Disorientated and confused, Declan slowly blinked away the sleep, trying to peer around her dark room. After a bit, a pressure on her bladder reminded her what had awoken her and thinking, "I must have fallen asleep while playing dress-up in my favourite girl's clothing," she half slid, half crawled out of her bed and stumbled toward the door.
In the hall, still not fully awake and not realising that what she thought of as a dream was in fact reality, Declan plodded down the hallway, but stopped just outside the bathroom door, hand on the doorknob, head turned just a bit as she heard Denise and Karen talking quietly about something.
"Declan was telling the truth about the amulet turning him into a girl," Denise said. "Just not how it had happened."
"I still can't get my head wrapped around the notion of an amulet that changes you into whatever it comes in contact with," Karen responded. "It's just weird and what people like Declan would actually look for."
"Yeah, well Declan is in a world of trouble. Especially when mom gets home," Denise replied.
Turning away from the voices, suddenly remembering what had occurred several hours ago, Declan whispered, "It's all true," as the pressure on her bladder suddenly increased.
Grabbing herself, jittering about, Declan grabbed the bathroom doorknob and pushing on the door, she rushed into the room, aware of how odd - "But interesting," she thought - it felt to be grabbing herself and feeling nothing down there but the clothe of her pants pressed against her privates.
Hastily pushing down her pants, thinking, "Wouldn't look good to have an accident," Declan lifted the lid and sat down on the toilet.
Immediately her bladder let loose and Declan marveled at how it felt to have her urine leaving from a new area, even though memories said she always peed like this.
Afterward, wiping herself without giving it much thought, Declan thought about how she had memories that only a girl would have, but after a bit decided that this was part of the transformation with the Amulet of Zulo.
Flushing, she washed her hands and as she left, Denise greeted her by saying, "Your dinner is on the table and mom's home," and then she disappeared downstairs.
A feeling of dread flooded Declan and for a moment she thought about returning to her room. After a bit, she turned and began downstairs.
Stepping into the kitchen, her mother's voice immediately told her, "Sit down. Your sister's Karen and Denise have told me all that have gone on this afternoon and what they have passed for punishment."
Sitting down, looking at the plate of casserole, Declan looked at her mom and said, "I can explain everything." but was cut off as her mother said, "There is no need for you to explain. I've seen the amulet, I've looked at the websites Karen and Denise have pulled up, I see you before me and I have see the trash bag full of clothes."
Looking down shame-faced, feeling the hot prickle of tears, Declan wondered what she could say.
Before she could say anything, her mother said, "You are grounded for two months. No telly, no friends over, no playtime activities of any sort, nothing. The punishment Denise and Karen dished out also stand. On top of this, you will continue to dress like a boy and behave like a boy. If you behave, then I might consider letting you register as a girl for kindergarten."
Looking up, Declan felt the tears sliding down her cheek as she hiccuped out, "I'm sorry."
"Be that as it may," her mother said in a stern tone. "What you did was wrong. You had no right taking what did not belong to you. I have half a mind to use the Amulet of Zulo and turn you back into a boy." Declan, who had gone back to looking down, glanced up at her mother, panic in her young eyes.
"Instead, I am going to let you remain like that," her mother said and seeing Denise and Karen about to protest, she added, "Only for the summer and only if she behaves and because I know how miserable she was as a boy."
Unsure, Declan glanced back down as her mother said, "Eat your dinner and then it is straight up to bed with you."
Looking up, seeing the looks on Karen and Denise's faces, Declan glanced down at her dinner and as she dished up, she heard her mother say, "Denise. Help me bring down from the attic Declan's clothes from when he was five," and then both her older sisters and her mother where gone, leaving Declan along with her thoughts.
"Oh, and before I forget," Declan's mom suddenly said as she came back into the room. "You shall be addressed as and answer to the Declan. Only if you behave will we entertain the idea of calling you by a girl's name," and then she was gone.
Looking back at her dinner, Declan slowly began to eat. As she did, she thought about the coming months and wondered how she was to get by and if her mother would keep her word.