I arrived home with a sense of mounting dread. I knew my evening was going to suck, like really hard. Pushing the door open, I saw that my mother’s shoes and jacket were in the entrance nook, so she was probably home. Dad’s stuff wasn’t here though, he’d be expecting me my mother and I to get the house sorted for the dinner with our extended family.

Mum must have heard me arrive home, because she popped her head out of the kitchen door and called down the hallway, “You’re late! I need you to vacuum the dining room please.”

I sighed, and tried to keep a neutral expression, “Yes mum, I’ll just go put my stuff away in my room.”

“Good boy. Oh, and how was your day?” she asked, almost as an afterthought, but her eyes at least held some compassion.

“Yeah it was good, had lunch with a cool new friend. That was about it apart from school work and stuff,” I called as I ascended the stairs to the second floor where my room was.

Depositing all my stuff in the middle of the floor of my room, I carefully hid every piece of evidence that I was a girl. My clothing went hidden underneath my guy clothes in the dresser, and I made sure my computer was unplugged at the wall so my cousins wouldn’t turn it on and see anything on there.

It was starting to get truly exhausting keeping this all a secret. Once again, I thought about what I could do to get an income and a place to rent. My main problem, I’d figured out, was that getting a job would mean I wouldn’t be home to do my chores, which my family would notice. I’d have to tell them I was working, and then mum would try and come see me on the job, because she was just that type of person. The type to randomly show up on you unannounced and expect you to be ready for her. Bloody annoying.

Next, I dashed to the bathroom and carefully inspected myself. I’d need to wear some baggier clothes, or they’d see there was something strange going on underneath. My hips were already as wide as my shoulders, and the freckles were starting to show as a smattering of little pale dots over my face. Hell, my face in general was just softer, cuter, more feminine. Even as I realised this was going to cause problems, I felt a surge of happiness.

It was one thing to find myself instantly in a girl’s body, but seeing my normal one transform into one I felt was far more in keeping with who I was? Well that was something else, something amazing.

There wasn’t much I could do about how my face looked, so I went back to my room and changed into a button up shirt and jeans. I was about to leave when I remembered my boobs, damn. Looking down I saw my small nipples making little tents for themselves out of the fabric of my shirt. Damn.

I went back to my dresser and carefully extracted my sports bra. It might be too big for me right now, but maybe the extra layer would help obfuscate the girls who were intent on camping.

When I arrived downstairs, I went straight to the closet where we kept all the cleaning stuff, and dragged the huge vacuum cleaner out of it. The damn thing had more in common with a tank than any normal cleaning apparatus, I swear.

The dining room being attached to the kitchen, I saw mum look up and nod in approval as I plugged the tank into the wall and turned it on. I was very thankful for the noise it made, rendering any attempt by my mother to have a conversation useless. It was like trying to talk while you’re next to a jet engine.

It didn’t take long to get the place clean, as we usually kept everything pretty spotless anyway. Well, by we, I mean me… because my parents certainly weren’t going to lug this damn thing around.

Finished with the vacuuming, I was instructed to set the table, which required getting the special tablecloth out and all that. Special cutlery, special plates, special everything. Appearance was key in our family, the jackals that were going to arrive in a few hours looking for anything to not so subtly judge us on. I honestly couldn’t blame my parents for being obsessed with keeping a tight ship when this part of our extended family came around. The father was some big hotshot lawyer in Manhattan and the mother owned a nail salon or something. They had big expectations and loved to belittle us for being less affluent.

The rest of the setup involved a ton of random little chores that I dutifully, if grudgingly worked my way though. I actually got it done faster than usual, which I suspected was in part due to my abilities giving my movements a new grace and economy of motion that I had severely lacked before.

I was actually released from my duties to find something to entertain myself for an hour while mum finished up in the kitchen. She’d put the roast on in the morning, and it was starting to smell delicious. I was damn hungry actually, so the roast pork and vegetables was sounding better and better by the minute.

I decided to hang out in the backyard, leaning against the rear wall of the house and idly playing with a stray tennis ball. Bored, I walked away from the wall and turned, beginning to throw the ball against the wall idly while I mentally prepared myself for the shitshow that would be dinner.

Hazel, the eldest of the two cousins, was an aloof stuck up girl a few years older than me who had a very high opinion of herself. She was a pretty stereotypical spoiled rich girl who had the weight of monumental parental expectations on her shoulders.

Leon was still in high school, a senior if I remembered correctly, and very much a teenaged idiot with too many opinions and not enough actual knowledge to back them up. He was the type of guy who’d throw out some spicy remark that would cause everyone with a brain to cringe and bite their tongue to keep from berating him.

Together they were a nightmare, first off…

My train of thought was interrupted when the ball bounced off the wall in a very odd manner. It had hit an imperfection in the wall and jinked off out of my reach, only to curve in the air and arrive in my hand just the same. What the fuck?

I threw it again, further up the wall where there was an exposed pipe, and watched as it bounced oddly off it and up into the air. I formed a need in my mind, asking the ball to come to my hand, concentrating closely on both my own mind and body, as well as the ball. I was looking for what had moved it. So far my powers had been limited to just my body, but now it seemed I was directly affecting objects external to myself.

Just as I’d thought, the ball flew towards me in a path that deviated heavily from what my mind knew physics had originally intended. Except, I realised that it wasn’t the ball I was messing with, but rather the space around it. Was… was it gravity I was messing with? It was hard to tell, but the ball was being forced into a path in a manner I was struggling to understand.

I tried again and again, trying to figure it out. I had limited success, I could clearly feel my powers reaching out and doing something to the area around the ball, but it was hard to pinpoint what I was doing.

Finally, I decided to stop and sit down. I hoped no one had seen me messing around, that could turn out badly.

A short time later, I heard the doorbell chime five times in rapid succession. Guess it was time to go and meet my fate.

****

Dad had apparently arrived home while I was outside, and he greeted the arrivals with a grin and a firm handshake to Tony, my uncle. They were all dressed exceptionally well. Tony was in casual business style attire, as was Leon. Vivian and hazel were dressed in summer dresses that made me think we were in the fifties having a tea party or something. Whatever they did back then.

“Tony! Good to see you man! How’s the firm going?” asked my dad jovially.

“It’s going damn well Christopher! We just nailed a case today. I hope this dinner Candice is cooking is good, because I feel like celebrating!” Tony grinned, slapping my dad on the shoulder.

My dad nodded and gestured for the group to go into the lounge, “Oh really? Tell be about it!”

“Well, I can’t say more than is in the public records, but it was a discrimination case,” he explained.

“Oh? You were defending someone?” asked my dad, his tone cagey.

“Yes, the employer! They fired a gay man, who thought it was because he was gay that he was fired. Of course they did no such thing, and his revealing his sexuality at around the same time was just a coincidence. He was apparently not very good at his job, so they got rid of him,” my uncle said, rolling his eyes the whole time.

“Ah yes, those queers are always like that, making a scene and the like. I don’t care what they do, but they need to do it out of the sight of normal folk, that’s for sure,” dad said gruffly, shaking his head.

“Yes, exactly… ah, and here’s the lovely Candice! How are you my dear?” Tony said, noticing my mother still in the kitchen through the open plan area.

“Tony!” she exclaimed, trying her hands on a towel and walking over to give him a short hug, “I’m doing great! Both my sons are working hard at their colleges, I couldn’t be more proud.”

“Ah yes,” Tony said, turning to me, “Finance wasn’t it?”

“U-uhm, yeah… Finance,” I nodded meekly.

“Solid profession that, you’ll do well. Get those six figures eh?” he said nudging me with a fist before turning to his wife.

“Vivian, you’re more up to date on our children, how are they doing?” he asked, his voice almost oozing hauteur.

My aunt smiled slightly, turning to her daughter, “Hazel is at New York University, as you know. Her management degree is going well isn’t it?”

“Yeah. Top of the class right now. Obviously,” Hazel laughed.

“That’s my girl,” Tony said affectionately, briefly patting her head.

“And of course, Leon is doing well at school aren’t you?” Vivian asked her son.

“Yeah I’m crushing my AP classes. Too easy for me, but hey if I can relax and do well then I’m gonna do that,” Leon said from his position leaning against the wall.

“Make sure you keep up with everything though, no slacking off when you should be working,” his father said sternly.

“You got it boss,” Leon said, and I could see him trying not to roll his eyes.

“Good lad,” Tony nodded, turning back to my parents.

Dad indicated to everyone that we should sit down at the table after mum said that dinner was almost ready. I was sat between mum and Leon. Everyone continued to lob subtle superiority jabs at each other over the table for a while, until things settled down. Each side thinking they had bested the other.

Things became moderately more tolerable after the dick measuring contest was done with, and I relaxed slightly. I could feel all the muscles in my back were tense from listening to their crap.

The food was a beacon of happiness during the dinner. Mum had really done well cooking this up. The apple sauce was amazing and she’d done a bunch of chopped up pumpkin, yams and carrots as well. I sat there in silence unless I was addressed, doing my best to stay out of the line of fire.

When dinner finished, and it was time to go hang out in the lounge until dessert was ready. I sat down on a couch far from everyone, but my two cousins followed, sharing a look between themselves that I couldn’t interpret.

“So what do you do these days? Still like, games and stuff?” asked Leon.

I nodded cautiously, “Yeah I guess.”

“Ugh, I had a boyfriend who played games. He was such a dick. Always playing games instead of talking to me. I dumped him so hard,” Hazel said, pulling her phone out and beginning to flick through it.

“Oh I remember, what was his name? Vinny or something?” Leon asked.

“No, it was… fuck I don’t remember. Just one of many assholes,” Hazel replied absently.

“Was he the one who had that fucking overly gay friend? That dude was kind of annoying,” Leon continued.

Oh no… this topic could go bad fast.

“Yeah ugh, don’t remind me. He kept trying to get me to go to that homo parade where all the people do that weird bdsm shit,” Hazel grimaced.

“It’s not weird bdsm shit…” I said before I could stop myself.

“Yeah it is, I’ve seen the pictures. It’s fucking disgusting,” Hazel sniffed, narrowing her eyes at me.

I couldn’t sit here and let them get away with saying this stuff, even if I was the only person in the room who might defend queer people. Who were these two assholes to sit and judge innocent happy people like this?

“I don’t know, it’s nice seeing people be happy with themselves,” I mumbled.

My anxious mind was unable to bring the full brunt of my anger against them. How do people do this, disagree with someone to their face about such a volatile topic? The people who go out and argue with bigots are incredible… I could never do that.

“It’s fucking weird. Guys fucking other guys? It’s nasty. How could anyone choose to do that?” Leon laughed.

I felt my stomach squirm with anxiety, but I couldn’t help myself… I’d started this. I had chosen to speak up.

“They don’t choose. None of us- them... choose this stuff. Just like you didn’t choose to be who you are,” I said, getting frustrated.

It pissed me off, the level of ignorant hate that people like this could hold within themselves. How do you go through life like that, with a complete lack of empathy? My brain was starting to become a mess of fear and anger, with a healthy dose of confusion on top. As always when I got into a truly heated argument.

“Fucking, lol! You’re a social justice warrior? Really?! Fuck wow, I knew you were a soyboy but like holy shit,” Leon laughed, his voice oozing derision.

“You said Us, are you a fucking homo?” Hazel grimaced in disgust.

“What? I… no I was just…” I squeaked.

My heart was hammering away in my chest and my cheeks were flushed with mortification. If they brought the parents into this, things could go pear shaped very quickly. I had to deflect away from this somehow.

“You’re gay? What the hell?” asked Leon.

“No! I like girls! I made out with a girl just a few days ago!,” I blurted, trying to gain some control over what was happening.

“Yeah, doubt it. Oh wait, maybe it was like, a girl. Like one of those creepy people who pretend to be girls so they can get into women’s bathrooms and perv,” Hazel grinned maliciously.

“What… no I’m… they-” I said, stumbling over my words. My brain was shutting down, the anxiety and fear overriding my ability to form an argument.

“What’s going on over here?” asked my uncle, the evil brother and sister’s father.

Loudly, Hazel decleared, “Coby is a homosexual. He just told us!”

“What?!” my mother said, storming over, “I knew something was wrong with you! Who’s doing this to you?”

She looked… alarmed, angry. That was nothing compared to the look on my father’s face however. His face was ashen and rage filled his eyes to a degree that I had never seen before. Not even during the time he had caught me trying on my mother’s heels had he been this angry.

“You,” he quietly seethed, his eyes flaring open in a way that almost seemed insane, “Get up to your room.”

Feeling my throat lock up in that way it did when my emotions were running too high. I couldn’t answer him, so instead I nodded and fled stumbling up to my room. I felt like I was in a dream, no wait, a nightmare. This didn’t feel real. I had known something like this was a possibility… but to have it actually happen? I closed and locked my bedroom door, backing away from it like it might explode inward at any moment, my father screaming in fury in the wake of flying splinters. What was I going to do?