When Max attended her scheduled weekly meeting with her counselor. She had an emotional breakdown as the weight of what happened to her came crashing down on her. Her mother had informed her that the police were trying to locate Shawn Grubbs since he was the one responsible for attacking her.

As for the video that had been posted on the student portal of her being shot at by the slingshot. It had been removed and the person who had posted the video was charged with accessory to murder. The person that had been charged happened to be the same guy that pulled her skirt down in school and exposed her panties to everyone.

He recorded the video of Shawn Grubbs shooting her with the slingshot and posting it on the school’s student portal. The school suspended Stephen and he was charged with a hate crime, plus murder charges. The judge in the case didn’t feel that he should serve time in jail but did fill he should pay for what he did. So, he was sentenced and sent to a program designed to straighten out troubled kids. It was run by a group of ex-military personnel with the backing of the state.

As for Shawn Grubbs, his parents washed their hands of him. He had run away from home and they didn’t know where he was. All he left was a letter saying he was fed up with the small-town life and how the town was being overrun by gays, lesbians, and freaks that were boys, who thought they were girls, and vice-versa.

Max ended up taking summer school to make up for some of her classes. When Max got out of summer school, she would work with Greg and Greg’s father. Since Mr. Collins owned a lawn care service, which meant he was going to be busy and would need part-time help.

Greg was slowly becoming more and more comfortable with Max’s appearance and choices. When he learned that Max had been shot at by a slingshot and had to be taken to the hospital. He had been worried sick and angry as well. He came by the hospital with his parents to visit Max when she was there.

Greg looks over towards Max, as she raked the grass clippings into a pile. He saw that she was wearing a head scarf to hide the wound in the middle of her head. The wound was still healing, and Max had a bandage covering it.

Greg noticed that Max was wearing her wide-brim straw hat as well. He had to admit that the shorts she was wearing showed off her long tone legs. The short sleeve shirt that she was wearing had his father’s business name on it and his logo that filled out the back of the shirt.

Max stops to wipe the sweat from her forehead. The head scarf she was wearing to cover up her wound and bandage was absorbing most of the sweat. It was unusually hot and humid out. She looks over toward Greg and smiles. She has caught him a few times watching her work. She knew he was concerned about how she was feeling.

Mr. Collins has been watching her as well. She knew he was concerned for her health and told her if she starts feeling dizzy or sick. She should stop what she is doing and take a break.

It was around seven thirty in the evening when they finished up the huge yard they have been working on. They have been here since Mr. Collins picked her up from summer school.

She helps Mr. Collins and Greg load everything back on the trailer. She couldn’t wait to get home and take a nice relaxing cold bath.

“God, when is it going to rain?” Greg looks up at the sky when he asks that question.

“You know, when it rains, we don’t make any money.” Mr. Collins looks at Greg when he says that.

“True, but we would be a lot cooler.” Max didn’t like showing her bandage.

Mr. Collins looks at Max “How’s your head feeling?”

“It’s doing okay, Mr. Collins. I took some Advil before leaving school.” Max’s doctor told her that if she was feeling discomfort from the wound. To take the painkillers he prescribed to her.

“Okay. Well, I know your mother will be expecting you home. So, let's go ahead and get you home.”

“Okay.” Max gets in the truck first, to sit between Greg and Mr. Collins.

Max watches as Mr. Collins drives them back home. Since she was sitting in the middle, she had control of the radio. She knew Mr. Collins liked the same type of music as she and Greg, so she finds a good station and listen to the music as it plays.

She noticed Greg was leaning against the wall of the cab and was looking sleepy. A smirk appears on her face as she leans back into the seat and relaxes. She closes her eyes and enjoys the ride.

After a little while, she feels herself shaken.

“Max, wake up.” Mr. Collins gently shakes Max’s shoulder.

Max wakes up and looks at Mr. Collins “Did I drift off to sleep?”

“Yes, both you and Greg did.” Mr. Collins had a smile on his face.

“I must have been more tired than I thought.” Max yawns as she gets out of the truck.

“Max, do you have class tomorrow?” Mr. Collins had a big job he could use Max’s help on.

“No sir. Also, I’ll be free next week. I’m done with summer school, after Friday.” Max was glad summer school was almost over.

“Alright, I’ll be by tomorrow morning at seven.” Mr. Collins watches as Max waves goodbye and walks toward her house.

Max hears Mr. Collins drive off as she enters the house. She noticed her mom’s car and her sister’s car parked in the driveway. As she opens the front door “Mom, I’m home.”

“There’s some dinner for you in the refrigerator, Max.” Laura comes walking from the den when she heard Max’s voice.

Max looks at her mother and smiles. She was glad her mother didn’t disapprove of her wanting to be a girl.

“How was work and school?” Laura wonders how Max’s, day has been.

“School was fine. I got a hundred on the test I took today. I have tomorrow off from class.”

“That’s good. Are you working with Mr. Collins tomorrow then?” Laura knew Mr. Collins has been employing Greg and Max to work with him.

He was paying them a minimal wage for helping him. Which was fine, since Max was saving half of the money to buy parts for the Vespa scooter she was fixing. The rest of the money was being saved to either get her breasts enlarged or to put towards her surgery when she gets older.

“Yes ma’am. He’s coming by at seven tomorrow morning to pick me up.” Max knew she’ll have to set her alarm clock for five-thirty, so she could be ready to go.

“Since it’s been so hot and humid lately, why don’t you take the big cooler with you tomorrow? You can load it up with water and tea for you guys to drink.”

“Okay, Mom.”

Laura hugs her youngest daughter before heading back into the den. She was still upset that someone tried to kill her little girl. The detectives on the case were still searching for Shawn Grubbs. Some leads had come in, informing them that he had headed towards Augusta, Georgia with several members of the Brotherhood.

Detective Spade said that he was in contact with the detectives in Augusta PD and was sending them everything they had collected so far. Which he hopes will allow them to find Shawn Grubbs and bring him back to Gordonsville to stand trial for what he did to Max.

Max goes into the kitchen and open the refrigerator door and spotted a KFC box on the shelf for herself. She takes it out and removes the coleslaw, before heating the rest of the items. Afterward, she heads up to her bedroom and eats her dinner, while watching NCIS: Los Angeles.

After Max is done eating, she takes her trash downstairs and throws it away. Her mother didn’t mind her eating in her bedroom, but she couldn’t leave her trash in her bedroom. Once she was done throwing her trash away. She heads back upstairs and takes a nice relaxing shower before heading to bed.

Early Sunday Morning:
Max swims back and forth in the pool wearing the string bikini that started her path to becoming a woman. She woke up early since she didn’t
have to work or go to school on Sundays. She wanted to get in a few laps before she did anything else for the day.

She couldn’t wait to start school again and join the girl’s swim team. She does a few more laps and gets out of the pool. Max dries off and walks into the house. She noticed her sister was up and making pancakes.

“Morning, sis.” Max looks at her big sister as she comes walking into the kitchen.

“Morning Max. I take it you did a few laps this morning?” Donna knew how dedicated Max was to her practice and staying fit.

“Yeah, I was loosening up my sore muscles. Doing lawn work with Mr. Collins this week has been tough.” Max wasn’t used to all the hard labor under the sun.

Her skin had tanned where the t-shirt had left her arms exposed. She planned to spend time by the pool to even out her tan lines.

“I’m making some breakfast. Would you like some?”

“Yes, what are you making for breakfast?” Max looks at her sister as she stands on the other side of the counter.

“Waffles.” Donna was in the mood for waffles this morning.

“Cool, I’m going to go and change before eating?”

“Okay. You know, that string bikini is the same one mom came home and caught you wearing.” Donna was surprised Max had stolen her string bikini.

“I know. I just remembered how after mom caught me wearing this suit, I finally confessed how I feel.” Max was glad she finally came out to her mother.

"Well, I can say mom was surprised." Donna remembered her mother's reaction when she found out.

“I’m glad too. Now I don’t have to hide how I feel anymore. I know you are glad, too, because you don’t have to hide or lie to Mom about giving
me your hand-me-downs.”

“Or you taking things from my bedroom without my permission.” Donna couldn’t be upset with her little sister doing that.

“I couldn’t resist, sis. You have such pretty things.” Max used to be jealous of his older sister and the pretty clothes and accessories she owned.

“Well, go and change. The waffles should be ready soon.” Donna goes back to mixing the batter.

“Okay.” Max walks upstairs to her bedroom and changes out of her bikini.

Max puts on a pair of short shorts and a camisole. She brushes out her hair. She was going to let it air dry. As she is brushing her hair, she stops to look at her reflection in her mirror. She was letting her bangs grow long to cover up the injury. The plastic surgeon did a good job fixing it, but she could still see it. The skin was still a little bruised on her forehead.

Once Max was done, she went downstairs to the kitchen to join her sister. She wouldn’t let what happened to her put her down.

Donna looks at her little sister as she cooks the waffles. Max fixes herself and her older sister's glasses of orange juice.

“Where’s mom at?” Max noticed her mother wasn’t up and about yet.

“She left early this morning to join some friends of hers from the office for breakfast.” Donna had been surprised that her mother had gone out
with some of her friends from the office.

“You don’t think mom is seeing anyone and doesn’t want to tell us, do you?” Max wonders if her mother was just covering up that she was seeing someone.

“Max, Mom would never lie to us about something like that. And even if she were, she would only do it to protect us. Remember, some of her coworkers at the law firm she works for don’t like the LGBTQ community.” Donna knew some of the people her mother worked with didn’t like the LGBTQ community because they felt it was eroding family values that should stay the way they were.

“Yeah, I remember that fellow Andy Summerfield mom works with. He nearly choked on his coffee when he saw me walking into her office wearing a dress and heels. He’s one of those men that believe everyone should be following what the bible says.” Max could believe a prick like him worked for the same law firm as her mother.

“Don’t forget Mr. Araiza. He hates that the law firm has black clients that come to the law firm. He feels they are abusing the system to get money and such they don’t deserve. Hey, if he had his way, he would have the partners band the law firm from taking them as clients.”

“Fat chance of that. The partners don’t discriminate against anyone. If they can make a buck defending someone, they will.” Max knew that some partners were in it for the money while the others were in it to ensure their clients got justice or were protected.

Donna serves up the first set of waffles to Max. She knew Max liked to eat two whole waffles. While the next batch of waffles was cooking, “So, what are your plans for today?”

“Laundry and work on my Vespa. The parts I ordered finally came in that I have been waiting on. I want to get my scooter up and running.”

“You know, for a girl. You act like a tomboy.” Donna knew Max had been working on that Vespa of hers since she bought it at a yard sale.

“Hey, I like my baby blue Vespa.” Max liked her baby blue and white Vespa. She hand-painted the original stripes it had on it. She could have
used the premade ones, but she didn’t. She learned how to do it by hand instead.

“You are too much like my current girlfriend. She’s a gearhead and loves working on her motorcycle.” Donna liked her current girlfriend. She knew how to make love to her and treated her nicely.

“Sis, I have a question for you, and you don’t have to answer me. But how can two women please each other?” Max has always been curious about that.

“Well, there’s a lot of kissing, grinding, and oral sex we do to each other. Sometimes we use sex toys on each other to please each other.” Donna didn’t mind explaining how lesbian sex works. She knew her mother couldn’t explain it. Her mother made it clear that she enjoyed men.

“But if you're using sex toys, why not just have sex with a guy?” Max was curious.

“Because using a sex toy is different. Not all lesbians like being penetrated and dominated. I don’t mind letting another woman please me, but my partner doesn’t like it. She likes it when I finger her or lick her, but she prefers to be the one sticking it in me. Also, lesbians don’t find men
attractive. I had boyfriends when I was in high school, but I never enjoyed myself with them. I only did it because it was what was expected of me. Also, I didn’t know how Mom and Dad would handle it either. I tried to be like all the other girls in school and our family, and I couldn’t.”

“Like me pretending to be a guy when deep down that wasn’t how I felt.” Max knew her father tried to make her fit what a boy was.

“Exactly. When I finally came out to mom and dad before he left us. I was miserable, but once I told them I liked girls more. Mom accepted it without a problem. Dad, on the other hand, had a problem with it. When he and mom would argue, he would accuse her of not being hard on me and you. He knew you used to like wearing girl clothes and playing with my dolls.” Donna remembers the fights their mother and father use to have.

“Yeah, Dad was an asshole. He was only proud of me when I would win my matches or do well while playing baseball. He also didn’t mind me helping him when he worked on his charger either. Mom on the other hand didn’t care if I came in first place or last place. She was always there supporting me.” Max remembered her mother always cheering her on when she played baseball or when she competed in swimming.

Her mother was the reason they had the swimming pool. It was for her to train at home. It wasn’t regulation style, but it did allow her to practice her strokes and style. Plus, her mother liked entertaining guests and clients at the house. Her dad did too. He would invite his buddies from work over for cookouts.

“I’m just glad dad is happy with his new wife and family. I know he made mom’s life a living hell.” Donna knew how hard their mother fought to make her marriage work.

However, when dad threatened to send Max and her away to a conversion camp to straighten them out. Her mother wouldn’t allow him to do it. She also wouldn’t put up with his verbal abuse anymore or cheating, either. She knew he cheated on her with some of the women he worked with at his job.

“I'm just happy mom is happy now. She deserved it after everything she has endured.” Max loved his mother a lot.

“She’ll be happier once she has grandbabies. She’s looking forward to that.” Donna knew her mother wanted, lots and lots of grandbabies.

“Well, that’s one thing I can’t do.” Max was a little disappointed that she couldn’t experience that part of being a woman.

“You can always preserve some of your sperm for later and hire someone to carry a baby for you, Max.” Donna and their mother still didn’t know which way Max was going to be.

“I know, but it’s not the same. That’s one part of being a woman that I’ll never experience.” Max was a little disappointed in that matter.

“You never know, sis. They are experimenting with transplanting a uterus into women who can’t have children naturally. Maybe one day they will come up with a way for people like you to experience that. If nothing else, I would volunteer my womb to carry a baby for you.” Donna would do that for Max.

“Thanks, sis.” Max smiles at her big sister.

“Anytime.” Donna takes her waffle off the hotplate.

After breakfast, Max starts a load of laundry, and while it is going. She gets to work on her Vespa while listening to some music.

By the afternoon, Max managed to get her Vespa up and running. She had completely rebuilt the motor and installed all brand new parts she had to import from Italy. She installed new body panels and had the seat and gauges rebuilt. Overall, her Vespa was factory-built, if not better.

She takes it out for a test drive. Her sister had joined her girlfriend for the rest of the day. Max knew she wouldn’t see her sister until tomorrow.
As she drives by some of her neighbors, she waves to them. Some of them have accepted her and some of them gave her the cold shoulder. As for her friends, most of them stood by her. They were supportive and checked on her to see how she was doing after being almost killed.

While Max is sitting at a stop light, some guys in a jacked-up pickup truck pull up next to her in the next lane. The passenger side window starts lowering. “Hey babe, what time does those legs open up for business?”

Chuck liked how the woman riding the scooter looked. The way the light blue tank top she was wearing showed off her bare tanned shoulders. He liked looking down at her medium size breasts. Her helmet covered her head but left her face exposed.

Max ignores the man in the truck next to her. She has seen the truck around her high school during the football games and baseball games. She knew the passenger was the older brother of Mark Failsworth. He was the team captain of her high school baseball team.

Mark’s brother had been suspended from their high school for pulling a prank on a female teacher who had injured her. He didn’t like that she didn’t cut him any slack on his grades. Some of the teachers in her high school looked after the football, basketball, and baseball players in their school.

The swim team wasn’t as popular as the other after-school activities. Most of the football players were also on the wrestling team. So, they always did extremely well. The girl’s tennis team was one of the best around. Also, the softball team as well. Some of the track and field players were on the softball team.

They didn’t have a soccer team at her school, but there has been talk of starting one. Max watches the light and when it turns green, she goes. The truck beside her speeds past her and heads towards the sports bar where you can catch any game you like.

The place had large-screen television sets over the bar area and smaller sets at the booths along the wall. There was a collection of screens hanging from the ceiling in the middle of the place, showing different games.

Since she hasn’t had any lunch yet. She stops at Wendy’s and grabs a five-dollar lunch meal. There was a park nearby that she liked a lot and she headed there to have lunch.

While she is sitting on a bench eating her lunch. She spots one of the girls from her school's track team jogging towards her. If she remembered right, the girl’s name was Cindy Diggs. She waves at Cindy.

Cindy had finished up everything she had to do at home and decided to go for a jog. She normally tried to go early in the morning, but her mother wanted her to accompany her to church. So, she went to church with her mother. Afterward, her mother stuck around to talk with some of her friends. While her mother was socializing with her friends, she looked at some of the stuff for sale. Their church always had a thrift sale afterward. She found a few items she liked and bought them.

When she arrived back home, she changed her clothes and informed her mother that she was going for a job. She had a certain route she normally took and her mother knew it. As she was jogging through the park, she spotted Max sitting on a bench eating lunch. She slows down when she spots her waving at her. She jogs up to Max and smiles. She heard what happened to her before school ended.

She didn’t have a problem with Max being in the girl’s locker room or on the swim team either. Max has been beaten by a few of the girls on the team. Also, Max stood down when one of the coaches of another school’s girl swim team complained about Max being on the team.

She didn’t have to, but she did to show she was willing to compromise with everyone. It didn’t matter in the end, because the girls on their school team ended up beating the other school. It was a major embarrassment because the other school lost big time.

“Hey, Max. What brings you to the park?” As Cindy jogs in place.

“I was out testing the repairs I did to my scooter and stopped to have some lunch.” Max knew it was kind of late to be eating lunch.

“So, that was your scooter I passed when I entered the park. It looks nice.”

“Thanks. Are you practicing for when school starts?” Max knew what she was doing.

“Yeah, I like to stay in shape, even when I’m not in school. I heard you are working with Mr. Collins.”

“Yeah, Greg asked me if I would work with him and his father this summer.” Max was glad his best friend since elementary school was still his friend.

“That’s good. How is Greg?” Cindy had a little crush on Max’s best friend.

A smile appears on Max’s face “Let me guess, you like Greg?”

Cindy’s cheeks blush when Max asks her that question. She knew Greg liked her from the looks he gave her during gym class.

“Well, I heard he likes me and he does look at me when we're in gym class.” Cindy watches Max.

“He’s doing fine. I could give you his cell number or I could give him yours and have him call you if you like.”

“Could you give him, mine? Please?”

“Sure. What are your plans for Friday?” Max was thinking he could arrange for the two of them to meet up at hers and Greg’s favorite place after work.

“Nothing, why?” Cindy looks at Max with a puzzled look on her face.

“You’ll see.” A smile forms on Max’s face.

The two of them talk for a little while. Cindy informs her that she hopes she’ll be on the team this year. She knew Carol couldn’t wait to see her again.

Afterwards, she continues to finish her jogging and Max heads home.

When Max arrived back home, she thought about the conversation she had with Cindy. She dials her friend Greg’s number to see if he would like to go on a double date with her.

“Hello?” Greg noticed Max was calling him.

“Hey Greg, it's Max. How has your day been?” Max was wiping down her Vespa. She wanted to try and keep it clean.

“Bored. Why, what’s up?” Greg had been online all day playing with his video buddies.

“You wouldn’t believe who I ran into at the park.” Max finishes wiping down her scooter.

“Who?” Greg wonders what Max is doing at the park.

“Cindy, from our sixth bell class from last year. She was out jogging and spotted me eating my lunch in the park.”

“Cindy?” Greg had to think about all the girls in their sixth bell class from last year.

“Yeah, Cindy Diggs. She’s on the school’s track team, remember?” Max tosses the rag back into the hamper to be washed.

“Yeah, I remember. She’s got dirty blonde hair and a slim figure. What did she want?” Greg was curious.

“Well, for one thing stupid. She wanted me to give you her phone number. I think she wants to go out with you.” Max knew Greg could be a little slow sometimes.

“Oh!” Greg was surprised that Cindy wanted his best friend to give him her number.

“Yeah, Oh.” Max shakes her head back and forth.

“Is that the only reason you called me?”

“No, I was thinking that maybe after we finish working on Friday, that maybe we could go on a double date. I know Emily’s friend Brandi likes me and I kind of like her.” Max wasn’t sure how she felt.

“Are you saying that you might be a lesbian, Max?” Greg had been wondering about his friend when she came out being a girl.

“I don’t know, what I’m interested in Greg. I was thinking maybe you might feel comfortable going out on a date with a friend alone.” Max wasn’t sure which way she swung, but she knew how Greg was around girls.

Greg thought about what Max was suggesting in a way. It would be neat to have three women surrounding him while they were out.

“Do you think Brandi will say yes?”

“I don’t know, but I could call her and ask if she would like to go out on Friday.” Max noticed Brandi had left her number on her cellphone. She
had come by the hospital when she was unconscious.

“Alright, call me back and let me know what she says.” Greg wouldn’t mind going out.

“Okay.” Max ends the call.

She dials Brandi’s number next and walks inside the house. She is shocked when Brandi picks up on the third ring.

“Hi Brandi, it’s Max.”

“Maxine, I was wondering when you were going to call me.” Brandi serves a customer.

“Do you have time to talk?”

“Unfortunately, no. However, can I call you back in a little while?” Brandi could take her break and talk with Max.

“Sure. I’ll be waiting for your phone call.”

“Okay, bye Max.” Brandi wanted to talk with Max.

“Bye, Brandi.” Max ends the phone call.

Max walks over to the refrigerator and takes out everything she needs to make a salad. She hopes Brandi calls her back and agrees to go on a double date with her. She’s never gone on a date before and will have to ask her sister what two women did on a date.

After making her salad, she walks into the den and turns the television on. She scans through the channels until she finds a show she wants to watch. While watching the show, and eating her salad. Her sister comes walking in with her girlfriend.

“Hey sis, hey Debbie.” Max finally met her sister’s girlfriend.

Debbie had breasts bigger than his sister and what was known as a bike bitch. She also owned a motorcycle built by the Count, from Count Customs. According to her sister, her girlfriend won it during a poker game in Vegas. It was the top prize and her girlfriend beat some biker guy that wanted the motorcycle. She was also the niece of a member of a female biker group called The Sirens.

“Hey Max, how are you doing?” Debbie was concerned when she found out her girlfriend’s sister had been attacked.

“I’m doing okay.”

“That’s good to hear. I heard you were working with your best friend’s father. How is your friend dealing with you being a girl now?” Debbie knew some transgender people lose friends and family when they come out to their relatives and friends.

“He’s adjusting. Every once in a while, he catches himself when he uses the wrong pronoun.”

“Well, I know it takes time to adjust. Just be patient with him.”

“I will. Oh, by the way. Do you mind if I ask some questions about the relationship between you and my sister?” Max wanted to know more about their relationship.

Debbie looks towards Donna “Is it alright with you, sweetie?”

“I don’t mind. However, why are you interested in my relationship, Max?” Donna looks towards her little sister.

“Well, when I went out to test my Vespa and stopped to have lunch in the park. I ran into a girl from my sixth bell class from last year. Her name is Cindy and she has a thing for my best friend. I was thinking about arranging a double date for us on Friday.”

“Who are you thinking about asking out?” Donna was curious.

“Well, remember when I went out with my friend last month?”

“Yeah, just before you got attacked. I remember.”

“Well, she introduces me to a girl named Brandi and it turns out she likes me a lot.”

“And you’re thinking about asking her out.” A smile appears on Donna’s face.

“Yeah.”

“And you want to know if it is alright to go out with your friend and this other girl.” Debbie could see where this was going.

“It’s fine. Since you and this Brandi girl are just friends right now. And since this is your friend's first time out with this other girl. It’s okay to just go out as friends on a group date.”

“Where should we go?” Max has never dated before.

“Well, there’s Club Rogue. Or you could do the normal dating thing and go to a movie and dinner.”

“I think the second thing would be better.” Max figures a movie and dinner would be good.

“Okay, if that is the case. Let the girls choose the movie and the dinner. Take them to some were nice.”

“Where?” Max didn’t know what Brandi liked.

“Find out from the girl what they like to eat and go there.” Donna had grabbed a drink for herself and Debbie.

She hands the drink to Debbie.

“Thanks, sweetie.” Debbie kisses Donna on the cheek.

Max just shakes her head at her sister and Debbie.

The week seemed to fly by as Max and Greg work their butts off. Max had spoken to her mother about the group date she was going on. Her mother was happy Max was going out on a date and gave her the birds and bees talk.

Max felt a little uncomfortable while her mother tried to explain the birds and bees to her. Even though she was still equipped as a male, she wasn’t thinking about having sex with Brandi. Still, she knew she would have to be careful.

The day before the date, Max and Greg were sitting on the tailgate of Greg’s father's pickup truck enjoying a sub, Greg’s mother made for all of them. Greg looked towards Max as she sat next to him “What are you wearing tomorrow night?”

“A dress my mother helped me pick out. I thought about wearing pants, but my mother figured I would be more comfortable wearing a dress. How about you?” Max takes a bite from her sub.

“Dad said I should wear a dress shirt and my favorite pair of jeans. I figure since we’re going to Cinema twenty-four to see American Pie it would be okay.” Greg has never been on a date before.

“I figure Lulu Birds would be a good restaurant to take Brandi and Cindy to. It’s priced reasonably and the food is mostly comforting.” Max got advice from Debbie and she suggested it.

“I have no problem with Lulu Birds, they have some good food.” Greg has been there before with his parents.

“All rights you two. Stop daydreaming about your dates and get back to work.” Mr. Collins looks at his son and Max.

He was surprised when Greg approached him for advice on how he should dress for a date and where he should take his date. When Greg told him that Max was going along with some girl named Brandi. He wonders if Max still likes girls. There was a lot that he and his wife didn’t know about transgender people. He knew his wife spoke with Max’s mother Laura.

Max didn’t know about it, but her mother met with his wife and himself. They wanted to know more about Max and why he thought he was a girl, instead of a boy. He knew Max didn’t have a father figure in his life. He thought that might be a reason why Max thought he was a girl.

The thing was, even Laura was a little concerned about Max wanting to be a girl. However, she did tell them that she was in contact with the counselor Max was seeing and was seeing one herself to support Max. She loved her child and wanted to know if it was something she did.

“Yes sir.” Greg finishes eating his sub.

Max finishes his sub and goes back to work. She and Greg work together to cut down a tree and split the wood. Greg’s father had a stump grinder he was going to bring by tomorrow to grind the stump down. By the time they stopped working. Max’s shoulder and Greg’s were hurting. Max was going to ask her sister to rub some Ben Gay or something onto her shoulders.

When Max got home that night, she was hurting. She feels the tub with hot water and tosses in one of the bath beads she and her sister share. The last time they went shopping together, her sister thought it would benefit the two of them if they shared a jar of bath beads. Once Max started using them, she had to agree.

Their mother let the two of them redesign the bathroom. Now, it was like a spa where they could come and relax after a hard day at work. Once the water was at the level, she liked it. She gets into the tub and leans her head back against a folded-up towel.

She looks at her skin and notices she needs to spend some more time outside to even up her tan. Her arms and her legs were darker than the rest of her body. She noticed her breasts had gotten a little fuller. She would be glad when they were a little bigger.

She is enjoying the heat and the peacefulness of the music she is listening to. She could hear her sister walk by the bathroom. It sounded like she was in a hurry. She wonders why her sister was in such a hurry.

Donna comes out of their mother’s bedroom, after using her bathroom. She had to pee badly and when she went upstairs and noticed the main bathroom was occupied. She used her mother’s bathroom.

When she comes out, she stops at the bathroom door and knocks on it “Max, I’m going to order out tonight, instead of cooking dinner.”

“Come on in sis, I have plenty of bubbles covering me.” Max knew her sister had a thing about seeing her naked.

Donna walks into the bathroom and spots Max covered up by the bubbles. She still had a hard time seeing her sister with a penis. She couldn’t wait until Max had it removed.

“Sorry about that, Max.”

“It’s alright sis. So, what were you going to order?”

“I was thinking about placing an order with The Golden Wall.” Donna knew her mother and Max loved the food.

“Cool, I’ll have my normal.” Max loved General Taos Chicken.

“Okay, you want fried rice and egg roll, like normally.”

“Yep.” Max loved her Chinese food.

“Okay.” Donna turns and leaves the bathroom.

She goes to her bedroom and places a delivery order. Afterward, she changes out of her clothes and slips on a baggy pair of sweats and an oversized t-shirt. She loved walking around the house with the girls hanging free.

She would love it more if her girlfriend was here massaging her shoulders. She loves when Debbie plays with her tits. Debbie said she liked how big she was, but she prefers Debbie’s tits over her own. They were bigger, whereas hers were smaller.

Once she places the order and pays for it. She goes downstairs to wait for the order to be delivered. She wonders if Max is prepared to go on her date tomorrow.

Max washes her hair and drains the water out of the tub, as she dries her body off. She pats her body with the towel, instead of rubbing it like she used to do. Ever since she decided to come out of the closet to her mother. She has been learning how she should treat her body from her sister and mother.

She was a lot like her mother and sister. She slips on a baggy pair of silky shorts and an oversized t-shirt. She doesn’t bother with a pair of panties. Her sister said that it was best sometimes to go bare to air out the groin area. Since her penis was so small from taking her sister's birth control pills and now the estrogen pills, she was taking.

Max goes downstairs wearing her slippers and finds her sister watching a movie. She knew her mother would be home soon.

“Hey sis, will you and Debbie still be able to take us to the movies tomorrow?”

“Yeah, who is picking you guys up?”

“Mr. Connor is. He asked us to call him and let him know when were ready to be picked up.” Max knew Greg asked his father to pick them up.

“That’s good.” Donna was glad that Mr. Connors was picking them up.

Ten minutes later, Max’s and Donna’s mother come walking into the house. She spots the girls watching a movie in the den.

“What’s for dinner, girls?” Laura walks into the den.

“Chinese. We ordered out, Mom.” Max looks at her mother.

“I hope you ordered my favorite.” Laura had her favorite dish.

“I got you covered Mom.” Donna knew what her mother liked.

A few minutes later, the delivery driver shows up with their food. Donna gives the driver a tip and joins everyone in the den. She starts removing the different dishes out of the bag and hands them to their owners.

Once everyone has their dish. They start eating while watching the movie they started.

Friday:
Max rushes into the house as soon as she gets home and heads upstairs towards the bathroom. She strips out of her work clothes and tosses them into the dirty clothes hamper, while the tub fills up with hot water. Every muscle in her body was hurting from cutting up a few more bushes the client wanted to be removed. The work helped calm her down because she was nervous about her date tonight.

Since she and Greg didn’t have a driver's license or learner permit. Her sister and her girlfriend were going to be on their ride tonight. Once the water level hits the level she likes, she slips in and lets the hot water soothe her aching shoulders. She scrubs her body with the new body scrubber her sister brought home for her and uses the scented soap.

She washes her hair three times, before adding the conditioner and letting it set like her sister suggested. The last time she danced with Brandi was at the goth club her friend Emily had taken her to. A smile appears on Max’s face as she thinks about how much fun Emily is having.

Emily had gone to spend the summer with her cousins in New York. They were heavily into the goth scene like Emily. According to the email she received from Emily, she and her cousins had gone and seen a band. She said the drummer of the band was the son of the drummer from Wild Fire. She also designed and made some of the best gothic clothes around.

Max didn’t have any idea who Wild Fire was until she googled them and listened to some of their music. Their music reminded her of the pop metal bands from the 80’s. She listened to a few more of their songs and had to admit they were really good. She saw that the drummer was a gothic chick who went by the stage name Dusk.

She looks through some more information and finds Dusk’s adopted son Moon. He was gothic like his mother and played drums as well. He was also the youngest member of the band called Vamps. They had produced six albums and had several hit records. Their most popular was a song named Midnight Lover.

Max listened to the song and couldn’t believe the dark undertones and lyrics of the song. It sent shivers throughout his body, but you could feel the emotion buried in the song. It told how the desire of a young woman had drawn the attention of a vampire and how much she loved him.
However, she wasn’t ready to leave the warmth of the daylight, to join him forever in the darkness.

She finishes up her bath and dries off. She walks into her bedroom and notices her mother has laid out her clothes for tonight. A smile forms on her face when she notices a garter belt and stocking lying on the bed. There was a note from her sister instructing her to wear them tonight.

Max starts getting ready, following the directions her sister showed her last night. From how to put her make-up on to what body powder she should wear to where she needs to spitz her perfume. By the time Max finished getting dressed and putting her make-up on, she looked like a million dollars.

She grabbed her small purse and transferred some money, her band cards, her ID card, and the standard items she should carry with her. She stands in front of the mirror to admire herself in the mirror. She turns around when she hears a knocking sound coming from her bedroom door.

“Enter.” Max turns around to see who it is.

Donna opens the door and walks into Max’s bedroom. She stops when notices how her sister is dressed.

“Wow, you look like a million bucks.”

“Thanks, sis.” A smile forms on Max’s face.

“Stand still, so I can take a picture for Mom. She’ll want to see how nice you look.” Donna takes a picture of her little sister.

Max stands still while her sister snaps a picture of her. She had to admit that she looked hot.

“What are you and Debbie going to do?” Max was curious about what her sister was going to do.

“There’s a club nearby we’re going to go to. Just call us when you want to be picked up.”

“Okay.”

After leaving the house, Debbie swings by and picks up Greg at his house. The girls were going to meet them at Lulu Bird’s. Greg looks at Max
“Wow! You look nice Max.”

“Thanks, Greg.” Max blushes at her friend’s comment.

Debbie drops Max and Greg at the restaurant. They spot the girls waiting for them. Greg looks at Max “I hope they haven’t been waiting long.”

“I doubt it.”

Max and Greg walk up to their dates. Greg tries calming down since this is his first time on a date. He looked at Max and could see she was relaxed.

Cindy and Brandi had arrived early and started talking. Cindy knew Brandi was lesbian from some of the comments she made in the locker room. It didn’t bother her that Brandi was gay. However, some of her friends didn’t like it when Brandi looked at them when they were undressed.

She didn’t know Brandi was interested in Max. She looks at Brandi “How did you meet Max?”

“A mutual friend of ours introduced us. Does it bother you that I like Max?” Brandi watched Cindy’s reaction.

She knew from experience that Cindy was a big flirt and liked to tease the guys. Also, there were times Cindy would flirt with her in the locker room as well.

“No, I heard that lesbians like yourself didn’t like nongenetic girls.” Cindy knew an older lesbian who said that people like her didn’t like
transgender girls.

“I’m different. And no, I don’t like what is between Max’s legs either. I prefer licking over sucking.” Brandi wanted to make sure Cindy understood.

“Whatever floats your boat. I just don’t want to see Max hurt again.”

“I promise not to hurt Max. I was concerned about what happened to her as well.” Brandi spent as much time as she could with Max when she was in the hospital.

After a few minutes of waiting, Cindy and Brandin notice an SUV pulling up. Greg exists first, followed by Max. A smile appears on Brandi’s face when she notices how Max is dressed. The two girls watch as Max and Greg walk up to them.

“I think tonight is going to be a good night.” Cindy liked how Max looked and how Greg looked as well.

“I think you’re right.” A smile appears on Brandi’s face.

“Hello, ladies.” Greg was nervous.

“Hello. You look nice, Greg.” Cindy blushes afterward.

“Thanks, so do you.” Greg liked how Cindy looked.

“I have to agree. But, I think Max looks cute in the LBD she is wearing.” Brandi liked the little black dress Max had on. She loved the three-inch heels and she got a peek of the top of her stocking under the dress.

“Thanks, Brandi, you look nice as well.” Max loved how Brandi was dressed and how the blouse and dress slacks hugged Brandi’s body.

The four of them stand outside just looking at each other. Greg’s watch beeps, letting him know he was supposed to be at the restaurant.

“I think they have our table ready. Shall we?” Greg motions towards the door.

“Lets.” As Brandi lets Greg escort all of them inside the restaurant.

A young woman by the name of Stacy escorts them to their table. The waitress comes over to take their order. After taking their order, the four teenagers start talking with one another. All of them were nervous, but once they started talking about their favorite things and some of the teachers, they were hoping not to have it next year. They started relaxing.

After dinner, they walk over to the movie theater. Greg and Max pay for the tickets and some drinks since they just had dinner. While they are watching the movie, Greg holds Cindy’s hand during the movie.

Brandi does the same with Max. She starts kissing Max during the movie. Max returns the kiss. She liked the way Brandi was kissing her.

Every once in a while, Max catches Cindy and Greg kissing. At the end of the night, Donna and Debbie end up taking Cindy and Brandi home, as well as Greg. Donna turns around in her seat to look at Max “So, how was your date?”

“Nice, I invited her to come over this weekend.”

“That should be fun.” Debbie was planning on spending the night with Donna.

“You’ll have to tell me about it later. Mom will want details when we get home.” Donna turns back around to look out the front windshield.

“So, did you two have fun last night?” Mr. Collins looks at Max and Greg as they bagged up a bunch of leaves.

“Yes sir.” Max liked holding Brandi’s hand and kissing her afterward.

A smile appears on Greg’s face. He had fun with Cindy and was hoping to see her again this Friday coming up.

“So, have you decided what you two want to do with your life after high school?” Mr. Collins looks at his son and Max.

Greg looks at his father “I figured, I would work for you Dad, and take over the lawn service when you retired.”

“How about you, Max? Have you decided what you would like to do after high school?” Mr. Collins knew at one time Max wanted to be a professional swimmer. But lately, with all the new laws being passed to prevent people like Max from competing. She might have to do something different.

“I don’t know, Mr. Collins. With the way things are changing, I have to come up with something different.” Max knew she couldn’t continue swimming anymore.

“You could always study law or something to help people like you out, Max.” Mr. Collins has been noticing how a lot of states and even their own were going after transgender children.

He felt that the government shouldn’t be passing laws taking away the rights of the parents to decide what was right for their children. If a parent is concerned about the health of their child and how their child feels. It’s the parent’s job to do what they can to get the help the child wants or needs. Not the government telling them what they can or can’t do.

“I’ve never been able to argue my point to anyone, Mr. Collins.” Max knew she wasn’t cut out to be a lawyer.

“Well, there has to be something you're good at, besides swimming.” Mr. Collins has known Max since Max and Greg were in elementary school.

“You should think about what you want to do Max. Before long you and Greg will be graduating high school.”

“I know Mr. Collins. Since I can’t swim anymore or play on any softball team unless it’s a boys’ team. I’ll have some free time on my hands.”

Max didn’t want to play softball on any boys’ team. First off, she would feel weird playing on a boy's team and secondly, she knew the guys would feel weird having her on the team. What she was going to do now, is still a mystery.

“Well, you and Greg going to be sophomores this school year. This is when you should decide what you want to do and start lining up the classes you’ll need.

“Thanks, Mr. Collins for the advice.” Max hadn’t thought about what she wanted to do.

The three of them finished up the job they were doing. They finish cleaning up everything and putting the tools away. Once they are done, Mr. Collins drives back to his house, so Max can pick up her scooter.

By the time Max gets home, she could smell stew cooking. She walked into the kitchen and spotted her mother cooking.

“Hi, Mom.” Max walks over and hugs her.

Laura looks up when she hears Max’s voice. She was in the process of cutting up some herbs.

“Hey, sweetie.” As she returns the hug.

“Dinner smells good.” Max pulls a spoon out to taste it.

“Thanks. How was your day?” Laura watches Max as she dips the spoon into the stew.

“It was okay. Mr. Collins suggested that Greg and I should think about what we want to do after high school.

“He’s right. I know you had your heart on getting a sports scholarship for swimming. But since things are changing this year for you. Have you decided what you might want to do instead?”

“No ma’am.” Max watches as her mother finishes chopping the fresh herbs and adds them to the stew.

“You should, sweetie. Do you know what you want to do after high school?” Laura looks at her daughter as she stirs the stew.

“No ma’am. I have no idea what I want to do after high school. Mr. Collins suggested I should become a lawyer.” Max looks at her mother.

“That’s a good suggestion, sweetie. With the way things are going having a lawyer that is transgender representing others like yourself is a good
thing.” Laura figures her daughter would make a good lawyer.

“But I have never been able to argue my point about anything, Mom.”

Laura looks at her daughter “Are you sure?”

“Yes ma’am.”

“So, you weren’t able to convince me that you were serious about being who you are?” Laura looks at Max with a questionable look on her face.

“So, you think I should become a lawyer, Mom?” Max looks at her mother with a puzzled look on her face.

“Yes, I do, sweetie. I think you would make a good lawyer.” Laura thinks her daughter would do well as a lawyer.

“Hhmm.” A thoughtful look appears on her face.

“Now, go and clean up for dinner.”

“Yes ma’am.” Max kisses her mother’s cheek, before walking out.

Max walks upstairs to her bedroom and changes her clothes. She’ll take a shower after dinner when she gets ready for bed. She looks over towards her hamper and figures she’ll have to do laundry by Thursday or she could do it tomorrow after she swims some laps.

Once Max is changed, she heads downstairs and starts setting the table. She knew her sister’s girlfriend would be joining them for dinner. Her mother wanted to know more about her sister’s girlfriend. A smile appears on her face as she thinks about the fact that her mother will have three daughters, should her sister marry her girlfriend.

After setting the table, Max helps her mother bring everything in. The table was almost set when Debbie and Donna walked into the dining room.

“This looks nice.” Debbie liked how the table was set up.

“Thanks.” Max looks at her sister and Debbie with a smile on her face.

“Come on girls, let’s sit down and enjoy dinner.” Laura walks into the dining room with a large bowl of stew.

Everyone sits down at the table for dinner.

Nikki Cory’s House:
Max and Greg couldn’t believe they had been invited to Nikki’s house for a party. She and several of her friends were the most popular girls in their high school.

“Man, I can’t believe Nikki invited us.” Greg looks at Max when he says that.

“Me neither.” Max was cautious as she walked through the door of Nikki’s house.

There were a lot of people in the house and loud music filled the air. Max wishes Brandi was here right now with her or her friend Emily. Neither one of them could make it tonight because they had to work.

Max follows Greg as they walk over to where drinks are set up. You could grab a cold drink from a cooler or make your own. Max notices that there are several bottles of liquor out on the counter.

Greg goes to grab a vodka to pour into a solo cup. He stops when he feels Max’s hand on his wrist. He looks at his friend “What?”

“I don’t think you should, Greg. We’re still underage.”

“We’re at a private residence, Max. The rules don’t apply here. Do you think Nikki’s parents would put alcohol out for a bunch of minors if it was illegal?” Greg looks at his friend to see what she thinks.

“I don’t know.”

“Oh, come on man. One drink isn’t going to hurt and besides, everyone here is doing it.” Greg manages to get Max to let go of his arm.

He heard about a drink called Cape Codder and wanted to see how it tasted. He mixes the vodka and cranberry. He tasted and liked it.

“You have to try it, Max.” Greg holds the solo cup and looks at Max.

“No thank you.” Max grabs a Pepsi and opens it.

Greg shakes his head as the two of them start to mingle. Max watches as Greg starts dancing with some people, they both know. Before long Craig and Max are dancing with people. Max, is handed a can of drink by a cute guy. She hadn’t seen him before, but he was kind of handsome.

They step outside and walk around the backyard. She looks at the guy “Are you a friend of Nikki’s?”

He smirks “I’m her older cousin. By the way, I’m Charlie Cox.” As Charlie holds his hand out to Max.

“I’m Max Puscat, it's nice to meet you.” Max shakes Charlie’s hand.

“I’ve heard about you, Max. You’re the student someone tried to kill at your school. Is there a reason someone would try to hurt a charming person like you?” Charlie heard about a person named Max Puscat getting hurt at Nikki’s high school.

“Some people just can’t accept changes or others.” Max didn’t know how she should reply.

“So, is it true, then?” Charlie looks at Max.

“Is what true?” Max had a confused look on her face.

“That, you decided to switch teams?” Charlie couldn’t see this cute girl walking next to him as ever being a girl.

“I won’t lie to you, Charlie. I was born a boy, but how I felt inside, didn’t match how I felt outside. Do you know what it is like to look at your reflection in the mirror and see a stranger looking back at you?”

“I can’t say I have ever done that, but I understand what you are trying to say. It’s like a skinny kid looking at their reflection and seeing the person they want to be looking back at them. In your case, it was seeing the girl who you should have been born, instead of the guy you saw.”
Charlie understood seeing what you wish you could see.

“Let me guess, you used to be a skinny kid?” Max looks at Charlie when she says that.

“Yep, I was the skinny kid who used to get picked on in school. That was until I started working out. After, I built up my muscles and learned how to protect myself. I started looking out for other kids who were getting picked on.” Charlie had a few friends that used to get picked on because of their hobbies, or because they were extremely smart.

“Wow! I didn’t start to get picked on until I decided to dress how I felt. I was on my school’s swim team and was pretty good.” Max loved swimming.

“How did your coach feel when you switched sides?”

“My coach didn’t mind. She knew I was a good swimmer and the girls didn’t mind. However, now that several states and school systems have started to ban people like me from competing in any sports. I have to find something else to do. Which isn’t fair. Why can girls join any male team, but when someone like me joins a girls’ team, it’s unfair?” Max thought that was unfair.

“That’s above me. I think all sports should be coed. That way, it doesn’t matter what your gender is.” Charlie figures that would solve the problem.

The two of them continue to walk around outside and finally make it back inside. Max finds Greg and notices how wasted he is.

She looks at Charlie “I need to get him home.”

“I’ll give you two a ride.” Charlie helps Max with Greg.

Max noticed at least three different lipstick lips on his face. She also could smell a strong perform someone spritz on him. She also smelled the booze he consumed it was on his breath and his clothes.

Charlie escorts Greg over to his Toyota Prius and helps Max put him in the backseat. He looks at Max “Let’s get you and him home.”

“Thanks, Charlie.”

“You’re welcome.” As Charlie gets into the car.

Max gets in on the passenger side. Once they were on their way, Max gave Charlie directions to Greg’s house first. After helping Greg’s mother with Greg’s passed-out form. She hugs her and leaves.

Charlie drives Max home and makes sure she enters her house, before leaving. Max spots her mother in the living room watching television.

“Hi, mom.” Max smiles at her mother.

Laura looks at her daughter “Did you have fun, dear?”

“Yes, ma’am.”

“You’ll have to tell me about it, sweetie.” Laura was happy Max enjoyed herself.

“Can I change first, mom?”

“Sure, sweetie.” Laura could see that Max was happy.

Max heads upstairs to change clothes.

“Max, do you know what my parents did to me?” Greg looks at his best friend.

“Grounded you?” Max looks back towards her best friend.

“Yes. I can’t believe they did that.” Greg puts a little bit more strength behind the ax he was using.

“I told you we were underage and couldn’t drink, Greg. Do you recall anything you did last night?” Max was curious about which girl kissed him and spritzed him with perfume.

“It was a party, Max. If you don’t blend in and drink alcohol you’re going to look weird.” Greg has heard a lot of stories from his uncles about his father.

“Greg, do you know which girls you made out with and who spritzed you with perfume?” Max racks a bunch of leaves together.

“I know their faces, but not their name. Why do you ask?” Greg was still suffering from a hangover.

“Just curious.” Max had been checking the social pages about the party.

Around lunch time, Max and Greg sit on the tail gate of the pickup truck and eat their lunch. Greg only ate half of what his mother packed for him. He looks over towards Max and notices she was eating a salad.

“Going vegan on me?” Greg knew Max was a meat lover like him.

“No, I was just in the mood for a salad today. Have you decided what you are going to do when we go back to school?” Max has been thinking about it lately.

“Not really. I’m hoping this year is better then last year.” Greg didn’t do so good last year on his school subjects.

“That goes double for me.” Max didn’t want a repeat of last year.

“Are you going to swim on the swim team this year?” Greg knew Max was like a fish in the pool.

“It’s been disgust and some parents don’t have a problem with me being on the girls’ team. However, some of the other schools we compete against are against it.”

“Man, that must suck. You’re a good swimmer, but because you don’t have a slit between your legs and don’t bleed every month. You must
give up on what you do best.” Greg knew the girls at their school loved Max being on their team.

“I know. However, I knew this might happen. I wish I didn’t have to give up swimming, but there’s nothing I can do about it.” Max, her mother, and her coach have looked into the problem and unless they wanted to drag this matter out in court for years. She’ll have to just find something else to occupy her time after school.

“I’m sorry, Max.”

“Thanks.” As Max bags up the cut grass and leaves she raked up.

“Hey, how did we get home from the party?” Greg has been puzzled about that.

“A guy named Charlie gave us a ride home. He helped me carry you to his car and to your house.” Max was supposed to join Charlie at the gym he worked at tomorrow afternoon.

“That was nice of him. So, how did the two of you meet?” Greg was wondering if Max was going to drop Brandi.

“It was getting a little warm inside and I decided to step outside to cool off. While I was outside just standing around, Charlie came out and we started talking.”

“Does he know about you?” Greg knew Max has only recently come out about herself.

“Yes, he knows about me. Believe it or not. He has undergone a similar transformation himself.”

“How so? Is he a female to male?” Greg wonders why Max would mention it.

“No, he’s one hundred percent genetic male. What I mean by a transformation, is that he used to be like you and me. He was nerd and got
picked on while in school. So, he decided he to do something about it.”

“Let me guess. He started working out?” Greg knew his father and some of his cousins had suggested it to him.

“Yep, and he looks after his friends that still get picked on. He knows what it is like to be picked on and bullied and he doesn’t like it.”

“Boy, he sounds like a nice guy.”

“I think so. Let’s get this job finish before your father shows back up.” Max wanted to finish the job and have it done.

“Okay.”

Greg and Max put more effort into the job, so that by the time Greg’s father shows up. They will be done and won’t have to come back tomorrow.

By the time Max arrives home, she was tired. She takes a nice cold shower to cool off and put on some loose shorts and an oversized t-shirt. She has started dressing more and more like her older sister and mother. Since her mother and sister likes to relax when they are home. They preferred to wear light oversized clothes.

Max knew her mother wasn’t going to be home tonight, and her sister was working late. So, she orders a sub and her favorite onion rings from her favorite sub shop. While she is waiting for them to be delivered. She checks her email on her tablet and answer a few.

While looking over her email, she spots Charlie’s email, and a smile appears on her face. She opens it and notices that he sent her an official invite to the gym he works at. She didn’t mind paying the non-membership fee, but with the invite she didn’t have to. She prints it out on the printer in her bedroom.

Twenty minutes later, the delivery driver shows up with her order. She pays him and gives him a good tip. Afterwards, she sits back down and eats her dinner, while watching a movie.

Max and Brandi walk hand-in-hand from the restaurant they had dinner at towards the movie theater. The night air was warm and both women were wearing sundresses.

“So, how has your week been, Max?” Brandi hasn’t been able to spend as much time with Max as she wanted to.

“Hot and sweaty. Greg almost passed out due to the heat. I wasn’t that far from passing out myself.” Max couldn’t believe how affected she felt by the heat.

“What did you guys do?”

“Greg soaked his shirt in cold water and I dumped some cold water on top of my head. There wasn’t any shade to sit under.” Max felt a little better after dumping cold water on her head.

“I swear guys have it easier than girls in that respect.” Brandi knew what it was like to be out in the heat and wanted to take her shirt off.

“I guess you're right. But there was no way I could take my shirt off or get it wet because it would have shown my bra underneath it. Plus, you have seen how big my chest has gotten.” Max has noticed her breasts have increased since being on the new hormones.

“Well, I’m glad you didn’t, sweetie.” Brandi has seen Max in her swimsuit and has noticed her chest has increased some.

Since they bought their movie tickets beforehand. They enter the movie theater and buy some popcorn and a drink to share. As they are standing in line, Max spots Charlie with two little girls standing with him. A smile appears on her face as he lifts one of the young girls up to the counter so she can see the candy.

Brandi noticed Max looking at a young man holding a little girl up. She saw the young man tickle the little girl, as she picked out her candy.

“Someone you know?” Brandi looks towards Max for an answer.

“Yeah, I met him at the party me and Greg went to. His name is Charlie and he gave us a ride home.” Max told Brandi about what happened at the party.

“Why don’t you introduce me to him.” Brandi wonders if Max was embarrassed.

“Okay.” Max walks over to Charlie and the two little girls.

“Hi, Charlie.” A smile appears on Max’s face.

Charlie turns around when he hears Max’s voice. A smile appears on his face when he sees Max and another woman standing with her.

“Max, how has been?”

“Good, this is my girlfriend, Brandi. Brandi, this is my friend Charlie and…” Max looks at Charlie for help.

“My nieces Amy and Bernadette.”

Amy and Bernadette smile at Max and Brandi. They step close to their uncle for protection.

“Girls, this is my friend Max and her girlfriend Brandi.”

“Hi, girls.” As Brandi kneels to look at the girls. She smiles at them.

Amy buries her face against her uncle’s leg. Bernadette moves closer to Charlie’s leg.

“You have to forgive them, Brandi. They are very shy.” Charlie wraps his arm around Bernadette’s shoulder.

“It’s okay, girls. These are nice people. You can trust them.” Charlie knew how the girls felt around new people.

“So, what movie are you and the girls going to see, Charlie?” Max smiles at the little girls.

“I’m taking them to see, Wish. How about you?” Charlie wonders why Max is at the theater.

“We're here to see Lisa Frankenstein.” Max knew Brandi had wanted to see it since it came out.

“That sounds interesting. Let me know how it is. My girlfriend has been wanting to go and see it.” Charlie promised his girlfriend he would take it.

“I will. Well, it's nice meeting you, Amy, and Bernadette.” Max smiles at the two young girls.

Brandi and Max turn to leave. They stop to buy popcorn and drink, before heading into the theater. They pick a nice area to sit down to watch the movie and share a drink and popcorn.

After the movie, Max and Brandi head home. Brandi drops Max off and kisses her.

“This was fun, Max.”

“I know. How about we do it again next Friday?” Max wanted to spend more time with Brandi.

“Sounds good.” Brandi kisses Max before Max exits Brandi’s car.

Max walks up to the front door and uses her house key. After Max closes the front door.

“How was your date, sweetie?” Laura looks at her younger daughter as Max comes walking in.

“It was nice, mom. It was fun being out with Brandi.” Max walks over to her mother and sits down next to her.

Laura wraps her arm around Max’s shoulder and holds her. When Max came out to her about wanting to be a girl, she was concerned. However, besides being nearly killed, she has seen how happy Max has been since coming out to her.

“Well, I’m glad you are happy, sweetie.” Laura kisses Max’s forehead.

“Thanks, mom.” As Max hugs her mother.

“You have work, tomorrow sweetie. So, off to bed with you.” Laura hugs Max one more time, before letting her go.

“I have it off. But I am tired.” Max covers up a yawn and heads to bed.

Max wakes up early the next morning. Since she didn’t have to be at work, she put her school swimsuit on and headed towards the pool. Before she dives into the pool, she checks the water and notices the chlorine levels are low.

She grabs a couple of shock tablets and empties them into the water. It won’t take long for the tablets to go to work. Once that was done, she dived into the deep end and started doing some laps. She may not be able to swim on the girl’s swim team this year because of the new rules, but it doesn’t mean she wouldn’t let her skills go to waste.

As she is swimming, she thinks about maybe getting her lifeguard license and maybe learning how to scuba dive. At least in those professions, she didn’t have to worry about people complaining about her being transgender. She increases her pace as she does a hundred freestyle laps and thirty of the other forms.

Max could hear the music playing from her cell phone switch over to her new playlist. The new list consisted of music from the sixties and seventies. She wonders what it would have been like to live during that time frame. She’ll have to see if her mother had any records from that time frame.

Max finishes swimming and gets out of the pool. She dries off and walks inside to the kitchen and shivers from the A/C hitting her wet suit. She feels her nipples get stiff and poke against her suit.

She walks over to the refrigerator and pulls out some frozen burritos her mother bought the last time they went shopping. It was a quick breakfast she could take to work with her. She puts them into the microwave for a few minutes. While they were warming up, Max fixed herself a cup of coffee.

When the burritos are done and her coffee is done. She takes everything outside sits in her lounger and enjoys her breakfast. While she is sitting there and enjoying the morning. She scrolls through her cell phone to see who is offering lifeguard license training and scrub diving lessons.

Once she finds them, she books the classes. She had money in the bank to cover the cost of the classes. She knew school would be starting soon. It was already mid-July and she would need to find an after-school job.

While she is sitting there enjoying the morning, her cell phone alerts her to a text it just received. She picks it up and looks at it. It was from Charlie “Good Morning Charlie, do you have any plans for today?”

“Good morning to you as well, Max. I was just planning on spending some time at home and doing some laundry and maybe some time by the pool. What’s up?”

“A group of us are getting together to go to Bush Gardens. I was wondering if you would like to join me?”

“You do know I have a girlfriend, don’t you?”

“Yes, and she can come along as well. I just hate going by myself to places like that.”

Max could understand that. It was kind of boring to walk around places like that by yourself.

“Let me see if my girlfriend is available first and I’ll text you back.”

“That’s fine.”

Max sends a text to Brandi to see what she is doing. She didn’t want Brandi to think she was cheating on her. After a few minutes, Brandi informs Max that she has to work and to go ahead and go with Charlie and his friends. She needs to socialize more.

Max sends a kiss and hug to Brandi. She also arranges to send flowers to Brandi while she is at work.

“Brandi has to work, so I’m available. What time will you be by?”

“How about in an hour? Will that give you enough time to change?”

“If I hurry, yeah. I’ll see you then.” Max grabs her breakfast dishes and heads inside the house to get ready.

By the time Charlie arrives at Max’s place. It was more than ten minutes after he told her he be there. He gets out of the SUV he had arrived in and runs towards Max’s front door. He pressed the doorbell, which he realized was one of those video types.

“I’m on my way down.” Max had put on a sundress and a pair of low-heeled saddles.

Charlie smiles when he hears Max’s voice come over the speaker. He looks around the neighborhood and notices it is a nice middle-class neighborhood. People kept their lawns well-trimmed and green.

Charlie turns around when the front door opens. A smile appears on his face as he looks at Max standing at the entrance.

“Are you ready?”

“Yep, let’s go.” Max blushes as she closes the door behind her.

When Max gets in the SUV, she notices several other people. There were two other girls, along with two other guys. She sits down by the window, with Charlie sitting next to her.

Charlie looks at everyone “Everyone this I Max. Max, this is my cousin Harry and his girlfriend Violet. They have been together since high school. Behind us are Mitch and his cousin Emilly. Mitch is a football player and his cousin plays the violin in the local orchestra.”

“It’s nice to meet all of you and for inviting me.” Max smiles at everyone.

“I hope you enjoy yourself, today Max.” Harry smiles at Max.

He heard about the transgender girl at the high school that got hurt. There weren’t any pictures of the person in the newspaper, so he had no
idea who the person was. Now, that he has met Max, he couldn’t see how this young lady could have been born a girl. She was cute looking.

Harry drives the group to Bush Gardens. It was a long drive from where they lived. By the time they arrived, they had been on the road for two and a half hours. They made one stop at a rest area for several people to go to the bathroom and grab some drinks from the vending machines.

Charlie stays with Max as they explore the park. They stand in line for several of the rides. There was one ride that Max had to hold her top against her chest. The wind it created was so strong, that it caused her top to fall, exposing her lace pink bra underneath.

Charlie was a gentleman and didn’t stare when it happened. He just smirked when it happened. They stopped to have lunch in Germany and had dessert later in the France section of the park.

Charlie won Max a huge pink teddy bear that they carried around for a while. He had watched as Max tried to win it for herself and saw how pitiful she was doing. So, he did it for her.

By the time they left the park and before heading home. They stopped at a buffet for dinner. They had to tie Max’s giant bear up on the roof of the SUV since it was too big for the inside.

Max is dropped off first and she hugs Charlie. She looks at him “Thank you for the bear and the fun day.”

“I’m glad you had fun.” He hugs her back, before walking off towards the SUV.

Max walks inside the house carrying her huge teddy bear. She had no idea where she was going to put it. She heads upstairs to her bedroom and sets the bear on the floor near her desk.

She puts on the baby blue teddy her mother bought for her to wear. She loved how it looked on her body and felt as well. She lays down on her bed and snuggles deep under the covers.

During the night, Max tosses and turns. She wakes up sweating as the nightmare of what happened to her caused her to shiver. She looks around her bedroom and realizes she is safe.

She lays back down and tries to go back to sleep.

Max was sitting at her desk answering some emails. She takes a sip from her coffee cup and finishes answering the current email. It was a registration form for lifeguard lessons and scuba classes. The dive center was giving both lessons and they started the next week. She pays the required fees for both classes and sends the application.

Max leans back in her computer chair and takes another sip from her coffee cup. She looks over towards the huge bear sitting in her bedroom. She had fun at Bush Gardens with Charlie. Her girlfriend came by and noticed the huge bear as well. They talked about it, and Amber wasn’t upset or anything. Amber just wished she could have gone with her.

As Max is relaxing and enjoying the quietness in the house. Max’s cell phone starts ringing. She picked it up and saw that Detective Spade was calling her. She presses accept “Good morning, Detective. What can I do for you?”

“Good morning to you too, Max. I’m calling to let you know, Shawn Grubbs has been arrested and is on his way back here to stand trial for his crimes. I thought you would like to know.” Detective Spade knew Max and her mother had been hoping they would find Shawn.

Yes, Max was upset that Shawn did what he did to her. She never did anything to Shawn, hell they used to be friends. They used to play together in the park and go biking on weekends until Shawn made new friends who were bullies.

“Have you called my mother yet and let her know, Detective?” Max knew her mother would want to know.

“No, not yet. I thought I would let you know first. I know what Shawn did to you wasn’t right. Plus, it will give you some peace of mind that he is back.”

Tears start forming in Max’s eyes and sliding down her cheek. The nightmares weren’t as bad as they used to be, but they still haunted her dreams.

“Thank you, Detective. How soon will Shawn stand trial?” Max wanted to be there when he did.

“By the end of next week. We’re going to make sure he pays for what he did to you.” Detective Spade knew Judge Cummings was going to bury Shawn Grubbs for the crime he committed and for fleeing to another state.

“I want to be there, Detective.” Max wanted to face Shawn for what he did.

“Oh, you’ll be there, Max. Prosecutor Goldcrest is going to want you there, so you can tell the jury what happened to you. She should be contacting you soon.” Detective Spade knew Elizabeth wanted to talk with Max.

“Thanks, detective.”

“You’re welcome, Max. I’ll call back later to talk with your mother and give her and your attorney the details for the trial.”

Detective Spade ends the call. He starts dialing Max’s mother's number again, hoping she will pick up.

Max leans back in her computer chair as the tears continue. She was so happy that Shawn was finally caught and that he was going to pay for almost killing her. She wipes the tears away with the back of her hand and grabs some tissue from the tissue box sitting on her nightstand.

Max blows her nose and tosses the used tissue into the trashcan next to her desk. She gets up and goes downstairs to grab a fruit juice from the refrigerator. She grabs a pineapple and orange juice mixed. She stands there thinking about the day she was hit in the middle of the forehead by a slung shot. She didn’t see the attacker, but she was told Shawn had done it.

Max turns and leaves the kitchen and goes back upstairs to her bedroom. She wishes that she could be turned into a woman instantly, but knew that would never happen. The pills and shots she was taking were slowly, but surely changing her.

As for Shawn, she hopes they send him to the worst prison they have. Max gathers her clothes up walks back downstairs and puts them in the laundry. She adds detergent and presses the start button. She looks at her reflection in the clear window of the washer.

She saw a sad person looking back at her. She was trying very hard to get over what was done to her.

“He’ll get what is due to him.” As Max presses the start button and heads back upstairs to her bedroom.

Max was nervous as she sat next to Prosecutor Goldcrest at the front of the court. She knew her girlfriend, her mother, and Charlie were sitting behind her. She had learned that Shawn Grubbs had been captured and brought back to stand trial for his crimes. They were there to support her during the trial.

Max watches as the bailiff escorts Shawn into court. She couldn’t believe how her old friend changed. He no longer looked like the guy she grew up with but like someone who had joined the military. He had a few tattoos on his face and arms.

She watches as he is escorted to his attorney’s table. Max notices that the person representing Shawn is wearing an expensive suit. She wonders how Shawn managed to afford an expensive lawyer.

The judge walks in, and everyone is asked to stand. Afterward, when the judge sits down, everyone is allowed to sit. Once everyone is seated, the case is announced.

Throughout the opening, questions are asked, and statements are made. Max tries to recall everything that occurred that day. Shawn's lawyer asks questions about Max’s relationship with Shawn and whether she has ever flirted or tried to seduce Shawn.

Shawn’s lawyer questions the forensics process and how they managed to lift his fingerprints. Also, how the police were able to say for sure that Shawn had been the shooter. Shawn’s lawyer was trying everything he could to place doubt about the evidence and Max’s statement.

Luckily, the judge didn’t believe anything the lawyer was doing. He could see through the tactic and would note the statements made. By the time everything was said and done. Shawn is charged with attempted murder and life in prison.

By the time Max and her family left the courthouse, Max was in tears with relief. She was so happy and sad that justice had been served, but she wished her old friend hadn’t gone down the path he did.

For the rest of the summer, Brandi, Max, Charlie, and whoever Charlie is dating at the time spend a lot of time together. They become close friends and do a lot of things together. Max likes the fact that Charlie has no problem hanging with two lesbians.

After Brandi drops Max at home one night, Max stops and looks up into the night sky and spots a meteorite streak across the sky. A smile forms on her face as she heads towards the front door, the smile still on her face.