Miren shook her head. There was NO WAY in hell she shaved her head for nothing.
Through slightly squinted eyes, she examined herself in the mirror.
"Is it possible for you to go without glasses?" Chara considered. "You don't wear them much anyway."
Her friend pursed her lips before shrugging. "I mean, I'm not blind. But I'm farsighted. I use them for studying and tests." Part of her wondered if she would have seen the stupid Splasher if she had been wearing them...
"Wait, I know!" Miren watched her friend disappear from the room. She waited for might as well have been an eternity when Chara presented her with two pairs of black-rimmed, male glasses. Miren sighed, not because the rims were butt ugly or anything, but because life seemed to be getting more absurd by the millisecond.
"Am I a hipster now?"
"Chris is a hipster," Chara said, handing them to her. When Miren blinked, she noticed that her vision hadn't changed. "He even presses his own teas and likes Sonic the Hedgehog 'ironically'."
"That sounds bad."
"Speak for yourself. His green spice oolong dragon blend is to die for." Miren's lips jerked upward in a slight smile.
"Good to know."
"Do you have contacts?"
Miren blinked. Did I? "Actually, I do," she concluded. "But I don't like wearing them. They make my eyes a weird shade of brown and--"
"Bring them out."
Miren sighed before retrieving the contacts from a compartment in her suitcase. She handed the container to her friend. "Happy now?"
She was always happy. "I'll be happier when you put them on."
"Good thing I breathe to please you," Miren replied with a slight huff. She turned to the mirror, straining herself over the table to place the contacts in her eyes. After a few failed attemptsâthis was precisely why she didn't bother with themâshe finally inserted them in. She blinked a few times, wetting her irritated eyes. She put on the glasses again and peered at her reflection. Even with the shaved head, glasses, and new light brown eyes, she still saw Miren. She turned to Chara.
"How do I look now? Please tell me I look like a guy." Secretly she hoping she wouldn't. But that was her girlish pride talking.
Chara's smile intensified. "Yup!" she ensured her friend. "I mean, from the face up, I wouldn't question it. You're not that girly to begin with."
Miren nodded. If she moved her face the right way among strangers, then no one would think anything.
"However..." Chara started, her eyes trailing to Miren's lower form, "You're body still needs some work." She walked toward her sunrise-shaded mattress to retrieve a bag of supplies they bought at the drug store.
Chara scratched her head, coming closer to the girl caught in a cross-dressing transition. She eyed Miren's bust, very evident underneath her tee shirt. "Yeah, I don't know how we're going to do this. I mean, we have sports bras, some gauze tape..." She tapped her chin. "They may work, but to be safe, you'll probably want to stay away from tee-shirts. Only sweater vests and loose button-ups for you."
Miren held her breath. I didn't think this would be so undignifying. She knew it wouldn't be a cakewalk, but she didn't know that there would be this many steps to boyhood. She knew what was at stake, that she couldn't chance anything. But it just seemed extreme. What's next, she makes me wear a hacky-sack in my pants?
"Okay," Miren could only say, playing with the materials in her hands. She turned in the opposite direction and took off shirt before straddling into a tight sports bra. She heaved. Thank God she didn't have asthma.
"Jesus, Chara. Could this be any tighter?" She stood in profile view of the mirror to get a better view of the undergarment's effectiveness. Her chest definitely looked smaller, but it was not as flat as her stomach.
"Not good enough." Chara ripped the wrapping off the gauze with her teeth and started wrapping it around the girl's chest as if she were mummifying her. The movement was fast, and Miren could only respond by extending her arms so that they were parallel with the floor.
This continued on for a little while. Maybe it was because Miren was becoming dizzy, or the tape was running out, because Chara eventually stopped, cutting the gauze with scissors and tucking the loose end to the side of Miren's rib cage.
"Quick, put your shirt on!"
Feeling somewhat redistricted with the gauze, Miren did so.
"Perfect!" Chara cheered, clasping her hands.
Miren studied herself in the mirror. She couldn't help but crack a smile at the absurdity of it all. She was eleven again.
"Now put these on." Chara brought out a pair of Chris's pants.
Once she did, Chara gave her a look, a head-to-toe check out, and beamed. "I think you're ready!" she sang in a singsong voice.
"You really think so?" Miren studied her transformed form in the mirror. To be honest, she was a little wary of the girl's excitement. This wasn't supposed to be fun. It was supposed to be shameful and terrifying.
She really did look like a boy now, though. Without these new glasses her face looked longerâplainer, more boyish. Her refulgent eyes distracted from any other feature on her face that could possibly be perceived as beautiful. Her chest was unnoticeable under her tee shirt, which meant that she definitely wouldn't have to worry when wearing thicker layers. She was a little taller than the average girlâ5'8 or 5'9âand was suddenly very glad for it. She needed anything and everything that would make her look more convincing. And boy did she look convincing.
Maybe she was meant to be a boy. Besides the whole annoying gauze thingâof which she knew she would eventually get used to, hopefullyâit definitely seemed easier being this way.
"Yeah. Just make sure to lower your voice a bit. Good thing you have a high one."
Miren nodded. It was something Penelope constantly teased her about. Said it was why she could never land a guy, followed by some other profane dialogue.
"Do I sound like a guy now?" Miren asked, in a slightly lower, more so monotone than usual, register.
"Uh..." Chara replied, looking away. "You know, your voice could be very sexy if you knew how to use it right."
Miren sighed. Chara didn't answer her question. "I barely know what to do with myself. Let alone my voice."
"Oh, right. Good point."
"Chara." Miren placed her hands on her hidden hips. She removed them. She wasn't so sure guys did that. "Be honest with me. This was your idea after all."
Chara nodded. "Right. Sorry. Um, you do for the most part. Guess I'm just being picky." She tapped her fingers on her dresser, generating thoughts. "Oh, I know! Try not to enunciate the last syllable of your words. Make sure you go lower not higher like girls do. Try again."
Miren nodded before clearing her throat. "Hey, I like monster trucks, babes, and sports."
Chara gave her a thumbs up. "Might want to lose the douchiness in you choice of topics, but otherwise good! I think you'll be okay."
Miren breathed a sigh of relief. Okay wasn't much, but her words eased her. "Thanks. Hopefully no one will recognize me."
Chara placed a hand on her shoulder. "Don't worry. It's not like anyone's looking." She started for the door. "C'mon, we should probably check on my mom."
Miren nodded, following in her lead. She didn't know if the thought of no one caring about her absence made this transition easier or sad.
**
Walking down the steps, it was a small mirror along a tan wall that reminded Miren that this transition would not come without difficulty. And that difficulty was cooking downstairs.
"Uh, Chara," Miren started, as they reached the ground floor. "Now that I'm all boy-ified, isn't your Mom going to notice?"
Chara stopped in place, her eyes widening. "Shit. Why the hell didn't we think of that?"
Miren bit her lip. She had forgotten that this cross-dressing game wasn't between the two of them. "Well, I can't pretend to be someone else in front of your mom. Â I guess we'll justâ"
"Chara? Miren? Are you downstairs? I could use some assistance," Dr. Tachibana said. Chara pouted.
"Guess that's our cue. Showtime!" she said, flickering her fingers in the air like they were jazz hands. "But it's just dress rehearsal, so don't worry too much."
"Easier said than done," Miren said, following. Approaching the kitchen, Dr. Tachibana stood in front of the island, cutting some vegetables. She then placed the diced, colorful array into a boiling pot. Looking over her shoulder, she caught a glimpse of the girls. Or the girl and the boy wannabe.
"Chara, could you please remove the chicken from the sink? It's done thawing."
The girl grimaced. "Mom, how many times do I have to tell you that I'm a vegetarian?"
"Since when?"
"Since I decided I don't like touching raw meat."
"Yet you eat sushi?"
"I eat it ironically."
Miren rolled her eyes, shooting her hand up. "I'll do it. It's the least I can do."
The older woman smiled, "Thank you," she said, peering up at the girl. "Miren?" She blinked.
The girl tried to shrug off her surprise. "Yes. Is anything wrong?"
Dr. Tachibana opened her mouth to say something before she closed it. "That's quite a makeover. Are you having an identity crisis? I know some great psychiatrists at the hospital. Maybe I shouldâ"
"Mom," Chara said, pulling out some tomato paste from the pantry, "she's fine." She closed it, her eyes then meeting Miren's. "Why don't you tell her why you are dressed the way you are?"
Miren pressed her lips into a tight straight line. Way to shove me under the bus. She turned to the older woman, trying to conjure up a believable lie. "...World Charity Organization? We're raising money for the...St. Jude's Foundation to help stop cancer. Since I'm president, I had to take the initiative by shaving my head."
Dr. Tachibana's eyes softened. "Wow, I must say that's very noble of you."
Miren could only nod, a sly smile flashing on her face as she handled the chicken. That wasn't too bad. She imagined it would be easier lying to people she didn't know.
After stirring one of the pots and sensing she wasn't needed at the moment, Chara stepped out and started texting Wallace.
She grinned, ecstatic that everything was coming together. But not without cost. Miren had no idea Wallace was coming over. Before Chara could think about how she'd drop that bomb Wallace sent her another message. Her smile liquified into a frown.
The smile was back. As Chara returned to the kitchen, she thought about telling Miren that Wallace would be joining them for dinner. But when Miren left to use the bathroom, she decided against it and informed her mother instead.
"That's fine," Dr. Tachibana said, turning down the stove. The food was almost ready. And whether or not Miren was ready, Chara knew that she couldn't always support her, especially within the walls of Rinzen Academy. Â And as fun and interesting as this whole process was, it was a Miren's journey. She was merely a friendly spectator.
And dinner definitely would be entertaining.