Chapter 6

Hunter: i’m winning

Matthew: lmao looks like im the one winning bros

Ryan: How are you going to win Hunter question mark

Matthew: omg ur legit going to ignore me huh

Ryan: What is your plan Hunter question mark

Drew: Don’t be an asshole Ryan

Matthew: yeah Ryan

Matthew: hey Ryan 

Matthew: didn’t you say you wanted a girlfriend

Matthew: hey Ryan

Matthew: Ryan

Matthew: I got a dress :) 

Hunter: let’s se the fucking dress

Hunter rubbed his eyes. He was ready for school only in the most technical sense. After yesterday’s upset, he was so far from ready for the upcoming Wednesday. Half of the remaining students had been eliminated. If that happened again, he was on the chopping block next. That couldn’t happen. It’s why he had a plan. A little bloop on his phone told him a picture had been uploaded. In Matthew’s defense, it was a very pretty dress. It had very summery vibes. 

Hunter: looks great on you

Drew: Hell yeah! You look amazing!

Ryan: I admit you look good

Matthew: thanks y’all :)

Matthew: ive got a bunch more 

Matthew: here

What followed was an avalanche of selfies in all kinds of clothes, a photoshoot that had clearly started the night before and had probably gone long into the night. Hunter wouldn’t have had the time back then. Now that it was clear the eliminations were going to go a lot faster than he’d thought, he had been forced to put his plan into action.

He had explained everything to his parents, who had initially misunderstood what was actually going on, but they had quickly turned on a dime and had become incredibly supportive. They had both offered to drive him to school, and his mom had helped him figure out some of the minutiae he hadn’t been able to pin down himself. 

Declining the carpool offer, he was on the bus and getting a bit self-conscious. Hunter shook his head. He couldn’t let insecurity get the better of him. If there’s one thing Ryan and Paxton’s success had shown him, it was that he had to be confident. He might not be able to out-macho them, but then again, it wasn’t just about that. It was about getting votes, sure, but there was an invisible game at work, too. 

You got votes by being popular, sure, but until the very end, the point wasn’t to get as high a number as possible, it was not to get a low one. People would likely put people at the bottom of the list if they wanted to see them turn into a girl. Hunter squeezed his backpack a little tighter. He had a plan, all there was left to do was stick to it and hope. 

Drew: You had a plan?

Hunter: you’ll see when i get to school

Hunter: just about to get there

Matthew: im already here :)

Matthew: ive got the dress on :)))

Drew: Do you still want us to call you Matthew?

Matthew: sure thing

Matthew: good strong name

Matthew: for a GIRL >:)

Ryan: You are ridiculous period

Matthew: you know it period

Matthew: wait shit am i going to periods lmao

Matthew: ᕕ( ᐛ )ᕗ ONLY ONE WAY TO FIND OUT

Ryan: I brought dumbbells today if you need any comma Hunter period

Hunter: i’ll be fine, thanks

Ryan: If you say so bro ellipses

Matthew: did you just try to tell your speech-to-text to be passive aggressive at us Ryan question mark? 

Matthew: god you’re so lucky you’re pretty

Ryan: I’m going to

Matthew: owo

Ryan: Never mind period

Matthew: i love you guys :o)

Drew: Love you too, Matt! 

Hunter: love you too

Ryan: L Y Two

Matthew: golly fucking gosh he said it back

Ryan: Never mind never mind I’m going to kill you

Matthew: :3c 

Hunter rolled his eyes with a smile as he hopped off the bus. The stop was in front of the school, and Matthew was in front of the stop, chuckling at her phone. She was wearing the dress, like she said. There were some flowers in her hair, and her makeup was a mess of pinks and purples. Hunter waved.

“Hey. You having a good time bullying Ryan?”

“He likes it,” Matthew said. She giggled and swept some hair behind her ear. “What do you think, think he’d make a pretty girl?”

Hunter stuck his tongue out. “I guess we’re going to find out, huh? I don’t think either of us are going to beat Paxton. Least of all at his own game.” He frowned. What would Ryan look like as a girl. Would he be tiny and petite, like Olivia? Or would he be one of the girls on the volleyball team, all muscle and no chill? 

“You’re thinking about it too, aren’t you?” Matthew said. Her sigh was borderline obscene. “You know, I wondered if I’d feel different about girls after that change but I do the fuck not. Girls.”

“Girls,” Hunter said with a nod. “Wait, don’t you like Ryan?”

“I can like two things, Hunter. Don’t be biphobic,” she said, playfully slapping his arm.

“I’m not… Uhg. Fuck you. How are you feeling, by the way? Still you? Nothing changed, no sudden urges to run away and become a pop star? No desire to wear six inch stilettos and start an OnlyFans?”

“Maybe next year,” Matthew said. “For now, just enjoying this ridiculous moment.” 

“It is ridiculous, isn’t it?” Hunter said, cocking his head as they walked to the bathrooms. It was part of the daily routine at this point, checking the mirrors. Drew was already inside, hands on his hips. He looked worried, like a dad looking out at the horizon who’s worried about the upcoming rainfall this season. All Drew was missing was ten years, a beard, and a dog. If he had a dog he’d be perfect, Hunter thought and then tried to un-think as hard as he could because Drew + Dog drew a picture of a happy household with a hole in it he didn’t want anyone else to fill and he couldn’t imagine filling himself. 

“What’s up, Drewcifer?” Matthew asked. “You look like Paxton himself pissed in your cereal this morning.” Drew turned to them and despite his sour expression, his eyes softened a bit when they fell on Hunter, which made Hunter soften a bit all over. 

“Look,” he said, walking over to the mirror. He was about to tap Ryan’s name, when a message appeared on the glass. THREE VOTES REMAINING. His lips became a thin line. “It’s going to get hectic. What’s your plan, Hunter?”

“Well, I figured that if I couldn’t o—“

“Oh, for fuck’s sake,” Ryan said as he approached the mirror and tapped his own name three times. “How many kids go to this school?” Matthew perked up when she saw him. He pretended to ignore her, then glared at her, then stuck his tongue out at her. She giggled, causing him to blush like a fifth-grader.

“I don’t know, like a thousand?” Hunter said.

“Sixteen hundred,” Drew said. They all looked at him, and he shrugged. “I helped out school admin a bit last year. You pick things up.”

“Why?” Matthew and Ryan said simultaneously. Her delight and his annoyance were inversely proportional. 

“When the vice principal was sick?” Drew said. “They were swamped. I got a credit out of it,” he added with a happy grin. Hunter wanted to slap or kiss him. Something to figure out later. After the contest and his sexuality. “Why do you ask?”

“Oh,” Ryan said. “Right. Okay, so one point six k students, times three, that’s almost five thousand votes. Hunter, you’re a nerd, how many do you need to be in the top…” he looked at the mirrors and counted real quick, “twelve?” 

“Uh,” Hunter said, quickly trying to calculate it. He didn’t remember the numbers from the day before, and he wasn’t actually very good at distributions. He was a nerd because he liked video games and anime. He shook his head. “No fucking clue, man.”

“Fuck,” Ryan said. “Well, nothing for it, we just have to bear down and why does Paxton already have nine hundred votes?”

“That’s just Paxton, man,” Matthew said. “So, you’re going to become tougher and stronger than him, is that it?” She put her hands on her hips and gave him a cocky smirk. He glowered, which was a lot like both his scowls and his glares but slightly more constipated. 

“Yes,” Ryan said. “If I have to. Hold on.” He went into the bathroom stall and came out a second later. The only thing that had changed was that he was now shirtless. He wore a shell necklace. 

“Oh my god,” Matthew said. “You’re the worst. Why’d you change in the stall if you were just going to take your shirt off?”

“I’m not going to get changed in front of, you know,” Ryan gestured vaguely at Matthew. “A girl. Even if it is you.”

“You’re still half naked you beautiful fucking idiot,” Matthew muttered under her breath. She looked like she was about to cry, but Hunter didn’t think it was because she was upset. It was the same expression she’d had when talking about girls. “You’re so stupid.” She made a little heart with her fingers.

“Shut up,” Ryan said. “Why are you even in here?”

“You just told me to shut up,” Matthew said with a grin so wide she was in danger of turning into a Pez dispenser. Hunter raised a finger at both of them, making it clear to Matthew that she needed to chill it with the Ryan-bullying and to Ryan that he wasn’t allowed to tell a girl to shut up to her face even if she was their friend and she was being annoying.

“Okay, fine,” Ryan relented. “Why are you in here? This is the boys’ bathrooms.”

“I think that distinction has gone out the window, to be honest,” Matthew said. “Besides, you guys are my friends, and if anyone tries to tell me where I am and am not allowed to be—“

“I’ll crush them like an empty soda can,” Drew said with a smile.

“Fold them like a lawn chair,” Hunter agreed. 

“Fuck ‘em up,” Ryan sighed. “Fine.” He frowned again, and turned to Hunter. “What was your plan going to be? Like, I don’t think we’re at odds so you can tell us now, right?”

Hunter took a deep sigh and nodded. Moment of truth. If he was going to get votes, he needed to prove to people that he didn’t belong at the bottom of the list, that he shouldn’t be turned into a girl, after all. “Yeah,” he said. “I think it’s easier if I show you, though. Do you mind waiting a second?” There were still a few more minutes until class started, and he better get changed now. The more people saw him today, the better. He also went into a bathroom stall, ignoring the weird anxiety that was building up in his abdomen. 

Getting changed wasn’t the hard part, of course. That was just a costume. No, the hard part was the psychology of it. Getting into the right headspace. He had to believe he could win this, or he never would. And if the rumour was true, and the winner got a wish… Well, there were a lot of things he could be wishing for, after all. Wishes weren’t going to change the world but they could have a lot of impact, if the right amount of belief was shored up behind it. 

Just a few more finishing touches, another deep breath, and he opened the stall. Ryan nearly keeled over. Drew’s jaw hit the floor. Matthew stared, then bent double laughing, clutching her stomach.

“Hunter,” Ryan said from between gritted teeth. 

“Yeah?” 

“Why are you dressed like a girl?”