Christina groaned and buried her face in her hands.
"I'm sorry", said Jack sadly. "Do you want me to... um, are you going by he/him now? Do you want me to use those?"
"It's okay... no, not yet, I'm not ready for that yet".
"I'm not sure myself". Jack sighed. "My sister already refers to me as "she" and "her" and, wow, it feels weird hearing it after being a guy all my life. Weird but strangely good".
"Monica, right?" said Christina, trying to remember Jack's little sister. He nodded. "When did you find out?"
"Last week actually... I had been losing weight like crazy over a month. My parents thought I had an eating disorder or something. Then when even my shoes were starting to get loose they suspected Second Puberty and had me see a doctor".
Christina scrunched her face up sympathetically.
"Yeah, turns out there's different ways a man can turn into a woman, and one of them involves losing a maximum of body mass before regaining it. In new places, too".
Jack emphasized his point by pulling on his shirt, tightening it against his body. Formerly a thickset, nerdy young man, he was positively scrawny now. And there was no mistaking the two little conical bumps on his chest.
He winced. "Ow. They're sensitive too".
"Sorry".
"It's okay". He felt his smooth chin thoughtfully. "Remember how lazy I was about shaving? It's weird to feel it all soft like that. And the hair on my head is no longer receding. With a vengeance".
"I think I'm going to scream when I see my mustache come in", said Christina with a shudder. "Or if I start going bald".
"Hey. Hey, it's okay. We're in this together". Jack put his hand on hers, and in that moment it felt perfectly natural and reassuring.
Christina smiled and squeezed his hand in hers. "Thanks. And your parents didn't take it well?"
"Fuck no. They speedran the stages of grief". Jack giggled, sounding surprisingly girlish. "My dad especially. They really were counting on me being the Man of the Family. Now that they're going to have two daughters they want to make sure they don't go wrong with me like they did with Monica. Hence the Christian Girl Camp".
"They never got over the tattoos?"
"Nah. Not like Monica cares though. When she found out about me she immediately brought over a box of all her old clothes. Bras, panties, skinny jeans, low-cut tops..."
"Aw, that's sweet of her".
"And recently she gave me the hot water bottle she used to hug when she was on her period. Said I might need it soon. I read that the development of the uterus comes with a lot of stomachache".
Christina squeezed his hand again. "Have you been going to any support groups?"
"Yeah. You too?"
"Yes. What do you think?"
"I don't know. It's nice to hear from others though. Encouraging".
"Well, if you need any support, we should totally hang out again... oh gosh, I don't think I ever gave you my number?"
"No, I didn't give you mine either!"
Christina and Jack swapped numbers and said their goodbyes with a hug - Jack flinching from the chest contact. They had been distant friends in the past, but now they felt a newfound connection between each other.
Maybe together they could make Second Puberty a bit less difficult.