I stepped down from the staircase, and looked at my mom. “Ready to go?” I asked.

“Almost,” she replied, not looking up from the laptop she’d set up on the living room table. “Just have to finish writing this e-mail, I’ll just be a sec.”

I nodded in acknowledgement, and sat down on the couch to wait, my sister Chloe claiming the armchair. “Are you excited?” she asked, smiling at me.

“Yep,” I answered. “After all, this is the first time I go clothes shopping with someone who’s not a family member; I’m a bit nervous about it.”

My sister’s smile turned into a smirk. “Didn’t you go clothes shopping with Josh once before? I remember the dress you bought, it’s really cute.”

I found myself blushing at the memory, and Chloe chuckled, amused at my embarrassment. “Oh, shut up,” I said. I picked up a throw pillow from the couch and tossed it at her; she caught it easily, and held it in front of her. “That was a spur-of-the-moment thing, it doesn’t really count as a shopping expedition.”

“Ah well,” she said, throwing the pillow back. “I’m sure there’ll be plenty of chances for you two to go shopping from now on.”

My blush deepened, and I hugged the pillow to my chest and mumbled something unintelligible.

“Okay,” Mom said, shutting her laptop. “Shall we go, girls?”

“Yeah, let’s,” I said; I put down the pillow and got up from the couch, following Mom and Chloe to the door. They stepped outside, and I was about to follow them, but then I froze on the threshold.

“Emily?” Mom asked, sensing my hesitation and turning back towards me. “Is everything alright?”

“I…” I said; then I gulped. “Yeah, everything’s okay. It’s just… It hit me just now.” I looked up at her. “This will be my first time out in the open dressed as a girl here in town. The first time there’s a good chance someone I know might see me.”

Mom’s expression softened, and she smiled. “Do you want to put it off? You don’t have to do it now; you can go back to your room and get changed, wear your usual jeans and hoodie.”

I took a deep breath, and shook my head. “No, I’ve already put it off for too long. It’s now or never. And besides, it’s only a week until prom, until I come out for real, so even if someone spots me, so what? It’ll just be a week earlier than planned, no big deal.” I bit my lip in nervousness. “God, I’m really doing this, aren’t I?”

My mom stepped forward and hugged me tight. “Yes, you are. And I’m so proud of you, Emily.” She let me go and stepped back, offering me her hand; I took it, and stepped outside the house after her. “There, that wasn’t so hard, wasn’t it? You’ve taken your first step into a larger world.”

I frowned. “Mom, did you… Did you just quote Star Wars at me?”

“I guess I did, didn’t I? But it fit the mood,” she replied with a smirk, while Chloe laughed. “Come on, let’s get going, wouldn’t want to make your friend wait.”

I nodded, and we climbed into the car; as we sped off from our house, I sent Aggie a text: On our way.

We’d decided Mom, Chloe and I would pick up Aggie and her mother from her house, and then make our way to the dress store to pick out our dresses; not the store at the mall, though, something a bit more upscale, just outside of town. It’s not every day that you get to choose a dress for prom after all, might as well splurge a little bit, even though I would probably never use the dress again until the following year.

As we approached Aggie’s house, though, I was starting to get nervous. After all, this would be the first time she would see me en femme; I wondered what she would say.

“Turn right here,” I told Mom, following the map on my cell phone. “Then a left… And it should be here.” I peered out of the window. “Yeah, number twenty-six. This is it. I’ll go get them.”

Mom nodded, and while she and Chloe waited in the car I got out and walked the short distance to the front door. I took a deep breath, and rang the doorbell.

It took only a few moments for it to open – Aggie had clearly been waiting for us. “Uh… Hi,” I said shyly, giving her a small wave.

She looked me up and down, taking in my appearance. That day I’d worn a simple teal dress which came down to my knees, with black tights and low-heeled shoes. I hadn’t done anything particular with my hair, just brushed it out until it hung straight down to my shoulders, but I had carefully done my make-up – a casual, day-out style, but paying attention to tracing every line with the utmost precision.

“Mmhmm,” Aggie mused, putting a hand on her chin; then, after a moment, she smiled and nodded approvingly. “Yes, I do have to say you clean up nicely, Emily. I’m seriously impressed.” She paused. “You’re sure it’s just boys you like, right?”

I blinked. “Yeah, I’m quite sure. Why?”

“No reason, just checking,” she said. “Mom! Let’s go!” she called.

“Yeah, yeah, no need to shout, Aggie.” A woman – Aggie’s mother, clearly – joined us outside the house; she took a moment to shut and lock the front door, then turned to me. “Well!” she said. “So this is your friend, Aggie?”

“She is,” Aggie replied. “Emily Wilson. Mom, Emily. Emily, Mom.” She smirked. “Or Sharon, if you prefer.”

“Oh, quit it,” Sharon said with a hint of annoyance in her voice, punching her daughter lightly in the shoulder. Then she looked at me curiously. “Wilson, huh?”

“Uh… yes,” I nodded.

“Weird. Could’ve sworn you said Wilson was a boy, Aggie.”

“Does she look like a boy to you, Mom?” she said, gesturing at me.

Sharon shook her head. “No, I guess not. So, shall we be off?”

“Yeah,” Aggie said.

We made our way to the car; Sharon climbed into the front seat, while Aggie and I squeezed in the back with Chloe – it was a bit tight, but we all fit. After some brief introductions, we were on the road again towards the dress store.

“So Aggie tells me you’re a really good student, Emily?” Sharon said.

“Well, I’m not really…” I began.

“She is,” Mom cut me off. “Near the top of her class, actually.”

I blushed a bit at the praise. “…Mom,” I mumbled.

She raised a questioning eyebrow at me through the rear-view mirror. “What? You are, and I’m really proud of you. Plus, it helps keep the teachers off your back for all the other stuff.”

“Oh? What other stuff?” Sharon asked.

“She beats up bullies,” Aggie said, matter-of-factly.

Sharon turned in her seat to look at me. “Really?”

“Yeah, I had her take self-defence classes because of it,” Mom answered. “This way she doesn’t get hurt as much.”

“And you’re okay with it?”

Mom shrugged. “I do worry, but it’s not like she goes looking for trouble, she just fights back when she has to. Also, I think it’s been a while since the last time you were in a fight?”

“A couple months,” I confirmed. “It was just before…” I paused. “Uh…”

Sharon looked at me curiously. “Just before what?”

“Emily’s got a boyfriend!” Chloe said in a sing-song voice.

I glared at her. “Shut up,” I grumbled.

Aggie smirked. “Oh, Emily, you disappoint me. I expected you to say ‘he is not my boyfriend’ or something along those lines. You’re entirely no fun.”

I let out a groan. “Don’t you start too, Aggie.”

“Sorry, already started,” she replied. “And I’m just getting warmed up.”

I crossed my arms in front of my chest and hmpf-ed at her; Sharon smiled. “It’s nice that you’re such good friends,” she said.

“To be honest, at first I thought she was a bit intimidating,” Aggie said. “You know… She had a reputation.” Sharon nodded, and Aggie continued, “But then one day out of the blue she helped me, Nick, and Mark with some study stuff we were having trouble with. Like, we didn’t even ask, we were discussing the problem aloud and she just told us the answer.” She smiled. “Then after that I invited her to the study group, and that was that.”

“I’m glad you did,” I replied. “I’m not really good at making friends.”

She laughed. “Yeah, I kinda noticed, you didn’t even remember my name at first. But this way, we get to enjoy a girls’ day out, picking our prom dresses.”

My cheeks warmed a bit, and I smiled at the thought of being included in the ‘girls’ category.

“We’re here,” Mom said, flicking her turn signal on. “Let me find a place to park.”

After the car pulled to a stop off the side of the road we got out and walked to the clothes store. The front of the building was mostly nondescript, the only things which advertised the shop were the sign, and the handful of mannequins in the front window; but when I entered the shop proper, I was amazed.

The store was huge. It was basically a storeroom, but very large, easily two hundred feet on each side, and filled with rows and rows of racks, upon which all kinds of colourful dresses hung, each in its own section: sundresses, cocktail dresses, evening gowns, bridesmaids’ dresses, bridal gowns, and, yes, prom dresses. It felt as if I’d entered a secret garden, full of attractive and enticing flowers.

“Good afternoon, folks,” a young woman said, smiling at us, when we entered the shop; she was tall and lanky, with long black hair, and wore a simple lilac dress which hung perfectly off her frame. “I’m Beth, and welcome to Beth’s Boutique, we sell dresses and dress accessories. What can I help you with today?”

Mom gestured at us. “These two young ladies are looking for prom dresses,” she said.

“Well, you’ve certainly come to the right place,” Beth replied. “Come right this way.”

We started to follow her towards the prom dress section of the store; as we walked she spotted another woman, who was putting some dresses on mannequins. “Emmy, are you busy right now?” Beth called out.

“Not particularly, no, I’m just tidying these up,” Emmy replied.

“Alright,” Beth nodded, “go find Julien and tell them to man the till, then come give me a hand.”

Emmy nodded in return, and she was off. We kept following Beth, and in short order we arrived where the prom dresses were on display.

“Okay!” Beth exclaimed, turning towards us. “Are you looking for something in particular?”

“Not really,” Aggie replied. “Just something nice that fits me. And maybe not too dressy, so I can use it for other occasions.”

Beth nodded in acknowledgement, and turned to me. “And for you?”

“Well…” I said. “Something… Something that would impress a boy.”

“Not that Josh needs impressing,” Chloe commented. “He’s already heads over heels for you.”

“Chloe,” I said warningly.

Aggie’s eyes glinted mischievously. “Well, that sure explains why you’re often late to return to class after lunch,” she said. “And why you look quite dishevelled when you do.”

I turned my eyes to her. “Aggie.”

“Oh, is this a hickey?” Mom said, touching the side of my neck and making me jump in surprise.

“Mom!” I exclaimed, taking a step back and slapping my hand over my neck.

She grinned at me. “Nah, I’m just kidding. No hickeys.” She paused, and then her grin widened. “No visible hickeys, at least.”

“Mom!”

“Okay, okay, I’ll drop it,” she said with a laugh, which was joined by everyone else – including me.

By then Emmy had returned, and she took charge of finding a dress for Aggie; Beth led me, Mom, and Chloe along the lines of gowns, passing her eyes over them.

“So, something that would impress a boy, you said?” she commented, looking at the many dresses critically.

“Yeah,” I nodded. “And something I can move easily in.”

“Okay,” she nodded back; she pulled out a few dresses from the rack she was standing in front of, and handed one to me.

The next hour was a complete whirlwind of me trying out dresses, Mom and Chloe supplying their opinion, and then repeating the process with another dress. I put on and modelled dress after gown after gown after dress, and I thoroughly enjoyed the whole event: I’d never had the chance to go out shopping for dresses with other women like this, for obvious reasons, and I was having the time of my life.

In the end, I still had some doubts, though: I couldn’t decide between a long-sleeved gown, which was dark blue in the bodice but gradually lightened to periwinkle at the end of the knee-length skirt, and a sleeveless grape dress which came down to my ankles. At that moment I was in the changing room, wearing the grape dress, while the other one hung from the wall; Mom, Chloe, and Beth were standing just outside, giving me time to decide.

“Emily?” came Aggie’s voice from outside. “Did you find what you were looking for?”

“Almost,” I replied. “I still have some doubts.”

“Let me see,” she said; without waiting for a reply, she opened the door and walked in, wearing a short-sleeved violet dress with a medium-length skirt, which came down to her calf.

“What do you think?” I said, gesturing down at myself.

She tilted her head to the side and looked at me critically. “It fits somewhat, but I’m not sure it’s the right colour. Plus, the skirt is a bit too long.”

“You sure?”

“Yeah,” she nodded. “You wanted something you can move easily in, right? Long skirts ain’t that.”

“Okay. Then what about this?” I asked, gesturing at the other dress, hanging from the wall.

“No,” she said immediately.

I gave her a curious look. “What do you mean, no?”

“No, there’s too much contrast. Too dark at the top, too light at the bottom, not enough space between the two.” She picked up the dress and folded it a bit so the two colours were side-by-side. “See?”

I nodded pensively. “Yeah, I see. But what then? I’d narrowed it down to these two.”

Aggie seemed to think for a moment. “Then, what about this?” she asked, gesturing down at herself – at the violet dress she was wearing, rather. “I think it might be your style.”

I looked at the dress, at how it hung off Aggie’s body; we had quite similar body shapes, so maybe…

“Yeah, maybe,” I answered,

“Well, try it on then,” she said. “I think this is your size, even.”

Without waiting for my answer she reached behind her back, quickly unzipped the dress, and started climbing out of it.

I blinked in surprise, and blushed fiercely “Aggie!” I said.

“What?” she asked, pausing, one leg inside the dress.

“You can’t just do that!” I protested.

She looked at me curiously. “What’s the problem?”

“Well…” I hesitated. “I’m… You know...”

“Oh, psh, that,” she said, waving her hand dismissively. “I don’t mind, it’s just us girls in here after all. We could both be naked, for what I care.”

She finished taking off her dress and hung it from a hanger, then stood there in her underwear, arms crossed, looking at me. “Well, what are you waiting for? Off with that dress, Miss Wilson, and put this other one on.”

I smiled warmly at her. “Thank you,” I said, as I unzipped the gown I was wearing.

It took only a few minutes to take off the grape dress and put on the lilac one, but when I did I really liked what I saw in the mirror: the dress fit me perfectly, the skirt coming down to just below my knees – because of my height, I was a bit taller than Aggie; plus, I really liked the colour. It felt… Good.

“Yeah, this is it,” Aggie said, nodding approvingly. “This dress is you. I have a really good eye, if I say so myself. How’s it feel?”

“Very good,” I said. “And it fits just right, I can move around just fine.”

“Good,” she said, giving me a light slap on the shoulder. “You’ll be able to dance the whole prom away no problem. Josh is really lucky.”

Again I smiled at Aggie and said, “Thank you.”

“You’re welcome,” she said, smiling back. “Now, however, you have to help me find a dress; I gave you the one I’d picked out for myself, after all. And even though I’m sure they have more than one, we can’t really go to prom dressed the same, right?”

“Right,” I answered with a laugh. “Alright, let’s go look for your dress.”

-----

In the end, Aggie chose a stunning, deep red piece with a long, flared skirt which came down to her ankles. It was a very noticeable dress, and a far cry from her initial declaration of wanting something not too dressy: it would surely attract everyone’s attention, but she justified it by saying that since she was going stag, she might as well do her best to stand out. After that we both picked out matching shoes to go with our dresses – and we both picked conservative, low-heeled shoes, so that we might be able to use them for day-to-day wear after prom, which obviously can’t be done with very high heels.

There were several other people besides us in the store picking out dresses, including a few girls I remembered seeing in passing at school, but no one from our class; and just as well, my coming out would be a surprise to everyone except a chosen few.

After paying for our purchases we drove Aggie and Sharon back to their house and said goodbye to them, and then returned home, where I carefully hung the dress up in my closet: I didn’t want to risk it getting creased before prom.

The next day I spent at home, and on Monday we went back to school – wearing my “boy disguise,” of course; I was already starting to… Well, resent was probably the right word. After the experience I’d had at the dress store (and even earlier, when I went out with Josh to the artisans’ market), I was starting to resent not being able to be myself, to dress as I liked all the time. I almost wanted to fling off my sweater and jeans then and there, and shout to the world that I was a girl. But then I took a deep breath, and decided not to ruin things. The wait was almost over, after all.

The week flew by, and before I knew it, it was Friday afternoon. Time for prom.