“I’m James, by the way.” The boy said with a smile as he and Kevin found themselves an open spot on the dance floor and stood together, waiting for the music to start up. “Hello James, I’m Katherine.” Kevin responded with a slight curtsy, just as had been drilled into her hundreds of times during the course of her time here. The soft, feminine purr her voice now was still sent chills up her spine; it was just so different than how her voice used to be.
The first chords of the next song rang out, and Kevin carefully hid his dismay. Oh great, a slow dance. James placed his hands on “Katherine”‘s waist and drew “her” close, and they slowly began to sway back and forth as the music started. Glancing at the other couples around Kevin saw that many of the “girls” he’d been sitting with were now likewise clustered around them. Over to his left was his roommate Ivy, formerly Ian. Her auburn hair offset her green dress perfectly as she danced with her “date”, an African American boy whose suit almost appeared a size too small. His muscular frame was evident with every movement he made, and Kevin wondered if he’d played football. Boy, what he wouldn’t give to play that again.
The only time they’d had football on tv here it was for the Super Bowl; the staff had dressed him and the others up as cheerleaders for the two teams and say which players they found most attractive. Then, whenever one of the teams scored the guys wearing that team’s outfits had to do a cheer routine. The whole thing was just a perfect example of how warped the staff here was. They always seemed to be two steps ahead.
To his right was Molly, formerly Matt. Her own date towered over her; Matt had been on the shorter side as a boy, and to his dismay had fit into the role of being pretty and petite all too easily. Her silver dress shimmered with sequins, offsetting his dark, almost her black hair which cascaded down well past her shoulders. Although none of them had been allowed “short” hair, Molly’s was particularly long, going down past her mid back almost to her ass. She’d complained bitterly about how much maintenance it required whenever they’d gotten a chance to talk away from the watchful eyes of staff. Her date, a tall, skinny redheaded guy with a carefully trimmed beard, simply dwarfed her even in heels.
Continuing to survey the room as they swayed back and forth, Kevin kept spotting people he knew. One of the biggest shocks of coming here—besides the fact that he’d be posing as a girl for the duration of his stay—was the sheer number of people. This school was rotating “classes” of upwards of a hundred “students” through its doors every few months. It was almost like a regular school in that there was no way to get to know everyone. Kevin still ran into people he hadn’t known in the classes they forced him and the others to take day after day.
The blonde in the pink gown up front? Tiffany, formerly Tim. The African American girl in the red dress near the center of the floor? Destiny, who used to be Derrick. The Latina in the black dress who appeared even bustier than most of the “girls” in the room? Gabriela, once Gabe.
“So……” James said softly, snapping Kevin’s attention back to him, the training drilled into him making him divert all of his attention to the conversation at hand. “What do you like to do for fun?”
Kevin wondered how poor James would react if he told him about his old hobbies. Smoking, skateboarding, spray painting…..of course, had he done so the punishment for doing so would have been bad enough. The staff has a way of messing with your mind; it had taken long enough for it to wear off last time.
So he launched into his cover story, about enjoying shopping and horseback riding and fashion. Everything a pretty blonde debutante without much brainpower would stereotypically enjoy. It annoyed Kevin immensely to have to play dumb, but it was better than drawing too much attention to himself by going against the script.
Finally, the song came to an end and Kevin took the opportunity to ask for a glass of punch from the refreshment table, telling James “she’d” be waiting over at the table. Eager to appear chivalrous James had happily rushed off, leaving Kevin to make his way to back to the table and wait, glad to be off his feet.
Next….