Getting ready for school as a girl is a novel experience for me, of course. I’ve heard so many girls bitching about how horrible the uniform is, but I have to admit I look really cute in it.

Now, the school I attend, because it’s what Dad demanded, is run by the Southern Baptist Convention, so saying they are conservative is putting it mildly. There are four different sections to it. The kindergarten through sixth, seventh through ninth, tenth through twelfth and then the college, at which you can get up to a masters degree.

The girls uniform is nothing all that special mind you, but it’s far better than the boys plain black pants and white short sleeve shirt with a tie, along with black dress shoes. In fall and winter they wear a black jacket and switch to a long sleeve shirt. The color of the tie, or bow tie for girls, indicates your year. Sophomores wear forest green, juniors wear cobalt blue, and seniors wear a burgundy one.

Girls wear a white, short sleeve button up blouse, but we’re required to wear a camisole underneath lest we over excite the boys by them catching sight of a bra strap, gasp! The pleated plaid skirt falls slightly past mid-thigh. The skirt’s base color is black, but it has a plaid pattern of grey and white, along with black panty hose or tights, which I hate - stockings aren’t so bad, but panty hose feel confining - and black, kitten-heel Mary Jane pumps. In fall and winter, we switch to long sleeve blouses and a black jacket.

Girls are not allowed to wear makeup of any kind, and those with hair longer than their shoulders must wear it up in some fashion. Mom told me she will be helping put mine up me every morning. Today it’s up in a french roll.

Stopping, I check myself over in the mirror before I leave my room. Something I hadn’t really noticed until now is how I might be a bit on the short side for my age, but I’m absolutely adorable and I also have a very nice body. While I’m not overly endowed breast wise, which I don’t want anyway, I'm one of the few girls my age with hips wide enough to show decent curves even through our uniform, since most of them are still in the process of filling out. I have to admit that between my looks and curves it’s enough to turn any boy on and draw their attention, which I don’t really want or need that right now.

One of the problems with having your gender changed like this is that I still haven’t quite realized that the gorgeous girl I see in the mirror is actually me, and it sometimes leads to some interesting, if somewhat awkward, feelings.

Anyway, on to breakfast! I drop my wallet, phone and car keys into my purse and head downstairs for breakfast, which Mom already has ready. Breakfast is scrambled eggs, link sausage and toast. After we eat, I give Mom a hug and tell her, “I’ll see you this evening.” I pick up my purse and bookbag and head out to my car.

It only takes half an hour to drive to school, so I arrive with twenty minutes to spare. After parking and locking my car, I slowly make my way to my locker on the third floor, gathering looks from both the boys and the girls as I make my way. I place my purse in my locker and relock it. I then head to homeroom, which for me is English, not that it really matters much over all. I believe I already mentioned that I’m a very good student and I’m always in the top five for my grade. My home room teacher is Ms. Edison and this is her first year teaching, but she’s rather good at it in my opinion.

She gives me a look when I saunter into the room. “They told me you withdrew.”

I reply, “I was going to, but the situation changed, so I’ll be staying here instead of leaving the state.”

“Good, I'm very happy to hear that. I’d hate to lose a good student like you.”

Smiling at her, I say, “Thank you. I’ve always enjoyed having you as my teacher.” Turning, I make my way down the aisle to sit at my desk in the back. I place my textbook and notebook on my desk, take out a pen and then stare out the window trying my best to hide my nervousness. It isn’t long before the other students start filtering into the classroom.

Anyway, as I’ve said, I’ve never been bullied, only ignored in my classes. The one time someone tried in seventh grade, I stood up and pounded on him until he couldn’t move. Both of us were suspended for a week, but that ended any attempt at bullying me from that point on. I don’t know how it goes in other schools, but here if you are caught bullying, it’s an automatic suspension for a week. If they catch you doing it again, they expel you and you are never allowed to reapply to the school. So, needless to say, bullying isn’t really a thing here.

So, not only is Chris in my class, but two of the cheerleading squad are in it too. I know one of them, Amelia -she prefers Mia- Warren, as I’ve helped her with her homework here and there when she didn’t understand something. She doesn’t ignore me like the rest, but she doesn’t go out of her way to talk to me either. I developed a crush on her at the beginning of the year that never abated. It’s no wonder with the way she looks and acts. She’s about 5’7” with fairly long, blonde hair, bright green eyes and she’s very pretty overall. She’s one of the most popular girls in the whole school.

She and Chris come in chatting a few minutes before the bell rings and she smiles and waves energetically at me, which makes me think, ‘Now this is new.’ Taking what Mom said to heart, I smile and wave back. Chris heads to his seat, but Mia comes over to me.

“They said you withdrew and were going to another school.”

“I was going to, but then things changed, so I didn’t have to.”

“Mmm, well, I for one am glad… Andie, did you do something? You look different than usual.”

I shrug slightly as I reply, “Not really, other than my hairstyle.”

She shakes her head and says, “Hmm, maybe, but you’ve worn that before. You just, I dunno, you look different, better. You seem to be a lot cuter than normal.”

I smile at her and shrug again, “I really haven’t done anything different, though I suppose I’m glad I look a little cuter. Thank you for the compliment.”

“You’re welcome. What are you doing for lunch today?”

“The usual, eating in the canteen, then go to the library to read.”

“Why don’t you join me and my friends for lunch?”

“Umm… Chris won’t be there will he?”

She glances at him and shakes her head, “No, it’ll only be us girls.”

Smiling, I reply, “Good. I’d be happy to join you then.”

She leans in close and whispers, “Do you have a problem with Chris?”

“Not really. I bumped into him last week at Homestead Pavilion and all of a sudden he wants to act like I actually exist now. He even came over after we got home and apologized for ignoring me.”

She shakes her head and says, “Andie, I like you, you know that.” I nod even though I didn’t know for sure. “You’ve always hidden yourself off in the corners, kept your hair down to hide your face and rarely spoke to anyone other than me. I’ve told you for a long time, if you would change those few things about yourself, you could have any number of friends you want. You’ve always been a beautiful girl, but now that you’ve arranged your hair out of your face, others can see that too.”

“Mhmm. Well, Mom had a talk with me about that, so I’ve decided to make some changes and try to be more open and friendly.”

“Good for you. I think…” I never get to hear what she was going to say because right then the bell rings and she smiles, pats my arm and says, “Talk to you later.”

Class is perfectly normal, but I can see Chris looking at me on and off the entire period, which honestly makes me uncomfortable. When the bell rings, I gather my things and walk over to him.

“Chris.”

He looks up at me and smiles. “Hi Andie.”

I frown. “Don’t call my that, only my friends are allowed to call me Andie.”

“Sorry. What can I do for you Andrea?”

“For one you can stop staring at me. You’ve ignored me for sixteen years, so why do you want to pay attention to me now?”

He shrugs and says, “I dunno. I can’t explain it myself. You’re different somehow and I find it attractive, so I’d like to get to know you.”

I sigh. “Chris, you’ve had a laundry list of girlfriends since the beginning of the year, and I have no desire to be added to that list when you get bored. Look, I think you’re a nice enough guy, you’ve never tried to tease or pick on me, you simply ignored me until last week. You staring at me like that creeps me out and I’d prefer if we keep things as they have always been. If I ever change my mind, I’ll let you know, but until then, please, leave me alone.”

He nods while looking a little sad. I turn on my heel and head to my next class, which is one of my favorites, AP Physics. Nodding to my teacher as I enter, I take my seat in the back and get ready. Another cheerleader sits next to me here, Alla Bayanova. She’s a gorgeous redhead with brilliant blue eyes and a light sprinkling of freckles across her nose. She’s slightly taller than me and super popular. If I remember correctly, and I normally do, her boyfriend is a senior and the captain of the basketball team

I know, it’s unusual that a cheerleader takes AP classes, but you have to remember that this is a private school, and all the people who attend have to take entrance exams to even be considered to attend.

She turns to me and says, ”Wow! Mia always said you were pretty, but damn girl, you’re gorgeous! Why did you ever try to hide yourself?”

Sigh to myself, I ask, ‘Is it going to be like this all day?’ I look at her, smile and tell her, “Thank you. I’m not really sure why I hid in the past, but I’m trying to fix it.”

She grins at me. “I can see that, keep it up. I love the new look.”

Smiling, I reply, “Thank you, I appreciate it and I plan to do so.”

“Hey, would you like to hang out sometime? Brian stays so busy between basketball and working at his family's business, plus most of my friends have boyfriends, so another friend to hang out with would be great.”

“Sure, sounds like fun. Umm… I’m not all that girly though. I prefer reading and watching anime rather than a lot of things other girls seem to enjoy.”

Her eyes glitter as she asks, “Which anime do you like? I loved the new Sword Art Online they came out with and The Ancient Magician’s Bride was awesome.” I must have looked shocked because she giggles and reaches over to close my mouth. “What? Do you think you can’t like anime as well as shopping and other things girls like?”

I shake my head and chuckle. “Honestly, I never gave it much thought.”

She reaches into her pocket and pulls out her phone. “Let’s exchange numbers.”

“I left my phone in my locker.” I open my notebook, write down my number and hand it to her and she tells me hers as I write it down in my notebook.

“Do you want to do something this weekend?”

“Sure, sounds good to me.”

“Good because I love to do cosplay, but no one else wants to do it with me. This weekend they are holding Florida Supercon and I’ll be going in costume.” She looks me up and down and says, “You’re about the same size as me and I have a lot of costumes. I have one I think would work extremely well with your hair color and features.”

Catching my interest, I ask, “Who’s that?”

“Moka Akashiya from Rosario + Vampire.”

“Ooh, I loved that anime and she’s cute as hell.”

“Would you go with me and cosplay too? I can go as the pink-haired version of her and you can go as the silver-haired version. I think we’d draw a lot of attention.”

Now, I’ve gone to comic cons before, although I’ve never cosplayed. Hanging out and cosplaying with Alla does sound like a lot of fun. “Alright. Let’s do it.”

“Awesome! Thank you so much! I never thought I’d find another girl here that likes anime and who would cosplay with me. Oh, umm, do you have a car? I don’t, I’m sorry to say.”

I nod and say, “I do.”

“If you’ll drive us, I’ll buy both of our tickets.”

“I don’t mind driving us, but you don’t have to buy my ticket for me because of it.”

“Thanks Andrea, but I want to do it.”

I grin and tell her, “It’s Andie to my friends and if you insist then I won’t say any more about it.”

The bell rings and class flies by with me in a happy daze while I think, ‘Mom was right. All I had to do was smile and be friendly.’ When the bell rings, I snap out of my reverie and gather my things to shove them in my bookbag.

After I stand, Alla grabs my arm and says, “Come on Andie.” Continuing to hold onto my arm, she almost drags me to our next class.

I might ought to mention that Alla and I have all the same classes, but she normally sits in front in homeroom. Once we reach AP Chemistry, she runs the guy that normally sits next to me out of his seat and tells him, “I’ll be taking your seat from now on, so go sit in mine.”

This is how my day goes up until lunch and I tell her, “Mia invited me to eat lunch with her today.”

“That’s cool because I’m one of the girls who eats lunch with her everyday,” which honestly makes me happy. We’ve talked a lot today and I really like her. I’m surprised to find that we have a lot of interests that coincide. Anime, manga, light novels, comic cons and the like.

She takes my arm again as we head down to the first floor where the canteen is. Mia introduces me to the nine girls at the table, and it turns out that they are all cheerleaders. As I nibble at my lunch, yes, I’m nervous, who wouldn’t be since I’m not used to this, they throw questions at me and I answer them for the first ten minutes. Regardless, lunch is a lot of fun for me, even if it’s a bit disorienting as they jump from one subject to the next with no warning.

The rest of my school day flies by with Alla staying beside me all day. We get a lot of looks from the other students, which we ignore.

When the final bell rings for the day, I’m packing everything in my bookbag and hear Alla sigh loudly. I ask, “What’s wrong?”

“Nothing much, I just hate riding the buses back and forth to school. It takes forever to get home.”

“Where do you live?” She tells me and I’m stunned. “Alla, you only live three blocks from me.”

“What? No way!”

I nod. “Yes way. If you want, you can ride to and from school everyday with me.”

She looks at me for a few moments and asks, “Are you sure you don’t mind?”

I smile at her as I reply, “A few blocks isn’t a big deal, and what kind of friend would I be if I made you ride a bus when we live that close together?”

She steps over, hugs me, and quietly says, “Thank you so much Andie. Hey, do you mind coming over to my house for a while? Nobody’s home at my place until after 8:00.”

Hugging her back, I think, ‘Damn this girl is soft and she smells great. I could get used to being hugged by her. Focusing, I tell her, “Sure, I’d love to come over. My mom won’t be home until after 6:00. If you’d like, you can come over and have dinner with us.”

She lets me go, grins at me and says, “Sounds like a plan.” She takes my arm. “Lead the way.”

We drop by my locker to get my purse, I pull out my notebook and phone to add her number. After I unlock it, she tells me, “Give me that,” and enters her information. Taking my arm again, we walk down the stairs and out to the parking lot.

She asks, “Which is yours?” I point to my white Mustang GT500 at the back of the lot where few people park and her jaw about hits the ground. I giggle at her expression and say, “What?”

“How can you afford something like that?”

“It was a present.”

She grins and singsongs, “♪~Lucky~♪”

“Maybe so, but I think I’ve earned it. Come on.”

After I unlock the doors, we get in, I start it and sigh happily. I love the sound of this thing. I look at her and say, “Why don’t you find us some music to listen to?”

“Do you have Sirius?” I nod. “Good. Do you like K-Pop?”

“Hell yes!”

She giggles and says, “I’m so glad I talked to you. We have so much in common.” She finds a K-Pop station and turns it to it as I pull out of the parking lot. A few minutes later we are heading south on Highway 1. When one of my favorite songs by BlackPink, ‘Stay’, comes on, I begin singing and I catch her astounded expression out of the corner of my eye.

Glancing at her after the song is over, I ask, “What?”

“Nothing, you simply have a beautiful voice, that’s all.”

Grinning sheepishly, I say, “Thank you, but I don’t think I’m all that great, though I do love to sing.”

“Don’t give me that! Girl, you could be the lead singer of a band! You were spot on and in key the whole song!”

I reach over, grab her hand, and squeeze it. “Thank you.”

I really think I’m going to love having her as a friend. A few minutes later, with her guiding me, we arrive at her house. Parking by the curb, we get out and she almost drags me inside.

“Do you want something to drink?”

“Sure.”

“Water, coffee, iced tea, milk, Dr. Pepper or Sprite.”

“Sprite would be great.”

She grabs a couple of bottles of Sprite out of the refrigerator and leads me upstairs to her room. Setting the drinks on her desk, she turns to me and says, “Strip.”

“Huh?”

“You heard me. I said strip. I want you to try on a few costumes.” She opens her closet and starts digging through them. “Hmm… Oh! I know! Isla from Plastic Memories! Perfect!”

She pulls it off the rack and comes out, “Why aren’t you undressed?”

Sighing to myself, I say, ‘Whatever. I suppose it doesn’t really matter and like Mom said I’ll need to get used to getting undressed around girls.’

Undressing, I neatly fold and lay my blouse and skirt on the desk.

She whistles and says, “Damn! Not only are you very pretty, but you have a rockin’ bod too!” When I blush, she says, “Okay, come on, let’s see how this looks on you.”

Nodding, I hold my hand out and she hands it to me. Once I get everything on, she smiles as she says, “OMG! If your hair was in twin tails it would be perfect. Okay, take that off and put it back on the hanger. Let’s see what you look like as Julie Sigtuna.”

Now I’ll skip this and simply say she kept handing me costumes to try on up until 5:30 when I told her, “Sorry, but we need to go. My mom will be home soon and I need to start dinner.”