"You certainly owe me and your mother an apology," he said. "If you wanted to do this, you should have called and told us before you did it."

"Would you have said yes?" I asked.

"No," he replied. "I wouldn't."
 

"It was pale yellow," she recalled. "I could sort of see it through the dress."

"Uh, it wasn't a bra," I replied. "It was a bathing suit."

"Oh," she laughed. "A bathing suit?"

I sighed. How much was I going to have to admit to?
 

It was a nice evening, and Jerry walked me home. He put his arm around my shoulders and steered me so I could dig into the bag. There was a little coral-colored teddy bear, a brand new Barbie, and a small baby doll.

"Ah," Jerry said, as I showed him my presents, "It's remedial, you know? She's trying to get you caught up on the girly stuff you missed."

"Look, Diana," I said, "I'm sorry I had to tell you no. I wanted to go with you, and I thought that I could." She started to say something, but I put up my hand. "Wait. The thing is, Miranda is smart. She's fun to be with, and she's the same size as me —"

"Come on, Chapters!" she scolded, "Nobody gives a bleep about your bleeping height!" (Yes, she really did say "bleep" and "bleeping"!)
 

"Good Lord!" my aunt exclaimed as she looked at my arms and listened to my story. "How many days is it? Not even four days as a girl, and your life is an adventure!"

I'm glad to say that nothing wild happened in church. No one recognized me; there were no slapstick moments. I think Miranda was a little disappointed, until we ran into the odious Robert outside.

"Hey, baby," he said to me. "Did you get my little gift?"

"Don't call me 'baby'," I told him, "and yes, I did get it."
 

"We'll also get your legs waxed, and we'll take a peek at your chest and back to see if you need any waxing there."

"Waxing?" I asked. I'd never heard of it before. "What is that like? Is it like waxing the floor?"

"Ahhh, yeah, it's a lot like that," Alice said, tongue in cheek. "It's fun, you'll like it."

Cassie cut in with a question to me. "I was thinking about what you said before. You came here to Tierson without any clothes? Without any at all?"

"Were you naked?" Nina giggled.

"No," I said, blushing yet again. "I had some clothes, and I did bring a big box, but it was all boy clothes."

"WHAT!?" Cassie cried. "Boy clothes?"

‘Princess? Now I’m confused. I know I’m a boy, but did Mom just call me Princess?’ I opened my eyes, expecting to see my blue room with Spiderman posters on the wall, but was shocked to see Barbie posters, Faeries, and horses on PINK walls. Looking down at my bed, I found I was in a pink toddler bed with Tinkerbelle sheets and a pink comforter with Tinkerbelle looking happy on it. Shaking that off I looked at my clothes. I had gone to sleep wearing my blue Spiderman shorts and top, but woke up wearing a long shirt with little ponies on it..

Having to reveal my thoughts on transition to Saint Nicholas made me a little uncomfortable. I wondered secretly whether he even had the power to fulfill my desire. “Sir, it seems that my feeling that my body was of the wrong sex was prevalent even in my preteens. I suppressed those feelings thinking the it was not natural and a passing fad. As I reached my teen years and found that I would be different from my mates, I found myself questioning my masculinity."

It wasn't just that she had me trying clothes on. She insisted that Miranda and I change at the same time, so we could open the curtains together. Miranda's face spoke volumes. I knew she felt pretty much the way I did. She was embarrassed by her mother's manner, but happy she wasn't suffering alone. Neither of us spoke, but it was a bonding experience. Like being in the Army together.
 

"That's not what I meant," she countered. "I mean that you have to behave. You can't be tricky and get around the rules. Rules are rules, and if you don't watch out, they can really bite you in the butt. If you're going to be a girl and not get caught at it, you have to keep your nose clean, keep a low profile, and not draw attention to yourself. You might think that teachers and adults are old and stupid, but they ignore a lot of stuff. They let a lot slide. If you flaunt the rules, people will notice, and when they have their chance, they'll lower the boom on you. Do you get me?"

"Mark, look. This isn't some sitcom on TV. It's real life. It's high school. Kids can be very cruel. You never know — one tiny slip, one little detail could give you away, and it would all be over. Then what would you do? Leave school? Run away?"

"Cool," Louis said. "You know, Chapters, sometimes I think my mother likes you better than she does me."

"Really?" I said, and slid my heavy history book into my lap.

"So what happened to your nephew Mark?" Denise asked. "Did Marcie come instead?"

"Yeah, sort of," Jane replied, laughing. "It's a funny story–"

Before she could start, I blurted out, "I'm Mark. I'm her nephew Mark."

Silly dress? Look at me now: my first day of high school in a new town, and I was dressed like a girl.

I wanted to tell him that it was a stupid idea. I didn't know which was worse: either way, the girls would know I was a boy dressed as a girl. If I pretended to be a girl for the gym class, any of the girls would recognize me later in day when I was dressed as Mark. I was about to object when the bell rang. It startled Mr. Bruce into action. "Come on," he said, pushing me. "We both got places to go."

Manual Excerpt: Dating Delusions

By Saliaven Chronotis

An Assistant District Attorney gives the final summation to the jury against the accused murderers of Susan Milano, a transsexual. Based on a true story.

WARNING: Rape is mentioned.

Young Josh went away to college with no friends, plans or dreams for his life. It all comes together for him as Jill but not until a terrible tragedy changes his life.

A Tragic Beginning
by: Teresa Ann Wood

An entry in StardustR.us' "What it was, was Magic!" - story contest.

A people at risk, barbarians at the gate, how many times have I heard that story? How many times has it been my duty to stop it from it from happening? But then would I want it any other way?

So when I was called before milady I was not surprised to hear it one more time. However, when I realized how different my task would be from normal, I worried that my skills were not those needed. They weren't, but...