The Study

Chapter 13: Shopping

Darryl came to the car and noticed that something was off with me. "Hey, Bryan, are you okay? Should we leave?" he asked. "No, not yet. Can we go to the mall? I have to buy a dress for homecoming," I replied, trying to push away my negative thoughts.

"Sure, let's go," he said, sensing that I was upset. While we drove, Darryl tried to break the silence. "So, do you want to tell me what happened?" he asked.

I sighed and opened up to him, "Apparently, this transition has side effects, and the hormones are messing with my head, making me act way too much like a girl."

Darryl looked at me with empathy and said, "Aww, don't worry, Heath- I mean, Bryan. It'll be fine," he comforted me by rubbing my shoulder.

We made it to the mall, and I made Darryl come with me. After searching for dresses, Darryl and I were really confused since we had never done this before. I decided to FaceTime Jessica, "Hey, Jess, which dress should I buy?" I said as I showed her the options.

"You're shopping without me? No way, I'm coming there right now," Jessica replied, excitedly.

Jess arrived at the mall in record time, and we got to shopping for dresses. We scoured the racks, looking for something that would look perfect for the homecoming dance. I tried on a few dresses, but none of them seemed to fit me just right. I was starting to get discouraged, but Jess wasn't giving up so easily.

"Hey, what about this one?" Jess asked, holding up a pink off-shoulder dress. I looked at it skeptically. "I don't know if that would look good on me, isn't it too short?" I said.

"Trust me, it'll look amazing on you," Jess said confidently. "And we'll get the same dress, but in red, so we'll match!"

I tried on the dress and looked at myself in the mirror. I had to admit, Jess was right, the dress looked great on me. Jess helped me pick out some matching heels and we were ready to go to the counter to pay.

As we were walking to the counter, Jess asked, "So, who's this?" pointing at Darryl.

"This is my brother, Darryl," I said, but before I could explain further, Darryl jumped in.

"Oh no, I'm actually just her neighbour, but she's like a sister to me," Darryl said, thinking on his feet.

Jess seemed a little surprised, "Oh, she never told me about you."

We reached the counter and Jess offered to pay for our stuff, but I insisted on paying. "No way, Jess, I'm paying. Think of it as a gift from me to you," I said as I swiped the card.

After we finished shopping for the dresses and heels, Jessica offered to pay for everything, but I insisted on paying as a gift to myself. We hugged goodbye and Darryl drove us home. As we were driving, he suddenly stopped the car in a parking lot.

"Hey, Bryan, you want to learn how to drive?" Darryl asked, turning to me with a smile.

"Sure!" I replied excitedly.

I got into the driver's seat and Darryl gave me a lesson in driving. To my surprise, I was a natural at it. As we continued to practice, Darryl opened up to me.

"You know, I've always wanted a little sister," he said, looking at me warmly.

I paused for a moment, feeling conflicted. On one hand, I wanted to make Darryl happy and be there for him. On the other hand, I knew that my transition was temporary and that I would eventually go back to being Bryan.

"You know what, just call me Heather," I said finally, looking at him with a small smile. "I'll try to be a good little sister, even if it's temporary. At least I'll know that I've made someone happy."