The class finally ends and you put away your things. You hope your minimal notes and memory of the lecture will be enough to help you with future tests.
"Asleep yet?" Tom asks as you both stand up. You politely chuckle and strap on your backpack. "You seemed to understand a lot of that stuff."
"I'm taking a few AP classes. They're good preparation," you answer.
"What are you hoping to study?"
"I haven't thought about it yet. Well, it was nice meeting you." You walk into the hallway, hoping you'll lose him in the massive crowd exiting the lecture hall. You don't.
"Hey, you want to grab a bite? I can show you where the best dining hall is."
"N-no," you stammer. You had expected him to try something like this, but now that it's actually happening you feel very strange about it. He's nice, but you can't possibly go on a date with a guy, with or without that girl's uniform messing with your gender. "I have to get back. To my parents." You continue walking away, but he seems to need to go in the other direction. He stops following you.
"I'm Tom, by the way," he calls out.
"I'm--" You almost say your real name, but stop just in time. You quickly run through a list of names of girls you've known over the years and pick one. "Lina! I'm Lina!" you shout back. Lina was a pretty girl you had a brief crush on in middle school, and you believe the name is appropriate considering your cute looks now.
The swelling crowd sweeps you toward the front door. You feel nearly helpless among the students. You can't see over anyone's head, and your weak body isn't used to pushing its way through groups.
At one point, your hair catches on something. You spin around and see that it's tangled in someone's purse. You and the girl who owns the purse stop suddenly, and are buffeted by the students continuing their way out of the building.
The two of you try to free your poor locks, but with all the commotion, it doesn't happen. You stare at each other, both looking embarrassed, and wait for the crowd to die down. Once it does, you walk to the side of the hall and she manages to remove your hair from the clasp of her purse.
"I'm so sorry," she says. "I was putting my phone back and I guess we were too close together. I accidentally closed my purse on it."
"I'm sorry," you apologize right back. "Guess I should keep a closer eye on my hair."
"It's so lovely," she says. She looks at the crown braid. "Did you do that yourself?"
"No, I...my mom did it," you say.
"Cool. Well, I'm Heather."
"Lina," you tell her as you shake hands. You stick with your cover story to make polite conversation. "I'm not a student here, I'm just visiting."
You absent-mindedly stroke your hair to smooth it further. Meanwhile, Heather regards your vest and skirt.
"You know we don't have a dress code here," she teases.
You laugh. "Maybe it's a force of habit." It's different talking to Heather than talking to Tom. You wonder if it's just because Tom was trying to ask you on a date, and Heather has no such intentions. Here's yet another social difference between boys and girls that you're finally seeing from another angle.
"I've got to get going," you say. You reposition the backpack on your shoulders and head to the door. "It was nice meeting you."
"Same here," Heather says.
As you walk outside, the sun shines on your face and you smile to yourself. That had been a very interesting experience. It was fun pretending not only to be a girl, but to be a completely different person. You think about the possibility of meeting up with a friend and seeing if you can keep up this charade with someone who knows the real you.
Duty calls, however. You have a few things you'd like to do today. You think of where to go first.