-----

Author's Note: So here we are once again. Sorry it took me so long to get this one up and rolling but there were just things about this new story that just weren't flowing right. I think part of the problem is filling in some of the plot that I wanted to do. I have an end game in mind and key plot points I want to cover but its the in-between things I having trouble coming up with. As it is, I think I have most of those ironed out. Once again I will post a chapter a week and I highly recommend that you read Just Roll With It because like Peter Jackson I don't do that whole recap thing.

-----

1:

The gentle knocking on my door woke me.

I think I was dreaming. It was a pretty good one too. I dreamed that I somehow miraculously changed into a girl, practically overnight. I hated it at first, was scared of it in fact but slowly I accepted it. I tried to hide it from everyone but people found out---Sara and Kate for starters. Things were going well until I collapsed after my soccer game. Then I went to the hospital and everyone found out. My crazy bible thumping mother found out. She didn’t take it so well. It was a strange dream.

I sat up, rubbing the sleep from my eyes.

A dream, though.

That’s when I felt the weight on my chest.

And there it was.

Well, there they were.

My breasts.

If only it had been a dream. I’m not saying I really wanted it to be one. It sounded like one, though. I mean guys didn’t change into girls but here I am. I’d been a healthy---albeit small---boy and now I wasn’t. In the mirror, I was so much different now. I was a bit taller, a lot curvier and definitely not a boy. I was happy though too. I still can’t figure that bit out. I shouldn’t have been happy. I mean what normal boy would be happy to turn into a girl. But I was, I truly was. Maybe it was because I wasn’t much of a boy to begin with or maybe it was the lie.

The lie grandpa and Emily wanted me to tell.

Maybe it was the truth after all.

They still didn’t know what had caused this.

Hey, it’s possible.

I groaned, pushing myself out of bed. My new assets swayed a bit as I made my way to the bathroom. Last night, Sara had surprised me with a new set of pajamas. I frowned a bit at it of course. It was a cami top and pair of short sleep shorts. My sister seemed to enjoy it, though. She went out of her trouble to get them for me. Even though I wasn’t thrilled, I pleased her last night when I put them on. I pleased her, even more when I told her I’d let her take me shopping today. Sara apparently wanted to do the whole sister bonding thing.

She’d been so thrilled about it last night, I didn’t have the heart to tell her no.

Truthfully, I just wanted to veg around the house today.

It was Friday after all. I needed today and this weekend to relax because I knew Monday was gonna be hell. Emily called last night; apparently she’d managed to set up a meeting with my principal and the superintendent. My mother was supposed to be there as well. They were to discuss my future schooling plans. Emily told me she’d instructed Mom it might be wise to have a lawyer present too just in case. I doubt Mom really cared.

I didn’t really know what Mom thought.

I was asleep when she came home last night.

I was just thrilled she didn’t pack up all my things or lock my door on me.

I was stripping out of my sleepwear when Sara came waltzing into the bathroom. Startled, I covered myself with my discarded clothes.
“Sweetie, you have nothing I haven’t seen before”

My sister might not have been very modest but I was. At least, I appeared to be now.

In my defense, though, she startled me.

“Not everyone is keen to show off their bodies like you,” I said, tossing my clothes into my hamper.

She smirked. “And what a body it is”

She gave my butt a gentle smack.

I swatted her hand away.

I was just glad I remembered to pee before I got naked. I didn’t want an incident like yesterday morning. Peeing all over myself was a onetime thing I didn’t plan to repeat.

“We have a big day planned,” she said, starting to fill me in on it.

I tuned most of it out while I got into the shower. The running water tuned the rest of it out. I could hear her talking but I closed my eyes and lost myself to the massaging jets caressing my new, much more sensitive body. If by some miracle they found a way to change me back, I’d refuse simply on the principle of the shower.

It felt so good.

Sara wasn’t there when I got out but she left two towels for me. I sighed; I’d probably have to change the color of those. Mom had color coordinated our towels to make it easier for her. Sara had rose pink and I had a teal blue. I suppose they still worked but it just felt a little weird. I wrapped one around my body and the other around my head. It felt like I was stealing my brother’s towels. I know it was silly but I couldn’t shake that feeling.

On the bed was an outfit.

Sara apparently didn’t think I could pick out anything.

Not that she had a bad taste of course. It’s just that thinking about the outfits she brought me yesterday, I cringed thinking about what was apparently in store for me today. Looking at it, though, I found it was surprisingly plain. Another pair of jeans and long sleeved top. I finished drying off then went to adorn myself. I slipped into another pair of my boy cut panties then a bra that matched. The bras were a bit of problem I noticed. I only had a few after all and they were given to me before I went into the hospital. They were a little tight and didn’t fit quite right. I thought about wearing the sports bra again but I’m told it smushes the boobs.

I’d get it all sorted today.

The bra wasn’t the only ill-fitting thing.

The jeans were small. They still went on but I had a hard time getting them buttoned.

“Wow, look at you,” said Sara, coming back into the room with her hairdryer.

She took me by the hand, through the bathroom, and into her room. Sitting me down at her vanity, she went to work. She dried my hair then proceeded to style it. She went with a simple French braid, making me pay careful attention to what she was doing. I tried but it looked hard. She made a comment about the length, suggesting we make a hair appointment to get some of it trimmed up. I didn’t argue there. I had way too much hair.

“Makeup is tricky,” she said, turning my face in her hands. “I know what Cindy did the other day but it was frankly too much. A girl your age, less is more. Besides Mom will never let you go out of the house wearing too much anyways”

I remember.

Sara was sixteen before Mom let her really go all out.

In the end, she decided on a bit of eyeliner, some light shadow, and some lip-gloss.

It was enough to make my face pop.

One thing she did do was finally get at my brows. She’d been trying for what felt like weeks now. I tried to protest but this time, she wouldn’t take no for an answer. When she was done, I had to admit them looked a lot better, much more feminine and they made my face look different too. I already looked different but now I looked more like a girl.

She did her best with my nails too.

A little shaping and some light pink polish.

She deemed me ready after that.

“Isn’t this a little too much?” I asked, keeping my fingers spread like she said so they’d dry.

“You’re a girl now right?”

“Yes,” I said, blushing.

“Ok then”

“It’s that simple?”

She shrugged. “This is new territory for both of us. Sure I’ve had girl friends and we’ve done things like this but I’ve never had a sister before. I’m kinda winging this whole thing”

Honestly, I couldn’t really remember Sara doing this with her friends.

At least never when I was around.

Then again, she only ever really had a handful. Gina was the only one who I really remembered. She and Sara didn’t hang out much anymore though because both of them worked a lot. Gina was also still on the team too. I think after quitting the team, their friendship changed. It also didn’t help that Sara planned on going out of state to college next fall. Gina was going to a community college to study makeup. It was sad because they used to be pretty good friends. It made me wonder what Kate and I would be like in a few years. Would we have interests that would push the two of us apart too?

“C’mon, get your shoes on so we can go”

We went back to the Galleria.

It was definitely a lot different on a Friday morning when most if not all the teenagers were in school. It was still pretty well packed but there was, at least, some room to maneuver. As soon as we got there, Sara made one thing very clear to me. Everything was on her. I was not to spend a single penny of my money. She wanted to do this for me and there would be no arguing. So begrudgingly, I let her be the boss. Of course, just like our previous trip, she took charge immediately.

She was bound and determined to build me a wardrobe from the ground up.

We hit the teen-oriented stores first.

Rue21, GAP, American Eagle.

Lots of jeans and shirts were purchased there. She even managed to wrangle in a jean skirt or two. I did like leggings though I discovered. I’d been seeing and I guess admiring the ones that Kate wears and wanted some of my own. That’s actually how I ended up with some skirts. I did give her quite a scare though when I suggested we try shopping in Hot Topic. It didn’t take her long to realize I was joking. She got me back though when she dragged me into Victoria’s Secret. This though wasn’t a joke. She only got me one set there, though.

She really wanted me to go there to get properly fitted.

32 A just like Emily’s measurements said.

After that, we did all my underwear shopping in Penney’s.

In Foot Locker, we got some shoes.

She got me another pair of Nikes and another pair of Converse. She also talked me into getting this really cool pair of pink Converse heels. They were like a converse sneaker but with a wedge heel. I actually fell in love with them and managed to convince her to let me wear them out of the store.

It was nearing noon when we left the shoe store.

“Ok so lunch?”

I nodded. “I’m starved”

We started for the food court, lugging my many bags. I felt like one of those spoiled princesses.

We decided to have pizza. It was quick and easy. There was this great place that sold New York style with slices bigger than my head. Sara tried to talk me out of it but I ordered two slices. I was halfway through the first slice when I realized what she meant. My eyes had apparently been bigger than my stomach. Though I did discover something about my new self. My appetite had clearly changed. I always used to have a huge appetite but had a real fast metabolism. It used to drive Sara nuts. Now it would seem I still felt like I could eat a lot but my body was telling me differently.

“I told ya,” she said as we got a box for my second uneaten slice.

“Another thing to put on my list,” I said.

Last night after getting home and situated, Sara and I had a nice talk. She wanted me to let her know if I ever felt bad or upset. She didn’t want me to bottle it up; she wanted me to come to her with anything. What happened to me was drastic and the fact that I was taking it so well scared her. It was her idea to come up with a list. She wanted me to write down anything new I was experiencing or anything that had changed or was different. She even suggested a diary. It was a good idea but I wasn’t ready to take things that far yet.

When we finished, Sara looked across the food court.

“Hey I was thinking, you want to hit Claire’s before we go?”

“What for?”

She tweaked one of my earlobes. “Well, I thought you’d like to try having those pierced?”

Pierced?

“I hadn’t really thought about it actually”

“Well, I thought maybe it might help. I’m not saying you should but it would help embrace the girl a bit”

That was another thing we talked about last night.

Embracing girlhood.

It was actually my idea. If all those tests over the last week had proved, it was that there was no going back. Whatever happened to me was permanent and no amount of anything---save surgery---was gonna change that. I was a girl now. As such, I decided I wanted to embrace it as much as I could. Like my father’s motto, I decided I was going to roll with this girl thing and see where it took me. I want to try what life had to offer me now. I didn’t really have much of a life before outside of school and soccer. I wouldn’t even have gone to that Halloween dance if not for the bet. I wanted to change that.

Christy was going to be social.

Christy was also a girl and most girls I knew pierced their ears.

So yeah.

“That sounds like a great idea!” I said cheerfully and meant it.

Sara raised an eyebrow. “Too much I think”

We both laughed.

Sara left me with some money. She wanted to take our bags to the car. I say our bags because there was no way in hell she’d come to the mall and not shop. I offered to help carry them too but she waved me off. She scooped them all up in her arms, carrying them without a problem. I seemed to always forget that she was a lot stronger than she looked. I watched her go. I walked over to the trash bins, dumped our trays and turned around to find myself face to face with Amber.

Shit.

“Chris?” she asked, looking a bit confused.

Now or never.

“Hey Amber,” I said with a smile.

“OMG”

Yes, she actually said it that way.

She squealed and gave me a big hug.

“I’ve been so worried about you,” she said, “I mean I heard what happened after the game Sunday night. Then they said you were in hospital and…you’re a girl?”

I nodded. “Last time I checked yep”

“No I mean” She lowered her voice. “You were a boy before?”

I nodded. “Medical condition”

I decided to go with the lie. I mean Amber knew some of it already but the lie could really work. It would explain some things while being an explanation for others. Like how I was seemingly in a boy’s locker room and on the boys soccer team. The whole “well they thought I was a boy but it turned out I wasn’t really” thing could really work for me.

I gave her a quick explanation of it all.

She gave me another hug.

“That explains so much now,” she said, nodding.

“It was a bit of shock to all of us”

“Your boobs?” she asked, looking at the very noticeable bumps on my chest.

“Most of it padding”

I’d have to tell a few more lies to work this. Breasts just did not grow as fast as mine did so they’d have to be “padding” until I could safely reveal my “true” ones.

“My hair is extensions too,” I quickly added.

That had also grown too fast.

A few little lies, no harm in that.

“So does this mean that you’ll let us teach you how to be a cheerleader now?”

Crap I’d forgotten all about that.

That first practice was nearly two weeks ago. It felt like a lifetime ago. I guess in some small way it actually was. I hadn’t really given it much thought, though. I mean I did have fun. There was just a lot of other things on my mind then and now. I didn’t hate the idea actually but I think I needed more time to figure things out first.

“Maybe,” I said, hoping it was a vague enough answer.

She nodded. “So are you shopping?”

“Just finished,” I said, sad at her look of disappointment.”I was going to hit Claire’s though. Get my ears pierced. You want to come along?”

She practically beamed at that. She took my hand and dragged me over. Ok dragged is a strong word, more like aggressively led me there. She seemed to know the twenty-something girl behind the counter because they talked like old friends. Amber explained the situation---about my ears, no my medical thing. The girl didn’t seem to care. I was apparently the right age that most girls got their ears pierced actually.

The piercing itself wasn’t that bad.

I was surprised how quick and painless it was.

I was now the proud owner of two little fake diamond studs.

Amber helped me pick out a couple more pairs then a really cute gold chain.

“So I was meaning to ask,” I said as we left the store. “Why aren’t you in school?”

“It’s a Girl’s Day”

Is this something I should know about?

“What’s that?” I asked.

She lowered her voice. “I was feeling really shitty this morning---you know my time of the month. Me and the other girls started calling it a Girl’s Day. So whenever we start, we always take the first day off”

I nodded understanding. I understood for other reasons as well.

I was dreading my first Girl’s Day.

“I don’t even want to think about it,” I said, shuddering.

“Can you have?”

I nodded. “Full girl. I can have babies and everything”

“Wow. That must have been an eye opener”

“Yeah, shocked the hell out me”

“I can only imagine”

We changed subjects as we went to find a bench. This was the spot Sara told me to wait for her at. As we sat, Amber wanted to know what I was going to do for school. I told her what I knew but of course, I’d know more after Monday morning. Legally I knew my rights. The school district had laws about transgendered students and the like. There was a great tolerance plan in the books on it. Though I wasn’t exactly transgendered, I had a pretty good idea that that was how they were going to treat this. Emily seemed to think she could get more. I was a girl now. Her hope was that I would be treated as if I’d always been that way just with a “misdiagnosis” at birth.

We talked a little more until Sara arrived.

Amber and I stood up together to greet her.

“So you have my cell number right?” she asked, I nodded. “Good, I’m gonna call you tomorrow night. Let me know if you want to do practice again, ok?”

I nodded.

She gave me another hug.

“It was so nice to meet you again, Christy”

She left after that.

“Practice?” asked my sister, giving me an evil look.

“Don’t even?” I said.

Sara laughed; I gave her a little shove and then took off for the exit.

Talking to Amber at the mall made me realize one very important thing.

I had a lot of catching up to do.

I avoided my cell the whole time I was in the hospital, even after they gave it back to me. I knew I had a lot of texts and voice mails but I wasn’t really in the mood to explain things. They were still there when I got home last night and they were definitely still there when I got back from shopping. Putting them off or ignoring them didn’t help me any either. So after getting home and putting all my new stuff away, I set about taking a look. The first several were from Sunday of course, mainly people trying to see if I was all right. Monday’s messages were much of the same. The ones from Tuesday were a bit more frantic.

It was there that people realized I was in the hospital.

Several of the messages were from John and Kate. I had a few from Greg. I noticed more than a few from Dan as well. I smiled at that. The messages seemed to peter out on Wednesday though. They stopped coming from Kate after she visited. Then she never visited again. I’d like to say I was mad about that but I knew how much she hated hospitals. It was connected to her mother so I understand that completely. I was just happy that she even showed once. I was a little annoyed that she was the only one, though.

Yesterday there were no messages.

I checked my email next.

It was all pretty much the same.

I read what I could but got tired of the same so I deleted a lot of it. Hey, I’m not being heartless but tired of reading the same stuff over and over again.

An hour later, I was done.

Absolutely exhausting.

Now I needed to make the phone calls.

The first one on my list was Kate.

She answered on the second ring.

“Hey,” I said, there was a long silence.

“Wow,” she finally said with a laugh. “Took me a second to realize this strange girl calling me out of the blue was you”

“I’m using my cell”

She laughed. “Sorry just not used to connecting that voice to you”

I knew the feeling.

“It’s different,” I said, we both laughed.

“So,” she said, “How’s girlhood treating you so far?”

“Good. Went shopping today, got lots of clothes, had my ears pierced”

“Damnit”

“What?”

“I wanted to be there for that” she actually whined.

“Sorry”

“Can you do it again?”

“Do what again?”

“The ear piercing thing. I missed it. I want to be there”

“Kate, I only have two ear lobes. I can’t exactly have them pierce them again”

“Of course, you can!”

I knew exactly what she was thinking. After all, she had three piercings in each of her ears. She also had a ring through her left eyebrow.

“Ummm yeah not happening”

“Oh c’mon” She whined again.

Since when did she turn into such a whiner?

She spent the next few minutes whining some more and trying to convince me to at least get one more in each ear.

I didn’t cave.

I decided to change the subject. “So how are things?”

“Boring,” she said, “school is dull without you. I had to sit by myself in class and in lunch and I had to listen to those three nerds talk about stupid stuff”

“Oh poor you”

“I’m giving you the finger right now”

I laughed. “So what’s the verdict on me?”

“Well everyone knows by now you’re in the hospital. Thanks for letting me know you got out by the way.”

Oops.

“Anyway, there’s some interesting theories about what happened. None of them close to the truth. It’s going to be fun when that comes out” she said then paused for a moment. “What is the plan for that anyways?”

“Medical condition,” I said and quickly told her the company line.

“You think that will work?”

I shrugged. “We’re meeting with the school people on Monday. Hopefully, if things go well, I’ll be back in school on Tuesday”

“So how’s your Mom?”

Ah, the elephant in the room.

“How do you think?”

“That bad huh?”

I quickly told her about what little I saw of her over the week then about the incident in Emily’s office. She thought it was awesome that Emily actually threatened to fire her. When I got to the part about my grandfather, Kate was ecstatic.

“I never thought he had it in him,” she said, impressed.

“Yeah, surprised me too”

“So you think your Mom will play nice?”

“Doubtful”

We talked a bit about how my Mom was cracked then I had to ask about the boys. I almost said “other boys” but realized I was no longer in that category.

“You need to call John. He feels really bad. He said you had a bit of a tiff before the game. He somehow thinks whatever happened is his fault”

Shit.

“I told him everything. He got a little annoyed at me when I told him I wasn’t going to see a doctor about it”

“No problem there anymore,” she said laughing.

‘What about Greg?”

“Neither John nor I knew what to say. I think most of the school thinks your appendix burst or something. We were going with that”

Wow, that’s going to be fun.

“Hey guys it wasn’t’ my appendix, just my manhood”

“Hey,” she said, after another moment of silence. “Snap a pic of yourself and send it my way”

“Why?”

“I want to know if I should be jealous”

I groaned. I spun my phone around and took a quick selfie. I felt like such an idiot. I sent it to her anyway, though.

“You bitch,” she said after a few secs.

She laughed though so it was all good.

“Seriously, though, you look so different.”

“Really?”

“Ok so maybe you still look like you but a girl you. Does that make any sense?”

“I think so”

“Ok so I see some Hannah in there a bit and some Sara but it’s mostly you. Just a softer, more feminine looking you”

“I was feminine enough”

“Not like this, though”

Well, that’s comforting.

“So you want to hang tomorrow?” she asked, jumping to another topic. “Hit the strips, do some window shopping. Maybe blow some of that birthday cash of yours?”

More shopping?

“You’re ok with that?”

“It’s Saturday. What else is there to do in boring town?”

She was right about that.

So we made our plans. She’d be by about ten in the morning or so. She said she’d arrange a ride. We’d hit the stores, maybe get some lunch afterward. Exactly what I did today with Sara. Except this time, it would be with Kate. As much as I loved going out with my sister today, I was really looking forward to tomorrow. After we made our plans, I let her go.

I thought about calling John but decided against it.

I did text him real quick, though.

OUT OF HOSPITAL. FINE NOW. TTYL---C.

Simple and to the point. I shut my cell off before I got a reply. I didn’t want to be one of those girls, you know waiting around for that text. I hated those girls. I went to the computer after that, replied to some of my emails then hit the Xbox. I groaned when I saw my gamertag---Lazerguy26. Hey, I made it when I was ten all right. It was stupid and pointless now, though. I decided to leave it be and made a new account. I would have to replay all my games again but I didn’t care. I was planning to get a One anyways.

Setting up a new profile was a pain in the ass, though.

New Tag too.

PixieSoccerGirl.

I liked it.

I spent the rest of the night jumping from one multiplayer session to another. I learned something important too. When guys found out you were actually a female gamer, they could be real scumbags. It got especially worse when I kicked most of their asses. I ended up reporting more people than I’d ever reported before. A couple of them ended up on my Ignore list. I couldn’t help but wonder if it was safe to shower with bleach afterwards.

Guys were pigs.

Yeah, I said it.

I’m glad I’m not one of them anymore.

Yeah, I said that too.

Author’s note: As I’m sure all of you know, comments are life blood to an author. I’m not begging or demanding, but I certainly would appreciate anything you have to say (or ask). It doesn’t have to be long and involved, just give me your reaction to the story. Thanks in advance...EOF

-----

Author's Note:And Welcome to Ch.2. I saw it was a rather slow Sunday as far as chapter postings, So I decided to put this up today as a nice treat. We'll get to see some of her friends react to the brand new Christy in this chapter. I think there might be a surprise or two there.

-----

2:

“Now you’re getting it,” said Sara, giving my shoulder a gentle squeeze.

We were sitting in front of her mirror. She had just spent the last ten minutes giving me another crash course in makeup. After a few do over’s, I was finally getting the hang of it I guess. I’d done this before of course. When they gave me that crash course back for Halloween. According to her, though, that was rudimentary. It was Mom and her telling a boy how to do makeup on a boy’s face. Sure it was a very feminine boy’s face but a boy’s face nonetheless. Things were different now. For one thing, I didn’t need all that concealer and other tricks to make myself look more feminine.

Simple and light was the key.

I liked what I was seeing.

“You sure you don’t need me to drive you?” asked Sara, for the umpteenth time.

“No,” I said, capping the eyeliner and picking up the lip-gloss. “Mr. Duncan is gonna take us”

I applied the gloss like a pro.

Satisfied, I smiled and left the vanity.

My sister followed me back into my room where my new coat was waiting. It was too cold now for the moto jacket which was a shame. It was a funny thing about that jacket. I thought for sure it was a men’s jacket until I tried it on and it fit like a glove. Sara confessed after that. Mom had been too busy with work and asked her to pick it out. Of course, sis knew about my changes and got me a jacket appropriate for my new body. Mom however never noticed. She never really noticed things like that, too preoccupied with herself to care.

My other new coat was something Sara bought me last night.

An item we forgot on our shopping excursion.

It was a lot like my coats I had before with a few exceptions. One it was cut for a slimmer body and two it had a large faux fur lined hood. It was warm, though, with these nice fleece cuffs. I had a pair of these fur lined leather gloves to go with it and one of those bands girls liked to wear just to cover my ears. I’m not sure where Sara was getting the money but I really needed her to stop. She only got minimum wages at the gift shop but I knew she was spending a fortune. I just for the life of me couldn’t figure out where said fortune was coming from. Sara had no money left from Dad; she spent all of it on the car. So where were the expendable funds flowing in from?

Kate interrupted me asking.

“Hey, where are you guys?” she shouted from downstairs.

Once again, she let herself in.

“We really need to lock those doors,” said Sara, rolling her eyes.

We both laughed and met up with Kate at the bottom of the stairs. Well, Sara did anyways. I was still descending when Kate just popped up.

“Jesus” she mumbled as I came down them. “I feel like a shlub now”

She wasn’t a slub, far from it. She was wearing her usual except now her leather jacket was over a hoodie. I did have to wonder how she kept warm in those skirts of hers, though. I mean she was wearing leggings but still she had to be freezing. There was snow on the ground after all now. It had been steadily snowing for the last couple of days. It was official, winter was here. Kate, it would seem didn’t get the memo.
“You’re not a slub,” I said.

“Whatever you say Princess”

“Well if I’m the Princess,” I said, putting on a snobbish tone. “Then peasant you may carry my bag”

I held out my new purse to her, holding it by the strap like I was too privileged to bother.

“As you wish, highness,” she said, giving me an elaborate bow.

We both laughed. I slung the purse over my shoulder and we hugged.

Yeah, I had a purse now. A hand-me-down from Sara but all mine now.

The purse was weird. I’m not sure I was ever going to get used to that. I mean before I just carried things in my pockets. Then again, I never really had to carry much just my wallet, maybe some loose change and my house keys. Now I had to carry all that plus some makeup, tissues and other feminine products, including a brush. I was a little embarrassed though last night when Sara threw a couple of her pads in there. It got even more embarrassing when afterward she showed me how to use one.

I’m a girl now with all the bells and whistles to go with it.

“You have enough money?” asked Sara as Kate and I went to the door.

“Yes mother,” I said in a mocking but sincere tone.

She gave me a shove. I gave her a hug and the two of us left the house. I started down the walk when I noticed her Dad’s pickup a bit full this morning. I mentioned that Kate had brothers right? Well, Sam was behind the wheel, I was used to him. What I wasn’t really used to was Brian. He was a few years younger than us, fifth grade I think. He’d always been a little pest to us before. Following us around, trying to be with the “cool” older kids. Now it seemed things had not changed.

“Sorry,” she said as we approached. “Dad had to work. Sam was the only one who could drive us and we couldn’t leave Brian”

I nodded.

More band-aid time.

When I approached the car, neither boy was really paying attention. Sam was listening to his iPod, Brian was plugging away at his Nintendo DS. It was Sam who noticed first. He turned toward us as we approached the truck. The look on his face was priceless. The last time I saw him had been that day in the kitchen, the first time I’d shown up at Kate’s in a couple of months. I had only really started to change back then but I looked pretty much like a boy then. Now I was all girl and the look of shock on Sam’s face was pretty evident.

“Holy shit,” he said as we got into the truck.

Kate got up front with her brother; I got into the back with Brian.

Brian looked at me and looked confused.

“I thought we were getting Chris?” he asked, looking at me like I was some kind of alien.

“That is Chris, dumbo” his sister said.

Brian looked at me closer. I smiled, his eyes only got bigger.

“Shit,” he said.

“Watch your mouth!” both his siblings snapped at the same time.

I noticed the truck still hadn’t moved, though. Sam kept shooting me glances in the rearview, ones that I wasn’t sure how to react too. Kate seemed to notice though and smacked him. That seemed to break him out of whatever stupor he was in because he started the vehicle after that. I did feel a little uncomfortable all of a sudden, though. Not from Sam’s constant looks, though, it was Brian. He stopped playing his game and definitely wasn’t hiding the fact that he was staring at me.

“So you’re a girl now?”

Kate answered for me. “Not now dumbass, always has been”

I think she was taking the initiative to use my cover story.

“What does that mean?” he asked.

“I have a medical condition,” I said, realizing I’d have to get used to explaining it. “When I was born they thought I was a boy but I was actually a girl”

He gave me a strange look. “How is that possible? I mean boys just don’t turn into girls, do they?”

That’s what I wanted to know.

“She wasn’t a boy. She’s always been a girl”

“Doctors are stupid,” he said and finally went back to his game.

He did shoot me a smile, though.

I think I was going to be ok in his book.

I thanked God that I didn’t have a little brother. Not that I didn’t want one, I was just trying to figure out how all of this might have affected him. I was still afraid how it was going to affect my older one. Sara told me she’d been telling Ken everything but so far he didn’t bother to reach out to me. I’m not sure how I wanted to take that. Was it rejection or something else?

The ride to Main Street was fairly quiet after that. Though Kate finally smacked Sam hard because of his staring. The truck swerved. It was not cool.

The brothers Donovan dropped us off in front of this little ice cream shop. Then the two of them headed off to their movie.

“You tell Dave yet?”

“Not yet”

Dave was her older brother. He was the same age as Ken. Ken and Dave were best friends. It was actually through Dave that Kate seemed to come into my life. Like my brother, he was off in college too. Unlike Ken, though, he couldn’t afford to leave the state. He was going to a state school, learning to be a cop I think. At least that’s what Kate said. Kate’s parents were not all that different than mine except they were older. Her folks had Dave in their twenties. Then proceeded to have kids every few years afterward. Then sadly her mother got sick. Kate always used to say she was her “mother’s pride and joy” When her Mom died, I think Kate and Brian got the short end of the stick.

I mean Kate was six, Brian was only three.

One of these days I knew I’d have to get her to talk about her Mom.

Kate was an avoider, though.

“So girl friend,” she said, emphasizing the girl part. “Where do you want to go first?”

I shrugged. “The Princess shall follow her servant”

“As you wish my lady”

We laughed again then hit the shops.

We didn’t really buy anything. At least Kate didn’t. She, however, seemed bound and determined to get me to buy things. We hit a lot of the little boutiques. After the second one, it became very clear to me that Kate had an ulterior motive on this little trip of ours. She wanted me to be her personal doll. I’m not exactly sure how I felt about it either. She kept throwing outfits at me, wanting me to try them on but not bothering to try anything on herself. We were in the third or fourth shop when I’d had enough.

“What the hell is this?” I asked, holding the most recent outfit she handed me.

“It’s a dress,” she said.

It was a nice one too. I’d seen a lot of girls at school wear them. A skater’s dress I think they were called. This one was a light blue.

“I know what this is,” I said, holding up the article of clothing. “I was referring to all the clothes and junk”

“Its two girls shopping?”

I shook my head. “No, it’s one girl shopping and other one taking great pleasure out of said shopping girl doing it. What the hell is going on?”

Kate had been smiling before but as soon as I snapped, her smile evaporated. It was replaced by a look I’d never seen on her before. That look was followed by tears and before I knew what was happening, she was out of the store. Cursing, I threw down the dress and rushed after her. The sales woman shouted something at me but I ignored her. I found my friend sitting on a bench a few stores down, crying. I approached her slowly, dropping down next to her. I put my arm around her, pulling her into a hug. I let her cry it out, waiting for her to tell me what was wrong.

“Its I’m sorry ok,” she said, still teary-eyed. “I…the other girls…they don’t like me”

“That’s not true,” I said, not really believing it myself actually.

Kate came off strong. She’d always been that way, though. It was one of the reasons she got along with the boys so well. Looking at her now something dawned on me. She might have gotten along well with said boys but it was clear she didn’t really want too. Sure, she did the same things we did but I think that’s what happens when you have three brothers and only a father to raise you. Kate was a girl after all and girls needed to be with other girls too. Something else occurred to me too. Us cutting her off, I think it was more her letting us go then the other way around.

At least trying and failing.

“You want to talk about it?”

She wiped her tears. “When you guys ditched me, it hurt. It hurt really bad. I thought there was something wrong with me you know. I cried for days. My Dad didn’t know what to do; my brothers definitely didn’t know what to do. It was Cindy and my aunt that seemed to pull me out of things. That’s why they took me on vacation. I think they thought if I spent some time around them that I might feel better. I did too. Then I met Chloe and she was awesome. Everything was good”

I nodded. “What changed then?”

“I got back to school,” she said sadly. “I thought that I could make new friends, girl friends. I tried but all of them were scared of me. They knew me only as K.C. and I tried to change that. I started calling myself Kate; I quit soccer and other sports. I started dressing more like a girl but nothing seemed to work. Then I saw you at the dance, dressed like that. It surprised the hell out of me. When we started talking again, I thought what the hell why bother. This is where my true friend was. I had you guys back, I had you back”

I gave her another hug.

“When I noticed your boobs growing, I freaked,” she said, sniffling. “I know I’m a horrible person. Then I got to thinking. If you were a girl---like me---then I’d have what I was missing. So I pushed you”

“No, you didn’t!”

She nodded. “Yes, I did. I shouldn’t have but I really wanted too. I was being a selfish bitch about it. I wanted so bad to have a real girl friend I thought that if I could somehow make you into her, even a little bit…”

Wow.

“Then when you started to change…I thought…I thought…”

She started to cry again. I held her, letting her sob into my shoulder.

“You thought you caused this?” I asked softly.

“I prayed to God every night for a friend, a girl friend,” she sobbed. “Then you started changing…”

“Kate,” I said, holding her shoulders gently. “You didn’t cause this”

She wiped her eyes. “You’re sure?”

I nodded. “The doctors don’t know what’s going on but it wasn’t you.”

“You were a boy…”

“And now I’m a girl. I’m happy like this”

“You are?”

“Yes,” I said truthfully. “It was a little surprising at first but I’ve accepted it. Let’s be honest here too besides the soccer and video games, I wasn’t much of a boy to begin with”

She didn’t argue.

Just what I needed.

“I’m still a bitch,” she said finally, though.

“Why?”

“Well after we both realized there was probably no going back, all I could think about was myself and how I got my wish. I had this girl friend now, the one I always wanted. Then I started to get scared you might not want to be friends with me. So I started doing things with you that most girls did together”

I sighed. “That’s why you wanted to go shopping?” She nodded. “You hate shopping!”

“I know!” she said, laughing through her tears.

I hugged her again.

“Kate all girls are different. You don’t have to force yourself to be someone you don’t want to be. You can be KC if you want or you can be Kate or Katie or even Katherine”

She made a face at the last name, which got us both laughing.

“It doesn’t matter who you are,” I continued. “I’m still going to be your friend. Your best friend if you’ll have me?”

She nodded then hugged me this time. I started crying a bit after that.

When we were done, I realized we were both probably quite the sight.

“C’mon, we look like raccoons” I pulled her up from the bench.

We went into the nearest shop and made our way to the bathroom. Kate watched me with interest as I reapplied my makeup like a pro. She was stunned a bit, I noticed.

“You really are a girl aren’t you?” she asked with a smirk.

“And proud of it!” I said with a giggle.

“Thanks, Chris,” she said as we left the bathroom.

I realized something else too. I think I knew who Chris needed to be. Sure I was Christy but that was just a nickname after all. It was a name that had also been thrust upon me. I liked it but it still needed something more.

“Christine,” I said with a smile. “I think I like Christine”

“Ok,” she said, stretching the “k” out a bit. “Is it ok if I still call you Christy, though. Because Christine sounds like the name of a bitch”

She laughed, I gave her a shove.

The sales woman in the store gave us a nasty look which only caused us to laugh more.

We weren’t two enemies, though.

We were two best girl friends.

Now and forever.

The shopping trip ended about an hour later in front of Leo’s, a local pizza joint that a lot of teenagers favored.

We were standing outside the door but had yet to go inside. I was seemingly frozen in place. I had one shopping bag in hand and a lot of butterflies in my stomach. We went back to that shop---the one where she had her breakdown. I bought that dress. It was just too damn cute and it looked amazing on me. Surprisingly Kate bought one too. Though hers was black and she planned to accessorize the hell out of it with skulls or something, it was cool she bought one. Maybe together the two of us could find and embrace our inner girly girl.

One thing we also had to face together.

Social situations.

Kate grabbed my hand.

“You want to eat somewhere else?”

I shook my head. “We have to do this eventually,” I said, giving her hand a squeeze.

It was a Saturday afternoon and of course, Leo’s was packed. It was always packed on Saturdays after all. This time was no different except everyone inside. Half of them were classmates, the other half an assortment of kids from Huntington and Prescott. Outside of school and social circles, Leo’s was a good place to mingle. It didn’t matter your social status or standing in there. It was like the Teen UN, all were welcome. I just couldn’t help but wonder how these “ambassadors” were going to respond to me.

Well, Just Roll With it.

Kate went in first, I followed shortly behind.

No one reacted.

I mean some people looked at us but only because they somewhat recognized us but no one said anything. We got into line, ordered our food then managed to snag one of the booths. A real score for us considering how sought after they were. I couldn’t help but feel there were eyes on me, though, like everyones. I glanced over at a group of girls from our school. They were Becky’s friends I think. One of them was Carla Jones; she was in my math class. She caught me looking---gave me a strange one in return---but went back to talking to her friends like I was nothing.

A moment later though, another girl at the table looked at us.

“Ummm, why is the Barbie Patrol looking at us?”

Kate called Becky’s friends the “Barbie Patrol” because most of them were blonde.

Like Carla and the other girl---Marcie---I think her name was.

Like me too I might add.

“I was kinda being nervous,” I said “you know looking around. I saw them, Carla saw me see them and now…”

Carla and Marcie’s looking was apparently contagious because the two other girls at the table were looking too. I cursed and nearly lost it. I could after all only see Carla and Marcie because they were facing me. The other two girls at the table had their backs to us so I only saw heads. However as soon as one of the heads turned, I wanted to die.

It was Becky.

And why wouldn’t it be, she didn’t go anywhere without them.

I locked eyes with her and she knew.

I could see the recognition on her face.

“Let’s leave now!” I said, getting up.

“Why?”

“Because Becky just realized who I was,” I said, trying to bolt but Kate grabbed my wrist.

“Oh no you don’t,” she said “we have to do this. Now or later, you can’t run from these people”

She was right of course.

I sat back down and sure enough Becky was coming over. I wanted to crawl under the table and never come out. Hey, it was a nice restaurant, I’m sure the owner wouldn’t mind a teenage girl living here.

“Hey guys,” said Becky, looking at me strangely.

“Barbie,” said Kate with a sneer.

“Becks,” I said then silently cursed myself.

“Chris” she gasped. “It really is you!”

I nodded. “In the flesh”

“What the hell happened?”

She quickly waved her friends over. Great, more Barbies. Somehow they thought it was an invitation because they slipped into our booth where they could. Kate gave me a look so I knew how she was enjoying it. There wasn’t enough room so two of the girls had to sit at the nearby table. All of them were looking at me. When Becky said “She is Chris” that got them to look even more. Begrudgingly and probably not for the last time, I told them the lie. I was getting pretty good at telling it now though so at least that was a plus.

“Wait so you’re a girl?” asked Becky.

I nodded. “Yep”

“How can that be,” she said then blushed. “We used to bathe together when we were little. You had a little thing, I saw it”

“It wasn’t real,” said Kate “at least not in the sense you think. It was more like an extension of things down there”

She made a gesture to her groin area.

Where in the hell did she learn that?

The girls seemed to nod. Becky nodded too but she was making a face as well. Not a good one either I noticed. And there was the first. I think I saw it as soon as she realized who I was. It was the disgust. Not quite the same as my mother’s---Becky hid hers better---but it was there nonetheless. Her friends didn’t have it I’m surprised to say but she sure did. She kept looking at me then looked away. She was reading me, though, I could tell. I knew then too. I knew from that moment I could no longer consider her a friend.

The girl I once liked now hated me.

Her loss.

Kate and I tried our best to be civil with the Barbies but we really weren’t in that crowd. After about five minutes or so, the novelty of me wore off and they went back to their table. I was glad to have them gone. I was especially glad Becky was gone too. I hated the false way she seemed to be “okay” with me when she clearly wasn’t. Looking at her, I remembered something too, something insignificant until now. Our mothers were friends, did a lot together---including going to that group together.

Unlike me and my siblings, apparently Becky believed the bull.

I felt sad for her.

“Well that was shit,” said Kate sadly. “You had a thing for her right?”

“Emphasis on had,” I said and she gave my hand a gentle squeeze.

“Well fuck her”

We both agreed then and there that if someone couldn’t accept me for me then they weren’t worth our time. I didn’t choose to be like this but I was going to chose to live like this. I was a girl now and if people couldn’t accept it then they weren’t really my friends after all.

Our pizza arrived and we tried to put it past us. The two of us were back to having a good time. I did notice that Becky left soon after talking to us. She was the only one, though. Her friends were still there. Carla looked at me and mouthed “sorry”. I think she knew. It was hard not to. It was nice of her, though, I mean to show some genuine concern. I tried to not think about it. It helped that Kate was distracting me. She already had another trip planned. She wanted to see if someone could take us to the Galleria to do some serious shopping. She’d even let me get her into some things I picked out. I liked the idea of it even if I didn’t really know what I was doing.

We finished our pizza a little after that. Of course, we had to get a box to take the leftovers. We both agreed to give them to Sam for driving us. While Kate was calling him on her cell, I noticed three familiar fools walking our way.

I cursed.

Greg, Brad and John.

Apparently, I was already replaced. I mean I knew Brad was getting chummy with the two of them, I just never thought he’d downright replace me. I was wondering why neither of them had been around much lately when I called. Now I knew why. I was a little pissed. I say a little because I realized I’d been doing pretty much the same to them except with Kate. She and I had been spending a lot more time together, time that I usually spent hanging with them. Not that we really did much together---me and the boys---besides just playing games. Lately, it was a lot of listening to them talk about which girls they wanted to date and that crap.

Nothing I could really join in.

Seeing them now together---the three of them---made me peeved.

It also made me really nervous.

Sure John knew about me but he’d seen me at the game. A me that was a lot different than the me now. Greg and Brad, of course, had no idea.

The worst part was they were heading our way. I was hoping they wouldn’t notice us but of course, John saw Kate. He was still hung up on her, it was sad really.

“Hey Kate,” he said as she finished her call.

“Hey guys,” she said, looking a bit surprised and nervous.

“”Hey,” said Greg and Brad.

Both of them were looking at me strangely.

“Who’s your friend?” asked John, giving me a good look.

I think it dawned on him a second later. I saw it in his eyes. Just like Becky, he suddenly realized who I was.

“Pixie,” he said softly.

Not soft enough though because Greg, of course, twigged on it.

“No fucking way,” he said, giving me a look.

A Becky look.

Shit.

“So this is what you’ve been doing?” he asked, clearly disgusted. “This is why you can’t hang with us anymore. Because you’re out traipsing around in a dress, playing girl with Kate”

“I’m not playing anything”

“Yeah,” said John defensively. “She is a girl”

“She?” asked Greg. “What, he has you calling him a girl now?”

“She is a girl,” said Kate, clarifying.

“I was misdiagnosed at birth…” I started to say, giving Greg the same talk.

“Bull shit,” he snapped, really angry.

“Bull nothing” snapped Kate.

Greg wasn’t buying it. “You’re either a guy or a girl. You can’t be both and you can’t decide you want to be one or the other”

“She didn’t decide,” said John, coming to my defense again. “This was how she was born. She didn’t even know it until puberty started”

Greg didn’t seem to be listening anymore.

“Bull shit” he snapped again, angrier than before.

He started to push past us, really pissed off. In the process, he gave me a shove. I nearly fell over from being caught off guard in my converse heels. Kate reacted of course. She shoved him back, angrily I might add. When he balled up a fist, aiming toward me I was surprised when Brad grabbed his arm. I was even more surprised when Greg was on the ground a moment later, eating pavement. It had been so fast. I never even saw Brad move. Brad was on top of him now too, a knee in the back of Greg’s neck.

“You owe the lady an apology,” he snapped, angry.

“That’s not a lady”

“Apologize now!”

Brad grounded his knee into Greg’s shoulder blades. Sam apparently arrived in the middle of the scene. He saw what was going on and got out of the truck. At the sign of our apparent distress, he got Greg away from Brad. Not to help him up of course.

“Did you touch my sister you little punk?” he asked, grabbing the front of Greg’s shirt and lifting him a couple of inches off the ground.

Greg looked like he was about to piss himself.

“Sam we’re fine,” said Kate, putting her hand on his shoulder.

Sam let go of Greg but gave him a shove, away from us.

“Start walking and if you go anywhere near these two girls again, you better wish my sister is there to stop me”

Greg took off. Brad and John I noticed didn’t follow.

Both of them apologized for how stupid Greg had been. I just wanted to leave. I thanked them and Sam for the help. I was starting to feel the tears though and didn’t want them to see me cry. Kate caught on and told the boys we had to go.

“See you later” I managed as I got into the truck.

Sam was alone this time. I was happy for that because I didn’t want to cry in front of Brian either. As it was, Kate got into the back seat with me. The tears didn’t start to flow until we were pulling away, the boys in our rearview. Kate wrapped me in a hug and held me as I cried.
Two friends.

I’d lost two of them today.

How in the hell was I supposed to Roll with that?

Author’s note: As I’m sure all of you know, comments are life blood to an author. I’m not begging or demanding, but I certainly would appreciate anything you have to say (or ask). It doesn’t have to be long and involved, just give me your reaction to the story. Thanks in advance...EOF

-----

Author's Note: Here we are again, another week, another new chapter. Something happens in this chapter that people have been asking for so I hope it pleases people when it happens. I think I might have to slow down posting or write faster because I only have one more finished chapter after this written lol.

-----

3:

“I can’t believe I’m wearing this”.

I was in Sara’s room, standing once again in front of that giant mirror of hers. I’d really have to get one of my own. As it was now, though, I was safe in the fact that she even let me use it. What I wasn’t safe with was what I was currently wearing. I’ve avoided wearing dresses for the simple reason that it felt like a “point of no return” for me. Sure I owned a few thanks to my shopping excursions with both Sara and Kate. I loved the dresses I bought but they were just that---something I bought. I never actually thought about wearing them.

That is until last night.

I came to the realization that I’d missed church two weeks in a row already. The first weekend was because of that cheer practice I got roped into. Then I was in the hospital for the next one. The latter was unavoidable of course but this week I had no excuse. I wanted to show grandpa and the others that I wasn’t afraid either. I knew the road ahead was going to be tough but I wanted to get in front of this now. Most of my fellow classmates would be at church, it was a good time to show those who already didn’t know that this was who I am now.

Chris is gone, Christy here to stay.

Yesterday had solidified things for me in that regard.

After my run-ins with both Greg and Becky, I cried myself home. I cried for a while afterward too. Then I came to a decision. Well two of them actually. The first was that I wasn’t going to ever let jerks make me cry again. The second decision was bigger, though. I decided that I was going to get ahead of this thing before nasty rumors started to spread. Church was the perfect place to do so. If people still had problems with it then that was their problem. Narrow-minded idiots were always going to be that way and very little could change that.

I needed to be me now.

And the me I needed to be had to wear a dress.

This dress.

Sara bought it for me last night when I told her my decision. Unfortunately, I’d have to face the music alone. Sara had to work today. It was ok, though, I had to do this alone. Why I had to wear something this girly was beyond me, though. According to my sister, it was a cap sleeve dress---something she said I’d have to learn. It was white with tiny black polka dots, a black tie sash, and collar. The skirt went to my knees, very suitable for church. She had me pair it with some white stockings and heels. It was supposed to show everyone who I was and that I wasn’t afraid to be me now.

The me I wanted to be had to wear this dress.

It had its advantages I suppose.

I did look good in it at least.

Hey if I had to wear this then I better look good in it.

Ok, that sounds shallow but I needed shallow right now. After dealing with yesterday’s shitty friends, I needed shallow to make me feel better.

“You’re pretty, you look good and no one can make you feel bad today”

I nodded to myself in the mirror.

As if on cue, there was a knock on my door. I heard my mother’s voice a moment later, calling from my bedroom. Mom and I hadn’t spoken at all since the incident in the hospital. She was apparently doing what she did best---throwing herself into her work. We briefly crossed paths last night when she asked me if I was going to church. When I said I was, I got only the slightest of nods before she retired to her room to hide. If not working, she was always there. Hiding. To add to it was the fact that neither Mom nor Sara were speaking again. Mom seemed to blame Sara for what happened at the hospital. It was after all my sister who called my grandfather in. It had the desired effect at the time but I think Sara thought it would do more. I could tell she and Mom had words about it too. I could always tell when they fought and tried to hide it from me. There was this charge in the air whenever the two of them were in the same vicinity.

That charge was still lingering.

“What are you doing?”

Mom was now standing behind me, dressed for church. Her dress wasn’t all that different than mine actually except much more mature. It was strange how she dressed---like a grandma---when she was so young. I understood that it was church but even the Moms older than her didn’t dress like that.

“Just finishing up,” I said, taking one final look in the mirror.

“What on Earth are you wearing!”

I heard it in her tone. Anyone who wasn’t a zombie would be able to recognize that tone. I saw it on her face too. It was the look. The same one she gave me in the hospital. The same one from the office later too. It was a look that no mother should ever give her child. It was one of contempt but I wasn’t going to let it get to me. She’d made it very clear what she thought of me. I was just going to have to make it clear to her what I thought of her.

“What is it the wrong color?” I asked, feigning a frown.

I started to preen, knowing what it was going to do.

I wanted my mother to finally see. I wanted her to know. Chris was gone. I accepted it and she needed to as well.

“Get that off this instant!” she snapped.

She stormed into the room. She made a grab for me but stopped midway, probably second guessing her actions. After all, she was the one who used to pay for my martial arts lessons. Not that I’d ever hurt her. She was my mother after all, even if at the moment she was the biggest stranger in the world to me. I knew she was going to react badly to all of this but I never in a million years thought she’d treat me with such disdain and pure hatred. When we looked at one another I could tell she no longer saw me as anything but the abomination she thought I was.

I’d been a coward about it before too.

Hiding behind the doctors or even my grandfather.

And Sara.

Letting others fight for me.

No longer.

This was my fight. I needed to make her see that I was her daughter now and there was nothing anyone could do to change that.

“You think everyone at church would like it if I showed up in my underwear?”

“I think everyone in church---God included---would like it if you showed up as the boy you were born to be”

I scoffed. I wondered when God was going to come into this.

Now who was the coward?

“I think God knows I’m no longer a boy, Mom”

It was the wrong thing to say.

“Who are you to speak for God”

“Who are you to speak for him either!”

This time, she did go for me. She grabbed my arm, digging her nails into it. She dragged me out of Sara’s room, through our bathroom and back into mine. I was surprised by the gesture. My mother wasn’t a violent person. Sure she liked to yell and she carried a grudge like no one’s business. But I’d never seen her hit any of us. She and Sara got into some really nice ones, huge screaming matches but neither of them ever touched one another. Grabbing me now, Mom had escalated things to a whole new level. A dangerous threshold that once passed would never be able to be undone.

I think she realized it too.

She let me go as soon as we got into my room. It was a bit of a shove, causing me to stumble in my heels. Thankfully I caught the bed with my knees. After saving myself from disaster, I spun around, ready for a fight. Mom acted as if nothing happened. In fact, she was in my closet, looking through my clothes.

“Where are your good church clothes?”

She was rifling through my wardrobe. My new wardrobe, the one Sara and I had been building for the last week or so. I was proud of those clothes. It was strange the journey life had thrown at me. A few weeks ago, I was Chris, a fairly happy twelve-year-old boy without a care in the world well except for the whole slightly feminine thing. Now I was Christy, a well adjusted and very happy thirteen year old. Sure there were still bumps but I was learning to accept this life now. It was me and I was happy. The only one in the room that apparently wasn’t was my mother.

“I’m wearing my good church clothes,” I said defiantly.

“You’re wearing a dress and you look ridiculous” she snapped.

Had she finally lost her mind?

“What am I suppose to be wearing?”

“That nice button-down shirt and gray slacks you usually wear”

She had lost her mind.

“I can’t wear those anymore”

“Why not?”

“Because I’m a girl”

Mom stopped looking through my closet. She turned around and looked at me. I think she really looked at me. I saw it too, the real her, at least for a moment. The chink in the armor was gone and my mother was staring back at me, at her daughter. It was gone in a flash, though, replaced by whoever it was that she was pretending to be
.
“I know what you think you are but it’s nonsense. You’re my son. I’ve let you have your little game, I let the hospital have their little game but now it’s over. You will find your good church clothes and tomorrow we’ll go to a different doctor. Then the barber shop. This delusion of yours is coming to an end”

“The only delusional one here is you!”

There I said.

“How dare you!”

She swung at me, ready to slap me but this time, I was prepared. I caught her wrist in midswing, surprising both of us I think. My mother wasn’t a strong woman but she always had this presence. Maybe it was because she was so tall and beautiful but she always felt so foreboding to me. Even when we had our disagreements in the past, I never really truly fought with her. She and I used to have a very good relationship. That is when she was actually around. She’d always been a little controlling and I always used to play the good son but something happened in the last few weeks. Not just to me either. She had changed as well too.

The woman I loved---the woman who gave birth to me---was like a stranger now.

A stranger who couldn’t stand to look at me.

A stranger who I suddenly realized I didn’t want to look at either.

“Why you little…” she started but never got to finish.

“No” I snapped. “I’m talking now. I’ve put up with your bullshit for too long. This is the real world lady. Things here work differently than the tiny world you seem to live in all by yourself. I’m not sure what happened to me or why it happened but I’m going to be like this for the rest of my life. No amount of prayer or ignorance or denial is going to change things. Your son is gone. Chris is gone. I couldn’t bring him back even if I wanted too. You and I are just going to have to live with that”

There I said my piece.

I felt pretty good about it too.

The look of shock on Mom’s face was priceless too.

I was the last one left. Now I was in defiance of her will too.

So be it.

“You’re not going to church with me dressed like that,” she said, standing her ground.

“Then have fun sitting by yourself”

I didn’t plan on it but now I didn’t really feel like going anyway. Not if I was going to be with her. My grandfather would understand. I’d call him later and tell him what happened. God would understand too. I’m pretty sure he knew what was going on and he was the forgiving kind. I’d make it up to both of them as soon as I could.

Mom thankfully didn’t wait around to say anymore.

She stormed out of my room like a spoiled child. Me, I sighed and dropped heavily to my bed.

Well, that could have gone better that’s for sure.

There was this little community park a few blocks from our house. Mom used to bring me there when I was little. Dad used to as well but of course, I don’t remember that. It was one of those urban parks, you know a large stretch of green in the middle of the neighborhood. In the case of this particular park, it had a path for pedestrians, about a dozen trees, a few picnic benches and of course a playground. It was usually crowded but on this particular Sunday morning, I pretty much had it all to myself. This suited me just fine because I really didn’t want the company.

Trying to distract myself from the November chill and my bitter anger, I watched the few occupants.

There was a mother with a couple of small kids. She couldn’t have been more than twenty-five or so. I’d seen her here a few times before. This park was on the way to school. I passed by here most mornings actually. I never really did pay her much attention but today I couldn’t help but watch her. The kids were young, three or four maybe. Two little boys, I think they were twins because they looked alike. The little family was currently on the swings, the mother taking turns pushing each of her boys. A couple of weeks ago I never would have even stopped to look.

In fact, I usually just passed on by.

Today, though, there was just something about them that kept me transfixed.

Maybe it was my gender flip.

Or maybe I was just too self-absorbed before to care.

Whatever the reason now, I felt something for her.

Kindred spiritedness or something.

“Her name is Rachel,” said a voice as someone sat down on the bench next to me.

No, not someone, the other park occupant.

I knew him as well.

An older man, silver gray hair, expensive looking overcoat. I used to see him all the time too but not during the week on my way to school. Only on the weekends, on my way to and from soccer practice. If I had to guess he was a business man of some type, probably came out here before work or on his lunch break. He was rarely here during the afternoon, though. Every time I saw him he was either reading a newspaper or feeding the pigeons.

“Excuse me?’ I asked.

“The mother over there,” he said, setting his folded paper on the bench next to him. “Her name is Rachel, the two boys are Marcus and Jonathan. Their father is overseas. Every morning she brings them here, during the week her sister is with her and the two of them take turns watching the kids. On Sundays though her sister works so Rachel is all alone”

Wow.

“You must come here a lot to know all that,” I said, trying to be polite.

He nodded. “I like this park. It reminds me of the one I used to take my children too when they were small.”

“My parents used to bring me here too”

“So what brings you here today?” he asked “I usually don’t see you on Sundays. No practice?”

Wow, this guy seems to know it all.

Well, I guess that’s a given. He’s in this park every weekend so I guess he’s bound to notice things.

“Sunday is church usually”

“Not today?”

I shook my head. “I was going to go as you can see,” I said, waving my hand at the dress I was currently wearing. “My mother and I got into a fight.”

“A very determined woman your mother is,” he said, I looked at him like he was a nut which got him to chuckle. “I see her too from time to time. Most people don’t pay attention to the old man with the paper but he tends to see a lot. She sits over at that bench across the way. She drinks her morning coffee then gets in her car and goes to work.”

“I didn’t know that”

“So what was the fight about if you don’t mind me asking?”

I shrugged. “She’s stubborn. She doesn’t want to accept change even when it's staring her in the face. She can see it but she won’t admit it’s there”

“Change is a hard thing, especially for adults,” he said with a heavy sigh. “something happened to me a long time ago and I reacted badly to it I’m afraid. People involved were hurt and even after all these years, there isn’t a day that doesn’t go by that I don’t regret what I did”

I could see it on his face. There was anguish and remorse there. I felt bad for this man. Sadly I don’t think my mother would ever feel anything like that for me. She was so set in her stupid ways I don’t think she’d ever feel anything for me but hatred and loathing. Definitely never remorse or guilt over her actions toward me. I was just going to have to learn to accept that my mother would never warm up to me or come around. I still had Sara to fall back on. I still have Ken too I think. There was always my grandfather as well. My uncle too. Those were the people I would have to rely on the most now.

I did wonder something, though.

“Did you ever get a chance to make things right?”

I knew the answer before he said it.

I could see it on his face.

“Sadly no”

I wanted to hug him but of course, that was a bit unorthodox.

“That sucks”

He nodded. “Life has a way of doing that I’m afraid. I try to make up for it in other ways now. It might be too late but it helps”

“And it’s not too late for me…”

“I wouldn’t know honestly. I’m just striking up a conversation with a nice young lady on a park bench but if you want to know what I think” I nodded. “Well then, I think perhaps you give your mother some time to deal with this change then you try again. Keep trying if you have to in fact. There might be more fighting ahead for the two of you but I think eventually your mother will come to see that she’s wrong and finally accept things the way they are”

I smiled. Now I really wanted to hug him.

Hell, I felt like paying him a fee too.

I wonder how much you paid the park bench guy for sage advice these days?

So how do you follow up such sage wisdom?

You feed the birds.

That’s what we did. Park Bench Yoda had a paper bag full of bread crumbs and the two of us sat there silently scattering them on the ground until we ran out. We bid me farewell after that, having urgent business matters to attend too. I almost hugged him as I stood up to see him off. He gave me a slight smile then headed on his way. I watched him head across the street to a really nice silver BMW. There was a man in a suit waiting to open the door for him. Instead of getting into the driver’s seat, my Yoda got into the back.

Wow.

I waved goodbye a few moments later as the guard drove off.

As soon as the car was out of sight, I’d made up my mind on how I wanted to proceed with things. No, I’m not just talking about my mother either. Though I would have to deal with her eventually and soon if I wanted things to be better. I was thinking about everything. My former friends, my current friends, school, church, soccer. All of it needed to be addressed. My Park Bench Yoda was right. Change wasn’t something to run away from or ignore. I already knew that of course but now I just needed to convince other people of it too.

I think I knew where to start too.

First, though, I needed to go home and change.

The last thing I wanted was to start all of this in my church dress.

“Hey Amber,” I said into my cell as the cab came to a stop.

There was a grunt then a groggy groan of “Hey girl”

Clearly I’d woken up Miss Sunshine. I looked at the clock on my phone, it was only quarter to eleven. I was sure she would have been up now baking muffins for the needy or painting houses for squirrels or something. You know the things that perky girls like her like to do. I guess it kind of surprised me that she was lazy than I used to be on a Sunday.

“So I was thinking,” I said as I paid the cab and shut the door. “Is your offer still legit?”

“What offer?” she asked sleepily.

She really isn’t a morning person apparently.

‘The cheerleader one”

“OMG, yes!” she practically squealed into the phone.

Looks like you just need to say the magic word to wake Little Miss Amber up.

In this case, the word was cheerleader.

Amber went into overdrive after that, taking over our little conversation. She started to lay out the plan as it were. The weekends were devoted to cheer practice of course. The two squads practiced separately on Saturdays but on Sundays, she brought together a little impromptu group of both. It wasn’t a regular thing but whenever she felt that both squads needed a pick me up, she put it together. Both the coaches pretty much let her do her thing apparently. As it was, she really wanted to get me out to start my training. Amber was a keen little Cheer maniac. She started rambling off everything she wanted to accomplish, the ultimate goal was to turn me into a little Cheer Queen.

“You know if you do this, you’re turning me into a weapon for the enemy?”

She laughed. “Consider yourself Natasha Romanoff”

Wait what?

“Ummm…”

Holy crap, who would have thought.

‘Hey, I read comics. Of course, if you tell anyone, I’ll have to kill you”

Amber had Geek Cred.

“You’re full of surprises Amber,” I said with a laugh.

“And don’t you forget it”

I hung up after that.

Amber and her group weren’t going to be at the school for another hour at least. I cursed for getting here so early. I guess it would give me some time to tour the old place. Like I said before, I’d been here before. Of course, that was during games and I didn’t really get to explore the campus all that much. It being a Sunday though, most of it was all locked down. Several of the gates were closed and required key cards. I did find a sympathetic security guard who was nice enough to let me into the courtyard, though.

I found myself a good spot on the bench in front of the large statue.

Good ole Huntington the first or whatever.

Charles was his name.

My grandfather was like Charles the fifth or something now.

I didn’t really know much about it, to be honest.

According to the plaque in front of the bronze statue, the house was built in the 1870s and the statue was erected in the 1950s after the completion of the school.

Glaring up at my ancestor, I tried to see if I could see any family resemblance but of course I couldn’t.

It was a statue after all.

Waiting made me nervous too. I couldn’t help but second guess things too. Here I was about to take a really huge plunge into the world of girl. This morning it was the dress and now it was cheerleader. Two weeks ago, I would have laughed my ass off if anyone told me I’d be here right now. I’m not even sure why I was here, to be honest. I didn’t really want to be a cheerleader truth be told but it was better than nothing at the moment. After all, I knew there was no way I could show my face on the soccer field again. Not that I had anything against girls soccer, far from it in fact but I just didn’t want to feel cheated. I would keep on wondering about “What If’s” and I would just get depressed about the whole thing.

So soccer was gone.

It hurt but it had to be.

Cheerleading might be the right outlet. It wasn’t like I was completely foreign to the concept. Thanks to my martial arts, I was flexible. If it didn’t work out, there were other avenues to explore as well. The girls had suggested gymnastics at the last practice. Cindy had even suggested I try ballet. Then again she was probably just trying to land another student or something. I’m not sure ballet is the right fit for me, though, after all, Becky took ballet too. I’m not sure how she’d react to that.

Hefting my borrowed sports bag, I checked my phone.

Amber said she’d be arriving at noon.

I still had about ten more minutes.

Getting thirsty, I scoured the bag looking for my sports bottle. It was the very same one I used for soccer. I’m not sure how I got it back, though. Last I knew, it was in the locker room with the rest of my stuff. Stuff I left there last weekend after I collapsed and ended up in the hospital. It was the only thing of mine that had lasted from my old sports stuff, though. My practice gear from soccer didn’t exactly fit anymore. So before taking a cab here, I took one to a favorite sporting goods store of mine on the strip where I used to buy my soccer stuff. The woman there was nice enough and helped me find some yoga capris and a stretchy lycra tank top. Apparently it was an outfit that most cheerleaders practiced in.

Looking at both items in my bag made a wave of dread pass over me.

I was not looking forward to wearing either in front of a bunch of strangers.

A part of me definitely wanted to run but the other part…

Yep, Just Roll With It.

“Hey” shouted a familiar voice.

I looked up from rifling through my bag to see Amber come toward me, hefting a sports bag of her own. I was in mid-wave when I noticed she wasn’t alone. I was expecting her to not be alone. I was not, however, expecting it to be my former soccer teammate Marcus. He was walking a few paces behind her, hands in his coat pockets. He clearly didn’t want to be here.

Me, my heart was pounding a mile a minute.

I knew I was going to face these guys eventually but I just wasn’t prepared for it.

Part of me was afraid of the reaction.

I didn’t want another Greg incident.

Especially now, here, without Sam to come to my rescue.

As they got closer, my anxiousness increased.

Marcus was looking right at me now. It was a look of confused recognition. As he got closer, though, I saw it on his face:
He knew.

“Hey,” I said, zipping up the bag.

‘Hey,” he returned.

Marcus was always of very few words, except on the field or the locker room.

“So I told Marc about things…you know the whole medical condition…”

“Look, it’s weird but I’m not freaked. No offense Pixie, but you haven’t always been the biggest, manliest man out there”

I nodded. I wasn’t going to argue with that.

“What I wanted to really say” he continued “is that I’m ok with it. I heard about what happened with Greg yesterday. I want you to know that if he pulls any of that shit again, especially on the field, we’re gonna kick his ass afterward”

Greg, so John must have told him.

I guess that was fair.

Wait…he did he say field?

“Marc, I’m not going back to soccer,” I said, deciding to make my stand. “Its just too weird you know. I’m gonna talk to coach about it tomorrow or some time very soon. I know I can’t play with you guys anymore and frankly, it just wouldn’t feel right being on the girls team you know?”

He nodded. “I figured, I just thought maybe…”

Whatever Marcus was going to say got interrupted by some commotion behind him. We all turned to look and saw several more people coming this way. All girls, of course, all of them carrying the purple Huntington cheer bags. I counted six altogether, two of them I knew. Cindy was leading the pack, following shortly behind was a slender black girl and cute red head with freckles. They all appeared to be about the same age, so I’m guessing they were Varsity. The three girls behind them were my age. Amongst them, of course, was Hannah, my cousin twin. To be honest now, though, there were definitely some differences between us.

I decided really see it until she got closer.

Our hair was a different shade now, hers much darker. She wasn’t as curvy as me either. Not that I’m fat or anything but Hannah has always been this little thin thing. I was also taller than her I noticed. So I guess I really had grown more than I thought. Score one for the combination of my parents’ genes.

With her were two girls talking animatedly with each other. One was blonde, her hair nearly white. She was really pretty and I could tell the guys most of really loved her because the Boob Fairy was very kind. The other girl had long straight jet black hair. She was definitely part Asian, I could see it in her features.

All of them stopped a few feet in front of me.

Hannah and I locked eyes.

She gave me a confused look then her mouth dropped slightly.

I smiled softly.

“Hey cuz,” I said with a playful smirk.

“Holy…” she said as she stepped forward, giving me a big hug.

‘Guys” said Amber, drawing everyone’s attention. “This is Christy Ryder and before you think there’s some kind of freaky cloning experiment conspiracy going on, she’s Hannah’s cousin. Christy is going to be joining us for practice tonight. Cindy and I have decided to turn her into a cheerleader”

There was a quick round of intros.

The black girl was Tanisha, her red-headed teammate was Molly.

Pretty blonde JV girl was Debbie, her dark haired Asian friend was Regan.

After the intros, Amber led us to the locker room. That was my second challenge of the day I realized. I was a little nervous before going in. I mean I used to be a boy. I wasn’t exactly sure I belonged in there. The reassurance though came in the form of Hannah, who grabbed my hand. Together the two of us went inside. I let out a big sigh when the floor didn’t open up and swallow me whole. I was surprised that locker room was pretty much the same as the guys. Well almost anyway. The tiles were a peach color for instance and it didn’t smell. The lockers were a lot cleaner too and all of them still had their doors. The biggest difference was how clean the place felt. The garbage cans weren’t overflowing with crap and there was no lude graffiti all over the walls. Even if this was a prep school, I was willing to bet that the boy’s locker room was a pig sty.

Hannah found me an empty locker next to hers.

I was surprised she was taking everything so well.

I decided to get dressed as fast as possible. I kept my eyes forward as I pulled my shirt over my head as quick as possible. I had briefly gone home after leaving the park this morning if only to change out of the dress and into some normal clothes. Well jeans and t-shirt, normal attire for me that is. In choosing a bra, I decided to just go with a sports bra already considering where I was going. I couldn’t help but notice earlier though that my little booblets were getting bigger. Not huge like Debbie’s but they were definitely growing. Emily did say that there might be some more changes as my body settled. She did say it was common though for girls who were going through puberty which is what I was now. My boobs would grow, my fat would shift and I would get taller.

I definitely liked that last part.

I took a quick peek around the room and couldn’t help but smile when I noticed I was the tallest girl here.

“I was at the hospital you know,” said Hannah as the two of us were just finishing up our dressing, i.e. lacing up our shoes. “You were sleeping at the time so you didn’t notice but Mom brought Claire and me”

I was glad for that.

“Thanks,” I said and meant it.

‘Is it true though?” she asked, lowering her voice. ‘They really have no idea what caused it?”

So apparently Hannah was in on the secret.

I nodded. “One day I was me and then the next I started becoming she”

I almost giggled at the stupid joke.

It was the last joke for the next couple of hours.

I think I mentioned how I thought Amber was a Slave Driver. Well, I was wrong. She was Darth Vader in a sports bra. I have never worked so hard in my life. After leaving the locker room, Amber ran us through the paces. First, it was a couple laps around the track then it was the typical warm up exercises. That was the easy part of it all. The grueling stuff came with the actual cheer moves. I thought I was pretty limber and flexible but I was dead wrong. I didn’t even know a human body could move the way she had us moving. I did learn something about myself, though. I could now do a full split, something I knew I couldn’t do before. After the moves, it was the cheers. There had to be twenty or so of them and she made us do them over and over again. She kept saying she was doing it for my benefit which after the tenth time got everyone---including Hannah---glaring at me.

When we finally hit the showers, I was exhausted that showering with a bunch of other girls didn’t even make me bat an eye.

“You did good today,” said Amber just as I was finishing getting back into my civvies.

I grunted. “You’re a bad person”

She laughed. “I had to make sure you had what it takes and I’m happy to say that you passed. Next Saturday I want you here with the others bright and early. I was telling the coach about you the other day. I know you don’t go to this school but she was really interested in your potential. Who knows, she might be able to put in a good word at Prescott if you’re interested?’

You know what, I actually was.

“Can I think about it?”

“‘No rush,” she said then walked off.

A moment later, Hannah dropped down onto the bench next to me, cell in hand.

“Ok so good news and bad news”

Uh oh.

“The bad first”

Like a band-aid.

“So I just got off the phone with Sara. Your mother is in quite a mood. Your defiance of her this morning really sent her off the deep end. I guess she made a bit of a scene at church then at work later. She’s been suspended. It's only for a few days but Sara thinks it might not be such a smart idea going home right now”

Great, just great.

“So now I’m homeless”

I actually felt like crying.

Hannah smiled big. “Not homeless per se. How about an extended sleepover for a few days?”

I think I was floored.

I’d never actually been to Hannah’s before, well at least not alone.

Mom didn’t like us spending a lot of time with the Huntington’s. Even though Hannah wasn’t technically one, at least in name, she was still in blood. She was also “a part of that world” as mom called it. Mom didn’t mind us socially at get togethers---birthdays, holidays---that type of thing but never outside of that. She was afraid they’d rub off on us and make us snobs. It was kind of funny really because Mark and Tracy---Hannah’s parents---weren’t all that dissimilar to us. Mark was a history professor after all. Tracy was a sales rep. They didn’t make loads of cash or anything. In fact, Mark wasn’t even Great Aunt Gloria’s oldest child. So he wasn’t going to inherit half a fortune.

They were normal people.

Like us.

If anything, Mom was the snob.

Still I couldn’t help but smile at how pissed off Mom was going to be when she found out I was going to be spending a few days over at the Greene’s.

Author’s note: As I’m sure all of you know, comments are life blood to an author. I’m not begging or demanding, but I certainly would appreciate anything you have to say (or ask). It doesn’t have to be long and involved, just give me your reaction to the story. Thanks in advance...EOF

-----

Author's Note: Here's Ch.4. I decided to go ahead and publish it after all. Like I said in my blog though, this is the last fully written chapter of the story I have at the moment :(. I'm currently working on ch.5 and hope to have it done by the end of the week, however, I probably won't post it until I have at least Ch.7 or 8 done. So expect a week or two without any new chapters of this story. I didn't want to do this but real life interfered sadly and I haven't had a lot of time to write :(. Thanks for reading and hopefully understanding lol.

-----

4:

Unlike the rest of the Huntington’s, the Greenes didn’t actually live in Green Valley. Though still very well off, I guess they didn’t quite meet the standards of the gated community lifestyle. Instead, they lived in a newer suburb development toward the end of town. Built around ten years ago or so, Prescott Acres was actually one of those buy a plot and build a house type of developments. So even though the first house might have gone done ten years ago, its neighbor might have only been a few months old. It was just how things that seemed to work.

Looking out the window as we pulled into the development, I grimaced.

It was hard not to.

Sure our house was a pretty decent size but it didn’t compare to the neo-eclectic McMansions that dotted both sides of the street. These things were massive, most with multiple rooms and at least three car garages. The further in the winding road went I knew they got bigger. The last time I visited, Hannah had taken me to one of her favorite places. The end of the development actually opened up into a little-wooded area surrounding a fairly decent sized lake. Being a bit of a tomboy like Kate, Hannah said she used to spend quite a lot of time there fishing and catching frogs.

I still found it hard to believe anyone had ever talked her into becoming a cheerleader.

Up until I was ten, in fact, I thought she was a boy.

The car finally came to a stop in their driveway. I looked up at the house and sighed. This was going to be my home for the next few whatever. I say whatever because no one really knew how long I was going to be here. Apparently Sara had been working on this little solution long before I had my blow out with Mom this morning. My sister truly was a wonder. She just seemed to have one plan after another, all of them in place to help me. After the plan with my grandfather sadly fell through, this one seemed to present itself. Sara had made all the arrangements. I was to stay with the Greene until she could either convince my mother she was being crazy or find a more permanent solution to my problem.

Getting an apartment in the city was even mentioned.

I didn’t like that idea in the least, though. It conflicted with Sara’s plans. She was supposed to be going to college next year, not staying home to take care of me. She’d already sacrificed enough of her life worrying about me. I wanted her to be happy for once and do her own thing. I planned on telling her that too as soon as I could get her on the phone for more than a minute or two.

Like I said, very busy.

“This is going to be so great,” said Hannah enthusiastically grabbing my hand and giving it a good squeeze.

“Yeah great” I lied but not too convincingly.

Hannah frowned. “You sure you’re ok?”

No.

‘Yeah” I lied again, ‘just a lot to get used too”

She nodded. I could tell she didn’t believe me but she didn’t pursue the matter.

Instead, she got out of the Lexus, I followed.

No matter how many times I saw this house, I was always amazed at the size of it. It was like the rest of the houses on the block, oversized, overpriced and way too big for a family of four. I keep on forgetting Hannah had a little brother. Not that my cousin Davey was unforgettable but he was only five so it was hard to remember. He was also really shy, he didn’t do well with strangers. The fact that he barely knew me didn’t help things either. I only saw the Greene’s made four times a year at the most. Davey spent most of that time clinging to his mother’s side. It was no surprise that he didn’t show up at my birthday last week either, I hadn’t expected him too.

Still, though, you could probably fit our entire house in the front yard of this place.

Ok so I was exaggerating slightly but not by much.

Mark and Tracy didn’t make much more than Mom actually. I’m not sure how much they made but it was more than enough to live here apparently. I overheard Mom complaining about it once actually. She was prone to do that from time to time. Not that she had anything against my father’s cousins, she barely knew them after all. They were Huntington's’ though and that was enough for her. That’s how I knew though that Aunt Gloria had actually paid for this place. Mark and Tracy paid the bills but the house had been fully on her. It made me wish that my grandparents had at least one generous bone in their bodies but apparently not.

“You girls good?” asked Cousin Mark as he took my bags out of the trunk.

I nodded as he handed them to me.

“We’re good Daddy, you’re free to leave”

He smiled, kissed her on the forehead then got back into his vehicle.

Mark had a little get together with some college friends every weekend. One that I made him late for because we had to swing by home after the practice. Tracy and Sara both insisted I get a few days worth of things packed just in case. Thankfully Mom wasn’t home when we got there. Sara had made sure the doors were unlocked before she went to work. Hannah had helped me pack then we made tracks as quick as possible.

The last thing either of us needed was a run in with Mom.

Tracy met us at the front door, a big warm smile on her face.

Before I could say anything, she pulled me into a hug.

Tracy was just shy of her fortieth birthday but she definitely didn’t look it. Maybe a few age lines and some gray hairs but that could easily be chalked up to stress and not age. Unlike her husband the professor, she did work for MerTech. All I really knew was that she was a sales rep. I’m not sure if that meant she went door to door or if she was someone in an office somewhere. Given the size of the house and that I knew there were at least two BMWs in the garage I’m shooting for the latter. She was blonde like Hannah but unlike her daughters, it was more strawberry blonde. Whereas I mentioned Hannah having a darker shade of blonde than me, her older sister Claire’s hair could hardly be considered blonde at all actually, maybe a very light shade of brown.

Davey took after his father.

“Now let me take a look at you,” said Tracy as she took a step back from the hug. “Wow, if I didn’t know any better I’d say you were Hannah’s twin”

“I know Mom, isn’t it creepy”

We weren’t one hundred percent alike of course. Her nose was a little narrower and her lips a bit thinner. Her skin was a lot tanner than mine too but only because she spent a lot of time outdoors. When not cheerleading, Hannah was also in track and field. The biggest difference about the two of us though had to be height. Hannah was barely five three whereas I was almost five seven now. I was still amazed about that part. Only a few weeks ago I was a shrimp and now look at me.

Of course, I was a guy back then too.

“Come along Christy honey,” said Tracy, taking to my new name just as quick as her daughter. “I’ve just finished setting up the guest room for you”

She led the way into the house and I tried not to look like a fish in its bowl.

Like most of the houses on the block, it had an open floor plan. Lots of open space and high ceilings. There were five bedrooms and three and a half baths. Little Davey got the half while---like Sara and me---Hannah shared hers with her sister. The guest room was the only room on the ground floor apparently, right next door to the guest bathroom. I also noticed it was across from the kitchen too. It was also apparently the smallest room in the house not that I would have noticed. It was definitely bigger than mine.

“I’m sorry about the size of it,” said Tracy from the doorway as I stepped inside. “It’s a little plain too. If you want, Mark can take you out to the galleria after his outing, we can…”

“Its great, better than great actually,” I said and meant it.

To be honest, I’d been feeling a little out of place in my room the last few days.

Not that there was anything wrong with it, it just didn’t feel like me anymore.

“I’ll give you some time to get situated. When you’re ready, Hannah is in the den”

I thanked her as she left.

I dropped my bag on the bed and took a look at the room. Like the rest of the house, it was pretty spacious. It was sparsely decorated, though. There was a simple dresser against the far wall, a queen size bed in the center and a desk on the opposite wall. The room was painted in neutral colors and had a warm, welcoming feeling. It also had a rather large window that looked out onto the back yard I noticed. I took a moment to take in that view and was always amazed by it. Each of the houses here seemed to have half an acre or more of land. The Greene’s were no different, though a good portion of their yard was taken up by the large in-ground pool and jungle gym. In the far corner of it was the tool shed.

We had one of those too. Like Mark, my father used to spend any time he could out there. Unlike Mark, my Dad being an engineer exactly had a good idea what he was doing with his tinkering.

I finished putting my clothes away in a few minutes, after all, I only packed for a couple of days. I hoped I wouldn’t be here that long. I’m not sure what the actual plan was but I wanted to go home. I knew my mother was the problem but I also knew that I still loved her. She might not be the best person for me right now but somewhere inside of her she knew she still loved me too. I was just going to have to wait it out and hope she finally came to her senses. I saw the love there, it was the slight ways she kept looking at me. I’m not sure what was holding her back from it but I knew my real mother was pressing against the outlines of this monster that that man created.

“Wow,” said a familiar snarky voice from behind me. “They gave you the good room”

I smiled big and turned around, finding Kate leaning in the doorway.

I gave her a big hug and emotions took over.

She held me while I cried.

“Hey Princess, you’re getting makeup all over my shirt”

I laughed, pulling away and wiping my face.

“What are you doing here?” I asked, surprised to see her.

She feigned being hurt. “What you’re the only one who can come to this palace?”

I gave her a playful shove.

“I just thought…well never mind, I’m glad to see you. I’ve been having a shitty day”

She gave me another hug. “That’s what Sara said when she kidnapped me”

“Remind me to thank her”

“Remind me to shank her”

We both laughed. After this morning, I needed a good laugh.

It was at that moment, I noticed a similar looking bag at her feet.

“What’s with the backpack?”

She sighed heavily. “I’ve been roped into something you locals call a slumber party”

I gave her an even bigger hug after that.

“Ok girls I’m going to trust you on this today and tonight,” said Tracy, giving all of us the talk as it were.

We all nodded like we were listening.

“I know Christy doesn’t have school tomorrow but Hannah and Katie do, so the three of you need to keep this low key and early. No staying up past ten o’clock and nothing too wild. Don’t forget that Christy has an important meeting tomorrow, one she needs to be alert for”

“Oh, c’mon mom,” said a newly arrived Claire.

She was dressed in her dance practice gear, having apparently just come from ballet class. She looked pretty stylish in her gray warm-ups over her white leotard, the tard only exposed because her top was midriff. Her hair was still pulled up in the characteristic ballerina bun, though. Like Cindy, Claire was also a junior instructor at Madame Gertrude’s. Unlike Cindy though, Claire apparently had a class to teach today.

“Since you decided to have an opinion on it, I’m putting you in charge”

Claire looked like she was about to protest when her eyes fell on me. This was the first time we’d seen each other since my birthday party. Like Hannah, her eyes seemed to pop out of her head. I mean at the party I was already pretty damn girly but of course, now I was full blown. I couldn’t help but smile at her look. She smiled too, which slowly turned into this mischievous look. I didn’t like that look. Sara used to get that look whenever she was going to do something to me.

“Sure Mom,” she said slyly. “I’d love to!”

Tracy left us to it. When she was gone, Claire walked over to me and pulled me into a warm, welcoming hug.

“Welcome to the better sex, little cuz”

Claire was a little hard to get used too. She came on strong in everything she did. She meant well of course but she was the kind of girl that knew what she liked. She was also the kind of girl that knew what you were supposed to like too. I’m not saying she forced it upon you or anything but she was very convincing. I couldn’t remember a Christmas where she couldn’t talk us all into doing something crazy. One Christmas, she talked us all into having a snowball fight barefoot. Last year at her Sweet Sixteen party, she insisted everyone---including the guys---wear an article of pink. My uncles got away with a pink tie or pocket handkerchief. Tom and I actually had to wear pink shirts. It was really embarrassing.

So of course to Claire, I was now the better sex.

Not that I was complaining.

Thanks to people like Tom and Greg, I was beginning to think she was right.

“Claire, you’re smothering her,” said Hannah, pulling me out of her sister’s embrace.

Claire laughed and stared. “Its just so fucking amazing”

“Try living it”

“I’ll bet”

She asked a few questions then seemed to get bored with it.

That was another one of her quirks.

I didn’t mind though because frankly I was getting a little tired of explaining it. Of course, I knew there would be plenty more explanations in my future but at least I had the whole “medical screw up” lie to fall back onto. My family knew the truth. I’m sure some of them probably thought it was my fault like Mom and Dr. Bashir. I was just glad that the Greene’s seem to accept the truth. I just knew how Tom was going to react to all of this. My uncles were a different matter. John was pretty cool, I think he suspected something was up at my party actually. I’m not sure about Chris though. We were never really close, to be honest. Maybe I reminded him too much of my father?

“Ok now,” said Claire, taking charge like usual. “Why don’t you girls get in your jammies, I’ll go get changed into mine and we can get this party really started”

I looked at Kate who was rolling her eyes.

I couldn’t help but smirk.

Claire was going to love trying to get Kate to do things.

It was a disaster waiting to happen.

As soon as Claire was gone, Hannah made a bolt for the stairs, leaving Kate and me alone.

She sighed heavily. “Is she for real?”

I read her mind. “Claire?” She nodded and I laughed. “She’s a force to be reckoned with”

‘Ok if she tries to assimilate me, I want a mercy killing”

We shook on it.

After that, we dropped onto the couch. I took that chance to look around the Greene’s den. Not much had really changed since I’d been here last. They still had the giant sectional, though this one appeared to be new. It had one end that seemed to form a bed which was cool. There was still the wall of DVDs and BluRays, they still had the giant flatscreen too. The focal of the room though was the dance wall. One whole wall in the room was one of those ballet mirrors, complete with bar and everything. I knew from experience that there were mats and things like that in the closet. Claire had been a ballerina since she was real little. I vaguely remember going to a dance recital of hers once, back before my father died.

‘This place is crazy” said Kate, having finished looking around the room as well.

I shrugged. ‘Claire is a dancer, it makes sense her family would do this”

Kate shook her head. “I meant this whole house. I mean, is this how the other half lives?”

“I wouldn’t know,” I said softly.

Ok, so I was envious. I was also a little pissed.

This could have been my life.

I’m not saying I really wanted to be rich but when you knew you could have been, it kind of sucked. Sure my Dad wasn’t a peasant by any means but this life---Hannah’s life---something like it could have been possible. Sure I probably wouldn’t have gone to Huntington but I would have at least had a better relationship with Dad’s family. I knew probably never with my grandparents but definitely with my cousins, at least more than a few times a year.

Kate seemed to sense something was wrong because she hugged me.

“Oh hug time,” said Hannah as she ran into the room, jumping on the couch.

She wrapped her arms around the both of us, squeezing tight.

I couldn’t help but notice Kate flush a bright red.

A moment later, Hannah realized what she was doing because she flushed too and ended the hug rather quickly.

Awkwardness hung in the room until Claire arrived.

Claire kicked the slumber party into full swing after that.

She started with the stupid games. I mean she didn’t want to go all out just yet because it was still light outside. She did get us into a rather interesting game of Truth or Dare, though. We didn’t get too crazy with it, though. She did dare Kate into wearing one of her outfits to school tomorrow, though. Kate got her back with a dare to get a tattoo on her butt. I was surprised when both agreed to it, especially since a tattoo was something permanent. Too permanent we found out a minute later when Claire said it would have to be washable because it was frowned upon in both cheerleading and ballet.

I think Claire had an ulterior motive with the truth or dare, though.

It didn’t take her long to dare Kate and Hannah to kiss.

I noticed her mischievous smile again.

I was happy to see that I wasn’t the only one who noticed what my friend and cousin did not.

I watched with half amusement and half embarrassment as the two of them pecked one another on the lips. I half expected a little more but it was clear they were holding back for our sakes. I saw it, though, that little spark. As soon as their lips touched, you could see how much the two of them liked one another. I was happy for both of them but especially for Kate. Maybe this would finally help her get over Chloe.

My embarrassment came a few moments later.

It was Hannah’s turn to ask.

“So Christy, truth or dare?”

Crap.

“Truth” I blurted out quickly before I could think.

Well, I didn’t want dare either.

Hannah smiled wickedly. “so now that you’re a girl, do you like boys?”

Damn her.

“Oh she most definitely does,” said Kate, smiling just as wickedly.

This got Claire to raise an eyebrow.

“Well then,” said my cousin “my truth to you is this: who do you like?”

Double damn her.

I felt my cheeks start to burn so I just knew I was turning red. I also knew I would have to answer soon because of the looks all three of them were currently giving. Thinking about it didn’t take long actually. I knew who I liked and there was no denying it now. Whenever I thought about boys, his face always seemed to come into my mind. Anyone who was at my birthday seemed to know it too. I didn’t realize it at the time but lots of others did, including my mother.

“Dan” I mumbled.

“What was that?” asked Kate with a smile. “We can’t hear you!”

Damn her too.

“Dan,” I said louder and they all laughed.

Great, laugh at my expense.

And laugh they did.

I got Kate back a moment later when I dared her to wear her Halloween costume---wig and all---to school the day after she was dressing like Claire.

Truth or Dare ended there with us three younger girls embarrassed as all hell. Surprisingly, Claire got by unscathed. Not that we didn’t try of course but nothing seemed to get to her. She was like a rock which only made us try harder. The game became a real bonding experience believe it or not. All our dares were silly and stupid and the truths helped us bond. I was finally beginning to understand some of this girl stuff I saw in movies and things. Guys were close in a way but they didn’t really share things like girls did. I mean real things like their feelings. I felt closer to Kate than ever before and I was learning things about my cousins I definitely didn’t know before.

They revealed things to me, some of them very intimate.

None of which would have been revealed to Chris the boy.

I was fully accepted.

I was happy for that.

After Truth or Dare finally wound down, we moved onto other stupid party games not even worth mentioning.

Makeovers were after that, though.

The thing I dreaded the most actually.

I was surprised to have fun with it, though.

Claire and Hannah were skilled in all things makeup apparently. They were much better than my sister and Cindy even. Claire was especially good, telling me Telling me what product worked with my skin tone and all that. It helped that she worked part time at the makeup counter in the Galleria. See, I didn’t even know that. After helping me, she tried to do the same for Kate. Like Cindy before her, though, Claire had failed to break through Kate’s punk armor. She was dead set on her look. It actually worked for her though too. Hannah didn’t seem to mind it one bit either so that was a plus. With that in mind, though, Claire was able to give Kate some tips on how to better perfect it.

My friend ate it up.

After the makeovers was dinner. Pizza of course. The Greene’s knew the right place because it was from Leo’s. Mark and Davey joined us for dinner.

“Hey Davey,” I said, smiling at my younger cousin as I took a seat across from him.

The kid gave me the strangest look.

“Do I know you?”

“Of course, you do sweetie,” said his mother “this is your cousin Christy. You see her every year for Christmas”

Davey squinted his eyes. “You used to be a boy I think?”

Everyone at the table, including me, laughed.

“Not anymore”

Davey shrugged. “Ok”

Kids were so cool like that.

Tracy then went on to explain to Davey that I’d be spending a few days here. It didn’t seem to faze him in the least. Like I said kids were just cool like that. Davey did have a few questions and we all answered them the best we could. I guess it was decided that we tell Davey the lie. I think his parents probably decided he was too young to understand what really happened. Not only that it might have been a little scary for a kid his age too. I didn’t want him thinking that he could turn into a girl one day just because. I hoped he couldn’t anyway. I also hoped that whatever this was that it wasn’t contagious. I was ok with all of this now but I didn’t want our school becoming an All Girl’s School suddenly.

Though it might be a riot to see Greg turn into a girl just to take him down a peg or two.

John on the other hand. As tall as he was, he’d probably become someone supermodel looking girl and I’d hate her.

I smirked.

“Something funny?” asked Kate, who was sitting next to me.

“Just thinking about a girl version of Greg and John”

She snorted. “Can you imagine Greg?” We laughed together. “And John, God I would kill her. Or maybe kiss her. She would be hot”

I made a mental note not to tell John that.

If he knew Kate might have a thing for girl him, he’d find every possible way to get a sex change just to be with her.

The rest of dinner was pretty quiet. Afterward, Claire left because she had to work. The rest of us girls returned to the den. Hannah decided it was now immersion time. So she pulled from the movie shelf every chick flick she could find. Kate and I groaned at a lot of them. Surprisingly, though, I found myself enjoying quite a few of them. I especially liked the Josh-What’s-His-Face movies. They were from a few years ago but they were still pretty good. It was back when he was a teenager still, not like now. I even saw Kate tear up at one of the films.

She and Hannah also made it clear that their embarrassment about being seen together was over. They were sitting very close on the couch, so close that Kate was almost on her lap. It was kind of cute. I couldn’t help but feel happy for the two of them too. I felt a pang of envy too, wondering if I even had a chance with Dan. I mean he knew me before as Chris. It would probably be way too weird for him. I tried to force the thoughts out of my head and enjoy the movies.

Tomorrow I would worry about those things.

Tonight I was with my friends.

Author’s note: As I’m sure all of you know, comments are life blood to an author. I’m not begging or demanding, but I certainly would appreciate anything you have to say (or ask). It doesn’t have to be long and involved, just give me your reaction to the story. Thanks in advance...EOF