Before Katie’s family could realize what was happening to their daughter, the normalizing solution made their doubts disappear.
Katie walked down the steps and took a seat at the table with her parents and her younger sister Chloe.
“Your breakfast is getting cold. What took you so long?” Her dad asked.
“He was probably jerking off again” Chloe blurted out.
“No I wasn’t!” Katie responded, her voice sounding slightly more hoarse than usual.
As she scarfed down her bacon and eggs, Katie felt a little uncomfortable and adjusted her posture sitting up straight instead of slouching.
Have you looked at yourself in the mirror recently? Her mother asked.
“Last night I think”. Katie answered, downing the rest of her orange juice.
“Well, young man,” her mother said stifling a chuckle, “I think you're going to have to start shaving soon.”
Katie stopped eating for a moment and ran a hand around her mouth until she felt a few short stray hairs on her chin and upper lip. She put away her plate and ran upstairs to the bathroom.
Her parents shared a laugh. Their little boy was growing up.
Katie looked at herself in the mirror. At first she didn’t notice anything new, just her usual face. Then her eyes spotted something that looked like dirt on her chin. She went to wipe it off thinking it was just crumbs but when Katie felt it she knew her mother had been right. She was starting to grow peach fuzz on her face.
A few days ago even so much as a single hair on her legs would have been devastating to her. But Katie felt everything was the way it was supposed to be. It’s about time she thought. She was 16, and becoming a young man. Growing facial hair was a big part of that and she felt proud and excited to finally be coming of age. With as hirsute as her dad was it probably wouldn’t be long before she had to start shaving everyday. Katie couldn’t wait to tell Tiff the good news. She just hoped her best friend wouldn’t get weird and act like there was something wrong with her again.