Chapter 1; Just Another Day

The music on the alarm clock rang loud; it was ten o’clock on the last Friday before students would return to school. Ryan Hawke rolled over in his bed and looked blurrily at the time. There was a moment of stillness as the teen’s groggy brain put the pieces together.

“Shit!” Ryan yelled as he hopped up from his bed, nearly losing his footing on the floor as he lunged for his dresser. Ryan was days away from starting his senior year of high school. For him, life could not be better; things were simple, he had his friends, a very attractive cheerleader girlfriend, and a guaranteed place on the wrestling team when winter rolled around. He was a fairly average high school boy; shortly trimmed dark brown hair and a trimmed body.

Ryan had been quite short entering high school, and although he had grown the previous school year putting him just a couple inches below the national average, he still had the feeling of being shorter than people.  This feeling was amplified when with his friend Brian, who was four inches taller than him. Their friend Katie, who until Ryan’s growth spurt had been as tall as Ryan and was now few inches shorter, claimed Ryan had a deep seated Napoleon Complex.

Ryan dug through his drawer before finally finding the pair of jeans he was looking for and hastily pulled them on over the boxers he was just sleeping in. He pulled off the shirt he had been wearing and grabbed a similar red shirt out of his closet. Quickly putting on his shoes, Ryan rushed out of his room. A moment later he walked irritably back into the room and turned off the alarm which was still blaring music.

He moved rapidly down the stairs into the kitchen, stopping dead in the doorway to see his best friend Brian was already sitting at their kitchen table with a muffin in his mouth. Brian Parker had shaggy brown hair which was usually a little messy. The two boys had been friends for as long as either could remember, despite the different personalities they had developed as they matured. Ryan was far more serious and laid back than his friend; Brian was a fun loving but gullible teen who viewed everyone as a friend until proven otherwise.

Brian looked up from his muffin and grinned sheepishly at Ryan, holding up another muffin towards him, “want one?”

“Who the hell let you in?” Ryan growled at his friend. He knew right away how obvious the answer was to his question. He was often able to figure out things very quickly, thanks to a very detailed oriented way of thinking. Ryan also often found himself able to very easily adapt to situations and pick up on things by studying those already involved.

“I did!” a voice called from behind Ryan. Brett, Ryan’s younger brother jumped on Ryan’s back in an attempt to apply a headlock. He was just about to start his freshman year of high school and, like his brother, had hopes of joining the wrestling team. Brett was a many inches shorter than Ryan, but actually about the same height as Ryan was when he started high school. Brett’s hair was a little lighter than Ryan’s, actually a little more on the red side. Ryan rolled his eyes and grabbed Brett’s arm that was hanging over his chest and flipped the younger boy over his shoulder, causing Brett to land flat on his back just on the edge of the carpet outside of the kitchen.

Brian leapt up from the table and strode over to Ryan, “if we’re much later, Katie is going to have our heads,” he told Ryan. He grabbed Ryan’s wrist and pulled him out the door into the brisk Wakefield morning. Despite being a senior this year, Ryan still had not gotten his drivers license.  Due to the convenient proximity of his home to the places he would be interested in going, he always just assume walk. His friends having their licenses and vehicles allowed him to have a ride when the situated required.

Wakefield was a middle-to-upper class community just breaking the five digit barrier in population. It was nestled in the rolling hills just half an hour north of the quarter million and growing city of Guttenburg. The town had all the basic necessities a small town would need, including its own mall which appealed to the youth of the town. Ryan and Brett’s mother, Rebecca, was a single mother but had become quite a powerful lawyer in the area and had been able to support the small family all on her own, although it kept her quite busy and away a lot of the time. Ryan had been partially responsible for keeping Brett out of trouble a lot of the time when their mother was too busy to be home.

-

As Ryan and Brian hurried into the mall, Katie Herring was there waiting for them, anxiously tapping her foot. She had known the boys since they were all about twelve, although Ryan treated her more as a bother than a friend. She wore a v-neck frilly pink top with a jean skirt, which was a common outfit for her as she often wore things considered fashionable. Katie was aspiring to get in to the fashion industry after she graduated and was already narrowing down where she would be going to college. She often wore her curly light brown hair in a high pony tail which dropped down over her shoulders.

“Where the hell have you guys been?” Katie snarled at them, clearly annoyed at the two as they walked up to her. Ryan did not seem too distressed over the fact they were nearly twenty minutes later than they had originally planned. Brian on the other hand apologized profusely to her.

“What did you have planned for today, anyway?” an already bored Ryan asked as he crossed his arms over his chest. He was not usually one to hang out at the mall, as he preferred to find peace in the quietness of his own home. Katie however had insisted that they hang out with her at the mall today.

“Well, there are some great sales going on today,” Katie said with a smirk, looking towards one of the nearby stores which had a back to school sale sign posted in its window. The catch of the sales is almost all of them were the stores geared for girls, “I thought maybe you guys would want to come and keep me company and I could always use a guy’s opinion,” she laughed.

“I’m in!” Brian said without any hesitation. It was clear that Brian had developed a bit of a crush on Katie, and it wasn’t too hard to tell that she may have feelings for him as well. Ryan shot Brian a glare for how quickly he volunteered to go along.

“You think we’ve got nothing better to do than just follow you around and watch you try on clothes…?” Ryan growled, clearly uninterested in going along, “you wouldn’t catch me dead in any of those chick stores!” he said rather fiercely to his friends.

“It’s not going to hurt you to be in one of those stores you know,” Katie defended. Ryan and she regularly had tiffs when she tried to get them to do anything that Ryan felt might question his masculinity.

“And if someone from the wrestling team sees me in there?” Ryan grumbled, shaking his head at Katie, “then what?”

“Fine,” Katie sighed defeated, “Brian and I will go shopping; maybe we can meet up with you in a little bit.”

“Are you sure you don’t want to go?” Brian asked, turning towards Ryan. He hated it when Ryan did not want to go along with him and Katie. It seemed like Brian was always forced to choose between what Katie wanted to do and what Ryan wanted to do; Ryan feeling that the stuff Katie suggested was stupid and ‘girly’, while Katie found some of the stuff Ryan was interested in to be on the boring side.

“C’mon Brian, lets get going,” Katie said as Ryan shook his head. Katie took Brian’s elbow and headed away from Ryan. Brian looked over his shoulder at the irritated Ryan, a bit of concern on his face.

Ryan found himself standing alone in the mall, a place he did not really even want to be, especially by himself. It was crowded, it was loud, and there was hardly anything there that Ryan even had interest in. Aside from a comic shop, a couple of gaming stores, an athletics shop, and a couple stores best described as ‘other’, there was not much for a guy to do in the mall on his own. Ryan jammed his hands into his pockets and began to walk down the middle of the walkway.

Ryan had grown more and more against ‘girly’ things the older he got. One drastic cause of it, he felt, was the first time he met Katie. It was Halloween, he was twelve, and found himself cornered by a couple of bigger boys who pretty much intended to beat him up. Brian had run off to get help, but by the time he got back, Ryan would be black and blue. A girl whom Ryan barely knew got a drop on the boys and with help of a big stick, chased off the two boys, but not before mocking Ryan for needing help from a girl. The event had wounded Ryan, needing to be saved by a girl; Katie never rubbed the event in Ryan’s face, and might not even remember it, but it was something that had set Ryan onto the slightly sexist path he now led. Ryan was not proud that he actually kind of resented Katie for doing such a selfless and heroic thing, but he had felt humiliated by the event.

Ryan wondered if his friends would even care if he were to just head back home and leave them. Sure Katie talked about meeting up later, but then what? More shopping? Unless she had something else planned, it was just going to be a waste of one of Ryan’s last days of summer vacation.

-

“What do you think about this?” Katie asked Brian, spinning a little in an overalls skirt she had found in the store. The smile on her face slipped away as she paused and looked at Brian, who was clearly distracted and wasn’t even interested in Katie’s little fashion show. Katie cleared her throat to get Brian’s attention back.

“It looks great” he quickly said, focusing back on Katie and smiling his usual smile again. The look of distraction slowly began to cross his face again when Katie did not immediately respond.

“You’re thinking about Ryan, aren’t you?” Katie asked, sitting on the bench next to Brian, “it was his choice not to come. I don’t know why he has such a problem with coming into stores like this.”

Brian shrugged a little, “he says they’re ‘chick stores’ and doesn’t want people to see him going into places like that,” Brian explained, glancing down at Katie, who herself was probably a good half foot shorter than Brian.

Katie sighed, hanging her head some, “I guess I could just get a few things here and then we could go hang out with Ryan, maybe go to the movies or something,” she said a little disappointed, although she knew the sale would be going through the weekend before school started.

Brian smiled a little more genuinely and nodded at the idea, “I think that’d work out,” he said getting to his feet. He hesitated and looked back down to Katie, “If you don’t mind, I mean.”

Katie gave a smile and shrugged as she hopped to her feet, “hey, can’t make everyone happy,” she said heading back into the dressing room, “wait for me?” she teased to Brian, who just nodded dopily in return.

The two left the store, with Brian carrying a couple bags of clothes Katie had purchased for herself. It did not take them long to find Ryan, who was sitting quietly on a bench watching people go by, a small lemonade drink in his hand.

“Did you miss us?” Brian asked cheerfully as he walked in front of the bench Ryan was sitting on. Ryan looked up at Brian with an uninterested look on his face and took a sip from his straw.

“Hey Ryan,” Katie said a bit anxiously as she sat next to him, “I’m sorry we ditched you like that, although I wish you could get over this shopping phobia you have.”

Ryan glanced over at Katie with a shrug, “I just don’t want to go in chick stores,” he said to her, “so sue me.” He got up from the bench and opened his mouth as if to say something, but remained quiet as he looked at Brian.

Ryan looked to Katie with a raised eyebrow and stuck a thumb towards Brian, “why is he carrying all your bags?” he asked a little irritated that his friend would just so willingly do anything Katie asks. He knew that Brian liked Katie, but it was just so embarrassing how he followed her like a lost puppy.

“I offered!” Brian said defensively, raising his hands some lifting the bags, “I can’t expect her to carry everything!”

“Or anything…” Ryan mumbled as he crossed his arms, looking Brian over.

“It was his idea,” Katie told Ryan, trying to calm him some. Katie’s attention drifted away from Ryan as she saw another sale sign, “hey, uh, hold that thought,” she waved her hand a little dismissingly as she stepped past Ryan and headed for the store she had been eyeing. Ryan and Brian both watched in a bit of surprise as Katie headed off without them.

“Well…” Brian said, kicking his feet as he tried to get a better grasp on the bags he was holding for Katie. Ryan looked over to his friend with irritation and sighed. Ryan’s head snapped back as he saw a blonde girl leaving one of the stores. A small grin crossed his face as he glanced back at Brian.

“Wait here a minute,” Ryan said as he walked over towards the blonde girl. “Hey Nikki, haven’t seen you much this summer,” he said with a calm smile as he approached her. Nikki Morgan was a junior this year and part of the varsity cheerleading squad. She was considered to be one of the more attractive girls in her grade; she stood just a couple inches shorter than Ryan. Most guys noticed her very nice body, including silky smooth long legs and a large chest. She had bright blue eyes and kept her long blonde hair in a ponytail which hung halfway down her back.

Nikki looked up from where she was going and raised an eyebrow at Ryan, “Oh, hey Ryan…” she said a little uninterested. She hadn’t had much interaction with Ryan until late in the school year when she began paying a lot of attention to him until he asked her out. They began dating with just a couple weeks left in the school year but hadn’t spent much time together during the summer due to Nikki being away with cheerleading events.

“I was wondering if you wanted to go do something this weekend,” Ryan asked her, “You know, now that you’re back from that cheer camp, and with school about to start and all.”

Nikki hesitated, “Sure, sounds fine,” she shrugged, “where are you going to take me?” a smile finally crossing her face.

-

“Buying yourself some girls clothes, Parker?” a sneer came from behind Brian. His attention shot up and he turned quickly to see who was speaking to him, although he recognized the voice. The lanky and frail frame topped with the greasy black hair was that of William Montgomery. His scowling face was commonly known to his classmates as his normal appearance.

Brian blinked and looked at Katie’s bags in his hands. “I’m holding them for Katie,” he smiled sheepishly and shrugged.

William rolled his eyes and shook his head, “Why do you do everything that girl tells you to?” he hissed at Brian, “makes you hold all the bags, I wouldn’t be surprised if she started asking you to pay for her clothes soon.” William Montgomery had actually been friends with Ryan and Brian in Junior High School until William had essentially begun turning all his attention towards ridiculing people for his own amusement. Now William had few people who even wanted to associate with him, which seemed to make him appear even more unlikeable.

“Hey, I offered to hold them!” Brian defended, “and I do it because Katie and I are friends!”

William laughed mockingly at Brian, “right, and I’m the king of Spain,” he spat, “you just let her walk all over you, have some backbone,.”

“Katie doesn’t walk all over me!” Brian again defended his friend, “Katie, Ryan, and I are all close friends and close friends help each other out!”

William shook his head, irritated at the mention of friendship, “jeez you’re gullible,” he sighed, “you probably even believe in the Gregory Treasure.”

“I am not that—“ Brian’s thought process broke as something crossed his mind, “what’s the Gregory Treasure?” he asked curiously.

William blinked a little in surprise, “You don’t know about the Gregory Treasure…?” he asked, a smile slowly crossing his face, “You know that old abandoned house at the end of Seventh Street?” he asked Brian, who nodded enthusiastically. “Well, they say that there is a hidden treasure in the house somewhere.”

“Seriously!?” Brian asked with some excitement in his voice, his mind going a mile a minute as he considered the idea of a treasure hunt.

William shrugged, “sure,” he said as he smiled and shook his head.

Realization came over Brian as he turned his attention back to William, “wait a second…” he said, “if there’s a treasure there, why hasn’t anyone gone after it yet?”

William smirked, “We~ll” He said with a look of amusement, “word has it the place is haunted, lights going on and off, weird noises, totally creepy!” he tried his hardest not to break into more laughter as Brian appeared to be hanging on his every word.

“Hey Brian!” William said in an encouraging tone, “You’re brave; maybe you could go into the old Gregory house and find the treasure yourself!”

Brian’s gaze shot up towards William as he smiled wide, “You’re right! I bet I could totally find it!” he said excitedly.

William couldn’t hold back and longer and began to laugh some more, “good luck with that,” he said as he began to walk away from Brian.

Brian stood where he was, feverishly planning out how he should go about finding the hidden treasure in this old deserted house.

-

Ryan casually walked back up to Brian, a smile on his face. He glanced at Brian and raised his eyebrow at the look of excitement on Brian’s face. “Did I miss something?” Ryan asked curiously.

Brian looked to Ryan and a big grin crossed his face. He grabbed Ryan’s arm and began pulling him towards the exit, “C’mon, we gotta go!” he said excitedly as he pulled his friend from the mall.

“Hey! What about Katie?” Ryan began to say, but found himself unable to finish his thought as Brian pulled him out the front doors.

Katie came walking back to where she had left Brian and Ryan, her bags laying on the floor. She blinked and looked around trying to figure out where her two friends had gone. She slowly began picking up the bags, struggling some with the bags she had just gotten. “Where the hell are you guys!?” She yelled in frustration.

“Brian—BRIAN!” Ryan yelled as he pulled his arm free from Brian’s grasp. Ryan had somewhat willingly let Brian pull him from the mall, as it was as good of an excuse as any to leave. “What the hell is going on?”

“We’ve got to get ready for tonight!” Brian said anxiously, clearly wanting to get home and prepare for something.

“Dare I ask what’s happening tonight…?” Ryan asked in confusion, not exactly sure what was going on in his friend’s brain.

“I can’t tell you!” Brian said with a big grin at his friend.

Ryan blinked, “Why not?” he asked.

“Because you’d call me stupid,” Brian responded. Ryan raised an eyebrow in bewilderment. “Just trust me, meet me here at ten tonight!” Brian said as he rushed off for his car. Ryan blinked at his friend’s behavior and considered returning to the mall to let Katie know that Brian had headed home, but decided that he wasn’t the one who was going to get an ass chewing from this. He shrugged and stuck his hands in his pockets and began walking home.

-

Entering the house, Ryan was not surprised to see Brett’s best friend Evan Thorn there playing video games. It was a sight he had become accustomed to over the years. Truth be told Ryan was actually quite fond of Evan; he was far less annoying than his brother was, and was a far better gaming opponent. Evan had shaggy blond hair and always had quite a zen look on his face. He spoke calmly and logically, with a vocabulary far above that of an incoming freshman. Ryan greeted Evan as he passed through the living room, but before turning the corner to head down the hall, Ryan realized there was something missing from the scene.

Ryan rolled his eyes as he stepped into the opening of the hallway, where Brett jumped out at him. Without hesitation Ryan crouched and grabbed Brett, dropping him onto his back on the floor. Brett was so surprised by the sudden retaliation that he just laid there in shock.

“Evan, come clean Brett off the hallway floor for me,” Ryan said calmly as he stepped past Brett and headed up the stairs towards his room.

Evan walked over and looked down at Brett curiously, “enjoying your nap?” he asked Brett with a sly smile on his face.

Brett glared up at his friend, remaining on the floor, “shut it before I put you in a sleeper hold!” Brett threatened Evan.

Evan hardly wavered at the threat, however. “Like the one you just put on Ryan?” He asked in his normal relaxed tone.

“Hey, the matches between me and my brother are different!” Brett growled as he shakily got to his feet, “I’ve always been the little brother—Ryan is older and taller—and I’ve got to beat Ryan in wrestling in order to prove myself as a man,” Brett explained as he hit his chest with his fist, “I’ll beat Ryan one of these days, even it’s the last thing I do!” he preached raising a fist towards the ceiling.

Evan raised his eyebrow and smirked, “you’ve totally got him on the ropes…” he said sarcastically, “come on, lets go play a game,” he suggested as he lead Brett back towards the living room.

-

Day fell into night as Ryan went about his usual lazy evening activities. He looked at his clock to see it was nearing time that Brian wanted to meet. Ryan sighed and headed down the stairs. He slinked along the wall, trying to keep as quiet as possible. His mother was out of town until tomorrow, but he did not want Brett to catch him and rat him out. As he came to the entry way, he stepped past the end of the wall and felt something run into the back of him. He jumped forward and spun around to find Brett doing nearly the exact thing.

Ryan blinked and stared at Brett for a second. “Sneaking out to Evan’s?” he asked his brother. He smirked when Brett nodded in response, “I won’t tell if you don’t,” he stuck out his hand.

“Deal” Brett said, shaking Ryan’s hand.

Ryan arrived where Brian told him they were to meet. After a couple minutes of silence, Ryan wondered if he was crazy for actually coming out to meet Brian—who may have forgotten by now that he wanted to do something tonight.

“Were you followed?” Brian’s voice came from a bush near Ryan.

Ryan simply looked over to where he knew Brian was hiding and rolled his eyes, “lets just get this over with,” he told Brian.

Brian emerged from the bushes; he was wearing solid black, clearly intending to do some sneaking around before the night was over. Brian put an arm around Ryan and pulled him right up next to him, grinning down at his shorter friend with a huge grin on his face.

“We’re going to be heroes,” Brian told Ryan, his smile absolutely beaming.

Ryan looked back at Brian with a bit of a concerned look on his face as he stepped away from Brian’s grasp, “What?”

“Ryan. You and Me,” Brian grinned, “We’re going to find the Gregory treasure!”

Ryan groaned and rolled his eyes, turning back to head home, “Good night Brian…” he mumbled.

“Wait wait wait!” Brian said grabbing Ryan by the arm to stop him, “I learned all about it, there really is a treasure!”

Ryan sighed and turned back towards Brian, “convince me.”

“Old man Gregory was a millionaire, this house was just one of many he had,” Brian began to explain, “when the old man died, his widow sold all but this one house—but she was a shut in and crazy—she didn’t put her money in the bank, she kept all her money somewhere in that house—when she died, well, its just there for the taking!”

Ryan raised his eyebrows in uninterest, “Okay genius, if there really is a bunch of money in there, why hasn’t anyone gone and found it by now? That place has been empty for a year” he asked.

“The ghosts of the old man and widow Gregory scared everyone away!” Brian said, lowering his voice, “but us, we can go in there and find that treasure, we’ll be town heroes!”

Ryan just shook his head, “Tell you what Brian…” he started, “I’m going to go with you to the Gregory house and show you there is neither money nor ghosts in that place.”

“You wouldn’t go if you didn’t think there was SOMETHING” Brian’s smiled got wider.

“I’m going to make sure you don’t do anything stupid…” Ryan sighed, “Well, stupid-er.”

-

The two high schoolers stood outside the gates of the very dilapidated house; the yard was overgrown, the paint was peeling off of the wood exterior, clearly no one had been in the house in quite some time. Brian immediately began climbing the brick wall which surrounded much of the property. Ryan looked at the wrought iron gate, which was held shut by a chain and a pad lock. Brian jumped down from the top of the wall to see Ryan already inside the wall.

“Do you know why they call it ‘dummy locking’?” Ryan asked of his friend, holding up the unfastened padlock.

Brian blinked a little and shrugged it off, heading up the walkway towards the house. Ryan closed the gate back shut so no one would notice something odd if they drove by. As he proceeded up the way he noticed a sign warning of dogs, he wondered what had happened to the dogs after the owners had passed away.

Ryan reached the patio area of the house to see Brian in the flower bed forcing the window open. Brian did a stealthy ninja roll as he got himself through the window and into a crouching position, looking around for anything which may be dangerous. Brian stood up as he saw Ryan standing in the doorway, the door wide open, clearly having been unlocked.

“So, where do you want to start, hero?” Ryan asked sarcastically, looking around the foyer.

“We should head upstairs,” Brian said excitedly, looking about, “but watch out for any ghosts.”

“Brian…” Ryan sighed, but was interrupted as the house itself seemed to moan and creek. Ryan stood wide eyed as Brian shivered with excitement.

“It was probably just… the house… and the wind,” Ryan said, trying to make sense of the noise.

The boys headed upstairs, Brian leading the way with Ryan just following behind. Brian actively searched around each room they went into, knocking on walls, sticking his ear to things, and was constantly left disappointed. Ryan often just stood in the middle of the room, glancing around.

Ryan couldn’t help but notice a light buzzing noise. The noise seemed oddly unnatural for an old house like this, like the noise of a computer fan running, but very faint. He also had the unnerved feeling that they were being watched, but he KNEW there were no such things as ghosts, clearly Brian just had him paranoid. Brian always did have a way of getting under his skin like this, even back when they were in boy scouts around a camp fire. Brian always managed to find the story that would get Ryan anxious.

“Nothing!” Brian huffed as he closed an empty chest. He clearly believed that the so called treasure would be some place simple.

“Maybe we should try heading downstairs?” Ryan shrugged, “This place has a basement, could be something down there.”

Brian’s attention shot up and the smile returned to his face. He quickly rushed from the room and the banging of his feet down the stairs echoed through the house. As Ryan left the bedroom they had just finished searching, another noise echoed through the house, a mechanical noise, like gears grinding together. This was no natural noise for an old wooden house to make. Something was wrong.

Ryan looked down the stairs, Brian looking around ecstatically. Ryan slowly came down the stairs to join Brian at an open door leading to a dark staircase heading down to the basement. The two of them stood there quietly looking into the darkness, neither one of them wanting to be the first one. Ryan raised his flashlight shining it down the stairs, all he could see was a brick wall. The stairs must have a turn in them.

“It was your idea to search the basement,” Brian said, taking a step back, clearly suggesting that that Ryan go first.

Ryan glared at Brian and then took the first step into the stairwell. There was no railing to hold on to, just brick wall on either side of the downward stairs. He got to a level section in front of the brick wall, he turned to see that there was indeed more stairs further down.

He stood quiet for a moment, noticing the buzzing noises he had heard earlier were here too. A loud creaking noise came from above and the door to the stairwell slammed shut. Ryan spun on his heels and shinned his flashlight back up the stairs. Brian was nowhere to be found.

“Brian!?” Ryan yelled, becoming quite nervous with the tight surroundings.

The flashlight began to flicker and went out, as if on cue. Ryan hit the flashlight with his hand trying to get it working again. Finally the flashlight turned back on and Ryan took a step backwards to get another look up the stairs. Ryan bumped into a solid surface, which was odd since he was not close to the brick wall. A hand gripped tightly to Ryan’s shoulder.

“Damn it Brian—“ Ryan said turning to face his friend, the hand still firmly on his shoulder.

He came face to chest with an extremely tall man; he was wearing a white jacket buttoned up all the way up. Ryan looked up in surprise seeing a just shadowy face looking down at him. He grabbed the man’s arm, which still had hold of his shoulder, but was unable to break the man’s grasp, which was only getting tighter. Ryan’s flashlight rolled to a stop on the ground shining a light against the wall. Ryan tried to yell but suddenly found a damp cloth being pressed against his face, pushing his back against the wall.

Ryan suddenly found his head feeling fuzzy, he struggled against the hand holding his head against the wall. The grasp on his shoulder released, but Ryan seemed unable to struggle enough to get free. His body was feeling numb, so numb he didn’t notice the needle injecting an opaque liquid into his arm.

Chapter 2; Reboot

Ryan blurrily opened his eyes, a bright light shined down on him. He couldn’t feel any part of his body, the only thing he could make of it was the bright light. A black figure moved over him, looking down. There was a mumbled booming sound as the figure spoke; Ryan couldn’t make out what the figure was saying. Another figure moved over him and there was more inaudible speaking. One of the figures reached over Ryan and placed a clear mask over his mouth. Ryan felt himself floating away from consciousness again as everything went black.

Ryan Gasped. His eyes shot open and looked up into the sky; the sun was just coming up over Wakefield. Ryan reached up and rubbed the side of his head, he had a major headache which made him feel like his head was being squashed with a vise. Ryan slowly began to sit up, still struggling to get a grasp on his surroundings.

“Ryan!” Brian proclaimed, rushing over in front of Ryan. He looked to be in somewhat of a panic and was looking at Ryan in a concerned manor, “before anything, I want you to just relax and not panic…”

“What do you~” Ryan started, but stopped and cleared his throat, furrowing his brow some, “what do you mean?” he asked again, but afterwards reached up and rubbed his throat with his hand. His voice sounded different, a little higher in pitch.

Brian bit his lip as he looked at Ryan. Ryan again put his hand to his temple, his headache was not persisting. He started to rub his fingers through his normally short hair; only to find that his fingers continued to run through extremely long brown hair. He brought his hand in front of his face and looked down in confusion at the long brown hair that appeared to be attached to his head.

“Ryan…” Brian said weakly.

Ryan’s hand began to tremble as he looked down at the long brown hair. Slowly his fingers began to slide away from the hair and to the feminine mounds protruding from his chest. He put his hand right against one of the breasts attached to him and pressed against it.

Ryan let out a girlish yelp and jumped to his feet, scrambling backwards until his back came flat against the brick wall that made up the parameter of the property. Brian stepped over to the panicking Ryan. Ryan stopped and looked up at Brian, who was now at least nine inches taller, rather than the normal four. Brian looked down at the brown haired girl wearing Ryan’s clothes; she was in a state of shock staring up at Brian.

“What the hell happened to me!?” Ryan yelled in her feminine voice, cringing after doing so, “you did this, this is all your fault!” She growled at Brian.

“What? No!” Brian pleaded with her, “The ghosts did this to us!”

Ryan glared at Brian, tired of his wild theories and mentioning of ghosts, but then her face paused as she thought about what Brian had just said, “us?” she asked.

Brian gave a goofy smile as he rubbed the back of his head. He closed his eyes, and gave a look of concentration. Before Ryan’s eyes, Brian began to change. In a matter of moments, where the six foot tall brown haired boy had stood just a moment ago, was a very busty girl with an appearance similar to Brian, a handful inches taller than Ryan’s current predicament, with long reddish brown hair draping all the way down her back.

“How’d you do that?” Ryan demanded, looking in confusion at the now female Brian.

Brian smiled and shrugged, “I don’t know, I just thought about being a girl and I changed,” she said sheepishly, “that’s how I changed back to a guy earlier too.”

A look of extreme concentration came over Ryan’s face as she focused on the image of what was her normal male appearance. She clenched her teeth and clenched her fists digging her nails into her palms. After a moment she stopped and looked down at herself to see the same female body.

“It’s not working,” Ryan cried.

“All I did was—“ Brian began, but was interrupted by the angry girl.

“I know what you did!” Ryan growled, before closing her eyes and focusing again, “I’m not able to change back.”

Ryan turned and quickly ran to the old house. Brian watched Ryan pound on the door for a moment. Brian concentrated and returned to his normal male self. He walked up to where Ryan was angrily trying to get the front door of the house to open.

“It’s all closed up,” Brian frowned, “I looked it over while I waited for you to wake up.”

Ryan glared at Brian for a minute before moving past him and around into the overgrown bushes under the window which Brian had climbed through previously. She clawed at the weathered boards which now covered the windows. After a moment of struggling, Ryan walked over to the patio and sat down in defeat on the steps, hanging her head. Brian stood silent for a moment before sitting down next to the girl. He opened his mouth as if to speak, but decided to stay quiet and placed a hand on her shoulder.

Ryan and Brian’s heads shot up as the front gate squeaked open. A man wearing a blue suit stepped in and shined a flashlight towards the boy and girl.

“This is private property,” came the man’s voice, the early morning light shining was able to reveal the police uniform the man was wearing.

Ryan quickly got to her feet, unsure what to do. Brian got up as well standing behind Ryan.

“I know teenagers get into plenty of trouble, I’ve got two girls myself” The officer said, “and I am not going to ask what you two were doing, I’m simply going to have you leave and head home, no harm no foul.”

Ryan and Brian began to head towards the officer so they could leave, neither of them yet having the courage to say anything yet.

“Thank you officer—“ Ryan said as she walked up to the policeman.

“Yates.” The officer smiled.

A hand placed lightly on Ryan’s back stopped her cold, however.

“I am giving you a warning today,” Officer Yates spoke seriously, “If I see you kids breaking in here again, and I will be sure to keep an eye out, I will have to do something about it…”

Ryan nodded her head and walked from the property, followed by an anxious looking Brian. Ryan tilted her head as she thought about what the officer could have thought they were doing, before a look of disgust crossed her face and she shook her head trying to get the image out.

-

With the sun steadily over the town, Brian and the female Ryan walked down the sidewalk towards their homes; Ryan anxiously glancing about, as if worried she was being watched.

“I don’t know what to do, Brian,” Ryan spoke solemnly, “I can’t let people see me like this.”

Brian smiled a little at Ryan, trying to help relax her, “I don’t think anyone will recognize you,” he said to her, “well, if you weren’t wearing the exact same clothes that you were yesterday, anyway.”

“How am I supposed to go home?” Ryan sighed, “my mother, Brett, there’s no way I can explain this…”

“You could stay at my house for a little while,” Brian suggested, “or you can just tell your mom what happened.”

“And what then?” Ryan asked

“Uh oh,” Brian said, stopping suddenly. Ryan hesitated and looked over at Brian, before following his gaze to see a very angry looking Katie approaching the two of them from Brian’s doorstep.

“Brian Ross Parker!” She yelled as she went up to him, “Now I understand you had to leave suddenly yesterday to go on some treasure hunt with Ryan, but you promised me you’d be ready to go with me back to the mall this morning, and then I get here and your mom says you aren’t even home!”

Katie took a moment from her lecturing to look at the girl next to Brian, before forcing a smile.

“Sorry, I’m Katie, dummy’s friend,” she greeted, motioning to Brian, “and you are?”

Ryan was speechless, unsure what to say. She stood with her mouth open but nothing coming out. Katie blinked in a bit of confusion as the girl with Brian apparently seemed unable to speak.

Brian, sensing Ryan’s predicament, decided he had to intervene. “This is Rachel,” he quickly blurted out, which drew a gaze from Ryan, who still couldn’t form any words.

Katie raised an eyebrow as she looked Ryan over, she had been friends with the boys for five years and knew them quite well; for instance, she knew when Brian was full of crap.

“Brian,” Katie’s tone had become quite serious, “Where’s Ryan?”

Brian began to stammer as he tried to come up with some kind of answer to Katie’s question, “He’s, uh, well, after we got done looking for treasure, he, uh--“ Brian trailed off as he tried to come up with something logical.

“Don’t screw with me,” Katie stated, “Where is Ryan?” she asked again, glancing over at the girl standing next to Brian.

Ryan took a deep breath and took a step forward, “I’m Ryan,” she said

Katie took this as an invitation to examine the girl further. She certainly looked like Ryan, like a sister, but at the same time, was clearly a girl; not to mention the obvious long hair, missing five inches, and other assets. Katie raised a finger as if to poke Ryan’s chest and test if it were real, but resisted the urge and lowered her finger.

“Seriously?” She questioned. “How?” she asked after seeing both Ryan and Brian nod their heads.

Ryan explained everything to Katie which she had experienced. To most people it would sound as if Ryan was completely mad, or reading some science fiction novel; but to Katie, with the proof right here in front of her face, she had no choice but to believe.

“You’re shorter…” Katie noted, using her hand to level between the top of her head and Ryan’s, who was shooting daggers from her eyes. Ryan had been about the same height as Katie as long as she’d known her, and only in the last years growing the three inches he had on her. Now she again found herself an two inches shorter.

The trio stood outside of Brian’s home for some time, there was a mix of ideas of what to do and uncomfortable silence as they attempted to think.

“I’ve got to go home…” Ryan said as she shifted uncomfortably, “I’ve got no choice.”

“But Ryan, you said…” Brian began to say, before being cut off by Ryan.

“I know what I said,” the short girl snapped, “what part of ‘I’ve got no choice’ didn’t you understand?”

“Ryan, please,” Katie said, trying to calm her, “I think you’re right, but there’s no reason to get violent.”

Katie and Brian gave Ryan some words of support before watching her head down the street to her home.

-

Ryan opened the front door to her home. The house seemed even quieter than normal.  Brett was still at Evan’s, and it was possible he would not be home all day, something Ryan actually hoped for. She knew she had a couple hours until her mother would arrive back from out of town.

She proceeded up the stairs to her bedroom, now that she was around things she was familiar with, she suddenly realized how much shorter she had become. She had already noticed it around Brian and Katie, but these were her own belongings.

Ryan walked into the bathroom that she shared with Brett and looked in the mirror. The reflection was a pretty teenage girl; a girl that looked similar to Ryan, but was clearly a girl. Her gaze lowered as she stared at the girl’s chest in the mirror, she had a very cute body. Ryan’s face felt flush as he remembered the girl in the mirror was herself and she quickly returned to her room.

She returned down the stairs and just sat at the bottom of the steps, waiting for her mother to arrive, unsure what else she could even do right now. She played with the bottom of her shirt, which was now quite long on her, although tight around her chest. She had a similar problem with her pants, which were now tight in the hips but too long in the legs. Her shoes too were also too big.

Rebecca Hawke entered her home, she had been away on business for a few days and was finally back to relax for a day, luckily her children were old enough now to take care of themselves. Rebecca flipped the light switch, to find a teenage girl sitting at the base of her stairs.

“Who are you and what are you doing in my house?” Rebecca spoke quickly, dropping her briefcase down next to the door.

“Mom—“ Ryan pleaded, “just hear me out,”

Rebecca narrowed her eyes and looked at her watch, “You have two minutes…”

“We were irresponsible,” Ryan began to explain, “Last night, Brian and I snuck out to the abandoned Gregory mansion out there at the edge of town—something happened, someone was in there— I was knocked unconscious and when I awoke, I was like this—It’s me—Ryan…”

“This is quite a fantastical story,” Rebecca said, crossing her arms under her chest, “you know that, right?”

Ryan just nodded, a distressed look on her face. Rebecca took a step forward and looked Ryan in the eye, a couple inches taller than the teenager, which again reminded Ryan how she’d lost nearly half a foot of height. Ryan gulped in anxiety as Rebecca looked her face over.

“Ryan…” Rebecca stated.

“Let me prov—“ Ryan blinked, “—what?”

Rebecca wrapped the dumbfounded Ryan into a hug.

Finally Rebecca released Ryan, who promptly gathered herself, “You believe me?” Ryan asked confused.

“I’m your mother,” Rebecca smiled, glancing Ryan over, “I can tell my babies when I have to.”

Ryan again began explaining all the details he could remember about the night. From the noises, the tall man, and the house being completely locked up again afterwards. “I’m so sorry…”

“Don’t apologize, the most important thing is that you are safe,” Rebecca placed a hand on Ryan’s shoulder, “and I’ll love you no matter what happens with you.”

Ryan pulled her shoulder away, glaring, “Why isn’t anyone concerned over what happened!?” she yelled, “why are all you people so accepting of this!?”

“Because there’s only so much we can do,” Rebecca explained, “I assume you’ve already tried to find ways back, and weren’t able to, so we may have to accept that you may be this way for a while.”

Ryan sighed and nodded.

“And let me guess, it was Brian’s idea?” Rebecca asked.

Ryan nodded again.

“And did anything happen to him?” She asked again.

Ryan narrowed her eyes, clenching her fist a little, thinking about how much fun Brian might be having as a girl.

“That’d be a no.” Rebecca chucked slightly, “that would be the case, wouldn’t it.”

Ryan glanced up a little, but did not say anything about Brian’s situation.

“We will be busy the next couple of days,” Rebecca thought to herself, “We’ve got to go get you some clothes, and I’ve got to make some calls, will have to go to the school with you Monday so we can get you enrolled like this.”

Ryan looked shocked at her mothers plans, “I’ve got clothes!”

Rebecca shook her head, “clothes that fit and proper underwear,” she explained, “we can’t have you running around in your boys clothes which won’t fit properly on you.”

“And I can’t go to school like THIS,” Ryan exclaimed.

Rebecca’s expression turned serious, “This may be a rough time for us, but you can’t just ignore school, what if you’re stuck like this, you’ll need your education.”

“But I’m enrolled as Ryan, a GUY,” she pleaded.

“Oh, that’s what my phone calls will be about,” Rebecca smiled a little, “You know, when I was first pregnant with you, I was really hoping for a girl—although I was blessed with two wonderful sons—I even had a named picked out… How do you feel about the name Rachel?”

Ryan slumped her shoulders, “Seriously…?” She grumbled, before shaking her head, “that’s fine…”

“You’re like the daughter I never had…” Rebecca said as she hugged Rachel again, “Actually, you ARE the daughter I never had…”

Rachel sighed as she returned her mothers hug.

Rebecca released her new daughter and led her in to the kitchen, “who knows?” she asked Rachel as she sat at the table with a drink.

“Just Brian,” Rachel said at first, following her mother, “and Katie…” she sighed.

Rebecca looked up, “what about Brett?” she asked.

“He stayed the night at Evan’s,” Rachel admitted, “although I promised him I wouldn’t tell you that.”

“Tell me what?” Rebecca smiled a little at Rachel before returning to thought, “We need to figure out who you are, first.”

Rachel blinked, “I thought you said I was going to be Rachel?” she questioned.

“Yeah, but who is Rachel?” Rebecca said seriously, “You can’t be my daughter; people I know know I don’t have a daughter, and people at your school probably know you and Brett don’t have any sisters…”

Rachel sat quietly, knowing her mother was right, “but who am I than…?” she asked.

The two sat quietly for a few moments, trying to come up with an answer to the question. “Rick!” Rebecca finally proclaimed.

Rachel looked up in surprise, “Uncle Rick? In California?” she blinked curiously.

“You can’t be my daughter,” Rachel explained, “but you can be my niece, no one out here knows Rick that well and they wouldn’t know whether or not he has a daughter. You can be staying with us because of the earthquake that just happened out there.”

“You’re serious?” Rachel blinked, “and how did Ryan suddenly disappear?”

Rebecca paused for a second as she contemplated, “You could—he could have flown out to California to help with the disaster relief. It’d be a very noble thing of you.”

Rachel sat quietly for a second staring at her mother. She had an idea, it may even work. “What if someone needs to get ahold of Rick for something concerning his ‘daughter’?”

Rebecca again paused. She picked up her bag from work and pulled her laptop from it. In a matter of moments she had it running and was using it to call her older brother.

“Becca!” Rick’s voice came from the computer as his picture popped up on the screen. He was a slightly husky man, with a jolly smile on his face. His brown hair was usually worn a little shaggy. “How are you guys doing?”

“Rick,” Rebecca said in a very serious tone, “we’ve got a predicament that we need to involve you in.” her tone was very matter-of-fact.

Rick’s smile faded as he realized the seriousness of the situation, “I’ll do whatever I can,” he blinked, “but I am limited being so far away.”

“All you need, is to agree and play along,” Rebecca told her older brother, “this—is Ryan…” she said as she motioned Rachel to step into view of the camera.

There was a moment of silence from Rick as he put on his glasses, squinting at what he saw on his computer, “is Ryan…?” he raised a finger but wasn’t sure what to say.

“Ryan has—somehow—been turned into a girl…” Rebecca said, “an ACTUAL girl…”

Rachel sighed, “It’s me, Uncle Rick…” she admitted.

“How…?” Rick blinked

“We’re not a hundred percent sure yet—and even what we do know isn’t a quick story—I just need to know I can get your involvement,” Rebecca explained.

“What am I supposed to do?” Rick scratched his head, still staring at Rachel’s image.

“She can’t be my daughter, everyone here knows I don’t have one,” Rebecca told Rick her plan, “but she could be my niece, Rachel—staying with me while her dad repairs his home damaged in the giant Californian earthquake—and Ryan flew out to help his uncle.”

Rick nodded some as Rebecca explained it, “So Ryan… Rachel… is my daughter who is staying with you,” Rick tried to piece together his part, “if anyone you know were to call me to confirm the story, I’d confirm that and also that Ryan is with me here.”

“That’s right,” Rebecca smiled, “are you able to help?”

“Of course I am,” Rick smiled, albeit still a little uncertain and confused, “you’re my sister— and my daughter…”

“Thank you Uncle Rick,” Rachel breathed a little breath of relief, knowing that at least part of her cover was set.

“Pardon?” Rick asked as a softer smile crossed his face.

Rachel blinked as Rebecca looked over to her and nudged her, “Oh, sorry… dad…” she shrugged.

“Dad?” Rick smirked, “what happened to my little girl who used to call me daddy?”

“No,” Rachel shook her head. Both Rick and Rebecca laughed a little at the protest.

The family exchanged pleasantries before finishing their call so that Rebecca could work on the next phase of her plans.

“You need clothes,” Rebecca said to Rachel as the two sat again quietly at the table.

“I have clothes,” Rachel said flatly, motioning to the baggy clothes she had on.

Rebecca shook her head, “we’ve had this talk,” she said, “there is no way you can keep wearing those.”

“Than what am I supposed to do!?” Rachel snapped at her mother.

Rebecca smiled a little, “go shopping,” she said a matter of factly. There was a moment of silence between the two as Rachel stared at her mother in disbelief.

“No,” Rachel spat.

“Sorry honey,” Rebecca said to Rachel, “but I don’t see where you’ve got a choice, you need clothes, you can use your emergency credit card to pay for it.”

Another moment of quietness lingered before Rachel spoke again, “even if I wanted to go, I wouldn’t know what to get,” she explained.

“Well,” Rebecca’s smile returned, “you happen to know someone who can probably give you more than a fair share of help.”

“No,” Rachel said without hesitation.

“Give Katie a call,” Rebecca instructed, “I am sure she will help you.”

“But…” Rachel tried to come up with a counter.

“You know what you have to do…” Rebecca said before getting up from the table and walking out.

Rachel sat quietly, looking at her emergency credit card. The very thought of asking Katie for help disgusted her. After a moment, Rachel growled to herself and stood quickly from the table and pushed the chair in with aggression. She grabbed her phone and called her friend.

“Hello?” Katie’s voice came from the other side of the line.

“Katie…” Rachel mumbled as she leaned against the wall in annoyance, “I… need your help…”

There was a pause on the other end before Katie spoke again, “of course…” she said a little surprised, knowing that if Rachel was asking for help, that she was serious, “what do you need?”

Rachel clenched her teeth, “I—need you to take me shopping…” she growled.

“Really?” an air of excitement coming to Katie’s voice, she quickly tried to contain herself, “sure, of course, whatever I can do to help.”

“Just… come over…” Rachel sighed.

“What about Brian?” Katie asked, “I mean, I know we’ve got to shop in girls stores—but it might help to have him there just for support.”

Rachel again paused as she thought it over, “Yeah, he can come too,” there was a nauseating feeling in Rachel’s stomach as she prepared her next sentence, “Katie… I need one other thing…”

“What’s that?” Katie asked curiously.

“I… need to borrow some clothes…” Rachel winced as she spoke.

-

The doorbell rang and Rachel let her friends in. Rebecca had gone to her office to make some phone calls as she attempted to help make Rachel exist. Katie held up the clothes for Rachel and followed her up the stairs. She stopped and glared at Brian, who had begun to follow them.

“And where do you think you’re going?” Katie asked him, “this is girls only.”

“But if I was a girl, I could go too?” Brian asked with a small grin.

Brian looked to Rachel and then back to Katie. Rachel shook her head in a serious manner at Brian, insisting he not do what he was thinking. Katie blinked, looking from Brian to Rachel, then back to Brian.

“Well…” Brian grinned sheepishly, “Ryan wasn’t the only one…”

Rachel put her hand to her face as Katie looked over to Brian in confusion. Brian focused some and trigged the change inside his body. Katie’s jaw dropped as Brian changed from his normal male self into the busty auburn haired girl right in front of her eyes. After just a moment, the now female Brian stood in front of the two girls.

“How…? What…?” Katie stammered, completely ignoring her restraint from earlier and poking Brian’s ample breasts.

Brian giggled a little as she bounced on the balls of her feet a little. “Yeah, I woke up like this but unlike Ryan I have been able to change back,” she explained.

It took Katie a little longer to come to terms with what she had just seen, but eventually she was composed enough to return to the matter at hand. Katie again headed for Rachel’s bedroom. When Brian once again began to follow, Katie stopped and glared at her.

“You still aren’t coming,” Katie told the female Brian.

“But, but, I’m a girl too!” Brian whined.

Katie refused to let Brian go with them and entered the bedroom, closing the door behind Rachel.

“Listen Katie…” Rachel began weakly, “I don’t know what you’re planning, but don’t think I’m going to be treating today like some kind of fashion show…”

“Of course not,” Katie said as she handed over the clothes she had brought for Rachel, “I know you’re going through a rough time and I am going to try to help keep the trauma to a minimum.”

Rachel unfolded the shirt that was on the top of the clothes and held it up. It was v-neck shirt with quite short sleeves. Rachel had seen Katie wear it before and knew that it fit her quite well. She looked down at the next item and saw an item which sent a shiver down her spine.

“I know you’re not going to like it,” Katie said in a serious tone, “but you can’t be running around without and it’ll actually really help—“

“I know…” Rachel sighed as she set the shirt back on top of the clothes and looked back to Katie.

Katie nodded, “you look about the same size as me,” she explained, “so you can deal with this one until you can either get back to normal or decide you’ve got to go get sized.”

Rachel turned to head into the bathroom which connected her own room with Brett’s, but was again distracted by the long hair trailing behind her, hanging down to her bottom. She turned back to Katie and set the clothes on the end of her bed.

“Think you could do something about this real fast?” Rachel asked as she pulled the long hair over her shoulder in front of herself.

“I guess,” Katie said, “I mean, I can cut a chunk of it off and make sure its even so you can tie it back, but I think you should get it cut by a professional at the mall while we’re there.”

Rachel agreed and Katie got a pair of scissors from Rachel’s desk. She set Rachel down in a chair and laid down some towels before snipping some at the hair around the middle of Rachel’s back; after just a minute Katie held up a foot long lock of hair. Rachel reached behind her and felt that her hair still went down past her shoulders, but noticed it was already much easier for her.

“I was just thinking of something…” Rachel mused, “you knew I wasn’t going to change in front of you, why did it matter whether or not Brian was allowed in my bedroom? “

Katie grinned wide and grabbed Rachel’s hair, pulling it tight. “Because, it’s going to drive him nuts thinking about what we might be doing in here,” she laughed. She messed with Rachel’s hair for a moment before finally letting go of it.

Ryan blinked a little in surprise at Katie’s idea, “wow Katie, I’m impressed,” she said in a slightly more relaxed tone as she moved her head some and noticed the tight pony tail that Katie had put her hair in to.

“Thank you,” Rachel said quietly before picking up the clothes Katie had given her and headed into the bathroom.

-

It seemed like an eternity with Brian sitting outside of Rachel’s room, still in the form of the busty auburn haired girl. Eventually the door opened and out stepped Katie, who hesitated when she saw Brian still as a girl. She smiled and shook her head as she stepped out, glancing back for Rachel.

“Come out here Ryan, It’s just me and Brian,” Katie said.

“I feel weird…” Rachel moaned from inside her room.

“Of course you do,” Katie rolled her eyes, “you’re wearing girls clothes, but to anyone outside of this room, you’ll look perfectly normal, so walk around like you’ve been doing this all your life.”

Rachel sighed and stepped from inside her room. She looked extremely uncomfortable; her hair was tied back in a tight pony tail, wearing the purple v-neck shirt which fit pretty well on her feminine body, along with a pair of girl’s skinny jeans and even a white pair of Katie’s tennis shoes.

“Wow Ryan,” Brian said as she got up, “you look like a normal girl.”

“Gee, thanks…” Rachel mumbled.

“Is it really so bad?” Katie frowned as she looked Rachel over, “you look great.”

Rachel took a breath, “the pants are too tight, the sleeves are too short, my hair is too long, and, oh, have I mentioned I have boobs!?” she raised her voice as she motioned to her chest region.

Katie put her hand on Rachel’s shoulder to calm her some, “unfortunately, I don’t see where you’ve got a lot of options right now,” she said honestly.

Rachel glared at Brian again and lowered her head with a sigh, before nodding.

“Do you have any clothes for me?” Brian asked with a big of a smirk.

Katie looked Brian over, again stopped to stare at her breasts, “No.” she said flatly, “you’re taller than me—and—well—shapelier…” Brian looked almost disappointed with the answer.

“I’ll need to get some clothes too while we’re at the mall than,” Brian said with a smile.

“You can change back to a guy…” Rachel growled, “why wouldn’t you go as a guy?”

“Well—we’re going to be going into girls stores,” Brian explained, “if I am a girl too then I will fit right in and can try stuff on too.”

“Why would you want to try stuff on?” Rachel growled.

Brian blinked, “because I’m a girl.”

Rachel exchanged a look with Katie and shook her head with a sighed, “Fine, whatever…”

“I’ll need a name to be called while I am a girl though,” Brian said as she tiled her head thinking, “how about Brianna?”

Katie smirked and put an arm around Brian, “totally—but Brianna is too close to you’re regular name,” she explained, “I’m going to call you Brittney.”

Brian smiled and nodded while Rachel sighed.

-

Katie Herring, Rachel Hawke, and Brittney Parker entered the mall. Katie headed the charge into the clothing stores she had had her eyes on the day before. Despite Rachel’s reluctance at first, she was reminded that not much could harm Ryan’s ‘masculine reputation’ while Ryan wasn’t even present. Once inside the store, Katie really enjoyed being able to pick out clothes that she thought would look good on Rachel. Brittney actually seemed to enjoy some of the things Katie was offering her, but Rachel would have none of it.

“You could at least try to enjoy yourself,” Katie turned to Rachel.

Rachel rolled her eyes a little and shook her head, “Not going to happen…”

Katie sighed and headed towards the dressing room with the other two girls. Before heading back to try on some of the clothes she had picked out, she turned towards Brittney, who also had some clothes to try on.

“You behave yourself,” Katie instructed Brittney, knowing that inside the sexy girl body, was the mind of an immature boy.

Brittney gave a cute innocent face and agreed. Katie and Brittney both entered the dressing rooms while Rachel sat irritably in the waiting area. The two girls trying clothes on came out multiple times in different outfits, Katie often commenting about how Brittney looked in the outfits. By the time they were done, each of the girls had multiple items which they were purchasing, Brittney a little more, including an outfit she was wearing out the door; a pair of khaki Capri pants plus a v-neck shirt which showed some of her new cleavage, the shirt went down just to the top of her jeans, so when she moved there was just a whiff of skin and also its own built in support to solve some of Brittney’s—current issues.

“Are you really not getting any clothes here?” Katie asked of Rachel.

Rachel crossed her arms over her chest and shook her head. She hesitated when she found the position of her arms to be quite uncomfortable, and moved them to just under her breasts. After Katie and Brittney had paid for their clothes, Katie turned to Rachel again as they stepped outside.

“You know you have to get clothes somewhere, right?” Katie asked Rachel with an exasperated sigh.

“I’m just going to get some of the simplest clothes I can that will accommodate my current appearance,” Rachel explained, “nothing—cutesy…” she narrowed her eyes as she used her hands to motion to the v-neck of the shirt she was currently wearing.

“Oh come on,” Katie rolled her eyes, “that’s one of the most plain shirts I have, there’s nothing that cutesy about it and its actually pretty simple and you’ll find quite comfortable in comparison to some other stuff.”

Rachel raised an eyebrow as the gears turned in her head for a moment, “You know what, I may be crazy,” she said as she reached into her pocket to pull out the credit card her mother had given her, “but I think I’ve got an idea to make us both satisfied.”

Katie exchanged a confused glance with Brittney, before turning her attention back to Rachel.

“I don’t want to go shopping, and you want to make sure I get clothes that will work on me,” Rachel explained, “well, the clothes you brought for me actually fit surprisingly well…”

“You want to start borrowing my clothes?” Katie asked curiously.

“No, let me finish,” Rachel snapped, narrowing her eyes, “While I go and get a haircut, you can go pick out some clothes for me to wear, you get the satisfaction of helping me getting clothes, and I don’t have to put up with going shopping…”

“But I thought you complained about my stuff being too ‘cutesy’” Katie said as she made quote marks with her hands.

“You were teasing me with outfits in that last store, but I think when the duty of actually doing a good job is on the line, you’ll find stuff that works and is tolerable,” Rachel continued with her flat explanation, “Katie… I trust you.” She said as she handed her mothers credit card to her friend.

Katie stared in shock. She had never heard such a compliment from Ryan be uttered about her. Suddenly the weight that Rachel had put on her was realized, she had to do this for her friend. Katie smiled genuinely and took the credit card before wrapping Rachel in a hug, “I’ll make sure to get you plenty of good things,” she said ecstatically. Rachel looked awkwardly at Katie as she hugged her, still frustrated about the fact Katie was taller than her now.

“I’m going to go get my haircut…” Rachel said as she broke away from Katie’s hug. She turned and started to leave when Katie suddenly grabbed her arm to stop her.

“What kind of haircut were you going to get?” Katie asked anxiously.

Rachel shrugged, “just ask them to trim it short,” she answered.

“A stylist will look at you like you’re crazy—and you’ll probably look awful,” Katie said seriously.

“Then what should I do?” Rachel sighed.

Katie looked at Rachel’s face closely, analyzing it, “you should ask for, uh, ask for a lob with bangs,” she said satisfactorily, “it’ll be short enough to make you happy, but long enough to make you look like a girl, and it’ll be easy to take care of.” Rachel shrugged and headed off from Katie and Brittney, who headed to another store.

Evan peered out from the arcade as a brunette girl walked away from an auburn haired girl, who was accompanying Ryan’s friend Katie. He took a sip of his soda and turned back towards Brett who was busy yelling at a game he was playing.

“Hm.” Evan said to himself as he leaned against the wall.

Brett finished yelling at the game and looked over at Evan, “what?” he asked.

“Evan shrugged, “it’s nothing,” he said, taking another sip of his drink, “just an interesting plot development.”

Two high school boys were goofing around outside of a nearby store. They were busy making fun of each other with some friendly muscling around.

“Why are you always such a dick, JD?” said the lighter skinned boy who had straight black hair. He was looking at his friend who was roughly the same height, nearing six feet tall, but this boy had bleach blond hair done up in spikes.

“Don’t be such a puss, Trav,” snarked JD, nudging his friend a little

“I’m just not interested…” Travis sighed as he straightened the sleeve of his light blue shirt. Travis Right was one of the most popular students entering senior year at Goldthwait High School; starting quarterback for the football team, straight A student, and was generally nice to all walks of life in the high school social hierarchy. He had been part of the junior class power couple that also included the soon-to-be head cheerleader Chloe Dillon. Without nearly any warning just before the end of the school year, Travis and Chloe split up and nearly nobody knew why.

“You need to get over her already,” JD said as he looked down the mall walkway, “look, here comes a hotty now.” JD motioned with his head.

Travis just shook his head, “I’m not just about to jump into a relationship since I broke up wi—hey!” Travis was interrupted by JD pushing his friend into the aisle.

Travis stumbled backwards where he ended up tripping over and landing in a pile with Rachel.

“What the heck!?” Rachel growled at the boy who was now on the ground with her.

“I’m so sorry!” Travis pleaded as he hurried to his feet and offered a hand to Rachel to help her up, “my friend pushed me, he’s an ass.”

Rachel ignored the hand offered to her and got up herself, straightening her shirt as she did so. Travis looked down at the girl as she got up off the ground and was shocked to find that the girl herself was extremely pretty.

“I’m Travis…” Travis said as he offered a hand to shake Rachel’s.

Rachel looked up at Travis, who was easily half a foot taller than her. She knew who he was; everyone in school knew who he was. “Rachel…” she said flatly as she briefly shook his hand.

“So—I haven’t seen you around before, do you go to Goldthwait?” Travis asked, curious to find out more about this girl.

“Uh… yeah…I mean, I will be” Rachel mumbled as she looked down the mall towards where she was going, hoping that she could be on her way soon.

“Are you new in town?” Travis questioned.

“Yeah,” Rachel answered with an air of annoyance, “I’m a senior this year.”

“Oh cool, so am I,” Travis smiled genuinely, “maybe I’ll see you around the halls.”

Rachel shrugged, seeing Travis’ friend watching from behind him. JD Butler was another face she recognized, one of those guys that liked to act tough and push people around to make his point. She didn’t have much respect for him.

“Maybe…” Rachel mumbled as she turned from Travis to head away from him, “I have to get going…”

“Bye!” Travis said loud enough for Rachel to hear, Watching as she walked away, unable to help himself from looking at her bottom as she went.

“Bye~!” JD mocked as he walked up to Travis, punching him lightly in the arm, “Damn Romeo, you work quick.”

“Hey, there’s nothing like that,” Travis defended, “although I certainly wouldn’t mind getting to know her some.”

-

Rachel was shocked how long it took her to get in and out of the salon. The girl who was doing her hair, who couldn’t be more than twenty-one, would not stop trying to start up a conversation with Rachel, who was far from interested with conversing. When she was all done, she gave Rachel a mirror to see the hair cut Katie had instructed her to get. It made her look more feminine than the tight pony tail she had had before, but was just short enough to brush above her shoulders, which was certainly a plus for Rachel. She noticed the bangs over her forehead, which she now realized Katie had suggested to change the shape of her face some to make her look less like Ryan. She could live with it for the time being.

As Rachel was about to leave the salon, she spied Nikki talking to the stylist who she had seen working at a nearby chair. The stylist looked very similar to Nikki and had blonde hair almost identical to the high school girl. Rachel assumed this was Nikki’s older sister who she had heard about a couple times. When the stylist walked back over to her chair, Rachel decided to approach the now alone Nikki Morgan.

“Hey Nikki...” Rachel said nervously as she approached Nikki.

Nikki just looked at the brunette with a raised eyebrow, obviously not very interested in talking with Rachel. After a moment Nikki put her hands on her hips and tilted her head a little, “Yes?” she snarked.

Rachel felt a little odd standing next to Nikki, having been a couple inches taller than the girl who was her girlfriend just the day before, she now found herself a couple inches shorter.

Nikki sighed when Rachel didn’t immediately speak, “do I know you?” she snapped.

“Rachel,” she spat out quickly, suddenly realizing she was not nearly prepared for this confrontation.

Nikki rolled her eyes, “well Rachel, unless you’ve got something important to say, I’ve got stuff to do…” she began to turn away.

“Wait,” Rachel said as she began to piece together an idea, “Ryan, he’s not going to make it to your date.”

Nikki stopped in her tracks, looking down a little and then turning back towards Rachel, a none-too-amused look on her face.

“And why are you telling me this?” Nikki inquired, “What’s wrong with Ryan?”

“He, well, he had to fly out to California for an emergency with his uncle,” Rachel explained, “he could be out there for a while.”

“He took off and didn’t even tell me?” Nikki gave a little huff as she crossed her arms under her chest. “And who are you?” she narrowed her eyes and looked Rachel over challengingly.

“I’m his cousin,” Rachel quickly said, thinking over her entire story, “I’m staying with his mom while he is gone.”

Nikki rolled her eyes again, “whatever,” she said and tossed her hair a little bit, “I’ve got a party I wanted to go to tonight anyway, don’t need Ryan.” Nikki turned to walk away again, leaving Rachel just standing there, feeling like she was about to throw up. Nikki stopped and turned back towards Rachel, who had a sinking feeling in her stomach again.

“Oh, Hawke, it is Hawke, isn’t it?” Nikki barked at Rachel, “next time you see Ryan, tell him I don’t need any of his bullshit anyway.”

Rachel just quietly nodded to Nikki, who gave an intimidating smile and spun around to head out of the salon. Rachel sighed as she watched Nikki go. She walked weakly from the salon and stood outside for a moment, her head spinning so fast that she was not sure what to do.

-

“Rachel!” Katie called as she rushed up with Brittney in tow, “your hair looks great!” she smiled and brushed Rachel’s hair with her fingers briefly.

Rachel leaned her head away from Katie’s hand and just glanced over to her without saying anything.

“I’m going home,” Rachel said flatly as she looked towards the entrance of the mall.

Katie blinked, “But—“

“I don’t care, I just want to head home,” Rachel snapped, “did you get me some clothes?”

Katie nodded and held up some bags, as did Brittney, they barely had any room left to carry anything between the things they got for themselves and the things for Rachel.

“Let me have them…” Rachel sighed as she reached for some of the bags.

“Wait Rachel…” Brittney spoke up, “at least let us give you a ride home.”

Rachel raised an eyebrow and nodded before heading for the exit with her friends.

-

Rachel opened the front door to her house and tossed the many bags of clothes to the side of the hall, she’d organize things later. The TV was on which meant Brett was home. She closed the door lightly and started to sneak towards the stairs to head up to her bedroom, hoping not to be noticed by Brett.

“Sneak attack!” Brett yelled as he jumped on Rachel’s back, ready to defeat his older brother this time.

Brett’s hand, which he normally wrapped around the front of Ryan to get a grasp on him, firmly grasped Rachel’s bosom, causing the brother to stop his attack in confusion.

Rachel yelped in surprise as Brett’s hand grasped her chest, causing her to elbow him in the stomach. She turned quickly and punched her brother right in the face. Rachel gasped as her brother lay sprawled out on the ground, gasping for breath from Rachel’s elbow.

“Shit,” Rachel said as she kneeled over Brett, “are you okay?”

“Wha…?” Brett moaned as he looked up in confusion at Rachel, “Who?”

Once Brett had regained his bearings, Rachel explained her situation to her brother, which she had partially been rehearsing the entire way home.

“So… you’re a girl now…?” Brett blinked, “and you can’t change back?”

Rachel sighed and nodded, “yes…”

“How do I know you’re really Ryan?” Brett asked, narrowing his eyes, “not just someone playing a trick on me?”

“Don’t be retarded, Brett,” Rachel growled.

Brett’s eyes went wide, “It IS you!”

Rachel rolled her eyes and nodded again.

“So—those are real?” Brett asked, glancing towards Rachel’s chest, “can I touch them?”

Rachel crossed her arms over her chest and glared at Brett, “you want me to punch you in the face again?”

Brett shrunk back a little, “So what’s it like being a girl?” he said changing the subject.

“Annoying…” Rachel said exasperated.

-

Rachel lay on her bed, her hands behind her head, staring up at the ceiling. She wore a pair of her boy boxers and t-shirt even though she had brought up the bags of clothes from the mall to her room, but had not bothered to pull any of the clothes out to look at them. She moved her feet around her bed, thinking about how they did not go nearly as far down it as they used to.

Rachel glanced towards her door as it opened. Rebecca stepped in and looked over her daughter. She walked over and lay across the end of the bed just past the bottoms of Rachel’s feet.

“Making a person is hard,” she sighed exhaustedly, “I haven’t had to say that for fourteen years.”

“Oh god…” Rachel cringed as she covered her face with her hand.

Rebecca smiled a little to herself, “I think we’ll be able to pass you off, though,” she explained, “although we won’t have any of it by Monday to get you enrolled, that’ll require a little more work.”

“How?” Rachel inquired.

“Pulled some strings… cashed in some favors… maybe had to lie to some friends…” Rebecca explained. She sat up as the bags of clothes caught her eye.

“Well, you are—“

“What did I tell you about making lawyer jokes?” Rebecca snapped humorously as she began pulling some of the clothes out of the bags, “Ooh, you actually picked out some cute outfits.”

Rachel sighed, “Katie picked out the clothes,” she pointed out.

“Well, but you agreed to them,” Rebecca added as she continued to look at clothes.

Rachel shook her head, “No, I went and got a haircut while Katie got some for me.”

Rebecca stopped and looked over at Rachel, “you gave Katie Herring my credit card? In a mall? Alone?”

“Well, Brian was with her,” Rachel noted, “not helping, I know…”

Rebecca smiled and went back to the bags, “Oh—cute underwear…”

Rachel sat straight up in her bed and grabbed the bag of underwear that her mother was holding. She blushed at the boy short panties which Katie had picked out for her. She was thankful that Katie had at least tried, although she was not thrilled that undoubtedly Katie and probably Brian would know what kind of underwear she had on.

Rebecca folded some of the clothes and set them on the end of Rachel’s bed as she saw her now daughter still just staring at the package of underwear, “are you ready for this…?” The voice of concern was present in her voice.

“No…” Rachel sighed, letting her hand with the bag drop into her lap.

“You’ll do fine…” Rebecca said as she scooted over on Rachel’s bed and gave her a hug, “I believe in you.”

Chapter 3; School Daze

Rachel sighed as she sat down at the breakfast table. It was Monday morning, the day in which Ryan was set to restart school with his friends for his senior year of high school. Ryan however, was not going to be attending. Rachel had spent her entire last day of summer confined primarily to her room, dreading what she was about to experience.

Her mother was going to go with her before school started and meet with the principal to get Rachel enrolled, playing the part of Rachel’s aunt. Rebecca was quite confident that she was going to be able to get Rachel set up in the school despite not currently having any records to enroll her with.

Brett came quickly down the stairs and rushed into the kitchen. Upon spotting Rachel sitting quietly at the table, he stopped himself and sat down calmly at the other end of the table, not saying a word as he glanced from Rachel and then back down at the table.

“What?” Rachel asked sharply as she saw Brett’s uneasiness.

Brett looked up with a frown, “well, all summer I was looking forward to going to the same high school with my big brother…”

Rachel stood quickly from the table and slammer her chair against the table as she pushed it in, “well, it’s not like I have a choice here!” she yelled at Brett, turning to leave the room in a huff.

Brett hurried to his feet and ran over to grab Rachel’s arm, “wait!” he pleaded, “You’re still my older brother, I’m happy I’m going to be going to high school with you!”

Rachel stopped and glanced over at her brother, who was now just an inch shorter than her, rather than the half foot she was used to. “You know you won’t be able to even acknowledge being my brother while we’re at school, right?” she asked him.

“You’re my cousin,” Brett nodded, “and I totally respect my cousin.”

Rachel blinked at Brett’s words, lowering her gaze to the ground some, “Yeah…” she sighed, “thanks Brett…”

Rachel gave Brett a weak hug, Brett giving her a bit of an awkward look as the two siblings hugged. He didn’t often hug his brother, and this was something entirely different.

“It’s going to be hard…” Rachel sighed as she let go of Brett and leaned against the wall, looking down at her bootcut jeans, “remembering all these lies, who I’m supposed to be.”

Brett nodded a little, “I know,” he said, “what about your friends?”

Rachel glanced up at Brett, “I know Brian means well,” she said, “but yeah… I’m worried about him screwing everything up… again…”

“Are you two about ready?” Rebecca said as she quickly came in to the kitchen.

She had her briefcase with her and was quickly putting some paperwork in to it. She had on a very nice pantsuit which she wore sometimes when she had an important court case. She was taking this very seriously.

Rebecca looked at Rachel and frowned, looking her over, “I wish you had let me go out and get you a nice skirt or something,” she said, “at least for today to make you as presentable as possible.”

Rachel rolled her eyes and shook her head, “I’m trying as best as I can,” she explained, “but I’ve got to draw a line somewhere…”

Rebecca nodded and brushed her hand lightly through Rachel’s hair, “we’re going to get you through this honey,” she said, trying to comfort her.

Rachel pulled her head away before nodding, “lets go.”

-

Rebecca and Rachel sat down in the office with the principal of Goldthwait High School, Principal Wallis. He was a fairly tall dark skinned man with short curly gray hair and an equally gray mustache. He was commonly known as a very strict individual, but also was known to care very much for the well being of the student body. Principal Wallis sat at his desk reading over a lot of information that had been provided for him by Rebecca.

“You must understand, Miss Hawke,” Principal Wallis spoke calmly, “that this is a very odd situation.”

Rebecca exchanged a glance with Rachel before looking back to the principal, “I understand completely, Principal Wallis,” Rebecca said in a serious tone, “but surely you also understand what this poor girl has been through.”

“Normally to enroll a student, some form of identity is required,” Principal Wallis said as he lowered the folder.

Rebecca crossed her arms, “As soon as we are able to get her information shipped out here from what happened in California, we will,” she explained, “but until then, it would be unfair to cause her to fall behind in school because we’re unable to get such things.”

“I am sure we will be able to get her caught up—“ Principal Wallis began

“There are thousands of children having to go to new schools without records because of what happened out west,” Rebecca snapped, “What would the media say if they learned this small school was refusing a student because, like all the others, her documents were destroyed by earthquake, flood, and fire.”

“I was just saying—“ Principal Wallis began weakly.

Rebecca continued to speak over the principal, “You are able to justifiably enter a child into the database during times of crisis,” Rebecca cited some of the research she found, “And this easily qualifies as a time of crisis, there are plenty of other schools doing the same around California, and if you aren’t sure how to handle it, I am sure you can contact one of them and figure out how to do your job.”

Rachel glanced over at her ‘aunt’, a bit shocked at how easily she was just pushing around the usually steadfast principal. She had never actually seen her mother work a case in the courtroom.

Principal Wallis cleared his throat and hesitated for a moment to see if Rebecca was finished, “My staff will get Rachel enrolled for you today,” He explained, trying to sound composed again, “of course, when her father is able to get us some proof of identity, we will require it.”

Rebecca smiled a polite smile, “Thank you very much,” she said sweetly, “you have no idea how much your help means to us.”

“Thank you Principal Wallis,” Rachel said softly as she bowed her head a little.

The principal sighed a little and picked up a page out of the folder provided for him, “now this says you were supposed to be taking Government, Physics, and English this semester, along with Statistics,” he read, “normally we’d need a print out from your previous school to confirm your level, or we’d need to test you in to the class…”

Principal Wallis looked up at Rebecca, and then quickly back down at the paper, “but given the circumstances, I am sure we can take your word for it and move you later if it is not a proper fit for you,” he explained, “and all seniors at our school also have physical education.”

Rachel looked up quickly to Principal Wallis, realizing exactly what was just said. This was something that she had completely forgotten about and was not entirely sure how she was going to be able to justify going into the locker rooms. She felt a hand on her shoulder and looked up to see Rebecca giving her a calming smile, trying to communicate that things will be okay.

“I guess the last thing we will need is to fill her last period,” Principal Wallis said, “we have a wide variety of electives to choose from; art, band, choir, yearbook, drama, home economics, FFA, both wood and metal shop, photography, dance…” he trailed off as he appeared to be thinking about what other classes they had to offer.

“What about home economics?” Rebecca asked genuinely to Rachel.

Rachel shot her mother a look and shook her head no, “most definitely not.” She said hastily.

“It would be a good class for you,” Rebecca explained to Rachel, “and it would probably also be quite relaxing for you and help you take your mind off of things.”

“We do have a very good FHA program at our school,” Principal Wallis added.

“No” Rachel added again.

Rebecca bit her lip slightly before starting again, “Rachel, honey, your father told me how much you loved to cook back home,” Rebecca lied, “and he said that he didn’t want you to quit doing things you loved just because of the troubles back home.”

Rachel’s jaw dropped as she heard the words coming from Rebecca’s mouth. She had lied intentionally in front of the principal to essentially trap her in the situation. Rachel gave a betrayed look to her mother before lowering her gaze in an attempt to get out of it.

“I…” Rachel hesitated as she bit her lip hard, her jaw shaking in anger a little. After a moment she nodded and looked back to Rebecca, “you’re right, Aunt Rebecca, I’ll go ahead and do that then…”

Both Rebecca and Principal Wallis spoke with smiles, one about getting Rachel enrolled the other about being happy for Rachel. Rachel just glared at Rebecca, feeling dirty inside for having gone along with the lie Rebecca had just forced her to take part in.

-

Rachel was given a print out which had her class schedule on it, far from the normal official schedules that students were usually given. She was sent to her homeroom while her mother and the principal stayed back to finish figuring out Rachel’s enrollment. Rachel’s escort led her to the room which she’d start each day, and then explained to her where her remaining classes were. Rachel actually knew where each of the class rooms were, and knew most of the teachers, but had to pretend like she had no idea about anything here. Her schedule was book ended by the two things she was dreading most; her first period, after homeroom, was physical education down in the gym, while her last period was home economics.

Rachel thanked the person who had brought her to her homeroom and paused in front of the door. She was about to leap head first in to the fire and need to be able to convince people that she is in fact a seventeen year old girl. Rachel took a deep breath and opened the door and stepped in to her homeroom. As if out of some television show, the second Rachel closed the door to the classroom, every set of eyes was on her. She stood frozen for a second before noticing Katie waving her over to where she was sitting with her friend.

Rachel nodded towards Katie before walking up to the teacher’s desk to inform him that she was a late addition to his homeroom. The teacher was a tall thin man with light reddish hair cut short with a matching goatee.

“You must be Rachel,” The teacher smiled at her, “Principal Wallis already called and told me about your situation.”

The teacher stood from his desk and cleared his throat, silencing the class, “This is Rachel Hawke,” he announced, “she has braved the disasters in California with her father to join us here today while things calm down at home.”

Rachel looked over the room, normally she would have sat with her wrestling friends, but those friends weren’t Rachel’s friends, they’re Ryan’s friends. Rachel went over and took an empty seat with Katie and her friend.

Katie’s friend immediately turned to Rachel as she sat down, “Hiya Rachel, Katie was just telling me some about you,” she smiled, “my name is Karina Majors.”

Rachel knew who Karina was; she was one of Katie’s good friends when Katie was not hanging out with Brian and herself. Rachel almost never spent any time around Karina herself though. Karina was a bit on the short side, although with recent predicaments, she was now the same height as Rachel. Her hair was a long bob falling just over her shoulders and parted around her face. She wore bottom rimmed glasses and almost always had a pleasant smile on her face. Her choice of clothes was a lot more casual than Katie usually wore, usually sticking with shirts and jeans.

“Nothing bad I hope,” Rachel said, exchanging a glance with Katie.

Katie smiled back at Rachel, “Well, I told her what I know,” she explained, “hard to say too much for someone you’ve only known for a couple days.”

“I think the whole thing is exciting!” Karina said enthusiastically.

Rachel raised an eyebrow and looked at the other girl, “pardon?”

“A whole new place, far away from anyone who knows you,” Karina began, a bit of a dreamy look on her face, “you can be whoever you want, reimagining a whole new persona for everyone to get to know.”

Rachel furrowed her brow a little bit, “What if I liked who I was?”

“No one says you can’t be yourself, either,” Karina added.

Rachel shook her head lightly, “sometimes,” Rachel sighed, “you don’t get a choice…”

-

Rachel spent most of homeroom speaking with Katie and Karina and answering a few questions from other students who leaned over. When the bell rang, Rachel sighed and headed off for P.E. while Katie went to her first period Drama class which she shared with Brian. Rachel knew that the first day did not require any changing in the locker room, but just being in the gym would be a stark reminder of what the next few days would bring. Rachel showed her schedule to the teacher and sat on the bleachers with the other students while the teacher took roll. Most of the students sat with friends, chatting lightly with one another.

After roll call, the teacher told the students to report to the locker rooms where they would be receiving their locker assignments. Rachel lagged behind the other girls as she followed them in to the locker room. As Rachel entered she noticed the locker room itself appeared just as the boy’s locker room did. Rachel was the last girl to step up to the teacher who was in charge of the girl’s lockers; she received her lock and proceeded to locate it.

Rachel looked down the row of lockers where hers was located, there were at least three other girls in the same row of lockers, which Rachel knew meant those would be the girls she would have to be around when they had to change for class. She quietly walked down the row to her locker. There was another girl who had the locker directly next to hers, who stopped putting her clothes in her locker and looked over at Rachel.

Rachel opened her locker and peered inside at the emptiness. Katie failed to get any gym clothes for her, so she was going to have to go back to the mall to pick up something that she’d be able to wear.

“Hey,” said the girl with the locker next to Rachel, “You’re the girl from California, Rachel, right?”

Rachel blinked and turned her head towards the girl. She hadn’t taken the time to really see who it was when she originally went to her locker but now that she looked, she immediately recognized who the girl was.

“I’m Andie,” she smiled and stuck out her hand to Rachel, “it’s short for Andrea.”

Andie Rhea was quite possibly the best athlete in the school, and pretty much everyone knew who she was. She was active in sports all year long, was active in clubs, and friends with a lot of the student body, although Rachel herself had never hung out with her before. Andie was a little taller than Rachel, with a great athletic build. She had bright orange hair which came down just past her ears. Her skin was pale with a light dusting of freckles across it.

Rachel briefly shook Andie’s hand, “How did you—“ she began to ask.

“How did I already know about that?” Andie grinned with a sly smirk, “I have a friend in your homeroom then she pointed you out during roll.”

“Oh, cool,” Rachel said quietly, not entirely sure what to say.

“So,” Andie smiled as she closed the door to her locker, “I guess we’re going to be locker buddies.”

Rachel furrowed her brow slightly, “what?” she asked.

“Locker buddies…?” Andie repeated, “Don’t tell me you’ve never had a locker buddy before.”

Rachel just shook her head.

“Oh man!” Andie slapped her forehead as she laughed slightly, “someone who has a locker right next to yours, we’re going to be changing together all year so we’ve gotta become locker buddies.”

Rachel blinked, her hope was that she was going to be able to change clothes as quietly and quickly as possible, now she’s got someone who is going to want to chat DURING that time. This is exactly the opposite of what Rachel wanted.

“Yeah…” Rachel said a little weakly, unsure exactly what other route to take at this point.

-

Rachel again found herself answering questions about herself. Luckily she had planned for this and was able to just repeat the same information over and over again. The bell rang for the end of first period and Rachel walked back up to the main school building with Andie and one of her friends; who Rachel recognized as being from her homeroom. Li Kim was South Korean and stuck out like a sore thumb in the predominantly Caucasian school. She was short; even now she was two inches shorter than Rachel. She had long black hair which she wore in varying styles which fit well with her unique fashion.

“Heeey Andie Rhea!” called a blonde girl skipping down towards the three girls. This girl Rachel knew pretty much by name only. Her name was Allison, and aside from her also being a senior and quite eccentric, Rachel knew little about her.

“Al-lison! My sister from another mister!” Andie called as the two girls hugged briefly.

“Hey Li,” Allison smiled and waved at the other girl with them, before stopping to look at Rachel curiously, “whose the new girl?” she asked sticking a thumb towards Rachel.

“This is Rachel Hawke,” Andie explained to her friend, “she just moved here from California, staying here with her aunt.”

Allison narrowed her eyes and pursed her lips as she looked Rachel over with interest. Rachel blinked a little in confusion and leaned back a little as Allison looked her in the face.

Allison raised an eyebrow and then a sly grin crossed her face, “Allison Banks,” she said as she thrust her open hand out to Rachel.

Rachel shook Allison’s hand as she couldn’t help but think how weird some of these girls are. Keeping to herself as Ryan she never really encountered how girls acted around each other at times. She just hoped things wouldn’t get any odder.

Rachel shared her second period government class with Andie, so the two walked to class together. There were many people saying hi to Andie as they went, Rachel could not believe how many people this girl knew. Upon finally reaching the classroom, Andie insisted Rachel sit with her; she had informed Rachel that she made it her mission to introduce her to the school.

Brian had greeted Rachel as he entered the Government class, but Rachel was already sitting with Andie and decided to just remain there and let Andie worry about introducing her rather than coming up with a reason to switch seats.

-

School continued relatively smoothly for Rachel. Brian had walked with her to her third period class where Rachel filled her friend in on the happenings of the day. Brian was not in Statistics and was preparing to leave when Evan walked past the two and in to the classroom for stats.

Brian blinked in surprise, “wasn’t that Evan?” he questioned, “but he’s a freshman.”

Rachel nodded, “yeah, he is.”

“How smart IS he!?” Brian asked shocked.

“Very…” Rachel said as she headed past Brian and into the classroom.

Rachel did not immediately see anyone she felt she could sit with upon a scan of the room. If she had been Ryan, she’d probably have just sat with Evan, but Rachel Hawke doesn’t yet know Evan and would be awkward to randomly go up to him now. She had considered sitting with Andie’s friend Allison but decided to sit by herself for the time being. The door flew open just as the class bell rang and a huffing Travis Right walked in.

The teacher raised an eyebrow and smirked, “glad you could join us, Mr. Right,” he said.

“Sorry Coach,” Travis said exasperated as he started to head to a desk, he hesitated when he saw Rachel, and proceeded to his seat.

-

After class, Rachel was preparing to head to her Physics class when she heard her name called from inside the classroom. A feeling of dread came over Rachel as she turned to see Travis hurrying up behind her.

Travis gave Rachel a warm smile as he came up to her, “Hey, it’s me, Travis,” he again introduced himself, “we met at the mall yesterday.”

Rachel rolled her eyes slightly, “yes, I remember.”

“Can I, uh, walk with you?” Travis asked, motioning down the hall with his head.

Rachel raised her eyebrow, “uh, okay?” she said, “I’m heading to physics, room five.”

“Really? So am I,” Travis said as he walked alongside Rachel as she headed for her next class. He smiled over at her as they went, “I like what you did with your hair.”

Rachel reached up and lightly brushed her hair, a bit bewildered by the compliment, “uh, thanks?” she said quietly.

There was a moment of silence between the two as they walked; eventually Travis tried to break the quietness, “So I hear you moved here from California.”

Rachel raised an eyebrow as she glanced over and up at Travis, “seems like news gets around,” Rachel sighed.

Travis just smirked, “In a smaller school like this, news travels fast,” Travis said, “especially about something like your story.”

“Great…” Rachel mumbled. The last thing she wanted was attention on her. Perhaps her mom and her should have come up with a little more inconspicuous of a story.

“Hey, I think its cool,” Travis told her, “I mean, a lot of people around here haven’t even gone more than a couple cities away, and you’re from a whole different part of the country.”

“Yes, well, it wasn’t by choice,” Rachel tried to remain in character.

“Right, the earthquake, that’s horrible,” Travis frowned a little, “no one you knew got hurt, did they?” he seemed genuinely concerned for these strangers well being.

Rachel just shook her head, “no.”

“I hope you’re able to enjoy yourself while you’re here,” Travis said, trying to lighten the mood, “do you know how long you’ll be out here?”

Rachel again just shook her head, “no,” she sighed.

As the two reached room five, Rachel saw Chloe Dillon outside the classroom. Chloe looked up seeing the two and the smile faded from her face, her face almost looking to pale some. She was beautiful; had long brown hair and a round face which housed her soft round eyes and a kind smile cornered with dimples. She was a couple inches taller than Rachel with a thin frame but a nicely sized chest.

“Oh…” Chloe stammered a little at the sight of her ex, “hiya Travis…”

Travis frowned, “hey Chloe…” Travis’ gaze lowered towards the ground.

Chloe turned back to the friends she was with, “sorry guys, I’ve gotta go,” she said as she turned, “see ya Travis…” she said as she turned and entered the classroom which Rachel herself was about to enter.

Travis sighed before looking back up, “Hey Rachel…“ Travis began to say, glancing over to her.

“Hm?” Rachel questioned, still a bit bewildered by the moment with Chloe.

“Would you be interested in, I don’t know, hanging out some time?” Travis asked a little anxiously, “outside of school I mean.”

Rachel suddenly felt ill as she realized what Travis was asking, “no,” she said bluntly, “I know what you’re getting at, and I’m not interested.”

“Oh, that’s fine,” Travis said, feeling like someone just punched him in the gut, “I’ll see you around…”

Rachel felt like a bitch now, surely there was a better way she could have gone about that, “hey Travis…” she called to him.

Travis stopped and looked back at Rachel in confusion.

Rachel swallowed some pride, “Sorry about that, a lot on my plate,” she explained, “I’m not really interested in going out or anything, but we could just be friends and stuff.”

“Yeah, that’s cool,” Travis smiled, “I’ll see you around,” he said as he turned to head into the classroom.

Rachel nodded.

“What was that about?” Brian asked coming up behind Rachel.

Rachel practically jumped out of her skin by the sudden arrival of Brian, “Huh? I was just chatting with Travis,” she explained to her friend.

Brian smiled slyly, “Oooh, has Miss Hawke found Mr. Right?” he teased

Rachel shot a dark glare at Brian, “shut it, It’s not like that,” she growled.

-

Despite the awkward glares from William during physics, Rachel survived another class and walked with Brian to their English class, where they were greeted by Katie who joined them in the room.

Rachel was relieved that as the day went on, less and less people were asking her questions about who she was and where she was from. After ‘meeting’ a few of Ryan’s friends from the wrestling team, she was pretty sure the last of the awkward introductions were over.

Katie and Brian were chatting with one another, Rachel sitting quietly listening to the two, her gaze lowered, when a pair of white tennis shoes stepped in front of her. Rachel could tell by their position that the person they belong to was facing her. She followed the legs up to see who it was.

Rachel blinked when she saw who the girl in front of her was. She was wearing shorts, about to mid-thigh, and a tank top which showed a lot of her tall tanned body. She had bleach blonde hair flared out just above her jaw. She stood with her legs apart, her hands on her hips, and a grin on her round face.

“Hey!” the girl said loudly, “I’m Jessie Bolt!” she proclaimed.

Ryan had started dating Jessie halfway through freshman year; she was a cheerleader and he was participating in a variety of sports trying to find a niche. They spent a lot of time together all through the summer and eventually broke up part way through sophomore year. She wasn’t normally this tanned, and Rachel had to assume it may have been a spray on tan. Her hair also used to be brown, before she began dying it.

“Rachel Hawke,” she introduced herself calmly. Rachel noticed another girl standing behind Jessie.

“This tall drink behind me is Jennifer Winchester,” Jessie introduced her friend. Seeing that Jennifer six feet tall, it was no surprise that she was a star basketball player in the school. Jennifer was much quieter than Jessie and dressed much more modestly, wearing longer shorts, which still showed her long legs, and a regular t-shirt. She had long naturally blonde hair which went halfway down her back with some bangs framing her face. Jennifer nodded to Rachel with a quiet acknowledgement.

“Nice to meet you both,” Rachel nodded to them. Both Brian and Katie’s attention had turned to Rachel as they were a bit curious. They both knew Ryan had broken up with Jessie because she was just a bit too energetic and outspoken for him.

“You know, I heard all about you being from California!” Jessie grinned, “I’d love to pick your brain about it some time,” she told Rachel.

“Uh, I guess that’d be okay,” she said, not quite sure how many answers about California she’d actually be able to answer.

“I actually went out with your cousin for a while when we were underclassmen,” Jessie said with a grin, “did he ever say anything about me?” she asked, placing both hands on Rachel’s desk and leaning over to be a little closer on eye level with her.

Rachel quickly had to raise her gaze from looking down Jessie’s shirt as she leaned over her desk. “He may have said something about it,” she quickly tried to come up with a response, “I don’t remember any of the details though, sorry.”

Jessie shrugged her shoulders, the smile and interest never leaving her face, “your cousin was pretty cute,” she admitted to Rachel, “a bit dull and everything, but he was good at sports and stuff.”

“Dull?” Rachel blinked, she knew she liked a calmer quiet life, but dull? “I guess you were just too much for him then?”

“You betcha!” Jessie laughed, “Do you do any sports, Rach?”

Rachel hesitated, both at the shortened version of her adopted name, and the question at hand. Obviously she wasn’t going to say anything about wrestling, both because it connects too much to Ryan, and a girl in wrestling would get a lot of questions that Rachel wouldn’t want to answer, nor be able to answer. “Not really, no,” she told the tanned girl.

“Awh that’s too bad,” Jessie tilted her head. The class bell rang, causing Jessie to stand up straight and slump her shoulder as she gave an annoyed sigh, “to be continued!” she said slapped Rachel a little on the shoulder before proceeding to a seat near the back.

“Nice to meet you,” the tall girl, Jennifer, said calmly as she proceeded past Rachel’s desk.

“That was fun,” Katie grinned from next to Rachel, “maybe you should have taken acting class with Brian and me.”

Rachel rolled her eyes and shook her head at Katie’s suggestion. Rachel may have taken Katie up on the idea if she hadn’t have been stuck taking home economics filling her one elective slot. Katie was fortunate to have two electives her senior year since she took her required math class during summer and didn’t need to have one the rest of the year.

-

Rachel made her way with Katie to her last class of the day, home ec. It wasn’t so much that she was dreading the next class, but she just plain did not want to attend. One more annoying class and Rachel would be home free for the rest of the day.

“Hawke!” came a familiar voice from behind Rachel.

Rachel sighed; she knew things couldn’t go as smoothly as she had hoped. She turned to see Nikki padding up to her followed by her friend Dani. She had a small smile on her face, which was covering clenched teeth. Dani was between the height of Nikki and Rachel, and her skin color could best be describe as clay-like, having a bit of native American ancestry. Dani was a cheerleader like Nikki, and wore her long kinky black hair in a pony tail that nearly reached her bottom. Both girls were dressed in short shorts and t-shirts that helped to show off their athletic bodies.

“Boy am I glad I ran in to you,” Nikki said with her fake smile, “we totally got off on the wrong foot the other day.”

Rachel blinked, “we did?”

“I must have looked like a total bitch,” Nikki gave a sympathetic nod, “I was just having one of those days, y’know?”

Rachel just nodded, “its fine, I understand,” she said, noticing Katie glancing at her.

Nikki raised an eyebrow as she glanced to Katie, “Hey, uh, do you mind if I talk to Rachel alone?” she asked with a smile, “I want to ask some questions about Ryan.”

Rachel and Katie exchanged curious glances before Rachel nodded to dismiss her friend, shrugging a little as she did so. Katie gave Rachel a cautious smile before heading to a table in the home economics classroom.

Rachel followed Nikki to a corner of the classroom, finding it odd that Dani was still quite nearby. “What’s up?” she asked Nikki curiously.

Nikki smiled as she placed a hand on Rachel’s shoulder, “you know, I’m sure its hard being in a new school,” she said supportively, “and first impressions are oh so important.”

Rachel blinked, “what are you getting at?”

“Listen, just because they were Ryan’s friends, doesn’t mean you need to settle for the same thing,” Nikki explained, “surely you’ve got some standards.”

Rachel furrowed her brow, “what’s wrong with my friends?” she asked defensively.

“I mean, Katie Herring and Brian whats-his-name,” Nikki rolled her eyes, “if you’d like, you could always hang out with my friends, you even look like you could make a good cheerleader if we trained you.”

Rachel was taken aback by Nikki’s comments, “and you’re saying Ryan didn’t have any standards?” she asked, “Brian and Katie are cool.”

Nikki gave an exasperated sigh, “Ryan had a hot body an all, but he had some shitty judgment,” she said bluntly, “I mean, just look at the people he hung out with.”

“You might have a point there,” Rachel said with a raised eyebrow, glancing Nikki over, “but if you don’t mind me, I think class is about to start.”

Rachel turned to walked away but was stopped when Nikki grabbed her arm, “think about what I said,” she said sternly.

“Oh, I will…” Rachel sighed as she pulled her arm from Nikki’s grasp and walked quickly past Dani to the table where Katie was sitting. Rachel sat down with a huff next to Katie and slouched in her chair a little.

“What happened?” Katie inquired, glancing over to Nikki and Dani who were also taking seats elsewhere in the classroom.

Rachel closed her eyes and shook her head, “I don’t want to deal with it right now,” she said, “just stupid girl shit.”

Katie tried to give Rachel a comforting smile as she placed a hand on her shoulder, “just remember she’s a stupid junior class cheerleader,” she explained to her, “not even worth your time.”

Rachel opened her eyes just enough to glare at her, “not worth my time?” she asked, “and I was dating her.”

-

Rebecca entered her house and hung her coat in the entry closet before proceeding towards the kitchen.

“Hey mom,” Rachel said from her seat in the kitchen. She had been waiting for her mother ever since she had gotten home from the mall.

Rebecca nearly jumped when she heard Rachel’s voice. She smiled and turned towards her daughter, “hey honey, I hope the first day went smoothly.”

“I guess the classes have been alright…” Rachel shrugged, “except for one class that is a complete waste of my time.”

“Listen sweetie,” Rebecca began to say, “I’m sorry and I know what I did wasn’t—“

“I know why you did it…” Rachel blurted to interrupt her mother, “please never do anything like that to me again.” Rebecca blinked some, a bit surprised by Rachel’s dismissal of the incident that morning in the Principal’s office. She had felt pretty dirty for what she had done in the middle of everything that Rachel was going through. Rachel got up from her seat and gave her mother a half hearted hug, which was the common type of hug Ryan would normally give.

“I won’t try to force anything else on you that you don’t want,” Rebecca explained to Rachel.

“I know…” Rachel nodded, turned, and walked from the room. Rebecca was left alone in the kitchen, biting her lip, hoping that her recklessness in trying to help draw out a little bit of Rachel’s feminine side did not completely ruin her relationship with her new daughter.

-

Monday ended and Tuesday rolled right in before Rachel ever had a chance to settle. She stood outside the girl’s locker room, the PE clothes she had gotten in her arms. Rachel was dreading the next five minutes. She hoped she would be able to get in, change, and get out as quickly as possible. She entered the girl’s locker room in a hurry, keeping her eyes low to avoid seeing anything she shouldn’t. She quickly got to her locker and began getting out of her normal clothes.

Rachel was thankful for many things this first day in the girl’s locker room changing. The first was that Andie had already changed and headed out to the gym before Rachel ever got in there. The other was that her gym clothes weren’t too feminine looking on her, a normal white t-shirt that was a little loose on her and some blue shorts that ended just a hair above her knees. Rachel felt a little odd exposing her newly acquired assets in a fairly public place, but she knew that every girl was doing the same thing in order to put on their sports clothes.

Rachel finished as quickly as she could and made it out in to the gymnasium where the rest of the class was beginning to assemble, waiting for the bell to start class. The teacher came out and announced that the class would have the option to play either volleyball in the gymnasium or go outside and play soccer.

“You want to play volleyball with us?” Andie said to Rachel, her friend Li alongside her.

Rachel did not really have a preference for either game, although she was a lot more familiar with volleyball, having spent a summer going irregularly to a volleyball club with her then girlfriend Jessie, “I guess I could.”

Andie grinned wide as she grabbed Rachel’s arm and drug her over towards the volleyball nets, “let’s go!”

When the game itself actually started, Rachel found herself on the opposite team of Li and Andie. She noticed that the two covered the court a lot more than some of the other girls that did not seem to care much about actually playing the game. Before long Rachel found herself actually trying and keeping up fairly well with the girls that actually knew the game better than her.

Rachel wouldn’t have admitted it, but she was actually having some fun right now, she assumed it was just the stress release of hitting the ball some. Rachel actually had a decent serve, knowing that it was more than just about power but also about accuracy and control.  As she became more comfortable in the game, Rachel became more adventurous with how much she was willing to move around the court; Rachel found a lot more of her previous volleyball playing coming out.

When she saw the ball hanging in the air right above the net for a second, she leapt up with surprising height of a girl her size and spiked the ball with force. The ball zipped straight into the chest of Andie, who was in the front opposite Rachel. Andie found herself knocked backwards landing flat on her back. She blinked in surprise as Li and other girls rushed over to help her up. Rachel froze in shock before running around the side of the net and helping Andie to her feet, apologizing profusely. Andie went to sit down for a moment as the end of the class came and the students returned to the locker rooms.

Rachel hurried back to the locker room, starting to change as quickly as possible so that she could try to get out without having any confrontations. Rachel had just gotten her sports bra pulled off to change back into her regular attire when she heard her name called from behind her. She quickly held her now disrobed bra in front of her chest and turned to see Andie coming up quickly, her face red looking a little flustered.

A feeling of dread came over Rachel as she was sure Andie would be upset for the volleyball that had been spiked at her. “Listen Andie--” Rachel started to try to defend herself.

“How on earth did you hit the ball like that?” a smile actually coming across Andie’s face, “I mean, the technique was off but the power was awesome!”

Rachel stopped and blinked in confusion, “you’re not mad at me?” she questioned.

Andie was taken aback a little, “what? Heck no!” she said as she patted Rachel on her bare shoulder and went over to her own locker, “I mean, it friggin hurt, but it was awesome!”

“I’m relieved,” Rachel said as she tried to act casual, returning to changing into her normal attire. She put on her regular bra, a process she was not proud to know how to do, and put on her red t-shirt.

“Oh!” Andie said loudly, “hey Rachel!”

Rachel turned to look at Andie, who had her shirt off and only had on her sports bra. Rachel quickly diverted her gaze back towards her locker, but couldn’t help but have noticed the red mark on the exposed part of Andie’s chest, where she had been hit by the ball, “Yeah?” she asked.

“You should join the volleyball team!” Andie said with a smile, “I mean, you already know a lot and if you learn how to properly run the court, with what you showed today, I totally think you could be on the team.”

Rachel turned her attention back to Andie, ignoring the fact that she was close to topless, “the volleyball team?” she questioned. She had not really considered joining any sports teams, although it does help her relieve stress and she did enjoy herself in the class today.

“I don’t know…” Rachel said as she lowered her gaze towards the floor.

Andie put her arm around Rachel and grinned over at her, “Think about it,” she consulted, “If you decide you want to give it a shot, we start practices after school Wednesday.”

-

“You can’t possibly be considering joining a girl’s sports team!” Katie raised her voice. She was sitting with Brian and Rachel outside during their lunch period.

“Well, it would help me keep my mind off things,” Rachel admitted, taking a drink of her soda.

“I think it’s fine if Rachel wants to go out for sports,” Brian admittedly quietly.

Katie shot a glare to Brian then looked back at Rachel, “but you’ll be traveling with the girls teams and changing with them.

Rachel sighed, “I already have to change with the girls…” Rachel told Katie, “and not exactly by choice…”

“What’s it like in there?” Brian asked, leaning forward

“You don’t even know how to act like a girl,” Katie cut off Brian, “hanging around with those girls all the time will just give you away sooner.”

Rachel straightened up, “Listen!” she raised her voice, “I’m not even sure if I’m going to do it, but if I do, it’s MY choice.”

Katie shook her head, “fine…” she said defeated.

Chapter 4; Playing By Her Rules

Katie stood in front of Rachel, “you need to work on the way you carry yourself,” she lectured, “especially the way you walk.”

Rachel looked up from where she was sitting on Brian’s couch, “what’s wrong with the way I walk?” she asked.

“You walk like a guy!” Katie said as she rolled her eyes and shook her head, continuing before Rachel could say anything else, “and you are certainly not a guy right now.”

Rachel closed her mouth and crossed her arms over her chest, “I don’t see why it matters how I act,” she defended.

Katie sighed, “You can be all the tomboy you want,” Katie explained, “but even boyish girls have a certain way of walking, you look like you’re actively trying to walk different.”

“That’s because I am,” Rachel sighed as she looked up to Katie.

“Let me show you what I mean,” Katie said as she grabbed Brian, who was sitting in a chair, trying not to get involved in the argument, “walk around the room some, Brian.”

Brian blinked and shrugged, walking back and forth across the living room. Rachel barely watched, not really interested in what Katie was trying to show her. Katie watched Brian for a second and then instructed him to become Brittney.  Brian had yet to turn down an opportunity to hang out as Brittney, and quickly took the form of the beautiful auburn haired girl.

“Now walk like you normally do, Brian,” Katie instructed, showing Rachel how weird Brittney looked as she walked, “now walk how your body wants you to.”

Rachel glanced up irritably and saw Brittney looking a lot less awkward as she walked this time. She sighed and shook her head, “just because Brian wants to act all girly doesn’t mean—“

“It’s not about acting girly!” Katie interrupted, “It’s about not looking stupid, I’ve heard a few whispers already about people thinking you act weird.”

“And what am I supposed to do about it?” Rachel asked, “You spend seventeen years doing it one way its hard to change.”

Katie grabbed Brittney’s arm and pulled her over in front of Rachel, “girl’s hips are different, I’m sure you know that,” she said as she poked Brittney’s hips, who shifted awkwardly.

“When did I become the guinea pig?” Brittney asked.

Katie shushed the red head and instructed her to walk some more, “when you walk, don’t move your shoulders as much, take smaller steps, and don’t walk with your legs so far apart,” Katie instructed, having Brittney do as she instructed, “imagine a line on the ground, try walking along that long, girls legs bow in more so it’s more natural for our strides to be different.”

Rachel looked up again at how Brittney was walking; she did admit that how she was walking seemed quite normal. She shook her head and got up from the couch, “this is stupid,” she growled, “I’m not going to do this shit.”

“Rachel…” Brittney put a hand on her shorter friends shoulder.

“No,” Rachel pulled away, “I’ve got crap to go do.” Rachel walked out of Brian’s house without so much as even saying goodbye to her friends. Brittney frowned and looked over to Katie, who was fuming angry at Rachel’s behavior.

“I can’t believe her!” Katie yelled as she stomped over to the couch and tossed herself on it.

Brittney sat down on the arm of the couch next to Katie, putting her arm around her angry friend, “She’s going through a really hard thing right now,” she tried to explain, “she’s completely lost who she was…”

“I know that!” Katie yelled again, “but all I want is to try and help Rachel be able to assimilate into the girl world without being ridiculed.”

Brittney bit her lip as she nodded with what Katie was saying, “You know how Ryan is,” she said, “maybe we should just try to let her figure it out…”

“The only thing worse than being stuck as someone you aren’t, is being outcast by people at the same time,” Katie sighed deeply as she leaned her head against Brittney’s stomach, which was practically level with her head right now, “if Rachel knew how mean girls can be to each other, she’d be more understanding.”

“Yeah…” Brittney agreed with Katie, leaning over her some pulling Katie closer to her. Katie smiled and looked up to Brittney, finding her line of sight being directly met with the underside of Brittney’s large breasts.

Katie’s smile quickly faded, “this would be less awkward if you were a guy…”

-

Rachel gave a frustrated huff, slamming the door behind her as she entered her home. She was not going to let Katie try to change who she was, it was bad enough that she was stuck in this body, but to just give up and become the girl she looked like was more than Rachel could accept.

Rachel felt a set of eyes upon her and looked up to see Brett staring at her from his seat on the couch. She quickly tried to push her feelings down away from the surface, ignoring the knotting feeling in her stomach that it was causing. She began to walk through the living room only to see Evan also on the couch.

Rachel paused when Evan glanced over the back of the couch at her, she would normally have greeted Evan, but given her particular situation, she knew she had to act like she didn’t even know who he was. Rachel glanced at Brett and then motioned towards Evan with her eyes, hoping her brother would get the hint.

“Huh?” Brett blinked, “Oh! Evan! This is my cousin, Rachel!” he said quickly getting to his feet.

A smile crept across Evan’s face as he nodded, “nice to meet you Rachel.” Evan kneeled on the couch, resting his elbows on the back of it so he could extend a hand towards her.

Rachel shook his hand, “nice to meet you too.”

“If you ever need any help, be sure to let me know,” Evan smiled his normal casual smile, “it’s what I do best.”

“Help?” Rachel blinked a bit anxiously, “help with what?”

Evan closed his eyes as he gave a single laugh through his nose, “stats,” he told Rachel, “I’m in your statistics class.”

“Right!” Rachel said quickly, relief coming over her, “yeah, if I need any help, I know where to turn.”

Rachel left the two younger boys as she proceeded into the kitchen. Her mother was home already and sitting quietly in the kitchen with a cup of tea. Rachel watched her mother for a moment before walking over and taking a seat next to her. Rebecca looked over to her daughter and gave her a small smile before turning her attention back to her tea.

“I’m going to try out for the volleyball team…” Rachel said bluntly, breaking the silence between the two.

Rebecca raised her gaze back towards Rachel with a little surprise, not expecting such a statement, “are you sure?”

“No,” Rachel answered, “but I think I want to do some kind of sport to keep my mind off things.”

Rebecca nodded slightly, “if that’s what you want to do, then I’ll support you,” she smiled.

-

Wednesday morning and Rachel was still fighting with herself if the entire volleyball thing was such a good idea. She wanted to get involved in a sport, she knew it would help her focus and perhaps come up with some idea about getting back into that house and find out what the hell happened. Rachel finished putting books in her locker and closed the door.

Rachel tossed her backpack over her shoulder and began to head towards her homeroom. She didn’t get more than ten feet away from her locker before she heard her name called. She had not noticed that just a couple lockers down from hers Nikki was standing with her locker open, on either side of her stood her cheerleader friends Dani and Chloe.

Nikki smirked at Rachel stepping in front of her, “did you think about the suggestion I gave you yesterday?” Nikki leaned in a little closer to Rachel, “you ever done any cheering?”

Rachel just narrowed her eyes slightly, “yeah,” she said flatly, “I’m not interested in cheerleading.”

Dani rolled her eyes a little and spoke up, “wouldn’t exactly call her cheerleader material anyway,” she huffed.

Nikki shot Dani a sharp glance, causing her friend to shrink back a little. Nikki’s smile returned as she looked back to Rachel, “If Hawke here doesn’t want to be one of us, that’s her choice.”

Rachel raised an eyebrow, a bit off put by Nikki’s words.

Nikki shrugged, “of course, I am really disappointed that she isn’t interested,” she said as she glanced over to Rachel, “I was really hoping we could be friends.”

“Nikki.” Chloe spoke sharply, shaking her head a little at the blonde.

“No, if Hawke doesn’t want to be a cheerleader, that’s fine,” Nikki growled to her friend, “she’s a big girl; she can make her own choices.”

The bell rang for class to start and Nikki turned and left in a hurry, followed closely behind by Dani. Rachel couldn’t help but feel that Nikki’s eyes held no kindness within them, something she didn’t notice before, but thinking back on it, seemed to be a norm for her. Rachel looked back towards Chloe who had a frown on her face. Chloe gave Rachel a weak sympathetic smile and headed in the opposite direction of Nikki and Dani.

-

The confrontation with Nikki bothered Rachel all morning. Even through the oddness of how Katie was behaving and Andie’s constant talking about volleyball, the scene that morning with Nikki stayed on Rachel’s mind. As Rachel turned to enter her math class, she saw William standing in the doorway. She had luckily not had to converse with William the last two days as he is not one to greet people.

“Excuse me…” Rachel said as she moved past William to head to her seat. William watched her sharply as she entered the class. Having him watch her began to make her feel uneasy. As class proceeded, Rachel glanced over periodically to see William was still watching her. After class, Rachel prepared to head to her Physics class when she noticed the feeling of still being watched. She looked over and saw William’s eyes still on her.

Rachel walked straight over to William and look up at him, “What?” she growled, “what do you want!?”

William just narrowed his eyes as he looked down at the short girl, “I saw you,” he told her, “I saw you Saturday at the mall, and I saw you Friday.”

Rachel blinked. She had been Ryan on Friday, there was no way William could have seen her, unless he is referring to seeing Ryan. “Friday?” Rachel questioned, “my plane didn’t land until Friday night,” she added to her story.

“You can’t fool me,” William blurted as he walked away from Rachel. Rachel stood in place a bit concerned about what William was insinuating. There’s no way a nut like William would be able to piece together enough to actually think Rachel and Ryan were the same person. Perhaps, though, it was his nut-job-ness that may make him ABLE to think that Rachel and Ryan were one and the same.

-

The bell rang releasing the students from their third day of school. Katie exchanged a disapproving glance with Rachel as the new girl picked up her bag and headed for the gymnasium. Rachel had decided. She was going to join the volleyball team. She had debated it all day, and with the anxious feeling that had arisen from dealing with Nikki and William, Rachel knew she had to have something to put her attention on while at school.

Rachel stood halfway between the school and the gym, looking at her destination. Despite her decision, she was still concerned about what she was getting herself in to. She took a deep breath and nodded to herself before taking the next step towards the locker rooms.

“Rachel!” Andie’s voice rang from behind her. Rachel turned to see the redhead bounding at her. Andie grabbed Rachel’s arm, spinning the two around a turn, “you’re coming to volleyball, right!?” she asked excitedly.

Rachel gathered herself up before nodding to Andie, “Yeah, I’m in.”

“So she’s our new girl?” another voice came from behind Rachel. She turned to see a few more girls heading up to her and Andie. The girl who spoke was the six foot plus Jennifer Winchester. Walking with her, making Jennifer seem even taller, was Li Kim, who was nearly a whole foot shorter than Jennifer. “Can’t wait to see if she’s as good as Andie says she is.”

Rachel accompanied the girls to the locker room and headed to her normal class locker. The other girls opened up bigger lockers in a different area of the locker room which were given to the athletes to store their sports gear in. Rachel knew that if she were to make it on to the volleyball team, she too would be getting a big locker to keep her volleyball gear in.

Andie noticed Rachel putting on her normal baggy P.E. clothes. “You’re not going to wear that stuff, are you?” she asked as she walked over, a bit of a concerned look on her face.

“Uh, yeah?” Rachel responded uncertainly, “Is there a problem with it?”

“Well, that stuff is fine for class, but for what we’re going to be doing, you’re going to want clothes you can move around a lot better in,” Andie explained, “I’ve got an extra set of work out clothes you can wear!”

Andie rushed over to her locker and came back quickly with a set of clothes. Rachel looked at them with a bit of unease but thanked Andie as to not insult her. She sighed as she looked at the clothes once again; Andie had given her a set of knee pads, a tank top, and a much smaller pair of shorts to wear for practice.

Rachel sighed and stripped off her normal gym clothes; replacing them with the clothes she had been given. Rachel felt odd wearing the tank top, having not exposed her shoulders or any of her chest since becoming female. The shorts only went to her mid thigh and made Rachel feel even more awkward. The clothes fit snugly but Rachel felt as if she was practically wearing nothing.

“Hey Rachel,” Andie called over to Rachel again as she walked over in a very similar set of clothes to what Rachel was now wearing, “I’ve got to go talk to the coach for a few minutes, if you want to wait in the weight room I can come get you when we’re ready for you.”

Rachel nodded, “alright…” and headed in to the weight room. The weight room itself was fairly small, cluttered with different bits of work out equipment. The room was unoccupied leaving Rachel alone with her thoughts. She walked about the weight room looking at the various machines, stopping and looking down at the bench press. As Ryan she was quite satisfied with the weight she had been able to bench, and she wondered how weak she was now that she was a girl.

Rachel lay on the bench and placed her hands on the bar, hoping that she was at least able to lift that much weight with her new body. She was surprised how light the bar felt when she lifted it. Rachel got up from the bench and grabbed some weights to put on the bar; increasing the weight up to fifty pounds. She lay again on the bench and again lifted the weight without much difficulty. Rachel considered how much weight she would be able to lift, wondering if she was going to be able to get close to her former limit.

Rachel again got up and placed more weight on the bar, increasing the weight up to seventy-five pounds, a weight that would be difficult for a lot of high school girls. She again found herself able to do reps with the weight.

“You know you shouldn’t be doing that without a spotter,” came a voice from the doorway. Rachel shot up quickly, narrowly missing hitting her head on the bar, to see Travis in the doorway smiling.

“I was just doing a couple reps…” Rachel defended herself, hoping not to get in trouble.

“If one of the coaches came in here and saw you lifting by yourself, you’d be in pretty deep,” Travis explained to her, closing the door behind him.

Rachel nodded, looking at the bar again, “well, spot for me?” she asked Travis casually.

Travis smiled and walked over and helped Rachel put some more weight on the bar, pushing it to a hundred pounds. She lay back on the bench and readied herself for another couple of reps. Travis took his position at the head of the bench and looked down to keep an eye on Rachel as she lifted.

After a couple more reps, Rachel placed the bar back on its resting place and took some deep breaths. Travis, looking down at Rachel, noticed his eyes had found themselves looking right down the top of Rachel’s tank top at her cleavage. He quickly looked away and tried to find something else to settle his gaze on.

Rachel got up and raised an eyebrow at Travis’ nervous expression. She shrugged it off and added another twenty pounds to the bar; this was the same amount of weight Rachel had been able to bench when she was a boy. A hundred and twenty pounds was almost the weight she weighed now as a girl.

Rachel once more laid on the bench and placed her hands on the bar, taking a few deep breaths and looking up to Travis to see if he was ready, ignoring the odd glancing between her hands that he was doing. Rachel lifted the bar and proceeded to do a couple slow reps, succeeding in doing the same weight she did as a guy.

Rachel finished with a grunt and placed the bar back in its perch and lay on the bench in a bit of confusion. How was it that she was just as strong now as when she was a guy? She knew for a fact that women were not as strong as men, and yet here she was, lifting the same amount of weight. She even wondered if she had struggled less this time than the last time she lifted as Ryan.

“Wow!” Travis proclaimed, “I don’t know any girls that can bench like that!”

“Yeah…” Rachel said quietly as she sat up on the bench, looking at the weight filled bar, “I didn’t know I could do that.”

“How could you not know you were that strong?” Travis asked, “I mean, surely you work out.”

“I guess I just haven’t done any bench presses in a while,” Rachel considered.

“Well, if you ever need anyone to work out with, let me know,” Travis said as he sat down on the bench next to Rachel, “I’m always up for a good work out, and I think you’d keep me on my toes.”

Rachel raised an eyebrow and glanced over at Travis, then nodded, “Yeah,” she said softly, “could be fun.”

Travis gave his usual soft smile as a moment of silence passed while the two sat next to each other, Rachel lost in thought and Travis not sure what to say. “You know, your cousin is a good guy,” he said without looking over to Rachel.

This statement surprised Rachel, causing her to look abruptly over at Travis, “excuse me?” she choked out.

“Ryan, you’re cousin,” Travis stated, “We were on the JV football and baseball teams together freshman year, didn’t know him that well, but never had any problems with him neither.”

Rachel just stared at Travis and nodded. She was surprised Travis remembered Ryan being on the team. Ryan was far from a good player and didn’t continue playing football or baseball after Freshman year and instead chose to focus on wrestling.

“And now with him going to help out in California,” Travis smiled looking up towards the pennants on the wall, “just really gotta respect that.”

Rachel sighed and nodded, “yeah,” she said, knowing that the respectable thing Travis spoke of was all a lie to cover up the truth.

Travis glanced towards the door, “the football team is going to be heading in soon,” he explained to her, “You probably don’t want to be in here when they do, they’ll just give you a bunch of crap.”

Rachel nodded and got up from the bench, “thanks for the work out.”

“Any time” Travis said as he watched Rachel step out of the weight room, he couldn’t help but glance at Rachel’s bottom in the shorts she was wearing as she stepped out. After the door closed behind her, he sighed with a smile and went about getting the weight room ready for the football team.

JD entered the weight room a moment later, glancing over his shoulder at Rachel whom he just passed. One look at Travis and a grin crossed JD’s face, “you ask her out yet?”

“No,” Travis responded quickly, “not going to happen, we’re just friends.”

JD raised an eyebrow and shook his head, “friend zoned already?” he chuckled a little, “you poor bastard.”

Travis rolled his eyes at his friend, “It’s not like that,” he told the spiky haired boy.

“Hey, you know what!” JD broke out loudly, “maybe she’s a lesbo, like the mascot girl.”

Travis shot a look at JD quickly, “Shut your mouth,” he snapped, “you need to not say things about people you don’t know.”

“Ooooh, sor-ry!” JD mocked waving his hands in the air.

Travis glanced back towards the bench press, “you better watch what you say around her,” he grinned, “She could probably kick your ass.”

-

Rachel looked at her biceps as she stood outside the back door to the gymnasium. She was still dumbfounded by her ability to bench press the same amount of weight as she did when she was a guy. She knew that girls did not have the muscle mass that a guy did and thusly would not be able to lift the same amount, so given her change into a girl, why did she still seem to have the same strength?

“There you are!” Andie said as she walked out of the weight room, apparently having been looking for Rachel, “We need to head in to the gym and talk to the coach.” Rachel took a deep breath and followed Andie into the gym. She took a quick look around the gym; she knew where everything was, she had been going into that gym for three years, she was more curious who she would see.

Before Rachel could begin identifying all of the girls, a familiar face ran up to greet her. “So you’re the new beast hitter, eh?” Jessie smiled at Rachel, looking at her curiously.

“I guess so,” Rachel said a little uneasy.

“Let me introduce you to the team,” Jessie said proudly before sticking out her chest some, “I’m our outside hitter extraordinaire!” Jessie insisted she introduce Rachel to the other players and dragged her over to where the other girls were now done with the stretching; Andie tagged behind.

Jessie started by re-introducing Rachel to Jennifer, who she referred to as ‘Wild’ Jennifer Winchester, stating the girls position as middle hitter and blocker. Rachel could tell by the look of surprise on Jennifer’s face that Jessie made the nickname up on the spot and that this was nothing official.

“And this is Lil’ Li Kim!” Jessie motioned to the Korean girl that Rachel shared classes with, “She’s an amazing libero—a libero is a strictly defensive player that subs in and out for players—in case Andie didn’t tell you.” Andie had explained the specific positions to Rachel. She knew there were six types of positions on the team, and most players knew how to play more than one.

A setter was like the quarterback of the volleyball team, usually the second to touch the ball of three touches a team was allowed, the setter would effectively toss the ball in the air so one of the hitters could spike the ball over the net. The outside hitter and middle hitters were responsible for hitting the ball back over the net after the setter got it to them. A middle blocker was usually a taller girl, like Jennifer, responsible for jumping up and trying to get in front of the ball that was being spiked over. The libero and defensive specialist positions were similar roles where both roles substituted for players who were rotated into the back row, and they were defensive roles which were usually the first hits on the ball or diving to keep the ball from hitting the ground. There was another position called an opposite hitter, but the team did not use the standard ‘5-1’ style and instead did a ‘6-2’ which requires a second good setter but no opposite hitter.

“And then we’ve got ‘Mad’ Madison Ashcraft, who plays middle” Jessie continued introducing some of the juniors with weird nicknames, “and this is Kristen ‘The Machine’ Yates who also plays middle.” Madison was almost as tall as Ryan had been with dark black hair that was parted down the middle and draped over her shoulders covering just the corners of her face.

Rachel blinked and looked to the tall brunette. She was also as tall as Ryan had been as a boy, with long brown hair. She had a very stoic face although her eyebrow was raised, likely from the new nickname. “Yates?” Rachel asked, “Is your dad a cop?”

Kristen looked curiously towards Rachel, “he is,” she said calmly, “do you know him?”

Rachel shook her head, “no, I just met him the once,” Rachel explained.

Jessie grinned leaning in front of Rachel, “here for less then a week and you’re already causing trouble?” she laughed, “I like this one!”

“Oh, and this is our other team captain, Emily Lopez” Jessie said motioning to the olive skinned Columbian girl standing behind the others with her arms crossed, a curious look on her face. She had a rounder face and was curvier with a much larger chest than the other girls. She stood about three inches taller than Rachel with black wavy hair that came down just past her shoulders.

“Nice to meet you,” Emily said with a calm smile as she offered a hand to Rachel, “apparently I don’t get a ridiculous nickname like the others.”

“That’s because you and Andie are the captains,” Jessie said to Emily, before turning back to Rachel, “Emily is also an awesome setter, although no one is as good as Firecrotch over there.”

Andie’s face turned bright red when Jessie motioned to her, “Jess!” Andie yelled a clear look of embarrassment on her face. Jessie along with Jennifer and Li could not help but laugh. Emily just smiled and rolled her eyes as she shook her head at the antics. Kristen, Rachel noticed, had walked off from the group.

Kristen was now helping another girl set up the main volleyball net across the middle of the court. Normally the gym was sectioned off with two smaller volleyball nets so that two games could happen at the same time, but without the JV team in the gym that day, only the one would be needed.

Jessie grabbed Rachel by the arm and drug her again across the gym to introduce her to the remaining members of the team. “This is Tania Constanza,” she said of the Latina girl who was also putting up the volleyball net. She was just a hair taller than Rachel was now, with curly black hair which was tied in a pony tail and went halfway down her back.

Finally Jessie found the final two members of the team, who were busy bringing in bags of volleyballs from the equipment room. The thinner girl was introduced as Karah White, she was about as tall as Andie with blonde hair tied in a pony tail with some strands of bangs hanging down on either side of her face. The other girl was Teena Wilson, who was actually a hair shorter than Rachel and was just a hair of the stocky side without being considered heavy. She had brown hair also in a shoulder length bob did not have her bangs cropped short like Rachel, wearing a headband to keep her hair back.

The coach called all eleven girls to sit up on the bleachers around her, “This is Rachel Hawke, we’re going to give her a try to see if we can fill up our roster,” the coach explained to the girls, “I’d like to see how she plays with the team first…”

Since the team only had eleven girls on it and usually six players were on the court at a time, the coach decided to set up a six-on-five game. She placed Emily leading the small team with Jennifer, Li, Teena, and Karah. This setup allowed Rachel to be on a six girl team with the proper layout that they would use in a match. Andie and Jessie were acting as setters while Madison and Kristen played the Middle. Rachel and Tania would act as the teams outside hitters.

The coach was very surprised by what she witnessed, Andie had been working with Rachel during gym class the last two days, but Andie had also said Rachel had little prior experience. What the coach just witnessed was a girl who appeared to know what she was doing. She was sloppy, but she knew what she was doing.

Again the coach called the team of girls around her. “What was that?” the coach asked directly to Rachel with a serious look on her face. Rachel had a look of concern on her face as some of the other girls began to look about in confusion, “you’ve only been playing three days?”

Rachel nodded, “I played a little with a club a couple years ago, but other than that, yeah” she answered.

A smile broke over the coach’s face, “I must say, I’m shocked,” she said, “I’ve never seen someone with so little experience play so well.”

Rachel gave a sigh of relief, “thank you.”

“Now normally I wouldn’t even consider someone for the team if they didn’t already have their physical in order,” the coach explained, “but given your situation, I’ll let you practice with us but you won’t be able to play until you’ve had your physical taken care of.”

Rachel wanted to slap herself. She had completely forgotten that every student athlete had to have a physical before they could compete. As Ryan she had had hers, but as Rachel, she would have to have a new one done. She wondered if it was too late to back out.

“Either your parent can take you to the doctor to get it taken care of,” the coach continued, “Or I could actually send you during P.E. one of the next couple days to our nurse who is certified to give the physical.”

Rachel debated her options for a moment, “you can send me during class,” she decided.

The coach smiled and nodded, “I’ll set that up than,” she explained, “welcome to the Lady Bobcats volleyball team.”

Rachel was immediately surrounded by the other girls on the team who were officially welcoming her to the team. A bit of irritation hit Rachel as she noticed that, aside from Teena and Li Kim, Rachel was actually the shortest girl on the team; whereas last week she would have only been shorter than Jennifer in this lineup. Rachel was both excited at the chance to get to compete in a sport again, and nervous that she may have just gotten herself in to a situation that could backfire in her face.

-

The first week back in school was coming to a close. Rachel had had her physical, and aside from having to answer some questions which she thought she would never have to answer, she was surprised at how routine it was. She had been in such belief that there would be a breast exam or something required of it that she had been making herself sick with unease leading up to it.

“So you’re definitely in for hanging out with Brian and me tomorrow?” Katie asked of Rachel as she worked along side her in home economics.

Rachel had not spoken much with Katie or Brian since Tuesday afternoon, although she still found herself sitting with them during class. After school however Rachel had not spent any time with her friends, going straight from volleyball practice and walking home by herself, taking a little detour to stop outside the Gregory House with nothing new to help her search. Rachel shrugged, “sure,” she said as she looked back at her timer.

“And I swear I won’t be trying to ‘train’ you or anything,” Katie promised to Rachel.

“Good,” Rachel said as she opened up the oven she was using and pulled out a tray with cookies she had been making.

Katie looked with interest at the cookies Rachel had done, they looked far better than the ones she was making, “How on earth are you so good at cooking?” she asked.

Rachel looked up from her tray and pulled off the oven mitt she had, “my mom works late a lot,” she explained, “so I’m in charge of cooking dinner for Brett and I.”

“Making dinner is a little different then baking cookies,” Katie pointed out, “baking is more of, well, a girl’s thing,” she grinned.

Rachel narrowed her eyes at Katie, “its all a case of following directions,” Rachel  said flatly, “baking requires a little more precise measurements but for someone who can follow a recipe, its easy.”

The final minutes of class ran out and Rachel put the cookies she had made into a bag to take with her. She parted ways with Katie and headed over to the hallway which had her locker in it so she could put some books in it before heading to her first volleyball practice as an official player.

“So Hawke, I hear you’ve found yourself a place playing volleyball,” came the snarky voice of Nikki from behind Rachel. Rachel turned again to see the grinning face of Ryan’s former girlfriend, flanked again by some of her junior class cronies, Dani and Karah.

“Yeah,” Rachel said, glancing down the hallway, not wanting to deal with Nikki at the moment.

“That’s so great,” Nikki put on a fake smile; Rachel couldn’t help but feel like blonde girl was dripping with sarcasm.

“You’ll fit right in with them,” Dani smirked from behind Nikki, which was followed by a giggle from Karah.

“Can’t deny the coach has taste,” Karah snarked, which drew a giggle from Dani.

“Thanks…” Rachel narrowed her eyes a little, “I’ve got to head to practice.” she motioned with her head down the hall and proceeded to walk away from the girls.

“See, look how she walks,” Rachel overheard Karah saying.

“Reminds me of some jock boy,” Dani responded.

“C’mon Dani, we’ve got cheer,” Nikki said to her friend, “Have fun hanging out with your new friend Karah.”

Rachel froze in the hallway as she heard the things being said. She didn’t know what to say. She didn’t want to confront the girls for what they were saying, but didn’t want to continue being pointed out. Rachel watched as Nikki and her friends walked past her on their way to the gym, seeing Karah glancing out of the corner of her eye with a smirk on her face before turning back to continue talking with Dani.

Rachel felt a hand on her shoulder and looked over to see Chloe, another one of the cheerleaders. “I’m sure it’s tough being new,” she said sympathetically, “especially when you’ve got someone like Nikki Morgan to deal with.”

Rachel nodded a little, “not sure what her problem is,” she sighed.

“She’s her own problem,” Chloe gave Rachel a smile, “don’t let her get to you.” Rachel appreciated the support from someone who was Nikki’s friend. The two girls headed down to the locker room, Rachel now finding herself trying to follow Katie’s advice of how to walk, finding that it did take far less effort for her body to walk this way than she was doing trying to walk like a boy.

-

Rachel rang Katie’s doorbell and leaned against the wall as she waited for her friend to open the door. A moment later the door opened and Katie was standing in the doorway; she was wearing a short sleeved t-shirt and a pair of pink pajama bottoms. Rachel raised an eyebrow and followed Katie into her house and to her bedroom.

Upon entering Katie’s room, Rachel saw Brittney sitting on the bed; she was wearing a spaghetti strap top and a light blue pair of girl’s pajama bottoms similar to Katie’s. She had her foot up on the chest at the end of Katie’s bed and was painting her toe nails.

“Hey Rachel!” Brittney greeted Rachel enthusiastically.

“What the hell?” Rachel growled at Brittney, “are you seriously painting your nails…?”

“Uh, yeah?” Brittney blinked a little in confusion.

Rachel rolled her eyes and shook her head as she turned to face Katie, “so, what, you invite us here to try and get us to paint our nails and give each other makeovers?”

“It was her idea!” Katie tried to defend herself, walking over and sitting right next to Brittney.

“It’s true!” Brittney admitted, leaning back a little to give Katie a flirty look, “She just wanted to hang out and watch movies, but I thought it might be fun to try doing some girl things while we waited.

Rachel furrowed her brow and looked at her two friends, “how about I leave you two alone,” she said as she turned to leave, “I’m tired of this shit.”

Katie leapt up from next to Brittney and grabbed Rachel’s arm, “wait!” she tried to keep Rachel from leaving.

Rachel pulled her arm from Katie and turned to glare at her, “what!?” she raised her voice.

“You’re over reacting,” Katie said to Rachel, getting a little defensive.

“Well, in case you haven’t noticed,” Rachel growled, “unlike you two, things aren’t exactly going smoothly for me!”

Brittney spoke up from her spot on Katie’s bed, “we only want to help you,” she said trying to calm Rachel, “we’re here for you.”

Rachel stood facing the exit to Katie’s room, breathing heavily through her nose attempting to calm herself. She had found herself flying off the handle far quicker than usual which she blamed on female hormones.

“Rachel…” Katie said softly as she stepped up next to Rachel, taking her hand, “we’re just going to relax and watch some movies, nothing girly, I won’t even claim it’s a girl’s day.”

“Please stay,” Brittney added.

Rachel let out a breath before turning to face Katie, taking her hand back, “I’d like that,” she nodded, “what movies did you have in mind?”

“Uh…” Katie hesitated, “how about some action movies?”

“Don’t patronize me…” Rachel growled before walking over and laying across part of Katie’s bed, propping herself up with her arms, “lets start this shindig.”

-

Two weeks into the school term. Rachel changed in to her volleyball practice clothes, which she now owned a set of her own. Despite what her brain told her, she decided that the clothes Andie had lent her worked great and got a tank top and a shorter pair of shorts similar. The coach had been scouting out the JV volleyball team, which had thirteen members on it, and pulled a JV player to play on the varsity team to get their team a full twelve girl squad.

Rachel joined the other girls in the gym where the coach entered with a sophomore from the JV team. The fifteen year old was a very lean six foot tall girl, clearly having recently gone through a growth spurt. She had her light brown hair tight into a tight ponytail which hung just around her shoulder blades.

“Okay girls, we’ve a girl from JV so we have a full team,” the coach announced, “This is Mary Hall, I don’t think I need to explain that she will be filling a middle blocker hole we had.” The team greeted the tall girl. Rachel hung in the back of the group watching as Jessie grabbed Mary’s arm and proceeded to do her round of introductions. Rachel now had the pleasure of giving a bewildered look as she was introduced as ‘Rowdy’ Rachel Hawke.

“Also, our uniforms came in today,” the coach said as the assistant coach brought in a box, “so I’ll pass those out as well.” The coach began to call each girls names and handed them two plastic bags which contained their jersey and their shorts. First was Jessie Bolt, then Li Kim. Rachel noticed that Li’s jersey was black with a white stripe down the side, which was common for a libero to have a different colored jersey, as opposed to each of the other uniforms which were blue with a white stripe. All the girl’s shorts were the same black color. Emily Lopez and Andie were called for jerseys ‘4’ and ‘8’, which Rachel noted both had ‘C’s on them, since they were the captains. After Jennifer’s name had been called, finally Rachel was called and she was given jersey number ‘12’.

Rachel opened the plastic bag which had her jersey in it. It was a size that would be fairly tight on Rachel, which actually would help her be fairly flexible and not getting tangled up. The uniforms had no sleeves on them with the ‘Goldthwait’ name on the front in block print and ‘Lady Bobcats’ written in cursive below; on the back had her number with her last name above it.

Rachel then opened the bag which had her shorts. They were tight spandex shorts that would probably only go a fraction of the way down her thigh. She had seen some videos online of girls with shorts like this but had hoped that her high school would have normal shorts instead. She had gone to other school sports like Basketball, track, and softball and all the girls wore shorts.

“You’re kidding me…” Rachel sighed as she held up the shorts in front of her legs, seeing how short they were going to be. Rachel did not even want to think about the tightness of them. It was going to be like wearing the girl’s underwear she already had to endure, but in front of people.

Emily noticed Rachel’s dismay and came over to comfort her, “the shorts aren’t exactly modest,” she said to Rachel, “they’re even worse if you don’t like wearing revealing things.”

Rachel had noticed recently that outside of Volleyball, Emily wore clothes which hid her figure. She seemed very shy about her very feminine curves and her exceedingly large chest, which Rachel had learned was a DD cup, the largest of any of the girls on the team by far. “How do you put up with such a revealing outfit?” Rachel asked, looking up at the taller girl.

“When you get on the court playing, you won’t even notice what you’re wearing,” Emily gave a comforting smile to Rachel and patted her lightly on the back, “besides, you get used to them.”

Rachel held the shorts up and looked down at the shorts she was already wearing. Her male decency was already so far out the window what left did she have?  Rachel shrugged and folded the shorts and put them with her jersey, “Got nothing left to lose,” she mumbled to Emily.

Chapter 5; Fighting Back

Rachel stared at the back of the uniform in front of her; it belonged to the six foot tall Jennifer Winchester. The volleyball team was lined up outside the gym awaiting the court announcer to call them in. The girls all wore their volleyball uniforms; the blue sleeveless tops and blue warm up pants which they wore over their spandex shorts. Rachel’s hair, like the other girls, was tied in a pony tail.

“Nervous?” Jennifer asked Rachel, looking over her shoulder to the much shorter girl behind her.

Rachel looked up at the tall blonde and shrugged, “nah.” The game itself did not worry Rachel at all; she had a little experience in volleyball along with a few weeks of practicing with the team. The thing that kept weighing on Rachel’s mind was that she was about to participate in a girls sport, with the appropriate uniform showing her clearly female body.

The gym door flew open and the light flooded the hall which they had been waiting in. Music was playing as she heard the announcer preparing to introduce their team. “Now for your Goldthwait High Lady Bobcats,” the girls began clapping in rhythm, Rachel reluctantly did as well. The announcer began introducing the players as the first two girls ran out into the gym, around opposite sides of the court. As the first two girls reached the middle of the court, the next two ran out, following the same path.

The first girls stopped at the far end of the court, where they returned to the clapping for the girls running down the sides of the court. The next girls ran down the sides of the court, at the same time, the first two who were introduced ran at the net at center court. The rotation of girls around the court continued, the first performed a faux spike at the net before turning and diving onto the court, sliding on their stomachs past the second set of girls running at the net, where they began banging on the floor with the rhythm of the clapping.

Rachel glanced up at the back of the head of the blonde girl as her name was announced, ready to run out onto the court. She found the entire entrance performance ridiculous, but she was not able to get out of doing it with the rest of the team. Rachel ran to the right, as Jennifer ran to the left side of the court. She ran down the side of the court, passing the cheerleaders who were sitting in the front row of the grandstands opposite the player’s benches. She reached the end of the court where she paused as Karah ran at the net to perform her spike. As soon as Karah landed, Rachel and Jennifer each ran to the net from their respective sides and performed their spikes. When the girls landed, they turned and dove onto the floor sliding to the now full circle of girls beating on the floor. “Bobcats!” all the girls yelled as the music stopped.

Rachel got to her feet, not nearly as energetic and excited as some of the others. She walked over to the team’s bench and sat on it with a sigh as the other girls who were not starting began to join her. The six who were starting for the team pulled off their warm up pants where they finally revealed their spandex shorts.

“Heh, Lady Bobcats,” Brett smirked. He was sitting at the top of the bleachers next to Evan; they were seated behind the players so that all they could see right now was the girl’s backs.

“Yes,” Evan said dryly, “seeing as our high school is the Bobcats, it only seems logical that a girl’s sports team would be referred to as Lady Bobcats.” He explained, putting a little extra emphasis on the word ‘girls’.

Brett quickly stiffened up, not wanting to let anything slip that he knew that one of those girls had been a boy a month ago, “right, all girls on the team,” he said nervously, “go lady bobcats.”

Rachel looked up in the grandstands across the court from where she was seated; there she saw Brian and Katie, who both waved to her upon seeing that they had been noticed. She continued to look around the gym without bothering to wave back to her friends. Rachel felt a gust of air as a heavy clunk signaled someone had just entered through one of the back doors of the gym, the ones that would lead to the weight room. Rachel looked over her shoulder to see Travis now standing in the corner of the gymnasium. He gave a small smile and wave towards Rachel, but she ignored him as well.

She looked towards Nikki, who seemed completely bored to death as she talked briefly with Dani. Rachel raised her eyebrow when she saw Buster Bobcat jumping around in the corner of the gym clapping. She had never really understood the point of the mascot; it was one thing to take it to football games, but in the already slightly crowded gymnasium it seemed like a waste.

As the game began, Rachel studied movements on the court from both sides. While she had been practicing with the team, which included practice games, it was the first time she was actually witnessing a real game in person. She found herself knowing where each player was going to be moving which gave her confidence that were she to enter the game; she would not make a fool of herself.

Rachel hesitated as she looked down at her legs. Making a fool of herself is exactly what she was going to do. Were she to be put in the game, she would be taking off her warm up pants; everyone would see her in the spandex shorts that all the other girls were wearing. She tried to remind herself that the spandex unitard she had worn for wrestling as a boy was technically more revealing than the shorts and jersey she had on now, but something about wearing that as a boy did not bother her nearly as much as this outfit did now.

Rachel found herself wringing her hands some as she watched her teammates set up for another play. As they prepared themselves, they crouched, sticking their butts out. In those spandex shorts, there was nothing left to the imagination. Rachel looked up again at the stands, Brian and Katie were watching the game now, and she couldn’t help but believe that her best friend was actually staring at her teammate’s butts at that very moment.

For the varsity team, they would play a maximum of five matches, with the winning team being the first to claim three victories. Each match would be played to 25 points, although the fifth match only goes to 15 before a winner is decided. The gym erupted as Goldthwait claimed a relatively easy 25-14 win in the first match, the girls all returned to the bench where the coach began to switch up the ranks a little bit.

Andie and Emily were going to remain on the court acting as the team’s setters, the most important role on the court. Jennifer and Jessie too remained in the game. The coach then announced that Kristen and Karah would be going to the bench. Madison was going to be entering the game in the middle position, while the coach called on Rachel to take over the duties of outside hitter, much to Karah’s chagrin.

Rachel took a deep breath, closing her eyes and mentally preparing herself. She turned her head quickly as she felt a hand on her shoulder. It was the taller dark skinned Emily Lopez. Rachel regularly had to get used to Emily’s changing appearance, as she normally wore glasses during school, but contacts when she did sports. “You’re going to do great,” Emily smiled to Rachel, “just do what you’ve done in practice, you’re amazing.”

Rachel nodded to her team’s co-captain, not bothering to let it be known that the game itself wasn’t the thing on her mind. She sat on the bench and pulled her warm up pants off her legs and over her shoes. As she stood up, she felt the air against her legs, nothing that was much different than practice, but at the same time, she also felt the hundreds of sets of eyeballs that she was sure were staring at her.

“She will wear that but not wear skirts or even shorts to school?” Katie growled as she gripped Brian’s arm, “she is such a hypocrite!”

“Well, it is a sports uniform,” Brian said weakly as he tried in vein to casually remove his arm from Katie’s grip.

“That’s irrelevant, if she is okay wearing that, she could handle shorts in school,” Katie explained, “hell, all my shorts are longer than those.”

Brian lowered his gaze, “sometimes you just have to discover who you are,” he mused as he tapped his fingers on his leg, “and she’s had to do it in a hurry.”

“I know,” Katie sighed, “I just wish she would try and let us in a little more....”

Brian cleared his throat “I can’t feel my fingers…” he told Katie. She gave a surprised look and quickly released Brian’s arm.

“Whoa…” Brett muttered from his seat as he stared down at the floor of the gymnasium where the girls were preparing to start the second game, “those shorts don’t leave much to the imagination…”

“Just remember who that is,” Evan said almost sternly to his friend.

“Right, my cousin,” Brett again sputtered quickly.

“Although... I am sure you’re not the only one who’s thought that already…” Evan peered down at Rachel, not at her butt, but the look of anxiousness on her face.

Brett continued to stare down at the girls. He had already been occupied by the girls during the first game, but with the change in the lineup, his mind was now taken from thinking about how attractive the girls were, to not quite understanding what he was witnessing.

Rachel stood in the back row of the court, she knew her butt was probably being stared at, but she had to focus on what was happening right now, what was in front of her. She looked to her left to see Andie, who smiled back at her and gave her thumbs up. She looked down at the ball in her hands; she would be the first to serve in the second match.

“I wonder what she is thinking about right now,” Brian tilted his head a little bit as he looked down at his friend in the corner of the court.

Katie scratched the side of her head a little, “I’ve heard that some players pretend the ball is something they hate,” she theorized, “that way they’ll hit it extra hard.

“Really?” Brian blinked, “I wonder what Rachel would imagine the ball as.”

Rachel stared at Brittney’s head in her hands, nothing in the world right now infuriated her more than that bubbly smile she would have on her stupid face as she paraded around enjoying this torture that Rachel was going through. She clenched her free hand into a fest.

The whistle blew, “KYAA!” Rachel yelled as she served the ball with force.

“It’s a kill!” The announcer yelled enthusiastically, “The Lady Bobcats win the game 3 matches to 0!”

Rachel stood there, slowly lowering her hands; she had made a kill on the final serve, where the other team didn’t even get a return hit off, which delivered the game winning point. The two matches she played had gone by so fast that it was all a blur in her head. The girls from the bench rushed to Rachel where the girls from the court were joining them. Everyone was talking at once Rachel couldn’t even process things.

-

Rachel sat quietly as Katie chatted with Karina about some irrelevant topic. She raised her gaze as the teacher read the morning announcements. Someone’s birthday, something about homecoming, none of it mattered to Rachel; she almost never listened to the announcements. Rachel noticed Katie paying a surprise amount of attention to the announcements; by the time Rachel turned to listen, they were over.

Suddenly Rachel found herself, along with her entire desk, pulled backwards. She leaned backwards and found herself looking straight up at the blonde haired Allison who was grinning down at her, “can I help you…?” Rachel asked dryly.

“You’re playing, right?” Allison asked excitedly; she had noticed girls were a lot more touchy with one another than guys were, something that she was not at all used to. Allison, of all the girls she had developed friendships with, seemed to be the most physical of them, “it’s going to be awesome!”

Rachel pulled herself from Allison’s grip and turned in her seat to give her a bewildered look, “what the hell are you talking about?” she asked.

Li Kim sat down in a desk next to where Allison was standing, “are you going to play powderpuff, Rachel?” she asked with interest, although containing herself much more than Allison.

“Powderpuff?” an uncertain look crossed Rachel’s face.

“Did you not have it at your last school?” Allison questioned, “It’s great!”

“The senior girls versus the junior girls in a football game, it’s Wednesday night so it won’t interfere with our games,” Li explained, “I’m sure all the other girls on the team will be playing.”

“I don’t know…” Rachel cringed.

“Come on Rachel,” she turned to see Katie joining the conversation, “I’m going to play too.”

Rachel furrowed her brow as her three friends continued to ask if she was going to participate in the powderpuff football game, finally she gave up, “fine!” she hung her head, “I’ll play.”

“They’ll do a whole practice after school on Monday to figure out what positions everyone is going to play,” Allison said latching on to Rachel’s arm enthusiastically, “I can’t wait!”

-

Travis had been awkwardly silent all of P.E. today. Rachel had been working out with him in the weight room all week. The seven minute bell rang to signal to the students that it was time for them to go change back into their regular clothes.

“Rachel, wait!” Travis said abruptly as she began to head for the girl’s locker room, “I uh…”

“What?” Rachel raised an eyebrow, wanting to hurry and get to the locker room.

“Hey, uh, I wanted to ask…” Travis seemed oddly nervous, which was uncommon for him, “I was wondering, next week, are you interested in going to the homecoming dance with me?”

A shocked look came over Rachel’s face as she felt Travis had just punched her in the gut, “no,” is all that came out of her mouth.

“I mean, just as friends and everything,” Travis tried to defend himself as he deflated a little, “I wasn’t suggesting anything serious.”

Rachel just shook her head lightly, “I’m not interested in dances,” she told Travis; “sorry…” she sighed and turned to head in to the locker room.

When Rachel finally reached the locker room, where most of the other girls were already changing. She kept her gaze low away from any of the nearly naked girls. She walked straight to her locker and pulled her regular clothes from it.

“Hey Rachel,” she had gotten used to Andie wanting to chat with her when in the middle of changing. To no surprise Andie was just wearing her jeans and bra at the time being, “what are you doing tomorrow night?”

“Tomorrow?” Rachel blinked, “uh, nothing… why?”

“Emily, Allison, and I are driving to Guttenberg tomorrow night,” Andie explained out her plans, “there is a great place down that has all kinds of stuff, but most importantly on the last Saturday of the month, they have cosmic bowling!”

Rachel was very familiar with Warehouse 17 in Guttenberg; a warehouse which had become a huge hit with multiple things for teens to entertain themselves. Of course, Andie was concerned about the cosmic bowling, where they turn out the lights and the lanes are instead lit with black lights, causing anything of a neon color to glow. It was quite popular.

“Sounds fun,” Rachel shrugged as she proceeded with changing in to her normal clothes.

Andie blinked, “so… you’re in?” she asked with a smile forming on her face, “no twisting your arm? No trying to convince you? That’s it?”

“Hey, I’m not a complete stick in the mud,” Rachel told the redhead, “have some faith in me.”

-

“Wait…” Brian waved his arm, “You guys are going down to Warehouse 17 for cosmic bowling?”

“Uh, yeah?” Rachel blinked, looking up from her Physics work, “tomorrow night.”

“Can I come?” Brian asked, “Katie is going to be busy with her mom, with you gone too, I won’t have anyone to hang out with!”

“I don’t know,” Rachel rubbed the side of her head, “I’m not even sure they know who you are…”

“You don’t have to tell them who I am,” Brian rubbed his chin, “just ask them if you can bring a friend, once I’m there, I’ll be Rachel’s friend and they’ll know me that way.”

Rachel sighed, “I guess I could ask…”

-

Allison Banks’ car pulled up outside of Warehouse 17; along with the girl inside the car were her friends Andie Rhea and Rachel Hawke. The group planned to have a fourth member, but Emily Lopez was unable to go in to the big city with her friends today. When Rachel asked if she could invite someone she knew, Andie immediately agreed, Rachel didn’t even have to say who it was.

Brian was thrilled to hear that the other girls did not mind that he was welcome to join them tonight, however, he had insisted he drive down on his own and meet them at the facility. Rachel assumed Brian had a few other things he wanted to do while in Guttenberg for the evening.

“So your friend is meeting us here, Rachel?” Andie asked curiously.

“Yeah, should be,” she responded. She had been vague about who her friend was that was joining them, she did not know if Allison or Andie knew Brian or if they would not want Brian to be invited. She did know her friends well enough to at least tolerate Brian once they were all there together, to at least get them through the night. She did however instruct Brian to be on his best behavior so as to not make anything awkward for when they got to school Monday.

As they got out of the car, Allison saw someone approaching them, “is she your friend, Rachel?”

“She…?” Rachel blinked, “no, my friend is—“ her mouth fell open.

“Hi I’m Brittney!” the auburn haired girl greeted them, her black v-neck shirt showed her ample cleavage and her khaki shorts showed her smooth legs, “hey Rachel,” she smiled to her friend.

“Nice to meet you Brittney!” Andie said enthusiastically, “Rachel hadn’t said who we were meeting, I was afraid it’d be some weirdo or something,” she laughed.

“There’s only room for one weirdo in this trip,” Allison stuck out her tongue as she stuck out her quite small chest.

“So how do you know Rachel?” Andie inquired, glancing over to Rachel who was still just staring at Brittney, “Rach?”

Rachel cleared her throat a little as she tried to figure out what to say. She wanted to scream right now but knew that she had to make everything seem natural in front of her friends. Her mind was blank, all she could see right now was red from her anger.

Brittney smiled as she put an arm around Rachel and pulled her over, “I live down here but I go up and hang out with Katie in Wakefield, and that’s where I met Rachel after she moved here.”

“Sweet!” Allison grinned, grabbing Brittney’s hand to shake it, “it’s awesome to meet you Britt.”

“Come on,” Andie announced, “let’s head inside so we can enjoy our girls night.”

Rachel didn’t move when her three friends began to head towards the building, finally her brain was able to form some words. “Andie, you and Allison head inside to reserve a lane,” she requested, “I need to talk to Brittney for a minute.”

Andie nodded and headed inside with Allison, goofing around with her eccentric blonde friend in the process. Brittney walked back over to Rachel with a bewildered look in her eye, “What’s up?”

The look on Rachel’s face quickly turned from shock to complete rage, she pushed Brittney, who stumbled backwards into Allison’s car, “what the hell do you think you’re doing!?” she yelled at her friend.

Brittney was surprised by the sudden outburst from Rachel, she leaned against Allison’s car as she attempted to figure out what was going on, “I was going with you and your friends,” she blinked.

“Why the hell do you look like that!?” Rachel continued yelling at Brittney. She lowered her voice but the anger was still quite present, “why the hell are you a girl?”

Brittney blinked and them smiled, stepping away from the car, “oh, its okay!” she said as she placed a hand on Rachel’s shoulder, “I did this to help you out.”

Rachel furrowed her brow as she stared up at Brittney’s smile, “for me?” she asked, disgusted, “how the hell is this for me?!” She grabbed Brittney’s wrist and threw it off her shoulder very aggressively.

Brittney took a step back as she rubbed her wrist, “but Rachel, you were worried about me doing something that’d make things awkward Monday,” she explained, trying to calm her friend, “but Brittney doesn’t go to your school, I can be someone entirely new to your friends, and even if I do something silly, she wont be there on Monday.”

Rachel stared at Brittney, the anger still fuming from her nose, “bullshit,” she said flatly, “you knew that once I was in front of my friends, I’d have to play along and you could have fun all night rubbing it in my face that you can change back to normal.”

“I… what?” Brittney blinked, she had no idea what Rachel meant, “I mean, its fun being a girl but—“

“Shut up!” Rachel screamed, her voice getting a little higher, “I don’t want to hear it! We’re going to go in there, bowl, pretend like we’re quasi-friends, and that’s it.” With that Rachel stomped her way towards the building.

“Rachel…” Brittney called to her friend, but when Rachel didn’t acknowledge her or even change her stride, she was forced to head after her.

Rachel stood in the doorway taking a few deep breaths; she would need to relax herself if there was any way she was going to be able to convince anyone that she wasn’t on the brink of wanting to rip out her friend’s throat.

“C’mon Rach!” Allison laughed as she grabbed Rachel’s hand and pulled her towards the bowling lanes. The room was glowing purple from the black lights, bowling balls, pins, and the teens in the lanes; glowing various colors from the lights.

“What took you guys so long?” Andie asked, looking up from her seat where she was currently putting on her bowling shoes.

“I just…” Rachel sighed, glancing over her shoulder at a wounded looking Brittney walking up behind her, “wanted to ask her something…” Brittney stepped up next to Rachel and glanced at her, unsure what she could say to make things any better.

“Let’s bowl!” Allison said as she grabbed Brittney’s arm with her free hand and pulled both girls towards their lane.

A few games of bowling later, Brittney excused herself for the evening, mainly due to the hostile feeling she was getting from Rachel. Allison insisted the girls go over to the lounge section of Warehouse 17; an area where snacks and drinks were served. Allison’s intent was not for food or drink, however, as she had another plan.

“Karaoke!” Allison declared, looking through the list of songs that were available for them to sing. Rachel refused to participate as both Allison and Andie got up and sang a song together. Rachel continued to refuse as Allison’s turn came up again in the sign ups, so she sang a song by herself this time.

“Come on Rach!” Allison pleaded with her friend, knowing that their turn would soon again be coming up.

“No,” Rachel said flatly, sitting at the table with a soda she had ordered.

“Please!” Allison begged, “I’ll make a deal, you sing one song and I’ll let it go and won’t ask anymore.”

Rachel raised an eyebrow and looked up, “fine, one song,” she sighed, “but I get to choose.” She went over and looked through an index of songs; a lot of them were more recent music, poppy songs that Rachel detested. She had a very narrow taste in music, mainly dating into the 80’s and early 90’s; she assumed she enjoyed that music because that’s the same kind of music her mother liked.

Finally Rachel had selected a song and took the stage, staring out at the handful of others that were also present, although only Andie and Allison were really paying attention. She knew that the song was before their time, including her own time, and that the lyrics themselves actually had some love implications, but it was sung by a male and that is one thing she wanted. Finally the music began; Rachel’s way of singing fit the song perfectly.

Allison stared intently at Rachel as she sang; fiddling with the dog tags that she always wore around her neck. She found herself lost in Rachel’s words as she sang.

“Wow, she’s pretty good,” Andie said with a smile. When she wasn’t immediately met with a response, she blinked and glanced over, “Allison?”

“Huh?” Allison said with a lost voice, her gaze never leaving Rachel, “yeah, good…”

Andie tilted her head for a second before a smile crossed her face, “awh, that’s adorable!” she said as she grabbed Allison’s shoulders, shaking her a little.

“Shush!” Allison blushed as she sank in her chair “don’t…”

Andie hesitated as she furrowed her brow, “wait, is Rachel…?”

“I don’t know…” Allison sighed as Rachel finished up the song and approached her friends, “that was beautiful.”

“Uh, not really what I was going for, but, thanks?” Rachel shrugged.

-

Monday morning, Rachel slouched in her seat with her head hung. Katie had been trying to talk to her all morning, but Rachel was not at all interested. Brian had told her about Rachel’s behavior at the bowling alley on Saturday. Homeroom classes had a lot more lax rules, and aside from the morning announcements, usually students were allowed to just socialize for half an hour until normal classes started.

Katie had finally had enough of Rachel’s silent treatment and moved a desk directly facing Rachel’s. “We need to talk,” Katie said sternly, “I know what happened Saturday.”

Rachel glared up at Katie, “and?”

“Brian is stupid…” Katie told her, this caused Rachel to raise her eyebrow curiously, “and you’re overreacting.”

Rachel huffed and quickly got up from her seat, heading over to sit next to Allison, where at least she would be able to use that as a reason to not speak anymore with Katie. Katie grabbed Rachel’s arm to stop her, “Rachel please.”

Rachel turned to look at Katie, catching out of the corner of her eye that they were now standing right in front of Karina’s desk, where she was now looking up at the two curiously. “Don’t you…” Rachel hesitated as she tried to rework her words to make them seem normal to someone who was not aware of the situation, “don’t you think Brittney is hanging around a bit much…?”

Katie blinked for a second before realizing what Rachel was getting at, “well, Brian seems to like having her around,” she said, wording things carefully, “and she’s actually kind of fun to have around.”

Rachel stood quiet for a second as she contemplated a response to Katie that would seem natural, were someone listening in on their conversation, “Brittney… just doesn’t belong here…” With that Rachel yanked her arm from Katie’s grasp and walked over to an open seat with Allison, who also had taken notice about Rachel’s slightly agitated conversation.

“What was that about?” Allison asked concerned, placing her hand on top of Rachel’s hand “did something happen with Brittney?”

“I don’t want to talk about Brittney anymore,” Rachel snapped, “I’m over it.”

Allison frowned, “that’s too bad,” she shrugged, “I thought Brittney was fun.”

Karina looked over her glasses at Katie, who was now sitting in a desk next to her rubbing her forehead, “anything I can do to assist?”

Katie sighed, “It’s complicated.”

Karina smiled softly and tilted her head a hair, “I’m clever.”

Katie just shook her head, knowing she could not tell her what was really happening, “Very complicated.”

Karina nodded understandably at Katie’s reluctance, “sometimes it’s hard for friends to accept new members of a clique,” she explained, “especially if it’s seemingly replacing someone else.”

Katie raised her gaze to look at her friend, “yeah.”

-

Rachel did not speak with Katie or Brian the remainder of the school day; she was far too angry at Brian to even come up with something to say to him, and Katie just wanted to talk about Brittney and Brian. Rachel was quite looking forward to the powderpuff football practice that they would be having after school, even if it was just flag football.

Emily and Jessie sat with Rachel in the home economics classroom. Throughout the day Rachel’s friends had inquired about what was bothering her. Jessie had really tried to pry the information out of Rachel, while Emily was a lot more understanding about the troubles Rachel was having.

“Hey Nikki,” the voice of one of Nikki’s cheerleader friends caught Rachel’s ear, “who’re you going to the homecoming dance with?”

“With my boyfriend, duh,” Nikki rolled her eyes at her friend’s question, “You know I’ve been going out with Kyle all semester.”

Rachel’s full attention was now on Nikki. She thought about the words Nikki had just said. She could not help herself, Rachel got up from her seat, ignoring the questions from Jessie and Emily, and walked straight over to Nikki.

“What do you want?” Nikki sneered at Rachel.

“I thought you were going out with my cousin Ryan,” Rachel inquired seriously.

Nikki pulled her head back as she raised her eyebrows irritably, “not that it’s any of your business,” Nikki snapped, “but Ryan is old news.”

Rachel clenched her teeth some, “don’t you think you should have told Ryan that you got a new boyfriend?”

Nikki rolled her eyes again, “just like he told me he was going to California?” she snapped, “only reason I even went out with Ryan in the first place was to make my ex jealous.”

Rachel’s brain went blank. Nikki only went out with her in the first place to make someone else jealous. No wonder it always felt like it was a chore for Nikki to even give Ryan a kiss. There was nothing, the entire time Rachel had been with Nikki, as Ryan, was a lie.

Nikki smirked as she twisted the verbal dagger, “of course, it was easy to make Ryan fall for me,” she added, “a little flirting, some light touching, oh what a dolt.”

“You are a bitch!” Rachel yelled at Nikki. The entire classroom went silent as everyone’s attention was suddenly on Rachel.

“Miss Hawke!” the teacher’s voice called out, “take your seat immediately.”

Rachel ignored the teachers instruction, “how dare you play with peoples emotions!” she started to move around the table moving some chairs out of the way, Nikki and her friends all got to their feet. Rachel suddenly found herself stopped as both Emily and Jessie had hold of her arms, keeping her from getting to Nikki.

“Calm yourself, Rachel,” Emily instructed.

“She’s not worth it,” Jessie added.

Rachel went with her friends back to their table, glaring at Nikki’s smug smile as she talked with her friends, blowing off the entire incident. Rachel sat heavily in her chair, fuming out of her nose, “that bitch used Ryan.” Even while upset; Rachel had adapted referring to Ryan as a separate individual over the last month.

“Man, that’s harsh,” Jessie sighed as she sat down next to Rachel, “I mean, Ryan and I had our differences, but he was a good guy, boring, but good…”

Rachel was spared being sent to detention as the class was nearly over, although the teacher did give her a stern warning about her behavior.

-

Twenty-four high school girls were on the bus en route to the first away game of the volleyball season. While there were enough seats for each of them, many of them were sitting with others as they talked and did each others hair.

Rachel Hawke sat by herself. She had headphones on as she sat hunched over in her seat. So many things had piled on her this past week that she had felt like she was going to explode. The issues with Brittney were just the tip of the iceberg; the realization that Nikki had flat used her was a punch in the gut.

Rachel cringed as she grabbed the side of her stomach. All morning she had been having serious stomach pains, accompanied with a growing headache. She had tried taking some aspirin but had little improvement in her condition. She had considered even not going with the team today, but the coach wanted to start her for this game and she was not going to pass up the opportunity presented to her.

Rachel grunted as the pain in her stomach hit again, she pressed the top of her head into the back of the seat in front of her as she clenched her stomach with her arms. She felt as if someone were twisting a knife into her stomach. She huffed a little as the pain began to subside for the time being. As she leaned her head back, she saw Andie standing next to her seat looking down at her.

Andie sat down next to Rachel, “are you okay?” she asked in a concerned voice, “you’re not looking so good.”

Rachel pulled her ear buds out, although she had had the music low enough where she heard all of Andie’s question, “I’m just, hurting…” she answered, not entirely sure how to answer the question.

Andie raised her eyebrow as she tilted her head, “well, when is your period?” she asked matter-of-factly, “Certainly what it sounds like to me.”

Rachel felt like she had just been pushed off of a cliff. It was the first week of October; she had been a girl for just over a month, the right amount of time for her female body to begin its first menstrual cycle. Rachel stared blankly, her eyes not looking at anything in particular, her brain unable to comprehend anything.

“Who’s on their period?!” Jessie asked quite loudly as she looked over the back of her seat.

“Rachel is,” Andie responded to the blonde, “and it’s not being kind to her.” Rachel looked in shock at her red haired friend, flabbergasted at how casual of a subject this was for them.

“Oh, that’s rough!” Jessie laughed a little, “I hate it when start my period right before a match.”

Emily leaned over from the seat across the isle of the bus, “I have an extra pad if you need one,” she offered.

Rachel cringed as she tilted her head to look over to Emily, “must everyone know?” she grumbled.

“It’s no big deal,” Andie comforted her friend, “it happens to all of us; I bet you’re not even the only one on the bus right now having her period.”

“I know!” Jessie announced as she got up from her own seat and displaced Andie from her spot next to Rachel, “let me do your hair for you!”

“Huh?” Rachel dropped her shoulders and gave Jessie a blank stare, “why?”

“I want to braid your hair,” Jessie explained, “it’s like, perfect for it!”

Rachel knew how stubborn Jessie could be and knew that arguing with her would be a long process, something she did not feel up to at the moment, so reluctantly, she agreed. Jessie turned Rachel and sat directly behind her and began French braiding Rachel’s hair.

-

Rachel was relieved that the next day the major cramps of her period had subsided, although she was horrified by other things the period had brought about. As the morning classes rolled on, she couldn’t help but feel that everyone knew what was happening with her. Any time someone looked in her direction, she felt like they knew exactly what was going on.

“You look troubled,” Evan said as he walked past Rachel’s desk in statistics.

Rachel raised an eyebrow and looked up at the blond boy. She had had even less conversation with him than normal lately, mainly since as Rachel she didn’t have the past involvement with him that she had as Ryan. “Just… some personal issues…”

Evan nodded his head slightly, “I understand,” he turned to walk away, but hesitated. He began to speak while still facing away from Rachel, “your cousin Brett can be real annoying sometimes, a real goof, y’know. But at the end of the day, he is still my friend, been friends with him for a long time, so long that I have to overlook when he does something extremely stupid and try to work with it, work around, fix it if need be. It’s the joys of being the smart one…”

“What…?” Rachel blinked.

Evan turned back towards Rachel, closing his eyes as a smile crossed his face, “sorry, I know you’ve been displaced from your long term friends,” he explained, before opening his eyes and looking Rachel directly in the eyes, “maybe you’ll make some new friends here, some that you’ll be as close to as I am with Brett, and then you’ll have to tolerate them when they do something insanely stupid.”

Rachel just stared as Evan walked back to his desk and sat down, going directly back to his work and not seeming to give Rachel much notice the remainder of the class.

-

Wednesday night, the senior girls were all in the gymnasium getting ready for the powderpuff football game, most of them wearing shorts; Rachel wore sweat pants. All the girls had on jerseys from the varsity football players in order to help them be identified on the field. The junior girls would be wearing jerseys from the JV football players. Rachel’s jersey had a ‘37’ on the back of it, sporting the name ‘Right’. Travis had offered his jersey to Rachel for the game, which she accepted.

The girls began to head out to the football field, the lights were on and the grandstands had a surprising amount of people in them. Rachel had a brief flashback of when she played JV football freshman year. She had volunteered to play running back, a position which she had learned to play prior. Andie of course had been selected as the teams quarterback.

The game underway, Rachel was disappointed in the fact that it was not much more than a flag football game that would take place during P.E. The girls were taking this game a bit more seriously than they would during class, but without the hitting of normal football, it seemed silly to her.

The seniors lead 14-7 just after halftime. Rachel really wanted to score a touchdown for this game as long as she was participating in it. The ball was snapped and Andie backed up waiting, she tossed the ball to Rachel who quickly ran for a hole in the defense. She kept arcing around to try to get past the incoming Nikki, nearing the out of bounds line, she knew she was not going to make it through, she just had to hope Nikki would not be able to get hold of her flags.

Rachel attempted to break past Nikki, only to suddenly feel her foot pull out from under her, she came crashing down on top of the ball a few feet later. Rachel looked up from her place on the ground to see Nikki walking away, tossing Rachel’s flags over her shoulder as she laughed to one of her friends.

Rachel got to her feet, glaring daggers into the back of Nikki’s head, “what the hell was that?” she yelled after the blonde junior, “this is flag football.”

Nikki stopped and looked back at Rachel, “it’s not my fault you tripped,” she rolled her eyes, “can’t even run without tripping over your own feet, what a stupid klutz” Nikki returned to the group of junior girls, where she could see a few of them laughing again.

Rachel stomped back to the huddle and joined with the rest of her team, “give me the ball again,” she demanded. Andie blinked, a bit taken aback by the look on Rachel’s face, and nodded.

The ball was snapped again, Andie handed the ball of to Rachel, who ran to the exact same side of the field, there she again saw that it was Nikki who would be the player intending to stop her. Rachel ran her exact same arc, where she again was going to intersect directly with Nikki. As the two prepared to cross paths, Nikki reached for Rachel’s flags, beginning to stick her foot out a little as she did so, but instead found Rachel’s shoulder making contact with her, forcing her to the ground.

Nikki gasped as the air escaped her lungs and she landed flat on her back. Rachel turned and walked away without a word, ripping her flags from Nikki’s hands as she slowly began to get up. As Rachel reattached her flags, she noticed some of her teammates looking up quickly. She heard the footsteps coming up behind her and turned just in time for Nikki to push her.

Rachel stumbled from the push, but remained on her feet. Before any words could be exchanged, the coach refereeing the game was between the two girls directing them back to their own teams. The game preceded further, the juniors scored another touchdown to tie the game. Entering the fourth quarter, the seniors were planning ways to score once more in order to take the victory.

A few minutes with each team turning over the ball, the seniors again found themselves in possession. Rachel broke through the line, found herself in the end zone; Andie threw the ball, it was as good as a touchdown. Rachel kept her eyes on the ball when she felt herself thrust away from her spot, causing her to stumble and land on her butt, watching the ball hit the ground in the end zone. Rachel looked up to see Nikki glaring at her, no more cocky smile on her face.

The whistle blew as the coach announced a penalty on Nikki, this being blatantly intentional. Rachel was not satisfied; she jumped to her feet and charged Nikki, using both her hands to push the taller girl to the ground where she hit with a thud. The coaches and the other players were quickly rushing over to the two, a mass of talking as girls were telling them to stop. Rachel turned and walked away with some of her friends, her hands clenched.

“Yeah, that cunt better walk away!” Nikki yelled as Dani and Karah helped her to her feet, “I’ll fuck you up!” she yelled after Rachel. Rachel looked over her shoulder just in time to see Nikki spit in her general direction. Rachel broke away from her friends, and grabbed Nikki by the shirt, pulling her forward. Without hesitation Rachel punched Nikki in the stomach, raising her fist to punch the shocked girl in the face, she suddenly found her hand being restrained. She looked up to see Emily holding her arm, a look in her eyes pleading to Rachel to stop. Jennifer pulled Rachel’s hand from Nikki’s jersey.

Nikki’s palm came across Rachel’s face, the blonde girl crying and looking disheveled from being punched. Immediately Dani and Madison had hold of Nikki and were pulling her away as well. Rachel lunged forward trying to raise her fist again, finding Jessie and Andie too now were restraining her. Finally Rachel gave up knowing that it was over.

Rachel turned to head back to the teams bench when she saw a dark skinned figure in a suit hurrying out on to the field. Rachel’s stomach sank as she realized who it was.

-

Rachel and Nikki both sat in Principal Wallis’ office, still wearing their football jerseys. The game was finishing up outside and they were the only ones inside the school. Principal Wallis walked back in to the office, having stepped out for a moment, and closed the door forcefully behind him.

“The powderpuff football game is supposed to be a fun event to raise some money for the school,” he spoke sternly, “it is not an excuse for two immature young girls with a tiff with one another to have it out with one another in front of parents and other students!”

“But she—“ Rachel began to explain.

“I do not care who started it, Miss Hawke!” he interrupted loudly, “what the two of you did out there was embarrassing for all of us.”

“It’s not my fault—“ Nikki started.

“Quiet, Miss Morgan.” Principal Wallis snapped.

Nikki exchanged a glare with Rachel.

“I know that emotions can run high in a game, and that feelings may be escalated in the heat of the moment,” the Principal spoke a little calmer, “however, the behavior you two displayed out there was inexcusable and demands repercussions.”

“Uh!” Nikki protested loudly, while Rachel just breathed heavily out of her nose in anger at the girl she had once dated.

“You will both be suspended for the rest of the week,” Principal Wallis sighed, “suspension will include all school activities, Miss Hawke, you will not be able to play volleyball tomorrow night, and Miss Morgan, you will not be cheering Friday night.”

Rachel lowered her head some, feeling like she was letting her team down by making herself unavailable for the homecoming game. Worse yet, she felt she was getting hit a bit harder in the punishment than Nikki was; Rachel was letting down her team. Nikki just couldn’t cheer, which in Rachel’s eye, didn’t effect matters one bit in the football game Friday night.

“Furthermore…” Principal Wallis spoke up, “the suspension will carry on through the weekend, which means you will not be permitted to take part in the homecoming dance, if you have purchased tickets already, I will see you are reimbursed.”

Nikki shot up from her chair, “That’s not fair!” she yelled at the Principal, “you’re just going after me with that! She wasn’t going to be going anyway!”

“Actually,” Rachel spoke up, deciding to throw a little of her pride aside in order to salt the wound, “Travis Right had asked me.”

“This decision is final and effective immediately, you may attend the sporting events as spectators but otherwise you will not be allowed on school grounds until class resumes Monday,” Principal Wallis explained, “I believe your parents will be here shortly to escort you ladies home…”

-

Rachel still attended the volleyball game to support her friends, even though she was not permitted to play. Most of the team was very understanding of the situation, although Karah had tried to make it sound like Rachel was trying to ruin their entire season with what happened. She also had to sit down with the coach and sign an agreement that such an incident would not happen again.

Andie had insisted that Rachel come hang out with her and her friends at the homecoming football game that Friday night. Rachel would normally have said no, but she made an exception since it was homecoming. Of course, if Nikki was there, since she would not be allowed to be cheering, it would add to the reminder of why if she saw Rachel.

Rachel got out of Andie’s car, a cold front had moved in so she chose to wear a red sweatshirt for the evening. The clouds were low and the humidity was high, the local meteorologist was calling for rain, although it was not expected until much later in the evening.

Andie and Rachel paid for their way in to the game and were immediately greeted by Jessie and Li, “Hey killer!” Jessie laughed as she slapped Rachel on the back.

“Fancy meeting you here,” Li said, her hair done up in quite a unique way, “I hope the coach didn’t come down too hard on you.”

Rachel shook her head, “I’ll be fine,” Rachel explained, “slap on the wrist, told me to keep my nose clean, she said she doesn’t want to lose me so she can utilize me more, not sure what that means.”

“What indeed,” Jessie raised an eyebrow and smirked as she looked over at Andie.

Andie quickly suggested they head up to the stands as the football game started, where they met up with Jennifer and Emily. It was one of the first times Rachel had been able to relax and enjoy a sport that she wasn’t participating in since the whole mess began.

During a pause in the game, Emily put an arm around Rachel and pulled her close to her, speaking into her ear, “Rachel, I know you’re hormonal and stuff right now,” she began, Rachel turned her head sharply in response, but Emily continued, “it’s okay, we all get that way, but you’ve got to try to keep yourself in check.”

“But that bitch--“ Rachel blurted but was quieted when Emily put her hand up to Rachel’s mouth.

Emily smiled respectfully as Rachel stopped talking, “we need you Rachel,” she explained, “you are an important part of our team, a balance we need.”

Rachel looked at Emily a bit surprised, not entirely sure what to say, but it felt as if Emily was speaking about far more than volleyball right now.

“We’re your friends,” Emily’s smile softened as she closed her eyes and Rachel flashed back to Evan Wednesday morning, “if you’ve ever got a problem, just talk to us.”

“You’re right…” Rachel stared at Emily.

-

The game reached halftime, Rachel excused herself and headed to the concession area where a lot of people were not getting refreshments before the second half of the game started. Rachel shoved her hands in her sweatshirts pouch as the brisk wind picked up a little bit. She just wanted to get away from the attention her friends were giving her, if just for a minute.

Rachel leaned against the fence and glanced around the large area filled with students, parents, alumni, and other people. A bunch of curly brown hair caught Rachel’s eye, it was Katie. Rachel had not spoken to Katie since Monday, and had not spoken to Brian since they were bowling Saturday night. But it was clear to her from what Evan and Emily had said that she may have been overreacting, or letting her stupid girl hormones get the best of her.

“Hey Katie…” Rachel mumbled as she walked up to her long term friend.

Katie looked over in surprise, looking a little unsteady, “Oh! Rachel! Hi!” she said anxiously as she glanced out of the corner of her eyes.

“I just wanted to talk to you guys, about how I’ve been acting,” Rachel explained, “is Brian here, I’d like to talk to him too.”

“Well, yeah,” Katie answered, biting her lip, “but, listen—“

“I’m back,” Brittney said with a smile as she walked up, she was wearing a pair of girls shorts and a top that showed some of her cleavage, while still covering her arms to keep her warm, “Hey Rachel!”

Rachel stared at Brittney, clenching her teeth. She could not believe that Brian would risk his cover by showing up to the school as a girl. Rachel shook her head, unable to form any words, the anger clearly spilling on to her face.

“You… I…” Rachel’s breathing was erratic, she lowered her gaze, still shaking her head, “I can’t do this.” Rachel turned and began to walk swiftly towards the exit of the stadium.

“Rachel, wait,” Brittney said reaching out and putting her hand on Rachel’s shoulder, “please…”

“No!” Rachel yelled as she turned and grabbed Brittney’s wrist, throwing it away from her, “No more, just leave me alone.” Getting outside the gates, Rachel began sprinting away from the school, trying to distance herself from her friends. She slowed to a walk as she felt some water on her forehead. She looked up to see the rain beginning. Rachel growled to herself before briskly walking towards her home again as the rain began to pick up.

Brian’s car pulled up along side Rachel as she walked, although Rachel ignored Brittney calling out from the window. The car pulled ahead and stopped and both Brittney and Katie got out.

“Why are you acting this way, Rachel?” Brittney asked, holding her arm over her head to keep the rain off her face.

“I wanted to try to get things worked out,” Rachel grumbled “but clearly you just can’t seem to wrap your brain around why what you’re doing may be a problem.”

“It’s Brian,” Katie added, “You know how he is sometimes…”

“Yeah!” Brittney said, before blinking and turning to Katie, “what?”

“I don’t care!” Rachel yelled, the rain picking up and soaking Rachel’s hair, “this may all be fun and games for you, but for me, this is serious, I’ve got to live like this and if somehow people find out because of your idiocy, my ass is just on the line because you’re all the proof people need to figure out who I am!”

“I’ve been careful…” Brittney tried to defend herself, “I haven’t changed in to Brittney in front of people.”

“That’s not the only issue here,” Rachel sighed, “people aren’t as dumb as you think; you’re careless enough to slip at some point.”

“Brian and I have practiced how Brittney should act and what she should say,” Katie explained, trying to figure out how to explain things, “she can blend in just as well as you can.”

Rachel narrowed her eyes, “there is no reason to even risk the situation,” she reiterated, “and while you guys are off having fun with everything, hooking up, I’ve had to stress every day about how I will blend in and if you boneheads will blow my cover.”

Katie dropped her shoulders as her jaw hung open slightly, her hair now flattened from the rain, “and what do you mean by that?”

“It means that I’ve given up trying to worry about you two!” Rachel yelled, “Just leave me alone, I don’t want anything else to do with you two!”

“You’re right, Katie and I are going out,” Brittney frowned, “but if you’ll just give us a chance…”

“Screw off,” Rachel said flatly as she pushed both her friends out of her way before walking down the rain soaked sidewalk.

Brittney put an arm around Katie, both girls now soaked from the rain. “Oh Rachel…” Brittney looked as if she was about to cry, although the water on her face made it impossible to tell if there were any actual tears.

“There’s no coming back from this…” Katie sighed, glancing up to the slightly taller girl.

Chapter 6; Unwanted Ryan

“Dig,” the coach called as she tossed a volleyball into the air. Rachel ran to a further portion of the court and squatted as she hit the ball with her hands together. “Set,” the coach announced as she tossed another ball into the air closer to the net, having Rachel run up to the front of the court and popping it up in the air with her finger tips.

The coach continued to call out actions and toss balls for Rachel without pausing, forcing Rachel to continuously run back and forth across the court. She watched a ball Rachel was supposed to be setting go far away from the predetermined location.

“Rachel,” the coach called out, “come over here.” Rachel walked over to the coach, breathing heavily from the intense drill the coach was running her through. Rachel looked up to the coach as she leaned forward with her hands on her knees.

“Your sets are really sloppy,” the coach said strictly, “when you set the ball, you need to make sure it’s always going where you want it, because you need to make sure you get it to who you want. If your intended player is in the three spot and you send it to six, you can’t expect her to get that far for a bad set.”

After a short rest, the coach instructed Emily to come over and continue Rachel’s practice setting. “Why’s she pushing so much on setting practice with me?” Rachel asked, “I thought I was just supposed to be outside hitter.”

“We need all the decent setters we can get,” Emily explained, putting an arm around Rachel and leading her back out on to the court, “With the 6-2 layout, we need twice as many setters as the teams running 5-1 and our setters have to be able to hit just as good.”

“What about Jessie and Karah?” Rachel asked between breaths, “They know how to set, right?”

Emily smiled and laughed a little, “we need all the decent setters we can get,” she reiterated, “go ahead and get into the first position. Remember when you set, your wrists, elbows, and shoulders determine where you’re putting the ball.”

“I know that,” Rachel grunted as she ran to hit the first ball that Emily was throwing out, “it’s just not doing what I want!” she spoke up as she ran to the front of the net trying to quickly set the ball.

Emily watched the ball go over her head, rather than coming to the ground near where she was standing. “You’re using too much force,” Emily analyzed the situation, “you need to hold back when you’re setting the ball.”

“I barely touched it!” Rachel yelled out as she ran back to hit the ball at the back part of the court, she ran back to the front of the court to set the ball and again the ball went too far, “see!”

Emily watched Rachel’s movements carefully, “your using too much of your arms,” she considered what she saw, “when you’re actually setting, you should just be popping up with your ankles and your elbows, just touching the ball with your finger tips, touching the ball just to get it back in the air.”

“That’s what I’m doing!” Rachel debated Emily’s instruction, “that’s what the coach was telling me and that’s what I was doing.”

“The more and more you go, the more and more you’re just trying to throw the ball,” Emily explained, “when you’re hitting, force is great, but setting, it’s all about control, you need to hold back so that you get the ball where you want it to go.”

“How the hell am I supposed to have control and hold back when I have to run around and also use force to also hit?” Rachel complained.

Emily raised an eyebrow as she rubbed her chin. She had to figure out how to help Rachel learn to control her emotion.

-

Rachel’s frustration level had been high the past few weeks. Friday night at Homecoming was the last time she had spoken a word to either Brian or Katie; she had made a conscious decision right then that she was no longer willing to put up with her friends and their attempts to get Rachel to try to accept being a girl. Shortly after, much to both the surprise of herself and some of the girls on the team, the coach wanted Emily and Andie to help Rachel learn to officially be a setter.

Brian and especially Katie had tried to start up conversation with her, but she was not interested in involving herself any longer with her former friends. “What’s the matter, Rachel?” Andie asked, a bewildered look on her face. The two had been doing some volleyball drills during their P.E. class in preparation for the afternoon’s game.

Rachel shook her head, “it’s nothing,” she sighed, “just put the ball up.” Rachel and Andie continued to work on Rachel’s setting until the bell signified the end of class. Rachel was on her way back to the locker room when an arm shot in front of her against the wall, blocking her path. She turned to see who was stopping her and glared when she saw it was William.

William had been relatively quiet the last month, which Rachel was very thankful for. She was aware that he had been keeping an eye on her, but she knew there was nothing he could have on her. “I’m going to figure you out,” William growled to the shorter girl, “I don’t know how, but everyone is going to know…”

Rachel raised an eyebrow and shook her head, “leave me alone, asshole,” she snapped as she forcefully pushed William’s arm out of the way, “I don’t know what’s wrong with you, but you need to let it go.”

William began to rush after Rachel, “you’re not fooling me,” he called out, “Ryan!”

Rachel stopped cold as she raised her gaze, a look of concern on her face as she faced away from William. She took a breath before shaking her head, “Ryan’s not here, man,” she said before entering the girl’s locker room.

William snorted as he glared at the door to the locker room, knowing he wasn’t able to chase after her.

-

“You’re ready for the game today,” Jessie spoke up from her cooking station, “right?” Rachel had been forced to find new people to hang out with during classes since she was no longer involved with Brian and Katie. The first half of the day she was lucky enough to have classes with either Andie or Allison. Her last two classes she shared with Jessie, who still annoyed Rachel to some extent, but luckily Jennifer and Emily were in classes with them as well to help keep control of the exuberant friend.

“I’ll be fine,” Rachel responded, not even turning her attention away from her work.

“If you say so,” Jessie smirked a little as she continued to work on her food, “just don’t be all pissy out there like you’ve been in practice.”

Rachel hesitated with her preparation and raised her eyebrow, “just let me go out there and do what I always do…” she spoke through her teeth, “no sweat…”

Emily watched Rachel quietly, wanting to find something about Rachel that would allow her to calm herself. Emily looked at Rachel’s annoyed expression, knowing that Jessie had ways of getting under the girl’s skin, but Rachel’s expression suddenly relaxed. Emily blinked as she paused the scenario in her head, looking it over. All Rachel was doing was cutting some vegetables for her dish.

“Your knife cuts are really smooth,” Emily said with a smile as she stepped next to Rachel, “you really take care with your food preparation.”

“Huh?” Rachel blinked as she looked up to Emily, “yeah, I guess…?” she was a bit bewildered by the compliments; she looked down at the vegetables on her cutting board.

“You know, I’ve noticed you really get in the zone when you’re cooking,” Emily pointed out, “even when you’ve got a timer going off, something is about to boil over and you’ve got to pull something out of the oven, you’re cool as a cucumber.” Emily looked over at Jessie who herself had a pot on the stove beginning to boil over spilling water onto the burner, causing much steam.

Rachel glanced over to Jessie who was cursing as she dropped her knife so she could run over to her boiling water. “It’s just cooking,” she shrugged, not quite sure what Emily was getting at, “been doing it a long time, nothing special.”

“There’s a lot to cooking,” Emily said as she worked a little on her own dish, “sometimes when I am having problems focusing on everything going on in the kitchen, I just think about something that relaxes me, and suddenly its like everything just comes in to place.”

Rachel furrowed her brow as Emily spoke, looking down at the items in front of her. “How would thinking about slow paced cooking help me relax during fast paced volleyball…?” she asked.

Emily shrugged a little, “not everyone finds cooking as slow paced and simple as you do,” she explained, “you’ll be surprised how things just slow down and work when you take a deep breath and think about a happy place.”

“The kitchen is my happy place…?” Rachel blinked, “how do you figure that?”

“Just watching you,” Emily smiled softly, “the way you move in the kitchen is like a ballerina on stage, so smooth, every movement you make is perfect.”

Rachel gave Emily a bewildered look, the comparison to a ballerina was certainly not one she liked. Before she could respond, there was some cursing coming from the other side of Rachel as Jessie had somehow managed to catch her pot of water on fire.

“For some people, stuff comes naturally,” Emily said putting a hand on Rachel’s shoulder, “and when you put things together, you’ll be amazed how easy it is for you.”

-

The announcer began calling girls into the gymnasium. The girls who wore even numbers jerseys headed to the right, around the far end of the gym. Li, Emily, and Andie all high fived Buster Bobcat as they ran by the cheerleaders. As Rachel entered and went around the far side of the gym, Buster too offered up a high five from her. Rachel simply stuck her hand out as she ran by and let Buster deal with it so she did not have to actually pretend to be interested in the mascot.

Rachel looked around the gymnasium; she was a bit surprised to see Katie and Brian were in attendance for the game. This was the first home game since Homecoming. She had assumed that her former friends would not be present for any more games. The team now sat 5-0 for the season, without any of those games going to five matches yet. Today’s game was against Tempest High School, a town a little closer to the mountains, known for having very strong sports teams.

Rachel was starting as an outside hitter in this game, along with Jessie. Jennifer and Madison were starting playing middle; Andie and Emily continued to be the star setters for the team. The coach had found a really strong combination of girls with the seniors and was utilizing it with their starters.

The game started strong with Goldthwait jumping to an early lead and claiming the first match. When Tempest claimed a win in the second match, the coach decided to switch up the team. Rachel and Madison went to the bench, being replaced by Karah and Kristen. The team, freshened up by a change, began to pull out to a lead again.

Leading 21-12 in the set, it looked as if Goldthwait was going to take a 2-1 lead in the game. Jessie served the ball and the players quickly ran to their positions on the court. The ball came back over the net to Li, who was subbing in the back row for Jennifer, called for the ball. She hit the ball in the air and Emily moved to prepare to set, calling out Jessie’s number so they would know where the ball would be going.

Emily leapt up and tossed the ball back up in the air, where Jessie hit the ball over the net to score another point for the team. The feint popping sound as Emily landed back on her feet went practically unnoticed. Emily stumbled quickly backwards and landed hard on the gym floor. She let out a scream in pain as she clenched her right knee right in front of the team’s bench.

The team quickly rushed to Emily’s side from both the court and from the bench as she remained on the ground, her eyes welling up from the pain. The coach and referees made sure the other girls did not crowd the injured player as the medic that was in attendance for the games came to Emily’s side. Rachel stood at the back of the group of girls, some concern on her face as she saw the pain on her friends face.

The JV volleyball coach, a very large man, came over and scooped up Emily in his arms, carrying her towards the back doors to the gymnasium, followed by the medic and Emily’s father who was also in attendance. The game paused while the coach was allowed to restructure her players on the court. Jessie was assigned to take Emily’s spot as setter while Rachel was back in to the game covering Jessie’s position.

The team limped to victory in the third match. It was quickly clear that Jessie was not the setter that Emily was as her balls were much less consistent than the team was used to. Taking advantage of the team’s struggles, Tempest moved ahead and claimed a slim victory in the fourth match, forcing Goldthwait to their first fifth match of the season.

Standing in the huddle, the coach looked frustrated, knowing the team was at its weakest it had been all season. It was decided that Karah would be the second setter for the final match, Jessie returning to her roll of outside hitter. Rachel had never seen Karah as setter before, as the few times they did sit out one of their star setters, they turned to Jessie.

Calling out Rachel’s number, Karah set the ball; the ball went towards the back corner of the court away from Rachel’s position. Li prepared to hit the ball, as it was coming right for her. Rachel managed to get to the ball but the resulting confusion caused Rachel to hit the ball in to the net.

“Come on Twelve!” Karah snapped to Rachel, “Figure it out.”

“Know where you’re putting it,” Jessie, who was next to Karah in the rotation, told her before Rachel could say anything

“It’s not my job to know how to return the ball,” Karah spouted.

“Focus on the game, girls!” The coach shouted. The team continued to struggle, causing the coach to once again switch Jessie and Karah’s rolls on the court. In too big of a hole to dig out of, Tempest claimed the win dealing the Bobcats their first loss of the season.

The mood was quiet as they congratulated the other team. With the coach leading the team back to the locker room, they found Emily was already gone, her father had taken her to the hospital to get looked at. Very few of the girls said anything as they went to their lockers.

“We’ll win the rest of them,” Andie said reassuringly, “I know we struggled but—“

“We sucked.” Karah blurted out, throwing her locker open.

“We just need to figure out our setters,” Teena spoke up.

“Or find someone that can set,” Tania rolled her eyes with her arms crossed.

“Fuck you” Karah yelled at her classmates as she slammed her locker shut.

“Quiet,” the coach said sternly, “We’ve got a meeting tomorrow at lunch in room 14.” The coach said strictly before departing the locker room, leaving the girls to change back to their normal clothes in an awkward silence.

-

“Okay, I need everyone to pair up into groups of two for our next project,” the physics teacher announced.

Rachel blinked. Physics was her one class where she did not have Andie, Allison, or any other member of the volleyball team to fall back on. She glanced over to see Brian giving her a weak smile, clearly hoping that she would choose him as a partner. She quickly turned her gaze to see who else she could turn to. Chloe Dillon was already talking to one of her cheerleading friends. William… no.

Rachel sighed and walked towards Brian, the look on his face lighting up some as he opened his mouth to greet his estranged friend. Brian’s smile faded when she didn’t say a word to him as she walked right past him.

“Hey Travis…” Rachel mumbled, she rarely hung out with Travis outside of P.E., “want to be my partner for this project thing?”

Travis was a little surprised; he was not used to Rachel approaching him outside of the weight room. “Oh, sure!” Travis agreed as he pulled out the chair next to him at the table he was sitting.

Rachel raised an eyebrow at Travis’ chivalry and took the chair herself, “uh, thanks…” she said dryly as she sat down next to Travis.

Class ended, releasing the students to their lunch period. Rachel walked out alongside Travis, although they were not conversing with one another.  Brian trailed behind where he was joined by Katie exiting a nearby class.

Rachel parted ways with Travis so she could head to the volleyball meeting scheduled for the lunch period, but instantly found herself face to face with Katie; Brian standing right behind her. Rachel narrowed her eyes at her former friends as she crossed her arms under her chest.

“Rachel, enough with this foolishness,” Katie said sternly, “we need to talk.”

“I still have nothing to talk about,” Rachel snapped as she started past Katie, “I’ve got stuff to go do…”

“Rachel Hawke listen to me!” Katie yelled, throwing down her arms. There was a moment of uneasiness in the hallway with the passerbys before kids began to return to what they were doing. Brian stepped back in shock; even Katie looked a bit surprised.

Rachel had stopped as well, blinking a little in surprise at Katie’s outburst. She had never heard Katie sound so upset before. She let out a sigh, lowering her gaze to the ground before turning and walking away from Brian and Katie without a word.

Rachel walked quietly into the classroom in which the volleyball meeting was talking place. She walked over and took a seat next to Andie, who sensed something was bothering Rachel and gave her a reassuring smile. Rachel propped her head up with her arm and watched the last of her teammates enter.

At the front of the classroom, the coach stood with Emily and her father. Emily was supporting herself with a set of crutches; she wore a pair of shorts which exposed the knee brace she was now wearing on the leg she had hurt the day before. Emily had a smile on her face as she spoke with the coach, but Rachel could not help but feel that it was just a mask.

After the coach quieted the girls and went over some information regarding the game and season, the coach turned her focus to the real reason everyone was assembled. “As most of you know by know, Emily tore her ACL yesterday,” she explained, “according to the doctor, she’s going to need surgery.”

Unease filled the room as most of the girls wondered what this meant for the team. “Emily will be joining us on the bench,” the coach gave a sigh, “but she wont be able to play anymore this season…”

“So, now what?” Jessie blurted out from her seat next to Andie, her arms crossed under her chest.

The coach raised an eyebrow before continuing, “I talked with Andie and Emily and I have come to a decision…” she hesitated, glancing towards where Andie was sitting between Jessie and Rachel, “in the next game, we’re going to be starting Rachel as our second setter.”

“What!?” Karah yelled jumping to her feet so fast that her chair toppled over with a loud crash, “that’s bullcrap!” There was much confusion and surprise from the other girls in the classroom, including Rachel.

“Seriously?” Jessie spoke up, “she’s never even played setter before.”

“Emily and Andie have both said that Rachel is getting a lot better at setting,” the coach explained dryly, “and we need to see if we have any further options.”

“Would we be able to start playing a 5-1 rotation?” Jennifer asked seriously.

“I want to exhaust all my possible chances to keep us playing 6-2,” the coach continued, “this team was built to utilize that and if there’s a chance we can make it work, we will do it.”

“She was just chosen because she’s friends with Andie and Emily,” Karah again snapped, “You should pick someone who has been playing the game more than a couple of months.”

“I chose Rachel because she has shown amazing promise and growth in every position we’ve asked her to try,” the coach said sternly to Karah, “if you don’t like the decision, Miss White, the door is over there.” Karah glared at the coach before crossing her arms and slouching in her chair.

After the coach finished her announcements about new things they would be doing at practice to prepare for their new starting rotation, she released them to finish up their lunch period.

Rachel had sat quietly in shock from the announcement that she would be given the chance at being one of the star players the next game. She had not even noticed Andie patting her on the shoulder congratulating her for the selection. As the girls began to leave the classroom, each of them congratulated Rachel and wished her luck in the next game.

“Don’t screw up our season,” Karah growled to Rachel as she exited the classroom in a huff.

Jessie too congratulated Rachel with a smile, although there was a look of disappointment on her face, “of course, if you mess up I’ll have to take your place,” she grinned before departing the room with Jennifer and Li.

Rachel and Andie each got up from their seats and went up towards the front of the classroom, “why did you guys choose me?” Rachel blinked, finding her throat suddenly quite dry, “they kind of had a point.”

Emily hobbled over slowly, “because you’re really good, and you’ve come a long way as a setter already,” she explained, “we believe in you.”

Rachel was surprised when Andie suddenly gave her a big hug, “you’re going to do great!” she said squeezing Rachel tightly, “don’t listen to what Karah says.”

The coach finished speaking with Emily’s father and stepped over to her players, placing a hand on Rachel’s shoulder, “I know it’s a big jump for you,” she said to Rachel, “but I wouldn’t be putting you in this position if I did not feel like you could handle it. The next few practices are going to be a crash course for you to prepare you for next weeks game.”

“Great…” Rachel sighed, biting her lip.

-

It was nearing five o’clock, Rachel lay flat on her back on the floor in her bedroom, the practice they had had that afternoon was exhausting but she knew that she needed all the help that she could get. She was popping a volleyball off her fingertips towards the ceiling over and over again, keeping her shoulders glued to the floor. The doorbell rang, causing Rachel to pause her practice.

Rachel heard the doorbell ring again, “Brett? Can you get that?” she called out, knowing her brother was home as well.

“I’m pooping!” she heard Brett yell out from down the hall.

“Thanks for sharing…” Rachel mumbled as she got to her feet, tossing her volleyball on to her bed. She headed down the stairs and glanced through the peep hole. There was a man standing outside, just under six feet tall with brownish auburn hair; smoking a cigarette.

Rachel blinked, something about him seemed familiar, but she could not put her finger on it. She cautiously opened the door and looked up at the man, who had been facing away from the door. “Can I help you…?” she asked.

The man turned and looked down at Rachel with a smile, tossing his cigarette butt into the flower bed. “Does Rebecca Hawke live here?”

Rachel glanced down at the cigarette butt before looking back up to the man, “Can I ask who you are?”

A smile crossed the man’s face, “I’m an old friend,” he said, “is she home?”

Rachel grimaced, she had not intended to so easily give up information, “no, she’s not,” she told him, “if you want I can get some information and she can contact you later.”

“When will she be back?” he asked quickly.

Rachel hesitated, narrowing her eyes “who are you, anyway?”

“What does it matter to you?” he snapped.

Rachel crossed her arms under her chest, “in case you didn’t notice, I’m the one in charge of the door.”

The man glared at Rachel, “My name is Ryan, her ex-husband.”

Rachel felt the entire world disappear around her. She was four years old when her father ran out on them, just after Brett was born. They had not heard from him since.

The door slammed shut, Rachel on the inside with her hands pressed against it, leaning forward with her forehead against the door.

“What the hell!?” the man yelled from outside.

“You don’t deserve to be here…” Rachel choked out, her face felt warm, her eyes burned; a tear began to roll down her cheek.

“What the hell would you know?” he called out, “I need to talk to Rebecca!”

“What’s going on?” Brett asked as he came down the stairs, “who’s out there?”

Rachel stood up stiff as she tried to wipe the tears from her face with her sleeve, not turning to face Brett, not wanting her brother to see her crying like this. “It’s no one…” Rachel said dismissively.

“No one sure is making a lot of noise…” Brett blinked, looking curiously at the door.

“If Rebecca isn’t there, can I at least talk to one of my boys?” the man asked, seeming a little calmer now.

Brett blinked, a look of shock crossing his face, “is that…?”

“No” Rachel said quickly as she turned to face Brett. It was at this point Brett could see the distress on Rachel’s face.

“Open the door…” Brett said with seriousness that Rachel had never heard from him before.

“We should just ignore him until he leaves…” Rachel said weakly, leaning against the door.

“I want to meet him, Brett stated, taking a step towards Rachel. Rachel knew that aside from physically trying to restrain Brett, there was no way she could stop him. She did the one thing she could do at the moment and stepped aside. Brett hesitated, looking at the door as Rachel walked past him.

The door opened and the auburn haired Brett stepped out to see the taller man. The man looked down at Brett and a smile crossed his face, “Ryan! Look how much you’ve grown!”

Brett raised an eyebrow, “I’m Brett…”

“Brett! Look how much you’ve grown!” The elder Ryan quickly said. Rachel watched from the base of the stairs, shaking her head in frustration at the man.

Brett allowed their estranged father to stand in the entryway of the house. “So who are you, anyway?” The man asked as he looked towards Rachel.

“I’m Brett and Ryan’s cousin…” Rachel said irritably, not happy that Brett allowed the man into their house.

“Wow,” he said, “Rick actually had a kid? I always assumed he was gay.”

“Out,” Rachel glared, pointing towards the door, not pleased having her uncle being spoken of that way.

“You can’t just kick him out!” Brett defended, standing in front of the smiling Ryan.

Rachel shook her head, “as soon as my Aunt Rebecca gets home, she’ll—“

“She’ll what?” Rebecca asked as she stepped into the open doorway.

“Hey Rebecca,” Ryan said with a smile and a small wave.

“Ryan!” Rebecca said in surprise, staring at her former husband, “Brett… R-Rachel… can you head upstairs for a moment…?” she asked weakly.

Rachel and Brett both watched from the top of the stairs, trying to hear what their mother and estranged father were saying. “I can’t tell what they’re saying…” Rachel growled.

“Hey Rachel…” Brett spoke up, “can’t you just give dad a chance?”

Rachel glanced at Brett out of the corner of her eyes, “dads are there to support their children,” she stated, “He is no father.”

“Maybe he had a good reason to leave?” Brett questioned.

“You were just a baby when dad left” Rachel sighed, “mom was so sad…”

“Are you just talking like that because you and mom are both girls?” Brett asked, rolling his eyes.

Rachel was taken aback by Brett’s sudden accusation. She raised a finger to argue against Brett, but decided she did not want to delve in to that subject. Rachel got up to head to her room when she heard her mother clear her throat. The two teenagers turned to see their mother now at the top of the stairs.

Rebecca sighed, “Remember Rachel, everything I say to Brett, applies to you as well” she said to her pseudo niece, “Let’s head downstairs…”

Rebecca led her two children to the kitchen where Ryan was sitting at the dining room table. Rachel looked with surprise to Rebecca, “take a seat, please,” Rebecca said solemnly.

There was a moment of silence at the table, eventually an anxious looking Rebecca broke the silence, “I will start by saying, that after this meeting is over, you will not be welcome in this house again…” she said sternly to Ryan.

Ryan nodded, “I understand.” Rachel nodded satisfactorily while Brett had a look of protest on his face, “I know I’ve screwed up in the past, and I’m not here to try to take anything from you, I was just hoping to finally get to meet my boys and allow them to meet their father.”

“But…” Rebecca sighed, “Brett is getting to an age… where I suppose if he wants to spend time with his father…”

Rachel turned her head quickly, giving her mother a look of shock. Brett smiled wide and looked to his estranged father.

“HOWEVER,” Rebecca said loudly, “I will be notified where you’re going, when you’re going, and if Brett is home a minute after I say he is to be home, I’ll have the cops coming to find you so fast your head will spin.”

“I understand completely, Becky,” Ryan smiled and nodded, “only if Brett wants to spend time with me will I even see him, and if Ryan comes back to town we can see if he wants to as well.”

“He wont,” Rachel spoke sternly, crossing her arms over her chest.

Ryan raised an eyebrow, looking to Rachel, “I’m not sure why she’s apart of this…” he mumbled, pointing a thumb towards Rachel.

“Because she is apart of this family,” Rebecca snapped.

“Honestly, you’re the one who shouldn’t be here,” Rachel spoke up, “Aunt Rebecca has told me how you ran out on her and her kids.”

“Rachel…” Rebecca said, hoping to stop her from continuing.

Ryan blinked, looking to Rebecca, “is that what you told them?” he looked insulted, “that I ran out?”

“Please…” Rebecca said quietly, lowering her gaze. Rachel looked to her mother with a confused look.

“I screwed up…” Ryan spoke up, “We had Ryan, Becky was going to law school, and I was paying all the bills. I was already struggling to keep up when she told me we were going to have Brett. As the months wore on I started drinking… I got worse… I was a bad person… shortly after Brett was born Becky decided she didn’t want me around her kids… I didn’t run out on her and the boys, she kicked me out.”

Rachel didn’t believe what she was hearing; she looked again to her mother and saw her just hanging her head, a tear rolling down her cheek. Rachel realized, from Rebecca’s silence, that what Ryan was saying was true.

Ryan sighed, nodding his head a little, “it was the right thing to do, I was in a dark place at the time,” he admitted, “In retrospect I should have tried to keep some contact, but after she left me, I spiraled down and spent a long time in the bottom of the barrel.”

“But you’re better now, right?” Brett asked curiously.

Ryan smiled at Brett, “It took a lot of hard work, but I’m now two years sober,” he explained, “About six months ago, I told myself once I hit the two year mark that I would come see Becky and see if she’d let me see you.”

Rachel stood up and walked briskly from the room without saying a word.

“Jeez, what’s her problem?” Ryan asked with a shrug, “it’s not like her dad left her.”

“Brett…” Rebecca said with a quiver in her voice, “you can talk for a little bit—but please show Mr. Cunningham out fairly shortly…” She got up from her seat and headed up the stairs.

Rebecca knocked lightly on Rachel’s open door, “can I speak to you?” she asked quietly as she entered the room. Rachel was laying stomach down on her bed, her face buried in her pillow. Rebecca sat carefully on the edge of Rachel’s bed and placed a hand on her daughter’s calf.

“What else have you lied about?” Rachel’s muffled voice came from the pillows.

“When I told you boys that…” Rebecca sighed, “I honestly thought it was for your own good. I never thought your dad would ever come back, and with the person he was when I left him, I didn’t want you or Brett wanting to go look for him in fear of what you may find.”

Rachel rolled over in her bed and sat up, her face red as she had clearly been crying. She stared at her mother quietly for a moment before embracing her and putting her face in her mothers shoulder.

Rebecca was a little taken aback, but smiled and put her arms around Rachel to help comfort her. “I haven’t seen you cry since you were little.”

“It’s these stupid girl hormones,” Rachel growled as she wiped her red eyes.

Rebecca patted her daughter on the back, “it’s only natural.”

-

Andie came over Saturday to help Rachel practice her setting with Allison tagging along for moral support. After completing some practice, Andie suggested they go over to the mall to relax a little since both the girls noticed Rachel seemed kind of down. Arriving at the mall, he girls got themselves some giant soft pretzels and found themselves a bench to sit on.

“Are you sure it’s okay to not be practicing right now?” Rachel asked curiously.

Andie gave a smirk at her friend and leaned her head back, “you were in the dumps,” she told Rachel, “and that wont help you be any better, relaxing is the best thing you can be doing for the team right now.”

Rachel blinked and nodded her head slightly, taking a bite of her pretzel and thinking about Andie’s words.

“Yeah, cheer up!” Allison laughed as she grabbed Rachel’s arm by the elbow and pulled her over a little, causing Rachel almost to fall into the blonde girls lap.

“I am I am,” Rachel claimed as she quickly righted herself, “it’s easy to forget to take a step back and breath sometimes.”

Allison raised an eyebrow looking at Rachel, “you’re happy, but you’re not smiling,” she pointed out.

Rachel shrugged, “I don’t smile much.”

“Much?” Allison questioned, “I don’t think I’ve ever seen you smile, Andie?”

“Not that I can remember,” the redhead said scratching her head.

“C’mon, smile!” Allison grinned, leaning over Rachel, trying to physically make her smile by pulling on the sides of her mouth, “I bet you’ve got a cute smile.”

“Hey! Stop that!” Rachel snapped, leaning away from Allison, finding herself leaning against Andie, “help me out here.”

Andie grinned as she braced herself against Rachel’s back, “you’re on your own,” she laughed, “No one can resist the power of the Allison.”

Allison grinned wickedly and began tickling Rachel, trying to get her friend to smile.

Rachel struggled against it, fighting to hold back any laughter. Finally she leapt to her feet and turned swiftly to look at Allison, “Stop,” she snapped, “if I don’t want to smile, I’m not going to.”

Allison was a little taken aback, “okay, sorry…” she said, sounding deflated, “was just trying to have some fun.”

Rachel sat back on the bench with a sigh, but before anything could be said amongst the three, Andie’s phone began ringing. Andie looked a bit surprised at first but quickly answered it.

After a minute of responses on the phone, Andie put it back in her purse and got up, “Hey guys, I hate to do this, but I am going to head home,” she announced to her friends, “something came up and I want to go take care of it.”

“Oh, okay,” Rachel responded a bit surprised, “I hope everything is okay.”

“Oh yeah, it’s all good,” Andie grinned at her, “I hope you don’t mind.”

“No its fine,” Rachel added, “If you’ve got to do something, you don’t have a choice.”

“See you later Andie!” Allison said with a smile as her friend left, leaving just Allison and Rachel remaining on the bench. “I hope you’re not mad at me.”

“Huh? No,” Rachel shrugged, “I’m over it…”

“Oh good,” Allison said with a sigh of relief, “I really like hanging out with you and I’d hate to mess that up.”

“Nah, it’s fine,” Rachel reassured her, “I enjoy hanging out with you as well.”

“So…” Allison fiddled with her dog tags anxiously, “are there any guys at school you’ve got your eyes on yet?”

Rachel blinked, she had never heard Allison bring up such a ‘gossip-y’ topic before, “no,” she said flatly.

“Really?” Allison leaned in a little, “what about Travis Right? I’ve heard you guys hang out some.”

“Travis and I are just friends,” Rachel explained bluntly, “we established that very early on.”

“So, there’s no one you like?” Allison bit her lip a little.

“I just don’t have any interest in any guys, okay?” Rachel blurted, “what’s this all about?” she looked at Allison curiously.

Allison quickly straightened up in her seat, her face becoming a little flush, “no reason, just trying to make some idle conversation,” she stammered, “it’s never just the two of us outside of class, we always have Andie to add in to the conversation.”

Rachel nodded, “yeah, you’re right.”

“Did you have a boyfriend back in California?” Allison resumed her prodding.

Rachel sighed, “No.”

Allison furrowed her eyebrow as she dug a little deeper, “wait, have you ever gone out with anyone?”

Rachel was not focused entirely on Allison’s questions, “I’ve had a few…” she said before realizing she nearly said the word ‘girlfriends’, she grimaced within when she decided to finishing her statement, “I just didn’t have a boyfriend when I left…”

“Oh, I see…” Allison let a breath out of her nose with a wry expression

“Why don’t you ask Rachel what her big secret is!” William’s snarky voice came up from in front of the bench where the two girls sat.

Rachel’s head shot quickly towards William as he approached the two. She anxiously glanced towards Allison and then back towards William.

“She’s a crossdresser!” William snapped as he pointed a finger at Rachel accusingly.

Allison blinked and exchanged a bewildered look with Rachel. Allison stood angrily from the bench, going chest to chest with the slightly taller boy, “just because she chooses not to run around in a skirt and tube top showing off her body hardly classifies her as a crossdresser.”

“What?” William blinked, “no, she’s a boy!”

Allison furrowed her eyebrow with confusion as she again glanced at Rachel, who gave a nervous shrug as if to say she had no idea what William was talking about. “Let’s get out of her,” Rachel said abruptly as she locked arms with Allison to pull her away. A bit of a blush crossed Allison’s face as Rachel took hold of her hand leading her down the isle of the mall.

“You can’t just ignore me!” William called out, “I know the truth!”

“What’s that guy’s problem…?” Allison asked, a small grin on her face as she walked hand in hand with Rachel.

“I don’t know,” Rachel lied, “he keeps coming after me with these wild accusations, I think he had an issue with my cousin.”

“Seems like a nut job,” Allison retorted, smiling over at Rachel, “I mean, thinking you’re a boy, what a goon.”

“Yeah…” Rachel sighed as she released Allison’s hand and shoved it in to her pocket.

Allison’s smile faded as she glanced down at Rachel’s pocket. She forced her smile back as she looked back up towards Rachel, who still was looking straight ahead as they walked, “you know, if you did have any secrets, they’d be safe with me.”

“Well, I don’t,” Rachel responded rather irritably.

“Nothing…?” Allison cocked her head quizzically.

“No.”

-

The impending volleyball game was getting closer and closer, Rachel’s mind was being pulled in so many directions she wanted to scream. The sudden reemergence of her father was causing her to do even more training just to keep her mind occupied.

“Is that right?” Travis asked, looking over to Rachel, who was just staring at the table, “Rachel?”

“Huh?” Rachel’s head snapped up to look at Travis, who was asking her a question relating to their physics project, “yeah, that’s right.”

“You weren’t listening, were you?” Travis grinned.

“No,” Rachel admitted.

“I know,” Travis gave a small chuckle, “seeing as I just asked you about a cartoon that my little sister watches.”

“Sorry,” Rachel sighed, looking over the notes on the project again.

“It’s fine,” Travis said with a reassuring smile, “although I did want to ask you something.”

“About what…?” Rachel asked, narrowing her eyes a little.

Travis laughed a little, knowing what Rachel was thinking, “not that,” he knew she was afraid he was going to try asking her out again, that boat had sailed and he was happy with their friendship, “it’s about your friends Katie and Brian.”

Rachel rolled her eyes, “I don’t have any friends by those names,” she huffed.

“I’ve noticed,” Travis said with a stoic face, “but that’s the issue, I get that they upset you, but is it really worth completely ending a friendship over?”

Rachel paused, looking down at her notes, then glanced out of the corner of her eyes at Travis, “they’re hardly my friends,” Rachel began, “they were Ryan’s friends, I simply befriended them because they showed me around at first, after I made my own friends, I didn’t really need them anymore.”

Travis frowned, “that’s kind of harsh…”

Rachel narrowed her eyes again as she focused on her work, “the truth hurts,” she said sharply, “lets get back to work.”

Travis’ gaze lingered on Rachel for a moment, disappointed in her response, but knowing that he would not be able to get anything else out of her.

-

Rachel was exhausted as she entered her house, it was her last day of practice before her first game starting as setter and the coach made sure she was as ready as possible. She tossed her gym bag next to the door and headed for the stairs so that she could shower and change out of her tank top and shorts which she wore for practice.

Walking past the living room, Rachel stopped to watch for a minute as Evan played a game on their TV. It was very common for Evan to be at their place playing video games, although Brett was usually around at the time. She knew Brett and Evan were going to a baseball game that evening with her father, so she assumed Brett was getting ready to go for that.

“Hey Rachel,” Evan said without turning his attention from the screen.

“Hey…” Rachel responded back faintly.

Evan paused his game and looked over the back of the couch at Rachel, a bland smile on his face, “I don’t suppose you’d be able to help me in this game, would you?” he asked.

Rachel blinked. Evan hardly ever had problems with video games, let alone would require help, and especially from someone who he supposedly barely knows. “huh?” is all Rachel could get out.

Evan offered up a remote control to Rachel, “this level, its been giving me some trouble, and I tell you, I’m getting quite frustrated,” he explained, hardly having a look of frustration on his face, “sometimes the best thing you can do is just stop, take a deep breath, and ask for help.”

“Uh, sure,” Rachel said as she took the controller and walked around to sit on the couch, “why me though? What about Brett?”

Evan unpaused the game and continued playing casually, “sometimes you’ve got to look around and find someone new to turn to,” he told her, “Brett is my friend and all, but I just had a feeling you’d be far more help with my situation.”

Rachel was struggling to keep up with Evan in the game; she had almost forgotten that Evan always played his games on the hardest mode possible. That combined with trying to listen to his dialogue was making her quite the tag along in the game.

“I know it seems silly, asking for help,” Evan continued, “but sometimes having help, regardless of the extent that they’re able to do, is all you need.”

“Uh-huh…” Rachel responded distractedly.

“It’s the moral support really, an ally you can turn to when the chips are down,” Evan added, “and you never know when you may find that extra little bit you were missing.”

Rachel bit her lip as she continued. She had no idea how Evan could be so calm and chatty during this game, she was almost using as much energy keeping up with him and not dying as she did at volleyball practice.

“And that’s level clear.” Evan turned and smiled casually to Rachel, “Thank you so much.”

“It’s just a game,” Rachel took a deep breath as she sat down the controller.

“Nonsense, its camaraderie,” Evan explained, “don’t take friendship for granted.” He said as he held up his knuckles towards Rachel.

Rachel hesitated as she processed things and nodded, giving Evan the fist bump he was waiting for, “thanks.”

-

“Bobcats!” The girls of the Goldthwait High girl’s volleyball team yelled as they finished their introduction. They got to their feet and headed to their respective places. The game was an important one for every player on the court, needing to rebound from their first loss of the season, and more importantly, the loss of one of their team captains and primary players.

Andie pulled Rachel close as they prepared to start the first match, “remember, regardless of what happens, it’s just a game.” Rachel glanced over at her before taking her place on the court. She looked over to the bench and saw Emily sitting there; she was wearing her warm up pants and her uniform top. On the other side of Emily’s crutches was the coach, who gave Rachel a supportive nod.

The team had been so supportive over the last couple days, that she really did not want to let them down. They were the only friends she had had for the last few weeks, which has been the only thing keeping her going insane.

The whistle blew signaling the beginning of the first match; Rachel took a breath as she watched the girl on the other side of the net serve the ball. In just the last few days, Rachel had run more drills than most of the other girls had done all season.

She had remembered what made her good at wrestling when she was a boy, the technical aspect of things. She was never the strongest guy on the wrestling team, but her ability to dissect situations and adapt is what made her good. The setter position was the position she was made for, and now that she was able to bypass her anger, she was able to precisely put the ball where she wanted.

Before she knew it, the whistle blew signaling the end of the game. Goldthwait had taken a decisive 3 matches to 0 victory over the other team. Rachel had done a masterful job as setter, even doing a better job than Emily usually did. Rachel looked over at Andie and just stared in shock, realizing that all their hard work had paid off.

Andie ran over to Rachel and gave her a big hug, a huge smile on her face, “I knew you could do it!” she cried happily.

Rachel shook her head, “no,” she said bluntly, “we did it—without you I wouldn’t have been able to do this, its camaraderie.” She glanced over at Emily who had a very proud smile on her face. Rachel noticed the coach was talking to a lady she did not recognize. The lady had a fascinated smile on her face as she spoke.

Rachel’s attention was pulled away as she was wrapped up in a hug with Andie by Buster Bobcat, the mascot. She gave a bewildered look to the felt covered cheerleader, wishing she would just let go. “Great job Rachel!” a voice called from inside the oversized head of Buster, but with all the noise in the gymnasium she could not make out who it was.

After being congratulated by the other team, the girls headed to the locker room to change back in to their normal clothes. Rachel sat on a bench just staring at her locker, constantly being pulled away from her thoughts by the other girls coming over and telling her how good of a job she did. Even the coach came over and spoke with Rachel about her performance, telling her that even a few people from the crowd specifically noticed her out there today.

“Aren’t you going to change?” Andie asked, already back in her normal clothes, “or were you just going to wear that home?”

Rachel glanced up at Andie, shaking her head, “no, no, I’m changing,” she said as she got to her feet.

“Rach-el!” Allison’s voice called out as she came running through the locker room, grabbing Rachel’s arm and pulling her into a hug, “I can’t believe how good you did out there!” Allison looked as if she too had been playing, with her hair tied in a greasy pony tail and wearing shorts and a tank top with her dog tags dangling around her sweaty neck.

“Thanks…” Rachel said softly as she pulled herself away from the hug. She was pretty sure she’d never get used to all the physical contact female friends gave each other, especially in times of excitement like this.

“If you don’t hurry I’m just going to leave you here,” Andie laughed as Rachel began to get her clothes from her locker. Andie always gave Rachel a ride home after volleyball games.

“I’ll give her a ride home,” Allison said a little anxiously, “I’ve got something to ask her anyway.” She fiddled with her dogtags as she gave Andie a nervous smile.

Andie’s eyes widened a little bit, “Oh, sure,” she said with a smile crossing her face, “is that okay, Rachel?”

Rachel furrowed her brow at her two friends, confused by what exactly was going on between them, “sure?” she said hesitantly, pulling her shirt over her head.

“Great!” Andie smiled brightly, “good luck,” she whispered in Allison’s ear before heading home.

Allison sat quietly on the bench as Rachel finished changing, trying to avoid watching. After Rachel was back in her jeans and red shirt, the two girls headed out into the parking lot and got in to Allison’s car.

Sitting in the passenger seat, a black trash bag in the back seat caught Rachel’s eye, “what’s that?” she asked curiously.

Allison smirked, “this? It’s just Buster,” she said as she opened the bag, exposing the head of Buster Bobcat.

“What the!?” Rachel practically leapt out of her seat. She calmed herself and raised her eyebrow, “wait, you’re the mascot?”

“I forgot I hadn’t told you yet,” Allison laughed, “It’s supposed to be kind of a secretive thing.”

Rachel wanted to steer the conversation away from the mascot, before it became clear that she actually wasn’t fond of the mascot itself. “I hope you don’t mind me asking,” Rachel glanced over to Allison as she drove, “but I’m curious why you always wear those tags around your neck.”

Allison reached up and fingered the dog tags without taking her eyes off the road. “They were my brothers,” she said matter-of-factly, “he was killed in action overseas.”

“Oh…” Rachel wished she had just stayed on the topic of the mascot, “sorry…”

“It’s okay,” Allison smiled at Rachel, “I miss him, but he would hate it if I were making myself miserable over him.”

Rachel nodded, “he must have been a great guy…” she said softly.

Allison bit her lip and pulled her car over to the side of the road, she turned and stared at Rachel. “We need to talk,” she said straightly.

Rachel looked over to her friend in confusion, “is something wrong?”

Allison took a deep breath, “Rachel, I know you secret.”

Rachel blinked in surprise. She was shocked by the words that just came out of Allison’s mouth. She had been spending more time with her since distancing herself from Brian and Katie, but she had also been trying her best to avoid any possible slips, which she had felt like she had done a very good job doing. “y-you do?”

Allison nodded, an understanding smile crossing her face, “I’ve been trying to figure you out for a couple weeks now,” she explained, “I did not want to bring it up until I was sure.”

Rachel lowered her gaze, “I see…”

“But that’s why I wanted to talk to you,” Allison straightened up and took Rachel’s hand in her own, “Rachel… I really like you, and, well, I was hoping that maybe we could be girlfriends… privately of course if you didn’t want to be out.”

Rachel blinked. She was not quite sure what exactly just happened, “wait… what?”

Allison arched her eyebrows, “its okay,” she said reassuringly, “I know you’re gay.”

Rachel pulled back in surprise, “I’m not gay!” she said instinctively.

A bewildered look crossed Allison’s face, “but… you…” she seemed at a loss for words, “everything I saw, I was sure you liked girls.”

Silence fell over Rachel; she was so quick to respond about not being gay, that she did not thoroughly consider what the word meant for her at the moment. “I…” Rachel hesitated as she looked down at her knees, “I don’t know what I like…”

“Oh god, I’m so sorry,” Allison said quickly, “I didn’t even stop to think that you might not have figured it out for yourself yet.”

“It’s okay,” Rachel tried to calm her friend. She still liked girls; her sexuality had not changed from when she was a guy. Although she did acknowledge that Allison was quite attractive and enjoyable to be around, she did not want to deal with any kind of relationship until she could get herself back to normal.

Allison nodded as a sympathetic smile crossed her face, “I know what it’s like to be confused about myself,” she said supportively, “and if you ever need help with things, know that I will be by your side every step of the way.”

Rachel nodded lightly. “I appreciate that,” she thanked Allison.

Allison undid her seatbelt and reached over, giving Rachel a tight hug, putting her head on Rachel’s shoulder. Rachel hesitated momentarily before returning Allison’s hug.

“And if the time ever comes where you want to try a relationship,” Allison looked Rachel in the eyes, “know that I think you’re beautiful.”

“Uh… thanks,” Rachel said cautiously, “I, uh, think you’re very attractive as well…”

“Regardless of what happens,” Allison arched her eyebrows with a tight lipped smile, a look that Rachel knew was hiding Allison’s disappointment, “your secret is safe with me.”

“Thank you.”

Chapter 7; The Next Step

“And the Lady Bobcats win the game over Lawndale High School,” the announcer called out, “that makes them 9-1 in league and one step closer to this years Mid-Valley League championship!”

Rachel acknowledged the praises from the other girls coming over to congratulate her on a game well played. Since taking over as one of the primary setters, she had become an integral part of the team’s dominant victories.

Rachel narrowed her eyes as she looked over at the team’s bench. The coach was again speaking with someone, the same women that Rachel saw her speaking to a couple weeks ago. She could not make out what was being said, but the coach wore an expression of excitement.

The team happily made their way back to the locker rooms where there was much chatter while the team changed back into their normal clothes. Andie sat on the bench talking excitedly with her friends while Rachel quietly put on her normal clothes.

Karah walked over and glared at the girls, “coach wants to see you two in her office,” she growled before walking off briskly.

Rachel exchanged a bewildered look with Andie before the two headed for the coach’s office. She was not sure exactly why the two of them would be summoned. Jennifer stood alongside Emily outside of the office; Jennifer had her arms crossed over her chest with a grin on her face; Emily leaned on her crutches and wore quite a proud expression. Rachel furrowed her brow in confusion and opened the door, stepping in to the office, followed by Andie.

Rachel first saw the coach sitting at her desk, but immediately she noticed the unknown woman sitting in a chair to the side of the coach’s desk. The moment Andie saw the woman; she let out an excited squeal and wrapped her arms around Rachel happily, actually bouncing with happiness.

“Girls, please take a seat,” the coach said calmly, her normal stern tone no where to be found, “Mrs. Zimmerman would like to have a word with each of you.”

Andie’s eyes brightened as she looked from Mrs. Zimmerman to Rachel, shaking Rachel’s arm excitedly before taking a seat. Rachel had no idea what was happening, and was apparently the only one who didn’t.

Mrs. Zimmerman got up from her seat and stepped in front of the girls, “allow me to introduce myself,” she said directly to Rachel, “my name is Lisa Zimmerman, and I’m the head girls volleyball and basketball scout for Guttenberg State University,” offering her hand to Rachel. Rachel was still confused, but shook the ladies hand anyway.

Mrs. Zimmerman returned to her seat before continuing. “I’ve been scouting Miss Rhea here for quite some time now,” she explained, “along with another teammate of yours, Miss Winchester, who is a very promising basketball prospect for Guttenberg.”

Rachel glanced at Andie and then back to Mrs. Zimmerman, “that’s great,” she said, “but why am I here?”

Mrs. Zimmerman gave a slight chuckle, “let me start with Miss Rhea,” she stated, looking to the red haired girl, “I’m going to keep it short, Andie, if it’s okay with you we can speak more at your home when I can also speak with your parents.”

Andie smiled and nodded, “yes ma’am.”

Mrs. Zimmerman smiled politely, “I’ve added you to the short list for next years Guttenberg ladies volleyball team,” she explained, “We would like it if you did another campus meet with us, which we can schedule for any time of course.”

Andie got to her feet, nearly glowing with excitement, extending a hand to Mrs. Zimmerman, who shook it in return, “may I?” Andie asked, giving Mrs. Zimmerman a hug after she nodded approval. The coach stepped around the desk to also shake Andie’s hand and give her a hug, uttering her congratulations before Andie returned to her seat.

“Of course I will take another campus tour,” Andie said, trying to calm herself, “you know Guttenberg has been where I’ve been wanting to go since, well, ever.” She laughed.

Mrs. Zimmerman nodded, “I know, but it is policy to continuously offer prospects time on our campus, in order convince them to choose our facility,” she explained, “Alex has been asking me how you’ve been looking for next year, as well.”

Rachel knew Andie had two older sisters, and remembered her mentioning that she wanted to play volleyball where they did. Rachel now knew that they both must have also played at GSU, which is why Andie would want to go there so much.

Mrs. Zimmerman turned her attention towards Rachel, looking her over briefly. The sudden attention made Rachel a little uneasy. “Now you, young lady, have made my job difficult.”

Rachel blinked in confusion, “I’m sorry…?”

Mrs. Zimmerman laughed a little, “It’s nothing to apologize for,” she comforted, “have you considered playing volleyball for a university?”

Andie gripped Rachel’s arm excitedly, bouncing in her seat. Rachel glanced towards her red headed friend before looking back towards Mrs. Zimmerman, “I hadn’t really thought about it…” she said hesitantly.

A smile crossed Mrs. Zimmerman’s face, “Usually prospects need to be applying and being scouted for years to make it this far,” she explained, “but if you would at least consider the offer, I will place you immediately on to the short list of candidates for next years squad as long as your academics meet our requirements.”

“I don’t know…” Rachel lowered her gaze.

“What!?” Andie spoke up, nearly pulling Rachel out of her seat by her arm, “she’s placing a golden opportunity right in front of you, Rach, I’ve been working for years to get here and you’ve got the chance too!”

“You are not committing to anything, Miss Hawke,” Mrs. Zimmerman explained, “candidates who make the short list will gain acceptance to Guttenberg State University, regardless of if they make the final cut or not, and we will continue to track your games and academics until our final selection is made.”

“You’d have a guaranteed college to go to next year, and I’d be there and some of our other friends,” Andie explained to Rachel, before turning back to Mrs. Zimmerman, “I’m going to take my campus tour next week, maybe Rachel can come with me?”

“I’d be fine with that but I am submitting my cut at the end of the week,” Mrs. Zimmerman explained, “I will need an answer by then.”

“Can I think about this…?” Rachel asked softly.

Andie looked over at Rachel, a bit bewildered by Rachel’s hesitation.

“Thank you for your time ladies,” Mrs. Zimmerman stood up to excuse herself, handing Rachel a card with her contact information on it, “Miss Hawke, I hope to hear from you soon. And Miss Rhea, I know I’ll be hearing from you,” she chuckled before leaving the room.

Andie turned to Rachel as they exited the coaches office, “I don’t understand why you wouldn’t at least let her add you to her list,” Andie said, “she said it doesn’t mean you are committing to anything, just means you’re guaranteed the option.”

Rachel glanced down at the floor, “I just, didn’t think things would still be this way for this long,” she said quietly, “and by accepting her offer, it feels like I’m just giving up and figuring it’ll be this way forever.”

“Is it really so bad being here…?” Andie frowned, appearing a little hurt, “I mean, I know your home is in California, and I’m sure you’ve got friends there, but what about your friends here?”

Rachel glanced up at Andie, a little taken aback, “that’s not—I didn’t mean—“ she stammered, “I guess I’m just still trying to get comfortable.”

-

Rachel lay on the couch in the Hawke’s living room, staring up at the ceiling. She held her arms upward, turning a volleyball with her fingertips, a habit she had began doing a lot lately to keep her mind focused.

The volleyball slipped from Rachel’s hands and rolled across the floor. She turned her head to see where the ball had come to rest, but returned her gaze towards the ceiling. Rachel clasped her hands together on her stomach for a moment, before fidgeting her shoulders and crossing her arms under her chest.

Rachel sighed and pulled her arms to her side, reaching up to scratch the side of her head. She ran her fingers through her hair and again rested her hand at the base of her ribs. She narrowed her eyes and grabbed hold of her breast with her hand, wincing as she squeezed it.

The door opened and Rachel shot to a sitting position, her arms shooting to her sides. She glanced over her shoulder to see her mother stepping through the entryway. Rebecca looked over to meet Rachel’s stare, before turning to go put her things away as she normally did when she would arrive home.

Rachel stretched her leg out to try to retrieve her volleyball, but found her shorter stature again a hindrance and was forced to get up to get it. With volleyball in hand, she returned to her sitting position on the couch.

The time passed in the living room in silence until Rebecca came and sat down next to Rachel, having already changed out of her work attire and in to some sweats. She pulled one leg up on the couch so that she could turn to face Rachel.

“I got a phone call today,” Rebecca announced to her daughter.

Rachel raised an eyebrow and glanced over, “about what?” she questioned, pretty sure she knew what was about to be brought up.

“Your coach,” Rebecca clarified, “said you had a meeting with a scout from Guttenberg State.”

“Oh… that…” Rachel sighed. She was beginning to hate being right about things.

“Your coach said you practically blew off the scout,” Rebecca explained, bewilderment in her voice, “she said that you were pretty much offered admission to Guttenberg whether you make the team or not and you just told her ‘maybe’.”

Rachel nodded a little, “that about sums it up.”

Rebecca stared a bit in disbelief. She grabbed Rachel’s arm to force her daughter to look at her, “what is wrong with you!?” she raised her voice.

“In case you hadn’t noticed,” Rachel growled, “I’m still a girl.”

“I know, honey,” Rebecca said as she let go of Rachel’s arm and put her arm around her daughter, “but we’re no closer to finding out what happened.”

“Oh stop!” Rachel snapped back, pulling herself away from her mother, “I know we haven’t figured out what to do, but that doesn’t mean I am just going to roll over and die.”

Rebecca sighed, “Being a girl isn’t a death sentence…” she explained, “you’ve been given a chance to continue with a life and a future despite what has happened.”

“Agreeing would be like accepting that this is how it’s going to be,” Rachel sighed, hanging her head, “I don’t want to just give up.”

“We’re not giving up,” Rebecca said solemnly, “when you get back to normal, we will figure out how to get you in to college.”

Rachel looked up curiously. “But,” Rebecca continued, “You need a back up plan, just in case we are unable to find a way.”

Rachel glanced back towards the floor and nodded slightly, processing what her mother was telling her, “I’ll… think about it…”

Rebecca smiled and put her arm back around Rachel, “that’s all I ask,” she nodded. Rachel just leaned against her mother and rested her head on Rebecca’s shoulder.

-

Travis stood over the bench press, spotting for Rachel as she lifted the weights, “so the scout said you’re so good that she’s interested in you despite not going through the process?” he asked.

Rachel narrowed her eyes as she worked out, “right,” she said sharply.

“And the scout offered you admission into Guttenberg State regardless of if you make their team?” Travis pried.

Rachel sighed as she continued to press, “yeah…”

Travis raised an eyebrow, trying to put the pieces together, “and you told her no…?” his voice was full of confusion.

Rachel hefted the bar on to the stand and sat up, “I said I’d think about it,” she said as she picked up her towel and draped it over her sweaty shoulders.

Travis watched as Rachel walked around the bench over to where he stood, “why?” he blinked.

Rachel raised her eyes up to meet Travis’, “because.”

Travis raised his hands in confusion, shaking his head a little, “because?” he questioned, “it was all reward for no commitment.”

“I’m just not sure if that’s what I want,” Rachel told Travis, stepping past him to go to get some water.

“Wait wait wait,” Travis chased after Rachel, “but it doesn’t even matter, by agreeing, it just gives you an option, you don’t HAVE to go.”

Rachel brushed Travis off with a wave of her hand as she continued to walk, “there’s more to it,” Rachel grumbled.

Travis blinked, trying to figure out what Rachel meant, “but…”

“Just stop!” Rachel spun around irritably to face Travis, causing him to step back despite Rachel’s smaller frame, “this is my life, my choices, my mistakes, let me make them and just drop it!”

Travis frowned as he watched Rachel walk away. He was used to Rachel being angry at times, but he was not able to wrap his brain around this situation.

-

Rachel wanted nothing more than to just get her mind off of things for a while as she entering the gymnasium for practice. She had been dealing with her friends all day, being constantly nagged about why she was so unwilling to take the scout’s offer.

As the practice wore on, Rachel couldn’t help but feel eyes upon her. When she’d look over towards Jennifer or Andie, she could tell they had just turned their heads away quickly. A sigh escaped her lips as she served the ball for the practice game the girls were doing.

Scanning the gymnasium, Rachel saw Emily and the coach talking to one another, looking in her direction as well. Emily had been one of the people who hadn’t gotten on Rachel’s case about college, much to both her relief and surprise.

When the practice finally came to an end, the girls began cleaning up the loose balls around the gym. Rachel was happy that she was finally almost to the point where she’d be able to be alone.

She came up to a ball on the ground, rather than just bending over to pick it up, Rachel used her foot to scoop it upwards. Bouncing it off the wall, she popped it up into the air with her fingertips. Rachel caught the ball, pretty amused at the move. She looked down at the ball, suddenly finding herself completely lost, not thinking about anything, just staring at the ball.

“That was pretty cool,” Emily’s voice came from behind Rachel. Rachel spun around in surprise, hugging the volleyball to her chest. Emily smiled as she leaned on her crutches, “your hand-eye coordination is remarkable.”

“Thanks,” Rachel responded quietly, “well…?”

“Hm?” Emily raised an eyebrow, “well what?”

“You want to ask me why I didn’t jump on the scout’s offer,” Rachel snapped, “like everyone else has.”

Emily shrugged, “not at all.”

Rachel narrowed her eyes at her friend, “then why’d you stop to talk to me?”

“Because that was a really cool set you just did,” Emily pointed out, “plus I was heading out of the gym and you happen to be right next to the door.”

“You don’t want to lecture me?” Rachel suddenly felt horrible for snapping like she had.

“You’ve got some hard decisions to make,” Emily spoke warmly, “I don’t know what you’re going through, Andie and the coach don’t know what you’re going through, probably your aunt doesn’t even know what you’re going through; so who am I to tell you what to do?”

Rachel nodded, “exactly.”

“I know when I hurt my knee, my whole plan for college was thrown out, and everyone kept telling me what I should do now,” Emily explained, “but it was up to me to sit down and decide what to do next; luckily I have other interests that I could do, or at least tide me over until I found something better.”

Rachel raised her gaze to meet Emily’s normal kind and thoughtful look. She knew what Emily was doing, but could not deny that she knew what she was talking about.

“I didn’t want people trying to tell me what I had to do next, so why should I tell you what you should do next?” Emily continued, “At the end of the day, you’ll decide what you want to do in order to make yourself happy, whether it’s your long term goal or just something to preoccupy your time until you find your true path, just make sure you make your choices before it’s too late.”

Rachel stood in silence as Emily said her goodbyes and headed out of the gym. She looked back down at the volleyball in her arms and gave a defeated sigh. “God damnit,” Rachel growled as she threw the volleyball against the wall.

-

Freya Parker blissfully listened to her MP3 player as she folded her son’s laundry. Brian Parker’s parents had always been very lenient with their son as long as he kept out of trouble. They also knew that when there was a possibility of trouble, his friends were usually there to keep him from getting in too deep.

Freya was so focused on her work, that she did not notice a few items of clothing that did not seem to be her sons. It was very common for her to get in to such rhythm during her chores that something out of the ordinary did not always get noticed.

She pulled a pink pair of panties from the laundry basket and began to fold them; it was at this time that something in Freya’s mind clicked. She picked up the panties and held them in front of her. They certainly weren’t hers, and the only others in the house were her husband and son.

Freya narrowed her brow and looked back at a few of the other pieces of laundry that she suddenly realized they couldn’t be Brian’s. She pulled her earbuds out and walked in to the living room where her husband, Jason, was sitting in his favorite chair reading a book.

“Uh, dear…” Freya said weakly as she approached Jason’s chair, “I, um, well, about Brian…”

Jason didn’t look up from his book, “what’d he do now?”

“Well, I found these in his laundry,” Freya said, holding up the panties she discovered.

Jason glanced over the top of his book briefly. He paused before lowering his book, “those were in his laundry?”

Freya bit her lip and nodded, “mhm.”

Jason clenched his jaw and closed his book, “great,” he said, setting his book aside and getting to his feet, “now I’ve got to kill him…”

The Parker parents knocked on Brian’s bedroom door. They could hear the sound of shuffling inside before eventually a hectic “one sec!” came from inside. A little more shuffling about until the door opened up.

Freya and Jason exchanged glances before entering Brian’s room, “Brian, we need to have a talk,” Jason said flatly.

Brian blinked, turning a little pale, “did I do something wrong?” he squeaked.

When there was not immediately a response, Freya cleared her throat and shot a look to Jason. Mr. Parker sighed and put his hand on Brian’s shoulder, “we know you and Katie are in a relationship and all…” he trailed of, “but, well, um, I mean…”

Brian blinked and tilted his head, a bit confused what his dad was trying to talk about, “what about Katie?” he asked.

“What I’m trying to say, well…” Mr. Parker again seemed to struggle to find the words, “Your mother found Katie’s, uh…” He gave a pleading look to his wife.

Freya raised an eyebrow at Jason and held up the girl’s panties she found in the laundry, “we found these in the laundry,” she said, “we are concerned you and Katie may be rushing your relationship some.”

Brian’s eyes went a little wide in surprise, “what? Those aren’t Katie’s.” he quickly answered, biting his lip unsure what to tell his parents.

Mr. Parker furrowed his eyebrows and raised a finger, turning some to his wife in a bit of confusion. Freya lowered the undergarments, looking at Brian a bit anxiously, “Brian Ross Parker, if I find you’ve been cheating on that girl…!”

“No!” Brian quickly defended, realizing he had no way out, “they’re mine…” he said, reaching out and taking them from his mother.

Brian’s parents turned and looked at each other, a bit mystified at what they just heard. Freya motioned expectantly with her head towards Brian, but Jason put up his hands defensively, “this isn’t the talk I was in charge of.”

Freya took a breath and turned back towards Brian. Brian however did not let her say anything, “I can explain,” he said as he looked between his parents, “I have magical powers.”

“Brian…” Mrs. Parker began.

“I can prove it!” Brian interrupted, “just watch…” He closed his eyes and stuck his arms straight out to his sides so that his parents could watch. Before their very eyes, their eighteen year old son changed shape. His waist narrowed as he gained definition in his hips, his hair grew long down towards his rounding bottom. His chest grew large and he shrank half a foot in height. Moments later, Brittney now stood where Brian had been. She looked at her two shocked parents and gave them a nervous grin, “ta-da.”

Both Freya and Jason stared at Brittney. Freya, wearing the more shocked expression, stepped up to Brittney who was now only an inch taller than she was, “B-Brian…?”

“Hi mom,” Brittney smiled and gave a slight wave, “although I had thought while I was like this I should be called Brittney—you know, to blend in.”

Freya’s mouth hung open as if she wanted to say something, but no words came out. She raised a finger and poked Brittney’s breasts in bewilderment.

“Mooom—“ Brittney said with a touch of embarrassment, taking a step back and covering her large breasts with her arms.

“How…” Freya stammered, looking Brittney over, “how did this happen to you?”

Brittney hesitated as she did not yet have an explanation yet for how it happened, “I don’t even know,” she said, with a smile and a shrug, “just one day I was able to change.”

Jason looked between Freya and Brittney, his gaze on their chests; he raised his finger turning to Freya, “shut it!” Freya prevented him from saying anything, “How did you pay for those clothes?”

“Oh!” Brittney tilted her head a little, “I’ve saved up my allowance for a while, plus Katie has helped me pay for stuff as well.”

“Katie?” Jason spoke up, “who else knows about this?”

“Oh, just Katie and Rachel,” Brittney smiled reassuringly.

Jason nodded and proceeded to walk out of the room past Brittney, “I feel it’d be best if you limit your time as a girl.”

Brittney slumped her shoulders, but found herself embraced by her mother, “its okay honey,” Freya smiled warmly at Brittney, “no matter what happens, your father and I will always love you.”

Brittney’s mood brightened as she wrapped her arms around her mother and hugged her tightly. Freya’s eyes widened as her child’s large breasts suddenly pressed against her own.

-

“I’m glad you agreed to take Mrs. Zimmerman’s offer and come with me,” Andie said as she drove. Rachel sat in the passenger seat looking out the window, her arm holding her head up. “What helped you decide?”

“Wisdom is a burden,” Rachel mumbled, “my cup runneth over.”

Andie smiled, “Emily?”

“Mhm”

“She’s beat some logic into me before too,” Andie laughed.

“How does she do that?” Rachel asked, glancing over to her red headed friend.

Andie shrugged, “got me,” she said “if we lived in some crazy comic book world, I’d believe she had magic powers.”

Rachel went silent again as she continued to watch the landscape go by. It was only an hour’s drive, but for some reason, it felt like it was dragging on and on, and Rachel knew the visit would be a couple days with just Andie and herself.

Andie bit her lip, hating silence, but knowing that something was bothering Rachel. “So, do you think you’ll consider going to Guttenberg next year?”

“Maybe,” Rachel shrugged slouching in her seat, “I mean, I don’t have many options any more.”

“I hope you do,” Andie said, a little nervous with her speech, “I don’t want to sound greedy, but I’ll be there, Jennifer, Emily might go, and I hear Travis is being looked at for Football too.”

Rachel glanced over to Andie.

Andie frowned a little, “I mean, it’d just be cool to have a group of good friends right from the start of college.”

Rachel paused, “yeah, it would…” she said, straightening up in her seat a little as she saw that they were approaching the university.

Andie’s smile returned with Rachel’s response, “Rachel Hawke, welcome to the next step.”

-

Night had fallen over Winslow Hall, a large H-shaped dorm building broken into two wings, one for the girls and one for the boys. Each floor of Winslow Hall was split in to four apartments, which had three rooms which each housed two students.

Andie had gone over the various things they would be doing the next two days. Primarily they were expected to attend some classes they were asked to sit in on, along with prepaid meals at the various eateries on campus. They were also going to be able to observe volleyball practices and a game in a couple days before heading back to school.

Students visiting the college were allowed to stay in the dorm to help them better see student life on campus. A couple of the girls who had a room next to the one Rachel and Andie shared insisted they hung out for a little bit. The two girls were also involved with sports; A tall brunette girl who was apart of the volleyball team and a stockier, but still very pretty blonde girl who played softball.

Rachel sat quietly on a couch hugging her knees to her chest, resting her chin on her arms as she listened to Andie and the other girls chat. One of the college girls got up as there was a knock at the door. Rachel glanced over to the door and watched as she came back with a pizza, putting it on the table in the middle of the living room.

Rachel got up and took a slice of pizza, “thanks,” she said softly, returning to her seat on the couch, sitting more normally now.

“Oh, look, she speaks,” the brunette said with a smirk.

“Huh?” Rachel looked up with a bit of surprise, moving the pizza from her mouth.

The blonde girl rolled her eyes, “you haven’t spoken a word since you got out here,” she said, “every time we ask a question to the two of you, you glance to Andie and she answers.”

Rachel hesitated a moment and shrugged, “I’m just here for Andie,” she stated, “she’s the one trying to make the team.”

Andie laughed, “don’t act like you aren’t a candidate,” she patted Rachel on the back, “Rachel didn’t even try to get in but the scout practically begged her to agree to be considered for the team.”

The volleyball girl seemed fascinated by this fact, “Mrs. Zimmerman sought you out after the fact?” she questioned, “that’s pretty remarkable.”

“I guess,” Rachel admitted, “I’m not expecting much to come from it though.”

After the conversation had dried up and the girls had finished eating, they headed off to their separate rooms. Rachel sat on the dorm bed leaning against the wall, watching Andie put some of her clothes in one of the dressers.

“Do you really think I have a chance at making the team?” Rachel asked, lowering her gaze to the floor.

“Of course!” Andie said without hesitation, “everyone who makes it this far in the scouting period has a strong chance, and you were requested to be added to that group.”

Rachel nodded her head quietly, keeping her gaze on the floor. She looked back up to see Andie had removed her shirt and was in the process of removing her bra. “What the heck, Andie!?” Rachel quickly turned her gaze away, putting her hand up to block the view.

Andie turned in confusion at her friends detest, “what?”

“What’re you doing?” Rachel snapped back.

Andie tilted her head, “I’m changing into my pajamas.”

“Here!?”

“This—is our room…” Andie blinked, “it’s not like you haven’t seen me change before.”

“Just warn me next time you do something like that,” Rachel said.

Andie continued to change into her clothes for the evening, “Y’know—“ she said, sitting next to Rachel on the bed, now in her fleece pajamas, “if you live in the dorms, you’re going to be rooming with someone.”

“Doesn’t mean I have to be comfortable with it,” Rachel snapped back.

“What about in the locker room?” Andie raised her eyebrow.

“Can you remember any time in the locker rooms when I actively looked around?” Rachel said dryly, “When I’m in there, it’s head down, eyes to the floor, in and out as quickly as I can.”

Andie put her arm around Rachel and leaned her head on Rachel’s shoulder, causing Rachel to look at her friend curiously, “it really bothers you, doesn’t it?” Andie asked kindly.

Rachel raised her eyebrows with a look of obviousness, “is that so odd?”

“No no!” Andie quickly said, “I know Allison when I first met her was like that until her and—until she came out.”

Rachel’s eyes drifted to the side for a moment, “I’m not…”

“I know I know,” Andie smiled, keeping Rachel from needing to finish her thought, “just know I’m on your team no matter what happens.”

Rachel looked back to her friend, “thanks…” she said softly. Andie smiled and pulled Rachel up next to her, rubbing her arm for comfort. Rachel rested her head against Andie, finding comfort in her friends support.

-

While Andie and Rachel were spending two days in Guttenberg, every other student still attended their normal classes in Wakefield.

“So…” Katie blinked, “they think you have magic and are okay with you turning in to a girl…?”

“Well, I don’t know if ‘okay’ is the right word,” Brian smiled awkwardly as he rubbed the back of his head, “I guess my mom is more okay with a part time daughter than my dad is.”

Katie smiled and shook her head, “I’m kind of impressed you managed to keep it from your parents as long as you did,” she explained, “and I’m happy you didn’t let them know about Rachel.”

Brian laughed a little, “give me a little credit,” he said, “there’s no way I’d let them know about—“

“Hawke!” a voice growled as Katie and Brian exchanged bewildered looks. They turned to see William stomping up towards them.

“Huh?” Katie questioned.

“Where is Ryan Hawke?!” William snapped, looking angrily between the two.

“Ryan’s in California,” Brian responded quickly, “since August.”

“You dumbasses,” William glared, “Ryan’s been running around dressed as a girl.”

Katie gave a concerned glance towards Brian, then took a defensive step towards William, “listen here,” she said angrily, “Ryan and Rachel have nothing in common aside from being cousins, so you need to leave Rachel alone before she just ends up kicking your ass!”

Brian looked at Katie in surprise, as a blanket of disappointment came over him. He knew Katie was right, it really did seem like Rachel was an entirely different person than Ryan.

William narrowed his eyes at Katie as he took a couple steps back, “Oh, I’m going to prove that Ryan is still here all right,” he continued to walk backwards, “just you wait.”

“Just you try,” Katie spoke up to the retreating William, “every inch of her body is female.”

“And when I get my proof--!” William was suddenly cut off as he fell over backwards, having tripped over his own feet. He quickly hurried back to his feet, turning back towards Katie to finish his though, “when I get my proof, I’m going to expose him.”

Katie huffed as she turned back to Brian, letting out a little annoyed scream as she put her forehead against Brian’s chest. Brian cautiously put a hand on Katie’s back, “you don’t think he’s actually going to be able to prove anything, do you?”

Katie looked up at Brian with an exasperated expression, “the guy is a moron,” Katie snapped, “the only reason he thinks they’re the same person doesn’t even have anything to do with the situation.”

“I just don’t want anything to happen to Rachel,” Brian said longingly, “even if she isn’t our friend anymore.”

“Rachel can handle anything that buffoon tries,” Katie said reassuringly, “she’s a big girl.”

-

Rachel had to admit, after two days of running around campus with Andie, she really enjoyed herself and was slowly coming to the conclusion that she did want to attend college and join the volleyball team. She had only expressed a mild interest in the university to Andie.

Rachel and Andie found their seats behind the team’s bench. Their final night at Guttenberg State University saw them in attendance for one of the schools volleyball games. They had been able to watch practice the day before and now they were able to see an actual game.

Rachel recognized a few girls on the volleyball team which she had met prior, including the brunette girl from the dorm room, along with Andie’s older sister Alexis.

Shuffling in next to Andie, Rachel saw Mrs. Zimmerman join them behind the bench. She smiled at the two girls, “did you enjoy your visit?”

Andie beamed, “of course!”

“Miss Hawke?” Mrs. Zimmerman asked curiously, peering past Andie, “do you think you might want to join us next year?”

Rachel hesitated; she gave a slight shrug and nodded a little, “I think I would.”

“Wonderful!” Mrs. Zimmerman exclaimed happily, “Well Future Lady Griffs; time to check out your team in action.”

As Rachel watched the university volleyball team in action, she suddenly realized that her abilities, which made her a star player on a high school team, were just basic at best. Every girl there was probably the best player from their high school team, and all of them were taller than Rachel. The shortest girl on the team was an inch taller than herself.

Rachel’s stomach sank. She was finally deciding that she wanted to be apart of the team, but now she questioned if she even had a shot at it. Sure she was apart of the next phase of recruitment, but only a handful of spots would be available when it all came down to it.

Rachel sank in her seat, “they’re so good…”

“I know, right!” Andie said excitedly. She glanced over to Rachel and noticed the distress on her friend’s face, “what’s wrong?”

“What if I don’t make it?” Rachel asked solemnly.

Andie nodded understandably, “it’s possible we might not make the cut,” she explained, “but I still plan to come here, they could use us as substitutes if someone gets hurt.”

Rachel lowered her gaze and nodded.

The game ended with a victory for the red and gold Guttenberg Griffons. Mrs. Zimmerman got up with Rachel and Andie and led them to the locker room. Rachel quickly diverted her gaze towards the ground when she saw some of the girls were already changing clothes. Andie noticed this and comforted Rachel by placing a hand on her shoulder blade.

“Great job Lady Griffs!” Mrs. Zimmerman called out to the locker room happily. There was a sudden cheer from the girls as they greeted Mrs. Zimmerman.

“I’ve got a couple potentials here for next year’s squad,” Mrs. Zimmerman announced, “Andrea Rhea, little sister of our own Alex Rhea, and Rachel Hawke.”

Almost immediately Rachel found herself surrounded by the girls from the team greeting Andie and herself. She was taken aback a bit by the sudden inferiority she felt with all the other girls around her. A lot of the girls were pushing six feet tall, over half a foot taller than Rachel. She immediately flashed back to when she was younger and everyone was much taller than herself.

Rachel greeted the girls who came up to her, but quickly sank behind Andie while she talked with some of the girls. A hand placed itself on Rachel’s shoulder and she turned her head to see a red volleyball uniform. She looked up to see Andie’s older sister Alexis.

“Andie told me you were a shy one,” Alexis laughed, “but she also says you’re amazing on the court.”

“I guess,” Rachel shrugged; she couldn’t help but see the physical similarities between Andie and Alexis. If Andie were stretched a few inches taller, blonde, and without the freckles, you would immediately have Alexis.

As Rachel had learned, Alexis was one of two older sisters Andie had, both of whom had played volleyball for Guttenberg State. Alexis was the middle sister, who graduated Andie’s freshman year of high school. Their eldest sister, Addison, graduated two years before Andie started high school.

“Guess I’ll see for myself,” Alexis said with a small smirk, “we don’t have a game Thursday so I am going to go up to see my little Bobkittys win the league championship.”

Rachel raised her eyebrows and nodded a little, “cool,” she said, unsure what to say. She watched as Alexis rejoined the girls chatting with Andie and Mrs. Zimmerman, struggling to process everything she was having to deal with as Rachel, and her internal struggle to not lose her identity of Ryan in the process.

-

“It was that good, huh?” Allison asked as she hopped on to her bed and lay on her back, letting her head hang upside down off the edge. She watched as Rachel and Andie also entered her bedroom.

“It was great!” Andie exclaimed as she immediately tossed herself into Allison’s bean bag chair, “even Rachel had a good time.” Rachel raised an eyebrow at the mention of her name. She looked around Allison’s room and eventually found a stool to sit on. Rachel had tried to limit her willingness to go to any of her female friends houses, and was in fact in Allison’s house for the first time.

She had to admit that she was a bit surprised at the lack of things in Allison’s room. Aside from a couple movie posters, the walls were bare. All of her furniture was also fairly bland as opposed with the more feminine things some of her other friends had. The most distracting thing in Allison’s room was the Buster Bobcat costume on a mannequin in the corner of the room.

“Rachel? Have a good time?” Allison blinked, a big smile spreading across her upside down face,” I’ll believe it when I see it!”

Rachel shrugged, “It was cool,” she admitted, “I’m pretty sure I would like to go there.”

“My god!” Allison’s eyes went wide as turned so that she could sit cross legged on her bed, “I’ve never seen Rachel so emotional about something!”

Rachel furrowed her brow, “huh?” she blinked confused.

Andie grinned, “I know, right?” The two girls laughed as Rachel slumped a little bit.

“Give me a break,” Rachel sighed, “got a lot on my mind.”

Allison raised her eyebrow and tilted her head. A thought crossed her mind and she grabbed Rachel’s arm, pulling her on to the floor. She faced Rachel away from her and sat her down at the edge of the bed.

Rachel glanced back over her shoulder to see Allison sitting right behind her, with her head practically in Allison’s lap. Allison turned Rachel’s head forward again and began to braid Rachel’s hair, “tell us what’s on your mind.”

Rachel sighed, she had learned by this point that trying to stop a girl when it came to messing with her hair was pretty futile. “It’s just the game tomorrow,” Rachel admitted.

“Just be confident,” Andie spoke up, “all we have to do is win and we get the league championship and our spot in the playoffs.”

“And if we lose?” Rachel asked flatly, narrowing her eyes as she stared forward.

“Even if we lose, Tempest would still need to win their game,” Andie explained, “and if league ends in a tie, we could still win.”

Rachel looked wryly towards Andie, giving a half hearted shrug, “I just want to make sure we look good in front of the scout.”

“You’ve already done that,” Andie pointed out, “win or lose, just go out and do your best.”

“I guess.” Rachel sighed. She noticed Allison was no longer messing with her hair, figuring that Allison had finished and she was probably now sporting a braid down the middle of her head.

Rachel was surprised as she felt Allison suddenly slide her body between Rachel and the bed. With legs sprawled out on either side of Rachel, Allison wrapped her arms around Rachel under her breasts and rested her head against the back of Rachel’s neck, “you’re going to be amazing!”

“Allison…?” Rachel blinked, “what are you doing…?”

“Being a hopeless flirt?” Allison giggle, nuzzling the back of Rachel’s neck.

Andie tilted her head, “you okay, Rach?” a smile slowly coming over her face when she noticed Rachel tolerating it.

Rachel sighed and hung her head, “I’ve learned it’s easier to just let Allison do what she wants rather than to fight her,”

“Yup!” Andie threw herself back into the beanbag chair in a fit of giggles.

-

The thunderous cheering coming from the gymnasium each time a set of girls were announced was like nothing Rachel had heard before.  Her time on the wrestling team never saw the team contending for a league championship. A win would wrap up the division championship for Goldthwait. If the team were to lose, it would then depend on whether the second ranked team won their game or not.

Rachel’s name was announced and she followed Jennifer into the gym. After the girls finished their initial cheer, Rachel took a moment to look around the bleachers. She was amazed to see every seat taken. She started to note people she knew in the stands; Travis, some of her former wrestling friends, Brian Katie and Karina, Alexis Rhea and Mrs. Zimmerman, even her mother was there with Brett and Evan.

“Winchester is first to serve,” the announcer called out. Rachel took a deep breath as she focused her mind on the game at hand. The first game very quickly turned in favor of Goldthwait leading to victories in the first two matches.

“Great job Rachel,” Jessie grinned as she slapped Rachel on the back.

“Not over yet,” Rachel said sternly.

Jessie was a taken aback, “what’s with the attitude?” she snapped back, “We’ve got this.” The coach switched up the hitters and defenders, giving Andie and Rachel a team fresh off the bench.

The second string girls were not as proficient as the girls that were just on the court. As Goldthwait lost the third match, Rachel let out a frustrated yell. When the team began to fall behind in the fourth game, Rachel found herself getting more aggravated.

“C’mon guys!” Rachel yelled as they fell another point further behind.

“We’re trying!” Madison called back, breathing heavily from running cross court in the previous play.

“Well try harder!” Rachel turned and yelled back at Madison. Andie stepped in front of Rachel to try to take her focus off of the other girls. Madison exchanged a look with Karah, who gave a scowl in Rachel’s direction.

“Damn it nine!” Rachel yelled at Mary, the tall sophomore who was covering Jennifer’s position, who failed to block a point from being scored.

“Moperville South wins the fourth match,” the announcer called, “this takes Goldthwait into a final fifth match to decide the game.”

The coach called the girls over, putting much of the initial starters back in to the game. As the girls began to head back on to the court, the coach grabbed Rachel by the shoulder.

“Rachel, if you don’t drop this attitude, you’re going to be sitting on the bench,” the coach scolded her player.

“But—“ Rachel began to defend herself.

“No,” the coach quickly cut her off, “if you’re going to help lead this team, you need to be a positive influence on the other girls.”

“This is an important game!” Rachel spoke up.

“Yes, it is,” the coach responded back seriously, “and I can’t afford to have you sitting on the bench in the final match.”

Rachel huffed a breath through her nose as she faced the coach.

“If you keep acting the way you have, I’m putting Karah in for you,” the coach told Rachel, “do I make myself clear?”

“Crystal,” Rachel said through gritted teeth and turned to walk back out on to the court. She closed her eyes and took a few deep breaths. She knew that winning the division championship with the scout present would help her chances in making the Guttenberg University team.

“Lets go Lady Bobcats!” Andie called out as the girls took their positions.

“Be smart, we got this,” Rachel said solemnly, trying to keep things positive. Jessie smirked towards Li and rolled her eyes at Rachel’s sudden change. “We can do this, we can do this,” Rachel muttered quietly to herself as the game progressed with the Bobcats leading the match.

“Goldthwait wins!” the announcer called out excitedly as the volleyball hit the ground, “the Lady Bobcats win the Mid-Valley League title!” The gymnasium erupted in noise as people began to flood on to the court.

Rachel’s head was buzzing as she took a step back. She felt her knees give way as she fell in to a sitting position on the hard wood floor. She watched in shock as all the players began hugging their friends and family.

A pair of legs stepped in front of Rachel. She looked up at the beaming face of Andie, who offered a hand to help her up. Rachel grinned up at Andie and took her hand. Andie pulled Rachel to her feet and the two girls embraced. They separated, “Allison was right,” Andie grinned, “you do have a cute smile.”

Rachel gave a slight chuckle as she pulled her smile back to her normal demeanor, “tell anyone and I’ll have to kill you.”

The two girls laughed a little as Rachel was practically tackled off her feet by Buster Bobcat. “You guys were awesome!” Allison called from inside the costume.

“Thank you,” Rachel said calmly as she returned Allison’s hug. Rachel watched as Allison gave Andie a big hug and the two began to talking to other people.

Rachel turned to find herself face to face with Karah, who narrowed her eyes and pursed her lips together. She gave a huff and stuck her hand out to Rachel, “don’t screw things up for us in the playoffs, okay?”

Rachel blinked a little in surprise. “Thank you,” she said, taking Karah’s hand and shaking it.

“I didn’t—“ Karah began to protest.

“Thank you,” Rachel repeated. Karah hesitated as she stared at Rachel suspiciously. Karah smirked as she shook her head and rolled her eyes, leaving to go talk to some of her friends.

“You were never that passionate at other sports.”

Rachel turned to see her mother smiling at her. “I wasn’t as good at other sports,” Rachel said as she gave her mother a hug.

“I’m glad you were able to find something to make you happy during all this,” Rebecca happily hugged her daughter.

“Don’t get me wrong, I’m not resigned to this life,” Rachel retorted.

“Have hope,” Rebecca smiled, “we’ll get you through this.”

Chapter 8; Flip Side

Rachel looked up from her breakfast as Brett entered the kitchen. Brett seemed quite pleased with himself for some reason, a reason which Rachel was not quite sure of. He immediately began taking some of the remaining food that was on the table; luckily Rachel always made enough for the both of them.

“You’re in an awfully good mood,” Rachel commented, lowering her fork.

Brett turned his attention away from the food with a raised eyebrow, “well,” he said smugly, “today is wrestling try outs!”

Rachel narrowed her eyes. Reminders for the various sports try outs were mentioned daily in the morning bulletin. Despite the volleyball team’s success, she was still irritated that she was not going to be doing wrestling this year. “Yes, I remember,” she mumbled.

“I can’t wait to be on the wrestling team!” Brett exclaimed as he began stuffing food in his mouth.

“You’ve got to make the cut, first,” Rachel lowered her gaze, “they don’t just give away spots on the team…”

“Of course I’ll make it!” Brett scoffed, beating his chest, “when I’m done they’ll be begging me to join.”

Rachel shook her head as she put her plate in the sink. The doorbell rang and Brett immediately shot from his seat to answer the door. A moment later Brett returned to the kitchen with Evan sauntering in behind him.

Evan stood quietly as Brett quickly went back to eating his breakfast. “May I?” Evan asked to Rachel, motioning to one of the bagels on the table. Rachel shrugged and gave Evan a nod. “Thank you,” Evan responded.

Brett got to his feet and tossed his plate in the sink, “you’re going to come watch tryouts right?” he said turning his attention to Rachel “I mean, even though you can’t be on the team.”

Rachel again narrowed her eyes at her brother, “can’t,” she spoke venomously, “we’ve got a game today.”

“Awww Man!” Brett whined, “You were supposed to see me whoop everyone else!”

“Yes, well,” Rachel mumbled, “we’re kind of in the play offs and all…”

Evan nodded, “yes, you guys have done very well so far this year.”

“Yeah yeah” Brett sighed, “they’re doing good, even if it is just a girl’s sport.”

Rachel’s head whipped around to glare at Brett, her teeth clenching together. Evan glanced over to Brett as well with a cautiously raised eyebrow. Rachel did not know what to say, before all this happened she’d probably have written off volleyball in the same way.

Rachel huffed, “Andie’ll be here soon,” she grumbled as she walked past Brett, bumping her shoulder into his rather aggressively as she went by, “good luck today…”

Brett stumbled to keep on his feet as Rachel left the room, “jeez, what’s her problem?”

Evan frowned as he watched Rachel leave. He turned his attention back to Brett forcing his relaxed expression back on to his face, “smooth move, Lord Rust.”

Evan found little time to interject in the conversation on their way to school, as Brett continued to talk about the upcoming wrestling try outs. It was not uncommon for Evan to have little to say when Brett got on the subject of wrestling.

“Just wait till Rachel sees how great I am,” Brett said confidently as he walked alongside Evan down the hallways of Goldthwait High School.

“Rachel doesn’t seem very interested in wrestling,” Evan calmly said, glancing over at Brett, “that was more of a Ryan thing.”

Brett quickly stiffened up, “I, well, yeah, Ryan of course will be proud,” he stammered, “but I will prove to Rachel who the real star athlete is in the house.”

Evan closed his eyes and gave a silent chuckle, “you’ll show her all right.”

Brett let out a laugh loud enough to be heard down the hall, “oh man!” he called as he opened his locker, “when I’m done, they’ll be like, ‘just who is this guy?’” Brett continued to laugh confidently as he swung his locker shut.

-

Brett angrily flung his locker open, “just who does that guy think he is!?” Brett yelled.

Evan raised an eyebrow, “I believe he’s the wrestling coach.”

“Well he doesn’t know squat about wrestling!” Brett growled as he slammed his locker shut, “saying my moves are not proper wrestling moves…”

“Didn’t you say you used a chokehold on someone?” Evan asked casually as he leaned against the lockers.

“Exactly!” Brett threw up his arms, “my chokehold was awesome; everyone around me was cheering.”

Evan gave Brett a bemused look, “I’m no expert on the rules of Roman-Greco wrestling,” he chimed, “but I believe the chokehold is considered highly illegal.”

Brett rolled his eyes, “I don’t know who The Roaming Gecko is,” he argued, “but all the best wrestlers in the Wide World of Wrestling know that the chokehold is a great way to set up for your finisher.”

“Finisher…” Evan furrowed his brow as he shook his head slightly, “well Hulk, I don’t know what to tell you.”

“Aren’t you the guy that put someone in a full nelson yesterday at wrestling try outs?” a female voice called over to Brett.

Evan grinned at Brett, “a full nelson too?” he paused as he processed that a girl had just asked that. Evan turned his attention to see a girl no taller than Rachel.

The girl was dressed in all black; a sleeveless t-shirt with fishnets running down her arms and baggy shorts that almost went to her knees with black combat boots. Her black hair, ending just below her chin, showed multiple piercings in her visible ear and an eyebrow piercing.

Brett blinked as he turned his attention to the girl, “you heard about that?”

The girl seemed a bit taken aback, “what are you, stupid?” he asked, “I was there.”

“What? Where?” Brett scratched the side of his head.

“Huh? I was trying out,” the girl clarified, “I’m in the lightweight class.”

“Lightweight!?” Brett’s jaw dropped, “but that’s my weight class!”

“How the hell didn’t you notice I was there?” the girl looked bewildered, “I was on the mat right next to you.”

Brett didn’t seem to notice as he hung his head, “how could a girl make the team over me…?”

The girl’s face flared up, “Just because I’m a girl means I can’t wrestle!?” she growled through gritted teeth, “how about I put you in a headlock and show you!?”

Evan took this moment to step into the conversation, “whoa there,” he tried to calm down the girl, “down Clamps.”

The girl seemed to snap out of her anger and gave Evan a look of confusion, “huh?”

“Don’t get too upset at him,” Evan tilted his head with a smile, “he can be pretty stupid sometimes.”

“Is he your sidekick or something?” She raised an eyebrow at Evan.

Evan stifled a laugh, “sidekick? No,” he mused, “as much as I’d like to be the Dark Knight, I could never do justice to the cowl.”

The girl furrowed her brow and crossed her arms, “so you’re his sidekick.”

“No offense to the Boy Wonder, but I’d be even worse in Robin’s tights,” Evan smiled, “I prefer to think of us more like Vladimir and Estragon.”

The girl smirked bemused, “I’m Eimi Potter,” she said as she stuck out her hand to Evan.

Evan glanced at the girls hand and cautiously shook it, “Evan Thorn,” he said as he released Eimi’s hand and immediately put it in his pocket, “and this BPD patient behind me is Brett Hawke.”

“Is he going to be okay…?” Eimi motioned to Brett.

“He’s fine, just watch,” Evan said as he wiped his hands with a moist towelette, “He probably wouldn’t have gotten thrown out of wrestling try outs if he didn’t use fake wrestling moves.”

“Wrestling is real!” Brett was immediately standing rigid, glaring at Evan.

Eimi blinked a bit in surprise, “It’s pretty well known that pro wrestlers are just very athletic actors,” she explained.

“You lie!” Brett pointed accusingly at Eimi, glaring at her.

“In fact,” A smirk crossed Eimi’s face as she again crossed her arms over her chest, “All the wrestlers get together ahead of time to organize their match and plan out who is going to win.”

“No!” Brett cried as he put his hands over his ears.

“It’s probably best to stop before you kill him,” Evan chimed in.

Eimi’s attention shot up to Evan, “you think it could actually go that far?”

“I’m as much a fan of amicicide as the next person,” Evan shrugged, “but the bell is about to ring and we don’t have nearly enough time to hide a body.”

Eimi opened her mouth to respond, but was cut off by the bell signifying the end of the lunch period. She grinned and shrugged, “Well then, maybe I’ll see you around.”

Evan gave a nod to Eimi as she headed to class. He turned his attention to Brett, who was looking around bewildered, “Where’s everyone going?” he asked as he lowered his hands from his ears.

“C’mon,” Evan directed, “It’s time to head to class.”

Brett turned his head in surprise and followed after Evan, “y’know,” he spoke up and put his arms behind his head, “that girl was totally in to me.”

Evan furrowed his brow and glanced over to Brett, “sure thing, Gaston.”

Brett stopped mid stride and held his head at attention. Evan slowed down and looked back at his friend in confusion. Brett slowly walked towards the lockers and leaned against them, tilting his ear towards an open locker.

Evan glanced over to where Brett’s attention had turned and saw Ryan’s junior high friend William Montgomery. He walked over to where Brett stood and waited.

“Hawke Hawke damn you Ryan Hawke…” William muttered with his head hanging in his locker, “just need proof, proof I can show people, show people once and for all…”

“What is it?” Evan leaned over a little toward Brett.

Brett looked anxiously towards Evan, “someone is, uh, talking about my cousin.”

“Show people… I need something to show people…” William continued to talk into his locker, “if I take it everyone will see the truth underneath…” William’s head shot up from his locker as he erupted in laughter.

Brett grabbed Evan’s arm and quickly began walking away from William’s locker, hoping that the senior did not notice him listening in. “We’ve got to tell Rachel!”

“I’ve got you now Hawke!” William yelled into the hallway, causing multiple people to stop in confusion.

“Hate to break it to you,” Evan explained to Brett, “but we’ve got to head to class.”

“But…” Brett trailed off, trying to figure out a solution.

Evan put a hand on his friends shoulder, “We will find her after school and let her know then.” Brett looked up at Evan and gave him a determined nod.

-

The bell rang and Brett rushed out of his class room. He stood anxiously as he waited for Evan, who strolled out of a classroom across the hall. “Let’s go find Rachel!” Brett proclaimed as he rushed up to Evan.

Evan nodded calmly. He stuck his hands in his pockets as he watched Brett take off down the hallway. Evan shrugged and began to casually walk in the direction his friend went.

Brett sprinted up to Evan, looking out of breath and slightly bewildered, “I checked the cafeteria, library, and art room,” he huffed, “but I didn’t see Rachel anywhere.”

Evan raised his eyebrow, “Rachel’s last class is home economics,” he explained, “let’s start there.”

“Why didn’t you say so sooner!?” Brett waved his arms in the air as he again ran down the hallway. Evan shook his head and leaned against the wall. Brett stomped back up to Evan and glared at his friend. The two then entered the home economics class which Evan had been waiting outside of.

The teacher looked up from her cleaning, “can I help you boys?” she asked curiously.

“Rachel!” Brett called out as he looked around the empty room, “where’s Rachel Hawke?!”

The teacher blinked, “she already left for the day,” she explained. Before she could say anything further, Brett ran from the classroom. Evan shrugged and followed after his friend.

“Oh man where can she be!?” Brett turned in a panic to face Evan.

Evan sighed, “I think it’s pretty obvious where she is…” he began to say.

“Of course!” Brett called out and again ran down the hall. Evan glanced towards the gymnasium and then in the direction in which Brett had went. Evan again began to walk down the hall in pursuit of his friend.

“Rachel!” Brett yelled into the girl’s bathroom, “Raacheel!”

“What are you doing…?” Evan asked with a bit of agitation as he approached Brett.

Brett whipped his head towards Evan, “trying to find Rachel,” he snapped, “no help from you!”

Evan raised his eyebrows in surprise and leaned against the lockers. He watched as Brett continued to yell in to the girl’s bathroom.

A black haired girl walked out of the bathroom looking annoyed, “go away perv!” she spoke angrily, “there’s no Rachel in here.”

Brett hung his head and walked back over to Evan, “we’ll never find her…” he moaned as he ran his head into the lockers.

“The volleyball team is preparing for the second game of the playoffs,” Evan pointed out, “how about we try the gymnasium?”

“The gym!” Brett spun on his heels, “of course! Lets go!”

Evan again followed after. Brett ran through the crowds of students, heading straight for the gymnasium. When he finally got to the gym, Brett could hear the noise of the girls from inside. He pulled open the large gymnasium doors and squinted as the bright lights from inside hit him in the eyes.

Brett stared as he caught sight of the girls inside. He had seen the girls playing volleyball before where they wore the spandex shorts with their uniforms, but he was not prepared to see the girls practicing. Most of the girls wore shorts just as tight and short as their spandex, but some of them, in lieu of shirts, wore tank tops, leaving them more exposed.

A lot of the girls looked over at Brett, who stood in the door way with his mouth hanging open. Rachel stepped angrily in front of Brett; she wore her normal game spandex and a fairly tight fitting red shirt. Brett snapped out of his daze and looked at his sister.

“What the hell are you doing here!?” Rachel snapped at Brett, her arms crossed over her chest.

“I—uh—gotta tell you—something…” Brett seemed scattered as he leaned his head to try to see past Rachel. Rachel narrowed her eyes and pushed Brett back and closed the gymnasium door behind her.

“Now what do you want?” Rachel growled.

“Oh, uh, I heard something!” Brett got back to his point, “William Montgomery, he was talking about you.”

Rachel shook his head, “William is a dumbass,” she said, “tell me something new.”

“But—I think he knows about you,” Brett defended, “I heard him talking about Ryan.”

“He thinks he knows stuff,” Rachel turned to go back in to the gym, “but he has no way of proving anything.”

“Wait!” Brett called out, “he was talking about getting proof, and he is going to find a way to prove it.”

Rachel turned slightly to look over her shoulder, “I’d like to see him try…” she said menacingly before going back in to the gym.

Brett slumped his shoulders as he turned around to see Evan entering the lobby of the gymnasium. Brett’s eyes went wide at seeing his friend, “Evan!” he proclaimed loudly, “when did you get here!?”

Evan shrugged, “just walked in,” he shrugged, “how did it go?”

“She didn’t even seem worried about it,” Brett frowned.

Evan smiled, “I’m sure she will be able to take care of herself,” he reassured his friend, “let’s get out of here.”

-

Brittney mumbled something incoherently and rolled over while her alarm clock blared. As the music on her clock radio continued, she turned back over and looked at the time through blurry eyes. Brittney brushed some of her auburn hair out of her face and buried her head back in to her pillow.

“Hurry up, Brittney!” her mother called out as she gave a few knocks on the door while passing by.

Brittney rolled on her back with a sigh. She climbed out of bed and stumbled over to her dresser. She solemnly looked down at her small breasts before clumsily putting on her bra. After putting on a pair of girls’ shorts and a short sleeved shirt, Brittney headed downstairs.

Brittney quietly entered the kitchen where she saw Ryan busy eating breakfast. Brittney stood on her tip toes to reach the cereal box in the cabinet; the couple inches she had lost since becoming a girl had really caused a hindrance to her. She stumbled back as she finally got the box.

Ryan got up from his chair and tossed his plate in to the sink. “You know what today is, right BRETTney?” he smirked, putting extra emphasis on the real part of Brittney’s name, “wrestling try-outs are today.”

Brittney looked up at her brother, who was now even taller than her then he had been when she was a boy. “Yeah, I know…” she sighed, knowing she wouldn’t get the chance to try out and be part of the team with her older brother.

“Of course, girls can’t be on the wrestling team,” Ryan mocked.

Brittney hopped from her chair and puffed out her chest a little, “a girl could make the team if they wanted!” she defended.

Ryan raised an eyebrow and stepped up to Brittney, towering over her by nearly three quarters of a foot, “You’ve become dumber as a girl too!”

Brittney gave a girlish shout as she attempted to strike Ryan, but found herself unable to reach him as he held her back with a palm to her forehead. She dropped her arms in defeat and hung her head, she knew she was nothing compared to when she used to be a boy. Brittney’s eyes welled up with tears as Ryan laughed on his way out of the kitchen.

Brittney raised her head when the doorbell rang, she knew it was about time for Evan to show up and walk with her to school. She opened the door to see her best friend standing there, looking relaxed as always.

Evan looked at the teary eyed Brittney and raised an eyebrow, “something wrong, Belle?” he asked, a concerned tone sneaking into his voice.

“Oh Evan!” Brittney cried as she wrapped her arms around Evan, “it’s just, being a girl, I can’t control my emotions!”

A warm smile washed over Evan’s face as he patted Brittney on the back. He looked down at the petite girl, who looked up at him with tears dripping down her cheeks. Brittney felt comfort in Evan’s arms and closed her eyes as he leaned over and kissed her.

“Gah!” Brett yelled as he sat up straight in his bed. He quickly reached under his shirt and felt his chest to find his normal boy body. He turned and sat hunched over on the edge of his bed, still trying to slow his rapid breathing.

-

Brett slowly made his way down the stairs, still trying to get the dream he had had out of his head. As he entered the kitchen, he stopped and stared at Rachel sitting at the breakfast table.

Rachel hesitated while eating and looked up at Brett, giving him a bewildered look. When Brett’s gaze did not change, Rachel lowered her fork, “what?” she asked, some food still in her mouth.

“Nothing…” Brett lowered his gaze and walked slowly over to the table. He tossed himself into a chair and stared at the table surface.

Rachel again found herself distracted from her breakfast. She pushed the plate of food she had made for Brett toward him, but stopped when he dismissed it with his hand.

“I’m not hungry,” Brett sighed.

Rachel gave a huff and put down her fork, “what’s wrong?” she growled, clearly irritated by Brett’s sour attitude.

Brett’s head shot up in surprise, “wrong? Nothings wrong!” he nervously defended.

Rachel raised an eyebrow in agitation, “o…kay…?” she said and went back to eating.

After an undiscriminatable amount of time, the doorbell rang. Brett’s mind however kept him from hearing it and he remained unmoved at the table.

Rachel noticed Brett’s comatose state and cleared her throat, “aren’t you going to go let Evan in?” she asked.

“Evan!?” Brett jumped to his feet in a panic, “there’s nothing up with Evan!”

Rachel stared blankly at her brother’s behavior, at a loss as to how to respond.

Brett looked back to Rachel and tried to calm himself, “I’ll go get the door…” he said anxiously as he left the kitchen.

Brett returned to the kitchen, looking oddly uneasy. Rachel sighed as she looked her brother over.

“Brett, listen…” Rachel said matter-of-factly, “it sucks you didn’t make the wrestling team, but you had to have known that was a possibility when you started using wrestling moves you learned from watching TV.”

Brett’s head shot up, “what’s that have to do with anything?” he grumbled, “If they don’t want the best wrestler in town on the team, than that’s their loss.”

Rachel rolled her eyes, “then why the hell are you acting so weird this morning?”

“Weirder than normal, anyway,” Evan chimed in.

Brett stiffened up in his chair as he looked at Rachel. He opened his mouth but he caught Evan out of the corner of his eyes. Brett bit his lip and furrowed his brow. There was nothing he could think to say in front of both Rachel and Evan without the other hearing something he did not want to hear.

Rachel raised her eyebrow, perplexed, she was used to Brett being weird, but he was taking it to a whole new level.

“Y’know what?” Brett said as he hopped to his feet, “I’m feeling a lot better!” He spun on his heels and went to grab Evan’s arm to leave. Brett’s eyes shot open and he stumbled around Evan making sure not to make any physical contact with his friend.

Evan glanced over to the still confused Rachel. He shrugged and turned to follow Brett.

As Brett and Evan walked to school, the air was filled with an unusual silence. While Evan enjoyed the lack of noise, he almost felt uneasy by Brett actually being lost in thought. Eventually Evan turned his head to speak.

“If I were a girl, would you hit on me?” Brett suddenly blurted out, keeping his head forward.

Evan stopped walking. “What?”

Brett rubbed the back of his head and looked towards the ground, “if I was a girl, y’know, instead of a guy,” he reiterated, “what would that make us?”

“Theoretically speaking?” Evan raised an eyebrow.

“Right,” Brett looked about anxiously, “such a thing could never happen.”

Evan smirked, “I assume we’d still be friends, of course girls have their own friends so you might not want to hang out,” he tilted his head, “why do you ask?”

Brett quickly turned and started walking again, “I just, uh, was curious.” The boys returned walking to school in silence.

-

“Stupid locker!” Eimi growled as she pounded her fist on her locker, “why, wont, you, OPEN!?”

“Hey Potter!” a boy called mockingly from a few lockers down, “why don’t you open it with magic?”

Eimi glared at the boy, “come here and I’ll show you my magic wand!” she growled as she flipped him off, “next time I’ll shove it up your ass!”

“Having a problem?” Brett smirked as he leaned against the locker next to Eimi, “allow me.”

Eimi glared at Brett as he gave her locker a knock with his hand. She smirked and crossed her arms when it remained shut. Brett narrowed his eyes and hit it again, “what the?” he said as he continued to try to hit it.

“Mine stuck in a similar away…” Evan said as he walked over and jiggled it a few times, finally getting it to open.

Eimi sighed, “Thanks…”

Brett smiled and stuck out his hand, “Brett Hawke, nice to meet you.”

Eimi blinked and looked to Evan in confusion, then back to Brett, “are you joking?”

“I never joke with cute girls,” Brett winked at Eimi.

Eimi’s eye twitched as she scrunched her forehead in disgust, “dude, we met yesterday, Eimi Potter..?” she tilted her head, “remember?”

Brett scratched the side of his head, “Amy?”

“No, not Amy!” Eimi yelled, “My name is Eimi, E.I.M.I”

“Emmy?” Brett squinted in confusion.

Eimi clenched her teeth but kept from yelling when Evan put an arm in front of her, “Just bear with him.”

“What kind of name is Emmy anyway?” Brett rambled.

“It’s Japanese…” Eimi narrowed her eyes and lowered her gaze, “or something…”

“Potter isn’t a Japanese name…” Brett continued.

“Which means I’m half Japanese,” Eimi said exasperatedly, “happy now genius?”

“Hey, don’t get mad at me just because you’ve got a weird name,” Brett shrugged obliviously.

Eimi clenched her fists and started at Brett, but was stopped as Evan casually leaned between the two of them, “hold up, murdering Tywin now might affect the plot.”

“How do you put up with him?” Eimi growled, looking past Evan at Brett.

“Practice,” Evan smiled and leaned against the lockers with his hands in his pockets, “en toute chose il faut considerer la fin.”

Eimi’s eyes went wide with surprise, “tu parle francais?” she asked turning towards Evan.

“Juste un petit quelque chose que je appris dans mon temps libre,” Evan raised an eyebrow towards Eimi, “comment as tu appris?”

Eimi narrowed her eyes a little as she thought, “famille le temps passé au Quebec,” she explained, clearly not fluent with the language, “appris un peu mais pas tres bon.”

Evan chuckled and smiled, “votre francais est tres bon.”

Brett waved his arms around, “enough with all the foreign speak,” he said as he interrupted the two, “This isn’t Mexico!”

Eimi covered her mouth as she laughed “il si bête.”

“Oui,” Evan nodded.

“You’re pretty weird yourself,” Eimi smirked at Evan as she crossed her arms.

“Speaking from experience?” Evan raised an eyebrow.

“Well, yeah,” Eimi scoffed, “a movie about you would be very interesting.”

Evan shrugged, “doubtful,” he grinned, “I’m better off as a secondary character whose primary role is to show up periodically and give the protagonist key advice.”

“Besides!” Brett broke in to the conversation, “We all know I’m the real hero of any movie.”

“And there’s that,” Evan smiled and stuck a thumb towards Brett, “what about your movie?”

Eimi looked surprised and stiffened up, “Me?” she blinked, “my movie would be boring, no one would be interested in that.”

The bell rang signaling the beginning of school. Eimi gave a relieved sigh as she closed her locker.

Evan raised an eyebrow, “Hey, Brett’s cousin is playing in the volleyball playoffs after school,” he explained, “are you interesting in going to watch with us?”

Eimi furrowed her brow, “watch preppy girls bounce around?” she rolled her eyes, “pass.”

“Watching girls bounce around is awesome,” Brett exclaimed.

Evan’s calm smile disappeared, “I think you may be mistaking volleyball players for cheerleaders…”

Eimi brushed Evan off, “a bunch of popular girls running around in spandex hitting a ball around,” she narrowed her eyes, “I know what I’m missing.”

“Girls in spandex,” Brett interjected, “also awesome.”

“Don’t wrestlers wear spandex unitards?” Evan frowned at her.

“But guys aren’t going to wrestling games with the purpose of ogling girls,” Eimi growled.

Evan’s face began to show actual confusion, “uh…”

“Fine!” Eimi threw her arms in the air, “I’ll go, as long as you come to my first wrestling match.”

Evan tilted his head a little as Eimi walked quickly toward her first period class.

“I hate it when you leave,” Brett grinned turning his head to look at Eimi’s bottom in her leather skirt, “but I love it when you go.”

“Pouah…” Evan sighed bringing his hand to his face.

-

Brett came running up to Evan from the school parking lot, “dude!” he yelled as he grabbed Evan’s arm, “guess what!”

Evan sighed with a shrug, “you got a perfect score on a Rorschach test?”

“What?” Brett paused, “I’m not in that class.”

“Go on,” Evan waved.

Brett shook off his hesitation, “my dad is in the parking lot!” he explained, “he said he wants to take us to Guttenberg for a baseball game.”

Evan raised an eyebrow, “are—you forgetting something..?”

Brett grinned and waved his hand, “I’ll call my mom in a second.”

Evan stood in silence for a moment, waiting for Brett to catch on “we’re going to Rachel’s playoff game,” He finally stated.

A baffled look crossed Brett’s face, “but how often do you get to see a major league baseball game?”

Evan’s jaw hung open, “more often then you get to watch your family in the play offs…”

“But I thought it’d be cool to hang out with my dad,” Brett defended.

“Well…” Evan murmured, “I’m going to the volleyball game… maybe you could invite your dad to see Rachel play instead.”

“Oh okay…” Brett mumbled and sulked back out into the school’s parking lot to Ryan Sr.’s car.

“Your friend not coming with us?” Ryan asked leaning out the window of his car, “guess it’s just us.”

“Well, uh, I kind of forgot…” Brett shuffled next to his dad’s car, “Rachel is playing in the volleyball playoffs today.”

“So?” Ryan blurted, “She wasn’t going to come with us anyway.”

“I’m going to go to watch volleyball,” Brett explained, “so I can’t go to the baseball game.”

Brett’s dad frowned, “Well, so much for hanging out,” he grumbled.

“You could come in and watch the play offs,” Brett said.

Ryan Sr. raised an eyebrow, “high school girls’ volleyball?”  He questioned, a smirk slowly crossed his face, “sure, I guess that would be okay.”

“He seriously forgot…?” Eimi rolled her eyes, “and it’s his damn cousin that’s playing.”

Evan stood quietly as Eimi continued to rant about Brett. When the two saw Brett and his father approaching things quieted down. “Hello Mr. Cunningham.” Evan said quietly

“Dad, this is my friend Eimi,” Brett motioned to the Asian girl.

Ryan smirked, “that your girlfriend?”

Eimi rolled her eyes and threw her arms in the air again, “fuck!” she yelled before turning and storming into the gymnasium.

Brett grinned at his father and gave a thumbs up, “she’s totally in to me.”

“Come on, Tannens,” Evan lead Brett and his dad in to the gymnasium.

-

After the Lady Bobcats finished their entrance, Rachel walked over to the team’s bench. She continued her stretching as she scanned over the audience as she normally did. She knew her mom was not able to get off work for the game so she was not expecting her there. Katie and Brian were there, as was Travis.

Rachel’s gaze stopped when she saw Brett. Sitting next to her brother was her dad, who she was not at all happy to see in attendance. Rachel shook herself off and bounced on the balls of her feet as she tried to focus on the playoffs game.

“What the hell is she doing?” Ryan sneered as he motioned to Rachel, who was on the court hopping up and down swinging her arms around.

“She’s loosening herself up,” Evan said matter-of-factly.

Eimi sighed as she crossed her arms and leaned against the wall behind her.

“The Tandy Gardens Kangaroos take the first game 25-22 over Goldthwait!” The announcer called out as the first match came to an end. The game was tight the entire way and the opponents just pulled ahead late in the game. Playing the best of five meant Goldthwait still had time to rebound and win this second round of playoffs.

Rachel bit her lip as she walked over to the bench for a quick huddle before the second match. She was displeased with the loss and was showing it on her face.

“We can make that one back, ladies,” the Coach said supporting her team, “you’re playing fantastic, we’ve just got to keep our heads up and have some of the best sets of our lives, these are the playoffs, and there won’t be any easy wins here.”

“Bobcats!” the team called as the broke the huddle. Rachel was nodding to herself, feeling more confidence after the talk from her coach. Andie slapped her on the back on the way back to the court and gave Rachel an equally supportive smile.

“Samantha ‘Wolfie’ Wolfe is first to serve for the Kangaroos,” the announcer called as the teams prepared for the second match. “Wolfe rockets the ball over the net and gets a kill! That’s first blood for Tandy in this match, Wolfe continues to show why she was MVP in their league.”

“Show them Bobcats!” Andie yelled as she clapped her hands, getting back in to position for the second serve, “we got this!”

Rachel took a deep breath, the announcers voice grew quiet as she focused on just the voices of her teammates.

“Wolfe serves. Li is under it, to Hawke who sets the ball up for Yates and sends it back to Tandy. Cobain is there and gets the ball back to Wolfe, Wolfe sets the ball. McBride hammers the ball back to the Bobcats! Bolt digs to it and gets the ball in the air! Rhea sets up the ball—and Winchester spikes it for the point!”

The crowed erupted after the rally concluded. The momentum continued as Goldthwait pulled a point ahead and slowly kept inching closer and closer to the victory but Tandy Gardens continued to hang right with them. “Goldthwait takes the second match 25-23!” the announcer yelled as the crowd continued to cheer for their home team.

The entire team crowded around Andie and Rachel as if they had just won the whole thing. Rachel turned and came fast to face with Karah. “They’ve got nothing for you,” Karah grinned at Rachel as she patted her on the shoulder. Rachel was momentarily surprised by the support given Karah’s normal attitude, but nodded in response.

Evan glanced over to see Eimi clap for the team after their match victory. He looked over to see Brett cheering for the Bobcats as he normally does. Evan looked past his friend at his friend’s dad, who was leaning back just watching the girls down on the court. He turned his attention back to the game as Tandy Gardens continued to play tough and won the third match 25-19 to put the Kangaroos up two matches to one.

The fourth game saw the two teams match each other point for point. “Tandy scores making it 25-24, but they’ve got to win by two points so that means it is not over yet.”

“Katie McBride serves the match point for Tandy. White is there! She gets it to Hawke, who sets it up for Bolt—GOLDTHWAIT SCORES! The Bobcats tie up the game and take back the ball!”

“Yeah!” Eimi yelled as she stood up as the team rebounded. Evan glanced again over to the girl dressed in all black and couldn’t help but chuckle to himself.

The girls tried to keep themselves calm during the celebration; they had to score two points in order to take the fourth match. Andie received the ball from the referee, spinning it in her hands. She called out her serve and tossed the ball in the air.

“Rhea serves it to the corner. Katie McBride hits it back. Hawke sets it up and Winchester at the net. Lady Bobcats go up 26-25 over Tandy Gardens!”

Rachel looked back to Andie as she received the ball. There was a giant smile on the redheads face but she could also see the ball shaking in her hand.

“Game Point for Goldthwait. Rhea to serve. IT’S A KILL! Goldthwait ties the game up and takes it to a fifth match!”

Andie fell to a sitting position as the crowd’s cheers were deafening. Rachel walked over to her friend to see some tears rolling down her face to the giant smile on her face. Rachel grabbed Andie’s hand and pulled her back to her feet, where Andie immediately gave Rachel a big hug.

“Rachel Hawke continues to serve for Goldthwait. The Lady Bobcats have rallied back to tie the match up 13 all. If they can keep up this momentum and score two more points then this could be the first time Goldthwait High makes it into the state semifinals.

Rachel looked at the volleyball in her hands. Taking a few deep breaths, she served the ball.

“And it’s out!” the announcer cried, “That’ll give Tandy the ball with the game point at hand.”

“Stuart serves the ball for Tandy. Li Kim volleys it back to Tandy. Hibert keeps it going; Wolfe sets up the ball for McBride. McBride spikes it—Rhea dives for it—Game Point Tandy! The Kangaroos win!”

The two teams shook hands and the volleyball season officially came to an end for Goldthwait High School. The bleachers emptied as family and friends went to speak to the players. Rachel stood with her shoulders slouched, she could not help that she threw away the game.

Evan walked up to Rachel and gave her a smile, “congratulations,” he said as he offered his hand.

Rachel raised an eyebrow, “we lost…”

“Regardless,” Evan shrugged, “you took the volleyball team to the second round in the playoffs and almost took the school to the state semifinals for the first time ever.”

Rachel blinked and looked down momentarily, “thank you,” she said as she grasped Evan’s hand and shook it.

“I once quoted to Ryan,” Evan explained, “’you still have a lot of time to make yourself be what you want. There’s still a lot of good in the world.’”

Rachel raised an eyebrow to Evan; he had said that after a particularly rough loss Ryan had suffered in a wrestling tournament. Her attention was pulled away as Brett excitedly grabbed her shoulder.

“You were great!” Brett exclaimed, “I totally thought you guys were going to win!”

Rachel pulled her arm free and looked to Brett. Behind him was a girl in a black leather skirt and black sleeveless shirt, but that was it. “Where’s—your dad?”

“Huh?” Brett blinked, “oh, he left.”

“You did good…” Eimi said flatly to Rachel, her arms crossed over her chest.

“Come on Rachel,” Jennifer said as she came up to Rachel, “Coach wants to talk to us in the locker room.”

“Alright,” Rachel responded before turning back to Brett, “I’ll see you at home.”

“Hey, uh, thanks for inviting me…” Eimi said under her breath to the two boys, “Maybe we could hang out some time, Evan?”

Evan raised an eyebrow; “Sure,” he shrugged with a smile.

“Cool…” Eimi mumbled before turning and briskly walking out of the gymnasium.

“Shall we retire to Casa de Hawke for some games?” Evan turned to Brett.

-

“You’re cheating!” Brett jumped to his feet, “I totally hit you!”

“I parried,” Evan pointed out, “you focus too much on just attacking, you don’t think about what your opponent could do to counter.”

“You can’t just keep blocking and using my own attacks against me!” Brett grumbled, “You’re supposed to fight in order to win.”

Evan rolled his eyes, “but I did win.”

“By cheating!” Brett continued to argue.

Evan gave a smug smile, “by using the tools provided by the game developers.”

Brett threw his controller down on the couch, “I’m going to the bathroom,” he declared before storming up the stairs.

Evan continued to play on single player mode. His eyebrow raised as he heard the front door open, close, and footsteps proceed toward the room he was in. “Hey Rachel,” Evan said without turning his gaze away from the screen.

“Hey,” Rachel responded solemnly, “where’s Brett?”

“He’s sulking in the bathroom and trying to sneakily look up cheats on his phone,” Evan responded casually.

Rachel nodded slightly, “that dork will never learn.”

Evan chuckled a little, “got an open seat if you want it,” he motioned with his head.

Rachel stood silently for a moment, watching Evan making little work of the opponents on their hardest difficulty. She glanced to the spot Evan motioned to, and with a shrug she dropped her gym bag on the floor and stepped around the end of the couch, sitting and slouching against the arm.

“So what’s the word, Raven?” Evan asked without turning his attention away from the game, “how are you feeling?”

“Better,” Rachel said casually, “the coach had a lot of good things to say in the locker room and afterwards we all agreed that we truly did something great this season.”

“Exactly,” Evan retorted, “This is the furthest our school had ever made it in to state playoffs.”

“I just can’t help but be disappointed though,” Rachel sighed, “we were really close.”

“Too bad it can’t stay like that all the time,” Evan quoted, “nothing gold can stay.”

Rachel glanced over to Evan, who’s eyes never left the television screen, “maybe that’s it--,” she sighed, “Volleyball had been one thing I actually enjoyed since—you know—“

“Earthquake,” Evan answered.

“Yeah, that,” Rachel sighed again.

“You know, a public school making it into state semifinals is almost unheard of,” Evan explained, “although I think the other team was a public school too.”

“Mm…” Rachel grunted in response.

“How do you feel about suddenly being a school celebrity?” Evan mused, “Did you ever get that back in, you know?”

“California…” Rachel responded flatly, “no… I don’t like being the center of attention.”

“But here you are, the focus of everyone’s eye,” Evan countered, “what will you do?”

“I’ll manage,” Rachel said with a hair of agitation, “I’ve—got friends to help distract me.”

“Friends are a great asset,” Evan agreed, “the only thing that could be better was if you had some friends from back home, from California, who knew exactly what you were going through.”

Rachel’s head turned quickly towards Evan, whose attention never waivered from the game. She slowly turned her head away, her eyes dropping to the ground as Evan’s words echoed in her brain.

“But that’s just my opinion,” Evan shrugged.

Rachel got to her feet and went back around the couch. She grabbed her gym bag and started up to her room.

“Stay gold, Ponyboy,” Evan called out to Rachel as she was halfway up the stairs, “stay gold.”

Rachel stopped, standing silent for a second before turning back towards the living room.

“Hey Evan…” she sounded very anxious.

“Yo,” Evan quickly responded.

Rachel pursed her lips together, breathing heavily through her nose, finally she opened her mouth, hesitating. “How long have you know?”

Evan paused his game, turning on the couch to look up at his friend, a small smile on his face, “I probably knew before Brett did.”

Rachel’s stomach dropped, “was it clearly obvious?” her voice sounded shaky, “do you think a lot of people know?”

“Without an astute ability for observation and a deep knowledge of your family and your personality, I don’t think anyone could figure it out,” Evan explained, “you’ve been Rachel.”

“Ah…” Rachel nodded, feeling a little more comfortable. There was no one’s word she trusted more in most matters than Evans.

“Can I ask you something?” Evan spoke up.

“Hm?” Rachel’s attention returned back towards the blond boy.

“Magic, Mad Scientist, or some kind of celestial filing error?” Evan asked curiously.

Rachel blinked in surprise, “Uh… mad scientist…?” Rachel mumbled, “I think…”

Evan slumped his shoulders, “Awh,” he groaned, “I was kind of hoping there was some kind of inexperienced witch running around causing havoc for everyone”

Rachel raised her eyebrow in bewilderment, before turning to head back up the stairs.

“Oh, and Rachel,” Evan said as he unpaused his video game, “can you not tell Brett that I know? It’s been really fun watching him squirm around the subject.”

Rachel stifled a laughed, “You got it, Evan.” She reached the top of the stairs as the bathroom door flung open.

“Phew! Do NOT go in there!” Brett declared.

“Ugh,” Rachel rolled her eyes and shook her head, “really?”

“You could light some girly scented candles if you’re going in there,” Brett grinned as he tried to bump his shoulder against Rachel’s as he walked past her, however he found himself being the one knocked to the side, “hey, what the hell!”

Rachel kept her gaze forward as her brother groaned behind her. She entered her room, shutting the door behind her. Rachel tossed her gym back to the side and kicked off her shoes. Rachel sat on the edge of her bed, looking blankly ahead. She felt something on her cheek and reached up to wipe away a tear. Without warning she just began to cry uncontrollably. She dropped her head into her hand as if to hide herself from anyone who might be watching.

“God damnit…” Rachel murmured through her sobs.

Chapter 9; Gods

The first week of December brought in some brisk temperatures; but it also brought with it wrestling season. As school let out, some students had begun to gather in front of the gymnasium in preparation for the first wrestling sparing match of the season.

Eimi Potter leaned against the side of the gymnasium, hiding her anxiousness for her upcoming match. She was the first girl to ever make the school’s wrestling team. Around her were her friends Brett and Evan, who she had been hanging out with more and more as the weeks went on.

“Do you know anything about your opponent yet?” Brett asked Eimi.

“No,” Eimi said flatly, her fishnet covered arms crossed over her chest, “I won’t know until we weigh in.”

“You have my permission to use the Hawke sleeper hold on the guy,” Brett confidently smiled, “never fails.”

Eimi raised an eyebrow, “Uh, thanks…?”

Evan glanced at his watch, “you should probably go get ready,” he informed her, “wouldn’t want you to be late.”

Eimi clenched her teeth and gave a sigh through her nostrils, “yeah,” she mumbled before turning to head to the locker room.

“Kick some ass!” Brett yelled after her.

“Do your best.” Evan stated calmly.

Brett grabbed his head, “why wont you return my love!?” he growled as he stomped about.

“Whoa, Claude Frollo,” Evan spoke up, “your eyes glow too much.”

“You really don’t mind coming with me?” Rachel asked as she walked with Allison out of the main school building towards the gymnasium, “Andie is busy with basketball.”

Allison gave Rachel a sly grin, “like I need a reason to want to hang out with you.”

Rachel’s stride slowed as she spied Evan and Brett hanging out by the side of the gymnasium. She raised an eyebrow as she tried to figure out what her brother and friend were doing.

“Whatcha looking at?” Allison asked as she wrapped her arms around Rachel’s midsection and rested her chin on Rachel’s shoulder, “Hey is that your cousin? Hi Rachel’s cousin!” Allison began waving her arm from under Rachel’s armpit towards Brett and Evan.

Rachel leaned her head to the side and gave Allison a befuddled look.

“Mew?” Allison gave Rachel an innocent look before pulling her arms out from under Rachel’s arms and stepping next to her, rubbing the back of her head sheepishly.

“What’re you doing over here?” Brett asked sharply as he walked up to Rachel.

Rachel blinked, a little surprised that Brett would even have to ask, a glance at Evan showed that he at least knew the reasoning, “wrestling—I’m here to see how the team does in their first match of the season,” she explained, “why’re you here?”

Brett rolled his eyes, “I’m here to watch wrestling too, duh!”

“Even after they kicked you out of tryouts?” Rachel sighed.

“We don’t talk about that!” Brett quickly snapped back, pointing a finger angrily at Rachel.

“What Wesley meant to say was that we have a friend who is wrestling today,” Evan clarified as he casually strolled up to the conversation, “Eimi Potter, she’s part of the lightweight category—and I believe the first girl to make the wrestling team.”

Rachel raised an eyebrow at Evan. The look on his face told Rachel that he was very deliberate with his choice to bring up that fact.

When Rachel’s friends from the volleyball team had also suggested she join the basketball team with them, she declined. Having always been on the shorter side, she never liked basketball. Even though height for girl’s basketball was less important, she refused their insistence.

Rachel was a bit down for a few days after the volleyball season had ended. Without another sport to fill its spot, Evan pointed out that she could try out for the wrestling team even though try outs were already over since she was busy with volleyball playoffs. She was not the best wrestler in the world, but was always good enough to make varsity without much problem.

“I bet Rachel could have easily made the wrestling team if she wanted,” Allison spoke up loudly, “she’s great at everything she does.”

“I’m just not much of a wrestler,” Rachel sighed, knowing deep down that even after becoming a girl she would probably be able to out wrestle whoever was in the spot she’d have had as Ryan.

The quartet headed in to the gymnasium and took seats up in the bleachers. Rachel looked over at the wrestlers as they talked and prepared for their matches. She had been friends with some of the boys on the team before but was never able to connect with them after she became a girl. She winced as she realized that the things that bugged her most about them now, were probably all things she was guilty of before.

William Montgomery narrowed his eyes as he watched Rachel Hawke walking to the gymnasium. He tilted his head as he stared at the gym. He slowly walked down towards the building, stopping just outside. Peering in, he continued to watch Rachel.

Rachel’s eyes zeroed in on one particular wrestler. Shorter than all the rest and hair in a black pony tail, that definitely had to be Eimi Potter. Rachel tried to compare her height to the other boys, coming to the conclusion that she was probably the same height she was now, even though Eimi was just a freshman. Eimi was a little leaner than her, which she knew was the result of her being younger.

“The first match will be lightweights,” the announcer chimed, “from Goldthwait High we have Eimi Potter going against Rich Wilkins from Ekaltsew High School.”

Eimi approached the wrestling mat where she came face to face with the boy she’d be competing. He stood a hair taller and had a pointy nose. He scowled at her before turning his back, “why the hell do I always have to wrestle girls!?” he yelled.

“After I’m done with you you’ll be crying like a girl,” Eimi growled at him irritably.

Wilkins turned back towards Eimi and rolled his eyes, “oh, yeah, right,” he laughed, “only way a girl could beat me is if they cheat like that wolf girl did.”

The two wrestlers got in to their starting positions, Eimi leaned her head close to Wilkins’ ear, “don’t need to cheat to beat a girl like you,” she whispered.

The ref blew his whistle signifying the start of the match. Rachel leaned forward in her seat as she was curious to see how Eimi would do. While she had never wrestled in the lightweight category before, she would probably be close to that category now. She was disappointed to see that she was better than either competitor. With a sigh she slouched back in her seat.

Brett jumped to his feet, “get him Eimi!” he yelled as the two grappled back and forth, “headlock! Headlooooock!”

Evan raised an eyebrow at Brett. He let his eyes list over to Rachel to see that she was not at all on the edge of her seat. Evan knew he’d be able to judge how well Eimi was doing based on the reactions Rachel gave.

“This might be it—“ The announcer spoke up, “it’s a pin!”

Evan’s head turned back to the wrestling mat where he saw Eimi struggling to get out of the boy’s grasp. As Rich got to his feet, an angry Eimi jumped to her feet taking a few swings in his general direction.

“That fall gives Ekaltsew an early 6 point lead.”

Evan got to his feet and headed for the side of the bleachers. Brett blinked in confusion as he turned his attention back towards the next match.

Eimi growled in frustration as she stomped her feet in the direction of the locker room, not caring about the remaining matches.

“Moist towelette?” Evan asked, holding up a small prepackaged clothe as he sat on the side of the bleachers next to the exit of the gymnasium.

Eimi turned her scowl in Evan’s general direction, “shove it.”

“There’s other toiletry for that,” Evan quipped as he opened the towelette and began wiping his hands with it.

“Do you have a smartass remark for everything?” Eimi rolled her eyes as she leaned against the side of the bleachers.

“It’s a blessing and a curse,” Evan shrugged, “were you leaving already?”

Eimi leaned her head back and looked at the ceiling of the gym, “this shit is stupid,” she grumbled, “that guy was way out of my league.”

“That’s wrestling.” Evan responded quickly, “you never know who might end up in your weight class.”

“He was more experienced than me,” Eimi disputed.

Evan smiled, “exactly, he’s probably been wrestling for years,” he explained, “and yet you hung in there with him for a little bit.”

“And then I lost,” Eimi spat out, dropping her gaze to the floor.

“We all lose,” Evan’s voice turned more solemn, “but after you’ve been wrestling for years and are paired off against these guys, you’re going to whoop them so bad anything they ever said about wrestling girls will be burned into their mind.”

Eimi raised her head to look at Evan.

“But if you leave now, your coach might kick you off the team,” Evan continued to explain, “If you get kicked off now, you won’t lose any more matches.”

Eimi furrowed her brow, “but isn’t that a good thing?”

“You know Brett’s older brother is a wrestler,” Evan pointed out, “do you think he won all his matches his first year? Heck no, he lost a bunch, but he kept at it and learned, he has such a good analytical mind that he was able to figure out the best ways to counter things. He won more and more and would have been on the team this year if he didn’t move away.”

“I’m very analytical, too,” Eimi spoke up.

Evan nodded with his eyes closed. Evan stood back up in the bleachers and walked back down to where Brett was still watching the matches.

Eimi stood in place, looking down the row at Evan and Brett, sitting along with Rachel. She sighed and slowly walked back to the bench to rejoin her teammates.

Evan smirked to himself as he watched Eimi returning to the bench. “She’s got potential, you know,” Rachel said from behind Evan, leaning forward to speak to him.

Evan raised an eyebrow and turned his head to see the side of Rachel’s face. She was looking forward towards the wrestling matches. “She could use some training, don’t you think?”

“That’s what a coach is for,” Rachel responded quickly.

“Do you think that he will give her as good of training as the guys?” Evan asked dryly, “or that she will listen?”

“Well let’s hope so otherwise she won’t get any better,” Rachel shrugged.

Evan crossed his arms, “Eimi’s a pretty stubborn girl,” he explained, “don’t you think she’d do well if she could get an experienced female coach?”

Rachel’s eyes narrowed as she kept her head forward, “school doesn’t have a female wrestling coach.”

Evan too narrowed his eyes, “you know what I mean.”

Without any further response Rachel returned to her seat next to Allison. Evan glared towards Rachel who continued to ignore him. He gave a sigh and he arched his eyebrows in disappointment, looking down to Eimi who sat with her head hung.

The weight class Ryan had previously been in stepped on to the mat. Rachel knew the boy who was wrestling in her spot now; Johnny Schroder had been one weight class higher last year and had been trying to slim down some knowing that Ryan’s spot would be vacant when wrestling season came.

Rachel sighed. She had wrestled Schroder many times in practice matches and was almost always able to best him. As the match began, it was clear to her that Schroder was easily the better of the two, and still not as good as she was.

William stayed at the entrance to the gymnasium, watching through one of the small glass windows, despite the other door being wide open. He noticed that Rachel was paying much more attention to this match than any of the others. Looking to the mat, he did not see anything out of the ordinary; a boy from some of his classes, a boy from another school, and then a photographer for the yearbook.

William’s gaze fixated on the match, his jaw beginning to hang slack. His gaze lowered as a smile began to cross his face. He was grinning happily as he returned to the window to look at Rachel. William’s attention snapped back into focus as he saw Rachel walking towards the entrance of the gymnasium.

“That’s all you wanted to watch?” Allison asked quizzically, “the match is only half over.”

“I’ve seen enough,” Rachel sighed as the two girls walked into the front entrance of the gymnasium. “Wait,” she stopped and turned. Rachel walked over to the drinking fountain for a moment before joining Allison as the two headed out to her car.

-

Rachel slouched in her chair, her head propped up by her arm. Other than Allison, the only person who Rachel had to hang out with in homeroom was Li Kim. She and Katie had not spoken in months and she no longer felt the compulsion to ask her how to be a girl. Rachel just listened to her two friends talk, completely uninterested in the actual topic in which they were going on about.

It seemed like another slow start to a Friday until the homeroom door opened and in walked a very stern faced Principal Wallis, followed by one of the campus security. The entire classroom quickly quieted itself in surprise of the principal’s entrance.

“We have a very important matter to discuss,” Principal Wallis spoke seriously, “at some point yesterday; someone broke into a classroom and stole school property.”

A small murmur came over some of the students before the principal quickly shushed them, which everyone complied given the seriousness of the situation. “All student lockers are off limits for first period as we will be performing a full locker inspection.”

The murmur from the students again rose as they began trying to figure out what was going on. “Your first period teachers have been notified of this so no student will get in trouble for missing supplies.” Principal Wallis concluded over the noise and exited the classroom and proceeded to the next.

“Boy am I glad we’ve got gym next” Li laughed as she turned back towards Rachel and Allison, “I wonder what was taken.”

“I don’t know,” Allison chimed in, “but it must have been important for them to search all the lockers.”

“Or expensive,” Rachel mused.

As the bell rang signifying the end of homeroom, Rachel entered the hallway which was a buzz with students watching as the principal, vice principal, and school security were lined down the hallways opening up students lockers.

Rachel shrugged, knowing that all she had in her locker were some books. Li walked alongside Rachel and they were soon joined by Andie who was coming from her homeroom.

“This is crazy,” Andie shook her head, “Did they ever do anything like this in your school, Rach?”

Rachel turned her head to look at Andie, “no” she shook her head.

Rachel split off from Andie and Li so that she could make sure to be one of the last girls to the locker room. Even though she had been a girl for months now, she still did not feel comfortable changing around them. It was a mix between the awkwardness of being a girl and putting on girl clothes around all the other girls, and having girls changing clothes around her while she still had the brain of a teenage boy.

“Hurry up slow poke,” Andie laughed as she patted Rachel’s stomach. Rachel was just getting into the locker room as Andie was finishing getting dressed in her P.E. clothes.

“I’ll be right out,” Rachel mumbled. It had almost become a daily thing between the two of them as Andie knew Rachel was always one of the last people to get dressed, and Rachel knew that Andie always teased her for it.

Rachel sighed as she opened her locker, pulling out her gym shirt and shorts, along with her sports bra. She heard the creaking noise of the front door to the locker room. Rachel figured there must be another girl running late that was just now getting to the locker room. Some of these girls would chit chat in the hallways till the last possible moment some days.

Rachel pulled off her red t-shirt and tossed it into locker. She reached behind her and unhooked her bra, slipping it off her arms and proceeding to toss it into her locker as well. Rachel’s eyes shot open as her back was suddenly splashed with cold water. “Hey Hawke!” A voice called out from behind her.

Rachel spun around on her heels angrily to face whoever splashed water on her. She was greeted with a bunch of sudden bright flashes. Like a deer caught in the headlights, Rachel was stunned by the sudden lights.

“Ah-ha!” William cried triumphantly, “I got—you…?” His voice trailed off as he lowered the camera, his eyes fixated on Rachel’s bare breasts.

Rachel’s shock faded away as she realized she was standing topless. She reached down and grabbed her gym shirt and covered her chest with it, “what the fuck!?” she yelled angrily.

William continued to stare at Rachel in disbelief, “you’re… a girl…” his voice sounded utterly defeated.

-

“I hope you realize the magnitude of your actions, Mr. Montgomery,” Principal Wallis spoke angrily from behind his desk, “theft of school property… sneaking into the girls locker room… taking pictures of students while they’re changing…”

“But--!” William anxiously tried to speak.

“I’m not done talking yet!” Principal Wallis raised his voice as he brought one of his large hands down on his desk, “My yelling at you is going to be the least of your problems as a result of your behavior!”

“But Rachel Hawke--!” William again tried to interject.

Principal Wallis continued to not allow William to speak, “Rachel Hawke is a poor young lady who has been violated by a very disturbed boy who thought it might be fun to try to see girls when they’re most vulnerable!”

Rachel raised her head looking towards Principal Wallis’ door. She had been asked to sit in the school councilor’s office. The councilor had been sitting quietly behind his desk as Rachel had not been interested in conversing with him about the situation.

The councilor’s phone rang once and he quickly picked it up? “Yes?” he said briefly, “alright.”

Rachel glanced at the councilor as he got up from behind his desk. “Your aunt is here,” he informed her, “you can go ahead and wait in here.”

The councilor walked out of the office and around to the front desk of the administration office. Rachel could see him through the glass wall exchanging a few words with her mother. After their conversation, Rebecca walked swiftly to the councilor’s office, where she closed the door behind her.

Rebecca and Rachel looked at each other in silence for a moment. Finally Rebecca went quickly to Rachel and wrapped her in a hug, “god, are you okay?” she asked, sounding almost as if she were about to cry.

Rachel blinked, “huh?” she stiffened up, “yeah.”

Rebecca loosened her hug a little, “I’m pretty sure we can press charges for invasion of privacy,” she growled.

“What?” Rachel shook her head, “no.”

“But that boy,” Rebecca sounded dumbfounded, “he tried to see you naked.”

“He was trying to prove my identity,” Rachel responded flatly.

Rebecca released Rachel from the hug and stood up, standing quietly for a moment before taking a seat in a chair next to Rachel, “does he know?”

“Doesn’t matter,” Rachel shrugged, “the whole school thinks he’s a nut and now they’ll think he is a pervert as well.”

“So you’re fine?” Rebecca blinked as if she couldn’t believe Rachel didn’t seem to be concerned with the recent events.

“With everything he did,” Rachel lowered her gaze, “I don’t think I’ll ever have to deal with William Montgomery again…”

William sat quietly with his head hung as the principal got off the phone. “Your parents are on their way,” Principal Wallis crossed his arms over his chest, “however, the authorities will probably be here before them.”

William looked up quickly, no words able to escape his mouth.

“Be aware, Mr. Montgomery,” Principal Wallis spoke in a softer tone than earlier, “seeing as you’re 18 now, expect to be tried as an adult.”

William sat quietly, staring at Principal Wallis. His gaze lowered to the ground as he turned his head slightly, sitting otherwise completely still. Gripping the chair in which he sat, William leaned forward. He leapt to his feet and jumped around the side of his chair, throwing the chair between the principal’s desk and the wall.

William quickly ran from the principal’s office, as he turned to run out of the administration office, he glimpsed Rachel, sitting in the councilor’s office with Ryan Hawke’s mother. He quickly turned and ran from the office before any of the other faculty in the office was able to figure out what was going on.

Rachel looked up as a sudden commotion began to stir outside of the councilor’s office; the principal had come slamming out of his office barking orders in his very commanding voice. She scanned the rest of the office, looking to see what was going on. Rachel narrowed her eyes, William was gone.

-

William hobbled down the street. Having run from the school, he knew he’d have to make it all the way to his home on foot. Living on the very edge of Wakefield, it was not a quick trip to make. By the time William came within sight of his home, he saw there was a cop car parked outside looking for him.

With a shaky sigh, William turned and began walking. As night fell, he was beginning to wonder how much longer he would be able to hide from authorities. Every time he heard a car nearing him he would quickly get off the sidewalk. As the temperatures began to drop he was getting colder and colder, having thrown away his white sweatshirt so that he would be less recognizable from a distance.

William stopped. He turned his head and looked up at wrought iron gates. Past the gates, through the over grown grass and behind the large trees was the rotting Gregory House. William stared at the building; tilting his head he remembered teasing Brian about there being a treasure in the abandoned building. He narrowed his eyes at the building, that day was also the last time he saw Ryan Hawke. The day after was the first day he saw Rachel Hawke.

William drug his tired feet up to the gate and leaned his head against it. The gate creaked open. Headlights turned the corner and began to drive towards the Gregory Estate. A cop’s spotlight turned on and shined along the wall and fence as it drove by slowly. Seeing no people and the gate undisturbed, the cop car turned around and drove off.

-

At her mother’s insistence, and with the school’s approval, Rachel took the rest of the day off from School. While she felt like she was perfectly capable of going back to class, she was not going to pass up being excused from school for a day.

Rachel couldn’t help but feel like her mother was acting weird around here all weekend, continuously hanging around her and asking if she wanted to go places to hang out. She was more than content having a peaceful quiet weekend to relax.

Rebecca had quickly ushered Rachel to the TV when the news reported that William had been picked up by the authorities Saturday morning. Rachel was surprised the news had bothered with such a thing until they began mentioning what William was facing; Theft of school property, unlawful intrusion, and since Rachel is only 17, William was also going to be charged with taking pictures of underage girls.

Rachel was actually happy when school resumed on Monday so that she could get away from her mother and get back to the closest thing she could consider normal. Andie gave Rachel an unsure smile as her friend got into her car. Andie was the only phone call Rachel answered during the weekend but was continuously assured that she was fine and was told that Rachel did not want to talk about the subject any more.

As the two girls walked from the school parking lot to the main building, Rachel was practically knocked off her feet by Allison tackling her.

“Rachel!” Allison cried out, “Are you okay? I called and called but you never picked up!”

Rachel raised her eyebrow at Allison who had her arms wrapped tightly around her. She looked over at Andie who shrugged accompanied with a small smile.

“I’m fine,” Rachel mumbled, “just didn’t feel like talking to anyone.”

Allison released her friend and gave her a reassuring smile, “well you need to talk to your friends so we know everything is okay,” she scolded Rachel, “I was worried about you.”

Rachel shook her head and rolled her eyes, “ain’t nothing to be worried about,” she continued to mumble, “nothing happened to me, Williams gone, it’s over.”

Andie and Allison walked along side Rachel as they entered the school. Rachel very quickly began to feel uneasy as people would stare at her as she walked by. She could not help but feel that everyone in the school was suddenly talking about her.

“That’s the girl William Montgomery snuck in to the lockers to peep at.”

“Didn’t he get expelled?”

“Yup! And arrested!”

“Hey, there’s the girl that had that pervert take pictures of her in the locker room.”

“I don’t blame the guy; she’s got a nice butt.”

“And boobs too!”

Rachel bit her lip as she kept hearing whispers around her as she walked. When the volleyball team had been doing well, there were no whispers; everyone spoke to her directly. Now, no one came up to her, no one was making eye contact, and she knew the thing everyone was talking about was her body.

Rachel and Allison split off from Andie as they each headed for homeroom. As Rachel caught sight of the room, she saw Katie and Brian standing outside. She sighed and lowered her gaze, hoping that she would be able to enter the classroom without them wanting to talk to her.

As soon as Katie caught sight of Rachel she immediately rushed to her and wrapped her in a hug, “I’m so sorry Rachel!” she cried as Brian followed behind her.

Rachel stood surprised for a moment before pushing Katie off of her, “what on earth are you doing?”

“I heard what happened,” Katie quickly responded, “I’m so sorry.”

“So?” Rachel spat back

Katie looked shocked, “So? So?! If someone saw my body exposed, I’d be a mess!” she sounded as if she was on the verge of tears herself, “You can’t tell me you’re completely okay after what happened.”

“If people would just drop it, the whole mess would be over already,” Rachel groaned, “and none of this means we’re suddenly friends again.”

Katie took a deep breath through her nose as she tried to compose herself, “You can’t bottle everything up inside all the time,” Katie explained, trying to remain calm, “you need people to talk to, people who you can vent to, what you’re doing is not healthy.”

“You really overestimate how much I really care about this whole thing,” Rachel shook her head.

“Promise us that if there is anything that is really bothering you, you’ll come tell us,” Katie grabbed Rachel’s wrist.

“I’m not some over emotional girl that gets upset over everything,” Rachel sneered.

“Promise!” Katie raised her shaky voice.

Rachel turned away and walked into her homeroom. Allison looked between Katie and Rachel for a moment in concern before following behind her friend.

Katie tried to grab at Rachel as she left but Brian stopped her, “You’re doing the best you can,” he said in an attempt to comfort her.

“I just need her to listen,” Katie finally broke and began to cry. Brian put his arm around Katie as she pressed her face into his chest, dampening it with her tears.

“What happened with you guys?” Allison asked nervously as she sat down in a desk next to Rachel.

“They betrayed my friendship,” Rachel said flatly, “so I moved on.”

Allison frowned and sat quietly, watching Rachel’s stone face stare down at her desk. Katie entered the classroom just as the bell rang, Allison could tell that she had been crying. She looked back at Rachel saw her friend intentionally avoiding even looking in Katie’s general direction as she walked to the other side of the classroom.

Having clenched her teeth for the entire homeroom, Rachel was happy to be able to get out of the classroom and head for the gymnasium where she would be able to take out some aggression with some sports. When Rachel got to the door of the locker room, she was surprised to see a handwritten note on it instructing students that they would not be changing for P.E. and to just go straight to the bleachers.

Rachel exchanged a glance with Andie and the two turned to head into the gym. Travis hurried up to Rachel before they entered and gave her a warm smile. Rachel actually welcomed his smile as it was one of the things that were no different than before what happened the Friday before.

“Hey Rachel, Andie,” he nodded to the two of them, heading with them to the bleachers, “I’m glad to see you here today Rachel.”

“Huh?” Rachel grunted, “Why?” Her eyes glanced over momentarily to see the P.E. teacher speaking with Principal Wallis.

“Cuz—you know—what happened,” Travis suddenly became very awkward with the conversation, “If you ever have a guy harassing you like that again let me know and I’ll get him to stop.”

Rachel narrowed her eyes at Travis, “I am perfectly capable of handling things on my own.”

“I know I know!” Travis raised his hands defensively, “I just meant if you did need help with anything, not because you’re a girl, just if there is something where you need assistance.”

Rachel crossed her arms over her chest and raised her eyebrows.

“You’re digging yourself in deep,” Andie smirked and elbowed Travis’ in the side lightly.

“I’m no good at this stuff,” Travis sighed and scratched the back of his neck, “I just don’t like seeing people trying to do bad stuff to my friends.”

Rachel lowered her eyebrows and pursed her lips together. She rolled her eyes and let out a sigh, “thanks Travis.”

Travis’ head shot back towards Rachel as a relieved smile crossed his face.

The P.E. teacher got up and silenced the class, “Principal Wallis will be talking about Fridays incident briefly, then we will spend the rest of the day walking the track.”

Rachel slumped in her seat, again knowing that attention will be on her for what happened. She wanted nothing more than to have some other issue arise so that people would no longer be talking about her.

“Before that, I want to introduce a new student,” the teacher brought up a girl who had been sitting in the front row, “this is Willow Kowalski.”

“Nice to meet you all,” the girl spoke softly, obviously a little nervous.

Rachel glanced up at the girl momentarily. Her head shot back up as she looked at the girl again. She had long black hair which draped over a white sweater. She wore a black pleated skirt and black shoes with white knee socks. The girls square face immediately made Rachel think of William.

“Oh god…” Rachel murmured as the girl sat back down at the front of the bleachers. She stared at the back of the girl’s head, trying to convince herself that there is no way that the girl could have anything to do with William. The news had said William had been taken into custody by the cops.

Rachel did not hear a word of Principal Wallis’ speech, although she was well aware of what it was about. She also was completely tuned out of anyone who may have been looking at her while the incident involving her was discussed.

As the class was released to go spend half an hour walking around the track, Rachel continued to stare in the direction of Willow.

“You look like you’ve seen a ghost,” Andie chimed in, waving her hand in front of Rachel’s face.

“Huh?” Rachel snapped out of her trance and looked to Andie.

“You’ve been staring at that new girl ever since the start of class,” Andie explained, “was starting to wonder what was up.”

“Oh,” Rachel slumped her shoulders, not sure what she could say to her friend, “I just, like her hair… I’ll be right back.”

Andie stopped walking and scratched the top of her hair, “wait, what?” She looked to Travis who looked equally confused.

“Did Rachel just say she liked another girl’s hair?” Travis blinked.

Rachel jogged up next to Willow and began walking next to her, “William.”

Willow turned her head in confusion, “who?” She stood a couple inches taller than Rachel and had a very slight frame.

Rachel tilted her head a little, “your name is Willow, right?” she asked, dialing back her approach, “I’m Rachel Hawke.”

“Yes,” Willow responded, smiling kindly, “it’s nice to meet you.”

“So where are you from?” Rachel continued to probe.

Willow continued to smile, “Oh I’m from here,” she explained, “but I was home schooled, my parents and I agreed with how busy they’ve been that I should start public school so I don’t fall behind.”

Rachel raised an eyebrow, “what do your parents do?”

“They work in pharmaceuticals,” Willow answered without missing a beat.

Rachel sighed as she looked Willow over, the more she was becoming concerned that her initial intuition was correct, “wanna walk with my friends?” Rachel asked, motioning back towards Andie and Travis who walked behind them.

“Sure!” Willow smiled, stopping with Rachel as the others joined them, “I’m Willow” she said happily to Andie and Travis.

“Andie Rhea!” Andie grinned and grabbed Willow’s hand to shake it, “any friend of Rachel’s is a friend of mine.”

“Travis,” Travis gave a smile and nodded to the black haired girl, “Right.”

Rachel continued to subtly probe Willow for answers, but was beginning to worry that it may all be in her. Every answer Willow gave was so quick and genuine that they had to true.

“I want to introduce you to my other friends,” Rachel said to Willow as the bell rang signifying the end of P.E.

“Oh, sure,” Willow nodded as she followed Rachel up towards the school building.

“Willow, this is Katie Herring and Brian Parker,” Rachel said as she lead Willow up to her former friends, “Brian, Katie, this is Willow, Kowalski, she is a brand new student.”

Brian looked surprised to see Rachel speaking to him; he blinked a couple of times before waving politely at Willow, “hey Willow.”

Katie raised an eyebrow in confusion as well, but also greeted Willow kindly.

“What class do you have next?” Rachel turned to Willow.

Willow hesitated; “uh…” she suddenly dropped her backpack and hurriedly dug through it, pulling out the school schedule she was given, “Chemistry 11.”

Rachel stared at Willow a bit in confusion, “you’re—a junior?”

“Yeah,” Willow smiled sheepishly, “Oh are you guys all seniors? I hope that doesn’t mean we can’t be friends.”

Rachel stood silent for a moment before shaking it off, “no, no, that’s fine,” she insisted, “the science rooms are in the other wing, you might want to hurry to make sure you’re not late.”

“You’re right!” Willow nodded, “It was great meeting you all, see you later!” she waved to the others and hurried down the hall looking from room number to room number.

Katie placed her hands on her hips and stared at Rachel, who just stared down the hall where Willow went, “so?” she spoke up, “what the hell was that all about?”

Rachel turned back towards Katie and Brian, scratching the side of her head, “doesn’t Willow look familiar to you?”

Katie furrowed her brow, “so you’re suddenly talking with us again?” she crossed her arms under her chest.

“That’s not what’s important!” Rachel brushed off Katie’s annoyance, “nothing about that girl struck you as odd?”

“The only odd one here is you,” Katie growled, clearly agitated.

“She kind of reminds me of William’s older sister,” Brian spoke up, “but from when we were in Junior High.”

Rachel turned quickly towards Brian, “right!?”

Katie tilted her head and turned towards Rachel, “what are you inferring?”

“William got expelled on Friday,” Rachel explained, “today, a girl who looks a lot like him suddenly shows up, heck, her name even starts with the first four letters.”

Brian’s face lit up, “so that’s William?!”

“Wait, no, stop,” Katie waved her arm between Brian and Rachel, “You can’t possibly believe William has been turned into a girl.”

“Before all this, no, not possible,” Rachel explained, “but now, well, who knows.”

“The news said the cops took William into custody,” Katie explained, “plus, that girl just said she was a junior.”

Rachel slumped her shoulders some as she looked down the hallway, “With what’s happened I’m sure saying you’re a different grade is the smallest of things.”

“If you could find something about her that links her to William,” Brian mused, “maybe then you could prove it’s him.”

“Yes!” Rachel exclaimed, “I’ve just got to find some proof to connect Willow and William and then I’ll be able to be sure.”

“Are you even listening to yourself?!” Katie growled, “You’re sounding just like William.”

“I’m not crazy like William is,” Rachel defended.

“Yet William accused you of being Ryan,” Katie grabbed Brian’s arm, “and if you’re suddenly only interested in being with us because you want us to back you up on your wild claims, you’re wrong.”

Rachel watched as Katie drug Brian away, angrily talking to him. Brian glanced over his shoulder at Rachel but then lowered his head and went with Katie. A shiver ran up Rachel’s spine as she suddenly realized that she had no one to talk to about her theory. Rachel felt ill as she realized that everything Katie had tried to say to her about being without anyone to talk to about her situation was exactly right.

Rachel could not get Willow off her mind all day. No one else would make the connection because the thought of a guy turning into a girl was unheard of. But for Rachel, she knew it was possible, she’d been there. Layering away the feminine features of Willow, all Rachel kept coming up with was William. The thing that bugged Rachel the most was that Willow didn’t act anything like William.

“You look troubled,” Evan said as he walked past Rachel in their Statistics class.

Rachel looked up at Evan, her eyes lingering on him for a second. A brain like his would be more than helpful in figuring out her problems. “It’s nothing,” she sighed, deciding that she did not want to drag Evan in to the situation.

The teacher cleared his throat to get the classes attention, “We have a new student joining us today,” he announced, Rachel’s head instantly shot up, “please welcome Willow Kowalski.”

Willow smiled politely to the class before being instructed to find a seat. She scanned the room before smiling and heading for an empty seat near Rachel. Evan’s head turned and watched her as she cautiously walked down the row of desks.

“Hi Rachel,” Willow’s innocent smile was infectious; “I hope you don’t mind if I sit near you.”

Rachel motioned to the empty seat without much care. Even when she was friends with William, he was never exactly polite. Willow spoke so gently and with care, even if William was pretending to be a girl, he’d never be able to act like this.

When the class let out, Willow asked if she could hang out with Rachel during lunch since she still did not know anyone else at school yet. Rachel reluctantly agreed and met up with Andie who greeted Willow in her normal friendly manor.

The girls headed out to meet up with Jessie and Jennifer. It had become a Monday tradition for the four of them to have lunch off campus. Jessie tilted her head as she saw the dark haired girl walking with Rachel and Andie.

“Who’s that?” Jessie asked, sticking a thumb towards Willow.

Andie immediately took the roll of ambassador, “this is Willow,” she announced to her friends, “she’s new but Rachel thought it’d be cool if she could have lunch with us.”

Rachel glanced to Andie, “yeah—I mean, she’s just a junior but she’s nice and all,” she explained, “hope you don’t mind.”

Jessie grinned and stepped over to Willow, “so Rachel finally got herself a groupie.”

“What!?” Rachel raised her voice, “what do you mean groupie?”

Jessie laughed as Willow next to her shrank back a little, “you got yourself a junior fan.”

Rachel shook her head, “she isn’t a fan, just someone I met.”

Jessie grabbed Willow and pulled her forward, “be honest now junior,” she grinned, “do you want to be Rachel’s groupie? It comes with all the perks of getting to hang out with the seniors.”

“I…” Willow stammered, not sure what to say, “If she doesn’t mind.”

Rachel’s head shot towards Jessie and Willow, “what? No!” she quickly spat.

Willow’s shoulders slumped as she deflated. Jessie put an arm around Willow and pulled her next to Rachel, “look at that Rachel! You broke the poor girl’s heart!”

“Just say yes,” Jennifer chimed up, “she won’t shut up otherwise.”

Rachel waved a hand, “fine.”

“Alright!” Jessie grinned as she pushed Willow towards Rachel, “congrats Junior, you’re now our doormat, get in the car.”

-

Willow and Rachel again found themselves sharing a class in Home Economics, where Jessie introduced Willow as Rachel’s subordinate to Emily. Rachel had shot glances numerous times towards Katie, only to see that she was going out of her way to not look in the direction of Rachel’s group.

Rachel walked home after school, as she was without a ride with Andie and her friends playing Basketball and Allison involved with cheerleading as the mascot. When Rachel arrived outside her house, she stared at the door for a moment before walking past it heading further towards the edge of town.

After a lengthy walk, Rachel arrived outside a house. She walked up to the door and stared at the name on it. ‘Montgomery’. She took a deep breath and rang the doorbell. There was a moment of silence; Rachel held her breath as she waited to see if Willow would open the door. She rang the bell again.

“I’m coming” a female voice called from inside. The door opened and there stood William’s mother, “yes?”

Rachel hesitated, “is Willow here?”

William’s mother narrowed her eyes, “who?”

“I mean, William…?” Rachel hastily added.

The woman frowned and partially closed the door, “Is this some kind of joke?” she snapped, “It’s all over the news, just go away.”

Rachel immediately turned around and began to walk home. She could not deny things any further. Willow Kowalski was not William. Rachel had to accept the fact that Katie was right again and that she had let her paranoia get the better of her and make her jump to conclusions.

-

Rachel continued to keep an eye on Willow as the week went on, which was not hard since they shared three classes together and on breaks and lunches Willow was always hanging around Rachel. None of William’s personality traits were present within Willow what so ever. Rachel couldn’t deny physical similarities between the two; black hair, pasty skin, brown eyes, even a similarly squarish jaw, but without concrete evidence, there was no way for Rachel to confirm her theory.

All week Rachel had gotten no where with finding anything that she could use as evidence. She sighed as she pulled her gym clothes out of her locker. As Rachel began to change her shirt and bra for class, a voice called to her. She immediately spun and grabbed her P.E. shirt to hold in front of her.

Willow blinked in confusion, “what’s wrong?” she tilted her head. Her locker was a little bit away from Rachel’s. Willow must have been in the middle of changing as she wore just a lacey floral bra with her gym shorts.

“N-nothing…” Rachel sighed as she turned away from Willow for a moment to put on her sports bra.

“I wanted to give you something,” she smiled and held out her hand, “it’s a friendship bracelet, I know its kind of childish but it’s something fun I like to do in my spare time.”

“Uh, thanks,” Rachel accepted the little bracelet made out of small rubber bands, “you couldn’t have waited until we were dressed?”

“I didn’t want to forget,” Willow rubbed the side of her head sheepishly before turning to head back to her locker.

Rachel rolled her eyes. As her eyes landed on Willow’s back, she saw a mark. It was a scar. A scar William had gotten in the seventh grade while trying to walk on top of a fence. Rachel’s hand trembled as she stared at Willow’s back as she turned the corner towards her own locker. The bracelet fell to the floor.

Rachel quickly rushed after Willow. She slammed her palm against the locker next to Willow, who was already in the process of changing her bra for class.

Willow turned around in surprise with a small yip, now topless, “Rachel!” she whimpered, “you scared me.”

“What the hell happened to you William?” Rachel said sternly, looking Willow in the eyes.

“Who’s William?” Willow blinked, clearly oblivious.

“That scar on your back,” Rachel began to look down but caught sight of Willow’s small breasts. She quickly raised her eyes back towards the ceiling, “where’d you get it?”

“Scar on my back?” Willow blinked, turning some to try to reach around her back to touch what Rachel was referring to, “I honestly don’t remember having a scar.”

Rachel lowered her eyes so that she could see the scar. It was definitively the same scar William had. She knew for sure now. This was William Montgomery.

Willow turned back towards Rachel, who quickly shot her eyes away from her bare chest, “sometimes things happen and you just can’t remember,” she smiled, “It must be where I can’t see it in the mirror either because I don’t remember seeing it.”

Rachel forced herself to bring her gaze back to Willow’s face, “you don’t remember getting that scar?” she asked with a serious tone. Willow just shook her head. “Ryan Hawke, Brian Parker? Walking home from school trying to walk on a fence, you fell, gashed open your back and needed stitches?”

Willow again just shook her head, “I’ve always been home schooled,” she reminded Rachel, “Do you mean Brian your friend from Monday? And I don’t know a Ryan.”

Rachel bit her lip as she stared down Willow’s eyes, “We were friends all through junior high, until you said I betrayed you just because I joined sports teams and Brian took my side,” Rachel growled at Willow, “you started hating Brian and I after that.”

“What are you talking about?” Willow began to have a concerned look on her face, “I only just met you on Monday.”

“All year you’ve tried to say I was Ryan, sneaking around, coming up with crackpot theories,” Rachel leaned closer to Willow, “until last week when you took it too far and got yourself in way too deep.”

Willow shrank back from Rachel, “you’re scaring me Rachel…” she cried.

Rachel kept her eyes locked on Willow, breathing through her nose as she kept her teeth clenched. It was clear if this was William Montgomery, he wasn’t in there any more.

Rachel forced a smile on to her face as she patted Willow on the back, “I’m just screwing with you!” she gave a half hearted fake laugh as a look of cautious relief came across Willow’s face, “I just wanted to see how far I could push you, you did good!”

“Th-thank you…” Willow whimpered, her voice still a little shaky although she was looking comfortable again with Rachel.

-

Rachel let out a breath. She raised her gaze to look over the Gregory Estate; she knew that whatever happened to William had to have happened in here. Regardless of her past failure to find anything to explain what happened, she was going to tear the place apart until she found something.

Rachel approached the large wrought iron gate. She gripped her flashlight with her right hand and felt down at her side, she had brought her mother’s taser with her to use as protection. Before she could even get to it, she saw it was open enough for a person to get through. She swallowed and entered through the gate, pushing it closed behind her. She turned on her flashlight and raised it towards the front door.

To Rachel’s surprise, as she neared the door, she noticed that it too was ajar. She glanced back towards the gate; it was not too late for her to retreat. Rachel shook her head, she had to find out what caused all this, who caused all this, and she knew, they were waiting for her.

Rachel slowly entered the house, pushing the squeaky door closed behind her. “I’m here!” She called out, “I know you’re waiting for me!”

As she shined her flashlight about, she practically jumped out of her skin when standing no less than ten feet from her was a large man. He was over a foot taller than Rachel. He wore a white coat down to his knees. The man’s face was obscured by a surgical mask and night-vision goggles.

Rachel and the man both stood motionless for what seemed like an hour. Finally he turned slightly to the side, and with a blue gloved hand, he motioned towards the stairs that lead to the basement. Rachel lowered her flashlight off of the man back to the floor and began to walk towards him. She took each step very cautiously, watching the large man as she did so.

Rachel finally realized that she had to go first down the stairs as the man remained still as she neared the stairs. As Rachel turned and looked down the stairs, the man suddenly grabbed her from behind. She struggled momentarily only to be released by the man. She spun around and grabbed for her taser. It was gone. She looked down at her side, then back to the man. He was quickly disassembling her only means of protection right in front of her.

Rachel sighed and turned back around, starting down the stairs. Part way down the stairs, she realized they were not going in the same direction as the last time she was here. Last time there had been a bend in them, they circled around, and this flight of stairs was straight. Rachel got to the bottom of the steps; in front of her was an ornate door.

Rachel glanced behind her at the large man, clearly intending to block her way out. Rachel shrugged and opened the door. She was blinded by the sudden light that poured out of the room. While Rachel struggled to see, she was grabbed from behind by the man, pinning her arms to her side. As the man lifted her off the ground, Rachel tried to break free from his grip, kicking her legs wildly.

A rag covered Rachel’s face and she instantly lost her energy. Although she remained conscious, she felt completely unable to move her body, becoming a limp noodle. She was set in to a chair, her head dropping forward. She could see out of the corner of her eye, the blurry shape of the man moving her arms on the chair and strapping them to it. The man kneeled and proceeded to strap Rachel’s legs together and to the chair as well.

Rachel was slowly beginning to regain feeling in her body. She was finally able to raise her head a little as her vision cleared. The room she was in was completely white, a medical lab. Computers lined the walls, tubes filled with various colored liquids, wires, monitors. Rachel cleared her throat, she finally was feeling completely alert again, “Help!” She yelled out as loud as she could.

“Stop,” The man spoke sharply as he stepped from behind Rachel. Rachel was finally able to get a good look at the man, although he still wore his surgical mask, she could now see his eyes which were behind a pair of thin round glasses. Although she didn’t know what she was expecting, she was surprised the man also had graying short hair with a bald area on the top of his head. “Mother doesn’t like it when they are loud.”

Rachel was suddenly left silent. The man was tall, but was not nearly as bulky as she had thought, and his voice, was surprisingly soft spoken. “What do you want with me?!” Rachel spat at him suddenly.

The man’s face turned angry, “I said quiet!” he growled as he raised his blue gloved hand in the air preparing to backhand Rachel.

“Father, that’s enough,” another voice came from behind Rachel. Rachel tried to turn her head to see who had spoken, but was restrained by the chair she was in, “We don’t want our guest unhappy.”

A tall woman stepped in front of Rachel’s turned head. Pressing her thin fingers firmly into Rachel’s jaw, she raised Rachel’s head upward so that they would be looking each in the eye. The woman also wore a white lab coat; she had a very angular face draped in long black hair. The only bit of color to her was the extremely bright red lipstick she wore.

The woman finally let go of Rachel’s jaw and stepped around her, nodding to the man. Rachel watched the man out of the corner of her eye as he moved some machines around. He walked back over and stuck something on to Rachel’s temple. She tried to pull away as he reached around and stuck another to the other side of her head, but was unsuccessful.

“Who are you?” Rachel growled, trying to move her head to get the sticky things off.

The woman raised an eyebrow in amusement, “You’re such a clever girl, I thought you might have figured that out already,” she said with a small laugh, “I’m Creation, but you can just call me Mother.”

Rachel sneered at the almost loving tone that the women spoke with, “What are you doing to people down here?”

The woman waved a hand dismissingly, “humans are an imperfect creature,” she smiled, “we’ve found a way to make them better, stronger, more resilient.”

Rachel narrowed her eyes, “stronger?” she began to put pieces together, “it’s because of you that I am so strong even though I’m a girl?”

“Oh yes,” the woman smiled, “thanks to us, you are now a peak physical specimen, a perfect soldier.”

“Soldier!?” Ryan raised her voice, causing the woman to flinch a little in agitation, “if you wanted soldiers, why turn guys in to girls?”

The woman smiled and tilted her head, “we had to make sure we could properly restructure people’s genes,” she explained, “and it seems young boys were the only ones making themselves available.”

Rachel blinked, processing what she was just told, “so turning me in to a girl…” Rachel mumbled, “Taking away my life…”

“WAS SIMPLY TO SEE IF YOU COULD!?” Rachel screamed as she began struggling against the straps of the chair, wanting nothing more than to get her hands around the woman’s throat.

“Quiet!” the woman raised her voice momentarily, before quickly composing herself, “you don’t want us to have to calm you down again, do you?”

Rachel quit struggling, glaring daggers at the woman, “you can’t just play god with people’s lives.”

“Oh, dear girl,” the woman smiled darkly, taking some steps closer to Rachel, “we aren’t playing anything.”

Rachel stared at the woman, a shiver running up her spine. She lowered her head just so she wouldn’t have to look at the woman any more, “what did you do to William?”

The woman turned and stepped away from Rachel, “Ah yes, little Willow did turn out quite nicely did she not?” the woman said gleefully, “she’s such a sweet girl.”

“What did you do to William…?” Rachel growled.

“Well he was no good to us how he was,” the woman smirked, “he gave us the perfect vessel to test our newest project. When you get a house, you can touch up the outside, make it beautiful, but if the inside is a complete mess, sometimes you need to rebuild that house, brick by brick.”

“So you just rebuilt him…?” Rachel tried to speak around the lump in her throat, “you killed him.”

“Oh goodness no,” the woman chuckled, “we made him better, made him in to a decent person.”

“Is that what you’re going to do to me…?” Rachel croaked, “Are you going to erase me too?”

The woman frowned, “well, there in lies the tricky part…” she spoke with a less happy tone, “reworking the human brain, its not as simple as we’d like, a person’s mind must be weak, conflicted, easily malleable, you’ve curiously remained quite resilient thus far.”

“…thus far?” Rachel narrowed her eyes.

The woman shrugged as her smile returned to her this face, “You don’t think we’ve been having this fun chat for nothing, do you?” The woman walked up to Rachel and placed a hand on her shoulder, turning the chair easily so that it faced the monitors behind her.

Rachel’s eyes widened. The man was at a keyboard entering things as a dozen monitors all had different things happening on them. Rachel realized that they were watching her brain activity this entire time, trying to get in. Rachel immediately began struggling at the bindings on the chair again.

“Relax child,” The woman patted Rachel on the head, “we will have to finish up another time when you are a little more willing.”

“So… you’re letting me go…?” Rachel blinked, a bit surprised.

“I guess that is one way of putting it,” the woman smiled back.

“And what’s going to keep me from coming back here with the cops and arresting you?” Rachel grinned confidently at the woman.

The woman rolled her eyes in bemusement, “because William Montgomery was successfully taken in to captivity,” she remarked, “was he not?”

Rachel hesitated. She was right, William was arrested, but Willow was at school Monday. “You control the cops?”

“Ohoh that would be something,” the women laughed, “but just know, we are far more powerful than you can imagine.”

Rachel lowered her gaze in defeat; she had no more cards left to play. Rachel glanced up, “I’ve got one more question.”

“Hm?” the woman turned her head curiously.

“Brian,” Rachel spat, “what did you do to him so that he can change?”

The woman raised an eyebrow, “Brian?” She exchanged a glance with the man who opened a drawer of files. The woman opened the file the man handed to her, looking at it curiously, “he survived, did he?”

“Survived?” Rachel asked in confusion.

“Not everyone’s body can handle having their genes reworked,” the woman explained, “Mr. Parker’s body was unstable, and so we left him expecting his body to fail shortly after.”

“His body is going to fail…?” Rachel felt ill at the idea.

“We’ve never had an unstable patient last more than a couple days,” she scratched her chin, “I’d quite like to get a look at Brian, take a look at what’s happening in there.”

“Brian will never come back here,” Rachel snarled, “I’ll make sure of that.”

The woman raised an eyebrow, “well, I guess we will just have to make sure you have a reason to come back,” she explained.

“What are you going to do…?” Rachel bit her lip.

The woman smiled and picked up a syringe. She raised it in front of her as she stepped towards Rachel, “I don’t quite know,” she laughed, “I guess we will just have to go in and see what we can play with.”

Rachel quickly began to struggle against the straps of the chair again but found it no use as the woman stuck the needle in to Rachel’s arm. She trembled as she watched the liquid drain in to her arm.

-

A knock came at Rachel’s door, “Rachel dear, time to get up,” Rebecca called from outside.

Rachel stretched her arms and sat up in bed, “I’m up” she groaned as she looked at her clock, “oh no!” She quickly hopped out of bed, having slept far later than she had intended to.

She hastily opened up her closet and began looking through tops. Winter formal was coming up soon and she was hoping Travis would ask her to go with him. She finally settled on a red long sleeved top, the plunging neckline on it would show off her cleavage nicely. She started to go through her jeans before realizing that those just would not do.

Rachel found a black denim skirt that’d go perfectly with the top, but she knew she’d be freezing so she also got some white leggings to go with them. She stared at her shoes for a moment before finally deciding on a pair of boots that’d go partly up her calf. The small heels on the boots would help her show off her butt some too. She carefully applied her make up and brushed her hair before rushing down to the kitchen.

“Hurry up or you’ll be late,” Rebecca said to Rachel, suggesting to the breakfast table where Brett was eating.

“Dieting today,” Rachel said quickly as she only grabbed an apple. Rachel’s head turned as the doorbell rang, “bye mom!” she gave her mom a small kiss on the cheek before rushing to the door.

“Hey Jessie!” Rachel said as she went through the door to see her blonde friend.

“Wow,” Jessie smirked, “someone is all dolled up today.”

“Do you like it?” Rachel blushed a little as she turned some, “you think Travis will notice?”

Jessie laughed, “I think everyone will notice.”

The two girls arrived at school and headed in to the hallway. Rachel felt more and more confident as she could sense boy’s heads turning as she walked by.

“Hey Rachel,” Travis said as he walked up along with JD, “you look really good today.”

“Thanks,” Rachel blushed, biting her lip a little.

“I was just wondering,” Travis stammered, being elbowed a little by JD, “would you be interested in going to the formal with me?”

Rachel’s heart skipped a beat. She grinned at Travis, “well, I don’t know,” she teased until Jessie cleared her throat, “I’d love to” she beamed as she wrapped her arms around Travis’ midsection. She was so excited, she was already imagining what kind of dress she was going to get.

-

Rachel’s eyes shot open. She quickly got to a sitting position and looked down at herself. She was wearing the same red shirt and blue jeans she had been wearing when she went to the house Friday night. She slowly got to her feet, a little shaky like she was when she first woke up as a girl. Looking around, she realized she was lying out on the grass in front of the high school.

“My name is Ryan Hawke,” Rachel murmured, reassuring herself that they did not do the same thing to her that they had done to William. She sighed and fell to a sitting position. It was Saturday morning; she had been gone all night. She leaned her head back, staring upwards at the overcast clouds.

Rachel remained sitting on the grass, looking upward as rain drops began to fall on her face. It was not long until the darkening clouds drenched everything below. A car driving by pulled over; the car reversed back up to where Rachel sat on the grass.

“Rachel!?” a voice called out from the car. Rachel ignored the call and remained lost in the clouds. The door of the car closed as footsteps hurried over to her.

An umbrella blocked Rachel’s view, “Rachel are you okay?” the voice asked. After another moment of silence the person put an arm around Rachel and pulled her to her feet, “Let’s get you home.”

Rachel tilted her head to look at Travis, her wet body now held closely to his under the umbrella. Her face suddenly felt flush as her heart began to race a little bit.

“What were you doing just sitting in the rain?” Travis asked concerned.

Rachel stared at Travis, her stomach knotting up as she stood closely to him with his arm around her. She couldn’t help but think about how attractive he was. Her eyes widened as she pushed Travis away. “Leave me alone!” Rachel yelled as she began to run down the street.

“Rachel!” Travis called after her, “wait!”

Rachel did not turn back or slow her pace. She continued to run through the rain until she again stood outside the dilapidated Gregory House. As she stepped closer to the gates, she found herself completely unable to keep going.

A sudden terror had built up inside of her, one she had never felt before. She tried to take another step toward the house but found her body absolutely refusing to do so. Rachel hung her head and looked at her hands, they were trembling. Rachel clenched her teeth and closed her eyes, forcing herself to step towards the gates. Her mind was screaming at her to stop, her body fighting her, she finally reached out and grabbed hold of the iron gate.

Shaking uncontrollably she pushed at the gate. The gate didn’t budge, it was locked. Rachel screamed in anguish as her legs gave way and her hands slid down the gate and she came to a kneeling position in front of the gate. She dropped her head, tears rolling down her already wet cheeks.

She slowly got to her feet, walking away from the gates of the Gregory Estate. With each step she took the fear that the old house had instilled in her eased away. With tears still rolling down her cheeks, Rachel was realizing that she was no longer the same person that she was the night before.

Rachel drug her feet down the wet sidewalk. She stopped and looked across the street. She was a hundred feet from her front door. She turned her head sharply in disgust; she did not want her mom or brother to see her like this. She continued down the street.

Rachel decided there was one place she could go where she’d be able to find a way to feel like her old self again, one person that could help her feel like a guy and, she hoped, undo the damage done. She slowly walked up the steps and knocked on the door.

Allison opened the door. Her smiling face turned to that of shock when she got a look at Rachel, “holy shit, what happened to you?” Allison ushered Rachel inside and gave her a towel to wrap herself in.

Allison quickly led Rachel to her room, “let’s get you out of those wet clothes,” she instructed as she gave Rachel a pair of pajama pants and a loose fitting t-shirt out of her closet, “I’ll go make something warm to drink and you change.”

Rachel stripped off her wet shirt and bra, frowning as she looked down at her breasts. She tossed the shirt over her head and proceeded to strip off her completely soaked denim jeans and her underwear. She put on Allison’s clothes and sat with a sigh on the edge of Allison’s bed as she instantly felt better being out of the wet clothes.

Allison returned with two mugs of hot chocolate and gave one to Rachel as she sat next to her. “What’s going on?” Allison asked with concern.

Rachel stared down at her cup for a moment before finally taking a sip, “I…” she struggled to get the words out she wanted, “I need to figure out who I am…”

Allison raised an eyebrow, “what do you mean?”

Rachel bit her lip, “you told me once that if I ever wanted to try…” she mumbled into her hot chocolate, “to come to you…”

Allison was taken aback. She was both elated and dismayed by the words coming out of Rachel’s mouth, “are you sure?”

Rachel continued staring at her hot chocolate; “yeah…” she nodded slightly.

Allison lowered her gaze as she considered what her friend was saying, “I’d be worried it might hurt our friendship if things didn’t go well.”

Rachel raised her head to look over to Allison. She placed a hand on her leg, “regardless of how this turns out be assured that it wont effect our friendship.”

Allison smiled to Rachel, “so what do you want to do?” she asked, “y’know, at first.”

“I want to do as much as we can,” Rachel said with a serious face.

“What?” Allison looked surprised, “are you sure?”

Without a response Rachel pushed herself forward, pressing her lips against Allison’s. Allison blushed and closed her eyes as the two girls began kissing. She still wondered if it was really a good idea to do this, given Rachel’s questionable emotional stability.

Allison kissed Rachel for a moment before breaking it off; she frowned at Rachel, “Rachel…”

Rachel shook her head, “no,” she muttered, “I want to do this.” She leaned forward putting her lips back to Allison’s.

As the two girls kissed, Rachel kept her hands at her side. Noticing Rachel’s stiffness, Allison gently took one of Rachel’s hands and moved it up inside of her shirt so that Rachel’s hand was now on her breast.

Rachel blinked a little in surprise as Allison was encouraging Rachel to feel her up. Rachel closed her eyes again as they continued to kiss. Allison took the initiative and tickled her fingers up Rachel’s side until she began to trace around Rachel’s breast.

Rachel was shocked to find that the arousal she had been lacking was now in full force. She began kissing more enthusiastically, thoroughly enjoying the feelings. She opened her eyes slightly to see Travis opposite her kissing her.

Rachel’s eyes shot open and she quickly pulled away from Allison, “No!” she cried out.

“Rachel!” Allison was concerned, “what’s wrong?”

Rachel stared at Allison for a second, before sighing and hanging her head, “it’s just,” she mumbled, “I didn’t feel anything…”

“Nothing?” Allison slumped her shoulders, “not even at the end?”

“Only because…” Rachel bit her lip, “because I imagined you as Travis…”

Allison nodded as she lay on her bed with her hands behind her head, “well you’re not gay, congrats,” she forced a smile, “you’re just a normal straight girl.”

“Yeah…” Rachel sighed, a tear rolling down her cheek, “normal…”