Falling asleep that night was easy after they had poured so much of their love into me.

*  *  *

I was nervous walking to school the next day. Finals were over, and I didn't know what that would mean for me regarding the harassment I had been receiving. The threat of being suspended without being able to take the finals was no longer there to prevent others from doing something to me. It was either going to be a very bad day, or a very good one.

"Are you guys coming this afternoon?" I asked Emily and Ethan while we walked. We hadn't talked about them coming, but they knew I was meeting my choreographer.

"I can't," Ethan said while frowning. "My mom is checking me out early. We're going up to my uncle's this evening."

I nodded. Ethan's family often made the long, two-hour drive up to his extended family's house.

"What about you, Emily?" I asked.

"I don't know," she said. "I want to go to a couple of classes after lunch and get my teachers to sign my yearbook. But I really, really, want to come with you too."

"It might be boring today," I tried to tell her. "I don't know what I'm going to be doing with the choreographer."

"Mom said she would drive me down later if I wanted to come after classes," she said hopefully.

"That would work," I told her. "I don't know exactly where it is, but I'm sure we could get the address from my dad."

"Sounds like a plan," she said while smiling.

*  *  *

Yearbook day was one of the best days of the school year. No pop quizzes, no assignments, no teacher lectures, just people hanging around signing each other’s yearbooks.

We still had to go to class though. They passed the yearbooks out during first period, and other than free time at lunch, we only got to see the people in our classes throughout the day. Luckily, I got to leave at the end of lunch to meet my choreographer.

I had no problems getting to my first period class. I did get a couple of dirty looks from a couple of football players, but they didn't try anything. They seemed to be even more upset with me since the incident with Jared. I was certain they blamed me for the whole thing, but nobody else had tried to do anything to me. I hoped that streak continued throughout the day.

Ms. Carson was happy to sign my yearbook. She really seemed to be friendly to me since Friday's incident. Most of the other students were the same way. It felt weird to be writing messages to the people I'd known throughout the school year and signing them as Megan, but at the same time it also felt right.

Second, third, and fourth period also went by without a hitch. I was signing more yearbooks than I had ever done in previous years. I'd apparently made a big impression on people with my change, and they wanted to remember me, for better or worse.

When lunch started, I managed to stop by the classrooms of a couple of teachers whom I wanted to get to sign my yearbook. Even Coach Madsen had been willing to sign it.

Dad was picking me up just before the end of lunch, so I had enough time to find some of my friends whom I wanted to have sign my yearbook before I had to leave. I also had enough time to grab some lunch. After getting my food, I sat down next to Emily at our usual table. She immediately grabbed my yearbook and I grabbed hers. The yearbooks then continued to be passed around the table until our small group of friends had time to sign each one. I even had a few others come up to me and ask for me to sign their yearbooks while we ate.

Toward the end of lunch, when I was getting ready to meet my dad in the office, I noticed Paul Johnson nervously looking at me from where he was sitting at another table. Paul had been my lab partner in biology last semester. He wasn't the most social person, and it had taken most of the semester to get him to finally open up to me. I liked Paul, but we hadn't really seen each other much after biology had ended. I did have a good idea of why he was hesitant to talk to me, though.

"I'll make sure my dad gives your mom the address," I said to Emily as I stood up. She nodded back to me and I grabbed my bag and empty tray and walked over to the table that Paul was sitting at.

"Hi, Paul," I told him while sitting down across from him. "Will you sign my yearbook?"

I handed him my yearbook, but he looked like he was going to have a heart attack just taking it from my hands.

"Paul," I said with a genuine smile. He looked at me, and I had the sudden thought that he might just throw up if he tried to talk. "It's me, you don't have to be scared to talk to me, okay. We got past that last semester, remember?"

He nodded, and he started to look better, but he was still shaking slightly.

"Is it because I'm a girl now?" I asked him. He nodded and dropped his eyes. Paul had admitted to me that he was scared of girls. He choked up every time he tried to talk to them. He was a really nice guy, but no girl had ever been given the chance to know him because he couldn't communicate with them. "I'm still the same person, Paul. Don't think of me as a girl. Think of me as a friend."

"But you're so beautiful," he finally managed to speak. Immediately I started to blush, which only served to make him embarrassed on top of the discomfort he was already feeling.

"Thank you, Paul," I reassured him. "But you don't have to be afraid to talk to me, okay? We're friends, and I'll be there for you if you need anything."

Paul really needed a good friend. He'd come to me a few times since the end of the last semester when he needed someone to talk to, and I didn't want that to stop just because I was Megan now. I felt bad enough that I couldn't do more for him, but being his friend would have to suffice.

"Will you sign my yearbook?" I asked him a second time. This time he smiled. I think he was happy to still call me his friend, and I hoped he could learn to get past the changes that I had gone through.

"Only if you sign mine," he said.

I smiled and picked his yearbook up and flipped through it to where my picture was located. It of course still listed me as Brett, since they were printed long before last Monday, but I had made sure to cross it out and write Megan for any book that I had signed. The funny thing was that the picture was actually a picture of Megan. Sure, I was Brett at the time it was taken, but I didn't see him in the picture, I could only see me. It seemed fitting to me.

With care, I wrote 'I'll always be there when you need me,' and signed it 'Megan'.

*  *  *

"Hi Dad," I said when I entered the main office a few minutes later.

"Hi, Princess," he replied. "Are you ready to go?"

"Almost," I told him. "I was hoping to get Principal Hall to sign my yearbook first."

"He's in his office if you'd like to ask," the secretary helpfully interrupted.

"Okay," I said and walked over to the Principal's door. I gave it a light knock, not sure if this was a good idea or not. After a moment or two, the door opened and the principal was standing there.

"Hi, um, Principal Hall," I stammered.

"Hi, Megan," he responded with a grin that helped to put me at ease. "What can I do for you?"

I lifted up my yearbook for him to see. "I was hoping you'd sign my yearbook?"

He took the proffered book and stepped back into his office, where he grabbed another book and a pen off of his desk.

"Only if you sign mine," he said with an even larger smile. This one wasn’t forced.

"It would be my pleasure," I replied with a smile matching his own.

*  *  *

---

Editor Note: The images used for this story were purchased and used under royalty-free license* from Istockphoto.com . ~Sephrena
Author Note: Please email me at AngelJediGirl (at) gmail (dot) com before posting this story to any other site. Posting to a pay site is prohibited.

Comments and suggestions are also welcome at the above email address.

*  *  *

Chapter 32 - Can I Have This Dance?

I was very nervous standing in the lobby of the ActiveLife Dance and Fitness Center. It was a large facility just outside of Beverly Hills that seemed to be designed specifically for well paid choreographers and physical trainers to set up shop with a high-paying clientele. Kate Abernathy, my new choreographer, had her own dance studio in the building.

Dad had said that he had taken care of everything, and that there was nothing to worry about. But that wasn't enough to overcome the nervousness that I felt as I stared at the door to the women's locker room while he signed me in at the reception desk.

"Sarah," he said, startling me from my own thoughts. I turned back toward the desk. "You need to sign this."

He slid a sign-in sheet toward me and I picked up the pen on top and signed my name.

"Thank you," the receptionist told me with a fake smile. "If you will follow Brittany, she'll show you to your locker."

"Okay," I replied. I lifted the pink and white gym bag that Julia and I had picked out from the floor and onto my shoulder before turning to Brittany. She was standing next to the reception desk. She was a couple of years older than I was, maybe even graduating sometime this week. She opened her mouth to say something, but we were interrupted by my dad.

"Sarah," he said, and I turned to face him. "I've got a couple of other clients I need to check in on. I'll be back to pick you up, okay?"

"Okay," I said with a nod for emphasis. He gave me a smile and turned to head for the entrance. I turned back to Brittany.

"If you'll follow me, Ms. Carerra," she said and motioned with her arm toward the door to the locker room. I nervously followed behind her.

The locker room looked brand new. I knew it was a few years old, but it appeared to be well maintained. I felt slightly out of place as I was led past a number of rows of lockers where women of various ages were in different stages of dressing. But a quick glance from them to me before they continued to go about their business was enough to make me feel like I belonged.

Brittany led me over to one of the walls, where there were six doors labeled 1-6. I had apparently been assigned door number four, since she stopped right in front of it.

"This will be your private changing room for today," she said while handing me a key. "The door is always locked from this side. Make sure you have the key with you when you leave. After you're finished changing, I'll meet you outside that door."

She pointed to a door at the far end of the wall.

"Thank you," I told her.

"No prob," she said with a smile before turning and heading for the door she had mentioned.

I took a deep breath and turned toward the door in front of me. I inserted the key into the lock and turned it. With a push, the door opened easily. On the inside was a room I had definitely not expected. It was a square about ten feet wide and ten feet long. The color was primarily white, but small splashes of pink could be seen all throughout the room, making it feel very feminine. In the back left corner was a shower stall and a toilet. The rest of the wall was filled with a large mirror and a sink. The left wall contained a number of large lockers. There was a comfortable looking bench in front of them. On the right was a soft looking sofa. The whole room was well lit and immaculately clean. I guess it was the type of room a rock star would expect to change in when she went to the gym - private and well appointed. At least nobody would find out my secret in here.

I set my bag down on the bench and opened one of the lockers. There was plenty of room to store everything inside, and I started to undress until I was in my underwear, hanging up my clothes inside the locker. I then turned toward the gym bag.

Julia and I had picked out some workout clothes for me during our shopping spree. I pulled a pair of black yoga pants and a white tee with a pink, glittery star across the front from the bag. It once again looked simple, but had a bit of glam to it. At least it looked like it would be comfortable to move around in.

After getting dressed, I took a look in the mirror. It was weird to see Sarah dressed down like this. She was always so glam and glitzy. It was odd to see another side of her, of me.

I figured I'd better not keep Brittany waiting, and with key in hand, I exited the small locker room, walked down toward the door that she had gone through, and found her waiting for me in a comfortable lounge area on the other side.

"Ready?" she asked unnecessarily as she stood up. I nodded, and she motioned to a hallway off one side of the lounge. "Kate's studio is down this way."

I followed her down the hall to a door with 'Kate Abernathy' stenciled across it. Smiling, Brittany knocked on the door and then turned and walked away, leaving me nervously waiting for someone to answer.

The door opened quickly, and a tall, skinny woman with long black hair and slightly Asian features was standing there with a smile on her face. She looked to be in her early thirties.

"Sarah?" she asked me. I nodded, and her smile broadened. "Pleased to meet you, I'm Kate Abernathy. Come in."

She stepped back and opened the door for me to enter. Inside was what I would call a typical dance studio. It was well decorated and seemed to be quite modern. The far wall was lined with plate glass windows that looked out on the many fountains and flowers that made up the garden behind the Center. The wall to my left, which was longer than the far wall, was covered in mirrors and had a bar running the length. The wall to my right was a soft pink, and was fairly devoid of decoration to allow the dancers to see themselves easily in the mirror.

"Have you ever had any dance training?" she asked me while motioning for me to take a seat on a comfortable looking chair just inside the door. She was already falling into a chair opposite it.

"No," I told her while taking a seat in the chair she had indicated. "I'm a bit scared, actually."

She laughed lightly. The tinkling sound of her laughter had a way of putting me at ease almost immediately.

"Don't worry," she said. "I could teach a trucker to dance ballet if needed. We'll get you in shape for your concert quickly."

While her words seemed boastful, they didn't come across that way. She was trying to instill confidence in me, and somehow it was working. I hoped that she was telling the truth. I'd never really done any sort of dancing before.

"I'd like to start by getting to know you," Kate continued. "Scott said that he would like me to be your choreographer in the future if I'm available, and I like to get to know my clients before I make that type of commitment. Is that okay with you?"

"Yes," I replied. "What would you like to know?"

We spent the next twenty minutes getting to know each other. I told her as much as I could about Sarah and her life, and she told me more about herself. Her father was American, but her mother was Japanese. She grew up in San Diego, where she started dancing at an early age and fell in love with it immediately. She moved up to L.A. when she graduated high school to try out for a dance company, which she danced with for seven years before starting her own choreography and dance business. She truly loved what she did for a living.

"Alright," she said after we both were starting to feel comfortable with each other. "Are you ready to get started?"

"I guess," I replied. The nervousness I had originally felt when entering her studio had returned.

"Don't worry, Sarah," she said with a comforting smile. "We aren't doing anything difficult today. You'll catch on quickly."

She stood up, and I did the same.

"Stand on that x," she told me, pointing to a small x that had been made with tape on the floor. As I moved toward it, she stepped over to another door and opened it. On the other side I saw a small storage room. She entered the room briefly and then returned with a microphone stand, of all things. She brought it over to where I was standing and placed it in front of me.

"Sing for me," she said. I stood there confused for a minute, but she just smiled before walking over to the sound system. With a push of a button, 'Intuition' started to fill the air inside the studio. She walked back over to where I was standing, a twinkle in her eye.

I started singing. I wasn't quite sure why she wanted me to sing, but it was definitely better than dancing, in my opinion. I let the music flow through me, and gave her a small mini concert. Once 'Intuition' was over, 'Pop Princess' started to play. I knew then that she had access to my music, because the song had not yet been released to the public.

"Pull the mic out of the stand this time," she said, and I pulled the microphone from the stand and sang the song into it.

When the song finished this time, she walked over to the sound system and turned it off.

"Good," she said. "I told you this would be easy."

"Huh?" I asked, confused. I hadn't done anything yet.

"I wanted to see what you would do while you sang," she explained. "You're already most of the way to where I was hoping we could get you before Saturday."

"Oh," I said, completely surprised. I hadn't really been thinking about what I had been doing while I sang.

"Try to be aware of what you are doing this time," Kate said while turning the music back on. This time 'I Just Wanna Have Fun' started playing.

We continued in that format for the next several hours, with a short break around 4:00. Eventually, Kate had me try and change the natural movements that I had been making while I sang. She told me that she didn't want to change much. She was just looking to refine how I already moved, making it flow better while I was on the stage. By making me more conscious of what I was doing while on stage, I was taking the first step in preparing for the more advanced choreography she had agreed to provide for a later date. For now, this would have to do for Saturday.

By 5:30, I was exhausted. I wasn't really doing much 'dancing' while I sang. We were focusing more on what I should do with my arms and my body while I stood with the microphone. She did have me walk around the room a bit to show me how to add some movement around the stage, but it wasn't very difficult. It was just a lot of movement.

"Let's stop there," Kate thankfully said. "I think you're ready for Saturday. How do you feel?"

"Exhausted," I told her. "But I think I’ve got it."

"Good," she replied. "You're a quick learner, and you listen to feedback well. I wish more of my students would listen like you do. It would make my job a lot easier."

I smiled at her. She walked over to the chairs we had sat in earlier and picked up a towel and threw it to me.

"Thanks," I said while catching it and trying to dry myself off a bit.

"I'd like you to think about taking one of my dance classes," she said. "You seem to have good dance instincts, but you could use some training."

I nodded my interest, but a knock on the studio door interrupted us before I could reply. Kate stepped over to the door and opened it. Brittany was standing outside, and behind her was an unmistakable redhead.

"Sorry to interrupt, Ms. Kate," Brittany started.

"Chloe!" I interrupted her. "You made it!"

"Finally," Emily said from behind Brittany. "My mom got stuck with a client and I didn't have a ride down."

Emily's mom worked at an art dealership near our homes. She often would have to run in to work when one of her clients would come in looking for something new.

"Unfortunately," Kate spoke. "I think we're done for the day."

"Aww, man," Emily said. "I knew I was going to miss it."

"If you'll excuse me," Brittany said before turning and walking away, letting Emily into the studio.

"Chloe Carpenter, meet Kate Abernathy, my choreographer," I said, introducing them.

"A pleasure to meet you," Kate said.

"Likewise," Emily replied. "I just wish I could have been here earlier."

"You didn't miss much," Kate tried to console her. "Sarah is a natural, and we got through it pretty fast."

Fast? That was four hours of hard work! I wanted to go home and take a nap!

"Thanks for coming," I told Emily. "I'm glad you're here."

"If you'll excuse me," Kate said in a tone that indicated the end of our session. "I've got another class at 7:00, and I'd like to grab some dinner first."

"Of course," I said and followed her out of the studio. "Thank you, Kate."

"It was my pleasure, Sarah," she replied. "I'll see you again next time."

With a small wave, she headed down the hallway opposite the dressing room. I started walking the other way.

"I'm sorry you missed it," I told Emily as we entered the locker room. "Tomorrow will be more fun anyway."

"Still..." she said, and I had to agree. It was her first chance to enter into Sarah's world, and she had missed it. "Mom said she'd go to the school for me tomorrow and turn in my books to make up for it. I can come down to the studio with you."

"That's great!" I told her.

I inserted the key into door four and entered the room, holding it open for Emily. She stepped in behind me.

"You get your own changing room?" she asked in awe while looking around.

"Awesome, isn't it?" I replied. She nodded and continued to look around.

"I guess you really are a rock star," she said.

"Um," I started. I wasn't sure how to broach this subject. "I think my dad did it so that I could change without being worried someone would see, you know."

Emily looked confused for a moment before I pointed down. A look of understanding lit her face and she started to giggle. Perhaps she had forgotten I wasn't completely female yet.

"I'm going to take a short shower," I told her. "That was really a workout. My dad should be here in fifteen minutes or so. Do you want to wait here or in the lobby?"

She thought about that question. Basically, I had just told her that I was comfortable changing around her, but she also knew that I was...different than her. In response, Emily sat down on the couch. She was just as determined to show me that she was comfortable with my body the way it was now, not the way it would be in the future (I hoped).

In response to her actions, I started undressing and placing my dirty clothes back into the gym bag to take home to be washed. When I was down to bra and panties, I looked over at Emily. She was staring at me with the same amazement she had shown at the beach last week.

I slipped off my bra, and she gasped. I knew what she was thinking. Here I was, up until a few weeks ago her male friend, sporting breasts that could only be found on a member of the fairer sex.

"Wow," she said. "You really must be a girl."

I slipped off my panties. Personally, I agreed with her, but my body didn't.

"Where's your thingy?" she asked with confusion. I looked down. It was right there. She stood up and stepped closer to get a better look. "That's all you've got?"

I sighed. It wasn't like I wanted more than that, but if she couldn't even see it from across the room, I guess I really had come home from that hospital as a girl.

*  *  *

I wanted to go straight to my room and lie down when I got home, but after walking in from the garage I knew that rest was not on the agenda for the evening. The sound of a baby crying was filtering throughout the house. Why on earth was there a baby in my house?

I walked through the kitchen toward the front room. Emily was right behind me.

"Megan?" I heard my mom say. "Is that you?"

"Yeah," I said while turning the corner into the front room. There Mom was holding...

"Heather!" I said excitedly and hurried over to where my mom was sitting on the couch. I reached down and took the baby that she was holding out for me.

The beautiful little infant stopped crying almost instantly as I cradled her in my arms.

"Thank heavens," Mom said. "She's been crying for 45 minutes."

"Aww," I said looking down at her smiling face. "There's nothing to cry about any more, is there?"

I tickled her tiny nose with my finger and she broke out in giggles, bringing a joyous smile to my own face.

"I need to run," Mom interrupted our fun. "I'm supposed to be meeting Judy, but now I'm going to be late. Will you be okay with Heather?"

"You're leaving her with me?" I panicked! I'd never been a babysitter before! Neither had Emily! I didn't know how to take care of a baby!

"Tracy got called into work and Mark is out of town," Mom said. Mark was Tracy's husband. He was a pharmaceutical rep and was in Chicago for some conference, if I remembered correctly. "She thought you would be a great babysitter."

"I'm exhausted," I told my mom honestly. "I've been dancing for the last four hours."

She smiled a knowing smile. I didn't like it.

"It'll be good practice for when you have your own children," she said. "When you're a mother, you're always a mother, no matter what time it is or how tired you are."

I grimaced. This was not the night that I wanted to learn a lesson like that.

"Spare diapers are in the bag by the couch, Tracy left some milk in the fridge," Mom continued to explain. "If you have any questions, ask your father. He's done this before."

Before I could say another word she stepped into the kitchen, kissed my dad goodbye, grabbed her purse, and rushed into the garage. I was left standing there with a giggling bundle of joy.

Emily's laughter had me glaring at her.

"It's kind of funny," she defended herself.

"Good," I said. "You can hold her while I change."

I thrust Heather into Emily's arms and quickly ran down the hall into Sarah's room. I'd only managed to get the first pin out of my wig before Heather broke out into a wail.

*  *  *

"There you go," I said while closing the last tab of Heather's new diaper and then giving her a kiss on the forehead. "All better."

"See," Dad said from over my shoulder. "I told you that you wouldn't need my help. You're a natural."

I don't know about that. It didn't seem like changing a diaper was that hard, but I still hadn't had any idea what to do before I called him in to guide me through the process. He refused to do any of it himself, but he did tell me what I needed to do next. The only positive side was that Emily had gone home to eat dinner and wasn't there to laugh at me.

But Heather filled her spot, laughing merrily as I picked her up and placed her on my hip. The sound rang straight through my heart and tickled something I'd never felt before. Despite how tired I was, I truly was glad that Tracy had left Heather in my care for the evening.

"Dinner is almost ready," Dad told me and walked out of the front room and into the kitchen. He was reheating the pasta that Mom had made earlier for us to eat while she spent the evening out with her sister.

"Ok," I replied to no one in particular, since he was no longer in ear shot.

The front door opened while I was standing there, and Austin and the four friends who had spent the night at our house last week came walking in. He looked at me in shock.

"What are you doing with a baby?!" he screamed!

"Shhh!" I shot back and tried to cover Heather's ear with my free hand, and pulling her head closer to my body to cover the other ear. Thankfully, Austin shut up immediately. "I'm babysitting. What does it look like?"

"Who would be stupid enough to trust you with a baby?" he asked. I was ready to slap him.

"Ha, ha," I said instead.

"Dinner's ready," Dad said, stepping back into the front room. He noticed Austin and grimaced slightly. Dad did not like feeding the neighborhood, even though Mom always made enough food to accomplish such a task.

"Can my friends stay?" Austin asked immediately. Dad sighed.

"I guess," he said in reply. "Just make sure everybody else gets enough to eat before you guys go back for seconds."

"Alright!" Austin exclaimed and led his friends into the kitchen. It was my turn to sigh, which caused Dad to chuckle before he too returned to the kitchen.

"I guess we’d better hurry if we want to eat, huh?" I said to Heather as I placed her into her car seat. She looked like she was going to start to get fussy for being put down, but a smile from me seemed to be enough to calm her down as I picked up the car seat and headed for the kitchen.

As I expected, Austin had claimed the seat I wanted.

"Austin, can I sit there please?" I asked as sweetly as I could. "I'd like to keep Heather out of the line of traffic."

He frowned, but a look from Dad convinced him to accommodate me, and he got up and moved to the other side of the table.

"Thank you," I told him with a smile as I placed Heather down at the foot of the table, in a corner of the room that would keep her from being bumped at all. She stared up at me with wide eyes.

Dinner was excellent, as always. It once again reminded me that I needed to ask my mom for some cooking lessons. Conversation was light. I think Dad wanted to ask about how the choreography went, but it was a conversation we couldn't have with Austin's friends at the table.

Austin's friends...the one downside to dinner. They really weren't bad, but they wouldn't stop looking at me. I'd changed into a pair of jeans and a red top that had a slightly lower neckline after getting home. I didn't expect to be on display when I came home, but I caught more than one of them trying to slip a glimpse in while I ate. It only served to remind me that they had actually caught a glimpse of my breasts last week when Austin had pulled his stupid stunt. I tried to ignore them, but they didn't make it easy. They'd apparently gotten better at whispering too, because I couldn't hear what they were saying this time.

After dinner, I helped Dad clean up while the boys ran into the front room and turned on the TV. Shortly thereafter, the sounds of Austin's X-box were filling the room.

*  *  *

"He means well," Dad said while showing me how to warm up Heather's milk a few minutes later. Austin had just screamed after winning whatever game they were playing, causing Heather to whine slightly louder than she had been since I stepped away from her to help Dad clean up.

After the bottle was ready, I took it and Heather into the front room to watch what they were doing. Sitting on Dad's favorite chair, I watched as they played some type of racing game while feeding Heather her bottle. She seemed so peaceful.

"Will you play your guitar for us?" Austin asked me out of the blue.

"What?" the question had caught me off guard.

"Will you play us something on your guitar?" he asked again. I realized that all five of them were looking at me. I'd been so busy watching Heather that I hadn't even heard them turn off the TV.

Initially, I was going to say no. I couldn't play them one of my songs. Doing that would have given away my secret. But the pleading look in Austin's eyes made me want to do something for him. I could easily play something else that Sarah would never sing.

"Okay," I told him. "But I need to finish feeding Heather first."

He seemed really excited, and they sat there and watched me as I burped her and then put her back into her car seat. She was already starting to doze off, and it broke my heart to leave her for the short time that it took for me to retrieve my guitar from Sarah's room.

When I returned, she was fast asleep.

"What do you guys want to hear?" I asked them while taking the guitar out of its case.

"Do you know that new song by Sarah Carerra?" one of the boys asked.

I almost laughed, because the look on Austin's face when he realized that this could blow my cover was priceless.

"I know of the song," I told the boy. "But I don't know how to play it," I lied. I'd taken the time to learn it since Scott had given me the sheet music.

"What about 'You Belong With Me' - can you play that one?" Alex, the boy who had gone to church with us last week, asked.

"Taylor Swift, huh?" I asked suspiciously. He blushed, but I had to give him credit for picking a good song. "Now you’re talking about my kind of music."

I checked on Heather before starting. She still seemed to be sleeping, and I hoped that the song wouldn't be loud enough to wake her.

I turned back to the gathered crowd and started strumming the guitar. This was actually a fun song to play, and I already knew that I could sing her songs pretty well. Austin and his friends looked on mesmerized as I sang the song. I became upset when Dad rushed into the room in a panic. Obviously, he was panicking because I was singing for them, but I wasn't going to stop just because I didn't have my wig on.

I continued to play, despite the frown he was giving me. When the song ended, all of Austin's friends were clapping and telling me how good I was.

"Play another!" someone said, but the doorbell prevented that from happening. Dad stepped over to the door and opened it to reveal Tracy standing there in her scrubs.

"Hi," she said looking at the gathered crowd. Spying me with the guitar, she looked around to find Heather. I pointed to the car seat at my side, and she calmed down. I set the guitar back in its case and picked up the car seat and walked it over to the door.

"Hi, Tracy," I said with a smile. "She's been a little angel all evening."

"You didn't mind watching her then?" Tracy asked. "I'm sorry to spring it on you like this, but I wasn't expecting to get called into work and nobody else was available."

"I didn't mind," I told her truthfully.

"She did great," Dad pitched in. "She's a natural."

I felt myself blushing again.

"Unfortunately," Tracy said. "I left my checkbook at home. Can I pay you tomorrow?"

"How about we go to lunch sometime instead?" I asked her. "If you bring Heather with you, we can call it even."

"You don't want the money?" she asked incredulously.

"Well," I replied with a quick glance at my father. "I don't really need it."

I was getting too close to the truth here, and I knew it. Dad's grunt was an unneeded reminder.

Tracy looked at me with confusion for a moment before speaking. "It's a deal then."

"Thanks, Tracy," I told her. I really meant it too. She had always been one of my favorite cousins, even if she was five years older than me. I always had fun when she was around.

"I have to work the rest of the week. How about I call you on Monday and we can set something up," she said and I nodded my approval. "Thank you for watching her for me."

"It was my pleasure," I replied as she stepped back out the door. We said goodbye and I watched as she strapped Heather's seat into her car and drove away.

I felt a bit empty inside when she, with Heather, had driven out of sight.

*  *  *

---

Editor Note: The images used for this story were purchased and used under royalty-free license* from Istockphoto.com . ~Sephrena
Author Note: Please email me at AngelJediGirl (at) gmail (dot) com before posting this story to any other site. Posting to a pay site is prohibited.

Comments and suggestions are also welcome at the above email address.

*  *  *

Chapter 33 - I'm With the Band

I was still tired the following morning, and I knew that it was going to be a long day. We were scheduled to practice from 9:00 in the morning until about 6:00 that night. Tomorrow would be just as bad. I started with my doctor's appointment at 8:30 in the morning, followed by meeting with Julia at 10:00 and then meeting the band in the studio at noon for more practice until 5:00 in the evening.

After my shower, I stepped into Sarah's room instead of my own to get dressed. I slipped into a pair of jeans and a white tee with a glittery design that Julia considered glam on the front when the doorbell rang. I figured it was either Emily or Ethan, both of whom were coming to the studio with me, but I wasn't going to risk answering it half dressed in Sarah's clothes.

A moment later there was a knock on Sarah's door, and I stepped over to open it. Both Emily and Ethan were standing there, or more specifically, Chloe and Xander.

"Good morning," I told them as they entered the room. "I'm just about ready. Have you had breakfast yet?"

Ethan nodded, but Emily shook her head.

"No," Emily added. "But your mom was making something that smelled really good."

"Well, you can go get some if you'd like, I just need to finish dressing and put on my wig."

"We can wait," Emily said with a smile before she sank down on the couch. Ethan sat down beside her.

"Alright," I said and stepped back over to my closet.

I looked at the many jewelry pieces on display and decided on some bangles for my wrist and a matching necklace. They offset the design on the tee perfectly. I then stepped out of the closet and over to the vanity. With a practiced hand, I pulled my hair up and started pinning it to the top of my head. Once that was done I turned to the armoire, opened it, and retrieved the wig. Turning back to the mirror at the vanity, I placed it on my head and started pinning it into place.

When I first started doing this, I couldn't pin the wig myself. It was hard to see properly while I tried and it was often apparent that I was wearing a wig after I was done. But with the necessity to be able to do it myself, I had practiced enough times that it was starting to become second nature.

I then turned to the makeup spread across the vanity. I heard Emily groan when she realized I still had to do my makeup, but it didn't take me too long to finish and then usher her into the kitchen to get her food. I was hungry myself.

Austin was sitting at the counter when we entered, and he looked surprised when we sat down next to him. I realized then that he hadn't really seen me dressed up as Sarah before.

"You look amazing, Megan," he told me with a smidgen of awe in his voice.

"Thank you," I told him with a grin. "But my name is Sarah."

"Right, Sarah, that's what I meant," he said and then immediately turned red with embarrassment.

"No problem, Austin," I said with a chuckle. "Do you want to come down to the studio with us? I'm sure you could pretend to be hanging out with Dad."

"I can't," he said longingly. "I promised Derek and Andrew I'd go to the beach with them. Besides, I get to see you in concert on Saturday, anyway."

I winced. The last thing Emily and Ethan needed was a reminder that they might not get to see the concert. I'd have to ask Dad if he was able to get them tickets.

After eating and cleaning up, we followed Dad out to his car, and we were off to the studio for Emily and Ethan's first foray into Sarah's life.

*  *  *

"Any luck getting tickets for Emily and Ethan, Dad?" I asked him while he drove us to the studio. I was really hoping he would say yes to my question.

"I'm afraid not," he said while frowning. "I know how much you want them to be there, honey, but it doesn't look like it's going to be possible this time."

I frowned. That wasn’t good news. I turned and looked at my two friends sitting in the back seat of Dad's car. They smiled at me, but I knew inside they were disappointed.

*  *  *

"Good morning, Sarah," Scott greeted us in the reception area of the studio when we walked in. He then nodded to my dad. "Don."

"Morning, Scott," I replied, Dad nodded at him. "I hope you don't mind, I brought a couple of friends today. They were the ones who got me to sing at your party."

"Oh," Scott said with enthusiasm. "Then they are friends of mine."

"This is Chloe Carpenter," I told him while pointing to Emily. I then turned to Ethan. "And this is Xander Dailey."

"It's a pleasure to meet both of you," Scott said while shaking each of their hands in turn. "I am in your debt for bringing such a wonderful singer to my attention."

"I'm just happy you liked her voice," Emily said. Scott smiled back at her.

"If you guys will follow me, I'll introduce you to the band," he said. I nodded and he turned to walk toward one of the studios, with me following right behind him.

I was excited. This was kind of like Christmas. I'd never had my own band before! Granted, it wasn't my band, but they were going to be backing me up, and that was cool.

We entered one of the sound studios, where three guys were in the studio itself and two girls were sitting on the couch in the control room. They all stopped talking when we entered, and looked at me. The three guys walked into the control room a moment later.

"Ladies and gentleman, meet Sarah Carerra," Scott introduced me.

"Hi everyone," I said with a small wave and a friendly smile. There was a chorus of greetings around the room before Scott turned toward the three men.

"Sarah, this is the band 'Pop Fly'. They are the musicians who provided the instrument tracks for your songs."

Scott then pointed at a tall, muscular guy in his early 20's with short, sandy blonde hair and green eyes. He was dressed fashionably and was very good looking. He was also wearing some kind of cologne that was tickling my nose.

"This is Jason Olson," Scott said. "Band leader and lead guitar."

"Pleased to meet you," Jason said with a smile that started to melt my insides. I managed to hold in my giggle and returned his smile.

"The pleasure is mine, I'm sure," I said. But then I started blushing again, which got a chuckle out of the band.

"Connor Christiansen, bass guitar," Scott continued the introductions by pointing to another muscular guy in his early 20's. This one had brown hair and violet eyes. I hadn't ever really noticed guys’ eyes before, but these two men had amazing eyes.

"Hi," Connor said and extended his hand. I took it and he gave my hand a small shake.

"Hi," I replied.

"And last but not least, Stacy Miller, drums," Scott said while pointing at the smaller band member. He was smaller, but it was all relative. He still looked like he worked out a lot and was very fit. Stacy had black hair with piercing, gray eyes. I wasn't sure if I had ever seen gray eyes before, and they looked very exotic.

"Pleased to meet you, Sarah," he said while extending his hand. This time when I went to shake his hand, he instead pulled my hand forward and kissed the back of my hand. He'd also found a way to make me blush, causing another chuckle from the band.

"At least we know you aren't an uptight diva now," Jason said, causing the band to laugh outright. It also got me laughing along with both Ethan and Emily. Scott managed to chuckle before turning toward the couch. I followed him and turned toward the two girls who had been sitting there. They were now standing, and it looked like they had been laughing along with us.

"Sarah," Scott said once our mirth had died down. "This is Sophie Lund and this is Holly Anderson. They will be providing harmony and backing vocals."

"Hi," the two girls said, almost in unison. Both girls appeared to be a couple of years older than me, maybe 18 or 19. Sophie was a beautiful brunette with dark eyes and she was wearing gorgeous clothes. She looked slightly sophisticated, but also down to earth at the same time. Holly was more of a mousy woman. Her brown hair was quite a bit lighter than Sophie's, and looked limp in comparison. But she still looked attractive and had an infectious smile that lit up her entire face.

"Hello," I replied, still smiling. Before I could say anything else, Scott spoke again.

"Good," he said. "Now that everyone has been introduced, shall we get started?"

I heard Ethan grunt from behind me. Scott turned to him and looked surprised for a moment. It was obvious that he had forgotten about him and Emily.

"Oh," I said in Scott's silence. "Everybody, these two are Chloe and Xander, my best friends."

There was another chorus of greetings before Scott spoke again. "Okay, let's run through a couple of the songs and see how we do. Everyone should know their parts. You've all done this before. All you need to do now is work together."

That description made it sound a lot easier than I thought it would be.

"Everybody take your positions," Scott continued. "Chloe and um..."

"Xander," Ethan supplied, frowning slightly.

"Xander," Scott repeated. "You stay out here with me."

"Be good," I said in a warning tone while looking at Emily and Ethan. That got them laughing and put a smile on my face as I followed the rest of the band into the sound studio.

Jason and Connor were picking up their guitars, Stacy was fiddling with his drums, and Sophie and Holly were standing at a couple of microphone stands on one side of the room. That only left one microphone stand sitting in front of the drums and between where the two guitars had been set up.

I stepped over in front of the microphone with butterflies in my stomach. Up until this point in time, it had always been about me. Everything else had been pre-recorded, and I didn't have to worry about anything but singing my part. Theoretically, that was still the case, but I had never really performed with anyone else before. We were going to need to work together if we wanted to pull off this concert.

"Start when you're ready," Scott said over the intercom into the studio. It was at that point, when the first strums of 'Intuition' came from Jason's guitar, that I realized I wasn't nearly as ready for this as the others in the room were. Every single one of them was a professional session musician. They worked in the studio every day to provide the right sound for somebody else's music. They were ready to go at a drop of the hat.

I wasn't.

I was very nervous, I was scared, and I had already missed my cue to start singing!

The music stopped.

"I'm sorry," I told everyone. They were all looking at me. "I haven't done this before."

"It's okay," Jason said from beside me. "It can be a bit intimidating at first."

"Try again," Scott said in a friendly voice. Scott had been so easy to work with over the last few weeks. He'd helped me to find the inner strength that I needed to be able to overcome the negative stigmas I had put on my voice before becoming Megan and then Sarah. The calm and friendly manner that he had shown with me helped put me at ease.

Now, he was doing it again. I looked over at where I could see him through the window between the studio and the control room, and he was smiling at me. It was exactly what I needed at the time.

"Okay," I said. "I'm ready."

This time, when the intro started from Jason's guitar, I counted myself in. I joined in with the band and started singing at the right time. It really wasn't any different than what I had done before, except I was not in the small voice booth this time. With every word I sang I felt a confidence start to build inside of me. I could do this. I could perform this concert. All I had to do was sing.

During the second chorus, one of the guitarists plucked the wrong chord. I think it was Connor, but I couldn't tell for sure. But it did throw me off balance. I missed a couple of words while I tried to get back to where the song should be. The others worked with me. They kept playing and helped me to get back on track. Even the girls were a big help. They continued their background vocals during the chorus, and I easily found my place among them and we continued the song.

As our first attempt at singing together came to a close, I felt the exhilaration start. Lately, whenever I had performed for others, I'd had an overwhelming feeling at the end of a song. It made it all worth it. I could imagine that it was the same type of feeling that an adrenaline junkie felt. It was so good, but oh so short. I needed to do it again. I needed to feel that again.

It was no different this time. My audience was the others performing with me, plus those in the control room, but it still gave me the same rush. I could also see the looks that Ethan and Emily were giving me from the control room. They looked mesmerized while we performed.

"Great work," Scott said. "That was fantastic for a first attempt. There are a few things that we can work on, but you all seemed to connect very well. Good job."

I smiled. This was really going to work. We were really going to be performing a concert!

"Good job, you guys," I said while looking at the band and the girls. They returned my smile.

"Let's try going through each song," Scott continued. "Then we can come back and work on perfecting them. Try 'Pop Princess' next."

A beat from the drums soon signaled the intro, and the rush started anew.

*  *  *

With food in hand, I sat down next to Emily. It was lunch time, and the band, the girls, and I all decided to eat in the cafeteria and get to know each other better. We'd made a lot of progress that morning, and my confidence level at being able to actually sing a concert had been greatly improved.

All of them were great musicians, and I couldn't figure out why they weren't already performing on stage in a band. I definitely wasn't complaining. I was very glad that they were working with me, but they all seemed to be so good at what they did.

Emily and Ethan, however, seemed to be bored. I'd warned them that studio work was really repetitive, but I knew there was no way that they would miss coming with me. Now, after hearing the band and me sing the same song over and over before moving on to the next one and doing the same thing, it had started to take its toll on them.

Dad, who had spent plenty of time in the studio not only with me, but also with other clients, handled the time a lot better. He kept working. He had plenty of things to do to keep his clients happy, and he made full use of the free wireless the studio provided and spent a lot of time on his laptop and cell phone. He'd occasionally get up and watch us through the control room window, smiling the whole time. He and Scott had decided to leave us alone for lunch.

"How did you get your break?" Sophie asked me after we had all settled around the table. I smiled back at her. All five of the people I was now working with had been friendly and kind. I couldn't have asked for a better group to join me on stage.

"These two," I said while pointing to Emily and Ethan. "Took me to one of Scott's karaoke parties and made me sing."

"She had such a good voice," Emily added. "But she would never sing for anybody. She was scared to sing."

"You were scared to sing?" Jason chuckled. I chuckled with him for a second, but I didn't know how to explain myself.

"I guess," I finally said. "I always enjoyed singing, but I didn't want people to make fun of me."

That got all of them laughing.

"I don't think that's something you needed to worry about," Holly said. "You have a beautiful voice."

"Thank you," I said with a smile. "But it didn't always feel that way."

"But it was always true," Emily added.

"So what about you guys?" I asked back. "How did you guys get started?"

"I went to a casting call where they were looking for singers," Sophie said. "I didn't get the part, but one of the people there hooked me up with this job. He said that I had a perfect voice for harmony and background vocals. Not exactly the compliment I was hoping for, but it's pretty good money."

"My story is about the same," Holly said while frowning. "Except it was my uncle who got me the job. He always said I had a nice voice, but the record label didn't quite agree."

This discussion was turning depressive; that wasn't quite what I had been hoping for.

"I'm sorry," I said to both of them.

"Don't worry about it," Holly said. "I get a lot of the perks, and I don't have to worry about the paparazzi. I'm fine with the way it worked out. You, on the other hand, are probably going to become too famous to even step outside."

I laughed at her words. The good thing was that if that ever happened to me, I could always take off the wig.

"I hope not," I replied. "What about you guys?"

The boys had been quietly listening to us while they ate.

"We've been playing together in one form or another since junior high," Jason said. "We'd been friends for years, and Stacy said we should start a band."

"So why am I not the band leader?" Stacy questioned. The other two just laughed.

"You couldn't lead a horse to water!" Connor quipped. Stacy just nodded his head in agreement, causing the rest of us to laugh along with them.

"How did you get the name 'Pop Fly'?" Emily asked.

"We've had about five different names," Jason said.

"Six," Connor corrected.

"Six," Jason amended. "Anyway, we seem to be doing a lot of pop work lately, like your songs. Connor is a big baseball fan, and we kinda came up with the name one night while we were watching a game at his house. It stuck."

"Did you ever want to make your own band?" Ethan inquired.

"Of course," Jason replied. "But none of us can sing very well, and we never found someone who could."

"Until now," Stacy corrected. "After this morning, I'd be happy to be your drummer, Sarah."

I chuckled at his enthusiasm. "So you like the idea of becoming my regular band?"

"Is that on offer?" Jason asked with a look of surprise. Sophie and Holly seemed surprised too. "I thought that we were only filling in for the weekend, and they would be finding someone else to take our place."

"Oh," I said, worried I had said too much. "Scott seemed to think we would only be looking for someone else if you guys didn't do very well on stage, or if we didn't get along or something. But after this morning, I doubt that will be the case."

"Are you saying that you would like us to continue?" Stacy asked for clarification.

I thought about it for a second, but I knew the answer already. "Yes, I would. You're the best band I've ever worked with."

That got them all laughing again, because they all knew I hadn't worked with anyone else.

*  *  *

"I'm exhausted," I said as I flopped down on the loveseat in Sarah's room later that night. "That was a lot of singing, and I don't think I've fully recovered yet from yesterday."

Emily sat down on the larger couch, and Ethan took a seat on the other end.

"Yeah, I thought you guys were never going to stop," Emily said. I laughed lightly.

"I warned you that it was repetitive," I replied. "But you didn't listen."

"Oh, I listened," she said sternly. "But there was no way you were going to keep me away from going with you."

I laughed louder this time. I wouldn't have expected any other answer from her. "Does that mean you aren't coming with me tomorrow?"

"You know I wouldn't miss tomorrow if my life depended on it," she said while laughing along with me. "At least in the morning."

"What's happening tomorrow morning?" Ethan asked with curiosity. I hadn't invited him to come with me to see Julia, because I was pretty sure that he wouldn't want to come.

"I have an appointment with Julia to figure out what I'm going to wear at the concert," I explained. "Do you want to come?"

"No!" he said immediately. "Leave me out of the clothes stuff. That's for you girls."

"Alright," I said. "If that's what you want."

He laughed at that. "It is what I want. I've seen you two shop, and it isn't any fun. Heck, I hated shopping with you even before you became Megan. You haven't really changed all that much."

"Really?" I pondered. That didn't seem right to me.

"Well, maybe you're a tad bit more enthusiastic about it now," he said, causing Emily and me to laugh.

"Okay, what about the practice session? Do you guys want to come to that?" I asked. They both stopped chuckling and looked somber. I could guess their answer.

"It's okay," I replied smiling. "There will be better things to go to in the future."

"I'm sorry, Megan," Emily said. "I didn't realize that it would be so boring."

I laughed. "It's a lot like having a job," I told her.

"That's because it is a job!" she replied while chuckling.

"I guess you're right," I replied, still laughing along with her. "But it's a really fun job."

"For you!" Ethan added, causing us to laugh some more. I really must have been tired. Everything seemed so funny to me.

"I love you guys," I told them. "You're the best friends a girl could have."

*  *  *

---

Editor Note: The images used for this story were purchased and used under royalty-free license* from Istockphoto.com . ~Sephrena
Author Note: Please email me at AngelJediGirl (at) gmail (dot) com before posting this story to any other site. Posting to a pay site is prohibited.

Comments and suggestions are also welcome at the above email address.

*  *  *

Chapter 34 - It's What's on the Inside That Matters

"I'm scared, Mom," I told her while we sat in the waiting room of Dr. Holbrook's office Friday morning.

"It'll be okay, Megan," she said and pulled me closer. I laid my head on her shoulder and felt comforted by her presence. "We'll get through whatever happens, I promise."

We sat like that for a few minutes before Dr. Holbrook appeared.

"Good morning, Megan," she said with a smile. It was hard for me to find a smile to return. "How are you?"

"Honestly," I sighed. "I'm really scared."

Dr. Holbrook's smile widened before she spoke again. "Well, there's nothing to be worried about, I promise. Would the two of you like to come back to my office and we can talk about it?"

Mom and I stood up, and we followed Dr. Holbrook into her office. It was well-appointed, and we took a seat in two comfortable chairs in front of her desk while she walked around and took a seat on the opposite side.

"Before we start," the doctor said. "I want to make sure that you know that there is nothing wrong with you. There are some medical concerns that we will need to address, but you are a healthy young woman. Okay?"

I nodded, but I was still scared of what she was going to tell me.

"Alright," she said. "First, I want you to call me Jenny. We are going to be discussing some personal things this morning, and I want you to know that I will be here to help you through them. Okay?"

I nodded again. Her words weren't making me feel any better. In fact, I was becoming even more nervous.

"Okay," Jenny continued. "I have the results of the tests we did last Friday, and the results of the ultrasound. What do the two of you know about intersex conditions?"

"Isn't that where a person has both male and female parts?" Mom asked.

"Yes," the doctor replied. "Intersex encompasses a large spectrum of things that are seen in the human body. But today we are going to be talking about a specific type of intersex condition."

"So Megan is intersexed?" Mom asked.

"Yes," Jenny replied. "Megan has what we call pseudohermaphroditism. Have you ever heard that term before?"

Both Mom and I shook our heads. I'd heard hermaphrodite before, and I always thought that it was degrading. I didn't really like the sound of having it, whatever “having it” meant.

"Pseudohermaphroditism basically describes a person who is born with characteristics or traits that we would not expect to see in someone with their type of gonads, or testes in men and ovaries in women. Understand?"

Mom nodded, but I was still confused. I shook my head. The doctor smiled at me.

"What it means for you specifically, Megan," she said. "Is that you were born with genitals that do not match your chromosomes."

"Are you saying Megan is a girl?!" my mom asked in surprise. I still wasn't totally sure what they were talking about.

"Yes," the doctor replied. "One of the tests we did on her blood confirmed that Megan is genetically XX."

"Wait, what?" I interrupted, I knew what XX meant. "What do you mean?"

I was asking the doctor, but it was Mom who took my hand in hers and looked me in the eyes.

"Honey," she said with tears in her eyes. "It means that you really are my little girl. You always have been."

"I'm a girl?" It seemed unreal. I couldn't possibly be a girl! I had a penis!

"Yes, Megan," the doctor said with a smile. "You are."

"But, I have a..." I started, but I could no longer say the word.

"I know," Jenny said. "But you most likely did not have the testes to go with it. We will never know for sure because of the accident."

She then picked up a folder and placed it in front of us before opening the top flap. Inside were four pictures that had been taken during the ultrasound. She spread the photos out across her desk, and then pointed at a blob on the first picture.

"This is your left ovary," she told me before pointing to another blob on the second photo. "This is your right ovary."

She then pointed to the third photo, which had a much bigger blob on it. "And this is your uterus."

I stared at the photos. I'd taken health classes at school. But I never in my life thought that I would be learning about my own internal reproductive organs like this! I didn't even think I had internal reproductive organs!

I turned to Mom. She was still staring at me with the same love she had shown me over the last few weeks. A love I was starting to recognize as the type of love that can only be shared by a mother and daughter.

"Mom?" I asked. I wasn't really sure what I was asking, but she did the only thing I wanted her to do. She wrapped me in a hug.

"Congratulations, honey," she whispered in my ear. "I know this is what you want, and I'm glad that you are my daughter. Never forget that."

I started to cry. I wasn’t sure if they were tears of joy at my new lot in life, tears of sadness at what I had lost, or tears of relief at the stress that had finally been lifted. All I knew for sure was that Mom was there for me, and she would always be there when I needed her.

Eventually, I was able to get myself under control. I was happy. After all the emotions that I had just felt, happiness was what I came away with.

"There are some complications we are going to need to deal with," Jenny said once we were ready to continue. She then moved the fourth ultrasound picture in front of us and pointed at two lines in the middle. "This is your vagina."

I was stunned again. I had a vagina?

"Obviously," she continued. "It is blocked from the outside. That is going to be a problem soon."

"Why?" Mom asked in a worried tone.

"Megan, you said your breasts started developing about a year ago, correct?" the doctor asked me. I nodded, still not quite capable of speech. "Most girls start developing much earlier than you did, but starting puberty at 15 is not unheard of. However, about this time in a girl's development, certain things start happening that will be problematic if we don't take care of your medical condition."

"You mean her period?" Mom asked bluntly. My period? I could have a period?

"Yes," the doctor continued before I could fully comprehend her latest revelation. "Without a way for the flow to exit her body, complications can arise. I would recommend that we try to schedule some corrective surgery quickly, before her first period starts."

"I see," Mom said, but she sounded slightly reluctant.

"You don't agree?" the doctor asked, hearing the reluctance in Mom's voice.

"No, I agree fully with you," Mom explained. "What kind of recovery time would we be talking about?"

"I can't say for sure," the doctor said. "But for Megan it will involve much of what would be done during a sex reassignment surgery, minus creating a neovagina. I would expect she'd probably be in bed for most of a week if not longer, and she probably shouldn't be doing anything strenuous for two or three weeks after that."

Mom sighed. I knew what was worrying her. The next few months were going to be a whirlwind in Sarah's life. Sidelining me for three or four weeks would not be beneficial for my career. But the need for the surgery to be done was apparent to everyone in the room.

"Is that a problem?" the doctor asked. It was obvious that she hadn't expected reluctance in the need to have the surgery.

"I don't know," Mom said. "The next few months are going to be a busy time in her life. Trying to schedule time for surgery could be problematic."

"I must emphasize the need for Megan to have this surgery," the doctor warned. "There are too many health problems that can occur if she doesn't."

"I know," Mom replied. "I'm not questioning the need. But there are other concerns involved that need to be considered."

"Like what?" Jenny asked. It was obvious that she didn't believe anything should prevent the surgery from happening.

"Tell her, Mom," I finally spoke after Mom looked torn between telling my doctor the truth and keeping Sarah a secret. I was going to need a doctor who could help me through this, and he or she needed to be aware of who I was. It might as well be Jenny. Mom looked at me, nodded, and then reached for her purse. She pulled out a stack of papers that I immediately recognized.

"This is a non-disclosure agreement," Mom said while passing the papers over to my doctor. "I can't talk about it unless you sign this."

Jenny was clearly surprised, but she took the papers and started reading through them. We sat there for a few minutes until she looked up at us.

"Okay," she said. "Against my better judgment to sign this without having my attorney read through it first, I'm going to trust you."

She picked up a pen and signed the document before handing it back to my mom. Mom then turned toward me. I knew what she wanted me to do.

"I'm Sarah Carerra," I told the doctor.

"I see," the doctor said after a short pause. Her calm tone was belied by the surprised look that filled her face.

"Then you can understand why scheduling the surgery may be tough," Mom said. "We'll need to figure out a time to do this, but we're going to have to involve the record label in this decision. We can't make it completely alone because of her contract."

"Okay," Dr. Holbrook replied. "Just as long as we can get it done soon. I don't want to risk her having a period with no way to menstruate properly."

"I know, Jenny," Mom agreed. "If it was my decision, we'd schedule the surgery as soon as possible. But I know she has a few things scheduled over the next couple of weeks. We'll have to figure out a good time for this."

What was scheduled? Nobody had told me about anything after the concert. I was about to ask my mom before the doctor spoke again.

"I understand," Jenny said. She picked up a couple of business cards and handed them to my mom. "This is the name of a surgeon who can perform the surgery. He's local, and he's flexible in his hours. He also promised that he would try to get you in as soon as possible. When you know more, give him a call. I've also included my cell number on the other card. Call me if you have any questions."

She then turned to me.

"Megan," she said with a smile. "I'm here to help. Let me know if there is anything I can do for you, okay?"

"Thank you," I smiled back, but I was still in shock. "I will."

*  *  *

"Hi, girls," Dad said when we walked in the door back at home. "Hurry and get ready, Megan, we have to leave soon if we're going to make it to your appointment with Julia on time."

"Okay," I said and took a step toward the hall.

"Megan," Mom stopped me. "Don't you have something that you want to tell your father?"

The answer was yes and no. Dad had been really good about my change, but I knew that he was still getting used to it. I wasn't sure how he would handle the knowledge that I really was a girl.

I stopped and turned back toward where he was standing.

"I, uh," I started. I wasn't sure how to tell him. "I love you, Daddy," I said instead.

"Megan," Mom said with mirth in her voice. "You have to tell him eventually."

"I know," I said. "But it's kind of embarrassing."

Mom laughed outright at those words.

"Oh, honey," she said. "You really are a girl."

She then turned to Dad. I knew that she was going to tell him if I didn't, and that was fine by me. At least the words wouldn't be mine.

"What did the doctor say?" Dad asked. He looked worried now, but our good spirits seemed to indicate that nothing was wrong.

"Megan is our little girl, Don," she said with a smile. "She's biologically our little girl."

"You mean..." He said, but he couldn't finish his question.

"Yes, Don," Mom continued. "With everything that entails."

Dad looked...well, he looked speechless.

"Go get ready, Megan," Mom said. "I'll tell him the details."

"Okay," I said and turned to walk down the hall again. I was happy to let my mom do the hard part. I definitely didn't want to be there when he heard the details of my anatomy.

*  *  *

"Emily!" I squealed when Chloe entered my room, or Sarah's room, a few minutes later. I wrapped her in a huge hug.

"You're in a good mood," she mentioned. "What's up with you?"

"I'm a girl!" I nearly screamed in delight.

"Well duh," she said, not fully understanding what I meant. "I thought we had already figured that out."

"Yes!" I exclaimed. "But it's more than that! I really am a girl! I'm double X. I have ovaries, a uterus, I even have a vagina!"

"What?" she questioned skeptically. She had seen me in the locker room two days ago, and it had been pretty clear then what was between my legs.

"I'm biologically female," I explained again. "My doctor wants me to have surgery to fix things down there before I have my first period!"

"Period?" she looked really confused now. "Megan, what are you talking about?"

I sighed in frustration. I wasn't sure how to make it any clearer.

"I'm female," I tried again. I then pointed to my head. "And not just up here, I'm female everywhere, except for the abnormality between my legs."

"You're a real girl?" she asked with a bit less skepticism.

"Yes!" I screamed at her. "I'm a real girl! From birth!"

"Wow!" she exclaimed and slowly sank down onto the couch. "That isn't quite what I expected when I came over this morning."

I laughed. "You didn't expect it? What about me?"

She laughed with me. "I guess that must have been a bit of a shock."

"You think?" I said, continuing to laugh.

"Megan?" Mom asked from my door. "Is everything alright in here?"

"Yes, Mom," I replied. "I was just telling Emily what the doctor said."

"Okay," she said. "But hurry and finish getting ready. Your dad wants to leave."

"Alright," I said and turned back to the armoire. I picked up my wig and started pinning it in place.

"This explains a lot, you know," Emily said from behind me as I finished messing with the wig and started on my makeup. Sarah's makeup was different than Megan's. They could be interchanged, but if I knew I was going out as Sarah, my makeup was often done more dramatically.

"About what?" I asked while lining my eyes.

"Like how easy you've fallen into being a girl. I mean, it's only been three weeks and you're applying makeup like you've been doing it as long as I have!"

I smiled. I had become quite proficient at doing my own makeup. Since I had to apply it more than once a day to become Sarah, it certainly became easier.

"But it's not just the makeup," she continued. "There's been something different about you since we were little...girls."

We giggled at that comment for a moment before I pulled out my mascara.

"I never knew what it was," she said with a smile that I could see in the mirror. "But I understand it now. I can't believe that we didn't see it sooner. Megan has always been right there in front of me."

I guess I could have felt saddened by that knowledge, but I didn’t. She was right. Megan had always been there, and I was glad that she had been.

I capped my mascara and stood up.

"I love you, Emily," I said while I turned toward her. She smiled and we embraced in a long hug.

"I love you too, Megan."

*  *  *

A few minutes later Emily and I walked into the front room. Dad and Austin were there, and they looked slightly ill. Apparently Mom had filled them in on what was going on with me.

Austin stood up from where he had been sitting on the couch and walked over to me, wrapping his arms around me in a hug.

It was weird. In all the time that I'd known the little bugger, we'd never really had a very good relationship. But the last three weeks had changed things. I think I was closer to Austin now than I had ever been in my life. I had no choice. I had to wrap my arms around him in return.

"Are you really a girl now?" he asked me.

"I guess I always have been," I replied. "But yes, I am."

"Does that mean you're going to get all crazy once a month like Mom now?" he asked in sincerity. I heard Mom choke, and I laughed.

"I'll do my best not to, okay?" I told him with a smile. He nodded, and he seemed to look better than he had when I walked into the room. "You're the best little brother a girl could ask for."

I then kissed him on the cheek. It was something I never would have done as Brett, but it felt like the right thing to do as Megan. He looked embarrassed by it, but he smiled back at me.

"I love you," I told him.

"I love you too," he replied. Still red with embarrassment, he walked back over to the couch and sat down.

Dad stood up next. He smiled at me while he stepped closer.

"Megan," he said before he did something I had rarely ever seen him do. It started as one tear, slowly rolling down his right cheek, but soon he was tearing up as much as I was. Instead of words, he wrapped me in his arms just like Austin had done. I had no choice but to wrap my arms around him too. I had the best family in the world.

This time I held him until he had collected himself. He then kissed me on the forehead.

"Megan," he said again. "I always wanted a daughter. I was happy with you and your brother, but the last three weeks...I love you so much. I'm so proud of you. Whether you are my son or my daughter, you are my child and I will always love you."

Now he had me crying even harder. It wasn't even ten in the morning, and it had already been one of the best days of my life.

It took us a few minutes, but we finally managed to collect ourselves again.

"Are you ready to go?" he asked me.

"No!" I complained. "Now I have to redo my makeup!"

The rest of them broke out in laughter.

*  *  *

---

Editor Note: The images used for this story were purchased and used under royalty-free license* from Istockphoto.com . ~Sephrena
Author Note: Please email me at AngelJediGirl (at) gmail (dot) com before posting this story to any other site. Posting to a pay site is prohibited.

Comments and suggestions are also welcome at the above email address.

*  *  *

Chapter 35 - Image is Everything

We were late, but we finally arrived at the lobby of Aphrodite Image Consulting at about 10:15. Julia was standing there, waiting for us.

"Morning, Julia," Dad said happily.

"Morning, Don," Julia replied. I was afraid that she would be upset about us being late, but she didn't appear to be. Instead, she came over and gave me a small welcoming hug. It was unexpected, but it hinted at a friendship that I hadn't realized had formed between the two of us.

"I'm sorry," I told her after she had let me go. "I had a doctor's appointment this morning, and it ran late."

"It was my fault," Dad added. "I should have pushed this appointment back a bit when I found out she was going to the doctor this morning."

"That's not a problem," Julia said with a smile. "It's going to be a slow day today. I have plenty of time for my number one client."

I laughed lightly. I wasn't sure I believed her, but the sentiment was appreciated.

"This is Chloe," I said while turning toward Emily. "I think you met her a couple of weeks ago when you came by the house?"

"Oh, yes," Julia said warmly, but I still got the impression that she didn't remember Emily at all. I didn't blame her for that, because she probably had lots of clients. "It's good to see you again."

She gave Emily a quick welcoming hug too before turning to my dad. I was afraid she was going to hug him also, which wouldn't bode well for my relationship with her, but she spoke instead.

"You're welcome to join us, Don, if you can handle the stash." Her wide grin had my dad feeling uncomfortable almost immediately.

"I, uh…" he stammered. "I would like to see what you have planned."

"Okay," she said. "If you will all follow me, we can get started."

We followed Julia down the hall to the double doors that led into the stash. She pushed them open and I followed her inside.

I heard Emily gasp behind me. "Whoa," also escaped her lips a moment later. I knew what she meant. All those clothes in one room was an impressive display for any girl. A glance at Dad proved that it wasn't a universal feeling across the genders.

"Amazing, huh?" Julia said, addressing Emily this time. Emily could only nod in wonder as her eyes continued to dart around the room.

Julia led us over to a small, clear section that had two sheets draped over what appeared to be two human shaped blobs.

"I've got two different ideas for you," Julia said while stepping up to one of the sheet-covered mannequins. "If you don't like either of these, we can look around the stash for other ideas. We'll find you something that works."

"Great!" I said. I was sure the excitement in my voice was apparent to everyone in the room. I couldn't wait to see what she would suggest.

Julia promptly pulled the sheet off the first mannequin. Underneath was something that I immediately fell in love with. It was a light pink dress, and it was sparkling. The dress was cut tight, hugging the curves that the mannequin showed. It also showed more cleavage than I would have liked, or felt comfortable showing, but it was still decent for a girl my age. It didn't look obscene in any way, just provided a hint of what I had to offer. The dress also had spaghetti straps, leaving the shoulders bare. That was something I had yet to experience, and I was concerned with how much skin would be on display.

The bottom of the dress was just as interesting. The hem of the skirt fell below the left knee, but was raised to a couple of inches above the right knee. The asymmetrical design seemed to catch the eye, and the sparkles danced around in my vision. The mannequin also had on a silver pendant of some sort, a silver bracelet, and a pair of heels that matched the dress were sitting next to it.

"It's beautiful!" I said almost immediately. I couldn't imagine what it would be like to wear it!

"You're going to make me jealous," was Emily's awed response to my own description of the dress. Dad grimaced. I could see him trying to imagine me in that dress, and I was certain that it made him uncomfortable.

"This is Option 1," Julia said once she was able to determine that we would be able to hear her description, even if we weren't looking at her. "The dress is sophisticated and glamorous. It shouldn't be too sexy, thus keeping the moms happy, but it should give a glimpse of the seductive side of Sarah Carerra."

She then stepped over to the other mannequin, and I had to pull my eyes away from the dress.

"This is Option 2," she said before pulling the sheet off the second mannequin. This mannequin was dressed completely different.

The second mannequin was wearing a pair of light blue jeans. The left knee was partially destroyed, and they looked distressed in a couple of other places. They also sparkled. A number of sequins had been attached to the jeans in random places that caused the sparkles when they caught the light.

The jeans were paired with a white tank top. Sequins also dotted the tank top. There were quite a few of them around the neckline, but fewer and fewer the further down your eyes traveled. From a short distance, you could barely see the sequins. From the audience, my guess was that the jeans and tank would look like any normal clothes a girl my age might wear, but the glittering would add the glam that Julia was always adamant about having.

A pair of white tennis shoes sat next to the mannequin. A couple of small bracelets and a watch adorned the wrists, and draped around the neck was a necklace in the shape of a star. It too was glittering in the light.

I made my decision immediately. The dress was beautiful, but the jeans and tank seemed so normal, yet so glamorous. And they looked a lot more comfortable to wear! I was drawn to them in a way that the dress couldn't compete with.

"Option 2," I blurted before I had even realized that I had firmly made my decision. The smile on Julia's face seemed to indicate I had made the right decision, the relieved look on Dad's face made me chuckle, and the frown on Emily's face indicated she'd rather see me in the dress.

"But Megan," Emily whined. Then she caught herself and realized what she had said. "Sarah! I mean Sarah!"

I laughed outright. This was the first time that Emily had ever accidently called me ‘Megan’ while I was dressed as Sarah. She'd had a whole week to slip up, and hadn't done it once. I was just happy that Julia knew the truth and there was nobody else in the room. Dad, on the other hand, looked really upset.

"Sorry," she said apologetically. I smiled to let her know it wasn't a problem, and her face brightened a bit. "But you really should wear the dress. It's beautiful!"

"I agree," I told her. "But there's something about the jeans and tank that just feels right."

I wasn't sure how to describe it to her, but Julia seemed to understand what I was saying. Her nod seemed to indicate she understood.

"Let's try them on," Julia said and started to undress the mannequin. It didn't take her long to strip the clothes and she was soon pushing me into one of the changing rooms.

As I changed I discovered that a white belt with silver studs on it was included with the jeans, but stayed hidden under the tank top. Once I had the tank and jeans on, I fastened the belt, slipped on the shoes, and stepped outside to get the accessories.

"Wow," Emily said immediately. "Okay, I was wrong."

"What?" I had to ask. She wasn't making any sense.

"You were right," she explained. "You look amazing in those. I don't think the dress would compare anymore."

I slipped on the necklace, wrapped the watch around my wrist, and donned the bracelets before turning toward the mirror.

Emily was right. I did look amazing.

I'd been dressed up in a lot of amazing looking clothes since my debut as Sarah, but nothing quite like this. It was obvious to me that these were stage clothes. I'd get some odd looks if I wore them walking down the street, but these clothes would rock on stage.

I think it was the sparkles. The clothes looked so normal...until I moved. Every time I moved, a shimmer of sparkles would rush across my body as the sequins caught the light. It wasn't anything overwhelming, but it was enough to catch your eye in wonder.

"Try this on," Julia broke my reverie. She was holding a denim vest the same color as the jeans out for me to slip my arms into. Once I had it on I turned back to the mirror for a glimpse before turning back toward her for her opinion.

"No," she said. "I didn't think so."

I turned back toward the mirror, and agreed. The vest looked nice, but it diminished the look somehow. I think it was because people don't often wear vests, and it made the outfit look less normal. She helped me take it off again, and I stared into the mirror once more.

"Do you want to try on the dress?" Julia asked, but I think she already knew the answer.

"No," was my reply. "But wrap it up, I'll take it too."

The choke that my dad emitted was enough to let me know that he thought I was spending too much money.

*  *  *

We decided to stop and get some lunch before making our way over to the studio for the afternoon's recording session. Emily was unhappy to learn that we couldn’t get her home and still make it to the studio on time, and she had resigned herself to joining us. I hoped it would be more fun for her today.

Dad pulled into the parking lot of Granny's Diner. Despite the name, it was actually a pretty upscale restaurant that my family often frequented when we wanted to eat some good food without going to a high end restaurant. It was clean, the service was good, and the food was amazing.

As we stood at the entrance waiting to be seated, I realized something that I was going to have to start getting used to.

People were staring at me.

I could see confusion in some of the faces that I scanned, and I realized that the patrons of the diner had obviously seen my image somewhere, but they couldn't quite place who I was or where they'd seen me.

I was okay with that. I didn't think I was ready to be mobbed by fans. Having them still keep their distance was a good thing. But I knew it wouldn’t be long until I was recognized in public with the way my image was plastered everywhere.

"Three?" a waitress asked as she approached the hostess booth we were standing next to. Dad nodded and she grabbed three menus before leading us toward a booth along one wall, away from the rest of the people in the restaurant.

"Will this be okay?" she asked.

"This will be great," Dad told her and I was able to slip into one side of the booth before Emily, cutting me off from anyone who might figure out who I was and want to come over. Emily slid in next to me and my dad slipped into the other side of the booth.

"It won't be long now," Dad said after the waitress had taken our drink orders and we were alone.

"'Til what?" Emily asked. She apparently hadn't seen the looks that we were getting.

"'Til they start mobbing me in public," I sighed. "I saw it with Josh when we went out to dinner, but I don't think I'm ready for it to happen to me."

"Most celebrities never are," Dad said with a grimace. He knew more than I did about what to expect, and his reaction did not instill me with confidence about my future.

"At least I'll be able to turn it off," I replied.

"Amen to that," Emily said. She was looking around the restaurant, and she was seeing the stares for the first time. She looked uncomfortable.

The waitress returned with our drinks, and she kept glancing at me as she took our lunch orders. Like the others, it appeared that she was trying to figure out who I was. Eventually she left us alone while she placed our orders with the kitchen.

"Do you have a signature ready?" Dad asked me. We had talked the other day about coming up with a signature that I could easily scribble quickly, but still resembled my name. It had taken some work, but I had finally come up with something that I liked.

"Yeah," I said, and then took the pen he had proffered, along with a piece of paper he pulled out of his day planner. With soft, feminine strokes I signed my autograph on his paper so he could see it. Perhaps it took me longer than it should to write, but at least someone could read it. I always hated seeing a signature from a celebrity, and not knowing whose it was.

"Ooh," Emily said when she saw it. "You're going to have to sign one of my posters now."

"You bought posters?" I asked incredulously.

"Well yeah," she said like I had just asked a dumb question. "Once I found out who you were, it seemed like the prudent thing to do."

"I'd like you to sign the posters we'll hang in your room too," Dad interrupted. "Now that you have a signature."

"Okay," I agreed.

"I also need you to sign these," Dad said before producing an envelope and handing it to me.

I took the envelope from him with a confused look, and opened it. Inside were two debit cards. One had my name, Megan Campbell, on it. The other had Sarah's name.

"What are these?" I asked excitedly. Was he finally giving me access to my own money?

"These are debit cards for your trust account," he said. You can use either card, depending on how you are dressed, but they share a withdrawal limit of $500 per month."

500 dollars? That was it? Sure, it was a lot of money, but I knew I was making a lot more than that. Dad seemed to understand the look that must have crossed my face, because he chuckled slightly before speaking again.

"It's a start, Sarah," he said. "If you prove you can be responsible with this amount, we'll raise your limit, okay?"

That brightened my day. "Okay," I agreed with a smile. I guess I could see it from his side; he wouldn't want me to blow it all on clothes or something like that. I'd have to think about my earnings for a while to appreciate what they meant before I'd get to spend them.

I picked up the pen and carefully signed both cards. Then I pulled my wallet out of my purse and placed the cards into the previously unused slots next to my license. I also mentally thanked him for getting two different designs on the cards to help me tell them apart easily. It would be really bad if I tried to use the Sarah card while dressed as Megan, and a lot worse if I used the Megan card while dressed as Sarah.

"We also need to go down and get you a new license," he continued. "I talked with a friend of mine and he said he would help us keep it discreet."

"Okay," I said excitedly. It would be nice to have real identification, instead of a license that still said Brett on it. While Dad had changed my name, we still hadn't gone down to update my license.

"We'll go down and see him on Monday," Dad explained. "You should be fine without it until then. My friend also said he'd be able to get your other documents updated. Dr. Holbrook provided me with a letter that will allow us to change both your birth certificate and your driver’s license to include your new name and gender, since you are legally female. We just need to make it official. My friend will also help us get some identification for Sarah, since she is a legal alias of Megan."

"Wow!" I said. I hadn't realized that I legally should be female, but it did make sense. I'd probably pass most gender tests thrown at me if someone looked at my medical history and tried to determine if I was female, but the realization that it was true had never occurred to me before.

The waitress returned with our food at that moment, interrupting any further talk on the subject. Instead, we all dug into our delicious meals and talked about more mundane stuff. I was excited about the prospect of legally becoming female, but the thought of undergoing surgery to make my body match my legal identity was still a scary proposition. I knew I needed it, and I even wanted it, but it still scared me.

When we were done eating and the waitress brought the bill, I was able to snatch it up before my dad could. He looked at me with a raised eyebrow, but I just smiled back at him.

"They want to know who I am, anyway," I said with a laugh as I wrote a large tip amount onto the receipt and handed it back to the waitress with my new debit card. She just chuckled at my statement, obviously realizing that her looks, and those of the other patrons, hadn't been as discreet as she thought.

She left to run the card, but returned to our table quickly.

"Thank you for coming in, Ms. Carerra," she said, smiling broadly as she handed the card and my receipt back to me. "We don't see many celebrities in here, and it's nice to have some notoriety with the other patrons."

I laughed lightly at her words, but smiled back. "I've been coming here with my family for years," I told her. "I'm not going to stop just because I've sung a few songs."

She laughed with me for a moment before speaking again. "Well, it was nice to meet you, anyway. Come back anytime."

She walked back toward the counter while Dad, Emily, and I stood up and headed for the door. As we approached, the waitress looked up with another smile.

"Thank you for coming in, Sarah Carerra," she said loud enough for all the patrons to hear. She obviously was letting everyone else know who I was at the same time she was building notoriety for her restaurant as a place that celebrities came.

I smiled back, and waved to everyone in the place before stepping through the door to the outside.

*  *  *

"That's a wrap!" Scott said over the intercom into the recording studio later that evening. "I think we're about as ready as we can be for tomorrow. Thank you, everyone."

I returned the smile that he was beaming in through the window to the control room before turning to the other people in the studio.

"Thanks, everybody," I said. "I couldn't do this without you guys. We're going to rock."

"It's our pleasure," Jason said from where he was starting to break down his guitar equipment. "Without you, we'd be stuck in the studio forever."

I laughed at his lame joke. I was sure they would have found their break with someone if I hadn't come along. There was even still a chance that they could leave me.

"Good work, everybody," Scott said after stepping into the studio. "The bus will be here at nine, so you have a few hours of free time."

"Bus?" I asked. I hadn't heard anything about a bus.

Stacy chuckled from behind me. "Only the star of the show travels first class, Sarah," he said. "The rest of us are traveling by bus."

"Oh," I replied. I hadn't thought about how they were going to get to Salt Lake City. "I'm sorry."

"Don't worry about it," Jason said with his own chuckle. "We've done it before, I'm sure we'll do it again. It isn't all that bad, really. We can sleep the whole way and wake up rested in the morning."

The other guys were nodding at Jason's description, but the girls looked less than pleased at the prospect of spending the night on a bus.

"I'm sorry," I repeated, this time to the girls. They both gave me little smiles, but I could tell they were disappointed.

"They'll be well taken care of, Sarah," Scott interrupted. "I promise."

Scott had never lied to me, and he looked sincere, but I still felt bad for the girls.

"Ready to go?" Dad interrupted my thoughts. I looked around the room. Everybody was packing up their things, and nobody looked too upset about their travel arrangements. The girls might not be happy with it, but they weren't that upset either.

"Yeah," I agreed. "I guess so."

I turned back to the band. "I'll see you guys tomorrow."

"Bye, Sarah," Sophie said, followed by a number of farewells from the other people in the room.

"Bye, Sarah," Scott said as I turned back toward him and my dad. He then surprised me by giving me a hug. I would have been freaked out if it was anything other than the quick friendly hug he gave me. "I wish I could be there tomorrow. You're an amazing singer, and I'm glad that I have the opportunity to work with you."

"Thank you, Scott," I replied smiling. "I couldn't have done this without you."

*  *  *

---

Editor Note: The images used for this story were purchased and used under royalty-free license* from Istockphoto.com . ~Sephrena
Author Note: Please email me at AngelJediGirl (at) gmail (dot) com before posting this story to any other site. Posting to a pay site is prohibited.

Comments and suggestions are also welcome at the above email address.

*  *  *

Chapter 36 - Mary in the Morning

"Do you want to stay for dinner?" I asked Emily as Dad pulled into our driveway. She seemed to be in better spirits after today's studio session than she had been after the all day marathon of yesterday.

"I can't," she told me. "Mom wanted me to come home for dinner. I think she has somebody coming over and wants the family to eat together."

"Okay," I told her. Dad pulled into the garage and stopped the car. We got out and she came over and gave me a friendly hug goodbye.

"I'm going to miss you this weekend," I told her after the embrace. "It won't be the same without you and Ethan there."

"I know," she said with a smile. I knew she didn't feel the smile; she was just putting on a happy front. She had to be disappointed inside. "Don't worry about it. We'll get to see you perform soon enough, I'm sure."

"Still, I wish you could be there," I replied.

"I know," she said. "And that means all the difference in the world. You have fun tomorrow and show them what you've got, okay?"

"Okay," I agreed. "I will."

"Good," she said before turning and walking toward her house. She looked back and waved before she was out of our garage and then turned out of sight. I stood there with Dad, who smiled when I turned toward him and the door into the house.

"Come on, Princess," he said smiling. "It'll work out, I promise. We'll get them to a show soon."

"Will I have another show?" I asked him as we entered the house.

"Of course, Megan," he replied. "Scott is already trying to line up a mini-tour for you this summer. If your concert goes well tomorrow, you could be in big demand."

"Really?" I asked incredulously. I seemed to be getting too popular too fast, in my opinion.

"Really," Dad confirmed. "We'll give you time to have your surgery, and then it will be a whirlwind after that. But I think you're up to it."

The smile he was beaming at me helped to outweigh the fear of surgery he had also instilled in me. I knew that I would be okay with someone like him watching over me.

"Thank you, Dad," I told him while wrapping him in a big hug. I loved him so much.

"You're welcome, Princess," he replied, wrapping his arms around me too.

The rest of the evening was exactly what I needed. The whole family stayed home, and we ate dinner together, played a few games, and I even played a couple of songs for them on my guitar.

I had the best family in the world, and that night was so peaceful and relaxing I fell asleep without a worry in my mind about the concert.

*  *  *

The following morning was hectic. The peace from the evening before was quickly replaced with mayhem as I prepared to make my transformation into Sarah outside of the house for the first time.

I couldn't show up as Sarah at Mary's office this morning, but I also couldn't show up at the airport as Megan because Josh would be there. Therefore, I was going to have to become Sarah between the two, since we were going straight from Mary's to the airport.

Dad was also taking me to Mary's. It was the first time he had taken me in about two years. Mom had always been there with me. Dad had come occasionally when Mary wanted to talk to both of my parents, but left us on our own for most visits.

"Are you almost ready?" Dad asked me from the door to Sarah's room.

"Almost," I replied from the vanity. "I just need to finish my makeup."

"I'll be in the front room when you're finished," he said and disappeared from the door. I turned back to finishing my lip gloss before standing up and stepping in front of the full length mirror.

It was kind of weird to see my image in the mirror. I was wearing a pair of dark jeans and a white cami covered by a vibrant blue top. Seeing me, Megan, in Sarah's clothes was odd, but even more odd was how made up I looked. I'd seen Sarah's makeup almost every day, but seeing it on me was a different experience altogether. It didn't look bad, but I looked a lot more glamorous than how I normally looked. It wouldn't take much more for me to be ready for a dance.

With a quick smile to myself I turned back to the couch, picked up the small bag that held my glam for today's outfit and headed out of the room. I had already packed my small suitcase containing the stage outfit and a couple of other outfits to last me until the flight home tomorrow.

"I'm ready," I said walking into the front room. My whole family was there.

"You're beautiful!" Austin nearly yelled, causing me to laugh lightly at his reaction.

"Thanks for noticing," I quipped. He blushed in embarrassment.

"You do look beautiful," Mom said as she stepped closer and gave me a hug. "Good luck tonight. We'll see you after the concert."

Before last Friday, Dad was stupid enough to think that Mom and Austin shouldn't be at the concert. After yelling at him about how stupid he was being, he had relented and bought them plane tickets. Unfortunately, the flight we were on was sold out, and he had to book them on a later flight. The end result was that Mom and Austin would arrive with only enough time to make it to the venue. I wouldn't get to see them again before I was on stage.

"Thanks, Mom," I replied as she let me go. "I'm glad you'll be there."

She smiled and I followed Dad out to his car, and we were soon on our way.

*  *  *

"Good morning, Megan," Mary said later that morning. "Don, it's nice to see you again."

"Morning, Mary," I said while standing up and dropping the issue of Cosmo I had been reading back on the stack of magazines in her waiting room.

"Morning," Dad also supplied.

"Come on back," Mary said and led me to her familiar office where I took my regular place on her sofa. Once she was seated, she spoke again.

"You look very good this morning," she said. I think it was more of a query for information than it was an insight.

"This is Sarah," I explained. "Her makeup is more dramatic. I'm going straight to the airport after this, and I won't have time to change. Add the wig and some glam, and I'll be set to go."

"That's right," Mary remembered. "You've got your first concert this evening. Are you excited?"

"Excited...yes," I answered. "But I'm also really nervous. I've never really sung to an audience before. I think it's going to be scary."

Mary chuckled a bit, and she seemed amused at my reaction.

"I think you'll do fine, Megan," she said. "You're an outstanding young woman, and I believe that you will get through this without any problems."

I was more than happy to hear her say that. She knew me better than almost anyone else, possibly even more than Emily. I greatly appreciated her vote of confidence in my abilities, because I was becoming more and more nervous as the day continued.

"Anything happen this week that you would like to discuss?" Mary asked.

I thought back over the last week. It had been a pretty good week, and I really didn't have any concerns to talk about. Emily and Ethan had learned about Sarah after our last visit, and that had eliminated just about every negative concern that I had.

"Not really," was my reply. "Emily and Ethan found out after our session last Friday, so there wasn't really anything bad that happened."

"Emily and Ethan didn't know about Sarah?" she questioned.

Hadn't I talked to her about this? I could have sworn that I had. I was so mad at my dad last weekend that I thought I had mentioned it to her.

"Didn't I mention how mad I was at my dad last week?" I asked for clarification.

"No," she replied. "You didn't mention anything about it."

"Wow," I replied. "I swear that I did."

"Why were you mad at your father?" she asked the obvious next question.

"He didn't want me to tell anyone about Sarah," I explained. "That meant not telling Emily and Ethan. Last Friday, he told me it was all to prove that I could keep the secret. I was so mad at him! Emily and Ethan weren't talking to me anymore because I wouldn't tell them, and it was hurting our friendship."

"What did you do?" Mary asked.

"After I finished yelling at him, I avoided him as much as possible. I had never been that mad at him. He wasn't even going to let Mom or Austin come to my first concert!"

"Are you still mad at him?" she continued gathering information.

"No," I replied truthfully. "He had made me promise not to tell Emily and Ethan about Sarah until after tonight's concert. We did agree that I could tell them that they could be involved after tonight, but he wanted me to prove that I could keep it a secret. I couldn't, but it wasn’t my fault.

"Emily found out last Saturday. I was really tired after we got home from the recording session that day, and I managed to walk into the front room still dressed as Sarah while she was talking to my mom at the door. When Dad saw how relieved I was, he backed off on our deal and let me tell them everything."

"That was enough to curb your anger?" she queried.

"No," I said. "But it was a start. He looked really bad after he saw how relieved I was for Emily to find out. But I still tried to avoid him for most of the weekend. We spent some time together alone on Sunday night, and we worked things out."

"That's good to hear," Mary said. "I think it would be wise to bring both of your parents next week. It's been a while since we had a group session, and I think there are some things we will want to talk about."

"Okay," I replied. "I'll let them know. I'm sure they'd be happy to come."

"How did Emily and Ethan react?" she asked next.

"They were really surprised," I replied. "I thought Emily would be mad at me, but she seemed happy to be included instead. Ethan had a crush on Sarah, apparently, and he took it a lot harder."

"How have you handled that?" she asked.

"We haven't," I said frustrated. "He won't talk about it. He's been bottling it up inside, and I don't know how he feels. I caught him looking at me in a way I'm not ready to deal with while we were at the food court in the mall, but he hasn't done or said anything."

"How do you feel about him?" she wanted to know next.

"I don't know!" I said loudly. "He's been my best friend since kindergarten. My best guy friend! I've never even looked or thought about him that way before. I don't know what I would do if he expressed any interest."

Mary chuckled at my response.

"You know what, Megan?" she asked.

"What?" I replied with a question of my own. I had no idea what she was getting at.

"This is a turn of events I wasn't expecting," she chuckled some more. "We are now talking about a problem that I have talked about with many of my female clients, and not my transgender clients. I thought that progression was interesting."

"Oh!" I remembered the really big news that she definitely should know! "Well, that might be because I am a real girl!"

I chuckled this time at the confused look that she had. "What do you mean?" she asked.

"I went back to that specialist yesterday," I said and Mary nodded to tell me that she knew who I was talking about. "Apparently I am a girl. I've got all the internal organs, I just don't have the external parts to go with them."

"You mean..." Mary looked slightly at a loss for words. It was obviously not what she had been expecting to hear.

"I have two ovaries, a uterus, and a vagina," I explained. "I just don't have an external opening connecting them to the outside."

She sat back, stunned. I knew that she had other transgender patients, but apparently she had never experienced anything like this before.

After a moment of silence, she found her voice again. "How are you taking this news?"

"This is the best thing that's ever happened to me," I said excitedly. "I was beginning to consider hormones and future surgery...this was totally unexpected, but totally perfect."

She laughed again.

" I can see why this would make you happy," she said. "What happens now?"

"We're scheduling some time into Sarah's schedule to have some surgery to...correct the problem," I said. "I'm apparently a late bloomer. Dr. Holbrook is worried that I will start my first period before we have the surgery if we don’t do it soon."

Mary looked shocked again. I don't think I had ever seen her this flustered in one of our sessions before. She eventually saw my grin, and started laughing outright. It wasn't long before I had joined her.

"Wow, Megan!" Mary was finally able to speak again. "I don't think I've ever had anything like this happen before. I'm sorry if I seem unprofessional. I just wasn't expecting you to tell me that."

"Mary," I said sincerely. "I don't care if you sound like a professional or not. I think of you as more of a friend than a therapist anyway. This is big news! I would have been worried if you weren't surprised."

She chuckled at my response. "Thank you," she said eventually. "I'm glad that you can see me as a friend, too."

*  *  *

"Ow," I said for the fourth time. I was learning the hard way that trying to pin on a wig while sitting in a moving vehicle was a painful experience.

"Sorry," Dad said again, but he was just going through the motions now. There was no way that he could control every bump the road was giving us.

Eventually, after a few more pokes, I was able to get the wig pinned and turned back to the bag I had brought with me. I pulled out a long, beadlike necklace that was going to serve as my glam and slipped it over my head. I also swapped my plain black belt for a white belt that had small fake gems on it. A few bracelets and bangles and a small white watch were next. When I was done, I looked like any other teen pop star out and about for the day.

I glanced out the window. It wouldn't be long now until we reached the airport.

"All set?" Dad asked me with a grin. Honestly, I think he enjoyed hearing me cry out in pain every time he hit a bump.

"Yeah," I replied. "But next time we should stop to put the wig on."

He chuckled at my mishap, but he didn't respond at all.

"You look beautiful," he said instead. I glanced over at him, and he was smiling at me.

"Thanks," I replied sincerely. "I love you, Dad."

"I love you too, Princess," he replied and then signaled to merge into one of the lanes leading into LAX. "Are you ready for this?"

"I don't know," I said. "Josh was going to call me last Sunday, but he didn't. I haven't heard anything from him in a week and a half."

Dad started laughing, which was unexpected. After a minute he calmed down and explained himself. "I was asking if you were ready for the concert, not about your boy troubles."

"Oh," I blushed. I had been so worried about the lack of contact from Josh and the prospect of seeing him again that I hadn't even thought about what his question really meant. "Sorry, I know how much you like to avoid that topic."

He laughed again. "I'm sorry, Megan," he eventually said. "It's just a bit awkward. I don't really know how to deal with one of my kids dating, let alone my only daughter. I never thought that I would be playing the concerned father, but I've really started to worry about your safety lately. I still don't understand how Josh got your number."

"I gave it to him," I mumbled.

"What?" he responded in a concerned tone. I think he might have gotten the gist of what I meant even if he hadn't understood the words.

"I gave it to him," I said louder so he could hear me.

"When?!" he exclaimed in the startled tone I expected.

"When he came by the house last week," I explained. "I gave it to him when I shook his hand goodbye."

"Why?!" he asked.

"I don't really know," I told him truthfully. "I didn't want to hang up when we were on the phone. It seemed like the right thing to do at the time."

Dad chuckled at my explanation.

"You're a devious one," he admitted. "I'm going to have to keep my eye on you."

This time it was my turn to laugh.

We chuckled a bit and talked as my dad weaved his way through the maze of roads to get us to the parking structure that served Delta Airlines, our airline of choice for the day. I remember being surprised that Josh would be flying on a commercial airliner, but then Dad pointed out how much cheaper it was than chartering a private jet. I didn't mind, because we were still flying first class.

Because I wasn't arriving in a limo, Sarah Carerra was making her first trip into the airport by walking through the parking structure and over the connecting ramp. It wasn't how I pictured a rock star entering an airport, but that's what we did.

Once inside, we made our way to the ticket counter where we had to check my bag. Dad had a small carry-on, but my suitcase, with all the outfits I likely wouldn't wear, was too big. After my bag was checked, I began to worry about it. My stage outfit was in that bag and losing it would make finding a replacement difficult without Julia around.

Dad then led me up to the security checkpoint, which we quickly went through after joining the first class line. Faster security screening was definitely one major plus of being a rock star and flying first class. But on the other side came the first downer in my experience of flying as Sarah Carerra. I had hoped that we'd get to wait in Delta's first class lounge, but apparently travelers had to be at least 18 to qualify for purchasing a one-day pass, and Dad wasn't ready to commit to a longer membership. Neither Josh nor I was going to be permitted entry, no matter how well known, or not-so-well known in my case, we were.

We were also flying out of Gate 50A, which was immediately on the other side of the security screening section. This meant that people were going to be able to see Josh and me from the moment they left the screening area, assuming they looked in our direction. I could just imagine the screaming fans wanting to approach us, or at least Josh, on the way to their own gates.

But none of this was as bad as seeing Josh sitting there in a small, first-class waiting area with another girl.

*  *  *