Charlie decided to go home as is. She did take the bra the center offered, since it had suddenly become very awkward walking around without one.
Once home she paced wondering just how to go about the big reveal. Charlie had considered several possibilities. She could jump out and shout surprise. She could just casually walk out in front of her sister and act as if nothing had changed, but Charlie decided to go for the third option.
She waited in the living room, and would have her mother do the introduction. However, was that the right move? She wondered if she should have done the surprise thing after all. They would only get one chance to surprise Rebecca, and since Charlie had gone through a lot of trouble to get her such an extravagant gift, she wanted everything to be perfect.
Any chances of second thoughts went out the window as she heard the front door open. Charlie whispered to her mother. "She's here!"
"I know." Her mother whispered back in mock excitement. "Don't worry, I know my job." She quickly went out to intercept Rebecca before she got to the living room. "Well if it isn't the birthday girl!"
Charlie heard her sister respond. "Hey mom." There was a pause, probably a hug or something. "Where's dad and Charlie?"
"Your father is off picking up dinner and Charlie is getting your birthday present ready. Personally, I think he really out did himself this year."
"Really?" Rebecca asked. "What is it?"
"Well, you'll just have to go into the living room to find out, but I'll give you a hint. What is something you wanted more than anything else?"
Rebecca was looking at her mother as she walked into the living room and had yet to see Charlie as she responded. "A car?"
"I thought it was a little sister." Charlie responded in her now higher pitch voice. "If I'm wrong I could see about returning the gift." She smirked at her sister.
Rebecca's backpack fell off her shoulder and hit the ground. She stared at her new sister in a state of shock. The silence stretched on and Charlie began to feel nervous. Did she get the wrong gift?
All doubts were shoved out of her mind as Rebecca squealed with delight and ran up to hug her. Charlie was squeezed as Rebecca jumped up and down.
"This is amazing!" Rebecca shouted. "I didn't know you wanted to be a girl."
Rebecca took a step back to look her up and down. "Well I didn't really want to be a girl, but I knew you wanted a little sister so I thought I would try this out for awhile."
"How long is awhile?" Rebecca asked.
Charlie realized she may have overlooked some details. "Uh....mom?"
Rebecca turned around to look at their mother. "I paid for the change, you are on your own of you want to go back." Yeah.....Charlie definitely didn't think this through. The swap wasn't exactly something that was easy to afford on a high-school student salary.
Rebecca smirked. "Well Charlotte, sounds like you may be here for a long time." She looked at Charlie's oversized clothes. "Do you have a wardrobe for that time."
"I figured you would want to help with that."
Rebecca's grin grew. "You were right. I've always wanted a sister's shopping trick"
It looked like Charlie managed to give Rebecca the best birthday gift, though she was worried that she bit off more than she could chew when it came to turning back.