I felt like I had been walking for hours, but I followed the kind lady's advice and kept going down the block. I was getting close to the end when I heard voices behind me.
"Hey man, look at that," one said.
Shit. Male voices.
"Whoa. Think we have to pay her?" Another asked.
"Who gives a shit if you do no one's here to make you," a third added.
I gulped. Since there was no one around they were clearly talking about me. I quickened my pace.
Click clack Click clack
"Hey baby!" They called out to me.
"She totally wants the D."
"Then go give it to her man."
No. There's no way this is happening. I suddenly started to regret saying no to the lady who offered me to stay with her.
Click clack Click clack
"Hey baby, we don't bite!"
"Speak for yourself."
No, no, no, no, no. This is deja vous. This is bad. This is bad.
Click clack Click clack Click clack
Finally I reached the corner, eager to see the town as the lady had said I was so relieved that I nearly skipped around the corner. But once I did I skidded to a stop. There was a dead end. What happened? What did I do wrong? I looked around and realized that I had turned the wrong corner. On the other side were the city lights, but they were so far away they were tiny. I was about to head that direction when the three men came my way, cornering me in.
I backed away, totally helpless. "Get away from me!" I screamed.
"Don't get mad sugar," one of the guys slurred.
"Let her get mad," the second one threw in. "I love the feisty ones..."
"We just wanna talk baby girl," the third coaxed.
I backed away, the wall getting closer to me. I remembered something I learned a when I was a kid about screaming fire when you're getting kidnapped so people will pay more attention. "Fire!" I screamed with desperation, willing to try anything. "FIIIIREE!!!"
"Shh...no need to shout...no one can hear you sweat heart..."
My stomach churned at the names they called me, and I wanted to throw up in my mouth. This couldn't be happening. The scariest thing about the men was that I couldn't see their faces. At all. All I knew was that one was taller than the other two, and they all sounded not much older than me. I remembered then, the red head who we had attacked. This was karma. And it was going to bite me back. Hard.
"Please..." I tried. I didn't really know what I was begging to, but I hoped it would work. "Please I'm sorry just..don't...please..."
"Hey guys..." one of them slurred again, a perveted tone in his voice. "Think she's a natural red head?"
I gasped, backing away some more, my heart thudding madly in my chest. "No..." I whispered, as if saying that could undo what was about to be done.
"Only one way to find out...."
"Get 'er!"
Someone lounged at me and I screamed and punched him in the face. He stumbled back, surprised by the force of the blow, but another one came up behind me and pinned my arms down. I screamed again and knocked my head back, hearing a satisfying crunch as my skull connected to his nose. He let go with a cry of pain but the third one grabbed at my ankles. I kneed him in the jaw and he stumbled backwards, too hitting his head against the brick wall and going out unconscious.
I was just about to feel like a boss when one came up behind me again and grabbed my arms again. "Get 'er!" He cried to his buddy with a nasal tone in his voice. I tried to slam my head back again or loosen my arms but he was more careful this time. His buddy came up and I received a sharp blow to my face, and then another, and another and one to the stomach. I realized they were trying to knock me out, and who knows what they would do with my body then.
Then recalling the red head, I leaned all my weight on the guy holding me and lifted myself up, using the remainder of my dwindling strength to kick his buddy repeatedly in the face. He stumbled and I somehow managed to lift my leg high enough to kick the one holding me in the crotch. He released me instantly and I made a run for it, but not before his buddy made one last attempt to grab my ankle. He did, and I crashed to the floor landing face first on the concrete, and my world went black.
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When I came to I was alone in an alley way. I sat up slowly, careful not to make the already spinning world spin too much out of orbit, and looked around. All around me were small little splatters of blood, probably from the attack that had ensued earlier.
I sat up slowly, my head groggy and my face aching. I was unable to remember anything, and I raised hand up to my face, and that's when I felt the dried up blood on my lip. I sat on the concert, looking around and trying to remember where I was.
I was crowned homecoming queen at the dance. No that's not right, I was beating up three thugs..or was I part of the three thugs? I groaned and stood slowly. All I knew was it was super late and I needed to get home before my fake parents called the cops.
I began walking, but something was missing in my foot steps. There was no annoying click-clacking of my shoes. My feet weren't sore either. I looked down and saw new but smudged Nike's on my feet. When did I put these on? I mused to myself. I kept walking and when a breeze brushed past me I rubbed my arms, and decided to tuck my arms into my shirt.
Wait....since when was I wearing a shirt.....?
Quickly, in case this possibility that was too good to be true disappeared I ran around, looking for something that held my reflection. I felt...alive....tough, energized! Finally I reached a park and stared into the reflection of a car. My jaw hung open as I took in my reflection. My short hair, my perfectly imperfect nose, my chiseled boyish features, my face! I was back!!
I touched my face slowly and gently, as if it would break or disappear if I weren't careful. Finally after seeing it was hear to stay I pulled on my cheeks and started laughing.
First it started off as chuckles, then I started dying, laughing like a lunatic. I fell on the floor and wrapped my arms around my ribs, as if to keep myself from exploding from happiness. Finally I jumped and punched the air, pushing myself of my car and screaming at the top of my lungs.
"Yes!" I screamed."I'm the king of the world! I'm free! I'm free! Whoooohooo!!" Suddenly I stopped and looked around. If this is the scene where I was last a guy, there was someone I needed to see. I opened my car door, after hugging it of course, and dug around between the seats and in the glove department. When I found what I needed I ran back down the path.
There he was. Right where I left him. He looked up at me hopelessly, as if he was already predicted my answer, but was willing to try anyway. "Please sir, if you could please"-
"You want money don't you?" I asked a little too happily. The homeless man just looked at me with a confused expression, so I sat down next to him and continued. "Well money's a very important thing but there's gotta be more. I mean no offense but you seem to be on the wrong side of town."
The homeless man chuckled, and soon we began talking. He told me how indeed he had been brought to what I considered to be the "wrong side of town" for him. He was a veteran, and he had a sister that lived on this side of town who said he could stay with her. Upon seeing her brother in his current state she revoked her offer and slammed the door in his face. Now he needed to get back or at least to a shelter but had no money.
We talked more and he told me about the kind of people he sees, the good ones and the bad ones. He also gave me tips on how to spot the fake beggars. He told me of life in his day, also some deep life tips that he had found out the hard way. I actually found it very interesting and extremely helpful. They were tips I imagine your grandparents would give you, but my grandparents were out of state, and frankly too snotty to have a conversation with anyway.
Talking to him was like talking to a grandpa I never got the chance to talk to, and I enjoyed myself. After about an hour, I stood up, shook his hand, and gave him the hundred in my pocket, the extra money I scavenged for in the car which was about another hundred, and my $150 watch. The man looked down with tears in his eyes, and said he couldn't thank me enough.
I shook his hand firmly again, saying that I was thankful for everything he had told me, and that I only wished I could do more. I skipped away, not caring about my lack of manliness in doing so, and hopped inside my car. I knew that not all homeless men were as friendly and honest, and I would be a fool if I tried doing that to all of them.
But he, Greg was his name, was an exception. I made a mental note to literally do whatever I could for him. He fought for our country after all, it was literally the least I could do. I drove home peacefully, at the law's pace, and was never happier to see my home.
"Dad!?" I called as I stepped inside. "Dad!!!" I didn't care if it was three o'clock in the morning. I needed to be sure that nightmare was over. "Daaa"-
"Jesse!" His voice boomed coming down the stairs, wrapped in his robe. "Where the hell have you been? And how dare you barge into my house at such an hour! If you're gonna start coming home this late you might as well not come home at"-
My dad never did get to finish his rant, and if my head wasn't burried in his shoulder I would have loved to see the shocked expression on his face when I cut him off with a hug. "Jesse.." he started awkwardly, "is...is something wrong?"
"I love you, dad," I murmured on his shoulder, trying not to let my watering eyes spill over. Crying as a chick was expected. I didn't want my dad to see me crying now. "I love you so much," I murmured softly again as I hugged him tighter. "And I'm sorry. I'm so sorry for blaming you for what happened to mom. I'm sorry for being disrespectful and ungrateful. I'm sorry for pushing away every woman you've ever tried dating cause I thought you trying to replace her"-
"Jesse"-
"I'm not done. I'm sorry that we stopped being a family. And I want us to. I want us to be father and son again so badly, dad. And it's both our fault. But mostly I'm sorry for not saying something that I should've said to you every day." I pulled back and looked into his steely grey and confused eyes. "I love you, dad," I said again. "Can we please be a family again?"
He stared at me, and I watched in suspense and hope as his once angry face changed from confused, and for the first time in years, his grey eyes softened, no longer looking like concrete walls that blocked out his joy, but soft rain clouds after a storm. Then something that I never though would happen again happened. A tear rolled down his cheek, and he pulled me into a bone crushing hug.
"Yes," he muttered. "We could be a family again. I'm sorry Jesse. I should've been trying to be your father, not your boss...I love you, too..."
Hearing his voice quake with the emotion he was trying to hide really moved me, and I burried my face deep in his shoulder hoping it would stop the tears. He cared. He really did care.
"Ben?" Chelsie said coming down the stairs. "Ben is everything alright? I though I heard"-
As she came into sight my dad quickly let go of me, but still kept an arm tightly around my shoulder. Discreetly, he wiped a tear, and I mentally smiled at the irony of his eyes being clouds that had hopefully let go of one last drop. One last tear of sadness, hopefully only happy ones would come now.
Chelsie stopped at the foot of the stairs and crossed her arms with a quizzical smile on her lips. "Uh...am I interrupting something?"
My dad and I looked at each other, and another thing I never thought would happen occurred, we laughed. Chelsie still smiled at us, but I could tell she was confused, I released myself from my dad's grip and took her hands.
"Chelsie, I'm sorry. I've been rotten to you when you've been nothing but kind and patient to me. I haven't been giving you the respect you deserve. And...you'll never replace or be me my biological mother"- he eyes sunk down awkwardly, and I could tell she thought I was gonna do mom comparisons again, and that made me smile, "but you could still be a mother. And...hopefully, if I haven't been too rotten, you could be a mother to me?"
She looked up at me then and smiled one of her caring smiles, pulling me into a hug. "Oh Jesse dear....of course..."
My dad came up then and hugged us both, and we all stood in a silent group hug, soaking up the long lost love we had for each other. "So," Chelsie started when she pulled away a little bit to look at me. "Did you get visited by three ghost or have a near death experience?"
I thought about it, and then smiled. "Would you believe kind of both?" We all laughed, but soon it was time to go back to bed and get whatever rest we could for the next day.
When I got into my room I was almost afraid to touch anything. It was like going to your really rich friends house and being afraid to touch anything. But then I remembered it was my room, and I loved it! I flopped on my bed and rolled around in it. Once I fell off I continued to roll around on the carpet, reveling in the owner-ship I had over it all. Once I was in bed, as tired as I was I couldn't sleep.
I crept out and snuck down the hall, four doors down. I put my ear to the door, and once it sounded safe I crept inside. I tried to get into the bed without waking them, and I succeeded. I snuggled between Chelsie and my dad, admittedly feeling a little silly, but after feeling the love I thought was lost forever, it was lonely going to bed alone. Besides, I still had to make sure this was real.
My dad opened his eyes and his brows furrowed at me in confusion. "Jesse?" He croaked.
"Hi dad..." I replied in a small voice, hoping he wouldn't kick me out.
To my surprise he chuckled, grabbed me in a headlock and rustled my hair. "Don't make this a habit or ill do this every night."
I laughed and pushed him away. "Just for today, dad."
"Boys," Chelsie said from next to me. "Close your eyes or ill kick you both out."
My dad and I muffled a our snickering. "Yes dear."
"Yes Chels-mom."
"Good night," she said with a smile in her voice.
"Night," we both said at once. I
I'd never had a more peaceful sleep in my life.
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The next day another surprise awaited me. After checking the mirror for a girl or a witch (thankfully neither was there), I ran downstairs and saw my family sitting down and eating breakfast together. Though I feared it would be awkward since it was a thing we hadn't done in a long time, it was fun. Chelsie and my dad teased me about my sudden awakening, and said they were gonna make bets on how long my nice streak would last.
They didn't know that it was permanent.
I drove to school in my own car, and pulled up to Aiden's house. He was sitting on the love seat on his porch, just like before. My mind was blown. There was no way it could've all been a dream! But here everything was exactly the way it was. And here I was, a dude!
Aiden hopped inside my car and put his seat belt on. "Hey man. What's up?"
I laughed not caring that I utterly looked insane for laughing at nothing, and sighed. "Man, what a question!"
"Did...I...miss something?"
"Oh dude! Did you ever!! Ok so I had this crazy ass dream that that new girl? Samantha?" I asked to make sure he was up to speed.
"The witch?"
"Yeah but it turned out she really was a witch! And this one night, last night in fact she kept showing up everywhere and she made my car crash and then"-
"She turned you into a girl and you were forced to change and fall in love if you ever wanted to change back?" He finished with an amused smirk on his lips. "Now Jesse you don't really expect me to believe that do you?"
I had stopped my driving and stared at him jaw dropped. A car behind me loudly blared its horn and I quickly started up again. "Wait dude how do you know all that!" I shouted. "I thought it was just a dream!"
He shrugged. "For me it was. I wasn't gonna say anything about it but then you started to describe it." He shook his head, just as wonder struck as me. Maybe that's why Samantha didn't want me to tell anyone, I mused to myself. I paused at a stop light and we both sat in thoughtful silence. "Wait a minute...if the dream was real...aren't you supposed to be a girl right now? I mean the last thing I remembered was you running out of the Enchanted Spring Dance."
I quickly looked down at my chest to make sure no breasts had suddenly reappeared, but tried to sound cool about it. "I don't know. The last I remember was being attacked by some guys then I woke up like me...the real one."
He smiled and patted my shoulder. "Well whatever happened, I'm glad its over."
"Yeah," I agreed sighing of relief, "me, too."
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