Hi everyone, Michelle here again. Sorry about the previous entry, I was dealing with some personal issues. That breakup still stings, you know? Anyways, Penny was gracious enough to step in and write a chapter for me. She’s an excellent writer herself, not to mention her art. So, where were we? Ah, yes. My decision to embrace my identity. Well, there’s still plenty more of that to come. So let’s get back to it, shall we?

Winter had come and gone and in its place, a lovely Spring had arrived. It was early May and I had plans that day to meet up with Erika. I had recently started a new job, as a security guard! Much better than the toy store, even if that meant saying goodbye to Jarod. It certainly paid better! The drive was killer though, nearly 45 minutes each way! I had an idea to fix that though, which was why I needed to talk to Erika. So I drove up to New Hampshire, to a nice little restaurant so we could have lunch.

I soon pulled up to the place. It was a small diner, just off the main road. It reminded me of that place Erika and I got ice cream the first time we met. But I was avoiding that area purposefully, lest I run into Mel again. Luckily this was in a completely different city and state, so there was an almost zero chance of me running into her. I made my way inside, where I saw Erika sitting at a table, looking at her phone. A mischievous smile crossed my face. I quietly made my way over and put on my best girl voice.

“Excuse me miss, are you ready to order?” I watched as she jumped from the unexpected voice. She looked up and started laughing.

“Well hello to you too Michelle! Very funny. Come on and sit down. You look great by the way!” She said, smiling.

I had dressed up for the occasion. Nothing too fancy, but a nice, black skirt (I had used hair removal cream on my legs), my pink “Princess” t-shirt, a bra and my falsies. I had also done my makeup, which I was slowly getting better at. With a headband in my short hair and a purse, I hoped no one could tell I was a guy. Oh sure, I may not have fully identified as one at this point, but I was still questioning my gender. It was good enough at least that I could go out in public presenting this way. I sat down, being careful with my skirt as I did.

“Thanks Erika, it’s good to see you. I’ve been practicing with all my girl stuff, so I can be better with it. Still sucks to have to hide it from my parents though.” I sighed.

“I get that girl, believe me. Have you at least considered coming out to your folks? From what you’ve said, they seem pretty nice. Maybe they’ll accept you!” She suggested cheerfully.

“I dunno, maybe? I’m just not ready. I don’t have all the answers yet. Ok yeah, I lean feminine and maybe I’m non-binary, but what does all this mean? Am I actually trans? I haven’t found anything about this identity in particular online and frankly, I don’t know where to look. Until I figure this out, I’m not coming out to anyone who doesn’t already know.”

“Yeah, I guess that’s fair. Still, it can’t be good for you to constantly hide this stuff. You should be able to express yourself however you want!”

“I know, that’s partly why I wanted to meet up with you today. I had an idea, hear me out on this.”

“Go on, I’m listening.”

“Well you see…” Just as I went to answer, my phone buzzed in my pocket. “Oh, excuse me just a sec.” I pulled it out and sent a quick text before putting it down again.

“What was that about?” Erika asked, a bit confused.

“Oh, sorry. I was texting my friend Sid.” I responded. “We kinda have this roleplay thing going on through text messages, it’s pretty fun!”

“Who is Sid?” Now I had her attention.

“Oh he’s a new friend of mine. We met online a couple months ago, he’s from way out in Washington state. I posted a picture of a video game trailer that was at some kid’s birthday party up the road from me and he commented on it. We got to talking and hit it off. I didn’t tell him that I think I might be trans or anything, but I am using a girl character for our RP.”

“Ah, that sounds nice. Is he at least cute?” she asked.

“He’s only like, 18. A bit young. A-and I don’t think of guys that way!” I protested.

Erika just laughed. “I only asked if he was cute, not if you liked him or not!”

I just grumbled as my face turned bright red. I was making a fool of myself here! Luckily we were interrupted once more by a waitress coming to take our orders. I got a Coke and a cheeseburger, while Erika got loaded fries and a Dr. Pepper. Once the waitress left, we got back to talking.

“So Michelle, what were you saying earlier? Before Sid texted you?” Erika asked.

I thought for a moment. “Oh yeah! So I got a new job recently and while the pay is good, the drive sucks. I have to head up this way to get there and it takes like 45 minutes each way. Super long, boring drive. So I was wondering, are you looking for a roommate? I think it’s time for me to leave the nest so I can have a little more freedom.”

“Wait, you wanna move in with me? I’m honored, but may I ask why? You’ve only known me for a few months!” She asked.

“Ok sure, but I’ve really enjoyed getting to know you. And you’re one of the few people I trust with my secret. Sure there’s Penny, but with her germ phobia and whatnot, I don’t think we’d make good roommates. Plus she’s not exactly pulling in any income. There’s also my sister, but she just started dating again and I don’t wanna get in her way. Last thing I want is to be a third wheel. The rest of my friends don’t exactly know about all this and I really don’t wanna tell them yet. So that leaves you!”

“I see how it is,” she scoffed. “Using me as a last resort? Some friend you are!”

“Wait, please, you got it all wrong! I-I, uh, you see…” I could barely get out another word before she burst out laughing!

“Oh you are way too gullible Michelle! I’m just yanking your chain. I get what you’re saying, don’t worry. Honestly I’ve been looking to move soon myself, so we could get a place together!” Erika said lightheartedly.

“Don’t scare me like that!” I laughed and playfully punched her arm. “Seriously, you’re gonna give a girl a heart attack that way!”

“Ooh, calling yourself a girl now? That’s adorable,” she teased.

I blushed a bit. “I mean, what else am I supposed to call myself like this? Certainly can’t say I’m a boy!”

“Sure, but that’s still admitting you’re a girl now. Is it really that difficult?”

“I don’t know, maybe? This is all still new to me. I’m figuring it out as I go. I’m still looking for a solid answer, unless you got something.”

“Fair enough girl, you’ll get there. You’re actually doing better than me in some ways. Like your voice for instance, it’s super cute. How do you manage to pull that off?” She asked.

“Oh this? Haha it’s actually not that difficult for me. I’ve been practicing. I was a choir kid, so I have pretty good voice control. It was all about finding the proper range for my voice. Not too high, but not too low either. I think I’ve found a sweet spot for now and it seems to work.” I replied.

“Lucky you, I just kinda half-ass my voice all the time. I did have some formal voice training with a speech therapist, but I hardly use it at all. Just too lazy, you know?”

“Your voice isn’t really bad anyways, I think it passes fine on its own. Even with that accent of yours! Seriously, did you grow up in Texas or something?” I laughed.

“Yeah yeah, yuck it up. At least I don’t wear the same outfit all the time! Seriously girl, when was the last time you went shopping? You know you’re allowed to own more than one outfit, right?” She shot back.

“Hey, I have more! This one is just my favorite, it’s cute!” I said defensively.

“Just saying girl, that’s the only thing I’ve seen you in since the con. I just wanna make sure I ain’t talking to a cartoon character here. Pretty sure I lost an uncle to The Smurfs once…”

I rolled my eyes as our food arrived. Finally, I was starving! I started going to town on my burger, while Erika ate her fries. It was pretty good for my first time here. After lunch, the two of us got ready to head out. As we did though, Erika struck up an idea.

“Hey Michelle, how would you actually like to go shopping with me? Let’s face it, you could seriously use some new outfits. We can hit the mall, it’s not too far from here. What do you say?”

“You’re still going on about that? I told you I have more outfits, I just really like this one. I don’t wanna get too many right now, not until we can move in together. It’ll just make moving more complicated and increase the risk of my parents finding out about this!”

“Alright, fair enough girl. If you’re not ready, I certainly can’t force you. If you change your mind though, just hit me up and we can go shopping. And try to wear something else, unless you really are a cartoon character. Are we sure about that one yet?”

“Haha, very funny Erika,” I said dryly. “Least I don’t sound like a cowgirl. Yeehaw!”

She punched me in the arm lightly and we laughed. With that, the two of us shared a hug and headed our separate ways. On my way home, I stopped at a gas station to change clothes. I had makeup wipes in my purse and a change of clothes in a gym bag in my car. This was the best way to avoid running into my parents while dressed up all fem. One quick trip to the bathroom later, “Michael” was back. Once I was in my car again, I looked in my rear view mirror and sighed. Just a few more months, then I could be Michelle full time.

A short time later, I was home. I had stashed my purse in my gym bag along with the rest of my outfit from the day. I’d run a load through the washing machine later.  Tonight was important, as I was finally ready to tell my parents about my plans for moving out. Every baby bird has to leave the nest sometime, right? I walked in and saw my dad in the kitchen. He was preparing dinner. We shared a brief hug before I went upstairs to my room. Before I got there, I saw my mom on the family computer in the other room. I said hi to her as well and I went to my room and shut the door, so I could safely hide my girl clothes once more.

Come dinner time, the three of us sat down at the table. Typically these days, I’d just take dinner up to my room but this was important. Dad had made meatloaf, one of my favorites. Smothered in tomato soup and cooked with onions, it went great with ketchup. As we started to eat, I spoke up.

“So I was hanging out with my friend Erika earlier and we got to talking. Since she lives in New Hampshire and I work up there, it might be easier if I move up there with her. You know, get like a two bedroom apartment together and whatnot. I’ll miss you both, and the cat, but I need my own space.” I said, trying to sound firm.

“That’s a pretty big step, are you sure you’re ready for that Michael?” Mom asked.

“I’m sure. I can’t exactly live with you guys for the rest of my life, you know? I need a place of my own. And with her help, I’m sure we can afford it.” I responded.

Dad chimed in. “Seems you’ve really thought about this, haven’t you? If you’re certain, we’ll help you out. Do you have a timeframe in mind for when you’d like to move?”

“I’m thinking maybe sometime in the next 6 months or so? Gives me time to save up some money to put down for it. I don’t have a lot of expenses right now besides my car and my phone, so it shouldn’t be too hard to start putting away for this.” I was confident this could work, and it seemed they were seeing things my way as well.

“Very well, you’d better start looking for a place then. You’ll need to have the apartment secured before you even think about moving in,” Dad said.

“Right, I’ll start looking after dinner. Think I saw a website for that advertised on tv, I’ll check it out,” I nodded.

After dinner, I went back up to my room and got on my computer. There was a message waiting for me from Sid, checking in to see how things went. His username was PichuSmash5000, after his main character in Super Smash Bros. games.

PichuSmash5000: Hey, how did things go with your folks?
HHHFan91: It went great! They gave their blessing and said they’d help me get the place too! I just gotta find one.
PichuSmash5000: Lucky you, I’m still stuck with my mom and stepdad here. I’d love to move out on my own, but I’m not sure what I could do about it.
HHHFan91: Have you looked into getting a job at all?
PichuSmash5000: I would, but I can’t work a lot of hours. I just started getting SSI, which limits the amount of hours I can work in any given week.
HHHFan91: SSI? Oh right, I think a friend of mine IRL is on that too. Yeah that can be really limiting. But you’ll find some way to get out from your parents I’m sure. Heh maybe you could even come out and visit me sometime!
PichuSmash5000: Maybe one day, but not until after you move. I wouldn’t wanna delay those plans.
HHHFan91: Understandable, but it’s really no trouble. You seem pretty cool, I’d love to meet you IRL eventually.
PichuSmash5000: Yeah, same with you. Even if we’re on opposite sides of the country, I could still take a plane out there to see you.
HHHFan91: Eventually, sure. For now, shall we get back into things?
PichuSmash5000: Sure thing, I’ll text you.

And with that, we got back to our usual routine. What I hadn’t told Erika was that this was a My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic roleplay. Sid was Avery, a male pegasus from Ponyville, while I was Juliet, a trans girl who was magically transported to the world of Equestria. She had become a unicorn in this world, not to mention a full fledged girl! The two had hit it off and fallen in love. A little cheesy, but who doesn’t like some cheese now and then?

Later that year, it was early October. The air was crisp and the leaves had fallen from the trees. On this day, I got up early for once. Today was gonna be a big day, the day I moved into my new apartment! It was a fairly small place, all things considered. Two bedrooms, one bathroom. It wasn’t what you would consider a proper apartment building either. It was old, maybe 100 years or so. It looked like a house that had been made into apartments, though I suspected it was built this way. Still, this was one heck of a new experience!

Once I managed to drag myself out of bed, I looked around. Pretty much everything was packed. I had even managed to pack up my hidden stuff from Tara’s old room without any suspicion! Now all that was left was to take my bed apart and get a moving truck. There was no way all of this was fitting in my car! The most important part was to get this all in one go, as I was moving nearly an hour away from my, now former, home.

I made my way downstairs, where my parents were waiting with breakfast on the table. Pancakes and bacon, clearly they were excited for this too with such a big breakfast.

“Morning sleepyhead,” Mom said. “Ready to head to your new place?”

“As ready as I can be I suppose,” I replied as I sat down. “I’m a bit nervous, but excited too. This will be my first time living away from you guys, and my friends too. Still, it’s a fresh start. And living with Erika should be fun! So I’m looking forward to it.”

“Then you two can make kissy faces at each other whenever you want!” Dad joked.

I rolled my eyes and groaned. “Dad please! I’ve told you a thousand times, she’s not my girlfriend. I don’t see her that way at all. She’s a good friend and helped me get past my breakup with Mel last year. I’m not interested in dating anyone right now, let alone her.”

Luckily we were interrupted by a knock at the door. I went over to answer it and saw Tara standing in the doorway.

She looked around a moment before saying softly, “Hi little sis!” And gave me a big hug.

“Hehe, hi Tara. What are you doing here?” I asked in my girl voice.

“Isn’t it obvious? I’ve come to help! Moving is a big deal, you’re gonna need all the help you can get!” She responded. “Plus, I figured you’d want some stuff moved quietly.”

“Actually yeah, that would be a big help. I have a couple boxes of ‘stuff' that I don’t want Mom and Dad to see. If you could get those up to my new place, that would be a huge load off my mind.”

“Of course sis, whatever you need. You know I got your back. Now, can I come in? It’s getting a bit chilly out here.”

So I stepped aside and the two of us went over to see our parents. They both gave her a big hug and invited her to join us for breakfast. So we sat down once more to eat. While dad was cooking extra food for Tara, Mom decided now was the time to have a discussion with the two of us.

“Tara, I’m glad you’re here. This saves me a phone call. Now that Michael is moving out, your father and I have something we need to tell both of you,” mom said.

We both looked at each other confused. What could she have to say? “What is it Mom?” I asked.

“We have decided that, without the two of you, there’s far too much space in this old house. So, we’re going to sell it and use the money to move someplace much smaller. We’ve been discussing this for quite some time and we even picked a new place. There’s a nice trailer park up by the state border with New Hampshire that has new homes being built. We’re gonna get a double wide, more than enough for just the two of us.”

Tara and I looked at each other in shock! Selling the house?! The place we were born and raised in? Let alone moving up to the state border, a half hour away. This was our home, a place we could always return to. It was all so sudden! To me, it kinda felt like a piece of my childhood was being ripped away.

“Are you sure about this?” I asked.

“Certain,” Mom replied. “We’ve already had many discussions about this, ever since you told us you were moving out. This is for the best. Your father and I aren’t getting any younger. Without at least one of you here to help with the chores, we simply can’t keep up. It’s time to downsize.”

“Well ok, do you have an idea of when you’ll be moving out?” Tara was the next to speak up.

“Sometime next year most likely. We’re gonna start cleaning up fully after today and get a realtor in soon. Then we’ll just go from there,” she answered.

“I’m gonna miss this place even more then,” I said. “If that’s what you decided though, I understand. It would be hard to maintain the yard, and I know dad’s back doesn’t like him clearing the driveway when it snows either. I’ll still come by and help whenever I can, but I can’t promise it’ll be a lot with how far I gotta drive.” 

Or with how I wanna present myself going forward. I thought to myself.

So with that, we all ate our breakfast. Once we finished, I went with Dad to get a moving truck. He was gonna pay for it, while I drove it. I had to drive a pickup truck for work, this couldn’t be much different, right? We would only have it for a matter of hours though, so we had to get everything loaded quickly. As soon as we got back to the house, the process began. Tara loaded my more sensitive items into her car, while Mom, Dad and I got everything else in the truck.

While we were loading everything onto the truck, another car pulled up. Out of it, to my surprise, stepped Jeremy! I hadn’t seen him in a while, but we had been talking at least. I had mentioned today was my moving day, so it seemed he wanted to help out!

“Jeremy? What a nice surprise! What are you doing here?” I asked.

“Well since you said you were moving today, I figured I’d help. Also, I talked to my parents and they said you could have the old sofa from our garage. You just gotta pick it up,” Jeremy said.

“Really? That’s awesome! Thanks dude! Go ahead and grab a box, there shouldn’t be much more. We’ll stop by your place on the way up to my new one and pick up the sofa.”

Soon enough, the truck was loaded. This was it, time to say goodbye to my home of nearly 24 years. I gave it one last, long look before hopping in the truck and headed over to Jeremy’s place. With the two of us, plus his dad, we managed to get it loaded on safely. I thanked him profusely for the help and finally set off to my new home. This would be quite the adventure.

After some time, I arrived at the new place. It was crazy to think this was my new home. Still, no use in waiting around, so I went to unlock the door. But when I did, to my surprise, it was already unlocked! Cautiously, I made my way inside. While walking around, I heard some creaking coming from the other room. Was someone here? A moment later, the bedroom door opened and out walked Erika!

“Hey girl, you’re late,” she said.

I breathed a sigh of relief. “Geez girl, you scared me! You were supposed to text me when you got here. Also, I’m not late. You’re just early!”

“Eh, to-may-to, to-mah-to. Either way, since I got here first, I got to choose which bedroom I wanted!”

“Wha- hey! That’s not fair! You weren’t supposed to be here for a while longer!” I complained.

“Too bad, you snooze, you lose. But tell you what, we’ll flip for it. Heads I win, tails you lose.”

I just rolled my eyes. “Ha ha, very funny. Is that the room you picked?” I asked, pointing behind her.

“That’s right, my room now,” she said.

“Fine, you can keep it. I wanted the one closer to the front door anyways. It’s got a better closet and everything.”

“The better for you to hide in my dear,” she nearly fell over laughing!

“I’m not hiding! At least, I won’t be here. Anyways, are you done bringing your shit in?”

“Just about, maybe another box or two. Then I just gotta unpack everything.”

“Alright good, cause I’m gonna need you. I grabbed a sofa for the living room on the way here and it’s gonna take all of us to get it in.”

“Oh sweet, nice score! Alright, let me just get the last of my boxes inside and I’ll help bring it in.”

So I went back outside, only to be greeted by another familiar face.

“Hey girl!” Penny said, waving at me.

“Penny? You’re here too? You didn’t have to come all this way, you know.” I said, surprised by her sudden appearance.

“I wanted to see your new place for myself. Also, I figured Shawn and I could lend a hand. I may not be very strong, but I’m really good at cleaning. I can help you get this place looking shipshape!” She said with a big grin on her face. Shawn came over and shook my hand.

“Nice to finally meet you, Penny has told me all about you. I uh, hope that’s ok,” he said, trying his best not to say too much.

“It’s nice to meet you too Shawn, welcome. Since you’re here, you can help us bring the sofa inside. We could really use all the help we can get with it,” I said.

Jeremy came over and introduced himself to Penny and Shawn, followed by Erika. With that, I went and opened up the back of the truck. The sofa was the last thing put in, so it would be the first thing out. Jeremy and I took one side while Shawn and Erika took the other. It took a lot of effort to get that damn thing inside, with twists and turns galore. Eventually though, we finally got it in and set it down in the living room. Of course, this was only the beginning. I still needed to get the rest of my shit in, including my bed, my dresser and some dishes for the kitchen.

A few hours later, we were all sitting at the new kitchen table, eating pizza and drinking soda. It was the least I could do for all these wonderful people who came to help me move in! We had gotten everything inside, so before I went to take the truck back, I figured everyone deserved a good reward. Everyone was chatting, laughing and having a good time. Erika and Penny both told Jeremy they were trans, much to his surprise. Still, he was cool about it at least.

“So I’ve been on HRT for about a year now,” Penny started. “And already I'm seeing great results! My chest has really grown, I’m nearly at a C cup at this point! Though I do wonder how big they’ll actually get at this rate.”

“Seriously? C cups?! I’m not even at B yet, you lucky bitch! How did you pull that off? I’ve been on HRT longer than you! Gah, this is so not fair!” Erika complained.

“Heh just good genes I guess,” Penny shrugged. We all had a good laugh.

“So Michael, how come you never told me about your friends here? They seem really nice,” Jeremy asked.

I was caught off guard. “Oh, um, well I wasn’t sure how you’d react. You know, a lot of people either don’t get this stuff or are actively against it. I didn’t wanna take that chance, you know? Besides, it’s not my place to tell other people about them. It’s their choice whether they wanna come out or not.”

“Yeah, I get that. But I have no problem with it at all. People have a right to feel comfortable in their own body. If that means transitioning and stuff, so be it. Not my place to tell anyone what to do like that,” he responded casually, as if he’d already given it a lot of thought.

“Uh yeah, yeah, totally get that. Um, could you all excuse me for a moment? I need some air,” I said as I got up and went outside.

Everyone looked around, confused and concerned. “Was it something I said?” Jeremy asked.

“Michael is a bit sensitive right now. Why don’t I go talk to him?” Tara said, getting up and following me.

I was outside, sitting on the front steps and quietly freaking out over what was just said. Fuck, why did he have to be so accepting?! What should I do now? Do I tell him the truth? How would he react to me kinda-sorta being trans? Even I didn’t understand it, how could I expect him to?

“Hey, are you ok?” Came a voice from behind me. I looked over and saw Tara standing there. “What’s wrong Michelle? You’re crying.”

I reached up and touched my face, wiping off a tear. I hadn’t even realized that I’d started crying! “I, I just, what do I do Tara? I’m so confused right now. Jeremy has been my best friend for years and I feel like I’ve been lying to him. Should I just tell him the truth? What IS the truth? I don’t even know! What would I even tell him?”

“Hey, hey, shhh. Calm down now,” she said, pulling me into a hug. “It’s ok, I’m here. Listen Michelle, I know you’re scared. But Jeremy seems to have a good head on his shoulders. Maybe you should give him a chance, he might know more than he lets on. Just tell him who you are, what you want. It doesn’t have to be more than that. I think he deserves to know the truth.”

“I, I guess you’re right. I’m just scared he won’t wanna be my friend anymore,” I said, trying to dry my eyes. “It feels like everything was built on a lie, that I’m a boy. But I’m not, I’m, something else. I don’t know what that is yet.”

“Well here’s what I know. I know you’re Michelle, and that you’re my sister. And you never intentionally lied to him about yourself. Even if you don’t fully understand yet, it’s ok to tell others. They can help you on your journey to find answers. Trust him, let him in. You’ll be ok, I promise. Your big sister is always here to help,” she smiled.

“Well, um, if you’re sure. I guess I’ll give him a chance at least.”

With that, I dried my eyes as best I could and we went back inside. This was scary but Tara was right, it had to be done.

“Um, hey, sorry for running off like that,” I said. “What you said kinda got to me. You see, um, the truth, the truth is that I’m trans too. At least I think I am. It’s complicated, but I’d prefer it if you’d call me Michelle and use she/her pronouns for me.”

“Oh, that makes sense. Alright cool, it’s good to meet the real you then Michelle,” he smiled and extended his hand.

Instead of taking it, I hugged him instead, as tears started to flow once more. “Thank you Jeremy, that means more to me than you’ll ever know. I’m sorry for lying to you about myself, but this has been tough for me. I’m still not completely sure what I want. I just know that I’m some kind of trans and I wanna start hormones eventually. I’m not sure when just yet. Oh and if we could just keep this between us? I’m not ready to tell everyone just yet.”

“So does that mean everyone else here knows?” He asked.

“More or less, yeah. I mean, I just met Shawn for the first time today but he already kinda knew from Penny. Oh and this is my girl voice. I’m gonna use it a lot more now. Part of why I moved was so I can start presenting as a girl more often and see how being Michelle feels. I’m sorry for keeping all of this from you.”

“Hey I get it, no big deal. You had to wait until you were ready, that’s perfectly understandable. I’m just glad you told me and I didn’t have to figure it out for myself.”

“Thanks Jeremy, that means a lot to me. You’re a good friend.”

And with that, things returned to normal. We ate up the rest of the pizza and everyone decided it was time to leave so Erika and I could unpack. I slumped down in my chair, mentally exhausted. This had been a long day, and now it was just the two of us. At least I wasn’t alone. I had Erika now and we were roomies. I hoped things would start looking up from here.

“Well, I don’t know about you, but I’m beat,” Erika said. “Think I’m gonna take a nap.”

“Aren’t you gonna finish unpacking first?” I asked.

“Nah, that can wait until later. I got my bed made, that’s what matters. I’ll see ya in a couple hours.” 

And with that, she went into her room and gently closed the door. So here I was, all alone with my thoughts. I cleaned up from lunch and went over to my new room. I looked around. Boxes were scattered across the floor, my bed was against one wall while my dresser and tv were against the wall in front of it. It was much smaller than my previous room, so it would take some adjusting. I couldn’t believe I lived here now.

I flopped onto my bed and stared at the ceiling for a while, thinking about the events of the day. All my friends had showed up, just to help me out. Well, minus Amanda at least. But I’d never asked her to come so there was no expectation there. Had I really come out to Jeremy though? That part still shocked me. I couldn’t believe I actually did that! And he had even accepted me without a second thought! Maybe coming out to others wasn’t such a bad idea after all.

Still though, one thought nagged at me. Just what was it I hoped to accomplish with all of this? Dressing up, possibly taking hormones? I still didn’t have a solid answer. Did it really matter though? I was happy, all of this felt so amazing! I loved being a girl, despite everything else. So why not focus on that? Just being a girl. That would be pretty nice.

Before I realized it, I drifted off to sleep. I dreamed of better days to come. One day, maybe, those dreams would come true.

Chapter 13 End