One week after Bonfire Night, Leslie slowly opened his eyes as he heard the bustle of his cabin-mates getting ready. He stretched and got ready to greet the day. His routine had gotten a bit faster, since he didn't have to brush his hair thanks to the help of one of the other campers, a girl named Izzy from Cabin 3, who had braided Leslie's hair during movie night into twin fishtail braids. Leslie reminisced about how that had happened:

As the movie played, one of those coming of age movies about a group of girls learning about true friendship, Leslie looked around for the popcorn bowl, which had last been in Nora's hands. Nora didn't have it, but she was preoccupied with another camper who was working her hands through Nora's hair.

"Hey, Leslie, Izzy's gonna braid my hair, want her to do you when she's done?" Nora asked.

"I don't think so," he replied. "I don't think my hair is suited for braids."

"No way! Your hair is so cute!" Izzy exclaimed. "And braids are even cuter!"

Looking at the faces of the two girls, he couldn't help but be swayed to accept their offer. After all, braids can be removed, right?

Remembering movie night made Leslie smile as he stroked one of the braids, since the braiding had been mostly convenient and he didn't have to worry about hair ties anymore. And he didn't get nearly as much forest junk stuck in his hair during hikes or bird-watching, which he had gotten better at since the last time. Especially since he knew to stay away from anything that might be poison ivy.

After brushing his teeth, Leslie looked himself up and down in the mirror. What a difference a week can make! He managed to not have any more accidents, and his black eye had almost completely healed, but he still applied a bit of makeup at the behest of Kendra who insisted that he do it to keep his skin even. The lip gloss wasn't strictly necessary, but his lips had been getting chapped, and he didn't have any other type of chapstick.

Getting dressed, Leslie had finally gotten back his old sneakers, but found the pink ones to be far more comfortable, so his old sneakers had been left under the bunk, untouched since their return from the camp’s laundry.

He quickly pulled on a pair of shorts and his Cabin 8 t-shirt, examining his nails as he pulled the shirt over his head. They'd gotten a tad longer, so he might have to ask Kendra if she has clippers, though she'll probably want to do another manicure, which he wasn't entirely against.

"Hey, Leslie! Isn't this that letter you sent to your mom?" Nora asked as she looked under one of the bunks.

The letter! Leslie had completely forgotten about it because of the shower incident! He never sent it! He’d been biding his time for nothing! How could he have been so stupid? Leslie smacked his forehead and sighed.

"I left it here and must have forgotten to send it, then it got knocked under the bed."

"I'm sorry, that was probably me when I went to get your change of clothes on tie-dye day." Annie apologized.

"It's fine," he said. "It wasn't time sensitive."

Leslie had been having so much fun despite believing that his time was limited... but maybe that was the takeaway. This was fun. He was enjoying himself, enjoying being Leslie the girl and not Les the boy. What did this all mean for him? Did he even still want to send the letter? This was going to take some deliberation.

"Why don't you go along to breakfast? I'll catch up." Leslie said as he held the letter in his hands.

Leslie stood there wondering, “What should I do?” Leslie knew he was a boy, and he'd never had any sort of predilection for dressing like a girl before, or liked girly things as a kid. He wasn't the most athletic, and preferred books to sports, but he was never unsure about his gender. Until now. Leslie hadn't ever been unhappy as a boy, or felt like he was in the wrong body, but the past week had shown that he was missing something, and he liked all the camaraderie and support that the girls gave each other that boys didn't for fear of being seen as "gay".  Despite not having any inclination of being anything other than a boy prior to this summer, the evidence was hard to dismiss.

And the clothes were comfortable, although he didn't think so at first, but after a week, he found himself not minding any of the more form-fitting items designed for a body he didn't have, even if he was unnecessarily wearing a bra for breasts that would never grow, despite how Kendra, Annie and Nora kept insisting they would once he started hormones, a suggestion Leslie had found laughable.

Leslie had fallen so easily into the role, what if that was the role he was meant to fill? But more importantly, what happened to the real Leslie? Surely, she'd want her things back at the end of the summer. And why hasn't she shown up yet? She was supposed to be on the bus after all! Was she at the boy's camp pretending to be him? He imagined that'd be a bit tougher, but who knows? Maybe she ducked out of camp and Leslie’s unwitting mistake had made it easier to evade her parents.

As he ruminated, Leslie thought back to a breakfast conversation he had with his cabin-mates a few days earlier:

Leslie giggled as Nora finished telling a funny joke, and Annie held a napkin up to her nose.

"Stop! Milk is coming out of my nose!" Annie cried.

"We should meet up after camp ends. I don't want to lose touch." Kendra suggested.

"We're definitely exchanging numbers. A shame we can't use technology here. I'd like to friend you all before I forget to." Nora added.

That technology ban was one of the reasons he was stuck like this. He'd be able to easily prove his identity with his cell phone. Or at the very least, call his parents.

"Where do you live, Leslie?" Kendra asked.

"Southtown." he replied as he took a bite of food. Not a lie, and it was a big place, though he worried that she might look him up after and find the boy he intended to return to being after he escaped.

"That's only about an hour away from Weston, where I live, I can totes take a bus to visit! Or vice versa!" Annie exclaimed.

Leslie felt bad about leading them on, but what else could he do? Leslie wasn't sticking around, at least, the girl Leslie wasn't, but without his phone number, he'd never have to worry about seeing them ever again.

Leslie's face fell as he realized what that meant. He actually enjoyed their company, and wanted to remain friends, but he couldn't! Not as who he actually was. Sure, they liked Leslie the girl, and Leslie the trans girl, but Les the boy?

"Something wrong?" Kendra asked, her face full of concern and worry.

"Nothing." Leslie smiled. "Just thinking."

After thinking it over, Leslie had come to a decision. He knew exactly what he was going to do. He quickly marched out and headed for the main office. He had to call his mom.

As he walked towards the main office, he heard his name called from behind him. He turned around to see Kendra, Annie and Nora quickly trying to catch up to him. He stopped and waited for them to get close.

"Aren't you coming to breakfast?" Nora asked.

"They've got pancakes today!" Annie exclaimed.

He felt his stomach grumble, but this was a much more important matter.

"I'll be along, save me a plate. I've gotta call my mom." he said.

"You don't still want to go home, do you?" Kendra asked.

"How do you know about that?" he questioned. He'd never admitted to them that he wanted out at all.

"You spent the first few days frantically calling home, every girl does that their first time at a new camp." Kendra smiled. "But I'm glad you stayed."

Annie and Nora nodded and smiled supportively at Leslie.

"So am I." he grinned back.

This might be one of the toughest decisions of his life, but Kendra just made it real easy. Leslie quickly ran to the office and asked to use the phone. Carla was standing by and eyed him up and down as she deliberated on the request.

"Given that you've been a pretty happy camper this past week, I'll allow it." Carla laughed and handed him the phone.

Leslie quickly dialed in his home number and he felt his heart race as the phone dialed and rang.

"Hello?" came his mother's voice on the other end.

"Mom?" he asked. "It's me, Leslie."

"Les! Great to hear from you! After we got disconnected, I got worried, but I figured you were just having so much fun that you forgot to call back." she replied.

"Yeah, about that. I've got a lot to tell you." he started. "First things first, I got on the wrong bus. But that's okay!"

It was a lot to take in, but Leslie thinks that she'll understand. Guess this summer wasn't such a bummer after all.