2
Cute and Girly

“Okay we’re here,” Claire said, motioning at us to get out of the car. We were in the parking lot for the mall and had just finished parking. “Come on, let’s go try out some clothes.”

“You seem pretty excited about this,” I murmured as I got out of the car. I closed the door behind me and stretched. The sun still shined down on us, although it was getting darker.

“Yeah, I might’ve got a little too invested in how this will go,” she said, laughing. “I’m so interested in how this terrible plan will play out.”

“Oh it’ll play out well,” Shane said, puffing out his chest. “You’ll see me with Hailey in a few weeks, trust.”

“Yeah, sure,” Claire snorted. We walked into the mall, which was decently filled with people. I looked around to make sure there wasn’t anybody I knew, I didn’t want to have to talk to one of my classmates before the party even started. “Here, let’s go to one of my favorite shops.”

“Ooh, what’s one of your favorite shops?” I asked, following behind her.

“Victoria’s Secret,” she replied.

I laughed, that was pretty funny.

“No, like seriously, we need to get you a bra.”

“Wait, what?” I asked, my mouth agape.

“Oh my God,” Shane said, bursting out into laughter. “Adam’s going to get a bra.”

“Shut up,” I said, sharply elbowing him.

“Ow, jeez, you’ve got to admit it’s pretty funny,” he said, bending over from how hard he was laughing.

“It’s not funny, plus you’re paying,” I said.

“Oh shit,” he said, standing back up now that money was mentioned. “Are bras expensive?”

“Well, they’re not super expensive, but it will set you back a little,” Claire said, shrugging. “Hey, just think of it as spending money on getting Hailey.”

“Fine,” Shane said, stuffing his hands in his pockets. We walked into the shop, which was luckily empty. I was immediately hit with the smell of some girly perfume, and the entire store was filled with pink. There were mannequins with bras and panties on and I felt super out of place in there. The entire store was dimly lit too, adding to its mystique.

“Hello, welcome to Victoria’s Secret,” the attendant said, walking over to us. “What can I do to help you all?”

“Hi, this is my little sister,” Claire said, weaving up a lie. “She’s a bit flat, as you can see, so she never really needed a bra. But she’s going to a party tonight so needs one.”

“She’s never had a bra until now?” the attendant asked, clearly confused.

“Yeah, it’s a whole thing,” Claire said. “Anyways, do you mind measuring her?”

“Sure, she really should’ve gotten one earlier though,” the attendant said. She motioned at me to come over with her hand, walking over to a room in the back. “Here, come with me so we can get you measured.”

“Wait, do I have to take my shirt off?” I asked as I followed behind her.

“Well, if we want it to be more accurate, yes,” she said. “But if you’re really uncomfortable with it we can do it with your shirt on.”

“Yeah, I’ll keep my shirt on,” I said. We both entered the back room where she took out a measuring tape. She measured a little, marking down something on a pad as she did, and then finished.

“That’s it,” the attendant said, giving me a bright smile.

“Oh, that’s it?” I asked.

“Yeah, let me just get some bras for you. I’ll get some with padding since you don’t seem to have a lot on you.”

“Thanks, I guess.”

I awkwardly stood in the room by myself as the attendant exited. It was quiet, and I just waited for her to come back. I rubbed my chest a little, it was flat, as expected of a boy. Would having some boobs feel nice? I mean I guess I’d never know. I shook my head vigorously, what the fuck was I thinking? I was a guy, just doing this for a hundred dollars.

“Hey, I brought some options you might like,” the attendant said as she opened the door and came in. I looked to see she had a bunch of bras in her hands. They all had some pretty significant padding and were in various colors.

“I’ll try on the tan one first,” I said, pointing at the most innocuous one I could see.

“Sure, here you go,” she said, handing them all over to me. “I know you’re uncomfortable showing your chest so I’ll exit the room.”

“Thanks,” I murmured. She left and I picked up the tan bra, feeling super embarrassed. I took off my shirt and put on the bra. It felt nicer than I expected, putting a nice weight on my chest area. I blushed, why did this feel good? I didn’t want to try on the other colors, since I thought I would pass out from embarrassment if I wore a pink bra. I put back on my shirt and exited.

“Looks like it fits!” the attendant said. “Now, pick out the ones you like and we can check out from here.”

“I’ll just take the tan one,” I said. It’s not like I’d need more bras, I’d only dress up as a girl once for this stupid party.

“Sure, I’ll help you check out then,” she said, walking over to the cash register.

“Did you get your bra?” Claire asked me, looking at my chest. “Looks like you did.”

Shane was next to her trying his best to hold in a laugh.

“Yeah,” I replied, looking over at Shane. “Don’t laugh too hard Shane, you’re the one who’s going to have to pay.”

“The total comes out to 19.99,” the attendant said.

“Seriously?” Shane asked, sighing. “For a single bra?”

Claire just shrugged, now it was her turn to hold in a laugh.

“Fine,” Shane said, rifling through his pocket and pulling out a crumpled twenty-dollar bill. He handed it over to the attendant.

“Your younger brother is paying for your younger sister’s bra?” the attendant asked, looking at us strangely. She inspected us a little further before piping up again. “Not to mention you and your younger sister don’t look all that similar.”

“Uhh,” Claire said, realizing her lie was falling apart. “He owes her something.”

“Well okay then, everything’s all paid for now,” the attendant said, still looking a little confused but doing her best to force a smile. She handed Shane back a single penny, which he seemed to be offended by. “Thank you for shopping at Victoria’s Secret!”

“Now we have to get her clothes that aren’t nasty and tomboyish,” Claire said, thinking out loud.

“Hey, my clothes aren’t nasty,” I said, frowning. I always wore T-shirts and shorts, did they look that bad?

“Yeah, sure Amanda,” she said, rolling her eyes. Was that my new name now? Amanda?

“Good luck with that,” the attendant said. “There is a shop for dresses real close that might interest you for a party. Just walk to the right after you exit and you’ll find it.”

“Sure, we’ll go there,” Claire said. “Thanks so much!”

We exited the store and I sighed. I looked over at Shane, who had a sour expression on his face. I guess he was really upset about losing those twenty dollars. Claire led us to the right, and we walked by a few stores until we saw a store with a bunch of dresses at the front. “I guess this is it,” she said.

“Now, I wonder how much this dress will cost,” Shane said.

“Probably a million dollars, plus tax,” I replied, laughing.

“Not funny,” Shane replied, pulling out his wallet and looking sadly at it. He quickly opened it up and looked through it. “I only have a hundred and twenty dollars left if we take out the hundred I owe you for this. So that’s your dress budget, I guess.”

“That should be enough to get a decent dress,” Claire said, peeking inside. “Great, let’s go.”

We walked inside yet another shop, and this time it smelled like vanilla. There were tons of dresses around the shop all hung up, and a chandelier on the ceiling.

“This place looks super fancy,” I whispered to Shane.

“Yeah, looks expensive,” Shane replied, frowning.

“Hi, this is my younger brother and his girlfriend,” Claire said, walking up to the attendant. “She needs a dress for a party tonight.”

“I thought I was your younger sister,” I whispered discreetly to her so the attendant couldn’t hear.

“Yeah, not anymore,” she responded. “Did not go well the last time.”

“Oh my, what a cute couple,” the attendant said, smiling at us. “I’ll just measure you real quick and I’m sure we can find some dresses that fit perfectly.”

I got measured yet again, and the attendant scampered around to find some dresses that fit. She came back with a few options. There was a white dress with some flowers on it, a pink one with a ton of frills, a black one that looked a little too tight, and a plain yellow one with white dots.

“Which one do you want, Amanda?” Claire asked me as the attendant left us to choose.

“Did I seriously not even get to choose my own name?” I asked.

“Why, I think it’s a cute name,” she said. “Amanda, Amanda, Amanda. It’s similar to Adam too.”

“I guess it’s not too bad,” I said. Amanda was a pretty nice name.

“I like that black dress,” Shane said. “You should wear that one. Hailey will be so jealous.”

“I don’t know, that dress screams sexy,” Claire said, picking up the dress and turning it around in her hands. “I think our Amanda is more of the cute style. This white dress would look good on her.”

“You don’t need to call me that when we’re alone, you know,” I said, crossing my arms. Why was Claire going out of her way to call me Amanda and stuff when nobody was around us? I mean, it didn’t feel terrible to be called such a nice name, but still.

“Sorry, Amanda,” Claire said, brushing off what I just said without a care in the world. “Here, try on the white dress. Make sure not to get any makeup on it, or we’ll have to pay for it.”

“Okay,” I said, picking up the dress and heading over to the changing room. I closed the lock and took off my T-shirt. I hesitated for a moment, looking into the mirror. All I could see was a girl staring back at me. I shook my head and went back to the dress. I took off my pants and quickly put on the dress. I made sure not to get any makeup on it, as Claire said, and luckily none wiped off.

I looked back in the mirror and gasped. Now, the girl I saw before was cute but had an air of tomboyishness around her. This was a girly girl, and an adorable one too. I really could live my whole life like this, who wouldn’t like being a cute girl, right? I picked up my clothes and exited the changing room before any more strange thoughts could occur.

“Oh my God, you’re so cute Amanda!” Claire said, running up to me and clapping. “We really should’ve done this earlier.”

“I don’t know, I prefer the black dress,” Shane said, looking a little disappointed.

“Look, she has no curves, the black dress isn’t going to work for her,” Claire said, rolling her eyes. “That’s for like, if you have a figure.”

“Fine, I guess this one is decent enough,” Shane said. He put out a bunch of money from his pocket. “How much does it cost?”

“Let me check the tag,” Claire said, going behind me and taking the tag out. “A hundred dollars.”

“Damn,” Shane said, letting out a deep sigh of frustration. He whispered to himself. “Remember you’re doing this for Hailey.”

“Honestly, you should just date Amanda,” Claire said.

“First, it’s Adam, not Amanda,” Shane said, shaking his head. “Also, you might’ve forgotten, but he’s my best friend. And a guy. So no, I won’t be dating Adam.”

I inspected Shane’s face closely. I mean, he wasn’t ugly, but he wasn’t exactly attractive either. We were both sort of losers at school, and I especially got bullied. The worst of them was Carter, who always made fun of me for being short and looking like a girl. I shuddered, if he found out I wore a dress and makeup the bullying would get even worse. I wondered if Shane honestly thought this plan would work. Personally, I thought he had no chance in hell of bagging Hailey. She would probably be with one of the popular and handsome guys, like Carter.

“I think Amanda’s just as cute as Hailey and a lot easier for you to date, but whatever,” Claire said, shrugging.

“I’ll be getting Hailey, so we don’t need to have this conversation,” Shane said.

“Whatever you say,” she said in a sing-songy voice, clearly not believing in anything Shane was saying.

“Anyways, let’s pay now,” I said. I didn’t want to imagine dating Shane, that would be weird.

“Ugh, here,” Shane said, shoving some ten-dollar bills in my hand. “Pay for your dress, Adam.”

We ended up paying and leaving the shop, with the shop attendant fawning over how cute Shane and I apparently were together. I was almost about to vomit.

“One last thing before we go to the party,” Claire said, checking her phone. “We need to get Amanda’s ears pierced.”

“Wait, that’s permanent though,” I said, a little worried. Hair grows back and makeup wipes off, but piercing your ears was something you couldn’t reverse.

“No, it’s not, once you take it out the hole seals back up after a while.”

“Really?” I asked, confused. I thought they were permanent, I guess I was wrong.

“Are you seriously telling me I need to spend even more money on earrings now?” Shane said, groaning.

“Fine, I’ll pay,” Claire said. “Since you’re so whiny.”

“I’m not whiny, you two are legitimately making me broke,” Shane replied sharply.

“Hey, it was your plan,” she said, shrugging. “Anyways, the earring shop is just nearby.”

We walked over, although it felt weird walking in a dress. The breeze floated up my legs, and I felt nervous that someone would peek underneath. I can’t deny it felt a little nice though. Compared to shorts, they were a lot easier to walk in.

“Hi, welcome,” a young shop attendant said. “Are you looking to get some earrings today?”

We had somehow arrived while I was spaced out, thinking about how comfy the dress was.

“Yeah, my little brother’s girlfriend here, Amanda, needs to get her ears pierced,” Claire said.

“Oh, sure, we have some options for that,” the attendant said. “You need to choose studs first since hoop earrings won’t work for your initial ones.”

“What do you think of these ones, Amanda?” Claire asked, waving a pair of stud earrings in front of my eyes. They looked like pearls, and I thought they’d fit well with the dress I was wearing.

“They’re cute, yeah,” I said, tilting my head to get a better look at them.

“Great, we’ll use these to pierce your ears then,” the attendant said, taking the studs out of the packaging. She got a marker and marked two black spots on my ears and then nodded. “Are you ready?”

“I guess,” I said, a little nervous. Would it hurt? Would I bleed?

The attendant put a needle next to my ear and then quickly shoved it forward, piercing my ear. I winced, it wasn’t too bad but it was still a little painful. She then moved to the other ear and pierced it too. To cap it all off, she put both studs in the newly formed hole.

“We’re all done,” she said, smiling at me.

I looked in the mirror. The studs looked nice on my ears, and they glimmered a little in the light. “Thanks!” I said.

“No problem, the studs are ten dollars, and piercings are free here, so you don’t need to pay for that.”

“Here,” Claire said, handing over her card.

The payment was processed and we were all done right on time. It was almost time for the party. We headed outside the mall, and I was surprised by how much darker it got. Did we really spend that long in the mall? We had only gone to three stores. I got back into the car, and Claire began driving to Hailey’s house.

“Did getting those earrings hurt, Adam?” Shane asked me, looking at the pearl studs I had on.

“Umm, a little, but it wasn’t too bad,” I replied, touching the studs with a finger. “Why do you ask?”

“Was just considering getting some myself,” he said, shrugging.

“Why would you want to get earrings?” I asked, laughing.

“Looks a little badass, no?” he said. “Just a clean pair of silver hoop earrings, nothing girly like yours.”

“Yeah, geez, you’re the reason for this but okay,” I said, rolling my eyes. “I’m taking them off as soon as I can.”

“They’re pretty, you should keep them on,” Claire said from the front.

“I’m good,” I promptly responded.

We continued driving with some light conversation. Shane seemed to be a little nervous, as he was breathing super heavily. Hailey had been his crush for ages after all, I’d be nervous too. I never had any crushes, so I didn’t get it, but it was whatever.

After a few minutes, we arrived outside Hailey’s house. It was absolutely massive, I think it was over twice as big as my own. Lights were filtering out the windows and there was loud music playing.

“Good luck, you two,” Claire said, unlocking the car’s door.

“Are you ready, Shane?” I asked.

He responded with a grunt, getting out of the car. I followed behind him, and now it was my turn to be nervous. I looked up at the house and let out a deep sigh. I really, really hoped nobody would recognize me.