Fun fact! Men were heavier than women!

How did I know for sure?

Well, simple. Ever since I’d declared to the world that I was a girl, I felt lighter, more free, less weighted down.

The only reasonable explanation was that since I was a girl now, I was lighter!

Anyway, today was girls-only shopping day. Me, Miranda, Kelly, and Fern.

The fact that I was including this myself among the girls made strange feelings bubble up in my tummy. Or maybe that was because of that old pizza I ate the other day.

“What happened to the old outfit, by the way?”

“It… got ruined when I was at work.”

Or it totally should have considering what had happened. Somehow though, it was still pristine clean and without any signs of wear and tear whatsoever.

“Wait, I thought you were some kind of assistant. How did it get ruined?” Miranda stared at me with her eyes wide in concern.

“It… uh… I spilled paint on it, and it won’t come off.”

“What kind of assistant are you again…?”

A supervillain minion.

“Uh… something like a secretary?”

Kelly and Miranda looked at each other and then back at me.

“Alright. Well, my offer to beat up your boss still stands if he does something to you.”

What? Why was she so insistent on fighting a supervillain?

“What? No! He’s a great boss! He even gave me a day off today because of what happened!”

“If you say so…” Miranda shrugged.

With my boss safe from the raging lesbian’s wrath, our discussion turned toward our shopping goals.

Honestly, I’d sort of gotten attached to the old outfit and wanted something similar. But obviously, it couldn’t be too similar, otherwise I might as well wear the old outfit and let myself be arrested.

Life was so unfair…

“Hey, there you are!”

We met up with Fern at the mall just as we’d agreed.

“Hi!” Fern’s eyes wandered to my face and her eyebrows rose. “Oh…?”

“Hello, I’m Kelly, you already know Miranda, and this young lady is…” Kelly smiled in my direction.

“Hi, I’m Aster.”

Her eyes widened. “Aster?”

“Uh, yeah…?” It felt a little odd to be stared at like that.

“Haha, sorry, sorry!” She shook her head. “A bit of a shock there.”

“I know, right? Looks completely different!” Miranda grinned. “The magic of make-up.”

“Yeah… you’re right.” Fern gave me an oddly predatory grin. “I almost didn’t recognize you.”

“I… uh… thanks?” I had no idea why I was thanking her.

“So what’s our plan of attack? What kind of outfit does the newbie girl want?”

“I was thinking about something similar to what I wore before… that’s, er… a fox hoodie and a skirt.”

Fern’s grin widened at that. “Sure, I know just the place. Let’s go then.”

We followed her lead and eventually arrived at a… cosplay shop? Oh no, what had I gotten myself into? The grin on Miranda and Fern told me everything I needed in order to deduce that I had walked into a trap.

There was no escape anymore.

Maid uniform, cat ears, magical girl costume… They had it all. And that meant I had to try on everything. Even the shop assistant got into dressing me up.

At some point, I’d gotten a cold. Obviously, the only explanation for how hot my face had gotten. Yup, no other reason at all. Unfortunately, the girls didn’t give me a break even after I’d gotten sick and kept on coming up with more outfits to dress me up in.

“There! Perfect, Ms. Tomato,” Miranda teased as I stepped in front of the mirror for the Nth time since this oddly nice purgatory had begun.

From inside the mirror, Aster was looking back at me. The fox hoodie was back, even fluffier and more comfortable, and with some black patterns on the sleeves and the bottom. The skirt was also a mix of white and black stripes instead of being pure white.

I was evolving. Or maybe going over to the dark side? Was there a metaphor hidden somewhere in there?

“Well, I’m giving you ten out of ten points.” Fern nodded.

“Even cuter than before!” Kelly added.

“Another job well done.” Miranda mimicked wiping sweat off her forehead.

Huh… I just had the weirdest sense of deja vu.

Anyway… I was slowly turning into a puddle of strawberry juice. That is to say, I was simultaneously extremely happy and extremely embarrassed.

Why weren’t the others getting clothes for themselves as well?! Why only me?! Was it really that much fun for them to dress me up?!

“Well? What does our main protagonist think?” Miranda grinned at me.

I looked absolutely fabulous.

“It’s… uh, it’s okay.”

Wow, way to go, me. With such a weak reaction, what if they decide to dress me up in something else now?

“No, I mean, it looks great! Uh, I-I look great!”

Oh my god, this was even worse! Why would I even say that? Was I turning into a narcissist? 

“You sure do, girl.”

Arrgh, I didn’t even care anymore! I loved how I looked and whoever said I was a narcissist could stuff it! That’s right, doubtful version of me, stuff it!

“Well, now that we have our foxgirl back, let’s get some normal clothes as well, shall we?” Fern suggested.

Everyone nodded, and we finally exited the cosplay store after what felt like at least two eternities, and walked out into the rest of the mall.

Part of me heaved a sigh of relief now that the intense part of the shopping trip was over. Unfortunately, winning a battle didn’t mean winning the war.

I realized I was about to enter a very different kind of battle right away as we closed in on the lingerie shop.

The girls around me were grinning once again.

This adventure was far from over.

BottledChaos

A friendly reminder that you can read ahead (and get access to a few exclusive shorts) on my patreon.