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I felt a cold compress on my forehead and could just make out the sound of three voices talking in the background I blinked and I was finally able to see the faces of Joanie and Mom and Dad. I was wondering why they were back so early and then the fog finally lifted and I suddenly remembered the last thing I saw before I went out. I was totally blown away by the beautiful blonde staring back at me in the mirror. I couldn't quite reconcile that I was actually that girl. I had often thought about what I would look like, but this was beyond anything I had ever expected. My little sister had done too good of a job.

It suddenly occurred to me that she had taken my eyebrows solidly over to the girl's side of the fence. Things started to add up and I suddenly started to smell a rat. The shoes and the eyebrows were just two pieces of the puzzle. Mom and Dad were totally unfazed by the whole situation. When they suddenly called me Alyce instead of Alex. I definitely knew something was up. I began to get very upset and demanded answers and very soon!

Mom and Dad sat me up and then started telling me a strange story of how and why I was now Alyce. Mom said that the school counselor had given me some tests that were explained away as general aptitude tests. I just thought they needed to see what my vocational interests were and just went along with it. It turned out that the interest inventory was actually tied to a personality test and it was found that my interests and personality were oriented very strongly to that of a girl. It seems that people had been asking my parents privately for years about whether I was a girl or a boy. They didn't want to put any undue stress on me by telling me what had been said. I was a little angry with them for keeping me in the dark about this for all these years.

They realized that something had to be done when they were called into a conference with the Principal, teachers ,counselors and Resource officers. The resource officers had installed Closed Circuit cameras in all the hallways and classrooms in the school. The goons that had been tripping me in the hallways had been caught red handed and suspended from school pending further investigation. They were looking at expulsion once the tapes were shown to the school board.

I asked them if the creative writing project was part of the whole scheme and they said that it was a first step in opening people's eyes to what was going on within their own school and community. It was only a small part of a greater goal to increase awareness of what it means to be male or female. Sociologists on the State level wanted to try something after seeing so many cases of domestic violence in the court system. They feel early intervention is a key to stemming the rise in cases. If each of the kids could think about what it would be like as he opposite sex, then it might change some ideas. They realized that the older generation was too set in their ways. They asked several teachers at the State meetings to introduce the topic of your paper in their classes as a first step in changing some attitudes.

" So you can see, it is a legitimate project due in two weeks just as Ms. Jacobs said" Dad explained.

"We thought it would also be a way to finally draw you out of your shell too" Mom added.

I told them that all they had to do was ask me and I would have told them about how I really felt.

They said that the writing project would give me a valid excuse for being dressed that way all the time around the school. The school board wants to increase awareness of diversity in hopes of heading off another school shooting like Heath High School. They were afraid that if they didn't step in and take action, I or someone else, would begin lashing out in a very destructive way. I started to cry when I realized that they really were concerned and not just turning a blind eye to my pain.

They had also set up an appointment with a therapist who specializes in Gender Identity. The school had already told them that they were going to go along with whatever my therapist will recommend. It should be fun to see what happens in school tomorrow. I can't wait!
 

 
I went to bed that night in a long pink nightgown with butterflies on it. Joanie had shown me how to remove my makeup and cleanse my skin. I settled down to sleep and for the first time in years, I slept through the night.

I actually had pleasant dreams for a change. It was kind of a surreal experience because I kept seeing my fellow classmates walking around in drag. Some of them looked really good and others were just plain silly or even scary. The football players were walking around with hairy legs and arms while the girls sported mascara mustaches that resembled Zorro. I couldn't help but giggle! I wondered if there really would be anyone else besides me going all out tomorrow?

I also dreamed of the things I would now get to do as Alyce. For some wild reason, I was even seeing myself pregnant and having a baby! Whoa! I think my mind is starting to run away now. I wonder what was in that tea Mom gave me?
 

 
The alarm jarred me from a sound sleep and I realized that from now on, I would be getting up quite a bit earlier that I used to, Thankfully our house has a bathroom off of each bedroom and we didn't have to wait in line to get ready. I wondered if Dad and Mom somehow knew they would have two daughters when they had the house built? It seems like a case of psychic phenomena at play. Joanie did have to come and do my makeup and hair and she attached my breastforms with adhesive. One thing that definitely proved to her that I was her sister, was my indecision about what to wear.

After I came to last night, Mom and Joanie had come into my room with shopping bags from just about every store that catered to teenage girls at Pinecrest Mall. They had every one of my sizes converted over. I even found out that Joanie and I could even share a few items that were the same size. Joanie even presented me with my own diary and started a scrapbook with some pictures we had taken last night. I was relieved that they hadn't taken any while I was passed out. I finally selected a denim skirt and a lavender blouse to wear with a pair of white canvas sneakers and white socks.

I got dressed and then headed down to breakfast. Joanie had called Josh and told him that she was riding with me. She felt that I needed her support this morning. I got up out of my chair and hugged her and told her how much I love being her sister. We tried not to cry, but we lost the battle and both broke out laughing at each others raccoon eyes. We repaired our faces and then headed to my car. On the way to school, we talked about what we were going to do this weekend. I parked the car in the student lot and we walked in to school together. She gave me a hug and then left for her homeroom. I turned down the hall toward the Junior Class wing and I was in for a shock!

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To Be Continued...