Chapter One: A Sister’s Request

I always thought that September was the best month. Not just because it had my birthday in it (in fact I just turned 15) or because high school had just started for me. Rather, it was the leaves falling all around that always looked so nice.

The autumn scenery is so great for writing poetry, and now that I'm taking a poetry class this semester, I'll have plenty of inspiration.

Yeah, I know, poetry isn't really the most masculine attribute, but I really enjoy it. To be honest, I don't exactly have the most masculine attributes anyway. I'm 5'5" (I haven't hit puberty yet), I have long brunette hair past my shoulders, and I don't have big muscles.

I guess one masculine thing about me though is that I'm a pretty decent runner (I run on my own, not on the cross country team), so that helps me get toned.

It was my second week of school and I haven't made too many new friends yet. However, I'm still close with my best friend from middle school, Daisy. We've been friends since we were three years old, and our families do a lot together to this day.

So I'd say my life is pretty typical and boring. As of now…

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I get home from school on a Tuesday and walk in to be greeted by my Mom, Dad, and sister, Jenna, sitting in the living room. It's the same thing every day, except this time Jenna said something pretty atypical.

"Hey Sam, can you meet me up in my room in a minute? I need a favor."

I hesitated due to the strangeness of her request. "Uhhh sure. Yeah I can help, I guess."

It was weird. Jenna had never really asked me to go into her room before. I mean we definitely have a good relationship with each other — my whole family does — but Jenna usually reserves her room as her own personal space.

I walk up the stairs and open her door. She's sitting down at her desk with a bunch of notebooks out. There are sketches on them of different clothes and hairstyles.

"Oh there you are! So you said you'd help me?" Jenna asked.

"Well I guess that depends on what it's for," I replied, unsure.

"It's for a class. Trust me, it'll take like 10 minutes."

"Sure, but what is it you need help with?"

Jenna continued to look down and sketched out something. "It's for my fashion class. Our first unit is on hairstyles: what looks good, what doesn't, and why. Just typical stuff."

Jenna then pulled out a clamp looking thing.

"So basically… I was wondering if I could style your hair and take a few pictures!"

I was shocked! Why does she need to take pictures of me? A boy!

"Aren't these girls' hairstyles you're working on?" I asked concertedly.

"Well... not necessarily..." she began, "I was just hoping I could straighten your hair and show some of the pictures in class. Most of the girls are using their own, but since I have a short pixie cut, I can't."

I paused for a second. Do I really need to do this? I mean, I already know I'm not that masculine, and this certainly isn't going to help.

"Ehhh...I don't know," I said, "I feel like people will make fun of me if they know I'm getting my hair done in a girly style."

Jenna finally looked up from her notebook and looked at me. "Nobody has to know it's you. I mean, all the people who would be seeing this are other seniors in high school, and they probably don't even know I have a freshman little brother. Plus, if they ask, I'll just say it's my cousin or sister or something."

I still felt uneasy. Jenna smiled at me pleading. She's always been so nice to me and I see her as a good sister and friend.
"...I guess I'll help," I said regretfully, but with a weak grin.

Jenna jumped up. "Yay! You're such a help!" She then immediately picked up that clamp thing (which I learned is called a flat iron) and sat me down at her vanity.

"So I know you have pretty wavy and messy hair," she began, "but I believe there's a lot of potential. You have a lot of volume and once this straightening iron does its job, it should look really good."

She got right to work and explained the steps to me as she went.

First, Jenna put some dry shampoo powder on my roots to absorb any oils that start to develop. Then, she started sectioning off my hair, after she put up part of it in a scrunchie. She would take sections of it at a time and run the flat iron through it a few times over. It took about 25 minutes, but by the end, my hair was completely straightened and shiny.
"Voila!" Jenna exclaimed, "So...what do you think?"

I stared at it for a little while, kind of surprised at how I looked. I'd never seen my hair so shiny before. I shook my head and my hair gracefully swayed across my face, neck, and head.

"...and a finishing touch." Jenna said, as she put a flowery, black clip in my hair. I gave her a semi-mean look, but let her leave it in.

"It actually doesn't look half-bad," I said, a bit impressed and surprised at myself.

"I figured you'd like it. Everyone likes being pampered from time to time." She smiled at me and I smiled back. "Oh! And now the pictures of course!"

Jenna pulled out her phone and stood about 5 feet away. I turned around, as I did NOT want my face being seen in these pictures. She took a few from the back, the top, and even a few from the side, but I made sure it was clear that you couldn't tell it was me in the pictures.

"All done...sis!" Jenna joked. I shot her another glare but she just laughed it off.

Right as we finished, our mom called us down for dinner. We went downstairs right away, as we were very hungry.

"Well well well, who do we have here?" Mom said. I looked back at Jenna but she just smiled. Then I realized that she meant me! Right as that happened, I blushed.

"Uhh...Jenna was..." I stammered.

"It's okay honey, I think it looks good." My mom said as she walked over and kissed me on the forehead.

All I could do was blush. I began to explain but then Jenna spoke up.

"It was for my fashion class project," Jenna explained. "Since I have my pixie cut, I needed someone with long hair to style and take pictures of."

"I guess your brother is a good resource..." Mom said.

"Even if it makes you look a bit girly." my dad pitched in.

Both my parents and Jenna laughed. I laughed nervously with embarrassment.

We ate dinner and afterwards, I went up to my room to do homework.

So many weird feelings went through my head today. I had straightened my hair for the first time, and it didn't actually make me feel that bad. I wouldn't say it was a good feeling, but I definitely learned more about what girls go through when they do their hair. I mean it takes a good half hour (if you know what you're doing) to get your hair all straightened and ready for the day. To relax, I wrote a brief poem about my feelings for the day:

a different experience

like none i'd felt before

soft hair cross'd my neck

causing tingling galore

t'is usually known

by girls alone

but tonight an exception

for me in my home

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The next morning, my hair had lost most of the straightening, but I could still tell it was like that a bit.

School was pretty average as always, and I luckily didn't get any comments on my hair.

When I returned home, Jenna was waiting at the door with a big smile on her face.

"I'm assuming you want to know how my class went??" Jenna said excitedly.

"Uhm sure...I guess. The pictures worked well?" I responded.

"My class loved it! They adored how shiny your hair was and thought that they'd never seen anyone pull off straightened hair that well! Isn't that cool?"

"I suppose that's good for you, right?"

"Well yeah I got full points on the assignment, but what was really interesting was that everyone wanted to know who I took the photos of."

My heart dropped for a second. "You...you didn't tell, did you?" I said, freaking out.

Jenna sighed, "No, I didn't. I said that they were from my cousin."

I breathed a sigh of relief. "Thanks, Jenna," I said, "I'm just glad that I could help and keep my anonymity at the same time."

"Yes, thanks again. However, I'd like to stress that even my teacher was blown away by what your hair could look like. If they knew it was a boy's hair, I'm sure they'd flip out."

"I can imagine," I said. There was a brief pause. "Well, I think I'm gonna go for a run. But I'm really happy the pictures worked well."

I started walking past my sister but she grabbed my shoulder. "That actually brings me to my next point...Would you mind doing me another huge favor?"

I stopped and a skeptical look creeped on my face. "What kind of favor...?"

"...can I do your hair again?" Jenna said sheepishly.

I sighed. "Listen, I was going to go for a run..."

"Oh please Sam! You were so helpful last time!" she pleaded.

"Ugh. Fine." I said. I guess I could put off the run.

Jenna squealed and told me to run up to her room. I guess I'm just too nice sometimes.

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I went to my room to drop off my backpack and put some things away and then walked over to Jenna's room. When I walked in, I assumed that she'd just be needing to straighten my hair again, but this time, there were MANY more products and items out on the table than before.

"What...what's this?" I asked.

"Oh yeah..." Jenna responded, "I need to do a bit more this time. Our requirement is to use curlers this time. It might take a bit longer...could you still help...?"

I guess I'd already committed, and I'm in her room now...so I nodded and sat down.

"You are going to be so pretty!" Jenna cooed, as she ran her fingers through my hair. I gulped nervously. She then caught herself, "I mean, your hair will look pretty." She smiled and giggled.

She started by spraying my hair with some sort of fragrance. "What does this do for the process?" I asked.

"Oh, nothing. It's just always nice if hair smells nice." She said, giggling girlishly.

I sighed and just accepted it. She ran the flat iron through my hair briefly to straighten it out again. It didn't take as long as last time because it was still straight enough from yesterday. She then went to work with a curling rod. She started with a few sections of my hair, the same way as she did with the flat iron, but this time, she just curled it.

She went to work on all my hair and within a half hour she was done. It was a weird sight. My hair was always kind of wavy in a messy way, but this time it was a 'coordinated wavy.'

Jenna stepped back from me to admire my hair, "I think it looks great. What do you think Sam?"

"I guess it looks...nice." I said. I mean what else am I supposed to say? 'It looks adorable' is not something a guy would ever say.

"Just nice?" Jenna asked. "Ugh boys know nothing about hair... Alright! Picture time!"

She had me stand up this time.

"Wait. That plaid button-down looks awkward," she said, "do you have an undershirt underneath?"

"Uh, yeah I do." I said, confused. I took off my plaid button down and now had my white undershirt on."

"Thanks. You can tell in the picture that that isn't a girl's shirt. See? I am looking out for you."

We both laughed and she was about to take the picture of my hair, but she had one more correction. Jenna grabbed a peach infinity scarf lying on her bed.

"Put this on. It'll look much cuter in the photo." She said, tossing the scarf toward me.

I caught the scarf. "Ehhh, I don't think so...This is too girly."

"Too girly? But nobody knows it's a guy in the picture. If anything, it'll assure that nobody will suspect it's a boy's hair."

She had a good point. She helped me put on the scarf. It was positioned delicately around my neck. It was a very feminine scarf, and it felt really weird to be wearing it. Once it was finally positioned well, Jenna readjusted my curled hair so it cascaded over my shoulders and the scarf.

With everything set, she snapped the pictures, and uploaded them to the computer on powerpoint for the class assignment.
Watching the pictures get uploaded, I noticed that they looked very good. Even though you couldn't tell it was a boy, it was weird to see the hair—my hair—look that feminine.

"Thanks again little bro. They look fantastic," Jenna said with a smile.

I hesitated, still staring at the pictures on the computer screen. I told her "no problem at all," but did I really mean that? I mean, was I doing the right thing, trying out such a girly hairstyle?

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The first five chapters of this 33 chapter novel are available here, but the remainder has been moved to my Kindle page. Thanks as always for reading and supporting me! :)

Link: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0BPZCV3KT

Chapter Two: A Bit More Feminine

To be completely honest, yesterday was a weird experience. I had never had my hair curled before, or worn a girly infinity scarf for that matter. I could say I was not happy with yesterday, but I'd be lying. It was a very neutral experience. I really have no strong feelings about what happened, except that I'm happy I could help out my sister, Jenna.

The morning started off poorly as I woke up at my bedroom desk. I guess I had fallen asleep doing homework! But there's good news and bad news. The good news is that I actually did finish all my homework, so I'll be fine for my classes. The bad news is that it's 7:40, and school starts in 20 minutes!

Immediately, I heard a knock on my door from Mom, "Sam, are you getting up? You're lucky I'm driving you and your sister today!"

I shot out of my chair and gathered my books. I ran downstairs to meet my sister who was already ready to go. I grabbed my lunch and a banana for breakfast and ran out to the car. Within three minutes we left.

"Damn it's really too bad I slept so late. I just had a lot of homework I guess," I managed to say while yawning.

Jenna then spoke up with a grin, "Yeah and you didn't even get a chance to fix your hair!"

WHAT? I completely forgot about my hair! It still had all of its curls in it!

"Crap!" I said nervously to Jenna, "What the heck do I do?!"

"I think it looks cute, honey." Mom said.

"Not helping, Mom!" I yelled back.

"Here's what you do, Sam," Jenna said, grabbing a hair band off of her wrist. She motioned for me to lean towards her, and she proceeded to grab my hair and put it into a bun.

"That should do the trick." Jenna said.

I was relieved, it did happen to stay pretty well, and you couldn't tell that my hair was even curled. I had never worn a bun before at school, but I suppose this is better than sporting a girlier hairstyle.

"Thanks, Jenna. I owe you BIG TIME."

And with that we scampered out of the car, into the school, and off to our respective classes.

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The day went by quite smoothly. I got a few comments from people regarding my bun, but it didn't bother me much, as all the questions came from girls. A few of them even said they liked it.

I returned from school to, once again, Jenna sitting in the living room waiting for me.

"Hey, Mr. Bun, how was school?" Jenna asked jokingly.

"Ha ha hilarious," I remarked sarcastically, "But really, it was fine. I got a few comments, but nothing out of the ordinary. Thanks again for saving me with that hair band."

"Of course! What kind of sister would I be if I didn't help my brother when he was in need?"

We smiled at each other. Then after a brief silence, she brought up the exact thing I expected to hear about when I walked in the door.

"So you'll never believe what happened in my fashion class today!" she squealed.

"Hmm...they liked my hair?" I said dully.

"Even better! My teacher asked me to curl her hair for her in front of the class! I'll be getting an 'A' for sure!"

"Hey hey that's great news!" I said with genuine excitement, "So, is that all you really do in this class? Work on hair?"

Jenna shook her head. "No, that's just the first unit. There are other fashion units coming up soon."

We chatted in the living room for the next hour about school, family stuff, and even a little about hair, surprisingly. After that, I decided to go up to my room and get changed to go on a run.

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I decided to do a four mile outing — relatively short in the scheme of things — but the run allowed me to reflect on this last day. I mean, what if I had been discovered? What if my bun just fell out, and the curls cascaded over my shoulders? I can't even imagine what I'd do! Kids in school are so judgmental. Something just a little out of the ordinary (like a boy with curled hair) would cause them to flip out and tease.

I got back from my run, and before I even went down, I had to write my thoughts down in a quick poem:

wavy hair

straight hair

so many options

so many styles

for girls to try and share

but a mangy ‘do

on a mangy dude

is the only option boys can choose

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I left my room to the shower, but ran into Jenna on the way to the bathroom. She looked awkward.

"Hey...Sam?" she said sheepishly.

"What's up?"

"You know how in the car this morning, you said you'd owe me big time? Ya know, for helping you out with your hair?"

"Sure, I remember saying that."

"Well I'd like to cash in that favor now."

"Okay...what is it?" I said nervously.

"I'd like to style your hair again, if you don't mind."

I didn't think much of this, as I'd now done it twice before and I owe her a favor.

"Sure, I'll help. And you need this for class tomorrow?" I asked.

Jenna paused. "Well...we don't exactly need it for class anymore. We don't need pictures of hair styles any more. I just want to try a few things out on you before I style my teacher's hair in front of the class...would that be okay with you?"
Well this was odd. The two times before were for a class assignment, but now it almost seemed like she wanted to do this for fun. I looked at her while she waited for me to give an answer. Again, those pleading eyes stared at me...

"Fine, I'll help. But let me shower first."

Jenna squealed, "Yay! But first, let me grab my special shampoo and conditioner. It'll make your hair extra soft and make it smell flowery!"

Before I could debate that, Jenna was off to the downstairs bathroom to grab the shampoo and conditioner. When she returned, she gave me careful instructions on how to wash my hair. I never knew there was so much thought into just washing hair!

I stepped in the shower and did as she said. When I put on my robe after finishing, she came in and used a blow drier on my hair. She used a long brush to make the hair soft and shiny. Once she was done using the hair dryer, she led me to her room, where she began to run the flat iron through my hair. Just as she did last time, she sectioned it off, and within 15 minutes, my hair was straight and shiny. She then ran the curling iron to give me long, loose curls/waves throughout my hair.

"You're gonna love what this looks like once I'm done," Jenna said with a smile.

I smiled back, slightly scared to see how feminine my hair was going to look.

By the time she finished curling my hair, it laid softly on my shoulders. There I was, sitting in my sister's room in my underwear and robe, with girly, curled hair. But she wasn't quite done. She completed it by having what she called ‘waterfall braids’, which was a line of braids going across the middle of the back of my hair, and sections of my hair pulled through those braids.

Jenna stood back and admired her work. "Oh, and a finishing touch!" she said, as she ran to her closet and grabbed a pink bow to put amongst the cascades of flowing hair.

Admittedly the hair looked beautiful. Any girl with that kind of hair would get the attention of any guy. It had a tenderness and sweetness to it that just screamed…’pretty’.

Unfortunately, that hairstyle was on me.

"So it looks good?" I asked, breaking the silence.

Jenna laughed, "Good? I don't think I've seen anyone pull off that hairstyle better! Not even girls!"

I blushed. "Well I'm glad I could help you out. So this is the style you're going to be using for your teacher?"

"That's what I'm planning on," Jenna said as she rummaged through her closet.

There was a brief silence? "Hey, do you mind if I actually take a few pictures? I know I don't need them for class, but it would be a waste to never document the quality of this hair!"

I sighed, annoyed. "Sure," I said, conceding.

Jenna jumped with happiness. "Just because the pictures will be taken from shoulder up, it'd be best if you put on another one of my scarves and a white undershirt."

I agreed, and changed into my pants, but could not find my white t-shirt.

I yelled to my sister in her room, "Hey I can't find a white t-shirt. Will another color do?"

She yelled back, "Don't worry! I've got one in here!"

I shrugged and walked back to my sister's room. When I returned, she was holding up one of her own shirts.

"You want me to wear your shirt...?" I said uncomfortably.

"It's just a plain white shirt, but with a little deeper v-neck, a little tighter, and shorter sleeves."

"So...a blouse?"

"I guess, but it's just a regular shirt. You'll only have it on for a brief time, so don't worry."

I reluctantly nodded, and put on her shirt. My sister and I are pretty much the same size, so the shirt fit well. She handed me a light blue infinity scarf and I put that on as well. She helped me drape my curled, wavy hair over my—I mean Jenna's—scarf. With everything set, Jenna started taking pictures of my hair. She took probably 30 pictures from all angles (except from the front, of course), and even took a few with my hands in the picture, running my fingers through my hair.

"We're lucky that you have delicate hands, because otherwise people might think you're a boy!" Jenna said giggling.

"Yeah..." I responded uncomfortably. Boy, she really doesn't hold back on complimenting my features.

Jenna finished with the pictures and let me go back to my room. I gave her back my shirt, fixed my hair to a more normal look, and went to do homework and get ready for school on Friday.

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School was good on Friday, and I came home after, ready to enjoy the weekend. For once, I walked in the house and Jenna wasn't in the living room. I asked Mom where she was, and she told me she was in her room. Apparently the second she got home, she rushed right up to her room and got on her laptop. Whatever it was, seemed really important.

That had confused me, but I figured I would go up to her room to see what she is up to. I knocked on her door.

"Come in!" She shouted. I walked in, and she indeed was on her computer, and seemingly focused on something.

"Oh good, it's you! I have great news!" Jenna exclaimed.

"Well, tell me!" I responded with excitement.

"So you remember the pictures that I took yesterday and the days before?"

"Umm, yeah, of course. What's up?"

"Well I showed them to some of my friends this morning, and said my ‘cousin’ has an Instagram account with these pictures."

"I don't know if that's a..." I tried to speak, but she interrupted me.

"Well I already created it..." Jenna said with a smile growing.

I turned beet red. "What!?! My hair is on Instagram? As a girl??"

Jenna's smile went away just a bit, "Well your hair looked just so pretty, and so many people liked it. I felt it just had to be shared."

I couldn't believe what I was hearing. How could I be on Instagram? As a girl?

Jenna sheepishly spoke up again, "And it's already pretty popular..."

I blushed even more, "Do I want to know how many followers it has?"

Jenna turned to her computer. "Uhh... 312 followers as of now, and it's growing. But listen, people are really in love with your hair. People are commenting and saying that it is some of the most beautiful they’ve ever seen. People love to look at and appreciate beauty, and your hair is really something special that means a lot to people. Especially to me.

Jenna then walked up to me and ran her fingers through my brunette hair.

This was insane. I guess it's good that people are enjoying it, but there's a fine line between having a small classroom look at my hair, and creating a fake person's account with over 300 followers. So do I tell her to delete it? If my hair is really that special, I guess I can keep it up a bit longer...

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The first five chapters of this 33 chapter novel are available here, but the remainder has been moved to my Kindle page. Thanks as always for reading and supporting me! :)

Link: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0BPZCV3KT

Chapter Three: The Fashion Expo

I had a lot to think about that night. First off, I had apparently become an Instagram user within the last 24 hours, which is not something I would have ever predicted. Probably because I'm not even a huge social media fan anyway.

But just like that, I was on my way to becoming a somewhat known Instagram ‘star’ at school...as a girl.

But now it's the weekend, so hopefully some of the hype will be going down. I woke up Saturday morning and had breakfast as usual. I sat down at the table and Mom walked up to me with a plate of pancakes.

"I felt like being nice this morning," she said, setting the plate down in front of me.

"Thanks!" I replied. It's always nice to start the day off with a good breakfast. I decided I'd go for a run, so I went back upstairs to my room to change. In the hallway, I ran into my sister.

"Hey Jenna, what've you got for today?" I asked.

"Nothing till 3, cuz that's when I'm going to this fashion convention with some friends at McCormick Place downtown."

"That's cool. I haven’t actually been downtown in like 5 years."

"What? No, I'm sure you've been down recently."

"Actually, no. I mean, when does our family ever go to downtown Chicago? There's no reason I would have."

Jenna looked shocked. "No way! Well you should definitely accompany my friends and I today."

It was a nice offer. I mean I've been dying to go into Chicago for the longest time now, and I'm getting sick of the suburbs. But a fashion convention? That doesn't really sound like my cup of tea.

"Ehhh I'm not really sure if that's my thing, Jenna."

"Don't look at it as a fashion convention, Sam. Look at it as an opportunity to go downtown!"

"Hmm...I suppose that's a good point." I said hesitantly.

"So are you gonna come?"

"Uhhhh...sure, why not."

"Awesome!" Jenna said, "The thing starts at 3, but we'll leave an hour before that, so be ready in 4 hours."

I nodded, and went back to my room to change for my run. I went a solid 4 miles. It gave me more time to think. I spent most of the time reassuring myself that there's nothing wrong with a boy going to a fashion expo. I mean, it's an opportunity to escape this quiet western suburb and finally go into the city. Who cares if it's for fashion?

I returned to the house, showered, and then chilled in my room for the next few hours. For some reason, I felt nervous about this. I really hope that Jenna told her friends I was coming. I don't want to feel like I'm inserting myself on their girl time. But she invited me! So it must be fine.

I watched Netflix for the next few hours, and before I knew it, it was 3 o'clock. Jenna knocked on my door.

"Ready Sam? My friends are already here, so we'll be leaving now."

"Yep! I'm good!" I yelled back. I grabbed my wallet and phone and headed downstairs. Jenna was standing at the door with her two friends, Kelly and Sophie. Kelly was a short, busty blonde with really pretty green eyes. From what I understand, she is a really sweet person and a lot of guys want to get with her because she's so nice to be around. And she's easy on the eyes as a bonus. Sophie, on the other hand, is a tall, thin brunette who actually looks a bit like my sister, except taller. Jenna tells me that they used to get mistaken for twins before Jenna cut her hair. She's apparently really chill to be around as well.

"Hey guys," I said to them, catching their attention.

"Hey Sam!" the girls said simultaneously. We'd met before a few times, but never got the chance to really get to know each other.

With everyone set, we got into the car to go downtown, the ride was filled with small talk and talk about school.

========

We walked from the parking garage at McCormick Place (the big convention center in Chicago) to the big room where the expo was being held. We purchased our wristbands and entered. The venue was huge! Hundreds of stands were set up with displays of new clothing trends, make-up trends, and hair booths with books and demonstrations on various styles.

And yes, it was the exact gender ratio that I expected. The place was probably 95% girls. And that's being generous. So don't get me wrong, this was strictly a female fashion expo.

"So Sam, I'm really glad you came. But I'll admit I'm a little surprised that you wanted to…" Kelly said.

"Yeah," Sophie added, "Isn't this a bit boring for you?"

Jenna interjected before I could answer, "Well actually, he said he hadn't been in the city in like 5 years, so I said he needed to come."
I nodded in agreement. The girls seemed to accept that answer.

"I'm sure we can make it more fun for you though somehow," Kelly said politely. I'm not really sure what that meant, but I just smiled and thanked her.

And thus we began browsing the booths. The girls checked out tons of things. They browsed the clothing sections for over an hour while I kinda just stood and watched them. It was quite boring. After that they moved on to make-up, testing out a few of the products. A saleslady actually asked me if I wanted to try out anything! I'm not sure if she was kidding, thought I was a girl, or what, but I just told her no thanks and moved on.

Finally, the girls left the make-up area and moved on towards the hair area.

"This should be right up your alley Jenna, speaking of all of your killer presentations," Sophie said.

"Yeah, that demonstration was awesome!" Kelly added.

"Oh, you guys are in Jenna's fashion class?" I asked.

"Yep! I mean it's only been a couple weeks of school, but Jenna is totally standing out in her knowledge of fashion and especially hairstyling. I mean have you seen the pictures of your cousin? There are a lot of girls at our school following her Instagram account, even though we haven't met her." Sophie said.

I hesitated for a second. I finally realized the cousin she was referring to was me. That was Jenna's cover for who's hair was actually in the pictures.

"It probably doesn't interest you though, being a boy though."

I awkwardly laughed, agreeing. "Yeah I don't really know much about hairstyles and stuff."

"You know...we said we could make things more fun for you..." Kelly said, looking at Sophie.

"Ooooh we could totally do your hair if you want Sam! That would be fun, right? I mean you've been bored this whole time..." Sophie said, hinting.

"Do...do my hair?" I said stammering. I looked at Jenna and she kinda shrugged. Her body language was basically saying, "Go for it. Why not?".

This would be crazy! Me, a boy, having my hair done like a girl in front of all these people. I mean, I've had it done before, but nobody knows that. This would be a whole new step.

The girls were looking at me with pleading eyes.

"Hmmm...I guess I have been bored this whole time..."

The girls jumped with joy.

"I say Jenna styles your hair! I don't know if you know, but she's really good at it," Kelly assured.

I looked at Jenna and could tell we were laughing at the irony on the inside.

We walked over to a booth with salon chairs. Jenna sat me down and jokingly spoke in a stereotypical salon-person voice, "So, Samuel, to what shall I style your hair today?"

"Hmm how bout whatever these two lovely ladies decide," I said, referring to Kelly and Sophie. They seemed so into the idea, so I might as well appease them.

They blushed with excitement. Sophie picked up a hairstyle book and flipped through it. Eventually they came across a curled, floral updo that they really liked. Jenna took a look at it and said that she could probably handle that.

With all said and done, Jenna went to work. I kinda lost track of what she was doing, as she was going so quickly. She started off with straightening my hair, and then added in some curls. Throughout the process, some other convention-goers started to come over and watch. I saw a lot of confused looks. Although there are a couple reasons why they could be confused. For one, they could be wondering 'why is a boy getting his hair done in a girly style?', but they could also be wondering, 'why is that girl getting her hair done wearing such boyish clothes? Especially at a convention like this?'. Jenna twisted the newly made curls of my hair into an updo. Right as she was about to be finished, Kelly and Sophie walked up with some small, white and pink flowers they bought at one of the other stands. They handed the flowers to Jenna, and she placed them within the curls and waves of my new updo.

And just like that, Jenna was done. Kelly and Sophie had huge smiles on their faces. "Sammy! You look adorable!" Kelly squealed.
"Really?" I said, a bit uncomfortably, "I still haven't seen myself."

Jenna then helped me up and walked me over to a mirror. And in the mirror, I saw one of the most beautiful hairstyles I've ever seen. I touched it lightly to convince myself it was real. I couldn't believe it!

"Wow Jenna! This actually looks really good!" I said, surprising myself even a bit.

"You look like you're ready for prom!" Sophie added, "All you need is a cute boy to sweep you off your feet!"

That comment made me really embarrassed and a little upset. I gave Sophie a slight glare, and I think she got the point.

"You know, Sam. Your hair is even prettier than your cousin's. It should really be you with the Instagram account!" Kelly joked.

I blushed and looked at Jenna. We had guilty looks on our faces.

"Wait...what's going on? What's up?" Kelly said.

Jenna looked at me and her body language basically said, 'should we tell them?'

I was pretty scared and couldn't make up my mind. That didn't stop Kelly's 'investigation' though.

"Wait a sec...Sam! Is that your hair on the Instagram account??"

I was beet red. They were on to me, "Alright fine! You caught me. It all started when Jenna asked for help with her project, and I guess she got carried away with it."

I expected laughs from the girls, but it was quite the opposite. They flooded me with compliments about my hair. They asked what shampoo, conditioner, and other hair products I was using.

It's amazing how overwhelming it became so quickly. I had been outed as having ultra feminine hair, and nobody seemed to care.

"You know what Sam, now that this has come out, we should add this hairstyle to your Instagram now!" Jenna suggested.

I was hesitant. This was all happening so fast.

"C'mon, nobody else knows that you're a boy. It'll be our secret." Kelly said.

She was right. I didn't like the idea of my hair being paraded as a feminine treasure, but I guess it was nice to know I'm getting some attention, even if it's anonymous.

"Sure, let's do it." I said with confidence.

Jenna then positioned me in a place where the lighting was good.

"Wait," she said, "It still looks weird if you're wearing a t-shirt. Especially with this 'updo look'. Kelly, could you go grab something for Sam to wear on top? Just so his hair looks a bit more feminine."

"I'm on it. You'll look great after this, Sammy." Kelly said in a flirtatious way. She then walked off toward the clothing section to get something for me.

So there I was, at a fashion expo, with a prom updo, awaiting a feminine garment to supplement the girly hairstyle that has graced my head.

Last week, I would have never expected I'd be here. I definitely don't love what's going on, but as a boy, I feel like I should really be hating this.

I just hope the garment she brings back isn't too feminine...

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The first five chapters of this 33 chapter novel are available here, but the remainder has been moved to my Kindle page. Thanks as always for reading and supporting me! :)

Link: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0BPZCV3KT

Chapter Four: What to Wear?

I was nervously awaiting what Kelly and Sophie were going to bring back. I would say that I'm afraid to look too girly, but then again, here I am sitting in a chair with a flowery updo meant for a girl on her prom night.

"Having fun?" Jenna asked politely.

I laughed. "Well it's certainly an interesting life event. Not sure if I'd say 'fun' though."

"Well you're doing great, and I appreciate you playing along. Kelly, Sophie, and I are certainly enjoying it. Maybe if you think a little more openly, you'll enjoy it too!"

She had a good point. Maybe I just have to let myself go a little. But then again, what I've been doing is so out of the ordinary, it's hard to accept it as normal.

"Hey Sammy!" Kelly yelled from across the room, "We picked something out!"

She was holding a gray shopping bag, so I could not tell what was in it. She walked up next to me.

"So everything was really expensive, so we just got this plain pink top." Kelly said.

Phew! I was thinking they'd come back with something really girly. I don't think I'm ready to take that step. However, she did manage to throw me for a bit of a curve after that.

Kelly pulled the top out of the bag, it was what she called a 'slouchy crew'. It was a light pink color and had the brand name PINK on the front (appropriately matching the color, I guess). Not the typical shirt, but what she said next really threw me off.

"So we think it'd look really cute if you wore this. It dresses down the hair a bit, which should look really cute and flirty. However, we bought you this as well, because without it, the off-the-shoulder look would look weird. I mean we only need it for the straps, mainly."

It was then that Kelly pulled a bra out of the bag and casually handed it to me with the top.

"A...a bra?" I said uncomfortably. I put it down on the chair and stepped away, "I don't know… maybe we’re taking this whole thing too far..."
"Oh c'mon, Sammy," Sophie said, "You already have your hair in an updo. This is only one more small step."

Jenna then briefly pulled me aside, "Listen Sam, you don't need to do this if you really don't want to. Nobody is going to make you. I just thought that when people act more openly, everyone has more fun, that's all."

I sighed. "You're right."

Jenna looked up, "I promise to be more open. Because hey, maybe we might all have a little fun in the process."

I forced a confident look on my face and walked over to the chair, grabbed the bra and top and walked into a nearby changing room. I took off my t-shirt, careful not to mess up my hair, and held the bra. I fiddled around with it in the mirror for a little while until I finally got it adjusted correctly.

Boy, did this look weird. Very few guys get the chance to look at themselves with a prom updo and a black bra. I thought that I might as well finish the job. I slid the slouchy crew over my head and hung it slightly off one of my shoulders, as I was told to do. This was easily the girliest I've ever looked.

I walked out of the changing room and the girls all go huge smiles on their faces when they saw me. They all walked up to me and complimented how well the top matched my skin tone, how it looked good with the hairstyle, etc.

"You literally could be a model...from behind," Sophie said jokingly. We all shared a laugh. I do wonder what she meant though. Did she think I was unattractive, or just because I didn't look like a girl from the front? I'll assume the latter.

The girls sat me down in the same chair where I got my hair done. Jenna took some shots from the sides and the back. A couple of the shots were really cool because it had my hair and shoulders, but also tons of people walking behind on the convention floor.

Jenna showed them to us and then uploaded them to 'my' Instagram account.

"Hey Jenna, by the way, what did you name the Instagram account?"

She giggled, "I actually used your name...kinda. It's Sammi_Jaclyn32."

"Wow. Hilarious," I said with a deadpan face. The pun was obviously off of my name being Samuel Jason."

She uploaded the three best pictures to the account with #FashionExpoChicago tagged.

At this point, we weren't really sure what to do. We'd already been around the full convention center, and now with my hair dolled up, I’d get a lot of unwanted attention walking around. So we decided to leave. I figured since it went with my hairstyle, it might arouse less suspicion and weird looks. I changed my shirt and took off the bra when I got back to the car, but kept the hair as is.

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We returned home about an hour and a half later, around dinner time. The girls stuck around with Jenna and went back to our house with us. When I got home, we were greeted by our Mom.

"Hey guys! How did the…woah woah woah!" my Mom said, interrupting herself, "Va-va-voom! Is that my little Sammy?"

I blushed and got very embarrassed. Jenna stood up for me though.

"It was our idea. There was a chair with products and other hair stuff we could use to style his hair, so we thought it was too good of an opportunity to pass up."

"Well, regardless of how it happened, it really looks great!" She continued with her praise, "I can't remember the last time my hair looked that pretty...I don't even think ever!"

"Yeah it was a lot of fun!" Sophie chimed in, "We even got him some clothes to add to his Instagram account!"

Now I was REALLY embarrassed. I didn't really want my Mom knowing all about this feminine stuff going on. She'd seen my hair before, but that was the extent of it. It's like she's completely involved now.

After Sophie told her about the Instagram account, my Mom looked confused, so they filled her in. They showed her the account, and told her the whole story: everything from how Jenna originally said it was her cousin's hair, to the post made an hour and a half ago.

"Well, that's quite the journey! And how are you enjoying this so far, Sam?"

"It's been...okay I guess. I don't know, it's not really my favorite thing, but I enjoy being involved in something."

"Well I'm glad it's not too hard on you," she said. Mom then whispered in my ear without the others noticing, "and the girls seem to really enjoy spending this time with you!"

She backed away and smiled. I smiled back. It really did feel nice to be spending this time with my sister, even if it meant putting a little femininity into my look.

Jenna proceeded to ask if the girls could stay for dinner. My mom said yes, and we got ready to eat. My Dad came home, and of course, they had to fill him in on the whole story too. He seemed surprisingly okay with it. Basically my parents' opinion was if I’m okay with it, then so are they.

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The girls hung out at our house the rest of the day but pretty much stayed together. I went to my room and stayed there.

Sunday went by as well, and was pretty boring. The only thing worth mentioning is that Jenna at some point put the clothes from Saturday (the shirt and bra) in my room, folded on my bed. I don't know what she expected me to do with them, but I just put them in one of my drawers. It's not like I'd need them again, right?

On Monday we were back at school and the day went by quickly. Class was boring as usual. But when I got home, Jenna shocked me with an update.

She ran up to me, "You would not believe what just happened!"

I was startled by her feverishness, "What? What?"

"Remember that Instagram post from the expo? I tagged it with the hashtag of the convention, and now it has been shared on the convention's twitter!"

"Uhh...is that good news?" I asked awkwardly.

"Umm, YES! Because they shared it out, we now had a huge boost in followers! When I last took a look, we were at 317. Now, we're at 2,506!"

Holy crap! 2,506? That's absurd! Why are people so interested in my hair? I mean, honestly.

"So what do we do now?" I asked.

"We're getting a lot of positive responses. Everyone wants to know who this mystery Sammi Jaclyn is."
I started backing away. "No no no no no we are not revealing my identity to two thousand-plus people. Especially since a bunch of those followers are people at school."

"Well it'd mostly be people I know. So seniors, not freshmen."

"I don't care! We are not revealing my identity."

Jenna was getting flustered, "So what're you saying? You're just going to stop this whole thing? No one is forcing you to do this Sam, but if you hate it, why are you doing it?"

"I...I don't hate it."

"So you like it?"

"Well I wouldn't say that. I do like the idea that people appreciate some aspect of me, but..."

"But what?"

I took a seat down on the couch. "Look, I've never been popular, and nobody has ever paid attention to me. I've always been that kid who's kinda in the background; never stood out as anyone who mattered because there was nothing in particular I was good at."
Jenna sat down next to me and listened.

"But I'm also a really shy person. I don't want to be well-known for something. But I'm working on overcoming that fear. Right now, in a perfect world, I'd want to know I'm appreciated but without getting the attention. Do you know what I'm saying?"

"I know exactly what you're saying," Jenna said as she put her arm around me, "and I think the situation you're in right now is exactly what you want."

"Yeah, I guess," I said, sighing, "And I guess that's why I'm actually okay with all this. It's just super different, you know?"

"I totally understand," Jenna replied. She reached out and gave me a nice hug. It really is great to have her as a sister.

"Hey listen, I don't know if this is the best time to bring it up, but I actually got another assignment in my fashion class."

"You want to do my hair again? Because I might take the day off, to be honest. If you need me to read through a paper or something else I'm happy to help."

"Well... that works out. It's not really a paper, but more of...trying stuff on."

I raised an eyebrow at her. "Like what?"

"We're starting a clothing unit and our assignment was to take a picture of us wearing something casual. I thought maybe instead of me wearing the clothes... you'd want to model something 'casual' for me?"

That didn't sound so bad. I've been enjoying spending time with Jenna and she's been so nice and understanding. The least I could do was help her out.

"I got you."

She smiled, and then led me up to her room.

It's just casual clothing...how bad could it be?

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The first five chapters of this 33 chapter novel are available here, but the remainder has been moved to my Kindle page. Thanks as always for reading and supporting me! :)

Link: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0BPZCV3KT