A Feminine Look

Chapter Four: Girl Practice

My friends are the luckiest people in the world. Why? Because their good friend Jamie is willing to do all the heavy lifting, apparently.

I can't believe I agreed to their dumb request. Pretend to be a girl? What the heck do I know about being a girl? As far as I can tell, in each of my 14 years on this Earth I've been a genuine, 100% BOY.

Thankfully, Chris promised it'd only be three events. And it better be. Three times I'd pretend to be a girl, hang out with Scotty, and then my 'cousin' gets to leave forever. Chris, Annie, and myself will be rewarded with a fun, interesting group of friends heading into high school. And maybe it'll end up being super easy.

However, I spent much of the weekend not worrying about any of that. My true passion was drawing and illustrating. Did I want to be a book illustrator, a graphic designer, or a painter? I wasn't sure yet. But much of this summer – outside of spending time making friends – I plan to draw freely, create characters and designs, and hopefully gain a little direction on where my art interests lie.

My favorite thing to draw was young, male protagonists. Much like myself. I was always enamored with the recluse teen that everyone doubted could save the day. I'd create these stories in my head where a seemingly unpopular, uninteresting young boy defies expectations and saves the day. They go from weak to strong, feeble to powerful. That sort of stuff. Hey, who knows – maybe I can channel some of that energy into my task.

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At the onset of summer break, everyone rejoices in their newfound freedom. No school, little to no responsibility. But tale as old as time, about a week in, we all get bored. So I reached out to Chris about knocking off my first assignment. We decided to hang out that afternoon. And in the middle of a Madden game, Chris finally dropped some 'good' news.

"So listen, Juan told me one of the Toned guys is hosting a party tonight," he said, mid-Cheetoh munch.

"Wait, seriously? That's perfect! Can we get an invite?"

"Probably. I'll check with Juan." Chris reached for his phone. "Let's hit up Annie too. She'll wanna come."

So while we waited for a response from Juan, Chris called Annie and invited her over. However, she seemed angry and stressed about it over her phone. Very unlike her. She insisted we come over to her house immediately.

When we arrived at Annie's, she was shaking her head with utter disappointment.

Chris kicked off his shoes in the mud room. "Annie, what's the deal? Why are you so pissed off?"

She didn't reply. Just gestured to us to follow to her room. Once we sat down and she locked her door, she finally spoke.

"What do you think you guys are doing? Are you trying to get Jamie blackballed forever?"

Chris and I looked at each other, perplexed.

"You don't see the problem here?" she reiterated.

I had to get a straight answer out of her. "No, Annie. We don't. Would you care to tell us?"

"You want to go to a Toned party. Tonight."

We nodded.

"Well thank god I'm here to stop you. Because if you go to this party without prep work, the whole operation will implode," Annie was in full ridicule mode. "Tell me, what exactly was your plan?"

I shrugged and looked at Chris. "I dunno, I was gonna, like, borrow one of my Mom's dresses and give it to Jamie? That should work."

"My god, you guys are so dumb. You can't just throw on a dress and call yourself a girl! There's a nuance to it. An art. Does Jamie have long hair and feminine features? Yes he does. But do you think the moment he starts walking and talking that anybody will buy he's a real girl?"