Jesse started packing his belongings, blending in with everyone else who seemed to be carrying on as normal. He took his time, hoping to avoid attracting any more unwanted attention like before. As he packed his books into his newly styled pink and gray backpack, he listened in on the conversations around him. It was the typical high school chatter, though a bit backward to him. It felt strange hearing the soft, high-pitched voices of the boys he once knew and the deep, resonant voices of the girls he also knew.
He stood up, slung his backpack over his shoulder, and headed toward the classroom door. As he walked, he glanced at a few classmates who were chatting nearby, trying to recognize the familiar facial features of people he knew. Lost in thought, he suddenly heard a voice behind him.
"Dude, what was up with earlier?"
Jesse turned around, and though it took him a moment, he recognized the boy as his friend Sam. Sam looked almost unrecognizable, with his smooth, clean-shaven face, thin eyebrows, and prominent mascara. His light blonde hair now flowed past his shoulders. The once-tough and muscular football player was now just as frail and weak as Jesse, with a much shorter height and arms devoid of muscle. Jesse's eyes quickly took in the blue cheer t-shirt that stretched over two round breasts on Sam's chest, the black leggings that revealed a slight bulge at his crotch, and the brown Birkenstocks that displayed his pink, pedicured toes.
Taken aback, Jesse realized he needed to say something as Sam began giving him a puzzled look. “Uh, nothing, I’m just...” Jesse fought the urge to explode in hysterics over how drastically everything had changed, and how no one else seemed to notice. But he knew that would only make him seem crazy. Sam, on the other hand, didn't seem to find anything unusual. “I was just feeling a little sick, but I’m fine now.”
Jesse turned away and headed for the door, hoping to avoid attracting any more attention or questions. Sam followed closely behind, and once they were out of the room, they walked side by side. Their lunch period was next, and although Jesse wanted nothing more than to find a place to hide, he knew his earlier outburst had already raised alarms. He figured sticking with Sam was the best course of action while he tried to make sense of what was going on.
As they walked down the crowded school hallway, Sam rambled on about their recent math homework, expressing his frustration over not understanding most of the problems. But Jesse’s mind wandered elsewhere. To his dismay, it wasn’t just his math class that had changed—the entire school seemed different. Everywhere he looked, he saw feminine-looking boys and masculine-looking girls. His heart sank as he wondered what strange world he had stumbled into. He noticed a girl with a beard and others with mustaches, couples walking together with the girls wrapping their arms around their boyfriends, and even a boy applying makeup at a locker. Jesse felt overwhelmed; he couldn’t take it anymore.
“Say, do you notice anything odd today?” Jesse asked, interrupting Sam. He hoped his friend would remember something was off.
“..odd? Like what?” Sam asked, puzzled.
“Nevermind.” Jesse muttered, shaking his head. He decided not to press the issue and let it go. They walked to the lunchroom together, with Sam still chatting away about their math class.
The cafeteria was as lively as ever, filled with the usual hustle and bustle. The two boys made their way to their usual table, where a few of their friends were already seated. As Jesse looked around, he spotted some familiar faces from the football team. He didn’t say anything, simply following Sam’s lead as they dropped their bags and headed toward the lunch line.
They joined the back of the moderately long line, right behind two girls. Sam started talking again, this time venting about how his hairdryer had broken over the weekend and how frustrating it was to find a new one, especially with the high prices and the hassle of going from store to store. Jesse nodded along, giving short responses without really paying attention, his gaze wandering around the cafeteria. He noticed a table full of tall, muscular girls—probably the new jocks at school. Any one of them could probably take him in a fight if they wanted to. At another table, he saw a few boys, one of whom was wearing a dress and had a flower in his curly brown hair—a definite goody-two-shoes. At yet another table, there was a group mostly made up of girls with just one boy, who he assumed was the stoner crowd, with the lone boy likely slutting himself out for weed. It seemed like everything was upside down.
As they moved through the lunch line, Jesse stayed close behind Sam, determined not to seem any more suspicious than he already was. Sam started at the salad bowl, something Jesse usually skipped entirely. He couldn’t even recognize some of the vegetables in there, but he mimicked Sam and added some to his tray before following him toward an obscure pasta dish. Jesse normally went for pizza or occasionally chicken, so he didn’t even know what he was looking at. The unappealing dish looked off-putting. He glanced back at the pizza section, where he saw two girls grabbing slices of pepperoni. He hesitated, figuring pizza wouldn’t make him seem that odd, but he reluctantly bit the bullet and scooped some of the strange pasta onto his tray.
With his less-than-appetizing lunch in hand, Jesse proceeded to the register to pay. He retrieved his wallet from his back pocket, noting only a slight difference from usual—after all, a wallet was a wallet. He quickly handed over his school ID to the lunch lady, or was it lunch gentleman? Either way, he was reluctant to look at the picture on his ID, not wanting to see the new version of himself. The man quickly completed the transaction and handed him back his ID.
Jesse responded almost instinctively with a 'thank you' as he took back his ID. As he went to slip it into his wallet, he felt a lump in his throat when he caught a glimpse of his new picture. He paused, doing a double take. The last name was the same, but the first name wasn’t. It read 'Jessica.' Confused and puzzled, he stared at it for a moment before realizing he was holding up the line. Quickly, he put the ID back into his wallet and rejoined Sam as they headed toward their lunch table.
Their table was now a bit more crowded, with more people having grabbed lunch. Jesse and Sam took seats near the middle of the long table. Jesse looked around and recognized all his friends from the football team, though some were harder to identify than others. What had once been a rowdy group of football players was now a group of delicate boys. His worst fear seemed to be confirmed—they were cheerleaders, as evidenced by a few wearing school cheer shirts.
Jesse stared at his lunch, trying to figure out how he was going to eat it. As he scanned the table, he noticed that no one was eating pizza like they usually did; instead, everyone had healthy-looking meals. Without hesitating, Jesse speared a forkful of salad and stuffed it into his mouth, not bothering to avoid it. While doing so, he tuned into the lunchtime conversation around him. At first, he was confused by what they were discussing, but he soon realized they were talking about some strange romance drama on Netflix. He remained silent, accepting that everyone else seemed unfazed by this new reality.
The conversation at the table shifted rapidly throughout lunch, covering topics like music, relationships, fashion, and eventually cheerleading. Jesse pretended to listen while forcing down his unpleasant meal, though he had to admit the pasta's taste gradually grew on him. He was the first to finish, mainly because the others were too busy chatting to eat much. Still, he didn’t want to be the first to return his tray, feeling awkward enough already. He knew that if he left, they’d probably start talking about him, so he waited until the others were done.
As two boys at the end of the table finished their meals and went to return their lunch trays, Jesse intended to do the same. However, he hesitated, feeling a surge of anxiety. Wearing revealing clothes, he was reluctant to walk alone through the lunchroom, fearing the stares of those he passed. Already feeling self-conscious, he decided to wait until someone nearby was done eating. As it turned out, Sam finished next.
Jesse followed Sam to return their trays, deciding it was time to break his recent silence. He decided to strike up conversation, feeling as though he had been too quiet lately. “Sooooo, what’d you think of the pasta?”
“Good shit. You must have liked it, miss fatty. You ate it all in like 2 minutes.” Sam teased playfully.
“Hey, I was hungry.” Jesse replied, unsure of how else to respond.
“Uh-huh. So much for fitting into size 4s anytime soon, right?” Sam joked.
Jesse was momentarily confused by the comment until he remembered that women’s clothing sizes were different from men’s. He wasn’t sure how small a size 4 was, but considering how slim his new body was, he wondered how much thinner he could possibly get. The two continued chatting casually as they returned their trays and made their way back to the table.
Jesse sat down, reluctantly deciding to wait for the bell to ring. Meanwhile, Sam remained standing, rummaging through his backpack until he pulled out a small handbag. Slinging the strap over his shoulder, Sam nudged Jesse urgently. "Let's go."
"Where?" Jesse asked, puzzled. They were supposed to stay in the lunchroom until the bell, and even the old Sam would have been too scared to wander the halls and risk getting into trouble.
"Bathroom, duh." Sam replied, his sense of urgency clear.
Jesse was even more confused, wondering why Sam needed his help to go to the bathroom. Still, he followed Sam to the men’s restroom in the lunchroom. As they walked, it suddenly hit him—how girls often went to the restroom together and how he and his friends used to tease them about it. Now, the joke was on him.
In the restroom, Sam headed straight for one of the empty stalls, while Jesse did the same, not wanting to stand around awkwardly. Without urinals, using the bathroom had become a more complicated ordeal. Jesse unbuttoned his jean shorts, pulled them down along with his thong, and sat down to release his bladder. As he sat there, finally alone, he felt the urge to cry. But the sound of a nearby toilet flushing reminded him that he had to pull himself together and rejoin Sam to get through the rest of the school day.
The two boys stood at the restroom mirror, washing their hands. Sam shook the water from his hands before reaching into his handbag and pulling out a tube of lip gloss, which he quickly applied. While Jesse waited, trying to hold back a sudden urge to cry, another boy walked into the restroom. He seemed to be an underclassman, looking a few years younger than them.
“Hey, do either of you have a tampon?” the boy asked, his voice laced with nervousness.
“Um.” Sam replied, unfazed by the question, as he rummaged through his handbag. After a moment, he produced a small, cylindrical object wrapped in plastic and handed it to the boy. “Here.”
“Thank you!” the boy said, clearly relieved, as he took the tampon and hurried into one of the stalls.
Jesse, still in shock, wondered how much stranger this reality could get. He followed Sam out of the restroom and back to their lunch table to grab their backpacks just as the bell rang, signaling the end of lunch.