How I spent my Summer Vacation: I became a Girl!
By
Rebecca Coleman

note to readers: The “How I spent my Summer Vacation: I became a girl!” is an ongoing in-universe serial that appears each Saturday Evening in the “Benton Evening Post” the story focuses on the ongoing struggle of Emil “Emily” Anderson as she strides to adopted to her new life in a small southern town that straddles the hill and the delta. The story chronicles her life as she tries to figure out what direction she wants to take her life.

Note from Sunflower: First allow me to express what mere words will never fully express. My deepest and most heartfelt gratitude toward each reader who stuck with me this far. I hope you will stick with me till the end. I don't know where this story came from. It's not in my notebook, nor has it been outlined like the rest of my stories have. . I guess it sprung from the soul. I wish I could embrace each person who has left a comment or a kudos because that keeps me going.

-5-
The Paper Delivery Boy wants a cup of Sugar.

The next few days were very uneventful. Aunt Flora started calling me 'Em' in casual conversation and 'Emily' if she wanted to get my attention and if I was walking on thin ice she would say 'Emily Hannah' and if I'd really messed up she would call out my full name 'Emily Hannah Anderson' but she only did that once and that was the first day she discovered me dressed as a girl. Most of the time though 'Emily Hannah' was enough for me to straighten up and fly straight.

But one thing did change, the name on my chore list was no longer Emil Anderson, instead printed in big bold letters across the sheet was the name 'Emily H. Anderson' you see Aunt Flora had this weird system of allowance. Each week she would write up a chore sheet, and beside each chore she would write a little amount of money beside each one. For example, if I swept and mopped the kitchen Aunt Flora would reward me with two dollars. Mowing our small yard would fetch fifteen dollars. Cleaning each window would net one net fifty cents per window. Mop and sweep the whole house.. fifteen dollars, in all fairness it was a small house. Washing dishes, doing laundry, folding laundry, all brought around a dollar.

Anyway as it happened, one morning I just woke up and decided to see how many chores I could knock out in the course of one afternoon. The hospital had switched Aunt Flora hours, she was now working the morning shift. So she had left around seven that morning. Breakfast that morning had been simple, cold cereal and hot coffee. I saved the big breakfasts for the weekends.

Anyway since I expected to work my little fingers to the bone. I'd decided to dress the part. And that morning I felt well feminine, so I decided to go with a denim skirt, a white blouse that I knotted in the middle to give the appearance of some cleavage a black headband and some ankle socks and a pair of red and white lace up shoes. I'm sure you're wondering where all these clothes came from? Well Aunt Flora discovered a sack of old clothes in the back of her closet from when she was my age and well she tossed the sack into my room and to me to go through it. If I found something I wanted and it fitted me, it was mine to keep. If not, I could toss it. Either way she wanted those clothes gone.

I found a few gems and a few hidden treasures, nothing big, most of the clothes were so dated that I'm sure I would have been laughed off the face of the earth if I'd dared to wear any of them out in public! A few though cut the mustard. The denim skirt and white blouse were such fine examples.
Anyway, the house needed to be cleaned and so I started to clean it. For five hours I dusted, swept, mopped, wiped down wall bases and anything I could think of. Mainly because I knew Aunt Flora would shell out the big buckets if I went the extra mile. And by big buckets I meant a quarter more per chore..

Anyway it was nearing noon and I was tired so I decided to fix myself something to eat. The whole house seemed to sparkle, the floorboards were clean enough to eat off of. And the piney scent of pine cleaner filled every room. I was proud of my work, I'm sure one day I would have made somebody a wonderful wife! Wait, did I just think about that? Did I really just think about getting married and settling down and starting a family with somebody!? A boy no less?

I had to take a step back and collect myself. I was still only a few days into being 'Emily' full time. So there was no need to jump onto the boy crazy bandwagon. After all, in a few months I'll be enrolling in a totally brand new school. A school where nobody knew me! A fresh start! A chance at a new life! So.. there was no need to fall head over heels in love with the first Gothic boy that caught my eye! Or even the first Gothic boy who smiled at me. 

“Right! I'm totally not crushing on that guy! I don't even know his name!” I shouted as I clutched the wooden broom handle in one hand and the plastic dustpan in the other. “How can I crush on a boy who I meet only once for like twenty freaking seconds! While wearing all things a Pretty Celestial Soldier t-shirt that was three sizes too big and a pair of booty shorts.”

It was at that moment the doorbell rang and the chime echoed out through the house. I heaved a sigh and started toward the door. I really had no idea who would be ringing the door. I mean sure Covid has kind of passed, but most people around here still keep at least six feet apart and choose to wear a facial mask. Some do, some don't, some just mask.

Anyway, all of that stuff aside. I was wondering who would be ringing our doorbell, since nobody really visits anybody anymore. Like I thought door bells were outdated. Anyway as soon as I opened the doorbell. I noticed that standing right in the doorway was the boy from before and he was holding all things a glass measuring cup.

“Hey.. It's the Pretty Celestial Soldier fangirl.” He said, smiling a little. His smile! Oh God, his smile! Two rows of perfect white teeth that seemed to gleam like pearls. Then I caught a whiff of his cologne, oh that scent it was just like Gothic Topic. And for some reason it made me shiver with excitement. I felt something deep inside me roaring awake and for a moment I lost myself. My brain seemed to just shut down and the palms of my hands started to sweat.

“Names Emily.” I said finally with a little much pepper, more than I intended to anyway. “And your name is? Unless you want me to call you Paper Delivery boy?” I said with a little more sass than I intended too. I mean I even put my hands on my hips and leaned in a little. Really at that moment I was debating just slamming the door in his face and going back to my room to sulk.

“Jack.” He said, still smiling. “Nice to meet you Emily.” He said grinning as he looked me up and down and then he let out a little whistle. “Looking good. But I like the Pretty Celestial Soldier look on you better.” He said smiling.

I blinked and blinked again I felt my cheeks starting to flush red. I felt like clouds of steam were about to shoot out of my ears. I started to tremble a little and before I could catch myself I found myself stopping my foot down on the ground before yelling out as loud as I could.

“BAKA!” I yelled. “BAKA!” I yelled again and then yet again “BAKA!”

Jack just smiled a little and then he started to laugh a little and then he started to wrap his arms around his chest while started to laugh. I mean it, his face darn near turned blue. I was a bit concerned at first and then I felt myself growing annoyed and then felt myself growing flustered.

“So..” I said, trying to get the conversation back on track. “What did you want anyway? I mean besides coming here and just teasing me for the love of teasing. Not that I mind the attention or anything.”

“I need to borrow a cup of sugar?” He said holding up the measuring cup. “More like five of them. My mom is baking something and she forgot the sugar. So she sent me over here to get like a cup or five, because of reasons.” He said as he peered at me.

“So, coming off a pandemic that has totally changed our social behavior.. given the general sense of bedlam that is filling the community, given the fact that this is our second meeting and our first real conversation. You feel like you can just casually walk up to me, hold out a measuring cup, and ask for me to surrender a cup of sugar? What do I get in return? Since you can't return the sugar once it used in what ever your mom is making!”

Jack just looked at me.

“Your weird.” He said, shrugging his shoulders. “I don't know, like we could do the fifteen minutes in heaven thing, my older brother told me he used to do that with girls. I mean you're cute. But I liked the whole Pretty Celestial Soldier sleeping look on you better. Your adorable..”

“You know, you're pretty forward and upfront with things? I think most girls would have slapped you by now. That or slammed the door in your face. But.. I kind of find your forwardness cute..” I said as I reached down and took the measuring cup from him. “Be back in a second.”

It took four hundred and eighty sixty seconds for me to return. I know I counted each one. But I returned soon enough and placed the cup of sugar in his hand and smiled. Five cups of sugar weighed around five pounds. I think, I don't know, I never measure out anything when I bake. Most of the stuff I bake comes pre-mixed and all you gotta do is crack a few eggs, add a bit of water and a bit of vegetable oil and make sure the oven is set to the correct tempter.

So, really the only reason we had sugar in the house was to sweeten our tea. I mean we were in the south and we always sweetened our tea. We also drank our tea chilled. Because you know, the only two hot beverages allowed in this household were hot chocolate and coffee. I mean who drinks hot tea beside the Brits? And the Episcopalian's.

“Here.” I said as I handed the small bag of yellow and white sugar to Jack. “Tell your mom to use what she needs and to maybe keep the rest. I'll add sugar to the shopping list.”

Jack blinked in surprise and peered down at the bag of sugar.

“Thanks Pretty Celestial Soldier fangirl!” Jack said smiling.

I sighed and closed the door and locked it. I then rushed through the house, threw open the door to my bedroom room, and then I  threw myself onto my bed. Buried my face into the pillow and I bellowed out a yell.
I could not put into words what I was feeling. But I knew it, I was crushing, I was crushing hard. There was just something about that boy, something that caused my heart to flutter, was his scent? Was it his smile? Or was it the way he teased me? Confused and scared I turned over on my side, reached over and picked up a stuffed animal, one of the few I'd had since childhood. I think it was a stuffed dog with oversized huge eyes that seemed just oozed adorable sadness. I cradled the dog close to my chest and kissed its forehead. I then placed my head atop it.

“I'm so confused.” I whispered to the stuffed dog. “First dad dies, and I become the man of the house, then mom dies and I'm sent to live with my aunt. My older sister and older brother are too wrapped up in their own lives to care it seems. And now, I'm living or kind of living as a girl? Maybe I should have been a girl all of my life? Oh and I think I'm developing my first crush? But not on a girl as normal, but on a boy?
Of course my stuffed dog did not talk back. And by chance if it did. I would have at that  very moment thrown it across the room. And then I might have rushed out of the room screaming. No it's silence was golden and that was what I needed at that moment.