An Unexpected Fate

One of the Girls

The following morning, Ellie woke up with a mix of nervousness and excitement. Today was the first day of her new life. She sat up and took a second to get her thoughts together. She was still slightly riding the high of last night, but slowly the anxiety was setting on her. Oh god, everyone is gonna point and laugh at me, she thought. Should I do this? Maybe I should just tell mum I don't wanna go in....

No, I'm doing this. She said to herself. She repeated this to herself a few times, psyching herself up. She bounced out of bed and over to the back of her chair where her new uniform lay waiting for her. She tried not to think about everything that could go wrong today as she buttoned up her blouse and pulled up her tights. She slipped on the pleated skirt Abbie gave her. It was a little tight, but it fit and that was the main thing. Am I really doing this? She asked herself as she looked in the mirror. Admittedly, if you ignored from the neck up, Ellie's thin body did look quite feminine.

As she was finishing tying her tie, there was a knock on her door. "Come in." She said.

Abbie opened the door, holding a pair of black Mary-Jane shoes. "Hey, you look adorable in your little uniform."

Ellie couldn't help but blush. "Thanks."

"Here. These should fit you okay. You can keep them if they do, I've never actually worn them." Abbie said, putting the shoes down next to Ellie's chair. "Do you want to borrow some make up? It might help you look a bit more like a girl."

Ellie shook her head as she slipped the shoes on. "No thanks, maybe next week. The less things people have to call me out for the better."

Abbie nodded. "Fair enough. Remember, if anyone gives you any shit, I'll set Dana on them."

"Thanks." Ellie said as she sat down to fasten her shoes. "By the way, I think I owe you a thanks for telling mum."

Abbie gave a small smile. "I didn't know all of this would happen, I was just thinking that if me and my friends heard you, some other people might've too. But you look happy, so I guess it worked out."

"Yeah, I guess." Ellie smiled back. She grabbed her blazer and followed Abbie out of the room, downstairs. Her mum was in the process of putting out some toast when the girls walked in.

"Ellie! You look adorable!" She said.

Ellie blushed again. "Thanks."

"Do you want some make up? It'll hide some of those spots and make you look a bit more girly." She asked.

"Abbie already offered. No thanks, I just want to get past the next few days." Ellie said as she sat down for breakfast.

"Just thought I'd offer." She said.

Ellie ate her toast, but as it drew closer to the start of the school day, she could feel her stomach tighten and her legs trembling. She was hoping she could just hang with Freya and hope no one bothers her, but she had her doubts.

***

Ellie, Abbie, and their mum pulled up in the carpark of the school. Abbie got out and wished Ellie good luck before she went to meet her friends. As Ellie got out of the car, she could feel a bunch of people staring at her. She looked behind her, spotting Charlie and his guy friends looking at him and laughing. All of them apart from Patrick, who looked angry. But not towards Ellie, towards the other boys.

"Ellie! Over here!" A voice called out. Ellie spun around, seeing Freya wave her over.

"I'll see you later, mum." She said.

Her mum nodded. "I'll be gone once I've spoken with Miss Wilcox. If anyone gives you any trouble, tell Abby. Okay?"

"Okay, mum." Ellie said.

"Okay, good. Good luck!" She said. She pulled Ellie into a tight hug which lasted at least several seconds. Once she had let go, she went inside the school, whilst Ellie walked over towards Freya and her friends.

Freya met her halfway between where Ellie was and where Freya's friends were. She pulled Ellie into a big hug. "You look so good! How do you feel?"

"Terrified. Charlie and that were already laughing at me and people keep staring at me." Ellie said.

"Ignore Charlie, you've got more balls than him any day." Freya said. "Come on, I'll introduce you to the girls."

Freya took her hand and dragged her towards three other girls. "Girls, meet Ellie!"

"Hi Ellie!" They all said back.

"This is Annabeth." Freya said, indicating to a smaller girl with a slim build who spoke with a southern American accent. "This is Gwen." She said, indicating a girl who was by far the tallest and the strongest of the group. "And this is Maple." She indicated to a girl who was about the same height as Ellie and Freya, but was a bit rounder.

"Hi everyone." Ellie said, feeling a little bit awkward now. "Nice to meet you all."

"Don't be nervous, we don't bite." Annabeth said.

"Unless you want us too." Gwen shrugged.

The girls laughed. "Sorry, it's just all a lot to take in." Ellie said.

Freya, who had not let go of her hand yet, rubbed the back of her hand with her thumb. "It's fine, I just thought it'd be better for you to be in a group than just us."

"I appreciate it. So you guys don't mind if I stick with you today?" Ellie asked.

"Damn, girl, you think we were just gonna leave you all out here on your own?" Annabeth said. "We got your back, anyone who wants to mess with you has to mess with us first. And by us, I mean Gwen, because that girl has a mean right hook."

The girls laughed again. For once, Ellie finally felt like she belonged somewhere. Just the bell went, Ellie caught a glance at Patrick, who was staring over at her. Without saying anything, Ellie turned away from her and followed the girls into the school.