The car ride to the beach, with Jessica driving and Amanda sitting next to me, explaining all the things I'd get to do as a girl and how much fun it'd be and why it'd be nice to have a few more years of high school under my belt, was uneventful. Uneventful compared to all the shocks and twists and mind alterations of that morning. I stared out the window for the most part, watching the highway roll by and thinking intermittently about boys staring at me. My mind welcomed that thought, much to my chagrin. I still wanted to like girls, to spite my sisters and their all-encompassing sorcery, but try as I did to think of my old girlfriend, her body held no more appeal to me than my own.
We reached the beach, crowded with families, college students, high schoolers my age, and all sorts of other people. I stepped out of the car and felt the sun beat down on my body. Jessica handed me some sunscreen, and I applied it to my body, never once feeling uncomfortable running my hands across my feminine skin.
I gave up all hope for the slightest bit of discomfort, the smallest shock to the system to confirm to me that I could act like a guy still, and walked down the beach with Jessica and Amanda. People ran past me left and right, some of them cute guys that made me blush. A few exchanged eye contact with me and I looked away, partially out of shyness, partially out of shame at my behavior.
Amanda set up the chairs as Jessica and I stripped down to our bikinis. Jessica wore a green bikini with white streaks across it, made to resemble spray paint graffiti. She asked Amanda if she'd join us in the water, but Amanda said she'd much rather lay down and tan. Jessica nodded and, after applying some more sunscreen to my back and neck, ran with me to the water.
The cold rush of the ocean soothed my nerves and, for a minute, made me forget about the day's events. I had fun like I always did, splashing around, floating on the water, not thinking about anything. I welcomed the joy of the moment, leaving the past and future behind me...
...until somebody bumped into me and knocked my head underwater.
"Hey!" I said when I resurfaced. "What's the big idea, Jess--"
It wasn't Jessica. It was a tall, brown-haired boy with the clearest blue eyes I'd ever seen. He towered over me, when only yesterday I'd have been a few inches taller than him. That didn't matter, though. He put a reassuring arm on my shoulder and my heart skipped a few beats. All the cliches of romance - butterflies in your stomach, a chill up and down your spine - applied to me right then. I had fallen in love.
"I'm sorry," he said. "Didn't see you there."
"No, no," I said, "It's all right."
He smiled, showing the whitest teeth I'd ever seen. God, I didn't know if I could take it anymore...
View Portfolio
Visit Notebook
Send Gift Points
Awards
Badges
Send Email
Community Newsfeed
General Discussion
Sponsored Items
Book of Trinkets
Static Items
Books
Groups
Interactive Stories
Audio
Campfire Creatives
Community Notes
Crossword Puzzles
Documents
Folders
Images
In & Outs
Madlibs
Photo Albums
Polls
Product Reviews
Quizzes
Survey Forms
Web Pages
Word Searches
