- Alright. - Phillip clears his throat and puts the guitar down. - We’ll get more singing done later. So, who’s gonna start?

Everyone looks around at each other, until Jim proudly downs a whole can of beer and starts to talk.

- Alright. What kind of story are talking about? Horror stories or just things that actually happened?

- Whatever you want, dude. - Phillip replies, grabbing a few chips from his bag.

- Alright, cool. This happened a few months ago, Lilly probably remembers it. I was having a rough time, and I just wanted to drive somewhere new. I took my car, grabbed a whole bunch of snacks and went on the road by myself.

- Wait. - Phillip interrupts. - You left, just like that?

- Yeah, didn’t have anything going on at the moment.

- Jealous. - Phillip lies down on the ground in front of his seat. - Wish I could leave like that.

- Well, it was something I’ve always wanted to do, but to be honest I don’t think I wanna do it again. As soon as I left it started to rain. I mean, I didn’t think much of it, you know? I’ve driven during heavy rain before, I thought I could handle it. Didn’t take long before it turned into a storm.

- I would’ve turned back. - Naomi laughs, looking up from her sketchbook for the first time. - There’s not a lot for me that’s worth driving through a storm to get.

- What would be worth it for you? - Evelyn asks.

- If it’s something urgent, of course. Or for a friend. That kind of stuff.

- One time I stood in rain for like an hour to get some free shoes, but I don’t think that counts. - Phillip adds.

- Anyway. I had already told everyone I’d only be back by the next morning, if that. I felt like turning back so early would be embarrassing. I kept going. At some point, there was this car in front of me, and it was driving pretty fast. I’m happy I kept my distance, the driver couldn’t make a turn and the car crashed. I got out and went to see if the driver was okay, and the dude looked terrible. I called an ambulance, I was scared they wouldn’t make it because of the storm, but they did. God I was so relieved when they told me he’d make it.

- Well, good thing you’re not like me then. Good thing you kept going.

- Yeah. Most surreal situation I’ve ever been in.

Lilly can’t help but smile. She’d probably describe her sudden changes as her “most surreal experience”. She wonders how it looks like to the people outside, and why everyone has been so casual about it, including her. Sure, she’s happy since she noticed how much the changes make her feel better, but why was everyone else alright with it?
As she’s pondering, Evelyn goes over to Phillip and grabs a can of beer. She sits down again, looks around and shrugs.

- My turn, then. Mine is quite short, though.

- Heh. - Laughs Phillip. - That’s what he said.

- Shut up, Phil. - She sighs. - Right, so there’s this guy I know from high school. Likes to throw parties in his parent’s house. The place is nice, and they’re pretty much never there. It’s a good spot. Well I went there once or twice, but I can’t really stand the guy. He’s one of those “peaked in high school” types. Well this one time, I met a girl. She tripped and knocked me down as well.

- Sounds like a clumsy gal. - Naomi laughs, going back to her drawing.

- Indeed. Very clumsy. Well, I got out of the house and she followed me to apologize. - Evelyn walks up to Naomi and hugs her from behind. - We started talking, one thing led to another, we kissed and... We’ve been together ever since.

- At least something good came out of those terrible parties. - They give each other a quick kiss and Evelyn goes back to her seat.

Lilly looks at the campfire. The story makes her remember the moment she met May. It was snowing, she had missed the bus and had to walk back home from class. She slid on ice and fell to the ground. May came up seemingly from out of nowhere and helped her up, and (probably due to the long hair Lilly had at the time) called her “lady”. She still didn’t realize then, but that little slip up felt nice. It felt right.
She smiles thinking of her girlfriend. She couldn’t wait to learn makeup the next day. Especially with someone she loves so much. Something had changed, and she was feeling more romantic than ever before. She wanted to be good to May. Hold her hand and hug her tight. Be hers, and hers alone. That’s all she wanted. Just the thought of being near her made Lilly blush.

- My turn! - Phillip shouts suddenly, clapping his hands and going to the edge of his seat. - Y’all ready for a horror story?

- Oh, this better be a good one. - Jim sarcastically leans back and crosses his arms.

- Oh, but it is. Because this one actually happened.

- Yeah, right.

- You’ll see. This happened to me while I was hiking. All by myself. At night. I was walking down the woods right? And it was a dark night, the clouds were blocking the moon, it was terrible. I’m walking around, trying to find the path I was in when all of a sudden I hear a step behind me. I turn around... Nothing.

- Oh come on, man.

- No, no for real. I heard it, clear as day, right behind me. My heart was racing, I wanted to get out of there ASAP. I start running, and the steps behind me got closer. I ended up dropping my flashlight and I couldn’t see a thing. Eventually I have to slow down, rest a bit. Wasn’t hearing the steps anymore. I lean against a tree, look up and I see a silhouette. Just staring down at me. In the middle of nowhere. Whoever it was, they were holding something in their hands.

- Let me guess. - Evelyn said, grabbing a few marshmallows. - It was like, a huge knife, or an axe.

- No, it was my flashlight. At that point I was kind of relieved, thought the entire thing was just kinda silly. Some guy saw me go off track, followed me to help, got my flashlight back... But then I heard those steps behind me again. I looked back and saw something big moving through the bushes. Think it was a bear or something. Turned around and the guy in front of me was gone. Never got my flashlight back.

- Well that sounds like the scariest part. Good flashlights are expensive.

- They are. I’m dead serious, that was a terrible night. It’s not as scary hearing it second hand, but I never went back to that place.

- Whoever it was probably was just terrified of you considering how freaked out you were at the time.

Lilly looks down at the ground. It had been a really nice day. She was having fun, and for the first time since forever she felt like she belonged somewhere. Ever since she was a kid, she never could fit in with the boys. She always felt like the odd one out, and she couldn’t really tell why.
She never really talked to other girls, however. She was always somewhat jealous of them. Of course, at the time she didn’t know that’s what it was. She just felt intimidated. Not to mention she thought she was a boy, and so did everyone else. She was scared of being picked on for being too feminine by the guys, and afraid of being completely rejected by the girls for “being a girl”, and so she never tried to start friendships.
But this time things were different. Her femininity was just part of how she acted, and no one made fun of her for it. In fact, people apparently thought it was cute, charming, and fun. She was just being herself, and everyone else noticed it.

- I suppose it would be my turn now? - Naomi asks. She’s finally put her sketchbook down and is now toasting a marshmallow in the campfire. - Unless Lilly wants to go now.

- Huh? - Lilly gets somewhat startled by hearing her name. - Oh, don’t worry you can go now.

- Thank you! - She grabs her sketchbook and starts to flip the first few pages. - You know, I’ve been drawing since I was a kid, but I feel like I’ve only improved in the last few months. Back then I used to get so frustrated at how little progress I was seeing. I almost gave up.

- You draw so well, though. - Evelyn lies down on the grass, staring at the sky.

- Thanks, Lyn. But seriously, I hated it. Everyone in my class was so much better than me, I was so jealous. I kept looking for tutorials, classes, tips from people that drew better than me, but every single time all they said was “practice”. It made me so upset. Yeah, I know you have to practice to get better, but what do I do if I can’t even start?

- God. Story of my life. - Jim puts down his can of beer and lies down on the grass as well, being joined by Phillip soon after.

- So I took a break, and when I came back it was even worse. I’d stare at a blank piece of paper for over an hour and not even put a mark on it. So one day I just sit down and start doodling random lines. At some point I made a few lines that kinda looked like a frog. So I just continued that drawing, and slowly expanded it, adding shading, details and stuff. After a while I started working on the background. It was harder, but after I started everything got easier and easier until the very end.

- Sounds nice. I never finish any projects I start, really.

- Yeah, those are difficult parts. Starting and ending. Everything else just sorta goes by. I was so focused on the act of drawing that I forgot it had to be enjoyable, I needed ideas. Yeah, maybe you’ll come up with something on the spot, but it’s good to have a general idea at the very least. I wasn’t bad at drawing, or not creative, I just turned the entire thing into a mystery when it didn’t have to be. But enough about that, what about you, Lilly? Any stories to tell?

- Oh? Well uh... I don’t know.

- Nothing interesting to talk about right now? - Naomi says while lying down next to Evelyn.

- Well, there is one thing... But it’s kinda silly. - She also gets out of her seat and lies down on the grass. - None of you would believe me anyway.

- That exciting, huh?

- No, it’s just that... - She takes a deep breath and closes her eyes. - I... I was a boy a few days ago.

- What? - Naomi squints her eyes. - So you’re trans, is that it?

- No... I mean, yeah. I think so. But I’m talking about my body. Physically, I was a guy just a while ago. I woke up like this.

- Wow. - Evelyn laughs out loud, grabbing another bag of chips. - I can’t believe you managed to make something like that up and it’s still more believable than Phil’s story.

- She’s not lying. - Jim suddenly raises his voice, seemingly getting annoyed. - You know that one friend I told you all about? That studies with me? That’s her.

- Well, I have to admit. You do look quite similar to a picture I’ve seen of Jim and his friend. And considering how serious he is right now... Well, unless you took some acting classes I doubt you could pull this off for a joke.

- That’s pretty cool. - Phillip says, unfazed. - And you’re feeling good about it?

- Yeah! At first it was scary, but I’m feeling a lot more like myself now. - Lilly starts fiddling with her fingers, the excitement in her voice being obvious. - I’m so happy with the way I look!

- Hey, if you’re feeling good that’s all that matters.

- Yeah! Although it is kinda confusing why people are taking it so well. I mean, it’s something so life changing and just... surreal. And yet people act so casual about it.

- Well, when I first found out I was pretty shocked. - Jim closes his eyes, feeling the light breeze lift his hair. - But after a little while I just thought: “What do I do with this info?”. Like you said, this is surreal. Too surreal. So all you can really do is keep going. I wanted to make sure you were okay. You’re my best friend, Lilly. At the end of the day seeing you happy is really all that matters.

Lilly tries to say something, but Jim’s honesty made her tear up. Their talks have always been so sarcastic, completely focused on just laughing about things. Seeing him be so honest about how he feels felt special. She felt like she could let go of the sarcasm and irony. She wanted to talk more, be more vulnerable, hear her new voice, to just talk in a different way than she used to.

- Thank you, Jim.

- Also... - Naomi stretched and hugged Evelyn tight. - You don’t have to tell people if you don’t want to, you know. Don’t put that pressure on yourself.

- I’ll... I’ll keep that in mind, thank you.

- You’re welcome, Lilly.

Everyone sits in silence for a moment. Naomi and Evelyn enjoy each other’s embrace, nearly falling asleep on the grass. Jim holds Phillip’s hand and takes a deep breath. He smiles, thinking about how calm everyone is at the moment, and especially feeling happy at having brought Lilly here. And Lilly looks down at herself, once again feeling happiness seeing her new appearance. Everything was going to be okay.
They spend a few more hours talking, sharing stories, and singing songs. Until finally, Phillip gets up.

- Well. - Says Phillip, yawning loudly. - I think we should head to the tents now. Tomorrow is going to be a new day, and we have quite a way to walk back.

- Sure! - Naomi gets up and takes off her jacket. - Let’s head to the tent, honey.

- Good night everyone! - Jim shouts from inside his tent, lazily. - I’ll see you tomorrow.

Lilly stays awake for a few more minutes after everyone has gone to bed already. She grabs her phone and looks at a few old pictures of her and May. She then realizes they didn’t take any pictures together when they went to buy clothes. That was something she intended to correct the next day. She was super excited to talk to her again, now confident in her new looks and not worrying about being feminine. It really was going to be a fun day.
She goes into her tent and quickly falls asleep.