An Unexpected Fate

The Dream

Ben always knew he was different. He was a boy, but he never felt like he fit in with any of them. When all of his mates played football at lunch, Ben forced himself to join in just so he wasn't bullied, but deep down, he didn't enjoy it. And if they weren't playing football, they were talking about girls. All of his friends were obsessed with girls. Only natural considering they're 16, but it was still all they ever talked about. They all wanted to ask the "hot" girls out yet none of them could even talk to a girl without freezing up. During lunch one day, they all sat around their usual table when Freya Jones, the hottest girl in the year walked past.

"I'm gonna ask her out one day." Ben's friend, Patrick, said as they watched Freya sit down across from her own group of friends.

"Sure you will." Steven, another friend, laughed.

"I mean it. Look at those legs, man. To be the tights wrapped around those..." Patrick said, practically drooling.

Ben, who hadn't really been looking, now looked over. It was true, Freya had some fit legs. Ben ran his eyes up her. Whilst she was pretty fit, Ben found himself not only attracted to her, like most others, but also... envious? Freya had the perfect body. She was slim, but not too slim. Tall, but not too tall. It was the body Ben wanted. Wait, no it's not. Ben thought quickly, looking away before his mind told him other things.

Just at that, the boys finished their lunch. Ben and Steven stood up, but Patrick stayed down. "You comin', Pat?" Steven asked.

Patrick moved uncomfortably. "Uh, in a sec..."

Steven went to say something, but then he noticed where Patrick's hand was. Immediately, he burst out laughing. "You got a semi?" He roared in laughter. A few people, including Freya and her table, looked over.

"Shut up, it's not like that." Patrick said, turning a bright shade of red. Patrick carefully stood up, trying his best to hide his crotch. As the boys walked through the dining hall, they were met with all kinds of looks, most of them snickering at Patrick. With their lunch finished, the three of them joined the rest of the boys in their year for a kick-about.

As they were playing, Ben spotted Freya and her friends watching from the sidelines. He might've made it up, but Ben could've sworn Freya smiled at him. Maybe he was just exhausted from the game...

***

Later that night, Ben sat in his room, answering some sums for his maths homework. The sums were easy enough and Ben was a bright kid, so he found it quite boring. It was so boring, in fact, he could feel himself drifting in and out of sleep.

There was a sudden crash behind him causing him to shoot up. He turned around to see what had caused the noise. It was one of the dinner ladies from school, it looked like maybe she had dropped some trays. A dinner lady? But... I was in my room?

"Hey, are you okay?" He heard a voice call to him. He turned back around to find himself sitting across from... 

"Freya?" He asked, taken aback.

"Jesus, you really haven't been sleeping, have you?" She asked, her voice sounding concerned. "I can't believe your baby brother has been keeping you up all night..."

Ben was confused. Up until now, the only time he'd spoken to Freya was when she asked if he had a pencil. How did she know about his brother? Or that he hadn't been sleeping? "Uh, yeah..." He looked around the room, now realising that was in the lunch hall at school. "Uhm, I'll be right back, I need to pee."

He stood up and started to walk towards the toilets. Just as he got towards the door, it opened. He watched as Patrick and Steven came out, chatting about football, as per usual. They both stopped and stared at him.

"Hi?" Ben said, confused. "Why are you both staring at me?"

"Uh... I... Hello." Patrick spluttered.

"Is he having a stroke?" Ben said, now annoyed and confused.

Steven looked at Patrick, then back to Ben. He looked Ben up and down. "N-no, he just gets like that around girls."

"Around girls? What are you talking about?" Ben said. Nothing was making sense. He was talking with Freya about his home life and his two best friends didn't even know who he was.

Patrick gave Steven a punch on the arm. "OW! Sorry, we gotta go."

They moved past Ben, Patrick seemingly covering himself. Ben was a mixture of confused, angry, annoyed, and a little disgusted. How could his own friends treat him like a stranger? And why was Patrick not able to talk? Ben opened the door to the toilets, walking towards the sinks when he caught a glimpse of himself in the mirror.

Except it wasn't him. He moved closer to inspect the person looking back at him. Instead of himself, there was a girl. A girl with long, brown hair, wearing the girls school uniform. Ben could feel his heart pounding in his chest. He took a step back. That's not me... It's just a trick or something... He knew the only way to know the truth was to look down, but he was scared. He could feel his legs trembling. Unable to bring himself to look, he used his hand to feel for his trousers. His heart almost leapt out of his chest when he ran his hand along the hem of a skirt. Now he looked down.

Sure enough, there he stood, wearing a black pleated skirt and black tights and black Mary-Jane shoes. He lifted his hand to feel his hair. He was hoping it was the usual short length, but was met with hair that was thick, wavy, and long. "What's happening?"

Before he could investigate the situation any further, he suddenly felt himself fall. His eyes shot open as he took a series of sharp breaths. He was back in his room. It was a dream. It was all just a dream... He told himself.

***

Ben lay in bed that night, almost scared to sleep in case he had another dream like the one he had earlier. No, it wasn't a dream, it was a nightmare. He told himself, time and time again. Although, maybe it wasn't that bad? It was a bit of a shock, but something about it seemed, right? No, it wasn't a nightmare. I'm not a girl. He twisted and turned all night until he finally fell asleep. Thankfully, though, he didn't have any other dreams or nightmares about him becoming a girl.

He woke up the following morning, he woke up to the sound of his little brother, Martin, crying. He sat up, taking a few seconds to properly wake up, before he stood up. His mother had left his uniform lying on the back of his chair for him. He put on his shirt and tie, then looked at his trousers. He wondered what it would be like if he did wear a skirt. It was a nightmare, not a dream. Yet, he couldn't help but wonder as he finished getting dressed. He grabbed his blazer, pulling it over him, thinking it was a bit tighter than yesterday. Once he was dressed, he went downstairs, ready to face the day.