The time had finally come, the anime con was here! Mel and I walked up to the hotel, where we saw so many people cosplaying. We were definitely in the right place. This was in the same town as Mel’s school, so we parked up near there to avoid parking fees. From there it was just a few blocks over to the hotel where the con was being held.

After the previous weekend though, I was apprehensive about this. Our relationship wasn’t on the most stable ground at the moment and things hadn’t gotten much better in the meantime. Honestly I hadn’t even really talked to her since that day at the mall, outside of some small talk. I just hoped this weekend would help us bond enough to start moving past our issues.

On the other hand, I was also nervous about being out in public dressed as a girl for the first time. My sister, being the wonderful woman she is, stopped by that morning to do my makeup. She had done a wonderful job, helping me look the part, along with the costume and the falsies I had gotten from Penny. From here though, it was up to me to sell it. I remembered my vocal training from doing school choir for many years, where I sang as a tenor. I had warmed up my voice in the car and practiced sounding like a girl. Mel thought it was cute and eventually gave her approval for the final product. I was ready, I hoped.

The two of us went inside and, after getting our badges, went to see what this place had to offer. The convention center was really big, with two floors of events. Each room had a schedule posted outside it for the panels that would be taking place over the course of that day. Our first destination was the main stage for the opening ceremonies. On the way over, we got a few compliments on our costumes. Even if the Pokemon anime had long since moved past Dawn, she was still a very popular character. So people were thrilled to see a “girl” cosplaying as her. At least I hoped they saw me as a girl.

The ceremony went as usual, welcoming everyone to the con and introducing the guests that had been invited that year. Mel was a huge fan of a couple of them, especially a man called J. Michael Tatum. A voice actor who had done some major anime dub roles in the past. He was also flamboyantly gay and wasn’t afraid to tell anyone about it. Honestly, I had to admire that a little. He was proud of who he was and owned every second of it.

After the opening ceremonies, we started looking around. I had managed to snag a schedule from the registration area, so we could see what would be going on today. So much to see, from panels involving guests, to game shows, even a video game room! And of course, you couldn’t go wrong with browsing the dealers hall for merch. We made our way to a nearby room to see what was going on in there.

___________________

Later that day, we were both tired from having so much fun! It was evening now, and about dinner time. I had only really had snacks after breakfast, so I was getting pretty hungry. I looked over at Mel, who was looking pretty good in her costume. We had both gotten plushies to go with our characters. Mel had a Pikachu, while I had a Piplup. They were both adorable!

“So Ash, are you hungry?” I asked with my female voice, a slight grin on my face.

Mel chuckled. “Of course Dawn, you know I’m always hungry! I’m a growing boy after all!” We both laughed at that.

“Well if you’re that hungry, let’s go get some food. That diner we went to on our first date isn’t far from here. Why don’t we grab a bite over there?” I suggested. It was a bit of a walk, but a doable one. Mel nodded and we started making our way over.

This had been a pretty good day after all. People didn’t seem to suspect I was a boy, or if they did, they didn’t mention it. A few people had even asked to take our pictures! How cool was that? At a couple points, I did have to use the ladies room and touch up my makeup. It was nerve wracking the first time, cause even though I was in a girl’s costume, I was still a guy. But Mel insisted that, if I was gonna be dressed like this, I should use the bathroom that matched.

The night was chilly, but I had done the smart thing and brought a jacket. It was neutral enough that I could wear it whether I was presenting male or female, so my parents didn’t suspect a thing. Honestly it was nice to have something at least kind of feminine that I didn’t have to hide for once. I hated doing all of this in secret, but what choice did I have? What would I tell them? Just that I like to dress up as a girl sometimes with no real explanation? No way! They would never accept that! No, this had to remain secret until I could find a real answer.

For now, we had arrived at the diner. We got some funny looks from people who didn’t know about the con, but otherwise no one paid us much mind. The waitress complimented our outfits, and our plushies as well. We gave our orders and chatted until it was time to eat.

“Having fun so far?” I asked.

“Oh yeah, this has been great today! I’m glad we could do this, just the two of us. You don’t need anyone else while I’m around. No third wheels. I’m all you need,” Mel said, in a pleasant tone. I hated when she got like this. Surely it wasn’t wrong for me to have other friends while dating her, even other female friends!

“Mel, please. Can you not say that? While I absolutely wanna spend time with you, that shouldn’t be at the cost of anyone else. Let’s just drop this for now, I wanna have fun this weekend. I know! We saw that artist alley thing in the dealer hall, right? You should try to sign up for that next year!” I said, changing the subject.

“I dunno,” she said. “I don’t think I’m really that good. Everyone there was way better than me.”

“Ah, but we have a whole year to prepare! Plenty of time to sharpen your skills. I’m sure you could do it if you tried. Come on, at least think about it, ok?”

“If it’ll make you happy, then fine. I’ll think about it. I make no promises though. Besides, I’m sure it’s really competitive to get a spot. I’d need to give them a reason to pick me instead of someone else. Plus I’d have to prepare a bunch of stuff to sell and everything, I just don’t think I’m ready for all of that.” Mel said, sounding defeated.

“Hey, anything is possible if we work together, right? I’ll help you as much as I can! You know I’m here for you, every step of the way. Besides, Piplup believes in you too!” I said, holding up the plushie and making it look like it was nodding.

Mel couldn’t help but giggle. “You’re too funny sometimes Michelle, but I love that about you.” She leaned over and kissed my cheek, making me blush.

We were interrupted by the arrival of our food. I had gotten the chicken parmesan, which was my favorite. Mel had opted for a simple burger. Finally we could fill our growling bellies and get back to the con. There were still plenty of events left, as the con didn’t officially shut down until around midnight, before reopening the next morning. I had my new plushie on the seat next to me as we ate, for safekeeping.

Before long, we had finished eating and paid for our meals. Now for the long walk back to the con. We packed up our things and headed back. I wrapped my jacket around me tightly, trying to defend against the cold, autumn wind. It was dark by now, which was typical for this time of year. Still, the streets were lined with plenty of lights so there was no struggle to see. There were other cosplayers still mulling about outside as we made it back to the hotel, at least they didn’t seem cold.

We walked inside and I checked my schedule. There was a hypnotist show coming up soon, that sounded like a lot of fun! It was an all ages event, so nothing inappropriate would happen. I’d always wanted to try volunteering for one of these, but I was too shy. Still, it was fun to watch from the audience at least! We made our way upstairs to the room where the event was being held.

Everyone was still shuffling in, so we were on time. We grabbed some seats towards the front, so we could get a good view of things. The hypnotist was at the front of the room. He was dressed up in a costume as well, though it was more comic book than anime. It was The Riddler, a villain from DC Comics. An odd choice, but it worked. He walked around as he waited for everyone to take their seats. Once everyone was in and seated, he spoke up.

“Riddle me this folks, welcome to The Riddler’s Hypnosis! I’m your lovely host, Edward Nigma! You’ve all fallen right into my trap, I’m afraid there shall be no escape until the show is over! Alright, now let me explain how this will work. In a few minutes, I’ll ask for some volunteers from the audience who want to come up and be hypnotized. Now since this is an all ages show, we can’t have anyone swearing or trying to say anything inappropriate. Save that for the 18+ show tomorrow night,” he added with a wink.

The audience chuckled as he began to explain his history with hypnosis. How he got into it, the benefits of it, and dispelling some popular myths about how it works. It wasn’t like in the movies, you couldn’t actually make someone hurt themselves or do something completely out of character for them. For example, you couldn’t make someone rob a bank or end someone else’s life. It was simply just putting someone in a relaxed state that makes them open to suggestions.

Mel poked me to get my attention. “Hey, why don’t you volunteer? That could be fun!” She said, quietly.

“You just wanna see me make a fool of myself, don’t you?” I replied.

“Who, me? Never! Why would I do that?”

“Well if you like it so much, why don’t you volunteer?”

“I tried once, couldn’t be hypnotized. Go figure. So you should do it instead!”

I rolled my eyes, but didn’t object. I really did wanna try it, I was just embarrassed. Maybe I should volunteer for it, no guarantee I’d be picked anyways, right?

Riddler finished his intro. “With that out of the way, who would like to volunteer?”

Reluctantly, I raised my hand, as did a bunch of other people. One by one, he called folks down. Apparently, he knew a few of them by now. They were frequent flyers at his shows. He scanned the room for one last volunteer and his eyes landed squarely on me.

“And finally you, come on down!” He called out, pointing to me.

Shit, I thought to myself. Just my luck that he’d actually pick me. Oh well, let’s get this over with. Cheeks slightly glowing with embarrassment, I went down and took my place on stage. I was joined by about 7 other people, all ready to be hypnotized. He went down the row and each of us said our names, or at least our character names. When he got to me, I answered with Dawn, as to not reveal that I was actually a boy.

With that, he set about hypnotizing us. It certainly wasn’t like you’d see on tv, with a coin or a pocket watch or something like that. No, instead he simply spoke softly and guided us through relaxation techniques. Had us relax, further and further until we entered a sleep-like state. It actually felt quite nice. I wasn’t fully aware of what was happening at the time, it felt like I was in that place, between awake and asleep. I could still hear everything around me, but none of it really seemed to matter, besides the sound of his voice.

“Alright, let’s start off simple. Every time I snap my fingers, you will feel the room growing colder and colder. That’s right, with each snap the temperature in here will drop. When I count backwards from 5, you’ll all wake up believing this to be true. 5, 4, 3, 2, 1! Wake up, wake up!”

Slowly, we all got up. I felt great as I looked around the room, very refreshed. I didn’t feel hypnotized, but then again what would that even feel like? Once we were all up, the host started telling a story. As he talked, he was snapping his fingers. Brr, why was it so chilly all of a sudden? Did the air conditioning kick in or something? I rubbed my arms a little. Of all the times to be wearing a sleeveless dress!

As he kept talking and snapping, the room got more and more frigid. I felt like I was in a walk-in freezer, or stuck outside in the dead of winter! The other people on stage were starting to huddle together for warmth, so I joined them. Meanwhile, the audience was laughing their asses off, especially Mel. What was so funny? Couldn’t they tell we were freezing? How were they not cold? It felt like the middle of January here!

Soon he put us back under. The show continued like this for the better part of an hour. During that time, we did a lot more silly stuff. Like thinking a Pokémon plushie was Thor’s hammer, or being frozen in place while other people got to move us and make us pose in ridiculous ways. Mel had a lot of fun with that one. Before long though, it was time for the show to end. He brought us out of the hypnosis and we all went back to our seats.

“Thank you all for joining me today,” Riddler said. “I hope you all enjoyed yourselves. Let’s give it up for our volunteers one more time! Thank you all for being such good sports!” The audience cheered and applauded for us. Even Mel gave me a kiss. With that, we grabbed our stuff and headed back out to the rest of the con.

As I looked through my things, a realization dawned on me. Where was Piplup? I quickly tore through my bag. No, no no no! Where was it?! It had to be here somewhere! But my search turned up fruitless, it wasn’t here!

“Everything ok Michelle?” Mel asked.

“No! I can’t find that Piplup plushie I got earlier! It’s gone!” I replied, frantically.

“What? You lost it? How?”

“I don’t know! I must have dropped it somewhere or something! I swore I had it in my bag but it’s not in there!”

“Ugh, I can’t believe you! Can’t you even hold onto a stupid plushie?! I still have Pikachu! But no, you had to go and lose yours!” She snipped at me.

“Hey, calm down! It can’t be far. Maybe someone turned it in over at the Lost and Found! We should go and at least ask before jumping to conclusions.”

With that, we made our way downstairs and back to the reception area. Hopefully, someone would have found it and there would be nothing to worry about. But when we asked, they said no one had turned in any plushies. So there went that lead, fuck! Ok, time for a new plan. When was the last time I saw the plushie? It wasn’t in the room we were just in, so where?

“Just give it up and buy a new one,” Mel said, still sounding pretty upset.

“That’s a last resort. I wanna avoid spending more money on another plushie if I can avoid it. Otherwise, there goes my food budget. Wait a second, food! That’s it!” I had a brilliant idea suddenly, a true lightbulb moment!

“What, you’re hungry again already? We just had dinner! Ugh, you men and your appetites,” she rolled her eyes. I froze, did she really just say that?! I quickly scanned the area, luckily no one seemed to be paying any attention to us. Still, what was that about? I quickly grabbed her and moved to a quiet corner.

“Mel, what the fuck?! Are you trying to out me here? No one knows that I’m a guy and I’d rather keep it that way! I’m nervous enough as is!” I tried my best to be calm and quiet, but inside, I was freaking out! What if someone had heard her? This was no good at all! It felt like everyone’s eyes were on me, judging me for dressing like this.

“Look, I’m sorry alright? I forgot you were trying to be a girl. I look at you and just see my boyfriend in a wig. Let’s just forget this, I think I’m ready to head back to my dorm now.” she said coldly.

Oh god, not this again! Was she really gonna pull this shit, here of all places? What happened to having fun together? We had just been laughing about the hypnotist show not 5 minutes ago and now she was gonna shut down and go home? My blood really began to boil, I was so sick and tired of all this bullshit!

“Are you serious right now? You expect me to accept such a half-baked apology like that? You should know better than to out someone! You’ve read Rain too! Think about how important this is to me! I was having a lot of fun being a girl and you had to go and ruin it! I’m tired of the excuses and I’m tired of your attitude. You wanna go home? Be my guest. You’ll be going alone. I’m done, WE’RE DONE! No more of this! I’m breaking up with you!”

Before Mel could object, I walked off. I meant what I said, I was done. I never wanted to see her stupid face again! I was furious and tears started to flow down my face, smearing my makeup. Not that I cared at this point. I went to find someplace to hide and cry in private. Little did I know, I was being followed.

______________________

Erika was another con goer, having a wonderful time. However, she couldn’t help but notice two girls arguing in the corner. They really seemed to be having it out until one of them turned and ran off from the other. It was clear she was crying. Poor thing reminded her of herself after her ex cheated on her. She couldn’t just let her go off on her own, that could be dangerous. Especially in that costume. Someone could take advantage of her! So she quietly followed the girl, hoping to provide a little protection and comfort.

The girl ran to a small room that wasn’t currently in use. She went in, with no one watching, besides Erika. Erika was still determined though, not to leave this poor girl defenseless. So she went up to the door and knocked.

“Excuse me, miss? I’m sorry to bother you, but are you ok?” she called out through the door. At first, no one answered, so she knocked again. “It’s ok, I’m not gonna hurt you. Can you please just tell me if you’re ok?”

“Leave me alone,” called a voice from the other side of the door. It was very raspy from crying, it almost sounded like a guy's voice. Still, despite the voice’s objections, Erika wouldn’t leave.

“Can I please come in? I wanna help you. They’re gonna be setting up for the next panel in there soon, so why don’t I help before the staff finds you and kicks you out?” There was a brief pause, likely the girl was thinking about it.

“...Fine, come in,” the voice relented. Erika quickly looked around before entering the room.

_________________________

I looked up as the door opened. A girl in a blue dress with a white apron over the waist, wearing a silver colored wig on her head walked in. I recognized the character, Sophie from Howl’s Moving Castle, a classic anime movie. I was sitting on the floor, against the wall, despite there being chairs set up in the room. I was hugging my knees to my chest, bawling my eyes out. She came over but not too close, choosing to sit in a chair nearby. Finally, I spoke.

“Who are you? What do you want?” I asked through my sobs, not even caring about my voice anymore.

“My name is Erika. I came to check on you, I saw you run off crying. I know it’s none of my business, but I couldn’t help but feel bad. You look like I did, not long ago. What’s your name?”

“My, my name? It’s um, Mi-, uh, Michelle. I’m Michelle.” I hesitated. I almost said my real name, but I couldn’t risk outing myself to a stranger, as nice as she seemed.

“It’s nice to meet you Michelle. Can I ask what happened between you and that other girl? I saw you two talking before you ran off. Did she hurt you?” Erika asked, in a soothing voice.

“N-not exactly,” I said, still shaking. “I, um, really don’t wanna talk about it right now.”

“I understand. May I come closer then? I won’t do it without your permission. You just seem like you could use a hug.”

I thought about her offer for a moment, before nodding. She got out of her chair and came over to me, getting down and giving me a big hug. At that moment, I fully broke. I grabbed onto her tightly and began sobbing into her shoulder. Every ounce of anger and sorrow came out of me as she held me and rubbed my back. I held nothing back as it all flowed like a waterfall. After a few minutes, I finally let go and sat back down. I was exhausted at this point.

“Feeling any better?” Erika asked gently.

“A little bit,” I replied. “Thank you, I needed that.”

“You’re very welcome Michelle. But you poor thing, your face is a mess. Come on, let’s go to the bathroom and get you cleaned up,” she helped me up to my feet and, after she checked to see if the coast was clear, we went off to the ladies room together.

I used the sink and some paper towels to wash the makeup off my face. I was nervous now, she would see what I really looked like and know that I wasn’t really a girl. Instead of judging though, she just smiled.

“There, much better,” she said. “Would you like some help redoing it? I’m no expert, but I can try my best.”

“Um, no thank you,” I replied sheepishly. “I think I’ll just go without it for now. Honestly, I don’t think I’ll be sticking around much longer anyways. I was gonna do a few more panels, but after what happened, I don’t think I’m feeling up to it. I just wanna go home.”

“Understandable girl,” Erika said. “Tell you what, I saw an ice cream place up the road from here. Wanna grab some together? My treat.”

“Are you sure? You barely know me.”

“And what better way to get to know you than over ice cream? Plus, you could use a treat after what you’ve been through. You don’t need to tell me the details if you don’t want to, but I’m here to listen if you do.”

“Thank you Erika, I suppose some ice cream would be nice. It’s on the way back to my car anyways. Oh, but I should change back into my street clothes. It’s um, really chilly out there and this dress isn’t great for cold weather,” I quickly made up an excuse. I couldn’t tell her that I couldn’t go home in a dress.

“Fair enough. Tell you what, why don’t we go up to my room then? I’m staying here at the hotel with a couple friends, but they should still be down here somewhere. We’ll both get changed. Does that sound good?”

“Um yea, I guess so,” I nodded. I was a bit nervous, because my street clothes were just regular guy clothes. Those wouldn’t work well with my falsies, so I’d have to take them off. Guess there would be no avoiding it after that, she would know that I’m a guy. I just prayed she’d be accepting.

So with that, the two of us took the elevator up to her room. She was on the 5th floor, a decent way up from the con. We got to her room and went inside. It was pretty basic, with two queen sized beds and a few bags thrown around, likely belonging to Erika and her friends.

“Alright, I’ll get changed out here. Why don’t you head into the bathroom? I’m sure you want your privacy.” she said. So without another word, I went into the bathroom. I looked at my reflection in the mirror and sighed. Changing back was always the worst part, though I still didn’t understand why. I didn’t have time to dwell on those thoughts though, as I quickly changed out of my costume and back into my normal clothes. Once I was dressed and my costume safely stored away in my bag, it was time to face the music.

I exited the bathroom and turned the corner to the main bedroom. Erika was sitting on the bed in a pair of women’s jeans and a Metallica t-shirt. She smiled at me.

“So that’s the real you huh? Well I do have some questions, as long as you don’t mind answering. Say the word at any point and I’ll stop.”

I was surprised, she seemed to be taking it pretty well so far. Hopefully it would stay that way. “Alright, go ahead. But if you’re gonna make fun of me, I’m leaving.” I said, trying to sound confident.

“Nah, none of that. At least not now. Save that for when we get to know each other better,” she laughed. “Alright, I suppose I’ll start simple. What are your pronouns?”

“My pronouns? Um well, he/him for now I guess. But she/her when I’m in my costume.” I answered.

“Fair enough. Is there another name I should call you, other than Michelle?”

I thought about it for a moment, before shaking my head. “No, Michelle is just fine. I prefer it that way.”

“Michelle it is. Alright Michelle, one more question. I apologize for being so blunt, but I gotta know, are you trans?”

That caught me off guard, though I guess I should have expected it after she asked about my pronouns. I took a breath. “If I’m being honest, I don’t know. I’ve been thinking about it, but I don’t have a solid answer.”

“Well that’s more than I was expecting, but cool. Nothing wrong with being trans, I would know.” she chuckled.

“Wait, what?” I exclaimed. “You’re trans? I had no idea!” Though I gave her another once over. She had small breasts and her face was kind of masculine if you looked at it from the right angle. It also explained how she knew what questions to ask. Still, I wasn’t expecting that!

“That’s right. So if you’re questioning, that’s cool. Remember, the rainbow ain’t black and white, there’s all sorts of ways to be trans. You probably just don’t fit the traditional way, which is fine. Everyone’s different after all.” she said nonchalantly.

“Wow, ok yea I’ve heard similar things from other folks. I’ve got a friend who’s also trans and she said I’m probably some flavor of non-binary. No idea which one though.”

“Ah so you have some trans friends then, that’s cool. Maybe I could be one of them? First thing’s first though, let’s go get that ice cream.”

With that, the two of us headed back down the elevator and out into the night. It was getting chilly, though now I at least had proper clothes for it. The ice cream shop in question was only a couple blocks away, though it was on the way back to Mel’s school. Was this really it? Had I really broken up with her, just like that? Everything had happened so quickly, I hadn’t had time to process all of it. Honestly, my head was still spinning. I had no idea what to do next.

I was pulled back to reality as we got to the ice cream shop. It was a small place, a hole in the wall you’d probably miss if you weren’t paying attention. There was still enough seating at least for the two of us to enjoy our ice cream without having to walk back. We went over to the counter and put in our orders. I got some chocolate chip cookie dough, while Erika got something called Americone Dream. Vanilla ice cream with caramel and fudge covered waffle cone pieces. It did look yummy.

So with that, the two of us grabbed a table and sat down to enjoy our ice cream. It felt nice to have a sweet treat at a time like this, it quieted my brain for a little bit. Despite the chilly temperatures outside, I always enjoyed a little ice cream now and then in the winter. I savored every bite and soon, it was gone. That really hit the spot.

“How was it?” Erika asked, still eating hers.

“It was really good,” I said, sighing contently.

“That’s good. So, do you wanna talk about what happened earlier? Between you and that girl? I understand if you don’t, but I’m here to listen.”

I guess there was no avoiding this one. Of course she would want some answers sooner or later. So I looked at her. “Alright, if you must know, that was my girlfriend. Or I guess, my ex-girlfriend now. I broke up with her. She called me a man while I was in my costume. I had been doing so well, pretending to be a girl and here she comes out of nowhere to ruin it! I mean who does that! Just outing me in front of the entire con! I don’t think anyone really heard her, but still! And then she gave some half-hearted apology and said she just saw me as a man. I just couldn’t take it anymore and I broke it off. I hate this so much!” I was on the verge of tears again.

“Ouch, that’s awful Michelle! She’s lucky I didn’t hear that, or I would have had some choice words for her. Or worse, but we’re in public and she’s probably not worth the jail time. I’m sorry, that must have really hurt. Trust me, I know how it feels to have someone reject your identity like that, it sucks.” she said, sympathetically.

“Is it my identity though? I really have no idea about any of this. I mean, I don’t know if I’m trans or not. I don’t think I’m a girl inside. It’s different, difficult to describe. I guess how I see it is like, I feel feminine, rather than like a girl.”

“Hmm, I think I see what you’re saying. If you want my opinion, I’d say you’re likely trans but in a non-binary way. But take that as you will, since we barely know each other,” she said.

“Well you know about me now, so it’s time to return the favor. Who are you exactly? You’ve been really nice to me and I appreciate it, but I know nothing about you.”

“I suppose that’s fair. As you know, the name’s Erika. I’m 26 years old, originally from Indiana but moved to New Hampshire a few years ago. I’ve known that I was trans since pretty much forever, since I was like, 4 or 5 at least. I just knew that I was a girl, but no one around me wanted to listen. They thought I was imagining things at best, possessed by the devil at worst. 

It wasn't pleasant and eventually I learned to keep my mouth shut and push everything down. Just try to be the boy everyone thought I was. It sucked. I hated being a guy and I hated myself for not being able to be one. So I was a royal jackass to everyone around me, became a bully and everything. Those were dark times. After we moved though, I couldn’t take it anymore and finally told someone. That’s how I learned what being transgender was and that I could just be a girl. 

It took a long time to convince my mom to let me transition but earlier this year, she finally relented. I’ve been on HRT for about 6 months now and I finally like who I am. I’m not proud of who I was, but I’m trying to make a better future. Is that good enough for info?” she finally finished.

“Wow, that’s certainly a lot to take in. Sounds like you’ve had it pretty rough, I’m sorry. But yea, I think that’s enough to go off of for now. I guess I should say it’s good to officially meet you Erika.” I extended my hand.

She reached over and shook it. “Same with you Michelle.”

It seemed I cemented a solid new friendship with Erika here. We had just met, but we were quickly getting to know each other and became friends. I explained how the fight had started over losing a stupid plushie, and that I had an idea of where I might find it. She wished me luck, but needed to get back to the hotel. Apparently her friends were starting to wonder where she was. So she finished her ice cream and we parted ways, though not before exchanging numbers. With that, it was just me now.

As I walked back to the diner, I was deep in thought. Now that Mel and I were broken up, what would I do? Was I still gonna finish the weekend, or just stay home to avoid any potential interactions with her? Come to think of it, she still had most of my girl clothes. I supposed I’d have to at least talk to her one more time, just to get my stuff back. But that could wait for another time. 

I got to the diner and asked about the plushie. Luckily, they had it. Apparently I had left it on the seat and by the time they found it, I was long gone. So they held onto it, hoping I’d come back for it. There had been a shift change, so I didn’t have to worry about them not recognizing me without my costume. So I placed Piplup in my bag and went to the nearby parking lot where my car was. With a heavy sigh, I started the car and headed for home. I had a lot to think about…

Chapter 10 End