“Andrew!” I extended my hand to him. “Please, give me that. It’s mine.”
My brother looked at the object in his hands and laughed. “It’s just a water bottle, not the Holy Grail.”
“Please?”
He smiled and started walking around the car. “Hey, I can’t say I disapprove of staying hydr—”
Andrew suddenly stopped like a deer in headlights, dropping the bottle in the process.
“Shit!” I yelled, chasing after it.
Mom wrapped me in a blanket and pulled me towards the house.
“Mom! Stop!” I shouted, reaching for the bottle as I struggled to free myself. “The antidote!”
“Andy, grab the bottle and get in here!” she commanded.
My brother snapped out of his trance and reached for it.
Once inside, Mom guided me to the living room and sat me down. “What were you thinking!?”
“I told you! That’s the antidote!”
“I know that’s the antidote! I’m asking why you ran out of the house topless!”
What?
Andrew joined the shouting match. “Could anyone tell me why my little brother has boobs?”
Two more waves of the curse hit me at that moment.
---<>----------<>----------<>---
Andrew sat opposite of Mom and me, elbows resting on his knees and his fingers interlocked. The antidote stood at the centre of the table between us. Crumpled from all the trouble it went through.
“So let me get this straight,” he finally said. “Dumbo here, decided to accept a magic potion from a stranger as a joke, but it turned out to be real. And now, said potion is turning him into a girl, which is nuts, by the way, but I saw it with my own eyes, and I really wish I hadn’t.”
I blushed at the reminder, and the magic laughed at me.
He paused and asked, “Did I get all that right?”
I bit my lip. “When you put it like that…”
“Are you stupid?”
“Andrew!” Mom shouted.
“No, really,” Andrew continued. “Who accepts a drink from a random stranger? Even I’d be suspicious of that shit. I really hope you take that antidote, lil’ bro, because you wouldn’t survive a day as a girl.”
“He makes a good point.”
“Mooom!” I complained.
She gave me a wry smile. “Well, it’s true. Awareness is always important. Remember that.”
“Still, this thing about it acting on your desire…” Andrew commented. “Does that mean you actually want to be a chick?”
“No!” I replied. “Of course not! Surely, it’s defective or something.”
“Is that how you really feel, honey?” Mom asked.
I looked at Mom in silence, thinking about her behaviour so far. The haircut. The blouse. “Do you… want me to be your daughter? Is that what’s going on?”
Mom covered her mouth. She looked horrified. “No, honey! That’s not what I mean at all!” She paused for a moment. “I just… I hope that you choose whatever makes you happy.”
My mind went back to Ruby’s words.
‘I hope that your decision makes you happy.’
I stared at the bottle. Despite all the damage, the antidote inside remained intact. After a moment, I bent forward and grabbed it.
“Are you sure?” Mom asked. “There’s no turning back from this, right?”
“But if I wait…”
“Then we’ll make it work.” Mom held my free hand and squeezed. “No matter what you choose; son or daughter. Remember that I will always love you. And we will support you, no matter what.” She turned to look at Andrew. “Right?”
“Huh? Uh… yeah. Yes, we got you, lil’ bro… or sis, or y’know, whatever.”
My eyes stung, but I held it in. I lifted the bottle and twisted the cap…
“I can’t open it.”
“It’s okay,” mom said. “It’s a big decision. If you feel like you need to—”
“No,” I interrupted. “Like, I really can’t open it. I think the cap is jammed tight.”
“Let me see it,” Andrew said, stretching his arm across the table.
I gave it to him, and he grunted, pressing his lips as he twisted it. The cap eventually came loose, and he returned the bottle to me, along with a wave of the chills.
I need to hurry.
I lifted the bottle to my face, and just as my lips were about to make contact, I stopped. I tried again, only to get the same result. The tears I’d been holding off finally broke free as I put the cap back on. The curse made itself present once more, as if to mock me.
“I’m not ready,” I finally said. “Not yet.”
Mom hugged me tight. “It’s okay. There’s no rush.”
“But the curse—”
“I told you. We’ll figure it out as we go,” she countered. Her eyes wandered to my chest, and she sighed. “Put on your clothes back on and go get your things out of the car with Andrew. I’ll transfer the antidote to another container for safety.”
I nodded and pressed the button on the keys to unlock the car.
“Just take the bags to your room,” Mom added. “We’re leaving in five minutes.”
“We just got home,” I complained. “Where are we going?”
Mom smiled awkwardly and said, “It might be better if I don’t tell you for now. Go now, it’s getting late.”
I didn’t move at first. Wherever she planned to take me didn’t sound great.
Hopefully not a doctor.
We walked out of the house, and Andrew opened one of the car’s doors. Seeing what was inside, he whistled. “Two bags? Well damn, never mind then. I guess you really are my sister.”
I glared at my brother.
“What?” he asked with a grin.
“The curse?”
His smile vanished in an instant. “Shit. I’m sorry, Mike. I’ll try to be more careful from now on.”
Andrew grabbed both bags while I opened the trunk to retrieve my backpack and hair products. We then carried them all the way to my room, dropping them on the floor, by the closet. When we turned around, Mom was waiting by the doorframe.
“It’s time to go,” she said, looking at me. Then she spoke to Andrew. “We’ll be back soon. If your father comes before that, tell him we’re bringing take out for dinner.”
“O-kay?” my brother replied.
“And not a word about all this, okay?”
He nodded.
---<>----------<>----------<>---
The sky was getting darker. I followed Mom as she confidently walked through Oak Plaza.
“Will you finally tell me what we’re doing here again?” I asked.
“Not without triggering your curse, I don’t think,” she explained. “I want to keep those to a minimum. You’ll find out soon enough.”
Oh cool. So it’s that bad.
Mom felt like an unstoppable force. Whatever she had in mind, she was making a beeline for it. Eventually, that led us to the clothing department, and we entered the same store from earlier. However, as we walked in, we parted ways.
“Uh, mom?” I called out. When she turned around, I pointed behind me. “The men’s section is this way.”
“I know,” she said calmly. “We won’t find what I’m looking for there.”
My heart sank upon hearing the news. I followed Mom through the female section until we reached the really scary part.
Underwear.
Mom scanned me up and down for a moment. “Maybe thirty-four?” she muttered, browsing through what I assumed were sports bras as I stood behind her, awkwardly looking out for any signs of people staring.
None, fortunately.
“Here, try these on,” Mom said, handing over her selection to me. “The white ones are bralettes. Pick the one that feels more comfortable of the two. You want support. The black ones are high-impact sports bras. These should feel snug. Just make sure that they’re not digging into your skin. Don’t pay much attention to the straps. Focus on the band. Do you have any questions?” Find the original chapter at g.com.
“Uh… What?”
She rolled her eyes. “White, comfy. Black, snug without pain. Got it?”
I nodded.
“Good,” she said. “Go on without me, I’ll be right there.”
I walked to the changing rooms, trying my best to remember Mom’s instructions despite the nerves.
Once inside, I scanned for an empty stall, but just as I found my target, a hand grabbed my shoulder. I flinched and turned around to see one of the sales ladies.
“Sorry for startling you,” the lady said. Nancy, based on the nametag. “This is the men’s changing room. I tried calling you, but you were not responding.”
I blinked twice, staring at her with my mouth open.
What do I even say here?
Should I stay quiet?
Nancy hummed at my further lack of response. “Are you perhaps hard of hearing, Miss? Don’t worry, just follow me.”
Nancy grabbed my hand, pulling me out of the changing rooms. She pointed to the sign above us, and then motioned for me to follow her until we reached the women’s changing room.
She then pointed at a sign encouraging customers to avoid trying on intimate items directly against bare skin.
I guess it makes sense…
After nodding my acknowledgement, Nancy glanced at the clothes and let me through.
I dashed to the closest empty stall and locked the door. After hanging the clothes my mom gave me, I took off my hoodie and picked the biggest bralette. I held it in front of me and sighed as I slid it past my neck. Seeing that it was a match, I took it off and skipped trying the other one.
Next came the sports bras. Unfortunately, I wasn’t so lucky this time, and I ended up having to try both of them on. The smaller one was the choice here.
Looking at my reflection, I could tell that it already did a very good job at hiding my chest.
Can I really bring myself to do this every day?
Removing the sports bra, I put my hoodie back on before stepping out of the changing room. Noticing this, Nancy glanced at my clothes briefly and smiled.
Not really understanding what was going on, I smiled back and walked to Mom, presenting the clothing to her. I made a quick scan around us and, once I confirmed that the coast was clear, I whispered, “The big white one and the small black one.”
Mom smiled and placed a hand on my cheek. “You were very brave. I’ll grab a couple more colours for each. That way, you should have enough for the week.”
“Aren’t they, like, very expensive or something?” I asked.
“These?” Mom chuckled. “No, don’t worry. Even if they were, it’s not about the price. We’re getting them because they will help.”
After paying for… my clothes, Mom and I made a quick stop at the food court to get some chinese food for dinner and went back to the car.
“So?” Mom asked as she drove. “What’s the damage?”
“Damage?” I echoed.
“The spell, Michael,” she clarified. “How many times did it activate?”
“Oh, uhm…” I recounted every time I felt the chills, starting from the moment she handed me the bras. “Eight,” I finally said, frowning at the realisation that half of them were caused by Nancy alone.
The car swerved slightly, before Mom corrected the course.
“Eight?!” Mom yelled. “How?”
I nodded sheepishly. “I had a misunderstanding with the sales lady, and uhm… It activated every time I tried one on…”
“Every single time?”
“Yeah.” I pressed my lips and looked out the window. “Do I really need to wear them?”
Mom kept silently driving for a while. “They’re not meant to hide anything, though they might help,” she finally said. “Breast development might bring you some discomfort. Your chest will be sensitive for a while, tender even. Some clothing might be too rough on your body, too. Exercise might lead to chafing or it could straight up feel unpleasant from lack of support.” She made a pause and asked. “Did the spell activate again?”
“Yeah,” I croaked.
“I’m sorry, honey.”
I turned to face her again. “How can you tell what triggers it?”
Mom snorted. “Well, clearly, I’m still figuring it out. But… I think it has to do with perception. I don’t think this… curse is aware. It doesn’t have a concept of what’s feminine or not. It just reacts to you feeling seen a certain way.”
The rest of the drive went silently. Our house came into view. Dad’s car was already parked on the driveway. We stopped next to it, but we didn’t get out.
Mom placed a hand on my shoulder, “You don’t have to wear them if you don’t want to.”
I nodded, and after a pause, I asked, “What about Dad?”
“We won’t tell him. Not until you’re ready.”