Cross School

14 - The Female World

'Rosebud...'

Charlie collapsed on the floor, pretending to cough and sputter as he slowly faked his own death. Tyler stood above him, kicking his high heels off, and slamming his foot into Charlie's groin.

'Ow!' Charlie yelled. 'You fiend!'

'Get up,' Tyler grumbled. 'I'd rather change without an audience.'

'You know we're not meant to change back into our male clothes,' Spencer said. He was sitting up on one of the room's top bunks, checking his nails. 'We'd get into even more trouble.'

'Fuck that,' Tyler said as he slipped his maid costume off, throwing it onto Charlie's face. 'It's not like they'll barge in here just to check. This is the Boy's Dorm, remember?'

'Didn't stop us,' Sam said quietly. He was sitting on the bed below Spencer's, untying the laces on his red high tops. 'I'm exhausted anyway. They didn't give us girl pajamas or anything, so it should probably be okay.'

'I'm not going to sleep,' Tyler said. He had slipped one of his normal shirts back on and was zipping up his jeans. He was still wearing makeup, so he wasn't totally back to normal yet. 'It's only 9.00.'

Zach emerged from the bathroom back in his male clothes as well. He had taken his wig off and placed it on the mannequin head in the bathroom. There were five in total for all the boys so that they didn't just throw them on the ground when they went to sleep. 'I'm with Tyler on that. I'm gonna surf some dating sites.'

'Ah,' Charlie said, sitting back up. 'In the mood for unrequited desires?'

'Shut up, freak! It's the best way to pick up girls these days.'

'I doubt that very much,' Charlie responded. 'And I am not a freak, just a very clever gentlemen that sees through your veil of false manliness. I'll bet out of anyone you enjoyed this punishment the most!'

'Look who's talking,' Tyler said. 'You're still in drag and you haven't even taken your makeup off.'

Charlie looked flustered. 'I would have if a certain oaf wasn't hogging the bathroom all night. And besides, I'm an actor. This is the ultimate role! To disguise ones gender is the perfect con. If I can't trick a boy into thinking I'm a woman, then what good am I as an actor? Sure, it's annoying, but I see this punishment less as a hindrance to who all of us are, and more as a gateway into something else. We're all actors at heart, aren't we?'

'Is there a point to your ramblings?' Sam said as he put a pair of pyjama shorts on.

'We're all angry at this punishment, aren't we?' Tyler, Zach, and Sam nodded. Spencer only pretended to. 'There's no escape from it, so why not have a little fun. They expect us to break under this task. It's going to be hard for us, so why not make it hard for them? Let's try getting revenge by doing our best. Let's be better girls than they are! Maybe then they'll call it off early and we can go on with our normal lives!'

'One little flaw, Charlie,' Tyler said. 'All five of us sucked at school before, and even more so with this new curriculum.'

'True, but that doesn't mean we can't improve. I'm not saying this will work, but let's give it a shot. Personally, there's a few girls I wouldn't mind showing up, and I'm sure the rest of you have met some rotten personalities today. We perfect our craft by sabotaging theirs. What do you say?'

It took a second for anyone to respond. 'I'm in,' Tyler finally said. Sam nodded in agreement.

'I'm in too,' Zach said. 'I'll show that bitch Stephanie who's boss.'

'You guys are animals,' Spencer said. 'But if I don't join in I feel like you will only take things overboard. Fine. I'm in as well.'

'Perfect!' Charlie yelled. 'Now, let's all do our evil laughs!'