It's Just A Skirt

by Matthew Potter

  In other words, saving his own ass.

  The school’s too.

  He opened the folder and took out a sheet of paper. He slid it across the desk to me.

  It was a new living assignment. I was not expecting that.

  I read the paper over quickly. It was all set up, months ago. All I needed to do was sign.

  There was something wrong, though.

  ‘This isn’t in the dorms?” I said, surprised.

  “We felt given your delicate situation that you might be better suited living away from the other students,” he said diplomatically. “One of the teacher cottages will be made available to you for as long as it's required”

  He went on to explain the other arrangements being made.

  Apparently, all the teachers on campus would be informed that I might come to class in violation of the dress code mandated for male or female students. I was free to explore whatever option I wanted just as long as I didn’t take it to the extreme. I was also not to violate the dress code in any other way. Meaning, of course, I couldn’t wear an excessive amount of makeup, alter the length of my skirt, forget to wear a tie or anything like that.

  “I’m going to need you to provide Mrs. Green with your measurements,” he said, referring to his secretary.

  One of her many jobs was to get appropriate uniforms for transferring students.

  “Do you expect me to wear the girl’s uniform as well?”

  “I’ll leave that up to you,” he said with a smile “however, if you choose to wear said uniform, you must understand that the faculty will have to treat you as such.”

  We discussed a few other things too.

  Like which bathrooms to use when I wasn’t in my room and things like that.

  I knew all that, though. I did, after all, take the liberty over the summer to read the school charter in its entirety. For a Catholic boarding school, they were pretty progressive. Then again the elite sent their students here so St. Andrews was bound to be pretty flexible about that kind of thing. After all, it was a private establishment and you got what you paid for. I was just a bit surprised that they were so open and understanding about things. Then again, if they weren’t, my father would have never sent me here.

  I couldn’t help but smile a bit thinking about what might happen if anyone here violated one of the charter laws even in the slightest.

  My Dad would have a field day with it.

  Mr. Downes stood up as the conversation had clearly come to an end. He shook my hand, made me sign the reassignment papers then handed me a key.

  “One more thing,” he said with a smile. “Have you thought up a name for your female alter ego?”

  That was a no-brainer.

  “Geo,” I said with a rather large smile.

  “A lovely and very unusual name,” he said with a laugh. “I’ll let the faculty know”

  We shook hands again after that. Then I was allowed to leave.

  When I got to fourth period, the teacher seemed to be aware of my tardiness and just told me to take my seat. Several eyes and whispers followed me. A small part of me wished I hadn’t let Kelly take my glasses. Another bigger part of me wanted to crawl under the desk and never come out. I’d been feeling it all day but for some reason this class it just seemed worse.

  Thankfully the period went pretty smoothly after that.

  Jade met me as I was leaving class, on my way to lunch.

  “Hey Geo,” she said, slipping up behind me and linking her arm with mine.

  “Hey,” I said, still trying to get over how easy she was able to just hang out with me.

  It was a new experience after all.

  “So I talked to Cherry about your whole uniform wearing incident,” she said as we headed down the hall toward the cafeteria. “I think it’s so cool that you’re going to help her and the others get their stuff. If there’s anything you need, help wise I mean, the other girls and I are ready to pitch in”

  ‘Really?”

  ‘We’re friends” she said simply. “Friends help one another”

  I wasn’t expecting that at all.

  In the cafeteria, she dragged me toward the Express line again. I reluctantly bought something cheap then allowed her to lead me over to her table again. This time, I didn’t protest. The other girls were already waiting. Quinn stood up at my approach and gave me a hug. It was a bit surprising, a complete turnaround for her. I got a lot of looks, especially from the guys at the nearby tables. Most of them were looks of confusion. I think they were trying to figure out if I was a boy or a girl. If I was a boy then I was one lucky bastard, if I was a girl they were probably checking me out.

  You can call me egotistical all you want but I’d been getting those looks all day.

  It was exactly what Kelly predicted would happen.

  It was partially what I wanted too. I could definitely do without the leering.

  The confusion on their faces was fantastic, though.

  “So Jade was telling us about this theft thing,” said Maddie as I got myself situated.

  So I told them the whole story. I even told them about the guys dragging me to the mall the other day.

  “Well that’s bull,” said Britney with a snort. “I know for a fact that Mark doesn’t have a girlfriend and never will”

  “How can you be sure?” I asked, though suspected it to be the case.

  “Well, for one thing, he’s a loser,” she said “and another he’s my brother”

  Wow. I did not see that coming.

  “So what are you going to do about it?’ asked Clarissa.

  “About what?”

  “The missing items and those pics” Maddie clarified. “I mean you are going to get them back aren’t you?”

  “I have the pictures handled. The items I’m still trying to find”

  “Well that’s a no-brainer” Quinn smiled knowingly as she said it. “There’s only one place that Frank would have put those.”

  “Where?” asked Britney.

  “His room of course”

  She had a point. If I had something I didn’t want anyone to get their hands on, that’s where I’d keep it too. It helped that Henry was his roommate too. The two of them had probably hidden the items there for the last four years or so. Maybe even longer depending on how long they’d been doing it. I hadn’t actually come to that conclusion myself though because it seemed so obvious. Though now that I thought about it, when I was in there the other night I did see a trunk at the foot of one of their beds. I never really paid it much attention until now.

  “They do have a trunk,” I said with a nod.

  “Well there you go”

  We spent the rest of the lunch period trying to come up with ways to get into the room. Each of them was pretty adamant that they wanted to help. They wouldn’t take no for an answer. So we plotted and schemed. In the end, we decided to come up with a way to get them out of the room so I could go in and search it. It sounded simple enough in the planning stage but it wasn’t going to be easy. Frank and Henry seemed like pretty cautious guys and as far as I could tell they didn’t leave their room often. Sure I saw them in the Common Room from time to time but never for very long. Quinn was confident though that she could get them out, at least for an hour or more.

  “We’ll make our move Friday night,” she said “everything is a little more lax then”

  She didn’t have a full plan worked out but she said she’d let us know before then.

  She slipped easily into a leadership role. It was a bit daunting but she was really good at it too.

  With that settled, the girls started asking me how things were going so far. I told them about the meeting with Downes. They got pretty jealous about the cottage I was now going to be living in. I felt pretty proud of myself for it. Then they asked the big question. Actually, they begged and pleaded with me about it.

  They wanted me to wear a girl’s uniform tomorrow to school.

  I tried to protest but in the
end, I lost.

  Better late than never I suppose.

  **************

  After my last class of the day, I made it back to my dorm room as quick as possible. Though I wasn’t moving into the cottage until this weekend, I wanted to get a head start on my packing. I was actually kind of happy to put the boy’s dormitory behind me. I’d finally be able to get the peace and quiet I really wanted and I’d be able to shower without having to hide. Plus I wouldn’t have to worry about running into anyone in the Common Room ever again. That meant as soon as I was done with this whole “finding the stolen items” for Cherry, I’d never have to deal with Frank again.

  Speaking of which…

  Frank was standing outside my room when I arrived. I saw him from the top of the stairs. I almost turned tail and ran but honestly I had nowhere to run too. Besides, I was pretty sure I knew what he wanted. Right before last period, I’d literally run into Henry. I was coming out of my eighth-period class and wasn’t looking where I was going. I ran smack into him. He apologized several times, mistaking me for a girl just like most of the boys did today. I should have kept my mouth shut but as soon as I spoke to tell him it was “no big deal”, he twigged on who I was. I half expected him to say something nasty but he was pretty cool about the whole thing.

  He didn’t even ask questions.

  Of course, he told Frank.

  Or maybe Spaz did.

  Regardless now I was going to have to deal with it.

  I took a deep breath and approached my room with my head held high.

  “Hey Frank,” I said, trying to act as if everything was normal.

  Of course, we both knew everything wasn’t.

  I wasn’t even trying to hide anything anymore. Thanks to my sister, I didn’t have any baggy clothes left. She took those too. She made sure I didn’t wear any of my bulky sweaters as well. So here I was with makeup, my new earrings, and my little bumps pretty visible. It’s how I looked all day actually. It was the reason why I was confusing so many people. Of course, I was scared of the reactions but I knew I’d have to get over them eventually. By the end of the day, though, I didn’t even care anymore. It’s what I wanted after all. I was tired of hiding and if it meant people thought I was a girl then so be it.

  The look on Frank’s face was priceless, though.

  “Holy shit,” he said after recovering from his initial shock.

  He was standing in front of my door so I had to step around him. I unlocked the door quickly and went into my room. He followed of course. Frank was the kind of guy who thought he didn’t need to be invited anywhere. It was fine by me actually, especially since my room was pretty well wired. I had a couple of hidden cameras and some recording devices. Hey, I wasn’t going to take any chances after all. Besides Mr. Downes knew it was all there, for my safety of course.

  ‘Can I help you, Frank?” I asked, dropping my bag on my bed.

  “So it’s true then,” he said “you’re some kind of fruit”

  There was no malice in his voice. He didn’t look like he wanted to kick my ass either. I pitied him if he tried. My older brother didn’t take too kindly to things like that after all. Kelly didn’t either but it was definitely Mike I would be afraid of.

  “Do I look like an apple?” I asked, trying to be a smartass.

  ‘No, you look like a dude who wants to get his ass kicked”.

  “Is that a threat?”

  He laughed. “Not from me little dude. I’ve got your back but you gotta be careful. The other guys around here might not be as tolerant as me”

  There was sincerity in his voice. Maybe I underestimated him after all.

  “So then you came here to insult me and warn me to be careful?”

  He shook his head. “No, I came here to see what’s up. I mean I didn’t do this to you did I? I mean if I did then look I’m real sorry. I didn’t mean for you to become a cross dresser or anything”

  This time, I laughed.

  ‘You didn’t do this Frank” I said, waving a hand over my body. “A truck driver did”

  I quickly told him an abridged version of the accident and what came after. At the mention of my operation, he of course winced and covered his own genitals. Most guys I told usually had that reaction. He did put a sympathetic hand on my shoulder though so I guess there was that.

  “So all of this?” he asked, pointing at me.

  I nodded. “My shrink thinks I need to explore my options before I make any decisions, you know regarding hormones and things. I’m at this delicate stage in my life right now”

  He seemed to understand.

  “It's kind of messed up,” he said after a moment or two.

  I couldn’t help but agree with him there.

  We talked for a few minutes about nonsense things then he told me he had stuff to do. He shocked the hell out of me before he left, though:

  “For what it’s worth, the new look kind of suits you”

  Holy crap, did Frank Curtis just pay me a compliment?

  What a strange day this turned out to be.

  9.

  Friday night came before I knew it.

  All week Quinn had been plotting and scheming with us. Her plan was pretty simple and straightforward too. She would create a situation where Frank and Henry would be preoccupied which would allow me to get into their room. It was actually pretty simple, no way anything could go wrong. I had my doubts, though. Quinn seemed to be pretty confident she could enact her part of the plan but I knew Frank and Henry. Quinn was thirteen like me and both of them were at least seventeen. There was just no way that a thirteen-year-old could hold the interest of two horny seventeen-year-old boys for more than a few minutes let alone an hour or longer.

  It was doomed to fail before it had begun.

  ‘You have that look again” said Jade as she painted my nails.

  “This is my normal look,” I said, trying desperately to get rid of whatever look I supposedly had a second ago.

  We were in my room, going through our usual morning routine.

  Because of my circumstances, I got permission for her and the other girls to visit me in the boys' dorm. When she showed up the other morning, I got a lot of envious glares. I think a lot of guys thought I somehow swayed it to get my girlfriend into the dorms. I let them think it too. It was a confidence boost and it helped them notice me. It also helped them forget the geeky little boy in the glasses who they all thought was some kind of weirdo freak just like Quinn did.

  If they only knew the real reason Jade kept coming here every morning.

  It all started a couple of days ago actually.

  Tuesday morning when I showed up to class looking more boy than girl, they decided an intervention was needed. I also chickened out on the skirt I promised to wear on Monday. Now Jade and the others were bound and determined to help me find myself. So on Wednesday morning, I woke up to find her at my door with her makeup kit. Though she didn’t get me into a skirt, she did do my makeup, painted my nails and fixed my hair in a feminine way. She also told me how she and the other girls had decided to take it upon themselves to help me explore my feminine side. Which meant from now on they would come to my room every morning, walk with me to every class and sit with me at lunch.

  They made me feel like a VIP.

  They also crept a bit too far into my comfort zone for my liking.

  They meant well I suppose.

  ‘I was just thinking about Quinn’s plan” I said after a moment or two of silence. “I’m not sure two guys like them would drop everything for her”

  Jade laughed. “Let’s say a very rich and very pretty girl walked up to you, asked you if you’d be willing to help her with something and then offered to take you out to lunch as payment, would you do it?”

  “Maybe,” I said then added. “But I’m not attracted to girls.” Jade raised her eyebrow. “I’m not attracted to boys either dummy.”

  “Ok so maybe you were a bad example but trust me, any red-bloode
d American male teenager would jump at the opportunity to spend the day with Quinn Waverly.”

  Well, I suppose she did that have that Mini-Paris Hilton vibe going on.

  ‘She’s younger than them, though?”

  Jade rolled her eyes. “You really don’t know much about boys and girls do you?”

  Apparently not.

  Thankfully she didn’t try to explain it to me.

  “So why the wig again?” she asked, changing subjects.

  I was currently wearing the blonde wig that Frank and the others made me wear with Greg.

  This time, I rolled my eyes. “Because it's less likely to draw attention and get me recognized”

  The plan was two-pronged. The first part was simple enough. I would let Quinn drag Frank and Henry out of the dorm and I’d sneak into their room. If I was correct and the girls’ stuff was in the trunk, things would be real simple. If they weren’t in there I’d worry about it later. The second part of the plan was just returning the items to Cherry. She said she’d deal with everything from there. As soon as the delivery was over my part in the plan was over.

  The wig was for my own security.

  Even though the school knew about my swap back and forth, I still wasn’t allowed to go wandering about any of the girls’ dorms. So with the wig, I could move about like I belonged there. Plus Jade would be with me then so I had nothing to worry about.

  ‘Ok so let’s go over this one more time” said Jade, even though by this point we both knew the plan backwards and forwards.

  It was good though to get it straight again.

  “So Quinn gets the boys attention,” I said, ticking it off on my finger. ‘Then I slip into the dorms, go to Frank’s room. Hopefully, the door is unlocked but if not I can pick it”

  “How can you do that again?”

  “Practice”

  In truth, it was all Mike’s fault. We got into a fight once and he thought it would be funny to lock the bathroom door. Back at my grandparent’s---where we spend our school breaks---Mike and I share a bathroom. There are two doors to said bathroom, one from his room and one from mine. Mike decided he was going to lock my door from inside the bathroom. I could have snuck around to his side but I instead used my smarts. Thanks to YouTube, it didn’t take very long. Picking locks became a pretty useful skill that I continued to practice over the years. Now I could do it like a pro.